Fainthoof opened his eyes and in the brief second they were open, he realized two things. The first one was that his head hurt and the second one was that there was a weight pressing down on him. “Rgh. Get off-” He opened his eyes and was glad he had done so because he was about to say White Rose’s name “…Spitfire?!” He exclaimed and winced as his voice seemed to echo around in his head.

“Not so loud damn it.” Spitfire muttered as she put a hoof up and massaged her forehead. Putting her other hoof onto his chest, she sat up on his stomach but kept her hoof in place for balance. She realized they were still in her office, specifically on the couch but right now that thought took a back seat to her current thought. “Oh my head.”

Fainthoof couldn’t help the heat that rushed to his face as Spitfire sat up, he gradually became more aware of their surroundings. Glancing over to the edge of the desk, he saw that the bottle only had a little less than a third left. “Um… Spitfire?”

“Yes, Fainthoof?” Spitfire asked and he stared at her trying to recall if she ever said his full name before. They were interrupted by a knock at the door before he could reply. “That should be Fleetfoot with breakfast. Come in!”

The door opened revealing Fleetfoot with a tray of food. “Really Captain?” She questioned and it was then Spitfire fully realized the position she and Fainthoof were in. “Couldn’t you have put a sock on the door or something?”

“We weren’t doing anything.” Spitfire admitted as she cautiously got off Fainthoof and looked at him. “You were about to ask me something?”
“Never mind. It already happened.” Fainthoof replied.

Fleetfoot giggled. “I can believe nothing was happening.” She looked at the bottle and shook her head. “What I can’t believe is that you were drinking and didn’t invite me.”

“It was only supposed to be one drink.” Fainthoof recalled as his mouth started watering as the scent of breakfast wafted over to him.

“Those must have been pretty big drinks then.” Fleetfoot said as set the covered plate onto Spitfire’s desk before she grabbed the bottle and took a small drink from it. “That hit the spot.”

“Anyhow, all that aside, what’s the agenda for today.” Spitfire asked as she sat at her desk before removing the lid with a wing to reveal French toast. She typically knew the schedules but her brain hurt from the idea alone of thinking, let alone actually doing the thinking.

“Standard stuff, though some cadets are scheduled to have a whirl on the dizzitron.” Fleetfoot reported.

“If I watch that thing, I’ll probably throw up.” Spitfire grumbled and paused in her eating to make sure she wasn’t about to bring it back up. “Sorry, Fleet, but you’ll have to tell them they’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”

“No problem.” Fleetfoot smiled, suddenly seeming much happier for some reason. “I can bring you some aspirin for you two in a couple minutes, but I’ll let you two share breakfast first.” She winked and quickly turned before bolting from the room before either of the two could say anything.

“Damn you, Fleetfoot.” Spitfire grumbled before she looked at Fainthoof, who appeared to be annoyed at something. “What?”

“Does she do that often?”

“Yes. Fainthoof, she’s a member of my team so naturally she’s going to watch out for me. Same goes for Soarin, when he’s not in the hospital.”
“I wasn’t talking about breakfast.”

“I know, but you didn’t specify. She’s like the sister I never had, sure she can be playful and annoying at times, but it’s not hard to love her for that. The more she teases ponies, the more she likes them.”

“Sisterly love right?” Fainthoof swallowed, praying the answer wasn’t the wrong one.

“Yes. Now come over here and eat.” Spitfire moved over in her chair as much as she could to give him some room. The two lapsed into silence as they ate, with Fainthoof’s mood increasing for the better.

Violet Dawn carefully opened her eyes in case there was somepony in the room since she didn’t want the nurses to know she was awake. Upon seeing nopony, she glanced at the clock and saw it was the morning after her run-in with the “Shadowbolts.” Thanks to White Rose’s information, she knew she didn’t have to worry about the nurse ponies coming to check up on her anytime soon. Slipping off the bed, she carefully checked the hallway when she got there before limping down to Soarin’s room.

Peeking in, she quietly slipped into Soarin’s room and immediately went for the edge of his bed to check to see if he was sleeping. She didn’t plan to do anything this time around, but merely to get a look around the room and let out a small squeak when she realized that Soarin was awake and looking at her. Oh buck…. She thought to herself and closed her eyes hoping Soarin was really still sleeping

“Who are you?” Soarin asked warmly with a smile.

“Um… I’m Violet Dawn.” She whispered and opened her eyes while mentally berated herself for not making sure that Soarin was indeed asleep. “I know who you are and I’m sorry if I woke you up.”

“Don’t worry about it. I was only pretending to be asleep for the nurses.” Soarin motioned to the chairs beside the bed. “You’re welcome to sit and stay. I have to admit, it’s rare for Spitfire to allow non-cadets to the academy hospital unless there was an accident.”

