//------------------------------// // Chapter 175: Rest, Relaxation, Reassurance // Story: Piercing the Heavens // by Calm Wind //------------------------------// MLP: FiM Piercing the Heavens By: Calm Wind Chapter 175: Rest, Relaxation, Reassurance “Despicable… Absolutely despicable…” “For real? Really? That’s lower than low.” Dash frantically looked back and forth. Fire Streak and Lightning Streak glared down at her. “Wait… wait, no… I…” She reached towards them, but they vanished. “What the fuck is your problem?!” Dash’s head whipped around to see Blaze getting in her face. “How could you fucking do that?!” “Blaze! I—” “Get lost,” High Winds moved next to Blaze and pressed a hoof to Dash’s chest. “Backstabbing bitch…” “What?!” Dash tried to reach for them, but they both vanished as her hooves touched them. “I didn’t…” “W…why Dashie…?” Dash spun around to see Surprise sitting on the ground. Her tail was curled around her legs and she was crying her eyes out. “Why did you do that to us?” “Surprise! Please—!” Dash reached towards her, but she appeared to slide out of her reach. “I thought we were friends! I thought… I thought…” “No! No, no, no! We are! I just…” Dash froze as Surprise vanished, the spot she sat instantly replaced by cream colored hooves. Her eyes grew wide as she looked up, meeting a harsh glare from Misty Fly. Dash couldn’t find any words as Misty’s eyes cut deep into her, and even if she had anything to say, it wouldn’t matter because it would literally fall on deaf ears. She didn’t know enough of the sign language to speak out either… forcing her to sit and struggle to remain steady as Misty forced her will forward. Misty snorted, whipped her head, and turned her back to Dash. “NO!” Dash yelled as Misty started walking away. She lunged forward, but she lurched as if something was holding her back. “MISTY!!!!!!” she yelled as tears started squeaking out of her eyes as Misty grew further and further away. “MISTY PLEASE!!!!!” Misty vanished. Dash frantically sat upright in bed. She gasped and panted, her breath heaving as a soft yellow glow shone from her body. She shook lightly, her eyes stuck open as tears dripped down her face. But when she pressed her hoof down, she felt the soft mattress of her hotel bed. “Ah…” she quietly exhaled, realizing that she was right where she was supposed to be. She pressed a hoof to her chest, feeling her rapid heartbeat slowly calm down, the yellow glow fading. Just a dream… again. That was the fourth time… it had happened every night since they arrived. More accurately… every night since she first saw the effects of the yellow aura in the gym, the effects of her soul connection with Soarin after having absorbed Celestia’s magic in full. Did her new awareness of it pop the cork off a new potential problem she had to deal with? Or did it just take a while to emerge? Whatever it was, she couldn’t go one night without a vivid dream of some kind, as if the power ran wild whenever she went to sleep. But at least… Dash reached over and checked the clock. It was 7:50. They typically woke up at 8:00. So at least the magic wasn’t disturbing her sleep… as if it wanted her to see everything she was dreaming about. Dash lay back down on her back and sighed. As for the dreams… They had been wildly different every night. First there was the outrageously sexual encounter with alicorn Soarin. The second night was ironically a re-enactment of Twister’s wave pool stunt, only with her and the others actively involved. She chalked it up to her watching the whole thing and the power having a sense of humor. The third was the entire first book of Daring Do. And tonight was… Dash shuddered and she hugged herself. All the Wonderbolts of squad two and three that were out there during the big fight… they… Dash quickly shook her head out. “It’s just a dream, Dash… just a dream…” she said quietly to herself. But it didn’t stop it from feeling so real… or hurting… She decided to do her best to forget about it and relax until the alarms were set to go off in ten minutes. She focused on what she’d want to do at the resort today, instead of on a rather unnerving nightmare. “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaoooooooohhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…” Snickers spread around the spa massage room as Spitfire dug her face into her pillow. “FRRRRRRMMMMMMMMMRRRRRRRRGHGHGRHGRHGRHGRHGRHGRHG…” Fleetfoot glanced towards Spitfire’s masseuse with a smirk. The unicorn stallion’s mouth was scrunched up slightly, pressing his hooves into the base of her wings as he struggled to hold his composure. Spitfire’s head lifted up and arched back