Chapter 25: What Power is For
"So how is it going?" asked Soarin' as he wrapped his arms and wings around Rainbow Dash, hugging her back against his chest, the two of them lounging on a cloud, watching as the moon slowly climbed its way up past the horizon and the stars winked into existence, one by one. As always, Princess Luna did a spectacular job of painting the night sky with brushstrokes of glittering light, which hung around the moon like a shimmering haze. On this most romantic night of the year, it appeared that she'd pulled out all of the stops.
"How's what going?" asked Rainbow, tucking her head under Soarin's chin. Her mane was a ruffled, tangled mess after several hours spent snuggling, kissing, and wrestling playfully. Their hooves had wandered quite adventurously during the course of their "session." Granted, sex was still off the table until Rainbow's training was complete. But that didn't mean that she and Soarin' couldn't find other ways to enjoy their time together.
"Your training," said Soarin', "Since you're not in Cloudsdale right now, I can't check up on you like I used to. But Spitfire's still assigned me to be your 'morale officer,' so I still want to know how things are going."
"Eh, it's going okay," said Rainbow, "A lot of what Firefly says about what I need to do doesn't make a whole lot of sense. It's like when you take a test and there's a question you know you know the answer to, but you just can't think about it. It's sitting there on the tip of your tongue, but you just can't spit it out.
"She keeps telling me to look for my Wings of the Heart and I don't really get what she means by that. But I feel like there's something there, inside of me, something that's the answer to what she's talking about. I just can't..." She let out a frustrated groan, squirming against Soarin' and trying to find a more comfortable position.
"You'll get it," said Soarin', nuzzling the top of her head, "What advice does Firefly give you?"
"She keeps saying that I need to focus on the feeling of flying," said Rainbow, "She said that my love of flying is the key to finding the Wings of the Heart for me."
"That makes a lot of sense," said Soarin'.
"It does?"
"Well...yeah," said Soarin', "Pegasi, especially those oldsters and conservatives, like the ponies who supported the tribalist uprising, like to talk about how important flying is to the pegasi, how it's what makes us better than the other tribes. Flying is special to pegasi, it's critical to what we are and what we do.
"But, for a lot of us, flying is just a means to an end. We fly because we need to do something with that ability to fly, whether it's working the weather or simply getting from Point A to Point B. It isn't about flying itself so much as it is what we do with our flight. But you're different."
"I am?" asked Rainbow, craning her head up to look at Soarin' in surprise.
"Yup," said Soarin' cheerfully, "My dad always used to say that a mare is at her most beautiful when she's doing what she loves, that she lights up like the sun. I just used to think it was sappy, married-pony nonsense until I saw you flying and I realized that he was right." Soarin' paused to plant a quick kiss on Rainbow's lips. "When you're out there flying, you practically shine and you become the most beautiful pony I've ever seen."
"You sap," said Rainbow with a giggle. Nonetheless, she gave him a kiss in return. Then she paused. "Wait a second...You say that I become the most beautiful pony you've ever seen when I fly. Does that mean that, when I'm not flying, I'm not the most beautiful pony you've ever seen?"
"Um..." Soarin's eyes darted right and left as his forehead broke out into a cold sweat.
Rainbow's eyes narrowed as she continued to look up at his face. "What do you mean by 'um' pal? Are you really having such a hard time answering that?"
"Uh..." Soarin' grinned sheepishly at her. "Well..."
"Soaaaaaaarin'..."
Cripes! thought Soarin', How do I get myself into these kinds of situations?
Unlocking the door, Coco Pommel pushed it open and ushered Perlin into the house. The young stallion's eyes roved over the place as he took in its details. "So you're living here now?"
"For now," said Coco, as she led him into the living room, "It actually belongs to Rarity's parents." She gave him a brief primer about her circumstances. When they reached the living room, she directed Perlin towards one of the couches there. "Wait here," she said, giving him a playful smile, "I'll be right back."
As Coco trotted out of the living room, Perlin settled onto the couch to wait, shuffling his wings awkwardly beneath his cloak. Looking around, he noted the decor of the room and then realized that it would say nothing about Coco because she was only a temporary tenant of this place. There was little for him to do to keep himself occupied. So, for the time being, he settled for resting his chin on the couch's arm and waiting for Coco to come back.
His ears picked up the sound of her moving upstairs in what Perlin presumed to be her room, clearly up to something. Straining his ears, he couldn't figure out what she was doing from the muffled sound she was making. After several minutes, he heard the sound of her hooves on the stairs and turned towards the door, watching eagerly for her reappearance.
"Um...just hold on a second," said Coco, peaking around the side of the doorway and giving Perlin a tiny, fluttery grin, "I haven't really done this for somepony before." Coco was much more used to other ponies wearing her dresses than she was to wearing one herself. From his position, Perlin could see that she'd brushed her mane and adjusted the flower hairpin that she normally set in it.
