//------------------------------// // Chapter 41: Silver: The Iron Horse // Story: Piercing the Heavens // by Calm Wind //------------------------------// MLP: FiM Piercing the Heavens By: Calm Wind Chapter 41: “What the shit-diddly butt plunder cock-slap is taking them so long?!” Silver fumed as he paced back and forth in the battle dome. All the mares were present, and all feeling a little weird. Dash kept shifting her body around, moving her arms, shoulders, neck, and wings about, occasionally reaching up to adjust her mane. They were all wearing protective gear, the same kind Dash saw Soarin wear back during his sparring match with Rapidfire where… things got a bit ugly. She saw the gear up close afterward, but she wouldn’t have guessed it would feel so… awkward. The gear was basically a collection of thinly padded surfaces that were strapped to the body, protecting mainly the stomach, back, flanks, legs, wings, the neck, and the head. She wore padded hoof covers as well. Some of the pieces had straps that ran between them to hold them firmly in place as if they were part of the pony. The headpiece reminded Dash of a boxing mask, but it wasn’t quite as thick. In fact, most of it seemed rather thin for protection. It was very flexible and none of Dash’s movement was restricted, but would it really soften blows? It was also weird, and not the most comfortable thing she had ever worn… but if it actually did the job, she would trade comfort for safety any day. But the question at the moment… why were the stallions taking so long in the locker rooms? They had all been briefly measured and given sets of the light training armor. Apparently they had a set that was close to Matteo’s size, close being the keyword. It probably belonged to an old hefty member of the Wonderbolts, maybe Pec Bounce. They were sent to the locker rooms to suit up… and for some reason all the mares had done so and were out before a single stallion emerged. Squad two all stood ready for Silver’s orders, but he was busy grinding his teeth together, walking up and down, and glaring at the door to the stallion locker room attached to the battle dome. “Damn shit I put up with…” he mumbled and finally trotted over to the door. Blaze and High Winds snickered. “Ten bits he uses a dick joke,” Winds whispered to Blaze followed by a yawn. Blaze smirked. “No way, I know he’s gonna use one,” Blaze fired back as the two giggled. Wave just stood at attention, doing his best to keep still and be professional… but really, he agreed with Blaze. Silver had lots of go-to taunts and insults for certain situations. They varied in words and delivery, but the themes never changed. Silver stomped right up to the door of the stallion’s locker room and yanked it open. “What the hell is taking so long in there?!” He yelled. “Y’all better not be having a dick measuring contest! Better finish it quick! If I have to come in there YOU WILL ALL LOSE!” “See? I saved ten bits today!” Blaze nodded in satisfaction. “Eh, Windy?” Blaze turned just tin time to see Winds fall asleep and tip over, leaning up against Blaze. Blaze lifted an eyebrow before shaking her head and just letting Winds sleep. “Is that…!? SAVAGE! I HEAR YOUR DUMB ASS IN THERE!” Silver continued to yell. He stood still for about five seconds before Macho Savage appeared in the door. “You RANG drill instructor man?!” Savage stood against the door in a position where he could easily bounce his chest muscles. “Quit jiggling your fat at me you disproportionate grab-ass! Are you holding up the recruits?!” Silver barked, but Savage just bounced his chest muscles faster. “I’m just teaching them the glory of the MACHO MADNESS!” he tipped his full-face sunglasses up, bounced his eyebrows and let the glasses fall back down. “OOOOHHH YEEEEAHHH!!!! The tykes gotta know that when they’re around me, they’re in the DANGER ZONE! Cause I’m the creeeeeeam of the crop!” he droned on while flexing an arm and kissing it. “Heaven of Luna’s mercy you’re the dumbest piece of shit I ever met in my life! And I know Air Mach!” Silver flattened his ears. “Now let them out here, dammit! I’ve got a camp to run!” “Only cause the MACHO MADNESS chooses too!” Macho Savage ducked back into the locker room and a few seconds later, Thunderlane appeared in the door. He froze when he saw Silver, but Silver just waved him on. “Come on, come on, let’s go…” Silver said while shaking his head. “The road block ego was in your way, just get out here…” it was strange to hear Silver give orders calmly, but soon all of the male recruits were out and standing among the mares. “What was that all about?” Dash whispered to Thunderlane as he stood beside her. “I have no idea…” Thunderlane lightly shook his head. “LINE UP! ATTENTION!” Silver yelled as he followed close behind. The recruits all scrambled to get into an orderly line. Dash ended up with Twister to her left and Squall to her right. Dash stole a quick