Piercing the Heavens

by Calm Wind

Chapter 94: The Calm Within the Storm

MLP: FiM
Piercing the Heavens
By: Calm Wind
(This Chapter was duo edited by both Kestrel and Lucky424)

Chapter 94: The Calm Within the Storm

---

“The barrier is gone.”

Soarin sighed to himself, surrounded by darkness as the deep male voice in his head spoke.

“And?” the female voice replied.

“And it’s only a matter of time until I’m in control,” the male voice said with a scoff. “You’re finished.”

“Do you enjoy repeating yourself?” the female voice chuckled. “This is nothing I haven’t heard you say several times now. Change the record please.”

“You are as lackadaisical as you are careless,” the male voice said with an annoyed snort. “Nopony can contain me. Not even you could, yet you expect Soarin to?"

“Yes.”

“Foolish!” the male voice let out a single laugh. “Such misplaced faith! I’ve been slowly building up my power while stuck in this infernal prison. Had the horn not been put in place, I’d have had full control by now… and… Should the horn become even slightly damaged, I will be free to consume him. With all the fighting going on, I can see that being a VERY high possibility, wouldn’t you say?”

“You are as overconfident as you are short-sighted,” the female voice shot back smoothly. There was a slight pause, proving once again to Soarin as he listened, that no matter what the male voice seemed to claim, the female voice always had the drop on him. He just wished he knew WHO they were and why they were in his head. The obvious answer for why was the magic transfer… but from what he heard, it was meant to simply revive him and keep him alive, not to rent out space for a never ending argument in his brain.

“Again with the insults…” the male voice growled, followed by the female voice laughing.

“If you had any brains left in that thickened skull of yours…” she began. “You would have realized by now just how strong Soarin’s willpower is. He is not a pony that would easily succumb to anything, much less your misguided influence. Hate to break it to you, but the only way you’re getting out of here is if the horn is completely destroyed… and seeing as how it was crafted with ancient, enchanted materials from a forgotten age… there are few things in this world that can destroy it. It may chip and crack, but as long as it’s holding firm, you are trapped… whether you like it or not. So I suggest you get used to it.”

“You act as if he’s the only pony that has an unbreakable will to succeed. I am insulted that you continued to underestimate my resolve!” the male voice shouted. “You speak of my ignorance, but what of you? By now YOU should understand just how hard I’m willing to push to get what I desire!”

“In more ways than one…” the female voice replied in a sudden, snide tone.

There was a LONG pause. Soarin hoped that whatever the comment implied, it was enough to shut up the male voice because he wanted to get back to sleeping peacefully.

“Sometimes… I question how you keep up your image with such a foul mouth and perverted thoughts…” the male voice replied awkwardly, much to Soarin’s dismay.

“Don’t act like you didn’t like it at the time… or still do,” the female voice continued to tease.

“Okay…” Soarin spoke up in annoyance as he turned over and sat up. “That’s enough, seriously!” the two bright figures, the blue and the yellow appeared in his vision, the silhouettes turning their heads towards him. “If you’re going to bang, just do it and let me sleep!”

The image of the mare in the yellow light BURST out laughing as the stallion within the blue released a slow growl.

“Blast it!” The stallion turned and faced away from Soarin as he continued to growl.

“Still gets your walnuts in a bundle, doesn’t it?” the mare teased.

“He’s doing it by accident!” the stallion turned sharply to the mare. “There’s no way he’s viewing this plain of existence by his own will! I refuse to believe it!”

“Even if he is, he’s had more success than you ever did,” the mare continued to tease.

“SILENCE!” the stallion hissed.

Soarin groaned and rubbed his temples.

The more and more he heard these two figures speak, the less ominous they sounded, and the more they shared the likeness of a bickering married couple.

It was so annoying, he just wanted to know who or what they were and then for them to GET OUT…

---

“Equestria to best dong toting princess! You alive?”

Soarin blinked and looked up to see Fleetfoot waving her hoof in front of his face. Soarin squinted as a flash came from the window followed by a long roll of thunder. He glanced towards the window as the rain pelted against it. The storm from the night before hadn’t subsided, which seemed strange. If the weather wasn’t planned, it should have passed by now, and if it was planned, the weather team would have cleaned it up by now.

“You pounding Dashie in your head or something? I mean really, what else can keep you so occupied?” Fleetfoot giggled as Soarin broke from his thoughts on the storm raging outside and finally looked at her.

He sighed and reached a hoof up to rub his head. The voices in his head had been on his mind since he woke up. He thought about them through breakfast, on his way to, and while he waited in Spitfire’s office. He was the only one there for a while, having shown up half an hour before they decided to meet, but apparently Fleetfoot had shown up while he was daydreaming. They were both already dressed in their flight suits, despite most of the Wonderbolts and Renegades going au natural around the base currently. He and Fleetfoot knew they would have to suit up anyway once Spitfire announced their plans, so they had already taken the initiative.

“Sorry,” Soarin shook his head out, ignoring Fleetfoot’s comments as he walked over to the couch against the left wall and sat down. “I’m alright. Just have stuff on my mind.”

“Stuff on your mind…?” Fleetfoot fluttered her wings just enough to allow her to comically slide across the floor towards him while bouncing her eyebrows. “Or are you ON stuff IN your mind?” she asked with a giggle. Soarin flattened his brow at her. He smirked for a moment, but suddenly held his breath, and looked away as his expression returned to normal.

“I could say something bad here… but I won’t.”

“Oh?” Fleetfoot turned and faced him straight on. “Say it.”

“No.”

“SAY IIIIIIIT…” Fleetfoot scooted her hooves forward, closing the distance between their heads.

“No.”

“Is it about sex?” Fleetfoot guessed.

“Yes.”

“Psh! You know I’m an expert! SAY IT!” she encouraged while smirking.

“That’s actually part of it,” Soarin chuckled as the smirk formed on his face again.

“Ah-HA! I knew—, Wait a minute… heyyyyyyyy…” Fleetfoot scrunched her face and glared as Soarin continued to chuckle.

“I wasn’t going to say it. It’s your own fault for prying,” Soarin joked as he turned and lied down on his stomach across the couch.

The door to Spitfire’s office suddenly opened as another roll of thunder came from outside, a heavy one that made the compound shake lightly as it passed. Descent and Starry Skies appeared through the door, already in uniform as well.

“I wonder why this storm is still—” Descent stopped as they both halted in their tracks, staring at the couch and blinking. Fleetfoot was standing on Soarin’s back while angrily pulling at his mane with her mouth as Soarin paid no mind to her. “Right…” Descent ignored it as they walked in, but Starry shook her head.

“Remind me again how you guys are some super elite military force?” Starry asked sarcastically. She immediately regretted it as Fleetfoot released Soarin’s mane, hopped down and approached her while sneering.

“Might have something to do with us not having a quarter of our flight suits sucked into our ass like you, Stars…” Fleetfoot giggled as Starry rolled her eyes. “Hey!” Fleetfoot took another step forward, causing Starry to step back and glare. “I was wondering where the mask of your suit went! It’s right here!” she poked Starry in the chest. Starry quickly swiped it away and glared harder. “Your suit just got pulled back! You gotta unclench it, babe! Your suit must be suffocating!”

“I can arrange for your WHOLE suit to be stuffed up your ass if you touch me again!” Starry snarled. Fleetfoot instantly reached towards Starry, but before she could keep teasing her, Soarin and Descent stepped forward and grabbed them, pulling them away.

“That’s enough,” Descent said simply as they pulled the mares towards opposite corners of the room. Starry huffed and gave no resistance as Descent moved her.

“Ooooo!” Fleetfoot cooed while putting her arms up on Soarin’s shoulders to peer over his head towards Starry. “You get all pissy when anypony touches you, but not Descent, ehhhhhh?” she teased.

“I’M GOING TO MURDER YOU!” Starry yelled while trying to charge, but she couldn’t rip free from Descent’s grip.

“Starry,” Descent used his wing to pull one of the chairs in front of Spitfire’s desk over to the corner and forced Starry to sit in it. “Cool it.”

“Rghhh…” Starry grunted as she did as she was told, looking at the ficus that occupied the corner with her as if it was much more interesting than anypony in the room.

“You really need to control that temper,” Descent added while looking sternly at her.

“Oh, stuff it, ‘DADDY,’” Starry shot back sarcastically, earning an eyebrow raise from Descent before he turned away from her and watched Soarin finally get Fleetfoot in the other corner.

“You are such an instigator,” Soarin shook his head as Fleetfoot continued to giggle in the corner.

“I can’t help it!” Fleetfoot held her stomach as she continued to shake with laughter. “SHE GETS SO MAD!” Fleetfoot added as she began to laugh followed but a sudden, very loud hiccup. Her eyes went wide as she covered her mouth with a hoof and blushed. She continued to giggle, but twitched ever few seconds as she continued to hiccup.

“And that’s what you get for being naughty,” Soarin shook his head and chuckled as Fleetfoot hiccupped. Soarin looked up at the clock. They still had fifteen minutes of this. He hoped Spitfire showed up before Air Mach, because he and Descent already had their hooves full with Fleetfoot and Starry. Air Mach would only make it worse.

Soarin squinted as a flash of lightning shone through the window of the office and a slow, low rumble of thunder passed by.

They would probably have to do something about the storm soon if it didn’t die down, it was looking more and more like the Canterlot weather team was absent.

---

“Alright… I should get to my office,” Spitfire said as she picked her head up off Wave Chill’s shoulder and stood up from the corner couch of the rec room. She stared curiously at the window looking out over the courtyard, wondering why it was still going. The Canterlot weather teams had to have been evacuated if it was still raging, but was this storm even on the schedule? They didn’t have strong storms often.

“What time is the meeting?” Wave looked up at the clock, drawing Spitfire’s attention away from the window.

“Fifteen minutes,” she replied as she looked around. She stopped, her eyes landing on a group sitting on the large ring of couches in the center of the rec room, on which Silver, the Streak twins, and a collection of retired Wonderbolt, Renegade stallions sat. She caught them all staring and they quickly turned around as soon as her eyes landed on them, followed by lots of snickering. Spitfire rolled her eyes, only imagining what sort of things they were snickering about, especially since they were looking at her and Wave. Even now, after years of not seeing them, the old Wonderbolt stallions were still just as snarky as she remembered.

