Spitfire frowned as she looked over the paper that had six names written on it, as well as which one of them was stallion or mare. Putting the paper on the desk, she put her hoof to her chin for a moment. “I wish you could remember writing these notes.” She told Fainthoof.

“Same here, Captain.” Fainthoof agreed. He has done as Spitfire asked, providing a list of the known Shadowbolts but the most chilling part was the fourth name, belonging to the Wonderbolt’s second in command, Soarin.

“I just can’t accept the fact that my second in command is with them.” Spitfire glanced at the names again, hoping that she might have misread the names.

“I can tail him if you want to be sure.”

“If you do, and it turns out he really is one, he might think something is up. The big problem is everypony I trust here he knows.”

“What about a party? It’ll give us a chance to observe him without appearing to do so.”

“That could work. Not sure Tight Ship would be too thrilled to hear that we plan to waste some bits.”

“You run this academy right? Isn’t your word final?”

“It is, but who’s going to pay for all this?”

“Good point.” A silence fell over them as one tried to recall writing the names while the other didn’t want to accept that. “Spitfire… how are you doing with that?” Fainthoof asked pointing to the pendant.

“It still sucks but I’m used to it enough that it’s not getting in my way all the time.”

“Sorry I still haven’t found a way to remove it yet.”

Spitfire sighed. “I had a feeling you’d say that.” She stood up and walked around the desk standing a hoo length of Fainthoof. “This is still your pendant right? What if you tried taking it off?”

Fainthoof face hoofed. “That didn’t occur to me. Can’t hurt to try.” He attempted to remove it with his magic but only succeeded in lifting it a little bit, however it did reveal something important. “There’s hardly any trace of my magic left. If it runs out, then I’m not getting this thing off.”

“So it’s now or never basically?” Spitfire frowned.

“Yep, unless I can try something, but I’ll need to get closer.”

“Whatever you have to do.”

Fainthoof stepped closer and lowered his head allowing the pendant around his horn to touch the one around Spitfire’s neck before letting his magic flow trying to recharge his original pendant. “Come on.” He muttered and once he found where that little bit was, he poured his magic onto it.

Spitfire stood there awkwardly since she wasn’t sure what she could do in the meantime, plus she wasn’t used to having anypony that close to her. After a couple seconds, she felt the pendant glowing warm and started to relax without meaning to. She hadn’t been sure when, but she closed her eyes enjoying the warmth more but reopened them when the warmth started to fade. “What wrong?”

“Nothing. I filled it much as I could. How are you feeling now?”

“Really warm and sleepy.” Spitfire smiled as she fought to keep her eyes open. “Like I could go to sleep right now.

Fainthoof wouldn’t admit it, but he felt the same way and hoping that they could cuddle as they slept. Instead, he reached out for the pendant. The second his hoof touched it, he saw an image of Spitfire as a filly wrapped in a few blankets while being held in a loving embrace of a pegasus colt that looked just like her.

At the same moment, Spitfire saw Fainthoof lounging in a tree watching a mare flying in the sky, preforming a certain set of tricks she realized were her own. He likes watching me? The second she finished her thought the image shattered and she found herself staring at a shocked Fainthoof. “What happened?”

Fainthoof looked at his hoof. “I think the two pendants created a bridge between our minds. I saw you as a filly wrapped in blankets.”
Spitfire looked away. “I saw you slacking off again.” She smirked and looked back at him. “So, you like watching me huh?”

Fainthoof had stiffen fearing which memory Spitfire might have seen but relaxed as it was one of the clean ones. “What can I say, you’re beautiful when you fly.” He blinked and realized what he had just said. “Not that you aren’t beautiful at all times. Gah, didn’t mean to say that.”
“Cadet, shut up before you dig yourself deeper.” Spitfire ordered and Fainthoof immediately shut his muzzle. “Better. But, thank you.”

“Sorry. Professional mode.” Fainthoof said and made sure to put up a barrier around his mind and stood up on his rear-hooves while his fore-hooves grasped the pendant. Spitfire lowered her head and pulled back at the same time, at first it seemed like nothing happened but the two could have sworn it moved up an inch or two higher than they gotten it before. Fainthoof took a step back just as Spitfire moved forward in preparation for another pull but it caused Fainthoof to lose his balance and fall backward bringing Spitfire with him.

“CAPTAIN!” Fleetfoot shouted as she pushed the door to Spitfire’s office open with her words dying on her lips as she took in the scene before her. In front of her laid Fainthoof with his eyes closed and a hoof behind his head while the other one was gripping the desk. He had smacked his head on the floor and been rubbing the sore spot when the door opening made him pause. Spitfire meanwhile, had both her fore-hooves on his chest while her muzzle was planted face down on the lower part of Fainthoof’s stomach. “Um… I think I got the wrong room.”

