//------------------------------//
// Chapter 122: Very Personal 
// Story: Piercing the Heavens 
// by Calm Wind 
//------------------------------//

MLP: FiM
Piercing the Heavens
By: Calm Wind

Chapter 122: Very Personal





“And it fooled them?” Soarin asked, blinking as Rainbow Dash grunted and set him down on the stairs past where they had been wrecked. They had failed to factor in that Soarin wasn’t in very good flying shape at the moment.

“Well, yes and no,” Dash answered as the two of them continued up the fractured staircase and neared the second floor. “The full explanation is complicated, but I saw everything initially from where our infiltration team was waiting. The Shadowbolts had no idea what to do against the mass show performance. They were completely focused on the Wonderbolts, giving Luna the time to form the dragon image. Once it was up and the fortress fired on it, Fire Streak gave the word and we all moved in,” She explained as they reached the top of the stairs and made their way towards Spitfire’s office. “You’ll hear the rest of the interesting details during our report.”

“I have the worst timing,” Soarin said after a moment. Dash looked at him quizzically. 

“Wha…?” she lifted her brow and smirked.

“I’m out cold when you guys discover our compound can fly and make a hilariously epic escape from certain death…” he tipped his head to one side. “Then while I was digging myself out of a mountain, you all stage a full Wonderbolt force show to con the hell out of our enemy and slap them across the face in an extraordinary manner…” he tipped his head back and turned to look directly at Dash. “I really need to stop missing all the fun, seriously,” he said with a snort of discontent. Dash giggled and gave him a playful nudge. 

“You’re the only pony I know that gets jealous about not being a part of terrifying scenarios,” she said as she continued to giggle. 

“What?” Soarin lifted his brow while smiling smugly. “Were you scared?” He got the exact look from Dash he was expecting, a sudden, harsh, challenging glare.

“Say that again and I’ll give ya a matching bruise next to every one you already have,” she shot back while clutching her hoof and moving it back and forth between them.

“Ha! Fair enough,” Soarin snickered while leaning against her, almost falling when he forgot how much of a limp he currently had.

“Whoa, whoa!” Dash yelped as the two of them stumbled and lightly bumped against the wall on their right. 

“Heh, sorry,” Soarin chuckled, “I forgot I’m broken.”

“Yeah, careful you,” Dash said with a worried pout, completely reversing her previous face. She helped him regain his balance as they reached Spitfire’s door. Dash stopped as she placed her hoof on the doorknob, glancing back at Soarin. “I’m definitely curious about what happened with Rapidfire. You said he helped you?” she asked, earning a quick head tip from Soarin and an eye-roll.

“Yeah, he did help me, but it wasn’t easy to get him to listen. He hasn’t changed much at all,” Soarin explained.

“You said you learned about his reasoning though?” Dash pressed, her hoof still resting on the doorknob and sliding against it gently.

“Yeah,” Soarin nodded. “I did, and it was informative, but I’ll give the details when we get the chance. There’s a lot to go through, so I’d like to have Spitfire and Fleetfoot around when it comes up.”

“Alright,” Dash smiled, but still didn’t turn the doorknob. She was just staring at Soarin. Soarin noticed quickly once she didn’t open the door. He locked his eyes with hers, giving her his… and her favorite smirk. 

“Found something you like again?” he asked while subtly bouncing his eyebrows. 

“Pfft…” Dash smiled while scrunching her face slightly. She tipped to her right, looking past Soarin. She then glanced to her left and right before refocusing on Soarin. She extended herself, going on the tips of her hooves, planting a surprise kiss right on his lips, nothing more than a little peck, but she really couldn’t resist it. “Had to,” she said as she pulled back and winked.

“I know,” Soarin winked back.

“You just look too hot. Even when you’re covered head to hoof in bruises, you pull it off,” she snickered.

“I’m glad I still meet your standards,” Soarin replied snarkily in return.

“You two know my door isn’t soundproof, right?” Spitfire’s voice suddenly came through the door. 

“Eep…” Dash blushed lightly, but Soarin didn’t falter. He reached forward, grabbing Dash and pulling her forward.

“KISS ME, DARLING!” he yelled while pressing his nose to the door before pulling Dash up and kissing her. Dash yelped in surprise, but was quickly muffled as Soarin made several, exaggerated noises while kissing her.

“Oh, for Celestia’s sake, just get your asses in here…” Spitfire’s voice came again, causing Soarin to burst out laughing as he released Dash… who was now bright red in the face and looking at Soarin flatly. 

“You’re lucky I don’t want to hurt you right now…” she said with a huff.

“Come on, you liked it,” Soarin chuckled as he turned the doorknob.

“I did,” Dash fumed while puffing her cheeks even more.

Soarin pushed the door open, the two of them expecting to see an unamused look from Spitfire, but the two of them froze in the doorway when they spotted Luna sitting beside Spitfire’s desk, looking away with an awkward expression across her face.

“Oh…” Soarin blinked, smiling sheepishly as he nudged Dash into the office. Her hooves squeaked against the floor, Soarin more or less pushing her along as she opened her wings and bent them forward to hide her face.

“Professional display in front of the Princess, Soarin… very professional,” Spitfire commented, sitting at her desk, arms propped on the table and resting her chin on her hooves. Soarin scoffed as he looked towards Spitfire.

“Oh, whatever,” he was quick to dismiss. “Like anything I’ve ever done or will do is as bad as Fleet.”

“I heard my name!” Fleetfoot suddenly glided in, touching her hooves to the floor and skidding along the floor.

“YIPE!” Dash yelped as Fleetfoot wing spanked her as she slid to a stop and sat her plot down on Spitfire’s desk, completely blocking her from Soarin and Dash’s view. After a sigh, Spitfire leaned to the right to see Soarin again.

“That’s a very valid point, Soarin,” she agreed.

“What is?” Fleetfoot asked while glancing back and forth. Dash finally put her wings down, holding her breath for a moment and exhaling. She shot an awkward look at Soarin but he just smiled in return, ultimately causing her to smile along and see the humor in it over the embarrassment.

“Absolutely nothing,” Spitfire blatantly lied, not trying to hide the fact from Fleetfoot at all.

“Oh?” Fleetfoot spun around and laid on her stomach the length of Spitfire’s desk, twiddling her back hooves while sliding herself closer to Spitfire. Spitfire’s expression didn’t change a bit. “I don’t buy that, and something tells me you knew I wouldn’t.”

“I’m glad two of my highest ranking colleagues are putting on a great display of manners in front of Princess Luna,” Spitfire ignored her request. Fleetfoot blinked and turned on her side, taking a reclining position as she looked towards Luna, who had taken great interest in Spitfire’s less than organized, post-compound-crash-landing shelf until further notice.

“Pffff…” Fleetfoot blew air between her lips as she waved a hoof towards Luna. “Yeah, like I’m about to believe she’s never done something lewd or naughty over the past ten-thousandish or more years.”

Luna flinched so hard that her mane bounced and fell forward, covering her face. She reached up and flipped it all back before turning and glaring at Fleetfoot while blushing. 

“WE BEG YOUR PARDON?!” she asked angrily as Fleetfoot giggled and turned to lay on her back while smiling mischievously at Luna. 

“Denial that quickly is a sure sign of hiding from the truth!” she declared while giggling as Luna’s blush grew redder and she ground her teeth together. “WHOA!” Fleetfoot suddenly yelped as Spitfire grabbed her shoulder, turned her back upright and pulled her back to the center of her desk.

“What took you so long anyway?” she asked to change the subject for the ever reddening royal goddess. “How did the train wreck with wings get here before you?”

“Hey now…” Soarin stepped up while pouting, but Fleetfoot shrugged.

“You told me to gather squad three!” Fleetfoot reminded Spitfire, earning a nod of acknowledgement in response.

“I know, but Fire Streak was standing right outside the infirmary and you were talking to him when I passed. What were you doing?” she asked further.

“Duh, I had to find the rest,” Fleetfoot put bluntly while folding her ears back.

“Nice try, I heard Fire say he would gather them up right before I was out of earshot, what were you really doing?” Spitfire asked, trying her best to put on an atmosphere of order to help Luna calm down. “Squad Zero was still in the lobby, I saw Calm at least.”

“Oh, uh…” Fleetfoot grinned sheepishly. “I uh… yeah, about that.”

“What did you do…?” Spitfire sighed, knowing some sort of justification for silliness was coming.

“Calm was actually the only one in the lobby,” Fleetfoot tried to explain and leave it there, but Spitfire wasn’t buying it. “Okay, I had to ask Calm to find them,” she added, but Spitfire was still looking at her sternly. “Okay, so maybe I used some extra persuasion to help me,” she admitted while sticking her tongue out and winking. Spitfire immediately let her head fall slowly to her desk, lightly bouncing her nose against it while sighing.

“Extra persuasion?” she asked while looking back up.

“Well—MRPH!” Fleetfoot’s voice was muffled as Spitfire jammed her hoof against Fleetfoot’s mouth.

“You know what? No. You don’t need to explain. I can easily draw a conclusion from the usual bag of Fleetfoot ‘maneuvers.’ You really need to leave that poor stallion alone, you know he’s already a nervous wreck around mares. You’re probably terrifying the poor guy.” Spitfire explained to her as she removed her hoof from Fleetfoot’s mouth.

“But his reactions are so adorable!” Fleetfoot giggled before shooting a sassy look at Spitfire. “Come on, I know he really likes it!” She puckered her lips and turned back over on her back as Spitfire continued to just stare at her sternly. Soarin scoffed behind her.

“Not everypony is into being mounted and humped in public you know,” he said, causing Fleetfoot to spin herself around, smacking Spitfire in the cheek with her plot as she failed to keep her general position on the desk.

“How shameless do you think I am?” she pouted at Soarin.

“Very.”

