//------------------------------//
// Loss of Control 
// Story: The Cloudsdale Chronicles 
// by Boltstrike58 
//------------------------------//

Today was the most glorious kind of day of all: a day off. Swift Wing, after several hard days of busting his rear at the weather factory, finally got a break. He knew exactly what he wanted to do today, and that was sleep. The crimson pegasus lay on his back, wings spread outwards, his legs splayed outwards. He could toss aside his Cutie Mark quest, his worries about fitting in, and just take it easy for a day.

Of course, life doesn't always tend to work out the way we want it to, and it likes to throw wrenches into plans.

The wrench today took the form a massive shaking that almost knocked Swift out of his bed. He barely avoided slamming into the floor by catching himself with both forehooves. Grunting in annoyance, Swift scrambled onto his hooves, and made his way to the window, pulling up the blinds to see exactly what had decided to interrupt his perfectly relaxing day. It couldn't have been an earthquake, seeing as they were in the clouds.

Swift's eyes widened as he looked down into the streets of Cloudsdale. Ponies of all colors, sizes, ages, and genders were rushing down the street, heading directly to the Cloudeseum. Those with wings were flying, of course, but some chose to run on the clouds, likely to avoid crashing into the other flyers. There were plenty of griffons and hippogriffs as well. All in all, it looked as if Cloudsdale's entire population was heading to the same location.

Swift was confused, having heard nothing about any event going on in the Cloudeseum today. To be fair, he didn't really keep up with sports, anyway. That was one thing that hadn't changed from his Earth life. His curiosity piqued, Swift pulled on his pants to hide his blank flank, and scurried down the stairs, rushing out the front door. He spotted Thunder Snow in the crowd.

"YO! THUNDER! WHAT'S GOING ON?!" he yelled, waving his hooves to attract his fellow pegasus' attention.

Fortunately, Thunder heard him, taking a second to spin around on one hoof. "THE WONDERBOLTS ARE COMING TO THE CLOUDESEUM!" he shouted back. "THEY'RE BRINGING SOME MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCESSES!" Then he turned around, rejoining the rushing crowd.

Swift rolled his eyes a little. He honestly couldn't see what the big deal about the Wonderbolts was. Sure, their flying stunts were impressive, but just watching them didn't have anything on the actual experience of flying. Still, if they were bringing a message from Celestia and Luna, there might be something worth hearing. Swift thought about it briefly, then decided he might as well go. It wouldn't do to miss an important announcement.

Swift trotted into the crowd, making certain nopony would ram into him on his way. He looked up at the sky, just to be certain, and found that there were still too many ponies flying to the Clodeseum. Instead, he sped into a gallop, keeping pace with the others fairly easily, and soon arrived at his destination, where a member of the Royal Guard casually pointed him the way to a seat. He noticed his seat was directly under Thunder Snow, and the two clapped hooves together in a brief greeting.

Sitting on his rear, Swift watched as the rest of the crowd filled out. After a few more minutes of waiting, the Wonderbolts flew in from above, clad in their fancy blue uniforms, and their eyes covered with goggles, Spitfire leading the charge. Swift noticed Rainbow Dash wasn't among them, which honestly wasn't that surprising. She was probably just out saving Equestria again.

A unicorn walked out to the central cloud, and cast a quick spell on Spitfire. "Citizens of Cloudsdale," she began, her voice magically amplified, "we come bearing greetings from the ruler of Equestria. We are here to inform you that Equestria is under a new regime."

Swift raised his eyebrows. That wasn't how Spitfire usually talked in the show. Also, a new regime? What was going on?

The yellow pegasus reached up with one hoof and removed her goggles, and Swift gasped. Her eyes were glowing completely green, with wisps of purple smoke coming off them. The other Wonderbolts copied her actions, revealing their eyes were the same.

"Everypony get out of here!" Swift started to yell, frantically waving his hooves to attract attention. "They've been bewitched—"

But it was too late. Dark magic, with sickly green and purple orbs bubbling along it, shot out from the Wonderbolts eyes, washing over the observing crowd. Everyone it touched had their eyes turn the same color, and their bodies went limp, lost in the thralls of possession.

Swift, knowing what was coming, frantically beat his wings, flying above the Cloudeseum to escape, but was spotted by Spitfire. She pointed, and Soarin' flew up to meet the crimson pegasus, tackling him in midair. Swift pounded on his attacker's body, but Soarin' was just too strong. He grabbed Swift's head with both forehooves, forcing Swift to meet his gaze, as dark magic lanced from his eyes into Swift's.  

