MLP: FiM
Piercing the Heavens
By: Calm Wind
Chapter 180: Like a Moth to a Flame
Dash paused, staring down at the hallway rug and subtly digging her hooves into it, her body shivering slightly. Funny how just a few hours ago she was doing her best to tear herself away from this feeling, yet here she was going right back to it.
The Crystal Palace halls were quiet. The Ball must have ended because most of the activity around her included servants going back and forth with dishes, decorations, and anything that could be considered ‘cleanup’. They all came and went from the direction of the ballroom and courtyard with some of the guards being recruited to help carry tables. Some of them glanced at Dash as she randomly stood in the middle of the hall, but they kept to their tasks.
Dash was too busy taking deep breaths to notice. It didn’t take long for the surging sensations to rush through her as she made her way back to the palace, and now that she was actually in the palace it was the Crystal Ball all over again, feeling Soarin so close by.
“Okay, Okay… come on, Dash, focus… eyes on the prize…” she spoke to herself quietly as she exhaled and refocused. All she had to do was get to the end of the hall and turn right… and the chamber where Soarin was being kept would be right in front of her.
She broke into a trot, holding back the urge to stop and bask in the tingling feelings rushing up and down her spine and instead began thinking about what angle she’d punch Discord in the face if he tried to turn her away. They said she’d be allowed in, but… she was pretty sure he’d still give her some bullshit reason to stay out.
“Eh…?” Dash blinked as she turned the corner and the chamber doors came into view down the hall. There was a lot of commotion just a few paces from her. Several servants with brooms and waste bins were moving about and sweeping below a large, broken stained glass window.
Dash stared up at it, then glanced down at all the glass being carefully picked up off the floor. She glanced down the hall, the chamber doors fairly far down the hall from it.
“Huh…” Dash tipped her head before continuing on. “I wonder how that happened?”
Her initial worries that the broken window had something to do with Soarin didn’t last more than a second, there was no sign of any other… destruction. There must’ve been some sort of drunken disagreement between partygoers or something, but… how did they break such a big window nearly the height of the palace halls themselves?
She shrugged to herself as she approached the chamber doors, neither guard reacting to her aside from a quick glance. She looked between them both as she lifted her hoof to knock on the door, but neither said anything to her so she went for it.
She rapped her hoof on the door three times, very hard to make sure it was heard. The guards again just stood their ground, so Dash waited patiently.
She leaned back and glanced back down the hall at the broken window again, looking to the guards right after.
“So, uh… how did that happen over there?” she asked them casually.
Bother guards blinked, glancing at one another awkwardly. Dash quickly noticed their reaction, but before either of them could say something, there was a sudden blip of purple light between them. Dash inched backward in surprise as Discord appeared directly in front of her. He crossed his arms and stared flatly at her.
“What?” he asked simply, sounding very miffed. Both of the guards inched away from him but stayed close enough to remain at their posts. Dash lifted an eyebrow, looking Discord up and down before tipping her head.
“What do you think?” she asked sharply, trying to firmly establish herself before she could get any resistance. “Use your brain.”
Discord snorted, grinding his teeth together as he glared down at her, but instead of fighting back, he turned around and waved a hand in the air.
“Alright, alright, don’t give me any of that Silver Lining sass,” he muttered. “Just come in and close the door behind you, please.”
Dash blinked in surprise as Discord walked through the door without opening it.
“Huh… I wasn’t expecting that…” she looked at the two nervous guards. “What is he so pissy about?” she asked.
The guards said nothing, glancing at one another again before both looking in the direction of the broken window.
Dash left it at that. The guards were clearly scared to say anything regarding the window or Discord. So instead of pushing the issue, she figured she’d find out eventually… maybe. She was more concerned with what was waiting for her beyond the doors.
Without further ado, Dash pushed the large doors open and let herself in, closing the door gently behind her like she was asked, but the moment the door was firmly shut, she spun around and quickly made her way around the large pillar blocking her view… freezing with eyes wide as she stepped around.
It was like the moment a week ago all over again. There were a lot of other things present in the room this time, but her eyes found their target in an instant.
Soarin.
He was right where she last left him, floating gently in the air within the stasis bubble, eyes closed, and breathing steadily. Dash felt her heartbeat quicken, placing a hoof on her chest as her eyes drank in the sight of him. Simply SEEING him again was already making this moment amazing for her, so what was she waiting for?
She swallowed, putting one hoof in front of the other carefully, making sure to focus on just entering the room instead of being distracted. She didn’t want to repeat what happened the first time and knew that her being allowed to visit him probably hinged on her ability to control herself.
So to help herself out, she tried to briefly focus on her surroundings as she made her way in.
The first thing she noticed was the ghostly image of Sombra sitting off to the side. What’s more, she looked in that direction first because she heard several voices talking. She was surprised to see Sombra was surrounded by several older Crystal Guards. They appeared to be joking, laughing, and telling stories with him. Dash quickly put together that they had to be the old knights she heard about, ones who were released from the thousand year old seal along with the Empire and once served under Sombra’s leadership. That had to be it… because Sombra looked happy. She watched for a moment as one particular knight brought up something that made them all burst out laughing while Sombra rolled his eyes and jokingly jabbed back about bringing it up with a very big smile on his face.