“I resent—EEE!” Fleetfoot squeaked as Spitfire pushed her forward and tipped her right off the desk. Fleetfoot landed with a quiet THUMP before her head quickly shot up over the desk, resting her chin on the surface and glaring while folding her ears back against her head. Soarin and Dash both snickered as Luna, again, remained facing away, waiting for order to be restored.

“Rainbow Dash,” Spitfire looked right over Fleetfoot’s pouty-glare. “Did you inform your squad participants?” she asked as Fleetfoot released an annoyed, feminine nicker. Dash cleared her throat, stifling any remaining giggles.

“I sent Squall along and told him to find Twister if he could in a few minutes or so. Not gonna hold my breath though, like you said. Squall will be along shortly,” Dash explained as Fleetfoot sat down in front of Spitfire’s desk, put her back against it, and crossed her arms… still pouting.

“Good,” Spitfire nodded, glancing to her right as Luna suddenly stepped forward. Luna was looking towards Soarin. She still had a bit of an embarrassed blush on her face, but it was clear she was looking for something to distract her.

“Excuse us, Commander Soarin,” Luna spoke up as she approached him.

“Yes?” Soarin asked while tipping his head curiously.

“Do you mind if we take a closer look at the horn while we await your comrades? We know Discord already gave a diagnosis, but we wish to examine it ourselves more closely,” she asked, her eyes not once straying from the damaged artifact.

“Oh,” Soarin glanced up at the horn. “Sure, by all means.”

Luna gave no response, not even a nod. She quickly stepped up and started looking at the horn really closely and not giving Soarin that much space to change his mind. He edged away slightly when she nearly stuffed her neck into his face, but she was adamant.

“Hold still please,” she requested as her magic came to life, gently preventing Soarin from reclining his neck any further. Soarin sighed and let her continue, glancing at Dash as she grumpily stared at Luna. Dash wasn’t too thrilled at the way Luna was forcibly treating Soarin since he came back, first she nearly pile drove him with her magic in the infirmary, and now here was almost rubbing herself against him. Yeah, sure, the horn was important, Dash wasn’t denying that, but Luna could definitely be a little more calm and gentle about how she was handling it.

“Princess…” Dash spoke up quietly and calmly, about to request she not be so rough, but she was cut off.

“Have you tried using it?” she asked. Soarin blinked, not expecting the question, but he quickly replied. 

“It wasn’t pretty, but I used it while I was in the cave…” He stopped as he saw Luna shaking her head.

“No, we mean since you have returned, since the white light ‘merged’ with you and you were able to push the limits of the magic… have you used it at all since then?” she clarified.

“Er… no,” Soarin answered truthfully. Luna suddenly stepped back and finally looked Soarin in the eye. 

“Try using it,” she ordered.

“Here?” Soarin blinked. “But…”

“Do not worry,” Luna quickly shook her head as her horn began to glow. “We will make sure any negative reactions are contained. We are not asking for anything spectacular, simply try activating it, as we are now with the aura alone,” she explained while pointing to her magic hovering around her horn.

“Alright…” Soarin swallowed as he looked up. He had intentionally not used the magic at all once the fighting was over because he was sure, after the cave scenario, that any attempt would feel just as painful as it had when he was trapped. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too bad.

Dash shifted backwards anxiously as Soarin closed his eyes and began to concentrate. She was just as ready as Luna to jump forward and help if need be. She wanted to stay beside him from the start, knowing her presence and the proximity of their spirits always gave Soarin an edge when it came to keeping his magic under control. However, it was clear Luna wished to see the extent and the effects of Soarin’s own control with the damaged horn. Her little ‘boost’ wouldn’t give a good indication of Soarin’s magic situation.

Soarin took a deep breath as he cleared his mind and went right back to the basics. 

Find the magic, pull it from deep inside. Recall the sensation of the magic flowing through the body. Let it flow smoothly like a river. Channel it and bring it all together at the point of projection through the horn.

Those were not the exact words… but it had become Soarin’s own description of it. His lessons under Fancy Pants had slowly become second nature in handling the unstable power within him, but with the horn in its currents state, he took it slow, going through every piece of the process in his head as he readied to at least gather it in the horn.

He felt the sensations tingle from the center of his chest, and spread around. So far so good, but that was the easy part. He hesitated, letting the magic flow and swirl around inside of him for a little longer as he prepared to channel it, knowing that the moment it reached the horn, things could get ugly. Knowing that Luna was waiting on him, he eventually directed the magic forward, letting all the channels flow towards his forehead and close in on the horn itself. It grew closer… closer… closer…

“Hnghh!” Soarin suddenly grunted as a harsh, throbbing sensation filled his head. The rest watched with bated breath as the cracks in the horn began to glow, followed by a weak flickering aura slowly appearing around the horn. The aura struggled to remain, but eventually surrounded the horn and held constantly… but only did so for a few seconds. “AH!” Soarin suddenly yelped, throwing his neck up as a sharp pain shot through his head. 

Spitfire, Fleetfoot, and Dash all yelped and ducked, but Luna’s magic erupted from her horn and created a protective bubble around Soarin just in time. Small sparks and small beams ejected from the cracks in the horn, hurling in several directions, but all slamming and exploding against the shield projected around him. 

“Ah… ah…” Soarin huffed and puffed, slowly lowering himself to the floor as the magic flow from the horn died down and ultimately stopped as his concentration faded. As Soarin rested on the ground panting, Luna removed the shield, a distraught look on her face.

“Soarin!” Dash was quick to yell his name as she rushed forward and lowered herself down to him, her heart beating a little faster in her chest. No sooner did she reach him, did Soarin hook his hoof around her leg and held it tightly. His breathing calmed down and he took several controlled breaths, using Dash’s presence to help calm the magic down and ease the headache he had just caused himself. Dash looked him over with worry, quickly turning her head to Luna for a verdict.

Judging from Luna’s expression though, the news was not good.

“This… is troubling,” Luna confirmed Dash’s fears instantly. “Discord said the damage was merely to the outer shell, but regardless, it seems to have had a vastly negative effect towards your ability to control the magic.”

“Yeah… that feels… about right,” Soarin said in between breaths as Dash helped him sit up. “I mean, I was able to completely control it regardless earlier with the white light, but as I said before, I can’t really explain how that all happened. It did nothing to enhance my abilities. The magic just listened to me. It was like it suddenly feared me and fell right into line regardless of the horn’s state.”

“Hmm…” Luna hummed as she listened, putting her head down and tipping her head back and forth as she thought. “What in the world was that which helped you?”

“Discord seems to know,” Soarin spoke up with a huff, but Luna shook her head.

“However, something about it seems to trouble him,” Luna reminded them as she looked up. “We admit, we have seldom seen Discord become so… irritated. At least not for a very, very long time. His control over his emotions is part of something that allowed us to let him be free again. When he had that sudden outburst, we were afraid he might… distort reality unintentionally.”

“Excuse me, what?” Soarin asked quizzically as Dash helped him stand back up. 

“Discord can really break things,” Dash spoke up, drawing Soarin’s attention. “When he was released a few years back, he really screwed up everything until my friends and I sealed him back up… it wasn’t until later that we let him out again and things changed.”

“Indeed,” Luna nodded. “One of the conditions of his freedom is that he no longer bends reality, and since he seems okay with that, we let him out. However, we will admit, when Rainbow Dash and her fellow Elements of Harmony took him on, he was surprisingly calm and docile. In the end nopony got hurt and everything was put back to normal, much different compared to the Discord that was confronted by my sister during the last Griffon-Drake War…” Luna paused, blinked and shook her head. “We’re sorry, we should stay on topic… Discord clearly knows something, but we doubt he will tell us. He has his reasons for doing things his way. We disagree with him, but we have no control over him. He has shown a certain respect for the interests of our sister, whatever those may be. And as long as he keeps helping us, we will not question him.”

“You sound reluctant,” Spitfire pointed out from behind her.

“You would be right,” Luna grunted in frustration. “We would be grateful if he would inform us what he knows of our sister and why she sacrificed so much for where we stand now… yet he dodges and eludes the question, claiming to be doing what’s best for all of us. We don’t trust him, yet we do at the same time. It’s quite annoying.”

“Well, he hasn’t killed us all yet, so I think we’re good for now,” Fleetfoot chimed in from in front of Spitfire’s desk as she stood up and paced over to the couch. Spitfire nodded.

“He is an unpredictable factor among the current cards we hold,” Spitfire said while thinking out loud. “Who knows what he’ll do for us, but I’m not about to dismiss him. Now then…” she looked at Soarin. “While we’re still waiting, Soarin, I’m curious about this exchange with Rapidfire you mentioned.”

Dash perked up and looked at Soarin, who narrowed his eyes slightly and sighed. Dash had been waiting to hear about it.

“Yeah…” Fleetfoot also voiced her curiosity as she sat herself down on Spitfire’s couch, which was surprisingly spotless despite the how much it had been thrown around during the takeoff and crash landing. “You said he ‘explained’ himself? I gotta hear this…” she huffed. 

“Well, to be honest,” Soarin began while looking towards Fleetfoot. “It’s a little bit of expected and unexpected. His reasons don’t excuse his actions, but I can see how he became the way he is. The biggest problem is that he handled it all wrong.”

“Don’t keep us waiting now,” Spitfire waved a hoof. “Let’s hear it.”

“He blamed us,” Soarin said simply and intentionally paused to let it sink in. Dash quickly furrowed her brow, but she barely got a moment to say anything.

“Ex-CUSE-me?” Fleetfoot leaned so far forward on the couch that she almost fell off.

“Oh, here we go,” Spitfire sighed, shaking her head.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, but listen,” Soarin continued. “I’m not about to say he’s justified, but this is what he told me. He’s the son of Blazetail and Flashwind, setting his bar unbelievably high from the start. He worked hard to become the flyer, and competitor he was and apparently never hit a wall he couldn’t overcome… but then he met us.”

Soarin paused, seeing that he had Spitfire and Fleetfoot’s full attention and curiosity.

