Chapter 56: Gods and Their Secrets
MLP: FiM
Piercing the Heavens
By: Calm Wind
Chapter 56:
“Think she’ll have any answers?” Soarin asked as he paced back and forth. He glanced at Spitfire as she sat patiently with her eyes locked on the large door.
“She’s the only one left who has had past exposure to the Shadowbolts…” Spitfire said as she eyed the red goggles in her hoof. “If she doesn’t know what this is about, then we’ll have to assume he was working alone… or is part of something entirely different…” Spitfire’s ears perked up when a click came from the door. Soarin turned and looked as well as the large door opened and a royal guard stuck his head through.
“Princess Luna will see you now,” he stated formally before pushing the door open and beckoning them to enter. Spitfire looked back at Soarin, but he was already walking past her. She quickly stood up and followed after him.
Soarin grimaced as he entered the throne room. He glanced back at Spitfire as her eyes went wide and she looked around. She clearly hadn’t been to Canterlot Castle since… his little incident.
The place was bustling with construction workers and scaffolding. They were busy making repairs to all the walls and windows that had holes in them. It looked like the floor had finally been fully repaired, but there were clearly spots that had been filled in with new stone.
“What the hell happened here?” Spitfire wondered out loud as they made their way around the throne.
“Um…” Soarin scrunched his face and looked up. Spitfire eyes him carefully. “Maybe there was an—”
“You blew up the throne room, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” Soarin immediately caved and nodded. Spitfire looked about at all the damage that had yet to be repaired as Soarin sighed to himself. “We had a little incident here one night…”
“Incident?” Spitfire flattened her brow at him. She hated it when Soarin kept things from her.
“Uh…” Soarin glanced up at his horn.
“Well?” she pressed as they turned around the throne and saw Luna talking to a guard.
“I almost got… possessed by the magic. Apparently I put Discord through the wall over there…” he pointed to the big hole in the wall near the back doors. “Almost killed Fancy Pants… and eventually lost a power struggle against Discord. After that I woke up in bed,” he explained and put on a fake, nervous smile. Spitfire’s eyes widened and her ears flopped down. Soarin was ready to get yelled at, but Spitfire shut her eyes, grunted in frustration, and put a hoof up.
“You know what? No. Forget it. If you’re going to insist on leaving me out of the loop on your well-being, I’m not gonna bother…” she growled as she turned away from him.
“C’mon Spitfire…”
“No. I have enough shit to worry about as is. Luna time,” Spitfire pointed to Luna as the guard left her side. Soarin tried to speak further, but just let it be as Luna turned to them.
“Captain Spitfire. Commander Soarin. What brings thee to us today?” Luna greeted them with a very straightforward and professional attitude. Soarin tipped his head slightly. Luna’s demeanor seemed a little different but he couldn’t quite put his hoof on it. Spitfire took no notice as she got right down to business.
“Princess Luna, we had an interesting encounter before our departure from Manehatten this morning. A stalker that ended up being a Shadowbolt,” she explained. Luna didn’t even flinch at the mention of a Shadowbolt. Soarin glanced at Spitfire, wondering if she found it a little strange as well, but she remained focused. Luna spoke up before anything else could be said.
“A Shadowbolt? Are you certain?” Luna asked. Spitfire nodded, but Soarin quickly stepped forward, realizing Spitfire missed an important point.
“I wouldn’t say we’re one-hundred percent certain m’lady,” Soarin interjected. The pony we caught following us was indeed wearing a Shadowbolt flight suit, but he did not wear the mask portion…” Soarin stopped there and looked at Spitfire. Spitfire held out the red goggles.
“He was wearing these,” Spitfire said as she showed the goggles to Luna.
Luna’s eyes snapped open as she saw the goggles, her head reclining back slightly in surprise. There was an obvious reaction, one that Soarin and Spitfire could’ve seen from a mile away.
“Princess?” Soarin took another step towards her. “What is it?” Based on her reaction, Soarin was certain Luna recognized them.
Luna quickly shut her eyes and cleared her throat, returning to her upright, powerful sitting position as well as replacing the stern expression in her eyes and face. Her magic came to life in her horn and pulled the goggles away from Spitfire.
“Hey!” Spitfire reacted and tried grabbing at them, but they were already out of her reach. The goggles hovered up in front of Luna’s face and she eyed them up close. After lifting her brow once or twice, she hovered them back to Spitfire and shook her head.
“We’re afraid we’re at a loss…” Luna placed the goggles at Spitfire’s hooves. Soarin looked up in confusion, ready to question, but Spitfire stomped a hoof.
