MLP: FiM
Piercing the Heavens
By: Calm Wind
Chapter 187: It’s A Start
“You good?” Dash asked as she trotted at a quickened pace.
“Mmhmm,” Soarin hummed casually as he moved, walking at a steady and nonchalant pace around the room. He was putting one hoof down in front of the other with no trouble at all, and the best part was Dash wasn’t even touching him, just next to him. It looked like he had gotten the hang of moving his new body, at least in a low key manner.
“You sure?” Dash asked… for the fourth time since they started. Soarin glanced down at her and smirked.
“Ask me one more time, I dare you,” he said with a chuckle.
“Hey!” Dash pouted. “I’m just being careful, alright?”
“Well I’ve made five laps around the room without exploding into bright lights so I think I’m alright,” Soarin joked. “Nothing feels off.”
“Yet,” Dash added.
“You stop that,” Soarin gave her a playful glare.
“So… you’re okay right?” Dash instinctively asked again.
“I warned ya,” Soarin abruptly stopped and before Dash knew what was happening, Soarin reached out an arm and scooped her up.
“AHH!” Dash yelped as she was effortlessly hoisted right off her hooves and into the air. Soarin lifted her right over his shoulder and pushed her onto his back. She immediately clasped her arms around as much of his body as she could, her chin pressed to his lower back as he started moving again.
“In fact, I’m feeling pretty good right now, how about we pick up the pace?” he said confidently as he accelerated from a walk to a trot, Dash laughing as he started moving before she could reposition herself.
“No! Cut that out!” Discord’s voice came from across the room. But before Dash could so much as glance in Discord’s direction, Soarin turned and moved directly towards him and Luna.
“How about you eat shit?” he shot back with a smirk as he passed right by them.
Discord’s eyes went wide and he blinked as Dash snorted loudly from Soarin’s back. Discord’s aura flared up a little in his fists for a moment, but he let it dissipate shortly after. He glanced at Luna as she failed to stifle a few regal giggles.
“Yeah, yeah… laugh it up,” Discord growled and rolled his eyes.
“We’re surprised you activated your magic at all,” Luna pointed out.
“Had to vent,” Discord looked away. “I know very well that…” he trailed off, quickly closing his mouth. Luna looked up at him, but Discord avoided eye contact.
He couldn’t believe that he almost blatantly admitted how powerless he was up against Soarin’s current state, regardless of how well Soarin could control it. His chaos magic could not overpower the energy swirling within Soarin and he wasn’t willing to try his luck and be… repelled and likely humiliated. He certainly wouldn’t dare imply that he had gotten used to… being beneath him, so to speak.
“Forget it,” Discord huffed as he felt Luna’s stare still glued to him. “Nothing.” He evaded as he kept watching.
Soarin continued on his quickened pace around the room, Dash now turned and facing forward, clinging the best she could to his neck and laughing with him
“Hold on a moment.”
Soarin flinched as Sombra’s voice suddenly popped into his head with a soft blue glow from his horn and eyes, but it didn’t hinder him.
“What’s up?” Soarin asked as he slowed down. He had been slowly adjusting to Sombra and Celestia being able to speak through him. It still sent a bit of a twitch through his head but he had gotten used to it, even if it was still weird.
“Face us towards the snake, will you?” Sombra asked.
“The sn—oh,” Soarin stopped and turned to face Discord.
“No, I don't want to talk to you,” Discord preemptively snarled as he heard Sombra’s voice.
“No one cares what you desire,” Sombra calmly shot back.
“Then WHAT?!” Discord snapped.
“Acknowledge him.”
Discord was ready to shout back, but stopped and lifted an eyebrow.
“I said ACKNOWLEDGE him,” Sombra repeated as Soarin stayed curiously silent
“For what?” Discord growled, narrowing his eyes.
“We are all seeing it and we are all thinking it. Now I want to hear you say it. Admit that Soarin can handle this. There was a word foreign to me in his statement that you eat something, but I believe it was a strong retort.”
Dash slammed a hoof over her mouth to hold back hysterical laughter. Sombra was in for a lot of confusion if they ever got out of here to see the rest of the Wonderbolts.
“It’s time you acknowledged his progress,” Sombra went on. “Because I have yet to hear you give him any positive encouragement or reinforcement.”
“No one cares what you desire either, you know…” Discord grumbled, grinding his teeth together.
“Even now you refuse!” Sombra lifted his tone a little. “Soarin could barely stand weeks ago, now he trots in circles around this room with ease! He is gaining control of his new form and all you can do is grumble and growl, sneer and scowl! He has outgrown your expectations, but you think it beneath you to give him any praise at all!”
“How about you mind your own business?” Discord snapped. “If you want his ass kissed so badly then you do it!”
“Forget it, Sombra,” Soarin broke his silence, startling them both. He glanced back at Dash, smiling at her for a moment before resuming his trot. “I don’t need his praise. Don’t want it either, honestly.” He shot a quick glance at Discord. “I’ll climb the steps one at a time… let my progress speak for itself.”
“Hmm…” Sombra only hummed in response, but Discord didn’t need to see Sombra to know what the look on his face was.
“Tch…” Discord scoffed, looking away and staring at the next pillar over.
“He has made quite a bit of progress,” Luna spoke to him quietly.
“Don’t you start with me too, Lulu…” Discord grumbled, keeping his voice down as well.
“Are we wrong?” Luna asked plainly as she looked back out to Soarin moving quickly about. “We have to say… that we haven’t felt the least bit worried or on edge for several days now. My sister’s power seems to have found its roots within him. There have been no sudden reactions or flares or—”
“Lulu, I’m not blind. I know,” Discord cut her off. Luna blinked.
“Then why dost thou hold thy tongue?”
“You…” Discord exhaled loudly, his ears flopping down as he puttered his lips. “You wouldn’t understand, Lulu.”
“We beg your pardon?” Luna furrowed her brow. “Try us.” She encouraged as Discord sharply looked at her.
“Okay, fine. Have you unlocked the full potential of your divine power yet?” he sharply asked.
Luna flinched, staring wide eyed as she found no words.
“No? I thought not. I rest my case,” Discord added and looked away again.
Luna angrily glared at the back of his head, harrumphed and returned her focus to Soarin. Discord glanced over his shoulder at the now very pouty princess and sighed.
“Stop that,” he spoke up, earning another harsh glare. “That wasn’t an insult, it’s a fact. And don’t act like I’d spite you for being spared that kind of pain… or the burdens that come from the end result.” He looked out towards Soarin. “Honestly, sometimes I’m jealous that… you’ve never had… to…”
Luna tipped her head as he trailed off.
“Okay, fine… look…” he suddenly turned and looked her in the eye. “Celestia’s power has stabilized, at least when Rainbow Dash is around. BUT…” Discord lifted a finger and inched a little closer to Luna’s face, hardening his gaze. “The very last thing we need… is him becoming full of himself. He is a mortal that now has access to near limitless power… that’s a dangerous thing for a mind that is just a fledgling compared to those who have lived as long as we have. I fear he will never grasp just how powerful he is right now. I don’t care if he somehow managed to withstand the process of awakening, he is as much a danger to himself as he is to all around him. A certain amount of extreme care is still needed to avoid any disasters… ESPECIALLY when we start to see just how much we can separate the two of them. I don’t want him getting a big head and accidentally blowing up the whole east wing of the palace with a sneeze.”
Luna’s glare had slowly faded as Discord laid his case out.
“We… suppose that’s fair,” Luna sighed, still a little miffed.
“And I’ll gladly put up with Sombra’s insufferable childish jargon if it means keeping Soarin level headed,” Discord added as he stood up straight and leaned back against the pillar. “There are more important things at work right now than my personal spat with that idiot. So Soarin can walk and trot, fine… but what about flying? More importantly, what about the magic? Even with Rainbow Dash glued to his underside I’m not looking forward to him finally using that alicorn horn. Let’s not pat him on the back until he’s more aware of just how dangerous he is, mmkay?”
“Fine…” Luna huffed with nothing she could really say against it.
The two turned their attention back to Soarin, watching as he picked up more speed and reached a canter. But he didn’t go any faster due to his massive strides taking him very far step by step… and Dash stating that she was starting to get dizzy.
“Okay, okay…” Dash gave his neck a squeeze. “Ooo… haha alright slow down before I toss my last meal.”
“Heh, sorry,” Soarin chuckled as he slowed down to a walk. “Need to get off the ride?” he joked as he glanced over his shoulder at Dash.
But as he looked he came to a stop, his eyes shifting from Dash… to his wings. He glanced back and forth between them as Dash shifted and blinked to stop her head from spinning.
“Hmmm…” Soarin hummed to himself. “I wonder…” he thought aloud as he slowly made his way back to the center of the chamber.
“Huh…?” Dash blinked, finding her equilibrium and tipping her head curiously.
“My wings,” Soarin stated with a nod. “I haven’t actually moved them from rest since I got this new body.”
“Want to try?” Dash asked quickly, her interest immediately piqued as well.
“Well…” Soarin thought for a moment. “Celestia?”
“Yes?” Celestia replied after a brief moment with a gentle yellow glow from his horn and eyes.
“Anything I should know about Alicorn wings?” Soarin asked. There was a pause.
“What’s to know about them?” Celestia replied, a hint of confusion in her voice.
“Anything different about them from regular Pegasus wings?” Soarin asked, being patient. “I mean, is there a difference?”
“I’m afraid I wouldn’t know,” Celestia replied with a giggle. “I’ve always been an alicorn.”
“Oh, wait… right…” Soarin blinked as Dash snickered. “That was a dumb question,” Soarin admitted with a shrug as he looked at his wings again.
“I guess the one thing I do know is that they are bigger on a scale basis compared to my body than the average Pegasus. Aside from that though, I can’t say,” Celestia explained. Dash shifted to get a good look at Soarin’s wings.
“Upon closer inspection I can definitely say,” she glanced at Soarin and smirked. “You have huge wings.”
“Thanks, I couldn’t tell,” Soarin smirked right back at her as she chuckled and bopped a hoof against his nose. “Help me out though, can you give me a rough estimate? Compared to how I looked before, did my wings size up evenly with the rest of me?”
“Can’t you tell?” Dash lifted an eyebrow.
“You’re the expert on my body here, right?” Soarin added a lot of smarm to his voice as he bounced his eyebrows twice.
“Okay, you’re right about that,” Dash snorted and rolled her eyes. “Alright wise guy, gimme a sec…” She looked over Soarin’s wings, but after a moment she pouted. “You know that’s a good question… it’s been a while since I’ve seen you… normal.”
Soarin flinched subtly as she said it. There was clear disappointment in her voice, even if he looked very impressive now, it was still an abnormal and unwelcome circumstance for the two of them. He made a mental note to press Celestia later on Dash’s ability to look within him with the piece of her spirit… he still looked like his normal self inside his mind, after all.
“Okay, but I think I can… figure it out,” Dash added, touching a hoof to one of his wings and running her hoof over it while looking between it and his body. “If I’m processing this right… I don’t think it’s one to one. They do look a little bigger compared to your body than they were before.”
“Hm… okay I can’t see how that’ll make a big difference. Alright I’ll try to move them,” Soarin nodded. Dash shifted and clasped Soarin’s neck, making sure she was pressed to him as much as she could be to offer her connection support.
Soarin took a deep breath and slowly… very slowly… inched his wings outwards from his body, holding them still after the small brief movement.
Discord tipped forward from the pillar, but stopped and leaned back while snorting. He kept his eyes glued to Soarin and gathered chaos magic in his hand hidden under his armpit… just in case.
“Well, so far they feel like wings,” Soarin joked. “That didn’t feel off at all, so let me…” Soarin trailed off. Dash looked over her shoulder, her eyes growing wide with wonder as Soarin slowly but surely opened up his wings all the way, stretching them out. They loomed over her, their impressive shape and size revealing themselves in full. “There… that felt perfectly normal…” Soarin nodded, looking at his wings. “I see what you mean, Dash. They do seem a lot bigger, now that I’m seeing them.”
“Holy shit…” Dash said quietly.
“Dash?” Soarin glanced at her.
“Ignore me,” Dash swallowed. “I’m just internally swooning like crazy back here.” She openly admitted as her face felt warm, staring at Soarin’s enormous wings.