Violet Dawn sat down. “Oh, I’m not here as a student or trainee. I was attacked.” She then told him the story all the while looking at the floor.
“Wow, I’m glad you could get here.” Soarin said when she finished. There was a lengthy pause before Soarin spoke up again. “You’re one of the Shadowbolts aren’t you?”

Violet Dawn froze as her eyes widened. He… he… there’s no way he could have possible figured that out from my story.

Soarin laughed after a brief moment. “I’m messing around with you. There’s no way you could possibly be a Shadowbolt, it was just bad luck you got too close to them.”

Violet Dawn released that breath she had been holding and chuckled nervously. “Heh heh, err… yeah… just back luck.” She agreed and took a couple deep breaths to try and slow her pounding heart and once she felt it was under control, she looked up at him. “Do you like pretending and games, Soarin?”

“Yeah, it’s fun.” Soarin replied. “Sometimes when I’m not performing in the shows, I like to dress up and pretend that I’m that character.”

“Okay, good.” Violet Dawn smiled. “This is all going to be hypothetical alright?” She saw him nod. “Let’s pretend that I really am a Shadowbolt for a moment. What would you say to that?”

Soarin blinked a couple of times. “I wouldn’t believe it. You just don’t seem like you would fit in with the Shadowbolts.” He bit his lip before continuing. “Plus I’d be asking what a nice mare like yourself is doing with them.”

Violet Dawn couldn’t help but to blush at the complement. “Obviously I wouldn’t be able to tell you that.” She laughed. “If I did, then that would blow my whole cover as a ‘nice mare,’ wouldn’t it and that I was really one of them?”

Soarin grinned. “True. Plus the only reason a Shadowbolt would be here is to spy on us, but even then it would be a gutsy move for them.”

“Right. With everypony here being a pegasus, plus a hoof full of Wonderbolts, would be enough of a deterrent for any Shadowbolts.” She took a breath. “But now you on the other hoof, I have no trouble picturing you with the ranks. Young, athletic, disgraced, wanting revenge for being kicked out.”

“Hey! I’m not a Shadowbolt!” Soarin exclaimed, his annoyance at being called a Shadowbolt started shining through.

“I know you’re not. It’s all pretend right now.”

“Oh, right. Kinda forgot about that.” Soarin rubbed the back of his head with a hoof sheepishly. “Sorry, hope I didn’t ruin the fun.”

“It’s fine.” Violet Dawn sighed in relief that she didn’t piss him off and thankfully Soarin took it to be a small pause before they resumed. “So, if you were going to spy on the Wonderbolts without stepping hoof into the academy, how would you do it?”

“If I was one of them, I’d probably watch from afar with a pair of Bindford 6350 binoculars.” The two shared a laugh as they pictured Soarin sitting on a fluffy white cloud with an extremely large pair of binoculars to his eyes and a sign under the cloud reading ‘definitely not a Shadowbolt spying on the Wonderbolts.’ “What about you?”

“I’d only be a part of the Wonderbolts because my great-great-I-forget-how-many-great-grandmare was with them, thus every filly in the family joining them… probably. As for the supposed method, I’d probably would get close to one of the Wonderbolts and befriend them so when we’d end up clashing, they would be hesitant to hurt me.”

“Really?”

“Of course not silly, I’d be the one to hide during any kind of conflict.” Violet Dawn giggled. “To be honest, I hate the idea of fighting.” And yet, I’d gladly do it.

“Fighting does suck. The moment it starts, both sides lose.” Soarin paused as Violet Dawn gave him an odd look. “Sorry, it was something one of my mentors told me a long time ago.”

“That’s cool, I was just surprised that’s all. You don’t seem like a philosophical type.” Violet Dawn looked down at her hooves and slowly tapped them together a few times.

“Oh? So then what type do I seem like to you?” Soarin asked curiously.

“Like the ones that would be flying rather than thinking.” She wasn’t sure what made her do it, but Violet Dawn leaned in and kissed Soarin’s cheek before checking the clock to hide her blush. “I probably should run before the nurses realize I’m not in my room.”

Soarin blushed when she kissed him but nodded as she limped towards the door. “It was fun talking to you, Violet. Do you think you can come back sometime?”

Violet Dawn opened the door and checked to make sure the hallways were empty before she looked back at him. “Thanks, it was fun talking to you as well.” She tried to wave with a wing, but winced so she settled for a hoof wave instead. “I’ll come back around later if I can.” She gave him a smile before leaving and once the door closed, it was replaced by a sad frown. If you only had realized the truth in what I said…. She thought and made her way to her room.

Fainthoof saw the ballroom emerge as he and White Rose emerged from the shadows while the ribbons matching their colors fluttered down behind them. “Really would be nice for those things to stop announcing us.” He muttered more annoyed than anything.

