MLP: FiM
Piercing the Heavens
By: Calm Wind
Chapter 115: Cruisin’ for a Rusin’
The Shadowbolts charged headlong at the Wonderbolts, but unbeknownst to them, they were doing exactly what Spitfire and the Wonderbolts wanted them to do. It also quickly exposed a weakness in the Shadowbolt ranks.
Literally, all it took to boil them over was a little bit of grandstanding and ricocheting a megaphone off the head of one of their commanders. Blade lost his cool completely and ordered a full out charge that every Shadowbolt followed without hesitation.
If the Shadowbolts were really so impulsive, then the Wonderbolts could work that to their advantage, both now and later.
A smirk crept onto Spitfire’s face the moment after she gave the launch order in response to the Shadowbolt charge.
Up until this moment, they had played by the Shadowbolts’ rules. They had been constantly forced onto the defensive, and forced to take on the Shadowbolts in their element: pure combat. The Wonderbolts had never had an edge, and were always forced to adapt.
Well, this time it was different. The Wonderbolts had surprised them and had a whole plan of action laid out, one that the Shadowbolts could never be ready for. The Wonderbolts had struggled, but adapted and managed to punch back when punched first. It was time to see if their counterparts had similar adaptive resilience.
As the Shadowbolts charged, they glanced about as the Wonderbolts did not fly at them when Spitfire gave the order. Instead, they all turned towards Spitfire and flew in towards her?
“Nova Starburst!” Spitfire yelled out as she turned to Blaze and several other fire handlers. They all huddled around Spitfire, each receiving a collection of intense flames from Blaze. As every other Wonderbolt did a backflip before shooting towards the huddled fire users. “Let’s turn up the heat! Triple the usual intensity!”
“Heh, don’t get burned!” Blaze chuckled as she and the rest all clapped their hooves together continuously, adding power to the already intense flames dancing around them.
Spitfire looked up in time to see the rest of the Wonderbolt force drawing near, all taking fixed flying lanes to avoid a collision at the center.
“AND… BURST!” Spitfire yelled out, she and the fire handlers turning out and throwing their hooves outward, causing an explosion of loose flames to expand around them in a sphere. The other Wonderbolts all flew directly into the sphere, the loosely concentrated flames swirling around and following them as they shot by. The intense drafts of the passing Wonderbolts caused the sphere of fire to literally burst and ignite the flight trails of all the Wonderbolts shooting outward.
The result, from the Shadowbolt perspective, was a spectacular, blinding flash of light and an explosion followed by the Wonderbolts scattering in all directions. The flames caught in their trails were forced forward, surrounding the Wonderbolts as they careened wildly past the Shadowbolts, all encased in auras of fire. The disoriented Shadowbolts yelped as the half of the Wonderbolts that shot in their direction zipped by at tremendous speeds, forcing the Shadowbolts to dodge and shy away to avoid being burned.
“RGH!” Blade grunted as he tipped out of the way, barely avoiding Air Mach as he seared by. “Blasted parlor tricks!” he yelled as he turned and chased after Air Mach, the other commanders and Shadowbolts all picking targets as well.
Blade’s crystals shined brightly and enveloped him in a pink veil of light which seemed to enhance his speed as he accelerated and caught up to Air Mach. The crystals formed around his right hoof as he caught up and formed his sword.
“HRAH!” he yelled out as he swung at Air Mach… but the sword went right through him. “What?!” His eyes widened as the flames split and scattered, the image of Air Mach within the flames flickering, bending, and disappearing as they dispersed. Blade frantically looked around as Devil, Sin, Shadow, and Angel, as well as every other Shadowbolt all caught up to their targets… only to also find they were chasing nothing, every single Wonderbolt encased in flames like a comet… all disappearing upon being attacked.
“YOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!” a collective taunt came from back where the explosion occurred. Blade and the rest of the Shadowbolts all whipped around and stared in disbelief as they spotted the entire Wonderbolt force… barely ten to twenty yards from where they started.
“Where are you guys going?!” Spitfire yelled towards them while waving a hoof in the air. “That was only our first trick!”
Several grunts and roars of anger rang out from all of the Shadowbolts as they turned back towards the Wonderbolts and began charging again.
Spitfire casually cracked her neck and gave Air Mach a jab in the shoulder.
“That was pretty impressive, handling that many flame images at once!” she complimented him. Air Mach pounded his chest and a flash of light glinted off the pointed edge of his custom shaped goggles.
“That was child’s play! I told you I was the best!” he claimed.
“I threw in twenty images for good measure,” Blaze quickly added from behind.
“THE BEST!” Air Mach repeated with sweat dripping down his face as several other fire handlers admitted to throwing in a few fire images because they wanted to. “THE! BEST!” Air Mach repeated again with fake tears wavey-streaming down his face.
“A-hem…” Silver cleared his throat, Spitfire turning to look towards him. He pointed forward as the Shadowbolts grew closer and closer.
“I know, I know… let ‘em come, we’re ready,” she winked at Silver. “RIGHT?!” she yelled to the rest of the Wonderbolts gathered around.
“HOO-RAH!” they all replied instantly. Spitfire clapped her hooves together and pointed dramatically towards the Shadowbolts.
“It’s routine time! Dazzle and frazzle them! Go! Go! Go!” Spitfire ordered as the Shadowbolts flew at them with rage.
Just as planned.
The Wonderbolts all packed together, the water handlers gathering moisture and turning it into thunderclouds with the help of the fire handlers. They handed them off to Silver Lining and the other prominent lightning wielders as those with smoke packs got ready to activate them.
“Group lightning rod!” Silver called out as the lightning handlers shifted forward. “GO!” Silver called out as all of them threw their hooves up. A loud KA-POW rang out as an enormous ribbon of lightning extended above and below them, striking the ground beneath as it burst into different directions above. The Shadowbolts ducked and weaved to avoid the lightning shooting by, but as they focused on that, the Wonderbolts wearing smoke packs threw the switch and dispersed, creating trails of thick, grey smoke in their wake to cut off visibility and give the Wonderbolts several screens to duck and move behind.
“Squad up!” Spitfire yelled out. “GO! GO! GO!” The Wonderbolts all dispersed in multiple directions and gathering by squad, all avoiding conflict and using the smoke screens to throw off the Shadowbolts as they gave chase.
“Come on everypony!” Spitfire called out to her joint squad. The rest of the lead squad and the three present members of squad two all came together.
“We’ve got a real mad pony at six o’clock!” Fleetfoot chuckled as she looked back.
“GET BACK HERE!” Blade yelled, growling as he gave chase. Spitfire glanced back and smirked.
“Actually, it looks like we have several,” she added as Shadow and Devil veered in behind Blade, all three spawning two clones as five other Shadowbolts joined. “And the more the merrier!” Spitfire looked towards Air Mach, Fleetfoot, and Calm Wind as they all flew in formation beside her. Calm seemed to be handling the situation fine so far, now it was time to see if his very brief briefing on his role this show was adequate. “Come about, Silver!” Spitfire yelled as Silver guided Blaze and High Winds, forming up directly behind them. “Air Mach! Take position!” she yelled as she guided all of them through multiple smoke trails, changing directions and crossing paths with other squads and Shadowbolts to keep their pursuers from catching up.
They pitched upward and into the clear away from smoke trails. Spitfire, Fleetfoot, and Calm flew side by side in front with Spitfire in the center, behind her Air Mach lined up with her. Directly behind Air Mach was Silver, with Blaze and High Winds at his sides. The formation was usually three-two-three meant for two squads, but without Wave Chill it was three-one-three, Air Mach the lone pony in the center of the formation shaped like an I.
“Double Silver Slingshot maneuver, fire-cracker effect follow up!” Spitfire called. “Can you handle that by yourself, Air Mach?!”
“No problem!” He confidently replied with a smirk.
“Uh…” Calm bit his lower lip as Spitfire turned to him.
“Relax. Just stick with Fleetfoot and Silver and throw them where and when they tell you to,” she reassured him, earning a quick nod in response. Calm looked nervous, but Spitfire was confident as long as he paid attention he could pull this off. She was already choosing maneuvers where Soarin didn’t have to do too much.
They broke formation, Spitfire, Blaze, Air Mach and High Winds moving into a square formation as Fleetfoot, Silver, and Calm started a short loop trajectory to turn around and head back towards them.
“Quickly now!” Spitfire ordered while seeing the Shadowbolts close in. Blaze quickly clapped her hooves together, generating two large flames. She handed one to Spitfire and the two of them held them outward. Air Mach gathered up as much air moisture as he could, creating a thick, dark cloud that the half-sisters quickly pressed the flames into. The result was a cloud bursting with lightning that High Winds quickly fired towards the Shadowbolts with a strong blast of wind.
As the Shadowbolts focused on the cloud, Blaze repeated her motions, giving her and Spitfire another flame to handle each. Air Mach and High Winds both backed up as Spitfire and Blaze aimed themselves towards the incoming Shadowbolts, specifically locking onto the floating, crackling thundercloud behind that the Shadowbolts had just dodged.
“Ready you two?!” High Winds asked before lightly yawning. Spitfire and Blaze threw their arms and wings out, causing the flames to spin around them.
“Send us on our way!” Spitfire acknowledged. On cue, Air Mach and High Winds thrust their wings forward, creating controlled bursts of wind that Spitfire and Blaze rode, accelerating at twice their fastest rate directly at the Shadowbolts with a trail of fire searing behind them.
“Spiral!” Spitfire called out as she and Blaze began doing synchronized barrel rolls, the flame trails coiling around each other and lingering in the air. The Shadowbolts dispersed to avoid the flames as the two shot by.
Fleetfoot, Silver, and Calm looped around, flew past High Winds and Air Mach, and approached the lingering flame coil. Silver quickly shifted in front of Calm.
“Throw me right into the center of the fire!” he ordered.
“What?!” Calm blinked.
“NOW!” Silver added harshly. Calm flinched, gulped, and did as he was told, not willing to disobey any orders. “Swing launch me!” Silver yelled as he faced Calm and reached his hooves towards Calm.
Fleetfoot had at least described what kind of ‘launches’ Soarin did, so Calm didn’t hesitate, he grabbed Silver’s hooves, spun him around and let go, doing his best to aim Silver right for the flames. He was a little off, but Silver flawlessly corrected his trajectory, flying right between the coiled flame trails. He pumped his wings in an odd motion that seemed to cause the coils to spin, creating a tunnel of fire.
“My turn!” Fleetfoot chimed in. “I’m not half as fat as Silver, gimme a hoofball launch!” she asked as she shifted in front of Calm. Calm stared blankly at her for a brief second. “Yes, that means you have to touch this,” she giggled and winked while patting her waist.
Calm, completely aware of the situation and what was on the line, quickly held his breath, grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her up. While still holding his breath, he aimed, pulled back, and threw her as hard as he could towards the flame tunnel.
“YYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEIKES!” Fleetfoot’s eyes widened beneath her goggles as Calm threw her with more force than Soarin ever had. She only flailed for a moment though, gaining control and following right behind Silver’s path, directly into the floating tunnel of fire. She angled her wings inward and let her momentum carry her, the air coned outward in her wake, forcing the tunnel of fire to expand and consequently also forcing the Shadowbolts to back away as they continuously tried to deduce exactly what was going on.
As Fleetfoot made it through the end of the tunnel, her eyes locked on Silver, who had just received the initial thundercloud from Spitfire and Blaze. She smirked as Silver wound up and punched his hoof into the back of the cloud, sending a strong ribbon of lightning horizontally towards her.
