Chapter 83: The Prices We Pay
MLP: FiM
Piercing the Heavens
By: Calm Wind
(This Chapter was edited by Lucky424)
Chapter 83: The Prices We Pay
“You amuse me… you really do…”
Soarin grimaced and stirred as the male voice in his head spoke.
Great… the bickering voices again.
“It pleases me EVER so greatly that you find me entertaining,” the female voice shot back sarcastically.
“Honestly, I can’t stop sneering over here. You’re causing Soarin pain to further your own motive.” The male voice said followed by a chuckle. “I didn’t think you had it in you to be so cruel, it makes me blush.”
“Save it,” the female voice snorted. “You know exactly why I’m doing it.”
“Rgh…” Soarin growled in his sleep. He knew these voices were connected with the magic. He had been skeptical about it for a while, but after the skirmish with the Shadowbolts… it was clear. The male voice tried to convince him to let it all go and the female voice spoke before the magic went haywire. Now if only he KNEW who the voices belonged to. They were too warped and distorted to pinpoint clearly.
“You prevented me from taking control again…” the male voice stated. “And I was so close this time, if only you’d take a break. It’s not good to stress yourself you know.”
“You know me,” the female voice replied with a slightly sassy tone. “Stubborn to the bone, or have you already forgotten?”
“Of course not, forever a thorn in my side, stopping me from doing as I please,” the male voice said in frustration.
“And it just burns your ass, doesn’t it?” the female voice suddenly taunted.
Soarin turned over, wishing the two would just shut up. For a moment he thought that was it, because the male voice didn’t reply.
“I win again, and forever,” the female voice added with a snide giggle.
“Such language…” the male voice tried to retort.
“Such lack of low hanging fruit,” the female voice fired right back.
“I really hate you…” the male voice snarled as the female voice continued to giggle.
That tore it.
“Will you two PLEASE get out of my head and get a room?!” Soarin yelled as he sat up and opened his eyes.
But… he wasn’t in a bed, or anywhere he recognized for that matter. It was an empty, pitch black void. Soarin’s eyes widened.
“What? Where am I?”
“What’s this?” the male voice suddenly spoke up as if surprised. A bright blue flash of light shone from Soarin’s left. Soarin turned and shielded his eyes as he looked up at the light. It was so bright that he could barely see anything, but as his eyes adjusted he could make out the outline of a stallion that was roughly two times the size of him. Soarin couldn’t see any features, just the outline, but the stallion towered over him. “I don’t believe it…”
“Now seeing where you stand, hmmm?” the female voice echoed throughout the void. Soarin yelped as another bright flash of light came from his right, this one yellow. Soarin found himself squeezing his eyes shut with two lights nearly as bright as the sun itself flanking him on both sides.
He forced his head up and looked upon the yellow light, his eyes nearly watering from the intense brightness. The outline of a mare stood within the light. She was even larger! Easily three times his size.
“He is much more than you are giving him credit for,” the mare continued.
“Rgh…” the stallion grunted.
“Is that jealousy I sense?” the mare giggled. “You spent so much time cursing and bewitching yourself carelessly in hopes of catching a mere glimpse. You toiled endlessly to see higher realms of thought and power… and Soarin here just did it on a whim to yell at us for waking him up.”
Soarin looked between the two large silhouettes in the lights, incredibly confused.
“It was that… or die. You know I had no choice,” the stallion snapped.
“You had a choice and you made the wrong one. Tragic as it would have been… it is the natural order,” the mare said with a little bit of sadness in her voice. “I had accepted it, you should have too, instead here we are, and nothing is for the better.”
“Think whatever you like, I did what I felt was right. And don’t act like you wanted me to fail. I refuse to fade from existence,” the male voice said sternly. “Soarin will be mine to control, I will not back down.”
Soarin flinched as a bright, yellow, glowing, large hoof reached out and touched his shoulder. It radiated a gentle warmth.
“Do not listen to this undesirable, Soarin…” the mare said with comfort.
“Undesirable… I still makes me laugh to hear you call me that…” the stallion grumbled.
“Who are you two?!” Soarin threw his hooves out as he demanded answers.
“In time… you will know everything. Let’s just hope I can keep him at bay until you do,” the mare said as the stallion scoffed. “But for now… you must wake up, Soarin.”
The train whistle blew loudly as it approached Canterlot Central Station. Soarin’s eyes shot open at the noise, but instantly squinted as he groaned and lightly pressed a hoof to his forehead beside the horn. After a brief moment discomfort, he opened his eyes and glanced up. The horn was emitting a very dim glow that could barely be seen, even with how close his eyes were to it. The glow was primarily blue, but it shifted to yellow briefly every few seconds.
The yellow magic…
Soarin was alarmed at the sight, but too confused and too disoriented to react. He remembered well what happened last time the horn began emitting yellow light. He didn’t feel any strange euphoria like he did last time, perhaps because the magic was shifting, but it was still something to be wary of.
Yellow… he wondered if it had to do with the large, glowing mare and stallion he just witnessed in what he thought was a dream. He couldn’t begin to understand who they were or what they were talking about. But one was blue… and the other yellow… there had to be a connection, but what?
He let his left hoof fall back to his side and tried to bring his right up to rub the other side of his head, but something had it anchored down. He gently turned his head to his right to see Rainbow Dash, sitting on the floor beside his bed, resting her chin flat on the mattress, and fast asleep while clutching his right hoof with both of hers.
The sight warmed his heart. He was confused after all, and nothing brought him peace more than the mare asleep beside him. But it also brought him regret. Here he was again, bed ridden and in pain because of the stupid magic. He felt like all he ever did was worry Dash and she didn’t deserve all the heart attacks he probably gave her with all this.
Soarin sighed and tried to take in his surroundings, it proved difficult to move his head and neck without weak headache pains jabbing at his brain, but he didn’t even know where he was or what was going on.
He soon realized he was on a foldout bed in one of the private train cabins. That would explain the loud train whistle that woke him up. But was the whistle for arrival or departure? Seeing as how Dash was asleep he had to assume arrival.
WAIT WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SHADOWBOLTS?!
Soarin shot upright in bed and immediately regretted it.
“Ack! Ahhhhhh…” his head throbbed with pain and he reached both of his arms up quickly, accidentally ripping his right hoof free from Dash’s grip, and waking her.
“Huh…?” Dash blinked as Soarin’s motion caused her to lift up and lightly plop back down on the bed. She blinked and yawned, stretching out with her eyes shut for the first moment, not even realizing Soarin was sitting up until she finished the stretch. She gasped lightly when she saw Soarin sitting up, but slowly bending over as he pressed his hooves to his forehead, the magic flickering and popping blue and yellow. “Soarin!” she exclaimed with a mix of excitement and worry, both for obvious reasons.
“Rgh… oooh…. Ahhh…” Soarin groaned as he forced his right eye open to give Dash a painful smile.
“Are you okay? How’s the magic? Don’t force anything!” Dash rapidly fired questions and worry at him. Soarin shook his head and chuckled despite how much his head felt like it was in a vice.
“It’s alright, I’m okay just… you know when you sit up in bed too fast? Try doing that with a dark magic induced headache… the mix isn’t pretty…” Soarin said as he groaned and bent his neck back and forth to crack it. The magic calmed down, reverting to small glows instead of lighting up like a small sparkler. He looked up at Dash and saw her giving him an angry pout, probably because of how carefree he had just sounded with that response. He had definitely worried her. That much was clear from what had happened to him and from how quickly she checked on him just now. Dash was probably going to give him a rough jab for that one later… if not right now.
“Sorry,” he apologized while giving her a more serious smile. “I’m a little disoriented… but…” Soarin slowly turned his body to sit on the edge of the bed. “I’ve felt much worse… rgh…” he cringed and put a hoof to his head again as another rush of pain shot through it and a brief spark of dim light shot outward.
“Are you sure?” Dash said with concern. “You sure don’t look okay. Don’t be a stubborn dick either, if it hurts, tell me,” Dash put sternly. Soarin blinked as he looked up in surprise. Yeah, that was for his sarcastic comment. He deserved it.
“I’m mostly sure,” Soarin said honestly. “That was one of the most painful magic shocks I ever experienced…” he suddenly looked up. “The Shadowbolts! ARGH!” Soarin winced and grabbed his head again.