After a few more seconds' worth of hesitation, Coco slowly stepped into the room. As she did, Perlin found himself gaping.
Coco's dress was a lighter shade of cyan than her mane or tail. Eschewing any fancy embellishments or extras, it seemed to consist of a single sheet of silky cloth draped over her form, folded artfully over her withers so that the edges of the hem hung well clear of her forelegs, its front forming two thick, ribbon-like strips running under her forelegs that crossed over her chest and under her neck before sweeping up to merge seamlessly with the part resting on her shoulders. The dress's smooth skirt seemed to simply flow like liquid over her back and down over her haunches, its train resting on the floor right behind her hooves. As Coco continued to walk, the fabric seemed to ripple with her every movement, the skirt making a faint shushing noise as it brushed over the floor in her wake.
"Wha-what do you think?" asked Coco, blushing and looking down and off to the side, almost afraid to meet Perlin's eyes.
Silence met her question and Coco dared to look up at the cloaked stallion on the couch. Her blush intensified when she realized that Perlin was still staring at her, his mouth hanging wide open, apparently unable to speak. A giggle rose in her throat. I'm glad. This is really awkward to me too.
"W-well?" she pressed, leaning forward slightly.
It took Perlin a few seconds longer to get over his gobsmacked state. Finally, he blinked, as though breaking out of some kind of charm. His jaw worked furiously as he sought to find the words to describe what he was seeing. However, only one ever actually found its way to his mouth. "Wow!"
The hushed, breathless tone of his voice sent a happy shiver down Coco's spine, so very different from the kind of shivers Perlin used to give her. "I-I'm glad you like it," she said, "Y-you can t-touch it...if you want to."
Perlin tensed up and, though he didn't actually move off the couch, Coco could see that he was shifting his weight away from her. "A-are you sure?"
Coco made an affirmative sounding squeak and nodded. Slowly, Perlin got off the couch and stepped towards her, his movements just as nervous and hesitant as hers had been. He raised a forehoof that Coco was surprised to see was shaking like a leaf. It puzzled her a little. She'd already hugged him earlier and had made it clear that she was all right with him touching her now. Yet, he still seemed unwilling, as though he was afraid he might hurt her.
Taking one last step, Coco moved forward so that Perlin's hoof came into contact with her dress, just where it ran over her shoulder. She heard his sudden intake of breath as his hoof came into contact with the fabric, which felt smooth, almost like liquid, beneath his frog. Coco began to press forward a little more, leading Perlin's hoof up over her shoulder and onto her back as she moved forward and pressed her chest up against his, resting her neck against his.
"What is this?" asked Perlin, moving his hoof up and down Coco's back, the feeling sending little shivers of excitement down her spine.
"It's something Rarity came up with," said Coco, "I wanted to give the dress it's own feel...and smell."
Prompted by Coco's words, Perlin leaned forward a little and sniffed, picking up thee faint scent of hydrangea rising from Coco's dress. ""It's amazing," he said, "You did this for me?"
"W-well...I had the design in mind for a while," said Coco, pulling back so that she could look at his face, "I just thought that today was a good occasion to make it. I was worried that I might not get to wear it for you."
"It's beautiful," said Perlin, "and so are you."
"Th-thank you," stammered Coco, going beet-red, then giggling. "You're getting better at this."
"I'm sorry...by the way," said Perlin, looking down, "for the way I used to treat you. I knew that I was making you uncomfortable by being there all the time. I just...I just didn't want to stay away. It was selfish of me."
"It was," said Coco with a nod, "But you know better now. I can tell that you're actually a good pony."
Moving with deliberate slowness, Coco gently cupped Perlin's cheeks and lifted his face back up. Leaning in, she lightly kissed him on the lips, letting her own linger a second before pulling back again. "You were there for me when I needed a friend, somepony I could trust. You protected me, even though you always used to put your amusement first. Before that...you just didn't really know how to show how you felt. I think you know better now."
"Maybe I do," said Perlin, now smiling himself, "I have something to show you as well."
Blinking in surprise, Coco drew back. "What is it?" she asked, genuinely curious.
Perlin reached up and undid the clasp that held his black cloak in place. Shrugging his shoulders, he slid the garment off of his back, letting it fall to the floor. As he did, Coco gasped in surprise, her eyes going wide with shock.
The wings of silvery, razor-edged mithril were gone. In retrospect, Coco realized she should have noticed that something was different about Perlin earlier. When he'd landed behind her, there had been no telltale rattle of metal. The faint granting noises that Perlin's wings made as they shifted beneath his cloak had been absent as well. He'd also been a bit more careless than usual, not making an special effort to keep his wings clear of her hooves or body whenever she was near him. Now she saw why.
Perlin's wings were now a dark, grayish-blue. They looked surprisingly good in contrast to his cream-colored coat, almost matching his mane in color. Instead of the intricately shaped metal Coco had grown accustomed to seeing, Perlin's new feathers looked completely natural and organic. "Wha-what did you do? Did you get your old wings back?"
