Chapter 88: Surrounded by Shadows
MLP: FiM
Piercing the Heavens
By: Calm Wind
(This Chapter was edited by Lucky424)
Chapter 88: Surrounded by Shadows
Old wounds, emotions, and grudges danced about in the minds of the lead squad Wonderbolts as they stared into the familiar, sharp glare of their former wingmate. Rapidfire’s nostrils flared as his gaze darted between six pairs of eyes staring at him.
Instinctively, Soarin immediately shifted to make sure he was between Rapidfire and Dash, wanting to keep him as far away from her as possible.
Spitfire was gritting her teeth and visibly shivering at the sight of the crystal. She was not scared, she had full control of herself, but her body was reacting to the sight of something that had traumatized her in the past.
Fleetfoot was filled with conflicting thoughts. It had been a long time since she had to worry about him. She had gotten so used to the peace of mind without him that his sudden appearance had her brain going in circles.
Dash quickly stepped forward as Soarin put himself in front of her. Seeing Rapidfire was both shocking and unnerving. She was there when he became a Shadowbolt and went berserk in the skies of Canterlot… and how could she forget when he tried to kill Soarin in a sparring match? He didn’t scare her like Nightshade used to, but knowing what he was capable of made him dangerous.
Silver, while just as surprised as the rest, held firm and composed regardless. He had disliked Rapidfire from the very start, never truly approving of how quickly he moved up in the ranks. Silver felt nopony had ever been harsh enough with him. He made it through Silver’s recruit training, but after that was doted upon as the son of the Wonderbolt captains. Careless, reckless, and rebellious. When Rapidfire defected to the Shadowbolts several months back, Silver wasn’t very surprised.
“Grrr…” Air Mach began growling as he glanced down at all the brutally beaten security guards, covered in bruises, some of them bleeding. They were groaning and wailing in pain, a few of them crying as they twitched and clutched their bodies tightly, all beaten to the brink of breaking. Air Mach couldn’t stand the sight, and his breathing had become intense, hissing through his nose as he glared at Rapidfire. Silver quickly noticed Air Mach’s demeanor.
“Easy, Air Mach,” Silver said quietly to him. “Nothing rash,” he added. Silver wasn’t as familiar with Rapidfire as the lead squad, but the last thing they needed was for one of them to jump the gun.
Soarin suddenly stomped a hoof.
“You!” he spat towards his old rival. “What the hell are you doing here?!” he demanded as he looked Rapidfire over, taking note of the full, old Shadowbolt uniform with the mask and the slanted yellow goggles. “And what the hell is going on?!”
“I have nothing to say to any of you,” Rapidfire said as he reached up and pushed his goggles back down on his face.
“Air Mach!” Silver suddenly yelled. Soarin glanced just in time to see Air Mach leap at Rapidfire.
“Air Mach! Stop!” Spitfire ordered, but he didn’t listen. He threw both of his hooves forward, aiming right for Rapidfire’s face.
“Hmph…” Rapidfire grunted as he reached up and caught Air Mach’s hooves. Rapidfire was pushed backwards by the force and up against the wall as Air Mach shoved him back.
“How dare you hurt our guards! You must have quite a death wish!” Air Mach yelled in Rapidfire’s face as they pushed against each other. Rapidfire lifted an eyebrow and scoffed.
“Really?” he shook his head. “You replaced me with this idiotic twit?” The crystal began to glow and a thin pink aura surrounded Rapidfire. “Laughable.”
“AIR MACH!” Spitfire yelled at the top of her lungs. “GET AWAY FROM HIM! NOW!”
“What the—?” Air Mach blinked as the pink light around Rapidfire grew brighter. Rapidfire forced himself forward, a pulse of pink energy exploding outward from his body. Air Mach was thrown backward, crashing into Soarin and Fleetfoot, catching Dash as well as they all fell into a pile. Spitfire and Silver both shielded themselves as the pulse forced them to skid an inch or two backwards, the wounded security guards all crying out as they were forced along the floor by the powerful force.
Soarin pushed Air Mach off of him and quickly got to his hooves as Fleetfoot and Dash both propped themselves up on the floor and stared.
Rapidfire was surrounded by a pink aura, small sparks and pops emerging around him as small ribbons of the energy bounced from his body.
“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON OVER HERE?!” Blaze’s voice came from down the hall. Dash turned her head to see squads two and Foxtrot approaching quickly.
“STAY BACK!” Soarin yelled, halting all of them in their tracks, skidding to a stop twenty yards away. All eyes were fixed on Rapidfire… Blaze, High Winds, and Wave Chill all recognizing him in an instant. Squall, Twister, Little Star, and Matteo all looked on in confusion, wondering who this new enemy was. They had all heard about Rapidfire from Dash, but had never seen him before.
Soarin stepped over to face Rapidfire straight on, putting himself in front of all of them, even Spitfire. Spitfire was about to protest, but she stopped herself as Soarin set his hooves and a blue glow began to surround his horn.
Rapidfire lifted an eyebrow as Soarin’s magic came to life and the aura surrounding the horn intensified until a blue glow encased his body. It wasn’t as intense as the pink energy around Rapidfire, but the concentration of the magic around Soarin’s horn was glowing brighter than Rapidfire’s entire body.
Spitfire and Silver stepped backwards, helping up Fleetfoot, Dash, and Air Mach as they stayed clear of the display of magic between the two. Dash and Spitfire both wanted to tell Soarin to be careful, but they were too worried about distracting him. If there was one thing that used to drive Soarin, it was protecting others from Rapidfire’s self-serving, shameless actions. Who knew that one day he’d do the same, but with much more on the line?
Rapidfire suddenly glanced towards the window to his right.
“Hmph…” he grunted before looking back at the Wonderbolts. “They’re here…” the glow around him faded. “Too bad, I really wanted to rough you up…” he smirked. “It’s a pity… now I’ll never have the chance.”
The crystal began to glow again, but the buildup was much quicker, the whole thing shining brightly in seconds. The Wonderbolts all shielded their eyes as a bright flash erupted from Rapidfire’s body… and a moment later, when they all looked back up, Rapidfire was gone.
They all frantically looked around. The glow around Soarin’s body faded and the aura surrounding the horn dissipated as he ran forward and stood directly where Rapidfire was a moment ago.
“What…?” Dash spoke up as she took a few steps forward. “What just happened?” she asked as the rest of squad two and her own squad trotted towards them.
“Was that…?!” Blaze ripped her goggles off as the others approached. “RapidMcDoucheface?” she yelled out while pointing towards where Soarin was standing and looking around at the rest of them in disbelief. Fleetfoot nodded slowly.
“And…” Fleetfoot’s ears stood up. “What did he mean by, they’re here?”
They all flinched and yelped in surprise as the familiar, incredibly loud alarm claxons blared out in the hallway. All the Wonderbolts looked up and around.
“An emergency alarm?!” Spitfire blinked as she looked up at one of the indoor sirens mounted on the wall near the ceiling.
“CAPTAIN!” Silver yelled out from beside the window. Spitfire and the rest all turned and looked towards him. Silver was staring out the window with his jaw dropped. “We have… a situation here!” he added as he stepped back and pointed outside. Spitfire pushed past Soarin and galloped up to the window. He eyes widened.
“Oh… my… god…”
The rest of them turned to the windows and eagerly piled up against them to see what had Spitfire in such a shock. It didn’t take long for the rest of them to share her reaction.
Up in the sky, approaching rapidly in the distance…
Shadowbolts…
MULTIPLE Shadowbolts.
They were still a good distance away, so their full numbers could not be discerned. But there were a lot of them, and they were heading directly for the compound. It looked like a cloud of black, purple and yellow. No sign of red. No red goggles or headband, they were all wearing the old Shadowbolt uniforms.
For a moment, nopony could move, all frozen at the sight of their old enemies approaching, seemingly out of nowhere. Where did they come from? Where had they been? Why were these Shadowbolts wearing the old uniform? What did that make the ones wearing the red apparel? As clear and present as these questions were, they didn’t have the luxury of time to think about it. A large force of hostiles were approaching the compound, they had to act.
Spitfire pushed away from the window and took two steps away before looking down at the floor, her eyes darting back and forth as her thoughts raced. Soarin turned towards her and quickly followed.
