//------------------------------//
// Chapter 128: Falling Apart 
// Story: Piercing the Heavens 
// by Calm Wind 
//------------------------------//

MLP: FiM
Piercing the Heavens
By: Calm Wind

Chapter 128: Falling Apart





The Nimbus lobby was alive with activity as the Wonderbolts and Renegades made their preparations and checks before receiving orders. Spitfire was busy leaning over several lists that had been laid out on the mail counter. Some of them were the pages of the full Wonderbolt roster. The others, lists of Wonderbolts organized by ability and skill that she was using to determine who to group with whom in order to carry out the unique patrol paths. She was nearly finished with her decisions. She just had to wait for Descent’s scout team to return with the patrol route mapped out for them.

Descent was pacing back and forth in front of the lobby doors, glancing out from time to time to check if the scout team was on approach, but all he got each time was an eyeful of the surrounding canyons walls outside, as well as the captured Falcon. The captured aircraft was still sitting chained to the platform, and had miraculously avoided any major damage during the flight.

Descent had complete confidence in Astral and his scouts. They had always come through for him, but he was still worried about them running into the Shadowbolts. Astral was reliable, and had gotten out of some really nasty situations in the past, but there was no telling what kind of tactics the Shadowbolts would employ. 

His fears were soon pacified though as he stopped, turned, and blinked in surprise. Astral and his five fellow scouts were on the approach, all landing on the platform and advancing towards the lobby doors. Astral scrunched his face as he flicked his left wing, trying to get the wing brace on that side to cooperate with him as he attempted to fold it up.

Descent quickly pushed the door open as they trotted up to let them in.

“That was quick,” Descent commented, expecting them to take much longer. Astral shook his head and glanced back at his scouts as he finally got the brace to fold up with a loud CREAK.

“I had us split up to save time,” he said with a nod. Descent glared at him.

“Astral, that’s incredibly reckless,” he said with a grunt. 

“You said make it quick, I was just doing what you wanted. Give us a map and we can draw the route out for them,” he requested, but Descent reached out and tapped his shoulder.

“Wait. First things first, anything abnormal out there?” he asked. Astral turned and looked towards his team.

“Epic?” Astral asked the pony who helped him drag Silver in after the fight with Sin.

Epic stepped up and removed his goggles.

“No sign of anything strange on my path.” He said with a nod. Astral turned to a white mare with a long blue mane that had black strands at the end. She wore a necklace that had a gold pendant with wings on it.

“Blue Jay?” he said her name. But she didn’t look. “JAY!” he tried again. Her ears twitched and she looked at him.

“What?” she asked while cupping an ear with her hoof and leaning towards him.

“Anything weird on your path?” he asked.

“Nope,” she simply replied. 

Astral turned to a light grey stallion with a jet black mane, revealing light brown eyes as he pulled his goggles down. He had a burn scar on the left side of his face.

“What about you, Hoxton?”

“Nothing, not even a few bread crumbs,” he said with a shrug. 

Spitfire’s ears turned as she heard the nearby conversation with the scouts. She looked up to see them reporting to Descent, and decided to go join them, scooping up a map from the mail countertop with her wing as she started walking.

“Penumbra?” Astral asked a white mare with a very long, wavy brown mane.

“All I saw were a few birds,” she replied.

Spitfire glanced between Descent and Astral as she waited, but then her eyes went wide when Astral turned to his last scout.

“Talon?” he turned to a… changeling?! It was different than any Spitfire had seen before. It was black with a blue fin crest. All his visible color was blue, as opposed to green. He had dragon-like wings with a couple of holes in the webbing here and there, a large, single sabre tooth sticking out the right side of his mouth, and a finned tail like that of a dragon. It was wearing the Renegade uniform and everything. How in the Equestria had she not noticed a changeling among them? Unless… well… because it was disguised. It was a changeling after all.

“Nothing sir, all clear from start to finish,” Talon answered in a voice that had an interesting, quiet echo effect as if two voices of the same tone were speaking at once.

“And I saw nothing either,” Astral said the moment Talon finished. “No sign of the Shadowbolts or their fortress,” he said directly to Descent.

“Hmmm…” Descent looked down. “That almost worries me more…” he said to himself as he glanced to his right and saw Spitfire, staring towards Talon. “Oh, perfect timing,” Descent reached up and pulled the map out from beneath Spitfire’s wing. “Here,” he handed it to Astral.

“Thanks, this will only take a moment,” Astral nodded and turned back to his scouts as he spread the map out on the floor and they all gathered around it with a black marker. 

“Make it quick,” Descent agreed. “I’m going to set up our supply teams as soon as you finish…” he trailed off and lifted an eyebrow as he glanced back at Spitfire. She was still staring at the group of scouts as they worked on the map, a brief silly scuffle breaking out as two of them bickered over who got to draw the line on the map. “What has you so interested in my scout team?” Descent asked. “This isn’t about Astral’s wings again, is it?” he added with a grunt.

“Uh… no…” Spitfire blinked and shook her head. “Just…” she pointed towards Talon. “Is that a changeling?” she asked. Descent looked over at Talon for all of two seconds before looking back at her.

“Yes,” he answered simply.

Spitfire looked back and forth between the group and Descent, her eyebrow rising a little more each time. Eventually she took a short breath and shrugged.

“Well… okay then.” She really didn’t know what else to say. Descent’s Shadowbolts kept surprising her with their interesting members, but after the short argument over Astral, nothing really surprised her anymore.

After a moment, Astral returned to them with the map in hoof.

“Thanks,” Spitfire nodded as she took the map back, tucked it under her wing, and looked back at Descent. “Okay, get your supply teams moving and I’ll get my patrol teams set up. Keep checking in with me and make sure Blazetail and Flashwind are up to speed as well. I don’t want any mistakes here… let’s see if we can get through something perfectly for once.”

“I’m not going to hold my breath,” Descent said with a scoff.

“Me neither, but it never hurts to hope or try,” Spitfire added. They both nodded and went back about their current business.





“Now get off me,” Silver said grumpily as Dash helped him lower to the ground. She scrunched her face at his comment, letting go an inch before his hooves touched the ground, causing him to grunt and stumble upon landing. He quickly shot Dash a glare, but she returned it with a flat, smug look.

“We’re going to be taking care of you for the next hour or so, so I’d advise you to start dealing with it,” Dash suggested as she stepped over to him and leaned against him for support as they started walking. Silver remained quiet as Dash went from teaching him a small lesson to helping him in seconds. He snorted quietly as they walked but smirked inconspicuously. She had a way of giving him a taste of his own medicine. It didn’t annoy him as much as it made him proud of her.

As the two approached the top tier elite mash-up team and the altered squad Foxtrot, Storm saw them both coming and turned towards Fire Streak.

“Captain Fire!” He called while waving his hoof, drawing Fire’s attention. 

Fire followed Storm’s hoof as he pointed at Dash and Silver approaching. Dash stopped, letting go of Silver next to Matteo as she looked over to see Fire staring directly at her. Fire furrowed his brow and grunted before nodding and waving back at Storm. Without giving Dash another look, Fire turned back to Fleetfoot to continue discussing the upcoming mission.

Dash sighed as she directed her attention back at Silver, who had just slammed Twister to the floor face-first for trying to hug him. Normally she’d find the scene humorous, but she was still being jabbed by what her previous actions had caused. It wasn’t so much the deaths… it had been made clear, and accepted by many that those were not her fault. It was more that she had tested the trust and impression of others she both cared about and respected. Fire was clearly livid at her, as he had every right to be. Misty didn’t seem too happy with her either. She wasn’t sure Spitfire would actually go easy on her later, even if this mission was streamlined and successful. She had too much on her mind to laugh at, much less acknowledge any shenanigans.

She perked up as Storm Front approached her, hesitantly glancing back and forth between her and Fire while looking conflicted.

“R…ready to go?” he asked, trying to make small talk, but it was clear he was uncomfortable with the tension being passed around. Dash sighed, her ears flopping down and her tail flipping from right to left as she sat down.

“Yeah, I guess so…” she said while staring towards Misty Fly and Fire Streak instead of Storm. Storm gritted his teeth and awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.

“Dash…” he started again, pausing. “I… We…” 

“Don’t worry about it,” Dash cut him off, causing him to shut his mouth tight. “Look, I know you’re just trying to help, and I appreciate it, but I deserve this.” She motioned towards Fire. “I punched him in the face for Celestia’s sake… a top tier elite captain. I probably could have gone about it differently, but that was my reflex response to get him off of me. He has every right to be angry with me. I wouldn’t be surprised if others were too.”

“Yeah…” Storm sighed as he looked back at Fire. “Well—” he turned back to try and say something else, but Dash had already gotten up and walked away. Storm blinked, his mouth hanging open mid-sentence, but he decided just to leave her alone.

Dash moved at an angle on a path that was only somewhat towards the group of top tier elites. She was trying to avoid Fire and Misty specifically. She wasn’t sure how Surprise and Lightning felt about what she did, but she didn’t want to test the waters. Instead she looked towards the other top tiers among them. She didn’t share quite a bond with Blaze and High Winds, and Air Mach… forget that. But that left one pony who specifically told her she’d always be there as a friend. That was Fleetfoot.

Fleetfoot was done speaking to Fire. However Dash’s hopes quickly fell. Fleetfoot didn’t look all that happy. Regardless, Dash wanted to know she had at least one of the top tiers she could still talk to. She technically had Silver, but Fleetfoot was more down to earth with her on a friend and age level as opposed to a mentor/apprentice level.

She approached Fleetfoot slowly, examining her body language. She was sitting with her side facing Dash, leaning forward with her shoulders a little hunched. Her ears were flopped against her head and she looked a little frustrated. Dash swallowed as she stopped a few paces from her.

