MLP: FiM
Piercing the Heavens
By: Calm Wind
Chapter 92: Part of the Job
Everypony stared towards Descent and Storm in shock as the two remained frozen in place, staring at each other. Fleetfoot blinked.
“Dad?” she looked towards Soarin and Dash.
“Dad?!” Dash looked at Soarin.
“DAD?!” Soarin jaw dropped. Starry Skies tipped her head to the side in disbelief.
“DAD?!?!?!” Not even Starry knew?
“MOM?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!”
All eyes shifted to look at Twister as he stared in disbelief at an egg resting in his hoof. Twister looked around as everypony, save for Storm and Descent had all turned to look at him quizzically. Twister sneered and his pupils went in different directions.
“Oh… my mistake…” he snickered. “But hey…” he suddenly smashed the egg directly into his face, the yolk and egg white oozing out onto his face and down his nose. “I’ve got egg on my face!” he kept snickering as multiple sighs and groans sounded out before all attention went back to the apparent reunion before them.
Descent looked absolutely petrified as Storm continued to slowly approach him, his body language unlike anything Soarin had ever seen from him, and apparently even Starry had never seen. Descent always looked so strong, determined, and powerful. His mere presence dominated almost any situation he got into… but here…
“Dad…? It’s… really you?” Storm blinked several times as he approached, removing his flight mask, which allowed Descent to look directly into Storm’s eyes. Descent shifted backwards slightly as their eyes met his bottom lip… quivering? “Dad, say something! Please…” Storm was starting to smile, but the smile waivered a Descent continued to shift backwards.
“Uh…” Descent’s eyes widened further as he looked at Storm smiling. The eyes, the face, the smile… Descent suddenly gritted his teeth, looking frantically around at all the Wonderbolts and Renegades around them that were staring in disbelief. “N…NO!” Descent shook his head roughly, startling Storm and the rest as he turned and faced away from Storm. “No… I…” Descent looked down. “Not now… begone…”
“What?!” Storm stepped towards him and reached out. “But… Dad… where have you been? What have you been doing…?” Storm took in the sight of the Shadowbolt uniform as he moved to put his hoof on Descent’s shoulder. “You’re… a Shadowbolt? But…” his hoof touched Descent.
“I SAID,” Descent roughly turned around and swiped his hoof out, knowing Storm’s arm aside. “BEGONE!” he yelled angrily, his face immediately shifting back to dread, his ears flopping down and his eyes growing wide as he looked into Storm’s eyes. Storm looked at him with horror, his father having more or less struck him, lashing out in a way he had never seen before. “No… I didn’t mean…" Descent slammed his eyes shut and turned away. “We are busy… leave us.”
“After all this time… and how much I’ve worried… that’s all you have to say to me?!” Storm suddenly raised his voice. Descent growled, spread his wings, and took off. “DAD!” Storm called out and spread his wings to give chase.
“STORM!” Spitfire’s voice boomed out, freezing him in place. Soarin and Dash turned to see Spitfire approaching. She had clearly seen all of it and was just as confused as the rest, but she agreed with something that Descent had said before leaving. “Leave him alone,” Spitfire said sternly as she walked up to him. “Anything personal right now will have to wait,” she motioned out towards the commotion still going on around them. The medical teams were all still scrambling around and Wonderbolts were still making sweeps above. “That was a rather… disheartening little reunion you just had and I’m wondering how the hell that came to pass, but… Storm, look at me,” she said sternly as she reached up and pushed Storm’s chin so he’d look at her instead of in the direction Descent flew. “We’ll get answers later, right now I need the sweep patrol reports so we can continue or preparations. Time is short.”
It was unbelievable to Soarin how Spitfire managed to stay on task after such a shocking revelation.
Descent… Soarin’s Shadowbolt rival… the pony who was more or less responsible for Soarin nearly dying back in Ponyville… the pony who helped save him and Dash from the clutches of Nightshade… the pony who now lead a powerful force of renegade Shadowbolts and old Wonderbolts… was the same pony that Storm spoke endlessly of?
The stallion that influence Storm to always try his hardest… who always showed him love and care his mother never bothered to give… who taught him to always be nice and kind… and as Storm liked to say ‘made him the stallion he is today...”
DESCENT?! The strongest, ruthless, brutal, fearless warrior of the Shadowbolts second only to Nightshade?! Storm’s… father…?
Soarin’s head felt like it was spinning. That didn’t make any sense… not even a tiny bit of sense! And it clearly wasn’t an understanding because of Descent’s reaction. What…? Just what…?!
Soarin looked down at Dash, who was staring towards Matteo. Soarin followed her eyes to the griffon to see that he was looking up… but unlike the others, he was glaring. Glaring directly at Storm.
“Oh jeeze…” Soarin mumbled to himself, as amidst the shock he realized something.
This REALLY complicated some things.
The only shock to Soarin was Descent was apparently a perfect father figure to Storm. Descent had long made up for what he did to Soarin by showing his honorable taste for combat, his morals, his loyalty, and from the fact that he ended up saving Soarin’s life. He just had no idea that all this time, a pony he was trying to befriend and help fit in… happened to be the son of his rival.
The real complications were going to hit Dash harder. Matteo had often spoken of his father and how he hoped to someday restore his honor… he also had a lot of respect for Storm and what he had achieved… Now he learned that the father of a pony he heavily respected was the killer of his own father. Descent had given him the opportunity to pursue revenge, but that didn’t change the fact that he had extreme animosity towards Descent for taking his father away from him. How would that affect his respect for Storm? Especially considering how griffons view family ties and the culture of honor through bloodlines? Knowing Matteo, because Descent killed his father… that made Storm just as much a part of his father’s death.
