Piercing the Heavens

by Calm Wind


Chapter 150: Bittersweet

MLP: FiM
Piercing the Heavens
By: Calm Wind

Chapter 150: Bittersweet


“Wow…” Wave Chill blinked as he turned his head away from Spitfire, nestling it further into his pillow and stared straight up at the ceiling. Spitfire had just finished giving him all the details of their escapades since she last had a chance to visit him. “Well… that certainly explains all the shaking,” he said with a light chuckle as he turned his head back to her. Spitfire was resting her arms up on the mattress and was leaned in close to him.


            “Sorry about all that,” she said as she looked away and her ears flopped down. “Probably didn’t help your pain at all.”


            “Heh, It’s not like I’m expecting a pleasure cruise,” Wave quickly reassured her as she looked back at him. “We’re Wonderbolts, we don’t do anything the easy way,” he said with a wink. Spitfire giggled and tipped her head a little.


            “No… I suppose we don’t…” she trailed off as the two of them locked eyes. Spitfire edged herself a little closer and reached a hoof up to his head, gently running a hoof through his mane. “So… how are you feeling now?” She asked while looking over the exposed portions of his body at the much smaller blemishes and crystal bits. “That’s… the third time I’ve asked that, isn’t it?” she said while gritting her teeth and wincing comically.


            “Fourth,” Wave said with a smile, shaking lightly from quiet chuckles.


            “Oh jeez, sorry…” Spitfire let her nose fall and smush into the mattress.


            “You’re fine,” Wave said as he tipped his head to press it against her hoof lightly. “Same as I feel the other times you asked, but I have to say, whatever Moon did… it feels good. There’s a feeling of euphoria clashing with the pain. They’re kind of canceling each other out.”


            “Euphoria…” Spitfire said with concern as she picked her face back up out of the mattress. “I don’t know if I like that. I’d rather you not get exposed to any more of that messed up magic.”


            “I’m not planning on running off and joining the Shadowbolts if that’s what you’re worried about,” Wave quickly replied, pulling her right out of her concern and drawing out a smirk.


            “Good,” she nudged him in the shoulder with her other hoof. “I’d have to kick your ass if you did.”


            Wave burst out laughing, or at least he tried. He cringed here and there, the guffaws obviously not feeling the best with the state of his body. Spitfire winced as she saw the slight grimaces on his face, but they couldn’t hold back a big smile, or his laughter.


            “Careful… sorry, I shouldn’t make you laugh like that,” Spitfire kept tapping his shoulder, hoping he’d stop quickly, but he kept chuckling before smiling at her again.


            Just seeing his smile did wonders for Spitfire. It felt so good just to see Wave in better spirits. She had no idea how much she needed this little interaction. Flashwind was right… again.


            “Well,” Wave began as he calmed down. “What was used on me aside, I feel better. And at this point I’ll take it.” He shrugged weakly. “Plus I get to actually talk to you again. I really hated seeing you and not being able to talk,” he said with a warm smile that brought a faint blush across Spitfire’s cheeks.


            “It’s great to hear your voice again, at least in full and not struggling,” she explained as she continued to stroke a hoof through his mane, moving it behind his ear and giving it a gentle rub. She sighed, her smile slowly turning down as she continued to look at him. “I’ve been doing my best… But not having you up there with me has been rough.” She blinked as Wave suddenly moved a hoof over to her and rested it against her arm.


            “Hey, you’re the Captain Spitfire, you can do anything,” he said with a completely straight face. Spitfire failed to hold in a giggle as she rolled her eyes.


            “Oh, stop that…” she reacted assuming he was trying to butter her up, but when she looked back down, he was still looking right at her with a straight face.


            “I’m serious,” he added, causing Spitfire to go quiet and stare blankly at him. Wave lifted his brow. “We’re about to reach the Crystal Empire, right?” he asked. Spitfire blinked, still caught by surprise by his demeanor.


            “Uh… yes,” she quickly answered. “If everything goes smoothly for the next few hours, yeah.”


            “Are we still alive after all we’ve been put through?” he pressed.


            “Y…yes?” Spitfire tipped her head furrowing her brow as she tried to figure him out.


            “And who is in charge?” Wave added with a slight smile. Spitfire blinked again and then sighed with her ears drooping down.


            “You’re giving me way too much credit,” she deflected as she caught on.


            “When have you ever known me to exaggerate?” Wave stopped her before she could say any more. Spitfire turned to reply quickly, but stopped with her mouth open slightly. She remained quiet for a moment before exhaling through her nostrils.


            “Never…” she answered, but still felt like she was getting too much praise and he gave her a strict look as if he could tell that was exactly what she was thinking.


            “Spitfire, if it were anypony else in charge, I probably would have given up hope by now. You know how to make impossible things happen. You’ve done so over and over again and nothing is a better example than what we’ve gone through and survived thus far. I’m not saying you did it alone, but you are the one in charge. Why do you think you were named the captain? It wasn’t an accident. You’re a miracle worker… that’s what’s been keeping me going. I didn’t care how much my body hurt or how nasty my infliction became…” He paused and smiled. “With you in charge, I’ve never once doubted my chances of living through this.”


            “Wave…” Spitfire’s bottom lip was quivering as she smiled very wide and her face was turning bright red. “Stop it…” she slowly slid an arm over her nose to hide her face as she avoided eye contact.


            “No,” Wave denied. “I’m going to tell you how lucky of a stallion I am until your face explodes.”


            “Wave!” Spitfire said as she began giggling loudly and pressed her chin down into the mattress. She covered her face with her wing now also, but her nose and mouth remained exposed from beneath, showing a wide smile.


            They shared a good chuckle for a moment before Spitfire eventually pulled her arm away. With their heads perfectly level, her chin on the mattress and his head turned to the side, they stared into one another’s eyes, absorbing each other’s look and enjoying every millisecond.


            Spitfire couldn’t take it anymore. She slowly reached a hoof towards his face and gently touched his exposed cheek, doing her best to avoid touching any small crystal flakes that remained near and around. Her eyes narrowed a little as she moved in, her look changing from bright and cheerful to slightly lustful as she leaned in to kiss him, but stopped halfway, hesitating and wondering if she was being selfish.


            “Why did you stop?” Wave suddenly asked, causing Spitfire’s eyes to open wide. He was comically pouting. “You’re not gonna hurt me, now quick, don’t leave me waiting.”


            “Pff…” Spitfire scoffed and chuckled. “Oh, shut up you…”


            Spitfire continued, leaning all the way towards them until their lips met. She instinctively reached one of her wings forward to block them from view as they locked their mouths. It was nothing rowdy or intense, it was soft, it was quiet, and it was satisfying. Spitfire forgot about all the aches and pains about her body as they were all replaced by a tingling feeling of excitement.


            Flashwind wasn’t just right… she was so right. This in no way offset all the awful things that had happened and needed to be addressed, but it was a brief distraction that gave her body and mind something it sorely needed.


            They slowly parted after holding together for several seconds, keeping their eyes on one another as they pulled no further than an inch away from one another. They both wore very content smiles, basking in the presence of the other without a care in the world for the moment.


            At least until Spitfire decided to take a quick peek below her wing.


            “Oh jeez…” she blushed as she quickly put her wing back down to block them from members of Bliss’ staff staring. “They’re all looking at us…” she said as her face grew so red that Wave swore he could feel the heat from it.


            “I don’t care,” Wave said calmly as he smiled at her. “I really needed that.”


            “Oh… this is so embarrassing…” Spitfire kept blushing hard, never one to be for public displays of affection. She needed it just as much as Wave, but it was still—


            “Excuse me, Captain.”


            “GAH!” Spitfire flinched hard and yelped right into Wave’s face, her body pushing up onto the mattress until her back hooves came off the ground. She pushed her front hooves down, reacting to the sudden shift, but without her base, she slipped backwards and fell into a heap on the floor.


            Spitfire immediately rolled over and stood up quickly, turning around with wide eyes and an unhinged jaw.

Fire Streak and Misty Fly were standing right behind her. Fire was smiling awkwardly and avoiding eye contact, but Misty looked like she was absolutely melting. She was clinging to Fire’s arm, her head pressing hard into his shoulder as she wore the goofiest, giddy look on her face. Her plot was wiggling back and forth against the floor, the tip of her tail bouncing up and down excitedly. She nuzzled her cheek into Fire’s shoulder while staring at Spitfire and Wave Chill. Based on her expression, if she had a voice to use, she’d easily be squealing loudly.


            “F…Fire…” Spitfire stuttered as her ears flopped down. “How long have you two been there?!” she asked desperately.


            “Erm…” Fire hesitated while glancing down at Misty. “For a few minutes,” he explained as Spitfire’s jaw slammed shut and her pupils enlarged. Fire quickly pointed to Misty. “I apologize, but… Misty insisted that I not interrupt…”


            Spitfire looked at Misty and pouted, trying her best to hold back the blood rushing to her face, but it wasn’t working. Misty looked directly at her, reaching a hoof up and pressing it to her cheek, cutely squishing her face as she further melted against Fire.


            Spitfire’s eyes darted back to Fire a she flattened her brow.


            “With all due respect, Captain,” Fire spoke up quickly. “Have you ever tried saying no to her?”


            Spitfire blinked… and sighed. Fire was definitely not wrong there.


            Misty suddenly pushed forward, dragging Fire with her over to them. She somehow detached herself from Fire and rested her body on the mattress, placing her arms and hooves atop it as she looked over Wave with worry.


            Wave smiled as he saw Misty silently express her concern. He reached a hoof towards her, tapping her arm gently and giving her a nod to reassure her he was doing alright. She smiled weakly back at him as Fire Streak approached and stood beside her.


            “How are you feeling, sir?” he asked while giving a brief salute.


            “Not quite a million bits, but at this point I’ll take whatever I can get,” Wave answered with a smile.


            “That’s good to hear,” Fire nodded as he placed a hoof gently on Misty’s back. “Sorry it’s taken us so long, but hopefully we’ll have you back on your hooves soon.”


            As the words left Fire’s lips, Spitfire perked up.


            “Wait, Fire,” she stepped up beside him, her face still a little red. “If you’re here, does that mean…?” She trailed off, but Fire knew exactly what she was curious about. He gave a decisive nod.


            “We are all ready to go. The plan has been spread discretely to the Wonderbolts and the Renegades. Luna and the thestrals have been left in the dark.”


            “Wow…” Spitfire blinked. “That was quick.”


            “I think it’s safe to say that we’re all ready to take control,” Fire explained. “I saw quite a bit of excitement towards the idea of subverting Luna and Discord.”


            Spitfire chuckled as she absorbed Fire’s words, shaking her head lightly.


            “I never thought I’d hears those words in that particular order. Feels like the whole world’s been turned upside down.” She shrugged. “But I’m glad we’re all on the same page. Good work.”


            “Shall we prep for takeoff?” Fire quickly asked, showing some eagerness of his own.


            “Yes,” Spitfire pointed at him. “Gather up the top elites on the bridge again, Rainbow Dash and her friends too. Tell Rivet and Lucky to get ready, we’ll leave as soon as I’m on the bridge.”


            “Right away, ma’am,” Fire saluted and turned to Misty, patting her on the back. She looked up at him and he gave her a simple head motion towards the door. Misty looked at him and at Spitfire, reading their expressions and putting two and two together. She reluctantly slid herself off the bed away from Wave and turned to leave with Fire.


            “Fire,” Spitfire suddenly spoke up before they could get very far.


            “Yes, Ma’am?”