“Hey…” she said very quietly. Fleetfoot’s left ear popped up. She made very little effort as she barely turned and glanced at Dash with a flat, somewhat sullen look.

“Oh… hey…” she said in an annoyed tone. Dash cringed, not quite sure if the tone was directed at her or something else that was bothering her.

“Um…” Dash bit her lip, trying to think of how to follow up, but Fleetfoot only looked away from her and sighed roughly. This wasn’t looking good. Dash was desperately seeking some form of encouragement in the face of how she felt at the moment. If Fleet couldn’t give it to her… “So, uh…” Dash trailed off, but flinched when Fleetfoot suddenly groaned and shook her head.

“Sorry, Dash…” she said as she stood up, she glared towards Dash, but after a quick look at her eyes, Dash realized that Fleetfoot wasn’t focused on her. Dash glanced over her shoulder to see Fleetfoot was glaring at Spitfire. “I’m not really… in the mood to talk right now,” she said with a hiss of air from her nostrils as she turned and moved away.

The shock was brief. It wasn’t often Fleetfoot was in a sharp mood like this, but Dash at least had a little bit of pause at the fact that Fleetfoot was clearly angry at Spitfire, not her. But there went her last chance at having some sort of good natured conversation with the top tiers before takeoff. 

Who was she kidding? All she had to do was look around to get an idea of how everypony was currently feeling. The emotion surrounding the Wonderbolts was not what it usually was. There was a distinct lack of confidence in the air, or at least none of it was showing. The Wonderbolts were being very quiet, completely serious. Some of them didn’t look like anything Dash had come to know them to be. When Surprise was being completely serious and Lightning Streak paying full attention… there was clearly something off.

The death of their comrades… the tensions escalating between commanding officers… not to mention the spotlight that was focused on Dash right now by some. Nopony seemed to be in the mood or have any reason to smile. The carnage was definitely taking a toll on them all, but it really showed how much they needed the help that the Lunar Guard could provide. While there wasn’t much fire in her belly, Dash could see how important this mission was, and how important it was for them to protect Silver so he could sway the bat ponies when they arrived.

With nowhere to find any comfort, Dash knew who she wanted, but… he wasn’t present. She had no idea where Soarin went after Spitfire dropped the unnecessary bombshell on him and everypony else. He ran off in anger and humiliation down the east hallway, but had not emerged. Dash hoped that Little Star was able to find him… because she didn’t want him to be alone at a time like this.

“Ahhhhhh… Rgghhhhhh…” Weak cries and grunts from Luna drew Dash’s eyes over to see Bliss and a hooffull of unicorns all using their magic together to lift Luna up as gently as they could. 

“Hold her steady, move… move…” Bliss gave the order as she and the rest slowly moved Luna towards the east hall and the infirmary. Even with how careful they were being, it looked incredibly painful for Luna, but they had to get her out of the way and to a more comfortable surface so she could rest.

“Alright everypony!” 

Dash flinched, looking back forward as Spitfire approached. Dash quietly yelped and scurried back over to her squad, staying away from the top tiers as Spitfire reached a map out towards Fire Streak.

“Let’s get this underway,” she continued as she and Fire unrolled the map in front of them, the two of them each holding onto one side as Spitfire began showing him the path from their location to where they were meeting the Lunar Guard. 

Dash swallowed, waiting patiently beside Squall as Spitfire explained the path. Squall glanced at her, tipping an eyebrow, but said nothing despite Dash’s less than solid body posture.

“Okay… that’s doable… we just have to follow the canyon and make a quick move over the top… here and… here?” Fire asked while poking his hoof against the map. Spitfire nodded. 

“It’s a little bit of a haul compared to a straight line, but I don’t want to take any chances, understand?” she gave Fire a stern look.

“Yes, ma’am,” Fire agreed dutifully.

“Okay, line up! All of you!” Spitfire yelled as she turned and faced the rest of the top tiers and Foxtrot. Dash flinched, but fell in line, standing attention with the rest as they organized themselves in two lines, the top tiers in front and Foxtrot, with Silver, behind. Spitfire stood before them and looked back and forth. Dash strained herself to keep her eyes forward and not look away as Spitfire’s eyes met hers more than once. “I don’t think I need to stress the importance of this task I’ve given to you,” she began as she paced to her right. “And I DON’T…” she stopped once parallel with Silver. “Need to remind any of you what your exact orders are…” she said as she shot a harsh glare at Silver, which he gave right back. “I know you’re all capable… or else I wouldn’t have trusted this mission to you. That being said… you are all very important to the Wonderbolts, so I want you to exercise caution and BE INTELLIGENT with any situation,” she turned back and paced towards the middle. “Good luck… and come back alive. We’ll be waiting for you.”

“Yes…!” Fire was the only one to respond, but Spitfire had already turned away by before he could finish. Fire held his tongue and blinked as Spitfire walked away into the bustling crowd. “Ma’am…” he finished with a light grunt. 

With Spitfire’s pep talk concluded, Fire Streak turned to address the group, but as he turned, his eyes first landed on Dash.

Dash winced and bit her lip as Fire’s eyes narrowed on her again. She couldn’t stand it. Fire was one of the elites she always felt comfortable and relaxed around. She knew she deserved it, but it was still hard to face. She shifted, backing up as Fire kept his eyes on her, yelping quietly as she bumped into somepony. She glanced over her shoulder to see she had bumped into Silver… but Silver wasn’t looking at her, he was staring at Fire. Dash gulped as she looked between them, Silver’s expression flat and serious as Fire shifted his glare to Silver instead of Dash. They locked eyes for several moments, drawing the attention of the rest of the group. Fire was giving Silver a fierce look, but it completely and utterly failed, bouncing off Silver without any effort from his end. Eventually, Silver simply lifted an eyebrow. Fire gritted his teeth and snorted as he ripped his eyes away and looked around at everypony else.

“Alright, listen up,” he began, a seldom heard tone of annoyance and frustration in his voice. It struck everypony, but they all stood attention to listen regardless. “The elites will fly in a two by two line formation with me and Fleetfoot in the lead. Squad Foxtrot will fly behind in the five pony, plus formation with Matteo in the center carrying Silver. We’re on a tight schedule and…” he paused and looked at the map. “And by the looks of things we’ve a bit of distance to cover, so let’s not waste any more time,” he rolled up the map and tucked it in his wing as he reached up and fixed his goggles to his face. Everypony else was slow to react, glancing about at each other before also fitting their goggles. “Get Silver loaded up! Let’s go!” Fire added harshly as he turned and faced the lobby doors.

“Feh…” Silver grunted. “‘Loaded up…’” he grumbled at the terminology as if he was being treated like a box or parcel, but he gave no resistance or trouble as Matteo crouched down and Dash and Squall moved to help Silver onto his back. Dash looked Silver over carefully as he willingly let them help. That was exactly the problem. He was letting them. It made her a little miffed because she knew he probably didn’t need their help to do so. She wondered if he was faking again to avoid suspicion, but she let it go and just did as she was instructed.

“All set!” Storm Front yelled up to Fire once Silver was resting comfortably on Matteo’s back. Fire glanced back and nodded. 

“Let’s head out onto the deck and get in formation,” Fire ordered as he started moving towards the doors. Everypony followed right behind without question, but not without unease. Dash could see it just as readily as she felt it. Nopony was comfortable with the current situation, not even the elites. She was sure once they got up in the air and focused, all would mostly be well, but it was hard to watch.

As they stepped outside onto the Nimbus platform, the warmer air of the canyons rushed against Dash’s face. It made her fur tingle, adjusting to the warm air after being stuck in the cold, northern mountains for so long. It was warm, but not humid, a light breeze mixing in to give the weather just the right amount of balance to be comfortable. With a clear sky above, there was no reason to worry about surprise attack due to full visibility and clear weather conditions. The canyon walls extended high above them in every direction, the Nimbus resting in the belly of an enormous carved crevice from millenniums of erosion that shaped the rocky canyons throughout the ages. These natural barriers were a boon, and were likely to shield them from sight as they made their way towards where the Lunar Guard awaited.

“Form up for takeoff!” Fire shouted, bringing Dash’s attention back to the moment. She did as she was told, stepping up to take the position in the front of the Plus formation, but she stopped when she and Storm nearly ran right into each other. She blinked, as she stared at him, gritting her teeth as he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. Dash shook her head and waved a hoof, allowing him to take the command position as he had been instructed to. It felt strange, but she resigned herself to her role at the moment, placing herself in the three o’clock position beside Matteo with Squall on the other side and Twister in the back… holding Matteo’s tail in his mouth.

The elites all moved into their spots as well, Fire Streak and Fleetfoot taking their positions in the front, with Misty Fly and Air Mach behind them, Surprise and Lightning Streak in the third position, and Blaze and High Winds bringing up the fourth.

Dash swallowed and waited for the takeoff chant, but Fire gave no such words. He simply spread his wings and took two gallops before pumping his wings and propelling himself into the air. The lack of verbal command startled the rest, Fleetfoot barely reacting in time to keep formation and the rest of the elites breaking ranks for a few moments before quickly correcting the positions after takeoff. Dash and Foxtrot followed right behind, trailing the two by two line of elites as they rose up into the air and began following as Fire navigated them into the canyons.

The mission was a go… but it hardly felt like it was well managed.





“Easy… easy…” Bliss directed the unicorns as they used their magic to carry Luna into the infirmary. “Almost there Luna,” Bliss spoke softly to her as they floated her towards the first two tables, two of the unicorns moving to push them together to host Luna’s larger, alicorn frame. Luna was obviously in pain, but she was sucking it up, possibly feeling that the constant screaming and groaning wasn’t going to help the morale of those around her.

