//------------------------------// // Trouble Stirs // Story: They've Been Among Us // by Echo Derp //------------------------------// The unicorn with the black beret nervously paced back and forth as he waited for a response from the Pegasus in the black suit. Seconds, then minutes were consumed by time, and still no response from the pony. "He better be doing something by now. That agent better not be slacking off to create a distraction to get everyone away from those artifacts," he grumbled. The odd activaty that surrounded the artifacts at the museum deeply troubled him. If one, just one, artifact manages to simply do something strange... The whole world could not be possibly prepared for the unforeseen consequences. The unicorn grabbed the radio strapped on his chest and contacted the Pegasus. "Are you done yet!?" he asked sternly. A few seconds passed by, until the radio crackled. "I'm almost done. Just give me a few more minutes." The Pegasus responded. "Hurry up! I do not want to encounter them anytime soon or later!" The unicorn cut off the communication between him and the agent. He trotted clockwise around the desk in his office, and sat down in the chair behind the desk. He could feel his lips quiver, he could feel the cold sweat forming around his forelegs by the fear, his right eye began to slightly twitch. "We are so damned if They return..." he whimpered. ********* "They are so..." Aurora was caught once again in a trance, in the presence of the helmet. "...So powe-" "Hey, are you alright?" the colt Thunder asked, noticing his fellow classmate acting strange. Aurora snapped out of her trance, and lookedback at Thunder. "Yup! I'm fine! Nothing wrong." she flashed a fake smile. "Okay, but this thing looks cool!" the colt made a gesture towards the helmet. "It almost looks like from a movie or a video game!" "It kind of does." Aurora commented. "I wonder if this one was special with the story of the 'Tall ones' or possibly 'gods'." "Class, we're moving along the tour," the teacher announced. The colt and filly promptly followed the crowd of students to the next area of the museum. The teacher merrily chatted with the guide, until a guard ran up to the guide with a troubled look on his face. "Ma'am, we got get a problem." He said. "What is it?" the guide asked. "There's smoke coming out of the air vents, there might be a possible fire!" the guard explained. Aria and Brisk had perplexed looks before putting shocked stares in their face. That's not good! Brisk said. "Miss Aria gather your students! We're going to evacuate everyone!" "Agreed. Class, please follow me! There's an emergency!" the teacher waved a hoof in the air to signal the students to follow her. The fillies and colts hastily followed their teacher and the guide to the nearest exit. The smell of smoke entered thier nostrils, causing some of them to cough. Eventually, smoke did come seeping through air vents attached along the ceiling above them. "What's going on?" a colt asked. "I don't- ack!" a filly coughed from the smoke. "Hurry! We're almost there!" the teacher said. The class rushed past the lobby and entered the bright light of the outside through the main entrance. The class quickly went down the flight of stairs, then stopped to make sure everypony was fine. "I think we're safe here," the guide said, panting from the exhaustion of galloping. "I think so." Aria looked at her class to make sure all her students were together. "Is everypony alright?" She asked. All the children responded saying, "Yeah" or "Yes." Aria sighed in relief as she acknowledged none of them were injured in the escape. "Come on! Let's go!" a voice shouted. The class looked at the source of the voice, and saw multiple firefighters rushing up the steps. Plumes of smoke rose like giants from the museum, a small flame flickered from the rooftop. Many tourists and other ponies poured out of the building to escape the fire. "This is not good at all." the guide frowned as the fire was beginning to spread. "How did this all start?" More firefighters arrived at the scene to battle the fires, Royal Guard troops also arrived to set up a perimeter around the burning building, to prevent anyone from entering. "Field trip fail..." Aurora mumbled. ******** Soarin' sat in his office reading a book about a famous Pegasus who was originally part of the Wonderbolts and a soldier of the Equestrian military, but now is retired. His eyes travelled left to right as he read every word steadily, and every paragraph. Soarin' was lost in the book of the life of the special Pegasus, until the loud ringing of the phone interrupted him. "Hello." Soarin' picked up the phone. "May I help you?" He nodded as he listened to the speaker, he recognized the other pony at the end as one