> Simply Miraculous > by flaminkomage > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Part I > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Simply Miraculous Part I "Wake up, Rainbow Dash! It's your first day at the Wonderbolts!" Rainbow Dash groaned as her mother shook her awake. She yawned, before getting out of bed and walking to the bathroom with a small smile. "Oh... right, yeah," she said, swooning slightly. Firefly rolled her eyes, before shaking the cyan pegasus by her shoulders. "Are you even listening to me?" "That's nice, Mom," Dash said sleepily. Firefly mentally facepalmed, before grabbing her hooves and dragging her downstairs into the kitchen. "Look, if you want to make a good first impression, you'll need to be there bright and early!" she exclaimed. Dash suddenly jolted, locking eyes with the pink mare. "Wait... WHAT?! Today's the day?" she yelled. "That's what I've been telling you all morning," Firefly said stubbornly. Dash bit her lip, before rushing to her calendar and squealing silently in her place. "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" she exclaimed. "Today's my first day on the job! Hey... why didn't you remind me?" "Okay this is getting a little too much," Firefly said, grabbing a few oats and shoving them into the excited mare's face. "Now eat up, you'll want to be fully fueled for today." Rainbow Dash quickly took the food and graciously gobbled it up. Firefly squirmed while looking at her messy manner of eating, but brushed it off knowing she was just excited. "OkayI'mdonebye!" Dash yelled with a mouthful of oats. She quickly grabbed her bag and raced out the door, Firefly raising her eyebrows while she watched. "Uhh... have fun!" she yelled out into the empty air. "Oh that mare..." Rainbow Dash was in her happy place. The sky. Rushing to the Wonderbolt compound, she failed to notice a light pink unicorn mare sitting on the clouds watching the ponies below. "AaaaAGHHhhHH!" she yelled as the two collided. Dash quickly got up and helped the mare to her hooves, stuttering out a quick apology. "Oh my goodness I'm so sorry!" The mare looked at her with a raised eyebrow before nodding and smiling. "That's okay, are you hurt?" she asked. Dash shook her head, beginning to foot-fire. "No way! I'm fine..." she said before spreading her wings again. "You sure you're okay? You're looking at me kinda weirdly... not that I hate weird! I love it!" Gosh, she must have sounded like an idiot right now. The mare chuckled. "I'm fine, really. Go on to wherever it us you're headed," she said before taking her spot on the clouds again. Dash smiled gratefully, before fluttering up into the sky and taking off. "You must be Rainbow Dash, I'm Spitfire," a golden mare said, sticking out a hoof for Dash to shake. She gulped and quickly took it, nodding vigorously. "Yep! That's me! That's totally totally me! Rainbow Dash! Right here and present! Uh..." she stuttered nervously. Spitfire chuckled, before nodding and leading her inside the compound. "Great, welcome to the Wonderbolts!" she said. Dash's eyes widened as the words entered her ears. Welcome to the Wonderbolts. She had made it. She had accomplished the one dream she ever really wanted as a child, and still today. And of course, she was beyond proud of herself for making it this far. "This is the eating hall, where everypony eats lunch. If you stay overtime or come in early for practice, we'll also serve you breakfast and dinner," Spitfire continued, walking into a large cafeteria where about 50 ponies were seated without uniform. Dash's eyes widened. "Woah... that's a lot of Wonderbolts," she mumbled underneath her breath. Spitfire laughed. "Oh no no no!" she exclaimed. "There are only about 20 working 'Bolts, the rest are just staff and other members of the crew. We all eat in the same place." "Oh... that makes a lot more sense," Dash snorted. Spitfire nodded, before leading her to an empty table with a few ponies at it. "You can sit here for today. The lunch line starts there. Feel free to help yourself to whatever you'd like, it's all on the house," Spitfire said, before leaving to get her own lunch. Even though Dash had already eaten barely an hour ago, she was still surprisingly hungry looking over the delicious assortment of foods. She grabbed a little bit of everything, before making her way back to the table Spitfire had chosen for her. The two other ponies who had already been here before shot her a grin, before sticking out their hooves for a shake. "You must be our new recruit, the name's Wave Chill," the dark blue pegasus stallion said. A mint green pegasus besides him then spoke up. "And I'm Fleetfoot," she said with the tiniest hint of a lisp in her voice. Dash shook hooves with both of them, and nodded. "The name's Rainbow Dash," she said, giving them both a wing slap too. A new voice suddenly spoke up from behind them, startling the cyan mare. "And I'm Surprise!" a mare with a mustard yellow mane exclaimed. Rainbow Dash's eyes widened at her resemblance to Pinkie Pie. "Oh... hi, I'm Rainbow Dash," she said. Surprise nodded. "Hey... would you happen to know a mare named Pinkie Pie?" Dash let her curiosity get the best of her. "Pinkie-who now?" Surprise asked. "Never heard of her, hey have you guys seen Soarin anywhere?" She suddenly turned her attention to Wave Chill and Fleetfoot, who both shrugged. "He said he'd be coming today, so he must just be a little late," Wave Chill suggested. "Though I don't know for sure if he's coming or not. You know him... his mother wants him to help with advertisement for her new company and all." Surprise's ears visibly drooped, before she nodded sadly and walked away. Dash gave Wave a confused look. "What was that all about?" she asked. Wave shrugged. "Surprise has got a giant crush on Soarin. You know, our other teammate," he explained. Dash's mouth made an o-shape, before she looked at her plate and frowned. "I'll be right back, going to get some more dressing." Soarin Skies panted heavily as he ran into the Wonderbolt compound. He had just gotten leave from his mother, who wanted his help with a few pictures, and had rushed over as fast as he could. He quickly scurried over to his locker and dumped his belongings inside, grabbing a brush and running it through his mane in an attempt to flatten it. He had no luck, and decided to just go to lunch looking a little sweaty. He ran inside the cafeteria and instantly slowed down, looking casual and catching a few of his teammate's glances. He grinned nervously, as he made his way to his regular table with Wave Chill and Fleetfoot. "Spitfire not joining us today?" he asked, placing his stuff on the empty seat across from Wave. Wave shrugged. "I don't think so, she left once she dropped off-" "SOARIN! THERE YOU ARE!" Surprise's voice cut him off. Soarin visibly groaned as he turned to see the cream mare running over to him with her hooves spread. Soarin's eyes widened as she ran straight for the plate besides him, messing up the food on it. Soarin cringed, as he gently pushed Surprise away. "Uh... sorry, Surprise... I better clean this up," he said, sitting down and starting to fix the mess. "I'll... talk to you later, okay?" Surprise sighed, and nodded