//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 - New Beginning // Story: A Blue Blaze against the Shadows // by Lyrin //------------------------------// “Good Afternoon and Welcome to the Ponyville Hospital. Are you here on visit or appointment to see a doctor?” The receptionist never looked up from the papers in front of her, but she knew there was somepony there. “I am here on visit.” The mysterious mare said with a voice that could easily hold a commanding tone. When the mare spoke, all noises around both her and the receptionist died down to whispers. “Mmhm.” The receptionist responded half-heartedly. “And who are you here to see?” “A pony who was carried here by some of the royal guards a few nights ago. And it is very rude of you to be looking away to who you are speaking to, I’m surprised you have a job here if you are going to act like that to those that come here.” The mare said with a slightly agitated tone. “Especially to one who is well known and looked up to by many ponies.” She added. The receptionist groaned and spoke with a little hostility. “And who might you be to speak to me like tha-…” The receptionists’ words came to a screeching halt as she looked up to find a not very happy looking Spitfire in her uniform standing at the desk. Her eyes widened as she recognized the mare and almost instantly wished she could just sink into the floor. “M-Mi-Miss Spitfire, I am so sorry for my behaviour.” was all she could squeak out. “So you should be after souring my good mood that I once had after receiving word at my desk that a special ‘guest’ here had woken up. I was hoping I could talk to them on good grounds, but it seems that won’t be possible now.” It was clear Spitfire was in no happy mood as she spoke. “If you were one of the Trainees back at the Academy, I would have you doing drills until you passed out for that behaviour. For the whole week.” The receptionist gulped and felt like she was frozen under the Captains stare as she continued. “However, I do think the humiliation you have put upon yourself in front of both your fellow staff and even some of the patients here, parents, adults and even the children is punishment enough for you already. I will let this slide past me, this time. Next time, I won’t be so easy.” Her voice lowered to a whisper that seemed to hold ice cold venom. “Am I clear?” The receptionist was now sweating under her fur under that strong gaze she was receiving. As stunned as she felt, she was able to nod lightly and squeak out a “Y-Yes ma’am” from herself. Spitfire then took a deep breath and that threatening stare was gone. “Now, can you direct me to where your guest is?” The receptionist pointed a shaking hoof down the hallway behind her. “R-Room 119.” “Thank you.” was the last thing Spitfire said before walking down the hallway. Behind her, she could hear a few of the staff going off at the pony she had spoken to. She also swore she could see a few flashes of light from the corner of her eyes every time she looked at the room numbers, no doubt the media was outside the hospital. She could already see the headlines: ‘Captain of the Wonderbolts loses temper at Hospital!’ in big capital letters on the front page. As she approached her destination, Doctor Health walked out of the room she was going for and noticed her with a smile. “Ah, Miss Spitfire, a pleasure to have somepony as famous as yourself in our Medical Center. I do hope your travel was well?” “It was, but your receptionist would beg to differ that pleasure.” She responded, her voice was almost as calm as it was before she arrived, but still held that slight agitation. The Doctors smile flipped. “Ah yes, I must apologies for her if she insulted you in any way, she is one of the new employees here and I don’t think she is quite used to the early morning shifts yet. I will have a talk to her before she finishes her shift today. Now, are you here to see her?” Heath motioned to the door next to him marked 119. “I am, I left as soon as I saw the letter. How is she?” “I can see that.” Heath chuckled lightly as his smile returned while looking at Spitfires uniform. “I was expecting you to be wearing your flight suit, but I suppose that would have taken a little bit to get into.” Spitfire nodded. “And with how our guest is… Well for one thing, she is healthy. Worse damage I could find was burnt fur. Her memory however… Is a different story.” His expression saddened. “Unless she gains her memory back, she’s going to have some difficulty getting back on her hooves with day to day life.” “I see.” was all Spitfire said as she looked at the door. “Not all hope is lost though.” Spitfire looked back at Health to see his smile again. “She is actually quite a fast learner, I only just finished helping her with her leg work, what would normally take about two hours of aid, ended up taking only twenty minutes. That armour she wears I believe helped her out a lot, but she is walking, so that is progress.” He quickly glances at the door before leaning over to her. “I actually believe she is more than ready to be released from the hospital. But I think I’ll