            “I want Luna and P.L. on the bridge too,” Spitfire ordered. Fire almost complied immediately, but hesitated, cocking his head to the side. Spitfire had anticipated the reaction. “We have to act like everything is working as usual, she has to believe that we’re still under their watch. Let’s just hope our acting skills are all on par with your squads’.”


            “Understood,” Fire gave her another nod. “I’ll see you on the bridge.”


            Spitfire remained upright and professional as Fire and Misty left, but the moment the two of them were out the door, she sighed and slumped a little.


            She wanted to get moving as much as everypony else… but she was feeling so good with Wave and didn’t want to leave just yet. It was written all over her face as she turned back to Wave, he noticed immediately.


            “Gotta go?” he asked, trying his best not to sound disappointed as she placed a hoof on the mattress and failed to hide her own disappointment.


            “Yeah…” she replied quietly as she lowered her face down towards him again and placed it on the mattress near his. Unable to stand the look on her face, Wave mustered the little strength he had to moved his arm all the way over, lift it slightly, and touch her cheek gently.


            “Hey, I’m not going anywhere,” he reassured her, a smile slowly making its way back onto her face. “Go do your thing. I look forward to being saved,” he said with a wink. Spitfire felt her heart flutter, quickly leaning in. They shared another brief kiss, this time not caring about who was watching.


            “You’ll be better before you know it,” Spitfire assured him as she hooked her hoof with his.


            They said no more as Spitfire slowly began pulling away, keeping their hooves locked for as long as possible until she had to let go. Spitfire walked backwards for the first few steps, turning around and making her way to the door. She stopped as she placed a hoof on the door, looking over her shoulder. She smiled at Wave, who smiled back before Spitfire turned, took a deep breath, and made her way out into the barracks hallway.


It wasn’t long before Spitfire was up on the third floor and making her way towards the broken bridge doors. She could feel the nip of the cold air as she approached, shivering as she furrowed her brow and tensed her body against the chilly air. She visibly shuddered as she entered the bridge.


            “Yikes! It’s freezing in here…” she said to herself, drawing the eyes of several ponies as she entered. She looked around and noticed that several of them were wearing blankets or huddled together. “Did the vents break or—?” she stopped and looked towards the front. “Oh… right…” she quickly remembered that Nightshade’s magic had blown out the forward windshields. That was sure going to make the rest of the trip pleasant. They didn’t have much of a choice, there was nowhere else to have the ponies gather and direct travel at the same time, not to mention the P.A. controls were on the bridge. Everypony had shed their flight suits and goggles, not expecting any more resistance on the way to the Crystal Empire. Though she doubted they would have provided much warmth, Spitfire was subtly wishing she had kept hers on.


            There was no way around it, they just had to suck it up. Spitfire made her way through the bridge, quickly noticing that all the top tier Wonderbolts had already arrived. They were all huddled near the back of the bridge, as far away from the front as possible. Blaze and High Winds were right beside the door, sharing a blanket. Squad Three was on the other side of the door, Misty pressing against Fire for warmth with Lightning sitting right beside them. Surprise was completely wrapped up like a bun, shuddering on Lightning’s back with only the silly bangs of her mane poking out the front. Calm Wind had somehow made it back up to the bridge, both Fleetfoot and Shine struck pressed to his large body for warmth. He seemed to have gotten used to it, more worried about staying warm then the fact that two mares were attached to him. Aside from Silver and Wave, the only top tier member missing was Air Mach, who was down in the infirmary after his… graceful attempt to land the Falcon. And obviously Soarin…


            Spitfire’s ears dropped as Soarin crossed her mind again. She felt like there was a gap in her chest without him there. Her squad had remained mostly intact throughout all the hardships. Now that it was finally splintered, it hurt, not to mention her best friend was missing and out there somewhere.


            Spitfire blinked as she heard a new set of hooves behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to see Descent, Starry Skies, Lightning Dust, Blazetail, and Flashwind all enter, Dash and her friends were still not present, but the main group of those aware of their secret plan were now all present. Now they just needed Luna and P.L. before they could take off, but Spitfire decided to get the process rolling before Luna showed up, just in case. She only hoped Discord really was hiding away, and wasn’t sneaking around.


            Spitfire steeled herself against the cold air as she made her way towards the front, approaching Lucky who was wrapped head to hoof in four or five blankets as he shivered beside the main controls, only his nose poking out.


            “Lucky, are we ready to go?” Spitfire asked, trying hard to not shudder.


            Lucky suddenly stopped shivering for a moment, sniffling before his head popped out from the blankets.


            “Huh?” he blinked, his ears quickly pressing to the top of his head as if he was hugging his mane with them.


            “Are we ready to go?” Spitfire repeated, succumbing to the cold as she reached an arm to her opposite shoulder, hugging herself as her body jittered. She perked up as one of their unicorn staff members suddenly came forward with a thick blanket, offering it to her. “Thanks.”


            “Yeah, Rivet told me he’s just trying to get the heating system fixed up to give us some extra warmth up here, then he’d be ready.” Lucky explained. Spitfire glanced up at the vents near the ceiling as she clutched the blanket to her body. The open windows would suck the hot air right out, but it would provide some balance at least.


            “I guess that will help some,” Spitfire shrugged. She glanced around at several broken panels and stations around them. “These won’t be a problem?” she asked. Lucky shook his head.


            “The basic driving controls are all still intact. Rivet checked everything out when he was up here and admitted that most of the panels still had no function, he hasn’t had time to get a full readout or blueprint of the systems. He said we wouldn’t need them and the main flight controls would be enough as long as we don’t get attacked again.”


            “Let’s hope we don’t then,” Spitfire nodded, confident in their path being clear. “As soon as we hear from Rivet, we’re leaving.”


            Lucky sniffled again and nodded before diving back into his blankets.


            Spitfire turned her focus to the P.A. system nearby. She looked it over and quickly saw that the lights were still on around the control panel. With time to spare, she decided to address the force, approaching the panel and leaning towards the microphone. She pressed the button, a loud chime sounding from speakers around the Nimbus as she cleared her throat.


            “Attention everypony,” she began as she heard her voice echoing throughout. “We’re just about ready to take off…” she trailed off momentarily as she looked directly out the broken windows in front of her, taking note of how dark it had gotten outside. It was not pitch black, there was a little bit of twilight, but it would be hard for Lucky to navigate without assistance. “Any Wonderbolts who are able to fly without difficulty, grab a headlamp and get out in front of the Nimbus, it’s getting dark and we’ll need forward navigators. The bridge windows are broken, so just fly on up here from outside once you’re ready.”


            She released her hoof from the button and leaned back from the microphone. There was not much else to say at this point, she wanted to keep it simple and get everypony focused. While headlamps probably weren’t as ideal as the night vision function on Rivet’s experimental tactical goggles that also had the x-ray, they only had so many of those and she wasn’t going to bother Rivet right now while he was priming the Nimbus for takeoff. Every Wonderbolt had at least one or two headlamps that they kept in their quarters to take on night missions, so it would have to do.


            Spitfire’s ears twitched as she heard a new set of hooves clip clop into the room, steps that were much further apart. She glanced over her shoulder to see Luna enter the bridge with P.L. following dutifully behind her. P.L. was not wearing his armor, all pieces that were left intact had been discarded, revealing his very muscular, but incredibly scarred body that was riddled with nasty bruises from his encounter with Sombra.  Spitfire wondered why he left himself unprotected for a moment, but then remembered it was nighttime and he wouldn’t have to worry about the sun harming him.


  Luna visibly shivered the moment she stepped in, but didn’t have to wait long before several staff members handed her a few blankets to drape over her larger body. A few of the unicorns also offered blankets to P.L., but he refused them, hissing loudly at any of the unicorns that came near him. It was hard to tell where his mind was. His mannerisms fluctuated, suggesting both shame and anger that still hovered over him despite nopony believing ANY of them would have had a chance against Sombra. His pride was shattered and it was causing him to refuse even the simplest comforts. It likely seemed silly to most, but to him it was everything. Luna looked like she wanted to console him, but aside from a few glances she left him be as if knowing exactly what was going through his mind.


Spitfire’s eyes subtly shifted about towards the Wonderbolts and Renegades present. A few of them were glancing between one another and some of them looked a little uneasy, but none of it was obvious and they were holding character. Spitfire quickly took action to distract Luna and allow the rest to completely compose themselves.


“Princess,” Spitfire spoke up, drawing all of Luna’s attention to her as she turned and made her way over. “Ready to go?” she asked simply, keeping her eyes locked and not making a single glance to the left or right at the others. Luna sighed and nodded.


            “A much as we can be,” she replied in a very subdued voice, lacking enthusiasm. Spitfire briefly lifted an eyebrow, glad that their resident divine alicorn goddess was not in charge of rallying the troops, because she couldn’t have made her tone any more depressing.


            “Good,” Spitfire didn’t falter, blinking and looking up as she heard a faint hum suddenly come from the vents above her. It looked like Rivet did, in fact, get the heat operating. It wouldn’t be much with the windows blown out and the air rushing in once they moved, but it would keep the immediate area warm, especially in the back. Several of the ponies present were already flocking towards the back of the bridge. “Then as soon as we get the word we’ll…” she paused and glanced around again. “Wait, we’re still missing—”


            She cut herself off as she looked past Luna just in time to see Squad Foxtrot making their way through the door and into the bridge. Storm Front was walking up front, leading them in with the others following close behind. To Spitfire’s surprise, Rainbow Dash was actually walking on her own power. She was a little wobbly, but she took it slowly, one step at a time with Matteo hovering close behind her in case she stumbled.


            Spitfire made her way around Luna and towards Storm Front, lifting her brow and quietly demanding why it had taken them so long after everypony else got there so quickly. Storm didn’t hesitate, answering before Spitfire’s stern eyes stabbed too hard.


            “We decided to stop at the infirmary before coming up,” he explained while giving a salute. “Figured we’d get her checked out… we didn’t want her suffering from any injuries she can’t feel at the moment.”


            Spitfire listened to Storm, but didn’t answer. She hummed as she turned her eyes to Dash, a gesture that Storm assumed meant she was okay with it. Instead, Spitfire moved beside Storm, passing by him and stopping in front of Dash as she sat down right beneath one of the heat vents. Spitfire looked her up and down carefully. Dash looked just as weak as her movements, her eyes were half open, her posture was poor, and she couldn’t quite hold still… but the look on her face regardless still screamed of stubborn determination that they all knew her for. It was like she was half there, but still fully focused on moving forward.


            “Are you with us, Dash?” Spitfire asked, gently placing a hoof on her shoulder. It took Dash a moment to react, much less look up at Spitfire. She exhaled loudly and nodded weakly.


            “I… yeah…” Dash forced out, her voice showing improvement from before. She was getting actual words out. They were still raspy and showed signs of struggle, but it was a start. “I’m okay… I think…” she added.


Spitfire kept her eyes on her. She heard Dash loud and clear, or at least as loud and clear as she could manage, but she found her mind shifting. She wanted to remain focused on moving forward, but right now, she was looking at the only thing, the only confirmation that her lost best friend was still alive out there.


“Dash…” Spitfire continued, keeping her hoof on her shoulder and gripping it lightly. “Can you… feel Soarin? He’s still there, right?” she asked, drawing attention from everypony around. Spitfire knew Soarin was ‘alive’. Dash would be dead if he wasn’t. But she wanted to ask anyway.  Dash only stared into Spitfire’s eyes for several moments before she swallowed and nodded again.

