//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Darkness Rises // Story: Memories of Midnight // by Sylvian //------------------------------// Midnight smiles warmly as she wakes slowly from a deep and restful sleep. The day before had been eventful -- in quite a few ways -- and had been rather tiring, but overall very good. It had started out with the pleasant surprise of Squad Six having been rotated off the patrol list for the day -- Sky had just about flown laps around the Compound in sheer joy -- and when Tide asked why she was given the response of ‘Squad Six has earned a day of rest’, which would have flown if not for the fact that Fleetfoot had gone by and wished the two of them fun at the lunch date they had with Witching Hour at her mother’s tea store. Tide had gone stiff as a board, and it was clear that Spitfire had attempted to hide a smile at the reaction. Midnight had promised they would, and guided the stricken Riptide from the office and back to their room to get ready. Tide, of course, insisted on wearing her officer’s uniform -- to which Midnight did not object too much, as the sight of her marefriend in uniform was honestly really hot -- and instead focused on getting herself ready. Midnight herself donning a nice dress, though not too nice as most of her closet was taken up by Wonderbolt uniforms, and she spent a lot of her bits on more important things. Once dressed they had left and gone to Fine Brew’s Teahouse to meet with Witching. It was a good lunch, but it was unfortunately cut short when Dancer arrived and informed them that the Compound had been put into lockdown, they were required to return immediately. Once back, and through the door which required them to show their identification at the door, Tide went to speak with Spitfire and Midnight went to suit up before she went with the rest of Squad Six to await orders. The rest of the day was spent being on call the event the Shadowbolts attacked. An attack which never came, and they were eventually relieved of duty and allowed to go to bed. And once they were in bed, Midnight had been pleasantly surprised that Tide had crawled into bed with her, holding her close as if to protect her. That, perhaps, above all else had driven home how much Riptide really did care for her, but also just how real the threat of the Shadowbolts really was. Really is. But, the Shadowbolts could wait, right now Midnight needed to stop daydreaming about the previous day and get to the one that is underway. To that effect it was time to wake her sleeping companion up, even if Midnight hated to disturb her as the soft and steady rise and fall of Tide’s breath behind her makes her heart soar with joy. Slowly turning over and pulling slightly away from Tide, Midnight reaches up and places a hoof on the side of her marefriend’s cheek, then leans in and kisses her, “Time for the Captain to report for duty.” Tide’s eyes open slowly, and a smile spreads over her face. “That time already?” Tide says with a yawn as she pulls Midnight in close again. “Yeah,” Midnight says as she snuggles up against Tide’s chest as she nuzzles her marefriend’s neck, “I am sure Spitfire wouldn’t mind if we stayed in bed a while longer, though. I mean, it’s so warm, and you smell so good.” Tide chuckles and rests her chin on top of Midnight’s head. “I won’t lie, it is tempting. But we’re on high alert, Spitfire will want us out there in uniform on time, ready to fight should it come to that.” Tide’s voice softly trails off at the end, and she pulls Midnight closer, taking a deep breath. She is scared, Midnight can tell, of the conflict looming over their heads. Scared of losing her. And so is Midnight. But she takes comfort from Tide being there, being hers and hers alone. “Oh, alright.” Midnight says softly into Tide’s neck, “Let’s get dressed.” She then rolls over and untangles herself from the sheets so she can get out of bed. Behind her Tide does the same thing, though much quicker and with less reluctance. It takes them but a moment to head to their closets and don their uniforms. Midnight gets hers on first, and waits by the door with a warm smile as she watches Tide fight with her uniform’s zipper as she usually does in the morning. After a few moments of watching in amusement Midnight goes over and helps Tide, who accepts the help with a blush and a few grumbles. Once they’re both properly dressed Midnight puts an arm around Tide’s neck and smiles, “Lets go get some breakfast, I am sure Dancer and Sky have already found a table and devoured half the place.” “We can only hope.” Tide says with a chuckle, “I’d hate to hear Sky complain about being hungry while on guard