Piercing the Heavens

by Calm Wind

Chapter 155: Subverting Subversion Subversively

MLP: FiM
Piercing the Heavens
By: Calm Wind

Chapter 155: Subverting Subversion Subversively

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“Son of a…” Shadow growled with her head jammed in between the wires and pipes of the exposed ceiling. She was repairing a spot that was right in the frame of one of the hallways attached to the main lobby. Her back hooves jittered as she barely managed to balance them on the questionably sturdy step ladder. “Are we out of bolts again?!” she complained as she tried to pull her head out of the tangled mess, only to hit her chin on a metal girder. “OW!” she yelped, a few tools dropping and clattering to the floor. “Who the hell is passing out the supplies?!” she kept complaining as she rubbed her chin and stepped down.

Sin was sitting nearby wearing a large wrapping of bandages that covered most of his midsection. He had not done much aside from hoof tools to Shadow since he was very stiff and still in pain from, well, nearly being killed by Sombra. The crystals had done well to heal most of his wound and alleviate the pain, but he was REALLY stiff. Moon was focusing a crystal on a cracked crystal formation jutting from the wall, using his own magic to repair it.

“Did they even try?! Did they walk in, grab a hoofull of random shit and drag their ass around giving them out? No wonder these repairs are taking forever!” She looked around for someone to answer her as if it would make a difference, but Sin wasn’t looking at her, and Moon was focused. The only one looking at her was Rapidfire standing beside Moon, holding a toolbox in his mouth.

“Uh…” Rapidfire looked away. He was the one that was passing around repair supplies.

“It’s you, isn’t it?!” Shadow snarled at him. “How about you—”

“SHUT UP OVER THERE AND GET BACK TO WORK!” Nightshade’s voice suddenly boomed.

Shadow flinched and shut her mouth. Any and all noise around the entire lobby went dead silent as Nightshade’s voice echoed throughout, everypony working on the repairs scared stiff. But it only lasted a second, everypony getting right back to work in fear of Nightshade turning her rage on them.

Moon was the only one who kept working throughout. He only glanced briefly towards Nightshade once, taking in the way she paced around. ‘Pacing’ was probably not the best way to word it, she was stomping, every step could be heard as she romped her hooves against the floor. She was randomly glaring about at the Shadowbolts and continuously growled and grumbled to herself, her teeth gritted and lips parted as she talked to herself in inaudible mumbles and grumbles as if she’d lost her mind… or at least more than usual.

Moon went back to his work as Shadow returned to her step ladder with the stolen toolbox from Rapidfire. He was shuffling behind her, but he made no attempt to get it back as she opened it and began noisily digging through it.

“This is horseshit…” Shadow started complaining again. “You’d think by now we’d have some members that actually know how to repair shit, but noooooo… whenever crap breaks we have to fix it ourselves…” she kept grumbling, her voice muffled as it was stuffed in the toolbox. Moon just sighed and subtly shook his head as he continued to focus his magic light on the cracks in the large crystal before him.

“Man…” Sin suddenly spoke up as Shadow climbed back up the step ladder. He was looking out towards Nightshade. “You ever wonder what the hell we’re even doing?” he asked.

Moon blinked, his magic halting momentarily as he glanced at Sin.

“Quit talking to yourself and pass me a wrench,” Shadow snapped back angrily as she stuck her head back into the cacophony of wires and pipes.

“I’m—OW!” Sin winced as he tried to turn, only to have pain flare up in his side. He took a deep breath and sucked it up as she scooted his plot to turn his whole body instead, looking up towards Shadow. “I’m serious.”

Shadow stopped moving, staying still for a moment with her head still hidden above and sighed heavily. She pulled her head back out, carefully this time, and moved her hooves down one step so she could turn and look flatly at him. The elevation of the step and Sin’s larger size put them at eye level as she gave him a look that projected her wish for him to shut up and make himself useful, but Sin didn’t read it that way.

“What?” he snorted as he narrowed his eyes a little. “I know I’m not the only one who’s—”

Shadow suddenly gasped quietly and her eyes widened as she reached her hooves forward and forced Sin’s mouth shut, silencing him.

Sin’s eyes went wide for a moment, but Shadow wasn’t looking at him, he glanced in the direction her eyes were pointing and saw Nightshade move right by them. She didn’t look at either of them as she continued to growl and grumble to herself. As soon as she was out of earshot, Shadow relaxed, but before she could pull her hooves free, Sin reached up, grabbed both of her arms with one of his large hooves and pulled her hooves away from him.

“Cut that out,” he said sharply, giving her a glare. “I don’t give a damn if she hears.”

Shadow yanked her arms free and glared right back.

“You seriously don’t give a shit about getting yourself killed, do you?!” she hissed in a hushed tone. Sin only lifted an eyebrow.

“Like that didn’t save your life, or anything…” he reminded her. Shadow blinked, inching forward as if she wanted to retort, but ultimately pulled back, scrunched her face, and puffed her cheeks out as she looked away from him.

“Hmph…” she huffed as her only response.

“I usually don’t give a damn where we go or what we do,” Sin continued, shaking his head. “As long as I get a good fight out of it, I’m game. But what the hell was that… thing we ran into out there? That wasn’t normal.” He shrugged. “There’s no point in a fight if my opponent can just fry my ass from a distance with hell knows what kind of magic.”

“Again, why the hell are you bothering?” Shadow found her voice, turning her focus back to him. “What are we gonna do about it? Any ideas, smart guy?”

“Why do you think I’m asking?” Sin rolled his eyes. “I haven’t a damn clue.”

“Urgh…” Shadow groaned in annoyance, rubbing a hoof to her forehead. “You know, Sin, for a moment I thought you were actually giving thought to something. Guess I gave you too much credit.” She threw an arm out and turned around so fast that her hair whipped. But she stopped when Sin exhaled sharply through his nose, a loud hiss rushing forth as a low nicker rumbled in the back of his throat.

“Don’t be like that,” he said gruffly as Shadow subtly glanced back at him as if she didn’t want him to know she was listening. “I know I ain’t a complicated guy. I’m here to throw punches, not think about who I’m throwin’ ‘em at. But even I can see shit where there’s shit.”

Shadow blinked and slightly turned away, but flinched as Sin gently grabbed her shoulder and turned her around. Her eyes widened a little as he looked down at her with a very serious look.

“Everything has changed. Trance, Witch, and Devil are dead. Blade, Void, and Angel have gone full asshole instead of half asshole. And what the hell is up with Nightshade? She’s all jittery and angry twenty-four seven. And it ain’t no coincidence that the change started when we got these crystals. And why the hell have we been on the same job for so long? I thought our game was to take care of business quickly and get paid. That sure changed out of nowhere. I don’t remember our thing being broad daylight brawls and blowing shit up. The captain won’t say jack shit to us about what’s going on and she’s gone completely off her rocker… way more than usual.” He shook his head. “I don’t like it. And I don’t like my buddies being caught in it either.” He leaned a little closer to her. And pointed to his face. “Look me in the eye and tell me everything’s fine. You know it ain’t.”

Shadow stared blankly at him, not saying a word as Sin held his hard gaze. Off to the side, Moon just kept looking and listening, taking in everything he just heard from Sin.

Shadow eventually glanced down. Her body subtly quivered for a moment before she sighed and shook her head.

“J…just…” she stuttered as she turned her side to him. “Just forget it already…” her voice was hesitant and shaky. “It’s not like we can change anything…”

Sin looked ready to tell her otherwise. But before he could, ears perked up and heads started turning as the sound of the lobby doors sounded out. Everypony nearby turned and looked to see several Shadowbolts entering with Angel and Void up front, removing their goggles and masks.

Nightshade sharply turned and stomped towards them quickly, shoving aside a few Shadowbolts that were in her path. Any others in her way quickly moved aside.

“WELL?!” she barked, immediately getting in Void’s face. All the Shadowbolts standing behind him froze, thankful that Nightshade’s focus was not on them. Void blinked and glanced at Angel. Angel calmly cleared his throat and stepped forward. The instant he moved, Nightshade turned and got in his face instead, holding a death glare that could pierce through steel. Angel only flinched slightly as she made the move, but he kept a calm expression.

“We haven’t found him yet,” he began. Nightshade’s glaring eyes grew wider, causing the Shadowbolts behind Angel to quickly disperse, but Angel didn’t falter. “But there’s still a lot of ground out there to cov—”

He was cut off as Nightshade suddenly thrust an arm forward and grabbed him by the neck. She roared as she forced him backward, his hooves squeaking along the floor all the way to the wall. She slammed him hard against it, pressing the side of his face to the wall.

“GUHARGH!” Angel grunted in pain.

“THEN WHY DID YOU COME BACK?!” Nightshade yelled at him at point blank, spraying bits of saliva on him as she raged. The rest of the Shadowbolts made their escape, moving as far as they could from her and mixing in with the rest watching. Void had moved up behind her, but hesitated to do anything since he’d probably end up in the same position. “I TOLD YOU TO FIND HIM!” she shouted, her eyes straining as she held the fierce glare.

“We’ve… been out there… since… last… night!” Angel gasped as he tried to reply. “We… need… some rest…!”

“I DON’T WANT TO HEAR YOUR FUCKING EXCUSES!” Nightshade barked as she pulled him back slightly and slammed him against the wall again, a trickle of blood dripping from his nose as it smashed against the wall. “NOW GET YOUR SORRY ASSES BACK OUT THERE AND DON’T COME BACK UNTIL YOU FIND HIM!” She shouted as a soft pink glow surrounded her body, trails of pink light rising from her enraged eyes.

“Hey! We’re trying, okay?!” Void suddenly spoke up from behind her. Nightshade’s ears twitched. She threw Angel to the floor roughly before turning around quickly and projecting her anger towards Void instead. He felt the pressure of her gaze immediately, stopping him in his tracks a few yards away as the glow around her slowly intensified.

“There’s this damn forest we ran into that our crystal magic couldn’t penetrate, okay?” he tried to explain. “We couldn’t see through any of it, he might be there, but the forest is huge!”

Before Void could say another word, three crystals shot out around Nightshade. Her eyes glowed brightly and the crystals came to life. She used Void’s own technique, the spiraling vacuum wave rushing forth from her. Yelps and gasps sounded out from the surrounding Shadowbolts as the sudden strong winds filled the entire lobby, knocking several over and tossing tools and repair supplies everywhere. Shadowbolts clung to one another and the floor as Void was yanked directly towards Nightshade. She reached up and grabbed Void by the mane, the vacuum wave ceasing the moment she had a hoof on him.

“ARGH!” Void cried out as she tugged on his mane, pulling his neck painfully to the side as she leapt up and got enough leverage to pull his entire bulk sideways and slam him head first to the floor. Shuffling hooves and the clattering and clanging of tools and parts sounded out around them as the Shadowbolts tried to recover from the sudden force of the magic winds.

“Sounds like just another dumbass excuse to me, you useless fatass!” she picked up his head and slammed it down two more times as Void kicked and flailed, his large size meaning nothing as Nightshade kept an iron grip on his mane.

Behind her, Angel slowly forced himself up, grunting and gasping in pain as he sniffled repeatedly, the blood dripping from his nose now passing over his lips. His eyes focused on Nightshade and narrowed into a bloodthirsty glare. His breath was hissing through his gritted teeth, his usual calm demeanor completely gone as loose strands of his long mane dangled in front of his face. He snarled quietly towards Nightshade as his crystals floated up beside him, glowing as his magic began collecting around his hooves.

“Angel.” Nightshade suddenly said without looking at him. Angel flinched and froze in place. Nightshade turned her head very slowly to the left, but stopping before she could see him in her peripheral vision, her eyes glowing so brightly that her pupils were nearly hidden. “Are you challenging me?”

Angel didn’t move a muscle, remaining completely still even though his magic was still alight.

“If your crystals are still glowing when I turn around… your head will be on the ground next,” she threatened as she bared her teeth. “But it WON’T be attached to your body anymore.”

Angel’s magic ceased on the spot.

“Hmph,” Nightshade grunted before turning her focus back to Void and giving his head one more slam to the ground for good measure.

Angel kept glaring at her regardless of how easily she just intimidated him. He continued to internally seethe, but then blinked as he glanced passed her. His eyes landed on Blade, who was standing across the room and watching from a distance. He was directing a stern look right at Angel and subtly shook his head.

“Tch…” Angel hissed and looked away from Nightshade to regain his composure.

Nightshade finally let go of Void’s mane and stood over him, glaring down at him as he twitched on the ground.

“So let me get this straight,” she began in an irate, condescending tone. "The two of you came across a forest you couldn’t see into from the sky…” she paused and snorted. “And instead of, I don’t know, LANDING and looking around on hoof, you just flew on? Bullshit you need rest…” she gave Void a hard kick to the chest.

“GRH!!!” Void grunted and lurched to the side. Nightshade leaned down and snarled at him.

“I hope you’re enjoying the floor, because that’s all the rest you’re getting! Now get the fuck up and get back out there!” she yelled right into his ear before sharply turning to Angel. “And this time, if you come back without finding him, I’m going to personally tie you both down and remove the specific parts of your body that make you a stallion… with my TEETH. UNDERSTAND ME?!” she roared out, causing everypony to shudder.

Neither Angel nor Void replied. Nightshade looked like she was about to blow her top.

