Piercing the Heavens

by Calm Wind


Chapter 106: Chills

MLP: FiM
Piercing the Heavens
By: Calm Wind
This chapter was edited by both Kestrel and Lucky424

Chapter 106: Chills


POOF

“Whoa! What the—?!” Rivet peeked around one of the engines near the outer wall of the second basement. A ventilation shaft on the ceiling had suddenly split… and was blowing smoke?! “Why is there smoke coming from a ventilation shaft…Hey! Who’s working the boiler?!” Rivet moved around the engine, his tools falling out of his work belt and clattering to the floor as he broke into a sprint. He made his way down past the machinery and towards the center where a few unicorns were scampering around and turning all the valves. Rivet shoved past them and pulled a lever on the floor beside the boiler.

A loud metallic creak filled the air and the smoke billowing out of the vent back up above ceased. Rivet lifted off into the air and hovered as he examined the split vent from afar before sighing and looking back down at his assistants. Lead Runner and Point Dex both came running from above as well to see what was wrong.

“Who was watching the pressure?” Rivet asked sternly as he looked between the four unicorn assistants. The first three pointed to the unicorn to their right, the last pointing at the first. “Great…” Rivet shook his head before turning and examining the length of the pipes rising up from the boiler.

“What was that all about?” Lead Runner asked as he tried to follow Rivet’s eyes.

“My ‘trusty’ assistants down here mishandled the boiler pressure…” Rivet said sarcastically. “And as a result… it looks like we have a leak somewhere and it got into one of the air vents… great, it’s gonna take forever to find that puncture.” He scratched his head. “But if it was getting into the vents at least we know it’s somewhere along the shafts…” He looked around the ceiling and flattened his brow. “Not that that narrows it down much.”

“Did you seal the vents?” Dex asked as he also tried to see where Rivet was looking.

“Just the section where the break is…” Rivet lifted off and flew towards the vent system leading towards where the puncture happened. Dex and Lead Runner followed behind him, hovering behind as they reached the vent. “The ventilation system is allowing us to pump fresh air in and bad air out, but it’s connected all around the compound, so we don’t want any boiler smoke getting into it. We can keep the heat cycle running, but wherever this vent leads to is going to have pretty stale air until we fix it,” Rivet explained. “Oh, jeeze….” Rivet suddenly slapped his hoof to his face. “I’m gonna get an earful for this.”

“What?” Lead Runner and Point Dex both blinked and asked simultaneously.

“The vent I had to seal off…” Rivet sighed and shook his head. “It’s the ventilation shaft connected to the…”


“Uuuuuuuggggggghhhhhhhhh…” Little Star groaned as she and Rainbow Dash walked towards the locker room behind Matteo, Squall, and Twister. They had just finished their workouts for the day with a hard weight lifting session in the fitness center. Pec Bounce had finally gotten all of the machines back in the right place, allowing the Wonderbolts to make full use of the strength training facilities instead of squeezing in to use only what was available. Regardless, Foxtrot still had to fight their way in since a lot of Wonderbolts were eager to use it, but they managed to get in.

After some hard work and a good sweat, it was time to clean up and call it a night. They had about half an hour before the heat was shut off again, so it was a perfect time to shower up and dry off before grabbing a blanket and heading to the battledome for dinner.

But it was the cleaning up part that had Little Star groaning because the entire Wonderbolt force was still limited to a single locker room, mare and stallion alike. They had made attempts to have a schedule where the mares got to use it followed by the stallions, but after the first attempt ended well into the night they decided just to suck it up and deal with it.

“This is so AWKWARD!” Star whined as they approached the locker room door. Rainbow Dash glanced down at Star while lifting an eyebrow.

“You’ve been saying that for four days now,” Dash chuckled as Star sighed and pouted towards Dash.

“You mean to tell me that you’re just okay about it?” she asked. Dash quickly shook her head.

“Definitely not, but it’s that or be smelly,” Dash said while whipping her head about to get a drop of sweat out of her eyes.

“Mmmmmrrrgghhhhh…” Star groaned again. “I just feel way too exposed… I mean, I know we’re not always wearing our uniforms and all, but taking showers and stuff, that’s more personal.” She blushed as she stared forward at Squall and Matteo. Twister was log rolling on the floor instead of walking. Dash snorted and shook her head.

“Yeah, I wonder why the guys haven’t complained at all yet,” she pointed out sarcastically, knowing full well why they hadn’t.

“Of course they haven’t!” Star huffed. “I bet the stallions are enjoying this…”

“I’m not,” Squall suddenly spoke up while glancing over his shoulder.

“HA!” Star guffawed before hovering up into the air and shifting forward until she was head level, side by side with Squall. “Don’t you give me that, Buster. I’m not falling for it!” She paused and glanced at Matteo. “Either of you.”

“Griffons don’t separate gender in facilities,” Matteo said plainly without looking at her. Star blinked and her jaw dropped.

“Okay, that’s not weird or anything…” she said, her eye twitching as she awkwardly shifted back beside Dash.

Twister suddenly accelerated as he rolled along the floor, reaching the locker room door before the rest of them, completely flattening to the floor, and sliding beneath the door. The four didn’t even blink at it as Matteo reached forward to open the door, but right before he could, the door suddenly swung open hard. Twister frantically stepped out with a clothespin clamped over his nostrils and slammed it shut, putting his back to it.

“WHEWWHEEEE!” he shouted as he shook his head, his pupils bouncing around his eyes like pinballs. “Do NOT… go in there!” he warned them. Dash just flattened her brow and pushed herself between Squall and Matteo.

“Yeah, yeah, right…” she grumbled as she moved Twister aside and grabbed the door, but the moment she opened it, an incredibly foul stench rushed from inside and splashed against her face. “SWEET CELESTIA!” Dash pulled away from the door and held her nose. “It REEKS in there!”

Matteo and Squall glanced at each other for a moment before Matteo opened the door himself. The two winced for a moment but otherwise didn’t look that affected by it.

“Oh, it’s not that bad…” Matteo commented as he and Squall made their way in, Matteo dragging a screaming Twister by the mane. Star cringed as the lovely scent met her nostrils.

“Oh my god!” she reacted as she took a step back. “It’s like… pure body odor!”

“Something must be wrong with the vents or something…” Dash groaned as she sucked it up, feeling like her eyes were going to start watering. “But…again… do we have a choice?”

Dash and Star reluctantly made their way in, hurrying up a little since Matteo was still holding the door for them.

“Jeez, how are you guys handling this?!” Star asked as she hovered, allowing her front hooves free to cover her nose. Matteo shrugged.

“It’s pretty bad,” Matteo began. “But the male locker rooms generally have a bit of a stench to them, so it’s nothing we can’t handle.”

“Whatever, I can still breathe,” Squall agreed. The two of them glanced at Twister, who was writhing on the floor and foaming at the mouth.

“Don’t let him fool you,” Matteo sighed while rolling his eyes.

“I believe him!” Star stuck her tongue out in disgust. “WOW! How do you guys stink so bad?!”

Dash sighed as she looked into the locker room. It was pretty full, the stallion to mare ratio relatively even, but in general it looked like the mares were heavily disgusted while the stallions were handling it no sweat… well… a lot of sweat. It smelled really bad.

But once again… it wasn’t like they had much of a choice. Dash grabbed a towel and headed towards the showers with her squad. They had at least drawn an invisible line down the center of the showers, all the mares using one side and the stallions using the other, but it didn’t make it any less awkward since they could all see each other. Awkward at least for the mares, the stallions, no matter what they said, were definitely not complaining.


“Holy—!” Storm put a hoof to his nose as he and Soarin entered the locker room. Soarin’s eyes widened as he wrinkled his nose.

