MLP: FiM
Piercing the Heavens
By: Calm Wind
Chapter 170: The Wise Grump
“Hey, sorry, I know you said to come by the next day but…” Dash said out loud to herself as she walked into the hospital waiting room. “Hrm…” she shook her head. “I would’ve come earlier but Soarin… gah, no…” she grumbled as she walked right by the front desk, drawing the attention of the receptionist. “Yeah, you told me to come by, but…” Dash tried again, but grunted and sighed as she made her way towards the doors leading towards the hall.
“Um… Miss?” the receptionist tried to stop her, but Dash kept walking.
“Hey, ya old fart! Some really weird stuff happened, so I wasn’t able to… dammit…” Dash groaned as she pushed the doors open.
“Miss, you can’t go… um…” the receptionist trailed off as Dash let herself right in without checking in and started down the hall towards Silver’s room.
“I’ve been preoccupied by Soarin, you see he turned into an Alicorn and the gods…” Dash stopped and blinked. “Oh, who the hell am I kidding…?” she said with a heavy sigh as she tipped her head back. “He’s going to rip my head off no matter what I say,” she admitted to herself as she turned down the hall.
She forgot, plain and simple. Yeah, other things happened, but Silver was important to her too and she felt ashamed that she didn’t go see him right after the incident ended like he asked. She was going to get an earful, but it was well deserved. He was probably bored out of his mind too, so he was going to be extra grouchy.
She turned the final corner, her eyes landing on the door to Silver’s room only a short way down. She took several calm breaths, preparing herself for the verbal ass whooping she was bound to receive.
But she stopped when she came within a few paces of the door.
It was slightly open… and she could hear voices. She picked out Silver’s voice as she got closer, lightening her steps as she approached.
“And… that’s where we are now.”
Dash flinched and froze when she heard the voice.
That was… Spitfire’s voice.
“Are you feeding me full of crap?” Silver’s voice came from inside as well. Dash swallowed, shifting closer to the door.
“Nope. That’s what happened.” Spitfire said as Dash stopped short of the doorframe, remaining out of sight.
“There was a big ass fight, the gods got flattened, Sombra got shot with a rainbow that did nothing, everypony got front row seats to a televised boxing match in the sky, Celestia pulled her head out of some unseen ass in the sky, and Soarin’s now an alicorn?”
“That, uh…” Spitfire paused. “Yeah, that sums it up pretty well.”
“He knew we were joking when we called him a princess, right? That wasn’t a suggestion. He didn’t go the full nine miles did he? He still has his d—”
“YES... yes, he’s still a guy. Silver, come on,” Spitfire groaned.
“Just checking, I didn’t know male Alicorns were a thing.”
Dash clasped her hooves over her mouth to completely stifle a snicker. She was trying to focus on the fact that Spitfire was there, but Silver was making it hard to stay on point… per usual.
“I just don’t know…” Spitfire suddenly went on as Dash gathered herself and listened closely again.
“About what?” Silver asked.
“How I handled the whole thing,” Spitfire clarified quickly, causing Dash to perk up. “It was a very poor display, I’m still trying to figure out how things got so out of control.” She sighed in frustration. “I was so sure of myself too. I didn’t know if talking to Sombra would do anything, but I was thoroughly convinced it was the best course of action.”
“And it wasn’t, plain and simple.” Silver quickly stated. “What are you wallowing for? You made a judgement call. We all make mistakes.”
“I’d hardly call it a mistake, it was a disaster,” Spitfire said with a sigh. “I wasn’t considering any flexibility. I was set on course, I didn’t seek any guidance or other opinions, but maybe I was discouraging it with my attitude towards the gods or… I don’t know… but I clearly didn’t have the confidence of the force. And then Rainbow Dash went and—”
“Grew a pair of huge walnuts and tried to do things her own way.” Silver finished for her. Dash flinched.
“Wha—?, how did you…?”
“She came by beforehoof and told me she was doing it,” Silver said without hesitation as Dash awkwardly winced.
“You were awake before?” Spitfire asked quizzically.
“Yeah, these weak-ass meds they give me don’t knock me out at all. She came by to whine at the seat of my bed like you are now. She gave me the rundown and I told her I would’ve done the same thing.”
Silence. Dash did not dare peek in, but Spitfire didn’t say anything at first. Then she groaned, releasing a long sigh.
“If I had known you were awake I’d have…” she trailed off, rapping a hoof on the floor. “Dammit… If you were out there with us none of this would have happened.”
“Enough, cut that crap out,” Silver quickly shot back at her. “You honestly think I would have known what to do? I don’t know jack shit about Sombra or whatever the hell he was doing swinging another stallion’s dick around like he owns the place.”
“But you wouldn’t have let me go in the direction I did. You would have told me off for going overboard, kept me grounded like you always do.”
“Sounds like I didn’t need to, hm?” Silver stated with a hum. “Dash went ahead and did it for me.”
“No she didn’t,” Spitfire huffed. “She tried to sneak behind my back. You would’ve gotten in my face and—”
“You don’t know that,” Silver cut her off.
“Don’t bullshit me.”
“I’m not. If I thought the best way to handle the situation was to backstab you, I’d have done the same thing,” Silver said very casually. Dash winced as he put it that way. “You’re not going to get me with that look, my wife does it way better.”
“Stop trying to defend Dash’s methods. I know you, Silver. You would have told me off directly and I would have listened. That’s your method of keeping us focused and it works, it’s effective. It would have been different and there’s nothing you can say to convince me otherwise.”
“And?” Silver simply replied, followed by a pause.
“And what?” Spitfire asked.
“Sooner or later you’re gonna have to cross the street without big daddy Silver Lining holding your damn hoof and reminding you to look both ways.”
“Could you… PLEASE… never refer to yourself as ‘big daddy’ ever again?” Spitfire asked in a tone that was clearly accompanied with cringing.
“Well what in the fuck should I call myself when you say something stupid like that?” Silver snorted. “I’m not the captain of the Wonderbolts, you are. If you’re seeking out my seal of approval on everything then you’re doing something wrong.”
“I know that!” Spitfire suddenly raised her voice. “I’m just… I mean…” she stammered, paused, and released a long sigh. “Who am I trying to fool…? I rely on you way too much, and since you got your clock cleaned by Nightshade things have gone south because I haven’t done MY part to fill that void. It’s my responsibility to adjust.”
“‘Clock-cleaned?’ I feel like I’ve been insulted,” Silver grunted.
“What do you want me to call it?” Spitfire asked. “A spanking? A drubbing? You look in a mirror and tell me what happened.”
“She beat me black and blue, but not before I swung my big iron balls in her face and knocked her blinders off. At least acknowledge that,” Silver demanded.
“I’m not acknowledging your balls,” Spitfire groaned.
“You will be in a second if you keep talking like a weenie.”
At this point Dash was surprised she hadn’t given herself away yet, clutching her sides as she tried to be serious about the situation.
“That’s it, I’m drawing the line on the references to your penis RIGHT there,” Spitfire shouted in a flustered tone. “Just… listen to me will you?! You’re right! And I know what I’m supposed to do, but it’s… harder than you think.”
“What’s so hard about being captain?” There was a pause. “Quit looking at me like I’m flirting with Wave Chill right in front of you, I want you to tell me in your own words.”
