"KEEP GOING GUYS! WE'RE ALMOST THERE! WE CAN DO THIS!" Urged Twilight, shouting to her group to keep pushing the dragon away from canterlot castle.
The group of six were leading the Magical Black Dragon away from Canterlot Castle and ponies.
They'd been flying for at least half an hour, needless to say, they had enough action for a little while.
"Twi… are we there yet?" Whined Trap, "My wings hurt… i need sleep."
"We're getting there Trap, hold on for a little longer." Freedom replied, rolling eyes.
"This is gonna be a long ride…" Muttered Sweetie, as she shook her head slightly.
" 'Kay guys, i'm hitting the sack. Night!" Stated Lightning.
"Bye guys, ive gotta get home. Need to make sure the ele- girls are okay!" Rainbow Dash said with a smile, pretending she hadn't just slipped up slightly.
"Hey Rainbow- Can we talk for a sec?" Soarin asked.
"Dammit!" Dash cursed in her head, "Sure Soarin. What's up?"
"What was wrong today? You were so… off. Something you needed to tell me?" He asked, worrying about her.
"I can't say…" She muttered, looking down.
"Why?" he asked, a little disappointed in her for not completely trusting him.
"Because-" she was cut off by a voice.
"Because my mother said so." Walking in with her head held high, was Twilight. The purple alicorn had said it for her.
"Princess?" Soarin asked confused.
"My mother… told you not to didn't she?" Twilight asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Yeah…" She replied with a sigh. This wasn't like her. What happened to the Rainbow Dash?
"What's going on? Care to tell me?" Soarin asked, in a slightly harsher tone, yet also softly.
"Dashie here… is part of a primary Magical Equestrian force. Along with me and the girls… as Elements of Harmony." Twilight revealed, "We couldn't say as it would put anypony who knew in danger. But i feel it's time for you to know, along with others In the wonderbolts as you guys, are also, a military force. A secondary one, but a military force nonetheless." She explained.
"So the necklace?" Soarin asked, carefully.
"Is my element. Twilight is the only one with a crown as she represents Magic." Rainbow Dash told him, wearing a slight grin.
"And you are?" He asked, wondering.
"Loyalty." She replied with a wider grin.
"Listen, this is very important. You must keep this to yourself until my mother feels it is safe to let ponies know. Or else she's gonna know it was me, and i don't want her interrupting my team's training time." Twilight said sternly, " Oh and Sweetie said for fleet to drink this once a day every morning after eating some breakfast, and for her to only add five drops at a time. Oh and to keep it going until it runs out. Don't train her too much. If she shows any side effects, stop immediately and don't train her anymore and for you to get Rainbow here to show you the way to the forest. Starswirl has the antidote there."
"Uhh... How do…" Soarin turned back to Rainbow Dash. She grinned.
"Well, when your best friend goes off, you'll tend to find out at some point in your life where they went and find out what happened to them. In our case, this bookworm toughened up." She told him with a snicker..
"Listen Guys, i don't like the way some ponies treat mares these days. I can bet that Dashie here would hate wearing very tight dresses and to act all fake all the time. So listen, and listen well. When Cadence returns, i want you guys to drop whatever you are doing to get me back. Because if i had to choose between coming back and to die against a Dragon, i'd choose the damn dragon." Twilight stated flatly, "I refuse to be a Prince's pet, and i refuse to back down just because higher class ponies think it's not appropriate for a mare to do what i do. The wonderbolt mares are not looked down upon because of their fame, any other type of pony, will be judged." With that said, Twilight walked out of the room and disappeared into the darkness,leaving Soarin and Rainbow Dash alone together.
"They should've fallen!" said an angry voice.
"Captain- They were expecting it. Im sure if we catch them off their guards we-" Said another voice, only to be cut off by the first voice.
"No. They're always expecting something like this to happen. We need to take it up a notch…" Stated the first voice.
"W-What are you suggesting C-Captain?" Asked the second voice, shaking slightly in fear.
"Get the Crystals… were coming full speed ahead…" The first voice ordered.
"Yes ma'am…" Said the second voice, not sure if this was such a good idea.