Then, everything went dark.





Swift found himself standing in a room of pure shadow. There was no source of light, and the ground underneath his hooves had no discerning features. Despite the lack of light, his whole body was clearly visible. Swift poked and prodded at the ground, and flew up into the air a couple of times, but found nothing worth his notice. The room seemed completely empty.

	Swift wandered around for a second, unsure of what exactly was going on. Why was he here? What had happened to bring him here? It was as though his memory had been erased. He placed both forehooves against his skull, trying to recall.

	"Okay, I was gonna sleep in today," he mumbled to himself, "and then...I went to the Cloudeseum...and then I—"

	"You disgust me."

Swift jumped a good distance into the air, startled by the sudden presence of a voice. He spun around, looking for the source, but finding nothing. For a brief second, he wondered if he'd imagined it in the thralls of his confusion. 

	"You disgust all of us."

This time, it was a chorus of voices, resounding all around him. Swift looked up, and the shadows slowly parted to reveal Twilight and the rest of the Mane Six, gathered around him, grown to giant sizes. Their eyes were all glowing green, and their coats dulled. Something about it was familiar, but his brain couldn't figure out what. Swift swallowed nervously, trying to make himself look smaller, as their gazes bore down on him.

	"W-what?" he asked, trying and failing to keep the fear from creeping into his voice.

	"Equestria has no place for failures, Mark," said Twilight, her horn igniting with the familiar magenta aura. "You don't belong here, and you don't deserve that body."

Swift realized what she was doing a second too late. He barely had time to scream before Twilight's magic washed over him. When it faded, Swift looked down at himself in horror. He'd become a human again.

	"No, wait, please!" he protested. "What did I do wrong?! I can do better, just give me a chance and—"

Pinkie Pie's massive hoof came down on him, pushing him onto his back. "Shut up," spat the earth pony. "You've been bothering us all long enough. It's time you went back where you belong."

Mark's heartbeat kicked into overdrive, as terror flooded his entire being.

	"NO! YOU CAN'T! I DON'T WANNA—!"  

A golden magical aura lit up, sealing his mouth shut, as a blue one lifted him into the air. Giant versions of Celestia and Luna glared down at Mark, their eyes as green as everypony else's. 

	"You have tainted Equestria with your stench," Celestia snarled. "Filth such as you must be stamped out."

Mark couldn't even open his mouth anymore, only managing a few muffled screams, as tears poured down his face. But the massive ponies paid no attention, as Twilight lit up her horn once again, creating a swirling vortex of magic in the air. With a toss of her head, Celestia hurled Mark through the portal.

	Mark hit the floor with a painful thud, rolling a few inches before coming to a stop. He frantically climbed to his feet, racing towards the portal, but it collapsed on itself too fast, leaving nothing in its wake.

	Mark fell to his knees, burying his face in his hands, as his shoulders shook with sobs. 

	"Well, well, look what finally dragged itself back."

Mark didn't turn around. He knew exactly what he'd see, but he had no wish to see it. 

	"I see the ponies finally wised up and threw you away, like the piece of garbage you are," cackled his sister. "My only question is why it took so long. After all, anyone with two brain cells can see you're completely worthless as a living thing. Honestly, our parents regret not aborting you, how have you not figured it out yet?"

Mark was still crying, but slowly, his fists began to clench, fingernails digging into his palms and drawing blood. He stood up, still not turning around. He stopped sobbing, and raised his head.

	His sister laid a hand on his shoulder. "If you'd just endeavor to be less of a moron, you might actually pass for a person who's not utterly devoid of value. But no, you like to act like an idiot, because—"

"Shut up."

The woman stopped talking, taken aback. "What?"

"I said..." Mark suddenly spun around on one foot, driving his fist directly between her eyes, "SHUT UP!"

His sister screamed out as she fell backwards and slammed into the floor. Mark wasn't satisfied. He jumped onto her stomach, pummeling her with his fists, punching her in the face over and over again.

	"I'M NOT WORTHLESS TRASH! I DON'T DESERVE TO BE CAST OUT LIKE THIS! YOU RUINED MY LIFE! IT'S NOT MY FAULT YOU'RE SO MISERABLE, SO WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE?! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE—"

Something shattered like glass upon Mark's punch. He fell forward, his sister breaking apart into tiny shards. As he passed through, his body morphed, becoming his pegasus body once again. He spread his wings, trying to catch himself, but they were useless against whatever was pulling him forward.