“It’s…” Spitfire looked down, going no further. “I…”
“That’s enough,” Silver abruptly cut her off. “You know why you didn’t answer right away? Because there is no way to put it into words aside from exactly what it is. You’re carrying a lot on your back and everypony looks to you for guidance. But that guidance is something you have to balance very carefully. You’ve never relied on me… you’ve trusted me, and trusted me to give my honest opinion on more situations than you can remember. But I’ve never forced you to see things my way, I’ve only encouraged you to think carefully. Have you usually done exactly as I’ve suggested? Yes, you have. But I’ve never given my two bits expecting full compliance in return.”
There was a long pause. Dash glanced towards the door frame and leaned, but froze as Silver continued.
“A good leader keeps everypony’s eyes forward. A great leader… also looks through the eyes of those they lead. They guide their followers while also taking into account everypony when they make decisions and confide in those they trust to weigh all possible options. You’ve been doing it right all along, you just didn’t know you were and were too focused one point. You believed it was something else and it led you astray here. I wasn’t keeping you in line, I was helping you make a choice. All of the Wonderbolts can do that for you…” he paused. “Okay, maybe not Air Mach, but generally speaking all of them are capable of giving their firm opinion. They all earned their rank, they are all capable. You just need to trust them the same way you’ve always trusted me. You can’t see that I’m gone and harden up like you need to fill a leadership gap I left behind. That’s probably what kept them from speaking out. I doubt it was your anger at Luna and Discord because I’m pretty sure they all felt the same.”
“Then… it really is a delicate balance,” Spitfire sighed. “Only you and Soarin would’ve had the guts to stand up to me and neither of you were there.”
“But the others did eventually step in to stop you, didn’t they?” Silver reminded her.
“Yeah, they did…” Spitfire said quietly.
“And why do you think they did?” Silver pressed.
“Because…?”
“Somepony else had the guts to stand up to you. They weren’t direct about it, but because of her, they were able to see what they had to do… and they stopped you from going overboard.”
Dash swallowed, knowing that Silver was talking about her.
“I think you’re missing what’s come out of this situation that’s good,” Silver went on. “You’re here, right now, acknowledging that it was all wrong. I don’t give a damn if it was a potentially life-or-death situation. You are young, and the leader of the new generation of Wonderbolts. You were thrown into a chaotic scenario and were well outside of your comfort zone… and not just you, all of them were. Luck has it that you all survived, so what are you going to do now? Keep on about how you messed up or take a good look at what happened and learn from it? You got to see what happens when things go awry with your own two eyes. Now what are you going to do about it?”
Spitfire remained silent again, waiting for several moments.
“I wonder…” she suddenly began again. “I wonder if Dash saw all of this? I assumed she just wanted to save Soarin her own way because she’s headstrong like that, but… now that we’re talking about this,” she released a long breath. “Did she see that something wasn’t right? Did she see that I wasn’t being reasonable? Did she know that her actions would spur the rest of the Wonderbolts to come to their senses and do something about… me?”
“My bits are on she didn’t think that far ahead and she just wanted a sure way of saving her source of rowdy rough ramming,” Silver suggested bluntly. Dash’s eyes widened and her mouth scrunched up, but she kept quiet. “But she has a way of having her head in the right place and making the right thing happen, whether it was intentional or not. She may have been thinking of Soarin or maybe she felt her connection with him gave her a better chance of solving it. Who knows, really, but she did so against what she felt was the wrong move that she couldn’t work around. In the end the other Wonderbolts caught on, and did what they had to do for your sake as well as theirs.”
“I…” Spitfire took a deep breath. “I really should talk to her… shouldn’t I? I came here because I thought talking to you would help me acknowledge my missteps, but maybe… maybe the one I have to face is her. I’ve been avoiding her, honestly.”
Dash perked up, barely holding in a gasp.
Spitfire had been avoiding her too?
“Well, you can do that right now,” Silver suddenly suggested. Dash flinched and held still.
A quick exit suddenly sounded like a good idea… if Spitfire found out she was right there the whole time…
“I’ve… well. No, I can’t, not right this instant.” Spitfire mumbled. “I’ve felt awkward about the whole thing and—”
“No, you’re going to do it right now,” Silver repeated. “Isn’t that right, Dash?”
Dash froze, her pupils shrinking.
“I said…” Silver growled. “Isn’t. That. Right. Dash?”
Dash didn’t move a muscle.
“GET YOUR FUCKING POT OF GOLD ASS OUT HERE DAMMIT! YOUR SIX FLAVOR TAIL’S BEEN STICKING OUT FOR THE PAST TEN MINUTES!” He suddenly belted.
“Wait, WHAT?!” Spitfire reacted in surprise.
Fan art by Valentine_x
Dash slowly glanced down at her tail. It was, indeed, sticking out past the door frame. For how long, she had no idea.
“Shit…” Dash muttered to herself while pressing her teeth together.
She slowly and reluctantly stood up, turned around, and shifted over to come into view. She saw Silver first, giving her a one-eyed glare from his bed. He wasn’t nearly as mummified or wired to as many machines as when she last saw him, but he was still very patched up including his lost eye, his smashed arm, and missing wing all thoroughly wrapped or encased. As she entered the room she also saw Spitfire, staring in shock as Dash appeared.
“Uh… hi…” Dash said very sheepishly, blushing slightly in embarrassment.
“Pop quiz, Skittles!” Silver broke the silence quickly, causing Dash to flinch. “How many hours are in half a day?”
Dash blinked.
“Half a day? Twelve ho—”
“WRONG!” Silver cut her off, yelling at the top of his lungs and causing Spitfire to jump in surprise. “From now on half a day is THREE HUNDRED AND THIRTY SIX HOURS LONG! We’re gonna tell time your way from now on!”
“Oh…” Dash looked down with a blank expression. “Yeah… that… uh…”
“What’s your excuse?” Silver added, narrowing his eyes at her as Spitfire continued to stare.
“Well, I—”
“Bullshit, you forgot and left me to rot in here,” Silver finished for her. “I see how it is.”
“NO!” Dash quickly moved towards him, a very concerned look on her face. “I mean, yes… THAT I FORGOT! Not that I left you to…”
“I know I know, I’m just giving you a hard time,” Silver chuckled as his tone softened. Dash blinked, skidding to a halt on her hooves before she could reach the side of his bed. She pouted at him.
“That’s… not funny,” she said in a slightly shaky tone with a quivering lip. Even she was a little surprised how much the thought alone put a lump in her throat. Silver quickly noticed her reaction.
“Alright, alright, relax. I was kidding around. Sheesh, did you forget who you’re talking to?” He appealed to her as she sniffled once and shook her head out.
“Please don’t joke about that,” Dash said with a sigh. “Not after you almost…”
“Too soon, I get it. But really, I had my wife here nagging me nonstop, so it wasn’t like I was alone. But enough about me. You’ve got great timing. Somepony here needs to talk to you,” he said as he glanced towards Spitfire. Dash twitched, she had almost forgotten that Spitfire was there.
“I do?” Spitfire said impulsively while looking at Silver. Silver only gave her a flat look. “I mean… yes, yes…” she shook out her head. “I, suppose I do, but…” she looked away and exhaled, her body jittering slightly. Dash nervously averted her eyes as well. Silver looked back and forth between the two of them while lifting an eyebrow.
