After waking up from a situation she cannot explain Nightshade: captain of the shadow-bolts finds herself and her team a Millennium ahead of there time. How will they adjust to not being in a world that isn't plagued by war anymore ?, How will they adjust to having to obey a princess that they where ordered to get rid of ? , only one way to find out
Nightshades eyesight adjusted to the thick layer of blur clouding her eyes. She quickly got her vision under control and shot up onto all fours in quick succession. She looked around to see walls of tree's surrounding her, she was in a forest, she shook her head trying to figure out how she got here. Nightshade put a for-hoof to her head trying to jog any sort of memory out of her brain, she sighed when she realized she couldn't find any reason for the sudden change in scenery. The last memory she had before ending up here was when she and her team where given orders by there princess nightmare moon, she grunted when she couldn't even remember the orders she had been given.
Suddenly a muffled groan came from behind the veteran Shadowbolt. She turned around quickly only to find the rest of her team mates in her squadron on the ground. The one who had groaned happened to be the craziest of the lot in her squadron. The electricity in her mane said it all. It was Nightshades right wing attacker Blueball Blitz, she had been in an accident at a young age involving the Cloudsdale weather factory and their whole storage of lightning clouds resulting in her body being very unstable, she was dangerous and that's exactly what Nightshade liked about her, but as a wise pony once said 'with great power comes great responsibility', and Blitz was one of the most insane ponies Nightshade had come to meet. She could take orders sure but she wouldn't always do them quietly and it usually resulted in bloodshed and explosions. Nightshade rolled her eyes and helped her comrade up of the forest floor, she too seemed to have the same foggy blurred vision that nightshade had experienced, when she finally came too she had a confused look on her face.
"Where are we night?" the electric blue pony asked, Nightshade shook her head
"I'm afraid I don't know Blitz, now help me wake up the rest of the team" Nightshade said walking over to the other Pegasus's on the ground, Blitz put a hoof to her head and moaned
"Arugh! but thats soooo boring" Blitz whined wanting to just do something exciting, this was the part Nightshade didn't like about Blitz, she could not only be very impatient but if it didn't involve explosions or flying she would immediately go off on a tantrum and refuse to do it, Nightshade just sighed and turned around to face the electrified mare
"Look blitz I don't know where we are or whats going on and I too would rather do more exiting things besides picking up ponies off the ground but i swear to Luna if you don't help me i will make sure you spend the next week sitting in a corner and not being able to do anything but talk to the plasterboard" Nightshade said in an annoyed tone, she turned back around and tapped her left wing attacker Stealth's shoulder in an attempt to wake him up, he grunted but didn't move, Nightshade began to wonder why all of them where in this sleep state, Blitz came around to the other side of stealth and held out her forhoof, a few electrical currents started to pass through the flight suit, Blitz then jabbed Stealth's chest causing the Pegasus stallion to awake almost instantly, he jumped up quickly and was breathing in heavily after the shock, Blitz grinned
"Sorry about that Stealthy but I'm just soooo bored" Blitz said, she held back a giggle as she went to go and try the same funny prank on the rest of her team mates, Nightshade put her foreleg on the panting stallions shoulder.
"You okay there stealth ?" Nightshade asked stealth, he nodded but didn't speak, Stealth kept true to his name and never spoke unless told to do so, he was never the sociable type anyway but was very good at precision missions and was usually the pony for a clean cut execution to which he was given the nickname around the academy as 'The Assassin' his red eyes scanned the surroundings and a confused look also came onto his face, Nightshade sighed
"Look I'll explain later just help me wake the rest of these numskulls up" Nightshade said, just at that moment there was a scream and a pony shot into the air quickly followed by giggles, Firefly was Nightshades scout and had just had the same unfortunate wake up call that stealth had just experienced, she was now scowling at a giggling Blitz.
"What the heck was that for huh?" Firefly said rubbing her numb chest with a forhoof/ Blitz couldn't contain the laughter and fell over in her hysterics, Nightshade walked past the pair as she went to wake up another team mate.
"Hay cap why are we in the forest" Firefly asked rubbing the back of her neck as she looked at the never ending sight of trees, Nightshade didn't respond and kept walking until she reached the last sleeping figure which was a grey pegasus with a dark purple mane who was her second in command, Lieutenant Shockwave, Nightshade didn't waste anytime in coaxing him out of unconsciousness and instead just slapped him across the muzzle causing him to wake instantly, he looked around to see the rest of his team staring at him.
"Did i um...fall asleep on the job?" Shockwave ask blushing slightly from embarrassment. Nightshade facehoofed
"Alright everypony in a line and make that double time!" Nightshade snapped, 3 of the ponies lined up immediately and a moaning Blitz slowly walked up to her place in the line and stood to attention. Nightshade began to pace up and down the small line of ponies
"Alright listen up, I don't know where we are or how in Luna's name we got here and as I can already tell you guys are thinking the same thing, but what I do know is that we need to asses the situation and probably get the heck out of here" Nightshade said, she made another pass looking at the expression of her team mates before continuing.
"We will find the next town or city of residence and then make our way to Canterlot, any questions" Nightshade asked , the group of elite flyers shook there heads , Nightshade looked to her left and addressed her chaotic team mate/
"So Blitz, since I can see that your itching to go, I would like you to fly to the nearest town and tell us the co-ordinates , sound good ?" Nightshade said raising an eyebrow as she did so, Blueball lit up like a firework and nodded rapidly, Nightshade smiled
"Then what are you standing around for, go!" Nightshade said. Within a split second the space which occupied the blue mare was a blur of blue electricity and the sky lit up with the sounds of crackling thunder as Blitz tore the sky apart. Nightshade shook her head playfully at the insane mares antics before turning to the rest of her team
"Okay while Blitz takes care of that I want us to-" Nightshade started but was cut of by a low growl that seemed to come from the trees behind the 4 shadowbolts, the green eyes where peering through the darkness at the ponies, suddenly two more eyes opened up from two other spaces in the darkness. Nightshade stared in shock as three identical heads came out from under the darkness there green scales shone in the night sky as they rose up, towering over the four Pegasus's on the ground.
