Nightmare Moon’s muzzle was spread into a small, yet pleased grin as she walked around the gigantic training deep within the reaches of her new castle. All around the aforementioned room, there were nightmarish versions of Earth Ponies, Unicorn’s and Pegasus ponies were training each other to the max. Roaring flames of fire, wind, and chirps of lightning echoed about the air, followed by blast of magic that exploded within Nightmare Moon’s sensitive ears. She felt the ground shake beneath her as domes of earth and giant red thorned black vines burst from the icy ground of the castle and lunged at their victims. Any other King or Queen of such an army would’ve been either easily aggravated or downright pissed off that such a thing was happening underneath a castle of all things. However, Nightmare Moon Nocturnis was not like most rulers, and relished in the fact that her Dark Army was training in such a manner. It just told her they’d be all the more ready for the army that was to come, and the other Alicorn leading it, along with the ponies coming after her.

“Yes, my dear children. Keep training to your very limits! Don’t you dare hold back in anything that you’re doing!” Nightmare Moon urged, her turquoise slitted eyes gleaming with glee. “Soon, you will be able to show the army of my dear sister the might of the Dark Army and show them all why the night is better than the day! It won’t be very long before we finally get the revenge I have craved for so long, and I will make sure that it is sweet for all of us!”

All of the Nightmare Dark Army Ponies screeched and his in compliance and continued on with their sparring and training with one another. Their Dark Queen’s words seemed to fuel their spirits and strengthen their fury and determination, and the giant training grounds seemed to become more destructive than ever. This made the fanged smile on Nightmare Moon’s face even wider, so much so that it nearly showed all of her serrated fangs and incisors. As she continued to walk down the training area, her eyes laid upon a cloaked pony that was just outside of the training grounds, observing the ponies around them.

“Ah, Garnet Blaze Bijuu…I didn’t expect to see you of all ponies here.” Nightmare Moon crooned softly, her expression softening at the sight of the pony. “I take it you are rather pleased that your Dark Army is pushing themselves so consistently?”

The aforementioned pony jumped ever so slightly and turned to where Nightmare Moon was, their eyes widening upon seeing the Dark Queen. A hoof suddenly went up to the hood of the cloak, and pulled it back, revealing the face of a Nightmare Earth Pony mare. She had the same palomino colored coat as Crimson Skies, only hers had more of a tan to it than the Shadowbolt Pegasus mare. Her thick mane was a deep garnet orange color, the mane being done in a high ponytail despite its long length, with her hooves being the same color. Her eyes were a gleaming azure blue color, very much like Windslicer’s, both of which were slitted like a cat’s and her Cutie Mark was of a Firefox looming over a blue sphere. The mare’s hind hooves were covered in steel jet-black boots, with a long midnight blue cloak hanging from behind her shoulders, held by a large bright purple gemstone. To finish her appearance off, she had a large silvery and purple scythe having a crescent shaped blade at the end, with a gleaming purple gemstone at the top.

“Oh, Queen Moon! I didn’t see you over there!” Garnet Blaze Bijuu chirped in a bubbly energetic voice. “Oh yes, I’m really happy that my army is training so hard! It’s gonna make the upcoming battle so much more fun!”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that it will be my dear.” Nightmare Moon, reaching over and patting Garnet Blaze on the head, earning a giggle from the Earth Pony mare. “You are a mare that strives for exciting things to happen, and I know that this will probably be the most exciting thing that you’ve ever experienced!”

Garnet Blaze squealed, trotting in place as she held her scythe in her mouth, before calming down and replying, “Oh yay! This battle is going to be so amazing! I can almost feel my scythe shaking in my hooves, like it wants to just go and slice as many ponies as possible before they even get here!” She said, swinging her weapon around as if there was somepony in front of her she was trying to slice. “I can even feel the Tailed Beast inside of me roaring and slamming against its cage too! It really wants to get out! I wanna let it out so badly, but I can’t because our enemies aren’t here, and I feel if they don’t get here it’s gonna just explode!”

“Patience my child…all will come in due time. You won’t have to wait for much longer to unleash the beast nestled within your soul.” Nightmare Moon replied, putting a hoof in the shaking mare’s shoulder. “If there is one thing that being trapped on the Moon has taught me, and quite well might I add, is that patience is a virtue. If you wait long enough, good things will come to you, and trust me when I say, it will be splendid!”

“Um…don’t you mean patience is a virtue?” Garnet Blaze asked, blinking a bit as she tilted her head. “Or something like that?”

“Er, yes dear, that.” Nightmare Moon murmured, sweat dropping a bit. “Forgive me, I was a bit too into the moment there.”

“That’s okay! Everypony gets caught up in the heat of a lot of things, even victory!” Garnet Blaze giggled, going back to her bubbly demeanor. “Just as long as you still remember what’s at stake and what you need to do, it’s all good!”

The sin black Alicorn nodded, smiling in approval at the tan Earth Pony. “Indeed.”

Just then, Nightmare Moon, Garnet Blaze, and just above everypony else either froze or jumped when they heard an enormously loud bang from inside the training room. As it echoed about the room, they heard a familiar voice cry out, “MOTHER!”

Nightmare Moon’s expression of glee turned into one of worry as she looked up and saw her ‘daughter’ flying through the Darky Army like a demon bat out of hell. Judging by the terrified shock on her face, Nightmare Moon believed that something had went seriously wrong, and as Nyx got closer, that feeling grew.

“Mother, mother, you need to come quick!” Nyx cried as she stopped in front of the larger Alicorn and Garnet Blaze. “There’s something you really need to see!”

“Calm down my child, breath, please.” Nightmare Moon instructed firmly, yet calmly. “What is going on?”

Nyx took a couple of minutes catch her breath, before she finally looked up at her ‘mother’, her draconic eyes as wide as the horseshoes on her hooves. After sucking in another large breath, she finally began to speak. ”I...I was outside of the castle looking out into the horizon when I saw some light coming from the Everfree Plains! At first I thought that it was just animals fighting, but when I got a closer look I realized that it was actually ponies; at least thirteen of them!

“Thirteen ponies?” Nightmare Moon murmured, her eyes widening slightly. She took a moment to think, before she looked back at her daughter and asked. “Hold on…one of them didn’t happen to be a Thestral mare with golden yellow eyes, tri-colored forelegs, and much too long for a mane and tail, would they?”

“Y…yes, there was a mare that looked like that, she also didn’t have a Cutie Mark either.” Nyx added, looking to have finally caught her breath. “Are…are those the mares that you were telling me about that were after the Elements of Harmony?”

“If one of them was that excuse of a Thestral, then there’s no doubt that they are.” Nightmare Moon snarled softly, looking off to the side. “Also, you said that there are six other ponies with them? What did they look like? Were they Royal Guards or were they Ariel Flyers?”

“Well, one of them was a Pegasus stallion that had a deep royal blue coat, a deep blue and golden yellow mane and tail with garnet eyes. Another was a Pegasus mare with an ebony black coat with a black and dark purple mane and tail with golden yellow eyes. There were also two Pegasus ponies that had black striped dark grey coats, with black manes and tails; one having light blue eyes, and the other having deep red eyes. There was a palomino colored Pegasus mare with a chocolate mane and tail and sky-blue eyes, and a light brown Thestral stallion with a light brown and deep red mane and tail skirt, along with violet eyes.” Nyx quickly explained, naming out the Shadowbolt's descriptions in the blink of an eye. “There was also another creature there…a cross between a bird and a pony. He had a deep indigo mane and tail, with an azure blue coat, and even lighter blue eyes as well. I don’t know about that creature, but I could tell from the body language of the other six ponies, that one is a Royal Guard, and the others are Ariel Flyers.”

“Wow, not that is a lot more of ponies, more than I thought there’d be!” Garnet commented, looking pretty surprise. “It looks like Queen Moon’s sister sent more ponies to get the Elements of Harmony that I thought she would.”

