//------------------------------//
// Chapter 119: Unstoppable Toughness, Unwavering Will 
// Story: Piercing the Heavens 
// by Calm Wind 
//------------------------------//

MLP: FiM
Piercing the Heavens
By: Calm Wind

Chapter 119: Unstoppable Toughness, Unwavering Will





Everything kept flashing. One moment Soarin was awake, the next he wasn’t. 

Lying in the snow below the mouth of the cave, Soarin kept slipping in and out of consciousness. He could no longer feel the icy winds, his body completely numb from the cold air and the snow pressed against his fur, small buildups of snow piling on top of him.

His eyes fluttered as he tried to resist, but he had no strength. He had squeezed every bit of effort out of his body to survive within the cave, only to come this far and have nothing left. 

His mind was screaming at him to get up, to move, to get back and see everypony again, to see Dash again… but his body didn’t respond. 

Was he going to die? No, he couldn’t die. If he died, Rainbow Dash would die too. He couldn’t let his spirit fade, it would pull Dash’s down with it. But… there was nothing he could do. 

If he didn’t start moving soon… he would freeze to death, but he couldn’t move.

“I…” his voice sputtered as his eyes grew heavy again. “I… can’t…”

He slipped into unconsciousness again. 





Soarin’s body lay flat on the ground, surrounded by complete darkness save for the blue light cast forth upon him by the silhouette of the stallion. The stallion simply stood before Soarin, staring down at him.

“I’m surprised…” the mare’s voice echoed into the void as a brief yellow flash shined forth. The image of the mare stepped towards Soarin, her own yellow light mixing with the blue. “Soarin is down, yet you are staying put.”

The stallion snorted, looking away and into the darkness.

“I’m not a mindless imbecile. I’ve tried and failed twice already,” the stallion looked down at Soarin. “Even with the horn weakened, his mental willpower is too strong to break. Unless the horn is completely destroyed, I can’t get a proper hoofhold to overpower his will. I would just be wasting my time and energy.” He paused and looked towards the mare. “And I know this is why you chose him. It’s become clear.” He shook his head. “No, survival is my first and foremost interest. Right now we should be thinking of how we’re to save him, lest he freezes and we disappear with him.”

The yellow mare tipped her head and suddenly released a happy sigh.

“Strength and ambition… but intelligent and wise…” She stepped around Soarin and passed by the stallion as he gave her a strange look. “That sounds a lot more like the stallion I once loved.”

The stallion snorted loudly and turned away from her.

“Don’t even try it. I may have loved you once, but you pushed that love aside ‘for the good of the universe.’ Feh… what a joke. You’ve made it clear where your heart really stands.”

The mare watched him as he took several steps away. She looked frustrated.

“I am loyal to my purpose in the universe. You attempted to become something you cannot be. THAT… is why I acted against you. My feelings had nothing to do with it,” she explained harshly.

“Is that so?” the stallion looked over his shoulder. “Surely they had nothing to do with me being here now.”

The mare flinched, but remained silent as the stallion continued.

“If you’re so loyal to your ‘purpose’ then you would have completely destroyed me after what I became… what you FORCED me to become.” He pointed out, turning back to her. “Even better, you pieced back together my consciousness, after my actions destroyed it.” The stallion scoffed. “Did you think you could change my mind? Did you think being brought back would make me see an ‘error in my ways’ and accept a fate I never wanted? No. All you’ve done is show me my first attempt was inadequate and push me to seek other means. And with no body of my own, this is the only purpose I have left. You’ve only strengthened my resolve and I will keep trying, even if it means defying a god, again.”

“You make this so difficult for me…” the mare said as she sat down and hung her head. “I put you back together in hopes of seeing the stallion I once admired again. I didn’t want to remember you for the terrible things you had done.” She looked up at him. “You were a great stallion, one worthy of legends… no, not even legends could have captured all that you were. But in the end… you couldn’t accept your mortal fate, eventually driving you to madness and hurting others.” She stared strongly at him. “You are right, I brought you back hoping that you would see the error in your ways, but you’re only continuing down a path that shames the name of a great stallion. Why can’t you see what you’ve done? What you’re doing? Why can’t you remember who you were? Who you are? Where did it all go wrong?!” her voice grew louder as she demanded he speak.

The stallion stared at her, a silence passing between them in the void, with Soarin lying directly between them. The stallion slowly shook his head as he turned away.

“Had you not charmed me with your beauty…” he began, but the yellow mare stomped a hoof, creating a loud echoing BANG that resonated throughout the empty space.

“Don’t speak as if this is my fault!” she growled. “I am not responsible for your actions!”

She flinched as the stallion burst out laughing, releasing hearty guffaws as he whipped his head back.

“How EASILY you try to avoid blame!” he said as he failed to hold down a few more laughs. “Do you truly believe that your immortality… your omnipotence… casts a veil of perfection?” he asked as he turned to face her.

“I… I never…” she stumbled over her words. The stallion scoffed.

“The day we met was the day that sealed my path,” he began as he turned his back to her again. “I doubt I’d have gone so far for something thought impossible otherwise.” He turned his head, but didn’t look at her. “An immortal like you would never understand the burden of love on a mortal. You talk about your rules and about how you must abide by your laws of the universe… but where were those when you and I fell in love?!” He raised his voice as he turned and started walking towards her. “It is forbidden for divine to fall in love with mortals, but that didn’t seem to stop you, did it?!” He stepped around Soarin and walked right up to her, his image growing larger until it equaled hers in height. “You willingly defied your own rules when you fell in love with me…” He got in her face. “But when I drove to become one of you, to prevent the fate that would tear us apart forever, the rules suddenly mattered again?!”

The mare didn’t respond. She just sat still as the stallion yelled.

“Stop acting like you’re beyond consequences! You are VERY much responsible for everything that happened to me! My drive to become a god was not out of greed, lust for power, or extension of my influence! I DID IT FOR YOU, CELES! YOU WERE ALL THAT MATTERED TO ME!”

The two stared at each other, less than an inch between them as the stallion glared into the blank expression of the mare. The stallion grunted, his image returning to its normal size as it turned away from her.

“Then why?” The mare asked. “I made our spirits one… you have me. I put you into Soarin because I felt that, all together, we could save Equestria from the coming disaster… I felt that with your conscience restored, you’d seize the opportunity to help ponies like you once had.”

“Then let me take over Soarin,” the stallion asked sharply.

“I can’t allow—”

“Therein lies the problem,” the stallion scoffed. “You want to use me. Well, I see no reason to since you continuously deny me my goal, just as you did then. I refuse to do things your way.”

“I already told you why I did what I did. You’re impossible,” the mare shook her head in frustration. “If it was for love, how did it change?”

“When you refused to help me and labeled me a megalomaniac so easily… it destroyed me inside out, my love for you felt betrayed. I decided I would find my own methods. If you would not accept me, then I would do it for myself. What did I have left? My influence and my power. YOU are the reason it turned to that and don’t even try to apologize because your word has lost all weight to me. I refuse to disappear into history books, I will defy fate and defy the gods just as I have defied every challenge I’ve faced, everything I was told was impossible in my life. My body is gone, but my ambition will never falter. Your refusal to help me changed my goals. It was no longer for love, it was for survival. Without your aid, it pushed me to unethical extremes, it twisted my mind and soul, and in the end I was corrupted and did horrible things… and the day you and I met in battle I—”

The stallion suddenly stopped, his ears standing up.

The mare perked up as well.

The two of them glanced frantically about.

“What…?” the stallion asked as he continued to look around.

“Do you sense it too?” the mare asked quickly.

“What in the world is that…?” the stallion asked, looking back down as something had completely drawn their focus away from the moment. The mare looked down at him.

“I… I don’t know!”





“Nnghh…” Soarin stirred, his eyes opening back up as he shifted back to consciousness again, staring forward into the whirling snowfall before him. His body was still numb and completely devoid of energy.

But then… he saw something. It was very faint, but… in the distance, it looked like something was approaching. 

Soarin kept his eyes open, as heavy as his eyelids felt, curious as to what was moving towards him. However, as it grew closer, he still couldn’t immediately identify what it was. It didn’t help that his vision was a little blurry either. 

Was it a friend? 

A foe? 

Or something else entirely?

Soarin remained still in the snow as it grew closer, the strength of the blizzard winds and snowfall seemingly growing as it approached and eventually… stopped right in front of him. Soarin closed his eyes tight before opening them again, hoping to clear his vision a little. What he saw… he couldn’t really explain. 

It was a bright, white light. Even as it stood right in front of Soarin it was hard to see since its color blended in with the white of the blizzard swirling around it, several falling snowflakes floating towards and encircling it.

Then the light dimmed slightly… revealing what looked like the silhouette of… a pegasus?

Soarin stared at the entity, trying to make out any features, but again, its white color made it hard to see in the whirling snowfall. 

The only thing Soarin could see on the figure…

Was a smile.





“YOU!” a voice suddenly came from above. Soarin’s eyes shifted as the familiar voice met his ears. He looked up to see Discord float down from above, his arms crossed, his teeth grinding together, and a very angry scowl on his face. “How the hell did you reach this plane as a spirit?!” he demanded as he landed on the other side of the image.

The image simply turned and looked at Discord, the smile remaining. Discord snorted.

“I swear,” he growled. “If you just say ‘it’s doable’ I’m going to—” Discord cut himself off and flattened his brow while staring at the image. “You know what, forget it. I don’t care how you got here. Why are you here?” he asked.

The image stepped aside, giving Soarin a full view of Discord. The image pointed to Soarin in the snow as Discord’s eyes widened and he blinked. 

“Okay, okay, fine…” Discord grumbled in frustration as he looked back at the image. “You found him before I could, big deal. Now get back where you’re supposed to be and stay there!”

The image shook its head.

“Oh?” Discord lifted an eyebrow. “What makes you think you can just go around breaking every rule?”

The image simply tipped its head. Discord sighed and rolled his eyes. 

“Yes, yes, I know, I break the rules from time to time too, but that doesn’t mean I’ll tolerate you—” Discord’s eyes widened before sharpening into an intense glare. “WHAT?! NO! I’m NOT still sore about that! RGGHHH!!!” He uncrossed his arms and clenched his fists, the distorted aura of his magic pulsating from them for a moment before he threw his arms up in frustration, the auras dissipating.

The image shook gently as if it were chuckling.

“FINE! I don’t care!” Discord turned his back on the image. “Go and do whatever the hell you want. It’s not like I’ve ever been able to stop you anyway…”

The image nodded contently, smiling.