“WELL?!” she barked at them. “DO YOU—”

She cut off abruptly as her ears suddenly shot up into the air. Her crystals were blinking rapidly. The glow in her eyes and surrounding her body vanished and the look on her face made an incredibly drastic change in an instant from angry to… scared? She quickly bunched all of her crystals together and hovered them in front of her face. She stared into them with wide eyes, her pupils shrinking considerably and shuddering. After a moment of complete silence, she quickly tucked the crystals beneath her wing and her eyes darted about. She pointed at Void and Angel.

“GO!” she yelled out, her voice had changed too. “FUCKING GO! NOW!” she shouted frantically as Void and Angel looked at her curiously. “And I mean it! WITH MY DAMN TEETH!” she repeated the threat, but the strength behind her voice seemed halved. “And if you’re not gone by the time I’m back out here, I’ll get a head start!” she added before turning and galloping out of the lobby, passing right by Moon, Sin, Shadow, and Rapidfire as she rushed away, leaving behind a giant mass of very perplexed Shadowbolts.

Nopony moved for almost a full minute, the silence finally broken by Angel as he growled to himself and stepped away from the wall he had been plastered against. He glanced around to see the scouts he and Void were in charge of all approaching quickly, looking very eager to get moving. They were all afraid of Nightshade’s threat, even the mares, despite it only being directed at the two commanders.

Void gritted his teeth, his breath hissing in pain as he finally managed to pick himself up off the floor. But he was barely up for a moment before Angel walked right up to him… and punched him right across the face.

“OW!” Void yelled as he stumbled backwards, the scouts flinching and backing off slightly. “HEY!” Void growled, glaring towards Angel. “What was THAT for?!” he demanded as Angel got in his face and glared right back.

“I told you not to say anything about the damn forest!” he berated him. Void snorted and rolled his eyes.

“Well sorry! And you’re welcome!” Void retorted sarcastically, pressing a hoof to one of his nostrils and shooting a wad of blood out of the other that splattered to the floor. “It was MY face she was beating to the floor instead of yours!” He added while poking a hoof to Angel’s chest. “So be grateful, you pampered, pretty bitch!”

Angel’s eyes immediately narrowed into the same death glare he had given towards Nightshade.

“Would you like to rephrase that?!” he snarled, his crystals coming to life as Void’s did the same.

“Enough.” Blade suddenly stepped in between them and pushed them both apart. “Just get going already.”

Void pulled back and his magic deactivated, but Angel didn’t back off. He turned his glare right to Blade.

“How much longer?!” he demanded. “How much longer are we going to put up with all of this?!” he demanded. But his glare bounced right off Blade, who only gave a stern look in return.

“Angel… go.” He said firmly, but Angel did nothing. “NOW.” Blade’s face scrunched. Angel flinched, but kept glaring. “That’s an order.” Blade suddenly added.

Those words did not go unnoticed, and the fact that Angel suddenly stopped and seemed to comply only made the moment stronger. Moon picked it up instantly, but Sin, Shadow, and Rapidfire, like the rest, were stuck trying to figure out what they just heard and saw.

Blade just gave Angel an order as if he were in command… and Angel followed it.

“Feh… come on!” Angel suddenly directed to Void and the rest of his scouts. Without another word, they all prepped to leave again.

With Angel and Void moving, Blade turned around to return to repairs, but stopped and glanced around when he saw all eyes focused on him. He snorted and bared his teeth.

“What the hell are YOU all staring at?!” he yelled out, causing them all to flinch and quickly return to their work despite all the confusion spreading around. Though… motivation was clearly even lower than it was before as the creaks and clangs of repairs started up again, Shadowbolts moving about to pick up all the tools and pieces that had been tossed about by Nightshade’s vacuum wave.

But Moon didn’t make an effort to continue. He turned away from the crystal chunk he was repairing and started walking down the hallway in the direction of Nightshade’s room.

“What the…" Shadow blinked and looked towards him. “Where the hell are you going?” she asked. Both Sin and Rapidfire glanced as Moon started passing by them as well. But he said nothing. “I’m talking to you!” Shadow barked, but Moon ignored her.

But as he passed by Sin he paused after taking one step by him.

“You’re not alone,” he said. Sin blinked.

“Huh…?” he looked over his shoulder at Moon. Moon gave a slight head motion towards Shadow.

“Keep an eye on her for me,” he said before he started moving again.

“Wha…?” Shadow tipped her head curiously.

“Wait, I’ll come…” Rapidfire tried to follow, but Moon’s telekinesis instantly surrounded him and stopped him in his tracks.

“No.”

Without another word, Moon left, disappearing down the hall. His magic held Rapidfire in place until he was out of sight.

“What the hell was that all about?” Shadow asked, scratching her head, but then she blinked and looked towards Sin. He had turned and was staring right at her. She furrowed her brow. “Stop that.”

“Nah,” Sin shook his head and smirked. “He asked me to,” he said jokingly with a shrug. Shadow huffed and glanced away from him.

“Y…you idiot…” she stuttered. “Quit looking at me like that…” she halfheartedly complained as she got back to work.

Neither of them noticed that Rapidfire had left too.

---

Moon slowed his pace as he caught eye of Nightshade. She was heading to her room, but something was odd. She should have been there by now. Upon looking closely, she was… swaying, her steps wobbly as she bounced back and forth off the walls. Her breathing was so fierce that he could hear it clearly from a distance.

Despite her clearly being distracted by whatever was going on, Moon didn’t want to take any chances. He brought forth his crystals, their glow gently surrounding him before he cast his unique cloaking spell. When his body was completely invisible to the naked eye, he lightened his steps and continued after her.

Slowly but surely, Nightshade continued wobbling and straining with every step until she was finally in front of the double doors to her room. Her struggling seemed to cease in an instant and she grabbed the door handle. Moon kept walking, but froze in place as Nightshade suddenly looked directly towards him. For a moment, he panicked. After all, she just sensed Angel’s magic without looking at him. Did he just make a terrible blunder? But after a few seconds, Nightshade gave no indication that she could actually see him. She looked like she was hesitating and looking around. She frantically pulled the door open and dove inside, the door lingering open for a moment.

Moon blinked and rushed forward as quietly as he could. It was risky, but if he could get in and see what happens up close…

But something stopped him. The door was still slightly ajar and slowly swinging shut, but the moment he got close enough to reach for it, he felt a cold chill run down his spine. He froze in place, remembering that he had felt this once before. Every instinct in his body told him to go no further. So he didn’t. The door shut in front of him, and he put his ear to it instead.

“I… I’m here…” Nightshade’s voice sounded from within, stuttering and weak.

Moon felt the chills pulse through him again. There was no mistaking it. The last time he felt this was when he was hiding behind Rapidfire listening into Nightshade’s room… and that meant…

“You’ve sure made a mess of things, haven’t you…?”

A low echoing voice… It was Kayn Ost. Moon swallowed and listened carefully.

“I… don’t…” Nightshade started speaking, but barely got any words out.

“Yes?” Kayn Ost pressed. “You don’t what? I’m listening…”

“I don’t know what happened!” Nightshade suddenly blurted out. “I was giving the order to attack, and the next thing I knew I was sitting in front of Soarin! Sombra had already possessed him! I didn’t do anything!” she sounded like she was pleading.

Moon blinked as he pulled his ear away. He thought for a moment as he grabbed one of his crystals and stared into it. After a bit of pondering, he pressed it gently to the door, his eyes glowing a little more before he closed them and concentrated. His vision was dark for a moment, but then suddenly a projection of inside the room began to form in his head. He wasn’t sure it would work, but it did… and now he could see into the room.

But… there wasn’t too much to see. Nightshade was in the center of the room, shuddering. Surrounding her was a dark shadow that snuffed out all sources of light in the room, yet she remained illuminated. Two small, white dots were focused on her, Kayn Ost’s eyes, just like they had appeared before. But once again, he had no solid form, nothing Moon could make out to identify him.

“Your weakness is pathetic. You really don’t remember a single detail? You can’t recall the chaos you left in your wake both here and out there? Astounding…”

Nightshade gasped and backed up a little as if his words terrified her greatly.

“Unbelievable…” The eyes floated closer to her and narrowed. “Fine, let me spell it all out for you. I gave you a tremendous boost in power that I trusted you would use wisely since you are so quick to physically punish misuse among your subordinates… but you proved me wrong.”

Nightshade squeaked and shuddered, edging back a little further.

“Your self-control wavered quickly… and mere moments after you sent your underlings into battle, you let the power unleash and gave in to its temptation. You became drunk on it instantly, let it surge through every inch of your body without a care, your personal pleasure overtaking you. You retreated here, to your room, ripped off your suit and spent an hour admiring your body as it brimmed with power, indulging in self-pleasures… and even pulling in an unsuspecting stallion passing by your doors. With the entrance to your room still ajar, his screams echoed into the hall as you satisfied your surging drive on him until he was unconscious and broken. At that point, you had become so stimulated and corrupted by the rushing power that you lost all traces of sentience, acting like a mindless animal foaming at the mouth as you smashed your way out of the walls of your own fortress and attacked the Wonderbolts all on your own. I admit that I was impressed by the amount of damage and disarray you caused over there single-hoofedly… but your mindless flailing ended up unleashing the very power I wished to attain.”

Nightshade shook in her spot, tipping over backwards and falling onto her plot as he eyes stuck open wide and her pupils jittered. Small, frail squeaks came out of the back of her throat as she took in everything Kayn Ost had just said.

“So now you’ve gone and made this all so much more difficult for me,” he said with a clearly annoyed tone. “Extracting Sombra’s power would have been much easier if he were still being held down by that ridiculous artifact on Soarin’s head…” he paused and a low echoing growl filled the room. “You have failed on an astronomical level…”

Nightshade shook harder, her breathing becoming quicker and labored.

“So…” Kayn Ost’s eyes suddenly opened wide and became brighter. “Tell me…”

“AAAHHH!!!!!” Nightshade suddenly screamed, both her hooves going right to her chest as a sizzling noise suddenly came from it. “AAAAARGH AHHHH!!!!!” she cried out as pink steam began rising from the center of the large scar in the center of her chest.

“How should I punish you?” Kayn Ost asked as the eyes began floating around her slowly in a circle. “I feel like I’ve given you more simple slaps on the wrist than you deserve…”

Nightshade continued to kick and scream, tipping over onto her side as she writhed and arched her neck about in extreme pain. Kayn Ost’s eyes turned towards her bed and the pile of crystals that still remained on them.

“Perhaps I should take these?” he said casually as they suddenly elevated from her mattress and began floating towards him.

Nightshade’s eyes shot open, immediately focusing on her crystal pile.

“NO!” she shouted in a broken voice. She somehow forced herself up despite the searing pain in her chest, but fell right back down on her face. “NO NO NO NO!!!!!!!!!” she repeated as she struggled, reaching a hoof up towards the crystals as Kayn Ost tauntingly passed them right over her.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t,” he asked her as she continued to grunt and groan.

“It’s… not over!!!” Nightshade yelled as she pushed herself up again, and this time held herself up despite the burning in her chest.

“Oh?” Kayn Ost narrowed his eyes. Nightshade shook her head roughly, the steam from her chest making its way around her neck and face as she gritted her teeth and breathed heavily.

“I can still do it! I can still bring you Sombra!” she shouted, her eyes stuck open wide, bloodshot with pain, but fiercely glaring regardless.

“Really now?” Kayn Ost snorted. “Despite your power raging out of control and pushing you to levels never seen before… Sombra still struck you down like you were nothing. How am I to believe you stand any chance at all?”

“I CAN DO IT! ARGH!” Nightshade’s legs buckled. She stumbled a little, but held her ground and took a firm step towards him. “I WON’T LOSE CONTROL THIS TIME! I can… I can… still…” her eyes began to roll back, but she fought it, barely keeping herself conscious among the unbearable pain. Her body lowered, but she refused to go down, forcing herself to stay up.

“Hmph…” Kayn Ost’s eyes moved in a way that depicted an eye roll. “You are if nothing else, tenacious… I can’t believe you are able to stand.”

Nightshade’s chest suddenly stopped sizzling.

“AH! Haaaaaaaaaa…” Nightshade fell right to the floor, panting and wheezing with her chin resting between her sprawled out arms.

“You’re lucky that I find you to be such a fascinating specimen… I’m actually curious to see if you can make good on such a bold claim.” The crystals floated back over to her bed and plopped down, a few falling off the pile with soft plinking noises before resting softly on the mattress. "But don’t test my patience further.”

“I… can do it…” Nightshade repeated as she cringed on the floor. “I can… I know I can…” she slowly rolled over and struggled to push herself up. “Just give me… that power again. I will control it this time, I won’t waver!”

“No.”

Nightshade’s immediate rejection caused her to flinch and look up at him in disbelief.

“You do not make demands of me,” he said harshly as his shadowy presence loomed over her. “I gave you a chance to wield further power and you squandered it on self-pleasures and sexual desires before letting it consume you. I’d be a fool to believe you’d do differently this time.

“But… But…” Nightshade stuttered, her confidence buckling. “Without it, I…”

“So now you can’t?” Kayn Ost pressed and snorted. “What happened to your confidence from a moment ago?

“I…” Nightshade just stared at him, unable to respond.

“Or are you truly that weak? So weak that you can’t rely on your own power? Hm?” Kayn Ost’s eyes narrowed into thin slits. “Perhaps Silver Lining was right about you.”

