Following Spitfire and Soarin' into Spitfire's office, Sam Wilson anticipated whatever was being given to him to prepare Equestria for the war against Emperor Grogar. Once he arrived in their office, Spitfire stood at her desk and looked at him intently.

"All right, Sam," she said, taking off her sunglasses and placing them on her desk. "You know why you are here right?"

"Well, you want me to help prepare your fliers for battle against Grogar," replied Sam.

"That is correct, Sam. Princess Celestia wants to have our flying forces at full strength for the defense of Equestria. I can't teach them advanced basics, but you can according to S.M.I.L.E."

And Spitfire passed over a piece of paper that listed Sam as a reference to train the cadets.

"I know it may seem like it's easy, but it's really not."

Placing the paper back on Spitfire's desk, Sam absorbed what had been said of him. However, Spitfire wasn't finished.

"To this end," she finished. "I'm suggesting that you start small and then work your way up the ladder. I have two of my most promising flyers that I feel could learn the most of you."

Just then, the doors opened to reveal Soarin' with two Pegasus ponies behind him in Wonderbolt Reserve uniforms. One was a moderate cerulean male with a light sea green mane and tail. The other was a light chartreuse greenish gray female with a cyanish and emerald greenish mane with a hint of pale apple green.

"Uh, who is this?" asked the cerulean male Pegasus, only to be silenced by Spitfire with a glare to the face.

"Vapor Trail, Sky Stinger, I'd like you to meet Sam Wilson of the Avengers."

Vapor felt her knees buckle upon seeing Sam for the first time. It was the first time, after all, that she was meeting a human up close and personal.

"Nice to meet you," remarked Sky Stinger, extending his wing to shake Sam's hand.

"This how you shake hands?" asked Sam.

"What are hands?"

"This is a hand," Sam explained, showing off his hand to the two cadets before turning his attention to the timid Vapor Trail. "And I trust you must be Vapor Trail. Don't look so nervous, I'm not going to bite."

"Uh, okay," said Vapor timidly. "It's just that I haven't seen…"

"A human before?" chuckled Sam, stroking his hand on her cheek. "Don't worry, I'm not like most of my kind. I'm here to help you prepare for the fight of your lives."

"Wilson is going to be responsible for overseeing Equestria's aerial support for the battle with Grogar," explained Spitfire. "We're going to be using you two as a trial for the methods we hope to use."

"Are you certain…Spitfire?" asked Vapor Trail, nervously.

Spitfire could sense the building anxiety inside of Vapor Trail. In fact, she couldn't help but feel nervous herself. Even though she was a leader of the Wonderbolts, Spitfire was just a pony and had feelings.

"There isn't that much of a choice, Vapor Trail," sighed Spitfire. "It's all hooves on deck at this point."

With very little options, Vapor Trail had no choice but to accept the cards she had been dealt with. She and Sky Stinger followed Sam out of Spitfire's office and Spitfire let out a deep sigh as she sat back in her desk.

"Do you think we're doing the right thing, boss?" asked Soarin'.

"I don't know, clipper," muttered Spitfire, rubbing her eyes with her hooves. "Part of me doesn't want to do this, but what else can be done? We're fighting against a dangerous kingdom and we must be ready for whatever comes."

Sighing again, Spitfire realized what needed to be done.

"Get the rest of the bolts," she ordered Soarin', looking at him. "We're going to have a meeting about all of this."

"If you say so, boss," replied Soarin' as he left Spitfire's office.

Once her second-in-command was gone, Spitfire looked down at a picture of her mother, Stormy Flare. Taking a look at the picture, she gulped nervously.

"I'm scared, mom," Spitfire thought to herself. "I wish you were here with me right now."

…

Back in the Crystal Empire, Tempest Shadow arrived back at the Crystal Empire where guards were in full force, patrolling the empire back and forth, guarding every building and watching every citizen.

"Wh…what's going on here?" she asked a crystal guardspony.

"There is a growing threat from King Sombra, young mare," replied the guard. "If I were you, I'd take shelter now."

"That certainly didn't help," muttered Tempest as she made her way into the main castle.

Once she got inside, she saw a door and heard the sounds of Shining Armor talking inside the meeting hall. Moving towards the meeting hall, she saw several military ponies step out of the room as she stepped in.

"Hey, who are you?" asked Drax, taking out a knife from his holster and preparing to toss it at Tempest only to be stopped by Shining Armor. "Hey!"

"Stand down," ordered Shining Armor, using his front left leg to lower Drax's arm before turning his attention back to Tempest. "Tempest Shadow isn't a threat anymore. In fact, Twily told me you were coming back to finish your training."

"Yes, Prince Armor," said Tempest, bowing her head to him and Cadence. "I have decided to take the offer of being your sister's royal guard captain."

"Even after all you've done?" remarked Cadence.

"Yes, Princess Cadence. I was told that if I became her captain, I would play my part in the growing war."

Seeing a broken horned unicorn in his presence, Quill stepped forward to get a closer look.

"Um, who might you be?"

"Oh, uh, you'll have to excuse me," chuckled Quill. "I'm Peter Quill, but you can call me Star-Lord. The guy with the knives is Drax and the walking tree is Groot."

"I am Groot."

"I'm Tempest Shadow," replied Tempest, awkwardly. "Are you in league with Dr. Strange?"

"Dr. Strange? The wizard dude?" asked Drax, finally letting his guard down and putting the knife back into his pocket. "We fought with him on Titan against Thanos…before we were turned to dust."

Tempest was confused at the Guardians but realized that there was still plenty of work that needed to be done in terms of her training.

"So, I take you are coming back to resume your training?" remarked Shining Armor. "You can see that we are under threat from King Sombra, so we're going to do things a little differently."

"In what way?"

"We're going to need you to take part in the defense of the Crystal Empire," answered Shining Armor, much to Tempest's shock and amazement.

"Are you sure about that?" asked Cadence, who was just as equally confused as Tempest. "Not everypony will…"

"They'll have to accept her for being here, Cadence," interrupted Shining Armor, firmly. "If we are at war along with the rest of Equestria, then so is Tempest Shadow."

…