Chapter 21: M.I.A.

Light flooded Storm's eyes as he rapidly regained consciousness. It was late in the day, but the sun was bright. Shadow slowly moved himself, and began to stand up. He looked around him, and found he was alone in the midst of a massive rubble pile, most likely the remains of the building he was on.

As he stood up a sharp pain shot through his chest. He looked down and saw that he had a large gash, and quickly applied pressure to the wound. He stood up, holding the wound with his hoof, and quickly surveyed his surroundings. There was no one in sight.

Slowly but surely, Storm made his way through the rubble, still clutching his chest. He looked for any sign of his squadron, but after a few minutes of walking, began to fear the worst.

A sudden cough to Shadow's left made him jump in surprise. He turned, ready for combat. Slowly, a familiar face stumbled over the rubble. It was Spitfire. Her mane and flight suited was shredded, and she stumbled about in a haze. After a few seconds, and a few falls, she finally made it to Shadow, but collapsed in front of him. Shadow sat down, leaning against a nearby pile of rubble.

After a few moments, he heard Spitfire mutter, "Leave me... save yourself..."

Wincing, Shadow quietly answered, "Leave nopony behind... agh..."

The two sat, exhausted and injured, for a few minutes. Another sudden cough, and moving of rubble caught Shadow's attention. Another friendly face approached. Soarin' walked slowly to the two ponies, before settling down beside Spitfire.

Catching his breath, Shadow slowly asked, "The others? I haven't seen any..."

Soarin' shook his head, and responded, "I found Private Norm and Private Thunder, both were dead..."

Shadow lowered his head. His chest hurt, but his heart hurt even more. Between his still unresolved situation with Dash, and the betrayal of Gallop, his anger felt like a massive weight in his stomach.

Shadow muttered in a monotone voice, "I'm going to kill that coward..."

The three sat alone for a few more minutes, before Shadow stood up and began to climb over the rubble. Spitfire was still incapacitated, and Soarin' wished to stay at her side.

"Where you going?" Soarin' asked quietly.

Shadow pressed on, answering, "Bandages."

Storm slowly made his way out of the debris, and onto the street. The city was a mess. Debris was littered everywhere. Massive craters from magic and artillery attacks had completely destroyed many of the main roads. The air was thick and heavy with smoke, ash, and dust.

After taking a moment to observe his surroundings, Storm spied a small shop that looked promising. It had a large piece of debris lodged in the window, but otherwise looked intact. Shadow slowly opened the door, and made his way in. His chest hurt, a lot. After a quick glance around, he deciphered that the shop was a convenience store, or pharmacy of some kind. After a few minutes, Shadow found several packages of bandages and medical alcohol.

As Storm turned and made his way to the door, he heard hooves. In the silence of the war torn city, Shadow's senses were heightened, and sounds seemed amplified. Quickly, Storm pressed himself against the debris in the window, and peeked outside. Three small black figures marched down the road, observing all around him. Within seconds, the figures disappeared from view, and in a few minutes their hooves became silent.

Wasting no time, Shadow peered out, and made a bolt out the door. They were gone, but he didn't want to risk being in the open long. Within seconds he was back in the rubble, and making his way back to his comrades. As he climbed back over the debris, he saw the two sitting there. He slid down the debris, and landed with a thud next to Spitfire, whom was now awake and lucid, but still flopped out across the ground.

Shadow quickly dispensed the bandages amongst the ponies, whom began to tend to their wounds. Storm quickly did the same, dousing a bandage with alcohol, and passing it to the next pony. Quickly, Shadow began to lash the bandage around his chest. He winced and cried out, as the alcohol stung the wound. Within a few seconds the bandage was against his wound, and kept good pressure on it.

The three ponies lay for a few minutes, silently recuperating from their ordeal. The silence was broken finally by Spitfire.

"Do you think we're gonna make it?" Spitfire asked slowly, and gloomily.

Soarin' and Shadow hesitated for a moment.

Shadow slowly answered, "As long as we keep our wits and stay together... we should be fine."

Spitfire and Soarin' nodded in agreement.

Glancing about him, Soarin' asked, "What's the city like now? I can't see anything outside of this rubble."

Shadow sighed and shook his head, answering, "It's pretty bad. The entire place has gone to hay. Debris is everywhere. I doubt Equestrians are going to be able to resettle."

The three were melancholy. They're bruised, battered, and cut up by war. They were alone, with no backup, no reinforcements, and no aid.

"What happened?" Spitfire asked, "It all happened so fast..."

Shadow frowned, his eyes blazing with anger, "Treason. I'm going to kill that coward."

"Who?" Spitfire questioned, raising her head off the ground slightly.

"Gallant Gallop. He will pay for what he's done here," Shadow responded.

His anger welled within his chest. His face became hot, as Shadow stood up and began pacing to and fro. His life, his friends, Dash, everything Shadow had was suddenly thrown away by the will of a single colt.

"Do we have a plan?" Soarin' questioned the pacing Storm.

Storm nodded, "We'll lay low here and try to remain undetected for a while, and regain our strength. Once we can fly, we get the buck out."

Soarin' nodded silently. Shadow noted their countenance. Their bodies were fatigued, and so were their minds. Shadow thought for a second.

"I know you're all tired," Shadow began, "I am too. I know you're doubtful, and I am too. But who are we?"

After a few seconds, Shadow clarified, "That's not a rhetorical question, who are we?"

His fellow Pegasi immediately answered, "The Wonderbolts."

Shadow nodded, "Yes, and the Wonderbolts are the best. We are the best flyers in all of Equestria, possibly even history. We survived this far. Are we going to just give up? That's not rhetorical again!"

The two Wonderbolts smiled, stood up, and answered, "No."

"We are the Wonderbolts. This is our land, Equestrian soil. We have the home team advantage. So are we going to give up? What are we gonna do?" Shadow shouted excitedly.

"Give em' hell!" the two shouted back with equal excitement.

"Oorah! Now get some rest. Hell will have to wait for tomorrow. I'll take first watch."

Soarin' and Spitfire nodded and separated, both flopping down to sleep at opposite ends of the debris clearing.

Night was falling within the next few minutes. The days seemed short here. Shadow peered up at the sky, and gazed at the twinkling stars the shone down. He struggled to keep himself composed as he noted several of the constellations were the same as those he had seen the night before he left.

'That was the last time I was happy, and content,' he thought, his heart feeling like a massive weight, 'I don't even know if I have anything left to go back to.'

Shadow felt alone and cold as his thoughts slowly drifted back toward Dash. She was the main reason that he pushed on and fought. He promised to come back, and that was exactly what he was going to do.