“What do you need, Fleets?” Spitfire asked as she quickly pushed herself off Fainthoof but turned to face the desk so nopony could see the blush. Reaching onto her desk, she grabbed her sunglasses and put them on.

“It’s Soarin. He was trying a new course when he got too close to one of the walls and got zapped pretty hard.”

Fainthoof had stood up but at the mention of Soarin’s name, he glanced at Spitfire only to find they were looking at him.

“Lead the way Fleets.” Spitfire commanded and they ran after Fleetfoot.

“Did you complete your mission?” Frost Aura asked as White Rose stepped from the shadows.

“Of course I did.” White Rose replied. “But why Soarin? He’s on the list of the Shadowbolts.”

“He just had the misfortune of being the first one, or we can say that one of us is trying to bump off a fellow Shadowbolt to advance up the ranks. After your note, Spitfire would want to keep an eye on him at this point, so why not make it easier for her?” Frost Aura grinned.

“You say that, but it’ll also be easier for them to keep an eye on him as well.”

“And also easier to make his life hell.” Frost Aura stepped close and stroked White Rose’s mane. “Have I ever steered you wrong? Have a little faith in my plans.”

White Rose sighed. “Very well. What about Fainthoof?”

“What about him?” Neon Echo asked as she and Violet Dawn walked in.

“Eventually he’s going to realize we’re wiping his mind. Or it’ll start to break down.”

“You’re not going soft on him are you?” Violet Dawn hesitantly asked.

“Of course not!” White Rose snapped. “If the Wonderbolts don’t figure something is up by this point, they definitely will if we send him back with a broken mind. On the other hoof, the shadows could strike out at us the next time we attempt to wipe his mind.”

“Exactly. Which is why we’re going to let him keep his mind from now on.” Frost Aura replied calmly.

“You can’t be serious! The moment he gets back he’ll run straight for Spitfire!” White Rose exclaimed.

“I am. Before he leaves us next time, we’ll have him on our side for sure.” Frost Aura then looked at Neon Echo. “How is Shadow?”

“Serenity Dreams drained most of her blood to heal. Both are fine now, but Shadow will need a few more hours and a good meal or two before she’s fully ready to go.”

“Good. I’ll need her ready by this evening, I have another task for her. Also, tell Mile High to see me when he has a break from his bucking sessions.”

“Of course, Frost.” Neon Echo said before leaving the room.

“White Rose. Go back to the academy, keep an eye on Fainthoof and be prepared to meet Shadow around eleven tonight.”

“Got it.” White Rose turned to leave but Frost Aura stopped her.

“Take Violet Dawn with you. Make sure she appears roughen up enough that she’ll be spending some time in the hospital.” He didn’t have to look at Violet Dawn to know she shrank back, the whimper gave it all away. “Violet, make sure you harass Soarin and make it look like there’s Shadowbolt activity around him and his room.”

“Yes sir.” Violet Dawn said glumly before she felt a hoof around her neck and was forced to walk with White Rose.

Spitfire slammed the door to Soarin’s room open as she entered, surprising him and Surprise. As she walked in, Fainthoof joined her and held the door open. “Surprise, dismissed.” Surprise didn’t need to be told twice and walked out.

Before the door could fully close, Fleetfoot stuck her hoof in and slipped into the room, making sure to close the door before approaching the bed. “Geez Spitfire, you know the staff doesn’t like you barging in like this.” She said, having gotten stuck behind them apologizing for Spitfire’s action. She glanced over to see Spitfire glaring at her. “Never mind, it’s not that important anyway.”

Spitfire looked back at Soarin, now starting to smell the singe hair and could see several spots of blacken fur. “What happened to you?” She saw him glance at Fainthoof and hesitate to answer. “Don’t worry about him, he won’t reveal anything so I’m allowing him to be here.”

“Yeah, because of the awkward kissy time I broke up.” Fleetfoot giggled but quickly stopped seeing both Spitfire and Fainthoof sending her glares.

“I’ll explain later. Your part first.” Spitfire told Soarin.

“There’s not much to tell. I came around a corner testing for the slowest time and flew wide to get a feel for the obstacle course. I flew close to one of the walls, got shocked like I had just flown through three densely packed thunder clouds in a row and next thing I know, I’m here.” Soarin replied.

“Is that section supposed to have anything that would shock a pegasus going through?”

“Nope. I checked the outside myself yesterday and there wasn’t anything that would create such a static discharge.”

There was a knock on the door before it opened revealing an earth stallion. “Miss Spitfire, I know you’re in charge here, but my colleagues’ kindly request that you move quieter through our hallways.”

“I’ll remember that for next time Doc.” Spitfire said, not really caring. “What’s wrong with him?” She listened to Doc read off a list and thankfully it wasn’t anything too serious.

“…Basically, we’d like to keep him here for a few days to keep an eye on him.” Doc finished. “Now, if you three will come with me, the patient does require sleep.”

