The sun shone off of the pearlescent structures of Cloudsdale, making the floating city look almost heavenly to any onlookers. Flocks of birds flittered around the city, taking flight with their winged equine counterparts. It was just another perfect day.
“Daddy, watch me fly!” A filly, her coat yellow and her mane looking as if a wildfire was starting it’s way down her back attempted to lift off from the city. She flapped her little wings as hard as she could, but only raised less than a foot before landing back down on the cloud with a solid thud. “Ow…”
“That was good.” A red stallion picked the filly off of the ground and rested her back on her hooves. “You’re definitely getting better, Spitfire” He gave the filly a smile and a pat on the head for reassurance. In his eyes there was a glimmer of pride that radiated throughout his entire body.
“But not good enough!” The filly stomped her little hoof, a tiny scowl on her face. “I’ll never make it into the Wonderbolts!” The filly’s countenance only worsened with the words, now tears were forming at the corners of her big amber eyes.
“The Wonderbolts?” The stallion sat on his haunches and picked up his daughter, using a nimble wing to wipe the tears away. “You’re still little, Spitty. Why are you thinking about the Wonderbolts?” A gentle, understanding voice, which only wanted to know why this particular thing was distressing his daughter so.
“B-because I want to be a Wonderbolt!” Now the tears were flowing freely from the filly’s eyes. “A-and everypony at school says I’ll never be a Wonderbolt because I can’t fly!” The stallion hugged his filly as tightly as he could, trying to calm her down.
“You can’t fly yet, Spitty. It’s alright. Everypony starts out like that, alright? Me, you, your mother, even Princess Celestia herself couldn’t fly at some point. It just takes time, alright? Give it time and I know you’ll be the best Wonderbolt Equestria has ever seen.” The filly smiled up at her father. The stallion returned the smile with gusto. “That’s your destiny, I can feel it.”
Glorious fanfare rang out across the cloud city. Confetti rained down from airships circling the Cloudiseum and onto a massive crowd below. The crowd itself was absolutely astonishing. Thousands of ponies, all clad in Wonderbolt swag, moved towards the entrance of the Cloudiseum.
Each and every pony clutched a golden ticket close to their heart. One pony in particular had stars in her eyes and could not contain herself any longer. She let out laugh that bordered between euphoric excitement and nervous breakdown.
“Ohmygosh! Can you believe it, Twilight? We’re here! We’re finally here!” The rainbow maned hype machine flew above the mass of ponies and spun in midair, taking the crowd in. The blue and yellow merchandise seemed to go on forever, and that pleased Rainbow Dash to no end.
“Yeah, finally.” Below the pegasus, a very frustrated Princess pushed her way through the crowd. Her personal contingent of guards were trying to do their best to provide her with a lane, but against the sea of Wonderbolts fans, there wasn’t much they could do. “Celestia and Luna never have to deal with crowds like these…” The alicorn mumbled below her breath as yet another pony nearly knocked her off balance. “At least I get to try out cloudwalking without a spell, that’s a plus to all of this.”
“Yeah, uh-huh. Good for you.” Rainbow Dash waved off her friend’s comment, slowly making her way towards the entrance of the giant cloud stadium that loomed in front of them. “But can you believe we get to watch Spitfire’s 500th show?!” The pegasus’ voice went higher pitched the more she talked as her excitement rose. “That’s like...500 moments of awesome all in one show!”
Twilight blinked and looked around herself and her guards.”Where’s Fluttershy?” The yellow pony had been right beside her not too long ago, she could’ve sworn it. “Did you see where she went, Flash?” Twilight turned to one of her guards, the only non-white coated guard in her group, Flash Sentry.
“Hmm? Oh...Uhh..No?” The orange pegasus blushed as if he had been caught doing something he shouldn’t have. “S-sorry Twilight, I guess she just got lost in the crowd.” Twilight groaned at the stallion and rolled her eyes. He responded by lowering his head ashamedly.
“The whole reason you came is because you’re like the only guard she’ll actually talk to.” Twilight looked around the crowd, hoping to see her shy friend somewhere, but she couldn’t see anything through the tangled mass of fans.
“I thought you brought me along so we could have a nice first d-” Before he could finish his sentence, he found a hoof over his mouth.
“Not in front of all of these ponies, Flash…” Twilight laughed nervously, her eyes darting back and forth in case anypony had heard that. “Please keep that to yourself…” The orange pegasus nodded slowly. Twilight then removed her hoof from his mouth.
“Right, sorry Princess…”
“C’mon slowpokes! It’s about to begin and I don’t want to miss a single minute of it! If I do, it’s your fault!” Rainbow Dash flew towards the gates now, leaving Twilight and her guards to fend for themselves and push towards the gate.
“Go look for Fluttershy, please. Make sure she’s safe.” Twilight told one of the other guards, causing them to fly off as soon as the order was delivered. “She’s from here. She ought to know her way around, right? She can’t get lost in her hometown.” The Princess sighed, a new pit forming in her stomach for her friend’s safety.
The entourage pushed their way through the crowd one hoof at a time until they were at the gate. As soon as she flashed her ticket, they were whisked off to a passage that was devoid of all other traffic. From there it lead straight to the royal skybox, where Rainbow Dash was lounging in one of the cloud thrones.
“Wow, these are really good seats.” She had never been in the royal skybox before, and was quite impressed with the view. They were at just the right height where they didn’t have to crane their necks to see any high altitude tricks, and the box sloped just enough to allow a full view of the bottom of the Cloudiseum.
“Good seats?! These are the best seats! Can you even imagine all of the-” A crackling speaker cut off Rainbow Dash, causing her to put a hoof up to Twilight. “Shh! It’s starting!” Twilight sat down in the seat next to Rainbow Dash and got comfortable. This was going to be a treat for them both.
“GoooOOOOOOood morning fillies, gentlecolts, and Princesses alike!” The high-energy announcer came over the PA, addressing the crowd. “How are y’all doing today?!” A cheer spread through the crowd like an excited wave. “Alright! That’s good to hear! Now as all of you diehard Wonderbolts fans know, this is no ordinary show-oh no- this is the five-hundredth show of our very own CAPTAIN SPITFIRE!” Another cheer, this one even louder than the last, made the stadium come alive in an instant.
Just below the seats of the stadium, the fiery-maned pegasus mentioned by the announcer stood in the opening leading to the open-air cloudiseum. She stared at the crowd wistfully through amber eyes, taking in each and every face she could see. They were all here to see her perform, to cheer her on.during her five-hundredth show.
“I still can’t believe it’s already been ten years.” Captain Spitfire spoke to herself in hushed tones. “It’s gone by so fast. Like, I remember dreaming about being here when I was little...and it feels just like yesterday.” Surreal was the word for it, she believed. The whole situation was just so surreal. Only five of the years had she been captain of the Wonderbolts at this point, and even that still felt like a fantasy on some days.
“Nervous?” Spitfire was drawn out of her introspection by her co-captain, Soarin, coming up beside her. He wore his jumpsuit partially unzipped, letting the fur on his chest breathe and letting the air circulate in the suit before it would be confined for the rest of the show.
“Me, nervous? No, I was just thinking.” Spitfire gave Soarin a smile and then turned back to look at the crowd. Soarin had been with Spitfire since the very beginning, since she had just been a cadet at the Wonderbolt’s training camp. Even before then, really. Since she was a filly the loyal navy blue pegasus had stood by her side through thick and thin. Frankly, she hoped he would never leave it either.
“Yeah, you seem to be doin’ that a lot lately.” Well he wasn’t wrong. As of late, with her tenth anniversary of being a permanent Wonderbolt coming up, she had been thinking a lot about her life. “You doin’ alright?” A firm hoof was placed on her shoulder, one that she gladly leaned her cheek on.
“You’re cute when you worry.” Spitfire said, a chuckle punctuating her statement. “I’m fine, I promise.” She hesitated, thinking that statement over in her head. Over her period of thinking on her life, she had come to a startling conclusion, one that no amount of surreal moments could quell. “I mean...have you ever felt empty, Soarin?”
It was a heavy question, she knew that, but she felt like she had to ask somepony. For weeks she had been mulling over that surprising feeling of emptiness that grew with every show. Sure, she had fans who adored her and good friends who would never leave her side, and a career that most ponies only dreamed about. There just felt like there was something missing, though. Something that not even the thrill of performing could replace, that not even her friends or fans could fix, and she couldn’t even place what it was.
“Only when I’m hungry.” The stallion answered sarcastically. Spitfire rolled her eyes and gave a little half-smile and her friend’s intentional buffoonery
“Very funny.” Spitfire lifted her head, letting Soarin remove his hoof from it’s place on her shoulder. “I’m being serious, though. Have you ever felt like…” Spitfire struggled to find the words that she needed to express an existential depression. “...like you’re missing something? Something that not even all of this can replace?” She spoke earnestly, causing her companion to sober up as well. Soarin got rid of the smirk that he usually had plastered to his mug, and it was replaced with a very thoughtful gaze.
“Y’know what I think you need?” Spitfire raised an eyebrow, prepared for a silly remark. “I think you need a vacation, Spitty.” There it was, such a ridiculous thing to say! Spitfire guffawed at the statement and waved it away with a hoof. “I’m being serious, a little downtime wouldn’t kill you.”
“A vacation, though?” Spitfire was still skeptical about the idea. THe last time she had a formal vacation that wasn’t just a weekend furlough was years ago. She was always too busy touring, training, or being at the academy to actually take time off. Not that it was a bad thing, she loved her work!
“Yeah a vacation is one of those things normal ponies take to get away from the world for a bit, y’know. It would be good to let your batteries recharge and have some fun! Like, last time I was on vacation I took a trip down to Mexicolt with some of the guys.” Soarin smiled and let out a barely contained laugh. “Man, I do not regret that.”