Bliss, however, was convinced there was more to it. Her job was to take care of the Wonderbolts and keep them alive, but she wasn’t oblivious to what was happening around her. It seemed like everypony had their own idea or position on what was going on and what should happen… and all of them were arguing without being clear about it. Then after the fact, they’d all break away and look like they regretted it or wished they had been clearer. Spitfire, Soarin, Luna… and many others, all of them were acting that way. The Renegades, both Wonderbolt and Shadowbolt variants, seemed to have themselves in order for the most part, but the Wonderbolts were slowly falling into shambles. If somepony didn’t speak up soon… Bliss couldn’t begin to wonder what would happen. She began to weigh if she should say something. She cared, obviously, but also because anything that happened out of consequence would likely have her work piled up with those who paid the price. She didn’t want to see that. She was just as scared and unsure about what was going on as the rest of them. She wasn’t out there fighting, but she could see the emotions pouring out from those who had been.

But honestly… something that scared her most was that Silver seemed like the only one keeping his cool… and he was just sent out on a mission because they had no other choice. Knowing Silver, there was a high chance he’d do something rash, and she’d be here later strapping him to a bed again with twice the restraints she had before while taking care of MORE injuries littered all over his slowly breaking body.

“Hm…?” Bliss blinked and perked up as they finally set Luna down. She glanced to her right and down the length of the infirmary. The place was basically empty… There were some injuries among those who were fortunate enough to survive the escape from the Shadowbolts, but with the urgency of the moment, those who were injured were forced back into action. The place was empty except for two.

Little Star was sitting on a bed three from the end wall… And Soarin was pacing back and forth at the end of the infirmary.





Soarin growled and grumbled as he turned, walked, turned, walked, turned, and walked again and again His eyes opening and narrowing over and over as he fumed internally. He was still experiencing some minor headaches, but he barely gave a damn about them because all of his focus was on how much he HATED Spitfire at the moment.

His best friend… She had been there his whole life. He had never questioned her trust, always respected her, and he always felt like she had his back no matter what the circumstances.

That view was being challenged… by none other than Spitfire herself. She had been actively withholding secrets from him, lied to his face, acted like he was a pony beneath her instead of one she treated like an equal regardless of rank for so long, and now on top of it she had just thrown him under the bus by bringing up an off-hoof comment he made while emotionally compromised, sharing it with everypony to make him look like the one at fault.

This was not the Spitfire he knew, trusted, or loved like a sister. It was like that Spitfire never existed.

Now here he was, at a loss towards what to do, pacing back and forth while swearing and snarling to nopony in particular. He didn’t care how it looked. He was pissed and had no other way of venting it.

He took a moment to glance up when he saw Bliss enter the infirmary with Luna in tow, but the sight only made him angrier. He was just as angry at Luna, if not more than he was at Spitfire. He knew Luna had a hoof in Spitfire’s current actions, and while Spitfire was at fault for going along with it, Luna was the instigator. He wished she would just butt out… both her and Discord. He was starting to not give a damn if the two of them had an active role in keeping him alive. If it was at the expense of his free will, and his better judgment then what the hell was he even alive for? It was like they were keeping him on a leash woven by interfering with his friends and turning them against him.

In his opinion, it was time for Luna, Discord, and any other damn ‘immortal’ being to step out of the way and stop intervening… because no matter what they did it only seemed to cause hell, expose them for having poor judgment, and end poorly for everypony around them.

“Hmph?” Soarin grunted as his eyes shifted slightly to his right. They landed on Little Star, who was looking at him, but quickly looked away as she continued to sit nearby.

And seriously… what the hell was Little Star doing there with him? She had been sitting there for at least fifteen or so minutes, he didn’t even know how long at this point. But she had done nothing. Whatever, Soarin just wanted her to go away and leave him alone.

Little Star glanced back at Soarin as he turned away and continued to pace while quietly ranting to himself. Star sighed and pouted. Rainbow Dash told her to go stay by Soarin’s side and keep him company, but what was she supposed to do now? He was angrily walking in circles while cursing and grumbling, shooting her sharp looks every few seconds. 

It looked like he was throwing temper tantrum. He was a lead squad commander, but Star couldn’t tell that with how Soarin was acting. It made him look very childish. She had no idea what was going on, but was this anyway to handle it? Not how a stallion his age should handle a problem at least, it was unbecoming and immature. 

Despite the uncertainty and a little bit of fear towards what kind of response she would get… Star decided it was time to break the silence. If she was going to honor Dash’s request, she felt she would also have to calm him down and get him to relax. So she took a deep breath and slowly exhaled before sliding off the table and trotting to the bed closest to Soarin. He didn’t look down at her, and she doubted he would. So to get eye level with him, she climbed up onto the bed he kept passing beside.

“Commander…” she said the moment she was up and sitting down on the bed’s mattress.

“WHAT?!” Soarin instantly turned and glared at her, yelling so loud that Star’s ears shuddered. She cringed and flinched, freezing in place with wide eyes as sharp breaths hissed through Soarin’s teeth and nose. When she didn’t reply, he growled and whisked his head away, going right back to stomping around.

It took Star a moment… but when she regained her senses, she also found her backbone.

This wasn’t right. A pony like Soarin should not be acting like this and she was determined to make him stop.

“Soarin!” she called his name harshly as he passed by again, putting on the sternest glare she could as he tried to flash his angry eyes at her again. She swallowed, not faltering despite being a little scared of the look she was getting from the large stallion that could more than likely squash her with little effort if he wanted. Soarin clearly expected her to back down again, because when she didn’t and held herself steady, he closed his lips, no longer bearing his teeth. His harsh glare remained, but he lifted an eyebrow.

“What the hell do you want?” Soarin asked, his voice quieter, but still incredibly harsh. Little Star furrowed her brow.

“Rainbow Dash told me to keep an eye on you,” she said without mincing words and going straight to the point. Soarin’s eyes widened, but only for a second before they narrowed right back into a glare.

“Thanks, but no thanks,” he denied as he turned away and prepared to continue his inner rants.

“Too bad,” Star quickly retorted, causing Soarin to freeze and glance back at her. She sat back and crossed her arms over her chest, determined to assert herself and make it clear she wasn’t budging. “Dash told me to stay even if you said no, and that’s what’s I’m going to do.” 

“Go away…” Soarin said in a more hushed tone as he turned away and growled. Star lifted an eyebrow, becoming more and more incredulous by the second that a grown stallion like Soarin could be acting like such a grumpy little colt. She didn’t care what had just happened, she saw all of it. She was unaware of the exact circumstances, but that didn’t matter. Soarin was an influential figure among the Wonderbolts, but he certainly wasn’t acting like it here and now.

“No,” Star replied defiantly. Soarin suddenly turned back to her and slammed a hoof onto the mattress right in front of her, causing her to flinch hard.

“Go the FUCK away and leave me ALONE!” he yelled out, prompting several looks from Bliss and the medical staff near the front of the infirmary. Little Star shivered for a moment, but did not drop her stern gaze. Soarin was intimidating and easily five to six times her size, in every category, height, weight, muscle mass, you name it. But she refused to budge, her loyalty to her squad captain overpowering any attempt by him to scare her off. If anything, the way he was acting was adding fuel to her fire… and this little outburst dumped a whole barrel of gasoline on it.

“Alright buster…” Star suddenly stood up and pressed her face to Soarin’s causing his eyes to widen in surprise. “THAT’S ENOUGH!” she yelled right into face. Soarin was caught so far off-guard by the small mare’s bold move that he couldn’t form a coherent retort, he just continued to slightly open his mouth without anything coming out. Eventually, he forced the shock out of his expression and tried to match the look she was giving him, but she was not having it. Star pulled away and pointed a little hoof at him, pushing it against his nose.

“Don’t you give me that look!” she chastised as Soarin continued to fumble over how to respond to the sudden, unexpected verbal beating.

“What the hell are you—?!” he tried to start, but Star pushed harder against his nose, causing him to wince and lean backwards. “OW!” he yelped as he reached up and rubbed his nose.

“You shut your mouth and listen to me!” Star kept up the attack. “I don’t care if you’re one of the highest ranking officers! I’m doing this for a friend who I respect and believe in, who is out on a mission I wish I was on with her!” she made clear her discontent of her own current situation. “You need to stop stomping around like a little brat and act your age!”

Soarin gritted his teeth and growled.

“Who are you calling a little brat?!” Soarin shot back.

“Nice try, I’m five years older than you!” Star returned fire. Soarin blinked and lifted his brow.

“What does THAT have to do with any—” he flinched as she stepped forward and almost caught him in the nose with her hoof again.

“Rainbow Dash, you know, that mare that you love and who loves you more than anything in Equestria asked me to personally find you and make sure that you are not alone right now… and that's what I’m going to do, whether you like it or not!”

Soarin’s expression softened for a moment, but despite the passion Star expressed and the reasons she cited, Soarin wasn’t sure even Dash would have been able to quell his anger on the issues at the moment. He quickly found himself glaring at her again, but she only shook her head.

“And don’t you think that look is going to work on me, mister! I already get that all the time from a stubborn stallion on my own squad,” she stated while sitting back and crossing her arms again, giving him a firm, angry pout.

“Son of a bitch…” Soarin grumbled as he gritted his teeth and turned around, releasing a heavy sigh as he sat down with his back to Star “Fine… if Dash wanted you here, then stay, just… don’t talk to—”

“What’s bothering you?” Star asked quickly before he could finish.

“I SAID DON’T TALK TO ME!” Soarin lashed out without turning to face her. But his outburst didn’t affect her at all. After several moments of silence, Soarin glanced over his shoulder to see Star had not moved and was still giving him her stern glare. Soarin’s ears flopped down as he looked away, again putting his back to her. He released a long sigh and let his head hang.

What the hell was it with him and mares finding ways to pry stuff from him?

