Chapter 62: It Should Be Illegal to Look This Good
MLP: FiM
Piercing the Heavens
By: Calm Wind
Chapter 62:
“Eight…” Dash exhaled as she curled the dumbbell up with her left arm. “Oof!” she grunted as she almost lost it on the way back down. “C’mon Dash! Two more!” she quietly encouraged herself. “N-nine…” she counted as she managed one more. “Last one, ah!” Dash exhaled sharply. She tried to move her arm up a tenth time, but an inch from the start her strength gave out and she put the dumbbell down. “Damn…" she exhaled as she sat down on the bench while flexing and relaxing her left arm to keep the muscles loose. She still had two more sets, but she couldn’t get to ten with her left arm so she was forced to stick with twenty five pounds.
That was coach Pec Bounce’s rule. On most of their standard weight lifting exercises there was a six to ten repetition policy. When you do a certain lift, if you can’t manage at least six reps, it’s too heavy for you. If you can get ten, then you’re strong enough to use a heavier weight. She managed ten with her right arm, but only nine with her left. So she was stuck.
She glanced to another bench a few feet over. Squall was doing the same routine with her… using thirty five pound weights. Dash flattened her brow, feeling her competitive nature kick in. She stood up and walked towards the dumbbell rack, approaching the thirty fives. She glanced to make sure Squall wasn’t looking before hooking her hoof around one of them. She could lift it from the rack, but as soon as she felt its weight, she knew there was no way she could curl it up with one arm.
“Hmph…” she grunted in frustration as she set back down and went back to her bench. Stallions had it so easy building up strength. Dash had seen Soarin do what she was currently doing with forty pounds, Calm with forty-five, Matteo with fifty… well, he was also a griffon, but STILL! It came so much easier to them! Thunderlane was starting to catch up to her! He had only been training since the start of the cycles… and he had closed in on most of her numbers in terms of weight lifted. It was a little frustrating since she had worked harder and longer, but that was going to be just another challenge for her to overcome, especially if she wanted to make strength part of her game. It took her about twice the work to keep up… but she’d do it.
She needed strength for Soarin’s Sonic Blastoff… a technique that was almost second nature to her now because of how much stronger she had gotten (despite still having some control issues with it), but she was certain more strength would be essential in the future, especially to help her copying ability. If being able to copy a move was the difference between success and failure in a situation, the last thing she needed was an obstacle like the lack of necessary strength to get in her way.
“I’m gonna do it!” Little Star’s voice suddenly caught Dash’s attention. “I’M GONNA DO IT!” Little Star was over on Dash’s left. She had a fifteen pound dumbbell on the ground in front of her and she was clutching it with both hooves. She growled and slowly hoisted it up until she was holding it over her head. “YES!” she exclaimed triumphantly.
Squall walked past Dash with Little Star blocking his path. He reached down with his left hoof, grabbed the dumbbell and lifted it up with her still hanging onto it and set her down a foot back before passing in front of her. She shot an angry pout at him as she dropped the dumbbell.
“Oh, look at you, tough guy!” she hissed while fluttering her wings rapidly to produce a faint buzzing sound. Squall didn’t reply as he kept walking.
Dash turned all the way around and saw Matteo over on the stretching mat. He was doing pushups with Silver sitting on his back. Silver was sitting upright with his arms crossed, glaring forward. After twenty fast pushups, Matteo suddenly switched to one arm pushups. Silver instantly turned his head towards Matteo’s while lifting an eyebrow.
“You trying to impress me or something, fatass?” he snapped at Matteo.
“Yes, sir!” Matteo replied without hesitation. Silver let a quite snort slip and cracked a subtle smile for a second before hardening his expression and glaring again.
“Well, I ain’t!” he shouted. “You’re still moving and the floor is stationary! If you want me to be impressed you better make the opposite happen!”
“I’m working on it, sir!” Matteo quickly replied seriously while switching arms. Silver couldn’t hold it in.
“Heheheh, heh… damn showoff…” he snickered to himself. It seemed even Silver was enjoying himself. He was still keeping up the tough instructor demeanor, but he was letting more smiles slip by the day.
Dash turned a little further and spotted Thunderlane bench pressing… with Pec Bounce and Macho Savage leaning over him…
“BRO, DO YOU EVEN LIFT?!?!” Pec Bounce yelled.
“BRETHREN, DOST THOU EVEN HOOOOOOIST?!” Macho Savage shouted right after.
“SON, DO YOU EVEN RAISE HEAVY THINGS?!” Pec growled.
“BROTHER, DO YOU EVEN RAISE HEAVY OBJECTS AGAINST THE FORCE OF GRAVITY?!” Savage cut in.
“I get it! I’m lifting!” Thunderlane shouted back in annoyance in between reps.
Dash had no idea how Thunderlane hadn’t dropped the bar on himself yet while laughing. She peeked a little to Thunderlane’s right and saw Twister lying backwards on a leg press machine, pushing on the bottom of it with his arms while grinning at a few disturbed onlookers.
“AM I DOING IT RIGHT?!” he asked every single pony that walked by.
Dash rolled her eyes and returned her focus to the dumbbell beside her bench. She already rested a little too long in between sets, so she quickly leaned down, picked it up, position herself in a firm sitting position on the bench, and started her next set.
