Piercing the Heavens

by Calm Wind

Chapter 158: Rule Number Six

MLP: FiM
Piercing the Heavens
By: Calm Wind

Chapter 158: Rule Number Six

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“Dash, over here.”

Spitfire’s voice reached Dash’s ears as she drew near the throne room doors. She perked up and looked over to the wall opposite of the doors. Spitfire and Descent were sitting beside a pillar a safe distance away from any of the guards stationed or patrolling. Spitfire casually beckoned her over, and Dash obeyed, turning in her path to move towards them.

“Okay, this is it,” Spitfire said in a slightly hushed tone to Dash as She and Descent stood up. “Are you ready?” She asked.

Dash swallowed, but did so subtly to avoid appearing slightly anxious. She wasn’t sweating with shaking legs, but she WAS about to pull a three-faced act. She had to get this right. She felt confident that she could, but that didn’t mean it was going to be a cake walk. She gave Spitfire a firm nod, keeping her expression steady and serious.

“Alright, let’s do a quick review,” Spitfire went on while looking at them both. Dash blinked and tipped her head slightly as she noticed Descent’s face. He looked… slightly annoyed? “We know where Sombra is,” Spitfire began. “And Luna doesn’t. But regardless, I’m going to keep my pressure on her as if nothing has changed,” she paused and poked Dash in the chest. “And this is where we need to add a little extra layer to the curtain. If we speak about the Elements of Harmony, and I’m sure we will, you need to take a chance, come forward, and accept ‘your responsibility’ or something along those lines. Give her some crap about your duty to Equestria being important regardless of the situation and how you’re ready to help if need be. I’ll fight you on it and I want you to argue me down, okay?”

Dash blinked. She remembered what the plan was, but last time she heard it sounded a lot less complicated… or rushed.

“Uh… okay? I’ll try,” she couldn’t conceal that she was slightly confused, but before Spitfire could question her on it, Descent released a loud snort.

“I still don’t think that’s a good idea.” He grumbled just loud enough for them to hear.

“Not now,” Spitfire immediately replied, furrowing her brow and shooting him a look.

“We will talk about it now,” Descent shot back, reaching out and grabbing her by the shoulder as she tried to turn back to Dash. Spitfire stiffened her body, preventing Descent from forcing her around. “I think you’re being way too gung ho about this and you keep adding more unnecessary steps,” he stated as Spitfire turned and faced whim without breaking her expression. “Luna may be irresponsible, but she is still a goddess with more insight than you’re giving her credit for. I have yet to see you consider that she might be starting to piece a few things together.”

“Descent,” Spitfire hissed at him in a sharp tone. “I’ll do whatever I damn well please. And Dash is not yours to command.”

Descent scrunched his mouth and face intensely, looking as if he wanted to roar right in her face, but he merely scoffed and looked away.

“Have it your way. But I think you’re being extremely careless. You’ve stacked up a swaying tower of facades that’s already on an unstable foundation. There’s no point in adding any more. At this rate, you run the risk of toppling it all over before we even begin.”

“You are more than welcome to say ‘I told you so’ if it does, but it won't,” Spitfire said firmly.

“We’re pressing our luck,” Descent went on despite the harsh glare he was receiving. “As is, we’re not even sure if any of this will even yield a desired solution. I think you’re propping up way more straw ponies than we need given how little we actually know.”

Dash glanced back and forth between them, her pupils darting as the two were quite obviously at odds. This was unexpected. Did the two of them have a conversation at some point while she was away with her team? They must’ve… Descent was questioning Spitfire’s methods and even pointing out a few of the very reasons Dash was taking things into her own hooves. Specifically: the lack of a clear endgame.

“That’s wonderful,” Spitfire said sarcastically as she sharply turned back to Dash. “Dash, stick to the plan.”

Dash blinked and quickly got back into character.

“Yes, ma’am,” she nodded dutifully as Descent grumbled to himself.

“Good, now let’s get this over with,” Spitfire said as she turned and started moving towards the throne room doors. Dash hesitated for a moment, her eyes locked on Descent as she continued to process the small spat she just witnessed. But she quickly glanced away when Descent looked towards her and made brief eye contact.

She quickly played it off as incidental, turned, and followed behind Spitfire. She heard Descent’s hooves behind her less than a second later as all three of them made their way to the doors, and were let in by the guards.

The moment the doors were open, the three of them were met by several pairs of eyes. Luna, Cadence, Twilight, and Shining Armor were all there. Dash was surprised to see Twilight. Either she returned directly to the throne room or was also summoned right after they met. Dash felt slight relief, and she was sure Twilight did as well if they managed to complete their own preparations in just the nick of time.

Dash quickly refocused as Spitfire and Luna locked eyes on one another. She took a few quiet breaths to calm herself. She was feeling lots of pressure as she readied to hold up two false faces at once… then add a third somewhere in the middle of it.

“Princess,” Spitfire said simply as they reached the group waiting for them.

“Captain Spitfire, Descent,” Luna replied in the same manner, nodding at them both. “Rainbow Dash.” She added after a pause.

The room went silent, both parties just staring at one another for a few tense moments. The tension of their last time meeting in the throne room was still fresh. Eventually, Luna cleared her throat.

“We wish to put our past arguments behind us for a moment,” Luna suggested.

“Hm?” Spitfire hummed as she lifted an eyebrow.

“It is important that we speak a little more frankly about the situation and what is going on,” Luna continued. Spitfire scoffed softly.

“I’ve been speaking very frankly with you already, Princess,” Spitfire cut in. “It’s you who keeps trying to yank me around on a leash.”

“Captain, enough,” Luna replied, keeping her tone down. “Please hear us out.” She asked.

Spitfire looked Luna over carefully, but she showed no signs of being combative.

“Hmph… fine,” Spitfire agreed, but kept her harsh tone.

Luna looked away from them for a moment, but her face remained the same the whole time. There was a serious look in her eyes, free of excess emotion, a look that had been foreign to her for a while, at least from the Wonderbolts’ point of view.

“We have been at odds with one another about many things,” she began as she continued to look away. “But something we both have to acknowledge is that a conflict of some kind approaches and we do not benefit from being torn apart within. So we realize that if we are to work together to face the challenges before us, then some compromises must be made.” She turned and looked Spitfire right in the eyes. “With the afflicted ponies preserved for now, we have decided to shift all available resources to the immediate task. For the time being, the search for a cure will be put on hold, and all those available for research will focus on a way to release Soarin from Sombra’s hold.”

Spitfire blinked, her eyes widening a little. She was caught off guard… Luna suggesting a compromise?

But… The reaction did not reciprocate with Dash standing right behind her. Because there was a factor here that Spitfire did not know.

Dash had to try as hard as she could to hold steady. She didn’t know what was worse, Luna lying to their face again, or trying to disguise it as a compromise to win over Spitfire?

Seriously, she didn’t know how much longer she could hold back because this was pissing her off to no end. Luna already knew another way… who was she trying to fool? Spitfire apparently… and she was clearly assuming Dash hadn’t considered it either. Dash glanced subtly towards Twilight, and as expected, her old friend looked stiff and uneasy, but was holding firm. This was just more of the same from their point of view, but how else would this play out? The two of them were trapped within the boundaries of the two parties they were undermining and new developments could take place. They had to watch closely.

Dash turned her head slightly and sniffled once to play off her glance towards Twilight, but as she shifted her eyes back, she saw Descent looking at her again. He only had his eyes shifted towards her, but as soon as she saw he turned them away, expression never changing.

“We wish for you to see for yourself that we are making a serious effort about this, because we know you have had your doubts about our goals.” Luna went on as Dash continued to grind her teeth underneath her closed lips. “And in return, we wish for you to hear us out and understand what has to be done in the event that no other solution is found.”

Spitfire’s eyes were still open slightly wider, and she said nothing as Luna spoke.

“So please,” Luna gave her a nod. “Let us talk about that. We will not acknowledge this as the true plan of action until the additional research is complete or in the case that he is found by the scouting teams and is in a threatening position.”

Again, Spitfire stayed quiet, but she didn’t remain still. She turned to the side and looked down briefly… but then turned her eyes towards Dash and Descent, specifically at Dash.

Her eyes said all that needed to be said. It was clear she did not and would not suddenly accept Luna’s apparent attempt at compromise. She gave a very quick and subtle wink to Dash before turning back around.

The show goes on.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but okay.” Spitfire said sarcastically as she stepped forward. “I don’t see how this hurts, but first things first. Don’t you have scouts combing every inch of the surrounding area?” she asked. Both Dash and Descent watched and listened carefully, unsure of where she was going. “I mean… Sombra’s destination is clearly right there,” she said while pointing to the throne behind the alicorns. “I’m not going to go as far as to say your scouts suck without asking first. Assuming he’s nearby, how hasn’t he been found yet?”

Dash and Descent held themselves very still. Spitfire was clearly putting on an act, but to what end? They could only watch. Luna calmly turned to Shining Armor, who looked slightly irked by the crude comment about his scouts.

“Shining Armor, would you care to explain?” Luna asked as Shining stepped forward and quickly cleared his expression back to normal.

“Our scouts have been working around the clock to locate Sombra, and thanks to Descent offering up his Renegade scout team, our efforts have been much more efficient,” he explained as he looked towards Descent and nodded.

“Hmm,” Descent nodded back with a hum.

“But while we’ve covered a lot of ground,” Shining continued. “We’ve yet to spot him. It’s odd, considering we’ve combed at least ninety percent of possible territory, but we also can’t assume he’s standing still. That doesn’t really explain why he hasn’t made any moves towards the Empire yet, but that’s our best theory for now as we keep searching. Unless…” he trailed off and glanced away.

“Unless?” Spitfire pressed.

“Well,” Shining sighed, sounding slightly frustrated. “There is one place he could be hiding that’s problematic. If we can’t find him anywhere else, then it’s safe to assume he’s hiding in the Crystal Forest to the north.”

Spitfire, Descent, and Dash all did their best not to flinch in surprise. They all kept their ears up and listened very carefully.

“I saw that forest when we flew in,” Spitfire quickly spoke up, playing dumb. “What’s up with it?”

“Well,” Shining scratched the back of his head and looked up at the ceiling briefly. “It’s a scout’s worst nightmare, really. It’s impossible to see into from the sky and a real pain to navigate on hoof. You can land in it from above, but only if you’re extremely careful. There isn’t much room for error among the rock solid, densely packed, jagged branches. I’ve been hesitant to send my scouts in there and only a few detached units have combed the outer edges of the forest for the time being. The last thing I want is a smaller team to be caught off guard and have little room to retreat. But… we have already covered nearly all the ground we can within range of the Empire and the magic shield and we haven’t found him anywhere. So if we turn up nothing by tonight, I’m planning on forming a new plan to comb the forest. Risks aside, it’s the only place we have left to look at in full and I’ll be more confident with larger teams searching. A few flybys are not enough to cut it.”

“Why haven’t you done this already? Is there something significant or special about that forest?” Spitfire kept pressing, feigning ignorance as Dash and Descent continued to listen closely.

“It’s a very unique anomaly,” Cadence suddenly spoke up as she stepped forward and stood beside her husband. “It’s considered to be one of the most beautiful sights in all of Equestria and despite the trees appearing to vary in shape, size, and type, they all grow the same fruit, crystal figs. They are a popular local delicacy,” she explained as Spitfire looked eager for her to get to the point. “But there’s more to it than meets the eye… And if Sombra is hiding within, it’s a very smart and calculated move on his part.”

Spitfire did not take her eyes off Cadence as she spoke. Dash and Descent both had their ears turned, making sure to not miss a single detail.

“The crystal trees and leaves have very odd properties. While most crystals like those here in the empire can be used to absorb and store magic, the crystal surfaces of the forest do just the opposite. They repel and reflect magic, like shining a light on a mirror. If a unicorn were to fire a beam of magic at one of the trees, it would ricochet right off, or bounce right back at them,” she paused and nodded. “Now consider that that forest is densely packed with very thick brushes of leaves pointing in all directions… all of which share these very properties.”

Spitfire blinked.

“Magic would bounce all over the place,” she pondered out loud.

“Or even worse, the beam could split an indefinite amount of times on the thin surfaces. A single beam of magic could easy turn into hundreds flying in all directions with nowhere to dissipate unless it hits the ground. So… As you can probably imagine now, if Sombra is hiding in the forest, I’m sure he’s considered that. There’s no doubt he’d use that to his advantage if confronted. Our numbers will mean nothing if he can disperse everypony with a single, basic magic beam.

“That… would definitely complicate things…” Spitfire voiced her thoughts again, but did so while concealing her additional wonder. They were getting the exact answers they were looking for on a subject they didn’t even expect to address.

“But that also means the Shadowbolts won’t be able to use their crystals in there either, at least those who used ranged attacks,” Descent cut in, adding his two bits to conceal his own thoughts much like Spitfire had. “Should they make an appearance, it will be advantageous for us. They’ve become too reliant on their magic.”

“But let’s not worry about them right now.” Shining Armor took over. “We’ve kept an eye out for the Shadowbolts too, but we haven’t spotted them around. For now I just want to make sure we find Sombra first. When the scouts return tonight, I’ll work on re-assigning them. We’ll get to the bottom of this as quickly as we can. And if we find him in the forest, we’ll figure out the best way to approach him.”

Spitfire stole a quick glance back at Descent, lifting her brow subtly.

Maybe the Crystal Empire’s scouts really did suck. They knew the Shadowbolts were around. Either that or the Shadowbolts were being elusive and the Renegade scouts were just that good.

Spitfire exhaled through her nose as she turned back to them, she gave Shining a flat look at first, but quickly ceased doing so. She knew he was just speaking dutifully, he definitely didn’t mean to say they’d rush and forget searching for a solution to Soarin was still part of it.

“Okay then…” Spitfire looked back and forth at the royalty, but looked no further when her eyes landed on Luna. “With that out of the way, let’s cut to the chase and talk about what you have proposed.”

Dash and Descent held themselves still, knowing that Spitfire was just putting on an act. Dash in particular readied herself, remembering the plan for this particular moment. She had to wait for the right time and speak up… or do whatever she needed to ‘agree’ on her participation.

“Should we be forced to move before we have a solution for Soarin… Is sealing them both together with the Elements of Harmony really the only option we have?” Spitfire asked, pouring a little bit of emotion into the question for good measure.

Luna looked Spitfire right in the eye… and nodded.

“As far as we can see, yes. We’d like to remind thee that we wouldn’t hesitate to use an effective alternative method if we knew of one,” she said with a straight face.

Dash’s eye twitched hard. She was glad nopony was looking at her because she was sure it was very noticeable.

Lies.

Lies. Lies. Lies. Lies. LIES.

Dash didn’t know how much longer she could stand hearing that exact same fib over and over again from a figure that was supposed to be a leader.

Though Dash did notice something. Luna had chosen her words carefully. She claimed that she knew of no other effective alternative. Spitfire did not pick it out, but she definitely did. Was Luna simply bending her words to avoid an undesired solution? She seemed hell bent on this method. Was it seen as a more punishing method? Did she want to cause Sombra harm? He sure wanted to cause her harm, there could be much more to this than she knew. Or was it simply because the sealing spell was stronger than the banishing spell? Or it was the only one she was sure would work?

Whatever it was, Dash held her tongue. The last thing she wanted to do was have an emotional outburst and blow their cover before they even started.

“Are you SURE that’s the only option?” Spitfire pressed, giving Luna a hard, harsh look.

“We just said so, we’re sorry but—”

“Luna, let me ask you something,” Spitfire cut her off abruptly. “Have you considered, I don’t know, an alternative approach?”

Dash blinked.

What was that about her giving the plan away? Because it sounded like Spitfire just set the stage to let something slip. Dash quickly glanced at Descent, his eyes had grown a little wider and his mouth had shrunk slightly. Was he thinking exactly what she was thinking?

“I’ve been on edge for the past few days,” Spitfire went on, stepping closer to Luna. “And admittedly… so focused on your suggestion that Soarin might have to be sacrificed that I’ve hardly been able to think elsewhere. But I’ve had some time to think things over since we last met, and there’s something that honestly has me very curious. I noticed something while we were out there getting our asses handed to us by Sombra.”

Luna looked caught off guard. She didn’t falter, but she tipped her head and appeared confused.

