//------------------------------// // Chapter 52: Showtime Nerves // Story: Piercing the Heavens // by Calm Wind //------------------------------// MLP: FiM Piercing the Heavens By: Calm Wind Chapter 52: “Like this?” “No…” “Like this?” “No…” “Like this?” “No…” “Like—” “SON OF A BITCH! NO!” Blaze grabbed her mane and yanked on it as Twister sat in front of her casually with his entire body on fire... seemingly unfazed by the flames. Art by: mlplover789 Blaze angrily whipped around and looked towards Wave Chill across the multi-purpose gym. “WAVE! I NEED SOME WATER OVER—” “Like this?” Twister suddenly held his hoof out in front of Blaze’s face. The fire around his body was completely gone and now fully controlled and concentrated within his hoof. Blaze turned and glared at him flatly. Art by: mlplover789 “I oughtta beat you senseless and shitless…” she hissed at him as his pupils began subtly making circles around his eyes… in opposite directions. The other recruits nearby began backing away from him slowly. Wave had turned towards them, but stopped when he saw all the fire was under control. “I guess not…” Wave shrugged as he turned back to Matteo and Squall, but they were both completely drenched with empty buckets of water beside them. The rest of the recruits were dripping as well. “Oh… sorry, I should’ve been paying attention…” he sheepishly chuckled as they glared at him. Off to their right, High Winds was showing wing movements to Little Star and some others. “It’s all in the initial movement and the follow through…” she yawned and smacked her lips, pausing for ten seconds. “The motion from a dead stop is—” she pushed her wing down. A small, but strong burst of wind pushed towards the recruits. They all lightly braced themselves, flinching only a little as the wind hit them, except for— “Whooooaaaaa!!!” Little Star was sent tumbling across the gym, colliding with Blaze and knocking her over. Winds blinked and sighed. “Really? Again?” she pouted sleepily as multiple obscenities came from Blaze’s direction. Winds looked at the other recruits who had held their ground. “Can one of you rope her down or something? I’d like to be able to breathe without punting her to Appleoosa…” she was about to continue, but a volt of electricity suddenly struck the ground right beside her hoof. “WHOA!” she blinked and looked towards Silver, who was glaring at Rainbow Dash, who was grimacing as she looked where the lightning flew after mishandling it. Winds waved. “Should I move over? What mile radius do I need not to get zapped? That’s the third time!” she yelled lazily… which was something only she could truly pull off. “Sorry ma’am!” Dash quickly apologized before she turned back to Silver and flinched as he met his stern gaze. “What is it Skittles?” he leaned in, completely getting in her face. “You’ve got a problem with lightning?” he asked. Dash opened her mouth to answer but only a squeak was released before she slammed her mouth shut again. “Pardon?” Silver held an ear to her. “Sir! I… uh…” Dash bit her lip. “You don’t seem to have a problem with wind, water, or fire… what’s your deal with lightning?!” he yelled. Dash honestly didn’t know what to say. She had been perfect with the other elements so far… well, at least water and wind. Fire took some trial and error, but she eventually got that down. Lighting was… different. She couldn’t do it. Every time she received even a small bundle of electricity… her hooves began to shake. She would fight to keep them steady, but it never worked. She would lose control and it would bounce from her hooves. Hooves shaking… was she afraid of lightning? Her? Afraid of something? That seemed unlikely, but what if it was a phobia? How could it be a phobia? She couldn’t recall any time she had had any sort of traumatic experience with… Oh… right… Rainbow Dash came streaking in, driving her hooves full speed into Descent’s side. Descent’s hooves were ripped free from Soarin, as Dash directed him towards the thunder clouds. She hoped Soarin still had control of his flight, and if he did she hoped he wouldn’t try to help her. She was on a collision course with the thunder clouds, but that’s exactly what she wanted. She had risked her safety to come and help Soarin. He now had a chance to stop the tornado and she’d give him what for if he ignored the opportunity she gave him to save her home. Descent growled and snapped at Dash as she pushed him as the lightning packed into his body sparked and sputtered around him. She could feel some of the electricity passing into her, but she kept stretched out full length, remembering what Soarin had said about controlling lightning. If she let up at all she knew Descent would beat her to a pulp. She aimed them right at the group of storm clouds that were pulsating with electricity, hoping to give Descent a double dose of thunderstorm to cool off his hot temper. She drove him into the clouds, the energy stored inside instantly being displaced by the energy within Descent’s body. It almost acted like a magnet, drawing the rest of the energy towards him. Dash tried to pull back, but ribbons of electricity crashed against her, surging through her body. She felt herself being dragged closer. She desperately shielded herself. And the shock and explosion that followed were most definitely the most painful thing she had ever experienced… even more so than when Nightshade had been stomping on her head right before it. The energy felt like it burned her body inside and out, pricking her insides with thousands of electrically charged needles. She physically whimpered and shivered as the memory flowed in post realization. Silver’s glare instantly faded and he pulled his head back. He looked her over carefully, tipping his head from side to side as he analyzed her expression and the way her body lightly jittered. “Go work on fire some more,” he ordered while walking past her. She was about to turn but he slowed down and leaned closer to her. “We’ll talk about it tomorrow,” he whispered to her before nudging her towards Blaze. Dash stopped for a brief moment to glance at Silver as he barked at the recruits to pay attention. She suddenly felt mortified. Silver, as he let her know often, had incredible expectations for her. She just sputtered and whimpered in front of him over a sudden fear of lightning from past trauma. We'll talk about it tomorrow Why did that feel so ominous? She began a slow trot over to Blaze, now dreading what this meant for her. Had she disappointed Silver? She couldn’t be sure, but the bad possibilities were overshadowing the good. She made her way past the other recruits towards Blaze, a look of worry clearing in both her face and the way she moved. Squall watched Dash trot towards Blaze as he continued to try and dry himself off with a towel after the small water accident. Dash’s confident step was gone, and she looked afraid. Squall eyed her carefully, as if intrigued. “We’re not perfect…” Matteo suddenly spoke up beside him. Squall flinched and took a step away from Matteo, acting like he hadn’t heard. “And neither are you,” he