“Princess… don’t act like we didn’t just see you’re mini-heart attack reaction just now!” she reached down, grabbed the goggles and held them back up. “Don’t play dumb! You were also once involved with the Shadowbolts, what do you know?!” she demanded. Luna glared at her.
“We know nothing of the goggles,” Luna put flatly, not wavering at all.
“Spitfire…” Soarin tried to reach out.
“Luna! DON’T bullshit me! I have had it with you hiding stuff from—”
“THOU SHALT NOT SPEAK TO US IN SUCH A MANNER!!!!!” Luna threw her wings out and belted the Royal Canterlot Voice towards them, her pupils disappearing behind a light blue glow that filled her eyes. Both Soarin and Spitfire instantly flinched and stepped back, their manes blowing with the force of Luna’s voice. A few yelps of surprise sounded from the workers by the walls and a three foot piece of scaffolding collapsed. “You dare make demands while addressing us informally and speaking in such a vulgar manner?! We have nothing to say to thee!”
Soarin and Spitfire blinked and looked at each other. Who was this and what had they done with Luna?
“Further pressing and insubordination will not be tolerated in our throne room! If thou wish to be stripped of rank and duty, then by all mean continue this disrespect!” she snapped at the two stunned Wonderbolts. “Nothing else to say?” she glanced between them. “Good. We are busy at this hour… begone.”
“What?!” Spitfire broke from her surprised state. “But Princess! This is—”
“Guards!” Luna called out. Six guards came forward from the east wall. They put their hooves on Soarin and Spitfire and began pushing them out.
“Whoa! Hold on a second!” Soarin tried to complain, but the guards kept pushing them.
“LUNA!!!!” Spitfire yelled, despite the threat she just received about speaking informally.
They were both pushed all the way back out the door behind the throne and it was shut tight, two guards stepping in front of it as soon as it was closed. Soarin and Spitfire stood completely still, staring at the door. They both turned their heads and looked at each other before resetting their eyes on the door.
“Um… what just happened?” Soarin asked with a small chuckle.
“Rgh…” Spitfire kicked at the carpeting beneath her before turning away from the door. “Everypony’s keeping things from me… I’ve had it with this!” she grumbled.
“She nearly launched her eyes out of their sockets when she saw the goggles… she’s clearly seen them before, why isn’t she telling us?” Soarin stated… and then waited for Spitfire to reply. He turned and looked towards her. She was still looking down and grumbling. Soarin had been meaning to ask since the meeting. Spitfire had seemed a little off since they returned. “Is something else wrong Spitf—” Soarin paused when he saw a small blush appear on her face before he was even done asking. She had been holding it down well throughout the show and the meeting with Dash… but that slip was all he needed to see.
And frankly? He had had it with her.
“Good god Spitfire…” Soarin rolled his eyes. Her head snapped towards him.
“What?! I’m tired of being left out of the loop! And what the hell was with Luna just now?! And—”
“Wave Chill,” Soarin cut her off. Her blush deepened.
“I’M NOT THINKING ABOUT HIM!!!!!” she blurted out immediately… which confirmed she indeed was thinking about him.
“Spitfire, to quote you… No. Forget it. If you’re going to insist on torturing yourself and him despite my efforts to get you two to suck it up… then I’m not gonna bother…”
“Soarin…” Spitfire’s expression flipped completely. Soarin turned his back to her.
“I’ve got my own problems to deal with…” he purposely said a little harshly, feeling a little miffed at how she spoke to him a few minutes prior. He left it at that and went for the door, leaving Spitfire behind.
He didn’t feel particularly good about doing it… but if Spitfire was going to get miffed at him for being stubborn then he wasn’t going to let it slide when she did the same. He WAS tired of her being so stiff about Wave Chill. If Discord hadn’t pulled that little fake Spitfire seduction on Wave it would never have gotten so awkward… or painful to watch. It had become a frequently talked about topic in the compound. Half the Wonderbolts were mentally screaming at them to just get a room already. Spitfire was worried about it not looking good as the captain? It was kind of late to get attention away, they already had it.
Of course… Spitfire and Wave aside…
What the heck was up with Luna?! She had a clear reaction upon seeing the goggles… what was all that about?
Luna sharply inhaled and then exhaled. She flinched slightly when the sound of a slow steady clap came from behind the throne.
