Because of Spitfire’s orders, each of the Wonderbolt members appeared in a collective dream realm which was a grassy clearing that stood next to a crystal blue lake with a waterfall on one side and the other side there was a forest. High above them, the stars twinkled and the moon shone brightly while in a ring of stones, a blazing fire roared and the water was the perfect swimming temperature.

At first they were content with waiting but after a few minutes, they all broke into different events to keep busy. Blaze and Fire Streak were busy racing through the sky leaving a fiery trail behind them to make shooting stars. Fleetfoot swam straight past the edge of the waterfall before arcing tightly and following the water’s downward path into the lake and when she emerged, she did it a few more times before joining Surprise and Wave Chill in lazily floating in the water. Misty Fly, Silver Lining and Lightning Streak were racing through an obstacle course through the trees while also practicing various tricks. Rapidfire sat under the waterfall and let the water massaged his back as he meditated. High Winds was content to sit against a tree and watch her wingmates do their various forms of fun. Spitfire and Soarin meanwhile sat near the fire conversing in low tones about various topics.

As Luna came into view, the Wonderbolts stopped what they were doing and made their way back to the grassy clearing with the ones that had been in the water shaking themselves off before sitting down. “I apologize for the wait.” Luna said as she walked into the collective dream realm that she had designed for them.

“It’s no problem Princess Luna.” Spitfire said as all twelve of them bowed. “What was the problem? If I may ask.”

“There have been several explosions at the base of the mountain under Canterlot. As far as we can tell, nopony was hurt.” Luna told them and looked into the fire for a moment, clearly knowing more than she was revealing but didn’t go on. “Since we’re here, you might as well tell the others what you learned, Captain.”

Spitfire nodded and gave the abridged version of the recent events at the academy to those that weren’t there. “And just last night, we learned that all our rosters on us –current members only– have been removed from the vault where Soarin, Whiplash and I only have access to.” She finished bitterly that had the others look at their wingmates with various looks on their faces.

“Any ideas who it could be?” Lightning Streak asked.

“I might be able to help with that.” Fainthoof said as he shimmered into view. “I can’t tell you exactly, but I can say the pegasus we’re dealing with is part of the Shadowbolts.” He heard the collective gasp from them. “I’m also proposing one of them resides at the academy.”
“How do you know it’s them?” Soarin asked.

Fainthoof looked at Spitfire, then to the group. “I was doing research on the pendant and he cornered me. Because of him, I’m currently unconscious after a narrow escape from almost certain temptation… sorry, I meant to say death.”

“But there are several hundred pegasi there. We can’t possibly put eyes on all of them for every minute of the day.” Wave Chill grumbled.
“Isn’t there anything you could help narrow it down?” Fire Streak asked, though it was clear she didn’t expect much.

“Wish I could.” Fainthoof replied. “But much like how you guys cover your manes and tails for the storm show, everything on the Shadowbolt was covered and the goggles were covering the eyes. About the only thing I could say is that the Shadowbolt is a stallion and pegasus.”
Spitfire exhaled. “Here’s what we’re going to do. Those that aren’t at the academy will lay low, only coming out if we get attacked or send for you but keep an eye on your surroundings because chances are they know where you are. Those that are at the academy currently, do your best to stay vigilant and report anything suspicious while making it seem like you have no knowledge of these events.”

“If only the Wonderbolt files were taken, then perhaps we have some pony go through the files in case there’s something suspicious with one of the recruits?” Surprise suggested.

“It’s possible, but it’ll take time.” Soarin replied.

“Time, the one thing we never have enough of.” Misty Fly lamented.

“We’ll just have to make do with the time we have.” Spitfire stated. “Fleetfoot… give it a day or two before checking on the files. It’ll look out of place if a higher up Wonderbolt suddenly went to the archives but most of the ponies I trust are right here.”

“We can hold a competition, that’ll give us a chance.” Fleetfoot said and Spitfire nodded. “It’ll take a couple days to get things set up anyway.”
“My sister and I will send some guards to see if we have anything on the Shadowbolts, though it’s a slim chance. They aren’t exactly known for revealing themselves.” Luna said as she looked around at the group. “I’d rather not drag Twilight Sparkle into this, but I’m sure that my sister will insist when she hears the news.” She had nothing against Twilight –far from it– but she doubted the old castle or Twilight Sparkle’s home would have any information on them.