let you be the judge of that, since I don’t know that much about Pegasi.” Spitfire nods. “I’ll talk to her myself and make a judgment through that. If I see her as ready, I may set up payment for her release.” Health just smiles. “Alright, well I shall leave you to it, I have others to see.” Suddenly, a low grumble sounds from his stomach and he smiles sheepishly. “Maybe…. After lunch.” As Health walks away, Spitfire looks over herself to make sure her uniform was straight. After accepting her look, she glances at the clipboard on the door for any quick information. “Coat is Cobalt Blue… Can’t remember name… no date of birth… Blood Type A… Eyes are Crimson Red…” she mumbled as she read through the list, until one listing seemed strange. “Magic reading 17-21?” Pegasi were able to use magic but only to shape, mold, and move the clouds, manipulate the water vapor, and even use the clouds as a surface by creating an ice ‘shoe’ over their hooves. During most tests, a Pegasi’s reading would be around 7, so why did this one have a much higher level… This knowledge went through Spitfires mind but the more she thought about it, the less sense it made. She shrugged it off but it never went away. “What else…” she said to herself as she continued though the list. “Home town, no known family… Additional Details. ‘Patient has Memory loss, but is fast learner. Mentioned she didn’t sleep well… Armour cannot be removed but aided recovery and monitoring… Largest pinions seem have a Golden Shine and colour to them?!” She almost yelled out the last bit. Without a second thought, she ran into the door and it swung open with no resistance. The Pegasus on the other side squeaked in fright from the window as the door slammed into the wall. Both Pegasi panted as they looked at each other. Spitfire had wide eyes and a gaping mouth as she looked at the blue mare wearing armor all over the top half of her body who looked like she had just experienced a mini heart attack while sitting by the window looking back. ‘Blue coat, red eyes, dual blue mane and tail, and golden pinion feather on each wing.’ Spitfire thought to herself. ‘No… no way… it can’t be her… it can’t be…’ “Neon Guardian.” She whispered to herself. That one mare she looked up to, her Idol, was alive right in front of her, facing towards her, moving her lips… ‘Wait, moving her lips!’ Spitfire cleared her throat and hastily straightened herself up. “Sorry, what did you say?” she asked, though she felt her excitement rising within her. “I asked why you slammed the door open?” the Pegasus asked in a soft voice. Spitfire looked at the door she ‘slammed’ open. “Uh… I…” It was the first time she needed to come up for an excuse for something she did without a proper reason. “I…” She let out a sigh after a few more seconds of trying to think of a good reason. “I guess I got a little too excited.” “Excited?” the blue mare cocked her head to the side. A feeling of Déjà vu fell upon Spitfire, feeling as though she went through this before. An image filled her mind of a mare looking forwards her, her mane flowed lightly from the breeze coming through the open window, curtains shifting through the breeze. The mare smiled at her while cocking her head to the side. As quickly as the feeling and image came, the image faded from her mind. ‘What was…’ she thought before shaking her head. “Yes, well…” It was rare to find Spitfire caught on her words and thoughts like this, and any other pony seeing this would not let this slide. She took a deep breath and exhaled to calm herself a little more before looking at the mare. “You look like somepony that I’ve looked up to as a role model and an idol ever since I was a young filly. Somepony who always gave me the motivation to push my limits, achieve my goals, and excel what I have already accomplished.” A small smile formed on her face. “She is why I have made it as far as I have.” The mare opposite to her blinked. “I see. Well…” She looked to the sides for one moment before going back to her. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I am that pony… Or I am, but don’t remember it…” Her sadness could be felt through her voice, she wanted to remember who she was, but never ever came to mind other than that dream she had. “Could you perhaps… tell me more about this pony?” She asked, and spitfire couldn’t help but smile and began talking about her idol, mentioning she once knew her great grandfather of that time, what she had achieved, the moves the Pegasi learnt from her, the battles, everything. Spitfire regretted leaving her keepsakes back at the academy as she would have more than happily showed this mare those items, but she didn’t let that bother her. A few hours past and the mare was told everything Spitfire knew. She was amazed that there was such a pony that existed, but every time a fight was brought up in the explanation, she felt uneasy. She could tell her visitor really looked up to this pony, but every time she was mistaken as Neon, she would try to explain that she wasn’t that pony. Finally, the little info session ended as spitfire had run out of thing to