“It was a set up…” Spitfire blinked as she started talking to herself.
“Spitfire!” Soarin yelled to her as he trotted up beside her. He looked over his shoulder to see Fleetfoot, Air Mach, and squad two all staring at them. All the members of Foxtrot still had their faces pressed to the windows.
“We’re all spread out through the base, looking for a single Shadowbolt,” Spitfire continued as she picked apart the situation out loud. “We’re disorganized, not ready to defend ourselves… Rapidfire was a distraction!”
“Spitfire, we need to get out there!” Soarin stomped a hoof and unfolded his wings. Silver cantered up to Spitfire’s other side.
“Captain! What are your orders!?” Silver asked. Spitfire looked up with a determined expression and sharply turned to the two of them.
“We don’t have time to wonder what the hell is happening!” she stated firmly. Matteo and Twister had turned to look towards her as well, but Dash, Squall, and Star were still staring out the window. “We have bogeys seconds away from our doorstep! We have to act! Silver!” Spitfire pointed at him. “Take squad two and comb the main hallways of the base, rally every Wonderbolt you can find and get them outside!”
“Yes ma’am!” Silver saluted and turned to his squad. “Wave!” he pointed. “Take a flight back and forth through the second floor, get all the Wonderbolts you can find to the front courtyard, NOW!”
“YES, SIR!” Wave yelled as he took off towards the stairs.
“Blaze! High Winds!” Silver turned to the two mares. “I want you two to do the same on the first floor! Blaze, take the east wing. High Winds, the west. Find everypony you can and then GET OUTSIDE!”
“Yes, sir!” they replied in unison before taking off towards the stairs as well. Silver spread his wings, but before he could take off, he looked sharply towards squad Foxtrot, specifically, Dash. He turned and moved towards them.
Soarin stole a brief glance at Silver before looking back to Spitfire.
“What should we do?” Soarin asked. He knew what he had to do and what he wanted to do… go out there and bring the fight to the Shadowbolts, but now wasn’t the time to leap before looking. The Shadowbolts were no ordinary enemies and recklessness would get them hurt, or worse.
“Soarin!” Spitfire put a hoof to his chest. “I’m putting you in command of the lead squad!” she suddenly ordered. Soarin’s eyes widened.
“What?!” he blinked.
“Listen to me dammit!” Spitfire grabbed him by the suit and pulled his face into hers. “I’m going to my office to warn the entire compound through the P.A. system! My top priority is the protection of all Wonderbolts, which includes employees! I need to make sure everypony in here is safe and secure! It will direct any Wonderbolt stragglers outside to join the fight as well. Now GO! You’re in charge out there!” she yelled before releasing his uniform and looking between him, Fleetfoot, and Air Mach. “Get going, grab anypony you find along the way in case squad two misses them… and good luck, I’ll join you once everypony in here is safe!” Spitfire instantly turned, broke into a gallop. After a few steps, she spread her wings and took flight towards the stairs.
Soarin took a deep breath and turned to Fleetfoot and Air Mach.
“You heard Spitfire! Let’s…” Soarin paused and glanced at Dash, who continued to stare out the window along with Squall and Little Star. For a moment he felt the need to help Dash, but when he saw Silver ready to do just that, he felt at ease. He had a job to do. The recruits knew and trusted Silver, whatever orders he was about to give them, they’d follow them. “Let’s go!” Soarin yelled out. He turned and took off towards the stairs with Fleetfoot and Air Mach close behind.
It was far from the first time Dash had seen these Shadowbolts… but the sight was still unnerving. Beyond the shock of seeing them again, she wasn’t scared, nor was she afraid of them. One particular thing was absent when they encountered the new Shadowbolts recently, was the small feeling of dread that came every time she had encountered them since the tornado incident in Ponyville.
The change in the uniform and the strange behavior that left the Wonderbolts unscathed in all the recent encounters has put her heart at ease, freeing it from the terrifying thought… that one of them… could be a certain mare. Seeing Rapidfire… seeing a crystal… seeing the old Shadowbolt uniform… and watching Rapidfire brutally beat down multiple ponies with seemingly no remorse… all of these things rekindled a one of the few, true fears Dash had.
The fear that one of the many Shadowbolts approaching right now… could be Nightshade.
It seemed crazy, Dash saw Nightshade literally explode. They found no sign of her after that, but the Shadowbolt hierarchy was determined through pure strength and fighting prowess. If a pony like Descent was beneath her, then Nightshade’s near sublime toughness spoke for itself.
Dash turned and looked at Star and Squall as the two looked out the window with her. The Shadowbolts were drawing closer and closer, and they couldn’t have looked more confused. Star mentioned before that she was ready for anything… but it looked like she wasn’t so sure about that here. Squall looked like he couldn’t believe his eyes. He always acted as if he could handle anything, but was a scenario like this ever something he was prepared for? Matteo and Twister had already broken away from the windows, having seen what approached. Dash turned to look at them, but instead, she turned to meet the eyes of Silver looking down at her.
“Squad Foxtrot…” Silver said in a very serious tone while pushing his goggles onto his forehead. “Listen carefully.”
Squall and Little Star both slowly turned to face him, Matteo and Twister shifting as well to listen beside Dash.
“We are facing a hostile situation with a large enemy force incoming. The elites are mobilizing to meet them head on,” Silver explained quickly, but calmly. “We need every single Wonderbolt we can get, HOWEVER…” he put a hoof up towards them. “Know what you are getting into. This is not a training exercise, if you have any doubts or anxieties, you will fly into your death,” Silver turned his back to them. “Trust in your wingmates, and remember everything you learned in your training. Your survival depends on it,” he looked at them over his shoulder as he reached up and pushed his goggles down. “I’ll see you all out there.”
He said nothing more. He turned, spread his wings and took flight.
Dash stared wide eyed at him as he left and eventually turned towards the stairs.
Dash’s squad all looked towards her. With all of the authority gone… it left her, their captain. The alarm was still blaring loudly and the anticipation of a coming conflict was weighing heavily around them. Dash turned away from her squad and looked out the window again. The Shadowbolts were closing in. They had to be less than four hundred meters away and closing fast.
“ATTENTION ALL WONDERBOLTS!” Spitfire’s voice blared over the P.A. “THIS IS NOT A DRILL. ANY AND ALL WONDERBOLTS, REPORT TO THE LOBBY FOR IMMEDIATE DISPATCH TO INTERCEPT INCOMING HOSTILES! REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL! ALL WONDERBOLT STAFF ASIDE FROM SECURITY ARE TO REPORT TO THE BASEMENT FOR SHELTER! I WANT SQUADS NINETEEN AND TWENTY TO REMAIN IN THE COMPOUND AND HELP ME DIRECT THE STAFF IN AN ORDERLY MANNER! MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!”
“Well?” Matteo’s voice came from beside Dash. “Are we fighting or are we not?” Dash blinked and looked towards him. The calmness of his voice was soothing in the wake of everything happening.
“If I said no…” Dash smirked. “You’d go out there anyway.”
“Correct,” Matteo nodded.
“Can I go punch things?” Twister appeared on her other side with his usual sneer. “For some reason I really feel like punching things.”
Dash chuckled as she turned to Squall and Star, giving them a nod.
“Guys… I’m not gonna lie… I’m nervous. But you know what? I bet all of the Wonderbolts are nervous. So I don’t plan on hiding,” Dash’s fear of Nightshade was still lingering, but the Wonderbolts springing into action so quickly mixed with Silver’s speech had lit a fire in her heart. The Wonderbolts were getting ready to meet an attack head on. She wasn’t going to let them go out without her. After all… she was a Wonderbolt now too. All five of them were Wonderbolts. “I’m flying out there, and from the looks of things,” Dash looked between Twister and Matteo. “I’m not going out there alone. Star? Squall? Are you guys coming too?”
Star and Squall glanced at each other for a moment, both staring as if trying to read the other. Eventually, Star closed her eyes, smiled and nodded. Squall’s ears pointed upward and his eyes widened as he watched Star turn back towards Dash.