glance up at Squall before they all stopped moving. His expression was flat and unreadable. It was clear some of what Matteo had sunk in, but Dash wondered if he would actually change. She quickly looked forward as everypony got into place and waited for Silver to begin. “Welcome to the Battle Dome!” he yelled while waving his right arm around in a wide arc. The same spacious area with the lightly cushioned floor. The same place Soarin fought Rapidfire… and the same place Rapidfire almost killed Soarin… Dash shivered slightly at the memory. She subtly glanced at the wall far on the other side of the arena. They had installed a new clock and scoreboard. The other one had been blown to pieces by Soarin deflecting Rapidfire’s compressed lightning attack. It ripped the whole thing down in a fiery mess… and Rapidfire was subdued right after… Wow… a lot had happened since then, Dash could hardly believe it. “YOU HEAR ME?!” Silver’s voice punted her face first back to reality. Luckily he wasn’t yelling at her. He was beside her, yelling at Squall. Silver sharply turned his head and darted over and up to Matteo’s face a few recruits down. “THIS IS WHERE YOU ARE ALLOWED TO FIGHT!” he yelled into Matteo’s face before pulling back, landing, and continuing his usual pacing routine. “Rgh…” Squall suddenly growled beside Dash. Her eyes darted to him only briefly. What was he getting so angry about? Well, besides the obvious. Dash had a feeling Squall was going to do something stupid… he was already building quite a track record of that. “Any and all sparring, combat, and anything that falls under the category of fighting… will be done in here! Nowhere else! Every Wonderbolt is expected to have a certain degree of combat skill!” he stopped and faced all of them. “This will be one of the largest factors in us deciding which of you five are gonna become the new recruit squad! SO TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY!” Dash could understand that. In the cadet tryouts, they tested basic skills as well as situational awareness and reaction. There was nothing combat related, except maybe the Blast Walls in Soarin’s personal courses. A faint tapping caught Dash’s attention. She blinked as she shifted her eyes to make it look like she wasn’t looking… but it was Squall. He was tapping his back left hoof glove against the arena floor. Was he having problems standing still? Dash couldn’t tell if he was nervous… or possibly eager to fight? Perhaps he was feeling a little eager to prove he wasn’t the coward Matteo had just proved him to be beneath his hard exterior. This wasn’t going to end well. “Now… the most important part of combat… is self-defense!” Silver continued. “If you can’t defend yourself or take a few hits… then you’re useless to us! We are a military organization! Sure we do flashy shows… but our top priority is the protection of Canterlot and all ponykind! You have to be ready for anything!” He stopped and turned to the rest of squad two. “It is our job to—” Silver paused and glared at High Winds, who was still asleep on Blaze. Blaze’s ears stood straight up, she reached her back left leg over and gave Winds a light kick. Winds snorted and her eyes fluttered open. The instant she saw Silver glaring, she was up and standing firm like Blaze and Wave. “It’s our JOB…” Silver began where he left off. “To whip you all into shape and make sure you’re ready and able to fight any opponent! The royal guard is a bunch of yes stallions and mares in fancy armor! The Canterlot police are just crime chasers! Neither of them are warriors. That’s where we come in! And warriors… must know how to defend themselves before they can defend others!” He turned back to the recruits. “So for our first three sessions… we are focusing only on defense!” “Ha!” Squall suddenly scoffed. Dash and the rest of the recruits all flinched as Silver’s head turned sharply to Squall. Blaze grimaced behind Silver and looked at Wave. “Oh boy…” Wave shook his head. Blaze turned and looked at High Winds. “Here it comes…” Winds added. “I’m sorry, do you have something you wanna share with us Happy?” Silver said with a sinisterly quiet tone as he pressed his face into Squall’s. “This is stupid,” Squall said straightforwardly without properly addressing Silver. Dash couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Squall did do something stupid. What was he thinking? Was he trying to prove he wasn’t a coward… by talking back to SILVER?! There’s a fine line between bravery and utter idiocy… and Squall had just taken a leap over that line. “Oh? It’s stupid, huh? What part of it is stupid?” the way Silver spoke so quietly was causing more alarm than it should have. It seemed so wrong… and that was exactly why it was terrifying… all were sure he would explode at any moment. “Three days of learning to defend yourself? I’ve been in martial arts for years and you want me to learn how to block?!” Squall