“He’s… there,” she managed to say as she began to wobble. “Ugh…” she groaned as she reached a hoof over and braced herself against Matteo, sweat dripping down her brow as she took a few deep breaths. “But… it hurts… he’s hurt…” she added as she tipped her head down, shut her eyes, and reached her free hoof up to her chest, pressing it lightly over her heart.


Spitfire’s ears dropped for a moment as she wished she could know more about Soarin, but her ears shot right back up as she heard what sounded like wing flaps behind her. She quickly looked over her shoulder to see several Wonderbolts hovering right outside the broken bridge windows with headlamps strapped to their foreheads. They waved and saluted as Spitfire refocused, turning and facing them. Not one of them belonged to the same squad. Six, Eight, Thirteen, Seventeen, Twenty… Spitfire couldn’t see the few others who were out further and waiting, but regardless it showed how fragmented their ranks were right now. One of them landed in the bridge as Spitfire glanced about.


“Where’s the map I asked for earlier?” Spitfire asked as she saw Fire Streak drop a small folded piece of paper out of his wing and flipped it towards her. “Thanks.” She caught the map in her mouth and walked it over to the window, giving it to one of the Wonderbolts. “Once we’re up in the air, lead the way,” she ordered. The Wonderbolts saluted again, silently acknowledging their orders before turning and flying out of the way to get ready. Spitfire watched them leave, standing right in the face of the cold air blasting into the bridge for a moment before turning back to the rest.


Everypony had their eyes on her as she showcased solid, renewed focus, setting aside her emotions so she could lead them the way she had to.


“Alright everypony,” she said with a stern tone. “Let’s get to the damn Crystal Empire already.”


Spitfire had been hoping for a smooth ride, and for most within the Nimbus it was. Too bad the lack of windows ended up being much more annoying than any of them on the bridge had anticipated.


            The takeoff was smooth, the Nimbus operating as efficiently as it had before they were forced to land despite the interior damage. All propellers were functional and Lucky had no barriers to full control… except for the fact that snow was constantly pelting him in the face and the constant whipping of the propeller blades outside wasn’t the most pleasant sound to the ears.


            Spitfire took quick action when she realized how annoying the flight was going to be. There wasn’t much of anything she could do about the somewhat loud whipping of the propellers. It wasn’t too loud so long as one stood at least halfway into the bridge, Lucky would just have to deal with it. The real issue was the snow blowing in through the window frames. It wasn’t coming down any harder than a light flurry, but their forward movement and propeller gusts were enough to cause a good amount to fly in. It was already hard enough to see with how dark it was getting outside. Spitfire didn’t want Lucky to have to deal with snow in his face on top of it. She quickly called up a few of the staff members and some free Wonderbolts to push out the snow with a mixture of wing gusts and magic.


            With Spitfire up front trying to keep everything in order, the rest of the top tier elites, Renegades, Luna, and Foxtrot remained huddled near the back, wrapped in blankets. The heat coming from the vents above was helping a little, but barely offset the cold air blasting through the front windshield, sneaking by the Wonderbolts and unicorns working on the snow.


            “Ugh…” Dash groaned as she sat on the floor, wrapped up in a blanket all the way to her chin. She reached an arm out from the blanket and touched it to her forehead, rubbing it back and forth. She had slowly improving over the course of the past hour… everything was far from better, but she certainly didn’t feel worse. Her headache was gone, but she still felt weak, most of the pain replaced by fatigue. She couldn’t quite tell what was going on. Her heart had calmed down, her brain no longer felt scrambled, she felt more in control of herself and was able to piece together clearer thoughts, but everything was still a bit off and she could still feel what could only be described as ‘external pain’ that wasn’t hers.


            “How are you faring?” Matteo suddenly asked from beside her for what was easily the tenth or eleventh time. She wasn’t sure if her answer was any different, but she appreciated his concern, all of their concern.


            Dash removed her hoof from her forehead and slowly turned to look up at him. She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped, blinking. If she wasn’t currently occupied by her bizarre internal struggle, she probably would have burst out laughing.

            Matteo had refused blankets when they arrived, pointing out that he had more fur than all of them and the blankets would be better used on others instead of his large body. Dash didn’t know that meant he was going to go full bird-mode. He was sitting beside her with all of his fur and feathers puffed out to the point where he almost looked like a large ball of fluff. It was easily one of the goofiest things Dash had ever seen, and it didn’t help that his eyes and face remained the usual serious and stoic that they always were… or that Dash could see Little Star nestled deep into his fluff, only her head and tail visible near the surface.


            “I still feel like crap…” Dash said as she sighed, looking away from the collaboration of humor sitting next to her. “I don’t feel better, but the worst has passed.”


            “You’re talking normally too,” Matteo pointed out, his fluff shifting as he repositioned himself, Little Star squeaking from within and nestling further.


            “Yeah, there’s that…” Dash nodded. “And I can walk now too, but that’s about it. I still feel very weak all over,” Dash finished as she looked away from Matteo and to her other side. Both Squall and Storm were looking right at her, listening to her explanation. Squall, again, looked away the moment she glanced to feign lack of interest, but she noticed regardless.


She looked between Storm and Squall, and looked back at Matteo and Star. They had all been fretting over her non-stop, even Squall despite his efforts to hide it. She felt a little bad that they were worrying so much about her without her expressing similar concern for them yet. Obviously, her situation was quite drastic, but they were out there with her, they had gotten beaten up a little too. It was her job to be concerned for them… well, all of them except for Storm, but he was a good friend regardless of rank. She was feeling kind of better now, so it was her turn.


“What about YOU guys?” Dash asked as she tucked her arm back into her blanket. The question clearly caught them all by surprise, or at least Squall, Storm, and Star as she poked her head out of Matteo’s fluff. Matteo just remained poofed. “I’m a mess right now, but that doesn’t mean you guys don’t matter,” she explained herself as Storm smiled, the first to react.


“Heh, that’s nice of you to still be concerned,” he complimented with a nod. “I’m—”


“I’mfine.” Squall cut him off, speaking so fast they almost couldn’t understand him. His odd, quick speech immediately caught all of their attention and invited further examination. Squall wasn’t looking at any of them and was sitting stiffly while staring straight forward. He looked very uncomfortable… and his mannerisms only added fuel to the fire.


“Squall?” Star was the first to speak, Squall acting weird unironically being what finally got her to finally remove herself from Matteo’s fluff slightly. “What’s wro—”


“Nothing,” Squall cut her off too, causing her to flatten her brow and pout. Dash looked him over carefully, she couldn’t tell if he was acting tough and hiding an injury, or if he was trying to avoid a particular topic. Either way he was hiding something and as usual, was being brutally obvious about it. Dash decided to take the safe route first.


“Are you hurt or something?” Dash asked him as she turned her body to face him. “We were just with Bliss, you should have—”


“Nothing’s wrong with me,” he interrupted.  “I’m perfectly fine,” he added quickly.


“Alright buster…” Star fully removed herself from Matteo’s fluff, a few stray strands of black fur and a white feather sticking to her blanket as she got free and shimmied her way over to Squall without losing any of her blanket. “Why are you being so weird? Spill it!” she demanded.


“No,” Squall answered quickly and simply. Star narrowed her eyes, but Dash reached out and placed a hoof on her head.


“Leave him be, Star. If he’s being stubborn, then he is just fine. It’s not like he’ll ever tell us anything,” she put bluntly and honestly, earning a glare from Squall. “What, am I wrong, tough guy?” she asked while tipping her head and lifting her brow.


“Hmph…” Squall grunted, turning away from all of them and scrunching his mouth. Dash quickly diverted attention away from him by patting Star on the head.


“Star? What about you?” she asked, moving on to keep checking on them. Star sunk into her blanket and mumbled to herself in a somber tone.


“I barely have a bruise on me… don’t worry about me,” she explained with a disappointed tone.


“And that’s a bad thing?” Dash asked.


“It isn’t,” Star shook her head as she flipped her head, causing the blanket to flop over her ears and rest over her mane. “I just don’t want you guys to think I’m not trying…”


“Don’t be ridiculous,” Storm suddenly chimed in as he approached the two of them and sat beside Star. “You were with us the whole time, luck was just on your side here. I wish I could have gotten out of that without any pain,” he chuckled. “If being as small as you means it’s easier to not take a beating, I think I’d prefer it!” he added in a very lighthearted tone, but Star suddenly shook the blanket off her head and glared harshly at him.


“No, you WOULDN’T,” she snapped at him in a very sharp tone, causing Storm to flinch and recline slightly. “NOTHING is good about being this small,” she added, her tone growing harsher by the word.


“Wh…whoa, Star, I didn’t mean to…” Storm fumbled to respond, but Star huffed, stood up with her blanket and stomped back over to Matteo before stuffing herself back into his puffed up feathers so far that she almost vanished within them. “Uh…” Storm winced as he slowly looked over to Dash, but she looked just as surprised. She knew Star was sensitive about her size, but that seemed like a little much. She knew Storm meant well, but perhaps it wasn’t the right time and place. She decided to quickly change the subject.


“You doing alright, Storm?” she asked. “You got a little beat up.”


“Er…” Storm blinked and refocused away from Star. “Yeah, but I’ll be fine. I didn’t get beat up too badly in all honestly. I think the worst hit I took was when Twister crashed right into my face.”


Dash perked up when he mentioned Twister. Normally, she would have acknowledged what Storm had just said, but she found herself thinking back to the exact moment he mentioned instead. Squall threw Twister… Twister got walloped right in the face… And rubber-banded right back towards them, smashing right into Storm’s face and taking him out in the process. Just thinking about it made Dash roll her eyes, but then she also realized that that was the last time she saw Twister to this very moment.


“Speaking of Twister…” Dash diverted as she looked back and forth around the lobby.


“DON’T!” Squall suddenly piped up very loudly, drawing a few glances from around the room.


“Come off of it Squall,” said Dash as she kept looking around. “He’s still my responsibility.”


“If he shows up and annoys the hell out of you, don’t blame me,” Squall snorted as he turned back around and continued to avoid all interaction.


“Has anypony seen him?” Dash asked as she grunted in frustration. “I know he’s probably just fine, but he usually shows up by now.”


“I haven’t seen a trace of him,” Storm shrugged.


“He’s not in here,” Star’s muffled voice came from within Matteo’s fluff.


“How unfortunate,” Matteo added less than a second after Star spoke up. Dash scrunched her mouth and glared up at Matteo.


“That’s enough from you too,” she pointed at him before looking between him and Squall. “He’s a member of our squad whether you two like it or not.”


“Haven’t seen him,” Matteo quickly went back to the question.


“Where is he?” Dash huffed. “I don’t care if he’s goofing off, but I’d like to at least know where he is… he better not be bothering anypony, I don’t want to hear it from Spitfire later…” she spoke her thoughts for a moment before looking back up at Matteo.  “So what about you, big guy?” she asked him. Matteo glanced at her briefly before looking forward again.


“What about me?”


“Hurt at all?” Dash pressed.


“I’m well enough to serve,” Matteo answered quickly with a typical dodge. Dash wasn’t satisfied.


“Okay, on a scale of one to ten.”


“Less than o—”


“On the normal scale, not the Matteo scale,” Dash clarified while cutting him off. Matter flattened his brow, his fur and feathers puffing out slightly more and he exhaled and whistled breath through his beak nostrils.


“I’m not hurt,” he insisted.


“I’ll take that as a six or seven,” Dash nodded. Matteo snorted and narrowed his eyes without looking at her.