“Yeah,” Star nodded. “You can bet I’m going with you, we…”
“Wait!” Squall reached forward and grabbed Star by the arm. All four of them blinked and looked towards Squall. Star blinked at him before staring down at his hoof holding her arm, and then back at him. He had a worried expression on his face, something they had only seen once before, in the blimp when he thought Star didn’t make it with them.
“Squall?” Dash asked as she took a step towards them.
Squall blinked, shook his head and quickly whisked his mane over to cover his face as he let go of Star’s arm.
“I…” Squall gritted his teeth and growled. “I… if you’re all going out there… then so am I!” he exclaimed while keeping his eyes averted. His voice sounded shaky, but was also filled with resolve. It brought a smile to Dash’s face. Squall was scared, just like she was, but he refused to let them put themselves in danger without him.
He cared.
“Well, what are we waiting for then?” Dash put a hoof forward. “Let’s get moving!” Dash turned, spread her wings, and took off down the hall. A moment later, Twister was flying right behind her with Matteo close behind.
Squall remained stationary for a moment. Little Star had spread her wings but paused to look back at Squall.
“Well, come on tough guy,” she smiled. “Or are you gonna let me go one all by my lonesome?” she gave him fake puppy dog eyes and a pout.”
“Hmph…” Squall grunted before spreading his wings and galloping into a takeoff. Star smiled as she quickly gave chase.
Foxtrot was lagging a little behind, but they would join the battle and help their fellow Wonderbolts.
“ALL SQUADS READY?!” Soarin yelled from up front as all the present Wonderbolts grabbed their goggles.
“AYE!” they replied while pushing their goggles down. The large window above the doors leading into the courtyard slowly opened. Small bits of glass chipped and fell as it moved, having been broken in one place from the new Shadowbolt that snuck in a day before.
“ALL PONIES SET?!” Soarin continued.
“AYE!” The Wonderbolts all opened their wings.
“WONDERBOLTS! GO! GO! GO!” Soarin yelled out as he, Fleetfoot, and Air Mach all sprang up and flew through the hangar window.
“HOO-RAH!” one by one, the rows of Wonderbolts stepped forward and leapt up, taking flight in the full formation and emerging out over the large courtyard of the compound approach. Soarin gave a quick glance back to confirm that all the Wonderbolts had cleared the lobby window before facing forward and fixing his eyes on the Shadowbolts.
The approaching Shadowbolts were less than a hundred meters away and a clash with them was imminent. Unlike the Wonderbolts, the Shadowbolts were not organized, no formations and no order. It was like the Wonderbolts were flying directly into a cloud of ponies. Upon further inspection it seemed like the Shadowbolts had roughly fifty… maybe sixty among their ranks. The Wonderbolts were flying with seventy-one of their eighty elites and a few recruits that had joined in. The Shadowbolts had less numbers than the Wonderbolts, but they couldn’t forget about the crystals. They could turn average ponies into war machines, so in the hooves of Shadowbolts it made each and every one of them incredibly dangerous. Soarin as not worried, however. With their discipline and organized approach, the Wonderbolts were very capable of—
“What…?” Soarin blinked to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.
They were seconds from a head on collision… and in those seconds, the Shadowbolts shifted...
And their numbers multiplied. There were easily two hundred of them now!
Then they shifted again… five hundred… six hundred… more and more…
An intense wave of shock and worry passed through the Wonderbolts as they kept flying on course.
How? What just happened? Soarin had no explanation for it. It had to be a trick. There were only fifty Shadowbolts a moment ago and now they were insanely outnumbered in the blink of an eye? There were at least eight hundred Shadowbolts heading directly at them, outnumbering the Wonderbolts nearly ten to one!
Soarin shook his head and glanced back at the Wonderbolts. They were all still flying strong, but behind the goggles he could see wide eyes. Several were looking towards the sudden anomaly with their mouths ajar. They needed encouragement. Spitfire was ensuring the safety of everypony in the compound. It was up to him.
“STEADY!” Soarin yelled. “DON’T BACK DOWN! STAY STRONG!” he encouraged. “FULL FORMATION BURST! ON MY MARK!” he yelled out. He didn’t bother to check if he was acknowledged, but he trusted the will and the resolve of the Wonderbolts.
They closed in with the enormous cloud of Shadowbolts.
Closer…
Closer…
Closer…
“BURST!” Soarin yelled out less than ten yards from colliding.
The entirety of the Wonderbolt formation suddenly dispersed, the ponies all pushing their speed up a notch and firing forward from the formation in a random pattern. Fleetfoot and Air Mach veered off and did the same with a little extra boost from Soarin as they passed by him. The scatter blast of Wonderbolts surprised the Shadowbolts, and the poor sap right up front received a full on, double hoof blow to the face from Soarin.
Soarin growled as he pumped his wings and continued to drive the Shadowbolt backwards, pushing him into another Shadowbolt, and another, and another until he had a pile of five Shadowbolts stacked up in front of him.
“HRRRGHHH!!!!” Soarin growled as he veered down, pushing the Shadowbolts towards the ground. They offered no resistance as they fell, getting closer and closer to the grassy courtyard.
Without hesitation, Soarin slammed all five of them into the ground as hard as he could. The Shadowbolts all grunted and yelped as they struck the ground, their flight suits tearing and their goggles flying off. Soarin pulled up and glided around, looking down at all of them, but stopped and hovered as he stared down at them.
None of them had eyes.
With their goggles removed, all that lay beneath was a glowing pink light in their eye sockets. Moments later they all began writhing painfully, the glow in their eyes brightening as beams of pink light started shining from their bodies.
And then they all exploded.
Soarin shielded himself from the bright light, but there was no shockwave or physical blast. Soarin removed his arm from in front of his eyes… and the five Shadowbolts were gone, as if they had just burst and ceased to exist.
What the hell did he just see?
“WHOA!” Soarin ducked as Air Mach shot by him with two Shadowbolts perusing him. Air Mach let up a little bit of his speed and spun, placing a hoof on the back of the first Shadowbolt’s head and shoved him down, forcing the Shadowbolt face first into the concrete path leading to the front doors. The impact was incredibly cringe-worthy, the goggles shattering off his face and bouncing along the hard pathway. The Shadowbolt lay in a broken heap, his limbs broken and bent in painful directions.
Air Mach pitched back up with the other Shadowbolt still perusing him.
Soarin watched as the exact same process happened, the Shadowbolt bursting into a bright pink light before disappearing completely.
Something was definitely not right.
Soarin looked up at the incredibly uneven dogfight going on above and was seeing the same thing. Shadowbolts were fighting like a swarm, easily ten to fifteen each going after one Wonderbolt at a time. They were taking two or three heavy hits… before they burst. Flashes of pink light were erupting all around the sky above.
Soarin set his hooves and tensed his muscles as he readied to use the Sonic Blastoff.
Were these really ponies? Or were they fighting magic doppelgangers? That would explain how the numbers multiplied out of nowhere, but at the same time, these… clones were physical beings, able to attack. It was no illusion. They were weak, their attacks barely fazing the Wonderbolts and they were going down in a mere few blows. Perhaps that was the strategy, to tire the Wonderbolts out before the real ones revealed themselves?
“HRM!” Soarin grunted as he executed the Sonic Blastoff, an air cone exploding around him as he angled upward and aimed himself directly into the battle above.
If that was really the Shadowbolts’ plan… then they would gladly break all of their little puppets before taking them down too!
“Group up! Squad tactics!” Soarin yelled at the top of his lungs. “Group up! Squad Tactics!” he repeated as his speed took him around the dogfight, alerting all the Wonderbolts to his plan.
If they remained in formations and fought together with their squads, it would lessen the strain of fighting alone. It would also give them the advantage of using all of their strengths, including personal squad maneuvers and abilities that required teamwork to use. When the real Shadowbolts revealed themselves, they would have plenty left in the tank to take them all out.
Now they just had to last that long.
“GO! GO!” Dash yelled to her squad as they, along with a few Wonderbolt stragglers took off in the lobby towards the window, flying above a large crowd of Wonderbolt staff and none combat personnel being moved into the east hall towards the basement.
They were late to the main launch, but they had made it down and were ready to join the fray. At least they were for the first few yards.
“WHAT THE—?!” Dash yelled out as she and her squad came to an abrupt halt.