She focused entirely on getting through the set, right arm first, steadily up and down. She managed ten reps and then switched arms. As she went through her first rep for the left arm, she slipped off balance slightly.
“Shoot…” she grunted as she looked up in the wall length mirror to try and reposition her arm. “Whoa!” Dash suddenly blinked.
Admittedly, it had been a long time since she did her whole “flex in the mirror I’m awesome” morning routine. Mainly because she now shared a bathroom with a bunch of other mares who would probably find it weird that she liked to do that.
She had been doing an incredible amount of strength training and cardiovascular training over the past month, not to mention intense combat training with Silver… they all had and they all had gotten stronger and faster, Dash hadn’t even thought about checking out how she looked!
She spent the rest of her left arm reps staring at her arm in the mirror as she did them. The muscles were a little bigger. If anything, they were definitely more noticeable. All the intense flying and fighting had really trimmed down any fat. Dash barely had any to begin with, but now she looked totally sleek and muscular. She wasn’t half as pumped up as most of the stallions, but she was pretty impressed she managed to look as strong as she did as a mare.
She glanced back and forth as she finished her set and set the dumbbell down quickly. Nopony was looking in her general direction… so she figured she could get away with it. She looked directly into the mirror and subtly flexed her arm in front of her chest. Being a little pumped from the current workout helped.
“Damn, I look awesome!” Dash whispered to herself as she leaned from side to side. She thought about the compliments Soarin gave her physique during the royal ball half a year back. Soarin liked her athletic body… he really liked it and he told her that very often. And by the looks of things, he was gonna like it even more next time they got some privacy and—
“I’ve got my tickets! Is this the gun show?” Fleetfoot’s voice suddenly came from directly behind Dash. Dash leapt ten feet into the air with a high pitched yelp before floating back to the ground and staring wide eyed at Fleetfoot, who was laughing hysterically. She snuck up in the mirror’s blind spot behind Dash.
“Fleetfoot! I… uh… I was just staying loose!” Dash blushed having been caught not only being a little narcissistic but also while having dirty thoughts.
“I hear doing arm swings works better than bouncing your muscles in the mirror,” Fleetfoot winked while smiling with her tongue sticking between her teeth. Dash quickly turned back to the mirror and hunched over while puffing her cheeks out. “Show me,” Fleetfoot suddenly asked. Dash blinked.
“What?” she turned her head to see Fleetfoot walk up beside her.
“I wanna see up close! Show me the guns!” Fleetfoot chuckled while grabbing and holding up one of Dash’s arms. Dash scrunched her face and glared. “C’mon, please?” Fleetfoot pouted comically.
“Fine…” Dash sighed, taking control of her arm. Fleetfoot let go and sat back. Dash turned slightly towards Fleetfoot and shook her arm out briefly before flexing the muscles in her arm while moving it around a little. Fleetfoot’s eyes widened slightly and she nodded while whistling.
“DAMN!” she chuckled. “No wonder you can pull off Soarin’s moves,” she lightly tapped Dash in the shoulder. “I ain’t gonna lie Dash, you have a crazy awesome body. How often did you hit the gym back home?” she asked as she sat down. Dash shrugged.
“Six days a week…” she said casually.
“SIX?!” Fleetfoot’s jaw dropped. “That explains the buffness… I wish I was that committed… I honestly don’t come here as much as I should…” Fleetfoot admitted while glancing around the gym. It sounded funny coming from her because Fleetfoot was actually known well among the Wonderbolts for her sleek, fit physique… She was featured almost every month in athletic magazines. She definitely had the body to fit her incredible speed prowess.
“It was easier than you’d think,” Dash chuckled. “Soarin bought me a complete gym for my house. Paid for it all plus installation. We don’t have any public gyms in Ponyville.”
“Oh, he would…” Fleetfoot smirked while looking Dash up and down. “Soarin always did like mares with a little muscle on them. Talk about a win-win situation for his interests!” Fleetfoot joked a she bounced her eyebrows at Dash. Dash felt a wave of smug pass over her as she smirked right back.
“Trust me… I know he likes it,” she winked. Fleetfoot burst out laughing, rolling onto her back once before rolling right back up.
“Well, one thing’s for sure Dash… next time Photo Finish comes in to recruit some of us for a photo shoot… you won’t be able to run or hide,” Fleetfoot tapped her hoof against Dash’s chest. “With an awesome body like that, you can bet Photo will come right after you… even if she has to tie you up and drag you out there with us!”
“Eh…” Dash grimaced. “I don’t know…” Dash wasn’t quite sure how she felt about being in a photo shoot. She wasn’t surprised by the concept, she was well aware that the Wonderbolt’s were featured very often in more than one magazine. It made perfect sense, with all the working out they did as part of their job, the mares and the stallions were known far and wide for being some of the most impressive looking ponies in Equestria. “I don’t think I’m gonna do that…” she said nervously as she sat down and grabbed the dumbbell for her last set.
“Believe me, Dash…” Fleetfoot snickered. “There is no escaping Photo Finish. She convinced SPITFIRE to do sexy poses with me on the beach… think about that for a second.”
Dash froze and her ears flopped down before she could start her set.
“Yep…” Fleetfoot nodded. “As soon as she’s interested in you, your plot is hers, no questions asked,” Fleetfoot smiled. “Of course I never say no…” she trailed off as Dash pumped through all ten reps of her right arm quickly, trying to get her mind off of the subject.