“The reason he blames us is because he could never beat us. He inherently believes that it’s possible to overcome any challenge, something Blazetail once told him. However, meeting us contradicted that… It wasn’t like he was bad, he was on the lead squad with us, but he never beat us in individual contests. It was his goal to be top-dog like his parents were, but he fell just short. He felt like he was falling into the same boat as Hurricane and Jet Stream.”

“Who?” Fleetfoot asked while blinking. Soarin glanced at her and lifted an eyebrow as Spitfire cleared her throat.

“They were the other two members of Gold Squad,” she explained.

“Oh…” Fleetfoot scrunched her face awkwardly. “Wait, yeah, I remember now. Wow, that was a while ago.”

“And that’s his point,” Soarin continued. “How often are they mentioned? Rarely. It’s all about Blazetail and Flashwind whenever Gold Squad comes up. Rapidfire felt that the three of us were getting all of the attention and he was being left in the dust.”

“He… has a bit of a point there,” Spitfire cut in. “I do remember him getting a lot less attention from the media… but as I ALSO recall, he had a habit of leaving or forcibly pushing himself through them… I’m not about to forget the two legal fees I took out of his pay when he hurt those two reporters in Fillydelphia.”

“Like I said, his argument has some holes in it,” Soarin pointed out as he continued. “But he claimed our success was at his expense, and he stopped caring when he realized he would never top us. That’s around when he started… you know… acting like the Rapidfire we all know today.”

“Hmph…” Spitfire grunted, baring her teeth slightly while growling quietly. “Yeah… and I’d say he’s fallen several steps below the bottom of the ladder in my book… after what he did to me and Wave.”

“He told me that the Shadowbolts offered him a new start, a place where he could prove himself to those who ever doubted him… and that’s why he accepted Lightning Dust’s offer when she appeared with a crystal for him,” Soarin paused as he saw Spitfire’s glare tighten further. “I can’t really give it to you the way he spoke to me, nor do I recall everything word for word, but that’s more or less the deal. He was raised to be a champion, was cut off before he could become that champion, he rejected his parents, he rejected us, he turned into what he is now, and then turned his back on us.”

A brief silence made its way into the room as Spitfire and Fleetfoot momentarily glanced in each other’s direction.

“Gee…” Fleetfoot chimed in as she looked back and flattened her brow. “You know… unlike Spitty glaring holes into the wall over here… part of me feels maybe a teeny bit of sympathy for him? I mean,” she quickly waved her hooves in front of her face when Spitfire directed said glare at her. “Whoa, whoa, Spitty, turn off the angry floodlights. Let me be clear, I’m not reversing my opinion of him. That sounds rough and all, but why the hell did he keep it all in?” she asked, glancing at both Spitfire and Soarin. “What part of us being a team did he not understand?”

“Apparently all of it,” Soarin quickly replied.

“That’s entirely his fault,” Spitfire interjected harshly, drawing all eyes to her. “When I became the captain I personally pushed to shift the environment of the Wonderbolt ranks towards a family atmosphere. While a good portion of our harsher military environment remains, the new system I enacted was specifically designed to help those who fell into situations like this. It offered solutions to personal problems instead of dismissing them as ‘issues’ that could hinder one’s rank. It’s not a system that coddles, but it’s a system that gives the opportunity, and as far as I’m concerned, Rapidfire didn’t take the opportunity that was right in front of him.”

“Things could be very different right now,” Soarin added loosely, earning a nod from Spitfire. “Hell, I would have listened. Would it have killed him to let us know?” he sighed while glancing at Dash, who had remained quiet as she listened. 

“I guess…” Fleetfoot shrugged as she lied down on the couch on her side. “At least we now know… I mean, we always knew he was a bit of a loner and stuff. But it’s interesting.”

“Yeah, fine, but it doesn’t excuse his actions,” Spitfire snorted. “He had other options to consider and ignored them outright. Sometimes you have to swallow your pride to find real solutions to things.”

“That’s a little funny coming from you,” Fleetfoot suddenly jabbed with a light smirk, but Spitfire clearly didn’t appreciate it, glaring at her.

“I’m not speaking out of both ends, Fleet,” Spitfire replied harshly. “It’s not easy to do, and I’m guilty of avoiding it myself… as are you…” she glanced at Soarin. “And Soarin… maybe even Luna too. However, it still doesn’t wipe his record clean. He has a lot to answer for, and he WILL answer for all of it.”

“Why do you keep talking to me like I’m on his side?” Fleetfoot grumpily pouted at Spitfire. “It’s just interesting to know, I’m not saying it was right.”

Spitfire released a heavy breath from her nostrils.

“Sorry,” she looked back at Soarin. “You have to understand me here Fleet, I’m a little… pissed the hell off at Rapidfire right now after he posed as Wave and engaged me in heavy deceptive foreplay.”

“Eeeeeeeeeyeah…” Fleetfoot cringed. “Don’t worry, I get that.”

“So look,” Soarin spoke up to regain control of the conversation. “I wasn’t trying to shift any opinions or stances on Rapidfire, this is just what he told me. While it’s true I would be dead if he hadn’t helped me and I helped him, he still has to be held responsible for his actions. I highly doubt I would ever forgive him for what he’s done to me, Dash, and now you on top of it.” He nodded to Spitfire. “He had reputation for stepping over the line, but his personal selfish actions, especially those that have an effect on those I care about, are not things I can simply forget.”

“I agree a hundred percent.” Spitfire was quick to nod. “However, our personal qualms with him will have to wait… unfortunately. Our top priority is still the Shadowbolts as a whole, who is behind their movements, and how we can bring them down.” She got right back to business, but not before Fleetfoot could bring up one last detail.

“What about his parents? Should we tell Blazetail and Flashwind, or do you think that’s a bad idea?” she asked. Soarin and Spitfire looked at each other, both pondering the question.

“I think we should,” Soarin spoke first. “I don’t think it would be right to keep them in the dark.”

“I agree,” Spitfire nodded. “They are clearly uneasy about the whole situation with their son. It may be hard for them to hear, but they have a right to understand their son’s actions, no matter what they may be.”

All three of them nodded.

“Yikes…” Dash finally spoke up, causing the others to all focus on her.

“What’s up?” Soarin asked, very much interested in what she had to say on the matter. Dash shook her head, but continued.

“I’m not about to forgive him for everything he’s done to me… and you guys, but I do feel a little sympathy for him.”

Dash quickly looked up to meet varying reactions. Fleetfoot was lifting an eyebrow, Soarin’s eyes were wide, and Spitfire… well, she was still glaring. Dash put her hooves up and shook her head. 

“No, look, nothing he did was justified, and I’m not about to claim I know him the way you guys do. But that’s just it, I’m looking at this from the outside in and… I feel a little bad. I guess the right word is ‘pity.’ I definitely pity him for not having a solid trust in others. I know whenever I have or had problems, my friends were always there to help. And if not them, I knew plenty of others I trusted. Having somepony to lean on when troubled can solve all sorts of problems and if I didn’t have access to one, even for a short period, it drove me nuts. I can only imagine how he must have felt.”

“But he DID have that, Dash,” Spitfire reminded her while pointing to herself. “We were right here for him and he didn’t even try.”

“That’s not what I mean, Spitfire,” Dash held her ground. “He didn’t use it because he didn’t understand it. That's what I pity. He didn’t understand how others could help him through his struggles. He had you guys, but he also pinned the blame on you guys, effectively making him feel like he had nowhere to turn, and his pride from his family line prevented him from seeking out anyone ranking below. I equally agree with all of you that his actions deserve just punishment… it just makes me sad. I’m best friends with the Princess of Friendship, I’ve gotten to see my fair share of problems around Equestria that could be fixed through trust and connections. Not everything was fixable, but several things were. THIS is something that I feel could have gone differently with the right touch, but he let it sit and fester.”

Soarin, Spitfire, and Fleetfoot all stared blankly at Dash, all of their surprised expressions turning neutral as they listened.

“Now that I’ve heard about it,” Dash continued. “He kind of reminds me of one of my squadmates, Squall,” Dash shook her head. “Squall was very different when I first met him. He was a loner, unhappy, and very distrustful of others. Over time, throughout recruit training and our time as a squad, I’ve given him little nudges and opportunities to express himself to me. Most of his replies were harsh and sharp, but I slowly broke through. He’s now opened up to us, and overall seems a little happier, even if he doesn’t show it much. I wonder if the same could have been done with Rapidfire.”

“Look, Dash,” Spitfire tipped her head to the side and frowned. “I understand what you’re saying, and I’m glad you’re offering an intelligent point of view.  But the one thing that really places Rapidfire apart from Squall is that Rapidfire refused to associate with us and intentionally avoided us unless we were in a show or operation. Had we the chance to act the way you have towards your squadmate, we would have taken it. But he wanted nothing to do with us.”

“Yeah, he was a bit of an ass twenty-four seven,” Fleetfoot spoke up as she turned onto her back. “He made it hard for us to approach him… ever.”

“That’s kind of why we didn’t bother,” Soarin continued for her while looking down at Dash. “We did try to include him and have him be a part of everything, but it did not resonate with him at all. We tried several more times, just being friendly and offering him several chances to hang out and build camaraderie, but… no real luck. He always mucked it up or ended on a low or nasty note. It got to a point where we simply ignored him to avoid confrontation. We had no real read on him to go by. If we had known he was so internally conflicted, believe me, we would have done something about it.”

“Hmm…” Dash hummed in response as she looked towards the floor.

Talk about an interesting scenario. The whole situation with Rapidfire was complicated, feelings of pity mixing with feelings of dismissal. As it had been said multiple times, Rapidfire had to be held responsible for what he had done, but that didn’t mean the circumstances weren’t unfortunate.

“Like I said,” Dash spoke again. “I feel bad for what he went through, but YIKES, did he not handle it correctly. That’s very much his own fault, he can’t blame you guys.”

All of them looked up, including Luna, who had been respectively silent throughout the personal discussion. The door to Spitfire’s office jostled and opened, revealing Fire Streak and several others behind him.

