The Devil Withinby Nightmarity19ChaptersChapter 1 InsanityChapter 2 InkChapter 3 UndertoneChapter 4 The NightChapter 5 Merry Go RoundChapter 6 Dark EyesChapter 8 Song In DeathChapter 1 InsanityMy life was any other, I had a good life, good friends, hell I even had a girlfriend or marefriend if you want to be fancy. That was before the torment. This was before I demanded all of Equestria to be eradicated but I wanted to start with Ponyville. I bet your wondering how I'm able to speak to you, all questions will be answered soon my dears...it will answer some of your burning questions. Let's start from the top and I promise it will be worth your while. The morning sun hurt my eyes as I jumped out of bed then looked at my clock. "It's 7:30, I should get going to work before I get yelled at by Spitfire again." Throwing my bed sheets off my bed in anger I made my way downstairs where my mother Adagio Dazzle laid lazily on the couch after a late night partying again. Sometimes, I wonder how she's able to take care of me when most of her time was spent partying. I know she always that she is doing this to keep a roof over my head but sometimes I worry about her well being. I went into the kitchen and made myself a bacon breakfast burrito complete with scrambled eggs, sausage, leftover bacon, and some beef from last night beef pot roast I made last night before I cleaned my mother's vomit from it. When my breakfast burrito was finished, I grabbed my Wonderbolt uniform and put it on until it reached all the way to my neck. This was specifically made by Sonata who in a strange way can knit uniforms to make them tolerable instead of cramped up and looking like my flank is big or something. My mother finally started to awaken but used her hoof to shield herself from the waking sun Celestia raised, at first I thought she had sex with a vampire. I closed the blinds for her so she wouldn't have to see that anymore. "You work today?" she said, completely oblivious to the fact I'm wearing my uniform. "Yes mom" I say swallowing my sarcasm as hard as I could. I looked at my clock again and soon realized I was late so in my mind I could just picture Spitfire burning a hole through my ear (hypothetically speaking of course). I quickly dashed out into the morning light, going through clouds, traveling pegasi, and also birds. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself *ahem* my name is Firestarter Dazzle son of Adagio Dazzle. I am a pegasus from Baltimare but moved to Ponyville to start a better life, and if you didn't know already I trained to become a Wonderbolt. Now that you know who I am, I won't have to keep you guessing like any other novelist or whatever. Anyway, I arrived just in time for some good morning stretches before doing daily drills. Soarin and Fleetfoot greeted me and eventually engaged in a conversation about how I was doing at home and whatnot. Soarin had that serious side at work but catch him with Dash he's romantic towards her which I thought was awesome about Soarin. Fleetfoot on the other hoof was mostly kissing up to Spitfire after Lightning Dust was kicked out because she sabotaged the new outfits we had delivered last week but I know Dust would never do that. If I did tell somepony about Fleetfoot, I was surely going to be laughed at and looked upon as an "embarrassment" or some other nonsense. "So Dazzle it's great to see you here after Spitfire had to find somepony to replace that accident prone known as Lightning Dust" Fleetfoot said trying to get me on her good side. Anything that would come out of my mouth would get me in more trouble so I just nodded and forced a smile just to convince this bitch. One thing I hate about Fleetfoot was that she would do ANYTHING to get her way and if she didn't, well be prepared for a 25 minute temper tantrum. When she smiled back even though it looked like an evil smirk, she flew away and Soarin finally breathed in a sigh of relief as if he held that in for decades. "I'm sorry that Fleetfoot has been on your case ever since you joined up, it's just when Spitfire hoof picked you she's been a little uh aggressive lately" Soarin explained to me. "Being hoof picked by the commander of the Wonderbolts is just because of my flight skills not how much I can kiss her flank" I said back in retort, feeling somewhat pissed about being compared to Fleetfoot. I never EVER want to have nothing in common with that sneaky mare. For all I know she's plotting Celestia knows what. "That's not the way to talk about your partners" I knew that booming fiery voice anywhere, the commander of our squadron Spitfire. She wearing her commanding officer blue jacket with a bunch of badges, what a story they have. She walked over to me as I was the only pony who was talking shit about that mare Fleetfoot and apparently I hurt poor Spitfire feelings. Cry me a fucking river. "Oh good morning Spitfire" Soarin stood and saluted his bitch I mean captain. Spitfire revealed Soarin from having a conversation with me, when he flew off like the traitor he was I was left with my supposed "captain" who took off her shades, revealing those fiery eyes burrowing itself through my uniform and into my soul. "Firestarter would you like to tell you what you and Soarin were talking about?" she asked with a look of accusation on her face. I had to think of a lie that was convincing enough enough for Spitfire but nothing came to mind so I gave in. "Soarin and I were talking about Flee-Fleetfoot behind her back when she wasn't around to hear it" I said gritting my teeth. That somehow worked because Spitfire's expression somehow softened a little bit but she still had that accusing face surfacing minute by minute. "Look, I know this is hard but talking about somepony behind their back is worse than being dead" Then I must be the biggest scumbag in all of Equestria. "But your the best damn flier I've ever seen so I'll give you a warning" Spitfire tried to sound intimidating but that didn't phase me. I've heard better threats from an actor who has more talent than this hussy. I decided to give her a salute as a way to show that I completely understand what she is saying. "Good, now I want you to do some extra flight patterns today" she barked at me. "Yes ma'am" I responded with a dry throat and ascended. When I was in the air when things were good or bad, the air whispers to me telling me that "I am always welcomed here." It was like all my problems just washed away and you know something: I loved it! Sure, going through flight patterns for some stupid Equestria Olympic Games was a pain in the flank but at least it lets me fly around without a care. But a loud whistle sound almost shattered my eardrums as remaining Wonderbolts flew down and formed a line. I came down and lucky me I was standing side by side with Spitfire's bitch Fleetfoot. Her eyes started to sparkle and her cheeks blushed like she was in love with her which wouldn't surprise me in the least. "Alright cadets the Games are coming up and those dreadful Shadowbolts are thinking about ruining or copying our color flight technique so I need two loyal cadets who will go undercover to obtain how they are going to plan for this year" Spitfire explained, walking up and down the aisle like a drill sergeant. Fleetfoot raised her hoof first like the bitch she was, doing whatever it took to please Spitfire. "Alright we got one so who's next?" Spitfire scouted out before noticing me, "Starter why don't you go with her?" My eyes shot open as I looked straight at Fleetfoot and internally screamed in my head. I was going to team up with this mare in a undercover mission, my mind thought of a billion things that could go wrong. "This will give us a chance to bond Firestarter Dazzle" Fleetfoot smiled creepily after saying my full name. When anypony calls you by your first and last name that's when you know you fucked up and judging from Fleetfoot's creepy smile, she might have heard Soarin and me talk about her when she left. "S-S-Sure" I stammered. I rushed back home like I was being chased by a psychotic murderer. Spitfire said