There were quite a few Wonderbolts and Renegades present in the rec room on the third floor. With a lot of action most likely on the horizon, it seemed like many were taking the time now to relax and reconnect. Spitfire and Wave Chill had chosen the couch furthest away from the rest of the activity in the room. It shielded them a little, but they weren’t invisible.

Wave suddenly flopped down on the couch on his back with his hooves up in the air and grabbed her tail in his mouth, giving it a small tug before she could walk away. Spitfire blinked and smiled, lifting her brow as she looked over her shoulder at him.

“Since when do you get into playful moods in public?” she asked as she backed up. Wave released her tail and reached his hooves out towards her.

“I dunno, you’ve been looking happier. I guess that’s having an effect of me,” Wave explained with a smile.

Happier? Even in this situation? Even after the death of one of their own? At first, she wondered how Wave could think of such a thing, but then again. She was feeling better overall. It probably had something to do with her being in control of things. The loss of Midnight was a shock as well as a brutal reminder of what was on the line for all of them, but the reveal of all the secrets and things being kept from her was relief beyond relief. It felt good to know what was happening instead of making guesses. She felt much more like she could thoroughly do her job… so yeah, she could see how that made her appear a bit more upbeat than she had been. She leaned down and rubbed her cheek against Wave’s, out of sight behind the backrest of the couch.

“Looks weird coming from you, Mr. Soldier, but I like it,” she planted a light kiss on his cheek. “But I have to get going,” the lead squad and the top Renegades are waiting. “I’ll find you later after everything is set up, alright?” she smiled at him.

“Okay…” Wave pouted.

“Oh, stop. I’m not buying that,” Spitfire shook her head as she stared walking.

A very bright flash of lightning followed by a crashing boom of thunder rocked the whole compound. Everypony present, including Spitfire all turned towards the large window, looking out at the storm as the rain poured down, illuminated by smaller flashes of lightning. It was a very intense storm. In fact, it was even stronger than it was the night before.

Spitfire looked out at the storm carefully for a moment before moving along, the rest of the rec room occupants doing the same, all wondering what the weather teams were doing, or if they were even still around.

---

Silver, along with the Streak twins and the male Renegades all watched as Spitfire left the rec room before they all turned and looked at Wave. Silver chuckled and looked around as he sat on the right side of the middle couch. In the chair to his right was Comet, Bomber sitting on the floor between them, but slightly behind. The giant was sitting on the floor but was still about two heads taller than those sitting on the furniture. To Silver’s left on the couch were Steady Wing, and then the Streak twins, with Cannon Ball in the chair opposite of Comet. It had been a long time since he had gotten a chance to sit down with his old buddies, and he couldn’t stop smiling. The Streak twins were young when these stallions were around, but they knew them well enough.

“Did I see all of that correctly?” Comet asked in his usual suave tone as he leaned forward to look past Bomber towards Silver.

“Wave and Spitfire?” Silver chuckled while asking.

“You’re telling me…” Comet slowly shook his head. “That meek little colt you took under your wing managed to tame that fireball of a mare?!” Comet was chuckling as he stared towards the corner couch with awe as Wave sat up and stretched. Silver released a long sigh.

“It was the most awkward start of a relationship I have ever seen in my life, but yes,” Silver confirmed.

“I’ve gotta hear all about that at some point,” Comet sat back in his chair while shrugging. “Heh, I remember back… Spitfire almost crushed my nuts when I made a pass at her…”

“Heh heh heh…” Bomber suddenly giggled in his deep raspy voice. Comet looked way up at him with his brow flattened.

“Oh, laugh it up you ocean liner…” Comet rolled his eyes as Bomber continued to chuckle.

“That’s because she was young and you were… what, thirty-two at the time? Knowing Spitfire, I’m not surprised,” Silver smirked as Comet sat back up while rubbing his chin.

“So Little Chiller’s got some big moves, huh?” he pondered.

“Heh heh heh…” Bomber chuckled again. “Little colt now bigger stallion than you,” Bomber said down to Comet.

“If it wasn’t a death wish, I’d totally be fighting you right now,” Comet huffed as he glared up at Bomber again.

“Oh, I’ve missed this…” Silver said to himself as he sat back and looked to his left. Cannon Ball and Lightning Streak were hoof wrestling on the coffee table and Fire had started conversation with Steady Wing.

“YA GOT NOTHING ON ME, KID!” Cannon jeered into Lightning’s face as the two held strong against the force of the other’s hooves.

“Dude, you know I’m like, twenty-eight now, right?” Lightning pointed out casually as he tried to force his strength against Cannon Ball.

“Thanks for reminding me that I’m old…” Cannon growled as their match continued.

“So…” Steady Wing drew Fire Streak’s attention away from the grunt-fest going on beside them. “How have things been holding up? How’s the new member treating you?” he asked curiously. Fire took a moment and smiled before answering, just enjoying seeing an old friend again. Steady hadn’t been gone very long, barely over a year, but squad three had always been a very tight knit group. Surprise fit in just as well, but he, Lightning, and Misty definitely missed good ol’ Steady.

“Surprise? She’s definitely a hooffull at times…” Fire chuckled. “But she’s the good kind of hooffull. One is never far from a smile with her around. Definitely the life of any party.”

“What?” Steady frowned. “Was I really that boring?” he asked in a somber tone.

“No!” Fire quickly replied while putting a hoof on Steady’s shoulder. That’s… that’s not what I…” he stumbled over his words.

“I’m yanking yer chain, kid!” Steady chuckled as he reached forward and jabbed Fire in the shoulder, smiling wide.

“Steady…” Fire furrowed his brow after realizing he’d been played. “I’m twenty-eight…”

“How’s Misty?” he quickly asked, but then smirked. “Or should I ask… how have things been between you two, eh? Eh?” he nudged fire while bouncing his eyebrows.

“US?! I mean…” Fire blushed, unprepared for the question. “We’ve been… How did you?”

“I can talk to her too, you know,” Steady chuckled. “She was quick to bring up your relationship.”

“Wait, WHAT?!” Cannon looked up as he heard the conversation, but lost his concentration and nearly got pulled all the way down to the floor as Lightning Streak slammed his hoof to the coffee table.

“HA! Bite me, geezer!” Lightning threw his arms up and flexed. Cannon growled at him.

“Geezer? I’m thirty-eight, asswipe!” Cannon snapped at Lightning before shifting all of his focus to Fire. “So wait, wait, wait, back up, rewind, hold the bus, you’re doing the deaf mare?!” Cannon asked bluntly. “She never makes any noise… does she find her voice when you’re in her, or is she the one that makes you scream?”

“Ex-CUSE me?!” Fire asked with a look of disgust as Steady chuckled and pushed Cannon away.

“Easy there, Loose Cannon… turn down the blunt dial,” he said as Comet suddenly cleared his throat across from them.

“Pardon me, but did I just hear our quiet, beautiful flower has found herself a stallion?” he asked while smiling at Fire.

“Uh…” Fire had lost all words, never expecting to be bombarded from all directions about Misty. He tried to speak again, but was cut off as Lightning leaned over and draped his arm over Fire’s shoulder.

“Yeah dudes! They’ve been going at it A LOT!” Lightning hammed it up as Fire’s head nearly began to emit smoke. “I’ve been sexiled like, every other night!” he looked at Fire. “Sock on the doorknob bro, you gotta give me more warning!”

“NO!” Fire pushed Lightning off as the rest of them all cracked up.

“Heh heh heh…” Bomber giggled along with them. “Misty Fly pretty pony… Fire Streak have good taste…” he said raspily as he smirked.

“Rghh…” Fire leaned down and put his head in his hooves as Lightning and Cannon Ball began to roughly pat him on the back. Comet leaned forward again while sneering.

“Oh, do tell me, Fire… How did you woo such a loveable mare that some us could never touch?” he asked, but he lifted his eyebrows quickly after. “Ooooh wait! I remember you studying her sign language, no doubt you used it to your advantage!”

“Dude!” Cannon stuffed himself on the couch between Steady and Fire, nudging Fire in the side. “Do you guys like, have signs to decide what positions you wanna use?” he pressed Fire. Fire turned to glare at him, but Cannon was looking over the back of the couch. “Heyyyy! We can ask her!” he suddenly suggested as he waved his arm in the air. Fire opened his eyes wide in horror as he looked behind him. Misty was looking towards the couches, clearly seeing Cannon as he beckoned her over to them.

Misty trotted over, confused as to why every stallion, Silver included, was laughing hysterically except for Fire, who looked mortified and was leaning forward to hide his face. As she moved towards them, Steady waved a wing to get her attention and divert her to him.

She opened her wings, curving them forward in front of her chest while bending a few of the feathers before moving them in a way that pointed the feathers upward as she stared curiously.

Steady chuckled and brought up his hooves and wings, making motions to explain what was going on. He let her know why they were laughing and why Fire looked so embarrassed.

As soon as Misty got the full rundown, she pouted and huffed while looking over all the stallions giving Fire a hard time. Her pout slowly turned into a smirk as she walked around the couch.

“Oh? Look out! Coming through!” Comet joked as Misty pushed past Bomber and pulled Cannon away from fire.

“Oh?” all the stallions said together as they watched Misty.

Misty whipped her head around to shake her mane out before she stepped up to Fire and cupped her hooves around the back of his neck, causing Fire to look up suddenly and stare directly into the rather seductive stare of his mare.

“Ooooooooooooooooh?!” All the stallions reacted again, Cannon, Lightning, and Comet throwing their hooves out in a ‘holding back the crowd’ type manner.

Misty winked at Fire before pulling him towards her and kissing him HARD. His eyes went as wide as physically possible as Misty locked her lips with his as intensely as she could.

“OOOOOOOOOOHHHHOHOHOHOOOO!!!!!” The stallions all hollered. Lightning and Comet stood up while comically holding each other back. Steady and Silver burst out laughing while leaning forward. Comet rolled his eyes up threw himself backward, causing his whole chair to lean back too far and fall over to feign fainting. All of them were laughing uncontrollably, half at Misty claiming her stallion right in front of them in her own way and half at the plain look of ‘what’s going on’ on Fire’s face.

“Heh heh heh…” Bomber chuckled in the same manner he had all the times before.

