//------------------------------//
// Chapter 46: Combat Demonstrations 
// Story: Piercing the Heavens 
// by Calm Wind 
//------------------------------//

MLP: FiM
Piercing the Heavens
By: Calm Wind
Chapter 46:

(MY APOLOGIES. There is a typo I just fixed in the last chapter. Spitfire mentioned ten minute matches or held to the ground for ten seconds. That’s supposed to be five minutes or held for five seconds, my mistake.)





Spitfire left the giddy recruits behind and glided back over to the group of Wonderbolts picking through the sets of battle armor.

“Hold up, hold up…” she called to them before any of them could start putting armor on. She landed and folded her wings before shaking her head. “Everypony hold themselves… you’re not all going to get a chance to fight,” she quickly explained. The response she got was mixed. 

“Can I just leave now?” Point Dex raised his hoof. Spitfire instantly shook her head.

“Nice try Dex…” she looked between them all. “We have time for four standard sparring matches. Also… these will be straight up matches. No effects or clouds, only fighting.” Spitfire paused as Blaze, High Winds, and Wave Chill all groaned. “Deal with it,” she huffed. “We only have the battle dome for an hour time slot and it’s already taken us fifteen minutes to get everypony in here. So let’s not waste any time… everyone have their I.D. cards?” as she asked they all held up said I.D. cards… minus Macho Savage who flexed his arm instead. “Savage…” Spitfire narrowed her eyes.

“Oh… you mean THIS I.D. card…” Savage put his arm down and pulled out his Wonderbolt I.D. “Oh yeah, you gotta be more specific boss lady!” 

“Whatever… now who brought the—” she stopped as Silver handed a small plastic bowl towards her. “There we go!”





“Wait… they choose who fights who… through a raffle?” Dash blinked. Storm chuckled beside her.

“You sound disappointed,” he nudged her in the side, but she just threw her hooves forward.

“Well, come on! You’ve seen some of the technology they have around here! A raffle? I dunno, just seems a little… low tech,” said Dash with a raised eyebrow.

“According to Point Dex,” Storm chimed in, “Spitfire decided on a raffle system to keep the selections completely random. She never lets the same Wonderbolt fight another twice in a row. They must fight a different Wonderbolt every time…”

“So they don’t get used to the same opponent?” Matteo suddenly spoke up from directly above Storm.

“GAH!” Storm flinched as he looked up right into Matteo’s genuine glare.

“What?” Matteo tipped his head in confusion as Dash snickered.

“Sheesh big guy, be careful, do you have any idea how scary you can be?!” Storm joked as she smirked up at the towering griffon.

“Trust me, I know,” Matteo replied… seriously. Storm rolled his eyes with a smile before continuing.

“To answer your question, O’giant of feathers…” Storm picked up where he left off. “Yes, it’s to keep Wonderbolts from getting too comfortable fighting others. Apparently it’s the same within the squads themselves. If I fought Point Dex today, I’d have to fight Autumn or Savage once before being permitted to fight Dex again.”

“Yow, so many rules…” Dash cringed at the thought. She’d follow rules set by the Wonderbolts without a second thought… but it didn’t mean she liked it. She preferred freedom over authority… and luckily the Wonderbolts seemed to have a healthy balance of both.

“Silly,” Matteo huffed. “Back home you want to fight another griffon... you punch them across the beak. If they don’t fight back, they’re a coward,” he nodded contently at the thought while crossing his arms over his chest. Storm turned towards Matteo with a smirk.

“Get used to it Puff Ball, around here a punch across the face isn’t the best how-dee-doo,” Storm quickly countered. Matteo narrowed his eyes at him, but again couldn’t hide the small smile on the edge of his beak. 

“Puff Ball?” Matteo snorted, but his voice sounded more amused than angry. “I ought to give you a nice griffon ‘how-dee-doo’ right now for that one…” 

“Oh really—?” Storm was about to continue, but Dash grabbed him by the face and glared at him.

“QUIET! I’M TRYING TO GET PSYCHED HERE!” she yelled while shaking him. She snapped her eyes to Matteo and hissed. “YOU TOO!” she ordered before letting go of Storm. He nearly fell over on top of her as she did, but held himself steady before blinking and glancing up at Matteo. Matteo just shrugged and the two looked on with Dash as Spitfire shook up the bowl of I.D. cards and reached in to make the first selection.





The mood was mixed amongst the Wonderbolts as Spitfire swirled the I.D. cards around in the bowl. Some were eager for some action, some were eager for a fight, some were eager to show off in front of the recruits, and one brainy Wonderbolt would rather be elsewhere. 

Fleetfoot blinked as she heard a tapping noise beside her. She glanced to her right to see Soarin bouncing subtly. He had a very wide grin plastered to his face and was tapping his hoof repeatedly against the mat. 

Soarin wanted all of the above. Action, a fight, and to show off. He was feeling ALL of them! Nothing like a good brawl to get the adrenaline pumping! He could barely sit still in anticipation.

“Do you have to use the bathroom or something?” Fleetfoot asked as she eyed him quizzically. Soarin exhaled and started chuckling.

“Naw, I just really wanna kick somepony's ass right now!” he said very loudly. All the Wonderbolts turned and looked at him. Even Spitfire stopped shuffling the bowl and glanced at him. “Hey! Come on! Let’s go!” he complained once everything stopped. Spitfire narrowed her eyes at him before returning to the bowl and reaching in.

“Alright…” Spitfire began as she reached into the bowl, dug her hoof into the cards and pulled out a random one. “First up is…” she turned the card over. “Blaze.”