“And maybe you can clear this up and help me out with understanding it…” Spitfire narrowed her eyes a little, giving Luna a razor sharp gaze. “He only seemed interested in two very specific individuals.”

Luna’s eyes shot wide open.

“He didn’t attack any Wonderbolts,” Spitfire went on. “Nor did he attack any Renegades, or even Shadowbolts… without being attacked by them first. He made no preemptive moves. He only fought back.”

Dash was stiff. Spitfire just… openly and blatantly pointed out one of the key factors to her plan. She frantically glanced at Descent. His eyes were open, his pupils were twitching, and his body was jittering like he was doing everything in his power to hold himself back.

“He walked right by Starry Skies without harming her. She was holding a defensive position over Descent to protect him and Sombra didn’t lay a single hoof on her.” Spitfire kept pressing as Luna looked more and more put on the spot. Shining and Cadence looking at Spitfire with great alarm. “He was clearly only interested in YOU… and Discord. He did not actively target anypony else, and we had zero casualties… he delivered no finishing or killing blows. And you especially cannot deny that one, Princess… you saw it yourself, watching your most loyal and faithful knight fall to him… and Sombra spared his life.”

Luna looked frozen in place. If not for the flow of her ethereal mane, she would have appeared to be a statue. She just stared, her eyes remaining wide throughout Spitfire’s words.

“Now…” Spitfire tipped her head up slightly and gave Luna a skeptical look. “Is there anything you’d like to say about that?” She pressed as she stepped a little closer. “I can’t help but notice contradiction surrounding him too. One moment I hear he’s a mindless monster, and the next you say hiding in the crystal forest is a ‘smart’ and ‘calculated’ move? You keep saying he’s dangerous, and he’s a threat to all living things, but is that really the case?” Spitfire pointed a hoof at Luna. “Or is he only a danger to you?”

“He’s a danger to us all.”

Everypony perked up as a different voice answered. Dash, Descent, and Spitfire all spun around. The alicorns and the rest all flinched in surprise and looked up.

Discord was standing right behind Dash and Descent in a spot that was completely empty a blink of an eye ago.

Luna looked surprised to see him, but it only took Spitfire a moment to flatten her brow and snort loudly. Discord stepped around Dash and Descent, walking right up to Spitfire with his arms crossed, his eyes sharpened into a glare to repel any look Spitfire shot his way.

“You’ve made an interesting observation, but you’re overlooking a very important part of it,” he went on as everypony was still recovering from his sudden, unexpected entrance.

“Enlighten me,” Spitfire said sarcastically, the only one who seemed to shake Discord’s appearance off like it was normal.

“His desire to destroy the gods is really all you need to know,” Discord explained in short. Spitfire stared at him as if waiting for him to go on, but he didn’t.

“And…?” Spitfire rotated a hoof in front of her while scrunching her face in frustration. Discord slowly shook his head.

“And this is exactly why we’re at odds. I shouldn’t have to say anything else,” he made a head motion towards Luna. “You DO understand who we are and what we represent? Set aside the missteps and our quarrels for a moment and think about it. Sombra wants to destroy us and replace us. We represent balance, a proper scale of order and chaos… the very building blocks that the world you live in exists upon. He wants to knock us down like he knows better, like he understands what he has to shoulder if he succeeds. The fact that this doesn’t put you off is, frankly, concerning.”

“You’ve only yourselves to blame for that,” Spitfire exhaled sharply through her nostrils and flattened her brow. “But we’ve been over this already, let’s stop while we’re ahead.”

“Then why did you even bring it up?” Discord threw his arms out and glared down at her. Spitfire shook her head.

“I think you’re dodging the question,” she narrowed her eyes into a thin gaze. “Now answer me… is there more to this than the two of you are willing to acknowledge in front of us?”

As she listened… Dash didn’t know what to do, or what was happening. She felt like Spitfire was giving them away. If she let the cat out of the bag here… then her plan crashed and burned too.

“What the hell is she doing?!” Descent quietly whispered to himself, catching Dash’s attention. He was grinding his teeth together, his body tensing so much that veins were starting to pop up on his muscles. Dash swallowed as she turned her attention back to Spitfire. She and Descent were powerless as the scene unfolded before them.

“Have you thought about…,” Spitfire went on. “Oh, I don’t know, approaching him?”

Dash flinched as Descent’s hooves scratched against the floor beside her. It was only getting worse.

“Out of the question!” Luna suddenly blurted out, finding her voice. Spitfire spun right around and pointed at her.

“Oh, I’m questioning it! Actions speak louder than words, Princess. You keep framing him as evil, ruthless, and dangerous, but I know what I saw!” Spitfire kept up the pressure as Discord made his way around to stand near Luna. “He beat the crap out of us, but I have every reason to believe he wouldn’t have if we had stayed put and not attacked him. He wasn't mindless. If he was, I’m sure we’d all be dead. He clearly had a goal that was more important to him, and he was focused on that.” She shook her head. “That’s not the actions of a killer. It makes me wonder if there’s a different way to handle this. If there’s a way to speak to him? Maybe if we figure out what he wants… and maybe speak to him about giving Soarin back to us.”

Everypony flinched as Discord burst out laughing. He stumbled and bumped into Luna, pressing a hand down on her shoulder to prop himself up as he clutched his stomach with the other.

“Oh now THAT is a good one!” Discord managed to say in between hearty guffaws. “You should really take up comedy, that’s the best joke I’ve heard in eons!”

But Spitfire was not amused.

“Alright wise guy… please tell me how anything I said isn’t a valid observation,” she said with a flat look.

“Oh, no, no…” Discord shook his head as his laughter died down to a few chuckles. “Your observations make perfect sense!” he smiled at her. Spitfire blinked in surprise and tipped her head. But then she flinched and took a step back as Discord suddenly bent down and thrust his face right into hers, extending his long neck to almost press their noses together. “Maybe from YOUR point of view!” he yelled harshly while growling loudly. “The problem is you do NOT know him like we do! And I’m getting REALLY tired of you trying to force your lack of understanding on us as if you were around a thousand years ago!” he pulled back, but stepped forward, placing his hands on his sides and scowling at Spitfire. “Say we do what you’re suggesting and he somehow manages to hold back his rage libido towards Lulu and I…” he threw an arm out. “You really think you can convince him to just give up his new body?! To abandon his ultimate goal?”

Spitfire opened her mouth to retort, but Discord cut her off.

“THIS… is why you should be listening to us!” Discord continued. “It’s clear that we have vastly different opinions on what needs to be done, but yours lacks the upfront experience of dealing with him in the past! Sombra is a stubborn asshat who NEVER gives up on what he seeks! And he most certainly won’t just give Soarin back to us! Besides… Soarin’s soul may still be in there and somehow resisting,” he paused and glanced at Dash. “But his body is effectively no longer his own. Sombra has planted himself in his place, and Soarin’s soul, no matter how strong it might be, could never push back against an entity as powerful as Sombra’s spirit. At this point, unless we find some miracle solution, you’re just going to have to accept that you are NOT getting Soarin back!”

The room went dead silent as Spitfire and Discord just glared at one another.

Dash held still, the silence feeling like hours as Discord’s words played over in her head.

She didn’t want to admit it, but he made sense. It was hitting her from a different angle… almost as if all the ideas about what was going on and who was right were beginning to clash and get tangled in her head. All of the absurd posturing and plan debating aside… what Discord just said about Sombra did not sound like something he made up on the spot. There were words in there that were harsh and emotional, almost confirming Spitfire’s charge that there was more between them than they were telling. So if Discord was being genuine about how he felt towards Sombra… Was he also being genuine about just how strong, stubborn, and powerful he was? She didn’t want to admit it, but some misgivings were about to set in. Would the banishment spell of the elements be strong enough to push him out?

NO. STOP.

Dash subtly shook her head out. She couldn’t think twice about it now, it was way too late. Besides, what other option did they have? It was not like they could suddenly change course, they had already dug in and she wasn’t going to back down… then why was she suddenly feeling this way?

She had to stop, this was just doubt creeping through while she was forced to sit and watch a thin ice situation. Silver wouldn’t freak out… Silver would keep his cool… Now she just hoped Spitfire backed off before accidentally spilling all the beans.

“Rgh… FINE!” Spitfire suddenly threw her head back. Both Dash and Descent blinked, hoping she would fold and stop before it got any worse. “I’m still not wholly convinced that Soarin is lost, I don’t care how many times you say it,” she pointed at Discord, but then huffed and sighed. “But forget it, I’m not here to restart our dead end arguments. So let’s just move on here. I understand what you want me to do… but I still have a very important concern that has yet to be fully addressed,” Spitfire turned her eyes to Luna.

There was a long pause between the two of them, and before she spoke again, Spitfire looked over to Rainbow Dash.

“What will happen to Rainbow Dash if we seal him?” she asked while slowly turning back to Luna.

Dash’s eyes widened slightly as Spitfire brought up the subject. She had almost forgotten all about that, mostly because her plan diverged from them even attempting it. Her friends from Ponyville had already agreed to use the banishment spell instead… but she was curious regardless. After all, the answer would likely effect Spitfire in some way, and she needed to see and know all of Spitfire’s moves to be properly prepared.

“I’m not too happy with how you so casually expressed your willingness to sacrifice her the other day,” Spitfire added for good measure as she waited for a reply.

Luna kept staring, but said nothing, at least for the moment. Eventually she looked down, then looked towards Discord as if she had no answer and was silently punting the question to him. Discord blinked and lifted an eyebrow as Luna stared at him.

“What?” he asked with a huff.

“Can you answer that for her?” Luna asked. Discord rolled his eyes.

“Do I have to do everything around here?” he said sarcastically with a grunt. Luna flattened her brow.

“This is not something we would know,” Luna said with a snort. “You’re the only one here who has been sealed in stone by Elements.”

Discord lightly shook his head, releasing a low, growl-like sigh.

“Well?” Spitfire shifted the pressure to him. But Discord didn’t answer her. He wasn’t even looking at her. Spitfire slowly furrowed her brow. “I’m waiting,” she added harshly. Discord lifted a finger and a small blip of purple light pulsed from it. Spitfire flinched in surprise as a small stop sign appeared above her and roughly bopped her on the head with a metallic BONK. “OW!”

“And I’m thinking, so shut up,” Discord snapped back at her without raising his voice.

Spitfire pouted angrily, but did as she was told, waiting patiently as Discord pondered, twirling a finger in his beard.

“This is only a theory, but if you want my honest opinion for some form of reassurance… I think Dash will be just fine.”

“You think?” Spitfire immediately voiced her discontent. Discord rolled his eyes and grunted.

“I’d rather we just kill Sombra and solve all our problems, but after our last encounter that’s clearly not an option. His power has grown too strong,” Discord trailed off course.

“Answer the question!” Spitfire shouted impatiently.

“I’m getting there,” Discord snarled as his body coiled around and leaned towards her. He stood back upright and crossed his arms. “The sealing magic will turn Sombra to stone, preventing him from running free, but… if we’re going by my experience, all entities within will remain intact and aware, which should include Soarin’s soul since he’s still holding on,” he turned to Spitfire and placed a hand on his chest. “I know I’m immortal and that may have been key in everything remaining together, I don’t know if it will be the same for souls that are finite. So honestly? I don’t know what will happen to Dash, if freezing Soarin’s soul will harm her, or if she’ll lose all contact with his soul as a result, I simply don’t know. But if the only requirement for her staying alive is for Soarin’s souls to remain intact, then she should be fine…” he paused and looked about at all the eyes on him. He flattened his brow and snorted. “There, I answered. Now that’s enough questions, I’m not in the mood.”

Spitfire wasn’t having it, and she opened her mouth to let him have it, but Discord pointed at her quickly.

“Ah, ah, ah! No,” he cut her off abruptly while wagging a finger. “I know what else you want to ask me, but I’ve already answered it. Save your breath,” he narrowed his eyes into a glare. “At this point, it is unlikely that we will find a way to save Soarin. Luna has graciously ordered the scholars to shift all resources and give it one last effort. I’m surprised she has, but despite her sympathetic compromise to try and mend some divides, I doubt it’s going to go anywhere. Nothing new is being looked at, they are just going through all the same material again to make sure they didn’t miss anything. It’s not definitive yet, but I suggest you view and approach this situation under the assumption that Soarin is GONE. His soul may be alive and struggling to resist, but he will never regain his body. See this as an opportunity. Sombra is likely unable to tap into his full potential because of Soarin’s resistance. The Shadowbolts and Kayn Ost have nearly been driven out of the picture by this accidental development, but they are still a threat and still need to be dealt with swiftly. You want to get back to dealing with them? Don’t pass this up. Soarin is doing us a favor by holding on. We need to put an end to this so we can go back to focusing our time and energy on what led to this whole debacle in the first place.”

Spitfire didn’t respond, she just held a sharp gaze on Discord as the two locked eyes.

Behind them, Dash was grinding her teeth beneath her lips. She was getting tired of things being overlooked… and definitely on purpose. Discord even tried to bring up the Shadowbolts and Kayn Ost as a deflection. And while she agreed that their enemies still needed to be dealt with, it wasn't going to work on her. She was still not fully convinced that they couldn’t save Soarin, she wouldn’t be until her own plan potentially failed. But here Discord was walking around a fact, something that Luna seemed to forget too… and she wasn’t sure if Spitfire had considered or not.

The fact that she nearly crippled Sombra’s control on Soarin by just being near him and touching him. From the beginning… even before Soarin had the false horn on his head, Dash’s proximity to him had always strengthened his grip on the power within him, it always made him feel stronger and in control. There was no doubt that was connected to what happened when she touched him and forced Sombra to flee.

But before she could think further on it, Discord suddenly turned away from the glaring match and looked towards Luna instead.

“Lulu? I believe there is something you need to ask,” he said while making a head motion towards Dash.

Dash blinked in surprise as Luna suddenly focused on her. Her and not Spitfire?

“Yes…” Luna cleared her throat. “Yes there is…”

Dash watched curiously as Luna suddenly approached her, moving right by Spitfire. She suddenly had a feeling she knew exactly what was about to happen. And it was a good thing realization hit her too, because she had not really given it all that much thought.

“We… understand what we are asking of you…” Luna began slowly.

Bingo. Dash saw it coming. She was sure Spitfire was primed and ready, she just had to think quickly. What was the best course of action here?

“But we also understand that if you are not emotionally sound about it, the Elements will fail to channel their power properly,” Luna continued, completely unaware of Dash’s racing thoughts as she spoke.

Dash knew what Spitfire wanted her to say, but she took a very brief moment to consider how she could twist this into her favor of her own plan. She wasn’t about to take a hilariously brazen risk like Spitfire had… but how could she do what Spitfire wanted… while also putting on a show of her own?

“This is a choice you have to make,” Luna nodded. “No matter how much we tell you it’s right, we can’t force you… and obviously it won’t work anyway if we tried to.”

Luna’s tone was different. It was soft and persuasive. But Dash had seen and heard too much to be persuaded by anything she said. Instead, she came up with an act as quickly as she could.

“Will you lend yourself to the objective?” Luna requested.

It was quick…

It was risky…

But Dash didn’t have anymore time to think about it. In fact, she was already going with it despite only thinking it over once.

Dash glanced briefly to see Spitfire standing behind Luna, looking directly at her. Nothing had to be said, she knew what Spitfire was waiting for.

So she went for it.

“I’ll do it,” Dash said with a nod… and instantly screamed internally. For some reason she came right out and said it… with a straight face and a bland voice. In her head she thought showing some hesitation would work wonders in setting the mood, but for some reason she skipped right over that part when she opened her mouth.

But… Surprisingly, it looked like the horrendously bland tone in her voice sailed right over Luna’s head. She smiled, looking pleased to hear Dash accept as her soft demeanor remained.

Dash quickly fell into character. She couldn’t believe it worked, but hey, it worked. So she had to go with it.

“Thank you,” Luna said with a nod. “We are happy that—”

“Rainbow Dash, no,” Spitfire abruptly cut her off and stepped around Luna to get between them. She pressed a hoof to Dash’s chest, holding a very stern look in her eyes.

She was playing it up really well. Even though it was fake, Spitfire held her usual glare perfectly. Behind her, Luna stepped back in surprise, her eyes slightly wider as Spitfire nudged her way in.

“Absolutely not,” Spitfire went on, leaning forward and forcing Dash to inch her head backwards. “I’m not letting you put yourself on the line without concrete evidence that you’ll be fine post-process.”