duty.” Midnight adds a chuckle of her own as she opens the door and gestures through it. “After you, my Captain.” Midnight says in a feigned professional voice that gets an amused smirk from Tide. “Thank you, Midnight.” Tide says in her own professional voice, even if it is tinted with affection and pride. The two of them make their way from the third story of the Wonderbolt Compound and towards the mess hall, greeting those they pass with nods of their heads of a few brief words. They fall in a few paces behind Squad One, just far enough out of range to hear what they are talking about, but close enough that Midnight can tell they were discussing something. Her curiosity would have to wait though as Spitfire led her squad over to her office, while Midnight and Tide continued down the stairs to the mess. Midnight is not surprised to see security pick up when they hit the bottom floor, multiple teams of both Wonderbolts and the Security Staff patrolling along with guards at the front door and at all the entrances. She had expected it, but the reality of it chills Midnight to her core. They really are at war, or if not that they were close to it. The prospect scared her, she had heard Silver speak of the war he had been in, between the Gryphons and the Drakes, and all those he had lost. It weighed heavily on him, she could see it in his eyes whenever he spoke of his friends. Midnight prayed to Celestia that she would never have to see her friends torn from her as Silver had seen, especially Tide. She could not live with herself if Tide got killed, or injured so badly she could not continue to be a Wonderbolt. She’d likely retire if that happened, spend the rest of her days with Tide. Perhaps adopt a nice little foal like Witching had with Tricks. The thought of having a family with Tide had warmed her heart when she had brought it up yesterday, more so since Tide hadn’t exactly protested. Yes, that would be nice. Tide clearing her throat brings Midnight back to reality, and she finds herself standing at the door to the mess hall, one door held open by Tide as the Security Guards on both sides just stand at attention. “I know it is a lot of stuff, Midnight, but try to keep your head out of the clouds?” Tide says in a professional voice now that they’re among their fellow Wonderbolts, “We need to get to eat and see if Sky or Dancer checked the duty roster.” Midnight nods and walks through the door and into the mess hall. Inside is not as populated as it usually is, due mostly to the increase in security, but also due to everypony eating quickly and getting back out to do whatever they were assigned at the moment. In fact, as Tide and Midnight walk in, they are passed by Recruit Squad Foxtrot. Midnight smiles and inclines her head in greeting, Tide steps out of their way and nods to Rainbow Dash, both greetings are returned and the Recruits walk out of the Mess Hall to whatever it is they are needed to do. Walking to the somewhat shorter than usual line to get food, they’re joined by Commander Soarin lining up behind them with an eager smile and a hungry look in his eyes. “Spitfire have you patrolling early, Soarin?” Midnight says with an apologetic look. “Oh, yeah.” Soarin says as he returns the smile as they advance down the line, “She is taking this all very seriously, as she should, but a few of us had to go without food in favor of guarding the hallways.” He sighs and shrugs. “Sacrifices have to be made to keep everyone safe, Sir.” Tide speaks up from in front of Midnight, “But, I am sorry you missed breakfast.” She smiles just a little, and nods forward, “You can get in front of me, you look like Sky waiting to get his order taken by Rusty.” Soarin lets out a hearty chuckle and winks. “Oh, I know how that feels.” He moves around to stand in front of Tide, “Thanks, Riptide.” “You are welcome, Commander.” Tide replies with a smile. It does not take them long after that to get their food and find their way over to Dancer and Sky who are both eating at a table on the other side of the room. Both of them greet their wingmates eagerly, but only briefly as they’re both eating their food at a good pace so as to not be in the Mess Hall too much longer. “So, what took you two so long?” Dancer asks as he pauses from eating to get a drink, “We expected you two down here a while ago.” “We were occupied, Dancer,” Midnight replies as she takes a bite of eggs, swallowing before continuing, “I mean, just because we’re in the midst of a conflict does not mean we shouldn’t try to spend as much time with those we care for.” Dancer nods slowly and smiles at the response. “I’d say it is even more reason.” He says looking to