Piercing the Heavens

by Calm Wind

Chapter 160: Wonderbolts Never Die (Arc 3 Finale Part 2: Face to Face)

MLP: FiM
Piercing the Heavens
By: Calm Wind

Chapter 160: Wonderbolts Never Die (Arc 3 Finale Part 2: Face to Face)

Soarin flinched as he felt a jolt. He picked up his head and looked around, blinking. He glanced at Celestia, then towards the silhouette of Sombra.

“What the…?” Soarin said to himself as he continued to look about. Whatever he felt, it was a familiar feeling. Though with how much pressure his mind and spirit had been put through recently he was having trouble recalling exactly what it was.

“You feel, her, don’t you?” Celestia suddenly spoke, drawing Soarin’s eyes to her. “She’s near.”

“She…” Soarin’s eyes widened. He suddenly remembered. This feeling… it was the same way he felt when…

“Sombra,” Celestia spoke as she turned her head to him.

“I know, I sensed them coming,” Sombra replied very casually as he kept himself turned away from them, or at least it appeared that way, Soarin still had a hard time telling which way he was facing with just a shadow of his head to go by. But a word stood out to Soarin.

Them.

The feeling surging through him, there was no doubt it was Dash. But…

“Them?” Soarin tried to pry, but neither of the other two seemed to be paying attention to him.

“What are you going to do?” Celestia asked Sombra.

“I’m going to finish drinking first. I’m thirsty,” Sombra replied again, seemingly uninterested in whatever or whoever was approaching.

“Who?! Who’s there?!” Soarin demanded. He could feel Dash nearby, but who else? He could only see out of his body’s eyes, and at the moment they were closed as Sombra drank from the lake.

“Your friends are here,” Sombra said as he continued to act nonchalantly. “I can sense about… forty of them.”

“My friends? Can you elaborate?” Soarin demanded as Sombra sighed in frustration.

“Your fellow pegasi who like to wear form hugging clothes. Some blue, some purple with very bright red headbands that are easy to see for miles in this very blue forest.” Sombra spoke almost sarcastically.

Soarin slowly processed what he meant, even though it was pretty obvious. Wonderbolts and Renegades?!

“They are trying to hide behind the tree roots to our right, but they’re not very good at it,” he added.

“What?! Let me see!” Soarin kept prodding.

“Quit whining, I will in a moment,” Sombra huffed as he went back to drinking.

Spitfire and Fleetfoot held very, very still as they looked out towards Soarin… or Sombra… standing on the surface of the lake. The moment was as tense as it could possibly get, with the rest remaining in place and waiting for some sort of sign from the two lead Wonderbolts.

But Spitfire and Fleetfoot found themselves observing the image before them in a way they were not expecting.

There was something very soothing about it. Sombra was standing in the middle of the lake, his blue aura causing the water to glisten, the light bouncing from the surface and gently shimmering against anything and everything around the body of water and all the way up to the think brush that hung high above them. Small pulses of magic were extending from his hooves, likely from whatever was allowing him to stand atop the lake as he bend down to take a drink.

He was also completely surrounded by wildlife. Fleetfoot wanted to know where the animals were? They found them. Deer had waded into the shallows, rabbits were hopping around the edge of the lake, and squirrels riddled the trees. Birds were flying all over, some large as hawks, some as small as little finches. The small birds were singing, little cheerful tweets filling the air as they flew overhead, landed in the trees or on the antlers of the deer. There was aquatic life present as well, frogs hopping in and out of the water, small fish visible just beneath the crystal clear surface.

All of these animals seemed to have the very same characteristics of the forest, their coats, feathers, scales, and skin all a light blue color as if they had grown and evolved within the forest itself.

A few of them had moved upon seeing Spitfire and Fleetfoot, but those within reach of Sombra did not move as if not paying any mind to him… or as if they felt like he belonged there with them.

A bird fluttered over to Sombra and softly perched on the tip of his curved horn. The aura from his horn caused the bird’s feathers to sparkle radiantly as it chirped innocently. Sombra finished drinking, but opened his eyes and turned his ears towards the bird before making any moves. He slowly lifted his head, looking up at the bird and listening to its song, smiling as he eventually stood fully upright. He took a deep breath and sighed, the bird flying off.

Spitfire and Fleetfoot were speechless.

It looked so… peaceful. Almost hilariously so considering who they were dealing with, or at least who a certain goddess claimed they were dealing with. It looked too damn nice and relaxing to be associated with any sort of ‘Mad King’. If they were going by Luna’s description of him, he’d have probably bitten the bird’s head off and turned the water to blood for the hell of it.

It was hard to look away… not because of the stunning visual before them, but because it also was just so—

The two of them flinched hard as Sombra casually turned his head and looked directly at them. They both dropped behind the root as fast as they could.

“SHIT!” Spitfire cursed quietly as she and Fleetfoot pressed their backs to the large root with their eyes stuck wide open.

“What the hell?! He looked RIGHT at us!” Fleetfoot said in disbelief.

“QUIET!” Spitfire hissed as she gritted her teeth and met all the confused eyes of the rest. But her expression said it all.

Everypony laid perfectly still. It was dead silent and several of them assumed Sombra was going to appear over the root at any moment.

But… nothing happened.

Spitfire swallowed and glanced at Descent. Descent was glaring at her and made a slight head motion at the root.

Spitfire turned around as quietly as she could and slowly peered over the top of the root again.

Only to look right back into Sombra’s eyes still pointing in her direction. She flinched and dropped back down instantly.

“DAMMIT!” she said as she stiffened and her mind raced.

“Your attempts at stealth leave much to be desired,” Sombra’s voice suddenly came from the center of the lake.

Spitfire and Fleetfoot both opened their eyes wide and slowly turned to look at each other.

Neither of them had the foggiest idea what to do next. Spitfire looked around at everypony else… but they were all looking at her for an answer.

Sombra knew they were there, hell he just spoke to them. But he couldn’t know how many of them were there, he only saw Spitfire and Fleetfoot, maybe—

“Just come out already, ALL of you,” Sombra added.

Fleetfoot’s jaw dropped as she stared at Spitfire.

Spitfire just stayed still for a few moments.

But then she looked down and blinked a few times.

“Well? I’m waiting.” Said Sombra. “Don’t make me come over there.”

Spitfire looked up, her eyes back to normal as she looked around at all the petrified stares from the rest.

“Well… I guess that’s that,” she said as she stood up.

“SPITTY?!” Fleetfoot reacted in a hushed tone as Spitfire turned and placed her hooves on the root.

“Everypony at ease,” Spitfire said calmly as she jumped right up onto the root, completely exposing herself to Sombra and locking eyes with him.

Nopony knew what to say or do, they all just stared in disbelief as Spitfire willingly placed herself in Sombra’s line of sight.

She hopped down and started walking towards him. As soon as she did, everypony began frantically scrambling for a position to peek out.

“What the hell is she doing?!” Descent growled as he nearly stepped on Fleetfoot trying to look over the root. Several heads poked out, all of them trying to remain hidden best they could, but it was clear Sombra could see them.

Spitfire kept walking, each step one at a time and without hesitation as she slowly approached the edge of the water. She was staring directly at Sombra and his hardened gaze with every step. But she eventually stopped and looked over her shoulder.

“I said AT EASE!” she yelled back to the Wonderbolts and Renegades still trying to be discreet. “Come out already!”

Spitfire’s order was heard, but the reactions varied. The Wonderbolts and veteran bolts within the Renegades all started moving, but the Shadowbolt Renegades did not. The result was a cluster of ponies bumping into one another clumsily and causing a bit of a backup as they started moving. Descent waved a hoof in the air to get his Shadowbolts to move too, but the damage had already been done, and Rainbow Dash found herself stuck behind a large group as they started climbing over the roots.

“Well?” Sombra spoke up, glancing at Soarin as he kept Soarin’s body turned towards the emerging Wonderbolts and Renegades.

Soarin’s eyes were wide, a mixture of surprise and confusion.

“Spitfire! And… Fleetfoot! Fire, Lightning… Descent… and…” he struggled to remain coherent as he saw so many familiar faces emerging and moving up behind Spitfire. He was relieved to see them, but… “What are they doing here?” Soarin thought aloud.

“You tell me,” Sombra snarled at him. Soarin immediately picked up on Sombra’s tone and threw a very harsh look in his direction, tugging on the shadows binding him down as he blew a hiss of air from his nostrils.

“Don’t you DARE hurt any of them!” Soarin growled right back, but Sombra only snorted.

“Why would I?” Sombra immediately said back as he turned and refocused on who they were looking at. Soarin went silent, but held his glare. “Something is amiss here…” Sombra went on, causing Soarin to blink. “I do not sense any supernatural beings nearby… they are here without the gods.”

“What…?” Celestia chimed in, Soarin glancing at her briefly.

“How curious,” Sombra tipped his head. “I wonder what they—”

Sombra’s silhouette suddenly flinched and froze.