“For crying out loud…” Silver grumbled as he focused on Spitfire. “You faced down a possessed Stallion three times your size, but you’re shying away from a frank conversation with a recruit? What is this, a middle school dance? You’re shaking like a dog trying to shit a peach seed.”
“You’re not helping!” Spitfire yelled at him.
“Then say something, dammit!”
“No, stop,” Dash spoke up, catching them both by surprise. “She doesn’t have to. We both know what happened. I did what I thought I had to do, plain and simple.” Dash sat down, took a deep breath, and looked directly at Spitfire. “I knew she wasn’t going to like it, but I really didn’t see any other choice. In the end, neither of us were right, but we both came out of it alive and Soarin survived… so maybe it’s best that we just say it happened and move on.”
Silver gave her a look of disapproval, but he kept his mouth shut. He slowly looked towards Spitfire, examining her expression as she stared at Dash. It quickly changed.
“Wait. No,” Spitfire suddenly stood up and stepped towards Dash. Silver smiled as she moved. “We can’t just move on, we need to talk about it.”
“Atta-girl,” Silver commented.
“Oh shut it,” she turned and huffed at him. “We don’t need to hear from the peanut gallery.”
“If things get sappy, you’re hearing from it,” Silver chuckled.
“This is hard enough for me as is, please don’t commentate. And this is serious. Nothing sappy about it,” Spitfire argued as Dash failed to hold back a smirk.
“Oh, believe me,” Silver pointed at Dash. “She can be real sappy, let me tell you.”
“Hey…” Dash pouted, but Spitfire looked at her and shook her head.
“Ignore him, I… we…” she sighed. “We’ve put this off long enough. We need to have an honest discussion about what happened out there.”
Dash turned from Silver and looked Spitfire right in the eyes. It was hard to read her face. She looked extremely conflicted, as if there was a battle between regret and resolution in her head. But the resolution seemed to be winning over, Spitfire collecting herself as she stared right back into Dash’s eyes.
“We were both wrong, but it still happened, and as captain, I need to acknowledge why.” She placed a hoof on Dash’s shoulder. “We need to be frank and honest about our actions. It was not right for you to undercut me, but I also doubt I would have listened if you had been upfront. When I think about it from your point of view, I can understand why you felt the need to do it that way, and it’s my fault for putting you in that position. I put everypony in that position, and it wasn’t until you made your move and stuck to your plan that the rest of the Wonderbolts came around and realized they had let me go astray. Your actions helped them realize that they needed to reign me in and put me back on the ground to see what I had done. I… need to thank you for that. And now that I think about it… had they not followed your lead, I might have stopped you from reaching Soarin. Things may have ended up completely different.”
Dash blinked, her eyes wide as she listened to Spitfire, but she quickly touched a hoof to Spitfire’s outstretched arm.
“I can’t let you say you’re entirely to blame,” she began with a familiar serious gaze that struck Spitfire. She wanted to glance at Silver, but she kept her focus on Dash. “Maybe I wouldn’t have convinced you, but if I had been upfront, then maybe I could have convinced the others to confront you right away. Instead I took the other approach and they didn’t follow my lead until everything was going to hell and back,” Dash shook her head. “We both went in head strong and both made mistakes. I dragged others into my plan both willingly and unwillingly. One ended up outing us and the situation between us became hostile. I sure as hell didn’t want to fight you out there, but that’s what it led to and I refuse to say I had no fault in that.”
They let go of one another.
“I guess you’re right then… we can’t just move on from this. There’s too much to take away from it.” Dash continued. “Nopony was right, but we need to learn from it.” She gave Spitfire a firm nod. “I promise that I’ll never go behind your back again when I disagree with you… I should have done what this asshole would have done.” She made a head motion towards Silver.
Spitfire briefly glanced at him with a somewhat smug look on her face. Silver looked away and made an exaggerated shrug.
“And I…” Spitfire nodded. “Need to put the same trust in everypony else that I used to reserve for Silver. I used to take his word like it was the only one that mattered, like it could overrule mine because he was a longtime veteran and just knew better than I did, but… that was wrong. I need to lead the Wonderbolts, I need to be strict about our goals and how we reach them, but I also need to be open to hearing all suggestions and takes. I’ve always been in favor of the Wonderbolts becoming more of a family than a force… It’s time we faced our challenges like one.”
“I can get behind that,” Dash nodded with a smile.
“And Dash, I…” Spitfire suddenly awkwardly swayed and glanced down, her mouth scrunching up.
“You okay?” Dash asked, blinking.
“Yes, I’m… oh hell with it, come here…” Spitfire suddenly stepped forward and hugged Dash. Dash froze with a blank look on her face.
“Er… Spitfire?” she said as she glanced at Silver. Silver repeated his exaggerated shrug.
“Is this weird?” Spitfire asked without letting go. “Please tell me it isn’t weird,” she stated as Dash’s eyes darted back and forth.
“Um… maybe a little? Just not what I expect from…”
“You see I don’t like that,” Spitfire sighed, still remaining clasped to Dash gently. “This is something I regret. You wouldn’t bat an eye if Fleetfoot did this to you.”
Dash perked up, the surprise vanishing from her face.
“We’re… friends, Dash. Let’s forget rank for a moment,” she released Dash and held her at arm’s length. “How much have we been through together? Since Ponyville I can’t even remember it all. You and Soarin have become so close, you and Fleet are close. You have a good friendship with Squad Three… and with Silver… what happened to us?”
“Spitfire…” Dash wasn’t sure what to say, Spitfire sounded legitimately upset on the topic.
“I know that we have a professional standing, I’m the highest ranked Wonderbolt and you’re still a new recruit, but that didn’t stop Soarin and Fleet, or any of the other top elites who have gotten to know you well. I don’t care if I’m the lead captain, that’s really no excuse. Then there’s what happened to Wave… Silver nearly died… Soarin was taken away from me… I just… oh, what am I saying?! Those are just more excuses! That didn’t stop me from confiding in Fleetfoot!”
Spitfire paused and turned away.
“And then, out there, among all the things I screwed up, I attacked you. I physically harmed you. It’s like nothing between the two of us mattered. I didn’t hesitate or think twice!” Spitfire’s voice sharpened. “What… what the hell is wrong with me?!” she asked while glaring at the floor and stomping.
“Hey! No…” Dash quickly stepped up to her and placed both hooves on her shoulders. “Stop that, right now!” she said while tightly gripping her shoulders. “We are friends, Spitfire. I’ve always felt that way. Don’t let one crazy instance convince you otherwise!”
“Hrnggg…” Spitfire groaned, reaching up and pressing a hoof to her forehead. “I can’t confidently say I’ve held up my end of that, Dash. I really can’t… and that bothers me. It’s nice to hear you say it, but if that’s the case then I haven’t been a very good friend.”
Dash opened her mouth to retort, but quickly shut it. She wanted to tell Spitfire she was wrong, to deny her self-criticism, but… this was how she felt. She was convinced that her duties led her astray from other things that were important to her. And if she was acknowledging that, it was a good thing.
So instead, Dash hugged her. Spitfire quickly hugged her back.
“I don’t hold any of it against you, Spitfire. At least know that,” she let go and put Spitfire at arm’s length. “And we’re still here, we’re still alive. There’s no time like the present. I’ll be here for you just like Fleet or Soarin would be. Things can still be like they were back when we first got to know each other. If you want to do something about it, I’m not going to say no.”