"Is that a h-hydra" Firefly said as she and the rest of the team started to back up a little, Nightshade just stood there trying not to let the screaming fear inside her show, she turned to look at her team mates
"Come on guys we are Shadowbolts, we have been trained for this" Nightshade said, the other 3 ponies looked at Nightshade with shocked expressions , Nightshade raised an eyebrow in confusion, Shockwave provided her answer
"Yes we're trained to deal with one hydra.... not three!" Shockwave said pointing behind Nightshade with a forehoof, Nightshades eyes widened when she turned back around to see not one , not two but three different hydra's emerging from the tree's, Nightshade gulped hard
Nightshade stood there below the towering hydra's which where standing over her and the rest of the team only one thought came to mind 'run'
Nightshade turned around to look at the rest of the team who by now had there rumps pressed up against one of the many tree's that occupied the forest, nightshade quickly took charge
"Okay squad , the next order is to.. run!" Nightshade said, she galloped with the rest of the team into the masses of tree's, as they ran nightshade heard the roars of the hydra's as they gave pursuit. Nightshade knew that they couldn't take flight in a hydra attack and tried to remember as much of her ground training as she could, she looked over to her right to see the rest of her team galloping just behind her, she dared to look back at the advancing hydra's.
The group of Shadowbolts kept running until they where face to face with a towering rock face, the four ponies skidded to a halt as they arrived at the dead end.
"Well what do we do now!" Shockwave said looking over at Nightshade, the captain shook her head solemnly at her lieutenant, they slowly looked back to the forest that they had just came from, the three hydra's came out of the tree line, they now had the shadowbolts cornered on each side, Nightshade looked back over at her teammates only to stare in confusion as Firefly picked up a rock and hurled it at one of the hydra's heads, it hit the hydra dead on and the monster roared in pain before diving its head down and snatching Firefly from the ground, Nightshade gasped and flared her wings, she ran for the hydra and was about to take off when a force grabbed her tail pulling her back onto the ground, she turned around scowling at Stealth who had her midnight blue tail between his teeth
"Let go Stealth thats a direct order!" Nightshade growled, Stealth only shook his head keeping her safely secured on the ground.
Nightshade looked back up in horror as Firefly was fighting for survival in the hydra's mouth, she was forcing its mouth open using her forelegs but the hydra's jaw had more strength. Nightshade couldn't watch her teammate die and so looked away, she squeezed her eyes shut waiting for the inevitable, but then the sound of crackling thunder caught her attention, her ear twitched at the sounds as she remembered the only pony that wasn't on the ground, Nightshade opened her eyes to see a burst of pure blue lightning in the night sky as Bluebell Blitz rocketed towards them.
"This is going to be so cool!" Blitz squealed in excitement as she took out her hoof blades and darted right for the hydra that was attempting to eat her team mate, the speed she was travailing at was so fast that when she hit the hydra head on the force sent the beast toppling over onto its side with two big deep gashes in its neck as the blood filled the forest floor beneath it, the other two hydra's looked at there fallen member before heading back into the undergrowth not wanting to face the same fate. Blitz landed next to the hydra and looked over to its head, out of its mouth came Firefly who was covered in blood and saliva, she threw a disgusted look when she examined her soaked uniform and mane. Blitz then turned back towards the three other Shadowbolts. Nightshade had a grin on her face
"I knew we could always count on you Blitz" Nightshade said holding back a chuckle, as she saw the chaotic mare with bloodstains covering her flight suit and face, Nightshade went over to a nearby bush and plucked a big leaf from it before trotting over to the electric mare and handing her it
"Here dry yourself of a bit" Nightshade said with a smile, Blitz had a confused expression on her face , she wiped her face with the leaf once and saw the blood marks it left on its green surface
"ooh thats soo awesome, I've got more of that red face paint again" Blitz said with a smile. Nightshade shook her head playfully at the insane pony.
"Well I hate to ruin the fun Blitz but you'll need to take the face paint off before we head into a town full of ponies" Nightshade said, Blitz's ears flattened on her head, Nightshade put on a smile and tried to hold back the impending laughter as much as she could
"Listen if you take the face paint of i'll let shock Stealth again" Nightshade said with a grin as Stealth started to back up slightly, Blitz perked up and started taking the rest of the blood of her face and uniform, Nightshade tried not to think about how ridiculous blitz could be in these situations, she then trotted over to Firefly who was still looking herself over
"You okay scout?" Nightshade asked Firefly, she nodded
"Ya I'm fine cap but I could use shower" Firefly replied, Nightshade smiled and nodded
"We'll find a lake and get you sorted" Nightshade said, she turned around to see a cleaner looking Blitz advancing on a scared looking Stealth with an evil grin on her face, Nightshade thought she aught to break up the conflict even though the result would be fun to watch
"Okay squad time out, Blitz did you find the nearest town?" Nightshade asked, Blitz turned around with an eager smile
"ooh I sure did, its over this rock face, its got everything like food and ponies and more food and more ponies" Blitz continued to rant but Nightshade put a hoof in her mouth.
"Okay guys you heard the crazy mare lets roll" Nightshade said, the others nodded before taking off, Nightshade took her hoof out of Blitz mouth and she kept on ranting as they followed the rest of the team out of the woods. after a short flight they came across an earth pony village which was settled on the outskirts of the forest, Blitz gasped
"There it is I found it, I found it!" Blitz announced cheerfully as she dive bombed towards the small town, Shockwave turned to nightshade raising an eyebrow.
"how can she be so happy all the time" Shockwave asked in a confused tone, Nightshade shook he head
"That's Blitz for ya I guess, now come on I'm starting to get tired" Nightshade said as she followed Blitz downwards towards the town, they landed just on the outskirts of the town which had a sign that read 'Welcome to Ponyville', Nightshade looked over to Firefly.
