Flying Sky-High

by Calm Wind

Rating: teen
Tags: Wonderbolts, Spitfire, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Soarin, Rainbow Dash, Romance, Fleetfoot
Length: 98704

Sequel to Head in the Clouds. Rainbow Dash and Soarin are unsatisfied with how they decided their friendship would work. An approaching event gives Rainbow Dash a chance fix that. Love is a powerful thing, and no barrier is strong enough to stop it.

Written for a small group contest. (Placed 1st! Thank you all for the support!)

Rainbow Dash and Soarin are extremely unsatisfied with how they left their relationship upon parting ways. Friends with benefits sounds nice, but once apart they both realize just how much the other means to them. Unfortunately now neither are in a position to confront the other and reveal what pulls at both their hearts: Love.

Soarin may be duty bound and unable to act, but Dash jumps at an opportunity that could turn their relationship into the direction they both truly want. A story of not accepting barriers. True love exists on all levels and distances.

(Note: this story was admittedly rushed for a contest. Looking back on it now, there are some inconsistencies, such as some of Dash's abilities. The end may seem a bit squished as well. I apologize in advance)

Edited by: Kestrel He did an awesome job :) featuring in chapter art by foxenawolf, eveyannie, PenumbraGlow0290 Deviantart: bonnama, and SpicedDemon (Commisioned for me by PlayBitz)

Chapter 11 animation done by: HarlenBooks, Equestrian Airship Productions

Published 2014-03-25 21:20:04 UTC
Last updated 2014-04-22 22:50:33 UTC

Chapter 1

(Timeline position: Three months after the events of Apple in the Corner)

(For timeline info, please visit my homepage)

“Haa!” Dash shook her head, whisking her mane back and forth as she passed through the clouds and emerged above them.

“C’mon Dashie, I know you like my flank, but you’re faster than that.” Soarin’s voice called from above. She glanced up and smirked. Soarin was flying backwards with his front hooves behind his head, looking down at her with a smile.

“Oh you’re pushing it, and you know what happens when you push me!” She pumped her wings harder, accelerating quickly. Soarin was ready for it, veering left as she made a grab for him. “Whoa!” She spiraled, tilting herself down to pursue again. Without warning, Soarin thrust his wings out, slowing him down considerably. Dash’s eyes widened and she tried to veer off, but she ran right into him. He closed his hooves around her and the two fell gently onto a cloud.

“Who was trying to capture who again?” He chuckled as she playfully struggled in his grip while giggling.

“You’re a hoot,” she looked him in the eyes seductively, only inches between their faces, “‘I bet you can’t catch me’? You planned this all along didn’t you?”

“Mayyyyybe,” He bounced his eyebrows, “are you complaining?”

“I will if you don’t follow through,” she stopped struggling, “c’mere you scheming jerk.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The two of them closed their eyes and leaned in. Dash felt like the luckiest mare in Equestria.

But then an ear piercing ringing shot through her head, making her wince. The noise persisted as her eyes squeaked open to the darkness of her room. Her alarm clock was blaring the song of its homeland. Her pillow was not beneath her head, rather above her, in her arms, and very close to her face. She groaned and pressed the pillow over her alarm clock to muffle it.

“Always at the good parts.” She grumbled and rose from her bed, body feeling stiff and sore. She cracked her neck as she kicked off the rest of the covers. The clock briefly rang throughout the room again as she removed the pillow and shut it off. It read 4:31 AM. She sighed and stretched her limbs out, yawning and letting her body slump down.

She had been keeping this schedule for a few months now and still hadn't adjusted. How Applejack and Big Mac did this everyday of their lives was beyond her. She couldn't remember the last time she woke and it wasn't still pitch black outside.

Helping around the farm was also physically taxing, especially for a pegasus. Earth ponies were physically strong by nature. They were built for heavier work and could probably recover much faster as well. She wasn't blessed with the thicker musculature of an earth pony, but she didn’t care. She was doing it for a reason.

Soarin.

Before getting to know him, she was admittedly lazy and easy going. She enjoyed competition and had natural talent, but she never did any sort of training. After seeing the skill and ability of the Wonderbolts up close, she understood how far she had yet to go. Soarin definitely didn’t earn his strength or the nickname “Power Flyer” by lounging on clouds all day. Dash prided herself in being able to learn and mimic complicated moves with ease. She had never seen a move she couldn't replicate herself. She wanted to use Soarin's Sonic Blast-off technique, but she lacked the body strength. Her only choice was to get stronger. Without access to a gym in Ponyville, her only option for heavy work was Sweet Apple Acres. It also offered discipline through rising before dawn every morning.

She hopped off her bed, stretching her wings out as she moved to her mirror. Every morning she flexed in front of it. It used to be her everyday reminder of how awesome she was, but it served another purpose now. Half the motivation of continuing hard work, especially to gain the strength she needed, was knowing and seeing that it paid off. Her heavy farm work had definitely built up her body a little, at least for a pegasus. Pegasi were generally more slender and aerodynamic than earth ponies and unicorns, so any kind of muscle tone showed up very easily.

Pleased and confident she looked just as awesome, if not more than she did yesterday, she headed downstairs to grab a quick bite to eat.

MLP: FiM

Flying Sky-High

By: Calm Wind

Chapter 1:

All through breakfast, her mind was locked on her dream. Soarin had changed her life. He had changed her. Her friends even noticed. They'd all commented on how she seemed different. Soarin had inspired her, wowed her, captivated her, and touched her emotionally in ways nopony else ever had.

It sucked that their lives were in different places. She figured she'd eventually be with him as a Wonderbolt, but it seemed so far off. He had made such an impact on her life and then was gone from it almost as suddenly as he appeared. They had kept in touch through letters every week or so, but that feeling… that feeling of having him close, the feeling of being in his arms, the feeling of kissing him. She wanted those back. Waiting was not as easy as it first seemed. She felt empty without him.

They had agreed on their relationship being close, but not too close. They were far apart, and Soarin was always busy. Very good friends? Affectionate friends? Was that really all they were? She wasn't satisfied with that at all! If she were, it wouldn’t be so hard to wait. He was special, too special. She would rather die than let him drift out of her reach.

Screw it. She wasn’t confused or conflicted. She wasn’t contemplating "strange" feelings or wondering what had gotten ahold of heart. She wasn’t dodging the subject like Fluttershy, she wasn’t frantically consulting information like Twilight, and she wasn’t swooning out of her cheeks like Rarity.

She loved him dammit.

She was totally head over hooves in love with Soarin. She would follow him to the ends of Equestria if she had to. She wouldn’t be afraid to yell it out in the middle of Ponyville. Well, maybe not that far. She loved him, but nopony had to know. She had an image to keep. She couldn't suddenly be mushy, at least in front of anypony.

She felt in her heart that Soarin shared her feelings, but until she heard it right from his mouth she refused to be satisfied. How long would it be before she knew for sure?

“Earth pony to Rainbow Dash!” Braeburn’s voice suddenly broke her daydream like a second alarm clock. She had barely been paying attention. When did she get to Sweet Apple Acres? When did she start working?

“Uh? Huh?” She looked back and forth to see Applejack and Braeburn chuckling at her. Applejack pointed a hoof at her from across the path.

“You alright sugarcube? You’ve been somewhere else up here all day.” She made a circular hoof motion beside her head. Dash's ears drooped,

“Sorry, I’m just thinking about... stuff.”

“While blushing?” Applejack smugly added. Dash flinched, completely unaware that she was.

“Blushing?! Uh, NOPE! I’m not!” She had just made a mental note to keep it all to herself and she was already blowing it. “Speaking of NOPE where’s Mac?” She looked about.

“He left for the barn about a minute ago.” Braeburn pointed up the path.

“What?!” Dash looked back. Her apple carts were full. Then she looked down the path and could see Mac slowly pulling his long train. “ARGH!” She heaved the carts into motion and gave chase at a quickened pace, leaving Applejack and Braeburn laughing in her wake.

She had been thinking about Soarin too much. Rainbow Dash couldn’t go a few minutes without the light blue, wild mane pegasus stallion coming to mind. This couldn't be healthy, she wasn't focusing. She let three hours go by on the farm before being snapped out of it.

She made an effort to get away from Sweet Apple Acres as quickly as possible when done for the day. She didn’t want to be late meeting Scootaloo in their new training spot right outside town. She was admittedly more worried about Applejack. Dash didn't want to give her any more fuel to use against her. Rule number one of Dash's ongoing "competition" with Applejack: show no weakness.

Dash weaved between the buildings of Ponyville, purposely flying low. Precision of flight was another field she needed to improve. She had been working hard on body strength, but she knew full well she couldn’t neglect her wings. She made sure to do plenty of wingups daily along with difficult flying drills. She usually did them alongside Scootaloo. It was more fun and more motivating with a buddy.

Her days had pretty much become constant training and occassionally nap time in a weather team meeting. It was a rough schedule, but she had a purpose. One that she would stand by and work towards through thick and thin.

She broke past the last building before emerging in thee open grasslands outside of town. She spotted Scootaloo not too far off. The little filly was always there early, doing the exercises Soarin had given her under the name: “Mr. Sorewings.” Dash still giggled every time she thought of that name. It was silly like the goofball he was, but she could imagine what would have happened had Soarin shown up in uniform. Scootaloo would have recognized him instantly and gone absolutely bonkers.

Soarin was so smart and quick thinking in a pinch, morphing his name into something Scoots wouldn’t get. Dash would never forget how he handled Scoot's situation either. He revealed to her she had stunted wings, lied about his once being stunted too, gave her new techniques to help stunted wings grow, and now she was on a warpath to get flying. Dash had never seen a lie used in such a positive way. In one instance Soarin had motivated Scootaloo more than Dash had in the years they had been friends.

He was just. SO. AWESOME. She couldn’t say or think it enough, but she could focus more on it later. It was time for her to be awesome for her little friend. Rainbow Dash angled up, spiraling into a long loop. She increased her speed as she angled down and began her descent, using gravity to gain momentum into a quickly forming air cone. It burst, sending a sonic boom echoing through the air. Scootaloo looked up, eyes wide and giddy as the rainbow shock wave expanded and Dash zipped past her,

“WHOA!” Scootaloo yelled while hopping up and down. Dash thrust her wings outward and twisted to add wind resistance. She angled up, eventually slowing all the way down before smoothly gliding to the ground beside Scootaloo.

Rainbow Dash had just impressed herself. It was getting easier and easier to pull off sonic booms. After that and seeing how easy it was for the Wonderbolts to execute them, she was clear just how much of an impact intense training had on her skills.

Plus she always wanted new ways to wow Scootaloo. Seeing that little filly smile just made her heart swell.

“Hey there squirt,” Dash greeted Scootaloo as the filly bounced over to her, wings flapping happily. Flapping, not buzzing. Dash had seen physical improvement in Scootaloo’s wings since Soarin's advice. It was no surprise. With Soarin’s drills, Scootaloo was working about three times harder than she had prior. Scoots reminded Dash of herself in more ways than one. Strong willed, hardworking, and determined. When Dash found out what it would take to make the Wonderbolts, she took on extra challenges. When Scootaloo found out it would be harder for her to fly, she took on extra challenges. The filly was a rainbow mane dye away from being a little orange Rainbow Dash.

“Hey Rainbow Dash! You gotta see something!” Scootaloo said giddily.

“Hm?" Dash watched as Scootaloo stepped back and set her hooves in the ground. She took three deep breaths as she spread her not quite as stubby wings out. Dash’s interest caught immediately. Was Scootaloo about to…

Scootaloo began to flap her little wings slowly at first, a change from her old method. She used to instantly pump them as hard as she could. After a few flaps she sped it up slightly, then a little more, and then a little more. She rose off the ground slightly, which was nothing new, but Dash’s eyes widened when Scootaloo began ascending.

“Whoa! Hey!” Dash called out in excitement. She quickly hovered up with her. “Scoots! Keep it going!” She cheered her “protégé” on. Scootaloo managed to get to about treetop height. She was straining herself, putting a huge amount of effort into it, but it wielded more than Dash had ever seen.

“Not… Done… Yet…!” Scootaloo forced out as she began to move forward slowly. Dash stayed right beside her as she pushed herself. Dash was mainly there to catch her if she fell, but Scootaloo had always dreamed of flying beside her. It may have still been in the works, but Dash did it for her anyway. After flying for a few yards, Scootaloo exhaled sharply and fell. Dash caught her and gently set her down on the grass. Scootaloo was panting and wheezing, but had a huge beaming smile on her face.

“Scoots, you just flew!” Dash congratulated her while ruffling her mane. Scootaloo looked like she would burst with joy hearing those words.

“All those things Mr. Sorewings taught me are helping a lot!” She exclaimed while rising to her hooves. Dash held back a chuckle. If only Scootaloo knew she had help from an ace Wonderbolt. Then she had a thought. Maybe she could show Scootaloo something Soarin taught her. She was still unsure if she could execute the Sonic Blast-off, but she hadn’t tried in while. It was worth a shot. She felt better and stronger than ever before so why not?

“Sorewings is a very good flyer,” Dash drilled herself to keep a straight face, “He knows lots of great training and flying techniques, in fact, he taught me one too!” Dash closed her eyes and pounded a hoof to her chest pridefully. She squeaked one eye open to see Scootaloo’s eyes widen considerably.

“Oo! Oo! Show me! Show me!”

“I don’t know,” Dash crossed her hooves and showed false hesitation, “it’s pretty hard to do.”

“You can do it! You’re the best flyer in Equestria!” Scootaloo encouraged. That's all Dash wanted to hear. She instantly dropped the act and lowered herself to eye level with Scootaloo.

“Then I’ll do it!” She smiled and winked.

“Yay!” Scootaloo cheered as Dash hovered a few feet away.

Now the tricky part. The last thing Dash wanted to do was mess up after building Scootaloo's excitement like that. She thought back to Soarin’s long explanation on how to cause an instant acceleration. She set her hooves, reached her wings forward, and tensed her muscles. She could hear Soarin’s voice in her head repeating “strong base, smooth follow through”. With all of her power, but as fluid as she could, she went through the motions: front hooves, back hooves, front jump, back jump, force wings!

Dash squinted as she fired forward, forming an air cone within inches from her start. She felt an enormous amount of pressure, which was usually the signaled she was about to be struck down. But to her surprise, the air cone shattered, and she fired along the ground. Upon realizing she had actually pulled off Soarin’s move without the aid of extra speed or anything else, she was ecstatic. Taking advantage of the moment, she lifted into the air and began a long turn around to head back towards Scootaloo. She found it was very hard to control her trajectory. How Soarin managed to move so precisely with this kind of momentum was another wonder she would have to figure out.

She came in for a landing, forcing out her wings and body to slow down as much as she could before slamming her hooves to the ground. She skidded to a stop in front of Scootaloo, leaving torn up grass and a little bit of dust in her path. She smiled and struck a pose. Scootaloo's eyes even wider and jaw nearly unhinged.

“THAT. WAS. WICKED!” She yelled, as she stared at Dash with awe. Dash nodded and slumped onto her flank to catch her breath. Just like Soarin had said, the move was very taxing on the body. It didn’t help that she had pulled apple carts all morning. “Mr. Sorewings taught you that!?”

“You bet kid, he’s a real master.” Dash answered with a smile as Scootaloo continued to happily freak out.

Soarin, Soarin, Soarin. So much Soarin. He was on her mind all day and had become relevant in more than one conversation. She watched Scootaloo prance about and sighed. Soarin would be so happy to see this. Scoots had benefitted so much from his advice already. Hell, Dash wish she could've wowed him just now by showing him his own signature move.

What a great stallion. What a great pony. His mere presence had pushed her and Scootaloo to improve themselves as much as they could. Dash doubted she would ever know another pony with such an influential air. There was so much to like about him. To love about him. He was a goofball, he always made her smile, he was a stud, and was extremely handsome. If only he was here now. He'd be so happy.

Whatever, she just wanted him there. She missed him so much.

“Rainbow Dash? Does that move always make your face turn red?” Scootaloo asked out of nowhere. Dash’s pupils shrank, remembering the effect thoughts of Soarin had on her.

“Huh?! Uhhh, NO! I’m uh..." She was caught so off guard that she couldn't even keep Soarin out of her excuse, "I'm just tired and thinking of things like Soar—” she slammed her mouth shut and hoped Scootaloo missed that last little slip up. But Scootaloo’s eyes spoke differently.

“Ohhhhh.” Scootaloo smirked. Not a good sign.

“What?!” Dash growled and looked away.

“Do you like Mr. Sorewings?” Scootaloo asked innocently, but with a smirk. Of course she did, but,

“NO! I mean, he’s a great friend, but, um, why do you ask?” Dash was an expert flyer, but a terrible liar. She couldn't even fool a filly sometimes.

“You’re doing the same stuff Sweetie Belle does when she likes a colt!” Scootaloo giggled while tapping her front hooves on the ground.

“Um—,” this only made Dash turn redder. GREAT. She was exhibiting behaviors similar to that of Rarity's little sister. “Well—,”

“Aw c’mon Dash, you’re a grownup. Grownups are allowed to be mushy. Doesn't mean you're not the coolest pony ever!” Scootaloo laughed. Her explanation was so hysterically childish that it turned things around. Dash chuckled to herself. Oh to hell with it, Scootaloo was like a little sister to her.

“Okay, you caught me.” Dash shrugged. She was still blushing, but she regained her typical demeanor, “Sorewings is kinda amazing. I do like him, a lot.”

“Well, he’s kinda super awesome, and you’re kinda super awesome. So together you two are like double super duper awesome! Sounds perfect to me!”

As much as she loved making Scootaloo smile, Dash was certain Scootaloo would never fail to make her smile in return. It may have been a kiddy way of explaining it, but Scootaloo was right.

She wanted Soarin. More than anything else in Equestria she just wanted him. But how could she see him? She had the VIP pass for the Wonderbolt shows, but they had a rough travel schedule ahead way out of her travel range. She hadn't had a chance to go see them in the recent months either due her new training. There had to be another way to see him.

Then a thought struck her. There were a few instances in the past where she had an opportunity to meet him and the Wonderbolts. One of these instances was annual, and was rapidly approaching in two weeks!

Fleetfoot touched down and slumped, panting hard. She glanced up to see an equally tired Spitfire reaching down to her.

“C’mon Fleet, get on your hooves and move those wings!” She ordered. Fleetfoot grabbed hold of Spitfire’s arm and was hoisted up.

“Sheesh, what’s with all this extra training lately? I swear my wings are gonna fall off!” She glanced up at a new obstacle course that was recently built in their facility. It was by far the most complicated and admittedly dangerous course they had ever put together. It was comprised of hanging beams, assorted poles, pop-up obstacles, and more swaying rings than one could count. To top it off they were all organized in a manner that required the flyer to make quick unorthodox maneuvers to avoid nasty bruises. Only the lead, the second, and third squads were given clearance to use it due to possible liability.

“I think we went a little overboard with this one.” Fleetfoot sighed as she forced her wings to move, picking back up into the air.

“If you want to get your ass kicked by some dark and mysterious look-alikes again, be my guest,” Spitfire pulled her along, “I know it all turned out fine, but let’s not ignore the obvious: we got flank-whooped. As our captain I refuse to let that happen again. If that means we have to work extra hard and with more dangerous training—,” as she spoke, Fleetfoot looked past her and saw Rapidfire take a metal beam to the stomach.

“OOF! WhoooooaaaaaoaoaAAAAAAAAA” Rapidfire flailed as he spiraled down and crashed into the large safety mats placed below. He bounced once before his face wedged between two of the squishy mats.

“—then that’s exactly what we’re going to do, and keep doing.” The two flew down, grabbed Rapidfire’s flailing back hooves. With a rough yank, they pulled his head free.

“ARGH!” He grunted as he looked up at the practice course. He growled and ripped off his goggles.

“Rapidfire I have yet to see you complete this course once. I severely hope you can do better than this.” Spitfire sternly commented. He glared at her and snapped back,

“But this is ridiculous! Why aren’t we working on new show maneuvers?! I’m an effect master, not a flight specialist!” He threw his goggles down. They bounced off the mat and up towards Spitfire. She reached up and caught them before scowling at him. Rapidfire recoiled as Spitfire got in his face and forced her will upon him so harshly that he almost sank back into the mat.

“Then the next time we are forced into combat, you can make a pretty cloud giraffe for them and maybe they’ll go away!” She belted in his face while shoving his goggles back into his chest. She was ready to give him more, but Fleetfoot tapped her on the shoulder.

“Uh, Spitfire?” she pointed towards the course, “Holy crap.” Spitfire followed Fleetfoot’s gesture to the course. Soarin was in it.

Soarin flew in and out of the obstacles, rising and falling quickly to avoid the beams, zipping around the poles, and navigating the rings with ease and sharpness. He got struck once or twice, but powered through it, making it to the end and rising up above the finish line. He looked back towards the starting line.

“Again.” He said to himself before firing back around and through the start.

“Sweet Celestia.” Spitfire pushed her goggles up and blinked. “How many times has he gone through it? He’s not even breaking a sweat!”

“I lost count at twelve.” Fleetfoot kept staring.

“Now this just isn’t fair. He's pumped full of alicorn magic!” Rapidfire huffed and crossed his hooves.

“No excuses Rapid.” Spitfire said flatly and pushed her goggles back down.

“Actually, Soarin told me he’s been feeling strange lately.” Fleetfoot cut in as they watched Soarin start the course over again. Spitfire glanced at Fleetfoot, who flinched and quickly put a hoof over her mouth.

“Pardon?” Spitfire raised an eyebrow.

“I wasn’t supposed to say anything.” Fleetfoot said quietly beneath her hooves while looking away.

“Kinda late for that now Fleet, spit it out.” Spitfire was curious, and a bit hurt that her childhood friend confided in Fleetfoot before her about something apparently very personal.

Fleetfoot sighed and her ears drooped. Soarin was going to kill her for this, and probably never trust her again. This was the third time in the recent past she had let something slip. She was too gossipy for her own good.

“He told me things have been strange since he was revitalized by Celestia. Apparently he never feels tired.”

“And?” Spitfire could read Fleet’s mannerisms. Fleet attempted silence for a moment, but knew she couldn’t fool Spitfire.

“And he didn’t want you to know in case it would be a problem.” She finished.

“SEE?! It's not fair.” Rapidfire motioned both his hooves towards Soarin. Spitfire rolled her eyes.

“What, are you afraid Soarin is going to take your ‘spotlight’?” Spitfire made quote motions with her hooves, “being the son of legendary Wonderbolt captains only takes you so far. You need to carry your own damn weight.” Her words earned a frustrated grunt from him. She turned back towards Soarin “this is just like Soarin to think something good could be something bad.”

She was indeed thrilled that Soarin apparently had some new power withing him. It was definitely pushing his flight performance to unreal levels, but was there more? Never ending stamina was definitely a plus, but were there any drawbacks? She continued to observe as a crowd of Wonderbolts started gathering in the area to watch him.

Soarin took no notice to his spectators as he finished his umpteenth lap of the course. But no matter how many times he flew it, he still stared at the finish line in frustration. It wasn’t good enough. Each time he felt he could have done better. If he had yet to break a sweat, how would he know if he had pushed himself as hard as he could? He was thinking like certain special mare in his life:

Rainbow Dash.

She would have tried harder. Dash would have pushed herself through one more time. Dash would never give up until she succeeded.

She had been an inspiration to him. The brief time he had spent in Ponyville with her was an experience unlike any other. Sure he had gotten locked in combat, and nearly died, but those felt like nothing compared to discovering Dash.

Rainbow Dash: the mare that turned him away from his endless cycle of self-inflicted loneliness. Before meeting her, it was always the same. Even if he was slightly interested in somepony, he’d leave them behind because his career was too important and too hard earned to let anything get in its way. She changed that, she changed everything.

Dash was the first mare that bounced back. They always backed down, all falling prey to his status and fame. Not a single one ever had the courage to hang on. Dash had that courage and more. She kicked him in the teeth with how idiotic that was. She forced his eyes to see why he couldn't go on like that. Spitfire had a hand in it too, but she and Fleetfoot had been trying to make him see it for years. Dash did it in a few weeks. She was different in the best ways imaginable.

Dash had imprinted herself deep into his life. He was not prepared for how it would feel when they went separate ways. Two days. That’s how long his satisfaction lasted. When they parted, they made it clear they were both very interested in the other, hell they kissed! They agreed on seeing each other often. Friends with benefits was the best way to handle their different lives for the time being.

That quickly backfired.

When she was suddenly out of his reach, he felt like a part of himself had been torn away. He didn’t need dark magic to feel invincible when she was around. Dash had changed him. After years of swearing to never get too attached, he found himself attached to her with unbreakable bonds. She was always on his mind in some way. He wanted her. He needed her.

He loved her.

If only he had figured it out before they left. They had kept in touch through letters, but you do not tell somepony something that heartfelt in any way besides directly to them. She deserved that much.

And if there was one thing that made Dash shine to him, it was that she never gave up, ever. No matter what the circumstance or the odds pitted against her, she went for it. It was a trait of hers that saved his life more than once.

He glided back to the starting line, hovered down, and fixed his eyes forward.

“I. Can. Do. BETTER!” He psyched himself up. He placed his hooves firmly on the starting platform, tensed his body and primed himself for a Sonic Blast-off. As he did a faint glow seemed to encircle him. His eyes widened and he went through the motions. The dim glow turned dark blue. When he made the final push off, the light burst from his body, expanding with the sonic boom much like the rainbow of Dash’s sonic rainboom.

Soarin couldn’t describe what he was feeling. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. He twisted and turned his body, easily avoiding every single obstacle. To everypony watching though, he was moving almost faster than the eye could follow. A dark blue stream of light followed in his wake. As he made his way through the final area of pop-ups, the last one flipped up a foot from him. Even in his slow motion state he couldn’t avoid it. So instead, he pulled back a hoof and thrust it forward. His hoof pierced right through the padded surface of the pop-up and split the metal it was attached too. Soarin went through it!

“WHOA!” Fleetfoot exclaimed and fell back as she saw him break the obstacle. The rest of the Wonderbolts gathered nearby expressed similar awe.

“Did he just punch through,” Spitfire’s jaw dropped, “an inch thick sheet of metal?!”

Soarin fired through the finish line, but instead of going back around he angled down and seared towards the entry runway. He slammed his hooves to it at full speed, and skidded about fifty yards along the ground before finally stopping, leaving a sizzling trail along the ground in his path. The glow faded from his body and he blinked, looking himself over. What the hell did he just do?

He had little time to think it over. He was surrounded by fellow Wonderbolts instantly, all voicing their awe and admiration.

“Well I guess it’s not a secret at all now.” Spitfire shrugged as Soarin got crowded. Fleetfoot just stared with her mouth agape.

Rapidfire glared in Soarin’s direction and at all the attention he was getting. After a frustrated grunt, he picked himself up off the mat and stormed towards the locker rooms. Spitfire saw him leave and shook her head. She didn’t know what she was going to do with Rapidfire, not like she ever did. He needed to grow up.

But Rapidfire quickly took a back seat in her head as the crowd around Soarin suddenly panicked. She turned and bolted towards them.

“Outta the way, outta the way! Let me through!” They mostly moved aside for their captain, but she had to move a few herself. She gasped when she reached the center. Soarin was sprawled out on the ground nearly hyperventilating, sweating, and had a hoof pressed over his heart. “What the?! Well don’t just stand there! Somepony get a stretcher! NOW!!”

“NO!” Soarin flew through the darkness as fast as his wings could carry him. He sped towards an unconscious Rainbow Dash as she fell helplessly. Soarin didn’t give a moment’s thought towards being in a large void of nothing. He was entirely focused on the only thing that mattered, the only thing he wanted, the only thing he cared about. He slowly caught up to her. He was flying faster and harder than ever before. He reached out a hoof and grabbed at hers.

“RAINBOW DASH!” Soarin lurched up, reached out, and grabbed hold of something, squeezing it absurdly hard.

“OW OW OW OW OW!!!!!” Fleetfoot’s voiced her pain as Soarin was nearly crushed her right arm. Soarin blinked and released it. “Oo ah aye yai yai!” She stepped back, shaking out her arm and blowing on it.

Soarin realized that he was on a padded trainer table in their medical facility. Spitfire had backed off as he lashed out at Fleetfoot, and now both were staring at him wide eyed. Every other occupant in the large room was staring as well.

“Uh, sorry.” He said, thoroughly embarrassed. He flopped back down as Spitfire and Fleetfoot approached again. He looked away from Spitfire as they approached. He didn’t want to worry Spitfire over the new “abilities” he seemed to have gained after being radiated by dark alicorn magic. It wasn’t all positive, as he just proved by waking up in the trainer room. Fleetfoot sighed and let her head droop.

“Sorry Soarin, I kinda spilled the beans.”

“WHAT?!" Soarin looked at her in disbelief, "Again? Really Fleet?”

“SOARIN.” Said Spitfire sternly. He flinched, sighed, and turned to look at her. “First I want to say that was a ridiculous show you put on. But honestly Soarin, since when do you not talk to me about things?” Her demeanor was not stern as he expected, she legitimately looked worried.

“You’re my captain. You’ve got more important things to worry about.” He tried to dodge.

“I’m your friend Soarin, and I’m sure Fleetfoot has proven she can keep a secret.” She gave Fleetfoot a flat look. Fleetfoot looked away and whistled to herself. “Soarin, what’s going on? You’ve been a mystery ever since Ponyville.”

Soarin sat up and stretched out his legs and wings. He took a deep breath and exhaled. There was no more avoiding it, Spitfire would never leave him be now.

“Well, things have been different since all that.” He admitted

“Brilliant observation.” Spitfire rolled her eyes.

“Do you want me to tell you or not?” Soarin said back with a glare.

“Oh chill, I’m listening.” She encouraged him. He continued.

“Ever since Celestia used her magic to restore my body, I’ve felt different. I don’t really know how to describe it. I feel more alive than I ever have in my life, I feel like I can do anything. All of our training is easy, even the kinds of things I used to struggle with. No matter how hard I go, I never feel tired,” He paused and looked at his hooves, “I’ve broken through all my limits like they were never there.”

“Doesn’t sound like a problem to me.” Fleetfoot shrugged.

“There’s more to it though,” He continued, “just now when I was flying the course, I kept trying over and over again because I each time I finished I felt I could do better. I was so determined and so set, something inside me reacted.”

“You were glowing blue, we put that much together.” Spitfire cut in.

“Glowing?!” Soarin’s eyes darted to her incredulously.

“Yes, glowing. You were really focused weren’t you?”

“What the hell is happening to me?” Soarin put his hooves on his head and groaned. All the thinking was giving him a headache.

“But, as long as you don’t push it too hard, this won’t happen again? Still seems fine to me.” Fleetfoot shrugged again.

“No, there’s one more thing,” Soarin said as he removed his hooves from his head, catching their attention, “It’s been extremely hard to sleep. Remember how I said I never feel tired? I almost never fall asleep at night and if I do, I get some strange dreams and wake up very suddenly. I haven't gotten more than two to three hours of broken sleep every night since Ponyville.” He looked between Spitfire and Fleetfoot as this bit of info clearly worried them. He shook his head, “I know that sounds bad, and it kinda is, but like I said, I never get tired. I feel awake and aware all the time, but I miss the feeling of sleeping and getting a full night’s rest. My internal clock is so confused.”

“We can take you to Celestia at some point. Maybe she can tell you more about the magic.” Spitfire suggested. Soarin smiled, glad that he had her to rely on. Even when he avoided her, she found a way in, and always made everything better.

“SO!” Fleetfoot suddenly crossed her hooves on the edge of the bed beside him. She leaned forward to rest her chin on her arms, and wiggled her flank back and forth. “My poor arm and I happened to have noticed you yelled out the name Rainbow Dash when you suddenly woke up!” She cooed as Spitfire slapped a hoof to her head and groaned. Soarin felt his face heat up. He had hoped that his call to Dash was still within the brief dream.

“Uh—,” he avoided eye contact with both of them.

“You haven’t really mentioned her since we’ve gotten back either! You didn’t even tell me the juicy tidbits of when you went after her train!” She was slowly sliding closer to him as he tried to edge away.

“Maybe because it’s private?” He glared.

“Don’t change the subject,” she poked him in the shoulder, “You owe me an explanation for almost breaking my arm.” She prodded. Soarin glanced at Spitfire, giving her a “help me” look. She rolled her eyes.

“Leave him alone Fleet, the infirmary is too public for a conversation like this.” She made her way around the table, grabbed Fleetfoot’s tail, and pulled her off the table.

“Aww, c’mon Spitfire.” She whined as Soarin felt relieved.

“We have a squad meeting in my office in twenty," Spitfire continued, "you can prod him all you want after that.” She smirked and snickered. Soarin’s head snapped back to her, his jaw hanging open. He knew there was a catch. Spitfire enjoyed his personal life just as much as Fleetfoot. “Take your time Soarin, but be quick. I have to go find where Rapidfire is brooding.” She released Fleetfoot’s tail and left the training room.

“Brooding?” Soarin looked to Fleetfoot who nodded.

“Rapidfire has been whining behind your back. Doesn’t like how you became an unmatched badass.” She waved her hoof back and forth through the air as she spoke.

“He knows this was… done to me right? It’s not like I had a choice.” He huffed.

“Like I said, he’s whining. Probably worried you’ll steal away his fans.” She explained, then glanced at Soarin. He suddenly had a slight grin on his face. “You secretly like that don’t you?”

“Heh, you know I like to see that douche squirm.” He began to chuckle. Fleetfoot smiled.

“See? I think your new powers are more positive than you think,” she winked, “c’mon, let’s get going.” She made a head motion towards the door.

Soarin hopped down from the table and followed. Despite the positive aspects, he wanted to be sure there was nothing wrong with him. He also internally groaned. He was going to get bombarded about Dash as soon as this meeting was over.

Boy he missed Rainbow Dash, and boy had he changed.

---To be Continued---

Chapter 2

Author's Note

SURPRISE

FAST UPDATE WOO

Enjoy :)

Chapter 2

MLP: FiM
Flying Sky-High
By: Calm Wind

Chapter 2:

Rainbow Dash flew rapidly through Ponyville, making her way between the buildings swiftly and with a purpose. How had she not thought of this sooner? Probably because it was a massive long shot and something she'd definitely have to keep quiet. She loved her friends to death, but she only felt comfortable revealing this to two of them, namely Fluttershy and Twilight. As for the rest? Applejack would use it against her somehow, Rarity would find a way to butt into it, and Pinkie Pie… well, Pinkie would do something. Who knows what? It wasn't worth the risk.

Thankfully, the pony Dash had to talk to did not fall into the category of “avoid at all costs”.

She put on the brakes and slowly glided to the ground as she approached the Ponyville library. She touched down a few paces from the front door and thought about how she would go about this. She didn’t have the luxury of time. The event was only two weeks away and she needed time to prepare. More importantly she wanted to make sure Twilight had enough time to pull strings for her, should time be an issue.

She reached up to knock, but hesitated and put her ear to the door first. Despite the urgency, she still wanted to be discreet. Sounds of activity were heard, but very little. Perfect. She knocked on the door, glancing over her shoulders as she waited for a response.

The door opened and Dash looked forward, expecting to see Twilight. There was nopony at eye level. It didn’t surprise her, Spike often answered the door. She looked down slightly, but saw nothing there either.

“Huh?” She looked further down and stared into the eyes of Angel Bunny, who just stared back.

“Angel, dear, you shouldn’t answer the door in other people’s homes.” A very quiet voice came from inside. The door nudged open slightly more and Fluttershy poked her head around it. Upon Seeing Rainbow Dash she smiled and fully stepped into view.

“Oh, hello Rainbow Dash, sorry about Angel, he likes to take control of things.” She explained. Dash gave her an obvious look.

“You don’t say? Anyway, is Twilight in?” She asked as she cautiously moved into the library. Books were strewn everywhere in both piles and stacks. The books were organized, labeled stacks on one side of the large room and piles of random books on the other. It looked like some massive reorganization was going on.

“Oh yes, Twilight and Spike are in the basement, they should be back up shortly. I’m just lending a hoof.” She explained before looking around for Angel, who had disappeared quickly. Dash internally sighed in relief. Talk about luck of the draw. When she saw Fluttershy there she was worried that more of her friends would be there too. Thankfully the only two she wasn’t worried about were present.

Spike came up from the basement first while brushing dust off his body. He quickly noticed Dash and waved.

“Hey Rainbow Dash, what brings you—” he was cut off by a knock at the door, which made Dash flinch, “hold that thought.” He turned towards the door.

Dash panicked. She turned her back to the door and contemplated what to do. But she stopped mid thought. She was worried about it being one of three bad scenarios, but there were lots of ponies in Ponyville, what were the chances of it being one of her friends? She was just being paranoid.

“Hello Spike, my I come in darling?”

“Of course Rarity!”

Never mind. This was a bad scenario, but it could be worse. While Rarity was the one most likely to figure out her motives, she was the one Dash was least worried about. Dash remained calm and played it cool as if she was looking around the books. She avoided all contact while Rarity spoke to Spike about a designer’s manual she needed for a project.

The sound of hooves came from the basement stairs. Dash turned, ready to move in, ask Twilight her question, and then fly off before any other surprises.

“Rarity!” Twilight exclaimed right before Dash spoke. Twilight trotted over to Rarity and gave her a hug. “I haven’t seen you in weeks!”

“My apologies Twilight, I’ve been a bit busy with my dresses for the Canterlot show.”

Dash slinked back out of sight. This wasn’t too bad. Rarity would most likely find out, but she wasn't as bad as Applejack or Pinkie. Now she just had to wait patiently for them to finish. If she was lucky, Spike would end up distracting Rarity. He had a tendency to.

“Anypony home?” A farmer twang came from the door left slightly ajar.

Scratch that. It just got a lot worse.

“Applejack? Come on in!” Twilight eagerly welcomed Applejack in as well, “I haven’t seen you in forever either!”

“Well, ya know, I've taken over a bit at the farm recently. This is my first time off the farm in a week-r-so, I thought I’d pop in and say hi. Looks like Rarity finally left her workshop too!” She nudged Rarity in the side a little too hard, earning an “OOF” from her. The conversation began as Dash contemplated her options.

“Please Applejack, I’m sure you can appreciate what it means to be dedicated to your work.” Rarity flipped her mane around.

“That’s one thing we c’n agree on.” Applejack joked.

Dash had a couple options. She would clearly get questioned if she “emerged” so she could go with some sort of Daring Do book excuse. She could also find a way to get Twilight away from them, but how could she do that inconspicuously?

Then suddenly, as she inspected her target and obstacles, Applejack and Rarity began to bicker about something right after agreeing. How typical. Fluttershy was already trying to dispel it as well.

Opportunity acquired. The two problems distracted themselves. Now all she had to do was pull Twilight Aside for a second and ask quietly. She acted casual as she trotted over.

“Hey Twi,” Her voice made Twilight jump and her wings flapped open.

“Rainbow Dash? When did you get here?” She asked, surprised.

“SHHHH!" Dash shushed her quickly, "I actually got here before Rarity, I was looking at some books,” she stole a quick glance at Fluttershy trying to pry apart Applejack and Rarity. Dash took her chance, “Look, come over here I need to ask you something. It’s a little personal.” Before Twilight could question anything, Dash was pulling her over behind a pile of books that slightly hid them from the rest.

“Why all the secrecy? What’s wrong?” Twilight asked, curious about Dash’s odd behavior.

“Nothing’s wrong. I just… wanted to know something.” She peeked over the pile of books to see the scuffle still going on.

“Well? I’m listening.” Twilight tapped her hoof.

“You’re a princess now, so I was curious. In two weeks—,” as she spoke, unbeknownst to them, a periscope slowly emerged from the pile of books beside them, “I was wondering if you could get me a ticket to—,” Dash froze as she glanced to her left and saw the periscope looking directly at her from the books.

WORST CASE SCENARIO. WORST CASE SCENARIO. WORST CASE SCENARIO.

“To the Grand Galloping Gala?” Twilight finished for her. Dash was screwed, she knew exactly what was going to happen next, and no force in the universe could stop it. Pinkie Pie burst out of the pile of books and grabbed Dash by the face.

“YOU’RE GOING TO THE GRAND GALLOPING GALA?!?!” Pinkie yelled out as the slight cover provided by the pile of books collapsed. Everything else had stopped and all eyes were on Dash now. So much for keeping it quiet.

“Oh. Great, I had completely forgotten about the annual ass kissing event.” Fleetfoot rolled her eyes as Spitfire shrugged from behind her desk.

“I don’t like it either, but we’re the lead squad. It’s all part of the publicity.” She explained to Soarin, Fleetfoot, and Rapidfire as they all showed their own form of discontent. Fleetfoot plopped down into a chair and sighed, Soarin made a motion as if he was being choked by a noose and stuck his tongue out, and Rapidfire just scoffed. Spitfire had a “casual” policy with the three of them specifically. Anypony else who came to her office was under strict order to stand attention. She let them be at ease as long as they still respected her as captain in a professional setting.

“Do we have to wear our spandex the whole time again?” Soarin whined, “Seriously, last time I chaffed so much I’m surprised I still have skin down there.” Spitfire flattened her ears and eyelids and stared at him uncomfortably.

“Thanks for that lovely bit of info Soarin, but you’ll be happy to hear that the Gala is being run differently this year.” This caught all of their attention. Except for Rapidfire, who seemed to be giving less and less of a damn as the meeting went on. He hadn’t moved from the back corner of her office near the door. Spitfire continued. “Luna is in charge of the gala this year, due to reasons Celestia has not disclosed to me. I’ve already spoken with Luna about her plans, and it looks like this year it will be both better and worse.” She reached into her desk and pulled out a little note pad. She flipped through the pages briefly until she found what she was looking for. “This year the gala will be referred to as the Grand Galloping Ball, and the dress code for us is formal.”

“A ball? Wait, that means—” Fleetfoot’s eyes widened in horror.

“Yes, that means dancing.” Spitfire finished for her, keeping a professional attitude despite how she felt.

“What?! I’m a terrible dancer! LUNAAAAAAA!!!” Fleetfoot threw her hooves up.

“You don’t have to dance if you don’t want to.” Soarin chuckled. Fleetfoot lifted an eyebrow at him. She hovered slightly into the air and got in his face.

“You don’t seem too worked up about it. Do you know how to dance?” She smirked at Soarin. But when he remained silent and avoided eye contact awkwardly. Her eyes widened, her jaw dropped, and she slowly floated back down onto her hooves, “Wait. YOU know how to ballroom dance?!”

“Well, yes, I do.” Soarin answered slightly embarrassed. Rapidfire snickered in the corner, earning a glare from Spitfire.

“Oh Rapidfire, I didn’t know you were there. Got something to say?” She was being stern with him because he had been nothing but trouble all day.

“No, I don’t,” he pushed off the wall, “are we done here? My life is being wasted.” Spitfire instantly pointed towards the door.

“Just piss off.” She spat. He flipped his mane over, scoffed, and left. She shook her head, “the shit I put up with.”

“So, formal attire? I guess I could go—” Soarin tried to bring the conversation back but Fleetfoot grabbed him by the face and pulled him back towards her.

“No. You are going to tell me right here, right now, when you learned to ballroom dance. Of all of us, you are the LAST pony I expected to know how.” She demanded. Soarin avoided eye contact again.

“Does it really matter?” He desperately tried to get away. Spitfire let her head fall to her desk as she started laughing, turning Fleetfoot’s attention to her. She answered for him,

“When we were teenagers and next-door neighbors our parents forced us to take dance lessons before attending a wedding,” she motioned a hoof towards Soarin, “big-manly-stallion here was so nervous about dancing with the other fillies that he only danced with me. He actually fought off a few that wanted to cut in.”

“Spitfire!” Soarin turned bright red and his wing feathers all puffed out. Fleetfoot fell onto her back, laughing while clutching her stomach and kicking her back hooves in the air.

“Why is that so easy to picture?!” She forced out between fits.

“Alright, alright!” Soarin grit his teeth and tried to hide his face behind a ruffled wing.

“Wait.” Fleetfoot sat up in realization, “that means.” She pointed at Spitfire.

“Yes, I know how ballroom dance too.” Spitfire said without any embarrassment at all. In fact she sounded proud of it.

“GAH! What am I supposed to do?!” Fleetfoot fumed while putting her hooves on her head. Spitfire waved a hoof at her.

“Relax Fleet, I can show you some basics if you want.” She smirked. “We don’t want you tripping over your hooves in case some hunky stallion wants to dance with you.” She used Fleetfoot’s own dreamy words and tone of voice.

Soarin had been subtly edging towards the door. If he made an escape while the mares were talking, he could avoid any questions about Rainbow Dash. He was almost home free. When he was close enough, he turned and took a step, but Fleetfoot zipped in front of him.

“Ooooooooh no you don’t!” Fleetfoot firmly placed her hoof against his chest and pushed him back in. “Nice try, but no more mysteries.” Soarin sighed and moved back into the office.

“C’mon Soarin, you’ve gotta open up,” said Spitfire as Fleetfoot pushed him back into the room, “We’re your teammates and your friends. Plus you used to always tell us what was on your mind.”

“Yeah,” Fleetfoot pouted, “frankly, I’m hurt.” She put a hoof over her heart and looked away dramatically.

“Says the mare who can’t keep a secret.” Soarin rolled his eyes at her.

“In the past, now talk.” Fleetfoot put herself between him and the door in case he got any ideas. “Start with the train, what happened there?!” She bounced a little as she pried. Soarin let his head sway back and forth and droop.

“Sheesh, nothing really. I went after the train, told her she was important to me, and then we—” he hesitated.

“Kissed?” Spitfire added with a smirk making Fleetfoot look at him eagerly.

“Well, yes.” Soarin looked at neither of them, but Fleetfoot found a way to get in his face again with her hooves pressing against her cheeks so hard they squished her face.

“AWWWW!!! That is just precious!” She squealed. Spitfire was laughing more at how ridiculous Fleetfoot was being, but she would admit it was amusing to see a big strong stallion like Soarin fidget nervously.

“Yikes Fleet, don’t torture him more than we already are.”

“Then what?” Fleetfoot eagerly asked. Soarin shrugged.

“Then I left.”

“WHAT?!” Fleetfoot’s expression turned almost completely upside down. “That’s it?!”

“What was I supposed to do?” Soarin looked at her quizzically.

“More than that!” Fleetfoot reached her hooves out towards him.

“What did you expect? Did you think we were just gonna do it on the floor right there?” Soarin fought back. Fleetfoot turned bright red for a moment as she thought about it, but quickly responded.

“No, but you really didn’t do anything else?” She continued.

“I told her she was important to me, and that I hope I get to see her more, but not much beyond that.”

“I’ve gotta admit,” Spitfire cut in, “I kinda agree with Fleet here. Soarin, after all that soul searching, over emotional brooding, and near death experiences, that's all you said to her?"

"Gosh!" Fleetfoot groaned, "the way you talked about her gave me the impression you were legitimately in love with her.”

“I am!” Soarin yelled out while flapping his wings down hard, causing a gust that blew a few papers off Spitfire’s desk. Spitfire and Fleetfoot just stared at him. He folded his wings back up and his ears flopped down. “Sorry. I really don’t want to talk about it anymore.” He turned to the door and walked right passed Fleetfoot, who let him go untouched.

“I think I may have annoyed him a little.” She admitted.

“YA THINK!?” Spitfire’s voice blew her over.

“The Grand Galloping Gala?” Applejack looked curiously at Rainbow Dash, not sure if she heard it correctly, “Why in Equestria would ya ever wanna go back t’that awful thing?”

They had all gathered around Rainbow Dash, who refused to make direct eye contact with any of them. This was supposed to be a smooth, silent plan. It had turned into a nightmare.

“I must say I’m surprised as well,” Rarity spoke up, “of all of us you were the last one I expected to go again.”

“I have my reasons okay!?” Dash suddenly lashed out, throwing her hooves into the air and extending her wings out.

“You can tell us,” Fluttershy tried the gentle approach.

“No, I can’t.” Dash refolded her arms and wings and looked back down to the floor.

“Rainbow Dash, I can get you a ticket,” Twilight placed a hoof on her shoulder, “But we’re just curious, it’s so unlike you.”

“YEAH! What’s floggin’ your noggin’?!” Pinkie was right beside her, bouncing eagerly.

“Pinkie, please.” Twilight pushed Pinkie away to give Dash space.

Twilight had a knack for making her feel better. In fact Twilight did that often for all of them. Dash looked around at all the concerned looks from her friends. She had to look at this differently. Besides, she was stuck and unless she told them all, they’d be curious and she'd never hear the end of it. She took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh.

“I want to see—”

“EEEEEEHEHEE!!!!!” Rarity suddenly squealed with starry eyes and rapidly tapped her front hooves against the floor. They all looked to her but she waved them off. “Oh nono, ignore me, I want to hear her say it!” She said giddily. Pinkie popped up in front of her.

“InterruptingRaritysayswhat?”

“What?” Rarity leaned back from Pinkie, but she reached forward and grabbed her shoulders, pressing her nose against hers.

“EXACTLY!”

They all of them turned back to Dash. She was sure she’d get laughed at, but she had no choice.

“I want to see... Soarin.” She said quietly.

She didn’t look up, worried about what she would see. She heard Rarity squeal again, but beyond that she had no clue what their reaction was. She slowly peeked up, and was surprised at what she saw. Twilight was giving her a friendly smile, Fluttershy looked very happy, Pinkie had her “Oo!” face going, and Applejack was flashing a small smirk, but not a snide one.

“You were worried about that?” Twilight asked innocently. Dash just nodded and hid her face behind her wings.

“I think somepony’s in love.” Applejack cooed to her. She quickly felt the need to defend herself. Dash removed her wings from her face and leapt towards Applejack, planting herself right in front of her.

“You trying to start something?! I’m not some softy that—” She was cut off as Applejack took off her hat and pressed it down on Dash’s head.

“WHOA THERE! There ain’t nuthin wrong with it sugarcube!” She said with a hearty chuckle. Dash tipped the hat up to see Applejack smiling back at her. She glanced around and the rest seemed to be giving a similar vibe. Maybe she was acting too tough. She pulled the hat back down to cover her eyes.

“PUH-LEEEZE.” Pinkie wrapped a hoof over Dash’s shoulder, “If you think we’re ever gonna think you aren’t the roughest and toughest of the bunch, think again!”

“That’s for sure,” Twilight agreed, “It’s not like we’re very surprised Dash, you and Soarin spent so much time together when the Wonderbolts visited. It wasn’t that hard to put it together.”

Dash had great friends. She abhorred showing a little weakness, but she was beyond glad that she had friends who could read her, see her emotional signs, and not think differently of her for them. She was still a little embarrassed, because as Rarity said, of all of them the rough talking athlete wanted to go to a formal gathering? She would always try to keep her image no matter who or what was in front of her.

“Thanks,” she removed the hat and handed it back to Applejack. She was still blushing, but she felt comfortable knowing she could rely on them all.

“Although I should give you fair warning,” Twilight spoke up, catching all of their attention, “The Gala is a little different this year.” Dash blinked, not quite sure if she should be curious or worried. “Luna is running it and she decided to make it into a ball instead of a gala.” Dash stared in thought for a few moments before turning to Rarity.

“What’s the difference between a ball and a gala?” She asked.

“Only the best difference darling,” Rarity fluttered her eyelashes with a wide smile, “A gala is but a gathering of important individuals and their guests. A ball is a formal party that includes lots of dancing!” She clapped her hooves together. Dash was not nearly as amused.

“D-d-d-d-dancing?!” she stuttered. Rarity rushed up beside her.

“I know! Isn’t it exciting!? I’m sure Soarin knows how to dance, being a high ranking official of a major organization and all.”

“No, that makes it even worse! I don’t know how to dance!” Dash yelled, extending her wings and accidentally knocking Rarity over. She began to wonder if this would be more than she could handle. She really wanted to see Soarin. Really wanted to see Soarin. But she didn’t want to be humiliated in the process, or go and look like she clearly didn’t belong.

“I can’t dance either Rainbow Dash, but I’m still going. I can find some books for you on ballroom dancing.” Twilight offered. Dash shook her head.

“I don’t have time to read through a book and teach myself something like that! Also you’re a princess, you’ll probably be standing on a pedestal the whole time anyway.” Said Dash.

“Um, excuse me.” Fluttershy quietly spoke up behind them. Dash ceased her worrying and turned her, "I know how to dance. I could show you, if you’d like.” They all stared as she looked away from them.

“You know how to dance?” Dash asked with disbelief. Fluttershy nodded. “Since when?” She prodded. Fluttershy fidgeted.

“Um, I learned from, Macintosh.” She said while brushing a hoof against the floor and her face turning a similar color to her mane.

“Pardon?” Applejack looked more perplexed than any of them. “Mah brother knows how to ballroom dance?” Dash was still worrying, but the look on Applejack’s face was utterly priceless.

“Seriously Applejack, do you know anything your brother can't do?” She continued to chuckle.

“Ah’d probably know more if he talked more.” She rolled her eyes.

“Then it’s all settled!” Rarity was beside Dash again. “Twilight will get you a ticket, Fluttershy can teach you how to dance, and I will fix up your old dress and help make you all pretty the night of!” She explained happily. Dash backed away slightly.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, I don’t need any of that make-up stuff.” Rarity pushed a hoof over Dash’s mouth.

“Oh hush darling, you want to look perfect for Soarin right?!” She asked with wide, begging eyes. Dash looked away and nodded with a slight blush crossing her face again. “Then I’ll make sure you stand out so radiantly he can’t take his eyes off of you!”

“I—, I suppose.” Dash gave in. Her friends all just wanted the best for her, and they were all willing to help and support her.

“AND I—” Pinkie knocked Rarity aside, “CAN HELP YOU GET USED TO TALKING TO HIM!” She pulled a comb out of her tail and swiped it once through her mane, making it match Soarin’s mane style instantly. Then she inhaled sharply and held her breath. Her face became more angular like a stallion’s. She looked like a pink Soarin. She pulled a horrified Dash close to her and said in a deep seductive voice, “Talk to me babe…”

Art by: eveyannie

“PINKIE!” Dash yelled as she shut her eyes tight, her face nearly turned completely red, and she pushed Pinkie away.

Almost all of them were willing to be helpful.

Soarin trudged down the hallway of the Canterlot Wonderbolt compound. His body language and demeanor caused all who came near to get out his way. Normally he didn’t mind Fleetfoot’s girlish squealing and prying for personal info, but this time it was too personal. The feelings ran too deep and her questions struck deeper than he was willing to play along with. She had no way of knowing that, so he wasn’t angry at her. It was just poorly timed, and this wasn’t just another mare they were talking about, this was Rainbow Dash. His Rainbow Dash.

Despite having just passed out from some magic related stress reaction, the only way he could think of getting his mind out of this funk was by working out. Plus he didn’t feel tired, as he hadn’t for the past couple of months. This side effect of having his life restored was another thing he couldn’t stop wondering about. He had to let off steam and free his mind so he went straight for the locker rooms.

Along with multiple flight courses, the Wonderbolt compound also had a standard gym complete with weight training and cardiovascular equipment. A Wonderbolt’s primary skill was flight, obviously. But due to many tricks, maneuvers, and their secret function as a combat force during emergencies, it was important for the Wonderbolts to keep their bodies in shape as well. On top of that, the lead squad wasn’t the only squad who had a “power” member. Every squad had their own unique styles, but more than a few of them had a member who could catch and throw teammates with ease.

It was way past peak training hours, so Soarin was happy to find the gym completely empty. He wasted no time, grabbing a towel and a bottle of water before beginning his personal routine. Lifting weights always helped him get his mind off things bothering him. Moving from machine to machine and focusing on forcing the heavy weights up, down, or whatever direction it called for instead of whatever was eating at his mind.

The magic he had been exposed to seemed to negate being tired, but at least his body wasn’t invulnerable. Like a good workout should, it eventually caught up to him. He pushed through one more rep on the chest fly machine and exhaled, letting the weight slam back down. He didn’t feel tired, but his body sure felt tight and hard worked. He nodded in satisfaction as he wiped the sweat from his brow with his towel.

He didn’t know what the deal was with his wings. Whenever he did flight training, he felt like he could go on forever without rest. It took a full body workout to feel like he had accomplished something.

“You really push yourself hard don’t you?” Spitfire’s voice suddenly came from behind a nearby machine. Soarin’s ears perked up and he glanced to his right as Spitfire emerged from behind it. He sighed and took a sip from his water bottle.

“I gotta do something to get a decent workout. How long have you been there?”

“About fifteen minutes. You looked super focused, I didn’t want to interrupt,” she pulled a nearby bench towards him and sat down on it, “so you really never feel tired huh? Even now after all that heavy lifting and drenched in your own sweat?” She asked.

“I know I at least look it now, but no. It only feels like I had a good workout. I feel like I could go more, but my body wouldn’t have it.” He exhaled and slumped against the seat of the machine.

“Well, I didn’t come to stalk you while you pump iron. I was wondering if you wanted to talk about anything else on your mind.” She tried to segue to a different topic. Soarin groaned and slumped further into the seat.

“Come on Spitfire, I came here to forget about all that. Now I’m thinking about it again, thanks.”

“Pff, like you wouldn’t have just thought about it again afterward.” She whisked her hoof around comically. “I made a point to come ask you alone without little miss giddy Fleet. If you want to talk about Rainbow Dash, you know I’ll take you seriously.” She gave him a sincere look. He blinked, looking directly back at her.

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Promise?”

“SOARIN.”

“Okay, okay.” He chuckled as she eyed him sternly. He sighed and glanced up at the ceiling. “Boy how do I even start?” He leaned forward and rested his head in his hooves.

“How about, just how you feel? I’m not interested in every personal tidbit or what you did and/or didn’t do with her. I just want to know what’s on your mind, and help you get it off your mind.” She explained. Once again, Soarin was glad he had Spitfire in his life. He’d be a constant nervous wreck without her.

“Rainbow Dash,” he began, “is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.” He leaned back, “you remember how I used to be, always chasing away any mare interested in me, always afraid of an extra commitment getting in the way of my career. Dash changed all of that, she took my argument as to why I couldn’t get close to her, crumpled it into a ball and threw it RIGHT back into my face!” He stood up, startling Spitfire. “It was unreal!” His excitement was very sudden. “For once I wasn’t being treated like a celebrity! She wasn’t afraid of me or what I was! She got right in my face and told me off! I couldn’t believe it!” He started pacing back and forth. “Spending time with her was also just so comforting. She was so casual and easy to talk to, I could speak my mind. I could tell jokes and be funny with ease. I found myself doing everything I possibly could just to see that mare laugh or smile. It’s all I wanted, and every time I was successful it made my heart soar! Pun intended!” Soarin stopped and pointed at Spitfire as he added that last little tidbit.

Soarin began walking circles around the bench Spitfire was sitting on as he continued to shower Rainbow Dash with praise. She had NEVER seen Soarin act like this before. He was really head over hooves in love with Rainbow Dash.

“To top it all off she saved my life more than once, and when I held her in my arms in the hospital bed I never felt more complete in my life. I wanted to keep her there with me and never let go! She’s rough, she’s tough, she’s sassy, and she’s a tad over-competitive, but that makes me like her even more! It makes her so unique! Speaking of unique, don’t even get me started on that rainbow mane. And Celestia kill me, those eyes, they look right through me, I just can’t resist them!” he sat down right in front of Spitfire suddenly, “She makes me feel so alive in every way imaginable! I would do anything to be with her! If she was in danger a thousand of miles away, you better bet I would fly all five-thousand two-hundred and eighty feet of every single one of those thousand miles to get to her! I can’t believe we parted on such a neutral basis, I should have told her so much more! I should have —”

Soarin stopped dead as he became aware of Spitfire’s state as he was practically yelling in her face. She was staring at him with wide eyes, at some point her wings had unfolded, and she was blushing?

“Oh, um, sorry. I kinda lost control there. Uh.” Soarin wasn’t quite sure what was happening, or why his childhood friend and captain was in her current state. Was it something he said? Or, and he absolutely hoped not, was she hiding something from him? About him? “Spitfire?”

“Ah!” She shook her head and refolded her wings. She immediately noticed Soarin looking at her very uncomfortably. She realized what had just happened, and quickly replied to dispel any misunderstanding. “No.” She swiped her hoof to the side. “Sorry, Soarin it has nothing to do with you.” She stood up, still visibly blushing. “You know our relationship was defined a long time ago, so you’ll understand it’s not because of you when I say I’m extremely jealous of Rainbow Dash right now.”