“Soarin!” Dash growled. “Take it easy! Don’t move around so much!” she scolded him. Which again, he deserved, because it hurt to move so fast but he kept doing it. Soarin took a moment to relax. It hurt to concentrate, but he had to get the magic under control. He reached out and clasped his hoof with hers as he took slow deep breaths. The magic auras slowly settled down and disappeared into the horn. It remained glowing, but nothing beyond that. Soarin released a sigh of discomfort as he reached his free hoof up and rubbed the spots around the horn again. “The Shadowbolts got away…” Dash spoke up once he was calm. Soarin’s ears flopped down as he looked towards her.
“Even with ten of us, we couldn’t catch three of them…” Soarin sighed.
“Try nine of them,” Dash sighed.
“Nine?!” Soarin blinked.
“Better believe it. We had them cornered… and then six more appeared to bail them out,” Dash started explaining. “Even with—” she was cut off as the door to the cabin swung open and Fleetfoot looked in. They both turned towards her in surprise.
Fleetfoot glanced at Soarin for a moment and smiled, relieved that he was up, but then her usual nature took over.
“Magical sexy fun times are over. We’ve arrived, let’s go,” she said with a flat tone, but couldn’t conceal the giggles. Soarin and Dash stared grumpily at the door as Fleetfoot teased them. Then Blaze and High Winds walked by behind her.
“I bet sis pinned him to the bed and destroyed him again,” Blaze guffawed as they walked by.
“Wouldn’t…” High Winds yawned. “Surprise me…” the two continued past as Fleetfoot left.
“What?” Soarin tipped his head. “Squad two?”
“And squad three,” Dash shook her head. “Don’t worry, Spitfire didn’t tell Fleet or Air Mach either.”
Soarin took note of the frustration in Dash’s voice. It didn’t surprise him at all. He was being a doof despite something dangerous happening to him, the Shadowbolts were around again, and to top it off Spitfire kept something else from them? That last one made him a bit frustrated as well.
“Looks like I’ve got a lot to hear…” Soarin sighed as he stepped off the bed and shakily stood on the floor. He stumbled slightly, but caught himself, his whole body felt exhausted and weak.
“Yeah… but here,” Dash stepped up beside him and leaned into him. “Let me help,” she offered. Soarin was about to protest, but he swallowed the words as soon as he met Dash’s stern eyes. She wasn’t one to take no for an answer after all and she sure as hell wouldn’t listen to it now.
“Why the hell do I fall asleep at the worst times?” Soarin joked, earning a chuckle from Dash as the two slowly made their way out of the cabin.
Asleep…
Soarin found his thoughts going back to the figures in his dream again. He looked down at Dash as the two walked through the hallway towards the exit, but decided not to mention it now. He had lots to hear about first, and she was concentrating on helping him. He also noticed that she hadn’t mentioned the yellow magic appearing. Seeing as how she was with him when he awoke, she most likely already had seen it, but he knew she was just as worried about it as he was. They needed some private time later to talk about all of it.
“Come on Wave! Pull out already! We’re at the station!” Blaze’s voice caught Soarin and Dash’s attention. They both turned and saw High Winds cracking up as Blaze continued to pound on the private cabin three down from theirs. “Or is she on top again? Spitty! Time to dismount! Don’t forget to stick the landing!”
The door flung open and Wave and Spitfire both stuck their heads out, glaring angrily at Blaze. Blaze backed away, but burst out laughing as she ran into High Winds and the two fell over each other while guffawing at Wave and Spitfire’s expense.
Soarin and Dash glanced at each other and both snickered as they made their way out of the train car. They definitely got off easy with the arrival call.
The Wonderbolts all disembarked from the train and gathered on the platform as the security team branched out to keep any eager fans from approaching.
The mood was mixed as Dash helped Soarin out of the train and over to the group. Those with a more serious demeanor, such as Silver, Fire, Misty, and Wave, looked to be deep in thought as if wondering where things would go. While others, such as Fleetfoot, Surprise, and Lightning Streak, seemed to be disregarding the event until further notice.
Dash stole a glance towards her squad, having nearly forgotten about them after the trouble with Soarin arose. Matteo, Squall, Star, and… well, in his own way Twister, all looked confused. As they should… they, just like her, had all just been used as part of a plot to capture an enemy they didn’t even know about until a day ago save for her. Despite the rest of the elites involved being tricked as well, they had a much larger reason to be befuddled, and possibly afraid of what was to come. They had just been named Wonderbolts and suddenly this happened.
At least most of them seemed confused. Twister was riding on top of Matteo’s head while making train whistle noises with his nose. Matteo was glaring up at him and took a swing at Twister. Twister slid down Matteo’s back, launched off, and landed on Squall’s back, making the same noises. Squall growled and tried to rear back to knock him off. Twister fell off, and landed behind Matteo, but when the two turned around, Twister was gone and nowhere to be seen.
Dash sighed and shook her head. At least Twister was up to his usual shenanigans and disappearing acts in the face of strange times. Maybe they could all learn from him, after all, keeping a cool relaxed demeanor can be helpful in stressful situations.
“Commander Soarin, there you are,” Silver’s voice caught both Dash and Soarin’s attention.
“Silver…” Soarin addressed him simply, still confused as to why the other two top elite squads were present.
“Spitfire is holding an all captain meeting when we return, just passing it on,” he nodded. As a member of the lead Squad, Soarin had to be present at the meeting.
Spitfire was calling an all captain meeting, huh? She didn’t do that very often. In fact, this was the first time she had since after the first Shadowbolt incursion on the Wonderbolt compound with Rapidfire half a year back.
“That means you too, by the way,” Silver suddenly added while pointing at Dash. Dash’s ears stood up and she blinked in surprise.
“Me?!” Dash exclaimed as her mouth hung open.
“You ARE a captain you know,” Silver added with a straight face, but Dash knew underneath he was chuckling to himself. “You’re already helping Commander Soarin get around so that makes it easier.”
Without another word, Silver turned and walked away, heading back towards Spitfire who was pointing about and giving orders.
Dash was indeed a captain, and it was an all captain meeting. She just didn’t expect something so important to arise so quickly.
With the Wonderbolts dispersing, Dash and Soarin began moving through the station with the rest, anticipation weighing on their shoulders with each step as they wondered what would happen now.
The Wonderbolts made their way back to the compound with haste. And the whole way back, Dash could only think about the fact that she was suddenly expected to be present in a meeting between all the Wonderbolt captains. Just like how her squad probably felt unprepared for a conflict, Dash certainly wasn’t prepared for this kind of representation.
She was certain Soarin knew she was nervous too, because the closer they got to the compound, the more she shook nervously.
“Are you going to be okay?” Soarin chuckled as he and Dash made it up the stairs to the second floor of the compound, captains from the other squads passing by them on the stairs as they moved slowly.
“It’s funny to hear you say that…” Dash gulped and gritted her teeth nervously. “I’ll… manage, I think.”
“Just relax. The other recruit captains are going to be there too you know,” Soarin comforted her as they turned into the east wing of the second floor, a part of the compound Dash had yet to step foot in. It was an administrative wing after all, mostly populated by staff members and other offices. The captains passing by them were making a quick left into a room that was only two doors down from Spitfire’s office. Every step Dash took towards the room felt much faster than she wanted it to be. Before she knew it, they were turning towards the door.
“Whoa…” Dash stopped in the doorway and stared with awe. She had no idea this room was even here!
From the doorway, Dash looked into a long room that definitely extended to across the girth of the second floor as suggested by the large wall length window on the opposite side. The room itself was very wide, the two walls on the sides covered with full length white boards, likely to draw up plans on or something of the like. In the center of the room… and almost as large of the room itself, was an enormous ovular table with multiple chairs all around. They were wooden chairs with blue felt cushions and arm rests. They looked comfortable to sit on, but not so comfortable to lean against, a good combination in a meeting room in order to keep the occupants comfortable and awake. The room wasn’t very tall. The ceiling the same height as the rest of the second floor, but the room more than made up for it with its length and width, easily making it the largest room on the second floor. At the far end of the table, Spitfire was conversing with Fleetfoot, with Air Mach practicing poses behind them.
“Are you gonna stand in the door and gawk or walk in?” Silver’s voice suddenly came from behind them. Dash yelped and looked over her shoulder. Both Silver and Fire Streak were standing behind her, Silver with a flat expression and Fire grinning slightly… with five other captains behind them looking up to see what the holdup was.
“OH! Sorry…” Dash blushed heavily, helped Soarin through the door. They stepped off to the side to let the others in.
Soarin tapped her on the shoulder as the last captains began filing into the room.
“Thanks for helping me Dash. I can make it to my seat from here. I believe your seat is one of those,” Soarin pointed to an empty seat near the other end of the table, opposite of where Spitfire and Fleetfoot were conversing. The other five recruit captains from squad Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Echo were taking their seats.