“Um… there weren’t that many when we looked out the window…” Little Star pointed out the obvious as they all stared in awe. Dash shook her head and glared towards the dogfight. She didn’t get it, but she could see it. The Shadowbolts exploding as they got hit. It was only an assumption, but after seeing Rapidfire nearly mimic a changeling, she was not beyond wondering if the Shadowbolts could multiply themselves too. They had no idea what the full extent of the abilities the crystal granted was, so she wasn’t beyond entertaining the thought.
“What do you think? Magic? Illusions?” Matteo asked in a calm, focused tone as he looked towards Dash. Once again Dash found herself glad to have a wingmate with such a cool head in combat. After the initial sight of the strange scenario before them, Matteo was already trying to break it down.
Dash glanced to her left and right as she watched the Wonderbolts who were late to the party fly by and take only a moment to stare at the scene before diving into the fray.
They weren’t hesitating, so they had no reason to either.
“I guess we’ll just have to punch them and find out!” Dash exclaimed before facing forward. “FOXTROT! LET’S GO!” she yelled as she turned and pumped her wings. All four of them followed behind. Nervous? Yes. Confused? Definitely. Scared? HELL NO! It was time to prove that they earned their spot in the Wonderbolts!
“Well! This certainly was unexpected!” Fleetfoot exclaimed as she, Air Mach and Soarin floated with their backs turned to each other. Shadowbolts were charging at them from all directions amidst all the Wonderbolts flying to and fro, being pursued. It had turned into a game of squad tag, the Wonderbolts managing the bizarre situation by running away while packed in their squad formations and letting the Shadowbolts catch up to them one by one before knocking them out of the air. A few squads, like the lead squad, had taken up a position with their backs to each other and taking the attackers together.
“Considering…” Soarin paused as he shifted out and punched an approaching Shadowbolt in the stomach. The Shadowbolt exhaled harshly and fell towards the ground before bursting. “All that we’ve seen…” he grabbed another incoming and passed the Shadowbolt mare to his right, allowing Fleetfoot to slam her hooves down over her head and send her falling as well, before exploding. “In the past hour, that’s a VERY general statement!”
“Duck!” Air Mach yelled. Soarin and Fleetfoot both ducked as Air Mach tossed a Shadowbolt right over his head and into another incoming enemy.
“I’m talking about this!” Fleetfoot yelled at Soarin while throwing her hooves out.
“Also general,” Soarin threw his hooves up to catch a punch from a Shadowbolt mare. He pulled back and punched her in the face, sending her into two Shadowbolt stallions behind her. “We’ve got upwards of eight hundredish Shadowbolts coming at us and when we punch them hard enough they explode into pink light.”
“Fine! Let’s go with both of those!” Fleetfoot clarified as she grabbed an incoming Shadowbolt at the same time as Air Mach and the two swung them into each other before letting them fall. “Both equally worthy of not making ANY sense!”
“In that case, yes!” Soarin agreed as the two glanced at each other. “Hundreds of Shadowbolts, all very weak and easily downed, have no eyes, and explode after a certain amount of punishment… and WHOA!” Soarin looked back forward and braced himself with a backward pump of his wings as he caught a Shadowbolt trying to body slam him. He looked the mare over as he held her back and growled. “And I swear I just destroyed this one!” Soarin complained as he smashed his elbow down over the Shadowbolt mare’s head and sent her flailing downward before she burst into light.
“There’s gotta be somepony controlling them, or multiple ponies controlling them!” Fleetfoot called out as she kept her eyes peeled for any more incoming. “I swear I’ve punched more than one of the same stallion in the face five times! Sheesh! I prefer it when they get the hint the first time!”
“AH!” Soarin yelped as he glanced up. “LOOKOUT! He yelled while reaching over and grabbing Fleetfoot by the arm, yanking her down into a nose dive with him.
“YEEEK!” Fleetfoot shrieked at the sudden descent, but she glanced back just in time to see a whole pack of at least twenty Shadowbolts raining down towards them.
“Gah!” Air Mach yelled as he took the brunt of their charge. He was forced down with them, but quickly extended his wings outward and gave them a powerful flap, pushing himself free and dragging four Shadowbolts out with him.
The rest of them plummeted towards Soarin and Fleetfoot as they dove towards the ground.
“Stay together!” Soarin ordered as he let her go and she took control of her flight beside them. Soarin narrowed his eyes and concentrated, calling forth his magic. He was unsure how often he’d be able to use it after how much of a mess it caused in Cloudsdale, but if they were going to send magic after him, he’d counter it with some of his own! Soarin twisted himself around as the blue magic swirled around his horn and concentrated on the swarm of Shadowbolts following them. Making sure to use just enough to get the job done, Soarin fixed his eyes in the middle of the gathered Shadowbolts and tilted the horn towards them.
A thin beam of magic jettisoned from the horn and as it traveled towards the Shadowbolts. Soarin took a long deep breath and exhaled hard, causing the beam to expand into a cone shape and rush against the Shadowbolts. A few broke off from the cluster as the majority of them were struck by the blast and instantly burst into bright pink lights.
“RGH!” Soarin grunted as the beam dissipated. He put a hoof to his head as he turned back around and leveled out right before striking the ground, grass kicking up in his wake behind him as he zoomed at low altitude across the courtyard.
It was so frustrating! He had more or less mastered how to use the magic with the help of Discord’s mind barrier, and now with it gone, he could barely use it without tearing his brain apart. It was taunting him! “Huh? Fleetfoot?” Soarin blinked and looked back and forth. She was gone.
After a brief moment of worry, he remembered that Fleetfoot was one of the fastest Wonderbolts in the history of the organization. He glanced behind him at the remaining Shadowbolts giving chase. Fleetfoot had looped around and was searing through the air so fast that she appeared to be a blur. Soarin didn’t even know if blur was the right word. She was going so fast, his eyes almost couldn’t follow her.
She angled down and stuck her arms out, striking the back two Shadowbolts in the back of the head. She kept flying forward, catching the remaining four with them and pushing them towards the ground, causing them to crash violently before she put on the breaks and tried to stop beside Soarin. He smirked and shook his head as he reached out and caught her arm to help her slow down. She shrugged as he let go of her.
“What? You were taking too long!” She stuck her tongue out at him before they both looked back forward.
“YIKES!” Soarin thrust his wings out and came to a halt, Fleetfoot doing the same as they reacted to the sight in front of them. There was another large collection of Shadowbolts heading directly towards them. This group was even larger than the previous, and had caught them completely off guard.
“HOO-HAA!” a silly battle cry came from above as large surge of flames rushed down upon the Shadowbolts from above. They all yelped, tumbled, and crashed to the ground as the flames burned around them. A few tried to get up and fly upwards, out of the fire, but a loud POW sounded out, followed by a very strong gust of wind that forced them down and nearly flattened them against the ground. It blew away all the flames, but the damage had been done. The Shadowbolts burst into light upon the scorched ground.
“HEY!” Blaze yelled from above. Soarin and Fleetfoot looked up to see Blaze and High Winds hovering above them. Blaze was rotating her arm while holding a small, sputtering fireball in her hoof. “We don’t have time to watch your sorry plots!” she said with a sneer.
Soarin’s eyes widened. He quickly collected magic in his horn, concentrated, and fired a small focused beam towards Blaze. It shot past her head and exploded in the face of a Shadowbolt trying to get her while her back was turned.
“Whoa!” High Winds pulled back as Blaze shrieked. They both watched the Shadowbolt fall before turning back to Soarin.
Soarin shook his head and blinked a few times from slight dizziness, but then looked up at them and smirked.
“Likewise!” Soarin yelled back.
“INCOMING!” Fleetfoot yelled while pointing up towards Blaze and High Winds. The two turned, yelped and moved aside as Wave Chill shot by between them while grappling with a Shadowbolt stallion. As they neared the ground, Wave managed to turn them around to put the stallion below them. He veered off and aimed right for the fountain in the center of the courtyard.
“Damn!” Soarin cursed as he spread his wings and took off towards them. They were going to hit the fountain!
“WAIT!” Fleetfoot suddenly caught up to Soarin and grabbed his back hoof.