"kind of an ironic name for a village huh?" Nightshade said, Firefly nodded and the pair shared a chuckle, as they made there way over the small bridge and into the town they could barely see anything as the buildings blocked out the moon causing the towns streets to be nothing but a sea of darkness, Nightshade motioned for the team to follow her into the darkness, the team followed each other biting their team mates tail as not to get lost in the darkness the only beacon being the electrical charges flowing through Blitz's mane and tail, Nightshade put a foreleg out and discovered a wall, she turned around to the darkness where she could just make out the figure of Shockwave behind her
"Okay guys I think we'll crash here for the night and carry on tomorrow morning before anypony wakes up, sound good?" she asked , she heard murmured sounds of approval and ponies settling down on the ground below, she too fell to her flanks and leaned her head against the dark wall and shut her eyes
"goodnight eveypony" Blitz said cheerfully.
Firefly grunted, "how did you even become a Shadowbolt ?" Firefly asked slightly annoyed
"Because silly I like princess Luna!" Blitz said happily. Firefly sighed and just went back to sleep, Nightshade smiled at the scene and shut her eyes again letting sleep overtake her.
Nightshade slowly woke up to two bright blue eyes staring at her, she gasped, when she did the owner of the blue eyes giggled.
"Wakey, Wakey rise and shine!" the pony said.
Nightshade groaned and looked around to see ponies walking past her , she looked down to see the rest of her team still sleeping, she looked back to see the blue eyes had advanced further still, suddenly the owner of the blue eyes gasped and held back, nightshade then saw the pony was solid pink from head to tail.
"Wait I haven't seen you before and if that means I haven't seen you before that means your new and if your new that means I needtothrowyouaPARTY!" the pink mare shouted, Nightshade was taken back slightly 'why is she talking about, parties, this is the fall of Equestria is it not' Nightshade thought , then it hit her , her eyes widened in shock when she realized there was no night , it was light out and Celestia's sun shone brightly in the sky, confusion and frustration started to build up inside of her.
Nightshade peaked and pounced on the pink mare holding one of her hoof blades to her neck, "what happened to princess Luna!" Nightshade asked angrily as she gritted her teeth, the pink pony raised an eyebrow clearly over looking the threat
"Well duh you silly filly she got changed back from Nightmare moon!" the pink earth pony replied happily ruffling Nightshades mane, Nightshade was all to confused now but she was distracted from her thoughts by another voice
"Pinkie pie!, just what in tarnation did ya'll do this time" a southern voice announced, Nightshade looked up to see an orange mare with a blond mane trot over to her and Pinkie pie, she looked down at Nightshade
"look sugarcube I'm sorry for any trouble my friend here caused ya, but um did ya'll really have to threaten her with um that?" the southern pony asked,Nightshade looked down to see she still had her hoof blade pointed at the pink mare, she sighed and put it away, she then got up off the pink mare
"Okay, what is this, what happened to the night?" nightshade asked to no pony in-particular, the orange and pink mare looked at each other with confused expressions, the southern pony put a hoof on Nightshades shoulder.
"You sure ya'll are alright sugercube you look mighty confused about somethin" the orange mare asked, Nightshade shook her head.
"I-I don't know, me and my team are part of Luna's guard and we woke up in some forest got attack by a hydra ,then made our way here" Nightshade said, the orange mares eye's widened when she heard Nightshades short story.
"Wow sugarcube sure wasn't expectin that, ya'll must have had a pretty active night then, if its Luna ya'll need to speak to then my bets on asking twilight she can get to the princess's for ya so you don't have to go all the way ta Canterlot" the orange mare said, nightshade sighed in relief
"Ok then and she would be...where exactly?" Nightshade asked, the orange mare pointed towards an old oak tree that stood towards the center of the town , Nightshade nodded
"Ok thanks a lot citizen, I didn't catch your name ?" Nightshade asked, the orange mare brightened up at the question
"The names Applejack , pleasure to meet ya, and ya'll are?" Applejack asked raising an eyebrow, Nightshade grinned and walked back to where her four team mates where lying on the ground
"Well this is 'twiddly dum'" Nightshade said kicking Shockwave on the foreleg waking him up
"This is 'twiddly do'" Nightshade said kicking Firefly in the same manor
"This is 'twiddly dee'" Nightshade said kicking Stealth in the flank waking him up, Nightshade then stopped to turn around to face the orange mare and the rest of her team
"And this right here is 'totally insane'" Nightshade said hitting Blitz over the head with a forehoof, she walked back over to Applejack as her team collected themselves, and smiled
"And my names Nightshade leader of the Shadowbolts" Nightshade said proudly she then shaked hooves with the orange mare and turned back to her team
"Ok guys lets move out" Nightshade said, as she started trotting down the towns main street, the rest of the team slowly followed behind her still groggy from there slumber, suddenly Pinkie pie spoke up
"Hay wait you still need to come to my party !" Pinkie exclaimed, suddenly Blitz stopped and turned around with a smile
"Hay you sound just like me" Blitz said giggling, Pinkie started to giggle with her
"Thats so cool" the pair said in unison and then burst out laughing seconds later, Nightshade facehoofed, this was going to be a long day.
After some time Nightshade and the rest of the Shadowbolts had made there way across town to the oak tree library, Nightshade knocked on the old wooden door of the library and waited, just a few moments later a noise could be heard from inside.
"Spike could you get that please" a voice said, afterwords footsteps could be heard from inside the house and the door swung open. Nightshade didn't see anypony, but when she looked down she saw a purple and green dragon.
"um hay there little guy is this the residence of the pony known as Twilight?" Nightshade asked, the small dragon nodded.
"hey Twilight there's some uh ponies here to see you" the small dragon said. Spike stood aside so that five other ponies could enter the small tree house, Nightshade found a lavender unicorn on the wooden floor reading a book, she looked up to see Nightshade standing over her.
"Are you the one known as Twilight" Nightshade asked the unicorn she nodded and stood up.
"Yes thats me, what can I help you with, are you looking for a book?" Twilight asked.
Nightshade sighed and shook her head,"we wish to speak with princess Luna immediately" She said, Twilight was taken back by this slightly.
"May I ask why?" Twilight asked looking at Nightshade and the other four ponies in the room, Nightshade looked slightly shocked
"Do you not recognize us?" Nightshade asked, Twilight put a hoof to her chin, she narrowed her eyes as she pondered,finally she shook her head.