“You sure?” Dash asked as she looked back at Soarin.
“I might need your help after, but I think I can make it across the room,” Soarin smiled. Dash gently released him and watched as Soarin as he hobbled down the right side of the room towards the rest of the lead squad. Dash gulped and turned towards the last open seat among the recruits, but as she turned…
“Oof!” Dash grunted as a pony ran nose-first into her chest. She stumbled back and looked up, meeting the eyes of a familiar, small mare.
“Dash?”
“Shine?” Dash blinked as she locked eyes with Shine Struck from squad zero.
“Everypony take their seats! Let’s get this meeting started!” Spitfire called from up front. Both Shine and Dash looked towards Spitfire to see her spinning her hoof in the air. Air Mach, behind her, was repeating the motion, but in a much more exaggerated manner.
Dash and Shine glanced at each other again. Shine gave Dash a quick nod and a smile before hastily moving towards Spitfire. Dash refocused and found a seat between two recruit captains, a pink mare with a turquoise, braided mane and a light blue mare with a long mane that had alternating streaks of royal blue and cerulean. She had seen them before in the mess hall back during recruit training.
Soarin was right, she wasn’t the only recruit captain there, and… it looked like they and the other two recruit captains were just as nervous and confused. She looked down the table past the other nineteen captains, organized by squad number, from the captain of squad twenty and nineteen closest to the recruit captains and extending all the way down the table to Fire Streak and Silver Lining flanking the other end of the table. Spitfire, Soarin, Fleetfoot, and Air Mach all sat on the other end opposite of Dash.
As everypony got settled, Dash noticed Shine Struck awkwardly lingering around the lead squad. Fleetfoot noticed her and tapped Spitfire on the shoulder, before pointing at Shine. Spitfire turned and blinked, realizing that they were short one seat. She looked around, but before she could come to a conclusion, Air Mach hopped up, pounded his chest, claimed he had no need to ever sit down, and offered Shine his chair. Spitfire shrugged and motioned for Shine to sit down.
Dash suddenly didn’t feel quite so anxious. Shine looked incredibly nervous and a little embarrassed as she sat down in a seat meant for a lead squad Wonderbolt. Dash probably would have felt the same.
“Everypony listen up, we have a lot to cover,” Spitfire began. “First I want to talk about what just happened to squad one, two, three, and seven in Cloudsdale.”
Dash’s ears flopped down. A recap… she was so nervous about the meeting and admittedly interested in what was going to happen, but it was just a review. She was glad the rest of the Wonderbolts were being informed, but Dash wasn’t the most… patient individual when it came to sitting still for long periods of time. This wasn’t a short explanation Spitfire was giving. She had to find something to distract herself.
Her eyes fell on Shine Struck, who was still sitting uncomfortably in between Fleetfoot and Silver. It had been a long time since Dash had seen or heard anything about squad zero. In fact, she was surprised she hadn’t. Spitfire said they were a trump card against the Shadowbolts, but then why had they not been dispatched? Granted, these Shadowbolts they encountered were not using magic of any kind and there were no signs of any pink crystals. Spitfire had mentioned squad zero was trained in anti-magic combat.
Could it be Spitfire wanted to know more before revealing an ace up her sleeve? That had to be it. Dash knew that Silver didn’t have much faith in squad zero, but Spitfire did. It was her project after all. Speaking of squad zero… Dash had been wondering since their encounter with them. The three stallions all stopped when Shine yelled at them. Dash was uncertain at the time since Silver and Misty had also stepped in, but now that Shine was here, that definitely meant that she was the captain of squad zero.
It was funny to think about at first, the little mare trying to handle an invisible flirt, a goober with oversized wings, and a giant wall of muscle that turned to mush in social situations. Then again, it could have been more of a representation role, much like how Fire Streak was the captain of squad three, but he willingly admitted that Misty Fly was their leader. Shine was, however, the member of squad zero that was recruited by Silver Lining. Perhaps that was the best explanation. Silver had a knack for seeing potential in ponies that they themselves were unaware of.
Dash snickered to herself, recalling that squad zero often helped Rivet test out his equipment.
She could only imagine how amusing it was to see Shine and Rivet, two rather small ponies, handle the other three. She was sure it would be fun to watch sometime.
Then something else struck Dash’s attention. Spitfire and Silver had mentioned that the squad zero was more or less detached from the main squads. They were allowed full use of training facilities, but were excluded from administrative motions, meetings, or events. If Shine was here now, did that mean Spitfire was preparing to use them?
“Anything to add, Captain Rainbow Dash?” Spitfire’s voice caught Dash’s ears and made them stand up to sharply they almost leapt off the top of her head.
Dash flinched and looked up, her wings flaring out and lightly whapping against the mares sitting to her left and right. He pupils shrank as she stared out across the table. All twenty elite captains, low-tier and high-tier alike were all staring directly at her.
Now Dash wished she had paid attention. She was thinking about squad zero the whole time that she didn’t hear a single word Spitfire had said. Why was Spitfire asking her?! Oh, right… she was with them in Cloudsdale, assuming that’s why she was called on of course. In an attempt to not sound like a complete idiot, she decided to treat it like a yes or no question… and just say no.
“N-no! No, ma’am!” Dash stuttered and replied in a voice nearly an octave higher. The captains all turned and looked back towards Spitfire, who was lifting an eyebrow. Soarin was smirking and Fleetfoot was holding back laughter.
“Very well,” Spitfire acknowledged Dash before looking around at all of the captains. “We can’t simply be aware of them anymore. It’s time we took actions and precautions to ensure we are prepared. I tried the covert approach, and it blew up in my face… so, we’re going to make a couple of routine changes around here until further notice,” Spitfire explained as the captains looked around at each other. “We will remain on our training schedules, but I want everypony to lighten up a little on their squad. Keep them in shape, but don’t work them too hard. I don’t want sore muscles weighing us down should we fall under a surprise attack or have an opportunity to capture a Shadowbolt. That being said, I am increasing the amount of patrols and adding lookout hours to fill in the gaps with the ease up of training. Should anypony come into contact with a Shadowbolt either here, or outside the compound, you have full authorization to use absolutely any means necessary to subdue them.”
“Any means…?” Dash mumbled to herself as a collective stir passed around the table.
“I’ve learned the hard way that you can’t be soft with these pegasi,” Spitfire continued. “The Shadowbolts are not your everyday ponies. Go after them with everything you’ve got, believe me, you won’t kill them… and I worry more about them killing you if you hold back,” as she explained, the stir died down, the captains seeming to agree with that logic. “As for shows…” Spitfire spoke up again. “We will continue with the shows we have scheduled through the end of this month, but after that we are putting them on hold until further notice. If the press bothers you anywhere, tell them we have some private business to attend to, we don’t need this getting any more public than it already has.”
Dash swallowed and blinked as she listened. This was… serious and official business! She had taken on threats before, but it was never so organized or professional. It was quite a bit different and a little intimidating. Could she fight? Could she stand up to Shadowbolts? Duh! Of course she could! This was just a serious approach she wasn’t used to. All the precautions and plans and the quick administrative decisions Spitfire had to make… It was all very impressive.
“Also, I’m issuing an official state of alert around the compound,” Spitfire added. “So don’t be surprised if our security staff doubles and has much more of a presence for a while. That will be all, dismissed!” Spitfire ended suddenly. Or at least it seemed suddenly to Dash. The captains all rose almost instantly after Spitfire had finished. Dash yelped quietly at the commotion and quickly stood up, but found herself stuck where she stood as the captains wrapped around the table and began funneling out. She’d have to wait a moment before she had a chance to move anywhere.
Dash took that moment to turn and look back towards the lead squad. Fleetfoot was talking to Shine Struck while patting the top of her head. Shine did not look the slightest bit amused that Fleet was petting her, her cheeks puffed out grumpily, but Fleetfoot was getting lots of giggles out of it. Spitfire was conversing with Air Mach and Soarin, or maybe just Soarin. It looked like Spitfire was trying to get Air Mach to listen, but had little luck.
With a path clearing towards the lead squad, but the exit still blocked, Dash decided to make her way towards them. Soarin did say he would probably need help back to his room after all. Fleet let Shine go as Dash approached and Shine began moving towards the exit. The two walked in opposite directions on opposite sides of the table. The two glanced at each other as they past. Shine smiled and gave Dash a wave before literally disappearing into the cloud of stallions and mares trying to funnel out the door.
Dash strode up behind the lead squad, catching some brief conversation.