Nightshade’s ears dropped to the sides of her head, her jaw dropped and a very faint squeak barely escaped the back of her throat. Her eyes were open as wide as they could go and her pupils shrinking until they nearly disappeared. Kayn Ost watched as she nearly crumbled right in front of him and released an amused hum.

“Such a fierce reaction to that name… That old stallion really left a mark on you… didn’t he?” he taunted, a sound resembling an echoing chuckle filling the air.

Nightshade looked right at the floor as she shook, Kayn Ost’s demonic laughter filling her ears. She gritted her teeth, narrowed her eyes and growled loudly while shaking her head out.

“NO!” She suddenly yelled out, looking back up fiercely. “I CAN do it! I don’t need the extra power! I’ll prove to you I can!” she yelled, as she fought back the memories of her encounter with Silver. Any given moment she thought about Silver and what he did to her made her angry… angry that she couldn’t defeat him, angry that she had been deconstructed and put in her place so skillfully. Kayn Ost may not have meant it, but bringing up Silver, while it shocked her, it also brought out a suppressed anger and motivation.

“Hmph… you better hope you can,” Kayn Ost grunted as the echoing laughter stopped. “Because your time is running out.”

“Huh?” Nightshade blinked, her focus breaking free of the sudden welling anger.

“Heed my warning, Nightshade,” Kayn Ost snarled. “You have one month.”

He paused, Nightshade’s ears standing straight up as his voice gained a strength that sent shivers through her.

“If Sombra is not within my possession in one month’s time… then there’s going to be some major changes around here…” He paused, his eyes growing larger. “And YOU… won’t be a part of it.”

Nightshade stiffened, the threat reverberating through her entire body. Kayn Ost had been lenient so far… but she could tell that this was it. Every word he spoke in his threat felt like a shock sent through her. She heard him loud and clear.

“But…” Kayn Ost suddenly went on as his shadows began to slowly recede. “If I were you… I wouldn’t be so confident that you have that much time…”

Kayn Ost’s eyes suddenly shifted…

And he looked in the direction of Moon standing outside the door.

Moon froze and swallowed a gasp that tried to shoot out of his throat. Kayn Ost was looking right at him, looking into his eyes even though he was seeing it through a magical projection through a door. He didn’t move a muscle, fear gripping every inch of his body.

But Kayn Ost did nothing.

“You have already lost the confidence of many whom you lead…” Kayn Ost spoke again as he looked back at Nightshade. “I’d watch your back.”

“Wh…what?!” Nightshade blinked, glancing between Kayn Ost and the direction he had glanced in.

But Kayn Ost was gone. His shadows had vanished and the light of the room returned to its natural state.

Moon frantically stepped back from the door and stood completely still against the wall as Nightshade suddenly got up and charged for the doors. They flung open and Nightshade’s head poked out, looking back and forth, alarmed.

Moon didn’t dare breathe. As if Kayn Ost looking at him didn’t spook him enough, now again he was wondering if Nightshade could sense him or not.

But luckily for him, Nightshade again didn’t seem to notice. Instead, she turned and galloped down the hall as if she was running away from something.

Though free from danger, Moon didn’t budge for several moments. He swallowed, his body sweating as he began breathing again.

There was no mistaking it… Kayn Ost knew he was there. He knew he was watching and listening. Even more, he clearly knew of the dissent in the ranks, perhaps both sides of it.

He suddenly felt very, very uneasy to the point where he felt sick to his stomach. He thought for sure that not a soul knew of his actions, maybe aside from Ruin. But now, after all he had seen… how could he have assumed that? If a nonsensical, jovial jester like Ruin could catch him in the act… what was stopping Kayn Ost from doing the same? A shadowy, elusive entity with unknown power? Had he woefully miscalculated?

Moon slowly turned, but didn’t take any steps. He was still invisible too, but he didn’t feel like releasing the spell as if he still had to hide from something. He wasn’t sure what to think now. Did this change anything? Or should he just keep going as he had been?

Was this all part of some plan by Kayn Ost? If he knew about Moon and his actions, then why hadn’t he moved to destroy him yet? This didn’t make any sense at all…

He took a deep, yet quiet breath and lifted a leg. He felt stiff, but standing here and worrying wasn’t going to accomplish anything. He had to get away from Nightshade’s room and think about what he had just witnessed and where to go. He took one step, and was prepared to take a second…

But then he felt a tap on his shoulder. His eyes shot open and he turned his head to the left.

“BOO!”

Ruin was right in front of him, making a silly face.

Moon flinched HARD and reclined so fast that his whole body flung into the wall. The impact and his shock instantly caused the invisibility spell to break and he reappeared in full, staring with wide eyes into Ruin’s.

“AAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! OOOOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOOOOOOO!!!!!” Ruin guffawed and keeled over, grabbing his stomach and cackling to his heart's delight. Normally Moon would glare at him or give him a flat look, but he was too shocked and flustered, unable to show anything on his face except for a blank, wide-eyed stare with his jaw agape.

Ruin spun around twice on the floor before popping up and getting right up into Moon’s grill.

“Oh, the absolute LOOK on your face! That just made my day!” he exclaimed as he continued to giggle, backing up as he held onto his stomach and started rolling around on the floor again.

“H… how?” Moon managed to say as he slowly began regaining his composure. “How did you…?”

“What? See you sneaking around?” Ruin rolled onto his stomach, propped his head up with a hoof and tilted his head to the side, a wide, toothy sneer growing over his face. “Pffffffshhh…” he blew air between his lips and waved a hoof nonchalantly. “Oh please, Moony-Moon… you call that invisible?” he snickered as he suddenly floated into the air without moving his wings and twisted until he was upside down at eye level with Moon. “I’ve seen howler monkeys riding elephants through priceless antique shops that draw less attention. Probably doesn’t help that I can smell you from a mile away.” He paused and took three long, raspy sniffs towards Moon, hacking and coughing after the last one and falling flat to the floor on his back. “That broody, musky scent that follows you everywhere… it’s so strong, how am I to BREATHE within a ten-foot radius of you?!” he continued to sputter cough and wheeze on the floor as Moon finally regained his composure and scrunched up his face, narrowing his eyes into a displeased glare.

Ruin eventually ceased his fake coughing and looked up into the face Moon was giving him. He couldn’t contain himself, bursting into a fit of laughter.

“OH HO HO HO HAHAHAHA!!!!” he cackled as she rolled upright and immediately got to his hooves, holding a hoof to his stomach as he continued to guffaw. “Boy, your buttons are so easy to push!” He instantly slid up to Moon and pressed his shoulder against his. “And you wonder why I like to follow you around!”

“I’m thrilled that I amuse you,” Moon said sarcastically as he took a step to his side, but Ruin moved with him as if stuck to him. Moon flattened his brow and snorted. “I assume you saw what happened in there too?” he asked in a desperate attempt to change the subject and attempt to actually discuss something relevant with Ruin.

“What of it?” Ruin asked casually as he slid away from Moon and leaned against the opposite wall, crossing his hooves and relaxing. “It’s not like it wasn’t anything I didn’t already know. I was the one that guided Nightshade over to the Wonderbolts you know! It would have been a shame to let all that wild energy of hers go to waste, and she didn’t disappoint! It was quite funny actually. She was so aroused, all I had to do was wiggle my sexy pair of buns back and forth and she kept following like a puppy! She wanted to get a hold of me so bad,” he snorted, barely able to contain his giggles. “I don’t blame her! I may not be the biggest oaf around here, but I’m still hung like a—”

“I GET IT.” Moon cut him off, but found his focus drawn to something else, the little tidbit Ruin revealed. Not the… sexy buns part, the guiding part. He personally directed Nightshade to attack the Wonderbolts? He had had a hunch that was the case, but wasn’t expecting Ruin to flat out admit it.

“But more importantly, you should have seen that stallion she wrecked before she left! My word Nightshade’s libido might just be the deadliest weapon we have! Screw the crystals! She could break a dragon with those thighs” he shifted the subject and snickered uncontrollably, snorting as he tried to keep talking. “I’ve never seen grown stallion cry like such a bitch before in my life! I was in stitches! HAHOHOHO!!!! OOF!” he grunted as his shaking laughter caused him to slide down the wall and land on his side, but he reclined as if he meant to do it and held a sultry pose while bouncing his eyebrows. “Ya dig?”

“You know what I’m talking about!” Moon raised his voice a little, knowing that Ruin was purposely skating around the point, but Ruin just pointed at him and winked.

“And you know I don’t care, so why are you asking? We’ve already been over this, I don’t give a damn about that shadow-fart-cloud with eyes,” he said without a trace of seriousness in his voice that was driving Moon nuts. Moon struggled to hold his composure as he let a quiet growl escape his lips. He sharply turned his back to Ruin, but Ruin appeared directly in front of him. Moon flinched and reclined. “You oughtta relax, Moony!” He poked Moon in the chest. “What isn't appealing about my lifestyle?! Can’t you see how much FUN I’m having?!”

“I lack the mental instability to see things your way,” Moon verbally jabbed as he stepped to the side and started walking.

“Oh! Ah! Oh!” Ruin held his hooves over his chest and wailed dramatically as Moon moved by him and didn’t stop. “Your words! They hurt me!” he couldn’t hold in his snickering. “Oh and how it hurts so GOOD! HOHO!” He turned and bounced after Moon, all fours outstretched with his hooves making comical BOING BOING BOING noises as he caught up to Moon and bounced beside him. “Do it again! Make me squirm, daddy! I deserve to be punished for all the trouble I cause!” he begged with a fake sad tone in his voice.

Moon halted and flattened his brow, keeping his eyes forward.

“Cut it out,” he demanded. Ruin leaned and tipped his head to the side, moving it right into Moon’s view less than an inch from his face.

“Nuuuuuuu.” He denied in a silly, slurred tone while making a goofy face.

“I don’t have time to argue with an ignoramus,” Moon’s breath hissed through his nostrils. “Unlike you, I have actual things to worry about.”

“Oh joy, this again…” Ruin rolled his eyes and shifted backwards. “Right, right, right, you have you’re liiiiiiiiiiittle escapade and soft mutiny to attend to, buuuuuuuuuuut…” his sneer slowly creeped back onto his face as he fixed his eyes directly on Moon. “You look a little flustered! I mean, I’ve never seen you jump so hard when I pop in randomly, even if I was trying to scare you…” he slid a little closer, turning his head to the side to show his smile reaching as far as his cheekbones would allow. “And your temper’s a bit shorter! If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’ve mistaken me for Angel!” He reached up and smacked his hooves against his head. With and elegant shake of his head, his mane suddenly extended, growing very long until it was draped down the sides of his head and touching the floor. “Though I could hardly pass for him, I don’t know how to clench my ass that hard.” He scrunched his face and blew at stray strands of hair as they got in his face. “Oo! How does he deal with this all day?!” he complained as the hair suddenly all fell off and to the floor, restoring his normal mane length.

He looked back at Moon and noticed that he had not moved, and was still staring flatly at him. Ruin began snickering as he continued to absorb Moon’s expression as if it were satiating him.

“If you’re done, I’ll be leaving,” Moon snorted, scrunching his face further. But Ruin tipped his head slightly, not breaking his devilish smirk.

“You know I’m not, otherwise you would have left already,” he paused as Moon’s eyes lids subtly twitched. “You never know what I’m going to say, and it fascinates you! That or you expect me to say something that will help make your decisions…”

“Then get on with it!” Moon suddenly snapped. Ruin shuddered delightfully

“Oooooohoohoohoo! Extra animosity today! It must be my birthday!” He suddenly zoomed forward and got within a yard of Moon. “Okay, let me tell you what I see right now when I look deep into those eyes that you try to make look emotionless…” his eyes grew wide as his snickering got louder. He didn’t say anything for a moment, but Moon waited, knowing he didn’t have a choice. Ruin’s eyes eventually reached the limit of how much he could open them, but he kept his eyebrows tilted down, holding a very unnerving expression. “I. SEE. FEAR.”

Moon blinked, his expression softening slightly and body shifting backwards an inch as Ruin’s voice made him shudder.

“And I know exactly what’s causing it!” Ruin continued, a sly, droning slur accompanying his voice as he slid through every word. “You are lost… and you don’t know which way to turn…” His voice caused Moon’s ears to twitch uncomfortably as if he was prying directly into his mind, uninvited. “You have no idea what to do next…” Ruin’s lips curled back, revealing his teeth in full as they pressed together within the terrifying smile. “Because Kayn Ost totally eyed you up while you were eavesdropping!”

Moon froze, his eyes widening as he felt a lump in his throat. It only lasted for a moment though as he averted his eyes and began quietly growling to himself.

“HOHOHO!” Ruin did a quick pirouette before reaching up his hooves and placing the tips atop his head. “Sure adds a little extra spice to the chili bowl, eh?!” he said as he continued to cackle to himself. “Kayn Ost knows you’re there, and even knows what you’re doing!” he suddenly popped up right beside Moon, facing the same direction as him as he leaned into his side. “Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Why is he letting you do your thing if it’s clearly against his chosen puppet?!” he dropped to the floor slid right beneath Moon’s legs and popped up on the other side, leaning into Moon again.

“Rgh…” Moon turned his head away again, frustration gripping him as Ruin’s taunting continued.