"We won't lose. So curse my death and sole if we lose again…" Cursed the first voice.
"I GOT IT- I GO-" Shouted Trap, who was flipped by Defence… who was beside Illusion… who was laughing at him teammates' misery.
"You don't got it." Chuckled Defence.
The six- well… five were training more combat. Twilight wasn't there, because she was teaching Cadence 'low level' defence.
"Guys, try to keep focus will you? Twilight may not be here but believe me, she'll know." Freedom told them… turning around and flipping Sweetie who was… trying to approach him.
"Combat was never my thing anyways." She laughed as she got up.
"Nore was stratagy for me. But i eventually got there." Said Illusion.
"That's always been my thing…" Stated Freedom.
"We know. You stick to something with different ponies." Pointed out Trap.
"No, i analyse ponies, and pick a strategy. Some however, are more open than others." He explained.
"Oh really?" asked Trap with grin.
"Yes… really." She said with a straight face as he turned and threw Illusion to the bush near them.
"Wow… I didn't know these things could hurt so much…" He winced as he got up, and shook off the leaves on him.
Yep… this was their normal practice day…
"UP WE GO!" Shouted Twilight as she tried to throw Cadence off her ground.
"OH STARS!" She put her hooves out in front of her, waiting for the impact… but it never came.
She shifted her for-hooves, being able to see Twilight smirking and backing down.
"Don't be afraid… if you're afraid of your enemy… you lose the battle before you even begin." Said Twilight as she moved back.
"But I'm not even gonna attack ponies! Don't i just need to block and protect myself?" She asked, not being a pony to attack and hurt others.
"No. For you to protect yourself, you need to understand what type of attack the other pony is using. For that… You need to be able to know, understand and sometimes if needed, how to use them against the other pony. It's a rare occasion for you to need to attack in a fighting manner, but it has come up." Twilight explained.
"I really don't want to fight a pony back…" Cadence muttered.
"Sometimes you have to… Listen Cadence. I think you're ready to go home. I know you came here because you and my mother had an argument over something. They've come looking. I've seen the search parties. Shining was leading them. He looked devastated, worried, scared even. Worrying as to where you'd gone. They still come around." Twilight said, "You need to go home. Tell them i said i'm fine, tell my friends and Spike that i'm thinking of them day and night. Tell my parents that no matter what i'll always still be their little girl. Tell my mother mostly… That i'll survive, that even if a mountain falls down on me… I'll still get back up."
Cadence sighed and then smiled slightly, "I'll give them the message Twilight… I'm glad i've been with you for this last month. I'm proud to have you as my little sister…"
"Luna- for the last time- please be considerate that other ponies can hear us too." Celestia asked her younger sister, who just growled at what her sister had just suggested.
"But Celestia, thou- i mean, you must realise that it's what's driving her away in the first place! This is insane!" She exclaimed.
"It's tradition, mom and dad did it to me, eventually they'll do it to you, and so i must do this to Twilight." She reasoned, "It's a tradition that makes sure that she has pony constantly with her, and an even better chance for her and us, because to marry a prince. One of whom can guard her and help her when in need. You know that i'm doing this for her own good."
"I REFUSE to be with a spoiled Prince! Do you not think that she'll not be happy? If i know my niece right, then both you and I know that she'll most likely not want to become a Prince's prize either!" Luna told her sister with a glare, knowing full well that her sister knew this too.
"Okay guys- You've got Lunch break and then we hit the gym." Ordered Spitfire as they finished their combat training.
"Oh geeze, my for-hooves are gonna fall off today i swear." Groaned Soarin.
First squad were training in combat practice today… well… for most of the morning anyways
"I still can't believe they did that! I mean- It's funny at first but then the joke gets old and- oh hey guys! Geeze, did Spitty go hardcore again?" asked Fleet and both she and Rainbow Dash entered the combat zone.
Due to the recent attack, Fleetfoot had been let off work to keep her from pushing herself too much, even though lately she'd been spending a lot of time with Rainbow Dash.
"Heh, nice to see you're both fine." Spitfire commented.
