MLP: FiM
Piercing the Heavens
By: Calm Wind
Chapter 78
Needless to say, the blimp ride was quiet, tense, and awkward. And that’s not because the front window was shattered and the Wonderbolts would be receiving a bill to fix it.
Spitfire was unapproachable from the moment she landed. The recruits and squad seven took heed of Soarin’s simple head shakes if any of them tried to approach her. It turned into a silent trip where none dared speak a word as if it would mean certain death from the lead captain.
The quiet ride lasted all the way to the hotel, where upon Point Dex’s request, the blimp driver took them instead of the blimp pad. The last thing Spitfire needed in her current state was the press crowding her again.
Soarin flew ahead as soon as they landed to make sure the rooms were ready because he needed to get Spitfire somewhere where she could let loose… on him if needed. The amount of pent up aggression she had at the moment was visibly immeasurable. Luckily… the rooms were ready and they got settled in.
“Connecting rooms?” Fleetfoot commented as she, Spitfire and Soarin entered their room.
As celebrities, they could easily nab a high end penthouse or suite, but Spitfire was always conscious of their budget, and tended to sway towards comfortable standard rooms instead of intense luxury. They were used to living in barracks and dorm style rooms anyway, so it helped save a few bits to spend on more important things. They had two rooms per squad, each spacious with two queen sized beds, plenty of walking space, a couch, desk, and bathroom.
“That makes it easier to wake up you lazy asses,” Fleetfoot tried to joke with Soarin as he walked through the doorway that joined the two rooms. Unfortunately, it had no effect whatsoever. Soarin was locked on Spitfire and Spitfire was still grumpy as hell. Fleetfoot sighed and threw her arms up in the air once before shaking her head and claiming the bed beside the patio.
Soarin watched Fleetfoot give up and go about her business. Honestly, he was surprised she tried. In fact, it was the fourth time she tried to lighten the mood and each time Soarin was scared Spitfire was going to put her hoof through Fleetfoot’s skull. He was glad Lead Runner chased Air Mach down to the lobby, because Air Mach’s ridiculous banter would not be helpful at all right now.
Soarin stood in the doorway connecting the rooms and stared at Spitfire as she set her bag down. He knew she wanted to let him have it. Soarin knew he did the right thing. The moment Spitfire rammed her body through a sheet of glass to go after the Shadowbolt, he knew something was up. Spitfire was a reasonable pony. She always had been. If something wasn’t right, it was easy to spot because she started doing irrational things. It helped that her position as the lead captain made abnormal activity very few and far between, making anything that seemed off a blinking beacon that singled her out.
“Spitfire,” Soarin spoke up. “Are you alright? What was up with—?”
“Why did you stop me?!” Spitfire suddenly yelled at him. Soarin shut his mouth and gritted his teeth as Fleetfoot spun around on her bed and looked between the two of them. Soarin fought back the urge to yell back. He had to remain calm or else it would become pointless bickering. Spitfire wasn’t one to back down from what she believed, but there was only so much Soarin could take before he had to raise his voice as well.
“Spitfire,” Soarin began while keeping his voice down. “You put multiple civilians at risk. It was not a favorable circumstance. That’s something you should be aware of—” he stopped abruptly as Spitfire stepped towards him and roughly pressed a hoof against his chest.
“I was aware of the circumstances Soarin. Don’t question my judgment! Last time I checked, part of your job is to respect the actions and decisions of the lead captain and act accordingly!” she yelled. Soarin growled, reached his hoof up and forced hers off of him.
“Part of my JOB… is also to act ACCORDINGLY… if I find the actions of the lead captain to be irrational or to be of a nature that may carelessly endanger lives,” he said sternly as they glared into each other’s eyes. “You dove through a damn window to go after that Shadowbolt and drove him towards hundreds of innocent bystanders!” Soarin started to raise his voice. “I want to know what these Shadowbolts are up to just as much as you do, but I will NOT endanger civilians to do so!”
“If you wanted to know so badly, you’d be willing to bend the rules a little bit!” Spitfire hissed. Soarin drew his head back slightly in alarm as she continued. “I could care less about a few annoying reporters. If I had gotten him, we could be questioning him right now, figuring out what their plans are, and planning out how to prevent a possible future conflict that could put more than just a couple of lives at risk!”
“Are you even listening to yourself?!” Soarin held a hoof out towards her. “Spitfire, one of our most important prime rules is to put the lives of Equestrian citizens above our own! Are you going to abandon the rules we respect and represent just to expose a group whose intentions we don’t even know?!”
“EQUESTRIA TO SOARIN!” Spitfire smacked her hoof against the side of her head. “THESE. ARE. SHADOWBOLTS.” she overemphasized each word. “You’d think after all the hell they’ve put you through you’d be a little more worried! I’m not going to blindly follow the damn prime rules if it means I might prevent similar suffering! Do you have any idea how much pressure I’m under?!”
“And I think that pressure is leading you astray!” Soarin didn’t back down. “You’re acting purely on the fact that one of them caused you an incredible amount of pain in the—”
“DON’T TALK TO ME LIKE I’M SOME REVENGE SEEKING, EMOTIONALLY DRIVEN LUNATIC!” Spitfire yelled at the top of her lungs.
Fleetfoot jumped down and pushed the two of them apart.
“SHUT UP! BOTH OF YOU, SHUT. THE HELL. UP!!!!” She shouted so loud her voice almost cracked. “STOP! JUST STOP! This is going absolutely nowhere!” she yelled while breathing heavily.
“Woo! Finally got away from him!” Air Mach suddenly entered the room. “Man, I could hear you guys from outside!” he walked towards them while examining the situation. “Whoa, did I miss a fight?”
“Air Mach…” Soarin growled at him. Now was not the time for his idiocy.
“You can’t have a shouting match without the great Animak!” Air Mach exclaimed while putting his arm over Spitfire’s shoulder, causing both Soarin and Fleetfoot to stare in alarm as Spitfire scowled and shook with anger. “I can outshout anypony and fight off their passion with my own! I will take on—”
Both Soarin and Fleetfoot gasped… as Spitfire turned, reared back her hoof and punched Air Mach in the face so hard that he flew backwards onto her bed, his seemingly indestructible sunglasses shattering to pieces as he slid across her mattress, hit the wall on the other side of the bed, and fell down beside the bed.
