//------------------------------// // The Swarm Strikes Back // Story: The Parasprite Project // by GJT_Productions //------------------------------// The day seemed to be perfect for the Wonderbolts. The sun was bright in a sky kept clear of clouds, there was a roaring crowd in the huge stadium in Canterlot below, and Princess Celestia was very much enjoying the performance. It was unfolding as the kind of day Wonderbolt Captain Spitfire was hoping it would. But sabotage had already been performed, and things were about to go wrong, very and horribly wrong... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The first clue was the seeming squirming coming from their smoke release packs. Spitfire, as well as her partner Lead Wingpony Soarin', dismissed it as a result of unusually high nerves coming from performing in front of Celestia herself. The packs were used in a dual crossover stunt that would decorate the skies above with intricate helical patterns of multicolored smoke. Spitfire and Soarin' first noticed the squirming as Tight Ship, their stunt coordinator, helped get the packs on and strapped to the back. Each was surprised by the squirming, and a quick glance at the other showed this surprise was shared between them. If Tight Ship knew about the squirming (it would later become a very important open question how much he knew about the sabotage), he declined to share that information with the other two Wonderbolts, and they in turn decided against asking him if he had sensed anything wrong, again assuming it was entirely the product of nerves. As soon as the packs were secure, Spitfire and Soarin' stepped out into the world of their show element - clean blue skies, the roar of a multicolored crowd arranged in circular tiers of seating, and the box where Princess Celestia herself watched with anticipation that she shared with the crowd. Although the crossover stunt wasn't a "signature" move in any way, it was one of Celestia's favorites and a guaranteed crowdpleaser, so whenever Celestia was watching a performance the Wonderbolts always included some version of it in their routine. Spitfire and Soarin' take off in opposite directions, but make sure to not spread apart too far so that they can maintain visual contact - very important for a crossover stunt like this. Higher and higher they ascend into the crystal-clear sky, mood lofted by both the roar of the crowd below and the vibrant blue of the air around them. Once they reached a certain height, they would cross once, then pull a string attached to the pack to open the smoke canister inside - this smoke would trail behind them as they circled and crossed in a helix pattern all the way back down. The first crossover passed without incident, but when the strings were pulled to start the smoke trail both Spitfire and Soarin' realized something was wrong - instead of the expected hiss of the smoke being released from the canister they felt something solid streaming out of the packs. Glimpses of colored bits seeming to fall toward the stadium below lulled Spitfire and Soarin' into concluding that confetti canisters had been accidentally loaded in place of the smoke canisters - an oopsie to be sure, but not a big one. Both Wonderbolts were committed to the routine and continued their helical crossing over pattern, even as whatever was coming out of their packs stopped coming - raising concern again in both Wonderbolts as confetti canisters were supposed to last long enough to get through the full routine, even if their use was a mistake. As Spitfire and Soarin' continue to criss-cross closer and closer to the stadium, they can hear the crowd sound changing from excitement to panic and horror. This initially was mysteriously worrying - the first thought was some kind of injury or an imminent collision. But on the last crossover, where the two Wonderbolts were close enough to see what was going on in the crowd below, they can see the panic and agitation in the crowd below as well as fast moving yellow-colored beams - a human would call it "laser-like" - coming from Celestia's box and shooting at seemingly random locations in the crowd! Seperately, and for reasons of not wanting to get zapped even by accident, Spitfire and Soarin' abandon any attempt and continuing the show and land again backstage. Tight Ship is nowhere to be seen - the two Wonderbolts later learned he'd been grabbed by Royal Guards before he could figure out what was going on - and yelps and screams of panic can be heard coming from the seating above them. All the pair could figure out was that something had gone horribly wrong, but had no idea what it was or why it had. The two gallop side-by-side, looking into several deserted rooms in passing, until Spitfire hears Soarin' exclaim something about pie and rush through a doorway. It takes a moment for her to turn around and follow him through, into a break room that was strangely empty considering the other Wonderbolts had been there before Spitfire and Soarin' had left to do their routine. "MY PIE! GET OFF MY PIE!" Soarin' was exclaiming, standing on his hindlegs to shoo away something off the pie he had left to eat after finishing the show. On closer inspection, Spitfire recognized two things - the attackers of the pie were parasprites and the pie was already partly eaten by said parasprites - that caused her stomach to sink down to her hooves. As if confirming her oncoming sense of dread, Spitfire hears several loud male voices and stomping hooves coming their way! Spitfire immediately realizes what has gone wrong with the Canterlot show, but it's far too late to do anything about it. "Soarin', I think we have much bigger things to worry about than your pie!" Spitfire exclaims, and mere moments later four Royal Guards in full armor burst through the doorway into the break room! Before either Wonderbolt can react, the Guards split into two pairs and each pair goes after one of the Wonderbolts. Spitfire and Soarin' are in too much shock to put up a fight and quickly are put under arrest, the world quickly becoming a surreal and bizarre place that hindered memory of subsequent events... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A LITTLE LATER... All Misty Fly could do in face of a raging Princess Celestia - who had to deal with the parasprite release all by herself and naturally was irate a high-profile show had been ruined by sabotage - was nod in agreement to her demands as she was dressed down alongside her fellow Wonderbolts in assembly. With Spitfire and Soarin' under arrest, Misty Fly had automatically become Acting Captain of the Wonderbolts and was forced to bear the brunt of Celestia's wrath, which included agreeing to compensate for the lost business of affected vectors in the stadium and refund the tickets to the show for anypony that wanted it. What Celestia didn't know was that the plans of the Agents of Chaos had gone off without a hitch - Misty Fly and her faction allied with the Agents were at least temporarily in charge, and the large financial hit the Wonderbolts would suffer as a result of the parasprite release would drive a further wedge between the two factions in the Wonderbolts. The members of the pro-Spitfire faction present - Fleetfoot, Surprise, Blaze and Rapidfire - were too worried about the fate of Spitfire and Soarin' to even entertain the possibility that Misty Fly's faction - which included Misty Fly herself, Lightning Streak, Wave Chill, Fire Streak, High Winds and Silver Lining - had engineered a takeover, at least for the moment, of the Wonderbolt organization. The financial and reputation hit would seem to be a small price to pay for the chance to shatter Captain Spitfire's authority irrevocably and do things their own way...