//------------------------------// // Awakening // Story: The Fires of Darkness // by Johnfreemanwepon //------------------------------// Rainbow’s house... a familiar sight. She saw herself, cuddled loosely in the arms of Rainbow Dash -- keeping the thoughts of betrayal and Soarin out of her mind. This was the only way she could keep herself away from the screaming crowds- and the saddened, dead eyes of Soarin. She didn’t realize at the time, however, exactly how badly either of those hurt her. Nuzzling Rainbow Dash lightly, she decided to bring up the one topic she never had. “R-Rainbow... H-how would you like to meet Soarin?” Rainbow gasped. “S-Soarin? Vice Captain of the Wonderbolts? R-really?” Spitfire nodded. “It was supposed to be a surprise, but I just.... I didn’t know if it would be an intrusion or not.” “A surprise? So you were planning this?” “Mmhm. Since day 1. So... what do you think?” “Hell yeah! I’d fucking love to!” Spitfire smiled, kissing her gently and resting her head on Rainbow’s chest. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all. *** Or maybe it would plague her thoughts for eternity. Fucking hell, this wasn’t just SHOWING her the old thoughts. It was giving her the old sensations, too. Nothing about this seemed to make sense—Nothing. All she could do was sit and watch as all of her heartbreak, all of her pain was given back to her. Was this what it was really like, back then? This... Pain... this suffering? She didn’t remember it being this bad. But... Was she hearing something? It... it sounded like... Rainbow Dash... Reading? *** “So... you and Rainbow.... Are you two a couple now?” “I... Don’t know. Soarin, I really do love you. It’s just.... Me and her.... We just... Work. I don’t know.” “What is it that makes her so amazing?” “I don’t know. She just is.” “...” “I know that it’s messed up. I know that it’s stupid. I know you feel wronged. Damnit, I feel EVERYTHING you’re feeling. I just don’t know what to say to you. I tried to resist... But... It makes no sense to me. What she does... how she acts... I can’t help but fucking love her for it.” “... You can’t love two people, Spitfire...” “Oh, really? Well, damn, I must be impossible,” Spitfire said, falling down onto the couch. Soarin trotted over to her, hugging her tightly and laying next to her. “I just want you to be happy. I love you, and regardless of who you choose I’ll stay your friend. I promise.” Spitfire looked into his eyes, stroking his cheek lightly. “Thank you...” “No need, ‘Fire. It’s out of self interest.” Spitfire giggled, leaning up and kissing him gently. Soarin took this as an invitation, pressing back up against her and holding her close, breaking the kiss and nuzzling her. “I love you, Soarin...” *** Spitfire’s eyes darted from pony to pony, with more questions than answers. “Why is this still happening? WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS ALL FOR?!” Her yells echoed across the vast emptiness, Dash and Soarin still oblivious to her presence. Spitfire wasn’t expecting an answer, but what she got— Total and absolute silence— was far from expected. Was she really alone? Lost in her own mind, waiting to be rescued? Could she force her way out? … Was she... dead? The darkness started coming back, fading her out of her own thoughts. Spitfire screamed out, “NO! DAMNIT! I’M NOT R-” and was silenced. *** The day had finally arrived; the day that Spitfire planned for Rainbow and Soarin to meet. Convincing Soarin had taken some doing—he wasn’t too keen on the idea of meeting the mare that had taken his fillyfriend away from him. However, in the end, he accepted it simply because she told him to. In all honesty, he really did seem to love her. Every single time she ever did anything wrong he just kept forgiving her and... He just... He never gave up. It takes a lot to forgive every mistake someone has made—especially when there are as many to forgive as in the case of Spitfire. There was probably more behind his mask, something she had done that he could never forgive her for. But he was damn good at hiding it. Spitfire looked up, realizing that she had been spacing out. In front of her were 20 pegasi, all looking at her expectantly. After minutes of awkward silence, one of them spoke up; “well,” he said, “are we done for the day or do you have something else we need to do?” Gathering herself, Spitfire responded “Yeah... we’re good. Good job today, guys. See you all same time tomorrow—it’s going to be a hell of a practice. I promise you that.” The crowd dispersed, chatting