Dash played along, holding a combative look but a weak position as Spitfire loomed over her.

“But…” She tried to edge forward, only to have Spitfire rap a hoof against her chest.

“NO,” Spitfire repeated loudly and shook her head. “Enough. You’re not doing a damn thing.”

Was that enough? Dash hesitated slightly since she already jumped the gun once… but she felt like it was time to push back.

“Spitfire, STOP!” she suddenly yelled while grabbing Spitfire’s arm, forcing her hoof from her chest. It took Spitfire a brief moment to properly react, but thankfully it wasn’t obvious. It looked like she wasn’t expecting Dash to bite back so quickly, but she went along. “I don’t like it either!” Dash continued, stepping right up to Spitfire. “But… if it comes down to it…” she lowered her tone and shook her head. “I have to do the right thing. I don’t have to tell you how much I want to save Soarin, I think that’s obvious to everypony. But if we… can’t pull Soarin free…” she injected some extra emotion. She felt like she had it right this time, it didn’t feel forced. “I’m not going to sit down and be sad about it. I’m going to do my duty to Equestria as an Element of Harmony. There’s still more to be done, the Shadowbolts and Kayn Ost are still out there and threatening Equestria. I might take myself out of the picture, but they can’t be dealt with while the Wonderbolts and Renegades are stuck dealing with Sombra. Besides… do you think Soarin would want Sombra to walk free and maybe eventually do harm using his body? I doubt it.”

It was a good thing that none of the royalty or gods could see Spitfire’s face, because for almost a full second she looked very impressed, not expecting Dash to sound so compelling with her fake case. But she quickly fell back into character.

She scrunched her face and looked down while grumbling.

“I… rgh…” Spitfire turned away from her and gritted her teeth. “Fine… I can’t… disagree with that, especially when you put it that way,” she put forward in a tone of defeated disapproval followed by a long sigh. “But I still don’t like it…” she added quietly, just loud enough for the rest to hear.

With Spitfire “beaten,” Dash turned back to Luna and gave her a firm nod.

“I’ll do it,” she said adamantly.

But she felt a spark in her chest. Not a physical spark or heart pang or anything like that… for some reason getting in Spitfire’s face had lit a fire underneath her… and as Luna approached, she couldn’t stop herself, she suddenly felt VERY bold… and didn’t take the time to think about it.

Luna approached her again with the same smile replaced on her face.

“Thank y—”

“But I’m not doing it for you,” Dash spoke over her suddenly and harshly. Luna froze in place, her eyes widening and her pupils shrinking as Dash threw the sharp verbal jab in her direction. “I’m doing this for myself, for Soarin, and for Equestria,” Dash went on, her confidence taking over with no brakes applied. She thrust a hoof towards Luna, pointing and glaring. “I’m going to help clean up the mess you and the rest of the gods have made!”

Luna was frozen in shock, unable to say a word as Dash pressed onward. Gasps came from around the room from others present, mostly the guards and Cadence. Shining Armor looked like he was battling the urge to jump in and say something. Discord just remained quiet and looked her over carefully. Twilight was strategically standing far enough back so no one could see her. She knew what Dash was doing and didn’t want to chance her expression being seen as forced or fake.

Dash didn’t let up.

“So yeah, I’ll do my duty as an Element of Harmony… But don't expect me to take any cues from you. This is my choice, not yours. And I plan to do it my way!”

The room went completely silent as Dash put her hoof down, but kept glaring at Luna.

“V…” Luna struggled. “Very well…” she barely managed to as as she looked down, defeated.

Dash glanced at Spitfire, still feeling a bit of an adrenaline high to realize how far she went. But any rising doubt in her actions faded as she caught a brief smirk from Spitfire.

She looked impressed, very impressed.

Perfect… Her extra push and acting seemed to really lock Spitfire into place. She was definitely convinced Dash was along for the ride against Luna. Only… not the way she thought.

If only she knew Dash was playing both of them. She made a risky move on instinct, but it definitely gave her some much needed breathing room.

“In that case…” Luna spoke up again, her voice slowly finding its normal strength. “Here is the plan,” she began as Spitfire and Dash both turned to listen.

Luna was trying hard not to show it, but Dash’s act had a clear effect on her. It was likely the line about the gods that did it.

Dash was pleased, Luna’s shaken state would only further Spitfire’s impression of her standing in this whole matter. She was beginning to feel like she had a better grasp on this situation, a new push of confidence washing through and fighting back the sudden misgivings she was plagued by a minute ago.

“It’s quite straightforward,” Luna went on. “Should we have to act, we must find a way to corner or surround Sombra. Or … distract him.” Luna’s explanation did not start on a high note. Spitfire blinked and tipped her head slightly as she took in the very general description. “All you’ll need to worry about is activating the spell,” she went on, looking specifically at Rainbow Dash. “We will have numbers, he won’t be able to focus on all of us at once. So as long as we keep the Elements hidden and ready to act when the time is right, then it should all work out fine. We can lure him or direct him towards the Elements once they are ready. He won’t have time to realize what’s happening.”

Dash felt good… but it didn’t stop the internally boiling rage that tried to force its way out every time Luna gave ‘details’. She didn’t even mention the sealing spell by name this time, she was just talking about it. She wanted so badly to finally let it all out, to confront them about not bringing up the banishment spell. But she held it at bay. Spitfire’s risky move may have had some inspiration in her own bold move, but she wasn’t about to start blurting things out about her own plans. She couldn’t afford to take the chance, especially since she was still certain Spitfire wouldn’t trust any use of the Elements, or her Ponyville friends.

She waited for Luna to continued…

But… she didn’t. Dash swallowed and glanced at Spitfire. Spitfire blinked.

“Uh… and?” Spitfire spoke up, lifting an eyebrow.

“That’s the plan,” Luna said with a nod.

“That’s it?” Spitfire reacted in slight disbelief. Dash shared her reaction, as did Descent.

“That’s it,” Luna repeated.

“Really?” Spitfire flattened her brow. “That lacks any sort of details, coordination, or maneuvers. Did you just come up with that now?”

“We… this was our plan from the start,” Luna looked away.

“You make it sound so simple, have you considered all possible scenarios? What about the Crystal Forest? We just established that numbers will be useless if he’s hiding in there. Your plan would fall flat on its face if he’s discovered in there.”

“Um…” Luna scrunched her mouth and turned to Shining Armor.

“It’s more complicated than she makes it sound,” Shining quickly approached. “I have already met with my top generals and discussed how to organize our troops when the time comes based on situations. It will need some tweaking if we discover him in the forest though. So for the time being, the way she put it is all we can say before all the circumstances are finalized.”

“So it’s a work in progress?” Spitfire snorted. “What the hell is this meeting even for then? You have no actual plan ironed out?”

“Look, I get it,” Shining Armor furrowed his brow. “I’m a captain too, you know. I know what you’re looking for because I wish I had it too. But at this point in time, it’s still a bit open and up in the air. But it’s not because we are unorganized, it’s because we’re dealing with an unknown.” He made a head motion towards Luna and Discord. “Not even the gods know what to expect. They may know him from past experience, but they have never faced him in his current state.”

“It is as Captain Armor says,” Luna cut in, her tone sounded somewhat eager as if she wished to regain some confidence. “Even once we are ready to move, there are many unknowns that we cannot predict. We know how we wish for this to go, but how we get there will not be known until we are face to face with him. We’d rather not have to improvise, but unless we are forced into that position, the goal is simply to keep him from controlling the situation. We must keep the pressure on him. If there’s one thing about Sombra that we are for sure has not changed… it’s his wit and versatility. As long as we are dictating his moves and not the other way around… it will work in our favor.”

“There you go again contradicting the mindless monster talk…” Spitfire grumbled quietly to herself, knowing it wasn’t worth arguing over. “So… on the fly coordination,” Spitfire said simply, hunching over slightly as she stared at her with disbelief. “For something this significant? Shining, you really can’t do better than that?”

Shining gave her a look of disapproval, but aside from a snort he didn’t show any animosity.

“Spitfire… You’re the captain of the WONDERBOLTS. Your function is not the same as a national military force. This may seem like another day at the office for you and all the crazy stuff you guys are called in to handle, but for us it’s different. We aren’t trained or equipped to handle the unknown, so give us a little slack here. We’re doing the best we can, and before you point at Luna,” Shining cut in as Spitfire tried to turn to her. “We’ve been working together to put together the best solution, acting on what we know and what she knows. She’s not shouting orders at us without seeking our input and letting us make use of our resources first. I’m being one hundred percent honest when I say we don’t have a true read on the situation. And I would hope you’re not acting like you do either, Wonderbolt or not. You can’t cite your prestige here.”

Spitfire and Shining sat still and sharply stared at one another. Spitfire was clearly not thrilled with Shining pushing back on her, but to those watching, it felt like Shining had reason to. He was the captain of the Crystal Guard after all. Even Dash and Descent understood his stance. He may have been one of the many they were deceiving, but he wasn’t taking kindly to Spitfire’s heavy criticism of his force.

“Fair enough,” Spitfire suddenly turned. “This was a waste of a meeting then.”

Everypony blinked in surprise as Spitfire abruptly cut off discussion. Cadence looked like she was trying to reach out to her husband, but she was hesitating.

“Hey!” Shining called after her. She paused, but looked over her shoulder and glared.

“Enough,” she said with a grunt. “I heard all I needed to hear. But I’m not really surprised because this was already a shit show long before now.”

“Man, what is your deal?” Shining pressed while throwing an arm out. “What more do you want from us? Do you have a better plan?”

Dash flinched as she heard Descent’s hooves scrape against the floor again. She looked to see him sitting stiffly and biting down on his lower lip hard. Dash swallowed as she turned back, was Spitfire going to spill the beans again?

But she only shook her head.

“No, I don’t. Just tired of everything being a mess,” she said while keeping her sharp tone. “You said you’re planning on shifting the patrol focus tonight, right?” she suddenly asked.

“Yeah,” Shining huffed and nodded, looking unsatisfied with her shift.

“In that case I’m going to make sure MY forces are ready,” she drew out the emphasis, sending a verbal shot that clearly hit Shining as he growled quietly. “If you need me at all over the next few hours,” she shifted her eyes to look at Luna as she spoke too. “I’ll be right outside the city walls with the reserves. The elites and I need to run them through some basic drills to make sure they are focused. We’ll stay inside the boundaries of the shield, so we won’t be far.”

Luna glanced at Shining Armor, but he said nothing, so she swallowed and nodded to Spitfire.

“Very well. Thank you for cooperating,” Luna said in a friendly tone.

“Yeah, sure, whatever…” Spitfire said as she turned away and started walking with heavy, stomping steps towards the doors. She didn’t even look at Descent or Dash as she passed, but the two quickly followed, only Dash glancing back briefly and making eye contact with Twilight once before they were out the door.

Nopony said a word for a few moments once the three were gone.

Shining Armor cursed to himself as he turned around and stormed past the others, going right around the thrones and through a door in the back of the hall. Cadence opened her mouth to say something to him, but left him be, sighing in frustration. Twilight quickly made her way over to her and began conversing… leaving Discord and Luna apart from the rest.

Luna was looking at the floor… but Discord was staring right at Luna, his arms crossed. He stared at her for a minute before turning and slowly pacing towards her. He stopped right in front of her, but she kept looking at the floor.

“Still think they won’t try anything?” he asked.

Luna looked up. They locked eyes.

But she said nothing.

Discord furrowed his brow as the silence grew longer. She glanced over at Twilight trying to speak to Cadence, then looked back down at Luna.

“Feh…” he turned his back to her and vanished.

---

As soon as the three left the throne room, Spitfire made a subtle head motion for them to follow her. She led them over to the wall across the hall away from any stationed guards.

Dash didn’t say a word as they moved, but could hear what sounded like hissing breaths coming from Descent, his chest visibly moving with each one.

As they came to a halt beside the wall, Spitfire turned and immediately smiled proudly at Dash.

“Dash that was a hell of an act. More than perfect,” she chuckled and nudged her in the shoulder. Dash blinked, still able to hear Descent’s breathing behind her. “I think I saw the exact moment it smacked her right in the fa—”

Dash flinched and yelped quietly as Descent suddenly shoved her aside and pressed a hoof so hard into Spitfire’s chest that she skidded backwards and ran her into the wall.

“What the HELL is wrong with you?!” he hissed at her with the sharpest hushed tone he could manage. Dash scooted backwards as Descent confronted Spitfire, her eyes wide as she fell back onto her plot. Spitfire winced when she hit the wall, but she never once showed surprise. She was definitely caught off guard, but there was no shock or even a gasp. “You just held up a big fat sign in front of their faces that screams dissent!” he pressed, both verbally and physically. “I don’t care how eager you are to stick it to the gods. Do you want us to be successful in this operation or not?!”

Spitfire didn’t flinch once, nor did she waver at any of the harsh words spat at her. She shook her head lightly and exhaled through her nostrils.

“I didn’t reveal a thing to them,” she said in a calm, serious tone, but Descent wasn’t having it.

“You sure as hell revealed our line of thinking! Something they clearly didn’t expect us to consider! You flat out suggested that Sombra isn’t the dangerous being they’ve been leading us to believe! Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t that the very reason we started this whole charade in the first place?! If they didn’t suspect anything of us, they sure as hell do now!” he barely managed to keep his voice down.

“I didn’t ask for your opinion on my methods, Descent,” Spitfire continued to remain cool despite Descent’s outburst.

“Well you’re getting it!” Descent went on. “I only agreed to your plan because it was supposed to be discreet! What’s the point of being subversive if you’re going to recklessly raise red flags for no other reason than it gets you off to see them squirm?!”

“You’re more than welcome to pull the Renegades out of this if you want,” Spitfire reached up and gripped Descent’s arm gently at first. “If you really want to look like a coward, then be my guest. I’m going forward regardless…” she slowly tightened her grip, causing Descent’s eyes to twitch. “And we’re doing this my way.”

Dash remained perfectly still, her eyes darting back and forth with nothing to say. Descent bit his lower lip too, Spitfire’s very strong grip on his arm was clearly painful, but he was adamantly trying not to show it. Eventually he removed the pressure from her chest and pulled his hoof back. Spitfire let go the moment she felt him shift.

“You’ve lost your damn mind… AGAIN!” he snapped, keeping his glare locked firmly on her.

“Have anything else to say to me?” Spitfire lifted her brow, still not acknowledging his harsh criticism of her actions like he had way to convince her she was wrong.

“Tch!” Descent swiftly turned his head away and gritted his teeth. “I don’t. I’m just amazed that you haven’t completely blown our cover yet,” he shook his head. “So what now? Are we going to get this underway or are we going to wait till you’ve had a chance to send them a letter explaining our plan step by step?” he said very sarcastically.

“Enough already,” Spitfire snorted and rolled her eyes. “And yes. It’s time to move.”

Dash twitched.

“We have a window here. Shining isn’t going to reassign his scouts until tonight…”

Dash opened her mouth, but it felt like the air had rushed out of her lungs.

“Dash, get suited up and…” Spitfire paused and blinked. “Are you alright?”

Dash’s eyes widened considerably. Spitfire was looking at her curiously.

Something about Spitfire’s words… or no… it was what she said…

‘It’s time to move.’

For some reason, Dash’s body had an incredibly unexpected reaction. Her chest felt tight, she felt short of breath, and she felt like she was losing feeling in her legs.

What was happening? It wasn’t anything to do with Soarin, it was coming from her!

“Dash? Dash!” Spitfire kept her voice down as she waved a hoof in front of her face.

Dash quickly snapped out of it, shaking her head out and staring into Spitfire’s perplexed stare.

Not good… she had to play it off quick.

“Sorry, I…” Dash blinked, then a thought up a really quick fib. She reached up and pressed a hoof to her chest. “I dunno… I suddenly felt a jolt, it might be Soarin…” she lied, keeping the look of shock on her face purposely to make it believable. Spitfire quickly reached forward.

“Is he okay?! What is it?” she asked frantically. This wasn’t quite what Dash hoped would happen, but she kept up the charade.

“I don’t know… I’m still alive, but it was very weird and sudden…” she threw out the first thing she could think of.