“Oh, really now?” Soarin snickered as she gawked.
“Yeah my stallion’s wings are only three-maybe four times the size of me now, pardon me while I strain to contain the urge to clamp my thighs as hard as I can on your back right now.” Dash rambled as she kneaded her hooves into his back.
Discord loudly cleared his throat, causing them both to look towards him.
“Spare us, please…” he grumbled while tapping a finger on his opposite shoulder. “If you’re going to try anything else just get on with it!”
Soarin furrowed his brow, a quiet chuckle coming from his mind as the horn gently pulsed blue.
“Ah the sweet, sweet sound of a scoundrel’s dissatisfaction…” Sombra said with a chortle.
“Sombra…” Celestia sighed.
“Alright… so…” Soarin ignored Discord and refocused on his wings. He folded and opened them a few times, increasing the pace of doing so each time. “Seems to be working consistently with no issue…” he turned them into a flight position and moved them up and down slowly, mimicking flapping motions. “That seems to be working too…” He grinned. “Okay! I’m going to try and lift off, okay?” he said to Dash, not even gracing Discord with a glance for any approval. Dash nodded, nestling herself against him and holding on.
“Go for it, big guy,” she winked. Soarin smiled confidently, stared straight ahead, and took a few deep breaths as he lifted his wings up.
“Here goes nothing…”
Discord clenched his fist, the aura becoming slightly visible under his arm. Luna gulped, watching with interest.
“Hrm!” Soarin pumped his wings down.
BOOM.
A sound akin to a large firework blast rang out. Soarin yelped as he was launched halfway to the ceiling and a hysterically powerful burst of wind blasted outward from beneath him. Discord was pressed flat to the pillar and Luna was knocked right off her hooves, tumbling to the floor and smacking into the back wall. All the tables near the center of the chamber were sent skidding and flipping with all of Twilight’s notes and books being tossed dancing into the air.
“Whoooaaa WHOOOOAAA!!!!” Soarin yelled out as he ended up way higher than he thought he’d be, wildly kicking his hooves as he stared at the floor below. As he began to fall, his instinct told him to try and hover.
He flapped his wings again, another loud bang ringing out. The entire room rattled and everything strewn about was launched again, including the two gods as Discord was forced off the pillar and sent tumbling into the wall next to Luna, who had just gotten pressed face first to the wall again.
“Yikes!” Dash yelled, holding on for dear life as she and Soarin nearly crashed into the clattering ceiling chandeliers.
“Gah! Too much again!” Soarin exclaimed as he looked down and tried to process how two regular wing beats managed to throw him so high into the air.
The chamber doors swung open and several crystal guards rushed in, looking around for any trouble.
“It’s okay it’s okay!” Soarin yelled out, taking a few quick breaths as he began to fall slowly with his wings outstretched. “I can get this! I just need to…”
“Princess Luna!” One of the guards called out as the group rushed towards Luna and Discord pressed into the wall. They were completely oblivious to Soarin in the air above them, nor did any of them seem to wonder for a moment why they couldn’t see him anywhere. Luna flipped upright and looked up to see Soarin moving his wings up for another flap. She blinked and glanced at all the guards.
“Oh dear…”
Soarin pumped his wings down, but only halfway in an attempt to decelerate his fall. Regardless of the lessened motion, another strong burst of wind shot downward and hit the ground like an invisible explosion. Luna and Discord shielded themselves for impact, but the unaware guards were toppled, smacking into one another like dominos as the tables were knocked all the way to the walls with one slamming into Discord. Twilight’s books and papers flew through the air like they were in a snow globe with one of the books careening towards Luna and impaling itself on her horn.
“Aye yai yai!” Soarin gritted his teeth and repeated the motion, trying to be even gentler with the small wing strokes. But while it did slow him down, nothing he did stopped the beats from blasting strong gusts downward and smacking about everyone and everything in the room.
With everypony else in the room stuck under the pressure, Soarin eventually touched down. He remained silent for several seconds, blinking as he stared straight ahead and kept his wings outstretched.
“HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLY shit…” he finally broke the silence as he looked back at his wings.
“Wow…” was all Dash could say as the two began glancing about the room.
Soarin winced slightly as he saw the absolute mess the chamber was in. He turned all the way around to see Discord shoving a table off of himself and Luna standing up with a book stuck halfway down her horn. The groaning guards rolled off one another, slowly lifting themselves up and correcting their armor pieces that had shifted and turned on them.
“Er… sorry…” Soarin grinned awkwardly at all of them. “I guess my wings are… well… a hell of a lot stronger than I thought. I didn’t do anything differently… I think?”
“Hrmph…” Discord stood up and brushed himself off, turning to Luna as she failed to get the book off her horn with her magic and began pushing at it with her hooves. Discord twirled a finger, yanking the book off Luna’s horn.
“Ow!” Luna yelped as her neck was forced forward, blinking and shaking her head out.
“See what I mean now?” Discord asked her as he tossed the book aside.
“Alright…” Luna sighed. “We see what you’re saying…”
“Progress aside, his body is still foreign to him. It’s the body of a full blown god,” Discord said as he pressed a hand to his neck and cracked it back and forth. “He’ll never be ready to fully understand what that means. If this goes to his head at any point, it’s going to be a mess… one that we may not be able to clean up, unlike a few books, papers, and tables.” He huffed, motioning to all the paraphernalia strewn about. “It’s in everypony’s interest to keep him grounded, no matter what it takes to do so.”
“Anything wrong in there, you two?” Soarin asked, glancing up at his horn.
“Hm? No…” Celestia answered first. “All is well, but that was… interesting. I knew my wings were strong, but perhaps their size and power were just something I was used to and knew how to properly control.”
“Most impressive,” Sombra spoke up right after, his tone reflecting his words. “It would seem you are far stronger than you realize.”
“Not by my own power, but stronger, definitely,” Soarin nodded, knowing full well where the strength stemmed from.
“Now do it again,” Sombra added. Soarin blinked, thinking for a moment before glancing at Discord grumbling to himself off to the side.
“Oh,” Soarin rolled his eyes, but chuckled. “No, that’s enough for now.”
“Shame,” Sombra said simply. “Still impressive. Perhaps you should explore the depths of that strength for yourself. I’m curious to see the power of a divine alicorn in the hooves of a stallion who is properly trained in strength and body.”
“I’m curious about that myself,” Soarin lifted an arm, tensing the muscles in it as he ran his eyes over it and back towards his wings again. “But… another time, I think we’ve caused enough carnage in here for now… and something tells me it’ll be more fun without Discord around,” he added quietly.
“Hmm…” Sombra hummed. “I’m pleased you see things my way.”
“Just…” Celestia spoke up, sighing quietly. “Don’t be too overzealous, Soarin.”
“I’ll be careful,” Soarin assured her. “If anything, my little attempt at flying didn’t hurt at all or make me feel off… aside from my usual wing motions nearly throwing me through the roof,” he turned his head to look at Dash on his back. “But I probably have you to thank for that, Dash.”
Dash was holding still, clinging to him and staring right at him… blushing bright red.
“Dash?” Soarin lifted an eyebrow.
“Gimme a minute…” her voice cracked slightly as she nestled herself harder into him. “That was… good lord, your wing power… I’m freaking turned on right now.”
“I’m seeing a common theme here,” Soarin answered without missing a beat, chuckling to himself.
Discord snorted and turned away from the two of them.
“And she’s NOT helping…” he growled. Luna tipped her head to the side.
“But we need her to—”
“I KNOW…” Discord cut her off. “That’s why I hate it.”
“Okay, I’ll be back tonight!” Dash called back as she left through the chamber doors and the guards closed them behind her. They had just put Soarin back to sleep and she left feeling pretty satisfied… in more ways than one. She was happy to see Soarin gaining more and more control over his body. Though she still worried about the fact that it was required for her to be nearby. Discord mentioned they were going to start testing how much they could be separated soon. But she left shortly after to avoid getting caught between Discord and Sombra as the inevitable jeering began. She had to get to afternoon training soon.
Something she noticed as she walked was she was getting used to the feeling of being near Soarin slipping away. It sucked having such good sensations ripped from her every time, but it was becoming normal and didn’t make her feel quite so down anymore. Her ability to adjust to the weird and the strange had had plenty of time to set itself in stone recently.
But regardless, she focused more on how great it felt to see Soarin gaining control and… was starting to really like watching him in that big, strong, muscular, powerful bo—
“Rainbow Dash!”
“YEEP!” Dash yelped, broken from her half day-dream as a familiar voice came from down the hall. She frantically gathered herself as she saw Twilight quickly making her way towards her.
“Is everything alright? I felt the palace shake!” she asked in a worried fit. Dash stared at her blankly.
“Twi, that was twenty minutes ago.”
“I…” Twilight’s eyes darted back and forth. “Was trying to finish a good book I was reading…” she admitted in a hushed tone. Dash couldn’t hold back a loud snort as she threw a hoof over her mouth and snickered. “Look, beside the point! Did something happen?” She pressed, looking past Dash towards the chamber.
Dash was hit by a sudden wave of realization. All of Twilight’s VERY NEATLY organized books and notes were just thrown into an accidental whirlwind and tossed in all directions in the chamber.
“No, everything is fine,” Dash shook her head calmly and shifted herself in front of Twilight’s view. “We let Soarin try out his new wings and it turns out divine alicorn wings are really damn strong... I’d steer clear for now, Discord has his tail in a knot and stuck halfway up his ass over being smashed against the wall… again.”
It wasn’t the entire truth, but… she hoped Twilight would buy it. In her opinion, Twilight’s panicked freakout over her books and notes would be worse. Best avoid the full freakout and lower it to a little freakout once the guards and Luna had a chance to pick up everything and at least put it all back on the tables… out of order and not where Twilight wanted it.
“Oh, but it went alright?” Twilight focused on her.
“Yeah! Just some huge bursts of wind… that shook the palace. Like I said, strong.” Dash sensed she had her attention. “Yeah here, walk with me for a sec,” she continued the slight ruse, motioning for Twilight to follow. She did so without questions. “You actually have good timing, I’ve been meaning to ask,” Dash changed the subject. “Why are the rest of the girls still here? I don’t mind that they’re here, but I saw Big Mac, Braeburn, and Bulk all went home, right? I didn’t see if Derpy left…”
“Derpy is still here,” Twilight nodded.
“Right…” Dash flattened her brow. “And I know why. Oh, and I saw Fancy is still here too, but what about…?”
“I asked them to stay,” Twilight nodded.
“Yeah?” Dash tipped her head. “Well I guess we may still need the Elements of Harmony… whatever we’re eventually going to go after probably isn’t as much of a… complicated case as Sombra.”
“Actually, I wasn’t really thinking about future use of them, specifically,” Twilight clarified, piquing Dash’s interest. “Though that would be a good thing to keep in the back pocket.”
“Why then?” Dash asked.
“I just get the feeling that it’s safer for us to all be in one place for now,” Twilight explained, looking Dash in the eye. “It’s been a while, but do you remember what you told us about your time in Shadowbolt captivity?”
Dash stared straight ahead and blinked several times as she tried to recall what Twilight was talking about.
“Oh, wait… you mean… when Soarin and I were captured after the Grand Galloping Ball? Man that feels like it was ages ago,” Dash rubbed a hoof through her mane as she recollected.
“Yeah, that,” Twilight confirmed. “Descent told you something about their orders to ‘scatter the elements’ when they attacked Ponyville with the tornado, remember?”
“Yyyyyyyyyyyes…” Dash’s eyelid twitched. The Ponyville tornado incident again… it was strange to think about how full circle things were coming as of late.
“I know a lot of circumstances have changed since that, but… After coming here and seeing exactly what you’ve all been fighting against, I don’t think I want to take any chances, especially since we all revealed ourselves to them while trying to stop Sombra.”
“Hmm…” Dash hummed, thinking it over.
She hadn’t thought about that in a long time. She had been so distracted by the Shadowbolts’ current objective: Soarin himself. At least he appeared to still be their objective… assuming they ever saw them again at the current rate of fruitless scouting reports from Descent.