“Fleet?! What are you doing?!” Soarin questioned as Fleetfoot forced him to slow down. She pulled him to a stop and shook her head.
“What are they heading towards?” she pointed.
“The fountain and… oh… right…” Soarin blinked as he looked again.
Wave drove the Shadowbolt directly into the fountain with a loud SPLASH that sent water flying everywhere. An instant later, Wave sprang up out of the water while twisting and shedding the water from his wing feathers. Large streams of water swirled around him and collected over his head. The Shadowbolt grunted and struggled as he reached the edge of the fountain and tried to climb out.
Wave compressed the water as tightly as he could before spinning around and launching the water like a bullet towards the Shadowbolt. It smacked it right in the back of the head, pushing it down with so much force that it catapulted the Shadowbolt’s body out of the fountain and it exploded into light before it even hit the ground.
Wave exhaled as Soarin, Fleetfoot, Blaze and High winds all came together and looked up.
The sky above was still a swarm of Shadowbolts with Wonderbolts stuck within. The Wonderbolts were holding their own against the weak Shadowbolts, but were they actually gaining any ground?
“What is this?” Wave pointed towards the sky, looking towards Soarin and Fleetfoot as Blaze and High Winds took to the air to rejoin the battle. “These are not the same Shadowbolts we fought several months ago, they’re all… faceless, generic copies… weak and exploding after a few hits."
“Believe me, I’ve been trying to figure it out too,” Soarin gritted his teeth as he scanned the dogfight above.
“Less talky-talky, more punchy-in-the-mouthy!” Fleetfoot waved to the two of them as she lifted off and beckoned them to follow.
Soarin and Wave glance at each other before spreading their wings and following behind.
Soarin was beginning to worry. He had seen multiple Shadowbolts go down, several of which he took down himself…
But their numbers appeared to be unchanged or at least dwindling much slower than they should be. In total it looked like they had barely made a dent in their numbers, as if they weren’t actually taking down that many at all. He hoped they weren’t fighting a hopeless battle.
“HORRRYAAA!!!”
Dash turned and ducked as a Shadowbolt flew over her head.
“Watch it Squall! Nice hit, but try to direct them away from us!” she ordered as Squall rolled his eyes without breaking his stance and turned back around to find another target.
They were on the ground on the far side of the courtyard, opposite from Soarin. Matteo had taken a heavy hit from above that had forced him to land. He was still getting up and trying shake off the dizziness with Star trying to help him as Dash, Squall, and Twister took up defensive positions around him.
Dash kept her eyes peeled as the dogfight above them seemed to have lowered. It started way up high in the sky, but soon after they joined the battle, the Wonderbolts and Shadowbolts had moved down and were now zipping and shooting by at low altitudes.
“How’s the big guy?!” Dash yelled behind to Star.
“He’s—”
“I’M FINE!” Matteo cut her off as he grunted. “Just give me a moment!”
“Make it quick! We’ve got more incoming!” Dash yelled as four more Shadowbolts, two mares and two stallions. Dash, Squall, and Twister all shifted to face the four of them. As they approached, Dash took note that the two mares were identical… and the two stallions were identical, not to mention that the stallions looked exactly like the one Squall just sent flying over her head before exploding. There were so many strange things happening it almost made her head physically hurt, but they would never know what was going on if they didn’t survive, so it was time to focus on fighting!
“HOORYAA!!” Squall let out his battle cry again as he delivered his signature rapid strikes to one of the stallions, hitting him in the face, chest and stomach before hopping up, and delivering a roundhouse kick to the side of the stallion’s face, knocking his goggles off.
Squall flinched and cringed as the eyeless stallion growled and thrust at him again, Squall pulled back and punched the stallion directly between the eyes. The stallion exploded on the spot, blinding them all a little with the light, but it wasn’t enough to hinder them.
Dash recalled Silver’s movements, rearing back and turning her body to begin the full motion strike. She growled as she snapped her body back forward, putting subtle shifts into every turn and activating every rotator muscle as she thrust her hoof forward. She copied Silver perfectly, landing the blow directly into the cheek of one of the mares. The combined force of the punch and the motions tore a hole in the mare’s flight mask as she completely changed direction and arced through the air away from Dash.
The other mare did a barrel roll to avoid her flailing comrade and headed for Twister.
An instant later, Twister had vanished and appeared on her back. He leaned his head down to her ear.
“I lowered my cholesterol…” he whispered into her ear before jamming his hooves against her back and forcing her into the grass, digging her face through it until she began to glow and exploded.
“AH! SHOOT!” Dash yelped as the second stallion got passed her and flew straight for Little Star. He pulled back his hoof to strike. Star turned just in time to see the Shadowbolt’s hoof, and shut her eyes.
“HURK!” the Shadowbolt suddenly sputtered as Matteo’s arm shot forward and he grabbed the Shadowbolt around the neck. He immediately thrust the Shadowbolt’s head down, slamming it so hard that his whole upper body got pushed into the ground, his back hooves flailing with only his back legs and plot above the grass.
Matteo shielded his eyes as the Shadowbolt burst before standing up.
“I’m up!” Matteo exclaimed while shaking his head out and glaring.
“Good!” Dash nodded as she looked back towards the dogfight that was now less than a few yards overhead. She was ready to give orders and join the rest, but something caught her eye. She gasped. “SILVER!”
Not too far into the swarm, she could see Silver surrounded and fighting off multiple Shadowbolts that were coming at him from all directions. They were charging at him three at a time, making it hard for him to counter the all. He was taking hits, likely weak ones based on what Dash had felt from these Shadowbolts so far, but Silver had clearly been separated from squad two. Dash didn’t like him fighting alone.
Without a word to squad Foxtrot, she spread her wings and shot up into the air, aiming towards Silver.
“Dash?!” Star yelled after her, but she, Matteo, Twister, and Squall were quickly forced to defend themselves again as more Shadowbolts approached them.
Dash pitched and turned as she did her best to avoid the Wonderbolts and Shadowbolts zipping by.
“Oof!” Dash grunted as a nearby scuffle took a sharp turn and ran into her side. A dark blue Wonderbolt mare with a yellow mane fighting a Shadowbolt stallion.
“Ah!” the Wonderbolt yelped as she ran into Dash. The impact caused her to lurch forward and into the grip of the Shadowbolt. It took Dash a moment to recover, but by the time she looked back at them, the Shadowbolt had turned them down and the two plummeted towards the ground. Dash’s eyes widened as she saw the situation her fellow Wonderbolt was caught in and readied to give chase, but she was accidentally struck in the side of the head by a passing Wonderbolt, trying to regain control of his flight after breaking free from a Shadowbolt.
Dash found herself tumbling through the air, her ears ringing and her eyes blurry after taking the hit to the head. It took her a few moments before she stabilized herself, her eyes thankfully landing on Silver as they tried to focus. She had been pushed a little ways from her previous spot, but she locked onto Silver again, forgetting about the Wonderbolt she ran into and got caught, she could handle it. Silver was the one surrounded.
Dash used Twister’s Spiral Turn to build up enough motion for Matteo’s Air Burst, using the combination of the torque and strong wing pump for a quick, midair acceleration.
She had to get to him, it was just hard with all of the Wonderbolts and Shadowbolts flying everywhere, streaking through the air at such high speeds that she wouldn’t see them coming until they already hit her.
But how were they flying so freely without striking each other?
Awareness, Dash…
Dash perked up as she neared the congested dogfight again.
Awareness… Knowing what’s going on around at all times. Silver hadn’t had many opportunities to trip her recently, but she remembered the first few very well. He couldn’t have stressed it harder, and knew first-hoof how much of a difference awareness could make. She hadn’t forgotten the table pie story about Blizzard Strike counter pranking Comet without looking at him. Heightened awareness turned a skilled pony into a very dangerous one.
All the Wonderbolts seemed to be deducing the best flight paths and reacting to changes and obstacles quickly. If they could, she could too!
She focused her eyes on Silver, but as soon as her flight path was locked into her brain, she shifted her attention to her peripheral vision and anything else that was going on that wasn't Silver.