mention, a small silence filled the room before the Blue mare spoke up. “I’m sorry, but I never actually asked who you were.” “You didn’t?” Spitfire asked, but felt a little surprised for a moment that this mare didn’t know who she was until the reminder of memory loss crossed her. “Well, my name is Spitfire, I’m Captain of the Wonderbolts. The Wonderbolts, to the public, are a group of Stunt Fliers, but under the table, we’re the EQRS, Equestrian Quick Response Team, and probably the only ‘Military’ Equestria owns aside from the Royal Guards of Canterlot.” The mare smiles, happy she now knows who this pony was, but a question popped up in her mind. “It’s a pleasure to meet you then, Miss Spitfire. If I may ask, are you the one who was coming to see me today?” Spitfire nodded. “Spitfire is just fine. And yes, I am. I was the one that found you in that crater those few nights ago. The doctor told me about your condition, and I have to say: We’re both amazed you came out of that unharmed. One other thing he told me is that you are healthy enough to be released from the hospital.” The mare turns herself to the side and looks out the window. “There might be a problem with that…” She said as Spitfire walked up close to her. “Why not just use ‘Neon Guardian’?” this caused the mare to quickly turn her head and look at spitfire. “I’m not ‘Neon’, Spitfire.” She stood up slowly, her back legs wobbling a little while the front were firmly on the ground thanks to the armor. She began to walk back and forth, figuring she could get more used to using all four legs. “I may look like this ‘Neon’ pony from the description you’ve given me of her, but I’m not her.” She paused in the middle of one of her steps. “I can’t be.” She then said softly as she lowered her head for just a moment, inwardly hoping her visitor would just drop it. “Why not just go with it for now, not many will know better in this area. It’s mainly Pegasi that know about her, the other won’t know the better unless someone shouts it out.” She was going to keep going, she was sure this was her Idol, it had to be. “Just go with it and you’ll be out of here with no ha-“ “Spitfire!” the mare yelled at her, causing her to freeze up. “I am not going to go out living with the name of a pony who has been dead for a thousand years! And I am not going to say I am that pony without any proof telling me that is who I really am!” Spitfire could see it, she made the mare angry, and it was only now that she figured out it was the best time to drop the subject. She kept still in the mares gaze before slumping and realizing how much of a foal she has been acting since she saw this pony. “Alright.” “If you two are trying to figure out names, why not Sapphire?” a male voice sounded from the door, causing them to both look at Doctor Health who had snuck in. “Doc, Come on. Why are you visiting me so much? Don’t you have better things to do than to talk to this nobo… Nopony here.” The mare motioned to herself. “Actually.” He grinned. “I don’t. And you’re not a Nopony. You’re probably one of the most interesting patients and enjoyable I’ve met in my working lifetime here in Ponyville.” He then turns his eyes to Spitfire. “And I was curious to find out why Captain Spitfire here was eager to meet you, so I snuck in and have been listening since.” Spitfire had been caught off guard and looked around the room while the mare looked down at her armor. “Why didn’t you tell me he had come in?” “You two were in a heated conversation, and I didn’t want to step in between it and interrupt.” was the response she got from the chunks of connected metal plating her top half. Spitfire quickly looked around for the other voice. “Who said that?” The mare sighed as she sat down and raised her right foreleg. “My armor can talk.” Before spitfire could say anything, she was cut off by the armor. “It’s true, the armor can talk, although I am actually a Mechanical Suit designed to…. Aid the master with fitting in and getting her back on her hoofs. I must also voice up and say that the name ‘Sapphire’ the good Doctor Health has suggested would be a fitting name for the Master, albeit a little strange to what I am used to.” Spitfire gawked at the armor while Health walked up to them all with a big ol’ smile on his muzzle. “I’m glad somepony… or some…. Armor? Agrees with me.” He then looked at Spitfire with a smirk as she looked up at him. “And who would have thought the Great Captain of the Wonderbolts, Spitfire herself would have a filly crush for somepony.” “What!?” both the Suit and ‘Sapphire’ said in unison while Spitfire loudly denied his words. “That’s not true Doc!” But Health only pushed on. “I know a filly crush when I see one, Captain. You might deny it, and may not be showing off the usual signs, but the evidence is still there. From what I’ve heard, ‘Neon’ has had a big impact on your life, from the young years to now.” “I can vouch for that Claim, Doc.” Said another voice, this time, it was Soarin that walked in. Spitfire went wide eyed almost instantly before glaring at Soarin. “Don’t you dare Soarin!” He only grinned at her. “Don’t