//------------------------------// // Chapter 58: Drama in the Compound, and Twister Strikes Again // Story: Piercing the Heavens // by Calm Wind //------------------------------// MLP: FiM Piercing the Heavens By: Calm Wind Chapter 58: Chicken, rice, and peas… “Nice to know the mess hall is trying something different…” Dash grumbled to herself. Soarin warned her… he warned her back when she visited the compound. The mess hall food was repetitive and unappetizing… but she would get used to it. She seemed to be missing the ‘get used to it’ part. How had Soarin gone on this long with this food? It was no wonder he at least went out to Rusty’s for breakfast every once in a while. This food was bad enough to drive anypony nuts over time. But with a growling stomach… food was food. And she’d rather eat bad food than go hungry. Dash made her way down the aisle of tables. She never really had to look for a table to sit at because all she ever had to do was look for a big-ass griffon sticking out above the sea of ponies. She had her eyes locked on the back of Matteo’s head as she turned down the row and towards the table. She was the last one to dinner due to her little… run in. All the usual suspects were already there. Little Star, Matteo, Thunderlane… even Twister. Dash and Storm quickly got separated when they entered the mess hall moments ago. He was probably going to sit with some of the squads. But there was one very big surprise. “Squall?” Dash blinked as she quietly said the name to herself. Squall was sitting at the table with them? Between Little Star and Twister? Dash was late, so she had no way of knowing, but she found herself wondering if he had been guided to the table… or if he had sat there on his own power. Squall looked up at Dash as she approached. She flashed him a friendly smile. He immediately looked back down and kept eating. It was a start. At least he sat down with them. The rest would come. Now there was a slight complication. The only seat left open was between Matteo and Thunderlane. Dash had gotten used to being wedged into a tight space near Matteo. However that was not the issue here. The last time the two conversed, it wasn’t very friendly. In fact, if Dash remembered correctly, he threatened to rip her tongue out. He was busy eating, So Dash didn’t disturb him. He was probably still brooding about his damaged honor anyway, so she let him be. “Where have you been?” Thunderlane asked Dash as she sat down. “You’re usually the first one here!” he chuckled. During her thought process of how to word her ‘reason’ for being late… she was obviously reminded of… the little show of ‘affection’ she witnessed in the locker rooms. Her face instantly scrunched as an uncomfortable, light blush ran over her face. Thunderlane blinked and looked at her carefully, picking up on her sudden flustered state. “Uh…” he lifted an eyebrow. “You okay?” he asked. “I…” Dash paused and glanced at the rest at the table. She didn’t really feel comfortable having them all hear about it. Thunderlane already asked, so it was unavoidable for him. She beckoned him to lean in. He obeyed, turning his ear to her, expecting to hear something about Soarin based on her blushing. She began whispering into his ear… and in seconds his eyes widened, followed by his wings firing outward with a loud POOF. Dash pulled back and instantly saw his little wing reaction. “Wow Thunderlane, really?” Dash admittedly found it a little amusing. Thunderlane quickly glanced at his wings, reached back, and forced them back to his body with his hooves. “Um… wings are a bit sore… it happens…” he failed miserably to deflect. Dash rolled her eyes. “I didn’t know you were into that… I should tell Applejack,” she sneered. Thunderlane instantly shook his head while grabbing Dash by the shoulders. “NO!” his wings flew back out without his hooves to hold them down. No, PLEASE don’t do that!” he let go of Dash and pressed his wings back down. “Um… I mean it… that was something…” he blushed hard. It was Dash’s turn to be curious. “Something… the sisters used to do… to tease me… before I, you know, broke everything at Sweet Apple Acres…” he admitted. Dash blinked and thought it over… followed by a very disturbed look on her face. “Flitter and Cloud Chaser used to…” she trailed off, the look of disgust on her face deepened. “Yeah…” Thunderlane admitted while looking away. “But… they’re sisters!” Dash looked towards Thunderlane, her expression stuck in place. Thunderlane turned further away. “It was still hot…” Thunderlane shamelessly admitted. “Stallions…” Dash grunted while rubbing her temples to try and forget that image. Great now she had the image of Blaze and High Winds kissing in her head… along with a new image of Flitter and Cloud Chaser doing the same thing… while Thunderlane watched?! Double the ‘I didn’t need to know!’ "Really though…” Thunderlane spoke up again. “I’d rather you didn’t tell Applejack… I’ve kind of left all that behind me,” he requested. “Don’t worry. I’m already trying my best to forget it myself…” Dash groaned as she started picking at her food. “What’s all the gossip over there?” Little Star suddenly spoke up from across the table. Dash glanced up, but Thunderlane answered before she could swallow her food. “OH! Nothing! Stuff about Ponyville! My marefriend! You know! Haha!” Thunderlane forced every word, blushing and smiling like a doofus. Little Star eyed him carefully before shrugging. She looked towards Dash, keeping her eyes on her as Dash finished a helping of rice. “Yes…?” Dash asked as she noticed Star staring. Star suddenly looked to Dash’s right at Matteo. She cleared her throat… but nothing happened. Star narrowed her eyes at him before clearing her throat again, this time a lot louder. Everypony at the table looked up at her, but Matteo kept eating and took no notice. Star puffed her cheeks out, irritated. “Matteo,” she finally just said his name. Matteo stopped right before closing his beak down on a piece of chicken and glanced over at Star. She made a small head motion towards Dash, but again Matteo didn’t react. He just stared at Little Star. “You’re kidding me, right?” she shot him a flat look, completely unamused. She sharply pointed at Dash. Dash had been watching the exchange, and as soon as Star pointed at her, Dash turned and looked at Matteo. Matteo turned his head, glancing at her briefly before looking back at Little Star. “Oh… right…” Matteo sighed. Star furrowed her brow at his unenthusiastic attitude. “Oh, sure, act like you didn’t know… just do it, ya big fat dummy!” she scolded him. Dash glanced between the two of them, wondering what the hell they were talking about. She ended up landing all of her focus on Matteo as he completely turned to face her. “Rainbow Dash…” he addressed her. She looked up at him and nodded. “Yes?” “I…” Matteo glanced at Little Star, who immediately angrily pointed at Dash again. “I apologize for threatening you in the training room…” his voice was slightly broken up, as if he was hesitating. Dash wasn’t expecting an apology… but by the looks of things, it seemed Little Star had put him up to it. “My dishonor was clouding my judgment… I should not have yelled at you,” he finished, looking a little embarrassed. Dash couldn’t help but smile in amusement. Seeing Matteo at such a disadvantage was interesting, he was usually completely on top of things. Dash waved a hoof at him and winked. “Aw, don’t worry about it big guy… I used to get into fights with your wife all the time. Trust me, Gilda was much worse!” she joked. Before Matteo could say anything else, Little Star was up and hovering in front of Matteo’s face, eyes wide and wings buzzing. “WAIT?! YOU’RE MARRIED?!” Star asked with her front hooves pressed firmly to her mane. Matteo reclined slightly to get some personal space before sighing, holding up his talons and pointing to the gold ring blending in with the yellow color of his shanks. “OH!” Star’s eyes widened. “MY!” she shifted all the way back over her seat. “GOD!” she dropped down into her chair while pressing her cheeks together. “No way! Tell me about her!” she pressed. Matteo grunted, realizing he wasn’t going to get out of it, so he proceeded. Dash chuckled as she watched Little Star press Matteo for information. In general it was amusing to watch the two of them interact. She was roughly the size of his head, so it was a comical sight, especially when she got in his face earlier in the training room. “Um… Dash…?” Dash was certain Tatarus had just frozen over. She looked over at Squall. He was looking at her, but looked away as soon as she turned. Dash could’ve sworn she just heard him address her. She hadn’t imagined it right? No… she definitely heard it. He kept glancing back at her as if waiting for a response, so she replied. “What’s up Squall?” she spoke to him in the most casually friendly tone she could muster. Squall swallowed and his eyes darted about the table in front of him as if he was trying to find the words. “Um…” he hesitated. “Th—” he squinted and gritted his teeth for a moment. “Thanks for… invitingmetothetablebefore…” he said incredibly fast and quiet. “Huh?” Dash said while tipping her head to the side. “Thanksforinvitingmetothetablebeforeatlunch…” he repeated in the exact same tone and speed. “I can’t…” Dash pointed to her ears and she looked at him quizzically. “Forget it…” Squall sighed and went back to eating. “Squall…” Dash flattened her brow. “I said forget it!” he snapped slightly. Dash exhaled loudly through her nose. “And I say no. Tell me again… slower and louder please,” she asserted herself. Squall visibly stiffened, but looked back up towards Dash. He sighed and took a deep breath. “Thanks for inviting me to the table at lunch…” he said slower, and only a little louder. Victory. Dash got Squall to be nice about something. It’s too bad Matteo was currently being drilled for information on his unruly spouse. He would be pleased with this. “It’s nothing Squall, you’re always welcome to sit with us,” she nodded and smiled. “And…” he continued, but stopped and looked straight down again. “And?” Dash leaned forward, hoping to get a little more out of him. He sighed. “Thanks for… watching out for me when we fought those guys…” he forced out. So he had noticed Dash and Twister during their little run in with squad zero. Dash was wondering if he even knew Matteo was there with him. Squall as so intent on bashing Playbitz’s skull in that it looked like he wasn’t aware of anything else. “Just looking out for a fellow recruit,” Dash flashed him another smile. “Gotta stand up for one another, right?” she looked to him as his mouth hung slightly ajar. He looked like he was trying to say more, but instead he just looked down again. “Whatever…” he finally caved and went back to his usual response. Dash chuckled and went back to her food. They were making quick progress with him already. Dash was sure in a few weeks he’d be seeing them as friends in no time. Now if only they knew why he was such a loner. She had spoken to everypony at the table now… save for one. As she bit off and chewed a piece of chicken, she was actually a little afraid to look at Twister. Not because she was afraid of him, but because he had been on quite a roll all day with the random and silly, she could only imagine what he’d be up to the instant she looked. Alas… her curiosity got the better of her, as it had been all day. She looked over at Twister… He was eating… and looking directly at her with one eye much wider than the other as if he was waiting for her to look. He had a plate of two eggs, bacon, and toast…Dash instantly paused and eyed his food in confusion. Art by: mlplover789 “Twister, how did you get breakfast at dinner?” she asked… wondering why she had an instant after. “Kidnapped the chef’s firstborn son, took him to a farm where he raised me some chickens and pigs before planting some wheat. The wheat laid me two eggs, the chickens made for some good bacon, and I put the pigs in a toaster until they were nice and crisp!” he ‘explained.’ Dash stared blankly at him. “What?” “What?” he replied instantly after. “Right…” Dash rolled her eyes. “GOING IN HOT!” Twister suddenly yelled and slammed his face down onto the plate. All five other ponies at the table flinched in surprise and looked towards him. He picked his face back up. The toast was impaled on his nose, the bacon was stuck to his mouth in the shape of a wide smile, and the two eggs were over his eyes. They even blinked twice as he looked at them. The best part was that none of them really reacted to him. It was such a normal thing now. Dash rested her head in her hoof while lifting her brow at him. “You’ve been on a ‘food-for-face’ kick today, huh Twister?” Dash observed as he turned to her and one of the eggs fell off his face back to the plate. No more was said as Twister began eating the bacon right off his own face. It wouldn’t have mattered if somepony else talked anyway… because Dash’s attention was suddenly completely taken over as Soarin walked by with Storm Front. Soarin smiled and shot a wink towards Dash as he passed. She blushed lightly and waved back before she got bombarded by Little Star for being adorable. Soarin chuckled and kept walking beside Storm Front until the two found a table. There were two trays on the other side already, so the two sat down together on the vacant side. “So…” Storm began as they sat down. “What was that all about this morning?” Soarin glanced up at him, already with a mouthful of rice. “When you and the lead squad suddenly took off out of the station,” he clarified. Soarin swallowed. “Oh, that… well…” he shrugged. “I honestly don’t know how to tell you Storm… it’s a long story and there’s a lot of context to it…” Soarin trailed off while scratching his head. Storm tipped his head back and forth. “Something classified?” he asked. Soarin shook his head. “Nah… nothing most of the Wonderbolts don’t know about… but to be honest, we weren’t quite sure what we saw… may have been linked to an old nemesis of ours, but we don’t even have the facts down…” Soarin tried to explain it simply. “Ah, I see… don’t worry about it then, I don’t want to keep you from your food,” Storm smiled as Soarin agreed with a nod and dug right back in. The food wasn’t the best, but he was hungry and it was food. Soarin looked up towards the food line as they began eating. By chance his eyes landed directly at Spitfire, who was making her way around the buffet lines, but she was doing so with her head down and blushing. It looked like her ‘personal heated mare’ problems were flaring up again… in the middle of the mess hall. Talk about bad timing. Seeing her like so reminded him of her little Wave Chill outburst after they visited Luna… Soarin was giving them both exactly one more chance to get their acts together and forget about some stupid prank pulled on both of them. Their little nervous avoidances of each other were fun and adorable at first. But as they continued to act like little nervous teenagers it got old… really fast. Not only did it get old, they kept doing it. It had gotten to the point where everypony was plain sick of the two of them being so stupid around each other. No more. If they didn’t clean it up and get back to being friends like they were, then Soarin was going to lock them both in a closet. His attention was suddenly diverted as the owners of the two trays across from them finally returned to the table. Misty Fly walked around the table towards her tray, she smiled and waved at Soarin and Storm the instant she faced them. Fire Streak followed close behind, holding a cup in each wing. One filled with cranberry juice, the other with water. He smiled and nodded towards Soarin, but when he looked at Storm Front, his eyes narrowed very slightly. The smile remained, but it looked forced. Luckily, Storm was still waving at Misty when Fire gave him the look. Soarin could see it clear as day though… making him wonder why. Did Fire have a problem with Storm that he didn’t know about? Fire placed the cup of cranberry juice down on Misty’s tray as she sat down. She smiled up at him, put the tip of her wing to her lips and extended towards him to thank him. Fire did the same in response. Misty quickly turned to Storm and tapped her hoof on the table. Storm looked up from his plate towards her. Misty smiled and started speaking to him in sign language. Storm blinked, quickly focusing on her motions so he could read her words. He smiled back and started replying with his swift, quick motions that were almost as efficiently produced as speaking. Fire glanced over as he helped himself to his food, gritting his teeth subtly as he watched Storm’s masterful use of the symbols and signs as if it were his first language. As Fire watched them, Soarin watched HIM. He took note of Fire’s expression and how it seemed to be related to Storm. Soarin made subtle glances between the two conversing and Fire