added. Squall’s eyes widened and he glared towards Matteo. “Huh?!” he grunted while turning to face Matteo. Matteo didn’t look at him. He only released a small grunt as he began wiping off his head with the towel. “Just a thought… it’s not like we’re all really that different… wouldn’t you say?” he said as he continued to vigorously rub the towel over his head feathers. The instant he stopped, all the feathers from his neck up puffed out, making his head look like a white fluffy ball. “Dammit…” Squall’s glare faded, replaced by a look of confusion. He kept looking at Matteo as the big griffon tried to smooth out his head feathers, but gritted his teeth and quickly turned away. Matteo glanced towards Squall, cracking a brief smirk before grumbling over his feathers some more. Spitfire readied her hooves as the fireball closed in. When it was roughly a foot away from her, Spitfire brought her hooves in, clapping them over the flames. The ball exploded, shooting flames towards her and up her arms. Her speed prevented her from catching fire, but she worked to control the flame, keeping it around her arms as she turned back and began heading towards Fleetfoot, who had clouds in tow. Air Mach landed on the ground and Soarin dropped down beside him soon after “Ready?” Soarin nodded to Mach. “Lead the way!” Mach grinned. Soarin set his hooves firmly on the ground. He proceeded through his motions to execute the Sonic Blastoff. A loud BOOM sounded out as Soarin exploded up towards Fleetfoot and Spitfire. The force of the sonic boom crashed against Air Mach. He held firm against the force while smirking at giving chase as soon as he was stable. Spitfire and Fleetfoot drew near each other on a collision course. They grew closer and closer, Fleetfoot with the four clouds in tow and Spitfire with the flames hovering and streaking around her like an aura. “Disperse!” Spitfire yelled as she shook her hooves roughly, shedding the flames from her body. Fleetfoot ceased her spinning and released the clouds from the whirlwind. They both shifted slightly to pass right by each other, and as they did they pushed off each other’s hooves, sending themselves in opposite directions, clear from the paths of the flames and the clouds. The fire crashed into the clouds, the two forces cancelling each other’s speed and stopping in midair, creating a pillar of combusting clouds. Soarin zoomed upward, still speeding up from his Sonic Blast-off. He punched a hoof forward as he collided with the bottom of the cloud pillar, going right through the bottom cloud as well as the other three as he moved up. The clouds burst and expanded creating four growing rings of fire in his wake. He slowed down and hovered in place about the rings with a lingering trail of fire dying in his path. Air Mach held in the urge to yell out triumphantly as he flew up after Soarin, passing through the rings as he began spinning violently. His spinning caused a whirlwind like Fleetfoot, but his had opposite cross breezes, sucking the rings of fire back in. Air Mach ceased spinning as he reached Soarin above the rings and they watched as the rings capsized and exploded in a fireworks fashion as they crashed in on themselves. The crowd erupted in roaring cheers and thunderous applause. Soarin pulled up beside Air Mach as the two slowly glided back down towards Spitfire and Fleetfoot on the ground. Soarin smirked as he saw Air Mach smiling wider than ever before, reveling in the crowd’s awe as the lingering flames from the explosion slowly fell with them. It was both strange and cool to see Air Mach almost speechless. “Feels good, doesn’t it?” Soarin asked. Mach looked towards Soarin and nodded while visibly shivering. “Yeah… it’s incredible…” he nodded. Soarin reached a hoof out towards him. “Welcome to the lead squad Mach… and nice job,” Soarin congratulated Mach as the two bumped hooves. They landed beside Spitfire and Fleetfoot and joined them in waving at the enormous crowd. Equine-Nox Stadium was by far the largest in Equestria. The infield was surrounded on all sides with three decks that had a max seating capacity of 120,000… and the show had a sellout crowd. Upon hearing of the return of the lead squad to the shows, the tickets were sold out quickly. They were definitely making an enormous revenue mark from this show. The lead squad continued waving and turning to make sure they faced every direction before they lifted off and began gliding back towards the tunnel entrance connected to their waiting room. Fleetfoot flew backwards while blowing kisses to the crowd as they all eventually made it to the short tunnel and landed… before breathing sighs of relief. “Great to see all this unexpected time off hasn’t made us rusty,” Spitfire removed her goggles and whipped her head around to get loose strands of her wind-blown mane out of her eyes. “Good work guys… and Mach,” Spitfire pointed at Air Mach. “Superb performance. Way to answer the call,” she patted him on the back. “Doesn’t matter how much I do that, my heart always races…” Fleetfoot commented, pushing her goggles up on her forehead, and patting her chest as they walked down the tunnel. Air Mach was on his hooves and pressing against her side in an instant. “Wanna do something else that’ll make your heart race? I’ve been told I’m superb you know!” he claimed confidently, using Spitfire’s own words about him. Fleetfoot flattened her brow and glanced at him. “I hear you fall flat in that regard,” she replied monotonously. Air Mach flinched. “Ooo… ouch… metaphorical blow to the stallionhood…” he groaned as he backed away. Spitfire glanced at Soarin as they drew near the waiting room. He looked… worried. “What’s up Soarin?” Spitfire asked as she shifted towards him. Soarin blinked and looked up. “Huh? Oh… nothing. I’m just preparing myself for media bombardment after the show… 120,000 ponies just saw me with this after all…” he pointed towards the horn. “RIGHT?!” Fleetfoot squeezed herself between them while giggling. “You’re gonna have to explain to all of Equestria why you’re wearing a strap on!” she lost herself in a fit of giggles as Soarin groaned. He glanced at Spitfire and caught her trying and failing to hold back a smirk. Fancy Pants just HAD to say it out loud. In reality Soarin wasn’t thinking about the press. That was going to be a hassle, but as soon as his mind was off of the show it went right back to wondering about the two little incidents of somepony possibly following him. He felt paranoid for thinking about it again, but he had a recent history with ‘shadowy figures’ so he had plenty of personal reasons to at least be alert. “That was awesome guys!” Autumn Rain complimented the lead squad as they entered the small waiting room filled with couches and comfy chairs. “Autumn! Focus!” Point Dex ordered, making Autumn flinch and turn right back to the rest of squad seven. “Just like we practiced. Stay in formation and listen for my commands before shifting. Got it?” Dex asked as he looked at the other three members. “Got it!” Autumn nodded. “Oh YEAH!” Macho Savage pounded his chest. Point Dex looked towards