“All the more reason for us to get moving then,” Spitfire nodded, hardening her expression as she patted Dash’s shoulders. “Get your squad, get suited up, and meet in the courtyard in two hours. I’m going to go meet with the rest of the elites and let them know the operation starts now.”

Dash felt her chest tighten again as Spitfire said it again, but this time she forced herself to not show it.

“Descent?” Spitfire turned back to him quickly, but he was facing away.

“Hmph,” he replied with a simple grunt.

“Cut that crap out. Get the Renegades organized and figure out how you’re going to join up with us when we break off from the drills. Let’s meet quickly before the Wonderbolts launch to make sure we have it all finalized,” she explained.

“Fine,” Descent said in a grumbly tone, turning and leaving immediately after. Spitfire huffed and shook her head, letting him go to do his part. Instead, she turned back to Dash.

“Get going, Dash… Two hours. Don’t be late,” she ordered. Dash didn’t reply immediately, but by the time she swallowed and found her voice…

“Y-yes—”

Spitfire had already turned and was walking away. Dash held her mouth open until Spitfire disappeared around the corner of the next hallway.

“… —Ma’am,” she finished and slumped down.

She sat still for several moments, looking down at the floor as she felt her heart beating quickly. She lifted a hoof towards her chest, her movement felt weak, her arm felt heavy as if her strength had been drained.

She touched her hoof to her chest. She instantly felt the fast thumping, her heart beating forcefully against her chest.

She closed her mouth and tried to lick her lips, her tongue dragging as it touched several dry spots.

She had to take a few deeper breaths, the lack of air making her wheeze slightly.

Quick heartbeat… dry mouth… short on breath…

This was a feeling she knew better than she wanted to admit.

Nerves… she was nervous, anxious, and afraid.

Up to this point she had felt so sure of herself and her actions. She was so proud of herself for setting aside her misgivings, that she put her hoof down and forced herself forward. She had taken the hard steps needed to take control and do what she believed was right, to follow what she knew to be truths when others involved would never consider them.

But now that it was all about to happen?

She had prepared, she was sure she was ready… but here was the all too familiar anxiety. Were her show time nerves coming back to haunt her? No… it wasn’t so simple and definitely not as trivial. It was the same feeling as those nerves, but this was a life and death situation. She never had real consequential weight on her shoulders during a simple show. She was about to find out if her chosen path was right… or incredibly wrong.

It was all coming down to this point… and she could never have predicted how much pressure she would feel when the moment finally arrived.

She shut her eyes tight, she slammed her teeth together and tensed her body.

She HAD to fight it… she couldn’t let this happen, not here, not now. She had to keep pushing on with the strength she had used to get this far.

Why wouldn’t it go away? Why did this have to come up now? She couldn’t shake it! She…

She needed to get this off her chest. There was no way she was going to be able to concentrate with this looming over her suddenly. She had two hours, but…

Where would she go and who would she talk to?

Her options were obviously limited. The Wonderbolts were off limits because… duh, she was working against them. Her squad and group she was leading? No way, she could not show weakness to them after how hard she pushed to get them all on her side. And the two ponies she most often confided in? Soarin was the one they were trying to save, and Silver was…

Dash perked up, her eyes opening wide as she sat up straight and her ears twitched.

She blinked several times as she sat completely still, gears turning rapidly in her head.

She relaxed, glanced down for a moment, and then looked around the surrounding hallway. There were guards walking around on patrol, none were coming near her, but a few glanced in her direction.

She looked back and forth.

Back and forth.

Her eyes kept landing on the hall Spitfire disappeared down…

And towards a hall that was the first turn if she wanted to head for the front gate of the palace.

She stopped looking around and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

“Two hours…?” she said quietly to herself as she opened her eyes and locked them on the hall leading out. “Yeah…” she stood up and started walking towards it. “I have plenty of time…”

---

“Um… can I help you?” the mare working the front desk of the hospital asked as Dash leaned her chest against the counter with a hoof firmly placed on it.

“I’m here to see Silver Lining,” she said in a strong tone while subtly standing on the tips of her hooves to elevate herself just enough to be at least a head higher than the mare.

She stared up at Dash for a moment, blinking twice before slowly looking down and pulling out a scheduling book. She flipped through the pages, glancing back up at Dash a few times. Dash held her position and kept her eyes locked in a serious, no nonsense expression. Each time the mare looked up, she her pace quickened, flipping through the pages faster. She eventually stopped and slid her hoof down the page.

“He’s not scheduled for any visits right now…” the mare looked up and leaned back slightly as Dash continued to stare at her. “Uh…” her eyes darted back and forth. “Are you family?” she asked.

Dash’s eyes widened slightly, but only for a moment.

“I’m…” she paused and hardened her expression again. “Yes. I’m family,” she furrowed her brow and sharpened her glare.

The mare tipped her head curiously, looking more and more uncomfortable with every passing second.

“B-but…” she stammered. “We have no family visits scheduled until…” she looked down and scanned the page again.

“LISTEN YOU!” Dash suddenly reached out and grabbed the mare by the shoulder, pulling her forward and pressing her nose to hers. The mare yelped loudly, drawing attention from other employees and ponies nearby. “LET. ME. SEE. HIM.”

The mare was frozen, her eyes so wide they nearly took up her whole face.

“What’s going on out here?”

Dash instantly turned her head to look towards the new voice that spoke up. It took Dash a second to recognize him. An old, red unicorn stallion with a stone-faced, hardened look…

It was the doctor that gave them the news about Silver.

“D…Dr. Mercury…” the mare stuttered as he approached. “We…” she glanced between him and Dash. “Um…”

She yelped as Dash suddenly let go of her and turned to Dr. Mercury. She stomped right up him.

“You,” Dash said sharply. “I need to see Silver.”

Dr. Mercury lifted an eyebrow, staring right into Dash’s glare.

“No,” he said without hesitation. “He’s resting, medicated, and being monitored right now. So—”

Dash forced herself forward and got right in his face, determined to not be denied.

“I NEED. TO SEE. SILVER!” she yelled.

But then she ran into a brick wall… because Dr. Mercury didn’t flinch. He didn’t even blink.

Dash held herself firmly, but internally she was caught off guard. She was beyond determined to get to Silver… and thought she could use Silver’s likeness to muscle her way in much like how she had gotten through all of her escapades so far.

But it bounced right off Dr. Mercury like it was nothing. This was the first time the Silver tactics didn’t work and she didn’t know how to proceed.

“Are you related to him?” Dr. Mercury suddenly asked.

“YES!” Dash fired off before thinking about it. She had already said it once, but this time it was a nervous, hair trigger response. It was too late, she had to run with that now.

Dr. Mercury looked her over carefully, still remaining in place even though Dash’s face was only about an inch from his.

Dash wasn’t sure what to do. She clearly wasn’t fooling him, but she pressed on regardless.

“Are you blind?” Dash asked as she pulled back. “Can’t you see the family resemblance?!” she said as she waved a hoof in front of her face. Her voice almost cracked as she said it… this wasn’t working. And she felt her body tense up as he narrowed his eyes into a glare that rivaled hers.

Come to think of it, she was with the Wonderbolts when he gave the report on Silver. He definitely saw her then and he was adamant on not allowing them to see Silver at the time. He wasn’t budging… and he could see right through her. She could feel his eyes piercing hers like it was nothing. She swallowed as the standoff continued, afraid that she was about to be denied.

Behind her, the mare at the desk was slowly reaching for a button beneath the desk to call security. But Dr. Mercury suddenly lifted a hoof and pointed it towards the mare, shaking his head.

The mare stopped, and just held still as Dr. Mercury sighed.

“Fine,” he said in a tone that sounded annoyed. Dash’s eyes widened, unable to keep herself in character as he suddenly… agreed? “Come with me,” he said as he made a head motion towards the hallway doors and turned.

Dash didn’t say a word, she just eagerly followed as Dr. Mercury started walking and pushed through the doors.

That… was not the outcome she expected. After he denied the push for them to see Silver earlier and then barely budged when Dash clearly failed to intimidate him… how did he just suddenly cave? It was clear he wasn’t buying her bullshit about being related to Silver.

Dash decided not to dwell on it. The curiosity was killing her, but she got what she wanted so why press her luck? She just kept up behind him.

Dr. Mercury didn’t look at her once as he led her through the hallways. And as they walked… Dash suddenly felt tense. Not the same kind of tenseness that she felt when staring down the doctor… it was the tenseness she felt before, that made her come here to the hospital in the first place.

Why? She was just going to see Silver!

But… maybe that was it. She was going to see Silver. She was feeling nervous for different reasons. She had not seen him for a little while and a lot had happened since then. She was looking for confidence, but would the sight of him do that or the opposite?

She started having second thoughts, she wasn’t sure if the sight of Silver would actually help her at all. She went in thinking talking to him, regardless of whether or not he could reply, would be helpful, but now…

She shook her head out. She was here, and she was about to see him. She made this choice for a reason and all these misgivings were starting to annoy her. Misgivings were the reason why she was here… because she had to get rid of them.

Dash almost ran right into Dr. Mercury’s plot as he stopped in front of a door.

Her eyes widened and she swallowed as Dr. Mercury looked back at her.

“Here we are,” he said calmly as he reached up and turned the door knob.

The amount of time it took for the door to open and for the two of them to walk into the room was only a few seconds, but Dash felt like she was moving in slow motion.

From the moment she stepped into the room, to the moment she heard the beeping of the heart monitor, to the moment Dr. Mercury stepped aside to let her by… to the moment her eyes landed…

On Silver Lining.

Dash just stared, everything else in the room seeming to disappear as she focused on Silver with one hundred percent of her attention. She didn’t see Dr. Mercury, and she didn’t see the nurse that was currently tending to Silver.

It was just her, and Silver… and it stayed that way for several moments. She was across the room from him, but couldn’t muster the strength to take a step forward, that or she was still trying to find it. From where she was, she could only make out so much. Silver was lying on his back, he had several machines beside him and was hooked up to an IV. His body had been completely cleaned of bloodstains and he had been re-bandaged neatly, but the few parts that were exposed sported harsh bruising and some very nasty scars. She was sure the visible scars weren’t even the worst of them… considering he had just undergone some major surgeries around the covered areas of his body.

“Doctor…?” the nurse said simply, sounding surprised. Her voice brought Dash back to reality, shaking her head out and blinking as Dr. Mercury motioned a hoof towards Dash.

“Finish up your checks, he has a visitor,” he said, prompting the nurse to go back to work despite looking confused.

Dash, now out of her own head, stared at Silver for a moment.

“He’s…?” she spoke up, but lost the rest of the words.

“Sedated,” Dr. Mercury finished for her. “His body has been experiencing nerve shocks and muscle spasms so we have him medicated to help him rest.”

Dash’s ears drooped.

“So he’s out…” she said solemnly. She wasn’t expecting Silver to be awake and aware, but she had hoped for the possibility regardless.

“Correct. And we had to give him the strongest stuff we had. Saying his body is a wreck is an understatement. We fixed everything that was broken, but I saw many things that could have warranted additional surgery unrelated to his injuries.”

“Sounds… like Silver alright…” Dash said with a sigh, knowing first-hoof how broken down Silver’s body was even before he faced off against Nightshade.

“He has been unconscious the whole time we’ve had him here, and will likely be out for a little longer post-surgery,” he shook his head as Dash quickly looked at him. “But rest assured, his body is functioning beyond the state of a coma, it’s just recovering very slowly. He’s been through more than most ponies could take, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise.”

The room went silent for a moment as the nurse finished up her checklist and nodded towards Dr. Mercury. Without a word, the nurse walked by them and left the room. Dr. Mercury placed a hoof on Dash’s shoulder without looking at her.

“Take your time, but not too long. We need to keep monitoring him,” he said. Dash swallowed and nodded.

“O…okay, thanks,” she thanked him. Dr. Mercury said no more and turned to leave the room, but, “Um…” Dash suddenly found herself turning and looking at him before he could get to the door. He stopped and looked over his shoulder at her.

“Yes?”

“N… nothing,” Dash shook her head and looked down. Dr. Mercury exhaled.

“What is it?” he pressed with a flat look.

Dash looked back at him and locked eyes. She couldn’t help it… it was killing her.

“Why did you let me through?” she asked him. Dr. Mercury just stared, saying nothing. “Look,” Dash turned and fully faced him. “I know I’m not fooling you with the family thing. So why?”

Dr. Mercury only kept his eyes on her for a few seconds before turning away and facing the door again.

“Griffon-Drake War.”

Dash’s eyes shot open, her jaw hanging halfway agape.

“Listen…” he said with a sigh. “I don’t know what your relation is to Silver… but there’s no mistaking it,” he pointed a hoof over his shoulder, directing it at Silver. “I only know one damn pony who’s given me that same glare before.”

Dash was at a loss for words.

“Anyway, again… be sure to inform somepony when you leave. I’ll get fired if we leave him unattended for too long. But knowing this stubborn piece of metal, he’ll probably be just fine regardless.”

Dash felt helpless, she wanted to ask so many questions, but was too shocked to say anything.

Dr. Mercury… knew Silver before this? He was older too… a veteran of the last conflict between the Griffon and Drake Empires just like Silver… was he a combat medic? He was a crystal pony though… but maybe his situation was the same as Squall’s family, moving back once the empire reappeared for ancestry reasons.

But before she could even form a single coherent word, Dr. Mercury had already left.

Dash was left alone in the room… Just her… and Silver. It was the two of them and the steady rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor, nothing else.

Dash faced her broken mentor, still standing in the same spot she had been since she entered. It was time to move… it was time to get closer, and it was time to do what she came here to do.

Slowly… one slow step at a time… Dash made her way over to him, taking in the sight as she moved.

She froze for a moment as her eyes landed on something she wasn’t ready to see.

The nub left over from his removed left wing. It was covered in bandages, but… the wing was gone, it was really gone. It hurt to see, she almost felt queasy looking at it, but she couldn’t take her eyes off of it. She cringed as the noises of the bones snapping beneath Nightshades hooves played over again in her head.

She shut her eyes and looked away while holding her breath.

She had to get a hold of herself. She had to toughen up and take it in. She wasn’t here to grieve for him… she was here because she needed his help, awake or not. She turned her head back to him, released her breath and opened her eyes, staring directly at his wing nub until it was bearable sight. Or at least somewhat bearable.

With that etched into her mind… she looked at Silver’s face instead. Asleep, breathing… most importantly, alive. And it didn’t matter that he was asleep, simply being right in front of her was what she needed most.

She sat down facing the bed, leaned her chest against it, and rested her shin on the mattress, sighing.

She looked at Silver’s face from her position… and smiled weakly.

“Hey old geezer…” she finally spoke, pausing as if he would reply even though she knew he wouldn’t. She blew air through her nostrils as the smile slowly faded. “I’m alive. A lot of crap has happened, but… I’m still alive.” She said, her eyes refusing to move from him. “But man… it’s been hard without you out there. I’m not just talking about me… Everything is a mess.”

She paused again, but picked her head up from the mattress and turned around, sitting comfortably with her back against the bed to feel casual as she spoke to him.

“I really don’t know if you’d be able to fix any of it, but… you’d sure be a big help right now. There are a lot of asses in need of a good kick, but no one is tough enough to kick ‘em.”

She looked over her shoulder and stared at his face again for a moment, but eventually turned her back again.

“Anyway… I came here for a reason, even though you can’t hear me. You’re probably gonna call me a pussy, but I don’t care…”

She paused to collect herself. She was about to let her worries off her chest. It didn’t matter that Silver was out, she was treating it like he was awake and listening.

“I… took a chance,” she began. “A pretty big one too. Up until this point I’ve been pretty sure it was the right thing to do…” she trailed off and paused, her eyes widening a little as she looked at the floor. “No… wait…” she shut her eyes and shook her head out. “No… forget I said that. It was the right thing to do. It’s what you would have done. You wouldn’t have put up with all this bullshit. But…” Dash blinked. “But you would have…” she stopped short and sighed. “Actually, now that I think about it, you probably would have confronted Spitfire directly and convinced her instead of going behind her back… and being all sneaky…” Dash suddenly felt a tightness in her chest as she thought it over. “Am I… doing this the cowardly way?”

She flinched and rapped a hoof against her head, groaning loudly.

“Gah! No! No, no, no. Listen to this crap I’m saying! I don’t know what you would have done… and who says I have to do everything the way you do?! I know you wouldn’t care as long as I recognized a problem and took action against it. Just…” she sighed again, nickering quietly. “Just now that it’s about to happen, I’m… feeling anxious.”