“I mean, I’ve always wanted to visit Las Pegasus while not on tour…” Spitfire was warming up to the idea more each passing second. A week or two, just her a poker table and a hot tub did not sound like a bad idea. No flying, no training, no Captaining, just Spitfire time. “Yeah...that does sound like a good idea.”
“That’s the spirit!” Soarin gave Spitfire a friendly light punch to her side. “You gotta believe to achieve, Spitty!” Spitfire had to concede that Soarin’s energy and optimism, while sometimes frustrating, was infectious and welcome most times.
“Have you been going to those Iron Will seminars again, Soarin?” The words made the stallion sheepishly retreat away from the yellow mare. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously and gave a wry smile.
“I mean...maybe?” Before Spitfire could respond, she was cut off by something unusual. The announcer, Hype Train, was cut off. His usual high energy ramblings and cheers were cut short by what sounded like a crash.
“You’re not supposed to be in here! Hey, what are you-” Another thud, this one sounded like a skull against a rather solid surface. Before she could even think about calling her squad, they were already by her side and listening intently. Something was very wrong and they all knew it.
“Is this thing on?” A new voice was now speaking over the PA. One that was quite foreign in every sense of the word. The new pony’s voice sounded almost musical, or at least his accent did. Neighrish if Spitfire had to take a guess. “Ah, hello fillies, gentlecolts and Princesses alike!” The new pony said in a downright cocky manner, seemingly pleased with parroting Hype’s opening line. “I’m afraid your regular festivities have been postponed for the moment, as you all are now my very own hostages!”
Before anypony could react, even the now panicking crowd, a translucent barrier erupted around the arena. Spitfire looked down to make doubly sure of the situation, and yes, the Cloudiseum was now fully encased in a magic bubble. Hundreds of ponies, all not grasping the situation at hoof, took off from their seats and started pounding on the bubble.
“What, trying to leave the party before it even starts? Do you have any manners?” His question went painfully unanswered. “Well that doesn’t matter, because that bubble will keep you in here until our business is done. Speaking of, I reckon if you all calm down and just listen to me we can prevent anypony from coming to any harm. After all, we do have a princess in the audience and I would hate for something to happen to her.” The malice filled words caused even the most raucous of the panicking ponies to still themselves. Equestrians were devoted to their rulers, and cared deeply about their wellbeing and safety. Nopony in the entirety of the arena would ever do something to bring a Princess to harm, not even a new Princess like Twilight Sparkle.
“Who does this guy think he is? He can’t just threaten the Princess like that!” The sky-blue pegasus with the swept back white mane growled out angrily. Fleetfoot would be the one to be confrontational about it, but Spitfire wasn’t going to allow anypony to do anything dumb.
“Fleetfoot, I need to calm down.” Spitfire spoke softly, which garnered her glares from the team. Seemed like all of them felt like doing something, so she was going to have to explain herself. “They put up this bubble, which means they have either a lot of unicorns or one powerful unicorn, plus Celestia knows how many of them there actually are. We could fly right into an ambush right now.” Spitfire wasn’t quite sure how she thought of things like that so quick, it just came naturally for her. She could usually analyze a situation and react before most ponies could get over their own instincts.
“Hey!” Every head in the stadium turned to face the new voice. It came from a cyan mare with a rainbow mane flying right towards the announcer booth. “Who do you think you are? You think you can just come in here and threaten Twilight like that?!” Celestia bless Rainbow Dash, no matter how bullheaded that move was. Her flying up there without resistance either meant that this hostage-taker was either lacking in ponies to stop her, or he was waiting for something. Spitfire wasn’t sure which was the good one in that situation. “Pretty big talk for a pony hiding behind a microphone!”
“Oh look who it is!” The stallion exclaimed, feigning joy. “I was wonderin’ how long it was going to take for you to pipe up, Rainbow. I was beginning to think you’d gone soft on me. Guess I can put that worry to rest, huh?” Rainbow visibly puffed out her chest in defiance. “Oh, don’t get too cocky on me, Rainy. That big head might bring you down.”
“Rainy?” Spitfire barely heard Rainbow speak. “Wait a minute! Rainy? That voice? Spectrum Strider, is that you?!” Spitfire felt out of the loop, but if Dash knew who this stallion was it meant that they could track him down if he got away after this. “It is, isn’t it?”
“Oh look, the hero remembers me! How flattering.” Spectrum Strider deadpanned. “Now listen here, Rainy-” A distasteful amount of venom laced the pony’s words now. “-just cooperate with me and nothing bad will happen to you, your friend, or anypony else in this stadium. If you resist, well I’m afraid something very bad might happen to all three parties.”
“Yeah right! I wouldn’t cooperate with you even if it meant I could be Captain of the Wonderbolts!” Spitfire would usually congratulate Dash on her candor and loyal spirit, but now was not the time for heroics! She could get ponies hurt or worse by acting like this!
“Rainy, you either cooperate or I swear I’ll-”
“-What? Get flung out of a hurricaine and break your wings again, you big coward?!” Spitfire immediately decided that Rainbow was now most certainly a risk rather than an asset. Agitating someone who they didn’t know whether they had the upper hoof or not was a very dangerous move.
“THAT’S IT!” Spectrum Strider screamed into the mic, causing the speakers to crack and pop. “Get her! Knock her out of the bleeding skies and make sure she never gets back up again! Get the Princess too, and bring her to me!”
Spitfire lost count of how many ponies lept from the stands and started beelining their way towards either Rainbow Dash or Twilight. It had to be close to fifty, but she wasn’t sure. Anyway they sliced it, they were outnumbered though. Even the best fliers in Equestria couldn’t overpower a sheer numbers disadvantage.
As Spitfire was calculating a plan, there was an audible pop that came from the bubble that encased the stadium. It dissipated in a magic haze, causing a momentary stillness from everypony in the crowd. Then all hell broke loose.
Every pony that could fly, did so. They saw their chance at freedom and took it, swarming out of the stadium like bees evacuating a burning hive. It was good to get the civilians out of the way, but made it much harder to locate both the threats and Rainbow Dash.
“Split up!” Spitfire yelled to her squad as she donned her flight goggles. “Soarin, take Rapidfire and Misty Fly and protect the Princess!” Without another word, the three ponies sped off in perfect formation. “Blaze, Fleetfoot, we’re going to go help Dash!” Again, without another utterance, her squadmates followed her into the air and through the throngs of panicking ponies fleeing the stadium.
Flying through raging storms was easier than trying to navigate through a crowd of frightened civilians. Each foot that the Wonderbolt’s gained they were seemingly shoved back twice as much by the crowds. Reaching Rainbow at this pace would be impossible, not to mention that it was difficult to tell possible assailants apart from regular ponies.
“Where is she?” Spitfire said to no one i particular. Even through all of this, she couldn’t spot hide nor hair of the rainbow maned pegasus. Well, that was until a battered pony flew past them, a few teeth missing from his mouth. “Well I guess they’re that way, then.” Spitfire once again said to herself, doubling her efforts to push through the masses.
It took a good minute, but progress was made and the panicking masses were thinning out, leaving almost everyone with a clear view of Rainbow Dash. Currently she was surrounded on all sides by stallions and mares all wishing to see her knocked out of the skies.
Already it was clear they were well on their way to accomplishing their goal. Rainbow was still flying, but she had a black eye and a bloody nose. Her wings now beat asymmetrically, leaving the pegasus to almost drift around in circles while watching the ponies surrounding her. Even beaten, Rainbow would not give up. Her very stature still issued a challenge to anypony that would dare confront her.
Without wasting a second, Spitfire sped into the ranks of the enemy. The three Wonderbolts barreling into the sphere and three ponies that it was made of, certainly caught the attention of the rest of the ponies in attendance. Spitfire wouldn’t give them time to react, oh no. She kept her momentum going, grabbing Rainbow in the middle of the group and blasted through the other side.
“Are you okay?” Spitfire yelled over the wind in her ears to the pony she was now holding with her forelegs. “Can you fly?” That was the most pertinent question right now. If Rainbow was incapable of flying, this was going to make the whole ordeal a lot harder.
“I-I think so!” Rainbow answered after a few seconds, clearly starstruck that her hero was rescuing her. Spitfire couldn’t really blame the young flier, if Spitfire herself had been rescued by her own hero it would probably go the same way.
Spitfire glanced behind her, only to see twenty-some ponies hot on her trail, along with two of her fellow Wonderbolts. How in Celestia’s name were they supposed to get rid of a group that big? They couldn’t turn and fight, that was certain.
“Dash.” The idea struck her after thinking back to the Best Young Flier’s competition. “think you might be able to pull of a sonic rainboom?” It was a longshot, probably the longest shot they had, but Spitifre knew from experience that the long-fabled move produced quite a shockwave. It might be just enough to clear the stadium, or at least it would buy them time.
“I don’t think so.” Disappointment coated the words of the younger mare, taking the wind out of Spitfire’s metaphorical sails. “I mean, I might be able to climb that high but there’s no way I can keep my wings closed long enough to get the kinda speed-”
“What if we helped?” Fleetfoot, who was now flanking Spitfire, said. “If us three dive in formation you could draft behind us, Dash. That should get you enough speed so when we break, you could do the rainboom!” It might work, it really all depended if Rainbow thought she could do it. All three Wonderbolts looked to Dash to see if she would take it or not.
“Alright, let’s do it!” The cyan mare caught her second wind, pulling herself from Spitfire’s grasp and flying of her own volition now. Up and up they climbed, following Dash and keeping any of the riff raff off of her tail. They were allowing Dash to guide them to the correct altitude to begin the descent, she was the expert here not them. “Now!”
The Wonderbolt’s turned on a dime, all grouping together and flattening their wings to their sides. Then they started to freefall. It was something they did often in shows to facilitate high speed stunts, but this wasn’t just a show anymore. This had stakes beyond applause and fame this time.