“A cross between a pony and a bird…now I know that I’ve heard a creature like that before, but where?” Nightmare Moon murmured, looking down at the ground. A moment later, she shook her head before addressing Nyx once more. “No matter, the fact that there are over thirteen ponies, one being another Thestral, and another creature I’ve never seen before lets me know that our foes have come sooner than I thought.”

“Yes…much sooner than we both thought they would.” Nyx murmured. “What’re we going to do?”

“Don’t worry my dear daughter, I know exactly what to do.” Nightmare Moon assured, putting a hoof on the smaller Alicorn’s shoulder. “Captain Nightshade!”

In less than two seconds, the Captain of the Galaxy Star Bolts came swooping in, and gave a brief bow to her Queen. “Your Majesty?”

“Oh good, you’re here.” Nightmare Moon said, smiling with approval. “It appears that our dear opponents have arrived a little bit ahead of schedule, and they have some allies with them, several of them being Ariel Flyers. I want you and the rest of your team to go and take care of them, but don’t lay a hoof on the others they have with them. I will take care of them myself, along with a few other members of my army.”

“Are you wish my Queen.” Nightshade nodded, standing upright before calling out into the room. “Stratus, Blueball, Starry Skies, Charger, let’s go! We have a few unwanted guests that we need to take care of!”

With those words, the Galaxy Star Bolt Captain spread her wings and took off towards the double doors of the training room, her team following close behind. As they left, Nyx turned back to her mother and asked, “Wait, you’re only sending the Galaxy Star Bolts out there? Wouldn’t it make sense to at least sent a couple of other ponies out there too?”

“Yeah, I wanna slice somepony in half!” Garnet Blaze nodded, frowning in disappointment. “Why can’t I go out there?!”

“Worry not my dear children… the Galaxy Star Bolts will be able to take care of whatever problem that arises with those seven ponies’ new allies.” Nightmare Moon assured. “As for the Royal Guard and the…other unusual creature with them, well, it’s not like Garnet Blaze and her Army can’t take care of them.” She glanced back down at the tan Nightmare Earth Pony. “Not yet though, all in good time.”

“Awww…” Garnet Blaze murmured, hanging her head dejectedly.

“Oh, well that does make sense…I’m sorry mother.” Nyx murmured apologetically. “So, are you and I going to take on the rest of the ponies outside?”

“Well, you yes, but me…at least not yet.” Nightmare Moon replied, smiling down at her ‘daughter’. “I have another group of ponies that I want to put against those seven ponies…not only to make things fairer, but to see if they really have what it takes to face off against me.”

Nyx paused, a sinking feeling coming into her gut as she stared up at her ‘mother’. Although she had a very good guess as to what ponies Nightmare Moon was talking about, she still couldn’t help but ask, “W…what ponies will you put against those other seven?”

“Only the some of most formidable members of Dark Army Ponies that I have, besides our dear Garnet Blaze Bijuu here.” Nightmare Moon replied, patting the aforementioned mare on her head. “For those seven mares, I’m unleashing…the Savage Six.”

Flames tore and ate through the grass of the Everfree plains as it lit up into the night sky, smoke slowly rising from the bats that were either aflame or charred to crisps. The armor of Goku, Twilight and the other six mares with them shined as brightly as the Moon above them as they surveyed the plains, keeping a lookout for their feline opponents. None of them noticed any sign or magic feeling of the Farukonchītās that they were fighting just a few minutes ago after Goku had sent them flying away in a burning mess. The Shadowbolts, Sky Ranger, and Zephyr stayed suspended above them, keeping an extra eye out for the cats, or any other Farukonchītās that may have heard the commotion and came to investigate.

“Well you guys, whaddya see?!” Goku shouted up to the sky after another moment of silence. “I don’t see any of the Farukonchītās around here, do you?!”

“No, we don’t!” Zephyr shouted back. “We’re still looking around, but we cant’s see them! We can’t even feel their magical essence right now, so they’re not close by yet!”

“I see…it looks like I packed much more power into that attack than I thought.” Goku murmured, looking down at the burnt ground beneath her. “I wonder if overdid it with that last one…”

“I think you may have, with just how much fire that I saw you pack within your last technique.” Fluttershy said draping a gigantic wing over the tan Thestral. “Still though, I wouldn’t be too worried about them. Farukonchītās are known for recovering quit quickly from critical injuries like the ones you have given them…they’re not just quick on their paws and with their magic you know.”

“Yeah, and that’s exaclty why we need to be on guard, at least until we get to the castle.” Twilight advised, walking up to the two flyers. “We don’t want to give any indication that we’re still here before those cats come back to try to get us again. The longer we stay here, especially in these forms, the greater we’re going to get taken by surprised by the Farukonchītās.”

“So…” Pinkie Pie murmured. “…you’re saying that we need to get out of our Ascension Modes and keep a low profile?”

“Ah’m pretty sure that’s exaclty what Twi’s sayin’ Pinks.” Applejack murmured bluntly. “Ah’m startin’ t’ git a lil’ but uncomfortable in this form anyway, so I think we’d better change back now.”

“Very well then darling, if that’s what you want.” Rarity sighed, closing her eyes as her armored body shined and went back into her normal form, along with the others. “It is a bit disappointing too…I really was starting to enjoy being in that form. It really did help me give off quite the graceful appearance if I do say so myself.”

“You mean like all of the other times you went into it?” Rainbow Dash deadpanned. “Especially inside of your head?”

The alabaster Unicorn nodded eagerly. “Yes, exaclty like that dear.”

At that moment, Zephyr came flying into the scene. “Alright, it looks like we’re all done here, so we should probably get going. We have a bigger chance of not being scene now that none of you are in your Ascension modes Anymore, but there’s still a chance that we may be detected before we’re even seen.”

“Zephyr’s right, if our Ascension Modes give us away, the wind will.” Sky Ranger added, looking about the Everfree Plains, even as the fire slowly dimmed out. “Farukonchītās have a smell that’s just as good, if not better than the antelopes of Zebrica. If the wind so much as blows into the direction that Goku sent those Farukonchītās, they are going to be on our tails before they even see us in their line of sight.”

“Good idea honey, let’s-” Violet Fire began, only to stop as her nostrils flared, and she took a few sniffs of the air. A second later, her eyes widened, and a grave expression came to her face. “Oh no…”

“What is it Captain Violet Fire?” Blue Skies asked softly. “Do you sense the Farukonchītā brothers coming?”

“Well, yes and no honey.” Violet Fire said, slowly turning to look behind her. “I sense a Farukonchītā nearby…but it’s not the brothers.”

As if to show who it really was, a shadow slowly began to emerge through the golden grass, said grass giving crunches with each step that came closer. As the figure drew nearer, two dark leaf green orbs shone through the grass, and before anypony knew it, a Farukonchītā emerged from the grass, talons, wings, sabers and all. Just one look at the cat let them know that it was not one of the Farukonchītā brothers, but another one entirely. It was slightly smaller, giving most of the ponies the impression that it was a female, its fur being a solid ocean blue in color, as it her fur was made from the very ocean itself. Her body was adorned with even darker midnight blue spots, made in the same way as the lead Farukonchītā’s own coat, and her wings being a combination of her fur and eye color. Her body was hunched, and her teeth were borne ever so slightly, not exactly hostile, but not overly friendly either.

“Oh great, it’s another one of them!” Rainbow Dash snorted, glaring at the cat. “What does this one want with us?”

“I don’t know, but maybe we should ask her…something is telling me that she’s not here to eat us.” Goku replied, keeping a wing flared out to keep the cyan mare in place. “Fluttershy?”

The buttermilk Pegasus nodded, slowly walking up to the female Farukonchītā as to not make her feel threatened. The cat hissed a soft warning at her as she approached, her talon-like claws unsheathing some as the Pegasus got closer. Fluttershy stopped just short of the Farukonchītās foreleg length, and began to gently speak to her.