“HRM!” Fleetfoot pulled her arms back as she and the lightning grew closer and closer. “PAH!" she yelled out comically, thrusting her hooves forward to strike the lightning as it struck her. Her speed and the force of her hooves caused the lightning to split around her and shoot in multiple smaller ribbons towards the expanding flame tunnel.
When the lightning met the fire, every collision caused countless small explosions that shot out. The Shadowbolts yelped and frantically moved about as the bright flashes and explosions erupted all around them for several seconds, giving the Wonderbolts more than enough time to fully regroup.
“RGH!” Blade growled and looked around, sword crackling as if the energy was resonating with his anger. He began violently swinging his sword about at the explosions as if it would do something to free him from the tiny light show, but he was caught in it just like the rest of his wingmates. “WHERE ARE THEY?!” Blade yelled as he tried to find the mixed Wonderbolt squad, but every little fire/lightning chain reaction disoriented him. He spotted something out of the corner of his eye that looked like a pony, and without hesitation, swung his sword at it.
“HEY!” Shadow yelled as she barely shifted out of the way before shielding herself from more explosions. “Blade! Watch it with that damn thing!”
Off to the side, the Wonderbolts simply hovered and watched as the prolonged chain reaction had completely caught their pursuers, even the commander clones. Blade’s wayward, careless swipe at Shadow had them chuckling a little too.
“Well… they look like they’re having fun,” Silver commented as the yelps, growling, and snarling continued.
“Am I the only one enjoying watching these ass-pricks squirm?” Blaze threw out there, only to receive several head shakes. “Didn’t think so.”
The only pony that didn’t acknowledge Blaze’s vulgar statement was Spitfire, who watched as three commanding Shadowbolts failed to free themselves from relatively tame special effects. The maneuver was complicated, but they had much more spectacular displays. She chose this one just to throw them off a little… but they were disoriented to the point where they were desperately flailing about?
Spitfire took a moment to look around the entire area. They had a moment of pause, but all over the Wonderbolts were executing show maneuvers… and the Shadowbolts were failing to catch them. They were being thrown completely off by the special effects, smoke trails, and synchronized movements.
The Wonderbolts were feigning… they were putting on a show… they were literally just trying to distract the Shadowbolts with silly tactics… and it was working this well?
The Shadowbolts looked… incredibly disorganized.
Every time they had attacked the Wonderbolts in the past, the one thing that really kept the Wonderbolts alive was their ability to coordinate and work together. So far, the Shadowbolts were showing no such ability. They had power, they had enhanced abilities, they wielded dangerous magic… but did it end there?
Spitfire couldn’t stop a devilish smile from creeping on her face, staring down Blade, Shadow, and Devil as the firecracker effect finally faded and the Shadowbolts regained themselves. It required a little more testing before she came to a conclusion… but Spitfire was beginning to wonder if they had just discovered their enemy’s weakness.
“Didja have fun with that one?!” Spitfire called out as Blade charged, the others behind him taking a moment to locate them before following behind, again in a disorganized fashion.
“I’ll show you FUN!” Blade growled back as he careened towards them.
“Heh…” Spitfire glanced back at the rest. “Let’s mess with them some more, shall we?”
“Are you enjoying this?” Fleetfoot smirked at Spitfire.
“Way more than I should be… Let’s go!”
“Let’s go! Let’s go, Renegades! Take up positions! Get ready to launch!” Blazetail ordered as the Renegades moved about around him. All the unicorns were in place, two per projector with Luna at the controls further back. The powerful speakers for the dragon sounds had been placed all around and the recruits were standing by to hold them steady and aim them based on where Luna directed the projected image.
“We’re launching whether or not this works!” Flashwind added beside her husband, turning her focus to Valkyrie as she landed close by. “Is the tremor squad ready?” she asked Valkyrie.
Valkyrie looked over her shoulder at Bomber, who was sitting patiently and smiling his usual gentle smile as the rest of the strength focused Renegades and Wonderbolt recruits sat around him… looking rather small beside his freakish girth.
“Ready to pound some mountains into dust,” Valkyrie nodded and cracked her neck.
“Good,” Flashwind smiled before turning and looking towards Fire Streak and his squad sitting off to the side. She was too far away to say anything but she waved and gave him a nod.
Fire Streak waved back at Flashwind before turning to his disguised group.
“Everypony ready up. If this works, our window of opportunity will be very small. When I give the order to launch, there will be no questions or hesitation. You fly right with me and don’t stop for any reason whatsoever until we’re in their fortress. If you fall behind or the fighting shifts towards us and you get caught in it, lay low and RETREAT. I cannot stress that enough,” he hardened his gaze at them. “If any of us are discovered, it could potentially alert them to our intentions. So your job, should you get separated on approach, is to disappear. Understand?”
They all gave him a nod in response.
“Good. At the ready now! Stay alert!”
Dash gulped as Fire turned and moved to get a better view of what was about to happen. It was all on him. The moment Dash heard him call the order to move, they would be moving and they wouldn’t be stopping. Everything had slowly moved into place. The Renegades were waiting to launch, the unicorns were ready to work the projectors, and Luna was ready to control the image.
She looked off to the side just in time to see a few Wonderbolt recruits being led towards the tremor squad, easily spotting Matteo among them. Valkyrie shouted a few orders to them before they all turned and readied for liftoff.
“Huh?” Dash blinked as she saw something. Right before the tremor squad took off, Little Star, laying low and shuffling her hooves, snuck her way over to Matteo, who quickly scooped her up and tucked her up in his armpit. Dash’s eyes widened and she took a step, ready to yell, but she slammed her mouth shut. She didn’t want to disrupt them as they were taking off, but what in Equestria was Little Star doing?!
“What are you looking at?” Squall suddenly asked from behind her. Dash’s eyes darted back and forth as she turned and cleared her throat, quickly putting on a straight face.
“Uh… nothing, just thought I saw something,” she lied. For some reason, her instincts were telling her not to tell Squall what she had just seen. With his obvious concern for Little Star, he’d probably do something rash. Like chase after them if he knew she hitched a ride with Matteo towards a more dangerous part of their operation.
Squall just lifted an eyebrow before turning away and pushing Twister’s head into the snow as he tried to let the air out of a balloon into Squall’s face.
Dash quickly turned back to focus on Fire Streak as everything started going into motion.
It was almost time to move… she had to focus on her role, whatever Star was doing, Matteo was clearly on board with it since he willingly picked her up to bring along. Whatever it was, he’d keep her safe. Matteo wasn’t the kind of griffon to go back on a promise.
“Up and over!” Spitfire called out as her joint squad crossed by squads four and five. Blade, Devil, and Shadow managed to dodge the crossing paths of their fellow Shadowbolts in pursuit, but those behind them and their clones weren’t so lucky, all colliding painfully and getting mixed up.
“What do you hope to gain from this?!” Blade yelled as he picked up speed and closed in on the squad.
“Some cheap laughs!” Spitfire heckled back at him as the joint squad passed through a fresh smoke trail laid out by squad twelve. Blade quickly stopped as he entered the trail and changed his trajectory, flying up out the top of the smoke instead of following through into another trap. However, when he shot out of the top he was forced to turn and create a shield around himself as several energy spheres from Devil rose up and exploded around him, accompanied by an intense wave of energy from Shadow. Blade angrily swung his sword about once his shield dropped and glared down at his comrades.
“You fools! It’s me!” he barked at them as Devil and Shadow both cringed.
“Don’t go popping out of the smoke like they are then!” Devil shot back with his own growl.
“See? Cheap laughs!” Spitfire’s voice came from right behind Blade. Blade turned and swiped his sword, but it wasn’t until after he attacked that he realized he had just slashed through a compressed thunder cloud, Spitfire and Silver Lining hightailing it away from him as he did.
“AUGH!” Blade cried out, shielding himself as the electricity shot out in all directions.
“Ayieee!”
“GAH!”
Devil and Shadow also got caught in it, the lightning bouncing and crashing against their bodies for a moment before they threw up personal shields.
“RGH!” Blade forced himself forward and moved in the direction Spitfire and Silver went, but Fleetfoot suddenly shot by, a trail of mist streaming behind her as she zipped in an arc around the three Shadowbolts. Blade’s eyes followed her and he quickly turned, shooting magic beams from his eyes that he tried to lead into her trajectory.
But then Calm’s hoof reached out of the mist and grabbed her arm, swinging her around and launching her back the way she came. Blade’s eyes widened as his eyebeams flew into the open and struck Angel as he came around, pursuing squad seven.
Angel stopped after taking the hit and glared towards Blade with a surprisingly calm expression otherwise. It was a short visual exchange as a cloud suddenly struck him in the face. Angel’s long hair was blown backwards as the cloud released a strong gust of wind… that sounded like a fart.
“OH YEAH!” Macho Savage dropped down past him. “BREAKING WIND THE HARD WAY!”
Angel readied to pursue, but was forced to delay and shift aside as Lead Runner also dropped past him.
“Love your hair, hun! What shampoo do you use?!” he asked as he zipped by. Angel huffed in annoyance as his magic built up in his hooves he swiped them both in the direction of Lead Runner and Savage, sending two deadly blades of energy towards them.
Point Dex and Storm Front shot in from below and created cross breezes that allowed the two of them to easily change course and avoid the blades. The magic fell towards the ground.
“What the?!” Sin looked up as he chased after squad nine along the ground, diving out of the way and crashing against the snow as Angel’s magic blades struck and cut deep into the ground. Sin rolled up and shook himself out. “Yo! Aim your pretty-colt shit at them, not me!” he yelled while giving Angel the middle feather.
“Hmph…” Angel scoffed and rolled his eyes as he continued his pursuit of squad seven.
Blade hovered in the air, his nostrils flaring and angry snarls hissing through his gritted teeth as he glared towards squads one and two. Devil and Shadow were hovering behind them, their crystals glowing, but hesitating to use them.
Spitfire noticed this… and was pleased. They had the Shadowbolts completely under control. All their powerful magic was useless when they didn’t know where to aim it. They had the five commanders and the rest of the Shadowbolts all flailing and reeling, trying to take shots at the Wonderbolts without first trying to deduce their movements. This was it… this was how they could handle them. There was no doubt there would be times when they were drawn into close combat again, but even if the operation right now failed, it was clear that the Shadowbolts didn’t handle tricks, bluffs, and misdirection well. That would work heavily to their advantage in the future.
“I think he’s about to pop a few veins in his head,” Blaze chuckled as she hovered beside Spitfire.
“END THIS!” Blade belted out right after Blaze spoke. “You’re not even fighting! Making us angry will NOT help you!”
“Oh, really?” Spitfire yelled right back as she glanced at the fortress. “I don’t see your little guns shooting at us! If you’re not being serious about taking us out, why should we?” she asked as she turned around and wiggled her plot at him, spanking it. “Come on tough guy! Come over here and teach me a lesson! I’ve been a bad, bad mare!”
The rest of the joint squad did their best to keep their composure. They knew Spitfire was purposely going overboard, but none of them had ever seen her act like… well… act like Fleetfoot before. Silver, specifically wore an incredibly flat expression that was luckily hidden by his goggles.
“You…!” Blade growled while also looking back at the fortress. “RGH! YOU!!!!!” he growled, but gave no comment on Spitfire mentioning the smaller cannons on the fortress.