“Brav~o! Brav~O!” Discord’s voice accompanied the clapping. Luna sighed and waited patiently for Discord to saunter around the throne and stand before her while he continued the slow clap. A few gasps came from around as the a few workers spotted him. Luna rolled her eyes, knowing Discord soaked up that kind of attention. Being feared even though he didn’t need to be anymore reminded Discord of the old times. “To be completely honest Lulu…” Discord’s upper half remained stationary, but the bottom half of his body kept walking, rising up as if walking on a curved ramp before he was in the perfect position to recline while floating in midair. “I didn’t think you were actually going to put your hoof down. That’s how you be a figure of authority,” he winked at her. Luna glared back.
“Then how about you remove yourself from our presence as well?” she hissed. Discord burst out laughing and fell down to the ground. He rolled around, stopping on his stomach and pounding the floor.
He eventually propped an elbow on the floor, rested his head in it and sneered at her while shaking his head.
“Hey Lulu…” Discord stood back up, and reached his hands over his head, clasping them together as chaos magic built up in them. He slowly pulled his hands apart and let them fall to his sides, keeping them stretched out the whole way down. As he moved his arms a rainbow appeared between them in an arc over his head as he moved them. Within the rainbow were the words, “Buck your shit!” in black letters but the bottom right corner of the B chipped and fell off, clattering to the ground, making the B look like an F instead.
“Discord…” Luna snarled, her magic coming to life. Discord chuckled and let go of the rainbow. It disappeared but the words fell to the ground, grew tiny legs, and started running circles around him.
“Oh, please Lulu, put away your throbbing magical horn. Since when have I listened to authority?” he shrugged. “Ow!” he suddenly yelped and looked down to see the word ‘shit’ stomping on his feet. He quickly kicked the word away. “Cut that out you little shit!” he yelled as the word scurried away.
“Good point…” Luna sighed, the magic fading from her horn. Discord suddenly appeared with his body loosely encircling her several times. She kept her glare strong as he looked at her face to face, while wearing a royal guard helmet he had stolen off one of the guards nearby.
“I commend your shift Luna, you were merely going through the motions and not asserting yourself. A position of power is not just nodding your head and explaining things… sometimes you have to put your hoof down!” he unwound himself and hovered in a slow circle around the throne. Each time he passed in front of her he had another guard helmet stacked on his head. “They don’t need to know certain things… so you didn’t tell them… brilliant Luna… just brilliant, you can’t bend to the will of those below you, that ruins the whole point of your position…” by the time he was done speaking he had passed in front of her eight times and had eight guard helmets stacked high on his head and all the guards near the throne were helmetless.
“We are SO glad we have your approval,” Luna rolled her eyes. Discord stopped in front of her, now with ten helmets stacked.
“Actually… there’s one thing I’m still curious about Lulu…” Discord stopped. He snapped his fingers and all ten helmets appeared on the head of a single guard nearby. He yelped and began struggling to balance them all. “You are so cruel to Soarin, I don’t get why you won’t tell him!” Discord shrugged while sneering, as if he enjoyed the thought. Luna blinked and her ears flopped down. “Oh, don’t you revert on me now…” Discord floated up in front of her and squished her cheeks together with a hand. Luna instantly glared and spat in his face. The spit made a full turn in front of Discord’s eyes and flew back at her, but she put up a magic shield to block it. “So feisty! Celestia would be proud!” Discord cackled as he floated back and reclined in midair again.
“Just as they don’t need to know about the goggles… Soarin does not need to know about…” Luna hesitated and grunted. She looked up at Discord and saw him tapping a finger in the middle of his forehead. A loud CRASH suddenly caught both of their attention as the guard balancing the helmets finally fell and the helmets clattered everywhere. When Luna looked back, Discord was now sitting on the throne and she was floating in midair where he had been. She yelped and extended her wings to float down before she could fall flat.
“Standing by a decision… you’ve turned yourself around, haven’t you?” Discord bounced his eyebrows. Luna blinked and they were suddenly back in the right spots; him in the air and her on the throne.
“There’s no guarantee it will happen anyway. If he can keep the magic under control—” Luna started, but was cut off.
“Oh, believe me… after what I’ve heard from your sister, one false move… and it’s happening to Soarin,” Discord said as he touched down and crossed his arms. Luna’s eyes widened.
“Our sister?! You spoke to Tia? What did she say?!” Luna demanded. Discord burst out laughing and disappeared. Luna looked back and forth, flinching when Discord’s head dropped down in front of her, but his face was upside down, making it appear right side up.