Twilight had a point. The ever elusive… thing, Kayn Ost. The enigma apparently pulling Nightshade’s strings and by association the Shadowbolts’. If Descent’s explanation all that time ago was accurate… He, Nightshade, and Starry were sent after the Elements of Harmony. But at this point Dash wasn’t sure if that was the intention or a front given to the Shadowbolts themselves to conceal the true goal from even them. Especially considering Celestia’s role and her deliberate actions in letting Soarin be brought to the brink of death so she could have an excuse to transfer Sombra’s lingering soul into him. Did this Kayn Ost know what Celestia desired beforehoof and set things into motion to give her the opportunity?
Her head was beginning to hurt just contemplating it. Frankly, she still didn’t know what was ultimately real anymore. Who the hell was Kayn Ost? Did he/she/it/whatever actually exist? They kept being named here and there, but never actually seeing them or learning a single thing about them made her wonder if they were being played by something else entirely. But… at the same time, she could not deny what she saw from Nightshade. When the two clashed while chasing Sombra… she seemed scared, desperate even. None of the things that made Nightshade the frightening animal she is were present when they fought. It felt like she was rushing… like she was more worried about something… or someone else.
And of course… she couldn’t forget the… technically impossible things she was able to do. The things that Twister coerced her into pulling off. She had yet to get any sort of serious encounter with him since, but after the fact? It felt like Twister was purposely trying to prepare her for something… and she doubted her ‘jump’ past Nightshade was the ‘moment’. If things like that were possible and not just the machinations of silly ponies like Twister, Surprise, and Pinkie… then she wouldn’t write off any possibilities about Kayn Ost for now.
It was all such a brain knot, so much for her to think about too much without getting a migraine. But she was glad she seemed to not be the only one considering… alternate possibilities. Despite barely being a part of it, Twilight was already thinking ahead, just in case.
“Dash?”
Dash blinked and shook her head out as Twilight’s voice pulled her out of her own head.
“Sorry… I was thinking about a lot of stuff.” Said Dash with a sigh. “You’re all staying then… How did the ladies react to that? I bet it was interesting.”
“It took some strong convincing for most of them. Rarity and Fluttershy were the most insistent on returning because of their responsibilities,” Explained Twilight.
“Wait…” Dash’s ears twitched. “A.J. wasn’t?” she gave Twilight a confused glance.
“Oh, she was at first, but Big Mac and Braeburn told her they’d handle the farm if she had to stay.”
“And… she took that for an answer?” Dash pressed, still not believing it.
“Of course not, but Mac is surprisingly… articulate when getting Applejack to calm down. It was interesting to watch.”
“Huh…” Dash tipped her head back and forth and nodded. “Okay then. And I take it Pinkie had no problem.”
“She’s treating it like an extended field trip,” Twilight chuckled.
“Typical,” Dash rolled her eyes and smirked as the two of them turned a corner and nearly ran directly into somepony. All three of them came to an abrupt halt.
“Oh! Sorry, I—” the new voice began but abruptly cut off. But Dash heard enough.
Dash and Twilight were face to face with Storm Front. Twilight was halfway through apologizing herself and taking steps to go around, but she stopped when she saw Dash and Storm just staring at one another. In particular… she was examining the sudden cold glare that was on Dash’s face while Storm just held a blank expression.
After another moment or two, no other words were spoken and Storm slowly continued on his way, the two keeping their eyes locked until he was past them and moving on.
“Hmph…” Dash grunted to herself as she started moving again. Twilight quickly refocused and hurried to keep up.
“What was that all about?” she asked as she reached Dash.
“None of your business,” Dash harshly replied. Twilight gasped, coming to a halt and her eyes growing wide. Dash flinched, stopping too as she put a hoof to her head and groaned. “Sorry… that was uncalled for, you didn’t deserve that,” she admitted, sighing as she turned to Twilight, looking a little ashamed for saying such a thing to her. “It’s… very complicated… and I don’t really want to talk about it…”
“FASTER!” Silver belted as he watched Dash, Squall, and Matteo take a tight turn around a pole. The last obstacle was dead ahead, a hoop that was only big enough for one of them at a time. “Dammit, I know you three can turn faster than that! Now don’t be last!”
“Rgh!” Dash grunted, forcing her aching wings to beat harder as they approached the end of the makeshift obstacle course. She glanced to her left to see Squall gaining on her. He took the turn better than her and had momentum on his side. “I don’t think so!” She tried to cut him off, but he shifted back and forth, keeping her from getting in front of him. He eventually ended up side by side with her as the hoop rapidly approached, both of them fighting for positioning.
But both of them seemed to completely forget that there was a third flying with them. Their efforts to gain the upper hoof on the other had slowed their pace slightly, and a mighty audible burst of wind from behind reminded them.
Dash and Squall grunted, both of them being knocked out of their trajectory as Matteo made his presence known, wedging between them. He released a labored breath of air, the effort from his Wing Burst technique taking just about everything he had left as he struggled to keep his wings outstretched to glide the last few yards.
“Oh no you don’t, Fluffy!” Dash grunted as she surged forward. She locked her eyes on the very, very small opening she had to slip over Matteo’s wing and through the hoop just before he did… but it looked much more doable for the first nineteen of the last twenty yards.
Matteo pulled his wings in to fit through the hoop and Dash was forced to turn herself to the side to protect her face.
And it was at that precise moment of high velocity impact that Dash was very glad the hoop was covered in several inches of soft padding.
“OOF!” Dash gasped as she flipped upward into the air, tumbling helplessly for only a moment before she spun herself upright and pumped her wings to stabilize, but…
“FINISH THE COURSE!” Silver’s voice boomed from below.
“Dammit…” Dash scrunched her face into a pout as she saw Squall pass through the ring and follow Matteo’s descent. Matteo stopped just short of crashing, his talons and back paws skidding and stumbling as he came to a halt with Squall taking a few steps before turning and teetering back and forth as he tried to catch his breath.
Silver yelled at her again, but Dash ignored it. She heard him the first time. She pumped her wings and zipped back around, shooting through the hoop and coming in for a landing herself, exhaling and wiping sweat from her brow as she touched down and trotted lightly until she was between Matteo and Squall. Her endurance was noticeably on display as she appeared not nearly as winded as them, but she didn’t care… she finished last in their run.
“Next up! The Horny Brigade! Get up to the starting line, let’s go!” Silver yelled out.
“PLEASE stop calling us that…” Spitfire sighed as she, Wave Chill, and Fire Streak stepped forward and readied to take off with Fleetfoot, Blaze, and Surprise bursting into fits of giggles behind them. Silver sharply turned to the laughing trio.
“The Little Shits are on deck!” he pointed at them.
“Hey, I’ll fucking take it,” Blaze said with a shrug.
“Last two runs, let’s go!” Silver shouted. “I’m tired, hungry, and on the verge of breaking my cane over Lightning Streak’s head for something he probably did that I don’t know about!”
“Bro, what?”
“HORNY BRIGADE, THREE, TWO, ONE, GO!” Silver yelled over Lightning as Spitfire’s group began their run on the course.
“That looked rough,” Star’s voice reached Dash’s ears as she came up beside the three with Thunderlane and Twister in tow. Twister literally in tow as he held onto Star’s tail with his mouth and was being dragged limply behind her. Star appeared to not even know he was there. “You with me?” Star waved an arm in front of Dash’s face.
“Sorry,” Dash huffed in between breaths. “Didn’t hurt… much, but it was a hell of a collision.”
“Why are you angry?” Star asked with a pout, glancing at Squall and Matteo gasping and panting for air.
“She didn’t win,” Thunderlane answered for her. Dash shot him a hard glare. Thunderlane tipped back slightly but lifted an eyebrow. “What? Am I wrong? I’ve known you long enough.”
“Is that it?” Star asked.
“Yeah…” Dash admitted with a sigh.
“Oh, stop… It’s just training. Probably won’t be the last time Matteo’s big fluffy butt gets in your way.” Star chuckled as she looked over to Matteo. He struggled to roll onto his stomach to give her a halfhearted glare.
“If I weren’t so exhausted I’d roll you into a ball and bounce you off a wall for that one,” Matteo wheezed.
“Oh sure, try me big fella,” Star narrowed her eyes and at him and fluttered up to be eye level, Twister dangling from her tail with a blank expression on his face. Squall furrowed his brow and tried to pull him off of Star, but regardless of how much force he yanked him with, he didn’t let go, nor did his motion affect Star.
“I don’t like losing,” Dash grumbled, Thunderlane chuckling beside her. “I don’t care if it’s just training. Especially if I had a real chance to get out of that on top.”
“Sure that’s all that’s bothering you right now?” Thunderlane asked. Dash looked at him quizzically. Thunderlane glanced at the rest of her squad before lowering his voice. “Like I said, I’ve known you long enough. You pout over losing races, but you never look angry.”
“I hate that you’re right,” Dash averted his eyes.
“Eight-ball corner pocket,” Thunderlane winked and pointed a hoof at her.
“Oh, shut up,” Dash flipped her hoof up to knock his away.
They braced themselves as Spitfire slammed down nearby, skidding along the grass to a halt with a large burst of wind following behind her.
“And the title of horniest goes to Spitfire, if there was ever any doubt!” Silver yelled out, several Wonderbolts bursting out laughing and Dash cracking a smirk of her own. Spitfire’s eye twitched and she glared at Silver as Wave and Fire landed behind her. “Oh, what’s up over there?! You wanna piece of me?!” Silver yelled, shaking his cane in her direction. “You’re about twenty years late to the party and my wife would legitimately kill me so stop being horny!”
“Just let it happen, you know he won’t stop,” Wave nudged her as he caught his breath.
“I’m going to force feed him that cane, I swear to Celestia,” she mumbled.
“Something tells me that won’t go well for you either,” Wave added as they moved out of the way.
“HEY! SKY BLUE BUTTOCKS!” Silver yelled towards the last group where Fleetfoot was rolling on the ground laughing. She stopped and sat upright.
“He talking to me?” she pointed to herself.
“YEAH, IM TALKING TO YOU!” Silver answered. “You laugh, but you’re far worse and you know it! You’re the fastest one here, if you don’t beat Blaze by at least ten seconds, you’re sharing a tub with Lightning Streak after!”
“Bro, YES!”
“AUGH!” Fleetfoot was up with her wings spread in an instant.
“What about Surprise?” Blaze asked, pointing at her.
“If she beats Fleetfoot instead of you, YOU will be sharing a tub with Lightning Streak!”
“BRO, DOUBLE YES!”
“AUGH!” Blaze was up and next to Fleetfoot ready to go with Surprise giggling and bouncing up beside them.
“Lightning, I’m pretty sure he’s saying you’re a punishment,” High Winds pointed out.
“I’ll punish ‘em alright!”
“LITTLE SHITS! THREE, TWO, ONE, GO!” Silver yelled.
Fleetfoot pressed a hoof over Blaze’s head and shoved her down before launching into the course as fast as her wings could carry her.
“OW! FUCKIN, YOU CHEATER!” Blaze shouted as she took off behind Surprise.
“All’s fair in love, war, and avoiding Lightning!” Fleet yelled back as she pulled way ahead real fast. She wasn’t going to have any problem finishing way ahead, but Silver’s threat was more than enough motivation.
Dash chuckled as she watched the last run begin, but sighed as she looked down and saw Thunderlane looking at her again. She rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“It’s nothing important.” She continued. “I just ran into somepony I didn’t want to see right before this session and… I snapped at Twilight while angry about it. I feel like a jerk for doing it and it’s his fault.”
“His…? Oh,” Thunderlane looked over his shoulder, his eyes landing on Strom Front among the Wonderbolts, but he furrowed his brow slightly. “Uh…”
“What…?” Dash narrowed her eyes.
“No, nothing,” Thunderlane tried to deflect.
“Spit it out,” Dash insisted.
“Well okay, if you really want me to,” Thunderlane shrugged. “How’s it his fault that you snapped at Twilight?” he paused, holding his mouth shut as Dash scowled at him. “Hey, I tried to let it go, you told me to say it. You gotta admit it’s a legitimate question. How’s that his fault?”
“Alright, don’t talk to me,” Dash huffed and looked away.
“Well, okay,” Thunderlane shrugged. “Just saying,” he added before turning and moving towards the rest of her squadmates.
“RAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!” Fleetfoot slammed down to the ground, screeching to a halt before immediately turning around and looking to see if Blaze was close by. But she wasn’t even close, the other two coming in at least twenty seconds behind her. “Oh thank goodness… haaaaaaaaaaah…” Fleetfoot tipped over, gasping for air with a smile on her face as Blaze and Surprise came in for a landing.