"Oh yes, Dash and I just came from the CloudsDale museum, and i've never known so much that didn't involve flying and aerodynamics. Funny, i never thought Dashie here to be the type of pony to go to a museum." She giggled, and soon Dash joined her.
"Oh I'm not. We just went there for a bit of fun. To try something new ya know?" she giggled. Soarin walked up to her and draped a wing around Dash, chuckling.
"So, Had fun then?" he asked.
"Yes, we had fun Soar…" She replied, rolling her eyes.
"So Dash…" Began Fleet.
"Oh boy, whaddya want Fleet?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I wanna know how you know those ponies! Who the pony hell are they?" She asked in a whiny tone.
"Who? Do you mean Freedom, Sweetie, Twilight, Illusion, Trap and Defense?" She asked.
"Is that who they are?" Soarin asked.
"Yep. That's them!" she replied cheerfully, while nuzzling Soarin.
"How come you know them Dash?" Spitfire asked curiously.
"Oh just… travels... You could say…" She replied.
"Uh huh…" Replies Spitfire, not fully convinced.
"Guys, i have to go. I have… uh, ponies to see." Rainbow Dash excused herself, nuzzling Soarin on his neck before moving herself away from him, "I'll see you guys later, if Celes- if we don't take too long!" She quickly corrected herself with a weak smile.
Once she was out of sight, Spitfire glared at the door she passed.
"Were following her aren't we?" Asked Fleet with a grin.
"Yes we are…" Replied Spitfire with a nod before lifting off, making the other two follow her.
"MADE IT! Sorry guys, but Wonderbolts would have gotten suspicious." Dash arrived at the castle gates, meeting with Spike, AppleJack, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie.
"Oh um… no worry. We understand…" Squeaked Fluttershy with a soft smile.
"We going in then? I sped here, It's not easy." Asked Rainbow Dash.
"Eeyup, let's get goin'." Replied Applejack.
"Why is she doing there?" Asked Fleet confused.
"No clue…" Replied Soarin, "Can't let them know i knew, i did after all only find out because Princess Twilight and Rainbow told me…" He thought.
The six ponies, and their "guests" that had snuck in without them knowing, had entered the castle gates.
Each of the six secret elements of harmony walked in casually, while the three WonderBolts hid behind them, and followed them as discreetly as they could.
Of course, however, they did only manage to get so far on their own.
The six- five ponies and dragon- all trotted inside the throne room. Spitfire, eager to find out their little secret, zoomed inside the throne room before the doors to it were closed.
Being the colour scheme she was, nopony noticed the yellow trail she left behind.
"I'm glad you girls, and Spike, could come right now. I understand that you six are busy with your daily lives." Celestia said with a slight smile, pleased that they came.
" 'Ain't nothin ta worry about Princess." Commented AppleJack, tilting her hat a bit with a smile.
"Yeah! Elements of Harmony FOREVER!" Exclaimed Pinkie Pie, wearing a huge smile on her face, before randomly getting a cupcake out of nowhere and devouring it, "Cupcake…"
"I must say, i never get tired of seeing Canterlot Castle Throne Room. It is quite luxurious might i say." Commented Rarity, who was looking around the room, observing the different windows of which told different stories.
"I am glad your spirits are strong...we are going to need that." Celestia said in a serious tone.
"Princess… is… is something wrong?" squeaked out Fluttershy, slightly coming out of her "hide zone" from her mane.
"We've just received news from one of our guards, they found a note. The pony writing it must have a very big problem with Equestria, because it was a threat saying, "we are coming for you Equestria, and we will make you bow down to us"," Said the figure of MagicStar, of who had quoted the letter out for them.
Silently, Spitfire gasped. The prince? What was he doing? Why were they saying that Dash and her friends were The Elements Of Harmony? What was this about a war? WHAT IN PONY HELL WAS GOING ON?
"Princess, when are we going to… you know… tell the WonderBolts this? That we're elements. I mean, shouldn't every military force know each other? I mean, i know they're a secondary force and we're a primary, but shouldn't they know anyways?" Asked Rainbow Dash, who had finally spoken up since their arrival.
