This collage got extremely messy and also there is a lot to cover in this, the third act recap of Chasing Shadows. Let’s get to it, shall we?
The Shadowbolts gather in the mountains near Mountjenny Castle Prison, near Canterlot. After knocking out the communication lines, they breach the walls using one of North Star’s magical weapons. The guards are unprepared for an attack this sudden and vicious, and resistance is quickly crushed. Comet Tail makes her way to the control room to knock out the suppression crystal, which will allow them to use the magical devices in the prison. As she does this, a guard hits the master alarm, which sends the prison into lockdown and activates an auxiliary suppressor somewhere else. Enraged, Comet Tail kills the guard. With the suppressor on, they can’t breach Bellatrix’s cell with North Star’s device, so they turn to an alternate plan, which is cutting open the cell with conventional means - a slow and loud process.
Meanwhile, Spitfire and Soarin find the map that Thunderlane neglected to clean up, and but not him, or Rainbow Dash or Lightning Dust. Growing suspicious, Spitfire “calls in a few favours”. While this is happening, Twilight gets the call that Mountjenny has gone radio silent, and fearing the worst, orders a full scramble of all of HEART’s resources.
Rainbow Dash, Thunderlane and Lightning Dust arrive at the castle and start exploring. Rainbow Dash finds the Shadowbolts trying to break into the cell, and after Rainbow Dash mocks Comet Tail’s use of an eyepatch to cover her black eye, a fight breaks out. Comet Tail flees, and Rainbow Dash chases her, leaving North Star and Supernova to deal with Thunderlane and Lightning Dust. Meanwhile, Spitfire and Soarin approach the site of the castle breach in tactical gear, but after eavesdropping on Bulwark and Frostfall’s conversation while they guard the door, feel pity for them, and decide to approach peacefully rather than forcefully.
Supernova takes North Star’s saw to try and use as a weapon, which North Star is not happy about. Spotting this infighting, Thunderlane takes the saw and Lightning Dust steals Supernova’s goggles to get them to chase them in different directions. They lead them in a loop, and while Lightning Dust and Thunderlane can pass each other back to back in a similar manoeuvre to the one they performed in training earlier, North Star and Supernova are not so skilled, and collide head on.
Spitfire and Soarin get to talking with Bulwark and Frostfall, who aren’t all that happy to be Shadowbolts, but through being down on their luck, it seemed like the only way out for them. They also profile the other members of the team, who are less desperate and more intentional in their choice of a life of crime.
Comet Tail taunts Rainbow Dash for being too late to stop her plans, but Rainbow Dash takes advantage of Comet Tail’s blind spot from the eyepatch to get the drop on her, wrestle her to the ground and get the gun off her. She tries to get her to explain herself, but Comet Tail is defiant, and refuses to believe that Rainbow Dash will follow through on her threat. Eventually, Rainbow Dash loses patience, stuns her with the flash from the gun, and uses that opportunity to knock her out.
Twilight arrives on the scene just as the action has all wrapped up, and the forces she brought with her end up being used to make arrests, call for medical assistance, and generally clean up the situation. Spitfire and Soarin have given Bulwark and Frostfall their tactical gear and pass them off as their security staff to give them a chance at a fresh start. Twilight and Rainbow Dash find a moment to talk about the consequences of the day’s events, the nature of death, and the future of HEART. In the end, after a long and stressful day, they go for donuts.