“SPITFIRE!” Soarin shouted her name in disbelief.
Spitfire was glaring in the direction of Air Mach, her hoof and body shaking as she scowled and breathed so heavily through her nose that it made continuous hissing noises.
Fleetfoot backed away and stepped behind Soarin as if hiding from the rage of their captain. Soarin just stared, not sure if the pony he was looking at was really his best friend. Spitfire slammed her eyes shut and winced heavily, before opening her eyes, the expression on her face changing drastically from anger to worry. She looked towards where Air Mach had fallen. He had yet to get up or give any sign that he was alright. She looked towards Soarin and the way Fleetfoot was hiding behind him.
“I…” she scrunched her face and looked away from them. “I need some fresh air…” she said while walking past them, sliding the patio door open and stepping out, closing it quickly behind her.
Soarin and Fleetfoot said nothing for a few moments, simply staring at Spitfire as she stood still and looked out over Cloudsdale from the seventh floor balcony of the hotel.
“HA!” Air Mach’s voice caught their attention. As they turned and looked he stood up from behind the bed, pointing upward triumphantly. “The great Animack didn’t feel a thing!” he claimed despite having a bloody nose. He reached behind his wing and pulled out a new pair of identical shades and placed them over his eyes.
Both Soarin and Fleetfoot rolled their eyes as Air Mach wobbled, clearly a little more affected by the punch than he let on. Spitfire was no flower. She was very strong, not as strong as Soarin, but she knew how to maximize the effectiveness of attacks. From Soarin’s view it looked like she punched him as hard as she could. He was surprised Air Mach wasn’t punched into next week. Good thing too, because they needed him for the show tomorrow. Hopefully he wasn’t concussed, but he had a hard head so it was doubtful.
“Fleet… tend to Air Mach,” he said as he turned towards the patio door.
“You’re going out there?” Fleetfoot asked with disbelief.
“Do you want to talk to her?” he asked as he glanced back at Fleetfoot. She quickly shook her head in response. “Didn’t think so.”
“Soarin, just…” Fleetfoot spoke up before he could open the door. He turned his ears to listen. “Just make sure she’s okay…” Fleetfoot pleaded, showing she was just as worried about Spitfire as Soarin was.
Soarin nodded without looking before he opened the patio door and walked out.
“I’m surprised you followed me so fast…” Spitfire spoke up the moment she heard the door open. Soarin halted for a brief moment and sighed before closing the door behind him.
“Somepony had to take the risk,” he said as he stepped out beside her and looked out on the busy afternoon in the city below. “Air Mach is up and faking no pain, and you scared Fleet shitless… it was me or nopony.”
“Don’t give me that, it’s always you,” Spitfire said with a snort. “And I don’t blame Fleet… I’m scaring myself too.”
Soarin listened to that and remained quiet. He didn’t feel the need to say anything to that because it was true. Spitfire was scaring them, something wasn’t right and as usual, she was keeping it to herself. From the beginning of their history with the Shadowbolts, Spitfire had developed a tendency to keep her thoughts to herself. The lack of information being given to her by the figures of authority probably had something to do with that. Without guidance, she started making her own agenda… but for some reason, she was leaving her most trusted friends and colleagues out of it.
“Look, Soarin,” Spitfire began. Soarin turned his head to look at her and saw her turning towards him. She had a stern look in her eyes. “I don’t like the Shadowbolts, not one bit. I was caught off-guard and humiliated by Nightshade in the tornado… and then a little shit-faced recruit of theirs played with my emotions using their artificial magic. I hate them. I despise them… so forgive me if a few of my choices surrounding them come off as a bit quick or rash. They’ve done nothing but make my life hell and now they’ve appeared again. I just don’t want anypony else to go through what I’ve been through.”
Soarin listened carefully as she talked to him. Spitfire was adamant and strong with her words. There was no shakiness in her voice and no sigh of self-doubt. The qualities a good leader should have. Soarin sighed and shook his head.
“Then we have different views,” Soarin spoke up. “Two of those Shadowbolts saved mine and Dash’s life… and the recruit who turned you on us ended up inside Nightshade’s punching bag for misusing her powers. I wish you could’ve seen how scared Lightning Dust was in that compound… how Starry and Descent cared for her… how she clung to them. Not all the Shadowbolts are bad Spitfire.”
“Fine, but I don’t care Soarin,” Spitfire quickly replied, earning a look of disapproval from Soarin that she shrugged right off. “I’ve experienced what they are capable of, as have you… and until we know what these Shadowbolts are up to, it’s my obligation to do anything and everything I can to prevent anypony else for experiencing the extremes I’ve suffered through,” she explained. “You have to understand how much pressure I’m under, Soarin. Every decision I make could affect hundreds, even thousands of lives. I’m sorry if a few of my choices going forward seem a little unethical, but believe me when I say that it’s for the good of everypony.”
“Then you can’t keep leaving us out of it,” Soarin huffed. “Spitfire, you can’t keep things from us, we’re your squadmates and your friends.”
“Soarin, how many times are you going to say that to me?” Spitfire said as she rolled her eyes.
“I’m going to keep saying it until you actually listen to me,” Soarin quickly shot back. A brief silence grew between them as they stared at each other. “How do you think we’re supposed to react when one moment our captain is going about everything as usual and the next she’s jumping through a pane of glass to pursue another pony? We understand the need to find out more about the Shadowbolts, but as soon as you jumped through that window, none of us were thinking about the Shadowbolt. We were all worried about you. Did you even consider that?”
Spitfire remained completely silent. Soarin exhaled quietly through his nose and looked back out into the city. He understood her reasoning behind her actions, but he couldn’t stand it when she tried to take everything into her own hooves. Spitfire couldn’t keep doing things this way. He wouldn’t let her.
“Alright Soarin…” Spitfire shook her head. “I appreciate the concern… but I want you to listen to me carefully,” she said without looking at him. “Our top priority on this trip… is now to find and subdue this Shadowbolt or any other that might show up… even if it means breaking away in the middle of the show,” she explained. Soarin looked at her in disbelief. They had never done such a thing before. Of course, this was important, but they still had a reputation to keep up for funding purposes. “If it comes down to a fight, I want you to disregard anything you think or know about the Shadowbolts. Until determined otherwise, they are criminals and we must bring them down for questioning.”