Fainthoof shrugged and followed Spitfire and Fleetfoot out of the room. “So much for keeping an eye on Soarin at the party.” He said once Fleetfoot trotted away, going the opposite direction from them. Neither of them noticed that they were walking a little closer to each other than before.

“Really. I was looking forward to that party.” Spitfire sighed as Fainthoof stopped and stared at her. “What?”

“I never took you for a party mare.”

“Oh please, you’ll have to come with us after a show sometimes.” Spitfire smirked. “We work hard, so we get to party hard.”

“SOMEPONY HELP!” White Rose yelled as she galloped into the hospital out of breath with a beaten pegasus mare on her back. Instantly a team of nurses rushed towards her with a stretcher.

Spitfire trotted up to White Rose and put a wing over her back before leading her to a chair. “Take five cadet, then tell me what happened.”
Fainthoof joined them a moment later with a cup of water and White Rose quickly downed it before thrusting the cup back at him. He went and got more water before coming back and the cycle repeated. After the third time, he just used his magic to teleport the water cooler closer to them.

“I had a break from training today so I was seeing how far I could fly.” White Rose began once her breathing evened out. “My plan was to race back here and see how much distance I could cover in the shortest amount of time. I heard a shout and saw three pegasi attacking the mare I brought in.”

“Could you identify any of them?” Spitfire asked.

White Roe shook her head. “They were covered from head to tail with the uniforms similar to the Wonderbolts, but had yellow, black, and purple as the coloring.”

“Okay, then what happened?” Spitfire knew White Rose had just described the Shadowbolt uniform but felt it was safer to pretend not to know anything. “Where were you at the time you found the… assailants?”

“I was flying west towards Vanhoover.”

“Do you know the mare’s name?” Fainthoof asked, for some reason she seemed familiar bit he couldn’t place it.

“No, she was unconscious by the time I got to her. Either they saw me coming or they decided that the mare had enough because they flew off as I tried getting closer which left her to plummet to the ground. I’m sorry I let them get away, I felt saving a life was more important.”
Spitfire put her hoof onto White Rose’s shoulder. “You made the correct choice cadet. That’s something we Wonderbolts look for in a recruit and at least in my book, you earned several points.” She took her hoof off. “Go back to your barracks and rest for now. You earned the rest of the day off.”

“Yes Captain, thank you.” White Rose said as she stood up.

“You did well.” Fainthoof agreed as he moved the water cooler back to its original location and followed after Spitfire.

White Rose watched them leave before she smiled darkly and went to visit Violet Dawn for a few minutes.

Spitfire didn’t say anything until she and Fainthoof were back in her office. “This doesn’t make any sense. It feels like this week alone I’ve heard more about the Shadowbolts than the entire time I’ve been alive.”

“Oh, so that’s a long time then?” Fainthoof chuckled which made Spitfire look for something in her desk and she threw it at him. He let the thing bounce off his head and found it to be an eraser.

“Shut it. I’m not that old.” Spitfire growled, though it was more playful.

“You’re younger than me by a long shot.” Fainthoof told her honestly.

“Yeah right.”

“You wouldn’t believe me.”

“Okay, how old are you?”

“I was alive before Nightmare Moon was around.”

“Holy crap, you are old.”

“Anyway, yes I’m old but if we can come back to the present now.”

Spitfire groaned and continued bitterly. “I was hoping to have all the pains and headaches that come from running the academy, not running the academy and dealing with the Shadowbolts. It doesn’t make sense though. If Soarin and White Rose are Shadowbolts, plus the three she said she saw attacking the mare that would be five of the six names.”

“Unless that mare was one of them and she was trying to leave, that could provoke an attack. That could make six but why now?”

“We’ll have to ask that mare when we have a chance, hopefully it’ll be soon.”

Fainthoof sighed. “Or we could be completely wrong about everything. However, I think we can say White Rose is one of them. I wouldn’t write something like I did unless there was a reason.

Spitfire rubbed her temples. “Stop, my brain’s hurting.” She paused and looked at the desk. “Did you take the list of names?”

“No, that last time I touched it was handing it over to you. Why?” Fainthoof asked.

“It’s gone. I know I left it right here.” Spitfire pointed to the exact spot she had set it down. The two searched the office but true to Spitfire’s words, it was gone.

“At least we know it wasn’t Soarin or Fleetfoot.”

“Yeah, but four against an entire academy, real great odds on our side.” Spitfire looked from him to the desk, and back to him. “I’m only going to ask this once, do you want a drink?”

Fainthoof raised an eyebrow, but nodded. “Sure, what’s one drink?” He asked and watched as Spitfire opened a secret panel just big enough for a pony to fit into in her desk before pulling out a bottle of cider.

“Cadet, I’m ordering you not to reveal anything about this.” Spitfire commanded.

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.