Maybe that was the reason Discord had his underwear in a bunch. Either Sombra strong-armed Discord into letting the knights in or Celestia let him do it and Discord couldn’t say no to her. Or maybe just seeing Sombra happy pissed him off? That was certainly believable. Perhaps it was the fact that they were allowed to see Soarin in his current form. They all saw him arrive under Sombra’s control, but… a sudden new divine alicorn existing was being kept under wraps the best they could to avoid confusion. If they were let in regardless, that would lend to the possibility of Discord being strong-armed though. But they seemed to care less about a male divine alicorn floating in the middle of the room and more about reconnecting with their once-lost king.
Speaking of Discord and Celestia… Dash focused forward, and while it put Soarin in her view, she noticed Discord and Celestia standing around a few tables set up closer to Soarin. One of the tables was piled high with books and scrolls, the other had an arrangement of food from bread, to a bowl of fruit, some carrots, pies, and salads. The book table must have been where Twilight was keeping all her notes, it looked just like her desk back home. The food was likely for anypony there that wasn’t a projected image and maybe… for Soarin too? Dash began to wonder if Soarin had been eating… he sure didn’t LOOK malnourished, quite the opposite. Perhaps his current state or the stasis he was in made it a moot point?
And speaking of Soarin…
As Dash grew closer to him, she suddenly couldn’t take her eyes off of him. She probably could if she tried, but she didn’t have the slightest urge to do so. Her body shuddered as she slowly took one more step, then another, then another until she was doing so without giving it a single thought. She spent all night wishing he was with her, so being careful was an afterthought. Her slow steps quieted the sound of her hooves on the floor. She moved right past a distracted Celestia without her noticing, the image of the sun goddess distracted as she watched Sombra and his knights with a smile on her face.
Dash could no longer control herself, she felt compelled to move closer and closer. Her eyes slowly grew wider, her mouth slowly opened like a young filly watching a shooting star in the night sky for the first time.
She closed in, coming within ten yards of Soarin, a yellow glow appearing around her body.
“Tia, really?”
Dash yelped as something grabbed her tail and gave it a hard yank, tossing her away from Soarin, her hooves skidding along until she slid to a stop near Celestia. Celestia blinked and perked up.
“What? OH!” she gasped, placing a hoof over her mouth as she saw Dash groggily sway and touch a hoof to her forehead. Discord snorted, crossing his arms and giving Celestia a flat look.
“She walked right by you and got dangerously close,” Discord pointed out as he leaned over and rested an arm on Dash’s head.
“Uuhhhh…” Dash groaned as she felt dizzy, barely noticing the extra pressure on her head.
“I, um…” Celestia’s face turned a light shade of pink as she moved a wing around to slightly cover her face. “Sorry, I got distracted.”
“CLEARLY…” Discord grumbled, shooting a glare towards Sombra and his knights over by the wall.
“Guh… HUH?!” Dash finally came to her senses, twitching once or twice as if waking up from a dream.
“And YOU…” Discord placed a hand over Dash’s head and pressed down. “For heaven’s sake, get ahold of yourself,” he berated her as she noticed he had a hold on her and shot him a flat look. “I agreed to let you come in, but not if you’re going to just saunter up to a ticking time bomb with your head in the clouds. Have you already forgotten what happened before?”
Dash glanced over towards Soarin. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath, ignoring Discord’s grip on her for a moment as she took a deep breath and focused until the remnants of the yellow glow faded from around her body. As soon as her body felt calm again, she looked towards Celestia, then lifted an eyebrow as she did her best to face Discord from her disadvantaged position.
“Yeah, I remember,” she said in a sarcastic tone. “I shocked Soarin into letting your piece of ass and worst nightmare partially free from his body at the same time.”
Discord’s face briefly went blank until a loud snort and chuckle came from the direction of Sombra. Discord grumbled inaudibly, huffing in frustration and letting go of Dash as Celestia now had her whole face hidden by her wing.
“Thanks for the reminder,” Discord said in a very drawn out, frustrated tone.
“Ahem! Ahumm…” Celestia cleared her throat and put her wing down, face still slightly pink as she held her breath and exhaled. “Though, I would agree with Discord. Please do be careful. We are still unsure of his stability. He has remained mostly calm and your presence does seem to rouse him when suddenly in close proximity.”
“Sorry,” Dash shrugged. “It’s pretty hard to resist. My mind was sort of wandering as I walked in, I got too close by accident. I’ll behave myself, I promise.”
“You better…” Discord mumbled.
But Dash ignored him, instead looking over Soarin carefully, at least as carefully as she could from her distance.
“So…” she looked to Celestia. “I know it’s only been a few days, but how is he? I mean, he doesn’t look any different, but can you give me any updates?”
Celestia glanced at Discord, but he had his back turned to them and gave no sign of being helpful. She sighed and rolled her eyes, focusing on Dash.
“Well, I’m not sure I can give you a completely accurate assessment. Even with the help of Luna, Cadence, and Twilight we’ve barely made a dent in understanding how this happened or what to do next, but… while we haven’t made any ground, it seems that HE may have on his own. I can feel the movement of my magic within him and it appears to have calmed down quite a bit over the past five days.”