“Captain,” he nodded as he stepped in, Surprise, Misty Fly, and Lightning Streak all stepping in behind him. “Are we interrupting?” he asked politely as Squad Zero and Squall also walked in. There was no sign of Twister. Big surprise.

“No, no, come on in,” Spitfire beckoned him. 

Dash looked right at Squall as he entered, not even having to ask about Twister. Squall simply shrugged and shook his head, earning an eye roll from Dash in return. Spitfire had already expressed that the meeting would go on, with or without Twister, so Dash wasn’t worried.

Before the door to Spitfire’s office could close, a hoof stuck in and stopped it. All eyes went back to the door as it slowly turned back open and Descent walked through. Everypony watched him curiously as he casually trotted in and took his place among them. He narrowed his eyes when he saw the attention he was getting.

“What?” he asked as if expecting everypony to ignore him.

“Descent!” Spitfire said his name while leaning forward and smirking. “I’m surprised to see you here!” she said with a VERY sarcastic tone. Descent snorted and flattened his brow.

“Spare me,” he huffed, catching on immediately. “I’ve eaten enough humble pie for one day. I want to know what happened in the fortress. That is all.”

“Alright then…” Spitfire looked around at everypony now in her office, scanning over Squad Three, Squall, and Squad Zero. Calm was with them, which was fine, he played a part in the operation too even if it was not part of the infiltration. It was hard to separate Squad Zero. Spitfire glanced at Fleetfoot just in time to see her fully recline on the couch, with her hips and plot turned in a seductive way. She fluttered her eyelashes and waved a hoof. Spitfire followed Fleetfoot’s eyes to see her making the motions towards Calm Wind, who was already bending his head down behind Swift to ‘hide’ while blushing. Spitfire cleared her throat loudly in Fleetfoot’s direction, causing her to flinch, turn and giggle when she saw Spitfire giving her a stern gaze. “Where is Air Mach?” Spitfire asked as she finally realized they were missing the last member of the lead squad. Fleetfoot released a long, loud scoff.

“I told him to come, but he claimed it was not time for boring meetings when there was the burning fire of passion in his—”

“Alright,” Spitfire cut her off quickly. “Just let him have fun, he’ll be less disruptive that way. Fire,” Spitfire turned to Squad Three, focusing on their captain as she got down to business. “Report. We’ve had a long day, so try to be brief but thorough.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Fire nodded as he stepped forward. “Honestly, the first part of the mission was incredibly smooth. The distraction the rest of the force caused provided the perfect blanket for us to slip around the action and make our way to the back of the fortress. We made our way in and… well, found our way around with only a little hindrance.” 

“Hindrance?” Spitfire asked curiously.

“Well, we did have a confrontation or two, among some other things…” Fire glanced towards Dash. Dash gulped, hoping Fire wouldn’t call her out for having issues after she assured Spitfire there wouldn’t be. However, Fire moved his eyes past her and made it look like he was scanning his whole group. “I will admit, the inside of the fortress was quite interesting,” he continued to divert any attention he may have put on Dash. “The interior is like a more advanced and complicated version of our compound and less… blue,” he said while looking about the office.

“And super giant crystals sticking out all over the place!” Surprise added while throwing her hooves up. “HYYYUUUUUUUUGE crystals!”

“Indeed,” Fire nodded in acknowledgement. “In need of some dusting and cleaning too, if you ask me.”

“We’re mercenaries, not cleaning maids,” Descent growled off to the side. “We used to decide who cleaned the compound through fights. If you had a track record for getting your ass kicked, you got assigned cleaning duties. And if you refused, you got your ass kicked again.”

“That’s an effective system,” Spitfire said sarcastically, causing every Wonderbolt to look at her quickly. “No, guys, I’m joking. Don’t worry.” She turned her head towards Descent. “Really liking this ‘family’ atmosphere you keep talking about,” she continued the sarcasm towards Descent.

“Just because I treat the Shadowbolts like my family doesn’t mean I take it easy on them,” Descent huffed while grinding his teeth together and averting his eyes.

“Anyway,” Fire continued. “As I said we had a few confrontations, but we were able to stay in character. Starry Skies’ guidance proved to be invaluable…” he paused and glanced at Lightning Streak. “And a good source of humor.”

“Bro…” Lightning spoke up quietly as Fleetfoot suddenly sat up on the couch.

“Wait, wait, I gotta hear this, what happened?” she said, heavily interested in Lightning Streak’s misfortune. Surprise was quick to slide up to Fleetfoot while giggling.

“I cracked him right in the nuts and the Shadowbolts didn’t bat an eye!” she said while falling backwards onto the couch.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!” Fleetfoot fell backwards as well, clutching her stomach as she erupted with laughter. Fire Streak smirked, but tried to keep calm, the rest all held in snickers and snorts, save for Squall, who was holding a grumpy scowl. Even Spitfire and Luna couldn’t hide their amusement. Misty Fly seemed to catch on, shaking a little with her silent giggle.

“Bro…” Lightning repeated while scratching the back of his head. Fire turned and lifted his brow. 

“You bring this upon yourself, brother,” he said with a light chuckle. Lightning shrugged.

“Naw dude, you just gotta put a positive spin on it. Surprise basically touched my—”

“OH, NO YOU DON’T!” Surprise popped up in front of him and grabbed his face, pulling on his cheeks.

“Bruh…” Lightning’s voice was distorted with his cheeks being pulled.

“Okay, settle down everypony,” Spitfire spoke out to get back on track. “Go on, Fire.”

Fire Streak cleared his throat as he turned back to Spitfire, ignoring the scene behind him of Surprise sitting on Lightning’s back and still pulling on his cheeks from behind.

“Right then, we were able to find our way around for the most part. Rainbow Dash provided some key visual cues from her last experience within the fortress. However, even with her help finding their detention block, we ran into some… interesting circumstances.”

“Hmm?” Spitfire lifted her brow, visually urging him to continue.

“Well to start, Commander Wave was not there,” Fire said as he glanced at Dash again. “And as you know, we were on a tight time table. We feared we looked in the wrong place and that if they had more than one cell block, that we wouldn’t have time to look for it. Nevertheless, we searched the entire block to make sure we weren’t missing him… and that’s when got caught.”

“Caught?” Spitfire’s eyes widened. 

“Yes, caught,” Fire admitted while wincing and tipping his head. “I mean, we weren’t being very subtle in there, but regardless, we tried to play it off. The thing was, we weren’t just caught by anypony… We were caught by Shadowbolt Commander Moon.” Fire paused, glancing at Descent for a moment. 

“And that’s when things got weird,” Lightning Streak chimed in.

“Super weird,” Surprise added, still sitting on Lightning’s back.

“That’s putting it mildly,” Fire Streak confirmed. “First, he saw right through our disguises. He even called each one of us out by name and even exposed Swift Justice from cover that he was completely invisible under. But that’s not the shocking part…” Fire took a brief moment to look at every member of the team involved. “Moon… helped us.”

“Wait, what?!” Descent spoke up as his ears pointed upward and his eyes grew wide. Spitfire had a similar reaction, leaning further forward and blinking.

“He helped?” she asked as if she had not heard it correctly, exchanging a look of disbelief with Luna.

“That is correct,” Fire nodded as those not included in the operation showed varying degrees of surprise. “Also… it would appear that our efforts to distract them and make them fire the cannon were not as effective as we thought. He revealed to us that he knew full well the dragon was an illusion, citing his knowledge of ancient history and the sealing of the black dragons. But, despite that knowledge, it was HE who fired the cannon to lower the shield, and let us in. It felt like he had our entire mission and plan picked apart. He then encouraged us to follow him. We had our doubts, but he led us right to where Commander Wave was being held… and even broke the lock on Ruin’s room for us with his magic to let us in.”

As Fire finished explaining, all eyes turned to Descent as if he could explain what they had just heard, but Descent looked more stumped than all of them combined.

“Why would Moon…?” he thought out loud, looking down for a moment before looking back up, equally perplexed with no answer coming to mind.

Rainbow Dash frowned as she saw Descent ponder. She remembered Fire had his misgivings about trusting Moon, and wasn’t going into complete detail to keep the report to the facts. She already felt bad for Descent, and felt he deserved to hear more. So in a bold move, she stepped away from Soarin and towards Descent before Fire could continue.

“Moon declined to explain himself,” she spoke up, causing Fire to hold his tongue and look towards her along with the rest. “Like Fire said, we didn’t have much time, so we couldn’t press him to talk. But he did say that he was only doing what he felt was right,” she explained as Descent listened to her carefully. He furrowed his brow, glancing down again. 

“Really?” Descent scrunched his face. It looked like he was trying to put the pieces together.

“He clearly had a plan of his own,” Fire continued after Dash. “He shifted the responsibility of firing the cannon to a reckless pilot of theirs that fell asleep on the job. He even gave us a head start after retrieving Wave before he activated an alarm and made an announcement about infiltrators over their P.A. He was covering all his tracks brilliantly.”

Fire paused to see if they would get further reaction out of Descent, but Descent remained silent, the shifting looks of confusion continuing to cycle on his face. When he showed no signs of speaking up, he continued with his report.

“Unfortunately, even with Moon’s intervention,” Fire cringed. “Our escape was not clean. We ended up running into Ruin and…” he trailed off as he continued to cringe a little, the rest of the ponies involved all doing the same. Spitfire and Descent both took notice.

“Dude…” Lightning Streak spoke up as Surprise slid off of him and landed with a little SQUEAK beside him on the floor. “That guy like… kicked the shit out of all of us, easily.”

Spitfire blinked as her eyes widened.

“Wait, by himself?” she asked with her jaw remaining slightly parted.

“Yeah!” Surprise spoke up as she hugged herself and shivered. “He was freaky! And weird! And unpredictable! Not even I could keep track of him!” She continued to shiver as her mane suddenly wrapped tightly around her head and her tail did the same around her body. “I even tried pulling some randomness on him, but he was always three steps ahead!”

