The group didn't catch back up to Lightning Legs for almost twenty minutes, seeing as he had developed the ability to get lost very easily by living the lifestyle that he had. "Come on, where is he? How tough can it be to find one pony in a town this small?" Twilight stomped a hoof in frustration, and just as it struck the ground a pair of pegasi wearing cowpony hats and vests flew through a nearby window, skidding ten yards on the dust before rolling to a halt and limping away as quickly as they could.

Inside the window was none other than Lightning Legs, taking a sip of his cider, being eyed by everypony in the bar. Even the barmare leaned a bit farther over the counter to get a closer look at him, but not out of aggression. She chuckled, turning back to cleaning glasses after a couple of moments. "One of these days, he's gonna meet a pony he can't beat." The cook leaned out of the order window and piped up in a strange accent.

"Maybe so, but I hope it's not while I'm still here. Those wings for hire are bad business, and you know it. Tell you what, give him a free round." The waitress shrugged and grabbed a bottle, spinning it down the bar toward Lightning. He stopped it, took a brief look at the label, and topped off his half-full drink.

Back outside the window, the whole group was a bit nervous about going inside, considering their first impressions of the establishment. All except one, of course.

"Hey, I think we found him." Pinkie hopped through the busted window and plopped down next to Lightning. "Sooooo, there was something we forgot to mention."

"Fascinating. Interestingly enough, I don't care." He took another sip, not looking down. Pinkie was lifted off the ground and away by Twilight's magic as the Princess stepped onto the floor in her friend's place.

"You might want to listen anyway." He sighed, draining his cider and cutting his eyes at her.

"Shoot." She took a second to collect her thoughts and began.

"We've been tracking the pony we need you to catch, and his next strike will be adjacent to a Wonderbolts performance." She was almost thrown backwards by his reaction.

"WHAT?!" He tore out of his barstool, practically on top of her. "Who am I hunting?" Twilight gulped.

"His name is Landsmoker." He blinked once, stumbled backward, and tripped over his barstool, landing on his rump. Twilight stepped up to him, gazing into his now blank eyes. "Mr. Legs? Are you alright?" The barmare stepped forward, carrying a bottle with her tail.

"Give him a swig of this." Twilight took the bottle and gave the three Xs on its label a quick look before tipping it up over Lightning's mouth. He gasped for air, shaking his entire body.

"You did say Landsmoker?" Twilight nodded. He set his face, narrowing. "I've been waiting for fifteen years to catch that dirty lecher.

They sat in a train car twenty minutes later, with everypony gathered around Lightning. They gazed at him expectantly for a few moments before he finally began. "Okay, so this all started sixteen years ago, when you were all just born. Because I was born to two pegasi, I can walk on clouds, and so I watched the flight trainees sometimes. It was because of that that I met Spitfire while she was being trained by Landsmoker. She and I hit it off pretty well considering my lack of wings, and so I promised to be there at her graduation. Everything was going well enough, and I was planning on asking her out when I saw something before the graduation." He took a deep, angry breath. "Landsmoker had cornered her in his office and was threatening her with a failing grade if she wouldn't…" He stopped, leaving the obvious conclusion.

"Once he found out that I would have ruined him, he quit and went to work in Canterlot. Spitfire asked me not to spread the word, since that would have ruined her flying career. After that, we started growing apart and…the rest is history. She became a Wonderbolt like she'd always wanted, and I became Lightning Legs." There was silence for a moment, right up until there was a pounding on the door of their car. Twilight slid it open and in flopped Spike, gasping for breath comically.

In a bar in Manehattan, Landsmoker and Mass Motion clinked their glasses together, both grinning widely. "A salute to you, my good friend, for a run well made." Mass bowed mockingly.

"And one to you, for such an admirable defense." They laughed aloud, taking a gulp of their ciders.

"Well, to be honest, I only had one competitor. And don't get me wrong, she was good and all, but…" He took another gulp. "She was no Landsmoker. And get this, she'd been trained by Spitfire!" Mass Motion threw his head back with laughter.

"No way. You serious?" Landsmoker sighed.

"Every word." They took a moment to regain their normal breathing before Landsmoker brought up the obvious conclusion. "I've just brought Canterlot down on us, haven't I?"

"Yep." There was silence between them for a few seconds before he spoke again.

"What do we do, then?"

"Lay low? It's always worked before." Landsmoker shook his head, sliding his drink across the bar.

"No. I'm tired of just sliding along beneath the scope of anypony's interest. You know what we need to do?" Mass Motion took another sip of his cider, not answering. "We need to get a convoy and mow the whole city over." Mass Motion raised an eyebrow.

"You do realize how many ponies that would take?" Landsmoker nodded.

"Yep. But you can cut that into a quarter if they have loaded wagons." Mass Motion narrowed his eyes, tapping the bar for a refill.

"Fine, but you're recruiting."

"Suits me just fine. Rest up. We'll be leaving out in three days."

The train pulled into the Canterlot station, greeted by Celestia and Luna themselves. Twilight and her friends came out first, followed shortly by Lightning Legs. He eyeballed Celestia for a few moments, then finally spoke. "I was told you need me to hunt down Landsmoker." She nodded.

"We'll be glad to offer any assistance we can." He eyed her, took a deep breath, and nodded.

"I'll need weights. An iron saddle, full armor, and four saddlebags filled with lead bars." He turned to Applejack. "I'm willing to bet you know somewhere that needs an extra hoof on the plow." She nodded. "Alright. Once I'm outfitted, I'll get to training. If I know Landsmoker, it'll be three days before I'm fast enough to catch him. And then…" Despite himself, he grinned. "Then we can have some fun."

Hello, everyone, and thank you greatly for reading. A personal announcement, uploads will continue scarcity until the beginning of September. I know, it's annoying, but my semi-hiatus is rapidly coming to a close. Another announcement, and one on a much more positive note...WE DID IT! I've reached my one-year mark as a fanfiction writer, and boy have I come a long way. If you don't believe me, compare some of my first stories side by side with my more recent works. I couldn't have done any of this without you guys and your feedback, and just the inspiration that I get from seeing a new face on my list of readers, so I'd like to give you all a massive thank-you. So, without further ado, I'm OfficialBacon, and I'll see you in the next chapter.