Lisa sighed, and looked at the mountains of papers, lying in front of her on the desk. Her office in Canterlot was small but quite comfortable. And as she looked upon the unending paperwork, someone knocked on the door.
“...what now – COME IN” she said loudly and the door opened. A very disturbed looking reporter walked in, marched up to her table and stared Lisa right in the eyes: “The Shadow Bolts!”
Lisa rolled her eyes in exhaustion as frustration began to take over her: “Not this again! Look, we've been over this a hundred times! There is nothing to worry about!”
“Tell me what you know about them!” the reporter demanded.
“Read a damn newspaper alright?!” Lisa snapped “I'm getting real tired of-“
“They are up to something, I know it!” the reporter said in a determined voice. Lisa straightened up in her seat, and gave a very dangerous look to the pony in front of her.
“May I remind you- “ Lisa began in a cold voice “ -that the Shadow Bolts are a legal political party, currently working as the opposition to the current ruling government. Under the lead of Princess Luna who is presently the head of the opposition. The Shadow Bolts are citizens and patriots of our country.
Like it or not, we have democracy now. Princess Celestia was elected the leader, Princess Luna as the opposition party. Whether her Shadow Bolts have military strength or not, it doesn't matter.
So once again, I assure you, just like every other military or political official assured everyone, repeatedly, over the past god damn year, the Shadow Bolts only have the countries best interests in mind”
The nervous reporter stayed quiet for a long moment before finally said “Did you know, Lieutenant Shadow was put in charge of their military unit?”
Lisas eyebrows flew up but she calmly replied “No, I didn't know that”
“What do you know about him?” the reporter demanded. Lisa cursed in her mind as Celestia gave a directive to full cooperation with the media, to help resolve any questions that rose over the past year, about the formation of the Shadow Bolts.
Lisa heavily sighed and pulled out a personal file with a small picture on it. A purple colored pony with dark yellow hair was giving her a tired smile from the photograph: “Lieutenant Shadow, Pegasus, former Wonderbolt, exceptional service record” Lisa sighed again “What else do you want to know?”
“Professional data” the reported demanded.
“An exceptionally good tactician. Determined, stubborn. Inspires his subordinates... Close combat skills – average. Flying skills... below average...”
“Below average?” the reporter repeated “Thats a bit lightly put, isnt it? His flying skills suck, he was the worst in the academy”
Lisa didn't answer, and continued to coldly stare at the reporter, as her right hoof slowly collected into a fist. The reporter didn't seem to notice and went on:
“And why do you think a pony, with a rank this low, and flying skills... 'below average' as you put it, would be put in charge of the whole Shadowbolt army ?”
“I don't know – why don't you ask them!! “ Lisa snapped. The reporter waited a minute, then suddenly asked “So, Commander, how has it been, since you were promoted to Commander of the Wonder Bolts?”
“Very busy – as – you – can – tell “ Lisa muttered through gritted teeth, pointing at piles of papers, over her desk.
“Shadow's recent activity is suspicious” the reporter said frowning “I think he's up to something”
Lisa gritted her teeth and stood up “ Listen you – I know this pony personally. He – is a patriot of this country, and did more for it, than you will ever know! He served most of his life in the Wonderbolts, as a loyal protector of this nation and has a mile long service record to prove it. So I will NOT have you stand here and badmouth him, like that never happened!!!”
“...Commander Lisa...” the reporter quietly said “Could it be... could it be that your opinion of him... may be slightly... subjective?”
“Excuse me?” Lisa said in a low, dangerous voice.
“You see Commander - “ the reporter went on “ There were certain...rumors, about the two of you... so, is it possible... that your opinion of him, might be slightly clouded, by your... personal feelings for him?”
“WHAAT?!” Lisa shrieked. The reporter barely had time to duck as she hurled a small Wonderbolt statue at him.
“GET THE HELL OUT OF MY OFFICE!!!” she screamed and two guards burst through the door “GET THIS CLOWN OUT HERE!!!” She shouted as the guards began to drag the reporter away. Lisa heavily fell back into her chair and sighed closing her eyes, as the sounds of the screaming reporter slowly vanished in the distance.
Her eyes involuntarily fell on to a small pendant, resting at the end of her table. She looked at it for a moment, then slowly leaned forward and gently touched it.
“...Shadow... what are you doing?” she quietly said to herself.
* * *
It was a sunny day in Ponyville. Of course, in Pinkie's mind it was. It was actually pretty stormy outside, some lightning here or there. Surprisingly, this storm had settled in Ponyville for an entire week -- much to the Ponies' chagrin. Celestia had tried to fix this problem, tried to drive the storm away, but it wouldn't budge. Pinkie sat on her bed staring out the window.
Unlike the week before, no ponies were outside as rain poured and distant sounds of lightning shook the windows. Pinkie thought today would be another boring day with nothing to do, when Twilight burst into the door.
"No time" Twilight said. "There's something more to this storm then I thought." Not waiting for a reply, Twilight grabbed her and the ponies ran out of Sugarcube Corner and headed toward the Everfree Forest.
High above ground, a dark figure watched as the two ponies disappeared behind a thick forest wall. Shadow was sitting on a stormy cloud, watching the ground with a strange smile.
"All is going according to plan. The storm will mask the approach of our forces. Soon... Equestria will be under our control... “
Seemingly satisfied, Shadow took off into the air and began to fly away, slowly diving into the thick gray clouds and disappearing from view.
As Twilight was making her way through the forest, Pinkie kept nervously looking around. “I...I dont like this Twilight.... there were some strange stories about these parts...”
“Uhu...” Twilight said subconsciously “Like what...”
“W-well... there was that one about the Everfree pony....” Pinkie said mysteriously, waving her hooves. Twilight gave her a skeptical look.
“I've never heard of that story”
“Its a pony tale, old as the Everfree forest its self. The tale speaks of a mysterious figure, seen in these woods. A lost pony, or perhaps a manifestation of the forest itself. He takes the form of a brown pony, and is perhaps a guardian spirit of the forest. Various stories were told. Some say it lures the curious ones into the forest, to be lost there forever! While others say, it protects and guides lost ponies home. There are even stories of the Everfree pony leaving the forest, to aid ponies in time of great need... whatever the case, the figure is only known by the name of -”
Pinkie made a very dramatic face:
“Mercy the Everfree!!!”
Twilight gave her a very bored look “Great, can we go now?”