“How does it feel?” Ruin suddenly asked while draping one arm over Moon’s shoulders. Moon grunted and turned his head to glare daggers at Ruin, but he flinched as Ruin held a hoof an inch from his face. “You think you have something that resembles control over your situation, but then this happens!” he snidely laid out the facts as he slowly twirled his hoof near Moon’s forehead. “But in the end, it’s almost as if you’re just another piece in a big board game! And if he’s letting you live…” Ruin suddenly retracted his hoof, leaning his face forward. His eyes had turned black with the tiny dot pupils. “YOU MUST BE A VALUABLE PIECE!!!!!” he yelled with the echoing demonic tone that always accompanied the eye change.

But Moon didn’t react, he didn’t even flinch. With a single blink, Ruin’s eyes returned to normal.

“SNRK…” Ruin snorted humorously as he let go and backed away a little. “WOW! That used to scare you shitless!”

“I’ve never been scared of you,” Moon defended himself while furrowing his brow.

“Whoa there, Bronco, don’t lie to me too hard, I might make a mess…” he said in an inappropriate tone as Moon flinched in disgust. “But at least you’re finally getting used to little ol’ me!” he added happily as Moon rolled his eyes.

“As if I have a choice,” Moon said sarcastically as he tried to turn, but stopped as Ruin appeared directly in front of him again.

“OH HO HO!” He laughed directly into Moon’s face. “How right you are!” he added as he walked right past Moon and smacked him HARD on the back. Moon grunted and flinched, but just kept facing forward as Ruin started walking away behind him. “That’s plenty of harassing you for now, I suppose,” he said as Moon patiently waited for him to go away. But then the hoofsteps suddenly got louder and Ruin walked by him again in the other direction with his head tipped back and his eyes looking towards Moon upside-down as he passed. “I’d hate to get in the way of my own entertainment! So go on!” he encouraged as he slowly kept moving. “Keep doing your little thing! You can start right here and now!”

The moment he finished he stopped, twirled in place three times and thrust his hoof out towards the wall to his left.

“BOOP!”

“AH!” another voice suddenly shouted.

Moon’s ears shot straight up and his eyes grew wide as Rapidfire suddenly appeared, his body becoming visible as a pink light ran down it in the exact same manner Moon’s did to hide and reveal himself. Rapidfire stood as still as a statue, a look of shock on his face as Ruin’s hoof pressed against his nose.

“What the—” Moon began to voice his shock, but was abruptly cut off as Ruin burst out laughing, his head tilted back again as his mouth stuck open and eyes as wide as possible.

“HOOOOO HOHOHO HAHAHA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!” he guffawed maniacally as he started prancing down the hallway in a stride that eventually became bouncing, sometimes on his hooves, sometimes on his back, sometimes on his plot, and sometimes on his head. “I absolutely LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE this! WHOOPS!” he suddenly bounced the wrong way and landed face first on the ground, the moment of impact causing a bright flash of pink light before he vanished into thin air, his creepy, sinister giggling still echoing in the halls for a few seconds. The giggles grew louder and seemed pass right between Moon and Rapidfire and slowly moving down the opposite direction before dying down and disappearing.

Moon and Rapidfire were alone in the hallway. They stared at one another, but their faces held different emotions. Rapidfire was scared out of his own suit, but Moon was still wondering about how he just saw Rapidfire use his own self-devised cloaking magic spell.

“How did you use my cloaking magic?” Moon suddenly broke the silence. Rapidfire flinched hard, but said nothing as his eyes darted back and forth.

“I… uh…” Rapidfire kept acting like he was about to get his face beat in, but Moon had no urge to do so, not that he was the type anyway. He was much, much more curious about what Rapidfire had just done. He kept glancing between his three crystals and Rapidfire’s single crystal. It took all of his crystals to keep the invisibility stable, how did Rapidfire do it with only one? “Er…” Rapidfire continued to babble. Moon came back to reality and shook his head.

“Stop. Who do you think I am, Blade?” he asked calmly as Rapidfire stopped shuddering and swallowed. Moon decided to focus on the task at hand, thinking over everything he had just seen, and everything Ruin had said to him. “I take it you saw and heard everything… both out here and in there?” he asked. Rapidfire glanced away once, but then quietly nodded.

“Yes…” he said in a very hushed tone as if paranoid others were around.

“I see.” Moon acknowledged before turning and slowly walking away. Rapidfire perked up and looked towards him, but didn’t know what to say or do. “Stay on your guard,” Moon suddenly continued as he kept moving with his back turned to Rapidfire. “Things have taken a drastic turn. We might have to make a move sooner than anticipated.”

Rapidfire just stared, not sure what to make of it. Moon had not budged from his stance of waiting patiently and biding their time for so long.

“I have a few others I need to talk to, I’ll find you later,” Moon added before he picked up his pace, moving with a purpose in his step as he made his way down the hall and out of sight.

---

“Rainbow Dash… Where are we going?” Twilight asked as she followed Dash right out the front gate of the castle. “Hey!” she called out as Dash suddenly picked up her pace a little, forcing her to canter just to catch up. “Dash!” she tried to get her attention as she caught up and trotted right behind her.

“Somewhere private,” she said sternly without breaking her focus. Twilight blinked and tipped her head as they crossed the bridge over the castle moat and started moving down the streets of the royal district.

“What is this about?” Twilight asked, her curiosity beginning to frustrate her since Dash wasn’t giving her any reasons or specifics.

Dash just ignored her for a moment as she contemplated what would be a ‘private’ place. Because there needed to be no, none, zero, nada other ears around. She didn’t want even the smallest chance of anypony else hearing and maybe spreading it around regardless of if they were involved or not. She spotted the library as Twilight said her name again. She heard it, but didn’t reply as she thought to herself.

The library where she had just been led on another silly scenario by Twister. Why not? It was here at the library where her revelations began, so this was where she would take action. Plus, she couldn’t really think of anywhere else to avoid the eyes and ears of other ponies. The reading rooms… the REAL reading rooms were soundproof. Not to mention this would put Twilight in her element. She’d probably be much more comfortable and clear minded if—

“DASH!” Twilight suddenly yelled loudly right into her ear. Dash flinched and jumped a little, but quickly shook her head out and blinked. “Please tell me!”

Dash furrowed her brow and growled.

“Ok, now you listen to me!” Dash suddenly turned and glared hard at Twilight. Twilight’s eyes grew wide and she shied away a little as Dash got right in her face. “STOP. ASKING.” She said in a very hard tone. “I’ll tell you once we’re out of sight. UNDERSTAND?”

“Yes.” Twilight immediately responded, her voice cracking several octaves higher. As she remained perfectly still under Dash’s strong gaze.

“Good. Now come on,” Dash broke away quickly and walked up the library steps, but Twilight was stuck in place. Dash glanced over her shoulder as she grabbed the door handle and lifted an eyebrow. “Well, come on! Do you want to know or not?”

Twilight swallowed and nodded before doing as she was told. She was nervous and had no idea what was going on.

The two of them entered the library, and Dash immediately started turning down specific halls with Twilight in tow… but then she came to an abrupt stop. She realized that she was walking towards the janitor’s closet. The ‘reading room’ Twister had her in wasn’t even real.

“Twi.”

“EEP!” Twilight squeaked loudly. Dash glanced over her shoulder and tipped her head. Twilight was sitting on her plot behind her, her hooves clasped over her mouth, her cheeks puffed out, and a raging embarrassed blush over her face. Dash sighed and gave her a flat look.

“I’m not going to beat you up, Twi. I’m just being serious,” she said sarcastically. Twilight slowly removed her hooves from her mouth, but pouted, still embarrassed that she let out such a high pitched noise. “You’ve been here before, right?” Dash asked.

“Y…yes,” Twilight answered as she stood back up. “I come here every time I’m visiting.”

“Figured,” Dash looked forward and around the hall. “Where’s the most private study room? Preferably one that’s soundproof.” She asked, all business and no nonsense in her tone.

“Um…” Twilight looked back and forth to get her bearings. “This way, follow me.” She walked past Dash and took the lead. Dash kept her eyes firmly on Twilight as they moved. Twilight kept nervously glancing over her shoulder at her. Each time, Dash did not change her firm, serious expression and every moment their eyes met, Twilight flinched and went back to finding her way to her favorite spot.

When she glanced for the fifth time, Dash scrunched her face.

“Do you have something you want to say?” she put out there. Twilight flinched and halted in place. Dash kept striding until she was half a pony length away from her.

“Um…” Twilight struggled. “This won’t take too long… will it? I still have a lot of work to do and need to get back to—”

“This is more important than anything else going on right now,” Dash cut her off, the strength of her voice once again completely dominating Twilight’s composure. She just stared, her eyes growing slightly wider.

“What?” she tried to find words, but wasn’t sure what to say or ask. “What do you mean?”

“Keep walking,” Dash said plainly, causing Twilight to recline slightly and wince. She was clearly uncomfortable with how assertive Dash was being, but Dash was not willing to approach this any other way. This WAS important. Twilight didn’t know half of what was going on. And the sterner and firmer she was about the importance of it, the more convincing she would be, especially to a pony as naturally curious as Twilight.

“O... okay…” Twilight swallowed and turned, continuing on her path. Dash kept pace right behind her, keeping herself together with every step.

After one more left turn down a hall, Twilight motioned towards a door only a few yards away. It had a window on it, with two windows flanking it side by side, but there were shades pulled over them, allowing for even visual privacy. It looked perfect.

“Here… I always use this room when I come to study,” she explained as they approached the door.

“Then let’s go in,” Dash quickly took over as she walked right past Twilight and reached for the door. Twilight flinched as Dash muscled her way right by her, but kept up behind as Dash opened the door and the two peered in.

It was a small room, roughly twelve by twelve. On the back wall were a few half-filled shelves with books piled on them to be re-shelved later. A desk was dead center, but enough to seat one, maybe two on each side. There were a few chairs at the desk, but only three, one seemed to have been borrowed at some point. Aside from that, there was nothing else, just bare walls… and a stallion sitting at the desk with a small pile of books who was looking at the two of them curiously as they looked in.

“Oh,” Twilight perked up as she spotted the stallion. “Looks like somepony is already—”

“OUT.” Dash suddenly said harshly towards the stallion as she moved into the room and glared at him. The stallion froze and stared wide eyed up at Dash from his seat.

Twilight gasped as Dash suddenly bore down on the confused stallion, glancing back and forth between them. They were of similar size, but he was skinny, his body not even close to the strong, athletic build of Dash. He gulped and sunk into his seat a little as Dash continued to lean over him and cast a shadow, giving him the firmest look she could manage.

“Dash!” Twilight stepped in and tried to approach from behind. “You can’t just—”

“NOW!” Dash suddenly yelled, slamming a hoof down on the desk right between the stallion’s books.

The stallion yelped, quickly gathering up his books and scurrying out. His chair tipped back too far as he jumped out of it, but Dash caught the back of it before it could fall to the floor. Twilight’s jaw dropped as far as it could go as she watched the stallion run for his life. She quickly shot Dash a look of disapproval.

“Rainbow Dash, that was uncalled for!” she scolded, but Dash paid no attention to it. She walked around the chair before placing all four of its legs back on the floor and shooting a glare towards Twilight while pointing at the chair.

“Close the door and sit down.” She ordered.

Twilight was stunned as Dash brushed off her scolding like it was nothing. Dash’s assertiveness and demeanor were completely overwhelming and overpowering her. She had never seen this from her before and had no idea what to think. So she did as she was told. With a nervous look and curiosity killing her from within, she closed the door before making her way over and sitting down.

Once she was in the seat, Dash slowly walked to the other side of the table, but she didn’t sit down. She didn’t say anything for a moment, just stared at Twilight as she looked back with roughly a fourth of the strength as the gaze being force on her.

She couldn’t take it anymore.

“Rainbow Dash…” she spoke up. “What in Equestria has gotten into you?” she asked with concern. “First you were all hesitant when you arrived, you almost couldn’t look us in the eyes… and now suddenly you’re—” She stopped abruptly as Dash took a firm step forward and slammed both of her front hooves on the table, making Twilight jump slightly. Twilight’s eyes remained open, not blinking once as Dash’s gaze seemed to become even stronger. Dash pushed herself up, putting herself much higher than Twilight and looking down. She was completely at her mercy.

“Twi, before I tell you anything…” Dash began in a very serious tone. “I want to ask you something.”

Twilight finally blinked as her eyes started to feel dry. She was still feeling intimidated, but Dash’s voice was coercing her to play along.

“Y…yes?” Twilight hesitantly replied, her curiosity nudging her forward. Dash gave a single, firm nod.

“Do you trust me?”

The question caught Twilight completely off-guard. The question confused her, because it felt like the answer was obvious. But now the question floating in her head was, why was Dash asking such a thing?

Dash watched Twilight’s reaction carefully. She could tell the question blindsided her, but that’s exactly what she was going for. She knew Twilight trusted her, but she wanted to ask regardless to drive home that the situation as a whole… was NOT normal. Twilight continued to stare at her as if she wasn’t sure how to answer, but then she twitched, shook her head out and gave Dash a look that almost seemed hurt.

“Of course I do!” she replied with a hint of passion. It was the response Dash was looking for, but she wasn’t done.

“How much?” she pressed.

Direct hit. Twilight almost audibly gasped and looked completely taken aback.

“What kind of question is that?” Twilight fired back as she leaned forward and placed her front hooves on the table. “You’re one of my best friends! Why wouldn’t I trust you?”

It was exactly what Dash wanted to hear. Now that she had Twilight adamantly defending their friendship, she could start digging in. She looked Twilight right in the eyes.