“You cheap ass BITCH! I’d have done it if you didn’t fucking cheat at the start!” Blaze shouted at her, but Fleetfoot just wearily waved an arm in the air.
“There was too much at stake, Blazey Cakes. Surely you understand.”
“NO. ONLY WINDY CAN CALL ME THA—HRMPH!!!” she was muffled as High Winds came by and hooked a wing around her.
“Come on, save the energy for training tonight,” she said calmly as muffled swears came through her feathers.
“That’s a wrap! Everypony hit the showers! Recovery tubs in thirty!” Silver called out. “No loli-gaggin’, no slackin’, and no flossin’ the cat, that means YOU two!” Silver yelled directly at Blaze and High Winds.
“Why ya gotta single us out like that?” High Winds stated while dragging the still swearing Blaze along in her wing.
“I was born at night, but it wasn’t last night! If you two are late again you will run the whole course over again three times BEFORE we start our evening training session. And DON’T think I won’t make you!” Silver belted out. “By the way this is a fair and balanced system of authority, you are all equally qualified for an ass whooping by yours truly! So that punishment applies to EVERYPONY.”
As soon as the words left his lips, the Wonderbolt all visibly quickened their pace towards the gates to get to the gym showers.
“That’s what I like to see! Your ass is grass and I am the weedwhacker!” he began hobbling after them. “Don’t let me catch you! I don’t care how tired you are! If I get there before any of you with a leg not working I’ll make you fly the course again anyway!”
“HE’S ON A WARPATH!” Surprise cried out as she broke into a shaky gallop.
“Don’t need to tell me twice, I’m not getting spanked by the cane again!” Fleetfoot shuddered, picking up speed as well.
The group became a little unhinged, all of them bumping into each other. Dash found herself caught in the middle and was not ready for Misty to get her legs tangled with Wave’s right in front of her. Like dominos on a shaking table, the Wonderbolts all started toppling over one another, Dash falling right over Misty and rolling onto her stomach.
“OH SHIT! OPEN SEASON!” Silver yelled out as his voice and the sound of his cane pounding into the dirt grew closer. There was a mad scramble as everypony tried to get up, but something ran right into Dash’s side as she was rising, knocking them both back down.
She turned over to prop herself up and came face to face with Storm Front, who was on his side, looking right at her. While everypony else kept moving, they both froze and stared for a few moments. It didn’t take any time for Dash’s eyes to narrow into a cold glare. In seconds the two of them were the only ones left, and neither of them seemed to care that Silver was approaching. Storm flipped over and stood up first. It looked like he was about to turn and leave with the rest, but he stopped… looked at Dash, and offered a hoof to help her up.
Dash didn’t accept it. She scoffed, pushed herself up, and turned a cold shoulder, going on her way.
Storm said nothing, just staring with little expression as Dash went on her way. He heard Silver’s hoof-steps, but didn’t bother looking. He just sighed, shook his head, and started moving.
“Storm.”
Storm stopped cold in his tracks as Silver spoke up. He blinked and looked over his shoulder.
Silver was looking past him, his eyes locked on Dash as she rushed to catch up. His comical air was completely gone, he looked like he was in deep thought. Eventually, his eyes turned to Storm.
“C’mere for a second.”
“Alright, here’s the plan!” Air Mach yanked Dash, Fire, and Fleetfoot all down into a huddle.
“Ow, ow! Stop tugging on my chinstrap!” Fleetfoot growled at him as he nearly yanked her headguard off in the process.
“With the ball in hoof,” Air Mach let go of Fire and he nearly fell face first to the ground. “I’ll form up behind you three creating an arrow that will pierce the heavens themse—”
“For the last time…” Fleetfoot cut him off by grabbing the strap on his head guard and tightening it so hard that it slammed his mouth shut. “You are NOT carrying the ball every round! It’s Dash’s turn!”
Dash shook her head out as Fleetfoot’s retort pulled Air Mach’s hoof free of her, reaching up to make sure her head guard and pads were still all in place.
“What’s there to plan anyway?” Fire asked as he picked himself up. “We just need to force an opening to let her through. There’s no time to be fancy about it.”
“Ha! I like your style!” Air Mach ripped free of Fleetfoot, causing her to yelp as he spun her around. Air Mach chest bumped his padded front together with Fire’s. “Beat them head to head! I like it!”
“It’s what we did the other two times…” Dash said with a slight chuckle.
“What’s going on over there, a circlejerk?! Don’t make me come over there for a yank, I doubt any of you could handle me!” Silver’s voice boomed. The four of them looked over to see Silver tapping a hoof. “It would add flavor to the ring, eh? Must be hard when only one of you is packing any heat!”
“Thanks old timer!” Air Mach grinned and pointed at him.
“Keep telling yourself I was talking about you!” Silver belted. “Now get lined up!”
“C’moooooooon!” Lightning Streak yelled out, drawing their attention to the other group of four waiting. “Get over here so I can hit my bro for fun!” he beckoned them with Misty, Thunderlane, and Spitfire standing behind him.
Fire huffed as the four made their way over, grabbing the small, grapefruit sized playground ball off the grass and pressing it to Dash’s chest.
“I call dibs on blocking my brother,” Fire said with a snort.
“Let’s go, into the starting spots!” Silver called out, the rest of the Wonderbolts watching behind them.
Dash and her team made their way to a line that was marked by two tall poles reaching about ten yards into the air and standing twenty yards apart. Forty yards across from them was another pair of poles… and where Lightning’s team was waiting.
“Oh boy! Skittles has the ball this time!” Silver yelled out. “Would be a shame if a team with the LEAD CAPTAIN let her through the line!”
Spitfire’s eye twitched as they waited for Dash’s team to get in place. Her eyes locked on Dash.
“I’ll take the back,” Spitfire declared. Lightning blinked and glanced over his shoulder.
“Eh? Didn’t you just bury your boyfriend in the dirt? I thought it was Misty’s turn.”
Spitfire reached over and grabbed Misty’s shoulder. Misty blinked and looked at Spitfire. Spitfire didn’t make any sign language to her. Misty stared into Spitfire’s eyes, then looked over to see Dash was holding the ball. A moment later, Misty turned and nodded to Spitfire, whisking a hoof out behind them as she stepped forward to stand beside Thunderlane and Lightning.
“Looks like she’s the back again,” Thunderlane nodded.
“Welp, so long as Misty’s okay with it,” Lightning shrugged.
Dash took her place behind Fleetfoot, Fire, and a very eager Air Mach. She tucked the ball into her arm and glanced back and forth at the poles on both sides. This was her first time carrying the ball… and suddenly the space she was limited to work between felt much smaller than when she was in front guarding. But… she just had to stay behind the others, look for an opening and then just had to beat whoever was behind them to get over the line on their side while staying in bounds. So… she had to beat…
Dash’s heart jumped into her throat for a moment.
That was definitely Spitfire taking up the back position… and she was hitting her with one hell of a glare.
Dash shut her eyes tight, swallowed, and focused. She could do it… she could take on Spitfire. It’s not like it was the first time and, well, this time it was a full contact training exercise with protective padding. Nothing compared to when they were at each other’s throats while chasing Sombra. But out there, Spitfire was not emotionally sound. She looked calm and razor focused here. There was something naturally intimidating about it, but Dash wasn’t going to back down from a challenge.
“Remember!” Silver called out to them. “You’re allowed to take anypony to the ground and hold them down, but THAT’S it! I’m looking at YOU, Fire!”
“Me?” Fire blinked.
“Why just him?” Lightning yelled out, chuckling.
“Because if I was your brother I’d want to kick your ass too! More than I already want to!” Silver added, laughter erupting behind him. “Now… GET YOURSELVES SET!”
Dash spread her wings and planted her three unoccupied hooves. Her teammates in front all did the same. Across the way, the defending team prepped themselves as well. Spitfire was behind them now, but Dash felt like she could see her waiting regardless.
Silver put his whistle to his lips and held it there for a few moments.
FWEET
The instant the sound of the whistle filled the air, all eight participants launched, staying barely five yards off the ground as they charged at one another. Dash kept herself centered a few yards behind Fire Streak with Fleetfoot and Air Mach on his flanks. They were blocking her view of the other team, but all she needed was to see the moment of impact.
The two front lines slammed into each other. Fire and Lightning collided fiercely, Fire yanking his brother to the left. Air Mach crossed in front and absolutely decked Thunderlane from the side, shoving him right out of his path and out of bounds. Fleetfoot shifted as she approached Misty, ducking as Misty thrust herself forward. Knowing she was at a strength disadvantage to Misty, Fleetfoot twirled, hooked her arms into Misty’s and tugged as hard as she could, directing her path to one side of Fire and Lightning grappling at a standstill.
It all happened so fast… but Dash saw her opening. The twins were locked, Misty was redirected to one side, and Air Mach just absolutely ruined Thunderlane’s day. She had a clear path to the right of the twins with a lot of room.
Now she just had to get past…
Dash’s eyelids twitched as Spitfire shot into view from behind the twins, locking her flight path perfectly with Dash’s. Dash gritted her teeth, pushing her wings out and putting on the brakes knowing full well that her current speed and path was a one way ticket to getting taken down.
Spitfire reacted quickly, slowing herself and shifting her position to keep Dash centered in her sights. There wasn’t much time to think, so Dash took the initiative and pumped her wings, pushing her forward. Spitfire stayed hovering in place, arms out and eyes on Dash’s chest to watch her movements carefully.
Dash feinted to the left before snapping back to the right.
Spitfire did not fall for it. She didn’t move until Dash shifted right and heaved herself forward with arms outstretched. It looked like she was going to give Dash one hell of a hit dead on.
But then Spitfire’s eyes widened as Dash threw a punch with her free hoof. Spitfire shifted as little as possible to avoid it as she readied to clamp down on Dash and tackle her, but by the time she realized what was happening it was too late. Dash wasn’t trying to punch her, she was trying to get an arm onto Spitfire’s side.
“HMPH!” Dash exhaled as she forced her arm out, pushing it into Spitfire. The force caused her to twist, her body spinning right out of Spitfire’s arms.
“AH!” Spitfire yelped as Dash’s body got in the way of a wing flap. She lost control and fell, crashing to the ground.
“Whooooaaa!!!!” Dash yelled out as she lost control, unable to even out as she hurled towards the goal line. Seeing she was about to crash, she grabbed the ball in both hooves and stretched out, hoping it would be enough to cross the line.
Tensing her body, she hit the ground and bounced a few times before skidding to a halt.
The moment she stopped she looked up… and noticed the ball was an inch short of the line. She thrust a hoof down to push herself over the line, but the instant she began to move…
“WHOA BRO! CHILL! CHILLLLL!!!!”
“RRRRRAGH!”
Fire and Lightning Streak came down from above, crashing down right on Dash’s back.
“OOF!” Dash gasped, the ball flying from her hoof and rolling down the line… but not crossing it.
“I got it!” Fleetfoot yelled out, disengaging Misty. But Misty grabbed her tail in her teeth. “EEEEYOW!” Fleetfoot yelped as Misty yanked her down to the ground and shot towards the ball.
But the first one to get to it was…
“Ah! I got it!” Thunderlane landed and grabbed the ball, looking back and forth to find the line to cross. “Wait is this our line or—”
And then he got hit by Misty… twice as hard as Air Mach hit him. The ball popped right out of his hoof and flew up into the air. Everypony watching winced as Thunderlane got dragged through the dirt, but all eyes quickly went to the ball as it began to fall, heading towards the other side of the line.
“HRRRGH!!!!!” Spitfire shot in from the back, shooting towards it and reaching out…
But her hoof was just a hair short, the ball tapping off of it and landing on the other side.
Spitfire hit the ground, bounced, and rolled, her chest and head guard flying off as the force undid the straps.
Air Mach landed by the ball, grabbed it, and held it in the air.
“HA! SCORE!” he yelled out triumphantly, even though his only contribution was somehow losing his grip on Thunderlane.
“I dunno what the hell I just watched, but I loved it!” Silver guffawed as he blew his whistle. “Score for Fire’s team!” He blinked as he saw Fire Streak and Lightning Streak still wrestling on the ground… with Dash stuck under them. “HEY! Slapdicks! Drill’s over!”