Soarin noticed immediately, and upon focusing back on his own eyes, it didn’t take long to figure out why, because Sombra was directing Soarin’s eyesight right at what had apparently spooked him.

“RAINBOW DASH!”

As the Wonderbolts and Renegades slowly emerged behind her, Spitfire began walking towards Sombra again. She kept her same confident stride as before, one hoof ahead of the other, no hesitation and plenty of strength in her posture and body language. She eventually made it to the edge of the lake, her hooves dipping into the shallows. Those following behind her stopped at the edge of the lake, none of them willing to get any closer while worrying that Spitfire was being too rash.

Spitfire’s lone approach easily caught Sombra’s attention. As she closed in, he turned and faced her squarely. Several of the ponies behind Spitfire quickly hunched down into battle ready stances, Descent even throwing his wings open as if ready to launch. Spitfire heard the shuffle behind her and glanced back again.

“For the love of…” she threw a hoof out. “AT! EASE!” she yelled with an annoyed tone. “Don’t make me say it again!” she added very sternly.

Reluctantly, the Wonderbolts obeyed. Descent growled and flipped a hoof to calm down the Renegades.

Dash reached up and gently pushed her goggles onto her forehead, looking towards the drastically enhanced body of Soarin… occupied and controlled by Sombra. The sight was jarring. It was him, it was Soarin, yet it was not. It gave her such and odd mixed feeling. She was frozen in her spot, swallowing as she watched Spitfire turn back to Sombra and move a little closer. After a few more steps into the shallows, Spitfire came to a halt and a tense, silent stare down began between the two.

Dash’s body was still, but her heart was racing. Some of it was the anxious tension of the moment and knowing execution of her counter-counter plan was close at hoof, but the rest of it was definitely because of Soarin being so close.

Her heart was beating fast, but it felt… strong. She didn’t know how else to describe it. It wasn’t painful or causing pressure, it felt like it was energizing her. The feeling gave her pause about Soarin. If she felt this much strength then it meant Soarin was still holding on within, and perhaps feeling exactly what she felt right now. Did that mean he knew she was there too? Could she see him from within his body even though he wasn’t in control? If her very presence was helping his own strength grow, then it made feel more confident about her plan. There’d be no doubt his will would be a key factor in the separation once they used the Elements of Harmony on—

Dash’s thoughts were cut off and a cold chill ran down her spine, a tremendous sense of dread smacking her right in the face as she realized… Sombra wasn’t looking at Spitfire… he was looking at her. His red pupils were fixed on a point staring right over Spitfire’s shoulder.

She shuddered and took a step backwards. That sealed it, Sombra was most definitely being wary of her after what happened last time.

Spitfire suddenly looked over her shoulder. Dash blinked as she shifted her eyes, seeing Spitfire staring right at her.

Dash’s pupils danced back and forth from Spitfire to Sombra several times.

With a deep breath and a long exhale through her nostrils, Spitfire returned her eyes to Sombra.

“Now.”

Dash gasped as she suddenly felt something press hard into her back. Her goggles flew off the top of her head as she lurched forward and was forced down.

“WHAT THE—?!”

“ACK!” Dash yelped as she hit the ground. Her eyes opening wide in horror as the Streak twins pressed their hooves down on her back and pinned her to the ground.

She frantically looked back and forth.

Matteo squawked in surprise as Bomber, Calm Wind, and Valkyrie grabbed him and forced him down.

“HEY!!!!” Squall yelled as Macho Savage and Air Mach tackled and held him to the ground.

“EEP!” Little Star squeaked as High Winds hooked her in a headlock and held onto her tight despite her immediate flailing.

What was happening?!

Dash instantly began to panic, caught completely off guard and thoroughly pinned to the point where she could barely move. Her strength was no match for the combined strength of the twin stallions.

Sombra blinked, lifting his brow slightly as the odd scene of a scuffle within the group played out before him. No doubt because the pony who was able to weaken him was being restrained.

Spitfire turned her back to Sombra, facing Dash directly and narrowing her eyes into a glare while shaking her head.

“You know, Dash… part of me had confidence in you. Confidence that you would recognize the situation and understand what had to be done, why we decided to take this approach…” She started moving back through the shallows and towards Dash. “But I had to face the facts. You were compromised the moment your old friends showed up. Did you really expect me to believe you’d accept my orders and keep quiet? I know how you are.”

Dash’s pupils slowly shrank as Spitfire got closer.

“But honestly?” Spitfire went on. “While I expected us to be at odds… I didn’t expect you to have the balls to go through with it. Yet here we are. I’m glad I took extra precautions.” Spitfire slowly glanced away from Dash.

Dash was in complete shock as she slowly followed Spitfire’s gaze and saw… Storm. He was not being pinned down like the rest. He was just standing there, staring at her.

She couldn’t believe it, he actually did it… he backstabbed her.

Or… wait, did he? What did Spitfire mean by ‘extra precautions’?

“Right after your friends showed up,” Spitfire continued. “I assigned Storm Front to keep a close eye on you and keep me informed.”

Dash’s eyes snapped back to Spitfire and widened considerably. Storm averted his eyes from both of them.

“But he didn’t really have to try all that hard. You did his work for him, pulled him right in and spilled it all,” Spitfire explained.

Dash could barely process it. Storm… was ordered to watch her?

“Look Dash,” Spitfire growled as she stopped in front of Dash and glared down at her. “I get that you’re Silver’s special little protégé and all… He always has his nose in my ear, questioning my orders and decisions more times than I can count. I don’t want my Wonderbolts to follow me blindly, I encourage them to keep an open mind and to speak out if they feel something is wrong. But this…? In this particular case, there is a very big difference between you and Silver.”

Dash nearly squeaked as Spitfire bent down and got right in her face.

“SILVER. ISN’T. A ROOKIE!” she yelled, causing Dash to squint. “His experience speaks for itself, so he has more space than anypony else to come forth and speak out. His opinions on my choices hold more than enough weight for me to fully acknowledge and consider what he has to suggest without an ounce of hesitation. Having the gall to think you can do the same with so little experience under your belt is absurd. It really doesn’t help that you tried to be sneaky about it. You weren’t sure if I’d listen so you decided to go behind my back? Unbelievable, do you really think Silver would have done that? No. He would have come right up to me and made his objections clear. If you had done that, I would have given my objections right out, and I wouldn’t have had to put you in this position right now. Your subversive approach is both cowardly, and insulting!”

Dash felt like the world was crashing down on top of her as Spitfire berated her. Even though what she just said, in a way, contradicted with what Silver himself had said to her earlier.

Spitfire pulled her head away and stood up, keeping her strong glare beating down on Dash. She started to turn, but stopped.

“Oh, and don’t expect your friends to show up,” she added. Dash gasped. “Yeah, that little plan to tip off Luna and lead her out here? It’s not happening. I’ve already addressed that too. I’m NOT letting you mess this up with so much at risk!”

“W…WAIT!!!” Dash suddenly found her voice, panicking to the point of shaking as she tried to squirm, but couldn’t get free. “Just listen to me!” she pleaded. “We can—!”

“SHUT UP!” Spitfire barked down at her, cutting Dash off abruptly. “We can what?! I know what your plan is already, why do you think you’re being restrained?! You expect me to trust ponies who have no idea what we’ve been through and have no idea why we’re acting against the gods they are aligned with! I don’t care what you said to them to ‘convince’ them. I made it clear you were not to speak to them due to the risks of their association and you did it anyway! You disobeyed a direct order and attempted to undercut our mission on top of it!”

Dash was perfectly still, silenced as a feeling of complete powerlessness rushed through her.

Spitfire turned her back to Dash, but looked over her shoulder on more time.

“If we live through this… you and I are going to have PLENTY to talk about.” She said no more as she started walking, making her way back out into the shallows and towards Sombra.

No. No. No. No. NO! Dash was not going to accept this. She quickly looked up at the Streak twins.

“Fire! Lightning! Guys! Listen to me! You gotta let me go!” she pleaded.

They didn’t listen. Lightning looked down at her briefly, but Fire cleared his throat and shook his head.

Dash’s pupils darted around. No, there had to be somepony that was unsure about Spitfire’s plan. She refused to believe they were all going along with her.

“BLAZE!” she yelled, Blaze just glancing at her. “Silver was in on this! He agrees with me and—Blaze?”

Blaze turned and walked away.

Dash panicked even more. She looked over towards Squad Zero. Shine Struck was looking towards her, but wore a look of hesitation, averting her eyes as Soon as Dash looked. Hopelessness starting to creep in, Dash turned her eyes to Fleetfoot.

“FLEET! PLEASE! C’mon Fleet, you have to hear me out!” she yelled. Fleetfoot visibly shuddered and her ears drooped down. “Fleet! You gotta believe me! I know what can fix this!”

Fleetfoot turned her head and looked towards Dash with a very solemn look in her eyes that made Dash’s heart drop.