that me and Fleetfoot are going to have to fly over to the Shadowbolt base is located past the Everfree Forest...great. Whatever those dark assholes are planning can't be as bad as ours. As soon as I arrived home, there was a note attached to the front door, the text was written surprisingly well so I began to read what this note said. We saw what transpired between Fleetfoot and that bitch Spitfire, come to the bridge in the Everfree Forest tonight signed T.H. Who was this T.H. that left this note at my door? Well I couldn't pass up on going out of the house, being that my mother wasn't going to be home for another few hours anyway so I took off my uniform, placed it on my closet hanger, then left the house and began my journey to the Everfree Forest. The air felt really chilly as I walked through the forest, I could hear voices enter my head but chose to ignore them and press on. My mom would take me here when I was a colt as a way to teach me about surviving forms of monsters that roamed around in my head. From then on I became somewhat into seeing a tortured pony get what he/she deserves. Right and wrong are just concepts by parents to dumb their fillies and colts down to keep them on a path to being 'good ponies' of society. All I thought was 'That's bullshit.' My mother was different, yes she wanted me to be myself but to be careful who I talk to. I reached the rickety bridge in front of me, smoke started to wrap itself around my legs. I almost panicked if the sound of somepony's hooves didn't give me their full attention. A mare wearing a shadowbolt uniform appeared in front of me with dual colored mane (light pink on one side, dark purple on the other) and a tail of the same combination of colors. When she removed her goggles, all I saw was a yellow bright glow from her eyes which drew me into her even more than before. "So you came? I never thought somepony like you would venture out here." Her voice has a purr to it, a soft cat like purr. "Who are you?" I asked. "My name is Thornheart Nightingale" she answered softly. Chapter 2 InkI was awestruck with the presence of Thornheart, I mean her mane glistened in the moonlight above to go along with that yellow glow she was giving off from her eyes. My mind went to millions of places until I had the courage to speak up. "So you called me over here, why?" I asked trying to hide my nervousness. Thorn (short version) walked herself a few inches towards me which meant that her muzzle was close to mine and I could hear my heart beat fast. "I heard your so called commander tasked you and some other pegasi to spy on us to see what technique we're going to use correct?" She hit the nail straight on the head with that statement. I didn't know whether she read my mind or she's just that damn good at reading ponies minds, either way I tried to say something but no words came out so I basically stood there with my mouth open. She smiled like poison and that's when I noticed a black puddle underneath her hooves but she wasn't drowning or starting to sink...she just stood there. She noticed my stare and giggled like a cute filly. "I see my ink power seems to have caught your interest" she said circling me around again. "Let's cut to the chase" I blurted out, wanting to see what she had to offer. "Cutting straight to the point eh? Well since you asked I'll tell you, since Spitfire wants to be sure the Shadowbolts want to lose at those games I want you to bring that mare over to the base on your undercover mission. Once I open up, I'll have my other members take you to the meeting room to grab the plans and I'll handle that mare your bringing." she explained quite amazingly as a matter of fact. I nodded in agreement with her plan, before I decided to leave she planted a soft gentle kiss on my right cheek. "See you around pumpkin" she said before disappearing in the darkness. The thought of her kissing my cheek before leaving kept replaying in my head, even when I got home later it still wandered around my mind. No mare has ever kissed me before (with the exception of my mother and little sister) so this is going to stick with me for a while. I laid in bed thinking about her plan that I would let her handle Fleetfoot, whatever that means. What would she do to her? A bunch of dark and eerie thoughts begun to surface and play a gruesome murder of Thorn engulfing her in a flood of ink and use her form as a way to infiltrate Cloudsdale and kill all the Wonderbolts then take over Equestria with an iron hoof. But then I realized that we have two princesses that would reduce Thorn to ash if she tried to so that wouldn't happen. One thing that stayed with me was that smile, she would scared colts and fillies with that devil like grin. A flash of when she took off her goggles, revealing those eyes that glowed a yellow hue in the moonlight echoed itself inside my mind. Then there was her giggle, that sounded sinister in it's own right and that's all I can say on that. I felt my eyes get heavier until I finally fell asleep, knowing that I need all the sleep I can get in order for me to make this undercover plan to be successful. Once I was in a deep sleep, I woke up in a clear white room sitting down in front of a static television. Looking around, I saw nothing but pure white and that damn TV that only showed static. I got up from my seat and tried to find a doorway so I can leave but none showed up. "Just my luck" I grumbled in frustration. That was until I spotted a stallion wearing a three piece suit and his mane and tail were jet black. His crystal green eyes pierced through my soul as he was staring at me with malice or at least it looked like malice I really don't know. He sat in a seat next to me after I had already stood up to find an exit but I guess he had other plans. "Who are you?" I asked. "Who I am isn't important right now, what is important is you need to go along with this plan Thorn has planned out" he responded sharply. Oh great he's going to start the pronoun game I didn't know whether to take this stallion seriously or not, since there were no other option on the table I guess I'll be a part of this little game. "Okay since you obviously don't want to tell me what your name is, I'll tell you mine," I began to announce but he stomped a hoof down that caused the room to shake in an unnatural way. "You name doesn't concern me little peagsus so do not speak it!" he growled. So I guess he doesn't like names very much, which is understandable. His demeanor was warm and frighting but at the same time it sent a chill up my spine nonetheless. All of a sudden, the walls began to bleed out with dark black ink that reached my hooves and was rising rapidly. "I shall see you again old friend" he disappeared after saying that. I had to find a way out and fast but I couldn't see any exit in sight. No windows, no doors, I was trapped in this room of bleeding ink that rose up to my neck until my head reached the rooftop wall. I screamed for help, it fell on deaf ears because no one would be able to hear me. Suddenly, the ink reached me all the way and starting to drown until I stopped struggling to the surface if there was one and closed my eyes. BEEP BEEP I jerked up quickly in my bed with sweat dripping down my head and back of my neck looking around my room. All my belongings along with my singing trophies I won ever since I was a colt stood neatly on the brown bookshelf. My wonderbolt uniform was still hanging outside my bathroom door so that was a plus. I got out of bed to wash my face and await Fleetfoot with out undercover mission to infiltrate the Shadowbolt HQ but my mind wasn't thinking about that right now. That dream when I was engulfed in nothing but black ink...was that real? No it couldn't have been! But then again... I didn't know what to think of my dream other than that the fact it was scary as hell. Being engulfed in ink? That's a fate worse than death. After regaining what little sanity I had, I made my way downstairs and cooked some scrambled eggs along with some fresh milk Fluttershy gave to me as a present for helping out her