"She does have a point Princess, i may not be an expert myself, but telling them seems like a very good idea. They do have a certain degree of military, one of which we do not have. They can be very useful." Rarity Pipped in.
"Useful? Rarity, they're the WonderBolts. They are not only the best fliers in Equestria, but secretly they're a Military force. Rarity, they are the best no less." Stated Rainbow Dash.
SpitFire smiled at the comment. She felt glad that Rainbow was still with them. While not just openly, but secretly as well. It was… nice. Nice to have another pony outside the WonderBolts she could rely on.
" I do see reason. But i am afraid that ponies will find out about you. The press has a power of which not even i can forhold." Celestia chuckled.
"Yeah, they watch First squad like a hawk. Always on their tails i swear." Dash sighed and shook her head.
Spitfire giggled silently to herself, "Yes they do…" she thought.
"I will think about it, thank you for bringing this to our attention Rainbow Dash." Celestia smiled, "Once again, thank you for coming girls, you are dismissed."
"Why of course Princess! We were delighted to come here, always a pleasure." Smiled Rarity, as she and the girls trotted out of the throne room.
"Rainbow Dash…" Celestia Called Out, making her stay behind a little.
"Princess?" She asked.
"Don't let your brain overpower your heart. I know you are loyal to those you are about, but don't let what you think over power what you know is right." She advised, referring to her relationship with Soarin.
"Of course Princess…" She muttered before heading towards the door, only just letting Spitfire bolt through without her knowing.
In the his work office, Shining Armour was busy. Very busy.
Since his wife had disappeared, he had created search parties for her.
So far however, they had found nothing. No trace, no clue as to where she was… nothing.
The door suddenly swung opened, and Shining Armour looked up.
In the door entrance, was Spitfire, the wonderbolts and Rainbow Dash, who was wearing a huge smile on her face.
"May i… help you?" He asked with no emotion expressed in his voice.
"Well… Maybe Rainbow here can help out. She says… she knows where Princess Cadence is." Spitfire spoke, grinning.
"Apparently, she also needs to see the mare that helped Fleetfoot too." Grunted Silver.
"Wait… CADENCE?! You know where she is?" Shining Armour asked, his voice raising slightly as he spoke, his eyes slightly widening.
"For sure. Ready to see Twi again?" She asked with a grin.
Waiting. That one thing that was annoying. While Twilight didn't mind waiting, she still found it slightly boring. She had gotten a note from StarSwirl that she was to meet Rainbow, Shining and some of the Wonderbolts at the very spot she was at.
"So much for not waiting too long…" she thought with a sigh. Suddenly she heard some hoof steps coming towards her. She turned and found the exact ponies she was to meet.
Shining Armour, Rainbow Dash along with with Spitfire, Soarin, Fleetfoot, Silver Lining, Surprise, Lightning and Fire Streak and RapidFire.
"Twilight!" Shouted Rainbow Dash as she attacked Twilight to the ground with a hug.
"Rain-BOW!" Twilight grunted as she was forced to the ground, her wings softening the fall slightly.
"We missed you SO much!" Exclaimed Rainbow Dash as she let Twilight go after she hugged her back with a laugh.
" I have no doubt. We going to see Sweetie about Fleetfoot then?" She asked with a smile.
"Is that her name?" Asked Silver Lining.
"Yep. Careful though, the team's combat training. It's part of our routines… it's also some fun." Twilight informed them.
"We will Twilight… Wait… What about-" Shining Armour was cut off when Twilight started moving… with a smirk on her group however, just moved with her.
The group followed Twilight through some clearings. The more they passed, the more most of them wondered if they were ever going to get there.
As soon as they got there, the Wonderbolts, Shining Armour and Rainbow Dash gasped.
Their hideout was perfect. It had a training area for their combat, it had an upper "Surveillance place" to check around their hideout from a bird's eye view without being spotted, and had four different point to check to be sure nopony attacked from left, right, in front, behind and with their "bird's eye view" place, above.
Their place was split up, camp on one side, day and night check set out in their places, and training in another place.
Of course… that was only one of the things they noticed.