“Do you…” he suddenly spoke up in a quiet tone. Star’s ears stood up and she blinked, listening the moment she heard his shift in tone. “Do you ever feel like others are abusing your trust?” he asked. “Like those you’ve always believed in are no longer being honest with you?”

Star remained quiet for a moment or two, but she swallowed and shook her head, even though he couldn’t see it.

“No, I’ve never felt that way with my squad,” she answered truthfully. Soarin scoffed.

“Well, lucky you…” he commented with a grunt, causing Star to scrunch her face.

“Excuse me for answering the question, jerk,” she shot back while turning to look away from him. She flinched subtly as she heard Soarin shift and turn around sharply, but as she looked back she saw a conflicted look on his face that seemed to keep shifting between angered and disaffected. 

Soarin took a deep breath and released a long, heavy sigh, slowly tipping forward until his chin rested softly on the mattress right beside Little Star. He kept his eyes forward, with her only in his peripheral vision. He blinked as he saw Bliss fretting over Luna, only to suddenly order her staff to once again pick her up and start moving her into the private monitoring room behind her desk at the front of the infirmary. He kept his eyes on Luna for a moment, sighing when Bliss disappeared with her into the back room and shifting his eyes to what he could see of the damaged horn on his head. He released another long sigh as he looked back down at the now emptying infirmary, with Bliss sending most of the unicorns back to work and the others following her into the back room, leaving him and Star alone.

“I haven’t felt in control of my life…” Soarin finally began as Star listened beside him. “Or anything for that matter since I got this damn—” he furrowed his brow as he looked up at the horn again— “Spike… thing… on my forehead. Everything has been going slowly downhill, Luna and Discord continuously assuring me that they know what they are doing and I should simply tuck my tail in between my legs and do everything they say ‘for my own good.’ It’s been annoying and insufferable, and every time something bad happens it feels like they tighten the rope around me tighter. I feel like I’m on the brink of being detained and now, to kick sand in my face, they have Spitfire, my best and most trusted friend, keeping secrets from me and treating me no differently than they have. I can’t take it anymore…” Soarin trailed off for a moment as Little Star continued to just sit and listen to him vent. “Seriously… What’s the point of living through this if all they’re going to do is continuously restrict me further and further until I’m chained to a damn wall or worse?! And in some cases not even tell me WHY?! At this point I almost feel like it would have been better if I just died back in Ponyville… my life has been an oppressed hell ever since.”

Star’s eyes widened when Soarin brought up Ponyville… and dying. She quickly shifted over so she was sitting in front of him, looking down at his head sternly.

“But you and Dash didn’t officially become a thing until after Ponyville, right?” she asked, leaving them in silence for several moments as Soarin simply stared up at her with little expressions. Star released a short, strong breath upward that made the ends of her mane flip up and fall into her face. She reached up and pushed them aside, hooking her mane behind her ear. “That’s what she told me,” she added to subtly telegraph that she was looking for a response. Soarin blinked and exhaled through his nostrils.

“That’s… the one exception I guess…” Soarin said weakly as if he was hardly paying attention.

“One?” Star pressed, trying to take control and get him to talk more in hopes of it relieving his visible stress.

“Stop,” Soarin suddenly slammed his eyes shut. “Just stop it… I’m frustrated right now, okay?” he threw out while shifting his chin on the mattress to look away from her.

“I didn’t notice,” Star said with a pout as she tried to get back into his field of view, but even when she did he closed his eyes to avoid eye contact.

“Really,” he continued with a weak voice. “I don’t want to talk anymore about it or anything else. I’ve already said things I don’t mean. Spitfire had the nerve to repeat one of them loud and clear for everypony else to hear and judge me for it,” he vented despite claiming he didn’t want to talk. “So I’m just going to shut my damn mouth before I say anything else I’m going to regret.”

Star stared down at him as he kept his eyes shut, but she shook her head, shifting so her side was facing him.

“Look, Soarin, I know you didn’t mean it,” she said truthfully. Soarin opened his eyes and blinked as he turned to look at her, but saw that the tables had flipped and now she wasn’t looking at him. She glanced at him briefly, but looked back at the wall once she saw she had his attention. “The thing about not caring about the Wonderbolts and only caring about Dash. I can’t speak for everypony here… but trust me, I know how stallions think. I have four brothers, I’ve been around them long enough to know when one is thinking straight or not.”

Soarin flattened his brow at the last comment.

“I’m not sure if that was supposed to be reassuring or…” he trailed off but Star released a short giggle.

“Oh hush, I meant that I know you were just worried about Dash and reacting. But here… I don’t think I’d limit it to stallions,” she looked back up away from him. “Anypony with a heart will go to extremes to protect those they care about deeply…” she paused and looked back, extending her wing off of her body and looking at the bandages wrapped around it, as well as those still wrapped around her body and her healing magic burns. “Believe me… I’ve done it…”

She glanced back at Soarin to see him also looking at her bandages. She hoped that she was helping. She wasn’t sure how much she could do, but Dash wanted her to help Soarin relax and it seemed like she was at least doing that for him. And now that she had him calm, she decided to try and boost his confidence. She was new to the Wonderbolts, but she understood how important their leadership was.

“Just… clear your head, for us,” she began again, causing Soarin to refocus and make eye contact with her. “We’re all being hit pretty hard here. But it doesn’t matter if I’m worried and fretting about being left behind by my squad again… YOU on the other hoof… are one of our leaders. If I went on rant in the middle of the lobby, nopony would care, and just think I’m weird. But seeing you and Spitfire argue was… hard. Look, I don’t know half of what you’re feeling or what the two of you are going through, but everything is out of control right now. Try to leave your differences for later, okay? We need you.”

Soarin listened carefully, absorbing everything she said. He agreed… nothing she said was wrong… but…

“I wish it were that easy,” he said with a sigh. “I’m not suggesting it should be. This is all too complicated to just push aside… especially with the toll it’s already taken on me and the rest. As is I can barely keep my thoughts straight right now because Dash is out on a mission while I’m stuck here worrying about her and—”

Soarin suddenly stopped, cringing as a sharp pain came out of nowhere and shot through his head like a sharpened arrow. 

“AH!” he grunted, slamming his eyes shut and throwing a hoof to his head. “What the hell?!” Soarin groaned and cringed harder, putting his other hoof up to his head as he sat up straight and began to shake. Little Star’s eyes widened, blinking as she watched Soarin’s sudden erratic movements. 

“Soarin? SOARIN?!” she reached towards him, but hesitated as Soarin lurched backwards, pressing his hooves to his forehead on both sides of the horn. 

“AAAggggrrrrhhhhhh! Aaaahhhhh! GAAAAHHH!!!” Soarin continued to grunt and wail as he tipped over backwards and rolled onto his back. Star’s mouth hung open as she looked towards the front of the infirmary, but Bliss was still in the back room with Luna. She gritted her teeth as she turned back to Soarin and slid to the edge of the mattress.

“Soarin!!! What’s wrong?!” she pleaded. She knew Soarin had weird magic issues, but this was something Dash had always dealt with, not her!

“Hhhhnnnggghhhh!” Soarin continued to grunt and writhe on the floor, eventually forcing himself up and slamming his back against the wall while still holding his head. The horn began to glow bright yellow with several streams of light oozing from the cracks as a yellow aura surrounded it. The horn began to crackle and pop as sparks danced and shot out from the base near the metal headband, bright flashes of yellow light seeping through Soarin’s eyelids. “AAAHHHHH?!” Soarin’s eyes shot open.

His eyes were completely engulfed in a yellow light that shone outward, his hooves fell down from his head, propping him up in a sitting position as he stopped shaking and simply sat still with his jaw agape.

Little Star had no idea what to do. Part of her wanted to run and get Bliss, but the other part of her didn’t want to leave in case something really bad happened to Soarin. But then…

“Wh…what?!” Soarin spoke with a terrified, shaking tone in his voice. 

He could hear something. It sounded like… screaming. 

Screams of pain…

He couldn’t see anything in the blinding brightness of the light emitting from his eyes, but slowly… an image began to form within the light… and the screaming became more coherent. 

Eventually… the scream became recognizable… it was one he had heard… and one that sent shivers down his spine. 

It sounded like Rainbow Dash. 

“N…no…” Soarin’s voice cracked as the faint image within the light became clearer and clearer. “No!” he said louder as the image slowly turned into one of Rainbow Dash, her face completely wrought with fear. Soarin began to reach a hoof up… but he gasped as a light blue hoof with a Shadowbolt sleeve struck her right in the face and sent her backwards through the air. “NO!” He yelled reaching his hoof up higher as the image of Dash cried out in pain and began falling, tumbling downward.





Dash hit the ground painfully crashing, bouncing, and rolling to a stop. 

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!” Soarin yelled out as the light blue hoof came within inches of smashing Dash’s head into the ground, but the light exploded outward from his eyes. “AHHHH!!!!!!” he cried out as the light from both his eyes and horn flashed brightly, before disappearing completely. Soarin kept his neck arched, looking directly upward for a few moments with wide eyes and body shaking. “Ah…” he tipped forward, barely catching himself on his hooves as he began to sputter and pant heavily, sweat pouring down his brow and dripping onto the floor. He looked up in shock, not even noticing Little Star staring at him in complete horror.

After remaining frozen for several seconds, Soarin quickly shook his head out and stood up fast. 

“DASH!” he yelled, his breathing becoming heavier. “Dash is in danger!”

“What?!” Star finally reacted as Soarin started moving. “Wait! Soarin! What about Dash?!”

“She’s going to get killed! I have to tell Spitfire and—!”

Soarin stopped after taking no more than three steps from Little Star. He blinked and looked down as he thought about what he had just said.

‘Have to tell Spitfire…?’ 