“He did… something to us,” Fire Streak took over as Surprise curled up into a white and yellow ball on the floor and Misty stepped over to pat her on the head. “After catching us off guard and unleashing a devastating barrage of magic, he used some sort of pulse that burst past us and surrounded us with a field of some sorts that kept us down and constantly in pain. It felt like my strength was completely drained and I was being pricked by needles,” he explained as he looked towards the rest, who all nodded to confirm his description. “His magical abilities and his unpredictability are absolutely fearsome. I have not personally gauged every Shadowbolt commander thus far, but he is easily the most powerful one I’ve come in contact with. There were ten of us and one of him… it was unthinkable.”

As Fire finished, Spitfire simply stared, trying to comprehend how a single Shadowbolt was able to take on and take down ten Wonderbolts by themselves. Even if only four of them were elites, it still seemed implausible. If he was really that powerful, what was keeping the Shadowbolts from simply unleashing him on the Wonderbolts? She broke from her thoughts and turned to Descent.

“Descent, what can you tell us about Ruin?” she asked. Descent looked like he wasn’t paying attention, instead deep in thought. “Descent?” Spitfire repeated his name.

“Sorry,” Descent closed his eyes and shook his head for a moment. “Ruin? Yes, Ruin…” Descent snorted and flattened his brow. “I don’t quite remember when he showed up in the Shadowbolt ranks, but I never gave him much thought. He was weak, annoying, and disturbing,” he paused and tipped his head. “But the crystals have clearly offered a new avenue through which to excel. And somepony with screws loose like Ruin? I’m not surprised the gift of magic has turned him into a force to be reckoned with.”

“Yeah…” Fleetfoot suddenly spoke up from the couch as she followed Surprise and hugged herself. Only, unlike Surprise’s self-hug, which had a little bit of her silly charm within it, Fleetfoot looked really uncomfortable. “I fought him this morning when they caught us in Rapidfire’s trap. He… scared me. I felt so powerless against him, like no matter what I did, he would always have me off guard without anything in my control. He wasn’t very strong, but his magic was wild and the feeling of powerlessness just destroyed my confidence. I was able to tango blow for blow against Angel, but Ruin? I just didn’t know what to do, I couldn't do anything!”

It was very ominous to see Fleetfoot, a lead squad Wonderbolt, express fear towards one of their enemies. Even Spitfire looked concerned. She quickly looked back at Fire.

“So, how did you get away from him then?” she asked. Before Fire could answer, Dash released a heavy sigh.

“Twister,” she said simply.

“Twister?” Spitfire lifted an eyebrow.

“Yes, Twister, need I say more?” Dash said while rolling her eyes.

“No, but humor me,” Spitfire requested.

“Uh…” Dash scratched her head while trying to find the right words. “Twister basically…” she shrugged and threw her arms outward. “Out…crazied him? I’m not gonna try explaining any of the stuff he did, but it was so wild, random, unpredictable and… prop-heavy. Ruin didn’t stand a chance. He had no response to any of it. Twister effectively beat Ruin badly at his own game…” Dash trailed off as she glanced to her right to see Descent looking at her with very wide eyes and a very disturbed face.

“That’s… absolutely terrifying,” Descent said while shaking his head. “A pony crazier than Ruin? And he’s been among us this whole time? Part of me would like to meet him, the other part—”

“Listen to the other part,” Squall cut him off out of nowhere. “Trust me.” His intervention forced a brief chuckle from Dash before she continued her explanation.

“Twister ended up pulling Ruin away from us, loosening his magic’s grip and giving us a chance to escape. I… admittedly hesitated and tried to go after Twister to help, but I was held back.” She glanced at Squall. “I was furious that nopony considered trying to help him, but… I completely forgot who I was trying to save.” She smiled sheepishly. “As usual, Twister popped up back here, just fine like nothing happened.”

“I… see…” Spitfire nodded while staring blankly at Dash. She stole a glance at Luna to find that Luna was already looking at her as well. They said nothing as a past conversation about Twister came to mind. Spitfire decided not to press the issue, refocusing on the infiltration team. “So what happened next?” she asked while looking back at Fire Streak.

“We found the Falcon hangar that Moon pointed us towards,” Fire continued his report. “After a brief tussle and some improvisation, we made it out. However, we were followed by the Falcons. Once rejoining the force, we scattered to elude them and… you know the rest,” Fire finished with a smile. Spitfire returned the smile while glancing at Squad Zero, all of whom had remained quiet in the back corner throughout everything said so far.

“Indeed…” she said as her smile remained and all four members of squad zero wondered what would be said about them. Fire noticed Spitfire looking at their experimental squad and cleared his throat again.

“I would like to personally offer my approval and acknowledgement of how the members of Squad Zero on our team handled the situation and contributed to our success. Not to mention they were also instrumental in getting Wave safely away from the fighting afterward. They performed admirably.” Fire explained while shooting a glance at them. Calm, Playbitz, Swift, and Shine all smiled weakly, looking a little nervous. Spitfire nodded as she kept her eyes on them.

“Job well done,” she said as she exchanged eye contact with Swift, Shine, and Playbitz. “Calm Wind, you filled Soarin’s spot in the show moves effectively as well… and thank you for providing yourself to carry Wave,” she paused as all four of them remained stiff, but they weren’t traditional Wonderbolts, they weren’t used to the pressure. “All four of you,” she continued, focused on the squad as a whole again. “From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for your help in the success of our mission. You stepped up and took on a dangerous set of objectives like true Wonderbolts are meant to do. I am glad we were able to count on you.”

As Spitfire praised the makeshift experimental squad, Dash kept her eyes on them, her smile growing wider as she saw their collective reaction. All of them instantly relaxed, breathing quiet sighs of relief, Shine tipping back and bumping against Calm and Playbitz while Swift almost floped down on the floor. An extremely heavy weight had just been lifted off their shoulders. Their involvement thus far, in the situation as a whole had been nothing but mishaps and partial successes. Shine had even expressed beforehoof that she felt one more slip up would mean termination of their squad completely, stripping away the absurdly rare chance the four of them had as a special force for one of the most honored institutions in Equestria. This was a big victory for them, complete with praise from the third captain and lead captain themselves. It was one they needed badly, and would surely provide them with a confidence boost.

Spitfire then turned to Squall.

“I must also recognize that one of our recruits… managed to take down one of their commanders!” she said while smiling towards Squall. Her attention was drawn away as a low, barely audible grunt escaped Descent’s throat. She looked at him as he narrowed his eyes slightly and averted them. “Descent,” Spitfire quickly addressed him. “Regardless of your feelings, your former comrades are trying to murder us. I understand that your goal is to save them and rebuild, but right now they are our enemies.” She waited for Descent to reply, but when he didn’t a smirk crept on her face. “Or are you flip-flopping on me right now?” she added. Descent didn’t look at her, but his eyes narrowed further. “I believe your own words were, ‘accept—’”

“I have nothing to say,” Descent cut her off with an angry snort.

“Exactly,” Spitfire nodded triumphantly as she turned back to Squall. She felt like she was maybe pushing Descent a little too hard, but after how much he had criticized her and tried to exert his ideals and influence on her before… she sure was having a good time giving it all right back to him… in the face… hard. 

“Anyway,” Spitfire continued as she addressed Squall. “Foxtrot Recruit Squall. It is my understanding through various sources that it was you who took down Shadowbolt Commander Devil. I have to admit, I am extremely impressed. Devil’s apparent skill level among his fellow commanders aside, he was still one of their highest ranking Shadowbolts. As a recruit, your odds at success were incredibly small, but in the end you prevailed. Over performing in the field far beyond what is expected and taking on challenges that are heavily stacked against you are both actions that we heavily value in a well-rounded Wonderbolt. Your efforts have been noted, and will definitely be kept in mind, especially if you continue to outdo expectations like this.”

Squall gave no visible reaction, despite Dash smiling very wide beside him. Spitfire didn’t take any implications from his silence, simply giving him credit where it was due, like Dash had convinced Squall he deserved.

“Now then—”

“It wasn’t…” Squall suddenly cut off Spitfire before she could continue. All eyes went to him, causing him to immediately look down and go quiet.

“Yes?” Spitfire gave him the floor, but he remained silent. “Well? Speak up, recruit,” she encouraged. Squall looked up and around at everypony. All eyes were on him, and he felt uncomfortable. Dash was very curious why he decided to speak up, and tipped her head slightly when Squall turned and looked at her for a moment, as if looking for support. Dash was about to shift, but he turned back to Spitfire before she could.

“It… wasn’t just me,” Squall spoke, his speech slightly broken, but clear enough to understand.

Dash’s eyes opened wide. She was already surprised that he spoke up, but was he also about to acknowledge his peers and share the recognition… without her having to persuade him to? Dash never thought Squall was selfish, that wasn’t the point. He just rarely shared words of praise for those around him, it just wasn’t his thing.

“Rainbow Dash, Matteo, and… Storm Front were all helping me. Devil also… I only got through his shield and hit him really hard. In the end it looked more like he destroyed himself by pushing his crystals too hard.” Squall’s voice remained shaky throughout, as if he was struggling to find the right words, but Dash could hear it in the tone of his voice. He wanted to make sure he wasn’t the only one who was recognized. “Plus, I was only able to attack because Little Star flew in front and saved me… and—”

“HMM! BUT!” Dash suddenly slid right beside him and draped a hoof over his shoulder, cutting him off and causing him to flinch and look at her. “We were having no luck against Devil, whatsoever. There were absolutely no avenues of attack for us through his offensive and defensive magic,” Dash explained as she took over. “We all backed off, but when Little Star protected Squall and took the hit for him, THIS stallion,” she reached her other arm up and poked him in the chest. “Rose up in her defense and furiously dove headlong into Devil’s attacks, eventually getting through despite being peppered with magic and beating on Devil’s shield until it eventually shattered. Then he followed up with a haymaker that stuffed Devil face first into the snow.”