“I’m… sorry Dash…” Fleetfoot said weakly as she turned away.

Dash lay still in utter disbelief.

Not even Fleetfoot was willing to listen. If she wouldn’t… then…

They were all behind Spitfire, one hundred percent. She was alone.

It was over.

All that planning. All that work. All that built up confidence through steeling her nerves and the motivational meeting with Silver.

All gone in an instant.

She thought she had executed it perfectly. She thought she had led Spitfire on just as well as the rest! But in the end… Spitfire was one step ahead of her the whole time.

She thought Storm was a problem that she had created for herself, but Storm was planted there as a mole from the start?! But he had tried to talk her out of it… Were his attempts to convince her otherwise his way of trying to steer her away from this outcome?

All of her grandstanding and acting… Was it all an act from Spitfire too? Constantly asking her to cooperate as if she had no idea what Dash was doing… Asking her to speak out to Luna in their meeting… set up a fake guarantee of her support to Luna… falsely argue with her about it in front of Luna… and then compliment her later on a job well done? Spitfire did ALL OF THIS… while aware of her plan?

Just how hard had Spitfire played her here?! She had been completely outmaneuvered.

It was no use. The Streak twins had her pinned and her squad was restrained. Storm was clearly not on her side and now apparently Twilight was going to be barred from her part of the plan too.

It was over before it ever started.

She was now forced to sit still and watch, completely at the mercy of Spitfire and powerless to stop her from believing her dead end plan had any chance of success.

“Fleetfoot,” Spitfire beckoned her to follow. Fleetfoot swallowed and shakily fell in line behind her. “You guys too,” Spitfire motioned to Descent, Blazetail, and Flashwind. “Come on.”

The three did as Spitfire asked, Starry following behind Descent too.

Sombra eventually shifted his focus from Dash to Spitfire as she and her little band of leaders made their way out into the shallows, once again coming towards him.

“What are they doing?!” Soarin yelled as he stared at Dash being pinned. “DASH! Spitfire, what the hell?!”

“Be quiet!” Sombra hissed at him.

“She nearly crippled your hold on Soarin last time…” Celestia thought aloud. “Why would they…?

“DAAAAASH!!!!! Soarin yelled again, trying to pull free of his bindings.

“I said SHUT UP!” Soarin snarled as Soarin’s bindings yanked him down. “If you don’t want me to accidentally kill one of them then be silent!” he threatened.

Soarin didn’t believe he would, but he couldn’t keep his eyes or mind off the sight of Dash being held down against her will by his own comrades.

As Spitfire and the group brushed their hooves through the shallow waters, Sombra grew wary of their advance. His horn lit up and conjured his sword at his side.

Fleetfoot, Descent, Starry, Blazetail, and Flashwind all came to a quick and sudden halt… but Spitfire kept moving forward. The water slowly reached further up past her hooves, slowing her pace slightly as the water now nearly reached all the way up the lower half of her legs.

Sombra grunted and his sword suddenly shot outward, careening towards Spitfire. Spitfire stopped and held still… and the tip of Sombra’s sword halted less than an inch from her face.

Spitfire didn’t flinch, nor did she blink. She kept looking in the direction of Sombra as if his sword were not even there. She slowly reached up and removed her goggles, dropping them into the water beside her. Then she removed her mask, freeing her head and shaking her mane out. She took a long deep breath and gave a determined gaze towards Sombra.

“Sombra,” she said his name with strength in her voice. Sombra's sword inched backwards slightly as he blinked. “I’m here to speak to you,” she said in a formal tone.

Sombra lifted an eyebrow, saying nothing for several moments before his sword pulled away from Spitfire’s face and slowly vanished. He narrowed his eyes, looking Spitfire over carefully.

“Then speak,” his voice echoed towards her, Soarin’s eyes lighting up, but Soarin’s mouth not moving as his words met her ears.

“Before I do,” Spitfire pointed to her face. “I want you to look at me.” She requested. Sombra look confused.

“I believe I already am,” he said with slight annoyance.

“I just want you to understand what you are seeing,” Spitfire added. Sombra tilted his head slightly. “I am here, standing before you right now… as the captain of the Wonderbolts and nothing more.” She held out an arm to her side. “I am not here upon the request of Princess Luna or any other sovereign authority. I stand before you independently and have brought along several of the finest ranks I represent, all of them ordered to stand down as a sign of good faith. Furthermore, I remove my goggles, and mask worn for combat and duty so nothing stands between your eyes and mine.”

“And…?” Sombra growled, a loud snort shooting from his nostrils.

“We come seeking the truth,” Spitfire emphasized while slamming her hoof into the water.

“Hm?” Sombra lifted his brow slightly. Spitfire kept it together, he looked interested or at least curious and that was exactly what she was hoping for.

“Am I right to say you are aware of everything that’s been happening around Soarin up to this point? Regarding our conflict against the Shadowbolts through the moment you were released?” she asked.

“I would not say that I have been fully invested in your personal struggles, but I am aware of them. Your fight means nothing to me. My time and energy has been focused inward.” He explained sharply.

“But you know of it at least,” Spitfire pressed.

“That is correct. I know you have an enemy,” Sombra specified.

“Good enough, I’ll get right to the point then,” Spitfire nodded. “We’re here right now…” she paused, narrowing her eyes. “Because we have lost faith in the gods.”

The air between them went deathly silent.

Sombra did not visibly react to her words aside from narrowing his eyes very slowly and giving Spitfire a long hard look. Spitfire let her statement sink in before taking a step forward.

“We’ve been fighting a battle… and it’s been a long battle. The Wonderbolts and Shadowbolts have been at war, bringing carnage to the point where we’ve willingly detached ourselves from civilization to ensure no one else is drawn in. They’ve wanted something from us at the word and command of a leader who we believe is being controlled by an unseen force we have yet to find out anything about or even see… and we have been fighting to prevent them from obtaining it. From the start… their goal has involved Soarin, or now I believe it may have been you all along… but that’s beside the point. We have been fighting for Soarin and each other, the Shadowbolts are seemingly hell-bent on killing us all and we have endured. But we have endured with the Gods at our side the whole time. And through our time with them, they have given us sympathy for our goals, and have offered their best aid. But over time… We have come to the realization that they are trying to direct us along, and if we question anything they believe is right we are met with scorn. One of them knew you were within Soarin all along, but never revealed it to us… and the moment you were set free they have shifted their stance and are acting like our battle with the Shadowbolts never mattered. Not to mention the Shadowbolts have shifted their priority target to you, making us feel as if we were never really an important part of it all.”

Sombra’s face slowly scrunched up as Spitfire spoke. She didn’t know what to make of it, but didn’t let it bother her as she got her words out.

“Now despite their word not always ringing true and constantly testing our trust, they are telling us to believe their word when our very own eyes are telling us a different story. So we wish to cast aside our allegiances for a moment and—”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake…” Sombra suddenly cut her off. “Spare me while you’re ahead.” He said with a loud huff. Spitfire froze, her mouth still open mid-sentence. “Such forced formality and rehearsed lines… Did you practice this in front of a mirror? You think your unnatural tone will help me believe this drivel you spout? Enough. Nopony in this age speaks this way.”

“I…” Spitfire blinked. “What?”

“Feh,” Sombra grunted. “I don’t know what you’re trying to pull here, but if you expect me to believe you’re not here on the word of your ‘beloved gods’ then you take me for a fool. Stop wasting my time. Leave.”

“No! I…!” Spitfire reached up, but then paused. She slammed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth. “Okay… okay…” she released a low, annoyed nicker as she opened her eyes. “You know what, fine. I was under the impression that I was addressing ancient royalty that would respect a formal tone, but if you’re going to be like this, then forget it!”

Spitfire’s sudden shift from formality to rough talking made everypony else feel a little uneasy. Was it really a good idea to give such a strong rebuke to a being that was very capable of hurting them… a lot?

“If you’d prefer I just be upfront and speak my mind, then I will. I’m here to talk to you because I think the gods are damn liars and I’m sick of them leading us around like we don’t have a choice. Is that better?” she explained in a very harsh tone as Sombra watched her, listening with ears fully turned. “If you want me to use more colorful language, I can,” she added. “Because I have some choice words for them, ESPECIALLY for Discord!”

Sombra’s eyes twitched just once as she brought up Discord, a low hum coming from him as his eyes glowed softly.

“You have my attention…” he said, trailing off as he tipped his head. Spitfire perked up, but tried not to show it.

“Good, now can we—”

“BUT…” Sombra cut her off again. “What proof do you have to claim your independence?”

Spitfire froze, her mouth opened, but she had no answer to give him.

“You speak in words that align with my thoughts, but…” Sombra narrowed his gaze. “The gods are a snide lot… Something I once learned the hard way. So unless you can provide me with some solid evidence… I refuse to make the same mistake twice.”