It was actually something Spitfire had been curious about, and despite putting effort into her rather interesting taunts, she noticed his inability to give a full response. As if… they weren’t firing the cannons on purpose… or because they couldn’t? Or… was there another reason? She hoped it was something else and not because they were currently inoperable because that was part of their plan. The shield was clearly up though… so why weren’t they using them?
“The bitch has a point,” Shadow scoffed, hovering beside Blade. “Can’t we just—?”
“NO.” Blade turned and glared right into Shadow’s face. She backed away and furrowed her brow.
“Yikes, fine!” she shook her head.
Spitfire and crew were beginning to wonder what they had stumbled upon.
“Something is fishy here,” Silver whispered to Spitfire. “I almost had a heart attack when you asked them about the cannons, like you were giving them a suggestion. Though they seem unwilling to for some reason.”
“This won’t ruin the plan, will it?” Fleetfoot asked as she shifted up. “We kinda need them to fire the super over-compensating long-dong cannon for this to work,” she reiterated as Blaze and High Winds both snickered.
“We won’t know until we try…” Spitfire gulped, trying not to show any uncertainty to keep up their act. “For now…!” she suddenly pointed as Blade, Devil, and Shadow all started charging again. “We keep it up! Tornado Flash!”
The seven of them all shifted into a circular formation before turning and flying into the thick of the action. They crossed and weaved through the Wonderbolts and Shadowbolts using the lingering smoke trails and other special effects around them to keep their pursuers from gaining ground.
Flames shot up, blasts of water flung about, bolts of electricity scattered, and gusts of wind whipped around. The Wonderbolts were using their full arsenal of elemental abilities as well as their smoke pack tech, creating incredible spectacles that shielded and boosted them as they avoided their counterparts. The Shadowbolts were misdirected, tossed about, and struggled to fly straight as all the spectacular effects continued to light up in their paths.
To Spitfire and the rest of the force, navigating through such effects and elemental displays was like a regular day of training, but to the Shadowbolts, it was a maelstrom of confusion. Beams of pink magic and signature attacks from the present commanders flew wildly in random directions, desperately trying to break the Wonderbolts out of their tricks. But the Wonderbolts didn’t practice their routines to perfection for nothing. Any change in course was easily compensated, any break in formation was easily corrected, and any disruption in the special effects was filled through clever improvisation.
The joint top squads were about to add to fuel to the fire, making their way into a clearing above the rest as Blade, Devil, and Shadow followed behind them, a few lower Shadowbolts breaking away and following behind.
“Stay in formation! Begin the rotation!” Spitfire yelled as they kept the circular formation perfectly flat. “SPIN!” she yelled as they began to fly in a circle and create a spiral gust. As they flew faster and faster, Blaze clapped her hooves together and held them up, the resulting flame getting caught in the breeze and whipping around. Air Mach gathered up air moisture to create a stream of water that did the same, the fire and water mixing together to make steam. Blaze pumped more fire into the mixture as the steam turned into what looked like a tornado funnel in shape, the added heat creating an electrical reaction.
“NOT THIS TIME!” Blade yelled as he and the Shadowbolts picked up speed, determined to thwart the trick before the Wonderbolts could finish it.
“Double time it!” Spitfire ordered as Silver quickly reached up and began taking control of the developing electricity, forcing it up and down to spread it around the fake tornado faster. “And… BREAK!” Spitfire called out, the seven of them pulling out of the electrified funnel cloud opposite of the Shadowbolts, the spectacle itself hiding them from view as they moved away. “Now spin it!” Spitfire ordered.
Calm linked his hooves with High Winds and Fleetfoot, whipping them both around and launching them towards the funnel, High Winds slightly in front of Fleetfoot. High Winds pitched and did a sharp U-turn in front of the funnel, slipping right past the noses of the Shadowbolts as they came to a halt and shifted backwards to avoid her. She pumped her wings towards the funnel as she passed, her powerful wings creating strong gusts against the funnel. Fleetfoot dove straight down through the funnel, twisting as she shot through it to catch the strong gusts from High Winds and turn them into a powerful, inward whirlwind. The funnel began to spin violently and compress as Fleetfoot shot through the other side, electricity crackling and popping around it as the Shadowbolts found themselves being pulled in.
The commanders managed to hold themselves steady, but the lesser Shadowbolts behind them weren’t so fortunate. They yelped and screamed, slamming into the backs of Blade, Devil, and Shadow and forcing all of them to be drawn in. They were poked and shocked by the volts of electricity causing bright flashes about the funnel cloud as the lightning danced about it.
“And… NOW!” Spitfire reached towards Calm. Calm grabbed her by the arms and spun her around before launching her towards the funnel. Spitfire took the opposite direction of High Winds, completely countering the direction of the funnel winds as she passed by with her own gusts.
The tornado effect was abruptly halted, causing the clouds, lightning, and the Shadowbolts themselves to be thrown in all directions, flailing and floundering through the air as they blew apart.
“HAHA!” Fleetfoot arced around and formed up beside Spitfire. “YEAH!” she reached out and the two bumped hooves as they formed up with High Winds and made their way back over to the rest of the group.
“That oughtta blow a few fuses,” High Winds chuckled as the three rejoined the other four.
“RRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!” Blade’s roar of anger drew their attention towards the ground. The other Shadowbolts, including Devil and Shadow, were all quickly up and backing away as Blade swung his sword violently at the ground and a nearby rock. The rock was sliced to pieces as he unloaded his pent up rage.
“Blade!” Devil furrowed his brow. “BLADE!” he tried to step near, but was forced to stay back as Blade’s sword swung dangerously close to his nose. Shadow ended up reaching forward and pulling him back, but Devil shook her hoof off angrily and focused back on Blade. “You moron! Get a hold of yourself!” he yelled as he threw up a shield and stepped in. Blade’s sword crashed against the shield, causing Blade to turn and snarl at Devil before slamming his sword against the shield again, forcing Devil to brace himself. “BLADE! For the love of... CONTROL YOURSELF!”
A pink glow appeared on the ground behind Blade and Shadow quickly rose up from it, jumping up on Blade’s back and trying to hold him by the shoulders.
“You idiot!” She yelled as she struggled to hold on. “You’re clearly doing EXACTLY what they want!” she tried to convince him as Devil managed to shift forward and help her hold him in place.
Blade breathed heavily, his crystals glowing brightly, and the pink light in his eyes so intense that it was nearly spilling out from beneath his goggles. His chest was expanding and contracting like a wild beast as his breath hissed loudly through his teeth and nose.
He had stopped thrashing about, but it was clear he had been pushed pretty far over the edge.
Back up above, the Wonderbolts all watched with wide eyes, half-shocked, half satisfied that they had, indeed, made Blade quite angry.
“Well then,” Silver chuckled. “It looks like somepony is in danger of sucking half his suit up his own ass…”
“If that Shadowbolt on his back isn’t careful, she might end up sucked in with it,” Fleetfoot joked, earning a few laughs from the rest.
“Hm…?” Silver blinked and looked back towards the blizzard. “Captain!” he quickly turned to her and tapped her on the shoulder. He pointed at the blizzard as Spitfire turned to look.
“Oh!” Spitfire perked up.
A faint, blue light was blinking in the swirling snowfall. It was very faint, but it matched the color of Luna’s magic.
That was the signal, everything was ready.
It was time to spring phase two of their plan, and the signal couldn’t have come at a better time. The Shadowbolts specifically targeting them were currently distracted by one of their top commanders romping about in anger, giving Spitfire the window she needed to alert the rest of the Wonderbolts.
Her confidence was high. The fact that they managed to disorient the Shadowbolts much, much more than she ever thought they would, she felt they had a good chance at completely tricking them, no matter how outrageous the black dragon image might seem. If Luna could make it extra realistic, and if they could really sell the false fear, the Shadowbolts might just take the bait. Now she just hoped Blade’s little hesitation to answer about the cannons didn’t mean they were not operational.
“Stick with me!” she quickly ordered to the others. “Three-by-four flank formation!”
In the blink of an eye, squad one and two had shifted in place and followed Spitfire’s lead. They fired into the thick of the action, once again pitching, turning, and weaving as they crossed paths with several squads and their pursuers. As they flew, Spitfire put the tips of her hooves to her lips and began whistling several tones in a fixed pattern.
The Wonderbolt force caught on, every member turning their ears and picking up on the specific tone and pattern of Spitfire’s whistling as she flew by. After two passes around the entire force, Spitfire was confident every Wonderbolt had been informed.
“He’s on our tail again!” Air Mach yelled as Blade’s growling could be heard behind them. “You really pissed him the hell off, captain!”
“I know!” Spitfire said without hesitation. “Just keep flying!”
They did as ordered, continuing to simply avoid the Shadowbolts as the rest of the Wonderbolts began to spring into action. All of the Wonderbolts donning the smoke packs reached back and jammed the control switch all the way up, the packs spewing much larger and thicker plumes of smoke as a result. They began flying erratically, covering as much area as they could with the smoke.
“Give them a hoof!” Spitfire yelled back. Blaze, Air Mach, and Silver quickly worked together, combining their element prowesses to create dark clouds that filled in any gaps they could find in the ever thickening smokescreen.
The area grew darker and darker as the smoke grew thicker and thicker. The Wonderbolts were relying on their reflexes, and a plan explained earlier to only fly clockwise around the area while the screen was being put up. Some close call collisions with Shadowbolts were barely averted, but luckily, most of the Shadowbolts had simply stopped and hovered in place, either trying to figure out what was going on or trying to blow the smoke away. Without an organized effort however, the Shadowbolts were unable to dissipate the smoke parallel to the rate at which the Wonderbolts were producing it.
Spitfire listened carefully, knowing that the rest of the force was doing the same. They were waiting for the faint sound of a dragon roar far in the distance. That was their cue that the image was being formed and the tremor squads were lifting off. Then they just had to tease the Shadowbolts a little more until the roars became loud enough to overpower the cacophony between the two forces.
Spitfire kept up her flight pace… and listened… listened… listened…
“Raaaaaaaaaooooooowwwww…”
Spitfire’s eyes widened.
“Go!” she pointed as she turned and fired towards the center of the smokescreen. She smiled as she saw several other Wonderbolts from multiple squads appearing near her. They had all been listening carefully as well and followed the cue. The more the operation unfolded, the more Spitfire realized they had been taking the wrong approach to fighting the Shadowbolts all along. Organization and making use of their unique abilities in the process evened the playing field against the Shadowbolt magic, they hadn’t even used their magic deflection techniques yet. “Spread out and tease ‘em!” Spitfire yelled, certain that every single Wonderbolt was in earshot… and purposely loud enough for the Shadowbolts to hear them as well.
Spitfire shot right past Sin, as he dodged her and a few other Wonderbolts as they zipped by.
“Sheesh! You guys suck!” Sin called out, seeming less pissed off and more disappointed that nopony was brawling with him.
“COWARDS!” Blade yelled out as he dodged Silver and swung and missed Fleetfoot. “BLATANT COWARDS! ENOUGH TRICKERY! FIGHT US!”
“Your despicable ruse will not deter us!” Devil added as he tried and failed to follow Blaze and High Winds’ movements.
“Then stop us!” Spitfire taunted as she zipped past Angel, who grunted and hesitated to fire a magic blade, almost certain he’d miss.
“RRRRRRAAAAAAOOOOOWWWWW…”
Spitfire’s ears picked up the roar again. It was louder, but none of the Shadowbolts showed any visible reaction. Good… they were still focused entirely on them.