She switched arms as Fleetfoot giggled at her flustered state. Great… it was nice to know at some point she’d be dragged off to display herself to the rest of Equestria… well, it wasn’t that bad…
Dash smirked as she finished her last set.
She would get to see Soarin do the posing in person instead of the magazine.
“Smile for the cameras Dashie!” Fleetfoot nudged her again, bringing Dash’s thoughts back to forcefully having her picture taken. She decided it was time to change the subject from her body to something else.
“So… is Rivet alright?” Dash asked. She felt Fleetfoot’s hoof freeze as it rested on her shoulder. Dash turned to see Fleetfoot’s eyes wide. Her ears slowly flopped down and she sat down beside the bench.
“He’s fine…” she mumbled.
“Um…” Dash suddenly felt bad. She felt like she should’ve expected that. “Sorry…”
“No… it’s okay,” Fleetfoot shook her head. “I took him to Bliss to check on his eyes and fetched a new pair of contacts from his room while he was with her. He’s okay now… I hope.”
“Fleet, it was an accident…” Dash turned around on the bench and placed a hoof on her shoulder.
“I swatted him across the eyes Dash…” she sighed. “Even if it was an accident, I still feel bad… I was being stupid and he got hurt.”
“Is he angry at you?” Dash asked. Fleetfoot shook her head.
“No… in fact, I apologized to him so much he had to tell me to stop and that he was alright,” she chuckled quietly.
“See? You’re alright, it wasn’t on purpose,” Dash reassured her.
“I guess…” Fleetfoot sighed again.
It was pretty strange to see Fleetfoot in such a sad mood. She felt really bad for hitting Rivet by accident. She clearly considered Rivet to be a friend and enjoyed being silly with him. It really showed that just being carefree and casual with somepony was Fleetfoot’s way of showing she genuinely cared. Also, it wasn’t like she hit one of the Wonderbolts across the face. She hit Rivet… who wasn’t in the business for anything physical or pain related. That only doubled how bad she felt.
Dash decided to try and change the subject again… because the first time clearly failed. So she glanced around.
First she saw Twister hanging upside down with his legs hooked on a lat cable machine, pulling himself towards the seat with his arms while singing ‘Pop Goes the Weasel” in reverse.
“Right…” Dash looked past him, finding what she was looking for. More of the lead squad.
She spotted Spitfire using one of the weight machines near Twister. Air Mach had just walked into the gym as well… but after examining the room further… Soarin was nowhere to be found.
“Say Fleet… where is Soarin?”
“Thank you for punctual on such short notice,” Luna spoke out from the throne before Soarin even walked around it from behind. Soarin shrugged as he stepped around and looked up at the princess.
“I got back from a show this morning… Spitfire granted us leave for today and tomorrow,” he briefly explained. “Honestly, I was surprised when you called on me, not only because it’s about four hours before you usually call me in, but in general it’s been a long time since you’ve summoned me.”
“Your magic training is close to complete. There was one lesson we could not teach until a certain other individual was available. Sir Fancy of Pants is on his way with him right now,” Luna explained before giving Soarin’s horn a close look. “Tell us though, Soarin of the Wonderbolts, how has the magic been as of late?”
Soarin quickly thought over her question. To be completely honest, there had been nearly nothing wrong with it lately, save for the little accident in the dodgeball match that he quelled all by himself.
“To be honest, I haven’t had any problems at all… I’ve been using it a lot on my own time lately, I even have some new equipment to help me practice my aim,” as he answered Luna nodded slowly. “Ever since Discord helped out, I haven’t had a single problem,” he finished as Luna growled quietly. She still clearly disapproved of Discord’s ‘solution’ to the problem. Simply putting in a little bit of his chaos magic to keep the dark magic under control… It wouldn’t last forever, but it was giving Soarin a stress free path to learn. “Um, actually I did have a little problem a couple weeks back…” Soarin decided to bring it up.
“Oh?” Luna tipped her head with curiosity.
“We were having a dodgeball match…” Soarin barely got through the first sentence. Luna’s eyes widened for a moment before rolling her eyes and sighing.
“Oh… joyous occasion… it’s wondrous to know you’re being careful with an ancient artifact…” she said sarcastically. Soarin chuckled.
“Hey, if I get in combat, they aren’t gonna be penalized for hitting me in the face,” he joked. “Anyway, it wasn’t actually a problem, it took several hits with no adverse effects… it only happened once, and it was a freak accident. The horn got hit directly on the tip at a point that perfectly transferred the force through my head… or so that’s what it felt like happened, and— Princess?” Soarin paused. Luna was cringing and grimacing.
“We’re sorry… that… that is something only a unicorn or alicorn would understand… The horn is a part of us and it is constantly connected to the flow of magic… having it hit so precisely is a very painful and disorienting experience,” she said and then shivered for a moment.
“Yeah, I learned that the hard way… the magic started acting up right after it happened…” he paused as he saw Luna react alarmed. Soarin shook his head. “Actually, I just focused and forced it back down. I’ve got a lot more control over it now… I’m surprised Discord didn’t come tell you, he confronted me immediately about it.”
“Discord tells us nothing…” Luna scoffed. “And even if he did, we rarely believe it. But you say you kept it under control? This pleases us greatly, you are doing a fine job.”
