Chapter 1
Soarin’s wings were beginning to ache. He was used to flying fast, but he rarely flew at this speed for so long. But he didn’t slow.
On his left, he could see Silver Zoom and High Winds. They looked as scared as he felt, but they were keeping up with the fast pace he was setting.
“Maybe we should go back,” shouted High Winds, the words almost carrying her words away. “Maybe we can help.”
“No,” replied Soarin, beating his wings faster in response. “You saw those things, we can’t just charge in. We need help.”
“But what about Spitfire?” asked High Winds, her face etched with fear.
“We’ll get her back,” said Soarin grimly. “They’ll be okay”
Neither of the other Wonderbolts looked encouraged by his words. Soarin wasn’t sure he believed himself either. How could something like this happen in the heart of Equestria? Even the princesses themselves had been powerless to stop it.
Finally he could see the Wonderbolt’s Academy ahead. The building gleamed in the sunshine. It looked peaceful, as if nothing had happened. Soarin had never felt more relieved to see it.
As they landed, Soarin looked around. How many ponies were here? Or had everyone been in Canterlot?
“How was the festival?” said a voice. Soarin was relieved to see Wave Chill, landing from the obstacle course.
“Are we the only ones back?” asked Soarin urgently. “No one else?”
“I didn’t expect anyone yet,” said Wave Chill. His eyes widened as he saw the worried looks that High Winds and Silver Zoom exchanged. “I thought the festival was going to be the whole day. Princess Twilight told everyone that the festival of friendship was going to be huge. It’s just me here. Did something go wrong with the routine?”
“It was so much worse,” said High Winds, shaking her head slowly. “I don’t understand how it happened.”
“But what happened?” asked Wave Chill, looking between each of them. “You’re scaring me. Was someone hurt?”
“We were attacked,” said High Winds. She held up her hoof as Wave Chill opened his mouth. “No, not just us. Equestria was attacked. Canterlot itself. The princesses have … they’ve…”
“They were turned to stone,” said Soarin heavily. “It was some monsters. The Storm King’s army. They attacked Canterlot, they defeated the Princesses, they were rounding up everyone.”
Wave Chill just stood there. He looked like he was waiting for somepony to say it was all a big joke. Soarin could sympathise with that. If he hadn’t been there, if he hadn’t seen it for himself, he wouldn’t believe it either. Equestria was safe, and Canterlot was at the very centre of it. To even suggest that some army could just capture it, just like that, was utterly unthinkable.
As they all stared at Wave Chill, his mouth fell open. They all just waited for a beat, but there was nothing to say. Wave Chill slowly closed his mouth, but his eyes were wide and staring.
“Where are the others?” he said eventually. “Where’s Spitfire, Fleetfoot, everyone?”
“Spitfire tried to fight. But these creatures… they had spears, and there were just too many of them. I saw them put chains on her. I don’t know about any of the others.” Soarin looked down at his hooves. Could he have saved her, if he had been faster? She had been so far away, and it had all happened so quickly.
“I saw Fleetfoot,” said Silver Zoom “I think she got away. But she was on the other side of the square, and I lost sight of her. I just hope that she’s okay”
Soarin looked up at them. High Winds and Silver Zoom looked so defeated. Wave Chill seemed to be in shock, struggling to understand.
“No,” said Soarin. “No!”
The Wonderbolts looked at him, confused.
“We’re not going to just hope!” Soarin said. “We’re not going to just sit here and give up”. He launched himself into the air and hovered above them. “We’re Wonderbolts! We don’t give up, not just because it’s tough!”
Wave Chill nodded, and High Winds and Silver Zoom were looking up at Soarin with what looked like a glimmer of hope beginning to form.
“We’re going to stop them. We’re going to defend Equestria and save our friends. Who’s with me”
“But this isn’t just a few creatures,” said High Winds. “This is an army, this is … war.”