“WHOA! YIKES!” Dash yelped as she twisted back and forth to avoid a Wonderbolt and a Shadowbolt that shot by her like arrows freshly loosed from a bow. She blinked after dodging them, not quite sure how she did, but she just barely saw them before impact and was able to react. She smiled and kept pressing towards Silver, making small adjustments to her path as she dodged and evaded other pegasi shooting by.
As she finally neared Silver, she got a better look at his situation. He almost had a sphere of Shadowbolts surrounding him. Many were charging at once, but after he took down three or four at a time they would back off, as if afraid to approach him without at least six others at the same time. It was strange that so many Shadowbolts were focusing on Silver alone. Maybe they were aware of how dangerous he was.
He was showcasing a whole new level of awareness himself, taking down Shadowbolts charging from behind him just as easily as those attacking from the front. There was a steady flow of falling, exploding Shadowbolts below him.
What Dash was worried about though, was how it seemed never ending. Not just with the Shadowbolts around Silver, but the Shadowbolts in general. Everywhere she looked, Wonderbolts were taking down Shadowbolts, the pink bursts shining all over the dogfight and through the courtyard, but not once did it look like the Shadowbolts numbers were dwindling at all.
But she’d worry about the Shadowbolts as a whole as soon as she helped her mentor.
Assessing the situation, she noticed that the Shadowbolts around Silver were perfectly packed in an area that left them vulnerable to a burst of wind. Dash was still learning how to strengthen her wind generating techniques… and she didn’t have half the wing muscle that High Winds did, but there was no success without confidence.
She shifted herself upright, using some of her momentum to add to the buildup as she fully opened her wings and reached them back. She tensed her back muscles as she curved her wings and thrust them forward as hard as she could. She felt the air build up in her cupped wings and gave an extra push of strength as they fully reached forward. The collected air burst forward from her wings with a BANG that was not quite as loud as the blasts generated by High Winds, but Dash was sure it would do the job. She wasn’t worried about Silver being affected by the wind, because High Winds said it herself, ‘Only Silver can hold against my wing power.’
The moment Silver heard the wind launch, he thrust his wings out and angled them down. He tensed his whole body while bending his back forward slightly. The rush of wind crashed against him and the Shadowbolts. Silver barely moved an inch from his spot as the Shadowbolts were all blown back and thrown into disarray for a moment. One unlucky Shadowbolt was tossed into Silver, who was quickly grabbed and thrown roughly into a few of his comrades.
Silver turned, expecting to see High Winds at his back as the Shadowbolts began reorganizing around him, but he blinked when he saw Dash instead.
“What’s up?” Dash chuckled as she saw the look on Silver’s face. She cringed lightly when Silver glared at her in response. “Ehh… you’re welcome?”
“You strayed from your squad?” he asked sternly. Dash blinked for a moment, glancing down to see the rest of squad Foxtrot back where she took off from. They were still grounded, but they were more than holding their own. Matteo even looked like he was enjoying himself. Dash looked back at Silver and lifted an eyebrow.
“I don’t see yours,” she said back. Silver furrowed his brow and turned around so they were back to back.
“Fair enough,” he said simply as the Shadowbolts surrounded them. “Since you’re here, I don’t mind the help. Oh and… very impressive, copying High Winds’ exact wind rush motions. You had me fooled, I thought it was her,” he complimented.
Dash didn’t have that much time to absorb the compliment. The Shadowbolts were already coming at them again, many at a time. She wasn’t worried though, and it wasn’t because these ‘energy’ Shadowbolts were weaker. It was because she had Silver covering her back. Likewise, he had her covering his. It made it much easier, only having to focus on the enemies they could see in front of them.
Together, the mentor-student combo held their ground, batting away and dropping Shadowbolt after Shadowbolt that flew at them.
“I just don’t get it!” Dash yelled as she tossed a Shadowbolt downward. “Why do they just keep coming? Why do so many of them look identical?” Dash spun around and swung her arm out, catching a Shadowbolt mare in the side of the head with the back of her hoof.
“There are five different variations,” Silver spoke up as he headbutted a Shadowbolt stallion right between the eyes. “Two mares and three stallions, I haven’t seen any more beyond that.”
Dash blinked and took a closer look. Silver was right. There were three stallion color schemes. Light grey with a purple mane and slightly larger than the others, yellow with a grey mane, and dark blue with a turquoise mane. There were only two mare variations. Cream colored with a red mane and Red with a pink mane. Beyond those colors there were no other variations. None of them however… were the colors of the new Shadowbolts they had encountered recently. Dash was starting to question if there was any connection at all, because so far they couldn’t have seemed more different.
“They each have distinct fighting styles too,” Silver pointed out as he grabbed a Shadowbolt mare and threw her directly downward. “The bigger stallion is fighting more aggressively, the other two seem to be hanging back and waiting for opportunities to strike. One of the mare types is building up speed and trying to launch straight shot attacks while the other is getting up close with smaller attacks.
“How did you find the time to put all that together?” Dash asked in disbelief as she began noticing all the things Silver was pointing out. Dash’s eyes widened as she saw something fly at her head in her peripheral vision. She reached up her right hoof and blocked it just before it hit her face. She glanced over to see it was Silver’s hoof.
“Awareness!” he said with a wink before pulling his hoof free and giving an incoming Shadowbolt stallion a hoof-full of hurt to the face.
“You jerk…” Dash shook her head as she focused forward again. “So then, Mr. Smart Guy, any idea what’s going on here?”
“Hell if I know!” Silver yelled out while grabbing a Shadowbolt stallion by the neck. He turned to his left and reached his other hoof out to grab a Shadowbolt mare that was charging at Dash. “And hell if I care!” he said while holding the two pegasi by the neck. “If they want to throw this light vomiting cannon fodder at us, by all means!” Dash leaned back as Silver smashed the faces of the two Shadowbolts together and they both burst on the spot. Dash shielded her eyes as the bright light erupted between them, but as soon as it faded, the first thing she saw was Silver cracking his neck back and forth. “This is great stress relief!”
Dash had a moment to let loose an amused snort before something caught her eye above them. Squad three and squad seven were flying overhead while being chased by a group of Shadowbolts. Dash’s eyes widened as she saw a cluster of Shadowbolts diving down to intercept the two squads, unbeknownst to them.
“LOOK OUT!” Dash tried yelling up to them, causing Silver to look up and see them as well.
The squads collided with the diving Shadowbolts and were forced to disperse, flying in different directions.
“STORM!” Dash yelled out as she saw Storm Front take a hit to the back and start tumbling towards them.
“Rgh!” Storm grunted as he tried to regain control of his flight. Dash wanted to fly up and help, but she and Silver were both forced to defend themselves as the duplicated Shadowbolts began charging at them again. As she and Silver blocked and countered, Dash kept glancing towards Storm, looking for an opening to help, but no chances arose. Storm was a capable Wonderbolt, and something like recovering from a fall was easy, but the whole area was hazardous. Storm was bouncing off passing Wonderbolts and Shadowbolts, turning all of his efforts to even out into more tumbles.
If Dash didn’t find an opening soon, Storm would fall right past them, and they were only hovering a ten to fifteen yards above the concrete front walk. With the speed Storm was falling at… it would likely end with something broken.
Right before Dash could panic, a streak of light yellow and turquoise came screaming down from above, shooting right towards Storm. It caught up to him as it approached and grabbed hold of his arm. Silver glanced up and chuckled.
“Haven’t seen her fly like that in years… I think she’s enjoying this as much as I am,” Silver said as he shifted and waved his hooves.
“WHOA!” Storm yelped as the blur tossed him towards Silver.
“Gotcha kid!” Silver yelled as he caught Storm and put him upright.
“You okay?” Dash asked while glancing back at Storm. Storm shook his head out and blinked.
“Watch out!” Storm shoved Dash aside and threw a punch into an incoming Shadowbolt stallion’s face. The stallion staggered backwards while trying to maintain flight, but Dash cupped her hooves together and smashed them down over his head, sending him downward as he burst. “I’ll manage!” Storm nodded as he turned his back to Dash and Silver, taking a position with them.
“Heh… and now she’s showing off,” Silver suddenly chuckled again. Dash and Storm looked down to the blur level out and zip around the courtyard, kicking up grass in its wake as is surged along, knocking out multiple Shadowbolts in its path. The blur turned towards them and slowed down as it approached. Dash was forced to turn back and defend herself from an incoming attack, but when she turned and looked again, a fourth pony had joined their little group.