Spitfire just stared at her for a few moments before putting on a weak smile.
“I appreciate that, Dash… I really do… thank you,” Spitfire nodded.
“Pthhhhhhhhpthbphtbpthbtphbtphbphpthbbhpthbpthpbhtphpbtbpphbhtpbtphhtpbhbbbbtthhh…”
Both Dash and Spitfire lifted their brow and turned to look at Silver. He was staring at the ceiling and blowing endless raspberries.
“…thpbhpthbtphpthphbptbhptphbTHP.” He stopped and turned his head to look at them. “What?”
“Just couldn’t resist, could you?” Spitfire asked while flattening her brow.
“Sorry, all that sap made my blood sugar spike. Made me all gassy,” he commented flatly while releasing a soft belch.
He glanced back and forth between the two of them as they both stared flatly. Eventually he looked back up at the ceiling and chuckled.
“Okay, cut that out,” he said while looking back at them with a smile. “I’m proud of you both.”
Both of them blinked, the flat stares quickly replaced with surprised ones.
“You know… if everything you’ve told me about happened to me and the bolts back when I was still a young hotshot… I seriously doubt any of us could have done what I just saw the two of you do. With all the pride and self-righteousness that ran rampant throughout the force, it would take months for anypony to acknowledge mistakes or to let bygones be bygones… much less actually learn anything from it. If Blazetail spent a whole sequence beating the shit out of Cannon Ball over lack of agreement, that would be it, they’d never speak again. But here we are two weeks later and the two of you just had a frank conversation about what occurred, you both admitted mistakes, and you even addressed something important to you both that these very events have thrown a wrench into.”
Dash and Spitfire glanced at one another as Silver smiled wider.
“That was very impressive and mature of you both, and Spitfire? It’s a testament to your push to focus on the force as a family. You need to know that.”
“But…” Spitfire looked down. “You always used to say…”
“I know what I always used to say, and you can chalk it up to me being an old, grouchy mule,” Silver said with a grunt. “Yeah, the discipline isn’t as strong… the organization is not as strict… Sometimes you all get too emotional… but let’s be honest, when it comes to the functions of the force, nothing has actually changed there, only the approach. And after watching us go through all this, seeing everything go nuts to the point that it caused ruptures to order within… and to come out of it reasonably? Pinch me, either I’m dreaming or the culture you’ve brought into the Wonderbolts has the potential to make us more than we’ve ever been.”
Spitfire didn’t know what to say, and she kept staring at Silver with wide eyes even as Dash looked towards her. A slight tint of red appeared on Spitfire’s cheeks as she cracked a smile and looked down. The sight made Dash feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. She knew exactly what it felt like to get praise from a pony like Silver Lining, and by the looks of things Spitfire was getting a full dose.
“Now could one of you PLEASE scratch behind my left shoulder, it itches like hell and I’m about to lose my goddamn mind,” Silver suddenly asked while twitching.
“PFFFFT!” Spitfire immediately blew air between her lips and started laughing. “You are TERRIBLE!” she said as she clutched her stomach. “You just can't let a good moment linger, can you?!”
“I’m serious, somepony help! I’m about to flip this whole bed!” Silver feigned a raspy, struggling voice. “GIVE ME SOME LOVE! QUICK!”
Dash rolled her eyes, smiling as she moved forward, reached under Silver’s shoulder and moved her hoof up and down.
“Ooo, ahh… aaaaaaaaahhhh…” Silver grunted in satisfaction.
“There, how’s that?” Dash tipped her head slightly. “That enough ‘love’ for you?”
“Actually the love’s a little to the left,” Silver leaned slightly.
“Oh, come on…”
“LEFT! I SAID LEFT, DAMMIT!” he demanded. Dash sighed and moved her hoof left. “YEEEEAAAaaaaaaahhhhhhhh right there…”
“Happy?” Dash asked. Silver looked up at her, then past her to see Spitfire sitting, facing them, with a smile on her face.
“Yeah, I’m good,” Silver said with a nod as Dash looked over her shoulder to see Spitfire as well. “Now then…” Silver suddenly bobbed his head towards Dash. “We’ve had enough kissing between the two of you to summon Blaze and Winds by the smell of lesbian alone. Now that we’ve got that taken care of…” he trailed off slightly to take in the flat looks he received from them both, smirking to himself before training his eyes on Dash. “Must’ve been a reason you came here, right? You didn’t come here to eavesdrop on Spitfire. What have you been doing for the past Rainbow Dash style half-day?”
Dash’s eyes widened and her mouth flattened as she quickly remembered. Spitfire tipped her head slightly as she read Dash’s expression.
“Oh, huh… if you two want some privacy, I’ll just—” She started to turn, but Dash quickly extended a wing into her path.
“No, honestly I think you should hear this too,” Dash said with a long sigh. “Some of it has to do with Soarin.”
Spitfire’s eyes grew the moment Dash mentioned him and Silver hummed with interest.
“Hm? This should be good,” he said as he lifted his brow.
“I mean…” Dash sat down and scratched the back of her head. “Part of the reason I came here is already taken care of. Hard to be mad after all that, but… yeah some crazy things have been happening. I need to get it off my chest and…” she looked towards Spitfire. “Fleet already asked me to keep her up to date on Soarin since Discord was personally coming out to turn me away, but I can go ahead and take care of that with you.”
“Discord was…” Spitfire blinked. “He was actually coming out of the room? P.L. kept turning us away.”
“You’re letting the old moon humper boss you around?” Silver asked with a snort.
“You want to try getting through him?” Spitfire asked frankly. “While he’s backed up by his pointy teeth hissmates, crystal guards, and a massive locked door?”
“Ask Dash about the easiest way to get his balls twisted in a knot later,” he said with a smirk. Spitfire looked towards Dash quizzically.
“I’ll tell you later,” Dash deflected with a slight smile. “If I tell you now you’ll laugh yourself out of the hospital.”
“Fair enough.”
“But anyway…” Dash refocused. “Discord was coming out himself to deny me entry, even though I probably wouldn’t have gotten by either way. I didn’t know that was a thing until Fleetfoot told me you guys hadn’t seen Discord once.”
“That means something, there are no coincidences with that amalgamasshole,” Silver grunted. “I hope you did something about it.”
“I did, but we’ll get to that part,” Dash confirmed.
“Good,” Silver nodded in satisfaction. “Continue.”
“I eventually did something, yeah, but the reason I did was because of what’s been happening to me personally since Soarin transformed. After I learned Discord was only showing up for me I really started to wonder about it.”
“Strange things? What sort of strange things?” Spitfire asked, interested and concerned.
“It would take forever to explain it all, but…” Dash began. “Short version. Soarin’s apparently been turned into a god and since I’m spiritually connected to him… I think I’ve been… enhanced?” she paused and looked at them both. They were just staring as if it sounded silly. “That’s, honestly the best way to put it. I didn’t really see it in full until just now today. I have increased strength, endurance. When I was lifting weights, there was no fatigue or tension in my body until I had gone hard for way longer than normal. Also it’s all been to a ridiculous degree. I ripped off a few door handles completely by accident recently and I’ve clearly gained some muscle mass too.”
Spitfire blinked and leaned her head down.