As they laughed and Comet picked himself and his chair up off the ground, Misty finally released her lips from Fire’s, leaving him wide eyed with tiny pupils as she pulled him up off the couch and started dragging him away with her. As she did, she turned around and backed away from the couches, holding up a wing and giving all the stallions the middle feather while smirking, silently giggling, and sticking her tongue out at them.

“There’s some quality sign language right there!” Silver joked as Misty gave them the gesture, causing another round of guffaws.

Lightning got up and followed his brother as the laughter died down, leaving Silver alone with his old buddies.

It felt so good for him. It had been such a long time since he had sat down and acted completely casual. It was something that he missed dearly, and was quite bitter about it when the Wonderbolt code forced all of his best friends away. He had watched the younger Wonderbolts from off to the side for years, and scoffed at any attempts to be involved in shenanigans… knowing it wouldn’t quite feel the same because they were not his true wingmates. He didn’t hate the new Wonderbolts by any means. He respected them just as much as the others… to a point with some. They were his wingmates and he would fight and die for them, but the stallions sitting with him right now? THESE were his TRUE wingmates. The ones who shed blood, sweat, and tears with him throughout his career. Having them all back suddenly was like a dream come true. He couldn’t remember the last time he laughed and smiled so much.

As their laughter died down, they all took a moment to turn and look as another loud boom of thunder sounded out, followed by the wind directing the rain at the window pane, causing a loud PITTER-PATTER noise in the back of the room.

They turned back, more or less accepting that the storm was a weather team screw up as they sunk into their seats and took in the feeling of just all being together in familiar territory again. Silver looked up at Comet suddenly as something came to mind.

“So, Comet…” he sat up. “I looked around before, but I couldn’t find them… are Hurricane and Jet Stream here?” he asked. Comet looked towards Silver for a moment, blinked, and sighed.

“Blazetail and Flashwind’s squadmates?” he confirmed. Silver nodded.

“Yeah, Gold Squad… it would be a hell of a thing to have the legendary squad here, but… haven’t seen the other two,” Silver had a feeling the answer wasn’t going to be good. Comet frowned and shook his head.

“Hurricane…” he began. “Refused to help when Blazetail went to him. He’s incredibly bitter about the two former captains throwing in the towel so easily. He feels like they took him down from the honor of being the lead squad way before they needed to. He slammed his front door right in Blazetail’s face, I heard… Claiming the Wonderbolts deserved whatever they had coming for being so arrogant and one-track minded.”

“Can’t say I blame him…” Silver sighed.

“And Jet? We have no idea where she is. She disappeared after retirement and hasn’t been seen since,” Comet continued. “I heard a rumor someone saw her doing mercenary work near the far borders of Equestria, but nothing else. If you ask me, I bet she’s just as bitter.”

“What I wanna know…” Cannon Ball suddenly shifted over to the space left vacant by Fire Streak and leaned over Steady. “How you are still trucking here with all the stupid-ass retirement rules!” he poked Silver in the arm. “You’re the oldest one here! How old are you now? Sixty?!”

“Forty-two,” Silver replied casually. “And that’s a trade secret, Cannon…” Silver smirked. “Or maybe I’m just better than you.”

“Oh, you wanna fight?!” Cannon stood up on the couch and bobbed back and forth with a hoof up in the air, but Steady shook his head at him.

“Cannon,” Steady chuckled. “I’d bet fifty bits you still can’t beat Silver in a fight. Sit down before you hurt yourself, again.”

“Heh heh heh…” Bomber chuckled, causing Cannon to glare at him instead.

“That’s even a worse idea,” Steady said to Cannon as he switched targets, but the headstrong Renegade leapt at Bomber, only to end up being sat on less than ten seconds later with Bomber casually chuckling as Cannon writhed beneath him. Silver snickered at Cannon’s futile attempts to fight Bomber before he turned back to Comet.

“So where are the ladies? I haven’t gotten a chance to speak with them yet,” he asked. Comet turned and looked behind them for a moment before blinking and shrugging.

“You just missed Pixie and Fairy, they were in here a moment ago…” he said as Silver turned to look with him. “Though you aren’t missing much. They are still just as sassy and controlling as you remember.”

“Still get miffed if you question anything they say?” Silver chuckled.

“More or less,” Comet nodded. “They have yet to convince me they are two separate ponies. They still complete each other’s sentences sometimes too, though they’ve gotten better at not doing that. And you have exactly one guess as to where Valkyrie is,” he finished with an eye roll.

“The gym,” Silver answered instantly, receiving a nod from Comet.

“Where else?” Comet said sarcastically with a smirk.

“She’s what… thirty-eight now?” Silver smirked, receiving another nod from Comet. “And she hasn’t changed since I met her. Still only cares about her muscles.”

“Whatever makes her happy, right?” Comet shrugged. “She’s always been a strange one. Has to be the strongest, the toughest. I couldn’t believe it the day she finally gave up on ever catching up to Bomber.”

“Bomber like Valkyrie,” Bomber cut in briefly. “She cute and strong.”

“Heh…” Silver glanced up at Bomber. “I think you’re the only one that can call her cute and get away with it, Big Green.”

“Heh heh heh…” Bomber chuckled as Cannon continued to flail beneath him to no avail.

“Indeed a strange mare…” Comet repeated as Silver cocked an eyebrow at him.

“Why? Because of her muscles or because she’s tried to kill you several times for your advances?” Silver couldn’t hold back a sneer as Comet scoffed.

“There’s nothing wrong with being adventurous,” Comet put a hoof to his chest, adding an extra bit of suave to his voice for the full effect.

“Adventurous or drunk?” Silver cut in with a smirk. “Whenever you got alcohol in your system, you’d start running around like a fart in a whirlwind, hitting on any mare that moved. I don’t know if you had some internal turn-down clock or something, but you always went to Val on your fifth attempt to get laid,” Silver said with a laugh. “How many bar tops in Canterlot have an imprint of your face in them? You know, we used to place bets on how hard she’d slam your head down.”

“Such great friends…” Comet chuckled. “Is it safe to assume none of you ever bet on me being successful with her?”

“Yes,” Silver said without hesitation. “We all knew what was important to her. Your flirting was definitely low on her list. It was like watching a scheduled train wreck,” Silver leaned forward for a second and smacked the couch cushion as he laughed. “Hell, one time Blizzard gave her precise instructions on the quickest way to kill you after she knocked you out!”

They all suddenly went silent as Silver sat up straight, his jovial expression fading quickly, and his ears drooped down. He so casually mentioned Blizzard Strike… without even thinking about it. Comet, Steady, Bomber, and even Cannon all winced as they heard the name, looking towards Silver as he sat back and sighed. They were all there when Silver screwed up, and while it was long in the past, Silver knew how much they all liked Blizzard, so it made many old, suppressed memories surface.

“Bomber miss… Blizzard Strike…” Bomber spoke up in a sad, raspy tone.

“Dammit…” Silver cursed as he gritted his teeth and kept his eyes averted from the rest. Steady shook his head as he examined Silver.

“Still not over that, are you?”

“No, I am…” Silver quickly shook his head as he looked up at Steady. “I am long over it… but it doesn’t mean it’s painless to remember.”

“Silver,” Comet leaned forward in his seat. “You aren’t the only one of us that has made mistakes…”

“Several Wonderbolts died,” Silver cut him off. “And my mentor was knocked out by a sneak attack that led to his death. It was such a horrible, horrible way for a stallion as great and incomparable as Blizzard to go. He deserved better. After all the unbelievable things I had seen him accomplish and all the timeless lessons he taught me… for him to die like that is an injustice… it will always be. All the Wonderbolts that died there deserved better, but Blizzard… you know what I mean…”

“Whoa, hold up!” Cannon suddenly popped up from behind the couch, having finally freed himself from beneath Bomber’s bulk. “What the hell are you talking about?” he asked.

Silver glared hard as if Cannon had just brutally insulted him.

“Did you leave your brain underneath Bomber’s ass? I’m talking about Blizzard.”

“No shit, dipshit…” Cannon rolled his eyes. “I’m sitting right here, but what’s all this crap I’m hearing about Blizzard dying like a punk?”

“Huh?” Silver blinked and looked over to Comet, and then Steady. Steady tipped his head to the side in confusion.

“Silver… did you ever read my scout report? You know… about how and where we found Blizzard’s body? Much less, what he did and what came from all of it?” Steady asked as Silver blinked.

“What are you—” Silver and the others all flinched as another loud boom of thunder shook the base, this one stronger than the last that did so. They all looked over at the window in confusion, but before they could continue, the P.A. system came to life, causing all the Wonderbolts and Renegades in the Rec room to turn and face the speaker up above the door.

“Attention all Wonderbolts and Renegades…” Spitfire’s voice blared over the speakers, mixing in with the constant sound of rain pounding on the rooftop. “After discussing possible scenarios for the next Shadowbolt attack with Descent, here is the plan we have decided on. Because the Wonderbolt numbers are currently down due to injuries, we will be remaining within the compound, taking up defensive positions at key entrances to the building to deal with any Shadowbolts that may manage to gain entry. Due to their knowledge of the enemy and how to deflect their magical attacks, the Renegades will be in charge of external defense, meeting the enemy outside. This is a defensive operation with an emphasis on protecting the Wonderbolts and keeping the Shadowbolts from completing any objective they may have pertaining to us. Don’t be surprised if this is a plan we use often going forward, because until we know the true motivations and nature of our enemy, we have no answer except to defend ourselves.”

Silver’s eyes narrowed upon hearing the last tidbit. Spitfire didn’t sound very comfortable in describing their tactics as ‘defensive’. She was clearly in the mindset of bringing the fight to the Shadowbolts, something Silver could agree with her on, but she was being smart. Not knowing the enemy before striking was like attacking blindfolded.

“Any and all administrative staff members are encouraged to evacuate, but I want security to stay and help the internal defense effort as well as the science and mechanic teams to stay and help us fortify the compound in any way we can. As of right now, we want all of the Renegades and all battle capable Wonderbolts to suit up and report to the lobby so we can divvy up the preparations. That will be all.”

Without a word, everypony began rising up from their seats or whatever they were doing in the rec room and headed for the door, Silver and his friends included. Before they got very far though, Silver reached out and stopped Steady.