“Because I’m about to throw a lot of crap at you and I want you to promise me to hear me out… ALL of it,” Dash put out there, but Twilight kept inching forward in her seat.

“Rainbow Dash, what in CELESTIA’S name makes you think I wouldn’t trust you?!”

Dash’s eyes narrowed. She finally lowered herself back down, placing her hooves on the floor, but never breaking her gaze.

“You just said it,” Dash pointed at her.

Twilight’s face went blank as if something just flew right over her head.

“Uh… what?” Twilight blinked several times as she quickly tried to pick apart everything she had just said in her head for an indication of what Dash meant, but she turned up empty hooved…

Because she hadn’t a clue what Dash had been through.

“I really wish I had time to tell you everything I’ve been through since I sent you my letter. Every detail is important and so many things I thought I understood or trusted have now been ripped to shreds. But… it would take hours to pick it apart piece by piece and I don’t want to keep you too long in case anypony gets suspicious.”

“What’s… going on?” Twilight’s voice suddenly sounded a little shaky. “Is something wrong?” she asked simply as if trying to understand what Dash was getting at.

“EVERYTHING, Twilight,” Dash said firmly. “Everything is wrong.” She paused to let that sink in first, because she knew what she said next… was going to really set off a few alarms in Twilight’s head. “But none of it is as bad as the fact that I don’t trust any of the gods anymore.”

As expected, Twilight’s eyes grew so wide that it was a wonder they didn’t pop right out of their sockets.

“What?!” Twilight said in utter shock.

“You heard me,” Dash calmly added. Twilight just kept staring for a moment.

“You don’t mean…” she struggled, trailing off. But Dash nodded.

“I mean Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. I guess you can include Discord in there too, but it’s not like I trusted him much to begin with.” She leaned forward, not giving Twilight time in case she was about to rebuke Dash impulsively. “The Wonderbolts and I have gone through hell and back to get here. And all along the way we’ve been constantly finding out about things we were never told or were purposely kept from us. And Luna was by far the biggest culprit of doing so. She has done nothing but mislead us from start to finish, and every time we’ve caught her and pried the truth out of her, she kept doing it as if never learning her lesson or feeling we couldn’t handle the full truth. I know you were shocked when you heard Luna and Spitfire had traded barbs, but I don’t blame Spitfire one bit. Luna undercut us over and over again and constantly left us in the dark.”

Dash took a breath and watched as Twilight more or less stiffened with her ears turned forward. She was listening. That was good, now she just hoped she didn’t let her loyalties get in the way.

“It started before I sent you my letter.” Dash continued. “She hired the Renegades without informing us and led us on a campaign of confusion where we had no idea who they were or if they were Shadowbolts, and on top of it, they were fending off the real Shadowbolts without our knowledge, leading up to one hell of a nasty and unpleasant surprise when we were caught off guard by them. Regarding Soarin and his magic, she constantly walked around issues and never gave us the full story on his condition or the risks posed to him. And it wasn’t until after the letter that at some point Discord revealed to Soarin and I that we are bound by our souls, a piece of me left within him when he was revived after the Ponyville tornado. We are so strongly linked that I can feel his pain whenever it is related to the magic, and if either of us were to die, the other would go down too. That’s right, Luna kept that from us… and don’t even get me started on how she constantly avoids answering questions about Celestia.”

Twilight was locked in place. Not even the big egghead seemed to be able to process all of this without breaking a sweat. She just stared with wide eyes and her mouth slightly agape. Dash hoped she was listening with an open mind… because she was already halfway to the moment of truth and there was no backing out now.

“Discord has been even worse. I know that may not sound like much, but this very much relates to my point too. Why? Because whenever we find out he’s hiding something or keeping us in the dark, his reasoning is always… that he’s doing so because Celestia told him to.”

She paused as Twilight released a quiet gasp without changing her expression. Dash had a feeling it would hit her even harder once the subject turned to her mentor.

“The story never changes, Celestia apparently told him not to reveal a great number of things and he refuses to disobey her. And by the time we discover a secret he’s been keeping under wraps, it’s already too late, the damage that could have been prevented has been done. It’s as if there’s something they don’t want us to know, but they’re terrible at keeping it all hidden away.”

“But…” Twilight finally spoke, her voice hushed. “Celestia would never…” she trailed off as Dash shook her head.

“I hate to break it to you Twi, but Celestia is far and away the worst offender of them all,” Dash dropped the hammer, and Twilight’s reaction was visible even though she remained silent. “Guess what? Every single word she said to us while we were in the hospital after the tornado? Everything she said she saw and the actions she wanted to take to restore Soarin? It was all a blatant lie.” The sound of Twilight’s chair lightly scooting on the floor met Dash’s ears. Her wings had opened slightly in surprise and made the chair budge a little. Dash shook her head, not letting up. “She looked us in the eye and fed us full of crap,” Dash continued. “You’ve been paying attention. You’ve been listening to everypony here. Have you tried asking how Sombra even got into Soarin in the first place? Celestia PUT HIS SOUL into Soarin! She had it dwelling inside her all this time, separated from the shell of his body we faced together, and she used her fake story to cover her while she used that weird ritual to transfer him to his body. And why?! I don’t believe a word he’s saying either, but Discord claims she wanted to create some kind of unstoppable warrior by using Soarin’s body and Sombra’s soul, but she didn’t think of the possible consequence, and apparently didn’t give a damn about sacrificing Soarin… and ME too, putting us both in extreme danger for her little idea.” She paused and pointed to her eyes. “I know you’re probably flipping in your head right now, but look at me. LOOK. AT. ME!” she said, trying her best not to speak too loud. “This is what I’ve seen. This is what I know. Celestia lied. She made up the premonition. She used Soarin’s hospitalization as an excuse. For all I know she could have been waiting for it to happen! And now Soarin is at the mercy of a thousand-year-old king… and I’m sitting here with a connection that allows me to feel him and his pain. I can know if he’s near, I know if he’s far away. How do you think I feel being a living Sombra detector? With the way things are going I’m surprised nopony has forced me to do it yet.”

Twilight looked like she had just run into a visible brick wall. Her face had gone blank. Dash couldn’t read it aside from the fact that she looked like she had short-circuited. But as she sat there, her pupils suddenly enlarged as she continued to stare. Dash took it as an indication that she was speechless, but still listening.

“Oh, speaking of that…” she went on from her last comment. “Now I know this probably already sounds beyond screwed up… but it doesn’t even end there. We’re suddenly not sure if Sombra is actually evil.”

Twilight flinched and nearly fell out of her chair, suddenly moving as she placed a hoof on the table to support herself. The look she gave spoke volumes. Twilight was a pony of facts. And Dash just said something that ran 100% contrary to something she thought to be true from books and historical texts.

“I know why you’re giving me that look,” Dash acknowledged her. “And you’re going to have a hard time believing me, but I know what I saw, and many others saw it too. When Sombra was released and took over Soarin… he didn’t attack any of us without provocation. He struck when attacked first, but did not lay a single hoof on anypony who remained out of his way.”

Twilight’s eyes changed abruptly from shock to heavily curious. Dash took it as a good sign and continued.

“He never went out of his way to purposely harm us. What’s more, we sustained heavy injuries from the encounter, but he didn’t kill a single pony. He subdued all who attacked and moved on. He only showed animosity towards Discord and Luna. All of his anger and might, all of his focus was on the two of them as if he was thirsty to get revenge for something they had done to wrong him.” Dash paused and tipped her head. “Aside from his anger towards the gods… that doesn’t sound at all like the Sombra we know, does it?”

Twilight glanced down at the table, but still said nothing as she processed it. Dash could see small beads of sweat forming on Twilight’s brow. Was she panicking? Did she not know what to think of this? Dash felt good if that was the case, it meant she was thinking it over.

The groundwork had been set… now it was time. Dash mentally prepared herself, because she was about to blatantly disobey a direct order.

“Something isn’t right here,” she began again as Twilight’s eyes darted back to her. “We keep finding out about lie after lie being spoon-fed to us by the gods like they have some sort of agenda… like they think they know what’s best for us and keep things from us for ‘our own good’. But we’ve been pushed past the tipping point, Twi… I’VE been pushed past the tipping point,” she paused and took a deep breath. “So listen… Spitfire has held secret meetings with us. And we’ve decided that we’re not going to follow Luna’s orders, we’re going to approach this situation our own way.”

Dash subtly winced as Twilight’s eyes suddenly grew wide, and it wasn’t a look of surprise, it was a look of shock. Dash could tell she immediately didn’t approve, but it was too late to walk anything back, she kept going.

“We have been given secret orders and have been instructed to keep them from Luna and anypony associated or close to her. Spitfire’s plan is to acknowledge Sombra’s passive behavior, approach him in a non-threatening manner, and engage in dialogue before we do anything else. In the past we have been told by Celestia and Luna that Sombra was simply a monster and an insane tyrant, but Spitfire isn’t convinced that’s the whole story. We are going to assume he won’t attack us if we don’t attack him, and if we discover the means to separate him from Soarin, we’ll spring it on him there. And… even if we can’t separate him through our own means, Spitfire wants to speak directly to him and figure out what’s going on with a slim glimmer of hope that an understanding between us and him can lead to some kind of resolution and maybe the release of Soarin. Spitfire’s not convinced that will work or even be a possible case, but simply attacking him has already proved useless. Instead of blindly throwing ourselves at him for Luna, this is the course of action Spitfire plans to take. Right now, she’s placing our bits on the assumption we find a spell to separate them.”

Dash stiffened. She forced her presence to remain dominant over Twilight, but this was it… she was about to find out if this was the right course of action or a grave mistake.

“Wait! NO!” Twilight suddenly stood up, a frantic, alarmed look on her face. “You can’t do that to Luna!” she blurted out. Dash’s eyes twitched, but she remained firm. “Why is Spitfire trying to undercut her?! We can’t solve this problem if we’re working against one another! Luna’s one of the divine goddesses of Equestria! You can’t just—”

“TWILIGHT.” Dash raised her voice, speaking so forcefully that Twilight halted mid-sentence. “Sit down, and let me continue.” Dash asserted her will, holding strong despite getting the reaction she feared. Twilight was still standing, and had her hooves pressing hard to the table as her eyes remained wide and locked on Dash.

“But… but…” she stuttered, her body shaking. Dash shook her head.

“Who said I agree with Spitfire’s plan?” Dash threw out there, catching Twilight completely off guard. She stopped shaking and stared blankly.

“Huh?” she tipped her head curiously and slowly sunk back into her seat.

“Spitfire also gave me a direct order not to speak to you or any of the others about this. She doesn’t trust you either because of your close relationship with Celestia and Luna. You’re a princess. As far as Spitfire is concerned, you are just as guilty as them.”

“What…?” Twilight looked crushed and confused.

“And,” Dash gave her a firm nod. “I don’t like that. After thinking about it, I feel like Spitfire has become overly paranoid. I understand that she wants to rip control of our fate away from Luna, but she’s going too far. I wasn’t sure about Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity, or Applejack… but I knew deep down that you would hear me out. I’ve known you too long to think of you the same way Spitfire is right now.”

Twilight looked down, averting her eyes as she tried to piece it all together.

“So… like I said, hear me out.” Dash continued, causing Twilight to look right back up. “I know how much you revere the divine sisters, but I want you to hear me loud and clear. From the moment Celestia ‘saved’ Soarin up until now, they have done nothing but lie to us… lie to me. They keep secrets from us, and the secrets only get revealed after the damage has been done and we’re feeling the consequences. Spitfire no longer trusts them, I no longer trust them, and I’m sure nopony else within the Wonderbolts trusts them anymore either. If it were just one secret or one lie, maybe I’d find it in my heart to forgive them and hear their reasoning, but after the fourth or fifth time my faith isn’t so strong… or naïve. But… at the same time I don’t believe Spitfire has the right idea either. What if things go south and we end up clashing with Luna and her thestrals? How are we going to pull off a passive approach to Sombra when Luna would definitely oppose the idea under her authority? And if we do get to Sombra, then what?” Dash threw a hoof out to her side. “Spitfire wants to have a chat with him, but what good will that do? I get that she wants to spring a trap on him if possible, but that’s her plan regardless of whether or not we have the means? Sombra may not seem like the Sombra we thought he was, but I highly doubt he’d just agree to let Soarin’s body go.”

She sighed and let her head hang down for a moment, taking a few breaths as Twilight just continued to stare. Dash gathered herself and looked Twilight in the eye, shaking her head slowly.

“This is why I felt the need to come to you and be upfront. I feel like this is spiraling out of control and I have no say in how either side goes forward. On one side, we have Luna acting like she’s the supreme leader who feels she knows what’s best while the shadow of her sister and the lies they have both told loom over us… suggesting that we deal with Sombra as if we’re taking on the greatest threat to Equestria despite what we’ve already been fighting against. On the other side, Spitfire has turned this into a tight-lipped stealth operation where we’re frantically trying to keep things under wraps and every glance towards Luna or somepony associated with her makes us stiff and uneasy. This is going to end poorly, PERIOD. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.”

Dash leaned forward and placed a hoof gently on the table.

“This is why I came to you, Twi. I want to break away from this mess and figure out what we should really do. And I need your help to do it.”