“Tell him! GAH!” Lightning grunted as Fire kept grappling and shoving him down, bending him over Dash’s body. “Help! He’s gone nuts! He’s gonna grab me by the balls any second!” Lightning sputtered with a lot of grass in his mouth.
A few of the Wonderbolts began moving, but Silver swung his cane out, causing all of them to stop in their tracks. He hobbled towards the twins, grabbed Fire, and yanked him off Lightning.
“Oof!” Fire gasped as he landed on his back.
“Yikes, thanks geezer—WHOA!” Lightning yelped as Silver grabbed him and threw him too. “Ow! Hey, c’mon dude what was that for?”
“Cause you’re a goddamn instigator,” Silver gruffly snorted before turning to Fire. “I understand the urge, son… but next time don’t wrestle him on top of somepony else.”
Fire blinked and looked over to see Dash getting up and brushing herself off.
“Oh, well… I was kind of just…”
“Focusing on the important things,” Silver winked and chuckled, earning a smirk from Fire.
“Man, I can’t win can I?” Lightning complained as she got up and cracked his neck back and forth.
“Great competitive spirit!” Silver yelled, nodding. “Now clear out, next two groups up!”
As Dash made her way over to the sidelines, she felt a wing brush against hers.
“Dash.”
Dash looked to her left to see Spitfire walking beside her, a serious look on her face. But it only lasted a moment, her lips curling into a grin.
“That was a hell of an impressive move, good going,” she complimented. Dash was caught off-guard. She’d been trying to be more casual with Spitfire as of late, but… it was still praise from the best of the best.
“Heh… thanks, too bad I didn’t cross the line though,” Dash shrugged, trying to hide some shivers of satisfaction.
“You got past me,” Spitfire chuckled, giving her a playful pat on the back.
“Oh, I just—”
“Hey, HEY!” Fleetfoot appeared on the other side of Dash and pushed into her, sandwiching herself in between the two. Spitfire rolled her eyes and shifted to avoid squishing Dash. “Nopony’s ever gotten past Spitty in the hoot-n-holler drill before, you know… not even me or Soarin! She’s like a hawk wearing magnets when she’s the defense back. So screw the ball, you won where it counts!”
“Fleet, that’s not true, you got past me once,” Spitfire huffed.
“Yeah, cause you let me,” Fleetfoot gave her a look.
“No I didn’t…” Spitfire sighed.
“Yes you did and you can’t convince me otherwise, we’ve been over this. I know you let me slide by that one time,” Fleetfoot gave her a smarmy look.
“Listen here you…”
“Yeeeek!” Fleetfoot squeaked as Spitfire reached over Dash to hook Fleetfoot by the neck and stopped, letting Dash move on before she pulled her into a headlock. “Your innocence is a sham! You can’t deny it!” Fleetfoot giggled as Spitfire pulled her along.
Dash chuckled as she took her place by Silver with all those who had just gone and a few who remained with two new teams going in.
“Dash,” Silver’s voice caught her attention. She looked to see him smiling. “Very nice moves,” he said with a wink. “Next groups ready!” Silver turned back and blew his whistle.
Dash remained still, staring straight ahead with a blank look as one eyelid twitched every few seconds or so. That was a lot of praise to take in at once. She wasn’t one to be frozen by praise, but considering the two who just heaved it at her… she felt justified in being a tad… giddy.
“Ooooh… man…” Thunderlane wobbled up beside her. “Someone stop the merry-go-round… I want to get off…” he mumbled as he leaned into Dash and grabbed her shoulder for support. Dash blinked, breaking from the clouds her head was stuck in and gave him a look with a chuckle.
“You just can’t catch a break in there huh?” she said while reaching over to help prop him up.
“Matteo in the first round… Air Mach and Misty Fly in the second? Are they all just waiting for me to be not looking or something?” he whined as he stood up on his own power.
“I think you just have a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, buddy,” Dash joked, nudging him in the arm. “A certain barn on a certain apple farm comes to mind.”
“Can’t argue with that,” Thunderlane nodded as Silver suddenly blew his whistle several times.
“HEY! What the HELL is going on out there?!” he yelled. Dash and Thunderlane looked out to see both teams looking very confused. “Where’s the ball? That’s the only one I could find in the back, I swear to Luna’s tits if you somehow lost it—”
Silver flinched and put up his hoof to catch something hurling at him at high speed. He stopped it, shook his head out, and looked down to see Twister’s face and mane on a perfectly round green ball.
“LOOK AT ME, I’M THE BALL NOW,” he said as he glared at Silver.
Silver blinked, looking at Twister flatly.
“Careful what you wish for,” Silver wound up and threw Twister back towards the teams. He hurled towards Squall, who caught him and fell over on his back. “The goal of this round isn’t to cross the line! It’s to smash the ball against the pole until his spherical ass becomes a cube! Bonus points if he becomes a rhombus instead!”
“What does that even—” High Winds began asking, but Squall was up and charging towards the nearest pole like he’d never get a chance like this in his life.
“SQUALL!” Little Star yelled, only for Matteo to chase after him… with just as much vigor.
“NO! BUZZ OFF!” Squall yelled as Matteo tried to reach him. “I’M DOING THIS!”
Little Star just stared blankly at the two of them as some confused Wonderbolts joined the chase.
“Well, could be worse,” Dash chuckled while glancing at Thunderlane again. “You could be the ball.”
“Don’t give Silver any ideas…” Thunderlane shuddered as the two listened to the absolute cacophony coming from the two teams brawling over who got to smash Twister into a metal pole.
“I’m getting ideas, what are you gonna do about it?” Silver’s voice came from over his shoulder.
“I SAID NOTHING!” Thunderlane yelped, falling over himself as he moved to the other side of Dash.
“Good lord, son,” Silver puttered his lips as Thunderlane peeked over Dash. “I ain’t gonna cook and eat you.”
“You once threatened to watch us sleep in a clown wig and makeup,” Dash spoke up while tipping her head slightly.
“Threatened?” Silver bounced one eyebrow and cracked a small grin before bringing his whistle to his lips and blowing into it several times. “ALRIGHT! That’s enough of that! Don’t kill each other over an idiot!” Silver yelled out as he hobbled towards the action.
Dash and Thunderlane stared blankly, then glanced at each other.
“I will never sleep again…” Thunderlane said in a monotone.
Silver eventually got Squall and Matteo to stop fighting over Twister and called all the groups back. They had one more matchup to go before calling it a day. Once they had all settled down and everypony had put any padding back in position, Silver twirled his hoof in the air and blew his whistle.
“We’re going to make this interesting for the last matchup!” he announced. He lifted a bucket into the air. “THIS… is a bucket!”
“MY GOD…” Twister stepped forward and glared at the bowl.
“There’s more!” Silver went on.
“NO…” Twister moved right up in front of Silver. Without ever once looking at Twister, Silver lifted up his cane and smacked Twister over the head so hard that he started vibrating. He began making the sounds of a jackhammer as he dug a hole into the ground up to his mane.
“Everypony’s names are in this bucket! I will draw one at a time for each position on both teams!” he explained. “Spitfire, come here!”
“Hm? What do you—OOF!” she grunted as Silver swung the bucket out and smacked it against her chest guard.
“Hold this, I only got one arm.” He ordered. Spitfire furrowed her brow.
“Do you just want me to draw them for—”
“No.” Silver glared at her, causing her to freeze and blink. “ALRIGHT!” Silver nodded, tapping the bucket with his cane as Spitfire held it. “First up! The three for the front line for the defending team!”
“Aie!” Spitfire squeaked as Silver jammed his hoof into the bucket and almost made her drop it.
“First!” he pulled out a small paper. “Wave Chill!” He pulled another. “Second!” He crumpled up the paper and threw it at Misty. She flinched as it bounced off her face, then blinked and furrowed her brow. Silver pointed at her, and tilted his head towards the poles. “Third!” he yelled out as Fire translated for her in full. He pulled out another. “Fat Fluff!” He paused. “That’s the bird, not Lightning Streak, sit down!” he yelled at Lightning.
“Wait, when did I—?” Lightning tilted his head.
“And the defense backer!” he rustled around the papers and yanked one out. But he only opened it slightly, a subtle gesture that Spitfire noticed. “Oh, huh, look at that… Rainbow Dash!” he yelled out, opening the paper in full to show her name.
“Oh, nice,” Dash nodded as she moved over to Matteo, Wave, and Misty, getting a small hoof bump from Misty as she came over.
“What was that about—”
“NOW THE OFFENSE!” Silver cut off Spitfire. “Front line is as follows!” he yelled, rustling the papers in the bucket again. “First! Fleetfoot!”
“I call dibs on touching Wave!” Fleetfoot called out while looking RIGHT at Spitfire. Spitfire flattened her brow. “You’re too easy Spitty!” Fleetfoot giggled.
“Hey, Princess Irony, get over there!” Silver ordered.
“I’m going, I’m… HEY!” Fleetfoot spun around and glared at him.
“SECOND!” Silver yelled out, reaching into the bucket. “Blaze!”
“Fuck…”
“I heard that, you got a problem, lady?!” Silver smacked his cane on the ground.
“With her, not this!” Blaze quickly pointed at Fleetfoot.
“C’mon, Blaze! So I planted your ass in the dirt for a whole minute the first round, I’m not so bad when you get to know me!” Fleetfoot taunted while wiggling her butt.
“SEE?!” Blaze pouted at Silver.
“Get over it and get over there, it’s not my fault she lives with one hoof up your ass at all times,” Silver rotated a hoof.
“Ugh… GOD, did you have to put it THAT way?” Blaze winced and stuck her tongue out as she went over.
“Yes. Anyway, THIRD!” Silver reached for the last for the offense line. “Squall! Step up and show them your edge, lord!”
“My what now?” Squall lifted an eyebrow as she moved over to join the two.
“Sheesh, these teams are fucking stacked one way…” Blaze huffed as she looked at the overall size advantage the defense had.
“Relax, Blazey Cakes, let me handle the four hundred pound feather duster and you two can figure out Wave and Misty,” Fleetfoot winked at them. Squall blinked several times.
“YOU’RE going to take Matteo?” he asked incredulously.
“What, ya doubt me, handsome?” Fleetfoot batted her eyelashes at him, causing him to nervously lean back. “Trust me, I got this. I’ve got a trick or two up my sleeve, just ask Angry McF-bomb over here,” she giggled while making a head motion towards Blaze.
“Don't fucking ask me about it!” Blaze growled as Squall just decided to keep his mouth shut.
“LASTLY!” Silver yelled out as he reached into the bucket. “The ball carrier!”
He pulled a paper out of the bucket, but as he tried to carefully unfold it like with Dash, it slipped and opened in his hoof. The name on the paper was ‘Air Mach’. Silver quickly closed the paper against his body and looked at Spitfire. She was staring right at the paper… and had clearly seen it. She looked at Silver curiously. Silver gave her a quick firm look, then turned to the rest.
“STORM FRONT!” he yelled out. Spitfire’s eyes widened and she tilted her head. “Get over there, kid! You’re up!” he yelled while looking over to Dash and seeing her visibly react to the name.
“Ah… right,” Storm trotted over, receiving a hard glare from Squall as he approached, but it was overshadowed by Fleetfoot swinging over and scooping up the ball.
“Here ya go! Show us some moves that would make your dad proud!” she cooed while shoving the ball into his hoof.
“Eh? Um…” Storm front looked over to the other team, it was intimidating enough to see the size advantage they had, but… also to see Dash behind them. She was glaring harder than Squall. “Yeah sure.”
“Everypony get lined up!” Silver yelled out, glancing behind him as he felt a hoof grab his shoulder. Spitfire was looking him dead in the eye, and didn’t look amused.
“What the hell are you doing?” she asked, clear concern in her voice. “Why did you call Storm instead?”
“What do you care?” Silver sharply shot back. “I know exactly what I’m doing. Now get your fucking hoof off me before I rip off your arm to replace my broken one.”
Spitfire flinched and quickly pulled her hoof back, the hard emphasis in Silver’s voice convincing her that he’d really consider it.