“Whoa!” He exhaled and raised an eyebrow. “It smells worse than usual in here…” He glanced up at the vents in the corner of the ceiling as Storm made his way in. “Must be something wrong with the vents.”

“Alright, move it, I wanna get this over with and—WHAT THE—?!” Fleetfoot’s voice came from behind Soarin. He turned to see her and Spitfire entering the locker room behind him. Fleetfoot was heavily wincing and sticking her tongue out, but Spitfire simply looked disgusted. “WOWWEE!” Fleetfoot nearly gagged.

“Are the vents not working?” Spitfire asked as she continued to remain much more composed than Fleetfoot. Soarin shrugged.

“That’s my best guess,” he chuckled. “Sorry, looks like you have to deal with our stench.”

“Good gravy!” Fleetfoot spoke up, her voice slightly muffled by her hoof over her face. “Does it ALWAYS smell this bad in the stallion’s locker room? It smells like a yak’s armpit in here!” she whined. Soarin smirked as his nose had already somewhat adjusted to handle the extra bit of odor.

“I’m sorry that our stallion scent is too much for you to handle,” he joked. Fleetfoot rolled her eyes in response.

“Yikes, as if it was bad enough that I have to share a locker room with all of you pervs…” Fleetfoot grunted in disgust as she started walking through the locker room. “YOU HEAR THAT, YOU HORNY TOADS?!” she yelled, addressed the stallions. “BETTER GET ALL YOUR LOOKS NOW! CAUSE AFTER THIS IT’S ONLY IF YOU’RE LUCKY!”

She flinched as Air Mach suddenly zipped up beside her, a towel hanging off the pointy edge of his sunglasses.

“Hey, don’t mind if I do!” he said as he tipped his glasses down to look at her flank.

“EXCEPT FOR YOU!” Fleetfoot yelled as she grabbed him by arm and threw him over her shoulder into the showers.

Soarin’s ears perked up and he glanced back at Spitfire as he heard her release a heavy sigh. She started walking past him, but he started moving with her, walking side by side.

“Well, we can scratch unisex locker room off of the ‘things we’d never thought we’d do’ list,” Soarin joked.

“Mmhmm…” Spitfire hummed in response, her eyes remaining forward. Soarin lifted an eyebrow as he looked her over.

“Tough few days?” he asked, reading her body language.

“Mmhmm…” she repeated. “I didn’t get much rest in during our little week off,” she admitted. Soarin furrowed his brow, holding back the urge to push her to relax… at least for the moment. He didn’t want to immediately jump on her about it.

“The smell doesn’t seem to be bothering you that much,” he continued the small talk as they stopped to grab some towels. Spitfire shook her head as she draped a towel over her shoulders.

“I have more important things to worry about than how bad you guys stink up locker rooms I’ll thankfully never use under normal circumstances,” Spitfire explained herself monotonously.

“Phew!” High Winds’ voice came from the door, causing them both to look. “It smells like lemons and assholes in here…” she said as she inhaled for a yawn, but immediately shut her mouth and coughed. “Ooog...” she stuck her tongue out. “Not a good idea…” Her ears flopped down as she moved in and continued to cough a little.

Soarin looked back at Spitfire as she shook her head out.

“Honestly, I don’t care that we have to share a locker room either as long as we have a way to stay clean…” she said, still looking very tired.

“YO!” Lightning Streak suddenly called out as he emerged from the showers, soaking wet, and without a towel. “Five legged pony coming through! It’s okay to look ladies!” he shamelessly invited as Blaze emerged behind him, practically wrapped from head to hoof in multiple towels to conceal herself.

“More like four legs and a spud…” she grumbled as she stepped into the locker area. “GAH!” she winced and threw one of her towels over her nose. “SHIT! It got worse in here! Did somepony rip tremendous ass on top of it?!”

“I mean…” Spitfire spoke up, once again catching Soarin’s attention. “Really, we’ve had weirder things happen.”

Soarin looked over her shoulder to see Surprise and Misty Fly chasing Fire Streak while whipping him in the plot with their towels.

“Much weirder…” Spitfire put a hoof over her mouth to yawn without inhaling the stench.

The door to the locker room flew open and Silver stepped in. He instantly scrunched his face.

“Did somepony fuck a CLOWN in here?! It sure smells like it!” he reacted before grunting in disgust and walking past Spitfire and Soarin.

“I’ve kind of become numb to it all at this point,” Spitfire shrugged as Soarin chuckled at her.

“You need a break,” he suggested.

“I don’t get breaks, Soarin,” Spitfire instantly replied while shaking her head, but Soarin completely ignored her.

“Promise me you’ll find at least a little bit of time to get off your hooves and relax. We need you at a hundred percent too, you know.” He put a hoof on her shoulder. “We want our captain at full strength so we can be at full strength.”

Spitfire flattened her brow as she turned to look at him, but instead of protesting she sighed and nodded weakly.

“I’ll try.” She didn’t even argue it. Soarin was surprised she gave way so quickly, but maybe even she was aware of it this time.

“Good.” Soarin nodded in agreement as the two headed towards the showers.

They split up as they stepped into the wide open shower room, Spitfire heading left as Soarin went right. It was a little awkward, sure… but honestly, Soarin was a stallion, and there were mares taking showers across from him and the rest of the stallions, he knew what was on their minds because it was on his too. Most of the stallions were behaving themselves, but there were also a number of them taking more than a few peeks. Needless to say, a few shampoo bottles were being launched from the left side to the right in response.

Of course, Soarin didn’t want to look like a pervert, but… there was one particular mare that was easy to spot taking a shower on the other side. He made sure to aim all of his glances at Rainbow Dash. He knew she wouldn’t complain…that much if she caught him.


Dash kept her eyes on the shower handle as she let the water run through her mane and down her body. She didn’t even want to glance towards the stallions because it would only make her feel more awkward. Unfortunately, one of her squadmates was not particularly known for behaving himself… ever.

“Twister…” she spoke up without looking. The green and blue in her peripheral vision told her all she needed to know. “Quit being a creep and stay on your side.”

With some snickering the colors disappeared. Dash turned to grab the bottle of shampoo on the floor, only to see Twister sliding along the floor towards her.

“Twister, knock it off.” she reached her back hoof towards him and shoved him back over to the stallion side. She rubbed the shampoo into her mane and dipped her head back under the water until…

“HEY!” Squall yelled.

Dash forced herself to glance towards the stallion side. Her eyes locked on Soarin’s plot for about ten seconds before she blinked and noticed Squall was inching towards the mare side with a massive blush on his face as his hooves slipped along the wet floor.

“CUT IT OUT!” he yelled while looking over his shoulder at Twister, who was pushing him along while whistling.

“Twister!” Dash yelled as several Wonderbolts turned to look towards the commotion. Squall managed to break away and move right back over to the stallion side, but the moment Twister was in view again…

“Hey! Where did my soap go?” Star called out from beside Dash. Dash groaned as she saw Twister holding fourteen bars of soap in his arms.

“IT’S TIME TO LATHER UP…” Twister bounced his eyebrows before vigorously rubbing all of the soap bars on his body. Several Wonderbolts reacted, expressing their displeasure that their soap had not only been stolen, but was also being rubbed on another body. Dash just held a hoof over her face and acted like she didn’t know him, despite the collective knowledge that she was his captain.

Only after a few seconds of soap rubbing, Twister completely disappeared into a mound of soap bubbles, only his eyes poking out near the top. He began sliding around the shower room as a ‘bubble monster’ which had a lot of the stallions laughing, but the mares shouting and taking swipes at him if he tried to come over to their side.

“TWISTER!” Dash yelled his name in embarrassment as he continued to make an ass of himself.

