//------------------------------// // Chapter 10: Fancy Moves and Resisting the Urge to Kill Your Bunkmate // Story: Piercing the Heavens // by Calm Wind //------------------------------// MLP: FiM Piercing the Heavens By: Calm Wind Chapter 10: “The princess will see you now,” the guard beckoned Soarin into the throne room. Soarin nodded and waited for the door to fully open before he trotted in. Talk about a hell of a night to call him for magic training. The tryouts started the next morning! Soarin had everything ready to go, but he was hoping to relax the rest of the night. Now he had to mentally drain himself. At least he’d get a good night’s sleep because of it. Despite it all, he was in quite a good mood. He not only managed to sneak Dash into his room and get some smoochy time, but Spitfire also took her hoof off the overly-serious bitch pedal. He didn’t feel quite so pressured now, at least from Spitfire. He was still worried about Dash. For some reason he was still contemplating whether or not to choose her for the elite spot. Of course if she proved capable he’d choose her… right? He was still worried about the rumors that might spread amongst the Wonderbolts. All it took was one word about him and Dash with the media’s ears nearby and it would get ugly, fast. But was it right for him to base his choice on that? He didn’t want her to have to deal with the negative attention, but if she really, truly earned it? He’d been thinking about this almost non-stop for the past few days with no clue where to turn. He couldn’t ask any of the Wonderbolts, that would start rumors beforehand. Did he know anypony else who could offer wise, intelligent advice? “Ah! There he is m’lady,” Fancy Pants’ voice met Soarin’s ears as he came around the throne. Oh, that’s right. Maybe he could ask Fancy. He seemed to be well versed in… well… everything. Soarin also blinked as something by the main entrance caught his attention again. Three ponies were leaving as he entered. No Big deal, at least under normal circumstances. While he only caught a glimpse of them, they appeared to be the same three ponies Soarin barely saw leave the first time he visited Luna recently. This time Fancy was present. It was sort of a little “huh” moment for Soarin, but if he saw them again, he’d begin to wonder. “Soarin of the Wonderbolts, how dost thou fair?” Luna’s voice pulled Soarin’s attention to her and Fancy. She wasn’t specific, but Soarin assumed she was talking about the horn. Soarin glanced up at it and tipped his head back and forth. “Ehh… I’ve been alright. The magic has been very docile thanks to the horn and using it a few times. Other than a few uniform issues that I can easily fix, there have been no problems,” he explained while facing the two of them. Fancy nodded contently. “Very good! Have you practiced a little like we discussed?” he asked. Soarin smirked. He closed his eyes and recalled the magical sensations. They built much quicker due to the little bit of practice he made sure to get each day. Fancy jumped in surprise as a blue aura surrounded his coat pocket and a red marble popped out of it. Fancy smiled and chuckled as the marble hovered slowly over towards Soarin. Soarin winced and grunted slightly as he kept his eyes half open and focused them on the marble. It wasn’t very smooth or easy, but he managed to move the marble all the way over to him. He exhaled, releasing the magic, and let the marble drop into his hoof. “I think I’m starting to get the hang of it a little,” Soarin cracked a smile. “Marvelous! To be honest I was expecting a ‘no,’” Fancy grinned as Soarin tossed the marble up and down in his hoof, feeling pretty good about beating the expectations of a pony like Fancy. In fact he felt a little snarky in the process. “No? Who the hell do you think I am?” Soarin chuckled along with Fancy as he picked up the marble with his magic again. Off to the side, Luna watched the small exchange with great interest. She was beyond impressed that Soarin could control the magic as well as he did in such a short time. Just grasping the concept of magic alone seemed like it would be impossible for Soarin at first. He proved her wrong very quickly. Soarin was most definitely a pony of great talent and his will to learn and perfect all things related to him was almost without match. She was eager to see more. She was also glad he seemed to be enjoying himself. She wasn’t sure if something had made him happy earlier, but seeing him smile lifted a weight off her chest. He had been forced through so much beyond his control and had clearly been a frustrating experience for him thus far. Not to mention the timing was inconvenient with the Wonderbolt tryouts. She frowned as she thought over what Discord had said to her though. There was much more about what was going on within Soarin than she had revealed to him. She could sense it and Discord could sense it, but she kept it