happily. "Sure!" she said, before bouncing away. "Well, she's got it bad," Fleetfoot said with an amused smile as she watched Soarin struggle to move around the food in Dash's plate. "Tell me about it... agh this feels disgusting," he said with a chuckle. Rainbow Dash, who had just finished picking up what she wanted from the lunch counter, (along with a few other things), started to make her way back to the table, stopping dead in her tracks as she looked upon the scene in front of her. Fleetfoot and Wave Chill were talking with one another, while a new stallion whom she recognized as the famous Soarin Skies, was messing up her plate of food with a small grin on his face. It looked as if he had been laughing. "HEY!" Rainbow Dash yelled, making Soarin turn around to look at her. She hurried over to him and gasped. "What are you doing?! Why are you messing around my plate like that?!" "Uh... I was just-" "Oh I get it," Dash cut in. "I'm the new pony, so you just have to pick at me." "No! No I was just-" "Save it for somepony who'll actually take your excuses," Dash said again, putting up her hoof to silence him and took her plate out of his hooves. She shot him one last glare before moving to another table. Soarin's eyes drooped as he looked upon the rainbow-maned mare. He groaned. "What just happened." "I dunno man, you tell me," Wave Chill said as Soarin sat back down. "What did I do." "That was... interesting," Fleetfoot said with a snicker. Soarin frowned. "I... wasn't she the new one that we were getting today?" he asked. Wave Chill and Fleetfoot both nodded. Soarin groaned again. "And here I was hoping I could actually befriend her... the Wonderbolts are supposed to get along with one another! If not for personal reasons, at least for the team." "Dude, you wanna make friends with Rainbow Dash, right?" Wave Chill asked. Soarin nodded. "More than anything," he said. Wave nodded. "Then go talk to her, tell her what actually happened," he said. Soarin put his head in his hooves. "Easier said than done..." Soarin hummed as he strolled through the compound gardens. The clouds beneath his feet certainly made for a nice cushion. He sighed as he noticed Rainbow Dash and Spitfire nearby, and it looked like the captain was telling her something. An idea suddenly came to him, making him quickly gallop over. Upon seeing him, Rainbow Dash instantly crossed her hooves. Soarin shot her a sad smile, before looking at Spitfire. "Would you mind if I stole her for a second? I'd like to tell her about the gardens... you go on ahead, we'll come by later," he said. Spitifre looked curiously between the two, but shrugged and nodded. "Sure, I don't see why not," she said. "Rainbow Dash, come to my office once you're finished." Spitfire casually opened her wings and flew off, leaving Soarin and Rainbow Dash alone. The mare instantly turned to him. "What do you want? I was trying to talk to her, until you came along," she said. Soarin bit his lip. "I have to talk to you... about what happened in the lunch room," he said. Dash scoffed. "Forget it! I don't have time for excuses from meager bullies like yourself!" she exclaimed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I was in the middle of talking to Captain Spitfire," she said before flying off. "But! Wait!" Soarin yelled after her, just a second too late. Man that girl was fast. "HEEELLPP!" a scream interrupted his thoughts. Soarin quickly looked over in panic to a cloud just outside the compound boundaries. A light pink unicorn with a dark brown curly mane was currently falling off the ledge of the fluffy white being. Soarin gasped as he quickly spread his wings and dove for her. It was a close call, but he did end up catching the mare. Soarin sighed in relief as he placed her down on the cloud and looked upon her for any injuries. "Are... are you alright?" he asked. The mare panted for breath, but ended up nodded. "I'm... fine... I just... oh my god that was... so... scary... ahh..." she said, trying to catch her breath. It was clear she had stumbled upon the excuse, but Soarin didn't investigate further. "Well, I'm glad you're okay," he said. The mare nodded. "Thank you, young man," she said with a grateful smile. "I... I thought I was a real goner back there." "It's not a problem, really, Miss..." Soarin said, trailing off since he didn't know her name. The mare smiled. "Ink. Ink Fu," she said. Soarin nodded. "It's no problem, Miss Ink Fu," he said, before spreading his wings out again and flying away. "What a day... what a day," Rainbow Dash sighed out as she sat on her couch after coming home from her first day at work. It had been pretty hectic, trying to avoid Soarin while at the same time, keep up with the other Wonderbolts in the flight routine. But in the end, it did work out for her, since the team was very impressed with her skills. That felt good, being complimented by her life-long heroes. Even though she did ignore Soarin's words when he had tried talking to her again. She wasn't about to fall into that trap again. She put her hooves up on the small table in front of the couch, only to be stopped by a small box that was currently resting where her feet had been previously. "What the..." she mumbled under her breath, looking at peculiarly. She then proceeded to take it into her hooves and inspect it closely. It was a small black box with some strange red markings on it. Cautiously, Dash opened the lid, her eyes meeting a pair of gorgeous red earrings with black polka dots and clips at the side for easy wearing. She gasped silently. Soarin grumbled as he made his way into his house after a long day at the compound. He sat down at the table and blindly flipped through the pages of a nearby newspaper. Rainbow Dash had taken the liberty to ignore him all throughout the day, which didn't suit him at all. All he wanted to do was talk to her! But she just kept pushing him away every time he tried. Soarin went to his kitchen and mindlessly made himself a cup of the strongest coffee in his cabinets. Sure, this would probably make him much more alive and jumpy than he should be, but at this point, he honestly couldn't have cared less. He just wanted a distraction from work for once... he wanted to do whatever he wanted for once... he wanted to just be free for once... A small black box that seeped into his view stopped his thinking shortly. Curiously, he picked up the small object and began playing around with it, tossing it between his hooves a few times before setting it back on his table. "Huh...?" he said quietly, softly opening the box with a click. Inside was a black band with a green paw print in the center. Soarin gasped. Rainbow Dash's eyes widened as she took the earrings into her hooves, carefully clipping them onto her ears. She took a deep breath, wondering just what was going on. What she didn't expect though, was a small floating creature to suddenly pop in front of her out of no where. Soarin took the ring out of the box, and strapped it onto his front right hoof, feeling a wave of confidence rush through him. He opened his eyes with a wide grin, coming face to face with a small floating creature. "Do you have any cheese?" "WaaAAAHA!" Rainbow Dash yelped as the little red creature flew