“Spitfire, have you forgotten our reports? Every instance they have not fought us, any injuries or collateral damage were caused by us or by them trying to evade capture… I don’t see…” he paused as his eyes met hers. She was glaring at him sternly. He sighed and nodded. “Yes, ma’am…” he said reluctantly, before looking at her curiously. “Now you listen to me,” Soarin spoke up, thinking on the fact that they did indeed have the show tomorrow. “Don’t let this distract you during the show tomorrow, alright? We are still here to entertain one of the largest fan bases we have… I’m sure you haven’t forgotten what that means to the Wonderbolts as well…” he trailed off. Spitfire looked away from him and down towards the city streets.
“No… I haven’t forgotten,” Spitfire said as her ears folded back and she grunted. “But it’s going to be hard to concentrate. I’m beginning to wonder if I’m asking too much of Rainbow Dash.”
“Have faith in her… and before you say anything about her being my marefriend, she coordinated her squad well to counter the surprise cyclone. I have a feeling she’ll come through here.”
“I wish I shared that confidence,” Spitfire spoke up again. “She did well, but she and her squadmates are still recruits. They’ve got unique and diverse abilities, but will it be enough? We won’t know until tomorrow, I guess.”
“Just focus on the show,” Soarin repeated. He wanted to give more reassurance, but Spitfire was right. The recruit squad lacked experience, but Spitfire herself chose them because they’d be harder for the Shadowbolts to spot. Despite what she had just said, Soarin believed Spitfire had more faith in them than she let on, especially in Dash.
Soarin heard a light tapping on the glass door behind them. He turned and saw Fleetfoot waving at them and then pointing towards the front door. Point Dex was standing in the doorway. Soarin looked up at the wall clock and saw it was the time they decided to go out for dinner.
“Hey, it’s food time,” Soarin said as he turned to the patio door. “Let’s forget about this for now and get our minds focused on the show,” he suggested.
“Soarin,” Spitfire called his name before he could open the door. He turned and looked at her.
“Yeah?” he asked as she walked towards him.
“Thanks…” she said as she sighed. “This has been hard for me. I’m glad I can count on you,” she said with a serious tone.
“It’s what I’m here for,” Soarin said with a smile as he opened the door. “Now I think you owe Air Mach an apology,” he said with a chuckle as the two moved back into the room.
“Man I’m stuffed!” Dash said to herself as she and Star entered their half of the joined rooms their squad was issued. “The Wonderbolts sure eat well on these trips!” she chuckled as she flopped down on her bed.
They had had dinner at a high end restaurant in town that Dash used to only just look at from the outside. It was a restaurant that specialized in fine seafood shipped in from seaside towns around Equestria. Despite her desire to stay on a healthy diet, Dash treated herself with a fish burrito, complete with black beans, cheese, salsa, and lettuce.
Even though she was a Wonderbolt now, she knew opportunities like this would be few and far between. Their current luxuries were really only because they were traveling with the lead squad and another high tier elite squad. The only thing that had disappointed her so far was that she probably wouldn’t have a chance to visit her parents. They were on a tight schedule and Spitfire didn’t want them to stray far from the group after the appearance of the Shadowbolt.
Speaking of… she stilled owed her squad an explanation. With nothing to do before bed for an hour or so, it was the perfect time to talk about it with all of them relaxed. She wanted to wait for Storm though. He was on his way, just wanted to stop back at his room first.
“HEY!” a muffled voice came through the wall. Dash and Star both looked up at the wall that separated their room from the guys. They had closed the door between the rooms before they left so all they heard was the faint sound of scuffling.
“That was Squall…” Star said with a sigh. Dash was instantly up and walking towards the door between the rooms. The connecting doorway actually had two doors on it. One on each side that opened into the room it was attached to with a doorknob only on the side facing into the room. This prevented anyone from the other room getting in if the ponies staying in the rooms were not acquainted or if the occupants of the room desired privacy… such as keeping the guys on one side and the ladies on the other.
This was something Dash wished she had in the barracks sometimes, because Matteo, Squall, and Twister, for how different they all were from each other, seemed to get into many scuffles. Not always bad, usually something Twister started to be silly, but it made Dash and Star roll their eyes a lot. Dash didn’t mind a good bout of shenanigans, but this was the first time she had lived with males and it seemed to happen every few minutes.
“Alright, what’s going on in—” she winced and shut her eyes as a pillow flew right into her face. She stood still as the pillow slid off, flattening her ears and opening her eyes. She was about to tell them to stop being childish, but she ended up holding her breath for a moment to stop herself from cracking up.
All three of them were on Matteo’s bed. Matteo was sitting upright. He was gripping the back of Twister’s head and was holding Twister’s head down, face first, a few inches into the mattress. Twister’s body was limp, but his tail was spinning in circles. Squall was up on Matteo’s back and had him in a choke hold, one that Matteo wasn’t even feeling because Squall was having trouble getting his arm far enough around Matteo’s thick neck to make be any effective.
Matteo and Squall both stopped and looked up at Dash as the pillow Matteo had deflected from Squall hit her in the face. Twister’s plot turned towards her, revealing two eyes that had been drawn on it with black marker.
“I have no idea what I’m looking at…” Dash said while snickering. Little Star hopped up on Dash’s back and looked over her shoulder. The instant she saw the situation, she burst out laughing and keeled over, tumbling off of Dash. Matteo cleared his throat as Squall let go and slid off Matteo’s back.
“Twister threw a pillow at me, I fired back, hit Squall instead, and…” Matteo looked at Twister. He let go of his head and Twister fired upward, landing flat against the ceiling before falling down the floor.
“Then I walked into all three of you cuddling,” Dash finished for him with a joking snicker, which Matteo and Squall glared at her for. “I’m kidding,” Dash quickly added with a chuckle. She took a quick look around the room. She had been curious since they arrived. The three guys had been put in the room next to them, but there were only two beds. Her eyes landed on Twister as he slithered like a snake along the floor and up onto the easy chair with his duffle bag beside it. There was a couch right next to the chair… but Twister was sleeping on the chair? Typical. “Well, quit play wrestling, as soon as Storm gets here. I’m gonna tell you all about the Shadowbolts,” Dash explained, catching all of their attention. “So—”
Dash was cut off by a knocking at the door from her room.