Storm. Storm was literally staring into space. “Well, Storm?” Dex spoke to him. Storm suddenly broke from his daydream and nodded very quickly. “Uh! Y-y-yes sir!” he continued to nod vigorously while breathing at a very quickened pace. Dex took a long, careful look at Storm, lifting an eyebrow one before nodded in response. “Okay then… we’re on in three, be ready!” Dex pointed out. As soon as the huddle broke, Storm frantically cantered away from the rest, standing in the corner. He drew looks from the other Wonderbolts present as he frantically reached into a pouch on his Wonderbolt uniform and pulled the letter from his father out. He looked it over several times, but it was not having the desired effect. Soarin saw the whole thing from huddle to corner. He quickly trotted up to Storm. “Storm… breathe…” Soarin said before anything else. Storm pressed the letter to his chest, feeling the rapid thumping of his heart as he nearly hyperventilated. Soarin placed his hoof on Storm’s back and he could immediately feel the shaking and the constant fill and release of Storm’s lungs as he breathed heavily. “Storm…” Soarin narrowed his eyes into a stern stare. “RELAX,” Soarin said with a harsh tone. “Take deep breaths. Inhale... exhale…” he advised as Storm listened and did as he was told. “Now look at me,” Storm forced him to turn around. “S-sir?” Storm blinked as Soarin glared at him. “You will do FINE. Don’t worry about messing up. This was short notice, but you have had plenty of training… FOCUS!” Soarin put a hoof to Storm’s forehead. Storm flinched and his eyes widened slightly. “There is no crowd, there is no anxiety… you are in a practice gym back at the compound. Visualize that,” Soarin suggested. Storm continued to take rapid breaths. Soarin sighed. “But before you do any of that… BREATHE! B-R-E-A-T-H-E!” Soarin spelled it out for him. “Steady and relaxed. “One minute!” Point Dex yelled out. “Listen Storm. Just stick next to Autumn as you have throughout your training. That’s your position in the formation… right?” he asked. Storm said nothing. He simply nodded quickly. “Then do that,” Soarin smiled. “You’ve got this. No regrets okay?” “O-okay…” Storm swallowed and took a deep breath, exhaling as he stepped towards the tunnel where the rest of squad seven was gathering. He quickly folded the piece of paper, tapped it against his chest, and tucked it back into the pouch on his uniform. “Oh damn…” Fleetfoot grimaced as she walked up to Soarin. “This isn’t gonna go well, he looks like he’s about to throw up,” she commented as she examined Storm’s demeanor. “I have faith in him…” Soarin nodded. He waited for Dex to give the go ahead and for them to be out of earshot before he spoke again. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if he made a mistake…” Soarin added regretfully. “Hopefully not more than one… the poor kid looks like he’s about to explode.” “Welp, don’t look at me, Spitty is the one who ranked him so high,” Fleetfoot shrugged before moving towards the tunnel. “C’mon! Let’s go watch!” she suggested. Soarin looked towards the rest of the Wonderbolts as he took his first step to follow Fleetfoot. However, he saw something… and this time he knew he wasn’t imagining something. It was only for a second, but a pony head was poking around the doorway, looking into the waiting room. It disappeared before Soarin could make any distinctions, but it was clear somepony was looking in. Soarin quickly rushed for the door, actually knocking aside two members from the lower squads as he did. Soarin grabbed the edge of the door way and looked out. Nothing. There was a long slightly curved hallway to his left and to his right. He growled quietly to himself before taking a deep breath and exhaling. “Soarin?" Spitfire walked up to him as Soarin stepped back into the waiting room. “What is it?” she asked as Soarin looked back and narrowed his eyes towards the doorway. “Thought I saw something…” he said as the two joined Fleetfoot. “What was that all about?” Fleetfoot also asked. Soarin merely shook his head. Fleetfoot lifted an eyebrow before picking up to a canter. “Well come on! They’re about to start! I don’t want to miss Storm’s first show!” she exclaimed as Soarin and Spitfire increased their pace as well. Soarin decided to leave it be. Some crazy fan must’ve just snuck by security. There was no way to tell if all of his suspicions were related. Somepony passing him in the station, somepony rushing to get on the train, and a sneaky fan peeking at their idols. None of it was farfetched. He had to relax like he had just told Storm. It was time to see their new elite acquisition in action. Soarin just hoped Storm remain strong throughout. Air Mach was already at the end of the tunnel, eyes locked on his former squad. Fleetfoot made sure to position herself on the other side of Spitfire and Soarin as they approached and joined him. “WONDERBOLT SQUAD SEVEN!” the announcer’s voice echoed through the air as said squad flew up and waved to the crowd. All except Storm, who looked as stiff as a brick. “Featuring Point Dex!” Dex did a small back flip in the air. “Machoooooooooooooooo Savage!” “OHHHHHHHHHHHHH YEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!” Savage yelled out while flexing. “Autumn Rain!” The announced continued. Autumn smiled and waved both arms out to the crowd. “And… Storm Front!” the announcer clearly hesitated, seeing a new name on the roster. He had to look twice. Storm didn’t do anything until Autumn leaned over and whispered something to him. Storm Flinched and quickly sheepishly waved to the crowd. “He looks terrified… I should’ve changed up the squads…” Spitfire grimaced as she kept her eyes on Storm. Soarin shook his head. “Squad seven’s been at the compound too long, and the other three were due for a big show. There was no way around it,” Soarin patted her on the shoulder. “We chose him, so let’s see how he does.” “Five bits says he makes two mistakes,” Fleetfoot suddenly spoke up. “FLEET!” Both Spitfire and Soarin yelled as she giggled. “Sheesh, I’m kidding! Un-bunch your flight suits from your asses…” she stole a quick glance at Air Mach. He was completely focused on his old squad. Fleet had rarely seen determination in his eyes (which she could see behind his ridiculous sunglasses.) He really cared about his old squad. He was an annoying dumbass… but at least his heart was in the right place. Squad seven dispersed as Dex gave the order and began their routine. It was a much less complicated routine than the lead squad’s, a simple synchronized flight show with added effects and cloud busting. The synchronization was split into two halves. Dex and Savage flew together and Storm and Autumn flew together. The pairs would do their own maneuvers, coming back together every few moves for a special effect or a full squad maneuver before breaking apart again. Storm didn’t look relaxed in the slightest. From all the way down in the tunnel Soarin could see it clear as day… and as he feared… Storm blundered. In fact Storm made FOUR errors throughout the course of the show. None of them