“Is that… good?” Dash asked, not quite sure. “What does that mean?”
“I’m not entirely sure myself,” Celestia admitted, shaking her head. “I’m basing my read here on my own experience. What’s happening to him or how he’s feeling it could be entirely different for all I know. But what I CAN say for certain is that when I first opened my mind to the depths of divine power, the adjustment period was similar, the power settling in and the strain on my body and mind easing over the course of several days. I was unsure how the process would go for him, so it’s encouraging to see it play out similarly,” she paused and sighed. “But there are still many pieces to the puzzle to consider that are completely different, if you recall.”
“Yeah, I remember,” Dash agreed, earning a nod from Celestia.
“He’s a mortal… or was. He has little experience with magic. He’s likely being bombarded by visions and rushes of emotions no mortal should ever be burdened with. Really, I’m still in awe that we are even standing here looking at this right now…” she looked down at Dash. “I want you to be the first to hear me say… that for all my power, insight, and foresight, it appears there are still many things about our world and my power that I have yet to discover and understand. This was never something I’d consider to be possible.”
“Oh, believe me,” Dash spoke up in a sarcastic tone. “We’ve got the whole ‘not-so-perfect-after-all’ designation for all of you gods down pat by now.”
“I heard that,” Discord growled from nearby.
“GOOD!” Dash shot back loud enough for everypony to hear.
“Enough, enough…” Celestia waved a hoof back and forth in front of her. “We are in no place to deny that now. But back to the task at hoof,” she looked back to Soarin. “If I were to place my largest concern right now, it would be Soarin’s mental state. The magic may be settling in, but it has still altered him in drastic ways, both physically and mentally. I’m of the thought that he will be stable enough to release from stasis soon, and when we do he will awaken naturally… but what happens then…”
“You’re worried he’ll freak out?” Dash asked.
“That’s one possibility, similar to what happened when he first transformed. But even if he awakens in a calmer state, the mental burdens may overwhelm him. He could be entirely overcome with pain and sorrow very quickly and an emotional imbalance of that magnitude could also cause him to lose control of the magic.”
“And…” Discord moved up on the other side of Dash. “That would be a nice fat repair bill for the Crystal Palace… or for the entire Empire as we try to restrain him.”
“Wait, wait…” Dash held out her hooves, looking at Celestia with worry. “Pain and sorrow? Wha…?”
“Indeed,” Celestia nodded. “You see, when I reached into the depths of divine energy to obtain the power I wield today, I…” she trailed off, looking towards Soarin. “Actually… perhaps this isn’t something I should say.”
Dash’s eyes instantly flattened into a frustrated glare. Celestia noticed and quickly shook her head.
“No, no, no. You misunderstand me. I’m thinking ahead here,” she made a head motion to Soarin. “When Soarin awakens, if the burdens begin to destabilize his focus, one way we may be able to keep him calm is to have him express what he’s feeling directly to the one…” she motioned a hoof at Dash. “Who brings him the most comfort.”
“So me…” Dash tapped a hoof to her chest.
“Ideally,” Celestia nodded with a smile. “There is nothing secret about the burdens I’ve carried because of my great power, I just don’t speak of it much at all. It’s become something I’ve learned to live with over the course of centuries. I feel having you near and letting him speak to you will be a very effective way of keeping him calm in the face of what will be weighing on him. I’m sure your soul connection will do wonders to comfort him as well.”
“Assuming her proximity to him won’t amplify it instead,” Discord grumbled with a loud snort. “That’s the last thing we need,” he added with a not-so-subtle snarl under his breath.
Dash glanced up at him flatly for his tone, but she perked up when she noticed Sombra looking up from his knights and towards them from across the room, furrowing his brow at Discord. Her eyes shifted between the two of them… Discord was clearly in a mood, it was time she knew why.
“Care to tell me what’s stuck so far up your ass that you’re practically stuck in a straight line?” she asked bluntly.
Discord’s eyebrows twitched heavily as snickers and chortles came from the direction of Sombra and his knights. He stole a quick glance over his shoulder while grinding his teeth together.
“It’s been a FUN few days for me…” he grumbled. “Between keeping a leash on Tia’s horny little sister and putting up with the attitude of ye olde royal ghost prick over there.” He said purposely loud enough for Sombra to hear.
“I’m sorry, did I hear that correctly?” Sombra yelled over. “You seem eager to be put in your place again!” Sombra threatened with a clear tone of confidence that made his knights laugh some more as Discord appeared to do everything in his power to ignore him.
“I can vouch for Discord,” Celestia spoke up. “I’d prefer he be a little less crude referring to my sister, but he HAS been working overtime through this situation.” She paused and glanced towards Sombra. “Though the road has had its share of bumps and… disagreements.”
“Hrmph…” Discord huffed, crossing his arms.
“Disagreements… right…” Dash tipped her head and lifted her brow.
Dash’s eyes slowly drifted back towards Soarin. The moment she did… she felt herself inching in his direction again. She gritted her teeth as her body twitched, trying her best to keep herself still but the feeling was just… so… STRONG. The rush of euphoria flowed into every corner of her body, trembling and tingling as she kept leaning despite her best efforts to remain upright in place.