"No i'm afraid not" Twilight said, to her surprise Nightshade stepped back slightly.
"You mean to tell me that you do not recognize the leader of Luna's royal air force guard?" Nightshade asked in a shocked tone, she knew that she was well known throughout Equestria, Twilight shook her head.
"I'm afraid I don't but if your that important I guess I can send a letter to the princess" Twilight said, Nightshade sighed in relief.
"thank you Mrs Twilight" Nightshade said.
Twilight nodded "may i ask what your name is" Twilight said, Nightshade turned back to face the unicorn.
"It's Nightshade" she said. Twilight smiled and called for Spike and soon the little dragon came running in with an ink and quill, Twilight levitated the quill and began writing.
'Dear princess Celestia
Today i have been visited by Luna's royal air force leader by the name of 'Nightshade' who has asked to speak with your sister immediately , i do not yet know why Nightshade has asked for your sisters presence but it sounds very important, i will wait on your reply
your faithful student Twilight Sparkle.'
Twilight levitated the scroll over to Spike who breathed in before blowing the scroll into flamed fragments as the letter was sent on its way, Blitz looked over and saw the small dragon standing next to the lavender unicorn, she gasped and zoomed over to him.
"awwwww your so cute" Blitz said, smiling, Spike smiled back slightly blushing from embarrassment, Blitz curiously touched spikes chest with her forehoof, the electrical current sent from blitz's hoof sent spike crashing into a wall.
Nightshade turned around, "Sweet luna Blitz what did you do this time!!" She demanded. Blitz looked at her captain with a sheepish grin
"oopsie" Blitz said. Nightshade facehoofed, Twilight went over to her fallen assistant.
"are you ok Spike?" Twilight asked hesitantly, Spike just groaned rubbing his head with his claws , Nightshade walked up to the scene an looked the dragon over
"he'll be fine trust me just make sure he doesn't go near any more you know, lightning" Nightshade finished of with a slight chuckle, just then spike burped and a letter appeared in front of him , Nightshade raised an eyebrow as Twilight levitated the scroll
"um is he supposed to do that?" Nightshade asked.cTwilight nodded before she opened up the scroll and began to read
'Dear Twilight
I have read your letter and i must say this situation is very complicated , i have talked with Luna and we have decided to come and deal with the situation directly, may i ask that you gather the rest of the elements of harmony before we arrive shortly
Celestia.'
Twilight looked over at Spike who by now had gathered himself up but was still rubbing his head painfully
"Spike I need you to go find the others and bring them here immediately" Twilight said, Spike nodded before waddling out of the library in a dazed state
"Are you sure he'll be okay ?" Twilight said looking over at Nightshade who by now had seated herself on the wooden sofa in the middle of the library
"He should be, I get woken up nearly every second day by that" Nightshade said, she frowned as Blitz started to giggle.
Not to long after he left ,Spike returned with another five ponies in toe, two of which nightshade had already met. they came into the small library and glanced looks at Nightshade and her team.
"Um Twi, who are these ponies?" the cyan mare said to Twilight , Nightshade could see from her cutie mark she was a fast flier
"Oh um I guess I'll introduce you, um Nightshade these are my friends : Rainbow dash, Rarity , Pinkie pie, Applejack and Fluttershy" Twilight said pointing each one out with a forehoof,
"Friends this is Nightshade and her flight team, there part of Luna's royal guard" Twilight said. Nightshade didn't respond and simply nodded her head, an awkward silence came over the room, that is until Rainbow dash spoke up
"So are you guys like the Wonderbolts ?" the cyan mare asked with a hint of excitement in her voice, Nightshade was taken back by this slightly
"What you mean those sun loving pansies who think they know how to fly" Shockwave blurted out to everyone's surprise, the cyan mare threw a look of disgust at Nightshades lieutenant.
"what! ,they are the best fliers in all of Equestria" the cyan mare said, Nightshade stood up
"whoa everypony just settle down" Nightshade said motioning for everypony to sit , just then a knock came at the door, Spike got up and slowly walked over still dazed slightly from his earlier incident with Blitz, he opened the door to reveal the two royal sisters of Equestria, Spike didn't speak and just let them into the library
"Princess Celestia" Twilight said trotting over to greet the ruler of Equestria
"Hello Twilight sparkle it has been quite a while since i have seen you last" Celestia said greeting her student, Luna walked pasted the pair to see the five Shadowbolts gathered around the sofa , Nightshade stood up and saluted her, Luna smiled
"at ease Nightshade, its been awhile" Luna said, Nightshade grinned, but to her surprise Luna's smiled faded quickly, Celestia walked up from behind them
"Nightshade it has been a thousand years since i have st she seen you like this" Celestia said towering over Nightshade, normally the Shadowbolt leader wouldn't be intimidated by her, but when Celestia said those words Nightshades world came crashing down like someone had just hit the kill switch inside her brain
"a-a thousand years ?!?!" Nightshade stammered, she looked back at her team who were also in shock from the news, Luna stepped forward
"yes Nightshade it has been a thousand years, and Nightmare moon is no more" Luna stated, Nightshade felt like fainting at this point, she fell back onto the sofa and put her forehoofs on her head trying to comprehend what was being told to her.
Everything Nightshade had worked for at the academy , all the battles she had fought , and all the comrades she had lost with them was all for nothing, she glanced a look over at shockwave he had a shocked expression but his eyes showed anger , before nightshade could go any further in her thoughts Celestia spoke up again.
"After I defeated my sister all of the shadowbolts where sent to the Canterlot dungeons after there crimes to Equestria ,afterwords we found out we where missing one flight team ,which turned out to be the most dangerous of all the others and that happens to be your flight team Nightshade" Celestia said, Nightshade felt the words hit her brain like a steal hammer , she shook her head and looked up at Celestia, she had a sorrowful look on her face.