you bucking dare! You promised!” “I do believe I am due to revenge after you blurted out about that Hooficure I had at the local spa, don’t you think so? Besides, telling these two and your idol-lookalike is nothing compared to the entire media, don’t you think so, spits?” She gulped and backed away, she had him there, and regretted breaking that promise she made with him. He had every right for revenge, and he couldn’t have picked the perfect time to do so. She mumbled to herself before sighing. “Fine, fine. Go ahead.” She then raised a pointing hoof at him. “But just them! If I find out more have heard of this, I’ll-“ “Yeah, yeah. ‘Buck you up until next year.’” He cut in before chuckling. “You know, for a Captain, you are still quite foalish, and honestly…” ‘Pause for effect’ he thought to himself. “I miss that side of you, Captain.” "Just shut up and get it over and done with already." she groaned as she made herself comfortable for the embarrassment she would go through. Her and Soarin had been friends of a number of years, and he was the only one out of the whole team that knew about her personal collection and the heirlooms she kept. She was a little surprised Soarin kept his cool around the rooms occupant as he went into great detail about what Spitfire owned that related to 'Neon Guardian'. Everytime something new was brought up about her posessions, Spitfire would glance at her idol lookalike for any reactions to what was listed. She knew what to look for as she was famous herself, and knew exactly what to look for when it came to a 'fan' bragging about their collections. But this mare, showed none of those signs. She just sat there and listened. "How is she fine with all of this?" She thought to herself as she stared at the mare. "She could be showing fake excitement, questioning what I own, looking at me like i'm obsessed or something was wrong with me. It's like none of this means anything to her." It didn't take long before the mare noticed Spitfire staring at her. "Spitfire?" No response... Soarin stopped and looked at Spitfire, noticing he was looking right at the Blue mare. "Hey Captain, you alright there?" Still no response. "Hey Spitty!" He said in a louder voice. Still nothing... He sighed and took a deep breath before shouting "Hey Loogie!" Heath tried to hold back a snicker while Spitfire stared daggers at Soarin. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that, Soarin!" she growled at him as he rolled his eyes. "More than enough." "When are you gonna stop calling me that?" "When it stops working." "What do you mean 'When it stops working'?" Her glare only intensified. "Spits, you were staring at her." He said casually while pointing a limp hoof at the mare. Spitfires glare stopped and she blinked in a confused manner. “I was?” The three others in the room looked at each other for a moment before looking back at her. The three ponies and the armour replied in unison. “Yep.” Spitfire shrank into a corner, averting her gaze elsewhere. She was beginning to hate herself for slipping so far out of line, but Soarin was having none of it. “Spits. Don’t.” “Don’t what?” She asked without looking at him. “Don’t beat yourself up.” Soarin walked over to Spitfire who stubbornly denied. He sighed. “I’ve been by your side ever since we joined the Wonderbolts. I know how you act, what you do, what you say when something is wrong, and right now you have this look that screams ‘I hate myself for such and such’” She couldn’t help but wince at his words, and the fact that he was more observant that she thought. She never would have thought Soarin had an eye for detail, but she never really paid that much attention to him. While Soarin tried to stop her, Health walked over to the current resident of the room they were in. “I have a feeling these two will be the ones that will sign you out, and they will probably pay for the bills as well since you don’t have any Bits on you.” He whispered to her. She looked at Health. “Bits?” Health just smiled and looked at her armor which answered her question. “Bits are the currency that this Country uses.” Followed by a nod of Heath’s head. “Will you be going by the name ‘Sapphire’, or would you like me to put something different down on the release forms?” He asked with a smile. She did think about the name a number of times while the Soarin was listing what Spitfire owned and eventually came to the decision to go by that name. She nodded with a smile. “Sapphire will be fine, Doc.” Heaths smile only grew bigger. “Wonderful! I will go get those papers now while those two over there sort out their little issue… if it is called that.” Soarin was still trying to stop spitfire from beating herself up as the Doctor left to get the papers. ‘Sapphire’ figured it would take a while before everything was fine and decided to practice moving her limbs around and stretching her wings. “Good luck out there Sapphire!” Doctor Health yelled out, waving to her as herself and the two Wonderbolts left the Hospital at a slow pace and headed towards Ponyville. The Doc was right to assume they would pay for her release