animal friends. As a went to take a bite of my eggs, it turned into ink like from my dream and I almost dropped my fork looking at it. My unstable mind thought of the sticky slimy ink instead of warm delicious scrambled eggs. I tried to close my eyes imagining my food be food again and for some reason my scrambled eggs and milk returned to me. A knock at the door nearly made me jump out of my chair, I put my fork down on my plate then walked towards the door cautiously. Thank Celestia my house has a little peephole that I can look through, what I saw was that damn ass kisser Fleetfoot with two plastic bags with the shadowbolt uniform in both bags, waiting for me to answer the door. I did let her in then quickly closed the door and locked it. "Okay so you know the plan right? We disguise ourselves as Shadowbolts then figure out what they're planning" Fleetfoot reminded me, insulting my lack of attention. "Yea I understand" I say gritting my teeth, keeping myself from shoving my fork into her eye. She handed me my Shadowbolt uniform that looked surprisingly very terrifying to look at especially the cutie mark skull on the flank side. Fleet tried hers and looked even more ridiculous than in her normal uniform. But then from out of nowhere I heard a very seductive voice enter my ears. Put me on Dazzle At first I thought it was my mind playing tricks on me but this time I looked at the outfit and it sounded like it was communicating with me. Whatever the case maybe, I strapped on my Shadowbolt uniform before putting on the yellow tinted goggles over my eyes. All of a sudden, my fur suddenly felt more at home with this outfit because it fitted to be snug like a blanket. This is kinda odd but at the same time it feels really really good As we left my house I couldn't help the sick smile I had on my face for some reason show itself. Chapter 3 UndertoneThe forest air was stuffy and horrible, like some kind of musty air. My goggles got fogged up most of the time which made seeing anything virtually impossible, I even chuckled a little when one tree branch slapped Fleetfoot in the face and caused her to fall on her back. She rubbed her flank before I helped her upwards. "Thank you" she thanked me. Fleetfoot has NEVER said anything nice to anypony with the exception of Spitfire but that's a whole different story that I do not want to get on to. Anyway, I went on front while Fleetfoot followed behind me until we finally arrived at the Shadowbolts HQ. The outside walls looked like reinforced metal material that wasn't familiar to me, they had 4 guards on post: 2 mares and 2 stallions, and their insignia flowed in the gentle autumn breeze which made that musty stench go away some. "Whoa this place is even more amazing than I originally thought" I said astonished by what I was seeing. Fleetfoot wasn't all that impressed and kept walking forward. You can at least try to be a little amazed, but no that would be too hard for you wouldn't it? My heart skipped a beat when I laid my eyes on that mare I met hear the old bridge in the Everfree Forest. She didn't have the goggles on, letting her hypnotic stare draw me in like a lost pony at sea but damn was she the most beautiful mare, not to mention mysterious. She walked over to us with that same devil like grin spread across her face to welcome us. "Welcome you two I bet your hoping for your 1st training session aren't you? Well if you are, this time can't be anymore perfect considering the Equestrian Olympic Games are on its way so we could use all the help we can muster" she welcomed in her soft yet firm voice. "Happy to do so" Fleetfoot spoke intimidatingly or at least she was doing a bad job of it. I face hooved at her failed attempt at trying to be intimidating among the Shadowbolts. Even some of the commanding officers raised a single eyebrow at what Fleetfoot tried to do. This stupid mare I swear to Luna "Ahem well anyway if you two would be so kind and follow me to our meeting room, where our plan talk is already in progress" Thorn said, getting a hint of sanity back into everypony despite Fleetfoot's failed attempt to sound tough. We both walked behind her and I saw her ass sway from side to side and quickly blushed through my goggles. Being on the inside of their HQ was actually pretty surreal, the propaganda posters were intimidating enough without me or Fleetfoot walking by. A tall stallion put his hoof in front of me, forcing my body to stop moving. That's when I remembered the plan Thorn had told me when we first met in the Everfree Forest. "Miss Fleetfoot would you kindly follow me to the training grounds please?" Thorn insisted. Fleetfoot agreed to follow her to the "training grounds" even though I knew it was a lie. I was led by two big muscular stallions into their meeting room which housed computers all over and most showed the news, today's stock exchange, or schematics of a simulated pegasus stunt test currently being processed. Just staring at it with my mouth wide open was all it took for them as one of them pulled out a black and white flash drive and handed it to me. You see? Following what Thorn said led you to victory said some strange voice in my head. I turned around to see who whispered but found nothing. I accepted the flash drive and tucked it away for safe keeping. Sometimes, I feel like I have this other voice, talking to me. It's been happening to me ever since I could remember but when time grew on, the voices disappeared for a short time until Spitfire offered me a job as a Wonderbolt, then those damn voices began again and this time I don't think it will leave again. My dream of being engulfed in ink burned a hole in my head that will leave a permanent bruise for years to come. A shrill scream coming from down the hall shook me out of my deep thoughts. I ran out of the meeting room, not caring about the passing pegasi when I would bum rush them trying to reach the source of the scream. When I got close to the door way, my hoof touched something sticky and wet, when I looked down I could see ink and my mind swirled along with my heart sinking. Whatever is going on, it has to be about this god damn ink. I opened the door, much to my surprise Fleetfoot was standing like a statue like she was in a trance. Thornheart turned my direction and gestured me to come in. I walked in cautiously, as my hooves splashed on the ink blots on certain parts of the floor. "Thorn what did you do?" I asked quivering. The sly yet beautiful pegasi gave me a sinister smile before speaking, "Why nothing if you minus the scream Fleetfoot did earlier but after I calmed her down she shared some really amazing things with me," she explained with that creepy demonic smile spread across her face. I couldn't get over the fact Fleetfoot looks like she was hypnotized by a vampire or something. At least I have the flash drive on me I thought to myself. Thorn whispered something incoherently in Fleetfoot's ear that made her body contort in an unnatural way but it was like something should be wrong with her, then again what would be wrong with her that hasn't been documented? Trying to forget all the terrible things she did just to get Spitfire-senpai to notice her made me sick to my and some of the other Wonderbolts stomachs. She sabotaged Dash and Soarin's wedding party by setting the presents in flames, getting Dust kicked out for a mistake SHE caused but Spitfire being the pony pleader took Lightning Dust out and promoted Fleetfoot to second in command. Leave her There was that voice again and this time I could hear it coming out my ear. Leave her there, you know all the other Wonderbolts utterly despise her. No pony will miss her if you leave her there It made sense in a sick way but the voice in my head was right. No pony would miss this little pain in my flank for months, I could tell Spitfire that she was brutally killed but died fighting in her honor. Yea, she would totally buy that hook line and sinker. "Actually Thorn you can keep Fleetfoot, I have what I came for" I said sternly. She nodded in agreement and walked me out of HQ, stopped in front