“Hello Ms. Farukonchītā, it’s very nice to meet you this fine evening.” Fluttershy cooed, her gentle and soothing tone making the cat pause. “I hope we didn’t scare you or anything. We were just trying to make our way through these plains and ever to that castle is all.”

The female Farukonchītā blinked for a few moments, looking back at the gigantic castle, before looking back at Fluttershy. She gave a few soft hisses and growls towards the buttermilk mare, and a moment later, Fluttershy’s eyes went wide.

“W-what? Of course we weren’t trying to come after your cubs!” Fluttershy replied, not noticing the wide eyes looks shot her way. “Why in the world would you think that? Especially since we’re all ponies?!”

The female Farukonchītās ears went back, and it pawed at the ground, hissing and growling for. few moments longer as she gestured with her forepaws. The more Fluttershy listened, the more understanding the look on her face became more present, not noticed by most of the others. When the Farukonchītā finally stopped its communication with the mare, Fluttershy turned back to the others, allowing them all see the guilt-ridden expression on her face and in her eyes.

“Everypony…” She began softly, rubbing her left foreleg. “I think we may have made a big lapse of judgement with the Farukonchītā coalition.”

“What’re ya talkin’ ‘bout sugarcube?” Applejack asked, raising a golden eyebrow.

“What Fluttershy means, is that the brothers weren’t trying to kill us.” Goku replied, having heard the conversation with her sensitive ears. “They were trying to keep us from getting to their family.”

“There…their family?” Rarity asked. “I’m afraid that I’m not understanding what you’re saying darling.”

“What I’m implying is that the Farukonchītā coalition has a family with this female, and I’m pretty sure that the biggest brother is the one who’s her mate.” The tan Thestral continued. “From what I heard her say to Fluttershy, she was nursing her six cubs when she felt magical essences, ours, from somewhere inside the plains, and she had her mate and his brothers go investigate. Which lead to us having the fight we did with them and me well…sending them flying.”

“R-really?” Twilight stammered slightly. “So…the reason why they attacked us wasn’t because we were looking for food. It was because they…they were…”

“Protecting their offspring.” Lightning Shadow murmured. “The female Farukonchītā sensed a threat to her cubs, and wanted no harm to come to them. So, in order to protect them, she had her mate and his brothers go and get rid of it…which turned out to be us.”

Sky Ranger’s ears flattened against his skull. “Oh my…”

“Awwww…we’re sorry poor kitty! We didn’t mean to frighten you or may you scared!” Pinkie Pie cooed sadly, her mane and tail drooping as her colors started to turn blue. “We didn’t you had your adorable little kitties with you hiding somewhere along here! We thought your mate and his brothers were trying to eat us and we ended up messing them up really bad! Can you forgive us?!”

Before the Farukonchītā could reply, the sound of several impacts echoed about the spot the ponies, hippogriff, and spotted feline were in. Flames immediately erupted and swirled around the group, and they all screamed out in terror. All except or the female Farukonchītā, who looked to know what was happening, and not looking pleased by it either.

“Oh, COME ON!” Rainbow Dash yelled. “We had just dealt with these guys?! can they really recover form an ass kicking that quickly?!”

“You tell me Rainbow Dash!” Fast Tracks exclaimed. “Do these flames give you a good enough answer?!”

The forms of the five Farukonchītā brothers slowly emerged from the roaring flames before the cyan mare could answer. Their eyes pierced through each of the ponies’ skulls as they glared at them, their smoked, charted and cut flames slowly healing before their eyes. The largest one walked past his mate, not sparing her a second glance as he stood in front of Fluttershy, who stayed rooted where she was. She glanced back at the female within the group, only to see her staring right back, and in those few moments, a brief message passed through them, as if they were communicating on a telepathic level. Just as quickly as they locked eyes they looked away and Fluttershy stared right back into the red ones of the lead Farukonchītā, who looked to be ready to attack.

A blue blur suddenly shot in front of the feline before he could, and it took him a second to realize that it was his made doing it. Her wings were flared, and she her teeth were borne to their fullest extent, making her mate stop dead in his tracks. She hissed and growled at the male that wasn’t in any way hostile, but in a way that all but demanded him to listen.

“What…what is she doing?” Zephyr asked, surprised by the female Farukonchītā’s actions. “I thought that her mate was going to attack us.”

“He was.” Goku replied. “But it looks like her mate is stopping us from doing so.”

The next minute or two, the two Farukonchītās conversed, soft hisses, purrs, and growls resounding from them as they did so. The ponies stood behind them, keeping their guards up as they glanced at each of the other four, who looked to be waiting for their leader’s command. Another minute later, the male Farukonchītā glanced back at Fluttershy, walking towards her in a way that let her know he had something to say. She listened intently as he growled in hissed at her, his tail swaying behind her as he stood protectively in front of his mate.

“Yes, I can assure you that none of us were here to harm your cubs or your mate. We didn’t even have any idea that your family was even here.” Fluttershy replied softly, glancing back at her friends. “Right guys?”

“Weeeeeeeell…” Pinkie Pie said innocently. “Sky Ranger did tell us that there was a super scary creature here in these plains and that it was-”

“Pinkie!” Rainbow Dash shouted, cuffing the Earth Pony on the back of her head.

“Uh, I mean…yeah, we really did not know that you were here!” Pinkie Pie nodded, realizing her mistake. “Like I said, we really thought that you and your brothers were trying to eat us, that’s all, honest!”

For the longest several moments, the Farukonchītā did nothing, his bloody orbs for eyes staring deep into the ones of each of the ponies, Sky Ranger’s included. They all stared right back, showing as much honesty in their eyes as possible as to avoid not getting eaten again. Eventually, the cat looked away, and with a soft hiss to his brothers, they all made their way towards their eldest brother, before stepping off to the side, allowing the group to pass.

“W…what?” Rarity breathed. “They’re...letting us go?”

“Well duh, they believe us when we said what we said so obviously.” Rainbow Dash replied, gesturing to the six felines. “Now come on, let’s get to that castle already! It’s already within our reach, and I wanna get to that Nightmare bitch already!”

“We get it Dash, keep yer saddle on.” Applejack sighed, grabbing the cyan mare’s tail and pulling her back. “Let’s all go together though, don’t wanna risk ya gettin’ caught like with last time before we faced off against those wooly lil’ doggies.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “One time.”

“Well, if they’re letting us go than I say we go now.” Fast Tracks said, flying head. “I really don’t want to have my eyes clawed out by these guys.”

Blue Skies nodded. “You and me both.”

As the ponies and one hippogriff made their way through the Farukonchītā family, Fluttershy stopped upon hearing a sudden hiss from behind her. Looking back, she saw the lead Farukonchītā hissing at her, his ears pinned back, and his teeth bared in a way that made it seem like he was giving her a warning. Fluttershy let out an audible gulp, and nodded towards the feline, before quickly trotting ahead, stopping next to Goku.

“You okay there Fluttershy?” Goku asked, noticing the mare’s look. “You look like you’ve seen a spirit or something.”

“Y-yes, I’m fine; the Farukonchītās were just giving us a little farewell.” Fluttershy replied, taking a few deep breaths. “He…he also added a little bit of a warning to us…all of us.”

The tan Thestral’s eyebrow raised. “Oh? and what did he tell you?”

Fluttershy hesitated for a few moments, before looking Goku in the eyes and saying. “The lead Farukonchītā said…that if gets any suspicion that we’re after him and his family, even after what happened just now, then he was going to show us the biggest reasons why his kind are known as the Demons of Speed. Emphasis on the demon part, and not in a way thay any of us will like.”

Against everypony’s expectations, the gallop and flight to the castle of the two sisters didn’t not take anywhere near as long as the group thought that it would. It took just another ten minutes before the group found themselves at the very edge of the Everfree Plains, just in front of the Nightmare Castle. They would’ve merely walked their way up to it, had it not been for the giant crevasse that went all the way around the castle in a giant circle. It left them no choice but to fly each other over to the caste, except there was a large icy bridge right in front of them allowing them a free path up the castle.