Spitfire closed her mouth and stared with her eyes fully open.

“Well? I’m waiting,” Sombra pressed.

“I…” Spitfire looked down and sighed. “I have no proof other than my word,” she admitted, hoping honesty would carry weight. She looked back at the others briefly too. “And the fact that we’re here on our own accord.”

“So you have said,” Sombra narrowed his eyes as the blue fumes of magic slowly rose from them.

“But…” Spitfire leaned forward, but nothing else to say came to mind.

“Be gone,” Sombra made a head motion to his side. “I will not entertain your nonsense any longer,” he said definitively and began to turn. Spitfire’s eyes widened, a feeling of desperation gripping her. She wasn’t going to let this end so easily.

“Hey!” she yelled and splashed a hoof into the water. Sombra turned all the way around, but didn’t move. “Don’t you turn your back on me!” she demanded. Sombra remained still for a moment before glancing over his shoulder.

“Give me one good reason not to.”

“Just listen to me!” Spitfire spat as she took a few steps forward, the water reaching a little higher up her leg. Everypony watching flinched as she made the move, brazenly putting herself closer to him.

Sombra’s horn lit up with magic, but none of his weapons appeared as if simply warning her not get too close.

“Fine,” Spitfire huffed as she flattened her brow. “I don’t have any proof. I probably should have anticipated your skepticism, but I didn’t and there’s nothing I can do about that now,” she fully admitted. “But you said you were at least aware of our situation right? Have you been seeing our disagreements with them? Have you seen the way they’ve misled us? I’m not lying about what I said about you. We were told all along that Soarin was simply dealing with some kind of messed up magic inside of him, not a full blown spirit of another pony! They kept that from us and lied to us about it over and over again, yet they still expect us to believe them and follow them without question! You clearly don’t think we’re capable of questioning them, but after what we’ve been through how could we not?”

Sombra stood still, listening.

“Since you’ve been released they’ve gone on and on about how we must destroy you and how you must not be allowed to exist and all kinds of crap like that. They don’t bother to elaborate, if we question them they just insist it has to be done, change the subject, or shout us down. They refuse to address our interests in the matter. It’s all about what they want. It’s nothing but Sombra, Sombra, Sombra, evil, evil, evil, yadda, yadda, the world will end if you sneeze!” she added sarcastically at the end.

Sombra remained silent.

Spitfire shook her head vigorously.

“But you want to know why we’re here? Why we’re not buying their crap? Because what they say about you… and what’s been written about you in history books…” she paused and pointed at her eyes. “None of it lines up with what we’ve seen with our own eyes!”

That did it. Sombra slowly turned to face her again.

“Actions speak louder than words!” Spitfire went on, the passion in her voice never wavering. “And if you’re the ruthless, cold-blooded killer the gods keep claiming you to be, then why didn’t you kill any of us during our last confrontation?!”

Sombra’s ears stood up and his eyes opened wider.

“You never struck first!” Spitfire kept pressing. “You only fought if you were attacked, and once a pony was down, you left them be!” She paused and looked over her shoulder at Starry Skies standing beside Descent, pointing a hoof towards her. “Starry Skies here stood firmly between you and her comrade to protect him after you struck him down… and you didn’t lay a hoof on her! You were clearly only interested in turning your power on the gods! And since we witnessed all of that… the gods have only been interested in coming after you!”

“Hmmm…” Sombra hummed as he glanced down.

“Look, I get it,” Spitfire faced him again and huffed. “You don’t think much of us, or ponies of ‘this age’ in general. That much has been clear. But if you were speaking to us before any of this happened? I think I’d completely agree with you. None of us ever really questioned the word of Celestia or Luna. But right here? Right now? After all of this and all we’ve been through? We’d be mindless drones if we didn’t question it.” She shook her head. “We feel betrayed, led on, and lied to… and as I’ve said, the worst part of it all is how they keep going like they’ve done nothing wrong. They can drag my face through the mud only so many times before I start to wonder why I’m just letting them do it.”

Spitfire paused and looked Sombra over carefully. He was still glancing down. Was he thinking about it? Was she getting through to him?

“I want to know what they’re keeping from us,” she narrowed her eyes and growled quietly. “They have used us and our struggles to advance their own agenda behind our backs, and even though we’ve realized this and called them out on it, they keep on going as if we’ve never mattered while persistently keeping us in the dark. I want to know why we’ve really been fighting… I want to know what all our effort has really been for, because up to this point it seems like it’s all been one big fat lie.” Spitfire snorted. “I’m done being their pawns… I want the damn TRUTH…” she pointed a hoof at him. “And I want to hear it from YOU!”

A long pause stretched out between them, Spitfire keeping her hoof extended as Sombra looked up and locked eyes with her. Nothing was said for several moments, all those standing behind Spitfire breathless with anticipation.

Rainbow Dash had conflicted feelings from what she was seeing. She was still convinced that Spitfire wasn’t going to get anywhere… but the way she had just laid out everything in front of Sombra seemed very convincing, much more so than she expected her to be. She didn’t agree with Spitfire’s approach, but it was clear she wasn’t going in blind. What was going to happen? How was Sombra going to react?

“Interesting…” Sombra finally spoke, everypony perking up. “How very, very interesting. Perhaps I have misjudged you.”

Spitfire tried to hide any sort of visual reaction, but it was hard to. Sombra tipped his head slightly.

“Your observations and conclusions about the situation are impressive. You are right to assume that I believe you are mindless followers, but that belief is being tested. Or… maybe you’re just a very good actor, though I doubt it after your less than stellar attempts to sway me with formality.”

Spitfire’s eye twitched, but she held down any retort. This was going better than expected and she didn’t want to ruin it.

“But determination isn’t something that can be faked. Your eyes are filled with strength and your words are heavily weighted. There isn’t an ounce of falsehood within them and that never gets past me. You’re not going to back down, I can see that much.”

“Damn right I’m not,” Spitfire added instinctively. Sombra snorted, but smirked at her, appearing to be impressed by her moxie.

“As for what the gods ultimately wished to achieve with me and this scenario…” he began, everypony leaning forward to listen as he suddenly went the direction they were hoping. “There actually isn’t much of anything I can tell you.”

There was almost an audible collective, short exhale as everypony heard it. It wasn’t quite what they were hoping for. Sombra shook his head.

“But that’s because there likely isn’t one answer. It would depend on which of the gods you ask,” Sombra added.

“Huh?” Spitfire blinked.

“Feh,” Sombra gritted his teeth. “You think they only lie to you? You’d be surprised how much they lie amongst themselves as well.”

Several glances passed around the Wonderbolts and Renegades. They weren’t sure how to react to that, especially Spitfire. She assumed the gods were mostly all on the same page, but they were shortchanging each other as well? How much farther did the rabbit hole of deception go? Spitfire swallowed and made a hoof motion towards Sombra.

“O…okay, that’s great to know,” she said with slight sarcasm. “Now what about you? What do they really fear about you? How did this all start?”

Everypony refocused as Spitfire posed the question. This was the real meat of the information they sought, and it was Spitfire’s gateway towards their real objective.

But Sombra didn’t say anything for several moments. He remained still and silent, keeping his eyes locked on Spitfire. Though they eventually began to narrow slowly, Spitfire feeling as if he was looking right through her.

“Let me ask you something,” Sombra finally spoke. Spitfire flinched subtly, but collected herself, tipping her head to quietly signal her curiosity. Sombra looked her up and down, his eyes remaining sharp. “Say I believe you… say your words have given me pause and I feel I can trust you… say I tell you everything I know about the gods and how they have bent the narrative about me to favor their own ends…”

He paused and snorted.

“What do you stand to gain from it?” he asked. Spitfire’s ears twitched, a response coming up quickly and without any hesitation.

“We’re tired of being lied to!” she restated. “We want—”

“The truth. I know, you’re just repeating yourself,” Sombra finished for her. “Do not dodge the question… what comes after that? What is your goal?” he pressed.

Spitfire froze in place, gritting her teeth with her eyes wide as she struggled to figure out what he wanted to hear from her. She stared directly into Sombra’s eyes, a slight panic setting in as his sharp gaze pressed an undeniable weight on her.

“You are putting forth a strong dialogue…” Sombra spoke. “But… you can’t hide it from me.”

Spitfire flinched.

“What? Hide what?” she asked, but her tone of voice had clearly changed.

“Spare me,” Sombra rolled his eyes slightly and snorted. “You say you’re here because you want to know the truth against the lies of the gods… that is noble and worthy of my respect to be sure. Perhaps that really is part of the reason you’re here. But…” Sombra glared harshly at Spitfire. “The strength in your eyes is telling me something… it’s telling me you want something. And if I had to wager a guess, it’s something that is NOT to my benefit.”

Spitfire was sunk. She had no idea what to say from here. He had shifted the subject directly to her ultimate goal before she even got halfway through the progression. But she felt even more pressure when Sombra suddenly smirked.