Misty Fly.
She immediately put her back to them and brought her hooves up in a defensive stance. She and Silver turned and glanced at each other briefly. Silver smiled as he reached a hoof up towards her. Misty smirked and bumped a hoof with his before they both turned their backs, ready to fight.
Dash’s and Storm’s eyes brightened when the other, older veteran joined them. Having the two most experienced Wonderbolts backing them up really gave a confidence boost.
Suddenly the odds seemed in their favor, at least in the position that the four of them floated. Dash and Storm had each other’s backs and Misty and Silver had the same. Two rookies and two old veterans.
Dash kept stealing glances at the two as she and Storm worked together. Misty had her eyes closed, her wings twitching as she sensed the movements in the air patterns and reacted to her targets. Misty’s Blind Fighting was still as impressive as ever. Seeing that mixed with Silver’s full motion attacks was like watching two peerless warriors in motion. They weren’t as strong or as fast as the lead squad, but they were experienced… and it looked like they were having fun?
Both Misty and Silver were smiling… grinning rather goofily actually as they fought. It made Dash think back to when she found Silver in his room and how he talked about how there was nothing like being a Wonderbolt and how much he put himself through just to keep going.
This was his life. It was their life, and the day it’s stripped from them… was surely worse than death itself.
“Looks like we’re finally gaining some ground,” Silver spoke up as the Shadowbolts around them suddenly ceased attacking and backed away a little. Misty opened her eyes when she no longer picked up incoming enemies.
“Did they finally get the point with us?” Dash chuckled as she looked around. For the first time, it looked like the Shadowbolt numbers were falling. It took much longer than it should have, but it was proof that they were doing something right. Storm was looking off towards the compound. A large group of Wonderbolts had gathered to prevent any Shadowbolts from getting inside. The Shadowbolts around them were backing away as well.
“They giving up?” Storm thought out loud as it seemed all around the Shadowbolts were backing away. The Wonderbolts flying around came to a halt, and the action died down. They all looked on with bewilderment as the Shadowbolts suddenly stopped moving and fighting all together.
“I don’t like this…” Silver growled.
“What should we do?” Dash asked while glancing at him, but keeping an eye on the Shadowbolts as they hovered around.
Silver never got to answer her.
Suddenly there were multiple pink flashes. In the aftermath of each flash, another Shadowbolt appeared.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me…” Storm whined as the Shadowbolts multiplied right before their very eyes.
The confusion faded amongst the Wonderbolts as they all readied for combat, once more, but even with the Shadowbolt numbers restored, they still remained at a distance from every Wonderbolt.
Dash’s ears stood up as something began to happen with the Shadowbolts… they were floating in place, but… was there pink light glowing from their goggles? It looked so faint at first, but after a few moments, she could see it. They all could see it. The light intensified, their goggles all glowing brightly as if their eyes were like the crystals themselves.
The Wonderbolts didn’t have time to figure out what was going on…
Sharp, fast, pink beams of magic began firing from the eyes of the Shadowbolts all at once. All Dash, Storm, Silver, and Misty could do was shield themselves as they got peppered by the incoming magic.
The Wonderbolts all began grunting and crying out in pain as the sudden barrage of magic shot forth from all directions. It wasn’t long before the every single Wonderbolt in the air was forced to land, no longer able to maintain flight as they were constantly battered by the magic blasts. Dash, Storm, Silver, and Misty all landed roughly, all holding their hooves up in front of them as pink beams shot towards them and all around them with little to no windows for countering to speak of.
Things didn’t look good… They were grounded, and trapped…
The Shadowbolts began to close in, creating a large, dome like perimeter around them, forcing the Wonderbolts to move closer together as if they were being herded. Dash eventually spotted Soarin and Fleetfoot as they were all forced together by the rain of pink magic energy. It kicked up the earth around them, the small explosions upon impact not only kicking up chunks of the front walk, but also ripping apart the Wonderbolt flight suits, causing tears in the fabric, exposing small, stinging burns from the magical energy.
What were they going to do?
Dash couldn’t counter. Silver, Storm, and Misty were all just as stuck, and from the looks of things, Soarin couldn’t concentrate to use his magic. In fact, he was using a hoof to shield the horn from any direct hits.
They had no answer to the magic…
Dash’s ears perked up.
Wait... Actually…
They did…
A sudden yelp came from above and the magic barrage ceased. All the Wonderbolts and the Shadowbolts looked towards a single Shadowbolt that suddenly fell to the ground and burst into light.
Shadowbolts began crying out and falling randomly, as if they were being attacked by something invisible. Dash looked up as the Wonderbolts watched in confusion. With the Shadowbolts in disarray, none of them noticed something large and light blue soaring high above them. It was way too high for Dash to figure out who or what it was. It stopped right over the top of the Shadowbolt perimeter and something tan separated from it before they both began to spin.
The tan object suddenly launched downward, freefalling at a tremendous speed as if it were thrown.
“YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!” a voice yelled out as the tan object grew closer and closer.
It was a Wonderbolt.
The packed together Shadowbolts looked up just in time before a pair of enormous wings with black feather tips reached out and swatted down at least twelve of them all at once, cutting a large hole in the top of their perimeter around the Wonderbolts. The new Wonderbolt pulled up, and whisked towards where the rest of the Shadowbolts were dealing with their new invisible foes. A very dark blue pony wearing a Wonderbolt uniform, camouflaged amongst the dark uniforms of the Shadowbolts, reached out and latched onto the passing tan Wonderbolt. The Shadowbolts were now all focused on the two newcomers, but a very large light blue Wonderbolt dropped in through the opening above, leveled out and aimed for the ground. He touched down near the rest of the Wonderbolts and began galloping over the concrete walk, his hooves thundering against the pavement as his speed from flight remained and he thrust his body through the picket of Shadowbolts, opening an avenue of escape along the ground.
“GUYS! Quick!” a female voice caught their attention.
All the Wonderbolts looked towards the new opening to see Shine Struck waving to them. The large, light blue pony slammed his hooves to the ground and skidded to a halt. He turned, his nose flaring and his muscles tensed as he glared towards the Shadowbolts. It was Calm Wind. The two other ponies landed nearby, the tan pony, Playbitz, the dark blue, Swift Justice. All of them in full Wonderbolt flight suits.
“You heard the lady!” Soarin yelled as he broke into a gallop towards the opening.
Without a word, the Wonderbolts followed behind Soarin, escaping the Shadowbolt perimeter before springing back up into the air to get into a favorable position.
The Wonderbolts were airborne once more, floating in front of the compound as the Shadowbolts regrouped and faced them.
The numbers were still hilariously uneven, the Shadowbolts still outnumbering them by maybe as many as twelve for every one of them. The Shadowbolts had revealed their little magic eye beam trick. Simple, long-ranged attacks gave them another advantage, but they revealed their trump card… only for the Wonderbolts to counter it with their own.
Squad zero stood at the ready on the ground as the rest of the Wonderbolts shook off the pain and readied to fight once again.
“SQUAD ZERO! GO!” Shine Struck yelled out.
The four of them sprang into action, taking off and charging up towards the Shadowbolts.
“WONDERBOLTS!” Soarin yelled out. Dash glanced towards him from nearby. “BACK THEM UP!” Soarin yelled as the Wonderbolts began to rejoin the fight right behind squad zero.
The Shadowbolts immediately began firing magic from their eyes again, but it was no longer a surprise. The Wonderbolts shifted and pitched to avoid the barrage as they closed in and another dogfight broke out.
It was time for round two…
And this time the Wonderbolts had squad zero in their corner.
But would they be enough to tip the scales?
---To be Continued---
(Abrupt cut off yay! This was the only place i could cut it off for now 
)
Oh my gursh... wat is going on? 
Multiplying Shadowbolts that explode when you hit them enough? Seemingly endless numbers? Only five different variants?
SQUAD ZERO FINALLY SHOWS UP! They gave the Wonderbolts an opportunity to escape from a trap... but they are still all outnumbered... can squad Zero tip the scales?