Discord perked up, his eyes locking on Dash as she stood up and started slowly shuffling her hooves, not even picking them up as if she was being tugged towards Soarin. He quickly lifted an arm, his aura appearing around it, but suddenly a yellow glow appeared around his arm, pulling it down. His head snapped to Celestia to see her horn alight. She looked him right in the eye and shook her head no.
“Let her try,” she whispered. Discord held his breath, scrunching his face as he pulled his arm free and kept it at the ready just in case.
“Nnngh…” Dash slammed her eyes shut, digging her hooves into the floor and forcing herself to stop. She tipped forward, the magnetic pull trying to force her along, but she held strong. With a solid effort, she forced herself to sit down and took several very deep breaths, holding the last one in as she opened her eyes and stared at Soarin. Her eyes slowly grew wider, a faint yellow flicker blinking in and out around her body. Every instinct was telling her to move forward, every thought was telling her to listen to the desire, but she was determined to not let herself be controlled by it. She was going to be a part of this… Soarin needed her to be here, so she couldn’t be a loose cannon.
But… it was such a strong pull, it was undeniably touching every inch of her and trying its hardest to break her. She felt so drawn to him… the desires involved filling her head and prodding at her endlessly.
She wanted to touch him.
She wanted to grab onto him and hold tight.
She wanted to press herself to him.
She wanted to kiss him.
She wanted to—
“HNNNGH!!!!” Dash reached up and smacked her hooves to her face repeatedly before whipping around and putting her back to Soarin. She sat upright stiffly, her wing feathers fluffing up and flittering as her eyes shot open wide and her face contorted awkwardly, a mad red blush flushed all over her face. “I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m good… okay, okay, all peachy!” She took a long deep breath and held it in for almost fifteen seconds, her eyes twitching. “HAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…” she exhaled loudly before panting with heaving breaths, beads of sweat dripping down her face. She bit her lip and shuddered. “Aieeee… wow… haaa…”
“You certainly don’t look peachy…” Discord snorted, putting his arm down.
“Ignore him,” Celestia quickly shifted in front of Discord and stuck a wing out. “That was a very solid effort,” she nodded and smiled. “We appreciate you trying to understand the effects and keeping yourself under control, I can’t imagine how hard that must’ve been just now, considering what we’ve seen thus far.”
“You know what?” Discord walked right through Celestia’s image and loomed over Dash. “Come here.” He turned his hand over and made a beckoning motion with his finger. His magic aura surrounded Dash and lifted her up into the air.
“Hey!” Dash yelped as she tried to move, but was held still.
Discord lifted his other arm and snapped his fingers, a giant black sharpie marker appearing out of thin air. It uncapped itself and pressed to the floor, drawing a large circle in a fifteen yard radius around Soarin.
“See this line?” Discord pointed to the circle. “Don’t go past this line.” His magic moved her back and placed her outside the circle. “If you really want to risk staring at Soarin until fire shoots out from between your legs, you’ll do it from a safe distance where it’s easier to keep your hoohoo yahoos in check.” Discord glanced past her to see Sombra glaring at him. “And what are you staring at?”
“I haven’t a clue what that instrument is,” Sombra pointed to the sharpie floating in the air. “But stop putting unsightly marks on my palace floor.”
“YOUR palace?” Discord flattened his brow. “Give it up and get with the times you high sodium haunt.”
“I never actually died, so as far as I’m concerned it’s still my castle and it’s being unlawfully occupied,” Sombra stated firmly.
“Oh woe is you that another royal family that’s completely qualified to lead the Empire has taken your…” Discord paused. “You know what? No. I’m not doing this.” Discord flicked his finger, moving the sharpie over to Sombra. His knights backed away as it drew a circle around where Sombra was sitting as small as it could. “You sit in your circle, you’re in time out.” He harrumphed and turned his back. Sombra immediately moved aside out of the circle, his knights snickering as Sombra made bobbing head motions and silent mouth movements to mock Discord.
“Don’t let him discourage you,” Celestia said to Dash as she ignored the bickering and focused on her. “Gauging all of this is something we need, but I share his desire to be careful about it. I can’t fathom how powerful your soul connection with Soarin is now with my energy flowing through him.”
“Hmmm…” Dash hummed, her ears flattening. But then something hit her. She sat up straight and blinked. “Hmmm?”
She looked herself over and thought carefully about what was happening to her and how her body was reacting to Soarin and… why did feel like she had just talked about this… in a different context?
“Wait… wait…” Dash put her hooves out in front of her and wiggled in place on her plot until she was facing Discord and Celestia. “Question.”
“Hm?” Celestia hummed as they both focused on her.
“Earlier tonight, I confronted Luna at the Crystal Ball about her recent… habits,” Dash said with slight sarcasm. “I have my own words for it, but she gave me her version of the story, which was basically the same thing Discord told me, but without the implication of her being a skank.”
Celestia gasped and glared at Discord.
“You called my sister a SKANK?!” she yelled angrily. Discord rolled his eyes and groaned.