But then there was the subject of Storm himself. He wasn’t around to hear it, but he would find out that Descent killed Matteo’s father. Storm was a pony of compassion and kindness. As if his own father turning away from him wasn’t enough to stab him in the heart, he’d probably feel even worse because of what happened with Matteo’s father. It was something Storm didn’t need on top of how he already got down on himself at times.
Complications indeed.
“WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!” Both Fleetfoot and Starry Skies yelled out in unison, drawing Soarin’s attention towards them as the two blinked and lifted an eyebrow at each other.
“How do you not know?” Fleetfoot asked quizzically. Starry Skies rolled her eyes.
“Just because I’ve known him forever doesn’t mean he tells me everything,” she snorted as she looked back towards Descent. “Big, bad Descent, a dad?” she shook her head. “If you knew him like I do, that just doesn’t line up!”
“What, you never go out and have a little fun?” Fleetfoot asked while tipping her head comically towards Starry. “Sounds like the big guy did!”
“Want me to make it so your neck bends further?” Starry hissed, folded her ears back, and backed away as Fleetfoot giggled.
“Fleetfoot…” Soarin cringed as he spoke with a hushed tone through his teeth.
“What?” she blinked and looked to see Soarin pointing towards Storm as he finished giving Spitfire his report. He was clearly in earshot. “Oh… whoops…” she winced and put a hoof over her mouth, biting her bottom lip in regret as she saw how absolutely dejected Storm looked.
“I see,” Spitfire nodded after hearing his report. “Storm, I want you to go to the training room and get me the registry,” she asked as she saw the last few medical teams heading into the compound with the injured. “I need to take roll call and Bliss is keeping track of who’s in the training room, which I’m sure is being turned into more of an infirmary right now.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Storm said quietly.
“Storm…” Spitfire looked at him sternly. “You can confront him later. In fact, I encourage it… but right now I need your help and focus… okay?” Spitfire placed a hoof on his shoulder.
“Okay…” Storm nodded while swallowing before turning towards the compound doors.
Soarin thought about going to confront him, but as startling as the situation was and how eagerly he wanted answers… he decided not to press the subject. Besides, Storm was already looking down, and Spitfire had him on a task. There was no way this was going to disappear into the wind, he’d find out more about it soon enough.
Soarin looked towards Dash, but she had broken away, heading towards Matteo. He readied to follow, but Spitfire caught him before he could.
Dash trotted up to Matteo as Star continued to look him over. Twister was sitting slightly off to the side with half an eggshell over each ear.
“Twister,” Dash narrowed her eyes and stomped up to him. She pressed her nose roughly into his and glared. “TIME. AND. PLACE.” She said sternly. Twister blinked without changing his sneer, flattening his ears to make the eggshells off before pointing them back up straight. “Thank you,” Dash nodded, happy he caught wind of her tone. She appreciated the way he tried to keep the mood light in any and all circumstances, but even Twister had to understand that it was not acceptable at times. “How are you doing?” Dash asked Matteo as she turned to him. He didn’t say a word. He was staring down at his talons stained with Descent’s blood. “Matty?” Dash tried to get his attention again, but still nothing. She turned and looked at Little Star as she shook her head.
“He hasn’t said a word since…” she looked out towards where Descent and Storm were standing a moment ago. “That,” she made a half-hearted hoof motion. “I…” Star looked between Matteo and towards the doors of the compound where she last saw Storm. “I don’t know how to feel about this…”
“You and me both…” Dash sat down and shook her head. If things weren’t confusing enough… so much felt out of place. If Descent really was Storm’s father, how much deception was there here? Dash had mentioned Descent by name when she explained everything about the Shadowbolts to Storm and the rest of Foxtrot… yet Storm didn’t seem to know it. This had gotten very complicated… and definitely not something they needed in their current situation. “I’m so confused… and now we have extra complications. This has been one hell of a morning…” she turned and looked at Matteo. “Matty, we have to get you medical attention…” she tried, but once again got no response. “Ugh…” she reached up and rubbed her forehead.
She looked out towards Spitfire, Soarin, and Fleetfoot as the Wonderbolts from the sweep patrols began landing and giving them their reports. Starry Skies was flagging down Lightning Dust and other Renegades as they came in from their own patrols, releasing the burden from Descent, who had up and left for the moment for obvious personal reasons. Among them were all the retired Wonderbolts as well. She looked towards the compound as Storm walked out with a clipboard tucked under his wing and weaved through the gathering Wonderbolts to pass the clipboard to Spitfire.
“Thanks, Storm,” Spitfire nodded before glancing down at the board. She only did so for a moment before hovering up in the air and facing the ripped up courtyard. “ROLL CALL!” she yelled out, catching the attention of nearby Wonderbolts. “EVERYPONY, GET IN HERE! LET’S GO!” she yelled out, causing the Wonderbolts still scattered about the courtyard to gather up any stragglers and head towards her.
“Stay with him,” Dash nodded to Star, pointing to Matteo as she started walking towards Spitfire. Her squad was a tad scattered, but they were all accounted for, so she had to speak for them. Dash pushed up through the crowd until she found Soarin, leaning gently against him, which had become her usual silent greeting. Spitfire looked around as the remaining Wonderbolts gathered around. A few not on the medical list were still on their way, but Spitfire began regardless.
“Okay! I’m going to name off the Squad captains and as I do, let me know you and your squad are accounted for! If your captain is in the infirmary, you guys are smart, one of you speak for them! I know this is a tedious process, but this is to make sure that none of us are de—” Spitfire froze and her eyes widened as she looked up into the sky. “Oh no…”
All eyes followed hers… landing on the last three Wonderbolts flying down to join. It was squad three, just the Streak twins and Misty Fly with Surprise being tended to in the compound… but…
Misty Fly had tears in her eyes. Fire Streak was flying above her, resting a hoof on her shoulder as they came in for a landing…
Lightning Streak… had a limp body of a Wonderbolt in his arms.