To any other pony, such a compliment from Princess Luna herself would make their heart swell with accomplishment and delight. However, since all this began, Soarin couldn’t help but feel more and more like he was serving a purpose that was being kept secret from him. He wished the higher powers wouldn’t be so tight lipped about everything.
“Princess Luna… may I ask something?” Soarin addressed her again. Luna looked down at him blankly. It was almost as if she could sense he was going to ask him something she couldn’t or wouldn’t answer.
“You may ask,” she granted. Soarin wanted answers about a lot of things… and most of them felt like he’d figure them out himself eventually… but there’s was one thing he just needed to know.
“I apologize for our pressure on the subject a few weeks back... but please… please tell me. What do you know about the Shadowbolt that we encountered?” he asked and sighed quietly as Luna instantly glared at him.
“We know nothing about it,” she quickly replied sternly. Soarin shook his head.
“Luna, PLEASE,” he tried again. “You clearly do… and the Shadowbolts are definitely the Wonderbolts’ business,” he remained calm and collected even as Luna’s glare sharpened. “Why are you keeping it from us? Why did you recognize the goggles? What is going on?”
Luna’s eyes softened, but only a little. She and Soarin stared directly into each other’s eyes… from Princess atop the throne, to Wonderbolt down below. Luna closed her eyes and shook her head.
“If it were the Wonderbolts’ business… we would have told thee,” Luna flatly replied again. Soarin groaned and let his head hang.
“What good does it do if you keep us in the dark?!” Soarin found himself losing ahold of his soft approach. Luna leaned back slightly in surprise as Soarin took a step towards her. “If Celestia saved me from dying a year ago so I could be ready to meet a future threat… then WHY are you keeping secrets from me?!” Soarin instantly flinched as he finished. His eyes locked onto Luna’s face as her pupils disappeared behind a bright glow in her eyes and her horn flared to life, the magic pulsing around it as if it had burst into flames.
“My word! What’s going on in here?”
Luna’s magic stopped its build up and slowly faded. Soarin blinked and turned around quickly. Fancy Pants was standing in the door way, accompanied by a few guards who had ducked for cover upon Luna’s brief rage, and retook their places near the entrance. Fancy had two more ponies with him… Well, they were far from ordinary ponies.
Soarin easily recognized them as they walked through the throne room towards them.
A large, white unicorn with a semi-long blue mane… who walked side by side with… a tall pink alicorn mare with a VERY long colorful mane. Of all the ponies Fancy could have brought in with him… two of the last ponies Soarin expected were…
“Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadance of the Crystal Empire?” Soarin blinked as they approached.
“All is well Sir Pants,” Luna quickly addressed him. “We were having a slight disagreement…” Luna shot a sudden, very harsh glare towards Soarin.
Soarin had no idea what happened to Luna recently. For the longest time she was passive and caved rather easily as if ridden by guilt if she were to keep something important from her subjects. Then a couple weeks ago, right after Soarin returned from the show and the Shadowbolt encounter, Luna was suddenly very stern, very hard-nosed, and incredibly secretive. She had the guards force him and Spitfire right out of the throne room for heaven’s sake! Soarin had no idea who slapped her across the face and told her to harden up… but she was definitely taking their advice.
“I hope it was nothing too serious…” Fancy said with a smile as he stepped aside. “Your visitors have arrived m’lady,” Soarin gave a bow.
“Shining and Cadance…” Luna nodded. "We are pleased to see you,” she greeted. The prince and princess gave a bow to Luna before Cadance spoke up.
“Same to you Auntie Luna,” she replied. Soarin remained still. It felt weird feeling this way… but he had never been around so many important ponies at the same time. Considering his status as a celebrity, he didn’t get this feeling very often.
“We shall take our leave of you three…” Luna nodded to Fancy as she stood up and stepped down from the throne.
“Three?” Soarin thought out loud as he watched Cadance reach her neck over and give Shining Armor a quick nuzzle on the neck.
“We won’t be too long,” she said to him before giving him a brief peck on the cheek.
“Noted, from what I’ve heard, this won’t take long,” Shining smiled and nodded in return as Cadance walked over beside Luna and the two made their way around the throne and into the back hallway.
Soarin found himself smiling as he watched the husband and wife interact. It reminded him of Dash… and how he longed to have moments with her where he could show her little bits of affection. It had been so long since the two had had some real quality time together and seeing Shining and Cadance only made him want it more.
Husband and wife…
Bound by love forever… that sounded nice…
“Now then!” Fancy stepped over to Shining as the two faced Soarin.
That’s right… three. That’s what Luna meant. Soarin was well aware that during most of her visits, Princess Cadance traveled alone. Shining Armor, being not only the prince, but also the captain of the guard in the Crystal Empire, seldom left it. Soarin eagerly awaited Fancy’s explanation.
“There is one final magic lesson I believe will be important, especially considering your line of work,” Fancy began. “That is… the Magic Shield.”
“Magic Shield?” Soarin repeated as he tipped his head to the side.
“That’s right my boy!” Fancy nodded. “Our goal is to get you the best teachers available for training in unicorn magic… and while I am proud that Luna considers me to be the best candidate, there is somepony who is far more qualified than I to teach this last technique… the reason we waited so long is because it’s difficult to get Prince Shining Armor out of the Crystal Empire,” Fancy and Shining both chuckled.