The group fell through the air, building up ludicrous amounts of speed as they went. Spitfire was keenly aware of the group of pegasi chasing them, but unable to catch up. That was unimportant, though. For now, Spitfire was just listening for Rainbow’s go ahead to split and give her room to unleash the rainboom.
“I’m ready!” Spitfire nodded to her compatriots, each of them splitting into different directions. Spitfire was the last to move out of Dash’s way. She trusted Rainbow, but she wanted to make absolutely certain that the polychromatic pegasus had enough speed to pull it off. The mach cone forming around Spitfire’s own body made her aware that it was now or never, it was time.
Spitfire split off, turning into a spiral to burn off the excess speed she had accumulated. All the while she tried to keep an eye on Rainbow, who still had the group of ponies behind her. The pegasus’ mach cone shattered in a pulse of prismatic brilliance, causing the ponies around her get blown away by the resulting shock wave. Even Spitfire herself was buffeted, but not moved by the rainboom.
“Spitfire! We’re clear!” The Captain turned to Soarin’s voice and saw Twilight capturing the last of their group of assailants in an aura of purple magic. “Wait! Where’s that Spectrum Strider guy?” Spitfire had almost forgotten about the ringleader of the group of ponies, she had assumed he had stayed in the booth while watching his henchponies do the dirty work.
“Is that him?” Blaze shouted, pointing towards the other side of the Cloudiseum. There was a pony on the other side of the arena coming out of the disused locker room usually reserved for visiting teams. It was a stallion with muted purple fur and a tri-color orange, white, and green mane. He was holding something in his mouth, at this distance Spitfire couldn’t exactly tell what it was.
“That’s him, I recognize him.” Princess Twilight Sparkle stood and fired up her horn. Spitfire held out her hoof towards the monarch, staying her magic.
“I need you to stay here, Princess. Soarin and I will deal with him.” The Captain motioned for her second-in-command, who gladly took his place at her side. “The rest of you help the Princess restrain all of these ponies. I don’t want any of them escaping!” Her squad gave a salute and went to work, That left Soarin and Spitfire to go after Spectrum Strider.
As they approached, Spitfire saw what was in the pony’s mouth. It looked to be a stone tablet nearly the size of his head. Maybe Spitfire hadn’t been in the visitor’s locker room in a while, but she had never seen that stone tablet anywhere before. Where had he gotten that?
“Stop right there, buster!” Soarin yelled at the thieving horse. Spitfire gave her friend a curious look at his turn of phrase, but she largely ignored it. “Drop whatever you’re holding and turn yourself in!”
“‘Buster’? Is that really the best you got, flyboy?” The comically-accented pegasus had moved the tablet from his mouth to under his front hooves. “What about you, matchstick? You got anything better?” Whatever game that stallion was playing, Spitfire was not going to fall into a battle of witticisms.
“Turn yourself over and we promise we can put in a good word with the Princess. It’ll make everything so much easier.” Spitfire was trying to be diplomatic, maybe not her strongest suit but after tonight, she didn’t want this to end in a fight. “You gotta trust me, Spectrum. We can help.”
“Really?” Spectrum flattened his ears and looked at Spitfire with genuine worry. “I-I mean, I was just doing what I was told...I-I had to do it, or else…” The stallion trailed off, his head dropping. It was Soarin who reached out and put a hoof on Spectrum’s shoulder. The co-captain was about to say something, but he was cut off by a swift kick to the nose. “HA! I can’t believe you fell for that!” WIthout another moment of hesitation, the crook sped off. Spitfire gave chase without even considering otherwise.
It was obvious that she was the much faster flier, as the experienced Wonderbolt caught up the the now encumbered pony with ease. Spitfire used one of her hooves push Spectrum’s wing down, sending the pegasus into a slight spiral.
“Watch it, Wildfire! This thing is priceless!” Spectrum fired at Spitfire. “You break it, you buy it!” Okay, so if he wanted this thing in one piece, then it truly was important. She had to get the tablet and see what was so important about it. That meant she couldn’t just knock him out of the sky and pick up what was left.
“I don’t think I can afford it, so how about I just take it instead.” Both ponies looked down to see Rainbow Dash directly underneath the stallion. The mare snatched the tablet from Spectrum’s hooves and sped off with it. “Thanks!”
“So now how about I beat the snot out of you?” Spitfire asked, smirking at the would-be thief. The stallion gave a weak chuckle and seemingly shrunk down.
“Or, and this is just an idea, we think this through. I mean-” The stallion gasped. “What in the world is that?!” He pointed towards something behind Spitfire, but she was not going to fall for that. Oh no, that had just landed Soarin with a bloody muzzle.
“Nice try, but I’m not…” She trailed off as a shadow spilled over the stadium that was still in front of her. There wasn’t supposed to be a cloud in the sky today, and last Spitfire checked it was only mid-morning. There wasn’t supposed to be anything blocking the sun’s light, not yet anyways. Spitfire slowly turned around to see an airship hovering just over the lip of the stadium. “What the…”
“Sorry Firestarter, I gotta catch my ride!” Before she could react, Spectrum Strider flew above her and towards the airship. Spitfire silently cursed for falling for that and took off after the stallion. “No, I don’t have it...gee, I dunno. Maybe it had something to do with the Princess of Friendship and an entire team of Wonderbolts bein’ here.” Spectrum tilted his head and started talking to himself as he flew just out of Spitfire’s reach. “I’ll get it, alright! What? I’m not leaving here without-fine, but don’t blame me when you don’t get what you want!” Spitfire had no clue who he was talking to, as there was nopony else even remotely near them. Whoever it was, it sounded like it was Spectrum’s boss or superior. The pony who had ordered this attack.
“Spectrum, just give up! I’ll chase you onto that ship if I have to!” She wasn’t going to relent. Nopony ruined one of her shows and threatened innocent ponies without paying for it. She would chase him to the ends of Equestria if she had to.
“You won’t even get near it, hot stuff!” Spectrum called back as he banked suddenly. That left Spitfire staring down a now open gun port on the side of the airship. The telltale hum of a magical weapon heating up caused her reflexes to kick and her to pull up. One second later and she would’ve been dust, as a blinding discharge came from the cannon and singed the air she had been mere moments ago.
That weapon firing caused the rest of the ponies in the stadium to freeze in fear. Weapons weren’t allowed on airships, they were illegal under several different codes. Now one was in Cloudsdale and firing.
“Later!” Spectrum called as he landed on deck. Spitfire circled back around to watch and try to listen to what exactly the stallion was saying. “Level this place, it’s always been an eyesore.” Her eyes widened as more gun ports opened on the side of the vessel and the world was filled with high pitched hums.
“Run!” Was all Spitfire could get out before a dozen shots rang out at once. Each one hit the cloud structure of the cloudiseum and caused the magic inherently tied to the clouds to nullify. Pillars disappeared and evaporated, whole stands where ponies were sitting not minutes ago ceased to exist. Spitfire flew as fast as she could from the nullifying beams, but it wasn’t enough. An errant beam grazed her wing and sent her spiraling into the abyss below.
Star Shine hated boardrooms. They were stuffy and pompous, filled with ponies who thought they were more important than the rest. They thought they held power and substance, when all they really had was money and time on their side.
Regardless of his feelings about the room, he was in it now. The long gilded table in front of him sat a dozen or so ponies, all rotund from extravagant overindulgence in Canterlot’s cuisine. Each one bore the same mane cut, short and combed over. Each one wore the same suit that strained to cover their pot bellies. Each one served to only make Star Shine more than mad.
“We’re glad you could join us, Star Shine.” The stallion at the far end of the table started. It was Money Grubber, the member who gave him the most trouble. Despite being only twenty years below the sentagenarian, Star Shine felt he was afforded no respect by the cookie cutter board member. At every turn Grubber was always on his tail, always badgering him or belittling him. It was not something Star Shine particularly needed or wanted today. “Please, sit. We do have much to discuss.” The portly stallion motioned to a chair beside Star Shine.
“No, I believe I will stand, Grubber. I do not think this will take long at all.” He straightened his posture and ran his magic through the thick white mane atop his head, a bit of a habit when he was getting frustrated. He raised one navy blue hoof and placed it on the elongated table in front of him. “Go on, say what you will.”
“Yes, well…” Grubber cleared his throat uncomfortably. “...we have questions about how you’ve been spending the company’s money. More specifically, the funds you’ve diverted out into the Outlands. There is nothing there of value an-”
“I’m sorry.” Star Shine tapped his ear, just in case his hearing wasn’t working right. “The company’s money, is my money. It’s my company, is it not?” He was not going to take any chuff from the stallions gathered around him, not anymore. He was on the precipice of something great and some bureaucratic red tape wasn’t going to stop him.
“We have set your salary, Star Shine. Quite a generous one, if I’m to be frank. The money you’re wasting out in the middle of nowhere, they’re the company’s funds and we’re afraid of you suffocating profits.”” Grubber produced several folders and slid them down the table with his magic. Star Shine picked them up and saw figures in red ink, numbers that really meant nothing to him. He pushed the folders away and stared down the portly stallion at the other end of the table.
There you go again.” Star Shine cracked a rare bemused smile. “You’re acting as if the company is some beast that requires to be fed excess money in order to survive. It’s not. It’s an idea, made reality by me. It’s mine. The company’s will is my own.” Star Shine couldn’t help but lose his composure just a bit. He was tired of being bound to such idiotic pageantry. Why should he be beholden to these ponies and not only himself? His temper flared and his voice raised itself. “Just as it is my will that can have you all fired and replaced by this evening if I so choose it!” Star Shine closed his eyes and took a deep breath. For good measure he tilted his head and cracked his neck, which calmed him down considerably. “Remember that, Mr. Grubber. You’re only here because Equestrian law dictates that I need you. If not for that, you would be a bitless beggar on the streets of Manehattan.” He was done listening to these ponies, there was nothing they could say or do to properly reign him in. Not after today. With confidence and a spring in his step that had been absent for many years, Star Shine began to leave the boardroom.