“Anything we can find on them will help.” Fainthoof said before he looked at Spitfire. “Spitfire, I need–”

“I know, I don’t expect you to be flying back tomorrow.” She told Fainthoof, then looked around at her Wonderbolts. “Everypony is dismissed.” She saluted them and waited until it was just her, Luna, and Fainthoof before speaking again. “What did you find out?”

“Not much. I know the name and a vague description of what it is, but as for how to get it off… I was interrupted.” He watched Spitfire’s face fall a little. “I have a plan to find out.”

“How?” She asked.

“You’ll have to trust me.”

“Buck it, would you just tell me!?” Spitfire growled but Fainthoof was already fading from the dream realm. “FAINTHOOF!” She yelled but only stared at the spot where he had been and after a couple seconds, she looked at Luna.

“I cannot reach him.” Luna admitted. “He either blocked off his mind, fallen into a dreamless sleep, or has woken up. All three are entirely plausible at this point but she was ready to bet he was being woken up as she felt one last thought from him before he was gone.
“Did you see him at least?”

“You like asking questions I cannot answer don’t you?” Luna teased Spitfire. “I do not know. Nopony has been admitted to any of the hospitals this evening.” As they were walking back to Spitfire’s dream, a shimmering wave caught both of their attentions and they focused on it as the image materialized into Spitfire’s flank with the tail slightly raised. “Oh look, a flying plot hole.” Luna pointed out with amazement like it was the eighth wonder of the world while Spitfire’s jaw dropped.

Fainthoof hated the position he currently found himself in. On one hoof, he wanted to stay away from Spitfire much as possible so he didn’t attack her. But on the other hoof, he was still under orders from Celestia to remain at the Wonderbolt Academy and close to the mare he was trying to stay away from. At first, he pushed the headaches away but with each passing hour it felt like it got worst. However, to add insult to injury, being near his pendant offered him some relief… with the craving to get it back.

As he was flying one of the laps, a chance downward glance just happen to show him Spitfire and Soarin walking towards one of the buildings. Without thinking, he folded his wings in and dove straight for the two, he being convinced the pendant was calling out to him. A volleyball smacked into his head when he was roughly three pony lengths away from them and the shock caused him to veer off before crashing into some trees while the two Wonderbolts kept walking unaware of the attack.

Currently, he sat at the base of the mountain of the academy in the pouring rain. The storm clouds covered the moon so it was near pitch black on the ground as he waited for the Shadowbolt to appear. With a huff, he glared at the rain like it had chosen this specific night to rain, though the water went down in his eyes so he gave up on glaring. Or maybe the sky is crying…. He thought as the rainwater ran down his cheeks.

“I had a feeling you’d show.” The voice of the Shadowbolt said as he emerged without a sound.

“About damn time.” Fainthoof narrowed his eyes.

“You could have just called out to me, otherwise I could have just let you sit out here all night. Have you thought about my offer?”

Fainthoof bit his lip to avoid saying what he really wanted to say. With a sad sigh, he nodded. “I’ll join the... Shadowbolts.” With each word, his spirit dropped as he reflected on the vow that he would never say those word ever again.

“I’m glad to hear that.” Reaching under his wing, he pulled out the pendant and tossed it towards Fainthoof, the latter’s instinct making him catch it on his horn.

Instant relief rushed through Fainthoof’s body and the migraine he put up with vanished within a couple seconds. “That feels better.” He reached up and felt the pendant, glad to have it back but when he pulled it away his hoof was covered with blood that quickly washed off in the rain. His blood ran cold as he reached up again to make sure it wasn’t a trick and got the same results. “What did you do to her?”

“How else could I get your pendant back to you?” The Shadowbolt said with a smirk. “You’re too late to save her, but if it’ll make you feel better, she died quickly.” He then began to laugh. “Picture the headlines. Wonderbolt Captain Murdered for Necklace.”