“Being a prince and the captain of the guard at the same time is rough work, but I enjoy it…” Shining stepped forward and held his hoof out. “Soarin, first commander, lead squad. It’s a pleasure to meet such an accomplished Wonderbolt.”
Soarin was taken by surprise. For royalty, Shining was very casual. Then again he had heard something about how he and Princess Cadence met when they were very young and became inseparable. Talk about being the right age in the right place at the right time. Their connection had to be very strong… because Soarin knew that Shining was once captain of the guard here in Canterlot… and a royal marrying a knight was not a very frequent occurrence.
Soarin reached forward and shook Shining’s hoof with a smile.
“That means a lot coming from a prince!” Soarin chuckled. Shining shook his head.
“I like to think I break the royalty trend pretty hard… and that’s fine by me,” he said with a wink. “Now before we begin, let me first say that I have been informed of everything happening recently with you… it must be pretty incredible to be able to fly and have the gift of magic… it’s something I’ve always wondered about, being married to an alicorn and all. But considering what you’ve been through, I gotta ask… how have you not gone bat-shit INSANE yet?” he asked while snickering.
Soarin already liked Shining. His casual nature killed any royalty formalities. Soarin felt like he could speak freely.
“A lot of time in the gym and being surrounded by the best kind of idiots,” Soarin replied with smirk. Shining chuckled.
“Not to mention some pretty good looking mare flanks… eh?” Shining joked while nudging Soarin. Soarin looked away while snorting.
“Well—”
Soarin was cut off as Fancy cleared his throat. He and Shining both blinked and looked over.
“Gentlestallions… while I can agree with the quality of mare posteriors around the Wonderbolt compound, I believe we should get started… especially before your wife gets back Shining… I doubt she’ll enjoy hearing you discuss such things,” Fancy lifted an eyebrow, but had a small smile curled on his lips. Shining shrugged.
“She’ll probably just give me one of her famous ‘looks’ before forcing me to the ground and sitting on my back again… that’s generally what I get for misbehaving…” Shining explained with a smirk before turning to Soarin. “But sure… let’s get this going,” he nodded.
“Yes… in fact…” Fancy paused and looked around. Both Soarin and Shining looked towards him quizzically.
“What’s up?” Shining asked. Fancy looked down and shook his head.
“I’m actually quite surprised… that a certain undesirable has yet to show up…” he explained. Soarin instantly knew who he was talking about.
“Discord?” Soarin said with an annoyed tone, catching Shining’s attention. Fancy shook his head again.
“Honestly, let’s not worry about it… if he’s not here, it means he’s busy bothering somepony else. Let’s make use of this time while we can,” he motioned to Shining. “Carry on.”
“I’m all ears,” Soarin nodded. He focused as Shining readied to relay his knowledge.
“So… as I’m sure Fancy has taught you very well…” Shining began. “All magic requires quite a bit of mental focus. A relaxed mind but a powerful spirit… sometimes using emotions to manifest the magic in different ways. While that’s required for the magic shield… that’s about where most of it ends,” Shining smiled.
“Eh?” Soarin blinked, His interest caught. Yet another different approach? First it was recalling magical sensations… then it was splitting thought processes… then adding emotions to it… how else could one manipulate magic? Again, Soarin couldn’t believe how complicated magic use was. It always seemed so easy and natural whenever he saw a unicorn make use of it. Having used it their whole life probably made it look easy, but the learning process was incredibly complicated. Now he knew why magic schools existed.
“There are two things you must do to control a magic shield,” Shining continued. “Once you have the magic built up… you first have to physically tense your body.”
“Tense up?” Soarin tipped his head to the side. “But…” he looked towards Fancy. “I thought staying relaxed was required to keep the magic from dissipating.”
“It is,” Fancy clarified casually.
“Um…” Soarin looked between the two of them. “I couldn’t be more confused right now…” he admitted. Shining looked towards Fancy and motioned both hooves at him.
“Take it away, oh great guru of magic,” Shining joked as Fancy rolled his eyes with a smile.
“Think carefully Soarin…” Fancy winked at him. “Remember our training session where we covered grabbing more than one object at once?”
“Yes… what about it?” Soarin asked.
“The key to doing that… was splitting up thought processes in your brain… isolating them to control two or more different magical actions at once… do get where I’m going with this?” Fancy was adamant at letting Soarin figure it out himself.
Soarin looked down and recalled his previous lessons. Different thought processes… controlling two actions at once…
“Using… the same method, I can control my magic while also tensing my body?” Soarin put together and looked back up. Fancy looked pleased.
“Exactly!” he pointed. “You simply have to think about tensing your body separately from the magic.”
“That’s…” Soarin shook his head. “Easier said than done…” Soarin scratched his head. “Thinking about the magic and tensing every muscle in my body at the same time… That’s two entirely different things… it’s not like I’m trying to split similar thoughts…” Soarin wasn’t sure how this was going to work.
“Give it a go, you may surprise yourself,” Fancy winked. Soarin sighed, not feeling very confident about it. This was by far the most complicated magical process he had attempted. He decided to check before his first attempt.
“Anything else to know?” he asked while turning to Shining. Shining nodded and stepped forward.
“Actually… there is one more thing… the most important thing about the magic shield,” Shining said with a very serious tone. Soarin instantly perked up and listened. “What is a shield?” Shining suddenly asked.
“Pardon?” Soarin asked while tipping his head to the side.
“What is a shield?” Shining repeated. Soarin realized Shining was looking for an answer.