“RRRRRRRGGGHHHHH!!!” Blade growled as Air Mach shot by him and smacked him upside the head. “RAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!” he took an angry swipe that Storm Front just managed to twist away from. “I’LL KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!” Blade yelled as he began swiping his sword in random directions again.
“OW!” Shadow yelped as one of his swipes nicked her shoulder, sliced the material of her suit, and drew blood. “Blade, for the love of Celestia, stop it!” she barked at him.
“THEY ARE MAKING US LOOK LIKE FOOLS! I WILL NOT STAND FOR IT!” Blade shouted right back at her as he kept swinging his sword and almost hitting Sin.
“Whoa! Dude! Cut it out!” Sin grunted as he backed away and ran into Angel. The two exchanged a brief glance before pushing off each other to avoid Calm Wind and Macho Savage as the two plunged down between them.
“And you’re taking their bait!” Shadow yelled at Blade as she tried to get close and stop him again, but after he came close to cutting her arm off, she was hesitant to try.
“RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWW!!!!”
Shadow stopped and turned her head, staring up into the air as the roar, a little louder, sounded again.
Spitfire immediately locked eyes on Shadow as she arced around. She was waiting for the specific moment that the Shadowbolts realized something was ‘nearby’ but only Shadow looked up, the rest of the commanders were trying to restrain Blade… again, and the other Shadowbolts were struggling to handle the Wonderbolts.
Perfect. The longer it took for the Shadowbolts to realize what was happening, the more effective the end result would be.
“Shadow?” Devil asked as he shifted back and glanced at her. “What is it?”
Shadow’s ears turned left and right before she furrowed her brow and glanced at Devil.
“I thought I heard something… WHOA!” she yelped as she avoided Storm Front and Point Dex shooting by. “Forget it, let’s just get these assholes already! AH!” she flinched as Lead runner flew between her and Devil.
“We need to get rid of this blasted smoke screen first!” Devil grumbled as he kept failing to keep a bead on any of the Wonderbolts flying at them.
Silver formed up beside Spitfire as she continued to circle and listen for the cues, leaving the ‘teasing’ to the rest of the Wonderbolts.
“They’re about to catch on,” Silver said quietly as they flew side by side.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Spitfire smiled.
“You’re having fun with this aren’t you?” Silver chuckled as Spitfire winked at him.
“And you’re not?” she asked back.
“It was about time we took action,” Silver nodded. “I’m enjoying the hell out of it.”
“We’re about to spring phase three… how good are you at dying?” she joked.
“These idiots are bigger emotional dingbats than any recruits I’ve ever trained… they’d probably fall for it if I gave a one star performance,” Silver scoffed.
“RRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!!!!!!”
The roar was loud… very loud. There was no way the Shadowbolts missed that one. Spitfire and Silver looked in towards the Shadowbolt commanders and all of them had sharply turned towards the roar, their ears all turned in the direction with looks of surprise on their face.
“Good luck, Captain,” Silver gave a quick nod and broke off.
“The hell was THAT?!” Sin blurted out as the commanders and all the Shadowbolts turned and stared in the direction of the noise.
Spitfire quickly arced in, making it look like she was coming for an attack, but she and several other Wonderbolts doing the same all stopped once they were in view of the Shadowbolts and turned to look as well.
“Uh… What the fuck was that?!” Blaze yelled out towards Spitfire to play it up as if they didn’t know either.
“It’s another trick!” Blade yelled as he pointed his sword at Spitfire.
“RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW!!!!!”
“Captain!” Silver flew in and hovered beside her. “It’s coming from this direction!”
“What is it?!” Spitfire yelled, the two of them putting on the best ‘frantic’ tones they could. Silver, facing an angle where he could subtly glance at Blade, and noticed that he was staring at them quizzically instead of going by his initial ‘trick’ assumption. Silver gave Spitfire a wink with the eye opposite of Blade’s view.
“RRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW!!!!!!”
The roar was so loud that it made every Wonderbolt and Shadowbolt cringe.
“Ayeyaiyeeee!” Fleetfoot squeaked as she covered her ears. She turned to the Shadowbolts. “Was that your fortress?! That’s one hell of a creaky engine start!” she commented with very convincing false annoyance.
“That wasn’t our fortress…” Angel spoke up quietly, staring up. His fellow commanders looking towards him before turning up in the same direction. “Something is out there!”
That was the cue to Spitfire that they had them. Angel, the calmest of the Shadowbolt commanders present, was convinced something was coming towards them. The Shadowbolts were experiencing a rollercoaster of varying emotional responses. Blade was lost in rage, not thinking straight. Devil and Shadow were desperately trying to calm him down. Sin didn’t seem very bright to begin with, Spitfire wasn’t worried about him. But Angel’s calm demeanor throughout had her a little worried. Now with him curious and the rest all shaken from the Wonderbolt antics… she was certain their ruse would work.
Hopefully it would keep working.
“Steady! Hold formation and spread out on my command!” Valkyrie yelled back to the rest of the tremor squad. She and the strongest members of the Renegades and Wonderbolt recruits were flying steadily behind the mountain that was equipped with the dragon projectors. The mountain itself stood between them and where the Wonderbolts were currently throwing the Shadowbolts for a loop. “After we spread out, we’ll dive in two groups to simulate a dragon landing! Both strikes must hit the mountain with everypony involved to cause the desired effect! Anything less will not work!”
Matteo listened carefully as he flew behind Bomber. He had to listen closely because he couldn’t see Valkyrie around Bomber’s bulk. Spread out and slam against the mountain all at once? He had trained similar tactics before being rejected from the Sky Wings, so this would be a piece of cake.
“Let me get this straight…” Star spoke up quietly as she held onto the barrel of his chest behind his arms. “We’re all going to crash into the mountain?” she asked.
“Yes,” Matteo answered simply.
“Uh… and you’re okay with that?” she added, a little nervous about the maneuver that seemed a bit… dangerous from her point of view.
“Yes,” Matteo answered again.
“Oh jeez…” Star held onto his chest tighter. Matteo sensed her bracing herself.
“You wanted to come along,” he reminded her calmly.
“I know, but…”
“SPREAD OUT!” Valkyrie called. Matteo shifted over, taking up a flank position beside Bomber in the first group. “DIVE!” Valkyrie ordered.
“Ooooohhh myyyy god!” Star exclaimed without raising her voice, gripping Matteo’s chest as tightly as she could and closing her eyes as the large joint squad of the strongest Renegades and Wonderbolt recruits plunged towards the mountainside.
“RRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!” Valkyrie roared, the rest of them joining in with a collective battle cry as they dove and made subtle shifts to ensure the uneven surface of the mountain didn’t deter the tremor effect. The only two who didn’t join in the roar, were Bomber, who just kept smiling, and Little Star, who held on for dear life and shut her eyes as the ‘pumped up brutes’ approached the mountain side and readied for impact.
The Shadowbolts and Wonderbolts all flinched as two loud crashing noises rang out. Followed by another roar. This one so ear piercing that it left everypony’s ears ringing.
“Argh!” Spitfire grunted as she shook her head out. “Wonderbolts!” she called out “Break the smokescreen! We need visibility!”
“AYE!” the Wonderbolts collectively replied as they positioned themselves and all began pumping their wings in place, causing strong gusts. The Shadowbolts braced themselves as the winds crashed against them, holding themselves steady as the thick clouds of smoke were slowly blown away.
As the smoke cleared, the Wonderbolts kept up their ‘focused’ act, all peering up at what appeared when the smoke was cleared.
Needless to say, they probably didn’t need to do much acting when it came to the initial reaction… because when Spitfire laid her eyes on part of her own plan… her eyes widened and her jaw dropped.
“Oh… my…” she squeaked as she stared.
“RRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!”
After having witnessed The Test at the Wonderbolt compound several times, Spitfire had come to notice certain things about the dragon image that gave it away being a fake. The image tended to be imperfect, lacking full color and detail in certain small areas such as the scales and wings. The tail and wings were static, never moving from a fixed position. The dragon’s jaw tended to snap move and look unrealistic and its eyes stayed locked in place in its sockets. It was geared more towards the initial shock followed by the Wonderbolts faking to drive the recruits for a loop.
But this time… Spitfire took down a mental note to praise Princess Luna later… because sweet mother of mercy, the dragon looked 100% genuine in form and movement. It was opening and closing its wings, the tail was swishing back and forth, its massive claws were shifting and gripping the mountainside, and its tongue slid in and out of its mouth as it fixed its eyes in the direction of the Wonderbolts and Shadowbolts. Low hissing noises escaped through its nose, images of smoke billowing from its nostrils as it released deep growls. Its maw opened slightly, revealing its massive teeth that looked detailed with chips and cracks. Bits of fire could be seen gurgling in the back of its throat.
Spitfire glanced subtly to her right at Fleetfoot, who glanced back at her and mouthed ‘holy shit’ to her.
“WHAT THE HELL?!” Blade called out as he shifted backwards, the rest of the Shadowbolts doing the same. They all looked around, seeing the Wonderbolts all staring up in fear as well.
This was, by far, the part that Spitfire was the most worried about, but thanks to Luna’s incredibly realistic version of their fake dragon… the Shadowbolts looked sold… hell, half of them looked like they has just soiled themselves. Now the Wonderbolts just had to play it up. The show must go on!
The glow in the back of the dragon’s throat grew brighter. The dragon roared out, whipping its long neck around before firing an enormous stream of fire away from the group, towards a nearby mountain top. The fire collided with the mountain and a large explosion erupted from it, sending rocks and debris up into the air.
Spitfire watched in even more awe as the image seemingly ‘destroyed’ a whole mountain, when, in reality, it was just Luna working the extent of their projectors. She was pushing the limits of Rivet’s magic image generators to fake collateral damage and even make large structures such as a whole freaking mountain just… disappear! Luna was making it look so real she almost had Spitfire convinced it really was an ancient black dragon!
Their first acting cue came when the dragon turned and looked at them, the glow intensifying in the back of its throat once again.
“Wonderbolts!” Spitfire yelled out frantically. “Disperse! Spread out!”
The Wonderbolts all scattered, several taking a path to the left of the dragon. The Shadowbolts, without any word, also started backing away. The dragon turned its head to follow the Wonderbolts that had broken away.
“LOOKOUT!” Spitfire yelled towards them, but the dragon reared its head back and thrust it forward, spewing its fiery breath towards them as they flew, engulfing several. The Wonderbolts caught in the fire screamed and wailed, falling out of the sky, completely blackened and covered in projected burns.
“GOOD LORD! TELL ME I’M SEEING THINGS!” Shadow yelled out as the Shadowbolts all stared at the Wonderbolts, shocked.
“NO! DAMMIT!” Spitfire cursed as she turned toward her wingmates nearby, stealing a quick glance at the Shadowbolts, they looked absolutely terrified. Spitfire did her best to hide a smirk. “Screw the Shadowbolts! I dunno where this thing came from, but engage it!” Spitfire turned and broke into random formations with the rest of the Wonderbolts.
As the Shadowbolts watched, Blade suddenly furrowed his brow.
“I’m not convinced!” he growled. Devil looked towards him and raised an eyebrow.
“Blade, look at that thing!” he shook his head. “We have to get out of here!”
They all cringed as the dragon roared out again, shooting fire at another group of Wonderbolts and knocking them out of the sky.
“It’s too convenient!” Blade glared at Devil.
“Uh, dude…” Sin shook his head. “If you wanna stay here, be my guest! I’m out!” Sin turned to leave but Blade reached back and grabbed him by the arm.