Fainthoof had no trouble picturing that headline and he shadow hopped directly into Spitfire’s room fearing the worst. Instead of seeing a dead Spitfire, he found her sleeping peacefully and he sighed in relief. Spitfire shifted a little and his eyes caught something sliding down her neck. “Oh buck.” He muttered as he touched his original pendant, now realizing that they both had one.

Without warning, Spitfire reached out and wrapped her fore hooves around his neck before pulling him down to her chest and mumbling something about a pegasus plushie. Fainthoof, meanwhile, felt his cheeks burning as he internally battled between moving away and staying there. With a sigh, he pulled back as Spitfire whimpered and watched her as she shifted.

“Why are you in my room?” Spitfire asked quietly before opening her eyes and looking at him. “Well?”

Fainthoof looked away and took a step back to be out of hoof reach. “I thought you might have been dead.” The look he received told him that she found it way too early to believe him. “No really… I better tell you the entire thing.” He made to sit on the edge of the bed but she stopped him.

“You. Out. I’m not going to have anypony in my bedroom.” Spitfire rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up. “You know how to make coffee right?” She asked and he nodded. “Good, get some started and I’ll join you in a moment.” After he left, she laid back down with a sigh. There goes the night. She thought and touched the pendant, having long given up on trying to remove it. With another sigh, she got out of bed and headed for the kitchen.

“How do you take your coffee?” Fainthoof asked as he put a cream and sugar into his.

“Normally same as you, but right now just black.” She took the offered cup before sitting down at the small table and taking a long drink. “Sit down because you’re not leaving until I get the entire story that led you to being in my bedroom. If you need a reason, ask Rapidfire and Blaze what I did the one time they woke me up.

Fainthoof swallowed as he joined Spitfire on the other side of the table. Buying himself some time, he looked around the plain kitchen that only held the necessary items except for two photos on the wall. The first one was of her and her friends having a good time, most likely just after a performance while the second one was her being promoted to captain. The sound of a cup hitting the table brought his attention back to an annoyed Spitfire. “Oh right.” He paused for a sip and then started telling her everything.

A couple cups later and roughly an hour gone, Spitfire set her cup down and stared at it for a couple minutes as she reflected on what he just said before finally looking up at him. “And you just assumed I was going to let you go, to join the Shadowbolts?”

“Well, yeah.” Fainthoof replied in a tone that if he said the wrong thing right now, it was going to suck big time for him.

“Fainthoof, I know I didn’t stop you the last time you left, but this time is different. If the press gets ahold of it, you’ll be labeled a traitor. Especially one that is close to the Princess.”

“That’s why I can’t let anypony know what I’m going to do. Trust me, Spitfire, you don’t want to have that thing on any longer than you already have.”

“But why are you doing this?”

Fainthoof looked away. “For you.” He redirected his attention back to her after a moment. “Any other pony I probably would have killed by now.”

“Next you’re going to tell me you were a Shadowbolt once before.” She smirked in a playful manner.

“I was. It’s not something I’m proud of.” Fainthoof stood up and walked over to sink and rinsing the cup out as the smirk vanished from Spitfire’s face.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah….” Before anything else could be said, he shadow hopped from the kitchen while Spitfire was left stunned looking at the spot he had occupied.

When Fainthoof emerged from the shadows, he found himself in what could only be described as a ball room. Looking around at the windows with their gold curtains pulled shut except for one, the glass chandeliers high above him with the real candles, a few doors near one end while the opposite side held a large staircase leading upstairs with a balcony along one of the walls with a red plush carpet leading decorating them. He was about to shadow hop out but his curiosity and a voice coming down the stairs stopped him.

“Welcome home, master.”

“White Rose?” Fainthoof couldn’t hide his surprise as the white mare came down and over to him.

“The one and only.” White Rose smiled and brushed against him as she walked past, making him turn around to keep her in sight.

“Where are we?”

“I told you already, home.” White Rose didn’t get a chance to elaborate further as three different color sheets floated down and landed randomly on the floor as three pegasi dressed in Shadowbolt uniforms flew in through a window before touching down. “Welcome back, masters.” She bowed before joining them.

“White Rose, get away from them, they’re dangerous.” Fainthoof said, causing her to look at him.

“They’re not dangerous, they’re my family.” White Rose then nuzzled the stallion in the middle before they removed their goggles to reveal a set of different color eyes.