That would be the usual course of action but… after all the crap she had just put him through and where the two of them currently stood with each other… would she believe him? Or even listen to him? Because of their last exchange and his strong stance on wanting to fly out with Dash… there was no question she was going to assume he was making it up. There was no point in reasoning with Spitfire right now. She knew of his ‘premonitions’ but after the shitshow in the lobby… she was not going to hear him out, he was sure of it, and…

He didn’t have time to go and argue with her, especially with Dash on the line.

Screw it… Screw it all…

He was going to do this himself. He had no choice.

“Soarin!” Star tried to get his attention again… but then out of nowhere, Soarin whipped around grabbed Little Star, picked her right up off the floor, forced her onto the medical bed, and pushed her all the way across the mattress, pressing her to the wall behind it roughly. “EEE-MPRH!” she shrieked, but was muffled as Soarin forcefully pressed a hoof over her mouth. As she stared at him in pure terror, but Soarin wasn’t even looking at her.

He was staring down towards the back room, where Bliss had still not emerged. The private monitoring room was soundproofed, so he was certain Bliss had heard none of his yelling, or Star’s shriek just now. Confident that Star was the only witness, he turned his focus to her and glared at her. But it was different than the angry glare he was giving her before. This one was filled with incredible seriousness and intensity that completely crushed her by the second as she stared into it.

“Now you listen to me… RECRUIT!” Soarin began in a low, harsh, intimidating tone that caused Star’s eyes to widen as she remained silenced, Soarin’s eyes looking right through her. “I’m going after the group Dash was sent out with. I’m going to save her…”

“MMMMRPH?!” Star’s pupils shrank as Soarin told her what he was going to do, but she couldn’t protest. Soarin’s strength had her completely pinned and despite her little hooves yanking on his arm, she couldn’t remove his hoof from her mouth. The Soarin she was just talking too was completely gone. Whatever just happened to him had to do with Dash, and whatever he apparently saw or knew had completely taken him over.

“Spitfire isn’t going to believe me, so I have to do it myself…. And YOU…” Star squeaked as Soarin pressed against her harder, a dim yellow glow starting to appear in his eyes and from the cracks of the horn. “You are not going to say a DAMN thing to her about it… UNDERSTAND?!” he yelled as streams of yellow light began rising from his eyes.

Star’s eyes widened to their limit as she stared at the magical reactions to Soarin’s anger, not to mention he was threatening her now too. She was so terrified that she couldn’t even muster a squeak as a response.

“Because the moment you do…” Soarin continued. “She’s going to try and stop me. Spitfire isn’t being reasonable right now, and after what I said, I doubt many of the Wonderbolts are going to be on my side about this either… they will fly out and likely stop me. SO…” he inched his face closer, gritting his teeth and blowing loud puffs of air out of his nostrils, the streams of light from his eyes growing larger. “KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!” he snapped.

Star still couldn’t reply, small tears squeaking out of the corners of her eyes as her heart beat faster and faster.

“AND IF YOU DON’T… I will make sure you REGRET IT!” Soarin threatened further. “If Dash dies… I will die. And trust me, if I’m brought back by Spitfire and the rest, I will be sure to make good on that BEFORE I die with her!”

All Star could muster was a single, quiet, helpless wail in response, shaking as Soarin finally let go of her and let her slump back against the wall and bed. She just stared at Soarin, breathing heavily and a tear dripping down her cheek from her wide eyes as she was finally free from his tremendous strength.

Soarin didn’t even give her another glance, convinced that he had made his intentions very clear to her. He looked to make sure there was still no sign of Bliss, the glow in his eyes fading, but the glare most certainly not. With the cost clear, he turned and galloped towards the front. 

In seconds, he was gone, leaving Little Star, shaking, scared, and alone.

She was terrified and stricken… but her head was filled with a deluge of fearful thoughts, mainly on everything Soarin had just said and threatened her with. Her brain was screaming for her to get up and find Spitfire, but if she did… 

She knew of the connection between Soarin and Dash. If Spitfire stopped Soarin and he didn’t get out there to save Dash… would Dash die? And then Soarin would die too? If she decided to tell Spitfire and she brought Soarin back… was he really going to… hurt her? And then die on top of it if he was right? There were so many scenarios running through her head right now and it didn’t help that she was scared to death!

She had to do something… but what could she do?! Was there anything she could do without dire consequences? And was any choice the right one?!

She slumped down onto her back as a tear finally dripped off her face and plopped to the mattress. She stared straight up at the ceiling feeling like there was absolutely nothing she could do. Soarin had left her completely powerless…





Dash remained in formation beside Matteo as Fire Streak and Fleetfoot led the team on a steady, but speedy pace through the canyons. As they grew further and further away from the Nimbus, the canyon depth and width shrank, giving them perfect, condensed cover to move discreetly and inconspicuously. Fire had his eyes shifting between the map and in front of him as he navigated, directing the team in the right direction every fork and corner of the way.

From what Dash had gathered as they flew, they were taking a very winding path, one that would have taken much less time to traverse had they had just flown up and out over the canyons in a straight line. They had been flying for at least twenty minutes and she wasn’t sure just how much progress they had made, but for the sake of their safety and more importantly Silver’s, she was okay with this approach.

Foxtrot followed behind the two-by-two line of elites as they approached a fork where the canyon split into three much narrower paths.

“Hold!” Fire Streak ordered as he held up a hoof. They slowed down, remaining in formation as they hovered. Fire looked over the map carefully as he glanced up at the three paths. They waited patiently as Fire blinked, furrowing his brow as he turned the map over. Everypony saw it, and hoped he hadn’t been holding it upside down, but then he put it back upright.

“Bro… we lost?” Lightning Streak spoke up.

“Shut it!” Fire Streak snapped at him, causing Fleetfoot, and Air Mach to edge away from him. 

“Yikes…” Lightning Streak furrowed his brow and hovered forward, pushing his way past Misty Fly and placing himself in front of Fire. “Bro, chill out, I was just—”

“I suggest you follow my orders,” Fire cut him off, shooting Lightning a glare. 

“Okay, hold on a second,” Lightning Streak held out his hooves, visibly angry. “What crawled up your ass and laid a dozen eggs? I didn’t do shit to you, why are you getting all sharp with me?”

“Brother, don’t make me say it again!”

“Guys…” Surprise scooted herself up and tried to get between them, but Lightning Streak pushed her out of the way.

“I ain’t challenging you, bro!” he said while glaring. “Quit being a stiff ass!”

Dash bit her lip as she saw the Streak twins getting testy with each other.

This was wrong… it felt so wrong. Everything was so off balance, everypony was so out of whack. 

She looked towards Fleetfoot, who kept inching forward, but backing off with a hesitant expression. Despite Fire being in charge of the mission, Fleetfoot was technically the highest ranking Wonderbolt present. But it seemed like she was hesitant or unwilling to take control of the situation.

In the end she didn’t have to though, because Misty Fly pushed forward and immediate shoved the twins apart before Lightning could grab Fire by the suit. She shot both of them a very stern glare that they both absorbed and eased up. Lightning snorted as he turned away and went back to his spot in the formation, Blaze and High Winds both shifting backwards as he drew near them again. Fire went back to looking at the map, but he was quickly grabbed by the shoulder by Misty, who forced him to look at her. 

Fire flattened his brow as Misty continued to glare at him. The two of them didn’t exchange any sign language, but Misty didn’t need to voice her disapproval with how they were acting. Fire snorted and looked back down at the map, prompting Misty to blink and glare harder, but Fleetfoot finally came forward and pulled Misty back. Misty shifted her eyes to her, but Fleetfoot wasn’t trying to assert her will. She wore an expression of unease.

Misty looked Fleetfoot over, quickly reading her face and body language. Misty released a sharp sigh, tapping a hoof to Fleetfoot’s calmly before returning to her spot in the formation beside Air Mach. Air Mach was dead silent, his usual bravado nowhere to be seen. Not even his reckless carefree attitude could break through the weight of the emotions getting the better of all of them. Blaze and High Winds were surprisingly quiet as well. Not so much High Winds as Blaze, who was probably the most vocal Wonderbolt on the whole force. The two of them seemed to be focused on the grumbling Lightning Streak, as if he might turn and lash at them if they said anything at all.

“Hmph…” a grunt came from beside Dash. She looked towards Matteo, specifically to Silver on his back. Silver was scowling towards the elites, but it wasn’t in a way that matched the air around them. Silver looked… angrily disappointed. And if Dash had to guess, it was at the way they were all acting. Silver had trained all of them, save for Misty, and had molded them into the Wonderbolts they were today. Seeing them get sharp with each other and argue in the middle of a mission was clearly putting him off. No doubt the fact that Misty got involved was also making him angry. Of anypony here, Dash expected Misty would be more in control, being more of a veteran like Silver. Dash was surprised Silver hadn’t spoken up yet… he was probably going to if the elites kept it up.

In the moment, with her attention on Silver, she shifted over to him.

“How are you doing?” she asked. Silver didn’t look at her, he just grunted again.

“I’m fine, like I said the first two times,” he replied flatly. Dash pouted at him in return, but she had no time to say anything else.

“Oh…” Fire finally perked up. “I was looking at a fork we already passed…” he said out loud as he pointed to the right. “That way…”

He pumped his wings, the rest following behind as he led them down the right canyon path, but said path led them right to a dead end. They came to a stop again, but before anypony could say anything, Fire pointed up. 

“We have to scale this cliff and dive into another canyon that starts about… a quarter of a mile after,” he explained as he folded up the map. “Let’s be quick about this. The moment we are over the top, we will be exposed. Stay as close to the ground as possible and fly quickly until we reach the next canyon.” He looked back and saw nopony protesting, despite a few less than enthusiastic looks he was getting. He brushed them off and faced forward. “Let’s go!”

Dash pushed aside her thoughts and focused as the elites pitched up. She pumped her wings, keeping up with her squad’s formation as they followed behind. They rose quickly, streaming up along the canyon wall and neared the top. 