in. As long as Soarin kept the horn on, he should be safe from any further pain and hopefully it would prevent the power from overwhelming him. She refused to involve herself any more than she did. She didn’t want to end up like her sister. “Shall we test your bravado further then?” Fancy spoke up as his magic came to life and a green marble floated out of his other pocket. “Holding more than one object at a time?” he turned his head to the side and lifted an eyebrow. “Two at once?” Soarin didn’t sound quite so confident. “So… I already slightly figured out how to AH!” Soarin flinched and the red marble fell out of his magic. “I’ve kinda got the whole split mind thing figured out, but… another object would mean… three different thought processes?” he thought out loud. Fancy nodded as he hovered the green marble over to Soarin and set it beside the red one. “Where’d the confidence go?” Fancy chuckled as he walked towards Soarin. “Still got it,” Soarin lied. “It just seems a little hard.” “Nonsense my boy,” Fancy smiled as his horn glowed again. Seven more marbles, all different colors floated out of different pockets, each surrounded in its own separate aura. “Once you’ve learned how to form the pseudo-disconnect, creating more is just a matter of practice. Here I am with seven marbles floating in the air and speaking to you while walking. I’ve got nine different things happening. I’m not expecting you to ever get this far with it, but just know that it is very possible,” he smiled as all seven marbles tossed themselves into the air. Fancy stood completely still as each marble fell back towards the ground naturally and landed in his coat pockets. “You sure like your marbles,” Soarin chuckled, trying to hide how awesome he thought that little trick was. Fancy smiled and pulled a blue one out of his pocket again. “A simple, small, spherical object. It’s more than perfect for teaching basic magic. Now, go on,” Fancy made a head motion towards the red and green marble on the floor. “Just remember the visualization. Remember what it takes to form two states of mind, and simply create a third. There is nothing special you have to think or feel, you merely have to conjure one more constant thought,” Fancy explained as the blue marble in his magic orbited his head. “Alright, I’ll see what I can do,” Soarin nodded as he focused on the two marbles. He conjured the magical presence and focused his mind to create the two separate thoughts. Magic began to swirl around the fake horn and slowly enveloped the red marble. He shifted his squinted eyes to the green marble and grunted in slight discomfort. He moved his head ever-so-slightly towards it, trying to pry a third thought out of his mind. A small blue light began flickering around the green marble. Soarin winced and growled as he tried to focus it, but as soon as the aura fully surrounded the green marble, the red marble fell out of the magic and back to the floor. “Damn!” he cursed as he exhaled and panted. This made his brain hurt. “Not bad for a first attempt, give it a couple more tries. Practice makes perfect,” Fancy encouraged as Soarin tried again. As Luna watched, her attention was drawn away by a royal guard that suddenly sprinted into the throne room. Fancy turned to see as well as Soarin cursed, losing his focus once more. “Your majesty! We have an… issue,” the guard’s voice had a tone of calm urgency. Luna tipped her head. “What sort of issue?” she asked. “Well,” the royal guard glanced back towards the entrance. “Discord is… pulling pranks in the servant quarters… we’d try to stop him, but… you know…” the guard admitted a little embarrassed. Luna snorted loudly as soon as she heard Discord’s name. “We swear he is putting us on the end of our rope!” Luna growled as she stood up. “We shall go see to him,” Luna turned to Fancy. “We trust thee to continue without us?” “Go on m’lady, we’ll be fine. Give that ruffian a good thrashing,” Fancy chuckled as Luna turned and galloped out the entrance. Fancy and Soarin watched her leave, but looked on in confusion as the guard who came to warn her made no attempt to follow. He snickered as he turned to Soarin and Fancy. “Really… it’s too easy sometimes…” the guard’s voice changed to something very familiar. With a loud POOF, the guard disappeared into a cloud of pink smoke. “Oh Lulu, so adorably dupable!” Discord slithered out of the cloud and floated above them. “Oh, great…” Soarin rolled his eyes as he sat down to take a breather. A loud HONK echoed throughout the throne room and he quickly stood back up to reveal a clown horn beneath him. “Excuse you,” Discord chuckled as Soarin kicked the horn away and sat down again. Another HONK sounded out, but this one sounded different. Soarin stood up sharply again to see a goose sitting below him, glaring up at him angrily. The goose honked at him again before lifting off and flying out the broken stained glass window (that had