snapped back. “You think you can fight?” Silver asked calmly. “I damn well know I can fight!” Squall quickly answered. Silver pulled away from Squall and stood a foot away. He looked Squall up and down and shook his head. “God damn son…” Silver sighed. “I’d love to see things from your point of view… but I can’t seem to fit my head that far up my own ass!” he raised his voice slightly. “You fancy yourself a fighter! Okay then, get your ass out here!” he reached over, grabbed Squall by the back of the neck, and yanked him out of the line. He tossed Squall forward, making him stumble to a stop out in front of every pony. Silver walked up and faced him so they stood parallel to the line of recruits. They stood with less than a foot between them. “Punch me.” “Huh?” Squall lifted an eyebrow. “I said punch me,” Silver repeated. Squall looked him up and down. Perhaps there was an extent as to how far he would go to look tough. “But…” Squall hesitated. Silver wasn’t wearing protective gear. He wasn’t even wearing his goggles. Just his Wonderbolt uniform. “What?! You aren’t a fighter anymore?!” Silver suddenly yelled. “Get lily-livered at the last moment?! Blow your load before she even said hello?!” Silver taunted. Squall’s eyes narrowed. “You say you’re a fighter! That means you know how to throw a punch right?! You better damn well know how to throw a punch!” Silver kept taunting relentlessly. Squall bared his teeth and snarled. This was a familiar scenario… of about an hour ago. “ARE YOU ALL BARK AND NO BITE?!” Those were the magic words. The exact same words that got him to snap and attack Matteo. All the recruits gasped as Squall pushed his wings down to get up on his hind legs, he put up his hooves, pulled his right hoof back and locked right onto Silver’s face. “HYRAH!” Squall yelled out as he threw the heavy punch. Silver didn’t dodge it… In fact, Silver LEANED INTO IT. Squall’s hoof connected right between Silver’s eyes. Multiple loud snaps and pops sounded… but they weren't from Silver’s face. After a few seconds of holding his hoof against Silver’s face, Squall pulled back his arm painfully. “AHH!!” He cried out as he reached over his left hoof to cradle his right. His right hoof was shaking and jittering in pain. He looked back towards Silver, who was glaring sharply at Squall… harder than any other look he had given the recruits yet. A single, small trickle of blood ran down Silver's face and over his nose, but he wasn't even fazed. Dash’s jaw hung open… as did the rest. Even Matteo couldn’t believe what he saw, his eyes fixed on Silver with pure wonder. Silver not only took the full force of Squall’s punch… a punch that had blown aside Blast Walls at ease… but he had also leaned into it… and possibly sprained Squall’s hoof. How did he even DO that?! “You call that a punch?” Silver scoffed while keeping his intense glare fixated on Squall. Squall didn’t move. He just stared at Silver while holding his hurt hoof. “THIS… is a punch!” Silver picked up and slammed his back hooves firmly to the ground. He reared back and pulled back his right arm while twisting his body as well. He took a firm step forward… and shifted, while twisting his body back and throwing the punch at the same time… but right before he connected he shifted his weight very subtly. Dash barely caught the extra movement, but it was right before his hoof connected with Squall. Silver’s hoof landed right into the left cheek guard of Squall’s headpiece. The initial impact was so hard it actually made a loud POW as it connected. The headpiece buckled inward, the straps holding it to Squall’s face popping and snapping apart. Squall’s head was forced back and his entire body lifted off the ground from the force, he flew backwards through the air and bounced to the ground a good eight yards away from where he first stood. As soon as Squall skidded to a stop, he quickly rolled over and stared at Silver with an absolutely terrified expression on his face. Silver walked up to him with heavy steps as the recruits all stared wide eyed. He wiped the tiny amount of blood from his nose and forehead and got down in Squall’s face. “Let’s get you a new head guard and teach you proper defense basics… shall we?” he said very calmly. Squall quickly nodded in agreement, his face twitching as pain seared through his jaw. The armor had done its job, he didn’t break anything, but his headgear lay in pieces. Silver’s punch had torn it apart, but it saved him from a broken jaw… or not having a jaw anymore period. Dash had never seen a punch that hard before. Well, she had seen Soarin, Nightshade and Descent throw some pretty heavy blows, but Soarin and Nightshade were imbued with magical energy… and Descent was just a freak of nature. Silver wasn’t even as big as Soarin… who was smaller than Descent. To see so much power come from a more average sized stallion was incredible. Dash tried to break down what she had