“You have? I haven’t really—”
Dash took a quick breath and puffed out her chest, tensing her muscles. She turned and bent her arm inward, flexing her arm as well. Spitfire’s eyes widened.
“Whoa, okay…” she agreed while looking Dash’s body over. “That’s… a pretty impressive increase.”
“Matteo followed me to the gym and helped me test it out. I was almost able to lift as much weight as you do,” Dash explained while relaxing her body.
“So far this sounds pretty good,” Silver said bluntly. “Extra strength and endurance? Would be nice if my wife could do that for me. I only get headaches and lectures from her.”
“Oh, stop,” Dash snorted. “It hasn’t been… all good,” she continued while glancing away and rubbing a hoof up and down her arm. “When I was working out I… lost control of myself. I got overly excited and started acting all weird.”
She paused and stared for several seconds at Spitfire, then at Silver.
“And when I finally looked in the mirror, I was glowing yellow.”
Silver blinked, quickly looking at Spitfire as her ears stood up. Dash saw them both react and was relieved they both seemed to immediately remember the same thing she did.
“Yellow…” Spitfire spoke. “As in, like Soarin did that one time?”
“That’s what it looked like,” Dash said with a nod.
“Hrmnmm…” Silver suddenly groaned under his breath and looked away. It wasn’t a good memory for any of them, but in Silver’s case it was hard to think about a time he got beaten senseless. Or, well… another time he got beaten senseless.
“That’s troubling, does that mean Celestia’s magic is… in you now? Or…” Spitfire asked and trailed off as Silver continued to grumble to himself.
“Hell if I know,” Dash shrugged. “Maybe it is, maybe it’s an indirect, but it’s eerily similar in effect. I pretty much went wild and became unhinged. I was dancing around the gym, flexing like I was posing for a show, and talking to myself. But I was at least able to pull out of it. As soon as I saw the yellow light it shocked me right out of how good it felt.”
“Great, so you’re filled full of libido energy and scooting your thighs all over the gym equipment,” Silver suddenly chimed in with a grumpy tone. “Just don’t come near me when you start ripping doors off hinges again. I can’t really defend myself at the moment.”
“I’m not going to start punching you, Silver.” Dash assured him. “I know what I’m dealing with here, and the memory was enough to break me free. Soarin was blindsided by it and had no idea what was happening to him.”
“Terrific, can we skip to the part where you told Discord to get fucked? That’s the story I want to hear,” he tried to push away from the topic.
“Well that leads into it. Matteo found me after it all happened, and after helping me test my strength, he convinced me to sneak in to see what’s actually going on with Soarin.”
“Sneak? Come on…” Silver moaned in discontent.
“Let her speak, please,” Spitfire rapped a hoof against Silver’s mattress. “You tried to sneak in? Did you get in?” she asked eagerly.
“Had some help, but yeah. I got in and neither Discord nor Luna were present.” She glanced down and paused. “And I saw him.”
“Soarin? You saw Soarin?” Spitfire stepped towards her, the look in her eyes growing more concerned by the second. “Is he okay?”
“I… don’t know,” Dash said with a sigh and a shrug. “Discord told me that one of the main reasons they had him holed up in there was the safety of everypony else. Naturally I thought he was full of shit and keeping things from me, but after going in there… I might actually believe him.”
“What?” Spitfire pulled back slightly. “What do you mean? What happened?”
“Easy now, Spitfire,” Silver spoke up. His expression had changed, he was looking at Dash very carefully, and she knew exactly why. “You’re telling me Discord ISN’T filling us full of shit about something? You better convince me right now that you haven’t lost your mind.” He demanded, his eye narrowing considerably as he spoke.
“I didn’t say I trust him,” Dash clarified. “But in this case I think I believe him.”
“Start talking,” Silver pushed, keeping his gaze firm. The look bounced right off of Dash as she crossed her arms and lifted an eyebrow.
“Are you ready? ‘Cause this is about to get extra weird,” she warned.
“Try me,” Silver snorted.
“Soarin was encased in a large bubble of light, I was pulled towards him like I had swallowed magnets, I nearly threw up while trying to hide when Luna came back, Luna thought she was me and tried to suck on his face, I rightfully raged at her, I couldn’t control my anger as she ran off, Soarin started to sound like he was passing a kidney stone as I got angry, and Discord whisked me out of there before it could get any worse. I yelled at him, but he fired back with a bunch of hysterical, unrelated topics, criticizing everything from Luna to sliced bread while telling me to leave and not bother him again until he actually knows what to do.”
Dash sat still as Spitfire started with wide eyes and Silver’s expression twitched.
“Excuse me, what?” Spitfire stuttered. “Soarin… bubble… Luna sucking… sliced bread… huh?”
“Okay, now what really happened?” Silver asked with a snort.
“I didn’t make any of that up,” Dash huffed. “Okay, I made up the sliced bread part.”
“Start over please,” Spitfire quickly demanded. “And give us more detail.”
Dash sighed.
“Soarin is in some sort of stasis,” she began again. “The closer I got to him, the more entranced I became, the more I filled with euphoria. It felt so good to be near him, unnaturally so. When Luna came back I had to hide, but it physically hurt to move away from Soarin. Luna looked him over and shuffled through a bunch of notes they had on a table. A few seconds later she was moving towards him with bedroom eyes, she touched him all over, and probably would have kissed him had I not—”
“Hold the hell up…” Silver cut her off. “You are being serious?” He asked. Dash stared at him quizzically.
“What part of ‘I didn’t make any of this up’ didn’t you get?” she asked.
“The part where I thought you weren’t being serious there either. That really happened with Luna?” he asked, genuinely sounding curious. Dash pushed aside his previous comment and nodded with an angered grunt.
“Better believe it,” Dash snarled quietly to herself, but did so only at the thought to avoid the same effects as before. “She walked up to him, eyefucked the hell out of him, ran her hooves over his body tenderly, and leaned in to put her grubby lips on his. I’m surprised I lasted that long, honestly. When she went in for the kiss something inside me rightfully snapped and I didn’t give a damn about staying hidden anymore.”
“WOW.” Silver looked up at the ceiling and shook his head chuckling. “Just when I thought she couldn’t possibly be any worse! How do they do it? The gods keep finding ways to look like morons! It’s pretty damn impressive, to be honest.”
“That’s disgusting…” Spitfire said angrily with a clear cringe. “She’s taking advantage of him? Here and now of all times? Where the hell did that even come from?! I don’t want her touching my best friend like that!” she trailed off, growling quietly. She glanced at Dash, who was staring at her. “No, Dash, stop. If I had a problem with you, you’d know it by now.”
“Okay, good,” Dash snickered.
“I honestly refuse to let them refer to themselves as higher powers ever again,” Silver exhaled. “Come on, the moment something her size and model pops up she goes from holier than thou higher power to horny hip swaying harlot like she hasn’t had any in a million years?”
“Discord tried to use that as an excuse for her actually,” Dash pointed out with a shrug.
“HAAAAAAAAAAAA-ahem… he would,” Silver commented while containing his reaction.
“Alright, so…” Spitfire tried to bring it back on track. “I have another reason to hate Luna, thanks. What happened after you jumped out?”
“Please tell me you slapped her shit sideways,” Silver asked. “I want every detail down to the angle of the wind up, the trajectory of the swing, and the speed at impact. The more you describe how much her face contorted and how many cracks her jaw made, the larger my erection will be.”