yet to be fixed). “Really princess, what did you eat?” Discord appeared above Soarin and poked the false horn. “Can you like, piss off?” Soarin snapped at him as he moved to sit again. He paused and looked below him to make sure there was nothing beneath him. He kept his eyes on the floor until his plot had touched down. “We’re kinda busy with something importaAAAHH!” he turned his head back only to see Discord’s face directly in front of his. “That’s precisely why I’m here! I figured I’d get a better seat to watch this time! Up near the ceiling almost put a marble through me during your last session,” he glared one eye at Soarin. Discord disappeared and reappeared reclining on the throne. “And what better seat in the house than this one?” he chuckled. “I just had to chase away its former occupant first.” The royal guards posted near the throne made brief movements before stopping and going right back to standing still. “Good choice,” Discord taunted them as they sighed in frustration. Soarin groaned as he focused on resting his brain instead of worrying about Discord. Fancy however, seemed intrigued by the god of chaos. “You seem awfully relaxed my friend. Surely your ruse won’t occupy the princess for long?” Fancy spoke calmly and casually to Discord. Discord rolled over, and laid across the throne on his stomach. “Oh please, as if I’m some sort of amateur,” he appeared next one of the royal guards beside the throne. The guard’s helmet was gone and instead on Discord’s head. “I laid a trail full of pranks for her to follow. It should keep her busy for a while. Now please…” he removed the helmet and shoved it down onto the guard’s head, making him grunt in discomfort. “Go on, continue, I promise I won’t annoy you too much,” he chuckled as he once again appeared on the throne. Fancy lifted an eyebrow, and then his eyes came alight with interest. He glanced at Soarin. “How are you faring? Need another minute?” he asked. Soarin nodded as he still tried to fully catch his breath. “Yeah, my head’s still in a vice,” Soarin admitted as he shook his head out. “Take your time, I feel like playing a little game with our friend here,” Fancy smirked. Soarin’s eyes widened. “With… Discord?!” he whispered in disbelief. “With Discord,” Fancy sounded a little too eager. “It’s been nice knowing you,” Soarin added comically. “Secrets are no FUN~!” Discord appeared between them with fake tears flowing out of his eyes in a wavy pattern. “So you’re the infamous Discord? The god of chaos himself?” Fancy casually stepped away from Discord, whose eyes dried up upon formal mention of his name. “I’m sure you don’t get this very often, but for me it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Fancy bowed politely. Discord blinked in confusion. “Well this is a new one,” he commented with and interested smile creeping across his jaw line. “Allow me to introduce myself, I’m…” “You’re Fancy Pants: billionaire, businessstallion, philanthropist, the most successful pony of our time, but just one step behind your father, eh?” Discord cut him off and winked. Fancy’s face faltered for only a moment. But a moment of weakness from a pony who is otherwise perfect, does not go unnoticed. To Soarin it was like a big red flag extended out of Fancy’s head. Father = soft spot. But it was still only for a moment. Fancy’s confidence was back faster than Soarin could perform the Sonic Blast-off. “I see I require no introduction. I have a proposal for you my friend,” Fancy slowly walked in a circle around Discord. Discord’s head followed his movement, even past the point of how far his neck could reasonably turn like an owl. “This should be good,” Discord sneered. “I propose a little contest, a game of wits. If I win, you leave us alone for the duration of our lessons,” Fancy’s expression never wavered. “And if I win?” Discord sneered. Fancy didn’t even hesitate. “Then you may tie me to a flag pole and parade me around Canterlot while I repeatedly sing any song of your choice,” Fancy offered casually. Discord burst out laughing and rolled onto his back as Soarin’s jaw nearly hit the floor. “Fancy! What the hell are you doing?” Soarin asked frantically. Fancy chuckled and patted Soarin on the shoulder. “Don’t worry my boy, I won’t lose,” he assured Soarin as Discord regained himself. “Oh, you are CREATIVE! I gladly accept! What sort of challenge do you suggest?” Discord asked while stroking his scraggily beard. Fancy smirked. “I’m the challenger, so the choice is yours,” he offered as Soarin silently screamed to himself behind him. “You’re confidence is commendable,” Discord smirked as he tapped his chin, “So Mr. Pancy Fants, you fancy yourself able to match wits with the god of chaos himself? There’s little I enjoy more than showing a pony how out of their league I am!” he snapped his fingers and a small wooden table appeared before him. “I hope you’re ready to sing,” he taunted. “Even the