“Do you take me for a fool? I know why you’re here. I know what you’re after,” he said as he shook his head lightly to accompany the smirk. “You’re here for Soarin.”

Spitfire winced hard, she had been fighting to show much physical reaction, but there was no hiding that one. And Sombra clearly noticed.

“Ah… there it is,” he said as he shook his head. “You really thought I wouldn’t put that together? I told you that I was at least aware of your struggles. Do you know whom I owe that to? Soarin of course. I’ve no doubt you share the same care for him that he shares for you.”

“I…!” Spitfire tried to force herself forward. She tried to force herself to respond.

“Shame on you,” Sombra spoke over her as she struggled. “Shame on you for trying to hide your intentions behind something that would catch my attention. What an opportunistic sneak you are. You’re no better than the gods.”

Spitfire’s ears twitched hard and her eyes instantly narrowed into a glare.

Something about that… something about how he just compared her to the gods…

It really pissed her off.

“WAIT!” she took a few steps towards him, splashing into the water as she moved and stopped. “Wait…” she repeated and sighed, scrunching her mouth and trying to hold down an outburst that pried at her lips, desperate to tell him off for the comparison he put forth. “FINE!” She threw a hoof out and rolled her eyes. “Fine, fine, FINE! You caught me!” she said harshly as she nodded. “That is the real reason I’m here. But I’m NOT lying about us wanting to know the truth! Discovery was always part of the plan here so don’t go calling me a sneak when I decided to address something else first!”

“And what reasons have you given me to believe you? Did you not just lead with that in hopes of softening me up?” Sombra asked while lifting an eyebrow. Spitfire bit her lip and a quiet growl escaped her throat. “If you were being genuine you wouldn’t have felt the need to.”

Spitfire exhaled through her nose, a strong rush of air rushing from her nostrils as she fought to keep her cool.

“Okay, look…” She held out a hoof. “The subject of Soarin isn’t a secret. I was going to bring him up eventually, but these are not separate issues. And if you’re looking for honesty, YES… I did purposely lead with the other point! Would you have preferred I just walked up to you and demand Soarin? I’m willing to bet you would have clocked me over the head with one of your magic weapons if I had tried that!” Spitfire huffed.

“Perhaps…” Sombra agreed while tipped his head slightly.

“I wanted to be clear of our position first, how does that sound?” Spitfire sounded like she was losing her patience. It was causing the tense air around everypony watching to tighten further. Some were having trouble deducing whether Spitfire’s current flow of words and thoughts was bravery or insanity. “I wanted to establish our doubt because you clearly have a goal… a goal tied to a version of the story WE don’t know. Soarin is caught in this! He has been forced into this position against his will… and if you don’t enlighten us, then you’re forcing us to believe that you are simply using our friend’s body for your own ends.”

“I don’t see how recounting my life story to you would change the circumstances in any way.” Sombra held his ground adamantly, shaking his head. “Because in the end, to achieve what you seek would mean to take from me the very thing I require to carry out my purpose.”

“Look, there has to be something!” Spitfire took another step forward, the water slowly reaching further up her legs with every step taken. “We came here to talk, so let’s talk. Tell us your story! We won’t get anywhere if you leave us in the dark! Tell us how this all came to be, tell us what your endgame is. From there, maybe we can come to some sort of agreement and—”

“HA HA HA HA!!!!” Sombra suddenly burst out laughing, Soarin’s mouth remaining shut, but his head tipping back as if he was letting out a hearty guffaw. Spitfire’s fur stood on end, an uneasy shiver pulsing through her body as Sombra continued to laugh for several seconds. “AGREEMENT?!” Sombra managed to say as he continued to chuckle. “An agreement!” he repeated as he shook his head and snickered. “Cease thine jests… what is there to agree on? You want me to ultimately hoof over the vessel I have acquired? You might as well ask me to off myself.”

“No!” Spitfire leaned forward, but then tipped back. “That’s not—!” she hesitated and stammered.

“And what exactly do you expect me to do?!” Sombra went on. “Trust you, come with you, and meet with the gods? Talk it over with the very fiends who destroyed me, my kingdom and everything I ever lived and fought for?! Nonsense! Insanity and nonsense!”

Spitfire really didn’t know what it was… but just the very mention of the gods, once again, lit a fire in her chest. She steeled herself and took yet another step forward.

“There has to be a way for us to reach a compromise!” she yelled towards him, refusing to back down. “And I mean with US! Between you and the Wonderbolts! NOT the gods! Stop bringing the gods into this like I’m doing work for those assholes!” she splashed a hoof into the water. “What’s really going on!? Tell us everything! Tell us what you’re after!”

She took another step forward, putting the Wonderbolts and Renegades really on edge. She was getting dangerously close to him now, all sense of spacing in case of a conflict being thrown out the window. Descent was inching forward, grinding his teeth together, but Blazetail was gripping his shoulder encouraging him to let Spitfire keep up the pressure.

“Tell us what you want in return for Soarin!” Spitfire proposed. “What is it?! At this point I don’t care what it might be! We will help you do it!” she threw out there. “We will do ANYTHING to get him back!”

A wave of shock rushed over the spectators as it more or less sounded like Spitfire suggested a complete mutiny. Dash was losing her mind. Spitfire had started strong, but was starting to tip over the edge of the cliff. Whether she was being serious or not was hard to deduce and the very reason Dash made her alternate plan in the first place was on full display. She looked left and right at her squadmates. Squall was thoroughly pinned just like her. Matteo was constantly wiggling to get free, but it was no use with Bomber among those on top of him. And there was definitely no way Star was getting out of High Winds’ head lock, she was much stronger than her.

Dash’s head snapped towards Storm, anger boiling within her the moment she laid eyes on him. She didn’t care if he was given orders before they even started, she didn’t care if he appeared to make efforts to dissuade her… he still went through with it… this was all HIS fault. He didn’t have to follow Spitfire’s orders… but no. He just couldn’t help himself, he just couldn’t do something without telling his daddy, huh?

She didn’t have time to dwell on it, at this point the silence between Spitfire and Sombra had caught her attention. Neither had said a word for several moments.

Sombra narrowed his eyes. Spitfire was just close enough for him to effectively look down upon her even though she was still not right up against him. After another moment of silence… he shook his head.

“The fact that you are asking me such a thing only proves how little you know,” Sombra snorted. Spitfire’s eyes widened, but her angered expression remained. “You clearly do not understand the conflict you are trying to force your way in between,” he explained. “Furthermore, you are treating my possession of Soarin’s body as if it was my own choice. I did not take it. And it is not something I can simply return without giving up that which I desire to accomplish or without detriment to my own existence. I was simply put into a position where commandeering this body was possible… and you can thank your gods for that. This is the result of their work.”

Spitfire’s ears began to droop.

“You have demonstrated perceptiveness in examining my movements,” he went on. “You have done well to recognize that I wish no harm on anypony tied to the puppet strings of the gods. You have offered a compelling perspective, showing awareness and wariness of the omnipotent and their misdeeds… however…” He glared. “That perspective is still clouded by your short life in the very world controlled by that which I seek to destroy. You want to help me? You want to do something in return for Soarin? My goal is to face down the gods… destroy them… and replace them!”

Spitfire flinched, a burst of air escaping her throat.

“I do not believe you would be so willing to carry out such a task, would you?” Sombra scoffed. “No. You cannot help, you will not help, and that’s why there will be no agreement, no compromise! I will break all of Equestria free from the grasp of the gods! There is nopony else who can do this, and nopony that exists who has the courage to stand with me! So you will have to accept that I need this body! I will not let this chance pass… a chance I should have never had in the first place. Yet here I am now with a golden opportunity thanks to the foolishness of Celestia.”

Nearly everypony perked up at the mention of Celestia, but Sombra did not go any further. He turned his side to Spitfire.

“You have made a valiant effort, but you’re blind to what’s at stake. There is nothing you can do or suggest to convince me otherwise.”

“T-Then…!” Spitfire stuttered. “Then tell us!” she yelled desperately. “How are we supposed to understand it if you won’t give us the story?! That’s why I’m asking you to—!”

“Leave,” Sombra cut her off harshly. Spitfire’s pupils shrank. “You already have my answer on Soarin. Since that is what you seek, there is no reason for us to speak further.”

Spitfire began to shake. It was a visible movement of twitches, flinches, and tremors as she stared at Sombra with her eyes stuck open wide. He remained turned to the side, but looked away from her.

“If you are truly against the gods as you claim to be, then you will take heed of my words and stay out of my way. If you do not, then you prove my skepticism and your words are empty. Now be gone.”

He turned his back to her.

And something in Spitfire snapped.

“RRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!”

Everypony gasped. Sombra’s eyes widened slightly as he looked over his shoulder.

Spitfire was screaming, slamming her hooves into the water, splashing herself all over. Some of the forest animals that had remained present at a safe distance scattered, the rest looked in her direction.