as far as she could, a sharp exhale squeaking out of her mouth before she bit down on her pillow. “Hrrrrrrnkkkkkkkfffrrrrrrr…” she groaned into it as her ears flapped up and down. “It doesn’t matter how many times I see or hear it,” Fire finally spoke up as Spitfire kept making weird noises. “It’s hilarious every time.” It was the fourth day into their little vacation at the resort and the top tier Wonderbolts had finally found a break in all the fun to hit the ‘Equestria renowned’ spa to see if it lived up to the hype. It only took five minutes for the massages to speak for themselves… and just like every time Spitfire got on a table with a good masseuse… she was putting on quite a comedy show. Fleetfoot and the members of squad two and three were all trying their best to not laugh and relax, circled up on tables all facing in towards one another as their bodies were turned into putty by the professionals. The unicorns were not only using their hooves, but also their magic to cover a wider range at once. It was a new and extremely relaxing experience for all of them. “I will admit…” Spitfire’s Masseuse finally chimed in as he worked over Spitfire’s back. “This is a first for me, is this normal?” he asked with a chuckle. “Every time,” Fleetfoot giggled. “A good massage is like a drug for her. The best way to get her to agree to something is to bribe her with a professional massage.” Fleetfoot sighed heavily, then inhaled sharply as her masseuse hit a very sensitive spot and worked his magic on it, literally and figuratively. “Hrmmmm… damn… you’re really good…” Fleetfoot cooed, biting her lip and blushing lightly as her wings flittered. She turned her head to lazily look over her shoulder at the stallion working on her. “Say… wanna come by my room later? I have other relaxation needs to be met.” The stallion just chuckled while reaching his arm over to flash a gold marriage band just above his hoof. “I don’t think my wife would like that,” the stallion said with a shrug. “Awww… OH!” Fleetfoot twitched, then inhaled as her chin fell back to the pillow and her eyes rolled up a bit. “Talk about a… ah… lucky mare…” Lightning Streak smirked while eyeing Fleetfoot’s masseuse. “Sounded like that wasn’t the first time you’ve answered that question, bro,” he said while lifting an eyebrow. “Correct,” the masseuse answered without hesitation. “But it’s not uncommon. Massage therapy removes stress and gives a great amount of stimulation at the same time, and…” “Oo! Hrmmmmmnnnfff…” Fleetfoot groaned and hummed in a somewhat sexual manner. “I’m familiar with her type,” the masseuse added as he kept perfectly serious. “Haaaaaa, hear that?” Blaze pointed weakly towards Fleetfoot as she was slowly turning to mush. “You’re a fucking whore. Outside source. There is no argument,” she stated in a slightly wavy tone as High Winds snored, fast asleep beside her with her masseuse continuing regardless. “Sorry Blaze…” Fleetfoot sighed happily. “I feel too good to kick your ass right now… maybe later if you’re so eagerrrrrrrroooooo…” “It’s common, eh?” Lightning bounced his eyebrows and started turning to look at the mare working on him. “Babe, you free after th—” She was already reaching a hoof towards his face before he finished turning, giving him a soft tap on the nose. “Nope.” She said simply. “Dang…” Lightning blinked. “Didn’t even get the question out that time…” “Better luck never!” Surprise chanted with a giggle as they all chuckled. “Fweeeeeerrrrrrahaaaaaaahhhhhhrrrrrrggggggaaaaaaaaacademyrecooooooooooooooord…” There was a long pause as all of them slowly turned to look at Spitfire again. “Chiller, what the fuck?” Blaze turned to Wave Chill. “Does she make these noises when you tube steak her too?” “Ahaaaaa…” Wave awkwardly chuckled. “Wait…” Blaze blinked, her eyes growing. “You fucking serious?” “No! No… Well… she…” Wave faltered, freezing and scrunching his mouth and glancing at Spitfire RIGHT next to him. “Spill it!” Fleetfoot demanded. “Tell meeeeeeeeeeee!” she giggled and bounced as her masseuse tried to press down and hold her still. “HRNG HRGN GRH…” Spitfire suddenly grunted, stretching her arms and legs out as if she were flying, her ears still flapping up and down. Everypony watched, Wave holding as still as possible in hopes that she wasn’t listening to the conversation. “Come ooooooon!” Fleetfoot snickered. “We all know she cold pressed you into a mattress at the recruitment party!” Wave’s deep blue fur turned slightly red around his face as his eye twitched, but he exhaled and glanced at Spitfire briefly to make sure she was completely distracted… and she clearly was. “Well…” he slowly tipped