closer to her. "Hello! My name is Ikki, you must be Rainbow Dash!" she said in a cheerful voice. Dash's eyes widened. "W-W-W-what-t-t...?" she stammered out. "How do you do?" she said, sticking out a stubby extension of her body. "Ikki" had a small figure that was quite rounded, black dots covering various spots. What was most shocking about her appearance though, was the chubby pony head on top. "W-What are you?" Rainbow Dash squeaked out, trying her very best not to scream. "Oh, I'm a kwami," Ikki said. "Yeah... that explains a lot," Dash said, regaining her confidence little by little. "Well, I'm how you turn into your alter ego." "Wha?" "Okay, how about this, say 'Spots On', and then after you're finished freaking out, say 'Spots Off', sound good?" "Err..." "What." "I said, do you have any cheese." "What." "Oh by the way, I'm Tagg." "What." "Tagg the kwami, at your hopefully-easy service." "What." "Now, back to more important things." "What." "Got any cheese?" "What." "Camembert would be the best." "What." "She was my love at first sight... hey you wanna hear a story?" "WHAT." "Okay chill dude, I was just asking." "What are you," Soarin cut in. "Haven't you been listening? I'm Tagg, the kwami." Soarin gaped at the small black creature. Sure, he had cat-like features on his 'hands' and 'feet', but his head was a small chibi pony. "You... you're head and body... uh..." "What?" Tagg asked. "Oh don't even dare make fun of this handsome hunk of cheese, if I was hot enough to attract a fine lady like Camembert, I can take on anything." "Camembert?" "Okay that's it." Tagg retreated back to the box. "I'm going back to Fu, and explaining what a dumbo you are." "Okay, settle down. Let's take care of this in a calm, orderly fashion." "Are you kidding?! You don't even... appreciate, the amazingness of my cheesefriend!" "WHAT CHEESEFRIEND?" "SHUT UP I CAN'T TAKE ANYMORE OF THIS. YOU IDIOT." "OKAYNOWINEEDYOUTOEXPLAINALLOFTHISTOME.WHATAREYOUANDWHATAREYOUDOINGHERE." Tagg smirked. "Oh, was that all? Okay," he said, scoffing. "I'm here to grant you the powers of the cat, and in exchange, you need to go out and fight giant monsters and what-not. Now can I have my cheese?!" "Okay first off, you're not getting any cheese until you explain to me what this all about. And... I need some proof," Soarin said with a glare. Tagg shrugged. "Alright. Just say, 'Claws Out', that's what-" "TAGG, CLAWS OUT!" "Wait I wasn't finished ex-" Tagg was cut off by a blinding light, sucking him into the band Soarin currently had on his hoof. "Um... Ikki, spots on?" The red creature smiled, and let herself be transported into the earrings Dash had on right now. "WOAH. THIS IS AWESOME!" Soarin said as he was enveloped into a tight spandex suit. He gasped as a silver baton was placed in a pocket on him. "You have the power of destruction," Tagg's voice echoed through his head. "It's called 'Cataclysm', and once you use it, you'll have five minutes before detransformation." "Right. So... now what?" "Well, you have a partner too. You're not going to be doing all this mumbo jumbo alone," he said. "Oh? Who is it?" "The ladybug." "Right. You're so very helpful." "What is going on," Dash deadpanned as she looked upon herself in the suit. "Well, you have the power of creation," Ikki's voice said in her mind. Your special power is called, 'Lucky Charm', and if you use it, you have five minutes before you detransform." "Right. Oh my gosh this is awesome... wait till my mom hears about this!" "NO! Rainbow Dash! Nopony must know about this! It would only put them in danger!" "Oh. Well that sucks," Dash said glumly. "Okay... so who's flank do I have to kick in this get-up?" "I'm... not entirely sure yet... Fu didn't tell me the reasons behind all of this," Ikki said. Dash frowned. "Oh. Well that sucks even more." "You have a partner... you won't be alone on this one," Ikki said. Dash frowned. "You do know I work better alone?" "Yes, but you'll work better with him." "Whatever." "Now, try out your yo-yo!" Dash glanced at the pocket in her suit, pulling out a small red device and flinging it around. "Ooh, I could get used to- WOAH!" Once she pulled on the string, Rainbow Dash was sent flying into the air at top speed, unable to stop herself. "Well, this is cool," Soarin said, jumping onto the roof of a tall building in Manehattan. "WaaaaAAAA!" a voice cut in. Soarin looked up in surprise to see a mare in a red suit about to topple onto him. He braced himself for the impact as she came crashing down onto his body, knocking them both into a nearby alleyway. "Well hey there, nice of you to drop in," he said in a cheesy voice, helping her up. The mare groaned, as she held her head. "You okay?" he asked. The mare nodded. "I'm fine, what about you?" she asked. Soarin nodded. "I'm doing purr-fectly," he said, thinking up a pun to match his suit quickly. "What's your name?" "I'm..." she started, before remembering what Ikki had told her. "I'm... uh... Ladybug?" she said. Soarin raised an eyebrow. "Really now. You don't seem so sure," he said cheekily. Rainbow Dash scoffed. "Well, it isn't my real name, of course... but my kwami told me I couldn't tell anypony who I was... so..." she said uncertainly. Soarin shrugged, but nodded. "Okay Lady girl. It's fine, I'm learning the ropes too!" he said. "Hey you must be the partner my kwami told me about! I'm... uh... Chat. Yeah... Chat," he said. Dash raised an eyebrow. "Chat...?" she asked. Soarin nodded. "It means cat in French," he explained. "And why French of all languages?" Dash asked. Soarin grinned. "I dunno, it sounded cool," he said simply, before taking out his baton. "Now come on, let's-" Soarin was suddenly interrupted by a large creature with a stone body tearing down a building into shreds. "WOAH WHAT THE HECK IS THAT??!!" Rainbow Dash yelled as she looked at the giant creature. Soarin smirked. "I guess it's time for these powers to come to use, then." "Okay... so do you have a plan?" Chat asked his partner, looking to her as the giant creature started wrecking more havoc. Ladybug groaned. "In case you forgot, I actually also just got these weird powers and this... quite awesome, suit. So... no," she said. Chat raised an eyebrow, before looking back to the city. Manehattan was a mess, and everypony was already running around like wildfire. That's when it hit her. "Wait!" she cried. "I think I know something that just might do the trick..." "Oh? What do you have in mind?" Chat asked. Ladybug smirked. "Just follow my lead..." With that, she spread her wings wide and took off towards the large stone figure, stretching her yo-yo and hitting it on his head. The creature roared in frustration, and resulting in a much bigger size. "Either I'm crazy, or that thing just got bigger," Chat said, coming out from behind the scene. Ladybug's eyebrows furrowed. "Chat! Try hitting his head with your baton!" she yelled, backing away with her yo-yo in hand. Chat nodded, before extending his device and using it to jab the monster in said direction. Like it had before though, the stone being simply roared again and grew in size. Ladybug and Chat both gave each other alarmed looks, noticing police vehicles beginning to make their way towards them. "No!" Ladybug