“NO!” NO, NO, NO!” she yelled as she continued to throw a tantrum. “DON’T YOU TURN AWAY FROM ME! GIVE HIM BACK! GIVE HIM BACK!” her eyes were filled with rage, her ears were folded back against her head and her teeth were grinding so hard together that they made noise. “GIVE ME MY BEST FRIEND BACK! NOW!!!!!!!”

Sombra turned slightly back towards her, keeping his eyes locked on her as they narrowed.

“FORGET IT! I don’t care about you!” Spitfire shouted, heavy heaving breaths wheezing from her throat. “I don’t care about the gods or whatever the hell went on between you! Everything was perfectly fine until you all decided to get us tangled in your crap! And my best friend has been suffering through ALL of it! ALL OF IT!!!!!”

Everypony watched in horror as she rushed forward, her body sinking deeper into the water as she pushed herself towards Sombra. Sombra didn’t move, nor did he call forth his magic. He let her come towards him, remaining in place with his hooves floating on the surface of the water as she waded right up to his front left hoof and grabbed it, gripping it as hard as she could.

“So give me a fucking answer already! What will it take for you to give him up?! What do we have to do?! TELL ME!” she shouted while trying to shake his large hoof. Tears were rolling down her face as she bent her neck back and glared directly upward, past his massive chest and into his eyes glaring back down at her.

But a look of disgust rolled onto his face.

“What is this whining I’m hearing?” he asked with a tone that matched his expression. “Such an undignified tantrum. You claim to represent this…force?” he made a small head motion towards the Wonderbolts and Renegades. “You are a commander and a leader? How pathetic… spare me the childish theatrics. You have my answer, I will hear no more of this.”

“You will hear me you son of a bitch!” Spitfire brushed off his comments and gripped his hoof tighter. “Forget about who I represent! Forget about being official! This is PERSONAL! Especially for me!” she shouted up to him. Sombra’s ears twitched as she phrased it that particular way. “Soarin means more to us! He’s not just some random pony who flies under a title! He’s PART of us! Part of our FAMILY! Not one member of the Wonderbolts is expendable or taken for granted! We’ve already lost a few from our ranks as we’ve fought and each loss felt like a piece of us had been torn away! But Soarin also means more to ME! Without him, I wouldn’t be the pony I am today! He’s been with me my whole life and I’d DIE before giving up on him! I would give up everything, rank, status, fame, you name it! EVERYTHING… for him! So you can call me childish, whiney, or whatever you want… I’m NOT going to be civil while you’re walking around in his body and using it for your own personal revenge!”

Sombra’s expression began to soften slightly, the disgust disappearing as he listened. His eyes opened a little wider as she spoke as if something within her words caught his attention. Spitfire began rocking a little as she tried to shake his leg even though she couldn’t make it budge.

“You want me to prove I hate the gods?! I hate the gods because one of them decided it was okay to fuck up the life of my best friend and use him as a means to an end! I hate the gods because even after they pulled that crap, they keep trying to yank me around like I should just kneel at their hooves and accept their word as law! I hate the gods because they’ve dragged me and everypony I care about through the mud while constantly revealing that they’ve been keeping secret after secret from us, shifting their reason why we should care about what we’re doing!” She sniffled hard, tears streaming down her cheeks, but the look of pure anger and rage never leaving her face. “I hate the gods so damn much that I’ve gone out of my way to go right behind their backs to come see you without them! I don’t trust them or anypony that has even the slightest connection to them!” She removed a hoof from his and sharply pointed towards Rainbow Dash being pinned. “Not even one of my own recruits because she’s an Element of Harmony and could have ruined all of this! She even tried to! I’m having her restrained to get this chance! A chance to talk! To convince you… to give… my friend… BACK!” she ended with heavy heaving breaths in between words.

Sombra stared down at her… and stared for a long time. He didn’t move for what felt like minutes.

Eventually he looked up and towards Rainbow Dash being pinned by the Streak twins. There was no doubt he was acknowledging that the pony among them who had the power to cripple his control was being held back.

Sombra looked back down at Spitfire… and sighed.

“Your passion for those you care for is commendable and honorable… and your view towards those you command reminds me of how I once treated my own knights and soldiers. So I refuse to not acknowledge the strength in your words…”

He paused, but suddenly narrowed his eyes into a glare. He lifted his arm, yanking his hoof free from Spitfire’s grip.

“But you have yet to acknowledge the strength in mine.”

Spitfire flinched, her eyes twitching as Sombra stood over her.

“You have thoroughly convinced me that you are speaking from the heart. You appear to be sincere. But despite your different motivations, you are making the same fatal mistake as the gods when judging my actions.”

Spitfire remained motionless as Sombra lowered his head to look her right in the eyes up close.

“I am NOT doing this for myself. That which I seek is for the benefit of the world… for ALL living beings.” He said harshly, each word felt like a surge of pressure down upon Spitfire. “The suffering and sacrifice of your friend is a sad tale, one I’ve already heard directly from him. His spirit persists within me and is still fighting me, holding me back from taking full control.”

Dash watched as several ponies reacted to the mention of Soarin. It wasn’t the first Sombra had mentioned of him, but to hear directly from his lips that Soarin was still in there was unexpected. Of course Dash knew this from the start… she’d be dead if he wasn’t.

“If you are woven of the same cloth as he,” Sombra continued as he remained bent down towards Spitfire. “Then your passion and desire to fight for what you believe in is something I’m very familiar with already. But you will not sway me from what I believe in.” He slowly pulled his head back and stood upright once more. “There is a great danger to your world, and it has persisted for a thousand years since they exposed themselves to the world… Since the day your gods first descended from the skies… the inhabitants of the lands have been oblivious and blind… foolishly comforted by sweet lies and sublime appearances. Their true colors are those of deception, and betrayal, thinking only for themselves and how they might exploit us mortals while hiding their shortcomings and flaws behind a veil of being omnipotent. They are forever living amplifications of the worst sins any being can exude… Lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, pride… I have seen it all and experienced it all with my own two eyes and the expense of my own body. They would never hesitate to protect themselves, even if it meant throwing every living pony into the fiery pits of Tartarus just to save their own hides! But you know exactly what I’m talking about, don’t you? Why else would they keep lying to you, if not to protect their own interests?”

Spitfire’s pupils shrank as Sombra remained fixed right in front of her face.

“They are a scourge, a disease, a fallacy. And I intend to bring the whole charade to an end! I must… I am the only one who truly knows of their hubris. And I believe I can be the one… who stops it. The circumstances I have been provided may not be ideal to you, but at times drastic change requires extreme measures. While it is unfortunate, the sacrifice of your friends by the gods has, in the end, given me the chance to forever ensure that no other pony is ever manipulated by them. If you wish for no other pony to ever share his fate, then you will heed my warning to stay out of my way and not interfere.”

That sealed it. There was no way any amount of talking or convincing was going to work. Rainbow Dash couldn’t see Spitfire’s face from her position, but she had a feeling it was wrought with defeat.

“So I shall repeat myself one more time,” Sombra snorted. “My answer remains the same. It was not taken by my hoof, but Soarin’s body is now mine. And it shall remain mine so I might free Equestria from the disease that is these self-proclaimed gods.”

Spitfire was gritting her teeth, her body subtly shuddering as she felt stuck and unsure. She had been relying on hope… hope that there was something that would come from this, no matter how small. But now? A harsh realization was washing over her… they had wasted their time and effort. While they confirmed that Sombra was indeed passive and not exactly what the gods claimed him to be… that was only the surface. They did not get any information, no color, and no direction to turn.

And most of all… not even a smidgen of possibility of getting Soarin back.

Her thoughts swirled madly, around and around as she desperately searched for what to do next, but she flinched and shifted backwards as Sombra took a step towards her, water splashing and rippling from her sudden movement.

“Now don’t make me say it again. LEAVE,” Sombra growled. “And do not—”

He stopped abruptly. His eyes widening and his horn illuminating with his magic as he looked up and frantically glanced around.

Spitfire blinked, everypony else noticed as well.

Suddenly, all the forest animals that were still around bolted, fleeing the scene quickly. Everypony heard shuffling and whisking noises that were growing louder. The noises were close, and getting closer, much closer than they should have been before they noticed, but they were distracted by Sombra.

“SPITFIRE!” Descent yelled as the Wonderbolts and Renegades all turned in random directions and set their hooves.

By the time Spitfire had turned around… it was already too late.

Crystal Empire soldiers…

Lunar Guard thestrels…

They were everywhere, popping out in every direction, emerging from the trees surrounding the lake. Pegasi and thestrels quickly took to the air, making use of the high ceiling over the area, unicorns aimed their horns with built up magic, and behind them all earth ponies armed with crystal spears and shields picketed escape routes.

They were surrounded, completely surrounded.

Spitfire looked in every direction, baffled and confused.