his head. “Not like this, but…” “BUUUUUUUUUUUT?” Fleetfoot goaded as she, Blaze, Surprise, and… Lightning Streak all waited impatiently for an answer. Wave’s eyes darted between them and Spitfire. “She might as well be blackout drunk, just say it,” Fleet added as she waved an arm near Spitfire’s head. “I… shouldn’t…” Wave tried to dodge the subject. “Hell bro, loosen up,” Lightning chuckled. “You can’t land a mare like her in bed and expect us to believe your upright, professional act. It’s Fire’s job to keep his cheeks clenched, not yours.” “Brother…” Fire snorted with a flat look. “Um…” Wave swallowed. “Oh fine. She’s… vocal. Yes.” “WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwww…” Spitfire released a loud shrill noise that sounded like a squeal and a whistle. Wave’s eyes locked on her, but her face fell flat into her pillow and started kneading back and forth against it. “Elaborate please!” Fleetfoot encouraged, practically shouting into Spitfire’s ear. Wave noticed the utter lack of reaction from Spitfire, gently prodding her shoulder with a hoof. “Merf.” “You’re right, she is out…” Wave commented before looking back at all of them, still not quite loose about the conversation, but he knew he wasn’t getting out of it. “Well, I don’t know if it was just the party night when she was especially… in the need, but she was very… how should I put it?” he paused. “Rowdy and enthusiastic.” “I need words,” Fleetfoot rotated a hoof. “Give me words!” “I don’t remember specifically, really… honestly, I was more focused on how hard she was… er… pressing me.” Wave explained, his wings twitching once. “Sounds like an ideal way to go if you ask me,” Lightning chuckled while pointing and winking at Wave. Fire sighed, shaking his head and glancing back at the unicorn mare working on him. “Apologies for the particular topic of conversation,” he said politely, but the masseuse shook her head. “Nothing I haven’t heard before,” she said casually as the rest of the masseuses nodded in agreement. “Huh,” Blaze rubbed her chin. “So you guys are saying that a massage can get the brain on fuckin’? Good to know!” she said slyly while shooting a mischievous look at High Winds, but she was still sleeping, and snoring. “Sheesh, you try to score points, but your babe is always out like a light…” Blaze grumbled as she rolled her eyes. “So…” Fleetfoot smiled towards Wave while humming quietly. “So?” Wave blinked. Fleetfoot made a head motion towards Spitfire. “Don’t play dumb with me, bucko,” she giggled. “She came back to our room REAL happy the other night. Get a chance to hear what she says when she’s not firing rockets out of her banana basket?” “Oh!” Wave perked up, quickly shaking his head. “Nooooo, no we didn’t… do THAT.” “Really, huh?” Fleetfoot lifted an eyebrow. “Then why was she floating with her wings closed?” “We did sneak off and…” “And… aaaaaaaand…?” “We just kissed for a bit,” Wave waved a hoof while averting his eyes and chuckling. “WoooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOO…!” Lightning wooed as Wave realized more than just Fleetfoot were listening. “Hee! Go on!” Fleetfoot pressed, but Wave shook his head. “That’s it,” he chuckled. “We didn’t have much privacy… it was just a less conspicuous area of the pool, covered a bit by hanging plants.” “Hmmm…” Fleetfoot made kissy lips towards him. “Getting a bit needy yourself, huh?” “Me or her?” Wave shrugged. “I was just sitting in the water, she wouldn’t let go of me.” “And that’s a bad thing?” Surprise giggled. Wave now being faced by all of them. “No… not really,” Wave admitted. “I always knew your soldier bullshit was a fucking act,” Blaze stuck her tongue out at him. “If I hear you calling her ‘captain’ or saying ‘yes ma’am’ to her one more time I’m gonna put you through a mattress myself and it WON’T be the fun way she did it.” “Whoa, did you just switch sides?” Lightning snickered, bouncing his eyebrows at her. “You fucking WISH!” “Okay,” Fleetfoot sneered at Wave. “So come clean, you’re buttering her up for a killshot later, eh? “Uh…” Wave’s eyes widened. “Muhaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww…” Spitfire suddenly exhaled and groaned as her masseuse slowly kneaded his hooves up her sides. “I don’t think she’ll need any ‘buttering’ after this.” “Oh, I don’t knoooooow…” Fleetfoot bounced her eyebrows. “Honest question though… where would we?” Wave asked. “The whole force is here and we're at least three to a room organized by gender. Privacy isn’t really a thing at the moment.” “Right… right…” Fleetfoot tipped her head a little, her smirk growing. Wave quickly took notice. “What are you scheming…” he