“Fire,” Silver called over to Fire Streak. Fire looked to see Silver moving towards him. “I need your help with something…”
The two teams took their positions… and as she set her hooves in position behind Misty, Wave, and Matteo, Dash wasn’t sure at all about what was going through her mind. She stared right through the gap, past the other team’s line, and at Storm Front holding the ball behind them.
“It’s a drill, Dash…” she said to herself. “It’s a drill, just take him down and get it over with…” she said under her breath as she blew air through her nostrils. “And maybe hit him very hard…” she gritted her teeth and growled. “Asshole deserves it…”
“Dash…? Hello?” Wave’s voice reached her ears. She blinked and shook her head out, looking up to see her three teammates staring at her.
“Sorry, what was that?” Dash asked, reaching up and tugging at the strap of her headguard to make sure it was snug.
“I asked if you are ready,” Wave nodded.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m good to go,” Dash nodded, getting an eager wink and nod from Misty.
“Use me to conceal your movements,” Matteo suggested as he checked his very large custom fitted pad guards. “They can’t predict the movements of what they can’t see.”
“Sure,” Dash replied flatly. Matteo noticed.
“Is everything alright?” he tilted his brow.
“Yeah…” Dash glanced at Storm again. “Everything’s good.”
Matteo stared at her for a moment.
“I’ll clear a path to him, worry not. Don’t hold back,” Matteo said quietly. Dash blinked in surprise, but Matteo was already turning to get set.
“Heh…” Dash smirked as Matteo saw right through her. She took her place and waited for Silver to start the last drill.
“Everypony get set!” Silver called out, biting down on the whistle and holding it in his teeth. As the two teams readied themselves, Silver first looked at Storm for a moment, then shifted his eyes to Dash, staring at her for several moments.
He held the whistle still in his teeth a little longer than he had any other time, his eyes narrowing slightly as he saw Dash twitching, hooves inching forward.
FWEET
Dash had to pull up slightly the moment she started, because she nearly launched right past her own front line upon taking off. She tapped off Matteo’s back and shifted to stay in formation as her team careened towards the incoming offense. The distance closed rapidly and she kept her eyes peeled for shifts in both lines to figure out her route to Storm.
With Matteo in the center, all three of her line moved left to stay lined up with the other team. She was surprised to see Fleetfoot in the middle, a confident smirk on her face as Squall and Blaze kept up with her in a slight triangle formation with Storm hidden behind them. Dash was confident she would only have to worry about keeping track of Storm. She kept her wings beating, but mentally prepared herself to make a quick shift to execute Matteo’s Air Burst the moment she had Storm in clear view. All she had to do was wait for Matteo, Wave, and Misty to plow into the offense and push them aside…
Dash’s eyes widened, a thought striking her mere moments before the two lines clashed…
Fleetfoot… in the middle and taking on Matteo? With a smirk on her face?
“MATTY! WATCH OUT!” Dash yelled, but it was too late.
“ALLY OOP!” Fleetfoot yelled out as she executed a perfectly timed inline twist while simultaneously grabbing Matteo’s outstretched arm. Matteo squawked as his arm got yanked down, Fleetfoot pumping her wings to force his momentum sideways. Matteo was thrown right out of line and crashed into Wave, Fleetfoot wrapping an arm around Wave’s neck to pull both Mateo and Wave down to the ground into a rough landing, the three tumbling towards the out of bounds lines.
Dash just barely avoided the collision, and shifted back on course just in time to see Blaze and Squall catching Misty in a double team block. They struggled against her, but Misty couldn’t rip free as the two forced her aside… effectively clearing the way for Storm.
It was now just the two of them. Dash locked on, glaring at Storm as they careened towards each other. Dash’s nostrils flared, her lip twitching with her teeth grinding together as their eyes locked… and something in her began boiling up…
Anger… she was angry. VERY angry… she was thinking about what he did and it was pissing her off. Up until now she didn’t really have a way to vent it aside from giving him the cold shoulder. But right now? The point of the drill was to take him down and she had free rein to hit him as hard as she wanted. She wanted to knock his block off and now was her chance.
Storm hardened his gaze, feinting left before propelling right. Dash didn’t fall for it, keeping her eyes on his chest and staying lined up with him. He couldn’t shake her, she was going to let him have it no matter what kind of moves he tried.
But then he caught her off guard. Instead of trying another juke, he dropped to the ground and rapidly slammed his hooves against the ground to execute his Surface Tap maneuver… and threw himself directly into her.
“OOF!” Dash grunted as Storm’s shoulder drove right into her chest pad. She was pushed backwards, her momentum completely turned around as Storm pumped his wings to try and physically force her all the way back. “GRH! YOU SON OF A—” Dash snarled as she clamped down on his shoulders, threw her body out to get her wings level, and beat them furiously to regain control. Storm brought his free arm up and around, locking it with hers and forcing her to tilt so she couldn’t drive him down with her wing beats.
They came to a stop, the two grunting and growling in each other’s faces as they tried to gain the upper hoof on the other. The only direction they moved was side to side as they yanked and pulled, Storm’s positioning preventing Dash from overpowering him or getting any movements off that would shift the balance.
“GGRRRRHGH!” Dash growled angrily. She was already pissed at him for personal reasons and now she let him get an advantage in a one on one contest… she knew she was better than him and she let him catch her off guard in front of everypony else. “RAAAAAAH!” Dash yelled out as she began swinging her body back and forth wildly, trying to throw him off, but she couldn’t.
“Ah! Ggh!” Storm gasped and grunted as he refused to go down, and kept up his efforts to push through.
Off to the side, the Wonderbolts were watching with unease… something seemed off to them as they all stared at the rather violent lock between Dash and Storm. Blaze and Squall wrestling with Misty and Fleetfoot somehow holding down Matteo and Wave in awkward positions didn’t even register to them.
The only one who didn’t look on with worry was Silver. He was watching very… VERY carefully.
“HUP!” Storm took a gamble and stopped his push, instead trying to drop down again for another surface tap with Dash holding onto him. Dash snarled in his face, trying to get a push as he dropped and turned him a little bit too far for him to cleanly do it… but he did get two hooves down. There was a half-force push, nudging them forward in Storm’s favor, but Storm’s head lurched forward and collided with Dash’s neck. She coughed and exhaled harshly, feeling light headed for a brief moment… before something REALLY snapped in her mind.
“HRAH!” Dash clamped down on Storm, her eyes flickering yellow, her muscles tensing as her grip dug into Storm’s shoulders.
“AH! OW!” Storm yelped as Dash’s hooves dug into him, but before he could do anything, she was heaving him over her head, hooking her arm into his neck and slamming him to the ground on his back behind her. The ball went flying from Storm’s hoof at the moment of impact.
With the competition still on his mind, Storm tried to turn over and look for the ball, but before he could, Dash thrust a hoof down, pushing his shoulder to the ground to keep him on his back and lifted a hoof into the air.
Storm’s eyes widened as he saw the look of rage on Dash’s face… her eyes had a dim yellow glow in them that was slowly growing brighter. All he could think to do was put up his hooves to defend himself, and he did so just in time.
Dash roared as she began punching down at him repeatedly, first with just one arm, then with both.
“GAH! DASH! DAAAAASH!” Storm yelled out her name as her hooves slammed into his arm guards over and over, the strap buckles squeaking and cracking as the force of the blows tugged at them and the padding began to split and tear.
Dash didn’t stop, her swings just kept getting harder and wilder, as if she had lost all reason. She was pissed at him and on top of betraying her he had just humiliated her in what should have been an easy victory for her.
“RAINBOW DASH!” Spitfire yelled out. “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!” She spread her wings to take flight with several others readying to do the same.
But Silver’s cane swung out and smacked into her chest pad.
“SILVER?!” Spitfire yelled right into his ear as he blocked her. “WE HAVE TO—”
“YOU WON’T DO A FUCKING THING!” Silver’s voice boomed. “AND NOPONY ELSE WILL EITHER!” he added, his voice reverberating through everypony’s ears and freezing them all in place. “YOU WILL STAY RIGHT HERE! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!”
Not even Spitfire could come up with a response, frozen stiff by Silver’s voice as he gave the order. In all her years knowing him, it was the most forceful and powerful tone that had ever come out of his mouth and it was terrifying…
But why…? Why was he letting Dash attack Storm?
“FIRE!” Silver suddenly yelled. “GO! NOW!”
Spitfire flinched in surprise as Fire Streak took flight… but it wasn’t towards Dash. He was on an intercept course, shooting into the path of Misty Fly as she shot towards Dash and Storm. He reached out and grabbed her, pulling her out of her trajectory and wrapping his arms around her. She frantically shifted to look at him, giving him a very confused and alarmed look, but Fire did not let her wiggle free, he held on tight as he gently landed. It was hard for him to look her in the eye with how frantic she looked, but once he had a good hold on her he used a free hoof to point at Silver.
Misty looked to Silver, then back to Fire… immediately understanding the hesitant look on his face before she refocused on Dash and Storm, and bit her lip as Dash continued to punch and pummel Storm.
All Storm could do was protect his face, he stopped trying to find ways to get her off because he could not.
Dash was completely out of her mind. She was not thinking about anything else. She was just angry, angry at him, and she was taking it out on him.
She swung and she swung.
Again and again.
The urge within her to beat the shit out of him just would not cease.
She was completely unaware of the yellow flickering light in her eyes.
And then she just suddenly and abruptly stopped.
She still had a hoof lifted, but she did not bring it down. She stared down, her look of rage suddenly shifting hard to a look of hard, horrific realization.
Storm still had his arms up, turning his head slightly to peak between them. He saw the look on Dash’s face and slowly… and carefully, parted his arms.
The two just stared at one another for several moments, the only noise between them and all of the Wonderbolts silently standing still… was the sound of a single set of hoof steps offset by a cane in the grass slowly growing closer to them.
Silver stopped a pace away, looking directly at Dash.
Dash’s ears slowly lowered, flopping to the side of her head as she turned her head and her eyes met Silver’s. Silver did not look angry, he simply stared at her with a stern, focused gaze.
“Well?” He spoke to her. “Are you done?”
The words stabbed right through her, his tone driving the knife especially deep. She quickly got up from Storm and trotted several paces away, sitting on the ground with her back turned to everypony. Silver watched her until she sat down and blew a long breath through his nose. Without a word, he turned to Storm and reached out his good hoof. Storm just stared at it.
“C’mon kid, get up,” Silver beckoned with a slight head tilt. With a little bit of hesitation, Storm grabbed Silver’s hoof. Silver helped him stand up, the arm guards falling off as he stood. Silver looked down at the damaged pads and straps, then looked over to Dash, still sitting silently with her back turned. “That’s it for today everypony, hit the showers and hit the tubs.” Silver called out to all of them.
But none of them moved. Silver narrowed his eyes and looked over his shoulder at all of them.
“Don’t make me say it again.”
That did the trick, everypony was moving. Many looked over their shoulder on the way, but nopony questioned Silver as they made their way back towards the Empire gates. Storm got a move on so quickly that he left his broken arm guards behind.
Silver waited for everypony to be on their way and out of earshot, including how long it took for Fire to tug Misty away and Squall to grab Little Star for the fifth time after she kept slipping away and trying to get to Dash.
Once it was just the two of them left, Silver scooped up the broken arm guards and made his way over to Dash. She did not look at him as he approached or placed himself right beside her. She was hunched forward, and staring blankly at the ground. Silver looked her up and down once before tossing the arm guards at her hooves, directly into her line of sight.
Her eyes locked on them and she stared at them before suddenly glancing at Silver. She turned her head shakily to look up into his eyes.
“I… Uh-I…” her voice was weak and scared. “I’m… sorry, I…”
“Stop.” Silver said simply. Dash quickly shut her mouth. “I don’t want an apology… I want you to tell me what you just did.”
Dash’s ears twitched as she stared, swallowing as she tried to find her voice.
“I… got angry… and…” she took deep breaths in between nearly every word. “I… let it control me, I—”
“No. Try again,” Silver cut her off abruptly. Dash flinched, sitting up a little bit as she blinked in surprise.
“What…?”
“Try. Again.” Silver repeated. “What did you do?”
“I… attacked Storm when I shouldn’t have.” Dash found her voice, more or less saying it again with more details.
“Still wrong,” Silver snorted. “One last try, third time’s the charm.”