cried, jumping in front of the ponies who had weapons raised. They narrowed their eyes at her. "What are you doing? Back away from it!" one of them yelled. "Let us handle it! What are you? Some superhero cosplayers?" "No! Don't you see? Every time somepony attacks it, it just grows bigger!" Ladybug cried. The police ponies looked back and forth between each other, debating whether or not to trust them. Chat then came up. "My lady's right, you know," he said, draping a hoof around her. Ladybug eyed him curiously, before shrugging and going along with it. "Now, unless you want to get hurt, I'd suggest you go back home and hide. We've got this." "We'll call backup if there's any need for it," Ladybug chimed in. "Yep, now please, stay away from the attack area," Chat said, ushering the ponies away. Once they were safely alone again, Ladybug turned to Chat with a curious stare. "'My Lady'? What was that all about?" she asked, referring to what he had called her previously. Chat shrugged, not saying anything. She sighed. "Okay well... we better go take care of it, I guess." "I wouldn't have it any other way... My Lady." "Okay... so now what?" Chat asked Ladybug as they were perched on top of a stadium. Luckily, they were able to lead Stonehart, (a name courtesy of Chat. "What? It needed a name!") into the main area, and were currently devising a plan. "Alright, so we know we can't directly attack it... what other options do we have?" Ladybug said in deep thought. Chat's eyes suddenly lit up. "What? Do you have something?" "My lucky power! My Cataclysm!" he exclaimed. "What's a-" "CATACLYSM!!!" Chat yelled, lifting his hoof in the air. Black sparks surrounded him and his hoof was lit up. "Woah..." Ladybug said under her breath. Chat smirked. "Apparently I destroy everything I touch," he said, leaning over to graze his hoof over one of the seats in the stadium. It instantly crumbled and fell. Ladybug's eyes widened as she saw his hoof return back to normal. "Chat, wait-" "Now here I come, Stonehart!" he cut in, spreading his wings and taking off towards the creature. Ladybug gasped, taking out her yo-yo and preparing herself to lunge. Chat went straight down to the stone being's foot, crashing his hoof down onto it. Nothing happened. "Uh-oh..." he mumbled, looking up to Stonehart with a terrified look. "Turns out it's a one time thing..." "HIYYAAA!" Ladybug suddenly yelled, tossing her yo-yo to Stonehart. The yo-yo swerved around Stonehart's neck, cutting his now building roar off short, and pulling him down to the ground. "LUCKY CHARM!!!" she yelled in mid-fight, throwing her yo-yo up into the air. A million sparks erupted around her, before a nail landed in her hooves. She frowned. "What? What is a nail going to do?" Chat asked from ahead of her. She held her head, trying to think. Ladybug looked around her, before spotting a few sticks lying around. She then looked back at the nail in her hooves, and grinned, an idea forming in her head. With a confident smirk, she took the thickest stick from the pile and put the nail carefully in one of the cracks of stone on Stonehart's body. She raised the stick and pounded it hard against the surface of rock, causing it to shatter and break. Chat grinned heavily at the mare, before sliding up to meet her gaze. "Well done, My Lady," he said. "Our first villain has been officially defeated." Ladybug chuckled. "Couldn't have been done without the help of a very special kitty," she teased. Chat smirked. "So are you admitting your love for me then?" he asked her. Ladybug scoffed. "Well you're quite the jokester then, aren't you," she said, before her earrings beeped lightly, signaling she only had a few minutes before detransformation. "I better get going, we're about to turn back into catnip, and personally, I'd rather not see that." Chat gave her a large cheshire grin. "Until next time then, Ladybug," he said. Ladybug nodded. "See you around, Chat." "Calm down, Rainbow Dash... it was your first time! It's going to be fine!" Ikki reassured. Dash gritted her teeth in annoyance. "What do you mean 'it's going to be fine'? I just battled a giant monster out there... only to figure out I didn't actually defeat it? WHAT?!" she yelled. Ikki sighed. "Well... it isn't that bad! The akuma just hasn't been purified... if you hurry and get back up there, I'm sure you can do it!" she exclaimed. Rainbow Dash gulped, and nodded. "Alright... Ikki, spots on!" After transforming into the spotted superhero, Ladybug quickly jumped off the platform of her house, and dove down to the ground below. She was quickly met with dozens of reporters. "Ladybug! Is it true you defeated that monster that attacked Equestria earlier?" "Ladybug! Will you and Chat be protecting Equestria from now on?" "Are you and Chat in a relationship?" Thousands of questions were attacked at the poor mare, as she struggled to answer a select few. "Almost, I'm heading back right now to finish the job; I'm not sure, if there are other attacks, then maybe; and absolutely not," she said quickly, before spreading her wings and taking flight again. Once she arrived back at the scene of the crime earlier, Stonehart had vanished. "Ikki, what's going on? How did Stonehart come back to life?! I thought I had gotten him real good!" Dash said, pounding her head at her stupidity. Ikki sighed. "Well, Stonehart wasn't always like that... he was akumatized, and that's why you exist," she explained. "You need to find where he got hit by the akuma, and cleanse it. Once you do that, he'll become normal again." Rainbow Dash grumbled. "And why didn't you think to tell me this when Chat and I were first battling him?" she asked. "By the time you got to that point, you had already used your Lucky Charm and I was almost drained out of power! I just didn't have enough strength to communicate with you telepathically," she said. Dash's eyes drooped, as she nodded. "Great... now what are we supposed to do?" she asked. "Stonehart is missing, and I haven't the slightest clue where he is! Oh... this is all my fault," she said softly. Ikki quickly shook her head. "No, Rainbow Dash! You did perfectly out there!" "Clearly not, since I've gotten myself into an even bigger mess than before..." "Well, at least the minions haven't been created yet!" Ikki said, before quickly covering her mouth. Rainbow Dash stopped, and eyed her kwami closely. "What minions?" "So... I can't do anything without Ladybug?" Soarin asked Tagg later that day. The kwami shrugged. "Only Ladybug has the power to purify the akuma. You're just... there as a second option," he said bluntly. Soarin rolled his eyes. "Well yeah, that makes me feel so much better," he said. Tagg nodded happily. "Wonderful! My job is done then, I suppose! Time for my reward!" "You want cheese, don't you," Soarin said. Tagg only nodded, making his chosen sigh. "Well, you're not getting any until I figure out this whole mess!" "Just go talk to Ladybug or something, you two can create some other plan," Tagg said. Soarin shook his head. "But I don't know who she is!" he exclaimed, making Tagg roll his eyes. "Ikki never really was keen on the idea of the reveal, I always hated her attitude towards the whole thing," he said. Soarin lifted an eyebrow. "Who's