“This…is not what I was expecting to see.” Rarity replied after a long stretch of silence. “I mean, we all did see the castle but…I wasn’t expecting to see a bridge here.”

“Forget the bridge, look at the ground around the castle!” Twilight said, pointing at the icy grass and dirt not too far away from them. “It’s all a bright icy blue color rather than its usual green and brown color, and its glittering like diamonds. Do you think that Nightmare Moon cover it with magic or something?”

“Ah have no idea, but one thing Ah will say.” Applejack replied, pawing at the ground beneath her golden hooves. “It looks really cold an’ hard enough t’ slip on.”

“That it does.” Goku nodded. “So is anypony going to muster up enough bravery to go and investigate?”

“I will!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed before anypony could. “I’m real sick and tired of you always taking the lead on things G! This time, I’m going to take the lead and see what freaky things that Nightmare Moon has for us out here!”

“Fee free Dash, but we’re going to be coming with you just in case.” Violet Fire said softly, yet firmly. “Not that we’re doubting your capabilities, but we’d rather not take the chance of you getting yourself caught or attacked like the last couple of times you did.”

Rainbow Dash snarled. “One time, V, one time!”

The ebony black mare giggled as she and the rest of her team followed Rainbow Dash over the icy bridge, where the behemoth of a castle was standing. They looked around the front yard of the castle, taking in the sight of the gleaming and icy looking grass and ground around them. Even though it looked like they could slip on them they still moved and swayed as it was any other ordinary grass.

“Wow, now this stuff is just weird.” Fast Tracks murmured. “It looks like Nightmare Moon made a bit more decorations to her castle than she thought she would.”

“Uh-huh…” Blue Skies nodded. “…and it looks really cold too. I feel like I’ll freeze over if I even step on it!”

“Exaclty what I was thinking.” Lightning Shadow murmured. “As unusual as this all looks, we still shouldn’t let that distract us. If we let our guards down for even one second, then we’ll be falling into whatever trap that Nightmare Moon has for us.”

Lightning Shadow nodded. “And that will be bad for all of us here, and not just the Shadowbolts either.”

“Did you find anything Rainbow Dash?” Violet Fire asked, glancing over at the cyan mare, who was also glancing around. “Anything like a trap or something?”

“No, nothing yet, but the second I do, I’m going to blast it all the way back to kingdom come and beyond!” Rainbow Dash replied. “And anypony here tries a sneak attack on me, I’ll drive them into the ground!” After a few more moments of searching, Rainbow Dash relaxed and called to the rest of her friends. “Alright guys, the bridge is nice and secure! You can come on and cross it now!”

If the cyan mare was expecting any response from the rest of her friends, she didn’t immediately get one from any of them. They all stood where they were, as if some unknown force was holding them in place and keeping them from crossing the bridge.

“Uh, you guys, did you hear me?!” Rainbow Dash asked even louder. “I said that you could cross now!”

This time, the Pegasus did get a response from one of her friends, this one being from Applejack. However, Rainbow was completely unprepared for the farmer’s words.

“Uh, Rainbow Dash,” The tangerine mare called out, her voice filled with confusion in worry. “Ya might wanna take a look down into this ‘ere pit ya went down!”

“What?!” The cyan mare asked in surprise. “Why?!”

“Just look down hon’!” Applejack continued, pointing a hoof down. “Ah think ya might see somethin’ thay may worry ya!”

Raising a prismatic eyebrow, Rainbow Dash walked over to the edge of the cliff on the left side of the bridge. Looking down, she felt her entire body stiffen and her blood freeze over when she saw a faint light spreading all throughout the pit. As she continued to stare down at it, she began to notice that it was getting progressively brighter.

‘Wait…is that really light coming from out of there? Because that seriously looks like something else down there.’ Rainbow Dash thought to herself, flicking her tail. As the strange light continued to travel up, her ears picked up a weird crunching sound, and recognition clicked in her eyes, horror gripping her heart. ‘Wait…that’s not light…that’s-!’

As Rainbow Dash kept staring down at the crevasse below her, Fast Tracks came up to her and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Yo Dash, what’s going on? is there something you’re seeing down in that crevasse there?”

No sooner did those words leave the light brown stallion’s mouth, the cyan mare found herself calling out to the rest of her friends. “VIOLET FIRE, EVERYPONY!!! GET THE BUCK OVER HERE NOW!!!” Rainbow Dash screamed, making Fast Tracks jump back in shock. “THERE’S A WALL OF ICE HEADING UP THIS CREVASSE; HURRY!!!”

None of them needed to be told a second time, for the Shadowbolts were already flying towards the cyan mare before she even finished talking. Goku and the rest were following behind just a couple seconds later, with Sapphire tailing behind them. As they made their way across the bridge, the light below them glowed brighter, much brighter than before. Right as they were about to reach the end, there was a loud rumbling before the light exploded into a bright ethereal light that they had seen from inside the forest before battling the serpents. It just barely missed Sky Ranger as he and the rest of the group collided with it, preventing them from reaching their friends, soon turning into a giant wall of impenetrable ice.

“Oh no, we’re trapped!” Rainbow Dash cried, rearing up and slamming her forehooves on the ground. “I seriously did not expect Nightmare Moon to have a wall of ice waiting for us! how did she manage to make one this big?!”

“I have no idea, but I was not expecting that either.” Fast Tracks replied, a frown forming on his face. “Then again, there could be some other crevices and entrances down in that pit, so she could’ve used that to hide this ice wall-er…case to trap us..”

“Well, she certainly selected her ice wall’s hiding place quite precisely. I’ll give her that…” Lightning Shadow grunted, her ears flattening. “What I don’t understand is, why isn’t she coming out to confront us?”

“…Yeah…good question.” Storm Shadow murmured, her eyes scanning the area. “You think she might be sending somepony else here?”

“Maybe, but I guess we’ll find out soon enough.” Violet Fire replied, standing protectively beside Rainbow Dash. “Stay on guard everypony, be sure to keep your eyes open all around you; especially in the ground.”

Right as those words left the ebony black mare’s mouth, another voice floating through the misty area.

“Rainbow Dash…Rainbow Dash…”

The cyan mare’s head snapped into the direction of the voice, her ears swiveling left and right as she tried to determine if she really heard it. A moment passed, and she slowly began to relax, thinking that she must’ve been hearing things. As she turned to look at Violet Fire, the voice called out to her again.

“Rainbow Dash, come here my dear.”

“Rainbow Dash, is something the matter?” Violet Fire asked, lifting up her goggles as she gave the other mare a look of worry. “Do you see an animal nearby?”

“No…but I definitely hear somepony calling out my name.” Rainbow Dash replied curtly, her pinned and her lips curled back slightly.

“Somepony’s calling you?” Fast Tracks said, his ears perking up in alarm. “Is…is it Nightmare Moon?”

“No, I don’t think so…it doesn’t sound like it’s her. So, I’m sure that it’s somepony else saying my name.” The cyan mare replied, not looking at the light brown stallion. With a snort, she whirled around and lowered her head, planting her hooves wide as she flared her wings. “Whose there, c’mon out and show yourself! I heard you calling out my name, so why don’t you come out and well me who you are!” She shouted, baring her fangs out to their fullest extent as her wing claws jutted out.

“Oh, don’t look so scared Rainbow Dash, we’re not here to hurt you.” The voice, sounding quite feminine said reassuringly. “It’s alright, we’re not here to harm you, or your little friends either.”

“Oh yeah? I highly doubt that!” Fast Tracks shouted back, obviously not believing…whoever it was that was talking. “If you’re not trying to attack us or Dash, then why are you hiding like you are trying to?! As far as I’m concerned, anypony who does that is just asking for trouble!”