of the front door. The next few seconds of silence were doused with a kiss on my lips. I felt her warm tongue swirl around mine until we broke away, letting a string of drool go down our mouths. Thorn happen to notice my blushing cheeks as well as my wings sticking straight up. She giggled, "Wing boner?" I looked at my wings and soon realized what she meant by that. "Oh um sorry about that" I apologized, finally getting my wings to go down. "It's alright trust me you were my first kiss I've had" she said smiling again. I am her first! Oh my Luna this is awesome! Thorn was kinda taken back to my now excited expression but returned the favor with a soft kiss on the cheek before she walked back down the hallway. Boy did I have a story to tell Soarin when I get back. Chapter 4 The NightMorning came as a surprise to me after I flew home when Thorn kissed me before I left with that flash drive that had some evidence that they would use a certain Wonderbolts flying technique at the Games coming in 2 days. Shoot! I'm going to be late for exercises before practice, so I put on my uniform then bolted out of the house like a streak of lightning. Little known fact about my flying just in case you were wondering, I leave fire tracks in my wake whenever I feel like I'm going to be late for anything...much like now. Lucky for me, Soarin was there before I was so he could cover my flank. Yep he always had my back unlike Fleetfoot who used dirty tactics like causing a rough house then blaming it on somepony else just to please her Spitfire-senpai. For the first time in a long time, the grounds were actually enjoyable again without anypony giving Fleetfoot a dirty look. "So did you get the drive?" Soarin asked me. "Yep but Fleetfoot didn't make it out with me but she fought valiantly for the cause" I lied, making fake tears fall from my eyes. I don't know if he bought the fake crying bit of the whole made up confession about Fleetfoot fighting valiantly when I just saw her standing there like a statue, Thorn heart smirking that devilish grin that glued to my mind. Then it was that kiss we shared under the moonlight together. No other thought came close to staying instead of that kiss Thorn gave me. My thoughts came to a screeching halt as I heard Spitfire's booming voice, I almost mistaken her for either Princess Celestia or Luna. Everypony including me got in an upright position as Spitfire walked back and forth until she stopped in front of me, lifting her cool shades up and squinted. "Firestarter did you and Fleetfoot retrieve what I asked for?" Spitfire asked me in her stern voice. "Yes ma'am but unfortunately Fleetfoot didn't make it so she wanted me to give you this in honor of her valiant sacrifice" I lied to her, pulling out some damaged Wonderbolt goggles I found in the garbage. Spitfire rubbed them like Fleet actually died. Hook line and sinker. "I see, well she won't die in vain," Spitfire began. "At the Games, I want you Firestarter to lead our squadron in Fleetfoot's memory" she announced to me. "It would be my honor" I responded, saluting her. Spitfire took the flash drive from me before dismissing us to our normal routine. I kept myself from laughing after the made up story, bringing out those broken goggles from the garbage, and actually having Spitfire believing the whole thing. When I went to my locker to put my lunch in, Soarin just so happened to walk by and by the look on his face it was like he won the lottery or something. "What's got you all chipper today?" I asked him curiously. "Well with Fleetfoot gone, things have gotten smoother around here and the best part of it is that we're ahead on schedule so we'll have the technique down by the time the Games arrive" he explained to me. No doubt in my mind at all, once Fleetfoot was out of the picture, everypony has been training very well. Once the Games get going it will run like a well oiled machine now that I exterminated a little thorn in everyponies back. I had every right to agree with Soarin, nothing was gonna stop me from being overjoyed about this sudden revelation. Spitfire set the broken goggles on a wooden pole sealed inside a glass container for safe keeping. That was a good move Firestarter you really showed her who's the top pony in Cloudsdale the voice in my head said to me in a whisper. There it was again, that raspy but calm demeanor of that voice in my head began creeping it's way back into my mind for no particular reason at all. Something about the voice was that it was like mine but darker and more sinister as if I had some alter ego like Jekyll and Hyde, it could be. I remember seeing that stallion wearing a three piece suit, black mane and tail, and a black flame cutie mark. He had the same red gemstone necklace as me so marking it as something unreal was not going to get me anywhere. A flash of his image echoed itself in my head, causing me to have a mini headache. "Hey Dazzle you feeling okay?" Soarin came up to me asking me that simple minded question. My eyes turned pitch black before changing back to their normal hazel glow as I turned to face Soarin. "Yea I'm doing fine" I answered him with a light smile on my face. Soarin had mixed feelings of my sudden smile after having a mini headache a few minutes before he came. I put on my goggles then headed to the training grounds where Spitfire and two other Wonderbolt cadets that were going to help perform this breathtaking move Spitfire was talking about. "Since Fleetfoot is no longer with us I am appointing Firestarter Dazzle to be our new leader to help us perform the most famous pegasi move at the Games. I hope these two cadets will do a fantastic job" Spitfire explained. A small hint of remorse did fill my heart about filling Fleetfoot's hooves, being that Thorn is using her for who knows what. It quickly faded when Spitfire named me leader of the squadron when normally it was going to be Fleetfoot that was going to lead the group into the opening credits of the Equestrian Olympic Games. Now that title was around my name and I loved it. Finally, without that pesky Fleetfoot to ruin my fun, I was the one ponies young and old were going to remember. Once those Games start it will be my time to shine I thought to myself. I soon instructed the two other cadets in a skydive yet it was more of an air stunt to open the show up that sets up the rest of the mood for the entire show. When I was up there, I was free to fly away and forget my problems down on ground level such as letting Thorn use Fleetfoot to do whatever she pleased. I finished the routine by having the cadets form a loop as I zoomed past them in a streak of flames, that impressed Spitfire. A please smile spread across Spitfire that I thought Tia herself shined a light on her. Dropping down with a smooth landing, I high hooved the two cadets before they went to the exercise room. As soon as I turned around, Spitfire was the next pony to make me almost knock her out silly. "That was some awesome tricks Dazzle! If you keep up this momentum going into the games then we'll really wow the crowd" Spitfire said to me, still with that excited look on her face. "This will show those Shadowbolts what we're really made of" I said in response to her excitement. The flash of Thorn heart echoed inside my head in the form of 60 second video like clips that I was experiencing. On my way home from work I happen to be spotting a Shadowbolt near the front door and it struck me because I wasn't expecting anypony at my house. Upon further inspection, the mysterious Shadowbolt turned out to be Thorn heart relaxing near the two concrete steps that led up to the door to enter. My throat was dry, I didn't know this would happen right here but I guess I'll find out soon enough. "Thorn what are you doing here?" I finally manage to say. "I came here to well catch up on some sleep while you were working under Fleetfoot's senpai" Thorn explained. Judging by the look of things, she was the only mare out here and no pony was following behind her in an ambush attempt. But no she was all alone with me in the coming darkness. "I