“Wait… Steady…” Silver looked at him sternly as the rest began filing out. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to learn something new about an incident he had avoided everything about like the plague since it happened. “What… did you find out… that you put in your report?” he asked reluctantly. Steady stared for a moment before smiling. It wasn’t a happy subject in the slightest, but if Silver really didn’t know, he felt Silver was in for surprise.

“The initial attack may have been sneaky, as you described,” he began. “But none of the Wonderbolts caught in the trap went down without a fight. For every dead Wonderbolt we found, there were at least fifteen drakes lying dead as well… it was a field of death, but the drake losses were brutal. The drakes had backup that came to assist them for sure, but they definitely regretted it… but that’s not all. Drakes don’t leave until they kill their targets, you know this…” Steady smirked. “Do you know how we ended up finding Blizzard’s body?”

“How?” Silver pressed, forcing himself to listen. Steady nodded.

“There was a trail of drake bodies leading from the area… my squad followed it… and…” Steady shook his head. “I couldn’t count them all… but the trail of dead drakes extended for miles… there was easily at least three hundred… maybe even four hundred of them… leading to where we finally found Blizzard’s body.”

Silver’s eyes widened. He was completely speechless upon hearing this piece of old news that he had never bothered to learn.

“And that doesn’t even speak for the ones that lived, probably beaten senseless by him,” Steady continued.

“FOUR. HUNDRED?” Silver said in disbelief. Drakes were not easy to kill… and yet… his mentor… had survived against so many? Blizzard was more clever than he was strong… but…

“Believe me Silver…” Steady shook his head. “That face you’re making right now was the look on all of our faces when we found him like that. It was the single most unbelievable thing we had ever seen. It would have been a wonder if he had taken just fifty with him, but four hundred? Blizzard was always one to find a way to do anything, but that?” Steady chuckled. “Blizzard didn’t die shamefully… he went down fighting and he went down fighting HARD. Four hundred drakes? That’s about an eighth of their military force… all taken down by a single pony, and… the losses they suffered by his hooves tipped the scales incredibly against them in the Griffon-Drake War, forcing them to surrender and retreat back to their empire. That’s right… Blizzard was almost directly responsible… for ending the last Griffon-Drake war… effectively ending the bloodshed before it could spread towards the pony populace,” Steady paused, staring at Silver’s expression of disbelief as the rest of the ponies had left, leaving them alone in the rec room with just the constant stream of rain sounding on the roof. “I can’t believe you never read the report, or that nopony told you about it,” Steady added with a chuckle.

“It…” Silver could barely speak. “It was never something I was willing to discuss…”

“It’s not like everypony reads the scouting reports, but I figured you would know… since it was about Blizzard and all. Quit beating yourself up…” Steady turned and stood beside Silver. “You may still have blundered by running… but Blizzard went out in a blaze of glory that ended a bloody conflict. After all, he never did anything small, did he?”

Silver smiled. Nothing would change the fact that he ran… and he still vowed never to leave his comrades behind ever again, but knowing his mentor’s death wasn’t in vain as he thought all these years brought him a little piece of mind on the subject.

“No… he most definitely could not…” Silver chuckled as the two made their way towards the door. “Four hundred?”

“Mmhmm…” Steady hummed as he nodded.

“To quote you, you’re not yanking my chain are you?”

“Nope. Saw it with my own eyes.”

“Heh…” Silver chuckled as they stepped through the door. “You know… if it were any other pony I’d say yeah right and call you crazy for making shit up… but Blizzard…” Silver couldn’t stop smiling. “That sounds like just the sort of thing he’d do. He would go down doing what he did best… something that seems absolutely impossible. That magnificent bastard…” they left the rec room behind them.

“If only we could all bend the rules like him, eh?” Steady chuckled as the started down the stairs.

---

“Well, alright…” Spitfire pushed the P.A. microphone away and sat back in her chair, looking towards the rest of her squad, Descent, and Starry. “We should head down there, but anything else before we get going?”

The moment she asked, another bright flash of lightning shone from her office window followed by a loud roll of thunder.

“Alright…” Fleetfoot shook her head. “I think it’s safe to say the Canterlot weather team wussed out. This storm must’ve been scheduled, but nopony is here to remove it. I think we should clear it away ourselves,” she suggested while staring out the droplet covered window.

“I agree,” Spitfire nodded. “Fleet, when you get down there, tell Silver to take squad two out there and clear away—”

“The Great Animak shall go rally the troops!” Air Mach cut her off out of nowhere as he pushed himself off the wall and spoke up vigorously. Spitfire immediately flattened her brow as Descent and Starry both stared in surprise, Air Mach having not said much of anything until now. He hopped up on the couch, stumbling a little as he struggled to get stable hoofing on the cushions before striking a pose, the end tips of his extravagant sunglasses sparkling. “Wonderbolt and Renegade alike, our combination of fiery stallionly souls will pave our path to victory! Magical Shadowbolts? Who the hell do they think we are?!” He jumped off the couch, but with the uneven surface, it caused him to nearly faceplant as he dropped unevenly to the floor. He pointed at Starry and Descent, tipped his sunglasses, and winked before charging out of the office and towards the stairs.

Descent merely lifted an eyebrow, but Starry looked towards Fleetfoot and shook her head.

“Just when I thought they couldn’t get any worse than you…” she commented while squinting.

“What? You want him? PLEASE take him!” Fleetfoot joked while rolling her eyes.

“Abso-LUTE-ly not…” Starry cringed as Descent went right back to business.

“I’ll send out some scouts to keep an eye on the surrounding area. Having an advanced warning will be a plus. Also, I’d keep an eye on your own numbers… we don’t want another Rapidfire infiltration,” Descent suggested.

“That’s a definite yes, and good idea. I’ll leave the scouting to you.” Spitfire agreed.

“Starry,” Descent turned to her. “Head down to the lobby right now and tell Astral to gather up some scout teams. Have him meet me at the front doors as soon as I get down.

“On it,” Starry said simply, almost sounding eager to get away from them as she quickly left.

“Anything else?” Spitfire asked. Descent shook his head.

“That covers everything we can do here. Might as well head down and start directing preparations,” he nodded.

“Alright, let’s get moving,” Spitfire stood up from her seat as Fleetfoot and Descent headed for the door.

“So!” Fleetfoot shifted up beside Descent as they walked through the doorway. “Are most of the Shadowbolt stallions big and hunky chunks of beefy sexy like you?” she asked with a flirty tone. Descent visibly flinched, shook his head out, and stared at her as if he heard her incorrectly.

“Pardon?” he asked, Fleetfoot giggling as the two reached the stairs and headed down. Spitfire shook her head at Fleetfoot’s antics as she moved around her desk, but she stopped, her eyes moving to the wall where Soarin had been standing, completely silent since the meeting began. She almost forgot he was there.

“Soarin?” she said his name, but he didn’t react. She lifted an eyebrow before bringing the tip of her hoof up to her mouth and blowing a sharp, high-pitched whistle. Soarin flinched, blinked several times, and looked towards her.

“Huh?” he shook his head out and tipped it. Spitfire didn’t like seeing that. Whenever Soarin was in this kind of state, it was usually something to do with the magic. She had learned the signs.

“Are you okay? You were completely silent through that whole meeting. Did you sleep alright?” she asked. Soarin blinked a few more times before bringing a hoof up to his head and rubbing beside the horn.

“I’m… fine, Spitfire. Sorry,” he apologized. “For some reason I can’t seem to focus on anything.”

“Is it the magic?” she quickly asked. Soarin glanced at her, knowing how she tended to get more worried than she needed to be when it came to his recent problems, but he wasn’t going to get angry at her for being concerned.

“To be honest,” he began. “I’m not quite sure what it is.”

“I don’t know if that makes me feel any better…” Spitfire pouted while furrowing her brow.

“No, I mean…” Soarin quickly cut her off. “There’s no pain. I don’t know how to describe it. I guess… the best way to put it is I feel like I should know something, but I can’t remember what it is…”

“Um…” Spitfire gave him a blank look. “That’s a new one.”

“I know. That’s why I’m so preoccupied. I feel like I’ve forgotten something important, but there was nothing that instigated it, like I’m supposed to know something, but I don’t know it,” he looked towards her. “Doesn’t that sound confusing? It’s been bothering me since this morning.”

“With all the weird stuff we’ve been dealing with as of late, that definitely doesn’t sound encouraging,” Spitfire rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“I’m fine, really,” Soarin stepped away from the wall. “I’m not feeling lightheaded, just confused. It’s nothing that will keep me from doing my job. Let’s go.”

“Good,” Spitfire nodded as the two turned towards the door, but after two steps, Spitfire stopped in her tracks. Soarin halted and looked over his shoulder at her. “Actually, there’s one thing I have to do first, I just remembered. I’ll meet you down there…” they both squinted as another flash of lightning came from the window. “Go down and make sure that…” she paused and they both flinched as an incredibly loud roll of thunder rocked the compound. “Make sure that Fleetfoot stops rubbing herself on every muscular stallion and actually gave Silver my orders.

“Before rubbing herself on him too?” Soarin chuckled.

“I’d like to think even she has limits,” Spitfire snorted and smirked. “But I wouldn’t put it past her. Go on,” she nodded, turning back to her desk as Soarin left.

Her smile disappeared and she took a long deep breath, standing in front of her desk with the sound of the rain pelting against her window behind her. She opened the top drawer and looked into it, directly at a pair of cracked Wonderbolt goggles that sat atop everything else in the drawer.

She reached down and picked them up, holding them up in front of her face and staring at them seriously for a few moments before shutting the drawer, tucking the goggles under her wing, and heading for the door.

---

“Bliss…” Spitfire immediately called to Bliss at her desk as Spitfire entered the infirmary. Bliss looked up from the piles and piles of medical paperwork on her desk towards Spitfire as she approached. Spitfire glanced to her right as she moved, looking down through the infirmary at all the Wonderbolts in the beds who were still down and recovering from their injuries. A lot of them turned and looked at her, a few smiles forming on their faces at the sight of their captain. Spitfire smiled back at them, but quickly turned back to Bliss.

“Yes, Captain?” Bliss asked as her pen floated in her magic beside her.

Spitfire didn’t say anything. She just reached a hoof back and dropped the broken goggles from her wing into it, holding them forward for Bliss to see. Bliss stared at the goggles for only a brief moment before looking right back at Spitfire.