“For the love of…” Matteo growled as Twister drew near him. He reached up and slammed his talons over the bubble mound, but his arms went right through it and the bubbles shot out in all directions.

Twister had once again… disappeared.

“Seriously, where does he keep going?!” Star groaned as she returned to her spot, which had Dash conveniently blocking her from the stallions’ view.

“I gave up wondering ages ago,” Dash sighed as she glanced at the wet, dripping Soarin again before returning to washing up with a slightly giddy blush on her face, almost forgetting all about Twister with her personal stallion eye-candy so close by.


After lots of awkward showering, the Wonderbolts were clearing out of the smelly locker room, eager to grab some food. There still wasn’t much of a food selection, but just like with the locker room, it was better than having nothing.

Soarin finished wiping his mane off with his towel, catching a glimpse of Dash and her squad conversing with Storm as they left. Well… they were missing Twister, but he was told that happened often.

He wanted to join Dash to eat, so he quickly tossed his towel into the dirty towel bin that some poor maintenance worker would have to retrieve later before following behind. He passed by Spitfire and reached the door, but it opened before he could touch it. Wave Chill stepped through nearly running directly into Soarin’s chest.

“Oh! Sorry Commander, I—dear lord, it smells bad in here!” Wave reacted before he could finish his sentence.

“Vent seems to be caput,” Soarin chuckled as he pointed to the ceiling.

“I can smell, er… tell,” Wave waved a hoof in front of his face.

“You’re just coming in now?” Soarin asked while looking around the locker room. The last of the Wonderbolts were finishing up and on their way out.

“I got a late start to my training, hopefully I can clean up before the heat is shut off,” Wave explained as he started to move, but Soarin suddenly stopped him. “Commander?”

“Actually,” Soarin smiled as he looked over his shoulder. There was only one Wonderbolt left as a group walked by them and through the exit. And that Wonderbolt was none other than Spitfire. “Perfect timing.”

“What for?” Wave asked while tipping his head.

“Somepony is stressed…” Soarin grabbed Wave’s shoulder and pulled him around so he could see exactly who he was talking about. “You know what to do.”

“Do wha—? Oh.” Wave’s eyes landed on Spitfire as she stretched her wings out and released a sigh of slight discomfort.

“I got her to agree to relax a little, but knowing her it wasn’t enough to fully convince her. I want her to get some quality rest and I know she won’t say no to you,” Soarin explained as he winked. Wave glanced at Soarin with an eyebrow raised.

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that…” he said as he looked back towards Spitfire.

“Oh, just go,” Soarin chuckled while giving Wave a light push towards her. Soarin watched Wave approach the unaware Spitfire before turning to follow after his own mare, leaving the two alone in the less than romantic environment of the smelly locker room.

Wave made his way over to her. She didn’t even notice somepony was still there until he got close. She suddenly looked up, glancing around briefly to see she was the only pony left, save for the new arrival. She smiled when she saw it was Wave, who gave her a warm smile in return.

“Hey,” he said simply as he approached her.

“Hey,” she replied in kind, but sounding rather flat.

“I’ve been told you were overdoing it again,” he said as he walked up and gave her a light rub on the shoulder with his hoof. He pulled it back when he saw her looking flatly at him.

“Oh great,” she sighed and let her head droop down. “Now Soarin is using you against me.” She looked back up at him carefully as he forced a smile and lifted his brow. She shook her head. “I’m just a little stressed. This is part of my job, Wave. It’s nothing I’m not used to,” she said as she tried to walk around him.

Wave watched her as she started moving, but he could clearly see it. She couldn’t even walk without looking tired. Soarin was right, she needed rest, and because Wave cared about her, he wanted to be sure she got it. He quickly reached out and gently hooked a hoof over her shoulder, stopping her in place. Was it a little forceful? Maybe, but he wanted her to know he was concerned and he wasn’t going to let her brush her own health aside.

“That doesn’t mean I have to let it happen,” he said sternly to her. Spitfire’s eyes widened slightly as she turned and looked at Wave’s hoof on her shoulder. Her eyes ran along his arm and back to him, looking into his eyes.

Wave had changed so much since their little relationship had finally begun. It had taken him so long to drop formalities with her and even after he did, he was still a bit stiff when it came to speaking to her. Wave respected authority more than any other pony in the Wonderbolts and Spitfire’s status of captain still seemed to affect him at times even though they had become a closer as a couple.

However, recently that had been fading. Wave was starting to relax more around her. He was starting to act less like a soldier when they were alone and more like a coltfriend. He had gotten more playful, more gentle, more tender, and had even called her beautiful recently, something she thought she’d never hear from anypony.

And now here… he was sternly expressing his concern about her overworking herself. Something a second commander, especially one as strict about rank like Wave, would never normally do to the lead captain, but Wave was looking past rank here.

He was thinking of her, thinking of Spitfire, not the lead captain. That thought made her heart flutter a little, and as he looked at her with his concerned eyes, it only made it flutter more. This was the first time in a long time another had expressed such feelings to her, not including Fleetfoot and Soarin, who she heard this kind of stuff all the time from. Because it was from Wave, it had a different effect on her. She wasn’t sure if she was blushing or not, but her face felt a little tingly.

“Tell you what,” Wave started talking again since she had gone silent in her sudden admiration of his forwardness. “I’m running a little behind here, but after I get cleaned up and grab some food, the next heat rotation should be starting. Let’s meet in your room and we can relax together. Some quiet time, just me and you, okay?” he suggested with a smile.

She just kept staring at him.

“Spitfire?” he tipped his head to the side curiously. Spitfire blinked and shook her head lightly.

“Um…” She looked down and bit her lip. She was certain she was blushing now.

Wave tipped his head down to get a better look at her face and was surprised to see her blushing. She suddenly looked up, right into his eyes for a brief moment before leaning forward and planting her face right into his shoulder while releasing a heavy sigh. Wave remained still for a few seconds before smiling and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

“That sounds… great. Let’s do that,” Spitfire agreed while sighing again.

“Good,” Wave tipped his head to rest it against hers.

“You guys are right… I do need it, but…” Spitfire trailed off, suddenly reaching her arms up and grabbing onto Wave’s neck, holding it VERY tightly. “I need it with you.”

Wave’s face went blank momentarily as Spitfire showcased her need for him on top of her need for rest. It quickly turned into a warm smile as he felt his heart swell in his chest. However, Spitfire wasn’t letting go of him. She mumbled something into the crook of his neck, but it was too muffled for him to understand.

“What was that?” he asked as he tried to turn his ears towards her. She pulled her face off of his shoulder and moved back slightly so she could look him directly in the eyes. She was blushing really hard, a clear a present pinkish, red hue spread across her nose and over her cheeks.

“I…” Spitfire squeaked, letting her feelings spill over. She was tired… they were in a locker room that smelled absolutely awful… but Wave was just too much. He had her in a mood she didn’t want to wait any longer. She had thoroughly convinced herself over the years that in her position as the lead captain she’d never find the time for somepony else. But Wave suddenly became that pony for her, and after how much he had changed and how far he had gone to express his care for her, she just couldn’t help herself anymore. She had fallen for him and she wanted to let him know.

“I love you.”

Wave’s eyes widened. Not in shock… but surprise. He wasn’t frozen or suddenly over-stimulated, he was just not quite sure if he had really just heard Spitfire say that.

“I… what?” Wave stumbled over his words clumsily.

“I love you,” Spitfire repeated. “I really do, okay?” She tipped her head forward and bumped her head against his chest. “I really, really do.”

Wave looked down at her as she rested her forehead against him. Did this really just happen? Had he really just gotten a mare to fall for him by doing what came natural to him? Sure, he had been feeling more comfortable around Spitfire and was trying to show her how much he cared… but he didn’t think she’d suddenly confess.