of the personnel who worked at the Cloudsdale school, but his eyes slowly widened as the pony started to mention his daughter and a large fire. "What! Where?...Canterlot? I'll be there shortly." Soarin' immediately hung up and proceeded out of his office. He was about to make a turn for the HQ's exit, but realized it would be important to inform Rainbow Dash about this. The stallion rushed to the mare's office, but when he got there he saw that she wasn't occupying the room. "Ah! Where is she?" Soarin' formed an irritate look. "You looking for someone, Soarin'?" a voice asked. Soarin' looked behind him, and saw it was Lightning Streak. "Yeah, where's Rainbow Dash?" He asked. "She's in the mess hall," Lightning Streak said. "Something wrong? You look troubled." "It's just a small situation I have." Soarin' promptly left to the mess hall, leaving Lightning Streak alone. The stallion shrugged and casually trotted away to wherever he was going. Soarin' entered the bustling and loud mess hall, he scanned left and right for the mare, but the crowds of both Wonderbolts, cadets, and other members obscuring his sight did not help. He groaned as he couldn't spot Rainbow anywhere. "Where is she?" Soarin' sighed. "Why does do these types of situations occur at the wrong... Huh?" A rainbow mane caught his attention in the crowd. He immediately approached the suspected Rainbow Dash, and it turned out it was her sitting at a table, chatting merrily with Fleetfloot and Misty Fly. "Rainbow!" he called her named over the loud noise. "So you know, my dau- huh?" She was cutoff, and looked back at who called her name. "Oh, what's up Soar'?" "Hey, Soarin', whatcha doing here?" Misty Fly asked with a smile. Soarin' ignored Misty and concentrated his attention at Dash. "Rainbow, we have a situation on ours hooves," he said, with an uneasy look on his face. "What do you mean we have a situation?" Rainbow had a perplexed look. "Aurora's school just called and they're stuck in Canterlot because there was a huge fire at the museum!" The stallion nearly yelled. "What!?" Rainbow yelped, her motherly instincts stung her as her only child was in possible danger. "How did this happen?" "Which is why we need to get over there this instant!" Soarin' turned around to leave. Rainbow got out of her seat, and quickly caught up to the stallion. "I'll see you guys later!" She shouted back at Fleetfloot and Misty Fly. The two mares waved goodbye at her. "I hope everything is alright!" Fleetfloot shouted back. When the couple disappeared behind the double-doors, Fleetfloot turned her head at Misty Fly with an impish, playful smile. "So, Misty Fly, you didn't answer my question." "What question?" Misty made a puzzled look at her statement. "Don't play games with me. You know what I mean." Fleetfloot nudged the mare a few times, raising her eyebrows at her. "I seriously don't know what you're talking about!" "Why have you been staring at Fire Streak lately? Do you have yo wittle heart on him?" Fleetfloot said in a baby voice, battering her eyelashes at her too. "I haven't been staring at Fire Streak! And I don't have a crush on him!" Misty retorted, feeling her cheeks burn and the blood rush to her head. Fleetfloot simply rolled her eyes and smirked at the denying mare. "It's alright... We'll talk about this later, Misty." She got up and left the table. Misty Fly glared menacingly at the troublesome mare, her frustration mounting as the Fleetfloot's words echoed in her head. But when she disappeared, Misty Fly sighed and stared at Fire Streak, who was sitting a few tables ahead and talking with some cadets. "I do have a crush on him," she mumbled. ******** The two Wonderbolt parents rushed rapidly to Canterlot, their wings battered fiercely against the air, thier eyes watering as the winds dried them out. But this did not effect them at all, their determination to make sure thier child was safe from an ominous threat kept them going. "Did they tell how the fire started?" Rainbow shouted at Soarin' over the loud sounds of gushing winds. "No. They only told me that they're stuck there, and the school is asking for the parents to retrieve their kids. Or else they'll assign a Royal Guard troop to escort them back to Cloudsdale," Soarin' explained. Rainbow nodded as she acknowledged his statement. The spiring towers of Canterlot revealed themselves from behind a wall of clouds ahead of the two ponies, but a large plume of smoke also rose from the distance. Soarin' and Rainbow surpassed the clouds, and witnessed the full view of the royal and beautiful view of Canterlot. But the trail of smoke eradicated all glamorous and elegant levels of it. The two pegasi lowered their altitude and slowed their airspeed. They landed at the front, broad gates of the