“What the HELL do you want me to say?!” Dash blurted out, a bit of a wail in her voice as her eyes turned into a glare and tiny tear beads squeaked out of the corners of her eyes. “That’s what I did! What else is there?!” she shouted in his face before glaring hard… a glare that bounced right off of Silver like it was nothing.
“You attacked a FELLOW WONDERBOLT."
Silver put harsh emphasis on those two words.
Dash’s glare faded in an instant.
“Got anything to say to justify that?” he added, lifting an eyebrow.
“I… we…” Dash turned her shoulder to him and gritted her teeth. “It’s… complicated, a personal matter between us that got to me and…” she trailed off.
“AND…” Silver took over. “That changes anything?”
“Silver!” Dash quickly turned back to him. “He—”
“I know what he did,” Silver cut her off again. “You told me. And guess what? HE told me too. I asked him without mentioning anything about you and he told me the same thing you did.”
“I really doubt that,” Dash grumbled.
“Are you calling me a liar?” Silver furrowed his brow. Dash flinched so hard her back cracked.
“OW! No!” she shook her head as she turned slightly left and right to loosen up. “I mean HE… um… AUGH!” she groaned loudly, throwing her head back and looking up into the sky.
“He ratted you out to Spitfire because he thought it was the right thing to do.”
“He betrayed my trust!” Dash made sure to specify.
“So that’s your excuse for trying to hurt a wingmate?”
“Stop trying to take him out of this!” Dash snapped at Silver, turning her whole body and leaning towards him.
“HE IS A WONDERBOLT!” Silver inched forward and yelled. Dash froze in an instant, her fur bristling as the force of Silver’s words rushed through her. “AND SO ARE YOU GODDAMMIT!” Silver added with just as much force.
Dash sat completely still, eyes wide and staring at Silver as he let out a soft snort and tapped his cane in the grass.
“None of us are perfect! Both of you had a reason to do what you were doing and he got the drop on you! Need I remind you that you were intent on disobeying direct orders from the captain?! Forget what the orders were for a moment and whittle it all down! We had betrayal on one side and insubordination on the other! But guess what both of you had in common? You were both doing what you thought was right, which is what I’d hope you always do! And if Storm is as smart as I think he is, he knew there was no way to convince your stubborn ass otherwise so he did what he believed had to do!”
Dash looked away.
“So tell me, Rainbow Dash… Now that it’s all said and done and we’re standing where we are now… why has only ONE of you two tried to patch things up?” Silver asked.
“I…” Dash fixed her eyes on the ground. “I just can’t forgive him, Silver, I—”
THWACK
She was completely cut off as Silver suddenly smacked her upside the head with his cane, really hard.
“OW! WHAT THE FFFFFFFFF—” Dash yelped, grabbing her head.
“Whoa damn! Cane got ahead of herself there! She can be a fickle gal, let me tell you!”
“What was THAT for?!” Dash growled, angrily turning to Silver.
“Who cares? It already happened! It’s over and done with!” Silver shrugged and looked down at his cane. “Looks like Cane feels bad about it, ain’t that sweet of her? But guess what? Cane isn’t going anywhere so you’d best stop being angry at it and move on!”
“You hit me for THAT?!” Dash whined while throwing a hoof out and furrowing her brow.
“Don’t you talk to me like I’d ever hit you!” Silver snorted. “I warned you all at the start about Cane! She forgets herself sometimes, but she’s a good lady at heart! Now is it gonna be worth your time to be angry at a goddamn stick or are you going to let it go?!”
“You are NOT helping!” Dash yelled in Silver’s face.
“Hey! Hey! Talk to Cane, not me!” he waved his cane in front of her.
“SILVER, I’M NOT GOING TO FORGIVE STORM!” she shouted while pounding a hoof in the ground.
“DON’T!” Silver shouted right back while pounding his cane into the grass.
Dash blinked, stepping back and shaking her head out. She was so confused that she forgot about the sting on her head.
“You better not let him forget what he did for the rest of his damn life!” Silver pointed his cane at her. “But holding an endless grudge against him won’t do either of you any good! If you keep glaring him down like he shat in your cornflakes every morning, he won’t learn from his mistake!”
“Oh, so I’m just supposed to pretend it’s alright?!” Dash threw an arm out. “So HE feels better?”
“Yeah YOU sure sound like you feel pretty good right now, right? My eyes aren’t the best, but I can tell the difference between a toothpaste and ass cream tube and I don’t think I need to tell you which one you definitely need right now!”
“Hmmrrrrrrgh…” Dash groaned, sitting down and pressing her hooves to her forehead, rubbing her temples as she mumbled and grumbled to herself.
Silver watched her for a moment, but when it was clear she wasn’t going to stop for a few moments, he sighed and slowly moved over next to her.
“Listen to me, Dash,” he sat down beside her. “And stop that before you give yourself a worse headache,” he said as he reached over and pulled her arms away from her face.
Dash slowly looked up. She didn’t look at him, but she was looking towards the Crystal Empire as the sun set over the skyline. Silver did the same for a few seconds.
“I get it. He stabbed you in the back,” he began. “No one is saying otherwise. But in his eyes, you were out of line, there’s no way to explain around that. In the end nopony was right. He wasn’t right, you weren’t right, hell, not even Spitfire was right and all of you went to extremes, broke trust, and hurt each other for what you believed in. It was a shitshow for sure, but… the important thing is that you both learn from it instead of dwelling on it. It’s when we are at our worst… that we learn how to take firm steps forward and better ourselves. If we don’t take those steps and stay stuck in place, then we will stay at our worst.”
Dash said nothing for a moment.
“Silver?” she finally spoke. Silver glanced at her. “Have you ever had a teammate… or a friend do you in like that?”
“The way you asked that makes me think you already know the answer,” Silver smirked.
“I had a feeling,” Dash sighed, letting a long breath through her nostrils.
“A few times. Can’t say any circumstances were as fubar as what happened to you kids, but… we were stuck in the middle of a war. Things went tits up all the time and when you’re fighting for your life you’ll learn who really has your back… and who needs to be reminded that they should. I could name a few names here, but the worst one was Hurricane for sure. I’ll never forget that one.”
“Hurricane?” Dash blinked. “From Gold Squad?”
“The very one,” Silver nodded. “We were trying to get supplies to civilians caught in the conflict and… got raided by drake scouts. I ended up with several hundred pounds of boxes falling on top of me. Hurricane was right in front of me, but left me there to get some distance even though there were no drakes within attack range of me at that point. Blizzard got me out soon after, but then later Hurricane also tried to blame me for the attack, saying I didn’t keep a good enough lookout even though we were attacked from the trees. He threw me under the bus… because that was the fourth supply line we lost in two weeks and Blazetail was at the end of his rope with him.”
“What…?” Dash blinked, tipping her head a little.
“Mmhmm,” Silver nodded. “Blazetail tore into me, and I was so shocked that I took it all without a word. I was pissed at Hurricane for it… and I avoided him for several days until Blizzard got a hold of him and got him to spill the beans. He really was afraid of Blazetail’s short fuse at the situation and tried to save his own skin. He apologized to me… but there was no way in hell I was ever going to let him live that one down, I didn’t care how high he ranked over me. But… I couldn’t afford to hold a grudge against him. He admitted he screwed up and I accepted that because we couldn’t afford any spats in our ranks, not in the middle of war. And after that, he was never too far from Blizzard and I, always coming to us when we were in need in the middle of all the action, with Jet Stream in tow of course. Blizzard used to joke that his way of saying sorry was dragging ‘the scary, quiet one’ behind him so she could really give hell to anyone attacking us.”
Dash slowly looked up, her eyes tracing just above the Crystal Empire skyline. Silver glanced at her, taking note of the look in her eyes as she thought to herself.
“You and Storm need to set things straight,” Silver went on. “You’re both Wonderbolts, part of the same family. It’s okay if a family doesn’t get along sometimes, but you can’t let it prevent you from being there for each other when you need to be. When you’re constantly at odds, you can forget what’s most important,” Silver placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Don’t forgive him… because he needs to remember what he’s done to be better in the future. Give him a fair chance to make up for it and if he really wants to make amends, he will. And you... need to let him have that chance. Stop giving him the cold shoulder so you can get that cloud of anger out of your head and focus on your training. When it comes to life and death, you’ll both need to be at your best, and so long as this continues between you two, you won’t be.”
Dash looked back down, her eyes shifting side to side while staring at the ground. Silver smirked, lifting his hoof and giving her shoulder a firm pat.
“But keep it in your back pocket. In retrospect, you’ll have a way to burn his ass whenever you want to take him down a notch. Remind him of this shit and it’ll twist his tail in a knot.”
Dash blinked and looked at Silver quizzically.
“What, you think I never reminded Hurricane that he shrank like a little bitch in front of Blazetail? Nah, I reminded him… Often.”
“How many ranks above you was he?” Dash asked.
“I didn’t give a shit, he earned it.”
“Heh…” Dash chuckled, finally cracking a small smile. “Well…” she took a long deep breath. “Alright… I guess I’ll talk to him after we eat tonight…” she trailed off, her smile fading as suddenly as it appeared. Silver noticed.
“It’s not going to be easy, but I think you already know that,” Silver let go of her shoulder.
“Yeah, I know, but…” Dash huffed, blowing a puff of air at her mane, making it float up and back down. “You’re right… as usual. I’ll do my best.”
“Leave the rest of the schmucks to me too. I’ll let them know a few details to put them at ease and keep Spitfire off your back for this.” Silver offered.
“I appreciate it.” Dash stood up, looking down at Silver’s cane. “By the way, your cane can go screw itself.”
Silver let out a hearty guffaw.
“NOW we’re talkin’!”
“Urp… blah…” Dash belched quietly as she walked out of their dining room, patting her full stomach and covering her mouth as she silently let out two more from all the food she just admittedly rushed down. She was extremely hungry after training, but she was also in a hurry… and being one of the last to sit down and eat didn’t help. She looked back and forth around the lobby of their hotel lodging, but aside from looking out the window just in time to see a random Pegasus crash face first into the gym next door, she saw nothing interesting… and no Storm. A few Wonderbolts were lingering, but most of them had already called it a night early and were probably already succumbing to a food coma. It was barely past seven, but none of them would complain about extra sleep.
Dash had business to attend to though. She wanted to find Storm and get this over with. Just because she knew Silver was right didn’t mean she was thrilled about it… but again, Silver was right. She had to at least look him in the eye and talk things over. He was in the dining room with the others just now. He didn’t look in her direction, but he only left a minute before she did.
“Where did he go?” she thought aloud and huffed. She spread her wings and hovered into the air to look down the hallway on the second level. All of their rooms were down there and unless he went Mach 3 from the dining hall there was no way he was already in his room at the end of the hall.
“Ma’am, no flying in the building, please!” the receptionist called from the front desk.
“Oh right,” Dash snorted as she lowered herself back down and folded her wings. The small hotel next door to the gym was already not thrilled about having to house them free of charge for several months, Spitfire made it clear they were to follow all of their rules to make things easier for them. “So if he isn’t in his room, then…” Dash looked to the front doors. Without another thought, she made her way over, and left the building.
Her instincts were right. The moment she stepped outside, she heard what sounded like Storm’s voice among the many noises of the Empire’s market district. She looked left and right, her eyes locking on the source. Storm was a little ways down the road… and he was talking to Descent.
She started walking towards them and wasn’t subtle about it at all. Storm had his back turned to her.
“You guys must be getting really tired of finding nothing, huh?” Storm asked, tipping his head.
“But it’s necessary,” Descent nodded. “So long as we remain here in the Empire, the Renegades will keep up the scouting operations. They may have yet to show themselves anywhere near, but the last thing I want is for us to come under attack on the very day we halt our efforts. There are many ways to die, but I’d prefer it not to be irony.”
“I guess that makes sense…” Storm nodded back. “Though I assume that’s not all that you’ve been doing?”
“Of course not,” said Descent. “We are keeping our skills sharp with training exercises whenever we are not out on patrol. Cycling groups in a rotation.”
“I take it that’s been a lot easier since you found Starry?” Storm asked with a smile.
“You have no idea,” Descent rolled his eyes and sighed. “The moment she stopped hiding she had the Shadowbolt half of the Renegades scared of her all over again.”
“I’m surprised you need help in that regard.”