“HELL YEAH!” Blaze leapt up and punched towards the ceiling. “Let me at ‘em!” she began hopping back and forth on her back hooves while jabbing at the air in front of her.

“And Blaze will be fighting…” Spitfire reached back in, ruffled around the cards, and pulled out another. As soon as she looked at tag her eyes widened for a moment. All the Wonderbolts watched and waited as Spitfire let out a long groan followed by tipping her head back. “Fleetfoot…”

Soarin instantly stopped bouncing and his ears drooped. Damn… he wanted to throw down…

“YES!” Both Fleetfoot and Blaze yelled at the same time. Blaze instantly shot Fleetfoot a glare as Fleetfoot burst out laughing. 

“What are you so happy about Blazey?” Fleetfoot taunted.

“I’m happy I get to kick your ass!” Blaze snapped back while getting in Fleetfoot’s face and grinding her teeth together.

“Remind me how this always goes again?” Fleetfoot snidely pressed her nose to Blaze’s and stuck her tongue out.

“I’ll tell ya how THIS one is gonna go!” Blaze growled as Spitfire stepped up and pushed them apart.

“Ladies, not the time. Let’s just get this over with,” she said while pointing towards the pile of training armor.

“Your ass is grass along with your sass!” Blaze tried and failed to deliver a witty threat as she turned and eagerly dug through the armor for a set her size. Fleetfoot was about to do the same, but Spitfire caught her by the shoulder before she could move.

“Fleet…” Spitfire gave her a stern look. “Don’t humiliate her too much, okay?”

“Can’t make any promises,” Fleetfoot giggled and winked before leaving Spitfire behind. Spitfire made a move to argue, but realized this was Fleetfoot, and Blaze would most likely instigate it anyway. The best course of action was to just let it happen and get to the next fight.

Spitfire took flight and glided out to the center of the battle dome arena and waited patiently for Blaze and Fleetfoot to come forward. In the interest of time, Spitfire began explaining the rules per standard procedure.

“You both know how the standard sparring matches go,” she started. “Five minutes, unless one of you gets pinned for a five count or one of you somehow manages to get knocked out while wearing a faceguard…” she paused and glanced back and forth at them. Fleetfoot was making silly faces at Blaze and Blaze looked like her face was going to turn red from anger. They weren’t even listening to her. “Oh, forget it, just get to the starting positions and wait for my go.”

“I’m beating the shit out of you!” Blaze yelled as the two turned and walked to the start spots. Fleetfoot casually waved with her back turned.

“If you say so!” she taunted back, earning more growling and swearing from Blaze as Fleetfoot giggled her way over to her spot.

The two turned and faced each other, a good thirty yards apart. Spitfire looked back and forth at them, and then up at the scoreboard to see it set to five minutes. She glanced over at the control box for the board and an earth pony staff member gave her a wave. Spitfire nodded and took a deep breath.

“BEGIN!” she yelled as she pushed her wings forward to back herself all the way up to where the rest of the Wonderbolts were watching from.

Blaze fired toward Fleetfoot, hooves ready and teeth bared while growling dramatically. Fleetfoot smirked as she waited for Blaze to close in, rise up and come crashing down with a hay maker. Fleetfoot stepped aside at the last moment, letting Blaze’s hooves slam to the mat. Fleetfoot gave Blaze’s mane two gentle strokes.

“You know you’re mane isn’t quite as—” Fleetfoot jumped back and began blocking a flurry of punches from Blaze. “—awesome as your half-sister’s. It lacks the second color, so honestly—” Fleetfoot dropped to her stomach as a punch from Blaze zoomed over her head. Fleetfoot pressed her hooves and wings hard to the ground to propel herself into the air. Blaze gave chase, but Fleetfoot spread her wings out after rising only ten feet, causing Blaze to fly past her and flail as she tried to slow her momentum. “—it doesn’t quite look so good… WELP! I guess Spitfire got the better genes!”

“RGGH!” Blaze looped back down and headed straight for Fleetfoot. Fleetfoot started flying away from Blaze, but purposely gauging her speed so Blaze could catch up. “QUIT RUNNING!” Blaze yelled as she slowly caught up.

“Blazey… dearest…” Fleetfoot taunted as she turned around, facing her right side towards Blaze. “If I was trying to run from you—” Blaze caught up and began throwing wild punches at Fleetfoot. Fleetfoot, with only her right arm, blocked every punch and kick Blaze tried to land. Fleetfoot smirked as Blaze tried to no avail to land a blow. As Blaze launched a hoof towards Fleetfoot’s face, Fleetfoot let it pass by her nose, and then reached up with her right arm, hooking it with Blaze’s. Fleetfoot tugged her forward and put Blaze in a headlock from behind. “—you would NEVER catch me… wanna see?” Fleetfoot giggled as she tensed her wing muscles and began pumping them as hard as she could.

Blaze growled and struggled in Fleetfoot’s grip, but she couldn’t get free. Fleetfoot dragged her towards the edge of the arena. As soon as they were near the wall, Fleetfoot pumped her wings harder and harder. She picked up speed… LOTS of speed. She began making circles around the large arena with Blaze in tow. Faster and faster and faster and faster she went. Soon she was going so fast… the recruits got to see firsthoof why she was known as the Silver Streak. The two became a blur of white and orange as one sonic boom sounded out, causing all the recruits to flinch as the shockwave hit them. 

“AH! DAMMIT!!!” Blaze yelped as she felt the g-forces weigh down on her.

“Feel the speed, Blazey!” Fleetfoot yelled as she continued to pick up speed. 