"No," said Perlin, unfolding his wings and slowly working them, "They are made of new materials. According to the one who made them, they should be even stronger than my old wings."
Another shiver, this one not so pleasant, made its way down Coco's spine as she stared at Perlin's new wings. "Oh..."
"I'm still learning how to use them properly," explained Perlin, seemingly oblivious to her discomfort, "They work differently from my old ones. But there's one thing I really wanted."
"Wha-what was that?" asked Coco, shaking a little harder now as she watched Perlin carefully.
Unfolding one of his wings, Perlin extended it in her direction. Coco shrank back from it for a moment before realizing what he wanted. Reaching out, she gently brushed her hoof against hiss feathers and let out a tiny gasp. She'd expected something hard and rigid, a new set of blades for Perlin to carve up ponies with. Instead, she found something soft and smooth, his feathers almost as silky as her dress in texture. Moving her hoof, she realized she could trace the edges of his feathers without getting cut. Coco had never actually felt a pegasus’ wings before, but she imagined that a normal pegasus’ wings might feel something like this.
“With this, I don’t have to worry about accidentally cutting you,” said Perlin, “We don’t have to be so…cautious anymore.”
To prove his point, Perlin reached out and pulled Coco into a tight hug before extending both his wings and wrapping them around her, holding her close as he slowly brushed the feathers of his wings up and down her body. Through the fabric of her dress, Coco could still feel the light brush of his feathers against her back. For a moment, she was flummoxed by his forwardness when he had been so shy and awkward only a few minutes earlier. But now he was excited and very…forward, rubbing his cheek against hers as his wings stroked her back, pressing a little bit harder with each movement, but never enough to hurt her.
It felt…quite nice, actually. Coco had never been hugged like this. There was a sense of intimacy in Perlin holding her with both his arms and his wings, something that made her feel incredibly close to him. She wanted to hug him back, exchange more kisses with him, maybe something more. However, Coco’s rational mind quickly cooled her head before the blood got to running too hot in her veins. If they let their passions get out of control, there was a possibility that they would do something they weren’t ready for, something they might regret later.
"P-Perlin," whispered Coco, "Perlin...wait..."
The young stallion didn't seem to hear her, instead transferring his affections to her neck.
"Perlin...please," pleaded Coco, growing more and more nervous with each passing second, "Please...stop...STOP!"
Her shout caused Perlin to snap out of it. Coco felt his body freeze before he abruptly pushed away, the force of the motion actually knocking her backwards with a frightened squeak. Righting herself, Coco looked up to see Perlin backing away from her until he bumped up against the far wall, staring at her with wide, terrified eyes.
"I'm sorry," he said, so quietly that she could barely hear his voice from where she was lying, "I'm sorry...I..." Perlin closed his eyes tight and averted his face, clearly expecting dismissal or rejection from her.
Coco was sincerely tempted to ask him to leave. She knew he would go if she asked him to. It was the only thing that kept her from bolting herself. Her mind was swimming as she tried to figure out what had just happened, what had nearly happened. Realizing she was hyperventilating, Coco forced herself to take deep, slow breaths to calm down. She had to figure out what had just happened and how to deal with it.
The first thing that came to mind was that Perlin had almost forced her. He had gotten so excited in the heat of the moment that he'd barely heard her plea to stop. It was dangerous if he couldn't control himself. But he did stop, Coco reminded herself, Besides, I think this is my fault. For all that he had done and could do, Perlin was still very young in both mind and heart. She realized she should have known better than to take things so far. Perlin didn't understand romance and relationships fully. He might have cared for her, but he didn't yet realize that there were lines that neither of them were ready to cross.
She was so lost in thought that Coco almost missed Perlin's next words.
"I should go," he whispered, "I'm sorry."
"No!" said Coco as the young stallion started for the door, "Wait!"
Perlin stopped and looked at her in confusion.
"I'm sorry," said Coco, getting back on her hooves, "This was my fault."
"But I-" began Perlin, but cut off as she shook her head at him.
"We aren't ready for this," said Coco, giving him a sad smile, "I let things get too carried away. I'm sorry."
"Aren't ready...?" Perlin blinked, his expression childlike in its incomprehension.
"It's...there's..." Coco tried to find the words to explain the situation, but couldn't. Everything she tried to come up with to explain the situation sounded forced and awkward.
"We got carried away," she said finally, "I think we need to talk about this more."
Perlin canted his head, clearly waiting to hear what she had to say.
"Perlin," she said, deciding to go back to the reason why this situation had suddenly become so uncomfortable for her, "Are your wings...are they...still...weapons?"
Perlin nodded.
"Why?" asked Coco, eyeing the appendages nervously.
"I...It's what I do," said Perlin, "It's all I've known." He glanced back and Coco saw what he was looking at...not his wings, but the mark on his flank, a blade being sharpened on a whetstone.