She left it right there and kept her eyes glued to Twilight. Twilight looked very distraught. Her expression was mostly blank, but it didn’t stop the look from creeping into her eyes. Dash felt a wave of sympathy rush over her all of a sudden. She didn’t regret this, but she had just pounded Twilight with all sorts of information that she was no doubt not ready for, nor expecting. She had to do something here, but the only other thing in the room aside from Twilight was her… and she was one of Twilight’s best friends. She didn’t have to remind Twilight of that, but she felt compelled to for the sake of cushioning the sudden drop.

“Look, Twi…” Dash spoke up again in a much softer voice. “I know Celestia is your teacher and like a second mother to you… and I know you regard Luna just as highly, but please…” she gave a single, reassuring nod. “I have no reason to lie to you. You know that. I swear on my element, on my loyalty, and our friendship that I’m being one hundred percent honest.” She shook her head. “Enough is enough. We need to do something about all this.”

Unfortunately, her addition did not have the desired effect. Twilight’s expression didn’t change, she just looked down at the table. Dash’s ears flopped and she gritted her teeth. She thought it was going well… but at this point she was hoping Twilight would be more responsive.

“I… actually…” Twilight suddenly spoke up. Dash perked up and waited anxiously for her to continue. Twilight folded her ears backwards and looked to the side, shutting her eyes tight as if trying to force something out.

“Yes?” Dash gently pressed. Twilight shook her head out and groaned, letting her face fall and bopping her nose lightly to the table.

“Okay, I…” she exhaled. “Okay, look,” she suddenly narrowed her eyes at Dash. “I don’t like this one bit. I can’t doubt Celestia or Luna. Especially Celestia.”

Dash froze, but did her best not to show it. Was she wrong to think this would work?

“It’s wrong!” Twilight put some strength into her voice, placing a hoof on the table. “She’s my teacher!” She suddenly wasn’t looking at Dash as she went on. Dash blinked, noticing the odd behavior. “I’ve learned everything I know from her!” she kept going as if she wasn’t yelling towards Dash at all.

Was she… talking to herself?

“I can’t just… suddenly… UGH!!!”

Dash flinched as Twilight suddenly slammed her forehead to the table, her horn scratching against the wood surface and leaving a mark.

“Ow…” she said quietly as she lifted her head up slightly. “That… wasn’t smart…” she said in a muffled tone as she brought her hooves to her forehead and groaned.

“Twi…?” Dash tipped her head curiously as Twilight kept rubbing her forehead.

“I… believe you,” Twilight said very weakly and still a little muffled with her arms in front of her face.

But that was all Dash wanted to hear. The uplifting feeling in her chest was indescribable.

She did it… it actually worked. Okay maybe she was getting a little ahead of herself, but still. Just hearing those words from Twilight was already more than a victory.

“And…” Twilight sighed as she sat up, leaned back in her seat, and let her hooves fall to her sides. “I believe you because…” she paused and shook her head. “Since you’ve all arrived, something about Luna has seemed… off.”

Dash nearly lifted herself onto the tips of her hooves. She knew it… she knew Twilight would notice something.

Twilight looked to her left, and then to her right as if searching for a window to look out, forgetting that they were in a soundproof reading room. When she found nothing to gaze through, she just kept her head turned as if there were.

“Luna hasn’t been acting like herself. She’s usually so upright and proper, very traditional in the way she carries herself compared to Celestia. But her behavior over the past day has been so strange. She’s been overly demanding, unrealistically strict, and seems frantic. At first I thought it was just a byproduct of what you’ve all been through, but in the past, even in times of stress Luna has kept calm. It didn’t feel right at all.” She turned back to Dash. “And then on top of that, while she’s helped a little with the research into the cure for the crystal affliction… she hasn’t helped at all with figuring out possible ways to separate Sombra from Soarin. She even called it a waste of time.”

Dash flinched, her eyes widening as her ears stood up.

“Wait… what?!” Dash blurted out, a look of shock and disgust rushing onto her face. Twilight simply looked into the forming glare on Dash’s face with shame in her eyes.

“That’s not all…” Twilight continued, causing Dash to brace herself for more. “The worst of it was last night. I didn’t know what to think of it at the time, but… after hearing all this from you, I have no idea what to believe.”

“What happened last night?!” Dash demanded as she slammed a hoof on the table. Twilight didn’t budge, she took in Dash’s fierce stare as if she felt it was completely justified. She took a deep breath.

“While I was gathering my materials to begin the research for exorcism spells, I had an epiphany. I was excited because my mind had immediately turned to something that could easily solve the dilemma and allow me to join the search for the crystal cure instead. I dropped my books and happily rushed right up to Luna… and told her that the Elements of Harmony were capable of the task. I cited our very first feat as the Element bearers, when we used them to free her from the Nightmare Miasma that turned her into Nightmare Moon.”

“Oh!” Dash’s ears stood up. She had completely forgotten about that! The last times they used the Elements of Harmony were to seal, then unseal Discord. The day she and her friends all met and became the Element bearers was so long ago that she forgotten all about how they used them on Nightmare Moon. She smiled to herself, a rush of confidence pouring in. They had the means to do this all along! She wished she had remembered this sooner. It would have saved her a lot of anxiety.

“But…” Twilight sighed, scooting her chair back a little as she lowered herself and rested her chin on the table, her nostrils flaring as she blew a rush of air from them and wore a conflicted expression. “Luna cut me off abruptly. She forcefully shut my mouth with her magic and yanked me aside.”

Dash’s sudden high vanished quickly, her ears falling down slowly as she began putting together what Twilight was going to say before she even said it.

“She kept tugging me along until we were out of earshot of anypony else… and began scolding me harshly. She berated me and ordered me not to bring it up again.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me…” Dash said quietly, shaking her head as her face scrunched in disgust. Twilight shook her head, rubbing her chin back and forth on the table as her eyes looked up at Dash.

“I didn’t let it go. I was shocked that she was so quick to dismiss likely our best chance to save Soarin. As soon as I had my senses about me, I pushed her on it, I demanded to know why. But she only scolded me again and told me I did not fully understand the extent of Sombra’s power, claiming that the only way to be sure was to seal him away. I understood the sealing part, so I pushed her about first separating them and then sealing his soul away, but she pushed back again. She cited that Sombra was adaptive, and if we used the elements once, he would not get caught twice. She is confident that we will only have one shot and didn’t want to waste it on separating them.”

Dash was speechless. Luna had lied to them once again. She had NO intention of trying to save Soarin, she was only worried about taking care of Sombra.

Luna was prepared to sacrifice her as well. There was no indication of what would happen to Dash if Soarin was sealed away… but Luna wasn’t even attempting to find out. Now she felt just plain betrayed.

“She didn’t let me say anything else,” Twilight went on as she sat back up. “And demanded that I go about my business and not speak a word of it to anyone else, or face consequences. I’ve never felt threatened by either of the princesses before, it was heartbreaking. I did as I was told, but felt so conflicted. I didn’t know what to do or think, I tried to rationalize it and mark it up to how the elements require everypony to be of one mind and spirit in order to use them, but who am I kidding? Part of me kept screaming to just go with it because Luna knew best and I shouldn’t doubt her, but…” she trailed off and sighed.

“Unbelievable…” Dash said as she just stared at Twilight, still trying to come to terms with how upside-down everything had become… if it could flip any more than it already had.

“I’m sorry,” Twilight suddenly apologized. “I should have done something right then and there. It was wrong, but I let her talk me down.”

“No… don’t apologize,” Dash quickly stopped her before she could get any more down on herself. Twilight blinked and looked up. “This is exactly why I decided to talk to you,” she said with a smile. “I know you, Twi. And I knew that if something didn’t look right, you’d be the first to notice.” She snorted and looked off to the side. “I just didn’t think Luna would go this far… she’s still deceiving us, even now. And she’s not even considering separating Soarin and Sombra as an option.” Dash turned her body away and started pacing forward. “She’s so afraid of Sombra that she’s going as far as to completely sacrifice Soarin… and maybe even me. She’s acting like it’s the only option.” She paused and growled as she reached the wall. “I’m sure Discord would completely agree with her too… Would Celestia do the same?” Dash shook her head. “I’ve never seen them so scared. They’re disregarding everything else just to prevent Sombra from existing, even if it kills some of us. I feel like I don’t even know who they are anymore…”

“So what are we going to do?”

Dash blinked, her ears standing up as Twilight spoke. She quickly turned around.

“You’re on board then?” Dash asked, making sure she heard Twilight correctly.

“Of course I am…” Twilight said without hesitation, but she didn’t look happy about it. “I don’t like what’s happening here. It’s bad enough that Celestia isn’t around, and now worse to know that she and Luna have been lying to us to pursue their own agenda.” She shook her head and sniffled, visibly quivering. “It goes against everything I’ve learned from them… why would they do this?” She shut her eyes, beads of tears appeared in the corners of her eyes, but she quickly shook them off, remaining strong. She opened her eyes and held a serious expression. “I’m not going to just let this happen. This is wrong.”

Dash felt a warmth in her heart. Deep down, before she took this chance, she knew she could trust Twilight. That trust proved to be well placed.

“Thanks, Twi,” she walked towards her, coming around the table and placing a hoof on her shoulder as Twilight smiled weakly in return.

“So… I guess I should meet up with Spitfire then?” she asked, curious about what Dash had in mind. “We can tell her about the other Harmony spell and—”

“No,” Dash quickly cut her off. “We can’t get the Wonderbolts involved, maybe aside from my own squad.”

“What?” Twilight blinked.

“I told you,” Dash shook her head. “I’m already defying Spitfire’s orders by talking to you about this. We won’t be changing her mind. If we go to her, she might do something drastic. I’m not taking that risk.”

“Doesn’t that just make things even more convoluted?” Twilight argued. “I thought we were trying to unravel this situation, not tie it tighter. Doesn’t Spitfire want a way to separate them? We can do that with the Elements.”

“Twilight, she doesn’t trust you. I already told you that,” Dash reminded her. Twilight stood up, her seat scooting backwards as she looked annoyed.

“Why though?!” she asked passionately. “What have I done to deserve that? I’m not the one who’s been telling lies!”

“It doesn’t matter,” Dash replied calmly, looking right into Twilight’s peeved glare. “You’re guilty by association. Spitfire has lost all faith in the goddesses and is hell bent on defying them. She doesn’t believe they have any interest in mind besides their own and is doubling down. She’s convinced that the gods have been trying to keep us blindfolded, and she’s become overly paranoid that anypony outside of our recent experience still has the blindfold tied tight. She is under the assumption that you will blindly follow the word of the gods, and I’m willing to bet my whole damn salary that she won’t believe you’re on our side if we try to talk to her. The same would go for Cadence and your brother… and the rest of our friends too. I doubt even Applejack could convince Spitfire she’s being honest.”

“Guilty by association…” Twilight repeated Dash’s words as she looked down and gritted her teeth. “She really wouldn’t give me a chance at all?”

“I highly doubt it,” Dash doubled down. “But it isn’t your fault. I may agree with Spitfire in not trusting the gods anymore… but I think she’s taking it way too far.” Dash took a step forward and grabbed Twilight by the shoulder, gently turning her to look her right in the eye up close. “But she doesn’t know you like I do. She hasn’t been your friend for years. You may be Celestia’s prized student, but you’re not stupid and you’re definitely not blind. I knew you’d recognize something wasn’t right. That’s exactly why I decided to defy my orders and talk to you.”

Dash could tell that Twilight felt heartened by her words, but she still looked unenthusiastic as she looked away and sighed. Dash gave her shoulder a light rub as she went on.

“We aren’t going to change Luna’s mind and we aren’t going to change Spitfire’s mind. We aren’t going to solve this with any friendship lessons, Twi.”

“I…” Twilight hesitated. “I wasn’t going to suggest that, but still…” she trailed off and groaned.

“I know how you think, Twi,” Dash quickly reassured her. “And if I thought we could find a way to all come together and tackle this, I already would have suggested that. But we’ve been through so much crap that both sides have dug in and neither side is going to budge. This is going to be complicated, but the only way I see us stopping this from being a disaster is to wiggle our way in between these conflicting plans and handle it our own way before it goes from bad to worse.”

Twilight looked into Dash’s eyes and seemed to find solace in the look of pure determination. She nodded weakly.

“I understand. I don’t like it, but I guess we don’t really have a choice…” she said reluctantly, but at least she wasn’t fighting Dash on it.

“So the Elements of Harmony…” Dash began as she stepped back from Twilight. “I completely forgot about how we used them the first time. That will work, right? It pushed the Nightmare Miasma right out of Princess Luna.” Dash asked, getting right down to business.

She stayed quiet and waited… because Twilight put a hoof to her chin and narrowed her eyes, humming to herself as she rubbed her chin back and forth.

The Twilight thinking face. Dash didn’t want to get in the way as that big brain of hers worked.

“In… theory… it should work,” Twilight said as she continued to rub her chin. That wasn’t exactly what Dash wanted to hear.

“In theory?” Dash tipped her head. “Is that a good or bad thing?”

“It’s neither,” Twilight quickly answered. “I’ve done lots of research on the power of the Elements since we obtained them, I have an understanding of their power and the spells they can cast, but only on an informational level. Obviously, we’ve only used them three times, and each time we used them in a different way, so it’s not like I’ve experimented with them and logged enough findings to form an intelligent hypothesis.”

Dash blinked. Twilight looked up and noticed Dash was giving her a blank look.