“Are we going to report to Luna?” Fleetfoot asked Spitfire. Spitfire scowled and grunted.
“No, I’m done trying to get anything out of her,” Spitfire replied harshly.
“We don’t need princesses to solve our problems!” Air Mach yelled out as he started towards the exit. “A true stallion faces everything head on! With or without gods at his side!”
Fleetfoot was following directly behind him, but as soon as he started preaching she stopped and turned to walk back towards Spitfire and Soarin.
“Dash,” Spitfire spoke up as soon as Dash came into view. Dash froze and blinked as Spitfire addressed her. However, Spitfire walked towards her and slowly passed to her right. “You did well with the Shadowbolts. We didn’t catch them, but those were some impressive pursuit skills. I have taken note,” she said as she kept walking towards the exit.
Dash blinked, taking a few moments to realize Spitfire had given her praise. She breathed a sigh of relief, glad that it had nothing to do with her less than attentive focus during the meeting. With that little shock out of her system, she continued towards Soarin.
Soarin smiled as Dash approached him, but Fleetfoot stepped up in between them with a devilish grin.
“Meeting’s over, it’s time for…”
“No,” Soarin cut her off and lightly smacked her upside the head.
“Hey!” she turned and pouted at Soarin.
“No raunchy punch line for you,” Soarin stuck his tongue out at her. Fleetfoot got in his face, pressing her nose to his comically with an exaggerated, scrunched face.
Dash cleared her throat behind Fleetfoot, causing her to smirk and turn towards Dash.
“Watch out for his hooves!” she whispered to Dash loud enough that Soarin could hear it too. “They’re dangerous!” she giggled. Dash blinked, and then let a wide smirk crawl onto her face.
“Trust me Fleet, I know,” Dash said with a wink. Fleetfoot’s eyes widened and she blinked a few times.
“Wooooohoohooo!” Fleetfoot hollered as she stepped around Dash and began walking towards the exit. “I’ll leave you with Danger Hooves here, and his magical, head-mounted, porcelain dong!” she added while giggling uncontrollably.
Dash shook her head and snickered as Soarin rolled his eyes.
“It’s like we didn’t just have a super serious meeting or something,” Dash chuckled as she turned to Soarin. She quickly stepped towards him when she noticed he was leaning most of his weight on one of the chairs.
“She’s a welcome contrast to Spitfire,” Soarin said with a smile as Dash leaned against him to help support again. “Fleet’s silliness balances out Spitfire’s seriousness and vice versa. I’d probably go nuts if I only had one of them.”
Dash glanced back towards the door as the crowd of captains finally thinned out. She looked back at Soarin and looked him over as she leaned against him.
“Feeling any better?” she asked as Soarin used her support to stand up straight. Soarin nodded and flashed her a weak smile.
“My head doesn’t hurt quite as much, but my body still feels… ugh… completely exhausted…” he grunted as he wobbled. Dash quickly pressed gently to his side to stabilize him. “Yeah… I don’t think I’m making it up the stairs to my room…”
“Then I’m taking you there,” Dash quickly decided.
“You should check in with your squad,” Soarin suggested reluctantly. “I can rest here for now.”
“Nope,” Dash quickly denied while poking him in the side. “Believe me. My squad is more than capable of entertaining themselves for a bit. I’m getting you back to your room. Say no again and I’ll give you another headache,” she stated sternly. “The minute you said, ‘I might need help later,’ sealed your fate anyway.”
Soarin opened his mouth to reply, but quickly decided against it. He was lucky to have a mare that cared so much, so who was he to deny her?
“Fair enough,” Soarin said with a chuckle as Dash led him out.
The two walked in silence for a few moments. Since they were going to Soarin’s room it was inevitable that they would spend some time there. Their schedules were clear until dinner due to returning from a show and both had things on their mind. Soarin wanted to tell Dash about the two figures he saw in his dream as well as the yellow magic. Dash was just plain worried about Soarin. There were specific reasons, such as the magic becoming unstable again and the yellow aura as well, but the bulk of her worry was for Soarin’s health and well-being. Something that seemed to be completely beyond his control.
“I thought you were going to explode when Spitfire asked for your input,” Soarin suddenly spoke up. Dash blushed uncomfortably, looking up at him while puffing her cheeks out, only to meet a smirk on his face.
“I wasn’t really… paying attention,” Dash admitted with a huff. “Did she talk about anything I already didn’t know?” she decided to ask since she spent the whole meeting thinking about squad zero. Soarin shook his head.
“No, it was just a recap. I guess Spitfire is done being all secretive about things… like she should have done in the first place…” Soarin grumbled the last part. “She still owes me an explanation for that.”
“You and me both,” Dash agreed. “Well, me I can understand, but why would she keep things from you and Fleetfoot?” Dash asked in disbelief.
“Spitfire likes to be in complete control of things,” Soarin began as they made it to the top of the stairs to the third floor. “When everything is going well, she’s a peerless leader. Flawless, strong, and dignified. When things start to get way out of control though, like now, she panics. Well, not initially. Like a good captain, she remains calm under unfavorable circumstances, but if they are prolonged, things start to break down. She still handles herself well and executes her duties, but the lack of control can lead to her making a few rash decisions in a desperate attempt to make it right again. And sometimes… rgh…” Soarin stopped, causing Dash to stop as well. He rubbed his hoof against his head for a moment before shaking it out and shrugging. “Sometimes it can lead to a few mishaps. Thankfully it takes a lot for Spitfire to feel out of control. I don’t blame her for feeling that way here. We’re clueless about these new Shadowbolts,” Soarin shook his head. “The hard part is catching her. When Fleetfoot and I support her during rough times, she remains calm, but as you just saw… she’s pretty good at keeping it secret.”
“I was gonna say… Spitfire seems like she’s always in control, at least when I see her,” Dash sighed as they approached Soarin’s room. “I admire Spitfire. I don’t know if I’d be able to keep my cool or make any decisions at all with all of this.”
“That’s why she’s our captain,” Soarin cut in. “She’s not perfect, but none of us are, but she’s by far the most qualified pony to lead us. She can tell me she’s not doing a good enough job all she wants, any other pony, including myself, would have caved by now in her position under this much pressure.”
“You? Cave?” Dash giggled. “The day I see you give up at something is the day Fire Streak hits on a mare like his brother does.”
“Physically, no, I’m never backing down,” Soarin winked at her, his confidence unaffected by his fatigue. “Mentally? I don’t know if I could take it.”
They stopped in front of Soarin’s door. Dash had a question on her mind, and wondered if Soarin was thinking the same thing.
“What do you make of these Shadowbolts?” Dash asked before they could enter. Soarin looked at her, interested. “I mean, do they seem… different? Why didn’t they flat out attack us? Even after we attacked them?”
“So you noticed too, huh?” Soarin sighed. “That’s been the question on everypony’s mind since our first encounter with the white stallion in Manehatten. They don’t attack, they run, and if we catch them, they toss us around before trying to run again.”
“You didn’t see this,” Dash cut in. “But when we were chasing the three initial Shadowbolts outside of Cloudsdale, the stallion attacked me with lightning,” she explained with a shiver. Soarin’s ears pointed up as he listened. “Thankfully Silver flew in and stopped it, but before the attack, the two mares yelled at the stallion to stop while flying towards him.”
“Did you report that to Spitfire?” Soarin asked her. Dash blinked and shook her head. “Probably should have said that when she asked,” Soarin chuckled. “Actually I’m sure Silver already reported it if he was close enough to save you. I’d go report anyway later on just in case.”
“But then she’ll know I wasn’t paying attention!” Dash’s ears flopped down with dread. Soarin laughed and shook his head.
“You’ve gotta learn the lingo! Just say you were reviewing what happened and recalled that exact moment,” he said with a wink. “You mask the fact that you forgot and you make it look like you were reviewing a conflict for clues. Win-win, I do stuff like that all the time.”
“You sneaky bastard,” Dash smirked while leaning into him a little harder. “Now c’mon, I prefer being IN your room instead of standing outside,” she suggested as she opened Soarin’s door.
“Indeed,” Soarin agreed as they walked in.
Soarin reached over and flipped a light switch on the wall. Both lamps turned on, but one of them flickered brightly and burnt out.
“My life is a joke…” Soarin said comically as his ears flopped down and he stared flatly at the lamp. Dash giggled at him as she helped him in and closed the door behind them. The room quite a bit dimmer than usual due to one of the main sources of light being out. The sun was starting to go down as well, so it was pretty dark in the room, but not so much that they couldn’t see each other clearly. “I need to get this ruined suit off…” Soarin thought out loud as he fiddled with the shredded ends of what used to be his flight mask as they dangled down around his neck and chest.