Silence held again. War. Equestria had never seen war, not for a thousand years.
“If this is war,” said Soarin grimly. “We’ll win.”
Time flew by, and Wonderbolts kept flying in. Some of them had escaped Canterlot, but a lot of them had not. Spitfire was definitely captured, and the weight sat heavily on Soarin. He knew that she would have been a better leader for everypony. She was strong and fierce, stronger than him. But without her, everyone was looking to Soarin. He had to lead, because there was no else.
For many of the Wonderbolts, what was really weighing on them was their friends who were simply missing. Fleetfoot still hadn’t appeared. Was she captured, or had she been injured? Had she fled somewhere else?
Soarin did the best he could. Had the crystal empire fallen? No one knew. Were the royal guards fighting back? Not that anyone had heard of. Had the Storm King captured anywhere else? Who was in charge of Equestria?
As the hours turned into days, things slowly became clearer. Many ponies had gone to the festival; most ponies at the festival had been captured. More pegasi had escaped than earth ponies and unicorns, but it was still true that most pegasus there had been captured. Soarin heard that a lot of pegasi had stayed because they were trying to rescue their friends and family. He just nodded, but the weight settled like an anchor around his heart. He had left and saved himself. He knew rationally that he couldn’t have saved them, but the guilt coiled in his stomach. As he tried to sleep, he kept thinking of Spitfire as she flew straight at one of the storm guards. Why couldn’t he have done that? If everypony had worked together, the Storm King could never have taken Canterlot like this.
He heard more about the situation in the rest of Equestria. It wasn’t good. The Storm King’s army had spread out from around Canterlot, and were taking whatever they wanted. They were here to stay. Everypony they captured was put into chains and forced to work for them. Ponyville had been taken. Cloudsdale, at least, was safe. For now, Soarin thought. For now.
There was no news yet from the Crystal Empire. No one could remember seeing Shining Armor at the festival, so Soarin thought he must have stayed in the Crystal Empire. The royal guard all seemed to have been captured at Canterlot, but perhaps with the crystal ponies they could save them.
After 4 days, the news came that Soarin had been dreading. There was an airship, and it was heading for Cloudsdale.
“I saw it through the clouds,” said High Winds shakily. “I don’t think they saw me, at least. But it was big. And it had the Storm King’s sigil.”
“We can’t let them take Cloudsdale like they did Canterlot,” said Soarin.
His eyes went towards Spitfire’s empty office. High Winds had suggested that Soarin should use it, ‘just for now”’. Instead he had spread maps all over one of the mess room tables. It had been a pain trying to keep hayburgers away but he wasn't ready to take Spitfire's office.
This news was his chance to redeem himself. “We have to stop them before they get there.”
“Can they even walk on the clouds?” asked Wave Chill. “Cloudsdale must be safe from them.”
Soarin sighed, knowing inside that it was wishful thinking.
“You didn’t see them at Canterlot. They’ve got powerful, strange magic that could turn even the princesses to stone. They're storm creatures. They can almost certainly capture Cloudsdale, unless we stop them.” Soarin stood as he talked. “We’re going to stop them.”
The airship glittered as it flew between the clouds. If he hadn't known what it meant, Soarin could have called it pretty. The Storm King’s symbol etched into the side showed how dangerous it really was.
Soarin looked to his left. High Winds, Silver Zoom and Wave Chill lay on the cloud next to him. The four of them were ahead of the airship, watching it advance towards them.
“There’s something strange about this,” said Wave Chill. “They’re too far south. I don’t think they’re going to Cloudsdale.”
Soarin frowned at him.
“That’s a warship,” said Soarin. “It’s not here for fun. Maybe they’re trying to hide in the clouds.”
Wave Chill opened his mouth, an uncertain glimmer in his eyes, but Soarin kept talking.
“We’ve seen how brutal and violent these creatures are. Cloudsdale shouldn’t be subject to that. It’s our home, and they’re threatening everyone we know and love. But we're making Equestria safe from them,” finished Soarin.