don't really have time to stick around but I just wanted to thank you for letting me keep Fleetfoot. She's actually useful inside our base, especially the stallions during late night training" Thorn heart explicated to me. Some of what she said I should be concerned about but there was nothing illegal going on. "Well you'll be happy to know that since Fleetfoot is out of the picture, Spitfire has named me leader of the flight squadron that is responsible for calling the opening ceremony" I tell Thorn with a spring in my step for good measure. Thorn let out a giggle before speaking again, "Glad your happy you finally take that leadership role" she said proudly. I only smiled and received another kiss before Thorn left, leaving me with amazing dreams in the near future. Chapter 5 Merry Go RoundI awaken where I was left last time, engulfed by nothing but ink and losing air fast, but a surge of adrenaline kicked in as I was swimming upward, hoping that something was coming towards me would help me. My lungs began to have this burning sensation with me holding my breath this long, until I finally reached up and breathed a sigh of relief as I rose up from my inky fate that befallen me. The place I ended up in was an amusement park setting with rides and prize stands all over the place which is what I enjoyed a small colt. But what was this doing in my dream? Was it replaying my memories or something? If this was really a memory, it would show the colt version of me along with my mother and father but that didn't happen unfortunately. I started walking around than I remembered as a colt, the rides music was dark and brooding instead of cheery and playful, most of all blood was out of them. My fear creeped back in but I choose to hold it back, all of a sudden that stallion from before stood near a black and white tent past the merry go round. He stared at me for a good minute or two before going in the tent and soon enough I followed. Entering the tent, everything was empty except for the one spotlight shining on Fleetfoot who was dressed as a sad clown looking up at the light that shined on her. "Come sit" the stallion said to me. I sat next to him, still in shock that this is where that ink led me to. "I can't really image that I would be in a tent...but why is Fleetfoot in a clown costume?" I asked the mysterious stallion. "She is going to perform for our amusement" he responded coldly. I looked over as soft music started to play, prompting Fleetfoot to dance in a strange motion. Most moves involved knocking over things, others involved staring and making out with a picture of....Spitfire! How could I have been so stupid, she's reenacting her tactics she used to get to the top of Spitfire's list or at least she was almost there if I hadn't left her with Thornheart. This image of Fleetfoot doing all these things made me sick and amused at the same time. This stallion seemed to enjoy himself because he was eating some popcorn in accordance to what's going on in front of him. I guess if he was enjoying the show then I might as well. The show lasted what was a few hours I guess, time works differently in my dream. Soon as we left the stallion guided me to another place which from the look of it was some twisted house of mirrors only without mirrors. "What is this place?" I asked looking around at this place. "Your deepest desire" he said unlocking the door. He stepped out so I could enter, for a moment I hesitated but after a minute of me standing there my hooves began to move inside the decrypted place. The hallways were completely dark so I couldn't see a thing, small voices began to point me in so many directions I couldn't fathom one. I turned left into a now lit room where two doors stood out, one was painted completely black while the other painted a cool shade of bright orange. I wonder which door I should enter first? I pondered, rubbing my chin with my hoove. Two nameplates suddenly appeared on the doors out of thin air. Shadow Ink Spitfire and the Wonderbolts The room would show me my deepest desire so I chose the black door and entered. Ink surrounded me again but this time it wasn't going to try to suffocate me but it just stayed at the bottom, small drips occasionally fell on my head. I hit something very slimy and gross touching my dark red coat then realized that slimy thing was actually an ink version of a cocoon placed in the far side of the wall, barely clinging to life. "What is this doing here?" I asked myself. I poked it once with my hooves making it jiggle a bit which I thought was kinda funny. All of a sudden the cocoon started to shake before opening, revealing that Shadowbolt Shadow Ink wearing a red velvet dress, her mane in a ponytail, red lipstick and eye shadows of the same color, and black diamond earrings staring at me with those yellow eyes and smiling. "Well hello my little flame" she teased. I looked down at myself, noticing my clothes suddenly changed into a suit and tie. I didn't know how I got that but it looked good on me. "Shall we dance?" she asked, extending her hoof. "Of course sweetie" I responded. I took her hoof and began to dance with her, the venue changed into some kind of ballroom dance routine so I went along with it. We danced in front of thousands of other ponies young and old watched us dance to our hearts content, without any outside interference at all. Wow this is really amazing I said to myself, looking around at the sudden crowd of ponies. Dancing around with this mare made me feel happy so I began to smile again after a long time of having to deal with all those other ponies. I was finally able to be my beloved. We ended the dance with a soft kiss while everypony applauded our performance and we took a bow as we got a standing ovation from the crowd. That has never happened before. My alarm clock awoke me from the greatest fantasy I have ever had but from looking down at myself, it would seem that my body heated up for a second after that amazing dance routine with Shadow Ink. My heartbeat moved a step faster than normal because of the fact Ink keeps surrounding my mind night and day, even if I'm just doing exercises it never leaves my head. "That was awesome" I said with a beaming smile on my face. It was a good thing I didn't have to head over to my workplace due to the fact the Olympic Games start in 1 day. So today was relaxation day for me, I decided to go pay Shadow a visit to her home in a small village called Hollow Shades deep in the Everfree Forest. Going there would require anypony to have nerves of steel and a strong will to navigate through the Forest instead of 'giggling at the ghostly' or some other nonsense. Entering the Forest was the easy part, navigating was hard due to a growing mist forming which made seeing anything virtually impossible. I used my horn's orange hue to guide me through the mist until the village of Hollow Shades came into view, it looked like a small town with every type of supernatural pony going about their normal lives as if they're special abilities didn't really bother them. "Firestarter Dazzle in Hollow Shades? This is quite a sight to behold" Shadow said appearing out of a market with a saddle bag full of stuff. I turned around to get a good look at her semi gray coat that shined with her jet black mane, that just completed the look entirely. "Shadow Ink I-I didn't know you were here, let alone be stocking up on food" I stammered a bit. She exchanged a smile before escorting me to her home. I was finally going to see what her life is like outside the Shadowbolts My heart skipped a beat again. Chapter 6 Dark EyesLooking at the house covered in shrubs but it was a faintly small house. I stepped up three steps before Shadow Ink opened the door, revealing a sort of Victorian Gothic style with a lot of band posters along with her signature Shadowbolt uniform and goggles hanging on a coat rack. I walked inside with my mouth gaping open, just taking this all in. "Judging by the look on your face I can see your impressed" Shadow smiled chucking a bit. I was trying to speak but nothing came