Dash watched as Soarin figured out how to remove his torn up suit for a moment before looking down at hers. She had been so caught up in the moment that she nearly forgot she was wearing it. It was a testament to the superior design of the real Wonderbolt suits. The recruit flight uniform used to really start to bother her after a few hours, but with these it felt like she wasn’t wearing anything at all. They were custom made to fit perfectly to the body of the wearer after all.
She decided to take hers off too. It wasn’t bothering her, but they were back, and it admittedly smelled a little bit like her sweat. So she unzipped it and slid it off, tossing it near the door along with her goggles so she wouldn’t forget it before leaving.
“So, Dash…” Soarin caught her attention as she turned back around. He had finally found the right hole of the many that were torn in his suit to slide his head out of. “It’s back, huh?” he said with a sigh.
“The yellow aura?” she asked, her ears flopping down with a nervous look. Soarin nodded as he looked up at the horn.
“I don’t feel like I did last time it was here, but… I don’t know. The blue is mixing with the yellow. Last time they were TOGETHER it caused headaches like it is now,” he said with a grunt as he rubbed his forehead.
“You don’t feel like pinning me down against my will or anything?” Dash said while rubbing her arm nervously. Soarin scrunched his face and looked towards her with a little discomfort. “Well, that IS what you tried to do, remember? It was like you weren’t in control of anything, urges, magic, strength, thoughts. You weren’t you.”
“I know,” Soarin sighed as he leaned against his bed. “It’s just something I wish I could forget. I was in control but it felt so good that I couldn’t stop myself from doing anything,” he said while looking towards Dash.
Her eyes met his, and Dash felt like her heart was going to rip in two. Soarin was looking towards her with a face wrought with worry. He didn’t even have to speak for her to understand why. Now she wished she hadn’t brought up how he acted while the yellow magic was flowing. He loved her so much that he even feared what he could do to harm her. Considering the breakdown he had after it happened before, he feared that more than anything an Shadowbolt might do to her.
Dash quickly stepped towards him, reached up, wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him in. Soarin’s eyes widened in surprise as she lightly pressed her lips into his, giving him a deep, but soft and long kiss. The surprise faded quickly, his eyes slowly closing as he reached up and brushed his hoof lightly against her cheek as he returned the affection.
Not surprisingly, his headache seemed to lessen. He learned a long time ago that Dash had a calming effect on the magic, one that made it relax and comply with him. It was something he learned long before he even got the horn. Hell, she was the only reason the magic roared to life when he fought Nightshade. It was incredibly unstable and painful without the horn, but it gave him a means to defeat Nightshade despite her being pumped full of the crystal’s power to the point of bursting.
It was all the more reason to protect her from anything. She had fully become part of his life on more levels than just a love interest.
They pulled away and Dash roughly poked him in the chest while glaring.
“Don’t EVER look at me like that again,” she demanded with a pout. “I can’t stand seeing you sad. I like your stupid smile too much.”
Soarin snorted while holding in a laugh.
“You have the sweetest way with words, Dashie,” he joked, then made a fake frowny face. “I dunno… if it helps me score I might keep doing it.”
“Stop that, don’t make me tickle you,” she threatened, causing Soarin to flinch and back away slightly. “Don’t test me, I will.”
“Dear Celestia, no!” he said while chuckling and backing away as she took a step forward.
Dash got right in his face, pressing their noses together as Soarin gave her an exaggerated smile. Eventually they both lost composure and ended up in giggles and chuckles as they leaned in and hugged.
“I’m glad, Soarin,” Dash began. “Glad that we can still be… you know… ourselves, even when things are going on. I’m really on edge with all this Shadowbolt stuff, but being with you helps me deal with it.”
“And I can’t get enough of you,” Soarin said as he gave her a squeeze. “I’d be a grump right now with all this stuff without you making me smile all the time. Not to mention my magic calms down completely with you around. I call that a welcome bonus.”
The two pulled away and looked into each other’s eyes, just enjoying the sight for a moment. Dash had the kind of face that made him never want to keep secrets. And why would he? She was as much of a part of all this as he was.
Which reminded him.
“Oh… Dash, there’s something I want to tell you about,” he said. Her ears perked up in interest.
“What’s up?” she asked.
“Remember when I told you about the voices I’ve been hearing as I dream?” he asked.
“Oh,” Dash blinked and nodded. “Yes, I do. The male and female voices right?”
“Yeah,” Soarin confirmed. “I… had another dream with them just now on the train,” he paused and kept his eyes locked on her, ready to defend his reasoning if she questioned why he didn’t mention it earlier. However, she seemed much more interested to know more than to complain about a slight delay. So he continued. “Well,” Soarin turned and hopped up on his bed, sitting down on the cushy mattress to get off his hooves. “It was different this time.”
“How so?” Dash leaned into the bed, resting her arms on the mattress. Soarin looked down and examined his bed as he gathered his thoughts together. How could he even explain it if it didn’t make sense to him? All he could really give her was what he heard and saw.
“Two figures,” Soarin began, Dash’s eyes instantly widening slightly. “Both of them ponies and both of them much larger than I. One of them was a stallion encased in blue light. The other, a mare encased in yellow light. I couldn’t make out what either of them looked like. It was way too bright to see them clearly. The stallion seemed surprised that I could see them and the mare said something to him about me succeeding by accident where the stallion failed after trying endlessly. I have no idea what they were talking about, but I think it’s safe to say that the voices in my head are not my imagination. They are directly linked to the magic, the stallion to the blue, and the mare to the yellow.”
“Uh…” Dash tipped her head to the side.
“My thoughts exactly,” Soarin shrugged as Dash stared blankly at him. “I’d like to report this to Luna, but…” he shook his head and grunted. “Luna hasn’t been very helpful lately. Every time Spitfire and I go to her for answers we only get more questions. She’s a terrible liar and clearly knows something, but never enlightens us and forces us out.”
“Luna’s been—?”
Dash was cut off and the two flinched as a rope suddenly dropped down from the ceiling, landing on the floor at the hoof of the bed. The two of them blinked, staring at the rope. They glanced at each other in confusion before looking up and seeing what could only be described as a hole in the ceiling surrounded by a distorted, purple glow.
Both of them flattened their ears, recognizing the type of magic quickly. They stared at the hole in the ceiling, waiting for the very unwelcome guest and eavesdropper who had clearly been waiting for a ‘moment’ to enter.
But then suddenly the door to Soarin’s room swung open.
“WHY HELLO MY FRIENDS!” Discord yelled as he stepped through the door. Both Soarin and Dash yelped in surprise as Discord came right through the door instead. “Hm?” Discord looked up at the rope as he walked in, and towards the hole in the ceiling. He shrugged and tugged on the rope. A loud train whistle blared throughout the room, Soarin and Dash covering their ears as Discord cringed. “Oh! That’s where I put that!” he said with a chuckle. “Silly me!” he gave the rope a hard yank and let go, the rope shot back up and disappearing into the hole before it closed up.
“You’ve been here for ten seconds and I already want to tear my mane out,” Soarin growled as he and Dash glared at Discord.
“Really? That’s a new record!” Discord joked as he pulled out a massive book that was bigger than his head, put on a pair of fake reading glasses, and started writing in it with a feather quill. Dash and Soarin glanced at each other, both sighing in discontent.
“What do you want?” Dash asked, knowing that it was impossible for Discord to just go away.
“What do I want?” Discord’s pushed his head through the book. “Come now, my little Dashie, we all know that I can have anything I want at the snap of my fingers,” he held up a hand and primed it to snap. Dash and Soarin both braced themselves, but Discord’s fingers didn’t move. “Though I do love how easy it is to scare you,” he chuckled as he put his hand back down without snapping. He turned and began pacing around the room.
“So now I’ve heard two of you ponies say that you’ve lost faith in Luna,” Discord began while twirling his scraggily beard with a claw on his paw hand. “What a sad, sad day and age this is. I can remember a time when questioning a god was punishable by death. Your ancestors were harsh, but at least they respected us.”
“I find it hard to believe anypony ever respected you,” Soarin said while rolling his eyes.
Discord suddenly appeared beside Soarin, shrunk down to the same size as Soarin while wearing boxing gloves.
“WHAT DID YOU SAY COLT?! SAY THAT TO MAH FACE AND FIGHT ME IN REAL LIFE! I WRECK YOU, SWEAR ON ME MUM!” Discord said in a ridiculously silly, low pitched voice while bouncing back and forth and putting up his dukes. He was gone the instant after and back where he stood before.