Dash watched with awe. She had yet to actually witness Fleetfoot’s combat up close… but what was really blowing her away was Fleetfoot’s speed. Fleetfoot has just broken through an aircone, causing a sonic boom… and… looked like she was heading towards making a second? Was that even possible? Dash had seen Fleetfoot do so at a show a long time ago… but she was diving, adding to her speed. Here Fleetfoot was literally flying using her own wing strength… could she really break a second air cone without the assistance of gravity?

“Ready Blazey?! Here comes the good one!” Fleetfoot yelled as Blaze found herself no longer able to move under the force of Fleetfoot’s speed. Another aircone began forming.

Dash’s mouth hung open. Fleetfoot was going to do it… no… freaking… way.

“HRGH!!!!” Fleetfoot grunted as the force began to weigh on her, but her swift and strong wing strokes pushed her through, countering the heavy forces that tried to swat her down. She pushed her wing strength to the limit, as the aircone began to strain… and burst around her, causing another sonic boom. “AW YEAH! FEEL THAT, BLAZEY!” Fleet yelled as they began making circles around the large arena, the laps counting up in nearly one second per pass.

Then Blaze bit Fleetfoot’s arm.

“YEEEOW!” Fleetfoot freaked out… and let go of Blaze.

“WhoooooaaaAAAAA!!!!” Blaze yelped as the momentum sent her right into the outer wall of the arena. She began bouncing, but still moving forward due to the incredible velocity built up by Fleetfoot’s double sonic boom. She tried to open her wings, but it only made it worse. As soon as her wings caught the air, the wind resistance forced her body to turn back into the arena and nose dive directly into the mat.

All the Wonderbolts and recruits cringed as Blaze struck the mat hard and began bouncing several timed before she skidded face first across the mat and eventually came to a complete stop.

“That’s… gonna leave a mark…” Spitfire said to herself as she watched Fleetfoot land beside Blaze.

“That’s what you get for biting me Blazey…” Fleetfoot chuckled as she bent down. Blaze wasn’t moving. “Oh shit… did she knock herself—?” 

Blaze suddenly launched herself from the ground, twisted her body and aimed a hoof right for Fleetfoot’s jaw. She had been playing possum and had a clear opening.

Or so she thought.

Fleetfoot ducked down and latched onto Blaze’s arm. Fleetfoot shifted her body and lurched forward, heaving Blaze over her back and slamming her back-first into the mat. Blaze’s eyes snapped open and she growled as she pressed her wings to the ground to propel herself back up. She didn’t take into account the fact that Fleetfoot was still holding on though. Fleetfoot used Blaze’s self-generated momentum to swing her over her back again and slam Blaze back to the mat stomach first this time. 

Fleetfoot quickly straddled Blaze’s back and pressed her forearms to the back of Blaze’s neck. Blaze’s face was half pressed to the ground with the faceguard not helping in that respect, and the other half was glaring up at Fleetfoot as she pinned Blaze down.

“Feels like a soft breeze in here!” Fleetfoot taunted as she began blowing air into Blaze’s face.

“BITCH!” Blaze yelled up.

“Aw, I love you too!” Fleetfoot taunted as she reached down and hugged Blaze while keeping her pinned down.

“RGGGGHHHHH!!!!!”

“And FIVE!” Spitfire yelled as she glided in. Fleetfoot let up on Blaze and stepped back. Blaze got up and thrust herself at Fleetfoot, but Spitfire grabbed her by the tail and yanked her back roughly.

“OW!” Blaze yelped as she was tossed to the mat by her sister.

“Blaze… five count. You lost,” Spitfire glared at her.

“THE DAMN I DID!” Blaze snapped back as she ripped her faceguard off, straps and all and butted heads with Spitfire. Spitfire quickly reached forward and grabbed Blaze by the chest piece of her armor and pulled her closer so Blaze’s nose was uncomfortably pressed against hers.

“YEAH. YOU DID. Now simmer down!” Spitfire ordered before pushing Blaze away from her. Blaze winced and shook her head out before growling and puffing her cheeks out.

“Alright, let’s see who’s next up…” said Spitfire as she ignored her overzealous half-sister. Spitfire grabbed the bowl again as the Wonderbolts gathered around. Another scuffle broke out between Fleetfoot and Blaze as they were discarding their armor, but nopony paid mind because that was just another day at the office with them. None of them had to look to know that Fleetfoot would eventually have Blaze on the ground in some fashion while taunting her.





“That… was sick…” Dash looked on into the arena starry-eyed. It had been so long since she saw the match between Soarin and Rapidfire. Fleetfoot and Blaze weren’t quite as exciting but it was really cool to see Fleetfoot marehandle Blaze almost effortlessly. Fleetfoot definitely earned her spot in the lead squad.

“Too bad they didn’t hump each other again…” Twister suddenly said from the other side of Storm. Storm just flattened his brow and didn’t answer. Thunderlane, who was sitting in front of Dash, suddenly flinched and turned around to face Twister.

“Wait… WHAT?!” he gave Twister a very disturbed look. To which Twister merely winked at. Dash quickly reached down and forced Thunderlane to turn back around.

“Ignore the silly pony, watch the badasses,” Dash ordered as Spitfire readied to make the next selection.





Soarin began grinning and bouncing again as Spitfire stuck her hoof back into the bowl. DAMN he wanted to fight. WOOO HAAAAA he wanted to clobber somepony. He whipped his head back and forth as he began hopping back and forth, drawing weird looks from the other Wonderbolts around him.

“Alright, alright, alright, hoo haa!” Soarin chanted to himself as his grin widened.