As the two ponies continued to walk, a brown figure carefully watched them from the cover of leaves. Their presence seemed weird to him. Rarely do ponies tread into the Everfree forest and rarer with the weather they were having. The two ponies seemed to be doing something important.
The brown figure rose above the ground and began to slowly follow the newcomers, as he gently stepped on the ground, not making a single sound. He quietly followed their path until he found them, deep inside the forest. It seemed they were hiding behind a large rock and carefully peaking out, to look at something in the distance.
From the direction the ponies were looking at, a faint blue light was emanating from behind the trees. With a closer look, they saw three ponies wearing dark robes, standing around a large blue orb, which was the source of the light. They were whispering something as they looked at the orb. Faint streaks of blue light, shot from the orb upwards into the sky, at regular intervals. This dragged on for several minutes. They seemed very occupied by their task.
"What are we looking at?" Pinkie asked Twilight. Even though she whispered, Twilight still ushered her to hush.
"I honestly have no idea,” said Twilight. “My best guess is they've been here since the storm began. But why are they here? Do they have any part in this storm?" She stared at them for a few minutes, and the three ponies seemed to grow more curious of the noises surrounding them overtime.
"I think we'll have to stop them.” said Twilight “I wouldn't want Ponyville to suffer from this storm any longer."
Suddenly the three robed ponies stopped and stood tall, looking at each other. One after another, they coldly spoke:
"Twilight Sparkle..."
"Good”
"She's not alone..."
"...Take them all.
"No pony must report this to Canterlot"
The three robed ponies all turned in unison and looked directly in the direction of Twilight and Pinkie. The closest dark robed pony rose his hoof, and at that same moment, five shadowy figures flew down from the trees, right above Pinkie and Twilight.
In unison the figures made a throwing movement with their hooves, and at the next second Twilight and Pinkie were covered in a strange blue cloud. As it slowly disappeared, the five figures surrounded Twilight and Pinkie, and stood into the open. They were all Shadow Bolts, in full uniform. They smiled.
"Poison Joke powder" one of them said. "Your magic, Twilight, will become increasingly ineffective”
"We know magic is your greatest strength, so we took that first”
"You fell right into our carefully designed trap...That emitter?" one of the shadowy mares pointed at the glowing orb "This isn't the real one. Its a fake, we made to lure you in. We fed this information to you, so you'll come charging right to us,” said one of the robed mares.
"Celestia's best hope, the best champion is you, Twilight. If we capture you now, Celestia stands no chance,”.
"Enough talk," One of the robed ponies approached."Take these two and lets go, we don’t have time. The final stage of the plan is in effect...
The revolution will go as planned...
"A good thing, no one else knows of this" one of the Shadow Bolts said. "If someone was to report this to Canterlot, the operation would become... difficult"
The Shadow Blots began to quietly laugh, all looking at Twilight and Pinkie. None of them seemed to notice, a lone brown figure, watching them from a distance.
The brown pony realized what was happening. And realized just who the mares he was following were. He made a strange call and within seconds, four timber wolves appeared on the edge of his vision. The pony grabbed the wolves attention and got them to chase him into were the three robed ponies were chanting.
The brown pony ran past the Shadow Bolts and disappears into the brush. Pinkie suddenly yelled “ITS HIM!!! The the Everfree pony, MERCY THE EVERFREE!!!” Twilight flinched slightly, from Pinkie's screaming right next to her ear. It wasn't the first time an old ponies tale was revealed to be true. The robed ponies were more surprised to see four timber wolves heading straight for them.
"What in Luna's name?!" one of the robed ponies shouted. One of them screamed and jumped to the side, trying to evade the charging wolves. Shadow Bolts scattered, and flew into the air. "TAKE THE PRISONERS OUT OF HERE!" the robed ponies screamed! "DONT LET THEM FREE TWILIGHT"
One of the robed ponies threw off his robe, to reveal himself a unicorn, he began shooting light rays at the wolves.
"Three of you!” a robed pony said as he pointed at the Shadow Bolts "Take the prisoners back to the base. The other two, chase down the one that ran past us! No one must report this to Canterlot!!!
The unicorn shrieked and hit one of the timber wolves dead on. In the resulting chaos, some of the Shadow Bolts fell into their own poison powder, making them unable to control their movements.
Mercy disappeared behind the trees and quickly vanished from view, as a single Shadow Bolt began to fly after him. Mercy knew how to navigate throw the forests thick brush and ran a direct path to the exit and the path leading to town.
The single Shadow Bolt that was trying to catch Mercy, had trouble dodging trees at a high flying speed, and began to fall behind. She broke pursuit altogether, as soon as Mercy entered the city limits. Unwilling to attract attention to herself, the Shadow Bolt gritter her teeth and flew back.
The small clearing where the blue orb stood, turned into a small battlefield. By the time the Shadow Bolt returned, all the timber wolves were taken care off. The unicorn was heavily breathing, sweat coming down his forehead, two of his subordinates, cowering behind him. The other four Shadow Bolts clumsily tried to stay on their feet, still surrounding Twilight and Pinkie. The unicorn gave a demanding look to the approaching mare. She uneasily looked to the side. "I lost him, he knew the terrain too well"
"Damn it!" the unicorn cursed. "You're useless! How could you let this happen!"
He glared at the Shadow Bolts for a moment. Then turned away.
"...inform Lieutenant Shadow, immediately. We'll have to move ahead of schedule..."
* * *
Mercy ran into town and suddenly realized, that since no one knew him, they would be confused and unsure if they could trust him at all. He left a note in the library, describing the events in the forest, and the Shadow Bolts planned revolution. When Twilight and Pinkie's friends went out looking for them at their homes, they stumbled across the note. Rainbow, Fluttershy, Apple, and Rarity rushed through the town yelling the news, to everyone they could see, as they made their way to town hall to inform the mayor.
An inconspicuous, average looking pony, in old dirty clothing, gasped and immediately ran off into the closest dark alley, when he heard the four ponies, screaming their heads off. Mercy noticed him in the crowd and began following carefully, then quickly caught up to the pony in dirty clothes in an alley, and silently drew out a strange shovel. As Mercy got close to the strange pony, he noticed him holding a crystal. The pony seemed to have been whispering into it, on the run.
The stranger heard Mercy approach "W-What?" The pony in dirty clothes managed to squeeze out before getting tackled into the ground.
