• Published 1st Aug 2012
  • 4,000 Views, 140 Comments

Nyctophobia - Valorousspectre



Soarin, Romance, stalkeresque, Jealousy, past abuse

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Courage is power

Chapter 7: Courage is power.

The day of the show. The locker room, the suit, the hype, the confidence. It was something Soarin was intimately familiar with. The anxiety and disappointment from knowing his secret admirer was out, in that crowd, that very day and he was incapable of Identifying her was not familiar.

Dammit Soarin, get your head in the game! You can’t go out like this.

“Soarin? You okay?”

Soarin looked up straight into the eyes of Spitfire.

“What? Oh, yes. I am.”

“You sure? You’re shaking.”

Soarin blinked and looked at his hoof. She was right, he was shaking.

“Oh... that... uh, yeah, yeah I’m fine.

Spitfire sat down and frowned in concern.

“Soarin, what’s wrong? Is the mare still bothering you?”

“What? Oh... in a way I guess... She’s coming today, but... She’s not in the seat, and she knows that Echo and I aren’t together... but...”

“but?”

“Well, I won’t be able to find her!”

Spitfire chuckled lightly.

“You should be more worried about impressing her.”

Soarin blinked in confusion.

“Impressing her?”

“Yeah! Pulling everything off perfectly so she likes you even more! The more she likes you, the more chance there is of her revealing herself to you completely!”

Soarin thought about this for a moment then smiled.

“Hey! You’re right! We’ve got a show to do, and I’ve a mare to impress!”

Feeling much more confident, he trotted over to the door. Firestreak sat next to Spitfire.

“That isn’t how it works you know...”

Spitfire nodded sadly.

“I know Streak. But I had to get his head in the game, and that was the only way to do it.”

Firestreak sighed.

“Well, in this case, I hope it’s an exception and it does precisely what you said it does instead of the opposite.”

“Me too Streak.”

~*~

Grin was excited beyond belief. Here she was, Her! In the Cloudosseum! To watch the Wonderbolts! To watch her Soarin!

Ohmygosh, this is a dream come true!

She sat next to the lavender unicorn she’d met quite some time ago.

Cloud walk spell I’d wager.

She knew the only pony of the group that would recognise her though was Rarity, having outfitted her as she is. Her normally ash grey mane and tail was a deep purple, like the fashionistas’, Her coat was a rich gold colour and her feathers had been dyed the same colour. Her eyes were ice blue and her teeth, most surprising, were neat and perfectly normal.
The perfect disguise.

Her cutie mark had also been made invisible, courtesy of Raritys’ expertise. Fortunately, the dye wouldn’t last any more than thirty-six hours. As much as she appreciated the disguise, she missed her own colours. Despite her appearance, she still avoided contact as much as possible.

“It was really nice of you to give Rainbow your VIP ticket miss.”

It took Skeleton a moment to realise the lavender mare was talking to her and she smiled nervously.

“Oh... yes. Well, I didn’t really want to be up with all those upper class snobs anyway.”

The nice mare giggled a little.

“I know what you mean. The princesses are nice though. But I hear a few important matters came up and they couldn’t attend today’s show. A pity. They sent us these tickets, but they couldn’t see it themselves.”

“Oh... That’s nice of them.”

“Isn’t it? Oh! Look! Here they come now!”

The lavender mare reached into a saddlebag she was carrying and brought up a quill, ink and parchment, which she then proceeded to levitate with magic. Skeleton frowned in confusion.

“What..?”

Twilight laughed softly.

“Sorry, but it’s a habit of mine to take notes now. Blame the princess.”

~*~

Soarin must have flown the best routine of his life that day. The oohing and aahing from the crowd, which normally brought him a sense of pride, fell upon deaf ears as he focused completely on the routine.

I have to impress her, I have to impress her...

Left, Right, straight up, vertically down, precisely 35.829 degrees angle to the left... Precision, speed, aerial eye candy, he did it all perfectly.

Spitfire was very impressed.

So, incidentally, was Skeleton Grin.

~*~

Skeleton filed out of the stadium with everypony else, her disguise firmly in place. There was a crowd around a small stand. On closer inspection she realised it was the Wonderbolts signing shirts, for a price of course. She giggled at the crowd and trotted over nervously. Her disguise made her feel much more confident as she approached, and her heart skipped a beat when she realised Soarin was there.

Ohmygosh, I could get a signed shirt as well...

The price was something else though, and she didn’t have the money. She sighed.

Well, it was a good thought...