were show stoppers, but they were all fairly noticeable, especially to the lead squad. The first was very minor. He took a turn to tightly and cut off Autumn in the process. The two didn’t lose their timing with Dex and Savage, but they had to adjust and fix the bad move. It did nothing to hinder the process, but it clearly effected Storm’s confidence… in that it left it completely shattered. He made three more mistakes. Two of which were missed cues that were easily fixed, but the fourth was pretty bad. They had to reset a formation run and do it over half way through because Storm broke off in the wrong direction, bumping wings with Dex. It earned a loud gasp from the crowd and forced the two of them into a light tumble. Autumn and Savage helped them regain control and Dex, without saying anything specifically to Storm, calmly ordered them to just restart the stunt. Storm did it perfectly the second time, and their final stunt went unhindered as well… but the damage had been done. The crowd cheered and applauded as they finished. There wasn’t quite as much gusto in the response as the first, but it was typical, the lead squad always got the most applause. “Shouldn’t have put him up to this… I shouldn’t have…” Spitfire turned around and paced in a circle, berating herself. “Spitfire, stop…” Soarin huffed as he looked at her. “He would’ve been nervous in his first show no matter where or when his first—” “Whoa!” Fleetfoot yelped. Soarin and Spitfire turned to see Storm the first one back in the tunnel. He nearly shoved past Fleetfoot as he reached for his goggles. “Storm,” Spitfire tried to get him to stop. Storm ripped his goggles off his face and threw them aside as he broke into a gallop towards the waiting room. “STORM FRONT!” Spitfire yelled and turned to chase. She got two steps away before she felt a very painful yank on her plot. “OW!” she yelped as she looked back to see Soarin with a hold of her tail. She glared at him, but he only shook his head in response. “Let me handle this…” he nodded to her. Spitfire growled at him. “Soarin, it is my responsibility as lead captain—” “To let me talk to him,” Soarin cut her off, taking on her glare without flinching. Spitfire flattened her brow and pouted angrily. “That’s not funny Soarin…” she said, but it didn’t sway Soarin. “Stallion to stallion talk,” Soarin patted her on the back as he walked past her before she could protest some more. Spitfire took a deep breath and rolled her eyes. “Fine… but make it quick, we have an encore retro show after squad twelve and eighteen go,” she reminded him. “I won’t be long,” Soarin assured her before continuing after Storm. He didn’t get very far though. “Did someone say STALLION TALK?!” Air Mach zipped up besides Soarin. “I’m an expert! Sign me the hell up!” “Absolutely not,” Soarin said flatly. Mach looked hurt. “Commander! You need all the help you can get to reignite the burning passion of Storm’s soul! I guarantee I can do it in the blink of an eye!” he kept going on and on without sign of giving up. Soarin felt like a douche for doing this, but he didn’t have time to confront Mach. “Sorry Fleet…” Soarin mumbled to himself before turning to Mach. “Actually Mach, you may want to go talk to Fleetfoot! I heard she wants to take you out after the show!” Soarin glanced back towards Spitfire and Fleetfoot, seeing the visible twitch in Fleetfoot as her ears stood straight up. Mach’s grin grew three sizes as he turned back towards Fleetfoot. “I KNEW SHE WOULD! IT’S ABOUT DAMN TIME, TOO!” he yelled out as he bounced towards her. “SOARIN!!!!!!!!!!!!” Fleetfoot yelled out in rage. Soarin knew he would pay for that one later, but for the time being it did the job. He stopped before moving on, turning back for a moment to pick up the goggles Storm had thrown aside before he trotted down the tunnel to follow. “Again!” Fire Streak yelled as he and Lightning put up guards side by side. They were only wearing the padded arm guards of the training armor. Dash sprung towards Fire, donning a full suit of training armor. She threw a punch into Fire’s guard as he crossed his arms top cushion the force. At the same time beside them… “Aw hell…” Lightning sighed as he braced himself and did his best to anchor his hooves. Matteo zoomed past Dash and landed a heavy blow into Lightning’s guard. Lighting’s hooves instantly buckled under the force, but he leaned back and flapped his wings up to propel himself into a back flip and land back on his hooves. Dash glanced towards them as she watched Matteo pursue, but she quickly regretted it. “Pay attention!” Fire yelled as he delivered a blow to her head-guard. “Ah!” Dash grunted as she put her hooves back up and started throwing more punches towards Fire. He wasn’t as skilled or rough as Silver, but he was doing his job well. Finally some real combat. They had been doing nothing but defense training for the first four weeks. There was a collective cheer when Silver revealed they would be allowed to take some shots at Wonderbolts finally… which resulted in them doing wing-ups, but it didn’t matter. Combat training had been a bore, and after how many times they put up with Wonderbolts repeatedly punching at their defenses, many recruits were more than ready to throw a few back. To make it even better, squad three was brought in to assist with the session. Silver had his eyes trained carefully on Dash. Watching her as she fought Fire. Fire Streak was a disciplined, seasoned fighter, but it looked like Dash was actually making him work hard. Silver nodded in approval as he glanced at Lightning and Matteo. It didn’t matter how ‘skilled’ Lightning was, Matteo was three times his size and strength, so it put him at a disadvantage in a situation where he couldn’t fight back. Lightning ducked and weaved more than he blocked. Matteo’s blows were strong, but slow and easily predicted. He seemed to have a problem with telegraphing his attacks. There wasn’t much variety. Matteo kept his eyes and attacks forward. He didn’t use any feints or body shifts. Silver made a mental note to address that, Matteo had incredible strength, but that would only take the griffon so far. Fire deflected a kick from Dash, grabbed her leg and gently spun her, disorienting her just long enough to back up and make a sharp two toned whistle towards Lightning. Lightning’s ears perked up as he ducked and whipped around the side of Matteo. He turned and saw Fire make a motion that ended in him clapping his hooves stiffly together. Lightning nodded before yelping and throwing his hooves up to block a hard punch. It sent him flying, but right towards Fire. Fire backed towards his brother as Lightning managed to back flip again and land. They went back to back as Dash and Matteo careened towards them. Fire smirked. “Shift-n-switch!” Fire yelled. He leaned forward, letting Lighting fall back as their backs remained together. Dash and Matteo blinked as they saw the sudden maneuver, neither of them expecting to be attacked by the other twin. Lightning rolled off his brother’s back and landed a kick into Dash’s cheek-guard. Fire scooted out