asked. “Scheming? Me? I’m hurt! Oooooo…” Fleetfoot flinched slightly as her masseuse hit a spot between her wings. “Hurt gone… so goooooood…” “I’ve been out for a bit, but I haven’t forgotten that face you make whenever you’re up to something,” Wave pointed out, earning a giggle from Fleet in between her relaxed groans. “Now don’t you worry your dark blue little head,” Fleetfoot said while glancing at Spitfire. “Muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhgaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwd…” Spitfire started slipping off the table but her masseuse nudged her back into place. “Hmmm… HMMMMMMM…” Fleetfoot hummed progressively louder as Wave looked on with worry. “Better watch out, Chilldawg,” Blaze spoke up. “If you’re not careful she’ll be fucking your mare with you.” “Like that wouldn’t turn YOU on…” Fleetfoot said smarmily towards Blaze. Blaze scrunched her face for a moment. “Yeah, maybe, fuck you,” she snorted. Their ears all stood up as a low pitched BONG of a bell in the center of the room sounded out. “Time to finish up with these seven,” High Winds’ masseuse motioned to all of them except Spitfire and Fleetfoot. “Awww…” Surprise pouted. “But it’s soooo good…” “You’ll feel even better after the jacuzzi and the therapeutic showers,” her masseuse reassured her as they began wrapping up. “We’ll join you after… ah… they finish with us… oooooooo…” Fleetfoot cooed as her body shuddered. “SHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOWwwweeeeeeeeooooooo…” Spitfire’s neck twisted back and forth. “Assuming she’s still alive after this…” Fleetfoot added. “Alright, up slowly… keep your body relaxed,” Blaze’s masseuse instructed as they all slid gently off the tables. “Windy, wake the fuck up,” Blaze reached to a spot right where her leg met her waist and gave it a good push. “IIIIIIIIIIIII’M UP.” High Winds awoke with a start, but barely got a few inches off the table. “Whooooaaaa… my body feels wavy…” “The jacuzzi room is down the hall and two doors on the left,” Fire’s masseuse pointed towards the door. “Thank you,” Fire nodded while beckoning the rest to follow. They slung towels over their shoulders and left Spitfire and Fleetfoot behind. As they made their way down the hallway, Wave caught Blaze staring at him. “What?” he asked with a smirk. “Nothing,” she snorted and pouted. “I… no. Fucking nothing.” “She’s just really happy you’re here and doesn’t want to admit it,” High Winds explained while placing a hoof on her head. “Windy, I’m gonna fuck you up…” she growled. “Later,” Winds patted her head again with a yawn. “I’m glad to be back with you guys too,” Wave smiled warmly at her, earning a pout from Blaze. “Great, I’m still being such a baby about this…” she said with a quiet sniffle. “Awwwwww… Blazey!” Surprise shifted over and squished her cheeks. “You’re such a softy under all those F-bombs!” Surprise gave her a big hug as Blaze bit down on her lip and hissing noises came from her nostrils. “Careful, she bites!” Lightning joked. “OH YEAH?!” Blaze spontaneously leapt at Lightning, latched to his back and grabbed a large amount of his mane in her mouth. Lightning didn’t even flinch as she started yanking on it and growling. “Doesn’t that hurt?” Fire asked, watching Blaze tug roughly. “Kinda,” Lightning shrugged. “But hey, this is the most action I’ve gotten all week,” he added nonchalantly as Misty rolled up her towel and rat-tailed Blaze right on the plot with a loud THAWHAP. “YAI!!!!!” Blaze yelped and fell off Lightning between him and Fire, but Fire reached out and caught her before she could crash to the floor. “None of us think poorly of you for being happy, Blaze,” Fire reassured her as she put her hooves on the floor and refused to look at him. “We’re all glad to have Wave back too,” Fire explained, glancing towards Wave while making simple wing gestures towards Misty. She nodded vigorously in agreement. “I’m a fucking pansy…” Blaze mumbled. “No, you have feelings just like the rest of us,” Fire chuckled and patted her on the head. She gruffly grunted and whipped her hooves over her head, but he had already stopped. “Thank you, Blaze,” Wave chimed in with a smile. Blaze peeked around Lightning, her pupils growing as she saw him. “OOOOOOOOOH STOP IT!!!!!!” she whined, pushing around Lightning and pressing her face into Wave’s side. “Stop it stop it fucking… GAH!” she pounded her hooves against his side as High Winds came around and rubbed a hoof on her back, looking up at Wave and shrugging. “Has she been like this since I woke up?” Wave asked with a light chuckle. “She was a wreck while you were down too,” Winds added. “Was fucking