“Hmmmm, yes…it does seem like we’re doing that aren’t we? We apologize of we’re coming off as a little…suspicious to you all.” The voice said, echoing about the mist like a gentle breeze. “We can assure you, that we’re not here with any intention to harm any of you…as a matter of a fact, we’ve actually been expecting you from quite some time now.”

“Expecting us?" Storm Shadow repeated, tilting her head slightly. “You mean, you’ve been waiting for us and Rainbow Dash to come here?”

“Well, maybe not all of you per say, since the four of you looked to be quite the…dark and formidable Ariel Flight Team.” The unknown mare said, an unnerving chuckle following her words. “We’ve been mostly expecting that beautiful young mare you have with you there.”

“Wait, do you mean Rainbow Dash?!” Lightning Shadow asked, her ruby eyes widening as she made the connection. When there was no reply the light grey mare’s ears pinned back as she dragged her hoof across the ground. “What do you want with her?!”

“We can assure you that it’s nothing bad if that’s you may be thinking.” The mare replied, her tone carrying what sounded like mild amusement. “We can tell just by the look of her that she’s quite the experienced flyer, which makes it all the more wonderful that she’s here.”

“Why are you so interested in how good of a flyer she is?” Violet Fire asked firmly, her tone laced with suspicion as she put a protective wing in front of Rainbow Dash. “As a matter of a fact, how do you even know her name like she asked? If you know her name, then you must know just how good of a flyer she is!”

“Oh, we do my dear, we all most certainly do know that she is an excellent flyer. The bravest, most magnificent flyer in all of the land.” The mare replied, her voice seeming to flow like water through a stream. “And it is for that reason alone that we are here to see her in pony.”

“Is that so?” Fast Tracks asked briskly, his violet eyes flashing. “Then I guess you wouldn’t mind telling us just what other reason you’re here to see her. Based on how you’re talking about her, you must be a Pegasus like us, so let me ask you this. Why is it that you’re so concerned about how well she can fly? And why is it that you’re so thrilled that she’s a Pegasus?”

“So we could see if you would accept our offer that we plan to give her.” The mare replied simply. “One that I’m sure without a single shadow of a doubt that she would not want to refuse…”

“Offer?” Rainbow Dash paused, getting out of her offensive stance and standing upright. “What do you mean by offer? Just what are you planning to offer me?”

“The offer to join the greats, fastest, most powerful Ariel Fight Team in all of the Everfree; and soon to be all of Equestria. Along with the entire universe!” The mare said, her voice raising in volume and power. “The graceful, the formidable, the unpredictable, and the magnificent…Galaxy Star Bolts!”

The moment those three words were said, a powerful blast of wind rocketed out from within the mist, wave of dust to rush towards Rainbow Dash and the rest of the Shadowbolts. The cyan mare enough time to widen her eyes before she found herself in the protective embrace of Violet Fire as the dust swept over them. They and the rest of the team stayed like that for a few moments, before it receded, allowing the several Pegasi to get up from their ducked positions and look around. They saw the outlines of ponies walking out of the shadows, and immediately put up fighting stances as they came closer to them. When the unknown figures fully came into view, each of the other Pegasi felt their eyes widen in surprise and total shock.

The ponies standing in front of them, as Rainbow Dash and the others expected, were Pegasus ponies like them, as evident by the wings spread on either side of them. There were at least five of them, as they looked very closely, the cyan mare and the Shadowbolts could see that each of them had some very distinguishing features on all of them. There were two stallions and three mares, all of which looking to be quite large and foreboding, each of them covered in an ethereal aura. Rainbow Dash and the Shadowbolts could also see that it they were dressed in suits that were very similar, yet at the same time, very different from theirs.

Like the Shadowbolts, their suits were black, but instead of it just being where their head masks and hooves were, it was black almost all over. All over their suits, were the outlines of a rather beautiful multitude of stars, just like the ones found in the Milky Way Galaxy. It was as if they were wearing the very galaxy itself, due to how the unknown Pegasi’s suits seem to twinkle brightly in the mist. Where their masks were, they were shade a deep midnight blue, also having the same stars within the larger part of the suit, with the same being where their hooves were. In between those two colors, where a line of pure white stars going around their necks, and hooves, preventing the colors form merging into one another. As a finishing touch to their attire, right where their flanks are, where their Cutie Marks were supposed to be, was the symbol of the Milky Way Galaxy, with a golden star right in the middle.

Another thing that Violet Fire, her team, and Rainbow Dash noticed was the dark and vibrant colors of their manes, tails, and muzzles that stuck out from within their suits. The first one, in the middle, was a mare, with a royal blue mane and tail and a light blue coat, and deep peru red eyes that were lighter than Moon Blade’s. The second pony at the right side of her was a stallion with a spikey cyan mane and tail, with streaks of white in the center of the. His muzzle was a very pale grey color, with what looked to be a scar on the left side of his mouth, and he had a pair of sea green eyes. The third pony on the left side of the first one was a mare with a deep shade of bluish-purple fur, a lighting shaped bluish violet mane and tail. Her eyes were a very pale lavender, and there even looked to be volts of electricity dancing about her mane and tail, which really took the other ponies by surprise. The fourth pony next to the second one was a mare with pale violet fur, and a somewhat wavy pale pink mane and tail with white streaks, and deep ocean blue eyes. The last pony at the far right of the third pony was a stallion with greenish gray fur, along with a bit of a goatee formed under his chin. He had a silvery cyan mane and tail, the tail looking like it was shaped like a tornado, and he had a set of gleaming emerald green eyes.

“Holy shit…” Rainbow Dash said, staring wide-eyed at the Pegasi in front of her and the Shadowbolts. “Are…are you guys the Galaxy Star Bolts?”

“Why yes Rainbow Dash, we most certainly are.” The first pony, the mare from earlier, replied smoothly, flashing the cyan mare a small grin. “So…do you all like what you see?”

“Like what we see? We don’t even know what we’re supposed to be looking at!” Fast Tracks exclaimed, taking a couple steps back. “Just what in the hay are we even supposed to be looking at anyway?!”

“Oh come now, weren’t you listening to a thing that I just said?” The mare chuckled, giving a light shake of her head. “Though, I suppose I can’t blame you for being so shocked. This is the first time you’re seeing a team as rare as us, so I can see why you’re having such a hard time taking this in.”

“Not really…some of us are just a little taken aback by how some of you look. Though, we can see why you’re called the Galaxy Star Bolts, since you do have that galaxy texture and stars in your suits.” Storm Shadow replied calmly, her bright blue eyes scanning over each of the Pegasi in front of her and her team. “Speaking of which? Would you mind telling us who you all are? I don’t think it’d be very appropriate for us to be calling you by your team name. Plus, something tells me you already know our names too, so you may as well tell us all of yours.”

“Why yes Storm Shadow, we do…we know quite a bit about you and your team…along with your dear sweet Captain Violet Fire.” The first mare said casually, giving the dark grey Pegasus a small grin. “But you are right, where are my manners? It would be appropriate for me to tell mine and the rest of my team’s name. We wouldn’t want to start our little contest when we don’t even know both teams’ names, now would we?”

The royal blue maned mare walked over to the cyan blue Pegasus stallion beside her. “This fierce looking stallion is Stratus, he’s just as fierce as he looks and is quite the fighter in the air. He also has…a bit of a temper, and is quite prone to get angry very easily, so you may want to watch what you say around him.”

“Damn straight.” Stratus growled, his voice deep and gruff as he glared at the other Pegasi in front of him. “None of you had better mess with me in any way, or else you’re gonna find yourselves in a full body wing and hoof cast, drinkin’ through a straw! That I can promise you!”

“See? Quite the anger…” The Galaxy Stat Bolt leader said with a slight giggle, before gesturing to the pink maned mare besides Stratus. “This lovely mare is Starry Skies…she’s quite the experienced user of the wind and storms, and knows how to use them better than anypony here. Anypony who’s in this tactful mare’s line of wind or lighting attack from her will find it extremely difficult to escape it, let alone, survive it.”