city and immediately entered, passing by the citizens and Solar Guards of Celestia that kept a watchful eye on anyone who entered the city. Soarin' looked up and used the trail of smoke as a guide marker to where the museum was. "There," he pointed a hoof at the smoke, "that's where the museum is. Come on!" Soarin' and Rainbow galloped down the smooth rock road that led to the museum. As they rushed to their child, Rainbow started to notice other ponies around them, seeing they were concerned or frightened about something. Rainbow assumed that they were probably the parents of the other schoolchildren. The museum was up ahead, crowds of ponies surrounded the large structure. Soarin' and Rainbow pushed passed the groups of ponies who were shocked to see the famous structure burning up. Soarin' pushed a pony to the side, with Rainbow directly behind him, and saw his daughter's class in front. Both of them smiled when they saw their daughter. "Aurora!" they shouted. The filly turned her head at the familiar voice of her parents. "Mom? Dad?" She ran up to them, and was embraced with a hug by both parents. "What are you guys doing?" She formed a surprised look at their arrival. "We're here to get you out of this mess." Soarin' said. "Yeah, do you know how scare- concerned!" Rainbow suddenly yelped, catching herself on time before revealing an embarrassing feeling. At least for her... Aurora simply shook her head at her mother. "Mom, you were scared," she said flatly. "No, I wasn't!" Rainbow huffed. "Yes you were." Aurora said back. "No, I wasn't!" Soarin' rolled his eyes, and stopped the ridiculous argument. "Rainbow, it doesn't matter if you were scared or not." He put himself in front of her. "The only that is important right now is that Aurie is safe." Rainbow had to admit that he was right, she sighed. "You're right, Soar... all that matters is that our little filly is safe." She smiled at her daughter. Aurora giggled as she felt Rainbow nuzzle her, but then a few words were whispered into her ears. "I'm so going to get you back." Rainbow whispered. "You were so scared. You can't hide from it, mom." Aurora whispered with a smug look. "Whatever..." Rainbow walked away from her and back to Soarin. Soarin' had his eyes on the burning museum, seeing the fires were nearly controlled by the firefighters, but still burning with power. He couldn't believe what was happening, this famous and old structure containing countless of items and objects from around the world was being slowly destroyed. "I wonder how this happened?" He asked Rainbow, who had a awed look on her face. "I don't know, but this is going to cost A LOT to rebuild what is lost," she replied. "Ah, hello there Mr. Soarin' and Ms. Rainbow Dash," a voice merrily said to them. "I'm glad to see you here." The two Wonderbolts turned back at the source and saw it was Aurora's school teacher. The teacher extended a hoof out to greet them, and was gladly accepted by both parents. "I don't what happened, but at least you and your class are safe," Soarin said. "Yes I'm very glad that we're all safe. But we're dismissing class right here, you are allowed to take your little student home." Aria smiled at both of them. "But I'm surprised to see both of you here. I thought they were going to send some worker or assistant to retrieve your daughter for you guys, since I assumed you were going to be unavailable." She formed a puzzled look on her face. "Nope, we're not that busy." Rainbow placed a hoof on Soarin's shoulder. "We're always here for Aurora." Soarin smiled at Aria, saying, "Yeah we're always heeere... For her." Soarin' felt his smile fade away as he realized something. Something that tormented him. He was never really there, or near, Aurora. He was away from his daughter most of the time. "Soar'? Are you alright?" Rainbow asked in a concerned tone, noticing that he suddenly went unusually quiet. "Huh? Oh, yeah! I'm fine!" Soarin' reassuringly smiled at her. "Okay, but I guess we need to go now. Don't want to stay here for too long. The popparazi might arrive soon." Rainbow hated the fact that being famous meant you weren't going to be left alone in public. "Aurora, come on! We're going home!" Aurora came to her father's with a wide smile. She was very much excited to see and be with her dad again. Soarin' extended his left wing out and brought her in closer to him. "All right, I guess we're off, Ms. Aria. I hope you everything will be fine for the rest of the day, and hopefully most parents of your students arrive." Rainbow bid her farewell and took off with Soarin' and their daughter. Noticing the parents of the other school children arriving. "Dad, I can't believe you and mom came to pick me up!" Aurora exclaimed. "Sweety, we'll always pick you