“Speak of the devil…” she turned and walked to her door. She opened it and smiled at Storm standing outside.
“I have a pizza delivery for… Ranbaw Dosh…” Storm joked as Dash snickered.
“Oh, just get in here, asshole…” she chuckled as she reached out and pulled him in. “Nice of you to join us, what did captain Dex need to talk about beforehoof?” she asked as Storm walked in.
“Nothing much, just wanted to make sure we all knew the schedule tomorrow. Did I miss anything fun in here?” he asked. Dash smirked.
“Besides a male only wrestling match in the next room, nothing much,” she said while glancing at Storm. Storm stopped and blinked.
“What?” he said with an amused look.
“Twister tried starting a pillow fight and I walked in at an awkward time,” Dash explained as Storm snorted and tried not to crack up.
“Well now that you’re here, I can finally explain everything…” Dash sat down on her bed and looked towards the divider door. “Guys! Get your asses in here!” she yelled to the door.
Storm, Star, and Dash all flinched as a painful, ripping noise came from the wall near the middle of their room about five yards from the dividing door. A saw suddenly punched through the wall and started moving back and forth, cutting a perfect circle in the wall. Dash’s ears instantly flattened as they waited the saw slowly work around. After cutting a perfect circle about ten inches in diameter, the saw pulled back and the circle was pulled out of the wall. Twister stuck his head through and sneered.
“HEEEEEEEEEEERE’S TWISTER!” he exclaimed as Squall and Matteo walked through the divider door.
“Twister, SERIOUSLY?!” Dash groaned as Twister managed to fit his entire body through the door. “There’s a door right over there! We’re gonna have to pay for that, you know...” she sighed as Twister simply kept staring at her with his signature sneer. Dash’s ears flopped back up and folded backwards as she glared at him. “Something tells me you don’t care. Well fine, I’ll make sure it comes out of your paycheck,” she added. Twister didn’t budge. “You don’t care about that either, do you?”
“NOPE!” Twister instantly replied as he hopped up on the comfy chair and draped his body backwards over the arm rest. “Can’t put a price on fun!”
“Right, right,” Dash decided to stop trying and turned to everypony else. “Okay everypony… get comfortable, because this is a long story,” she began as she hopped up on her bed and lied down. Storm, Squall, Star, and Matteo all gathered and sat down as Dash began her story.
“It all started back in Ponyville,” she began. “The Wonderbolts debuted a new show right in the skies overhead. It was a rare opportunity. No tickets or admission needed, they wanted to put on a show for us to see how their new routine was received. I met Soarin for the first time beforehoof when he saved a pegasus foal falling out of the sky that I was trying to catch. That was the first time I saw him use his Sonic Blastoff. After the show, we were surprised by the lead squad appearing in a local bakery. They had stayed behind after the rest had left, looking for some quiet time away from their work. That’s where I met Spitfire, Fleetfoot, and…” Dash cringed. “Rapidfire.”
Dash watched as they all perked up.
“Who’s Rapidfire?” Squall asked. Star quickly turned to him.
“Rapidfire, ‘The Artist?’ He was a member of the lead squad for a long time, you never heard of him?” she asked in disbelief. Squall just stared at her blankly. “Did you even follow the Wonderbolts before deciding to join them?”
“Uh… not… really…” Squall admitted.
“Actually,” Storm spoke up. “I had heard of him, but never saw him. Soarin mentioned him once to me, but I never really had a chance to see the Wonderbolts before I tried out, I only read about them.”
“Well, you didn’t miss much,” Dash rolled her eyes. “Rapidfire was… a very unpleasant stallion,” she winced as she recalled her past experience with him. “He was a tail-chaser… a mareizer. He’d flirt with the intention of getting a mare to bed and leave them the next morning.”
“That is deplorable…” Matteo commented with a scowl.
“WHAT A DOUCHE!” Star yelled out as she sprung up and hovered, causing Squall and Storm to lean away at her little explosion. “WOW! I never knew that! I used to think he was a hotty too!” Star growled while crossing her hooves.
“Anyway,” Dash continued. “He and Soarin got in many scuffles that ended up getting them both in trouble…” she stopped and looked at Squall and Storm for a moment. They both blinked in curiosity, but she turned back. Matteo stifled a snort as he knew exactly why she looked at them.
“Soarin told me about that, actually,” Storm spoke up. “He really hated him.”
“Yep,” Dash nodded. “Although to be fair, Soarin was drawn into it every time. He was always trying to stop Rapidfire’s antics and Rapidfire knew exactly how to get under his skin. I witnessed Spitfire chew them both out myself, it seemed like a very frequent occurrence. Anyway, this DOES have to do with the Shadowbolts, just remember Rapidfire.”
She paused as she recalled what happened next. A battle she would never forget.
“Then… a tornado appeared in Ponyville,” she continued. “Not just a small cyclone like the one we encountered today, it was HUGE. It was impossible, as if it appeared out of nowhere. Whatever had caused it, its timing couldn’t have been worse. The captain of our town weather team was on vacation. I was forced to take command and led our full team into the storm. Using every pony on the team, we worked together to create a counter tornado and moved it into the other. The winds were more powerful than anything I had ever experienced, but we all held firm. But something wasn’t right. The tornado was not cancelling. We had done everything we had been taught and trained to do in order to counter such a catastrophe, but it had no effect.”
She looked between all of them.
“Thunderlane was flying in the position ahead of me. While I was trying to figure out why it wasn’t working, Thunderlane inexplicably dropped from formation as if something had hit him from above. I looked around frantically and watched as something similar happened to many other ponies. Without the required force to maintain our counter tornado, we were thrown from the funnel, sent flying in different directions. I was beyond determined to save my home though… I got to my hooves after the crash landing and charged at the tornado again and again, trying desperately to pierce through the heavy winds, but I was tossed aside each time. Right before I took a fall that knocked me out for a little bit, I saw the Wonderbolts heading for the tornado.”
“You charged a tornado by yourself?” Matteo asked while taking in the story.
“Had to,” Dash shrugged. “It was heading right for my home. I’d sure you’d do the same for the Griffon Kingdom, wouldn’t you?” she asked. Matteo smiled and simply nodded.