“You’re so set on keeping your secrets Lulu! So why in Equestria would I reveal mine?” He said as he smiled do wide his face nearly stretched. “Anyway… keep up the good work Lulu… You’re doing absolutely everything I need you to do!”
Then in the blink of an eye… Discord was gone.
As his final words registered in Luna’s head, he eyes widened. Exactly what HE needed her to do? What did that mean?
It was one thing when the gods kept secrets from the mortals… but when the gods kept things from each other…?
Even though he was trying to take a shot back at Spitfire for being a bit snappy at him, Soarin did indeed have things he had to take care of, one of which had been on his mind since a little mishap he had in the morning during the Shadowbolt chase.
Soarin casually walked down the west wing of the first floor as he replayed the incident in his head. It was clear his magic was now stable enough for him to use when he felt it necessary. It was such a foreign concept to him, being a pegasus and all, but now with magic at his disposal, if there was indeed a threat of a Shadowbolt attack, he wanted to make sure he’d be ready to call on all his abilities. He walked past the door to the auxiliary gym they used often during the tryouts and stopped at a pair of metal double doors on the opposite side of the hall.
He pushed the door open and stepped through.
“Hey! Authorized personnel onl—” an earth pony security guard stepped in front of him and froze. “Oh! Commander Soarin! Sorry, go on through,” Soarin smiled and nodded at the guard as he proceeded forwards and made his way down two flights of stairs. He emerged in a long hallway that ran perfectly beneath the first floor of the compound.
Just like the rest of the damn compound, the walls and ceiling were painted dark blue, but there was plenty of lighting, just no windows.
It had been a long time since Soarin visited the underground complex. It was mostly used for storage and research labs. Earth pony security guards were stationed all over the place and unicorns in lab coats and officer uniforms alike were walking up and down the halls. Soarin gave a few nods and ‘hellos’ as he walked, stopping in front of one door about halfway down the hall. The name plate beside the door read: ‘Rivet’s Laboratory’. Soarin chuckled as he looked below the sign. A small sticker of a chocolate chip cookie had been stuck to the wall beneath the plate and a piece of paper had been taped to the door that had written in black marker: “Enter at your own peril.”
Squad zero no doubt, and since the cookie sticker and the sign were still on the door, Soarin assumed squad zero was currently in the lab with him, either testing something out or… breaking something. Either way, Soarin had come for a specific purpose… and he needed Rivet’s help.
Soarin pushed the door open and—
“WHOOOAAAAAHOHO!!!!”
Soarin instantly stepped aside. Playbitz flew past him and out the door, crashing against the wall opposite of the door in the hallway. Soarin instinctively looked out to see if he was okay, but as soon as he did, Playbitz was already back on his hooves and laughing heartily. Soarin looked him over and realized he was wearing some interesting looking protective gear. It looked like their training armor, but it was a lot thinner and a lot sleeker, it also appeared to be made of different material.
“Dude! That didn’t even hurt! Haha!” Playbitz trotted back in. “Oh, hey Soarin, what’s up?” he said casually as Soarin chuckled.
“Are you and Calm trying to break something again?” Soarin asked as he followed Playbitz into the lab.
“Calm’s trying to… not me,” Playbitz winked as they walked across the testing area.
Rivet's workshop was set up in a room similar to one of the personal squad gyms on the upper floor. It was about forty yards long and wide with a high ceiling. The first half of the length was a wide open area, fitted with a safety mat similar to the one in the battle dome. This first twenty yards of the room’s length was used for testing new or upgraded Wonderbolt equipment. There were a few pieces of equipment strewn about in the area, but still plenty of open space. Halfway through the length of the room was a wall of thick, reinforced glass. Beyond the glass, was a large workshop with half finished or in progress equipment EVERYWHERE along with more workbenches and tools one could count.
Squad zero was currently out in the testing area, Calm Wind wearing a set of the new armor identical to Playbitz’s. Shine and Swift were off to the side, taking turns with a machine that looked like a large piston with a spring loaded cylinder sticking out from it. There was a large, circular, yellow pad that resembled a punching bag attached to it. It had a digital number counter attached to it.
Soarin watched as he walked by. Swift and Shine took turns striking the pad with different forms of attacks. As they did a number would count up. It looked like it was measuring the power of the attacks. A machine that measured power output? That was a new one… and a very interesting one. Rivet was a genius whether he liked to admit it or not.
“My turn?” Calm’s voice caught Soarin’s attention. He glanced over at the large stallion, who was bouncing up and down almost like an excited little colt. Playbitz laughed in response.