“Don’t you gloat on top of it,” Discords hissed as he looked over his shoulder. “You… insufferable… intolerable…” Discord started grumbling as he turned and started walking away. “Unbelievable… ‘Are you still sore about losing’ he says… RGH! The nerve!”

Discord disappeared in a flash of light.

The image looked back down towards a very confused Soarin. He was so weak and disoriented that he wasn’t sure if what he was seeing was real or a dream… but he kept his eyes fixed on the white silhouette as it stood above him, the snowfall from the blizzard was behaving strangely as it came near it, attracted to the light and swirling around it like a moths drawn to a flame. The figure picked up one of its hooves and reached it down, placing it on Soarin’s shoulder.

“Soarin…” 

Soarin heard a whisper. It was very faint and it sounded like it was coming from all around him, not from the image itself. 

“Soarin… rise up…” it encouraged.

“Wh…who…?” Soarin struggled to speak, his body still devoid of any strength. But then his eyes opened a little as the white light form the image extended from its arm and started surrounding him as well.

It felt… warm. 

While he still felt weak, he suddenly felt something well up in the pit of his stomach. As the light grew brighter around him, he suddenly felt like he could fight against his body as if his willpower was being boosted.

“You must get up…” the voice whispered, echoing in his ears as the light continued to move into him, the figure crouching down closer and closer. “You must be strong…” The figure reached down… and phased completely into Soarin, the entirety of the white light now emanating forth from Soarin’s body. Soarin’s eyes widened as he found the strength to move his hooves. He pushed them down, slowly rising up as the snowfall began swirling around him as it had around the figure. Soarin looked up, into the blizzard, his eyes fixed into the distance as a faint, white glow rose from them and from the cracks in the horn. “You must…” the voice continued, now completely in his head. “Rainbow Dash… and Silver Lining… they need your help… they are in danger!”

“Rainbow Dash…?” Soarin spoke into the blizzard. “Silver…?”

“Yes…!” The voice sounded eager. “You must aid them!”

“I…” Soarin picked up a hoof and took a step. It came without pain or challenge. 

He could move.

His body felt like it was being driven by an unknown force. His actions were his own, but the willpower, the drive, it was coming from something else. He didn’t care what it was though. The voice claimed Dash and Silver were in danger, and it was pointing him in a direction. Soarin, more than anything, was always driven by the desire to protect those he loved and cared about… and whatever gave him the power to move had him believing it was time to do just that.

“Dash!” Soarin shouted as he started taking heavy steps forward. “Silver!” he yelled out as he was guided along. “I have… to help them!”



	

Silver winced as he and Sin rushed at each other and slammed their front hooves together, digging their back hooves into the snow. Silver grimaced, hissing through his teeth as pain shot through his body, but he refused to show any weakness, holding firm as the two pressed together. His eyes widened for a moment as his back hooves slipped slightly, but he picked them up and jammed them back down, determined to remain strong.

“YES!” Sin smiled as he glared into Silver’s eyes. “BRING IT!” he jeered as Silver growled right back at him, the two sliding off their hooves and grappling up close.





Silver blinked as Sin pulled back his head and thrust it forward. Silver ducked while removing his hooves from Sin’s, causing Sin to yelp in surprise and fall forward as he missed the headbutt. Silver went down on all fours and pushed hard upward, ramming his back into Sin’s chest. 

“OOF!” Sin grunted as he was tipped upward, causing him to stumble backwards on his back hooves. Silver immediately pushed up and rushed at Sin, pulling his hooves back. He delivered several heavy blows into Sin’s stomach, causing Sin to gasp and lean forward. Sin’s head was right in Silver’s range.

“HRM!” Silver grunted, turning his body and winding up a full motion strike. He made all the small shifts, delivering a right hook with every bit of force he could generate right to Sin’s jaw. Sin’s head was whiplashed sideways as Silver followed through the motion… but he didn’t stop.

The end of Silver’s strike put him in the perfect position to deliver another full motion strike with his left hoof. He did just that.

“HRAH!” Silver roared out, delivering a left hook that knocked Sin’s head back in the other direction.

Silver preceded to repeat this maneuver, using the end of each full motion strike as the start of another going the opposite way.

He delivered a left, and a right, and a left, and a right, and a left, and a right… over and over, each strike hitting Sin with full efficiency, and whipping his head back and forth.

After delivering six hard hooks with each hoof, Silver spun around and delivered one hard punch right into Sin’s face. 

Sin was sent flying backwards, landing on his plot before tumbling backwards.

“ARGH!” Silver grunted after completing his assault, dropping down onto his haunches for a moment as his aching body screamed at him all over. “D…dammit…” Silver groaned as he shuddered. He looked down at his hooves, they were trembling. Sin’s body was dense and hard as a rock. Silver hit him hard and knocked him down, but every strike felt like he was fighting a brick wall.

“HA HA!” Sin suddenly guffawed as he lay on his back. Silver’s ears shot up as he stared towards Sin, his jaw dropping as Sin simply rolled over and stood up. His face was bruised, and his forehead was bleeding slightly, but he was still smiling. “Dude!” He whipped his head back and forth before reaching up and wiping the blood off of his face. “That was awesome!”

Silver just stared at him blankly as he struggled to stand up and face Sin, grunting every inch of the way. He had just unloaded everything he had against Sin, hitting him hard enough to put most other opponents he had faced to the ground… and maybe INTO the ground several times… and Sin had shrugged it off… and was laughing about it?!

“You didn’t hold anything back! Like…” Sin paused for a moment to laugh some more. “I don’t think anypony has ever hit me that hard that many times before! You are a beast!”

“I’m glad you’re impressed…” Silver grumbled sarcastically, subtly wincing as he felt his right shoulder cramp up. He wanted to reach his left hoof over and punch it until it stopped, but he was afraid of falling the moment he lifted the weight off his stable hoof. 

“You’re damn right I’m impressed!” Sin bounced on his hooves again. “Come on! Let’s keep going!” he yelled as he started galloping towards Silver. 

Silver forced himself through the pain, bringing up his hooves in a defensive position. Sin charged right up into Silver’s grill, throwing rapid, hard punches. Silver took the first two head on to the arms, but the moment he felt how hard Sin was punching, he switched tactics. He began trying to divert Sin’s attacks, pushing the punches aside. However, he couldn’t block them all, one hitting Silver square in the shoulder… the right shoulder.

“GAH!” Silver cried out as he was spun around and sent to the ground, his shoulder twitching even harder. He had to get up quickly. Rule number three: never go to the ground. He turned his head as his neck muscles stung alongside his shoulder, but Sin wasn’t coming at him.

“Yeah! Come on! Get up!” he beckoned. “I know you’re not done!”

“Hrgnnn…” Silver cringed as he pushed himself up. He didn’t know how many more times he’d be able to force himself. Sooner or later the pain was going to be too much, even for him. He had to end this as quickly as possible, but after Sin got right back up from his initial assault, that seemed unlikely. Still… Sin was right about one thing. Silver was the Iron Horse, and he’d be damned if he’d lie down just because his body hurt. He was unbreakable, especially when those he cared about were on the line.

“YES!” Sin breathed heavily as he saw Silver get up. “LET’S GO!” Sin charged again. 

Silver slammed his eyes shut, forcing the thought of his pain to back of his head as he opened them back up and glared. He was battered and beaten, but he had more than physical strength on his side.

He shifted himself sideways the moment Sin threw his punch, roughly grabbing his arm. Sin yelped as Silver used his momentum against him, lifting him up over his shoulder and swinging him over the top. Several cracks and pops came from Silver’s shoulder as he forced Sin’s weight over him, but he gritted his teeth and followed through, slamming Sin into the ground on the other side. Silver stumbled backwards and tried to open his wings, to take to the air. His right wing opened… his left one didn’t.

“OW!” Silver gasped as his left wing twitched painfully, the feathers shuddering erratically as his wing muscles refused to cooperate. 

“BLAH!” Sin grunted as he picked his face up and spat out a bunch of snow, springing back up and charging at Silver again. Silver brought up an arm to block, a painful POP cracking from his hoof as Sin’s hoof connected with it. The pain traveled all the way through Silver’s arm, his nerves on fire. Sin followed up with a second punch.

But Silver sucked it up, swinging his other hoof around while executing the full motion strike to meet Sin’s attack. With a loud CLACK, their hooves clashed, Sin’s hoof propelling backwards and spinning him around.

“Whoa!” Sin reacted, stumbling backwards while turning. Silver stepped forward, winding up for another strike, but Sin caught himself and whipped back around to throw his own. Their hooves crossed and they belted each other in the face at the same time. 

The two flew apart, both falling backwards, creating short trenches in the snow.

“Woooohoohoohaha!” Sin laughed as he rolled over and got to his hooves quickly. “This is so much fun!”

“Rgh… yeah…” Silver grunted as he cringed and shook on the ground. “Loads… and loads… of fun…” He gasped as he pushed against the snow, forcing himself up even though he was slowly losing feeling in several joints. He panted and squinted towards Sin as he struggled to fight his pain.

Once again… Silver was just frustrated. 

Back in the day, he could have gone through a week of action like he had today and still had enough left to trade blows with Sin, full tilt. The past five years of his life had been spent doing everything he could to defy his age, to stay active and show no weakness to remain at the post he had spent his whole life working for. 

He was never one to believe in limits, but he sure as hell was feeling them now. Belief in his ability could only take him so far. What good was willpower if the body was worn and deteriorated? Was he finally hitting limits he couldn’t overcome?

No.

No. No. No.

Absolutely not.

Silver took a deep breath and released a loud shout as he forced himself to stand and stood strong, refusing to let the pain hold him down. He wasn’t ignoring the state of his body, he knew he couldn’t take blows like he used to, but that just meant he had to dish it out without taking it!





If her head didn’t feel like it was sitting about twenty yards from her body, Dash would be up and helping Silver, no questions asked. But that was the problem. She took a full on, full force blow to the face from Sin and she was feeling every bit of it. He was several times stronger than her, one punch leaving her completely dazed, confused, and with one hell of a stiff neck. 

“Rgh… ah…” she grunted and gasped as she tried to stand over and over again, but she never got more than a few inches off the ground before falling back down. She had the strength, she just didn’t have the balance and focus.

Her eyes kept shifting between the ground and Silver. She could see it. She could see how much pain her mentor was in. He was holding strong like the stubborn old stallion he was, but his face, his movements, his labored breathing. He was in pain and fighting to survive. Sin never faltered, getting right up no matter how many times Silver hit him with attacks that could down any other pony. This wasn’t good.