Dash smiled as she watched Spitfire’s expression turn to impressed as she spoke. Dash was really proud of Squall for acknowledging all of them, but as she said before, she wanted to make sure he got the credit he deserved, because he did much more than they did.

“Thing is,” Dash continued as she let go of him. “He did more than I think he knows. Because once we saw him break through Devil’s shield, we realized that the Shadowbolt shields were breakable… which led to us gathering together and breaking through the shield of one of the Falcons. So if you ask me, we can partly thank him for that nice trophy sitting on our deck right now too!”

Squall turned his head towards Dash and gave her an embarrassed pout, but Dash just shook her head in response. 

“Don’t give me that look,” she spoke quietly, just to him. “I’m just telling them what I saw, as your captain.”

“Very, very well done. Rainbow Dash, it seems your squad and Storm Front all deserve some recognition here. I’m willing to overlook that Matteo and Little Star disobeyed their orders since it led to a boon. However, Squall,” she refocused on him, causing him to look up and blink. “Once again, impressive. Selfless acts to defend fellow Wonderbolts and defeat those bringing harm to our fellow wingmates… pushing oneself to the limit through pain for the sake of victory… you’re making me want to slap gold stars all over your record right now, you know that?” she chuckled as Squall slouched his shoulders slightly and looked away. “Be proud. Keep showing the mindset of a full-fledged Wonderbolt and you may find yourself moving up before you know it.”

Dash moved away as Squad Three and Squad Zero both moved in to compliment Squall. He looked a little uncomfortable, but he didn’t protest… in fact, Dash could tell he was happy, even if his face didn’t show it. Squall had told her and the others a while back that he hated not being taken seriously. Well, he was just praised several times by the lead captain of the Wonderbolts. You couldn’t get much more of an endorsement than that. She wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t secretly on top of the world right now. 

“Yikes,” Soarin spoke up as he stepped up beside Dash and sat down. She looked up at him as he pouted and huffed. “You guys did all that fun stuff while I was underground?”

“Again,” Dash giggled as she leaned against him. “Your idea of fun is hilarious.”

“I miss all the good stuff, I swear…” Soarin sighed as he bent his head down, wrapping his neck over the top of Dash’s head and smushing her mane down over her face. She continued to giggle while pushing back against him.

“Thank you for the report, Fire…” Spitfire spoke up to bring the attention back to her. “Now… while we’re on the subject, I’d like to briefly discuss something you just told me a little more closely,” she said as she leaned forward and rested her chin on her hooves again, taking on a more serious expression. “Shadowbolt Commander Moon… assisting us? If I’m to take anything from your explanation, Fire, it seems like he was more less the reason your mission ended in success.” She looked towards Descent, who looked deep in thought again. “Descent, what can you tell us about Moon?”

Descent looked up at her and blinked as she asked. He took a deep breath and looked back and forth as he thought back. 

“Moon has always been a little different than most of the Shadowbolts… easily one of, if not the quietest one. In general, he was one of the smarter and more level-headed members of the force. He was very calm and always putting things into perspective, looking before he leapt, always. But I never really could get a full read on him or what he was thinking. All I knew was that he was very wary of things and always made intelligent decisions.” Descent released a heavy sigh as he glanced back up. “This is very strange. Back when Starry Skies, Lightning Dust, and I launched our campaign to pull as many Shadowbolts away from the crystals as possible… he refused to come along with us. He was the last pony I expected to reject our reasoning. When I pressed him, he refused to explain himself.”

“And now he’s a commander…” Spitfire thought out loud. “You said rank was awarded by strength and ability, right?”

“Correct,” Descent nodded.

“Was he of high rank back before all of this started?” Spitfire asked.

“No,” Descent shook his head. “He was of lower rank at the time. Looks like the crystals have provided him a boost, much like Ruin. But… he doesn’t strike me as the type who would ignore the dangers of the crystals or succumb to their power. I was confused as to why he was among the commanders from the start, but now I’m even more stumped.”

Spitfire exhaled through her nose as she turned back to Fire Streak. 

“He gave no indication of his motives? Nothing at all? Was there any evidence towards what he might be up to?” she asked.

“No ma’am,” Fire quickly replied. “He was absolutely tight lipped about it.”

“Actually…” Dash spoke up as she stepped up beside Fire. “There WAS something I noticed when we asked,” she brought up, grabbing everypony’s attention. “When Squall and I confronted him up close, when he explained he was doing what he felt was right, his tone sounded sad… almost melancholy.”

Spitfire looked back at Descent quickly.

“A personal vendetta? Unfinished business perhaps? Did he have any enemies?” She threw possibilities out there. Descent scrunched his face as he processed the information.

“He… rarely spoke,” he rubbed his chin. “Much less engage in any of the usual scuffles that broke out around the fortress. He was always very reserved and avoided pointless confrontation, but…” Descent’s ears stood up and he blinked. “Oh!”

“What?” Spitfire removed her shin from her hooves and tipped her head forward. Descent looked towards her.

“I do recall him being close friends with two others. Angel and Iris.”

“Commander Angel, huh?” Spitfire lifted an eyebrow. “But… who is Iris?”

“They were all lower ranking at the time,” Descent explained. “Angel, as we know, has become a commander. Quite a fearsome one. But… I have no idea what happened to Iris. None of us found her during our campaign to build the Renegade ranks.”

“Could there be a connection?” Spitfire pondered aloud again. “It’s clear something is driving Moon… and if he really IS on our side, this could prove to be quite a boon to our efforts, but we have to know more to be sure.”

The whole room had remained silent throughout the exchange between the captains, and with their conversation at an end, now it was dead silent. Soarin and Dash glanced at each other, both just as curious as the rest about Moon and his reasons for helping. What were his intentions? His Goals? His reasons? And… could they trust him? Was there something going on within the ranks of their enemies that was completely out of sight?

“Moon…” Descent broke the silence as everypony remained deep in thought. “What are you trying to do?”

“That’s none of your business.”

Everypony nearly jumped to the ceiling and all rapidly turned towards the door as the new voice met their ears… followed by excessive, rampant swearing.





Gasps filled the room as the very topic of discussion had just inexplicably walked into the room. His crystals were alight, powering his telekinesis as it held both Blaze and High Winds floating in the air directly behind him. Blaze was swinging her arms, or at least trying to, while glaring, snarling, and swearing towards Moon. High Winds was… fast asleep in Moon’s hold, as if it was cradling her like a foal.

“MOON?!” Descent pushed himself past everypony in his way, stopping three yards away from Moon. Everypony else had turned and anchored their hooves firmly to the floor, ready for anything. Spitfire was up and ready to hop over her desk.

But Moon made no sudden movements, and in general the others weren’t sure what to do or how to proceed based on everything they had just heard.

“Might I ask,” Moon spoke up smoothly. “That you tell these two to calm down, please?” he glanced behind him to see High Winds asleep. He stared at her for a moment before looking back forward. “Just this one actually,” he requested while pointing over his other shoulder at Blaze.

Everypony was tense, none of them were able to tear their eyes away from Moon, but they subtly glanced back and forth at each other, wondering if they were going to get any indication.

Spitfire took a deep breath, remaining up behind her desk as she glared towards Moon.

“Blaze,” Spitfire broke their silence. “Calm down.”

Blaze stopped hurling incoherent insults and swears and stared towards Spitfire in disbelief. 

“But… Sis! He’s a—”

“I know,” Spitfire firmly cut her off. “Calm down. NOW.”

Blaze flinched as Spitfire shot an intense, commanding look at her. Blaze growled and grumbled, but she quieted down.

“Thank you,” said Moon as he gently lowered Blaze and High Winds to the floor before releasing his magic around them. High Winds remained asleep and Blaze puffed her cheeks out while glaring daggers into his back. Moon looked around at all the pairs of eyes on him and lifted his brow. “None of you are making any moves… so I’m going to assume that you’ve been informed of what transpired within the fortress.”

“That’s right,” Spitfire nodded, remaining firm and wary of his every action as the rest, except for Descent, cleared to the sides of the room to give a clear path between Spitfire and Moon. Luna snorted and took a step forward, her magic coming to life in her horn as she locked her eyes on Moon, but Spitfire reached a hoof up, encouraging her to let things happen. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not ready to leap over this desk and take you down if you try anything funny,” Spitfire threatened. Moon calmly shook his head.

“That won’t be necessary,” he insisted as his crystals hovered onto his back and the glow around them faded. “I have information to share,” he said as he casually stepped towards Spitfire. He was abruptly cut off as Descent shifted and grabbed him by the shoulder.

“Hold on a second! Moon! What the hell is going on?!” Descent demanded. Moon’s expression barely changed as he glanced at Descent.

“Even if I wanted to tell you my intentions, I haven’t the time to explain it in full. If I’m gone for too long, my colleagues will get suspicious.” He explained.

“If you’re trying to avoid suspicion,” Spitfire spoke up. “Then you’re doing a terrible job at it. How are we supposed to believe this isn’t some sort of trick or setup?” she questioned him. Moon ignored Descent glaring at him as he looked back towards Spitfire.

“If you really don’t want to know what the Shadowbolt plans are going forward, then it’s your loss,” he said, testing Spitfire’s trust by showing no anxiety or hesitance. Spitfire looked at him carefully, her eyes narrowing as she weighed her options. Rainbow Dash, who had been planted against Soarin’s side between him and Luna, bit her lip and emerged, taking two steps forward despite Soarin trying to pull her back.

“Spitfire,” she spoke as she looked between her and Moon. “He helped us, we have Wave back because of him.” She was subtly shaking with each word. She didn’t know if it was smart to believe Moon or not, but something was telling her it was wise to hear him out. Fire Streak was giving her a glare of disapproval from the other side of the room much like the one he gave her when she suggested they trust Moon back in the fortress.