“I find that insulting.”


“Too bad,” Dash shrugged and turned to face forward with him, smirking a little as she heard Matteo grumble to himself.


“Well, then what about you?” Matteo suddenly asked her. Dash blinked and tipped her head slightly before looking up at him.


“Matty, you literally just asked me that,” she reminded him, but he subtly shook his head.


“Not how are you feeling, I’m more curious what you are feeling,” he clarified.


Dash wasn’t expecting that. At first she missed the difference in his question, but realization hit and she wasn’t ready. She glanced at Squall and Storm, seeing both of them looking towards her with interest. After some quiet shuffling, she looked back and saw Star had popped out of Matteo’s fur as well.


“You are in a state we cannot comprehend,” Matteo continued. “We have reason to fear for your survival within bounds we cannot control. What are you feeling? Can you actually feel Soarin?” He asked.


They were all there when Spitfire posed the same question, but this was different. She wasn’t speaking to her captain, she was speaking to her friends, it was more on a personal level. With all of them looking at her and listening, she slowly slipped a hoof over her heart, feeling it beat with the strength of two hearts as it had been since the tragedy.


“It’s… very weird,” she began. “I’m not really sure how to explain it. It feels like I have two hearts beating in my chest at once. It doesn’t hurt, but it feels twice as strong as my normal heartbeat, like it’s filling my chest with every thump,” she shook her head lightly. “I think… I can actually hear Soarin too. It’s so strange, it sounds like he’s muffled right beside me, but when I look around he’s not actually there. It’s as if I can feel his presence without him actually being present…” she looked up at all of them, soaking in their reactions. Star was listening with ears forward and wide eyes. Storm had his head tipped, clearly trying to process it. Matteo looked the same as always. Squall though… just had an eyebrow raised.


“That’s fucked up,” Squall put bluntly, immediately earning a look of surprise from Storm and a glare from Star.


“Squall, really?” Star huffed, but Dash shook her head.


“Honestly, I completely agree with him,” she said with a weak shrug. “I’ve never felt anything like this before. I don’t know what’s happening to my body. But… while it’s a bit unnerving, it’s also reassuring at the same time. I can feel Soarin struggling, I can feel him fighting back. He’s alive and he’s not giving up,” she looked between them all, flashing as much of a smile as she could muster. “I feel very weak… it’s hard to just move my body. But if he’s not giving up, I’m sure as hell not. I don’t know what’s going on inside me, or what’s happening to him… but it feels like Soarin is right here with me and that’s all the motivation I need.”


As Dash finished, the rest said nothing. They had sought to understand what was happening, but not even Dash knew for sure. If anything, the fact that Dash managed to find some comfort among the danger gave them pause. It wasn’t like they knew much anyway, and that went for everypony, not just them. In the end it was nothing new, at this point little surprised them anymore. The situation had become one giant knot with no loose string to tug on and they had accepted that that’s how it was going to stay until they learned more. And hopefully they would learn more once they made it to…


“Is that what I think it is?” Blaze’s voice suddenly came from nearby.


Dash and her friends all perked up, glancing towards Blaze first. She was staring straight forward, her eyes widening and her mouth slowly opening. She wasn’t the only one. Nearly all of the top elites had similar growing expressions.


Curiosity immediately took over, Dash looking towards the front of the bridge and the others doing the same right behind her.


Out on the horizon… in the middle of the night…


Lights.


Something very bright was shining in the distance as they passed around a mountain at the edge of the range and flew out over an open snowy field.


The entire bridge went silent, the lights growing brighter as they flew towards them. Ponies began standing up, a few dropping their blankets as they moved up to get a better look. Despite her weakened state, Dash forced herself up and hobbled forward, her friends following right behind.


Eventually… the glare of the bright lights cleared… and an actual shape became visible among them. They were still several miles away, but small details became visible quickly.


Streets… Architecture… and a large palace.


There was no mistaking it.

Fan Art by: Dusk Writer

It was the Crystal Empire.


            Based on the collective reaction around the room, one would think that they had discovered some mystical, unknown land. Nearly all of them had already seen or been to the Crystal Empire, it wasn’t a new sight by any stretch of the imagination. But regardless of who had been to the city and who hadn’t, they all reacted the exact same way.


            It was a destination they had all struggled so hard to reach. They had been dragged through hell and back to make it this far. To finally see the finish line just ahead… was almost overwhelming.


            It was the Crystal Empire alright, there was no doubt about it, none of them were dreaming.


            As they grew closer they could see what looked like an enormous magical shield surrounding the whole city, and as they grew closer still they could see no sign of battle, wear or tear, not even in the surrounding area. There had been some fear in the back of their minds that the Crystal Empire would be a prime target, but the Shadowbolts really were only going after them it seemed.


            It really, truly began to sink in.


            Since they were first attacked by the Shadowbolts it had been one hardship after the other. They discovered their home could fly and escape, but were plunged into hiding, they survived for weeks without most necessities and pushed through endless brutal battles…


            And they had finally made it.


            The silence was finally broken as Spitfire took a long, deep breath and exhaled. Relief and excitement filled her as she was sure it was filling everypony else. They still had work to do, but a much needed victory had been achieved.


            “Well what do you know…” Spitfire said out loud as she smiled weakly. “We actually made it…”


            A large, collective sigh passed around everypony as the feeling of relief swelled and filled the room in an instant. A few of the ponies slumped down, their bodies giving way and relaxing upon seeing their salvation ahead. Several hugs were exchanged, all very tired and lazy hugs leaning into one another. Brief, quiet comments of relief sounded forth in exhausted tones.


            They made it, they really made it.


            “Look alive everypony,” Spitfire spoke up while glancing over her shoulder and twirling a hoof in the air. “I’m relieved too, but we still have some work to do before we can relax.”


            “Captain,” Fire suddenly waved at her, drawing her attention. “Crystal Airborne Guard approaching,” he said while pointing. Spitfire perked up and quickly turned back. She peered out into the night sky all lit up by the Crystal Empire in the distance. She quickly spotted a large squadron of pegasi approaching, all wearing the signature armor of the Crystal Guard.


            “Ah…” Spitfire smiled, happy to see friendly forces. She had gotten too used to a flock of pegasi approaching being an enemy force. It was a VERY welcome change. She reluctantly shed her blanket for a more professional look as she stepped forward into the blasting cold air. She shook her mane out and held herself firm, gazing out toward the approaching force. Several shouts and calls came from outside, the Wonderbolts leading the Nimbus signaling the Crystal Guard and the guard responding in turn.


            A few of the leading Wonderbolts flew out to meet them, leading the guards towards the Nimbus. As they closed in, a small detachment of three Crystal Guardsmen kept on course towards the bridge with two Wonderbolts as the rest of the Guard did a wide U-turn and joined the Wonderbolts leading the flight.


            Spitfire waited patiently, stepping out beside Lucky and watched the three pegasi approached, them along with the rest of the force appearing as normal ponies this far out from the Empire’s magical field. She quickly recognized the orange stallion in the lead, an old friend of Prince Shining Armor and the captain of the Crystal Airborne Guard.


            The two Wonderbolts landed first, quickly standing aside as the three guards landed. They looked around before saying anything, taking in the interior and the machinery of the Nimbus with awe. Spitfire was confused at first, but they had been stuck in this clunky old machine for so long that she forgot how impressive it was as a whole. Once the pegasi got their fill, the orange stallion stepped forward and removed his helmet, revealing a dark blue, swept back mane. He smiled and nodded towards Spitfire. Spitfire nodded back.


            “Captain Flash Sentry,” she said as she stepped towards him. “Long time no see.”


            “Captain Spitfire,” he greeted as he reached a hoof out, the two sharing a firm shake. “Glad to see you guys finally arrive. The Prince and Princess have been worried,” he said as he looked around the bridge, giving a quick wave to Luna and P.L., neither of whom returned the acknowledgement in any way. Flash didn’t seem to notice as Spitfire nodded to him.


            “It’s… been a very rough trip,” Spitfire explained hesitantly as she glanced behind her at all of those present. Flash Sentry peered behind her, examining everypony as well. He cocked his head to the side and blinked.


            “Where is Commander Soarin?” he asked.


            The question sent jolts through everypony. Spitfire winced as the name passed through her ears. She quickly looked back at him, failing to stop her ears from drooping down.


            “Is… he hurt?” Flash asked as he quickly noticed the reaction. “Or…?


            “NO!” Spitfire shouted before he could say it, Flash and the other two guards flinching in surprise. “No… sorry…” Spitfire sighed and shook her head. “It’s… way too complicated to explain in brief. There are more pressing matters at hoof.” She quickly recomposed herself.  “We have several wounded and injured, a few very severe. We need to get them help before we do anything else.”


            Flash quickly cleared his throat, refocusing as well as he nodded.


            “Understood. We got your letter about your unique form of transportation,” he began as he looked about the bridge. “We have prepared a large landing area in Crystalline Park just north of the palace. It should be large enough for you to land, we weren’t quite sure of the dimensions, but…we think it will fit. It’s the largest open area in the city by far.”


            “You got that, Lucky?” Spitfire asked, glancing towards their heavily blanketed pilot. Lucky swallowed as he glanced at them both briefly. “Think you can handle that?”


            “As long as I’m not blamed for any accidents…” he said as she shivered.


            Spitfire gritted her teeth before looking back at Flash and giving him a nervous grin.


            “Er… normally I’d look for a safe way, but…” she made a head motion towards the back. “We’re at the end of our rope here. You don’t mind?”


            “Don’t worry about it,” Flash shook his head and smiled. “We’ll have several pegasi out there to help direct you to the cleanest landing we can manage. If anything gets damaged, we’ll fix it later. The situation is more important than a little collateral damage.”


            “I appreciate it,” Spitfire nodded with a sigh of relief. She looked over Flash’s shoulder and at the shield surrounding the Empire as they slowly approached. “So… what’s the deal with the shield?” she asked with slight concern. “It looks very… solid.”


            “Fly right through it,” Flash nodded with a light swipe of his arm.


            “Pardon?” Spitfire blinked and tipped her head.


            “We’ve come a long way with our shield magic thanks to our scholars and wizards constantly poking into the secrets of the Crystal Heart and its endless magic reserves. Our most recent shield spell is cast directly onto the Crystal Heart by Princess Cadence herself and emits an impenetrable shield that lasts as long as she wishes up to seventy-two hours. It only requires roughly a third of the magic required to power compared to our original spell, giving the princess well more than enough time to fully recover before having to reset it. You’ll have to ask our scholars about the specifics, but I’m told it only repels negative energy and forbidden magic. So anything good is let in and anything evil is kept out.”


            Spitfire opened her mouth to reply, but said nothing for a moment as she absorbed all of it and closed her mouth again. She stared blankly at Flash for a few more seconds before she bounced her brow once.


            “Neat,” she finally said, not quite sure how else to describe it. Granted, after all they’d been through she wasn’t sure if she’d ever question anything again.


            “Pretty nifty, huh? Sure has made our job stress free recently,” Flash added with a chuckle.


            “Okay then,” Spitfire nodded. “Just lead the way and we’ll follow.”


            “Got it,” Flash gave a quick nod before turning and twirling a hoof in the air, the two guards at his sides moving with him as they made their way back over to the window. The two Wonderbolts that led them in waited for Flash to give them a signal as well. Flash stopped and glanced back and forth between the two Wonderbolts, looking directly at their headlamps. “Cool flashlights guys!” he randomly commented before spreading his wings and taking off, his two fellow guards sighing, shaking their heads, and following after him. The two Wonderbolts glanced at one another, shrugged, and took off as well to rejoin the rest outside.