Her past discussion with Silver about his health poured into her head. They had been fighting nearly all day. His pain medication could only do so much for him… and then there was his heart. The more strain he put on his body, the more pain he tried to ignore, the more stress he would put on his heart.

No… she had to get up, she had to help him!





“ARGH!” Silver stumbled backwards after taking a heavy blow to the chest, but forced himself back forward, throwing a punch right back towards Sin. Sin had his eyes locked on Silver’s hoof the whole way and willingly let Silver hit him.

“OOF!” Sin grunted as his back hooves slipped through the snow, kicking it up into small drifts as he came to a stop. “Yeah! YEAH!” he hollered as he rushed forward. Charging at Silver with his head down. Silver noticed the bull-rush and set himself, putting up his hooves while digging his back hooves into the snow.

“GRH!” Silver released a painful gasp as Sin’s head crashed into his hooves, instantly forcing them to Silver’s chest. Sin pounded his hooves into the snow driving Silver backwards. 

“COME ON! COME ON!” Sin yelled out with gusto as he kept pushing against Silver.

Silver managed to push his arms out slightly, getting enough leverage to shift to the side and turn himself, wrapping his arm around Sin’s neck. With one solid pull, Silver managed to pull Sin out of his forward motion, harshly turning him. Sin’s hooves slipped and slid in the snow, losing his hoofing. Silver pulled harder, causing Sin to flip forward as he fell, slamming him into the ground. Silver, consequently, also fell down with him, but gently slid through the snow as Sin rolled and tumbled roughly until he ran face first into the base of a rock, his body rolling up onto it, upside-down. 

Seeing the opportunity with Sin stuck in a vulnerable position, Silver forced himself up, shouting through the pain as he broke into a gallop. His steps were uneven, his muscles cramping and relaxing erratically as he pushed himself, but he picked up speed. Sin was kicking his back hooves up into the air, trying to roll himself back down onto his stomach, but before he could make any progress, Silver hopped up, spinning around as he continued moving, jammed his front hooves into the snow and reversed his full motion strike, applying it to a double-hoofed buck. 

His back hooves slammed into Sin, striking with a loud POW directly into his stomach, near the diaphragm.

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHhhaaaaaaaaaaaaa…” Sin yelled out, exhaling loudly as Silver kicked all the air out of his lungs.

“ARGH!” Silver cried out right after delivering the hit, several muscles throughout his body twitching and cramping up. Silver pushed away from Sin, stumbling forward before falling face down into the snow on his stomach.

Sin’s back slowly peeled off the rock, falling down and landing softly in the snow. 

Silver forced his neck up, squinting as his whole body felt like it was tearing itself apart. He turned and looked over at Sin to see that he wasn’t moving. He hoped Sin stayed that way, because that last effort felt like it caused his battered muscles to nearly tear apart.

His chest was also feeling tight, his heart beating furiously with all the strain he was putting on himself. He reached a shuddering hoof over and placed it over his chest as he panted with heavy breaths, expelling thick clouds of mist into the cold air above him. 

He needed help. He needed to get back to the compound. The day had been way too rough on his body and he was feeling it. With Sin down, they had a chance to escape, but now a new problem arose. Dash was still trying to pick up her brain and he was more than certain his wings were not working… not to mention he was having trouble just moving at the moment. How were they going to—?

“HHRRRRRnngggggg…” a loud groan suddenly came from Sin. Silver’s eyes widened as he slowly turned, his hoof still pressed over his heart as the beat quickened. 

“You’ve gotta be kidding me…” Silver mumbled to himself, a wave of dread sweeping over him as his eyes landed on Sin. 

Sin slowly grunted and coughed, but rolled over and pressed his hooves to the ground. He remained slightly crouched as he pounded a hoof to his chest, coughing a few more times before he stood up straight and shook his head out, whipping the snow from his mane. 

“Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!” Sin hooted as he took a few more deep breaths. “Dang! That was a hard hit! I love it!”

“For the love of…” Silver growled and cringed as he pressed his hooves to the ground. Every attempt at moving was a struggle, he couldn’t even stand without his body shaking rapidly in the process. His nerves had nearly gone numb with pain as every muscle in his body screamed at him to just stay down, but he had to stand. He had to fight. “Gahhh…ha…” Silver slammed his eyes shut, breathing heavily as his heart continued to thump uncomfortably in his chest. “No, dammit!” he patted his chest twice. “Settle down!” he yelled at his own heart as Sin cracked his neck.

“I can’t get enough of this!” Sin laughed as he set his hooves firmly in the snow. “HAHA!” He yelled out as he charged. 

Silver’s eyes widened, forcing his hoof away from his thumping heart to put up a guard. Sin landed a heavy punch right into Silver’s arms, pushing him backwards and spinning him around.

“AUGH!” Silver gasped as he planted his hooves, pain shooting through both his arms from the impact. “Ah… gah… AH!” Silver struggled as his body twitched and his heart thrashed about in his ribcage. He forced himself back around, putting up his arms again just in time to intercept a right hook, but Sin’s hoof knocked Silver’s guard aside, leaving him wide open. Sin whipped his other hoof around, catching Silver right in the jaw, the blow slipping past his cheek and smashing against the side of his nose.

Silver’s head was pushed roughly to the side, a sprinkle of blood shooting from his nose and staining the nearby snow. He tipped over and rolled, but stopped with his hooves already pressed to the ground.

“Hey! You ain’t done yet, are ya?!” Sin yelled as he charged again.

“RRGGHHHAAAAAAA!!!!” Silver roared out in pain as he pushed himself back up and looked towards Sin. His vision had become a little wobbly, the stress from the pain and his heart making him lightheaded. He coughed as the taste of his own blood entered his mouth as it trickled down from his nose. He glared up at Sin as he wobbled, thrusting himself forward with a hoof pulled back. He tipped to the side, letting an attack from Sin rush past his head, before throwing a punch into Sin’s face.

The blow was weak, it literally just bounced off Sin’s cheek.

Silver’s strength was fading, he had nothing left.

“GAH!” Silver gasped as Sin put him in a headlock. 

“Please tell me that’s not it!” Sin questioned, sounding slightly disappointed. “You know… I guess I got a little too excited!” he chuckled as he tightened the grip on Silver’s neck, causing Silver to gasp and cough. “You’re definitely the Iron Horse… but you’re lookin’ a little old!”

Sin winced as Silver began pulling his neck to the side and bashing the side of his head against Sin’s.

“WHOA-HO!” Sin laughed as he willingly took the hits. “But at least you live up to your toughness! Either way, this was great! But it’s time to finish it!”

Silver yelped as Sin thrust him to the ground, holding him down by the chest. Sin delivered two heavy punches across Silver’s face before lifting him up and throwing him. Silver tumbled through the air, landing severally yards away. He rolled back up on his hooves, but nearly fell right back down, his body roughly crashing into a boulder. Sin rushed at him, ramming his entire body into Silver’s.

“AHHHHH!!!!” Silver cried out as he was smashed in between Sin and the solid surface of the rock. Silver tried to stumble away, his body having lost all feeling and one hoof pressed over his chest, but it was hopeless.

“It’s too bad,” Sin shifted and got in front of Silver. “If only I got to fight you in your prime.”

Silver’s eyes were fighting to stay open, his heart racing and his body shaking. Blood now dripping from both his nose and mouth. He couldn’t even think straight, but he saw his opponent in front of him. Silver’s reached a hoof up, slowly moving it towards Sin. Sin watched and smiled as Silver’s lame attempt at a punch lightly tapped Sin’s forehead.

“But I got to at least see that spirit… and it was magnificent!” Sin sneered.

He pulled back his right hoof.





“N…no…” Dash gasped and panted as she forced herself up, only to fall back down. He eyes snapped open wide…

As Sin unloaded a punch just as strong as the one he gave her… right into the face of Silver.

Silver was lifted right off his hooves and sent flying towards her. Her jaw hung agape, her body shivering as Silver landed head first in the snow and bounced until sliding to a stop only a few yards in front of her…

And lay still.

“No… NO!” Dash tried to yell, but her voice was still squeaky. Her eyes remained locked on Silver’s motionless body as Sin slowly appeared over the top, walking towards them.

“Man… that was too short…” Sin sighed as he looked down at Silver. “Lived up to his name, but I guess even the toughest ponies get old.”

“Hhhhrrrnnngggggg…” 

Dash gasped and Sin blinked as Silver suddenly groaned and stirred. He was shaking and twitching painfully, but he wasn’t dead. Dash never felt more relieved in her life.

“Holy shit! The old bastard is still kickin’?” Sin smiled. “I didn’t even knock him out! Now that’s grit!” 

Dash began to panic, the relief very short lived. Silver was alive… but Sin showed no sign of letting it be. She… had… to… do… something!

“I guess one more lick wouldn’t—” Sin stopped, his eyes opening a little wider. “Oh? OH?” His smile slowly returned. 

Dash didn’t know how she found the strength, maybe it was the sight of Silver being pummeled, or the fact that she refused to let Sin touch him again… but she didn’t know or care. She found the will to stand, and now just as Silver had stood over her to protect her… she was doing the same for him.

“Well! Look at you shrugging off that hit I gave you earlier! Impressive!” Sin smirked and chuckled as Dash teetered back and forth, her legs wobbling. She had found the will, she had found the strength, now she just to find her damn balance! She was still dizzy and lightheaded. 

“I… won’t let you…” Dash struggled to speak. “Hurt him… anymore!”

“Hey, girl, I didn’t force him to fight,” Sin lifted an eyebrow while smirking. “It’s not like I had a problem with him hitting me.”

“He--AH!” Dash shouted, nearly losing her hoofing and falling, but she held her ground.

“Looks like I didn’t give you enough credit,” Sin complimented while whipping his mane about. “So I wonder… think you can take another hit? How about we find—”

Sin never got to finish. Dash wasn’t even sure what happened at first, but a blurry streak suddenly shot in from behind him, striking him in the back of the head. Sin’s eyes went wide, a loud, painful grunt escaping his throat as he catapulted forward. He flew over the top of Dash before landing head first, his face dragging through the snow before rolling over the top and landing on his back.

Dash watched Sin tumble before turning back forward.

“Big dumb oaf…” the newcomer said with a huff. A smile overtook Dash’s face.

“Lightning Dust!” she yelled happily before teetering and falling into the snow beside Silver. Dust shook out her front hooves and blew on them.

“Yeow… that guy is made of rock, I swear…” she cringed as her hooves stung, but she quickly refocused on Dash and Silver. “Aw jeez…” she winced when her eyes landed on the two of them, especially Silver. “Damn, I didn’t make it in time.”