and was happy when they agreed to go through with the payments. Sapphire was still thinking over what she saw when the three of them entered the reception room, seeing that one pony frantically fixing up her posture at the sight of Spitfire. It was interesting to see, but she wondered why she was like that. “How’s it feel to get out of that hospital, ‘Sapphire’.” Soarin asked as he finished packing Spitfire's uniform in his saddlebags and trotted up next to them. Spitfire wasted no time finishing those papers and leaving the hospital after shedding off her uniform and pushing it to Soarin to store since she had nothing to carry it with her. “I’m… not too sure.” She said as she looked around. “It’s different than this morning that is for sure.” She then looked down at her armor. “What about you Steel Guard?” Steel Guard was the name given to her armor as she felt it wasn’t right to just call it what it was. She felt it had a personality, and was almost like her, so giving it a name seemed appropriate, but how she thought up of the name still left her hanging no matter how much she thought about it. “It’s refreshing to see some color around instead of just the plain white. Definitely is something that can be easily missed when denied from it for even a few days.” Steel semi-lied but did it convincingly, she was learning things. “I don’t think I’ll get used to the fact that there is a pony soul fused with that armor and can control it by will.” Soarin commented as he looked at it in awe. “But I can say that it is impressive none the less. And certainly nothing like the armor I have seen on the Guards.” “I must ask, what is the armor like on these Guards?” Steel asked. Sapphire blinked as her vision as clouded by the screen projected from her earpiece with a smaller box and a bunch of strange symbols within the box she couldn’t understand, but she assumed it was words. Steel told her that every so often the screen would show up when something was needed to be done and to ignore it for the time being. Wasn’t like she had much of a choice, and didn’t complain too much as she could still see what was ahead of her. “Most of the guards these days wear Magically Enchanted plates of metal that is used to protect them from most injuries. The magic strengthens the metal and decreases the chance of anything penetrating through the plates while also altering the physical appearance through a number of spells that alters things like a ponies mane color, coat color and even eye color if need be.” Another voice sounded from above the four. Looking up, the three ponies of the group noticed a lavender coated pony flying above them, slowly lowering towards them. Sapphire looked at Soarin and Spitfire with confusion as both bowed down to the pony as they landed in front of the three of them. ‘Alicorn…’ She heard the distance voice say at the back of her mind. The voice sounded like it was going to add something, but nothing else came. “I don’t think I have seen you before.” The Alicorn said as she looked at Sapphire. “Are you new to Ponyville?” Sapphire nodded while Steel answered. “We are, only just came out of the hospital.” Sapphire couldn’t help but giggle a little while she once again saw a pony today look around for a voice that didn’t come from a pony. The Alicorn looked around but the more she looked, the more confused she became. “Who said that?” Both Spitfire and Soarin got up and Spitfire was the one to answer. “Her armor can talk, Princess.” The Alicorn looked astound by the information and stared at Steel. “Is this true? It can talk?” “It is indeed true. My name is Steel Guard, and the one wearing me is Sapphire.” Sapphire smiled and nodded at Steels words. The Alicorn face blanked for a few seconds as she couldn’t believe such a thing was possible before shaking her head, deciding to look into magic that did that later on. “Ah, I see. Well it’s nice to meet you both.” A smile then grew on her face. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. Bearer of the Element of Magic, and one of the Princesses, but please treat me as if I was just another pony.” Sapphire nodded again while Steel responded. “We can do that.” “Thank you.” Twilight smiled a little more before looking at the two Wonderbolts. “So where are the three… Sorry, four of you going?” “Soarin and Spitfire were going to show me and Steel Guard around Ponyville.” Sapphire answered with a smile. “Speaking of which, can I make a request before we go into town?” Steel spoke up before anything else could be said. “Uh… Sure. What is it?” Soarin asked while looking over at Spitfire she just shrugged. “I need you to take us to where you found Sapphire and myself those few nights ago.” Soarin blinked while Spitfire knew exactly where Steel was referring. “I guess it won’t hurt to take a small detour, but why do you need to go there? It better be a good reason by the way. Soarin and I won’t be setting hoof in that place just for anything.” Soarin give her a look that silent said “Where?” while Steel continued. “It’s reason enough. I believe there are still some pieces of this armor that have been