Tide, “We checked the duty roster, Captain. We’re on schedule for a patrol today shortly before lunch, we are to return promptly and report our findings as soon as we can. After that we’re assigned emergency response duty in case someone enters the grounds.” Tide nods as she eats a piece of toast and washes it down with some orange juice. “Very well. We are not assigned anything before then?” Tide asks getting right down to business. Dancer shakes his head and Tide nods, “Right, until the patrol then we are free, so I guess we can go to the rec room.” She looks to Sky who visibly perks up at the mention of going to the rec room, “If we are lucky, we might get to see a rematch between Midnight and Misty.” Midnight chuckles around her own toast, and shrugs, “Misty is better,” She gets out around the toast, “I’m a foal learning to walk next to her.” “Then we’re all but Foals compared to both of you,” Sky says dejectedly, “Watching you to play is like watching Spitfire and Silver spar. Amazing and more than slightly scary in how you two are able to move those balls.” Dancer snorts and shakes his head, doing his best not to choke on his own orange juice which he just took a sip of. “Moving on from that lovely image.” Midnight says with a chuckle as Sky pats Dancer on the back, “Did the support staff ever go home last night? I thought I heard one of the cooks complaining about having to bunk in one of the spare recruit barracks.” Sky shrugs and Dancer shakes his head. “I’ve heard some of the others talking about it,” Sky says slowly, “With the lockdown, no one went home last night.” He smiles slightly, “I heard from Bliss that her and her husband just slept on a pallet next to her desk last night.” “When did you talk to Bliss?” Midnight asks with a raised eyebrow, “You get injured or something?” “No,” Sky says with a sly smirk, “I wanted to see if Witchy was in! You know, to ask her all about the tea party you all had yesterday!” Tide narrows her eyes at him, and Midnight just rolls her eyes and shakes her head. “Dare I ask,” Tide says slowly, “But was Doctor Witch there?” “No,” Sky says with an over-dramatic sigh, “She wasn’t. She might be at the Castle, but the guards at the door to the passageway told me I couldn’t go see.” He pouts after declaring that last one. Midnight reaches over and ruffles Sky’s mane with a chuckle. “Tell you what. Tonight, at dinner, if we’re not being marched around or something, I’ll tell you about our little tea party, okay?” Sky brightens up visibly at that, and nods. “Deal, Midnight.” He says as he goes back to eating. Tide gives both of them a flat look as she finishes her own breakfast and waits for the others. Dancer had also already finished, and Sky just barely beats Midnight, as he all but shovels his food into his mouth. Once Midnight is finished they all stand and take their trays over to the proper place, thanking the chefs profusely for their service -- seeing as none of them had gone home last night -- and headed for the door. Midnight’s warm smile melted the instant she turned the corner towards the lobby. In fact, she ran right into the back of Dancer, who -- as if Midnight’s impact had broken him loose -- sprinted forward right on the heels of Tide, leaving Sky and Midnight standing next to the doors of the training room as a Guard burst out with Bliss and a couple trainers right behind him. Something was wrong, something was terribly wrong. Tide’s hoofbeats are loud in her ears as she overtakes Dancer, her pace taking her from the East Hallway to the West quickly. Sliding to a halt just short of the growing crowd she starts shoving her way through. “Captain of Squad Six, move!” Her voice leaves no room for argument as those who had gathered shuffled aside slightly, even the Security Ponies. Once she is at the front -- just behind the members of the the top three Squads -- her breath catches in her chest. The entirety of the Lead Squad are all standing guard in front of a group of Security Guards, some sobbing and some barely moving. All covered in horrendous bruises with their uniforms torn in multiple places. Tide doesn't try to go further, she just plants her plot on the tile beneath her and waits, watches, with narrowed eyes and a barely suppressed growl. The rest of her squad joins her in a few moments, barely beaten by Bliss and the medical team. Dancer reaches her first and stands on her left side, his own eyes narrowed and his ears back against his head. Midnight and Sky are not far behind, with Sky just staring wide eyed next to Dancer and Midnight sitting down next to Tide, leaning against her with her ears back and eyes full of worry. Tide puts a wing