“THANK YOU, Rainbow Dash… It’s going to take me weeks to convince her that’s not what I actually said,” he grumbled.
“Whatever, close enough,” Dash pointed towards Soarin without looking at him. “Luna gave me a lot of ancient backstory jargon that I could barely process, but she mentioned something specific about female Alicorns. After some junk and specifics about traditions and higher purposes, she said something about how male alicorns can activate every single sex button on a female alicorn by simply existing and walking by them… or something like that.”
Discord averted his eyes and snorted, but Celestia quickly nodded.
“Oh, the pheromone reaction…?” she paused and glanced down, touching a hoof to her face and blushing slightly. “Goodness, it’s been so long since I thought about that…” she said quietly while glancing at Soarin.
“Yeah, well…” Dash waved an arm at Celestia to keep her focused on her. “Luna claimed she was too young to experience it way back when and said her absolute gnawing desire to press her moon all over Soarin was ‘confirmation’ that he had taken on a divine form.”
“Yes, yes, yes,” Discord tipped a hand back and forth. “Tell us what we already know. What’s your point?”
“A part of my soul is in Soarin…” Dash made a hoof motion towards him.
“Yes,” Discord huffed.
“And my body is being… ‘charged’ by her power as a result.” Dash pointed at Celestia.
“Okay, and?”
Dash ignored his annoyed snippiness and pressed a hoof to her chest.
“Is that... why this is happening to me?” she asked.
For a moment the two just stared blankly at her, but Celestia suddenly perked up.
“Oh? OH!” she blinked as Discord’s eyes widened slightly.
“I know the soul connection thing,” Dash twirled her hooves in front of her. “But that’s been a thing for a while. Our connection and our usual libido were strong, but… it was never this unhinged. If Celestia’s magic is more or less working itself into me through the soul connection… is my body reacting the same way a divine alicorn mare’s would? Seriously, the moment I look at him I feel like I get lassoed around the neck and yanked towards him. And let me tell you, I get pulled towards him with all sorts of intentions that even Fleetfoot would think are extreme.”
“Huh? What is it, Fleet?” Spitfire asked as she opened the door to their hotel room.
“I don’t know, but…” Fleetfoot looked around and narrowed her eyes. “I feel like I’ve just been challenged…”
Both Celestia and Discord appeared curious. Dash was surprised that neither of them had considered it.
“Hmm…” Celestia looked down. “Hmmm…” she appeared to be in deep thought, her eyes eventually moving to Discord. “Hmm?” she hummed one more time, tipping her head.
“What are you looking at ME for?” Discord bent his body to the point where he was nearly at a right angle while lifting his brow before flattening it. “It’s YOUR energy.”
“If it’s HER energy inside Rainbow Dash…” Sombra spoke up again. “Then it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest that she’s feeling that particular drive.”
In an instant, Celestia’s pure white face turned as red as a tomato.
“S…Sombra…” she stuttered as she completely covered her face with both her wings.
“Thanks for being ever so helpful…” Discord shot back at him without bothering to turn and look.
“My deepest apologies,” Sombra smirked. “I’m only sharing my personal insight, you know.” He added with a very sly tone.
Discord’s body straightened and stiffened as his eye twitched hard. He spun around and glared.
“That’s enough out of YOU. Get back in your time out circle!” Discord’s eyes glowed and the small circle on the ground slid along the floor until it was around Sombra again. Sombra immediately stepped out of it again.
“I might be mistaken, but I think I’ve struck a nerve,” Sombra glanced at his knights and made a head motion toward Discord. “Who wants to see me tie this bespawling bobolyne into a painful knot?” he asked.
All of his knights eagerly raised a hoof.
“Oh sure… SURE!” Discord trudged over to Sombra. “Please, keep taking advantage of the fact that you can touch me with your magic, but I can’t touch YOU!” He bent his head all the way forward to get in Sombra’s face. “That’s REAL mature of you, you know that?” he stood upright and threw his arms into the air. “Oh, how silly of me, I almost forgot how helpful you’ve been so far… OH WAIT!” he put his hands firmly on his sides and bent forward again. “You haven’t helped AT ALL!”
Sombra scoffed.
“I have better things to do than spin my wheels over something I know nothing about while endlessly being told what I can and cannot do by an insufferable buffoon.”
“BETTER things?” Discord growled. “Oh yes, going for strolls in the halls of the palace when you’re supposed to stay here sure is helpful! All you’re doing is scaring the servants and guests when they suddenly see the ghost of an ancient king casually wandering around, and leaving us one hell of a task to convince them that they’re just imagining things!”
“Didn’t I just say this is still MY castle?” Sombra snorted at him. “I will walk my halls as I please.”
“Shows how much you care about your precious castle when I caught you and you tried to kill me!” Discord pointed a finger into his face.
“I did no such thing.”
“You FLUNG me through a WINDOW!!!”
“Yet here you are!”
The two were nearly butting heads, or at least they would be if Sombra was solid.
“Oh, huh.” Dash tipped her head slightly. “So that’s how the window in the hall was…” she slowly looked to a frustrated Celestia. “I take it this is pretty much how working with them has been?” she asked as the laughter of Sombra’s knights filled the air, enjoying every moment of their king letting Discord have it.