“I’m Frost Aura, leader of the Shadowbolts.” He greeted himself. His body was navy blue with his eyes being a rich emerald green while his mane and tail were a matching white with sky blue stripes.

“It was you that I was meeting.” Fainthoof stated as he recognized the voice and Frost Aura nodded.

“This is Neon Echo.” He motioned to her, leaving him to wonder if Neon Echo was a mare or stallion. Neon Echo’s body was black while the mane was neon blue with neon yellow tips, the tail was neon orange. Even the eyes, a pink color, were neon as well. Meanwhile, the black coat color made it impossible to see any cutie mark.

“He’s going to get my name wrong.” The mare on Frost Aura’s other side mumbled, though it wasn’t clear if she thought it would be Frost Aura or Fainthoof that would get it wrong.

“And this is Violet Dawn.” Frost Aura gestured over to her. She was amethyst in color while her tail and mane both were a dull gold while her eyes were navy blue. Her cutie mark was a gemstone surrounded by a shield.

Just as Fainthoof was going to say something, he felt another pony pressing way to close to him for comfort since he hadn’t heard anypony approach. “Can I help you?” He turned and found a tan stallion with a black mane and tail lifting a fore-hoof up and rubbing the spot just above Fainthoof’s cutie mark.

“You look like fun, can we play together sometime?” The way-to-close stallion asked and started to drift his sandy orange eyes downward.

“Miles, don’t frighten our newest member on the first day.” Frost Aura scolded and wagged a hoof at him.

Mile High’s face fell and he removed his hoof from Fainthoof, while the latter moved a few steps away. “But I like him.”

“That’s fine, but he’s a special one, like the rest of us.” Frost Aura said calmly as he walked over and put a hoof onto Mile High’s shoulder. “Go play in your room.” He waited until Mile High had left before speaking again. “Sorry about that, I didn’t expect him to appear until dinner.”

Fainthoof felt like he was going to need several showers and lots of soap to be cleaned again at that spot. “It’s a good thing he likes me? I say nay nay, I don’t swing that way.”

“I don’t either.” Frost Aura agreed. “If he likes the pony, he lets them live after he’s finished with them. If not…well, you really don’t want to know. If you don’t want him visiting at night, I highly recommend locking the door.”

“Duly noted. Is this ballroom the only place I have access to?” Fainthoof asked as he looked around the ballroom.

“Not at all.” Neon Echo said as she walked over to Fainthoof’s side. “Should I give him a tour?” She motioned Fainthoof to follow after Frost Aura nodded.

“Think he’ll be alright?” White Rose asked once it was only her, Violet Dawn and Frost Aura.

“Of course, if I wasn’t confident, I wouldn’t have introduced him to the others. Or have you bring him here.” Frost Aura smiled at her.
“You know he’s not really ever going to be one of us right?” Though White Rose was confident and trusted Frost Aura, she couldn’t fully hide the unease in her tone. “He’s only here to-”

“I’m fully aware of that.” Frost Aura put a hoof onto White Rose’s shoulder. “Trust me, okay?”

White Rose stayed silent for a few moments, then nodded. “Yes Master.”

“Now, what about Serenity Dreams and Shadow, where are they?” Frost Aura removed his hoof from White Rose’s shoulder.
“Last I heard, they were training.”

“I see.” Was the simple reply, those two training more than likely meant Shadow was getting her flank handed to her. “I’ll be in my room if anypony needs me.” He turned and headed for one of the doors while White Rose bowed.

Once he was gone, White Rose turned and looked at Violet Dawn. “Why don’t we go walk around the gardens?” She only received a small nod from the other mare so they headed that way.

“You’re trying to figure out if I’m a stallion or mare aren’t you?” Neon Echo asked as she paused in giving the tour but kept walking, seeing how Fainthoof was there, but his mind was someplace else.

“How did you know?” Fainthoof asked and wondered if he had been that obvious with his thoughts.

“Everypony wonders it when they see me. I’m actually androgynous, having the characteristics of both genders kind of blended together.” She explained as they reached a set of double doors but as she was about to open it, she heard a muffled sound and so she pressed her ear to the door and listened for a moment. “This is the kitchen, but we’re going to come back to it later.”