“He’s alive,” Dash quickly pointed out. “But… we need to get him help, fast!” she didn’t go into specifics, knowing Silver didn’t like others knowing about his heart and pain medications.

“Don’t worry,” Dust nodded. “We have several Renegades flying around looking for you guys right now, I can easily go grab one of them and—”

“DAMN!” 

They both froze and slowly looked towards Sin. 

“No way…” Dust’s jaw dropped. “I hit him going full speed!”

“Wooooo!” Sin called out as he rose up and tipped his neck back and forth, several loud cracks and pops coming from it. “That’s one way to loosen up the neck!” he chuckled as he turned around and smirked at Lightning Dust. “But come on… a sneak attack? That’s dirty!”

“Crap…” Dust growled as she looked between Sin and the worn out Wonderbolts.

“Lightning Dust, huh?” Sin called her out as he smirked. “Probably could’ve guessed since that felt like a love tap. You’ve got guts coming out here all by yourself!” he taunted. 

Dash watched Lightning Dust’s movements. She was edging away, her legs shaking a little as Sin started to walk towards them slowly. 

“After what happened last time I thought you’d learned your lesson!” he continued.

“Shut up!” Dust snapped back at him, shifting back a little further. 

“Or what?” Sin chuckled. “Big Hero Descent isn’t here to save your hide this time!”

“I…” Dust bit her lower lip, finding no words to counter as Sin closed half the distance between them. 

Dash could see what was happening. She had to do something. 

Sin had just beaten down Silver. Dust was hesitating, and Dash was still on the ground, feeling like she had little control to move or act… but she had strength.

The situation seemed like a lost cause, but if Lightning Dust found them, maybe there were more Renegades out looking for them. If that were indeed true… then the best option for survival was to fight as long as they could. 

Dash chuckled to herself as she moved her hooves and firmly planted them into the snow, ready to force herself up. Silver had left an impression on her for sure. Here she was, beaten and delirious… but despite being hindered, she was finding the will to fight. The only one of them that was at full strength was Lightning Dust… their hopes for lasting at all hinged on her… so they couldn’t afford to have her hesitating. Dash decided to fix that.

“Lightning Dust!” Dash yelled out, grunting and gasping as she forced her hooves down and slowly pushed herself up. Sin stopped moving and blinked as Dash slowly got to her hooves, Lightning Dust turning and looking towards Dash. “Don’t let him… intimidate you!” she encouraged as she stood up straight, wobbling slightly. “Come on! He’s just a big meathead! We can take him!”

“Oh?” Sin lifted an eyebrow, his smirk quickly returning. “I gotta hear this…”

“You heard me, you pumped up windbag!” Dash yelled as she stumbled and nearly fell. “You don’t scare me!” she tipped to the side and fell against Lightning Dust, who quickly turned and helped her stand back up.

“Dash, you’re hurt!” Dust pointed out. 

“So what?!” Dash growled as she pushed herself off Dust, slammed her eyes shut, and shook her head out, trying to find her equilibrium. “I can still fight!” she claimed. 

“We…” Dust looked back and forth between Sin and Dash. 

“I’m not gonna let this guy walk all over us!” Dash continued while facing Dust.

“Yo, are we gonna fight or—” Sin spoke up, but Dash angrily pointed at him.

“Shut your damn trap! We’ll get to you!” she growled at him.

“Fine, sheesh…” Sin shrugged, sitting down in the snow. “Just hurry it up, I’m getting bored over here.”

“Dust… listen to me,” Dash suddenly whispered. Lightning Dust perked up as Dash cringed. “I’m not about to think that we can beat this guy. How much my face hurts is enough to tell me that… but if you’re out here I’m gonna guess that means the Renegades are looking for us?”

“Yeah…” Dust swallowed and nodded. 

“Then we have to keep this going as long as possible. We have no way out, you can’t carry us both, and you leaving us to get help isn’t an option either. Our best bet is to take the fight to him, and keep him busy…” Dash glanced at Sin, who yawned noisily as he tapped one of his hooves against the snow. “As far as I can see… that’s all we have going for us.”

Lightning Dust glanced at Sin as well, the hesitant look returning to her face. Dash picked up on it, and decided it wasn’t time to get lost in thoughts.

“I take it you’ve fought him once before?” Dash asked. Lightning Dust quickly looked back at her, nodding.

“He… beat the crap out of me… to put it lightly,” Dust shivered. “If Descent hadn’t stepped in and bailed me out, I probably would be dead.” She shivered for a moment. “I was bedridden for days, confused, and dizzy, monitored twenty-four seven because of a major concussion. I don’t even remember the second half of the fight.”

“I’m not surprised…” Dash cringed as she stumbled slightly. “Hell, I think he gave me a minor one with one punch…”

“Then you shouldn’t fight…” Dust said with a bit of hesitation in her voice. Dash shook her head.

“And you’re going to take him on by yourself?” she asked as she shook her head and found her balance again. “No… this is a matter of life or death, and I’m not gonna lay down when Silver is in danger.”

“Today, please!” Sin called towards them.

Lightning Dust looked at Dash for a moment before taking a deep breath and exhaling as she looked down.

“Come on Dust!” Dash reached over and jabbed her in the shoulder. “Bring out that fire I saw back in flight camp! We can do this, together!” Dash encouraged. Lightning Dust released another, shorter breath before looking up and nodding with a determined expression.

“Let’s do it… it’s the only way,” she agreed.

They both turned and faced Sin, Dash doing her best not wobble. She really was in no shape to fight, but if Silver fought through his pain, she would too.

The moment Sin saw them turn, he smiled and stood up.

“We fighting now? About damn time!” he remarked as he cracked his neck again. “I don’t mind a two on one. Just make it worth it!”

“Can you fly?” Dust asked as she and Dash set their hooves.

“Probably not,” Dash admitted, earning a sigh from Dust.

“Then we’re off to a great start,” she said sarcastically. 

“I might be able to, but probably not well,” Dash added. 

“Then our best bet will be making use of the numbers advantage. No direct attacks, force him to focus in two directions and attack unevenly. If that doesn’t work… I don’t know, do anything.” Dust suggested. “Sound good?”

“Works for me,” Dash reached up a hoof. Lightning Dust bumped her hoof with Dash’s.

“I’m waiting!” Sin called at them, looking a little frustrated.

“GO!” Dust yelled.

Dash forced her legs into movement, breaking into a gallop while angling off to the right. Dust kicked off the ground pumping her wings to get a little bit of height as she snapped around to the left.

“Hey! Hey!” Sin chuckled as he locked his eyes on Dust, completely ignoring Dash. “Who said you could fly?” he taunted as Lightning Dust turned towards him and pumped her wings harder, pulling back her hooves to strike. “Sheesh, fine…” he said casually as Dust approached. He remained completely still as Lightning Dust aimed for his face, slamming both of her hooves into his cheek. Sin’s neck was forced away from her, his opposite hooves picking up and jamming down into the ground to support himself as Dust pulled back and shook her hooves out.

“Son of a—!” Lightning Dust cursed as her hooves stung again.

“Whew! Come on! Hit me harder!” he joked, turning as he heard the sound of Dash’s hooves approaching. 

Rainbow Dash was charging the best she could. Her path wasn’t the straightest, but she was determined to do her part. 

She leapt up, giving her wings a single pump to propel her forward as she threw a punch into Sin’s other cheek. He shifted back slightly, but barely moved. Dash grunted, as she bounced back and barely landed upright as she shook her hoof out.

“What was that?!” Sin scoffed. 

“Dammit…” Dash growled, as she and Lightning Dust backed away and circled around again, crossing each other. Sin didn’t have to tell Dash how pathetic that punch of hers was. She felt it herself. She wasn’t able to muster half her strength with how off balance she was. Dash blinked and turned in, charging as she saw Lightning Dust pitch and fly upwards, arcing back around and diving.

“You both get two more shots before I fight back,” Sin declared as they approached.

“Cocky freak,” Dash grumbled as she glanced up at Dust. Dust dove down, evening out as she shot towards Sin from behind. Dash shifted and ran headlong at Sin. 

“Hit me riiiiiight here!” Sin pointed to his chin as he focused on Dash, not giving a single look behind him. 

Dash purposely slowed her pace a little, hoping to time up their attacks just enough to give him a rapid one two hit from different directions. Dash did the best she could, planting her front hooves in the ground and spinning around, delivering a hard buck right beneath Sin’s chin… like he asked. His head whipped up just in time for Dust to ram herself into his neck. 

“OOF!” Sin grunted as his neck was forced back down, but the moment his neck straightened out parallel to the ground, it halted in place.

“Whoa!” Dust yelped as the rest of her body crashed into Sin’s neck before bouncing off and falling into Dash. The two quickly rolled off one another and got to their hooves, splitting apart and flanking Sin.

“That’s two! Third time’s the charm, am I right?” Sin bounced his eyebrows while snickering. 

Fed up, Dash launched forward… a bit recklessly. She started unloading punches into Sin’s body, first into the shoulders, then into the side of his neck and face. The blows were rapid, but ineffective. 

“That’s more than one, but yeah… get that spot right there!” Sin laughed as Dash continued to punch him. 

“Dammit!” Lightning Dust growled, charging in from the other side and joining Dash in the shift in tactics. If Sin was going to let them hit him, they would hit him… a lot. But it wasn’t working.

“Ooo, aah, yeah…. Hehehehe…” Sin continued to taunt, jokingly kicking one of his back legs as if enjoying a massage. 

Dash and Dust didn’t let up. Every punch hurt and every blow did nothing. It was completely inefficient.

The only thing that seemed would buy them time now was Sin not taking anything seriously. Nevertheless, they kept up the attack, hopelessly believing that a continuous attack might succeed where their other attempts failed.

“Okay, that’s enough,” Sin spoke up, bracing himself on his back legs as he reach up and caught both Dash and Dust’s arms, holding them in place.

“RGH!” Dash growled as Sin held onto her. She ripped and thrashed, but she couldn’t pull her hoof free. Lightning Dust was in the same boat, completely locked in Sin’s grip.

“AH!” They both yelped as Sin suddenly pulled them both in and put them in headlocks.

“Alright ladies, fun time is over,” he said as the two struggled. “If you can’t knock me down, the next most fun thing is to see how long you last!”

Dash and Dust yelped as Sin placed his hooves on their heads and drove them both face first into the snow before spreading his wings and pumping them while driving his back hooves. He shot forward, dragging both of them through the snow. 

“HA!” Sin yelled out as he released them forward, rolling them like bowling balls through the snow. They both tumbled, slamming roughly up against a nearby boulder. 