"so what happens now" Shockwave said speaking up, all eyes where on Celestia
"I have discussed this with Luna at length and because of the current situation our decision is to give you five a chance to prove that you can live peacefully in Equestria" Celestia said looking around at the five Shadowbolts, who by now all still had shocked expressions on there faces
"you will join my royal air force and protect Equestria under the leadership and guidance of captain Spitfire herself once me and my sister can be sure that you will not harm any pony you will be aloud to roam Equestria as you wish" Celestia said plainly, Nightshade sighed. She took he half circled, yellow tinted goggles of her head, to reveal her golden irises , she stared at them as memories of her parents and the academy came back to her in a cluster of images and then came all the battles she had fought against Celestia's air force, and all the ponies that they had taken with them, she griped the goggled tightly in her hoofs , suddenly Shockwave spoke up
"I do not except to work under the leader of the Wonderbolts nor do I except to become one of them" Shockwave spat, he got up and faced Luna pointing an accusing hoof in her direction
"you were the on who drilled it into our heads that doing anything Celestia says or does is wrong, and you expect us to just get up and follow her orders , i lost my brother to those hot shot Wonderbolts and i don't intend to show them any praise for that" shockwave said angrily, Luna had a shameful look on her face and lowered her head in shame, Nightshade narrowed her eyes and stood up
"alright that is enough!" Nightshade said turning to face her team.
"do you not understand guys, we're being given a second chance in life, I mean look at us, we are five world renowned terrorists, we don't have a choice in this unless you want to spend eternity in the Canterlot dungeons, well i for one don't and if you guys have any common sense you'll join me" Nightshade said almost pleadingly. She looked at all the faces of her team mates, Stealth smiled and nodded giving a boost of encouragement, she looked at Blitz and Firefly who also gave her confident nods in approval, Nightshade then hesitantly turned around to face Shockwave. He looked back at her his eyes full of confusion, eventually he let out a long sigh and nodded slowly, Nightshade sighed in relief and turned around to face the rulers of Equestria.
"I never thought i would say this but we...we will except your offer" Nightshade said, she was still all to confused about this but couldn't leave the opportunity alone, it felt weird in her brain after being told for many years that this was against all protocol of the shadowbolts to join the enemy team, she'd even sworn by it a few times, she just tried to push those thoughts out of her head for now, another few moments of silence filled the crowded library
"so what now?" Firefly finally said breaking the quietness in the room, Celestia looked over at the Shadowbolt scout
"you will report to the Wonderbolt headquarters in Cloudsdale, I will let Rainbow dash and my royal guards escort you there personally" Celestia said, she turned to dash who nodded in approval
"well if you'll excuse me I have to be getting back to a meeting in Canterlot i will await to hear from you Rainbow dash" Celestia finished , with that the royal sisters left after saying there goodbyes leaving a very shocked set of Shadowbolts
"well we may as well get going" Rainbow dash said, she lead the shadowbolts out of Twilight's tree house and back onto the main street of Ponyville were 3 guards where there waiting for them, Shockwave walked in front of Nightshade and stopped her
"I'm still unsure about this night, I've been a Shadowbolt for most of my life and i only take orders from one pony" Shockwave said proudly, Nightshade grinned and nodded
"very well then, I'll see what I can do, besides its about time these Wonderbolts got A New Shade of Black.
After a short flight, Nightshade's flight team accompanied by Rainbow Dash and the royal guard touched down on the cloud that made up the sky city known as Cloudsdale
"Well it sure has been awhile since I was here" Firefly said turning to stealth who nodded approvingly, Nightshade was next to touch down. she looked at the cloud made building which looked to be aerodynamically designed, Nightshade smiled
"so this is where the devils nest ended up, nice place" Nightshade said, just as shockwave landed. Nightshade turned around to see no Rainbow Dash or royal guard ponies anywhere, she raised an eyebrow
"where the heck did the guardsmen go ?" Nightshade asked, suddenly a boom could be heard from above them as a streak of lightning came over head followed by 3 guards ponies and a rainbow streak, Nightshade sighed
"shouldn't have let her fly out of the carriage" Shockwave said as Firefly began to laugh, just then Blitz was tackled onto the cloud layer by two of the guards ponies whilst the third barked at the crazy Pegasus.
"YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT" the stallion guard bellowed at the electric mare, Blitz groaned
"ooh come on Mr guards pony thats soo boring" Blitz moaned, the guards pony sighed
"Will some pony please make this mare shut up" the stallion asked as he looked at Nightshade and the others, Nightshade laughed with the others before coming over and helping the struggling stallions.
After an intense set of wing push ups. Blitz was back under control, the guards left soon after leaving the five Shadowbolts and Rainbow Dash on the ground
"ladies first" Shockwave said. Nightshade walked past him and was the first to set foot on the path that led to the Wonderbolt headquarters, when they reached the doors the Shadowbolts where face to face with a grey mare who was working behind a desk with the Wonderbolts logo on it. Nightshade trotted up to the desk
"Um hi, we're the shadowbolts" Nightshade said hesitantly, the mare looked up from her magazine at Nightshade, she sighed
"yes, Mrs Spitfire wish's to speak with you all" the mare said in a 'just kill me now' tone as she looked back down at her magazine and continued to read. Nightshade motioned for the rest of the team to follow as Rainbow Dash waited in the lobby
Nightshade Knocked on the door with a golden plaque which stated 'Spitfire Leader of the Wonderbolts' soon a voice came from behind the cloud layer
"come in" a voice said, the stress in the tone was evident, Nightshade sighed before opening the door to reveal a yellow mare with a fiery orange mane witch matched her name quite well, she was signing a stack of fan mail, which had been piled up to one side of her desk , Nightshade and the others glanced at the many photo's that adorned the interior walls, pictures of famous stadiums and stunts which had been signed by members of the team, Nightshade was in shock 'this is Celestia's royal air force, a bunch of aerobatics clowns, well done Nightshade well done.'
Nightshade and the rest of the team seated themselves and waited for a response to come from the clearly over worked mare, soon though she lifted her head up and place her sunshades which she had been keeping in her mane on the desk and put her forehoofs together as she scanned over the five shadowbolts.
"so this is the shadowbolts then" the mare finally said breaking the ice , Nightshade simply nodded
"I was expecting some real flyers" the mare said simply.