“Why?”

“Listen and it should make sense.”

Fainthoof put an ear to the door and heard grunts and moans from the other side. “Are ponies… rutting in there?”

“Yep. Miles and some random pony.” Neon Echo pulled him away from the door and led the way down the hall. “You’ll find all of us have walked in on him many times.”

“Even you?”

“Even me. I’ve walked in on him enough times that it honestly doesn’t bother me. I could go in there and eat a hay sandwich and not bat an eye,” she admitted, “but I’m sure you would rather not see that.”

“Yes, thank you.” They took the next door into the dining room.

“Don’t you have to worry about mares getting pregnant and demanding him to own up to the foals?” Fainthoof asked as he walked around the mahogany table that could seat at least ten ponies.

“Nope. Due to an accident, he’s sterile which is mainly why we don’t get upset at him for it.” Neon Echo said and it seemed like there was something else that would have followed, but she didn’t share it.

“Will I be expected to sleep here?” He asked, noticing the chairs were exactly a pony width away from the other.

“It’s up to you. You’re more than welcome to stay here and you’ll have your own room for the times you don’t feel like going back.” Neon Echo explained as she led him back into the hall and headed up another staircase for the bedrooms.

“Okay, I like that. But what’s to stop me from shadow hopping away and telling everypony that the Shadowbolts live here?”

Neon Echo just smiled and opened the door causing Fainthoof to cry out in shock. “That’s the last pony who tried that.” In the middle of the room, a pony swung from a noose hung from the ceiling.

“What the buck!? You want me to sleep in a room with a pony that was hung?” He stared wide-eyed at it while Neon Echo walked in before lowering the pony to the floor. He joined her in the center glad it was nopony he knew.

“Of course not, it’s not real.” She revealed it was just a mannequin though the amount of detail made it creepily life like. Picking up the mannequin, she headed for the door. “Remember, lock your door at night.” She said and he turned to ask her something else but a pony width ribbon dropped from the ceiling separating the two and once it fell to the floor, Neon Echo was gone.

“What is up with that?” He asked and inspected the material only to learn it was made of silk. Putting the ribbon back onto the floor, he surveyed the room now that his heart had slowed to its normal beat. A large king size bed took up a quarter of the room, a standard bedside table with a fancy reading lamp stood next to the bed while a canopy surrounded the bed as well. At least to this room, the walls were painted purple while the trim around the room, the two windows, and the door were yellow while the carpet was a rich black color giving off the impression that the room was smaller than it actually was.

Walking over to one of the windows, he opened it and stepped out onto the balcony to see mountains and trees stretching for miles. Closing his eyes, he pictured the Wonderbolt Academy but before he made his move, the mental image of the hung mannequin flashed in his mind causing him to snap his eyes open and he leaned against the railing for a moment. Taking a couple breaths, he attempted it again and felt himself slipping into the shadows. But as he felt himself reappear, he found himself standing in the ballroom once more. “The hay?”

“Would you care to dance Master?” White Rose asked him, holding her hoof out to him.

“No thanks.” Fainthoof shot her down and ignored the look of disappointment on White Rose’s face. “What I would like, are some answers. And I demand you tell me them.”

White Rose looked at the floor. “What are your questions, Master?”

“Where are we?”

“I can’t answer that.”

“Why not?”

“Because Master Frost Aura forbidden me from revealing that.”

Fainthoof growled figuring most of his questions would get the same response. “The sheets and ribbons, what are they for?”

“We don’t know, it just happens in this house. You’ll get one soon enough.” As if the house heard her, a sheet floated down and landed besides him.

Oh, joy. Fainthoof thought as he stared at it. “Why can’t I shadow hop without ending up here?”

“Because we were originally meant to be a team of six in order to balance out Twilight and her friends, so only our firs six members can successfully shadow hop here or if we were to give our blessing.” She then put a hoof over his mouth. “I cannot, even if you command me to, I can’t.” She let her hoof be moved away. “Are you hungry Master?”

Fainthoof was going to say something different but his stomach chose that moment to remind him that he hadn’t eaten anything since the previous day, so he nodded and followed White Rose. “Why do you call me and Frosty, Master?”