“Rainbow Dash,” Spitfire’s voice was harsh and cut deep into Dash as she turned her head and gave her a very stern gaze. “Don’t be so naïve. I don’t care what he did or if he helped you. He’s a Shadowbolt Commander. He may have helped spring Wave Chill, but for all we know, it could be a trick to gain misguided trust. It’s a little alarming that he also found his way into the compound with little to no resistance besides Blaze and High Winds,” Spitfire turned back to Moon and gave him a sharp glare. “I’m not willing to take a risk by suddenly trusting somepony who has been attacking us just like that.”

“Think what you want.” Moon was completely unaffected by Spitfire’s eyes. “I’m here to share what I know. Nothing more, nothing less. And then I’m leaving. What you do after that is your choice.”

Spitfire didn’t respond, she just kept staring as silence filled the room. Descent looked like he was holding himself back from bombarding Moon with questions, and Luna, beside Soarin, was growling again with her magic once more coming to life. This time, however, Soarin reached up and pressed a hoof against her shoulder. Luna glanced down to see Soarin not even looking at her, but instead looking towards Moon with a determined expression. Soarin stepped forward and placed himself beside Dash.

“Tell us,” he asked,

“Soarin…” Spitfire growled quietly at him. Soarin quickly shook his head.

“Spitfire, I don’t trust him either, but let’s hear what he has to say. That won’t hurt,” he said while meeting Spitfire’s eyes and giving her a firm look to equal her own. Spitfire exhaled loudly through her nostrils before refocusing on Moon.

“Fine…” she caved, honoring Soarin’s request as her friend as she sat back down in her chair and once again rested her chin on her hooves. Soarin took the initiative, getting a question in before Moon could speak.

“So,” he began as he took another step towards Moon. “I’m going to assume that you found us because Rapidfire told you the location?”

“Actually,” Moon shook his head. “He did not.”

“What?” Soarin perked up, his eyes widening. 

“I discovered the compound hidden out here about a day after you escaped and eluded our Falcons. This ‘flurry’ you have created to hide yourselves isn’t too hard to navigate. I can’t speak for my fellow Shadowbolts, but it’s doable.”

“Rapidfire… didn’t tell you?” Soarin was trying to wrap his head around that fact, Spitfire, Fleetfoot, and Dash were all equally as surprised to hear it. Moon shook his head again.

“Rapidfire was pushed to reveal his knowledge upon his less than graceful return to the fortress, but he refused,” he paused as he saw Soarin’s jaw drop. “Perhaps he felt some reason not to?”

“Hold the bus…” Fleetfoot stepped forward, placing herself in the middle as well as she looked between Spitfire and Soarin. “Rapidfire… protecting us?” she asked in pure disbelief as Spitfire looked to be at a loss for words as well.

“Whatever his intentions were, it doesn’t matter,” Moon continued. “Shortly after his refusal, the decision was made that we will not waste effort or resources coming to find you,” he explained, causing a stir to pass through the rest. “However,” he quickly continued. “While Rapidfire remained silent about your immediate location, he did not on other things. Once Blade and Angel were forcibly stopped from physically beating him, he was given a crystal. After some further persuasion, he revealed your plans to reach the Crystal Empire and meet up with the Lunar Guard along the way.”

“WHAT?!” Spitfire sprang up from her seat and slammed her hooves down on her desk. 

“Oh no!” Luna gasped as she quickly looked towards Spitfire. “He was sitting right beside us, disguised as Commander Wave Chill while we were discussing it!”

Everypony flinched as Spitfire slammed a hoof down against her desk so hard that crackling noises came from the wood top. Fleetfoot sighed heavily and rolled her eyes.

“Yikes… for a moment there I actually thought he did something considerate…” she said with a groan. Moon huffed quietly.

“He was… persuaded after being told that going after the compound directly was off the table for the time being. Once he had his hooves on a crystal to stem his withdrawal, he was easily manipulated and spilled the rest of the info quickly. It is likely the new plan is to wait directly in your path to the empire.”

“Dammit…” Descent snorted as he angrily gritted his teeth. “So much for our plan…”

“It may yet be salvageable,” Spitfire chimed in as she shook out her hoof. “There are many ways we can execute it, but them knowing will definitely make it more difficult…”

“Do we have any other options?” Soarin asked. Spitfire quickly shook her head.

“The Crystal Empire is our only bet. No other reachable location has the military power we need. Plus, we have to consider the Shadowbolts we are holding captive. If there’s any place that might have an answer to save them… it’s there.” Spitfire looked towards Moon to see if the mention of the captive Shadowbolts had any effect, but again he remained completely stone faced, showing no indication of weakness or worry as he held himself firm. “Is there anything else?” she pressed, hoping for something else they could work with. Moon shook his head.

“No, I left the moment I heard him reveal your plan. The Shadowbolts are currently in a flustered state thanks to your efforts. I had to take advantage of the situation while I could.”

“Hmmmmm…” Spitfire hummed while looked down at the newly formed cracks on her desk.

“Oh, one more thing,” Moon suddenly spoke again, causing Spitfire to quickly look back up. “Ruin also knows about this location… in fact he knows I’m trying to help you as well.”

“What?!” Descent was the only one to speak up as the rest in the room simply flinched and blinked in surprise. Moon sighed heavily, finally showing a slight shift in emotion.

“He confronted me before I left, but…” Moon grunted in annoyance. “He specifically told me that he has no intention of turning me in… nor does he care about what I do, saying and I quote, ‘It’s much more interesting this way.’”

Dash felt a cold shiver run down her spine. It wasn’t even Ruin that said the words, but the fact that the words were his was enough to get the reaction out of her. Ruin’s actions towards her, and the way he got in her face… the way his eyes changed… the way his voice echoed… and how he knew of Soarin and Dash’s connection… All of the dread rushed right back into her. Now on top of it… it looked like Ruin also had an agenda of his own. And if it was specifically related to her and Soarin? It was like a walking, talking nightmare. 

“I have no idea what Ruin’s intentions are,” Moon continued. “But they are definitely his own and not within the interests of the Shadowbolts. He is incredibly dangerous and there is no telling what he might do. I’d keep an eye out, no matter where you are,” he warned them before abruptly turning and facing the door. Everypony wanted to react in some way as he readied to leave, but there was way too much to take in, none of them found the words… all except for Descent, who quickly shifted and moved himself in front of Moon before he could leave.

“Moon! Wait!” he demanded as he stood face to face, looking down at his former fellow Shadowbolt. “Tell me why you’re helping! Why didn’t you come with us?!” 

Moon stared right into his glare, furrowing his brow a little.

“That’s my business, and that’s how it’s going to stay. Now if you’ll excuse me…” he tried to step around Descent, but Descent moved with him and roughly pressed his hoof against Moon’s chest.

“MOON!” he growled, determined to not let him go until he had an answer. Moon suddenly scrunched his face, bared his teeth and snarled back at Descent. 

“Do you share your personal matters and feelings with everypony?! HUH?!” Moon yelled back into Descent’s face. “Or maybe I should ask your SON?!”

Descent’s eyes widened and his jaw nearly unhinged, releasing a silent gasp as he pulled himself back from Moon and took a few steps away. Moon’s face remained angered for a moment before quickly reverting back to his calm expression.

“Hmph…” he grunted, walking right past Descent and towards the door with nopony making a single move to stop him.

But the moment before he stepped through the doorway, a stream of light blue magic shot over his shoulder, sharply curved upward and generated a dome of magic around him. He stopped right in his tracks, and glanced back to see Luna standing firmly in the center of the room, an intense glow of magic pulsating around her horn as it emitted a stream controlling the prison around Moon.

“We think not!” Luna yelled towards him, everypony around backing to the walls as she decided to take things into her own hooves. Moon, however, did not panic, nor did he react. He simply looked towards Luna calmly.

“I would advise you to release me and let me return, unless you want me discovered and no longer able to assist,” he said as Luna continued to snarl towards him.

“Save us the act!” she growled. “We have no reason to trust a word thou says.” She took a single step, her hoof causing a light tremor throughout the room. “We are at wit’s end trying to figure out many things about who we face and the source of the power being turned against us! Somepony like you with the knowledge we seek just dropped right into our laps… it would be foolish of us not to take this opportunity!”

Despite everypony terrified of getting in the angry goddess’ way, Spitfire removed herself from the wall behind her desk and stepped around it. 

“Princess—!”

“SILENCE!” Luna roared in the Royal Canterlot Voice, causing Spitfire to flinch and back up, bumping into Fleetfoot behind her. “Whether or not he speaks the truth, we care not! We will not take the risk or lose this chance!”

Moon’s face slowly turned into a glare again as his crystals lifted off his back and began to glow.

But then, without warning…

Discord suddenly walked through the back wall, a look of anger and annoyance on his face as he pushed aside anypony standing in his way and stepped right up to Luna with a burst of chaos magic gathered in his hand. He reached it up to Luna’s horn and pressed his thumb and index finger around its tip.

“AH!” Luna yelped, her magic crackling and popping loudly as her control over the dome failed and removed itself from around Moon. “OW! OW!” Luna continued to whine as Discord pinched the tip of the horn harder. Discord turned his head roughly to Moon, still glaring as Moon simply lifted an eyebrow back at him.

“Go on,” Discord made a nonchalant motion with his free hand towards the door. “Get out of here,” he said as if he didn’t care one bit. 

“Thanks… I guess,” Moon shrugged before he turned and walked out the door.

“WHOA! WAIT!” Fleetfoot yelled as she and Descent ran towards the door, but the two of them ran smack into a shield of chaos magic covering the doorway, bouncing off and tumbling to the floor. They both got up frantically, looking back to see Discord’s other arm outstretched and generating the shield.

“Let him go,” Discord said sternly.

“DISCORD!” Luna’s voice boomed towards him, blowing his beard to the side. He simply kept his fingers pinched on the horn as he released the magic from the door. Spitfire and Soarin both ran towards the door the moment the barrier was gone, but when they looked outside, back and forth down the halls, Moon was long gone.