But who was he kidding? He wouldn’t have been trying so hard if he didn’t feel something special with her. And if she felt the same way…

“Things have been so rough,” Spitfire spoke up, her head still against his chest. “We’ve managed, but I’ve been falling flat on my face a lot throughout the process. I’ve been questioning my own decisions, feeling like I’m out of the loop and being shown things I never considered…” She tipped her head up to brush her nose through the fur on his chest. “Without you, I’d have pulled my mane out by now… and don’t start saying that you haven’t done anything. You’ve done more for me than any other stallion I’ve ever known. I can’t help feeling like this. You’re special to me.”

Wave listened to her as she described what he had done. She was right, he assumed he hadn’t done anything special, but apparently he had. The way she was acting right now made it perfectly clear that he had made a difference for her… and it had led to this.

And now he felt like the luckiest stallion in the world. How many stallions could say they had naturally wooed the captain of the Wonderbolts? She was much, much more to him than that… but it spoke towards how incredible of a mare she was. Him… Wave Chill… and the most incredible mare he could possibly think of… it just didn’t line up right in his head, but that was his humility talking.

“And you’re smelly…” Spitfire added as she pulled her nose back from his fur.

Now he had to respond. He realized he was staring down at her like an idiot for more than a few moments.

“Spitfire…” Wave finally spoke up, getting her to look up at him and finally see that he was smiling. He brushed a hoof against her face. She quickly reached up and touched her hoof to his. “I would be… the dumbest stallion in Equestria if I let this pass me by… wouldn’t I?” he chuckled, his smile growing wider as she just kept staring at him. “Well, I’m not gonna be that stallion… I promise,” he reached his face towards hers. “I love you… too…” he said while leaning in further. “And I also… really, really do.”

“Wave…” Spitfire inhaled sharply as their faces grew close… and their lips met.

Was it the first time they had kissed? No, they had already been a couple for a while, but they had yet to confess that they were in love with each other. The softness and sweetness of the kiss felt so much different now that they had. They pulled apart and stared into each other’s eyes for a long while, neither with much of an expression nor with anything to say.

Art by: Foxenawolf

Talk about a strange relationship they had had. A traumatic circumstance first brought them together, followed by a prank that forced them into a very awkward situation, and then Spitfire went through heat while trying to avoid him at the same time. She ended up stuffing him into a mattress before they finally found their balance again… and now here they were, the compound uprooted and crashed in the mountains, former enemies helping them, a half functioning heating system… and they confessed their love for each other in a locker room that smelled absolutely awful before sharing their first kiss in said environment.

Their intertwined lives had been full of so many interesting twists and turns that it seemed fitting for it to reach this point with circumstances that were utterly ridiculous. Neither of them cared though… as long as they had each other. Spitfire felt love and attention from him towards her as a mare and not simply flattery towards her being his captain. And Wave Chill had found his way out of his shell with the urge to express himself on a deeper level to her. They had helped each other and it was definitely not just by chance. They were in love, and they finally got to express it to the other.

“Talk about an interesting time and place for this, eh?” Wave spoke up finally. Spitfire smiled and let out a soft giggle.

“Speaking of… you better get cleaned up before the heat shuts off. You might only have a few minutes left,” she suggested. “We can continue this later in my room,” she said while looking at him lovingly.

“Indeed,” Wave nodded before leaning in again. Spitfire noticed his movement and instantly did the same. They share a very brief kiss before Wave gave her a nod. “I’ll meet you in your room later, okay? I think we REALLY need some private time now, who knows when we’ll get another chance.”

“I completely agree,” Spitfire smiled. “Now hit the showers, soldier,” she joked, winking and sticking her tongue out cutely. “I’ll see you later,” she said with renewed vigor in her voice.

Wave did as he was told, glancing over his shoulder to watch her leave. Her posture was now upright instead of slumped and she had a clear happy hop in her steps. Everything else that had just happened aside, Wave wanted her, more than anything, to feel better. And he had definitely succeeded in that, probably much more than he ever had before.

He turned towards the showers as she left, already thinking about around an hour from now where he’d have a chance to spend some time with Spitfire. After their little confessions, it was bound to be romantic. He wouldn’t claim to be a master of romance, but now he felt less worried about doing too much. Cuddling was probably much more satisfying when the two parties were this into each other.

He loved her, and she loved him. It came from both of their mouths to the other. It was official now, they both knew and there was no reason to restrain themselves. He was definitely looking forward to relaxing with her, now with absolutely no hesitation, and with full comfort.

He bobbed his head back and forth happily as he walked through the locker room and grabbed one of the few remaining towels, completely forgetting how bad it smelled as he moved towards the showers. He hung the towel on a hook outside the shower, but right before he could step in, he squinted.

“Ah…” he grunted as he blinked. Something had gotten in his eye. He turned away from the showers and moved into the bathroom, standing in front of the mirror and leaning over the sink to try and deduce what was irritating his eye. He reached up and pulled down his eyelid, locating a stray strand of his own mane that had gotten caught in his eye. “Hm…” he hummed as he reached up and brushed his mane, removing the hair from near his eye and blinking several times. “That’s bett—”

As he blinked one last time he saw what he thought was something moving behind him, a blur moving quickly. Wave’s eyes widened and he immediately looked over his shoulder.

But he saw nothing. He looked back and forth around the bathroom several times, but there was no sign of anything out of the ordinary.

“Huh…” he shrugged, assuming it must have just been the light tricking him as he was blinking. He was the last pony in the locker room after all. He was just seeing things.

He turned and walked out of the bathroom, moving back towards the shower area, but as he got there… his towel was gone.

“Wha…?” he glanced around the locker room. His head suddenly turned towards the showers themselves as he heard what sounded like a gentle tap of hooves against the floor. He flattened his ears and brow. There was definitely somepony with him in the locker room. Whoever it was, they were messing with him. And what’s worse, whoever it was had also definitely been around and eavesdropped on his and Spitfire’s romantic moment.

“Alright…” he spoke with an annoyed tone towards the showers as he stepped into them, looking left first. “Who’s there, and how long have you—”

He looked right.

“WHAT THE—?!”


“How are they doing?” Spitfire asked as she let herself into the new infirmary at the back of the barracks. Princess Luna looked up towards the entrance as Spitfire walked through, glancing back and forth at the afflicted Shadowbolts as she moved, a blanket draped over her to keep warm until the heat started up again. Each one of the Shadowbolts was surrounded by a glow that shifted between light blue and green, signifying the joint efforts of Bliss and Luna to sooth their pain.

While they all looked peaceful, and were resting comfortably, it didn’t stop them from looking completely and utterly drained, blank looks on all of their faces as they lay still. The clear crystals and hardened scabs had grown, spreading slowly and leaving the fates of those they grew upon unknown.

Spitfire was in a good mood for obvious reasons, but she had wanted to check in with Luna and Bliss before meeting with Wave. The glow in her chest that he had planted didn’t overpower her professionalism though. She remained serious, showing concern for these pegasi, even if they were her enemies.

“They are resting…” Luna spoke up as she looked away from Spitfire and towards Bliss, who was reapplying her therapeutic magic around a nearby Shadowbolt mare as Mahogany and Witching moved about the others. “But, we have found no solution within our power,” she explained with a sigh as she looked back towards Spitfire.

“Do you think if we had more resources and better facilities we could figure something out?” Spitfire asked as she stopped in front of Luna. Luna shook her head.

“Unless we find a way to get them to said facilities… we cannot say,” she admitted. “We have never seen, in all our countless years, a condition such as this. It’s frightening.”