“YOU ARE ALL COWARDS! Are you really buying this?!” Blade kept yelling.
“LOOK OUT!” Shadow yelled, pointing at the dragon. It was following Spitfire with its eyes. She and her squad was flying in wide arc around it, and the dragon was about to fire right when it was lined up with the shocked Shadowbolts. The flames spewed from the dragon’s maw.
Spitfire saw the projected fire breath incoming and quickly twisted her body.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!” she screamed as the image passed by her, the fake burns appearing all over her suit and body as she began tumbling towards the ground with Fleetfoot and Silver feigning the same. As she fell out of the fire, she kept one eye slightly open, watching as the fire careened towards the Shadowbolts.
Every single one of them threw up magic shields… except for Blade. Spitfire gulped as she saw him arguing with the rest of them. Had he called their bluff?
The fire struck the Shadowbolts, Luna manipulating the image to have it appear the fire was deflecting off their shields, but it went right through Blade.
Not good.
The fire shot past them and careened to the ground less than a hundred yards away from the Shadowbolt fortress. It struck the ground and created another false explosion, generating the image of a crater with snow and debris being thrown up into the air.
Spitfire gritted her teeth when she saw all of the Shadowbolts looking at Blade as he was completely unscathed. However, she gave no signals to the Wonderbolts. She kept falling and waiting to see what happened before jumping to any conclusions. She glanced over and saw Silver looking at her as he kept feigning the limp fall as well. He had seen Blade too and was waiting to receive orders, but Spitfire remained quiet.
“SEE?!” Blade growled while brandishing his sword. “I TOLD YOU!” he pointed the sword at the dragon. “Not a scratch on my body! It’s a fake!”
The Shadowbolts all dropped their shields and looked between Blade and the dragon quizzically.
“They’ve been playing us the whole time! We didn’t just watch them die, they’re trying to trick us there too! Trying to scare us and…”
He trailed off as a loud, low hum suddenly came from behind them all. Blade’s eyes widened as he and the rest of the Shadowbolts turned around and saw the crystals around the fortress glowing and the propellers starting up. As it began slowly lifting into the air, it turned and the large door on the main platform began opening up… the door that housed the main cannon.
“WHAT?! NO! NOOOO!!!!! WHO?!” Blade yelled out while waving his arms at the fortress.
Spitfire and Silver both threw their wings out and stopped themselves in midair right before hitting the ground. They stared out as the fortress lifted into the air and the cannon emerged and began charging. Spitfire smiled and bounced giddily. They failed to fool Blade and the rest of the Shadowbolts, but apparently they had convinced exactly who they needed to… whoever was in control of the fortress!
“STOP!!!!!! WHO ACTIVATED THE—” Blade cut himself off as the fake dragon roared out behind them. Blade looked between the dragon image and the fortress. The fortress was edging towards the dragon, the dragon glaring at it as embers spilled from its maw. “YOU FOOLS! DON’T! STOP!!!!! IT’S NOT REAL!!!!!!” Blade pumped his wings and started flying as fast as he could towards the fortress as the crystals gleamed brightly with a blinding pink light. The cannon began to rattle, spark and crackle as the barrel muzzle glowed.
Blade barely got halfway to the fortress before coming to a halt and throwing up his shield, bracing himself.
“WONDERBOLTS!” Spitfire called out. “TAKE COVER!!!!!” She and Silver pumped their wings, pushing themselves to get as far away from the blast as possible. She looked up as she moved to see Fleetfoot and Calm zip down beside them and saw the recruits carrying the unicorn staff members away with a steady stream of magic shooting from their horns towards the projectors to ensure they’d keep running as they were moved to safety.
Spitfire had been worried about one thing: if they fired, would they hit the mountain or the dragon? The order to take cover was to avoid the latter… but luckily, she could see the upward angle of the cannon.
They had done it.
With a large distortion of air around the barrel, the energy in the cannon gathered… and fired.
The Wonderbolts all stared up in awe as the enormous beam of energy ripped through the air…
And passed through the dragon.
The dragon continued to move and roar, but the image and the roar sputtered with a white noise tone, flickering as the beam skewered through it. The false damage on the nearby ground and mountain flickered as well, showing that no real damage had been done at all. The beam shot past the mountain top and flew into the distance, eventually angling down… and careening towards a mountain a couple hundred yards away.
“Another larger cave…” Soarin grunted as he and Rapidfire limped into a larger opening, which was a nice change after they had been crawling through tunnels for the past hour. Soarin shined his light around the area, finding that they were in another open area like the first one they found. He couldn’t see the other side and the ceiling was higher than his light reached. He tried to open his wings a little but a cramp ran through his heavily bruised wing muscles as he did. “GRHHH…” he grunted, looking towards Rapidfire.
“One second…” Rapidfire winced as he managed to open his wings enough for the wing tips to fan out. He closed his eyes and concentrated. Soarin watched as the feather tips jittered slightly. “The draft is still there… it’s getting stronger and…” he looked straight forward. “It’s coming from that direction.”
“Then that’s where we’re going,” Soarin decided and started walking as soon as Rapidfire clarified. Rapidfire took one step…
“AH! RGH!!!!!” he yelped and grunted, falling forward onto his haunches. Soarin quickly turned around to see Rapidfire shaking and clutching his chest.
Soarin watched as Rapidfire struggled to contain the crystal withdrawal pain. Half of him wanted to feel bad for Rapidfire, but the other half of him felt Rapidfire was getting everything he deserved. That was more or less the reaction he had had throughout since learning of Rapidfire’s ‘reasons’ for how he was. It was hard to watch… but Rapidfire had brought it upon himself. Nevertheless, the two of them were working together to find salvation from the large cave system they had crashed into. It was pointless to sit and growl at each other in their current situation.
Soarin waited for Rapidfire to stop groaning and stepped up to him as he lay on the ground, panting. Soarin reached his hoof down to help him up.
“You alr—” Soarin pulled his hoof back as Rapidfire swatted it away. He didn’t say anything or make any outlandish comments, but Rapidfire grinded his teeth together and slowly pushed himself up on his own power. Soarin just let him do it, knowing that any attempt to protest would just end in an argument.
Rapidfire had been adamant on moving under his own power from the moment he found the strength to do so again, so Soarin waited patiently until Rapidfire was back on his hooves and the two began on their way again.
They walked side by side, Soarin lighting the way with Rapidfire guiding them based on where he was feeling the draft. Neither spoke, they just did what they had to do to escape.
But then Soarin realized something. A thought rushed into his head so hard he nearly broke his focus on the magic light. Rapidfire gave him a brief glance with a raised eyebrow as Soarin’s light flickered, but quickly focused back forward.
Soarin looked towards Rapidfire… as a very, very important question came to mind. One that he had completely overlooked, distracted by Rapidfire’s story and their situation.
He had to know… he was surprised he didn’t ask right after Rapidfire brought her up during his story.
“Rapidfire…” Soarin stopped in his tracks, ensuring that Rapidfire would have to stop. Rapidfire took two more steps before turning and looking towards Soarin flatly.
“What?” he asked harshly.
“Is…” Soarin swallowed as he hesitated. This was an opportunity, but the prospect of his question being confirmed… worried him. Even after all this time … her name still made him feel uneasy. “Is Nightshade still alive?”
Rapidfire’s expression went from flat to blank. He blinked a few times before tipping his head.
“She’s—”
Before he finished his first word, the two of them flinched as a loud KABOOM rang out and the entire cavern shook violently. The two of them were knocked right off their hooves, tumbling to the floor as the tremors rumbled and echoed throughout. Soarin’s light went out as the two hit the ground and they were plunged into darkness.
When the shaking finally ceased, Soarin slowly relit his horn as the two of them lay sprawled out on the ground. They lifted their heads and looked around frantically, ignoring the pain of being thrown about in favor of wondering what had just happened.
“What was that…?” Soarin asked quickly.
“I wasn’t looking, did your magic throw up all over the cave again?” Rapidfire asked sarcastically. Soarin threw him a flat glance, but it was short lived as the cave started shaking again. The two quickly got to their hooves, adrenaline giving them the strength over their pain as the steady rumbles echoed throughout the cavern… and suddenly stopped.
The two stood perfectly still as little CLACKS from rocks and pebbles falling to the floor and bouncing down the edges of the cave echoed into the empty space around them.
Neither of them moved a muscle, save for their eyes as they glanced at one another, not even breathing as they waited to be sure the tremors had stopped.
“Don’t start again, don’t start again, don’t start again…” Soarin began saying quietly.
They flinched as the floor beneath them began shaking… again.
“You just HAD to say it!” Rapidfire commented harshly as the two of them braced themselves, louder sounds of rocks hitting the floor and pieces of the cave chipping away could be heard.
“Oh, sure this is MY fault!” Soarin growled as he shined his light around to see bits of the cave breaking apart.
But then the tremors stopped again. And bits of dust gently fell to the ground around them.
They both remained still, hoping that the cave would remain stable and they could continue on their way without worry. They had already dealt with one violent cave in, another would not be—
The cave began to shake… yet again. And it shook a lot harder than it had previously.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” Soarin growled.
“Seriously, did you do something again?!” Rapidfire asked. Soarin whipped his head around and glared at him as the shaking and rumbling grew more intense.
“WILL YOU STOP BLAMING ME FOR—”
The two flinched and froze as a giant chunk of cave ripped from the ceiling above and crashed against the floor less than a yard away.
They both looked up, Soarin’s horn showing that the cave was coming apart completely, collapsing down on them as chunks from the ceiling rained down into the light’s range.
“Which way is the draft coming from?” Soarin looked down and quickly asked with wide eyes.
“Over there,” Rapidfire replied just as frantically, his eyes equally wide as he forced his body to start moving without further insults or banter.
“Let’s move! MOVE!” Soarin added as the two pushed themselves along as fast as they could with limping gaits. The ground was shaking below them. The cave was collapsing above them. If the draft Rapidfire had felt was a false lead… they were as good as dead.
The Wonderbolts all shielded their eyes as a blinding flash of pink light shone forth, followed by an incredibly loud explosion. They braced themselves as a powerful shockwave crashed against them, followed by an aftershock of strong tremors that could have easily been mistaken for an earthquake.
The shaking eventually faded and the Wonderbolts slowly regained their composure as they looked in the direction the beam had flown. The mountain in the background had been completely blown away, a large cloud of dust and smoke rising up from the ground as several bits and pieces of rocks, snow, and debris fell to the ground. The smallest of which had been catapulted all the way over to them, tiny pebbles and bits of dirt raining down upon them. This wasn’t an image or fabrication, the mountain in the distance was gone.
They turned back to see the Shadowbolts remove their shields and all look towards their fortress. It was still afloat, the barrel of the cannon fizzling out. Smoke began to rise from it as the large crystal formations around the structures of the fortress began to flicker and sputter, the glow fading to a weak light. It slowly began to fall towards the ground, the propellers losing the full strength of their spin. Large pillars resembling landing gear extended down in a seemingly desperate last second attempt to land softly. It landed on the ground with a loud THUD that echoed throughout the mountain range.
Spitfire watched the fortress carefully as it landed, specifically keeping her eyes on the large spherical glow that remained around it, signaling the shield was still up. It began to flicker.
“Come on…” Spitfire bit her lower lip.
The shield started blipping in and out.
“COME ON…” Spitfire gritted her teeth.
Finally… the crystals completely powered down and the shield… poof.