Gasps of shock rung out as the three approached, the Wonderbolts near Spitfire backing away, giving them room to land.
“Oh my god…” Dash’s ears drooped and her heart sank as she watched Lightning Streak land, not a single trace of the usual smarm or shamelessness around him. Misty and Fire walked up beside him, Misty clinging to Fire tightly as Lightning slowly and gently place the Wonderbolt on the ground before Spitfire.
“Midnight… is she…?” Spitfire looked towards Lightning Streak. Lightning simply nodded somberly as he stepped back. The Wonderbolt was a mare, dark blue fur with a yellow mane. Her neck was turned awkwardly, her wings bent out of shape, her flight suit torn up completely on one side, exposing bruising and several brutal scrap burns.
“Broken neck…” Fire Streak spoke up. “From where and how we found her… she was driven into the ground head first… right into one of the concrete pathways,” Fire shook his head as he reached his arm around Misty Fly and hugged her as tightly as he could.
Dash stared in disbelief, frozen in a mixture of shock and intense sadness as Spitfire put her head down and backed away slightly. Lightning, Fire, and Misty all did the same followed by the entire Wonderbolt force moving as well. Several Renegades that were retired Wonderbolts landed among them as they made space around the fallen Wonderbolt.
In complete silence, the Wonderbolts and Renegades all removed their goggles and their masks if they wore one. They reached the goggles out in front of them and slowly let them drop out of their hoof. Several CLACK CLACK CLACK noises sounded out as the goggles all hit the concrete out front of the compound, the noise echoing off the surrounding surfaces as no words or noises were uttered from a single pony. They all sat down on the ground, slowly opened their wings, and looked skyward with their wings fully outstretched. They all remained in that position, Wonderbolts and retired Wonderbolt Renegades alike in complete silence for several moments as the non-Wonderbolt Renegades all watched and waited respectfully.
Dash saw all the movements, but she herself remained still, even with Soarin completing the same motions right beside her. She was frozen in place as she stared at the dead Wonderbolt alone in the center with all of her Wingmates honoring her.
Why couldn’t she move a muscle? This was something Dash was hoping she would never have to see, but here she was, looking at it. However, it wasn’t having the effect she thought it would. She wasn’t paralyzed in fear, she wasn’t broken, she wasn’t shaking… at least… not yet, and as she wondered why she didn’t feel that way… she soon found out that she was slowly coming to harsh realization.
Her pupils shrank as her eyes grew, looking over the lifeless body. As she continued to look, an image began making its way into her head… something… familiar… Something… that had just happened…
Dash felt all the air leave her lungs as she realized…
This Wonderbolt mare…
It was the mare she ran into while trying to get to Silver… who was grabbed by a Shadowbolt clone right after… and then driven towards the ground. Dash’s thought process after the fact began replaying in her head as well: The Wonderbolt could handle herself… she would be fine… she had to help Silver…
“Ah…” Dash suddenly squeaked, drawing the attention of a few Wonderbolts nearby. “Ah… ah…” her body began to shiver uncontrollably, her arms and legs shaking as she began taking steps backwards.
“Dash…?” Soarin asked in confusion as Dash’s body continued to shake and stagger.
“N…no…” Dash shook her head as she stared at the dead Wonderbolt. She ran into her and threw her off during battle… and then she abandoned her afterward… and now…
She was dead…
It was her fault…
“No… no, no, no, no!” Dash said louder as she began to feel dizzy and stumbled. “NO!” she yelled as she turned and sprinted towards the compound, her body moving on its own, and taking her away from the scene to anywhere she would find comfort. Where that was, she wasn’t even thinking about it… it just had to be away from the courtyard.
“Dash?!” Soarin called after her as several other Wonderbolts turned towards Dash. “Dash!” Soarin called after her again as he turned and ran after her, following her into the compound.
“Why…?” Fleetfoot blinked as she watched the two run off. She glanced towards Spitfire, but Spitfire didn’t even look, she was staring skyward, clearly only thinking about the loss of one of their numbers. It was something neither she nor any of them would ever get used to, but it was part of the job unfortunately. Fleetfoot glanced back at the doors as they closed behind Soarin, but she struck the thought from her mind, looking skyward with the rest to honor Midnight.
Fleetfoot didn’t get an answers about Dash, but Silver sat behind her, staring at the compound for a moment before looking back at his fallen comrade. He glanced between the lifeless body and the compound before calmly standing up and moving towards the doors, quietly weaving through the Wonderbolts and their outstretched wings. The rest of the Wonderbolts continued the prolonged moments of silence, their goggles on the ground as they held their wings out and looked skyward… honoring a fallen friend.
Run…
Just run…
Run where…?
Where to run…?
Anywhere…?
Just away from there…
Couldn’t stay there…
Because… it was you…
You, you, you, you, you, you, you, you.
Your fault… your fault… your fault…
She died because of YOU.
Rainbow Dash ran through the lobby of the compound, stumbling and bumping into nearly every piece of furniture as her body seemed to aim her towards the recruit barracks. Security staff, medical staff, and general staff all watched her curiously, not knowing why she was moving so erratically, much less why she was shaking and whimpering.
Somepony was calling her name. Somepony behind her, but she couldn’t focus. She had no idea who the voice belonged to. It was warped and distorted by all the sudden churning feelings of guilt and regret that poured over the top of her head like a giant, bottomless bucket of ice water.
She crashed face first into the doors to the barracks, her arm bending down as she tried to push them open, but they were pull from the lobby side. Without caring how disoriented and an jumbled her thoughts were, she shifted to pull the door open and stumbled through. She looked into the barracks hallway. It appeared to be endless and she started cantering down it. Her pace had slowed as she looked back and forth, trying to remember which door was hers. She veered to the left and began dragging her body across the wall as the voice calling her name came from behind her again.