“She’s in the back room…” Bliss said with a slightly somber tone, pointing to the door on the right behind her. It was an unmarked door beside the door that was marked ‘storage.’

“Thank you…” Spitfire nodded as she stepped around Bliss’ desk and approached the door.

She hesitated for a moment as she reached for the doorknob. She never liked doing this, and was glad she only had to do it twice before… but she did it to remind herself of how important her job was… and how precious each Wonderbolt life was.

Spitfire opened the door and walked in, closing it right behind her.

The room was an onsite emergency room that was seldom used because of Canterlot Hospital being a short train ride away, but in the event that a Wonderbolt needed immediate medical attention of a severe nature, it served its purpose. However, in this case, and in two cases before it, it was used for something else.

There was only a single light on in the room… the light that was right over the medical bed in the middle of the room. A tattered Wonderbolt uniform was draped over the hoof of the bed. In the bed itself was a mound that was completely covered by a sheet. The mound resembled the figure of a pony that lay with its head rested on a pillow.

Spitfire clutched the goggles over her chest for a moment as her eyes landed on the bed before she slowly walked forward. She approached the head of the bed and slowly reaching up, gently pulling the sheet down…

Revealing Midnight’s face.

It was devoid of life, but looked peaceful, the several wounds and cuts had been cleaned and patched up in respect to the image of a fallen Wonderbolt. Spitfire felt a lump in her throat the moment her eyes landed on the face of a deceased comrade, but she quickly swallowed it and sat down while holding the goggles up between them.

“Well… here we are…” Spitfire sighed as she turned and sat down with her back against the bed, her head level with Midnight’s. “The one place I hope I never have to talk to anypony… but we don’t live in a fairytale, do we?” she spoke softly as she slowly turned her head to see Midnight’s face on the left edge of her vision.

“I’m… so sorry things turned out like this, Midnight…” Spitfire continued as she turned her head back, facing away again. “We weren’t very well acquainted… but that doesn’t stop you from being a member of a large family I hold dear,” she turned her head towards her again. “You were one of the best and you served… as one of the best.”

Spitfire remained silent for a moment, turning herself around and resting her forearms on the bed.

“Your death was a shock to us all… but… I’m sure you’ll rest easy knowing that it hasn’t broken us. In fact, it’s only made us more aware of what’s at stake. We gave you the salute… lots of tears were shed… Misty Fly already misses you greatly, but we’ve already turned around and are preparing to fight. You’re still fresh in our minds, but not as a weight, as a reminder, giving us renewed strength to prevent any more loss of life the best we can. I only wish we had it sooner… if we did, you may still be with us.” Spitfire smiled. “But who am I kidding… you are with us… right here,” she patted her chest. And I promise you… with every inch of my being… that I will do everything in my power to prevent any more deaths,” Spitfire nodded. “I know that’s what you would’ve wanted…”

Spitfire frowned again and took a deep breath, releasing a long, steady sigh.

She reached up and placed the broken goggles upon Midnight’s chest before reaching for the sheet. She stared at Midnight’s face one last time, knowing it would be the last time she ever saw it in person before it became a gold framed picture on the wall of fallen Wonderbolts on the second floor. She gently pulled the sheet back over to fully cover the body.

She stepped back from the bed, sat down, spread her wings, and looked towards the ceiling, repeating the sendoff salute.

“Wonderbolt, high tier elite class, squad six, Midnight. You have passed on… but your name will forever be remembered in the history of elite Wonderbolts…” she looked back down at the body, sniffling, but reaching a hoof up to catch a tear before it trailed down her face. “Take care… and… rest in peace…”

Spitfire turned, squinting again to stop tears from falling. Enough tears had been shed. It was hard on her to do this, but she was strong… and she had to remain strong. This whole ordeal had weighed heavily on her as it had the rest, but it was her duty to remain vigilant and do everything she possibly could to keep her fellow Wonderbolts alive.

And that’s exactly what she would do.

She left the room, closing the door behind her, catching Bliss’ attention as she did.

“All finished?” Bliss asked with a worried tone. Spitfire nodded with a stern, serious look in her eyes.

“Yeah… I gave her my last words as her captain. As soon as we get this storm cleared up, have the doctors take her to the hospital so they can handle the rest,” Spitfire ordered.

“Yes, but… are you alright?” Bliss asked out of concern. Spitfire looked towards Bliss and closed her eyes for a moment.

No, she wasn’t alright… but it wasn’t out of sadness, it was because she wouldn’t feel alright until all the preparations were in place for the coming attack, and she was sure they were as secure as possible with the help of the Renegades.

“It’s never easy to lose a wingmate, especially with how the Wonderbolt culture is nowadays,” Spitfire began, but her face was wrought with determination. “But I am honoring Midnight’s sacrifice, as we all are, by pushing forward and fighting to our fullest. The Shadowbolts won’t walk all over us again….” She started walking towards the exit. “I look forward to giving you much less work in here, Bliss…” she said as she left to set everything in motion.

---

The next few hours were nothing but commotion as Spitfire and Descent began directing everypony around. Wonderbolts were moving all about, helping with preparations ranging from preparing their assigned area defense to helping Rivet and the security teams fortify the windows with steel bar cage covers that were designed to be bolted to the window frames. This added an extra layer of security behind the already reinforced glass.

The lobby was the most critical vulnerable area. The window was still broken from when Comet broke through it during his ‘security warning’ stunt, not to mention the area nearby was soaking wet with the rain coming through it from outside. They also didn’t have any cage frames big enough to cover it, so Spitfire was concentrating most of the able high tier elite Wonderbolts to take up positions near it.

Descent and the Renegades were waiting inside and hovering about, all packed into the lobby as they waited for the scout teams to return. There was no sense in all of them getting soaking wet until squad two could finish clearing away the storm… which was taking them a surprisingly long time despite them being the best element and weather handlers on the force.

With all the commotion, there were lots of stragglers trying to figure out what to do… including squad Foxtrot, who stood near the entrance to the recruit barracks after helping Rivet place a set of window bars in the west hallway. They received no other orders, so they sat and waited patiently while examining the enormous group of Renegades that stood and hovered up in the air opposite of them.

“I don’t like sitting around like this…” Matteo grunted as he impatiently tapped a talon against the floor. Dash turned towards him as she stopped pacing.

“We’ll get new orders eventually, we’re not the only ones just sitting around…” she said as she looked around at a few Wonderbolts scattered about, trying to not get in the way. “But I agree…” she added with a pout.

Dash, Matteo, Star, and Twister were all waiting and were all anxious. It didn’t help that they were feeling less complete with Squall still under medical care. Dash at least felt better after hearing they were moving the injured to a more secure location in the basement. Should worst case scenario occur, and the Shadowbolts managed to get in the base, the last thing she and her squad wanted was Squall being put in danger while he was still recovering.

Dash perked up as she turned and a familiar friend approached, but she quickly cringed, knowing what was going to happen.

Storm Front was moving towards them, clearly with the intention of interacting, but he had yet to know about…

Dash looked up at Matteo, who was already glaring daggers at Storm. Storm stopped right in his tracks, his eyes going wide at the death glare Matteo was giving him. He frowned soon after, knowing exactly why Matteo was giving him the look.

“Matt… enough…” Dash growled up at Matteo, but he didn’t even look at her. “Matty, don’t make me say it again!” Dash strengthened her resolve, but she didn’t have to go any further. Matteo suddenly flinched as something landed on his head. He looked directly up to see Twister perched on his head, his body and neck completely hunched over, staring down and looking around with the likeness of a vulture.

Matteo glared up at him, but Twister only continued to act like a vulture as Star exploded into a fit of giggles beside them.

Dash snickered and shook her head, turning back towards Storm as he took the moment of distraction to approach Dash. Dash moved towards him to meet him halfway, wanting him to stay away from Matteo as long as the big dope was still being stupid about the father situation.

“I don’t have to ask what that was about, do I?” Storm sighed as he and Dash stopped in front of each other. Dash glanced back at Matteo as he continuously tried and failed to get Twister off his head. “How is Squall doing?” he asked before Dash got a chance to speak.

“Oh,” Dash smiled. “Well, he made it through having his face stitched up and so far has still been himself,” she said with a chuckle. “I heard from Bliss that his face took a lucky hit. It won’t cause any damage aside from leaving a scar, so he’ll still be able to scowl at us all he likes,” she said jokingly, earning a smirk from Storm.

“Heard he got it pulling off a really gutsy move…” Storm shook his head. “Paid the price, but from what Soarin told me, it definitely speaks for Squall’s grit.”

“He’ll be back up and fighting the moment they clear him,” Dash said with a wink. “Now what’s going on with you? I heard all about Descent,” she asked as she looked over towards the Renegades at Descent, smiling rather brightly as she remembered how often Storm mentioned his father. “I still can’t believe he’s your dad… we’ve known who he is this whole time.”

“You and me both,” Storm nodded with his own smile as he too looked towards his father giving out orders. “After all we talked about him… he was closer than we thought. I mean… I guess I’m still a little shaken about learning everything about him, but… he was completely honest with me and didn’t leave out a single detail. That’s the father I know, the one who would do anything for me, even reveal his secrets if needed to clear things up and make me happy.”

“Descent never struck me as the kind of stallion to be a father, but if you became who you are today? He definitely did something right,” Dash jabbed Storm in the shoulder, earning another bright smile in return. It was great to see Storm without a cloud of worry over his head. “So where is your squad? Are you guys all waiting for stuff to do too?” she asked as she looked around at the surrounding commotion. Storm shook his head.

“My squad is kind of scattered right now. With Point Dex still under medical surveillance, Macho Savage and Lead Runner were quick to do their own thing. I thought I’d come over here and join you guys, knowing Squall was out of commission I felt like filling the gap,” he paused and exaggerated a scowl. “Am I doing it right?” he joked. Dash snickered and lightly shoved him.

“Oh, stop that. Don’t poke fun at him when he can’t defend himself,” Dash said as she continued to chuckle, because it WAS a pretty accurate Squall scowl.

“Yeah,” Storm shrugged. “He probably would have punched me in the face for that one.”