“Ow…” Lightning Dust sat up quickly, but yelped and ducked as Sin’s hoof flew at her face. It passed over the top, striking the rock with a loud CRUNCH, a large chunk of the rock breaking free with Sin’s follow through. Dust rolled out of the way as Sin stomped down, kicking up a large amount of snow.

“Not bad! Guess you learned from our last fight!” Sin chuckled as he watched Lightning Dust roll up onto her hooves.

“RAH!” Dash suddenly roared from behind, jumping up on Sin’s back and wrapping her hooves around his neck. But Sin didn’t react at all as she tugged and tugged on him.

“Keep it up!” Sin smiled towards Dust as Dash continued to pull on his neck. “I like a good challenge, even if they don’t fight back!” He paused and glanced at Dash’s hooves shaking on his neck as she tried to yank his head back. “Yo,” he said casually as he reached a hoof up and grabbed both of Dash’s hooves in his iron grip. “That ain’t doing shit,” he said as he pulled Dash’s arms up and over his head with on solid yank before spinning and throwing her towards Lightning Dust.

“OOF!” Lightning Dust grunted as she tried to catch Dash, the two of them falling over the top of one another into the snow. 

“Keep it coming!” Sin laughed as he bounced back and forth on his hooves.

“A ground attack isn’t working,” Dust said as she and Dash rolled up and stood. “We have to get into the air and use all dimensions, do you think you can try flying?”

“I don’t think that’s the issue,” Dash said as she wobbled in place, still a little off balance. “Will it really make a difference?”

“Forcing him into the air might buy us more time,” Dust explained. “I’m not about to think we can beat him, but maybe gaining some height will help any nearby Renegades spot us… even through the snowfall.”

“Well,” Dash grunted as she opened her wings shakily. “I’ll try… but you’re gonna have to do most of the distracting.”

“Fair enough,” Dust acknowledged as the two bumped hooves again.

“More whispering and planning, huh?” Sin called towards them. “Good! Surprise me!”

“Go!” Dust called out, thrusting her wings down and propelling herself skyward. 

“HGR!” Dash forced her wings to flap. The motions were uneven at first, but after a few flaps she managed to line them up and lifted off, moving much slower than Dust.

“Aw, what?” Sin sighed as he watched them fly up. “You’re big plan is flying? Come on, I prefer fighting on the ground,” he whined.

“Too bad!” Dust called down to him, a little confident in knowing they were taking him out his self-proclaimed comfort zone.

“Heh… wanna know why?” Sin grinned, spreading his wings. He crouched down and jumped while forcing his wings down hard. With a loud, audible blast of wind, Sin propelled upward, shooting past Dash towards Lightning Dust. “CAUSE IT’S TOO EASY IN THE AIR!”

“AH!” Lighting Dust gasped as Sin approached her VERY quickly. Dash’s eyes widened as the wake from Sin nearly knocked her out of the air. With her wings barely cooperating with her, she forced herself to move faster, pumping her wings to pursue and assist Dust. 

Lightning Dust ground her teeth together as she barely dodged three incredibly strong swipes from Sin, but Sin proved to be much more mobile in the air than he appeared, keeping up with every shift Dust made as she dodged and giving her no room to build speed or get away. Dash forced herself to fly as fast as she could, approaching Sin from behind. 

Right before she threw a punch, Dash’s eyes widened as they moved to Sin’s wings. They twitched. 

Sin suddenly spun around and swiped the back of his hoof around. Dash yelped, redirecting the motion of her arms to block. Sin’s hoof struck hers, forcing her own hooves to smack her in the face and sent her tumbling down.

No wonder she couldn’t approach him from behind. He was using his wings to sense movement around him just like Misty! It wasn’t as quick or refined as her, but he used it, just like Silver mentioned most of the elite Wonderbolts did. It really didn’t surprise her, given Sin was clearly an elite fighter, but if he knew how to use awareness tactics, then was there really any way they could attack him?

Dash grunted, forcing her wings out to stop herself from tumbling. She looked back up, hoping to charge again to help Dust, but she gasped.

“DUST!” she yelled out as Lightning Dust didn’t quite manage to dodge one of Sin’s punches. All he did was nick her on the shoulder, but there was so much force behind his attack that it caused her to spin around twice while falling back. “NO!” Dash yelled out while pumping her wings and pushing herself back towards them, but without full focus and balance, she couldn’t muster the speed.

By the time Dust leveled out and turned around, it was too late. Sin had already pulled back and threw a low punch, connecting it right into Lightning Dust’s stomach. 

“GAAAAAAahhhhhhh!” Lightning Dust gasped, her cry weakening quickly as all the air got pushed out of her lungs. She shuddered, going limp over Sin’s arm as he held it in place.

“Man, that didn’t take much… it’s too bad…” he shrugged, releasing his hoof and letting Lightning Dust fall. 

Dash came to an abrupt halt, staring wide eyed as Dust plummeted like a ragdoll to the ground and crashed into the snow, crying out as she landed right on her wings. She looked up to see Sin already looking at her.

“Hey, hey…” he squared up to Dash and beckoned her. “I know I knocked you a little silly, but come on, gimme a fight over here!”

“Dammit…” Dash growled while looking down towards the ground. Lightning Dust was shuddering, curled up while breathing heavily. Silver still lay on the ground nearby as well. She growled as she looked back towards Sin. She didn’t care if he seemed different than the Shadowbolts she had encountered so far. He was hurting her friends… and she didn’t like it.

She forced her wings, pumping them hard as she shot towards him. Sin smiled and held himself in a hover, letting her attack.

Dash roared out, throwing rapid punches. She struck his face, his chest, his stomach, everything she could hit in his position, but nothing worked. Every blow hurt, her hooves growing stiffer and sorer by the moment. With Dust down, all was lost, if luck would have that a passing Renegade would aid them, then so be it, otherwise, there was nothing left. Dash was just angry now, angry at Sin for hurting her mentor and a friend. But what good would it do, once Sin got his fill, he was just going to beat her down hard. His absolutely impossible toughness unlike anything she had ever seen or fought against. 

Sin reached forward and grabbed both of Dash’s hooves.

“Alright, alright…” Sin chuckled. “Nice try, but honestly? I’ll save you the trouble.”

Dash yelped as Sin suddenly threw her arms to the right, completely spinning her around. Dash spun several times, realizing that she might meet a fate exactly like Dust’s. She quickly forced her wings out and stopped herself, ready to move before Sin could deliver the punch to her gut.

But he wasn’t there. Dash blinked, and her eyes widened realizing that she was about to be knocked out… but from what direction? Her instincts took over. Her brain, while teetering, worked furiously to recall the motions of Misty Fly… and her body reacted. Dash slammed her eyes shut, she flared out the end feathers of her wings.

She felt something, it was very faint, but she felt it. The wind and swirling snow of the blizzard was intense, but in one specific direction, the movement of the air was slightly off.

Dash’s eyes shot open and she shifted slightly forward while ducking down.

“HA—Huh?!” Sin’s shout turned from one of intensity to one of surprise as he tried to slam his back hooves down over Dash from above, but she moved out of the way at the last possible moment… and now she was right in position in front of him.

This was it. She was in a favorable position with Sin off balance, and she knew she didn’t have much left. She had all the focus she could possibly muster and she was going to put all the strength she had left into one blow. She turned her body and did everything she could to recreate Silver’s full motion strike, shifting her body smoothly through all the subtle motions to generate every bit of power into it.

“HRRRRRRAAAAAHH!” Dash yelled out, releasing all her power into an uppercut below Sin’s chin, the force of the impact doubled by his downward momentum. A loud POW came from the strike, Dash immediately losing all the feeling in her arm as it hit, but Sin’s neck was whipped up, his body actually flipping out of control as Dash followed through.

Dash cringed, grasping her arm as it hung limply at her side, turning and looking towards Sin, watching him tumble through her pained, squinted eyes. 

Did she… actually hurt him?

Of course not.

Sin fell a mere ten meters before he evened out and his wings caught the air again. He hovered and turned, looking up at Dash while reaching a hoof up to his jaw, moving it back and forth.

“Wow!” he commented as his jaw made clicking noises, he gave it one final push before it stopped clicking and smiled. “Hey! That was a pretty hard hit! Not bad!”

“What the hell…” Dash shook her head, giving Sin a disturbed look. This guy was so messed up in a different way. Unlike Ruin, who had a clear goal and even identified her as ‘the one connected to Soarin’ presumably with plans to torture her like he had Wave, Sin was just looking for a fight, and didn’t care about anything else.

But what did it matter? She had nothing left. All her strength was gone after that attack. She began to feel dizzy as Sin hovered towards her. What was he going to do? Was he going to kill her, Dust, and Silver? No… she couldn’t die. If she died, Soarin would die too.

If she was really thinking about this… then all was lost. 

“Ahhh…” Dash wobbled as she tried to stay afloat, her head spinning with her focus fading fast.

“I think you need to lie down,” Sin joked as he stopped in front of her.

“Eat a dick…” Dash snarled at him, using the last of her strength to be sharp with him. Sin reached a hoof over her head and shrugged.

“Boop,” he said goofily as he tapped his hoof over Dash’s head. It was just that… a tap, but it was all it took. Dash’s wings seized up and she tumbled limply. She was aware the whole way down, her consciousness remaining as her face hit the snowy ground. She blinked to get the snow out of her eyes as she rolled onto her back, panting and wheezing. She looked to her right to see she had landed right next to Lightning Dust, who was still struggling on the ground, trying, and failing to roll over as she clutched her stomach and her wings twitched.

They had failed, and their hope of being found had fallen short. She turned her head back as she heard hooves crunch through the snow towards them. Sin stood over her, looking down, still smirking.

“Well, it wasn’t bad…” he reached down and grabbed Dash by the mane, pulling her up off the ground.

“Rgh!” Dash grunted in pain as he pulled her up.

“You too weren’t as fun as Silver… but still gave me a little bit of a workout.” He paused and blinked, looking down. Lightning Dust had crawled over and had latched onto his other hoof, pulling on it in defiance. “If anything, you’ve both got guts! Even after a beat down, still trying to fight… Heh,” he looked back up at Dash. “Well… it was fun while it lasted, I guess it’s time to end—”

“HEY. FUCKSTICK.” 

Sin’s eyes shot open wide. He turned towards the voice, only for a grey hoof to crash headlong into his face. Sin’s grip instantly released Dash as he was thrown off of his hooves, tumbling to a stop a few yards away. He quickly looked up, his eyes lighting up and a smile quickly forming on his lips.