“Believe it or not, there were ponies who respected and followed me, but that’s beside the point,” he stepped towards the bed and extended his neck towards Soarin. “So you saw them…” he said with a smirk. Soarin’s eyes widened. “To be honest, I’m incredibly impressed that you did. It’s not easy for mortal ponies to recognize entities that are beyond the scope of their belief, perception, and understanding,” he pulled back and placed a hand proudly on his chest. “We gods can do it with ease, but mortals? I’ve seen very few in my endless existence who could pull it off.”
“Pull what off? Who are they?! Why are they in my head?” Soarin started firing questions. “What did Celestia really do to me?” he emphasized this one more than the others as Dash just kept looking back and forth between the two. Discord shook his head.
“If you’re apparently keen enough to perceive realms of existence beyond yours… then why would I spoil you the fun of figuring it out yourself?” Discord shrugged while sneering.
“CUT THE CRAP!” Soarin yelled. “Rgh!” he suddenly cringed and grabbed his forehead, a headache pang traveling through it as he yelled. “Enough with the secrets! Tell—ah!” Soarin bent down again, the horn glowing dimly.
“Soarin! Be careful!” Dash looked over him with worry, Soarin’s pain suddenly completely distracting her from Discord for the moment.
“And there’s the rub,” Discord twirled his hand in the air. “Luna is keeping a tight lip, as she should, but I still laugh at the thought of you believing you can handle this magic without our help.”
“I thought you were an all seeing god,” Soarin said as he slowly looked back up. “Don’t tell me you missed how much I used it in Cloudsdale,” Soarin said with a forced smirk, trying to fight back the pain. Discord shook his head.
“I was watching in Cloudsdale, but I didn’t see everything. You aren’t the only pony I’m keeping an eye on you know,” Discord stuck his snake tongue out at Soarin, making it whip up and down as a light hiss escaped his lips. “You used your magic, eh? Well, I already knew that because of the sorry state that you’re in right now but… you claim you have control of it? Even without the barrier?” Discord sounded both amused and interested. “Enlighten me,” he held his hands out and made beckoning motions.
“Challenge accepted,” Soarin replied confidently.
“Wait!” Dash grabbed Soarin’s arm. “You should rest it!” she demanded but Soarin shook his head.
“I’m not letting this bastard and his smarm get the better of me,” Soarin said as he glared at Discord. “Just sit back and watch Dash, I think you’ll like this too,” he said, giving her a wink. Dash was not convinced, but she knew it was impossible to stop Soarin once his mind was set.
“Fine…” she said with an exasperated sigh. “Just don’t blow your face up again,” she said while taking her arms off the bed and sitting beside it.
“Watch and take notes,” Soarin jeered at Discord, who only scoffed loudly as he stepped back, leaned his back against the wall, and crossed his arms.
Dash was a little miffed that Soarin ignored her concern in favor of appeasing the interest of a troll, but that mood didn’t last.
As soon as Soarin faced forward, and a serious, concentrated look formed on his face, her interest was piqued. She hadn’t seen Soarin practice his magic too much. Except for a few brief moment where she had seen him use it recently, she had yet to see him ‘practice’ it, at least not since he first got the horn and was struggling to make it work at all. She sat quietly and fixed her eyes on Soarin as he began.
With his mind and body relaxed and complete silence surrounding him, Soarin closed his eyes and started concentrating. He called upon the memories of the magical sensations, letting them flow slowly instead of quickly. He wasn’t chasing a Shadowbolt or trying to knock one down, so he was letting the magic resonate with his mind and body, relaxed, quiet, and calm.
The horn slowly began to glow a dim, blue light that slowly grew brighter as Soarin continued to concentrate. He made no effort to give the magic any form, focus, or task. He just let it flow naturally.
Discord lifted an eyebrow as Soarin went through the process. He was expecting some sort of simple show or prowess, but Soarin was simply letting the magic flow… and keeping it controlled.
The glow reached the pinnacle of its intensity, shining brightly, but gently. Dash gasped quietly and looked around as the whole room suddenly dimmed and everything was covered with a blue hue. Dash looked at her arm, then the bed, then around at the desk, the shelves, the door. Everything was covered in a veil of blue.
She looked back at Soarin as he continued to breathe steadily. Small blips of light blue light began appearing around him. The tiny lights gathered into three packed clusters of light that began orbiting around Soarin, leaving streams of blue energy behind them as they moved.
Dash flinched as the burnt out lamp sitting on the nightstand beside the bed began to rattle quietly. She looked towards it and saw a blue glow surrounding it. The lamp slowly lifted up and was drawn towards one of the orbiting magic clusters. The lamp was snatched up by the cluster and began orbiting around Soarin with the magic. Soon a cup on Soarin’s desk was exposed to the same treatment, lifting up and moving with another cluster, and finally his alarm clock was picked up by the third.
Dash’s mouth opened, hanging slightly ajar. She stared with awe and amazement as she watched Soarin handle his magic so freely and naturally, the three objects floating around him within the clusters of magic, flowing freely and calmly around his body in the dim blue glow that filled the room.
Art by: Foxenawolf
Dash had never seen anything like it. She had never watched Rarity or Twilight practice magic like this before. They probably didn’t need to, being unicorns their whole lives, but Soarin was a pegasus. Such a display of control over magic was unbelievable, not to mention it was a magic more powerful than any unicorn had ever handled. Had Soarin truly conquered it? Was he proving to Discord that he was indeed capable of handling the recent problems that had arisen?
“Hrng…” Soarin suddenly winced as the horn grew brighter and the objects held in the magic clusters ceased their orbit. “Rghh… ah… AH!” he grunted as he twitched and grimaced.
“Soarin?” Dash reached a hoof up, but she was afraid to touch him, in case the magic would lash out. The magic calmed when she was around, but with the amount that was swirling around Soarin, she wasn’t sure it was a good idea.
“Ow!” Soarin’s eyes opened, blue streams of light suddenly forming and rising from them. “AH!!!” Soaring shouted as his head twitched. Dash was ready to forget possible consequences and reach for him, but stopped when a large pulse of yellow light suddenly fired from the horn. Soarin reared his head back, falling backwards onto his bed. The lamp, the cup, and the clock all fell and landed softly on the mattress, but Soarin was down and clutching a hoof over his heart as the glow faded from the horn and the room colors returned to normal.
“Soarin—AH!” Dash reached for him, but as she did, she felt her heart literally jump in her chest. “OOF!” she bent down and place her hoof on her chest, blinking with wide eyes as the sudden shock from her heart faded. “What the…” she looked down at her chest, her heart beating quickly, but steadily. “What was that?” she questioned as Soarin groaned, forced his head up, and looked towards Dash as he panted and held his heart.
Seeing Dash hold her heart as his beat furiously was alarming. He was recovering from the mental shock he just received, but why…? Why was Dash feeling something in the same place he was?
“Bravo! Bravo, indeed!” Discord stepped towards them amidst their confusion. “That was quite an impressive display. I will admit, you have a lot more control than I gave you credit for,” he complimented as he leaned over and above Soarin. “But you’re drastically short of having any chance… you can talk yourself up all you want mon comandante… you’re a mortal imbued with a power that gods are fretting over. Did you honestly think things would be easy?”
“Why?” Soarin suddenly asked, causing Discord to blink. Soarin wasn’t even looking at him. He was looking at Dash, who was staring directly back at him with concern while still holding her hoof over her heart. “What’s going on?” he asked while looking up at Discord.
“Hmph… everypony is so dense around here…” Discord complained as he stood back up and crossed his arms while looking towards Dash. “You never told him?”
Soarin glanced at Dash, who looked towards Discord.
“What are you talking about?” she questioned.
“Not even after the one that happened JUST NOW? Or did you seriously not make the connection in Cloudsdale? It was right in front of you afterward. You mean to tell me you never questioned WHY you two are sharing dreams as well?” Discord sighed as Soarin and Dash both stared at him in alarm. “Mortals…” he shook his head before focusing on Dash. “How many times have you woken up at night because of your heart jumping in your chest?” he asked.
Realization hit Dash like a ton of bricks.
It was true. There had been more than one occasion in the recent past where she had experienced a sudden increase in heart rate after a sudden jolt through her chest. She felt it once during the tryouts, a few times when she was trying to sleep… It was very infrequent and it seemed to happen at random. She had speculated that it may have been linked to Soarin, but there was no evidence towards it.