“You know I’m not gonna launch you half as far as you did me… right?”
“Don’t care,” Calm nodded and pounded the armored chest guard. “HIT ME!”
“Okay!” Playbitz smirked as he spread his large wings and took to the air.
Soarin stopped at the safety door that connected the testing area to the workshop beyond the glass barrier to watch the shenanigans.
Calm set his hooves firmly into the mat as Playbitz tapped the ceiling and began freefalling. He picked up as much speed as he could. Right before hitting the ground, he forced his body up, flattening out his trajectory and pumping his wings as he sped towards Calm. Calm didn’t move, he just tensed his muscles and anchored himself, awaiting the collision.
Soarin gritted his teeth and squinted as Playbitz rammed Calm square in the chest guard with as much speed and power as he could muster.
“OOF!” Calm grunted as all of Playbitz’s momentum transferred and the large stallion found his hooves leaving the ground. Calm flew backward, traveling through the air a good fifteen yards back before he fell to the mat and bounced a few times before rolling to a stop. A high pitched yelp echoed throughout the testing area as he finally stopped.
“WOOHOO!!!” Calm whopped as he sat up. “That was awesome!” he pounded his hooves together.
“CALM!” Shine Struck’s voice suddenly came from beneath him.
“Huh?” the large stallion looked behind him to see Shine stuck beneath his plot, glaring up at him with her cheeks puffed out. Apparently he had rolled on top of her at the end of this rough landing. “Oh, whoops!” he quickly rolled off and she exhaled with the pressure gone from her back.
“Keep your big plot on your side of the testing area!” she complained as Calm shrugged and chuckled. Shine continued walking towards the door where Soarin currently stood.
Soarin couldn’t help but smile as he watched the four test Rivet’s equipment. They had fun. It was work they were assigned to do alongside their training, but they always found ways to spice it up.
Soarin personally felt that some of the other Wonderbolts were too hard on them. Silver in particular. He also wished Spitfire would have a little more faith in her own project. The more Soarin watched the four work, the more he felt they would be a fine and unique addition to the Wonderbolt force. Soarin was sure that Silver’s overly harsh view on them was solely because they were different. Silver already didn’t approve in the more relaxed demeanor around the compound in recent years under Spitfire’s command… but while they may have been a slight decline in the hard-nosed disciplined, there was a huge increase in both moral and overall confidence in the force. Something that Silver never seemed to acknowledge in favor of how things used to be under Blazetail and Flashwind. The ironic thing was that the two former captains often praised Spitfire for the way she managed to change things around and make it work out for the better.
Soarin respected Silver more than any other Wonderbolt. Silver had been around longer than any of them, and had far outlived the usual career span of a Wonderbolt. To be able to still perform, fly, and fight at a level that matched the young talent they had around, some even young enough to be his kids… was unbelievable. This was one of the few times Soarin found himself disagreeing with his old comrade.
Soarin understood the potential risks that came along with squad zero… but from what he had seen and how much he had watched them grow over the months they had been there, he placed his confidence in them. They were good ponies with lots of drive and potential. He looked forward to seeing what they could do for the Wonderbolts.
“Oh! Hey Soarin!” Shine blinked and smiled brightly as she approached the door. Soarin smiled back and nodded, pushing the door open for her.
“Going in to see Rivet too?” he asked as the young, little mare approached.
“Yep! Gotta let him know his new punch machine works,” she explained as Soarin stepped aside to let her in. “Thanks!” she said while hiding her face to conceal a light blush as Soarin held the door for her.
“Punch machine?” Soarin asked curiously as they made their way past the work benches and stray tools that littered the floor. Shine giggled.
“That’s what we call it. Rivet had some super complex name for it, like the strength-piston-measurement-whatever…” she trailed off. They eventually passed into a slightly more open area where several unicorns were walking around as well, all wearing lab coats and safety goggles either on their eyes or around their necks.
On the opposite side of the area was a workbench that was very long, about ten yards across. All sorts of different tools, contraptions, bits, and pieces covered it. In the very middle of it all was Rivet, sitting on a block stool, work goggles pushed down over his eyes as he used a welding torch to connect to pieces of… something he was building.
Shine and Soarin both stopped in their tracks as two unicorns trotted over to Rivet, both holding identical pieces that looked like a little ball joint attached to a foot long metal rod. As soon as they approached, Rivet flipped off the torch and pushed his goggles up.
“Chief, how are these?” the unicorns presented the pieces to him. Rivet grabbed one, looked it over, and tested the mobility of the ball joint. After moving it about a little bit, he scrunched his face in disapproval.