            Spitfire watched as they left, she held her body still, but was shaking very subtly. Lucky glanced towards her from the controls.


            “Captain, aren’t you co—”


            “Yes,”  Spitfire cut him off as she snatched her blanket off the floor and quickly wrapped herself tight in it. “Jeez it’s cold!” she said while shuddering and clutching the blanket. But she only remained still until she had found a little bit of warmth. She still had to update the rest of the Nimbus. Without shedding an inch of her blanket, she shuffled towards Lucky, reaching for the P.A. controls again as she tipped towards the microphone.


            “Listen up everypony,” she began, trying to hide the subtle shaking of her voice as she shivered. “Prepare for landing. I want all medical personnel on standby for immediate transfer of our injured to the Diamond Point Hospital. We’re landing in Crystalline Park, so if you don’t know where the Hospital is from there, ask somepony that knows NOW. Top priority is Silver Lining.” She paused, looked down, and thought further. “Bliss, if you’re listening, please select a group among your staff to handle the afflicted Shadowbolts and Commander Wave Chill. I want them taken to the Crystal Palace, not the hospital. That’s all for now, be ready. I’ll be out on the platform to give further instructions if needed once we land.”


            Spitfire slowly released her hoof from the button and jammed her arm back into the blanket, releasing a shaky sigh as she slumped down and hugged the blanket to herself for a moment.


            “Please, for the love of Celestia…” she said quietly to herself. “Let this all go smoothly. I need a damn break…”


Rainbow Dash sighed in relief along with everypony else or at least in relief toward what she just overheard from the conversation up front. It was already a rush of euphoria to see them so close to safety, and it doubled upon seeing members of the crystal guard.


            Despite most of her mind and body being locked on Soarin, there was still a large part of her that was focused on her OWN situation with the Wonderbolts. She had to give both time in her thoughts, focusing entirely on Soarin would be pointless if she didn’t survive long enough to find him.


            Their destination was straight ahead, the Crystal Guard was guiding them, and soon they’d be within the boundaries of one of the strongest, most well defended kingdoms in Equestria. A victory was a victory, even with the task of finding and saving Soarin still weighing heavy on them all.


            “Hmmmmnghhhh…”


            Dash blinked and glanced to her left, Star, Storm, and Matteo all looking in the same direction at Squall as he grumbled loudly. He was hunched over, his ears were pressed back to his head, his mouth was scrunched, and his eyes were squinting.


            Dash flattened her brow.


            “Squall… what is it?” Dash asked, wondering if she’d actually get an answer this time.


            “Ngh,” Squall released a quick grunt and didn’t look at any of them. Dash’s brow went from flat to furrowed as she snorted.


            “Squall, seriously?” she prodded as the others remained curious, Star doing her best to hold back and let Dash pry it out of him.


            “Nnnnnngggghhhh…” Squall repeated the grunt, holding it out longer as he somehow managed to contort his face further.


            “Do you have to take a dump or something?” Dash asked sarcastically, not really in the mood for his secretive behavior.


            “NRRRRRYYAAAAAAAH!” Squall groaned loudly while tipping away from her, nearly falling over as he tried to shift away from them and stopped just short of slamming into Storm.


            “Is that a yes or no?” Storm asked, smirking a little as Squall turned his head and shot him a very brief glare before refocusing his eyes forward.


            Dash noticed the motion immediately. Squall had already been looking straight ahead towards the front. And that was an awfully quick glare he gave Storm before turning back. Squall always held his glares for more than a few seconds, even longer towards Storm whenever the two of them got into one of their little spats.


            What had him all flustered and so distracted that not even getting the best of Storm held his focus for very long?


            Curiosity guided Dash’s eyes as she looked towards the front, staring out towards the Crystal Empire as it grew closer and closer. They were getting particularly close to the enormous shield surrounding it and were seconds from passing through it.


            Then realization hit. Dash blinked and quickly looked back at Squall, his eyes grew wider and wider as they closed in on the shield.


            “Oh, wait…” Dash tipped her neck forward, staring directly at Squall. “Didn’t you say your family are descendants of—”


            Before she could finish, an odd noise likened to the hum of a unicorn’s horn only much, much deeper came from outside. They all looked out the window to see that the front of the Nimbus had touched the shield and was smoothly moving right through it like Flash Sentry had said it would. The hum was being emitted from the shield itself, the shield’s surface remaining still and passing over the platform as it moved towards the bridge. Bright flashes erupted outside, all of the Empire guards crystallizing the moment they touched the shield. A few of the Wonderbolts out front with them crystallized as well, confirming some crystal pony blood in their heritage.


            The shield eventually reached the bridge window, everypony keeping their eyes on it as it moved in and passed right over Spitfire and Lucky as if they weren’t even there. It moved towards the back touching the unicorn staff and transforming a few of them… but then headed for the rest sitting in the back.


            Dash and several others squinted and covered their eyes as the shield moved past, bright flashes erupted among them. Dash shook her head and blinked several times, looking towards the top tiers and Renegades.


            High Winds, the Streak twins, and Shine Struck had all crystallized…


            And so had Starry Skies.


            Before she could show surprise like several others, Dash quickly looked back towards Squall, but he wasn’t there, only his blanket was on the floor.


            “No!” Squall’s voice came from further back. Dash and her friends all looked behind them to see him desperately scooting backwards on his plot along the floor. His eyes were wide, his pupils shaking as they remained locked on the shield edging towards him. His hooves skidded and slipped, pushing him all the way back until he was pressed against the back wall of the bridge. “Nononononononononononono!” he shut his eyes as he hit a dead end, turning his head away as the shield finally touched him.


            He remained completely still, his eyes remaining shut for several seconds. He could hear the commotion and conversations starting among the others nearby, but he didn’t hear a single voice from his own squad.


            He slowly opened his eyes… and saw Dash, Star, Storm, and even Matteo looking at him in surprise. He looked down at his body and saw the surface of his body was glistening and shimmering.


            He had crystallized.


            But what had Dash and the others so mystified? They already knew he was a crystal pony, or at least Dash, Matteo, and Star did. And if they had forgotten this was just a reminder.


            “Whoa…” Dash blinked as her eyes moved up and down. Star was still nestled against Matteo, but her head and neck were sticking all the way out of her blanket and out of his fur, her eyes were incredibly wide and her jaw was almost unhinged.


            Squall immediately scowled and groaned quietly to himself as he watched the two mares stare at him in awe. Storm and Matteo were looking too, but they were just observing with interest.


            “Holy hell Squall…” Dash chuckled. “You look amazing!” she said with clear awe in her voice. “Why do you keep acting like such a grouch?” she added as she glanced at Star and snickered at Star’s face. “You keep finding different ways to look hot!”


            “Sh…Shut up…” Squall grumbled, his face starting to turn a little read as he quietly fumed. But he soon turned back and his eyes grew wider as Star suddenly shed her blanket and walk towards him, her head tilting up to keep her eyes on his face as she moved in. Squall went completely silent as Star started moving her eyes up and down him, taking in all the effects and changes in his appearance due to coming within range of the Crystal Heart’s magic.


            Squall’s body had retained its grey color, but the crystallized effect brought spots of different shimmering hues. Some were lighter, some were darker, but they all reacted to light, twinkling like actual crystals. His mane had shortened and changed into a razor sharp looking mohawk style with jagged splits. The most notable and most interesting change however, was his scar. It still rested down his face, but it’s shape had changed slightly to resemble a deep cut into a gemstone or a fissure within a rock, the pink, fleshy color of the scar had turned bright red and shimmered brightly like a polished ruby. He was a sight to behold for sure.


            “Squall’s a crystal pony?” Storm asked out loud, but didn’t get an immediate answer as Dash and Star kept staring. He looked over to see the others that had changed too. “And some of them are too?” He added while blinking. “Is that possible?” he kept asking questions, but wasn’t getting answers, so he eventually just looked up at Matteo. “I knew Squall was from there but…” he tipped his head slightly trying to get his facts straight. “Didn’t the Empire only re-emerge a few years ago or something? Was Squall asleep with the rest of them? Anypony?” he looked around again as Matteo finally glanced down at him.


            “Descendant,” Matteo answered simply to get Storm’s attention back. “Those who have crystal pony blood in their family experience the same effect.” He explained, earning a curious look from Storm.


            “Uh… okay, but how do you know that?” he asked, feeling it odd that a Griffon would be aware of such a thing.


            “Squall told us about it some time ago,” Matteo confirmed. “I was just as skeptical as you until seeing it here and now. So I’m assuming what we were told is accurate.” Matteo over explained as Storm slowly looked back to Squall, only to have his attention drawn to Dash by the sound of her snickering. He lifted an eyebrow and smirked.


            “What?” he asked while leaning towards Dash. Dash shook her head lightly and motioned a hoof towards Star and Squall.


            “Look at them,” she said quietly as Storm followed her eyes.

            Squall was slowly turning redder and scowling harder as Star kept invading his personal space, getting way too close for comfort as she walked and hovered circles around him with her eyes wide and her jaw nearly unhinged. Squall looked ready to yell at her or demand she stop, but as usual, Star seemed to get a pass. But he was nearly pushed to the edge, barely holding in a growl as she began curiously touching his body.


           “I’ve never actually seen a crystal pony before…” said Star, she seemed completely oblivious to his discontent as she touched his body again, poking him in the shoulder. “You look hard as a rock, but it still feels like you have fur, how does that even work?”


            “Stop touching me,” Squall grumbled quietly, but loud enough for her to hear.


            “Do you feel different?” Star asked, the demand going in one ear and out the other as she hovered in front and touched his chest. Squall’s face scrunched up further, but it twitched, hardly holding as he watched Star so close to him.


            “I said stop it…” he repeated, but in a slightly more defeated tone. He flinched and his eyes widened as Star suddenly floated right up to his face, reaching her hooves up to his mane and tapping it with her hooves.


            “Even the mane…” she said to herself, completely distracted by Squall’s crystallization.


            “Are you even listening to me?!” Squall suddenly blurted out.


            “Yes, now stop yelling while I’m looking,” Star suddenly glanced into his eyes and flattened her brow. Squall’s face went completely blank, his mouth flat and his eyes stuck open at Star’s simple, yet solid retort. “You look…” Star inched back a little, reaching up and touching a hoof to her mouth gently as her eyes scanned over his face, over the scar shimmering in the center of his visage, and over the rest of him as his body shined and glistened. “You… look…” Star looked away, her hoof covering a little more of her face as a slight hint of pink filled her cheeks. She turned briefly, glancing at Dash. Dash tipped her head and lifted her brow, holding a slightly devilish smile on her face as she saw the look in Star’s eyes. Star quickly turned back around, her cheeks flushed as she tipped her head down slightly, but kept staring at Squall. “Yowza, Squall… Just when I thought you couldn’t get any more attractive…”


            Squall flinched, glaring at her as he gritted his teeth and looked like his head was about to blast right off his neck.


            “What…What’s that supposed to mean?!” he asked angrily, his voice nearly cracking as he felt more and more embarrassed.


            “Squall,” Dash caught his attention as she held a hoof out and turned it over a few times. “You’re a hot stallion. Deal with it,” she said while chuckling. Squall’s eyes widened as he looked back at Star, she was hovering closer to him again, and inching her neck forward, looking directly at the glistening scar in the middle of his face.