Ikki?" he asked. "Ladybug's kwami." "Oh..." Soarin said. "Now, back to more important matters-" "I'm not giving you cheese, Tagg." "Poo on you." "I messed up... I messed up so badly..." Rainbow Dash said, pacing around her room. Ikki smiled sympathetically. "I told you, Rainbow Dash... it's fine!" she said. Dash grumbled something under her breath. "How could you say that, Ikki?! I ruined everything..." she said, sighing softly. Ikki quickly shook her head. "The last thing Equestria needs is a superhero who doubts herself!" she said. Rainbow Dash sighed. "But... I let everypony down..." "Rainbow Dash, everypony thinks you're incredible! They have somepony to protect, serve, and defend them whenever danger comes near! Shouldn't you be proud of yourself?" Ikki asked, placing her 'hoof' on Dash's shoulder. The mare shied away. "Not when I'm just now realizing how much I messed up this time... I don't deserve to be a superhero..." she said. Ikki raised an eyebrow at her chosen's words. "I thought the great Rainbow Dash never gave up?" she asked in a sassy tone. Dash slumped down. "Not this time..." she said softly. Ikki widened her eyes. "You can't be serious... Rainbow Dash! I need you to help them all! Chat and Tagg can't do it alone!" she exclaimed. Dash assumed this 'Tagg' was Chat's kwami, and didn't question it further. "I can't afford to mess up again... if I do, there's no telling what danger might come forth," she said. Ikki shook her head. "But you were chosen!" "Maybe I'm just not ready!" Ikki was shocked at her outburst. Her eyes softened. "W-W-What are you saying, Rainbow Dash?" she asked softly, looking away as tears threatened to slip from her beady eyes. Dash bit her lip, and closed her eyes. "I'm saying, Ikki, that I can't do this any longer... it would be better if you found another pony for the job... I'm just not cut out for it," she said, reaching her hooves to her ears and slipping the earrings away. Ikki gasped quietly, before vanishing out of sight. > Part II > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Simply Miraculous Part II "Did you hear about Ladybug and Chat?" "Oh my gosh, Ladybug and Chat were amazing yesterday!" "I watched them live! Can you believe how lucky I am?" "Ladybug was so incredible out there!" "I wish I could meet Ladybug! That would be a dream come true!" "I wanna be just like Ladybug! Beats all this Wonderbolt training crap." "I can't wait till Ladybug and Chat show up again!" The Wonderbolt compound was buzzing with excitement after Stonehart's supposed 'defeat'. Rainbow Dash and Soarin though, were far from the mood. The rainbow-maned mare and the baby-blue stallion took their seats in a large stadium, vaguely reminding both of their battle the previous day. Spitfire was up on the podium, looking around at the crowd. She had decided to host a little meeting for all the Wonderbolts, to plan ahead if more creatures were to attack near the compound. "Hey what do you think this is all about?" Soarin whispered over to Wave Chill, who was leaning back in his seat. The dark blue stallion only shrugged and looked over to where Fleetfoot and Rainbow Dash were sitting. "Beats me... HEY LADIES!" he yelled out to them, causing the two mares to jump in surprise. Fleetfoot's mouth curled into a grin. "What is it?" she asked innocently. Dash giggled as she looked upon the exchange. Her eyes widened upon seeing a certain baby-blue stallion staring at her. She instantly looked away, making Soarin frown. "Had the Spits told you guys anything about this?" Wave Chill asked. Fleetfoot and Rainbow Dash both shrugged. "Negative," Fleetfoot said, before turning back to Rainbow Dash. "Have you and Soarin worked things out yet?" "Well... not exactly," she said, playing with her hooves in her lap. Fleetfoot frowned. "You know... he really isn't that bad," she said. Rainbow Dash shrugged. "What he did yesterday really didn't confirm that fact," she said. Fleetfoot opened her mouth as if to say something but got cut off abruptly short. "Can we please not talk about this?" The mint mare's frown deepened. "Oookay," she said, before Spitfire cleared her throat to get everypony's attention. "So, I'm hoping you're all wondering what brings you here today," she started; everyone nodded. "Wonderful." "It's wonderful that she made us confused?" Fleetfoot whispered to the mare besides her. "If that's not a sign for a bad captain, I dunno what is." Rainbow Dash giggled uncharacteristically in response. "Fleetfoot, I heard that." Spitfire's blunt voice cut the party short, as she shot her teammate a death glare. Fleetfoot chuckled nervously, before hiding her face in Rainbow Dash's pigtails. "Anyway," Spitfire continued. "As you all know, there was an attack on Equestria yesterday, thankfully, Ladybug and Chat were able to defeat it... so that's out of the way." Rainbow Dash's stomach dropped, not expecting that out of the captain. She gulped, suddenly not feeling all too well. Soarin was the same, as he bit his lip. "We don't know if any more attacks like this will be coming in the future though, so it's always best to be safer than sorry in the end," Spitfire said. Everypony in the audience murmured their approval. "So that's why, I suggest we devise out a plan for future reference. Just for safety's sake. We all know Ladybug and Chat will prevail if that ever is to happen, those two were quite extraordinary out there," Spitfire continued. Her last remark made Rainbow Dash and Soarin's cheeks to both turn slightly pink. The meeting went on for a few hours, different ponies suggesting different ways to prevent an akuma from attacking. Rainbow Dash at one point decided to step up. "We could always create a back-up base if the akuma ever comes near us," she had said. Everypony looked at her in confusion. "What's an akuma?" somepony said. Soarin eyed her curiously, but shrugged it off. Something must have slipped in the news, he presumed, and not everypony had come around to watching it yet. Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, just looked embarrassed and shocked, and quickly glanced away and went back to her seat. "Uh... Fleetfoot," Rainbow Dash called out to her teammate. Said mare looked at her curiously. "Yes, Dash?" she said. Rainbow Dash gulped. "Do you... do you like Ladybug? Do you think she did a good job yesterday?" She couldn't understand why she was feeling so unsure about herself suddenly. This wasn't like the usual Rainbow Dash at all. "No way! Are you kidding! Of course I do! The way she kicked major flank back there was total badass!" Fleetfoot then continued to do some fake hoof punches in the air and fling her legs around. Dash giggled at her playful antics but quickly decided to go back to the topic. "Would you want to be Ladybug, if you got the chance?" she asked. Fleetfoot quickly spun around to face the mare and nodded enthusiastically. "OH MY GOSH OF COURSE I WOULD!" she yelled, causing a few pegasi to look over at her. She chuckled nervously before quieting down a bit. "Who wouldn't? Being Ladybug is a dream come true!" Rainbow Dash gulped, deciding something mentally. She let out a breath. "Oh... okay then," she said. Fleetfoot quirked her eyebrows at her. "Why the sudden attack of