A Dash of Love Soared Through the Skies

A Dash of Love Soared Through the Skies

By: Crystal Heart

Chapter 18: Wonderbolt Glory

"So... what exactly are we going to say when we arrive at the compound?" Dash asked Soarin, who was busy humming to himself, as the two flew over the majestic city of Cloudsdale. They had left Sandstorm and Stronghold with Dash's parents for the day, much to the children's concern.

"We're going to wing it!" Soarin exclaimed, flapping his wings harder, making him rise up above the clouds. Dash's eyes widened, as she followed shortly after.

"What do you mean, wing it?" she asked, once they were flying side by side again. Soarin looked at her, and shrugged.

"To be honest, all I can really tell is that Spitfire is going to be so shocked, she might die of a heart attack," he said, earning a light punch from his wife. Dash glared at him.

"Soarin... I'm serious," she said. Soarin chuckled, before flying in front of her, making their wings push back, to stop them from moving further ahead. He put his hooves on her shoulders, and gave her a sincere smile.

"I know, Dashie. And I don't blame you for being worried. It's been quite a while since we've been full Wonderbolts," he said, placing a soft kiss on her lips.

When they broke apart, Dash bit her lip, and nodded.

"Alright, then. Who are we going to see first, though?" she asked. Soarin smiled, put his hooves to the sides of her ears, and pulled her in, making his lips rest gently on her forehead.

"Who would you like to see first?" he asked, as he backed away from her, continuing their journey. Dash looked away.

"I'm not sure. But I know at one point I'm going to have to go see Hibiscus Wings and Burning Cloud. They must be pretty upset that I was the cause of them losing their Wonderbolt status..." she mumbled. Soarin frowned.

"Oh... right. That. Well, how about we settle things with Spitfire, and then we can go down to the recruit training grounds to meet up with them?" he asked. Dash smiled, and nodded.

"That sounds great, Soarin. Thanks," she said, only making the stallion kiss her once again.

Soarin and Rainbow Dash landed in front of the compound, staring in awe.

"Wow... it's been quite a while since we were here last..." he said. Dash only nodded.

"Yeah..." she said, as Soarin opened the door for her, leading them both inside. They closed the door behind them, and looked around. The compound was completely empty at this time.

"Hmm... nopony's here... are you sure there's even a training session today?" Dash asked. Soarin nodded firmly.

"Yep. I'm sure, and I think I know why there's nopony here," he said, leading her to the front desk, which was closed up. There was a sign on the front of it.

"Oh!" Dash said, scanning the text. "Spitfire set up an all compound training day! What's that?"

"An all compound training day is when every single pony in the compound, whether it be a Wonderbolt, staff member, or recruit, all go to the main training fields, and practice what their personal job is," Soarin explained. Dash's mouth formed an 'o' shape, as she nodded.

"Oh! That makes sense, I guess," she said, before the two of them took off to go to the training grounds. "Makes explaining things a hell lot easier."

Soarin grinned, and nodded.

"Surprise, could you pass me the tape from over there? I'm trying to draw out a finish line for the recruit races," Lightning Streak called out to said mare, who popped up from behind him, with the tape in her mouth.

"Here ya go!" she exclaimed, tossing it to him. Lightning looked at her once, before shrugging, and turning away. By now, he was used to his teammate's crazy antics.

Spitfire started trotting across the large outdoor fields, looking over to the many recruits lined up.

"Alright, recruits! Are you all ready for the race?" she yelled, earning distant nods from them all. Spitfire nodded, before blowing her whistle loud enough for everypony to hear.

The second they heard the whistle, the recruits were off, zooming around the fields, desperate to complete the fifteen laps of the race before any of their teammates. Spitfire scanned them all, before noticing that one of the recruits, namely Burning Cloud, wasn't focusing on the race. Instead, his head was turned to the entrance of the stadium.

"Hibiscus!" Burning Cloud yelled, catching the attention of the pink pegasus besides him. Hibiscus Wings looked over to the red stallion, as he gestured to the front of the field.

Hibiscus, clearly confused, looked over to where he was pointing, as gasped at the sight.

Two very familiar blue pegasi were standing there, smiling as they watched the race continue. The slightly darker blue one, waved over once she saw them looking. Hibiscus and Burning's wings both snapped, and stopped them from flying any further. They noticed the rest of the recruits flying past them, but they didn't care.

Suddenly, Spitfire trotted up to them with an angry glare.

"Why did you two stop?" she asked. Hibiscus and Burning didn't answer, as they helped each other up, and zoomed over to the two pegasi.

Spitfire was confused, but followed shortly after nervertheless.

Rainbow Dash and Soarin smiled at the approaching figures, but their expressions instantly turned to ones of dread as they saw their speed.

"Nononono!" Dash cried out, as Hibiscus lept into her hooves at an incredible force. She chuckled, and wrapped her arms around the mare in return to the massive hug.

The two mares embraced tightly, clenching each other's body thoroughly, before pulling away. Hibiscus' mouth curved into a huge grin, as did Dash's.

"Where. The freaking *HELL.* Have you been?" she asked, exaggerating every word she said. Dash's smile didn't falter, as she turned to her husband.

"I was with him," she said simply. Burning Cloud came up to her with a hug of his own.

The cyan mare and the shocking red stallion embraced warmly, smiling into each other's fur. When they broke apart, Burning grinned heavily.

"I missed you so much, Dash!" he said, hugging her once again. Dash smiled.

"And you'd better believe that I did too!" she exclaimed. A rough hoof separated them, as the two pegasi turned to see Soarin with an angry glare at Burning. Burning, realizing what it meant, backed away to join Hibiscus once again.

"Relax, Sir. I have a fiancé," he said, draping a wing over the pink pegasus. Dash and Soarin's eyes both widened, as they stared between him and Hibiscus. Dash squealed in delight.

"You two are ENGAGED?" she exclaimed, hugging both of them from behind. They both grinned, and nodded. Hibiscus unfurled her wing to reveal a dazzling golden ring clipped onto it. Dash unfurled her own, to reveal the diamond and sapphire one she had gotten from Soarin. Hibiscus gasped.

"Oh that's right! You two were engaged the last time we saw you! Are you guys married now?" she asked. Dash and Soarin smiled, and nodded.

"Yep. I'm also a proud mother of two!" Dash said. Hibiscus gasped, as she started jumping up and down in delight.

"Oh! That's so wonderful! I can't wait to meet them! How old are they?" she asked. Soarin grinned.

"They're twins, a filly and colt, and both seven years old," he explained, as he spotted a fiery orange pegasus in a blue flight suit flying up to the four ponies. He gulped, nudging Dash in her rib. She glanced up, and saw Spitfire coming up to them with a slight frown.

The Wonderbolt captain landed on all fours in front of them, and inspected the new arrivals closely. She noted Dash's much longer mane, and a few bruises near her abdominal area. She also saw Soarin's older, more ragged hooves, and overall, tired expression. At least, more tired than eight years ago.

Suddenly, her stern expression turned to one of pure glee, as she pounced on one of her oldest, bestest friends. Soarin squeaked in surprise as he felt Spitfire's hooves around him, and chuckled, returning the embrace.

"Woah there, Spitty," he said, as she let go of him.

"Holy crap, Soarin... where the hell have you been?" she asked, breathing heavily. Soarin glanced over to Rainbow Dash, who shrugged, and stepped forward. Spitfire looked over to her, and embraced her in a tight hug as well.

"Rainbow Dash! It's great to see you too!" she added, before turning back to Soarin. "I didn't exactly hear an answer..."

Soarin chuckled, and placed a hoof behind his neck, laughing nervously.

"Hehe... where to begin?"