	Swift found himself sitting in the room of shadow once again, only this time, there was a source of light. A large projector screen had appeared in front of him, and Swift soon realized it was showing what he would've seen through his own eyes. He could see his own legs pointing forward as he flew, surrounded by other pegasi, towards Canterlot, with the Wonderbolts in the lead. Everypony else had the same glowing green eyes as the Wonderbolts had had back at the stadium.

	Swift's memory came rushing back, and he realized what was going on. 

"The Wonderbolts were bewitched," he recalled, "and they spread that spell to all of us at the Cloudeseum. What happened a minute ago...it was just an illusion. A projection of my worst fears...my body's being mind-controlled...but who would—"

The answer hit him like a lightning bolt. "King Sombra!"

Swift swallowed as he watched his body approach Canterlot Castle. If King Sombra had returned, and now he was brainwashing ponies all over Equestria, then Swift was definitely in trouble. He only spared a moment to consider how this would look to everyone watching My Little Pony back home, before fear began to creep down his spine.

	"Okay, King Sombra's somehow back from the dead, that's not good. But if he's trying to take over Equestria, then Twilight and the others must already be trying to stop him. They can fix this, they always do..." He muttered those last three words repeatedly, trying to convince himself.

	As the swarm of ponies finally reached Canterlot, Swift looked around. All the ponies of Canterlot were already guarding the Castle, brainwashed just like him. Looking through the crowd, he could see Moondancer, Fancy Pants, and Sassy Saddles, among others. Even worse, there seemed to be ponies all the way from Ponyville waiting, like the Cakes, meaning Sombra was pulling out all the stops. Swift and the other pegasi hovered above the drawbridge, waiting. 

	They didn't have to wait long, as six familiar ponies came rushing up the path, only stoping when they saw all the mind-controlled ponies blocking their path. Rainbow Dash, naturally, tried to fly over the crowd, only to be stopped by the Wonderbolts. Then the unicorns began taking shots at her from the ground.

	"Come on, girls," Swift begged, "get past us! You can't let Sombra win!"

The Mane Six immediately engaged their opponents, but Swift could see they were at a disadvantage. Obviously, they had no desire to harm Sombra's puppets, but even worse, they were vastly outnumbered. Swift watched in terror as his body began chasing after Fluttershy, accompanied by Thunder Snow and Gentle Breeze. Rainbow Dash suddenly zipped by, ahead of the yellow pegasus, accompanied by her own crowd of pursuing ponies. As she passed, Rainbow signaled to Fluttershy, who caught on, and led her own pursuers into Rainbow's, resulting in a massive crash.

	Swift grunted as he felt the pain of the impact, but shrugged it off. It was for the greater good.

	Twilight fired a spell at the disoriented pegasi, creating a magenta bubble around them. Swift's body, as well as the others, immediately began pounding on their new prison, but Twilight's magic held. Swift let out a sigh of relief. At least his own body wouldn't hassle them anymore.

	However, that didn't mean the Mane Six were out of the woods yet. Twilight and the others found themselves surrounded, with nowhere to run to. Swift held his breath, terrified of what was about to happen, when Twilight's horn lit up again, and the Mane Six disappeared in a flash of light, vanishing just as the brainwashed ponies tried to dog pile them.

	Swift couldn't help himself. He jumped up and down and cheered, thrusting one hoof into the air. Twilight must've teleported them inside the Castle, where they could defeat Sombra and fix this mess. Everything was going to be fine.

	"I hope..." he mumbled, as he watched his body continue to pound on Twilight's barrier, cracks beginning to form in its surface.





	A few minutes later, things still hadn't changed for the better. Swift's body and the others were still punching the walls of their prison, and the cracks were a lot bigger now. Even worse, the other brainwashed ponies had run back to the castle, and were now trying to break through the sealed doors, blasting them with magic. The pegasi not trapped by Twilight's bubble were searching for a window to enter, but luckily, it seemed Sombra had sealed them off, probably to keep Twilight and the others from getting in. Unfortunately, Swift could still do nothing but sit and pray the Mane Six would stop Sombra soon, because if they didn't, they'd be back to square one.