“No. No, no, no. I’ll say it again! It has to have full range of motion on this side!” he berated the unicorns, who both stiffened. Rivet held the ball joint in front of them and moved it around. “It can’t get stiff or stuck as it nears the edge or else the whole thing will slow down or not work properly. Now do it again, and this time PLEASE follow ALL the directions I put in the assembly manual!”
“Y-yes sir!” the two unicorns said in unison and scurried back to a separate workstation. Rivet sighed as he pushed his goggles back down and continued to work.
Soarin blinked and glanced down at Shine.
“Wow, he sure is a different pony in his workshop, huh?” Soarin chuckled, impressed at Rivet’s authority in his workplace. Shine rolled her eyes.
“Don’t remind me…” she groaned as they approached. “Ri—”
CRASH
A loud, cringe worthy noise of something breaking sounded from the testing area. Soarin and Shine both jumped in surprise. Rivet’s ears shot upward and he instantly turned and pushed his goggles up. Most of his assistants had stopped as well, turning to the source of the noise.
Two seconds later, Swift Justice frantically made his way into the workshop and stared directly at Rivet with his yellow eyes.
“I just wanted to clarify before anything else… I DIDN’T DO IT!” he yelled. Rivet was up and gliding towards the door before Swift even finished. Shine and Soarin both turned and followed, coming to the door just in time to see Rivet angrily stomp towards Calm Wind and Playbitz as they stood in front of the punch machine… that was sparking and had smoke coming from it… along with a large stallion shaped dent in the side.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” Rivet growled as he ripped off his goggles and bit down on the elastic band while growling. “I give you guys something you can’t possibly break… and you break something else WITH IT?!”
“Uh…” Calm bit his bottom lip as he eyes the dent in the machine that was the size of his body. Playbitz shrugged nervously.
“On the flip side… the, uh… new armor works pretty well!” he tried to save.
“Out,” Rivet pointed.
“Aw, c’mon bro…” Calm scratched the back of his head.
“No,” Rivet shook his head. “That’s the third thing today between you two. So you’re done for the day.”
“But…” Playbitz tried to argue.
“OUT!” Rivet got behind both of them, lifted into the air, and began flapping his little wings, trying to push the two large ponies towards the door. Obviously, he couldn’t move them, but the message was clear. The two shrugged, got up, removed the armor, and headed for the door. Rivet kept trying to push them the whole way, but ultimately they left under their own power.
Rivet grumbled to himself as he trotted back towards his workshop.
“Rivet,” Shine stepped in front.
“What?!” Rivet snapped. Shine glared at him and pouted. “Sorry… what is it?” he lowered his tone.
“Well…” she rolled her eyes, “Before they broke it, the punch machine worked—”
“Digital-strength-measurement-piston,” Rivet corrected her.
“Whatever, it worked fine. So at least the design isn’t flawed,” she explained. Before Rivet could even nod in approval, Swift zipped up in between them.
“I SWEAR! I DIDN’T DO IT!!!” he repeated from before.
“I know, I know, you’re fine…” Rivet backed away slightly as Swift yanked at Rivet’s hoof.
“Swift… just move on to the next machine,” Shine yanked him off Rivet. “Rivet has an important guest…” she motioned to Soarin behind her.
Rivet glanced towards Soarin… and the change was so dramatic that Soarin couldn’t hold back a chuckle. Rivet completely stiffened and his fur stood on end.
“O-o-oh! Uh… Commander Soarin! Oh shoot, how long have you been here?” he nearly tripped over his own words, and himself trying to stand up straight as if giving attention. Soarin shook his head.
“Only a few minutes, don’t worry about it, you were busy,” Soarin assured him, but Rivet didn’t loosen up.
“But, no! I wasn’t! I mean, I was… but…” he continued to be nervous, clearly taken completely by surprise with Soarin being there.
“Rivet…” Shine stepped up behind him and brought her hooves down over his shoulders. “RELAX!” she demanded as he finally stopped jittering.
“Sorry… um…” Rivet swallowed and cleared his throat. “Wh-what do you n-need, sir?” he asked. Soarin smiled warmly, trying to look as harmless as possible.
“I was just wondering if you could build something for me,” Soarin explained. “We had a little incident this morning and the outcome may have been different if I was able to properly aim my new magic…” he tapped the horn. “At a moving target. Do you think you could build me something… maybe like the cannons we use in some of our courses, only tweak it so I can control the speed and angle of the balls and use them for target practice?”