“Uh… something that… offers protection?” Soarin stated the most basic definition of a shield he could come up with.
“True… from a literal viewpoint,” Shining nodded. “But don’t think about it as an object… think of the shield… as yourself.”
“Myself?” Soarin pondered.
“That’s right… picture yourself as the shield,” Shining smiled. “As a shield… what would you do?” he asked. That was an easy question.
“I would protect those around me?” Soarin answered quickly.
“Bingo!” Shining chuckled. “Simply tensing your body won’t work… you have to tense your body as if receiving a blow… but that’s not all…” he patted Soarin on the shoulder. “The strength of the shield your magic generates is only as strong as your resolve. So you must visualize you are protecting something incredibly important to you… something you would protect with your life.”
Something Soarin would protect with his life? Was there any real question as to what that was to him? Soarin could easily see how Shining was well known for magic shields. If this was the method of making it all work… all he had to do was think of his beautiful wife… and what he would to protect her from harm.
“I can do that,” Soarin said with a sudden burst of confidence.
“Show us what you’ve got!” Shining encouraged him as he stepped back.
Soarin went through the motions, relaxing and recalling the magical sensations until he had it all built up. One thing he failed to ask was how long it took for a magic shield to form. He understood he had the difficult task of splitting up his through processes and using one for physically tensing his body… but how long would he have to hold it?
A blue glow surrounded Soarin’s horn as Shining and Fancy watched carefully. Soarin split his thoughts and took a few moments to gather himself before attempting using one for a physical act.
Of course, he also closed his eyes as he prepared his visualization. What would he protect? What would he give his life for? The answer was painfully obvious. He would do absolutely anything to protect Rainbow Da—
The magic EXPLODED outward from the horn, encasing Soarin in a veil of blue light before it fired out and expanded rapidly around him.
“Whoa!” Shining yelped as he and Fancy were throttled by the expanding aura. It wasn’t just a trick of light… the aura was solid, and it slammed right into them. They both tumbled, but quickly stood back up, staring in awe at the large shield dome that surrounded Soarin with at least a ten foot radius. “Holy crap!” Shining remarked as he blinked repeatedly.
“My word…” Fancy was also at a loss.
“Huh?” Soarin opened his eyes and saw the large dome of blue light surrounding him. He was shocked to see it had worked so quickly and easily… however looking up broke his focus and the shield capsized. The aura sucked back into the horn and the magic dissipated.
“Damn!” Shining cantered right up to Soarin. “First try?! After how confused you looked? Were you egging us on?” Shining chuckled as he threw his arm around Soarin’s neck and gave him a noogie.
“Ah!” Soarin ripped free and shrugged. “I… don’t know, I just did everything you told me… and it worked?”
“That was quite intense though!” Fancy remarked as he stepped up as well. “You not only manifested an incredibly solid shield… you also created a dome effect around you! We were going to start you off with simple forward sheets and basic guards… but you pulled off the most advanced kind on your first try!” Fancy sounded very excited.
“Wow… really?” Soarin chuckled, not quite sure how it worked, but it did. Shining nudged Soarin in the side.
“You must have something really worth protecting, eh?” he asked while looking directly as Soarin’s face. Soarin couldn’t hold it back. His cheeks heated up slightly. “HA!” Shining pointed. “Called it! What’s her name?” he instantly asked, but Fancy’s magic surrounded Shining’s tail and pulled him away from the blushing Wonderbolt.
“Let’s not pressure him now…” Fancy chuckled. “He’s got the advanced ones down… now let’s see if we can get him to control the others… ready Soarin?” he asked.
“I guess I’m more ready than I thought,” Soarin said with a smile as he prepared to practice more.
Off to the side behind the throne, and on the other side of the back door… Luna and Cadance had not taken a single step after the doors had closed behind them. Luna’s magic was alight and swirling around the door, allowing them to look through it and observe Soarin’s training session.
“Quite impressive…” Cadance nodded while looking up at her aunt. “Wouldn’t you agree?”
“As much as we do… we fail to believe it is wise to put such a heavy weight on his shoulders…” Luna shook her head. Cadance placed a hoof gently on Luna’s arm.
“It was Auntie Tia’s choice… and we should respect it,” Cadance said in a soothing tone.
“I agree…” a deep, male voice sounded from behind them. Luna perked up and glanced behind her before sighing again. Cadance didn’t even look. The voice continued. “He has proven time and time again that he is capable… and with this lesson, his knowledge of magic will be complete… correct?”
Luna looked down and took a deep breath.
“That is correct… although he will still need a little time for some fine tuning… I only hope it works out…” she replied.
“Soarin will make it happen,” the voice said confidently. “I know no other pegasus more worthy of his reputation.”
“I hope you’re right…” Luna said as she looked back up through the door.
“I am,” the voice replied adamantly. “I shall take my leave… I’ll report back in the morning.”
---To Be Continued---
(My short story: That's Not Quite How It Works takes place right after this chapter. If you wish to follow the timeline in the exact order, it starts here 
)
Dashie workin dat gym body, eh? 
(Blame me and my liking for strong, athletic women 
)
Hey! Look who snuck into the story! Shining Armor! Who else would teach Soarin how to shield others with magic? It's what he does! (When he's not getting sat on for misbehaving) Want to see more of my laid back, fun Shining Armor? Check out my short story: That's Not Quite How He Told It... It takes place right before this story, it's short, sweet, and full of hilarious differences between male and female brains 
But oh look at me... dropping mysterious characters with deep voices in the background... who was that?!