questions?" she asked cheekily, before bursting into fits of laughter. "Oh! Ah... aha that's, funny," Dash said. Truth be told, she always got a little annoyed by puns. She'd never admit it though. Once Fleetfoot began walking away, Rainbow Dash lightly tugged at her saddlebag and slipped the earring case inside. She sighed, turning away. Good luck... Ladybug. Stonehart glanced around, perching above Equestria. He eyed all the citizens, going about their day... being happy ponies. It made him sick. His eyes flashed, turning at random ponies below, turning them to stone. A crusty layer covered them, causing everypony to break into screams. Small purple butterflies began circling the cities. Turning whichever ponies they could get to into small stone beings. Stonehart gazed down at the scene in satisfaction. "Get me their miraculous." "Okay, so now we're going to go through a routine a few more times. And I want everything to run absolutely perfectly! No mistakes this time, okay?" Spitfire bellowed to the rest of the Wonderbolts as another day of training began. Everypony groaned. "But Spitfire, we've already run through it fifteen times," Soarin said, looking at her with hopeful eyes. "Can't we take a break this time around?" "Absolutely not," Spitfire replied with a small growl. "Our next performance date is inching closer and closer by the second. We already lost so much practice time with the attack a few days ago. If we keep going on like this, who knows how we'll do during the show." It was true, her reasoning made perfect sense. But nopony really seemed to be in the mood. "It's too early for this," Blaze said, glaring at the captain. Spitfire returned the gesture and turned back to the team. "Come on guys, we need to get this done!" she yelled. "Okie dokie! But do you mind if I make a few suggestions?" Surprise suddenly said. Spitfire bit her lip, knowing quite well these suggestions were certainly to do with positioning. More precisely... to do with Soarin. "Agh... sure," she said, knowing she wasn't going to win this battle. Surprise squealed. "Yay! Awesome!" she said excitedly. Spitfire only nodded. "What now?" she asked. "Well, first off, we need to switch me and Fleetfoot," Surprise said, giving Soarin a wink. Soarin groaned, as Fleetfoot looked at him sympathetically as Surprise took her spot; which was right besides the stallion. "Anything else," Spitfire deadpanned. "Oh yeah! So I think at the end, Soarin and I should do a curve move but jab it outwards," Surprise said. Soarin's eyes widened. "But... that'll look like you two are making a heart shaped-" "Exactly!" Spitfire raised an eyebrow, shooting Soarin a look. "I'm not sure Soarin would be the most comfortable with doing something like that," she said. Surprise shrugged. "That's okay! I'll teach him!" she said, turning to Soarin. "It's okay Soarie, I've got you covered!" Soarin murmured something inaudible under his breath, his face becoming red with embarrassment. Rainbow Dash found the whole situation quite amusing, though. She looked at Soarin as his features crumpled when Surprise kissed his cheek and embraced him tightly. He just looked so cute when he- Woah Rainbow Dash. Settle down... he's a bully! He tried to sabotage you! Remember? "Now, we can finally get back to- WOAH WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" Everypony turned in alarm, wondering what their captain was talking about. What they weren't expecting though, were three copies of Stonehart running towards them. Rainbow Dash gasped. "WHAT?!" everyone yelled simultaneously. Dash quickly looked over at Fleetfoot, her eyes darting to her saddlebag. "Woahh! Awesome!" Fleetfoot said, before turning to Dash. "I need to see this up close! You coming?" Rainbow Dash shook her head, holding out the bag. "Nope, you go ahead though," she said. "But Ladybug and Chat are gonna be there!" "You and Chat will both be much better off without me, now go!" "Suit yourself." And with that, she was off. Rainbow Dash gasped in surprise since she forgot one key detail. "WAIT! YOUR BAG!" Soarin's jaw dropped at the three looming figures. "TAGG!" he yelled, running into a bush. The cat poked his head out of the stallion's suit and grinned. "Is it finally time for lunch?" he asked. Soarin rolled his eyes. "Cheese after the main meal, 'kay?" "Whatever, you owe me." "Tagg, CLAWS OUT!" And with that, he was off. Rainbow Dash though, was looking between the replicas and a certain black cat arriving on the scene. She saw him whip out his baton and lunge forward at it. The second metal touched stone, the stone being grew in size. 'That silly kitty,' Dash thought. 'Doesn't he remember what happened the last time Stonehart attacked? "Ya' know, My Lady," Chat suddenly yelled. "You're sure taking your sweet time!" Dash bit her lip as she surveyed the scene. She didn't want to do this again! She knew she was just going to fail like she did the last time. It wasn't worth the risk. With a sad frown, Rainbow Dash quickly turned away and started heading back to the compound. Chat would just have to deal with this one alone. "HEEEELLLLPPPP!" a piercing voice yelled. Dash quickly turned around to see Wave Chill and Fleetfoot both pinned to a brick building nearby by one of the replica figures. "My friends..." Dash mumbled under her breath, before her eyes became firey red. "No one. Hurts. My. Friends." With a quick, swift motion of her hooves, she picked up Fleetfoot's saddle bag and opened it, peering inside to see the familiar black and red box. She grinned, taking it out and ducking behind a cab. She quickly took out the earrings and clipped them back onto her ears, smiling the entire way. It was risky... but she had to save her friends. There was a small pop and the familiar black-spotted kwami lunged at her in a cheek-crushing hug. Dash laughed as she looked at Ikki with a grin. "Rainbow Dash!" Ikki exclaimed. "I knew it! I just knew you'd come to your senses sooner or later!" Rainbow Dash giggled. "You were right, Ikki," she started. "And now... ponies need me more than ever!" "Just say the words." "Ikki... SPOTS ON!" "Nice of you to drop in, Bugaboo," Chat said smoothly upon noticing the new arrival. Ladybug narrowed her eyes at him. "Stop playing around and calling me Bugaboo! This is serious!" she scolded. Chat shrugged, and let out a low chuckle. "Got any more of those killer plans?" he asked, whisking out his baton as Ladybug did the same with her yo-yo. She bit her lip anxiously, playing around slightly with the device. "I... I think we should corner him," she said. Chat nodded, extending his metal stick and shooting her a wink. "Lady-bug's first," he said, holding out a hoof for her to climb on. Ladybug rolled her eyes and took the hoof. "Well you're quite the jokester, aren't you," she said slyly. Chat gave her his signature cheshire grin. "Only for you, My Lady," he said, before extending upwards as they scanned the scene. "Oh wow... I can still see ponies being turned into Stonehart's minions," Ladybug said, pointing to various locations within eyesight. Chat's eyes widened as he nodded. "How utterly awful..." he gasped out. Ladybug only nodded, before looking further into the horizon. Her mouth gaped. "Looks like we've found