“GO! GO!” Fire yelled as he and Fleetfoot shot over the top and pitched down hard, flattening themselves out as everypony else followed. 

“Hrgh!” Dash grunted as she and the rest of her squad evened out. It wasn’t as clean of a shift as the elites, but she leveled out, Storm, and Squall quickly getting back in formation with Matteo taking slightly longer, probably due to having extra weight on his back… and Twister who wasn’t actually flying, just hanging onto Matteo’s tail with his mouth while flailing in the wind behind him. Dash quickly had to refocus on flying straight, because she was still instinctively shifting. She was not used to flying in a secondary position in these formations. Three times now, during a sharp maneuver, she had almost realigned to the front spot and just narrowly avoided colliding with Storm.

After some minor adjustments, Dash stayed on course, zipping along the rocky desert ground in the open air behind the elites as the forged ahead towards the next canyon. They pitched and swayed as they avoided rocks and a cactus or two, otherwise staying as close to the ground as possible and flying as fast as they could, the warm air splashing against Dash’s face as they moved. It was hard to keep up with the elites, but they were clearly maintaining a reasonable increased speed. Otherwise Fleetfoot would have left all of them in dust by now.

As they kept moving at the faster pace, Dash took a quick moment to check on her squadmates. She already knew Twister was being a doofus. Matteo didn’t seem to care Twister was dangling off of his tail, or probably didn’t even bother to protest. Storm was simply leading as he was ordered… but as she rose up slightly to look over Matteo, she scrunched her mouth. Squall was glaring at Storm. This was the third time she had caught him doing so. She appreciated Squall’s preference that Dash be leading, but she knew it also had to do a little with the fact that he and Storm still were a bit at odds and she was SURE it was more about Storm being in command than her not being in command.

Despite his scowling however, Squall was doing as SHE had told him and following Storm. Squall would stay true to her orders and follow Storm’s, at least she hoped.

She faced forward and kept flying, keeping her eyes on High Wind’s hooves as they shot along the ground and drew near the next canyon opening, but since they were still above in the open air, Dash took in their surroundings.

But there wasn’t much to take in…

It was the rocky desert, plain and simple. She knew Appleloosa was somewhere in this barren landscape, but every time she had flown over this rocky desert, she was way up high in the sky where the air was much cooler. She couldn’t find her bearings at all with them gliding right along the ground. Doing so got rid of the cool view of the canyons below, but they weren’t here to sightsee. From this level she couldn’t see much aside from rocky formations here and there and some cliffs in the distance. 

Nothing to see at all… and very… peaceful despite the urgent nature of their flying.

It was a little eerie to her, and it made her uneasy.

Thus far they had encountered no resistance what so ever and had seen no sign of the Shadowbolts. She wasn’t complaining, but it seemed strange that they had to take no special measures yet. It was a clean flight in a scenario that had been deemed dangerous enough to send out nearly all of the elites.

She struck the possibility from her thoughts as they shot out over the new canyon, Fire dipping down and leading the whole team in a sharp descent between the cliff walls. It was a bit wider than the ones they had been mostly traversing so far, giving them more comfortable space to maneuver as Fire put his eyes to the map again and started leading them through.

“Whoa!” Fire suddenly yelped as he looked up from the map and put up his hoof. “Reduce speed! Reduce speed!” he ordered, the whole group slowing down. “We’ve a complicated path ahead of us for the next mile or so, let’s take this slow, I don’t want anypony crashing into cliffsides,” he gave his reasoning as he began moving forward at a much slower pace with the rest following suit. “Somepony keep an eye up just in case,” he added.

Dash looked up and gulped. Again… clear, blue sky, peaceful, not a sound… not even a mouse or something… anything. Nothing but the quiet whispers of gusts as they all beat their wings and the occasional echo created by Fire giving orders or by a pebble or rock tumbling down from above.

“Fire…” Fleetfoot suddenly spoke up, catching Dash’s attention. She looked to the front as Fire navigated to see Fleetfoot looking around. “I don’t like this…”

“Don’t like what?” Fire asked, rather flatly without looking towards her.

“It’s been way too quiet,” Fleetfoot explained, speaking Dash’s own unease as she looked up towards the mouth of the canyon crevice above them. “I thought by now we’d at least, you know, SEE something we’d have to avoid.”

“Perhaps we’re just lucky,” Fire continued to converse with a tone of disinterest. Fleetfoot pouted and her ears folded back as she glared at Fire.

“Fire, I’m being SERIOUS. I’ve seen enough weird shit over the past months to know anything could happen at any time…” she said, but Fire continued to pay little mind.

“No doubt,” Fire again gave little response.

“Ugh, god… forget it… ass…” Fleetfoot grumbled as Fire continued to dismiss her.

Dash bit her lip and cringed for the hundredth time, once again feeling that she had some responsibility in causing the testy mood passing between the Wonderbolts. She kept telling herself it wasn’t her fault but the feeling was never fully shaken. Wanting to take her mind off of it, she glanced at Silver, shifting her flight path up a little to get level with him.

“How are you doing?” she asked… again.

“For crap’s sake, Dash… Stop asking,” Silver sharply replied while shooting her a flat look. Dash blinked, but returned the look with a glare. 

“Hey, I’m JUST keeping tabs on you, okay? It’s kind of what I was told to do,” she argued her case. Silver sighed and shook his head.

“Stop worrying about me. I already told you, I’m following Spitfire’s orders as long as the orders are within reasonable circumstances. Nothing is happening, so I’m not doing anything till I need to,” he made clear.

“Just…” Dash sighed as she rolled her eyes. “Just don’t do anything—”

“Quiet down back there!” Fire suddenly yelled back at them, causing Dash to flinch and look to the front, catching Fire’s eyes as he glared at them through his goggles over his shoulder.

“Okay, that does it…” Silver growled. “HEY!” he yelled forward, causing everypony to look at him. He leaned to look around Matteo’s head and pointed a hoof towards Fire. “Pull the vibrating, twelve-yard, metal pole out of your ass already!”

Fire stopped mid-flight, causing a few yelps and light collisions as the whole group came to an abrupt halt. Fire turned around, hovering in place as he glared at Silver.

“EXCUSE ME?!” he shot back, but Silver didn’t even flinch.

“You heard me, you cream colored, whipped, pantyhose and girdle set wearing pussy! I’ll talk if I damn well please!” Silver unleashed on Fire. Fire Streak gritted his teeth and growled as the rest of the Wonderbolts backed away, clearing the path between the two of them. Fire flew forward slowly, pointing a hoof harshly at Silver.

“Silver…Spitfire put me in command here, so I suggest you do as I say!” Fire snapped, but Silver only rolled his eyes and scoffed. 

“HA! Ohhhhhhh, I am SHAKING in my suit right now!” he fired back. “You scare me about as much as a tempest in a teacup! How about you just keep sucking Spitfire’s teat and quit acting like you’ve got a pair of coconut sized jingle bells clanging between your legs! You sure aren’t convincing ME, son!”

Fire’s ears folded back and he narrowed his eyes further… but he didn’t say anything. Was there really any way he could top that? Not likely. His ears shot back up as a few snickers escaped the surrounding Wonderbolts. He turned his head around quickly, anypony that was failing to hold in laughs quickly suppressing them. Fire released a snort, conceding defeat.

“Fine… whatever…” he gave in.

“That’s right, now quit trying to be a hard ass and keep navigating,” Silver ordered while pointing forward. 

Without another word, Fire turned around and slowly flew back to the front. Everypony else in awe of how easily Silver completely asserted himself over Fire in seconds. 

“Come on! Back in formation! Let’s go!” Fire yelled, a tone of frustration very clear as he shoved his nose back into the map.

Dash returned her focus to Silver as they started moving again.

“Silver…” she began while still trying to suppress a giggle or two. “That was… a bit much, don’t you think?” she asked, much quieter. It was hilarious, as Silver usually was, but she wanted to stay serious for the mission.

“I don’t care if he’s in command,” Silver replied with a similar hushed tone to keep the conversation between them. “I’m not gonna let somepony I trained suddenly give me shit and push me around. If he thinks he can be the boss of ME when he ranks below me in the grander scheme of things, he’s got another thing coming,” Silver stated firmly. “But…” he sighed in frustration. “That aside… Fire is not acting like himself, not even in the slightest. I’ve never seen his composure crumble like this. It’s not just him either, everypony needs to suck it up, focus, and put personal matters and feelings aside before something goes wrong.”

Dash blinked, looking back up at Fire for a moment before glancing back at Silver with a flattened brow.

“I don’t think what you just did helped that any…” she said while lifting an eyebrow.

“Too bad,” Silver scoffed. “He picked the fight. If he didn’t want to get punched in the mouth, he shouldn’t have given me any lip.”

“Heh…” Dash had to smile at that. Silver would always be Silver, no matter how much anypony tried to restrict him… but she wanted to move on from a subject that was causing her to worry. So she decided to ask something that had been on her mind almost as much as what the P.L. stood for in the Lunar Guard Captain’s name. “So… you said the captain of the Lunar Guard owes you a favor…” she paused as Fire led them around a few quick bends and turns. She pulled back up beside Matteo and up to Silver as soon as she could. “What did you do for him?”

“Saved his life a few times. Not as much as Blizzard did, but I did a few times as well,” Silver said, but quickly. Dash tipped her head curiously.

“If you ask me, it seems like he needs to be saved a lot…”

“Feh… don’t let that fool you,” Silver said while rolling his eyes. “P.L. is an incredibly ferocious, bat-shit insane fighter.”

“I see what you did there,” Dash said with a smirk as Silver continued.