Nightshade smiled slyly, "and I was expecting a bit more than a couple of show ponies" she said raising an eyebrow, she tried to hold back the laughter as the fiery mares eye twitched slightly
"you've got guts I'll give you that, however I think that you lot are going to be a bit more than surprised when you are beaten by us in front of an entire crowed of ponies" the mare said, Nightshade mind clicked when she heard that sentence, she was going to make them into show ponies and get them to perform
"W-wait are you suggesting that we become" Nightshade started but the mare interrupted her
"yes I am suggesting you become 'show ponies'" the mare said smirking, Nightshade sighed 'how can this day get any worse'
"but thats after we do a derby in Canterlot tomorrow, I hear 'Fancy Pants' is going to be attending" said the mare, Nightshade shook her head confusingly at this 'I don't even want to know who that guy is' Nightshade thought, she got up of the chair she was sitting on and tried to put on a happy smile at the mare she now would have happily killed if this was a thousand years ago.
"great so is that it?" Nightshade said, the mare nodded
"your dorms are on the 3rd floor, i'll be seeing you at 0600 hours sharp, you got that" spitfire said just as Nightshade and her team where leaving
"of course Spitfire" Nightshade said, just as she opened the door,Spitfire slammed her hoof on her desk making Nightshade turn her head in the direction of the sound, Spitfire had changed from her stressed appearance to her totally angry expression
"Thats Captain Spitfire To You" the mare said in a growled tone, Nightshade was happy that she had her tinted goggles on when she rolled her eyes, she willed up all the courage from inside her to say three words she'd thought she would never utter
"yes captain Spitfire" Nightshade said almost in a mocking tone but she didn't want to cause a scene.
Nightshade walked out of Spitfire's office and trotted down the corridor and up the stairs with her team to the 3rd floor, once they reached it they each went to there respective rooms, Nightshade stopped in front of her's and red the plaque which read 'Nightshade , Wonderbolt rookie', Nightshade sighed and leaned her head against the door closing her eyes , then she heard a voice
"your having second thoughts about this aren't you?" Shockwave said looking at his old captain from his doorway, Nightshade let out a long and heavy sigh
"I dunno shock but right now , I think eternity in Celestia's dungeon sounds like heaven" Nightshade said, Shockwave grinned at his captain's statement
"well at least we can show em' what the shadowbolts can really do tomorrow" Shockwave said in a hopeful tone, Nightshade was next to grin 'ya will defiantly give these Wonderbolts a renovation , have to get some black paint first though' Nightshade thought as she turned her head towards to her former lieutenant and smiled
"goodnight Mr Shockwave" Nightshade said opening her door and walking into her dorm.
Shockwave smiled back, "goodnight Mrs Nightshade" Shockwave said turning around and closing the door behind him as the Wonderbolt headquarters fell back into silence once more
Nightshade slowly opened her eyes from her slumber and looked over at her alarm clock which was ringing out at her, she slammed a hoof down on the object with great force sending it into the air slightly before landing back onto the bedside table.
With the noise taken care of Nightshade got up and rubbed her eye with a forehoof before making her way to the other side of her room, she opened the cloud door and looked down the hallway, there was no sign of activity still, 'huh guess i'm early' Nightshade thought to herself, she turned around but something caught her eye, she looked down and saw a folded up Wonderbolts uniform
"ooh no" Nightshade mumbled to herself, she sighed and leaned down to pick it up, as she did the Wonderbolt uniform unfolded ,Nightshade looked at the design that was slightly similar to her own uniform, except the few colour changes, she then heard footsteps on the cloud floor, Nightshade looked down the corridor again to see the Spitfire walking up to her with a smug grin plastered on her face
"you know, its nearly everypony's dream to wear that uniform?" Spitfire said, Nightshade laughed
"ha your funny" Nightshade said, she saw that Spitfire's expression still hadn't changed
"whoa wait ponies actually want to be Wonderbolts, what kind of Equestria do we live in?" Nightshade protested, Spitfire rolled her eyes in annoyance
"just get changed and make your way to the stadium in 5 Minutes" Spitfire said in her captain voice, Nightshade couldn't bear saying the words 'yes captain Spitfire' and so simply nodded before she turned around and walked back inside her dorm.
a few minutes later Nightshade looked at herself in the mirror, she had left her old and prized Shadowbolt uniform on her bed and was now wearing the latest Wonderbolt uniform, she stood up on her hind legs looking at the new uniform for herself 'so this is what its come to ?' Nightshade thought, she turned around and picked up her new full circled clear goggles and put them on before heading out of her dorm.
Nightshade walked out onto the big stadium which was part of the Wonderbolt training center, she saw the rest of her old team mates standing in a line on the ground , she trotted up to them and saw they where all standing to attention, she looked over at Shockwave and whispered
"Whats this, I thought you only took orders from one pony?" Nightshade said mockingly, Nightshades held back the laughter as Shockwave stood back down from attention and shrugged at her he opened his mouth to speak but just then a voice made itself known around the large oval stadium.
"Okay ,listen up rookies, we have exactly five hours before the Wonderbolt Derby in Canterlot, so that means you'll be spending that time training with me!" said the voice, Nightshade raised an eyebrow, 'that isn't Spitfire's voice' Nightshade thought, her question was then answered when a stallion walked in front of the line , he had a midnight blue mane which was a few shades darker than Nightshades and he had a pale cyan coat, he looked at each one of the shadowbolts before his eyes came to rest on Nightshade.
"So your the troublemakers eh?, Spitfire's told me a lot about you" the stallion said, Nightshade smirked
"and you are?" Nightshade asked, The stallion though,only replied with anger
"You will only speak when spoken to cadet!, do i make myself clear!" the stallion barked, Nightshade forced her eyes not to do back flips at the stallions over confidence and instead managed a simple nod, The stallion seemed to calm down , but the loudness didn't leave his tone
"Ok cadets my name is lieutenant Soarin', I will be your training coach for the next few hours" the stallion said as he started to pace up and down the short line of ponies
"you will do as I say at all times, I don't want to see any fighting or smart comments are we clear" Soarin' asked, Nightshade and the rest of the team nodded in approval, but the stallion's anger immediately came back
"I want to hear a yes sir!" the stallion barked, Nightshade quickly glanced a look down at the small line to see the rest of the team trying to force out the words like babies trying to belch, she almost found it comical, finally everyone managed to say the sentence at exactly same time.