All eyes were immediately set upon Discord with varying degrees of confusion, anger, and frustration, but he looked like he didn’t give a damn about it.

“He was telling the truth,” Discord snorted as he released his fingers from Luna’s horn, causing her to gasp and tilt her head back as she stumbled. She shook her head out and blinked before stomping right up to him.

“HOW DOST THOU KNOW?!” she demanded, the Royal Canterlot Voice again blasting right in his face.

“Because I do, it’s not important how,” Discord said, crossing his arms while not wavering within her harsh gaze. 

“YOU…” Luna gritted her teeth, absolutely furious with him. “YOU!”

“Hush,” Discord grabbed her by the nose and clamped her mouth shut. She tried to wiggle free, but she couldn’t no matter how much she struggled. Discord looked about at everypony else and flattened his brow. “Oh, quit looking at me like that.” He waved his free hand out in front of him. “Carry on, talk about your all so important plans…” he paused and stared at Soarin for a moment. “The princess and I have a matter of utmost importance to discuss.”

Discord released Luna’s nose and she immediately tried to bite his hand, but she missed horribly as Discord moved his hand around and instead grabbed her by the ear.

“Ow!” Luna yelped as Discord began pulling on it roughly and dragging her along, but not towards the door, towards the right wall of the room, everypony else moving out of the way as Discord stomped along. “AH! OW! UNHOOF US, YOU RUFFIAN!” Luna demanded as Discord phased right through the wall and pulled Luna through it with him.





Everypony just stared blankly at the wall as the two omnipotent beings disappeared through it. The room remained in complete, utter, painful silence. That is, until High Winds suddenly yawned loudly, for a whole ten seconds while stretching out on the floor. She smacked her lips and barely opened her eyes as she sat up and looked around at everypony looking bewildered. 

“What did I miss?” she asked sleepily.

“WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED?!” Blaze yelled out at the top of her lungs, pointing at both the door and the wall while looking around at everypony else.

Spitfire sat down and released a long, agonizing moan as she reached her front hooves up and rubbed them roughly against her temples.

“You know what? No. I’m done. This day has been way too stressful…” she began as she stood up and walked back behind her desk, slouching down and letting her chin rest on the surface. Everypony glanced around for a moment before focusing back on her. “Everypony just go get some rest. This may sound crazy coming from me, but let’s just assume that Discord is right for now, and that Moon really did come to warn us. I’ll meet with some of you tomorrow to discuss what course of action to take. Dismissed, go to bed, that’s an order,” she said everything very quickly, sounding annoyed and exhausted. Descent suddenly broke from the daze Moon had put him in, quickly turning to Spitfire and stepping up to her desk.

“No, Spitfire, we should—”

“Descent, go to bed,” she huffed while glaring at him from down on her desk.

“Spitfire!” He furrowed his brow, but she had none of it.

“You, bed, now. Talk tomorrow,” she made herself clear.

Descent scrunched his face, ready to protest further, but then a loud CLANK followed by a slowly dying WHIRRRRRR came from the vent in the corner of Spitfire’s ceiling.

“And there’s the heat shutting off,” Spitfire pointed out. “Better all go to bed and huddle up, because that’s what I’m doing.” She forced herself up and walked around her desk. She stopped when nopony moved. “Well? Skedaddle!” she ordered.

Awkwardly and uncomfortably, everypony started making their way out of Spitfire’s office. Dash remained pressed to Soarin’s side as they started moving towards the stairs. Dash would have to help him back down, but that was the least of her worries. Just when they thought they had learned so much about what they were facing, they were struck in the face with a whole new set of questions… and what was up with Discord?





“HEY!” Luna yelled as Discord pulled her out of the wall and across the office until he pulled her through another wall and into the next. “STOP THAT! OW! AND LET GO!” she whined as the process continued for several more rooms until they were at the far end of the second floor in a small meeting room where all of the tables and the whiteboard were upturned or on the floor, untouched since the takeoff and crash.

Discord finally released Luna and stepped forward, pointing his finger at the lightbulb on the ceiling and shooting a small burst of chaos magic at it. The lightbulb lit up as if it had electricity, illuminating the room just enough for the two of them to see each other.

“What is the meaning of this?!” Luna growled, completely miffed at him and demanding to know why he just yanked her through several physical objects against her will. She flinched and her eyes widened as Discord stomped right up to her and pressed a finger hard against her chest, nearly pushing her against the wall behind her.

“Be quiet and LISTEN!” he yelled right into her face, causing her expression to completely shift from peeved to curious, and a little startled. Discord’s demeanor, was once again very different than what she was used to. The past few moments with him had been strangely serious and prank free… which didn’t seem right at all. His eyes were staring straight into hers and were filled with purpose, a clear objective. “Forget about the Shadowbolts! Let the Wonderbolts focus on them and figure out what they have to do,” he hissed, his voice sharp and devoid of any nonsense. “There is something much more important we have to address right now!”

He released his finger from Luna’s chest and moved his body back slightly, giving her some space. She blinked tipping her head curiously.

“What… art thou talking about?” she asked, sensing the clear urgency in Discord’s actions and words.

“Soarin’s horn,” Discord quickly replied while crossing his arms and keeping his expression sharp. Luna blinked and lifted an eyebrow.

“Did we not already discuss this?” Luna asked, puffing her cheeks out as she wondered if Discord dragged her through several walls for something she already knew. “It is damaged and—”

“It is HEAVILY damaged!” Discord cut her off as he leaned his face back down close to hers. Luna’s eyes widened and she lightly shook her head.

“Wait, WHAT?!” she reacted in disbelief. “But… We looked at it… and you said it was…”

“I lied,” Discord admitted without hesitation. Luna’s jaw dropped, but Discord continued before she could say anything. “In the infirmary, I told you I wanted to speak to you about it later and there’s a reason for that. The horn is in an incredibly fragile state right now. I’m surprised, from what he told us, that it hasn’t broken already. We’re incredibly lucky that it hasn’t!”

Luna blinked as she processed it. She started emitting squeaks that sounded like she wanted to say something, but she couldn’t find the words.

“Better believe it, Lulu…” Discord growled, flattening his ears as he rubbed his snaggletooth back and forth against his bottom lip. “And it’s much worse than that. What I gathered from my analysis of the horn… is that it’s barely holding itself together. The only thing that’s currently keeping it in one piece, and holding back the magic within, is Soarin’s willpower and emotional state. That’s why I lied in the infirmary, I didn’t want him to worry or be afraid for the horn. He must remain emotionally level and strong. Should his emotions become imbalanced, disturbed, or intense… and he takes one hit to the horn… it’s turning right to dust!”

“Ah!” Luna gasped, still at a loss for words as the reality of the situation was slowly dropping right on top of her.

“If that happens,” Discord paused and pointed a finger to his forehead. “No amount of willpower, no matter how strong Soarin’s may be, will be enough to keep the magic from running completely wild. The Shadowbolts and Kayn Ost will be an afterthought. If Soarin is consumed… we will all be destroyed. Not even Celestia’s power would be enough to stop it!”

Luna simply stared at him for a few moments before looking down and glancing all around at the floor tiles beneath her.

“Then…” she looked back up. “What should we do?” she asked. Discord sighed heavily, tipping away from her as he closed his eyes and shook his head. 

“I really don’t know… but until I can figure something out, it would be wise to keep him as far away from any sort of action or fighting as possible. The real question is how we can do that without revealing just how much danger he’s really in…” Discord pondered as he twirled a finger around the end of his beard.

“How are we supposed to manage that?” Luna pressed. Discord growled and gave his beard a light yank.

“If he is aware of the danger he is in, that will only contribute to the emotional imbalance… again, why I lied. That sort of state will make him more vulnerable, should he be drawn into any fighting. We have to figure out a way to keep him confined to the compound and convince him it’s for his own good…”

“That will not be easy,” Luna stated, completely forgetting about any sort of annoyance she had with Discord and now completely invested in what course of action to take. “Commander Soarin has the heart of a lion. He will likely protest any suggestion that he remain out of the action. He’s not the type to be held down.”

“I know,” Discord snorted as he looked away. “But we have to try. This is far and away the most dangerous situation we’ve had yet, and if we mishandle it? I don’t think I need to repeat myself, you know how that will end.”

“Y…yes…” Luna gulped.

“Now,” Discord turned his back to her and waved his hand towards the door of the room. “Just play along with them. Get some rest. I’ll see if I can figure anything else out. If we can get him to the Crystal Empire unscathed, then we’ll be safe. Maybe we can find a way to repair the horn there, I’m certainly not willing to risk messing with it with my magic alone. I doubt the Wonderbolts will get there without confrontation, but we really have no choice. 

“Okay… we shall keep an eye on him,” Luna nodded, her pupils moving back and forth as she looked at the floor, laying out some ideas in her head.

“You do that,” Discord said as he continued to wave his hand towards the door. Luna got the point, doing as he was silently asking by turning and walking out the door, leaving Discord alone in the room.

Discord turned his head, watching as Luna’s tail disappeared around the edge of the door. He crossed his arms, keeping his eyes on the door for a few moments as he tapped a finger against his arm. He took a very deep breath and sighed, looking straight up at the ceiling.

“Celestia… I know you’re listening,” he started talking into the air. “Was this all really worth the risk? Or is the situation really so hopeless that the possible downside of using Soarin… was a quicker, less painful end?”

He kept his eyes up, pausing for a long time as if hoping for somepony to talk back to him, but he was alone.

“Have I…” Discord gritted his teeth. “Have I really screwed things up that much? Why didn’t you say something to me? Why didn’t you ask for my help?” he looked down at the floor. “You went to him… instead of me, again. Leaving me behind to simply keep watch for you...”

He snorted and closed his eyes, a soft aura of chaos magic surrounding him as he slowly began lowering himself into the floor. 

“I guess I deserve it, don’t I?”

---To Be Continued---