Storm suddenly flinched as he looked past Dash, catching her attention. She turned and saw Matteo glaring at Storm again, having given up on Twister getting off his head. Star was now on Twister’s head, doing her best to copy the ‘vulture’ image that Twister was doing. The stack of idiots had a comical look to it, but it didn’t change the fact that Matteo was glaring directly at Storm.

Fan Art by: cowgirlvk

“He’s not going to like me for a while, is he?” Storm sighed in defeat as Dash growled.

“Oh, believe me, it’s worse than that,” Dash said as she rolled her eyes.

“What? What do you mean?” Storm asked, his ears flopping down as he looked at her with disbelief.

“I already talked to him about it,” Dash shook her head. “He’s going through a bit of culture shock right now… you know, because he’s not allowed to kill the son of his father’s killer here in pony society,” Dash looked Storm directly in the eyes as his jaw dropped and his eyes widened.

“WHAT?!” Storm looked away towards Matteo for a second. “You mean…” Storm shook his head. “No… he actually CONSIDERED that? After how much we’ve been through?”

“That was my reaction too…” Dash said with a sigh as she looked towards Matteo, trying to keep a straight face. Despite his glare he looked incredibly goofy with Twister and Star stacked on top of him. “Don’t worry too much about it. His head is in a complete knot right now since he knows who killed his dad. I’d be just as confused, only, you know, without griffon culture seeping out of my nose and ears to the point where I should probably get it checked. Just give him time, he’s a griffon warrior. He’ll remember how much of a comrade and friend you are more than anything else after he pulls his head out of his ass.”

“I hope so…” Storm sighed. They both perked up as Spitfire suddenly turned away from directing a few ponies around and moved towards them. Finally, new orders.

“Rainbow Dash, Storm Front,” she addressed them both. They turned and stood attention.

“Ma’am?” they replied in unison.

“We need more ponies to take up positions in the east hallway, report to Fire Streak on the double,” Spitfire ordered quickly and with a purpose, her mind clearly hard set on the task at hoof.

“Yes, Ma’am!” they both replied, but she was already moving on. Dash turned to gather up Foxtrot.

---

As Spitfire walked back towards the front doors, Descent joined her side.

“I’m ready to send out the Renegades to take up positions, but the weather clearing skills of the Wonderbolts seem to be coming into question,” he said flatly as another slow rumble of thunder passed by the compound. Spitfire flattened her brow as she looked towards him. “No doubt the storm is also making it harder for my scouts to survey the area.”

“They are the best weather handlers,” Spitfire shot back defiantly as they stopped a few yards from the doors to avoid the rain coming through the broken hangar window. “Just let them do their job, the only thing that will keep them from doing it is if something abnormal is—”

“Captain!” Silver’s voice cut her off as squad two suddenly came through the doors, still missing Blaze, but unbeknownst to Spitfire, Silver had dragged Squad eight, fourteen, and twenty out with him too… but even with all of them, the storm was still raging?

They were all completely soaked, High Winds looked miserable with her usually curly mane completely drenched and pressed down to her head. Wave Chill, right beside her, suddenly did one, powerful shake while throwing his wings out. He stepped back and all the water shed from his body, dropping to the floor, and leaving him completely dry. He turned to High Winds and smiled.

“I never liked you, you know…” High Winds growled as Wave shrugged and chuckled.

“Silver,” Spitfire approached as Silver shook himself out the best he could. “Mind telling me why it’s still pouring out there?” she asked, sternly as she glanced out the doors and up towards the large window.

“I couldn’t tell you, Captain…” Silver shook his head.

“Oh?” Spitfire lifted an eyebrow. “Elaborate.”

“Those clouds won’t budge,” Silver began, catching Descent’s attention as well. “We tried every single possible technique for moving clouds, but they are stuck in place… pretty violent too. It was hard to get close. Not Even High Winds could move them with her wind blasts,” Silver shook his head. “These are not natural clouds, Captain…”

“Not natural…? That—” Spitfire’s ears stood straight up. An unnatural storm… that sparked a VERY important memory. She quickly turned to Descent. “Descent… this storm…”

“I’ve no doubt…” Descent replied before she could even say it. “If the Wonderbolts couldn’t move the clouds… then they were definitely created by the crystals.”

“Tornado!” Spitfire turned back to Silver quickly. “DID ANYPONY SEE A TORNADO OUT THERE?! A PINK ONE?!”

“SPITFIRE!” Descent quickly grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her to face him. “Calm down. I am not an expert on the crystals, but I do remember how long it took for us to conjure the one we used to attack Ponyville. Not only did it take a very long time for Nightshade and Starry to make it work, but we also had the luxury of doing it in the guise of the Everfree Forest. There is no way they’d be able to create such a natural disaster undetected in the middle of Canterlot,” he nodded as Spitfire breathed a sigh of relief. “Besides, tornados are not subtle, if there was one out there, my scouts would have already reported it.”

“Then why?” Spitfire looked back out. “This storm has been going on since last night… what do they have to gain from it?”

“A simple severe thunderstorm was easy to create,” Starry suddenly spoke up as she walked towards the commotion and stood beside Descent. Unlike Descent, she had used the crystals in the past, so she offered any knowledge she could “If you ask me, it’s probably one of those ten loony commanders just being a dick.”

“I would have to agree…” Descent nodded as he faced Spitfire. “There are more than a few among the ten Shadowbolt commanders that would do something like this just for kicks or to ‘set the stage’. Void… Ruin… Angel… probably Trance too.”

“Well great…” Spitfire rolled her eyes. “Even if it’s not an attack tactic, we have a small problem…” she turned and looked towards the administrative staff and the Canterlot Hospital doctors waiting off to the side by the mail counter. They were waiting for the storm to subside before they evacuated the premise, but now they were stuck.

“Looks like they’ll have to take shelter underground with the rest for now,” Descent grunted.

Spitfire took a long look at the doctors, and seeing them brought her mind back to Midnight for a moment. Why? Because the amount of lives the compound was now protecting was even greater, and it only reminded her of how important their success in would be. Plus, now… they couldn’t get Midnight’s body out of the compound before it came under fire.

She felt a slight discomfort in her heart… the feeling of losing more than they already had. They had only lost one, but that was more than they ever wanted to lose. Fear of loss was already something that tore at her often as a leader… but now… she had more than just lives to lose.

She looked towards Wave as squad two began following Silver into the west hallway. She quickly reached out and grabbed Wave by the shoulder. Before he could ask what was happening, she pulled him roughly off to the side, placing them behind a potted plant in the lobby that somewhat hid them from view.

“Spitfire? What is it?” he asked, confused.

“Are you doing alright?” she asked. Nothing had even happened yet, but… she felt like asking him anyway.

“Of course, nothing wrong yet,” he replied with a smile.

“Good,” she leaned forward and gave him a really quick kiss on the lips. “Let’s keep it that way.”

Wave only blinked, startled.

“That was for good luck,” she winked, breaking Wave out of his surprise and he pulled her into a quick hug.

“Be safe,” he said in response. The two looked into each other’s eyes and nodded before Wave hurried on his way to follow Silver.

Spitfire had wanted to connect with Wave at least one more time before everything began. She got her chance and took it… and now it was time to finalize.

However, as she walked back out into the lobby…

“Princess…?” Fire Streak’s voice met Spitfire’s ears, but… what did he mean, ‘Princess?’

Everything came to an abrupt halt, all ponies turning their heads towards the east hallway.

Spitfire’s eyes widened as Princess Luna slowly walked through the Wonderbolts, moving into the lobby while donning an impressive set of light blue armor that none of them had ever seen before. Spitfire turned and faced Luna as she approached. The lobby drowned in complete silence, save for the pitter patter of the rain and the occasional rumble of thunder.

Luna came to a halt a yard away from Spitfire and the two stared into each other’s eyes. Spitfire wasn’t sure what to make of what she was seeing, but Luna’s determination was clear.

“We shall fight by your side,” Luna spoke up, taking the initiative to announce why she was there. Several reactions could be heard with a mix of murmurs and quiet gasps.

“Fight with us?” Spitfire repeated, making sure she just heard Luna correctly.

“That is correct,” Luna confirmed, her composure as hard as stone. “We deceived thee… and it has caused more trouble than it has solution. It is time for us to repay the debts we owe… and aid thee in battle.”

Spitfire blinked, listening carefully to Luna. She looked around at the surrounding Wonderbolts. The reaction was mixed. Some looked encouraged, and why not? A divine alicorn just stepped forward and offered her aid in an upcoming battle, surely that increased their chances of victory. On the other hoof, some still showed a little bit of animosity, unwilling to accept ‘help’ after the last time Luna tried to ‘help’ them.

Spitfire was right in the middle of the road. She was still disappointed in Luna’s previous actions, but now she was offering help to make up for it… would she really say no to help from one of the divine sisters? The answer was a resounding no. However, there was one thing about this situation that Spitfire felt uneasy about.

“Princess, I would be a complete idiot to say no to such an offer, but… what about Canterlot Castle? Didn’t you say something about Celestia’s power residing within it? That seems like a pretty juicy target to me and… I hate to break it to you, but I don’t think the Royal Guard can handle these enemies.”

Luna quickly shook her head as if she expected Spitfire to bring up the castle.

“Do not forget who was guiding the Renegades up until now,” Luna reminded Spitfire. “We know what their target is. They have not once set their sights on the castle. There is no reason to believe they would do so now. They want Soarin and the destruction of the Wonderbolts…” she reached up and pounded her hoof gauntlet against her chest plate. “And WE will not allow either of those to happen. We shall stand in the compound to bolster your internal defenses."

Spitfire listened to Luna’s full argument, taking note of everything she said and weighing the options. There was a bit of a split between the Wonderbolts in terms of opinion on her, but her purpose was clear… and again… would Spitfire really turn away help from a goddess?

“Very well…” Spitfire nodded, keeping her serious demeanor, but allowing a smirk to crawl across her lips. “Welcome to the Wonderbolts, Princess.

“We thank thee,” Luna bowed her head down as a friendly gesture before she looked around and started moving into the lobby amongst the Wonderbolts and Renegades. The mixed response was just as clear to her as it was to Spitfire, but she understood it. That’s exactly why she was there in the first place, to make up for her mistakes. Her eyes were drawn to Descent as he scoffed nearby. She turned and looked at him as he nodded in approval at her.