looking on from the side. Soarin knew that Storm could communicate with sign language. He had seen Storm and Misty ‘speak’ to each other on multiple occasions. Soarin actually felt glad for Misty. The only pony she could really fully communicate with was Fire. Lightning Streak and Surprise knew the sign language along with he and Spitfire, but none of them were experts. Having somepony else to talk to in full without pausing like that was probably great…for… Soarin blinked. He suddenly had a theory… one that worked perfectly with why Fire looked to disapprove of the silent conversation going on. Fire was INCREDIBLY protective of Misty Fly… and while he never said it out loud, it was clear he was proud of his ability to speak to Misty in full. It was a special connection that only he shared with her… At least until Storm showed up. From what Soarin had heard, Storm once had a grandfather who was deaf. He had no idea how long Storm had known the sign language, but he was clearly a master at it. In fact… he was better at it than Fire. It all made sense… Fire was jealous of Storm. But in what way? Soarin knew from listening into to some squad three shenanigans between surprise and the brothers that Fire had developed a liking to Misty… one that was a little more serious than he’d like to admit. Soarin took another quick glance between the two stallions. If that’s what was causing the jealousy, Fire didn’t know that Storm already had a little goofy mare he was currently attached to. Soarin decided to sit and watch for the time being. He put all those pieces together, but he had no evidence confirming it. But his attention was suddenly pulled away as somepony set their tray down on the open spot to his right… at the same time that somepony else put their tray down across from it. Soarin glanced up to his right to see Spitfire standing above the chair beside him. However, she was frozen in place, staring straight forward. Soarin followed her eyes to see who had tried to sit down the same time she did. It was Wave Chill. The two stared directly at each other and neither moved nor said a word. Soarin slowly sighed and lightly bumped his nose against the table top. What incredible timing creating an incredibly awkward moment. Wave Chill looked away from her as he slowly lowered himself into the chair. Spitfire tried to get up and leave, but Soarin sat up, reached out and grabbed her by the arm. “Spitfire… Sit down,” he demanded. He gave no reason why, he simply ordered her to. She yelped as she plopped down in the seat, looking forward at Wave for a moment before looking directly down at her plate, stuffing food into her mouth while blushing. Soarin shook his head as he watched her try to get dinner over with as quickly as possible. Assuming Wave was being just as silly, Soarin stole another glance at him. To his surprise though, Wave was looking at Spitfire. There was a look in his eyes that gave Soarin the idea he wanted to say something. Soarin cleared his throat while making a very subtle hoof motion to Wave. Wave blinked and looked towards him. Soarin made a head motion towards Spitfire while giving him a stern glare… as if to silently remind Wave of the multiple times he had drilled him on talking to Spitfire. It seemed like Wave was already thinking about, so Soarin wanted to add some outside encouragement. Wave’s eyes returned to Spitfire as she continued to eat and not pay attention to anything else. Wave took a deep breath and exhaled. Soarin watched with anticipation as the look in Wave’s eyes slowly filled with determination. Was he actually going to do it? Was he really going to finally say something to her? “Spitfire…” he spoke up. Soarin smiled the instant Wave said her name. Spitfire’s ears shot upward and she instantly stopped eating. Looking at Wave was making her face heat up, but he got her attention. Soarin kept a subtle eye on them as he leaned back towards his food. He wanted to see this end himself, but he didn’t want to get in their way. Wave gathered his thoughts and prepared to say more. “Spitfire I think—” SLAM Soarin flinched in surprised as everything on the table suddenly bounced. Soarin’s rice sprayed up from his plate and got all over his face. Spitfire squeaked at the sudden jolt and Wave was completely cut off. Soarin looked over towards the other three. Fire Streak was standing up from his seat, a hoof firmly planted and grinding against the table. His eyes were sharpened into a harsh glare that he was aiming across the table, directly at Storm Front. Storm was leaning slightly away in his seat, wondering why Fire was giving him such an angered look. Misty was focused on Fire, with a look of confusion and worry on her face. She made small glances at Storm, but her eyes remained predominantly locked on Fire. Fire got up from his seat, stomped around the table, grabbed Storm by the shoulder, and pulled him right out of his seat. “Ah!” Storm yelled as he was suddenly forced along. “Fire?” Soarin stood up as Fire started dragging Storm away from the table. “FIRE!” Soarin yelled again as the scene drew looks from the surrounding Wonderbolts in the mess hall. Soarin glanced back at Misty, who was still seated, but looking towards Fire and Storm in alarm. Soarin was about to follow, but flinched and looked back towards Wave Chill and… well… Spitfire had gotten up and left. Wave was face down on the table, groaning with his hooves pressed over his head. Soarin sighed and facehoofed. They were so close to solving the Spitfire and Wave Chill dilemma, but a separate personal incident completely derailed it. Pushing the thought aside, Soarin quickly trotted after