“Uh…” One of Dash’s ears flattened for a second before moving back upright. “Can you explain that in not-nerd words?”

Twilight flattened her brow and pouted.

“What I’m saying is… it should work, but I’m only going off the fact that we were able to separate the Nightmare Miasma from Luna,” Twilight tried to simplify it. “There are a few key differences between that situation then, and this situation now. The Nightmare Miasma was a mindless cloud of negative energy, a parasite that latches to and controls a host willing to succumb to its power. Based on what you’ve told me about Sombra’s soul and your encounter with him controlling Soarin’s body, this is entirely different. Sombra is a conscious entity, and from what I’ve gathered, it’s an incredibly strong willed conscious that is also free thinking and intelligent. Since he is an entity that has possessed a body, the Elements SHOULD be able to force him out all the same, but because of his sentience and immense willpower, he might be able to fight back and resist.”

Twilight grunted as Dash’s befuddled look remained.

“Okay, think of it this way,” she tried one more time. “It wouldn’t be a simple ready, aim, and fire like it was with Nightmare Moon. Sombra’s soul is strong and smart, he’s a mortal being with a strong enough willpower to hold his mind together in a non-physical form. Once we’ve hit him with the blast, it will probably turn into a battle of wills between the six of us and him. The real question is whether or not all of us can overpower him.”

“There,” Dash pointed. “That made sense.”

“I’m glad…” Twilight said as she forced a smile and failed to conceal a slight head twitch.

“So it’ll be tough,” Dash nodded. “But it’s still better than the other option. And if it’s effort you want, you’ll get it. You know how strong our connection is. I don’t care who we’re going up against, I know you and the rest won’t give in just because of a little pressure.”

“Even Rarity and Fluttershy?” Twilight asked bluntly.

“Yes, even them,” Dash failed to hold in a snort of amusement. “We’re not asking them to do any heavy lifting. I don’t think concentrating hard is going to chip Rarity’s hoof. And Fluttershy? Just tell her my life depends on it and she’ll give a hundred and ten percent.”

“Fair enough,” Twilight nodded as Dash kept up despite falling a little behind her long, scientific explanations. “But now the question remains… how will we pull this off? Luna is expecting us to cooperate and seal them."

“How the hell will she know which spell we’re casting then?” Dash winked. “Just tell her we’re going to use the seal and then use the other instead. I don't remember them being visually different.”

Twilight blinked and rubbed her chin, furrowing her brow. Dash shrugged.

"It's not like she can SENSE which spell is being used. She won't know until we've fired it."

“Oooooh…” Twilight groaned as her ears flopped down. “I don’t like lying.”

“Aren’t we technically already doing that by not playing along?” Dash asked as she tipped her head.

“Yeah, I know but, I don’t like looking somepony in the eye and lying, especially to one of the princesses. And good luck getting Applejack on board with that.”

“Applejack can suck it up and deal with it,” Dash flattened her brow and shook her head. “I don’t like lying either, but this isn’t a time to act like morals will win us out. Taking the high road is gonna run us right off a cliff.”

“But what are we going to do about Spitfire?” Twilight asked. “If we ‘agree’ to help Luna, what will she do?”

“I’m going to tell her I lied to Luna about agreeing to use the elements,” Dash put forth casually. Twilight growled and placed a hoof on her forehead.

“So you’re going to lie about a lie… Celestia, help me, this is going end poorly,” Twilight said to herself.

“Don’t be that way,” Dash quickly butt in. “I’m only considering these things because this is what it’s come to, okay?” Dash stepped towards Twilight again.

“Spitfire is the lead captain of the Wonderbolts,” Twilight explained as she held a hoof out in front of her and tipped it back and forth. “I don’t know her personally, but I’d say that means she’s no slouch. Assuming she doesn’t piece together that there’s something going on right under her nose, when we make the move and start the spell, won’t she try to stop us?”

Dash opened her mouth, but paused. Twilight had a very good point there. Granted, she hadn’t thought that far forward yet, but it was a good thing to consider. Spitfire was in a state of extreme paranoia, but it didn’t stop her from being the most dangerous obstacle to this plan. Powering up the Elements of Harmony was not an instant process, and Dash had every reason not to doubt Spitfire’s reaction time after the beat down she put on Nightshade.

But there was one thing…

“That’s a good point, but… I don’t think Spitfire will be suspicious of me.” Dash tapped a hoof to her chest. “She knows about the connection between Soarin and I, she won’t suspect for a second that I’d be willing to risk sealing him away and possibly affecting myself in the process. I think all we’ll have to worry about is the moment we take action.”

“Hmmm…” Twilight didn’t disagree, but still looked puzzled.

“Look, let’s not think too hard about the plan right now. I don’t have the full details of the larger game plan from Spitfire and I’m going to guess Luna hasn’t laid out her plans to you yet either.”

“No, she hasn’t,” Twilight confirmed. Dash nodded.

“Then for now we just need to play along. I’ll keep my ear to Spitfire, you keep an ear to Luna. Once we know what both sides plan to do in full, we can figure out what we’ll do. If I had to wager a guess right now, part of the Wonderbolt plan will include restraining Luna at some point… maybe even engaging her guard. There will be a point where all hell breaks loose, and if that happens we can use that moment, but let’s wait and see what else we hear.”

Dash blinked as Twilight stared at her blankly.

“What?” Dash asked while tipping her head.

“This is going to be messy… and it keeps getting more complicated.” She shook her head and mumbled to herself for a moment. “So… I’m going to act like I’m helping Luna, you’re going to act like you’re helping Spitfire, but we’re going to be in contact under both their noses, so neither of them will know what’s going on, then when Spitfire tries to spring her plan, we’ll spring our plan, slip free, come together and try to banish Sombra from Soarin’s body while also fending off Spitfire and not using the spell Luna thinks we are using…” she trailed off as Dash glanced back and forth before tipping her head to the other side.

“Er… yes?” She didn’t know what else to say, she thought she had a good idea of what they had to do, but Twilight made it sound more complicated than she thought it would be. Twilight looked directly at Dash like they could be way in over their heads. The moment Dash saw the look in her eyes, she moved to dispel it. “Look, like I said, let’s not try to iron out a solid plan right this moment. I just wanted to bring you up to speed and confirm that you were on my side. That’s done. For now, let’s keep our ears to the ground. We have a few other things to take care of anyway.”

“Like what?” Twilight asked curiously.

“For starters,” Dash pointed at her. “I need you to gather up the others and explain everything to them. And I swear to god, FORCE Applejack to comply if you have to. We don’t have time for bare naked honesty right now. While you do that, I’m going to gather a few helpers of my own.”

“From the Wonderbolts?” Twilight asked, wondering who she had in mind after Dash’s determination to undercut her own force.

“Yeah, my squad will follow me, I have no doubt about that. Thunderlane will definitely help and… I’m on the fence here, but I think I may be able to get Storm Front on board as well. He was elevated to elite level and may have some misgivings, but he trusts me. I’ll figure that out.”

“The more we have helping, the better chance we have,” Twilight nodded in agreement. “What will they do?” she asked. Dash smiled, pounding her chest.

“We’re going to need some ponies to protect us while we power up the Elements, right? They definitely won’t be able to stop Spitfire or the other top elites for long, but they’re gritty. They’re definitely capable of holding out just long enough. If we can get Big Matty to sit his fat ass down on Spitfire, that will take care of half the danger for us.”

Twilight looked back and forth, processing and contemplating. But she didn’t look too confident.

“Okay…” she answered with a lack of gusto.

“You sound hesitant,” Dash quickly pointed out with a slight grunt. She didn’t want Twilight doubting herself. Twilight shook her head.

“I’m just thinking it over. We’re taking a huge risk here. And If it doesn’t work…” she trailed off.

“No,” Dash rapped a hoof on the table, causing Twilight to jump a little. “Don’t even think about that. You know how the Elements work. We need full focus and confidence in both each other and our objective or else the connection won’t be complete and the spell will lack power.”

“I haven’t forgotten,” Twilight nodded, remembering what happened when they first tried to reseal Discord. “It’s just a longshot, that’s all.”

“I know it is,” Dash continued. “But this is our duty. I’m tired of all the backstabbing and lying. As the Elements of Harmony, it’s up to us to take control and restore order.”

That seemed to do the trick. Twilight flashed Dash a smile as she cited their role in keeping order and stability in Equestria. They had never faced a situation so messed up before, but that didn’t change who they were or their purpose as the Element Bearers. They could do this.

“It’s settled then,” Twilight moved towards Dash. Dash watched her for a moment, but quickly reacted when she saw Twilight extend an arm for a hug. She followed suit, the two sharing a quick embrace. “Thanks for telling me all of this, Rainbow Dash. And thanks for trusting me too.”

“Hey, what are friends for?” Dash chuckled as she reached up her other hoof and ruffled Twilight’s mane a little. They separated and exchanged confident looks. “We can do this Twi.” Dash lifted her hoof and held it out. “Let’s do what we have to do and meet up later. I’ll come find you when I have my end worked out.”

“Sounds good, watch your back,” Twilight nodded, lifting her hoof as well and bumping it against Dash’s.

“You too.”

Dash could not begin to describe the relief flowing through her. They still had a lot of things to figure out, but she had taken a drastic step and it had worked out just the way she wanted it to. She didn’t particularly like the fact that she was defying Spitfire’s orders, but what did Silver used to tell her? Not to be a mindless puppet and to say something or do something if you don’t like the direction things are heading.

She did something alright, and she had no idea it would feel so good. For the first time in a long time, she felt like she had some control over her fate. They had one hell of a task ahead of them, but she had newfound confidence to take it on.

Now with Twilight on board, one piece of the plan was taken care of. Now she hoped the rest would go just as smoothly. Compared to what was yet to come… this was the easy part.

---To Be Continued---

Author's Note:

Hmmm...

That glare looks awfully familiar...

Looks like SIlver is really rubbing off on her, huh?

So it seems taking the risk paid off, and Dash was 100% correct. Twilight could tell something wasn't right, and hearing the full story from one of her best friends has confirmed her fears. Obviously she didnt want to hear that the two deities she's looked up to her whole life are being irresponsible, but Luna's strange behavior was more than enough to give Dash's story weight.

So Dash has her old friends on her side (Presumably, Twilight is going to have a hell of a time convincing Applejack to follow a subversion plan.) Now Dash just has to get her Wonderbolt friends on board. Should be much easier............... right? I guess we'll find out.

As for the Shadowbolts... Moon find himself in an odd situation. Has Kayn Ost been aware of his actions the WHOLE TIME? And if so... why is he letting him continue? To what ends? Is he nothing but a puppet? Or as Ruin put... just another piece in one big game?

Who knows... but Moon likely wont wait to find out. Looks like he wont be stalling much longer... whatever his full intentions are. But hey, at least he know knows one of the more powerful commanders is seeing things from his side. No doubt Sin's help would be a huge boon should the dissent within the ranks turn into a conflict.

We are drawing closer to a very definitive clash... But the more the stage becomes set... the less there seems to be any solid unity. Both sides are fragmented... and the centerpiece is a stallion under the control of what continues to seem more and more like an innocent, lost spirit.

How chaotic...

How chaotic indeed.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!

Comments

[GlaceonXAwesome]

Man i love this story so much!

[Those Kids In The Corner]

I feel like Applejack is either going to be extremely stubborn or the first one to go with it.

I swear if Ruin is somehow Kayn Ost...

[WildStallion]

Just waiting until Sombra reveals Celestia is also inside him.

[Gargon94]

That was an intense chapter. I wonder which of the two sub-groups of the two main groups are going to act first? Nightshade or Moon, Spitfire or Luna?

[Stellar_]

I'm loving this!

[Halfdemonpyro]

Woo! Another chapter! Alright, Im glad Twi is on board. Its interesting to see that even from her perspective, luna has changed... and Kyan Ost! OMG whats his game?!?!?!?! And interesting developments in the ranks. Lets see what Angel and Sin do... And how TF is Ruin RIGHT THERE and knows EXACTLY what Moon and Rapidfire saw AND that Rapidfire was there at all, when moon didnt even know!

[TexasDragon1995]

Well...I mean...what IS there to say? I'm simply looking forward to reading more. Another very fine chapter Calm

Though, unless this spoils anything, how many chapters do you think will actually be the end to ACT 3? One long ass act

Eh, as long as you keep writing and keeping up the good work my good man

[Minevera]

Silver Lining did his job, now it's time for the Rainbow to shine.

[Garuda IV]

Sounds like this is going to turn into one big fuster cluck, and I am so looking forward to it.

[Hooper_Canson]

“Has Luna ever used the Elements?” Dash quickly interjected. Twilight looked up and blinked.

“No, why?” she asked. Dash smirked.

But she has though

And I understand the whole ignoring everything post season 3 for this story, but I just don't think that applies here considering in universe this is an event that happened 1000 years ago.

But obviously I can't wait to see what happens next regardless

[ButtonMash]

Huh. I just realized something. Throughout this story, you’ve had a couple major mysteries going: even with huge revelations, we don’t have any solid theories. All our candidates seem to have rock-hard alibis, and we still don’t know anything coming into a very climactic moment. As someone who analizes, it’s frustrating...

... You write too well for your own good.

[coldsilverd]

Dash is becoming more and more like Silver, and I love it. Dash put down a freaking princess (albeit it was Twilight) to get said princess to follow her, convince her, and then knew when to lighten up. Dash did everything she needed to do... just like Silver.