not…” Blaze’s muffled voice came from against Wave. “I can’t blame her though,” Winds said as they all stopped in front of the door to the jacuzzi room. “I was a mess too. It was bad enough with you, when Silver went down too nothing felt right.” Wave looked down and patted Blaze on the head. “WILL EVERYPONY STOP DOING THAT!?!?” Blaze propelled herself off Wave and swung her arms around for a second before breathing heavily. “I won’t leave you two hanging again, I promise,” Wave reassured them. Blaze instantly calmed down and pouted again. “You better fu…” she paused and swallowed. "Please don't..." she said in a hushed tone. “Alright, let’s hit the tub!” Lightning hooted as he pulled the door open. The heated air rising from the large tub, which might as well have been an indoor pool with jets, splashed against their faces. But as they stepped in they all stopped as they saw another pony already present. “Oh, look who’s here!” Fire said with a smile. Rainbow Dash’s ears shot up. She blinked frantically as her head snapped to the door to see all the top tier Wonderbolts moving in. They all moved in casually, tossing their towels aside as they made their way into the large Jacuzzi one by one. The tub was very large and even with all the new occupants there was easily enough room for more than double their current numbers. Each one of them greeted Dash as they moved in and sat down around her, casually continuing conversation as Dash suddenly found herself surrounded after being in there alone. She didn’t say a word and her mouth remained shut. “Miss Dash?” “GAH!” Dash suddenly flinched as Fire addressed her from right beside her. “Did you hear me?” he asked, lifting an eyebrow. “I, um, sorry…” she shook her head out. “What did you say?” “I asked if you are enjoying the resort.” Fire repeated. “Yeah! Yeah… a lot!” Dash answered rather quickly. Fire eyed her for a moment, but did not say anything else, giving her a smile as he went back to conversing with the others. Dash swallowed, scanning them all. She was trying to act natural, but it wasn’t really working that well. Thankfully they seemed to be distracted by their own conversations. Every once in a while one of them said something to her, and she quickly answered. But eventually… one of them got curious. Dash perked up as she felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked to her left and saw Misty Fly tipping her head, giving her a look of concern. Dash’s eyes opened a little wider as Misty tilted her head back and forth. Conversations continued around them, but Dash looked the other way, freezing when she saw Fire staring past her at Misty. Misty quickly shifted her attention to Fire, rapidly making signs with her hooves and wings. Fire watched her do so and sat still for a second after she finished before turning back to Dash. “Is everything alright?” Fire suddenly asked Dash. Dash froze as everypony heard and she suddenly found every present pair of eyes trained on her. She twitched as she felt a hoof on her shoulder. She turned to see Misty touching her, the look of concern even stronger. “Misty says you look uncomfortable.” That was it, she was toast. Dash groaned, looking down at the bubbling water and sinking into it slightly. But nopony said a thing, simply looking at her and waiting curiously. Dash kept sinking until only her eyes were above the water, shifting them around and looking every one of them in the eye. After blowing a few bubbles of her own into the water, she rose up and sighed. “Sorry… I’m fine, it’s just…” she quickly scanned all of them again. “You guys just have ironic timing.” The Wonderbolts glanced amongst themselves, obviously not sure what she meant. As Surprise finished translating for Misty, Misty suddenly grabbed Dash by both shoulders and turned her to look at her. Her look of concern had increased even further, her pupils extremely wide. Dash stared into Misty’s eyes and within seconds felt compelled to talk. “Damn, you’re right…” she glanced towards Fire. “It’s really hard to say no to her…” “What’s on your mind?” Fire asked as the rest all scooted over. Dash placed her hooves on her temples and rubbed gently. “I was thinking about everything that went down two weeks ago,” Dash half-heartedly admitted. “Eh?” High Winds blinked. “Why so down?” she asked. “Everything worked out, didn’t it?” Lightning added. “I… guess,” Dash leaned back a little. “But…” she started but stopped, pausing for several moments. “You’re a master of suspense!!!!!” Surprise yelled out, prompting Fire to firmly press a hoof over her head, her body making a drawn out SQUEEEEEEEEAK. Dash took a moment to gather