“I’d say he’s almost as skilled as Spitfire actually, definitely as strong as Soarin. The only difference is that P.L. is a dumbass and tends to get himself into situations he can’t win… all the time. He has poor judgment when it comes to taking on more than he can chew, but sometimes I swear the bastard does it on purpose,” Silver said with a brief chuckle. “The first time I saved him was early in the last Griffon-Drake War during the battle of Talon Peak. Talon Peak is the tallest mountain within the Sky Skimmer mountain range west of the Griffon Kingdom. The drakes launched a surprise attack at night when a detachment of the Wonderbolts and Lunar Guard were trying to reason with several Sky Wings captains stationed at the Il Corvo, their fortress on the peak. We were in the middle of convincing them we were there to help and not try to push a personal agenda before we were attacked. Shocker, the griffons didn’t like or trust us… isn’t that right Fat Beak?” Silver snickered while giving Matteo’s shoulder a rough pat on the shoulder.

“What?” Matteo blinked and looked over his shoulder. “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Forget it, keep flying,” Silver shook his head and pointed forward before turning his focus back to Dash. “Anyway, P.L. decided it would be a good idea to dive headlong into the center of the drake formation as they came around for their second pass… needless to say, he was knocked around and surrounded, seconds away from being completely mauled and burned by their claws and fire breath. If I didn’t happen to be passing by and hadn’t, in with my quick, spry, younger reflexes, thrown a volley of lightning his way, he would have been toast, no doubt. He thanked me later and said he owed me… but only because Blizzard forced him to say so. He’ll stay true to his word though, he won’t say no to me.”

Dash thought over everything he said. She heard all of it loud and clear, but something he said near the start played back… making her sigh.

“What?” Silver lifted his brow. “Hard to believe I used to be young and spry?”

“What? No…” Dash snorted. “Stop it… I was just… you mentioned Spitfire and…” Dash trailed off and looked away, not sure where to go with it.

“She’s being stupid, I know,” Silver finished for her, causing Dash’s eyes to widen as she looked back up at him. “Look, Dash, I’m not her, I’m not in her head, I don’t know what’s going on or what’s pushing her to act the way she is, but Spitfire is mishandling herself and her authority and the only conclusion I can come to is that the pressure is causing her to bend. It would be easy for me to say she needs to step down or be relieved… but from what I’m seeing right now, nopony is currently fit to take her place. I got a good look at all of the Wonderbolts before we left and I could barely recognize any of them,” Silver shook his head. “I’ve already made it clear I have no intention of taking command of the Wonderbolts. It’s not my time, my generation, or my system. If you ask me…” he looked back forward at all of the elites. “This is something they have to go through and have to experience. This is a crisis situation. With the exception of Misty Fly and I, the current Wonderbolt force has never faced a crisis situation before where we’re the weaker party. We’ve handled more than one situation, but this is the first for them with the odds stacked against. None of them were ever involved in the Griffon-Drake War… few of them know what it’s like when death could be lurking around the corner, few of them understand how to dictate themselves when there’s no advantage to be seen… and it shows, let me tell you. Emotions are coming out, ponies who I’ve never seen get frustrated with each other are arguing… and the focus is completely off.”

Silver paused and looked towards Dash again.

“If you ask me… the next few days… hell, maybe even the next few hours will put this generation to the ultimate test. If we can get back on track, we will see who is truly ready to be a Wonderbolt… and who has to rethink their approach to wearing this uniform and what it represents… that goes for Spitfire just as much as the rest of them. However…”

Silver grunted and furrowed his brow.

“Spitfire is going to have to take a good look at herself and ask whether or not she is making the best choices. Right now, from what I’ve seen and from how I’ve come to understand her… it feels like something is heavily influencing her approach and her orders. It’s as if she’s following a set of rules and ideas she doesn’t completely believe in. In doing so, it’s making her look incredibly delusional and hypocritical, at least to me. I mean, come on… she nearly loses her mind and makes a split decision to take off because of Wave Chill… and then later puts down Soarin in a similar impulsive manner for wanting to act for your sake? To top it off, she had no right to use an off-hoofed remark he made against him. I was ready to pull my mane out while watching her.”

“Then why didn’t you say anything?” Dash asked as he paused.

“I didn’t have the presence of mind as it was happening,” he admitted while shaking his head. “Plus you held me back and told me to shut up so…” he slowly rolled his eyes towards her, earning a flat look in return. “I’m kidding,” he said waving a hoof in her direction. “Anyway, it all smells to me and my best guess would be that Luna… and maybe even that slimy bastard, Discord, have something to do with the way she’s commanding and making her choices. I don’t know if they threatened her or if they convinced her of some bullshit that they believe is right… but it wouldn’t be the first time… and Spitfire needs to ignore them. She can’t simply succumb to the will of these self-proclaimed ‘gods’ who have worse judgment than an alcoholic locked in a wine cellar. I really can’t see why else she’d be so backwards in her thinking with Soarin or even consider listening to Luna about leaving her behind. Yeah I know I just criticized her, but that doesn’t discount her from being a symbol that all of Equestria looks to. As a leader, her life and safety are non-negotiable no matter what, even if she tells us otherwise. If Spitfire is really being advised or in some cases manipulated by the ‘higher beings…’ then she’s going to have to look at our own code and rethink her actions. Questioning those with higher authority when they are making poor judgments does not stop at the lead captain. She too has to be capable of doing so. If she can fight back and think for herself… showing confidence in her own choices and fully restore her strength of command, the confidence of the Wonderbolts will follow.”

Silver looked forward staring at the elites as Dash did the same, her ears flopping down as she looked them all over.

Restore strength of command… 

Show confidence and the confidence of others would follow.

By far the best advice one could give in a moment like this… Dash began to wonder why Silver wasn’t taking control of things himself. He was literally the only pony with his head on straight right now. But… She knew Silver. He didn’t make choices without thinking them through. If he wasn’t stepping in, then he was confident he didn’t need to… and that Spitfire and the rest would eventually realize what they were doing. But would they all be able to without a little nudge of some kind?

She perked up as they reached the edge of the canyon corridor and flew out into a much, much wider open canyon. It was similar to the area the Nimbus was sitting in back where they started with a lot of open space and lots of smaller cliffs and rock formations riddled around it. It almost reminded Dash of a large, deep, but empty lake.

“Stay low!” Fire Streak yelled from the front as they hugged the ground and kept gliding along, weaving in and out of the obstacles littered about.

Dash followed orders along with the rest, continuing on as she kept thinking over Silver’s words.

“I hope that—” Dash began but she stopped as something up in the sky caught her eye. She blinked and looked up. She was certain she saw something… she looked back and forth around the sky above them. 

Suddenly, in the distance, her eyes spotted something… it looked like a… a pegasus…? 

But before she could think any further or point it out, she gasped as she saw a flash of pink light erupt from it.

“AH!” she yelled out. Catching the attention of everypony as they looked over their shoulder at her… everypony except for Air Mach, who instinctively looked up when he heard Dash shout.

“YO! INCOMING!” he yelled out as he pointed to the sky. Everypony looked up in time to see a burst wave of magic streaming towards them… the signature move of one of the Shadowbolt commanders.

“EVADE!” Fire yelled out with not time to give any specific movement directions. As a result, the Wonderbolts scattered, breaking off in random directions, one or two bumping into each other as they avoided. The burst wave shot down between all of them, colliding with ground near them, the ensuing impact blowing them all backwards with a searing shockwave. 

“RGH!” Dash grunted as she hit the ground and tumbled. She flailed, regaining control of her hooves and slamming them against the ground to propel herself back up and catch the air with her wings. She looked around to see the Wonderbolts all finding their balance. She immediately looked for Matteo, relieved to find he had held himself steady and Silver was still hanging on. Twister had been whipped from his tail though and was sent flying, spiraling in an erratic path before falling behind a large rock nearby and a massive, fake explosion erupting from behind him as he crashed, the smoke forming the word ‘BOOM’ as it rose up.

Dash just scrunched her face and rolled her eyes before refocusing and looking up with the rest of them, however… whoever was in the sky was gone. 

“WHOA!” Fleetfoot yelped. “OVER THERE!” she yelled, pointing down nearby. Something was jumping from cover to cover, whisking by so fast that it was just a purple blur. 

Suddenly, as the figure disappeared behind a rock, a volley of erratic spheres popped up and flew in random directions before aiming towards them.

“It’s Shadow and Ruin!” Fleetfoot yelled, recognizing the two attacks that had been used on them. The Wonderbolts pumped their wings, forced to remain disorganized as they dodged the crazy spheres hurling towards them. 

“AH!”

“GRH!”

“OW!”

Yelps and grunts rang out as several of the spheres ended up hitting their mark, and those that missed shot by, colliding with nearby cliff sides or rock formations, breaking off chunks that rained down from above.

“Dammit!” Dash yelled out as she and Squall flew side by side. Squall was struck in the back by a small rock, forcing him into a tumble. Dash glanced down at him, but was forced to refocus as she was almost hit in the face by another sphere. She spun out of the way, but her eyes widened as something came streaking towards her from the right. She didn’t have time to turn her head, but she saw two pink blades of magic swinging at her. She grunted and twisted, barely shifting aside as the swords slashed at her. She lost control, doing a flip before forcing her wings out and looking towards her attacker, but they were moving so fast that she never got a clear view and barely saw them as they disappeared behind another rock. “Blade too!” she yelled to the rest.

“GO! GO AFTER THEM!” Fire yelled as Dash zipped up and got into formation beside Fire Streak and Lightning Streak. She kept her eyes on them, copying their mirrored flying technique to move in tandem and shoot towards the rock the attacker had just hidden behind… but as they approached, there was a bright flash and three purple streaks shot out in different directions. “BREAK!” Fire yelled as the three of them broke formation and chased after each one. But each of them suddenly sped up and moved way out of range before either of the Streak twins or Dash could get a beat on them. They watched in shock, the Shadowbolts never showing such speed before. They had yet to even get a clear view of any of them!