She shook her head, glancing back at him again, but only for a second as she looked down at her hooves.

“Soarin isn’t here to help me calm down… and you’re stuck here, fast asleep. So you can’t give me a swift kick in the ass, but… I wanted to come see you anyway. I wanted to at least say something to somepony I know understands me and understands what I’m trying to do… I don’t care if you’re asleep, I needed it.” She looked up at the ceiling. “I guess I’m just afraid that this is all going to blow up in my face. Hell, I don’t know if this will even solve anything! I thought following your example would help show me a light and point me in the right direction, but it feels like there is no right direction. I’ve taken control of my path, but now I have more weighing on my shoulders than I bargained for.”

She let her chin tip back down until she was staring at the wall across from Silver’s bed and released a long, frustrated sigh.

“I… I don’t know how you do it. I don’t know how you so calmly and confidently push back, how you always know when it’s the right time to go against orders, when it’s the right thing to do. I don’t know how you execute without hesitation. You make it look so damn easy. I don’t know if it’s just my lack of experience or the instinct or what. I know you’re an old relic that’s been at this for longer than I’ve been alive, but it’s incredible…” she glanced back at him. “Amazing… even. You can just do this so calmly every time.” She took a deep breath and turned away again. “I… want to be like you, but I feel so unprepared. I thought I knew how to handle this, like all of your guidance got me this far. But look at me…” she grunted. “What the hell is this? I’m short of breath and my legs are shaking? It’s pathetic!” she stomped a hoof on the floor and paused for several moments.

“Maybe… I just need to experience it in full first. This isn’t just my first time taking a big risk and going my own way… this is going to be my first time out there without you. For real, I mean… you won’t be close by or anything.”

Dash sat still, slowly tilting her head down and closing her eyes, her thoughts swirling.

“I guess… I’m about to find out if I really have what it takes to be your protégé…”

“Quit whining.”

Dash’s eyes never opened faster or wider in her life.

“I can almost hear the sound of your tail getting sucked into your ass.”

Silver was awake.

“WHAT THE--?!” Dash almost fell forward, her hooves slipping and skidding on the floor as she frantically tried to stand up, failing and falling face first once before she finally managed to get up, spin around and stare directly into the open, bloodshot eye of Silver. Her heart was beating so fast that she might as well have been scared to hell and back. “UH… WHA… HUH?!” she continued to babble incoherently.

“I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about, but you’ve set a new standard for talking like a weenie without getting to the point,” Silver kept talking, his voice weak and a little raspy. His red, damaged blood vessels in his eye only made the singular glare look that much more intimidating.

Dash’s back legs were still shaking while her front half was frozen, body, face, and all. Her back hooves eventually slipped and she yelped as she nearly fell backwards on her plot. She quickly pushed herself back up, but her back legs were still shaking like she had seen a ghost. She wasn’t imagining this, right? Silver was awake… right?

Silver’s eye moved up and down, scanning her carefully as she remained in a state of shock. He specifically noted the way her back legs were wobbling and shaking before making eye contact with her and lifting his eyebrow.

“You got a fire going in your lady garden or something?” he asked gruffly, pushing his voice to work for him despite how difficult it sounded. “I didn’t know caretaking tickled your hot box. Back off, I’m married.”

Silver’s wisecracks sailed right over Dash’s head as she tried to find where her brain scurried off to. She clearly wasn’t dreaming. Whatever the ‘strongest medication’ was they gave Silver apparently wasn’t strong enough to knock him out, and Silver was throwing his blunt one liners at her like everything was normal.

It was kind of hard to process it all at once while her brain was missing in action.

“B…but… but…” she stammered as she tried to focus and speak up.

“But what?” Silver asked with a snort.

“The doc said you’ve been out for days! And that you were sedated on top of it!” Dash blurted out, regurgitating her confusion since she didn’t know what else to say. Silver blinked, and released a light chuckle as he rolled his eye.

“Oh please,” he said with a sigh. “This weak shit couldn’t knock out Blaze. I’m about as sleepy as a mare after spending the full six seconds in bed with Lightning Streak.”

Dash felt a light tingle in her throat. Laughter, she was chuckling a little. It was just hard to register because she was still caught in between trying to find her head and naturally reacting to Silver’s typical roasting of his wingmates. She couldn’t see her own face, but she was sure she had on an odd, goofy look that was half hysterical and half smiling.

But whatever look she was giving him, it didn’t seem to have any effect on him as his eyes once again locked on hers and narrowed.

“Now what’s with all the limp-wristed moaning and groaning coming out of your yapper? You lose all of your backbone while I’ve been out?”

Dash finally came to her senses, blinking as her legs stopped shaking and her thoughts straightened out.

Silver was awake… she was looking right at him and he was talking. But… as she looked at him, something else was still visible. She felt a lump in her throat, her ears flopped down, and she looked away.

“What?” Silver prodded, causing Dash to flinch.

“Um…” she slowly looked back towards him, a somber look on her face as her eyes moved to the leftover nub where his wing used to be. Her eyes moved from the wing nub to his eye, then quickly looked away again. “Your…”

“My wing?” Silver finished for her, his tone not changing. “It’s gone, I know.”

Dash flinched, her eyes widening a little at how casually he said it.

“Uh…?” She failed to utter any full words as she tried to measure his response. She expected him to be a little more emotional about it. Okay, maybe just a tiny bit emotional, this was Silver she was talking to. Although... He nearly broke down completely when Spitfire first informed him that she was retiring him from duty… how was he being so casual about this? Unless… because he preferred it this way? Going until he could physically no longer perform? She thought she recalled him saying something like that at some point.

“She-demon-bitch crushed it, you think I don’t remember?” Silver spoke very frankly. “Bones don’t make noises like that and then get better later.” He snorted and looked straight up at the ceiling. “Don’t expect me to get all worked up about it cause I ain’t gonna miss it. Glad that son of a bitch is finally gone. It hurt like hell on a daily basis before it got stepped on. Too bad she didn’t take the other while she was at it.”

Dash was dead silent with a flat expression and wide eyes.

“I… uh…”

“WHAT?!” Silver suddenly belted as he turned his eye back to her, coughing and groaning lightly for a moment right after. Dash winced as she heard him overexert his voice, but then shook her head.

“I guess I was expecting a different reaction…” she explained herself.

Silver looked her right in the eyes and blew a whistling breath through his nostrils.

“Look, Dash…” he began slowly, his voice taking on a more serious tone and pace. “I wasn’t expecting to get out of that fight alive. I went in knowing full well that I wouldn’t last very long and would probably die before Spitfire got anywhere near the battlefield.” He paused and smiled. “What better way to end my career as a Wonderbolt? Fighting tooth and nail through the stiffness and pain of my old, broken body not just for my life… but for the lives of the future generation? I put everything on the line in hopes that it would be enough… that I could buy you amazing kids just enough time for a chance to survive.” He looked away from her. “Even I’m surprised I’m alive, Dash…” he shook his head, or at least tried to, barely able to move his head as he shifted his eye back towards her. “I was ready… ready to say goodbye to everything, ready to leave it all behind for a good cause. My life… my family… you… everything. So if I only lost an eye and a wing? Then I consider myself damn lucky. This was the defining moment of my life as a Wonderbolt, my final battle. And I sure as hell don’t mind being alive to remember it… and be proud of it.”

“Silver…” Dash was being put on a roller coaster. One moment Silver was insisting there was nothing for him to be emotional about, then he gives her a thoughtful recount of what was going through his head at the moment of his near demise? She wished he’d make up his mind and stick to a tone.

“But enough about me, dammit,” Silver suddenly grunted, his sharp tone once again piercing through the rasp. Dash blinked, smacked right back across the face in the other direction as he shifted again. “So I’m broken, what else is new?” he said sarcastically. “Now what’s all that crap you were belly-aching about earlier?”

Dash was caught off guard. Silver was moving a mile a minute despite being immobile and now was suddenly demanding an explanation. Where to begin…? There was so much… She looked down as she tried to collect her thoughts, but Silver released another snort.

“Everything went straight to hell the moment I went down, didn’t it?” Silver asked. Dash looked back up at him and blinked, tipping her head to the side a little.

“Pretty much,” she answered simply, unable to argue with his inductive reasoning.

“Figures…” he scoffed. “You damn kids can’t do anything right without me,” he released an exasperated sigh. “Well? While I’m still young.”

Dash paused for a moment, scrunching her brow as she blinked.

“First we’re ‘amazing kids’ and a few seconds later we can’t do anything right without you?” she asked while lifting an eyebrow. “That praise sure lasted long.”

“What, you want a hug and a kiss to go with it? Don’t make me come over there and smack your shit. I can’t feel a thing, but I’ll damn well give it my best shot.”

Dash blinked, her lips quickly turning up.

“Heh…” she let a chuckle slip as she smirked wider.

“What?” Silver grunted.

“Nothing,” Dash shook her head, finally moving closer to him and sitting down on the floor right next to the bed. “It’s just great to hear you talk again,” she said honestly, Silver’s voice along making her feel… normal. Silver’s eye widened suddenly, clearly not expecting that. He couldn’t have averted his eye from Dash faster if he tried.

“Yeah, yeah…” he said quietly while looking at the ceiling. “Sure, whatever… now what’s going on out there?” he asked, his voice growing quieter while trying not to show any cracks in the armor.

“Well…” Dash began, sighing as she rested her chin on the mattress. She looked up as Silver’s eye returned to her. “It’s a long story…”

---

“And then I came here,” Dash said, pausing as Silver looked up at the ceiling, listening carefully and processing everything she had just told him. “And…” Dash continued with a sigh. “I came here because I’m nervous. I thought seeing you would help me calm down.” She looked up to see his eye had finally shifted back to her.

“That’s it?” he asked.

“That’s it,” Dash nodded.

“Okay, and?” Silver quickly asked. Dash blinked, pulling her head back slightly.

“And… what?”

“You still didn’t answer the first goddamn question I asked you,” Silver sharpened his eye into a glare. “What the hell are you whining about?”

Dash’s eyes widened, not only at the question, but at how harshly he put it. She instinctively opened her mouth to retort, but… found she had nothing to say in response. She just sat there, with her eyes in a half glare and her mouth hanging slightly ajar.

“I’m waiting,” Silver pressed with a snort.

Dash slowly closed her mouth, her eyelids shaking for a moment as she looked down.

“I…” she shook her head lightly. “I don’t know why.”

“That’s because you shouldn’t be,” Silver verbally jabbed. “So cut that crap out.”

Dash locked her eyes on him and furrowed her brow, but… she pulled back and calmed down, tipping her head a little bit to the side. She wasn’t sure what to say… or if she had to say anything because… it wasn’t like she disagreed with what he said. He was one hundred percent right, her ‘fight back’ reflexes were just egging her on.

“Sounds like everything is working the way you want it to,” Silver went on. “So don’t you go tuck your tail between your legs right before taking the damn stage.”

Dash picked out a few specific words there. ‘Working the way you want it to.’

“But… actually… that’s not entirely true,” she began as she released a frustrated sigh. “Not everything has gone smoothly. Just now before I came here, we were found out by ponies I didn’t want involved. Luckily, they were on our side… or so they claim. So I’m worried about that, but…” she furrowed her brow as she shook her head. “But Storm is easily my biggest mistake. I didn’t consider all of his circumstances and just threw him in with the rest I trusted. He wasn’t on board when I first confronted everypony and has even fought me on the whole idea more than once.”

“I hope you broke your hoof off in his ass for it,” Silver commented bluntly. Dash’s eye twitched, but she didn’t react otherwise.

“I did… kind of,” she said half-heartedly.

“Kind of?” Silver snorted. “Did you, or did you not push his shit in? I want some confirmation.”

“Okay, fine! I did!” Dash rolled her eyes.

“Good,” Silver smiled weakly, satisfied.

“But it didn’t really fix the issue!” Dash groaned. “He’s still scowling in the corner every time we meet. I have Matty watching him, but I have no guarantee Storm’s really on board. He hasn’t ratted us out or anything… yet.” She shook her head. “But he’s clearly against it and it’s apparently bothering him to the point where he’s grumbling and talking to himself.”

“Then kick his ass again,” Silver suggested casually. “Sometimes one hoof up the ass isn’t enough. Some morons need a friendly reminder with another, preferably harder and with a hooffull of nails. I guarantee you they won’t cross you after that.”

Dash felt her whole body twitch as Silver so calmly gave his ‘suggestion’. She huffed and shook her head out, eager to move on since ‘kick his ass’ was probably the only response she was going to get regarding Storm.

“I’m also just… unsure in general,” she continued. “About the whole thing, not just what I’ve done just now,” she shook her head and sighed, holding the breath out for several moments. “I think I have an idea of what’s going on, but I don’t know how much of it is right. And what I have in mind is constantly being punted around by everything else I’m hearing from Spitfire, from Luna and Discord, from others… It’s almost impossible to stay focused. One moment I’m under the impression that my plan will work, it will be successful… The next moment I wonder if I’m jumping the gun and if what I’m hearing from Spitfire or whoever might be better to follow. There are some things I heavily disagree with, but it’s all out there and all swirling!” She grunted and started bobbing back and forth while pressing a hoof to her head. “Ugh… there’s so much conflicting information. The gods say one thing, Spitfire rejects it and puts her hoof forward… Both are saying things I don’t agree with so I’ve tried to break away, it’s barely been a week but it feels like it’s been going on for months at this point and… and… but… ffffffffrgh…” She rubbed her hooves through her mane.

“It’s a dumpster fire filled with ten thousand pounds of hammered dog shit,” Silver chimed in. “I’ve already put that together.”

“And then there’s Soarin on top of it! And…” Dash tried to continue, ignoring Silver’s comment entirely, but trailed off. Silver huffed and lifted his eyebrow.

“What about Soarin?” he asked after she paused for too long.

“I…” Dash tipped backwards, stopping just short of flopping onto her back. “I don’t know…” she finally said with a loud, annoyed grunt.

“Spit it out before you choke on it,” Silver demanded gruffly, his voice finding ways to remain sharp even though it was still weakened overall. Dash’s face contorted slightly, drawing a clear picture in her head of Silver’s choice of words.

“I don’t know if it’s even possible to save him,” she admitted while looking directly at Silver. He had his eye locked on her, but he said nothing, expecting her to go on. “My plan is to use something we’ve seen work on something that’s… kind of the same? I don’t even know if it’s really comparable, or if the Elements can actually affect his state. I keep hearing that Soarin’s body has been taken over completely, that Sombra’s soul has suppressed his and made Soarin’s body his own. That wasn’t the case when we used the spell on Luna. She was being corrupted by a spirit, the spirit didn’t flat out replace her. AUGH!” she threw her hooves up in frustration. “I don’t know! And the more I think about it, the more I’m convinced there’s really nothing we can do about it!”

Silver kept staring as she ranted, her breath heavy as she paused. He looked her up and down, keeping his expression calm.

“Why?” he asked simply.

“I have no answers!” Dash fired at him instantly. “Only ideas! That’s not enough! I can’t feel confident like this!” Dash’s outburst continued.

“Why not?” Silver pushed again, furrowing his brow slightly. “What’s stopping you?”

“How can I?!” Dash slammed her hooves to the floor. “It doesn’t help that the more I hear about him and what’s happening to him, the less I understand! Not just now, going all the way back to the start when this crap was forced on him all the way up to where we are now! I also don’t know a thing about Sombra aside from some shadow of him I fought with my friends a while back! Luna and Discord know so much more about the real him than we do, I don’t fucking know, maybe they are right?! Maybe what they are saying is really what we should be doing and everything I’ve done is just a waste of goddamn—”

“For crying out loud, will you LISTEN to me?!” Silver suddenly shouted, or at least tried. It was followed by coughs, cringing, and jittering as he grunted and groaned. Dash froze, her eyes widening and rushing forward as Silver looked in pain. But the moment she got close enough to touch him, his eye opened back up and pierced right through her. “I don’t give a damn what Loopy and Dickface say!” he had lowered his tone back down, but his voice still had strength. “I’m asking YOU dammit! Why do YOU think you can’t?!” he threw the question right into her face.

Dash closed her mouth and blinked as his words smacked her right upside the head.