“Pleased you make your acquaintance, fellow brothers and sisters.” Starry Skies said sweetly, giving a polite head bow. “I do hope that we have a wonderful time getting to know each other.”

Giving the pale pink maned Pegasus, now named Starry Skies, a pat on the back, the first mare turned to the bluish violet maned mare beside her. “This little vibrant sweetheart of a mare here is called Blueball Blitz. I know what you may be thinking right now, why is it that she has little electric volts in her mane? Well, I’ll put it to you this way…dear Blitz here has quite the affinity for lightning and thunder. So much so that it’s like she was destined to master it before she even used it. I would advise you to be very careful with her…she has the tendency to get carried away with our little…playdates.”

“Hiya! It’s really really, REALLY nice to meet all of you!” Blueball Blitz replied in an overly cheerful voice, giving Rainbow Dash and the Shadowbolts and unnaturally wide grin. “I can’t wait for the all the super-duper awesome fun that we’re going to have! I hope that you all can keep up with me, because I do not hold back in any type of fun ever, heehee!”

‘Yeesh…’ Rainbow Dash murmured, a chill running down her spine. ‘This mare is like a Pegasus version of Pinkie Pie!’

Blue Skies whimpered. “S-scary…!”

“Oh yes, that reminds me…little Blueball Blitz is potentially the fastest one here in the entire team. So be sure that you can keep up with her in the air like she said, or else you’ll find yourself in for quite the…shocker of a result of your mistake.” The Galaxy Star Bolt leader said, giving Blueball an affectionate pat on the head, before turning to the last Pegasus with her. “This handsome stallion here is Charger, one of the best weather masters here on the team, besides me and Starry Skies. His name is rather fitting of his skills, because he can charge up quite the amount of power in any of his attacks and make them as strong as he likes. So be sure to make any of your attacks as strong as his if you ever end up facing him…or you’ll find yourself in quite the whirlwind of trouble.”

“Hey there little kiddies.” Charger said, his voice, deep and raspy, yet smooth. “A nice time to meet ya this fine night. I hope get to know each other quite well, if you’re willin’.”

“Hmhmhm, quite the gentlemen, isn’t he?” The first mare said as she walked away from charger to stand in between her whole team. “Last but most certainly not least, there is me, the current leader of my team. I am known as Nightshade, and I am the one in command of all of these wonderful dears here. We are also all under the command of the most wonderful leader we have ever had…I think you know who I’m talking about.”

“…Your leader is Nightmare Moon, isn’t it?” Lightning Shadow asked, narrowing her ruby red eyes. “You five are affiliated with her?”

“That we are, dear Lightning Shadow.” Nightshade nodded, winking at the light grey mare. “I have to say, we are quite lucky to have a leader like her. She did so much to help us reach where we are today, the suits, the power, the skills, the speed…all so we can achieve our dream and goal to become the most feared flyers in the Everfree and Equestria. Oh, we don’t know what we’d do without her, or where we’d be if she hadn’t taken us under her wing.”

“Wonderful leader huh?” Fast Tracks asked with a snort. “Well then, if she’s such a ‘wonderful leader’ to you all, then why did she do all the stuff that she did back in Ponyville?!”

The Galaxy Star Bolts paused, looking at each other with what looked to be confusion, before looking back at the Shadowbolts.

“I’m afraid we don’t quite know what you mean Fast Tracks.” Nightshade said, raising a royal blue eyebrow at the light brown stallion. “Our Queen didn’t tell us about anything she had done anywhere since she got here. All she did was escape from the Moon and-”

“BULLSHIT!” Rainbow Dash yelled, sharply cutting off the Galaxy Star Bolt leader as she stomped a hoof. “You expect us to believe that you don’t know what Nightmare Moon had done when she returned from her time-out from the Moon?! Sorry, Captain Nightshade, but we all know exactly what your so-called ‘Queen’ really did when she was in our town! Me and my friends all saw it with our own two eyes! She came into our town at the start of the Summer Sun Celebration, nearly destroyed the whole Town Square! She injured and nearly killed everypony inside, including me, my friends, and our siblings, as a result of her little bucking stunt! Worst of all, she attacked our Queen, her sister, and stabbed her right through the chest in front of hundreds of ponies!”

“WHAT?!” Violet Fire yelled, looking at Rainbow Dash with an expression of horrified shock. “Queen Celestia…was almost killed?!”

“Yes, she was! That bitch stabbed Queen Celestia with her own horn, in front of everypony in the Town Square, including me and my friends!” The cyan mare replied in a slightly calmer tone as she faced the ebony mare. She could still remember the look of horror on Twilight’s face from the sight of the Queen being taken down so easily by Nightmare Moon, as well as the scream she let out shortly after. The memory sent a shiver down Rainbow Dash’s spine as she thought about it, but she did her best not to show it. “If that wasn’t enough, she even so far as to shock her with a thousand volts of electricity, before letting her fall of her horn! Not only that, she even set the whole Town Square on fire, while ponies were still in it before she left! She’s lucky that Applejack was there to stop me from going after her, otherwise I would’ve given her the shock of a bucking lifetime, made her feel every bit of pain she gave the Queen!”

“Holy…holy shit.” Fast Tracks murmured quietly. “I had no idea that she caused so much damage.”

“Neither did we…” Nightshade nodded, slowly getting over her surprise. “I suppose our dear Queen was happier to be free from her prison than I thought.”

“Happy?! Happy?! She was acting goddamn sadistic psycho when she invaded the bucking Town Square and attacked the Queen!” Rainbow Dash shouted, staring at the light blue mare incredulously. “I’d say that her being happy to be gone from the damn Moon is a major understatement!”

“Yes, maybe it is…I’ll have to ask the Queen just what went down at your home when this is over.” Nightshade said, giving the enraged cyan mare a small grin. “Well, we can worry about that later…we still have some business that we need to take care of here.“

“Business?” Storm Shadow asked suspiciously. “What kind of business?”

“The offer that we were planning to give to her earlier of course. You were listening to what we were saying weren’t you Storm Shadow?” The Galaxy Star Bolt Captain replied, giving a little laugh. “So Rainbow Dash, have you made up your mind about joining our team?”

“…What?” Rainbow Dash asked darkly, narrowing her eyes.

“You heard me dear, we want to you to join me and the rest of my team as a member of what will soon be known as the greatest Ariel Flight Team that ever roamed the land.” Nightshade said, grinning widely at the cyan mare. “You have the speed, the agility, strength, and the technique for us to be able to achieve that goal. Not to mention that you are from a family that’s part of the Secret Seven, the seven most powerful clans that Equestria has ever seen! It would be an enormous benefit for all of us if we had a pony, a Pegasus pony, like that on a team like ours! Plus, with the powers, techniques, and the reputation that those families have…it would make us even more feared and respected then we could ever hope to dream of! All that we need a somepony that fits all of those calibers, and that pony, my dear Rainbow Dash…is you.”

Nothing was said after that for a moment or two. Rainbow Dash, the Shadowbolts, and the Galaxy Star Bolt all stayed where they were, both Ariel Teams looking at Rainbow with faces of expectance and worry. Rainbow Dash stood where she was, her head lowered and her prismatic mane hanging over her face, covering her eyes.

“So…let me get this straight for a second here.” She finally began, her voice even and calm. “You want me, Rainbow Dash Wisp, to join you, the Galaxy Star Bolts, and work under Nightmare Moon? The very same pony who took control of Queen Celestia’s sister and took her away from her all those decades ago? The very same pony who invaded my home’s Town Hall and hurt injured so many ponies? The very same monster, who attacked the Queen and nearly killed her on the spot? That’s who you want me to work under if I join your team?”