up." Soarin' placed the filly on his back to let her rest. "We're not going to leave you." "We're are always here for you, Aurie. No matter how busy or stubborn we are." Dash planted a kiss on the filly's cheek, the filly happily giggled. "Well, anyway, we're going to bring you to work." "I thought you guys were done?" Aurora questioned. "Nope, since this whole accident happened with your field trip," Soarin' responded. "Oh, okay. But cool!" The pegasi family flew above the luxurious buildings of the city. The smoke still rose from the burning museum, but the fire was almost contained. Ponies down below or flying above continued on with their daily lives, even if their was an accident at a famous site. Soarin' kept his eyes ahead of them as they flew back to their Wonderbolt facilities, but then an idea came to him. An idea his child would surely love. "Hey, Aurie, how would like to go with me to the Academy than going to the boring HQ with your lame and boring mom?" He stuck his tongue out at the mare. "Hey! The HQ is not boring and NEITHER am I!" Rainbow Dash retored. Aurora laughed at her mother's statement, and at her father's way to make her mom mad. "Mom, you're not boring. You're awesome!" "Of course I'm awesome!" Rainbow said proudly. "But it's this guy who thinks he's funny!" She 'accidentally' bumped into Soarin'. Soarin' laughed with an eye roll, then bumped her back playfully. "Boring. Rainbow Dash the lame Pegasus!" Aurora also rolled her tongue out at her mom. Rainbow shot a menacing stare at the filly, "Don't you dare say that to me, Miss Aurora Storm Dash!" Yup. That's her full name; "Aurora Storm Dash." Even though she preferred to be called "Aurora" than her full name. The filly gasped as her mother called her by her full name. "Mom, such language!" "Language?" Soarin' chimed in, chuckling. "Yeah, Rainbow Dash! Why the harsh language? That's very rude of you." Rainbow mumbled out a few words before falling silent. Soarin' and Aurora laughed as they earned a victory over the mare. A few minutes later they arrived at the Academy. Aurora got off her dad and kept close to his side. But saw both her parents had eager stares. . "So, Aurie, do you want to stay with me or your mom?" Soarin' asked her. "She'll obviously stay with her awesome and brilliant mom!" Rainbow made a prideful pose with a confident grin. "Dad." the filly said flatly. "Ha! I told you she would pic- What!?" the mare stood dumbstruck at her daughter's desicion. "Well, it looks like I win." Soarin' smugly stared at her. "Oh, come on Aurie! Your joking, right?" Dash came up to the filly with an uneasy smile. "Your just playing a trick on me?" "Nope. I want to stay with dad today." Aurora replied. Rainbow had the most shocked and offended stare she could put on. Her own daughter chose Soarin' than her. This was something she never expected. Rainbow boasted loudly. "This is betrayal! Mutiny! Out of all the thing-" "Go back to the HQ, Dashie..." Soarin' said with an unimpressed stare, "I'n just playing with you guys," she rolled her eyes. "I love you two!" Rainbow planted a kiss a her daughter's cheek. Then gave her stallion a peck on the lips. "Especially you," she seductively whispered into his ear. "Love you, Dashie." Soarin' placed a hoof around her and brought her in for a passionate kiss. "Eww!" Aurora groaned in disgust. "Remember, that I'm still here!" Both of her parents continued, despite the pleads of their child to stop. "Come on, guys! Really!? Eww!" Aurora coughed and gagged. Soarin' and Rainbow placed mischievous smiles as they locked the kiss. Both the mare and stallion gasped for air when they seperated. "Wasn't that nice, Dashie?" Soarin' whispered. "It sure was, Soar'." Rainbow purred. The two Wonderbolts checked backed on their daughter, and surprisingly saw her covering her eyes from the disturbing view. "I-Is it over?" she asked desperately. "Yes Aurora, it is over," Dash said. "Well, gotta go! Love you!" Soarin' and Aurora watched her take to the sky until she dissapeared from sight. Once she was gone, Soarin' looked back at his daughter with a wide smile. "You ready for an awesome time?" "Yeah!" the filly bounced in joy. "Let's do this!" Soarin' led the way to the main structure, Aurora kept closely behind him; feeling a bit shy, since she was going to meet other Wonderbolts and the trainees. Everything was just an eye opener for her. The strong and proud Academy building of the Wonderbolts, the marvelous and well-crafted statues of pegasi. The glimmering cloud structures that housed the cadets and other members of the Equestrian Military. "Keep close, kiddo. I don't want you to get lost here," Soarin said. Aurora nodded and got a tad closer to the stallion. She constantly observed all the things that belonged to the famous Pegasus team. She could see the trainees at their assigned cloud quarters, that floated just a few meters away from the plateau, leaving or arriving promptly . But then two objects emerged into view from behind the cloud structures. Very far away, though. They streaked across the sky at stunning speeds, leaving contrails behind as they flew. Both vanished in the blink of an eye. 