her thoughts. “This is gonna sound odd, but… I’ve been having weird dreams recently,” she began. “I think it has to do with my connection with Soarin and what’s happening to him,” she paused and scrunched her mouth. “I’ll spare you the details of all of them but last night, I…” she looked up at all of them again. “It had to do with the Wonderbolts… with you guys and… you were all angry with me. You were all shouting at me, accusing me of betrayal.” She didn’t look at them as she spoke, but all of them quickly shared Misty’s look of concerns to various degrees. Dash shook her head out. “When I woke up, I realized it was just a dream, but… I haven’t been able to get it off my mind all day. I even ditched my crew and came here by myself because it was bothering me so much. I needed space to think about it. About what happened out there and what I did against you all…” Dash looked up, seeing all of their concerned expressions, but the feeling wouldn’t go away. “I fought you guys…” She paused for a long time. “It felt terrible… It was so hard to do even though I was so sure of what I was doing,” she awkwardly fidgeted and groaned quietly. “I don’t regret what I did but… I still feel a little bad about clashing with all of you. I don’t care what the circumstances were. I had nearly forgotten all about it, but then the dream…” she shrugged and sank slightly. “I haven’t really had a chance to speak to any of you since, the dream made me wonder if… any lasting damage had been done.” “Bwuh?” Blaze’s eyes twitched. “The fuck? You played water basketball with us the other day… and you’ve been around with all of us every day we’ve been here so far.” “I mean, yeah, but that was before last night. Either way the whole force was out there,” Dash pointed out. “I was blending in with everypony. I’ve only had a chance to personally touch base with Spitfire and Fleetfoot since it all went down, I wasn’t sure about…” she paused and pouted at all of them. “Sorry, I don’t wanna sound like I’m uncomfortable with you guys, I just—” She got no further. Dash yelped in surprise as she was practically tackled by Misty, nearly pulling them both into the water. Fire Streak blinked, his hooves lifted up mid sign. “Wow, I didn’t even finish translating…” “Misty?” Dash blinked as she reached back to prop herself on the tub and prevent them both from going under. Misty was gripping her in the tightest hug she had ever received and moments later she forced Dash to arm’s length and began vigorously shaking her head before glaring at Dash with her lips scrunched into a heavy pout. “I think Misty speaks for all of us,” Fire said with a chuckle. Dash’s eyes widened slightly and her lips parted a little as she saw all of them smiling at her. “You’re worried about what happened out there?” Lightning asked, lifting his brow. “What, you think we knew what we were doing out there?” he asked with a chortle. “I sure as fuck didn’t,” Blaze chimed in. “Sis was being a harsh bitch, but I followed her because I didn’t know what else to do.” Dash’s face went blank, staring straight ahead. “Look, Rainbow Dash…” Fire began while placing a hoof to his chest. “Let me confess outright. I was completely lost and confused while we were out there. We had fought our way through hell and back to make our way to the Crystal Empire… a destination that was supposed to mark success for our hardship and offer us respite. Our finish line, so to speak. But moments before we crossed it, Sombra happened. In the blink of an eye, one of our highest ranking commanders, most motivating leaders, and most trusted friends was taken from us. It was like the rug had been pulled out beneath our hooves.” Fire looked around at the rest. “My morale was shattered, and while we all forced ourselves to move on, I had no semblance of focus or drive. I heard everything that was said and discussed before the big confrontation, but I didn’t know the first thing to think about it. And when we discovered that we did not have the means to cure Commander Wave… any dim glimmers of hope I had been clinging to had completely vanished,” he said as he glanced at Wave Chill. “And then watching Captain Spitfire struggle as they encased him stuck a knife in my chest and I effectively lost any ability to think coherently. At that point, all I had left were orders. Spitfire’s words were clearly filled with unease and lacked any sort of confidence. It should have been obvious that she had no certainty in her own plan, but I didn’t know what else to do. I just went with it and blindly followed her orders, even when she informed us that we would be subduing you.” Dash had gone completely