below Lightning and pressed his hooves hard to the ground, delivering a body blow into Matteo’s chest. Dash was sent in the opposite direction by Lightning’s kick and Fire’s attack propelled Matteo up and over the twins uncontrollably. Dash landed roughly on the ground, her eyes widening as Matteo’s massive body came falling towards her. She rolled out of the way just in the nick of time as Matteo crashed less than an inch beside her, bouncing once before immediately anchoring his talons into the mat and rounding himself upright. Dash scrambled to her hooves as the twins approached. They had switched targets. Lightning was now heading for her and Fire was aiming for Matteo. Dash readied herself. Lightning was a few feet in front of Fire and Matteo was further back than her. She’d clash with Lightning before anything else. At first it seemed like the Wonderbolts were only on the defensive, but it looked like they were turning up the heat a little bit and throwing some punches of their own. Lighting had pulled back to throw a punch… and in the instant before he attacked, Dash saw an opportunity. She thought back to when Silver fought Soarin. Silver had ways to counter opponents stronger than him… and one in particular came to mind. Dash twisted her body to the right while reaching both arms out. She forced her body back, her left hoof swinging around and batting lightning’s hoof away while her right arm launched towards his face within the same motion. Lightning barely had a chance to blink. THWACK Fire came to a sudden, complete stop and turned to see his brother fly backwards and bounce to a halt on his back. He blinked and glanced at Dash in surprise as Lightning propped himself up and shook his head out with a light bruise on his cheek. “PFFFFFFFFFHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!” Everything in the battle dome stopped and everypony turned to Silver. Silver Lining fell back while laughing hysterically, rolling around on the ground while kicking his hooves and clutching his sides. “Woohoooo! Hooohaaaa! HEEEEEHAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH!!!!!!” It was actually a little disturbing. A moment later, Dash suddenly realized all eyes were on her, including Fire again. She glanced about as Matteo walked up beside her, glancing between her and Lightning as Lightning slowly got up. Dash caught Matteo staring at her, put her hooves behind her back, and grinned sheepishly. “Uh… oops?” she chuckled as Silver finally simmered down, rolled over, stood, and walked towards Dash. He stopped and tossed a glare at everypony still staring, causing them all to instantly go back to training, before he continued towards her. He was smiling and snickering the whole way, a rare sight indeed. “What’s the matter son!?” Silver called to Lightning. Lightning finally got back to his hooves and cracked his neck before blinking and staring at Dash. Silver couldn’t stop chuckling. “So what’s it like to finally have a mare touch you without being drunk?” he taunted. Lightning flattened his ears, keeping his usual lackadaisical expression and shaking his head. “Cold, Old Timer… real cold…” he huffed as he walked towards them. “Miss Dash… how did you do that?” Fire asked, still trying to figure out how his brother got the offensive reversed on him so easily by a recruit. “Uh…” Dash wasn’t ready to answer, but Silver did for her. “She used a twisting reversal deflection following with a punch using the momentum caused by it,” he explained. “In other words… she copied one of my favorite combat tactics,” Silver smirked, glancing at Dash before snickering at Lightning some more. “So much for pain free assistance…” Lightning complained as he moved his jaw around to make sure it was still in place. Silver turned and nodded to Dash and Matteo. “Not bad you two… take a breather,” he said with satisfaction before going to observe the other recruits. Fire and Lightning watched Dash and Matteo move on before smiling at his brother. “Those two are quite good… we’ve got quite a recruit class here…” he stated as Lightning kept rubbing his cheek. “Mmhmm…” Lightning replied, visibly a little upset he got punched in the face. Dash and Matteo walked back to the center of the battle dome where a few recruits were resting in between their turns. “Copying techniques of your colleagues and superiors…” Matteo spoke as the two sat down. Dash blinked and looked up at him. “Knocking down opponents that are far superior to you…” he smirked and glanced down at Dash. “It’s a shame you aren’t a griffon,” he chuckled. Dash flattened her ears and smirked. “Nice backhooffed—” she paused and glanced at his talons. “Er… backtaloned compliment.” “I only speak the truth, you’d fit right in,” Matteo nodded before glancing around. His eyes landed on Twister… who was fighting Surprise. Dash followed Matteo’s eyes and hers widened upon seeing it. Twister and Surprise weren’t really fighting, it looked more like a fake-out contest. Every time one of them went in for an attack, they faked and circled around. All the while yelling— “NUH-UH!” Twister circled around her. “UH-HUH!” she circled around him. “NUH-UH!” “UH-HUH!” “NUH-UH!” “UH-HUH!” “NUH-UH!” “UH-HUH!” “NUH-UH!” “UH-HUH!” Dash’s ears flopped down. “Who let THEM fight each other?!” Dash yelled out while throwing her hooves forward. “Have you talked to Twister lately?” Matteo suddenly asked her. Dash glanced up at Matteo quizzically. “First Squall, now Twister? You’ve got strange taste in desired squadmates big fella,” Dash commented while letting her body relax. “You’ve had the same problems with Twister?” Matteo asked. Dash blinked and shook her head. “Oh no, not at all. Twister is just… you know…” “Strange?” Matteo finished for her. Dash rolled her eyes. “That’s like calling the weather on the sun ‘a little warm…’ Matty, Twister has so many screws loose. I’ve never had a full conversation with him, and he tied me up and recited self-composed poetry to me in the mare’s bathroom one night,” she listed. Matteo sharply turned to her with an eyebrow lifted as high as possible. “P-pardon?” he said while blinking. “You heard me. Tied me up, sat me on a stool, and read me a poem with the lights off in the mare’s bathroom. He’s definitely skilled and a good flyer, but seriously, what?” Dash finished ranting. “Very well, let’s leave him be for now,” Matteo decided. “IF ONLY IT WERE THAT EASY!” Twister popped out of the feathers on Matteo’s back and hung his neck like a vulture over Matteo’s shoulder to stare at Dash. Dash yelped and fell back as Matteo grimaced and arched his neck away. “HEY!” Surprise popped out of Matteo’s feathers right behind Twister. “I’m not finished with you!” she growled, tackling Twister back into Matteo’s feathers. The instant they disappeared they were back out in their sparring spot, continuing the game of cat and mouse fake outs. Dash and Matteo glanced at each other before silently agreeing to drop the subject so as not to encourage Twister’s randomness. Dash took a deep breath and exhaled, making sure to let her body rest in case called upon again for