Rivet blinked several times as Soarin explained as if registering all of it.
“Oh, sure! I’ll g-get on it right away!” he saluted awkwardly. Soarin shook his head.
“This is a request Rivet, if you have other more important work that should come fi—”
“I’ll have it done by the end of the week!” he claimed before slipping free of Shine’s grip and diving back into his workshop. Shine sighed and shook her head.
“He’s impossible…” she commented as Soarin chuckled.
“But he’s incredibly talented and gets things done around here,” he glanced down at Shine. “I can’t even begin to tell you how unproductive this whole division was before he showed up to apply for a job…” Soarin nodded contently.
“Yeah… I guess…” Shine replied in a way that sounded distracted. Soarin glanced down at her and caught her staring straight into his eyes. Her face turned red the moment he looked and she quickly looked back into the workshop while holding her breath.
“Something wrong?” Soarin asked… despite knowing why she was looking at him.
“No… nothing… I better get back to work…” she quickly trotted over to Swift as he tried and failed to move a piece of heavy equipment by himself.
Soarin looked between Shine and the door, sighing as he walked towards the exit. Shine wasn’t the only Wonderbolt to have a thing for Soarin. He didn’t mean to brag, but several had made passes at him in the past. Before he met Rainbow Dash he simply turned them down because he didn’t want it to interfere with the workplace, but now he had a whole different reason for turning one down.
Shine was nothing like the mare that caused all the trouble for Dash during the tryouts… but he hoped nothing bad would start between them. Dash, Shine, nor Soarin needed that right now.
All of that aside however, Soarin took one last glance into the room before leaving.
As far as he could see… squad zero had everything they needed in a Wonderbolt squad in the current day and age: friendship, fun, camaraderie, competition, and dedication. He also knew of many other Wonderbolts who liked them. Fleetfoot thought they were hilarious, aside from when they played hot potato with Rivet to keep him away from her. Wave Chill was indifferent, wishing to see for himself what they could do before passing judgment. Blaze and High Winds, of course, thought they were great, the two buying in heavily to the comical nature. Surprise treated them like her bestest friends ever… like she did with everypony. Lightning Streak obviously liked having more fun around. Fire Streak didn’t quite approve of them, and of course Misty’s view was mostly unknown due to her inability to voice it.
With the rest, besides the obvious of Autumn Rain and Calm Wind being special someponies, the view on squad zero was split even. There were those who thought they would be great… there were others who thought it would be a disaster.
Either way… nopony would know for sure until they were called upon.
But Soarin believed in them.
---To Be Continued---
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getting interesting
also, FIRST!
I'm so glad we got to see the other side of rivet.
It just made it so much better!
so....
)
shine has a thing for soarin huh?
i hope nothing happens that intefers with rd's and soarin's relationship....
(we need more soarindash flufffiiinnnneessssss
sorry
Nice chapter. I do think you are making great progress. I guess we will find out about Shine and Dash's possible relationship soon.. I don't know if it will be good or bad. I guess we will wait and see.
Seriously do we need to lock Spitfire and Wave Chill in a closet for a whole day?
Ooh, Dash has some competition...
What exactly is Luna hiding from Soarin and Spitfire? And then what's Discord hiding from Luna? And where is Celestia!? Why am I asking so many questions knowing you won't answer them until later?
Btw great chapter! I still am iffy about Squad Zero, but I would like to see where it goes.
I guess this is a thing now, so... SIXTH!
Luna knows something about those goggles and it sounds that Celestia is starting to lose her fight against that voice.
5283101 And congrats, 7500th commenter!
Seeing this is making me realize just how big the story is...
YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEAAAAAAAAAAASSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
FAN ART IS ON IT"S WAY
you just love leaving mysteries for us don't you...
Anyways, it was a great chapter and it helped cheer me up on this horrible Monday.
Great chapter but 2 thing...
1. You said he when it should have been her
2. You said her when it should have been he
Over all best part... you called yourself a her when it should have been a he.
"Calm didn’t move, her just tensed his muscles and anchored himself, awaiting the collision."
Great chapter
I'm actually kinda like that in a team setting when I have to be a leader
Things have to get done, and if I'm the best qualified for the job, I'll see it through 
5283272 It has been to long since you posted something on the caffeine kid subway chat and you use twi-blush to much
no im not a critic
5283299
Sorry, I usually just give my comments straight to Calm in an email
And I generally use twi-sheepish more
As can see the Rivet-Kestrelsaurus in it's natural habitat. For it's samll size, it has a remarkably cunning thought process and the ability to invent in a matter of minutes...Riveting isn't it. Lets watch and see what he does.......* Rivet see them and the camera crew*
Rivet: What are you doing in here!