simplest games against me will twist and confuse you to no end!” Three small cups appeared on the table. “We shall see,” Fancy kept calm. Discord held out his hand. “Might I borrow three marbles?” Discord asked with puppy dog eyes. Fancy hovered a red, blue, and green marble over to him. Discord placed them on the table. “Now,” he extended his neck so his face just barely pressed against Fancy’s face. “Keep an eye on the red marble,” he directed. Fancy looked down at the table. The red marble was in the center, the green on the left, and the blue on the right. Discord placed the three cups over the marbles. “If I were you,” Discord bounced his eyebrows, “I wouldn’t blink.” Fancy paid no attention to the taunt as Discord began rapidly moving the cups around. He moved them faster and faster until they couldn’t be seen by the naked eye. Fancy just kept his eyes straight down at the table. “HA!” Discord abruptly stopped. There were now nine cups on the table. “Whoops, looks like I went a little too fast, but you do enjoy a challenge don’t you?” Discord sneered at Fancy. He stood up from the table and patiently swayed back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back. “So? Which one has the red marble?” “That’s not fair at all!” Soarin blurted out from behind Fancy. “Fancy, you don’t have to…” “What might you have in your hands behind your back?” Fancy smirked as he looked snidely at Discord. Discord’s eyes widened slightly, but he quickly played it off. He made an extremely subtle glance at his left hand behind his back. The red marble was in it, but how did Fancy see him do it? Without a single indication of shenanigans, Discord blinked and the green marble now lay in his hand, sending the red marble beneath one of the cups. He looked back towards Fancy. “You’ve a keen eye McPantaloons, but I’m afraid it’s not the marble you’re looking for,” Discord chuckled as he held the green marble out in his palm. Fancy tipped his head up, his smirk cracking into a grin. “Oh? Did I say you had the red marble in your hand?” “Hm?” Discord blinked. As a matter of fact, Fancy never mentioned the red marble being in his hands. “Actually I’m curious,” Fancy rubbed his chin. “Do you know which cup the red marble is under?” he challenged Discord. “Pfft, you can’t bluff me, silly pony,” Discord reached for one of the cups. “It’s right…” there was nothing beneath the cup. “Eh?” Discord’s pupils shrank. He stared blankly at the table for another moment before grabbing all the other cups off the table. The red marble was gone, and the blue one was gone too. “Looking for this?” Fancy spoke up. Discord’s eyes snapped to Fancy. Fancy was holding the red marble up in front of him with his magic. Discord looked between the table and the marble. “What in Equestria?” Discord tried fruitlessly to understand what Fancy had just pulled. Suddenly the green marble floated up beside the red one. “Could I have my blue marble back too, please?” Fancy asked politely. “Huh?” Discord blinked and looked down into his hand. He was now holding the blue marble. Discord’s jaw detached from his face, bounced off the floor, and uppercut him upon reattaching. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” he screamed out while clutching his head. He took a deep breath and exhaled before glaring at Fancy. “Now I believe we had a deal?” Fancy winked at him. Discord’s glare slowly faded, replaced with a calm, serious expression. He sat down on the throne. *HONK* Discord jumped back up and stared at the the throne. The clown horn he summoned earlier was on it. He gawked at it, and then looked back at Fancy. Fancy shrugged as Discord just stared in disbelief. How? How did he just get beaten so soundly at his own game? To Discord, it was so incredibly baffling that all he could do was laugh. Discord laughed uncontrollably. “I honestly have NO idea how you pulled that off!” he managed to calm himself a little. “You sir, Pants Oh-So Fance… are DANGEROUS, and it’s DELICIOUS! I’ll have to keep an eye on you,” one of Discord’s eyes detached from his head and orbited Fancy once before returning. “And a deals a deal, it’s the least I can do, nopony has been able to play me like that in centuries!” he did a loop in the air and waved at the two of them. “You two have fun, I’ll be watching from afar! Taa taa!” he rose up towards the ceiling, slowly disappearing while laughing heartily to himself again. “Oh dear, it looks like it’s getting late already,” Fancy casually checked his pocket watch as he turned to Soarin. He stopped as he saw Soarin staring wide eyed. “What?” “What do you mean ‘what!?’” Soarin threw his hooves up into the air. “How the hell did you do that?!” he questioned hysterically. Fancy smiled. “Trade secret,” he winked. “I’m afraid that little escapade used up the rest of our time tonight. At least it ensured he’ll stay out of our business,” Fancy replaced his pocket watch in his jacket. “Make