“I told you to cut it out with the dick references,” Spitfire huffed at him again.
“Don’t act like you’re not impressed.”
Spitfire shuddered and rubbed her hoof on her forehead.
“Gee thanks LIGHTNING STREAK… You must be real bored in here if you’re this eager to talk about it. I thought your wife was visiting you?”
“She is, and the cocktease isn’t giving me any. If you were a stallion, carrying my goods, and going through that too, you’d understand wholly.”
“I’m very glad to say I’m not experiencing any of that… Dash, go on,” Spitfire pleaded quickly as Silver wiggled himself back and forth in the bed.
Dash snorted to herself. This was exactly what she needed. She had things she wanted to get off her chest, but Silver and Spitfire had completely flipped her mood, allowing her to speak clearly about it. Especially Silver. He seemed more loosened up than normal. It was either because he was somewhat high on whatever medication they gave him or… he had come to a point in all this where he was just done giving a shit altogether.
“I’m sorry to disappoint your supposed young and spry libido, but no, I didn’t punch her in the face, or hit her at all,” Dash explained.
“Aaaaaaaaand limp,” Silver commented, flinching as Spitfire gave his bedframe a hard kick.
“I rushed out while yelling at her,” Dash continued. “I was so angry that I almost didn’t recognize my own voice. I was definitely considering hitting her but I never got the chance. She looked terrified, like a little filly caught eating cookies before dinner. It wasn’t long before she broke down, turned, and ran away while crying her eyes out while apologizing.”
“Apologizing?” Spitfire blinked.
“Yeah, like she was scared of anypony seeing her do such a thing, but never expected to actually be caught, much less by ME while she advanced on MY stallion. Based on the look on her face I’m pretty sure she broke on the spot, or at least it took her a moment to believe that she wasn’t hallucinating and I was actually there. That’s the best way to picture it. But then… that’s when something went very wrong.” Dash swallowed as she recalled it. “My anger… wouldn’t stop growing. It just kept getting stronger. I quickly got light headed and could barely stand up straight. I was glowing yellow again, I could see it, but this time I couldn’t do anything to stop it. My emotions and my anger at Princess Luna were going haywire, completely out of control. Soarin must’ve been feeling it too. I was having a hard time focusing but I could hear him grunting. I could just barely see him cringing and stirring from his rest.”
All joking had been cast aside, both Silver and Spitfire listening carefully.
“And then the next thing I knew, Discord moved me way outside the palace, and when I couldn’t get a hold of myself he pushed a wave of magic through me or… something, and it forced the surging rage right out of me… at least until I came to my senses.”
“And then you laid a hoof into an immortal face, right?” Silver cut in.
“I did actually try this time, yeah,” Dash confirmed with a chuckle. “But it didn’t work, I think he was ready for it considering how I was laying into him about Luna’s behavior. But all of his ‘I told you so’s’ about keeping me separated from Soarin aside, the interesting part was his reaction to Luna. He pressed me for details on what she did, then voiced frustration about her and her behavior towards Soarin. Apparently she had done this more than once.”
“She what?!” Spitfire slammed a hoof to the floor, Dash rolled her eyes.
“Pretty much what I said,” Dash snorted. “But Discord went on to rant about how he’s lectured her over and over, but is still having trouble keeping her focused, he then started firing off random criticisms of how the rest of us were conducting ourselves, ironically losing his cool in the process and sounding like he was downright losing his mind over his inability to figure out what happened to Soarin. Then he left before I could say anything else. After dunking my head in a public fountain, I came here.”
“What a fuckin’—” Silver grumbled, but Dash cut him off.
“I know, Silver, but… Something was different about this, about Discord,” she explained.
“Finally, we’re at the convincing part. This better be good,” he said firmly, but Dash shook her head.
“I kind of just said it. You’d have to have seen him to believe it. He actually sounded flustered and angry, as if nothing was going his way. The way he strayed from the subject and ranted about things unrelated to him… he was deflecting from his inability to figure something out,” Dash held a hoof out to Silver. “You know how the gods are, especially Discord. He likes to act like he knows everything and then keeps things from us ‘for our own good.’”
“Do I ever, and he hates me because I was there when Blizzard turned his world upside down,” Silver nodded with a smile as he remembered.
“Exactly,” Dash pointed at him. “Isn’t that what happened with Blizzard too? He was something Discord couldn’t beat or understand and it drove him nuts, right?”
“Oh… hm…” Silver blinked, considering the possibility. “You know… that actually makes sense.”
Spitfire blinked and looked towards Silver.
“Blizzard? As in Blizzard Strike?”
“Don’t you know it!” Silver chuckled. “The stallion who bested Discord at his own game.”
“How and when?” Spitfire asked.
Dash was genuinely surprised. Silver had told her the story about Blizzard confronting Discord… and was sure he had told Soarin too. How did Spitfire not know?
Silver shook his head.
“You remember how Blizzard was,” Silver said with a smile stuck to his face. “He was never one to soak up attention, not even after pulling off such a thing. I’ll have to tell you the full story someday. But what Dash said is all you need to know. If Discord is spouting random nonesense and going off the rails in frustration, then it’s because of something he can’t understand.”
“He was angry and shouting a bunch with the Sombra situation,” Dash added as she came around into their view. “But it was at least focused entirely on stopping Sombra himself. Nothing like what I saw.”
“I’m willing to believe it then,” Silver agreed while turning to a surprised Spitfire. “Don’t look at me like I suddenly like the ugly, back slapping schmoe. I still think he’s full of shit, but if he says he doesn’t know what to do and then goes off like that? I’ve seen that before clear as day. Chances are he’s being honest.” Silver blinked and cringed, his cheeks puffing up briefly. “And I hope I never have the words ‘Discord’ and ‘Honest’ in the same train of thought ever again. I just about tossed my breakfast.”
Spitfire sighed and sat down, letting her head hang a little.
“Talk about mixed feelings…” she mumbled as she looked up. “Nice to know Discord might ACTUALLY be telling the truth for once, but if it’s because he really has no idea what’s happening…” she trailed off, looking away from them both. “That just makes me more worried about Soarin, especially considering what happened when you were near him and got angry. If Discord of all… things… really can’t figure anything out, then who can?”
“He gave me assurance that I’d be the first to know if they had any breakthroughs,” Dash explained. “Whatever good that will do,” she added with a huff.
They both looked at Silver. He glanced back and forth at them.
“What?”
“Awfully quiet for one with such a strong opinion of snakebutt,” Spitfire said curiously.
“I got nothing else to say,” Silver said with a light shrug. “The one time you can see the true face of that asshat is when he doesn’t actually know what he’s doing. That tears away the veil and shows how hard it is for him to handle an actual problem.”
“What should we do then?” Spitfire suddenly asked, Silver lifted his brow.
“What are you asking me for?”
“I’m just thinking out loud,” she groaned. “Maybe all we can do is hope they uncover something.”
“Problem could solve itself too,” Silver pointed out. “Maybe the only one who knows what’s happening to Soarin right now is Soarin himself…” he looked towards Dash. “The way these two are connected, maybe he’ll send her a sign at some point while the gods keep spinning their square wheels on a ride to nowhere.”