As one major issue is dealt with, more arise. With division on all sides... this is going to be... eventful.

[Animak]

"hears ode die freude in background" it's so beautiful!!!!!

[Delphina34]

Found some errors. Will post more once I finish reading.

“Who the hell is passing the out the supplies?!” she kept complaining as she rubbed her chin and stepped down.

"out the"

Nightshade’s ears twitched. She threw Angel to the floor roughly before turning around quickly and projecting he anger towards Void instead.

"her anger"

She reached up and grabbed void by the mane, the vacuum wave ceasing the moment she had a hoof on him.

Need to capitalize "void."

Nightshade finally let go of Void’s mane and stood over him. Glaring down at him as he twitched on the ground.

A semicolon or comma splice would be better here.

Upon looking closely, she was… swaying, her steps wobbly as she bounced off the walls back and forth. Her breathing was so fierce that he could hear it from how far away he was.

Maybe "back and forth off/between the walls" and "he could even hear it from far away." The italicized part just doesn't flow very well.

Moon blinked and rushed forward as quietly as he could. It was risky but if he could get in and see what happens up close…

Needs a comma between those two words.

“I WON’T LOSE CONTROL THIS TIME! I can… I can… still…” her eyes began to rollback, but she fought it, barely keeping herself conscious among the unbearable pain. Her body lowered, but she refused to go down, forcing herself to stay up.

"roll back," capitalize "her."

Moon slowly turned, but didn’t take any steps. He was still invisible too, but he didn’t feel like releasing the spell as if he still had to hide from something. He wasn’t sure what to think now. Did this change anything? Or should he just keep going as he had been?

Put a comma after "spell" or just get rid of "as."

“AAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! OOOOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOOOOOOO!!!!!” Ruin guffawed and keeled over, grabbing his stomach and cackling to his hearts delight. Normally Moon would glare at him or give him a flat look, but he was too shocked and flustered, unable to show anything on his face except for a blank, wide eyed stare with his jaw agape.

"heart's" Also I think "wide eyed" is supposed to have a dash between.

He scrunched his face and blew at straw strands of hair as they got in his face. “Oo! How does he deal with this all day?!” he complained as the hair suddenly all fell off to the floor, restoring his normal mane length.

I think that's supposed to be "stray." Also, just "fell off," or "fell down to the floor."

“Oooooohoohoohoo! Extra animosity today! It must be my birthday!” he suddenly zoomed forward and got within a yard of Moon. “Okay, let me tell you what I see right now when I look deep into those eyes that you try to make look emotionless…” his eyes grew wide as his snickering got louder.

Capitalize bold parts.

Moon blinked, his expression softening slightly and body shifting backwards an inch as Ruin’s voice made his shudder.

"made him shudder."

“And I know exactly what’s causing it!” Ruin continued, a sly, droning slur accompanying his voice as he slid through every word. “You are lost… and you don’t know which way to turn…” his voice caused Moon’s ears to twitch uncomfortably as if he was prying directly into his mind uninvited. “You have no idea what to do next…” Ruin’s lips curled back, revealing his teeth in full as they pressed together within the terrifying smile. “Because Kayn Ost totally eyed you up while you were eavesdropping!”

Capitalize the bold part; the italicized part needs a comma between those two words.

I really need to go to bed; I have an AP test in like 10 hours. . . . Oh, the joys of high school.

BTW, don't do the fanart blog yet, I have something for you and it's almost done.

[Brightblue]

Aww.... I feel that the ones with rainbow dash was short. I still like it though 😁 I laugh with rainbow dash told twilight about tying applejack down and make her listen and go against her element for a while. Now I had this in my head so I’m going to type it sin and shadow sitting on the tree k-i-s-s-i-n-g sorry couldn’t help it. I found a lot of spelling mistakes, that’s all I have to say.

[NyOs29]

Okay Kayn Ost wants Sombra’s new power for himself and Nightshade has less than a month left to, let’s just say it, live...and that if she’s lucky Blade or Angel don’t overthrow her first. Luna’s fallen into complete and total paranoia as she desperately tries to hold onto whatever power and control she has. The fact that Luna and Discord are willing to sacrifice Rainbow Dash for the sake of their individual yet clearly personal millennia long vendettas against Sombra show just how petty and vindictive they’ve become.

Discord hates Sombra because Celestia fell in love with him after rejecting Discord’s own advances while Luna hates Sombra simply because he refused to follow the status quo. Hopefuly Twilight can convince the rest of the Bearers to turn against and not tell Luna anything especially Applejack.

And like Rainbow Dash said telling the naked truth isn’t always the best idea. I agree lying is wrong but there are situations that telling the truth can very easily cost people their lives. An prime example is a gunman holding a bunch of children hostage would you tell the truth and live with the guilt of being responsible for the death of innocent children or would you lie in order to earn enough of the gunman’s trust to persuade them into letting the children leave alive? This is why Applejack would make a very poor hostage negotiator as apparently she’s never been in a situation where being honest is wrong.

[Midday Giggle]

It turned out well. WOW.

Twilight actually accepted. I thought she would insist on the magic of friendship and coming together and sunchine, lollipops and rainbows way more than this. It wasn't disappointing at all, it was more... Brain wrecking.

Also, FUCK Kayn Ost saw Moon. My Moony, I swear this is my fave Shadowbolt l'll kill everybody in this story if something bad happens to him.

And Rapidfire showed to be smarter than me all thought. He's still an ass pain, and Ruin is still Ruin.

“And then on top of that, while she’s helped a little with the research into the cure for the crystal affliction… she hasn’t helped at all with figuring out possible ways to separate Sombra from Soarin. She even called it a waste of time.”

I'm out.

[jnzsblzs]

Good guy Calm. Writing half a chapter of presumably boring shadowbolt stuff that I can just skip with an easy heart and concentrate on my studies. Say what you will about him he does have my best interests at his heart.

Few random tidbits that got to my mind about the chapter:

It was a small room, roughly twelve by twelve.

Wtf that's bigger than my house! Oh yeah... Imperial system.

---

“Then for now we just need to play along. I’ll keep my ear to Spitfire, you keep an ear to Luna. Once we know what both sides plan to do in full, we can figure out what we’ll do.”

"That is if we hear anything."

"What do you mean?"

"You just confirmed my fears that Luna is not being hundred percent transparent here and should any wonderbolt happen to see you dragging me through half the city and they tip off Spitfire we are royally screwed. Even more than we already are.

---

“So… I’m going to act like I’m helping Luna, you’re going to act like you’re helping Spitfire, but we’re going to be in contact under both their noses, so neither of them will know what’s going on, then when Spitfire tries to spring her plan, we’ll spring our plan, slip free, come together and try to banish Sombra from Soarin’s body while also fending off Spitfire and not using the spell Luna thinks we are using…” she trailed off as Dash glanced back and forth before tipping her head to the other side.

"Look Twilight I know..."

"It sounds doable. So fuck it."

[SWEETOLEBOB18]

“Son of a…” Shadow growled with her head jammed in between the wires and pipes of the exposed ceiling. She was repairing a spot that was right in the frame of one of the hallways attached to the main lobby. Her back hooves jittered as she barely managed to balance them on the questionably sturdy step ladder. “Are we out of bolts again?!” she complained as she tried to pull her head out of the tangled mess, only to hit her chin on a metal girder. “OW!” she yelped, a few tools dropping and clattering to the floor. “Who the hell is passing the out the supplies?!” she kept complaining as she rubbed her chin and stepped down.

Twilight gasped as Dash suddenly bared down on the confused stallion, glancing back and forth between them. They were of similar size, but he was skinny, his body not even close to the strong, athletic build of Dash. He gulped and sunk into his seat a little as Dash continued to lean over him and cast a shadow, giving him the firmest look she could manage.

probably mean "bore"

“Oh, speaking of that…” she went on from her last comment. “Now I know this probably already sounds beyond screwed up… but it doesn’t even end there. We’re suddenly not sure is Sombra is actually evil.”

either ....IF Sombra is actually evil
or ...not sure: Is Sombra actually evil?

Luna was prepared to sacrifice her as well. There was no indication of what would happen to Dash is (if) Soarin was sealed away… but Luna wasn’t even attempting to find out. Now she felt just plain betrayed.

“Has Luna ever used the Elements?” Dash quickly interjected. Twilight looked up and blinked.

Well, yes she has. Before being corrupted, Luna & Celestia were the Element Bearers & used them at least once (to seal Discord) + been hit with them twice (if that counts).

[Phoenix Flight]

Whoo, that was info heavy. Nice to see more of what’s going on at the other side. I was internally squeeing at Sin actually thinking about things... Character development!!! I’m also really glad that Dash was right about Twilight (so much warm fuzzies), although I have a feeling this’ll blow up in a big way...

[danisanerd]

I love this story, its allways a joy to see a new chapter. Glad twilights on board, but i do wonder how well the elements will work when some of them are directly going against there element...

[Dusk_Writer]

Okay, wow. I knew Luna wanted Sombra out and everything, but to outright risk one of the bearers and rejecting the Elements? Yeesh. Get yourself together bish.

Kyan Ost wants Sombra's soul for himself, why though? To control his power? We've seen how strong he is, so it would make sense.

[Lucky424]

She reached up and grabbed void by

She reached up and grabbed Void by

peripheral vision. Her eyes

peripheral vision, her eyes

move a muscle. Remaining completely

move a muscle, remaining completely

stood over him. Glaring down

stood over him, glaring down

“Or are you truly that weak? So weak that you can’t rely on your own power? Hm?” Kayn Ost’s eyes narrowed into thin slits. “Perhaps Silver Lining was right about you.”

So... he knew what Silver said? Which means he was there... and nopony else even knew it. Welp, time to pack up and go home. A foe that dangerous is not going to be beaten easily...

...what if this is all in Soarin's head after the Ponyville attack? He's in a coma!

what would happen to Dash is Soarin was sealed away

what would happen to Dash if Soarin was sealed away
Also, I hate your Luna. She can go die in a fire.

“But now the question remains… how will we pull this off? Luna is expecting us to cooperate and seal them.

Missing closing quotation mark.

As for the Shadowbolts... Moon find himself in an odd situation. Has Kayn Ost been aware of his actions the WHOLE TIME? And if so... why is he letting him continue?

He needed to make sure the horn didn't get broken, and Moon helping the Wonderbolts helped him. And Ruin is... well, ruining the plans.

[Calm Wind]

8917803

Glad you like it!

[Calm Wind]

8917805

Twilight has he hooves full for sure

[Calm Wind]

8917810

Everyone is inside everyone these days (Especially in bed HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYOOOOOH)

[Calm Wind]

8917860

Or maybe they'll act all at once and it will be an absolute shitshow

[Calm Wind]

8917915

[Calm Wind]

8917918

Ruin is Ruin

[Calm Wind]

8917944

Its only going to be a few more chapters, the finale may be split into three chapters.

Looking back, this should have been two separate arcs, probably split at chapter 100, but i didn't think it would be this large at the time of planning

[Calm Wind]

8917964

Time for her to pick up where he left off

[Calm Wind]

8917965

it's gonna be a hell of a time

[Calm Wind]

8917999
8918281

You are actually both 100% correct, this is a brain fart by me because i have already once mentioned her being involved in their use. I'm going to make a correction in the text to reflect this. Thanks for pointing it out.

(Edit has been made, i completely struck the lines about her not using them and cut straight to Dash suggesting there are no visual differences to the spell casting.)

[Calm Wind]

8918017

Wahahahahahahahahaha

[Calm Wind]

8918043

She learned from the best

[Calm Wind]

8918069

Thanks for all those! And will do, im not in too big of a hurry. (I did finally update the archive though.)

[Calm Wind]

8918079

I think Shadow likes him, but is way too Tsundere to ever admit it

[Calm Wind]

8918091

A good summary

[Calm Wind]

8918142

>Implying you can ever leave

[Calm Wind]

8918164

You're welcome! Glad you enjoyed it!

[Calm Wind]

8918311

Sin may be a meathead, but he's got a heart. He's just there to brawl more than anything.

I really enjoy switching gears and writing for the Shadowbolts every once in a while. And i LOVE writing Ruin's scenes, it takes such an entertaining approach to come up with his dialogue and movements. It's not quite the same as Twister. With Twister i just unlock all the randomness i can muster and dump it into the page. I do the same thing with Ruin, but it's CONTROLLED, it has to follow a narrative and clear intention while making it as random and unnerving as possible.

I swear im not a little insane

[Calm Wind]

8918327

if their minds are all in the right place and they are doing it for the sake of Dash and to dispel an air of disunity, the elements will respect their choice for sure

[Calm Wind]

8918518

Though once he gets a glimpse of Sombra's power COMBINED with Soarin... maybe he'll be thirsty for more?

[Calm Wind]

8918822

Thanks for the edits!

Oh god no, i would never pull of something so cheap as him being in a coma. IT WAS ALLL A DREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAM!!!!!

[Gargon94]

8919244
Maybe, it could happen.

[Menelaus Redz]

[Midday Giggle]

8919291

[Sunset shimmer417]

I’m seriously hoping this plan go of without a hitch, but knowing this story there’s gonna be some big Shit storm right when things seem to be looking up for this plan. I’m assuming this is gonna lead into the fourth story ark and when every one is all disoriented from all the chaos then that’s when Kayn ots will make his move. But hey this is just a hunch so who knows.