Chapter 2

"Like tears in the rain," Twilight Sparkle suddenly began alongside Electric Swing.
"I beg your pardon?" asked Eklectric Swing, looking at the airship. It was the big day, today they would leave and fly with Swift Specter towards the Northern Front. Unlike Swift, however, they would stay far enough from the front lines to be safe.
"Oh nothing." Twilight Sparkle replied, "Just something I read once."
"what was it about?" Electric asked curiously and watched as Swift Specter came trotting up with his duffel bag. he wasn't too late, but he seemed to have a new fire in him since the promotion and the prospect of being able to return to the front.
Twilight Sparkle looked at Swift Specter, too, and then said, "Well, some things, although somewhat obvious, can be forgotten over time or go unnoticed because they can't be seen in the bigger picture." Swift Specter had passed both of them and trotted on to a sailor of the airship. He saluted and had a short chat with him before he went on and took a gangway onto the airship.
"We should keep an eye on him." Twilight Sparkle continued, "I feel like I'm missing something when I look at him. Something that's obvious."

A little later the airship flew off and Electric Swing was sitting on a railing, saw Canterlot slowly getting smaller. A Pegasus Squadron escorted them a little outside the city, then saluted the ship, turned away and flew home. On the way, the airship would have two other ships meeting them who had the same destination.
"Well, how do you like flying?" Swift Specter asked from behind Electric Swing, "Is this your first time on an airship?"
Electric Swing beamed to both cheeks when she replied: "Yes It is and it's wonderful up here. So peaceful!"
Swift Specter smiled, then lifted a hoof over the railing, caught some cloud, and began to shape it in his hooves.
Electric Swing watched in fascination and a short time later Swift Specter had recreated the airship and held it up, let it go.
The cloud ship flew with them a little, driven by the momentum, but the air resistance slowed it down until it bounced on Electric Swing nose and disappeared in a poff.
That made her a little sad.
"Nothing is peaceful up here." said Swift Specter and pointed to the sky: "There are wind currents everywhere, every molecule in the clouds rubs against another, charges electricity and creates lightning. The winds can become turbulent and even dangerous to us pegasus. But yes, up here there are it's something that has become rare. " He opened his wings and let them shimmer slightly in the sun, whereupon reflections of the sunlight were thrown onto the ship wall and wild patterns began to dance.
"Nowhere is Celestia's sun closer than here. Apart from Mount Everhoof, of course." Swift Specter finished his statement.

Twilight Sparkle watched this and cleared her throat before she said, "Well then, let's get the long range test over with. I want you to fly two to three meters above the deck, at the same speed as the ship. We'll see how long you can hold out. "
Swift Specter gave her a mock salute, then spread his wings and let the air flow lift him. When he got slower than the airship it flapped his wings to get faster again. So he flew just above the airship, watched by Twilight Sparkle, Electric Swing and everyone who just came by and didn't want to miss the show.

hours later

Something was wrong. The crew of the airship was getting more and more restless, the observation posts searched the sky, but apart from a few dark clouds nothing was to be seen.
"Hey, what's the matter?" Swift Specter asked and flew a little lower to one of the sailors at a watch post.
"We should meet with the other two ships half an hour ago. But we have neither received a message nor a sign from them. Captain is worried." replied the sailor
Swift Specter nodded, "well I'll keep an eye out too."
He let himself fall back a little and said at Electric Swings and Twilight Sparkles height: "I'll just take a quick lap around the airship and look at for the other two ships." he said and turned a little away from the airship before he began to look around. He reached into his saddlebag and took out a telescope with which he looked around. Just as he was about to put it away he saw one of the ships and it was approaching quickly.
With a signal pistol, also in his saddlebag, he fired a yellow smoke grenade in the direction of the ship he had seen.
In this case, yellow smoke meant unconfirmed contact.
A purple smoke grenade rose from the ship. A sign that Swift Specter had been ordered to investigate.