“When you figure out how, I’ll gladly listen, master.” White Rose replied as Frost Aura descended from the stairs.

“Glad you two are here.” Frost Aura greeted and waited until he was nearly at the bottom again before speaking. “White Rose, can you round up the others and meet us in the lounge?”

“Yes, master.” White Rose bowed before leaving.

“Fainthoof, we have just uncovered something that you might be interested in.” Frost Aura beckoned Fainthoof to follow him from the ballroom and onto the garden. “How much do you remember your old mentors? From your days at the Training Guild.”

“Mostly their names, and that they were killed by Nightmare Moon except for Thunder Swirl, who was labeled a traitor. That led to the banning of all the Training Guilds.” Fainthoof replied as he also recalled the five Grandmasters being harsh, but then again, that was how it was back then.

“I don’t suppose you knew what happened to their bodies once Nightmare Moon took over?”

“Figured Thunder Swirl would have been left to rot in the dungeons.” Fainthoof figured as they entered a pathway surrounded by tall hedges. Soon they reached a clearing where it branched out into three different directions. “Though I don’t know where the other bodies are.”

Frost Aura stopped and motioned for Fainthoof to stay where he was. “Watch this.” He went over to one of the hedges before sticking his hoof in and pulling out a piece of rope disguised as a vine. The earth split in half before two segments rose up with the corners being pulled on by shadowy chains and revealing a staircase. “I assure you, we knew this existed.”

Frost Aura then led the way down with the earthen doors closing above them. They weren’t in pitch black darkness for long when certain stones began to glow, giving them just enough light to see. Wordlessly, Frost Aura led the way with ease from experience.

“Are you digging more secret tunnels?” Fainthoof asked as they soon came to a tunnel that was freshly dug and the lights now being fueled by lanterns.

“Yes, we have access to many places from here except for a lake a few miles away.” Frost Aura took a lantern from one of the stallions and held it near a wall. Embedded was a full bronze plaque with a single name and the dates on it. “Look familiar?”

Fainthoof let the magic flow to his horn to cast more light and ignored the curses that were directed at him. With another burst of magic, he polished the plaque so everything could be seen clearer. “No way.” He recognized Pinebolt’s name.

“Now for the next one.” Frost Aura pointed over to the next plaque, it bearing Onyx Luck’s name and dates. The third belonged to Spark Chill, and the fourth in the row read Jade Dancer. Under those four, there was another plaque with Thunder Swirl’s name, date –the final year extending past the other four– and a dedication.

“Though only four bodies lie here, we will never forget their sacrifice and dedication to training the first generation of Shadowbolts to serve under Nightmare Moon.” Fainthoof read and stared at the names for a couple minutes longer, before looking at Frost Aura. “Does Violet Dawn know about these?”

“Not yet. We uncovered this yesterday but by then she was already in the hospital.”

“Wait, what? Why would she be there?” Fainthoof depowered his horn and still ignored the curses that were directed at him once more.

“You didn’t recognize her? Oh, right, you probably wouldn’t have.” Frost Aura smirked, the flickering lantern light distorting his appearance to give him a crazy, psychotic slasher smile for a moment before placing the lantern on the ground “She’s undercover for us right now.” As he spoke, he started walking away but went off in a different direction which had them climbing and walking down a short path. “After all, who would expect her to be a Shadowbolt right?”

Fainthoof didn’t answer. “Why wouldn’t I have recognized her? What did you do to me?” When he received no answer, he growled and shoved Frost Aura into a wall. Without warning, the wall swung out causing them to crash onto the floor with Fainthoof on top… and a blade to his throat, one blade right near his horn, two blades positioned right at his wing joints and a hoof very close to his stallionhood.

“Try to force the answer from me and you’ll die while getting molested.” Frost Aura chuckled as Fainthoof reluctantly allowed the other to stand. Once Frost Aura was out of immediate danger, the others removed their hoof-blades –and hoof– from where they were before the other pegasi retreated to various places in the lounge.

The lounge had a wall full of books that was behind where Fainthoof was standing He only really noticed it because the part that swung out bumped into him and forced him to move if he didn’t want his tail to get stuck. Along his right there was a globe, some pictures and a large desk where Serenity Dreams was sitting on the desk as opposed to the chair, the chair being occupied by Neon Echo. There was also a picture that mimicked the Wonderbolt poster, except with the Shadowbolt on it. Across the room from him was the door leading to the rest of the house and a phonograph sitting on a table with records under it. To his left, close to a corner was a rocking pony that Mile High was currently draped over and was slowly moving back and forward. Fainthoof didn’t even want to guess if that rocking pony was anatomically correct or not so he quickly continued to the left side of the wall where three large bay windows sat letting sunlight and a fresh breeze in from the upper part of the windows. Below the window stood a couch with mahogany wood frame and dark emerald green cushions with two pegasi sitting on either end, Shadow sitting on the end closest to him and White Rose sitting roughly in the middle.