“Buh?” Soarin shifted which eyebrow he had up. Spitfire chuckled and turned away from him.

“Stallions.” She said shaking her head and looked over her shoulder back to him. “It’s just the way you talk about her. There was so much passion and excitement in your voice. You were so happy you couldn’t sit still! I’m just—” she sighed and looked away from him, “I’m just jealous that Dash has somepony that feels and speaks about her with such fire and adoration. I’ve never seen somepony get so fired up like that about a special somepony before. It made me wonder if there’s any stallion out there that would do the same for me, that’s all.” She took a few paces towards the exit, embarrassed that Soarin had to see his captain so flustered despite the fact that they were good friends.

Her pride was getting the better of her. She never expected such a radiant display from Soarin and the effect it had on her was frightening. She had to get out before any more of her emotions poured through. This was about him, not her. She didn’t want him to worry about her on top of everything else. She stopped briefly and turned to him one more time, flashing a smile.

“Rainbow Dash is a very lucky mare.” She said before quickly she left the gym. Soarin just stared at the exit as she turned the corner. Despite being her longtime friend, Soarin always had trouble reading Spitfire’s emotions. It became even harder when she was named captain of the Wonderbolts. To see her chains suddenly break like that made him wonder. Was she dealing with some problems of her own?

“Spitfire…”

---to be continued---

Chapter 3

MLP: FiM
Flying Sky-High
By: Calm Wind

Chapter 3:

“Yikes this is really hard on the hind legs.” Said Rainbow Dash as she let go of Big Mac and sat down. Fluttershy trotted over and nodded.

“It takes a little getting used to. It’s a little easier for the stallions. It probably won't be as hard with Soarin. Macintosh is very tall after all.”

Rainbow Dash shook her legs out as Mac nodded in agreement. They were in the living room of Fluttershy’s house. Most of the furniture had been pushed around to make space for dance practice. It had gone smoothly, except for a few instances where Angel Bunny cut the music to demand specific attention from Fluttershy.

There was still a week to go before the ball. Dash was worried about not practicing enough. She didn’t have the luxury of many sessions. Fluttershy needed Big Mac to effectively show Dash the movements, and getting Big Mac free time off the farm was very difficult. At the most she’d get two, maybe three practices in.

As Fluttershy said, it was hard for the mares because they had both of their front legs up: right draped over the stallion’s shoulder, the left held up by the stallion’s right. This meant a lot of weight shifted to the back legs, but thankfully not all of it. The stallion only hooked its right hoof with the mare’s left. This allowed the stallion’s left front leg down to guide the movements of the dance. Soarin wasn’t as strong as Big Mac. Not by a long shot, but he was by no means a weakling being the “Power Flyer” and all. She saw him throw both Fleetfoot and Spitfire in their Ponyville show. If he could chuck them like that, simply supporting her weight wouldn’t be a problem.

However, Dash personally felt the mare had it a little easier in some respects. All she had to do was follow the movements of the stallion. The mare’s position was less comfortable, but it was up to the stallion to guide her around. Dash felt confident that if she could mimic Soarin's signature flight move, following some simple dance steps would be a breeze.

“That was better,” Fluttershy commented, “but you’re still too stiff. You need to relax your body and let the stallion move you.” She hovered over to the gramophone and restarted the music. “Let me show you again.” She stepped over to Big Mac, who looked a little more than eager to dance with her. They placed their front legs in the positions. Fluttershy was shorter than Dash and all around a lot smaller, so she was almost standing completely upright on her hinds legs just to reach Mac's neck. They began to move as the soft orchestra music filled the room.

Dash watched as Mac guided her around. Fluttershy was very good at going almost completely limp, but she kept her back hooves firmly on the ground, stepping with Mac as he moved them left, right, forward, backward, and spun her every once in a while. Dash took note that Fluttershy also kept her wings folded at all times. Dash had thought about using them to keep her balance, but she’d likely hit other nearby dancers if she suddenly flapped her wings out. She felt like she was thinking too hard about it, but at the same time she didn’t want to make a mistake and stand out at the ball. That would suck.

Fluttershy's firm but relaxed posture reminded her of Soarin’s explanation for his signature move. Strong but smooth. It didn’t quite fit with the dancing, but it was kind of similar. Drawing connections between the familiar and unfamiliar was her way of adapting and learning. She was still slightly giddy about having pulled off Soarin’s Sonic Blast-off for Scootaloo. If she got the chance, she really wanted to show him. If for nothing else, just to see the look on his face.

Soarin, Soarin, Soarin, she was so love-struck she barely recognized herself. She hoped she wasn’t misunderstanding it. She was a Wonderbolt fan after all, was his absence degrading her back to the fan girl? She didn’t want to ponder that possibility. Especially after all the effort she was putting in just to see him again. How could she know for sure? She loved him, she stood by that. But she never loved anypony before, was she doing it right? Better yet why the hell was she asking herself dumbass questions like this? She was only making herself worry when she was supposed to be paying attention to the dance demonstration.

Her mind began to wander even more as Fluttershy and Big Mac continued. She found herself visualizing an image over them. Fluttershy was slowly replaced with her and Big Mac morphed into Soarin. The two of them danced around in Fluttershy’s house until it changed into a large ballroom. This wasn’t her typical daydream. This one lacked a lot of speed, explosions, and general badassery that she usually envisioned. Here she was getting all dreamy eyed. She was completely captivated by a stallion. Her of all ponies, she never thought she'd see the day. Maybe love can penetrate all barriers, both mental and physical. Seriously, she: the great and awesome Rainbow Dash, the rough and tough action pony of Ponyville, swooning like crazy? She nearly had hearts floating out of her head at the mere thought of Soarin! Soarin: The Wonderbolt Power Flyer. A.K.A. the pony who broke Rainbow Dash's brain. And she loved it.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t hear the door to Fluttershy’s house open and close behind her. It wasn’t until somepony else appeared beside her and spoke that she finally snapped out of it.

“I’ve seen me some strange things—“” Applejack’s voice made Rainbow Dash flinch so hard her wings swung outward and smacked Applejack in the face. “Hello t’you too Rainbow Dash.” She said sarcastically, spitting a blue feather out of her mouth as Dash quickly refolded her wings and scrunched her face. She hoped she wasn’t blushing as much as it felt like she was. Luckily for her, Applejack was too focused on watching her big lumbering brother dance like a fancy pony. Despite this, Dash frantically struck conversation,

“Oh! Applejack! I didn’t see you come in! Haha!” Every word was forced and awkward with her eyes darting about, but again Applejack barely took notice. Big Mac hadn’t taken his eyes off Fluttershy and vice-versa since they started dancing. Mac made a brief glance to see if Dash was watching. Suddenly: SISTER. His eyes widened as they locked on Applejack and his body froze completely.

“Eep!” Fluttershy had kept through her motion, lost her grip on Mac, and softly plopped down on her plot, “Macintosh?” She turned and saw Applejack standing beside Dash, “oh.” She pushed up part of her long pink mane to slightly hide her face. The gramophone suddenly made a loud record scratching noise perfectly timed with everything stopping. Dash looked over at the gramophone and saw Angel Bunny holding the turntable needle up while snickering.

“What? Somethin’ on mah face?” said Applejack sarcastically as she made her way over to Mac. “I’m seein’ a trend here, whenever you ain’t on the farm at this hour yer either here, or were dragged inta town by Braeburn.” She stopped right in front of Mac. “Braeburn is still hung over from last night, so it was easy t’narrow it down. Anyway, Granny’s makin’ dinner and ah know you know how she gets when we ain’t t’dinner on time.” She kept looking directly at Mac, who finally blinked upon hearing about dinner.

“Eeyup.” He answered as he reached over and gently helped Fluttershy back to her hooves.

“Thank you,” Fluttershy said sheepishly as she turned to Dash and rubbed her hoof up and down her opposite leg, “looks like that’s all we can do today, hopefully we can help you some more before the ball.”

“That’s fine.” Dash was glad the attention was off her. She was struggling to keep her composure, “I’ve got most of it down, but one or two more sessions won’t hurt. Mac’s been a real help.”

“That’s another thing,” Applejack pressed her side against her brother’s, “would ya care to tell me just when and where in Equestria you learned how to ballroom dance?”

“Uhhh—” Mac’s eyes quickly moved between her and the front door, “NNNOPE!” He leaned down and gave Fluttershy a quick goodbye-nuzzle before he made a break for the door.

“Hey!” Applejack galloped after him as he escaped, “Git back here you!”

“Nope nope nope nope nope!” The two were soon gone from view down the path.

Dash watched from the door, chuckled and closed it behind her. She would have left herself, but after seeing the dance between Big Mac and Fluttershy and how easily it made her daydream about Soarin, she wanted to talk. She couldn’t let this opportunity pass. Fluttershy was perfect to talk to about anything. Aside from her being the only one of them with relationship experience, she was the most trustworthy and least likely to make a big deal out of it.

Twilight was too bookwormy. She’d probably look for a solution in a book. Dash wasn't looking for solutions.

Applejack was out of the question. Dash refused to show any cracks in her armor around her.

Rarity would turn the conversation into a confession session and act overly giddy and gossipy the whole time. Dash had already gotten enough of that from her on a regular basis.

Was Pinkie Pie even an option? For all Dash knew, Pinkie would decide to spontaneously throw a party about it and everypony in Equestria would know about it tomorrow by mid-afternoon.

No. Fluttershy was perfect, and as said before, had actual, real relationship experience.

“So Fluttershy,” Dash made her way over and sat herself down on the couch. Fluttershy was trying to pick up Angel Bunny, but he was fending off her hooves with the turn table needle of the gramophone. She turned as Dash spoke, awaiting her to continue, “you and Big Mac, it’s getting pretty serious isn’t it?” Fluttershy’s eyes grew and her face turned a bright shade of pink. It was normally right at this time Fluttershy would start denying such a claim in very adorably frantic way, but to Dash’s surprise, she didn’t say a word. This was a first and was heavily amusing. “The dancing kinda tipped me off. You two were pretty much in your own private little world.”

“Um—,” Fluttershy sat down on a cushion beside the gramophone, “yes, I like Macintosh, a lot.” She still dodged the subject slightly. Dash thought about reposing the question, but she had a feeling Fluttershy understood what she meant.

Another advantage Dash had with Fluttershy personally was that she had known her since they were fillies back in Cloudsdale. Despite having almost polar opposite personalities, they had been good friends for a long time, making Fluttershy a little more willing to open up to Dash over the rest. Fluttershy still got overly embarrassed about many things, but with her “old pal Dashie” she was slightly less embarrassed to speak out. That being a very small slightly.

Dash was curious. She wanted to know from somepony who had direct experience. She wanted to be sure what she felt for Soarin was the real deal and not just a fan girl phase. So she went right ahead and hoped she’d get a response,

“Fluttershy? What’s it like to be in love?”

The question did not have the effect Dash was expecting. Not in the slightest. Fluttershy did not panic, fidget, or deny. She did look down at the ground briefly, but with a very wide smile on her face. She almost looked eager to talk about it. Dash had to see this.

“It’s a very special thing,” Fluttershy suddenly began, “having somepony that makes you feel so warm and welcome just when you are near them. With Macintosh nopony else in my life besides my parents has ever brought me so much… comfort.” She wiggled in place happily and hugged herself. Dash lifted an eyebrow at Fluttershy's gushing, but it made sense.

Comfort.

That was something that really stood out to Dash when the Wonderbolts visited Ponyville: how comfortable she felt around Soarin. Of course she fangasmed at first and Rapidfire nearly ruined it completely, but as she spent time with Soarin, she felt so relaxed and chill. Eventually she just wanted to be around him because it always felt so good. And of course, when they were in the hospital and she almost broke everything in the room to get to his bed, she had never felt more comfortable or more satisfied nestling herself into his body with his arms around her. She DESPERATELY wanted to feel that way again.

Fluttershy apparently wasn’t done,

“Whenever I’m feeling down, just the thought of Macintosh lifts my heart,” she began to flutter slightly into the air, “part of it is just him being who he is, strong, kind, gentle, and very sweet. But the other part is that he’s proven he would walk miles for me. He’s shown me how much he cares. The feeling that creates, well, I just can’t put into words.” She spun around once before gently touching back down. She looked straight at Dash who wore a look of mixed surprise and amusement. Fluttershy blushed and looked away.

“Gee Fluttershy, you really do love the big guy huh?” Dash chuckled.

“Um—, that was a bit much,” she giggled, embarrassed, but still happy. Dash scoffed,

“That was perfect Fluttershy, you couldn’t have answered it better. You’re lucky to have your stallion here. I just hope mine is where I’m going.” She thanked Fluttershy and made her way towards the door.

Who would have thought she'd get something so personal out of Fluttershy? Dash almost felt like she was looking at a different pony. Then again, Dash had been acting different recently because of a stallion as well. If this was the case, then she was more than sure of it. Soarin made her feel warm, happy, and comfortable. Just like how Big Mac did for Fluttershy. It couldn’t just be a coincidence. She was in love with Soarin, and that love was more than just a celebrity crush, it was real. And she’d be damned if she didn’t go after him with a fiery passion.

Soarin couldn’t take it anymore. Spitfire had chosen a great time to be out of office for a week. She had just returned and he wasn’t going to let a day go by before he got a straight answer.

Spitfire said that her little emotional hiccup in the gym had nothing to do with him or Rainbow Dash, but then she left before he could say anything else. He couldn’t just let that go. He had to make sure of it. If she had been hiding something from him for twenty plus years he was going to let her have it.

He made his way through the halls of the compound with a purpose. After almost running over multiple fellow Wonderbolts and tripping over a wet floor warning sign right into a bucket full of mop water, Soarin stood outside Spitfire’s office. He shook himself off the best he could before knocking on the door.

Right after he did the door jostled with a loud THUMP and the silhouette of a mare’s face pressed against the foggy glass window followed by,

“SON OF A BITCH!”

Fleetfoot.

Soarin just stared at the door. He figured his knock went unheard, but since Fleetfoot was already in the office, why not? He let himself in and peeked around the door,

“What the hell is going on in here?” He asked as he saw Spitfire on one end of the office, shrugging. Fleetfoot was clutching her nose with both of her front hooves.

“Why did you let go?” Spitfire questioned Fleetfoot.

“I didn’t! You flung me!” Fleetfoot swiped her hooves to the side.

“I told you to hold on. As in firm grip. As in not dainty hooves. As in that was your own damn fault.” Spitfire explained bluntly.

“Ah, dancing lessons.” Soarin put it together out-loud, catching both of their attention as he stepped in and closed the door behind him. Fleetfoot looked him up and down in confusion.

“Did you swim here?” She commented. He was still a little wet from tripping into the bucket, his mane dripping. He sighed.

“I didn’t see the wet floor sign, or the bucket okay? We need to get wet floor signs that aren’t same color as the floor, walls, and ceiling. Seriously, who did we hire to paint this place? It’s nothing but dark blue.” He rolled his eyes as Fleetfoot giggled. “Laugh it up red-nose did you see the door coming?” He fought back. Fleetfoot covered her nose and glared at him.

“Hey she’s stronger than she looks.” She made a head motion towards an unamused Spitfire. Soarin looked up at his captain, remembering why he stormed through the hallways in the first place.

“Speaking of ‘she’, I need to talk to her, do you mind?” He asked Fleetfoot.

“Sure, go ahead, I’ll take a break.” Fleetfoot sat down.

“I need to ask her something personal.” Soarin added while giving Fleetfoot a look.

“Okay, go ahead.” Fleetfoot didn’t move. Soarin made his look sterner. “Oh.” Fleetfoot quickly rose up, “I should probably get some ice for this.” She referred to her nose.

“Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.” Spitfire couldn’t help but add, earning an angered grunt from Fleetfoot as she finally left.

“Spitfire—,” Soarin tried to start.

“Please tell me this isn’t about what happened in the gym last week.” She interrupted. Soarin just stared. “It is, isn’t it?” She rolled her eyes. Soarin refused to be brushed aside.

“As a matter of fact it is. You scampered away before I could even say anything!” He cut in before she could continue. “Please tell me you haven’t been keeping something from me all these years. Because if you have been, you picked a terrible time to let it all slip!” She let him speak. Let him get it all out, because she already had a response.

“Good lord Soarin, did you even listen to me last week?” She retorted. “What, you think I’m in love with you or something?”

“What was all of that, 'jealous of Rainbow Dash' stuff?” He brought up her exact words. She shook her head.

“Again. Stallions.” She sighed. “Look Soarin, you’re a great guy and all, but you’re like a brother to me. I’d rather kiss Rapidf—” she winced and Soarin gave her a terrified look, “I can’t believe I almost said that, he’s one exception. I’d rather kiss a random drunk at the bar than you because it would feel like kissing a brother. I’m serious about that. You completely missed my point.”

“I think I got one, sheesh a drunk at the bar?” Soarin rolled his eyes.

“SOARIN!” She sat down at her desk, rested her head in her hooves and groaned. “I guess the gig is up, just listen to me okay?” She looked up and saw him pull a seat up to her desk.

“Fine, I’m listening.” He crossed his hooves, eager for some answers.

“Soarin, I’m the captain of the Wonderbolts: The lead squad and the whole damn organization. How much time do you think I have to myself?” She asked. He blinked, not expecting a question. “None is the answer to that question.” She said before he could put any thought to it. “Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do and wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Soarin’s ears perked up, he couldn’t believe what he was about to hear, “but my whole life is nothing but Wonderbolts, business, appearances, meeting, etc. I have no time for anything personal and the only friends I have are you and Fleet who I get to spend time with because of workplace.”

“You’ve gotta be—,” Soarin quietly began speaking, but she continued.

“I get a little lonely sometimes okay? I wish I had time to go out, meet a nice stallion, and have somepony special. The reason I said I’m jealous of Dash is because of how you talk about her! It reminded me how much I wish I had a stallion in my life that felt so strongly about me. But it’s unrealistic because my career comes first.”

“SPITFIRE!” Soarin stood up from the chair, scooting it back, thrust out his wings, and pointed at her. “Are you kidding me?!?!” He fumed. She barely flinched, meeting his angered glare head on.

“This is why I didn’t want to talk about it.” She closed her eyes and shook her head.

“Look at me!” Soarin demanded. She opened her eyes and stared straight into the storm of his. “All the advice, all the ‘Soarin quit bellyaching and go after her’, all the ‘compromise with your career’ stuff, you… you… Hypocrite!” He couldn’t believe it. After how much she did to make him understand that he needed to live beyond his career, hearing this went against almost everything she had been prodding him about for years.

“Soarin, sit down!” Spitfire tried to keep her demeanor.

“No! You listen to me! What are you trying to pull? How the hell can I trust you now? Spitfire I’ve never seen anything more selfish in my life! How can you push me so hard in one direction, claiming it to be the right way, and then not follow it yourself!?” His words stabbed deep. She got up on her desk and glared her fiercest glare face to face with him.

“SIT. DOWN.” She forced her will. Soarin refused to budge. They held firm for a few moments before Soarin sighed.

“Give me one good reason why you’ve done this to me.” He said while backing off, but not sitting down. Spitfire kept the glare in place for a second, then looked down and shook her head.

“Okay, here’s the best and only reason. You’re life as a Wonderbolt isn’t NEARLY as cluttered and crowded as mine, but you approached it as if it were.” She hopped down from her desk, extended a hoof and poked him in the chest. “You have time for things outside the Wonderbolts that I don’t, but you ignored them for the ‘sake of your career’. Did the thought even cross your mind that I didn’t want that for you? That I didn’t want you to be stuck like me?” She sniffled, causing Soarin’s eyes to widen in realization, “I was just looking out for you, like a good sister would. That’s very selfish of me huh?” She turned away.

Soarin couldn’t see, but the few sniffles were all he needed to hear. Spitfire was crying? What had he done? Sure this was a revelation, but it didn’t change the fact that Spitfire cared about him and had helped him a lot through his life. It was a fact that he just stepped on pretty hard. He quickly rushed forward, forced her to turn around, and only caught a brief glimpse of a single tear falling from both of her eyes before pulling her into a hug. Spitfire was surprised, but didn’t fight it. After pulling out all the stops and finally revealing her troubles to somepony, she sure as hell needed a hug.

“Gee, that was real dickish of me wasn’t it?” Soarin tried to lighten the mood, it didn’t work, but Spitfire appreciated the effort. She hugged him back. It was a nice, comforting hug, meant to show sympathy as opposed to affection.

“Yeah, it kinda was. Don’t do it again.” She gave him a soft jab in the side.

“You are important to me okay? I know I didn’t really show that just now, but I can be a jerk. I really do appreciate you being there for me. Just promise me something okay?” He tapped a hoof gently against her back, “You put up with all of my whining and brooding and in the end helped me find what I really wanted. In fact you’ve done it more than once in my life. I owe a lot to you, so promise me it won’t be one sided. Let me be there for you too. Everypony needs somepony they can talk to. Yes, even you miss hard-ass.”

“Fine. Now promise me something.” Spitfire took over. Soarin looked back and forth, still resting his head over her shoulder. “Do everything you can to make Rainbow Dash happy. I know it’s hard with the distance and careers, but don’t let that stop you. Don’t let anything or anypony stop you. After the way you described how you felt, it would be a crime for her to never know or feel it for herself.”

Soarin thought it over. He was already set on that, but after what Spitfire told him about herself, he knew she told him for more than one reason. Spitfire wasn’t selfish like he had blurted out. It was the opposite, she was selfless. She had made more sacrifices than him and Fleetfoot combined to make their lives the way they were. He and Fleetfoot had done their share of work, but Spitfire was the captain of literally everything. Her responsibilities were endless. Yet she still found time for them, to help them, talk to them, and hang with them. It was easy in theory because they worked together, but even with the close proximity her time with them was limited and hard to come by. After how hard it must’ve been to put her personal desires aside. After helping him achieve something she desperately wished for as well. There was no way he’d disappoint her here.

“I promise. She’ll be the happiest mare in Equestria.” He agreed, but flinched as the door to Spitfire’s office suddenly opened. They were sideways to the door, so they both turned and looked quickly to see Fleetfoot, staring at them wide eyed with an icepack over her nose.

“Sorry, I must have the wrong room!” She grabbed the icepack and tipped it up like a hat before closing the door behind her. Soarin and Spitfire awkwardly let go of each other.

“Look Soarin, just make her happy and don’t worry too much about me. Got it?” He nodded quickly, inwardly chuckling at how quickly she reverted to her serious captain tone. “Good. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go kill our wingmate.” She stormed after out after Fleetfoot with Soarin laughing close behind.

“Rarity! Too much! Too much!!!” Rainbow Dash complained and squirmed as Rarity tried to apply more makeup to Dash’s face.

“Darling, hold still!” Rarity reached her hooves up and held Dash steady on the stool while her magic worked with the cosmetics.

Just like the first week, the second had gone by really fast. A mixture of excitement and anxiety had been endlessly clawing at Dash. Before she knew it, she was sitting on a stool on the second floor of Carousel Boutique and fighting Rarity on the issue of the makeup.

“Why is this taking so long? I don’t want to look like a clown!” Dash whined.

“Hush! It’s only taking long because you won’t sit still and—, wait, what are you implying?” Rarity suddenly stopped and Dash opened her eyes to see Rarity glaring at her.

“Huh?”

“I always wear makeup, are you saying I look like a clown?!” Rarity was suddenly very defensive. Dash leaned back slightly and shook her head. “Good. Now really Rainbow Dash, don’t move. I’m almost done.” Rarity went right back into professional mode, using her magic to apply all the touches she found to work with Dash’s face, complexion, and overall look. After a few minutes, “Voila!”

“Finally.” Dash looked around for a mirror, but Rarity pushed her right back down.

“Oh no you don’t! I have to fix your mane up too!”

“What?!” Dash let her shoulders slump and groaned.

“I’ll hear none of it darling. You are going to look your best for Soarin and you better believe I’m not letting you go until you do!” Rarity brought up a brush and some mane spray with her magic. “Ugh! Seriously Rainbow Dash, do you ever brush your mane?” Rarity commented as she struggled and tugged with the brush.

“Ow! Hey I, OW! Like it just the way Oo! AH! It is!”

“Oh! Horrid!”

Once Rarity had finally worked all the snarls out of Rainbow Dash’s mane, the rest went smoothly and she worked it until she was satisfied.

“All finished! Oooohoohoo! You look absolutely fabulous!” Rarity clapped her hooves together. Dash didn’t like the sound of that.

“Just let me see it already.” Dash requested rather unenthused. Rarity eagerly floated a mirror over to Dash. She gasped lightly as she looked at herself. Boy did Rarity know how to work cosmetics. Dash looked closely over every inch of her face, and couldn’t find a single slight imperfection. Sure she looked awesome on a regular basis, but now she looked literally perfect. Thankfully Rarity had gone easy on the lipstick. Dash was blue for crying out loud, so she was worried her lips would look like they were bleeding. Her eyelashes were so touched up they seemed to sparkle in the light.

Then her mane: it didn’t look like her mane at all. Dash generally let the pillow do her hair each morning. That or after a shower she’d shake it out and pat it down with her hooves. Hence why it always had the wild look, but she preferred it that way. She didn’t know what Rarity had done to it, but it was completely straight and looked silky smooth. The light bounced off gracefully, giving it a soft shine. It draped over her shoulders, further than it ever had in its natural state.

“I look—” Dash lifted an eyebrow, “Too pretty.” She said with slight discomfort.

“You’re welcome.” Rarity rolled her eyes, analyzing the slight dissatisfaction in Dash’s face. “Oh let go of the toughness! Let’s get you into your dress and show everypony else!”

“Wait what?!” Dash realized what Rarity meant. “You invited our friends over?!”

“Of course! I want them to see how beautiful you are!” Rarity beamed as she pushed Dash towards her dress hanging up nearby. She was going to be with Twilight on the way to the ball anyway, but Dash was hoping she wouldn’t have to share it with anypony else. Especially Applejack. Defeated, she let Rarity take over as she floated the pieces of the dress over.

“Now,” Rarity began as she fitted the golden leaf behind Dash’s ear first, “I had to make some slight adjustments because you are a bit more... fit than you were when you last wore it,” she moved the long rainbow shawl over Dash, “Wings.” She indicated. Dash opened her wings so Rarity could slip the wing holes over them. “But it didn’t take away from the dress at all so it should be just as good as it’s always been.” She helped Dash put on her golden hoof braces and strapped them up. “Ah you look wonderful!”

“Great…” Dash sighed as she looked herself over in the mirror. As Rarity said, she was a skinny rail last time she wore the dress, at least compared to her more toned up physique now. The dress felt a lot snugger despite the “adjustments” Rarity mentioned, especially around the shoulders and base of the wings, but as long as it didn’t rip or tear, it would be fine. Now she had to go be shown to all her friends, which she wasn’t too excited about.

“Come on! Don’t keep everypony waiting!” Rarity eagerly waved from the door. Dash sighed and followed Rarity to the stairs. She didn’t care about all this, no matter how much it bothered her. She was doing this for one reason and one reason only: Soarin. She’d stay tough through the humiliation and anything else for him. Anything.

“Presenting!” Rarity’s voice came from the bottom of the stairs. “The new and improved Rainbow Dash!” She yelled out. Dash just stood at the top of the stairs, confused. “Rainbow Dash, darling, you missed your cue!” Rarity yelled up seconds later.

“Oh.” Dash rolled her eyes. Here it comes. She made her way down the stairs, looking away as soon as she saw all of her friends. She was expecting laughs, but was surprised when none of them said anything. She looked up as she reached the bottom step and all of them wore looks of amazement. All the while Rarity was puffing out her chest with pride.

“Wowwee.” Applejack was the first to speak up.

“Who’s this?!" Pinkie reached her hooves towards Dash with her eyebrows bent apart, "I paid to see Rainbow Dash!”

“Thank you, thank you, you are all too kind,” Rarity bowed.

“Dashie, you look wonderful, I’m sure Soarin will like it.” Fluttershy commented quietly.

“Sheesh Rarity,” Applejack chuckled, “You really outdid yerself. I barely recognize her!”

Twilight stepped forward, all dolled up as well in her princess attire. She looked Dash over, curious as to why she had said nothing.

“Well Rainbow Dash? Say something!” She laughed along with the rest of them. Dash blinked, blushed, and looked away.

“Oh, sorry, I’m just surprised. I thought you’d all laugh.” She kept her eyes down, but Applejack approached her.

“Sugarcube, ya got a funny mind,” she nudged her in the side, “like Twilight said before, we all know you’re rough and tough, ain’t nuthin gonna change that. You’ve got a stallion to impress, and I’d say Rarity did a perfect job gettin’ you ready. Now go get ‘em!” She pushed her towards Twilight. Dash didn’t know what to say. She really did have the best friends a pony could ever ask for.

“Thanks everypony.” She smiled and nodded to all of them. Twilight made a head motion towards the door.

“I’ve got a carriage waiting for us outside. Let’s not keep it waiting.” She said with a smile. Dash waved goodbye to the rest as she followed Twilight out the door. The sun had already set and the early night sky was beginning to fill with stars. Dash’s eyes widened considerably at their mode of transportation. Canterlot palace had sent them large white carriage shaped like sphere and adorned with more lavender jewels than she could count. Most of them were in an arrangement to look like Twilight’s cutie mark. Even the hub caps on the wheels were covered in the jewels. It looked like the carriage had been made specifically for Twilight. Dash climbed in next to Twilight and took several deep breaths as the carriage began to move.

“Nervous?” Twilight questioned with a smile. Dash took one last breath and released a long exhale before cocking a grin and lifting an eyebrow at Twilight.

“Me? Nervous? Who the hell do you think I am?” She earned a chuckle from Twilight. The two got comfortable as their trip to Canterlot began.

Soarin sighed as he struggled to adjust the bowtie on his tuxedo. How many more things were going to suck more than he realized? Sure, he didn’t have to wear his show uniform this time, but instead he had to go through a bunch of trouble getting fitted for a suit. The local tailor clearly didn't understand pegasus anatomy. It was obvious they didn’t get many customers besides unicorns.

Then there was the issue of his mane. Because of the fancy attire, Spitfire made a note to them to not look so “wild”. Easy for the mares, one trip to a manedresser and they could have it sprayed down. Soarin had a hell of a time getting his mane out of its usual state, but after much soaking and painful combing, it fell down for the first time since he became a Wonderbolt. He looked weird with a straight mane, but it was just one night, he’d put up with it.

Last but not least: the bow tie. How the hell was he supposed to get it on? He didn’t have the luxury of magic. Hooves couldn’t grip something this small.

“Soarin! Hurry up!” Spitfire’s voice yelled from the hallway outside his room.

“Hey, I’d be out already if not for this damn bow tie!” He barked back.

“Quit trying butterhooves. Just come out and we’ll help you with it, we’re already running late!” Spitfire yelled back in.

Soarin sighed again, pushing away from the mirror and towards the door. This was going to be an interesting night. It had been a long time since he had last danced, and he didn’t want to dance with anypony anyway. This was going to be the same thing as the gala, but with uptight or snooty mares asking him to dance. He’d humor a few of them, but just for professionalism, after that he’d do his best to avoid everything.

He reached the door and hesitated before opening it. If only Rainbow Dash were there, he thought to himself. If Dash was there, it would be a night he would never forget. Oh well, it’s not like everything can be perfect. He opened the door to join Spitfire and Fleetfoot.

---To be continued---

Chapter 4

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 5

MLP: FiM
Flying Sky-High
By: Calm Wind

Chapter 5:

Soarin’s ears shot up so hard they almost ripped off his head and fired towards the sky. He was just swimming entirely in his own thoughts, imagining everything that he really wanted. However, he was damn certain that he really just heard Rainbow Dash’s voice behind him. If he turned and saw she wasn’t there, then he would consider seeing a shrink.

He slowly turned, hoping, wishing, and pleading for it to really be her behind him. His heart nearly stopped when the sight met his eyes.

It was her. It was really her. She was there at the ball. He blinked a few dozen times to make sure he wasn’t dreaming as he looked her up and down. The beautiful dress, the adorable mane all smoothed out, and the same cute eyes he had longed to look into again.

Rainbow Dash lightly blushed as he looked her over in disbelief. She let him take her all in. After all, it was the whole reason she got dressed up pretty. She found it a little weird to see him in a tuxedo and with his mane all smoothed down instead of blown back, but this was a fancy dress occasion, he was probably ordered to look the part.

“Soarin?” she grinned as he continued to look her up and down.

“D-Dash?” He took a few steps towards her, reached up and touched her face lightly with his hoof. Dash lifted an eyebrow and giggled.

“What are you doing?”

“You’re real right?” Soarin’s jaw had been hanging down since he laid eyes on her. She smirked reached up and pushed his mouth shut.

“Of course I am.” She flashed him a bright smile that almost made his heart explode. After more continuous blinking, Soarin flattened his expression.

“Prove it.” He challenged. Dash’s ears flopped down for a moment, feeling like the moment had just been completely killed, but then she smirked and took his challenge.

“No one else would be THIS awesome.” She said with a wink and swished her mane around.

“SOLD.” Soarin said with wide eyes before charging at her and clamping his arms around her. “RAINBOW DASH!!!!!” He yelled out excitedly. Dash could barely breathe. He was hugging her so tight. This wasn’t a friendly hug, this was a desire hug. The kind of hug you give to somepony who’s more than a friend, somepony that’s important to you. It made her heart flutter even if her bones were being crushed.

After holding onto her for almost a full minute, Soarin finally released her and held her at arm’s length. The look in his eyes made Dash happy beyond words. The stallion she felt so strongly for was looking at her with so much excitement he looked like he might burst.

“Sweet Celestia answering my prayers, I can’t believe you are actually here! I never thought I’d see you at an event like this.” He said as he continued to look her up and down. She chuckled.

“Yeah, you’re damn right. I would never be caught dead at a place like this. But I made an exception cause I knew you’d be here.” She said with another wink. But Soarin didn’t notice because he was still looking her over. Dash rolled her eyes before strutting around a little. “See something you like?”

“Buh?” Soarin shook his head. “Sorry, I’m just, you’re just, I mean…”

“Spit it out.” Dash batted her eyelashes at him. She’d have to thank Rarity for unintentionally showing her how to flirt over the years. Rarity was the queen of flirting.

“Um. You look absolutely beautiful.” He said quietly, avoiding eye contact. Dash wasn’t expecting something so—, touching. Soarin’s less goofy more nervous response made her body tingle and her wing feathers began to twitch. She bit her lip and bounced her eyebrows,

“Well I’m sure you get this a lot, but you are quite the eyeful yourself.” She fired right back.

“I do, but it’s not often I like who it’s coming from." He shook his head and grunted, "Son of a—, I can’t take this, come here again!” He pulled her into another tight hug. His urge to be super affectionate was making Dash warm all over. She was so worried about how things would go if she revealed her new feelings for him, but it was beginning to look like it wouldn’t be a problem. Now she just had to wait for the right moment.

“Somebody clearly missed me.” She laughed when they broke apart.

“More than you could ever know.” He replied with a smile.

“Aw, shucks.” Dash was loving every moment. His clear and present interest was giving her confidence boosts like none other. She leaned up and nuzzled him on the cheek before planting a small kiss on it. “That makes two of us, Soarin.”

Soarin’s eyes were wide with a mixture of surprise and delight. What cosmic event made this night go from the worst possible piece of filth scraped off the bottom of his hoof, to the best thing in the history of Equestria? He quickly reached over and hooked his hoof with hers.

“Know how to dance?” He asked simply.

“Do you?” Dash smirked.

“Good answer. You. Me. Dance floor. Now.” Dash chuckled as he pulled her along. He was so happy and so eager. She loved this about him. He was still just as goofy and endearing as she remembered and that was making her beam with delight.

“Awwwwww they are so cute!” Fleetfoot cooed while squishing her cheeks with her hooves. Spitfire sighed and nodded.

“Yeah, they sure are.” She turned away and grabbed a mug to fill with water. Fleetfoot watched Spitfire move with very little spring in her step and hovered over to her side.

“Oh come on Spitfire, what’s wrong? Aren’t you happy for Soarin?” She pouted.

“Of course I am!” She answered very quickly, but let her head droop back down, “I’m just, tired.” She lied and leaned her side against the wall with her mug in hoof.

“You are so full of crap sometimes.” Fleetfoot stepped right in front of her. Spitfire was not enthusiastic about Fleetfoot’s sudden interest.

“Didn’t Soarin tell you to leave me alone about it?” She tried to avoid.

“He did, but I’m not gonna let you be all broody on a fun night like this!” She threw her hooves up in frustration.

“Whatever.” Spitfire ignored her and took a sip.

“Why not go grab a stallion and dance?” Fleetfoot suggested. Spitfire instantly shook her head.

“And play into their false interest? None of them actually care.” She rolled her eyes and took another sip. “Soarin’ is lucky. He has somepony that actually cares about him.” Fleetfoot cocked an eyebrow and scoffed.

“Spitfire, really?”

“What?”

“I’ve danced with six different stallions tonight. I wasn’t looking for a coltfriend with each one of them you know.” She crossed her hooves and stared directly into Spitfire’s eyes.

“What does that have to do with anything?” She leaned back slightly as Fleetfoot continued the glare.

“That means untie the knot in your underwear and go have some fun!” She grabbed Spitfire’s free hoof and began dragging her over to the dance floor.

“Fleet! Stop! I don’t want to!”

“Shut it! We are finding you a stallion to dance with and you are going to enjoy yourself!” She insisted. Spitfire gave up and let Fleetfoot drag her along.

“Fine, fine.” As she was pulled along, she caught a glimpse of a rather undesirable teammate. Rapidfire was dancing with what looked like a turquoise pegasus mare. He was being rather hoovesy with the way he was holding onto her.

It could be worse, she thought to herself. She could be that poor mare with Rapidfire.

Soarin led Dash out into the dance floor until they found a nice little area where they could start. Dash put her right hoof on his shoulder and he took her left in his right.

“Show me what you’ve got.” Dash snidely coerced.

“Try to keep up.” He egged her right back.

The music was slow and easy to find the beat to. They began with simple steps back and forth, turning slightly with each couple of sways. Dash kept everything she had been taught about dancing in mind. Most importantly: keeping her eyes on him. As soon as she looked down, she would undoubtedly lose her pace. She kept her body loose and allowed Soarin to guide her around. Whenever he stepped back she spun smoothly before he pulled her back in.

Looking into his eyes not only made it easier to follow him, it also let her see just how focused he was on her. He was so lost in the fact that he had her right in front of him. He was so happy just to be close to her.

The music suddenly picked up a little. Soarin let go of her and stepped out, extending his hoof. She mimicked his movement and pressed her hoof against his. They stepped in a circle three times, before he turned his body and faced her. She did the same. Both with a hoof still extended, they crossed a back hoof other the other one step before pulling it back, first left over right, then right over left. They came towards each other, and both spun as they passed, reaching the other front hoof forward, pressing them together, and repeating the back steps. He was getting fancy on her, but she could keep up.

They put their hooves back down, then both slid right, sideways, and right again to move around each other in a way that made a perfect square. As they reached their hooves out, Soarin hooked his hoof with hers and pulled her towards him. She spun, turning her back to him. He lightly touched his other hoof to her back and she spun back out to arm's length. They repeated the move one more time before she came back in facing forward as the song ended. Soarin held her close to him, both of them up on their hind legs, one front hoof around their partner, and the other hoof out to the side, still hooked. They were face to face, eyes still locked as they had been for the whole dance.

Then the clapping of hooves sounded from around them. They both broke from each other’s gaze and looked around to see that the area around them had slightly cleared and their dancing was being applauded by the Canterlot elite. Dash glanced up by the throne to see both Luna and Twilight clapping. She looked back down at the crowd and saw Rarity bouncing up and down as if she just drank a gallon of espresso. Soarin caught a glimpse of Fleetfoot smiling like crazy and Spitfire close by nodding. Upon closer inspection it looked like a unicorn stallion beside her had a hoof on her shoulder, suggesting they were dancing prior.

The two both blushed in embarrassment, not realizing they had drawn a crowd.

“How about we get something to drink?” Soarin suggested.

“Haha, sounds good to me.” Dash replied sheepishly while keeping her eyes on him. That whole dance had struck her with a million Cupid arrows. Soarin put so much effort and heart into that dance and it was making her tingle with endless joy.

They weaved through the crowd, Dash getting a few nudges from mares as they went by and Soarin getting one or two pats on the back. When they were finally free and each with a glass mug they sighed and leaned against the wall.

“Soarin. That, was awesome.” She commented with a blushing smile.

“I’m surprised you kept up,” he grinned, a little embarrassed, “I got a little ahead of myself. I was worried I’d overwhelm you, but you did it perfectly. How long have you known how to dance?” He asked.

“Learned last week.” She answered pridefully. Soarin almost choked on his water.

“What?! Holy hell Dash, I was pulling advanced moves out there!”

“I’m a fast learner,” she swished her mane over her other shoulder. “Remember?”

“Oh I haven’t forgotten.” He replied while swishing his mane over his shoulder to imitate her.

“In fact, I recently pulled off your Sonic Blast-off from a dead stop.”

“Oh?” Soarin lifted an eyebrow, “I’ll have to see that later, but honestly I’m not very surprised.” He reached a hoof over and ran it over her arm holding the glass, “Somebody has clearly been hitting the weights.”

“I’m glad you noticed.” She grinned and blushed a little. She was glad Soarin was the type of stallion who appreciated hard work and athleticism. She had gained a little bit of muscle on her frame since she began the farm work, which might have intimidated some stallions.

“I like it.” He commented, making her blush a little harder, “you care more about your ability more than dainty appearances. You know I prefer ponies who are real with me and not false faced.”

“Oh, but speaking of false face, Mr. Sorewings,” she remembered with a chuckle, “You should know your special training has done wonders for Scootaloo."

“Scoota…Oh! The little orange filly? Rainbow Dash’s number one fan?” He nudged her playfully.

“She has good taste,” Dash comically brushed her shoulder, “but anyway, she managed to actually fly a little the other day.” Soarin perked up.

“Whoa! Really?”

“Yep, it was only a little higher off the ground, but she also managed to fly a few feet forward.”

“Wow! When I looked at her I figured it would take at least a year before she got those little wings to lift her off!” Soarin was very surprised. Scootaloo’s wings were not just stunted, they were very stunted.

“She’s been working very hard. I think your little lie about having stunted wings really pushed her forward. You’re an inspiration.”

“She sounds just like her mentor,” Soarin commented, catching her attention, “I mean look at you. You wanted to learn my move so badly that you pushed yourself hard and now you can do it. I’d say most of the inspiration came from you.” He placed a hoof on her shoulder and smiled. Dash looked away with a small grin on her face. That meant the world coming from him. She let her ears droop down, reached a hoof up, and placed it on his.

“You’re an incredible pony Soarin,” she suddenly said, “I may have been an inspiration to her my whole life, but you came to town for two weeks and influenced both of us.” She looked up at him with dreamy eyes, “You are very special.” She tipped her head slightly to the side and swayed in her spot, “Especially to me.”

“Dash…” Soarin found himself blushing too. Hearing those words from her made him so happy he was practically speechless. He kept his eyes on hers as he reached up and gently cradled her cheek with his hoof. The two found themselves moving closer together and it wasn’t long before their lips softly touched and they share a very brief, but much desired kiss.

“I’ve missed you.” Dash said the instant they broke the kiss.

“Me too.” Soarin agreed, then flinched, “As in I’ve missed you, not that I’ve missed me. That would be weird.” He frantically corrected. Dash burst out laughing.

“You goof!” She jabbed him in the chest and knocked him back into a nearby pillar. “Oops.”

“Hey there! Watch your strength lady!” He joked right back. They shared a laugh before locking eyes again. They looked over at their surroundings and noticed that a few eyes were on them. They both realized they just kissed in public. Soarin quickly slung a hoof over her shoulder. “It’s too stuffy in here, how about we ditch the fancy attire and go flying?”

“I’m 100% with that idea.” She quickly agreed.

“Let’s drop off the clothes in my room first. Follow me.” Before Dash could question, Soarin was leading her behind the throne towards their special Wonderbolt passage.

“Oooohoohoo!!! I must see more!” Rarity tried to follow after them but a magic aura grabbed her tail before she could. She turned around and saw Twilight with her horn glowing.

“Rarity. Leave them alone.”

“But whyyyyyyyyyyyy?” She whined dramatically as Twilight pulled her away.

After a quick trip down the secret tunnel, they emerged in the Wonderbolt compound. It took a few minutes longer to get through to Soarin's room than usual. He was pulling Dash along to prevent her from omigoshing at everything she saw. She was in the actual compound of her heroes after all. They eventually made it to Soarin's room.

It wasn’t very large, but considering it was a military compound Soarin’s room was probably very spacious compared to most of the rooms. It had a large queen sized bed in the center against the back wall with at least six feet of walking room on all sides and a low, ten foot ceiling. There was a window behind the bed, a closet, a desk, and enough hardcore Wonderbolt motivation posters all over the walls to rival a museum.

Soarin yanked the bowtie off immediately and gasped for air.

“This thing’s been choking me all night.” He chuckled as he unbuttoned the tuxedo and hung it up in the closet. Dash was trying to unzip the dress, but her wings couldn’t reach it well.

“Uh, a little help?” She asked with a sigh,

“Oh, haha.” Soarin unzipped the dress and Dash shook herself until the pieces all shimmied off.

“I’ve never been one for dainty clothes.” She commented as she moved her limbs around to loosen up.

“You and me both,” Soarin hopped up to the window above his bed and pushed it open, “shall we?”

“Lead the way.” Dash smiled as he took off. She followed close behind.

The night sky was still brightly illuminated by both the moon and the stars, giving them a clear view. With only a few clouds around, it gave them lots of room to fly without losing sight of one another. As they flew side by side, Soarin reached over and hooked his right hoof with her left, twisting himself upside-down and underneath her, grabbing her other hoof as he did so.

“Let’s dance like pegasi now.” He suggested. Dash happily agreed.

“Lead on, hot-stuff,” she flashed an interested grin.

Soarin pulled her down, making the two of them freefall as they twisted around. In sync they spread their wings and Soarin flipped over beside her. They glided low to the ground, still holding onto each other’s hoof, pitching upward. Soarin spun over and placed himself behind her, grabbing her around the waist as they twirled upward. They aimed for a nearby cloud and crashed through it, pushing apart and flying in different directions. They angled out briefly, streams forming behind them from the cloud they hit. They arced sharply back towards each other, met in the center and backed off to look at the cloud. Their streams had made a heart shape.

“That’s so cute I think I’m gonna hurl.” Dash joked.

“Oh we’re not done!” Soarin grabbed her and fired skyward. She yelped in surprise, but flapped her wings to gain control. He let go and the two twirled around one another before coming together again high up in the sky. Soarin grinned playfully and planted a light kiss on her nose before suddenly freefalling.

“Hey!” Dash giggled and flew after him. Soarin chuckled as she gave chase, turned around and began to glide below the low cloud level. Dash quickly changed direction as he angled up and yelled,

“Bet you can’t catch me!” then flew up through a cloud.

“Oh you’re on!” She fired through the cloud herself. “Haa!” Dash shook her head, whisking her mane back and forth as she passed through the cloud and emerged above it.

“C’mon Dashie, I know you like my flank, but you’re faster than that.” Soarin’s voice called from above. She glanced up and smirked. Soarin was flying backwards with his front hooves behind his head, looking down at her with a smile.

“Oh you’re pushing it, and you know what happens when you push me!” She pumped her wings harder, accelerating quickly. Soarin was ready for it, veering left as she made a grab for him. “Whoa!” She spiraled, tilting herself down to pursue again. Without warning, Soarin thrust his wings out, slowing him down considerably. Dash’s eyes widened and she tried to veer off, but she ran right into him. He closed his hooves around her and the two fell gently onto a cloud.

“Who was trying to capture who again?” He chuckled as she playfully struggled in his grip while giggling.

“You’re a hoot,” she looked him in the eyes seductively, only inches between their faces, “‘I bet you can’t catch me?' You planned this all along didn’t you?”

“Mayyyyybe,” He bounced his eyebrows, “are you complaining?”

“I will if you don’t follow through,” she stopped struggling, “c’mere you scheming jerk.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The two of them closed their eyes and leaned in. Dash suddenly pulled back and blinked. Soarin opened his eyes. His head still leaned forward expecting a kiss. “What’s wrong?”

“Heh.” Dash smiled. “Nothing. Everything is perfect.” She pushed him down and brought her lips down on his. It was a long-lasting, heavy, and passionate kiss, one that she wanted to give him as soon as she saw him at the ball. It turned into two kisses, then three, and then four. Neither of them wanted to let up. Eventually they came up for air and exhaled warm breath into each other’s faces. Their eyes met lovingly for a moment before Dash flopped down and hugged him tightly.

Lost in the moment, Soarin let it all slip,

“I love you, Rainbow Dash.”

Dash’s eyes shot open, her face turned completely red and her wings fired out as she quickly propped herself up and stared down at him. Soarin’s face changed from a smile to a look of dread upon realizing what he had said. He let it go WAY too early.

“Uh…” his eyes darted back and forth as he scratched and clawed in his brain for a follow up. Dash was looking down away from his eyes. Her face had nearly lost all traces of blue. “Shit, I said that too soon, didn’t I?” He said while biting his lip and looking away. Dash suddenly groaned, re-catching his attention.

“Oh come on!” She yelled. “It was perfect until you backed off!” Her face was still completely red, but she was glaring at him. Soarin was beyond confused.

“Uh, what?” She put a hoof over his mouth.

“That’s two moments you’ve ruined tonight! Quit it will you?!” Her frown turned to a smile, “The shit I put up with…” she leaned in and kissed him hard again. Soarin’s eyes widened and he blinked as she ate his face. She pulled back. “I love you too, you dumbass!” She hugged him so tightly that it forced the air out of his lungs.

“You complete me.” Soarin squeaked out and hugged her back.

Dash couldn’t believe it. He blew it again, but he confessed that he loved her. He really actually said it. She wasn’t dreaming. The stallion she fell hopelessly in love with was also in love with her. How much more awesome could this night get? She pushed herself up again.

“Let’s go back to your room.”

“What? But—”

“NOW.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Soarin barely got through the window. Dash tackled him from behind onto his bed and pinned him down with a seductive expression on her face. Soarin smirked, and unexpectedly pulled her down before she could move in.

“Who’s leading this dance?” He joked.

“Me.” Dash said sternly before crashing her lips against his. Soarin slid his hooves around her back and pushed her body against his. With the added force Dash was applying to him, he had almost sunk completely into the mattress. Soarin felt Dash’s tongue press against his lips as he sucked on her top lip. He quickly parted his lips and met her tongue with his. Dash moaned softly as they began tongue wrestling playfully.

She ran her hooves into Soarin’s mane and pushed against the back of his head to press them together even harder. Soarin’s hooves began to explore her back all the way down to her flank. She giggled at his soft touch, dropping her guard for an instant. Soarin suddenly pressed his wings against the bed and flipped them both over so he was on top.

“Dammit.” Dash chuckled as she got pinned down.

“I’ve got you now.” He snidely jeered.

“Come get me,” she bit her lip and gave him serious bedroom eyes.

Soarin leaned down and kissed her stomach. She exhaled sharply as he made his way up past her chest and to her neck on the right side, then repeated it on her left. She giggled as he went further on the left side and nibbled on her ear. She moaned with delight, blushing furiously, which did not go unnoticed.

“Oh? Did I find a sweet spot?” Soarin grinned.

“Mayyyybe.” She cooed while flapping her ears up and down. Without another word Soarin nibbled her other ear, earning another giggle and sharp inhale.

“I’ve found the weakness of the great Rainbow Dash!” He smoothly remarked before she grabbed him around the neck and pulled him in for another hard kiss.

“That doesn’t leave this room.” She said with a playfully stern tone.

“If anypony else found out, I’d have to kill them, cause you’re MINE.” Soarin said with a sly grin before kissing her again and lightly licking her neck.

“Good.” Dash agreed before releasing a closed mouth moan as he worked his tongue around her neck. She moved her hooves down his body to his waist.

“Ah! HAHA!” His wings suddenly flared out and he arched his back. Dash’s eyes widened. It was her turn to wear the sly grin.

“Wait—” She giggled as his face turned to pure terror, “you’re ticklish!”

“Oh Celestia no!” He tried to push himself up, but she had a firm grip on his neck. She reached her wings forward and began swiping them up and down his sides. “AHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHA! OOO AHH DASH! STOP! AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” his grip on her loosened and she flipped them back over, pinning him down again.

“I’ve found the weakness of the great Soarin!” She repeated his words as he huffed and puffed from being tickled.

“That also doesn’t leave this room.” He said with a grin as he accepted being pinned.

“Of course, only I can know, because you,” she pointed at him with a smug expression, “are also mine.”

“Good.” Soarin agreed before their lips met again, this time slowly and softly. Dash let up her hold on him and rolled off, lying beside him.

“You really know how to tire me out,” she sighed happily. Soarin’s ears perked up.

“I may have some more ways.” He slyly said as he rolled towards her. She looked to him with a similar smile, but glanced down and saw his hoof heading between her hind legs.

“Whoa!” She moved her lower body away, earning a confused look from Soarin. “Sorry Soarin. I know after all that you’re probably more than in the mood, but let’s take this one step at a time.” She put on a smile, hoping it wouldn’t piss him off. He gave a comical pout.

“You’re such a tease.” He chuckled, but pulled his hoof back. “Don’t worry, Dash. You’re important to me, so I’ll never force the subject.” His words floored Dash with a wave of relief.

“Aww, you’re too good to me.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Soon, just not tonight. I want to let everything soak in.”

“I can live with that.” He agreed with a smile. Dash tingled with delight as she edged as close to him as she could on the bed, snuggling her body into his and releasing a cute content sigh. Soarin rested his chin on her head and placed an arm over her, pulling her in.

Dash had never felt better. EVER. Sure they were still doomed to be apart for certain periods of time, but if this is what she could always look forward to, then it was worth every second of waiting. She was in the arms of the stallion who brought down all her toughness barriers and drew her into his warm embrace. Nothing could ruin this moment, not even him and his cute bumbling.

Soarin was equally as happy, but he felt something more. He felt sleepy. It had been so long since he last felt tired in any way. The dark power that had been used to restore him seemed to constantly keep him from rest, but when he had Dash close to him, his heartbeat calmed, and his body relaxed. Did he just find a solution to his sleeping problems? Or was he just so in love with Dash that she put him completely at ease? Either way, he loved her. He loved her more than anything.

Dash slowly drifted to sleep in Soarin’s arms and for the first time in a while, Soarin’s eyelids became heavy and he soon slept softly with his love nestled in his chest.

---To be Continued---

Author's Note

A tad shorter, but i got all i wanted into this chapter ;)

FEEL THE LOVE

Chapter 6

MLP: FiM
Flying Sky-High
By: Calm Wind

Chapter 6:

Rainbow Dash released a soft, content sigh, followed by a high pitched yawn as her eyes slowly fluttered open. And oh it was the best way to wake up ever. She was nestled into the body of Soarin, who was still sleeping peacefully beside her with smooth steady breaths as his body rose and fell. Having his cute sleeping face be the first thing she saw upon waking officially made the morning the most awesome morning ever, and she hadn’t even looked at herself in the mirror yet.

She had never felt more comfortable either. He was so warm, his hoof draped over her felt nice, and with her ear against his chest she could hear his slow, steady heartbeat. She was a content, tingly ball of joy and inner “yay”. She wouldn’t mind it if she never moved again.

Unfortunately, her eyes suddenly opened in realization. She really had to use the bathroom. After glancing around, she was relieved to see Soarin had a private one. How awkward would it be if she stepped out of Soarin's room and came face to face with some Wonderbolts?

She also refused to wake up the handsome stallion cradling her. She was worried any movement would surely wake him. There was no way to avoid the situation. Disregarding the fact that she really had to go, Dash inched her way as slowly as she possibly could through his soft embrace. After each slight movement she glanced back at his face to make sure he didn’t stir. She gingerly supported his hoof that had been around her as she finally got free, slowly reached for a pillow, and rested his hoof on it. Confident it would feel to him like she was still there, she quickly, but carefully scampered to the bathroom.

That was a close one.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she washed her hooves and wiped them dry with a towel. She looked in the mirror and had to suppress a laugh. She was glad she had woken up first. The makeup Rarity had applied to her was smudged all over, probably from pressing her face into Soarin all night. Her mane was also going absolutely wild. A little more than usual. Since the night of being fancy was over, she decided to get rid of all this girly stuff right away. It took two washes, but she finally got all traces of makeup and mascara off her face, as well as the little bits of lipstick. She sloppily ran her hooves through her mane and shook her head. Until it sort of returned to the way she usually wore it.

Content, she took this moment to do her morning routine: flexing in the mirror and acknowledging her awesomeness. Doing so in Soarin’s room made her feel triple the awesome. The awesome was awesome and awesome with a side of some extra awesome awesome. Couldn’t get much better.

Her ears suddenly picked up a noise outside the bathroom. There was only one pony it could be. She smiled and moved towards the door, but as she reached for the door knob, the noises became clearer. Painful moaning and groaning?

“Soarin?” She opened the door and gasped. It was indeed Soarin. He was writhing violently on the bed, panting furiously, and clutching the pillow Dash had put in her place. He was squeezing it so hard it looked like it would burst. “SOARIN?!” Dash frantically flew over to the bed and looked him over in panic. What was going on? What was wrong with him? Her eyes darted all over him, trying to figure out what the problem was. What would make a pony just suddenly convulse like this? He was thrashing around as if being stabbed over and over again.

“Rainbow… Dash…!” He grunted out while churning and writhing. She thrust herself at him, hugging him tightly with both her hooves and her wings. It was hard to keep her grip at first because of how sporadic his movements were, but she held him close and refused to let go. She could feel his heart beating furiously and his body was burning hot.

Thankfully, soon after she latched onto him, his body seemed to relax, his motions slowly ceased, and his heartbeat slowed down. He was panting and sweating profusely. Dash looked up at his face with deeper concern than she had ever exhibited for anything in the past. What was all that about? She loosened her grip slightly only to feel a sharp pain in one of her hooves.

“Ow!” She winced and looked down to see Soarin’s hoof nearly crushing hers with a grip comparable to a vice. Soarin’s eyes shot open and he bolted upright in bed,

“DASH!!!” He knocked her over on her back. After blinking and frantically glancing around the room with heavy breathing, Soarin locked his eyes on Dash. She stared up at him with extreme worry written all over her face. He quickly dove at her and drew her into a very tight embrace. “Oh Celestia! You’re okay!!!”

“Soarin?” Dash was very confused, she had no idea what had just happened to him, but it was clear he needed comfort. She felt something drip onto her back as she returned the embrace, followed by a sniffle. He was crying? “Soarin, don’t worry, I’m right here.” Dash rubbed her hooves on his back, “I’m here. It’s okay.”

“It was so real,” he shivered, “so painful.”

“What was?” Dash talked to him. She couldn’t be silent. She had no idea what was going on, but she was clearly part of it, and he clearly needed her.

“I—, I—,” he sniffled and held her at arm’s length. The look in his eyes was a mix of terror and despair, both amplified by the tears flowing out of his eyes. The sight absolutely crushed her. “We need to talk about something.” He pulled her in tightly for another brief hug before he looked her in the eyes again. It was definitely something about her. Soarin had not removed his hooves from her since he woke.

“Here,” Dash propped a few pillows up against the headboard. They leaned back against it as Dash grabbed the sheet from the bed and wrapped the two of them in it. Even through all that, Soarin’s hooves remained on her with no intention of letting go. Dash snuggled up close to him and nestled her head in the crook of his neck. “I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere. What’s wrong? Please tell me.” She nuzzled his neck lovingly, doing every possible thing she could to comfort him.

“I’ve… I haven’t even told Spitfire all the details on this, but you,” he gave her a light squeeze. “You have to know.” He took a deep breath as he gathered his thoughts. “Ever since Celestia used dark magic to restore my body, strange things have been happening to me,” he began, “At first things seemed great. I felt like a new stallion. I could fly faster, I felt stronger, my stamina was endless, and I never grew tired. I felt like I could do anything.”

Dash was intrigued. How could that possibly be bad?