"Oh by Luna, what are you doing?" he looked at Mercy in total fear. His eyes did show fear, but his free hoof, reached behind his back, hiding the crystal.
“Whats that you got there?” Mercy asked skeptically.
“W- nothing!” the pony said, and Mercy heard a cracking sound, as the pony in dirty clothing, finally managed to break the crystal behind his back. Mercy pulled the pony up, and stared him right in the eye “I know what you're doing...” Mercy said quietly “That was a radio crystal, you just broke, wasn't it. Contacting the Shadow Bolts?
“Yeah? What proof do you have buddy?” The dirty pony smiled “That thing is dust now. You've got nothing “as he spoke, Mercy noticed the dirty looking pony, slowly pulling out a small rusty knife, from behind his back.
Just as the pony prepared to make a slashing strike, Mercy head-butted him, knocking the pony out cold. After tying him up and taking his knife, Mercy quickly ran out of the alley and left the town guards an anonymous tip.
* * *
Shadow Wind was kneeling on one knee. His head lowered. Only one other figure was in the room with him. The tall figure and the tall ceiling above, made Shadow feel slightly uncomfortable. He sighed and spoke, still not daring to look at the figure before him.
"My Lady... all is going according to plan. Twilight will be captured shortly, and I personally inspected the real Storm Emitter. It is ready. No pony still knows the real purpose behind the Storm, or its real function. We are on schedule..."
"... Goooooood" the figure responded with a smile "After all this waiting... we can finally set things right..."
Suddenly a door flew open and a pony ran into the tall room. "IM SORRY TO INTERRUPT! THERE'S BEEN A DEVELOPMENT!!!”
"What is so important to interrupt- " Shadow Wind angrily snapped at him, then froze, as he saw a sheet of paper the pony was holding. He quickly snatched it out of the pony's hooves and looked at it with a bewildered look.
“A status report from our spy in the village, Lieutenant!" the pony spoke hastily, gasping for air. "Its... its bad!" he heavily swallowed before going on “The one who caused this... umm... the decoy team in the forest, thought they identified him as “Everfree Mercy”
“Who the hell is ...-” Shadow suddenly stopped and his eyes slowly grew larger as he began to read the paper out loud " Four - ponies - are - running - through - town - screaming - the - Shadow - Bolts - Are - Coming ?!!?!" Shadow angrily slammed the paper onto the floor.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" He shrieked "MONTHS OF CAREFUL PLANNING! TO FAIL NOW?! HOW COULD-"
"It matters not," a high voice spoke out of the shadows, and everyone froze in silence. Princess Luna slowly stepped out of the darkness and calmly smiled to them.
"It is too late for them to stop us. We will strike now. Lieutenant, are our forces ready?"
"Yes, my Lady" Shadow Wind quickly fell back on one knee "The numbers will be sufficient"
"Good" Luna said with a nod, and pleasantly smiled. "We will fly under the cover of clouds, and strike at the very heart of Equestria...
Canterlot - will - fall...
The country, will be ours..."
The room was filled with loud laughter.
* * *
Four of the mane six, rushed towards the town hall to inform the mayor of Ponyville. When they arrived, they waste no time, telling her all the details. The mayor looked unconvinced, but reached out for a red phone, without any buttons on it, and picked it up. "Hello? Give me Canterlot Security"
A couple of guards burst into the door, dragging the familiar pony in dirty clothing.
"Ma'am!" One of the guards said to the mayor "We have a problem”
"I know" she replied and looked back at the four ponies.
"A Shadow Bolt agent" One of the guards said. "The only thing we managed to understand from him, is that, there is an imminent attack, about to take place at Canterlot! We must mobilize immediately!"
"A revolution is coming... " the mayor quietly whispered. Then looked back at the guards. "Assemble every able soul, and head straight for Canterlot! We must protect our Capital!" the mayor turned to the ponies and they began planing.
Mercy listened in through the door. "I better get my things" he thought. After a very quick preparation, he arrived where they were keeping the captured agent. Mercy sneaked in and after a while, found the right cell. He knocked on the bars lightly, with a crowbar to get the agents attention. The agent slowly looked at the pony and recognized Mercy. He quickly jumped away from the bars, and took a defensive stance.
Mercy calmed him down in a hushed voice : “Hey hey hey, listen I'm not here to hurt you. I just want some information”
“Really” The agent said in a cold voice.
“I want to know whats going on, what your plans are, and the location of the real Emitter” Mercy whispered. The agent made a smug smile “And exactly why should I tell you”.
Mercy smiled back and pulled out the keys to the cell. The agents brows flew up, but he quickly pulled himself together, and his expression became dangerous.
“I dont know who you are... but listen well” the spy said in a very low, cold voice. “I may be weak, and said too much earlier, under threat of torture, to those guards, but I will not say another damn thing, to you, or anyone...
For I believe in something... that drives me, my brothers and sisters...
The Shadow Bolts, are not just a political party, or a military unit... they are an idea...
For years we watched this countries flaws. We saw the errors made by Celestia, her criminal disregard for national security, her poor judgement, the way she handled things...
We couldn't just watch any longer. The Shadow Bolts started, as an alternative, to the current rule. A different way to handle things, more... professional... more efficient. We are the patriots of this country, and we love it, just like everyone else. So it pains us to see, what its become...
Lady Luna will lead us, into a brighter future... we believe in her... and in her cause... we can make this country better. No, we Will make it better...Remember my words... stranger...
A revolution is coming...
I believe in this, so I will not fear pain, or death any longer. I am prepared to fight, and die for my country... so there's not a damn thing you can do, to make me talk...”
Mercy stayed quiet for a long moment, until he finally asked :” Wheres the real Storm emitter?”
“Its hopeless for you” The agent said, turning around, to show his back to Mercy “You will never reach it in time.
“So... its far outside city limits...” Mercy quietly said.
“..No ! What – NO!” the agent said, jumping towards the bars. But Mercy just quietly walked away. As he disappeared behind the corner, the agent saw, the key to the cell door and his pocket knife now polished and sharpened. Mercy left it, right next to the door, well within ponies reach. The agent looked in the direction were Mercy disappeared to for a moment, before quickly unlocking the cell door, and disappearing into the shadows.
Mercy stole a uniform and disguised himself in it. He walked into the mayors office and told her that the Emitter was outside Canterlot. That Twilight and Pinkie were somewhere in the Everfree forest. Rainbow, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity and the mayor all gathered around and assigned jobs to the four. Rainbow Dash was in charge of finding and destroying the Emitter. Fluttershy, Rarity, and Apple Jack were to find Twilight and Pinkie Pie. When the mayor turned back to Mercy, he was already gone.