How? This wasn’t supposed to happen. She had specifically assigned a few Wonderbolts to discreetly apprehend Twilight Sparkle!

Rainbow Dash on the other hoof… was pleasantly surprised. Spitfire had said she had taken care of it, that she took precautions to prevent Twilight from alerting Luna… but it progressed anyway, the Crystal and Lunar guard were here! Her head was spinning with curiosity. There was no way Twilight stood a chance against a group of Wonderbolts… and even if she did have her friends around, the only pony who might put up a fight was Applejack… unless Pinkie did something.

Either way it didn’t matter… Dash suddenly felt a rush of adrenaline. Confidence filled her once more. But at the same time, how were things going to play out from here? After all, the next part required her and her squad to not be… well… pinned to the ground.

“Spitfire… Descent…” Luna’s voice suddenly sounded from the forest near where the Wonderbolts and Renegades were gathered.

Luna emerged from the trees, elegantly flying over the large roots into the opening and landing in front of a group of thestrels. Captain P.L. was right behind her in full armor, landing by her side. Close by, Shining Armor and Cadence emerged, stepping out from behind a large tree trunk. Luna was holding an icy gaze towards Spitfire and Sombra, Shining Armor was glaring harshly, and Cadence looked as if she couldn’t decide if she was angry or disappointed, maybe a bit of both.

But the thing that caught Dash’s attention the most? Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie were behind the crystal royalty. Each of them was wearing their Element of Harmony, the Element of Loyalty hovering in the air beside Twilight within her magic.

They were all here… Dash’s heart began to pound with anticipation. She wasn’t prepared for this turnaround and the adrenaline was flowing.

She made eye contact with Twilight. Twilight did not give any motion, signal, or nod, but the look in her eyes was all Dash needed to see.

The plan was still on… now everything just had to go south for the other parties involved. And based on the tension in the air, Dash had a feeling that was going to happen soon. Hopefully… when that moment came, she’d be freed.

“We are shocked, to say the least…” Luna began, a very harsh tone laced within her voice as her stoic stare hardened into a glare. “It was clear that there was doubt, but betrayal?!” Luna raised her voice. “Unthinkable… we cannot believe you would be so foolish as to not heed our warnings of Sombra!”

Spitfire remained in place for several moments as she stared towards the lakes edge. Eventually, she looked over her shoulder at Sombra… and Sombra looked down at her.

They made eye contact, Spitfire giving him a long, hard look.

She snorted, turned, and started wading her way through the water in the direction of Luna.

“Betrayal, huh?” Spitfire spoke as she moved. “That’s awfully ironic coming from you, Princess!” she said sarcastically as she reached the others and stood beside Descent. “After everything you’ve put us through, did you really think we’d still listen to you?” she put sharply.

“How DARE you!” Luna growled. “Have we not admitted fault? We have acknowledged our missteps and even reached out to compromise on our differences!” She stomped a hoof and motioned to Sombra. “Yet this is how you decide to act? All of our discussions not yet even a day old were charades?!”

“Acknowledged?!” Spitfire scoffed loudly. “With what?! More lies and pats on the head? More guarantees that you know what’s best when you clearly don’t?!” She shook her head. “Face it Luna, you… and especially Discord have both used up our patience. There’s a little something you should look up in the dictionary called HONESTY! It’s something required for trust, and if you test it enough and start taking it for granted, it gets real hard to believe in you!”

“ENOUGH!!!!!!!!” Luna’s voice boomed, the Royal Canterlot Voice pouring forth causing the water to ripple and the tree leaves to rustle. “You speak critically of us, but in your doubt you decided it was moral to approach this heretic?!”

“‘In my doubt’ I decided I had enough of your crap!” Spitfire retorted. “And decided it was time to do things my own way!”

“You do not understand who he is and what he represents!” Luna shot back while pointing a hoof towards Sombra.

“So what if I don’t?!” Spitfire threw out a hoof to her side. “What you’ve claimed about him doesn’t match up with what we’ve seen for ourselves! You tell me how I’m supposed to think about that after we’ve caught you lying several times before this!” She moved her hoof to point at Sombra. “And if everything you keep saying about him is true, then why didn’t he kill us before you got here, huh?! Why did he hear me out?!”

Luna flinched, her harsh glare and gritted teeth holding persistently, but her eyelids twitching. Several ponies near her including Shining Armor and Cadence glanced towards her. There wasn’t a shred of doubt evident in their faces, but Luna’s lack of an instant rebuke caught their attention.

Spitfire didn’t let the opportunity go to waste.

“How about it, Luna? Want us to trust you again?” Spitfire pressed. “How about you start by telling us the truth?!” She made a head motion towards Sombra. “This stubborn lunkhead doesn’t think it’s worth the trouble, but, but maybe you do?!” She turned and glared out towards Sombra. “Who is Sombra really?!” She swiftly turned back to Luna. “What really happened between him and the gods a thousand or so years ago?! Why are you so concerned about his existence that Soarin has literally become an afterthought for you?! Why do you really fear him?! Or do you just hate him for some other, personal or trivial reason that’s just too embarrassing to admit?!”

At the center of the lake, Sombra was listening carefully… and he lifted an eyebrow as Spitfire barked at Luna.

“And most of all,” Spitfire continued. “WHY have you dragged our lives into this?! Why did you and the other gods think it was okay to use us and our own conflict as a means to deal with something that’s only significant to you?!”

“WE DID NO SUCH THING!” Luna roared, her eyes snapping open wide as she slammed her hooves to the ground and cause the ground to shudder.

“BUT YOUR SISTER DID!” Spitfire fired right back and pointed a hoof at Sombra. “GO ON AND TELL ME THIS ISN’T THE BODY OF MY BEST FRIEND! GO ON AND TELL ME SOARIN WASN’T USED FOR HER PERSONAL ENDS! WELL?! HOW ABOUT YOU TELL US ABOUT THAT?!”

“SHE SAVED HIS LIFE!” Luna’s voice nearly blew back those standing near her.

“DID SHE NOW?!” Spitfire didn’t back off as she swung both her hooves towards Sombra. “THAT SURE WORKED OUT WELL FOR HIM, DIDN’T IT?!”

“SILENCE!!!!!!!” Luna shouted, but her voice failed to reach the Royal Canterlot decibel, audibly falling from the levels it was at just seconds before. In fact, her voice cracked slightly, and sounded broken. Her body was also shaking, but it was hard to tell if it was anger or something else. “BE SILENT!” she repeated forcing strength back into her voice as she noticed the break in her tone. “You have committed TREASON! You are in NO position to make demands of us! You are surrounded and outnumbered!” she was shouting wildly, the look in her eyes lacked any reason or control… yet the military forces did not seem to notice or were just that loyal. “Surrender at once!” Luna demanded and pointed a hoof towards Rainbow Dash and the Streak twins. “Release Rainbow Dash and step aside so we may deal with this menace once and for all!”

Spitfire held herself firmly, the Wonderbolts and Renegades were all looking at her, waiting for some sort of sign or order.

But Spitfire blinked, her eyes widening slightly as she glanced around.

Then she smirked.

“On the contrary, Princess…”

A loud stir suddenly passed through the military forces in the area, several of them turning and looking about frantically.

The rest of the Wonderbolts, the reserves, and the Renegades had arrived. They shot out from behind the trees, some whisking by the military forces to enter the opening, others scattered about behind, surrounding the forces that were surrounding Spitfire and her initial force.

Luna looked around in shock, Shining Armor and Captain P.L. began shouting orders to hold steady as there soon became no real direction for one force to face the other. The military had them surrounded, yet they now had enemies loosely dispersed around them as well.

The arrival of cavalry didn’t completely even out the numbers, but the new arrivals scattered about and forcing the military to focus every which way certainly neutralized the situation. Now neither side had a clear cut advantage.

“I’d say the situation is a little more even than you’d think!” Spitfire finished with a confident smirk towards Luna. Luna looked panicked. She was forcing herself to hold her glare steady as her eyes darted about.

“CEASE THIS AT ONCE!” she demanded. “You don't know what you’re doing!”

“My offer stands, Luna,” Spitfire said calmly as she lifted a hoof in front of her. “Tell us the truth about Sombra… and maybe I’ll consider it.”

Luna said nothing, she looked stiff and unsure. Definitely not good optics for those following her lead.

“But,” Spitfire shrugged. “If you’d prefer not to, then we could always do this the hard way,” she said as she smirked and cracked her neck and hooves. Luna gasped.

“You… You wouldn’t DARE!” she stammered. Her shock only made Spitfire’s smirk widen.

“Try me,” Spitfire reached her hoof forward and made a beckoning motion.

At this point the air had become very tense. The Wonderbolts and Renegades were in stances and ready to scrap while the two military forces held their ground, awaiting orders.

Dash was holding her breath, glancing several times towards her pinned squadmates and her Ponyville friends.