Coco remembered hearing Perlin's story about how he had been raised. She'd forgotten that his willingness to fight and his desire to hone his skills an intrinsic part of his being. They were the things that drove him and gave him and gave him fulfillment. It was the main reason he had embraced what was essentially a mutilation of his original wings in order to give him feathers of metal that could cleave through steel. His childlike innocence had been the reason he had been so cavalier about killing and the true issue that she had to address.
"But what will you use them for?" asked Coco, eyeing his wings curiously. They had been soft and unthreatening when she had touched them. She wondered how exactly they worked if they were truly stronger than his previous set, as he claimed.
"Right now, I'm using them in service of my employer," replied Perlin, "But...he hasn't had me actually employ them to any particular purpose. I think he's still waiting for me to get used to them."
"So...you're still a mercenary then?" asked Coco.
"I am," replied Perlin.
"I'm not...I'm not sure how I feel about that," said Coco in all honesty. She supposed part of it was the cultural bias that had been instilled in her as an Equestrian towards ponies who turned skill in violence for profit. Then again, Perlin, however unwittingly, along with Greenblight and Inkwell, had made the last few months of her life Tartarus. The idea that Perlin was still selling his lethal skills, possibly to somepony who might tell Perlin to use them against her, gave her the chills.
"Answer this for me," said Coco, "If the pony who hired you...if he told you to kill me...would you?"
Perlin opened his mouth and stopped. Coco wondered whether yes or no had been his more immediate answer and also wondered whether it was good or bad that he had to think about it.
Finally, Perlin closed his eyes, seemingly deep in thought. "I'd have to say no. I can't bear the thought of hurting you or threatening you anymore."
"But if it were somepony else, you'd be just fine with it?" asked Coco.
"I'm not sure..." said Perlin, "I have my obligations...I never used to worry about taking them seriously because I liked fighting and it didn't matter to me whether my opponents died or not. If my employer said I was to kill them, then that was that. Things used to be much simpler for me."
Despite herself, Coco found the strength of will to smile. "Growing up does that," she said, "It means realizing that the world isn't such a simple place and that having fun isn't the only thing that should matter to you."
"I need to think about this," said Perlin, "I should go." He headed towards the door and stopped partway, looking over his shoulder at her. "I'm sorry I made such a mess of things."
"It's all right," said Coco giving him her warmest smile.
Perlin took his leave. Only when she heard the door click shut did Coco allow herself to slump down to the floor and let out a shuddering sigh. It was nearly ten minutes later that she realized that Perlin had left his cloak resting on the floor.
"Goodnight," said Dawn as he wrapped his wings around Scootaloo, holding her close so that they could press their foreheads together.
"Goodnight Dawn," said Scootaloo. The two of them exchanged a quick kiss before the filly retreated to her house.
Pleased with a day well spent, Dawn turned and started walking in the direction of his own home. He could take to the air and easily be there in a matter of minutes, but he thought his mother and father might enjoy whatever they were doing a little longer. He liked the idea of giving them some extra privacy.
"You two look happy together."
It took Dawn a minute to register the voice and realize he recognized it. Hooves thudded into the grass behind him. Whirling around, Dawn spun to face Perlin Bluestreak, who watched him with a peculiar expression. It took Dawn a second to register the lack of killing intent Perlin possessed. He was reminded of their little conversation shortly after Hearth's Warming. It was the last time Dawn had seen Perlin, though Twilight had apparently seen him during her time at Elderflower's mansion.
Perlin's comment also gave Dawn reason to pause. Why would Perlin care about his relationship with Scootaloo? He'd never taken an interest in that before.
Then he noticed something else off about Perlin, particularly since the young stallion was no longer wearing his cloak. "You've changed your wings," observed Dawn, canting his head slightly.
His wind-sense told him even more than his eyes did. Perlin's wings no longer felt like rigid metal to the wind. Instead, they felt more like natural feathers, soft and flexing in the evening's breeze. However, there was something about them, something that changed the way the air flowed through them, that struck a familiar chord within Dawn, an alien feeling, but one that reminded him of something he'd encountered before. Trying to remember where he'd felt this same sense of offness previously, Dawn was suddenly transported back to that day in the skies above the Everfree Forest, as he, the Wonderbolts, and other allies faced down the strangest opponent he'd ever encountered.
"Dark Matter?" wondered Dawn, trying to get a better feel for Perlin's wings through the wind.
"As a matter of fact...yes," replied Perlin, giving Dawn an amused smile, "I'm impressed you noticed."
"Then I assume your current employer is one Morning Star," said Dawn, his voice a low growl. From everything that he'd learned, Morning Star was a pony he hoped to someday give a piece of his mind to.
"Yes," said Perlin with a shrug, "Though he prefers being called Wight Shade right now."
"I see," said Dawn, "So you're working for him then?"
"That is the case," admitted Perlin, "Though, currently, he doesn't seem to have any actual work for me to do at the moment."