sure to practice multiple object carrying, if you have that down by our next meeting I can show you something new.” “Wait Fancy… I’ve got a question…” Soarin stopped him. Did Soarin know any wise and intelligent ponies who could give advice? Well… he knew one that could wow the celestial sisters and outsmart the god of chaos. It would have to do. “What’s on your mind my boy?” Fancy smiled. “Well…” Soarin began. He relayed his worries to Fancy about Rainbow Dash and the decision he would have to make. He made sure not to leave out a single detail: the choice, the potential rumors, and what might happen should he not choose her. “…I just don’t know what to do. Every time I fix my mind on one possibility, it only takes a few seconds before I think the other is better. What would you do here?” he finished, looking to Fancy in hopes of getting some good advice. “Hmm… that is quite a dilemma,” he rubbed his chin. “But I believe the answer is simple,” he nodded. “You, Soarin, are the power-flyer of the Wonderbolt lead squad. You rightfully earned your place in the Wonderbolts. If Rainbow Dash rightfully earns her place, then who are you to deny her it?” Fancy smiled. “And if she is as great as you describe her, I’m sure she will understand your choice, should you not select her. Those who push themselves will always push themselves, even if they are knocked down in the process.” Damn, Fancy was smart. Soarin hadn’t looked at it from that perspective. Sure, Dash might get a little angry if she’s not selected, but that didn’t mean she would up and quit on them. And if she earned it, then she earned it. Anything the media had to say about them would be answered by her skill. “Thanks Fancy,” Soarin smiled, now more confident than ever he could trust his new magic teacher. “WHERE IS HE?!?!?!” Luna suddenly burst into the throne room. She was wearing a frilly pink dress, her mane was in pigtails, her face was covered with what looked like bits of cherry pie, and there was a string tied around her neck, at the other end of which floated a big yellow balloon with the word “SUCKER” in big red letters on it. MysticBlue Soarin and even Fancy had to hold in their laughter. “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go! How long does it take to wash up? I’m turning the lights out in five minutes whether or not you’re in bed yet!” Spitfire’s voice reached through the recruit barracks hallway from the entrance. Dash had just pushed her way out of the bathroom, carrying her toothbrush in her mouth. The line to use the mare’s bathroom was still extending out the door. Dash made her way quickly back to her bunk and tossed her toothbrush in her drawer beside the Wonderbolt cadet uniform she had been issued after dinner. It had her bunk number and color along with an A, to signify she was on the bottom bunk. This number system made it much easier for the Wonderbolts to keep track of them all. It was much definitely much better than remembering three hundred names. Dash made herself comfortable on her bed as the rest of the cadets eventually finished cleaning up for the night. Dash glanced over and saw Fleetfoot enter the barracks. She whispered something to Spitfire. “Oh, good idea, ATTENTION!” Spitfire called out, making more than half the cadets flinch. “Fleet and I are gonna come around and collect your consent forms now!” she said as the two of them began moving down the line. All of the cadets started shuffling around to grab their form. Obviously the tryouts were going to be physically taxing. The Wonderbolts were not going to be held responsible for any injuries. Dash had signed a similar form when she had her training day. She went for her drawer, but was nudged aside by Arctic Blast. “Hmmm, hmm, hmmmm,” Arctic hummed as she stuffed multiple brushes, cloths, and other beauty gear into her drawer. “How about, ‘excuse me?’” Dash grunted as Arctic stopped and turned to her. “How about you just stop getting in the way?” she tipped her head sassily to the side and spoke with a condescending tone. Arctic pulled out her consent form and tried to get around Dash, but Dash purposely bumped into her. “Oh sorry, I was in the way,” said Dash as she reached for her drawer and removed the form. “Pff, rude,” Artic whisked her mane over her shoulder. “Says you…” Dash just let it be and waited for either Spitfire or Fleetfoot to reach them. Fleetfoot got to them first. She winked at Dash when she grabbed her form and went for Arctic’s, but froze and looked behind them at the giant poster of Soarin. “PFFFFFFF~!!!!” Fleetfoot’s cheeks puffed out and her face turned red, “HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!” she burst out laughing at the sexy picture of her wingmate on the wall. Dash just averted her eyes and tried not to blush. It wasn’t even her poster, but it was pretty blatant. Spitfire stopped and glanced over from the other side of the aisle, two bunks