another go at one of the Wonderbolts. She felt better now. Earlier, she was worried that she disappointed Silver with her lack of willingness to handle lightning. However, he seemed thoroughly impressed with her just now after she clocked Lightning Streak across the jaw unexpectedly. Heh… ironic… she was worried about a fear of lightning and dispelled it by hitting an idiot named Lightning… Dash glanced over to her right and caught a glimpse of Thunderlane trying to land hits on Misty Fly. Dash turned to get a better look and chuckled at what she saw. Misty had her eyes closed. She was defending and deflecting Thunderlane’s attacks using her single sense fighting tactic. Thunderlane wasn’t going to land a single hit. His movements caused more than enough displacements in the air around her. Her wings were extended and the tips of her feathers were feeling every bit of air movement nearby her. Thunderlane however, didn’t back down. His tryhard senses kicked in and he was throwing continuous punches, despite clearly tiring and sweating like crazy. Eventually Misty could feel the air movements weakening. She opened her eyes, catching one of Thunderlane’s hooves and then the other as he kept trying. Thunderlane glared at her for a moment, but then lightened his gaze as Misty slowly and gently moved Thunderlane’s hooves back to his chest while giving him a smile and a nod to indicate they were done. Thunderlane exhaled and fell back onto his plot, panting and wheezing. Misty looked up and around until her eyes landed on Fire Streak. She brought up her hooves and clapped them together four times, pausing between the second and third. Fire’s right ear stood up and turned towards the sound before he himself turned and looked towards Misty. She cheerfully waved at him and then beckoned for him to come to her. Fire, of course, was cantering towards her before she even waved. The two clap, pause, two clap. Whenever Misty wanted to get Fire’s attention, it was always two percussions, a pause, and then two more. It was a little personal understanding they had. Dash watched as Misty and Fire exchanged a few words via sign language before Fire turned and cleared his throat. It was hard to hear from where she sat, but Dash could make out what sounded like advice. Misty must’ve used Fire to relay pointers to Thunderlane. It made Dash smile. It had been a long time since her training day visit to the compound many months prior. The whole experience was incredible and extremely fun because of squad three. It was great to watch Fire and Misty work together again. She had nothing against Surprise and Lightning, but Fire and Misty were just so friendly and— Dash’s eyes widened as she saw Misty hug Fire incredibly tight after helping her. Fire’s face nearly turned the color of his mane. Dash had been on the receiving end of intense hugs, and she could tell even from where she sat… that wasn’t the kind of hug you gave to a typical friend. Dash found herself feeling a little speck of giddiness in her heart. She wasn’t a gossip queen or anything, but did she just see Misty give Fire an extra affectionate hug? Something about that just seemed… perfect to Dash’s interests, almost like a little sister going nuts over seeing her older brother and his marefriend hug. Dash was far from that kind of mare, but she liked Fire and Misty so much it felt so good to see it. That or it was just extra hilarious to see Fire streak trying to conceal a blush on his white fur. “Huh?” Dash perked up as she felt something tap her arm. She looked to her right to see Matteo taping a talon against her. “What?” she asked as she looked up at him. He pointed to their left. “He’s about to lose it again…” Matteo said. Dash scooted forward to see past Matteo’s massive body and saw Wave Chill working with Little Star and… Squall. Dash took a closer look to confirm what Matteo has just stated. Squall was in fact, glowering and baring his teeth as Wave was explaining something to him. “You had a good approach that time, but the blow wasn’t well timed or executed...” Wave stood beside him. “Here look at my movements and see if you can—” Dash grimaced as Squall released a loud growl. Wave and Little Star both instantly turned to him as well as many others nearby. “Dammit! I know how to fight already! I thought we were done with this stupid teaching shit!” Squall yelled right into Wave’s face. Wave took a step back and gave Squall a very stern glare. “Recruit, what right do you think you have to—” Wave’s scolding was cut off as Little Star zipped up in front of Squall. “Are you 500% STUPID or something?! How many times are you gonna make them consider kicking you out?!” she pressed one of her small hooves to his nose. “I swear, if you don’t shape up, I might just—” Then STAR was cut off as Silver stepped in, grabbed her out of the air and yanked her away, holding her by the tail over towards Wave. “Hold this for me, will you?” Silver ordered Wave as Little Star flailed while dangling upside down. “Uh… sure?” Wave reached up and grabbed Little Star, keeping her upside down as Silver put his full attention on Squall. Art by: CowgirlVK Silver pressed his hoof so hard against the chest guard of Squall’s training armor that a few buckles and straps snapped off from the pressure. “YOU,” Silver snarled. Dash gulped. Silver had mostly eased up at how much he yelled at them since they had started falling in line and getting used to things, but he had yelled at Squall often. “Think he’ll smile again?” Matteo said quickly. Dash blinked, but before she could respond— “YOU CAN’T GET MUCH DUMBER OR HEADSRTONG CAN YOU!? I’VE SEEN ROAD SIGNS WITH MORE PROMISING INTELLIGENCE THAN YOU!” Silver belted into his face as Wave slowly backed away while holding Little Star (still upside-down.) “SERIOUSLY?! I’VE WILLINGLY PUT UP WITH YOUR BIG HEAD SHIT-DICKERY! BUT I WILL NOT TOLERATE YOU GIVING THE ATTITUDE TO ANY OTHER SUPERIOR OFFICERS! IT’S LIKE YOU THINK YOU OWN THE PLACE! IF I WANTED TO KILL MYSELF, I WOULD CLIMB UP YOUR EGO AND SWAN DIVE TOWARDS YOUR IQ!!!!” Silver pulled back and glared down at Squall. However, Silver lifted an eyebrow in confusion. “You called it,” Dash said as she and Matteo observed. Squall was smiling again after being told off. Silver shook his head. “Does it get you off to be yelled at or something?” he asked a lot quieter. He got no response from Squall so he just shook his head and turned away. “You’ve got issues, son…” he scoffed. “Go sit the hell down and think about it,” he pointed towards the recruits resting in the middle of the mat. Silver stopped and looked as Star in Wave’s hooves, still upside-down with her arms crossed and pouting. Wave blinked and glanced down at Star. “Oh!” he reacted, quickly turning her upright. Silver pointed towards the rest area. “You two, Short Stack,” he ordered. Dash and Matteo watched as Squall and Little Star approached them. “I don’t get the smiling thing…” Matteo admitted while lightly shaking his head. “I’ve never seen anyone smile while being berated before…” “You and me both…” Dash agreed while scratching her head. The two