            “Oh… Oh…” Squall stuttered as his expression grew increasingly uncomfortable. “OH, COME ON!” he blurted out, whisking his head and neck to the left, a motion that would have usually thrown his mane in front of his face to hide it, but the sleek, solid form his mane took in crystal form prevented the desired effect.


            “What?” Dash chuckled more, staying just short of bursting out laughing. “Haven’t we already been over this? We reacted the same way when we saw your scar the first time too. And did you forget about Photo Finish absolutely GUSHING about your face?”


            “Frgnggghhhhhhnnnnnn…” Squall grumbled loudly, leaning back as Star continued to swoon and inch forward as if she wasn’t already close enough to look at him.


            As the silly scene kept unfolding before her, Dash quickly remembered that she saw other ponies transform before Squall pulled all her attention away. She turned around and took a look about the rest of the bridge, taking note of all the others who had changed. The reactions were interesting as well. Some were surprised, others seemed unfazed as if they already knew.


            Near them, both Calm and Fleetfoot were observing Shine Struck in her crystal form, but it was no mystery that Shine was from the Crystal Empire, it was in her record.


            Dash looked over to Blaze and High Winds. Blaze’s jaw was nearly unhinged and her eyes were wide and almost bulging out of their sockets. Surprisingly… High Winds also looked surprised, as if she had no idea she had some crystal heritage. Her fur had gained a milky, white shimmer and her mane had grown a deeper glistening blue. The number of curls in her mane had decreased, larger bunches of curls replacing them and looking smoother in style. She looked herself over curiously.


            “Huh…” she eventually said. “Imagine that…”


            “The fuck, Windy?!” Blaze blurted out, throwing her hooves out to her sides. “Since when…?”


            “I dunno…” High Winds answered simply as she shrugged and yawned, the intensity of the shimmers over her body increasing and blinking brightly for a moment as she yawned, causing Blaze to squint.


            Dash turned her head further, her eyes landing on squad three next. The Streak twins had both crystallized. Their appearances had not altered too much. Their manes retained their general shape, only not sporting rough and squared edges. Otherwise, their colors remained constant, adding a similar pattern of lighter and darker colors that shimmered as Squall’s body had. Misty was focused entirely on Fire Streak, her eyes wide and starry and her mouth stuck open in a wide smile as she looked him all over with delight. It was less a look of shock and more a look of anticipation?


            “Whoa, whoa, WHOA!” Surprise suddenly hopped up on Lightning’s back. “Hold the Nimbus!” she yelled as she clambered up his neck and onto his head, bending her until her head was upside down with her eyes glaring directly into Lightning’s usual lazy stare. “You two have crystal ancestors?!” she yelled into his face while poking a hoof to his nose.


            “Yep,” Lightning answered as if it was no big deal, causing Surprise’s glaring eyes to widen a little.


            “Our mother’s side,” Fire elaborated. Surprise pulled her head back up, sliding down and latching to Lightning’s neck as she glared and pouted at Fire. She shifted her eyes to Misty as she propped her arms up on Fire’s back and curled her neck around, resting it on his opposite shoulder and biting her lower lip as she blushed and looked at him eagerly.


            “Did she…?” Surprise pointed at her as her angry pout intensified.


            “She knew,” Fire confirmed.


            “AND YOU GUYS NEVER TOLD ME?!” Surprise whined angrily, keeping her eyes glued on Fire as she jammed her hooves into Lightning’s mouth and pulled the edges open.


            “Bruh…” Lightning said nonchalantly with his mouth being held open.

            Dash found herself snickering at squad three while balancing her amusement with general awe at how cool the Streak twins looked. But before she could get too enthralled with their crystal states, she remembered there was one more notable pony that had transformed.


            She slowly turned until her eyes landed on the Renegades… specifically Starry Skies.


            Starry was frozen in place as she wore a blank expression with her eyes wide. Her eyes darted back and forth between those near her as they looked on with surprise.


            Her fur was glistening, her windswept, two toned mane was now smooth, longer, and draped down over her neck and shoulders, resembling Flashwind’s long mane more than her own. The two usual colors of her mane had merged to form one that sparkled with a dim, elegant shimmer.


            While her appearance was stunning and the reveal of crystal heritage surprised Dash… what surprised her even more was one specific reaction to it. It made sense that Blazetail, Flashwind, and Lightning Dust were new to this apparent part of her origin… but Descent looked surprised too?


            When Starry Skies finally decided to break her forward stare, she looked at one pony and one pony only. Her head turned right to Descent, her eyes looking up and locking with his as he stared back very curiously. Starry blinked as she watched him scan her all over, examining the drastic changes in her appearance. It was well known that a crystal transformation altered a pony’s stylistic appearance slightly, but in Starry’s case, it was drastic. She almost looked completely different, her usual tough and rugged look replaced by one that could be described as pretty or beautiful.


            Starry could not see herself, but she felt the eyes on her, none of which felt so heavy as Descent’s. She didn’t know what to do.


            “Starry…?” Descent said her name quietly as he tipped his head, clearly not sure what to make of it while also very confused. His tone of voice confirmed to Dash that he, in fact, did not know about it.


            “Hrmmm…” Starry’s ears flopped down and she averted her eyes, turning her whole head away to completely avoid eye contact.

            Dash was conflicted as she watched the two of them. It seemed strange that Descent would be unaware of something like this considering how long the two had known one another, but then again… Descent kept the fact that he was a father from her for so long, so maybe this time she had a little secret she had never mentioned?


            “Focus everypony!” Spitfire suddenly yelled from the front, breaking Dash’s thoughts and drawing everypony else’s attention to the front. “We’re landing shortly!”


            Dash glanced towards the closest window, but noticed that they were only just reaching the edge of the suburbs. They weren’t actually close to landing, but it looked like Spitfire wanted them to stop goofing around and act professional as they closed in.


            Dash suddenly noticed that she no longer felt cold at all. It was suddenly warm, and it had been growing warmer since they entered the shield, she just hadn’t noticed. Then she realized she was one of the few that was still wearing a blanket. She let it drop off her shoulders and onto the floor before looking towards the port side windows again. With the cold air no longer surging through and the taller buildings of the empire coming into view… Dash slowly stood up and shuffled towards the window.


            Storm and Matteo quickly joined her side as they saw her drag herself over, all three of them stopping a few inches from the broken panes and gazing out. Eventually Star and Squall joined them, the five of them all looking out at the lively, brightly lit city below. It felt foreign, as if they had not seen civilization for years, the mere sight of a bustling city causing a rush of calm through their bodies.


            And then they flew by the Crystal Palace, an enormous, beautiful structure built of pure crystal with walls and spires that reached high above the flight path of the Nimbus itself. Several others had come over now, all looking out towards the palace as Lucky slowly navigated around it, the Wonderbolts and Crystal Guards waving their arms and flying backwards as to direct him.


            The sight of the palace was almost overwhelming for everypony that laid eyes on it. It was one thing to see the Empire itself, it was another to see the sovereign structure at its center. With Canterlot in disarray and after the ordeal of fleeing in a makeshift ancient airship, seeing the heart of a powerful nation still intact doubled, maybe even tripled the feeling of relief.


            The warmth… the palace… the surrounding civilization… the safety… it all felt so comforting, and it wasn’t until now that they all truly realized how much they needed it.


            Now Dash only wished that she could have felt and shared this feeling with Soarin. If not for the most important piece of the puzzle missing, this would have been one of the most perfect moments of her life. While everypony else was certainly focusing on their salvation and their much anticipated opportunity to not be on edge… Dash just couldn’t get quite as into it. Without Soarin, it just felt like a hollow victory to her, no matter how much that victory meant for the rest. She felt bad that it seemed that way to her, there were ponies she cared about that really needed them to succeed here. She had a pony that was like a second father to her on the verge of death in the infirmary below and now he had a chance to be saved, but she was still only thinking about Soarin.


            Sure, her life was tied to his and all that, but she felt so selfish.


            “Something wrong?” Storm suddenly asked Dash. Her ears perked up, but she didn’t look at him.


            “No…” she lied. “I’m fine.”


            Storm did not have a chance to ask further as the hum of the propellers changed, everyone looked towards Lucky as he pulled down on the throttle and began working the rest of the levers. They could all feel the shift through the floor as the Nimbus began to slowly descend…


Several citizens of the Crystal Empire were staring up into the sky in awe as the Nimbus passed overhead, it’s frame casting a shadow as it eclipsed the glowing lights of the Crystal Palace. The loud swooshing of the propellers created powerful gusts. Window shutters flapped and clattered, crystal trees shook back and forth, their solid leaves winging like wind chimes as the forces of wind rushed past them.


            With the Crystal Airborne Guard out in force in front of it, they slowly directed the Nimbus towards Crystalline Park, a large wide open park north of the palace that was a frequent destination for friends and family. A massive, sturdy platform of thick crystal and metal had been erected in the center, taking up nearly the entire open center of the park. It was elevated just enough to be above any playgrounds, trees, and picnic areas in hopes that damage to one of their most cherished destinations was avoided.


            Slowly but surely, the Nimbus descended, the Wonderbolts and Airborne Guard coordinating and passing along signals from below the Nimbus all the way up to the bridge window to give Lucky precise instructions. Lucky had already proved he was capable when he landed the Nimbus in a canyon with the systems suffering from damage, so this felt like a breeze.


            All eyes were still on the enormous flying ship, citizens from all over the Empire watching with curiosity and awe as the Nimbus descended slowly. The swooshing of the propellers growing quieter and the gusts growing weaker as the engines eased, the lower propellers shut off entirely and the makeshift landing gear extended. The Nimbus’ descent slowed to an inch by inch crawl, going lower… lower… and lower until a loud yet gentle THUMP echoed throughout the city.


            The Nimbus had landed.


“We’re really here…” Dash spoke her thoughts as she stepped out onto the platform, the rest of her friends following behind her, stepping through the lobby doors and out into the open. They all stopped for a moment as the first thing they saw was the Crystal Palace looming large before them. It was a little ways away with them in the middle of the park, but it extended up like a skyscraper, easily many times taller than the Nimbus.


            Even outside, Dash still felt the warmth. The perfect temperature generated by the Crystal Heart and protecting the ponies within its range from the harsh cold of the northern snowfields.


            It was still sinking in, the fact that they had actually made it to their destination.


            “Hey, one side!” Blaze’s voice suddenly came from behind them.


            Dash flinched, Matteo, Storm, Squall, and Star all perking up as they realized they had stopped the moment they had gotten out the doors and were blocking the way. They quickly moved out of the way and made their way out onto the platform, joining the Wonderbolts, Renegades, and thestrals as they made their way out into the open and took in the sights around them.


It was great to be on the ground, the unique surroundings of the Crystal Empire keeping their attention as they all finally felt able to relax. The Empire was always a unique sight. The surrounding nature in between the buildings and within parks all had a shade of blue as opposed to green. Everything seemed to shimmer elegantly, the glowing lights of the castle bouncing off every surface and refracting through every prism, bathing the night time surroundings in beautiful colors that moved as the crystal trees and their solid leaves swayed naturally.


Several ponies were also still in awe of those among them that had crystallized. Roughly a fourth of all those present had transformed into crystal ponies, including some of the thestrals, which was a fairly odd sight considering their vastly different anatomy and bat like characteristics. Dash glanced at her friends as they moved out of the way of the doors and sat down to rest, her eyes landing on Squall again. He still looked stiff and a bit annoyed, though it was probably because Star just couldn’t seem to leave him alone. She was still getting close and looking him over in awe. If it were anypony else, they would have been yelled at or maybe even punched. It was almost as if he liked it when Star harassed him. Dash wouldn’t be surprised if Squall didn’t even know how to smile and the scowl was just the reaction he threw on despite the situation.