"What is Swift doing there?" Electric Swing asked, turning his head as Swift Specter tipped sideways and flew towards the other ship.
"He was ordered to control the ship." said one sailor, "Standard procedure if you are not sure. Since the ship is half an hour too late and does not answer, the captain probably wanted to play it safe."
"But Srgeant Specter is only here to test the prototype wings. Then why can he order him?" Twilight Sparkle asked, somewhat confused
"It's about the safety of the ship," replied the Sailor, "it has happened that ship crews have turned out to be hostile. Rough ships are a great threat if you don't have enough warning time. But most of the timeone pegasus flies there, from the other side comes a pegasus too, they meet each other in the middle and everything is cleared up. You will see, nothing happens and ... "
at that moment the alarm bells began to ring

Swift Specter only had a few seconds to dodge when a rather strong spell flew in his direction, followed by several enemy Pegasus. Without thinking too long, he raised the pistol and fired the loaded red smoke grenade into the air. The sign of enemy troops.
A spear hit his wing and bounced harmlessly, another flew just past his head.
He could have got himself out of the way of the enemy with a quick maneuver, but quick maneuvers weren't possible, but he had weight and speed on his side. He accelerated and prepared to strike, was able to land a devastating blow on the throat of one of the enemy pegasus. His sabaton protected him and broke the enemy's neck. It also tore him around, and he was able to fly again at high speed in the direction of his airship. He wouldn't last long alone.
a spear thrown at him gave him a wound in his left flank and Swift Specter screamed in pain, briefly lost focus and lost altitude and propulsion. Just long enough for the enemy to catch up with him. One hit him in the head, another kicked him in the back. The combination sent Swift specter staggering towards the ground, but he was able to catch himself and accelerate again. Then a small, more glassy sphere came into view. It had a fuse, something that looked like black powder on the top and in the bottom ... a captured lightning bolt. Swift Specter looked at the sphere in shock as it shattered, releasing the captured lightning. He turned too slowly, the lightning hit his wing and conducted the current through his body. Swift Specter gave a short scream before falling like a rock, followed by a plume of black smoke

Swift Specter awoke to a black void. It felt like his hooves and cheek were on marble. In front of him was some kind of picture frame or something like that. On closer inspection he could see himself, wings wrapped around his body, his back towards the ground, black smoke rose from some connections, his mouth open, his eyes closed. The smoke moved and billowed very, very slowly, but did not stand still. With a groan he got up and looked around, asked in a hoarse voice: "Where am I? Is anyone there? Hello?" Then he noticed that his wings were missing. Not only his real ones, no the artificial ones as well!
"What's going on here?"
No answer, no one to see.
"Hello? Is there anypony?"
again no answer. When he turned around again, a pony in black robes stood in front of him, a hood pulled low over his face.
Swift Specter screamed and felt on his rump.

"Sweet Celestia! You scared me almost to death!" he said and slowly calmed down.
"Oh just almost?" asked the pony and took off his hood. It was just the skeleton of a pony and it laughed: "I should take my job more seriously!"
Swift Specter went white as a sheet.
"What the matter? Who did you expect to meet when you were dying?" asked Death with a chuckle.
"Wait ... I'm ... dead?" Swift Specter asked.
"Oh no, not yet. But there is Somepony who wants to speak to you." Death waved his hoof at Swift Specter to follow.
He didn't know what else to do and followed Death.

"Who exactly wants to meet me?" Swift Specter asked after a little while.
"my boss." Death only said with a cheerful tone.
"Death has a boss?" Swift Specter asked in surprise.
"Of course. I can't go around killing ponies indiscriminately. Everything has its time, place and purpose." Death explained, as they came to a door that Swift Specter could swear had not been there moments befor. Death opened the door and told Swift Specter to go inside.

To Swift Specter's surprise, the inside was a cozy cabin, with a fireplace, a mirror, bookshelves, and a large sofa ... and on that sofa ... lay an alicorn. She was reading a book and seemed to be enjoying the fire in the fireplace.
"Ah Swift ... nice that you're finally here." said the mare and got up from her place. She was almost as bright white as Celestia, but had blue hair that moved as if moved by an invisible force.
Swift Specter looked at her in disbelief, literally feeling the power emanating from this Alicorn.
He couldn't do anything else, he bowed, said: "Your Majesty, I'm sorry to have to admit that, but I don't know who you are."
The Alicorn laughed and put her hoof on his chin to bring his head back up. she was a little taller than Princess Celestia ...
"And yet you bow to me and call me your majesty." she said and giggled, "My name is Destiny. You know my younger sister Celestia."
Swift Specter looked at her and asked, "Then there are more in your family?"
Another giggle from Destiny as she replied, "I'm the middle of five sisters. The oldest is Samay, she is the princess of time. Then there is the next, Gaia, princess of nature. I am Destiny, princess of... Well... Destiny. Then comes my younger sister, Princess Celestia, Princess of the Sun. And our youngest sister, Princess Luna, Princess of the night and dreams. "
Swift specter was glued to her lips.
"We are all the daughters of Queen Lauren Faust, Queen of Creation and eternity. It was her who created everything, and us too, so we can take some of her burden off of her. Granted, Celestia got the easiest part."
"And also the sole affection of the ponies" threw Death in who brought a glass of water to Destiny.
She accepted it thankfully and took a sip before continuing: "Yes, the other sisters and i didn't like that very much. And that is also the reason why our youngest sister is stuck on the moon."