Dash perked up as Silver’s words hit her. She glanced down and placed a hoof on her chest over her heart. It was a normal beat, nothing irregular or strange. She hadn’t really thought of that… maybe it was a bit of a stretch, but at this point who knew? Discord certainly didn’t.
“Then for now I can be pissed at Luna and be content with that,” Spitfire grunted. “At least Discord appears to be trying... for whatever that's worth.” She leaned back and rested her arm on a countertop. “I guess then… if there’s nothing else we can do I should really start doing my job, shouldn’t I?” she said somewhat sarcastically.
“That sounds like a good place to start,” Silver commented.
“Right,” Spitfire stood up and shook her head out. “Right, right, right…” she tapped a hoof against the side of her head. “It’s been two weeks and I haven’t said a damn thing to any Wonderbolt beside Fleetfoot, I need to fix that… at least let them know the state of things and…” she trailed off and stared at Dash for a moment, looking her up and down. “And maybe take care of a few ideas I’ve been simmering in my head for a while.”
Dash cocked her head to the side curiously. Why did she look at her when she said that?
“Ah, and this is the part where you leave me here and go about your fun days,” Silver said sarcastically.
“Oh stop, I’m sure they’ll let you out of here soon,” Spitfire chuckled.
“Not if my wife has anything to say about it. That’s the problem with being married to a nurse, she can flash her credentials at doctors and tell them how long to keep me tied to a bed,” he grumbled.
“I’ll come visit you again,” Dash promised him while stepping forward. “And I’ll bring the whole squad too.”
“When?” Silver narrowed his eye.
“When do you want me to?” Dash asked.
“Preferably not three hundred thirty six hours from now.”
“Oh for the…” Dash snickered and rapped a hoof against his bed frame. “I promise I won’t do that again. “
“See to it that you don’t,” Silver nodded, satisfied.
“See you around, old timer,” Spitfire gave him a wave as she turned. “Dash… walk with me,” she added suddenly.
Dash blinked and watched as Spitfire moved towards the door.
“Well?” Silver spoke up. “Don’t keep your captain waiting.”
Dash smiled and nodded, backing up to stay facing Silver for several steps before turning and leaving to follow Spitfire.
She was already waiting several paces down the hall when Dash emerged. She shut the door and quickly trotted up to Spitfire.
“What’s up?” Dash asked casually, feeling at ease after the talk the two had just moments ago.
“Dash, I…” she sighed, taking a deep breath and placing a hoof on her shoulder. “Thanks. I’m glad we were able to talk. Thank Celestia for Silver, I doubt I’d have sucked it up without him to nudge me.”
Dash smiled and nodded.
“Likewise, sorry for avoiding you. And… I mean it, Spitfire. When the orders start rolling you will be the captain and I’ll be the recruit, but when we’re not in action mode, we need to make up for lost time.”
“About that…” Spitfire suddenly hardened her gaze.
“Eh?” Dash’s eyes widened slightly as Spitfire’s expression turned serious.
“I’m still ironing out all of the details and have to do some experimenting, but I have a special training program in the works that will utilize some of the… unique properties of Crystal Empire magic and medicine. If everything works the way I’m hoping, then depending on the amount of assistance the clerics are willing to provide, I’ll be selecting a certain number of Wonderbolts to partake. It will include the top tier Wonderbolts and as many High Tier elites I can pack into it… But no matter how many there are…” She clenched Dash’s shoulder. “I want you and your squad to take part in it.”
“Huh?” Dash’s mouth hung slightly agape. “Me? My Squad? With the Top and High tiers?”
“You heard me,” Spitfire nodded. “From the beginning you and your wingmates have proven time and time again that you are not just run of the mill recruits… and while your actions in the battle for Sombra may have been a bit out of bounds, you were the one who ultimately got us to this point, and there’s no doubt your squad played a crucial role in getting you to Soarin. In my eyes, as Captain of the Wonderbolts… you’ve all earned the privilege.”
“I…” Dash trailed off. She didn’t know what to say. “Oh my gosh…”
“And after seeing this,” Spitfire shifted her hoof down and gave Dash’s arm a squeeze. “And telling me about how Soarin’s state is affecting you…” she smirked. “If I have a potential secret weapon in you, I want to see just how far I can push it. I’d be dumb to pass that up.”
“Eheh…” Dash looked away and chuckled nervously. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that, but… Spitfire seemed to be showing confidence in her and her ability to figure things out. If she could control her new strength and energy… then who knows what she could be capable of? Spitfire was definitely curious.
“I see this as a way to get you more involved with us as well. You have some good connections going with several of the top Wonderbolts already. Camaraderie like that is something we need more of. They all like you, Dash. I want you around them more.”
“Aw… shucks…” Dash wasn’t sure what to say, the thought alone made her feel fuzzy.
“But let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Spitfire released Dash and turned. “I need to make sure this training method even works first, until then—Dash?”
Dash was looking back towards Silver’s door.
“I’m fine…” she sighed. But the look Spitfire was giving her screamed that she didn’t buy it. “Okay, I feel bad that I didn’t come visit him. After all he’s done for me you’d think I’d remember.”
“Oh, don’t let him get to you about that,” she assured her as they started walking. “I’ve no doubt he was happy to see you either way. He probably just wanted to show off his math skills.”
“Yeah I know, he’s always the instigator,” Dash agreed. “But still, I wish I could do more for—”
“SILVER! NO!”
Both Dash and Spitfire flinched and perked up as they heard a nurse yell behind them. They both quickly turned around to see several nurses wrangling Silver… who was laid out on the small cart with wheels from beside his bed. His arms and wing were drooping over the edges with his back hooves firmly planted to the floor, trying to push himself down the hall.
“How do you keep getting out of the bed restraints?!” A nurse angrily asked.
“I need a goddamn drink,” Silver grumbled as the nurses got his legs up and started wheeling him back towards his room.
Dash and Spitfire stared blankly as the nurses pushed Silver back into his room, the sound of scuffling from within coming soon after. A moment later they both snorted, Spitfire chuckling as Dash held a hoof over her mouth to stifle laughter.
“I dunno, Dash…” Spitfire said while shaking her head. “I think Silver’s going to be just fine.”
“I think you’re right,” Dash agreed as the two turned and made their way to the doors leading into the waiting room.
“By the way… What did Silver mean about P.L.?” Spitfire asked. Dash blinked and puffed her cheeks out. “Knowing Silver, it’s something good,” Spitfire added as she noticed Dash’s reaction.
“Do you know what the P and L stand for?” Dash asked with a smug look on her face. Spitfire’s ears stood up.
“You know, I was always curious about that…”
“His real name is Puppy Love,” Dash said outright as they reached the waiting room doors. Spitfire froze on the spot, her eyes wide with a hoof resting on the door.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“His name is Puppy Love,” Dash repeated. Spitfire’s mouth slowly opened. “P.L. Puppy Love,” Dash said one more time.
“Noooooooooo…” Spitfire shook her head as her mouth quivered into a smirk. “Oooooh no no no, you’ve gotta be pulling my leg.”
“I heard it right from his mouth,” Dash explained while snickering. “He owned up to it when I said Silver told me to ask.”
“I… uh…” Spitfire blinked several times. “That’s so damn funny I can’t even laugh, I just… WHAT?”
“Now you know!” Dash chuckled as the two went through the doors. “But you didn’t hear it from me.”