“AH! HELP!” Blaze suddenly yelled from nearby. Dash looked, but was also suddenly pulled out of her flight path by some sort of vacuum effect. She looked over to see Blaze, High Winds, and Air Mach all holding on as a bright glow shone from behind a rock formation, pulling them all in.

“Void! Come out and fight like a stallion, you overgrown son of a bitch!” Air Mach yelled as his hooves grasped the ground and slid.

“Hold on!” Storm front yelled as he shot down from above and grabbed Dash, helping her straighten out. “Dash! Fly around and double deck him! I’ll hit him high! You hit him low!” he ordered. Dash quickly nodded as they flew against the Vacuum Wave. 

“Roger!” Dash yelled as the pushed off each other, straining themselves against the force of the magic. They came around and readied to fly in strong arcs behind the jutting rock formation, but right before they could, the wave faded and a pink flash shone out, FOUR different streaks shooting out from behind it.

“What the hell?!” Storm yelled out as he and Dash looked at the four shooting away from them.

“We have to stop them! We have to gain an advantage!” Fire Streak yelled as he flew by, Dash and Strom pumped their wings to follow behind him, Fleetfoot forming up beside Fire.

“How?!” Fleetfoot asked while throwing her hooves out. She looked down to see multiple blurs shooting to and fro, jumping from cover to cover at an insane pace. It was so hard to keep track of them her eyes almost crossed trying. “I can’t even keep track of them! They’re moving too fast and keeping us off balance!”

“WHOA SHIT!”

“EEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!” 

Lightning Streak and Surprise yelled out followed by a nearby BOOM. Fire, Fleetfoot, Dash and Storm all turned their heads and gasped as they saw the two members of Squad Three barely in control of their flight. Three of the purple blurs were dancing around them, bright pink glows around where there arms would be that struck the surrounding cliff sides and rocks. Lightning Streak grabbed Surprise, pulled her into his body, and turned his back to the falling debris that broke off and rained down upon them.

“GAH! AH!” Lightning Streak grunted as the smaller rocks hit him first, but the larger ones on their way were sure to hurt. At the last moment, Misty Fly shot in from the side, ramming herself into Lightning, pushing all three of them out of the way. But they crashed to the ground as a result, grunting painfully as they tumbled and kicked up dust.

“That’s Sin’s magic!” Dash yelled. “But…” her eyes darted back and forth, noticing that three were using his technique? Were they clones? She thought the clones couldn’t use the signature techniques!

“We can’t keep this up!” Silver’s voice caught their attention as Matteo flew down beside Dash with Squall formed up beside him. “We have to pinpoint them and strike back!” he yelled towards Fire.

“I’m open to suggestions!” Fire yelled. “We’re already trying!”

“Above us!” Dash yelled out as she pointed skyward again, one of the blurs shooting high up overhead…

But it stopped when it was directly over the top of them, far enough away for them to not quite see which Shadowbolt it was. The rest of the blurs bounced around, disappearing around corners and behind rocks as if clearing the area.

A bright pink glow surrounded the pegasus above them, and based on what happened before, Dash assumed it was Shadow.

“It’s Shadow!” Dash yelled.

“Evade!” Fire yelled, frantically repeating his order from last time.

But when the pegasus unleashed their attack… they were not met with Shadow’s Burst Wave.

Instead an enormous volley of tiny pin-like blasts rained down in a wide arc?!

“Huh?!” Dash blinked, everypony else also looking up in surprise as the different attack came raining down. They had evaded… but they were expecting the constant pillar like stream of the Burst Wave.

Instead, they were all forced to shield themselves, Silver included as the tiny blasts rained down, crackling, popping, and bursting against them.

“OW! OW! OW!” Dash yelped along with the rest as they struggled to keep their flight, their wings being peppered and forced to flap awkwardly. They were all pushed to the ground, unable to remain up as the pin needle blasts continued to fall.

When the attack finally let up, they all looked up in surprise as they cringed and shuddered… all of them except for Dash and Silver. Something about that attack seemed… familiar.

Before they could get back into the air, the pegasus above was gone and another one was streaking by… this one had spheres orbiting around them. They were following the blur in a very controlled manner, much different from Ruin’s. The spheres began slinging from the blur, shooting towards them in a straight line.

“FLY! FLY!” Fire yelled, all of them forcing the pain aside, spreading their wings, and taking to the air, avoiding the spheres as three of them stuck the ground, but the rest turned up and followed them. “Stay together!” Fire yelled as they all flew in a group. “They are trying to separate us! Don’t fall for it!” he yelled as the four remaining spheres followed behind them.

Dash glanced back at the spheres following them, looking at them carefully the best she could while not breaking formation. 

Her eyes widened.

She… had seen this before!

“Dash!” Silver yelled from Matteo’s back beside her. Dash looked right at Silver as he continued to hang on for dear life.

“Silver! These attacks! They’re—”

“FLEETFOOT! FIRE!” Silver cut her off, yelling forward as they flew in an arc to avoid the spheres following them. “These attacks! They belong to Witch and Trance!” he yelled. Fleetfoot’s ears perked up, but Fire turned to look back.

“WHO?!” Fire yelled while furrowing his brow, but Fleetfoot gasped.

“Wait a minute!” she yelled. “Aren’t those the first Shadowbolts that died?!” she asked looking back, sending a wave of confusion through all of them.

“Yeah!” Dash yelled. “I saw them both turn to crystal and shatter!” she clarified. Fire shook his head and growled.

“That makes no sense!” he yelled. “If they’re dead, then how are they—?!”

Fire was cut off and everypony opened their eyes in shock as ten… twenty… THIRTY large globes of magic popped up from the ground and surrounded them… 

Commander Devil’s technique…

“BRACE YOURSELVES!” Fire yelled out.

Dash slammed her eyes shut, folding up her wings and curled up into a ball as the globes ignited and exploded violently around them.

“AAAHHHHH!!!!! AHHHHH!!!!!!” Dash cried out as the explosions burned and kicked her around, singeing her suit and ripping the strap of her goggles, throwing them off her face. The pulses tossed her against the others as they all desperately defended themselves, bouncing like pinballs. 

The final blast sent them all flying in different directions, some of them thrown roughly to the ground with hard landings as they bounced and tumbled.

Dash, Storm, and Fleetfoot were all propelled skyward by the shockwaves. Dash grunting and kicking as she opened her eyes and tried to level out. Both Storm and Fleetfoot failed to regain their flight, tumbling back down while yelping and screaming.

But Dash was determined to regain control, eventually forcing her wings to comply and flipping upright into a hover. 

Unfortunately… the moment she did, the first thing she saw was a light blue hoof an inch from her face. 

“AHHHH!!!” She cried out as she received the heavy punch. Her head whipped backwards and she was sent right back out of control, grunting and gasping as she fell like a ragdoll towards the rocky ground. She couldn’t find her balance… and was going to crash. 

She tensed her body and curled up, hitting the ground really hard.

“GAH! AH!” she yelped as her body rolled and bounced, eventually coming to a painful stop on her stomach. “Rggh…” she cringed as pain shot through her body, but she refused to stay down. She opened her eyes and saw the rest of the Wonderbolts all struggling to get to their hooves. Matteo was trying to roll over, Silver on the ground beside him, trying to stand on his own. That was all she needed to see. She had to get up and fight! She had to—

She was barely a few inches off the ground when she saw something shooting down towards her from above, a streak of light blue and purple, it was aiming right for her head! Dash gritted her teeth and slammed her front hooves to the ground, pushing her upper body out of the way, the moment before the attacker struck the ground. The attack was so hard that it kicked up debris and caused a small shockwave that pushed Dash’s body backward.

“OOF!” Dash grunted as she keeled over and rolled onto her back, her head falling backwards and whiplashing against the ground. “OW!” she yelled as she reached back and grabbed the back of her head while wincing in pain. 

But she couldn’t let it distract her! The enemy was right in front of her! She had to—

“Well…well… well…” 

Dash stopped completely… absolutely frozen as the voice met her ears and shot through her head like an ice cold arrow. The alto, feminine, seductive tone sending a cold chill throughout her body as her eyes went wide, her pupils became tiny dots, and her mouth hung open.

That voice…

She… knew that voice.

She hadn’t heard it in so long, but… she would never, EVER forget that voice. Not in a million years.

And that was exactly why her body had nearly shut down. Nasty, frightening, and traumatic memories flooding her head as she began to shiver.

“If it isn’t a bunch of old… familiar… lovely faces…”

Dash somehow found enough control to move her head, slowly… slowly tipping her head up. First she saw the hooves, the light blue hooves that had just attacked her, hooves that she had been on the receiving end of in the past. She slowly moved her head up, her eyes running along the thick, strong arms, the large, powerful shoulders, and up to the broad, muscular chest testing the limits of the spandex suit stretched over it.

“WHAT?!” Fleetfoot’s called out from behind Dash, but Dash couldn’t pull her eyes away as she kept slowly looking up, her eyes moving their way up the neck and towards the mare’s face.

“It… it can’t be!” Fire streak added as everypony else began reacting. 

Dash’s finally looked directly at the mare in front of her. The mare reached up and pulled down her Shadowbolt goggles, revealing two yellow eyes filled with an assertive, sinister confidence as they cut right through Dash. The mare slowly licked her lips from one side to the other before parting them and brandishing her teeth in a hair-raising, rapturous smile.

Dash began to sputter as she tried to speak, but her voice was so thin and squeaky that she could barely get the words out.

“Oh… m-m-my… g-god…” she shook, her whole body tingling and shivering as if the mere sight chilled her to the bone. “N…Ni…N-N-Nigh…Nightsh-sh-sh…”





“It’s so DELIGHTFUL to see you all again!”

---To Be Continued---