Fire and Storm. Misty finally got up, looking at Wave Chill for a moment before following as well. Fire continued to drag Storm, who was struggling in confusion. Fire pulled him past all the tables and was heading through the buffet area towards the exit. Lightning streak emerged from the line holding a whole block of cheese from behind the deli counter. He smiled when he saw Fire walking towards him, completely failing to see that Fire was dragging another pony along with him. “Hey bro!” Lightning waved while holding the block of cheese out towards Fire. “This is what it looks like before they slice it!” Fire’s glare snapped towards Lightning. He grabbed the block of cheese and shoved into Lightning’s mouth, wedging it and knocking Lightning over in the process. “Bleh!” Lightning pulled the cheese out of his mouth as he sat up. “Too much cheese, bro…” “SAID NOPONY EVAR!!!!” Surprise yelled as she jogged by, completely up on her back hooves, carrying at least ten blocks of cheese along with her as the mess hall servers chased after her. Lightning only gave the comical chase a quick glance before he looked towards his brother. He saw Fire was dragging the new elite along with him… the one that could talk to Misty. Soarin suddenly rushed by after them, and Misty followed behind a few moments later. “Bro’s finally snapping, huh?” Lightning said to himself as Surprise continued to run around with all the cheese behind him. Fire Streak pulled Storm roughly out of the mess hall and beside the doors. He pushed Storm’s back roughly against the wall and pressed a hoof to his shoulder to pin him there. He glared and slightly bared his teeth while growling. Storm looking up in confusion and alarm with literally no idea what was happening. “I’ve had enough of this!” Fire snapped while sternly pointing his free hoof towards Storm’s chest. “What are your motives towards Misty Fly?!” he demanded, almost spitting in Storm’s face. Storm looked at him quizzically. “What?! Motives?! Th-third captain, I was just talking to her!” Storm formally addressed Fire even though he was being held down. “I’m not buying that!” Fire shouted back. The doors to the mess hall swung open and Soarin jumped out. His eyes darted around until he spotted Fire holding Storm against the wall. He quickly stepped up, grabbed Fire by the shoulders and forced him off of Storm. “Fire!” Soarin yelled as Fire Streak tried to rip free and go back to Storm. “FIRE! What the hell has gotten into you?!” Soarin frantically questioned as put himself between Storm and Fire. Storm remained against the wall, slumped down on the floor, and still unsure of what he had done. “I won’t let him lead Misty on!” Fire shouted slightly up into Soarin’s face. Soarin furrowed his brow and shook his head. So that was it. It was definitely about Misty Fly. Soarin had never once seen Fire lose his cool like this… how long had Fire let this little misunderstanding build up in his head? Soarin had to stop in… instantly. “Fire… Storm has a marefriend…” he calmly pointed out. Fire’s eyes reverted slightly from the glare, but he still looked angry. Storm perked up upon hearing. “Wait… you think I’m…” Storm put the pieces together as his eyes went wide. Soarin reached up and forced a hoof against Fire’s cheek to make Fire look at him. “She visited during the Manehatten show… I don’t know where you got this idea of Storm coming onto her, but you need to stop!” Soarin ordered. “But… but…” Fire took a few heavy breaths. They all flinched as the mess hall doors swung open one more time and Misty Fly jumped out. She quickly saw the three of them… he eyes landing on Fire first, seeing Soarin restraining him… and then she looked towards Storm. The look on her face and the manner in which her mouth moved suggested she would have gasped if she knew how to make the sound. She quickly cantered up to Storm and bent down to make sure he was alright. She looked back up at Soarin and Fire with an expression that demanded to know what had happened. All Fire knew though… was that as soon as Misty stepped out, all she saw was Storm down on the ground against the wall… and Soarin restraining him, keeping him away from Storm. Fire knew Misty was a smart pony. It probably didn’t take her long to put things together. Fire’s ears flopped down and a terrified look made its way upon his face. Soarin let go as Fire’s strength left him and he stood perfectly still in place. “No… I… I didn’t mean…” Fire said towards Misty, so alarmed and flustered that he spoke to her instead of making signs. His eyes widened further as he realized he tried talking to Misty. He brought his hooves up for a moment to start making signs, but he froze in place, the shame already too great. He shut his eyes tight before turning and galloping down the hall. Misty quickly got up and tried to start into a gallop after him, but slowed after five steps and came to a stop. She simply stared as Fire turned the corner in the lobby and disappeared from sight. Soarin stepped up beside Misty, getting a good look at her face. She didn’t even notice Soarin there, she was too busy looking towards where Fire had run. Soarin thought about indicating to leave him be… but Misty already knew that. It was probably the reason she stopped running after him. Soarin turned to Storm. “C’mon, let’s go finish our dinner,” he helped Storm get up. Storm looked between Soarin and Misty. “What about…?” Storm trailed off, making a head motion towards Misty, showing his concern despite the circumstances. “She’ll be fine… they’ll figure things out, they’re really close,” Soarin explained as he and Storm re-entered the mess hall. Talk about