'I wonder what those things are?' Aurora asked in her thoughts. Still gazing at the last area the anomalies disappeared to. "Aurora, come on." Soarin' called her, since she stopped behind for a second. "Coming!" she quickly caught up to her father. "Captain!" a voice called Soarin'. Both ponies look at the source and saw the security guard captain, Razor Wing, land in front of them, saluting to Soarin'. "Do you need anything, Razor?" Soarin' asked. "Sir, we just got reports that we have possible intruders in our area. The security teams state that it's that creature or whatever it is, but we have sightings of more things. We're bringing everyone in just for safety," Razor informed. "Hostile?" Soarin' inquired. "Unknown..." Soarin' acknowledged the situation. He knew what to do when these types of situations occurred after some years in the military. "All right, thanks Razor. I hope you find out whatever it is." "Yes, Sir. I'll keep you posted on anything we find." Razor saluted him before taking off, Soarin' saluted back and looked at his daughter. "Aurie, I need you to stay really close to me, now." "Why? Is something wrong?" the filly had a puzzled look. "We just got some weird disturbance around the area. Nothing big." Soarin' calmly said, trying not to frighten the filly over what was going on. "Come on, let's get to the mess hall." Soarin' led his filly to the cloud structure, opening the doors, then closing them when the child entered. The mess hall was crowded with the cadets, and the Wonderbolts who trained them. Two security guards placed themselves by the door after Soarin' and Aurora left. Soarin' approached his class, who were sitting at a table with confused and concerned stares. "Sir, what's going on?" the cadet called Iron Storm asked. "Yeah, why did they bring everypony in here?" the other cadet called Daisy Rain asked next. Soarin' shrugged and took his seat at the table. "We just got reports of a possible threat to the Academy. It's probably nothing." "Well, as long we're not in here for a long time I'm fine," Blue Star added, crossing her forehooves to show some signs of agitation. Soarin' tapped a hoof against the table's surface as the lockdown was still in effect. He pondered over what was the security concern. Until he felt something poke him in the back. "Huh?" he turned around to see who it was. "Uh, dad... Can you make some room for me?" The filly gave an innocent stare at him. Soarin' winced when he forget about his daughter for a moment. "Oops, sorry! Come here." he swiped her up and placed her to his right side, in between him and Daisy Rain. "And who are you, little one?" Daisy Rain asked with smile. "Cadets, this my daughter, Aurora." Soarin' announced with a smile ear to ear. "...Hi." Aurora shied away a bit, blushing. "Sir, why didn't you tell us about her?" Iron Storm was surprised to see his flight lead have a daughter. Soarin' sighed with a smirked as a response. "There's somethings in life you're going to have to figure out on your own, Storm." "Welcome to Wonderbolt training 101, Aurora," Blue Star greeted with a smug look. "So, where's her mommy, captain?" Daisy Rain brought the filly in for a hug. Aurora giggled as the mare's soft fur tickled her. "She's at the HQ," Soarin' replied," and give her back to me!" Daisy Rain handed Aurora back to her father, sighing, "No fair." Aurora felt comfortable as her father's trainees happily welcomed her to the place. Especially with Daisy Rain hugging her and all. The filly rested her head against her dad's side while he talked with his cadets. She quietly observed the room they were in. The long rows of tables, the sky blue and golden lightning streaks uniforms the cadets wear, the tall windows that went from the floor to the ceiling. Poster and banners that represented the Equestrian militrary and the Wonderbolts. Everything was just so close the way she imagined how the Academy would be before she arrived. She grew excited at the amazing scenery, but then something caught her attention at the windows. Aurora squinted as she saw a figure by the windows. 