“When I saw the Wonderbolts heading towards the tornado, I was relieved,” Dash continued. “I mean, it sucked that I was about to land right on my head, but I was certain they’d eat up the tornado for breakfast. But… when I came to, the first thing I saw was Fleetfoot getting driven through the air, out of the tornado and stuffed to the ground so hard that it created a trench behind her. When I scrambled up to look… I saw it. There was a pegasus mare standing over her wearing a uniform like the one you saw at the blimp, only instead of the red goggles and headband they had a full mask like our uniforms and yellow, angular goggles. She smirked, spat on Fleetfoot and flew back towards the tornado, passing through it with ease as if it simply let her in. I knew something was wrong, and I scrambled to Fleetfoot. All she said to me before she passed out was to help Soarin and Spitfire,” Dash shook her head. “I was very confused, because I had seen the pony before. At one point earlier in my life, a group that called themselves ‘Shadowbolts’ appeared in what I thought was an illusion… but I just saw one take down Fleetfoot. I had little time to think about it because I knew Soarin and Spitfire were in danger.”
“So you tried getting in again?” Storm asked. Dash nodded.
“During the stay, Soarin taught me how to use the Sonic Blastoff…” she paused as she saw Storm shift uncomfortably. He just blinked and shrugged. She lifted an eyebrow and continued. “I found a way to activate it twice, and it gave me enough speed to penetrate the tornado… all I saw before i collided with the same mare that knocked out Fleetfoot. I drove my hooves into her and repaid the favor, knocking her out. When I turned, I saw Soarin, horribly beaten and badly bruised. His head and nose were bleeding and he was having trouble standing. Before I could do anything else, he told me to keep them busy so he could stop the tornado. I ended up meeting the leader of this group as Soarin left… she was… terrifying. Sadistic and pure evil. Her name, Nightshade.”
Dash looked around at all of them.
“She held nothing back, she beat me absolutely senseless while taunting me. I had to do something because a third Shadowbolt, a stallion larger than Soarin, had fired after him. It seemed hopeless though because I couldn’t do a thing against Nightshade. I managed to catch her in a moment of carelessness and dislocate her elbow joint, but that only made her angry. Thankfully, before she could kill me, Spitfire stopped her, beaten up and bruised herself, and beat the crap out of the surprised Nightshade. With that taken care of, I quickly went after Soarin. He was locked in combat with the large stallion, and was trying to repel him with a lightning attack. However, the stallion was enraged and attacking like a wild beast, if Soarin didn’t get him off soon, the lightning would severely hurt them both. So I built up my speed and rammed the stallion, sending us both into a collection of thunderclouds they had been building up…” Dash shivered as she paused.
“Dash? You okay?” Star asked her out of concern.
“Yeah… just… I’m a little afraid of lightning… Because of what happened next. The energy of the thunderclouds were drawn towards the stallion. I tried to get away, but I got caught in the energy surge. It hurt. More than anything else in my life. I was knocked unconscious again. When I came to, the tornado was gone, and so were the Shadowbolts. Soarin had caught me, but he was in terrible shape. I barely recognized him, he was so beaten and bruised… and… he collapsed in front of Spitfire and I and wasn’t breathing.”
Star gasped as Storm and Matteo’s eyes went wide. Squall showed little reaction, but was clearly a little surprised. The next part didn’t have much to do with the Shadowbolts, but Dash felt the need to explain it.
“We rushed Soarin to the hospital and… if he didn’t die, his wings were so damaged that he probably would never fly again. It was horrible. But,” she sighed. “Celestia showed up,” she paused as she saw the reaction from all of them.
“Princess Celestia?!” Star exclaimed. “In the flesh?” Dash nodded in response. She didn’t have time to explain how she knew the princess or all about the Elements of Harmony, so for now she let it ride on the fact that the Wonderbolts often dealt with the princesses.
“Her visit was a surprise, but she claimed she had a way to save Soarin. She claimed that normally it was not right for her to interfere in the lives of ponies, but she had a premonition of a conflict to come, a premonition that included Soarin alive, well, and flying. She was determined to see fit that everything was as it should be for whatever happened in this vision of the future… so she suggested using a forbidden necromancy devised by the Mad King Sombra to restore Soarin’s body.”
“The Mad King Sombra?” Matteo spoke up. “I thought he was only a legend.”
“He’s as real as they come,” Dash nodded. “Don’t ask, it’s a longer story,” she said before collecting her thoughts. “Well… Luna, who had shown up as well, spoke out against it, saying that it was too dangerous. It had apparently almost killed Sombra when he used it. And while Celestia is immortal, she risked destroying herself. I’ll spare the details because it was weird, but with the help of Spitfire and I, she was able to use the magic successfully. Unfortunately… after that, Celestia disappeared, and Soarin was left with an incredibly powerful magic resonating through his body. That’s why he has the fake horn, he needs to keep it under control.”
“You know, I was wondering about that…” Star scratched her head. “The weird burst during the tryouts and… you know… earlier today when he suddenly went all magician on us. I’m not gonna say it makes sense, but at least we know why he’s wearing that thing.”
“Anyway… back to the Shadowbolts,” Dash continued. “Six months later, I attended the Canterlot Royal Ball… again, long story how I got in. But while I was there, I spent the night with…” she paused and held her breath.
“Oooooooo…” Star cooed at her. “Don’t even try Dash, we know who,” she giggled. Dash sighed and continued.
“I spent the night with Soarin and the next day was granted a guest training day with the Wonderbolts. I was given the pleasure of spending the day working out with squad three, which was fun, but that’s beside the point. We were interrupted when everypony in the compound suddenly rushed to the battle dome to watch Soarin and Rapidfire fight. They had gotten chosen in the random selection. During the fight… Rapidfire deliberately did something that would have killed Soarin if he didn’t know how to counter it. Of course, Spitfire was livid… and placed him under house arrest so the police could come get him and take him away for attempted murder. Spitfire finally had a reason to get rid of him. I forgot to mention this sooner, but Rapidfire is the son of Blazetail and Flashwind… the old lead captains of the Wonderbolts.”
“I was gonna say…” Storm spoke up. “I was wondering how such an asshat could stay in the high ranks for so long without being kicked out.”