“Tell me what you did to me!” Fainthoof demanded as he stared at Frost Aura, who was looking out the window standing on the far side of the couch.

“And if I don’t?” Frost Aura asked calmly, not bothering to look back.

“I’ll kill everyone in the room if it means I can beat the answer out of you, Frost.”

Frost Aura sighed in mocking defeat. “Very well. I can’t let my friends get killed.” He took a breath and watched some clouds float by. “That other night, when you were drunk and drinking with your marefirend, we changed the pendant around your horn a little. Mind you, it was after White Rose took her to the hospital”

Fainthoof blinked as he remembered White Rose with a beat up mare on her back. “Violet Dawn came before Spitfire and I started drinking.” He said, wondering how Frost Aura could have known but a glance at White Rose and he felt a tad stupid for thinking that.

“So? I’m sure you’re aware of memory altering spells. It doesn’t matter which memory I target, be it yesterday or three-hundred years ago.”

Fainthoof channeled his magic slowly, focusing on the hatred he felt for Frost Aura with only a couple of swirls and a spark gave away what he was planning. Seeing his chance, he unleashed a thin, strong beam of energy aimed directly at Frost Aura’s back.

White Rose saw what Fainthoof was planning so she slowly slipped her hoof in between the cushion and back of the couch and pulled out a prism. As he beam fired from Fainthoof’s horn, she threw the prism so it intercepted the beam a few inches from Frost Aura’s back and redirected the energy to blast a hole through the door. No pony moved until after the prism dropped to the floor.

Frost Aura glanced at the door and sighed. “I just had that door replaced as well.” He grumbled and turned back to the others. “Miles, time to go.”

Mile High perked up with a huge grin on his face. “Yippee! Fun time!” He jumped off the rocking pony giving everypony a hard view they all seen before as he flew out the window.

“What’s going on?” Fainthoof asked as he tried to get that mental image out of his mind.

“It means we’re finally putting our plan into action.” Neon Echo smirked. “I was thinking the invasion would never come.” She directed that last statement to Frost Aura, who simply shrugged his wings.

“Invasion?” Fainthoof questioned as he looked at the other pegasi assembled.

“We’ve only been planning to restore Nightmare Moon back to power for a while now.” Serenity Dreams admitted.

“To be honest.” Frost Aura ignored the snort he got from Fainthoof. “We didn’t know if Nightmare Moon was still alive, but thanks to you and Feral Lupus, we know she’s very much alive.”

“Nightmare Moon is gone, Luna admitted that she had to don the armor to save herself.”

Frost Aura shook his head. “Luna will never be rid of Nightmare Moon, they’re the different sides of the same bit. And if she likes it or not, they need each other. So yes, Nightmare Moon is still there, just waiting and biding her time.”

Fainthoof looked worried. “Alright then, where do I come in?”

“From the beginning, we knew your mission to help Spitfire keep an eye on the strange dealings going on, but we also need somepony who knows the interior of Canterlot Castle.” Serenity Dreams told him with a Cheshire cat smile.

“Not doing it.” Fainthoof said flatly the moment Serenity Dreams finished and was already preparing to shadow hop, even if he ended up back in the ballroom. He then cried out in pain as a shrill screeching noise assaulted his ears as his vision turned red.

“Oh I think you will.” Frost Aura smirked as he watch Fainthoof fall to his knees holding his ears tightly against his skull. With a nod, the shrill noise stopped leaving Fainthoof breathing heavily. “You see, right now it’s only attached to your pendant, but imagine we connected your pendant, with your old one.” He let the threat die off but the horrified expression on Fainthoof’s face told him all he needed to know.

“All… alright. I’ll help.” Fainthoof said after a moment and stood up, leaning against the bookshelf for support so he didn’t pass out. He hated for agreeing so quickly, but he wasn’t sure how long it would take them to establish a connection. Little did he know, that Spitfire had heard the shrill screeching as well and was only saved by Fleetfoot, Misty Fly and Silver Lining from plummeting to her death after she blacked out.

In a way, Frost Aura was a little disappointed that Fainthoof gave in so quickly. He had wanted to threaten to bring out Fainthoof’s darker side but since things went quicker, he was able to continue with his plan. “White Rose, Neon Echo, Serenity Dreams, Shadow, let’s go.” He commanded and they all flew out the window.

“Wait!” Fainthoof tried to grab ahold of one of them but he managed to make it to the couch before passing out.

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.