just seen. Silver didn’t just throw a punch… he shifted his body in so many small increments. It was even smoother than the movements in Soarin’s Sonic Blast-off. It looked like he moved all at once and put a simple twist into it, but she saw it. What he was really doing was segueing from one tiny shift into another… eventually making so many shifts that it added so much extra force to the blow. Dash had no idea how he managed to shift so little, so quickly, and so many times so smoothly. She prided herself in being able to mimic other techniques… but seriously… how the hell did he manage that!? She had to rewind and think about something else one more time… She knew how hard Squall could hit based on the Blast Walls… And Silver willingly took Squall’s punch to the face… while leaning into it… and hurt Squall’s hoof in the process… What a HARD ASS! Silver was quite an amazing Wonderbolt indeed. “Anypony else think they can fight?” Silver barked to the recruits as Wave Chill helped Squall up behind him and took the shocked recruit to get a new headpiece. “SIR, NO SIR!” every single recruit answered instantly. “I thought so!” Silver nodded in agreement. “Now stay in line! Put up a guard! Blaze, High Winds, and I will be coming around to beat some skill into you! We are fixing all the holes in your defenses RIGHT NOW!” he barked. “We don’t have much time today… due to getting you all outfitted for armor and because Macho Savage is a dingbat out of hell… but we can at least give you all a few hits to think about!” Silver explained as Blaze and High Winds walked up beside him. “Cooperate! And for Celestia’s sake don’t back away from us! We need to be done and out of here in half an hour… and if we aren’t, whoever slowed us down can personally explain to squad four and five why we cut into their combat training time!” Dash glanced to her left. Twister literally hadn’t moved… probably hadn’t blinked either. Dash looked past him and found who she was looking for. Thunderlane was standing on the other side of Twister. He looked rather uncomfortable… maybe a little scared. She didn’t really blame him. Thunderlane was getting about a hundred times more than he had initially bargained for. He attended to support Dash… got selected… and was thrown into a world or training and strain that he wasn’t used to. He had been to Wonderbolt flight camps before, but those were just flying lessons. This was the real side of the Wonderbolts. He was adamant about seeing it through, understanding that he had an opportunity like none other, but he was clearly struggling. They had barely begun and he looked like he wanted to go home. Dash sighed as she looked back forward. Even if Thunderlane did feel that way though, there was no way he’d back out. He was even more stubborn than her. Thunderlane’s defining quality was how he never gave up at anything… ever. Even if his face was being dragged through a gravel road littered with broken glass, he wouldn’t back down. He might be scared of something, but when faced with a challenge, he would face it to the bitter end. “HEY! COLORS! PUT UP YER DUKES!” Blaze suddenly hopped in front of Dash and brought up her hooves. Dash yelped as Blaze approached her and brought up her hooves, but before Blaze could go any further, Silver reached in and yanked Blaze away. “YOW!” Blaze yelled as she lurched away and glared at Silver. “What the shit, captain?!” “Keep moving down the line…” he ordered. “RGH…” Blaze grunted and moved down the line of recruits. She stopped at Matteo and hopped up. Matteo instinctively put up a guard as Blaze began throwing wild light punches at him while making silly grumbling noises. Matteo just blinked and went along with it. “Skittles… come over here for a second,” Silver suddenly beckoned her. She blinked as her turned and started walking away. He paused and turned back. “That means now, dammit!” he yelled. Dash instantly started walking and followed him. He took her about fifteen yards away from the rest and faced her. What was he doing? Why single her out? “So… been a while since the Shadowbolt attack, eh?” Silver asked out of the blue. Dash flinched and her ears folded backward. Silver lifted an eyebrow. “What? I was there too, you know… and I saw you fight as well.” Dash wasn’t sure what to say. Well… she didn’t want to say anything because she was afraid to speak out of turn. She had given absolutely no thought to this. Silver… and every single elite member of the Wonderbolts were present when she and Soarin fought together against Nightshade. “You fought alongside one of the best fighters I’ve ever seen… and held your own against an opponent that… really should have killed you both. Now I don’t say this very often… but I’m impressed,” he paused as Dash’s eyes made a visible change to surprise. “Don’t get used to that, you ain’t hearing it again until you give me a reason to!” he suddenly belted. Dash quickly stiffened again. “Is