“You need to explain these charges!” Grubber called after him. “Extra security, excavation crews, magic research! We’re an armor manufacturer, not an expedition crew!” Star Shine blocked out the stallion’s protests and continued to leave. Once he was on the other side of the door, he slammed it and began the short walk back to his office.
After he had entered the safety of his spacious office, he took up residence behind the solid oak desk that served as the focal point of the room and fired up his horn. He felt the magical pathway between himself and his subordinate open up and began addressing the pony he knew was on the other side.
“Strider, do you have it?” Star Shine busied himself while waiting for a reply by adjusting the knick knacks on the desk, shifting little samples of steel and photos from long ago. Now his work was truly beginning.
“No, I don’t have it!” The heavily accented voice rang throughout his head. If there was one pony in the entire world he didn’t want in his head at any given moment, it was Spectrum Strider. But it was a necessary evil for the time being.
“Why not? I sent you there with an entire army, with an airship even. Why do you not have it yet?” The stallion had proven himself useful in the past, but failure was not something Star Shine liked to indulge.
“Gee, I dunno. Maybe it had something to do with the Princess of Friendship and an entire team of Wonderbolts bein’ here!” The unicorn clenched his jaw and began grinding his teeth. Twilight Sparkle had not been part of the plan, none of the royal family were even supposed to be at the event. It would’ve been announced far before it happened. It wasn’t a good sign, not at all. “I’ll get it, alright?!” Star Shine admired the tenacity of the pegasus on the other end, but sometimes you had to know when to retreat.
“No.” He ordered. Now the only chance they had of getting away from this was to cause a bigger distraction than just attempting to hold a stadium hostage. Now they needed to upstage themselves.
“What?” Strider called from the other side. “I’m not leaving here without-”Star Shine cut off the annoying voice.
“Board the airship and open fire on the stadium. Level it, cause a scene.” If there was one thing Star Shine knew that Strider could do with ease, it was cause a scene. A colorful pegasus with a unique accent sowing chaos in Cloudsdale was the very pinnacle of a scene.
“Fine, but don’t blame me when you don’t get what you want!” With that, Star Shine closed the link between him and the pony he had designated his field commander for the time being. It was hard not to blame Strider for not being able to handle challenges thrown his way. Star Shine couldn’t plan for everything! He couldn’t walk Strider through every single obstacle thrown his way like an over-attentive nanny.
“Fool.” Star Shine spat bitterly. He shook his head and thought of the only thing that would calm him now. From the depths of his desk he pulled out a piece of parchment much older than himself. Much older than the building he was sitting in and even the city where he was situated. It was a map of Equestria and the Griffon Kingdom with markings in ancient Equish spattered all over it. This was the map to his destiny. It was the one thing that had kept him going for all of these years. “We’ll see each other soon enough, Epoch. Just you wait.”
Spitfire’s eyes opened to a world in disarray. Emergency services ponies hurried to and fro, talking at a quick pace with each other. She was in the Wonderbolts locker room, which had been transformed into some sort of makeshift triage center.
“Thank Celestia, you’re okay!” Spitfire turned her head to see Soarin, Princess Twilight and Rainbow Dash standing just a few feet away. It had been Soarin to speak hurt. “When that shot hit you I was sure you were...well not dead, but I at least thought it’d take you out of commission for a day or two.” Spitfire groaned at her co-captain’s faith in her ability to take a hit. It felt like she should be dead right about now, that was for sure.
“Those cannons were charged with some sort of magic-nullifying spell.” Princess Twilight picked up, stepping lose to Spitfire and lighting her horn up. “It caused the clouds to dissipate and sapped almost every ounce of innate magic from your body.”
“You totally fell like a rock!” Rainbow finished the trio’s talk with a statement that made Spitfire wish the prismatic speedster had a little more tact. “But luckily I was there to save you, y’know, again.” Yeah, some more tact would be better.
“Is everypony okay?” Spitfire forced herself to her hooves and off of the stiff cot she had been put on. She needed to know if anypony else had been caught in any of the blasts. It was bad enough her second-home was now partially destroyed, but if a pony had been hurt or killed as well, she didn’t know what she would do.
“Nopony was hurt.” Twilight spoke calmly. “We evacuated the stadium entirely before the ship opened fire, and I even kept all of those ponies working with Spectrum Strider in check. They’re currently in custody.” Well that was a weight off of her shoulders.
“But why attack the stadium? Why today?” Soarin asked, moving to Spitfire’s side to give her a little more support. “It couldn’t have been just for that dumb rock, right?” Right, the stone tablet thing that Spectrum had been after.
“Where is that thing?” Spitfire asked, glancing around. “If they did attack just for that thing, I want to know what it is and what it was doing in my stadium.” Spitfire was going full boss-mode now. She needed answers.
“I was busy helping with cleanup so I haven’t had a chance to examine it yet.” The princess lit her horn once more and retrieved the rectangular piece of stone from atop of a nearby locker. “I don’t know, there’s something wrong about it.” Twilight cocked her head to the side. “Like, I know it shouldn’t be here even though I’ve never seen it before.” Spitfire watched as the alicorn took her hoof and wiped a thin film of dust from the tablet. “It has something written on it, let’s see…”
“I hear them…” Spitfire’s heart stopped as Twilight began to read. The world around started to go dim in response to the words being uttered, but Spitfire could not stop it. She couldn’t even move. Ponies who had once been in a hurried panic froze in place and turned to look at the alicorn, whose voice was not her own. Deep, pulsing vibrations underlied Twilight’s usual voices, they were primal and known by everypony here. Feared, respected, even though she was sure nopony had heard it before. “I hear them through the cracks in the universe, whispering, plotting against me. Each passing moment in each passing universe in each passing possibility, they are trying to stop me. I see the faces of the would-be heroes, I see so many failing and falling. But there is always one, there is always one who makes it through all of the treachery and makes it to me. No more! NO MORE! I will not be caged one millenia longer! I will not be routed once again! I will not fall! The voice of time will not falter again! Epoch shall rise and wipe away the sands of mortality that bind this world, and only then will there be true understanding.”
Color rushed back to the world all at once as everypony in the nearby vicinity gasped sharply to make up for the breaths they had not been taking. Spitfire looked to the Princess, true fear in her eyes. Twilight did not look any better, she looked exhausted and beat down.
“Wh-what was that…?” Soarin had his wings flared out in order to keep his balance. “Seriously, what in the name of Celestia was that?” Similar questions were running through Spitfire’s head as well, and why did the words alone make her hurt on such a spiritual level?
“Powerful...very powerful magic.” Twilight put the stone tablet down on Spitfire’s cot and took a step back from it. There was genuine panic and fear in her eyes, and that unsettled Spitfire even more.
“It’s a rock! How does a rock have magic?” To Rainbow’s credit, she seemed to be able to shake off that experience quite easily. It was admirable, but also baffling. The magic in that stone had affected everypony in the room on a very deep level, except Rainbow Dash it seemed.
“There is more to magic than just spells, Rainbow.” Twilight started lecturing her friend. “Words can have magic as well, if inscribed properly and with the right intentions. These inscriptions on this rock, they were put here by somepony far more powerful than me.” That was worrying, very worrying. What was more powerful than an alicorn in her prime? “Princess Celestia needs to see this immediately.”
“We can’t just go to Canterlot!” Rainbow Dash protested. “What if those bad guys come back? We can’t just leave Cloudsdale defenseless against that giant ship thing!” Rainbow’s heart was in the right place, but there were other ponies here now other than them.
“Dash, the guard is already here.” Soarin fired back at the wannabe-Wonderbolt. “If Princess Twilight says that Princess Celestia needs to see this, then I believe her. I’m not letting her go alone, either.” Spitfire nodded with each of Soarin’s words. She agreed completely, there was no point in staying here if they needed to alert Celestia to a supremely powerful magical being.
“I would appreciate the escort, Soarin.” Twilight gave a polite smile. “Rainbow, I need you to stay here, though. Flash is already out looking for Fluttershy and I think you should help. She’s probably scared out of her mind right now and she needs you.”
“Yeah, okay.” Rainbow lowered her head after being obviously beaten by more the more logical ponies. “But as soon as I find Fluttershy we’re staying here. I’m going to make sure none of those guys show up again!”
“I’ll tag along with you, Princess.” Spitfire looked to Twilight. “I heard Spectrum Strider talking to somepony, and I think it could be helpful.” Spitfire was going to get to the bottom of this, she had to. This was the most exciting thing to happen to her in years.
Author's Note
So I got this story from an old friend of mine. It was originally supposed to be a radio play, but that fell through. He got sorta disillusioned with the fandom and I asked if I could adapt it.
I'll admit, I'm not sticking one-hundred percent to the script. I'm diverting a little bit and changing certain things up so it can more fit my style and feel.
I'm going to tell you right now that I am following the general plot and hope to hit all of the right beats at the right time since I loved the pacing of the original so much. It's looking to be about 44-45 chapters right out of the gate.
ENJOY!
Canterlot castle was always such a busy place. Ponies too important for words strolled throughout the marble halls, none of them paying any attention to the little filly that walked by her father’s side. They all seemed caught up in one conversation or another, discussing topics the filly did not understand. Not that she cared all that much, either. She was just in awe at the beauty of the place.
“You get to come here everyday?” Spitfire asked, looking up at the vaulted ceilings in wide eyed wonder. It was larger than life and more than she had ever dreamed. Plus, Princess Celestia lived here! It was one of her dreams to meet the Princess one day.