"And what are you doing here?" asked Dawn, raising an eyebrow. He could have pressed Perlin for information regarding his employer. But Perlin was unlikely to betray such information. On top of that, if Dawn forced the issue, it would probably lead to a fight right in the middle of Ponyville, which would have disastrous consequences for the town, which was still recovering from the last major battle that had taken place here. And, while Dawn figured that he and Perlin could leave the town limits and find a more secluded area to finish their fight, something Perlin had been willing to do in the past, he was uncertain of his ability to actually win. Perlin's new wings constituted a massive unknown, Dark Matter being capable of feats beyond even Dawn's imagination. There was no telling what abilities Perlin's new wings had.
"I came because I had a question for you," replied Perlin.
“And what question is that?” asked Dawn.
Perlin sighed and looked over his wings. “Why is it that you can hone your skills, but nopony seems so frightened of you…?” He glanced at the house Scootaloo had just entered. “…especially her?”
“Hmm?” Dawn blinked for a moment and looked over at the house, more than a little confused by Perlin’s question. “As for Scootaloo, at least part of it comes from the fact that I am teaching those skills to her. It’s hard for you to learn something if you regard it as a source of fear.” He returned his gaze to Perlin. “What brought this on?”
“I…I…” Perlin looked as though he was trying to figure out what to say. Dawn figured he probably wanted to keep his situation ambiguous in order to keep Dawn from learning something.
“You have somepony…don’t you?” inquired Dawn. He decided to hold off telling Perlin that he had an idea of who that somepony was. He figured Perlin might be more comfortable if she were kept anonymous for purposes of this conversation.
“Well…’have’ is probably not the word I would use,” said Perlin, “I’m not certain I can say that I 'have' her in the sense that you have that filly.”
“So it’s a her,” observed Dawn, raising an eyebrow, “I honestly wasn’t certain that you took an interest in things like that.”
“That may be the problem,” said Perlin, “Before I met her, I never did. I’d never met anypony I’d taken a genuine interest in as anything other than an opponent.”
"I see," said Dawn, "So then, given your question, I am guessing that your skills...or perhaps the weapons you choose to use them with have caused her to fear you."
Perlin nodded slowly.
Tilting his head, Dawn examined Perlin's wings again. "Those wings certainly feel different than your last pair. I am guessing that, while they are probably formidable weapons, they feel like regular pegasus wings most of the time."
Again, Perlin nodded.
"And that was the reason you chose to have those wings replace the pair you previously had," mused Dawn.
Yet again, Perlin nodded.
"Can you explain the problem to me more thoroughly?" asked Dawn, leaning in, interested by this change in his enemy...if Perlin could even be called that anymore.
"Even though I made this change, she's still upset because my wings are still weapons," said Perlin with a sigh, "But this is what I like. I like using them, using the skills I've acquired, meeting strong opponents, fighting them..."
"I don't think that's what really upsets her," said Dawn, "Though without speaking to her directly, I can't confirm that. She knows about your line of work, doesn't she?" At Perlin's nod, he said, "That may be the issue then. You asked me how I could hone my skills and yet not have anypony be frightened of me. However, that is a mistaken assumption."
"What do you mean?"
"I have frightened ponies," said Dawn, glancing back forlornly at Scootaloo's home, "I've frightened ponies terribly. I've terrified the ponies closest to me with the power that I possess and the fear of how I might use that power. Scootaloo was frightened of me, once."
"But what about now? What changed?" asked Perlin breathlessly.
"I changed," said Dawn with a smile, "It isn't honing your skills or changing your weapons that causes fear, it is what you use those weapons for. Right now, those skills, those wings, even the work that you do as a mercenary, it all exists only for yourself. Even the pony who has purchased your skills comes second to your own amusement. I've noticed that about you."
Perlin grimaced. "Are you saying that I should give up being a mercenary?" he asked.
"Perhaps...perhaps not," said Dawn with a shrug, "As it happens, I know two very formidable mercenaries. They are ponies who command respect, rather than fear. They too have honed their skills, but it hasn't brought fear from those close to them."
"Oh...them," said Perlin, realizing just who Dawn was talking about.
"I think, rather than worrying about honing your power and skills, you need instead examine what those things are for, who they are for. If you can answer that question, then you might not be feared by the pony you don't want to fear you any longer."
"You really think so?" asked Perlin, his eyes going wide.
"Well, I certainly think it's a step in the right direction," said Dawn, "It worked for me, at least."
"Ah..." Perlin opened his mouth to say more, but was interrupted by a faint buzzing noise.
Dawn felt a strange shivering through the air that accompanied that buzz, a feeling that was, at once, both foreign and familiar. He'd once sensed a similar buzzing sensation to this, but at a much greater intensity. More Dark Matter?
Looking up, Dawn was surprised to see something that looked like a small white rhinoceros beetle descending towards them. The strange-looking insect flew directly towards Perlin, who held out a forehoof, allowing the creature to alight on him.