where Stonehart is, though." "What?" Chat asked curiously, looking to where his partner was. His jaw dropped. "Don't tell me he's..." "That's exactly right," Ladybug cut in. "Stonehart is sitting on top of the Canterlot Castle." "Now would be a wonderful time to reveal another mysterious plan of action, ya' know," Chat said as he and Ladybug approached the large castle in the middle of the posh city. "This time... I honestly haven't got a clue," Ladybug said. Chat narrowed his eyes. "Phooey," he said childishly with a playful glare. Ladybug rolled her eyes, before seeing Stonehart growl at the two princesses standing beneath him. "PRINCESS CELESTIA!" Ladybug yelled. "PRINCESS LUNA!" Chat yelled. The two quickly rushed over to the rulers of the country. Celestia and Luna were both looking utterly grateful for their sudden appearance, making them both blush. "Oh thank goodness you're here," Luna said, clearly out of breath. "We tried using spells on him, but he just kept growing bigger and bigger with every hit we made!" Celestia said, gazing up at the creature. "What is he, anyway?" Ladybug clenched her teeth together. "He's a regular stallion who was a victim to bad... bad things," she said softly. Celestia and Luna both exchanged worried glances. "What are we going to do?" the princesses asked. Chat stepped in. "Stay inside, where it's safe," he said. "We'll take care of everything over here." "Are you sure? Isn't there anything we can do?" "No... you've sacrificed enough already... My Lady and I have got it covered from here." "Shouldn't we also be taking care of all the other Stonehart's scattered around the country?" Chat questioned as the two went nearer and nearer to the monster. Ladybug shook her head. "They're being created by Stonehart... we defeat the source, we defeat them all," she said, before looking away sadly. Chat furrowed his eyebrows. "Ladybug? What's wrong?" "Don't you see, Chat?" she asked suddenly. "This is all my fault! If I had just captured the akuma the first time around... none of this would have happened! Oh my goodness I am such an idiot I-" She was interrupted by a warm hoof on her lips. Chat's startling green eyes silenced her as he stared at her. "Shush, Ladybug..." he said softly. "Don't blame yourself for any of this... you didn't know. "But what if I did, Chat?! I just... I just-" "Quit degrading yourself and think about what you've done!" "Exactly! I've wrecked major havoc in the city and lost everypony's trust! I-" "What? Of course you haven't. What are you talking about? That was all Stonehart's fault!" "But if I had just defeated him the first time round, I-" "LADYBUG!" His voice startled her. "All you have done is be the purrfect, brave hero you were always destined to be." His voice was so sincere, even if there was an awful cat pun included. "You have proven to all of Equestria just how amazing you are." His eyes were so determined. "And everyone believes in you." His posture was stiff and straight. "Especially this kitty." Ladybug stood still, staring still into his eyes. She suddenly nodded with her eyebrows low. "Let's do this." "How are we going to do this?" Ladybug and Chat sat perched on top of the tallest tower of the Canterlot Castle. Stonehart's back was facing them, his glowing eyes narrow and thick with envy. "I dunno, LB, got any more plans?" "For the thousandth time; no!" "Wonderful." "Wait." Chat's ears perked up at the sound of her voice. "What?" he asked. "His tail." "Oh! You mean the stones sticking out of his flank?" "I'm serious! Look at it!" Ladybug exclaimed. "It's always curled up!" "Yeah... and?" "It... it must have something in it! Something that could hold the..." "Akuma," they both said at once. Chat suddenly smirked. "Jinx." "... Shut up." "They're coming from behind you! Quick! Grab their miraculous! The earrings and the band!" Stonehart grunted in response to the voice inside his head. He turned around to see Ladybug and Chat running out, desperate looks plastered all over their faces. "CHAT! QUICK!" Ladybug yelled, running from the side. Chat winked at her before throwing open his baton and lunging up at him. Swiftly, he landed on the stone creature's head, straddling him to make sure his hooves were in full control of all movements. Chat grinned as he was now in full control. "Purrfect," he whispered under his breath, beginning to pull in all sorts of directions. Ladybug gasped as Stonehart flung a lamp post up from the soil and began waving it around, trying to hit Chat with it. She gulped, waving frantically in his direction. "Uh... over here, Stoney Woney!" she cooed. Stonehart's eyes darted towards her, evilly smiling as he took the lamp post into his opposite hoof to fling it at her. Chat saw this, and acted immediately. "CATACLYSM!" he yelled, summoning his special power, his right hoof erupting into black flames. He grinned, before swiping it beneath him and grazing the lamp. Upon hearing it crumble and fall, he quickly sprung up and landed lopsided besides Ladybug. "I thought cats always landed on their feet?" she inquired with a teasing hint in her voice. Chat shrugged. "And what about those nicknames, huh?" he asked. Ladybug quirked her eyebrows at him. "What?" "Stoney Woney? Nicknames like that should only be reserved for yours truly, you know," he said. Ladybug rolled her eyes. "Maybe I won't use any on you, then," she said. Chat pretended to look offended. "Me-owch, Purrincess," he said, putting a hoof to his chest in mock hurt. "I'm going to pretend you didn't just use two cat puns in the same sentence and move on." "You love them." "You wish, kitty cat." "SCORE!" "What?" "This cat's just gotten himself a nickname from his lady." "Alright, so we know the akuma is somewhere in his tail," Ladybug said. Chat only nodded, dodging a blow from Stonehart. "Mhm, now all we need to do is figure out how to actually get to it," he said, his eyes suddenly lighting up. "Hm... maybe I could distract him!" "Good plan," Ladybug replied. Chat smirked. "I know... I can be very distracting," he said smoothly, leaning in closer to her. Ladybug only rolled her eyes. "And annoying," she teased, before Chat shot her a wink and moved closer to the large akuma. "You know... I'm fe-line purrty generous today... so stop harassing these ponies and we'll turn you back to normal!" he said. "Do we have a deal?" Stonehart roared, swiping his giant stone hoof in Chat's face, reaching for his right hoof. Chat quickly dodged him, jumping back into position with Ladybug. His miraculous beeped. "Whoops! Only a few minutes left for me until I turn back into catnip," he said, eyeing the band. Ladybug nodded, gesturing him to go someplace safe. "That's fine, you go feed your kwami, I'll take care of things here for the time being," she said, before Chat nodded and leapt away. He found himself a nice bush and jumped into it just as his transformation wore off. "Tagg! Quick!" he yelled, looking at the small floating cat. "Got any cheese?" he asked, crossing his arms. Soarin groaned, pulling out a block of the stinky substance and giving it to him. "Haven't you ever tried... mozzarella? Swiss? Cheddar?" he asked, holding a hoof to his nose. Tagg shrugged. "I have... but nothing beats my sweet baby