polar opposite circumstances. With Wave Chill and Spitfire, Soarin felt like he had to rope the two of them together and put them in a tumble dryer just to get them to say hello to each other. With Fire and Misty Fly, Soarin did his best not to get involved, because it was clearly something the two needed to… and most likely would work out on their own… needless to say, there was lots of romance drama going on at the compound. “So I saw that…” Dash said as she walked out of the mess hall side by side with Soarin. “Oh… Fire Streak?” Soarin asked. She nodded and glanced behind her to see Little Star and Fleetfoot following behind while making kissy faces. Dash ignored them and returned her attention to Soarin. “Yeah, what did Storm do?” “Well…” Soarin shrugged. “Fire is overprotective of Misty…” “I gathered that much,” Dash nodded as Soarin shot a glare behind them. Little Star disappeared behind Fleetfoot and Fleetfoot started whistling while looking away. Soarin shook his head and turned back. “But…” Dash began again. “What did Storm Front do?” “Nothing, actually,” Soarin chuckled. “Fire used to be the only one who could fully speak to Misty… I don’t think he likes that somepony else can too. He took it as Storm coming onto her.” “Wait… Fire lost his composure over that?” Dash blinked in surprise. “He’s so calm and straight laced… I called it, he has a thing for Misty,” Dash smirked. “How long have you figured that?” Soarin asked. Before Dash could answer both Fleetfoot and Little Star slowly slid up behind Soarin and peeked around him, making dreamy faces at Dash. As soon as she narrowed her eyes, Soarin rolled his, extended his right wing and batted the two of them down with it. Fits of giggles were heard as they scurried away. “I noticed the other day… he was totally turned on when she hugged him,” Dash joked. Soarin found himself snickering. “Thinking of Fire Streak… and turned on in the same complete thought just doesn’t seem right at all. But I guess he’s either hid it very well, or I’m just blind or something. That was a crazy out of nowhere reaction, I’ve never seen Fire act like that before,” said Soarin as they stopped outside the entrance to the recruit hall. “Think they’ll be alright?” Dash asked. Soarin nodded and smiled. “Unlike a certain other to be couple that’s getting on everypony's nerves around here… I’m confident Fire and Misty will work things out,” Soarin glanced at the doors. “This is your stop.” “Yep…” she smiled at him. She glanced around and frowned. “Sorry, I wanna give you a goodnight kiss, but too many ponies around.” “Has that ever stopped you?” Soarin cooed while bouncing his eyebrows and leaning his head towards hers. Dash scoffed and lightly batted her wing against his face… but did so with a smile. “Gotta be somewhat professional… besides, if I know you, you’ll fall asleep and dream about me with a hoof between your back legs,” she bounced her eyebrows back at him. “Fair enough…” Soarin shrugged “I’ll see you tomorrow th—” Fleetfoot suddenly appeared behind Soarin and Little Star behind Dash. “Now!” Fleetfoot yelled. The two pushed Soarin and Dash’s heads together. Their noses collided first, but their lips crashed together, Dash yelped into Soarin’s mouth, making his cheeks puff out, and forcing air through his nose. He pulled back, coughing and pounding his chest as Dash shook her head out and glared at Fleetfoot. She leapt over Soarin and dove at her, but Fleetfoot zipped out of the way. Dash wiped out on the floor, but her back legs got caught in Soarin’s mane and yanked him down with her. Little Star bolted into the recruit hall while giggling furiously. Fleetfoot flew backwards towards the stairs leading up to the Wonderbolt quarters, laughing hysterically as Dash and Soarin slowly got up from their heap on the floor. “I swear I’m gonna kill them both…” Dash pouted as Soarin sat up beside her. “Guess I got a good night kiss anyway!” he chuckled while grinning happily. “Might as well give you a real one now,” Dash rolled her eyes. “A what now—mmph!” Soarin was caught off guard as Dash grabbed his face and forced him into a kiss. She pulled back and winked. “G’night, hot stuff,” she said as she turned and curled her tail beneath his chin. “Good night…” Soarin said with a goofy smile on his face. He sat there and watched until Dash was through the doors and out of sight. “So what’s it like having TWO horns?” Fleetfoot suddenly said from beside Soarin. Soarin blinked and his ears shot upward. “DOUBLE-SHA-WING!” Fleetfoot yelled into his ears before taking off back towards the stairs. “COME HERE, YOU!” Soarin growled while chasing after. Dash was about half embarrassed, half feeling awesome. Even though it was a well known fact that she and Soarin were a thing, she still felt the need to not be so out there about it. But it was too late, Fleetfoot and Little Star caused a scene, so she went with it. Speaking of that duo… talk about the sudden embarrassment team from hell… Little Star and Fleetfoot, two enthusiasts when it came to getting juicy info about other’s relationships. Had they even met? Or did the two just randomly come together in a fit of giggles to harass them? Well, it sure had been a strange day… but the day was now over and it was time to— “WHOA!” Dash suddenly yelped as something grabbed her around the waist, hoisted her into the air. She had been turning towards her barracks, but the moment she faced the door, she was swept off her hooves and taken in the opposite direction towards the room across the hall. The same room that she and Soarin had used for some privacy a week or so back. She had absolutely no control over her