out as soon as I closed my mouth to avoid getting a bug in my mouth. "Yea this place is pretty awesome Ink, I never knew a Shadowbolt lived in a place like this" I said, still in a status of shock and awe. "I thank you for the compliment" Ink responded, "Would you like something to drink?" she asked me. I nodded quickly, she exchanged a small laugh before going into her fridge to pull something out. Soon enough, Shadow came out with two bottles of water then offered one to me. I accepted the gesture and drank some before tightening the cap back on the bottle. "So what brings you here sweetheart?" Shadow asked curiously. "Well I don't have to go training in Cloudsdale due to the presence of the Equestrian Olympic Games so I thought I could come visit you" I explained blushing a little. Shadow could see through me and started to realize what I was really doing all the way out in Hollow Shades, that she knew I fallen in love with her and she would be right. Ever since we met that first time, I was in love with her and that's all I think about at night, while I'm flying high above Ponyville. Just her well brushed mane along with those hazel eyes drew me into her more, she continued to stay in my thoughts all throughout my life. My gemstone started to emit a small light, one that I have never seen before. "Something wrong with your pendant?" Shadow asked with a bit of concern starting to show on her face. The light dimmed down enough for me to assess what was going on. "To be honest this pendant does a lot of strange things" I said to her. We continued to talk for what seemed to be hours before I waved goodbye but before I got a chance to leave, Shadow kissed me, making my wings stand up again. After being with Ink for what seemed like hours I began the long haul back home. The steamy air made it hard for me to sweat considering I am a walking time bomb so sweating meant nothing to me, all I wanted to do is head home and do absolutely nothing. As soon as I got back to Ponyville territory Spitfire stood with what was a busload of Wonderbolts surrounding me from all corners and above. My heart began to quicken at what Spitfire was doing here of all places. By examining her face she was 10 seconds away from taking somepony's head off. "What were you doing in the Everfree Forest? It is forbidden for anypony to enter there" Spitfire explained. "Yea I know that, I was just making sure no Shadowbolts got through here and cause havoc around Ponyville" I lied, trying to cover myself as much as possible. Spitfire's anger was that of a raging bull so one wrong step will land me in a pool of hot water. "What in Celestia's name were you thinking? And more importantly who were you seeing in there?" she asked, getting closer to my face. Sweat began to drop down my face behind the fact I was secretly meeting a Shadowbolt named Shadow Ink, but I couldn't tell Spitfire that or she would have one of the princesses lock me up in a dungeon. Worse case scenario, I might get kicked out of the opening intro into the Games so telling the truth in this case was a bad idea. "I was trying to find out where Fleetfoot was taken and I wanted to go get her back" I made up this story as I possibly could and hoped that stuck. Spitfire's facial expression went from pissed off to a slight hint of valor in her voice as she raised a single hoof for all the cadets to lower their weapons (in this case magic for most of them) to heart what I just said. "Did you find anything?" Spitfire asked me. Crap! Now she wants evidence of anything remotely leading to Fleetfoot This wasn't looking good at all. I felt something touch my flank, causing me to jump but all of a sudden a torn up Wonderbolt uniform suddenly appeared in front of me. Spitfire noticed it and picked it up like somepony died or something. What I couldn't understand was how in the hell did that uniform appear in the first place. Off the corner of my eye, Shadow winked at me before disappearing from view, I was grateful that she was there to cover for me even more than Soarin did. "This is what I found Spitfire" I said, presenting the torn uniform to her. Spitfire quickly took it from me and examined the rips all over it, that's when a single tear went down her face because one of her best commanders just sacrificed herself for the greater good. Now that Fleetfoot is out of the picture, it's your turn to shine among them that voice in my head said to me. I tried to make out where the source of where that odd yet soothing voice was coming from. From whatever corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of that dark haired stallion wearing that same three piece suit from my dream I had last night and the night before. Spitfire along with the other Wonderbolt left, all except Soarin who had a strange look on his face. It was that of suspicious and untrustworthy sense for me for some reason. "Is that what you actually did inside that forest Dazzle?" he asked, raising a single eyebrow. He knows about our plan, we will end him when the time comes but right now is not the time the voice whispered. "Yes" I answered, making a broken smile appear on my face. That seemed to satisfy him because he gave me an approving nod then left, catching up to Spitfire and some other cadets that flew ahead. I breathed a sigh of relief as Shadow appeared from what was behind a tree or something but it seemed her small smile never left her face, plus she looked like she was about to laugh. Before I had a chance to say anything, Shadow suddenly burst out laughing. For a moment I tried to understand what she was laughing about but then I remembered myself handing over a torn Wonderbolt uniform to Spitfire before I chuckled a bit myself before I started laughing myself. To be honest I thought it was pretty funny at the very least because handing Spitfire that torn uniform from who knows where, she thinks it belonged to Fleetfoot. So after a few minutes of laughter we finally stood to our stances, breathing heavily from all that laughter. "I can't believe she fell for that, I found that uniform from one of my Shadowbolts and had him paint it in Wonderbolt colors then cut out tears to make it look like Fleetfoot fought when in reality she's with us" Shadow explained. I couldn't help but chuckle a little bit from that explanation, from the fact that Spitfire treated it as if Fleetfoot died or something. Just thinking back to that moment from a minute ago almost made me burst into laughter. "Speaking of, where did you keep her just in case somepony stuck their nose where it didn't belong?" I asked curiously. "We keep her around me since my ink can pretty much seem invisible to the naked eye" Shadow replied. I nodded before hugging her as a way to say thank you for covering my tail feathers before Spitfire was about to give me a throat lashing. "You have fun doing the opening act of the Games, I'll be watching" Shadow teased me before she went back into the forest. My heartbeat was beating a little faster than before which was uncommon for me. I looked at my mane and for some reason it was changing jet black. That's when my eyes changed from green to nothing but black. Chapter 8 Song In DeathZipping up my uniform after my eyes suddenly changed pitch black won't leave my thoughts when I got home after dodging a major bullet from Spitfire about why I was in the Everfree Forest. Today is the day I looked at my mirror at myself. Instead of seeing what was my Wonderbolt outfit, my reflection manifested into that dark haired stallion from a previous dream I had. At first I jumped, but after a quick realization that he made an appearance before, it didn't really effect me much. I got closer to the mirror just to see if this was an illusion or something and turns out it wasn't. "What are you doing here?" I asked. The stallion only looked at me before disappearing back into my own image of myself as a Wonderbolt. "That was odd" I said to myself, straightening my goggles. I sped off to the stadium where the Games are being held, which was better than the winter ones taking place in Snowy Mountain. There