'What in the heck is that?' she asked mentally, noticing that the anomaly differed greatly from the rest of the ponies in the area. She raised a suspicious eyebrow when she started to slowly depict the whole thing; very tall, almost like a silhouette or ghost, and it was outside standing on the cloud... without wings. Aurora was shocked, bewildered to see the thing stand on the cloud without wings. It defied the physics of the world. No creature can tread on any cloud without a pair of wings... Or can they? Was it using a spell? No. It didn't even look pony. "Dad...?" Aurora nudged her father to get his attention. "So, that's what you need to do, Storm. You need to control- yes, Aurie?" he looked at his daughter, who had a frightened stare. "Aurora, what's wrong?" he asked in a concerned tone. "There's something by the window over there. Outside." the filly specifically pointed at the window in the middle of two others. Soarin' glanced over to the certain window, but saw nothing. But he grew suspicious as the facilty was in lock down, and there was sightings of strange things going on. "Blue Star, go over there and see what's wrong?" "Sir, yes sir...?" the mare replied in a confused tone, but she still followed the order. She left the table and made her way to the window. Blue Star scanned to the left and right outside the window, then flew back to the table when she was done searching. "Umm... Sir, there's nothing weird or anything at all over there." Soarin' glanced at his daughter with a confused look. "Aurora, you said you saw something over there, so what is it?" "I-It looked like something else! It didn't even look pony!" The captain only grew more suspicious as her statement. He tapped a hoof against the table as he thought what possibly his daughter could have saw. If it did not look like a pony, then what is it? "Cadets, I'll be back." The captain got out of his seat. "Daisy Rain, take care of Aurie, will you? Don't crush her or else..." he grimly said as he promptly left to the exit of the mess hall with a stern stare. "Yay! She's mine!" the mare swiped the filly into her grasp. Squeezing her a little tight. "You're going to get in trouble by the cap if you her hurt," Iron Storm reminded the bliss mare of the possible consequence. "Don't worry. I won't hurt her! Isn't that right, Aurie?" Daisy shot a grin to the filly. Aurora huffed to the mare. "Hey, only my dad can call me 'Aurie'!" Daisy Rain shook her head with the same expression. Aurora made a glare at the energetic cadet, but then she formed a troubled look at her father. Soarin proceeded to the exit doors of the large room. His idea that he came up with was to investigate whatever his filly saw by himself. But when he reached the exit, two security guards halted him from leaving. "Sir, we're still in a lockdown. You can't leave," the first guard said. "I know, but I think I saw something strange out there," Soarin' replied. "Sir, you still can't go out there. If you want to leave, then you'll have to be escort-" Three other security guards crashed through the doors, looking bruised and battered everywhere. Their uniforms ripped, their blue shades missing or cracked. Blood staining fur and clothing. Everypony shifted their attention to the sudden scene. Soarin' and the two vigil guards rushed to aid their beaten friends. "What happened!?" Soarin' asked as he stabilized one of the ponies. "W-w-w... We enc-countered a thing around t-the," the guard struggled to talk properly due to the pain he felt, "b-base of the platuea." he coughed loudly, few drops of blood came flying out. "You should've seen the thing!" the other wounded guard grunted. "It was just..." his eyes trembled with fear. "... So..." Words could not describe what he witnessed. Back at the table where Soarin's class sat, Aurora struggled to get a look at what was going on by the exit. "Aww, come on! They're blocking the view!" she grumbled. Until she made a smug look, and floated upward above the crowed. But to be brought down by the quick hooves of Daisy Rain. She knew what was going on exactly. "Hey! Let me see!" the filly shouted. "This is something that's not meant for you. Sorry." the mare smiled uneasily at her. More guards arrived to move their wounded comrades to a safer location in the Academy. Soarin' was now really on high alert after what he just saw. "All right, that's it! We're going out there, now!" he stormed out of the mess hall doors. The two security guards immediately followed the captain, as it was their duty to protect anypony that was vital. The captain stepped down the small set of stairs, and placed a firm hoof on the grass. He carefully scanned both sides of himself with his keen eyesight. Nothing was in sight. It was clear and quiet, except for a bird chirping in a nearby tree and a gust of wind that came from the west. The two security guards arrived behind him, and awaited any order for him. "I sense we're not alone out here," Soarin' grimly said. "What do you mean, captain?" a guard asked. The wind grew a tad stronger after his