movement. Her hooves were up above her and her wings were firmly pinned to her body by whoever was carrying her. The room was dark… with a single light shining on the bunk just to the left of the entrance. “Yipe!” she squeaked as her kidnapper tossed her onto one of the mattresses. The instant she landed, she felt something wrap around her three times. When she looked up, there were three ropes holding her down to the mattress. Her arms and back legs were free, but the ropes were so tight that she couldn’t budge. The light over her was dim, a shadow being cast due to the top bunk blocking the light from above. “Hi!” a cheerful female voice suddenly sounded from beside her. Dash frantically turned her head and stared in complete confusion. “Surprise?!” Dash blinked as she looked at the white mare from squad three. “You betcha!” she smiled wide as her eyes grew wide as well. Dash kept staring… not sure what to make of the situation nor knowing why Surprise of all ponies decided to suddenly kidnap her. “Oh fine, I’m not fooling you…” the voice suddenly turned to male… and very familiar. Surprise reached up and pulled off a mask, revealing… Soarin? “Soarin?” Dash tipped her head again. Soarin looked down at himself. “Whoops!” Soarin reached up and took off a mask to reveal… Surprise again? “Hiya!” Surprise cheerfully bounced up and down. Dash stared for a moment… then flattened her brow. “Twister… you’re not fooling me,” she said flatly. “Aw… you’re too perceptive…” Twister’s voice suddenly came from Surprise. Surprise removed the mask to reveal none other than Twister. “Brilliant, Rainbow Dash… simply brilliant… you figured me out so quickly!” “It’s not very hard… you’re the only one nuts enough to do something like this,” Dash growled while struggling in the ropes. “But isn’t that just part of who I am?” he bounced his eyebrows so fast they were almost blurry. Dash was simply not amused. “This wasn’t funny the first time Twister… and it’s not funny now. Let me go right now and I won’t beat your face in,” Dash threatened with a snort. Twister fell over laughing, disappearing below the bed as he fell to the floor. “But you see…” his voice suddenly came from above. Dash looked up to see him peering down from atop the top bunk. “You’re right… it wasn’t funny or fun last time… because you didn’t feel threatened at all… did you? Oh no, of course you didn’t. Simply Twister being Twister… him and his lack of rhyme or reason… despite the rather masterful poem I put together on the spot. How about we fix that…” Twister suddenly dropped down and appeared directly beside her. Dash glared, but gasped and her eyes widened. Twister was holding a large knife in his hoof with the word ‘dramatic effect’ written on the side of the blade. “Twis—” “Shhhhhhhhhh…” Twister stood directly over her, all four hooves down on the mattress at her sides. He put a hoof over her mouth as she tried to speak. He made no motions with the knife, but Dash had her eyes glued to it. She tried to swipe and kick at him, but every attempt was swatted down by his free hoof and wings. “Now, now… just relaaaaaaaaaax…” Twister’s smile grew as he passed the knife over Dash to his other hoof. “If you keep kicking around I might slip and drop it…” he sneered as he kept passing the knife between his hooves. Dash froze in place and kept eying the knife. “That’s more like it…” “Twister… this is NOT cool… at all… last time was fine… but this… no, I don’t like it, stop!” Dash panicked as she watched the knife pass between his hooves. “Oh, but Dashie… who else can I trust? Who else can I tell the stories of my past… the miserable woes tucked away in the deepest corners of my despair?!” he tried to sound dramatic, but his snickering killed the effect. Dash flattened her brow and looked up at him with disgust. “Twister… you’re lucky I put up with your bullshit! I’m starting to wonder if there’s any sanity in that head of yours, you—” “Do I really look like a pony that’s sane?” Twister calmly cut her off with an uneven expression upon his face. He sat his plot down on her stomach and tapped the flat edge of the knife against his opposite hoof, making a quiet TAP TAP TAP that echoed throughout the empty room. He looked down at her with an uncharacteristically serious face. “Matteo… is sane. Squall… is sane. Little Star… is sane. Even Silver… is sane. Me? No. Not in the slightest, I’m far from sane, Dashie…” He started passing the knife back and forth again. Dash swallowed and began to sweat as she watched the knife go back and forth. “Y’see… it’s who I am…” Twister began as he took his eyes off the knife but continued passing it. “I can do anything… literally anything I want. I can be weird, I can be strange, and I can be silly… and nopony bats an eye… they’re used to it, they know it, it’s part of who I am to them.” He grabbed the knife out of the air and turned it so the tip of the blade was facing down, directly at Dash’s chest. She tensed up and her pupils shrank as she eyed the knife. “But if anypony else were to do the things I do… THEN EVERYPONY FREAKS OUT!” he yelled as he plunged his hoof down. “AH!” Dash yelped and shut her eyes tight. But all she felt was a hoof lightly tap her chest. Her eyes snapped open and she saw Twister’s hoof resting against her… but during the motion he had passed the knife over to his other hoof. “I can do all sorts of things… anything I want… and that’s exactly how I like it… it’s how I want it… but it’s not like it’s my fault…” Twister leaned way down until he was right in Dash’s face. The knife blade was about an inch from her chin. She remained perfectly still, not wanting cause any unneeded pain. “You