The beetle settled into place, but its wings extended out from under its shell and began to buzz. To Dawn's surprise, the buzzing sound modulated itself, forming sounds that became words. "I thought I would find you here," hummed the insect, "This will save us both a great deal of trouble."
"What's the matter?" asked Perlin, looking down at the beetle, seemingly untroubled by having a conversation with an otherworldly insect.
"I am afraid I need your services. A certain asset of mine has gotten out of containment. As it so happens, it is heading in your general direction, so you won't need to go out of your way to subdue it?"
"What asset is this?" asked Dawn, eyeing the bug, "Are you Morning Star?" He'd seen this phenomenon before.
The beetle turned its body around so that its pale-blue eyes could regard Dawn. Naturally, something like this wasn't capable of making an expression and the buzzing voice created by its wings seemed incapable of any kind of inflection that might give away the feelings of the speaker. "That is correct, though I would much prefer it if you continued to call me Wight Shade. I have grown rather frond of that name. I prefer it to my old one, in any case."
"As you wish," said Dawn, "I would like to speak to you in pony at some point. I have some feelings that I wish to unburden myself of."
"I am sure you will have the opportunity in due time...maybe," said the beetle, its buzzing voice unable to inflect the words with either earnestness or mocking, "I would like to continue to converse with you, but I am afraid that I don't have the time for this."
"Yes, this asset you mentioned," said Dawn, "What is it?"
He half expected a dismissal, for Morning/Wight to tell him it was none of his business. However, instead, the beetle said, "I believe you are quite familiar with it. You've faced it down before."
Dawn felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. "Flash Spark."
"The very same," said the beetle, "I do not object to you joining in this affair if you wish to stop him. In this case, he is no longer of any real use to me, so if he ends up being disposed of, then I can accept that outcome. I won't even need to show you where he is. You will be able to find him easily enough. I should warn you that, before I decided I no longer had a use for him, I did give that stallion some upgrades to the abilities he had when you last met him."
Before Dawn could ask what he meant by that, the beetle crumbled into white dust that then dispersed upon the wind.
"I wonder what he meant by that," mused Perlin, "I thought he was going to show me where the crazy stallion was."
"Perhaps he means that I know where Flash Spark will be heading," said Dawn, frowning as he tapped his chin, "The Flash Spark I met was primarily involved with two ponies..." His eyes went wide and he froze in place.
"What is it?" asked Perlin.
"Can you find Rainbow Dash?" asked Dawn quickly.
"She's here, in Ponyville?" asked Perlin.
"Yes," said Dawn, "I suspect she's up in the clouds somewhere. Please find her." He was already breaking into a trot down the street, spreading his wings in preparation for takeoff.
"Where are you going?" asked Perlin, trotting after Dawn.
"To the other pony Flash Spark was obsessed with," said Dawn, "Mom." He kicked off the ground and shot into the air, kicking up a wave of dust that left Perlin coughing.
"I've never seen him so panicked before," mused Perlin before taking to the skies himself, casting his eyes about for any sign of Rainbow Dash even as his ears strained for the approaching buzz of a certain pony.
Fluttershy giggled as she pressed herself up against Caramel's side, rubbing her neck against his. Her wing extended to drape itself over his back, pulling the stallion tight up against her. Caramel returned the favor by entwining his tail with hers and nuzzling her cheek, planting one light kiss after another as he did so. Where their barrels were pressed together, Caramel could feel Fluttershy's heart hammering through her ribs, its pace increasing as the cottage they now shared loomed closer. Their date had been a wonderful experience and now it looked as though the night ahead would be even better.
At this rate, I'm going to have to pop the question soon, mused Caramel to himself, I should've bought a necklace already.
Still, now wasn't the time to worry about something like that. Instead, now was the time to enjoy the feeling he and Fluttershy were currently sharing. He wondered if Dawn was home already, but decided not to worry. Even if he wasn't, Dawn respected their privacy. There wasn't any risk of him coming into their bedroom and stumbling on something a colt his age shouldn't see.
Something large and black loomed up between them and the cottage. Caramel and Fluttershy stopped and looked up in surprise. They felt a faint stirring of the air behind them as something else positioned itself near their haunches. Fluttershy nearly panicked, but calmed when she recognized the griffons in front of and behind them. "Skan? Zhan? What's the matter?"
She was ignored as the two griffon mercenaries focused their attention outwards, their sharp eyes scanning the darkened surroundings in minute detail, their bodies tense and ready for action.
"How did he get so close?" growled Skan, "With those infernal wings of his, we should have heard him a mile out."
"I see no sign of him now," said Zhan, carefully turning in place.
"What's happening?" asked Fluttershy, wishing she could bring herself to speak more loudly.
"We're in trouble," said Caramel, his stomach churning.