“Yeah,” Dash nodded. “He had a shield protecting him and Spitfire hated it. However, by trying to kill Soarin, Rapidfire not only violated prime rule number one, but it was also grounds to be labeled attempted murder, so it gave Spitfire an easy reason to discharge him. And… that’s when things got hectic. An explosion came from Rapidfire’s room. I followed Soarin and Spitfire to his room to find… all the security guards knocked out and Fleetfoot being held against the wall. After he released her, a pink crystal floated out beside him. I had no idea what it was, but Soarin claimed it was the same kind of crystal he saw in the center of the tornado back in Ponyville. Rapidfire absorbed the magic… and emerged wearing a Shadowbolt uniform.”
“A long chain of conflicts ensued. I followed after the lead squad, despite them telling me to stay put. When I got there, I saved them from an old… enemy of mine. A pegasus mare by the name of Lightning Dust, who I flew with at a Wonderbolt Flight Camp. She was expelled from the camp for being too reckless and putting others in danger. It was ironic to see her wearing a Shadowbolt uniform. Anyway, it was four against two… that is, until she did something to Spitfire. She used the crystal to draw out and amplify negative emotions within Spitfire, taking control of her and forcing her to fight us against her will. I was busy fighting Lightning Dust, but I can only imagine how hard it was for Soarin to fight and subdue Spitfire.”
“Despite how difficult the battle was, we emerged victorious and I broke the crystal controlling Spitfire… but then, they appeared again. The three Shadowbolts we encountered in Ponyville. Squad three arrived to help, but we fought another hard battle against him. Even with Misty Fly by my side, Nightshade was nearly unbeatable… and frightening. I’ve never felt more uncomfortable around another pony. She teased out fear and anguish, played with emotions both physically and mentally. Needless to say, she still scares me when I think about her.”
“The battle raged on… and… when Luna arrived on the scene, they grabbed Soarin and used one of the crystals to escape. Before the magic could envelope them however, I used the Sonic Blastoff to reach them, getting caught in the magic with them. I was punched out by Descent when I reached them, that’s the name of the stallion, so I was out. When I woke up… Soarin and I were in a cell. We had no idea where. It looked like the Wonderbolt compound, but it wasn’t all blue and looked much less well kept.”
All of them were listening intently. Star was leaning forward so much she looked like she would fall over. Storm simply stared in awe. Matteo’s expression remained unchanged, but there was interest in his eyes. Squall started out looking uninterested, but that changed as she talked. Twister had moved since the beginning, still draped over the armrest of the chair and sneering.
“We were taken to see Nightshade, and on the way got to observe the Shadowbolts. They were very laid back and not disciplined. We had to stop twice on the way so Starry Skies, the Shadowbolt who knocked out Fleetfoot back in Ponyville, could break them up. When we got to Nightshade, she was using Lightning Dust as a punching bag to ‘punish her’ for misusing the crystal magic,” Dash said very uncomfortably. “She revealed to us that they were to deliver Soarin to a ‘client’ and that she was going to keep me… for her own amusement. It was at that point we heard something about sompony or something named Kayn Ost… don’t ask because I don’t know, all I know is that Nightshade seemed paralyzed at the name. We were sent back to our cell and Lightning Dust was thrown in the cell next to us to ‘let her punishment sink in.’”
“This is where something started to seem off because while we were with Nightshade, Descent and Starry Skies looked disturbed by what Nightshade was doing. When we returned to our cell, Descent and Starry showed up with food and medical supplies and cared for Lightning Dust. As they worked, Descent revealed everything to us about them.”
“The Shadowbolts are a mercenary group that have been around and working in the shadows for almost as long as the Wonderbolts had existed. They were formed by a Wonderbolt who was discharged for partaking in mercenary work. They had never taken on anything that exposed them until recently when Nightshade had been taking jobs in exchange for magic crystals instead of bits. The crystals allow non-unicorns to artificially use magic, but at the cost of becoming addicted to it. Nightshade had obviously become addicted and despite her being the strongest Shadowbolt and leading by the right, Descent stated that he had had enough and was leaving. He let us out of our cell before taking Lightning Dust and Starry Skies with him.”
“Soarin and I didn’t make a clean escape. In fact, we ran directly into Rapidfire and ended up running. When we found our way to the exit, we learned how they had kept such a large compound a secret. It was an airborne base. Built like the Wonderbolt compound, but capable of flight using enormous propellers. We were surrounded by Shadowbolts… but before we were captured, Fleetfoot showed up with the entire Wonderbolt force, and a massive dogfight began. Soarin and I battled Nightshade together as she carelessly pumped herself full of more and more of the magic energy from the crystals. Her body eventually could not contain it all, ending in a massive explosion of energy that tore the flying compound apart and sent the Shadowbolts scattering in all directions. Soarin and I were saved from a fatal fall by Descent and Starry Skies, and Lightning Dust apologized to me before they made their exit. We were alive, we were happy, but there was no sign of Nightshade. She literally exploded, but we never confirmed if it killed her or not.”
“So…” Dash took a deep breath and exhaled. “That’s what all this is about. Recently these ‘new’ Shadowbolts have been appearing. We don’t know who they are, what they are doing, or who they are working for, but you can see why Spitfire is taking precautions. We’ve had a long history with them, and we’re not about to let them get the drop on us again,” she finished with a nod and looked around.
“Wow…” was all Star could say as she took in all the information.
“You’ve fought many battles,” Matteo acknowledged her. “You’ve more honor than you’ve let on.”
“Sheesh, I thought I’ve had it rough,” Storm chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. “That’s quite a lot you’ve been through.”
“Hmph…” Squall grunted. It didn’t sound annoyed or sharp though. It was probably his way of acknowledging something.
Twister still hadn’t moved. Dash flattened her brow.
“Twister…” she reached over and poked him. A loud POP sounded from his body followed by a PTHBTHBTHBTHBTHBTHBTH as Twister’s body deflated and went flat. “What the…?!” Dash blinked followed by her ears catching what sounded like the shower running in her and Star’s bathroom. She growled and glared towards the bathroom as the rest turned and looked as well. Dash sharply stood up, hopped off the bed and stomped towards the bathroom. As she got near…
“SWING LOW! SWEET CHAAAAAAARIOT! COMING FORTH TO CARRY ME HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOME!” Twister’s voice sang out, completely off key.