“You’re not sure it will work?” Silver went on. “WHO CARES?! Is that going to stop you from trying?! Is that going to end this moment where you believed in yourself over their nonsense?!”

“I… what?” Dash stuttered.

“So the gods know the jackass, big deal! That means they’re right?” Silver snorted. “What part of the crap they’ve dragged us through makes you believe they are all seeing and all knowing?! Are you circling back on me here? What the hell happened to all that moxy that pushed you to take charge?!”

“But…” Dash continued to stammer.

“You already kicked them all to the curb because you thought they were wrong,” Silver kept going. “And not just them, but Spitfire too. I’m proud of you, dammit! Proud of you for recognizing the need to break away and take control. I’m lying here half mummified and pumped full of enough painkillers and sedatives to rub my ass on the gates of heaven, but I have just enough feeling in my crotch to acknowledge the academy record hard on that went up when you said you told them all to get bent! So don’t you dare ruin this moment for me by shoving your head between your legs and checking the weather up your own ass right before following through!”

Dash’s left eye twitched.

“No answer, huh?” Silver grunted. Dash sighed and groaned.

“Sorry, I forgot what you asked when you brought up your dick,” Dash grumbled sarcastically.

“And I’m going to make a serious attempt to slap you across the face with it if you don’t answer me,” Silver shot back without missing a beat.

“I don’t know, okay?!” Dash rubbed her hooves against her head and turned her back to him. “I think… Maybe I’m just anxious and it’s getting to me. Maybe I’m thinking way too hard.” She turned back to him. “But this is exactly why I came here. I felt perfectly fine right up to the moment I realized it was all about to start. I didn’t want to go forward like that. I needed to let it out to some pony even if they were—”

“Well, cut that out,” Silver cut her off abruptly. “If you’ve gone this far, then you’re in deep shit if you start pussy-hoofing now.”

“I’m nervous, okay?!” Dash lashed out. “No, you know what!? I’m also scared! VERY scared!” She pointed a hoof at Silver. “There, I said it! I’m scared about what this means for me too! Soarin’s soul still exists in his body, but for how long? What if it eventually gets destroyed? What if it weakens and fades? What if Sombra finds a way to push him out completely?! A part of me is in there too, connected to him! If he disappears, will it take me with it?! Will I just keel over and die?! This is very serious for me! You’re not the one with your life on the line here!”

Dash’s eyes grew wide and she pulled back, gasping slightly the moment she realized what she said. She wasn’t wrong… but… even if the contexts differed…

“I…” Dash shook lightly as she scooted backward. Looking directly into Silver’s eye as he narrowed into a sharp gaze. “I’m sorry, I…”

“No. Stop,” Silver spoke up quickly, causing Dash to freeze. “Don’t even start apologizing or going all soft. I’d rather you misspeak with passion than apologize weakly. But, forget it, you made it clear that you’re nervous, I get that’s what you’re trying to say.” Silver brushed her poor choice of words aside. But then he shook his head. “But Dash, come on, really?”

Dash remained still and just blinked once.

“Soarin? Weaken and fade?” he lifted his brow. “Sweet mother of hell, do you even KNOW your own husband?”

Dash almost immediately forgot her mistake, her eyes shooting open and her body springing back into a jittery motion.

“HUSBAND?!” she blurted out, caught off guard.

“Oh give me a break,” Silver snorted. “With how frequently you two do the slippery pole bounce on one another regardless of what’s going on around you? You might as well be married with twelve children already.”

Dash stared at him blankly.

“Look me in the eye and tell me you didn’t bang at least once after I almost died.”

“Er…” Dash’s face turned bright red and she looked away.

“Did you actually?” Silver stifled a chuckle. “Hell, I’m always right, even when I’m joking.” He looked away and let a few snickers out.

Dash reached up and yanked a chunk of her mane down over her eyes. She and Soarin didn’t get that far because of his magic interrupting, but… Silver wasn’t wrong.

“Okay, enough, stop blinking like a Heath's Warming tree,” Silver ordered, his voice getting serious again. Dash let go of her mane and tried her best to hold the blood from rushing to her face. “Alright, listen to me, Dash…” Silver began, but trailed off, staring at Dash. “What are you leaning back for?” he suddenly asked. “Get over here and turn those ears this way so you can hear me loud and clear.”

Dash swallowed, nodding and obeying. She shifted forward and leaned down slightly so Silver could look her right in the eye at close range. His eye was sharpened into a very serious look. He waited until he was satisfied with her proximity.

“You’re talking about Soarin?” he began again. “You’re worried about him holding himself together?” Silver released a quick, sharp breath from his nostrils that made a slight whistling noise as is blew past the breathing tubes stuck inside of them. “Why do you think I respect the guy more than anypony else among the Wonderbolts? Even more so than Spitfire?” He asked. Dash stared for a moment and tipped her head.

“Why?” she asked, too focused on Silver to come up with an answer herself.

“He’s strong,” Silver went on. “And I don’t say that because he’s a bulky muscle head. He’s strong where it counts, in everything. He may lose his way from time to time and need to have his ass kicked in the right direction, but once he’s facing the right direction, you can bet he’ll see it through. He’s unbreakable, he never lets anything stop him once his mind is set. Spitfire may have the raw skill, strength, and ability on freak-of-nature levels, but I’m sure you’ve noticed that she still has cracks in her armor. She still hesitates and questions herself from time to time.” He shook his head very lightly. “Not Soarin. Soarin doesn’t flinch, he doesn’t waiver. I rarely feel the need to nudge him along when shit hits the fan because he’s usually taking the leap himself. Sometimes he leaps too quickly, or right into a brick wall, but he never waits. And… aside from some of the unnatural magic crap that’s been out-of-control mind-banging him recently, to this day I can’t remember a time I’ve seen him give in to pain, fatigue, stress, or hardship of any kind. He’s hard as a rock and he’s a bull. Nothing can hold him down. He gets himself into shit often, sure… but he has it where it counts most.” He lifted his eyebrow slightly. “Want my absolute honest opinion? If he had the same pure, natural ability and commanding presence of Spitfire… I’ve no doubt he would’ve been the one selected to lead the Wonderbolts.”

Dash had gone completely quiet, her eyes wide and her ears turned just as Silver had instructed, listening and taking it all in as he reminded her exactly who her stallion was. Though it was interesting to hear Silver speak of Soarin this way while also thinking back to how Soarin described his life as a Wonderbolt. It was pretty consistent. Soarin didn’t praise himself the way Silver was, but Soarin always acknowledged that he had a hard time figuring out which way to go… Spitfire ultimately encouraging him to work hard with her until they became Wonderbolts. And he definitely worked hard from there, especially considering the success that followed.

“So… after all the jargon, hullabaloo, and who-knows-what I’ve heard here, let me take a crack at this,” Silver said with a bit of annoyance in his voice. “Soarin’s body has been possessed by some asshole king from a thousand years ago, but his soul is persisting inside of it regardless? You being alive means he’s still in there somewhere, right?”

“Yes…” Dash nodded quickly.

“I don’t even know how the hell that’s supposed to work…” Silver grunted and rolled his eyes. “But… That sounds like just the kind of thing Soarin would pull off, even if he has no idea how he’s doing it. Name one other pony you know with a will strong enough to make something that ridiculous sounding happen,” he narrowed his eye. “And don’t be a smart ass and point at me while I’m laying here in a heap of broken bones and missing pieces.”

Dash looked down… and blinked a few times as she thought it over.

And the more she thought… the more she felt… dumb? All the moaning she had just done about Soarin, it was almost as if she forgot who she was talking about. Her own stallion, the one she was deeply in love with to a hysterical degree… had she really forgotten just how strong he was? It was part of what made her so crazy about him after all. She almost felt ashamed that Silver had to tell her this… it seemed like it should be a given.

“Dash,” Silver said her name and she looked right back up at him. “Soarin is one of the few Wonderbolts around these days that truly strikes me, in full, of what the Wonderbolts are supposed to be. He has many of the same qualities of some of the greatest Wonderbolts I’ve had the privilege of serving with and I do my best to let him know that as much as I can.” He paused, never taking his eye off her. “Now, I want you to listen to me carefully… because there’s something you need to hear.”

Dash’s ears stood up straighter than they already were. Something she needed to hear? She didn’t have time to think about it, focusing hard as Silver cleared his throat.

He looked away from her, staring at the ceiling…

“We are ponies of great pride…”

“We are not run of the mill…”

“We are the chosen few…”

“We fight to the bitter end, tooth and hoof…”

“Blood sweat and tears…”

“In the face of the enemy…”

“We stand firm…”

“In the face of death…”

“We smile…”

“Wonderbolts…” Silver looked at her again and sharpened his eye. “NEVER die…”

Dash just sat still with her mouth hanging open slightly. The words Silver had just chanted, or at least tried to chant with his weakened voice, didn’t swirl in her head, they stuck into her head. She didn’t know what to say.

“Many of the old Wonderbolt traditions have faded,” Silver spoke up again. “That chant I just recited? It used to be the words we all lived by and swore by. Blizzard drilled those words into our heads when we were young and green, and made me recite it before every mission we flew together once he took me on as his disciple. While those words have been all but lost in this new generation… I feel they still apply even if they go unspoken. The Wonderbolts may have changed since I was young… but their spirit hasn’t. And our spirit… is what ultimately makes us stand out, what makes us stronger even when we’re outclassed by our enemies in every way.” Silver shook his head. “Are we invincible? No, far from it, just look at me. But… does it hurt to believe that we are? Hell no. Words are just words, Dash… You can say them over and over again to kingdom come, but they won’t mean a damn thing if you don’t believe them. That belief… is what makes the difference.” He exhaled and nodded gently. “I know that Soarin believes it… and the best part? He doesn’t even know the chant. Hell, he doesn’t even think about it. He does it naturally. It’s just who he is. He knows that he’s the strongest among us and he fights like it, believing in his strength with every move he makes… he believes he’s invincible, and that he needs to be for the sake of his wingmates.”

He paused. And he held the pause for a long while, staring at Dash as she stared right back. He could tell she was processing it all, it was the same look she always had when he was speaking about something important.

“Dash…” he began again. “I can’t tell you what to do or what to think from here. If that’s why you came here, you wasted your time. I played my part, I sacrificed my body so you could forge on. It’s now up to you to clear your vision and take charge. But hear me out…” he furrowed his brow. “This isn’t about the Wonderbolts. This isn’t about the Shadowbolts. This isn’t about the gods. This isn’t even about Sombra…” he held a sharp glare on her, snorting. “This is about YOU.”

Dash finally blinked, pulling back slightly as that one sentence smacked her right across the face.

“It’s about what you want and what you choose to believe in,” Silver went on. “You are trained to follow orders, to be the Wonderbolt you’ve worked so hard to be, but… No matter what your orders are, no matter what the plan is, no matter what a couple of so called ‘gods’ say is right or wrong… follow what you believe is right. With how convoluted, desperate, and fubar all sides and minds of the situation have become… you owe yourself that much. Don’t fall into the mess. Break free of it… and never stop looking through your own two eyes.”

Dash’s pupils grew as her eyes remained open wide. A feeling of confidence rushed into her. She wasn’t ready for it… it caught her off guard and she was having trouble processing it.

They just continued to stare at one another. And it looked like Silver wanted her to say something. Dash swallowed and tried to find her voice, but it was nowhere to be found.

“Hello?”

Both Dash and Silver flinched in surprise.

A new voice in the room.

But while Dash didn’t react much beyond the initial flinch, Silver’s eye shot wide open and his ears stood up so fast it was a wonder they didn’t launch off his head and through the wall behind him.

Dash didn’t notice Silver’s extra reaction, instead turning to look towards the door…

Three ponies were standing just inside the doorway. An earth stallion and a unicorn mare that looked to be around her age… and an older earth mare. The young unicorn mare had snow white fur and a long, wavy brown mane with a grey stripe running through it. Her facial features were nearly identical to the older mare, just more youthful. The older earth mare shared almost the exact same colors and hair style, only sporting a darker shade of brown in the mane stripe as opposed to grey. The earth stallion was taller than them both, sporting a strong looking body and frame. He was light grey with a dark grey mane that had a familiar looking shape… come to think of it, his eyes and overall facial features had the same familiarity. They all stared towards Dash and Silver, their faces wrought with concern.

For some reason… Dash couldn’t take her eyes off of them, even as they continued to look at them and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

The words ‘who are you’ were stuck on the tip of Dash’s tongue, but they refused to fly. Why? Because something in the back of her mind was telling her that she knew them. But that was crazy, she had never met these ponies before in her life… then what was causing this? Who were they and why did she get the feeling she had seen them befo—

Then realization swooped in and smacked her right across the face.

She had seen these three ponies before.

Only… in a picture frame next to Silver’s medicine cabinet.

His son, Piston.

His daughter, Magic Touch.

And… his wife, Serenity.

“I sleep,” Silver suddenly said loud enough for only Dash to hear. Dash blinked and glanced over her shoulder at him?

“Huh?” she blinked as she looked him over. Silver had his eyes closed and his mouth hanging open, making a very fake snoring noise.

“Silver?” Serenity spoke up, causing Dash’s head to whip back around. She swallowed as Serenity came forward and she immediately stepped aside to let her by.

But even as Serenity leaned her chest against the bed, Silver continued to lie with his eyes closed and let his mouth hang open, snorting once as he kept fake snoring.

Dash just held perfectly still, too caught off guard to really get a good read on what was going on.

“Silver,” Serenity said his name again, her voice sounding slightly harsher, but her concerned expression remained. But Silver continued to act like he was asleep, his son and daughter coming forward to join their mother. After a few more seconds, Serenity released a long sigh and flattened her brow. “Honey, I heard you talking.”

“Noyoudidn’t,” Silver said very quickly in between snoring.

Serenity shook her head lightly before reaching a hoof towards his head and lightly flicking it back and forth against the tip of Silver’s ear. He began to twitch and his ear flopped about vigorously to try and avoid her hoof.

“Ah, oo, gah, okay! Stop it,” Silver snorted, giving in as he opened his eyes and slowly looked towards his wife, sighing in defeat. The reactions of his family were mixed when they saw his eye all red with damaged blood vessels. Magic touch visibly winced and reclined. Piston reacted similarly, but in a much more controlled and subdued manner. Serenity on the other hoof, didn’t bat an eye. Dash was surprised at first, but then remembered she is… or at least once was a nurse. So it probably wasn’t the first time she had seen such an injury.

That or this was normal, just another visit to her husband who liked to almost get himself killed on occasion.

“Good to see you’re just fine,” Serenity spoke with a slight tone of sarcasm, shaking her head and sighing. “They told me you were sedated, but I wasn’t going to believe it until I saw it myself. Honestly, I’m surprised I didn’t catch you trying to escape.”

“Hrmph…” Silver grunted as he looked away from his family and up towards the ceiling.

Yeah, this was definitely another day at the office for her. Dash couldn’t believe how casual she sounded with her husband half dead right in front of her. But… She had to be really something if she could put up with Silver regularly.

Magic Touch continue to lean back and avert her eyes, still visibly stricken by the state of her father, but Piston came forward, standing beside his mother and smiling at Silver.

“Man, Pops…” he said as he looked Silver up and down. “This is pretty rough… even for you.” He looked towards Silver’s face, catching his eyes looking at him briefly before Silver quickly looked back at the ceiling. “What did you fight? A train?”

“Hrmmmmmmmmmmmrghhh…” Silver harrumphed, holding it out to the point where it almost sounded like a groan. Piston was about to say more but he was suddenly roughly pushed aside by Magic Touch. She had finally gotten over her initial shock and was frantically looking Silver up and down, leaning over him with her hooves on the mattress. Her eyes widened and her pupils shrank when her eyes landed on the nub of his missing wing.

“Your wing…” she said quietly, placing a hoof over her mouth. She said no more as Serenity reached a hoof up and placed it gently on her daughter’s back. She too, stared at the leftover wing nub, but judging from the subdued reaction, they were already aware of it. Dash had a feeling they had been informed before they even made the trip.

“So you finally did it, huh?” Serenity spoke up again, the light sarcastic tone now completely gone and replaced with a softer one. Silver briefly locked his eye with hers before looking away again. “‘I’m not going to stop until my wings fall off…’ That’s what you always said. Or ‘wing’ in this case. Never thought you’d take it seriously, but here we are.”