“Wh-what?” Dash shook her head out, rolling over after falling from Sin’s grip. She looked up.

“WHAT DID I SAY… ABOUT TOUCHING HER?!”

Silver Lining was up… and he was standing over Dash once again. He looked badly bruised and beaten. His legs were wobbling, his body was shaking, and his breathing was heavy… but he was glaring at Sin with an intensity that Dash had never seen before. It was almost frightening how hard his eyes were set on Sin, baring his teeth and his breath hissing between them.

“HELL YES!” Sin stood up and laughed. “The Iron Horse is back up!” Sin cheered as he set his hooves in the ground. “Come on! Let’s—”

Silver didn’t let him finish. He charged right at Sin with heavy, thundering strides, his hooves pounding into the snow as he approached. Sin welcomed the charge, pulling back a hoof to strike at the exact same time Silver did.  But Silver delayed his punch, bringing up his other hoof to knock Sin’s punch aside before delivering another, hard, full motion strike into Sin’s face.

“GRH!” Sin grunted as he was spun around and stumbled backwards further. He quickly looked back up, his smile growing wider and wider. “HAHAHA!” he laughed as Silver continued to charge. Sin charged this time as well, both of them reaching up and slamming their hooves together. “This is amazing!” Sin exclaimed into Silver’s face. “Nopony has ever—”

He was cut off as Silver thrust his neck forward, slamming the crown of his head into Sin’s nose. Sin’s pressure let up on Silver’s hooves. Silver grabbed one of Sin’s arms while pulling his other hoof back. He yanked Sin towards him while punching, slamming his hoof into Sin’s face against his motion. Sin stumbled backwards, shaking his head out, but Silver stepped up and unloaded several punches into his chest. 

Sin grunted, his neck lurching forward with each hit. He reached up and pushed off of Silver, grinning as he regained his hoofing and went on the attack. Silver knocked away two punches, but the third caught him off-guard, Sin going lower and hitting him right in the chest. 

“GRHRRRR!!!” Silver grunted painfully as he stumbled back and began tipping over, but he reached his left hoof up and jammed it down into the snow to support himself, refusing to go down. Sin followed up by unloading a punch right into Silver’s cheek, knocking him even further back, but again, Silver forced his hooves to the ground to brace himself. 

“Yeah, YEAH!” Sin yelled as he leapt towards Silver, but Silver pumped his wings, launching himself into Sin before he could attack, his shoulder crashed into Sin’s chest. The two grappled with each other, stumbling back into a large rock, bouncing off of its surface before putting each other at arm’s length again. 

The two began unloading heavy blow after heavy blow into each other’s bodies. Neither taking any steps back despite each punch delivered cause the recipient’s body to whip in the direction of the force. Each time they simply turned and punched back.

Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust both watched with their mouths agape as Sin and Silver simply wailed on each other. Punch after punch after punch, each strike easily would have taken either of the two mares out in one. Where had Silver found this strength? He looked like he was about to fall apart, but no matter how many times Sin hit him, he held his ground. 

After nearly a full minute of the two trading blows, Sin finally looked like he had actually taken some damage, stumbling a little, but his smile growing ever wider. It looked like he had never had so much fun in his life. 

Silver finally ducked one of the blows, grabbing Sin and pushing him back against the rock next to them. Sin tried to bounce off, but Silver latched onto Sin’s arm completely.

“HRRRRAAAAH!” Silver roared as he propped himself beneath Sin and threw him over his body, slamming him down into the snow. Instead of letting go, Silver shifted and yanked on Sin again, throwing him BACK over his shoulder and into the snow beside the rock. Sin pulled his hoof free, scrambling to his hooves, but the moment he was up, he received a heavy blow to the chest that thrust him against the rock.

He looked… happy. Even though Silver was pressing him with an intense assault. 

Silver rushed forward, ramming his body into Sin and crushing him against the rock. He pulled back and punched Sin in the face, slamming his head back against the rock. Silver pressed his left hoof against Sin’s neck to hold his head to the rock while pulling back his right hoof.

“DON’T YOU…” Silver punched him, Sin’s head rattling against the solid surface. “EVER…” He punched him harder, Sin grunting as Silver refused to let up. “TOUCH…” He punched him again. “MY STUDENT…” He punched Sin so hard that he slipped from his grip. Silver reached down as Sin flopped into the snow, forcing him back up and placing him right back against the rock. He wound up for a full motion strike. “AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!” Silver unloaded the punch, putting everything he had behind it. The blow was so strong that the rock surface behind Sin’s head cracked and chipped. 

Silver released Sin, stumbling backwards and setting his hooves firmly into the snow as he continued to hiss and snarl behind his gritted teeth.

Sin slipped off the rock, his legs shaking and his hooves barely supporting him. He began to stumble around, clearly very dizzy after repeated blows to the head, not to mention against a solid rock surface. He was coughing and his nose was bleeding, but he was still smiling.

“Heh… hehahahaaaaaaa…” he laughed weakly as he turned and wobbled, stumbling towards Silver. “Dude…” he said shakily as he slowly made his way towards Silver. He stopped right in front of him, reaching up a hoof and pointing. “Dude…” he repeated with a chuckle, wearing a very content smile even though his eyes were almost pointing in different directions. “You…” his hoof lightly pressed against Silver’s chest. “Are so cool…”

Silver reached up and punched his hoof down over the top of Sin’s head as hard as he could. Sin dropped instantly, face first into the snow. 

“Thanks,” Silver said sarcastically with a grunt. 

Sin was down… and out.

“Holy… shit…” Lightning Dust squeaked as she and Dash kept gaping at Silver. 

Dash couldn’t even find the words. How Silver managed to not only get back up, but then continue the fight with Sin and win… after how much he was already hurting and after the beating he took initially was beyond her. But good god… there were no words to describe the amount of grit and willpower she just saw. 

Silver Lining… The Iron Horse. Sin got his wish for sure… now he knew why Silver was given that nickname.

“Ahhhhh…” Silver exhaled and began to wobble. Dash’s eyes widened as she looked towards him. Silver turned and looked towards the two of them. He took two steps before his legs buckled, and he tipped over, falling on his side while groaning painfully and clutching his chest.

“Silver!” Dash yelled out. She was unable to stand, but she forced her arms to move, crawling along the ground towards him. Lightning Dust, despite the pain in her abdomen, pushed herself up and approached Dash, reaching down and helping her up. She moved her as quickly as possible towards Silver, Dash ripping herself free from Dust’s support and nearly falling face first into the snow beside Silver before clambering the last few inches towards him. “Silver! Silver!” she yelled as Lightning Dust sat down and exhaled. Silver’s eyes were shut tight as he clutched his chest, his breathing heavy and labored “SILVER!” Dash yelled louder while shaking him.

“What?!” Silver growled painfully, as he forced his eyes open and glared at Dash. She immediately stopped shaking him, her eyes lighting up as he responded. “I’m right here, quit yelling!” he grumbled as he continued to groan uncomfortably.

“Oh, thank Celestia…” Dash sighed in relief as she flopped down… on top of Silver.

“Ow! Ow! DAMMIT, DASH!” Silver grunted, prompting Dash to immediately push off and almost fall over.

“Ah, sorry…” she apologized before smiling. She just stared at Silver for a moment before letting it all sink in. They had survived. She wanted to ask Silver if he was okay, but the answer to that was obvious, so she asked the next best thing. “How bad is it?” she asked while cringing at the sight of his heavily bruised up body. With his body already screaming at him for other reasons and his heart… she was sure it was pretty bad.

“I feel like I just got run over by the Crystal Express,” Silver said painfully as he continued to cringe, his heart thumping madly. Dash flattened her brow.

“You’re still well enough to be a wise-ass, so that’s a good sign,” she commented. Silver shook his head.

“In all seriousness though… I feel completely broken,” Silver explained as he continued to gasp every time his heart jumped. “And I need… my medicine. My heart’s not very pleased with me right now…”

Dash quickly looked up at Lightning Dust.

“Dust, think you can fly up and find us some help? We’re going to need it,” she asked. Lightning Dust perked up. She opened her wings and moved them about, wincing in pain from falling on top of them, but they were still in well enough condition to fly slowly.

“Yeah, I definitely can’t move you two alone… but,” she looked towards Sin. “He’s not gonna get back up, is he?” 

The two of them examined Sin. Sin was definitely out cold, but his crystals were still sitting in the snow off to the side… the barrier still around them. 

“From my experience,” Dust continued. “The crystals tend to jump up and ‘revive’ their user whenever they are knocked down. I wonder why his aren’t?”

“Think that shield is keeping them from doing that?” Dash asked out loud.

“I’d say… yes…” Silver spoke up, drawing their attention. “He was a blowhard… but,” Silver glanced at Sin. “When he said he wanted a fair fight… he meant it. He didn’t use his crystals once, not even when I got the upper hoof on him. Call me crazy, but that proves he’s a stallion of his word. He’s not getting up until he wakes up on his own.”

“Huh…” Dash realized Silver was right. Even when things suddenly turned out of his favor, Sin stayed true to his word on not using the crystals. What a strange stallion. He didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the Shadowbolt commanders. Then again… if Moon was any indication… there was more to some of the commanders than met the eye.

“Well… in that case,” Lightning Dust nodded. “I’ll get up there and flag down any Renegade I can find.”

“I don’t think so.”

Dash and Dust both flinched at the smooth voice that suddenly came from nearby, they both turned to face the rock that Silver had just repeatedly crushed Sin’s head against. 

Standing atop it… was Angel. And hovering behind him? Shadow.





It took both Dash and Lightning Dust several moments to break from their initial shocked reaction. Silver simply released a sigh and let his head fall into the snow, as if knowing they were done for the moment the new Shadowbolts appeared.

“I wasn’t expecting you to actually defeat Sin… that’s quite an accomplishment,” Angel commented, his tone flat and unchanging as Shadow landed beside him. “But either way, he served his purpose.”

Dash glanced at Dust, who was shivering at the sight of Angel even harder than she was upon facing Sin. 

“What do we do…?” Dash whispered to her as she glanced between Angel and Dust. Lightning Dust fell back onto her plot, shaking her head.

“We’re screwed…” Dust said in defeat, her ears flopping down. Dash blinked, not wanting to believe she just heard Dust give up so easily, but she continued. “Angel is just as dangerous as Sin, but for different reasons. We’re in no shape to fight him.”

The two yelped as Angel suddenly jumped down and landed a few yards away from them, pulling his goggles down around his neck and pulling his long mane through so it wasn’t trapped by the strap. He stared towards the two of them with lifeless, icy eyes, his visage almost seemed artificial with how flawless and… devoid of emotion it was.