“All the more reason for us to try and get this tub moving again,” Spitfire nodded as she referred to the compound flight mechanisms. “I don’t care if they are our enemies. I’m not about to consider leaving them for dead.”

“Well spoken,” Luna nodded in agreement. “We must plan our strategy going forward soon. We feel it is nearly time for us to act again, yes?”

“I believe so,” Spitfire said with a quick nod. “I plan to speak with Descent tomorrow on the matter. Rivet has expressed to me that he believes he can get this thing up and flying again, but we should have plans for both scenarios just in case.”

“Speaking of…” Luna suddenly said as she looked up and over Spitfire’s shoulder. Spitfire blinked and turned her head towards the entrance. Descent had just walked in with Lightning Dust trotting in behind him shortly after.

Descent didn’t even look towards Luna and Spitfire. His eyes went directly to the first Shadowbolt in the row of beds on the right, a stallion. The afflicted stallion had the clear white crystals jutting out of his chest and running down the side of his body. He was wincing periodically, but breathing steadily.

Lightning Dust walked up beside Descent and looked towards his face. Descent was staring blankly towards the stallion, but his eyes were moving subtly, indicating he was examining his former comrade.

A quiet groan drew his attention away and towards a Shadowbolt mare that lay in the bed across from the stallion. Descent turned and moved towards her, taking in the more horrific state she was in. The crystals on her body moved from her left shoulder, up her neck, and had covered half of her face. The shifting magical aura around her was doing its job, but her state looked far and away the most painful of all the Shadowbolts in the room.

Descent slowly approached the mare, placing himself on her right to examine her. The mare’s uncovered eye squeaked open as she gritted her teeth and her pained breath hissed between them. Her teeth parted as she let out a quiet squeak of pain, as if she was trying to say something, but the crystals on her neck were pinching her vocal cords.

Her eye landed on Descent, and she struggled to move her right arm, reaching it up towards Descent desperately. Descent calmly reached his arm up and grabbed her hoof, holding it for a moment before slowly lowering her arm back down to the bed.

“Rest…” he said quietly to her as her eye closed again and she continued to breathe with labored breaths.

“Descent…” Lightning Dust walked up behind him with her ears flopped down beside her head. “I… Is there anything…” she reached up as she moved beside him to place her hoof on his shoulder, but his wing unfolded slightly to stop it.

“I am fine,” he said with a quiet grunt as he turned away from the Shadowbolt mare and moved onto the next. His face remained perfectly stoic, but the fact that he was there, examining each one of them spoke volumes for how he was feeling. Lightning Dust could clearly tell Descent was not at ease. She proved to be much more sympathetic than Starry by trying to comfort him, but Descent wasn’t having it. Not because he didn’t want it, he just wanted to look strong for his friends that were down. He clearly still considered them family.

Spitfire watched carefully as Descent moved from Shadowbolt to Shadowbolt. She observed as some of them reacted to his presence. Some of them reached for him, some of them smiled, some of them simply looked at him. Despite being on opposite sides… they still looked towards Descent as anypony would towards a leader.

How awful it had to be to have those you trusted and regarded as comrades be torn completely down the middle. Spitfire admired Descent’s composure as he moved about. She couldn’t even imagine how hard it would weigh on her if the Wonderbolts were divided and she was forced to fight against ponies she had grown so fond of and viewed as family.

Even worse, what if these were Wonderbolts lying in these beds? What if she were forced to look upon Fleetfoot, Soarin, Silver, Wave Chill, Misty Fly, Fire Streak… any of them, it didn’t matter who as they suffered from a painful state that they had no current hope to cure?

As if Spitfire hadn’t grown to admire Descent a little already for how calmly and quickly he made decisions, seeing him being sensitive to those he wished to save and protect was another testament to how he balanced his emotions. He was a hardened, ruthless warrior in combat, but in other situations, he turned that off in favor of more fitting behavior. He was in control of himself in any and all situations, something she wish she was better at doing. She had had a few encounters with him recently, challenging his decisions only to have it turned around on her, but despite how she felt she had made a few errors and made herself look a little hypocritical, she felt she was learning a lot from him.

While she was the rightful captain of the Wonderbolts, she was still young. Her skills spoke for themselves, but she had lots of room to gain experience… and… perhaps this was why Blazetail and Flashwind had chosen her over Silver. Perhaps that was why Silver turned down her request to have him take over. They recognized that she already had the physical prowess… but also had the luxury many years ahead to gain experience and learn from those around her. After all… that was how she lifted in the ranks so quickly with her squad, by learning from those around her. Most captains only held the position for five or so years. At the age of twenty-five, she had the luxury of having a reign of double that, maybe even more.

Descent paused when he reached Spitfire and Luna, looking at them both briefly and lifting an eyebrow when he saw them both with their eyes on him.

“Something on my face besides scars?” he asked sarcastically. Spitfire flattened her brow as she shook her head.

“Actually there’s something I wanted to talk to you about if you have a moment,” she said, thinking about what she and Luna had just brought up.

“Again?” Descent huffed, clearly citing what happened last time she wanted to ‘speak’ with him. Spitfire quickly cut off his assumption.

“It’s about the situation, relax,” she said flatly. “I’m done trying to argue policies, we need to focus on other things,” she explained. Descent turned away from her.

“Not until I check on the rest,” he stated firmly before he continued to check on the Shadowbolts. Spitfire felt it right to honor his request. She could see his concern for the Shadowbolts, and keeping up on their status was clearly a priority for him, one she would feel bad to interrupt.

As he walked past them, Lightning Dust tried to keep up behind. However, she froze and stared wide eyed at Spitfire for a moment before looking away uncomfortably and quickening her pace to keep up with Descent.

Spitfire furrowed her brow, narrowed her eyes, and exhaled through her nose as she watched Lightning Dust avoid eye contact with her.

Spitfire still had mixed feelings about Lightning Dust. She was an ally, she had been very helpful along with the rest of the Renegades, she had assisted her in saving Silver as the compound was taking off… but Spitfire still found it VERY hard to forget the incredible amount of emotional pain Lightning Dust had inflicted upon her back during the second Shadowbolt conflict.

It was clear that Lightning Dust was being influenced by Nightshade at the time, and even more clear that she had come to her senses, had seen the wrong in her ways, and had turned over a new leaf, working towards more admirable ends. However, some scars take a while to fade… on both sides. There was bound to be tension between the two of them for a long time.

Spitfire waited patiently for Descent to make his way around before she made any attempt to talk to him again.

“What is it?” he asked with little emotion in his voice as if he was trying to conceal the emotional pain he was clearly feeling for his former comrades. Spitfire gave a nod, wearing a serious expression to convey the importance of her request… despite the fact that she was still thinking about where she was going right after.

“We should meet at some point, preferably soon to discuss our plans going forward. Is there a time we can gather up all relevant Wonderbolts, Renegades, and other authorities to do so?” she asked while stealing a glance at Luna.

“Tomorrow,” Descent said quickly and simply.

“When?” Spitfire pressed as Descent turned away, clearly not wanting to think much about it at the moment.

“First scouting report in the morning,” he said as he slowly started walking towards the exit.

“Does that work for you Luna?” Spitfire asked.

“Indeed,” Luna replied quickly, paying more attention to helping Bliss, Mahogany, and Witching as they tended to a Shadowbolt whose comfort magic had to be reset.

“Good we’ll…” Spitfire turned back around, but Descent was already opening the door and leaving. Lightning Dust was right behind him, glancing between the door and Spitfire several times before following him. “See you then…”

Spitfire took a deep breath and sighed. So much stuff to take care of… so many issues to address and so many problems to solve. Luna was clearly busy now, so she decided to leave her and Bliss to their duties.