She saw the energetic blue mare from the other night zooming over to the stand as she turned and walked away.

~*~

Soarin was walking home in high spirits. Yes, Walking. Occasionally he signed somepony’s jacket or shirt or book or something, but that mattered little to him. He simply pranced along. He took a picture or two as well. Signed them while he was at it.

Lots of fillies and colts went home happy that day.

I flew my best routine today. I’m sure she was impressed. Even Spitfire was impressed, and that’s no mean feat.

He went around a little known shortcut through an alley. That place always gave him the creeps. He didn’t know why, but it did.

Just a silly feeling. It’s natural!

Yes, it was the best performance of his life. And he had the feeling he’d never see himself performing that well again. He smiled as he reached his house and saw the familiar scene of a small, rolled up scroll tied with silvery grey ribbon.
The first thing he did was sit on his own doorstep and read the letter eagerly in the fading light.

“My dearest Soarin.

You flew so well today you took my breath away. I’m so proud of you. I’m sorry... for how I reacted to your close friendship with miss Fleetfoot... It was unwarranted and wrong on my right, my dearest apologies.

It was a dream come true to be in the stadium today, watching you and your team perform. A dream I’d wanted to see fulfilled for a very long time. If there is any way I can thank you... please tell me in your reply to this letter.

I love you Soarin...
S.Grin.”

Soarin smiled, an inkling of a rather hopelessly romantic idea formulating in his head.

“Oh miss Grin... there is a way you can thank me~”

~*~

Skeleton woke up to find a scroll in front of her nose. She frowned, before noting a bright blue Pegasus with a colourful mane and tail taking off from her dilapidated house. Next to it was a white shirt. She sat up, stretching luxuriously.

Oh dear... I’m still on a high from yesterday...

She looked first at the shirt, then picked up the scroll and unrolled it, beginning to read.

“Miss Grin.

Firstly, thank you so much for the appreciation and praise. It means quite a lot to me. It means so much more than I can put into words. As it is, I do believe there IS a way you can repay me for making your dream come true.

However... it is liable to take you out of your comfort zone... way out of your comfort zone. So I need to know if you’re willing to before I tell you what I would like... please decide quickly, I haven’t got a long time before I cannot ask you due to short time.

I have come to understand that you don’t have much money. Such as you could not afford the shirts being signed after the show. You can thank your friend Rainbow Dash for this one.

With all my affection.
Soarin.”

Skeleton giggled softly and looked at the shirt folded neatly on the floor.

“Oh Soarin... You shouldn’t have!”

She slowly unfolded the shirt. It was just her size. It was decorated with the Wonderbolt logo and was signed by each and every one of the Wonderbolts.

“wow...”

It was admired for only a moment before she slipped it on, marvelling at the fit.

It fits..! It’s a little big but... it fits!

Her thoughts strayed back to his letter, about a way to repay him, but it’d take her out of her comfort zone.

My comfort zone... That’s so small, simply going outside is out of my comfort zone! That’s... kind of sad.

She frowned, torn between her promise, and not wanting to stray too far from her path of comfort. It was difficult. She didn’t know which she should hold closer.

Your comfort zone is the only thing that’s kept you alive Skeleton... You know that...

“I...I know... But... Soarin wants...I promised Soarin I’d do what he wanted to repay him.”

You know he’ll just rip you away from your comfort zone more Skeleton... to the point where he’d get you in big trouble... You know it’s true.

“But... Soarin...”

But nothing! It’s too risky! You shouldn’t do it. You KNOW you shouldn’t.

“But... I promised..”

No. No more excuses! You’re NOT doing it!

Skeleton Grin swallowed sadly, beginning to despair. The voice in her head was strong... so strong... There was so much she wanted... so much to lose... and yet...

“No.”

What are you quacking about now?

“I’m going to do it. To hay with you. Go away! I’m NOT giving this stallion up!”

You would betray me? I’m the only one who loves you! The ONLY one! Who’s kept you alive for all these years?

“Well that’s about to change...”

Skeleton scowled, still talking to herself.

“I’m not putting up with you any longer! This is MY life! I will live it however I see fit! You have no say!”

You DARE to talk to ME like that? Me? The one who has kept you alive all these years?

“You were needed then. Not anymore you aren’t. You will stay out of my life!”

No! You can’t... You cannot just g-

Just like that, the voice vanished. Banished from the mind of Skeleton Grin. She frowned, determined, and whipped out a piece of paper and began to scribble down a return note.