question. Soarin' looked back at the two ponies, and looked at their I.D.'s. "Radiant Spear and Dusk Leaf, that'll due. I want a five meter spread! If you see anything shout it out! Understand?" Soarin' ordered. "Yes, Sir!" The two security guards saluted. "All right, stick close." The three ponies began their search to the West wing of the Academy. Soarin' still kept a grim look on his face, except for the two guards who had frightened looks on their face. They approached the edge of the airstrip, Soarin' peered down to make sure nothing was there, like what happened the other day. "There's nothing around this area," Soarin' stated. "Sir, want us to split up to cover the area faster?" Dusk suggested. "No. I don't want any surprises. Stay together." the Wonderbolt ordered. After at least a good twenty minutes constantly searching the area, Soarin' and his two security guards did not locate any strange or suspicious activity. The Wonderbolt captain sighed as he made the order to call off the search. "Come on. Let's get back inside." The three pegasi returned to the mess hall. The two guard entered, but Soarin' stopped in front of the entrance and looked back for one final check. The wind howled, the airstrip was empty, nothing moved from place. Soarin' entered the mess hall as he acknowledged it was clear. "So close, captain." a voice whispered along with wind. "So close..." ******** "Where is it!?" "Damn it! I lost sight of it!" Three Shadowbolts ran for their lives through the Galloping Gorge in the northwestern area of Equestria. They jumped and ducked every natural object in the way. The large roots of the trees that breahced the surface of the dirt made the escape more difficult, the overgrown vegetation obscured their view of what was ahead. "Don't stop! We'll end up like the rest of the squad next!" the Shadowbolt Twister Cloud shouted. "What the hell is trying to kill us!?" the other Shadowbolt Violet Sword yelped. A bizzare ghostly howl roared across the quiet forest, causing every large animal and tiny critter to flee into hiding. Rabbits huddled into nearby bushes, squirrels hid inside tress, even some bears tried to hide in any cover that was large to enough to conceal them. "How are we going to explain the commander about this!" the third Shadowbolt Dark Rain whimpered. "Doesnt matter until we get back to the HQ- Wah!" Twsiter was suddenly grabbed by an unknown force into some thick brush. "T-Twister Cloud!" Violet Sword cried out, her voice hoarse. "GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF! GGAAAHHH!" The stallion made a distrubing, gut-wrenching scream. A monstrous roar and squeal came from brush, too. "We got to save him!" Violet Sword yelled. "Forget him! We end up like him if w-" Dark Rain strangely went quiet. Violet Sword turned around to see what was wrong, and saw... she was gone. "R-R... Rain...?" The remaing Shadowbolt whimpered. Her lips quivered, her legs wobbled. Tears welled in her eyes. The mare's heart pounded against her ribcage. "Commander Shadow Blaze are you there?!" She yelped into the radio that was strapped on to the right side of her chest. The Shadowbolts had somehow managed to obtain the radio. No pony knows for sure, but maybe to inner connections within the Equestrian Military? "What is it Dark Star 3?" The mare, commander of the Shadowbolts, asked sternly. "I-I need b-backup!" Violet Sword voice trembled. "This instant!" "Dark Star 3, we're sending help. But what happened to your squad? Your on patrol." "Hehehe..." an impish, playfull distorted giggle that sounded like a child's voice came from the brush where Twister vanished into. The Shadowbolt backed away from the vegetation. She glanced to the left and right to see where it came from, but she could only see trees, plants, and other natural featrues, and a figure disappearing behind a tree. "What was that?" The mare asked under her breath. "Tehehe..." the giggle that sounded like a child came from behind. "Huh?" Violet Sword turned around. "Waah-" The last thing the Shadowbolt saw was a dark figure slam its carnivorous jaws into her face. The radio crackled and gave static as the figure damaged it, too. "Dark Star 3, are you there? Dark Star 3? Dark Star 3, respond! Dammit Dark Star! Respond!" The Shadowbolt did not respond to the loud and concerned demands of the commander. A shadow loomed over the lifeless body of the mare, eventually disappearing into the forest. But a photo sat next to the dead mare. A very certain photo of a certain pony. A slight blood-covered photo of Soarin' the Wonderbolt with a wide smile spread across his face. His proud signature accompanying the image as well. "Dammit! They're not responding! Get a rescue team out there now! I want a SITREP when you arrive there!"