“TWISTER!” Dash yelled as she banged her hoof against the door. Less than a second later the door opened and a hot cloud of steam blasted Dash in the face. Twister leaned out the door, wearing a shower cap, holding a loofa, and dripping wet.
“Do you mind?” he said while tipping his head all the way to the right.
“Did you hear anything I just said?” Dash asked while throwing her hoof out to her side. Twister blinked and his smile grew wider before he cleared his throat.
“It all started back in Ponyville,” he began, imitating Dash’s voice. “The Wonderbolts debuted a new show right in the skies overhead. It was a rare opportunity. No tickets or admission needed, they wanted to put on a show for us to see how their new routine was received. I met Soarin for the first time beforehoof when he saved a pegasus foal falling out of the sky that I was trying to catch. That was the first time I saw him use his Sonic Blastoff. After the show, we—”
“Okay, okay…” Dash sighed and pulled him out of the bathroom. “Use your own damn shower,” she ordered as she picked him up and tossed him into the other room as Twister guffawed and caused a crashing noise much louder than he could have with little to run into. Dash turned back to the rest, who were all chuckling in amusement (except for Squall) and yawned. “Well… that’s the deal guys. And tomorrow it is up to us to keep a lookout for any Shadowbolts like the one we saw today. So get some rest, we have to be up tomorrow morning bright and early.
“HEEEEEEEEEEERE’S—” Twister stuck his head through the hole he cut in the wall again, but Dash reached her hoof out and shoved him back through before moving the easy chair over to cover the hole.
They all headed to bed soon after, Storm returning to his squad’s room. Dash and Star closed the door dividing them from the guys since Matteo insisted on staying up a little later, but soon they were all asleep.
Dash sighed contently as she slept, enjoying the comfortable hotel bed. It was much softer than her bed back at the compound after all, allowing her to sleep like a foal.
“Daaaaaaaaaaaash…” a voice reached her ears. “Oh Daaaaaaaaaashie…” the voice came again.
“Bwuh…?” Dash stirred awake. “Who? What…?” Dash couldn’t see anything in the pitch darkness of the room. She looked around groggily and her eyes landed on a pony. As her eyes adjusted she noticed it was Twister. She was too tired and woozy to think about the fact that he had somehow gotten through the door. “Twister…?” she yawned. “What time is it…?” she asked as she groaned and turned over.
“It’s always time…” Twister said quietly.
Dash suddenly yelped as she felt herself catapulted from the bed.
“AHHH!” She shrieked as she landed roughly on something, now wide awake, an opened her eyes to see herself on a wood floor? But the hotel was carpeted!
“…FOR ADVENTURE!” Twister yelled out as Dash looked up.
She was on… a pirate ship, looking directly at Twister who wore a tricorne, a large gold earring on his right ear, and an eye patch. Dash reached up and touched her mane, realizing she was wearing a handkerchief.
“Twister?! WHAT THE HELL IS—?!”
“WELCOME ABOARD THE EQS SOARINDASH!” Twister hoisted her up. “She’s an unsinkable ship, with the finest crew in the land!” Twister pointed towards Matteo, Little Star, Storm Front, and Squall as they hoisted a flag with Soarin and Dash’s face up to the top of the mast. Dash blinked and looked at her friends curiously… they all looked… off. Squall and Matteo were smiling like idiots, Storm Front looked completely drunk, and Little Star was… Twice the size of Matteo, covered in battle scars, and wore a coat that said 'BIG PONY' on the back of it.
“I’m never eating fish burritos before bed ever again…” Dash sighed, thoroughly convinced that she was dreaming. Twister draped his arm over her shoulder.
“Deck Swabby Dash! You’ve been promoted to upper decks! Behold the vast sea that we sail!” Twister pointed out towards the ocean. “Ripe with new waters to explore and plenty of booty plunderin’ to be had!” Twister paused and leaned his cheek so far into Dash’s that he almost pushed them both over. “If ya know what I mean…” he added while bouncing his eyebrows. Dash flattened her brow as Twister bounced off of her and stood up by the wheel. “Loose those sails!” he yelled down to the others.
“Hi ho, aye yo, Captain!” they all yelled in silly voices, Little…er… Big Star’s voice lower than Matteo’s. The sails dropped and the ship lurched as it began to move forward at a pretty high speed despite there not being any wind to speak of.
“THIS SHIP SAILS ITSELF!” Twister guffawed as he ripped the wheel off and spun it around over his head.
“CAPTAIN!” Storm stumbled up towards Twister and flopped on the floor with a drunken chuckle. “Enemy ships sighted off starboard!” he yelled while twirling a hoof up in the air.
“AVAST!” Twister yelled while dragging Dash along with him. To the right side of the ship. “QUICK SWABBY!” he pulled out a telescope and extended it until it was five feet long and jammed it against Dash’s eye.
“OW!” Dash yelped as the grabbed the telescope and blinked to refocus her vision.
“WHAT SHIPS DO YE SEE OUT THERE!?” he yelled. Dash rolled her eyes and played along, looking through the telescope.
“Uh… three ships?” she said as three ships were approaching. One of them had a flag of Soarin and Spitfire on it. Another had Soarin and… Applejack on it? The third had Soarin and… Braeburn on it? “The hell am I—?”
“THREE YE SAY?!” Twister grabbed the telescope away from her, pulled out a second telescope and put on in each of his eyes, looking out towards the ships. “ARRRRR! T’is the Soarinfire, the Soarinjack, and the Soarburn! The scallywags have come back for more, have they?!” Twister snapped both of the telescopes in half and tossed them over his back shoulder before he turned and pointed towards Squall and Matteo. “Ready the head cannons!” he yelled while standing up on his back hooves and throwing his hooves out. “We’ll bring the fight to them!”
“Three against one?” Dash asked, while in disbelief that she was playing along with the ridiculous scenario.
“Odds any great captain will gladly take on!” Twister yelled out while turning to Dash. He suddenly had the wheel he ripped off somehow fastened to his waist as he remained standing upright. Dash lifted an eyebrow.
“Why do you have the ships wheel on your crotch?” Dash asked.
“BECAUSE IT’S DRIVING ME NUTS!” Twister yelled as the wheel started spinning.
Art by: PhonicBoom
Dash felt like slamming her face down to the deck, but Twister suddenly appeared beside her and leaned into her again.