amongst themselves. Spitfire breathed a sigh of relief, glad that she was able to pull herself out of dreamland fast enough so they didn’t think something was wrong. A single pony lagged behind the rest: Soarin. “Well, you ready?” “As I’ll ever be.” *** “Hurry up, Soarin! We’re late!” Spitfire yelled against the roaring wind. “Aren’t you always?” he replied. Spitfire shot him a glance of disgust before shouting “there’s her house!” and landing softly on the cloud that supported it. She ran a hoof through her mane, hoping to make herself presentable. Soarin landed next to her with a dull thud, watching her fix her mane. “Ya look fine, ‘Fire.” “Really?” “I think so.” “Lovely,” she rolled her eyes, hesitating as she got to the door. “Soarin, you are going to be civil, right? I know how much she’s inadvertently hurt you...” “Inadvertently is the key term there, Fire. It wasn’t out of spite, and you care about her too. That’s enough for me. Besides, she saved my pie.” Spitfire giggled, thinking back to Rainbow’s antics to impress them at the Grand Galloping Gala. After a few seconds, Soarin stopped her by asking “Shall we?” “Oh... of course.” “After you.” *** Spitfire remembered that day. Rainbow meeting Soarin had been so much more successful than she had expected, and both had made a wonderful impression on each other. Even Soarin admitted she was perfect for Spitfire, and Rainbow never needed much convincing of that. Spitfire sighed lightly, looking from one to the other once more. Soarin was always going to be her friend, she realized this. Dash.... She seemed like someone who would try to make friendships work no matter what. Even so, it wasn’t about who would stay friends and who wouldn’t, it was about who Spitfire loved more... wasn’t it? She thought for a while, wondering who she could see living with more—of course, it was to no avail. Right now, the only 2 images in her mind were those forced upon her- the likenesses of Rainbow and Soarin. Is there even a way to find out who she loved more? Was there a way to figure it out at all? Either way, it would probably take a long time to figure out. For all Spitfire knew, she would be floating around in here forever... Unless... Well, that’s just it, isn’t it? She had all the time she needed to figure it out. She could probably just sit and think forever—or, whatever forever passed for now. But what was this place? She hadn’t even figured that out yet. It was obviously her own mind, but less than obvious was why she felt so... real inside of it. Was she dead? Did something happen? She knew she had saved Rainbow from... something. Hell, she was even forgetting what happened! Panicking now, Spitfire screamed “Let me out!” hearing it echo against the emptiness of her consciousness. She sat, crying, looking into the eyes of Soarin, and then to Rainbow. Curling in a ball, she would give anything for a hug. From who... it didn’t really matter. *** Spitfire woke with a start. Instead of the dark walls of her own consciousness, she saw the off white walls and soft lighting of a hospital room. She stretched her wings, groaning softly before seeing Dashie across the room from her. “How long was I out?” she asked, yawning. *** The next few days were more a time for thinking for Spitfire: deciding what she felt, figuring out who she cared more about... It took a lot of time, but eventually she figured out who she wanted to be with. She thought. A lot of the time, it seemed, you really didn’t know what you had until it was gone. Soarin? He wasn’t ever going to be gone. The chemistry between them was really just not as strong as it used to be, but they were still definitely friends. He did, however, start talking to her less and less as time went on—Spitfire wasn’t really sure what to make of that. Whether he resented her for leaving him in favor of another mare, or if it was simply coincidental was completely out of her control. Then there was Rainbow Dash. Recounting the days in the Hospital to her over dinner, helping her around town to make sure she hadn’t strained herself... She was being so... sweet lately. Well, this wasn’t really a recent development. Dash had always had to put up with Spitfire being late from practice, distant because she was in thought, conflicted between her and Soarin... the list never really ended. Tonight, however, Spitfire planned to make it up to her. She had one simple plan—just one—that would change both of their lives forever. And it all revolved around a little black box. (A/N: a little black box? A little black box!)