wanna know why I’m like this?” he suddenly asked as he slowly moved the knife around in front of her face, as if it amused him by how her eyes followed it so perfectly. “Well… do ya? I’d think carefully… I’ll give you a hint… ‘no’ is probably a bad answer.” He chuckled. Dash gulped. “Y-yes?” she obeyed. Twister rested one forearm on her chest. While pulling the other one back with the knife firmly gripped. He slowly began to move the blade towards her as he spoke. “So… when I was younger… or was I? I don’t even remember how old I was. All I ever wanted was to do things my way… you know, how everypony does. All I ever saw around me were smiles, happiness, and everyone else doing what made them enjoy life…” Dash averted her eyes towards the knife, which was still steadily approaching. “Ah, ah, ah…” Twister reached his free hoof forward and directed her head back to look him in the eyes. “Pay attention now,” he sneered as the knife grew closer in Dash’s peripheral vision. “But not me… no, I couldn’t. I tried… like everypony else… but all I ever got from the others was the same thing over and over again. ‘Stop that!’ ‘You can’t do that!’ ‘That’s wrong’ ‘What’s wrong with you?’” Dash felt the pressure of Twister’s free hoof strengthen a little. “No matter what I did… it was wrong. I couldn’t be myself! I couldn’t be me! Nopony would let me… and it hurt, Dashie… oh, it hurt… so…” his smile grew extra wide. “I did it anyway. I was shunned. Cast out,” he put his face less than an inch from hers. “You think losing one you love with all your heart makes things bad…? Sure, I once lost the only love of my life… but when that happens, you’re supposed to fall back on others… you’re supposed to have support… well… can you imagine what happens when that support… shuns you as well? HEEEEEHEHEHEHEHEHEEEEEEE…” Twister’s eyes went in different directions as the creepy giggle escaped his throat. “I’m alone Dashie… but I can do as I please… a tradeoff to surely turn one to insanity… don’t you think?” Dash’s eyes darted between the knife and Twister’s eyes. The knife was now less than six inches from her eyes. “I’ve only ever had two ponies hear me out Dashie… you… and the most perfect mare in the world, but she’s gone. Even she left me… now all I have is you, but you could never compare to her… you are nothing compared to what she is…” He suddenly sat up, pulling the knife back with him. “BUT WHO SAID I WANTED TO BE UNDERSTOOD?!” he yelled as he plunged the knife down again… and this time he didn’t pass it off. Dash didn’t even have time to shut her eyes. She stared as the tip of the knife connected with her chest… But the blade folded and bent… bouncing right back up off her chest. Dash continued to stare at stare at the spot Twister had struck, blinking several times as Twister held the knife up in front of him. “Fooled ya!” he winked while grabbing the edge of the blade, bending it down and letting it spring back while flapping back and forth. “It’s RUBBER! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!!” he laughed maniacally as he stabbed the rubber knife against his chest continuously, causing comical springing noises to come from the fake blade. Dash’s jaw dropped and she glared at him in a tremendous amount of rage. “YOU… DISGUSTING… LITTLE… TROLL!” she barked at him at the top of her lungs. Twister froze in place and looked down at her. Then back to the knife. Then down at her… and then back to the knife again. He put on a very goofy grin as he hopped off of her and onto the floor while affectionately rubbing his cheek against the rubber blade of the fake knife. “Oh, rubber knife… Only you truly understand me…” Before Dash could blink, Twister reached down and pushed the mattress off the bed. It was turned so she couldn’t see him as he shoved it towards the door. The ropes disappeared, but as they did the mattress catapulted upward, throwing Dash through the door that was somehow open. “Oof! Ee! Ow!” Dash grunted and yelped as she bounced along the floor and tumbled to a halt in front of the door to her barracks. She was up on her hooves immediately, firing from the spot and back through the door of the empty barracks, glaring, growling and grinding her teeth with the urge to beat Twister’s face in for scaring her like that. She burst into the room and threw the lights on. The room was in perfect order. The mattress was back in the bottom bunk, and Twister was nowhere to be seen. She darted over to the bathrooms, but both doors were locked from the inside, as most of them were when no squads occupied the space. “Dammit!” she yelled as she turned and fired out of the room, across the hall and barged into her recruit barracks. She drew a few looks as she stomped in and glared up at Twister’s bunk above Squall. She could see a lump in it. She leapt up, hovering beside the bunk as she reached down and threw the sheet off. Pillows. Twister was not there… only wooden sign post that had been driven into the mattress with a big white sign that said ‘gone fishing’ on it. Dash flattened her brow and tossed the sheet back down onto the bed before dropping to the floor and stomping towards her bed. Thunderlane and Little Star watched her trudge over and flop down on her mattress while grumbling. Thunderlane broke away from Star and walked up behind Dash. “What’s up, Dash?” he asked, wondering what had her in such a sour mood. Dash snorted. “I DON’T want to talk about it…” she snapped, instantly repelling Thunderlane’s curiosity. As she was left alone, Dash shook her head and sighed in extreme annoyance. Scratch her previous thought… now it had been the strangest day ever. ---To Be Continued---