	That was when the rainbow-colored shockwave shot of from inside Canterlot Castle, spreading out to every corner of Equestria. When the wave hit Swift's body, he was forced to shut his eyes.

When he opened them, he was back in control of his body, fluttering high above the ground with other pegasi, who were also recovering from Sombra's mind control. He shuddered, feeling suddenly itchy. He looked around at the others, seeing they were in a similar state. Most of them didn't seem to know where they were, even.

"Uh, what just happened?" asked Thunder Snow. "It feels like I just woke up from a really bad nightmare."

Swift heard the flapping of wings, and turned to see the approach of two large, familiar alicorns.

"I think we should ask them," he said, pointing. He quietly breathed a sigh of relief, thankful he didn't have to explain it himself.





Celestia and Luna, thankfully, were able to dispel everypony's fears about what had happened, assuring them that King Sombra had been dealt with, and he wouldn't threaten anypony ever again. Swift hid himself in the crowd, not wanting them to recognize him, but if they did notice him, they didn't show it. Soon enough, most of the ponies began making their way back home, as it turned out Sombra had brought brainwashed ponies from all over Equestria. However, Swift, who was good at being inconspicuous, hung around the castle, waiting for Twilight and the others to emerge.

They came out within a couple of minutes, looking rather relieved. Swift didn't see them carrying the Elements of Harmony, and briefly wondered why. However, his real goal was in sight. He cautiously approached the Mane Six, and cleared his throat loudly.

"Um, girls?"

Twilight and the others turned, and their eyes widened at the sight. Swift gave what he hoped was a convincing smile, praying they wouldn't immediately bombard him with questions. For a minute, the six just stared at him, neither side talking.

"Um...hi, Swift," Pinkie Pie finally spoke up, waving her hoof awkwardly.

Swift swallowed. It appeared they were in the same boat as he. They just didn't know what to say now that he was reaching out to them. He braced himself, and spoke.

"Twilight? Would you mind if I talked to you for a minute? Alone?"

"Oh, o-okay," said the purple alicorn. Applejack gave her a skeptical look, but Twilight patted her on the shoulder, as if to reassure her. She walked over to where Swift was, and the two trotted a good distance away from the castle.

"So..." she mumbled, "I hear Cloudsdale is nice this time of year."

"It is," said Swift. "Weather work is...it's not optimal, but it's not too hard."

Twilight sighed to herself. "Swift...I...I'm sorry, I don't know what to say, or what you—"

"It's alright. I kinda sprung this on you, right after you defeated Sombra and everything, and I'm sure you've already got a lot on your plate, being a princess and all."

"You can say that again," responded Twilight, fiddling with her front hooves. "Celestia and Luna have decided to retire, and they're naming me the new ruler of Equestria."

If the fact that she immediately stuffed a hoof into her mouth was any indication, Twilight hadn't meant to say that, but it was too late. Swift froze in his tracks, wings shooting outwards, and his jaw dropped, as he turned to stare at Twilight.

"What?!" he tried (but failed) not to yell. "They're retiring?! When?! How're you gonna raise the sun and moon?! Why—"

Twilight held up her hoof, signaling him to stop. "Okay, they're not gonna retire until they're sure I'm ready, but it's gonna happen pretty soon. We haven't worked out the details, yet. Can I ask you to keep that a secret? We're not sure how the public will react."

Swift was still reeling, but he nonetheless nodded. He wondered if this was how season nine was going to be presented back on Earth. This certainly did seem like the opener for a season of My Little Pony. Maybe the final season. However, he shrugged it off.

"Listen," he continued, "I got your letter, and I've been thinking about how to respond to it. I thought it would be nicer if I just gave you my answer face-to-face, while I'm thinking about it. Lucky Sombra just happened to brainwash Cloudsdale."

Twilight nodded. "So? Are you okay with us visiting?"

Swift bit his lip, trying to gather his thoughts. "One at a time. Okay, maybe two. For now. And have it only be the calmer ones, like Fluttershy, Applejack, or you. I'm sorry, I'm just...not in the best place right now. I have a lot of recovering to do."

There was a flash of disappointment in Twilight's eyes, but she quickly covered it up. "I understand," she replied. "We'll respect your boundaries. I'll send you another letter, and we can set it up."

"Okay," Swift replied, as he spread his wings, "see you later, then."

With that, he took off, beginning the long journey back to Cloudsdale. He had a lot to think about.

"And a lot to get over," he thought with a shiver, recalling the vision.