Silver eyed Soarin carefully before scrunching his face in disapproval. He didn’t know what had gotten into Soarin, but it was starting to irritate him. He genuinely respected Soarin as a fighter and a fellow Wonderbolt. Seeing Soarin like this was… shameful. His composure and decency had suddenly ceased to exist. It was really bothering Silver.

“Next we have…” Spitfire pulled out an I.D. card and rolled her eyes. “Oh joy… we have Air Mach…”

“WAY AHEAD OF YA!” Air Mach called from the center of the arena. Spitfire blinked and looked over her shoulder to see Air Mach already wearing a full set of training armor and waiting in the center circle. He was still wearing his ridiculous sunglasses, despite them fitting awkwardly with the padded headpiece. 

“And…” Spitfire completely ignored Air Mach and dug out another card. “Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me… and Macho—”

“—SAVAGE IS READY!!!!!” Macho Savage was also already over in the inner circle with Air Mach wearing a full set of training armor. He two managed to keep his ski mask type glasses on even with the padded headpiece making it awkward.

“My own system… giving me migraines…” Spitfire sighed as she handed the bowl to Silver and flew over in between the two… idiots. “Okay guys… I would like for this to—”

“SAVAGE!” Air Mach did a pirouette and pointed dramatically at his former squad mate. “AT LONG LAST! WE MEET AGAIN!”

“You changed squads four days ago—” Spitfire tried to interject to no avail.

“SHOW ME SAVAGE! SHOW ME THE BURNING FIRE OF YOUR STALLION SOUL!” Air Mach continued. 

Macho Savage had stood completely still during Air Mach’s opening exclamation. Spitfire glanced at Savage just in time to see him make a head fake towards her.

“What was that?” Spitfire pouted at him. Savage cracked his neck.

“Happened so fast you can’t even TALK about it…” he began. “Lucky pony, yeah, out there SOMEWHERE is gonna win a silver cloud, what a lucky, lucky, lucky pony…” he droned on. Spitfire didn’t even try to understand what he was saying but he kept going. “And Animak… if YOU cross hooves with THE Macho Savage and escape with your LIFE, you are a lucky, lucky pony yeah. That’s what they're gonna be callin’ ya…” Savage suddenly reached behind him and lifted up a plastic waste basket. Spitfire recognized it as one of the trash bins by the desks in their offices. 

“Cause comparatively speaking to the MACHO SAVAGE…” he held up the waste basket. “You are nothin’ but GARBAGE yeah… nothin’ but garbage… and I’m talkin’ inevitable… and I’m talkin’ you can’t HANDLE it with me comin’ at ya…” he reached into the bin and pulled out a towel, “Spitfire here’s a cryin’ towel…” he draped it over Spitfire’s head and she instantly pulled it off her face while flattening her ears and brow at Savage, but he was far from done.

“AND I WANT YOU TO GIVE THAT TO ANIMAK!” he smacked the bottom of the bin, knocking it out of his grip. Spitfire ducked as the bin flew over her head and landed on the mat behind her. “Yeeeeeeah… cause THINGS are just poppin’ right now… things are startin’ to cultivate… things are startin to grow…” he began turning in a slow circle as he spoke. Spitfire was losing her patience.

“Savage—”

“THINGS ARE GETTING REEEEEEEEEEEEAL COLORFUL!” Savage drowned her out as he turned and pointed towards Air Mach.  “Animak, comparatively speaking… you are like a grain of sand in the desert… yeeeeaahhh… and I AM THE ENTIRE DESERT!!!!” Savage pointed at Spitfire. “I’m tellin ya now Lady Captain… DON’T bet against me…”

“That’s enough Sav—”

“DON’T lose your life… DON’T change your life! The time is getting near!”

“Savage!” Spitfire snapped. “You are WASTING our time!”

“Ohhh yeeeaaah, doesn’t matter… NOTHIN’ matters… no… NOTHIN’ matters except this match… which I will WIN. Oh yeah, Animak climbing the garbage can… cause COMPARITIVELY SPEAKING… you are nuthin’… but garbage…” he pointed at Air Mach again. Spitfire stayed silent for a couple of seconds before stepping up.

“Done?” she asked calmly.

“Oh, I’m never done… yeah…” Savage replied before once again being silent. Spitfire took it as a yes.

“Brought a tear to my eye Savage!” Air Mach thrust his hoof into the air and shook it. “Your souls burns bright and true! I accept your challenge! Just give the word Captain!” he said towards Spitfire, but she was already walking away.

“Just start fighting already…” she waved as she lifted off to get a safe distance.

“ALRIGHT SAVAGE! YOU HEARD THE LADY! IT’S TIME FOR US TO SEE WHO HAS COOLER MOVES! YOU FIRST!” Air Mach belted out towards Mach Savage. Savage cracked the joints in his hooves and bobbed his head back and forth.

“DON’T mind if I do! OH YEAH!!!” Savage leapt towards Air Mach. “DIVING DOUBLE AXE HANDLE!” Savage yelled as he twisted his body in the air, put his hooves together and slammed them over the top of Air Mach’s head. Air Mach’s head and body were forced to the mat and Savage jumped back while striking a few ridiculous poses. “YEAH! FEEL THE MADNESS!” he yelled while flexing his top heavy body.

“Not bad!” Air Mach stood right back up, completely unaffected by Savage’s attack. It was partly due to the padded armor he was wearing, but as Air Mach had proved often, he had a very hard head. “MY TURN!”

“Bring the SPICE!” Savage yelled as he stood at the ready. Air Mach set his hooves and leaned back. Bouncing a few times before launching himself at Savage.