down. “Fleetfoot? What in the hell…?” she trotted over and flinched when she saw the poster of Soarin, “SNRK…” Spitfire instantly snorted when she saw the poster. Fleetfoot was pounding a hoof on the floor, completely losing it, but Spitfire did everything she could to keep her laughter down. Dash tried not to laugh awkwardly herself. She hoped they didn’t think it was her poster. Spitfire took a deep breath and put the business glare back on. “Nice poster,” she said with a straight face as she yanked Fleetfoot back to her hooves. “Oh man… that’s just rich,” Fleetfoot wiped a tear from her eye as she went back to collecting forms. She and Spitfire got two more bunks down and both stopped again. Three bunks down from Dash and Arctic’s there was a pair of stallions standing very awkwardly and looking away from them. Behind them was a poster of an exclusive “sexy” picture of Spitfire and Fleetfoot from the same beach photo shoot that was only given to “longtime” subscribers of the magazine. It was the two of them lying on the beach, back to back in sultry poses while staring up at the camera. Spitfire looked slightly annoyed in the picture, but Fleetfoot was giving the sharpest bedroom eyes possible and blowing a kiss towards the camera. The two stared at the poster, then back down at the stallions. Spitfire, with a glare, Fleetfoot with a smirk. The stallions continued to not look at them and hold their consent forms out awkwardly. Spitfire grabbed the forms and shook her head. “I’m gonna kill Photo Finish for publishing that one,” she sighed as she started walking again. Fleetfoot leaned in towards one of the stallions, who began blushing like mad as she gave him a sly, sexy grin. “Maybe if you buy me a drink first,” she whispered into his ear before Spitfire turned around and yanked her along. Dash chuckled at the sharp contrast between Spitfire and Fleetfoot. As always, the two were the perfect pair for unintentional comedy. Dash hadn’t noticed the poster of them before (and had no idea how because it was just as big as the one on her wall), but she began to wonder. Would she have to… pose like that if she became a famous Wonderbolt? The thought made her squeamish. If she was going to pose for anypony it would be for Soarin, nopony else, but would she have a choice? Spitfire definitely didn’t. Business was business. “Well look at this!” Spitfire exclaimed as she counted the forms and walked back towards the entrance. “Only two hundred-forty-four forms?” she turned and faced them all. “Looks like about sixty got scared off by the consent form! Good, that makes our job a little easier tomorrow!” A slight buzz went about the cadets. Sixty cadets up and left already? Dash glanced around the bunks. She didn’t even notice it before! There were a few empty bunks! “The rest of you had the guts to sign it! I guess we’ll see who can back it up tomorrow! Now get some sleep! You better be at your best if you want to be one of the last one hundred standing after tomorrow!” a collective gasp went throughout the hallway. Only 100 would be left standing after tomorrow. Dash was confident she’d be fine, but it was still heavy news for the rest of the cadets. “If anypony starts snoring, you have my permission to slap ‘em silly!” Fleetfoot added with a giggle. Spitfire flared her wing out into Fleetfoot’s face. Before anything else could happen, Spitfire slammed her hoof over the light switch, plunging the room into darkness. “GOODNIGHT!” she yelled as she and Fleetfoot left, slamming the doors behind them. Dash chuckled to herself as she simply leaned over and rolled into her bed. She had to suppress more laughter as Arctic clumsily bumped into the bed frame six times before actually finding the top bunk. Time to get some sleep, which hopefully wouldn’t be to hard. Dash was nervous, but the excitement had her nearly bouncing. It took a few minutes for the hall to quiet down anyway. There was a lot of rusting of mattresses and sheets along with a few clumsy clangs of bed frames colliding with hooves. When everything quieted down, Dash sighed and curled up beneath her sheets. Sleep. Sweet dreams. Dreams of Soarin. Dreams of being awesome. All of the above plus more Soarin please. *SNNNNNNNRRRRRKKKKKKKKKKKKK* Dash’s eyes opened wide. What the hell was that ungodly noise? *SNNNNNNNRRRRRKKKKK RRRKKK RRKKKKKKK* It was coming from directly above her. *SNNRRRRRRRRRRRRNNNNNNKK* “You’ve gotta be kidding me…” Dash mumbled to herself as she heard stirring from the bunks beside hers as well. Arctic Blast was snoring. It was atrociously loud, like somepony was trying to cut a piece of cardboard in half with a bike chain. Dash covered her ears as the noise echoed from above her again. “Wait…” she suddenly remembered. “If anypony starts snoring, you have my permission to slap ‘em silly!” – Fleetfoot Dash smirked and rubbed her hooves together. Well… Spitfire never said no… --- To Be Continued ---