“Not every day.” Her father responded, the tips of his wing keeping Spitfire from wandering off. “Sometimes I get to go up to the Empire, where the griffons live.” He grimaced and spoke through slightly clenched teeth. “Not lately, though.”
“Why?” Spitfire liked asking her dad that question. He always seemed to have a good answer to it, and she learned something too! It was a good question to ask, she felt.
“The griffon king said some things...mean things.” Spitfire saw the frustration on her dad’s face as his muzzle scrunched and he sighed. “Princess Celestia thinks it’s for the best if I don’t go back for awhile.”
“Well that’s good.” Spitfire smiled at her dad and hugged his leg. “‘Cause I miss you when you’re gone.” Her dad picked his daughter up and placed her on his back, shooting her a smile.
“I know you do, Spitty...but my job is important. If I could quit, I would in a heartbeat to stay with you. Nopony else knows the griffons like I do, though.” That didn’t really matter to Spitfire. Other ponies could learn so she wouldn’t be left alone so often. Her mother was always off helping ponies, and her dad was always in the Empire it seemed. She missed her parents more than she saw them both together.
“Fireball.” The pegasus’ attention was turned to focus on a large white stallion with a purple and white streaked mane. He wore purple armor with a gold trim, and he held himself much more regally than anypony else in the hall.
“Oh, hello Aegis.” Fireball turned back to Spitfire. “Spitfire, this is Aegis Shield. He’s the captain of the royal guard. Is that your nephew Shining Armor I see back there as well?” Spitfire spied a little colt behind Aegis’ back shield. He was just as white as the stallion, but his mane was two-tone, a medium blue and a lighter blue. “It is!”
“Say hello, boy.” Aegis stepped to the side and ushered the colt forward. Shining Armor’s knees knocked together and he looked at the pegasi apprehensively.
“H-hello…” The colt said, quickly retreating behind his uncle.
“He’s a bit….shy.” Aegis continued with a sigh. “Anyway, I came to find you because the griffon prince showed up; and he’s not happy. Princess Celestia wants you to calm him down before he causes an incident."
“Of course he would show up, today of all days. The one day I can actually spend time with Spitfire and...” Spitfire’s dad mumbled under his breath. “I’ll handle it.” He looked back at Spitfire with a reluctant frown. “I-I just need somepony to watch Spitty for awhile.”
“You go.” Aegis motioned with his hoof. “I saw Slipstream out in the courtyard with her son, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind watching her for awhile.” Spitfire lept off of her dad’s back excitedly at the mention of the name. She knew it, and so did every pegasus filly and colt across Equestria!
“The captain of the Wonderbolts is here?!” Spitfire bounced up and down. “I wanna meet her, Daddy! I wanna meet her! Can I please?!” She tugged on Fireball’s leg with all of her might and looked up at him pleadingly.
“Of course you can, Spitty.” Fireball rolled his eyes and waved Spitfire towards Aegis with his wing. “Just go with the captain, he’ll take you to her.” She ran over to the imposing stallion and began pulling on his hoof. “Thank you so much, Aegis.”
“C’mon Mr. Captain! I wanna see the Wonderbolt!”
“Hey Shining Armor. Long time no see.” Spitfire smiled at the captain of the guard and held out her hoof, waiting for the stallion to shake it. She frowned and lowered her foreleg, having been only met with a face of stone. She understood that they were in the middle of a crisis and the castle was on a lockdown, but she always thought there was time for niceties.
“Spitfire.” Was all the captain said as he stepped aside and opened the door that revealed the royal court beyond. The long hallways was framed on each side by stained glass windows that depicted adventures of the elements of harmony and the royal sisters themselves. “Twilight and Celestia are waiting for us.” Shining Armor said nothing more and began walking towards the throne on the other side of the elongated room.
“Sheesh, guess the guard only pumps out stiffs, huh?” Soarin mumbled to Spitfire as he trotted past her. Spitfire shrugged with a sigh and followed the two stallions to face the princesses. Ponies changed as they got older, she knew that. Shining turned from a shy stallion who could barely talk to a burly guard who apparently had nothing to say.
“Soarin, Spitfire. I’m glad you’re here.” Both of the Wonderbolts bowed before the ethereal grace that was Princess Celestia. She sat on her throne, Twilight by her side holding the stone tablet from the stadium. “I’m sorry to hear about the cloudiseum. It was one of my favorite structures in Cloudsdale.”
“It can be fixed, your majesty.” Spitfire kept her voice low and respectful. “I’m more worried about the ponies who attacked it.” She was not going to lie to the monarch, it would be pointless. She had to be straightforward and truthful. “I want to know why they wanted that rock and why they were willing to kill for it.”
“Midnight.” Celestia stated with venom in her voice. “They are a group I thought had disbanded long ago. I’m ashamed to admit they even existed, but they were cultists who worshipped Nightmare Moon in the years following my sister’s banishment. They sought to release her from the moon and aid her in her conquest of Equestria.” Spitfire had never thought about ponies actually looking up to Nightmare Moon. Most ponies had only been taught to fear the mare in the moon, so what drove these to do such a thing.
“We don’t think they’re the same group, though.” Twilight added onto her former teacher’s explanation. “Looking back through the archives made it clear that they’re most likely imposters, using an old name for some sort of recognition.”
“Alright, so what’s their deal?” Spitfire wanted to slap Soarin for being so informal towards the princesses, but instead she grit her teeth. It was a question that had been on her mind as well. “What exactly are they after?” Twilight looked at Celestia nervously, the much larger alicorn just nodded with a sigh.
“Epoch.” Celestia said, her facade turning to grim steel. “He’s an old foe, as old as time itself. My sister and I were not the first to face him down and beat him, but we were the last.” The elder princess took the tablet from Twilight’s grasped and examined it. “These are fragments from a time long forgotten and a place that no longer is.” Spitfire did not like riddles or cryptic statements, they only served to muddy the subjects that were being discussed. “He changes things, alters time and probability. Once he’s sealed back into his tomb, everything reverts to how it should be, how it was before his interference. These stones are the only thing left over from those abandoned timelines.” Celestia placed the tablet down gently beside her. “They are relics of a forgotten dimension and are imbued with powerful magic. You are lucky to only have found one that echoed Epoch’s thoughts and nothing malicious.”
“So...he’s still sealed in his tomb, right?” Spitfire asked, getting a very basic grip on the situation. “All we have to do is find whoever wants him free, arrest them, and make sure his tomb is secure.” It all seemed simple to Spitfire, fantastically so.
“I do not know where his tomb is.” Celestia said with great disappointment coating her words. “After we defeated him, some memories lingered from the old world but not many. I can recall a conversation with Epoch, and parts of our journey, but I cannot remember where his tomb was nor how we sealed him within it.”
“I don’t get it.” Soarin shook his head, putting a hoof to his forehead. “So somehow you got transported from that abandoned timeline to this one, but your memories were wiped? What?” Spitfire had to admit, it did seem a bit unbelievable. She nodded silently with her co-captain’s words.
“Time travel is strange business, if what I even did can be considered such. At the center of his tomb lies his power, a nexus that allows him to manipulate the fabric of time beyond. It distorts things, like memories. You can even be given memories that were never yours, leftovers from somepony else who attempted to stop him or succeeded. It’s very...disorienting.” Spitfire sighed at the complicated mess that had just been divulged to her. She didn’t care about Epoch’s power, all she wanted to know how to stop him.
“Okay, so we should send the elements of harmony to find the rest of these stone tablets to find out where he is and seal him in his tomb permanently.” Spitfire had seemingly figured this out. That was the standard defense for Equestria, why should it change now?
“Twilight and her friends must stay here, close to Canterlot. If the worst comes, I want them to be here as a failsafe.” Spitfire saw Princess Twilight open her mouth to protest but quickly decide against it. “We will need a smaller group of ponies capable of moving quickly and effectively, to send and retrieve the artifacts. They must be brave.” Spitfire didn’t like where this was going. “They must be swift.” She really didn’t like where this was going. “They must be clever.”
“We’ll do it!” Soarin snapped a wing up in salute, before he recoiled as Spitfire reached out and kicked him in the shin with her hoof. “Ow! What?! We’re two of the fastest ponies in the world, we’re brave, and at least one of us is clever like half of the time.” She glared daggers at Soarin. She was not exactly keen on leaving to go on a wild goose chase. That was reserved for heroes and suicidal ponies, not her and Soarin. They were celebrities, not heroes.
“Captain Spitfire.” The pegasus turned to look at Princess Celestia. “Please reconsider. Soarin and yourself already know everything, you know what you’re looking for, and you know who else is as well.” Spitfire narrowed her eyes in defiance. Celestia might’ve been the princess, but Spitfire still had the option of saying no if she wanted to.
“That’s not my job, Princess.” Spitfire stated bluntly. “I’m not an adventurer, I’m not some sort of hero. What do you expect us to do? Fight off a whole army that Midnight apparently has and go on to save the world?” Spitfire shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think we can do it.”
“I think you can.”
Spitfire blinked, caught off guard; it hadn’t been Celestia who spoke, but Princess Twilight. “I saw you at the stadium, how quickly you acted and how amazing you were.” Twilight stepped down from her spot next to Celestia and descended the steps so she could be level with the pegasus. “You were brave, you were smart, you were a hero.” Twilight smiled. “I know you can do this, Spitfire. You just have to be willing.”
“Plus, if you don’t accept I’ll just do it alone.” Soarin kneed Spitfire in the ribs. “Think about that, me out there alone.” What should’ve been a dubiously dark statement turned sarcastic by Soarin raising his eyebrows repetitiously.
“Can I have some time to think about it? Maybe a few hours?” Spitfire just wanted to take a walk around the city alone and clear her head. She needed a good think before she could commit to anything.
“Of course, Captain.” Celestia nodded. “I expect an answer by the end of the day, though.”