He touched his hoof to the knife on his side. No one had mentioned it, but he had seen the other Wonderbolts looking at it. Soarin wondered if he should have told them to bring weapons, but it was too late now.
Soarin rose, and spread his wings wide. He felt more than saw High Winds and Silver Zoom form up behind him. He glanced back and Wave Chill finally moved into position. And then, glorious flight.
In the air, it was easy. Practised, precise motions. The hard bit would come in a minute.
They streaked down in formation, putting on speed. They veered around the side of the airship, rocking it with the force of their passage, before Soarin burst through the glass window into the heart of the airship.
Inside, five storm guards were swaying as the airship tilted. On seeing the Wonderbolts, one of the creatures cried out in their language. Soarin couldn’t understand what it was saying. But he could see one of them reaching for a spear mounted on a rack.
So Soarin acted first. He leapt forward and put all of the power of his flight, all of his training, into a single punch. The storm guard who had shouted something, already of balance, crashed backwards into the floor.
Soarin turned, triumphantly. Just in time to see High Winds, turning to look at the guard Soarin had defeated. Just in time to see the storm guard behind her. Just in time to see the spear.
Not in time to help her.
The storm guard jabbed the spear forward, into High Winds’ flank. High Winds let out a hoarse cry. For a moment Soarin thought it would just graze her, but it sunk deeper and deeper in.
High Winds dropped like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
Soarin launched himself at this storm guard, this murderous monster. Time seemed to be slowing down, except for the pool of blood which was spreading quickly around High Winds. Soarin darted over the spear which the guard was slowly pulling back, and flipped around to buck the guard in the face with a powerful blow from his hind leg. There was a sickening crack, and Soarin’s hoof was wet with blood.
But there was no time. Soarin heard crashing, yells, and saw that Silver Zoom was also lying, motionless, on the floor. Wave Chill was standing over him, desperately grappling with the last standing storm guard. But even as he watched, Wave Chill slipped, falling over, and the storm guard began pummeling him.
Soarin reached for the knife on his side. Until now, he had completely forgotten it. But now, he drew it and charged. He took the storm guard, focused on Wave Chill, in the side. Soarin felt like he was just watching from a distance, and the knife slipped forward deep into their chest.
The storm guard turned slowly towards Soarin, then toppled over.
For a second, Soarin just panted. Was it about to attack again?
Suddenly everything was quiet.
“Did …. Did we win?” muttered Wave Chill. Blood dripped out of a wound on his side. And then his eyes closed.
Soarin dove to Wave Chill. When had he been stabbed? What had happened? But after a moment it was clear. Wave Chill was gone.
Soarin was the only one standing in a room full of bodies.
“Silver Zoom, please….” sobbed Soarin, choking it out through his shock. He reached for the other stallion, and turned him over. And stared into Silver Zoom’s blank, staring eyes.
He looked back over at High Winds’ body. She must be okay. She had to be.
She had no pulse, and the blood covered his hooves.
Soarin staggered backwards, away from this horror. He turned, running, diving out the window. There was only escape, escape from this nightmare.
He didn’t think of where to go. There was just the wind, wings beating, pushing himself as fast as he could.
He was brought out of his stupor by the sight of the Wonderbolt’s academy. It was gleaming, just as untouched. As if nothing had changed.
He landed, and he just stood there, unable to think. He felt like he could barely breathe.
“Hey Soarin, long time no see!” said a cheerful voice.
Startled, Soarin looked up. Spitfire was smiling happily down at him.
“But…how are you here?” asked Soarin. “How did you escape the Storm King?”
“Princess Twilight and her friends of course,” replied Spitfire easily. “They beat the Storm King yesterday and everything’s back to normal now.”
Yesterday.
“Oh,” said Soarin.
The war had ended before it began, and he hadn’t known.