She needed to relax, and…

Spitfire smiled as a certain stallion came to mind, one that she had just exchanged confessions with. It was time to put the problems behind her for a bit. It was important to be aware of what was going on and doubly important to be focused and concerned… but she needed some rest.

Despite the somber air of the barracks infirmary, she left with a smile on her face. She felt incredibly fortunate that she had Wave to help her relax and cope with everything going on… and it was time to make use of that comfort. She couldn’t remember the last time she had taken a load off for an hour or so… and she couldn’t be happier to do it with Wave involved.


“FINALLY!” Fleetfoot cheered as she threw off her blanket and stood directly below a heating vent on the ceiling of the east hallway. “Sweet sweet relieeeeeeef… mmmmmmmmm…” she giggled as she melted to the floor and spread her wings out.

Soarin, Storm Front, Rainbow Dash, and Squad Foxtrot, who was still minus Twister, all shed their blankets as well as the warm air splashed into the halls.

Foxtrot and Storm had decided to go visit their barracks again with Soarin tagging along for something to do, but were ‘intercepted’ on their way by Fleetfoot, who was looking for some giggles at the lighthearted expense of others, per usual. The heat had come back on right before they reached the lobby, prompting Fleetfoot to sprawl herself out on the floor as the vent above her pumped out the warm air.

“Ahhhhhhh… so satisfying… yeah, ooh, ah, right there…” Fleetfoot rolled onto her back to let the heat splash against her stomach. Storm and the rest of Foxtrot were all just staring at her, but Dash and Soarin were both chuckling.

“You naturally make everything sound sexual, you know that?” Soarin commented as he walked up to her. Fleetfoot looked at him while still upside down, bouncing her eyebrows.

“Don’t tempt me, your Highness I could do much worse,” she giggled as she rolled back onto her hooves and shook herself out.

“Seriously, don’t tempt her,” Dash joked while nudging Soarin. “Especially with both of us here. She’ll bury us in innuendos.”

“She’s learning!” Fleetfoot joked as she playfully ran herself into Soarin’s side, pushing him into Dash.

Rainbow Dash snickered as she stumbled, regaining her balance before glancing towards the others. Twister had yet to show up again, he wasn’t even around during dinner. Whatever he was up to, Dash knew he’d reappear eventually in some silly way.

Storm was right beside her, looking perfectly normal and natural, but Squall, Star, and Matteo all looked a little stiff, all with their eyes either on Soarin or Fleetfoot.

“Hm?” Dash shifted towards them as the whole group drew near the lobby. “What’s up guys?” She looked back and forth between them all. Squall and Matteo said nothing, but Star spoke up.

“Eh…” she gritted her teeth. “It’s just kind of weird.”

“What is?” Dash asked as she looked towards Soarin and Fleetfoot. Fleetfoot was on Soarin’s back, yanking at his neck like she had him in a chokehold, but Soarin was walking naturally as if she wasn’t even there.

“Casual encounters with two first commanders…” Star shrugged.

“Really?” Dash asked as she glanced at Storm, who was chuckling at Fleetfoot trying to wrestle Soarin to the ground with absolutely no luck. “It’s not like you haven’t interacted with Soarin before…” Dash tried to put it together. Well, it didn’t make sense to her, but her case was much different from theirs. Hell, the rest of them were intimidated with Silver around. Granted there was more to it with him being their former instructor, but he was a second commander as well.

“Not used to it,” Matteo spoke up. “Authority is lax right now due to circumstance, but… just not used to it,” he repeated. “You’ve had much more time among them than us.”

“I guess…” said Dash as she looked them all over again. “Never really thought about it.”

“That’s cause you’re banging one of them…” Squall muttered grumpily. Before Dash could even give him a flat look, Fleetfoot popped up right beside him.

“Oh, you BET she is!” she said slyly as she pressed the side of her body completely against Squall’s.

“GAH!” Squall immediately shifted so hard to the left that he tripped over Star and tumbled to the floor, taking Star down with him.

“WOW! Somepony is high strung!” Fleetfoot giggled as Squall quickly rolled to his hooves, not realizing that Star’s wing was caught on his.

“Whoa!” Star yelped as Squall stood up, flinging upward and barely catching herself in a hover before hitting the ground.

Squall just glared at Fleetfoot and gritted his teeth, but it looked like it was with great hesitation, perhaps because she was authority… and he knew he couldn’t do much to retaliate against a lead squad Wonderbolt.

“Ooo, I like that look you’re giving me!” Fleetfoot joked while shuffling towards him.

“Get away from me!” Squall’s expression turned from aggressive to mortified as Fleetfoot teasingly backed him all the way up against the wall.

“Fleet, leave him alone,” Dash chuckled as Squall turned himself sideways to go as flat against the wall as possible.

“Aw, relax… I don’t bite,” Fleetfoot winked at Squall before leaning towards his face. “Hard.” She added, causing Squall’s face to go pale and his ears to flop down.

“Okay, okay, okay…” Star hovered up between them and placed herself between their faces. “Please, Commander… he’s really a bit anxious about personal space…” she asked respectfully.

“SNNNRRRRRKKKK…”

Dash blinked as the loud noise came from behind her. She turned and looked up at Matteo, who was looking away from all of them, an arm reached up with his talons covering his beak. He looked a little embarrassed as Dash glanced at him.

Dash just shook her head at him. That was definitely a snicker or snort of some kind, and it was obvious why he did it. Star vouching for respecting Squall’s personal space was a bit humorous considering she violated it often. On the flipside though, Squall never reacted when she did it. Fleetfoot on the other hoof had nearly turned him completely white with her flirty behavior.

“Aw, but he’s so handsome!” Fleetfoot tried to look past Star, but every shift she made, Star stayed lined up to block her from Squall. “Lemme see that sexy scar!”

“Please?” Star asked again as Dash walked up behind Fleetfoot.

“I’m gonna have to agree with her here, Fleet,” she suggested as Fleetfoot turned to look at her. “Go easy, he doesn’t handle this kind of stuff well.”

“Oh alright,” Fleetfoot reached up and lightly pushed Star aside so she could see Squall. “Hey, sorry,” she apologized immediately. “I’m just teasing, no need to be afraid of me,” she tried to assure him, but Squall just kept staring at her wide eyed. Fleetfoot glanced back at Dash, who only shrugged.

“Oh great, you broke him,” Dash chuckled. “Snap out of it Squall, this is just what she does.”

“Hey!” Star suddenly yelled, drawing all of their attention to her. However, she was looking into the lobby. Soarin, Storm, and Matteo had all kept going, leaving them behind. “Where do you guys think you’re going without us?!” she fumed as she hovered after them.

Squall removed himself from the wall, but his eyes remained locked on Little Star as she flew away from them.

Fleetfoot examined the expression on Squall’s face… then looked as Star turned the corner to follow behind the other three. She looked at Squall, then at the lobby, then at Squall, then at the lobby. A wide, mischievous smile formed on her face. Dash quickly noticed and her eyes widened.

“Fleet… don’t…”

But it was too late.

“Sssssssssssssssaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy…” Fleetfoot shifted over to Squall again, causing him to flinch and freeze up. “I saw that look on your face!” she put an arm over his shoulder and leaned in towards his ear. “You have a thing for that cute little lady, don’t you!?”

“WHAT?!” Squall reacted as Dash sighed and planted a hoof over her face and pulled it down.

“Alright Fleet…” Dash walked up, ready to pull Fleetfoot off of Squall. “That’s enough harassing my—”

“Ah?! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

Dash, Fleetfoot, and Squall all quickly looked towards the lobby, their eyes widening as the cry of pain echoed past them. They all stared for a moment before Dash and Fleetfoot’s ears both stood straight up.

“That was…!” Fleetfoot quickly released Squall, but Dash was already up in the air and flying towards the lobby.