“But then there was the first night after we parted,” he continued, “the time went midnight onto 1 a.m. and I was still wide awake. Not a single bit of fatigue in my body. I tossed and turned for hours and eventually the sun rose without me getting a wink of sleep. I prepared for the worst, but despite the lack of sleep my body still felt energized and at full strength.” He let out a heavy sigh. “At first I thought, big deal, if I don’t need sleep, I won’t. But not sleeping does strange things to the brain. My body felt perfectly fine, but my mind was thrown off of everything. I never knew what day it was, I kept forgetting if I was supposed to do things, my internal clock was just completely broken.”

“You haven’t slept in five months?!” Dash exclaimed in disbelief, lifting her head off his shoulder and staring up at him. Soarin shook his head.

“I didn’t for about two weeks, but eventually I figured out how to get a few hours per night. My body was always full of energy, but if I focused on how tired my brain was, I managed to fall asleep, kind of.”

“Kind of?” Dash tipped her head to the side.

“I fall asleep, but I have extremely vivid dreams. They always feel so real, and depending on the dream I’ll sleep for maybe an hour, three tops before something in the dream forces me awake. It’s helped a little, but I’ve felt mentally shot for months.” He ended, drooping his ears.

“Soarin…” Dash couldn’t believe it, she couldn’t even imagine it. She loved sleeping and she knew well how awful it was to not get enough sleep over a few days. Soarin hadn’t gotten a full night’s sleep in months? The thought alone was almost too much to bear.

“On top of all that, apparently I started glowing the other day during training, followed by collapsing and waking up in the infirmary. I just don’t know what’s happening to me.” He said with slight anger in his voice. Dash perked up.

“Just now though you were sleeping like a foal! You didn't start thrashing around until I got up.” Dash explained. Soarin shivered as he remembered.

“I noticed last night that, while I was holding you, I felt no need force it. I legitimately felt at ease and fell asleep quickly for the first time in a while. I don't know how or why, but I think having you around eases the effects.” He tightened her hold on her slightly. The thought that she could help him warmed her heart, but she couldn’t stay at the compound with him. She would have to go home eventually and becoming a full Wonderbolt seemed a somewhat far off for her still.

“What about right now? What made you shake so much?” She asked timidly, not sure if he’d be willing to talk about it. Soarin cringed as he thought, snuggling closer to her.

“I’m sorry if this scares you.” He stated before taking a deep breath. “In my dream... It was perfect, just you and me. We were alone in a field of flowers with nopony else around to bother us. It was carefree. We danced, and flew about, just enjoying the company of one another for hours on end. I’ve never had a better dream in my life. At least, until the end.” He shuddered. “Suddenly the sky became dark and the field of flowers turned into a barren wasteland. Two dark figures snatched you up from the ground. You screamed and called out my name. I readied myself to give chase, but my wings were gone. All I could do was watch as the two shadows began to beat you to a bloody pulp, rip your wings to pieces, and leave you in a broken heap at my hooves. Then I woke up.”

Dash stiffened and her eyes widened in horror. What a terrible nightmare to have right after such a perfect night. She shifted in the sheets so she was in front of him, grabbed his face and planted her lips on his. He quickly wrapped his hooves around her and pulled her body in while returning the kiss with equal strength to hers. She slowly pulled back and looked directly into his eyes.

“It was only a dream Soarin. I’m right here, alive and well.” She leaned back in and hugged him tightly.

“I know, but like I said, the dreams are so vivid that I felt every moment of it. The longer I sleep, the more real the dream feels. I guess sleeping for a full night really pulled out all the stops.” He hugged her back, never wanting to let go. Dash leaned back and looked at him with an idea.

“You said it didn’t happen till the very end of the dream right?” She asked. Soarin nodded. “It wasn’t until I got up that you started thrashing around.” Dash pointed out. “And you were fine every night I spent with you in the hospital after the tornado in Ponyville.”

“I think I see a trend.” Soarin smiled as he draped a wing over her. “There may be more to it than this, but after all the evidence I’m convinced you calm my body down. I don't know for sure, but maybe you being a part of Celestia's procedure to save me makes the dark magic shy away. It's afraid of you.” He said with a wink and nuzzled the top of her head.

“Feeling better?” Dash asked, sensing a lighter tone rising in his voice.

“I guess. Sorry, this is a lot to take in. I hope I didn't scare you too much. It was great to finally get it off my chest."

“Soarin, again, it was a dream. I’m here and this is real.” She scrunched her face at him sternly. He chuckled.

“I’m so glad it is and I’m glad I have you. You get right to the point and enforce your presence.” He winked.

“You callin’ me pushy?” She poked him.

“I’m calling you trapped!” Soarin suddenly flung the rest of the sheet over her and pulled her down onto the bed.

“Hey!” She giggled as she flailed beneath the cover. She managed to get a wing free and extended it right to his waist.

“OOH AHH!!!” He instantly backed off as she began to tickle him again.

“Ha!” Dash threw off the sheet and pounced on him, pinning him to the bed.

“That is so not fair.” He playfully complained with a smirk.

“To win a battle you have to exploit your opponent’s weaknesses right?” Dash wiggled back and forth while staring at him slyly. She didn’t see one of his wings reach up just far enough to brush a feather behind her ear.

“Exactly.” Soarin grinned as Dash’s legs wobbled. She blushed furiously, and moaned before plopping down on top of him.

“You evil bastard.” She managed to say as she sighed happily and let him scratch behind her ears. “I’d punch you for this, but I can’t feel my legs.”

“Heehee, damn you must be extremely sensitive behind the ears huh?” He chuckled. She rolled onto her back, still on top of him.

“Get the other one. Now.” She demanded.

“I can’t tell who’s in control anymore.” He did as he was told. Dash tingled all over at his light touch. It sent the best kind of shivers through her and she was covered in goose bumps. But then suddenly the moment was interrupted by a large and deep growling noise that came from directly below her. Her eyes shot open and she turned to look at Soarin. He was looking away, slightly embarrassed.

“Hungry?” She asked while snickering. Soarin sighed.

“Yes.”

“Well we have plenty of time to exploit our weaknesses later. Let’s get that monster some breakfast.” She poked him the stomach and rolled off, fluttering up off the bed and to the floor. “Have any place in mind?” She asked, not knowing Canterlot very well. Soarin thought for a moment.

“Oh! I know a great place. We’re regulars there.” He flopped out of bed. Before he got any further another loud growl sounded through the room. Dash quickly grabbed her stomach and her face turned bright red. Soarin held his breath for all of three seconds before he burst out laughing. Dash avoided eye contact and flinched when he put an arm around her. “Sounds like two monsters have to be fed.” He said with wink before the two stepped up to his window and took flight.

Canterlot was one of the largest cities in Equestria. It was known far and wide for being a high class, elite city populated almost entirely of unicorns. What most didn’t know, was that this particular bit of info actually only covered the very center of the city. As one moved further out from the castle, the city became less super high class and more regular society with a mix of earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns. Dash observed this as they flew out of the upper class region of the city and into what almost seemed like a bigger Ponyville. The only difference was that it was a little more densely populated and looked a little less friendly.

It didn’t seem like a bad neighborhood by any means, but Ponyville was very unique. You couldn’t pass another pony without them saying hello.

Soarin led her to the ground outside a small diner that looked pretty busy on the inside.

“Here we are.” He motioned towards it. Dash looked up and read the sign.

“Old Rusty’s?” Dash lifted an eyebrow.

“Don’t let the name fool you.” Soarin chuckled. “I don’t know a chef better than Rusty Stove in all of Equestria.” He assured her. Dash didn’t know if the chef being named Rusty Stove helped her first impression of the place, but she trusted Soarin and followed him inside.

The diner seemed even smaller on the inside. From the entrance there were three rows of tables flanked on both sides by booths that ran perpendicular and up against the walls. Past the last row of tables was a bar with the kitchen basically right behind it, built into the wall.

The place wasn’t completely packed, but there were a good number of ponies there. Upon closer inspection, it seemed like there were lots of families there with young colts and fillies. There were three unicorns walking around, helping take orders, but there was one earth pony behind the bar that was moving swiftly around the kitchen. He was a large brown stallion with a dirty grey mane and wearing a white apron. He looked to be a bit past his prime, but didn’t look to be too old. Probably in his mid-fifties. He had a very scruffy face, his chin covered in stubble that gave the impression he had to fight it every morning to remain clean shaven. The way he moved about the kitchen was unreal. Dash had never seen a pony cook so quickly without the aid of unicorn magic.

Soarin led her over to a free booth and they sat down across from each other.

“This place is pretty cozy.” Dash commented while gently bouncing on the cushy booth seat.

“This is our favorite breakfast place. It’s small, low key, friendly, and like I said, Rusty is a master.” He motioned towards the earth pony working the stove like he was in a war zone. “Also be ready, he’s unpredictab—”

“Do I hear ya talkin’ smack about me over here?” A gruff and hearty voice cut him off. Dash yelped as Rusty suddenly rolled up to them on a skate board with a pencil tucked behind one ear and a note pad tucked behind the other.

“You know it!” Soarin replied without flinching.

“Good man!” Rusty grinned and bumped hooves with Soarin. “Good t’see ya Soarin, it’s been a while and—” He looked towards Dash, who was still slightly surprised by the sudden entrance. “Hello, what have we here?” He turned back to Soarin and smirked. “I always see ya with the two lady-wings, but she’s a new one. Do I have to guess?” He nudged Soarin in the arm.

“Well, this one’s, different.” Soarin said with a wink.

“Hey-hey! That’s all you had t’say!” Rusty chuckled while ruffling Soarin’s mane. Soarin motioned to Dash.

“Rusty, meet Rainbow Dash. Dash, meet Rusty Stove.” He introduced them.

“Hiya.” Dash waved with a smile, still a little overwhelmed by this crazy acquaintance of Soarin’s.

“Please to meet—” the stove behind the bar suddenly made a loud POOF noise followed by a fireball rising up from it into the stove vents, “WHOA-HO! Just a sec!” He pushed off from the table and quickly navigated the skateboard back behind the bar.

“Well!” Dash began while finally getting a chance to smooth out her wing feathers, “He’s a wild one.” Soarin laughed and nodded.

“Yep, he’s a hoot. I still don’t know how he does it all at once, but he cooks, brings you your meal, and manages to talk to you all at the same time. The unicorns just help with the orders, hell sometimes he does that too.”

“Dang right I do!” Rusty was suddenly back in front of their table, “Anyway, I know what yer getting’ Soarin. What'll it be for the lovely Miss Rainbow?” He caught her by surprise. Dash glanced around and saw a menu on the inside edge of the table. Soarin snickered as she reached for it.

“Um, I’ll have—” She stopped and blinked as she opened the menu. All it said on the inside was: “I MAKE BREAKFAST” in big letters across both inner pages. Soarin lost it, laughing face down on the table.

“Just name it, and I’ll make it!” Rusty pounded his chest. Dash shrugged and closed the menu.

“Um, a stack of blueberry pancakes and some bacon?” She asked.

“Done!” He pulled two full glasses of water out of his apron pocket that had somehow not spilled when he wheeled over and placed them on the table. He saluted and wheeled back to the kitchen.

“I can see why he’s popular.” Dash chuckled as she took a sip of her water. Soarin glanced out at the other ponies in the diner.

“He gets a lot of business and keeps the place family friendly.” He pointed over to a table with a family of four with two little colts. Rusty zipped up on his skateboard, placed a plate of eggs and bacon shaped like a smiley face in front of one of them and a plate with a dragon shaped pancake in front of the other. The two colts cheered as he ruffled their manes and rolled back to the kitchen.

“I noticed there were lots of families.” Dash commented while smiling at the little scene.

“He’s been at this longer than I’ve been alive apparently. This place is popular because he’s very good with colts and fillies.” Soarin explained as Dash kept watching Rusty go to and fro, making all the kids giggle and the grown-ups smile. He definitely had great charisma.

“So you come here with Spitfire and Fleetfoot often? I figure that’s what he meant by ‘lady-wings’” She asked while leaning closer to him across the table.

“Yep, this is one of the few places we can go with Fleet.” He said with a chuckle.

“What does that mean?” Dash lifted an eyebrow. This would be good.

“Well, Fleet has a history of being...," he tipped his head back and forth, "belligerent in public.” He shrugged, “Rusty is very strict about keeping the diner family safe, so she behaves herself here.”

“Example please!” Dash requested fluttering her wings in anticipation of a good story. Soarin thought for a moment and had to hold his breath to stop laughing. “Oo I sense a good one!” Dash said eagerly.

“A few weeks ago she got thrown out of a bar we like to go to after shows. It's just north of the castle, it's more like a high end club. We like to avoid dive bars for obvious reasons.”

“You drink?” Dash asked out of pure curiosity. He shook his head.

“Nope, I come along to make sure they get home. Spitfire never has more than one. If fleet gets two in her it’s all over.” He chuckled. “Anyway, she had something strong for her first drink the other night and started complaining to the waiters. Her reasons for being upset kept changing so they had no idea what to do. When they finally brought her a second drink, she took a sip, spat it out, walked into the middle of the place and yelled,” Soarin looked around at the occupants of the diner and motioned for Dash to lean in so he could wisper. “She yelled, ‘who’s wang do I have to chung to get a decent drink around here?’”

“PFFFFFFHAHAHAHA!!!!!” Dash fell back into her booth seat, clutching her sides. “Why can I picture her saying that?”

“That’s our Fleetfoot.” Soarin shrugged with a chuckle, “she’s a hooffull, but she’s the life of the crowd and loads fun to have around.”

“Speaking of hooffull’s,” Dash rolled her eyes as she thought of him, “I noticed you didn’t mention Rapidfire in any of that."

“Yeah, he doesn’t really do anything with us besides flying. Not that I care.” Soarin stated with such a flat serious face that it made Dash giggle a little. “Spitfire has really been holding back from kicking him in the face lately, I don’t know how much more she’s gonna put up with.” He suddenly smirked, "Wish you could've seen it, he took a beam to the gut on our new obstacle course a few weeks back. Crash landed and got his head wedged between the safety mats." He took one hoof and shoved it into the crook of his opposite arm.

"HA!" Dash bumped her hooves together. "I do wish I'd seen that." She chuckled. "He's the only pony I genuinely enjoy the misfortunes of. How much of an asshole do you have to be to make that happen?"

"I guarantee you," Soarin pointed at her and nodded, "he's way beyond the required amount of asshole."

“I saw him tormenting some poor pegasus mare at the ball,” Dash brought up, but suddenly remembered the mare, “It’s weird though, I swear I'd seen her somewhere before.”

“What did she look like?” Soarin asked obliviously.

“She was turquoise and had two different shades of orange in her mane.” She described simply and Soarin stuck his neck forward with eyes wide.

“You’re joking.”

“What? Why would I?” Dash was confused. Soarin rolled his eyes.

“Ironic,” he crossed his hooves, “that mare forced me to dance with her before you showed up. It was a disaster. I felt like I was being harassed by a female Rapidfire. If he took her home, jeez, who used who?” He snickered, finding it rather amusing.

“That was the mare that danced with you? Fleet mentioned her. If I find her I’m ripping her head off.” Dash said with a glare and smirk.

“ORDER UP!” Rusty suddenly zoomed past them, and in the instant they both flinched, their food had been set down in front of them. Soarin had a bowl of oatmeal, some scrambled egg whites, and a bowl of fresh fruit. A nice big plate of four stacked blueberry pancakes rested in front of Dash. Everything looked delicious. Dash looked around though, realizing that the bacon was missing.

“Hey, didn’t I order some—”

“BAM! Lookit dat bacon SIZZLE!” Rusty appeared next to her with a pan fresh off the stove. The bacon in the pan was in fact, sizzling. Dash had fallen over into the booth seat in surprise, but when she sat back up, Rusty was gone, and a plate of bacon sat beside her. Soarin couldn’t get enough of it, and barely missed his bowl of oatmeal as his face went to the table again.

“I should introduce him to Pinkie Pie.” Dash chuckled as she sat up, mane all frizzy from getting smashed against the booth seat. She took a good look at the food in front of her. It didn’t look any different than most other meals of pancakes and bacon she had eaten in the past, but the first bite of her pancakes left her speechless. “This. Is. Delicious.” She said plainly, but with starry eyes.

“Thank you kindly.” Rusty wheeled by on his skateboard.

“WOW THIS IS DELICIOUS!” Dash exclaimed as she dug in. They proceeded to enjoy their breakfast, and even more so enjoy each other’s company. Dash really did enjoy spending time with him and experiencing his daily routine. She suddenly wondered if she could practice with them? The mere thought made her giddy as she ate. She'd have to ask Spitfire later.

As she finished her pancakes and began working on the bacon strips, she finally took a good look at what Soarin was eating.

“I sense a question.” He suddenly said as he caught her eyeing his food.

“I’m just surprised actually, that’s not quite what I expected you to order.” She admitted. Soarin looked at his breakfast in front of him.

“Well Dash, here’s one of the biggest pro tips I can offer you.” He began. As soon as he said "pro-tip", Dash had her eyes glued and ears ready. “This is important, especially if you want to get the most out of the strength training you’re doing. What most ponies don’t understand, is that working out or lifting weights is only about a quarter of it. Obviously you need to lift weights to build muscle, but then there's this,” He pointed to his food, “The most crucial part of a training regiment is what you put in your body.” He motioned towards the egg whites, “pure, un-hindered protein for muscle recovery,” then the oatmeal, “clean carbohydrates for energy,” then the fruit, “vitamin C and anti-oxidants for general body function.” He flashed a smile. “And that’s just breakfast.”

“Uh…” Dash blinked. She had never quite thought about her diet. She assumed the term “diet” was reserved for ponies who were lazy and needed to shed a few pounds. “Wow.”

“The Wonderbolts all have a strict diet to keep themselves in top condition, but I have to do a little extra I play a strength role. If you want a strong body, wings and everything else,” He spread his large wings, reached out his arm, and flexed. Soarin had a muscular body already, but Dash’s eyes widened as his muscle swelled up huge from his arm, “You gotta feed the muscles properly. If you don't, all the hard work you do will give sub-par results.” He refolded his wings and went about eating casually. Dash just stared, blushing lightly.

“Could you flex again? That was hot.” She said without hesitation. Soarin chuckled and did so. Dash blinked, her wing feathers fluffing themselves up.

“What? Something on my arm?” He smirked as he bounced the muscle up and down.

“Yeah, a friggen rock!” Dash exclaimed, “how did I miss that last night?” She asked seductively while tipping her head a little.

“I think you were busy tickling me.” He winked as he finished his eggs.

“Well, I’m allowed to, because you're special I guess.” She giggled while waving her hoof about.

“Aw, I’m not that special.” Soarin turned his head to the side comically, but stopped and stared at a little grey pegasus colt that stood right beside their booth. He had a yellow mane styled just like Soarin's and wore a pair of flight goggles along with a light blue Wonderbolt hat. At some point the little guy must have made his way over to them. He was staring wide eyed directly at Soarin. Dash noticed him too.

“Excoose me? Mr. Soawin?” The little colt said shakily. Dash had to hold back massive d’awws. This colt had to be only four or five years old. Soarin quickly wiped out his mouth and smiled.

“That’s me.” He answered. A pegasus mare rushed over from another table and placed a hoof on the colt’s back.

“Swift Gale! Don’t bother people who are eating!” She scolded him before turning to Soarin and Dash. “I’m so sorry,”

“Hey, no one’s bothered here.” Soarin assured the colt’s mother. He got up from his seat and leaned down to the colt. “What’s up?”

“C-c-c-” The colt stuttered nervously and removed the hat, “could you sign my hat pweese?” He reached it up to Soarin.

“Sure little fella.” Soarin smiled and scooped up the hat with his wing. He looked over to Rusty. “Hey Rusty! Got a sharpie lying around?” There was already one flying at him before he finished the sentence. He caught it in his mouth. “Thnks!” He said between the pen. He carefully signed the side of the hat and drew his cutie mark next to it. The little colt started bouncing uncontrollably as Soarin handed it back to him. “There you go!”

Art by: SpicedDemon

“What do you say?” Said the colt's mother.

“Tank you, tank you! The Wondabowlts are da best!” The colt put the hat back on and beamed with delight. He darted back towards his table to show his dad. The mare sighed and turned to Soarin.

“Again, sorry.” She apologized. Soarin shook his head.

“No worries. Cute kid.” He smiled and she went back to her table. Soarin got back into the booth and looked up to see Rainbow Dash, wings spread, leaning forward with her chin resting in her hooves, and staring at him with dreamy eyes.

“What was that about not being special?” She asked.

“What, that?”

“That. Was. Adorable.” She commented.

“The kid had guts, huh?” Soarin chuckled. Dash shook her head.

“Yeah the colt was cute, but you were even better.” She tipped her head to the side slightly and sighed. Soarin snickered.

“Careful Dash, you’re getting super girly on me.” He teased. She stuck her tongue out at him.

“Hey! Last time I checked I had ovaries. I’m allowed to think something is cute and get away with it.” She playfully snapped. Soarin nearly choked on a blackberry as he laughed. “Seriously though Soarin.”

“Hm?” He looked up after patting his hoof against his chest to swallow.

“Sometimes I think you are a little too modest.” She folded her wings and leaned back, crossing her hooves and looking at him smugly.

“What do you mean?” He asked, curious.

“That colt,” she motioned to the table with the happy colt and his new souvenir, “Scootaloo, and even me.” She motioned to herself, “You always talk about how much you dislike the attention you get as a Wonderbolt, but sometimes I think you fail to see the other side of it.” She leaned forward on the table again as Soarin listened intently. “You are a huge inspiration. You’ve done a lot to help not just me and Scootaloo, but I’m sure many other ponies. I bet little Swift Gale over there looks up to you as well. You can’t always discount your status. It may bring a lot of unwanted attention, but it’s also very important to many others.” She smiled, reached over and hooked her hoof with his. “I’m not just in love with a sexy face and body you know.” She said with a wink. “You are special, and if you ever deny it again I’ll kick you.” She ended with a smirk.

“Gosh.” Soarin blushed a little. He had thought about it in the past, but hearing it from somepony else was extremely heartwarming, especially from Dash.

“Okay, I got the bill right WHOA! WRONG BOOTH!” Rusty had come towards them but upon seeing the two with locked hooves, he did a 180 on the skateboard and started in the other direction. Soarin reached out and grabbed his tail before he got too far away.

“It’s alright Rusty, we’re ready for the bill.” He chuckled.

“If ya say so,” Rusty dropped it on the table, “Gotta cook, just leave the bits on the table. Tell the two lady-wings if they don’t come back soon I’ll drag ‘em here.” He saluted Soarin before scooting back to the kitchen.

“Thanks Dash.” Soarin finally answered as he left the amount on the table plus a few extra bits for tip. “That means a lot to me, really. Just like you.” He pulled her into a hug as she got up from the booth. Dash giggled and returned the embrace, planting a small kiss on his cheek as he did.

“You’re such a sap, but I love you anyway.” She whispered into his ear.

“I should probably report to Spitfire. I kinda wasn’t supposed to leave the party last night.” He said with a fake exaggerated wince.

“Lead the way.” Dash laughed as the two left the diner.

--To be continued--

Author's Note

Thought i'd slow things down and write some nice long Soarin and Dashie interaction ^_^

Chapter 7

MLP: FiM
Flying Sky-High
By: Calm Wind

Chapter 7:

Rainbow Dash was relieved upon returning. Her first entrance into a busy Wonderbolt compound was through the front door instead of out of Soarin’s room. All other things aside, she didn’t want to make it awkward for him.

On a different note, she was excited to see the inside of the actual Canterlot Wonderbolt compound with all of the Wonderbolts walking around casually. She could barely keep her wings folded. She at least kept pace with Soarin this time. She didn’t want to delay him.

The compound was a three floor building with a large staircase in the center like it was the spine of the building. Each floor extended left and right from the entrance for at least a hundred yards in both directions. The second and third floors were mainly offices and dorm style rooms. The first floor was very expansive and had all of their facilities: Gyms and training courses, locker rooms, medical rooms, and the mess hall.

Soarin, Spitfire, and Fleetfoot’s rooms were all on the top floor. Spitfire’s office was straight across from the top of the stairs on the second floor. If there was one major observation Dash made though, it was that everything was dark blue.

“Very colorful halls.” She said sarcastically as she and Soarin climbed the stairs.

“I know right.” He said with a sigh, “I don’t know who painted this place, but they didn’t get very creative.”

“I’m surprised you don’t disappear in here, Mr. All-Blue.” She nudged him, earning a chuckle.

“One shade darker and I could pull all the pranks I want. Wave Chill from squad two blends in like he's part of the wall, but the day he pulls a prank is the day Rapidfire compliments someone.” As he finished he ran right into a wet floor sign and fell into a bucket of water the janitor left on the floor. Again. Dash instantly lost it, laughing and pounding her hoof on the floor.

“Smooth.” She said while wiping a tear that squeaked out.

“I can’t believe I’ve done that three times in the past two weeks.” Soarin grumbled as he stood up and shook himself off. “I thought I asked Spitfire to get new signs.”

Art by: Foxenawolf

Colored by: Lazzari

“I don’t know, maybe she’d rather watch you stumble around some more, it’s funny.”

“HAHAHANOOOOO.” Soarin comically said while smushing his face against hers. She giggled and pushed him away.

“C’mon Sponge, let’s get to Spitfire already.” she pointed towards the office. As they approached and Soarin tried to shake himself off more, the door to Spitfire’s office opened and Fleetfoot stepped out. She froze as she saw Dash and Soarin walking side by side, and took note of Soarin being completely wet. She glanced back and forth between the two of them.

“I don’t wanna know.” She said and pranced off snickering. Soarin and Dash just watched her go by. Dash looked to Soarin, who thought for a moment before flinching and glaring in Fleetfoot’s direction.

“What?” Dash questioned.

“Nothing.” He rolled his eyes. “I just have to kill her later.” He stated as he reached for the door. Dash just played along and the two entered the office.

Spitfire looked up from a few sheets of paper sprawled out on her desk.

“Soarin? And Dash? Well then, where have you two been?” She waited a second, but didn’t let them answer. “Seriously Soarin? Do you need glasses?” She looked at him, he was still wet.

“I told you before, the damn signs blend in.” He grumbled as he tried to shake himself off more.

“But the buckets don’t, so please just watch where you’re going. I’m losing faith in your ability to avoid hurting yourself. ANYWAY—” she tapped her hoof on her desk, “Where were you guys?

“Just got breakfast at Rusty’s” Soarin spoke up. “He said to stop by soon or he’ll hunt you down.”

“Ha! The old fart’s still a truck eh? Now what about last night?” She asked in all seriousness. Dash blushed lightly, not sure if Spitfire was serious or not.

“What ABOUT last night?” Soarin said with an eyebrow raise. Spitfire chuckled and waved her hoof.

“I’m kidding. I’m not Fleetfoot, what happened last night is your business.” She turned to Dash. “So, Dash, good to see you on less fancy terms.”

“Likewise!” Dash spoke up. She hoped the light blush from earlier had faded.

“I wish we could talk some more, but Soarin and I have training in an hour. What are your plans?” She asked. Dash hadn’t given it much thought. She had to head back home at some point, but she wanted to spend just a little more time in Canterlot with Soarin. She bit her lip, not sure how it would go if she asked, but she was here, so why not?

“Um, actually,” she paused to clear her throat and puffed her chest out with confidence, “I was wondering if I could train with you guys today!” She said full of spirit. Soarin blinked and looked at her with confusion. Spitfire instantly shook her head.

“Sorry Dash, no can do.” Her words made Dash deflate immediately. “Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see you in action, but I can’t just let a random pegasus in to train with us. Not only is it against our rules, but there’s a whole liability issue. If we said yes, and you got hurt, there would be legal problems.” Even though her explanation made perfect sense, it didn’t mean Dash wasn’t disappointed. It was worth a shot.

Soarin picked up on her depression. He agreed with Spitfire. He didn’t want Dash to get hurt, but he knew what a great experience it would be for her to partake in an actual Wonderbolt training day. He pondered what could be done, and remembered something right before Dash gave in.

“What about Article five section seven?” Soarin directed at Spitfire. Dash had absolutely no idea what it meant, but Spitfire seemed to pick up on it.

“Oh. Hmm.” She contemplated. “Soarin that hasn’t been used in ages.” She shrugged.

“But the last time it was—” Soarin swayed his hoof back and forth between pointing at him and Spitfire.

“I know Blaze Tail and Flash Wind used it for us.” Spitfire mentioned the two former legendary Wonderbolt captains.

“What’s article five section…” Dash had already forgotten the designation.

“In our handbook,” Soarin began, “the fifth article is about our recruitment process. Section seven talks about how rookie Wonderbolts or flight camp cadets can be rewarded a training day with the veteran Wonderbolts should they perform beyond expectations.”

“The old captains did it for Soarin, Fleet, and I a year before we became full Wonderbolts," Spitfire explained. "The show we put on eventually earned me captain status and our squad the lead. However, here it would be bending the rule a bit. You were a flight camp cadet, and might be again later, but since you aren’t currently one, we technically shouldn’t allow it.”

“I think she’s proven herself though.” Soarin nodded and looked to Spitfire, “Riiiiight?”

“How so?” Spitfire lifted an eyebrow at Soarin. Soarin scoffed and shook his head.

“I dunno, we’re kind of alive thanks to her! Did you forget about the Ponyville tornado?”

“Oh right.” Spitfire smacked her hoof against her head.

“How’d you forget that?” Dash asked incredulously.

“I have too much on my mind sometimes.” Spitfire sighed. “Okay, I suppose that works, lemme get the paper work.”

“Alright!” Dash exclaimed. She was so excited! A chance to train with the lead squad?!

“Oh, but if we do this, you won’t be training with us specifically.” Spitfire added as she pulled a few papers out of her desk. Dash blinked and somewhat deflated again.

“Aw, why not?” She asked. Spitfire separated the three papers and stared at Dash sternly.

“Two reasons. Two parts of our practice today, advanced obstacles and combat training, are not something I’m going to put a “cadet” into, even if you do sign these liability forms. That’s just my personal rule.” She explained. Soarin placed a hoof on Dash’s back.

“I’m gonna have to agree with her on that one.” He nodded.

“And the other is that I don’t want you to distract him.” Spitfire pointed at Soarin. He and Dash looked at her in disbelief. “Don't fight me on that one because I know it will happen.”

“Okay, I guess. Then who am I training with?” As much as she wanted to train with the lead squad, Dash still got to train with Wonderbolts. That was enough for her.

“What’s the second squad doing today?” Soarin asked Spitfire. Spitfire shook her head.

“High Winds told me that Silver Lining really wanted to get their new routine down pat before combat practice. I don’t think they’ll be doing much else. Dash’ll be sitting around all day.” Spitfire reached over for a notepad sitting on the edge of her desk and leafed through it. “Ah, but the third squad is doing the regular daily training today. We can hook her up with them.”

“The third squad?” Dash suddenly got excited. “Isn’t Misty Fly on that squad?” Spitfire nodded.

“Fan of hers?” Spitfire smiled.

“She’s been flying since I was a filly! She was the most popular Wonderbolt with me and all my friends in school!”

“Yup, she’s an old favorite.” Soarin nodded. “It’s too bad she—”

“Soarin.” Spitfire cut him off, grabbing both their attention. “Let her find out.” She said with a smile.

“Alright.” Soarin glanced back at Dash, who was again confused. Spitfire motioned to the papers on the desk. Dash decided to just let it go because she would apparently find out what they were talking about later. She looked over the three papers and found them to be cut and paste liability forms. She gladly signed them, not wanting to cause any issues for the Wonderbolts, not that she would, she was awesome enough for them after all. “Follow me Dash, I’ll take you to Fire Streak, he’s the third squad captain.” Soarin motioned towards the door.

“Good luck Dash, you’ll need it.” Spitfire said as they left.

“Misty Fly huh? I thought I was your favorite Wonderbolt.” Soarin asked with a very fake sniffle and frown.

“You are, jerk.” She answered. Soarin inched his head closer to hers while making fake whimper noises. She wrapped her wing over his head, pulled him down, and gave him a rough noogie.

“Ah! Argh! Okay! Haha!” He managed to pull his head out and shook out his mane. When he looked back forward she was hovering backwards right in front of him.

“You’re my absolute favorite for more than one reason.” She winked.

“Oh am I now?” Soarin bounced his eyebrows.

“Watch the PDA kiddies!” Fleetfoot randomly passed by them. Soarin turned to give her what for, but she had lifted off and zoomed out of sight quickly.

“She’s pushing it.” Soarin grunted and shook his head. “If she keeps it up, the janitors might have to clean a “Silver Streak” off the walls…” His comical use of Fleetfoot’s code name earned a few chuckles from Dash before she retook her place beside him.

“Misty Fly was just very popular when I was a kid. She always stood out.” Dash explained, finally answering Soarin’s question.

“She’s the only 'coordinator' we have. Way back in the day I heard most squads had coordinators that directed the other Wonderbolts in their team. It fell out of style years ago in favor of more modern group maneuvers. Apparently Misty Fly’s grandmother was a master coordinator in her day, so Misty insisted on bringing it back.” Soarin explained.

“I always loved how unpredictable her shows were,” Dash cut in, “we never knew what we were gonna get.”

“That’s because squad three's shows are impromptu.” Soarin added, “Misty isn’t the squad captain, but the team loves the old show style and sticks with her. Do you know much about the other members?” He asked.

“I’ve heard of the Streak twins.” Dash pondered. She paused as Soarin snickered, “What?

“Nothing, those two are a hilarious, you’ll have fun with them.”

“And… didn’t their fourth retire last year?” She continued.

“Yeah, Steady Wing retired last year. Do you know Surprise?” He smiled upon asking.

“Uhh—” Dash knew the Wonderbolt rosters well from squad’s one through five, “Wasn’t she on squad four? Besides that I don’t know much about her.”

“She got bumped up to squad three to take over Steady Wing’s role. She’s an effect specialist like Rapidfire.”

“Is that a good or bad thing?” Dash asked in all seriousness.

“I personally think she’s better than him, and that’s NOT just because I hate Rapidfire’s prick ass.” He said very casually. “Rapidfire is very precise and I admit, he can create some very realistic effects, but he’s pretty much useless when it comes to our secondary combat functions. Surprise is not as refined as him, but she can dish out so many effects very efficiently. I sparred with her once in combat practice. She had me so confused. I think I only had her in my line of site for a grand total of two seconds during the whole ten minute session.”

“Wow.” Dash was very impressed. “I can’t wait to meet her too!”

“You won’t have any problem getting used to her.” Soarin said with a wink, “She’s just like someone you know.”

“Oh?”

“Imagine Pinkie Pie with wings.” Soarin chuckled. Dash’s eyes widened.

“That’s actually terrifying.” Dash shuddered at the thought.

“Squad three all together is a very entertaining group. You’ll have a good time.” Soarin assured her as they stopped in front of a door with the names Fire Streak and Lightning Streak on a plaque. Beneath it was a piece of paper taped to the door that had written in crayon: “Thing one and Thing dolt” Dash blinked as she read the little addition to the door and Soarin chuckled. “Surprise did that.”

“Well, I haven’t even met them and they already seem fun.” She smiled. Maybe this day would be good after all. Again, she wished she could fly with Soarin for the day, but this was definitely going to be an interesting experience. She already had an idea of how Surprise would be, and Soarin claimed the Streak twins were an interesting pair. Misty Fly was an old idol of hers, but—”

“What did Spitfire mean by: let me find out about Misty Fly?” She asked. Soarin only gave a quick grin.

“If I told you, you wouldn’t find out for yourself now would you? All I’ll say is: she’s very unique.” He knocked on the door as he finished. A moment later the door opened and a white stallion with a red-orange, white striped mane peered around the door wearing the full Wonderbolt uniform. He was a little shorter than Soarin but still taller than Dash. As soon as he saw Soarin he pushed the door aside and stood attention.

“Good morning sir!” He addressed Soarin. Soarin rolled his eyes.

“Fire, we’ve been over this. I’m not Spitfire. At ease.” Soarin chuckled.

“You are a higher ranking officer, I am merely showing respect.” Fire streak replied after loosening up. He had a very proper tone of voice. “What can I do for you sir?”

“This is Rainbow Dash.” Soarin motioned to Dash, “She is a former flight camp cadet and the lead squad owes her much, so we pulled a few strings to give her a rewarded training day.”

“Oh, this is THE Rainbow Dash?” He looked her over, “Soarin speaks very highly of you!” Dash was surprised that he knew her. “Oh my, where are my manners? I am Fire Streak, it is a pleasure to meet you.” He made a small bow and reached out a hoof. Dash went a long and did the same to shake his hoof, but instead he grabbed hold of it and kissed it. Dash flinched and blushed as Soarin tried to hold back laughs.

“Uhhh! Yeah! Hi!” Dash said all flustered, pulling her hoof back quickly.

“Careful Fire, she’s taken you know.” Soarin smirked and squinted at him comically.

“It is merely the proper way to greet a lovely lady.” Fire bowed again. Dash looked to Soarin with a slightly mortified expression. He leaned down and whispered to her.

“He does it with every mare he meets, don’t sweat it.”

“I thought you said fun, not weird!” Dash whispered back.

“Wait till you meet his brother. You need both for the effect.” Soarin winked at her before turning his attention back to Fire. “I’m told you are taking squad three through the regular training routine today?” He asked.

“That’s the plan, am I to escort your lady for the day?” As he asked Fleetfoot floated past behind them,

“WooooooOOOOOoooooo!” She cooed behind them as Fire called Dash: Soarin's Lady.

“FLEETFOOT!” Soarin looked back, but again she was halfway down the hall before he could do anything. “Yes.” Soarin replied with his ears and brow flat. “Take her through the motions and bring her back to Spitfire’s office at the end of the day.”

“Rest assured, she will be safe.” Fire nodded.

“Even from your brother?” Soarin joked.

“Especially from my brother.” Fire’s voice became flat and annoyed. His reaction sparked Dash's interest. Both are needed for the effect? She was curious to see.

“Well I have to go get ready,” Soarin pulled Dash into a hug. Fleetfoot appeared behind Dash and had her hooves squishing her face towards her dreamy eyes. Soarin glared and extended his right wing, folding all the feathers down except for the middle feather, and held it out towards her. Fleetfoot giggled.

“Kiss her!” She encouraged.

“That’s it.” Soarin released Dash and Fleetfoot zipped down the hallway laughing hysterically. Dash smirked and gave him a peck on the cheek.

“Punch her for me, 'kay?” She smirked.

“Oh gladly. Have fun!” Soarin turned and started down the hall. “YEAH, I SEE YOU OVER THERE FLEET!” He yelled and flew after her. Fleetfoot was being a bit childish, but Dash was having fun watching Soarin’s wings get all ruffled. He was cute when he got angry and blushed at the same time.

“Now then, you caught me just in time.” Fire stepped out of the door with a clipboard tucked under his wing. “Right this way. We’ll get you a uniform.”

“Wait,” Dash’s eyes widened and her wings began flapping on their own. “Omigosh, I get my own uniform!?”

“Why yes indeed! A chance to train with the veteran squads is considered a reward for exceptional work. You even get to look the part as well!”

“This is gonna be so cool! Do I get to keep it?!”

“Unfortunately no, you will be using one of our extra uniforms we keep around for emergency. All of our uniforms are custom made to fit us perfectly. We haven’t the time to get you measured and fitted so I hope you don’t mind using a spare.” Fire explained as they began walking towards the stairs.

“Still awesome!” Dash was so excited she almost molted. She got to see what she looked like in a Wonderbolt uniform! So what if it didn’t fit her perfectly, she'd dreamed of seeing this!

Fire Streak led Rainbow Dash to the first floor and towards the locker rooms. They stopped by the equipment cage to retrieve Dash’s uniform first.

“And here you go.” Fire handed a size medium female Wonderbolt spandex uniform to Dash. She couldn’t stop smiling. In fact she was smiling so hard her face was starting to hurt. “The mare’s locker room is right behind us,” Fire motioned to a door directly across from the cage. It leads all the way through to the indoor flying track. I’ll be in there if you require any further assistance. If not, just meet there after you get changed.”

“OKAYTHANKS!” Dash fired towards the locker room. She had barely heard a thing Fire had said. It was something about putting on the uniform and meeting them out the other side of the locker room. That was all she needed to know.

She came to a halt as she pushed the first door open, realizing that she should calm down. She probably wasn’t going to be the only one in there. She was glad she did, because as she reached for the second door of the entrance, it opened and High Winds of the second squad stepped through.

“Pardon,” She said simply as she passed by Dash. If she had gone through in her initial giddy state, she would have run right into High Winds. Talk about dodging a horrible first impression.

“Deep breaths Dash. Be mature about this.” She coached herself. She entered the locker room and made her way past the rows of lockers. There were a few other Wonderbolt mares present, but none she recognized. Not wanting to get in the way, Dash picked a row that was completely empty and took a good look at the uniform.

She had no idea how she was supposed to put it on.

This was embarrassing. She didn’t have time to sit around and figure it out. There was a head hole from which the mask part hung down from, but it looked too small so squeeze her whole body into. She thought about asking the other mares, but she didn’t want to bother them.

“Try the zipper.” A sudden voice made her flinch. She glanced towards the end of the locker row and saw Blaze from the second squad, “on the other side.” She made a flipping motion with her hooves. Dash flipped over the uniform and eyed a zipper that ran down the underside of it.

“Oh, thanks.” Said Dash as Blaze trotted off with an amused smile on her face. FIRST IMPRESSIONS FIRST IMPRESSIONS! Dash internally fumed. After pulling the zipper all the way down the uniform she easily found out how to shimmy her legs into it. She got her wings and tail through the right holes on the second try, the first ending in a tangled mess. She finally got the uniform in the right places and zipped it shut. It was very snug, but it was spandex after all, she’d just have to get used to it. Content she had everything correct, she lifted the mask part and fitted it over her face. She felt herself getting giddy again when she realized she was actually wearing a Wonderbolt uniform. She quickly trotted over to the bathroom area and looked in the mirror.

“Oh. My. GOSH.” Dash couldn’t hold in as she looked herself up and down. The uniform looked AWESOME on her. It wasn’t just a tight fit, it also really showed off her toned physique well. She turned to get a good look at all the muscles the uniformed seemed to exaggerate as well as her female figure. She looked like an action hero. Disregarding the thoughts to restrain herself, she started striking action poses. She just couldn’t get enough of it. But then a snickering came from around the corner. Dash froze mid pose.

“Having fun?” Spitfire, in uniform, and standing by the wall dividing the lockers from the bathroom, had seen the whole thing and was scrunching her face to contain her laughter.

“Spitfire! I was just, uh…”

“Hey don’t worry, I did the same thing the first time I put it on.” She waved her hoof to calm Dash down. “But I don’t think you want to keep the third squad waiting.”

“Oh crap!” Dash quickly zoomed past Spitfire around the corner and towards the back door of the locker room. Spitfire let the laughs out as soon as Dash was out of earshot.

“You two are so alike, it’s too easy.” She referred to Soarin, before heading to join her squad.

Dash quickly burst through the door of the locker room in a hurry, but slowed down when she saw only two members of squad three standing nearby. One was Fire Streak, the other a mare.

“Ah! There she is. I trust you had no trouble with the uniform?” Fire Streak immediately asked politely.

“Um,” Dash slowed to a trot, “I got it eventually.”

“Is it a good fit? Snug but not choking?” Fire’s politeness was the only thing choking her. She didn’t mind courtesy, but he almost had more than she could chew.

“It’s fine.” Dash still didn’t quite know how to talk to him. She glanced towards the mare, but was surprised to see that she had disappeared. Dash was SURE there was a mare out there when she entered the track.

“HI!” A voice similar to Pinkie Pie’s but of slightly lower pitch rang through her ears from her left.

“WHOA!” Dash ducked and looked up, not quite sure what she was looking at. A white pegasus mare with a golden mane, but her body type, face, and mane style were all almost identical to Pinkie Pie, only very small discrepancies between the two. “P-P-P-Pinkie?” Dash said instinctively. The mare cocked her head to the side as she looked down at Dash and giggled heartily.

“Pinkie? No silly, my name is Surprise!”

“Uh.” Dash blinked and Surprise was replaced with a cloud. “Huh?”

“SURPRISE!” Surprise’s voice came from her other side.

“AH!” Dash fell away, landing softly on the cloud.

“He he! Nice to meet you!” Surprise was now floating above her. Dash just stared wide eyed. What absolute sublime power in the universe thought it would be good idea to make another Pinkie Pie, and give her wings? If these two ever met, it would surely break the space time continuum. “What’s your name!?” She poked her nose to Dash’s.

“Surprise,” Fire floated up to her and pulled her away from Dash, “you’re going to scare away the poor mare. Allow me.” He got between them as Dash let herself off the cloud. “Rainbow Dash, this is Surprise. Surprise, Rainbow Dash.” He smiled.

Suddenly a very loud BELCH came from nearby followed by,

“Whoa man, that was a big one.”

“Rrgh…” Fire Streak grunted in disgust as Dash tried to figure out what made such an unpleasant sound. She turned to see a powder blue pegasus stallion with a mane similar to Fire’s only with different shades of yellow. Besides the colors he looked physically identical to Fire, “that would be my twin brother, Lightning Streak.” He said with disdain. Lightning shuffled over to them.

“Hey did you guys eat that crap in the mess hall this morning? It’s giving me gas like crazy out of both en—” his eyes fell on Rainbow Dash who had a look of disgust written all over her face, “Whoa there! We get a new recruit?” He quickened to a trot and looked her over. He nodded in satisfaction before turning and draping a hoof over her shoulder. “Hey babe, you in heat? Cause the closer I get hotter it feels.” He said very clumsily.

“AUGH!” Dash shoved him off and backed away. Lightning tripped over himself and fell in a heap on the ground.

“She wants me.” He said with a dumb smile before Fire grabbed him and pulled him up.

“I apologize for my brother’s lack of any decency what-so-ever.” He bowed to Dash as Lightning pushed into Fire’s side and stared at Dash.

“Can I taste your rainbow?”

“Lightning!” Fire tried to push him away.

“You look magically delicious.” Lightning pushed back. Fire grabbed his twin around the neck and put him in a head lock.

“Please excuse me while I go have a word with my brother.” Fire kept his polite demeanor up even though it seemed like he was about to rip Lightning’s head off.

“You gotta chill bro.” Lightning said before Fire pulled them out of reach. Dash just stared after them as Fire pulled Lightning away. Lightning reminded her of Rapidfire, but it was a little different. Rapidfire advanced and backed her into a corner with smooth talking. Lightning was just a dumb flirt. Dash didn’t feel threatened, just grossed out. After thinking about it, she began to snicker. She was uncomfortable by Fire’s over-politeness and Lightning was just plain rude, but when put together it was hilarious. Dash found herself giggling when she thought about how Soarin described them. Twins, but they couldn’t be any more opposite. This had to lead to some memorable incidents. She’d have to ask Soarin more later.

Then out of the corner of her eye, Dash spotted a new mare approaching from the locker rooms. If there were three here, than it had to be—

“Ohmigosh.” Dash said once, putting her hooves to her mouth to suppress fan-giddiness. The mare was bright yellow like Fluttershy with a blown back mane that had different hues of light blue in it. She looked older than the rest, but only compared to all of them. She had to be in her early thirties. It was Misty Fly. Dash tried very hard not to bounce in place. A Wonderbolt she had known and loved since she was a filly right in front of her. She couldn’t contain herself this time and decided to introduce herself. As Misty Fly finally met them all, Dash stepped forward,

“Oh my gosh, you’re Misty Fly right?!” Dash smiled brightly. “I’m here for a training day, I’m a cadet.” Dash beamed. Misty Fly just stared and blinked. “Oh I’m sorry! My name is Rainbow Dash. I’ve been a huge fan of yours since I was a filly! It’s a pleasure to meet you, really!” Dash smiled again, slightly worried. Misty fly just blinked again and smiled back, but still said nothing. Dash panicked. Was she being annoying? Did she kill her first impression? Please no please no, FIX IT. “Sooooo uhhh, how are you feeling today?” Dash tried to grin wider, but Misty fly still just smiled and tilted her head. Dash flinched as a hoof touched her shoulder from behind. It was Fire Streak.

“Sorry my dear, looks like we have to let you in on one of the Wonderbolt’s best kept secrets.” He smiled.

“What?” Dash was so confused. Fire Streak removed his hoof from her shoulder and faced Misty Fly. He spread his wings and put his weight on his back hooves before making many different signals using both his front hooves and wings. Misty Fly watched, nodded, and made similar signals back.

“I told her you were being very polite and didn’t know. She said not to worry. She gets it all the time.”

“Huh?” Dash looked between them. Realization had never hit her harder, in the face, with a club full of nails. “WAIT! SHE’S...?!” Dash’s jaw dropped and she stared at Misty Fly, and then looked back to Fire.

“Misty is deaf.” Fire nodded.

“WHAT?!?!?!?!” Dash leapt up and hovered slowly back down.

Art by: spiceddemon

“But, isn’t she a… coordinator?” Dash asked in disbelief. Surprise zipped up next to her.

“You betcha! The best one EVAR!” She threw a cloud up and it exploded into confetti. Fire chuckled.

“She directs us using hoof and wing signs. We communicate with her the same way. She taught us the whole alphabet of signs. I may be the captain, but it’s only a spokesman role. Misty is the real star of our squad.” Fire explained. Lightning walked up while using a wing feather to clean out his ear.

“The girl’s got mad direction skills. We just follow her lead.” He said while Fire used his wing to bat Lightning’s away from his ear.

Dash just stared in awe at Misty Fly. She had read about coordination shows in Wonderbolt history books and how they required intense communication. They were said to be the hardest shows to perfect. Misty did it, without being able to talk or hear?!

“That. Is. THE MOST. Incredible thing I have ever heard.” Dash said, her voice devoid of any smug confidence like it usually was. Completely and utterly humbled at what she just learned. Fire smiled, turned to Misty and made a few signals. Misty smiled brightly, flapped her wings a few times, and made gestures of her own.

“She says she’s very happy you think so highly of her.”

“I am not worthy. At all.” Dash while falling onto her plot. Fire relayed it to Misty, who giggled silently.

Wow.

Talk about inspirational. Dash was confident nothing would ever seem hard again. Just thinking about how hard it was just to live without being able to hear or speak, and here was Misty Fly, a veteran Wonderbolt in the third squad, despite a disability. Talk about a feel good scenario. Dash promised herself to never complain about anything ever again. Fire put up a hoof and made a circular motion.

“Alright let’s get this day rolling.”

--To Be Continued--

Author's Note

BAM! Inspiration :D

Chapter 8

MLP: FiM
Flying Sky-High
By: Calm Wind

Chapter 8:

“What’s eating ya lover boy?” Fleetfoot nudged Soarin in the side, breaking him from a daydream. They were waiting near the advanced obstacle course.

“Sorry.” He shook his head, “I’m worried about Dash that’s all.”

“I’M SO SURPRISED.” Fleetfoot said in a deep voice while pulling down on her face with her hooves.

“Then why’d you ask?” Soarin rolled his eyes.

“To annoy you.” She admitted and giggled.

“Don’t worry about her Soarin,” Spitfire chimed in, “she’s a tough mare and you couldn’t have left her with better Wonderbolts.

“Yeah, Silver Lining would've killed her if she was with the second squad.” Said Fleetfoot while hovering upside-down in a reclined position.

“Thanks for reminding me, I have to talk to him about not running his team ragged every single day.” Spitfire shook her head. “He’s really gonna kill one of them if he doesn’t let up.”

“You don’t think,” Soarin crossed his hooves, “he’s still bitter about us beating him out for the lead squad?”

“I know he still is,” Spitfire shrugged, “but he can't dwell on it forever. We earned it fair and square.” She glanced around. “Okay, WHERE THE HELL IS RAPIDFIRE?!” She slammed her hooves to the ground. “Soarin, go check the locker room. If he’s in there, just tell him to hurry his ass up. I don’t care what he says, NO FIGHTING.” Spitfire pointed a hoof sternly at him.

“Alright, alright.” Soarin grunted while turning back towards the locker room. Spitfire’s fuse was growing short. Rapidfire always pushed his luck but lately it had been twice, even three times as bad. One more push and Soarin was sure Rapidfire would send Spitfire over the edge. He pulled open the door to the locker room.

“Rapidfire!?” He called in. No response. "Damn shit-headed asshole..." He grumbled multiple swears as he walked further in. As he began to check the rows of lockers, the front entrance from the hall opened. Rapidfire was standing in the doorway, looking out.

“Fine, I’ll meet you there later.” He said to somepony before turning and coming face to face with Soarin. Rapidfire stopped and blinked for a moment, before glaring.

“What do you want, pussy hoof?” He went right for the insults.

“I wouldn’t be so smug, dickhead. You’re a half hour late. Spitfire is gonna tear you a new one already so hurry the hell up.” He turned and started back towards where he came.

“I don’t give a flying shit what that bitch says.” He grumbled, stopping Soarin in his tracks.

“Excuse me?” He was holding back, good lord he was holding back.

“You heard me, I ain’t whipped like you. She can blow it out her ass. It’s not like she can fire me.” He said disturbingly casually as he put on his uniform. Soarin wanted nothing more than to put a hoof through his face for that one. “Her and Rainbow Whore, they both have you on a leash.” Soarin’s eyes widened in rage. He came back around the corner, turned Rapidfire around and slammed him against the lockers.

“Words cannot describe how much I want to kill you for calling Dash that!” He snarled in Rapidfire’s face.

“Go on. Do it.” He taunted into Soarin’s face. Soarin was not going to come down to Rapidfire’s level again. He’d learned from past encounters that scrapping would only get him in trouble. He released Rapidfire and snorted.

“Just get ready.” Soarin stormed away before Rapid could say anything else. His ears caught Rapidfire say,

“Wuss.”

Soarin stopped picked up a hoof and shook it while gritting his teeth. He wouldn’t fall for it anymore, he refused to. He left the locker room to give Spitfire a very detailed report on Rapidfire’s tardiness.

“Holy…hell…” Dash barely managed to say between gasps for air. Five sets of five laps around the small indoor course with three minutes of rest in between each. Sounded easy enough, but she was trying to keep pace with Wonderbolts. Normally Dash would take on a workout like this at maybe 75% effort so she could last through it all. There was no way any member of squad three was taking it that easy. After two sets Dash wasn’t sure if she could go one more, much less three.

“Feeling alright Miss Dash?” Fire Streak asked politely as he kept an eye on a stop watch.

“I’ll… be fine… just give me… a minute…”

“Actually we only have thirty seconds.” He flashed the watch at her. Dash shook sweat out of her mane and stood up straight. She refused to show weakness in front of Wonderbolts. The rest of them looked like they were getting a good workout, but they were all clearly in much better cardiovascular shape than she was. “Feel free to take this one off if you’d like, I don’t want to force you through anything.”

“Can I take this one off?” Lightning waved from a few feet away.

“No.” Fire answered quickly and flatly without looking at his twin, “Going to rest?” He asked Dash again. She shook her head.

“Absolutely not. If you guys are doing this, so am I. That’s the end of it.” She stated. Misty Fly tapped Fire on the back and motioned towards Dash. Fire nodded and made a few signs, followed by Misty smiling and making some back.

“Misty likes your attitude.” Fire said with a grin. The watch beeped and Surprise was up on the cloud in the blink of an eye.

“I’m ready!” She hopped up and down. Surprise looked like she hadn’t even come close to breaking a sweat. She really was a mirror image of Pinkie.

Dash forced her wings into movement and flew up to the start with the rest. The indoor flight track was very simple. A 200 meter loop meant for work on sharp turns at high speeds. One would have very little time to pump their wings on the 50 meter straight-aways before pitching left or right to turn depending on which way they were going on the track. Dash readied herself as the rest of squad three took positions.

“All ready? Let’s see if we can shave, oh, five seconds off our last run.” Fire suggested. Dash didn’t let it get to her. She didn’t care how hard it was, she’d keep up and leave a lasting impression. “And…GO!” Fire called out. Dash fired from the spot, hoping to use her reaction time to get a slight lead she could work with. They weren’t racing, but as said, she refused to back down. Fire and Lightning quickly passed her, flying side by side right before finishing one lap. Dash locked on to them to give herself something to chase as she pitched into her third turn. Surprise passed her as she rounded the fourth turn to complete the second lap. She was flying backwards and making a back stroke motion. Dash didn’t take it as a taunt, because silly ponies will be silly ponies. Dash moved her eyes to Surprise instead, trying to keep up with the incredible pace the three younger members of squad three exhibited. Dash managed to keep behind Surprise until the final lap, where coming out of the first turn she angled too hard trying to straighten out and lost her flight balance. She tried to straighten out, but it was easier said than done and high speeds.

“Whoa!!” She yelped as she tried to prevent a head on collision with the very fast approaching padded walls. Right before she passed the last turn unintentionally, Misty Fly twisted in from Dash’s right and grabbed hold of her. The turned her hooves to put Dash back flat and they both angled into the turn and crossed the finish line. They came to a halt and hovered down beside the rest of the squad. Fire and Lightning still looked fine, but they were working up a sweat. Surprise was bouncing in place, fit as a fiddle.

“Oh man that was close. Thanks Misty.” Dash said in Misty Fly’s direction, but Misty wasn’t looking at her. “Oh, right.” Dash bit her lip and looked around before dragging herself up to Fire Streak. “Hey Fire.”

“Yes, m’lady?” He asked. Dash flattened her ears and sighed at him calling her that, but let it go.

“How do you, um, say thank you in those symbols?” She asked timidly.

“Oh, it’s actually an easy one.” He put a wing to his mouth and slowly extended it forward. Then nodded.

“That’s it?” Dash blinked.

“That’s it.” He confirmed. “But don’t pucker your lips though, unless you really take a liking to her.”

“Yeah she’ll think you wanna bang.” Lightning said from behind Fire.

“Brother…” Fire growled at him.

“Thanks. I get it,” Dash chuckled and turned back to Misty Fly and gingerly moved into her field of view. Misty turned to Dash and tipped her head. Dash took her wing, put it up by her mouth and extended it slowly outward towards Misty while keeping her eyes locked with hers. Misty smiled cheerfully back before repeating the motion back to Dash.

“If done after somepony does it to you, it means ‘you’re welcome.’” Fire said as he watched. Dash didn’t know what else to do so she just smiled warmly and nodded to Misty Fly before taking a seat to rest. Then the watch went off. “Oh! Two more everypony, let’s go!” Fire called to them. Dash’s eyes widened. She spent the whole break trying to figure out how to say thank you to Misty. But she didn’t regret it. It felt cool.

“Didn’t we already do four?” Lightning asked shamelessly.

“Nice try brother, get your hind quarters up the start.”

“You can say ‘ass’ bro, we’re all outta high school here.”

“Sometimes I wonder with you, now GO!” Fire gave his brother a kick.

“Whoa alright, don’t clench it any tighter dude.” The two brothers went up with Dash following behind. Soarin was completely right, they were quite a show together.

Rainbow Dash let her head fall against the table next to her tray of food. She survived the workout, but she felt completely spent already. And they had more to go? She would have to severely adjust her workout routine if she were to ever be on this level. Surprise leaned over, examined Dash’s posture, and application of face to table.

“I know the food’s bad, but it’s not that bad, or maybe it is, I dunno I'M HUNGRY!” Surprise said, cutting herself off with her own urge to eat and plunging her face into a bowl of chicken noodle soup. Dash removed her head from the table and groaned at how sore her body already felt, especially her back, shoulders, and around her wings. The food didn't look that good as Surprise had said. Dash had avoided the soup counter and had gone right through the main line, picking up a single grilled chicken breast, some rotini noodles with marinara sauce, and a few pieces of asparagus. It all looked very generic, but it was a mess hall. She wasn’t expecting fine cuisine.

The mess hall itself was a large open room with picnic table style seating. There were ten rows of five tables and each table could sit about three on each side. On the far end from the entrance there were multiple buffet style set-ups with chefs working behind a counter in the very back of the room. Anything that got depleted was quickly replaced. Dash was sitting with Surprise next to her with Fire Streak and Misty Fly sitting across.

Misty had picked up on Dash looking a little beat up. She turned to Fire and made a few signal. Fire blinked and turned to Dash.