Skip to minute 2:00 for the joke
HE'S ANGRY!!!
*Narrator and camera crew stumbles out of his laboratory*
Now Soarin go and tell Wave Chill to bulk up and "TALK" about there relationship!! Make it an Order with dyer consequences if left unfinished.
.....tough love baby 
Huh, not usually this early onto the playing field...
Rivet must feel like Dr. Frankenstein, quadrupled.
It's hard to predict where this squad zero thing is going, insofar as their ultimate fate is concerned. I doubt they've been created for the mere purpose of being the pony equivalents of redshirts. Not given on whom they are based. 
I'm having some understandable trouble picturing a "powerful sitting position."
I'm also wondering how long the lid will stay on Celestia's machinations. 
5283101 Shine and Dash... if Soarin finds out, then things could get ugly.
5282544
Hope you have a good long break from writing over the Holidays just don't go on Hiatus for too long (say six months to a year+). Any way here's hoping to hear from you and the next chapter in the new year. Happy Holidays Calm Wind!!!
5283488 Are they gonna be friends or enemies?
I finally caught up the day the new chapter was released. If that's not impeccable timing, I don't know what is. Really looking forward to where all this craziness is heading. Especially considering that Luna is keeping some stuff from Soarin. So much foreshadowing.
Amazing, as always
Well thats ominous
also goddammit spitfire and wave
uploads.dragonballencyclopedia.com/e/e1/VegetaScouterNamekSagaFvN01.png
What does the Digital Strength Measurement Piston say about Calm Wind's power output?
Rivet's lab was set
Calm didn’t move, he just tensed his
as he used a welding torch
Yeah, because that's not some ominous foreshadowing in one way or another!!
Now, what the hell is Luna playing at?
Love the chapter!! Short but funny!!
I know it's probably not in my place but.. Wind are you ok? I don't know what it is but you put your story on hiatus, I just get the feeling that your not ok, it's cool if you don't want to tell me with privacy and all, but I'm here if you want to talk
Great chapter!
Umm... Luna... What... Happened
... And what are you hiding this time 
(yes I'm blaming it all on you 
)
And calm breaking everything... Again
And it's good to see rivet coming out of his shell... If only for a little
5283080
It was about time. I used comic relief to make him both popular and recognizable. His role in the story is much more than a cuddle toy for Fleetfoot.
5283096
Who's to say this will be like Arctic Blast? This situation is an interesting one.
5283101
Thanks
5283141
What if i told you i'm dragging it out on purpose? Even the characters in the story are getting fed up with them. It's intentional... for humorous reasons in the near future.
5283142
We have silver being harsh, Spitfire being unsure, Soarin being confident, and the rest are a mixed bag... Squad Zero is really just up in the air huh?
5283153
Ah well, the comments number is rather inflated due to conversations starting in the comments, but it's not like i say no to that.
5283212
Just who the hell do you think i am?
5283217
What is a story without things to solve?
And glad i could help.
5285065 I do want to know. Are we gonna a see a cat fight soon?
5285079
heh, we'll see won't we?
5283229
Gah... fixed that, thanks
5283272
This is what you do when you're not being chased by Fleetfoot. In Rivet's workshop, he is god. When he's upstairs, he is a plushie.
5283419
It was about time i showed what Rivet does when he's not being harassed
5283477
Haha yeah, look the posse! Bam, they're dead! No i wouldn't do that.
Luna finds ways to sit powerfully.
5283671
foreshadowing is what keeps the readers hooked ll the way through.
I'm a bit of a foreshadowing junkie.
5283752
thanks
5283957
it was actually based on this thing from DBZ
img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110201203803/dragonball/images/f/f8/TROP026.png
That Vegeta breaks because it was a thing that could break... and he's Vegeata.
img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20101020082315/dragonball/images/8/80/VegetaPMWMATn.png
img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120103062638/dragonball/images/0/06/Vegetadestroyspunchingmachine.png
5284406
thanks, fixed those.
Luna is trolling us with secrets as Discord trolls her with secrets
5284608
Thank you... take a look at my update blog to see why...
5284635
thanks
5283957 It's....1006
5284849
In Rivet's workshop, his word is law, (unless a figure of authority shows up like Spitfire or Soarin)
5285081 It just depends if Shine can stay away from the temptation of those crystals or something like that.