Dash tried to push herself up onto her hooves, but fell right back down, Lightning Dust remained sitting. Lightning Dust wasn’t one to give up, but if she actually was, then Dash knew how dire the situation was. Silver was down, Dust’s wings were hurting, and Dash was still a bit dizzy. This was not good at all.

Angel looked towards Sin lying face first in the snow, briefly glancing towards the crystals encased in the dome nearby as well. He snorted, shaking his head.

“As foolish as always, putting aside the gift of crystal magic for the sake of brawling like a rabid animal,” he said while looking down at Sin. “I hope it was worth it, you overgrown ox. You’re lucky you’re worth saving or else I’d leave your muscle-bound hide out here to freeze,” He turned and looked up at Shadow, who was still perched on the rock. “Shadow, gather up Sin and his crystals,” he ordered her.

Shadow didn’t move, she was staring down at Rainbow Dash, scowling at her. 

“Shadow.” Angel raised his voice a little making her flinch. “Do. As. I. Say.”

“Hmph…” Shadow forced her eyes away from Dash and glided down towards Sin.

“Now then…” Angel started walking towards Dash and Dust. He fixed his eyes on Lightning Dust. “Wise move, Lightning Dust…” he said as he approached. “Knowing when you have no chance…”

Lightning Dust held her breath, shaking as Angel approached. He suddenly reached over and grabbed her by the neck.

“AH!” Lightning Dust gasped as Angel picked her up and held her in the air. 

“Today has been a frustrating day… I will enjoy killing you…” He looked at Silver, then at Dash. His eyes locked on Dash. “It’s a pity that I have to spare one of you,” he said while he continued to focus his blank eyes on Dash. “After all, you have taken out three of our own. They were not of significance, but the loss of their crystals is a setback.” He looked back at Dust. “So tell me… how would you like to die? Quick and painless? Or are you one of the honorable types that needs to be slowly shown the path to hell?”

“Sweet merciful Luna in heat on a warpath…!” Silver suddenly spoke up from the ground, drawing Angel’s attention. “If you’re gonna kill us, stop talking out of your ass and get it over with already ya stone-faced, pretty colt, twig!”

Angel’s expression hardened very slightly as he stared down at Silver. Without dropping Lightning Dust, his crystals began to glow around him.

“Hmph,” he grunted as the magic began focusing around his arms. “If you wish to die first, I can gladly arrange it.”





“Good!” Silver kept jeering. “Listening to you stroke yourself is about as fun as rubbing my face on a dirty toilet seat!”

Even in the face of certain death, Silver spoke his mind, but Dash was struggling, she was struggling so hard to stand and do something. Dust gave up the moment Angel appeared, and Silver was down, now Angel was moments away from killing Silver. Dash completely ignored Angel’s words about sparing her, all she cared about was Silver…

Angel crossed his arm over his body, the magical energy building up in it as he stared down at Silver. Silver was glaring up at him as if daring him to do it.

But before Angel made any more movements. He stopped and blinked. 

The magic dissipated from his arm and his crystals stopped glowing. He dropped Lightning Dust back into the snow and looked away, into the thick of the blizzard, his head tipping side to side slightly as a slight look of confusion came onto his face. 

“Angel?” Shadow spoke up as her magic surrounded and levitated Sin, the orb holding his crystals floating right beside. “What is it?”

Dash watched curiously as Angel completely turned his back to them, looking in one direction with his ears turned towards it as well. His head kept twitching as if he was trying to figure something out, but couldn’t. Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust glanced at one another, both equally confused about what had suddenly drawn Angel’s attention away.

Then, inexplicably, the blizzard started to grow in strength. The wind became stronger, the snowfall became harder, and visibility decreased.

“Huh?” Dash suddenly perked up as she felt something in her chest. She reached her hoof to it, placing it over her heart, but her heartbeat wasn’t quickening… it was calm, and felt… strong? She didn’t know how to describe it, she was suddenly filled with a warm feeling… one that she recognized.

“What in the world…?” Angel suddenly said, drawing everypony’s attention in the direction he was staring.

Something was there. As it grew closer, it also grew brighter. A bright, white light…

Dash kept her eyes fixed on the approaching light, her eyes growing wider and wider as the feeling in her heart also grew stronger and stronger. 

Eventually, something emerged from the thick of the snowfall, rather… somepony.

Dash couldn’t believe her eyes and she couldn’t hold herself back.





“SOARIN!!!!!” she yelled out happily as both Lightning Dust and even Silver looked up and their jaws dropped in surprise.

Shadow quickly dropped Sin back into the snow, galloping forward and skidding to a halt beside Angel. 

“It’s… him!” she exclaimed as Angel remained silent.

Soarin was slowly moving towards them, with lumbering, heavy steps. He was completely surrounded in a white aura that blended in with the blizzard. The light was also glowing from his eyes and from the horn. His eyelids were heavy, but he was staring forward at all of them. Each step in the snow caused it to shift apart as if the snow itself was surrendering to his movement, the flakes falling from the sky moving towards him and dancing around him gently.

“What is going on?!” Shadow asked frantically as she observed both Soarin and the change in the environment. “Is he doing this?! ANGEL!!!” she belted at him as he remained silent.

“Quiet,” he said simply while shooting her a single glance. Shadow immediately shut up and shifted a little away from him. 

Angel turned, slipping his goggles back on, and stared at Soarin as he continued to slowly move towards the group. Soarin was breathing heavily and his body covered in serious wounds and bruises, the artificial horn was wrought with nasty cracks and chips, however he moved as if the injuries had no effect on him. His movements looked smooth, his body looked strong, and every step was with a purpose. Angel snorted as Soarin stopped a few yards away and stood still, the glow gently rising from his body, causing his mane and tail hairs to wave as if floating on air.

“Hm,” Angel hummed calmly. “A strange display of power… but with you, the unknown is to be expected. However, you would have been wise to stay away. Because now two of our main objectives are within our grasp,” he said while looking back at Dash. “I don’t know where you came from, but you’ve just made our job a lot easier.”

Soarin didn’t say anything. He just stood, the snow swirling around him as the glow continued to rise from his body. His eyes were firmly fixed on Angel.

“Not much to say? That simplifies things,” Angel said as he turned and looked at Dash. “That means I just have to—” as he reached for Dash, the light around Soarin suddenly intensified. A growl escaping his throat as an incredible amount of blue magic flared up from his horn, sparking and crackling with small spurts of light spitting from the cracks. A massive beam of magic ejected from the horn, packed with so much power that it created an echoing BANG and caused Soarin’s hooves to slide slightly backwards.

Angel whipped his head around, his eyes widening as the magic blast, which was large enough to completely engulf him, approached at an incredible rate. His crystals came to life, a shield encircling him just in time.

Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust both yelped, covering their heads as the magic beam struck Angel’s shield and immediately began forcing him backwards.

“AH!” Angel gasped as his crystals blinked and his shield buckled, struggling to keep its own shape as he was pushed further and further backwards until he struck a large boulder and was put right through it. The rock shattered into little bits and pieces as the magic blew it apart, followed by a massive explosion that sent the smaller pebbles and pieces flying in all directions. 

“Angel!” Shadow shouted towards him, erecting a shield to block the flying debris as the dust cleared. Angel was still standing, but his shield flickered and shattered as he fell onto his haunches, panting and wheezing while staring towards Soarin in disbelief.

Shadow turned and glared at Soarin, propelling herself upward with her crystals orbiting around her. She hovered above, her crystals glowing brightly as they floated in front of her. She aimed them towards Soarin, an intense buildup of the pink energy on the ends of the crystals. She fired her burst wave, the rushing wave of energy expanding as it careened towards Soarin.

Soarin looked up at her, the blue magic receding from the horn and the yellow magic surfacing in its place. It encircled the horn before growing brighter and brighter, a yellow dome forming over Soarin. The rush of energy from the burst wave crashed into Soarin, completely drenching him in the intense flow of energy, but it had no effect. 

“What the hell?!” Shadow exclaimed as she continued pushing the magic. 

Soarin’s eyes widened, the yellow glow from the horn growing larger still as the dome around him suddenly expanded and released an intense shockwave. The ends of the burst wave connecting to the ground around Soarin suddenly lifted and began being pushed up and away from Soarin. Soarin lifted up his front hooves and slammed them to the ground, another burst of energy shooting out from around the yellow dome. 

Shadow’s burst wave bent upwards and turned all the way around, shooting right back at her.

“AH!” Shadow yelled out as she looked up, seeing her own magic coming right for her. She didn’t have time to activate her shield. She curled up, tucking her head behind her arms as the wave of magic rushed past her. “ARGH! AHHHHH!!!!” she yelped as the burning energy ripped and tore at her suit, cooking her wings and causing her to fall right out of the air with a trail of smoke following. 

She crashed into the snow right beside Rainbow Dash, cringing and groaning as she felt the burning effects of her own magic.

Dash looked back towards Soarin as the mysterious white glow continued to shine from around him. She had no idea what was going on. The horn looked incredibly damaged… which was a bad thing. Was this white light something that overtook Soarin? No it couldn’t be. He was using not only the blue but also the yellow magic with ease. Was something else propelling him? If so… what could it possibly be?”

Dash perked up as Angel landed beside Shadow. He glanced down at her and snorted.

“I don’t even know why I tolerate weaklings…” he said with a slight tone of frustration as Shadow continued to shudder in pain. He looked up and saw her crystals still floating around her, shedding light upon her. “At least you didn’t destroy your own crystals,” he said coldly as he turned to Soarin.

The yellow magic had receded, once again leaving Soarin standing with just the white glow surrounding him. He had still not moved from his spot.

“I don’t know what this power is, nor do I care if you have it,” he spoke towards Soarin, his calm demeanor finally breaking, if only a little. “You WILL NOT best me!”

Angel’s crystals came to life, glowing as the magic encircled his arms. He spread his wings and rose up, hovering a yard off the ground to free his front hooves. The crystal glows intensified, the magic swirling harder and harder around his hooves as he crossed them over his chest. With swift swinging motions, he swung both of his arms back and forth, twice each, sending four flying blades of magic swiftly shooting towards Soarin.

Soarin still remained right in place, not moving an inch, even as the deadly attacks careened towards him. The blue and yellow magic emerged together on the horn, swirling around one another. The two auras smashed together, creating a bright green glow that layered itself over the white, covering Soarin’s entire body. 