left behind at the crash site. It’s important we get those few pieces.” “Crash site?” Twilight questioned while Spitfire squinted her eyes a little at Steel. “Why are they important?” There was no delay with Steels response. “Without those pieces, Sapphire cannot fly because I weigh too much for her wings to carry without the proper training. Her muscles are severely under developed and wouldn’t even be able to hold her own weight up. Those parts can greatly lighten us both and will be able to help Sapphire learn how to fly without overworking her wings.” "Why not just remove yourself from her?" Twilight asked curiously. "I..." Steel paused, trying to generate a decent answer to follow through, before giving out a sigh. "I can only animate this armor and aid Sapphire while attached to her since I work off her natural magic. A small amount of her natural flow is enough to allow me to do what I need to do, but I have to be in contact with her." Both Sapphire and Steel were assaulted by confused stares with a hint of disbelief. Twilight was the only one who followed through with it though. "If that is the case... I can enchant an item to feed you her natural magic through a direct link between you both." There was a silence for a moment from Steel while all Sapphire could do was stare at the stuff appearing and disappearing from her vision before the screen shut off. "I think that would work. If you can do that, we would be very thankful for that." Sapphire looked down at Steel. "What do you mean 'we'. I didn't agree to anything as far as I'm aware of.” “Every so often I will be required to make the decision of certain things, but not all the time.” “So long as it doesn't get us into trouble, I guess I am okay with that.” She said while looking back up to the three. “So what sort of item would work?” “Any item will work, so long as it is something you can wear. A sweater, bracelet, necklace… Anything.” Twilight said with a smile. She was given an opportunity to try a new spell, why would she turn this down? Sapphire went into deep thought about she wanted to use. An item ranging to just about anything… not an easy pick. She began to think about what she would look like with whatever came into her mind. It was difficult to choose as almost everything she thought of just didn’t tickle her fancy, until she came to the thought of a small black ribbon wrapped around her neck with a small round silver tag hanging off the front. She opened her eyes with a smile and told Twilight the item she wanted. “A black Choker with a tag?” She gave the two wonderbolts a strange look before going back to Sapphire. “Are you sure you want something like that? It’s not exactly something you’d… Um…” She lowered her head a little the more she thought about it. Thankfully Spitfire continued for her. “It’s not exactly something somepony would wear in public Sapphire.” “It’s not?” Sapphire asked innocently as she canted her head to the side. The three of them could tell she was serious, which amazed them. “The innocence is strong with this one.” Steel Guard said out of the blue, but at least the others got the idea of what was intended with the line. And they could see Steel was right, they could literally see it. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to get one…” Twilight hesitantly said. “Might have to see Rarity about it though.” “What’s a Rarity?” Both Steel and Sapphire asked in sync. The group of ponies weren't too far away from the crater. During the trip, Twilight told Sapphire about her friends and what each one of them did, while Soarin and Spitfire followed quietly close behind. It was difficult, but Spitfire was slowly beginning to understand that the pony in front of her wasn’t who she wanted to believe it was. “I guess you were right Soarin.” she sadly confessed, breaking the silence that was between them for the majority of the trip. Soarin looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “Right about what?” Spitfire looked at him for a second before looking at the two in front of her. “You were right about her not being the pony i thought she was.” She then sighed and lowered her head. “Don’t let it get to you Spits.” Soarin tried to reassure her. “I can understand why you thought she was Neon. I would have done the same if I was in your position!” He couldn't help but laugh a little with the thought of him doing the same, and he wasn’t wrong, he would've too. “Yeah…” was all she said, not really feeling like saying much else. Soarin moved closer to her and bumped his shoulder with hers. “Come on, don’t be like that. Everyone has a moment where they see somepony that looks like another pony that they look up to, love, or are looking for.” She lifted her head and looks at him. “That rarely happens thou-” “It still happens.” He cut her off. “Look, if it helps out in any way, why not be her friend at least? I’m sure she could use one after all.” A tiny smirk then grew on the corner of his lips. “And so could you.” Spitfire turned her head away from Soarin and scoffs. “I have friends.” “Yeah. You do. In the Wonderbolts. I’m talking outside