“Stupid mares…” Spectrum Strider grumbled to himself as he plucked a dead feather from one of his wings. Currently he was under a tree in one of Canterlot’s more secluded areas and tending to his wounds. His boss was supposed to contact him here soon, and he didn’t want to miss it. That would be an earful. “Why’d they have to go steal what I stole? I told ‘em, oooh I told ‘em ‘just cooperate an’ everythin’ will go smoothly’ but did they listen?” He shook his head and looked out into the city, his eyes focusing on each passing pony and guard. “Of course not, nopony listens to me. Just like that time with the fruitbats, just ignore me and do whatever you want. Do I just have one of those faces that scream ‘don’t listen to a single word I ever say’?” The rambling was cathartic, especially considering he was in the middle of a city that was on high alert because of him.
“It’s because you are an idiot, Strider.” The pegasus jumped to his hooves and looked around, his eyes wild. His shoulders slumped and released tension when he remembered how his boss liked to communicate with him.
“Right, the link thing. I always forget you can just pop into my head whenever you like.” Spectrum posted himself against a tree where any passing pony couldn’t get a good look at him jabbering to himself like a madpony. “Maybe ring the doorbell next time?”
“Trust me, Strider, I do not wish to be ‘in your head’ anymore than I absolutely have to.” Spectrum rolled his eyes at the stuck up pony in his ear. Always such a hard-ass, he was. “Perhaps you should cut down on the rambling next time, it’s unbecoming.”
“Get on with it, maybe?” He groaned. “I get it, I’m not exactly up to your standards.” The pegasus shrugged with a smile. “Just remember you’re the one payin’ me.”
“I am very well aware.” Star Shine spoke through what sounded like gritted teeth. “That is exactly why I called. I know you did not retrieve the tablet, but please tell me you recovered the other target I sent you for?” Spectrum closed one eye and thought about his response for a minute before actually speaking.
“Yeah, sure.” He wasn’t exactly sure what ‘other target’ Star Shine was referring to, so he decided to just go with it until he was caught. “Got it right here.” The pegasus patted the tree trunk next to him, causing a few leaves to fall from the branches.
“I’m impressed, Strider.” The voice was smug and belittling, something Spectrum didn’t exactly appreciate.”Bring it to the drop off and we will get mov-”
“-I don’t have it.” Spectrum interjected with a sly grin and a chuckle.
“Then…” He could hear the anger raise in the uppity unicorn’s voice. “...why did you tell me you had it?” Each syllable was annunciated to such a precise degree that he could practically feel the spittle flying from Star Shine’s mouth with each word.
“Well one: you told me to ‘please tell you’, and I was raised right. You said please, so I did what you wanted. Two: you were awful vague about what exactly ‘it’ was, and I didn’t know. For all I know, it could’ve been this tree I’m leanin’ against.” Spectrum shrugged. “That’s what you get for bein’ obtuse, boss.” It was always fun to get Star Shine’s knickers in a twist, not that it was very hard. The results were just entertaining.
“I ought to-!” The sentence stopped midway as the stallion on the other end of the link regained his composure. “Your performance has been lackluster today, hasn’t it? First you fumble the tablet at the stadium, and now you’re behind schedule.”
“Alright, hang on a minute.” Spectrum protested. “You told me it was okay to bail on the one with the Wonderbolts, and not to mention I woulda had it if you had kept your promise to keep trouble away!” Spectrum was not a chew toy, nor was he something to be kicked around. “What was I supposed to do against an alicorn? Fly at her?” He may have been a bit impulsive at times, but he was not suicidal.
“I did not even have a read on Princess Twilight Sparkle.” The stallion on the other end spat the name with venom the likes of which Spectrum had never heard from any living pony. “I was lucky enough to get her brother to cancel, but none of my contacts in the palace were even aware of her going.”
“Well maybe that’s ‘cause your ‘contacts’ are in Canterlot and not Ponyville, hmm?” Spectrum posited. “Might be a good idea to get her where she lives instead of where she doesn’t.” The pegasus shrugged and went back to his idle ponywatching.
“I will upgrade my network.” Star Shine relented. “We will not be left in the dark next time.” It sounded like a promise, one Spectrum was going to hold the stallion to. No intel or bad intel were all the same to him, both left him open for more improvisation but also more danger. Both were good, as long as one didn’t heavily outweigh the other. “Now, I assume you are in Canterlot.”
“Yep, in a park on the southside. I thought’cha might join me, but that was me gettin’ my hopes up again.” Of course Spectrum had met Star Shine on more than one occasion, but it seemed that lately he was only getting his orders through the established link and never face to face. It was a bummer, really. It was always more fun to poke and prod Star Shine in the flesh where he couldn’t just turn Spectrum off.
“Go to the Hall of Honor.” Star Shine ordered flatly. “I will meet you there.” Well speak of Discord and he shall appear. While he was looking forward to seeing the uptight pony again, he had some very deep reservations about the meeting place.
“I’m gonna go ahead and assume you meant some other place and not the big Hall of Honor smack dab in the middle of the city.” Spectrum pushed off from the tree and cocked an eyebrow in confusion. “‘Cause y’know that there’s a ponyhunt goin’ on for me, right? It’s not like I’m free to go waltzin’ about all I like.”
“I’m counting on that, Strider. Meet me there, twenty minutes.” With that Spectrum felt the link in his head go dark. He was alone with only his thoughts again. Well that and the growling in his stomach.
“Well I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if I took a little bit of a detour. Can’t say I wouldn’t want to visit one of the bakeries around here.” With the thought of warm baked goods filling his head, Spectrum started off towards his date with something delicious.
“Strider, if you so much as deviate from the path to the Hall of Honor I will scramble your brain right here and now.” The pegasus nearly jumped out of his skin when the voice intruded his head again.
“C’mon!” He shouted, letting his heart rate start to calm. “I’ve been up all day plannin’ that attack and I’m hungry. You can’t stop me from eatin’!” He would complain later about Star Shine apparently spying on his thoughts somehow.
“I will bring you something.” The unicorn hissed. “Get there. Now.”
“Alright.” Spectrum said with a sigh. “But you owe me a doughnut or something of equal or greater deliciousness.” The mirrored sigh that he got from Star Shine almost made skipping food worth it.
Almost.
Spitfire had been wandering the city streets for some time, just contemplating her options. No answers had come easily, though. Just more and more uncertainty. It all came down to whether or not she was the right pony for the job. She had military training, as did all of the Wonderbolts, but it was more than that. She wasn’t a hero, plain and simple. Princess Twilight, Rainbow Dash and their friends were the heroes of Equestria. They were the kinds of ponies that needed to save the world because they extraordinary.
“I’m just a Wonderbolt.” She muttered as she strode through the crowded streets of Canterlot. It may have been a little ridiculous to anypony else that the captain of the Wonderbolts was developing an inferiority complex, but it was a unique situation.
The multiple times that the Wonderbolts had responded to threats since the Elements of Harmony had appeared had only ended with the team’s broken bones and shattered egos. The dragon in Ponyville, the best young flier’s competition, Discord’s return, the changeling attack, and Tirek’s return. All had seen the kingdom’s elite flying force dismissed almost immediately and rendered useless. Why would now be any different? What could she do that Twilight and her friends couldn’t?
Spitfire lifted her head to find herself in perhaps the one building that could help her with these questions: the Hall of Honor. This was the place where all of Equestria’s fallen heroes were entombed, each one with legends larger than the building they were laid to rest in.
It was always a quiet place with not a lot of traffic. Tourists and students were the main types to come here, not regular ponies who just lived in the city. It was seen as a place of solitude, remembrance and quiet contemplation.
The exterior of the building reflected this purpose. It was a white marble exterior with thick veins of soft gray snaking their way across. It was probably the second tallest structure in all of Canterlot next to the palace itself. It stretched high into the air, its twin towers making a helix around a constantly flowing rainbow waterfall. The rainbows gathered in a small covered pool in the center of the two towers and offered as a resting area. Spitfire could only crack a content smile at the wondrous building.
“Watch it, featherbrain.” Spitfire’s peace was shattered by something shoving into her, the force spinning her almost completely around. Once she had gathered her bearings again, Spitfire located the source of the disturbance and prepared to launch a volley of insults. Instead her mouth hung slightly agape at the creature before her.
“What’s a griffon doing here…?” Spitfire said to herself as she watched the beast keep walking. Its hindquarters, the area that was that of a lion’s, was a pure silky black accentuated by white areas that stretched from the knees to the paws, and a bit of white standing out at the tip of her long and angry tail. Spitfire thought she spied a white underbelly as well, but she wasn’t entirely sure. The front was coated in similarly jet black feathers, but that was all she could make out from behind.
“Wait a minute…” The griffon, which Spitfire now identified as a female from the voice, turned to face the Wonderbolt. The griffoness’ golden eyes were framed by spiked circles of white feathers around them. “You’re that one famous pony, right? The one who flies?” The griffon advanced on Spitfire until a hardened beak met her muzzle.
“Yeah…” Spitfire would let the griffon off of the hook for not knowing who she was. It’s not like the Empire had access to Wonderbolt shows regularly. “...and you’re way too close.” Spitfire pushed the hybrid back with one hoof.
“You were attacked.” The griffoness stated bluntly. “By a pony, pegasus. About this tall-” The griffon raised her front claw to about the base of her neck. “-with a dumb accent and badly colored mane.” Spitfire blinked at the description of Spectrum Strider.
“Yeah, how do you know what-” The same claw that had been used as a rudimentary measuring tool was now clamped around Spitfire’s muzzle. In response, the Wonderbolt flared her wings and attempted to back away, but found the grip to be firm and painful.