Mercy prepared to fight by picking up equipment. A shovel with razor sharp edges able to cut down trees easy, two small hatchets and some butter knives now sharped. As he prepared, he thought to himself " I really hope they're as easy to fight off as timber wolfs or those three dumb diamond dogs"
* * *
Canterlot was covered under a heavy layer of clouds. The lively, beautiful city, seemed unnaturally gray, and a strange aura of sadness surrounded it, as if nature itself knew, a dangerous storm was coming.
Bubble Bee flew towards the castle carrying a large bag of fresh apple pies. She had been asked to cater the birthday party of one of the royal guards. However, when she got close, the castle was obviously under stress. Guards were urgently gathering to their posts, shouting commands at each other. "Party's canceled, Bubble," the head guard said quickly before running off. Bubble Bee didn't even have a chance to respond.
Something wasn't right, she was certain of that. "I've seen the guards prepare for battle before, but this seems different," she pondered to herself. "I'd better see if they need my help. I'm sure I can help in some way." And she flew her bag of food further into the castle. "At the very least, I can make sure our brave guards are fed.”
Back with the guards and volunteers, Mercy started handing volunteers armor and tools that could be used as weapons if they didn't have it already. "Never thought i would be making this stuff when I learned how to smith steel" said Mercy. When he came across Rainbow Dash he handed her a crowbar then hid his face so she wouldn't recognizes him as the guard that delivered the information.
Lisa was staring warily at the strange stormy clouds, through the window of her office in Canterlot. The pendant, that was comfortably resting on her desk earlier, was now on her neck. She gently touched it, as her thoughts raced back in time, to a distant memory :
“ She was walking down the hall of the Wonder Bolt Headquarters. Lisa was about to enter the office of the Bolt's commander, when Shadow Wind suddenly burst out of that door, and stormed passed her.
“Shadow!” She called him, “Shadow what happened?!”
“I'm done!” he said, sharply turning around to her “I've had enough of this mess!”
“He just made a mistake “ Lisa tried to protest, not sure if she even believed it herself.
“A mistake?!” Shadow scowled at her “ONE OF MY RECRUITS NEARLY DIED TODAY – BECAUSE OF A DAMN BUREAUCRATIC ERROR!!!” he screamed at her “That obstacle course was unstable and broken! And the only reason why nobody checked or noticed it was a BUREAUCRATIC ERROR?!”
“...Shadow...” Lisa said in a shaking voice.
“HE ALMOST GOT CRUSHED!!!” Shadow screamed out “A green recruit, barely out of high-school, the only thing he ever wanted to do in life, was to be a Wonder Bolt” Shadow said bitterly “And he almost died today..... because our unit, hell, our entire military is surrounded with so much red tape and piles of bureaucratic nonsense, that I'm stunned we barely manage to function at all !”
“...Shadow...” Lisa suddenly asked in an frightened voice, looking at a strange hole in his uniform “...where is your Wonderbolt insignia ?... “ she asked in a shaking voice.
“...I ripped it off, and left it in the Commanders office” Shadow quietly said. Lisa's eyes slowly became wider as she looked at him. They stayed silent for a long moment, until she finally said:
“But Shadow... you always wanted this job... what will you do now?” Shadow looked to the side somewhere, scratching his neck.
“I'm not leaving the military... there's... a different unit, I will be submitting a request to, join.
“....The Shadowbolts ...” Lisa frowned slightly. A faint note of bitterness was heard in her voice.
“They are a serious group Lisa!” Shadow said looking at her. “They work simply, and professionally. No red tape, no obstacles...”
“That group worries me Shadow!” Lisa said, looking him deep in the eyes “There's something funny about them! They put these... ideas ... into everyone minds... their literal worship of Luna is borderline fanatic!”
“They are young idealists... “ Shadow said, trying to calm her down “We need them right now”
“They keep making these ... public meetings and gatherings! Talking about how everything's wrong with this country”
“Well there IS something wrong with it!” Shadow said, anger mixed with a sort of sadness in his voice “Look at what happened to today ! The same things have been happening for the past year!”
“Shadow I'm worried they might have just brainwashed your mind! Think of what you're doing!” Lisa almost screamed out desperately.
“...I have, Lisa” Shadow quietly said, looking down “I've been thinking about it for over a year... Im sorry” He silently looked at her for a moment, then nodded and began to slowly walk away. Lisa gritted her teeth in bitterness, her hooves collecting into fists.
“...So thats it then?” she called to him as Shadow walked away. “You just gonna turn your back on the Academy... on your subordinates... your friends... on me!!” she said in a bitter, shaking voice. Shadow froze, and then slowly sighed looking down. He slowly turned around and walked back to Lisa. Looking her deep in the eyes, he slowly removed a small pendant from his neck, then raised one of her hooves, and gently placed the pendant on it.
Lisa looked at the pendant, stunned. Then looked up at the pony in front of her.
“...Shadow...thats...” she quietly said, but Shadow only smiled “...how long have we been rivals now... since -”
“Day one...” Lisa said, faintly smiling.
“Since my first day in the academy...” Shadow smiled back. They stood in silence for a moment, until Shadow suddenly said:
“Come with me!”
Lisa gasped, and looked at him with frightened eyes. She sighed heavily and finally said “I ... cant...Im sorry...
my place is here Shadow”
“I understand” Shadow quietly said with a smile. He nodded his head and slowly walked away. His hoof steps echoed heavily off the empty walls of the corridor. It was gray, and barely any light came through the many windows, just like now...
Lisa sighed, still touching the pendant on her neck, slowly came back to reality. Her Canterlot office now looked even more gloomy than before. A Wonder Bolt slowly approached her, and stood at attention.
"Commander, civilians have been evacuated... our forces are assembling at the city's entrance now. There are many volunteers willing to defend the city... ma'am ? There's so many of our forces here. What are we preparing for, exactly ?" Lisa frowned
"Its a coup d'etat, military takeover" Lisa said grimly, still holding the pendant.
She looked far into the distance, were all the forces were gathering, at the big clearing, near the city entrance.