“Well, I wouldn’t really say work under, or even serve her. More like team up with Nightmare Moon in achieving her goal of Eternal Night, while she helps us achieve ours.” Nightshade replied, giving a little shrug as she gave a little motion with her hoof. “And if you say yes to our offer, she will most certainly help you achieve yours, as being known as the best flyer in all of Equestria. So…what do you say Rainbow? Do you accept our offer in joining our team, and becoming a member of the greatest flyers there are?”

Once again, another stretch of silence echoed about the valley as the Galaxy Star Bolt Captain eagerly waited for the cyan mare’s response. The Shadowbolts besides Rainbow Dash also waited for what she would say, although they were more worried and anxious than their soon-to-be combatants. Rainbow Dash still stayed where she was, not a single hair on her body moving as her head remained lowered, her eyes completely shadowed. The silence was almost palpable, and for a single moment, the Shadowbolts began to worry that the athlete really was going to accept her offer.

A worry that was immediately destroyed just a few seconds later.

Before anypony realized what was happening, cerise lightning exploded from out Rainbow Dash, causing chunks of earth and dust to explode all around her. The Shadowbolts and Galaxy Star Bolts all jumped back in shock and surprise at this sudden action, none of them having expected it to happen. Rainbow Dash’s head snapped up, revealing to magenta orbs of light for eyes that blazed brightly with unbridled fury in them. Rearing up on her hind legs, the cyan mare flared her prismatic feathers out, her thestral-like fangs bared as she yelled out the first response that formed in her mind.

“LIKE BUCKING HAY!!!”

Faster than almost everypony could blink, Rainbow Dash gave a hard clap of her wings, allowing a huge bolt of lightning to burst out of them. Its bird-like chirps could be heard all throughout the misty fog as it zoomed to towards a gob-smacked Nightshade and her team. It exploded the moment it hit its intended target, stopping just a few inches from the Galaxy Star Bolts as they all instinctively jumped back. The effect was just like one when Rainbow Dash summoned the lightning, and the five ponies used their wings to cover the cloud of dust that exploded in front of them. As it settled, the Galaxy Star Bolts looked up at the cyan mare, staring in shock right into her anger-filled glowing eyes.

“You guys are absolutely out of your bucking minds if you think I’m going to join a group of assholes like you!” Rainbow Dash shouted angrily a growl leaving her throat as she gave a snort. “Do you really think I’d accept the offer that you’re giving me after all that’s happened in the last several hours?! I’ve seen what you’re bitch of a Queen did to our home, I’ve seen just how much a ‘wonderful’ leader she is after nearly killing the Queen and everypony else at the Summer Sun Celebration, and let me tell you, she is the worst Queen I have ever seen in my entire life! Nopony in their right mind would follow somepony that dared to do what she did to so many innocent ponies, unless they were complete deranged psychopaths like her!”

Dragging her hoof across the ground, the cyan mare gave a violent flap of her wings as she took to the air above the other Pegasi. The lightning that was so violently dancing around her vanished, but her eyes still retained that angry cerise glow. “I don’t know what Queen Luna was like before she became Nightmare Moon, but from what Queen Celestia told us about her, she sounded pretty awesome. And if that’s really the case, then I can pretty much say without a doubt that she would’ve been two hundred percent cooler than your Queen is and ever will be! A real Queen wouldn’t do something as uncool as harming innocent ponies, let alone attack another ruler without any reason for retaliation! Anypony who would even think of following and working for a pony like that is even more insane than she is, and based on that ‘offer’ you planned to give me, that would mean that you’re those insane ponies! You guys probably are a pretty fast and powerful Ariel Fight Team, and I’m betting you do have an HQ somewhere in the Everfree, but after everything that’s happened, there is no way that I’d join anypony who serves Nightmare Moon! So you can take your little offer for me to join your team, and shove it up your galaxy stared asses, because my answer for you, is NO BUCKING WAY!!!”

Heavy rapid breaths escaped from Rainbow Dash’s throat after those words were spoken, as she was obviously tired form that rage-filled tirade. The glow in her eyes receded somewhat as she took some time to recover from her explosive outburst. The Shadowbolts looked at her with wide-eyed expressions, which slowly morphed into relieved, and even proud smiles at her words of choice, happy that she didn’t accept. The same could somewhat be said for the Galaxy Star Bolts, but as their shock off, their faces morphed into ones of narrow-eyed frowns as each of their eyes gleamed dangerously.

“Are you sure that you don’t want to reconsider that?” Nightshade asked, her voice dangerously calm as she took a step forward. “You’re throwing away a chance of a lifetime here Rainbow Dash, one you may never get again. Think hard about this, because it is something that I really, really think that you’ll come to enjoy in due time.”

“Chance of a lifetime? Oh, don’t worry, I already have that, though not in the way that you’re thinking.” Rainbow Dash said curtly, crossing her forehooves as she frowned hard down at the light blue mare. “I do have a chance to be something great, and that’s to be one of the greatest Wonderbolts that ever existed on the face of Equestria! To me, that is the best chance of a lifetime that I could ever hope to have, and one that’s a hay of a lot better than any that you could ever hope to give me! So you can just take your offer, and shove it up your non-existent starry asses!”

“Is that so…?” Nightshade asked slowly, tilting her head to the side. “I take it that means you’re declining our offer?”

“I think I already made that pretty obvious, but yeah, you bet your starry asses I’m turning down your offer!” The cyan mare huff, holding her head up proudly. “I’ve said it a bunch of times before, and I’ll say it again, if doing anything like this, means that I have to leave my friends behind, then I’m not going to do it! I never ever leave any of my friends in the rut for whatever reason anypony may have! Never have, and never wi-AAAAAAAGH!!!”

Rainbow Dash didn’t get to finish he sentence, for before she could, she felt pain blossom into her stomach and spread throughout her entire body. Her eyes shot open wide, the glow in them completely giving out as she hunched over in midair, the air in her lungs knocked out. A pain-filled scream rang out of her throat as a glob of blood flew out her mouth, the audible sound of bones cracking filling her sharp ears as peru electricity coursed through her body. She had just a few seconds to notice a light and royal blue wing filling her vision before she found herself flying through the mist and crashing into what felt like an ice-cold wall. The cyan mare fell to the ground with a sickening thud, her forelegs immediately wrapping around her barrel as she tried desperately to soothe the pain in her stomach.

“Well, that’s quite a shame. I was hoping that we could get through this without having to use any unnecessary force.” Nightshade said, wiping the blood off her suit as she let out a sigh. “Oh well…it looks like we will have to do this the hard way then.”

“Rainbow Dash!” Blue Skies cried, rushing over to the fallen mare, her Captain and teammates following close behind her.

“O-oh...buck, that hurt…!” Rainbow Dash groaned, her face contorted with pain as she leaned in against Shadow Steps chest. “That mare can really pack a punch, dammit!”

“Are you okay? Where does it hurt?” Storm Shadow asked worriedly, watching as the mare continued to writhe. “Can we see it? Please? We need to see where it hurts so we can see how bad it is.”

Rainbow Dash didn’t reply, but slowly took her hooves away from her barrel, allowing the Shadowbolts to see the damage Nightshade did to her. They all winced when they saw the hood shape imprint in her barrel, which was slowly beginning to swell.

“Oh…oh shit…damn!” Fast Tracks hissed, holding a hoof to his mouth. “That is one nasty imprint there! Just how hard did she punch you?!”

“I have…n-no idea…she moved so fast, that I didn’t even see her coming.” Rainbow Dash replied, slowly getting onto her haunches. “That mare is as strong has hay! It felt like I was being bucked by Applejack’s brother Big Mac, except…this felt almost like Goku bucking me instead of him! Ugh!”

“Can you stand up?” Violet Fire asked, putting a hoof on one of Rainbow Dash’s shoulders. “I can help you stand up if you want.”

“No, I think I can get up by myself.” Rainbow Dash replied, getting to her hooves as she took in slowly steady breaths. “Besides, me and you have other things we need to worry about right now.”