I'm sure you'll find out soon! 
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed!
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Hold on, I have to set the mood....
*clicks "The 12 days of Christmas" track*
ok, now I'm ready.
Soarin found himself smiling as he watched the husband and wife interact. It reminded him of Dash… and how he longed to have moments with her where he could show her little bits of affection. It had been so long since the two had had some real quality time together and seeing Shining and Cadance only made him want it more.
Husband and wife…
Bound by love forever… that sounded nice…
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA YOUR THROWING PANDAS AT US
Good read. I find it funny how I always play a rock song every time I read a new chapter.
There was also one sentence that was missing a quotation mark, but it's lost in a sea of words; and there's no way that I'm fishing that out.
However one question. When are we going to get a side story where Dash's Dad meets with Soarin. I kind of want to see that.
I have a feeling that was Star Swirl the Bearded.
Nice chapter. It was good to see Soarin really cares about Dash. I wonder what is gonna happen next. Thanks for the update and great chapter.
Haha, never thought I would come across a Sir Isac Newton based quote in here!
I love physics!
Bonus points if you can name the equation used to calculate the gravitational acceleration of a mass!
I erupted with the constant repetition of the f word at the end.
WHY MUST IT END RIGHT AS I WAS REALLY IN THE GROOVE?!?!
5384382 isn't it velocity squared divided by mass?
Good god, Fancy Pants has stated my favorite line in PTH this far.
*bouncing up and down*
another awesome chapter, and it didn't take you a week and a half to post it. 
I'm excited for the next one! 
*Chalks up a 5 on his things to draw board" I'm going to be busy...sweet
5384484
Oh.... Very close.
If we were talking about orbiting planets or similar situations. Then your equation would be equal to mine.
Yours is the circular acceleration of the object doing the orbiting, mine is the acceleration of the object being orbited.
Good as always
And gosh dang it... you and your suspense. Meanwhile, this is forgivable with Fancy's amazing quote XD
If Rivet came out of his laboratory and actually tried hitting on a mare, maybe he'd find their posteriors of good quality as well
“Damn… she"
up one of
These are as close as I can find.
derpicdn.net/img/2012/9/24/105542/large.png
derpicdn.net/img/2013/4/5/289170/large.jpeg
I really wish this blog would start up again.
Luna nodded. "We are
Okay, new theory time! That 'Shadowbolt' is one of Luna's most trusted agents, which is why she's getting so pissed off with being asked about him. He's there to watch, and if need be, test Soarin's ability to control magic.
...a bit more down to earth than my theory about it being Silver's trainer, huh?
5384553 Being an aircraft engineer, I should know that. But I've slept since then...
*SQUEEEL* Yay!!! Though every time you get into a good gym scene my mind always wanders back to my childhood Ello games with my sister. I have absolutely NO building sense so while she made all the houses and people, I sat and made... dumb bells... Which her Ellos would always come by and tease me on how dumb that was.
I can't wait to see the reaction Shining Armor gives when he finds out that Soarin is dating Dash.
And I can't wait for that Daddy, Soarin talk that the shot gun is always present for.
Part three???
5384304
img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131231081108/degrassi/images/9/93/Panda-gif.gif
5384338
You are probably gonna see it within this story
5384347
Wouldn't THAT be interesting?
5384352
He would do anything for the mare he loves
Thanks!
5385535 I wonder though, what will go though Photo's mind if she saw Dash and Soarin together. Would she separate them due to that destroying the availability factor, or put them in a sex pose together because it it the MAGIC?
5384382
F = G m1m2/r^2
Only a stallion as rediculous as Macho Savage could reference the discovery of gravity while motivating somepony to lift weights
Direct Quote from Macho Man Randy Savage: "A man of my importance can't afford to look reDICulous you know?"
5384434
Sorry!
Wasn't too long this time, i have these chapters outlined and when they end they end 
my outlines have been really stretching the word count lately, so 6K words suddenly seems short even though my smallest chapter in here is only 3K words 
I'm glad you're enjoying it so much though!
5384461
Thanks!
I was snickering and chuckling to myself while writing that quote
Only Fancy pants can properly and professionally address the quality of mare posteriors
5384486
I had a feeling that line was going to be incredibly popular!
5384536
Glad you liked it!
Yeah, it's been a mix of busy days and longer chapters recently.
My update schedule has been a bit off, but i like to think i'm still being efficient 
I'm also in a bit of a drag here... i so desperately want to get to part 3 (more specifically I REALLY want to write some of the last scenes in part 2.) But this is a typical challenge all writers come across... you have certain scenes and events you REALLY want to write, but you can't just skip to them... and if you rush through them it shows
5384538
So we have Starswhirl the bearded and now Sombra... interesting theories you guys are coming up with!
5384900
As soon as i wrote that line, looked back, and read it over, i was like...
This is one of the best line's i've ever written... it's gonna be popular, i can smell it
And yep! Suspense!
At least im not Cliffhanging every chapter like i did in Flying Sky High 
(I admit i was a bit of a douche with that 
)
5385145
Thanks for those! *fixed*
Yeah, that blog was awesome... it inspired me to use Nightshade and Starry Skies (i changed Starry Skies to be grumpy and easily irritated, but i kept Nightshade's creepy behavior) But it was by far the most innocent sexual themed blog i had ever seen
So we have Starswirl, Sombra, and now 'that' Shadowbolt... i love hearing theories!