One by one, Angel’s flying blades crashed into Soarin, each one of them breaking in half, the two pieces splitting off and flinging into the blizzard like shrapnel fragments. All four of the blades failed to make a dent in Soarin. Angel broke his emotionless image, his eyes widened in disbelief as two pieces broken off collided with nearby rocks, slicing them cleanly.

“That’s… that’s impossi—” Angel barely had a chance to express his incredulity. In the blink of an eye, Soarin suddenly fired from his spot, executing the Sonic Blast-Off with an explosion of green magic erupting behind him. It propelled him into the air, along the ground, pumping his wings as he closed the distance between him and Angel. Angel had no time to react, his jaw hanging open as Soarin thrust his hoof forward, landing a punch right into Angel’s face. The impact was accompanied by two green shockwaves erupting from Soarin’s hoof, Angel’s goggles nearly disintegrated, breaking into tiny pieces, his mask hood ripping to shreds along with them as he was catapulted backwards and sent flying back-first into the debris left behind from the rock he was first thrown into. He yelped and gasped as he bounced off the jagged pile of rocks, landing on top of them as he finally came to a halt.

“RRRRRGGHHHHH!!!!!! AAAAAARGHHHHH!!!! RRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGHHH!!!!!!” Angel released several loud, painful, angry growls as he shuddered and stirred. His crystals rushed over to him, shining their light on him as he slowly began to sit up. His body shook erratically as he pushed. When he was finally up off his back, his face had completely changed. Gone was the calm, stoic, cool demeanor. In its place, a terrifying expression of rage, his face scrunched to the point of stretching his skin as he glared through a stream of blood oozing down between his eyes and over his nose. “AAAAAAAHHHH!!!!” he gasped as he coughed violently, sounding more like choking as he continued to convulse. “DAMN YOU!” he yelled towards Soarin as his crystals continued to circle him. 

Dash watched in fright as Angel seemed like he completely lost his mind. He couldn’t stand no matter how hard he tried, but the amount of anger pouring out of his once solid, unwavering calm was terrifying. However, Soarin was now standing right in front of her, and the rest of them. The green glow faded around him as the yellow and blue lights separated and returned to swirling around the horn. Seeing him up close was evening out her fears, filling her with a sense of protection… but what in the world was happening to him?

“GRRRHHH! NO!” Angel cried out as he slumped back down, unable to find his balance and get back up on his hooves. He glared towards Soarin, barely managing to reach his hoof up. His crystals shot towards Soarin, but stopped just short, hovering around Sin and his crystals. They were encased in a pink sphere before levitating and floating towards Angel. “YOU!” he yelled towards Soarin. As he continued to grunt and gasp, Sin floating above his head in his magic. Shadow, still cringing as she was trying to stand, perked up as small spheres surrounded her crystals and pulled them away towards Angel. “YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!” Angel snarled. “MARK! MY! WORDS!”

Angel reached up and tapped his three crystals before falling back and gasping, failing to even remain sitting up. His crystal expanded outward, surrounding all three of them and spinning. In seconds, they were surrounded by circular gusts that grew stronger.

“H—hey!” Shadow yelled towards Angel, forcing herself up as the winds kept building. “WAIT!” she forced her wings open, grunting in pain as she broke into a gallop and lifted off, gliding towards Angel. She made it to them just before the winds transformed, creating a pink tornado that surrounded them all.

Dash watched as Angel, Sin, and Shadow escaped, carried away into the thick of the blizzard by the miniature whirlwind. 

“Hggnnn…” Soarin suddenly groaned, drawing Dash’s attention right back to him. Soarin began to wobble, putting a hoof to his head as the white glow grew brighter around him. “Ahhhh! Ahhhhh…” Soarin cried out weakly as he suddenly lowered to the ground, slowly as if being cradled into a soft landing. The light guided him down, placing him gently into the snow next to Rainbow Dash, Soarin’s eyes slowly closing as his chin touched the cold surface.

Dash, Dust, and Silver shielded their eyes as the light slowly pulled itself away from Soarin and shifted beside him. They squinted, watching with curiosity… as the faint silhouette of a pegasus slowly appeared, standing over Soarin. 

Dash blinked, wondering if she was seeing things as the ghostly image bent down and looked Soarin over carefully. Even though its head was closer to them, Dash couldn’t see anything besides its mouth. 

The image stood back up… and looked toward her. Dash wasn’t sure how to feel. She had seen a lot of weird things over the past few months, but something about this one seemed… friendly. Especially if it was whatever allowed Soarin to find them and help them. The image only looked at her for a brief moment… before turning and looking at Silver.

Silver stared, harboring just as much curiosity as Dash even though he was still dealing with several pains both internal and external. He tipped his head back and forth as the image continued to face him for several moments.

“Who…?” Silver barely managed to say in between his heavy breaths.

The image remained still for another moment… then smiled. It turned away from them and began walking into the blizzard, the snowflakes swirling around it as they had around Soarin while the light was surrounding him.

“Ah!” Dash suddenly gasped, she, Lightning Dust, and Silver all reacting as the blizzard winds and snow suddenly grew incredibly strong. They all closed their eyes as they were pelted by the sudden surge… but then it ended as abruptly as it started.

The three of them opened their eyes to see the blizzard’s strength had returned to the constant level the Renegades had maintained throughout… and the image of the pony was gone.

“What the hell was that?” Lightning Dust spoke up, Dash and Silver both completely silent as their minds remained locked on what they had just witnessed. Or at least… it locked into Silver’s head. Because something else immediately drew all of Dash’s attention.

“SOARIN!” she yelled out, even though Soarin was laying right beside her. She pulled herself the few inches along the ground she needed to reach him, grabbing onto his neck and pulling herself the rest of the way. “Soarin! Are you alright?!”

Soarin didn’t answer.

“SO—” Dash flinched as a sudden burst of blue light popped from Soarin’s horn, his eyes shooting open as he shook lightly.

“Whooooaaaaa… ahhh…” he blinked several times, his eyes darting about and quickly landing on Dash as she stared in surprise. “Rainbow Dash?” he asked, a weak smile appearing on his face. 

“Soarin…” Dash smiled back at him, both of them incredibly weary. “You’re alive… well, I knew you were alive, but… I was so worried about you.”

Soarin slowly pushed himself up, keeping his eyes on her the whole time. He noticed she was looking up at the horn. 

“Yeah… I need to get this looked at,” he said as he held himself steady the best he could. “It’s stopped sparking at least… and my eyes aren’t bleeding lights anymore and…” Soarin paused when he realized Dash wasn’t listening. She was staring at him, her lip quivering and tears building up in the corners of her eyes.

Without another word she threw herself forward, wrapping her arms around Soarin’s neck and hugging him as tightly as she could. Soarin caught on before she even went for it, reaching out and catching her, hugging her back just as tightly.

Forget the worries, forget the explanations, and forget the talk for now… They had been separated. It wasn’t even for a full day, but Soarin had no doubt that him crashing into a mountain and having it fall on top of him probably gave Dash a heart attack strong enough to kill an elephant. If not for their connection letting her know he was alright, she’d probably have been emotionally destroyed. Either way, he could have been easily killed, and she was beyond relieved to see him again… and he her. 

“Don’t ever scare me like that again…” Dash scolded him while sniffling.

“I feel like that’s the fourth or fifth time you’ve said that to me,” Soarin said with a weak chuckle. 

“Because you keep doing it!” Dash said louder as she bumped her head against his chest.

“Force of habit?” Soarin joked again, as Dash shook lightly from quite laughter against his chest. 

“Stop it…” she ordered, pulling her head off his chest and just hugging him as hard as she could again. “I’m just so happy…”

“Me too,” Soarin replied, refusing to let go.

Off to the side, Lightning Dust approached while propping Silver up on her shoulder.

“Awww…” Lightning Dust cooed quietly as she watched the reunion, smiling happily. Silver just sighed as Soarin and Rainbow Dash continued to hug one another, flattening his brow impatiently.





“Alright, alright,” Silver spoke up towards them. “Love conquers all, can we go home now please?” he said sternly with a little bit of sarcasm.

Dash and Soarin slowly broke apart, still looking at each other for a moment before Dash turned and lifted an eyebrow at Silver.

“Can you even fly?” she asked while giving him a smug smirk. Silver scrunched his face and snorted.

“Well enough to kick your ass—OW!” he grunted, dipping a little as Lightning Dust shifted to prevent him from falling.

“That would be a no,” Dash chuckled as Silver grumbled to himself. She turned back to Soarin. “I doubt I could fly well right now either, how about you?” she asked him. 

Soarin glanced back at his wings. He tried to open them, but they cramped up immediately, causing him to wince. 

“NOPE! Ow… oh… yeah, still not working,” he admitted, earning a strange look from Dash.

“But I just saw you use them…” she recalled when he attacked Angel. Soarin shook his head. 

“Honestly… I have no what just happened to me…” he said as Dash looked him over, biting her lip as she saw all the nasty bruises and cuts on him. 

“What happened to Rapidfire?” Dash asked.

“Why are you wearing a Shadowbolt uniform?” Soarin asked.

“What the hell was that bright, faceless pegasus?” Silver chimed in as Lightning brought him forward.

All three of them nearly asked at the same time, all blinking and looking back and forth at one another.

“You know what,” Lightning Dust spoke up. “How about we just get everypony back home safely first, before it gets dark,” she suggested, all of them looking at her. “It’s about time we put this day in the books.”

“Let’s do that, actually… please…” Silver quickly shifted. “I need a nap.”

“You look like you need more than that,” Soarin joked as Dash shifted to help Soarin get on all four hooves.

“Look who’s talking,” Silver grunted. “You’ve got enough spots to blend in with a herd of cows.”

“Alright boys…” Dash interrupted them as she and Lightning Dust helped the two of them move. “Come on, Spitfire is going to be thrilled to see you, if she’s not already latched to Wave.”

“Wave is alright?” Soarin asked, his ears standing up.

“We have a lot to catch up on,” Dash smiled and nodded at him.

“Follow me,” Lightning Dust beckoned as she started walking. “If we at least get moving in the right direction, we’re bound to hit one of the patrols looking for us eventually.

As they started walking, Dash paused and looked around. 

“What is it?” Soarin quickly asked her. Dash smiled and shook her head.

“Nothing, twice today when everything looked fine, we were blindsided. I guess third time’s the charm,” she giggled, pressing herself against him, lightly to avoid hurting him.

They walked off into the blizzard, keeping an eye out for Renegades above, all of them breathing a huge sigh of relief. Except for Silver… who started constantly grumbling about being scolded by Bliss upon return.


---To Be Continued---