With the mass evacuations going on in Equestria's cities, Sky Stinger and Vapor Trail continued to try and learn how to master their new pairs of high powered wings. Targets being thrown at them, the two Pegasus ponies fired several rounds of missiles at them, with some hitting and some missing. Sam was watching the whole thing from down on the ground with Rainbow Dash at his side.

"Hmm, not bad," Sam remarked to the newly minted Wonderbolt. "Their marksmanship could use some work though."

They then noticed Vapor Trail giving Sky Stinger a small gust of wind.

"And Vapor is still giving Sky the boosts," added Rainbow Dash. "Some ponies just can't learn to let it go. I mean, Grogar and his cronies aren't going to wait for boosts to be given."

"Might as well relate it to them."

At that moment, Sky and Vapor flew down and landed in front of Sam and Rainbow Dash.

"Well, what did you think?" Sky asked. "These new packs make me quite a cool flyer."

"Yes, they are making you cool, Stinger. But, it appears that you aren't fully trusting your pack enough. We noticed that you were still being given boosts by your partner."

Vapor felt her knees buckle when Sam turned his attention over to her.

"You...were?" Vapor asked, nervously. "I…I can't help it sometimes, you know. Please understand."

"I do understand," replied Sam, placing his hand on Vapor's chin. "But, Grogar won't understand. Let me be the first to tell you that if you are being given boosts, a foot soldier will take notice and strike you down. Trust me, I've been knocked out of the sky a few times while fighting in Wakanda. You both need to start trusting your jet packs in addition to each other."

"What about our natural flight?"

"Yes, your natural flight needs to be considered as well. There might be a situation where your jet pack fails and you are left with a life or death scenario: do you ditch the jetpack and fly to safety or keep it on and possibly die?"

To prove his point, Sam removed his jetpack and placed it down in front of them.

"You remove the jetpack," he answered. "By pressing this button on your chest, press the button and you ditch the jetpack. Remember, its just that…a jetpack. It can be replaced, lives cannot be replaced."

Heeding his words, Vapor Trail pressed the button on her jetpack's chest and removed the jetpack, exposing her wings that immediately opened up. Sky didn't want to remove his jetpack but did so anyway.

"Okay, so what happens now?" asked Sky Stinger.

"We keep your training going," answered Sam. "Now, you need to practice removing your jetpack while in flight. You could have a situation where your jetpack is hit and you have to act fast. Sky Stinger, you are first."

Putting his jetpack back on, Sky took to the air and no sooner did he take to the air did Sam fire a few missiles from his jetpack, hitting Sky. Flying down at a fast speed, Sky pressed the button on his chest and just before he could hit the ground, managed to remove the jetpack and take back to the air. Of course, Sky was disgruntled to seeing his damaged jetpack.

"And before you go wishy washy on your jetpack," remarked Sam, looking up at Sky Stinger before turning his attention back to Vapor Trail. "There will be plenty more where that came from. Now, the lady can go next."

Taking a nervous gulp, Vapor donned her jetpack and took to the air. Once again, Sam fired missiles at Vapor Trail, hitting her. Rather than doing what Sky did, Vapor waited too long to disconnect from her jetpack and hit the ground with a loud thud. Panicked, Sky flew over to Vapor's side.

"Vapor!" cried Sky, trying to help her up. "You okay?"

"I…I don't know," gasped Vapor Trail, getting back on her feet. "I just…panicked."

"You can't panic like that," said Sam as he and Rainbow Dash raced over to them. "Once you are hit, you ditch the pack, end of story."

"I'm sorry," cried Vapor, tears forming in her eyes. "I…I just froze."

"Freezing in fear is one of the worst and one of the most stupidest things that can happen to you," advised Rainbow Dash. "I can understand your anxieties, Vapor. But, either way, you are going to have to face them eventually."

But Vapor instead buried herself in Sky's forelegs and cried quietly while Sam and Rainbow Dash looked on in sympathy and disappointment. A little while later, they returned to Spitfire's office.

"I'm really worried about Vapor Trail, Spitfire," said Rainbow Dash as he and Sam stood in front of Spitfire's desk. "She just…I don't know…must have blanked out or something."

"I only did it as part of her training," reassured Sam. "I was trying to send the message that you sometimes have seconds to act and…"

"You did what you had to do, Falcon," interrupted Spitfire, removing her sunglasses. "But rest assured that Vapor isn't going to be the only one of our cadets who is going to be feeling the same way as she did. But, there isn't going to be any time for playing sympathy to any pony. According to intelligence we received from S.M.I.L.E., Grogar is planning to amass a large army to target Canterlot. They recommend to have our fighting force ready over the next 3 days."

"3 days?" cried Rainbow Dash. "Why 3 days?"

"Because that is when Grogar is planning to strike," answered Spitfire. "The report goes onto say that Grogar is planning to send a message to the princesses, offering them a chance to surrender everything before any fighting can begin."

The leader of the Wonderbolts sighed heavily, lowering her head down in disappointment.

"Of course, as much as I want to avoid any fighting," she said. "I doubt that the Princesses will surrender that easily. They will want to fight and we aren't going to object to it. This is our home and we will fight to the bitter end to protect it. Dismissed."

Acknowledging, Sam and Rainbow Dash left Spitfire's office and both of them could only wonder what was going to happen. Still, they had far more important matters to attend to, such as Vapor Trail's well-being.

…

Meanwhile, having returned from questioning his brother in the depths of hell, Thor followed Starswirl the Bearded to a cave in the forest near Ponhenge.

"Where are you taking me?" asked Thor as they battled the fierce storm and winds.

"To meet my fellow pillars and together," answered Starswirl. "We shall put together a plan to combat the threat that is Emperor Grogar."

"But, how do you know who I am?"

"We have ways of knowing," answered Starswirl as they neared the cave. "For we have powers that are unlike anything you have seen before."

Approaching the cave, Thor followed Starswirl and soon found himself face to face with several ponies of different backgrounds.

"Staswirl," an older looking pony remarked as she rose to her feet. "Is this the creature you were telling us about?"

"Yes, Mistmane," answered Starswirl. "This is the Asgardian who aided the Royal Sisters in stopping Grogar 1,000 years ago."

Thor took a gulp, for he didn't know how this was all going to turn out…