of work.” Soarin kept his cool as he casually walked with spitfire. “Do you have any that isn’t a Wonderbolt?” She winced. He had her cornered and there wasn’t anything she could really do about it, and he even knew it. It was one of the benefits he had with being a team, there was a lot that both knew about the other, and this was just one of those things. “No.” she sighed heavily before looking at Sapphire, seeing her smiling as Twilight spoke to her. “Would she want to be my friend though? Would it be an actual friendship and not just a ‘friendship’ because I’m famous and have lots of Bits?” “How did she act when you told her who you were?” Soarin kept his smirk as he asked. “She acted like she had never heard of me or the Wonderbolts. But what is there to say it is not just an act?” She watched the two in front of her. “Well, what is there to say it isn't the real deal.” He countered. “... We’ll see Soarin.” she answered after a short while. While the two Wonderbolts followed, Sapphire and Steel Guard was going over what Twilight had told her, ranging from who her friends were to what the Elements of Harmony were, and even what the Princesses did. “Wait wait wait, so your telling us that the Sun and Moon are actually being controlled by two ponies?” Steel asked with a tone of disbelief. “I’m sorry, but I find that just a little bit difficult to believe.” “I’m with Steel for this one, Twilight.” Sapphire agreed with a nod. “Well you two aren't from around here, and are possibly from one of the more distant towns or from a different country.” Twilight slowed her pace which sapphire did as well. “From what I’ve heard, many species, cultures, and countries believe different things. Everypony has their own assumptions and thoughts. The movement of the Sun and Moon are just one of those topics, but we have proof of how they move. I’ll show you when we leave this forest.” “Speaking of Forest…” Soarin interrupted. “Isn’t it a bit too quiet in here for comfort?” All four of them stopped and perked their ears up. Twilight was the first to nervously speak. “Soarins right, it is too quiet…” she then looks at Sapphire. “Let’s just go to this place, get what you need, and get out of here before something happens.” “Follow me.” Spitfire said as she ran past them. The other three followed closely after Spitfire, trying their best to keep up. “It’s not too far away.” Spitfire shouted as she ran. The three behind her could just see the crater on the distance, but the only one who was amazed was Twilight as she skidded to a halt on the rim of the crater with wide eyes, an open mouth and pupils the size of pinpricks as they all arrived. “I did this?” Sapphire stammered, shocked by the size of the crater. “WE did this.” Steel corrected her. Sapphires vision went blue as the screen appeared and lines of text scrolled over the screen while small thin boxes flashed about the screen, focusing more around the center area of the crater. Soarin couldn’t help but whistle at the damage in front of him. “Remind me not to stand in Sapphires path when she’s on the move… Ow, hey!” He shouted at the end as Spitfire hit him in the shoulder harder than needed. He sat and rubbed his hoof against the spot that was hit. “That hurt.” he mumbled. “Oh harden up Soarin, you’re a full grown stallion, not a young colt. You can take it.” Spitfire said with smirk. “Or do I need to treat you like a colt.” Soarin grew a massive grin. “Yep!” Spitfire grew a grin herself, but had an evil glint in her eye. “I’ll go get the diapers then.” She began to turn before Soarin stopped her. “Nonononono! I’m a stallion, I’m a stallion!” He yelled out desperately. “I’ll take the hit!” “Good.” Was all she said as she turned back and looked at Sapphire. “So why aren’t you down there finding what you need?” “There’s no need to be as I can find them quite easily from here.” Steel answered. In Sapphires ear, she heard a beep and four of the boxes turned red, but one of them had thicker lines with some text next to it. “There we are. Sorry Sapphire, but let me take the wheel for a moment.” “Take the whe-AH!” she yelped as her forelegs began to move on their own towards the thicker box. “Why are my legs moving?!” She yelled in shock while her back legs were dragged along the ground which caused both Spitfire and Soarin to laugh at the display while Twilight came out of her daze and gave Sapphire a strange look as she saw what was happening. “Lift your back legs and just move them as if you were walking.” Steel said into her ear. She did what she was told and stopped herself from being dragged. “How are you doing this?” She asked. “I’ll explain later when it is much safer.” Steel answered. They both stopped over where the thicker box was and she stared at it. “So… what now?” “Sit down.” She followed the orders and did just that. “Now, you’re going to feel a little more weight than usual on your rear.” Before she could question Steel, her forelegs lifted up and she almost lost balance but was able to stop herself from falling forward. Steel was right though, there was more weight. Suddenly, small metal digits from