“Misty wants to know if you’re okay.” He posed the question. Dash almost nodded, but she stopped, feeling like it would be better if,

“What’s the sign for yes?” She asked. Fire put up his hoof and tipped the end of it up and down quickly. Dash turned back to Misty and repeated the motion, followed by the wing forward motion to say “thank you”. Misty smiled very wide and clapped her hooves together. She made more signals to Fire.

“Misty says she really appreciates that you’re trying to learn how to talk to her.” Fire relayed. Misty made the thank you motion to Dash. Dash smiled and made the motion back to signal “you’re welcome.” Misty smiled even wider, got up from her seat, trotted around the table, and gave Dash a big hug before making her way towards the food for seconds.

Dash felt super tingly. An icon from her fillyhood just gave her a hug. Misty Fly was clearly enjoying Dash's company. Leaving a lasting impression was important to Dash, and it extended beyond the flying skills. She wanted them to think she was nice to have around as well.

“I must say Miss Dash,” Fire began as Dash finally got a start on her food, “it makes me quite happy to see you try communicating with Misty.”

“Well,” Dash blushed, her weakness: celebrity praise, “she’s just so cool. Doing what she does despite being deaf. A pony like that is just plain special. I feel it would be more respectful if I knew how to speak with her, even if it’s just a little. Plus she was the most awesome Wonderbolt when I was a filly.”

“There more to it than that,” Fire stated as he finished his chicken, “not many ponies make the effort. She has very few others she can 'speak' with outside of the squad. It’s not easy to learn the sign language, so she really doesn’t have anypony else besides us. When she hugged you just now for trying? That was the happiest I've seen her in a very long time.”

“Huh.” Dash thought as she took a few bites of the surprisingly good tasting asparagus. She hadn’t thought of that. Maybe that’s why Misty appreciated it though, because Dash hadn't thought about it. She had gone ahead and tried without thinking too much about it. As Fire said, learning any language must less sign language was difficult. She was more than certain most would give up quickly. This all made Misty even more incredible to Dash. How hard has Misty's life been? How did her fillyhood go without being able to hear or speak? How grueling was the process to learn sign language? Or hell, become a Wonderbolt?

After thinking about it all Dash found her view of Fire Streak improving as well. Surprise and Lightning Streak clearly knew the sign language, but whenever Misty wanted to say something, she always said it through Fire. He was always quick to help her. Fire also seemed to help her with other things. Dash saw him speaking with one of the chefs earlier, taking signals from Misty, to explain how she wanted her sandwich made. He was a little too proper at times, but it was very kind of him to help her out as much as he did.

“Shrrsh rt trrk thrm frrrvrr tr mrk mrr chrlr.” Lightning Streak finally came to the table, dropping a tray next to Dash with a big bowl of chili and nothing else. His voice was completely muffled by a hot dog and bun he had shoved in his mouth.

On the other hand, Dash found nothing redeeming about Fire’s twin. Lightning proceeded to wolf down the hot dog without it leaving his mouth before elbowing Dash in the side as he reached for the bowl.

“Classy brother, as usual.” Fire face-hoofed and shook his head. Dash tried to edge away from him, but the more she moved the more space he seemed to take up. Fire eyed Lightning’s food selection with confusion. “So you were complaining about gas this morning and you decided to fix that by eating chili?” He rolled his eyes.

“If you can’t beat it, add to it. Huhah.” He chuckled as he began sloppily eating. “You know what else gives me gas?” He said with a mouthful of chili. He reached over and pulled Dash into him. “Sexy mares. Wait is that good or bad?” As he failed to contemplate the stupidity of what he just said, Dash reached her wing up, and used it to press his face down into his bowl.

“You. Are. Disgusting.” She said while holding his head down. She looked to Fire, who was trying not to choke on his water while laughing.

“Finally! Celestia has seen fit to grace me with a sympathizer. I am blessed.” He swung his hooves up into the air.

“Is he always like this?” Dash questioned as Lightning blew bubbles in his chili.

“Always.” Fire grunted. “I shudder every time I realize we were born from the same mother.”

“Aren’t they GREAT together though?!” Surprise finally spoke up. Dash turned to her and looked up with wide eyes, there were at least 13 soup bowls stacked up on her tray. “They are the perfect contrast! Proper and nasty, yin and yang, Packers and Bears, Ornstein and Smough, deep dish and thin crust, ET CETERA. You can’t write it any better than that! Right Windy?”

Surprise, I get enough of this from Pinkie. Stay in the story.

“Oh okay!”

“Huh?” Dash glanced up to where Surprise was looking, but only saw the ceiling.

“Nothing. I NEED MORE SOUP!” She tossed her tray up and ran back to the food. The tray fell back to the table and each bowl stacked up just the way it was prior upon landing.

“I think you better let him up for air.” Fire said with a hint of reluctance as he pointed at his brother.

“Oh, right.” Dash used her wing to pick Lightning’s head out of his chili. His face was completely covered in it. He licked the chili around his lips before saying,

“She totally wants me.”

“Ugh!” Dash shoved his face right back down.

“See? She fits right in with them.” Said Spitfire as she and Soarin watched from across the mess hall at their usual table. Soarin nodded.

“I know, but I'm just worried about her. I’m sure she’ll be fine with them, I’m just, y’know, being a good coltfriend who wants to watch over his mare.” He explained before going back to his lunch.

“This is precisely why I gave my second reason for her not joining our squad today,” Spitfire began as Soarin looked up from his food and rolled his eyes. “She’s not even with us and you’re being distracted. You almost crashed head long into something multiple times during our obstacle course training. I haven’t seen you do that in a long time Mr. Precision.”

“Fine, fine.” Soarin sighed. Okay so maybe he was a little distracted.

“Soarin, you’re gonna have to trust her and those we assigned her to. Not just for now, but in the future too.” Spitfire caught his attention again, “believe me when I say this Soarin, Dash is by far the strongest prospect to become a Wonderbolt I have ever seen. It would take some sort of cosmic disaster for her to not join our ranks in the near future. Since this is the case you better find a way to cope with this worry, because I would hate to demote due to lack of focus. I’m okay with you being together, as long as you don’t forget your duties.”

“ZING! POW!” Fleetfoot shouted beside him as she stood up and made a motion to fake punch herself across the face.

Spitfire just gave her a look and Fleetfoot sat back down. Soarin didn’t retaliate or argue. Unlike Rapidfire, Soarin knew the importance of his job, and Spitfire would replace him if he suddenly under-performed. Their friendship aside, it was her duty as captain to keep the best on the lead squad. This wasn’t the first time she had threatened his position.

“I’ll figure it out, don’t worry.” He assured her.

“Good.” Spitfire took a drink of water before looking around, “Okay, now where did Rapidfire go? I know he doesn’t sit with us but I don’t see him anywhere. If he’s late to anything else today…” She trailed off. The other two also looked around for him. It was hard to miss Rapidfire, being bright orange with a red mane and all.

“Bingo!” Fleetfoot pointed towards a table near the entrance. “Hey! It’s her again too!” Both Soarin and Spitfire followed her hoof to the table. Rapidfire was sitting and eating with the turquoise mare from the ball.

“Who the hell is she?” Spitfire asked herself as they observed, “I’ve seen her three times since the ball in our compound. She's always with Rapid too.”

“You know that’s the mare that tried to seduce me at the ball right?” Soarin reminded her. She nodded.

“Fleetfoot told me. I’ll have to ask him later. You don’t think,” Spitfire’s eyes widened for a brief moment, “he’s trying to have a steady fillyfriend?”

“HA!” Fleetfoot guffawed and slammed her hoof down, drawing some nearby attention. “Sorry.”

“You do know who we’re talking about right?” Soarin chuckled. But he had to admit it was strange. Who was this mare and why did she keep coming to see Rapidfire?

Rainbow Dash feared the worst when they left the mess hall to continue the day. Her body ached considerably from just flying laps with them. But when they led her to a small meeting room instead she breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

She quickly got excited, especially when they all sat down and Misty Fly Stood front and center at the white board. She grabbed one of the markers and began drawing up formations and flight maneuvers. Dash really wanted to see how this old coordinator style show worked. It was also very interesting because Misty Fly could now write words on the board to communicate, which she did at an incredible speed. Dash would now be able to fully understand her.

She watched as the third squad went over basic signals she gave them. It was fun to watch the whole system reversed. Now Misty Fly had access to words, while they could only ask and answer questions using the sign language. Dash finally got to see Surprise use the signals to communicate. As expected she was very over the top with the movements, but she made Misty silent laugh more often than not.

The whole experience was just very cool. Dash had never seen something lecture based be handled without a single word being spoken. It was a calm silence that allowed her to focus on everything that was being shown. A silence that was completely broken when Lightning Streak fell asleep beside her and began snoring extremely loud. The other members noticed, but of course Misty Fly couldn’t hear him. It wasn’t until she finished drawing a complicated triangle cloud cut pattern on the board that she turned around and glared at Lightning. She grabbed one of many erasers stacked along the white board and threw it at him. It was a direct hit right below the chin, jolting him awake.

“UH, ISOCELES!” He yelled pointing at the triangle at the board. Misty had written his name with three exclamation marks on the board. She underlined it five times and tapped her hoof against it. Surprise fell out of her chair laughing while Fire Streak just shook his head. “Oh, uh,” Lightning put a hoof to his chest and made two clockwise motions. Misty Fly gave one stern nod before returning to the board. Dash figured that was the sign for “Sorry.”

Dash liked this squad. They weren’t the lead squad and none of them were Soarin, but they were very fun and accepted her quickly. It made Dash confident that beside the Wonderbolt image a lot of them were also normal, fun-loving ponies. It reminded her of when she got to know Soarin back in Ponyville.

As the review seemed to be coming to a close a few knocks sounded out. They all turned to the door, except for Misty, who kept drawing. Suddenly it opened and a dark blue pony with a matching dark blue mane stuck his head through. It was Wave Chill from squad 2.

“Soarin and Rapidfire were selected to spar in combat training!” He Said. Instantly Lightning and Surprise were out of their seats and running for the door. Dash glanced between the board and the door as Fire went up to Misty. She turned and looked, confused. After Fire made some frantic signals, her eyes widened and she dropped the marker before following Fire and making a beckoning motion towards Dash.

Dash was still processing what was going on, she heard that Soarin and Rapidfire were going to fight, but apparently this called for everything to stop and all ponies to come watch. Dash followed them out into the hallways as they sprinted for the combat arena.

“No cause for alarm m’lady.” Fire slowed down and galloped beside her. "Soarin and Rapidfire are a very popular rivalry amongst the Wonderbolts."

“I knew that! But I didn’t think we’d stop everything to watch.” Despite her confusion, Dash really wanted to see it. She wanted to see Soarin beat Rapidfire to a pulp. That probably wouldn’t happen because it was training, but if everypony was getting this excited about it, she was in for an awesome show.

Rainbow Dash followed Fire Streak into the large combat dome and was nearly blown off her hooves.

“HOLY...!” She was impressed by the dome, but the whole compound must’ve been there to watch. The dome was a large circular structure with an 80 meter diameter. Ten feet from every wall extended bleacher seats, which were filling up quickly with spectators. The rest of the space all the way to the center was a massive padded mat which, while it provided stable footing, was not soft or meant to absorb much impact. There were cloud machines spewing clouds to prepare the aerial portion of the inner circle as the place filled up.

“This way Dash, we’ll get a good seat.” Fire grabbed hold of her hoof and guided her along behind the rest of the squad.

“I wasn’t expecting a full turnout.” Dash thought out loud.

“Always happens.” Fire put simply as he guided her along. They almost brought the whole dome down last time they fought. You’re in for a spectacle.” The more Fire spoke about it, the more excited she got. As they finally got some nice second row seats about a quarter of the way around. Dash peered out towards the center.

Soarin and Rapidfire were in the center, facing each other, and wearing protective gear that consisted of padded boxing masks, general thin body padding, and light padded hoof gloves. Spitfire was standing between them. Dash couldn’t hear them from afar, but she had a pretty good idea of what Spitfire is saying.

“So wait, if I know Spitfire, there is no way she’d let them go at it. They’d try to kill each other. Trust me I’ve seen it.” Dash motioned both her hooves towards them.

“Well this is how our combat training works,” Fire began, “We do team combat maneuvers for an hour followed by a sparring match between two randomly selected Wonderbolts. It's meant to breed friendly competition and keep us sharp for actual combat. Combat training is always done with two squads at a time, meaning there are eight flyers. The selection process of who gets to fight who is completely random. Spitfire was the one who invented this process.”

That made sense, but Dash was sure Spitfire didn’t like Soarin and Rapidfire being selected. Dash had seen first-hoof how much they loathed each other. This was probably not going to end well.

Soarin glared daggers at Rapidfire who only smirked back a mere foot away. How ironic. Soarin wanted to tear him apart for his earlier comments and the random combat selection chose the two of them today. Spitfire stepped between them, looking at them both VERY sternly.

“Listen up and LISTEN WELL you two.” She began, shooting them each a hard glance. “If I wasn’t the one who created tour selection policy I would not be allowing you two to fight. This will be a completely clean bout understand? Any attempt to seriously injure the other will be punished. Do I make myself crystal clear?”

“Yes ma’am.” Soarin replied quickly.

“Right.” Rapidfire replied unenthusiastically. Spitfire shot him a glare before grunting.

“Don’t push me Rapidfire, you’re already on thin ice.” She snapped at him. He sighed.

“Yes ma’am.” He tilted his head back and forth. Spitfire shook her head,

"Slapdick..." She said under her breath before she continued, “alright, get in place.” She turned and flew towards the edge of the arena.

“You better believe I haven’t forgotten the locker room this morning.” Soarin growled at him as they slowly turned.

“Did you hear that?” Rapidfire glanced around, “it sounded like a little bitch.” He jeered before laughing and lifting off towards his starting spot.

“Oh this is going to be so satisfying.” Soarin bumped his front hooves together, never feeling more ready to tear Rapidfire’s wings off.

---To be Continued---

Author's Note

A little shorter, but this is all my outline for this chapter had so WOO WEEKEND FASTER UPDATES!

And for those looking for more fluff, just wait till next chapter ;)

Chapter 9

MLP: FiM
Flying Sky-High
By: Calm Wind

Chapter 9:

“Five bits on Soarin.”

“Three on Rapidfire.”

“Seven bits says Rapid doesn’t land a single punch.”

“Three bits on it gets called because they try to kill each other again.”

Dash wasn’t sure how she felt about this. She was excited to see Wonderbolt combat, as was everypony else in the combat dome, hell they were placing bets! But Soarin was out there. Her Soarin. And while she knew he was bigger, faster, stronger, and most definitely better looking than Rapidfire, Rapidfire was a rogue. There was no telling what kind of dirty or cheap tricks he would pull. Plus he was a master of cloud and element manipulation. It was his role on the lead squad after all. He could do many different things to mislead Soarin. It could get ugly, and while Dash was confident and believed in Soarin, she couldn’t shake the feeling that Rapidfire could really hurt him.

Spitfire glided over to where Fleetfoot and the second squad settled to watch. She sat down for a moment before standing right back up and turning to them all.

“I doubt either of them listened to me. If one of them gets the upper hand and goes overboard,” she pointed to the two male members of squad 2, “Wave Chill and Silver Lining will help me restrain him. Fleet, Blaze, and High Winds, will cover the other in case we can’t hold him back.”

“Roger!” They all saluted. Spitfire turned back and stared out into the arena. She wanted to stop it right then and there, but regardless this was her system and it was fair. The competition helped morale of the Wonderbolts as a whole. She just didn’t want to be responsible for any serious injuries. And between these two? It was going to happen.

Soarin turned and faced Rapidfire. Fifty meters stood between him and a smarmy face he desperately wanted to rearrange. He shook out his legs and did a few quick stretches, looking at the crowd that formed. Once again he and Rapidfire drew the whole damn compound to their random matchup. After scanning the crowd briefly he found what he was looking for. It was hard to miss that rainbow mane. He pointed towards Dash and nodded. She must’ve seen it because she waves both her arms in the air quickly to let him know.

Now this was even better. He obviously hadn’t told Dash about Rapidfire’s very classy name calling earlier, but she didn’t need to know. He could beat Rapidfire into submission in front of the mare he so readily wanted to defend earlier. This was for him and for her.

He cracked his neck back and forth before grunting and setting his hooves firmly into the mat. He eagerly awaited the buzzer to signal their start. Rapidfire had readied himself as well and the whole crowd went silent. The large clock, high up on the far end of the dome was set for ten minutes. The pony at the controls looked to Spitfire nearby. Spitfire waved a hoof at him.

The buzzer sounded.

Soarin’s eyes shot open and he went through the motions of his Sonic Blast-Off. With each step executed smoothly and perfectly, he fired from the spot and broke a sonic boom mere feet from the starting line. He screamed like a missile along the ground towards Rapidfire, who hadn’t moved a muscle. Soarin closed the distance between them in seconds, pulling back a hoof and aiming right for Rapidfire’s smirking face.

Rapidfire leapt into the air right before the punch could connect and headed towards the clouds. He had not anticipated Soarin’s turnaround time though. Soarin slammed his hooves to the ground as his momentum carried him, pushing his trajectory up, he thrust his wings out and angled hard turning very sharply a few feet from spectators. His turn blew a gust of wind past them so fierce that it knocked a few. Soarin locked on Rapidfire and pumped his wings to speed up even more. Rapidfire turned just in time to shield himself as Soarin collided with him and sent them both careening towards the clouds overhead.

Soarin caught a brief glimpse of a smirk on Rapidfire’s lips right before they passed into the clouds. As soon as they were in, Soarin felt the weight in front of him vanish and he exploded out the other end of the cloud alone.

“Crap!” Soarin grunted as he thrust out his wings to air brake and frantically glanced around. He couldn’t believe he fell for that so easily. Out of the corner of his eye he saw something come flying at him. He turned and punched at it, but it was only a cloud that burst upon impact with his hoof. Two more came flying in his peripheral vision. He punched the first, then the second, but his eyes widened as Rapidfire was directly behind the second.

Rapidfire connected the first punch, hooking Soarin right across the jaw. Even with the padding the impact sent Soarin’s head sharply to the left. The crowd reacted with surprise as Soarin tried to bring up a defense, but he was just disoriented enough that he blocked too far to the right. Rapidfire struck him from the other side and sent Soarin into a tumble downward. Rapidfire followed after him and readied his legs to kick Soarin towards the ground. Cocky mistake.

Soarin’s head wasn’t quite as fuzzy as he let on. He grabbed Rapidfire’s hoof as he kicked and held on tight. He flapped his wings to pull them both upward, yanking Rapidfire right out of his flight path. Soarin steadied himself and began to spin. He used Rapidfire’s weight to speed up the motion, spinning faster and faster before he let go, flinging Rapidfire towards the mat.

Despite flipping nearly uncontrollably, Rapidfire managed to mostly even himself out before slamming hard to the mat with a grunt. He quickly leapt from the spot with a tuck and roll as Soarin slammed down hard to Rapidfire’s former position. His hoof went through mat and struck the metal floor beneath it with a loud clang.

Rapidfire got to his hooves and took flight along the ground, but Soarin quickly executed the Sonic Blast-Off from his spot and closed in on Rapidfire instantly. Rapidfire turned and tried to guard himself as Soarin unleashed a flurry of heavy punches, but this was where Soarin had the advantage. A punch got through Rapidfire’s shoddy guard, clocking him right in the cheek. His guard completely fell and Soarin unloaded all his strongest blows. A right, then a left, to the chest, to the chin. He was pushing Rapidfire all the way towards the 5 foot wall that separated the arena from the bleachers.

Spitfire, Fleetfoot, and the second squad stood up from their spots, but Spitfire held a hoof out for them to hold. Soarin aimed a strong punch towards Rapidfire’s face directly, but Rapidfire pumped his wings hard and pushed himself up and over Soarin. Soarin’s hoof connected with the wall and the nearby bleachers shook. Dash fell out of her seat, but quickly scrambled up to continue staring in awe as she watched Soarin directly in front of their view.

Dash watch with immeasurable excitement as Soarin hopped up and did his motions for the Sonic Blast-Off sideways and against a wall before the bleachers shook again and Soarin was shooting after Rapidfire once more.

This.

Was.

AWESOME.

Dash had no other words to describe what she was watching. If this was the kind of combat she’d eventually be capable of, then she’d officially be the most badass pegasus ever.

She admittedly freaked out a little when Rapidfire got an early upper hand, but Soarin was now giving Rapidfire a beating he deserved. She was also going crazy over Soarin’s ability to control the Sonic Blast-off. When she pulled it off in Ponyville for Scootaloo, she could barely control her trajectory. All she could manage was the longest turn she had ever executed before she lost the speed. Soarin had just used it three times, one of which he did while turning his body and the other he did off a wall. It was so awesome she felt like screaming.

But another thing she noticed was that Soarin showed no fatigue. Back when he visited Ponyville Soarin had mentioned three blast offs was his limit. Either Soarin had done some serious training in the past months, or it was the dark magic he had mentioned early that morning. She hoped it wasn’t the latter.

She decided it wasn’t the time to worry because she was busy watching her stallion beat up a douche that deserved every bit of it.

“GET ‘IM SOARIN!” She yelled out for him as the rest of the crowd cheered.

“So why did you stop us?” Fleetfoot asked Spitfire as she glanced up and read the clock. There were five and a half minutes left.

“If Soarin were on the receiving end of those punches, I probably would’ve called it.” She explained. Fleetfoot blinked and stared at Spitfire with her mouth ajar. “Rapidfire could use a little extra beating.”

“That is surprisingly evil of you!” Fleetfoot snickered with a smirk.

“Are you complaining?” Spitfire smirked right back.

“Absolutely not!” Fleetfoot agreed and turned back to watch.

“Dammit!” Rapidfire cursed as Soarin closed in quickly again. Three Sonic Blast-offs and Soarin showed no sign of being tired. He twisted left to avoid Soarin’s incoming punch, and tried to make it to the clouds, but Soarin veered left so hard he looped all the way around back towards Rapidfire and delivered a hard kick to his side. Rapidfire grunted and put up a hoof to block another blow to his face, but Soarin spun while swinging his other hoof around and down before bringing it up and upper cutting Rapidfire fiercely below the chin. Rapidfire flipped backwards to regain control and growled. He stole quick glances around the crowd and saw them all cheering. The name “Soarin” was being called out. He was clearly losing hard, but no one was stopping the match, and it was making him angry. VERY angry. He shifted sideways to avoid another kick from Soarin, and pushed off Soarin’s body as he passed to send himself into the clouds.

“Shoot!” Soarin glared up at the clouds. He was hoping he could keep Rapidfire lower to the ground. Rapidfire was in his element among the clouds, and it was the one place he had an advantage over Soarin.

Not wanting time to expire before he gave Rapidfire a good full thrashing, Soarin flew into the clouds and focused, trying to take note of everything around him. Rapidfire suddenly appeared from a cloud above him, bringing his elbow down. Soarin guarded, but the force sent them both downward into another cloud. Soarin fell through it, but Rapidfire was gone. Soarin’s eyes darted to and fro, spotting Rapidfire jumping quickly from cloud to cloud. He gave chase, trying to follow Rapidfire’s movements, but it was difficult. Rapidfire was changing direction so suddenly between each cloud that Soarin felt like his eyes were crossing trying to find him. Then out of the corner of his eye he saw something else move at the same time.

“What?” He turned a looked, then blinked and looked all around. Clouds that were pony shaped began firing out of every single cloud amassed in the area. They would jump from one to another so quickly that Soarin never had time to deduce if it was Rapidfire or a fake. What he didn’t realize though, was that Rapidfire was no longer among the clouds.

Rapidfire had dropped beneath the cloud level with five clouds that he had pulled down with him. He forced them all together, the cloud turning darker with each one pressed together until it was a single mass and dark with rain water from the accumulated condensation. He glanced up to make sure Soarin was still distracted as he pumped his wings to pick up speed and angled towards the ground. He slammed his hooves to the ground, screeching them against the mat. He turned around as he slid, pressing the cloud to the heat of his trail across the mat.

“What’s he doing?” Spitfire suddenly stood up as they watched.

“He made a small rain cloud…” Fleetfoot blinked. “And now he’s dragging against the ground… that would… Wait…”

“He’s making a compressed thundercloud!” Spitfire made a hoof motion towards the arena. “STOP HIM! NOW!”

The cloud crackled full of electricity. Rapidfire sneered as he looked up at Soarin. They used lightning in their shows before, but it was always very controlled. Rapidfire knew many other ways to manipulate lightning, and this one would give Soarin a very painful experience.

Soarin finally figured out that Rapidfire was in fact, not even in the clouds and quickly looked down to see him on the ground. He readied himself, but then spotted the thundercloud too little too late.

Rapidfire tossed the cloud lightly up into the air, pulled back and threw a punch into it, aiming it towards Soarin. An intense ribbon of electricity erupted from the cloud and seared towards Soarin. Soarin couldn’t shield himself at the speed of light.

“SOARIN!!!!!” He heard Dash’s voice from the stands right before impact.

The lightning struck him and he instantly felt the electrical pulses surge through him painfully. He didn’t hesitate, it was much more powerful than any lightning he had ever handled, but he tried to control it anyway. He had to spread out his body so the electricity couldn’t concentrate and eventually be forced out. The only problem was that this electricity was so strong it felt like it was holding him in a straight jacket. If he didn’t spread his body out soon, it would be bad. Very bad.

“HHHRRRRGGG!!!!!” He strained himself to the limit and beyond. He refused to give in. He would never give in no matter what the opponent! The dark blue glow began to slowly shine from his body again as it had two weeks ago on the obstacle course. As it did, he slowly began to push his legs outward. The grip of the electricity began to weaken as the blue glow became stronger. “RRRRAH!!” With one final push, Soarin spread his body completely. The lightning fired out of him upward and careened into the clock overhead. It exploded upon impact and several pieces of fiery debris fell from above. The Wonderbolts in the stands below all quickly flew aside as the pieces clanged and clattered against the bleachers. Multiple pegasi were quickly over to the scene with fire extinguishers.

Soarin exhaled and fell limply towards the ground. It felt like that was the most effort he had ever pushed towards something and he had absolutely nothing left. He noticed the supposed blue glow around him this time, so he figured he would probably pass out like before too.

“GOTCHA! OOF!” His eyes shot open as somepony caught him and they landed roughly against the mat. He glanced over and saw Dash on the ground with him, staring back at him worriedly. She quickly hugged him tightly. “Are you okay?!?!” she frantically asked.

“Better now that I’m lookin’ at you.” He joked despite feeling extra weary. Fleetfoot, Blaze, and Highwinds had made it over to him as well and were relieved to see Dash had caught him. They all looked towards Rapidfire, who struggled in the grip of Silver Lining and Wave Chill.

“What the hell?! Let go of me!” He whined as Spitfire landed right in front of him, nostrils flaring and breathing so hard you could hear how angry she was.

“You…” She gritted her teeth and roughly pulled the mask portion of her uniform off. “YOU FUCKING IDIOT!” She stepped forward and pressed her face into his. “You just tried to kill him! You REALLY ACTUALLY just tried to kill Soarin!” Her eyes were filled with rage, rage that seemed like she was just barely keeping at bay.

Dash looked around and saw the rest of the Wonderbolts in the bleachers being shooed out by the members of the third squad. They all looked eager to leave so as not to get caught in the storm that was their captain enraged. Soarin reached up and patted Dash on the shoulder and slowly rolled over. She kept an eye on him as he shakily rose to his hooves. He didn’t nearly have as bad of a repercussion after the dark magic this time. He figured Dash’s presence had something to do with it like how he helped her sleep.

“You’re lucky Soarin knows how to handle lightning! Anypony else and they would be DEAD right now! Is this clicking in that thick head of yours!? THEY. WOULD. BE. DEAD! She kept barking in his face. Spitfire pulled herself away from Rapidfire towards Fleetfoot.

“Call in security, and then get a hold of the Canterlot Police.” She ordered.

“Yes ma’am.” Fleet replied professionally and quickly left.

“Everypony else restrain him until security gets here, then bring him to my office.” She said nothing more before quickly leaving the dome. Soarin put his hoof around Dash’s shoulder.

“Let’s get out of here.” He suggested while glancing back at Rapidfire. He had stopped struggling in the grip of the squad two stallions, but now he was glaring harshly at Soarin and Dash. Dash saw it too. It scared her. The look they were receiving from Rapidfire was menacing. From his eyes alone it looked like he really wanted to hurt them. Dash had looked danger in the face many times in the past, but the intent written in Rapidfire’s expression just plain frightened. She leaned close into Soarin as the two left the dome.

As soon as they emerged from the dome Dash thrust herself at Soarin and hugged him tightly. He was taken by surprise, but returned the embrace gently. Just like Dash had thought before the match started. She had a feeling something would go wrong and something almost did. Soarin had already almost died once in her life, the fact that it could’ve happened again made her want to squeeze him for two reasons. For being a jerk that kept trying to die on her and because she never wanted to deal with that fear ever again.

She was also still thinking about the way Rapidfire glared at them. The intent in those eyes just made her shiver. She’d never felt so much direct ill intent from another before.

“So you’re okay?” Dash asked without letting up her firm grip at all.

“Are you?” He asked right back. She had been shivering against his side since they started walking. He could tell she was uneasy.

“I’m, I’m just scared of him.”

“Rapidfire?”

“Yeah.” She nodded as he draped one of his large wings over her back. “He just tried to kill you. He didn’t even hesitate. I’ve just, never seen anypony do that before.” She shuddered. “Well, the Shadowbolts tried to kill us, but Rapidfire is your own comrade! It just, struck me differently.”

“Don’t worry about him. I’m sure he just earned himself a one way ticket to being discharged from the Wonderbolts. I think he violated over ten of our prime rules with that.” Soarin lightly stroked her mane.

“Now answer my question,” she pushed off and put herself in front of him, “and no avoiding it.” She looked firmly into his eyes. He glanced at his body, and besides maybe one bruise form the few blows Rapidfire connected, he was fine. His body felt inwardly tired from handling the lightning and the dark magic activating, but he already felt like he was recovering from that. More work from the strange power in him probably.

“I’m definitely a bit… shocked.” He failed to keep a straight face. Dash’s eyes and ears instantly flattened as the pun set in. “But otherwise I’m okay.”

“It’s gonna take me weeks to forget that one.” Dash rolled her eyes and shook her head before smiling. Soarin just almost got killed, and he cracked a very bad joke in its wake. “Never change you dope.” She pulled him in again for another tight hug.

“Commander Soarin! Miss Dash!” Fire Streak’s voice caught both their attention. They both turned to see the third squad approaching them. Fire stopped and saluted Soarin while the rest caught up. “Sir, are you alright?” Fire asked Soarin frantically.

“I’m fine Fire, you can relax.” Soarin chuckled. “The lightning didn’t hurt me at all, and he only landed a few blows.”

“Dude, you were like, messing him up good. He’s a real ass huh?” Lightning Streak came over and jabbed Soarin in the side.

“Brother! Higher ranking officer!” Fire loudly mumbled to his brother, but Lightning completely ignored him.

“THAT WAS COOL!” Surprise bounced up and down in front of Soarin. “YOU GOTTA SHOW ME HOW TO DO THAT WITH LIGHTNING!”

“I’d rather not get you killed Surprise.” Soarin shrugged. “Maybe with less lightning I can, but Rapidfire kinda broke a lot of rules with that one.” He blinked as Misty Fly tapped him on the shoulder. He turned and faced her as she made a few motions to him. Dash perked up and watched carefully. “Oh! Uh…” Soarin thought for a second. Dash internally squealed delightfully when Soarin brought up his hooves and along with his wings made a few shaky gestures before smiling. Misty Fly tipped her head to the side in confusion.

“Close.” Fire said while snickering. “Three feathers out not two. You said ‘me am super’”

“Oh! Haha…” Soarin repeated the gestures with the slight corrections. Misty Fly smiled and gave him a quick hug. Dash wasn’t sure how much more she could fall in love with Soarin. She didn’t even think about if he knew how to “speak” to Misty Fly, but he put forth the effort. She wasn’t surprised, it was just the kind of stallion he was after all.

“HEY!” Dash was cut from her thoughts and almost fell over when Surprise yelled into her ear. “It was also WAY COOL when you flew out there and caught Soarin!”

“Uh, thanks?” Dash replied, slightly flustered by Surprise’s very sudden way of doing things.

“Well, it was more like breaking his fall, BUT IT WAS STILL COOL!” She added and kept bouncing.

“Haha.” Dash rolled her eyes but then smiled in Soarin’s direction. “I owe him a catch, so I guess it was worth it.” She winked at him.

“I suppose it counts.” Soarin smirked back. He turned and looked over squad three. “Well, I hate to break this up, but we should get back to our schedules.” He was quickly yanked down to eye level by Dash.

“WAIT! You’re not seriously going back to your workouts after that! You just got struck by lightning!” She shook his head with her hooves.

“I’m fine Dash.” He pouted.

“At least go get checked out by the trainers.” She demanded.

“Dash, I said—” he began, but froze when her eyes narrowed, “okay, I’ll get checked out first.” He succumbed.

“Good.” She nodded in satisfaction. Soarin glanced at the members of squad three and saw that they were all occupied. He hooked a hoof around Dash’s neck and drew her in, planting a quick kiss on her lips. She let out a little yelp in surprise. She blushed furiously. “Soarin!” She whispered as her eyes darted to the third squad, they were all looking away except for Misty Fly who was swooning and d’awwing silently in their direction.

“I felt great having you out there watching.” He whispered back. “Gotta run, I’ll see you later.”

“Get out of here jerk!” She giggled quietly and pushed him along. She sighed happily as Soarin left and she moved to rejoin the third squad, flashing a grin at the beaming Misty Fly as she approached. She was glad only Misty Fly saw, while she was capable of telling the rest, Dash was sure Misty was more than good at keeping things quiet. It definitely wasn’t a secret that Dash and Soarin were a thing, but Dash didn’t want to strut it around.

A silence washed over all of them however as Fleetfoot walked passed with a large team of Wonderbolt security guards in tow. Dash was reminded of Rapidfire and the way he glared at her and Soarin. She had no idea what was in store for Rapidfire now. Her opinion of him had changed from asshole to somepony with a few screws loose, and definitely in the worst way possible. She did her best to not think about it as she followed the third squad to their next scheduled activity.

“Thanks!” Soarin waved to the medical staff as he left the infirmary. The lead squad was all busy now with certain things, but he wasn’t going to skip out on training. Even if he did just get struck by lightning and it might have killed him. One thing he had to do though was get a different Wonderbolt uniform. His current one was full of rips and tears from the lightning. Whatever, it’s not like he had only one set of the spandex. He had a closet with at least thirty of them. He made his way up the stairs casually, still disregarding most of what just happened, only to stop when he heard yelling coming from the direction of Spitfire’s office.

Oh, that’s right. Rapidfire did just try to kill him. His curiosity got the better of him and he approached Spitfire’s office. He was not surprised at all to see Fleetfoot already eavesdropping. She gave a quick glance at Soarin as he approached, but only gave a nod before motioning for Soarin to listen in too.

“—face it Rapidfire, there is no way to snake your way out of this one!” Spitfire’s voice.

“Oh and you didn’t think to stop the fight when he started beating me up?” Rapidfire.

“It was clean and you were wearing protective gear! A compressed thundercloud is much more serious than a few punches!”

“What are you gonna do huh? I have a contract, and I’m sure my parents: should I remind are massive donors to this organization, wouldn’t be too happy if you discharged me.”

Soarin grit his teeth and growled. What an asshat. What a spoiled little brat. Trying to make excuses and hide behind his personal shield of his family name. He really didn’t understand the gravity of what he’d done.

“As a matter of fact,” Spitfire’s voice came again, “I have your contract right here. And oh look! There’s this little tidbit at the bottom about violation of prime rules. It clearly states that any severe direct violation of the prime rules is to be met with immediate discharge from the Wonderbolts. Oh and look! The very first and most IMPORTANT prime rule is ‘No Wonderbolt shall partake in any action meant to severely harm or injure another Wonderbolt.’” A loud slam came from in the office. “A compressed thundercloud is extremely dangerous, not to mention you packed more lightning into it than is deemed safe to handle under any circumstance. Then, without a second thought, you fired it at Soarin. You’re the lead squad effect specialist, you know DAMN well how dangerous those are, but you did it anyway. If not for his expertise on handling lightning, Soarin would be dead.”

“Feh.” Rapidfire clearly didn’t even care.

“So not only do I finally have a reason to get rid of your ass, but I hope you enjoy what this little fiasco has gotten you into. The Canterlot police are on their way. I am going to discuss with them what happened and how you are to be punished for attempted murder.”

“WHAT?!” Rapidfire suddenly had a reason to care. “THAT’S BULLSHIT!”

“Don’t expect much support. You only did it in front of every single pony in the compound. Congratulations Rapidfire, you’ve dug a hole so deep no matter of name stating or anything else can save you from it. Get him out of my face.”

“Where to?” A security guard inside asked.

“Lock him in his room and seal the armor shutter over his window. We’ll hold him here until we get word from the police.”

“YOU!!!!” Rapidfire yelled out.

Soarin and Fleetfoot stepped back as they heard scuffling in the office. The door opened and Rapidfire was being shoved out and restrained by four security guards. He was kicking and grunting as they led him out. He shot two sharp glares at Soarin and Fleetfoot as they passed. Spitfire stepped out and didn’t look too surprised to see Soarin and Fleetfoot there.

“You okay?” Soarin asked. Spitfire sighed.

“No.” She stated without much movement. “Both of you go finish your training for the day.”

“What about you?” Fleetfoot asked. Spitfire shook her head.

“I need to do two things: Think about all of this and figure out how I’m going to explain this to Blaze Tail and Flash Wind.” She went back into her office and shut the door. Fleetfoot tried to say more, but Soarin put a hoof on her shoulder and shook his head.

“Leave her be. Let’s go.”

---To be Continued---

Author's Note

I know i said fluff in this chapter but the battle took up more space than i thought >_<

BUT THERE WILL BE EXTRA FLUFF in the next i PROMISE this time xD

Chapter 10

MLP: FiM
Flying Sky-High
By: Calm Wind

Chapter 10:

“One more time.” Fire Streak nodded and made motions to Misty Fly. She smiled and pointed a hoof up. Fire, Lightning, and Surprise all took flight with Misty slightly behind.

Dash was sitting off to the side, watching them practice their impromptu show. She had been curious about each of their skills from the start, but hadn’t actually gotten to see them until now. Misty Fly held her hooves out as she hovered, and made some quick signals. Surprise kicked three clouds into the air, one at a time. Each kick was harder than the last, making the clouds crash together and form a big puffy cloud. Misty Fly made a cutting motion with her hooves. Perfectly synchronized, the Streak twins swiped through the cloud, cutting it into a perfect cube. Misty pumped her wings, pushing herself forward and gathering up the pieces cut off and kicking them to Surprise. She motioned back to the twins, crossing her hooves into an X. The twins crossed through the cloud, cutting it into four smaller cubes.

Misty flew and grabbed two of the cubes while Fire and Lightning cut the other two to their own liking. Fire made his into a pyramid. Lightning made his into what looked like a mare’s plot, earning an eye roll from Misty. She looked back at Surprise, who had bundled the cloud scraps into a sphere, and tossed the other cubes at her. Surprise fell to the ground and the ball of clouds she was holding somehow bounced and propelled her, hind legs first, at the cloud cubes. The cubes were kicked high up into the air. Misty pointed at Fire and Lightning, and the two stood next to each other before rocketing upward, back to back. They twisted around each other as they ascended. When they reached the right height, they turned and pushed off one another, propelling themselves at the cubes. They caught them, turned, and tossed them together. The clouds smashed into each other and compressed, exploding into mist that gently rained down.

Misty Fly made a motion to Surprise and the two positioned themselves beneath the falling mist. They began flying in a circle, keeping the exact pace to create a spiral wind that caused the mist to disperse and fly in every direction.

Misty Fly clapped her hooves together and they all glided back to the ground. She smiled contently and gave a nod to Fire.

“Okay then, I guess that’s good for the day.” He said.

Dash clapped for them and they all gave her a comical bow. So that’s how they all worked. Surprise was really good at manipulating clouds quickly as Soarin had mentioned. The twins were nearly perfect at flying in sync. Every motion Misty called for them to do was timed together so smoothly it’s liked they were one pony, which was funny considering their opposite personalities. Then of course, Misty Fly. Such complicated coordination without any speaking. She was truely amazing. Dash had never met a more inspiring pony in her life.

“So how’d we do m’lady?” Fire addressed Dash with a whisk of his mane.

“I’m not sure how to describe it,” Dash explained happily as they all made their way out of the practice showroom, “I’ve never seen a coordination show up close! It’s awesome to see how it all works.”

“I know, I’m a natural born leader man,” Lightning Streak appeared on the other side of Dash. She rolled her eyes and leaned into him.

“Because you’re just so awesome, the way you coordinate the whole show despite being deaf.” She faked an impressed tone.

“Uh, what?” Lightning didn’t catch on.

“Oh you’re not Misty Fly? My mistake!” She thrust her wing out and he tumbled over himself, again.

“Yup, haven’t lost my touch.” He said as Surprise picked him up off the ground. Fire just shook his head, relaying the scene to Misty Fly with the sign language. Misty shook lightly with a smile, which looked like she would be laughing if she could speak.

“Well we only have one more part of the day, and you can join in this one Miss Dash.” Fire explained as they turned a corner. Dash wasn’t certain how to feel about it, she was still feeling tired from the morning routine. “We are scheduled to a gym weight lifting session. You look like you keep in good shape so it I’m sure it won’t be hard.”

“Oh.” Dash nodded. “That doesn’t sound too bad.”

“I believe the first squad was scheduled to be there with us, but I don’t know if all of them will be there after that little battle dome incident.” Fire trailed off, but Dash got excited. She hoped at least Soarin would show up. Call her a giddy fillyfriend, but she adored his muscular body. If she got to see him pump some iron too? Twice the sexy. “Everypony go ahead and get changed out of your uniforms. Meet in the gym in ten.” Fire pointed to them all as they reached the locker rooms.

“Awww.” Dash was disappointed to part with the uniform. But the chance to see Soarin all sweaty in the gym made her excited nonetheless. The thought alone almost made her hover instead of walk as she went to get changed.

After reluctantly removing the Wonderbolt uniform, Dash dropped it in the laundry chute and followed the signs to the gym. After a few wrong turns, she found her way there. She held her breath as she pushed the left double door open. She exhaled in disappointment when she didn’t spy Soarin anywhere. A few other lower ranking squads were present as well as a few cadets. The only member of squad three that had shown up so far was Lightning Streak. So she just waited patiently for the rest to come and took in her surroundings.

The gym was a large room with a very high ceiling. There were four large fans in each corner of the ceiling and one HUGE fan in the center. All together they blew a gentle breeze down that was very refreshing. The gym itself was divided into three sections. One section had multiple treadmills and other cardio equipment. Another was a large open area with a mat similar to the one in the battle dome. It seemed to be used for stretching and flexibility. Finally, no gym would be complete without a section devoted to strength training. The third section was packed with weight benches, machines, free weights, and the like.

She looked over when she saw Fire Streak enter with Misty Fly and Surprise close behind.

“Perfect, all on time.” Fire nodded, “now we just have to wait for coach Pec Bounce.” Dash blinked at the name.

“Pec… Bounce…?”

“ALRIGHT!!!!!” A loud booming voice came from behind Dash, Misty, and Surprise. Misty didn’t budge, but Dash and Surprise got blown away by it. Dash yelped and tumbled, but Surprise rode the force like it like it was intentional yelling,

“Wheee!”

“WHO’S READY TO GET BUFF?!” The voice yelled again. Dash frantically got to her hooves and shook her head before looking at the owner of the voice. He was a large white pony, body bulging with muscles, with a buzzed yellow mane, and a pair of tiny wings. He wore a red baseball cap and had a whistle hanging around his neck, but the string was pulled so taught by his enormous neck that it looked impossible for the whistle to even reach his mouth.

“Bulk Biceps?!” Dash thought out loud. The “pony” turned to her and cocked an eyebrow at the name.

“OH YOU KNOW MY SON?! YOU MUST BE FROM PONYVILLE!” He shouted. She felt like her face was being blown off as he “spoke.”

“Uh, yeah I do, please stop wrecking my ears.” She said quietly while crouched down and smashing her ears to her head with her hooves.

“YOU’VE GOT A CADET TRAINING DAY HUH? GOOD LET’S SEE WHAT YOU’RE MADE OF!” He yelled at Dash again, before turning and pointing at the weights. “ALRIGHT!”

“Oh man…” Dash could tell this wasn’t going to be easy.

And boy was she right. Squad three was scheduled for a strength session. No sooner did they begin did Dash find herself being yelled at towards almost every weight machine in the gym. Dash was in pretty good shape in terms of strength, having worked at Sweet Apple Acres a lot recently. So it wasn’t too hard to keep up, but Pec Bounce was one hardass of a coach.

“HRGH!” Dash pushed up a barbell before Fire grabbed it and racked it back on the bench. She let her arms dangle down and exhaled.

“IT AINT A BED, ON YOUR HOOVES!” Pec Bounce yelled, blowing Dash off the bench into a heap on the floor. Dash quickly stood up despite how tired her limbs were. “OKAY FIVE MINUTE BREAK THEN WE DO THE CIRCUIT AGAIN!” Pec bounce yelled before trudging off.

“Good lord he’s tough.” Dash sighed.

“But he does his job well,” Fire Streak chuckled as he wiped sweat from his brow. Dash wobbled slightly as she took a few steps. She had gotten stronger over the past few months but this was crazy. Her muscles never felt tighter or more tired in her life. She felt so swollen that it was hard to bend certain parts of her body. To top it off they weren’t done? She wouldn't be able to feel her body tomorrow morning for sure.

But then something caught her eye. Something that made her forget all about her body. At some point during their session, Soarin and Fleetfoot had made their way into the gym. No one was coaching them, but it was to be expected. The lead squad was probably disciplined enough to do their workouts in their sleep. In Dash’s eyes however, Fleetfoot wasn’t even there. Dash was staring at her stallion, and oh dear it would be VERY hard for her to concentrate from this point forward.

Dash wobbled her way over to a machine to peek out from behind. She knew Soarin wouldn’t mind her taking an eyeful of him, but she felt like doing it anyway. He must’ve been going at it for a while already because his muscles were looking pumped and Dash HAD to see more. He was bench pressing, just like she had just been, but upon inspecting the bar, he had to be using at least two hundred pounds. Dash had only lifted ninety-five. To make it even better he was pressing the weight up fast, like it was light. He grunted quitely with each press, his hooves nestled firmly into the hoof holds on the bar. No one was spotting him, but she doubted he would need it.

He re-racked the weight and sat up on the bench, rotating his arms to loosen up as he did. The motion made his chest muscles flex and relax repeatedly. Dash bit her lip and blushed. She wanted to get her hooves on those later for sure. Soarin didn’t look like he was going to burst at the seams like Pec Bounce, but he sure was buff, in the sexy way as well as the efficient way. Dash knew he was strong, but the way his body was all pumped up made him look even more powerful. She was enjoying every second of it.

Soarin suddenly glanced in her direction. She thought about hiding, but nah, she waved and winked. Soarin smirked and wiped his face off with a towel before striking a pose and flexing. Dash giggled to herself and found her wings were not staying to her side.

“Hey watcha doin?!” Surprise’s face suddenly appeared upside down in front of Dash’s.

“AUGH!” Dash screamed, lost her balance and fell backwards. “ME? HAHA? NOTHING! NOTHING AT ALL! HAHAHA!” Dash replied hysterically with her wings completely ruffled and stuck out to her sides. Fire and Lightning had glanced over, wondering what was going on, but Lightning caught on quickly as he looked in Soarin’s direction.

“Girl’s got it REAL hot for commander Soarin huh?” He snickered. Fire sighed and slowly looked at his brother with disapproval.

“Must you always put things so vulgarly?”

“I know right? She coulda had this guy.” Lightning pointed at himself.

“I said nothing about…! Oh, forget it.” Fire rolled his eyes.

Oblivious to the whole situation, Misty just smiled.

Dash ended up internally thanking Surprise for breaking her from the serious tunnel vision, because Pec Bounced returned soon after.

“ALRIGHT! ROUND TWO OF SIX!”

“SIX?!?!?!?” Dash groaned. At least she had some eye candy to motivate her now.

Dash somehow managed to make it through the lifting session with her body still intact. It all went well except for one incident. While spotting Lightning Streak, Dash got distracted by Soarin and Lightning almost crushed himself with the barbell. She got a good scolding from Pec Bounce about gym safety and awareness, but other than that it went fine. But oh yes, the pain. Sweet Celestia the pain. She shower felt good afterward, but she could barely carry her tray of food to the table during dinner.

Alas, she survived the training day, and all through dinner she was sad that she'd be parting ways with squad three soon. But Dash was confident she had made friends in all of them, even Lightning. Favor like that would be good to have come time for Wonderbolt recruitment. It was going on eight o’clock after dinner was over. So unfortunately, it was time to say goodbye.

She bid farewell to Lightning Streak and Surprise, but Fire Streak and Misty Fly accompanied her to Spitfire’s office. Spitfire bid them entry when Fire knocked. As they did, Dash saw that Soarin and Fleetfoot were present as well.

Soarin immediately took note of the wobble in Dash’s step and chuckled to himself. She clearly had a rough time, but she was acting tough and trying not to show it.

“Ah, I almost forgot about you guys.” Spitfire admitted as they entered, “Sorry if I’m not in the best mood, a lot of shit has happened today as you know.” She stood up and came around her desk to give a more casual air to the moment. “So? Report.” She directed to Fire. Fire Streak saluted.

“Miss Rainbow Dash was given the full regular day experience. As expected she showed a little lack of endurance, but I would assume she hasn’t been doing workouts like ours on a regular basis. During the strength session, she performed beyond regular expectation and actually finished Pec Bounce’s crazy circuit training all the way through.”

“Did she now?” Spitfire looked impressed. Dash glanced between them.

“Wait, I was being evaluated?!” She deduced. Fleetfoot giggled off to the side.

“It’s a training day that cadets earn through exceptional work. Why else would we allow it?” She shrugged and winked at Dash.

“Like Fire said," Spitfire continued, "I’m not surprised the endurance training was difficult for you. Some of the veterans still struggle with that. I am, however, very impressed you lasted through the strength training.” Spitfire nodded. “I’ll take note. It’ll help you in the future.” She smiled to Dash.

Well! That was unexpected, but it was an opportunity in disguise.

“Now…” Spitfire turned to Misty Fly. Spitfire proceeded to seamlessly make motions and gestures with her hooves and wings. Again, Dash found herself not surprised. Spitfire was the captain, and being able to fully communicate with the rest of the Wonderbolt members was essential, even if it was more difficult with others. Misty Fly smiled and made a series of gestures back. Spitfire nodded. “And looks like you’ve passed the charisma test with flying colors.” Spitfire added.

“Charisma test?” Dash tipped her head to the side. Soarin cut in.

“She purposely put you with Misty Fly. We wanted to see how you responded to her disability. Many ponies shy away, but a pony with a good heart won’t let it make a difference.” He leaned over and draped a wing over Dash’s back. Fleetfoot made several gagging noises as he did. She ducked while laughing as Soarin swiped his other wing in her direction.

“Then that concludes it. Dismissed.” Spitfire said to Fire and Misty. Fire relayed the message to Misty, who frowned and looked towards Dash. Fire Streak bowed to Dash,

“It has been an honor and a pleasure Miss Rainbow Dash. I hope we see each other again soon in the future.”

“Heh, Thanks Fire.” She had gotten used to his properness. Dash jumped slightly as Misty rushed forward and gave her a big hug followed by a single sniffle. Dash could almost hear her own heart break. It appeared that it really was rare for Misty to find others who tried to understand her. Dash returned the hug and patted Misty on the back lightly. Dash quickly looked to Fire before the hug could break,

“Quick! What’s the sign for goodbye?” She asked.

“Same as yes, but do it with your wing instead.” He quickly responded. Dash broke the hug with Misty, who had watery eyes. Dash made the wing motion to say “goodbye” followed by the motion outward from her mouth to say “thank you.” A single tear fell down Misty’s face, but it was with a warm smile. She did the motion right back to say “thank you” as well, before going to Fire’s side and pressing herself into him. He draped a wing over her as they left.

“I really think I’m gonna cry.” Fleetfoot held her hooves over her mouth lightly. “Dash that was so well done.” She commented. Dash smiled.

“I just want her to know I care,” said Dash, “She's such an awesome pony. She doesn’t get as much love as she deserves.”

“An attitude like that will take you very far in life Dash.” Spitfire nodded in approval. “Remember that.”

Dash tingled as Spitfire complimented her. The whole day had turned out great despite a few hiccups here and there. Speaking of hiccups though,

“Oh! What happened with Rapidfire?!” Dash eagerly asked. Spitfire flinched upon hearing the name and Soarin quickly stepped over to Dash.

“I’ll fill her in Spitfire.” He quickly volunteered. Spitfire sighed.

“Thanks.” She returned to her seat and faced away from them.

“Uh, did I say something I shouldn’t have?” Dash whispered to Soarin with worry. Soarin shook his head as they turned to the door and Fleetfoot went to Spitfire’s side.

“No, it’s just been a hard day for her. Everything that happened put a lot of snags into the lead squad plans. I’ll fill you in as we go back to my room.” He whispered back. Dash took one glance over her shoulder back at Spitfire and saw her shaking her head as Fleetfoot tried to talk to her. Even though it was unintentional, Dash still felt bad about bringing it up.

“Discharged!?” exclaimed Dash as she and Soarin walked up the stairs to the third floor. She wasn’t surprised, but it was still a heavy decision Spitfire had to make.

“Yep,” Soarin nodded, “He finally took it further than he could rebound from.”

“Is there more to it though?” Dash asked out of curiosity. Soarin was going to tell her regardless.

“Well, to put it lightly he tried to kill me. That amount of lightning is very dangerous and unstable. If not…”

“Stop.” Dash shook her head.

“Hm?”

“I get that part. I just don’t want to think about it.” She requested while leaning heavily into him.

“Oh, sorry.” He flopped his ears down.

“But yeah what else happened?” She pressed the question.

“Fleetfoot contacted the Canterlot police. When they arrived, Spitfire spoke with them. Once they had the facts it was decided that Rapidfire would be put under arrest on the intent of attempted murder.”

“Whoa…” Dash’s eyes widened upon hearing. She wasn’t a lawyer, but you didn’t have to be one to understand the severity of something like that. Rapidfire was flying headlong to possibly a life sentence in prison. “Where is he now?” Dash asked with worry. Soarin shook his head.

“He’s under house arrest. Locked in his own room with the armored window shutter closed and locked too. We are apparently holding him here until they can sort out what to do with him.” They stopped in front of Soarin’s room.

“Well on the bright side.” Dash smiled, “he’s finally out of your mane for good!” Soarin chuckled.

“He made one hell of a scene doing it though. The bastard just had to go out in style while he was at it.” They both laughed at Rapidfire’s expense with absolutely no remorse, as if he really deserved any.

“SO!” Dash pounded her hoof against the door, startling Soarin who stopped reaching for the door knob and blinked. Soarin glanced at her and saw her eyes had narrowed to a seductive gaze. “How about we just forget about everything and ‘relax?’” Soarin’s wings twitched.

“Nah.” He said as he opened the door. Dash’s wings fell down from her sides and she stared at him in total disbelief.

“You, aren’t serious right?” She walked in after him and closed the door behind her.

“I am serious,” he turned and stared flatly at her.

“But…” Dash grunted in disappointment. “Gee, you suck.”

“Seriously joking!” Soarin turned, reached over and pulled her roughly into him. She yelped as he plunged his lips against her. She pushed off and smacked him across the face.

“Don't ever play with me like that!” She grabbed his head, pulled him in, and gave her own hard kiss right back. She flinched in surprise as he lifted her up off the ground and into his arms, remaining fully lip locked the whole way. Dash broke the kiss and looked at him holding her up, his muscles handling her weight as if she were a feather.

“You like?” Soarin turned his head slightly and smirked.

“Stop getting sexier, I’m gonna pass out.” She comically crossed her arms and pouted.

“THE RIDE NEVER ENDS!” Soarin proclaimed before pulling her back in. Dash was ready for it this time and softly bit his bottom lip as he kissed her. He slowly moved with her in his arms and pressed her back against the wall. They broke apart and exhaled in each other’s faces. The way he was holding her, her head was slightly higher than his. She looked down at him with a look of pure pleasure.

“Looks like I’m stuck between a wall and a total hunk of stallion.” She reached her arms around his neck. “I’ve never been more thrilled to be at somepony’s mercy.” She whispered.

“Yowza you know how to get me going.” Soarin’s smirk was growing by the second. Dash tried to push off the wall with her wings, but Soarin had her completely pinned.

“Something tells me you’ve wanted to do this all day.” She teased.

“Maybe I haMMPH!” Soarin got cut off as she attacked his mouth again. Soarin parted his lips instinctively and Dash slid her tongue right in, pinning his tongue down before he could even move it.

Art by:Scootafail/Chiweee

He let out a moan of satisfaction and the force he was pressing her to the wall with lightened. As soon as Dash felt the pressure fade she slammed her wings hard against the wall and pushed them both towards the bed. Soarin stumbled and fell backwards, turning the tables with Dash now pinning him to the bed.

“Cheater.” He huffed.

“Quiet you.” She ordered as she ran her hooves over his chest and arm muscles. “Mmm, I wanted to get at these since the gym.”

“I was under the impression you were going to get on them in the gym.” He chuckled. “You looked like a griffon waiting to pounce.” He teased. She ran her hoof past his chest, up his neck, and through his mane.

“Seeing you all pumped and sweaty was doing a number on me. You’re sexy enough as is.” She cooed while roughly nuzzling her face into his neck. Soarin bit down softly on her ear as it came into range, earning a sharp moan from Dash.

“Ooh!” Her body tingled all over and she felt weak legged.

“Dropped your guard there.” He taunted as he gently blew warm breath onto her ear as well.

“You bastard… I’ll get yooooooou.” She made a slight effort to pull back but gave up as more tingles took over her body. As soon as he stopped she pushed herself up, but yelped in surprise when her legs didn’t make it all the way up. She fell roughly back onto Soarin.

“OOF!” He grunted as she landed on him. “What was that?!” He laughed as she blushed.

“I kinda got my body put through a wringer today.” She huffed, trying to hide her face with her wing.

“I can help with that.” Soarin gave a single eyebrow bounce. Dash looked at him smugly.

“Oh? How so?” She challenged.

“Watch me work babe.” He winked and suddenly pushed her up off of him with little effort.

“Hey!” She giggled as he shifted over and placed her on the bed beside him. “Faker!” She stuck her tongue out at him.

“Wouldn’t be fun if I just held you down the whole time.” He playfully jeered as he stood up from the bed. “Lay flat.” He ordered as he stretched out his arms. When he turned back around she was laying on her back in a sultry pose. He blinked, and then winked while pointing at her. “NOICE! But I meant the other way.” He chuckled.

“Oh.” Dash snickered and laid flat on her stomach, resting her head on her hooves. “How’s this? She said while wiggling her plot.” Soarin felt his whole body twitch, but Dash hadn’t given him any go ahead yet. He would restrain himself.

“Relax your body completely.” He said as he crawled back onto the bed and shimmied over to her. He gently placed his hooves on her lower back and began to make gentle circular motions.

“OH… MY… GOSH…” Dash moaned each word louder than the last as he slowly made his way up her back. He knew how to give massages too? When did Dash die and find herself in heaven?

“Feel good?” He paused briefly to ask.

“WHY DID YOU STOP?” She whimpered.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” He chuckled and continued. He carefully kneaded out her back muscles, doing his best to loosen any knots he could find. He had his work cut out for them because she had them everywhere. He didn’t mind though, Dash had one hell of a body. He straddled over her lower back to get a better angle as he began working on her upper back. He didn’t even have to find the knots around her wings, they were nearly visible. He reached toward her wings and pressed his hooves into the crook below the base of the wing muscles.

“AHHHHH!!!” She squeaked loudly and both of the wings fired out to her sides, almost knocking Soarin off of her. He blinked and smirked.

“Holy hell, did I find another sweet spot?”

“Nononononononono!” Dash wiggled beneath him. He pressed against it again, this time a little harder.

“AH! Oo! Ahhhhhhhh! Stoooooooop!” She moaned through each breath.