Nightshade felt like in the space of less than twenty-four hours, her dignity had been smashed into pieces and laid out in front of her, but this seemed to be a minor problem as she was more worried about how shockwave was holding up, he was acting like he was fine on the outside but Nightshade knew that inside Shockwave was just a ticking time bomb.
The morning of training happen to go by quickly, and soon the five worn out shadowbolts lazily made there way to the locker rooms, Nightshade threw her uniform in the locker ,she practically hissed at it before slamming the door shut, she started to walk out when another voice caught her attention
"Well done shadowbolts, you've got a few minutes to get rested up before we head out to the derby" Soarin' said as he made his way into the locker rooms, Nightshade took a glance at the rest of her team, she could tell the where all as annoyed as she was, but she didn't have time to help them though as soon it would be time for the derby.
Nightshade looked out at the crowed in the many stands that made up the large stadium in Canterlot, she glanced a look at the royal box and saw a white unicorn with a tuxedo and a monocle which she guessed was Fancy Pants, she then saw the five multicolored ponies from the library as well as princess Luna, she then felt a pony tap her shoulder , she turned around to see Shockwave and Blitz
"Hay guys whats up?" Nightshade asked, Shockwave put a wing around blitz
"I checked the Wonderbolt's wing power, there fastest is a mare named FleetFoot, she's got 25.7 wing power" Shockwave explained, Nightshade lightened up when she started to catch on , Shockwave smiled as he continued
"and Blitz here has 27 wing power!" Shockwave exclaimed, Nightshade opened her mouth to speak but suddenly a boom came from a microphone, the three Shodowbolts quickly made there way to there starting lines as the announcer addressed the crowed.
"Ladies and Gentlecolts are you ready for some action?" the announcer boomed to the crowed, an eruption of cheers came along with the thunder of stamping hooves, the announcer turned towards the Wonderbolts at the start line as he started to count down
'its just 3 laps , how hard can it be?" Nightshade thought to herself, as the announcer spoke
"okay 3...2...1...GO!" the announcer bellowed as the official blew his whistle, there was a blur of blue and yellow followed by contrails of all kinds as the eight Wonderbolts and five Shadowbolts blitzed out of the starting line.
Blueball Blitz and FleetFoot were neck and neck as they rounded the first corner ,they where shortly followed by Nightshade and Shockwave who found themselves competing with Spitfire and Soarin' , at the back of the pack was Firefly and Stealth competing with the rest of the Wonderbolt squadron.
Nightshade and Shockwave dived into the inside lane as they rounded the first few corners. Nightshade could sense the presence of Spitfire as they hit the straight to complete the first lap of the race, as she passed the start line she glanced a quick look round the track and saw Blitz was yet to take the lead from her neck and neck position with FleetFoot, when she looked back her eyes widened at the incoming corner, she quickly slowed down as she corrected her wide turn, when she pulled back onto the returning straight she saw that shockwave and Spitfire were now in front of her, she saw the midnight blue mane out the corner of her eye indicating that soarin' was right next to her, as Nightshade rounded the last few corners before the straight she heard the announcer boom towards the crowed
"And we are on our final lap Ladies and Gentlecolts and its Blueball Blitz who is leading !" the announcer called.
Nightshade grinned and she pumped her wings faster as they returned to the finishing straight to complete the second lap, she was right on Shockwave's tail, taking the slipstream behind him as she rounded the first corner for the last time, Nightshade dived for the inside lane again but was blocked out by Spitfire, normally she would be annoyed by this, but Nightshade felt something different , she felt joy in doing this, a smile started to tug at her lips as she turned into the second last corner of the race, she tried diving for the inside lane again but this time it was soarin' who blocked her path.
Nightshade chuckled a bit this time, she felt a warmth of happiness wash over her, then an idea hatched in her mind, she went back into the middle lane as they rounded the final corner, she waited for shockwave to move back out from the inside lane and back in front of her again, Nightshade used her former lieutenants slipstream again as she increased her speed to overtake the unsuspecting stallion just as the finish line went passed them, Nightshade slowed down, a great beaming smile now adorned her face, she faced the cheering crowds as the rest of the Wonderbolts completed the race, she had completely forgotten about the competition involved 'Maybe I could get used to this?' Nightshade thought to herself, just then the announcer spoke down his microphone again
"and the winner is.....FleetFoot" the announcer boomed, Nightshade hadn't noticed that shockwave was standing right next to her and was surprised when she heard him gasp in shock, she turned to face him to see his eyes where full of anger
"hay its ok shock ,its not a big deal" Nightshade said still reviling in her new found joy, Shockwave didn't respond and grunted before walking back in the directions of the locker rooms, Nightshade turned around to see the stallion walking away, his head lowered to the ground, Nightshade watched with a sad expression as the stallion went out of sight.
Chapter 6 (revised) The loss of a brother - (Shockwave's view)
Shockwave slammed the door to the Locker room's behind him, he let out and angry sigh before walking to his locker, he started to take of his uniform but the anger and frustration just wouldn't let him get a grip on the zipper, eventually he gave up and sat on his flanks next to his locker door, he put his head in his forehoofs as he remembered why he was so angry about all of this in the first place.
- operation mile high- -12 years before Nightmare moons defeat-
Shockwave was standing on one of the many fortified cloud buildings that made up one of the shadowbolts top level barracks, he had been informed of an impending attack by the Wonderbolts that day and was looking out onto the horizon, suddenly a voice spoke up
"um hay bro I just got word from Nightshade that the Wonderbolts where sited heading this way, we need to get ready" Soundwave said as he trotted over to him, Shockwave nodded
"okay make sure the barracks is on full alert and meet me at the front lines" Shockwave said, Soundwave nodded and continued to trot passed him as he made his way down to the lower levels of the sky fort.