the ends of her forehoofs popped out and wiggled about in front of her. “What are those?” “They’re called fingers.” Was all Steel told her before her forelegs lowered against the ground and by using the ‘fingers’, moves the dirt to the side as they both dug at the ground. Twilight walked up next to them. “Did you find what you wer-WHAT THE HAY ARE THOSE!” she shouted as extended one of her wings and used the feathers to point at Sapphires hooves. “Apparently they are called ‘Fingers’.” Sapphire said softly as she watched the dirt being moved away from the red box in her vision. “You’d be amazed what they can do.” Steel commented. "Use them when you need the Flex-a-bility..." Steel said in sing song before getting a raised eyebrow from Sapphire. They kept digging into the ground before something poke out from the dirt. The object that came into view caused the red box to change to green. “Here it is.” “What is it?” Sapphire asked as Steel pulled out the object. “It’s the main unit for the AMG’s.” All Steel got was silence. There was a sigh. “Aerial Maneuver Gear…” More silence. “The things that will allow Sapphire to fly with me equipped.” Steel ‘groaned’. “Ooh.” Twilight and Sapphire said in unison. The fingers took hold of the buried device and was able to easily remove it from the earth. “Still looks operational.” Steel retracted the fingers and places the armored hoof on the device. More of Sapphires vision went away as more and more boxes of text appeared and scrolled. Where one box disappeared, another would take it’s place. “What is all this?” Sapphire asked as she tried to keep up with whatever was in front of her. “Data, Words, Numbers. I’ll teach you how to read them later.” Steel answered. All the boxes then disappeared. “Stand up.” Sapphire did that and Steel made her move back a few steps. “Activating AMG’s. First time start-up initiated, Running diagnostic… ‘Essence Limiter’ installing... Hardware operational. Connecting AMGs to platform.” Steel announced in a monotone voice. Sapphire blinked as she felt the armor over her torso jolt. She turned her head to see if she could find what made the armor jolt, but was greeted by Twilights wide eyes looking at her back. “Twilight?” She looked stunned while staring at Sapphires back. “What’s going on?” “Engaging Energy Links.” came Steels monotone voice again and something caught both of their eyes. In front of Sapphire, was the same device she just dug up, but the flat part of it was giving off a glow. “Distributing Energy to remaining Units.” Three spots began to give off a blue glow from under the dirt. “Powering up.” The ‘Main unit’ levitated up in front of the two ponies, followed by the other ‘units’ erupting from their earthen burials. The base of the four units then released a glowing, luminescent cloud which began to harden when it reached a certain point. The new part of those four ‘units’ glowed as they finished hardening. “Magical Essence Solidification Process complete. AMG’s Operational.” Steel announced as the ‘AMGs’ floated over to Sapphires back and levitated over her. “Now, you can fly.” Steel said without the monotone voice and a large green tick appeared in Sapphires vision. Back at the rim of the crater, both Spitfire and Soarin stared at the other two ponies with wide eyes and gaping mouths. “Did… you just see…” Soarin started. “Y-yeah… I did.” Spitfire finished. Both of them shook their heads and made their way over to the others. “What was all of that.” Sapphire just shrugged. “I have no idea, but apparently these are what will let me fly now.” Twilight was staring at the new additions and next to her was a notepad and a pencil scribbling something on the notepad. All four of them froze up as a number of low growls were heard from behind them. All four slowly turned to see a number of Manticores staring at them with drool dripping from their mouths and a few of them licking their lips. The four could see they were hungry, and as it turns out, they were the main course. “RUN!” Spitfire shouted as she quickly extending her wings and launched herself into the air, followed by Soarin and Twilight who shot up after her in close succession. After getting to a certain height, spitfire stopped and looked back to see only Twilight and Soarin. “Wait, where’s Sapphire?” She asked in a panicked tone before looking down and seeing the armored mare begin surrounded by the manticores on the ground. It was difficult to see, but he could tell Sapphire was scared by the way she stood and her wings extended slightly. Twilight looked down and saw the same thing and turns to dive for the mare. “Sapphire!” Sapphire couldn’t move, she felt paralysed under the gaze of all the manticore. “Sapphire, we need to get out of here! Sapphire!” Steel called to her through her ear, but she didn't do anything. Her pupils went wide as she saw one of the Manticores launch themselves at her, claws extended and glinting under the remaining afternoon sunlight and a gaping maw of sharp teeth racing at her. “SAPPHIRE!” “Your time has not come.” a voice said in the back of her mind as her vision went black.