“Shut it, I’m talking.” The griffoness leaned in again, her catlike pupils studying Spitfire intently. “Go figure you couldn’t catch him, you have no meat on your bones.” Quieting Spitfire just to insult her was not a way to get on her good side. The Wonderbolt kicked the griffon’s talons away with a hoof and glared at the hybrid.
“Alright, what’s the idea? You push me out of the way, shut my mouth and insult me? Who do you think you are?” Spitfire rose to her full height and puffed up her chest and wings. Even though it made her no taller than the griffon’s neck, it made her feel a little better.
“My name is Gasparde, and I’m hunting that pony that attacked your little circus.” Spitfire would’ve argued the fact that the stadium wasn’t a circus, but she knew that arguing with a griffon was pointless. Her father had been the one to drill that into her head. “He took something from me, and I’m going to make him give it back.”
“Okay.” She could believe that Spectrum Strider had made some enemies, but she was mildly impressed that some of them evidently spread all the way to the far north. “What are you doing in Canterlot, then? Last I saw him he was on an airship in Cloudsdale.” If this griffon, Gasparde, knew something about Spectrum Strider’s whereabouts, Spitfire needed to try and get it out of her.
“I know.” Gasparde shot back hatefully. “I couldn’t find the damn thing, and I figured I could come here and ask your Princesses about getting some help.” The griffon’s wings twitched with something that Spitfire could only recognize as frustration. “I saw him, though. He’s here. I caught a glimpse when I was flying over the city, but lost him. He was heading in this direction last I saw.”
“What?” Alarm bells started going off in Spitfire’s head. Her eyes searched the area immediately in front of her for the familiar pegasus. This was another monument, another target for him. It had to be. “You didn’t alert the guards?” Spitfire whispered to Gasparde.
“And scare him off? No, sue me.” Gasparde turned around and looked up at the double helix structure looming in front of them. “I think he’s in there, looking for something and I’m going to find him.” The griffon started walking towards one of the towers, leaving a baffled Spitfire behind.
“Gasparde!” She came to her senses and rushed after the hybrid. “Gasparde, are you crazy?” Spitfire jumped over the determined creature with the help of her wings and landed right in front of her. “Do you know what he did to my stadium? We don’t know what he’s doing here or what kind of help he’s brought!”
“First off, pony.” Gasparde loomed over Spitfire and glared down at her. “You don’t get to call me Gasparde. You’re not my king or my mother. Call me Gaz like everyone else. Second: that’s why I’m going in there and why, if you want to redeem your miserable failure at your circus, you should come with me.” With not another word, Gaz marched past Spitfire and ever closer to the Hall of Honor.
Spitfire put her hoof to her face and groaned. She couldn’t let some random griffon go into a national monument and possibly start a fight, and she definitely couldn’t let Spectrum Strider escape or do something dangerous.
“Wait up!” She was going to regret this, she knew it.
Star Shine was sat just beside the rainbow pool between the two twisting towers that rose to the sky. He knew that he was quite a distinct pony amongst the the bright pastels and glistening white coats that surrounded him, and that Strider would not miss him in such an open area. There was the problem of Strider, being visually outstanding in his own right, blending in. That was not Star Shine’s problem, however. His subordinate would have to figure that out himself.
“Alright, I’m here.” The middle-aged stallion became aware of a pony sitting a few feet away on the edge of the prismatic pool. Star Shine studied the pony from the corner of his eye: a baseball cap, most likely pilfered, covering a tri-colored mane and a dark brown jacket hiding the ponies wings. Even if he was blind, the voice gave away exactly who it was.
“Good, I was growing impatient.” Star Shine took a covered item from beside him and levitated it to his compatriot. “As requested, your food.” It was some sort of deep-fried death he had picked up from an ethnic fellow on his way here. Whatever it was, it was sugary, warm, and probably bad for anypony’s health. So it was perfect for Strider.
“How’d you know I love churros?” The pegasus took a bite from the treat and chomped happily, leaving a scowl across Star Shine’s face. He hated that he had caved to such unprofessionalism, but in order to get things done sometimes you needed to sacrifice a little dignity.
“Call it a lucky guess.” Star Shine replied with little mirth. “Now, we need to discuss our next move.” He did not give the pegasus even a moment to attempt to speak with his mouth full and instead continued his one-sided talk. “The next tablet is here in the Hall of Honor, amongst one of the statues. I have a few clues, but they are all vagaries and nonsense.”
“Okay-” Strider started out by swallowing the last of his food. “-so I go in, find whatever statue it is, tear it apart and get the thing. Easy enough.” Star Shine rolled his eyes at the pony and sighed.
“We have already destroyed one national monument today, let us not go for another one.” He didn’t like what he was about to say, but it was a cold hard necessity. “I will get it myself.” The canned, and frankly sarcastic, gasp that came from Strider earned him a glare. “As I was waiting for you to arrive, I spotted your friend Captain Spitfire enter the building with a griffoness. You are to act as a distraction while I find it.” It had been an off the cuff plan once he had seen the Wonderbolt and her hybrid friend, but he believed it would work. There was no juicier bait in all of Equestria than Strider at the moment, and it seemed that both of the females had a bone or twenty to pick with the pegasus.
“A griffoness?” Strider closed one eye and thought over something for a second. “Boy, she must really hate me, huh? Comin’ all the way down here just to get me.” The stallion shrugged and tossed the paper wrapper his churro had been held in to the wind. “Well I can’t blame her, I’d go to the ends of Equestria for me too.”
“Oh good, you know her. I was afraid you were making enemies of creatures you’d never even met.” As much as Strider annoyed him, Star Shine had to admit that the little rapport they had developed could be quite enjoyable and cathartic, that was if both of them were only focusing on belittling the pegasus.
“Yeah, she was one of the birds who was guardin’ the one you sent me to go get up in the Empire.” Strider stood and shrugged off his jacket, letting his wings flare wide. “Looks like she wasn’t too keen on me gettin’ away without a scratch. Guess she’s eager for a round two.”
“Yes, and I’m sure you’ll be happy to oblige.” Star Shine stood as well and focused on what he knew about the next key. “I will attempt to lure the captain away while you take care of the griffon. The last thing I need is one of those things on my tail.”
“You got it, boss. When I see her alone, I’ll take the shot.” With a little salute, Strider soared off towards the top of the tower to do Celestia knew what. Star Shine only hoped it was to set up for something that would either injure the bird or both her and himself.
“So what is it you do in the Empire, exactly?” Spitfire had always been fascinated by the griffons and their culture. It was a holdover from her father being the ambassador. They were very militaristic and lacking in any real culture other than violence, which made them almost the antithesis to Equestria. Any chance to gain even a little insight into what the strange creatures were up to nowadays would be welcome.
“I’m a guard at The Temple.” Gaz answered through a semi-clenched beak. Her raptor-like head was on a swivel and constantly keeping an eye out for her prey. “It’s one of the only heritage sites left that wasn’t looted in the civil war. It held the ancient manuscript that named Gideon the first High King. That featherbrain Spectrum or whatever you called him stole it.”
“What did it look like?” Spitfire had a suspicion that this manuscript wasn’t exactly what it seemed. If Spectrum was after it, that meant it might be like the stone from the stadium. She didn’t like thinking that the troublemaker already had one of those things in his possession.
“I don’t know!” Gaz started walking faster to get away from Spitfire, her claws clacking against the marble floors. “It was our most valuable treasure, we weren’t allowed to look at it. All I know is that I was sent here to get it back.” Spitfire would point out the obvious flaw in logic that Gaz couldn’t exactly retrieve something if she didn’t know what it looked like, but that might lead to an argument.
It was then that the realization hit the Wonderbolt. If Spectrum was here, then it had to have something to do with another one of those stones. It couldn’t be a coincidence that both he and those things had been at historical structures or monuments. Spectrum had a map and he was following it, this was the next ‘X’ that marked the spot.
“Excuse me, Spitfire?” She was snapped out of her thinking by somepony giving her shoulder a slight tap. Both herself and Gaz spun to see a dark blue unicorn with a shocking white mane smiling at the captain. “Ah, I thought it was you!”
“Hello...Mr….” Spitfire tried to recall a name to put to the face, but nothing came up. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I know your name.” She tried to be as polite as she could to the ponies who approached her, especially those in Canterlot. She had been told a long time ago that it was these noble-types that paid her salary and she couldn’t bravado her way through them.
“Oh, of course. How could you? I’m sure you meet so many ponies on a regular basis.” The stallion held out his hoof and spoke with a voice as smooth as silk. “My name is Star Shine. Head of the Canterlot Astronomer’s guild and president of Hard Target Armor Manufacturing. We met at the Grand Galloping Gala last year.” Spitfire had no idea who this pony was, but she would go with it just to make a fan, and taxpayer, happy.
“Right, Mr. Star Shine!” She smiled and gave her best chuckle. “Sorry, it’s been a bit of a rough day-” A low growl let her know that Gaz was getting fed up with the distraction. “-Gaz, you go on ahead, just yell if you find anything.” She turned her attention back to the stallion. “She’s a bit impatient.”
“Oh, that’s fine.” Star Shine waved at the griffon. “I work with her kind often, I know how they are.” The stallion looked around at the various larger than life stallions. “What are you doing here, Captain Spitfire? I figured you would be resting after that dreadful turn of events at your show.” Well news traveled well in Canterlot, they always said. Spitfire was surprised that it wasn’t already a known fact that she had met with Celestia or she hadn’t eaten yet.
“Y’know, I just wanted to take a little break and sorta walk around.” At least she wasn’t lying. This had all started out as a calming exercise and had just devolved into a wild goose chase. “I just like looking at the statues, I guess. They make me remember why I do what I do.”