From the tree-line of the Everfree Forest broke a white figure, shooting upwards from the canopy like a rising star, the light of the climbing moon glinting off insectile armor. Transparent wings blurred as the strange figure climbed higher into the sky. From this distance, it was hard for Fluttershy or Caramel to make out details, but they could see the smooth, featureless armor covering the pony's face and the segmented, bladed whip that extended from where a pony's tail would normally be, capped with a fearsome looking stinger.
"Flash Spark," growled Caramel, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the stallion who'd once beaten him into a bloody pulp before trying to rape Fluttershy. Dawn had stopped him and broken his wings in the process. Sometime after that, Flash Spark had apparently been picked up by Morning Star, who'd outfitted him with that strange, off-white armor and abilities that had turned the former pegasus into a monster.
Even though they now knew where their opponent was, Skan and Zhan did not move. Instead, they maintained their position guarding the couple's front and rear. Though most of their attention was focused on the approaching Flash Spark, they kept their awareness of their surroundings, just in case he was serving as a distraction for something else to come creeping up from another direction.
Flash Spark hovered a short distance away, well off the ground and about halfway between them and the border of the Everfree. Seams appeared on the smooth armor over his muzzle, two strips pulling back to form a pair of large, vicious-looking mandibles. Behind those mandibles, Flash Spark's pony mouth appeared, his lips already curled back in a malicious grin.
"Well well...it's been a long time, Fluttershy," he said, apparently ignoring the presence of the two griffons, "I see you're still with the mudhopper. I wonder if a stallion like that can give you any real satisfaction."
Shivering, Fluttershy shrank back to lean against Caramel, who'd shrugged out from under her wing so that he could wrap a foreleg protectively around her and pull her close as he glared at Flash Spark.
"Back off," said Caramel, "You're not going to touch her."
"You don't have any say in that, clod," snapped Flash Spark, his light-blue compound eyes glaring at Caramel, "I made a mistake letting you live back then. This time, I'm gonna shred you into a pile of meat and then eat you while Fluttershy gets to watch."
"Don't you dare." The voice was barely even a whisper against Caramel's chest. Looking down, Caramel was surprised to see Fluttershy's eyes hardening. Slowly, she pulled away from his chest and leveled a glare at Flash Spark. "Don't you dare touch him," she said more loudly now, "Caramel is mine and I'm his. I would sooner die than let a...a...monster like you touch me or him."
Though it was hard to read Flash Spark's expression with most of his face covered by armor and his compound eyes unable to change their shape or orientation, Caramel imagined that Flash Spark's sneer had morphed into one of disgust. "You'd rather sleep with a filthy dirt pony than me?" His voice took on a cruel and angry edge. "I'm gonna have to teach you some respect before I have my fun with you."
"You won't have that opportunity," rumbled Skan, sinking a bit more deeply into a crouch, "We will kill you before that happens."
Flash Spark snorted and laughed. The blurring of his wings increased and he shot upwards like a rocket until he hovered high above the ponies and griffons. From that distance, Caramel and Fluttershy weren't able to see any details. However, Skan and Zhan's keen eyes spotted the instant Flash Spark's wings stopped. It was for less than a second. The veins on his insectile wings seemed to change their formation before resuming. Now there was an audible buzz coming from them.
"Here it comes," said Skan, shouting to be heard as the buzz quickly increased in volume and intensity. Both he and Zhan pulled out ear plugs and plunged them into their ears. Their action came not a moment too soon as the wave of sound slammed into them with a tangible force, washing over their bodies completely.
Fluttershy and Caramel cried out in pain as the intense buzz made their teeth rattle and their ears ache. They sank down to the ground, desperately covering their ears with their hooves, agony searing through their skulls as Flash Spark descended on them from above. Skan and Zhan shot upwards to meet him.
Zhan surged ahead of here mate, brandishing the fearsome fighting claws extending from the gauntlets over her forepaws. Lunging forward, she slashed at the descending Flash Spark, aiming straight for his face, hoping to sink her claws into the opening where his mouth was. However, Flash changed direction instantly, skirting sideways in the same direction as her swing. Even as he drifted, he was reorienting on her, the buzzing of his wings intensifying and causing the air around them to visibly distort and ripple. Zhan caught a flare of yellow light and threw herself sideways, even as she gave up on flying upwards and allowed gravity to take hold, drawing her back down and out of what she hoped was the line of fire.
It didn't matter in any case, as Skan slammed into Flash Spark's belly with his extended foreclaws, hitting with the force of a runaway locomotive. The claws drew sparks off of Flash's off-white armor, even as the impact launched him up higher. A loud scream rent the air and twin lances of bright-yellow energy extended out from Flash's wings, slicing through the sky and, fortunately, hitting nothing.
Flash Spark growled and used his flight to boost the upward momentum that Skan's attack had given him. Already, the ripples of another pair of shots were beginning to gather around his wings as he glared down at Skan. The bulky, black griffon was quick for his size, but he lacked his mate's darting agility. The incredibly fast beams that seemed capable of slicing through any material like it was paper were too quick for him to avoid.