remained silent as Squall and Little Star reached them. They split apart, Little Star taking a grumpy seat next to Matteo and Squall making at least ten feet of space between him and Dash before sitting down and the smile fading. Dash kept her eyes on Squall for a moment before turning back to Matteo. Matteo was looking straight down at her. She looked back up at him and shrugged, feeling like he was expecting her to do something. He made a subtle head motion towards Squall. Dash shrugged again. Matteo huffed and glared at her. Dash rolled her eyes and nodded before looking towards Squall. She took a deep breath and got up, walking towards him slowly. Get Squall to open up. Befriend him. Dash was still convinced Matteo had lost his mind. She and her friends back in Ponyville had made friends out of those one would least expect… but sometimes it just didn’t feel worth the trouble. Squall was an ass… and constantly did things to make him appear to be just a straight up terrible pony. But… if Matteo was certain it was worth a shot, she wouldn’t say no. First step, just be friendly. “Hey…” Dash said as she approached. Squall didn’t even look. Dash was convinced he was either ignoring her, or assumed she wasn’t talking to him. Since either seemed equally possible, she tried again. She cleared her throat loudly and took another few steps towards him. “HEY,” she said a little louder. Squall blinked and sharply looked at her with the usual scowl attached to his face. Dash resisted the extreme urge to roll her eyes at him before continuing. “Rough day, huh?” she said as she sat down beside him. She glanced briefly to see he still had the glare trained on her. Off to the side Matteo watched subtly. Even Little Star has poked her head around him to take a look, wondering what Dash was up to. “At least they’re finally letting us do some actually fighting,” Dash just gave simple small talk. “How did element training go for you this morning?” “What the hell do you want?” Squall harshly snapped at her. Back over by Matteo, Little Star growled in disapproval. She lifted up and began crossing in front of Matteo. When he saw her doing so, he quickly reached out a talon and grabbed her around the body. “Hey!” she yelped. Matteo opened his right wing and stuffed Star against his body before closing his large wing completely over her. He sat perfectly still and watched Dash work as his wing bulged and ruffled with Little Star struggling and fuming beneath it. Dash narrowed her eyes for a moment after Squall’s uncalled for remark, but took a deep breath and kept calm. “I’m just asking Squall,” she continued to speak softly. “Why the HELL do you wanna know?” he snarled. Dash looked straight into his glare. “Just curious about how a fellow recruit is doing, that’s all,” she stood up. “But if you want, I’ll leave you alone,” and without another word, Dash turned and walked back towards Matteo, who had turned to look elsewhere the instant Dash stood up. Squall’s eyes changed as soon as Dash turned to leave. He watched Dash until she was all the way back over to Matteo before looking back down at the ground… but not scowling. Dash and Matteo glanced at Squall. “Looks like you have him thinking…” Matteo commented. “Gilda always said you were the friendship type,” Matteo chuckled. Dash gave him a smarmy smirk. “I was wondering where this sudden faith in my friend making skills came from…” she joked. “Well, she’s right. It looks like he’s legitimately wondering why you bothered,” Matteo subtly eyed Squall from where they sat, which was easy for him to do since his eyes were much smaller and sharper than a pony’s eyes. “He looks unsure, he’s not used to somepony being so friendly and then tolerant,” Matteo flinched as he finished. “Ow! What the… Oh…right.” Dash glanced at Matteo and noticed him looking back at his right wing. It looked like something was moving beneath it. Matteo opened his wing and Little Star fell out of it to the ground with a yelp and a faint PLOP as she landed on her stomach. Dash snickered and eventually let a few laughs go when she realized Matteo had Star under lock and key in his own wing. “She was about to step in, had to stop her,” Matteo explained casually. Star glared at him. “You could’ve just SAID that!” she fumed at him. Matteo glanced all the way down at her. “With your rage tendencies, I couldn’t take any chances,” Matteo continued to talk in a completely serious tone despite how much Dash was laughing at the situation beside him. Off to the side, none of them knew that Squall was subtly looking towards them. Watching… And wondering. “Storm?” Soarin called out as he walked through the long, curved hallway of the lower levels of the stadium. The lower level was meant for performers and athletes only depending on what the day’s entertainment was. Soarin failed to see which direction Storm Front had turned after running off, so Soarin took a wild guess and took the right hall in case Storm tried to leave the stadium. As he walked, Soarin contemplated what had happened. He had learned more about Storm this one day than he had observing him in the tryouts and during his initial training. Storm had proven to be smart, kind, skilled, and level headed. To most, from the outside, he seemed like a perfect pony. Even with the family issues, he always had a smile on his face and was always quite to be friendly. Because of all this, Soarin, and most likely every other pony that knew him failed to think about the negative side of his life. It seemed like it was nonexistent… but maybe there was more to it. Something definitely showed through after his minor blunders in the show. It was clear why he was angry… but he threw his goggles down? He ran off? He ignored Spitfire? After how flawless he seemed? As the one who shared a little personal contact with him before they left on the train, Soarin felt like it was up to him to seek Storm out. Eventually… Soarin found Storm sitting with his back against the wall with his head down and his arms over his eyes a good twenty yards from the exit. Soarin breathed a sigh of relief as he slowed to a walk and approached him. He opened his mouth to say something, but felt like it was the wrong approach. Instead he let the quiet clip-clop oh his hooves indicate to Storm that somepony was near. As Soarin approached… he heard sniffling. As he grew closer, he saw wet stains on the arms of Storm’s flight suit. Storm was crying? Again, Soarin said nothing. He walked up right beside Storm, turned, and sat down beside him. Storm glanced up at Soarin for a very brief moment before putting his head back down. Soarin saw him move, but didn’t look. He stared straight forward as Storm cried into his arms. Storm was aware he was there, and that’s all Soarin wanted him to know. He wasn’t going to say anything until Storm did. Soarin knew he had only about twenty-five minutes until he had to go back out and perform in the encore, but rushing this situation would do nothing. If Storm remained quiet twenty-five minutes, then that’s all that would happen and Soarin would have at least offered him the