Suddenly a lightning struck, right next to the city entrance. It was so bright, Lisa flinched as she was momentarily blinded. She blinked a few times and looked back. "What?!" she exhaled. The lightning landed in the clearing, far off from the gathering forces, and at the exact same spot it had it, now stood a pony, in shadowy clothes. Lisa scowled, and smashed opened the window, to fly out, towards the figure.
As she flew closer, her forces on the ground formed a defensive line, far off from the shadowy figure. Lisa landed between them and the figure, and stared angrily at it.
"WHO ARE YOU!" She shouted. The figure remained silent. A rain drop fell on Lisas formal uniform. She didn’t had time to change into Wonder Bolt combat outfit. Then another drop fell. Then another. Then a heavy rain began to pour down on all of the ponies, standing perfectly still. In silence. Only the falling of rain was heard.
A chilling wave of wind flew through Lisas mane, making her shiver. The wind flew towards the figure and blew off his hood, revealing his face. The figure's expression was completely emotionless as he un-clipped his cloak. The wind quickly picking it up and sending it flying away.
"My name is Shadow" the figure said, his face showing no emotion
“You!" Lisa recognized him "WHAT DO YOU WANT HERE!"
The pendant shined on her neck, and caught Shadows attention. He looked at it with surprise, and then raised his eyes to Lisa
“... you...kept it...?” he asked, in a quiet voice. Bitter emotions washed over Lisa again, as she quietly replied
“...yes”
Shadow looked at the cities towering buildings, his face still showed no emotion. "Have you finished evacuating civilians?" he asked
"Yes" Lisa shot back "There is no one left in this city, but able mares and colts, willing to defend it!"
"Good" Shadow Wind nodded. "Then let it rain, Lightning" As he spoke, the storm clouds roared with thunder, and massive flashes of lightning, streaked through the sky, and struck the city towers, blowing huge pieces off them. Explosions filled the city. Lisa gasped, her forces began to panic.
Shadow Wind's face was slowly becoming grim as he spoke "This is the power – of Storm Clouds. This is their real purpose, this is why it took so long to charge them... It's over Commander... surrender" Shadow Wind said, as the lightning strikes stopped, and countless Shadow Bolts appeared out of the sky behind him.
* * *
Twilight woke up somewhere, to discover herself in a cart, rolling down a muddy road. Rain was pouring down hard, but she managed to notice the Shadow Bolt figures, guarding her. They were headed into an unknown direction. Suddenly Twilight noticed a strange blue line of light, streak from the ground, somewhere far off in the distance. The light looked familiar.
Twilight frowned. As soon as the light disappeared, she heard a faint explosion somewhere very far off. She looked in that direction and noticed numerous lightning strikes hit Canterlot.
"Oh no!" she cried. Then quickly looking around she noticed Pinkie, lying beside her "Pinkie! Pinkie wake up!!!"
"Auughhwaaa" Pinky said rubbing her eyes. Her tongue slowly recovering from the effects of the Poison Joke. "There's no time Pinkie!" Twilight said, with a worried look "We need to escape and find the real Storm Emitter. We have to shut it down before it is too late. If we don’t, I fear all will be lost..."
"Buuu wheee wiilll weee l-oooook?" Pinkie tried to reply
"I might have an idea" Twilight said, as the blue line of light appeared again in the distance.
* * *
"Dear Celestia," Bubble Bee whispered to herself. She had never seen such a terrifying display of lightning. Dressed in armor and armed with a straight, slender knife, she planted her hooves firmly on the ground where she stood. "I signed up for this, now I have to be prepared for anything." She stretched her wings. "Equestria is counting on all of us. I must be brave." She stared determinedly at the army of approaching Shadow Bolts, waiting for a command.
Mercy shivered with anticipation, the tension so thick somepony considered trying to cut it. Both sides staring at each other waiting for the command to attack. On the very front line he could almost hear the ponies on the other side breath. Waiting.
Shadow Wind stood straight, and pointed his hoof forward "End this"
Before anypony could move, a sharp strike of lightning hit, in between the two armies. There was no explosion, but the flash was so bright, Lisa flinched and closed her eyes.
Anyone without some form of protective goggles were momentarily blinded. The Shadow Bolts on the other hand all wore protective, dark tinted goggles, and unhindered by the flash, streaked toward the dazed Canterlot army.
"FOR EQUESTRIAAAAAAAAA" Lisa shouted, and still trying to shake off the effects of the flash, rushed forward, aiming right at Shadow Winds grim looking face.
When Mercy could see again he rushed in, throwing the improvised throwing knifes, hitting two or three shadow bolts in their legs and wings, then when he got close enough headbutted a shadow bolt unicorn, and when the other ponies saw this they joined in.
Knocking Shadow Bolts out by hitting them with the blunt end of a shovel and bucking the one's who tried to sneak up behind him he lead the ground units in, fighting tooth and hoof. He looked up and saw Shadow Wind, grabbed one of his hatchets, and threw it grazing Shadow Winds right wing, breaking and removing enough feathers to make him lose balance, and make it harder for him to fly.
Inside Canterlot itself, the ponies were in serious panic. The inner castle walls shook and Royal Guards stumbled to their defenses. Nopony, not even Celestia, saw this coming.
A hefty stallion named Wind Spear was the leading captain of the pegasi royal guards, and he lead his royal guards into the battle. The cause seemed lost, but he was too courageous to caution himself.
Still disoriented, Bubble Bee immediately responded to Lisa's call to attack. She kicked off the ground and flew at the approaching army, surrounded by clusters of other pegasi. She could clearly see the Shadow Bolts as they got closer and regained some confidence from having her sight back. She flew down and back up, giving a brutal uppercut to the first Shadow Bolt she came in contact with. Another tried to ambush her from behind, and she kicked him square in the jaw. "Yeah, what!" Bubble shouted triumphantly as she flew to attack more enemies.
"SHADOW WIIIIIND!" Lisa shrieked and threw a punch right at his face. The next second Shadow completely vanished from view and the punch missed. "What?!" Lisa gasped "He never knew how to properly fly! How- " She was kicked in the ribs from the side and fell to the ground, then quickly rolled over and took a defensive position.
Shadow Wind slowly approached her again. "You're right. I cant fly well. But thats why I feel more comfortable on the ground," he disappeared again. Lisa's eyes widened. She heard air being cut next to her and put up a block just in time to deflect Shadows kick.
"You can move so fast on the ground?" Lisa said in awe. She quickly shook of her emotion and scowled "LOSER! WHO EVEN LET YOU BE A SHADOW BOLT!"