“NO!” she yelled as she pushed off the wall, stumbled and fell flat. She pushed herself up and stared at the door before her. It had the ‘Foxtrot’ nameplate. She forced herself up and charged into the room.
“DASH! WAIT!” the voice was much closer. She didn’t care who or what it was, she slammed the door behind her, a loud THUMP sounding out, followed by a yelp before the door closed. Her stomach began to churn and her throat tensed as her eyes darted all about the room, walking through towards the opposite wall while stumbling. Her ears perked up as she heard the door to the barracks open behind her. She quickly dove towards the mare’s bathroom, trying to get as far away from these voices calling to her as possible.
She suddenly didn’t care about the compound, she didn’t care bout the Renegades… or the Shadowbolts. She didn’t care about the battle, or her injuries. She had forgotten all about the reveal of Descent being the killer of Matteo’s father or the fact that Descent was apparently Storm’s dad… Everything disappeared when she realized… what she had done…
She couldn’t face anypony… she was still trying to figure out what had happened, how it happened, and why it happened. But…
She was responsible for the death of a Wonderbolt.
She couldn’t look at anypony not even herse—
Dash turned and stared into the mirror above the sinks. Her eyes locked with her own as she began to breathe heavily. Suddenly she felt something incredibly wrong in her stomach, like something rushing forth. Her ears flopped down, she threw a hoof to her mouth, and her cheeks puffed up as she turned and ran to one of the toilets…
Soarin gritted his teeth and cringed outside the mare’s bathroom door as he heard the sounds of gagging and vomiting coming from inside. It was so painful to listen to that he forgot all about how tender his nose felt from Dash slamming her barracks door against it.
Something was definitely wrong. This wasn’t first time Dash had been exposed to a ‘death’ circumstance. During the fake dragon attack test the Wonderbolts feigned being lethally injured, falling to the ground while covered in illusory burns, but Dash remained strong and ended up leading her squad to be the first to ever pass. Of course that was in the heat of battle and not in the aftermath, but something else had to be eating at her. Why else would she suddenly break down, run away, and throw up? Especially during the traditional Wonderbolt ‘Honor the Fallen’ salute?
Naturally he wanted to help her. She meant everything to him, and seeing her in such a sudden state of distress was killing him, but how was he supposed to handle it? This clearly had something to do with her experiences, something he had been a little disconnected from as of late. The last thing he wanted to do was barge in and force comfort if he didn’t even know what was wrong.
Soarin shook his head and glared at the door.
Forget it. She needed him. He didn’t care if it was reckless, he was going to help her. He reached a hoof out towards the door…
“Hold it,” a voice came from behind Soarin. Soarin’s ears stood up and he turned around.
It was Silver.
Soarin blinked as Silver hobbled towards him with a clear limp in his back, left leg. He was staring directly past Soarin at the door.
“Is she in there?” Silver asked as he stopped beside Soarin. Before Soarin could reply, the sounds of gagging, coughing, and vomiting came from inside the bathroom again. Soarin cringed, shivering at the painful sounds coming from Dash as Silver simply looked towards the bathroom door and raised an eyebrow. “Hmmm…” Silver reached for the door.
“Whoa, whoa! Wait!” Soarin grabbed Silver by the shoulder. Silver halted in his tracks, but he didn’t even look at Soarin.
“I know it’s a mare’s bathroom Soarin,” Silver said flatly.
“No shit, Grey Mane,” Soarin scrunched his face. “We don’t even know what’s wrong! If she’s running away from ME of all ponies do you think it’s wise to corner her?” Soarin was forcing himself. He wanted nothing more than to kick the door down and hug Dash until everything was okay, but that wasn’t always the solution, especially if whatever was bothering her was something personal that he didn’t know about.
“No, it’s not,” Silver shook his head, still looking towards the door, but not at Soarin. “And that’s exactly why I’m going in.”
“What?!” Soarin blinked.
“You heard me…” Silver finally looked at him. “You should know better than I do, that Dash isn’t the kind of pony that you take a gentle approach with…” Silver paused as Soarin’s eyes widened for a brief moment before returning to normal. “Get your goddamn mind out of the gutter, you know what I mean.”
“I wasn’t thinking—”
“Yes you were,” Silver cut him off. “You can’t walk in, sit down, and rub her shoulder when she’s troubled,” he lifted both eyebrows. “Tell me, when’s the last time she’s revealed something that’s bothering her without you either prying… or it being something about you?”
Soarin paused and blinked, glancing down, and then up.
“Uh…”
“Exactly,” Silver nodded again. “Trust me, she’s done it to me too, the only time she softens up is when you press her for what’s wrong, or if somepony she cares about is hurt or in danger.”
“Yeah…” Soarin nodded, thinking back to the very specific times Dash was willing to open up. “You’re right…” Soarin said as he began moving towards the door.
“Nope,” Silver pressed a hoof to Soarin’s shoulder. “I’m going in alone,” he said sternly as Soarin instantly glared at him.
“So you give me a pep-talk on how to handle my own mare-friend and now you’re telling me I can’t help?” Soarin thrust his wings out angrily.
“Give it a rest. I’m not stealing your wife. I already have one,” Silver said casually.
“My wi—?!”
“Stay right here,” Silver cut him off again and pointed to the floor. “I’ll get to the bottom of this and bring her out here when she’s calmed down… then I need YOU to do the comforting part,” he stated as he turned and reached for the door.