“I think I found a VERY sweet spot.” He chuckled as she continued to squeak at his touch. He released the pressure and she sighed loudly.

“Do it again.” She suddenly demanded. Soarin shook his head with a smile and leaned down towards her ear.

“I promise I’ll be gentle.” He smoothly spoke into her ear before applying the lightest amount of pressure he could to her wing joints. She moaned softly this time as Soarin worked his hooves around them to ease the stiffness. Her wings slowly fully relaxed and melted, falling down onto the bed at her sides. He moved along to the top of her shoulders to work out the last bit of stress.

“I was, nmf, 200% in love with you.” Dash began quietly, “Now I’m, ah, 1000% in love with you.” She sighed the happiest sigh of her life as Soarin moved his hooves to her neck and softly brushed them through her mane. Soarin smiled and rolled off of her.

He glanced at her lying on his bed and bit his lower lip. Having his hooves all over that sexy body had really accelerated the urge. He leaned down to politely ask Dash if she wanted to go for it, but before he could say anything he caught the steady rise and fall of her body. He must’ve really relieved all the tension because she was out cold, fast asleep. Part of Soarin was disappointed, but this was Rainbow Dash. She was special and he would never take advantage of her. He refused to ever do such a thing to a mare he held so dear. He leaned down and whispered into her ear,

“And there is no number that could ever measure how much I love you.” He kissed her lightly on the cheek. She stirred slightly, but smiled and sighed a cute squeaky sigh. Soarin watched her for another moment before he turned off the lights, and crawled into the bed beside her, nestling his body gently into hers. “Goodnight, angel.”

---To be Continued---

Author's Note

BOOM! TWICE IN A DAY. (my brain is kinda fried though >_<)

MOAR LOVE. MOOOOOOAARRRRR.

(but writing that scene with Dash saying goodbye to Misty? While i was writing it? Oh no... it's raining...)

Chapter 11

MLP: FiM
Flying Sky-High
By: Calm Wind

Chapter 11:

Soarin’s eyes squeaked open as the sunlight poked through the window above his bed. He groaned and yawned as he covered his eyes, swearing quietly as he realized he forgot to close the shade last night. Despite being blinded, he felt more rested than he had in months. Dash never left his side during the night, so his body was never forced awake. He thought about getting up to close the window, but why would he risk waking Rainbow Dash? She was sleeping so peacefully, stirring slightly every few seconds. If he moved, the sunlight would beat right down on her face. He decided to just deal with the light and continue to shield her from it.

He smiled as he watched her sleep, gently reaching forward to stroke part of her mane that fell over her eyes. She sighed at his soft touch, smiling in her sleep. Her arms and ears were twitching lightly as she lay curled up. Soarin wasn’t sure how much more cute he could take before his heart exploded. Suddenly her leg twitched hard and kicked out, striking him right between the back legs.

“HRRRRGH!!!!” Soarin grunted loudly while reaching down, body completely stiff. Dash slowly woke, roused by his grunt and blinked while yawning a very high pitched yawn. She turned to look happily at Soarin, but he was blue(er) in the face, hooves stuffed between his hind legs, and a quiet, high pitched screech was escaping his mouth.

“Soarin?” She lifted an eyebrow. He slowly rolled over and fell off the bed with a thump. “What’s gotten into you?” She giggled as she peered over the bed. Soarin was rocking back and forth on the ground.

“YOU KICKED ME IN YOUR SLEEP.” His voice was high pitched and full of excruciating pain.

“Wha?” Dash didn’t understand a word of it. Soarin inhaled sharply and tried again.

“YOU KICKED ME IN YOUR SLEEP.” His voice cracked multiple times as he forced the words out again. Dash’s eyes widened as she put two and two together and realized why he was clutching his lower regions. She tried to hold it in, but failed miserably. She burst out laughing and rolled onto her back, kicking her hooves into the air. “WHY ARE YOU AMUSED BY MY SUFFERING?”

“Sorry about that,” She rolled back over and rested her chin on her hooves while peering at him over the edge of the bed. “I twitch sometimes when I sleep.” She continued to giggle.

“Hoooooo. Haaaaaaaaa.” Soarin finally rolled onto his stomach and shakily got to his hooves. “Well,” his voice was returning to normal, “you’ve got real good aim.” He said with a few deep breaths.

“Hey it’s getting cold and lonely on the bed,” she pouted down towards him, “sorry about your stallionhood, but get your ass back up here.” She smirked and rolled back into the center of the bed.

“The things I do for love.” Soarin joked as he slowly pulled himself back onto the bed. He flopped on his back, and Dash quickly rolled on top of him. “Urf! Careful! Still sensitive!”

“Aw relax and enjoy me.” She said as she nestled her head into his chest.

“Yes ma’am.” He complied and wrapped his arms around her back. Dash sighed contently and stared into his eyes as he stared back into hers. She made a quick glance at the clock.

“Wow 6:30? We called it early last night.” She went right back to his eyes.

“Mess hall doesn’t open until seven. Guess we have more private time.” He winked.

“Careful, I don’t want you to get sick of me.” She winked right back.

“Call me when hell freezes over.”

“Oo you’re good.” Dash giggled. “So what should we do?”

“I’m feeling just fine right here.” He squeezed her tighter to him.

“Then what are you waiting for?” She leaned in to kiss him. But he grinned, slid his hooves over to her wings and pressed below the wing joint.

“AAAHH!!” Her wings flared out and she blushed hard. “Soarin!”

“What?” He asked while looking away comically.

“Don’t ‘what’ me buster!” She reached down and started brushing her hooves against his sides.

“Oo! AHHAHAHAHA!” He started laughing and bouncing around with her still on top of him. While laughing hysterically he pressed really hard down on the Dash’s sensitive wing spot.

“EEEEEEE! AH!” Dash pushed herself up hard and Soarin rolled sideways. They flew off each other and landed on the floor on opposite sides of the bed. They both started laughing and slowly peered over the top of the bed towards one another. “Don’t get me going Soarin! I never lose!” She jeered.

“Then the game is ahoof!” Soarin grabbed a nearby pillow and tossed it at her. She ducked under and sprung up over the bed, flinging herself towards him. “Oh god!” Soarin yelled as Dash pounced and pinned him to the floor.

“I. NEVER. LOSE.” She jeered with a smirk while pressing her nose to his. She had her hind legs pressed against his arms. He tried to move them slightly, but she had him pinned pretty well. “You aren’t the ONLY strong one here lover colt. She proudly flexed her arms. Soarin lifted an eyebrow.

“Oh really? I’ll try harder then.”

“Bring it! WHOA!” Dash yelped as Soarin slowly pushed her upward. “Not fair! Not fair!” Dash flailed as she tried to balance on his arms. He pushed his wings to the floor too, raising them higher as Dash lost her balance and fell into his body. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and sat up straight with his prisoner.

“Deal with it.” He taunted as she squirmed. She huffed and stared into his eyes with fake grumpiness.

“I guess I’ll let you win this time,” she said before looking at him seductively, “so what do you do when you catch your prey?”

“I like to eat their face first.” He said before quickly putting a hoof behind her head and pushing her face towards his. She anticipated his move and kissed him first. They both moaned in satisfaction as Soarin slowly tipped backwards until he was again flat on his back. “Oof!” Soarin broke the kiss briefly. “Right back where I started.”

“Who said stop kissing me?” Dash didn’t let him answer and went right back in. After several minutes of lip sucking, friendly wrestling, and all around “fun on the floor,” Dash rolled off of him and lay beside him. “Y’know, this probably would have been more comfortable on the bed.” She chuckled.

“You’re the one that pinned me to the floor.” He poked her in the side, making her squeak and cover up the spot. He sat up straight and looked at the clock. “I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry.” Dash sat up too and saw the clock read 7:05. Time sure flew when she had a sexy stallion to spend it with.

“I’m not too excited for the mess hall food, but gotta put fuel in the tank.” She shrugged. “Let’s go.”

They both got to their hooves and headed for the door, but not without a few pokes and tickles at each other while they still had the privacy.

“I’m not gonna lie, this is one of the least appealing breakfasts I’ve ever seen.” Dash frowned at the plate of underdone scrambled eggs and watery oatmeal. Soarin shrugged as he swallowed a spoonful of said oatmeal beside her.

“This is why I usually go to Rusty’s.” He poked her in the stomach. “But trust me, if you want a stronger body, you better get used to a healthier diet.”

“I suppose.” She sighed and began choking down the eggs. She already adjusted to a rigorous heavy work schedule, she'd just have to do the same with her diet.

They were two of five ponies in the mess hall. It seemed most weren’t very eager for breakfast. But while the food wasn’t perfect, at least they got it fresh from the kitchen.

“So I haven’t been asking because I obviously don’t want you to, but when were you planning on heading back to Ponyville?” Soarin asked reluctantly. Dash hadn’t actually thought about that at all. She was having way too much fun with Soarin and the Wonderbolts, but she couldn’t stay forever.

“I guess I should head back today.” Her ears hung down as reality set in. “My friends might start worrying about me if I’m gone any longer, plus Cloud Kicker is probably pissed about me skipping out on weather team stuff.” Dash chuckled, “but it’s all been worth it.” She said while nuzzling him in the neck softly. Soarin frowned.

“I really don’t want you to go Dash.” He draped a wing over her. “These few days went by way too fast. I’m more than confident now that I need you in my life. Period.”

“Aw, you’re sweet. And sappy. But mostly sweet.” Dash cocked a grin while removing herself from his neck and continuing eating.

“I would shrivel up without your smarm, that’s for sure.” He joked and went back to his food as well. They continued to eat in silence. Both of them were focusing on what they could do in the little bit of time they had left before parting ways. “Oh!” Soarin suddenly realized something as they both finished. Dash glanced over to him as he smiled.

“That look on your face tells me you have an idea I’ll like,” she said and waited for something good. He nodded as they picked up their trays.

“I just remembered. The lead squad has off today!” He almost hovered as he said it. “I’ve been so focused on you I completely forgot!”

“Do you now? So what did you have in mind?” She happily asked as they handed their empty trays to the wash racks.

“First, how is your body feeling?” His question surprised her. She realized that her body wasn’t as achy as she thought she would be, in fact it was almost not achy at all.

“Now that you mention it, I’m not that sore, I thought I would be.” She looked herself over. Soarin puffed his chest out and beat a hoof to it once.

“My massage did wonders, eh?” He chuckled.

“I guess it really did,” she nudged him, “And I won’t forget it.” She winked.

“You still may feel a bit tight tomorrow, but since you feel alright now, I was thinking we could fly back to Ponyville together!” He suggested. Dash’s eyes widened. It was a long flight from Canterlot to Ponyville, at least if they took it nice and slow.

“But then you’re gonna fly right back? That’s a long way.” Dash wondered out loud.

“That’s just it,” he nodded, “tomorrow I have nothing until the afternoon. I can spend the night with you at home and then catch a train back to Canterlot in the morning!” He finished with a wide smile. Dash bounced giddily up and down as his plan came together.

"AWESOME!” She squealed and hugged him. “So looks like I get one more night with you?” She quickly tapped him on the shoulder and bounced her eyebrows.

“You know it!” Soarin returned the gesture. “Oh, don’t forget your dress. It’s still in my room.”

“Oh yeah, almost forgot about it, let’s grab it and be on our way then.” Dash grinned happily. She would get more time with Soarin after all. Any time with Soarin was time well spent and greatly desired.

Then suddenly, they both jumped as a loud blaring noise echoed throughout the compound. Dash’s wings flared out and she glanced around frantically,

“What the hell?! What’s that?” She stared wide eyed at Soarin. He glared straight up at a siren, up in the corner of the ceiling playing loudly with a small red strobe light flashing. It was producing incredibly loud claxons, and Soarin knew exactly what it meant.

“That’s the emergency alarm! And there were no drills scheduled for today!” He blinked and quickly hooked Dash’s arm. “Stay with me!” He yanked her along. Still flustered, she found her hooves and followed close behind him as they ran through the hallways. Security guards were scrambling and other Wonderbolts were taking positions all about the compound.

What the hell was going on? Soarin said it wasn’t a drill? Dash had no clue, but as long as she stuck by Soarin, she would feel safe. But she still wanted to know what was going on, and why an alarm decided to suddenly almost make her throw up her whole breakfast.

Dash followed close behind Soarin as they sprinted up the stairs and made a beeline right for Spitfire’s office. Soarin ripped the door open and looked in, but Spitfire wasn’t even there.

“Soarin! There!” Dash pointed to the stairs they came from. Spitfire had come up from the stairs as well and galloped over to them.

“Soarin!” She yelled to him as he and Dash turned to her.

“Spitfire what’s going on?!” Soarin quickly questioned. Spitfire shook her head.

“I don’t know! I was just downstairs doing a morning inventory check!”

“None of security has reported to you? Did one of them trip on an alarm switch or something!?” Soarin questioned loudly, barely able to hear Spitfire over the claxons.

“Last time I checked I didn’t hire dumbasses for security guards!” She butted heads with him before looked around quickly. Dash suddenly perked up. She had a thought. The thought scared her.

“Rapidfire!” Dash suddenly yelled as she thrust her wings out. Both Soarin and Spitfire glanced at her. It couldn’t be him. They had him locked up in his room with maximum security surrounding it! But what if Dash was right?

“GO!” Spitfire yelled, pointing at the stairs. Soarin quickly turned and fired through the air towards the stairs to the third floor. Spitfire followed close behind, and after a brief hesitation, Dash did the same. She tried to keep up, noticing Soarin and Spitfire had ways to quickly make their way through the base. The two bounced off the steps and were kicking off the walls at angles to navigate the stairwell in seconds. Dash finally got to the top and turned the corner. Soarin and Spitfire were heading down the hall on the right. She noticed an alarm lever outside Rapidfire’s room pulled down.

Dash gave chase and gasped as one of the Wonderbolt security guards came flying out of Rapidfire’s room and struck the opposite wall roughly. Soarin and Spitfire screeched to a halt as they saw it happen and Dash caught up. Spitfire landed to check the guard. Soarin grunted and turned to look in the room. His eyes widened. Dash sped up and slammed down to the floor, skidding and drifting so she stopped besides Soarin. She too was caught off guard by the sight.

Six security guards lay beaten and out cold, sprawled about the room. In the back corner, Rapidfire had Fleetfoot hoisted up on the wall, his hoof pressed to her neck. She struggled and kicked, but she couldn’t get free.

“RAPIDFIRE! PUT. HER. DOWN!” Soarin shouted at the top of his lungs, startling Dash. She was trying to comprehend everything she was looking at. There was no way Rapidfire could take down six ponies and Fleetfoot all at the same time! What the hell was going on?!

“HRK, GRRRRHHH” Fleetfoot gasped and flailed, but couldn’t do anything.

“Heh… heh…hehahaha…” Rapidfire suddenly chuckled in a very menacing, very disturbing way. He turned his head and looked at them all without letting go of Fleetfoot. Dash took a step back. Rapidfire’s eyes were glowing pink. Was she dreaming? Was this a nightmare?

“I WONT SAY IT AGAIN! PUT. HER. DOWN!” Soarin repeated, spreading his wings and flaring his nostrils. Rapidfire sneered.

“Or what? What will you do? SCOLD me again?” His words were slow and sinister. “You’ll talk to me about rules? About conduct? To hell with all of it!!!!” He suddenly gripped Fleetfoot and flung her by the neck towards them. Soarin reacted quickly, hopping up and catching her. She coughed violently and pressed her hooves to her neck, trying to get more air.

“You okay?” Soarin quickly asked as he set her on her hooves.

“Gah! Yeah, I’m fine.” She shook her head and took her place at the ready beside her wingmates. Rapidfire wouldn’t stop softly laughing.

“I’m done with this. All this stupid training, all these stupid rules and restrictions, and all these stupid ‘teammates!’ From now on I do things my own way!” A small pink crystal hovered up beside his head.

“Wait… THAT’S—!” Soarin blurted out. He recognized it. It looked like a smaller version of the pink crystal that created the tornado in Ponyville. And the ones who were using it back then were…

“HAHAHAHAHA!!!!” Rapidfire cackled as the crystal unleashed a blinding light. They all shielded their eyes with their wings as the light surrounded Rapidfire. First the glow was as intense as the sun, but as it went on, it condensed and wrapped itself around Rapidfire’s limbs and torso. They slowly all lowered their wings. This time, not just Soarin, but all of them were struck by disbelief.

Rapidfire stood before them, wearing a spandex uniform that was similar to the Wonderbolts, but it was black and purple with yellow lightning bolt like stitches. He also donned a pair of angled yellow flight goggles.

“Shadowbolt…” Dash managed to say quietly despite most of the air having already left her lungs. Soarin, Spitfire, and Fleetfoot were speechless.

“Oh GOD this feels good! It feels AMAZING!” Rapidfire sneered as little pink electrical volts crackled and popped around him. “YES!” He thrust his wings out and sphere of pink light exploded from his body, blowing all of them back and partly crushing the walls and floor of the room. All the mares were blown off their hooves, but Soarin managed to hold his ground. He spread his wings again and set his hooves, ready to charge. “HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!” Rapidfire laughed insanely. A pink glow surrounded him. The pink light shone right through his goggles. He turned, not even looking at Soarin, pulled back and fired himself right at the armored window shutter, splitting the metal like it was tissue paper, and rocketing out into Canterlot.

“No way!” Soarin blinked as if he’d only imagined it.

“What in the blazes is going on over here?!” Fire Streak ran up from around the corner as Dash, Fleetfoot and Spitfire got to their hooves. Spitfire instantly gave orders.

“Fire, rally all the squads. Make sure everypony and everything in the compound is accounted for before dispatching into the city! Also, contact the royal guard! Tell them that it is crisis priority and that a pegasus imbued with some sort of evil magic is on the loose in the city! We’re going in pursuit! GO!” She pointed. Fire only gave a salute and headed back down the hallway.

Soarin executed his Sonic Blast-off and produced an incredibly powerful explosion of wind through the hallways. He fired out the hole Rapidfire had punctured in the window shutter. Spitfire readied to follow.

“Fleetfoot, we’ll need a Silver Arrow maneuver!” She said to her.

“Got it!” Fleetfoot flew out the hole and directly up into the sky. Spitfire just glanced at Dash and made a hoof motion to the floor, which Dash presumed meant “stay here,” before she took off after Soarin.

Dash blinked, her brain trying to process everything at once. She shook her head out and smacked her hooves against it. Spitfire said stay put? Like HELL! Something related to the Shadowbolts was every bit of her business just as much as it was there’s. She extended her wings, galloped into the room, and took off after them.

Soarin narrowed his eyes as he locked on to Rapidfire’s glowing form ahead of him. Despite having used his Sonic Blast-off, Soarin was having a hard time catching up. Rapidfire was never this fast. Whatever was controlling him was pushing his body past its limits. Rapidfire dove low into the city and began weaving in and out of the buildings. Soarin would not be outrun, and followed low to the ground. He twisted, turned, and swerved to avoid every obstacle that Rapidfire seemed to pass right through. Soarin glanced up to see Spitfire screaming in a straight line overhead. She dove as Rapidfire tried to pull out of the buildings, but he twisted the instant before she could strike him. She did a quick flip and aimed herself back up, Soarin flying in beside her.

“Fleet is going to use the Silver Arrow!” Spitfire quickly relayed to Soarin. He looked up behind him, then back towards Rapidfire.

“Can she hit him if he’s moving so erratically?” Soarin wondered out loud.

“I’m not gonna place any bets on that, but if we can get him to slow down or stop, she’ll have a much better chance!”

That was all Soarin needed to hear. He broke off from his tight formation with Spitfire as she continued to give chase. He tapped against a nearby building and performed the steps to blast off again. He shot off the building as if it launched him out of a cannon. Rapidfire did not look as Soarin approached.

The pink aura still surrounded him and the energy continued to crackle and pop about his limbs and body. Soarin could see little pulses of energy lifting from Rapidfire’s body that made him flinch every time it did. It was almost as if Rapidfire was having trouble containing whatever power was given to him by the crystal. Right before Soarin could reach him, Rapidfire dipped down and headed towards a busy road.

“HEHAHAHEHEHEHAAAA!!!!” He continued to laugh uncontrollably as the glow around him seemed to intensify.

“NO!” Soarin yelled out and pumped his wings as hard as he could. They were in the middle of the Canterlot high class region. Multiple unicorns were staring up as Rapidfire descended towards them. He thrust his arms out and waves of pink energy jettisoned from them, crashing into windows and buildings, knocking over unicorns, sending some of them into walls. Mass panic ensued in the streets as a few royal guards that were stationed in the area took flight and charged at him. Four came at Rapidfire from in front, behind, left, and right. As they closed in Rapidfire touched down, balled his front hooves together above him and pounded them against the ground. Pink blasts of energy erupted from the road, striking each royal guard in the gut and flinging them in every direction.

“YOU CAN’T STOP ME!” Rapidfire taunted, slightly foaming at the mouth. “NOTHING CAN STOP ME!” Then Soarin came screaming in from the side and tackled him.

“I’ll be the judge of THAT!” Soarin picked up speed and thrust Rapidfire forward smashing him into a solid brick wall. They hit the wall so hard that it crumbled and collapsed. Soarin backed off and panted as he surveyed the wrecked wall of the building. Rapidfire stood up quickly from the debris, pink glow still alight, as if he hadn’t felt a thing. “What the hell!?” Soarin edged backwards.

“Thanks for the love tap, but you know I’ve always hated you more than ANYTHING!” Rapidfire pushed his front hooves out, Soarin shielded himself as a heavy wave of energy crashed against him and sent him flipping backwards into the sky. Rapidfire exploded upward, through all four floors of the building Soarin had pushed him into, and exploded out of the roof. Soarin leveled himself and grunted in frustration as Spitfire seared past him overhead. Something wasn’t right about this. The Shadowbolts he fought in Ponyville did not have any energy based powers like this. If they did they didn’t use them. More importantly, how the hell did Rapidfire get a hold of something that was used by Shadowbolts? Had something slipped right beneath their noses? There was much more to this than he currently knew and he wasn’t going to let Rapidfire get away on top of it. He gave chase, determined to subdue him.

“Gotcha!” Spitfire shouted as she reached out and grabbed Rapidfire’s leg. She thrust her wings out, doing everything she could for wind resistance. Soarin caught up as she slowed him down and circled around. Rapidfire stopped trying to pull Spitfire along and gave her a sudden kick to the face, knocking her off. He sneered as she clutched her face in pain, but Soarin came flying in, pulled back, and struck him hard square in the jaw.

“Argh!” Soarin grunted. It felt like he had just punched a sheet of steel. He ignored the pain though, because the punch had spun Rapidfire around. Soarin put him in a full nelson and held him as tightly as he could. Spitfire shook her head out and glanced up into the sky. A small spec in the distance seemed to be approaching at an incredible speed. She glanced at Rapidfire as he continuously tried to smash the back of his head into Soarin’s face, but Soarin kept stretching his neck left and right to avoid. Finally she looked down and saw they were high over a large flat plaza. Perfect.

“Soarin!” She yelled and pointed skyward. Soarin glanced up as he avoided another head to the face. He picked up the spec in the sky.

“Roger!” He yelled and continued to hold Rapidfire. It was a constant struggle. The crystal had considerably increased Rapidfire’s strength. Soarin had him in a position where he had a leverage advantage and he still could barely keep Rapidfire steady.

Spitfire made some hoof signals into the sky and the spec grew larger and larger until it became recognizable. It was Fleetfoot and she was streaking through the sky at a speed that had already broken not one, but two sonic booms. The lead squad “Silver Streak” was shooting down from the sky like an arrow from the heavens. Pushing her record breaking maximum speed to the limit, Fleetfoot broke through a third aircone, and moved so fast through the air she nearly disappeared from the untrained eye. Soarin kept a firm view on her and waited as long as he could before letting go and shooting towards the ground below. Rapidfire turned to chase him, but Fleetfoot was right on target.

With the force of uncountable tons, Fleetfoot’s hooves collided with Rapidfire’s face. The power behind the collision shocked and resonated through his body, despite being protected by the pink light. His yellow flight goggles shattered to pieces and his neck lurched roughly, his whole body following. He was propelled to the ground by the blow, a good portion of Fleetfoot’s insane momentum transferring to and striking him down. He smashed to the concrete with a solid, painful crash. She angled up and thrust her wings out to slow down, but she wouldn’t slow down enough before hitting the ground hard herself. It was exactly why Soarin had dropped. He caught Fleetfoot with a grunt and together they managed to safely stop.

Rapidfire lay in a heap in the center of the plaza. Spitfire landed beside Soarin and Fleetfoot on the outer edge of the plaza, and the three slowly advanced towards him. Soarin glanced overhead to see a small group of eight royal guards arrive on the scene and circled the area.

Rapidfire’s body began to crackle and pop again as the three drew near, stopping them in their tracks. Rapidfire twitched and stirred, groaning first, and then turning it into a low growl as the energy spasms around him intensified. Soarin instinctively set his hooves firmly on the ground and extended his large wings out to shield both Spitfire and Fleetfoot as an intense pulse fired out from Rapidfire’s body. Soarin braced himself as the energy floored him, making his hooves skid a few feet back, and pulling mares with him. The royal guards above got blown slightly upward, but held strong against the wave.

“GRRHH HRRAAAAHHH!!!!” Rapidfire slowly and shakily stood up, faltering more than once as he did.

“Are you kidding me?!” Fleetfoot shouted as she peered over Soarin’s wing, “I was going at LEAST mach three! How is he still up?!”

“He’s up, but I don’t think he’s okay.” Spitfire commented as Rapidfire continued to grunt loudly. Small streams of pink steam started to rise off his body as he struggled to keep his hooves. The royal guards above recklessly charged him.

“Wait!” Soarin called out to them, but it was too late. The first one to reach Rapidfire received a punch to the side of the face that completely bent his helmet inward and was sent flying through a store window at the edge of the plaza. The other guards hesitated as they saw their fellow guard get turned into a missile, but quickly turned back and charged all at once. Rapidfire grabbed two of them by the necks and slammed their faces together before swinging them around and knocking two other guards out with them. The three remaining pulled back to evaluate the situation.

“Just stay back!” Spitfire yelled up to them. They were clearly not trained to handle this sort of abnormal combat. The remaining guards and the three Wonderbolts all winced in surprise as Rapidfire cried out in pain and fell back down. The pink steam trails rising from his body had grown larger. He began to gag and cough, followed by him vomiting all over the ground in front of him.

“This is really creeping me out.” Fleetfoot took a step back and shook her head.

“What the—?!” Soarin looked up as something suddenly streaked through the sky above them leaving a yellow trail that contained a zigzag pattern in its wake. It shot towards the remaining royal guards and swiftly crashed into all three of them, sending them spiraling to painful crashes to the ground below. It swept around and angled towards the Wonderbolts. Soarin readied take off and meet whatever or whoever this was head on, but it suddenly fired a wave of energy at them. The wave flew at them much faster than anything Rapidfire had manifested. To surprise them even further, the wave split into three smaller waves, and each wave turned into what looked like a spherical net. The nets collided with each one of them, trapping them inside.

“I… can’t move!” Spitfire yelled out as she struggled to move her limbs to no avail. Soarin and Fleetfoot struggled and tugged as well, but the energy nets did not give at all. Then a another pegasus slammed roughly to the ground between them and Rapidfire. Soarin took a good look.

It was another Shadowbolt. Soarin wasn’t surprised, after his last encounter with them, he knew there was no way they wouldn’t have some sort of sneak attack waiting. But what struck him about this particular Shadowbolt, was that it had turquoise fur sticking out in the Shadowbolt uniform openings, and a familiar slicked back mane that had a repeating pattern of two different shades of orange. The finishing touch? It was a mare.

It was the mare that had harassed him at the ball, and the mare who Rapidfire had been seen with in the Wonderbolt compound recently. There was a slight pink glow coming from behind her goggles, suggesting she was controlling the nets with the same energy that was powering Rapidfire.

“YOU!” Soarin belted towards her. “What did you do to him?!” He demanded. The mare just scoffed.

“Relax handsome, I only gave him what he wanted.” She shrugged, turned her back to Soarin, and approached Rapidfire, making sure not to step on his vomit as she did. “Feh, careless amateur.” She shook her head. “You absorbed all of the damn energy at once didn’t you? Right after I specifically said not to? I hope this teaches you a lesson in restraint. That’s of course assuming this doesn’t kill you.

“Hrggghhh…” Rapidfire grunted quietly, the steam still rising from his body.

“The shit I put up with.” She shook her head, “I’ll give you five minutes to get the power under control before I leave your ass behind.”

She suddenly perked up and glanced left. Something was screaming towards her quickly. Rainbow Dash came in low and thrust her hoof at the mare’s face, the mare stepped backward and into flight quickly, avoiding three wildly thrown punches by Dash. Dash used the momentum of her last punch to spin herself around and kick at the mare’s face. The mare had to block the kick with her arms, she had no other choice. As Dash connected the kick, the mare’s eyes lost their glow and the nets surrounding the Wonderbolts faded. The mare pushed Dash off and circled around, retaking her spot near Rapidfire as Dash landed beside the freed Wonderbolts.

“I told you to stay put!” Spitfire scolded Dash.

“You’re welcome.” Dash rolled her eyes and stood close to Soarin. Dash quickly recognized the color patterns of the mare as well: the mystery pegasus mare from the ball. Again she found herself wondering. Why did this mare seem so familiar? The Shadowbolt uniform didn’t help.

“Well isn’t this just a lovely reunion we have going here?” The mare chuckled.

That voice. Dash’s ears shot up. She knew that voice, that sly, overconfident voice. The mare reached for her face and pushed up the angled goggles, revealing a pair of red iris eyes. She followed it up with a familiar nasty smirk.

“Been a long time, eh Rainbow Dash?”

“Lightning Dust?!”

---To be Continued---

Author's Note

THE GAME IS AHOOF

(Video of Fleetfoot's Silver Arrow by: HarlenBooks, Equestrian Airship Productions

Chapter 12

MLP: FiM
Flying Sky-High
By: Calm Wind

Chapter 12:

“You remember me? I’m so touched.” Lightning Dust put on a false show of flattery.

“You know this mare?” Spitfire pointed and looked towards Dash.

“Spitfire, this was the mare that caused all the trouble at flight camp! Remember when i attended?” Dash explained. Spitfire glanced back to Dust and took a good long look. Her eyes widened

“Wait, the sassy upstart? Now I remember!”

“That went downhill fast.” Dust scoffed as she pushed her goggles down. Dash set her hooves and growled at her.

“Hey! That means you’re the one who harassed Soarin at the ball! Keep you dirty hooves off my stallion!” She barked. Dust lifted an eyebrow and burst out laughing.

“Wait, rewind,” she pointed at Dash, “You were the mare he was all depressed over? Pardon me while I laugh at his low standards!”

“Oh that’s it! I’m gonna—!”

“Dash!” Soarin placed his wing over her back. “She’s baiting you!”

“You haven’t changed little Dashie. Still always one step behind.” Dust sneered

“Enough crap.” They all looked to Spitfire. “I hope you don’t think we’re just gonna let you take Rapidfire. I don’t care how much I dislike him. I will not lend recruitment to you lowlifes!” She gritted her teeth. Dust shrugged.

“Does anyone around here listen? I didn’t do anything. I merely showed him the door—,” a small pink crystal hovered beside her, “he was the one that walked through it.” She glanced over as he continued to struggle with the overflowing energy within him, “well, more like stumbled. But it was his choice.”

“I don't care.” Spitfire shook her head. “You make any moves to take him or get away and we'll take you down!”

“So serious.” Dust smirked. “Who said I was gonna run?” Her eyes glowed pink and a small wave of energy shot out from her body. It wasn’t very strong, barely moving any of them, but it was clearly meant for intimidation.

“Four on one? You must be joking.” Fleetfoot jeered.

“Four on two actually, I’m sure he will try to fight regardless.” Dust made a head motion towards Rapidfire. “But you bring up a very good point.” A devilish grin appeared on her face and the crystal still hovering beside her. “How about I explain something to you.” She began while pacing casually back and forth. Dash and the others all stood ready in case of a sneak attack. “Everypony is naturally weak on the inside. This weakness is bred from negative emotions that build over time. When I say negative I mean that they have a bad effect on the pony, not those around them.” She stopped and glanced at Rapidfire. “Pride and jealousy mixed together is an explosive combination. I didn’t even have to wave my little magic rock at him. He came right to me all by himself. However—” She turned back to them, “If I needed to I could have easily amplified it and he would have come along like a lost puppy."

“Start making sense or I’ll start flying hooves in your general direction.” Soarin stomped.

“Oh it’ll make perfect sense, let me have a look inside all of you.” She held the crystal towards them. They all flinched as she was surrounded by a swirling pink aura. She held the crystal towards Fleetfoot first. “Hm, how boring. You are too happy for your own good.”

“Huh?” Fleetfoot lifted an eyebrow as Dust moved it to Soarin.

“Lots of pride, you’re a real lion eh? Too bad you’re a goody two shoes.”

“Rgh…” Soarin was at the end of his patience.

“I’m not even gonna try with you.” She rolled her eyes at Dash, “Little miss loyal.”

“Can I punch her now?” Dash growled.

“Oh?” Dust moved the crystal to Spitfire. “What have we here?” She smirked. Spitfire stiffened uncomfortably. What about her? “My crystal is showing me… Oh dear, how lonely you must be!”

“What?” Spitfire gasped. They all looked to her.

“So much hard work. So much duty. So little time for yourself, and my does it claw at you!”

“Sh—shut up!” Spitfire stuttered while taking a step back.

“Somepony has been watching their best friend fall in love... and it's been killing her inside-out!”

“SHUT UP!” Spitfire was quivering.

“Spitfire—!” Soarin glanced between his friend and Dust.

“You are trapped in your own life, and fear you will never be loved. Wow you couldn’t be a more perfect candidate! Let’s get started shall we?”

“SHUT! UP!” Spitfire lost her composure and flung herself towards Dust. Dust sneered and a bright light shone from the crystal. It lashed out, thrusting into and through Spitfire.

“Spitfire!!!!” Dash yelled as they watched.

“AAAAAHHH!!!!!!!” Spitfire cried out as the light enveloped her.

“Turn your negative emotions into power!” Dust laughed as the crystal worked its magic on Spitfire.

“NO!” Soarin leapt forth, but a hoof connected with his cheek and he was sent tumbling away.

“Soarin!” Dash quickly went to his side. Fleetfoot gasped as Rapidfire now stood between them and Dust. He was still a magical mess, but he was up and glaring at them. Spitfire continued to writhe and wail as Dust let the crystal manipulate her. When Dash finally got Soarin to his hooves, Fleetfoot had sped over to keep from being separated. The light had faded, and Spitfire lay on the ground in front of Dust.

“Now,” Dust leaned down and whispered into Spitfire’s ear. “You are jealous of what others have. You are lonely because of what you see and hear right in front of you. Turn it into strength! Into anger! Take it out on those who make you feel so alone!”

“Rrrghh…” Spitfire stirred and slowly stood up. Dash, Soarin, and Fleetfoot all watched in horror as Spitfire turned to them, her eyes glowing pink.

“Make them feel your pain!” Dust pointed.

“RAAH!!” Spitfire yelled out as she charged at them. Dash and Fleetfoot moved aside, but Spitfire kept on a direct course towards…“SOOOAAARRRINNNN!!!!” She shouted his name as she threw a heavy punch towards his face. Soarin, alarmed, crossed his arms to block. The blow knocked him back and he tumbled to the ground.

“Spitfire?!” He called to her as he scrambled to his hooves. “My god, Spitfire what did she do to you?!” He shielded himself again as she threw more punches. Dash made a move to help him, but Dust zipped in front of her.

“Hey now, I believe they are settling a personal matter. Best not to get involved.” Dust taunted as Dash took a few steps back. “Besides, now it’s even.”

“You’re insane!” Dash yelled in her face.

“I prefer the term, ambitious. After all I love to push myself.” She sneered and winked. Rapidfire suddenly snarled beside them and took a swing at Dash. Dash leaned back and flipped backwards before landing on her hooves again.

“Dammit!” Dash looked between Rapidfire and Lightning Dust. She wanted to help Soarin and it was clear that Dust was only going to bar her path. This was fine because Dash figured she’d have to get the crystal away from Dust to stop whatever she did to Spitfire. Now the problem was the guard dog. She couldn’t handle it if Rapidfire kept getting in the way. Fleetfoot suddenly landed beside Dash.

“I’ll keep Rapidfire busy. Get that crystal from her and save Spitfire.” She nodded. Dash blinked.

“Will you be okay? He’s completely lost it!”

“Don’t worry.” Fleetfoot chuckled. “I know him better, just like you know her better.” She pointed at Dust. “I’ll buy you all the time you need. Take her down!” Fleetfoot patted Dash on the back before setting her hooves and aiming for Rapidfire.

“Lightning Dust.” Dash glared at her old cadet buddy. “I don’t care what I have to do. I’m going to pry that crystal right out of your hooves.”

“Oh, now we’re talking.” Dust lifted off slightly into the air. “But I wonder, can you do it? I was always better than you.” She taunted.

“Bring it on!” Dash yelled as Dust fired skyward. Dash didn’t miss a beat and followed right behind.

Rapidfire grunted and tried to chase Dash, but Fleetfoot flew in front and spread her arms out to bar his path.

“Oh no you don’t! I wouldn’t say I’ve always wanted to beat you down—” she paused, blinked, and shrugged, “screw it, I’ve always wanted to beat you down!”

“Out… of my… way…!” Rapidfire suddenly spoke. It seemed like he was gaining control, but it was definitely a struggle.

“Make me.” Fleetfoot glared back. Her eyes widened as Rapidfire instantly leapt at her. “Whoa!”

“Spitfire!” Soarin ducked and dodged as Spitfire unleashed a flurry of attacks at him. Soarin crossed his hooves above his head as she tried to slam him into the ground. He was forced down. Her strength was apparently amplified by crystal, just like with Rapidfire. “Spitfire, STOP!” Soarin yelled as he struggled beneath the force. But this was different from Rapidfire. Rapidfire had gone on a rampage, attacking anything and everything that got in his way. Spitfire was going after him and nothing else.

Lightning Dust had said she amplified negative emotions within Spitfire, whereas Rapidfire did everything on his own free will. Either way how was he supposed to stop her? She was being controlled. She was enslaved by her own emotions turned into strength and anger by an outside force. He refused to fight her. He refused to strike somepony he treated like a sister. But what was he supposed to do?

He forced his arms up and shoved her back while making some distance between them. He contemplated whether or not to take flight. He was much more mobile in the air than he was on the ground, but should something happen in the air, he’d hate to see her fall and get hurt.

“Soooaaarrr…iiinnnn…” She said again, her body completely out of her control. Soarin’s ears twitched and he gasped as he took a closer look. She was in a battle ready stance and her hooves firmly on the ground and her wings flared out to her sides, but there were tears pouring down her cheeks. They were pouring out from behind the pink glow that had overtaken her eyes. Could it be that her body was being controlled, but she could still see and feel everything she was doing?

“Rgh!” Soarin grunted as she leapt at him again. He put up a full guard, using both his arms and wings to block her blows as she continued to throw heavy, wild punched and kicks. The tears flew off her face as she whipped around, the small droplets landing on Soarin. This was the most painful experience of Soarin’s life. He couldn’t bring himself to fight her, he just couldn’t!

Lightning Dust flew through the sky quickly and efficiently. She looked behind her and sneered as Rainbow Dash tried to keep up.

“What’s the matter Dashie? Still can’t keep up?”

“Shut it!” Dash yelled as she pumped her wings harder. Speed wasn’t the issue, as far as Dash could tell, she was actually faster than Lightning Dust. The problem was agility. Lightning Dust was like Soarin, she wasn’t a speed specialist, but she could change directions so quickly. Dust was just toying with her. “You afraid of me or something?! Hold still!” Dash yelled as she just missed catching Dust again.

“Oh please.” Dust was suddenly behind her. Before Dash could fully turn, Dust landed two hooves to Dash’s side and then punched Dash right across the left cheek. Dash tumbled downward and Dust gave chase. “Who would be afraid of a third rate flyer?!” She taunted as she pulled back both her hooves for a double strike. Dash quickly leveled herself out and caught Dust’s hooves in hers.

“What’s happened to you?!” Dash glared at her, “why the Shadowbolts?!” Dash gritted her teeth as she pumped her wings against the force of Dust’s attack.

“Hah! Why not? I got rejected from the Wonderbolts… for what? Trying my hardest and pushing my limits! Why would I ever want to be part of such a stiff band of idiots?” A soft pink glow surrounded her and she began to push Dash back. “The Shadowbolts don’t give a damn! If you’ve got the ambition and the skill, that’s all they need!” She laughed in Dash’s face. “Then there’s this power!” She referred to the crystal, “it can make a mild-mannered pony into a war machine! Just imagine the possibilities if those with talent and ability use them!” She smirked with delight as the power coursed through her. “It feels great. I guarantee you’d like it!”

“No!” Dash pushed and beat her wings even harder. Dust’s eyes widened as Dash stopped them from moving any farther. “Lightning Dust! You. Are. Pitiful! I will never give in and never lose to fake power! NEVER!” Dash began to push her back.

“Huh,” it only seemed to amuse Dust, “not quite the little flower with wings anymore huh? Hmph, I’ll show you what you could have!” Dust pushed off and the two broke apart. Dash took the initiative, charging right at Dust to get a head start as Dust did the same. Their hooves collided, knocking each other back. They flew a few circles around one another before coming together for another shared blow.

“Argh!” Dash yelled as the blows left her slightly disoriented. Dust snickered to herself.

“C’mon, are you all bark and no bite?”

“I’ll show you some bite!” Dash charged again with Dust eagerly waiting.

Unlike Soarin, Fleetfoot was having no trouble throwing punches at Rapidfire. He was stumbling and faltering, but no amount of face beating seemed to have any effect on him.

“This is getting ridiculous.” Fleetfoot jumped back and shook out her hooves. They were starting to hurt. She already thought Rapidfire had a nice and dense hard head, but apparently the light surrounding him was making it even harder.

“Pa…thetic…” Rapidfire forced out as he panted and wheezed and advanced towards her, each step causing the energy around him to undulate, crackle, and pop.

“Means a whole lot coming from you.” She snorted as he leapt at her again. His attacks were slow and clumsy, but apparently had some invisible force behind them. Anything nearby by, be it debris or something left in the plaza, was blown away in the path of his punches. It was clear to Fleetfoot that all it would take was one punch to put her in an excruciating amount of pain. As soon as he missed she went back to punching him left and right across the face three times each before grabbing his head and slamming it down while kicking her leg into it. Rapidfire stumbled back as Fleetfoot clutched her leg painfully. “YOW!” She yelped as Rapidfire stood back straight, not effected in the slightest. “Oh, COME ON!” She yelled in frustration as the process continued.

Soarin had never felt more cornered in his life. Spitfire just wouldn’t stop. Even while he was constantly on the defensive, she had managed to connect a few hits. His arms were beginning to hurt, having blocked so many hooves. A few costly glances towards Rainbow Dash made him confident she was going after Lightning Dust. He was confident she would get the crystal away from Dust. But he wasn’t sure how much longer he would last. If he didn’t fight back in some way, it was going to get ugly. Spitfire was still crying too. The tears never ending as her body lunged at him and threw every sort of wild attack.

Despite his previous worries, Soarin saw no other option and took to the air. Outrunning her now seemed like his best bet. But he didn’t get very far. He cursed himself for not using the Sonic Blast-off as Spitfire followed and caught up before he was even twenty feet off the ground. He turned and shielded himself again as she swiped and kicked at him. He gave her another light push to create some distance before turning and flying as fast as he could upward. He flinched as something yanked at his leg.

“Dammit!” He swore as he turned around and saw Spitfire clutching his leg and trying to pull herself onto him. He pulled back his free leg to kick, but stopped himself halfway through the motion. What was wrong with him? If Spitfire was fighting off a mindless version of him, she would have not hesitated to kick him in the face. He was too nice for his own good. Or he just couldn’t bear to even think of hurting her. Either-or, it was his own damn fault and Lightning Dust probably knew full well this would happen. She had successfully taken the two best Wonderbolt aerial fighters out of the picture by forcing one to attack the other.

“Spitfire!” he tried calling to her again as he tried to shake her off. “Don’t let it control you! You can break out of it!” She pulled herself up and the two were now wrestling for control of their flight. “Don’t succumb! Loneliness? What a load of crap!” He yelled in her face as she growled at him. “You’ve got me! And Fleet! And the rest of the Wonderbolts!" She ripped her hoof free from his grip and clutched his neck. "SHIT!” He cursed as she got leverage on them and turned them towards the ground, picking up speed. He tried to gain the upper hoof, but they were already too close to the ground to pull up. They crashed right through a café window at the edge of the plaza. There were several unicorns taking refuge inside, who all scattered and fled to the back wall as the two came tumbling in. “ARGH! Soarin winced as he felt several stings around his body from shards of broken glass.

He quickly pushed himself up, but Spitfire was still hanging onto him. He grabbed her hooves and ripped them off of him, but she clamped down on his arms. The two struggled to overpower the other in the middle of the café. Several gasps and shrieks came from behind them as the ponies occupying the building were nearly fighting each other for cover.

The last thing Soarin wanted was to get any civilians involved. He forced to his right and made them turn around, but that effort weakened his hold for a brief moment. Spitfire shook one of her hooves free and socked Soarin right in the gut. Soarin cringed, coughing as he felt all the air leave his lungs. He stumbled a step backwrds. Spitfire followed up with a punch right to the neck. Soarin fell slightly, fighting to get air back in his body. Spitfire grabbed him by the hoof, slung him over her back and threw him through the glass door beside the window they had already broken.

As if he didn’t already have enough cuts from the window, Soarin found himself with small pockets of extreme pain riddled all over his body, a few of which drew blood. The stinging didn’t help his focus as he tried to stand. Spitfire was already firing towards him. He put his arms up as she punched at him again. Even blocking was painful now due to multiple glass wounds. He wouldn’t be able to keep this up much longer, but he just couldn’t fight back! What was he supposed to do? Maybe if he could restrain her in some way. It wouldn’t be easy, but it would buy Dash more time to subdue Lightning Dust. The problem was that he was already being forced back by her amplified strength, would he be able to hold her down? He had no time to think about it. She was attacking again.

“RAAHH!!!” She yelled as she pulled back for another wild punch. Soarin dropped his guard and let her punch him in the face. The shock was fierce, but he purposely took it to let her in close. He pushed her arm down, reached forward and pulled her into him, wrapping his arms and wings firmly around her to completely restrict her movement.

“OOF!” Soarin grunted as she quickly began squirming and flailing violently in his grip. Just as he thought, he could barely keep a hold of her. But he had the size advantage and despite her being enhanced through the crystals magic, he was still the strongest Wonderbolt. He would live up to that title. His determination was high, but— “AUGH!” He cried out in pain as Spitfire snarled and bit into his shoulder HARD. Her body was acting like a feral beast. Ponies didn’t have sharp teeth, but that was definitely going to leave a mark.

Loosening his grip only slightly, he turned her around, painfully ripping her teeth from his body. With her back now to him, he clamped down hard again. She began shaking her head around, grunting and yelling his name. Soarin placed one of his arms higher to stop her head from flailing around. He remained completely calm as he struggled to hold her. Her tears were dripping down his arms and wings now. It was terrible. As painful as this had to be for Spitfire, it was just as painful for him. On instinct he leaned his head slightly towards her ear.

“Spitfire. It’s Soarin, your brother. Don’t worry. I won’t let you hurt anyone or anything. I won’t let go until you’re free, I promise.” He spoke caringly into her ear. She was like family to him, and loneliness would never be strong enough against family. Her body kept thrashing and she kept wailing and crying out. “I promise it will be over soon, just please hang in there.” To his surprise, her body slowly stopped thrashing, but the light remained in her eyes.

“Soar…in…” She said his name quietly.

“Spitfire?!” Soarin didn’t think his voice would actually calm her down.

“Kill… me…!” She said out of nowhere, alarming Soarin.

“WHAT?!”

“Please…! Kill… me…!” She choked out, her voice still warped by the magic. “It… hurts… so… much!” She pleaded, the tears still dropping off her face and onto him.

“No!” Soarin tightened his grip on her. “Don’t you DARE say that! EVER!”

“Soar… in… PLEASE!” She continued.

“STOP IT!” Soarin yelled and forced her head to look upward. “Look into the sky!” He ordered, he pointed her head towards Rainbow Dash struggling against Lightning Dust. “How can you say something like that when Dash is fighting so hard to save you?!” He scolded her. “You need to believe in her! She’s saved my life in the past. She is definitely capable of saving you!” he grunted as Spitfire’s body began to retaliate again a little. “And you better believe I’m not giving up on you either!” He stated as she lost all control again and continued her struggle to escape.

“Son of a…!” Dash got blown back again. She was getting frustrated. She couldn’t land a single hit. In her eyes, Lightning Dust was beating the crap out of her. She was just too damn quick. If only Dash could get a punch in. If only she could stun Dust briefly. Sure she was surrounded by the same magic as Rapidfire, but it was clear she wouldn’t be quite as invulnerable in it. Dust herself said something about being careful with the use of the crystals, so the chances of her being totally shielded were low. If Dash could get a few good blows in, the tide would turn. But that was precisely the problem.

“Feeling tired Dashie?” Dust chuckled as she continued to zip around and avoid Dash’s attacks. After each miss, Dust would whisk around and land another hit. It was becoming really annoying. Dash tried to anticipate Dust’s movement, but it led her to miss even harder and Dust crashed her elbow between Dash’s wings on her back. Dash winced and tumbled through the air, but she caught herself and faced Dust again. Then she noticed something.

Was Lightning Dust losing her patience? The smirk had faded and was replaced with an unsatisfied look. It was as if things weren’t going quite as planned. To anypony else, it would have looked like nothing, but Dash had spent enough time with Dust in flight camp to know what really grinded her gears. Specifically: something not going her way. Dash saw an emotional opening. It could possibly be her key to victory.

“Is that all you’ve got?!” Dash jeered as she charged, swung, and missed Lightning Dust again. Dust came around and delivered two more punches to Dash’s side, but Dash only grunted and kept coming at her.

“You. Are. STUBBORN!” Dust grunted in frustration as Dash kept flying at her again and again no matter how much punishment she took. Dash was surprising herself. She barely lasted a few blows the last time she fought back in Ponyville. Dust’s punches and kicks had weight behind them, but Dash found she was shrugging them off and keeping in the fight. So this was what it was like to have a strong body. All her extra training and heavy lifting was paying off. She could fight, and she wouldn’t go down easily. It was awesome.

“Didn’t you hear me before?” Dash said despite missing Dust again and taking another blow to the back. “You can’t beat me with fake power!”

“Oh shut up!” Dust lost her composure and flew in for a hard punch. Dash didn’t try to block or dodge. Instead she hovered in place and tensed her muscles. Dust connected her punch to Dash’s chest. Dash grunted and was pushed back slightly, but smirked at Dust and grabbed her hoof.

“You want to know what real strength is?” Dash clamped her hoof around Dust’s arm hard. Dust struggled to pull back, but Dash was too strong. Dash pulled her head back and head butted Dust right between Dust’s eyes. “Blood!” She moved forward and kneed Dust in the stomach. “Sweat!” She put her in a headlock and plummeted towards the ground. “And tears!” She put her back into Dust and slammed her to the ground wings first.

“AUGH!!!!” Dust cried out as her wings got bent awkwardly below their combined weight. Dash rolled off and picked her up off the ground. “Learning from your mistakes!” She punched Dust across the face, knocking her goggles off. “And your failures!” She punched her in the face again in the other direction. Dust stumbled and collapsed, still conscious, but heavily beaten and disoriented. “Running away from your flaws only brings them out harder.” Dash nodded, satisfied.

She glanced over and saw Soarin struggling to hold Spitfire steady. She was quickly reminded of the situation and looked back to Lightning Dust. The crystal had fallen out of a small pouch on her uniform. Dash leapt over Dust and smashed her hooves to the crystal, crushing it completely. A small explosion sparked from it and blew Dash and Dust away, but the deed had been done.

“HRRRRRRRRrrrhhhhhh… uhhhh….” Spitfire stopped struggling in Soarin’s grip and the pink light disappeared from around her and her eyes. Soarin breathed a sigh of relief and let go, but looked over her with worry. She was shaking. Soarin could hear her whimpering softly as she hugged herself tightly with both her arms and wings. She sharply turned to Soarin. Her eyes full of the tears that had been flowing throughout.

“Spitfire?” He quietly said her name as he reached for her. Before he could touch her she pushed herself into him.

“Oh my god… oh my god…” she said as she shuddered. Soarin quickly put his arms around her.

“It’s okay Spitfire, I’m here. Your brother is here.” He tucked her head into his chest as she began to wail weakly in his arms. Dash made her way over to them quickly and looked her over as well. When she saw the terrified state Spitfire was in, she came up from the other side and hugged her as well so she would be between those who cared. Dash had known nothing about Spitfire’s apparent loneliness. She could only imagine what it would feel like to have such a terrible emotion forcefully amplified and have your body lose control.

“It hurt… so much…” She sniffled and buried her head into Soarin. Dash looked up at him, concern written all over her face. Soarin shook his head.

“Spitfire, you will never be alone. You will always have us and those that look up to you.” He repeated what he had said before while she was still under the magic’s influence. Dash had no words she could find to help, so she continued to just offer her comfort along with Soarin. But then they heard a familiar voice.

“Ow! Dammit!” Fleetfoot cursed.

Dash and Soarin both looked up at each other and said simultaneously,

“Rapidfire!”

Fleetfoot hadn’t made much progress. Rapidfire seemed completely immune to any sort of pain or damage. No matter what she did he kept moving towards her. She had thrown all manners of punches, kicks, and other objects at him, but he just would not falter. Dash nodded to Soarin and released her hold on Spitfire to go join Fleetfoot’s side.

“I swear he’s made of stone now or something!” Fleetfoot said as Dash landed beside her.

“Any ideas?” She immediately asked. Fleetfoot shook her head.

“I’ve tried everything! And before you say it, YES, I did throw a kitchen sink at him already!”

Suddenly Rapidfire’s legs buckled and he fell to the ground. Gasping and wheezing.

“I…will not fall…” He rasped. “I am free… I am powerful… I will do as I please…” He forced out. But as he struggled, a pulse of pink energy fired out from him, blowing Dash and Fleetfoot into the air.

“Whoa!” Dash yelped as the two leveled out, only to be blown back again by another wave just as strong as the last. The energy began flowing freely from Rapidfire and his body was slowly being engulfed by the pink light.

“Uh, I hope I’m wrong, but why do I get the feeling he’s about to explode?!” Exclaimed Fleetfoot as she shielded herself from the continuous waves of energy.

“I sure hope you're wrong!” Dash said in panic. The light around Rapidfire grew brighter and brighter.

An enormous blast of energy fired out from Rapidfire. Dash and Fleetfoot could only guard themselves and pray.

But they were just fine. When the two built up the courage to peek out from behind their wings, they saw a large pink dome of energy surrounding Rapidfire. Inside the dome Rapidfire stood upright and still, smoke rising from his body, before collapsing on the ground.

“If you want something done right, I guess you have to do it yourself.” A voice came from above as the dome disappeared. A voice that made Dash completely stiffen. She and Fleetfoot looked up and Fleetfoot’s eyes widened in dread.

“Oh no…” was all she could muster as she caught sight of three VERY familiar pegasi.

Nightshade, Descent, and Starry Skies all slowly descended to the ground and landed in front of Rapidfire. Soarin saw them as well from his spot.

“Oh hell…” he gritted his teeth.

The three Shadowbolts that had nearly destroyed Ponyville with their super tornado. Soarin specifically looked right at Descent, who had multiple new scars visible on his body outside the uniform from being nearly burned alive by lightning last encounter. The very pony who almost took Soarin’s life.

“It was a good show.” Nightshade’s silky sly voice made Dash shiver. “I especially liked the part where Rookie Dust here turned little Spitshit on my favorite stallion.” She sneered towards Soarin and Spitfire. Soarin hugged Spitfire tighter to his body as she shivered even harder. “Too bad you can’t trust rookies with anything important. They always rely too much on the crystals. Oh well, they wore you all down. It’ll make this much easier.”

Descent growled in Soarin’s direction. Starry Skies put a hoof on his back.

“Easy big guy. No reckless jumping in.” She said stoically.

“Just say the word and I’ll rip his wings off... with my teeth.” Descent’s deep voice snarled.

“What the hell do you guys want?!” Soarin barked at them. “Why do you insist on making our lives hell?!” He was the only one of them who’s fighting spirit was not shocked out of his body. Dash could barely feel her legs and Fleetfoot was trying her best to keep her composure.

“Oh, nothing much—” Nightshade shrugged as she began walking towards Soarin and Spitfire. As soon as Dash saw them being threatened, she snapped out of her anxiety and rushed over, placing herself between them.

“You stay the hell away from them!” She growled and thrust her wings out. Nightshade lifted an eyebrow and her creepy sneer returned.

“But aren’t you feeling tired? Sore?” She spoke in a condescending tone and tipped her goggles up. “What can four half broken ponies do against us? Especially when we beat the tar out of you last time from the start?”

“Rgh!” Dash had no comeback. Nightshade was right. They were already semi-beaten and tired.

But then Nightshade perked up and looked above Dash. She quickly put her goggles back down and jumped back. A pegasus slammed down between them. Dash blinked, then recognized both the Wonderbolt uniform, the color, and the mane style of a recent new friend.

“Misty Fly!!!!” Dash exclaimed excitedly as Misty firmly planted her hooves between Nightshade and Dash. Misty obviously couldn’t hear Dash’s excitement, but she didn’t need to. She was right where she wanted to be, between Dash, and somepony that wanted to hurt Dash. She was ready to defend at all costs.

PenumbraGlow0290 Deviantart: darkmoonrising

“Sir Soarin!” Fire Streak and Lightning Streak landed on both sides of Soarin, who smiled.

“Boy I’ve never been happier to see you guys!” he exclaimed, “But where’s…”

“Wow, these uniforms are ugly!” Surprise was sitting on Starry Skies’ back and sticking her tongue out in disgust.

“WHAT THE HELL?!” Starry Skies flared her wings out and tried to shake her off, but Surprise stuck to her back like velcro. “GET HER OFFA ME!”

“Oh hi! I’m Surprise!” She casually flew over to the others despite being swung at violently by Starry Skies.

The whole third squad was there. Dash, Soarin, and Fleetfoot felt a new wave of confidence rush over them.

Then suddenly Wave Chill of the second squad came screaming in. He landed and skidded to a stop beside Soarin.

“Reporting sir!” He saluted. “Blaze and High Winds took over at the compound! They are going through the last inspections before the whole force is dispatched! Captain Silver Lining flew to the castle to warn the princesses! I estimate both the Wonderbolts and Royal Guard arriving full force in fifteen to twenty minutes!”

“Good.” Soarin nodded to him.

“May I be of assistance sir?” He asked very dutifully. Soarin looked down at Spitfire. Then back at Wave Chill.

“Yes. I have to help the others. Can you protect Spitfire for me?” He requested. Wave Chill glanced at the shivering Spitfire.

“Yes sir!” He saluted again.

“Listen to me.” Soarin pushed Wave’s arm out of the salute and looked at him sternly. “You protect her with your life, you hear me? This isn’t an order, it’s a request.” Wave blinked as Soarin softly handed Spitfire to him.

“Y—yes, I’ll protect her with my life.” He repeated back to Soarin. Spitfire tried to cling to Soarin, but he whispered softly to her.

“Don’t worry. Wave Chill will protect you. I promise.” He assured her. Spitfire moved her eyes from Soarin to Wave. As soon as Soarin let go she reached out and attached herself to Wave instead. “Don’t ask because it’s a long story.” Soarin said to Wave. “Just keep her close, she needs comfort and safety.”

“I—I will do my best.” Wave struggled to keep the formalities out of his speech.

“Okay, now stand back.” He ordered as he turned and walked up beside Dash.

“Well then.” Nightshade sneered at all the Wonderbolts. “Looks like we get to have some fun after all. Twenty minutes? More than enough.”

“We won’t go down so easily.” Soarin spoke for all of them as they took battle stances, except Surprise who bounced in place.