“SOARIN!” Dash yelled out, easily recognizing the painful cry as Soarin’s voice. Fleetfoot was right behind her, quickly catching up behind Dash with her speed as the two completely left Squall in the dust. They turned the corner into the lobby to see all the workers in the room looking towards Matteo, Star, and Storm… who were backing away from Soarin.

Dash gasped as Soarin came into view. He was standing up perfectly straight and stiff, the fake horn was surrounded by a glowing, pulsating yellow aura.

“Ah! AAAAHHH! AHHH!!!!!” He shouted as he slammed his eyes shut.

“SOARIN!” Dash called his name again as she and Fleetfoot picked up their pace. Fleetfoot landed beside Matteo, staying a safe distance away, but Dash moved right up to him, pressing her hooves to the floor and skidding to a halt in front of him. “What’s going on?!”

“UGH! GAH!” Soarin grunted as his eyes opened, an incredibly bright yellow glow flaring out from them. He stopped yelling and grunting the moment his eyes opened, going silent as if he was watching something. The yellow light continued to shine brightly from his horn, his whole body releasing a faint yellow glow now.

“Soarin?!” Dash reached for him, but as usual with the yellow magic, when she tried to touch him, the light lashed out and struck her. “Ow!” Dash pulled her hoof back and shook it out. She was about to call his name again, but right before she could… Soarin suddenly exhaled and shut his eyes. The glow faded from around his body and the horn, his eyes opened, revealing they had returned to normal…

“Ah…” Soarin slumped to the floor and immediately pressed a hoof to his forehead.

“What… the hell… was that…?” Matteo asked slowly, the griffon warrior caught in a rare moment of utter confusion along with the rest.

“Soarin… what the heck, I thought you had that stuff all under control now!” Fleetfoot said with concern as she walked up beside Dash.

“I’ve seen that before…” Dash spoke up, drawing all of their attention as a confused Squall finally caught up with them. “Soarin!” Dash crushed down and gently cupped his cheek with her hoof. “Was that the same thing that happened before? When the Shadowbolt fortress appeared?”

The others all froze as Dash spoke. Whatever it was that had just happened, they ALL hoped it didn’t mean what Dash had just suggested. Soarin his eyes and looked into Dash’s concerned expression.

This had happened to him before, and Dash was right. It happened right before the Shadowbolts revealed the rebuilt flying fortress and another time before that as Soarin had told her. The yellow magic had flared up and he was given a brief vision of something terrible happening, right before it actually happened.

“It was… but…” Soarin blinked and shook his head. “What… did I just see?” The others looked on curiously, but Dash kept prompting him for more.

“What was it? What did you see?” she asked as she helped him stand up.

“It was… I don’t know. It was all blurry. Orange, blue, and yellow colors… but I couldn’t see what it was,” he looked towards Dash with an incredibly worried look on his face. “But it was different this time. It didn’t fill me with a sense of dread… I felt more… worried.” He shut his eyes and shook his head. “All I know is that it felt very, very wrong…”

Dash blinked as she listened, looking down briefly to go over everything he had just said. Orange, blue, and yellow? A sense of worry instead of dread? She couldn’t draw those things to anything they were currently dealing with or anything they knew at this point. Yellow and blue made her think of his magic, but why orange? Was it about something else entirely?

She turned her focus back to Soarin. They were in the middle of a crisis situation the last time Soarin saw something that seemed like a warning. Right now they were in no such danger, unless what had just happened indicated they were. There was no sign of anything happening around them and they weren’t under attack, so it could’ve meant something else, but what? Whatever it was… they now had a chance to address it.

“Guys…” Dash turned to the rest. “Soarin and I have to go see Luna, go on ahead without me.”

“Ugh…” Soarin groaned as he reached up to rub his forehead again. Dash grabbed his arm and started heading towards the barracks ahead of them with the intention of going all the way to the back to see Luna.

“Wait! Hey!” Fleetfoot quickly ran after them. “Wait for me!” she called, leaving Storm, Squall, Star, and Matteo behind, all incredibly confused as to what they just witnessed.


Spitfire moved towards her door from the west end of the third floor, taking several deep breaths as she drew near. She was already feeling much better and she hadn’t even gotten to relaxing yet. She had decided to go for a walk back and forth on the top floor while she waited for Wave to arrive, since she had some time kill while clearing her thoughts. The meeting with Luna was the last thing on her agenda before spending some quality time with Wave, and the moment it was over she felt so much lighter. She smiled as she reached her door.

Just let everything go for a while. Take a load off. Relax… be relieved of duty… you can be vulnerable around him… let it all go.

She really needed this, and knowing she had a newly confessed lover coming her way made the anticipation even more intense. A simple kiss felt so much different after admitting love… how would everything else feel? Nuzzling, cuddling… simply being in each other’s presence… all of it would be different, but in a good way. It was well beyond simple comfort now, it was love. Spitfire’s heart fluttered just thinking about it. Spitfire, the proud, serious captain of the Wonderbolts with her heart a-flutter, who would have thought?

She let a quiet giggle slip as she reached for her doorknob and opened the door to her room. She was glad nopony else was around to see her in such a blushy, giddy state. She’d never hear the end of it, especially from Fleetfoot.

Her room was still a bit of a mess from the lift-off and crash of the compound, but her queen-sized bed was still upright and that was all they would need. Her room was spacious enough to push all the fallen clutter aside.

It had been a while since she had been in her room with the heating system actually working, so it was nice to feel cozy back in her own personal space. They didn’t have much of a choice, but honestly, she didn’t like being stuck in the wide open area of the battle dome with everypony else around at all times. She did like to enjoy a bit of privacy.

Spitfire approached her bed and patted her hooves along the mattress to flatten the wrinkled sheets and blankets down. It wasn’t like how her bed looked really mattered since the rest of her room was a complete mess of spilled items, but she wanted it to at least look nice for when Wave arri—

“Hey.”

“Gah!” Spitfire flinched and her eyes widened as she turned around quickly, but breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Wave Chill standing against the wall beside the hinge side of her door. “Jeez… Wave… you almost gave me a heart attack there…” Spitfire exhaled, lifting an eyebrow while giving him an amused smile.

“Heh…” Wave chuckled, pushing off of the wall and approaching her. He was already there. He wasn’t the pranking type, so it was a little amusing to her.

“I didn’t think you were going to get here before me,” said Spitfire as she set her plot down on the mattress. Wave smirked and turned his head slightly as he stopped in front of her.

“What can I say? I couldn’t wait,” he reached up and brushed his hoof against her face. Spitfire felt her heartbeat quicken as Wave looked her over with rather seductive eyes. Quite a forward move for him… but as she observed earlier, he was definitely coming out of his shell. Maybe confessing to each other broke him out even more.

“Mmmm…” Spitfire hummed at his soft touch against her cheek, reaching up and brushing her hoof along his arm. “Come on…” she patted her free hoof on the mattress. “Let’s relax, I need this… and you.”

She began to lean backwards, but Wave suddenly shifted his hoof to grab her arm and pull her back up. Spitfire blinked, looking into his eyes, which hadn’t changed from the suggestive stare.

“Wave?”

“Who says we only have to relax?” He pulled himself closer, bending his neck back slightly so he could push his chest up against hers while keeping their eyes locked, the tips of their noses brushing lightly against one another.

“Wave…” she blushed as her felt her body covered with goose bumps as Wave’s chest fur bristled against hers. “MMmmhhh,” she bit her bottom lip as she felt a hoof run along the curve of her back. “Feeling a little adventurous?”

“Can’t help it…” Wave leaned his head down and moved his body further forward. “I mean… with a mare like you…” He pushed his chest against her, reaching his nose down to her neck, brushing his lips along it. “I simply can’t.”