But in Cloudsdale…
“You want to know why I didn’t see you use your ‘magic skills’ in Cloudsdale?” Discord said as he turned to Soarin. “Because I was keeping an eye on her,” Discord made a head motion towards Dash before turning and looking at her. “But even though I wasn’t there to watch your face blow up like a firecracker,” Discord chuckled. “I knew exactly when it happened because Dashie here… fell right out of the sky like a rock a few moments after she and her squad recovered from getting their wings soaked.”
Soarin looked towards Dash.
“That?” Dash blinked.
“Dash, is that true?” Soarin asked with concern. Dash shook her head and shrugged, her face wrought with worry.
“I… I don’t know! I thought I was just sore from the fall we took!” she explained, she turned to Discord as both of them slowly became incredibly worried. “What does it mean?” Dash asked Discord as he reclined in midair and floated up above the bed.
“What? Do you think your magical imprint on Soarin was free of charge?” he said with a smirk. “You can’t make something out of nothing, at least something that’s real and has pure form. I can pass around my chaos magic all I want, but it breaks and bends the rules of reality, in a sense nothing I do takes pure physical form, which is why Celestia and Luna rather I didn’t step in to change things. I literally break the rules of life,” he said as his arms and legs swapped positions for a moment before going back. “So… you better believe me when I say we needed more than just a magical ceremony to ensure Soarin’s survival,” he pointed towards Dash.
“A piece of Rainbow Dash’s spirit. Part of her own physical existence had to be imprinted into Soarin in order for the magic to be sustained within him. His spirit was broken after he got beaten to a pulp by Descent and Nightshade. It wasn’t strong enough for him to survive the transfer process. So we patched it up with a piece of hers!” Discord said as his eyelashes spontaneously grew long and he batted them at the two confused ponies. “Isn’t that just precious and romantic… you two are connected, conjoined in a way that’s beyond your understanding…. Now any time the magic causes him extreme pain… Dash is likely to feel it too,” Discord explained. “You will now know whenever Soarin is in distress, oh my this could be a super-natural romance novel!”
Soarin and Dash stared at him blankly.
“Oh, why do I even bother? This is all much too complicated for your little brains to handle, isn’t it? Us gods live on a different plane of existence and understanding of life… I don’t expect you to process any of this really… so let me put it in much simpler terms…” he hovered down between them. “To save your life, Celestia used a piece of Dash’s spirit to anchor the magic in place. That’s why it’s so afraid of her. She’s literally part of what keeps it from running wild without resistance. She did more than that too but—”
“What about Spitfire?” Soarin asked cutting off Discord even though he was talking about the ever-so-missing Celestia. “She was involved too wasn’t she?”
“Spitfire played a different role in the process,” Discord chuckled. “She offered her life force to Celestia just like Dash, but her main role was encouragement. Soarin needed a familiar voice of authority to snap him from his trance during the magic transfer, and she did just that. Celestia was the one who chose Dash to be the imprint, why? Because Celestia knew you two would become lovers and share a strong bond, she has premonitions you know,” Discord said with a fake dreamy sigh. “Which would also explain why Soarin had such a hard time with his magic while the two of you were being silly and not talking to one another. By the way, don’t do that again, that was annoying.”
“Any reason why you’re telling me this now? And not say… back when it would have been really nice to know?” Soarin said as he fell back onto the bed. Discord burst out laughing while slapping a hand over his eyes.
“And ruin the fun of watching you discover it all yourselves? A good story never reveals its secrets all at once, that would be like reading a textbook. You both finally experienced your connection right in front of each other, together… I felt like that was a good time to explain juuuuuuuust a little bit of it,” Discord shrugged while grinning very wide. “So take heed of all of this because things are not getting easier for you anytime soon,” he appeared between Soarin and Dash and pulled them towards him in headlocks.
“Now do you understand? Please tell me at least a little, I can’t make it any simpler,” Discord said as he focused on Soarin with a smug grin. “I wasn’t kidding when I said… that there is more than one life on the line. The link between you two stabilized once you put this on,” he tapped the tip of the horn. “And it has fully developed. When something happens to you, she will feel it… and the more it hurts for you, the more it will hurt for her too. So you better hope you can get that magic under control, or else I might have to do something drastic… and I don’t think EITHER of you want it to happen, if you catch my drift. Still think it’s a bad idea to seek out Luna? You may want to rethink that. That is… assuming she’s even willing to help. I don’t know if anyone besides me is really willing to do what it takes to get things done around here. No pressure now!”
Both of them felt Discords grip loosen, but when they looked up and around, Discord was gone, vanished.
“Don’t forget…” Discords voiced suddenly echoed through the air of the room. “I’ll always be watching one of you.”
The room was left in silence.
Soarin sat up in bed and looked towards the ceiling as if looking for Discord. That… troll, that scoundrel, that… he completely avoided Soarin’s questions about the two figures in his head by making him focus on something he would clearly be more worried about.
He turned at looked at Dash, who was hugging herself and shaking slightly as if afraid of what she had just heard.
Soarin didn’t say anything. He ignored the new headache, reaching out to Dash. She quickly leaned towards him, climbing up into the bed and pressing herself into him, wrapping her arms around Soarin and squeezing him tightly around the chest as he held her tightly over her shoulders.
It was a rather disturbing piece of news for both of them to swallow… knowing that if Soarin couldn’t handle the magic it would have terrible consequences for Dash as well. It only strengthened their resolve to preserve their unbreakable connection, but also added new worries.
They lay on the bed in silence, attached to one another. They would find their voices soon, they would find their strength, and the shock would fade… they weren’t so weak minded to be broken by this. But for the moment… they just wanted to be in the comfort of the other as the true danger sunk in. Shadowbolts? Yeah, they were an issue at hoof… but, was it the real threat?
---To Be Continued---
Oh dear... looks like Dash and Soarin are a bit more connected than we thought.
Discord... that troll... But he has an agenda. He also claims to be the only one willing to do what must be done. I wonder what he could mean by that? A little confused? You know that just means it's gonna make sense later 
Who were those two large figures in the lights at the beginning? Well... heh... thats not being confirmed any time soon, but hey... i had a shadowbolt appear in part 2 and we didn't get more of them until part 3. You better believe that im following the same formula... teasing things to come in part four in the midst of part 3 
Anyway, let's all stare at that amazing Pic by Foxenawolf shall we? i think it's the best piece she's ever done for me 
I'm actually going to be introducing a new regular artist here soon along with Fox and scootafail. I like to use Fox for serious scenes, Chiwee for cute or fun scenes, and this third artist will be used mainly for humorous scenes. This artists style has a very fun cartoonish charm to it that i LOVE and i'll be introducing his first piece for me soon in an approaching chapter. 
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed!
Stats
Page generated in 0.073 seconds
Total duration
1,005 users online
1,670,841 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
that beginning reminded me of Alien X
Ill fkin rek u swer on me mum m9
What... The fuck...?
...*bomb falls and explodes*
My mind just exploded. Holy shit. Wow. Okay. Whew! Deep breaths, now, deep breaths. Wow. That's seriously all I can say. Wow. Just... Wow. So much to take in right now, like, oh my God. I need to breathe. I'll admit, the first half of it was like your typical go-lucky chapter with a little bit of side info such as the whole Soarin-dream-ponies thing, and a little bit of hilarity, but once Discord came into the picture, I was all like "Who? What? Where? Why? How? WHAT?!"
Wow. This, my friend, is a mind killer. If that makes any sense. See, I'm so disoriented I can't even figure out what makes sense and what doesn't. 
So Dash and Soarin are literally spiritually connected, and Spitfire was only there for moral support. That basically sums it all up, right?
Well, while my brain is still recovering from being blown into bits, AWESOME CHAPTER!!!! Can't wait for 84!
Luna isn't going to help still. I wonder what is going to get her to help. My latest theory is that Blue guy is Sombra, and Yellow Mare is Celestia. That is why we haven't seen her at all!!!!! I wonder how long till we see what Luna has been doing. It may change our opinion of her. I guess we will see.
Hey there was that grenade I was looking for. Yeah it blew up in my face, but . . .
Kidding aside, that was a lot to dump on my poor fragile heart. I nearly died of the feels
Here's hoping things look up soon.
5902772 http://www.equestriadaily.com/2015/04/awesome-pmv-solid-dream.html#more
Somehow I'm even losing faith in Luna. At least Discord seems more forward. Heck I'll trust him more then Luna.
5902991 Same here.
Well then... I have a feeling this new development will give soarin just a bit more motivation to get this under control. And I still stand by my celestia theroy, that pony in soarins head could still be her... Especially since she sorta comforted soarin. Although why did soarin go all 'selfish' when he was under the effects of the yellow magic
.