The next bit that they noticed was that they was that all five ponies of which were seen with Twilight at the ball, they were there.
From the looks they, indeed, were training in combat. From the simple ponies, it was very advanced type of both defending and attacks.
For the others, however, it was the simplest thing in the world. They were doing it with ease, and weren't even breaking a sweat… or it's what it looked like anyways.
"Whoa…" Shining Armour gasped, everything was perfectly planned.
"Welcome… To our hideout…" Twilight said, smiling and secretly smirking at their reactions. She rolled her eyes.
"They… They aren't actually finding those moves easy… are they?" Spitfire stuttered.
"Problem with it? I like to think that both me and Freedom trained our teammates well." Twilight smiled, nodding.
"No… There's no problem." Spitfire replied.
"Twilight. we need to make sure Fleet's okay… and Cadence too. Remember?" Reminded Rainbow Dash.
"Yep, hold on for a second." Twilight said, as she trotted to the 'battle dome' of the hideout.
Silver, unknown to all of them, was watching the group… silently…. carefully… observing them. Every step each of them made, every move and every motion.
He knew those moves, off by heart, but he never actually attempted it. He didn't know that ponies still knew them.
"Deep thought eh?" Chuckled Spitfire, as she came closer to the oldest active wonderbolt.
"You could say that…" he replied, a smile curling upon his lips.
"What do you think… think we could take these guys on?" She asked.
"I'd like to say that… but No. They're too strong, too powerful. They know all of the oldest moves. They're using every move they've been taught against each other, yet they still reflect it all." Silver replied with a slight shake of his head.
"I guess…" Spitfire replied. While she knew he was right, she wanted to be the best of the best. Competition often got the better of her… at times.
"BOO!" They suddenly heard a voice, not directly from behind them, but somewhat behind them.
Trap, assuming it was her from the descriptions Dash had given them, was rolling on the floor laughing along with Dash… who must have been the pony who Trap scared.
With Dash rolling around and laughing, the two wonderbolts both started trotting towards her and Trap.
"Dash…" Spitfire cleared her throat.
"Yep…" Dash said, with a grin, trying to keep her snickers and laughter quiet and letting out a more professional air… or trying to.
"You remember that…" Spitfire started, before trap suddenly appeared between both her and Silver.
"Oh relax you two! We're gonna show you how to relax… ELITE STYLE!" Trap suddenly shot up into the air without hesitation.
"Okay… I'm officially curious… and scared" Spitfire commented amusedly.
"Hello! You guys must be here for… the potion i assume?" Said Sweeties voice from behind them.
"Oh hi! Yes, we are." Replied Spitfire while Silver just kept a straight face while keeping quiet for most of the time.
"Lovely. Follow me, Twilight said for me to give to to you, while she takes Shining to collect Cadence." Sweetie Informed, "So for the most you'll be with me. Don't worry about the others. And Trap… i'll do you a favor and keep her away from you." she giggled, motioning for them to follow her… which they did.
The three ponies made their way around the area. While small, it had a lot of twists and turns. It was actually very confusing most of the times.
"You sure we're going the right way. For a small place… this sure is very confusing…" asked Spitfire.
"Oh this place is actually very big. It's just- forget i said anything…" Sweetie began only to cut herself off and mutter out the rest.
"Okay…" Spitfire said not sure if she should be worried or not.
"Here we are!" Sweetie stated with a smile.
They had gotten to a small clearing. Well… more like a medium sized clearing. It was filled with potions and different bottle sizes, along with different ingredients in different places each separate and stored differently.
She must've had about a whole garden full of flowers. Each in rows and colours were all different. It was basically a rainbow flower garden. There were both common and rare ones. Wild and garden flowers.
She also had berries and fruits of all kind. For some weird reason… she also had a bunch of vegetables.
"Whoa…" Spitfire gazed at everything. It even had a little room that was labeled "first aid".
"This… is my own little part of our hide out. Excuse the garden but i need it to create my potions."
"Is that you speciality? Creating potions?" Suddenly asked Silver with an eyebrow raised.
"Oh yes. I have more of a medical role in our group. But i do go out onto the "battlefield" often though. Now… i assume you need the potion for your friend?" She replied with a smile.