“It’s about damn time, Luna,” he said with a smirk. Luna stared for a moment, but smiled. She only wished she had made the right choice sooner.

Spitfire had to admit, having Luna with them would likely improve morale once she showed off what she could do. It had her feeling a little better as well.

Everything was now in place to the best of her knowledge. They were as secure as they were going to get… now it was up to the Renegades to play their part.

Spitfire approached Descent with the intention of hearing anything from his scouts or as to how he’d handle the situation, but right before she spoke, a Renegade stallion came through the doors and shook himself out before pushing up his goggles and looking around. Descent turned his head towards the doors as he saw the Renegade.

“Astral!” Descent called to him as he turned and walked towards the stallion. “Anything to report?” he asked.

“Nothing out there yet,” the stallion replied. “It’s a little hard to keep tabs on everything with the storm, but there’s still nothing within a mile of the compound.”

“Hmmm…” Descent closed his eyes and pondered.

Spitfire looked at the stallion curiously. He was white with a short, dark red mane, but those were just the plain details. His wings… his wings were misshapen, bend and skewed, definitely not suited for flying, but he wore gold braces that attached to the base of the wing joints on his back and gripped the bent portions of his wing, forcing them to move whenever he moved the base of his wings.

She heard Descent call him ‘Astral’ as well… was this… their scout? A scout with distorted wings that needed braces for them to operate properly? To Spitfire, everything about the pony screamed, ‘get him to safety, he’s in danger with those wings’ but…

“Better to be safe than sorry,” Descent nodded. “Make another pass or two with the scout teams and report back.

“Will do,” the Astral nodded, pushing his goggled back down and turning towards the doors. The braces on his wings made uncomfortable creaking and shifting noises, but his wings slowly opened and he lifted off back into the rain, struggling a little to get up, but as soon as he had steady flight, he continued smoothly back into the air.

Descent… hadn’t so much as looked at or expressed concern for the stallion’s wings. Much less consider his safety with clear hindering state his wings were in. At least… that was the only thing Spitfire could see in the situation, what was going through Descent’s mind?

Spitfire took a step towards Descent with the intention of questioning what she just saw, but something else caught her eye… something that took priority.

Soarin was sitting off to the side, staring up at the broken window with a very vacant look on his face. Spitfire’s eyes widened slightly as she quickly turned to him. The last time she saw Soarin was roughly half an hour ago… and he hadn't moved from that spot.

“Soarin?” Spitfire called his name as she approached, but he gave no answer. She cleared her throat as she stopped beside him, but he still didn’t budge. “Soarin… you’re doing it again…” she tried to get his attention, but he didn’t as much as budge. “Soarin!” she yelled. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Something…” he suddenly spoke. Spitfire blinked and gasped quietly as Soarin’s horn suddenly began to glow… yellow.

“Oh… shit…” Spitfire backed away slightly. Soarin looked at her, quickly taking note of the look on her face. He reached a hoof out at her.

“No! No! Wait!” he blinked as his eyes began to glow yellow as well. “Don’t worry, I’m… nothing is wrong, I’m…” He looked down, his eyes darting back and forth. “I… I’m remembering… something! I…”

“What you were talking about in my office?” Spitfire blinked as she still kept a small distance between her and him because of the yellow magic aura suddenly appearing.

“YES!” Soarin looked back up again. A few eyes had moved to him, including Luna, who’s eyes landed directly on the yellow aura on Soarin’s horn. “I think…” Soarin slammed his eyes shut, the yellow light still seeping through his eyelids. “I remember what I was supposed to know! The…rgh…” Soarin put both hooves on his head. “The… Shadowbolts… are… going… to… attack…” suddenly the yellow glow completely disappeared from the horn and his eyes. His head snapped up and looked out the window. “In exactly five minutes?” Soarin said in a way that suggested he had no idea why such a thing came to him.

“Five minutes?” Spitfire blinked, what makes you say—”

“DESCENT!!!!” Astral suddenly burst back through the front doors, nearly slipping and falling on the wet floor as he hurried towards his leader.

“That was quick,” Descent said as he turned to Astral again.

“No…” Astral shook his head. “I think you better look outside…”

As soon as the words left his lips, Spitfire, Descent, Soarin, Luna, and multiple Wonderbolts and Renegades all looked towards the door and out the hangar window.

Up in the sky… roughly two hundred meters from the compound… A collection of pink energy had appeared and was steadily growing larger. As it grew, they could make out small silhouettes of ponies appearing from within the energy as if it were some kind of portal.

“RENEGADES!” Descent yelled immediately as he turned to them. “LET’S GIVE ‘EM HELL!” he rallied his warriors as they all fastened their goggles into place and started charging towards the door, disregarding the extreme downpour as they funneled out of the compound through the doors and the hangar window, taking to the air in full force.

As they moved out, Spitfire, Soarin, Fleetfoot, and Luna stepped into the center of the lobby. The Wonderbolts all scrambled to and fro to get into their defensive positions within the compound as the last of the administrative staff and the doctors were quickly moved into the west hallway and towards the basement. Spitfire took a deep breath and exhaled.

“Here we go…”

---To Be Continued---

Author's Note:

So there you go, not much happened in this chapter plot wise... but it was meant to give some personality and color to the old Wonderbolts, at least the stallions with a little bit of reference towards what you can expect from Pixie, Fairy, and Valkyrie. Got to have some fun with the other characters as well (never too much Fleetfoot! )

Plus Misty continues to show that she's got a sassy side beneath that innocent smile of hers

And here we go... Another battle incoming... but how will this one turn out?

And im also sure some may be curious about Astral. Astral Bolt is an OC created by a good friend of mine: Cyrix-FiM

He's a really fun guy that i've had a great time talking to, heavily discussing my work, and playing games with. For being a great guy, i offered to include a background cameo of his OC, but when he showed me a pony with wing braces... it gave me an idea towards a concept going forward So expect to see him once or twice going forward. Talk about good timing too, he showed me his OC about a week ago He's a bit shy though a little scared to join in the comments (has sent all of his comments to me over PM or skype) So hope on over to his page and say hello, show him some love!

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed!

(800K words! and climbing!)

Comments

[Aelflonra]

Pfft, dat chapter name

[Calm Wind]

6107939

i KNOW that might sound bad xD but you know what i mean

[Darth Redbeard]

can't wait for next chapter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BlabideeblahMLP]

I can't resist...

[Calm Wind]

6107978

aaaaaaaand every other time i've had fun with the characters has been filler too?

People have to like, enjoy, and care about the characters or else scenes where they are in danger become less tense Had to give the renegades a little time to be seen and felt by the readers or else they'd just be these "newcomers" out in the coming battle... i didn't want them to feel like that.

And it would have been very sudden if i jumped straight from the last chapter to the second attack

[Hestia]

So Soarin's a Shadowbolt detector now? I don't know why, but it's gotta be important moving forward.

We're really getting into the action here, aren't we? I'm both excited and a little nervous. I mean, we saw what happened to Squall last time.

[BlabideeblahMLP]

6107996 Hey, I couldn't resist. It was an entire chapter of nothing actually happening.

[Calm Wind]

6108027

A detector eh? i guess that's one way to look at it... but i wonder if thats what it really was?

[Randompig212]

The CALM within the STORM.... Also, s21.postimg.org/4u986tcmf/image.jpg

Soarin da future teller! Pshh, i KNEW the storm- wait wait wait. the CALM in the storm? So.... Somthing good in the battle?

[Randompig212]

6108036 .....

[Calm Wind]

6108030

Filler implies it was simply meant to take up space though... there was plenty of things in this chapter that were important, even if the main plot barely advanced. It's chapters like this that give this story it's depth, not skipping over events in between the major conflicts makes it feel full and gives the readers a chance to laugh and enjoy the characters, connecting with them.

If i just hopped from plot point to plot point without spending time on the characters ever once in a while, the story would be much less interesting and the characters would feel lifeless and blank.

[moonrose]

YOUUUUU AND YOUR FKING
CLIFFHANGERRRRRRRSSSSSS how dare you!!!!
15.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kvl3a1er7a1qavi55o1_500.jpg
img10.deviantart.net/f96c/i/2015/118/f/9/do_i_look_angry__by_redw0lf777sg-d8rggka.png
img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120908224257/mlp/images/6/61/Luna_Angry_3_S2E4.png
As you can see, I pretty mad now

[Sky Melody]

So awesome!

[Hestia]

6108036 probably not I'm no good at predicting

[BlabideeblahMLP]

6108058 Im not getting into an argument over whether or not this is filler when absolutely nothing happened.

[Dusk_Writer]

It's like literally 3 am right now
Another battle eh? Welp, the wonderbolts can't get a break can they?
Soarin is now our new fortune teller

[Eveyann]

love these chapter, love character devlopment more than action (although that's awesome too) so yay

I have a theory, however it could be wrong, probably is but is the blue discord and the yellow is celestia energy thing i only say that because im a huge dislestia shipper and as we see from S4 finale discords magic is blue

also i love fleetfoot in this chapter, however with all the references to sex here im like "what is the chapter 19?"

we also got loads of wavefire in this chapter and mistyfire

Misty winked at Fire before pulling him towards her and kissing him HARD. His eyes went as wide as physically possible as Misty locked her lips with his as intensely as she could.

img.pandawhale.com/post-30162-jonah-hill-screaming-squealing-KYxU.gif

You have not idea how happy it make me to see silver happy with his friends it was also great so see more about blizzard strike, a part of this story i'm very interested in

damm calm, you made me cry about a pony who about 4 chapters ago i did give a flying feather about

He’s going through a bit of culture shock right now…

encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRSnVyyAKt5pPGFwa0KZqSWT7tg-_tEZMDo9FjOMTpmPOXwrzIGYQ
hmm i wonder who will get the reference

“In exactly five minutes?” Soarin said in a way that suggested he had no idea why such a thing came to him.

wow, wow it seems soarins some pony shaped crystal ball

can you expand a little on blaze and highwind's relationship pwwweeeeeaaaaasssse
img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130325144213/darksouls/images/8/80/Pwetty_Pwease.jpg

anyway awesome chapter im nervouscited for the next chapter though
pbs.twimg.com/media/BpneBw_CAAA6vAV.jpg

[Eveyann]

6108030 aside from the end, of course

[moonrose]

Forgot to mention in my last comment
*take deep breath*
DAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWEEEEE
MISTYSTREAK!!!! YESSSSSS!!!!! AND WAVEFIRE!!!!! DOUBLE YESSSSS!!! it actually makes up for the cliffy at the end SQUEEEEEEEEEE!