Never in her wildest dreams did she believe she’d ever wish for a situation to go south, after so many months of praying for something to go smoothly to boot. But here… all she needed was for one pony out here to make a move and send it into chaos. And then hope it caused those pinning her and her squad to free them.

Luna had no answer for Spitfire, she clearly thought there was no way the situation could be turned on them, but here she was. Her eyes were shifting between Spitfire, Rainbow Dash, and Sombra.

“Well?” Spitfire spoke again. “What’ll it be, Princess? Who’s going to make the first move?”

No more words were spoken and nopony moved. A silent, tense standoff.

A full minute passed and still nopony moved. It was almost as if there wasn’t a single pony willing to start what would become complete carnage, a sense of order being preserved through what little common sense remained among them…

Luna had her eyes fixed on Spitfire

Spitfire had her eyes fixed on Luna.

Everypony had a target locked… but nopony budged.

“Perhaps I will.”

Ears perked up, eyes widened, and heads turned quickly… to Sombra.

He had a large buildup of magical energy swirling around his horn.

Without moving his head or neck… he launched the beam of up into the air, the energy screaming upward and towards the crystal canopy above him. As it grew closer to the ceiling of foliage, the beam scattered and split into hundreds of smaller beams, all reaching towards separate points.

“EVERYPONY GET DOWN!!!!!!!!!” Spitfire yelled out.

The beams struck the canopy… hundreds of loud PINGS and PANGS echoed from above as the magic struck the crystal surfaces of the brush above and began wildly bouncing and splitting in every directing, raining down bursts of magic from above.

All hell broke loose, ponies shielding themselves and throwing themselves to the ground as Sombra’s magic showered down upon them and pelted against them. All pegasi that were airborne thrust themselves down, some splashing into the water as small explosions erupted everywhere. Beams that didn’t go right to the ground hit the tree trunks and leaves of the surrounding forest, splitting and bouncing further until everypony was being hit from all directions. Dash shut her eyes and yelped as the Streak twins threw themselves down, keeping her pinned as they got low to minimize the hits they took.

Everypony was pinned now. The spray of magical slivers was so densely packed that there was no other option than to lay low and guard. Any attempts to navigate or dodge would just be more painful. Though as she got hit, Dash noticed that the magic bursts were not particularly damaging, it felt like she was being punched and jabbed… well, punched and jabbed hundreds of times per second. It was constant pressure, not giving anypony any moment to gather themselves or retaliate.

And then it stopped.

The madness ended suddenly and abruptly. A few seconds passed before everypony began looking up slowly and looking around. Everypony was exactly where they were when it started, no pony looked hurt… but there was one particular individual missing.

Sombra.

Ponies frantically got to their hooves. Spitfire was up faster than anypony else and looking in all directions.

“THERE!” Luna’s voice suddenly boomed. Spitfire’s head snapped towards Luna to see her pointing towards the edge of the open area. Spitfire followed her hoof and saw him. Sombra had entered the forest and was running and he had already made it passed all those gathered around. “AFTER HIM! NOW!” Luna ordered.

But Spitfire sprang into action.

“WONDERBOLTS! STOP THEM! GO! GO! GO!” She yelled out.

And in an instant… all hell broke loose.

The surrounding Wonderbolts leapt at the Crystal soldiers and thestrels, the flow of soldiers following Luna’s orders intercepted by the Wonderbolts and causing a cluster of collisions and yelps.

But while the clash caused a massive back up and several fights, Luna slipped through and shot in the direction of Sombra.

“PROTECT HER HIGHNESS!” Captain P.L. ordered, following behind her with any thestrels that managed to break free.

“PURSUE! GO! GO!” Shining Armor yelled to his soldiers, he and Cadence following P.L.

“GO AFTER THEM! GO AFTER THEM!” Spitfire yelled, several of the elites and reserves turning to give chase as the surrounding scuffles continued.

Dash got the chaos she wanted… but she was still being held down. The Streak twins still had her pinned, dutifully holding their ground. None of the top tiers had moved either, all sticking with Spitfire as she barked orders. Dash gritted her teeth as she looked around. Her squadmates were still down too, but… her Ponyville friends were still present. They had backed away from all the fighting breaking out, all huddled against one of the many large tree trunks, Applejack standing in front of all of them protectively.

“Fleet, Blaze, Storm! Ready up!” Spitfire yelled and made a motion to Misty Fly as well, drawing Dash’s attention. “Blazetail, Flashwind! We need our best! We’re going after Sombra! We can’t let them get to him first!”

Fleetfoot, Blaze, Misty Fly and Storm Front hopped up beside her, Blazetail and Flashwind doing the same while calling up Silver’s former comrades, or at least those not currently holding anypony down. Spitfire sharply looked towards Dash, glancing at her Ponyville friends briefly too before pointing at Dash and her squadmates.

“KEEP THEM DOWN!” she ordered. “Don’t let them try anything!” she ordered while turning to Descent. “Alright, Descent, let’s go! We can still…”

Spitfire trailed off. She blinked a few times.

“D…Descent?”

He was looking right at her. His eyes were narrowed into a thin glare. Spitfire tipped her head, getting no read whatsoever from his expression.

But then he held up a hoof and twirled it.

“NOW!” He yelled.

Without warning, there was a massive amount of activity from the Renegades. Veteran Wonderbolts were gasping and turning abruptly as their former Shadowbolt ranks suddenly began disengaging from their side and launching towards Descent and Spitfire. Spitfire gasped, unable to process what was happening as Descent’s followers began ramming and tackling those holding down Dash’s squad mates.

Bomber roared as six or seven piled on top of him. Valkyrie was forced to let go as she was attacked from three sides. Matteo was up in and instant, throwing Calm Wind off of him. Squall was easily freed as Macho and Air Mach were overwhelmed. High Winds was blindsided, freeing Little Star. And then Starry Skies and Lightning Dust came out of nowhere, knocking the Streak twins off of Dash.

She didn’t get up immediately, but Dash propped herself up and looked around at her squad, all of them looking just as confused and surprised as she did. Renegade Shadowbolts shot by in front of her, grabbing and grappling with Fleetfoot, Misty, and Blaze as well as Silver’s former squadmates. Storm had shifted out of the way, tumbling to the ground and looking up in disbelief as he stared in shock towards Descent.

“DAD?!” Storm yelled towards Descent as Spitfire glanced every which way in horror.

“WHAT’S GOING ON!? WHAT’S—AH!!!” Spitfire yelped.

She grunted loudly as Descent tackled her from behind, catching her completely off-guard and wrestling her to the ground. He pressed his weight down on her, using his larger body to his advantage.

“DESCENT?! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!” Spitfire roared out from beneath him.

“Disagreeing with you!” Descent proclaimed as he glanced towards Dash. “Rainbow Dash! GO!” he yelled.

Dash’s mouth hung open, her eyes wide.

“Gather your friends! Carry out your plan!” Descent added. “It may be our only real chance we have to get Soarin back!”

“DESCENT!” Spitfire shouted as she thrashed beneath him. “YOU GODDAMN TRAITOR!!!!!!”

“GO! RGH!” Descent yelled as he fought to keep Spitfire down. “NOW!!!!!”

Dash didn’t hesitate. She didn’t have the luxury of time to understand what was going on. All she knew was that Descent apparently agreed with her plan… meaning he was present when Storm revealed it.

Storm’s mission to spy on her… had blown up in Spitfire’s face.

Dash was up and on her hooves in an instant. She didn’t even bother picking up her goggles. She pushed all other thoughts from her mind as only one thing mattered… Soarin.

Her squadmates were at her side without a word from her as she rushed towards her Ponyville friends.

“Guys! It’s showtime!” Dash yelled to them as she skidded to a halt in front of Applejack. “Let’s go!”

They all nodded, springing into action without saying a word. Twilight stepped out and quickly slipping Dash’s Element of Harmony onto her neck. The moment it was in place, Dash turned to Fluttershy and bent down so she could climb up on her back. Squall did the same for Twilight as Applejack jumped onto Matteo’s before helping Rarity climb up as well. With the four loaded up and Little Star ready to fly with them, Dash frantically looked about.

“Where’s Pin—”

“LET’S DO THIS!”

Pinkie was strapped into a simple pipe-frame go-kart and was revving the engine loudly, the sputtering ripping noise of the exhaust causing Dash to wince as it shrilled through her ears. Before Dash could say anything, Pinkie slapped a helmet on her head and threw a red, white spotted mushroom that appeared to have eyes over her shoulder. It touched the sputtering engine and a burst of orange flame shot out of the exhaust pipe with a loud BANG.

“YAHOO!” Pinkie yelled launched forward, her helmet flying right off her head as the go-kart sped right over the surface of the water and shot into the woods in the direction Sombra escaped, leaving tracks of flame lingering behind her.

“That works too, I guess,” Dash accepted without question as she turned to the rest. “C’mon guys!” They all spread their wings. “LET’S GO!”

And they took flight.

---To Be Continued---