“My lips are sealed,” Spitfire snorted, holding a hoof over her mouth as she giggled to herself.
But the moment the two stepped into the waiting room, there was a bright flash in front of them, forcing both of them to shield their eyes.
“What in the—?!” Spitfire yelled out, but was cut off as both she and Dash were suddenly picked up and squeezed.
“HELLOOOOOOOOO my fellow componiots!”
Dash’s eyes shot open and she looked down to see a bear paw and eagle talon attached to the arms that were hugging them.
“D—Discord?!” Dash yelped as Discord let go, dropping both of them on the floor.
“That’s me! Haha!” Discord stepped back and threw his arms out, confetti popping out from behind him. The receptionist tried to shush him, but he snapped his fingers and a raincloud appeared above them, drenching them in seconds.
Dash and Spitfire just stared from the floor, wide eyes and parted lips stuck to their incredulous expressions.
“How are you two lovely ladies doing this fine day?!” Discord asked cheerfully, smiling very wide as he bent all the way down to get in their faces.
Spitfire glanced at Dash. Dash’s face scrunched up.
“What in the hell…?” Dash managed to say as she looked him over quizzically.
“I’m doing well! I’m so glad you asked!” Discord answered a question nopony asked. He turned around and started twirling as he bounced about the room, all ponies present backing away as the raincloud continued the deluge atop the receptionist.
“Uh…” Spitfire looked at Dash as the two stood. “Didn’t you just say…?”
“I saw him literally an hour ago and he was a hysterical angry mess,” Dash confirmed with a nod.
“But I’m feeling much better now!” Discord shot up between them, leaned down, and draped his arms over their shoulders. “In fact, I couldn’t feel better!”
Dash and Spitfire narrowed their eyes at him, both looking confused and disturbed. Discord continued to smile in their faces, making his eyes innocently wide.
“Ahem,” he cleared his throat. “This is the part where you ask me why I’m so happy!” he said while bouncing his eyebrows. Dash released a long sigh.
“Okay… I’ll bite. Why the hell are you—?”
“I’m so glad you asked!” Discord cut her off, lifting them both up around their stomachs and tucking them under his arms. They both yelped in surprise and struggled to get free, but he had them locked in place with magic. “No time to waste! Off we go!”
Dash blinked.
They were suddenly in the Crystal Palace. In fact, they were right outside the hall where Soarin was being kept.
“Last stop, everypony off!” Discord chanted as he dropped them both on the floor, again. They quickly looked up and around.
Dash scanned the room, first noticing Descent, Lightning Dust, Blazetail, and Flashwind were present and standing near the door with P.L. and his thestrels.
“Captain? Rainbow Dash?” Fire Streak’s voice came from behind them. They both turned around to see the rest of the top tier Wonderbolts, at least those available. All of Squad Three, Blaze and High Winds, Fleetfoot and Air Mach. All looked confused as well.
“Huh…” Spitfire hummed as she looked around. “Did Discord bring you all here too?” she asked, getting a nod from Fleetfoot.
“Snatched me up in the middle of lunch…” Fleetfoot pouted. “I was enjoying that sandwich.”
“He did the same to us,” Descent’s voice reached them as they turned to see him and Dust approach, Blazetail and Flashwind remaining over by P.L. “I was in the middle of setting up our next patrol routes,” he grumbled in frustration. “Why in the world is he so happy?” he asked as they all looked to see Discord dancing about and humming to himself.
“Search me,” Spitfire huffed. “Dash saw him an hour ago and he was being an irritable sourpuss,” she said while looking at Dash, who nodded in agreement.
“Everypony wait just one moment!” Discord called out cheerfully. “I have to get a few more!” He twirled and vanished.
“Yeah this is like…” Dash scratched her head. “A full reversal compared to how he was acting an hour ago. We were yelling at each other and he was raging about us not being useful while he tries to figure out what’s wrong with Soarin.”
“Not being useful? We’ve been looking for signs of the Shadowbolts for days while he hides in there, what the hell is he talking about?” Descent grunted as he looked towards the door. “Still… that’s curious… considering how he’s acting now.”
“Where’s Starry?” Fleetfoot suddenly asked. Descent flinched and mumbled quietly to himself.
“She… I don’t know,” he admitted with a sigh.
“Eh?” Fleetfoot blinked, the rest all looking to him too. “Still? Where has she been this whole—?”
“ALRIGHTY THEN!” Discord popped back in.
Everypony looked over, Dash and Spitfire both reacting in surprise.
Discord had brought Shining Armor, Cadence, Twilight and the rest of Dash’s friends from Ponyville. But he also brought…
Luna.
In an instant Dash glared while Spitfire shot a somewhat less powerful gaze of disapproval. But before either of them could say anything, Discord appeared right next to Dash and clasped her head tightly with a hand.
“Enough. You can settle this with her later,” he said in a slightly strict tone that failed to hide the continuous enthusiasm.
“I’ll do whatever I want, thank you very much!” Dash grabbed his arm and tried to yank it off, but couldn’t.
“No, you won’t,” Discord said firmly as he reached out and grabbed Spitfire’s tail to prevent her from advancing towards Luna. “I gave her a good talking to after we parted about what happened.” He explained. Luna promptly turned and faced away from Dash in embarrassment. Dash pouted angrily, fixing her eyes on Luna with her glare growing harsher, but Discord shifted to get in her line of sight. “I’ve thoroughly shamed and berated her, but that’s hardly important right now because something extraordinary happened right after… and I… well… WE have you to thank for it!”
Dash and Spitfire both stopped their ire towards Luna, turning to Discord immediately.
“We?” Spitfire blinked. Dash tipping her head to the side.
“As in you and Luna?”
“Nope!” Discord chuckled as he vanished and reappeared next to P.L. Resting his arm on his head. P.L. grimaced, holding back his urge to attack as the Thestrels hissed at Discord. “Everypony… come on in!” Discord motioned towards the doors.
Nopony moved at first, but once Luna started slowly shuffling towards the doors, Dash, Spitfire, and the Wonderbolts all looked between one another curiously. Without a word they began moving, everypony else falling in line and walking towards the doors as Discord held a hand against it, waiting for them.
Twilight caught Dash’s attention at one point, their eyes meeting as Twilight motioned to Discord with a confused look on her face. Dash just rolled her eyes and shrugged.
As they drew near, Spitfire glanced at P.L.
She puffed her cheeks out and held a hoof firmly over her mouth, doing her best to stay focused as she walked towards the doors behind Dash.
Dash kept glancing at Luna as they moved forward, but Luna did everything in her power to avoid eye contact.
“Ready…?” Discord cooed as they all stopped in front of the door. “Behold!”
He threw the door open and held his arms out.
But they all just stared. They couldn’t see anything because the first large pillar that lined the outer edge of the hall was directly in the way.
Discord blinked and quickly looked in.
“Oh, right… silly me!” he chuckled as a rope dropped from above and dangled beside him. He gave it a hard yank and the pillar shot up towards the ceiling like a stage curtain.
But absolutely nopony paid attention to the solid crystal pillar behaving like a big piece of cloth.
A large, collective gasp passed through everypony looking into the room.
Soarin was still there, elevated within the aura of magic… but…
“Hello everypony…”
“It’s good to see all of you.”
A translucent image of Princess Celestia stood beside him.
---To Be Continued---