option to speak. Luckily, Storm found his voice only after a few minutes. “So many ponies…” he said, his voice muffled by his arms. “So many ponies saw me mess up… oh god…” he picked his head up, tears streaming from his eyes. “I’ve… I’ve never felt more humiliated in my life…” he trailed off, but kept his head up this time. Soarin turned slightly to look at him, but again said nothing as Storm continued to sniffle. “I felt like I was being stabbed repeatedly in the heart… they all saw it… they all saw me fail…” he let his head fall back down for a moment before whipping it back and letting out a cry of frustration. It definitely surprised Soarin… but he was beginning to piece some things together. “I screwed up… after all the faith the Wonderbolts placed in me, I screwed up…” Storm wouldn’t stop referring to something he did wrong. He was terrified of failure, no matter how severe. Soarin took a good long look at him before sighing. “Storm…” Soarin finally spoke up. “You don’t like things going wrong… do you?” he asked. Storm’s eyes widened and he looked towards Soarin. “Your family life has been a living hell for you. You have a father that you love and care about, but a mother that constantly pushes him away… your life has felt wrong to you…” Soarin looked directly at Storm. “So you do whatever it takes to make things right… am I correct? This is also why you dislike violence isn’t it? It’s wrong unless you are protecting someone you care about… I can see it,” Soarin pointed out. Storm looked away so quickly his neck joints almost cracked. “Bulls-eye, huh?” Soarin released a light chuckle. He shook his head before looking towards Storm again. “It’s okay to be afraid of failure. Everypony is. By nature we wish to succeed by any means necessary. You have extra motivation to do so… but in the end, you are no different,” Soarin stared back forward. “Storm… I’m not here to sugarcoat this for you… you messed up,” he paused and looked at Storm as Storm sharply looked at him, mortified. “You messed up four times. That’s what happened… nothing can change that,” Soarin took a deep breath and exhaled. “You failed… but failing is part of life.” Storm’s sniffling calmed and he looked back forward. Soarin smiled. “You can’t be afraid of it, or assume it should never happen. If you didn’t fail, you would never grow. The greatest successes in life are only achieved after multiple failures… trust me, I’ve failed many more times that I’ve succeeded in my life,” he winked. Soarin took a good long look at Storm. Storm took in Soarin’s words, but laid his chin back down on his arms. As much as Soarin felt his little talk was good, it didn’t change the fact that Storm would be frustrated by the show. Soarin would be the same way. “Thanks Soarin… but still, they all saw it… It’s gonna be the talk of Equestria… Newbie Wonderbolt let into the high tier elites makes a fool of himself in front of a massive crowd…” Storm groaned as he thought about it. That is… until Soarin burst out laughing. “Storm… really… I doubt that,” Soarin snickered and shook his head. “THIS,” he pointed to the false horn. “Is going to be on the front page of every paper… this is the first time I’ve appeared on a mass stage with this stupid thing on my forehead… and trust me, the media follows the lead squad like a hawk,” Soarin winked. Storm cracked a small smile, but Soarin was convinced he was still feeling down. “Look Storm…” Soarin put a hoof on Storm’s shoulder. “You’re overthinking this. A lot of ponies came to see us today… and did you hear boos after squad seven finished? No. They applauded you guys. It’s not like every Wonderbolt show is mistake free. We do complicated and dangerous stuff, there’s always a margin of error. I’d like to think our fan-base is aware of that…” At this point Soarin felt like he was rambling, but at least it seemed like Storm was feeling a little better. He took the mistakes really hard, but it was his first show and he was feeling the pressure, so it was normal. At least to a point. Storm’s frustration and extreme fear of failing made it much worse on him than it needed to be. “I’m sorry, but nopony is allowed past this point…” a voice from further up caught Soarin’s attention. It was one of the security guards. “Oh… is that a VIP pass? I’m sorry, go right in,” the guard continued. Soarin blinked as he saw the shadow of a pony making their way around the corner. Storm took no notice, but as soon as the pony came into view, Soarin’s eyes widened and he smiled. He quickly stood up and leaned his head down to Storm’s. “Also… don’t forget about ponies that believe in you,” Soarin said with a big smile before turning and trotting away. Storm looked up at Soarin as he left, wonder what he meant by that. “Storm…?” a slightly raspy female voice caressed his ears and made them stand up to fast they almost shot off his head towards the ceiling. He instantly turned, fixing his tear stained eyes on the owner of the voice. “D-d-d-d-d-Derpy?” Storm stuttered her name. Indeed it was her, wearing a backstage VIP pass around her neck. “Hi!” She said cheerfully while blushing. “Y-you…” Storm felt tears welling up in his eyes again. “You came to see me perform?” “Of course!” she walked up to him, smiling while blushing madly. “You were… so cool out there…” she sheepishly complimented him. Storm just stared at her, slamming his eyes shut and letting a single tear fall from each eye before reaching forward and pulling her into a hug. “EEP!” she squeaked as he squeezed her, but returned the hug affectionately. Soarin peeked around the corner and smiled. He recalled seeing Storm and Derpy together all the time during the tryouts, her timing here couldn’t have been more perfect… but… how did she get her hooves on a VIP backstage pass? “Derpy… how did you get one of these, please tell me you didn’t spend all your bits for this just to see me…” Storm suddenly spoke up again. “Nope!” she replied happily. “Rainbow Dash gave it to me! It’s good for five seasons! I get to see you every time!” “Really?! Derpy that’s…” Soarin heard no more, assuming he hugged her again because she squeaked again. So that explains it. The VIP backstage pass Soarin gave to Dash so long ago wasn’t going to waste. Dash wouldn’t need it anymore. She gave it to Derpy so she could visit Storm… this was good. Storm would get a much needed confidence boost knowing he had a friend always watching from the crowd. Soarin glanced up at a clock nearby on the wall. He had been out with Storm for twenty minutes. “SHIT!” Soarin cursed as he broke into a gallop back towards the ready room. But he was happy… Seeing Storm work through his fears and learn from his mistakes was reminding Soarin of how much he fought through to become a Wonderbolt, and how much he had struggled through thus far with the crazy turn his life had taken. As much as he hoped he had been motivating to Storm… Storm was also motivating him. It was a good tradeoff. Now if only he could figure out if somepony was stalking him or not… Dammit… just when he had gotten the paranoia out of his head… ---To Be Continued---