Shadow frowned slightly and looked to the side somewhere, the next second three Shadow bolts flew out, from that direction, and hitting Lisa in unison, they all rolled out of sight.
Shadow Wind looked around and noticed Mercy as he threw another knife.
"You..." Shadow muttered. "I've been informed you're the one, most responsible for almost ruining my plan. Lets do this !"
"Alright lets" Mercy said calmly and spun his shovel on one hoof
"A shovel..." Shadow looked mildly surprised "I am a fan of improvised weapons as well you know... though for this occasion, I had bring a simple one." He slowly reached behind his back, and unsheathed a small katana.
"...I was hoping it wouldn't come to this" Shadow suddenly said, his expression becoming unexpectedly sad. "With as few casualties as possible... thats what she said..." he quietly mumbled to himself. "So much destruction...is this really right..."
He snapped back to reality "Too late now" he glared at Mercy "Begin!" he shouted as he ran forward. Mercy paced to the right and suddenly threw one knife which Shadow Wind easily dodged but then realized theres a second and third heading for him. He moves out of the way just enough for it to only graze Shadows shoulder and cut a few peaces of his dark mane.
The battle in the air was becoming overwhelming. There were just too many Shadow bolts and not enough pegasi warriors. The unicorns on the ground were having a hard time aiming their spells so they didn't hit their own. The Earth ponies were shooting projectile weapons, but everything was happening so fast, not many were making contact.
"I have to ground as many of these Shadow bolts as I can," Bubble Bee thought aloud. She quickly grabbed her weapon and charged at the enemies. She slashed, stabbed, kicked, and punched, aiming only at the enemies' wings. They fell at the ground, where the grounded ponies were waiting
"There," she thought, "this should help even things out”
A Shadow Bolt Unicorn, wearing black robes, was watching the fight from a distance, his look becoming increasingly more worried.
"Sir!" A shadow bolt ran up to him "There's too many!!! They are beginning to push back!!!"
"We always knew we would be outnumbered..." the unicorn said "Thats why our Lady gave us the Storm... I'm doing it,"
"Y-you don’t mean..." the shadow bolts eyes widened in shock and fear
"I have to... or all of this , would be for nothing... Im signaling the Emitter control, to target ponies"
"B-but sir! If that lightning hits somepony, they will d-"
"I know" the unicorn frowned "She... instructed me personally to do it"
"W-What?! B-but she said... with zero casualties...! I thought we were the good guys! We were supposed to free the land from Celestia's oppression! This isn't making any sense!!!"
"I'm sorry... sacrifices must be made" the unicorn muttered with a sad expression, looking down
"D-DONT DO IT!" the shadow bolt shouted
"...too late," the unicorn rose his hoof... somewhere far away a faint flash of blue light streaked to the sky. The unicorn secretly hoped someone would find this machine and shut it down before he would be forced to do this.
Thunder rang, and the shadow bolt watched in fear as a flash of lightning appeared and streaked towards the battlefield.
A flash and - It was deflected! The lightning flew back into the sky and disappeared. The unicorn gasped.
"Sweet Lady Celestia..."
"yeah... I know..." The shadow bolt nodded
"No. Its literally her" the unicorn pointed into the sky. High above the earth, Princess Celestia hovered above ground, faint smoke still rising from her horn, after deflecting the lightning
"LUNA!" She shouted "YOU REALLY PUSHED IT THIS TIME!!!"
* * *
The Shadow bolts surrounding Twilight and Pinkie were far from distracted, even though a whole lot of mayhem was going on around them. They seemed to know that this was happening. They kept a close eye on Twilight and Pinkie throughout their travel. They were trudging along a windy dirt path, surrounded by a foggy forest when they noticed some... odd noises.
"Do you hear that?" one said to another
"I'm not sure, but it's getting louder..." said the other. It was indeed, and it seemed to be the sounds of a bunch of charging animals! They saw a horde of mammals and critters alike coming their way. One of the Shadow bolts smirked.
"This must be a joke," she said. However, Twilight saw this as an opportunity to attack. The animals came to them and charged through them. The Shadow Bolts in return simply dodged or kicked them away. Apple Jack and Fluttershy followed. Apple Jack lassoed one Shadow Bolts legs then bucked another sending him flying.
As they were distracted, Twilight slipped out of the cart and kicked one of the Shadow Bolts, who was currently dealing with a rather angry hare. The Shadow Bolt knocked into another, and the two stumbled and fell into the critters below them. Twilight then finished off the others with rapid fire magic from her horn.
The Shadow Bolts almost disappeared within the cloud of dust, in which Twilight assumed they ran away, seriously injured. However, she knew exactly who was the commander of this attack. Eventually she saw the image of Fluttershy galloping toward her.
"Fluttershy!" Twilight said. "What are you doing here? Or better yet, HOW?"
"The guards found a spy through an anonymous tip. The spy confessed that he knew where to look for the Emitter to one of the guards. Then the guard told the mayor and, Rainbow Dash was sent to find and destroy the emitter. Umm..... Apple Jack, Rarity and I were sent to find you.
I asked my animal friends and they said they saw you being held captive and informed us of your location, so we rushed here as fast as we could........ um.. sorry it took so long...” Fluttershy quietly said.
Twilight was more confident of the situation, now that she had Fluttershy, Apple Jack, Pinkie, and Rarity on her side. However her attention eventually turned to Pinkie, who seemed to be distracted. Twilight and Fluttershy trotted toward her.
"Uhh... what exactly are you looking at?" Twilight said. From Pinkie's viewpoint, a cliff extended from the left and right of Pinkie, Bordering the forest from a rather unsafe valley full of spiked ridges and deadly pits.
But that wasn't as important as what was beyond that. A clear view of Canterlot, ruined and in flames, stood out on the mountain's slope where pieces of it fell off, sliding off the mountainside. A clearing of the clouds above it emitted golden light, contrasting the darkness below it. "Mother of Celestia!" Twilight gasped.
"No, not her mother, just Celestia," Pinkie corrected.
"We need to get to Canterlot, and fast." Twilight continued. "Or else there will BE no Canterlot."
* * *
Bubble Bee had never seen the Princess in such a rage. She had never seen the princess in person before either, but in her pictures she always just looked so wisely calm. But that brief moment of distraction was a mistake; a Shadow bolt came at her and tackled her. Bubble yelped in surprise, and began to wrestle with her enemy. They were heading to the ground, both trying desperately to come out on top. That was when an enemy unicorn made a direct hit with a spell to Bubble's head. She fell to the ground, unconscious.