“Hahaha!” Nightshade cackled, slightly disturbing them all. “You are just as desirable as last time.” She licked her lips as Starry Skies and Descent took their places beside her. “Well then... Shall we dance again?”

---To be Continued---

Author's Note

Spitfire fans, please don't hate me. I'm a big fan of her myself, so believe me when i say that was really hard to write. :'(

But oh man you thought this was gonna be THE showdown?

NOW it's time for a showdown!

Chapter 13

MLP: FiM
Flying Sky-High
By: Calm Wind

Chapter 13:

Descent roared a loud, beast-like battle cry as he fired from his spot straight at Soarin. Soarin expected it, ground his back hooves firmly into the concrete and put up his arms. Descent collided head on with Soarin, pushing him back as he charged. Soarin’s hooves screeched against the concrete of the plaza as they slowly came to a stop.

“Soarin!” Dash called out his name, ready to assist, but she saw him holding steady and glaring headlong into the eyes of Descent. Soarin had a score to settle. Dash steeled herself and believed in her stallion. Soarin was a pony who learned from past mistakes, he wouldn’t lose twice. Besides, the Streak twins were with him. They stood by Wave Chill until he got Spitfire a safe distance away, then turned and readied to assist Soarin if need be. They had his back.

Surprise had already begun harassing Starry Skies again, and Fleetfoot backed her up.

That left Dash and Misty Fly to face off against possibly the most dangerous one of all: Nightshade.

Soarin and Descent glared and growled into each other’s faces.

“Never thought I’d have to kill somepony twice!” Descent snarled as he roughly head-butted Soarin in the face. Soarin grunted in pain and a small trickle of blood slid from his nose. He glared right back at Descent, put a wing to his non-bloody nostril and blew hard. A hunk of blood shot out of his nose to the ground.

“Don’t get cocky burnface!” Soarin head-butted him right back, hitting a lightning burn scar between Descent’s eyes. Descent roared in pain and Soarin pushed him a few steps back. Descent quickly replanted his hooves and sneered at Soarin,

“Good! Tough opponents are hard to come by!” He chuckled while they continued to try and overpower the other. Soarin smirked. Did Descent just acknowledged his strength? All he did last time they fought was refer to him as “colt”. Soarin’s eyes widened as he suddenly felt his back hooves leave the ground.

“Whoa!” he yelped as Descent hoisted him up. He tried to pump his wings, but Descent's grip was firm.

“Don’t disappoint me, Soarin of the Wonderbolts!” Descent flung him into the air. Soarin rounded out and spread his wings to stabilize himself. Descent leapt after him.

“Huh.” Soarin wondered out loud as he dove and the two collided again. Something was different about Descent. He was still coming at Soarin with the force and intention to kill, but his air had changed. It was as if Descent was looking forward to fighting him again, looking for a challenge worthy of his strength. They pushed off one another, but Descent quickly gave chase. He thrust his hooves at Soarin, but Soarin twisted and folded his wings. He fell past Descent's back and swung an elbow into the back of Descent’s neck as he passed. Descent grunted, doing a full turn and propelling himself back at Soarin. Soarin flared his wings out and stopped himself completely while sticking his hooves out. He grabbed Descent's incoming punch and used his momentum to toss him towards the ground. Descent was too close to straighten himself out, and crashed to the concrete with a few hard bounces. Soarin landed nearby, still in a ready stance.

“Not bad at all!” Descent stood and cracked his neck back and forth. “You’ve learned a thing or two.” He looked like he was enjoying himself. Soarin wasn’t sure how to take this situation. Descent's attitude was having a strange effect on him. He had wanted to fight Descent again someday. Mostly for almost killing him. Yet, was he enjoying it too?

“Having fun?” Soarin asked with a slight grin.

“Are you not?” Descent caught him off guard. “A true warrior seeks the strongest opponents. As the strongest of the Wonderbolts, surely you think the same way?” He questioned. Soarin actually gave it some thought. The anger caused by the appearance of the Shadowbolts had all but faded when he started fighting Descent. The big lug also had a point. Soarin always got a kick out of combat training, but amongst the Wonderbolts there weren’t any who could match him blow for blow. Descent was right, he was enjoying this.

“Just because you’re right doesn’t mean I like you.” Soarin glared, but with a sporty grin.

“Heh…heheheh…” Descent could keep it down.

“Hahaha…” Soarin joined in as the two quietly chuckled at their situation.

Off to the side, Fire Streak and Lightning Streak stood near Wave Chill, who was still comforting Spitfire. They watched as Soarin and Descent charged one another again.

“Do you think we should, like, help him or something?” Lightning streak asked while using a wing feather to pick his nose. Fire Streak shook his head.

“I dare not step in between those two. If you wish to be pulverized, by all means.” He motioned a hoof towards them. Lightning shrugged.

“I’m cool just sittin’ here.” He plopped down on his flank.

“I didn’t mean relax, dear brother.” Fire grunted.

“Too late, relaxin’.” Lightning reclined. Fire shook his head.

“If Commander Soarin starts to lose ground, I’m going in.” Said Fire.

“Relaxin’.” Lightning repeated while rolling onto his back.

“SHUT IT!” Fire leaned over Lightning’s face, nearly spitting.

“I think you need some relaxin’ bro.”

“Anyway.” Fire cleared his throat. “Should commander Soarin begin to falter, I’m cutting in. You better be right behind me unless you want to explain to our dear mother how you were sleeping while I got maimed.”

“Sheesh fine, I’ll be right behind ya.” Lightning waved his hoof casually in the air.

Behind them, Spitfire sat with Wave Chill. She was still hugging herself and had firmly nestled her body into him. Wave Chill wasn’t quite sure what to do. He was the dutiful type, the soldier type. He followed orders and did so with pride. Now here he was hugging the lead captain? Commander Soarin “requested” he keep an eye on Captain Spitfire. He didn't know how to respond. Spitfire sniffled and he looked down at her. He hadn’t budged since he moved her, and his arms were sort of locked in a “hover-hug” position, not quite touching her.

“Are they all okay?” Spitfire suddenly spoke, startling him.

“Uh… yes ma’am! The Wonderbolts are fighting well!” He relayed to her rather robotically.

“They’re gonna be fine, right?” She asked right after. Wave Chill blinked. How was he supposed to respond to that? “They’re all gonna be alright?” She repeated. He didn’t know the details, but something traumatizing must’ve happened to the captain. She was clearly not herself. Wave Chill had only ever seen her stoic and serious, quick and efficient, giving orders and enforcing the squads. What had happened? It’s like something had almost completely broken her spirit. Wave Chill found his perspective on the situation changing.

“They’ll be fine ma’— Spitfire.” He dropped the formality. He hesitated slightly, but let his arms rest against her. Soarin said she needed comfort and safety. It was against his line of duty, but this was clearly a special case. “They’ll be fine.” He repeated. She dug her head into his shoulder and continued to shiver.

“WHY,” Starry Skies punched Surprise square in the face, but she burst into particles of cloud. “DO I,” she turned as Surprise came from below her. She kicked her in the jaw, but she exploded into clouds again, “ALWAYS,” Surprise appeared directly in her face upside down. Starry Skies head butted her, but this one ALSO was just a cloud, “GET,” she turned and swiped at Surprise sleeping on her back. Just a cloud, “THE LOONIES?!” Starry Skies glanced around as multiple Surprises kept appearing but continued to be fakes.

“I’m Surprise!” She appeared next to Starry. Starry stuck her wing out and Surprise burst into clouds. “There are lots of different kinds of me!” She was on the other side now.

“STOP IT!” Starry yelled while sticking her other wing out. Again, clouds.

“I’m a pleasant surprise!” Surprise appeared in front and gave Starry a hug. Starry shook her off, but she turned into clouds. “I’m an unpleasent surprise!” Surprise appeared behind Starry and blew an air horn in her ear.

“ARGH!” Starry covered her ears and bucked at Surprise. Clouds.

“I’m a surprise party!” Surprise flew upside down past Starry, putting a party hat on her head and a noise maker in her mouth. Starry ripped off the hat and spat out the noise maker, throwing the hat at Surprise. What a surprise, she was also just a fake made of clouds.

“Sometimes I’m just a little surprised.” A very tiny Surprise landed on Starry’s nose. She growled and clapped her hooves together over the little pony. A tiny *poof* sounded. Just clouds.

“OH WHAT A BIG SURPRISE!” Starry turned around and a massive Surprise was looking down at her.

“AHHHHH!!!!!!” Starry shielded herself but the giant Surprise exploded into clouds and confetti, raining it down on Starry. Starry opened her eyes, growled deeply, and gritted her teeth.

“WHEN I FIND YOU I’M GONNA MURDER YOU SLOWLY!”

All the way down on the ground, Fleetfoot sat and watched Starry struggle with all the fake cloud doubles of Surprise. She glanced to her left as Surprise cheerfully hummed while casually molding clouds together before kicking them up into the sky.

“How long do you think till she figures it out?” Fleetfoot chuckled.

“Nopony ever does! Hehehe!”

Dash waited for Nightshade to make the first move, knowing that plain leaping at her was never a good idea. Nightshade was unpredictable. Dash was also worried about Misty Fly. Misty was older than most of them, not too old, but definitely past her prime. Dash had no idea what squad three’s battle capabilities were, but she had to guess that Misty was probably not as swift and nimble as she once was. She wanted to warn Misty about who they were dealing with too, but Dash didn’t have the means of fully communicating it.

“Well?” Nightshade spoke up, making Dash flinch. “We don’t have much time to have fun, don’t keep me waiting.” She was doing her thing. Nightshade knew Dash was afraid of her. Dash refused to let her have her way.

“Heh.” Dash scoffed while trying to hide the fact that she was shivering under Nightshade’s gaze. “I didn’t think you’d be so eager to have your arm dislocated again.” Dash flinched again has Nightshade glared and set her hooves at the ready.

“Oh believe me I haven’t forgotten about that.” Nightshade narrowed her eyes further. Dash coached herself to show no weakness. Show no weakness. Show no weakness. Show no weakness. Show no weakness. Nightshade would eat her alive if she did.

“Uhhhh…” Lightning Dust suddenly stirred from her spot a few feet from Nightshade.

“You still alive rookie?” Nightshade spoke down to her.

“Captain… Nightshade…?” She said groggily and tried to push herself up.

“Just stay down, you’ve already screwed up enough.” Nightshade shook her head as Lightning Dust shakily propped herself up. “You relied too much on the crystal. Its power made you soft.”

Dash blinked as she listened to the conversation. After all the high and mighty talking Lightning Dust did before they fought, she was just as lost and overconfident as Rapidfire. Dash wondered why none of the Shadowbolts used crystals during the tornado incident. The only crystal she saw then was the one Starry Skies used to escape. There were definitely downsides to this so-called power, and the veterans were more wary of it than the rest it seemed. In the end Lightning Dust was still a rookie making rookie mistakes.

“But! But I—,” Dust tried to validate her actions. Nightshade shook her head and stepped towards Dust.

“We’ll have a nice long talk later. Just sit tight,” she gave Dust a hard kick to the face and sent her flying towards Rapidfire. She landed on top of his unconscious body, knocked out. Dash yelped slightly as the scene played out and shuddered when Nightshade slowly turned back to her. “She has potential,” Nightshade advanced towards them, “but she’s just a scared little foal, crying endlessly for a mother that will never come.” She shrugged, “pathetic really, but she begged to join us, and you know I love watching somepony squirm.” Nightshade turned to Misty Fly. “So what’s your story?”

Misty just kept glaring. Nightshade lifted an eyebrow.

“Hello? Anypony home?” She chuckled. Dash was not about to tell Nightshade that Misty was deaf. Who knows what Nightshade would do to exploit it? “I know your type,” Nightshade sighed, “so determined, not gracing the enemy with a single word. Fine, it’s quicker that way!” Nightshade instantly burst from her spot towards Misty. Dash reacted quickly, aiming to put herself between them, but Nightshade was incredibly fast.

Misty’s eyes widened slightly and she leapt into the air, pumping her wings to speed up as she went skyward. Nighshade slammed her hooves to the ground and looked towards Misty. Dash was right beside her, and threw a punch directly into Nightshade’s face. Nightshade lurched slightly, but barely moved from her spot. She glanced and Dash and sneered even with Dash’s hoof squishing her cheek into the rest of her face.

“Give me a minute, I’ll get to you.” She taunted before thrusting her wings out. Her left wing jabbed Dash hard in the gut, knocking the wind out of her while sending her tumbling along the ground. Nightshade rocketed towards Misty Fly. Misty kept her eyes glued to her approaching opponent and took a deep breath. She looked straight forward, and then closed her eyes. Dash sat up quickly, alarmed upon seeing Misty's eyes shut.

“NO!” Dash forced herself up and took after Nightshade, but again she was too far behind. Then to her surprise, Misty shifted left the instant before Nightshade hit her.

“Hm?” Nightshade paid no mind and made an impossibly sharp loop back down behind Misty. She still had her eyes closed and was now facing away from Nightshade.

Dash beat her wings harder than she ever had in her life. She had to help Misty!

Nightshade sneered and spun, aiming a hard roundhouse kick right for Misty’s neck. But again, right before the blow connected, Misty lifted her arms up beside her head, completely blocking the kick.

“What?!” Nightshade blinked. Dash halted in her path, staring in disbelief. She couldn’t figure it out either. Misty had her eyes closed! And she was deaf! How in Equestria was she anticipating and defending against Nightshade’s attacks? Misty’s wings twitched and she pulled down on Nightshade’s leg. Misty thrust her elbow out, planting it right into Nightshade’s forehead as she was pulled. Nightshade grunted and tumbled downward for a moment before leveling out and smirking as Misty opened her eyes and turned to her. “My, my, my, you are interesting! Just how do you do that?”

Dash glanced between the two. She wasn’t sure what to do. She was afraid to attack Nightshade head on, but what was this amazing secret fighting style Misty pulled out of her sleeve?

“Show me more!” Nightshade yelled, firing at Misty Fly again. Misty quickly closed her eye and her wings twitched slightly. She pulled her hoof back to punch, but Nightshade pulled up and went over her. Misty’s wings twitched again and she halted the punch before firing up and throwing both hooves towards Nightshade’s stomach. Nightshade blocked, but was pushed slightly higher. “Oh?” She said with interest, “I think I see it…” She shoved off and tipped downward moving below Misty Fly. Misty’s wings twitched and she turned downward, thrusting a hoof towards Nightshade. Nightshade moved aside, but Misty’s wings twitched and she reached out, grabbing Nightshade’s hoof. “I see! That’s VERY interesting!” Nightshade laughed as Misty slung her around once before throwing her to the ground. Nightshade easily turned herself and landed roughly on her hooves, sneering at Misty Fly as she landed and opened her eyes. “You are very unique indeed!”

Dash quickly landed as well and stood beside Misty Fly. It was clear Misty was not quite as rusty as Dash anticipated. Misty had just scrapped briefly with Nightshade, the captain of the Shadowbolts, and didn’t receive a single blow.

“I’ve figured you out,” Nightshade bounced one eyebrow, “you don’t fight with your eyes or ears. You fight with the sense of touch! I’ve never seen anything like it!” Nightshade flared her wings out and licked her lips. “You use your wing feathers to detect small changes in the air around you, and use them to follow your opponent, their position, and their motion… Then you counter!”

Dash, again, let Nightshade talk. In fact Dash envied Misty in this situation. Half of what made Nightshade so intimidating was her sly voice that slithered around your ears like a poisonous snake waiting for the right moment to strike. Misty was free of that. Nightshade laughed maniacally for a moment before re-fixing her eyes on Misty.

“Ah I love to hear myself talk don’t I? You can’t even hear me!” She suddenly pointed out. Dash flinched. Nightshade knew?! “It all makes sense. Not replying, not faltering at a single word I say, and using a fighting style that cuts off other senses? You’re deaf, right?” She winked at Misty. Misty, of course, gave no response. “Bingo.”

“Then quit wasting time with your creepy ass monologues!” Dash set her hooves, ready to fight. She was afraid of Nightshade, but she would not let her harass Misty.

“A fighting style like that take years to fully master…” Nightshade completely ignored Dash. “You are definitely a keeper!” A pink crystal hovered out beside her. “I MUST have you!”

“You don’t seriously think Misty Fly would join you!?” Dash spoke for Misty, who remained steady. There was only one thing on her mind: protect Rainbow Dash.

“God, you are annoying.” Nightshade rolled her eyes. “Not everypony is the super loyal, happy-go-lucky stooge you are Rainbow Dash. Ponies are drawn to what they do not have. The desire to be complete is one of the strongest forces in our minds.” The crystal began to glow slightly. “Persuasion can be stronger than any punch or kick. And believe me, I can be very persuasive.” The crystal gleamed brightly and Nightshade’s eyes were overtaken by the pink light. The light fired from her eyes and towards the two of them. Dash yelped and ducked, but the blast ignored her and struck Misty Fly. There wasn’t much force behind it. Misty only stumbled a few steps backwards, but the pink light had concentrated around her ears and around her throat.

Misty’s ears suddenly shot up and she blinked with wide eyes. She began glancing around her. She looked up towards Soarin and Descent locked in combat, then back down over to where Surprise and Fleetfoot were engaged with Starry Skies.

“Misty Fly?” Dash said her name in concern. Misty’s head snapped around and she stared at Dash.

“It’s nice isn’t it? Being able to hear?” Nightshade’s sly voice slid its way into Misty’s ears.

“Ah… Ahhaaaahhh…” Misty Fly suddenly made a noise that struggled to find a clear pitch.

“Oh, and a voice! You do have one!” Nightshade slowly approached. “Not only that, but without any practice or time with a nose lodged in a boring book, you know our language! Go on, try it!” Nightshade seemed to be shivering with delight. Dash’s mouth hung agape as she watched Misty. Had the crystal power really given her hearing and speech? That was impossible!

“Ahhhhyyyeee… I… khhh... caaaan… t—t—taaaaaaalk?” Misty’s voice was very broken and scattered, like a two year old foal trying to put words together for the first time. As she spoke, small tears formed in the corners of her eyes. Dash didn’t know what to do. Her body had frozen on her. Nightshade was now right in front of Misty.

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“Not bad for your first words!” She slowly began to walk a circle around Misty. “With a little work you could use one of our crystals to hear and speak just like everypony else!” She stopped on Misty’s other side. “It feels good doesn’t it? All your life you’ve struggled, and now the solution is right here.” She held a hoof in front of Misty, the small crystal hovering in it. She used her other hoof to slowly remove the goggles from Misty's face. Misty gave no resistance. “Forget the Wonderbolts, half of them never even try to understand you. They have nothing for you.” Misty’s eyes darted back and forth and Nightshade ran the tip of her wing from the base of Misty’s tail all the way up her back to her head. “You’d be welcomed by all.”

“I… I…” Misty stuttered. Nightshade leaned towards Misty’s ear.

“Come with us, and you can be the pony you’ve always wanted to be.” She whispered.

“Misty… No…” Dash could barely watch. This was far and away the most evil thing she had ever witnessed. Nightshade was so cruel, offering fake solutions to real, serious problems. Drawing ponies in, turning their weaknesses against them, and taunting them with what they could never truly have.

Misty looked all around her again. To Soarin and the Streak twins, to Surprise and Fleetfoot, to Wave Chill comforting Spitfire, then back at Rainbow Dash. Misty slowly reached up and took the crystal from Nightshade.

“Yes! Embrace it! Never be silent again!” Nightshade stepped around in front of her.

Misty stared at the crystal. She could see her distorted reflection in the smooth jagged edges of it as it slowly rotated in her hoof. Her arm began to shake. Then her whole body quivered. She made another glance at the Streak twins, specifically Fire. Her eyes locked on him as he kept watch on the battle between Soarin and Descent. She bit her lower lip and shut her eyes tight. The tears began to fall, streaking down her face. Dash watched in despair as the droplets fell from Misty’s chin and stained the ground beneath her. Misty opened her eyes slowly, looking at the crystal again.

“N…nnnn…no.” She glared at the crystal.

“Excuse me?” Nightshade tipped her goggles up.

“Wuhh…wuuuuhhnnnd…Wonderbolts… fr… friends…” She glared at Nightshade, “Rrrraain…Raaainbow D-Daaash… ffrriend!” She shook her head back and forth roughly, scattering her tears all around. “I…I’ll nnnever… t—turn…mmmy b—back… ON… THEM!!!!!!!” She took the crystal and smashed it between her hooves. She looked away as the crystal released a small explosion of energy, forcing both her and Dash to stumble back. Nightshade didn’t budge as the wave of energy flew past her, and looked towards the two of them with frustration.

“So much resistance. I wish more ponies like you knew how to let go.” A sly grin slowly crept onto her face as she pushed her goggles back down. “But then again, the ones with the most resistance,” she slowly ran her tongue over her bottom lip, “are also my favorite ones to break… slowly.” She shivered slightly with a sharp inhale and low sigh.

Dash got to her hooves fast and quickly turned to help Misty stand up. The glow had disappeared around her ears and throat.

“Misty…” Dash accidentally said her name, forgetting that she could no longer hear. Misty’s face was stained with tears. She looked up at Dash, eyes mixed with sorrow and rage. Dash couldn’t even begin to imagine it. It must've been incredibly difficult to resist such a strong tempation. Her whole life Misty struggled with the inability to hear or speak. She had a chance to change it all right there, and willingly crushed the chance right between her hooves in favor of those who truly cared about her.

Dash quickly smiled and used her wing to make the “thank you” gesture. Misty mustered a smile and made the sign right back. Then her head snapped towards Nightshade, the sorrow in her eyes completely fading, and the rage growing fierce. Misty was angry, as she should be. Nightshade just plunged a dagger into her heart, exploiting her desire to love and be loved in return despite her disability. If Misty could still speak, she would surely have unleashed a fearsome battle cry. She fired towards Nightshade. Dash picked up on her fury and following close behind.

Dash knew what Misty wanted right now. No sign language was needed to tell her. Misty wanted to tear Nightshade apart for what she had just done to her. Dash was more than willing to help her do just that.

---To be Continued---

Author's Note

Writing for Nightshade makes me feel like such a heartless bastard.

(A tad shorter than usual, but this was my entire outline for the chapter. MORE FIGHTING INCOMING.)

Chapter 14

MLP: FiM
Flying Sky-High
By: Calm Wind

Chapter 14:

Nightshade beckoned Misty Fly towards her. Misty had her hoof pulled back from the start as she wildly flung herself towards Nightshade. Rainbow Dash took a wide angle as she followed, ready to put the pressure on Nightshade with a two-pronged attack. As Misty closed in, she spun to add even more weight to her punch and aimed it right for Nightshade’s face. Nightshade caught the punch easily while sneering at the amount of force Misty had put behind it.

“What?” Nightshade was caught off guard as Misty reached her wing over, placed it on Nightshade’s head, and smashed her face to the concrete, hard.

“Whoa!” Dash blinked as she saw the somewhat brutal fighting tactic from Misty. Nightshade had really pissed her off. Nightshade pushed up from the ground and leapt backward. “Oh no you don’t!” Dash yelled, circling around and ramming Nightshade in the back, propelling her back towards Misty. Misty hopped up, grabbed Nightshade's wings with her hooves, and pumped her wings hard. She dragged Nightshade along the concrete towards a store window and flung her against it. The glass cracked, popped, and buckled, but held in place.

“Heheheh!” Nightshade sneered as Misty fired from her spot and slammed her body into Nightshade. The force blew them right through the window, shattering it to pieces.

“Yikes!” Dash winced as she followed them. Misty and Nightshade tumbled into the abandoned shop, coming to a stop with Misty pinning Nightshade down. Misty pulled back and punched Nightshade in the face, picked her shoulders up and slammed her down before punching her again and again and again. New tears formed in Misty’s eyes and she poured every bit of rage she could into each punch. Dash backed away slightly when she saw Misty’s demeanor. Sure it was Nightshade receiving it, but Misty had lost all restraint.

Suddenly Nightshade reached up and caught Misty’s hoof. Misty instantly tried punching with the other, but Nightshade caught that one too.

“I just can't get enough of you!” She said in her creepy sly tone as she slowly pushed Misty’s hooves back. She turned and smiled with one eye open wide and twitching, a constant quiet snicker escaping her lips. Despite having taken a serious beating, her face looked almost unscathed with only a few small bruises. Just how tough was this crazy mare? Dash gasped as she saw Misty get thrown off and punched hard in the stomach. The blow made Misty drop down before receiving a hard kick below the chin. The kick sent her flying out the store window and Dash swiftly flew up to catch her.

“Oof!” Dash grunted as Misty slammed into her. Misty shook her head and glared back at the store window as Nightshade emerged from it.

“Your fury is so delicious!” Nightshade slowly approached them. Her grin seemed to keep widening. “I want to see it all! Show me everything!” She spoke despite Misty being unable to comprehend any of it. Dash was convinced Nightshade had a head packed full of loosened screws.

Misty charged again. Dash hesitated before following. She wished Misty could give her more warning. Misty was also being reckless. Through her anger she was disregarding her preferred fighting style. Instead she was throwing herself wildly as Nightshade, determined to tear her apart limb from limb.

Nightshade pulled back and delivered a strong punch to Misty’s face as she neared. Misty flew back, nearly running into Dash. Dash kept going, spinning into a kick, but Nightshade hopped slightly and slammed down on Dash’s body. She traped Dash, belly up beneath her hooves.

“Ahhh!” Dash yelped as Nightshade stood on top of her.

“My, my! Rainbow Dash, look at you!” She bit her lip with a sneer. “Somepony has been hitting the gym.” She leaned down close to Dash’s face and stroked one of Dash’s toned arms with her hoof.

“AH!” Dash wiggled beneath her, mortified.

“Sexy body you're building up here. Tone and muscles in all the right places.” She tipped up her goggles to reveal a disturbingly interested look in her eyes. “I usually prefer stallions, but every once in a while a mare like you comes along that makes me want to… experiment.” She creepily licked Dash’s ear as she whispered into it. Dash was pushing the limits of how far one could tilt their neck. She desperately wanted to get away. Nightshade snickered and moved her head down, licking Dash’s neck. “Mmmmmm.” Nightshade moaned.

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“GOD. DAMMIT. GET. OFF!” Dash tried thrusting her wings to the ground. She managed to push them up slightly, but Nightshade forced her right back down roughly.

“Maybe I should take you… and bring that hunky Soarin with…” Nightshade continued while running her tongue over her top teeth. “I could have so much fun with both of you.” Dash was stuck in place. She started breathing heavily, terrified of Nightshade’s eyes that seemed to force their will down on her like a ton of bricks. “I promise I won't be gentle.” She added.

“NO!” Dash turned her face to the side as far as she could and shut her eyes. Dash considered herself to be fearless, but this... No amount of bravery could hold against this. There was just something plain WRONG about Nightshade and it penetrated every barrier of toughness Dash could hold up.

One of Nightshade’s ears suddenly shot up and she released Dash to block a full on body slam from Misty Fly.

“What a mood killer.” Nightshade sighed as she forced her wings out and grabbed Misty’s hooves. Nightshade forced them both up into the air, and then fell back towards the ground, ready to smash Misty to the concrete. Dash got on her hooves fast and fired towards them, ramming Nightshade in the stomach and loosening her grip on Misty. Misty flipped her body, and kicked Nightshade away from them before she and Dash landed side by side. Nightshade slowly floated to the ground, cracking her neck and sneering. “I guess it could be worse. You are all just too much fun,” she shivered. “It really drives me wild in ways you couldn't imagine.”

Nightshade leapt at them again. Dash and Misty tried to split in different directions as she approached. Then Nightshade suddenly sped up and caught both of them by the necks. They struggled in her grip, but had little time to do anything as she tossed Misty into the air and chucked Dash at her, making them collide hard. Nightshade sprung up and zipped around them, putting her back hooves into Misty’s back and forcing both of them down towards the ground. Dash could only tuck her arms and legs in as she was driven headlong into the concrete with Misty’s weight added above her.

“ARGH!” Descent grunted and Soarin landed another punch to his face. He quickly threw a punch of his own but Soarin ducked and delivered a strong uppercut. Descent stepped back and shook his head out, smirking at Soarin. Soarin stood at the ready. Try as he might Descent couldn’t keep the small grin off his face. “You’ve improved greatly.” He commented. Soarin lifted an eyebrow.

“Who are you and what have you done with Descent?” Soarin chuckled. Descent stomped his front hooves hard to the ground and readied to charge.

“It’s your fault you know.” He charged. Soarin charged as well and they clashed, pressing each other’s hooves together in another power struggle. “Last time we fought, you were weak and frail. Yet despite our difference in strength, you fought furiously and nearly killed me.” He spoke as they pushed against one another. Soarin took two hard steps and Descent slid back slightly. “I easily overpowered you then. Now here I stand as you muster the strength to push me back!” He chuckled as he took his own heavy steps and forced Soarin back the few steps he had gained. “You refused your limits and became stronger! My whole life, I’ve never known a more worthy adversary!”

The two leapt into the air while pushing off. They both arced around and came at one another. Soarin pitched up right before colliding, flying even higher. Descent scoffed, circled around and went after him. Soarin glanced back to make sure Descent was following, and then suddenly flattened his wings. Soarin came to a full stop as Descent rapidly approached. Soarin tipped down and pumped his wings to fire himself down, aiming a hoof for Descent’s face.

But Descent shifted, reaching his arm up above Soarin as he missed, and drove his elbow into the back of Soarin’s neck.

“Gah! Soarin winced as the blow propelled him downward, tumbling uncontrollably. Descent followed up by diving after him and pressing his hooves to Soarin’s chest to increase the speed of the fall. Refusing to repeat his head being thrust into the ground like their last battle, Soarin clutched Descent’s hooves and angled his body enough to use his wings. He flapped them hard to counter their trajectory. They slowed down considerably, and instead of slamming to the ground they only landed semi-roughly.

“Good, you learn from past blunders.” Descent sneered, dropping Soarin and stepping off. “Get up.” Soarin slowly rose from the ground, wondering why Descent didn’t just start wailing at him while he was pinned.

“You could’ve thrown a few punches while I was down.” Soarin thought out loud. Descent shook his head.

“I will defeat you with your guard up.” He put plainly. Soarin was beyond intrigued. He had to know more. It seemed like Descent was in the mood to explain himself so he went for it.

“Tell me Descent. Why the Shadowbolts? Your sense of honor here doesn’t seem to fit.” He questioned. Descent’s eyes narrowed.

“I live by the Shadowbolt mercenary code.” He began simply, but Soarin took note. Mercenaries. That explained a lot, but it also suggested they were working for somepony else. “Our code is that you do as you please as long as the conditions of the contract are fulfilled. I’m fighting you because I chose to, not because I have been ordered to.” He nodded. Soarin thought about all of it. Maybe there was more to the Shadowbolts than met the eye.

“If you guys aren't some evil organization, your captain doesn’t help your image.” Soarin pointed out.

“Captain Nightshade’s methods are questionable, but effective. She leads us with a firm hoof, and none dare question her choices.”

“And the crystals?” Soarin posed one more question. Descent scoffed and shook his head.

“I care not for fake power. I only wish to test my own strength and limits." He readied himself again. “True warriors fight with power from within, not power from without.”

“I can get behind that.” Soarin mirrored him. “Rgh.” He flinched slightly as he moved. Soarin’s body was starting to tire on him a little. While he was matching Descent well, Descent was still larger and more built than him. He also couldn’t rule out the fact that Spitfire had beaten him up a bit earlier, or that he was still covered in scratches from being put through two windows. He was mentally energized, but his body was showing fatigue. His eyes widened as Descent charged again. He put up his hooves and took Descent’s head-butt to the arms. The force of the blow pushed him off his hooves and he tumbled backward.

Despite the small conversation they just had, Soarin knew Descent was a warrior, not a fighter. The difference being that a fighter tries to defeat their enemies, a warrior goes for the kill. To Descent, anything less than going all out was not truly fighting. Soarin was starting to feel weakened from the amount of stress on his body in the past hour, this was slowly becoming more of a survival for him that a battle. He wished Silver Lining would hurry up and get the Princesses on the scene.

Where was his inner dark power when he needed it? It had activated twice by accident in the past few days. Here he was fighting for his life and it was nowhere to be seen.

Soarin stepped off the ground and used his wings to leap up onto the roof of the plaza post office behind him. He flipped over the large envelope sign on the roof to try and give himself a moment. Descent’s hoof came through the sign from the other side about an inch from Soarin’s face. He yelped and pushed off into the air. Descent gave chase quickly. Soarin tried throwing a few punches, but Descent swiped them all aside and struck Soarin in the chest. Soarin grunted as he got slightly pushed higher by the punch before Descent clamped his hooves together and slammed them down over Soarin’s head.

The shock sent a hard whiplash through Soarin as he began to fall. His vision was blurry and he couldn’t get his bearings. He tried to blink but his head was in such a haze that focusing was nearly impossible. A few feet from the ground his eyes finally corrected. He forced his body to turn and gave two hard pumps of his wings, slowing him down only slightly before slamming to the ground on his hooves painfully. He dropped down, panting and twitching slightly. Descent landed nearby and moved in for another attack, but halted suddenly.

Soarin glanced up and saw the Streak twins standing in front of him, both spreading their wings defensively.

“What’s this?” Descent looked with a mix of interest and displeasure.

“No! Stay back!” Soarin ordered before wincing in pain again.

“I apologize Commander Soarin, but we cannot follow that order. We will step in here.” Fire Streak spoke while glaring at Descent.

“Dude, this guy’s a tank.” Lightning Streak commented while he looked Descent up and down.

“Hmph, this is your only warning, colts. Step aside or I will crush you both.” He explained sternly with a heavy glare.

“Aight, sounds good.” Lightning took a step away, but Fire reached a wing over and yanked him back.

“We will defend our commander to the death. It’s because we chose to do so. Isn’t that your philosophy?” Fire used Descent's own saying. Descent chuckled and stepped back.

“Fine choice of words. What are your names?” He asked.

“I am Fire Streak, captain of Wonderbolt squad three.”

“Uhh, I’m John Doe.” Said Lightning with a half assed wave. Fire gave him a light kick.

“And this is my twin brother Lightning Streak.” Fire answered for him.

“Interesting.” Descent pounded his hooves together and set them to the ground. “Show me what you can do!”

“Should I go hit her now or something?” Asked Fleetfoot while she sat and stared up. Surprise’s cloud dummies continued to harass Starry Skies.

“Why? All we have to do is wait for the Princess.” She cheerfully stated. Fleetfoot shrugged.

“I dunno. Sitting here is getting a little boring. Maybe I should go help the others.” She glanced at the other struggles going on.

“Oh nonono.” She shook her head. “I need you here in case she figures it—”

Starry Skies came screaming down from above and smashed all four of her hooves hard into Surprise, throttling her down to the ground violently.

“SURPRISE!!!!” Fleetfoot screamed in terror, but Surprise suddenly burst and thirty or so tiny Surprises were suddenly hopping all over Starry while yelling,

“Surprise!”

“SURPRISE!”

“Surprise!”

“SURPRISE!”

“Surprise!”

Starry Skies stood still as the tiny Surprises bounced all over her. Her body was shaking and her left bottom eyelid was twitching in a very unhealthy manner.

“AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!” She roared out as she began shaking her body, trying to get them all off. Each one popping into little fluffy clouds as they fell off a few at a time. Fleetfoot had taken into the air to avoid Starry’s thrashing and just shook her head while breathing a sigh of relief. A cloud with white wings and Wonderbolt goggles suddenly floated up next to Fleetfoot.

“Beep! Beep! I’m a cloud!” Surprise’s voice came from it.

“Don’t EVER scare me like that again!” Fleetfoot shook her head and looked back to Starry. “Now please, we’ll do it your way, but seriously, can I help out?”

“SURE!” Surprise reached out of the cloud and pulled Fleetfoot in.

“Whoa!”

Rainbow Dash cringed as the pain ran through her arms. She had taken the concrete head on and was left with multiple nasty scrapes that were sure to start bleeding any moment. The stinging was unbearable. The sound of punching came from behind her. She slowly rolled over, trying to avoid all arm movement and gasped. She saw Nightshade holding Misty Fly by the neck and punching her repeatedly in the stomach.

Misty took the blows again and again. She could barely breathe and sounds of choking were escaping her silent lips. Nightshade stopped and glanced over at Dash.

“Oooo, those look nasty,” she sneered, referring to Dash’s injuries. She dropped Misty on the ground, who curled up while gasping and choking for air. Dash quietly shrieked as Nightshade moved towards her, trying desperately to get away. She scooted her body across the ground towards the edge of the plaza. Nightshade reached her, picked her up by the neck, and thrust her against the brick wall that stretched along the perimeter. Dash released a painful squeak and a winced again.

Nightshade looked closely at Dash’s concrete burns as blood began to ooze slightly from them. She sneered, bent her neck down, and gently blew air against them.

“AHH!!!” Dash cringed as pain seared through her body.

“Mmmm, sensitive too.” Nightshade let out a small, pleasurable growl. She moved her head closer to them.

“NO!” Dash shook her head. “DON’T!” She cried out as Nightshade taunted by slowing her head down a little by little.

“Relax Dashie, I’m not that cruel.” She suddenly said. Dash opened her eyes and stopped holding her breath. Then Nightshade shrugged. “Who the hell am I kidding?” Nightshade brushed her lips against the scrapes. Dash screamed out as Nightshade began licking them too. It was torture. Pure, evil, unnecessary torture. Nightshade’s favorite kind. “Yes! Keep screaming! It’s such a beautiful sound!” She said into Dash’s face, small traces of Dash’s blood speckled around her mouth.

Nightshade readied to continue the sadistic treatment, but a bright flash above them made her stop.

“What the hell was that?” She whipped her head around and looked skyward.

The Streak twins fired towards Descent, placing themselves on both sides of him.

“Just one thing big guy?” Lightning Streak began, “No hooves to the face plea—” He was cut off as Descent punched him right in the face. Fire flinched as his brother staggered back slightly. “Oh you’ve done it now dude!” Lightning was actually angry. Fire caught on and the two punched at Descent’s face at the same time from both sides. Descent put up both his front arms and blocked both of them.

“Synchronized fighting eh?” He chuckled as he kicked Fire in the stomach and swung another hoof around, tripping Lightning off his hooves. The two quickly caught themselves and charged again. Descent ducked. Their hooves crossed and they punched each other in the face.

“Argh!” They grunted simultaneously before glaring and coming at Descent again. Descent subtly stuck his wings beneath them both, and then thrust them out hard, tossing the twins into the air, flailing like rag-dolls. They both rounded out and hovered.

Fire streak whistled to his brother to catch his attention. Lightning glanced over as Fire made a series of hoof and wing signals. His message called for a staggered attack. Lightning would go in first, and Fire would come in while Descent was distracted. Lightning gave the signal for “roger” and dove back towards Descent. Fire counted to three before beginning his dive. As Lightning pulled back to strike, Descent crossed his left front hoof over his body and swiped it hard at Lightning, knocking him away and changing his trajectory to run directly into Fire. The two collided and tumbled back. They quickly turned to face Descent, but he was gone.

“You’re both sloppy.” Descent’s voice came from behind them. They both turned and backed up to create a little distance. “Slow, sloppy, and weak.”

“Shut it!” Fire yelled as he shot towards descent. He began throwing wild punches and kicks, all of which Descent dodged without much movement.

“Dammit!” Lightning joined in, adding his attacks to the flurry. But no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t land a single blow.

From below, Soarin forced himself to his hooves and glared up. The Streak twins didn’t stand a chance against Descent. They were good at working together, but this was a different breed of opponent. Soarin’s eyes widened as he saw Descent get fed up and he began to attack. He turned on Fire first, pushing Lightning away and unloading strong punches to Fire’s face and chest.

“No!” Soarin took a wobbly step, but refused to fall. He would not let any Wonderbolts die. He refused to let them die.

Fire fell limply to the ground and Descent began a similar punishment to Lightning.

“Rgh!” Soarin forced his wings to extend. A soft, dark blue glow began to rise from his body.

Descent grabbed Lightning around the neck and threw him down, crashing into his brother who was struggling to stand. The two lay in a beaten heap. Descent spread his wings, ready to dive.

“NO!” Soarin roared out, the blue light exploding from his body and enveloping him.

“Hm?” Descent glanced down. “What?” He blinked, curious towards what he was seeing. In the brief moment of thought, Soarin used his Sonic Blast-off and was in front of Descent with his hoof pulled back in the blink of an eye. Descent’s eyes widened as Soarin threw an incredibly powerful punch right into his face. The blow sent Descent flying away from Soarin, who quickly propelled himself through the air up, over, and behind Descent. Using both of his back hooves he kicked Descent out of his path and up even higher.

“Rgh!” Descent grunted and rounded himself upright as Soarin seared towards him again. He aimed a punch for Soarin’s face, but the instant before impact Soarin changed directions and made a wide loop around behind Descent. Descent followed with his eyes and fired towards where Soarin was heading. As he punched, Soarin stopped in an instant, shifted behind Descent, and kicked him in the back of the head. Descent shot downward and bounced painfully against the pavement, but quickly got to his hooves. He was being soundly beaten, but he had a smile on his face.

Soarin streaked towards the ground, tapping off the ground and performing his Sonic Blast-off again in the process. Descent anticipated it and punched at Soarin as soon as the aircone around him burst. But Soarin struck the ground in front of Descent with his hooves, bouncing him over with a front flip. As he landed on his front hooves, pushed off, and slammed his back hooves into Descent’s back. Descent lurched forward, but quickly turned and aimed a blow between Soarin’s eyes. Soarin ducked, tensed the muscles in his right arm and delivered an incredibly powerful blow into Descent’s stomach from below.

“GAAAAHHH!” Descent exhaled as the punch propelled him back into the air. Soarin gave chase, catching up to Descent. He placed his hooves on Descent’s back, and performed the Sonic Blast-off using Descent's body as the surface. The force of the propulsion, as Soarin fired off of him, sent the large Shadowbolt shooting towards the plaza. He fell through the roof of the post office with a loud crash. Soarin arced around and dropped down to the ground, panting and sweating profusely. “RAAAGHH!!!” Descent pulled himself out of the post office and shakily stomped towards Soarin. “In…credible…!” he said with a satisfied smile on his face. He was covered in cuts and serious bruises, but he seemed to not give a single damn about it.

“Uh oh…” Soarin felt shocks run through his body. "No. Not now. Hold on a little longer!" His limbs buckled and his vision got blurry. “No…” The glow faded and he dropped to the ground, his heart racing like crazy and his breathing extremely labored. Descent watched as Soarin fell and grunted.

“Hmph.” He stopped advancing. “Such enormous and mysterious power within, but he cannot control it? Such is always the price of power we do not understand.” Then a bright flash made him squint. “Hm?” He glanced up.

Starry Skies frantically looked around. No matter which way she flew, she was still enveloped in a huge cloud. Surprise had thrown it over her, and Starry was unaware that the cloud had been tethered to her. It was moving as she moved.

“Ha!” Fleetfoot appeared in the cloud and rammed Starry in the side.

“Argh!” She grunted and swiped at Fleetfoot. But she twisted to dodge and flew back out of the cloud. She emerged outside where Surprise was happily stuffing more clouds into her “moving trap”.

“You’ve got some crazy ideas, Surprise.” She commented before diving in to repeat her attack. She came out the other end and flew back around.

“I have lots of free time.” She said while tipping her head all the way upside down to smile at Fleetfoot.

“You don’t say?” Fleetfoot rolled her eyes while chuckling.

Suddenly out of nowhere, a very large blast of light blue of magic came hurling into the scene. It penetrated Surprise’s cloud and smashed into Starry.

“AHHHHHHHHhhhhuuuuuhhhhhh…” Starry was completely knocked out as the cloud disappeared and she fell limply to the ground with a trial of smoke following.

“Hey! I wasn’t done with… oh…” Surprise and Fleetfoot looked up to see that the cavalry had finally arrived. Descent and Nightshade had glanced over as well.

The bulk force of the Canterlot Royal Guard was approaching with the Wonderbolts close behind. In front was Silver Lining, flying side by side with Princess Luna. Her horn was still crackling and sizzling from her powerful attack.

“Dammit.” Nightshade grunted as she dropped Rainbow Dash. “Fun times never last.” Dash curled up and cringed as she fell. “It’s been a delightful time Dashie, but we’ve gotta run.” She took off towards Starry and scooped her up while pulling a pink crystal out of Starry’s uniform pouch. “Descent! Let’s wrap this up! Bring him over!” She yelled while landing beside Lightning Dust’s and Rapidfire’s unconscious bodies.

“Hmph.” Descent grunted again, unsatisfied. They had a contract to fulfill, so the time for fun was over. He trotted over and grabbed Soarin’s beaten form before gliding over to Nightshade. Dash rolled over and blinked in alarm when she saw Descent holding Soarin. Nightshade held the crystal in the air and a pink light began to surround them.

Penumbra

“NO!” Dash recognized it. It was how Starry escaped with the Shadowbolts in Ponyville. They were taking Soarin with them? Never!

Dash forced herself up and faced them. She had to get to them. NOW. Despite the excruciating pain in her legs, she set her hooves and went through the motions for Soarin’s Sonic Blast-off. The will to succeed and stop them from taking her beloved was all the focus she needed to execute it perfectly. She fired from the spot, exploding through the aircone, and leaving an expanding rainbow ring behind her.

The glow around the Shadowbolts was intensifying. They would be gone soon. Dash had to make it in time, there was no alternative.

“Oh no you don’t!” Luna slammed down to the ground and poured more magic into her horn, firing it at the Shadowbolts. Dash paid no attention to Luna, and continued on her course.

“Heh, close but no cigar Princess.” Nightshade chuckled to herself, completely focused on Luna. She did not see Dash approaching. The light closed around them completely, but not before Dash just barely squeaked through. The light fired into the air in the shape of a small pink tornado and carried them up at an incredibly fast speed.

Luna’s magic careened past their former spot and a massive explosion erupted on the other end of the plaza. She glanced left and right then up as the small tornado disappeared from view quickly. Luna cursed and swore in the Royal Canterlot voice while stomping her hooves heavily to the concrete, causing it to split and crack beneath her.

Fleetfoot and Surprise went around to help Misty Fly and the Streak twins, who struggled to stand. Fire looked around as Fleetfoot helped him up.

“Wait, where are Commander Soarin and Miss Rainbow Dash?” he frantically asked. Fleetfoot frowned, and looked up into the sky. She saw it. Dash barely managed to enter the light before it closed. She Shadowbolts had taken them both.

“Princess Luna! Where are they going?! Can you track them?!” She yelled as Luna walked up to them. The night princess closed her eyes, sighed, and shook her head.

“The magic in their crystals is quiet and mysterious. We are afraid we cannot sense nor trace it.”

“No…” Fleetfoot glanced up into the sky.

The Shadowbolts were gone, and they took Soarin and Rainbow Dash with them.

---To Be Continued---

Author's Note

I don't mean to be cliffhanger happy, really i don't. it just sort of happens >_<

But hey i have a three day weekend now so don't expect long waits xD

(I'm starting to disturb myself with what i come up with for Nightshade...)

Chapter 15

MLP: FiM
Flying Sky-High
By: Calm Wind

Chapter 15:

“Can’t trace it?!” Fleetfoot flared her wings out as Luna sat with her back turned to her.

“We mean exactly what we said before. The Shadowbolts are using some sort of replacement for magic. It has no traceable emission or imprint so we cannot follow it.” She put plainly.

“So we’re just going to abandon them?!" Fleetfoot took a few steps towards Luna. "Aren’t you a goddess or something?! Can’t you do ANYTHING?! Where the hell is Celestia anyway?!” She kept pounding her hooves to the ground. Fire and Lightning Streak were in the royal throne room of the castle with her, both bandaged up from being beaten around severely. Fire tried to reach forward and restrain Fleetfoot slightly, but flinched hard as Luna stomped both her front hooves hard to the floor and turned.

“WE CANNOT! AND OUR SISTER IS NONE OF YOUR CONCERN!” Her voice boomed throughout the hall. The royal guards all staggered slightly as well. Fleetfoot didn’t budge an inch. This was Soarin and Rainbow Dash they were talking about. She refused to give way until she got some answers or at least some action. Luna huffed as she observed Fleetfoot’s stonewall demeanor. “We apologize for our sister’s absence,” she turned away again, “but even if she were here, Celestia cannot just make the impossible happen.” As Luna said those words she blinked and her ears shot up straight. It didn't go unnoticed.

“What?” Fleetfoot quickly asked.

“No, it is nothing.” Luna sighed shook her head.

“Bullshit Princess.” Fleetfoot quickly replied, making all the royal guards glance back and forth at each other. Such a brave move. Luna turned and gave Fleetfoot a look of disapproval before rolling her eyes.

“Thou art very persistent,” she looked away again. “Fine. A thought hath crossed our mind. We truly wish not for it, but there may be somepony— er some…thing who can help us find them.”

“Oh? Tell us!” Fleetfoot demanded. Luna held her breath for a moment, squinting and puffing her cheeks out.

“Oh he is most unpleasant, but if we must, we shall—”

“I’ve been here the whole time little Lulu.” A sly, male voice echoed throughout the room. Everypony glanced around in surprise, even Luna was caught off guard by it. When her surprise faded, she growled.

“You! You know thou are NOT permitted in the castle halls!” She barked up to the ceiling.

“Oh hush, I’m always here! What’s the trouble if I don’t cause any?”

Fleetfoot looked up and saw what she could only describe as the most broken mix up of multiple animals she had ever seen. A snake with a head, arms, legs, and antlers all from different creatures. He lacked any sort of symmetry. The newcomer slowly floated down and slithered his body around Luna. She reclined, swiped, and bit at him as he worked around her. He effortlessly avoided all of her attempts to repel him.

“We hate thee.” Luna said with an angry pout as she gave up and let him slither about her. “This,” she motioned to him, “despicable abomination, is Discord.”

“Oh you are too kind.” Discord pinched Luna’s cheek. She looked like she was about to really lose her cool, but she held strong.

“What!?” Fleetfoot and the Streak twins both stepped back in surprise.

“AHAhoho!” Discord laughed as he appeared behind Fleetfoot and ruffled her mane. Fleetfoot yelped and tried to get away, but Discord had a firm grip on her scalp. “Ah, it’s so refreshing to see that reaction. It reminds me of the good old times.” He picked her up by the head and placed her between the Streak twins. When he pulled his hand back, her mane came off with it. “Oops!” He quickly put it back on her before disappearing and reappearing beside Luna.

“Discord…” She gritted her teeth.

“Fine, fine, fine, I have ears Lulu. I already heard everything.” He fully extended his body and reclined on the floor. “You want my help to find something that does not exist?”

“Is he REALLY gonna be any help?” Fleetfoot complained to Luna. Discord appeared between her and the twins, roping them all together with his body and lifted them up.

“Oh I could easily snap my fingers and have the two of them sitting right here, safe and sound!”

“What? Then do it!” Fleetfoot quickly requested. Luna stomped her hooves again.

“NEIGH WE SAY! IT SHALL NOT BE PERMITTED!” The ponies looked at her in confusion as Discord released them and they dropped to the floor.

“As you heard from the sweet, soft, and gentle voice of Lulu, there are certain things I’m not allowed to do. I am reformed after all, I must abide by some rules...” He shrugged.

“No shifting of reality! That is the number one rule of your freedom!” Luna made loud and clear for everypony. Discord appeared beside Luna and held his cheek against hers.

“Keep interrupting me and I’ll scramble your brain to make you believe you're a little school filly that loves frilly pink dresses and has mommy issues.” He said monotonously into her ear. Luna’s horn glowed to life. Discord nonchalantly reached up and put a clothespin on it, which somehow blocked her magic. He turned back to them as Luna eyed the clothespin on her horn with a mix of confusion and annoyance.

“ANYWAY,” he continued as he floated back over to Fleetfoot. “I have the ability to bend reality and make the impossible possible. However this has been known to cause major problems for Sun and Moon Bottom.” He motioned to Luna as she struggled to try and get the clothes pin off her horn. “If I’m extra careful, or I don’t change too much it doesn’t cause any trouble really, but it’s a risk I’m not permitted to take, unless I want to be stuck in a statue for centuries again. If you don’t like that rule you can take it up with the 'authority.'” He motioned to Luna again, who was now rolling on her back while trying to pry the clothespin off with her hooves. “They seem to be occupied though.” Fleetfoot scowled at him.

“This is all fine and dandy. CAN YOU HELP US OR NOT!?” She yelled right in his face. Small wipers appeared on Discord's eyes and whisked back and forth to remove Fleetfoot’s spit.

“I swear, it is hard to find anypony who really knows how to have fun around he-URK!” He was cut off as Fleetfoot grabbed him by his curly white beard and yanked him down.

“ANSWER THE QUESTION.” She growled as the Streak twins slowly backed away from her. Discord sighed.

“What a grouch.” He disappeared and reappeared standing in front of them with his arms crossed. “The magic has no trail you say? No trace or hoof-print? Well neither does my magic, but you may be surprised at how easy it is to follow. Something that isn’t there can only be seen by the blind and heard by the deaf.” He nodded. Fleetfoot tipped her head to the side.

“How the hell is that supposed to—” her eyes widened, “oh…”

“Uuhhhhh…” Soarin groaned. He winced as a sharp headache quickly made itself known. He grunted and put a hoof to his head. What had happened? The last thing he remembered was the power emerging from him, beating the crap out of Descent, then everything going blurry. He opened his eyes slowly, realizing there wasn’t much light, wherever he was. After rubbing his eyes a few times he got them to focus mostly, but there was nothing he could do about the splitting headache.

“Shit.” Was the only word he could think of when he became aware of his surroundings. He didn’t know where he was, but wherever it was, he was being held prisoner. He was encased in a small holding cell made of iron bars that had nothing more than a crappy bed and a toilet that looked like it had never been cleaned. His head hurt too much to freak out or demand answers. He was sure he’d find out soon anyway.

He was confused for another reason though. Last time he passed out from the power, he had a terrible nightmare followed by waking very suddenly. That didn’t happen this time. He also, despite having a headache, felt unusually well rested. Then it hit him.

“Oh no.” He slowly turned his head to the cell on his right. The only time he had been well rested in the recent past was because, “Rainbow Dash!” She was curled up in the bed in the cell beside him. Her arms had been bandaged up. Her ears twitched as he called her name. Her head quickly shot up and she turned and looked at him. Her eyes lit up and she hopped off the bed, rushing up to the bars between them as he did the same. Their heads didn’t fit through the bars, but their arms fit just fine as they reached through and gave each other the tightest embrace they could.

“Omigosh, you were out for so long!” Dash quivered as he reached up and stroked a hoof through her mane. It was hard because of the bars, but he didn’t give a damn. It was Rainbow Dash.

“How long was I out?” He asked while holding her as close as he could.

“I don’t know. I waited and watched you for an hour before I fell asleep.” She sniffled. “Why do you always scare me like that?!” She jabbed him in the chest through the bars.

“OOF! Rgh…” Soarin groaned. His body was still a bit scratched up from the battle. Dash instantly freaked out.

“Oh! Sorry! Sorry!” She apologized frantically. Soarin chuckled.

“It’s okay. I’d rather take a few hits than have you stop being you.” He smiled at her. She smiled weakly in return. He glanced around at their surroundings without letting go of Dash. “So where are we?” Dash shook her head.

“The Shadowbolts grabbed you and did their little getaway tornado thingy. I guess I got in before it took off, we must be at their base or something. I dunno I was punched in the face and knocked out as soon as I got to them.” She explained. Soarin pulled back and looked sternly at her. He was convinced they had nabbed her too. She was here because she chased them?!

“You tried to follow!? Dash! That’s reckless!” He scolded her. She pouted and glared back at him.

“What? I was just supposed to let them take you? What would you have done if they were taking me?” She quickly fired back. He blinked, then sighed.

“I would have gone—”

“—after them no matter what the cost.” She finished for him and poked him in the nose. “So don’t give me that crap.”

“Fine.” He chuckled. “I forgot who I was talking to.”

“But I wonder what they want you for.” Dash tried to pull him closer.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad they didn’t hurt you.” He said while brushing a hoof against her face.

They were both startled by the sound of a metal door opening. They both turned as the sound of hooves came around the corner of the room. However, it was not what they expected.

Rapidfire, minus the Shadowbolt uniform, approached them carrying two trays of food, one balanced on each wing. The trays had nothing more than some bread, some kind of leafy greens, and a mug of water. Soarin and Dash let go of one another and glared as he approached. Rapidfire looked at both of them once before avoiding eye contact, a permanent scowl plastered to his face. He didn’t look like he was in good shape. Obviously he had abused the crystal, but it also looked like he had been beaten. He had bruises everywhere and a black eye. Dash stayed put, but Soarin approached the bars as Rapidfire came close. The two stared harshly at one another for a few moments. Rapidfire snorted, set the trays down, and turned to leave.

“What, nothing witty to say?” Soarin leaned on the bars. Rapidfire froze mid-step. “C’mon hot shot, tell me. How does it feel to throw your life away?” Soarin taunted. Rapidfire sharply turned to him.

“What I do is my business.” He spat back as he approached the bars again.

“Then you aren’t very smart,” Soarin scoffed. “A lead squad Wonderbolt to a Shadowbolt errand boy?”

“At least I’m not stuck behind bars.” Rapidfire snarled. Soarin shrugged.

“Whoop-dee-SHIT Rapidfire. Or should I call you, Rookiefire now?” He taunted. Rapidfire shook while grinding his teeth together. He reached forward and kicked at the contents of the trays, sending the bread and vegetables sliding across the dirty floor and spilling the water.

“Enjoy, ass wipe!” Rapidfire turned and stomped towards the door. Soarin glanced back at Dash who shook her head in dismay. “AH!” Rapidfire suddenly yelped when he turned the corner. Soarin and Dash both looked and saw him back up. As he moved, a lavender pegasus mare pushed him back and up against the wall. It was Starry Skies out of uniform. She was glaring at Rapidfire very sternly and he was clearly very afraid of her.

“Pick up those trays, and go get them a fresh meal.” She said, emphasizing each word. “Or do you want me to tell the captain you’re being a shit again?” She threatened. Those words seemed to scare Rapidfire more than anything. His orange color nearly turned yellow. He shook his head vigorously. “Then GO!” She snapped, releasing him from the wall. He slowly shuffled past her. “And be QUICK about it!” She gave him a kick and he scampered away. “Hmph.” She grunted before turning towards Soarin and Dash.

She approached and gathered up the spilled food trays. Soarin and Dash watched her carefully as she moved, but she only stole two quick glances at them. She continued to ignore them as she stacked the trays. After glancing at the two one more time, Starry rolled her eyes and faced them.

“What?” She asked with slight annoyance. Soarin and Dash looked at each other, then back at her.

“What the hell is going on?!” Dash stomped and flapped her wings down once.

“Supposed to be lunch, but our dumbass recruit seems to forget our captive policies.” She went right back to the trays, ignoring their questions real intention. Dash glanced to Soarin in confusion.

“Starry,” Soarin began, “why are we here?” He asked calmly. Starry gave them both a long, silent look.

“We have a contract to capture you.” She referred to Soarin, and then she looked at Dash. “You were an accident. Normally we’d let you go, but the captain decided to keep you.” She answered, again without showing much emotion or care. Dash visibly flinched upon the mention of Nightshade.

“Keep… me…?” Dash shuddered. Soarin reached a hoof through the bars and rubbed Dash's shoulder.

“So I was right,” Soarin nodded, “You guys are mercenaries.”

“That’s right.” Starry confirmed casually.

“So why did you try to kill us all back in Ponyville?” He continued. Dash had moved as close to Soarin as she could with the bars between them. He moved his hoof from her shoulder to hold her hoof.

“Our contract was to destroy Ponyville and scatter the Elements of Harmony. If anypony got in our way, kill them.” She answered. Dash perked up.

“How do you know about the Elements of Harmony?!” She questioned. Starry shook her head.

“I don’t know what the hell they are and I don’t care. It was in the contract.” She continued to show little emotion. Her personality was clear.

“So who keeps hiring you?” Soarin quickly continued.

“Confidential.” She instantly replied. “Our tasks are no secret, but we do not reveal who hires us. That is our way.”

That sealed it for Soarin. It was all becoming clear. After Descent’s different approach to battle, after seeing Rainbow Dash’s wounds tended to, and after seeing Rapidfire being forced to treat them better, he concluded something he never thought he’d say or think.