“I did what I had to do,” Silver said quickly, still staring at the ceiling.

“Of course you did…” Serenity said with a slightly annoyed sigh, but after a brief pause, smiled weakly. “But…” she removed her hoof from Magic and moved it over to Silver instead. Silver shut his eye and stiffened as she gently touched the back of his head, stroking it into the exposed portion of his mane. “I’m glad you’re alive… that means you didn’t break our promise.”

Silver’s eye slowly opened as she said those words, the hardness of his expression fading slowly and the corners of his lips turning down. He shifted slightly and moved his eye to look at her and took in her smile. He visibly quivered for a moment before averting his eye shamefully.

“I don’t deserve that look,” he said with his voice shaking. “I did break our promise. I was expecting to die.”

“But you didn’t, did you?” Serenity quickly added.

“Hrmph…” Silver grunted again, but this time much more softly than he had before.

“Why do you do this?!” Magic Touch suddenly fumed, nearly pushing Serenity aside as she stopped just short of grabbing her father. “We barely get to see you as is, and half the time we do you’re either beat up or in a hospital!” she whined, letting her head fall until her chin plopped onto the mattress. Silver slowly looked towards her as she pouted.

“Oh, cut that out,” he said while giving her a flat look as his usual demeanor crept back in. “I don’t tell you how to do your job, do I?”

“Doesn’t mean you don’t worry me sick…” Magic huffed, puffing her cheeks out and glaring at him as small, emotional tears balled up in the corners of her eyes. “I’ll never get how Mom is just okay with how this always happens.”

“This was what your father—” Serenity began.

“—looked like the day I met him,” Magic cut her off and finished for her. “I know, Mom. You say that every time, but that doesn’t mean I like it.”

“I don’t like it either, honey,” Serenity said flatly. “I’m just used to it.”

“I’m not,” Magic continued to whine, then yelped as Piston suddenly pressed to her side and draped an arm over her shoulder.

“Aw, come off it, Touchy!” he said with a lighthearted chuckle. “Dad’s a hardass. I mean, come on. He doesn’t even die when he said he was supposed to!”

“You’re a heartless jerk,” Magic shot back at him as she tried to push up from the mattress, but couldn’t because her brother was too heavy.

“And you…” he gently rubbed a hoof into her mane. “Are acting like we’ve never seen Dad in a hospital bed before. Right Dad?” he asked while turning to Silver, who was looking at the ceiling again.

“Hrmmmm…” Silver mumbled.

“See? Normal,” Piston chuckled.

Magic’s horn suddenly lit up, her aura wrapping around Piston’s arms and forcing him off before she turned around and forced his head down, nearly butting heads with him.

“He’s missing an EYE and a WING!” she snapped at him. “That’s NOT normal!”

“Hey! Ow! Stop!” Piston grunted as he tried to pull free form her magic and pushed her back.

“Enough, you two,” Silver spoke up. The two of them froze in place and let go of one another faster than Dash could blink. Dash had to hold in a snort of amusement. Silver’s son and daughter were definitely programmed to freeze when Dad stepped in between them. “What’s done is done,” Silver went on. “I don’t regret a damn thing that led to me being here right now, and I don’t regret the loss of my wing or my eye. It could have been much worse, and…” Silver slowly moved his eye towards Dash. “The outcome was worth the sacrifice.”

Dash’s ears stood up and her eyes grew wide as Silver’s family suddenly all looked towards her. It wasn’t like they didn’t know she was there, but she felt put on the spot and wasn’t sure what to say as Silver suddenly made her a part of the conversation.

But while Piston and Magic just stared, Dash noticed Serenity was looking her up and down, her eyes landing specifically on her mane. She stared at it for a moment, then smiled as she turned to face Dash squarely.

“You must be Rainbow Dash,” she said in a warm tone.

Dash’s pupils shrank slightly. She swallowed and nodded meekly, still not sure what to say or do. This wasn’t just any mare addressing her, this was Silver Lining’s WIFE.

“I had a feeling,” Serenity giggled, staring at Dash’s mane while pointing to her own. Then she started moving, Dash stiffening further as she slowly approached. “Silver has told us all about you in letters. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

Dash blinked several times.

Silver had been writing home to his family… about her? Or at least included her in the letters?

“Uh…” Dash slurred before swallowing and forcing a very awkward smile, reaching out a hoof as Serenity closed in. “Nice to meet—”

“Oh, no you don’t,” Serenity kept moving forward, reaching both of her arms right past Dash’s extended hoof and gave her a big hug. Dash froze again as she found herself in the sudden embrace. “You’re getting what you deserve, sweetie.”

“Buh…?” was the only noise Dash could muster, her brain spinning in circles as she kept stepping into moments she didn’t know how to handle.

“Thank you so much for keeping an eye on him for me,” she thanked Dash as she slowly pulled back and smiled, keeping her hooves placed on Dash’s shoulders. Dash just stared blankly at her.

“Hrmph…” Silver quietly harrumphed again in the background.

“Silver has a bad habit of always worrying me sick,” Serenity went on. “But… after all he’s told me about you, it put me at ease. It was comforting to know he had found a young pupil to look after him and keep him focused.”

Dash finally broke from her blank stare as Serenity’s words made her curious.

Look after him?

Keep him focused?

Those sounded more like the kinds of things he was doing for her, not vice versa.

“Silver has always enjoyed working with younger Wonderbolts, and—”

“No I don’t,” Silver cut in suddenly.

“Yes you do, dear,” Serenity fired back calmly without even turning to look.

“Mrgh…” Silver began mumbling and grumbling, turning his head away as much as he could.

Was he embarrassed? Dash was still trying to get a full read on everything going on and being said to her, but she was figuring out Silver’s behavior shift. He was trying to keep his tough guy air, but his family was bringing out a soft side and he clearly didn’t want her to see it. It was amusing.

“When he first told us about you, it made me so happy,” Serenity continued on, finally letting go of Dash’s shoulders and simply standing in front of her. “I’m sure you’ve heard him go on and on about old traditions and the ‘lost art’ of being a Wonderbolt,” she said while tipping a hoof up and down in front of her. “It may be a bit of a broken record, but it really does mean a lot to him. So knowing that he found a student worthy of passing his knowledge onto meant he was going to give it his all. And… if you knew him like I do, that meant he would make an extra effort to take care of himself to ensure he saw it through,” she looked back at Silver. “And here he is, surviving something that I assume would've killed him otherwise… if he wasn’t tremendously motivated to succeed.”

Again, Dash didn’t know what to say… but this time it was for different reasons. She was speechless because of what Serenity was talking about. And she was indirectly implying that Silver was alive because of her. And… he very well may be. She was sure he had more motivation than just her, but after all the time they spent together and all the lessons passed on? It was easy to see what Serenity meant.

But there was more to it than that… All this time Dash followed, admired, and tried her hardest for Silver… She never really considered that Silver was possibly doing the exact same for her.

He helped her stay motivated and focused, and she helped him stay motivated and focused.

“Hrm……hrmph…” Silver kept making groaning and huffing noises.

“Oh, don’t let his silly harrumphing fool you,” she rolled her eyes and shook her head as she looked back at Dash. “I know he’s beyond happy about this… and you. He’s just trying to act tough.”

“Heh…” Dash finally managed a slight verbal response, unable to hold in a chuckle at her calling out Silver. But she still couldn’t think of anything to say, she felt overwhelmed.

“But truly,” Serenity nodded. “Thank you for watching over him, and…” her smile slowly faded. “I wanted to ask you… what exactly happened?” she suddenly prompted Dash. Dash blinked, her eyes widening slightly. She wasn’t expecting this either, but this was a little different. “We were told he sustained great injuries, and were informed about his wing and eye before we even left home, but other than that the details are sparse…” she glanced back at Silver. “And I know he won’t tell me, so… please?” she asked as she looked back to Dash.

“Hrm…” Silver groaned, but it was slightly louder. And when Dash looked past Serenity, she saw Silver looking directly at her, his eye narrowed into a harsh glare. It was as if he was silently demanding that she keep her mouth shut, but…

But Silver did just tell her not to blindly follow orders if she felt it wasn’t right, so she was going to follow that advice. Serenity, Piston and Magic were all staring at her, waiting eagerly to hear about how Silver ended up here like this. She decided that it would be wrong of her not to inform his family.

“Well, the fine details are really confusing, but…” Dash began, rubbing the back of her head as she briefly glanced at the floor. “We were on our way to meet up with some allies, allies that have… trust issues. Silver was still recovering from a very rough fight, but we were forced to bring him along since he was on a first name basis with the commander of our allies. He fought alongside him in a past conflict and would easily help us get over the trust obstacle. My squad and I were in charge of transporting Silver out there, following behind the top tier squads of the Wonderbolts, or at least the members that were available and without the lead captain.”

Dash paused as she noticed a few looks of confusion, she quickly picked out what it was.

“I have a stupidly huge griffon in my squad, he carried Silver on his back,” she clarified.

“Ah, that explains it,” Serenity nodded.

“Hrmgh.”

“Hush, honey,” Serenity shot Silver a brief look with an eyebrow raised as Silver scrunched his face.

“Anyway,” Dash continued. “As we made our way to the designated meeting point… we were attacked, caught completely off guard by a very dangerous enemy that we were not expecting, nor knew was still alive. Silver hid himself as we engaged, but even though the enemy was flying solo, we were all beaten down… fairly easily, I’m ashamed to admit.” She paused to let it sink in, because all three of them reacted visually to that fairly unbelievable point. All the top Wonderbolts being beaten down. “Like I said,” Dash shook her head lightly. “Very dangerous enemy. She’s armed with powerful magic, can create false clones of herself made of pure magic, and uses intense mind and emotional games to demoralize and break her opponents… What’s worse, gets intense pleasure from causing others pain, mental or physical… and I mean sexual pleasure,” she explained as Silver’s family all reclined in slight disgust. “She also picks out and tries to amplify desires, breaking apart a pony’s will by drawing out and forcing them to face the worst of their fears or secrets they don’t wish anypony else to know about. During the encounter, one of our top flyers was mentally broken to the point where she’s still recovering from it, not to mention her physical appearance was temporarily altered painfully. It’s not really something I can describe…” she shuddered lightly and gritted her teeth, closing her eyes as she tipped her head down. “You’d have to meet her to understand. And I hope to Celestia you never do.” She sighed and looked back up. “Eventually, we were all grounded and being tortured by her magic slowly and painfully. And…” Dash slowly looked towards Silver. “It was at that point that Silver stepped out of hiding… and took her on all by himself despite the state of his body.”

Silver sighed loudly and looked away as all eyes in the room went to him.

“He was outmatched in every way. Strength, speed, endurance… every factor you can imagine, she had the upper hoof… by a lot,” Dash continued, drawing all the attention back. “But... it didn’t matter,” she smiled subtly. “Because Silver beat her at her own game. He turned her own emotional mind games right back at her and broke her from within, resisting all of her attempts to corrupt or scare him like they meant nothing. All the while, he pushed back on her. It only stalled the eventual beating he took, but in the end, even as he lay broken and helpless like this…” She motioned to Silver. “His efforts paid off. She couldn’t bring herself to deliver the final blow. He had torn her down and gotten her to see herself in the same light she tried to force others to see. Killing him would only prove every fine detail and shortcoming he had pried out of her and forced her to acknowledge. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I had fought this mare three times now, and she scares me more than anything in Equestria, but Silver had her wailing, crying, and shouting madly while standing over him like she couldn’t comprehend what he had done to her.”

“And at that point,” Dash exhaled. “Silver had held out just long enough for Spitfire to arrive… and she took care of the rest. So effectively,” Dash paused and looked towards Silver. “Silver saved us all. And I probably wouldn’t be here talking to you right now otherwise. Hell, none of us would be. We all owe him our lives.”

“Hrmmmmm…” Silver groaned as he shut his eye.

But Serenity smiled as Dash finished, the story warming her heart. Piston and Magic both turned to Silver first.

“Damn, Dad…” Piston chuckled. “You’re a real piece of work,” he said as Magic touch just looked away. She didn’t look satisfied, but probably couldn’t speak out about it after hearing about her father’s heroic actions.

“Sounds exactly like something he would do,” Serenity said as she turned back to Silver and approached his bed again. Silver kept his eyes shut, but opened it as he felt Serenity touch his arm gently. He glanced towards her and took in the warm smile.

“Don’t look at me like that…” Silver grumbled as he averted his eye.

“I’ll look at you any way I want, thank you,” Serenity countered as she leaned down and planted a light kiss on his cheek. Silver’s eye widened and he flinched.

“Hrghmrgggghhhh…” he grumbled again as he turned his head away as far as he was able. Serenity giggled and shook her head, still smiling.

“Never giving less than a hundred percent and never backing down even if the outcome is uncertain,” she sighed, but stroked her hoof up and down his arm gently. “You never change.” She slid her hoof up his arm and touched his face, caressing it as Silver looked back up at her. “And please don’t.” She added. Silver blinked… and finally smiled.

“Hmmm…” he hummed, not grumbling at all.

But behind them, Dash’s eyes were slowly growing wider as her ears pointed up.

Never giving less than a hundred percent…

Dash blinked.

Never backing down even if the outcome is uncertain…

Dash stared at Silver and his family, the words of Serenity echoing in her head.

Silver said he couldn’t tell her what to do… and he was right. He didn’t have to. She just heard everything she needed to hear from an unexpected source. It seemed trivial and simple… and given for that matter. But… watching those words used by somepony else to describe the very pony she was trying her hardest to be like? It was a heavy reminder… especially the way it was being presented.

Silver Lining… being praised by his family for the very qualities he worked endlessly to drill into her head… and make her believe. Things that came naturally to him.

Dash felt light, like all the doubt had suddenly lifted from her shoulders and vacated her chest. Her heart was no longer beating nervously, not even in the slightest. She felt calm… at ease… and ready.

She still had a bit of time before she had to report. And honestly… she wanted to talk to Silver more. But she felt like it was a good time to go. She had gotten what she had come here for, rekindled confidence and a better perspective both from Silver’s own mouth… and meeting his family. Besides… Silver clearly didn’t want to show his soft side with her present. So she would get going and let him be with his family.

“I should probably get going,” she spoke up as she moved towards them. “Spitfire wants us ready to go soon and I still have to gather my squad,” she said as she stopped close to all of them and glanced around. “It was nice to meet you all, and…” she looked at Silver specifically. “Thanks for talking to me, Silver,” she said with a nod.

But Silver just stared at her, saying nothing as his family said their goodbyes to her. Dash was curious at first, but paid it no mind. They had already said all that needed to be said. It was time for her to go. She turned to leave.

“Rainbow Dash.” Silver’s voice froze her in place for a moment. She looked over her shoulder at him. Silver had narrowed his eye and had locked a sharp gaze on her. “Come here,” he demanded. His voice was similar to the way he gave orders. His family noticed the stern look in his eye and backed away to give them space as Dash turned and walked up to the bed, Silver never taking his eye off hers.

“Yes, sir?” she responded professionally.

But Silver said nothing for several seconds, the two just remained still and stared at one another. However… Dash didn’t question any of it, nor did she even think about asking him what it was about. He was getting there, she knew how he worked.

“Rule number six.”

Dash’s eyes opened wide.

“When everything is on the line… there is no ‘I can’t’ only ‘I will.’”

Dash’s lips parted slightly, her body completely stuck in place and her ears turned as Silver spoke.

“There is NO pain. There are NO injuries. Fight EVERYTHING trying to hold you back. REFUSE to back down. Let nothing tell you it can’t be done. Not even your own body.”

Dash had never listened to something more intently in her life, the words instantly ingraining themselves in her head as they left Silver’s lips.

“Don’t see failure as a possibility… See it as a choice.”

Silver narrowed his gaze further, Dash’s pupils growing within her irises.

“A choice… you should ALWAYS reject.”

The whole process felt like the world had ceased to exist and it was just Silver speaking to Dash with nothing else around them. The two remained silent, Silver’s eye meeting Dash’s eyes and the two holding firm.

Then Silver nodded.

“Good luck, Skittles,” he snorted. “And I better see you in here tomorrow morning, or I’ll die, follow you to hell, and kick your ass. Got it?!” he added strength to his voice, the rasp still present, but the effort pushing through it.

Dash smiled, holding a determined look on her face as she nodded. She started to turn.