Defeated, and unable to argue with the old veteran, Soarin sat down on the floor. He knew Silver and Dash’s relationship well. Dash had talked to him about Silver often, talking about how much she was learning from him and how great of a mentor he was in both practice and wisdom. Soarin didn’t want to admit that somepony other than him was suited for the job of helping Dash in this scenario, but Silver was a smart pony. He wouldn’t have intervened if he didn’t feel it was absolutely necessary.
“Wait…” Soarin blinked as Silver opened the door. “When was she worried about you being hurt?” he asked, but Silver purposely didn’t answer as he stepped through and the door closed, leaving Soarin alone in the barracks to sit and wait.
The bathroom door slowly closed behind Silver as he looked into the bathroom. There was no sign of Dash in his immediate eyesight, but he saw a few floor tiles near the stalls that were stained with small, dirty drop-like splotches that led into the showers. Aside from the trail, he could also hear slow, deep breaths echoing around the corner of the doorway to the showers.
Not wanting to spook her, Silver called her name.
“Rainbow Dash.”
“Ah!” Dash yelped, confirming that she was right around the corner in the showers. Silver started walking, the clip-clop of his hooves on the floor tiles echoing in the silence of the bathroom as he approached the wall. He stuck his head through the doorway, immediately looking to his left.
Rainbow Dash was right there, wheezing, shaking, her eyes wide, and reaching for the knob below the first shower head. She turned it on, cold water squeaking through the showerhead and splashing down on her for all of three seconds before Silver reached out, placed his hoof over hers and turned the knob back off.
Dash shivered as the droplets of cold water dripped from her mane and down her body, getting into her suit and making her cringe as it ran over her cuts and bruises. She turned and looked at Silver with empty eyes, her ears flopped down, and her mouth hanging open. She slumped to the floor, the material of her torn up Wonderbolt suit squeaking against the tiles as she slowly lowered to the floor, turned around, and sat down with her back against the wall. She placed her hooves over her eyes and began to cry.
Silver sighed as he looked down at her. Without taking any steps into the shower room, he turned and sat down. There was some discomfort in his leg as he sat, but eventually he got down and simply waited. The only part of him visible to Dash around the corner was his left shoulder, but all he wanted him to know was that he was there. He sat for two more minutes as she cried. There wasn’t any wailing… just quiet tears and sniffles. After a third minute went by, she finally stopped, leaving the two of them in silence.
“So…” Silver spoke up as Dash sniffled quietly “The longer we spend in here… the longer you are going to make a stallion that loves you more than the world wait outside…” the sniffling stopped suddenly. “But I’m not letting you out there to see him… until you tell me what happened.” Silver finished. His voice filled with a perfect mix of softness and sternness. “What happened with Midnight?” he immediately went straight to the point.
But he let the question go. He wasn’t looking for an immediate answer. He simply posed it to her. It nearly took Dash a full minute before she even made a sound. It was a simple mid-pitched squeak, but Silver turned his head to listen.
“M…Midnight… that was her name?” Dash sputtered, her voice was hoarse and weak, most likely from throwing up twice.
“Yes…” Silver replied, listening carefully for more.
“Midnight, huh?” Dash began to sniffle again. “I killed… Midnight…”
Silver’s eyes widened as his ears stood straight up. He didn’t move from his spot, holding himself back until he heard more.
“Killed?” Silver pressed calmly.
“Yeah… it’s…all my fault…” Dash continued. Silver released a quiet sigh of relief.
That explained it. He was just as curious as Soarin as to what was causing Dash to act this way, especially after how she handled The Test back during her recruit training. Apparently Dash felt like she was responsible for Midnight’s death. Dash was already nervous about her responsibilities as a recruit captain, so Silver could understand how something like this could have a drastic effect on her… but her thought process… was that of a rookie.
“Hmm…” Silver stood up. “Rgh…” he grunted as his back leg throbbed, but he managed. He turned and entered the shower room, keeping his eyes on Dash as she sat hunched over, her front hooves wrapped around her hind legs as she rocked back and forth lightly. He didn’t sit beside her, he sat directly in front of her and stared down at her. “Dash…” he reached down and tipped her chin up. “I want you to tell me… EXACTLY what happened.”
Dash stared up at him for a few moments, her eyes red from crying and her ears still pinned to the sides of her head. She sniffled and looked back down.
“I…” she began shakily. “I broke away from my squad… because I saw you surrounded…” she choked out as Silver nodded. “I was trying to get to you… to help. I flew directly into the swarm of the dogfight…” she sniffled. Her sentences were broken, taking random pauses as she spoke. “And Midnight ran into me… she had her back turned, trying to focus on a Shadowbolt clone. I knocked her right into the clone, and it latched to her… they turned down… and the clone started driving her towards… the ground…”
Silver continued to nod, taking in every detail.
“I saw them plunge head first…” she kept on. “And I turned to help, but I was hit by another passing Wonderbolt… I tumbled, but eventually got control… and the first thing I saw was you taking hits. I…” Dash began to tear up again. “I… pushed the thought of Midnight aside… assuming she’d be fine and then… went to join you…”
“Hmmmmm…” Silver released a low hum as she finished.
“She’s dead… I could have helped her, but I didn’t… and she died… it’s my fault!” Dash shouted as small tears squeaked down her face again. “I… I don’t know what to do…” she hugged her legs tighter. “She’s dead, I killed her… I can’t… can’t…”
“Rainbow Dash… that’s enough of that,” Silver said sternly. She blinked and looked up at him. “Killed her? You… killed her?” he shook his head. “I want you to look me in the eye and explain to me how you killed her.”
“I…” Dash looked back down. “I ran into her… and didn’t help her… and…”
“Did you kill her?” Silver repeated.
“She’s dead because of…”
“DID. YOU. KILL. HER?” Silver emphasized every word, leaning towards Dash. She stared up at him, tipping backwards as he got in her face. He was repeating himself… which meant she was clearly saying the wrong thing.