around Midnight and pulls her close, leaning her head against her loves without ever taking her eyes from the scene unfolding in front of them. Midnight cringes against her as Bliss describes the injuries, but when Tide looks down it is not fear in the mare’s eyes, but rather pure rage shining out behind tears. Tide puts an arm around her love, whispering in her ear softly. “They won’t get away with this, Midnight.” She continues to look at the scene as Spitfire orders Bliss to just help them and not describe the injuries, “I promise we’ll make them pay.” Midnight nods as Bliss and Mahogany take one of the injured guards away, Tide watches Midnight whose eyes never leave the injured guards. Motion bringing Tide’s attention elsewhere she watches as Spitfire and the rest of the Lead Squad walk through the crowd towards where Foxtrot had been sitting away from everypony else. Doubtlessly, Foxtrot had seen something, or at the very least Spitfire was going to go check on them. She is curious, but not curious enough to separate from Midnight right now, the prospect of a Shadowbolt inside the Compound makes Tide less than eager to move away from the love of her life, let alone her Squad. “Captain!” A voice, which Tide quickly identified as Sundance of Squad Ten, comes from the stairwell, “Captain! Up on the second floor! Two security guards were found brutally beaten in the board room!” Tide’s ears go straight up and Midnight stiffens next to her. “THAT… RGH! I’m sick of this!” Spitfire’s voice echos across the entire hallway, everypony instantly reacting, “EVERYPONY LISTEN UP! I want all the security guards back to their posts NOW and for Celestia’s sakel WATCH YOUR BACKS! MOVE ON THE DOUBLE!” The guards instantly scatter and return to their posts, all with worried but determined looks on their faces. “Wonderbolts!” Spitifre continued, every single Wonderbolt who is present instantly facing their Lead Captain and going to attention, “Starting right now EVERYTHING is on lockdown, I want every single one of you to gather up your squads and start a compound-wide search for whoever is responsible for this! Leave no stone unturned, no nook or cranny unchecked! If you find anything, report immediately, if you find a Shadowbolt, I don’t care what you do to get our attention, pull a fire alarm if you have to, just WARN US! GO! GO! GO!” Spitfire didn’t have to say it twice, as soon as the first ‘GO’ was out of her mouth, Tide had gathered up Squad Six, who is already all there, and point down the hallway, “Right, Squad Six! Follow me!” Midnight was right behind her, with Sky and Dancer just behind her as they pulled up the hoods on their suits. Behind them is Squad Twelve, with Captain Moonbow nodding to Tide as she turns down the hallway into the weight training room, the rest of Squad Twelve following without a single word. Squad Six takes the two classrooms that follow just after the first hallway, Tide opening the first with Midnight on the other side of the doorway, Dancer the second with Sky mirroring the position Midnight is in with Tide. Both rooms are empty, the Guards outside them nodding to the Squad as they close the doors and proceed down the hallway. They checked each room, including the laundry cages, in the hallway before heading into the Auxiliary Gym. Tide and Dancer went in with Sky and Midnight going down the storage hallway and checking it and its guard compliment. They all met back up inside the Gym, which had been empty, and then headed to the stairs to the basement. They wasted no time getting down into the basement and opening doors. Quite a few of the researchers gave them startled looks, Vellum Trace actually yelled at them until Tide informed him they had an intruder. The old Unicorn starts to ask questions, but is cut off by the klaxon blaring from the alarm on the wall, the lights flashing. “What in the name of Celestia?” Sky shouts as he covers his ears with his hooves, “Do you think they found the bastard?” Tide shakes her head and motions her head towards the stairs, words next to useless in the inclosed space with the alarm blaring. No pony hesitates as the entirety of Squad Six dashes from the room and down the hallway until they’re at the stairs. They pause briefly at the stairs to put their goggles over their eyes, not knowing what they’re about to walk into, and then go up the stairs single file. Tide was the last one up, trusting in her squadmates to deal with any danger at the top of the stairs, and found Dancer and Sky at a window, their goggles up on their foreheads as they stared wide-eyed out the window. Midnight walking up behind them, and as she reached the window pushed her