silent. Misty was still hanging onto her, but she just stared at Fire as she took it all in. “Pretty much that,” Lightning spoke up with a shrug. “We went through all that crap and got sucker punched right before we made it. I was depressed as hell.” He leaned way back in the tub and sighed. “Soarin is a bro, you know? He and I have been buds for a long time. It’s hard to see something happen to a guy like that and just be a-okay right after.” “I was so sad the whole time,” Surprise chimed in. “And when I can’t find any reason to smile, then you know it’s bad!” she shook her head, a sad squeak coming from her hair as it deflated a little. “At that point I just wanted something good to happen. Something remotely happy. I didn’t care what it was. I followed Spitfire because I didn’t know what else to do… and everyone else was.” “Sis had lost her fucking mind!” Blaze suddenly spoke up while splashing a hoof, but then she shook her head. “But were any of us thinking straight? I was still shaken from Silver almost dying…” she paused and pouted. “Which I still haven’t gotten over, by the way. So I had that hanging on me and then Soarin got fucked up too… and Chiller…” she sniffled. “Aw fuck me, I’m gonna start crying like a bitch again…” she groaned, jittering in the water. “Everything was screwed,” High Winds continued for Blaze as she placed an arm around her. “Then we got the bad news on Chiller, which was the cherry on top of it all. Truth be told, I wanted to go to bed and hoped I’d wake up and find out it was all just a dream…” she yawned, her body shimmering and reflecting off the water in the tub. Dash squeaked quietly in surprise as Misty tightened her grip on her again, this time wrapping her neck around Dash’s as well as she clasped her tightly. Misty was shaking. Dash thought she was going to cry. Misty couldn’t speak her part like the others, but the hug said everything Dash needed to know. Misty was quietly letting her know how she felt and it echoed the words of the rest. None of them felt the way her dream had depicted. But Misty’s gesture did more than she could have known for Dash. Dash grew up as a filly watching and being inspired by Misty. She may never have been where she was right now if not for seeing her fly during her first trip to a Wonderbolt show. To have Misty herself strongly assure her that her fears were not reality was a special moment for her. Dash looked at all of them once more, feeling much, much better. She gave a glance towards Wave as well. Even though he had nothing he could offer to the conversation, the fact that he was sitting at all was symbolic all on its own. Despite how much they had gone through and how hard it had been, here they all were soaking in a hot tub at a luxury resort spa, with Wave sitting right there with them like he had never been taken from them. “Don’t doubt yourself or what you did for a moment, Rainbow Dash,” said Fire as he placed a hoof on her other shoulder. “If you hadn’t taken a chance, we would’ve kept following Spitfire without question. Thanks to you… we were able to see how irrational she was being and found the courage to stand up to her. And… when Fleetfoot rallied us against her, she too snapped out of it, realizing her mistake.” “Heh, I dunno bro, I think we were only part of it,” Lightning chuckled. “Fleeties slapped her right across the face with a real zinger to nail it home too.” “Was she wrong though?” Fire asked, chuckling with his brother. “Huh?” Dash blinked. “Invoked, the old ass,” High Winds explained simply. Dash blinked, not catching on. “Silver,” she added, but Dash was still confused. “Honestly, Dash…” Fire continued, Dash’s eyes quickly darting back to him. “What you did out there wasn’t a blunder at all. It was exactly what we needed…” Fire sighed, looking down for a moment. “Something that was missing…” Dash looked around at the rest and saw them all nodding. “We were all so lost,” Fire went on. “So far out of our minds that none of us took a moment to think about what Spitfire was trying to do or whether it was actually a good idea or not. We didn’t even bat an eye when she caught wind of your plans and gave us the plan to restrain you. We couldn’t see anything happening around us, but you…” he poked Dash in the chest. “You saw what was going on and you took action against it.” “It's what ol' Silver would've done for sure. He wouldn't have let that happen either but he wasn't there to do it. You pretty much did what he would have done,” Lightning added. “Grew a pair and… oh, that’s kind of weird here… anyway, you got in Spitfire’s face and said no.” Dash flinched for a moment and felt like making