With shovel against katana, the two stared at each other. Mercy finally asked “Hey this katana of yours, I mean, I can blacksmith, so I got to ask who made it”
"Luna... Luna made it for me..." Shadow looked at the ground. His expression full of guilt
"Luna!" Shadow Wind gasped, forgetting Mercy still standing threateningly next to him.
"What are you doing?"
"...Is this what its come to?" Shadow heard a faint voice and found Lisa slowly walking towards him. She was holding her shoulder, and looking very hurt. One of her wings looked broken
"You have fallen this low?..." she was breathing heavily as she approached Shadow.
"N-no... I didn’t want ... this" Shadow took a step back, fear was beginning to take over him
"YOU - WORTHLESS -" Lisa didn’t finish the sentence. Huge thunder came down from the sky, and all the rain stopped in a second.
Complete silence fell over the battlefield. And from the stormy clouds, a figure emerged. She slowly descended from the sky, with grace, and placed herself in front of Celestia.
“Who are you!" Celestia spoke in a very low and dangerous voice
"I... Am Luna" The alicorn replied
"...No... You're not" Celestia answered. The strange alicorn smiled
* * *
Shadow Wind gasped. So did every other Shadow bolt. Lisa gritted her teeth
"WHO SAID YOU CAN LOOK AWAY!!!" She shouted at Shadow. As if the pain from her injuries left her, she ran up to him and threw a punch as hard as she could. Shadow Wind, looked at her with sad eyes. The punch connected. Shadow flew to the ground and hit it hard.
The Katana flew off his hooves. He didn’t try to dodge.
“...You" Lisa muttered "Resigned from the academy... turned your back... on your home... on your team... on me!!! In the name of some higher ideology!!! All that talk about making the world better! About bringing freedom and peace back to Equestria... its was all A LIE!" She shrieked "THIS IS YOUR PEACE! THIS IS YOUR HIGHER PURPOSE!"
"I didn’t mean for this to... i didn’t want this... not like this..." Shadow whispered.
"SHUT UP!" Lisa ran up to him, and dragged him back to his feet.
"YOU DID THIS SHADOW. YOU TURNED ON US ALL!!!" She was breathing heavily. "Now fight me... FIGHT ME DAMN YOU!!!" She hit him in the face again. Shadow just stood there as the punch connected. He staggered backwards. Then straightened up, and looked at Lisa again.
"Fight me damn you..." Lisa muttered, and for a brief moment, Shadow thought he saw tears in her eyes. But it was probably just raindrops
"...You wanted this..." Lisa exhaled. "Now fight m- "
"Im sorry" Shadow quietly said.
"YOU -" Lisa almost punched him again when Celestia's voice rang loud from the skies.
"Who are you" Celestia repeated. The alicorn hovering in front of her smiled again.
"Very well played... Princess" she hissed.
"You think I wouldn’t be able to tell, if you are my sister or not? I lived with her for thousands of years... I can recognize my sister in seconds.... You are not her... where is she?
"Very good Princess" the alicorn hissed. "But too late. Luna is far away from here, and you wont reach her in time,"
"You monster!!!" Celestia shouted "You manipulated my own people against me! You lied and promised peace to them! And in the end, you betrayed their very trust they placed in you,"
“I don’t need them anymore..." the alicorn answered. “They served their purpose. The Storm Clouds are charged to full capacity now. Enough to level Canterlot, and every living being inside it.... And then... I shall have my revenge on you... Celestia... You will know pain..."
Down on the ground. The shadow bolts looked in shock at who they thought, was their leader. Shadow stared at the sky in despair "She...manipulated us... me... to do this?..."
"Shadow" Lisa slowly approached him "you... stupid idiot" she said as she hugged him.
“SHE WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING! STOP HER!" Someone shouted on the battlefield. All ponies, Shadow Bolts and Wonder Bolts together, everypony who could still fight, flew, fired and directed their attacks at the only one who was behind this. The strange looking alicorn.
“Thats not Luna” Mercy said as he reached for his last hatchet and threw it at the alicorn. The strange alicorn laughed hysterically, as thunder roared, and with just one lightning strike, she deflected all the attacks.
Celestia exhaled heavily. It took most of her powers to shield everypony on the battlefield that could have been hurt in the strike.
"YOU CANT STOP MEEEE!" The alicorn shrieked "WITH THE STORM CLOUD ON MY SIDE - THERES NOTHING YOU CAN DO!
Mercy realized that Rainbow Dash should have destroyed the emitter by now. She was tasked with circling the skies to try and spot its emissions. Once she found it, she was supposed to destroy the core. Something went wrong. Mercy began setting off in the direction of the light that kept going off in the distance. "Can I make it? One way to find out"
As he ran toward the direction of the the light, a Shadow Bolt streaked from the sky, and picked up Mercy into her hooves. Mercy recognized her as the one he saw in the forest. "Faster like this right? " the Shadow bolt smiled.
* * *
"No good, we wont make it!" The Shadow Bolt still carrying Mercy said, as they flew for several minutes, toward the Emitters light as fast as they could. The Shadow Bolts wings were visibly hurt, it was hard for her to fly.
"Is this the end?" The Bolt whispered.
Just then they saw it.
Shadow Bolts away from the fight. They were guarding a prisoner. Not just any prisoner, but Rainbow Dash.
“Stop here,” Mercy said. The Shadow Bolt carrying him said “What? But what about-”?
“Just do it,” Mercy interrupted her. As she quickly put him down, Mercy ran up to the guards, quickly saying “Guys, please ! We need the prisoner ! She's our only hope of stopping the Storm Cloud”.
“We know, our forces already radioed in with the details” The guards said and quickly unlocked the cuffs on Rainbows hooves. She happily began to thank them, when she remembered Mercy's face as the guard, and the one who gave her the crowbar. Before she could ask Mercy handed her the crowbar yet again, and told he needed to get to the Emitter and destroy it, and she had to do it now or they would run out of time.
Rainbow Dash cockily smiled and said in a daring voice:
"Dont worry pal, I got this !” She said taking up Mercy, from the ground.
“Ready....” she said in a daring voice “Here goes”
“SONIC - RAAIINNBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM”
As they flew through the sky, at sub-sonic speeds, Mercy shouted "I really hope its not crowbar prof" He thought about it then suddenly realized: if Luna was an imposter, then where was the real one. He gasped, as the realization dawned on him, and he looked at the emitter with new strength.