“More or less, yes,” Celestia sighed. “Hold on, I have to go break it up… again.”
As Celestia moved towards the bickering duo, Dash thought carefully about everything that was just discussed. She decided to test herself, taking a deep breath and slowly looking in the direction of Soarin again, her eyes passing along the ground to see where the line was drawn before looking up and taking in an eyeful.
Her body jolted, the feeling welling up inside of her even at this distance. Before she could even think about holding herself in place, she tipped forward far enough to nearly fall forward, forcing her to stand up and place a hoof down to prop herself up. But the moment her hoof touched down on the other side of the line, she grunted and pulled it back. It felt three times harder to move backward than it did to move forward, but she stayed on the other side of the line. She had to get a grip. She wanted to be able to get close to Soarin, but she didn’t want to do it out of extreme, out-of-control surging desire and accidentally cause a magical reaction. If she was going to get close… she would do it under her own power… but how long would it take to reach that point?
Sombra perked up, tipping slightly and glancing between the gods as Celestia scolded them both for jawing at each other. He saw Dash facing Soarin… and saw her straining herself to remain in place. Sombra’s eyes darted back and forth between Dash and the gods. At the moment Celestia was focused on Discord. He took one last look at Dash, a smirk briefly creeping on his face.
“Furthermore, we can’t have you two always—”
“Will you butt out?!” Sombra lashed out, cutting off Celestia as he moved over and looked her right in the eye. “Perhaps you believe we can work together, but nothing makes me vomit in my own mouth more than the thought of working with this pathetic whiffle-whaffle!”
Celestia leaned back in shock as Sombra directed his anger at her. Discord growled and stepped in between them.
“Alright you…” he growled, wagging a finger in his face. “You listen to me. It’s one thing for you to not do anything to help us… it’s another entirely to act like an asshole while WE’RE trying our hardest to solve something that is very much YOUR problem! We might hate each other’s guts, but I WON’T tolerate you speaking to Tia that way!”
“I’m sorry, did I hear that correctly?” Sombra flattened his brow as his blue magic aura began to swirl around his horn. “You want me to throw you through another window?”
“DON’T even think about it!” Discord visibly shifted backwards.
“Sombra, stop it!” Celestia pleaded from behind Discord.
But as the two of them focused on him… neither of them had any idea what was happening behind them.
“Huh…?” Dash blinked as she suddenly felt something. She looked down to see a blue aura surrounding her body. Before she knew it, she was being pushed. She went right over the line and started skidding along the ground towards Soarin. Alarmed, she leaned back to resist, but as soon as she tried to push back, the magical force adjusted to prevent her from making any difference, her hooves sliding along the ground as she was slowly nudged closer. What started as panic was cut short as an extreme rush of euphoria surged through her, the shrinking proximity to Soarin having an immediate and drastic effect. She tingled and shuddered like mad, her body heating up immensely.
“Quit it with the magic antics!” Discord snarled at Sombra.
“Hmmm…” Sombra casually looked around the room, his eyes landing on Dash once as he continued to quietly nudge her towards Soarin. “It’s a shame there are no windows in here… perhaps I should just put you through the wall instead.”
“Sombra, enough!” Celestia walked through Discord, her yellow aura alight on her horn. Sombra fixed his eyes on her, but kept a straight face as he continued subtly working his magic.
Dash was being overwhelmed, her eyes began to glow yellow and the yellow outline appeared around her body as well. So many feelings and desires were welling up from deep inside of her. She was more than halfway into the circle now, and Soarin began to stir. The faint, perpetual yellow glow around him began to flicker unevenly, the same effect starting around Dash as well.
It was growing stronger… and stronger… and stronger still. Soarin’s lips parted, his teeth gritting together as he quietly grunted, the light surrounding them both reaching out and merging together as it continued to undulate.
But suddenly… the vacant stare in Dash’s eyes hardened into a harsh glare. She tensed her body firmly and exhaled, a look of pure determination on her face as she forced the raging surges of desire down, holding her body back from giving in to the pleasure.
She stopped resisting the push of Sombra’s magic and instead concentrated entirely on Soarin, now closer than she had gotten the whole time with less than five yards between them. As she focused, the flicker of the aura stopped around her. Though their auras were connected, hers became smooth and constant, the connection of the light between them holding tight as if trying to tame Soarin’s aura.
Sombra blinked as he felt Dash cease her resistance, and noticed her composure. He smiled subtly… and released her from his hold. She was standing very close to Soarin and she was holding herself strong.
“Feh, on second thought you are not worth my trouble,” Sombra scoffed as his magic receded from his horn. Discord blinked.
“What? That was very abrupt…” he said skeptically.
With one firm step, Dash began closing the remaining distance between them. She forced every attempt by the desires to rush outward down as she took another step, then another, moving right through the stasis bubble he was floating in.
She was moving on her own. She didn’t care how good the euphoric sensations felt, that’s not what she wanted. She didn’t want to lustfully throw herself at him… she wanted to comfort him. Hearing him grunt and seeing him wince… watching his face jitter, his lips and eyelids twitch… Those were the things she focused on because she wanted to put him at ease, and nothing was going to stop her from doing that.