that clear?!” “Sir, yes sir!” Dash answered instantly. Silver stepped closer to her and leaned over to her ear. “But listen… during the free days in our schedule, don’t be surprised if I pull you aside every now and again for a personal training session. If you were able to fight like you did against the Shadowbolts without proper training… I’m gonna make sure we squeeze every bit of potential out of you.” What? Of all the things Dash was expecting to hear… that was the last. She pulled away slightly and looked at him in confusion. He narrowed his eyes as she gave him the look. “Don’t get the wrong idea…” he glared and bared his teeth. “This is not me playing favorites, and this is not me doing you any favors. This is me making a judgment for the good of the Wonderbolts based on what I’ve already seen from you…” he looked back at the other recruits. When he looked back at Dash, his calm, stern expression had returned. “This doesn’t mean you’ve already been chosen for the recruit squad… this means you have to live up to the potential I see in you… more so than any other recruit. I have MUCH higher expectations for you… and dammit, if you fall short of them, you’ll fail just the same as a recruit who I didn’t expect shit from,” he stepped up beside Dash, but didn’t look at her. “This isn’t a blessing… it’s a curse. And you better break it before the month is over… or else I’m sending you right home… Spitfire’s opinion be damned…” he started walking back over towards the recruits, leaving Dash behind. Dash suddenly felt an intense amount of pressure build up in the pit of her stomach. Her? Potential? You’d think that would have boosted her ego through the roof... but Silver… Silver made it perfectly clear for her. The Wonderbolts had expectations for her. She had been on a first name basis with the LEAD SQUAD for quite some time… and even fought alongside them. At first she thought this would have no positive impact on their selection process, wanting to keep it fair and all with no connections being taken into consideration. However, that’s exactly what happened… just in the polar opposite way she thought it would. Of course the Wonderbolts were keeping a watchful eye on her… she had been in their direct line of sight for almost a year now! How could she have not considered this? She suddenly realized how heavy her situation was. Every move she made was being watched, examined, and broken down. No wonder she didn’t earn the elite spot… losing her cool and nearly causing a major injury to a potential wingmate… she could only imagine how much they all looked down upon that little shoulder thrust she threw into Arctic Blast. Silver had just opened her eyes to a whole other side of her training here at the compound. She could suddenly see new standards she had to measure up to. Being ‘good enough’ was no longer an option. She had to be the best, or go home. Plain and simple. “SKITTLES! THE HELL ARE YOU STILL DOING OVER THERE?!” Silver’s booming voice snapped her back to reality. “We’ve got twenty minutes! If you waste any more of them I’m gonna rip your arm off and beat your face in with it! LET’S GO!” Dash was moving before he even finished. It was loud and clear to her now. Was she worried about Soarin? Yes… but if Soarin shared Silver’s expectations, then she wouldn’t want to disappoint him either. She especially, wouldn't want to disappoint Soarin. She lined up and put up her guard, at the ready as soon as she was set. “Blaze!” Silver called over. Blaze was still throwing super-fast light punches at Matteo… who still hadn’t moved his arms much at all and was looking at Blaze with confusion. She finally stopped and turned towards Silver while panting and sweating from the over the top mini assault on Matteo’s guard. “Now you can hit her!” he gave her a nod and made a head motion at Dash. “AW YEAH!” Blaze glided down and placed herself in front of Dash. “It’s ON!” she yelled while bobbing back and forth. Dash gulped. Yep… this was going to be unpleasant… but bring it on. They wanted to see her shine? Then that’s what she was going to do. Soarin lay still… his eyes closed… his body devoid of strength. Where was he? When was he? What was he? Wh…who was he? Why was his brain running in circles? Why were so many obvious things confusing? It was like his brain was fighting for control of his own mind. He couldn’t see anything. He tried to open his eyes but they were so heavy… he could hear noises around him, but the sounds reaching his ears were all muffled. His body was completely out of his control. Something reached up and began wrapping around his limbs. Then he felt it around his body too. Something was grabbing him. He didn’t know what… but it hurt. It felt like thousands of pins and needles were being driven through his flesh… alas, he had no voice to scream out in pain. “NO!” A voice called out. It was the first sound he could fully deduce. And the voice… he