“So you guys are just an honest organization?” His questioned startled Dash.

“Soarin are you kidding me? They almost killed us twice now! And Nightshade’s an evil bitch!” She gripped his hoof tighter, but Soarin shook his head.

“If they’re so evil, we wouldn’t be getting proper treatment.” He pulled her hoof up and motioned to her bandages. She blinked and thought about it as Soarin looked back to Starry. “I said it to Descent and I’ll say it to you. You guys really get a bad image from your captain.”

“The captain is the strongest among us.” Starry answered plainly. “It is in our code that the strongest shall lead us and chose which contracts to accept. Within such a code, one must intimidate to keep power.”

“That explains a lot.” Dash commented while shivering. Nightshade was just a different breed of pony. Everything about her felt wrong about her. The way she approached things, the way she conversed, and the way she seemed to enjoy the suffering of others in a sexual way. Dash wasn't so much afraid of Nightshade physically. It was more what Nightshade stood for and the way she got into the heads of others. Nightshade was like a nightmare given form.

“Although…” Starry began but stopped, catching both their attention. She shook her head. “Nothing. Captain Nightshade has her own way of doing things, but we’ve been prosperous under her command.” She had dropped her guard only for a moment, but Soarin took note.

Rapidfire finally returned carrying two new trays. Starry glared at him as he quickly hurried over and placed them beside the cells.

“Rookie.” Starry froze him in place. “Take these.” She handed him the dirty trays. Without a word he balanced them on his wings and left. She turned back to them briefly, opened her mouth to say something, but stopped before moving towards the exit herself. She stopped suddenly right before leaving their view. “Yes?” She said to somepony else.

“Nightshade wants to see them.” Descent’s voice came from around the corner. Starry nodded and Descent entered. He was without his uniform as well, but the sight made both Soarin and Dash wince heavily. Soarin had seen them outside his uniform during the battle, but without the uniform? Descent's body was covered all over with lightning burn scars. Taking the full force of multiple thunderclouds during their battle in Ponyville definitely came at a painful price. Soarin was surprised he was still alive after such a fatal incident. It was one hell of a way to prove his toughness.

Descent was followed in by four other pegasi, all rather gruff looking individuals. Three stallions and one mare, each with a crystal hovering beside them. Descent locked eyes with Soarin as they approached, but neither said a word. “Bind them.” He ordered.

Before they came near the cell doors, the four ponies raised their crystal. They gleamed slightly and a pink aura surrounded Soarin’s and Dash’s wings and hooves.

“What the!?” Dash tried to move her wings, but they were stuck in place. She found that she could move her hooves, but they felt heavier. She quickly looked at Soarin. “I dunno they seem pretty evil to me!” She slightly freaked out. She flinched as Descent let out a loud scoff.

“Would you let prisoners go unchecked?” He chuckled. Dash backed away, but Soarin forced his heavy hoof up and softly tapped her on the back.

“Don’t worry.” He assured her. “I trust Descent.”

“WHAT?!” Dash couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Soarin, seriously, did you take a hard hit to the head?! You keep talking like they're some happy friendly bunch! They've tried to kill us TWICE!” Soarin let her yell before rubbing his hoof up and down her back.

“They are following orders, just like we do.” He explained as the doors to their cells were opened. "They're a different manner of orders, but it's the same principle." He looked towards Descent.

“He’s right you know.” Descent said to Dash. “I’d be more worried about why Nightshade wants you.” He motioned for them to follow. Dash flinched again. The mere mention of Nightshade made her body tingle uncomfortably, but maybe Soarin was onto something. It seemed there was much more to the Shadowbolts than what appeared on the surface. Maybe they would find out more, and hopefully they’d live to tell it. The two followed Descent and Starry with the four other ponies keeping a close eye on them.

Soarin and Rainbow Dash were led around the corner and up a flight of stairs. They emerged in a hallway that appeared to be similar to those of the Wonderbolt compound. Only the walls weren’t painted at all. Everything had a grey metallic look to it. There was no ceiling, exposing all the pipes of their plumbing and heating. Despite the dank look to it, Soarin found it still looked better than all blue.

While in appearance it was similar to the Wonderbolt compound, the demeanor was completely different. There seemed to be no authority or order present. Shadowbolts walked up and down the halls, some looked, and some paid no mind. There was no direction or guidance. Everypony seemed to being doing whatever they wanted. They even passed a small group that had formed around two Shadowbolts that were fighting in the middle of the hallway. Starry Skies pushed her way through the mob, and separated the two roughly before berating them and sending them on their way.

The place was very mercenary like. While the Wonderbolts were collected and trained to be like soldiers, the Shadowbolts were more everypony for themselves, but if you want to eat and get paid, better play your part.

More than once as they walked the halls Dash felt slightly disoriented, as if the floor beneath them was moving. She didn’t know if the floor was actually moving or if the crystal magic surrounding her was just making it that hard to walk.

The extra thought quickly took a back seat as they stopped in front of a metal door. The sound of punching came from inside. Starry turned to the two of them.

“This is the captain’s room. All I can say is pray that she’s not ‘in the mood.’” Her words created a considerable amount of anxiety between Soarin and Dash as Descent pounded a hoof on the door.

“Door’s open.” Nightshade called from within, the sound of punching stopping for a moment. Descent pushed the door open and the four ponies nudged Soarin and Dash inside.

The room was dimly lit by old, hanging lights, but it was spacious. Dash gulped when she saw Nightshade in the center of the room, striking a large punching bag that hung from the ceiling. Just like with Descent and Starry Skies, Nightshade was without her Shadowbolt uniform. Her body was covered in scars that looked like they had been caused by claws or other manners of sharp objects. Now that they got to see her in a non-battle scenario, they also weren’t really surprised to see she was quite well built, more muscular than Dash at least. It explained how she seemed to be so sturdy. Starry had also mentioned she was the strongest of them, and one did not have a title like that with a frail body. Soarin wondered if that meant she was stronger than Descent as well? Was such a thing possible?

The whole room was littered with training equipment. The punching bag hung over a large, thin wrestling mat that didn’t quite extend all the way to the walls. On one side of the room was a rack filled with dumbbells with a couple of gym benches nearby, on the other end was a large wall length mirror that had multiple broken spots with cracks trailing from them. The manner of the cracks and shattered areas suggested the mirror had either been punched or had somepony thrown into it. In the back, in one corner was a cleared area that had a desk, a large bed, and a large locker. The desk had a pile of the pink crystals stacked high on it. In the other corner was… something. It looked like some sort of contraption. Dash hadn’t taken her eyes off of it since they entered. Neither she nor Soarin could make out what it was, but there were shackles on it. That was more than enough to let them know it served some twisted purpose.

Nightshade continued to throw punches at the bag as they were pushed in, eventually throwing one harder one before stopping. She sighed and shook her head out, grabbing a towel and slinging it over her neck.

“Well, well, well. Good to finally see you two when we’re not fighting,” she sneered while grabbing a water bottle and taking a swig. Neither Dash nor Soarin said anything. “I hope you understand me when I say there are no hard feelings,” she said with clear snicker between some of her words. “We were, after all, hired to capture you.” They still said nothing. Nightshade laughed heartily. “You know, you’re smarter than most of my underlings. A lot of them come to me and for a while act like they own the place. They think they can say or do anything.” She kept pacing around and started swinging the towel as she approached the punching bag again. “More often than not... they have to learn who’s in charge the hard way.”

She grabbed a zipper on the bottom of the bag and quickly yanked it. The punching bag opened and Lightning Dust fell out of it into a broken heap on the mat. Dash yelped and moved closer to Soarin. Soarin stared in disbelief at the display of brutality. He glanced at the other Shadowbolts. The four ponies who led them in all looked very uncomfortable. Starry did nothing, but Descent looked a little displeased.

Dash stared wide eyed at Lightning Dust. She was curled completely in the fetal position, tears streaming down her eyes, and covered head to tail in very painful looking bruises. She cringed and whimpered slightly on the floor as Nightshade crouched down over her.

“So, from now on will you listen to me?” She said while getting real close to Lightning Dust’s ear. She held a crystal down by Dust’s face. “When I give these to a Shadowbolt, it’s because I trust them to use it properly and not waste it.” She grabbed Dust by the mane and yanked her head up. Dust wailed in pain. “LOOK AT ME.” Nightshade ordered. Dust’s eyes squeaked open, bloodshot from crying and filled with a mix of fear and pain. “You are given crystals because I allow it. Mess up again and I’ll do more than use you for my afternoon workout." She forced Dust's head to look at the device in the corner of the room. "Is that clear, Rookie?”

“Y—yes…” Dust squeaked out while eyeing the contraption in horror. Nightshade yanked her mane harder, forcing her neck to bend all the way back so she could see Nightshade's eyes.

“Excuse me?”

“AH! Yes! Captain— Nightshade—!” She yelled in pain. Nightshade tossed Dust towards the others by her mane. She landed in front of them with a yelp before curling back up. Nightshade brushed orange strands of hair off her hooves.

“Throw her in a cell for the night.” Nightshade waved a hoof at one of the four ponies that had brought them in. Starry perked up and looked between Dust and Nightshade.

“Take her to the infirmary first.” Starry ordered the pegasus that picked her up. Nightshade turned and glared at Starry.

“NO. Take her to a cell and LET IT SINK IN.” She snapped while staring daggers at Starry. Starry readied to argue, but Descent put a hoof on her back and shook his head. Starry silently grunted and looked away. Dash clung tightly to Soarin as she watched Dust get dragged out of the room.

“Now.” Nightshade turned to them, Soarin felt Dash’s grip on him tighten further. “Let me tell you how this is going to work.” She trotted over to her desk. “Unfortunately, I have to hand handsome here over to a client soon.” She pointed at Soarin. “I wish I could play with you more, I really do,” she set down the towel and the crystal before moving back over to them, “but I wasn’t expecting a little extra gift.” She reached towards Dash. Dash shied away and Soarin moved in front of her. Dash felt broken. Nightshade had become a fear. nopony had ever terrified her on an emotional level before. It was new and it was mortifying. Just the sheer amount of things Nightshade was capable of sent shivers down her spine. Soarin could feel Dash shake against him. Dash was the bravest mare he had ever known, but not even she could withstand the presence of Nightshade. He'd be lying if he said she didn't frighten him too, but after what he saw Nightshade to to Dust, he refused to simply hand Dash over. He growled at Nightshade.

“You lay one hoof on her, I swear I will—”

“Will what?” She cut him off. “Hate to break it to you sexy,” she reached for his chin and pushed it up with a hoof, “but now you’re on my turf, and here I always get what I want!” She yanked Soarin away from Dash and he tumbled to the mat. Dash fell to the floor as Nightshade stood over her. “Oh, poor thing. You look nervous! You didn’t seem so scared when you leapt at us to save your stallion.” She crouched down close to Dash. “Or are you the type that flies before thinking? Trust me I love that kind of pony.”

“Get away from her!” Soarin tried to get up, but the magic bonds were too heavy for him to stand.

“He sure is protective of you.” Nightshade bit her lip. Dash shut her eyes tight and shook her head, hoping, wishing, and pleading for it to just be a very bad dream. “The most valuable treasures are always the most coveted.”

Soarin kept struggling. He looked to Descent and Starry Skies. Neither of them looked very amused at the situation. They had showed enough discomfort throughout to make Soarin believe they disapproved. Why wouldn’t they speak out? Did Nightshade really have that much influence over them?

The door to Nightshade's room suddenly swung open and a Shadowbolt stallion rushed in.

“Captain Nightshade!” He yelled as he pushed his way in. Nightshade flinched, her face scrunching into an intense look of anger. She stood up from Dash, stomped over to the pony, grabbed him around the neck, and hoisted him into the air.

“WHAT HAVE I TOLD EVERY ONE OF YOU SHITS ABOUT MY QUARTERS!?” She snarled into his face. The stallion looked absolutely horrified, but he kept talking.

“Your policy is that no pony can enter and leave until you say so and you enforce that policy strictly, but recently you said to disregard the policy and come as quickly as possible if Mr. Kayn Ost wants to speak with you…” He spoke very quickly, and as soon as he said the strange name, Nightshade immediately let go of him and he fell to his hooves, “…and Mr. Kayn Ost… wants to speak with you.” He finished. Nightshade’s expression changed back to normal.

“Argh!” She suddenly put a hoof to her head and shuddered. She stumbled away from them and over to her desk. She quickly snatched one of the crystals and pressed it to herself, the crystal shined brightly before disappearing and surrounding her in its pink light. “Ooooonnnnfffff.” She moaned and inhaled as her body tensed and her muscles all flexed and relaxed sporadically. The glow faded, her body relaxed, and she shook her head. “I’ll see him immediately.” She pointed at Soarin and Dash. “I’ll have some fun with you two later. I have important business to attend to.” The Shadowbolts in the room all just stared, confused about what they just witnessed. “THAT MEANS NOW!” She growled, her eyes glowing pink slightly.

Soarin and Dash were quickly hoisted to their feet and pushed out of her room. As they started back down the hall, Dash immediately pressed herself into Soarin. He nuzzled the top of her head, offering any comfort he could give. What the hell was going on? Nothing made any sense.

---To be Continued---

Author's Note

Confused? Good. It was intentional. >:D

Chapter 16

MLP: FiM
Flying Sky-High
By: Calm Wind

Chapter 16:

Rainbow Dash and Soarin were led back to the cells. Their wings and limbs were freed from the magic, but they were put right back where they started. Dash argued being put in the same cell as Soarin, but the ponies who led them denied it and simply replied, “Captain’s orders.”

Both Descent and Starry Skies had left them with the other Shadowbolts halfway back, but neither said a word before doing so.

Soarin and Dash also had new company. Lightning Dust was curled up in the cell beside Dash’s. Dash tried to speak to her, but she didn’t budge from her spot on the bed.

Dash slumped against the iron bars separating her and Soarin’s cell.

“Soarin…” she said his name quietly, her voice completely devoid of its usual confidence and gusto. She had every right to feel the way she did. Soarin had done his best to break down the situation and keep her spirits up, but Nightshade just killed all of it. He approached Dash from behind and gently placed his hooves on her shoulders, rubbing them softly.

“It’ll be alright, we’ll... figure it out.” He tried to sound confident, but she didn’t buy it at all. She shook her head, reaching her hooves up and placing them on his.

“What the hell?” She sniffled. “How did everything suddenly get all messed up?” She said while continuously shaking her head. “Life used to be so normal. Everything used to be simple.” She clutched his hooves tightly. “Ever since I became an element of harmony, nothing has been the same.” She droned on. Soarin had no words to help, he just offered his presence. “So many incidents I had to fight off with my friends, now magical tornadoes, mercenaries with a sadistic leader, being captured and kept like a pet…” She tucked her back legs in and hugged herself tightly. Soarin reached his head down and rested his chin on top of her head. She turned and reached her arms through the bars, trying to hug him as tightly as possible. “Minus you…” she sniffled, “I wish everything was the way it used to be…”

“Then we think alike.” Descent suddenly appeared from the hall. Both Soarin and Dash looked up at him. He approached slowly as if contemplating something. Soarin and Dash glanced at each other then looking back to Descent. Before addressing them again, Descent stopped and stared into Lightning Dust’s cell. “How has she been?” He asked suddenly. Soarin looked to Dust, then back.

“Hasn’t moved since we got back.” Soarin replied.

“Hmm.” Descent looked over Dust from outside her cell. He tapped the bars. “Recruit.” Unlike before with Dash, Descent's voice seemed to reach her. She stirred and slowly looked up. “Anything I can get you?”

“Huh?” Dash looked back at Soarin. Soarin was just as curious. Lightning Dust just slowly shook her head and curled back up. Descent sighed. He reached under his wings and pulled out a key ring. He cycled through the keys before finding a specific one. He opened the cell door and entered, sitting beside Dust and draping a wing over her.

“Starry is bringing you some food and supplies from the infirmary.” He said as Dust looked up from under his wing. “I feel sorry for you, recruit. You picked a terrible time to join our ranks.”

“Alright, rewind everything.” Soarin spoke up. Descent looked towards him. “Both you and Starry were clearly upset during our whole encounter with Nightshade just now. I’m tired of being confused. What can you tell us?” Both he and Dash wanted answers. Descent looked back to Dust before sighing and speaking,

“Very well, but let’s get one thing clear before I say anything. I am a Shadowbolt and I am loyal to Nightshade. I have been since before I became a Shadowbolt, and will be as long as I am one. Under normal circumstances, I would deny your request, but things have changed... terribly so.”

“I got all I could carry.” Starry appeared in the cell block, carrying a tray of food similar to the ones still sitting in Soarin and Dash’s cells. She also balanced a small medical box on her back.

“You’re right on time, Starry.” Descent made a head motion for her to come in the cell. She did, setting down the food before opening the box and pulling out a few materials to treat Dust. Descent removed his wing from Dust and continued.

“The Shadowbolts have been around for almost as long as the Wonderbolts.” He stood and paced towards them. “We do not keep history records, but at some point in time in the past, a Wonderbolt was discharged from their ranks. Why? It was discovered he was taking on outside jobs for money.”

“Not surprising, that’s one of our strictest prime rules.” Soarin added. Starry hadn’t been listening, but when she realized what Descent was doing she looked up from Dust.

“Wait, Descent, what are you doing?” She questioned.

“Telling them everything.” He put without hesitation. Starry looked alarmed.

“But the captain said…!”

“Are you sure that’s Nightshade giving the orders anymore?” He cut her off. “I’m done with it. She hasn’t been herself and you know it.” Descent gave his argument.

“But—, I—, we—,” she struggled to find a response. Descent turned and lifted an eyebrow at her. “Fine.” She shook her head. “But if Nightshade finds out, it’s on you. I’m not getting stuffed in a punching bag or whatever might be tickling her fancy at the moment.” She pointed before returning to Dust. Descent turned back and continued.

“In response to the Wonderbolt discharge, he gathered together a small band of combat specialists and founded the Shadowbolts in secret. A mercenary band for hire, taking any job and fulfilling it any way as long as the objective was met and the fee was paid.”

“How did we never hear about it?” Soarin interrupted. “If the Shadowbolts have grown to this size, how could you have remained hidden?”

“We are discreet.” Descent put simply. “we only accept jobs that give us a low chance of being revealed.”

“Like a giant tornado?.” Dash rolled her eyes.

“Ha!” Starry suddenly laughed and shook her head, “we’ll get to that.”

“Where do you guys fit in?” Soarin was curious. The question seemed painful to Descent, it clearly wasn’t going to be a happy story.

“Starry, Nightshade, and I were orphans. We were all abandoned in the outer edges of Canterlot twenty or so years ago.” He shook his head.

“That’s actually quite common.” Soarin said with dismay as he felt Dash’s hoof grip his. “The outer reaches of Canterlot are not very safe or friendly.”

“Indeed.” Descent agreed. “Every day was a fight for survival, and every night a hunt for shelter. I fought and hurt many other colts and fillies to get my way.”

“Got himself really messed up one night.” Starry Skies cut in. “Nightshade and I had been sticking together, found him really beat up and brought him back to our box. Since then it’s always been the three of us.” She explained. Soarin realized something. The irony. The bright and shiny irony forming around this story. Just three young pegasi, two mares and a colt, trying to find their way? This was beginning to sound eerily similar to him, Spitfire and Fleetfoot, only with much more brutal circumstances. “I met her after the damage had been done, but Nightshade had been beaten before she was abandoned. Those scars? Most of them are from before I even met her.”

“That explains the sadistic nature.” Dash shivered, but Starry shook her head.

“There’s more to it than that though. Descent, continue.” She pitched it to him so she could keep tending to Lightning Dust.

“One night we stumbled into a back alley.” Descent spoke again, “we came across an earth pony and a pegasus. The pegasus was wearing what we would later learn was a Shadowbolt uniform. The earth pony was beating him senseless. Now mind you,” he put up a hoof, “in the dregs of Canterlot, ponies stick with their own kind. It’s just the way it works. Not knowing what was going on, I leapt at the earth pony, biting and punching like mad. The pegasus found his hooves and took advantage of the situation.” Descent paused. “He killed the earth pony. Right in front of us.” Soarin and Dash’s eyes widened slightly. “He turned to leave, but stopped and looked us over. He beckoned us to come with him, and he led us to the Shadowbolts."

“As you’ve been told, the Shadowbolt code is that whoever is strongest, leads. I’m sure you can imagine the rest.” Starry spoke up.

“We were taken in for saving one of their ranks. Over time, we became Shadowbolts ourselves, and eventually fought our way to the top.” Descent finished.

“This is all nice, getting to know where you guys come from and all,” Dash suddenly chimed in, “but what’s the point? Are you just sympathizing with us?”

“Is that better?” Starry patted Dust on the back. Dust glanced at some of the bandages and ointments that had been applied to her. She sniffled, whimpered quietly, and then threw her front hooves around Starry, hugging her tightly. “Alright, alright, you’re welcome.” Starry looked away while letting Dust hug her. “Eat something now.” She let Dust back down and came up beside Descent.

“No, we have our reasons.” Descent said to Soarin and Dash. “For a while things were fine.” he nodded. “We took on jobs, I got to fight to my heart’s content. At times we had to do silly things, but mercenaries are paid. We do not choose their objectives.” He glanced at Dash. “For instance, posing on the other side of a foggy bridge to make a young mare question her loyalty.”

“Oh!” Dash perked up. “You guys were hired by Nightmare moon to try and sway me?”

“Oh yeah,” Starry rolled her eyes. “We got paid a fortune to do that. I thought I was gonna bust a gut when I was ordered to ‘stand and look menacing.’” She shook her hooves in the air comically.

“But then,” Descent snorted, “the crystals—, and this Kayn Ost enigma.”

“Everything was fine and normal,” Starry cut back in. “We had plenty of work, were making a fortune in bits, and got to do as we pleased. It was a good life. Then we received this new contract.” She paused, “Nightshade is the only one who knows the identities of our clients. One of her jobs as our leader is to protect the confidentiality of those who hire us. We are given a name to call them by, but the real name is never told to us. We only know this employer as Kayn Ost.” She looked to Descent and he cleared his throat.

“Along with the contract, Kayn Ost also gave us the crystals. And once Nightshade got her hooves on the crystals, everything changed. The crystals allow us to use a certain degree of magic similar to that of unicorns. It is not as precise and malleable, but it is magic none the less. The problem with the crystals though, is that if one misuses it or abuses the power, they become addicted. Nightshade never stood a chance, having full access to our supply. Her behavior changed, she always had an interesting way of viewing things, but it became twisted and more intense as the days went on.”

“But wait…” Dash stopped them, “Didn’t Nightshade just beat up Lightning Dust for overusing the crystal? And Rapidfire nearly killed himself absorbing a whole crystal. Just now we saw Nightshade push a whole on into her body like it was candy!”

“That’s because she’s in control of distribution,” Starry frowned, “she is addicted and cherishes every single one, even the ones she hands out to us. If they are used recklessly, she punishes.”

“The day we executed the Ponyville tornado was the first sign that something was wrong,” Descent picked up, “we had never accepted such a high profile job. we would clearly cause a ruckus and be discovered, but it was our contract. Like blind fools, we followed Nightshade. When we returned, we found out that our ‘pay’ for the operation was more crystals. Because we failed, we received none. Nightshade nearly went crazy that night.”

“And since then, all of our contracts have been from Kayn Ost.” Starry added. “Nightshade has accepted no other clients and more often than not, our pay has been the magic crystals.”

“Hence why I said earlier, that I don’t feel like Nightshade is in command anymore.” Descent growled.

“She’s being controlled.” Soarin wondered out loud. Starry nodded and glanced back at Lightning Dust.

“The crystals have driven her mad. Her personal desires now flare out for everypony to see. She’s always had strange… ‘turn-ons,’ but she always kept it to herself. She doesn’t care about anything but her twisted fantasies now, and she can barely last a few hours without absorbing power from one of those damned crystals.”

“But you’ve been using one too!” Dash pointed out. Starry looked down in shame.

“I have, but I use it very sparingly to resist the addiction. I have been sent on jobs recently that require me to use the crystals power. I am not proud of it, but it was to fulfill the contract,” she turned to Dust again, “and now Nightshade is using it to draw in new recruits and control the current ones. But even she is at the mercy of them. As far as I’m concerned, we no longer receive orders from Nightshade. We receive them from Kayn Ost.” She agreed with Descent.

“Again.” Dash put her hooves forward. “I appreciate the explanation, but can you please tell me what it has to do with us?” As she asked Descent rose and moved around in front of their cells. He reached under his wing and pulled the key ring out again.

“Descent, I still think this is a bad idea.” Starry shook her head as he looked through the keys. Soarin and Dash quickly stood up when they saw what he was doing.

“I am loyal to Nightshade. Not a faceless client who controls us from without.” He unlocked Dash’s cell first, then Soarin’s. “I will no longer do the bidding of one who controls my leader.” The two carefully stepped out of their cells, not sure what to do. “Go.”

“What?!” Soarin looked to the end of the hall, then back to Descent.

“You heard me.”

“Aren’t you guys gonna be like, tortured or who knows what by Nightshade for this?” Dash questioned. Descent shook his head.

“I’m leaving as well.” He suddenly said, making Starry snap her head towards him.

“Descent!” She looked at him incredulously.

“And you’re coming with me.” He said without hesitation.

“Descent, we can’t just—”

“If you want to stay and continue with the way things are decaying, be my guest. I’ll be taking her with me too.” He pointed at Lightning Dust. “She does not deserve a single bruise she's recieved, but she had nowhere else to go. Until this all blows over, I will no longer be a part. When Nightshade realizes what she is doing, I will come back, but only then.” He looked to Starry. She grunted and rubbed her temples.

“Why do I always agree with you, you big idiot?” She sighed. “Fine.” She turned to Dust, “hear that recruit? You’re coming with.”

“One thing big guy.” Soarin stared at Descent with his ears flat. “We’re kind of in enemy territory, we can’t just waltz on out.”

“Actually, you can.” Starry cut in. “Shadowbolts outside of the team chosen to take on a job know nothing of it. The only Shadowbolts that know why you are here are Nightshade, Descent and I.” She looked at Dust, “Lightning Dust here and your old wingmate Rapidfire.”

“What about the four that led us to Nightshade’s room?” Dash asked.

“Their orders were to bring two ponies from the cell block to Nightshade.” Descent answered. “Other than that, they know nothing and have no reason to care.”

“So they’re stupid?” Dash concluded with an eyebrow raise. Starry rolled her eyes.

“It’s just how we do things okay? As long as you can avoid Rapidfire and Nightshade, you'll be able to pretty much walk out and fly away.”

“O—okay.” Dash wasn’t sure what to do. She looked to Soarin who draped a wing over her before nodding to them.

“Never thought I’d be saying this to you guys, but thanks.” Soarin smiled. “If we manage to get out of here, I will relay everything you’ve told me to Spitfire. I don’t know what she’ll want to do, but at least we’ll know there’s something else working behind the scenes.”

“And hey,” Dash looked towards Lightning Dust. Dust had caused them lots of trouble, but after witnessing her being beaten, and seeing just how far into a corner she had been pushed, Dash felt herself feeling sympathetic towards her. Nopony deserved Nightshade’s sadistic treatment, Dash didn’t care who it was. “Take care of her.” She motioned to Dust, who looked towards Dash with a mixture of thanks and surprise.

“Very well.” Descent pointed. “Now get out of here.”

The story was long. Rainbow Dash and Soarin learned a lot. Who the Shadowbolts were, what their function was, and why they’ve been causing recent havoc. In the end Starry Skies and Descent were both just following orders and being loyal to their captain in ways that Soarin was sure he and Fleetfoot would be to Spitfire.

Nightshade was being controlled. Her sick and twisted fantasies were her own, but she was on an invisible leash. She was at the mercy of the pink crystals provided to her by a mystery client who none knew the true name of besides her. Soarin felt bad for Starry Skies and Descent. Sure they were mercenaries who would kill for the right price, but they just both showcased a great deal of honor, duty, and sympathy. They were aware of the consequences, but let Soarin and Dash out anyway. They were loyal to Nightshade, but refused to continue as long as she was controlled.

Starry Skies and Descent had a battle of their own ahead of them. One that surely would mean life or death, but Soarin had a feeling they would find a way out. They had proven to be very skilled and resourceful after all. Soarin was also glad they were taking that poor mare, Lightning Dust, out with them. She was clearly not cut out for the current situation.

As for Rapidfire, Soarin had no thought or reason to care. Rapidfire chose his fate, now they just had to avoid him.

However, more than anything, Soarin had one very important task on his mind: Get Rainbow Dash home. He was ashamed that she had been drawn into so much. She had come to him and the two shared moments of love and desire, only to be thrown into a conflict she was never meant to be a part of. He felt responsible. She was everything to him and he would get her out of this no matter what.

Dash was scared. She would never tell anypony that, but she was really, truly, legitimately scared. She’d faced many dangers in the past, overcome many challenges, and taken on many foes. This was different though. The whole scenario with the Shadowbolts and Nightshade was just different. It wasn’t just a brawl anymore. A lot was on the line. If they didn’t escape, Soarin would be “handed over” to some mystery name. She didn’t even want to think what would become of her. Nightshade was like a figment of her imagination straight out of her nightmares. Dash had nothing to use against her and no way to get away.

The only safety she felt in this situation was Soarin. As long as she stayed by his side she felt strong enough to power through. She loved the way he affected her. Even in the darkest scenario’s he gave her the will to succeed. Dash was always one claiming to be heroic, but secretly, Soarin was, to her, a true hero. He’d save her. She just knew he would.

Soarin peered around the corner at the top of the stairs. Descent and Starry Skies had better be right about the other Shadowbolts, because they were absolutely everywhere.

Soarin took a deep breath and stepped out, pulling Dash out with him.

“Act casual.” He said quietly and took two steps down the hallway. He flinched as a Shadowbolt walked right passed them. She glanced at the two of them, but kept going. Dash breathed a sigh of relief.

“I guess they weren’t kidding.” She whispered to Soarin as they continued down the hall.

Soarin wasn’t sure which way to turn. He kept taking corners casually without putting thought into which way he was going. Shadowbolts kept passing them, and he didn’t want to look like he was lost. Unlike the Wonderbolt compound, there were no signs that pointed out what was where. Also unlike the Wonderbolt compound, the place had no symmetry. It seemed like every turn he took led to a different arrangement of hallways. They all looked the same: dark, gloomy, and metallic.

“Soarin, where the hell are we going?” Dash whispered to him while keeping an eye out.

“I haven’t a damn clue.” He answered quickly. “I should’ve asked Descent for a map or directions or something.” They both stumbled randomly and looked down at the floor. “I swear that’s the third time that’s happened.” Soarin glanced back at Dash. She nodded.

“I know, it’s like the floor is moving,”

“I wonder what—” Soarin froze. Dash quickly did the same. They had turned a corner and Soarin was nose to nose with Rapidfire. Rapidfire’s eyes widened at first, and then narrowed.

“Hey—!” Before he could get another word out, Soarin punched him square in the face and knocked him over, drawing attention from other nearby Shadowbolts. Soarin reached back and grabbed Dash’s hoof.

“FLY! NOW!” He yelled. The two took flight in the hallway, quickly taking the nearest corner.

“Hey!” Rapidfire stumbled to his hooves and called to the other Shadowbolts, “Those are escaped captives! Go after them! I’ll get the captain!” He yelled.

“Dammit!” Soarin yelled, hearing Rapidfire as they sped down the halls. They turned each corner sharply, hoping to see some sort of salvation with each pitch.

“Soarin!” Dash called to him, pointing behind. Two Shadowbolts were already pursuing them. But only two. Without a word Soarin pushed his wings and limbs out, completely braking in mid-air, and thrusting his elbow back. The two Shadowbolts ran smack into his elbows, each landing between the eyes. Their momentum clothes-lined them and they crashed roughly against the walls and floor. Dash stopped to look behind, but Soarin was already back with her and pushed her along.

“Go! No stopping!” He commanded and they continued their flight. Three more Shadowbolts came from around hallways they passed, each just missing the two as they flew by. One appeared ahead of them and charged. Soarin tapped to the floor and executed the Sonic Blast-off, pushing him forward passed Dash, and throwing his hoof right into the approaching Shadowbolt’s chest. He grabbed the disoriented Shadowbolt by the arm and flung him over Dash, sending him careening into the Shadowbolts giving chase. One of them took a direct hit, but the others dodged and continued after.

“Look out!” Dash yelled as Soarin turned. A new Shadowbolt was right in his face, Dash quickly sped up and clocked both of her front hooves into the Shadowbolt’s face, then angled them down and stuffed him to the floor.

“Thanks.” Said Soarin briefly before pushing her along again. They kept winding and winding through the halls until they finally emerged in a large lobby like room with a high ceiling and multiple doors that looked to head outside. “There!” Soarin yelled while pointing. He took a quick glance back, counting at least seven Shadowbolts giving chase and more were coming down from above. The exit was in sight, but once they got out they still had to fly for dear life. One thing at a time. Soarin grabbed Dash out of her path and put her on his back. “HOLD ON!” He tapped to the floor and performed the Sonic Blast-off again. Propelling them towards the heavy looking doors. Soarin hoped to Celestia that the doors were push and not pull.

Luckily he was right. The two burst right through the heavy doors. Now they just had to fly away as fast as they--

“Oh hell…” Soarin came to a complete halt. They had made it outside. But two things caught them completely off guard. The first being obvious. They were surrounded. Completely surrounded. There was barely a five foot space between all the Shadowbolts that hovered around the entrance to the compound, creating a dome perimeter around it.

But the other? The compound itself. They were clearly high up in the air. There were clouds close by and giant propellers riddled all over the front courtyard and in the far corners. The propellers were turning very fast, and as Soarin and Dash landed, they felt the ground shift again. The ground wasn’t moving. The whole compound was moving!

“A mobile base?!” Soarin exclaimed as he surveyed his surroundings as well as the trap they had just flown into. “No wonder they’ve never been found… It’s a giant flying ship!”

“How very perceptive of you.” The voice was like claws on a chalkboard. Nightshade floated down between the collection of Shadowbolts. Dash yelped quietly and slowly lowered herself behind Soarin. Soarin glanced at Dash very quickly before setting his hooves and looking all around before fixing his eyes on Nightshade. “I don’t know how you two got out of your cells, but I’m afraid I can’t let you go any further.”

Soarin looked around. Now what the hell were they supposed to do? His brain fought vigorously for a plan, but was fruitless in its search. So instead, he said the first thing that came to mind,

“Why?” Soarin suddenly spoke up. Nightshade blinked, not sure what he was getting at. “So you can be rewarded more crystals? So you can feed your addiction and play lapdog to a faceless name?” He glared at her. “Well?” She looked alarmed.

“What? What are you saying?” her usual sneer was absent and she glanced back and forth. Soarin didn’t give an inch. Dash had no idea what Soarin was doing. She had risen back up from behind him and just stared, confused, as Soarin just kept talking.

“You heard me.” He looked up and around at all the Shadowbolts. “YOU ALL HEARD ME!” He yelled. The Shadowbolts all glanced between each other in confusion.

“I’ve had enough of this idiocy.” Nightshade growled.

“Don’t play dumb!” Soarin snapped at her and looked to the Shadowbolts again. “HOW MUCH LONGER CAN YOU ALL JUST LET THIS HAPPEN?!” He yelled. “THE CRYSTALS GIVE YOU POWER AND SATISFACTION THAT AREN’T REAL! ISN’T IT TIME TO FACE THE TRUTH!?”

“SHUT UP!” Nightshade leapt into the air and faced all the Shadowbolts. “Don’t all you sorry sacks of shit look at me like that! I’m your captain! You follow ME and the decisions I make! Any who have a problem with that, speak up now and i'll make it nice and quick!” She began to rant to them.

“Soarin, what are you doing?” Dash asked from behind him. She had no idea what was going on in that mind of his. She was also worried that by saying those things, Soarin may have opened a lead for Nightshade to follow back to Descent and Starry Skies. He had to have a plan though, why else was he smiling?

“I don’t know.” He said honestly, chuckling. “We’re trapped. I’m only winging it.” She looked at him with disbelief as he turned to her. “But Rainbow Dash? No matter what happens from here. Damn, I love you so much.” He grinned. Dash blinked, and then couldn’t stop the smile from slowly forming on her lips. Why did she smile? They were in danger, one of the worst kinds of danger, but Soarin never stopped being the great stallion he was. Even when it was hopeless he tried everything, even if it only bought them a little extra time.

“You dumbass.” She chuckled. “I love you too, don’t forget it.”

“I won’t,” he winked, “now if only we had some sort of miracle.” He sighed as the Shadowbolts and Nightshade turned back to him.

“What, you mean like the Wonderbolts showing up and this turning into a massive Wonderbolt Shadowbolt dogfight? Actually that would be pretty awesome.” Dash chuckled.

“HEY SHADOWDOLTS!” A voice yelled from out over the edge of the ship.

“Was that… Fleetfoot?!” Dash’s eyes widened. Suddenly, from over the edge of the floating compound, Fleetfoot and Misty Fly burst through the clouds. Seconds later, the entire Wonderbolt Elite force, squads one through twenty emerged behind them. Streams of cloud trailed off all of them as they rose high above the Shadowbolts.

“Yep, it’s totally Fleetfoot.” Soarin stared incredulously as Nightshade and the Shadowbolts all turned in surprise.

“MERRY HEARTHS WARMING!” Fleetfoot yelled and the Wonderbolts charged.

---To be Continued---

Author's Note

Well i hope things are clearer now ;)

now time for MORE ACTION, but this time, Soarin and Dash will be working together.

Also, i hate to break this to everyone, but i only think there are two chapters left to go :( I'll be sure to make them both the most amazing chapters i've ever written. You all deserve it for all the positive feedback and encouragement you've given me.

Chapter 17

MLP: FiM
Flying Sky-High
By: Calm Wind

Chapter 17:

The Shadowbolts never saw it coming. Hell, Soarin and Rainbow Dash didn’t see it coming either. How in Equestria Fleetfoot managed to locate them, they couldn’t begin to imagine. It didn’t matter though. Soarin and Dash had lost all hope, they needed a miracle, and they got one.

The Wonderbolt forces made use of their surprise attack and smashed headlong into the bubble of Shadowbolts surrounding the compound entrance. The Shadowbolts were thrown into extreme disarray, scrambling and scattering everywhere.

“GET EVERYPONY OUT HERE! NOW!” Nightshade barked as Shadowbolts began pouring from every door and window of the floating base. “Where are Descent and Starry Skies?!” Nightshade glanced frantically around as the last of the Shadowbolts joined the fray. Her two commanders were nowhere to be found. She turned towards the ground and saw Soarin and Dash making a break for it. “OH NO YOU DON’T!!”

“C’mon Dash! We can get out of here in the confusAAAAH!” Soarin was suddenly forced to the ground as Nightshade slammed down on top of him, knocking Dash away.

“No! I will not fail again!” Nightshade glared down at Soarin, grinding her teeth together, and breathing heavily. Soarin grunted and forced his head up from the floor.

“Give it up Nightshade! I know everything! The crystals, your addiction, how you’re being controlled—” She place her hoof on his head and forced it back down.

“SHUT UP!” She belted, the corners of her mouth jettisoning saliva.

“Get your filthy hooves off him!” Dash fired at Nightshade and speared her in the side with both hooves extended.

“ARGH!” Nightshade grunted as the two of them began tumbling. Nightshade grabbed Dash by the arm as she stood, hoisted her up, and punched her hard in the stomach. Dash coughed hard, the air escaping her lungs before Nightshade threw her. Soarin was up and in the air as soon as he heard Dash exhale, catching her, and floating back to the ground.

“You okay?” He asked as they set down.

“Yeah.” Dash answered while wheezing. “I’ll make it.” She said with a smirk and a wink before they both faced Nightshade. She glared at the two of them, nearly hyperventilating as she ground her hooves into the floor so hard they chipped the tiles. She looked up overhead at the dogfight.

Wonderbolt and Shadowbolt alike clashed and charged. It was a swarm more than a battle. Hooves were flying and goggles and uniforms were being ripped and torn at, but there was a clear advantage to one side. The Shadowbolts were not as well trained in combat. The Wonderbolts were executing precise maneuvers, attacking in pairs or tag teaming. The Shadowbolts were heavily unorganized, their own code of everypony for themselves not proving to be very useful in a situation like this. But even with the Wonderbolts organized combat, the Shadowbolts still managed to hold their own through use of crystals. Nightshade growled in disapproval. The crystals were meant for completing missions if need be. Any other use was a waste, the crystals were hers!

“You are not leaving! Even if I have to kill every single one of these pathetic Wonderbolts to stop you!” She snarled as she lifted her wing. Beneath it she had a small harness with a holster that held four crystals in it. She grabbed one of them and smashed it against herself. “AHH! YES!” She shivered as the energy enveloped her and her eyes emitted a bright pink light.

“We’ll take her together.” Soarin quickly said to Dash. She was surprised, she assumed he'd tell her to stay back. Then again this was Nightshade they were talking about. She wouldn't want him going at such a twitsed opponent alone anyway. “She’s wild, untamed, and angry. If we use her emotions to our advantage, we can bring her down.” Dash looked to him. As scared as she was of Nightshade, if she was side by side with Soarin the fear seemed to just… vanish. She found the strength to stand against her fears and take them head on. Nopony else did that for her by just being who they were. Soarin was, without a doubt, a pony she would stand beside till the end of time, no matter what.

“Lead the way, I’ll follow you to the ends of Equestria.” She smirked and nudged him in the side with her wing. Soarin flashed a smile back, but quickly looked back and readied his wings. They were fighting together but what were they up against? Nightshade just absorbed an entire crystal like Rapidfire had done before. Rapidfire was a mediocre fighter and one crystal turned him into an unstoppable war machine. If Nightshade just absorbed one, was anything capable of stopping her? It’s not like they could run, so they sure as hell were going to give it a try.

“Here she comes!” Soarin called out as he and Dash set their hooves and Nightshade fired towards them incredibly fast. They were ready to attack, but she suddenly sped up even more. They both blinked and she was gone, then both lurched forward as Nightshade kicked them from behind. Dash bounced off her front hooves before landing and skidding to a stop. Soarin pressed his wing to the ground, swung his body around and faced Nightshade too.

“What the hell?!” Dash tried to comprehend what just happened.

“Nopony said it would be easy…” Soarin snorted and set his hooves again. Nightshade snickered and twitched as the pink energy around her continued to crackle and pop. She licked her lips as the snickers turned into slow, steady laughter.

“I’ll take both of you back, and be sure to punish you for this. However I see fit!” Her head twitched twice to the right as she spoke.

“Sheesh, she never shuts up.” Dash growled.

“Looks like being on the defensive is a bad idea.” Said Soarin as he briefly glanced at Dash.

“Would charging be any better?” She asked, shooting a quick glance at him as well.

“I don’t think we really have a choice. LET’S GO!” Soarin yelled. He and Dash burst from their spots and hurled themselves towards Nightshade.

“YES! COME TO ME!” She beckoned them wildly. Dash kept her eyes on Soarin at first, using her talent of mimicking to recall how she saw the Streak twins work together. She mirrored his motions so that when they went in for the punch, they struck at exactly the same time and same way to double the force.

She timed it perfectly, but Nightshade brought up her arms and blocked both of their punches effortlessly. Their momentum pushed her back a few feet, but she had stopped them both. As soon as she halted them, Soarin and Dash began throwing punches and kicks without hesitation. Nightshade blocked every single attack using her arms and wings as if she had four front limbs to defend with. Every punch Soarin and Dash threw felt like hitting a thick sheet of steel, even against Nightshade’s wings. The full power of a crystal in Nightshade’s hooves was unimaginable.

Nightshade suddenly ducked, causing Soarin and Dash to fly over her with their motions as they attacked. They quickly turned to strike while Nightshade had her back to them, but she kicked out her back legs, bucking them both hard in the face.

“Rgh!” Soarin grunted as he flipped and kicked off the ground. Dash did the same, both of them crossing each other’s paths as they charged again. Nightshade pumped her wings down, propelling her skyward into the swarm of Wonderbolts and Shadowbolts. Soarin and Dash ran into each other in their angled paths, bouncing off one another, and splitting apart.

“Dammit!” Dash cursed as they both shot up after her.

“HeheheHAHA!!!” Nightshade cackled maniacally as she crossed her arms over her body. The pink energy surrounding her sparked and began to concentrate in her arms. As Soarin and Dash drew near, Nightshade swiped both of her arms outward, firing large blasts of pink magic down at them. Dash had anticipated the attack upon seeing the magic buildup. She flattened her wings and pitched hard to the right. The blast shot past her, but came so close that the aftershock broke her stability and she tumbled uncontrollably to the ground. Soarin was not so fortunate. He didn’t predict the attack like Dash. His eyes widened as it drew near. All he could do was slightly turn his body and curl up as the blast collided with him in a large explosion.

“AHHHH!” He cried out as fell towards the ground, a trail of smoke streaming behind him.

“Soarin!!!” Dash yelled as she saw him fall.

“Pay attention, darling.” Nightshade’s twisted voice came from behind her. Dash had no time to turn as Nightshade planted a kick to the back of Dash’s head. Dash went flying forward and bounced across the ground twice before skidding to a stop near Soarin. She cringed in pain as she got to her hooves. She looked around until she saw Soarin lying on the ground, sizzling.

“No! Nononono!” Dash quickly ran to him, beyond relieved when she saw him stir.

“Augh…rgghhhh.” Soarin groaned as he tried to stand. Dash quickly supported him.

“Soarin! Are you okay?!” She looked over him with worry.

“It’ll take more than that,” he winced, “to keep me down!” He glared at Nightshade, but then suddenly fell back down.

“Soarin! You—” Dash stopped and gasped. Soarin’s right wings was completely singed and slightly bent out of place. “Oh no,” Dash looked between him and Nightshade.

“Dammit! My wing!” Soarin gritted his teeth as the pain set in. He could barely move it, and when he tried to it hurt like hell. Not to mention the rest of his body stung all over from taking a blast of pure magic head on.

“Feeling a little sore!?” Nightshade chuckled as she slowly walked towards them, each step she took left a sizzling print on the floor below her. Dash gently set Soarin down and stood in front of him, firmly planting herself between him and Nightshade. She flared her wings out and glared at Nightshade. She smiled in amusement, “Hm?”

“I won’t let you have him.” She glared and stomped her hooves. Nightshade lifted an eyebrow.

“Suddenly so brave? You collapsed with just a step in your direction last time.” She taunted as she drew closer. Her voice pricked Dash’s ears and her limbs began to shake slightly. She shook her head out.

“NO!” She yelled, “I don’t care who or what you are. I love him and I’ll defend him at all costs!” She proclaimed.

“Even if it means death?” Nightshade sneered. Dash didn’t waver, she stared headlong into Nightshade's glowing eyes.

“Even if I die.” She stated. Nightshade burst out laughing.

“So naïve, so precious! You crack me up!” Nightshade laughed uncontrollably.

“SHUT UP!” Dash leapt at Nightshade.

“DASH!” Soarin called out to her, but she was already on the attack. She threw multiple punches and kicks all aimed directly at Nightshade’s face. Nightshade easily blocked every single one, the devilish sneer never leaving her face.

“GO ON! STOP ME!” Nightshade taunted as Dash failed to land any blows. With a swift, sudden elbow to the chest, Nightshade staggered Dash and began throwing continuous heavy punches all over Dash’s body. To the face, to the chin, to the chest, to the stomach, to the arms, to the legs, to the side. Dash was being pummeled violently. Each blow forced intense pain through her body. The attacks were so fast that her brain could never focus on one spot of pain at a time. It was like she was being repeatedly stabbed, there was so pain her nerves went numb quickly.

“NO!” Soarin tried to force his body up, but fell back down.

"RGH!" Dash, with a sudden second wind, shoved off from Nightshade. Her limbs buckled, but she could still feel her wings. She pumped them vigorously to take flight. Nightshade watched with interest as Dash zipped through the air past the swarm of fighting above them and landed on a rooftop of the Shadowbolt compound. Dash shook her body out until she got some of the feeling back. She set her hooves firmly and went smoothly through the motions for Soarin’s Sonic Blast-off. She shot from the roof, knocking aside a few Shadowbolts and Wonderbolts in her path as she seared towards Nightshade on the ground.

“Heh.” Nightshade scoffed at the blatant frontal assault with so many margins for error. She lightly leapt back, seeing clearly that Dash had little control over her trajectory. But unexpectedly, Dash angled just enough to touch her hooves to the ground, and perform the motions again, using the Double Blast-off move she used to pierce the tornado back in Ponyville. Nightshade’s eyes widened and she threw up her hooves as Dash struck her going almost three times her usual full speed.

She pushed Nightshade along the ground, her back hooves grinding hard against the floor as they failed to halt Dash’s speed. As they neared the main building of the compound, Dash flattened her wings and braked hard, releasing her from Nightshade. The momentum propelled Nightshade through the wall of the compound lobby. The whole wall crumbled from the force and buried Nightshade beneath.

Dash hovered up into the air, panting and wheezing from the amount of stress the double blast-off had put on her body. Mixed with the pain from all the blows she received, she was having a hard time not passing out. It was excruciating.

Did she win? Did she… kill Nightshade? Half a building just fell on her, even with the crystal's power there was no way she could have survived that. If it were anypony else, Dash would have been mortified by what she had just done. Obviously though, she didn’t really give much of a damn about Nightshade.

She glanced briefly towards Soarin, and the brief moment of distraction was her undoing. A large, sharp blast of pink magic came bursting out of the rubble. Dash looked back just in time to see the blast inches from her.

“AAHHH!!!” Dash cried out as the magic struck her square in the chest. The shock and pressure of the force shot through her like a resonating pitch shattering a wine glass. All equilibrium and control was lost and Dash plummeted to the ground.

“Dash!” Soarin tried to rise again. He managed to get to his hooves, but after two steps fell down again. “RAINBOW DASH!!!!!!” He called out her name as she hit the ground. His body began to glow slightly. He noticed it happening and kept trying to move. “Yes! Come on body, I need that power now!” He yelled at himself as the dark energy flow inside of him slowly strengthened. He had almost forgotten about it during the fighting. If one thing could give him the strength to defeat Nightshade, it would be the power that he never asked for.

“A fine technique.” Nightshade rose from the rubble, slightly scratched and bruised, but otherwise unaffected, “but, as with everything else, useless.” She sneered and leapt towards Dash.

“No no NO!!!!” Soarin watched as Nightshade approached the weary Dash. Dash shakily tried to crawl away, but Nightshade slammed down hard on Dash’s back. Two loud CRACKS were heard and Dash suddenly felt an immeasurable amount of pain in her wings.

“AAAAUUUUUGGHHH!!!!!!!!” She cried out as her wings lay flat, the bones painfully dislocated from her shoulders. Nightshade seemed to shiver with delight as Dash wailed endlessly.

“RRRRRGH!!!!!” Soarin stood up sharply, the blue energy finally erupting from him as the screams of his beloved rang through his ears. Nightshade blinked and glanced towards him, eyes widening. Soarin forced his burnt wing outward and back, a loud POP sounding out as it snapped back into place.

“What?” Nightshade said as she looked over the energy swirling around Soarin.

“GET OFF OF HER. NOW.” Soarin ordered, the power flowing more fiercely than it ever had. Nightshade smirked at him, while still standing on Dash’s back.

“Make me, if you ca—”

Soarin’s hoof connected with Nightshade’s cheek. She hadn't even blinked and he somehow closed the distance instantly. All Nightshade felt was a force comparable to a hurricane shooting through her face. She was sent flying off of Dash and bounced five times on the ground before tumbling to a halt. As soon as she stood up Soarin was already in front of her and sent another heavy blow to her stomach. Nightshade exhaled loudly, clutching her stomach as Soarin spun and delivered a roundhouse kick to her face, whiplashing her and sending her in an arc up then down to the ground with a crash.

“What… Where... How...!?” She finally showed signs of being afraid as Soarin slowly approached her again. She threw a punch at Soarin’s face, but he tipped his head to the side and caught her hoof above his shoulder. Using her own momentum against her he swung her over his body and slammed her hard against the ground. “UGH! NO!” She forced herself up and turned her head, only to see Soarin’s hoof an inch from her face. She felt multiple crunching sensations in her nose as the blow connected and sent her tumbling backwards.

“S—Soarin?” Dash struggled to watch as the sharp pain in her dislocated wings continuously stabbed at her like a thousand daggers. The pain was so intense she could barely keep her eyes from slamming shut.

“I CAN’T FAIL!” Nightshade yelled out as she stumbled to her hooves. Her motions were shaky and she struggled to balance herself, falling down twice in the process. Blood was flowing freely from her broken nose. “I REFUSE TO FAIL!” Her vision wouldn’t focus, but she could clearly see Soarin approaching her again, still enveloped in the blue energy and still glaring at her with the intent to kill. Nightshade's fear was visible in her entire body. That was, except her in her expression.

The usual, twisted sadistic sneer appeared on her face again. Why was she smiling when the odds were suddenly stacked so heavily against her? Had her mind finally snapped? Crushed beneath the hoof of the crystal's fake influence?

“YOU! CAN’T! BEAT ME!” She shouted as pink steam began to rise off of her. “I AM. THE CAPTAIN. OF THE SHADOWBOLTS!” Her voice almost seemed to warp, changing pitch randomly as she spoke. She lifted her wing, revealing the harness that held three more crystals in it. “I WILL,” she grabbed all three crystals off the harness, “NEVER FAIL!” She pressed all three crystals to herself. Soarin's eyes shot open and he froze in place.

Nightshade stood completely still for a moment, then an invisible shockwave propelled from her body, rushing against Soarin.

“AHHH!!!” She suddenly clutched her head as her eyes released an intense bright pink light. She reared her head back first before thrusting it down and smashing it against the ground. She began to groan and wail as the overdose of crystal energy seemed to destroy her from inside out. The pink light around her intensified, little bolts of the pink energy shooting out of her body. She began to foam at the mouth as the energy overtook her completely.

Soarin stepped back, horrified as he watched. Nightshade’s body was twitching and convulsing. It almost looked like the energy was trying to escape her body, trapped in too small of a space. Her muscles were randomly bulging and reverting, her wings kept extending and retracting, and she began coughing up an incredibly disgusting amount of blood. Eventually the light got sucked back into her before exploding outward. Soarin shielded himself as the wave of energy throttled against him, but when he looked back, she had fallen motionless to the ground.

The fighting above had completely halted and every single Shadowbolt and Wonderbolt was staring at Nightshade’s lifeless body, small traces of pink energy crackling and popping around her.

It was a good thing too, because Soarin suddenly felt the toll on his body. The energy around him began to fade and he stumbled around.

“Dash…” He called her name as he limped towards her.

“Soarin…” She smiled at him, enduring the pain in her back to show her relief. He reached out to touch her face.

But then another wave of energy fired from Nightshade’s body, causing Soarin to fall forward and land on Dash right on her injured wings. She cried out in pain as he quickly, but carefully pushed himself off, and looking back towards Nightshade. She was getting up.

“No… Come on, you’ve gotta be kidding me.” Soarin pleaded to himself as he felt the repercussions of his dark energy pulling him down.

Nightshade had indeed risen, and she was a terrifying sight. Pink sparks were continuously rising from her body, with streams of pink steam escaping through her ears, nostrils, and between her lips. Her body looked swollen, all her muscles flared up and covered in pulsating veins from the magic as if her body was forced to make room for it. Most terrifying of all, her eyes were pure white, pupils completely gone.

Everything around them had stopped. All the Wonderbolts and Shadowbolts watched Nightshade with a mixture of fear and confusion. Soarin could see Fleetfoot, Misty Fly, the Streak twins, and Surprise, who was still noogying a Shadowbolt. Silver Lining, Blaze, and High Winds from squad two, as well as every other Wonderbolt all looking down. Nightshade was approaching. She said nothing, stomping heavily with each step as if her body no longer had a mind.

Then Soarin realized something. His energy stopped fading. He looked down and saw Dash was holding onto his hoof as she slowly stood up beside him. This was the fourth time the dark power resting within him had poured out, and after all these times, something became very clear.

Rainbow Dash.

When she wasn’t around, the dark energy was uncontrollable and unpredictable. Although the intense desire to succeed seemed to bring it out, without Dash around, it always ended with the power overwhelming him. When Dash was near, it relaxed. It became calm as if cradled by her presence. He wondered if it had anything to do with Dash aiding Celestia in restoring him after he nearly died. He wasn’t sure, but there was no other explanation, and no other option.

“Dash…” He turned to her and clutched her hoof with both of his. “I need you.” He said as she stared up into his eyes. She was weak, weary, and still in pain, but she smiled.

“Soarin, I’m always gonna to be with you. You better damn believe it.” She tried to speak tough, almost falling over as she did.

“Good.” Soarin said with a smirk before reaching for her face and pulling her in and kissing her.

The dark energy exploded out from his body, re-enveloping him and expanding nearly twice the size it had before. He slowly pulled away from Dash and she cocked a grin.

“Mess her up for me.” She said before wobbling and falling down again. Soarin caught her and gently placed her down before turning and walking out to meet Nightshade. They stood near each other and their surrounding auras clashed together, neither overtaking the other but causing blue and pink sparks to fly between them.

Nightshade suddenly roared and flung herself at him. Soarin’s eyes widened and he put up a guard as she threw a punch for his chest. He blocked it cleanly, but the force lifted him slightly off the ground.

“Good GOD!” Soarin exclaimed as the vibrations from the punch made his body shake. Despite feeling super charged, her strength had become near sublime. As he tried to focus, she grabbed him by the head and smashed his face down against her leg, propelling him backward. He quickly stopped himself and was forced to guard again as she began throwing extremely heavy punches and kicks at him. Each one pushed him higher and higher into the air. The surrounding Wonderbolts and Shadowbolts all quickly moved aside as they ascended.

He finally managed to push her away, then blinked. She was gone. On instinct he shifted left and her hoof passed right beside him below his armpit. He clamped down on it and pulled her towards him while throwing his head back, smashing the back of his skull against her face. As she grunted, he clutched her trapped arm and began swinging her around. He spun and spun and spun and let go, hurling her back towards the ground. She rounded out and slammed her hooves to the floor.

Soarin fired back down, not wanting Nightshade to have any time to get her bearings. He landed beside her, ready to strike, but her elbow came flying out, striking him in the cheek and knocking him towards the ground. He flared his wing out, pushing him right back up, and kicking her below the chin. She instantly flipped back and slammed both of her hooves over his head.

“ARGH!” Soarin grunted as his face hit the floor, he picked his head up, blood flowing from a cut on his forehead and trickling past his nose. She grabbed him by the mane and kicked him in the face, sending him flying towards a nearby structure.

Dash watched as the two exchanged heavy blow after heavy blow. She could do nothing. Her wings were barely in one piece. All she could do was pray for Soarin and cheer him on, hoping that her silent encouragement would continue to fuel his inner power. Soarin couldn’t lose. He would never lose. He was unstoppable, and no one knew that better than her.

Despite having taken serious beatings and receiving more than one wound that left him bleeding, Soarin’s will was unbreakable. He was fighting to save the love of his life and end the suffering of many others through a pony who’s body and mind had been taken from her by something hidden away. It wouldn’t solve the whole problem, but it would end a huge factor in it.

Soarin tucked and flipped around, smashing his back hooves against the building. With a single swipe of his hoof, he wiped the blood from his face. He fired off the structure with his Sonic Blast-off, pulverizing the whole wall as he did. He extended a leg for a flying kick. Nightshade ducked as he seared towards her, but with a strong extension of his wings Soarin almost came to a full stop. He flapped his wings in opposite directions, spinning him in mid-air and swinging his other leg around into Nightshade’s face. She fell face first, quickly rising, but Soarin stood above her with his front hooves clasped together. He smashed them over her head, sending her back down.

“That was for Descent and Starry!” He yelled. She tried to rise again, but he smashed her back down again. “That was for toying with Misty Fly!” She tried again, he smashed her again. “That was for all the crap you’ve done to me!” Again. “That was for any other pony you’ve hurt!” Then one last time, extra hard. “And THAT, was for hurting Rainbow Dash.”

Nightshade shook and sputtered on the ground, no longer able to stand. Soarin huffed and wheezed for air as he felt his power weaken slightly. He stepped back from her. She growled and groaned, but didn’t seem capable of moving her body anymore. But then the pink light began to shine from her. Multiple waves of energy were expelled from her body and crashed against Soarin.