“No?” Dash sniffled and blinked. Silver pulled back and nodded.
“That’s right. You didn’t kill her, a Shadowbolt clone did. She got caught in a bad situation and unfortunately, it ended with her hitting the concrete path in a way that killed her. Telling yourself over and over again that you are the reason she’s dead is not just misguided… it’s wrong.”
“But…” Dash looked away again. “But then I abandoned her… I should have gone after her… I assumed she’d be fine… I thought… because she’s a Wonderbolt… that… that…” she stared up at Silver. “She was the only one that died!” she suddenly blurted out. “If I had saved her she’d…”
She stopped as Silver shook his head at her.
“Rainbow Dash… you would not have been the only one to assume that she could handle it. I knew Midnight, she was a very capable Wonderbolt, if I saw her get stuck in a situation while I was trying to focus on something else… I probably would have done the same thing. She’s a Wonderbolt, she earned her title, so she could handle it.” he reached forward and tapped his hoof against Dash’s forehead. “YOU did not kill her, nor were you part of the reason she got killed. It was a freak case of bad luck, hitting an isolated concrete path in the courtyard at just the right angle…” he sighed and pulled his hoof back, looking into her eyes harshly.
“We are strong…” he kept going. “We are sturdy… we are the best Equestria has to offer. But we are not invincible. And considering our chosen line of work, it’s very possible to get killed. You could die, one of your squadmates could die,” he leaned closer. “Spitfire could die, Soarin could die,” he stopped less than an inch from her face. “I… could die,” he pulled back and continued to give her the serious stare. “You joined us knowing full well what you were getting into. You became a Wonderbolt to be one of the best, and now you are. We enjoy times of peace, we live, learn, and love as a large family would, but the peace has been broken and now it’s time for you to accept that we are needed… as the best.”
Silver got up and started pacing back and forth, the limp in his back leg very visible to Dash as she continued to listen.
“Believe me… I am stricken by the loss of Midnight… everypony is. And I’m sure they will be for a while, but we will keep going strong. While the bonds that we share as a family make death incredibly hard to accept, it also drives us to be victorious for them. The harder and stronger we fight, the less likely we will lose any more of our brothers and sisters. Nothing is more powerful than a sense of family… as a family we fight… and unfortunately, sometimes we lose a member or two… but they die fighting to protect everything they hold dear, including those they died beside… Now you can sit here and blame yourself for what happened, or you can stand up and look at it from a realistic perspective.”
“Think about this for me,” Silver turned towards her and pointed his hoof at her. “You say that bumping into her is the reason she died… but did you die when the other Wonderbolt collided with you right after?” Dash visibly reacted, her eyes widening slightly as he continued. “Did you die when I ran into your back? No. You didn’t. And who’s to say she wouldn’t have been caught anyway? What if I bumped into her shortly after had you not? Not to mention several Wonderbolts collided in that cacophony of a dogfight… yet we only had one fatality. Look at me Dash…” Silver reached down and tapped her chin as he moved closer. “In a battle as wild and massive as the one we just experienced along with all of us having no knowledge of how to even fight the enemy… it is a miracle that we only lost one Wonderbolt. We could have easily lost several… don’t act like your case here is so special, it was simply unlucky.”
“But I still could have saved her!” Dash suddenly yelled out. She pushed away from Silver and stood up, walking past the doorway to the other side of the showers before whipping around and glaring at him as if he wasn’t fully getting why she felt so horrible. “I didn’t even try! I neglected her! Soarin would have tried! Storm Front would have tried! I didn’t even think of it!” she started comparing herself to others. Silver calmly turned and walked towards her.
“If you had stopped to save her instead of flying to my side… how do you know I would have survived?” he suddenly asked. Dash tipped her head and blinked before throwing her wings out and shaking her head.
“But you’re goddamn Silver Lining!” she shouted.
“THAT DOESN’T MATTER!” Silver Lining belted back at her, his voice almost physically forcing Dash backwards as she took shaky steps backwards. He walked towards her, each step pressing her closer and closer to the wall behind her until her plot pressed against it. Silver stopped right in front of her and pointed. “You’re drawing conclusions based on ‘what if’s’! What if I hesitated in my start, what if I tried to save her, what if I had stayed with my squad…? There is no way to control a large scale battle. Especially with all the confusion about what we were facing… you are beating yourself up for no reason!”
“SHUT UP!” Dash yelled back at him. Something she never thought she would do to Silver, but she was clearly not thinking straight. It was Something Silver was clearly aware of because the sudden lash out did absolutely nothing to change his expression. He just continued to look at her sternly as she let more out at him. “Are you even listening to me?! You don’t understand what I’m feeling at all! I left her behind! I could have stayed and helped but instead I…”
Dash’s eyes suddenly grew so wide that it was a wonder the sound of glass breaking didn’t emanate from them.
“Oh…” she looked down. “Oh my god…” she shook lightly as she glanced up towards Silver. His expression hadn’t changed, but because of what she just said, how it made her feel had completely changed. Did she seriously just accuse Silver of not knowing what it was like to leave somepony behind? “Silver… I’m…” how could she do that? How could she be so stupid? Silver understood it better than anyone… but even then, the circumstances were so much different… Silver fled his comrades in fear of drake fire while she left Midnight in attempt to help somepony else in need… how could she possibly compare those? Not to mention the way she was acting almost sounded worse than how Silver beat himself up after he lost all of his squadmates. She felt absolutely terrible. “I’m so sorry…” she fell down on her plot and looked down at the floor in shame, refusing to look at her mentor after saying something so heartless.