Swift Specter thought, "Wait a minute ... does that mean there should actually be two princesses in Equestria? And one is on the moon? Why that? What happened?"
"You're a little curious, Swift Specter." Destiny said with a look that also expressed curiosity and joy
Swift Specter shrugged his shoulders, said, "I'm ... apparently dead anyway, so ..."
"You are not dead yet." Destiny said and held up a hoof to cut him off, "I had you brought here because I want to ask you a favor."
"Me? Aren't you a goddess?" Swift Specter asked wide-eyed, "What could I, a crippled, mortal Pegasus, do?"
Destiny's smile broadened: "I cannot intervene in the fate of the world. Not in a way that it gets noticed. My job is to gently point ponies in the right direction, not to put them on a path and say do it." Her hoof rested on Swift's shoulder: "I'm making an exception with you. I want to give you a task right away, it is extremely important to save my youngest sister."
Swift's eyes widened: "I'm supposed to save your youngest sister? What about her?"
Destiny sighed deeply, "She is under a curse. It's called a nightmare, and it's taken possession of her. I want you to find the elements of harmony, the counterspell to this curse. These elements consist of six divided into six mares. "

"That sounds impossible! Why me? Isn't there somepony better?" Swift Specter asked a little uncertainly.
"It may sound like that, but it worked in another world. In the worlds where the elements came together, they freed Luna from the curse and brought her back to us." She smiled narrowly, "Why you? If you really want it to be dramatic, just say that Destiny chose you. You are the chosen one and no, I haven't seen anyone with such a high chance of success as you... Yet... And You had a vision. One that was not sent by me, one that you chose yourself. Something like this has rarely happened in all the time that I have existed."
Swift specter looked to the ground and said: "Find us ... you have to find us ... all six of us ... harmony needs all six of us ... you have to find us all ... the sun needs help ... the moon must not fall ... The nightmare cannot continue to exist ... "
"Exactly!" Destiny exclaimed happily, "This vision has chosen you!"
"And how do I do that?" Swift asked still unsure, "and why is it so important? You just said that there are other worlds. So why treat them differently?"
Destiny smiled narrowly when she replied: "That's because I don't exist just once. For every world, every reality, even for every creatur a 'different' Destiny is responsible. We are all one and the same, but separate. It is difficult to explain . " She pointed to a globe of Equus, "I want my world to be as peaceful as the others. But a time traveler from another time and world unintentionally created this here. Both of us will fix the damage."
"and how should I do that?" Swift Specter asked.
"Well I'll steer you in the right direction. But be told, you've already met two of the elements. One of the mares you're looking for is actually quite close." She smiled and then made a dismissing gesture, "You should go. Your airship is under attack and you have about 500 meters to the ground."
Swift's hooves didn't move, but the house seemed to be pulling away from him, he was pushed through the door without moving, and he was back to the mirror. Death was still with him.
"But ..." Swift began, then looked at Death, "How?"
Death just shrugged his shoulders, pointed to the mirror and said, "When you are ready touch it and you will return to your body. You may only remember this vaguely, and you will feel a little dizzy . "
Swift looked at him, then simply nodded and took a deep breath before lifting his hoof. He stopped just before the mirror.
"Is Electric Swing Safe? And Twilight Sparkle?" he asked Death.
"Nopony is safe from me. I'll come and get them someday. Someday ... not today ..." he turned around and walked away.
Swift watched him go and said, "Thank you."
then touched the mirror.
As he was vanishing, Death looked over his shoulder and mumbeld: "not for that..."

When Swift came to, he actually felt dazed and it took him a moment to realign himself. It helped that the view was relatively clear. So he could make out the horizon, turn around, straighten the wings ... and there came the first problem. The left wing no longer responded as well as the other. In addition, Swift could feel that he was hanging a little lower. With a careful look he could see that the lightning had burned a hole through the metal.
Also, plumes of black smoke came from the wing and followed him. Something seemed to be on fire.
Looking down he could make out a few injuries. nothing wild, primarily the wing had suffered damage.
When he looked straight out again he could see light signals on the horizon. He just couldn't concentrate enough to decipher them.
He groped for the flaregun with his hoof. it was still there.
The red smoke grenade was stillthere too. He reloaded, aimed up at a sight that made him shudder.
The supply ship on which he flew was meanwhile in close combat with the other ship. Pegasie from both sides fought in the air.