Now standing directly in front of him within arm’s reach. She took action… reaching for his face to give it a comforting touch.
“What are you trying to pull?!” Discord leaned over Sombra and got into his face. “And what’s with that disgusting smarmier-than-normal look on your face?!”
“Hm? Oh, nothing…” his eyes briefly shifted to Dash and right back to Discord. “Nothing at all.”
Discord’s ears folded back and his eyes widened as he caught Sombra’s glance. He whipped around so fast that half his body went right through Celestia’s image, causing her to flinch and stumble.
“AH!” Discord yelped as his eyes landed on Dash, standing right in front of Soarin and about to touch him.
He thrust his arm out, his chaos aura flaring up around it. But before he could do anything, the blue aura of Sombra’s magic suddenly appeared around his hand, forced it into a fist, and yanked it inward, using it to make Discord punch himself right in the face. Discord’s head tipped back and he stumbled. Sombra tipped his head towards the tables near Soarin, wrapping his magic around the bowl of fruit. He lifted it and shot it towards Discord, moving it up and turning it over before slamming it down as hard as he could over Discord’s head. Several loud splurts and smushing noises rang out as Discord was forced all the way to the floor, chin slamming to the crystal as Sombra pressed the bowl as far down as he could, covering Discord’s entire head and smashing all its contents onto him.
Celestia was disoriented and distracted by Sombra’s sudden fruit attack on Discord, that it wasn’t until Discord was firmly planted on the floor did she realize what was happening. She gasped as she looked over to Dash… but it was too late.
Dash touched Soarin, gently pressing her hooves to his face. One on his cheek, the other beneath his chin.
Soarin flinched, a quiet breath releasing from his lips.
Celestia was frozen in place. Sombra released his magic from the bowl of fruit, Discord frantically tipping the bowl up to look towards Dash as dripping fruit juices slid down between his eyes.
But nothing happened… at least at first.
Soarin was perfectly still for several seconds… but over the course of those moments, the light surrounding him began to calm, the flickering undulations smoothing out and slowly dying down until his aura was as still as the one around Dash. His body relaxed, the jitters nowhere to be seen, no more grunts of discomfort escaping his throat. His mouth hung slightly agape, but his lips began to twitch gently… until they started curling up into a weak smile. He tipped his head towards Dash’s hoof on his cheek, as if reacting to her touch.
The sight made Dash’s heart flutter. Soarin’s movement, the feeling of him reaching for her hoof…
He could feel her there, couldn’t he? He knew it was her, he had to. Dash slid her other hoof along his chin and up the other side of his head until it was on the other cheek. Soarin sighed comfortably, tipping his head the other way to press to her other hoof.
Dash bit her lip, her body quivering slightly. He DID know it was her. He definitely did… and he looked so comfortable, so relaxed.
Dash slowly leaned in and brushed the side of her nose against his. She shuddered as she felt Soarin’s breath against her face, giving her goosebumps and her fur standing on end as a feeling of comfort rushed through her. What was going through her head right now was utterly destroying the uncontrollable urges, proving to be far stronger than the unhinged lust. Without missing a beat, Dash shifted forward, nuzzling her cheek against Soarin’s face tenderly as he tipped his head towards her to feel her close touch.
Celestia and Discord both watched carefully, neither moving a muscle as Dash and Soarin remained together. The silence was eventually broken by a satisfied chuckle from Sombra. Discord instantly flattened his brow and growled, forcing himself up and whipping around to glare at Sombra with the bowl of very smashed fruit still on his head.
“Are you out of your mind?!” he yelled at the very smug looking Sombra, as fruit juice continued to run down his face. He angrily pulled the bowl off of his head and tossed it aside as a windshield wiper appeared in front of his face, swishing back and forth to sweep the bits of fruit off of him. “The last time she got that close to him we were one second short of this whole chamber going up in flames! If something had gone wrong while you were being a dick with your magic, I wouldn’t have been able to stop it!”
“You know…” Sombra lifted an eyebrow and tipped his head slightly. “You lack an astounding amount of curiosity for a god who can supposedly do anything.”
Celestia had a hoof gently pressed to her lips, her eyes were locked on Soarin and Dash, watching with great interest as Dash continued to trade light affectionate gestures with Soarin.
“Curiosity has nothing to do with it!” Discord snarled at Sombra. “You’re lucky nothing bad happened! We have no idea what we’re dealing with here!”
“We’re dealing with an unknown,” Sombra quickly replied, not budging despite Discord glaring barely an inch from his face. “So tell me how not taking any chances will solve anything? How far have you two gotten in the past week, hmmmm?” he hummed, lifting an eyebrow. “Anywhere at all while you pussyhooved your way around things as if a simple twitch would make Soarin explode?” He made a head motion towards Dash. “You are woefully underestimating that one. She played a pivotal role in Soarin’s fight against me and in bolstering Soarin’s ability to become something thought impossible. This is the second or third time she’s been near Soarin? It’s only logical to assume she would have given the experience critical thought. AND… it would appear I was correct, she has found the will and focus to hold back the urges. It would appear her efforts are having quite the calming effect on him after all. Want to know how long it took me to figure that out? Five seconds… with a little nudge.”