“WHO-THE-HELL-DO-YOU-THINK-I-AM-KIIIIIIIICK!!!!!!!!” Air Mach yelled as he shot through the air and aimed a back hoof at Savage’s face. Just as Air Mach had before, Savage stood perfectly still as Air Mach’s hoof collided with the cheek-guard of Savage’s headpiece. Savage was sent twisting through the air, tumbling to a halt ten yards away.

“I ain’t even feelin' it!” Savage yelled as he instantly stood upright. Air Mach pointed towards him.

“That’s what I’m talking about Savage! NOW GIMME ANOTHER!” Air Mach yelled while holding his ground.

“OOOOOH YEEEEEAHH!!!!!” Savage yelled as he ran at Air Mach and leapt into the air… again. He used the same motions as his last attack… only leading with an elbow instead of his hooves. “SUPER SLAM!!!!!!!” He yelled as he drove his elbow into Air Mach’s headpiece again. Air Mach fell to the ground… again… and stood right back up… again.

“Similar moves! Different styles! You know how to impress Savage!” Air Mach smirked and pointed. “ARE YOU READY FOR MY NEXT ATTACK!?” he asked as Savage stepped back and pointed at his face.

“You couldn’t break this image of pure beauty if you tried! YEAH!” Savage beckoned. Air Mach pulled back and launched himself towards Savage.

“THIS IS MY ATTACK IF SOMEONE TOUCHES MY ONE AND ONLY MARE!” he exclaimed as he careened towards Savage. 

“Oh god…” Fleetfoot face hoofed as she overheard.

“HOOVES-OFF-MY-BELOVED-FLEETFOOT-PUUUUUUUUUUUNCH!” Air Mach pulled his hoof back and punched Savage in the face… again. Savage skidded back across the mat with his hooves, but didn’t go the ground.

“OH YEAH! I LIKE ME THE EXPOSITION!” Savage commented while shaking his head out. 

“Your passion makes me proud to call you a fellow stallion!” Air Mach pointed. “Now we must fight face to face!” He jumped at Savage again, who in turn, jumped at Air Mach. The two slammed together, grappling each other by the shoulders and butting heads.

“You can’t beat the Madness at his own game!” Savage yelled as the two struggled against each other’s strength. Air Mach’s eyes widened from behind his sunglasses as he felt himself being hoisted into the air. Savage soon had Air Mach up in the air above him, ready to suplex him. “SNAP INTO A SLIM JIM!!!!!” Savage roared out as he flipped Air Mach over his body, heading back first for the mat.

But right before he hit the mat, Air Mach swung his legs around and slammed his back hooves to the ground, halting his body from colliding roughly with the mat. The two were now stuck in an awkward position, both completely bent over backwards while still grappling each other by the shoulders. Both upside-down and face to face. 

“HA! Little do you realize Savage…” Air Mach began. “I have a finishing move that requires me be start in this position!” he claimed as he began straining his whole body. This time Savage was surprised as Air Mach began to stand upright… while hauling Savage’s massive body up into the air over him. “PERFECT-COMBUSTION-OF-A-STALLION’S-SOUL-CANNONBALL-ATTACK!!!!!!!!!”  Air Mach yelled as he flipped Savage over and aimed to slam him down stomach first on the mat.

But instead, Savage just landed upright on his back hooves. 

The two paused for a moment, still grappling, but not sure where to go from there. 

“HA!” Air Mach scoffed. “BACK WHERE WE STARTED! I DIDN’T KNOW A FINISHING MOVE COULD WORK IN REVERSE!”

“Alright, That’s all I can take…” Spitfire flew up and pushed the two of them apart. Air Mach blinked and looked up at the scoreboard clock. 

“Hey! We still had a minute left!” he complained.

“The Madness can’t be interrupted!” Macho Savage whined. Spitfire glared at them both.

“I stopped it here cause this is just stupid, we are trying to give the recruits a demonstration…” she held her hooves out at them. “Not only did it take you both forever to do your moves, both of you did the same move twice, followed by a two pony circus stunt, you both yelled like idiots throughout… AND NEITHER OF YOU EVEN FLEW DURING ANY OF IT!” she pulled at her mane. “It was driving ME crazy! You two are banned from fighting each other, effective immediately, I’m not letting you guys waste time like that again…” Spitfire finished and turned away before either of them could retort. “NEXT UP!” she yelled over anything they might have said as she retrieved the bowl of I.D. cards from Silver.





“What did we just watch?” Thunderlane asked in monotone. Matteo scoffed.

“Two idiots who are apparently better than all of us…” Matteo shook his head.

“Yep,” Storm shrugged. “Welcome to my life now… every damn day…” he said with a chuckle and glanced to his left. Storm’s ears perked up as he saw Squall, sitting alone, four rows up and away from the rest of the recruits. Storm eyed him curiously before looking back down at Dash. “Say Dash…” Storm said her name but stopped. Dash was already staring towards Spitfire and eagerly awaiting who would fight next. Dash was a real die hard. Storm decided to let it go. She was completely focused, nothing would pull her away.

But still…

Storm glanced up at Squall again brooding all alone. Something didn’t sit well with Storm about Squall. He couldn’t put his hoof on it, but Squall… bothered him. It could have easily been the way he had seen Squall treat his fellow recruits… but it seemed like there was more beneath the surface. It was nothing bad nor did Storm sense an ulterior motive… but it bothered Storm.

He made a note to figure it out at some point. But for now, there was combat to watch, AWESOME combat. 





“I’m gonna make this clear, whoever fights who next… please actually fight…” Spitfire said while glaring towards Air Mach and Macho Savage. The two silly ponies shrugged in response before hoof bumping. “Now then…” Spitfire shook the bowl again.