“That’s enough,” Silver said as he stepped up right in front of her and sat down. “Dash, we all live and learn… With the way things are starting to take shape, I guarantee you that this won’t be the only Wonderbolt who dies. The Renegades have already lost several. No pony is ever going to be prepared for it, but don’t start getting it into your head that it’s something you can completely prevent… almost got myself killed multiple times with that mindset after I lost Blizzard. We—”
Silver was cut off as Dash leaned into him, wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly, sniffling once or twice into his chest. Silver blinked, remaining still as he stared down at her with surprised eyes.
“Don’t die, Silver…” she pleaded. Silver’s ears flopped down. And he huffed.
“Dash, I just said—”
“Promise me you won’t die,” she cut him off. Silver lifted an eyebrow. She just heard everything he just said… but this wasn’t about his lecture. This was for her peace of mind. Silver wasn’t one for affection, and from what he understood, it took a lot for Dash to show it, so if she was hugging him right now, it was because she really cared. It reminded him of how he used to view Blizzard Strike. If he had tried to hug Blizzard, he probably would have been diverted and gotten his head put through a window during the attempt, but the care… how important Blizzard was to him as a mentor, friend, and father-like figure in the Wonderbolts… that’s what mattered. And… it was unfortunate that Blizzard died before Silver could ever really admit how important he was to him.
Silver slowly reached his left arm up and draped it over Dash’s back.
“I promise I won’t die. I’ll be damned if I die before I feel like it,” he stated firmly.
They remained that way for a moment before Silver glanced over at the doorway leading back into the rest of the bathroom.
“Feeling better?” he asked.
“No…” Dash quickly replied.
“Feeling less guilty at least?” he said while rolling his eyes.
“Yes…” she replied simply again. Silver gently rubbed her shoulder.
“Good… my job is done. You need to stop hug me and go hug a stallion that’s worried sick about you right outside,” he encouraged. Dash suddenly let go of Silver and blinked.
“Oh no… he’s been waiting this whole time?” she frowned.
“I made him wait, reasoning first, love second… believe me, it’s strange the other way around,” Silver said seriously as he turned and nudged her along. “Come on, your husband needs you.”
“My hus—?!”
“Now,” Silver pushed her a little harder towards the door.
Soarin perked up, getting to his hooves immediately when the door to the mare’s bathroom opened and Silver appeared with Dash in tow.
Dash’s eyes widened slightly when she saw Soarin and the look of worry on his face.
Without a word, Dash left Silver’s side and rushed up to Soarin, nearly throwing herself into him as the two both reached for each other and embraced in a tight hug. They didn’t say anything… all Soarin wanted was to see her and know she was fine, and all Dash wanted was comfort that only he could give her. Silver had brought Dash back to her senses, but the shock she felt upon feeling it was her fault frightened her. She wanted to be in the one place where she could melt and let everything else go, in Soarin’s arms.
Silver smiled as the two shared their affection, walking right by them and heading for the door to leave them alone.
Dash glanced up towards Silver as he left, but only looked in time to see the end of Silver’s tail disappear before the door closed behind him.
“So…” Soarin began as he planted a light kiss on her forehead. “What exactly was that all about?” he bit his lower lip as she frowned and her ears flopped down. “Dammit, sorry… you probably don’t want to talk about it.”
“It’s fine,” Dash shook her head. “I already poured out all my stupid angst on Silver. I…” she sighed. “I bumped into Midnight while flying through the dogfight. I was trying to get to Silver… right after that a Shadowbolt Clone got a hold of her and took her down. I got hit after I saw her falling, throwing me off balance, but when I got back upright, I decided to go help Silver instead.”
“Oh…” Soarin’s ears drooped.
“It’s stupid though... Like Silver said, there were multiple collisions during the battle including some that happened to me. And I didn’t abandon her, I was set on an objective and trusted her ability. It just didn’t end well. Still…” she sighed. “It’s just… hard to think about.”
“To this day,” Soarin took over as he held her tighter. “I’ve only lost three fellow Wonderbolts including Midnight. The other two were Scarlet Flame and Turbo Rush… lost them both taking down a dragon that was rampaging towards Fillydelphia… Both of them were part of squad fifteen…” Soarin shivered, Dash feeling it as she pressed her cheek to his chest. “Not even a fraction of the ponies that Silver has seen fall in his lifetime… especially with the Wonderbolt involvement of the last Griffon-Drake war, but it never leaves you. I saw them die… and their names will always be burned into my head because of it. Now Midnight too…. it’s not an easy thing to take. I’m going to have to get Fleet to come with me when Spitfire writes the letter to Midnight’s family… because she can never do it without tears,” Soarin shook his head. “Sometimes I wonder how Spitfire handles the burden of being responsible for all of us… that on top of things not going her way much lately aside from Wave Chill. The fact that she stands right back up after everything knocks her down again and again is nothing short of amazing and inspiring.”
“That’s what worries me…” Dash shook her head as she held it against Soarin’s chest. “I don’t know if I’m ready for a leader role… even if I’m just a recruit captain,” she pulled away from Soarin and walked over to her bed. “During The Test, I was terrified when I saw you guys all go down, but there was no real evidence that you guys were killed. It was also so spur of the moment and I was driven by your encouragement and my desire to save Canterlot. Here… it was after everything died down, mixed with how I felt about ‘causing’ it, seeing her lifeless, mangled body, and watching the Wonderbolts pay their respects…” she shivered and hugged herself as Soarin quickly moved towards her as she sat down on her bed. “It just really broke my mind. I didn’t know what to do. I don’t even know how my squad handled it. I’m sure Matteo and Twister are fine, but Star…”
Soarin sat down beside her and quickly wrapped one of his large wings completely around her as he leaned in, resting his side against hers as he tipped his head over to lean it on hers. She sighed as she nestled herself into his body.