Rainbow stopped sharp, right over the emitter. The shockwave of the Sonic Rainboom continued to fly onward, sending trees flying out of the ground.
"There!" She shouted. Pointing at the ground. There was a strange small structure there, build out of white rock. It had no roof or walls, just columns of uneven height sticking out of the ground.
In the center was a large orb, much bigger than the one they saw at the forest. The force seemed to come from underground, through a small opening right under the orb.
Rainbow Dash thought aloud to herself "I don't think I can shatter it with my hooves. It looks too strong... Maybe if I..." She remembered the crowbar.
The orb flashed bright blue suddenly and began to dangerously hum and shake. Something bad was about to happen. Mercy ran underground where he found a small dungeon lit by number of torches. There he saw Luna chained to the floor, unconscious. Mercy began pounding the chains until none held Luna down.
He lifted her over his back and began to carry her out of the dungeon.
Rainbow Dash hit the orb with the crowbar. The orb cracked, and sent a recoil that threw her back. She got up burnt, and jumped towards it again, to hit it over and over, as rays of light began to shoot out of newly formed cracks, flying in different directions. Mercy put Luna down on a safe distance, ran up to Rainbow and began hitting the white stone towers as hard as he could, shattering and knocking them over.
The atmosphere around them seemed tense. The ground began shaking, as flashes and strange sparks began to appear over the area. Suddenly the emitter drained every sound, out of air itself and everything became completely silent for several seconds. Rainbow's eyes widened.
* * *
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA” The alicorn hysterically laughed above the skies of Canterlot. Waves of ponies flew up towards her, only to be violently knocked back to the ground. A strange force field seemed to guard her from the projectiles they sent flying her way. She waved her horn, and an arrow of light flew out of it, missing Celestia by sheer inches, as she dived to evade the attack.
“PATHETIC INSECTS!!” the alicorn shouted “USELESSLY STRUGGLING AGAINS WHAT IS INEVITABLE!!! THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP ME!!! AND IN JUST A FEW SECONDS – THE STORM WILL UNLEASH ITS FINAL SECRET - AND LEVEL - ALL OF CANTERLOT - KILLING EVERTHING AAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
"DEMON!" Celestia shouted, faint signs of despair mixed with anger, heard in her voice "HOW DID YOU GATHER THIS MUCH POWER!?"
"You still didn’t figure it out ?" the alicorn laughed "I imprisoned you precious Luna, in an underground cage, just under the Emitter. Her very life magic is whats powering this device! In just a few moments the last drop of her magic will transfer to the emitter and it will be over! For her... and for you!!!"
"No!" Celestia whispered.
"There's no one out there left to stop this from happening!" The alicorn laughed.
"Goodbye...My sweet... Princess Celestia!"
The skies flashed bright. And Lisa hugged Shadow just a little bit tighter.
* * *
A Flash of bright blue energy streaked from the explosion of the Emitter and into the sky, then disappeared. A sudden thunder came down from the sky, blocking every other sound. Sparks of lightning ran through the clouds, and then -
The roar faded... and so did the clouds... They disappeared so quickly and suddenly everpony watched in disbelief.
And from behind the disappearing clouds, streaks of sun ray began to shine, and light up the land, in bright cheery colors. It was day...
They didn't even notice, it was day, all this time.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" The strange alicorn screamed, over the skies of Canterlot. As rays of sunshine struck her body, thick smoke began to come out
"IMPOSSIBLLEEEEEEE" She shrieked in pain as more and more sunshine fell onto her. Her disguise faded, and Celestia finally recognized King Sombra's sister. She shrieked and tried to get away, but the bright rays of sun reached out to everyone. There was not a single cloud in the sky.
"Begone... demon of darkness" Celestia muttered, and the dark alicorn vanished in a puff of thick smoke.
Shadow exhaled. He looked at Lisa, who smiled to him, then looked around. The Wonder and Shadow Bolts were helping each other up, working together, tending their wounds. They were smiling. Far in the distance, Shadow could see, a bright green field, were the emitter once stood.
Out there... somewhere, was the one single hero... who managed to stop him from making his biggest mistake, and saved the city he loved, and the ponies he cared about.
"Thank you... Mercy" Shadow whispered, and smiled “Thank you...”
Rainbow Dash got up to go back to her friends. She had one last Sonic Rainboom in her that day. She blasted off crossing the sky, for everyone to see. Mercy finally smiled thinking that it was over.
Twilight and her friends had finally arrived at Canterlot, they stared in horror of what had become of the place. Apple Jack hugged Twilight as she observed the rusted and ruined city, that used to be magnificent and sparkling. She wondered if her eyes were deceiving her but they were not.
A tear streamed from her face and onto the dusty tiles below her as she thought of all the ponies who suffered in the attack. "But is it still continuing?" she asked herself.
The 5 all stood sad looking at the wreckage. A tremendous roar filled the air as Rainbow Dash landed in the wreckage of Canterlot to see her friends.
They looked at Twilight. When Twilight looked up, she saw all of her closest friends were right here with her, and then her eyes light up, as if the elements of harmony had been activated. A beam of light, shot up and into the sky. Then Twilight began using her magic to start piecing together Canterlot. Building by building. The ponies on the battle field watched this, which gave them more hope.
With ponies home's and the castle back together, Twilights magic stopped, leaving all off the mane six exhausted. They looked at the still partially destroyed land. Everypony caught them when they landed, cheering.
The land around them, seemed green, and raindrops sparkled in bright colors of the shining sun. And at that moment, everything seemed just right, for the very first time, in a long, long year.
* * *
A few days passed.
Surprisingly, no one had died in the attack.
Everyone was involved in the rebuilding of Canterlot and together they sang, "Raise the kingdom! 1, 2, 3, 4! Together we can raise the kingdom!"
The Shadow Bolts submitted themselves to Wonder Bolt custody, but asked to delay their upcoming trial for more volunteer work, as they strived to help their country as much as they could. Lisa was seen numerous times, working close with the Shadow Bolts, particularly next to a dark purple one, with dark yellow hair. To everyones surprise, she also became the most outspoken one, to defend them, in every upcoming trial
And Mercy the Everfree, slowly disappeared back into the Everfree forest, hoping to return to being just a old ponies tale.
They all believed, the worst was behind them...