“Because I’m merely a butler.”

“And what exactly do you do?”

“I buttle, sir.” Silence followed that line for a moment. “But really, I keep this place clean.” She admitted as they walked into the dining room. “Please take a seat wherever you like.” She said before walking through a swinging door into the kitchen.

Fainthoof listened but couldn’t hear anything so he sat down in a chair where he could see the kitchen door. He hadn’t been sitting for long when the hallway door opened again and two mares walked in. They had been laughing about something but one mare immediately stopped when she saw Fainthoof.

“Who are you?”

“Who, who, who, who? Who are you? Who-” The second mare sung in earning a small glare from the first mare that stopped her from continuing.

Fainthoof was saved from having to answer as White Rose came back in with some breakfast for him. “This is Fainthoof, our newest member. Fainthoof, this is our second newest member, Shadow.” She indicated the dark greyish black mare where she had just sat down on the other side of the table. “And this is Serenity Dreams, a black pegasus with a yellow, medium length straight mane and a matching yellow tail. Would either of you like breakfast?”

“Sure.” Shadow said with a smile.

“No thanks, I’ll have mine later.” Serenity Dreams replied, her red eyes regarding White Rose. Once White Rose left, she turned her gaze to Fainthoof. “That’s not your true form is it?”

“Of course it is. The amount of magic it would take for a pony to change their form isn’t something everypony has.”

“Don’t lie to me!” Serenity Dreams snapped. “It’s easy to see the disguising magic around you.” Her eyes flashed red and half a second later, a bat pony sat at the table instead of a pegasus.

“Look, even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. Celestia-” He heard a dull thunk of something hitting the wall behind him before he felt a thin line of blood forming across his cheek.

“Don’t say that bitch’s name in front of me.” Serenity Dreams snarled after slamming her fore hooves onto the table while Shadow held her around her waist and kept her wings pinned.

“He didn’t know, Serenity Dreams.” Shadow continued holding onto the other mare until she calm down enough and change back to her pegasus form.

Fainthoof wiped the blood from his cheek. “Any other names?”

“Nope. Just hers.” Serenity Dreams stated and stepped around the chair as White Rose came out with Shadow’s breakfast before getting pulled back towards the kitchen with a ‘why me’ expression on her face.

“She’s a little sensitive about Celestia’s name.” Shadow said once the door had finished closing.

“A little?” Fainthoof asked, not believing it was just a little. “Still, she’s a bat pony…”

“You’ll find that each of our pasts are different and that we don’t like to talk about it.” Silence fell over the dining room as the two ate and finished their breakfast when Serenity Dreams walked out of the kitchen much calmer while White Rose followed a second later with a slight stagger and wearing a red handkerchief around her neck.

“We probably should head back to the Wonderbolt Academy, Fainthoof.” White Rose said with a mellow tone as she approached his side before handing him a cup.

“What is this? And are you alright?” Fainthoof asked as he took the cup from her.

“I’ll be fine in a little while.” White Rose touched Fainthoof’s shoulder. “It’s a potion Violet Dawn created, it’ll reenergize you so you don’t feel tired during the training today.” She waited until he drunk it and set the glass down before shadow hopping them both as Shadow gave them a small wave.

When Fainthoof could see again, he found himself lying in bed with White Rose shaking him. “White Rose? What are you doing here?” He asked while sitting up.

“About five minutes ago.” White Rose said. “I was making sure you were awake since our training starts shortly.”

“Who cares? It’s not like I’m going to do half of it anyway.”

“At least show up for the first part of it. Please, do it for us.” She pleaded with him and once he nodded, she smiled. “Thank you so much! I’ll see you in a few.” With that, she headed out the door while Fainthoof watched her leave before getting out of bed.

Author's Notes:

Disclaimer: I don't own My Little Pony, Hasbro does.
However, I'm pleased to say I do own Blue Jay, Paige, Harmonious Flash, Kitsune/Feral Lupus, Lyla Firecracker, Minako, and Shadow.

Also, the Shadowbolts named here are mine as well.
Fainthoof is used with permission from Damien, a good friend of mine.

As always, constructive criticism is welcome. It'll help me to improve my writing and seeing what people liked.