“She’s better at it than I am, if you can believe it. Also, if you run into her, don’t ask any questions about her crystal form,” Descent warned.
“Why?” Storm blinked.
“Ask the poor bastard that spent last night in the infirmary,” Descent chuckled.
“Point taken…”
“Speaking of training, how has your special routine been… going…” Descent looked up as he trailed off. He stared directly at Rainbow Dash, who was now standing right behind Storm.
“Huh?” Storm tipped his head. Descent made a quick upward head tip while staring over his shoulder. Storm looked behind him. “GAH!” Storm jumped, turned, and backed his plot right into Descent’s chest.
“Oof! Hey!” Descent reached up and pressed a hoof into Storm’s back. “What’s this about?” he asked curiously as Dash stood perfectly still and held a serious expression while Storm’s hooves skidded on the ground.
“She tried to KILL me an hour ago!” Storm’s voice cracked slightly.
Descent cocked an eyebrow and looked between the two of them, taking note that Dash did NOT look ready to do anything like attack his son.
“I’m clearly missing some context here,” he thought aloud.
“Relax,” Dash said sharply, causing Storm to freeze and blink a lot. She turned her attention to Descent. “Sorry to interrupt. I need to borrow Storm for a few minutes.”
Descent looked into Dash’s eyes carefully, examining the determination in them. He glanced at Storm, who looked half confused, half ready to soil himself. He didn’t know the details, but Dash wanted to talk to him?
“By all means,” Descent nudged Storm forward.
“Bwuh…?” Storm said dumbly, only looking back once before locking his eyes on Dash.
“You,” Dash snorted towards Storm. “Walk with me.”
She turned and started walking down the road.
Storm just stared at first, but after another nudge and nod from Descent, he swallowed and started following.
“O… okay…”
The two made their way down the road into the busy market square. Dash didn’t look over her shoulder at any point, nor did she listen for Storm’s hoofsteps while they still stood out from the approaching busy square. She just assumed he was coming along, and if he wasn’t, then he wasn’t really serious about saying his word. Storm knew exactly what this was about.
The evening rush was in full swing. The square was very busy, ponies moving to and fro, many stopping at shops and stalls on their way home from work. With a quick glance, Dash spotted a coffee shop near the north side of the square. It had an outdoor seating area with the chairs and tables stacked and stored after closing early in the afternoon.
As she moved and weaved between the ponies in the crowd, she took her first look over her shoulder. Storm was with her… mostly. He was two pony lengths behind and trying his best not to run into anypony. He still looked quite nervous and confused. Dash thought nothing of it, knowing it was her fault for trying to beat his face in not even two hours ago. She locked eyes with him and made a head motion to follow her before making her way towards the coffee shop.
As soon as she was free from the bustling activity, she stepped into the seating area, hoisted one of the tables up from the stacks and slammed it down behind her with a loud CLANG.
Storm came to an abrupt halt as the table came really close to hitting him. Several other ponies flinched and glanced as well, but went about their business. Dash lifted a chair from the nearby stacks, planted it on the ground and pushed it across the concrete to Storm. Storm only placed his hoof on the chair as Dash slammed another chair down on the other side of the table and sat in it roughly, dropping her elbows to the table and looking right at Storm with a flat expression.
“Sit down,” Dash finally spoke as Storm just stood there at first. Storm swallowed and sat down, leaning back in the chair. “So…” Dash began, but trailed off, furrowing her brow.
“S… So…” Storm echoed her. Dash sighed.
“Come on, go ahead,” she grumbled, waving a hoof at him.
“With… what…?” Storm blinked.
“You’ve been trying to talk to me, so talk. I’m listening now.”
Storm lifted an eyebrow curiously.
“Did somepony force you into this? Did my Dad—?”
“No, it was somepony else,” Dash cut him off. “You can probably narrow it down, but I wasn’t forced, I was CONVINCED that we need to do this. So, go on. I’m listening.”
“Fair enough,” Storm sighed. “I… well…” he stalled, then shrugged. “Hell, I dunno. At this point I don’t think saying ‘sorry’ is gonna cut it, will it?”
Dash flattened her brow. Storm tipped his head slightly and lifted an eyebrow.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he quickly went on. “Just hear me out. I did what I did for a reason, okay? It was nothing personal against you.”
“Convince me,” Dash said simply, a hint of annoyance in her voice. Storm just stared for a moment, still looking a little nervous. But after a deep breath he hardened his gaze a little.
“Okay, I’ll come right out and say it. I thought what you were suggesting we do was completely off the wall insane. You weren’t just disobeying orders, you were scheming behind Spitfire’s back to upend the plan for your own and that didn’t sit well with me at all.”
Dash’s body tensed a little bit, but she didn’t let it show. She listened carefully.
“Fine, look…” Storm firmly placed a hoof on the table. “I really hate to bring this up… but I know what went through your head in that moment, and it’s probably still going through it. And… I want you to let me say all of what I’m about to say without interrupting me, okay?”
Dash just stared for a moment before rotating a hoof, prompting him to continue.
“I know exactly how it looked to you… Here is the guy who got the better of you during our cadet training and was elevated right into a high-tier squad… stabbing you in the back because he was more worried about keeping his rank than helping his friend.”
Dash’s eyes twitched and she scrunched her face a little, but she kept quiet as he requested.
“Let’s just put that out there because I know that has something to do with it,” Storm said quite firmly. “And… it DID… because including me in your plans really put me on the spot. I’ve been under crazy pressure since I got chosen. I always feel extremely behind the curve and inadequate, like I constantly make mistakes, and like I’m doing nothing to actually earn the position I’ve been put in. I didn’t care how many times Soarin told me I was doing alright, or anypony else for that matter, I never felt like it was enough. I’m surrounded by the best combat flyers in all of Equestria, just some runt that made a good impression and now I’m wedged between the biggest names of the Wonderbolts. I joined the Wonderbolts because I wanted to make something of myself, something of the little that I had thanks to a father I barely knew and now I suddenly have something that smacked me right in the face and has me scrambling every day to live up to the expectations. I’m afraid of losing it, I’m afraid of not being able to do enough. So when you told me what you wanted me to do, I panicked. You couldn’t have known how I felt… you brought me in there under the assumption that I’d be right on your side with the rest of our cadet classmates, but you had no idea what I’d been dealing with. You were asking me to throw everything I was struggling to keep afloat into the fire… for a plan that I thought was insane. I was at odds with everything happening just as much as everypony else, but you wanted to throw yourself against Spitfire’s orders? Knowing what she’s capable of? It was ludicrous and… I thought it was only going to make things worse than they already were.” Storm exhaled and leaned back in his chair again. “THAT… is why I did it. Yeah, I went behind your back. Use any words you want to describe backstabbing because that’s exactly what I did. But I did it because I thought it was the right thing to do. So… I’m sorry, and maybe I regret it a bit now, but in that moment, that was what was going through my mind.”
Dash said nothing.
Storm just stared.
Their eyes remained locked in silence for several seconds, nothing but the noise of movement and the voices of many other ponies in the square swirling around them.
Eventually… Dash let out a long, exasperated sigh and relaxed her body, leaning back into her chair.
“So that’s it, huh?” she asked.
“That’s it,” Storm nodded.
“Well, I guess that’s that then,” Dash huffed and glanced towards the square.
“Got nothing to say to me?” Storm furrowed his brow slightly.
“No, I really don’t,” Dash shook her head, her eyes still averted towards the crowds. “If that’s how it all was in your head, then that’s all I needed to know.”
“So what now?” Storm asked. “Am I still on your shitlist or are you finally going to act like I exist again?”
“No, you’re on my shitlist for life,” Dash said frankly while turning her head back to him. Storm’s face contorted into a slightly annoyed pout. “But…” Dash went on, shaking her head again. “I’m done being angry about it. We have much more important things to focus on right now. I don’t need this camping in my head.”
“So you’re basically saying I’m not forgiven?”
“No, and you won’t be,” Dash leaned forward and looked at him sternly. “Better get that into your head right now because that’s not changing, but… it’s time to move on from it. If you want to make it up to me, then prove to me you can still be the guy I trusted before this went down. That’s what I need and that’s what you need. You don’t have to do it now, but when the time comes, do what you need to do for that.” She turned to the side and looked out into the square again. “Neither of us are going to go anywhere if we keep this spat up, so I’m done with it.”
“I guess that’s better than blowing me off completely,” Storm rolled his eyes, but accepted it. “I guess that means we’re cool, then?”
“If you want to see it that way, fine,” Dash said without looking at him.
“Really wish you’d be clear with me.”
“What part of ‘you’re still on my shitlist’ wasn’t clear?” she asked, glancing back at him.
“No, it was crystal clear,” Storm nodded. “Don’t worry, I get it. But… I’m gonna say something right now even though you probably don’t want to hear it.”
Dash lifted an eyebrow.
“I’m sorry that things happened the way they did,” Storm apologized, but without a sliver of resolve leaving his face. “But… I did what I believed was right, just like you would have. And with whatever is waiting for us out there… I hope that we… that no one in the force finds themselves in a situation like ours again.”
Dash’s expression softened slightly… because if nothing else that resonated with her.
“That I can definitely agree with,” she said with a nod.
Storm reached a hoof towards her. Dash lifted an eyebrow and stared at him quizzically.
“What, too much?” he asked. Dash let out a long sigh.
“No… I’ll humor you.”
Dash sat forward and reached out a hoof. They clasped hooves, and shook just once.
“I’ll focus on myself and you can focus on you. And hopefully we can find common ground at some point. Deal?” he proposed.
“Deal,” Dash agreed.
What neither of them knew… was that their little private chat was far from being private.
Off to the side, mostly out of sight… Silver Lining and Descent were peeking over nearby bushes.
“Hmm…” Descent hummed as he saw them shake hooves.
“It’s a start,” Silver nodded.
“You didn’t have to get involved,” Descent grumbled.
“I do whatever the fuck I want, Scarface. I had better luck than you.”
“Fine, fine…” Descent rolled his eyes.
They both flinched and blinked as Dash suddenly looked right at them. They both quickly dropped behind the bushes.
“What the… HEY!” Dash yelled.
“Huh?” Storm looked over his shoulder.
Descent and Silver exchanged very quick glances.
“I saw you two! Stop hiding!” Dash yelled out.
Without a moment of hesitation, Silver started making clicking and sizzling noises with his tongue and teeth. Descent had no idea what he was doing.
“THERE ARE NO CICADAS IN THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE!” Dash angrily yelled out.
“Who was…?” Storm looked at her and pointed.
“Silver and your dad.”
“Bwuh…?” Storm looked again.
“Such a BEAUTIFUL moment of friendship!” another overdramatic voice suddenly called out. “Like something right out of a piece of fanfiction, I love it!”
“I know that voice…” Dash flattened her brow as the two of them turned to a table to their right to see Twister flopped over on his back over it, clapping his hooves together while staring at them with wide starry eyes.
“Brought several unnecessary tears to my old eyes! WAAAAAAAAAHAHAAAAAAAA!!!!!!” Twister wailed as streams of water jettisoned from his eyes.
“Really, Twister?” Dash growled towards him.
“Anyone else hiding around here while we’re at it?” Storm snorted.
“We’re here too,” Matteo’s voice suddenly came from their left. They both looked over to see Matteo, Little Star, and Squall all sitting at another table, all looking rather annoyed while glaring at Twister. Dash shut her eyes for three seconds before opening them and blinking a lot.
“Don’t look at us,” Little Star huffed. “Twister dragged us here out of nowhere.”
“For the love of…” Dash let out a heavy sigh. “Looks like privacy isn’t a thing around he—” she flinched and leaned back just in time as one of the metal chairs flew right over their table and crashed into the stacked tables with a loud clang and clatter. “WHO THE F—”
“AWARENESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!” Silver’s voice came from above. Dash frantically looked to the bushes, then up into the sky to see Descent flying away, air-lifting Silver with him as the two escaped.
“What the hell is even happening right now?” Storm asked. Dash looked back to see Twister laid out in Storm’s lap, still crying and blowing his nose loudly into a handkerchief that had the words ‘EMOTIONAL DAMAGE’ embroidered into it. Dash just shook her head.
“I’ve learned to stop asking questions…”
“By the way, were your eyes glowing yellow when you were punching me?”
“………No.”
---To Be Continued---