"Yeah. just need to make sure we have it in case something does happen." Spitfire said.
"Oh i completely understand. I mean with Illusion around… i often have to have some things with me." Sweetie said with a soft giggle.
"Really? He can't be that bad." Stated Spitfire.
Suddenly Illusion came walking in with cuts all over him. Sweetie sighed.
"He threw you into the bush?" She asked.
"He threw me into the bush…" He confirmed with a straight face. Sweetie sighed once more.
"Hop on. I'll go get the things… Sorry guys. Let me just fix this guy up real fast." She said as she trotted off and collected some things.
"So… You're the Wonderbolts then?" He asked.
"Yes… That is us." Silver replied.
"Nice. Sorry for just coming in but when you're going against Freedom…" He didn't finish off. He knew they got the hint.
"How good is he actually?" Silver suddenly asked.
"Well, physically he's the strongest. Very strategic and isn't really easy to read. Mentally he's not as strong but still a hard nut to crack." Ilusion replied with a sigh, "It's why he's captain along with Twilight."
"The Princess?" Spitfire asked with a raised eyebrow.
"We don't call her 'Princess' or Captain for the matter. We follow her orders just as much as we do Freedoms', but neither wants us to call them Captain. We're all like one big family ya know? A very mixed and weird one, but a family nonetheless." Illusion explained.
"So… You're all pretty casual around each other?" assumed Spitfire.
"That's us. We all have different strengths and weaknesses, just like we all have our own stations, but none of us are treated unequally. Like Sweete for example, she's not the best at battles." he said.
"Which is true." Sweetie cut in with a bright smile as she went off in a different direction to get more things.
"However, no pony is better than her with potions. If a pony drank one, she'll tell you accurately what they drank it, the time and how to reverse it or enhance it." He continued.
"Yeah, just like you will never stop trying to figure Freedom out. You know he's a closed book, but to him we're all opened ones. He can beat you before you even get to know him properly. He didn't with StarSwirl, but that's just because Star is even more of a closed book then he is." Sweetie stated while wrapping his left foreleg up after cleaning the very big cut he had on it.
"StarSwirl?" Spitfire asked confused.
"You'll know when the time comes…" Sweetie said with a giggle, "Okay Illusion, all fixed up."
"Thanks Sweets." He thanked.
"Now for you guys." he turned around a picked up a potion she had left on the side, "Put a drop of this potion in a drink of pure water every morning after she's had her breakfast. Once the potion is finished she should- no wait let me rephrase- she will be ready for what you guys call a normal day as the Wonderbolts. It should take about a month to get rid of all of this but don't worry if it does earlier, so long as you add only a drop every morning. Giver her a normal workout day, or make her do something her body is use to, don't push her too much or else her body won't handle both that and the potion working together and something might go wrong… Only about 24 hours after the potion is finished is when you can start pushing her the way you guys normally do. However, until then… don't push her too hard." She informed, explaining very clearly as to what they should do. Their only response was a nod.
"Got it loud and clear." Spitfire confirmed. Silver only nodded.
"We'll be sure to do so." he nodded again.
"Lovely. Now, i need to check on-" Sweetie was suddenly cut off by Trap barging in.
"Sweetie…" Trap said with a worried tone, " They're back… worse…" Sweetie's eyes grew large and pupils shrank
" No… They couldn't have…" She said… but Trap only looked down.
"What's going on?" Spitfire asked, now concerned.
"Get the others, tell Twilight i'm on my way… this isn't going to be nice." Sweetie instructed while getting her Ribbons out, "This is on" She mumbled before going out of the 'first aid' room and out.
Okay Guys! I have returned once again with another chapter that is really close to about 5000 words... huh... 4797 words... not bad!
Let's hope everything turns out okay! We don't want a emeber of our team going missing or anything...
also
THEENDOFSEASON5OFMLPISHERENOWWEHAVETOWAIDABOUTHALFAYEARTOSEEMOREPONIEZZZZZZZZZ!
anyways- bye guys, hope you enjoyed!
Magical Shield out!