“Story of my life, hmm? I try to lead things my own way… but others come after me. I go one direction, but they tell me I’m wrong… oh, you’ve heard this one from me already, but what if I told you I was hunted? Some saw me as an abomination and wanted to contain me… they saw my behavior as blight and wanted me locked away… oh, they never understood me.”
“What?” Dash blinked as she turned to Twister, but yelped as she realized both of them were suddenly in the crow’s nest.
“READY AS THEY COME AROUND!” Twister yelled out. “We’ll hit them hard!” Twister blinked and looked forward. “Ahem…” he cleared his throat. “I would like to take a moment to clarify that this battle is merely for comical purposes. It does not reflect on the author’s views of shipping or other ships. All ships are capable of being cute and fun and should all be supported equally. Shipping wars only lead to unnecessary drama. People should ship certain ships because they like how certain characters go together, not in an effort to tell others that their ships are wrong.”
“Who are you talking to?” Dash asked curiously as she looked in the direction Twister was looking but saw nothing.
“FIRE THE DRAMA!!!!!!” Twister yelled.
“WHOA!” Dash held on tight as the ships cannons fired. She looked up to see the three ships sailing around them, returning fire. The ship jostled as it was hit, the crow’s nest shaking and throwing Twister off. He laughed maniacally as he hit the deck below, but got right back up on his hooves.
“Keep an eye out up there, Swabby Dash!” he yelled up as the ships continued to fire on each other.
“Definitely not eating fish burritos ever again…” Dash sighed as she held on tight to the railing of the crow’s nest.
“Captain!” Big Star called out. “Multiple ships approaching from the port side!” she opened a tiny telescope and squinted to peer through it. “It’s the FireFly, the Wavefire, and the BlazeWinds!”
“ARRRR!” Twister hopped up on the port railing. “Our allies arrive! This tips the scales in our favor!”
“The who-what now?” Dash said to herself as she touched down to the deck and looked out to see three more ships approaching. One flag had Fire and Misty on it. Another, Spitfire and Wave Chill. The last, Blaze and High Winds. Dash was beginning to see a trend here. Before she could do anything Twister was down by her again.
“Friends are good, yes…. Friendship is great, yes… but can you rely on friends? One would think so, but everypony I called a friend turned me away. I had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. I tried for them… I really did… but no matter what I attempted, I was scowled at… scorned… and eventually, nopony could take it anymore. The only true friend I had was the love of my life who had long left me behind. With nowhere else to go, I frantically looked for her, she would know, she would understand… she had to she must. She could talk sense into the others right? I was only being myself after all…”
“Huh…?” Dash blinked and Twister was suddenly at the ship’s bow with the rest of the crew.
“With our combined might, we shall prevail!” Twister yelled while the three other ships pulled up alongside. The cannon fire continued, but no matter how much punishment the ships dished out, none of the ships showed any sign of sinking. Still, with the help of the three new ships, the EQS Soarindash’s victory seemed secured.
“Captain! New ship approaching on starboard!” Matteo yelled out in a joyful voice.
“Eh? A newcomer?!” Twister hopped up on Matteo’s back and peered out. “What do your eagle eyes see?” Twister asked as Matteo squinted.
“Aye! I see a flag with two ponies on it! One be a purple alicorn… the other… an orange pegasus with a blue mane! The name on the side says the EQS Flashli—”
Before Matteo could finish every single ship turned and fired on the new ship. In seconds, the ship capsized and sank. The whole crew stared and blinked. Twister just shrugged.
“Wow! That was unnecessarily brutal… they ganged up on it before I could even say hello! That’s just not fair…” Twister looked forward. “Remember kiddies! Shipping drama is stupid!”
“Can I wake up now?” Dash pleaded as she groaned. Twister leaned into her again.
“Ah drama… and waking up… you can say that’s how things went when I finally found her again. Oh yes, I did find her… the love of my life. After so long, I found the only mare who I had ever loved… and the only pony whoever liked me for who I was… but…” Twister’s eyes narrowed into a glare. “But she was in love with somepony else… another stallion. And I guess you can say…. That was when I truly… snapped.”
Dash froze as Twister’s voice became filled with a mixture of pain, anger, and hatred. She had never heard that tone from him before.
“But, that’s all the time we have for now… wakey-wakey Dash!”
“Ugh…” Dash’s eyes fluttered open. There was a soft glow in the room caused by the morning sunlight beating against the closed shades over the patio doors. She blinked as she recognized the room and sighed heavily. That was a crazy dream… at least she hoped and thought it was a dream. She slowly rolled over in bed, but as she finished the motion she came literally nose to nose with Twister, sneering at her while lying beside her.
“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!” Dash screamed, catapulting out of her bed and landing on Star’s bed, right on top of her.
“YEEEEEP!” Star squeaked as Dash bounced off of her and landed on the floor beside the bed. Dash was up on her hooves quickly and glaring over Star’s bed at Twister. She growled as she stomped back towards her bed
“TWISTER! HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET—” Dash paused and stared with wide eyes at the divider door that was now lying flat on the floor. “YOU KICKED THE DOOR IN?!?!” she pointed both her hooves at the door on the floor in disbelief. She turned and was about to grab Twister but—
“You set your alarm for seven PM… not AM,” Twister pointed to the clock with a sneer. The clock read seven forty-five. “We’ve only got fifteen minutes to report to breakfast, better hurry it up!” he bounced off the bed and snickered the whole way back into his side as Matteo and Squall both peered in, wondering why the mares hadn’t gotten up yet.
“Oh jeez!” Dash yelped as she and Star frantically got moving.
Dash grumbled to herself as she got ready. It was definitely a dream… but all the stuff Twister said in it? She wouldn’t be surprised if he pulled something to make her hear all the personal stuff. It’s not like he hadn’t done crazy and impossible crap to her before, and considering he was right there in her bed when she woke up, it was likely that’s what happened. But nothing made her grind her teeth more than the fact that Twister continued to pull all this incredibly ridiculous stunts… without actually causing any harm besides getting on her nerves. This time he even got them up when the alarm was set wrong.
She pushed the thoughts aside… because the last thing she wanted to do was be late on top of explaining to Spitfire why they had to pay for a hole in the wall and a broken door in their room.
---To Be Continued---