goggles up and blinked a few times before turning to look at Tide. “Dear...we’ve got a problem….” “ATTENTION ALL WONDERBOLTS” Spitfire’s voice came through the PA system, instantly taking Midnight’s attention from the mass of advancing Shadowbolts and to the speaker in the hallway, “THIS IS NOT A DRILL. ANY AND ALL WONDERBOLTS, REPORT TO THE LOBBY FOR IMMEDIATE DISPATCH TO INTERCEPT INCOMING HOSTILES.” Midnight grabs Sky by his shoulder and pushes him towards the lobby, Dancer and Tide already moving, “REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL,” Midnight’s hoofbeats loud in her ears as she draws up next to Tide, Dancer on her right with Sky lagging slightly behind, “ALL WONDERBOLT STAFF ASIDE FROM SECURITY ARE TO REPORT TO THE BASEMENT FOR SHELTER! I WANT…” Squad Six reaches the lobby as Spitfire continues on, assigning the last two Elite Squads, Nineteen and Twenty the duty of aiding her with the internal staff. Tide stops just short of the already amassing Wonderbolts, Midnight coming to a half next to her. Dancer and Sky overshoot them, and stop to look back at their Captain and Midnight. Midnight looks to Tide, who is looking at the ground as if thinking about something, which strikes Midnight as odd, Tide never hesitated when it came to this stuff. Then Tide looks up at her, her eyes determined, but not hard and not unkind. She reaches over and gently puts a hoof on Midnight’s hooded cheek, then leans over and kisses her. A few passing Wonderbolts stop and blink, seeing two of their fellows kissing -right- before going into battle is not a sight that is regularly seen. Releasing her from the kiss, Tide smiles slightly as Midnight blushes beneath her mask as her ears go back against her head, a goofy smile plastered on her face. “W…” Midnight starts, clearing her throat as her voice is a little shrill, “What was that for?” “Good luck,” Tide says flatly, though not without a warm note to it, “And also so I could give you some personal orders.” She puts a hoof against Midnight’s chest, her eyes becoming hard as steel and strictly business, “Survive this, and come back to me in one piece.” “Ma’am, yes ma’am!” Midnight replies as she winks and then motions to the formation that is starting to form, “After that kiss, those Shadowbolts better watch out! I feel as powerful as Soarin and as unpredictable as Surprise! They don’t stand a chance!” Nodding Tide starts forward, Midnight right behind her. They gather up the other two in their Squad, both of which smile approvingly at their Captain, and get into formation next to Squad Ten, with Squad Eight in front of them and Squad Nine behind them. It didn’t take long for the area to fill up to capacity, with Soarin of the Lead Squad at the head with Fleetfoot and Air Mach next to him. “ALL SQUADS READY!?” Soarin shouted singling everypony to lower their goggles. “AYE!” came the response, a shiver going down Midnight’s spine. “ALL PONIES SET!?” Once more Soarin shouted, all gathered opening their wings as if on command. “AYE!” once more came the response, Midnight’s teeth on edge as the anticipation for the battle, to get payback, made her heart drum in her ears. “WONDERBOLTS! GO! GO! GO!” the command to take off came, the Lead Squad launching themselves skyward. “HOO-RAH!” Came the response as the first row took flight. Squad Six was in the fifth row back, and when it came time for them to launch none of them hesitated to follow their fellow Wonderbolts out the hanger window. Once outside they continued forward in full formation, a few of them faltering at the sight of their foe. Midnight could hardly blame them, before their very eyes the Shadowbolts were multiplying. Their numbers swelling until it was well over Eight Hundred purple and black clad figures flying full tilt towards them. Distantly, she could hear Soarin shouting encouragement, giving them orders to disperse on his mark. Her body followed the orders robotically, her brain attempting to process the sight she was seeing. They drew closer, and closer, and then the order to disperse came. Midnight shot out in a random direction, a battle cry on her lips as she slammed into a Shadowbolt mare, the impact driving the wind from her foe and causing her wings to collapse back onto her body and put her into a freefall. Not letting her foe get the upper hoof or stabilize, Midnight dives down towards her, weaving between fights like a needle, wings plastered to her sides, eyes locked on her target. She catches up quickly, driving a hoof into the mare’s head with enough force to dislodge the goggles over her eyes. What is beneath them causes Midnight to snap her wings open in shock as the eyeless