the argument that Silver wouldn’t have snuck around, but she quickly remembered what Silver had said about all of it and let it be… because they… really felt this way? “It didn’t feel good to hold you down!” Surprise whined and frowned. “We were just doing what we were told but… We can’t just blindly follow every order. That’s something the old donkey always drilled into our heads over and over yet we flat out forgot!” “Yeah…” Blaze sniffled. “It’s what the old fuck would have done… if he was out there we…” she sniffled again, sharpening her glare. “We needed him out there, but he wasn’t…GAWD WHY THE FUCK CAN’T I STOP CRYING!?!?!” she shouted before dunking her face into the water and blowing bubbles. “I think what Blazey is trying to say is…” High Winds began as she rubbed a hoof on Blaze’s back. “You played his part pretty damn well. It took all of us a second to catch on but…” she paused and yawned. “Hoooooaaaahhhh… eventually we saw it, and we gave Captain Spit the swift kick in the ass she needed.” Dash stared blankly, straight ahead as her heart fluttered and her face felt rather hot. “I… don’t know what to say…” she chuckled, blushing as she was bombarded with praise by… ponies that were still effectively her heroes. “I certainly do,” Fire gave her a wink, causing her to freeze for a moment. “I can’t speak for the captain, but if I were in charge… after what you did out there?” He waved a hoof back and forth in front of his face. “Promotion. Directly into an elite squad.” Dash’s pupils grew extremely wide and her mouth began a thin flat line. Fire chuckled when he saw her reaction. “What, Dash are you kidding? You can’t fill the missing hooves of the Silver Lining in the middle of a disaster like that and expect not to be recognized as elite Wonderbolt material. That was a masterful move, a game changer that more or less saved us all.” he said as Dash’s eyes kept growing wider. “Yeah, babe!” Lightning shifted over, bumping into Fire as he pointed at Dash. “You slapped sense into all the top Wonderbolts at once in the middle of an absolute shitshow and we all came out the other end alive? Shit, I agree a hundred percent.” Dash started slowly sinking. “Pffffff, guys…” High Winds laughed to herself. “Careful now, you’re gonna make her explode.” Dash frantically turned her head away, but her eyes landed directly on Misty. Misty booped Dash’s nose with a hoof and nodded happily. In an instant Dash dropped into the water. Lots of bubbles shot up to the surface accompanied by a muffled, waterlogged squeal. The Wonderbolts waited patiently for it to finally die down. Eventually Dash slowly emerged, her wet mane slicked over her face. She let out a sharp, long breath. “Oh my gosh, guuuuuuuuyyyyyssss…” she pressed her hooves to her cheeks. “Stop it! I’m… I just did…” she glanced about at all of them. They were all giving her smarmy looks that deflected any humble response she could think of before she could even muster it. “Okay fine, maybe I did a… thing…” “The brash and awesome Rainbow Dash…” Wave began with a chuckle. “Utterly defeated by a little praise from her superiors? I have been out for a while!” he joked. Dash blinked, quickly pushing her mane back and out of her face. She cleared her throat and puffed her chest out. “Me? Defeated? Naaaaaawwwwww…” she flipped the last bit of wet mane out of her face. “It’s to be expected, sometimes I’m just too awesome for my own good!” There was a brief silence as they all just stared at her. But seconds later they all burst out laughing, Dash included, several of them dipping further into the water as they all shared a hearty guffaw. “Man, you’re a riot,” Lightning commented as they all slowly calmed down. “But…” Dash smiled, looking down. “Seriously though, thanks. And not just for the praise, for letting me know everything is cool and… for telling me how I somehow managed to fill a little of the massive space that Silver left behind for you guys. It means a lot to me, it really does.” “Naturally,” Fire nodded. “Don’t let a bad dream steer your thoughts.” “You were really worried?” Lightning butt in while standing up and leaning over the top of Fire’s back. “Hell, we like you even more now!” “Brother…” Fire sputtered as he sank down a little. “You’re heavy…” “YEAH!” Surprise leapt onto Lightning’s back. Fire grunted and fell into the water, bringing Surprise down to eye level with Dash. “So chin up, Dashie! You gotta be happy for all the partying we’re gonna do tonight!” Dash’s ears perked up as Fire tried to force himself up, only to fall back under with both Lightning and Surprise on his back. “Partying? Tonight?” ---To Be Continued---