“YES!” she cheered.
Blade growled fiercely as his crystals began to glow and ribbons of pink energy pulsated around him.
“Fools… FOOLS! Who was on duty on the bridge?! WHO?!”
“BLADE!” Shadow yelled at him as the rest of the Shadowbolts were facing the Wonderbolts. “LATER! We’ve got a problem!”
Blade turned to see all the Wonderbolts shooting up from the ground and into the air. Then, from behind the mountain, the Wonderbolt Renegades took to the sky, joining up alongside the Wonderbolts. Blade’s eyes widened and he turned to the Shadowbolts below.
“SOMEPONY GO GET THE REST OF THE FORCE OUT HERE! NOW!”
“WONDERBOLTS!” Spitfire yelled out. “GO!”
“RENEGADES!” Blazetail called out.
“GIVE ‘EM HELL!” Flashwind finished for him.
The Wonderbolts and the Renegades launched towards the Shadowbolts, now outnumbering them. The Shadowbolts all scattered, their crystals coming to life as they prepared to take them on. The numbers advantage would only last until the rest of the Shadowbolts were out and clones started appearing. But the pre-emptive strike would give them momentum. The Shadowbolts were on the defensive this time, and frantically focusing completely on them.
And… once again… that was exactly what Spitfire wanted.
Spitfire wasted no time in choosing her target. She charged right at Blade, pumping her wings as hard as she could. Blade didn’t even have time to form his sword. He found himself putting up his hooves and locking them with Spitfire’s as she crashed into him. The two ended up face to face as they hovered in midair, deadlocked and pressing against one another.
“I bet you think you’re terribly clever!” Blade snarled at her. “You would have been better off hiding like the cowards that you are! Taunting us will only—”
“Yap, yap, yap, shut’yer trap!” Spitfire cut him off and taunted. “We don’t play by your rules, Blade! You aren’t the only ones who can start a fight! How does it feel to be on the receiving end of a plot whooping?!”
“You speak as if…” Blade growled as he tried to push against her, but she held herself steady. “This is already a victory!”
“Oh, it will be!” Spitfire sneered. “As soon as we kick your asses! And I’ll start with you!”
“Hah!” Blade scoffed. “You don’t even realize who you’re threatening! I equally trade blows with Descent! You are outmatched.”
“News flash, bucko!” Spitfire chuckled. Blade’s eyes widened as he felt the pressure against him increase. He glanced down to see Spitfire’s body tensing, her muscles bulging beneath her suit as she pushed harder, her wings beating even faster. She growled as she started forcing Blade further and further back. He tried and tried to match her, but he couldn’t. He was being overpowered. “I’M NOT DESCENT!”
Silver flew side by side with Blaze and High Winds as they entered the dogfight. It had gone from a silly display of effects to a crazy brawl.
“Split up and knock some heads together!” Silver ordered, perfectly content with the situation.
“FUCK YEAH!” Blaze cheered as she broke off with a twist and pile drove the first Shadowbolt in her path.
“Wheeeeeeee…” High Winds acknowledged, throwing her wings out to stop before freefalling and heading off to find a target.
Silver focused forward, looking for some hell to cause, but after a moment he winced and grunted, a cramp running between his left wing and shoulder. He lost control of his flight and tumbled for a second before forcing his wing out. With a loud CRACK he felt his wing loosen up and he quickly evened out.
“Grrrrgh…” he groaned and gritted his teeth as he shifted and threw his arm out to clip an incoming Shadowbolt. The blow made a shock of pain shoot through his arm, but he toughed it out and dipped low into a glide, purposely using a low effort flying technique to regain his composure.
For a moment… just for a moment, he thought he would make it through the entire operation without his body rebelling on him, but who the hell was he kidding? This morning he had engaged and taken a bit of a magic beating from Trance and Witch before taking them down. His toughness was what allowed him to prevail, but he didn’t walk away unscathed. His body was aching and his muscles were stiff all over. Had he not taken a painkiller beforehoof, it would have felt much worse, but masking the pain only did so much. His body still felt beaten up and was feeling the blows from the earlier encounter.
Silver’s eyes widened as a pink globe suddenly rose up in front of him. Without hesitation he swung his hoof out and flicked his wrist, batting the globe aside the best he could before it exploded violently.
“Argh!” Silver grunted, the blast close enough to push him out of his flight path. He looked behind him to see Devil flying after him, his crystals glowing brightly as more globes began to form beside him. “Dammit…” Silver grumbled under his teeth.
Had this been the first conflict of the day, he’d have turned and charged the Devil head on, but with how his body felt at the moment? He wasn’t sure that was the best idea. Besides, even now, their orders were not to engage with the intent to defeat. They were to engage with the intent to distract. Who knew what would happen if they managed to spring Wave from the fortress? Silver wanted to be sure he’d have the strength to handle the most important part of the operation. Now he just had to figure out how to shake Devil. It was poor luck that he managed to attract the attention of one of the commanders.
Silver blinked and looked forward.
“BAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNZZZZZZZZZZZZZZAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!” Air Mach yelled as he shot right past Silver to his left. “WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHPAH!” he yelled as he pulled back and threw a punch at Devil. Devil was forced to pull up and throw up a shield, but even with protection he was sent flying in the other direction by Air Mach’s attack. “Picking on old ponies! You’ve got no class, bro!” Air Mach yelled as he pursued Devil.
“Pfff…” Silver scoffed and rolled his eyes, but smirked. Air Mach bailed him out for the time being, now he had to focus on self-preservation… but he’d get a few licks in on some Shadowbolts. It would be really satisfying.
“WHOA!” Fleetfoot yelped as she twisted and dove to avoid a wide burst wave of pink magic from Shadow.
“HOLD STILL!” Shadow growled, flying after Fleetfoot. She launched wave after wave of pure magic energy from her three crystals rotating around her midsection. She couldn’t match Fleetfoot’s speed, but her attacks were forcing Fleetfoot to change direction, preventing her from reaching her straight line velocity.
Fleetfoot gritted her teeth, sweating as she glanced back at Shadow. Why was her body shaking? She had to shake the anxiety. This wasn’t the same as before.
The Shadowbolt she faced earlier, Ruin… something was different about him. He had completely and utterly defeated her and humiliated her. The thought was still fresh on her mind… that creepy smile of his just wouldn’t get out of her head.
Fleetfoot pressed her eyes shut and shook her head out. She had to focus. This wasn't Ruin. This was Shadow, and so far, Shadow didn’t show any signs of being capable of the same unnerving abilities Ruin had.
“GET BACK HERE!” Shadow yelled as she kept firing waves. Fleetfoot dodged and turned, easily avoiding the waves.
In fact, she was just the opposite of Ruin. While Ruin was unpredictable and his attacks danced about wildly with no clear aim or path… Shadow flew in a straight line at her, and so far her attacks seemed very limited. All she did was fire the same wave blast of magic over and over again, which always traveled in a straight line from her.
This was an entirely different battle.
“STOP RUNNING!” Shadow yelled after her again. Fleetfoot rolled her eyes and turned around to fly backwards while shrugging at Shadow.
“Look honey, I know my plot is shapely and desirable, but if you want it that badly, you gotta catch me first!” she turned back around and wiggled her plot, swishing her tail back and forth.
“Wow… just wow,” Shadow scrunched her face. “How about I kill your ‘desirable’ ass?!” she yelled out as she fired another wave. Fleetfoot, by now, had deduced the exact width and trajectory of Shadow’s magic waves. She shifted just far enough to let the wave pass right beside her.
“Whoops!” Fleetfoot taunted, now purposely keeping her speed down. Shadow fired three more, each one easily dodged again. “You know…” Fleetfoot suddenly bent her wings, and pulled herself into a hard U-turn, pushing herself back towards Shadow. Shadow didn’t flinch, firing another wave. Fleetfoot twisted away and angled in, grabbing Shadow by the shoulders, whiplashing and pulling her along with her. “You guys have been a nuisance, but you don’t really seem that tough once we figure out your moves!” Fleetfoot clutched Shadow’s shoulders, spun her around and threw her downward.
“ARGH!” Shadow grunted as she tumbled and struggled to even out.
It wasn’t entirely the truth. Fleetfoot was, admittedly, trying to push Shadow’s buttons and make her angry. While she had figured out Shadow’s abilities and quickly countered them, her statement definitely did not hold true for Ruin. If anything… it seemed like the Shadowbolt commanders were split. Some of them were frightening warriors with great magical technique, while others… were lacking in both regards. There was no indication of any rank differential between them and from what Descent and Starry had told them, the strongest were the leaders. Trance, Witch, and now Shadow all seemed a bit… lacking for that designation. Perhaps they had become too reliant on the crystals that their other abilities dulled, but it wasn’t the time to think about that.
Shadow was struggling to land attacks, and Fleetfoot was going to take advantage of it. Her anxieties from Ruin had been pushed aside, and now she had an opportunity to pay back some of the pain.
“ONE SIDE!” A familiar, over the top voice came from above. Fleetfoot looked away from Shadow and up above her.
“YIKES!” Fleetfoot shifted out of the way as Air Mach shot by, driving his hooves into Devil’s shield and pushing him along. Air Mach forced him all the way back into Shadow, who didn’t see them coming until it was too late. Devil’s shield dissipated when his crystals collided with Shadow’s and Air Mach effectively drove the two of them all the way to the ground, letting up and pulling up just before hitting. The two Shadowbolts crashed into the snow and rolled apart.
“Do not fear, Fleetfoot!” Air Mach arced around and hovered beside her. “Your noble knight in stallionly armor is here to kick ass in your name!”
Fleetfoot flattened her brow and shook her head.
“Thanks, but no thanks,” she waved a hoof at him. “I can handle myself.”
The two flinched as the air around them suddenly felt different. Their eyes widened as it suddenly felt like they were being pulled through the air. They flapped their wings against the pull, only to find the wind shift grew stronger, and started pulling them backwards.
Devil and Shadow both locked their hooves in the ground as they stood up, erecting shields as they looked up.
“It’s about time!” Shadow huffed as they focused on a new Shadowbolt that had entered the fray.
Fleetfoot and Air Mach both looked back to see Void, the large Shadowbolt commander who had been absent up until now. He was floating in the air, sneering at Fleetfoot and Air Mach as his crystals hovered, bunched together in front of him, and was causing a vacuum effect. The air around him was being sucked in, drawing anypony nearby closer to him in a spiral wind. Other Wonderbolts, Renegades, and Shadowbolts flying near were thrown off course, members of all three forces crashing into each other as Void’s magic ran rampant.
“Where have you been, Void?!” Devil growled at him as he braced himself, even with shield up.
“You weaklings couldn’t handle this on your own? Allow me to finish the job!” Void spoke in a very odd, sinister tone that almost sounded forced.
“Hey! Don’t pull us in too!” Shadow grunted as her shield slid along the snow.
“Your demise is not my problem. It’s your own fault for getting in my way!” Void continued to speak in the odd tone.
“The hell is wrong with this guy?!” Fleetfoot yelled as she and Air Mach beat their wings fiercely to try and counter the inward suction. No matter what they tried, they couldn’t counter it. Normally their wind control techniques would be working… but this magic seemed unaffected.
“HHHRM!” Void grunted, dropping to the ground and slamming his hooves into the snow, the winds growing stronger.
“Down! We have to land!” Air Mach yelled, grabbing Fleetfoot’s arm and pulling her down. The two dropped and pressed their hooves into the cold snow drifts, trying to anchor themselves against the pull. While it worked better than flight, they were still being pulled in, their hooves slipping and sliding gradually.