*sigh* I geuss I'll just go back to my corner and wait for an update. Man this story is more addictive then bath salts (not that I would know).
You have impeckable timing. I was just thinking... I want another chapter... and poof I had another chapter AND I WAS IN IT! *squeel* AS A CAPTIAN
Poor Dash, Yep, I thought her emotions were affecting the magic.
And visy Versy.
Great chapter. Poor Dash...
One day they might learn telepathy...
Calm - Again I cannot help but be impressed... but I'm also hugely pleased that I called it. Rainbow Dash's life is on the line too.
I'm pretty sure I know who the figures in Soarin's head are... I'm probably right, but I am SO looking forward to finding out one way or another!
Eagerly awaiting the next chapter!
~Witching Hour
For some reason , the big yellow figure..... Is it Celestia?
Just a theory though... Because she hasn't appeared at all!
Anyway, awesome chapter
5902996
You know, I came up with that same conclusion myself. It could explain why the yellow magic made him feel so good, because of Celestia's power coursing through him.
Celestia could be out for the count because she's actually floating around inside Soarin's skull keeping Sombra at bay.
Progress is key
Can't think of anything worthwhile to say at the moment to jump into the convo.
(Assistance? Anyone?)
5903440 True. And the one to see Celestia the last time was Discord, so if anyone would have noticed her spirit gone from her body it would have been her. That would explain why Luna was Clueless about the voices.
Great chapter! The whole 'rainbows soul is in soarin' is awesome! But, does that mean if rainbow and spitfire die, soarin would too?
Me every time this story updates.
ist1-2.filesor.com/pimpandhost.com/5/2/8/8/52886/1/e/H/s/1eHs8/Pinkie_Pie_Rocket_Take_Off.gif
what a beautiful thing to find
after a long hard day of lifeguard training followed by 5 hours of paperwork for another job 
i dont think i have ever signed this many papers in my life whats with the 'muricas government and its constant need to shove more paperwork at you
now to read!!!
Great chapter! I think the best theory at the moment is that the yellow magic is Celestia and the blue is Sombra (he said they were bigger than him as well) it would make the most sense at least.
Alright, now we're getting down to the crux of things. Maybe we'll be able to start learning about all that's going on now
And... Soarin's spirit has been put back together with a piece of Dash's? I guess you could say they're... soulmates?
15 live readers, may be a new record, while I'm on of course. I have no idea how many people read this fic but I'm sure its a lot
Anyway, I didn't read the chapter yet, but I'm sure it will be just as great as the other ones, looking forward to it
.
Glad to see you put in more WaveFire, SoarinDash is great and it is my favorite thing to ship, but I'm glad that such a long story has other couples to focus on. I like some of the others, but WaveFire is my favorite secondary couple in this story
.
I hope to see more "couple moments" in the future with everyone, maybe find someone for Fleetfoot
, I'm not trying to criticize you, she just seems lonely 
Anyway, I don't wanna take up too much of your time, you gotta write the next chapter
, keep being awesome!
And honestly, I hope people praise you more, I am sure others will agree with me when I say you deserve it!
encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTZFMvjxBqe7WuEdEwn6SLK5qpMBB4BW3YxjHA-vtdGkQY2I98PTQ
ok so the too magic inside his head the mare's the yellow which is euphoria and calmness and reduced morals and the blue stallion is aggresion so one whithout the other is bad to he needs to harmonize them like yin and yang
wow these are more connected than i thought but i perfer this story
rlv.zcache.com/yellow_yin_yang_symbol_round_sticker-r9106e02b579445649b9a45115d19acca_v9waf_8byvr_512.jpg
and him and dash are connected in a way that reminds me of the lux series eg one of the characters are healed with the other involded and the end product is that they are both connected and the healed one has special powers
static2.hypable.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/The-Lux-series.jpg
oh and dash has the same attention span i do when listening to lecture
is everything here right????
Discord........... YOU ARE GOOD!
Also luna is like f you. you dont help :P
Man this is getting more interesting by each chapter. Why do I get the feeling that celestia is the mare? Me and everyone else
So dashie can feel when soarin is in pain huh? This is quite the reveal. Why can't I like more than once
You know as crazy as this seems I'm starting to trust discord more than Luna…What? You know it's true…right?
I just.....................*facehoof*
And Celestia such a troll
Then Luna, why just why
Gah! I have no words for you useless pony
Ok, so the yellow one has to be Celestia... I'm almost sure of it. The blue one, got no friggen idea...
I was half expecting Discord to make an appearance as soon as they walked into the room to discuss the magic... Let's be honest, no one ever gets time to actually discuss the magic without him jumping in at some point.
Amazing! Just amazing!
5902996 5903440 I thought the same, but there's one thing we have to consider here.
Dash hurts the yellow magic. So if that's Tia, why is it hurting her?
Secondly, I thought of Sombra as well... but then I remembered the the events of the last story. Nightshade caught Soarin and Dash, possibly on the orders of this 'Kayn Osy' (I hope I remembered that right.)
So... what if the blue magic is this 'Kayn Ost'?
5901416 AHHHHH I WANT TO SEE SILVERS KIDS!!! Oh, and at the end of the chapter, PRIDE. Oh, the pride....
media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m93ctvRDJb1qak9k1.gif
ing knew it!!!!!!! I knew Soarin would see the ponies in his mind! I KNEW IT!!!! I also knew that Discord would be great in one of these chapters. It's been a long time since we got to see Discord being the magnificent basterd that he is
(they need a Discord emoji) I. Am. PSYCHIC!
I f
5904585
You have a point there sir. I never thought of that. Hmmmnkayesel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/emma-watson-hermione-granger-thinking.gif
Also *gasp* calm wind, ARE YOU SURE YOU HAVENT READ THE PERCY JACKSON SERIES?!?!?! Because I found another reference, in the second bookin order to save himself from a cyclops, Grover creates with Percy something called an empathy link. What's going on between Soarin and Dashie sounds a lot like an empathy link to me
hOLY COW. This chapter was intense! But very interesting all the same.!
5902991
Don't forget, Spitfire was the one who got Soarin to come to his senses during that whole bizarre sequence in head in the clouds, her presence was just as important as Dash's but indeed... Dash and Soarin are spiritually connected, and if you're confused, you are meant to be
Because as Discord said, perceptions of existence beyond their understanding. But believe me, that connection is VERY important and as part 3 goes on... you'll be glad you learned this here 
And thanks!
5902996
interesting theory!
And Luna... Luna is definitely up to something, but what?
(believe me, it wont be long until we find out)
5903075
indeed, it was a lot for their little pony hearts to take, but the two of them are strong, it won't break them so easily.
5903114
WAS THAT TWISTER AT THE BEGINNING?!?!?!!?!
5903130
if only we knew Luna's side of the story
5903150
I don't know if selfish is the right word... the yellow magic made him... almost high i guess is the best way to put it. the power flow was so intense it made him drunk with euphoria to the point where he had no desire to stop it, clouding his mind and making him chase any and all desires without a second thought... and there's a reason for that
All in due time.
5903268
Thank you!
It may be a while before we learn about Soarin's troubles... but you can bet other questions are on the brink of being answered
5903365
she has "appeared" once. After Soarin was nearly overtaken by the magic the first time and Fancy pants fought him off, Discord took him to a room filled with a bright light and said "you have some explaining to do, Celestia" but what could that mean?
5903370
indeed you were, trust me, i love hearing theories, but i love it even more when people get it right, because then they can be excited when i reveal it to them
And... this is assuming... that the two will tell the other Wonderbolts
5905580 oh!! I forgot about that!
Stop trolling around !!!
5903529
indeed, Discord is a troll, hence he's the one who referred to her as such
and yyyeeeeaaaahhhh I had to bend it for Silver because it worked so well for the rest xD If Lightning Streak had been available i would have used him, but alas, i did not have that luxury. However, Silver's use of Lightning worked out well for something important later on
5903683
Spitfire is safe, she provided support to Celestia during the transfer, but Celestia turned to Dash to make the spiritual link. Thats not to say that Spitfire didn't help, she did, after all, yell at Soarin to wake him up during the sequence where they saved him.
5903687
is it weird that i get such a JOY out of writing dialogue for Discord? his voice literally resonates through my head as i type
5903696
derpicdn.net/img/view/2013/6/1/338063__safe_solo_pinkie+pie_animated_upvotes+galore_happy_too+many+pinkie+pies_excited_extreme+speed+animation_prancing.gif
5904045
that's been the general theory!