glowing...holes beneath the goggles stare out at her as the Shadowbolt falls the last few yards to the ground, exploding in a flash of pink light. Shaking her head Midnight looks around, quickly spotting Tide and Dancer already back to back as they fend off multiple Shadowbolts, Sky is not that far off fighting to rejoin them as he weaves between Shadowbolts while punching and kicking them as best he can in places that cause them to falter in flight or even tumble from the air. “Group up! Squad Tactics!” She hears Soarin shouting as he flies around the battle at high speed. He didn’t have to say it twice, Midnight was already flying as hard as she could towards Tide, towards safety. She reaches Tide and puts her back against hers, Dancer and Sky doing the same thing off to one side. “So, any of this make any sense?” Midnight shouts over the din of battle as she strikes an incoming Stallion in the face, followed by a rapid follow up to his side causing his wing to retract violently, “Because, at this point, this is almost the level of a Surprise course!” “No idea,” Tide replies as she punches a Shadowbolt in the stomach, then spins them around, wraps an arm around its neck, and jerks hard to one side before releasing the limp creature, which explodes a yard below them in a flash of light, “But, at this point, I’d rather focus on beating them to a pulp!” Midnight laughs behind Tide as she strikes another Shadowbolt. “I can agree with that!” Midnight agrees, “Watch out Dancer!” She calls out to her friend and wingmate as a Shadowbolt comes from above. The older Wonderbolt doesn’t even flinch as he reaches up with one hoof, catches the mare coming at him with it, and flings her down into one of his knees hard enough to send a loud ‘CRACK’ over to where Midnight and Tide are fighting. “What I wouldn’t give for some Lighting!” Dancer shouts as he pushes the gasping Shadowbolt into another incoming one, deviating the Stallion coming at him just enough to let him get an opening to strike hard in the middle of the Stallion’s head. The Shadowbolt starts into a freefall, dazed, and is quickly taken out by a passing member of Squad Eight. The battle continues on like this for what seems like an eternity. Midnight quickly losing track of how many of these strange Shadowbolts she has downed, and gives up completely as the swarm simply continues to batter at them ceaselessly. All of them are forced to move more than once, large attacks of Shadowbolts nearly bowling them over and catapulting them to the ground, and they quickly find themselves being herded away from each other. One particularly large wave of Shadowbolt -- numbering at least twenty, fifty at most -- charges them, forcing Midnight and Tide to split in a desperate attempt to get out of the way. Midnight herself weaving once more between Shadowbolt and Wonderbolt fights, though not as skillfully as earlier, the fatigue of constantly fighting and a number of hits she has taken slowing her, but she is able to do it. Turning to see if the Shadowbolts are still following her she finds a Stallion nearly upon her, she readies her guard while flying backwards, eyes locked onto the Stallion. Suddenly, she is struck from behind, and she takes her attention off the Shadowbolt long enough to register that she has flown into the Captain of Foxtrot, the rainbow mane giving her away like a bright light in a dark room. The collision, though sends her forward...and into the waiting arms of the Shadowbolt Stallion. Instantly, as if it had been his plan the entire time, he tips towards the ground and locks his wings against his side, dividing them both towards the walkway a good forty feet beneath them. Midnight struggles desperately, a growl escaping her as she is able to pull one arm free of the death grip the Shadowbolt has on her. She plants a solid, bone breaking, blow against the Shadowbolt’s head, and he instantly falters before exploding into a bright pink light. Blinded, Midnight instinctively turns, her wings flaring out. She had not see how far she was from the ground, surely she was far enough to stop… Suddenly, the tip of her wing strikes something hard, pulling her to her left and ramming her shoulder straight into the ground. Then, her ears are filled with the sickening sound of bone snapping, a pain flaring right where her neck joins her shoulders. All the breath in her body suddenly flees her as she slides to a stop, neck bent in such a way that she instantly knows… And as the world dims, a tear escapes her as the last thing on her mind is Riptide. The beautiful, wonderful Mare who had stolen her heart. And then, all too soon, the darkness takes Midnight.