“It’s no use!” Fleetfoot exclaimed as she pushed her hooves continuously against the snow.
“Then… WE LET IT HAPPEN!” Air Mach called out as he pushed off and used the inward suction to catapult himself towards Void. “EAT HOOF YA SUCK-N-BLOW HARD!” Air Mach yelled as he threw a punch right for Void’s face.
“Ha!” Void scoffed and tipped his head slightly. The crystals grew brighter and the magic winds made a hard shift, creating a burst effect around Void that crashed against Air Mach.
“WHOOOOAAAAA!!!!!” Air Mach yelped as he was boosted upward and went cartwheeling through the air before getting lost in the action above.
“EEE!” Fleetfoot squeaked as the suction turned back on her, growing even stronger. “Nononononono!” Fleetfoot panicked as she started patting her hooves on the ground in a desperate attempt to stop.
It looked like she was right. This Shadowbolt came out of nowhere, and despite being pretty predictable like Shadow, seemed much more powerful and fearsome overall. There was a gap in their ranks!
Fleetfoot’s eyes widened as she felt her hooves slipping and lifting, she was about to be scooped up and thrown towards Void… then probably given quite a facial rearrangement, based on the brutish look and size of Void. She gritted her teeth and shut her eyes as she waited to be tossed up… but then something caught her ears.
It sounded like the pat-pat pat-pat of heavy hooves thundering against the snow. Her eyes shot open as Calm Wind galloped past her, using his ground sprinting prowess to stay anchored while approaching Void.
“Oh?” Void lifted an eyebrow. “A lummox appears!” he chuckled as his crystals brightened and the wind direction reversed and blasted outward.
“RGH!” Calm grunted, his body flinched and his neck was forced up as the reverse blast of wind struck him hard, but he kept pounding his hooves against the ground. His motion slowed, but he pushed with all the strength his large body could muster, his gallop continuing even though his hooves slipped and his momentum slowly came to a halt.
“Hahahaha!” Void laughed as Calm continued to gallop in place against his magic. “The lummox is strong! But not strong enough!” The glow from the crystals intensified, the wind growing stronger. Calm tensed his body and bared his teeth as he tried to keep pushing into the wind, but eventually he felt his front hooves lift, and not touch back down.
“GAH!” Calm grunted as he was pushed up and toppled over, falling on his back and rolling along the ground towards Fleetfoot. When she saw Calm’s large body rolling towards her, she dropped down and covered her head with her hooves, but luckily… and unluckily, Void again reversed the wind, once again pulling it towards him.
“Ah!” Fleetfoot yelped as she was pulled forward and crashed into Calm, tumbling over his body, losing all control as she bounced into the air. At the last moment, Calm stood up, locked his hooves into the ground, reaching his right arm up and grabbing Fleetfoot’s arm. He pulled her back down, but slipped, nearly losing hold of her as he was forced to reset his hooves and brace himself against the vacuum. Fleetfoot managed to grab hold of Calm’s arm and hang on, her body lifting up like a ragdoll within the vacuum.
The magic winds had become so strong that half of the battle above was being affected by it. Wonderbolt, Shadowbolt, and Renegade alike were struggling to get away from Void’s wild magic.
“VOID! THAT’S TOO MUCH!” Shadow yelled out as she and Devil barely managed to anchor themselves with their shields.
“None can best me!” Void proclaimed, completely ignoring his comrades as he focused on Calm and Fleetfoot.
Fleetfoot glanced back at Void as Calm struggled to keep them in place. Void’s magic was different, totally different. This wasn’t something they could dodge or deflect, it affected their environment! How were they supposed to counter this? Not even Calm got through even with his strength. With no way to deduce Void’s attacks or how to best him… they needed help… from ponies who had fought him already.
And luck would have it… they arrived just in time.
Calm and Fleetfoot both winced as something very large crashed to the ground in front of them. They both opened their eyes to see Bomber standing like a mountain before them, bracing himself and acting as a shield against the winds. With the effects lessened by Bomber’s presence, Calm instinctively pulled Fleet in and dropped the two of them to the ground, giving them more traction as protecting them from whatever Void would try against the new arrival.
“Ah, now the bigger lummox arrives!” Void chuckled, seemingly not giving a damn about the new challenge. Calm and fleet winced as Void increased the flow of the magic, but Bomber held himself completely firm, not budging an inch. “Come on!” Void taunted. “Come at me! You know I love a challenge!”
Bomber said nothing, nor did he show much emotion aside from a simple glare. He simply began taking heavy steps forward, each step accompanied with a loud THUD as he drove his hooves not only into the snow, but partially into the rocky surface beneath them, effectively making it impossible for him to slip.
Void’s confident smile faded as Bomber continued to stomp his way forward.
“YOU WILL FALL TO ME!” Void shouted angrily at Bomber. “I DON’T CARE HOW MANY TIMES I FACE YOU!” he gritted his teeth as Bomber slowly came within reaching distance. “YOU WILL—HURK!”
He was cut off as Bomber reached forward and grabbed him by the neck. The crystal glow faded and the pull of the winds completely vanished.
“You shut up now,” Bomber said calmly.
Calm and Fleet both watched with wide eyes as Bomber picked up Void with one hoof and slammed him into the snow… four times successively before pulling him up and looking him in the eyes. Void’s goggles had come off and his nose was bleeding. Bomber shrugged and slammed Void's face down one more time before turning and throwing him towards Calm and Fleetfoot.
Void tumbled to the ground and landed roughly, face sliding through the snow and coming to a halt a yard from Calm and Fleetfoot. Void had a completely blank look on his face, blinking twice as he stared at them.
“Ow…” Void’s voice cracked..
Suddenly, Bomber was forced to shield himself as pink globes rose up around him and exploded, waves of energy crashing against him as well. The attacks from Devil and Shadow off to the side ripped and tore at his flight suit, but he held firm, showing no signs of pain. He was unable to move though, locked in place as he braced against the attacks.
Calm stood up, ready to assist, but he remained in place as Comet and Cannon Ball dropped down and grabbed Devil and Shadow from behind, wrestling with them to hold them in place. Their attacks ceased and Bomber dropped his guard, simply walking towards the struggling ponies casually without a care in the world… despite a good portion of his suit being ripped up.
Valkyrie dropped down, landing in front of Calm, beside the fallen Void. She focused on Bomber and called out to him.
“Big Green! Target practice?!” she asked. Bomber glanced at her as he stopped in front of Devil and Shadow, whom Comet and Cannon had successfully wrestled to the ground, keeping their crystals from freeing them.
“Heh heh heh,” Bomber chuckled with a nod.
Valkyrie turned and bent down, hooking her hooves beneath Void.
“HUP!” she grunted, her muscles tensing as she lifted Void off the ground. Void was a little larger than her, about the same size of Soarin, and very bulky. Then again… Valkyrie had picked up Calm after the first battle… and even earlier had thrown Matteo, so Fleetfoot wasn’t as surprised, but Calm was staring with his eyes wide and jaw nearly on the ground. Valkyrie hoisted Void up over her head and turned to face Bomber.
“Here ya go, fatass!” Cannon Ball joked as he and Comet pushed Shadow and Devil towards them. Bomber grabbed the two of them as they grunted and struggled to get control of their crystals, but they couldn’t concentrate.
“PULL!” Valkyrie yelled towards Bomber. Bomber immediately wound up and launched the two Shadowbolts into the air. Valkyrie took aim, and took a deep breath. “HRRRRRAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!” she let out a roar as she launched Void’s heavy body into the air Void flailed as tried to get his body to listen to him, but rammed right into Devil, who in turn ran into Shadow. “Right on the mark!” Valkyrie yelled out triumphantly as the three Shadowbolts broke apart, Shadow and Devil reaching out to support Void.
Void threw his arms and wings out, forcing the other two off of him angrily before regaining shaky control of his flight. Before the three could do anything, Steady Wing with Pixie and Fairy flanking him, glided in at high speeds, intercepting the three Shadowbolts and driving them back into the battle.
Valkyrie pointed up, signaling Bomber, Cannon, and Comet to get back into the action before she turned to check on Calm and Fleet.
“Are you two al—” Valkyrie paused mid-sentence and lifted an eyebrow. Calm was staring with wide eyes at her, his pupils moving up and down her body. She cleared her throat loudly. Calm blinked and quickly shifted his eyes to her face. “And what exactly are YOU looking at?” she asked while furrowing her brow. Calm’s pupils shrank and a subtle blush appeared over his face.
“Uuuuuuuhhhh…” he trailed off, his voice almost cracking in the process.
Fleetfoot blinked as she quickly glanced between the two of them. When she put two and two together, she puffed her cheeks out and pouted angrily. Valkyrie just shook her head before turning and pointing to the dogfight above.
“Quit fooling around, have at them!” she yelled before lifting off and shooting back towards the sky.
Calm and Fleetfoot remained grounded for a moment, Calm still stuck in place and a barely audible ‘uhhhh…’ still escaping the back of his throat. Fleetfoot huffed and gave him a flat look.
“You know she’s like… twelve years older than you… right?” she asked with a sharp tone. Calm blinked and shook his head out before looking down at Fleetfoot.
“Sorry, what?” he asked while blinking continuously.
“Ugh… forget it…” Fleetfoot flattened her ears as she turned and faced the dogfight. “Let’s just go!” she took off. “Stupid… pumped up… muscle mare…” she mumbled quietly as she ascended. Calm stared after her while tipping his head.
“What did I do?” he asked quizzically as he took a running start before lifting off and following behind.
“GO! GO! DON’T STOP!” Soarin yelled as he and Rapidfire managed to increase their pace as much as they could… which pretty much amounted to a limping jog accompanied by grunts of pain.
“Shut up! I get it!” Rapidfire spat back as he tried to focus on moving and guiding them towards their hopeful exit. Neither of them was focusing on how much it hurt to move quickly because they were much more worried about being crushed by the chunks of cave falling from above. “Left!” Rapidfire called out, the two of them shifting, but Rapidfire suddenly stopped. “Wait! No! Shit! Right! RIGHT!” he shifted back, Soarin following while trying to keep his light forward.
“Look out!” Soarin pulled Rapidfire towards him, saving him from stepping beneath a falling chunk. It struck the ground and shattered, bits of rock crashing against them. They stumbled, but regained their hoofing before continuing forward.
“There!” Rapidfire’s eyes widened as his wings twitched harder. He stared forward as Soarin shined his light in said direction. There was a large tunnel ahead… and near the base of the tunnel… light!
“GO!” Soarin encouraged, ignoring the grunt Rapidfire gave in response as the two pushed themselves, weaving around as the cave continued to collapse. Soarin briefly looked behind him, his light showing him that the ceiling was literally coming down behind them. The tunnel up ahead was not showing signs of collapse at all. Soarin hoped it stayed that way, because if they could make it to the tunnel before the rest of the cave collapsed, they’d be home free.
That was just the problem though. The collapse rate was increasing. The amount of rocks and chunks falling around them was growing and becoming more intense. It was going to be close… they just had to keep their pace and—
Soarin’s eyes widened as the glow from his horn suddenly pulsated and released a bright flash.
“AHHHH!!!!!” Soarin fell forward as a searing pain shot through his head. “No… not now! NOT NOW!” he exclaimed as he tried to find his equilibrium, but the pain was incredible, blue light oozing forth from the several large cracks in the fake horn.