“Yessssssssss…” Soarin start bouncing again. His turn, his turn, his turn, his turn, his turn, his—

“Stop that.”

“Huh?” Soarin ceased bouncing for a moment and looked to his left. Silver Lining was glaring at him.

“I said stop… you look like a damn idiot,” Silver commented bluntly. Soarin cracked a smirk at Silver and leaned towards him.

“Aw, c’mon ya old fart! I’m in the ZONE! I gotta get some punches in! Gotta clean me some clocks! Eh? Eh?” he jabbed at Silver’s shoulder twice, going in for a third, but Silver reached up and grabbed Soarin’s hoof tightly.

“What the hell has gotten into you, son?” Silver asked seriously, giving Soarin a fierce glare. Soarin didn’t even flinch at the amount of pressure Silver was applying to his wrist, he just grinned and bounced his eyebrows.

“Just feelin' young and alive! I feel sorry for ya Silver! It must be hard being a Wonderbolt with two hooves in the grave!” Soarin said snidely. 

“EXCUSE ME?” Silver’s grip on Soarin’s hoof tightened and he bared his teeth. “Have you lost your mind or something? Where the hell did your respect go?”

“I guess wherever the color in your mane went, old timer!” Soarin fired back. Silver threw Soarin’s hoof down and stomped one of his against the mat.

“You’re really pushing it Soarin…” he growled. 

“And you’ll be pushing a hundred years soon, right?” Soarin crossed the line. Silver took a threatening step towards him. Soarin turned and did the same with the sneer still wrought across his face.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Fleetfoot suddenly stepped between them. “Guys? What the hell’s going on?” she asked while glancing between them. Silver looked down at Fleetfoot, then up at Soarin.

“FEH!” Silver grunted and sharply turned away.

“Ha!” Soarin scoffed. Fleetfoot turned to look at him just in time to see a faint yellow glow shine for a moment from his eyes and horn as he turned away as well.

“What was that…?” she blinked in confusion.

“Autumn Rain!” Spitfire called out while holding up her I.D. card. Autumn took a deep breath and headed for the pile of armor sets. “And…” Spitfire dug her hoof into the cards and pulled out a second. Her wings visibly twitched and two yellow feathers popped off, floating slowly to the ground. She blushed and looked away from the card before looking back up at the group. “…and Wave Chill…” she added.

“Oh…” Wave had been trying to figure out Spitfire’s sudden change in demeanor, and that explained it. Oh well, he was up… but… “Wait… I have to fight Autumn?! Aw dangit…” Wave grimaced as he approached the armor.

“What? Can’t hit a mare? You punch me and Blaze all the time.” High Winds joked as he walked past. Wave shook his head.

“Autumn’s… difficult to fight…” Wave admitted as he passed. Winds and Blaze glanced at each other. Neither of them had actually fought Autumn before… but apparently Wave had.

“Alright, let’s go, no more time wasting!” Spitfire called them over as they fastened the armor pieces and approached the inner circle. She continued as they approached. “Five minutes, five count pin, or knocked out… you two know the rules.” She explained in short. Wave easily noticed that Spitfire was looking at Autumn the whole time and not him. “Please… for the love of Celestia, give the recruits a good fight… we have to make up for that embarrassment…” Spitfire said as she pointed to the starting spots. “Go get in place and wait for my signal.”

Wave Chill sighed as Spitfire didn’t look at him throughout the whole sequence.

“Good luck, Commander!” Autumn said politely as she turned and moved to her spot. Wave blinked and flinched.

“Ah! Yeah, you too…” he said with embarrassment as he turned and moved to his spot as well. He had to focus on the fight. His troubles with Spitfire could wait. Silver was training the recruits, and as part of Silver’s squad he had to give a good demonstration of Wonderbolt ability.

He turned and stood ready behind the start position marker. Autumn reached hers and did the same. 

Spitfire retreated a safe distance and gave a wave to the operator in the scoreboard box.

“BEGIN!!!!” Spitfire yelled out.

Wave Chill readied himself and set his eyes on Autumn. She wasn’t charging. She was waiting for him. Wave took a brief moment to assess his situation. He knew he could beat Autumn. He didn’t have access to water based techniques here, but he was still more skilled in combat than her. But he’d have to be quick and careful. Autumn was bigger than him, and possibly stronger than him. They had never strength tested side by side, but her large, muscular body spoke for itself. 

More than anything though, Wave wasn’t looking forward to landing blows. Autumn’s unique combat style made it… painful for opponents to strike her. He didn’t have the time to think about it. He had to start. Spitfire wanted a good sparring demonstration for the recruits. So he’d give them one.

Wave spread his wings and fired from his spot. Autumn set her hooves firmly on the mat and waited for him to close in. She focused on Wave as he began laterally shifting back and forth, trying to misdirect her. As Wave closed in and moved within arm’s length, Autumn threw a head fake. Wave flinched, but pumped his wings down hard, propelling himself in a small arc over her. Autumn quickly made a 180 turn to face him as he landed.

Wave, however, twisted his wings to divert his path and land beside her instead. He pulled back and threw a punch towards her lower shoulder. The punch connected to the lightly padded surface of Autumn’s armor… but a painful jolt shot through his arm. 

“Argh!” Wave grunted as he jumped back. He looked up to see Autumn looking in his direction with a smirk before relaxing her arm and shoulder. This was how she fought, she used her strong body to her advantage, tensing the muscles in a spot that was about to receive the blow to make the opponent feel like they were punching a rock. This wasn’t a defense tactic. It was a “punishment tactic.” She preferred to block attacks, but if something penetrated her defenses, she just had to tense her body in the right spot to make her opponent regret it.