“Oh!” Spitfire inhaled sharply. She was definitely not expecting this… but it felt so good. She had no idea Wave was so eager, had he been holding this in all this time for the sake of his duties? Stallions will be stallions after all. Underneath discipline and manner, a stallion always had some desire hidden away… even a pony like Wave, it seemed. “Oh, Wave… ah…” she moaned as her moved his lips up the side of her face and brushed them against her ear.

He pulled back and stared into her eyes. She felt herself slipping. She was drawing close to simply wanting him. It didn’t take that much. Was that how badly she wanted it from him? A simple brush of the chest, back, neck, and ears? She was more desperate for him than she thought. The look in her eyes screamed it, and it was clear he could tell as his smile grew.

“We can relax… sure…” he said with a sexual tone. “But how about… we have a little fun first?”

Under normal circumstances, Spitfire would have questioned it, but she was sold. She had opened up to Wave about how much she loved him… and if he wanted to express it right back, she wasn’t going to stop it. Because it was exactly what she wanted, especially with how easily he was making her feel hot right now. He had caught her in a moment of weakness while he was in a moment of strength. Only she was letting him do it. The roles were completely reversed from when she first pounced on him at the recruit graduation party… and she had no urge to protest. She had taken a liking to how Wave was starting to treat her more like a mare and less like his captain… she didn’t expect him to move this far forward, but she liked it… maybe a little too much.

She reached forward and grabbed Wave by the neck, pulling him towards her and pressing her lips to his vigorously. The moment she did, Wave forced his head harder against hers, their mouths crossing in a deep kiss immediately. They turned their heads from side to side, moaning as they attacked each other passionately. They pulled away for a brief moment, Spitfire breathing heavily as she stared up at Wave.

“Heh…” Wave licked his upper lip. “You said I was being adventurous?” he suddenly thrust himself forward, pushing her down and pinning her to the bed. She could have tried to overpower him, but she didn’t want to. She wanted him to be on top, to be in command. Spitfire was drunk on lust. She didn’t question any move he was making and was begging for more.

“I want you…” she said between her sharp breaths. “Ah!” She squeaked as Wave moved on top of her, sliding his back leg along her thigh.

“Hmmm… say it again…” Wave demanded. Spitfire reached up and clutched her hooves on his shoulders.

“I want you!” she repeated. She didn’t even feel like herself anymore. How badly did she need this? Apparently more than she could have ever imagined.

“Good…” Wave pressed his body down against hers. “Because you’re MINE. All mine.”

He kissed her again, this time even more roughly than before. Spitfire pressed her hooves against his back, moving them up and down furiously, as their tongues pressed and twirled around one another.

“Mmmm!” Spitfire moaned, muffled by Wave’s mouth against hers. “Ah!” she exhaled as they parted for only a moment. “Wave—MM!” she continued to moan as Wave went at her again and again. Her whole body was tingling as she felt Wave’s body press and rub against her. She suddenly pushed her hooves against his shoulders, pushing him up and away from her as she panted, a trail of saliva lingering between them for a brief moment. She opened her eyes. They were hazy with longing. She didn’t see anything in her room, she only saw him looming above her. He was grinning slyly down at her, biting his lip as his eyes moved up and down her body.

“I love you, Wave…” Spitfire shakily said as she began to almost feel lightheaded from how good she felt.

“Oh, I know…” Wave growled with pleasure… as he moved in to kiss her again.


“Hold on… would thou please repeat that?” Luna blinked, tipping her head to the side as she tried to make sense of Soarin’s explanation.

They had moved to the empty recruit barracks room next to the temporary infirmary. Luna wished to discuss what had happened to Soarin without disturbing the Shadowbolts or disrupting Bliss.

“It’s something that’s happened to me more than once,” Soarin added as he prepared to explain it again. “The yellow magic flared out and I was filled with a sense of dread right before the Shadowbolt fortress appeared in the sky. I was knocked out shortly after when I helped you hold your shield.” Soarin glanced back at Dash and Fleetfoot sitting behind him. “Just now, the magic went nuts again, very briefly as it had before, only this time I was filled with worry instead of dread… and nothing happened after.”

Luna looked down, her pupils shifting back and forth as she pondered.

“Sense of dread… followed by the attack… sense of worry…” Luna’s eyes suddenly widened and she looked up at Soarin.

“I really don’t like it when you look surprised…” Soarin said as he gritted his teeth. Luna shook her head.

“Did you have… a magical premonition?” Luna asked. Soarin lifted an eyebrow.

“How am I supposed to know?” he asked. “And what does it mean if I did?”

“Wait…” Dash spoke up as she stood up and stepped forward. “Premonitions…” she said as she stopped beside Soarin and looked between him and Luna. “I swear we’ve talked about that before.”

“Indeed we have…” Luna confirmed for Dash as she began pacing back and forth. “However… this makes absolutely no sense to us…” she stopped and stared at Soarin’s horn. “There is only one pony capable of having magical induced premonitions.”

“Pardon?” Soarin tipped his head to the side as Luna paused and continued to stare at the horn.

“The only pony capable of such a thing… is Celestia…”

A silence filled the room. Nopony knew how to respond to that.

“Uh… WHAT?!” Fleetfoot exclaimed from behind them. “How is that possible?”

“We… do not know…” Luna admitted as she looked down. “Not even we receive premonitions. It is not something we understand.”

Dash glanced at Soarin as his ears flopped down and he flattened his brow. She frowned as it was clear this news didn’t please him.

“Just when I thought I finally understood the magic a little…” Soarin growled as he rubbed his forehead in frustration.

“That is the only conclusion we can draw,” Luna shook her head. “Although we admit we have little else to go on. However… if this truly is the same sort of premonitions that Celestia was capable of… then it is a warning of things to come. You said the Shadowbolt fortress appeared immediately after your first, correct?”

“Yeah…” Soarin nodded. “Meaning…” He trailed off and furrowed his brow. “I don’t like this.” He gritted his teeth as Dash gently put a hoof on his arm.

“That means something bad happened… just now?” Dash asked, biting her lip with worry. Luna nodded.

“It very well could mean that, but nothing occurred around you… it could mean whatever happened was where we couldn’t see it.”

Fleetfoot immediately stood up.

“Then we have to go check around and make sure everypony is alright!” She ran towards door and left without another word. Soarin put a hoof on Dash’s shoulder and nodded.

“I agree, let’s help her,” he said before looking towards Luna. “We’ll talk more about this later, but we can’t ignore the possibility.”

“Go,” Luna encouraged. “We must return to Bliss.”


They went their separate ways. Soarin, Dash, and Fleetfoot made their way back to the battle dome, hoping to possibly catch a few Renegades reporting in the process in case they had seen anything suspicious.

Luna returned to the Shadowbolts to continue to assist Bliss.

However, the moment they were gone from the empty barracks…

Discord phased through the ceiling and landed on the floor. He took a deep breath, exhaling sharply through his nose as he crossed his arms.

“I’m really getting tired of this Celestia…” he said while looking up towards the ceiling. “We have enough problems as it is… why did you take the risk?” he looked back down and towards the door. “I told you, I TOLD you that you should have just destroyed him, but no… you just had to keep him around. And put him into another body no less…” He huffed as he lifted back up towards the ceiling. “You could have saved Soarin a lot of pain and frustration if you had just let him die… You break so many of your own rules, it makes me laugh sometimes… really…”

He paused for a moment before passing through the ceiling back the way he came.

“I’m a god of my word Celestia… if you don’t make it work I will have to destroy him. I hope you are still aware of that, and I hope I don’t have to make that choice… for your sake.”

---To Be Continued---