One thing she had noticed was that Squall’s cuts and bruises that he had sustained from the confrontation with Nightshade and Sombra were gone. His scar was still there, but his battle damage had disappeared. The same could be said for the rest who had crystallized. They were all still limping and looked to be in discomfort or pain, so it was easy to assume they weren’t suddenly better, but it was still interesting. Was it just an illusory appearance? Star mentioned that Squall still felt soft as opposed to stone like. Dash herself had never touched a crystal pony, and during the brief period she and her friends transformed when the Crystal Heart was replaced she was too busy feeling awesome to really examine herself.


Dash’s eyes were drawn away as she noticed a large group of able Wonderbolts and Crystal Guards work together to secure a huge ramp on the end of the Nimbus platform. Several others were watching as well, confirming that they, along with her, were eager to finally get off the old tub. But before any of them could make a move…


“Out of the way, OUT OF THE WAY!” Bliss’ voice came from near the lobby doors. “MOVE!” she yelled as Dash and everypony else perked up and quickly turned their eyes towards her.


Dash gasped, her ears drooping down as she saw Bliss and several unicorns galloping out of the lobby, all of them using their magic to both wheel and stabilize a stretcher across the platform. Another keeping the portable respirator beside it and one more was hovering an I.V. bag.


On the stretcher… was Silver Lining.


He was strapped firmly to the stretcher, his broken wing and arm being propped up with gentle magic auras, and he was still unconscious.


“GO! GO! GO!” Bliss yelled as several Wonderbolts and crystal guards landed near the edge of the Nimbus platform and quickly flagged them down.


Everypony went completely silent. All eyes, Wonderbolt, Renegade, and Thestral alike watched as Silver was wheeled by. Seconds felt like minutes as they all took in the sight, watching as the Wonderbolts and Crystal Guards took over, airlifting Silver and carrying the unicorns with them as they slowly rose up into the air and turned in the direction of the hospital.


Everypony was praying. Praying that Silver would hold on long enough so their efforts to save him would be rewarded. He deserved it.


Dash refused to look away, keeping her eyes locked on the stretcher as the group rose further into the air and got their bearings. Just as she was starting to feel selfish for only caring about Soarin, it got completely turned on its head. The sight of Silver tipped the scales, and now she found herself only thinking about him, Soarin fading to the back of her mind. The feeling was unbearable, but perhaps she was looking at it the wrong way. She wanted to worry for them both, but both held such a heavy separate impact. It nearly felt impossible to carry it all in her heart or on her shoulders. Both Soarin and Silver meant so much to her. Their impact on her life was completely different, but she cherished them both.


Now neither of them was there. Soarin was lost and Silver was barely alive and unresponsive. Her two main sources of guidance and comfort were out of her reach. They had reached the Crystal Empire, but could that truly make up for the two of them?


Nothing could.


There was nothing she could do about Soarin right now… And she had done all she could in her part to help Silver. Now she could only watch, wait, and hope… that one of the two most important ponies in her life would soon be saved.


“Hang in there… Silver…” she said quietly, a new tightness in her chest, one of anxiety as she hoped that Silver would stay true to the name Iron Horse… and hold on just a little bit longer.


Spitfire emerged from the lobby, taking a deep breath as she looked up just in time. Her eyes locked on Silver’s stretcher and she watched as the makeshift group of Wonderbolts, guards, and medical unicorns carry him off towards the hospital.


            They had done all they could for Silver… now she hoped the renowned hospital and doctors of the Crystal Empire could do the rest. She kept looking up even as they disappeared from view, Silver lingering on her mind as she recalled everything she owed him. He deserved to live… he had to live…


            “Captain Spitfire!” Flash Sentry’s voice met her ears. Spitfire blinked and looked down as Flash landed before her. “We’re at your disposal, what do you need?” he offered.


            Spitfire didn’t say anything else at first, her attention drawn away as others from the infirmary were gently wheeled by, including Air Mach who was trying to grandstand even though he was thoroughly strapped and held down to his stretcher. None of them were nearly as badly wounded as Silver, but she was glad they were going to get help as well. However, the sight quickly reminded her of the special case she had to address.


            “I have a specific group of sick ponies that I need to be taken to the palace instead of the hospital,” she quickly explained.


            “Pardon?” Flash blinked curiously. Spitfire shook her head.


            “Their sickness is magic related, magic we don’t quite understand. Doctors are not what we need here,” she elaborated. Flash still looked curious, but he saved his questions.


            “Understood,” he nodded. “I’ll send word to the princess to have our wizards and clerics ready to receive them.” As he mentioned Cadence, Spitfire decided to ask.


            “Why hasn’t the princess or prince come out to greet us?” she asked, twitching slightly. “I’m… I mean, I’m not complaining that they aren’t, I just know how friendly and always eager the two of them are,” she corrected, hoping not to sound demanding. Flash chuckled and shook his head.


            “No, you’re definitely right about that, they are actually pre-occupied at the moment. We had other guests arrive earlier today,” he explained.


            “Other guests?” Spitfire cocked her head to the side, but spoke quietly, not prompting a response so Flash did not answer, instead he pressed her again.


            “Is there anything else you need? We’ve been instructed to provide maximum assistance.”


            “Hmmm, well…” Spitfire looked down and thought for a moment. She glanced over her shoulder and up at the Nimbus. She wasn’t sure how needy it was going to sound… but she knew that the Wonderbolts were absolutely TIRED of the Nimbus for a while. She wanted to find them better temporary quarters, not to mention there was a Falcon currently occupying her own room… thanks to Air Mach. “Our living quarters are a bit… wrecked. And our increased numbers over our journey have made it a bit cramped. I hate to ask but—”


            “Already taken care of,” Flash answered, cutting her off. Spitfire froze mid-sentence, her mouth remaining open as she lifted an eyebrow. “The princess has already ordered several hotels near the palace to be vacated for your arrival,” he explained.


            Spitfire’s jaw went from open to almost unhinging for a second.


            “Uh… near the palace?” she asked, blinking. “Aren’t all the hotels around this district… Five star resorts?”


            “That’s right,” Flash smiled. “The princess made it very clear that she wanted the most comfortable accommodations based on the situation. And we’ve gone a few steps further. When our scouts reported you were in range, we had chefs begin meal preparations and we called in several doctors from around the Empire to set up and be ready in the hotels to meet anypony who doesn’t need to be hospitalized. Everything is ready and waiting for you.”


            Spitfire stared blankly at Flash for several moments before smirking and shaking her head.


            “Well sheesh, I’m sure as hell not going to say no to that…” she gave Flash an eager nod of approval. “I’ll make sure to thank the princess personally for thinking of everything and making this so easy for us.” She paused for a moment to think if there was anything else. “I guess… then we just need help directing our forces to where they need to go to get some rest. Other than that, I’d like an audience with the prince and princess along with a few of my ponies here. Unless… her other guests are currently occupying her of course.”


            “Won’t be a problem,” Flash quickly reassured her. “The guests are actually here to see you.”


            “What?” Spitfire inched her neck back slightly, her eyes widening slightly before narrowing. She tipped her head a little and her ears twitched as she tried to think about who it could possibly be, but she was too tired to think too hard about it. “That’s… uh… convenient…” she managed to say as her thoughts swirled in confusion, but they stopped the moment she remembered one last detail. “Oh, wait… Once we’ve spoken to the royals, I would like to send word out to the reserve Wonderbolts and call them all here for duty. Our means of communication are constrained, could you…?” Spitfire trailed off while rotating a hoof and winced slightly as she felt she was asking for a lot.


            “We can help with that,” Flash quickly assured her. “We have mail trains that travel to all the major cities of Equestria, and can send out messengers to more rural and out of the way locations. Just draft up your notice when you have the chance and we’ll make sure it’s copied and sent out.”


            “Thanks, sorry about asking for so much,” Spitfire sighed.


            “Don’t worry about it,” Flash chuckled. “The prince filled all of us in right after your first letter reached us. You guys have been through enough. Setting up a warm welcome is peanuts by comparison. Put up your hooves and take a load off,” he suggested with a smile.


            “I… well… okay…” Spitfire stuttered slightly, but nodded, her ears flopping down as her thoughts slowly wandered back to Soarin. She was thrilled for them to finally reach safety, the issue of Soarin was still weighing on her shoulders.


            “Is this… a bad time to ask about Soarin again?” Flash suddenly asked as if reading her thoughts. Spitfire blinked and looked up quickly, wondering if he had done just that, but she wasn’t surprised he was asking so much. Soarin was always one to befriend the captains of local military forces. With the exception of Captain P.L., Soarin was on a first name basis with a lot of them, including the prince of the Crystal Empire back when he was the captain of the Royal Guard in Canterlot.


            “Sorry,” Spitfire said while looking away. “Again, it’s too complicated to explain it all here. I want to see the royal family and take care of business before I even begin to try.”


            “Fair enough,” Flash sighed slightly, but he didn’t fight it. “I’ll let the royal family and the guards know that you’re on your way. Take your time,” he said as he nodded and began to turn, but he stopped and blinked. “Oh, right… anything special you want us to do with… this?” he asked while pointing behind Spitfire. She slowly turned around, wondering what he meant, quickly realizing that he was pointing at the Nimbus as a whole.


            “Oh…” Spitfire’s expression went blank for a moment as her mind followed suit. She really had not put much thought into what to do with the Nimbus. Obviously she was hoping to be able to use it, so repairs and such were a given, but at this very moment? She was so focused on just reaching the Crystal Empire. “Hmmm…” she tried to think quickly on the matter as she faced Flash again. It would be easy to just say ‘fix it’ but it was obviously not that simple. She’d have to coordinate efforts between Rivet and any help the Empire could offer… that and did any of them know how to handle the machinery? The Crystal Empire was known for its magic teachings more than anything else, they weren’t the most industrial or mechanically savvy city. There may be some in the city that could help, but she wasn’t going to hold her breath.


            Plus, there was the subject of the Falcon currently lodged into her room. She wanted the small craft to be removed and studied along with the crystal that remained in their possession within it. While Discord refused to speak much on what he recognized within the crystals, Spitfire was confident the wizards and clerics of the Crystal Empire could help them figure out what they were up against. Letting them actually see one of the crystals would help move the process along.


            “Uh…” Spitfire slurred as she gritted her teeth. Unfortunately, she wasn’t sure how to frame all of that in short. It was a task that needed to be addressed, but at the moment she was much more interested in getting her Wonderbolts medical attention, meeting with Cadence, and getting the ball rolling on finding and possibly saving Soarin. The Nimbus could wait. “Just… let it sit here for now,” Spitfire finally said. “There are much more pressing matters we have to attend to first. Keep an eye on it for us for now, especially the weird looking aircraft that’s lodged into the back of the third floor. Make sure NOPONY goes into it, or touches anything inside of it. It must be kept untouched for later.”


            Flash tipped his head curiously, prompting a fear in Spitfire that he’d press her further. She had no problem explaining, but she really wanted to get moving.


            “Fair enough, I’ll assign a few guards to keep watch,” he agreed. Spitfire quietly sighed in relief.


            “That’s all we need, thanks again for everything,” Spitfire thanked him. He gave her a nod back as he turned, spread his wings, and took off.