“She’s right all of you do have more worrying matters to attend to.” Nightshade suddenly said, causing Rainbow Dash and the Shadowbolts to look up at her. “One of those being the possibility of you facing the Queen’s wrath thanks to the way you disrespected us like that.”

“Disrespect you?! The only ones who deserve any kind of disrespect is you, you stupid bitch!” Blue Skies shouted, snarling up at the light blue Pegasus. “What do you have to gain, attacking one of our new friends like that when she didn’t even do anything to you?!”

“Why nothing of course.” Nightshade replied with a shrug. “Just the fact that she knows not to talk down on us like she’s above us.”

“Oh, is that so?” Storm Shadow asked pointedly, raising a jet-black eyebrow. “Weren’t you the one who was offering her a spot to be the Captain of your group?”

“Why yes, we were…we just didn’t like the way she turned down our offer is all.” The light blue mare replied, crossing her hooves as she scowled at the cyan mare. “That doesn’t mean that we don’t want her as our Captain though. She does have the skills necessary to do it, she just needs to learn some proper respect, that’s all. And what better way to do it than to beat it into her?”

“I think you’ve done enough beating on her, Captain Nightshade.” Violet Fire said firmly, a scowl on her own face as she stepped in front of Rainbow Dash. “If you think I’m gonna let you lay another hoof on her sweet little head, then you’ve got another thing coming.”

“Really now?” The light blue mare asked, her scowl forming into an amused grin. “And just what are you going to do about it?”

“What do you think? We’re going to keep you and the rest of your teammates form hurting her, or any of her other friends if your planning to.” The ebony black mare said, flaring her wings. “They don’t have time to play games with any of you. They’re on a mission, and it wouldn’t do any good if they were kept from completing it by ponies like you. So, we’re going to fight you, take you out, and make sure you never show any of your faces here again…that is, unless you’re thinking about backing out.”

“Backing out?! Do you even realize who you’re talking to Captain Violet Fire?! We are the Galaxy Star Bolts, we never back down from any challenge? Especially one between another Ariel Flight Team like you!” Nightshade asked, throwing her head back in laughter. “If you honestly think that we’re going to surrender just like that, then you’ve got another thing coming my dear.”

“Well then,” Blue Skies began softly, lowering her head as she spread her forelegs apart. “I guess we both know what we should do then, don’t we?”

“Yes, I believe we do…” Nightshade smirked, hovering back twenty feet from Violet Fire and landing on the ground. She lifted down her moon white goggles, which shined the darkness as she called to her teammates behind her. “Galaxy Star Bolts, take position!”

“Shadowbolts, with me!” Violet Fire commanded at the same time as Nightshade, both leaders’ teams coming to their sides a split second later. They all took the same positions that Violet Fire and Nightshade did, the former scanning all five Pegasi in front of them.

‘These ponies… they all look pretty formidable…I can tell just by looking at them that they’re very experienced fighters like us. I can sense the magic practically oozing out from them, it’s overwhelming…nowhere near an Alicorn’s level, but definitely no pushover.’ Violet Fire thought to herself contemplatively. ‘They also each look to have specific talents when it comes to the weather, and judging just by their appearances, they have a specific element that they’re most good at. So that means I should have a specific member of my team take a Galaxy Bolt that they can match in combat.’

Suddenly, as if reading her thoughts, Fast Tracks voice cut through the misty space. “So Captain, do you have any idea of which of these punks we should take?”

“…Yes, I do. I’ve just about figured out who should take who.” The ebony mare said as she turned to her second in command. “Fast Tracks, you take Stratus. Both of you look to be the most physically strongest of the team, so you should be able to match him in hoof to hoof combat.”

“Right, got it.” The light brown stallion nodded, whipping his head back to glare at Stratus.

“Lightning Shadow, you’ll take Starry Skies.” Violet Fire stated, her golden eyes locking on the light grey mare. “You two seem to be the smartest out of all of us, not to mention the most tactful, so you may be able to match any of her tactics.”

“Whatever you say, Captain.” Shadow Step nodded, taking a few steps towards the pale purple mare.

“Storm Shadow, you’re going to take Charger.” Violet Fire continued, motioning to the stallion with the goatee. “Something tells me that you’re gonna be able to match his skills. While you do that, I’ll handle Nightshade.”

“Yes Captain.” The dark grey mare nodded, trotting over to charger. Just as she did, she glanced over at Blueball Blitz, who was eagerly trotting in place. “Wait, what about Blueball Blitz? Who’s going to take her on?”

Violet Fire paused, looking over at the bluish-purple mare for a moment. Blueball looked right back at her, her wide creepy grin still plastered on her face as her mane and tail continued to crackle with electricity. The ebony black mare thought for a moment, wondering if she should take on her along with Nightshade so her team wouldn’t have to deal with two themselves. Just before she could make her decision, Blue Skies did it for her.

“H-hey…C-Captain Violet Fire.” She said, her voice slightly shaking as she walked up to her. “Let me…take care of that Blueball mare.”

Violet Fire looked over at Blue Skies, her eyes widened slightly in surprise. “I-I’m sorry honey?”

“Yeah, I’ll take Blitz on.” Rainbow Dash repeated, sounding less strained as she stood beside the Shadowbolt Captain. “That Nightshade mare said that she’s the fastest on her team…so, I should be able to match it with my own. Along with whatever attacks she may have up her sleeve.”

“Are you sure? You looked pretty scared of her a few moments ago…”

“I’ve had much worse things scare me in the past, trust me on that.” Blue Skies insisted, glancing over at the ebony mare. “It’s going to take a lot more than that to make me not fight them. It’s alright…I’ll be able to hold my own, and I’ll ask for your help if I need it.”

“Well…alright then. If you think you can take her, then I’ll trust you with her.” Violet Fire murmured, turning back to look at Nightshade. “Just don’t do anything reckless, okay honey? The last thing you and your friends need is for you to be down and unable to help them in battling Nightmare Moon.”

“I ain’t making any promises.” The young palomino mare said, glancing. “But, I’ll make sure I’m not too messed up…or else I won’t be able to look my sister in the yes again.”

With those words Blue Skies joined in with the rest of the Shadowbolts in the stare down with the Galaxy Star Bolts, aura of their eye color appearing around their bodies, while Rainbow Dash laid off to the side a good distance away. Although the same didn’t happen with the other Ariel Flight Team, the ethereal auras around them seemed to grow in size and intensity, causing dust to fly up all around them. The Shadowbolts noticed this, but didn’t give any reaction as they waited for their Captain to give the signal. Violet Fire said nothing, but gave a hard stomp of her hoof as her goggles flashed, before she took off into the air towards Galaxy Star Bolts, her team followed almost immediately after. At the same time, Nightshade stomped her hoof as well, signaling her team to attack too. Rainbow Dash followed the Shadowbolts the second they advanced, her battle cry mingling with theirs as she and the bolts clashed.

A huge cloud of dust and power exploded in midair.

Author's Notes:

Wow...out of all the chapters that I have officially written in this special edition of my first book, this one has to be probably one of the longest ones yet!!! Like, literally, the very longes one I had written yet, and wow, did it come a lot sooner than I thought that it would! Now, I'm just going to say right now, that I had thought of continuing to make the battle with the Farukonchītās longer, but after I did something I thought, that since we were reaching the peak of the fight I figured that I end it just as quickly as it had begun, with an incredibly random scene at thee end of it, bet you weren't expecting that huh?! The rest of the chapter was mostly an edit with an additional copy paste of the last version of this, with the extra Shadowbolt addition in the mix...other that, the rest of the chapter following the Galaxy Star Bolts is pretty much the same as with the first version. Hope you guys are okay with that, becuase the next chapter is going to be more or less the same way, before I get to a majority of the battle chapters and write them all completely off the top of my head.

Well that's all for now folks; tune in tomorrow for the fight between the Shadowbolts and the Galaxy Star Bolts, with Rainbow Dash showing the loyalty that she has within her!!!