He recognized this. This is what happened to Rapidfire when his body could no longer contain the energy. A sudden rush of alarm passed through him. Rapidfire was contained by a dome of magic when it happened to him, but the explosion was extremely violent. If the same thing was about to happen with Nightshade… she had four crystals worth of energy pulsing within her body!

“Oh no!” Soarin looked around, all the Wonderbolts and Shadowbolts were in range. Nightshade was gonna blow any second. There would be no time for them to get away. He glanced back at Dash, who was staring at him with worry. He frantically looked back at Nightshade, and saw no other option. He shoved her flat to the floor and covered her up with his body.

“SOARIN!!!!!!!!” Dash yelled out.

A giant pulse of energy fired out from Nightshade followed by an incredibly large explosion. The shockwave slammed against all the Wonderbolts and Shadowbolts, propelling them in every direction skyward. But despite the shock, the explosion was muffled, contained by Soarin throwing his body over Nightshade.

Dash shut her eyes tight as the energy slammed against her. She slid a few feet back, but being close to the ground saved her from being blown away. She opened her eyes when she felt the ground tipping beneath her. The floor of the flying base had been completely torn asunder by the explosion and was falling away. Dash looked all around for signs of Soarin as she began to slide across the tipping floor.

Then she spotted him. He had been thrown into the air by the blast. She caught glimpse of him right before he fell over the edge of the crumbling floor.

“NOOOO!!!!!” She ignored all pain in her wings and body and forced herself up, she stumbled and fell twice, but struggled all the way over to the edge. She watched him as he slowly fell towards the earth that was at least a thousand feet below. She looked up to see that all the Wonderbolts were in disarray and none of them could’ve seen or known that Soarin was falling. “SOARIN!!!!!”

Without a second of hesitation… and despite knowing full well her wings weren't working…

She hurled herself off the edge. Diving after him.

Dash straightened her body, doing everything she could to negate wind resistance and catch up to him. Soarin was falling back first, limbs and wings dangling above him like a ragdoll. Dash didn’t care about anything else. She just wanted him. She slowly closed the gap between them with still maybe 800 feet to the ground. She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly and calling his name.

“Soarin! Soarin!” She shook him, trying desperately to wake him. Small tears squeaked out of the corners of her eyes.

“Uuuhhh.” His eyes slowly open. “Dash…?” His voice brought her more joy than she had ever felt in her life. He was alive.

“Yes! You’re alive!” She yelled out while hugging him tighter. Soarin was weary and his body felt extremely weak, but most of all, as he became aware of their position--

“Dash…” he slowly spoke, “My wings… they aren’t moving.”

They both went completely silent.

About 500 feet still remained between them and an impact that was now, undoubtedly, going to be the end.

“Oh god…” Dash said quietly upon realization. They were falling fast, neither of them were able to use their wings, and there was no pony in sight coming after them. Soarin slowly reached a hoof over and clamped it with one of hers.

“Dash, it’s okay.” He said as tears began to fall out of her eyes, and fly up off her face.

400 feet.

“Soarin…” She sniffled, the weight of what was happening really sinking in. She dug her face into his chest.

“Rainbow Dash,” tears built up in his eyes too. “I’m not afraid.”

300 feet.

“I’m not afraid because I promised myself I’d be by your side until death.” He ran a hoof over her mane. She looked up into his eyes and smiled, accepting everything as they fell.

“Neither am I,” she sniffled, “because I know you’ll always be with me.”

200 feet.

“I love you Rainbow Dash.” Soarin drew her head in.

“I love you Soarin.” She said back.

100 feet.

They kissed each other one last time.

The ground was only inches away.

Everything froze.

“Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear…” Discord appeared beside them as they hovered inches from the ground. it was as if time itself had stopped. Actually, time had stopped. “How dreadful is this?” He slid along the ground below them that they were fated to hit the instant time started again. “All the fighting and all the effort in Equestria… and this is how it ends…” He stared at the two of them, immobile like floating statues, lips locked in their final passionate kiss. Discord reclined and rested his head in his claws, tapping his cheek in deep thought.

“Well, Celestia, I hope you’re happy. You saved his life, only for him to lose it here.” He spoke to himself as he glanced at the surroundings. “Oh? What’s this?” he hovered over about ten feet away.

Starry Skies and Descent were frozen mid-dive. Discord looked between them and the falling lovers. He realized the two ex-Shadowbolts were trying to reach them.

“Hm,” he twirled the scraggily end of his white beard with a claw. “A valiant effort, but just too late.” He stared back at Soarin and Dash for a moment, then back to Starry and Descent. “Oh hogwash, why am I even contemplating it?”

Discord hovered back over to Soarin and Dash.

“I sincerely doubt that sweet old Princess Celery would be happy if she found out she gave up everything for no reason. So much sacrificed... and then he dies again anyway.” He looked the two of them up and down. “Oh I can just hear it now,” he held up a sock puppet that looked like Princess Luna, “Heareth thou our extra loud voice as we berate thee for messing with reality.” He said in a purposely comical version of her voice. A dunce hat appeared on the sock puppet before he put it down. “Lulu is definitely going to try and cut my head off for this,” he sneered, “and that is precisely why I’m going to do it anyway.”

He reached his paw towards Soarin and Dash,

“First we’ll put you two…” he moved his arm up and the two of them rose about twenty feet into the air. “There! That should do. And then…” she slithered back over to Starry and Descent, “hm, still a bit far.” He extended his arms and slid them horizontally. Starry and Descent moved until the distance between them, Soarin, and Dash was cut down by half.

“Perfectomundo!” He smiled in satisfaction as he reclined back in mid-air and sighed. “What is this world coming too? I remember a time when mortals tried desperately to gain the favor of the gods. These days it seems like the gods are always doing favors for the mortals.” He surveyed the small changes he made one last time before moving back upright and slowly disappearing from the bottom up. “Celestia, you owe me for this one.”

Right before he fully disappeared, he snapped his fingers.

“GOTCHA!”

Soarin and Dash both opened their eyes in disbelief. They had been pulled apart, but Dash was resting in the arms of Starry Skies, and Soarin in the arms of Descent. They both blinked, their brains trying to catch up with the fact that they had not died, and in the second miracle of the day, had been saved from certain death. Soarin and Dash both looked at each other and slowly smiled, both overjoyed. They began snickering, then chuckling, and then full out laughing.

“You’re welcome…” Descent grunted as the two touched down and released them. Dash was instantly in Soarin’s arms and knocked both of them to the ground. She crashed her lips against his and kissed him as passionately as she could with new, different tears flowing out of her eyes. Descent just looked away, but Starry,

“A-HEM,” she cleared her throat. Soarin broke the kiss with Dash and looked up at them, but Dash continued to kiss his face all over.

“Sorry, we were kinda both convinced we were gonna die,” he chuckled, “I think I have enough endorphins pumping in my head right now to turn it into a balloon.” He ended with a smile. “But seriously. THANK. YOU.” He said clearly with as much gratitude as he could make audible. His body was still weak, but he tapped Dash on the back as he slowly rolled over. She set her hooves on the earth and wobbled to a stand.

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, we’re alive, I can’t believe it! We’re alive!” She turned at Starry and threw herself at her, hugging her tightly.

“Okay! OKAY! Why am I always the one getting hugged!?” She complained as she lightly pushed Dash off.

“I thought you guys would be long gone by now.” Soarin pointed out as he finally got to rest his body.

“We were gone.” Descent stated, then glanced behind him, “but she insisted that we come back.” From behind him, Lightning Dust slowly peeked out, looking at Rainbow Dash only briefly before averting her eyes shamefully.

“Well, we came all the way back, and saved them on top of it. Go on.” Starry reached her wing back and nudged Lightning Dust towards Dash. Dust kept staring at the ground for a moment while Dash looked at her in confusion.

“I—” she began and swallowed, “I’m sorry, about everything.” She squeaked out. Dash’s eyes widened. “I never meant for… any of this to happen like it did. I’m so sorry!” She shut her eyes tight and quivered. Dash smiled, feeling very warm on the inside. Lightning Dust had always been a proud mare, the weight of all her reckless decisions must have really set in. Dash reached forward and pulled Dust into a hug.

“Hey, no worries Lightning Dust,” she put her at arm’s length, “we all slip up. You just gotta bounce back in the right direction. Learn from it. I’ve been doing that for as long as I can remember.” She grinned happily at her.

Soarin felt all warm and fuzzy from it too. He had heard about Lightning Dust from Spitfire, but he was unaware of her relationship to Dash. Seeing Dash accept the apology and make amends was just another reminder of her kindness.

“I promise i'll work to avoid my past mistakes. There are no more shortcuts.” Dust nodded with a weak smile. “You taught me that,” she looked down, “I learned it the hard way… but you taught me that.”

“Uh oh, we better fly.” Starry Skies nudged Descent with a wing and pointed up into the sky. Wonderbolts were approaching. Descent took note and looked around the rest of the area as well. The Shadowbolt compound had broken to pieces and had floated harmlessly to the ground due to the propellers still turning. The Shadowbolts had all been scattered, but Nightshade was nowhere to be found. Whether or not she survived seemed like it would remain a mystery.

“Let’s go,” Descent called to Lightning Dust, who gave one more hug to Dash before lifting off and following Starry Skies.

“Descent.” Soarin called to him before he could take off. He turned and looked back at Soarin. “We stand tied one to one,” Soarin smirked, “We’ll have to settle that sometime.”

“Ha!” Descent scoffed with a chuckle, “After what I just saw… I might need some time to catch up. Farewell.” Descent followed behind Dust and Starry.

Dash hobbled over and fell down on her flank beside Soarin.

“So we’re alive.” She said while smiling at him. He returned the smile.

“Yup.” He replied simply. He observed the party approaching. It was Fleetfoot along with squad three.

“You know, I had a feeling we’d be alright.” Dash crossed her hooves and nodded with a proud smile on her face. Soarin lifted an eyebrow at her.

“Really? You were bawling your eyes out!” He snickered. Dash turned at him and pouted.

“Was not!” She huffed.

“Seriously, they were like upside down waterfalls!” Soarin teased while putting his hooves to his eyes and slowly moving them up. "Fwoosh! Haha!"

“You take that back!” She pounced on him and bit his ear while growling. Soarin rolled over on his back while laughing,

“AH! Uncle! Uncle! My body is broken already ahhhhh!” He yelped while chuckling. Dash rolled off and the two lay side by side on their backs, sharing a hearty laugh. Laughing really hurt, but they didn’t give a damn.

They were alive, and what’s the point of life if you don’t enjoy it?

---To be Concluded---

Author's Note

I got a LITTLE Dragon Ball Z with that fight, but what the hell, i had fun writing it :D

Only one chapter left :( but it's gonna be a good one, i promise.

Thank you all for the continued support. :)

Chapter 18

MLP: FiM
Flying Sky-High
By: Calm Wind

Chapter 18:

“This will probably hurt. A lot.” The Wonderbolt trainer said to Dash. She lay on the padded trainer table in the compound infirmary, getting her wings looked at. She was handed a small rolled up towel, “put this in your mouth, it’ll keep your teeth from grinding together when the pain hits.” Dash gulped but nodded.

She placed the towel in her mouth as the trainer and his helper stood on opposite sides of her. They gently grabbed her wings, doing their best not to cause her any discomfort as they readied to pop them back into place.

“Ready?” The trainer asked her.

“Mm hm.” Dash signaled, muffled by the towel.

“Okay,” the trainer nodded to his assistant, “One… Two!” They both jerked her wings on two, instead of three. Two loud pops sounded throughout the room followed by a muffled cry from Dash as she bit down hard on the towel. She pushed herself up and thrust her wings out, knocking both of them over and dropping the towel out of her mouth.

“Ahhhhh Ohhhhhh hoooooooooooooo!” Dash panted as the trainer got to his hooves. Laughter came from further to her right.

“I think she’s good to go!” Soarin chuckled as he sat upright on a nearby trainer table, being patched up and checked. Fleetfoot was near him, clutching her stomach.

“That’s a strong wing reflex you’ve got there Dash.” She commented. Dash pouted and glared at the doctor.

“That was not cool! Why did you go on two?! WHO DOES THAT?!” She fumed, still flinching slightly. Her wings were back in place, but they were going to be sore.

“It’s a common practice,” the trainer explained, “you were expecting us to go on three. You’re body would have tensed in anticipation. By going on two, your body is still relaxed, and we can cleanly put your wings back in place.”

“It’s easier to put a nail in a pillow than a rock.” Soarin commented.

“Exactly.” The trainer agreed as he motioned for Dash to sit down so he could check on her other minor injuries, cuts, bruises, and the like. “Your wings’ll be sore for a few days, but as long as you don’t push it too hard you can still fly a little.”

“So how did you find us anyway?” Soarin asked Fleetfoot. She rolled her eyes, but smiled.

“It was interesting,” she began, “we had to get help from Discord of all ponies—er dragon, snake, things,”

“Discord?!” Dash perked up, and then winced in pain.

“Hold still please.” The trainer ordered as he applied disinfectant to a cut on Dash’s shoulder.

“How in Equestria was HE helpful?” Dash questioned. Fleetfoot scoffed.

“Ha! He wasn’t helpful at all!” She shook her head. “He told us what to do and then disappeared.”

“But what did you have to do?” Soarin asked as a medical assistant finished tying off a bandage on his arm. “Thanks.”

“He said the crystal magic worked like his and that it was impossible to trace. Something that doesn’t exist can only be seen by the blind and heard by the deaf. Or something dumb like that.”

“And?” Soarin pushed the question.

“So I took Misty back out there and, like he said, she was able to follow. Don’t ask me how. Her ears perked up after we explained it and she took off. Then we found you guys and—” She put both her hooves on Soarin’s table and looked him straight in the eyes. “MORE IMPORTANTLY. What the hell was all that weird stuff between you and Nightshade?! That was some crazy, glowing, paranormal action movie shit I saw!” She nearly pressed her nose to his and he fell over on his back while trying to recline away from her. “You were like a huge beacon, and what did she pump herself full of?! She looked like her body was going to burst!”

“Fleet! Personal space!” Soarin whined as she questioned him. She pulled back and hopped off his table.

“Okay, lay it on me.” she crossed her hooves.

“Let’s wait until we meet with Luna alright? It’s long, it’s weird, and I almost died. So I’d rather only explain it once and then forget about it.” He said. Fleetfoot was not amused.

“But I wanna know nowwwww.” She tapped her hooves on the floor.

“Fleet, leave him alone.” Dash snickered. Fleet cocked an eyebrow at her in surprise before smirking.

“Fine.” She gave Soarin a sassy look. “But only because your lady said so.” She teased. Soarin looked at Dash and pouted as Fleetfoot giggled to herself. Dash just shrugged while shaking her head.

“That should do it.” The trainer gave Dash a soft pat on the back. “Luckily your wings were the worst of it. You have a couple of small cuts and bruises, but those won’t last very long.”

“Thanks doc.” Dash nodded to him as she carefully slid off the table. Soarin did the same, and then remembered something important.

“Oh!” He turned to Fleetfoot. “Spitfire! What happened to her after the battle here?!” He couldn’t believe he had nearly forgotten. Fleetfoot’s expression and ears turned down a little.

“Well, she’s okay, but she’s been a little… traumatized by it. She’s been resting in her room since.” She explained. Soarin and Dash glanced at each other. A lot had happened over the past days, but in the end the one who probably took the most damage was Spitfire. Soarin and Dash may have been physically wounded, but Spitfire had had one of her own inner depressions amplified and turned to force against her will. What did that even feel like?

“What time is it?” Soarin asked Fleetfoot.

“About three, why?”

“Let’s go see her. Luna is expecting us around four. I want to see Spitfire first.” He looked back at Dash.

“Yeah, I wanna see her too.” She agreed. Fleetfoot motioned towards the stairs and the three made their way down the hall.

As they approached Spitfire’s room on the third floor, Soarin blinked when he noticed her door was slightly ajar. This was typically a universal sign for “don’t worry about knocking” among the Wonderbolts. Fleetfoot was in front and went to push the door open, but froze when she saw a dark blue tail through the small crack in the doorway. Soarin ran into her and Dash bounced off Soarin's flank.

“Fleet? What the h—,” Soarin was hushed as Fleetfoot threw a hoof over his mouth. She smiled giddily and very quietly pushed the door open so they could just see inside.

“He’s here again!” She whispered while silently bouncing.

“He?” Soarin lifted an eyebrow as he peered into the room. Dash looked over his shoulder and as with Soarin, she wasn’t expecting what she saw. Spitfire was asleep on her bed, curled up with the sheets clutched tightly to her body. This however was not the surprise.

“Isn’t that—, Wave Chill?” Dash whispered. Soarin only nodded, not sure how to take what he was seeing. Fleetfoot looked like she was trying her hardest not to swoon and d’aww. Wave Chill was sitting beside Spitfire’s bed, looking over her with concern. She stirred slightly, a part of her mane falling down over her eyes. Wave Chill quickly reached forward and brushed it out of her face, gently stroking a hoof over her cheek as he did. This seemed to calm her, and she slept peacefully once more.

“Wait, did you say… again?” Soarin asked as he watched Wave Chill’s little display of intimacy. Fleetfoot was holding back so hard that she almost turned completely red.

“OH I CAN’T TAKE IT!” She blurted out and shoved the door open. Wave Chill yelped, fired straight up off his chair, and smacked his head against the ceiling before landing with a loud THUMP that made Soarin and Dash wince. The noise obviously woke Spitfire. Her eyes squeaked open and she glanced around. She saw Fleetfoot first. Fleetfoot had barged into the room and was giddily light stepping towards the left side of her bed. Then she glanced back at the door and saw Soarin and Dash enter. Her eyes widened when she saw Soarin.

“Soarin!” She cried out, instantly picking herself up and scampering towards the foot of the bed as he drew near. He realized at the last moment that she was about to throw herself at him, so he quickened his last two steps to prevent her from falling off the bed.

“HRK!” He grunted as she grabbed him around the neck and squeezed tightly. “Spitfire, can’t breathe.” He sputtered. Dash smiled and trotted up beside them. Fleetfoot came over to them as well while holding a frantic Wave Chill in a headlock.

“She’s been worried sick since you and Dash disappeared.” Fleetfoot started, not even paying attention to Wave Chill as he struggled to free himself from her grip.

“I can see that.” Soarin’s ears drooped as Spitfire began sniffle to shed small tears.

Spitfire’s worry was understandable, even from an iron heart like her, always keeping emotions out of things. There was more to it from Soarin’s perspective though. Spitfire had a negative emotion within her amplified to the breaking point, then had it manipulated, turning her against him. Soarin had not escaped the encounter unscathed. Hell, half the small cuts and injuries he just had looked at and tended to were from when she put him through two windows. It was clear during the whole episode that Spitfire was aware of her actions, but could do nothing to stop it. How would you feel if the last thing you did to your best friend before they possibly disappeared forever was beat the crap out of them?

“Hey, hey, it’s alright.” Soarin patted her on the back as her grip finally loosened.

“I’m so sorry.” She choked out between sniffles.

“Hey!” Soarin held her at arm’s length and looked at her sternly. “Spitfire, it wasn’t your fault.”

“But—!”

“Ah, ah, ah!” He held a hoof over her mouth. “No more of that!” He shook his head. “You were controlled, and Dash and I are okay. Everything is fine. So I better see you out of bed and back in your office soon, okay?” He turned his head to the side to give her a comical one eye glare. She sniffled and nodded. “Good.”

“Now then,” Fleetfoot suddenly nudged Soarin aside with her flank and stood in front of Spitfire, she was still holding Wave Chill beneath her arm and he had given up trying to escape. “Did you know you’ve had a big, strong guardian angel watching over you?” She joked with a large beaming smile. Spitfire looked at Wave and gave him a weak, but warm smile. Wave looked away while scrunching his mouth.

“Yeah, what is this about?” Soarin gave Wave a curious look. Dash would be lying if she said she wasn’t interested either.

“I, uh, was just, uh—,” Wave faltered. Soarin was surprised. Wave was usually very straight forward and dutiful. He accepted most orders before they were done being given to him, and always was quick with the “YES SIR’s.”

“He’s been taking care of her since you handed her over to him.” Fleetfoot rubbed her hoof roughly into his mane.

“Ow! Ow! Argh!” He whined as she did.

“Fleet, let him go.” Soarin chuckled. Fleetfoot finally let go of him and he shook his head out quickly, then stood attention.

“S—Sir!” He struggled to get back in character. “I—uh, I watched over her like you ordered me to!” He saluted. Fleetfoot completely lost it and was quickly rolling on her side laughing.

“Wave,” Soarin chuckled, reached up, and forced Wave’s arm out of the salute, “I asked you to keep her safe. It was a request, not an order. I figured she would be fine once we got her back, but you kept checking her and taking care of her,” he smiled, “it’s okay if you did it because you wanted to, in fact I think I prefer that.”

“Uh—I, yes, I did.” He confessed, glancing at Spitfire, who was still looking at him and smiling. Soarin leaned forward and whispered to him,

“You’re doing more for her than you’d think. Please keep it up.” He patted Wave on the shoulder. Wave remained silent, completely at a loss at what to say. Dash chuckled, walked up, and nudged Wave in the side as Soarin looked back to Spitfire.

“Hey, buddy, why the embarrassment?” She smirked at him. Wave looked away, finally a small blush creeping onto his face. “A good stallion looks after a mare he cares about! Be proud of it! Guard her with pride!” As she finished, Fleetfoot zipped over to Soarin and pressed her side against his,

“I think it’s the other way around with you two,” she teased him, “Hehehe!” She giggled as Soarin rolled his eyes, lifted a wing up, and shoved her head down with it.

“Well, uh—, I’ll just be going then!” Wave turned and took one step towards the door before,

“Wait!” They all jumped as Spitfire called out to him. He stopped stiffly before turning back to her. “Stay, just a little longer, please?” She asked. Wave blinked as she asked, finding it hard to resist the sad look she was giving him. Sensing the situation Soarin quickly extended his wings and used them to scoop up both Fleetfoot and Dash. They both yelped as he suddenly hoisted them up, but he gave a small wave to Spitfire and turned to the door.

“Stay here Wave, she wants to be with you,” he gave him a wink, “we have to go meet with Luna anyway. Keep her company.” He quickly turned towards the exit. Fleetfoot kicked and struggled while whining about not wanting to leave, but Dash let him carry her with no resistance. She knew what he was doing. Soarin jumped at an opportunity to make Spitfire feel not-so lonely anymore. Who knew if anything would happen between Wave Chill and Spitfire? The important thing was that this was the kind of interaction missing from Spitfire’s life. Soarin wasn’t about to let them stick around and ruin a moment for her.

“You suck Soarin.” Fleetfoot pouted as Soarin closed the door to Spitfire’s room behind them.

“I think you need to buy a dictionary and look up the word ‘privacy.’” He chuckled as he released Fleetfoot and she dropped to her hooves. They began walking towards the stairs again, but Dash looked down. Soarin was still holding her up, tucked beneath his left wing.

“You can put me down too y’know.” Dash smirked.

“Who said that?” Soarin turned sharply to his left while failing to hide a smile. Dash giggled as he swung her around in his wing grip.

“My wings are hurt Soarin, not my legs.” She crossed her hooves and huffed, but couldn’t stop a smile from forming either.

“Don’t care, I feel like carrying you.” He held his head high.

“But Sooooaaarrrrinnnnn,” She reached her head forward so he could see her. She gave him a puppy dog stare and pouted.

“And if you think I’m gonna fall for that, think again, Little Miss Badass.” Soarin chuckled at her attempt to look cute and helpless.

“Dammit.” She chuckled along with him. “Although…” She paused and smirked.

“What? WAIT!” Soarin realized too late. Dash brushed her wing against his side. “AH! Ahah! NO! HAHA!” His wing quickly flared out and Dash landed on the ground with a soft plop.

“You left yourself so wide open. I can’t believe I didn’t see it sooner.” Dash winked at him as Soarin caught his breath. Despite being free she walked right up against him anyway. “I didn’t mind the spot though.” She said while nuzzling his neck.

“Fair enough.” Soarin said with one last exhale from the tickling.

“You two are so damn adorable I think I’m gonna hurl.” Fleetfoot commented as they made their way down the stairs to the first floor. Soarin tipped his head and cocked an eyebrow.

“Says the mare who was just swarming around Wave Chill and Spitfire.”

“Hey!” She stuck her tongue out at him. “I love the development! The post get-together PDA is meh.” She waved a hoof at them as they reached the tunnel entrance leading towards the castle. They entered the tunnel and a few steps after the door closed behind them, Soarin picked up on some whispering and giggling. He turned his head to see Fleetfoot and Dash snickering. That wasn’t a good sign.

“Do I wanna know what you two are talking about?” He asked. Fleetfoot smirked at him.

“You’re ticklish?” She sneered. Soarin’s eyes widened as both Fleetfoot and Dash set their hooves, ready to pounce.

“OH SWEET MOTHER OF MERCY!”

“THOU DID WHAT?!?!?!” Luna shouted right into the face of Discord. All the royal guards in the throne room instinctively shielded their ears from the royal Canterlot voice.

“Oh like you wouldn’t have done the same thing.” He blew raspberries at her as she glared.

“We would not! We do NOT interfere with the lives of ponies! It is forbidden!” She swiped her hoof across her body. Discord sneered and slithered around her.

“Oh Lulu, so precious and dutiful. If it’s so wrong, then why did your sister do it?” His words slithered in and out of her ears. She opened her mouth to argue, but Discord was right, Celestia had violated that rule. He straightened up and placed himself right in front of Luna, “If Celestia broke the rules, then what’s to stop me from thinking it’s okay from time to time? Really, she’s an enabler, you should be mad at her not moi.” He pressed his fingers to his chest and looked at her with innocent wide eyes.

“It doesn’t change the fact… we still do not agree…” She struggled to answer.

“Do not deny it little Lulu, you would rush to save the life of a pony. In fact I’m hurt you don’t think higher of me for performing such a selfless deed.” He sneered at her. She glared right back.

“Deeds such as this are not without risk. My sister is paying dearly for changing a pony’s fate. How do you expect me to think any good can come from it? Have you seen her lately?!” She stomped and pouted at him. Discord stared at her pouty face, snickered, and flipped his fingers over her lips to make a Blblblblblb noise on them. She swiped his hand away in frustration and her magic came to life through her horn. He reached up with the clothespin again. She quickly covered her horn with her hooves, but he put in on her lips instead to hold her mouth shut.

“You really need to relax and stop worrying about such trivial things.” He wagged a claw back and forth as she desperately tried to pull the clothespin of her lips while making muffled yelling noises. “Celestia will be fine. After all, she has me! She doesn’t need to rely on you for solutions when I can make one up as I go along.” He bowed as Luna gave up and glared at him with her lips clamped shut. “Now I believe the two I so selflessly saved are on their way. I really don’t want to ruin your professional meeting, so I’ll be off.” He disappeared, but the clothespin stayed. Luna began freaking out with muffled screams. “Oh, silly me,” Discord’s right arm reappeared and pulled the pin off.

“GAH! Ha…” Luna gasped with her tongue hanging out. “Grrr…” She grumbled as the sound of hysterical laughing came from behind the throne. The door behind the throne burst open and Soarin dove through, tumbling into the back of the throne.

“OKAY! OKAY! ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!” He yelled while wrapping both his wings and arms around his body. Fleetfoot and Rainbow Dash followed shortly after, giggling to themselves and bumping hooves. “Sheesh, I’m always being ganged up on.” He complained while standing up and walking around the throne with them. They flinched when they saw Luna looking distraught, but she shook her head and beckoned them in.

“Please, come in. We are merely dealing with many issues.” She explained as they all faced her. “We are pleased to see you unharmed.” She directed at Soarin and Dash, “We thought there little to be done, but it seems it… all worked out in the end.” Her pause went unnoticed, but she was referring to a certain intervention.

“We’re just happy to be alive ourselves.” Soarin commented while putting an arm over Dash. “I’m not gonna lie, after today, I definitely believe in miracles.” The two smiled at each other.

“There is no such thing…” Luna mumbled to herself quietly. She quickly shook her head again as they looked at her confused. “We apologize,” she tapped her head with a hoof, “many issues, like we said. Anyway, please tell us all that happened.”

“Where to start…” Soarin began.

Soarin relayed everything to Luna about the crazy two days. Everything about the Shadowbolts, about Nightshade, about the crystals, and about some suspicious faceless adversary in the background: Kayn Ost. Luna did not interrupt throughout the entire explanation, curious to hear everything before giving her opinion.

“We see.” She said as Soarin finished. She sat for a moment, contemplating everything, but even she was at a loss about the crystals and Kayn Ost. In her long life, she could recall nothing that connected.

“Actually, I have a quick question.” Fleetfoot raised her hoof. “Why didn’t you come with us to locate them? I mean, Nightshade was pumped up on power and all, but I’m sure you could have smacked her down and the rest of them easily!” She ended, crossing her hooves. Luna blinked and shook her head.

“We cannot leave Canterlot. Not when our sister is—” Luna quickly stopped.

“What about Celestia?!” Fleetfoot was hovering in place. “Can we finally get some insight into why she’s nowhere to be found these days?!” She pried. Luna bit her lip and looked away.

“We—, it is not our place to say. Our sister wishes for it to be so.” She stammered.

“So she isn't actually busy?” Fleetfoot extended both her hooves, “Then what—”

“Fleet, stop.” Soarin hovered up next to her and pulled her back down to the ground. “If Celestia is busy, she’s busy. If she’s not, she’s not. But Luna clearly does not want to speak about it. Leave it be. It all worked out fine in the end.” He looked at her sternly.

“Fiiiiinnnneeeee.” Fleetfoot said in dissatisfaction. Luna turned back to them, smiling at Soarin.

“We thank thee for understanding.” Her expression turned serious, “as for these crystals and this mystery fellow, we’re afraid we know nothing. It is, however, good to know we have something to be watchful for.” She nodded. “We are surprised to hear about the true nature of the Shadowbolts. They’re work may be, unsavory, but at least they seem honest. It’s a shame such a powerful group can be swayed by fake power.” They all agreed. “Oh, how is Captain Spitfire? We understand she went through a terrible experience.”

“She’s holding up,” Soarin quickly answered. “A little shaken, but she’ll be fine, she always is.”

“Good.” Luna smiled, “we wish not to rush her, but we feel more comfortable when she is in command. We hope she’s is back up and running in a week or two.”

“I’ll be surprised if they can keep her down for two more days.” Fleetfoot chuckled. Luna looked to Rainbow Dash.

“Ah, Loyalty,” she referred to her by her element, “We deeply apologize for you being dragged into all of this. We’re sure thou can imagine our worry when we thought an element of harmony was lost.”

“Aw it was nuthin’” Dash smirked. “I ain’t tappin’ out anytime soon. I don’t care what they throw at me.” She said while thrusting her wings out and swinging a hoof. Luna chuckled at her.

“Most excellent.” She agreed. “We thank thee for your report and time.” She bowed her head to them. “Oh, we nearly forgot!” She looked back up. “We spoke to Blaze Tail and Flash Wind.”

“Oh.” Soarin grimaced, remembering that whole thing with Rapidfire they had to sort out. “How did that go?”

“They were most displeased with the course of action chosen by their son. They offer their deepest apologies and plan to continue their donations regardless.” Luna explained. Fleetfoot released a loud sigh of relief.

“Sheesh, too bad he doesn’t take after his parents, huh?” She whispered to Soarin who wanted to agree, but politely kept his attention on Luna.

“Now then, there are many things we must attend to, farewell.” Luna turned without another word and began walking towards the main hall. With that out of the way, Soarin, Dash, and Fleetfoot made their way back to the compound.

The time Rainbow Dash was dreading finally came. She had to go home. It was sad, but she knew for a fact that her friends were probably worried sick about her by now. And since Celestia was apparently unavailable, Twilight couldn’t send any letters to her asking about Dash. She had to go home. She didn’t want to leave Soarin, but she had to.

Despite Soarin telling her to leave them alone, after saying her goodbye’s to Dash, Fleetfoot went to go bother Spitfire and Wave Chill. Dash didn’t want to disturb them again, so she asked Fleetfoot to say goodbye to Spitfire for her. If things were different, Dash would have made a bigger effort to do so, but she had a feeling she’d be seeing all the Wonderbolts a lot in the near future.

Remembering that they had to get Dash’s dress from Soarin’s room, they made one last stop.

“Well! It’s definitely been a wild few days.” Soarin commented as they entered his room. He looked happily back at Dash, but she was clearly sad. Soarin frowned, “hey now…” He trotted over to her and draped a wing over her. "I know we’re going separate ways, but it’s not like we’re not gonna see each other as much as possible.” She shook her head.

“Doesn’t matter. I’m still gonna miss you every day.” She looked up at him with sad eyes. He inhaled sharply and puffed his cheeks out.

“Don’t you look at me like that, I might actually have a heart attack.” He bopped her nose with a hoof. She looked at him weirdly, and then smiled.

“Is this better?” She puffed her lips out and squished her cheeks up with her hooves.

“PFFFFFFFF” Soarin held in the laughter as his body shook. He swallowed and exhaled. “Haaaaaaa, you're the best.” He hugged her, which she, of course, returned. “How are your wings doing by the way?” he asked. She looked back, stretched her wings out and flapped them twice.

“Hmmm, still sore, but flying shouldn’t be a problem, why?”

“Cause my offer from before still stands.” He puffed out his chest happily.

“Wha? OH!” She remembered his offer to fly her home. “But I thought your day off was yesterday?”

“You really think we’re gonna keep schedule after what happened? I probably have a good week or so off now.” He chuckled.

“Good point,” she thought, followed by her giddiness slowly building, “Ah! That means I get another night with you!” She was smiling brightly and flapping her wings in excitement.

“Mm hm…” Soarin slid over to her while bouncing his eyebrows up and down. Dash picked up on his tone quickly.

“Ooo, I like that look,” she said seductively while making scratch motions with her hoof. Soarin reached up, running a hoof through her mane, down the back of her neck and over part of her body.

“I would never pass up the chance,” he said smoothly into her ear, his warm breath making her tingle. Soarin moved his hoof back up her neck to the back of her head and slowly pushed her towards him. The two brushed their lips together once before softly kissing. Dash wrapped her hooves around his neck, to pull herself in and press her lips harder to his. They broke apart briefly, Dash licking her lips.

“Why do you always taste so perfect?” She said while pressing her body closer to his. He looked down at her with desire in his eyes.

“You push me to be my best.” He grinned. She giggled and drew him in, placing her lips by his ear and whispering.

“I love the libido, but we should get me home first. Once we get settled in my house, maybe I’ll let you push me.” Her words teased him immensely. He blew two puffs of smoke out of his nose while cocking a large smirk. His wings extended and gave a single hard flap down.

“Then what are we waiting for?” He asked eagerly. Dash giggled and slowly pushed off of him, never taking her bedroom stare away from his eyes.

“Where’s my dress? Rarity will kill me if I don’t bring it back.” She began looking around the floor. Soarin kept his eyes on her, especially as she began to bend down and look around. She glanced back at him.

“I know you like what you see, but pay attention naughty colt.” She wiggled her tail at him.

“Dur who yarp what?” His speech garbled and he shook his head. She couldn’t hold back her laughter.

“Come on, help me find the dress.” She repeated while giggling at the funny look on his face.

“Right, the dress. Ha. Haha.” Soarin said with his eyes nearly rolling back into his head as he thought about what would happen in Ponyville that night.

“Ah! Found it, but how are we gonna carry it?” Dash wondered as she held the dress up. Soarin finally broke from his daydream and looked around.

“Here,” he picked up a small backpack and held it over to her, “I can carry it in this, I guess we can fold it up and—,” he was cut off as Dash just stuffed her dress into the pack in a messy ball.

“Rarity’s problem,” she winked at him. “Let’s get going. Follow the Rainbow.” She teased while flipping her tail at him again. He strapped the backpack on and grabbed her tail in his mouth as she began walking. He followed her as she laughed at him for being an adorable goofball.

Rainbow Dash did her best to take in the whole compound one more time as they made their way down the stairs and through the lobby. It was just a simple trip to see a stallion she loved, and it turned into one hell of an adventure. It would be quite a story to tell her friends and Scootaloo upon returning.

As they approached the main entrance of the compound, Dash stopped and glanced back.

“What’s up?” Soarin asked.

“I can’t help but feel like I’m forgetting something…” She contemplated. As if on cue, Misty Fly flew in from the right and tackle hugged Dash. “I knew it!” She cried out happily and hugged Misty Fly back. The rest of squad three was close behind her. How could she leave without saying goodbye to them? They had made the trip extra special for her. Squad three was there when they found Soarin and Dash after the battle with Nightshade, but they were rushed off by the medical teams so quickly she didn’t have a chance to thank them. Especially after they found out one of their miracles wouldn’t have happened if Misty Fly had been unable to “hear” the trace of the crystal magic.

“We made it just in time.” Fire Streak smiled as Misty Fly continued to nuzzle Dash. He tried to continue, but Surprise rushed up to Soarin.

“Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! HEY!!!!!” She grabbed his face. “That was some crazy anime stuff you did in that fight! I mean, come on it would have been PERFECT if both of you screamed for three episodes plus twenty minutes and your manes changed color!” They all just stared at her in confusion.

“Dude, what?” Lightning Streak said nonchalantly. Surprise was suddenly beside him and pointed at his blonde mane while looking at Soarin.

“If you can make your mane look like this, you’ve officially become a parody!”

“Surprise, reign it in please.” Fire Streak chuckled while pulling Surprise off of his brother. Dash smiled as Misty released the hug, small tears in her eyes. Misty had made such an impact on Dash during her time at the compound. Dash made the wing motion for thank you, remembering how much it meant to Misty when a pony tried to speak with her.

“I don’t know how to say all of this, so could you translate for me?” Dash asked Fire Streak.

“Certainly.” He smiled, readying his hooves and wings.

“Please tell her I will never forget her, and that she is a very special pony. She deserves a hell of a lot more in life than most ponies I know. I promise to spend lots of time with her when I become a Wonderbolt myself someday, hopefully soon.” Dash said. Fire relayed the whole message to Misty, who smiled so wide her face hurt. She hopped up and down before giving Dash one more big hug.

“You won’t forget me either, will you?” Surprise slid underneath Dash’s legs and suddenly had small streams of tears running from her eyes.”

“Of course not Surprise, it’s impossible to forget you.” Dash chuckled. Surprise’s expression instantly turned 180 degrees and the tears were gone like they never existed.

“YAY!” She slid back between Dash’s legs somehow without anypony pulling her.

“Call me, babe.” Lightning said simply with a single wave. Dash rolled her eyes.

“Not likely.” She said with a snicker as Fire smacked his brother upside the head. Fire approached her and held out a hoof.

“As I said before, it’s been an honor and a pleasure. I’m sure we will meet again soon m’lady.” He bowed and kissed her hoof. She was used to his behavior now, but she still wiped her hoof off on her arm right after.

“Count on it.” She looked at all of them. “You’ve all been awesome.” She looked at Misty Fly and made the goodbye signal. “Seeya!” She waved to the rest and they all waved. Dash quickly turned to hide a few happy tears that squeaked out.

“You’re a great pony, Rainbow Dash.” Soarin complimented while draping his wing over her as they walked out the door.

“Pff, what tipped you off?” She said smugly.

“Your sassy attitude.” He grinned right back as they took off.

They picked a perfect time to make the long flight back to Ponyville. The sun was beginning to set, so the sky was painted full of beautiful orange, red, and pink colors, with a little dab of yellow here and there. The sky was mostly free of clouds, so their flight was easy and open.

For a while they both just enjoyed the silence. Flying was the life of a pegasus. Sharing a long, calm flight with another was a common sign of friendship between two pegasi. However if it was with a special somepony, it meant something much, much more.

The peaceful air, the ground and trees passing below them, the wind blowing gently in their manes, and the company of love. It all made both Soarin and Rainbow Dash feel very alive and very happy. They didn’t need words to express their love. They exchanged many smiles and made many soft maneuvers by each other.

To Dash, everything about Soarin was worth smiling about.

And to Soarin, everything about Dash was worth dreaming about.

Dash flew in close to Soarin. He followed her with his eyes, smiling wider as she drew near and turned upside down. She kept on flying while directly below him, staring up at him with eyes mixed with love, happiness, and satisfaction. He would never get tired of those eyes, her bright purple irises that shone just as much as her unique rainbow mane. The way she looked at him with those eyes would always have an unseen power over his body, drawing him in without giving it a thought.

Her eyes completed that pretty face, always full of sleek, sly, and sassy expressions that made her personality so perfect. Everything with her would be a competition, and he loved that. Worried about losing the excitement? Never with Rainbow Dash. He would always be wondering what new excitement was waiting patiently around the corner.

And then there was her ambition, her drive. Nopony would ever best her. Even if they did, she would try and try and try until she was on top. Nothing motivates like a lover who pushes themselves in every aspect of life.

Soarin loved her so much. How in Equestria was he lucky enough to find a mare that just plain completed him in every aspect of himself? Like he said to Luna earlier, he was now a believer in miracles.

Dash giggled as Soarin reached out and gently grabbed her left hoof with his right.

“Shall we dance?” He smiled at her with that irresistibly handsome face of his.

“I guess I’ll allow it.” Dash winked at him as she placed his free hoof on his shoulder.

Soarin did nothing much at first. They simply slowly twisted as they flew, as if the quiet and tame nature of their surroundings orchestrated a slow dance. Dash couldn’t take her eyes off of Soarin.

Who would have thought she would ever get caught by this silly love thing that Rarity always over swooned about? Nopony is the answer to that question. Rainbow Dash, the speedy, tough talking, action pony of Ponyville, unable to resist the way Soarin tugged on her heartstrings.

They say there is a special somepony out there for everypony. Dash always said, “pff not me”. Too bad Soarin existed to curb stomp her attitude and send a cloud of cupid arrows for direct hits. She just couldn't get enough of him. His deep green eyes, his chiseled jaw line, his handsome face, his muscular body and wings. He was the perfect ascetic stallion, and she wasn’t being biased about it. But that personality… he was so silly and goofy, but so strong willed and determined. He would crack a joke one minute and have her pressed against a wall the next…

Dash bit her lip and blushed as Soarin kept gently guiding their flight.

Damn she found him sexy, and damn did she love him to death. Talk about the finest catch in the sea, she would never go fishing again.

Soarin finally changed it up, gently twirling her so she was at arm’s length beside him, their hooves still locked. Instead of pulling her in, he spun himself in so he was below her now.

“You know what I love most about flying with you?” He said as he twisted them around and he was above her.

“What’s that?” She tilted her head to the side slightly and batted her eyelashes at him. He spun them back around so he was on the bottom.

“There’s no on top.” He winked. “So I don’t have to fight you for it.” He bounced his eyebrows.

“Oh, I don’t know about that…” Dash pressed herself to him before he could turn them back around. “I hate to break it to you Soarin, but I was born to be on top.” She slightly stuck her tongue out between her teeth.

“I shoulda seen that one coming.” He chuckled. He clutched her tightly and spun them around, pumping his wings so they picked up speed.

“Whoa!” Dash held on and folded her wings in as they climbed higher and higher. Soarin eventually tipped back down and looked into Dash’s eyes with that competitive gaze she adored.

“You like things fast huh? How about I express my love to you at the speed of sound?” He smirked.

“Ohmygosh.” Dash blushed heavily and bit her lip. “DO IT!” She encouraged while wiggling with excitement. She held on tight as Soarin went into a dive, pumping his wings to build up more speed before folding them down and letting gravity do the rest. The aircone formed around both of them. Dash found herself breathing a little faster. Good lord Soarin was unbelievable. He was really gonna do it. Her heart was pounding in anticipation. Soarin’s speed hit the aircone break point and he whispered into her ear,

“I love you Rainbow Dash.”

He kissed her right as the aircone shattered and the sonic boom echoed throughout. She clutched him tighter and kissed him back hard as they sped fiercely over the ground. She moaned as she kissed him, wrapping her legs around his body too. She began to feel very, very warm, the harsh blasts of wind surging against them as they kissed.

Soarin eventually stretched out his wings and they slowed down as Ponyville began approaching in the distance. As they reached their slow speed again, Dash finally loosened her grip on him and stared up into his eyes. She was blushing like crazy, panting, and her wings had flared outward.

“That,” she shivered, “was the sexiest thing…” she commented while trying to catch her breath. He smiled and chuckled.

“You liked?”

“I LOVED IT!” She instantly answered while pressing her nose to his. “Like, ohmygosh Soarin, that… you are getting rewarded for that tonight…” She went limp in his arms and sighed heavily while laughing contently.

“I like the sound of that,” He said with a sly grin. She turned her head up to look at him as she remained limp.

“God, now I’m like, more than an infinity % in love you ahhhhhhh.” She squeaked and went back to being fully limp.

“I’m glad you were still keeping score.” He winked, “I like to break records.”Dash giggled, reached back up, and hugged him tightly as they went in for a landing.

The sun had almost completely set as the two flew low over Ponyville, Dash pointing out to land by Twilight’s library. She figured it would be a good idea to let Twilight know she was back and not gone forever. Twilight was the best at general communication between all of them, so she’d get the word out to the rest easily.

Soarin touched down, gently setting Dash back on her hooves as he did. She was still looking at him dreamily and planted a kiss on his cheek as they moved towards the front door.

“Seriously Soarin, that was incredible. You really know how to drive me wild.” She said while making a pass in front of him and caressing his chin with her tail.

“Takes about an eighth of the effort for you to do the same to me.” He said, his eyes locked on her plot as she flipped her tail off the end of his chin. She caught him looking and swished her tail back and forth.

“Not everypony can be this awesome.” She smirked while putting a hoof to her chest. Soarin came up beside her and brushed his wing over her back.

“That’s for damn sure.” He said with a wink.

They stopped briefly in front of the library door as they heard talking from inside. Dash put her ear to the door and could hear all of her friends inside. Well, she could hear four of them. She just assumed Fluttershy was in there as well. She was relieved. This would save her the trouble of letting each one know. She also now only had to explain everything once. She smiled and raised her hoof to the door.

“Yo! Rainbow Dash is in the house!” She yelled while banging her hoof against the door loudly. The talking inside all stopped and the sound of galloping came towards the door. Dash took note that the galloping sounded almost… dainty. “Not this time.” Dash smirked. She ducked as the door swung open. And Rarity came flying out.

“DETAIIIIEEEEE!!!!!!!” She shrieked as she flew right over Rainbow Dash and collided with Soarin.

“URF!” Soarin barely budged as Rarity flew face first into his chest. Her make-up and lipstick left a faint outline of her eyes and lips on him as she fell off.

“Good to see you too Rarity.” Dash chuckled, trying not to burst out laughing at the makeup face on Soarin’s chest.

“Oh my…” Rarity stared wide eyed up at Soarin as he smiled down at her and tried to rub her makeup off. Applejack and Twilight came running.

“Well look what the cat—” Applejack paused and her eyes widened when she saw Soarin. She quickly gave Dash a smug smirk “—or should I say, the stallion finally dragged back to Ponyville.” She poked Dash in the shoulder. Dash tried to look away, but she couldn’t hold back a blushing grin.

“We were so worried about you!” Twilight came up beside Applejack. “Why were you—” Pinkie Pie suddenly leapt up behind Twilight and Applejack with a look of terror on her face.

“SHE’S ON A WARPATH!!! Oh hey Rainbow Dash! HIT THE DIRT!!!!!” Pinkie put her hooves on Twilight’s and Applejack’s heads and shoved them down to the ground with her. Dash looked at the sudden pony pile with confusion, but then looked back up and yelped. Fluttershy fired out of the library with an intense gaze fixed right on Dash. She tackled Dash and pinned her roughly to the ground.

“WHERE. THE HELL. HAVE YOU BEEN?” She asked while glaring right into Dash’s eyes. Dash just stared with a mixture of disbelief and fear. “IF. YOU. DON’T. MIND. ME. ASKING.” Fluttershy said while tipping her head back then forth and getting closer with each word, pressing her nose against Dash’s as she finished.

“Uh…” Dash just blinked. Fluttershy glanced up and saw Soarin right behind Dash. Her pupils quickly shrank, her grip on Dash faded, and her mane seemed to overtake her face.

“Oh! Hello there Soarin. I was, um, just a little worried about Rainbow Dash. I’ll, uh, get off of her now. Sorry…” She fluttered slightly into the air and set down beside Pinkie’s pile.

“Heh,” Dash chuckled as she got back up and smiled at Soarin. Rarity was still staring wide eyed at him. “Rarity,” Dash clapped her hooves in front of her face. Rarity blinked and shook her head before looking at Dash. Dash stood directly in front of Rarity, between her and Soarin. “MINE.” She smirked. Rarity rolled her eyes.

“He’s handsome do you blame me for looking?” She tried to defend herself as Soarin and Dash shared a good laugh.

“Well I’m sure y’all have a lot t’tell us.” Applejack began as she finally managed to get Pinkie off of her. “Yer just in time too, we were all about t’sit down for dinner!” She motioned into the library.

“Come on in and join us Soarin, we want to hear everything.” Twilight offered.

“YES! EVERYTHING!” Rarity rushed in front. Twilight used her magic to push Rarity inside.

“Come on.” Twilight chuckled and invited them in. Dash looked to Soarin and he licked his lips.

“I’ll never say no to Ponyville food!” He exclaimed and the two went inside.

“Wow.” Said Twilight as they sat around the table. It literally took all dinner for Soarin and Dash to recount the entire story to them.

“My goodness, I’m glad your both okay,” Fluttershy quietly commented, “It sounds like something awful could have happened to—”

“I LOVED THE PARTS WHEN EVEYRHINTG BLEW UP!” Pinkie cut her off and a small explosion of confetti erupted behind her.

“Does it make me a bad pony if I say I don’t really feel sorry for Rapidfire? At all?” Applejack asked. Both Soarin and Dash shook their heads.

“Absolutely not.” Soarin agreed while subtly reaching his wing around Dash.

“He was rather… impolite.” Rarity recalled when the Wonderbolts last visited.

“Why hold back Rarity? He was a dick! Eep!” Dash explained, squeaking at the end as Soarin’s wing suddenly pulled her closer to him. She smirked at him as he looked away and tried to make it look like an accident.

“What? They have a mind of their own.” He joked as he flapped his free wing slightly.

“Sure they do.” Dash rolled her eyes, chuckling. Twilight looked between the two of them, catching the vibe. She stood up,

“Well I’m sure you want to spend some time with Soarin, we’ll let you two go.” She began gathering the dishes.

“Wait! We should have a welcome home party!” Pinkie suddenly bounced up, overly excited. “Doesn’t that sound great?!” She popped up in front of Dash. Applejack chuckled and pulled Pinkie away by the tail.

“Sorry Pinkie, but I’m lettin’ them go.”

“Awww.” Pinkie looked crushed, but Applejack gave Soarin and Dash a wink as they got up and got ready to leave.

“I reckon these two have their own party planned for the night.” She said with a smirk.

“Oh my…” Rarity’s face flushed completely as Dash began pushing Soarin out faster.

“Before this gets worse, come on come on come on!” She whispered to him.

“Trust me. I’m plenty eager to get you alone.” He teased, making her blush harder as they quickly left.

“I’m not gonna lie, I was hungry, but this is where I really wanted to go right after landing.” Rainbow Dash smiled as she and Soarin landed by the door of her cloud house. Soarin glanced to her upstairs window and smiled.

“This brings back fun memories.” He chuckled. Dash paused and looked at him.

“Good ones I hope.”

“Of course!” He smiled. “That’s the window I snuck into your house from the first day we hung out!” He pointed to the window. “Then you took forever to follow me and ran face first into me when I checked!” He casually kept going. Dash blushed, recalling the embarrassing moment.

“Okay! Okay!” She shoved him lightly with her wing. “Don’t push it jerk, you’re not even in my house yet.” She secretly loved that memory. She was so embarrassed when it happened, but Soarin sat beside her laughing after she ran square into his face. It was the day she discovered what a fun pony he was beneath the Wonderbolt uniform. A defining moment that led to her falling for him.

Dash opened the door and they both walked in, neither taking their eyes off the other as they entered. They didn’t have to say what was on their mind, because they both wanted only one thing. Each other. As soon as Soarin was in the door, he slung the backpack off his shoulders and turned to Dash.

She slowly closed the door behind her while keeping her eyes on his, her smile growing wider and eyes filling with desire as the door moved. When the door clicked, she fired herself at him and pressed her lips to his. She knocked him over onto the couch he purposely stood in front of. They landed with a soft plop and Soarin quickly kissed her right back. The first kiss was soft, long, and loving, breaking apart only once they had shared a long tender moment with their lips together. Dash pushed herself up a little to look down into his eyes. He stared back up at her, not even an inch between their noses. Dash slid her legs back so her body rested on top of his, crossed her hooves on his chest and placed her chin on top of them, content just to look at his handsome face for a while as he ran his hooves up and down her neck and through her mane softly.

“You’re hot.” She randomly said without breaking eye contact.

“I know.” He said with a smug expression. She giggled, grabbed a small pillow from the couch, and pushed it over his face. He retaliated by quickly moving his hooves to her back and pressing on her sweet spot below her wing joints, which were extra sensitive because of how sore they were.

“EEEEEEEEYIKES!” She pushed off of him so hard that she lifted off slightly into the air. Soarin thrust his wings back, propelling him off the couch. He grabbed her arms, spun them around in mid air, and they fell back down, now with him on top of her.

“I think this is going to be a recurring theme with us.” Soarin chuckled as she pouted at him. “I feel like we’re two roommates fighting for the top bunk.”

“You know too many of my weaknesses.” She crossed her hooves and made a cute huffy face, “I might have to kill you.”

“You won’t kill me,” he said as he tried to kiss her. She giggled and playfully turned her head to the side to avoid.

“What makes you think I won’t?” She challenged while continuing to avoid.

“Because you think I’m hot.” He finally gave up and kissed her exposed neck instead. Her eyes widened, and then narrowed to a dreamy gaze. She moaned softly as he brushed his lips against her neck and slowly made his way slowly towards her ear. She knew it was coming, but she let him do it anyway.

“Ooooohhh.” She let out as he softly nibbled on her ear. Her face turned very bright red and her wings unfolded from beneath her. He brushed his nose through her mane as he made his way over to the other one. “Yesssss, get them both…” She demanded seductively. Soarin snickered and gave her other ear the same treatment. Her hooves slid around his neck and she pulled herself into his body as the tingles ran through her from head to tail.

“You like?” He whispered as he began moving down the other side of her neck. She quickly pushed him up.

“Yes. And we need more space.” She demanded. She slipped out from beneath him very suddenly and his head fell face first into the couch cushion. She yanked him out, and then pulled him off the couch and towards the stairs. Soarin let her drag him. She was getting feisty, and he loved it.

Rainbow Dash slowed down as they entered her room, she had turned and pulled him close to her. He nuzzled noses with her as he kicked the door shut behind them.

“Well I finally brought a stallion back to my room. I’ll make sure to check that off of the reasons why I’m so awesome.” She smiled as she floated into the air. Soarin lifted off as well, turned her around and hugged her from behind while resting his chin in the crook of her neck.

“I hope it’s only because it’s me you brought back.” He said while rubbing his nose into her neck. She sighed happily.

“It had a little bit to do with it.” She teased as they slowly floated in front of her large mirror. She stared into it. She used this mirror every morning to check herself out and start the day off with her awesome image. But something about looking into the mirror and seeing a stallion she loved with his arms wrapped around her just made her heart soar. Pun completely intended. She bit her lip and turned around to give him the most seductive stare she could muster. “Alright, I’ve been holding this in since your little mach one kiss stunt.” She said slyly while swaying her body back and forth. “How long can you hold your breath?” She suddenly asked,

“Uh—”

“Let’s find out.” She reached up and grabbed the back of his head, forcing their lips together passionately. The kiss got sloppy quickly, their mouths both opening wider to thoroughly suck on each other’s faces. Soarin backed up towards her bed, turning slightly so they fell sideways. They didn’t break the kiss, even with the rough impact onto the mattress, Dash quickly tried to roll them over to be on top, but Soarin kept turning her as she tried so he ended up on top after a full roll over. Soaring pressed his tongue against the outer edges of her lips. She met the challenge head on, quickly meeting it with hers and pinning his to the bottom of her mouth. They tongue wrestled roughly as Dash continuously tried to get an upper-hoof on the body front, but none of her pushes or movements could budge Soarin from on top of her.

They both gasped as they released each other’s mouths, a small trail of saliva lingering between them for a moment as they panted. It was getting real hot in the room, real fast. Their eyes were like magnets, never straying from their gaze upon the other. Dash wanted nothing else, and neither did he.

“I may be wrong, but I think you’re sexy.” Soarin said between breaths while cocking a grin. Dash lifted an eyebrow and whisked her mane around until it was even messier.

“You better believe your right,” she batted her eyelashes at him, “I mean only the sexiest mare would be yours.” She ran her hooves over his arm and chest muscles and made a playful growl.

“I especially like it when you’re defenseless.” He suddenly said while reaching underneath her back. Her eyes widened too little too late. He pressed the spot beneath her wings, a little harder this time.

“AHH!!!” Dash cried out in pleasure. Her wings fired out from beneath her and her face turned completely red. “NNnfff.” She moaned and inhaled sharply while biting her lip and pressing her hooves hard to his chest. He chuckled and let up, but she glared at him. “HEY! DO IT AGAIN!” She demanded.

“Of course.” Soarin obeyed, massaging the wing joints gently, but with plenty of pressure. Dash writhed slightly beneath him, but it wasn’t in pain. It was shooting waves of pleasurable shivers through her and she loved the feeling.

“OOooooo AAAAhhhhhh” She kept moaning as he worked his hooves around the spot to get each part of the shoulder muscles that attached to the wings. After he made three circles around them he stopped and let her catch her breath. She looked so cute when he did that. Her face turned to one of pure glee and her body tingled so much he could feel it twitching. He quickly learned that he shouldn’t have paused. “HA!” Dash suddenly pushed up and flipped them over, pinning his arms down as she flopped on top of him.

“Why do I always fall for that?” Soarin smirked.

“Because you’re hot.” She poked him in the nose before kissing him again. It wasn’t as rough this time. She placed her lips on his slowly and softly. He ran his hooves over her neck and back and she ran hers through his mane.

Just like how it began: A kiss that was soft, long, and loving. She smiled at him as they broke apart, which he returned. Both were happy as could be under the watch of the other, and nothing would ever change that for them. EVER.

Dash rolled off of him while giggling. The two lay on their backs side by side, panting slightly from their rough play. They released a long content sigh simultaneously before turning their heads to look at the other.

“Soarin?”

“Yeah?”

“I freakin’ love you.” Dash smiled while hooking her hoof with his. He squeezed it right back.

“I love you too. So. Damn. Much.” He replied.

What a night, what a couple of days, what a great LIFE. Both were confident they found a source of happiness that would last a lifetime and beyond.

Love is a powerful thing. It can make one challenge their comfort zone, overcome hardships, break through barriers, and fight past the last breath. A soul that resonates with another, is a soul without limits. You’ll know when you’ve found that one who makes you feel as if you can fly, wings or no. Because even in a life that’s short, with them you’ll feel like you can live forever.

Rainbow Dash looked away from Soarin for a brief moment. She blushed as a thought entered her mind. This was her last night with him for a long time. She had been a bit stiff about it, but now she wanted it just as much.

“Soarin…” She put the most seductive tone in her voice she could muster.

“Hm…?” He smiled, picking up on her tone. She looked at him, blushing, with bedroom eyes, and running her tongue over her top lip.

“Let’s do it.” She slyly whispered into his ear. “This is one thing I hope you’re not so fast at.”

“Aw YISSS!” Soarin’s ears shot up and tingled. A huge smile smashed onto his face and his brain was singing hallelujah. He reached over, rolling to get himself into position.

“Hold it RIGHT there buster!” Dash caught his arm half way. She forced herself over, shoved his arm back down, and rolled on top of him, straddling her legs over his chest. She sneered at him and got down into his face. “I’M. ON. TOP.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

---THE END---

Author's Note

It has been a long, fun, unexpected ride.

Thank you ALL for your comments, critique, and support. I love you all.

I hope this does well in the contest ^_^