            Spitfire watched him leave and looked down to see Wonderbolts, Renegades, and thestrals slowly making their way towards the ramp leading down from the Nimbus platform. Or at least some. Several were still slumped down and sitting still, probably still taking in the initial moment of respite.


            Among those who remained were the top elites, Dash and her squad, the Renegade leaders, Luna, and P.L.


            Perfect, that was everypony she needed and they were all conveniently around the same area. It saved her the trouble of gathering them up, and at this point she’d accept anything that simplified things.


            “Hey…” Spitfire said as she made her way towards them, but it took her a moment to realize that she had barely spoken up at all. None of them even looked at her. She really was tired. She cleared her throat. “Attention!” she yelled out, drawing more looks than she anticipated. She quickly glanced around and twirled a hoof in the air. “No, not everypony, sorry. Just you guys over here!” she quickly clarified while motioning to the desired group.


            She made her way over to them while the rest continued on minding their own business. She got a good look at all of them, passing right by the top elites as she made her way between everypony. She looked her best wingmates over, taking a slightly longer look at the Streak twins and High Winds with their crystal forms. She knew the Streak twins were crystal descendants, but not High Winds. That was just as much of a surprise to her as it was to the rest. High Winds yawned as she moved by, her body suddenly blinking and shimmering brightly as she inhaled and exhaled squeakily. Everypony winced and squinted as the bright lights hopped forth from her until she was done yawning.


            That was the second time that happened… so every time High Winds yawned, her body lit up and sparkled like a fireworks show… Lovely. Spitfire made a mental note to not share a room with High Winds if she could avoid it. She’d be avoiding it anyway. Blaze would be with her by default and she was not rooming with her half-sister.


            As Spitfire continued to the middle, she didn’t grace Luna or P.L. with a glance she also stole a look at the Renegades. Most of the high ranking Renegades had left already, only the gold squad captain and the Shadowbolt leaders remained.


Starry Skies’ transformation had her intrigued. If ponies had a crystal form, the appearance differences tended to be subtle. What was up with Starry? The changes were drastic. Descent looked beyond confused, and was still examining her. She clearly did not like how much she was being looked at, but she looked hesitant to say anything.


            Spitfire didn’t want to waste any time trying to pry information out of a brick wall, so she left it be and stopped, her eyes resting on the most important pony going forward.


            Rainbow Dash.


            They had reached their destination and those in need of help were being tended to. They finished their primary objective, now it was time to focus on Soarin. Dash was their living Soarin indicator, maybe even a detector. Spitfire didn’t know the extent of their connection, but Dash was the only thing that let them know he was still out there and alive. Spitfire had no idea what the deal was with the Shadowbolts right now aside from Moon’s assurance that they were broken and flailing, but she was determined to figure out what to do and execute whatever plan they devised before the Shadowbolts got their hooves on Soarin. Dash was going to be the key to all of it.


            Dash looked better, she was no longer in need of constant support and handling. She still looked weak, but was aware, and holding herself. Though Spitfire could see it… she could see the worry in her eyes and she had no doubt what Dash was thinking. She was worried about Soarin, just like they all were… but she was also worried about Silver. Soarin and Silver were both very important ponies in Dash’s life… just like they were very important ponies in Spitfire’s. Perhaps Spitfire couldn’t feel all of her pain, but she could feel some of it. And hopefully… everything would work out and everypony would be alright… Wave too.


            “Alright everypony…” Spitfire nodded to all of them. “I know you’re all tired, but before we can rest, we need to go meet with the royal family. I need all of you with me,” she asked of them, not receiving any protest. She hated dragging them through this one last bit, but she wanted all those relevant to leadership and the situation that could be there to be there. “Let’s get this over with,” Spitfire finished as she turned. Without question, they all rose and propped one another up, ready to follow her.


            There was much to do still… but at least they were finally safe.


Rainbow Dash had been to the Crystal Empire more than once, and being best friends with prince's little sister often landed her in visits to the Crystal Palace every time she was there.


            That was definitely not the case with most of them though. With the exception of Spitfire, Fleetfoot, the Streak twins, Misty Fly, the former Wonderbolt captains, and obviously Luna and P.L., everypony else had their eyes up and moving around with their mouths hanging open as they made their way into the palace and took in the beautiful foreign architecture.


            Everything in the Crystal Empire was built with… well… crystals. So the architecture in general was very pretty, but the palace was beyond words. While it was a pleasant sky blue, the inside was adorned with crystal formations of multiple vibrant colors, pillars and archways that all had their own color patterns of crystals magically welded to other crystals. Every inch and corner of every hall and wall seemed to be their own work of art, not to mention the statues, suits of armor, tapestries, curtains, and all other decorations that only made it more stunning.


            Canterlot Castle paled in comparison… something that those in awe never thought they would say. Every step they took brought new wonders to behold, the crystal guards stationed at every door and corner only adding to the look, almost appearing to be decorations themselves as their crystal bodies shimmered beneath the decorative armor.


            Dash couldn’t hold back a light smile as she saw her friends take it all in. It was enough to break Matteo’s stoic gaze, his eyes wider than Dash had ever seen them. Star finally wasn’t gawking at Squall, instead gawking at her surroundings.


            There wasn’t much variety among those who had never been there before, causing those who were moving more casually to catch Dash’s attention. Blazetail and Flashwind weren’t even fazed, much like Spitfire. Dash was certain the old veterans had been here more times than they could count. The two of them often showed up at Wonderbolt events and fundraisers. There had no doubt been several since the Empire re-emerged, being a ‘new’ venue and all. The Streak twins and Misty had clearly been there at least once already, but perhaps not often since they still seemed to be taking in the sights. Spitfire carried herself much like her predecessors, but it was likely for professional reasons. Luna and P.L. were no brainers. Luna was one of the divine sisters and P.L. followed her everywhere like a… Dash snorted quietly to herself before completing that thought.


            That only left Fleetfoot, who looked to be more worried about putting one hoof in front of the other. Dash was surprised to see her moving on her own, well… mostly on her own. She was limping, grimacing and propping herself against Spitfire as she walked. Dash was certain that Fleetfoot was still in an incredible amount of pain, but she clearly didn’t want to be left behind or be considered a burden.


            Eventually, after a few turns through the entryway and outer halls, they emerged in the main hall of the palace, an enormous room that led towards the inner sanctum with a large, room width set of stairs in the middle of its vast length. While they were all still in great awe, there were two very recognizable ponies waiting for them at the base of the stairs, speaking to and looking at each other as the group approached.


            Princess Cadence… and Prince Shining Armor. The princess shimmered elegantly in her crystal form.


            Spitfire put on a smile when she saw the royal family and took a breath to speak, but before she could say a word, Cadence perked up and turned her head towards them. Her eyes widened and she gasped as a very large smile spread across her face.


            “Auntie Luna!” Cadence yelled as she turned and galloped over to them. Spitfire shut her mouth and swallowed the breath. She winced, a muffled cough coming from her throat and her cheeks puffing out as Cadence ran right by her and nearly launched herself at Luna, hugging her around the neck. “You’re okay!” she added excitedly, receiving a hug back from Luna.


            Spitfire quietly cleared her throat, regaining her breath and earning a chuckle from Blazetail and Flashwind as she shook her mane out and shrugged. She waited patiently for Cadence to finish with Luna, glancing to her right briefly to see Shining Armor approaching as well. Spitfire swallowed, a slight bit of anxiety trying to creep into her head that she quickly fought to keep down and out of her expression. Her eyes shifted a little, taking note of each and every one of them with her as everypony watched Cadence and Luna greet each other.


            She hoped they were all up to the task of holding their little charade. Cadence and Shining Armor would no doubt remain perfectly loyal to Luna throughout. If they wanted their little plan to work, they had to keep it all under wraps.


            Spitfire squinted as High Winds suddenly yawned again, her body flashing and blinking brightly again as she did. Okay, so maybe not all of them. A few of her Wonderbolts weren’t really capable of being any different.


            But no matter how nervous any of them might have felt, none of them felt as nervous as Rainbow Dash.


            Dash had been very out of it over the course of the past few hours, but she had heard the plan loud and clear. While it was a challenge they all had to take part in, the consequences were double for her. She agreed with Spitfire’s conclusion, that they had to make their own approach to Soarin. She was just as tired of being lied to and wasn’t about to trust anypony too close to the divine sisters. But it was going to be hard to treat Cadence and Shining Armor as ponies she could not trust. They were directly related to one of her best friends, but these were extreme circumstances.


            “We’re sorry for worrying you,” Luna said comfortingly as she and Cadence pulled back and smiled at one another. Shining Armor stepped up beside Cadence and nodded.


            “We’re just glad to see you’re safe,” he added while glancing towards P.L. “Good to see you too Big Dog,” he said towards him, but P.L. snorted and looked away. “Nice to see you too,” Shining added jokingly with a chuckle.


            Dash felt a knot in her stomach as she heard Cadence and Shining’s voice. This was going to be really hard, she had been around the two of them so many times. She felt little short of breath, but remained in the back as Spitfire stepped up to them.


            “Sorry we took so long. To say we had a few setbacks is a gross understatement…” Spitfire explained. Cadence quickly turned to her and placed a hoof on Spitfire’s shoulder.


            “I can only imagine,” she said with a sympathetic tone. “We didn’t know what to do when we received your letter, and when it took so long for you to arrive we began to fear the worst.”


            “We didn’t make it without some casualties unfortunately,” Spitfire admitted as her ears drooped down slightly. But she kept her smile on, giving Cadence a nod. “But thank you so much for having everything ready for us… and giving us more than I could ever think to ask for.”


            “Oh, it’s nothing at all,” Cadence smiled cheerfully. “I don’t think it would be possible to spoil anypony who’s gone through what you’ve been through, and I haven’t even heard half of it yet!” she said in a reserved tone, clearly trying not to sound too cheerful about their hardships.


            Dash felt sick.


It had nothing to do with the strange burdens weighing down her body either. Her distrust was aimed squarely on Celestia and Luna. Not Cadence… Not Shining Armor…


She envied the rest for them as she watched Spitfire handle the situation with a straight face. None of them were close with the two royals.


“I heard that you had other guests?” Spitfire suddenly asked. “And they are here to see us? Sorry if we interrupted any meetings.”


“Nothing to worry about,” Shining Armor chimed in as he stood beside Cadence. “Your timing is perfect actually.”


The knot in Dash’s stomach kept tightening and tightening. She was a very loyal pony. It was her Element of Harmony for crying out loud. Now here, she was looking at two ponies she felt loyal to. It was different than being loyal to Celestia and Luna. It was the personal kind of loyalty, the kind one shows to a friend that’s laced with a bond of honesty and trust. And now she had to put up a façade, right in their faces. She had to lead them on and flat out lie to them as they pursued their own method of going after Soarin. The only way this could get any worse was if—


“They’ve been waiting for you too!” Cadence suddenly added.


Dash’s eyes suddenly snapped open wide and her jaw dropped as she saw movement at the top of the stairs behind them.


Five ponies appeared at the top and began making their way down towards them.


Spitfire and Fleetfoot both perked up as well.


“Golly! Look who finally showed up!”


“Darling, be polite… they all look so exhausted!”


“Um—”


“THEY MADE IT! WE SHOULD THROW A PA—”


“No, no… I think they’ve had enough excitement for now…”


Dash felt her heart simultaneously lift and sink as the ponies reached the bottom of the steps.


Things just became much more complicated for her.

It was all her friends from Ponyville.


---To Be Continued---