Swift Specter aimed and fired the red smoke grenade, then slipped the flare back into his saddlebag and hung his head. He felt tired and powerless. The ground was getting closer and closer, and the grass looked so soft ...
His eyes shut for a second, but in that second he could hear Electric Swing's desperate scream: "SWIFT!"
He snapped up again, awake this time. He couldn't possibly have heard her. But he felt that she needed him.
With a loud scream of being unbroken, he jerked his head upwards, his body followed and he rose as fast as his wings would allow

Electric Swing had seen Swift Specter get struck by lightning. she had seen how he fell out of control towards the ground. She had seen his lifeless body plunged into a cloud and after that she had not seen him again.
The unicorn guards on board the airship had taken up position and threw spears with the help of telekinesis, others fired directly at the attackers with magic. All the pegasie on board had risen into the air and stopped the attackers as best they could. The earth ponies tended to the ship with grim determination and kept it in the air, a few used side-mounted crossbows when they couldn't do anything and helped defend it.
Twilight sparkle ran to Electric Swing and pulled her away from the edge of the airship, her horn glowing with magic and she managed to put up a shield just in time. Spears that would otherwise have hit Electric Swing now ricocheted off it.

"Come on, we have to take cover!" Said Twilight Sparkle
"They got Swift! They hit him with lightning!" Electric Swift sobbed, "I didn't see if he came to!"
"We'll have to take care of that later." Twilight Sparkle said calmly, "I bet he's fine and could land." She pulled the stunted earth pony with her into the superstructure of the ship, and helped as best she could with her shield. She silently thanked her brother for teaching her that.

Then the enemy airship came closer. Roped harpoons flew over and grabbed the airship, pulling it closer and closer.
"Red smoke! Below us at the stern!" called a sailor.
Twilight Sparkle took a look when a small explosion of petrol-colored coat and metal broke out of a cloud.
"It's Swift! He Lives and Flies!" shouted Twilight Sparkle and Electric Swing rushed forward. she could see Swift Specter, and that he was dragging a cloud of black smoke behind him. Nevertheless, he broke through from below, cut some of the ropes that held the two ships together with his wings and grabbed one of the unicorns who wanted to shoot him. Without flaring for long he threw this unicorn overboard into an almost safe dead on the ground.
Then he began to pursue the enemy pegasie.
Only when he saw a small group of pegasie landing on the deck of the ship in front of Electric Swing and holding their spears in front of them did he stop the attack.
With a loud crack, Swift Specter landed in front of Electric Swing and brought his wing into position, raising it protectively in front of Electric Swing, even if that left him a little vulnerable.
Two spears were also thrown, one bouncing harmlessly off the wing, the other cutting into Swift's flank and he winced a little in pain.
"I won't let you pass!" he said through clenched teeth
The enemies laughed and one of them, probably the highest in rank, stepped forward and laughed, "How are you going to stop us? Do you have a big plan to win?" they all laughed again, even Swift Specter joined in the laugh, then said, grinning grimly, "I don't have to win. I just can't lose!"
"What's the difference?" the enemy leader asked with a superior grin as another squadron of pegasias appeared behind them.

"The difference," Swift Specter began to explain, "is that I just had to hope for support while you should be gone before that happens." His grin widened when the new squadron started up smoke generators and the blue and yellow stiffeners pulled up in the sky that were now famous.
"The Wonderbolts!" called a sailor who had just been in the fight and started to cheer. The cheers could be heard all over the ship as the Wonderboults swept the sky clear. and as if that weren't enough, a mighty warship broke out of a cloud and began to target the two ships.

Author's Note

I'll use the Notes to explain things:

Smoke grenades and signal pistols:
Smoke grenades come in a number of different colors, but the most common are:

-Red: enemies discovered. the flight of the grenade shows in which direction.

-Yellow: Unknown contact. the flight of the grenade shows in which direction.

-Green: Everything is OK / Mission accomplished. It doesn't matter in which direction this grenade is fired.

Then there are special colors that display commands. These may only be used by or on behalf of the officer

-Black: Black smoke is very rare and has to be considered carefully, as black smoke is only sent when there is no longer any hope. It should say reinforcement that it's too late.
Mostly the use of the black smoke grenade ends in the dead or in captivity.

-purple: depending on the situation. mostly the recipient has to decide what is going on.

Other communication options:
-Telepatic: what unicorns are used for.

-Telegram: For more complex things, which are complex and take time, as well as a courier.

-Electronic radio transmission. Is just in its infancy. Ship to ship communication is possible

Light: You can send messages via a sequence of long and short signals. The color of a light can also show something