[Aelflonra]

Star was now on Twister’s head, doing her best to copy the ‘vulture’ image that Twister was doing. The stack of idiots had a comical look to it, but it didn’t change the fact that Matteo was glaring directly at Storm.

Star is an idiot.

[Witching Hour]

Oh man... And I'm super stoked to see 95 especially with having seen the art Foxena made for it!!!

TELL ME MORE ABOUT PIXIE AND FAIRY DAMMIT!!! **flails** I wanna know more about the old guard!!!

[FabulouslyCynical]

Seriously, I think this is becoming a problem. Every time I finish a chapter, my mouse moves over to the thumbs up thingy. I just wanna PRESS IT!

[Pinkie13Pie]

I got tears in my eyes when Spitfire talked to Midnight...

YAY!!!! SPITWAVE!!!!!!!!
I love Spitwave! :3

[Delphinus Shimmer]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!OMG THE RETIRED WONDERBOLTS ARE SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
my fav part was when they started to tease fire and when misty *cough cough* u know
THIS IS THE BEST CHAPTER EVAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[CowgirlVK]

Nice, oh boy, we had a blizzard level plot twist. And that Volture stack needs art! Poor Soarin.

[Finite-E-Clockchase]

Hey calm, I'm going to be leaving for two years without the internet on Wednesday. So it was a great story! Good luck with your life!

[moonrose]

6108285
What?!? Where are you going that has no internet?? I can barely last 2 days without internet but 2 YEARS!!!??? wow...

[Creative Quill]

I think I know who one of the voices is. But keeping quiet just in case. And what could Soarin possibly be forgetting? Can't find any subtle hints to that yet.

[Jim Hoxworth]

...This chapter... Fantastic. Serenity did not disappoint, and why am I not surprised that Blizzard went out with a roar?

[NyOs29]

6108036
Or maybe Soarin might actually be a Shadowbolt but even he doesn't remember it like the men in the Manchurian Candidate didn't remember they had been captured and then brainwashed by intelligence agents from the Soviet Union and Communist China into sleeper agents in order to subconsciously assassinate certain people of importance.

[Azure_Shadow]

Valkyrie is in the gym, where Calm is lifting away his feeling from the battle; but he can't focus due to a beefcake of a mare working out hard in there.

[Jim Hoxworth]

6108382 The yellow one, right?

[Ice Blade]

let's get this party started

[Hooper_Canson]

33.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mevuj6T5NH1r2cf0d.gif

Also how big is a drake to you? Just curious because killing 400 is just a tad fucking ridiculous

[Creative Quill]

6108405
Eyup.

[Easyglider]

“Take care… and… rest in peace…”

OOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooo you almost got me. You damn near did it. But not this time. Mmm mm nope. That whole scene.... So close Calm. So close. One day I KNOW this story will join only two others in infamy. The ones that make me cry like a btch. But not this day.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

lackadaisical

I want to go on record by saying, I am an A+ English Language Arts student. I have been through my entire schooling career. I had to look this up. This is the first time I've ever seen/heard this word. I genuinely thought it wasn't real. So there's that.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The storm from the night before hadn’t subsided, which seemed strange. If the weather wasn’t planned, it should have passed by now, and if it was planned, the weather team would have cleaned it up by now.

Shadowbolts.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

donning an impressive set of light blue armor that none of them had ever seen before.

I know it won't be, but a small part of me thinks that armor will be about as useful as Stormtrooper armor.

woodytondorf.wordpress.com/files/2009/02/ewokswin1.jpg

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spitfire said as she picked her head up off Wave Chill’s shoulder and stood up from the corner couch of the rec room.

*GHRK*

I think I see a typo in this scene though...

Suddenly, before Spitfire could say or do anything else, Master Hand materialized out of nowhere beside them and gently pushed her head right back onto Wave's shoulder. While it was doing this, a disembodied whisper was saying "Shhhh, shhh, I'll handle it. You just stay right there." Master Hand then floated off to Spitfire's office for the meeting after ensuring her and Wave stayed on the couch snuggling.

Fixed that for you

img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131125051748/ssb/images/8/86/MasterHandBrawl.jpg

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

but was this storm even on the schedule? They didn’t have strong storms often.

It's the Shadowbolts.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In fact, it was even stronger than it was the night before.

Pls.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Be safe,” he said in response. The two looked into each other’s eyes and nodded before Wave hurried on his way to follow Silver.

Please. Please more of this.

i.imgur.com/wrJjd42.jpg

The smile in that one kinda throws the whole thing right off but it was a quick thing i threw together. 1 minute job type of thing

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I think…” Soarin slammed his eyes shut, the yellow light still seeping through his eyelids. “I remember what I was supposed to know! The…rgh…” Soarin put both hooves on his head. “The… Shadowbolts… are… going… to… attack…” suddenly the yellow glow completely disappeared from the horn and his eyes. His head snapped up and looked out the window. “In exactly five minutes?” Soarin said in a way that suggested he had no idea why such a thing came to him.

Anyone else think of that scene in Transformers 2 with Shia Labeouf in college reading the whole book in like 10 seconds?

i.imgur.com/SU63t3d.jpg

Because Easyglider did.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“These are not natural clouds, Captain…”

It's the Sha....You know what. No. Ehem... "I wonder what that could mean!"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Up in the sky… roughly two hundred meters from the compound… A collection of pink energy had appeared and was steadily growing larger. As it grew, they could make out small silhouettes of ponies appearing from within the energy as if it were some kind of portal.

(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
t(-_-t)

[Laveria Dreams]

Shall we get this battle started?

[Easyglider]

6108243

I love Spitwave! :3

^ That.

Also if the tears don't fall from your eyes it's not crying. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

[Yay808]

Dude, Blizzard is fucking Jesus, like HOLY SHIT FOUR HUNDRED DRAKES? I would have been like, hopping on the nope train to "fuckthatvilliage". That fucka balling, like seriously ball is life.

[Kestrel]

6108680

Spitfire said as she picked her head up off Wave Chill’s shoulder and stood up from the corner couch of the rec room.
*GHRK*
I think I see a typo in this scene though...
Suddenly, before Spitfire could say or do anything else, Master Hand materialized out of nowhere beside them and gently pushed her head right back onto Wave's shoulder. While it was doing this, a disembodied whisper was saying "Shhhh, shhh, I'll handle it. You just stay right there." Master Hand then floated off to Spitfire's office for the meeting after ensuring her and Wave stayed on the couch snuggling.
Fixed that for you

Ah, really? Where? I thought we did a pretty good job with this chapter

[Animak]

6106586 ^^

[Animak]

6106593 priorities and details people care about calm

[Animak]

6106784 what makes you say that?

[Animak]

6107015

[Jim Hoxworth]

So is it just me, or does anyone else hear this when Bomber laughs:

[Soaring Soarin]

“If you’re going to bang, just do it and let me sleep!”

not sure if having two magical beings bump uglies in your head is a good idea

“There was a trail of drake bodies leading from the area… my squad followed it… and…” Steady shook his head. “I couldn’t count them all… but the trail of dead drakes extended for miles… there was easily at least three hundred… maybe even four hundred of them… leading to where we finally found Blizzard’s body.”
Silver’s eyes widened. He was completely speechless upon hearing this piece of old news that he had never bothered to learn.
“And that doesn’t even speak for the ones that lived, probably beaten senseless by him,” Steady continued.
“FOUR. HUNDRED?” Silver said in disbelief. Drakes were not easy to kill… and yet… his mentor… had survived against so many? Blizzard was more clever than he was strong… but…

holy shit blizzard is one solid certifiable badass

Spitfire looked at the stallion curiously. He was white with a short, dark red mane, but those were just the plain details. His wings… his wings were misshapen, bend and skewed, definitely not suited for flying, but he wore gold braces that attached to the base of the wing joints on his back and gripped the bent portions of his wing, forcing them to move whenever he moved the base of his wings.

as someone who wore leg braces flying must be incredible painful for this poor bastard and a pain in the arse hope we hear more about this astral

“YES!” Soarin looked back up again. A few eyes had moved to him, including Luna, who’s eyes landed directly on the yellow aura on Soarin’s horn. “I think…” Soarin slammed his eyes shut, the yellow light still seeping through his eyelids. “I remember what I was supposed to know! The…rgh…” Soarin put both hooves on his head. “The… Shadowbolts… are… going… to… attack…” suddenly the yellow glow completely disappeared from the horn and his eyes. His head snapped up and looked out the window. “In exactly five minutes?” Soarin said in a way that suggested he had no idea why such a thing came to him.

seems some of celestia magic is not the only thing that got inside soarin
that sounded better in my head

Also wouldn't it be more wise to maybe move soarin somewhere else i mean thereMain objective is to capture him surprised spitfire didn't mention anything of the sort to him or descent or even princess luna i know their also there to kill all the bolts but whatever they want soarin for can't be good for equestria and the whole world so wouldn't soarin safety be a concern?

6108680 i.imgur.com/SU63t3d.jpg i choked on my drink when i saw this.......
still love it

[Delphinus Shimmer]

are any wonderbolts from squad one through 3, squad seven, or squad foxtrot gonna die? ARE ANY OF THEM GONNA DIE?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! IF ANY ONE OF THEM DIES I WILL MURDER YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(not really)

[Pheonixfly]

Oh yes

[x223blackwolf]

So, I thought of a theory about Soarin.... and damn my brain nearly imploded when it hit me... like, it hurt!
the yellow magic is totally celestial magic, and she is passing on the information she learned from her "vision" to Soarin. Which is why he claimed he felt like he should know something. Because she us theoretically part of his concence so he feels the memories, but doesn't actually know what they are until she passes them into his memories...
Ya chasing shadows a little. But hey, if you don't think too hard it makes sense.

Still working on my formula... more like it's still on my computer and I say I'm working on it, where's I actually haven't even looked at it since 2 chaps ago...

Anyway...
Onwards to battle.... or bed....
Same thing...
-x223blackwolf