“What the…?” Rapidfire turned when he saw the flash of light, but the moment he turned… “RGH!” his hoof went to his chest, a withdrawal shock coursing through him.
At the absolute worst time possible, the two of them were hit by their current crippling issues.
Soarin looked up, forcing his eyes open as he saw Rapidfire lower himself to the ground as well.
He had to do something! HE HAD TO!
“RRRRGHHHHHGRRAAAA!!!” Soarin roared out painfully as he pushed himself to his hooves, the horn glowing even brighter as tiny bits and chips began to fall from its surface as if it were about to blow apart. The yellow and blue glows emerged from his eyes and rose up in a constant stream as he forced himself towards Rapidfire.
Rapidfire was barely managing to stay on his hooves, but with a push from Soarin, the two began to squeeze out every last drop of effort they had. They were so close! SO CLOSE TO SAFETY!
The two yelled out painfully as they both pushed towards the edge of the tunnel, the smaller corridor ahead still remaining completely intact as the cave continued to collapse behind them. Two more steps…
Soarin looked up, the light from his horn shining upon a large collection of rocks, freshly dislodged from the ceiling, and plummeting towards them. With one last effort Soarin pushed Rapidfire forward, forcing him into the tunnel first and then pressed down hard on his back legs, reaching for the tunnel himself.
As the rocks crashed to the floor, it kicked up large clouds of dust, shooting them up through the tunnel and crashing against Rapidfire. Rapidfire curled up on the ground, shielding himself from the rushing cloud of dust as the final tremors of the cave shook.
“This way! This way! Follow us!” Luna called out as Rainbow Dash watched from below. Princess Luna was doing her part, guiding the recruits along as they carried the pieces of projection equipment and the unicorn staff members along to safety as quickly as possible.
Dash quickly picked out the recruits that had returned from the tremor squads, the stronger ponies carrying the pieces of equipment as the rest helped the unicorns. Instinctively, she assumed that meant Matteo would be back and among them… but as she looked, she saw no sign of a griffon… and it was pretty hard to miss him. But no matter where she looked, he was nowhere to be found.
Dash gritted her teeth as she began to worry. Little Star hitching a ride with Matteo plus Matteo not being present once the strength recruits returned equaled the two were up to something. She didn’t know what, but she hoped they knew what they were doing because if anything happened to them, it would be Dash’s ass for not keeping her squad in line with orders.
She had little time to dwell on it though, as Fire Streak turned and whistled to them.
“Everypony up!” he ordered as he tossed a stop watch aside. “It’s time to move!”
The moment he gave the order, all ten of them were lining up two by two. Fire and Misty were in front, Lightning and Surprise behind them, and Dash side by side with Squall right after as the rest filled in behind.
“Stay in formation and DON’T stop flying! GO! GO! GO!” Fire gave the order.
Dash barely had time for a lump to form in her throat. Honestly, that was preferred. Their take off was sudden, just as Fire has suggested. Although, he had clearly been keeping track of time with a stopwatch, suggesting that he knew and didn’t tell them how long they were going to wait, but the sudden nature of the launch didn’t give Dash any time to be nervous. They were up and flying, taking a low path along the ground towards the fortress in a long curve away from the fighting.
“STAY LOW!” Fire ordered. “Stay low and move quickly! MOVE! MOVE!”
Dash kept her eyes fixed on Surprise’s back hooves, keeping perfectly in line. She didn’t think about where they were going, she kept her mind on the mission and what she had to do right then and there.
At least… that’s what she did initially.
Dash glanced to her right for a moment… and she was sure she wasn’t the only one who did.
There was a one on one fight going on nearby that had detached from the main dogfight. It wasn’t close enough for the two ponies involved to see the group gliding low, but Dash’s jaw dropped when she realized who the two were.
It was Spitfire and Blade…
And Blade… was getting the stuffing beat out of him.
Spitfire was delivering heavy blow after heavy blow to him and his shielding attempts. Blade kept roaring and throwing his own attacks by mixing punches, kicks, and sword swipes, but Spitfire was dodging effectively. She had a few nicks and bruises, but the scales were heavily tipped in her favor. She kept pushing him further and further back as he struggled to get in attacks of his own.
Dash had seen Descent and Blade battle… and the two were even. Yet here, Spitfire was destroying Blade. Dash could barely believe her eyes. Was Spitfire really that strong?
The way she was laying the hurt on Blade right now… no wonder she was the current captain of the Wonderbolts!
“Whoa…” Dash blinked as she witnessed the display of combat ability from afar.
“DASH!” Squall’s voice broke her from her awe. She looked back and quickly realized they were turning, and she almost broke formation. She quickly corrected her trajectory, forming right back up beside Squall. “What are you doing?!” he asked with a huff.
“Sorry,” Dash replied simply as she glanced briefly towards the duel as they quickly moved beyond view.
They continued gliding along the ground, staying as low as possible and taking a route completely around another nearby mountain with the intention of approaching the grounded fortress from behind. They were so close to the snow covered surface that Dash could feel little bits of snow kicking up and bouncing against her face and goggles as they zipped along.
Eventually they arced around the mountain and emerged behind the fortress. It loomed before them as they closed in, completely blocking their view of the battle raging on the other side. They could see more Shadowbolts pouring out from several windows and from the front, lifting off into the air before taking off towards the fighting.
They would have to work fast, because their element of surprise and the advantages that they had enjoyed so far in the confrontation would only last for so long before the Shadowbolts got a hold of themselves and pushed back. They had this window to sneak in and save Wave… they had to make the most efficient use of it.
“Rainbow Dash! Forward!” Fire called back as loudly as he could without risking audible attention to themselves. Surprise and Misty shifted aside. Dash took it as an order to come forward and quickly shifted up front to fly beside Fire Streak. “Can you give us an idea of where to enter from?” he asked. Dash bit her lip and shook her head.
“When Soarin and I escaped, we exited through the front door! I doubt that would be a good idea!” she admitted. Fire looked back forward as he pondered. Dash continued. “It shouldn’t matter where we go in, I won’t have much of a recollection of the interior until I see it!”
“Then let’s aim for a back door!” Fire decided quickly. “That seems like our best bet!”
“If its design is similar to our compound… then there might be a few backdoors right where we’d expect them!” Dash added, receiving a nod from Fire. Dash remained up front in the formation as they all pitched upward, slowly ascending to just rise over the edge of the fortress platform and examine the structures of the fortress itself.
“There!” Fire pointed. Indeed the building did look very similar to the Wonderbolt compound, at least on the outside. There was a back door behind the fortress much like the one they used to get outside to the flight tracks at their own. Fire glanced back, taking count of each of them to make sure they were all still there. Dash, Misty, Lightning, Surprise, Squall, Twister, Shine Struck, Playbitz, and Swift Justice. They had all kept up and were all accounted for. “We’re going in!” he exclaimed as they angled towards the door.
Dash glanced about as they closed in. No Shadowbolts were in sight. The distraction had their attention faced entirely forward, giving the small team a clear path right into their fortress.
The group glided down, avoiding the giant crystal formations jutting from the structures as they landed right outside the door. They all paused for a moment as they caught their breath, keeping a lookout all around them for any Shadowbolts, but they were in the clear.
“Alright…” Fire exhaled and motioned to the door. “Let’s head in… remember everything we’ve been told. Leave most of the acting to my squad, but be ready to assist if need be. Dash, up front with me. The rest file in behind, but don’t line up single file, we have to keep it all informal in here.”
Everypony nodded, and Dash stepped up to lead the way, but as she did…
“Ah!” she suddenly tensed up, her eyes widening slightly as she froze in place and the ends of her feathers and fur tingling. All eyes went to her as she tipped her head down and started breathing harder, but only for a moment. Misty Fly quickly stepped up to her, placing a hoof on her back as she examined Dash with concern. Fire, on the other hoof, looked concerned for a different reason.
“Miss Dash…” he spoke up. “You gave us your assurance this wouldn’t be a problem,” he said sternly, easily deducing what was happening.
Dash put a hoof to her heart and took a deep breath, her heartbeat had quickened, but returned to normal pace shortly after. She looked up and saw every pair of eyes on her and swallowed, focusing on Fire.
“I never said it wouldn’t happen…” she reminded Fire, a little nervously. He didn’t look very thrilled. “I said I didn’t THINK it would be a problem.”
Fire narrowed his eyes, giving a frustrated look that fit right into the angled Shadowbolt goggles. Lightning Streak stepped up and patted his brother on the back.
“Bro, nothing we can do about it right now,” he said straightforwardly. “We gotta save Chiller, we don’t have time to worry about this.”
Fire Streak released a heavy sigh, tipping his head down for a moment before looking back up at Dash with the stern gaze remaining.
“We also don’t have anypony else with at least some knowledge of the interior,” Fire added as he stepped up to Dash and looked down at her. “So we’ll have to deal with whatever happens,” he looked around, specifically at his squad mates. “Be prepared to improvise should Miss Dash have any more issues with her connection to Soarin.”
Surprise and Lightning gave a solid nod in reply, Misty doing the same once Fire relayed his order to her via sign language.
“Let’s go,” Fire made a head motion towards the door.
Rainbow Dash glanced back at Squall, Twister, and the detachment from squad zero. While she knew, and made it clear her knowledge of the interior was foggy, she was still their best bet at making the mission quick and successful. They were all counting on her, so she would do her best.
Now she was worried about Soarin on top of it, she hoped he was okay.
“Rggghhh…” Rapidfire groaned, coughing a few times as he lifted his head and shook it out. Dust scattered everywhere from his mane and he squinted as the light from the other end of the tunnel met his eyes. He blinked, his eyes eventually adjusting and seeing not only the sky, but clouds as well.
He took a deep breath and released a long sigh, slowly pushing himself to his hooves as he grunted and winced in pain. An exit… finally. It looked like all of the pain and effort wasn’t in vain after all.
Rapidfire took two steps before realization hit him. He stopped and slowly turned his head, looking over his shoulder.
Soarin was lying on the ground, unconscious, horn no longer lit… and the lower half of his body buried beneath the fallen cave debris at the back end of the tunnel.
From the looks of things, Rapidfire had made it into the tunnel just fine… but only half of Soarin had. Soarin was trapped.
Rapidfire stared for a moment before releasing a scoff. He turned, faced the tunnel opening leading outside and started walking. He never thought they’d get out… but now that the exit was in sight, he could ditch Soarin and be on his way. In fact, this was fortune in his favor. If he could make it back and report where Soarin was trapped, the Shadowbolts could come get him, and Rapidfire would be praised for helping capture their main objective.
Piece of cake… His first step towards earning more power. He’d have three crystals and the respect he deserved in no time.
But then Rapidfire stopped.
The only reason Rapidfire was up and walking right now instead of buried beneath rocks… was because Soarin gave him a shove into the tunnel… which he did before making his own dive and clearly falling just short.
Not only that… but Rapidfire wouldn’t even be looking at an exit of any kind right now had Soarin decided against bringing him along… or not helped him walk for half of their endeavor…
Soarin could have easily left him for dead.
Yet, he didn't...
Rapidfire’s ears flopped down, and then sharply folded back as he slammed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth, a quiet growl barely escaping between. He relaxed and exhaled, looking down and remaining completely still for several moments, a distraught frown appearing on his face.
He looked up at the exit…
Then looked back at Soarin.
He looked up at the exit again…
And then again… slowly back at Soarin…
---To Be Continued---