“Yes si—AH!” she took one step and yelped loudly, her back hoof slipping right out from beneath her and falling face first to the floor. Silver’s family gasped in surprise, but before they could move to help, Dash quickly propped herself up, blinked in a state of surprise and shock…

And looked at her back leg.

Silver’s I.V. tubing was slung around it.

“Awareness, Dash,” Silver said as he shook his arm and freed her leg from the tube.

Dash flattened her brow, a brief look of disbelief and frustration colliding on her face. She pushed herself up, turned, and glared at him with a scrunched up expression.

“What the hell are YOU staring at?!” Silver barked at her.

A smile began creeping onto Dash’s face. She absolutely could not contain it.

“QUIT EYEBALLIN’ ME!” Silver yelled, pausing to cough once as his voice rasped. “Get your ass out there and PROVE THEM ALL WRONG!”

At this point, Dash was smiling so wide that her lips had parted slightly too. Now she was really fired up.

Without saying a word, she turned around and took a step.

But she froze and quickly checked her back legs.

She heard a snicker from Silver behind her, but she didn’t look back. She chuckled along with it and started in stride towards the door.

It was time to do this... And she was feeling more confident than ever before.

---To Be Continued---

Author's Note:

(Art in this chapter by: Foxenawolf)

Time to move. Dash needed a good old fashion kick in the ass and she got way more than she bargained for. Looks like not even almost getting himself killed is enough to stop Silver from being Silver... and it sounds like he has no regrets, ending his career as a Wonderbolt the way he wanted as opposed to being told he had to stop. It also looks like he's a big softy around his family and tried his darnedest to not let Dash see it. We finally got to meet Serenity as well, the one and only, wife of the Iron Horse. Definitely must be something is she can handle him every day and REALLY something if she can make such a hard pony turn to mush with little effort. She's so in tune with his behavior that the we finally see the mighty Silver Lining fall.

But what about the meeting we saw before Dash's visit? Is Spitfire going loony again? Descent sure thinks so. This only adds to the pile. As if there weren't enough fractures among the groups to begin with, now there appears to be one within Spitfire's own group. Will this affect the mission? Dash's mission? Or is Descent just voicing his discontent with her behavior? Only time will tell.

But... Dash is ready to go. Silver has passed on the last lesson of his master onto her. Why didn't he do t sooner? Where was this final rule for so long? Well... only Silver really knows for sure Now Dash just has to make it happen. And you can bet she's going to give it her all and then some.

We've finally made it to the finale of Arc 3. As i've said several times, in hindsight i feel like arc three should have ended at chapter 100 and up to this point should have been arc 4 because the final story arc approaching will likely not be as long as 3 has been. (But you know me...). I also want to apologize if this particular part of the story feels likes it's dragging. I had no idea it would take this much space to get through the buildup to the arc 3 finale.

I have also realized that recent chapters have become quite long. My plan for the finale is to split it into however many chapters are needed, capping them at 15kish words apiece. And then when we get into the final story arc, im going to try my best to keep that cutoff point so i don't drawn you guys too much with these very long chapters.

Anyhow... I plan to nail down the finale in FULL in an outline format before i begin writing each section of it, so it will probably take me slightly longer to get the next chapter out, but once i start posting them, they will come quicker.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!

Comments

[SWEETOLEBOB18]

Longer to get chapters?!
This is the second oldest fic (after Estee's Triptych) that I follow.
Still, it's good to know that you've got a clear end in mind

[danisanerd]

I gotta say, I missed Silver, it was good to have him back, and dash did need that. Can't believe that the finale of this arc is here already, it seems like its been so long. (Not that i mind, i love it) I have a prediction on the final battle, but knowing this story, there's going to be some last minute twist that i didn't expect

[0PinkamenaDianePie0]

holy shit holy shit HOLY SHIT HOLLLYY SHHIIITT wth I was not prepared for this ommlll

[XJustice]

Such an amazing chapter!! Cried a few times but they were worth it

[Night Frost 18]

I really love this

[Vinyl_ScratchPlays]

Heh Silver... never change

[TexasDragon1995]

So I just got done reading this and I'm all like "How did I not see this coming? No seriously? How the- No I'm FUCKING SERIOUS?! How the fuck did I not see this coming?"
God fucking damn it! Here I was expecting them to get into preparing the battle, but instead you gave us something that could only make my heart tingle as well as my penis...a good ol fashion pep talk by the one and only Duke Silver. (loved his family by the way)

Godammit I will NEVER predict ANYTHING right on this story am I?

Wonderful chapter.

Keep up the good work you son of a bitch

[Magical Shield]

“Good luck, Skittles,” he snorted. “And I better see you in here tomorrow morning, or I’ll die, follow you to hell, and kick your ass. Got it?!” he added strength to his voice, the rasp still present, but the effort pushing through it.

Easily my favourite moment in this chapter

Well done for making it this far, for both the author and the readers!!! even if this comment is gonna be buried in a sea of other comments before you know it

[goldenshadowfire]

I knew it as soon as those three ponies came in I knew that they were silvers family cause piston has his dad's fur colour whilst his daughter has a silver streak in her mane calm winds you're one sly git you have my respect keep fighting the good fight and keep giving us bronies and pegasisters the chapters we love

[Animak]

This is AWESOME oh awareness it's too long
would have been interesting to see silvers reaction to dash knowing about PL name but that would have distracted from the main point here, Silver psyching up Dash

[subzero]

I think I cried thank you so much for writing this chapter with silver I think it was really needed after everything that's going on around them. Just gotta say I love Serenity

[coldsilverd]

That was a great chapter!

It is always good to have Silver being Silver. I've missed the grump. And of course, he had to get one last 'awareness' in. And we meet his perfect foil: his wife. I love how she plays off of him perfectly.

It will be very ironic that Dash and Co. have Sombra in their sights, ready to fire or firing, only for Discord to intervene when he realizes its the banishment spell, not the sealing spell. He doesn't want to see Celestia go bye-bye along with Sombra, which I got a hunch it would. It would be interesting to see where his feelings lay; does his love of Celestia outweigh his apparent desperation to eliminate Sombra?

[Delphina34]

I think you’re propping up way more many straw ponies than we need given how little we actually know.”

“too many more”

“One moment I hear he’s a mindless monster, and the next you say hiding in the crystal forest is a ‘smart’ and ‘calculate’ move?

“calculated”

“And maybe you can clear this up and help me out with understand it…” Spitfire narrowed her eyes a little, giving Luna a razor sharp gaze. “He only seemed interested in two very specific individuals.”

“understanding” or “help me to understand it.”

”And he most certainly won’t just give up Soarin back to us! Besides… Soarin’s soul may still be in there and somehow resisting,” he paused and glanced at Dash.

“give up Soarin” or “give Soarin back to us.”

She had to stop, this was just doubt creepy through while she was forced to sit and watch a thin ice situation. Silver wouldn’t freak out… Silver would keep his cool… Now she just hoped Spitfire backed off before accidentally spilling all the beans.

“creeping”

“This is not something we would not know,” Luna said with a snort. “You’re the only one here who has been sealed in stone by Elements.”

Accidental double negative.

With Spitfire “beaten”. Dash turned back to Luna and gave her a firm nod.

Period needs to be a comma inside the quotation marks.

Dash remained perfectly still (comma here) her eyes darting back and forth with nothing to say. Descent bit his lower lip too, Spitfire’s very strong grip on his arm was clearly painful, but he was adamantly trying to not (change to “no to”) show it. Eventually he removed the pressure from her chest and pulled his hoof back, <—(semi colon would be better here) Spitfire let go the moment she felt him shift.

Dr. Mercury looked her over carefully, still remaining in place even though Dash’s face was only about an inch from hers.

hers —> his

She let he chin tip back down until she was staring at the wall across from Silver’s bed and released a long, frustrated sigh.

he—> her

“Quit whining.”

Oh my god I burst out laughing at this! Totally Silver. Even after being a vegetable for 1/4 of the story he’s still a badass.

“I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about, but you’ve set a set a new standard for talking like a weenie without getting to the point,” Silver kept talking, his voice weak and a little raspy.

“Oh please,” he said with a sigh. “This weak shit couldn’t knock out Blaze. I’m about as sleepy as a mare after spending the full six seconds in bed with Lightning Streak.”

“couldn’t knock out High Winds,” would be better, since she’s always falling asleep anyway.

“And here he is, surviving something that I assume would killed him otherwise… had he wasn’t tremendously motivated to succeed.”

“would have killed him” and “if he”

“Never giving less than a hundred percent and never backing down even if the outcome is uncertain,” she sighed, but stroked her hoof up and down his arm gently. “You never change.” She moved slid her hoof up his arm and touched his face, caressing it as Silver looked back up at her. “And please don’t.” She added. Silver blinked… and finally smiled.

“moved” or “slid,” pick one.

[Gargon94]

That was an interesting chapter. The whole part with Sliver and his family was fun to read. I can't wait to read the finale of arc!

[deltablaze22]

I was having a very rough night (i was in tears) and when i got on fimfiction i was so happy this story updated. I really felt like i could relate to dash in this chapter and after reading silver talk to dash i realized i needed silver as well. I just wanted to say thank you for turning my bad night into a good one.

[CowgirlVK]

Yay! Silver is back

[Those Kids In The Corner]

Good God I missed Silver. I had a feeling we'd see his family too, after that nurse said he didn't have a family visit till... And got cut off. At the end of this story, I could picture Dash being invited to a family dinner and talking about all their exploits and explorations.

[Leventego]

Next chapter: Rainbow duped everyone, they were just about to execute their plan when suddenly Arctic Blast came out of nowhere with some big ass mecha shit. When they looked up to her they saw Kayn Ost with her. She then screamed

KAYN OST IS BETTER THAN SOARIN PROVE ME WRONG!

She then started to kiss with Kayn Ost but after their long passionate kiss ended Kayn Ost disappeared because some random ass pigeon broke the hologram device.
"Wot" she was confused af but then Soarin somehow walked out of Sombra (his own body, dont ask how) and said "NO HE ISN'T!!!!!!"

YES HE IS!!!!! She shouted back

"NO HE ISNT!" He screamed louder

YES I AM! Then Arctic Blast transformed into Kayn Ost because he was Kayn Ost all along. It was so easy to guess to because Arctic Blast is obviously Kayn Ost backwards but everyone has -300 iq in this world.

Everyone is like "wtf"

And then discord came out of nowhere and said "Not even I can handle this" and teleported away.

Then Silver walked out of the hospital with his wings in place and no injury whatsoever and kicked everyones asses.
Soarin was just about to fly up towards that Lord of the rings rip off when Ruin stepped out of his Kayn Ost halloween costume. Yes in the story it was halloween all along.
He said "lmao" and everyone gasped. He then jumped out of the meka and when he landed there was a huge earthquake and when he landed he said

IM GAYYYY

Then everyone died.

The end

[Midday Giggle]

AWWWW YEAH SO GOOD TO HAVE THE OLD BASTARD BACK HOW I'VE MISSED HIM YEAAAAAAH

Also: FINALLY SERENITYYYYYYYY! I've been waiting so long for her to appear. That's one thing to cross out of my bucket list.

Oh, and of course:

“Soarin? Weaken and fade?” he lifted his brow. “Sweet mother of hell, do you even KNOW your own husband?”

Dash almost immediately forgot her mistake, her eyes shooting open and her body springing back into a jittery motion.

“HUSBAND?!” she blurted out, caught off guard.

“Oh give me a break,” Silver snorted. “With how frequently you two do the slippery pole bounce on one another regardless of what’s going on around you? You might as well be married with twelve children already.”

Dash stared at him blankly.

“Look me in the eye and tell me you didn’t bang at least once after I almost died.”

“Er…” Dash’s face turned bright red and she looked away.

“Did you actually?” Silver stifled a chuckle. “Hell, I’m always right, even when I’m joking.” He looked away and let a few snickers out.

Dash reached up and yanked a chunk of her mane down over her eyes. She and Soarin didn’t get that far because of his magic interrupting, but… Silver wasn’t wrong.

I remembered this almost every five minutes at school, and O couldn't help but giggling to myself. I told one of my friends about this scene something like ten times and we both laughed so hard, seriously.

And!

“Quit whining.”

I lost it there

And by the way HAS SPITFIRE GONE NUTS OR WHAAAAAAAT?!?! IS SHE CRAZY!?! No, you know, what, let me rephrase that: SHE IS CRAZY!!! INSANE!!!

[Calm Wind]

9260578

Been at it for a while, but i would never abandon this

[Calm Wind]

9260593

You would not BELIEVE how much fun it was to write Silver again. He's always been my favorite character to write for.

[Calm Wind]

9260606
deeheehee

[Calm Wind]

9260632

Glad you liked it!

[Calm Wind]

9260637

[Calm Wind]

9260647

Nothing can change Silver

[Calm Wind]

9260684

something that could only make my heart tingle as well as my penis

Gave me a good giggle

You'll never know what's coming, the more you try to pry into my mind, the more you risk Twister popping out and slamming a pie into your face

Thanks!

[Calm Wind]

9260694

Writing dialogue for Silver again was a much needed release. I've missed him so much. I couldn't stop smiling or chuckling as i went through all of it

[Calm Wind]

9260695

Will do!

[Calm Wind]

9260913

Silver's a good ol' jackass even when he's half dead Can't have Dash getting soft now, he's gonna prank her even if he can't move.

[Calm Wind]

9260969

Glad you liked it, and yeah... Dash needed this considering the world is spinning around her.

Serenity is one tough mare, eh? What a hooffull of a husband she has

[Calm Wind]

9260981

It was amazing to write for him again, i've missed him too. I had to throw in the awareness gag, what better way to send off his student? And we now know how Serenity is able to handle a stallion like Silver, by knowing his every move beforehoof through experience

Well, all i can say is... this is going to be a MESS... and you know i like to make things crazy

[Calm Wind]

9260985

Thanks for those!

And actually, when Silver mention's Blaze, he's implying she's a lightweight.

[Calm Wind]

9261038

Thanks! And yeah, i missed writing for Silver big time.

[Calm Wind]

9261060

You're welcome Glad i could help, and i hope things get better.

[Calm Wind]

9261112

Don't think anyone has missed him more than me

[Calm Wind]

9261912

Me too, like you couldn't imagine.

That would be an interesting situation

[Calm Wind]

9261927

Twister, put down the keyboard and the ladle.

[White Comet]

Welp, I've finally caught up after being gone for a while.

Silver had been to hell and back...but something tells me he isn't down for the count.

However, he is now bedbound with no escape from his wife, who will no doubt be giving him an earful. Press F for Silver lads...

[Calm Wind]

9262115

I can't beging to tell you how awesome it felt to write for the old stallion again Ahhhhh i missed his jargon so much. My person favorite line was "im high enough to rub my ass on the gates of heaven" followed by the "Serious attempt to dick slap you" Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh he is my favorite character, this was such an amazing releeeeeeease!

And yes, Serenity, hell of a mare to put up with Silver, but she seems to have that special touch. Silver turns to puddy in her hooves

[Calm Wind]

9262211

headcanon: Silver actually died, but when he got to hell he punched the devil in the face and started beating down all the demons as heavy metal music played in the background. So they sent him back.

true story.

[Leventego]

9262206
Yes papa

[White Comet]

9262217

headcanon: Silver actually died, but when he got to hell he punched the devil in the face and started beating down all the demons as heavy metal music played in the background. So they sent him back.

...This makes me want to open Photoshop...

[TexasDragon1995]

9262170
I don't think I'll ever stop guessing, but don't worry. I'll defend myself from Twist...

...by using bread for my BREAD GUN!

I'll be ready

[Animak]

9262178
yup ^_^

[Gargon94]

9262199
And I missed reading about him. I am sure we will see Silver again after Somba is dealt with.

[Midday Giggle]

9262213
Oh, yeah, those two are glorious Specially the heaven one

Oh yiss, she's quite something!

[Midday Giggle]

9262217
He can literally say he's been through hell

[Phoenix Flight]

This chapter was everything it needed to be.

Side note, if this was an anime, it would be the most epic thing ever. In all of everything.

[Perpetually Confused]

9262213
they probably have that most special of relationships: he fears her

[Magical Shield]

9262174
I can most certainly see why! He's an amusing character to read, I'd be more than willing to bet that 99.99% of the time, you're laughing like hell in some shape or form like a lot of readers are!