Shockwave and his little brother had joined the academy together, although because Soundwave was two years younger he had to stay at the academy for a longer period of time, giving Shockwave time to move up in the ranks. They had always been close even in the time of war and always did missions together, Shockwave always promised his parents he would keep an eye on Soundwave , and so far things had been nothing but plain sailing.
Being the head of a barracks was something of an honor but with it came a lot of hard work, they where constantly under aerial attack by those sun loving Wonderbolts and not to mention Celestia's royal guard, but Shockwave stayed true to his Shadowbolt code to protect and serve the queen of the night. Today however was slightly different as an entire army of Wonderbolts where making there way over to invade the barracks, Nightshade had sent out her own squadron as back up but they would be arriving late to the party and had already sighted the last of the Wonderbolts making there way in the direction of the sky fort. Shockwave was now standing proudly with his squadron on one of the many cloud layers that made up the front line which protected the heavily armed fortress inside, Soundwave stood next to him and was stretching as if he was about to run a marathon, Shockwave shook his head playfully at his brothers antics, suddenly the alarm sounded signalling the arrival of the enemy, Shockwave ordered the entire barracks to attack and to leave no one alive and with that the battle commenced.
the battle was different this time as the shadowbolts where heavily outnumbered, however the shadowbolts had always been better in aerial combat. Shockwave was on the tail of one of the Wonderbolts top commanders by the name of 'sunny shades', the name almost made Shockwave gag, but him and Sunny Shades had a history together and needless to say each wanted to see the other dead.
Shockwave kept tight on 'Sunny Shades' as the Wonderbolt tried to shake the Lieutenant Shadowbolt, Shockwave however was smarter and was using the slipstream to his advantage , he would wait till Sunny Shades was worn out and then he would strike, it was the perfect plan until he glanced a quick look at the battlefield. Most of his squadron where lying lifeless at the entrance to the sky fortress, it was then Shockwave had realized he had been played, this was a distraction, He quickly nose dived down from his position and quickly reached the entrance to the square courtyard in the middle of the fortress, he looked around for any signs of life, he then heard a muffled groan from in front of him.
Soundwave was leaning his back against the wall, his hind legs splayed out on the ground below as he clutched his chest with had a gaping stab wound, Shockwave rushed over to him to help apply pressure to the bleeding, his brother's blue eyes met his a glimmer of acceptance passed through them , was his brother excepting his fate, Shockwave shook his head
"No you are getting out of this Soundwave" Shockwave said as he ripped of a part of his uniform to act as a bandage, his brother didn't reply, just then he heard footsteps on the cloud surface, he turned around to see 'Sunny Shades' and the rest of the Wonderbolt squadron, The shadowbolts had put up a good fight but still more Wonderbolts remained, Sunny Shades pointed his hoof blade in Shockwaves direction
"I'm sorry it had to be this way lieutenant, But you are hereby arrested by the Canterlot royal guard on-" Sunny Shades didn't get to finish his sentence as an explosion knocked some of the Wonderbolts clean out of the fortress, as the smoke subsided Sunny Shades saw Captain Nightshade and a full squadron of Shadowbolts entering the courtyard, Sunny Shades tried to take off with the rest of the Wonderbolts but nightshade used her crossbow to bring him down.
As the Shadowbolts started taking the Wonderbolt prisoners away Shockwave heard his brother cough and immediately turned his attention back to him, his coat almost looked completely pale , Shockwave lifted his forhoof to try and stop the bleeding again but he was stopped by Soundwave's hoof, Shockwave looked at his brother, the near lifeless Soundwave smiled and he used all his strength to pull Shockwave into one last hug, Shockwave hugged his brother and heard him sigh in relief, they hugged for what felt like eternity but then Shockwave felt the embrace loosen up, he felt the tears at the corner of his eye as he let go to look down at his lifeless brother, Shockwave felt a hoof on his shoulder, he turned around to see Nightshade with a sorrowful look
"I'm sorry Shockwave, you paid the ultimate price in this war" Nightshade said, Shockwave let out a shaky sigh as he looked over his brothers corps one last time before swiftly turning his head in another direction, he let a silent tear escape his eye, he then saw Sunny Shades groaning on the ground with an arrow through his wing, he felt the rage build up inside him, he took loud steps as he walked over to Sunny Shades, the pale yellow Pegasus turned around to see Shockwave and Nightshade standing before him, Shockwave felt something on his chest and saw a crossbow held by Nightshades hoof in front of him, he looked over at his captain who gave him a firm nod, he then took the crossbow and met eyes with his enemy, Sunny Shades looked on in terror as he looked at Shockwave with his torn uniform and bloodstained coat stare at him with a blank expression, he held up the crossbow to Sunny Shades head, the Pegasus tried to move but couldn't as the pain was to great, his breathing became rapid as he looked pleadingly at Shockwave, but the Shadowbolt solemnly shook his head as he squeezed the trigger.
End of Flashback
Shockwave opened his eyes again to see that he was now curled up in a ball on the floor of the locker rooms, his ears perked up as he heard a door open and close and then the sound of trotting making its way towards him, he felt someone lay a hoof on his side, he looked up to see Nightshade , Shockwave tried to put on a brave face but just couldn't seem to conjure up anything but a weak smile, Nightshade smiled back at him as she held out a forehoof for shockwave to help him up, he gladly shook it and shakily got to his hoofs, he looked at Nightshade who had a knowing look on her face
"your never going to forgive yourself over that day are you?" Nightshade asked, Shockwave shook his head, Nightshade thought of the only thing she could and embraced the the grey stallion, Shockwave was hesitant at first but soon returned the favor, a silence fell over the locker rooms until Nightshade suddenly began to chuckle , Shockwave raised an eyebrow, Nightshade released the embrace and playfully punched him on the shoulder
"your such a wimp sometimes, now come on there gonna be wondering where two world class terrorists have gone off too" Nightshade said, Shockwave sighed but the anger was now extinguished and a smile started working its way onto his face, he nodded before following Nightshade out of the Locker rooms and back out onto the Stadium.