Wave ducked as a punch from Autumn flew over his head. He dropped to the ground and turned his body sideways to kick her in the chest, but again, despite the padding of her armor, his hoof bounced right off, hurting him more than it hurt her. 

Autumn charged forward, throwing heavy punches. Wave stepped back, dodging them easily, and readying another punch… but he hesitated. He was afraid to hit her now. He received an upper cut below the chin, sending him up slightly. He quickly spread his wings and rode the momentum of the blow he received into the air. Autumn spread her large wings and followed. 

Wave had to think back to the moment before the match started. He had to be quick and clever. So far he had just pointlessly attacked. Autumn rose up to his level and spun around to deliver a kick. Wave ducked and dodged as she threw more kicks and a few punches. She kept trying but she couldn’t seem to land a hit. 

Wave saw three separate opportunities to counterattack, but each time he found himself hesitating in fear of punching a solid wall of pony again. 

“Ah!” Wave put up both his hooves just in time to receive and incoming punch. The force of the blow pushed him backwards through the air. Autumn rushed forward to continue her assault, but Wave tucked his wings in and fell down. Autumn tried to chase, but it was a fake out. Wave spread his wings to stop himself after dropping only a foot and jammed his elbow upward. 

“OOF!” Autumn exhaled as the blow connected before she could even react with her usual defense tactic. She reached down and grabbed Wave’s other arm.

“Whoa!” Wave yelped as she swung and tossed him to the ground. “RGH!” Wave grunted as he bounced against the mat, but quickly stood upright. “Yikes!” he jumped back as Autumn slammed to the ground before him. 

Wave had an idea. Fakes. It worked like a charm. Maybe that was her weakness!

“Whoa!” Wave hopped back and took to the air as Autumn slammed her front hooves to the ground where he previously stood. Didn’t mean it was going to be easy. Autumn was strong and smart. She wouldn’t fall for fake outs without them being well planned, especially now. She already had one pulled on her, she’d be wary of them now on top of it. 

Autumn spread her wings and rocketed up towards Wave. She was playing aggressive. She had had Wave on the run the whole fight since his initial attack. He had to turn the tables back on her… and he knew exactly how to do that. 

As soon as Autumn was within striking distance, Wave pumped his wings hard, sending himself harder as her hoof swipe met nothing. He was already arcing back down by the time she started after him, and he surprised her by angling right towards her. She tensed her body as he aimed a punch for her chest, but instead of hitting her, Wave twisted and passed right beneath her legs. She tried to stomp down on him, but he picked up speed in the process, causing her leg to miss and inadvertently skew her midair balance. 

“Ah!” she flailed as her body rotated in the air after the miss. Wave made another quick turn and rammed her in the chest, this time pulling back as she lurched to avoid being grabbed again. Wave had to use his advantages against her. He had earned his rank as a second commander through his overall ability. While she was as strong as, if not stronger than him, Autumn did not have the same flight skill as him. This was how he would claim victory. 

Wave gave chase to press his attack as Autumn gained control of herself. He threw a punch towards her cheek, hoping to catch her quickly before she fully recovered, but she reached up and blocked it. 

“Crap…” Wave mumbled as Autumn wound up and delivered a heavy blow to his stomach. Wave’s eyes bulged as he exhaled sharply. He was wearing protective gear, but DAMN Autumn was strong. He pulled himself back while clutching his stomach as his lungs fought for air. 

Yeah, he had to press the attack… but he couldn’t get careless. Autumn was a truck. 

Autumn quickly readied another attack as she saw Wave start to fall, but he spread his wings, did a twist and flew beneath her again. This time she did half a somersault and followed after him.

Wave glanced behind him as Autumn gave chase. He turned up the speed and began out flying her, taking wide arcs around the arena and angling back towards her. He made one or two passes near her, trying to provoke her to attack again, but she had wizened up to that already. She was clearly not going to throw any more attacks until he tried to.

After Wave’s efforts yielded no fruit, he decided it was time to try something else. He lined himself up with her and slowed down while keeping his eyes back. As she approached, Wave sprang into action. He flattened his wings vertically, causing him to air brake before twisting his body around and firing back towards Autumn. Autumn anticipated it, and pulled back a hoof for another heavy punch. She aimed it right for his cheek-guard.

Wave grunted and forced his body into a twist so close to the incoming punch that the edge of Autumn’s hoof grazed the side of the cheek-guard. Wave swung the back of his right hoof towards Autumn’s shoulder. 

She quickly tensed it, but received no blow. She peaked further back to see Wave continuing his twist motion and aiming his left hoof for her upper flank. She tensed it just in time… but he faked her out again! Before she knew it, Wave had grabbed hold of her back right leg and yanked her along with him. 

“HHHRGH!!!” he grunted as he swung her large body around and let go, sending her tumbling towards the mat. Autumn braced herself as she crashed and bounced twice before rolling to a stop. She turned over and shook her head out, dazed from the impact. Wave quickly fired towards her, slammed to the ground beside her and leapt over her back and went to put her in a headlock with the intention of pinning her for a five count. This was an instinctive maneuver Silver had drilled into his head. If your opponent goes to the ground, go for the kill, or in this case, the pin for the victory. 

But he never saw it coming. 

Autumn quickly reached up, grabbed him around the neck, slammed him to the ground and flipped over on top of him to pin HIM to the ground.

“Augh!” Wave grunted as he felt her apply intense pressure against him. 

Unbelievable. Autumn was very smart. He had been faking her out the whole match, and never once considered she might do the same. She wasn’t dazed by the impact at all, let him approach, and now had him firmly pinned to the mat. 