His smug smile grew a little larger as Discord stood silently, grinding his teeth together.
“I rest my case,” Sombra shook his head to whip his mane about, facing his knights with his nose held high as they hollered and clapped.
“Sh…Shut up…” Discord grumbled and he glared at the floor.
“I decline.”
Ignoring the two of them, Celestia slowly made her way towards Soarin and Dash, watching with interest and a little bit of warmth in her heart as she watched Dash lovingly stroke her hooves up and down Soarin’s face and neck, nuzzling him gently. Her horn and eyes lit up softly, looking Soarin over carefully as she stopped before him, examining his body language and taking account of the magical vibes.
Dash pulled back from Soarin a little and smiled weakly at Celestia.
“Sorry if that was a bit much,” she apologized. “I… couldn’t help myself. Once I found the middle ground I just really wanted to comfort him.”
“No, honestly,” Celestia blinked as she continued to look Soarin over. “This was exactly the kind of breakthrough we needed. Discord has been very unwilling to try anything more direct or drastic. I admit I have been in agreement with him, but… by the looks of things, if you are able to focus and keep the surges of desire in check, your proximity to him is soothing him… quite a lot. I guess we owe Sombra for taking the chance, this will be good to know and…” she paused to look over at Sombra and Discord. Discord was yelling explicatives as Sombra used his magic to pull him down and grind a magically conjured hoof into his head as his knights laughed hysterically behind him. “I’ll… pass it onto them later…” Celestia said with an annoyed sigh.
Dash refocused on Soarin for a moment as he wiggled his nose around as if looking for her.
“Hey, hey, I’m right here you big doof…” Dash giggled, reaching forward again and hugging her arms around his big nose. Soarin sighed heavily as soon as Dash gripped him, his ears turning forward and backward a few times.
As she held onto him, she looked at Celestia curiously as she continued to shake her head at the two troublemakers she had been dealing with.
“Say… a minute ago I mentioned Luna bringing up a lot of things about the two of you way, way back.”
“Hm?” Celestia blinked and turned back to her. “Yes?”
“Stuff about divine alicorn society and such… which was apparently a thing.”
“Oh…” Celestia glanced down, mouth scrunching up a little. “Yes, it’s been… a very long time since then, it was very much real.”
“I heard you told Soarin a little about it already?”
“Yes, while Sombra was in control, he got some of our story, but barely a fraction of it. Mostly only what was related to Sombra.”
“I’d like to hear about it sometime,” Dash nodded. “From both you and Luna, especially with the current situation.” She made a head motion towards Sombra. “I wouldn’t mind some extra color.”
“It’s quite a long story, I’m afraid…” Celestia sighed, the subject seeming to be a little touchy or emotional as she looked at both Sombra and Discord.
“That’s what Luna said too,” Dash nodded. “I just wanted you to know I’m interested. Because right now… I just wanted… to see…” she started pausing, her eyes twitching lightly before she leaned her head back and yawned loudly. “I just wanted to see Soarin,” she finished. “Yeesh, what time is it?”
“Quite late,” Celestia smiled weakly as she refocused on Dash. “But we can definitely oblige at some point. I have a feeling you’ll be around more often from here on. Once Soarin is conscious again and stable, we can tell you all about it. Maybe even about…” Celestia suddenly trailed off as she looked over her shoulder.
“Hm?” Dash blinked, following Celestia’s eyes right to Discord.
“Hmmm…” Celestia hummed, biting her lip and placing a hoof over her heart. “Ex…excuse me… I should probably go stop them before Sombra gets any ideas.”
Before Dash could say anything, Celestia was up and moving, quite quickly, towards Sombra and Discord to break them up… yet again. She was curious about what had her skitter away so quickly, apparently something about Discord, but she was too tired to think too hard.
She frowned as she felt Soarin move, turning his head a little to nuzzle his nose into her chest. She was tired and needed to go to sleep, but she didn’t want to leave him either. But… thanks to Sombra it looked like she would get many more chances to come see him. She wanted to thank Sombra. Hell, she wanted to talk to Sombra in general since he had been a bit tight lipped about anything so far, but… he was a little preoccupied at the moment and she was too tired to wait around.
She slid her hooves over Soarin’s face and caressed his chin, a comfortable sigh leaving his lips.
“Hey you,” she spoke quietly to him. “I have to go now, but I’ll be back. I promise.”
Soarin released a breath from his nostrils that made Dash’s mane wave a little. She chuckled and stroked a hoof up and down his nose. She closed her eyes, leaned in, and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.
“I hope you wake up soon… I miss you.”
And with that, Dash slowly, and with some difficulty, slid her hooves over his face until she let go of him. Soarin looked slightly distraught as she let go, but otherwise he remained calm, the light around him soothed by his encounter with her.
The feeling of their point-blank proximity fading was borderline painful, but it was a slow decline as Dash stepped backward, keeping her eyes on him for several seconds as the noises of bickering in the background fell on deaf ears.
With one last look and one last smile, she turned and made her way out, the glow fading from her body slowly as she reached the door.
She left feeling better… much better than she had earlier in the night, but… damn, she was tired. It was time to sleep.
---To Be Continued---