“How noble.” The stallion mused as he eyed one statue of Starswirl the Bearded particularly closely. “Do you know what my favorite thing to do is while I’m here?” She didn’t care to know, but she knew that he was going to tell her anyway. “Look for inaccuracies in the works.” He pointed towards the depiction of the legendary mage. “Like Starswirl’s cloak: you can clearly see Orion on the backside but his belt contains four stars instead of three.” Star Shine chuckled and Spitfire did the same, albeit weakly.
“Yeah, that’s...interesting.” She stated disinterestedly. Gaz was around here somewhere and was liable to get into trouble if Spitfire wasn’t near. “Can I get going? I have some stuff that I have to do.” She started to walk away but found her tail encased in a magical vice.
“Oh, but do come on, Captain.” Star Shine chided. “Tell me what you see, there has to be something here that catches your eye. Some little detail that drives you mad.” Spitfire suppressed a groan and figured she would indulge the unicorn for a minute.
“Alright, yeah.” From her spot in the middle of the tower, she could spy a statue of Firefly, the first true Wonderbolt. Every time she came here something about it bothered her but she hadn’t really ever told anypony. “General Firefly, she has Celestia’s medal of the Dawn on her uniform but it’s not right. The longest ray of the sun is supposed to point down, and that one’s askew.” Indeed on the uniform of the mare, there was a medal that was a facsimile of the sun, five rays all radiated outward from the core. The longest was at an odd angle and nowhere close to where it should be.
“That is very odd.” Star Shine mused as he trotted over to the edge of the room where the statue stood. Luckily for them both, the lowest ring of the tower was reserved for only the oldest of heroes, hence the presence of both Starswirl and General Firefly. If it had been anypony remotely newer, they would have to ascend the tower. “I say, doesn’t it appear as though that piece has been grinding against the statue?” Spitfire trotted over right next to the unicorn and observed the stone medal closely. It was true, she could see it wearing against the stone edifice of the General’s uniform, as if it wasn’t really part of the statue at all. “Hmmm…” The stallion vocalized as his magic encased the medal and began to maneuver it.
“What are you doing?” Spitfire hissed, getting in front of the unicorn to obstruct his view. “You can’t just go around defacing these things! They’re priceless monuments!” She was nothing if not patriotic to her core, and seeing somepony attempt to destroy yet another monument on her watch was not going to fly today.
“Captain-” An audible groan came from behind her, causing her to spin on her hooves and look up. The medal had swung on hinges she had no idea were even there and exposed a cavity in the General’s chest. “-I do hope you know that unicorns do not require line of sight to perform magic.” Well now she did! It was a handy lesson, but not one she had wanted to learn today.
“How did you know it would do that?” Spitfire wondered as she gazed at the hole in her hero’s chest. “There was no way you could’ve known.” She concluded without Star Shine even needing to speak.
“I didn’t know, you’re correct.” Star Shine stepped by her side and eyes the cavity as well. “I had a suspicion and acted on it. You would be surprised at how many things are hidden in these old places. My father had a knack for this sort of treasure hunting, so I suppose I picked it up from him.” She would question the methods later and take the results now.
Quickly, she rose up to the hole and looked inside. Tucked neatly away in the back was a rectangular stone tablet, the writing on it old and nearly faded. Spitfire reached her hooves in as far as they would go and pawed at the rock until she got a good grip on it.
“What is it, Captain? If it is gold, I recommend we split it evenly.” She rolled her eyes at the pony and focused on her prize. As she gazed at it, the writing started to faintly glow and restore itself to a more legible state. There was a compulsion growing inside her as it did so, the compulsion to read it. She attempted to resist it, but in the end failed.
“We are trapped here in this timeless space-” Her voice started to mingle with that of another’s. This other pony, a mare, was worried and in pain. Spitfire could feel that just from the words alone. “-my sister and I. We are being held here against our will and I fear that we may never be free. He is trying to break us, though. He is attempting to fool us with events that never transpired and truths that never were. He has told us that he is family, or someone dear. We know this to be false, the only family we have known for centuries has been each other and not even this monster can convince us otherwise. We will not fall to him, we cannot.” Spitfire nearly fell from the sky as the text finished. Simply reading it, channeling whoever was speaking through her, was exhausting beyond all compare.
“Interesting…” The stallion below her stated plainly.
*CRASH*
A few minutes earlier
Gaz had wandered into the other tower of this dumb monument. She wasn’t going wait around all day for Spitfire to get done chatting with her pointy friend and not to mention, there was a criminal to catch. No sightings of him yet, but she knew that he had to be around here somewhere. No way he would come anywhere near someplace this important when a whole country was after him without good reason.
“Heads up, Tweety!” Gaz’s head shot up just as a large piece of stone was hurtling down through the towers central chamber, it’s trajectory straight towards her! She dove out of the way just as the hazard impacted, causing the marble below it to buckle and give way. Dust from the two pieces of stone colliding kicked up and caused her to cough and cover her eyes with a wing.
Once the dust had cleared the stone face of one of the pony statues was staring back at her, a smile across its now shattered face. She looked up once again to see a familiar purple coat flying above her. Instinctively, her eyes narrowed and wings flared out wide.
“I didn’t hit’cha? I think I need to work on my aim!” The voice alone made her beak clench to the point of pain. This pony was the whole reason she was in this mess, the whole reason she was in this stupid country! She was going to take him down and drag whatever was left back to the Empire even if it hurt her while doing it.
“Why don’t you come down here and face me like a stallion, coward?!” She hollered up at the pegasus. If there was one thing she knew about air combat, it was to never attack an opponent that was above you. She would bait him down here before she would take the laborious and dangerous process of climbing to get to him.
“Well for starters, I like it up here.” Spectrum quipped as he floated above her mockingly. “It’s my element, y’know because I’m a pegasus and not some hybrid.”
“A pegasus is a hybrid, you moron!” Gaz fired back at the stupid stallion, who seemingly just shrugged it away. “What, are you afraid that I’ll beat you to a pulp this time without any of your fancy distractions?” That got his attention, as the pegasus’ eyes glared down at her.
“What? Are you saying I didn’t beat you fair and square last time?” Spectrum hovered in place for a second. “Because the last thing I remember was my hoof hittin’ your face and you hittin’ the floor like a sack of potatoes.”
“Funny, last thing I remember was you ambushing me with my back turned!” It didn’t feel good to admit that, in fact it was downright insulting. “If you think you’re so mighty, why don’t you come down here and face me when we both can see each other? I mean-” Gaz turned her back on the pony. “-I get it, you know you could never take someone bigger than you in a fair fight.”
He said nothing, he didn’t have to. Gaz knew it worked when she head his wings stop flapping and instead the sound of wind whistling past a diving form. She turned just in time to see the pegasus barreling straight towards her.
Gaz planted her back paws on the ground and pivoted as he turned over in the air. She moved out of the way just in time for him to finish his roll and extend his hooves with all of the momentum he had gained. There was a sharp crack as hooves met marble and Spectrum Strider met the ground.
The griffon let her talons his the ground and shifted all of her weight to her front half. She coiled up her back legs in an instant and shot them back out at the pony. Her paws hit Spectrum in his side and sent the pony tumbling back into the decapitated head behind him.
Gaz spun and pounced, her talons ready to dig into the pony’s flesh. He wasn’t as quick as her and the sharpened points of her natural weapons found purchase in the muscle of the pegasus’ shoulder. She retracted her claws and went to strike again, but the pony opened his wings and shot up into the air where Gaz was only happy to follow him.
She stayed as close as she possibly could, following Spectrum as he circled around the vertical chamber and began to climb in a spiral. The problem when chasing a pony was that they could turn infinitely sharper than a griffon could given their smaller mass and more agile form, leaving Gaz wanting as the chase progressed and Spectrum figured that fact out.
His turns became tighter and he pushed into dives with much more ease than Gaz could manage herself. It went that way for a minute or two: she would get close on a straightaway and he would turn or dive and she would lose all progress. It was beginning to grow tiresome to the much larger griffoness.
Eventually though, she had him. He didn’t turn quick enough and found himself with his back against a statue whose head nearly brushed the ceiling of the tower. He couldn’t go up and if he tried to break to either side, she would be able to anticipate it and catch him either by the wing or tail.
“Stop this.” Gaz growled as her blood stained talons reached out to Spectrum. “You’re coming with me, dead or alive. Either way, your pelt will decorate the King’s wall by the end of all of this.” Anger and rage fueled Gaz at that moment, it was the only thing driving her.
“As appealin’ as that sounds…” Spectrum said through heavy breaths. “I think I’m gonna have to pass, bird-brain.” Instead of trying to escape either over her or to either side, the stallion did something she hadn’t thought of. He simply closed his wings and started into a free fall.
Immediately, Gaz dove after the pony. She closed her own wings and slimmed her form until she was like a bullet cutting through the air towards her target. He wasn’t doing the same, though. He was still in the upright position he had started in and was falling much slower than the griffon.
It wasn’t until the last moment that she figured out why. In one movement he flared open his wings and gave one mighty flap. Gaz had to do the same to slow her descent towards him, but couldn’t burn off enough speed in time.
A hoof, its force granted through her own momentum, collided with her throat and knocked every bit of energy she had out in one blow. She gasped and coughed as her wings curled and she dropped like a rock from the sky.
Gaz’s body hit the ground with a solid thud, the pain from her throat and side overwhelming her senses. That sneaky bastard was going to pay, pay for everything as soon as she got her claws on him.
“Aww, did the birdy fall down?” The pegasus hovered over her, a satisfied smirk on his face. “How sad…” His usually chipper voice turned venomous as the pony rose and made his way over to a statue on the third ring of the tiered tower.
Gaz pushed herself up onto all fours, her voice still failing her and her lungs working overtime to force air through her injured throat. Her eyes went wide as she saw another statue falling towards her, this time the entirety and not just the head.
The crash of it hitting the floor was the last thing she heard.
Author's Note
This is the first real action scene I've ever written, so go easy on it.