You'll all find out soon 
Chapter 89 is already in production.
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed! 
(For those of you who have given me art recently, i will be posting a new art blog either tomorrow or thursday 
)
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I foresee major pain for one side. which side it is, I will never tell.
Biting my nails waiting for answers...
(And yay for Squad Zero!
)
Also, can I just mention that there are 23 of us reading at once now?
Aw!!! Yeah!!!
No, but seriously, that was probably one of the coolest battle scenes I've read recently. I've been waiting for this update all week and it totally didn't disappoint.
Heh, me too! That's a funny coincidence!
I know, huh! Still, no one can deny that it was totally awesome!!!
5996732 Heh, I practically pounced on my laptop as soon as it turned five o' clock
Damn my heart is racing, lovin it so far! Was a good stress reliever too, thanks!
ERMAH GERRD!! Wtf wtf wtf wtf!! You BASTARD!! That scene with squall stopping little star and trying to find the words to say and I thought he was gonna kiss her!!! I was just like:
the next chapter better be out soon,
cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/56107033.jpg WHY MUST YOU TEASE ME SOO!!!
Hahahahahaha I'm not kidding
HAHAHAHAA to think the SHADOWBOLTS have Shadow clones Naruto Why!
Seriously fun chapter.
Daaaaaamn, we're fighting manakins son!!
HAHAHA!!! HUZZAHH!!! I can't wait till the next chapter!
This was truly amazing! I also can't wait to see more of squad zero in action! They sound so badass! 
Congrats on the Feature
Well apparently the shadowbolts learned the Shadow Clone Technique at least none of them are shouting "BELIEVE IT" at the top of their lungs
They could turn average ponies into war machines, so in the hands of Shadowbolts it made each and every one of them incredibly dangerous. Soarin as not worried, however. With their discipline and organized approach, the Wonderbolts were very capable of—
HANDS........DAMMIT LYRA YOU HAD ONE JOB!
Crazy fighting.
And if they survive this I'll imagine a pissed off Spitfire will march to the castle and throw the guards yo the side and demand to know what's going on along and with saying many profanity words.
5996863 I thought the same thing XD
Damn cliffhanger...
Phew, that was... dizzying. YAY FOR ZERO!!! Hip, Hip, HURRAY! Hip, Hip, HURRAY! Hip, Hip HURRAY!!!
Its gotta be a huge diversion. Theyll turn around and the compound will be gone or completly trashed or something. Im calling it now.
Dammit Luna! Where are you?! Its not like you live halfway across the world!
5997404 Deliberating on whether to send the True Shadowbolts or not...
*Very late at night*
Me: "Im just gonna read a little into the chapter to see whats going on with Rapidfire and finish it tomorrow night"
*Reads whole chapter*
I don't know whether to rant about how awesome this is... Or rail about the cliffhanger...
Chapter 89 had better be up soon!!!
QUACK!!!
5997859
I mean, HOT DAMN!!! a combo attack on the first sortie. Though our element of surprise is gone. Oh man, I hope Bliss has her other trainers ready cause this may hurt!!!
YEAHH!! COME GET SOME!!!!
The timezones weren't in my favour...again
Duplication? This is gonna be very interesting, but now I'm starting to wonder how the shadowbolt got these crystals in the first place. Maybe they disguised themselves as masseuse ponies and massage the magic out of him 
Dammit, not again!
Oh and I see Rookiefire here is still taking orders
Where is that meme that I used about a week ago
Wait it is that time already?! I gotta go to school, I'm getting late
fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/104/b/4/mlp_fim___late_angel_by_dh90-d3dzp9r.gif
Okay, Luna. You got some explaining to do. You can't get out of this one without suffering major PR damage.
They got lasers for eyes. God help us....
Seriously though, I love the chapter. Nice to get some fighting 'n stuff. Keep it up!
Stay Awesome
RDD
5997891
Or Spitfire from physically attacking you out of sheer rage.
That's all.
Have I ever said how awesome of a story this is?
Yes, I have?
Alright. This is an AWESOME story!
I'm still waiting for Spitfire's fighting prowess to show...
Meanwhile, somewhere behind the mass of Shadowbolts, Wonderbolts and bursts of pink light.
A hooded pony wearing the Shadowbolt uniform and a metal headband with a leaf etched onto it raised his hooves and weaved a series of hoof signs.
'Art of the Shadow Doppelgänger!'
And THAT is exactly what I thought of when shit started going down.
5997859
I like poetic beginnings to stories. 50 points to gryffindor!
I loved the part where Dash, Silver, Misty and Storm were fighting together. That was awesommmmmeeee!!!
GREAT JOB DURING THIS CHAPTER MR. WIND!!! :D
Of course squad zero will tip the scales, calm wind will just 'write off' the shadowbolts...
I'm sorry if that pun caused nausea
Also I really hope at some point during this battle, the new shadowbolts will come in and kick some old shadowbolt plot.
Just imagining some dark, damp, metal walled room with 5 ponies strapped onto metal tables, their eyes closed, surrounded by a swirling assortment of pipes and at least 50 pink crystals attached to each of their contraptions, the pipes connected to the ponies heads by helmet type objects, all of them shivering and straining on their shackles, seemingly in pain... Nightshade is walking back and forth, scarred and burnt, staring at the ponies, enjoying the sight, and using a crystal of her own to view the fight from the safety of this new base of operations. She yells at the five ponies, ordering them to use the beam attack. As the beams start firing, the strapped down ponies wail in pain from the energy surging through them...
Started as just a thought... Turned into this... My bad
5997994 Seeing the fight play out in my head as I listen... You sir, are not mistaken...
5998381
PLZ don't let nightshade come back, I don't think I can handle it
You sir, have a dark mind
Only you
Squad zero in action oh yeah!! If they do end out in helping I wonder how silver'll react probably like-
"They got lucky, but when blood is shed they will flee because a true warrior stays loyal, but they are not warriors, are they?"
Or something like that
kushperfume.com/htgb/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Pinata-Bashing.jpg
They just keep coming back for more
.... I wonder when we'll see the confetti. 
My favorite part from this chapter, I was laughting so hard I died!
Seriously though, I usually hate battle scenes, but this one was perfect!
Misty, the awesome!
And SquallxStar!
But now I'm really curious why Soarin has his magic and why Luna never comes, I know authors always have their reasons...
Guess I'll have to wait, but great job with this awesome chapter, it was in perfect time to inspire me for my exam!
5998472 It's a gift
Great chapter. I guess now the trumph card has been called. Unfortunately it wasn't against the red Shadow Bolts. Great job. I can't wait to read the next chapter. This is going to be good.
5998472 Unfortunately, it's confirmed she's back. On the cover for Part 3, if you look closely at the Shadowbolt, it's her.
Forget exactly when and where Calm mentioned that, but I think it was on the theory forum.
5998864
The red ones are working for Luna, though.
5998944 We are both of that opinion. I'm half guessing that they may show up any moment to help.
5998973
Once Luna gets her head on right way around, certainly. Or once Descent says, "screw it, they're gonna die without us". Whichever comes first.
5998990 I say it will be Descent that goes to their rescue. To be honest, I think Luna is more that Capable of sacrificing the Wonderbolts. The only one she can't afford to lose is Soarin (And only because of her Sister's Spirit in him) and Rainbow Dash (Being an element of Harmony.) Otherwise, I think she would be willing to make the sacrifice. I konw I sound harsh, but the way she is acting suggests this.
5999020
I do agree that it will be Descent, but I'm not certain that Luna is actually the cold and callous leader that would be capable of that. She seems to be out of her depth, in a way, and all her actions seem to have been blundering and forced, as though trying to find her footing as a leader.
5999029 Granted, I may have over sold Luna being callous, but still, the way she is acting, raises room for concerns. Why do you think she has been turning Soarin back. I think she has been in meetings with our new Shadowbolts, and will not allow the other Wonderbolts to come so they won't interfere.
5999066
She's trying to exert authority, really, because she feels Celestia's absence most strongly. I do agree with the desire to keep the Wonderbolts from interfering with the meetings with the True Shadowbolts, but she's even now trying to fill the position of Celestia, even though Discord told her not to. She's seizing what control she can because she feels she has none.