knew that voice… it was a voice he would never ever forget. He’d rather die than forget that voice… It was Rainbow Dash. He could hear growling, thrashing and sounds of struggling, but he couldn’t see anything… he was in complete darkness without any indication of what was going on. “Don’t let the darkness consume Soarin! If we lose his spirit, the healing magic will fail!” Another voice… Wait… Soarin knew that voice too! Celestia?! “Only those with a strong bond to Soarin can tear him free of his own demise! I’ll keep the darkness after us at bay! Save him!!!” What was going on? Why did it feel so familiar? Suddenly, Soarin felt something else grab him by the arms. However, unlike the pain of the first feeling… it felt warm… as if the touch was familiar… or something he had known for a long time. Whatever grabbed him pulled hard at his arms, trying to rip him free from the painful bindings that already had hold of him. Whatever was trying to pull him free… was failing. He could feel the grip on his arms slipping. “DAMMIT SOARIN WAKE UP!” A third voice? He recognized this one the instant it yelled. Spitfire! What was going on? Dash, Celestia and Spitfire? “What kind of little wimp sleeps when he’s being eaten alive? You’ve gotta be kidding me! GET ON YOUR HOOVES!” Spitfire’s voice… brutal as ever… but she was right! Why was he laying still? Why wasn’t he fighting the pain?! “Uhn—huh?!” Soarin suddenly sputtered and his eyes squeaked open. There was nothing. He couldn’t see anything even with his eyes open. Pitch black… save for two ponies. Spitfire holding his right arm and Dash holding his left. Something was trying to pull him down, but they were fighting to keep it from happening. Soarin realized the situation. They were fighting for his life and he was just laying there like a dumbass. He suddenly felt strength return in his body. He positioned himself to push. All he needed was one good thrust and he would get free with the help of Dash and Spitfire… But… “AH!” Dash suddenly yelped as ribbons of darkness reached up from below and wrapped around her. Soarin watched in horror as her hooves released from his arm. She cried out endlessly in excruciating pain as the darkness began to engulf her. “Dash?!” He yelled out. “DASH!!!!!” He couldn’t get to her… Spitfire’s grip was loosening… And soon he would fall… “DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!” “AHHHH!!!!! AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Soarin sat upright in bed. His body was covered in sweat, and ached all over. His eyelids were stuck open to the point where it hurt, his breathing was erratic, and his heart pounded in his chest like a hammer against a stubborn nail. He was in his room. All four walls were safely around him. But that didn’t matter… that was the third time he had had that dream. It always ended the same way… with Dash being pulled away from him and… who knows what after that’s what always scared him awake. But it also felt so familiar… like it was something he had gone through before. “OH! OW! AGRH!!! AHHH!!!!” Soarin’s hooves flew to his head. A migraine pushed itself into his brain so suddenly. “AH!!!!!” He cried out as a faint blue glow shimmered around the fake horn. “RGHH!!! ARGH!!!!” He grunted and thrust his head downward, smacking his head against his knees, looking for some sort of relief from the pain. “Simmer…” a voice suddenly spoke quietly as something touched Soaring’s forehead above the horn. “Ah!!!! Ah…” Soarin exhaled as the pain slowly disappeared. His vision was distorted… but upon opening his eyes he could make out a very familiar figure. It was Discord. “Hmm… you almost had it that time…” Discord spoke as Soarin slowly lay back down in his bed. “What have we been teaching you for? You’re telling me you can’t keep it down?” he berated as Soarin continued to lay still and pant. “Dash…” he sputtered. “Rainbow… Dash…” he forced out. “I know what you want…” Discord sat down on the edge of the bed. “But I won’t let her in here unless YOU have control of the magic,” he made perfectly clear. “So either you figure it out… or you’re shit out of luck.” “Rainbow Dash!” Soarin spoke louder. Discord crossed his arms and scoffed. “I’m warning you Soarin…” he began. “I’m giving you a chance I shouldn’t. If I had it my way you’d already be dead… don’t make me consider going against Celestia’s word.” Soarin felt Discord’s finger against his head again. “I can’t always be here to calm the magic… you have to figure out how to do it… this is your last warning… Don’t make me think twice about not killing you.” Discord made perfectly clear. Soarin couldn’t see Discord because his eyes were slammed shut, but he heard the distinct POP of Discord disappearing. He was left alone… his body numb… the magic hardly under control… and a reoccurring nightmare of Dash being consumed by darkness… Why did everything have to be so… difficult? --- To Be Continued ---