Wave imagined the countdown in his head as he tried to free himself.

One…

Wave tried to force her off of him.

Two…

It was no use. She was too strong, not to mention her body mass made her heavy to begin with.

Three…

He lost. Silver was going to give him hell for this.

“Time’s up. Draw.” Spitfire landed beside them. 

“Darn… so close…” Autumn pouted as she released the pressure from Wave. Wave blinked and looked towards the scoreboard. Time had expired. He was saved by the scoreboard? Autumn offered him a hoof. He sighed, accepted her hoof and she hoisted him up. 

“Draw? I completely lost that match…” Wave shamefully admitted as he glanced at Spitfire. She was looking at him, but quickly turned her eyes away, face turning slightly pink before picking up her pace back towards the Wonderbolts.

“Pff…” Autumn scoffed, drawing Wave’s attention. “Commander… I hit you once… and pinned you at the end. I couldn’t keep up with you, I got lucky… and then YOU got lucky too,” she nodded to him as they both followed Spitfire. 

“I suppose…” Wave still sounded ashamed. 

“Wave Chill,” Spitfire suddenly spoke up and stopped in front of them. She didn’t look, but she had Wave’s full attention. “You… fought in a manner worthy of your rank. One mistake doesn’t change that…” she stated. Wave’s eyes widened.

That was the first time Spitfire had spoken to him… in…

“Alright next…!” Spitfire quickly continued towards the group.

“Ah! I… um… thanks…” Wave said too late as she was out of hearing range. His ears flopped down over the padded headpiece and he sighed while keeping his eyes on her. Autumn blinked and rapidly looked between them. A small smirk crept onto her face as she slowly and smugly turned to look at Wave. 

“Oh… I didn’t know… he he!” Autumn giggled. Wave quickly put a hoof up.

“Wait… know what? WHAT?!” Wave failed miserably to divert. Autumn just shook her head and gigged to herself as she trotted back towards the rest. Wave groaned to himself before following right behind. 





“Now THAT was more like it!” Matteo nodded in approval.

“Yesssss… quite entertaining…” Twister agreed as he perched atop Matteo’s head. Matteo flattened his brow. 

“You have three seconds to get off my head…” he threatened Twister. 

“I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about—HRK!” Twister was cut off as Matteo reached up and grabbed him around the neck. 

“ARGH! OW!” Thunderlane’s voice suddenly came from Matteo’s talons. 

“Huh?” Matteo brought his arm down to see Thunderlane in his grasp instead of Twister. Twister was sitting in front of Dash and Storm suddenly, where Thunderlane was an instant ago.

“I’m obviously down here… heheeeeeeeeee…” Twister chortled as Matteo gently set Thunderlane down.

“Damn! You weren’t kidding about Autumn…” Dash asked Storm while ignoring the silly scene around them. Storm nodded. 

“Yeah… she’s really strong… and it kinda hurts to punch her…” Storm instinctively rubbed one of his hooves and shuddered. “My wrists are still sore…”

“I guess she found a way to put a strictly professional spin on the term… ‘hard body’” Dash snickered. Storm puffed his cheeks as he tried to stifle a laugh. He failed and let a few go before shaking his head.

“That’s… wow… that’s funny cause she’s incredibly modest… she’s like the anti-Fleetfoot. You couldn’t get a camera near Autumn without her trying to hide… much less get her to pose or ham it up…” he smirked. “She’s really, really nice too. Made me feel right at home immediately.”

“That sounds familiar…” Dash nudged him in the arm. He caught on instantly and looked away sheepishly.

“I didn’t do that much. Derpy just needed a friend,” he tried to play it down.

“And now you’re writing letters to her? I’d say you did a lot, you charmer,” Dash snickered.

“Stop being such a sourpuss!” Little Star’s voice suddenly sounded out from behind them. Both Dash and Storm turned to see Little Star… once again hassling Squall. This time he wasn’t even answering her. He just kept scowling and looking away every time she tried to get in his face. “Don’t you ignore me, buster! You think you look tough or cool brooding up here by yourself?!” Storm blinked and looked back down at Dash. Dash chuckled and shrugged.

“Welcome to our life the past few days… I’m already getting used to this…” Dash stated as she turned back around. Storm kept his eyes trained on the two for a moment longer before turning back as well.

“Wow… she’s brutal—”

“SHHHH!!!” Dash suddenly threw her arm out and pushed him back slightly.

“Huh?”

“Spitfire’s choosing the next match!” Dash exclaimed as her wings flared out in excitement and batted Storm in the face.





“We have time for one more fight, and then we have to vacate the dome for other squads,” Spitfire explained as Silver handed the bowl back to Spitfire once more. Silver stepped back as Spitfire began rummaging through the cards. He blinked and subtly glanced to his right. Soarin was bouncing again. 

Silver growled to himself as he looked away from Soarin.

“Come on, come on, come on…” Soarin eagerly said to himself was he waited for Spitfire.

Silver glanced at Soarin again and glared. He had the right mind to put one across Soarin’s jaw. He was making a COMPLETE ass of himself. This wasn't the Soarin who had earned his respect. It was disgraceful.

“Soarin,” Spitfire held up the I.D. card. Silver glanced back at Spitfire, but Soarin went nuts.

“YEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAAAA! About time!” he rotated his arms frantically. “Who’s ass am I kicking?!” He bounced his eyebrows at Spitfire.

Spitfire rolled her eyes and shook her head. 

“Soarin is fighting…” She dug through the bowl again and pulled out another card. 

She looked at it.

Then she looked up at Soarin.

She blinked.

Then she looked slightly to the right.

“Silver Lining.”

---To Be Continued---