When the Mane Seven and the unconscious Nightshade arrived at the place where they had last seen the Shadowbolts and the Wonderbolts, they found a unhappy scene. Misty Fly had been knocked out and Silver Lining was bleeding from a nasty gash in his right hoof. Surprise had a black eye and her goggles were broken, and Wave Chill was bruised all over, his suit was veritably torn to shreds, and his tail was twisted in a knot. The Shadowbolts were much worse off though. Charger’s shades were broken and he was pressing a hoof to his head in pain, Iceheart was bleeding from all four hooves, and Blackwing’s wing was twisted at a strange angle. Hawkflight was lying unconscious on the ground, Darkfire had a black eye and a torn suit, and Blueball Blitz was bleeding from the left hoof, right wing, and left cheek. Twilight healed the injured Wonderbolts with a simple spell while Dash enclosed the Shadowbolts in separate cages.
As the large group of ponies comprising the Mane Seven, the Wonderbolts, and the caged Shadowbolts headed toward Ponyville to catch the Canterlot train, Rainbow and Spitfire told the story of how they defeated the Captain of the Shadowbolts, Nightshade Fyre II.
“So after I sent you the message that we would take care of your opposition, Spitfire here summoned the Wonderbolts with the amulet that you gave her, Twi,” said Dash. “Nightshade called Blitz and the others to battle them, thus the injuries.”
“Dash, Soarin’ and I stayed to fight Nightshade. We found that our amulets are very useful in battle,” continued Spitfire. “We don’t have to say anything that our enemy can pick up. Soarin’ distracted Nightshade while Dash and I performed a quick display of how far we’ve come since the last time we saw her.”
“Typical of Nightshade, she tried to copy Soarin’s move. We were too smart for her. I broke her shades, effectively distracting her, while Spits got the stun grenade we planted in a cloud earlier primed. Nightshade broke my fourth rib, but I discreetly healed it, saving the knowledge of my pegasus magic to show her later and possibly stun her.”
“While Dashie was distracting Nightshade, I was getting the stun grenade. Basically our plan was for Dash to distract her while I primed a stun grenade. Then, I would use the grenade to knock her out, Dash would enclose her in a prison, tada.”
“I decided to show off my own magic after a bit of the teleportation sorcery left over from Nightmare Moon-long story-thwarted one of my best attacks. Simple attack, just a rock and telekinesis. I didn’t expect it to even make Nightshade flinch. But when the first telltale glow flared from my wing, she seemed to freeze, turn to stone faster than we can do with Discord. I guess she was stunned by the realization that I had unleashed the magic inside me, that I was ten times more powerful than I was as a cadet at the Academy, and she didn’t even see the rock until it hit her. My aim was true. She was hit squarely in the chest.”
“As my old nemesis and former student fell, I performed a flameboom and threw up the now-primed stun grenade. My fire ignited it and it exploded in Nightshade’s face. Dash and I both could’ve let her slam into the ground without a thought, but we knew that she should be tried for her crimes in front of all four Royal Princesses.”
“Stopping Nightshade’s falling figure with my magic moments before she hit the ground at over 50 mph, I pulled a titanium cage and rope net from a portal and enclosed her in them. And that’s when we heard your voice, Rarity.”
Over the course of the long-winded story, Pinkie had done five spit takes, Twilight’s expressions had gained an even wider range, Fluttershy had hidden in Applejack’s saddlebags, Rarity was in awe, and Applejack tried to congratulate the pair while supporting Fluttershy’s weight. All the Shadowbolts had had a sleep spell put on them by Twilight, but the Wonderbolts were cheering for their former captain and her partner. They had also reached the Ponyville train station without noticing.
“All aboard for Canterlot!” cried the conductor.
“Oh, good. We didn’t miss the train. Let’s go!” called Twilight from the head of the line. The twenty-four ponies boarded the train and arranged themselves and the cages Twilight, Rainbow, and Rarity were carrying all into one carriage. They got some strange looks due to the six caged ponies they were transporting, though Twilight had tried to find an empty carriage. Five minutes later they were on their way to Canterlot.