5385454
Unfortunately we may not see much of Shining. He was brought in to teach Soarin shield basics... (and admittedly an excuse to have Cadance show up as well for that little scene at the end.
I've gotta be careful how many characters i bring in that have more than brief roles, because i'm already drowning in characters that all need lots of attention
As for Soarin meeting Daddy Dash... that may be closer than you think!
5385633 Thought so. That one line reeked of Soarin getting ready to purpose.
5385543
i might just have to write a fun photo shoot chapter or something
5385638 Please do that!
5385636
May still be a little early and not quite the time... but you can bet his mind is set and no other mare would ever work for him... i wonder if/when he will do it?
5385638 From the way Fleet was talking I was expecting it! It would be so funny! Poor Dash though!
5385530 hahaha XD I remember those panda commercials
Mysterious Deep-Voiced Pony Guy in the Shadows, enter and sign in, please!
No clue as to who this might be, but I AM pretty sure that it is one of those three mysterious ponies who were hanging around with Luna in several previous scenes.
If you take the "Shining Armor used to be a nerd" story in the MLP comics as canon, then he definitely HAS come a long way in terms of casual banter. Judging by the events of your previous Shining-Cadance story, Cadance probably had a LOT to do with loosening him up, starting with that first date.
Just thought you might like to know that the Microsoft Word version of your story (both parts) now tops 1000 pages!
5386012
Wonder who it could be?
And while i've read that comic (and love it) it had no hand(hoof) in inspiring my shining cadance short... however they are similar in showing us how nervous and shy Shining used to be (and how his current confident self bends the story of their first date to make him look like a badass
)
And WOW 1000 pages?!
My first and only true complete work before this was 277... yikes i'm going nuts with this...
Really nice chapter as always. Psh, I knew Soarin was thinking of Rainbow Dash as soon as Shining said to think of something worth protecting.
Dash is getting buffed huh? I wish I could be as strong. I can bench press only a little more than Arctic Blast
Another character? Who exactly could this one be? My guess would be the random Shadowbolt stalker-dude. If I'm wrong, then my other guess would be one of the three mysterious ponies Luna keeps in touch with.
5386384
Heh, keep in mind when I refer to a lady as buff, imagine her as still looking like a lady, but with muscles. I'm always afraid people think i'm going overboard with it, i try to make it clear when i write that she's not turning into a stallion
But she needs the strength to use Soarin's move, plus others... it's part of her skill set 
And yes... i wonder who this male voice could belong to?
5386453 Oh, I understand. My sister actually works out a lot, so she's definitely buff, but for a woman. She's not one of those overpumped steroid-junkies, but she could beat most of the high school football team in an arm wrestling match(they actually had a tournament at my school when I was a sophomore and she was a senior. She would've won, but the quarterback was just too much for her
)
There are so many questions to be answered! Who is the weird voice? What is this test that Silver has? Who the Shadowbolt, and what's he doing stalking the Wonderbolts? Where the heck is Celestia? Who the heck is Kayn Ost? Too many questions!!
5386478
Wow! That's pretty awesome!
Whenever i workout at the gym i can't help but notice if i ever see a girl who's clearly put some work in. Of course i can't go up and compliment them because i'll look like a creep
But it is something i feel like should be more acknowledged. I really dislike typical gender standards.
I wonder if Soarin will learn any other types of magic such as teleportation or combining elemental pegasus magic with his unicorn magic to form new types of magic
I Think the pony with the deep voice is soarin's next mentor seeing as how fancy is just teaching him the basics of controlling the magic within him.
This story suddenly disappeared from my library ( or whatever it's called) and I freaked out (well no). How stupid of me, I clicked the star button thingy without even noticing. Ugh.
Anyways, great story :D Really interesting. I've always been interested in magic.
5386544
Oooooo controlling pegasus elements with magic... to be honest i had NOT thought about that. I might just try to work that in
And... i wonder who that could be... oh me and my shadowy figures
5386558
Ain't I such a tease?
5386572
haha i've done that by accident too
Thanks for reading!
you killing me calm wind, I need to know who that voice belong to
5386650
I wonder who it could be?
5386661 can't wait for the next chapter
5386453 Dido, Strength is important. I don't look that strong, but due to teasing as a youngster I have always tried to keep at least fit. What I hate is when I see a woman take that buff to... the next level. Wanting to be the best you can be is one thing... trying to be a man... NO. I am a woman and proud to say it. I like the feeling of being able to defend myself if the situation calls for it. But I would rather be protected by a strong man
... Personally I can only do about 10 LB each arm. Due to the fact that I am a cross country runner and farm girl I am far stronger in my legs than I am in my arms.... I'm working on it though.
I remember about... two years ago. While at work we had a group of high-school boys complaining on how heavy the water bucket was. Then the owner, a 40+ year old woman, walked over raised an eyebrow, and with ONE arm lifted that full, five gallon bucket of water. Talk about humiliation. I had no idea she was so strong. But the look on those boy's faces was PRICELESS!
I really shouldn't laugh. I have to get those buckets down to half full before I could even attempt lifting them with both arms, but it was still a hoot!