Camembert!" he exclaimed, gobbling up the cheese and sighing in relief. "Boy that sure hit the spot." "Come on now! We don't have much time! Ladybug needs help!" "Fine, fine." "Tagg, CLAWS OUT!" "Guess who's back and ready to kick some major flank," Chat said, landing on his hooves besides Ladybug. She shot him a grateful smile. "Wonderful... now it's time to end this," she said. "So... you're going to use your-" "LUCKY CHARM!" Ladybug cut him off by throwing her yo-yo into the air, summoning her power. A black-spotted flashlight landed in her hooves. She gazed down at it in confusion. "Well that sure brightens up my day," Chat said with a smirk. Ladybug shot him a look, before biting her lip and scanning the scene for clues on what to use the object on. "Bingo," she whispered in a dangerously low voice. Ladybug swung in front of Stonehart, waving her hooves around to catch his attention. "HEY BIG GUY!" she yelled. "OVER HERE!" Stonehart grunted and looked down at her. Ladybug quickly went into action and shined the flashlight right into his eyes, temporarily blinding him. Stonehart began struggling, wobbling around a bit before shaking his head back and forth. Ladybug grinned victoriously, looking over quickly to her partner. "CHAT! QUICK! GRAB HIS TAIL!" she yelled, catching the cat's attention. Chat gave her a determined nod and used his baton to fling himself to Stonehart, curling around the four stones that were supposedly his 'tail', and taking out a small piece of paper. He smiled, before looking back up to Ladybug. "MY LADY! CATCH!" he exclaimed, throwing it up to her. Ladybug caught it swiftly in her hooves, before ripping it into two halves. A tiny black and purple butterfly emerged from it, making the mare grin. She quickly tossed out her yo-yo. "TIME TO DE-EVILIZE!" she yelled, catching the akuma gracefully in her device. She quickly pressed it shut, waiting a few seconds before it flashed back open, a tiny white butterfly emerging. "Bye bye little butterfly," she cooed, before taking the flashlight out again and throwing it into the air. "MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!" What happened next was absolutely beautiful. Ladybugs swarmed out of the flashlight, going in all different directions, covering every inch of damage and replacing it like nothing ever happened. The whole city erupted in pink light, making everyone naturally smile. Chat trotted over to her, his green eyes flashing in the night's air. It was well past sunset, and the moon shone brightly overhead. Ladybug held out her hoof for him to pound. "Pound it!" they both said at once, before Ladybug's earrings gave off a faint beep. She chuckled nervously. "This... this was amazing... but I have to get going," she said. Chat nodded, taking her hoof and bringing it to his lips. He placed a soft kiss on it, making Ladybug roll her eyes and look away. "I'll see you soon, I suppose?" he said with a hopeful glint in his eyes. Ladybug laughed and nodded. "Sure! See you around, Chat," she said, before flicking her yo-yo out and swinging away. Chat smiled after her. "Wow... whoever she is underneath that mask... I love that mare." Rainbow Dash groaned as she exited the compound after another long day. Rain. It was raining. She stuck out a hoof to feel the soft patter of the water dropping down her self, as she cowered away and hid under the roof of the large building behind her. Soarin suddenly walked out, noticing the rain instantly and reaching for his heavy black umbrella. He frowned upon seeing a shivering Rainbow Dash curled up against a pillar of the compound. Sighing, he walked up to her, hoping that she might allow him to talk to her. Rainbow Dash's eyes instantly narrowed upon seeing him walk besides her. "Uh... hey," Soarin said, causing the mare to scoff and point her nose high, aiming away from his vision. Soarin bit his lip. Why did she have to be so difficult? "Look," he started again, hoisting up his umbrella so it was covering him. He began to walk away, looking back at her. "I was only trying to fix the already-created mess on your plate, swear on Celestia." Rainbow Dash's ears perked up as she looked at him with wide eyes. Her cheeks began tinting pink in embarrassment. "It's always been kind of difficult for me to make friends around here... most just see me as a superior in the office," he continued, before shrugging and turning around. He reached the wing that was still clutching the umbrella over to her with a smile. Rainbow Dash let out an inaudible gasp as she looked at the umbrella, and then back to the shy stallion behind it. She blinked, her mouth opening slightly in shock. Was that really true? Had she really assumed before getting her facts straight? She looked into his eyes... deep emeralds stared straight into shocking magentas, telling only the truth. Reluctantly, she reached her wing out, grazing his feathers only slightly before taking the umbrella from him completely. He smiled as he realized she was finally believing him. He had done it. He had befriended this spunky mare... who was also quite adorable. Rainbow Dash looked back up at Soarin, the two having a silent conversation; their eyes only speaking. Suddenly, Dash stumbled slightly and there was a soft click as the umbrella closed up around her head. She cursed herself under her breath in the protection of the device, before hearing hard laughter coming from outside her shell. She softly lifted the umbrella out from her reach and stared at Soarin, who currently had one of his hooves to his mouth and was laughing at her stupidity. The thought only made Rainbow Dash giggle... so she did. Soarin sighed, finally clearing up his melodious laughter, before looking back down at Dash. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said softly, turning quickly and making his way away from the compound. Dash's cheeks burned as she looked after him. "Uh... yeah! Uh.. see y-y-you... s-s-see y-you-u t-t-omo... to-om-mora... woah, why am I stammering?" she suddenly said, cutting herself off before she made herself look more like a fool. Soarin was already out of earshot. "Hey!" Ikki suddenly said with a high pitched squeal. "I think I may have an idea!" She rubbed Dash's cheeks and winked. Rainbow Dash, instantly understanding what the kwami meant, blushed furiously and instantly shied away. Soarin, who was already pretty far from Dash, squirmed as he felt something move in a pocket of his suit. Tagg popped his head out and gave him a sly smirk. "Look's like we have two little lovebirds already, eh?" he teased. Soarin's mouth went wide at the suggestion, before he rolled his eyes ever so smoothly. "Nah... she's just a friend... a really... wonderful... friend." Nearby, a certain pink unicorn was looking upon the scene in glee. "Excellent choice, Ink Fu," Mingi, her flamingo kwami suddenly said. Ink giggled. "Those two are perfect for each other." We'll keep meeting. Over and over again... As ourselves... Or as our alter ego's... Whether it be when we're acting competitive and brash... Or when we can barely even say two words to one another... Just know, that I'll always be there for you... Just like I know you'll always be for me... Our love is miraculous. Simply Miraculous.