“I guess I’m just scared… scared of being responsible for my squad. What if one of them dies? It falls on my shoulders. I’m lucky that Squall got away with just a cut to his face… I should have been there to help him, it could have been worse… If he had gotten killed I…” Dash paused shivering at the thought. “You’re right, I don’t know how Spitfire handles so much… I can barely handle keeping an eye on just four others,” she stopped as Soarin released her from his wing, turned her towards him with his arm, and gently stroked a hoof against her face.
“Dash… I’m just as scared as you. I have so many great friends here in the Wonderbolts… no, not friends, brothers… and sisters. They are like a family to me. I dread every moment of combat we engage in because I never know if one or two of them will suddenly be taken from me… but…” he tipped his head down, lightly nuzzling the side of his nose with hers. “It’s because I love them all so much that I fight so hard… in hopes to protect them from harm. I may not be able to save them all, but I can sure as hell fight my hardest to help them…” he paused and blinked as Dash suddenly smiled very wide. “What?” he asked with a chuckle.
“Nothing… just… Silver literally just said something like that to me,” Dash grinned as she looked into Soarin’s eyes.
“Well, wouldn’t you know it… he’s the one who taught me to approach it that way,” Soarin smiled back as he too looked into her eyes.
The two remained still, simply taking in the eyes they had grown so accustomed into getting lost in. They were both a little banged up, bruised, and cut… but that was alright. Nothing helped the pain take a back seat like being intimate with the one they loved. It didn’t take long for the two of them to lean in and share a kiss, perfectly synchronized on the approach having shared their lips so many times in the past. It was second nature to them now, but even after so many times, it still felt so perfect and so right.
The two broke away very slowly… enjoying the feeling of each other’s hot breath upon their noses for as long as possible until they were far enough away to see each other fully.
“Soarin… we’ve got a hell of a time ahead of us… don’t we?” Dash asked.
“Mmhmm…” Soarin nodded. “I’m feeling pretty good about it though,” he said with a smirk. Dash took one look at his smirk and quickly shook her head.
“Oh no… incoming cheesy… incoming cheesy!” she giggled as Soarin frowned.
“You’re no fun… what’s wrong with cheesy?” he snickered as Dash lifted an eyebrow and him and puckered her lips at him teasingly.
“I never said there was anything wrong with it… you’re just the master of cheesy,” she said with a giggle.
Soarin took a moment to look her over. At first he was a little jealous that he couldn’t help Dash in a way Silver could… but when Silver led her out, she was still sad. He may have helped break her from her self-inflicted scrutiny… but it was he, Soarin, who made her smile and laugh again. Even when times were sad or on the grim side. Descent said it himself, it’s important to never let go of what brings you joy. It’s what makes life worth living.
“Well,” Soarin grinned. “As long as I have you here, I feel like I can take on a whole army by myself…” Soarin began. Dash’s eyes widened slightly and her smile disappeared, replaced with a look of curiosity and awe. “You really do drive me, Dash. I swear I’ll never die as long as I have you at my side,” he finished with a very sincere smile. A raging blush covered Dash’s face as Soarin blinked. “Something I said?” he asked with a chuckle.
“Uh… yeah!” Dash grinned sheepishly as her blush persisted. “That wasn’t cheesy… that was… very sweet… and kind of very sexy…” Dash admitted as bit her lower lip and looked up at him with slightly dreamy eyes. A sly grin made it’s way onto Soarin’s face.
“I dunno if sex is a good idea right now, with how rough we usually are it will probably make our injuries worse,” Soarin said bluntly. Dash burst out laughing and fell backwards onto the bed.
“WOW! Way to crash and burn the moment!” she said while giggling uncontrollably, letting loose an ‘ow’ or two as the laughing made her injuries sting a little.
“Hey, don’t look at me! Silver’s the one that put the thought in my head!” Soarin chuckled while trying to defend himself… which only made Dash laugh harder.
Outside the door… Silver sat with his ear up against it. He smiled as he heard Dash laughing before slowly standing up.
“Well done, son… well done…” he said as he began limping down the hallway. “Ah… ow… dammit…” he cursed as he approached the doors leading into the lobby. “This is going to hurt like hell tomorrow morning…” he sighed as he painfully limped down the hall, his back legs clearly aching much more than he showed when with Soarin and Dash.
Suddenly, the doors to the lobby opened. Before anypony could step through, Silver took a deep breath and stood completely upright, walking normally despite how painful it currently was to walk normally.
Little Star hopped into the hallway and began trotting towards the Foxtrot barracks until she saw Silver.
“Oh! Sir!” she stopped and saluted. “Have you seen Dash? Did she come through here?” Star asked with concern. She was clearly a little shaken by the scene outside the compound, but definitely concerned for Dash as well. However, Silver didn’t want Soarin and Dash to be interrupted.
“She’s fine… she’s in the barracks,” Silver nodded. “She’s just a little shaken she’ll be—”
“Oh! Thanks! I gotta check up on her!” Star cut him off and started walking. Silver’s eyes widened and he quickly reached out to stop her before she could get by. “Huh?” she blinked as Silver held a hoof to her chest.
“She’s fine,” Silver repeated. “Leave her be, she’ll be out.”
“I’m just gonna go make sure,” Star said adamantly as she shifted around Silver’s hoof. Silver scrunched his face, turning around and scooping Little Star up with his wing and completely wrapping her in it like a burrito to the point where she couldn’t move… and was upside down. “What the…?! HEY!”
“I said she’s fine, you look hurt, we should go to Bliss,” Silver said flatly as he started walking towards the door.
“BUT—” Little Star didn’t get any further, squirming in Silver’s wing as he carried her right out of the barracks to protect Soarin and Dash’s privacy.
---To Be Continued---