Fortunately, Zhan had other plans. While Flash Spark had been preoccupied by Skan's attack from below, Zhan had abandoned her dropping maneuver and had instead shot upwards, above Flash Spark's position. Swooping in from above, she aimed her fighting claws at the point where Flash Spark's wing connected with his body, intending to use the strategy that had worked the last time they'd driven him off. While the armor seemed nearly indestructible, the body beneath it was still flesh and blood. They had turned that against Flash by striking in such a way that his nigh-indestructible armor was driven against his own body, breaking him apart from within.
Zhan's claws connected with the base of Flash Spark's wing, the force of her blow causing the armored stallion to spin in place a little. Once again, the beams that speared out from his wings missed their target. Instead, they stabbed down into the ground and were drawn across it, cutting a pair of black lines through the earth itself, coming uncomfortably close to Caramel and Fluttershy in the process.
Zhan and Skan's eyes met and they at once came to an unspoken agreement. Flash Spark had to be driven or drawn away from Fluttershy and Caramel before they were caught up in the battle and injured.
However, Zhan was distracted by a faint numbness in her arm. Lifting up her foreleg as she retreated from her strike at Flash Spark, she was shocked to see the metal-alloy fighting claws of her gauntlet, which were capable of exchanging blows with weapons forged from mithril, crumbling away. Worse than that, the gauntlet itself was also beginning to disintegrate. The creeping numbness running up her forelimb was probably the only reason Zhan wasn’t shrieking in agony as she could no longer feel anything below the elbow. Her short, blunt claws, now visible, were cracked and chipped. Worse, Zhan suspected that the bones, muscles and even the nerves of her foreleg might actually be in a similar state.
Rather than striking a critical blow against Flash Spark, Zhan had apparently done more harm to herself than she had her opponent. As Flash Spark righted himself, there was no sign that he was suffering any pain from the hit. It seemed that the very same changes that had allowed him to fly without making a sound, despite his wings vibrating like a giant insect’s, had apparently also granted him a body that was even more difficult to injure than it had been before. Worse still, hitting him the wrong way would apparently harm the one striking him instead.
Zhan’s horror at her condition very nearly cost her her life. Her training prompted her to continue to retreat, even as her attention was absorbed by her peculiar and horrifying condition. That was probably the only thing that saved her as she fell back. Flash Spark hissed, a vicious animalistic sound that had no business coming out of a pony’s mouth, and lunged towards her. Under other circumstances, Zhan might have thought that he was trying to headbutt her or even forcefully kiss her beak, as he lunged straight for her with his muzzle. However, her eyes picked up the motion from either side of her head and she realized that those wickedly-sharp pincers were on the verge of piercing her skull from either side.
Zhan tilted back and flipped over backwards, sweeping her wings up past her chest and into the open sky. The movement barely carried her head out of the pincers’ arc as they closed with a nasty scissoring sound and the strong flap allowed her to shoot downwards and out of the way. Out of the edge of her vision, she caught sight of Flash Spark whipping his body around before a burning pain seared itself into her haunch, just above her right hind leg. As she pulled away from Flash Spark, she felt something catch in her flesh…and then tear itself out, a feeling that made her keen in agony. Crimson arcs of blood danced through the air between her and Flash Spark.
From his position, Skan had seen everything, from the failed attack to Flash Spark whipping his body around and sinking the stinger on the end of his tail into Zhan’s haunch. Worse still, Flash’s stinger must have had some sort of barbs on it, for it tore a horrific gash in Zhan’s flesh as her own momentum pulled her free of it.
Flash let out an exultant, insane laugh and spun back around. Once again, the buzz around his wings rose sharply in pitch as he prepared another slashing lance of sonic energy. When he fired, the beams were on course to cut Zhan’s body in two. However, an ebony blur tackled her out of the way, just as Flash Spark fired. The beams missed their intended target and carved another set of lines in the earth below.
"I hope you birds enjoy having your wings clipped," crowed Flash Spark as he prepared to attack again. On the outer edges of his vision, broadened by the compound eyes his enhancements sported, Flash Spark saw a faint rippling in the air. A second later, his ears were filled with an angry roar before he was slammed by a pillar of air that drove him across the sky with an angry yell.
Skan and Zhan looked up to see the ebony and silver figure of Dawn Lightwing hovering above them, positioning himself between them and Flash Spark, who was trying to right his spinning, tumbling flight after being hit by such an intense attack.
"I think you've done enough," growled Dawn as he glared at Flash Spark.
When Flash Spark saw that Dawn had arrived, he once again grinned, the expression looking unsettling, partially hidden as it was behind those angry-looking pincers. "Finally. I thought you were going to take all night to get here."
Dawn's eyes narrowed and he beat his wings, surging forward to confront the insectile stallion head on.