were times I couldn't get snow off my uniform because it was so cold. So this was a change, banners showing the 4 alicorn princesses who were going to judge this year's competition, the field neatly grassed up for the javelin event, and don't forget about the flight rings Dash was going through along with 9 other competitors. All of those events sounded amazing but what concerned about the opening sequence with me and two other cadets to start off the show. A small but noticeable grin spread across my face. Spitfire was checking out some of the events planned for tonight, I know deep down she means well but after I broke the news about Fleetfoot's passing that has sent her over the edge somewhat, like I said she means well. She noticed my hoofsteps coming towards her so Spitfire finished what she was doing before approaching me to probably congratulate me for replacing Fleetfoot in the opening act or something really dumb. "Dazzle did you hair change color?" Spitfire asked me, pointing to my now jet black hair. I tilted my head slightly confused at what she was talking about, she grabbed a mirror and when I saw the orange turn into a black I nearly fainted. Spitfire put the mirror away, a little awkward at what she saw, to be honest I was taken back a little by the fact my mane changed color all of a sudden. I'm actually glad Spitfire caught on to it. "Oh this? I'm trying a new mane dye in the spirit of these Games" I lied, hiding the real reason for my sudden mane change color. Spitfire gave me a salute whereas I did the same to her before she flew off to I guess to check on her other cadets. Me on the other hoof I walked over to where the other cadets were stationed, keeping themselves hydrated to avoid passing out, talking among each other about the different events that we're planned, and just joking around. Even when I decided to walk by to get some water from the cooler the cadets occasionally waved at me or said hi which excited me about their enthusiasm towards this event. That was until Soarin peaked in and had that suspicious look on his face again, like I committed a heinous crime. "Dazzle we need to talk" Soarin said sternly. The rest of the cadets scooted away until it was just me and Soarin. I could tell something was about to happen but my brain wasn't really comprehending what choice of words Soarin or me were going to use. "Back at the forest when you hauled Spitfire that torn up Wonderbolt uniform, I happened to see another pony poking her head out" he accused. My heart sank, making my eyes dart open with shock and worry about how he was able to find that out. "H-How d-do y-you k-know that S-S-Soarin"I stammered through my words nervously. "I happened to see a mare brandishing a jet black hair mane, kinda like the one color you have" he said, trotting over to me slowly. My only option was to come up with an excuse to get out of this predicament or else. Before Soarin could say anything else I heard that strange voice again. Kill him, he will ruin your dreams The voice echoed in my head at the same rate of me hearing my own heartbeat thumping. Kill him! the voice continued. My heart became to sank quicker than anything in the world. I was going to bolt away but before I could do anything, all of a sudden there was a ink filled spike go through Soarin's chest, watching the blood filled spike drench and drip down to the floor. Soarin's eyes darted towards me before the spike removed itself from his chest. He dropped to the floor motionless. I just stood there in a state of shock on my face, I spotted Shadow standing there with a devilish smile as blood began to spill out onto the floor, coating the floor in crimson red. My eyes grew wide as I looked down at Soarin's now dead body. "Shadow I could get into a lot of-" She put a hoof in my mouth before I could speak another word out of my mouth. "Now now Dazzle you let me handle Soarin's body while you go prepare for the opening act okay babycakes?" she said to me, smiling. All my fears of getting in trouble suddenly just melted off of me with that one smile she gave me. I gave a quick nod so she let go of my mouth, out of nowhere Soarin's body contorted slightly before it started to 'melt off' per say and Shadow absorbed his now inky body along with the spilled blood on the ground like it never even happened. I will never forget what I just saw. "Have fun baby" Shadow cooed, kissing me. She left me there inside that tent, feeling shaky and a bit terrified from Shadow driving a spike into Soarin's chest, killing him instantly then just absorbing him like he was nothing. That wasn't something a stallion such as myself should not have a memory like that implanted into my brain. My thoughts went a billion miles an hour trying to contemplate what I just saw but then my brain went back to Shadow giving me a good luck kiss, which reminded me about the opening routine we were doing and my smile immediately came back. What do you have to be worried about? Your about to amaze a crowd of millions, even the 4 alicorn princesses are going to watch the voice whispered in my ear softly. I couldn't help but agree with that statement, with Princess Twilight along with the other three alicorn princesses watching the Wonderbolts fly high and proud would be quite a sight to see. Even though I witnessed a mirror right in front of my eyes I kept seeing the bigger picture. A bunch of hoofsteps began to come my way as I stood tall just in case Spitfire came in, only thing was it wasn't her but the two additional cadets who I trained with previously saluted at me like I was their commander. "At ease cadets, I hope that all the preparations for our opening ceremony are in order" I asked them. The nodded quickly and obediently. "Good, then I will see you both very soon" I said walking away from them. As I walking away, I shared a devilish grin like Shadow Ink did to me so it was infectious but at the same time it felt really good. Something clicked inside my head about what Ink did to Soarin earlier, how his body twitched when that blade pierced his heart before he was absorbed in ink which when I put the pieces together, Fleetfoot suffered the same fate. I put my goggles on and walked into the stadium that was filling with ponies young and old.
Chapter 1 InsanityMy life was any other, I had a good life, good friends, hell I even had a girlfriend or marefriend if you want to be fancy. That was before the torment. This was before I demanded all of Equestria to be eradicated but I wanted to start with Ponyville. I bet your wondering how I'm able to speak to you, all questions will be answered soon my dears...it will answer some of your burning questions. Let's start from the top and I promise it will be worth your while. The morning sun hurt my eyes as I jumped out of bed then looked at my clock. "It's 7:30, I should get going to work before I get yelled at by Spitfire again." Throwing my bed sheets off my bed in anger I made my way downstairs where my mother Adagio Dazzle laid lazily on the couch after a late night partying again. Sometimes, I wonder how she's able to take care of me when most of her time was spent partying. I know she always that she is doing this to keep a roof over my head but sometimes I worry about her well being. I went into the kitchen and made myself a bacon breakfast burrito complete with scrambled eggs, sausage, leftover bacon, and some beef from last night beef pot roast I made last night before I cleaned my mother's vomit from it. When my breakfast burrito was finished, I grabbed my Wonderbolt uniform and put it on until it reached all the way to my neck. This was specifically made by Sonata who in a strange way can knit uniforms to make them tolerable instead of cramped up and looking like my flank is big or something. My mother finally started to awaken but used her hoof to shield herself from the waking sun Celestia raised, at first I thought she had sex with a vampire. I closed the blinds for her so she wouldn't have to see that anymore. "You work today?" she said, completely oblivious to the fact I'm wearing my uniform. "Yes mom" I say swallowing my sarcasm as hard as I could. I looked at my clock again and soon realized I was late so in my mind I could just picture Spitfire burning a hole through my ear (hypothetically speaking of course). I quickly dashed out into the morning light, going through clouds, traveling pegasi, and also birds. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself *ahem* my name is Firestarter Dazzle son of Adagio Dazzle. I am a pegasus from Baltimare but moved to Ponyville to start a better life, and if you didn't know already I trained to become a Wonderbolt. Now that you know who I am, I won't have to keep you guessing like any other novelist or whatever. Anyway, I arrived just in time for some good morning stretches before doing daily drills. Soarin and Fleetfoot greeted me and eventually engaged in a conversation about how I was doing at home and whatnot. Soarin had that serious side at work but catch him with Dash he's romantic towards her which I thought was awesome about Soarin. Fleetfoot on the other hoof was mostly kissing up to Spitfire after Lightning Dust was kicked out because she sabotaged the new outfits we had delivered last week but I know Dust would never do that. If I did tell somepony about Fleetfoot, I was surely going to be laughed at and looked upon as an "embarrassment" or some other nonsense. "So Dazzle it's great to see you here after Spitfire had to find somepony to replace that accident prone known as Lightning Dust" Fleetfoot said trying to get me on her good side. Anything that would come out of my mouth would get me in more trouble so I just nodded and forced a smile just to convince this bitch. One thing I hate about Fleetfoot was that she would do ANYTHING to get her way and if she didn't, well be prepared for a 25 minute temper tantrum. When she smiled back even though it looked like an evil smirk, she flew away and Soarin finally breathed in a sigh of relief as if he held that in for decades. "I'm sorry that Fleetfoot has been on your case ever since you joined up, it's just when Spitfire hoof picked you she's been a little uh aggressive lately" Soarin explained to me. "Being hoof picked by the commander of the Wonderbolts is just because of my flight skills not how much I can kiss her flank" I said back in retort, feeling somewhat pissed about being compared to Fleetfoot. I never EVER want to have nothing in common with that sneaky mare. For all I know she's plotting Celestia knows what. "That's not the way to talk about your partners" I knew that booming fiery voice anywhere, the commander of our squadron Spitfire. She wearing her commanding officer blue jacket with a bunch of badges, what a story they have. She walked over to me as I was the only pony who was talking shit about that mare Fleetfoot and apparently I hurt poor Spitfire feelings. Cry me a fucking river. "Oh good morning Spitfire" Soarin stood and saluted his bitch I mean captain. Spitfire revealed Soarin from having a conversation with me, when he flew off like the traitor he was I was left with my supposed "captain" who took off her shades, revealing those fiery eyes burrowing itself through my uniform and into my soul. "Firestarter would you like to tell you what you and Soarin were talking about?" she asked with a look of accusation on her face. I had to think of a lie that was convincing enough enough for Spitfire but nothing came to mind so I gave in. "Soarin and I were talking about Flee-Fleetfoot behind her back when she wasn't around to hear it" I said gritting my teeth. That somehow worked because Spitfire's expression somehow softened a little bit but she still had that accusing face surfacing minute by minute. "Look, I know this is hard but talking about somepony behind their back is worse than being dead" Then I must be the biggest scumbag in all of Equestria. "But your the best damn flier I've ever seen so I'll give you a warning" Spitfire tried to sound intimidating but that didn't phase me. I've heard better threats from an actor who has more talent than this hussy. I decided to give her a salute as a way to show that I completely understand what she is saying. "Good, now I want you to do some extra flight patterns today" she barked at me. "Yes ma'am" I responded with a dry throat and ascended. When I was in the air when things were good or bad, the air whispers to me telling me that "I am always welcomed here." It was like all my problems just washed away and you know something: I loved it! Sure, going through flight patterns for some stupid Equestria Olympic Games was a pain in the flank but at least it lets me fly around without a care. But a loud whistle sound almost shattered my eardrums as remaining Wonderbolts flew down and formed a line. I came down and lucky me I was standing side by side with Spitfire's bitch Fleetfoot. Her eyes started to sparkle and her cheeks blushed like she was in love with her which wouldn't surprise me in the least. "Alright cadets the Games are coming up and those dreadful Shadowbolts are thinking about ruining or copying our color flight technique so I need two loyal cadets who will go undercover to obtain how they are going to plan for this year" Spitfire explained, walking up and down the aisle like a drill sergeant. Fleetfoot raised her hoof first like the bitch she was, doing whatever it took to please Spitfire. "Alright we got one so who's next?" Spitfire scouted out before noticing me, "Starter why don't you go with her?" My eyes shot open as I looked straight at Fleetfoot and internally screamed in my head. I was going to team up with this mare in a undercover mission, my mind thought of a billion things that could go wrong. "This will give us a chance to bond Firestarter Dazzle" Fleetfoot smiled creepily after saying my full name. When anypony calls you by your first and last name that's when you know you fucked up and judging from Fleetfoot's creepy smile, she might have heard Soarin and me talk about her when she left. "S-S-Sure" I stammered. I rushed back home like I was being chased by a psychotic murderer. Spitfire said that me and Fleetfoot are going to have to fly over to the Shadowbolt base is located past the Everfree Forest...great. Whatever those dark assholes are planning can't be as bad as ours. As soon as I arrived home, there was a note attached to the front door, the text was written surprisingly well so I began to read what this note said. We saw what transpired between Fleetfoot and that bitch Spitfire, come to the bridge in the Everfree Forest tonight signed T.H. Who was this T.H. that left this note at my door? Well I couldn't pass up on going out of the house, being that my mother wasn't going to be home for another few hours anyway so I took off my uniform, placed it on my closet hanger, then left the house and began my journey to the Everfree Forest. The air felt really chilly as I walked through the forest, I could hear voices enter my head but chose to ignore them and press on. My mom would take me here when I was a colt as a way to teach me about surviving forms of monsters that roamed around in my head. From then on I became somewhat into seeing a tortured pony get what he/she deserves. Right and wrong are just concepts by parents to dumb their fillies and colts down to keep them on a path to being 'good ponies' of society. All I thought was 'That's bullshit.' My mother was different, yes she wanted me to be myself but to be careful who I talk to. I reached the rickety bridge in front of me, smoke started to wrap itself around my legs. I almost panicked if the sound of somepony's hooves didn't give me their full attention. A mare wearing a shadowbolt uniform appeared in front of me with dual colored mane (light pink on one side, dark purple on the other) and a tail of the same combination of colors. When she removed her goggles, all I saw was a yellow bright glow from her eyes which drew me into her even more than before. "So you came? I never thought somepony like you would venture out here." Her voice has a purr to it, a soft cat like purr. "Who are you?" I asked. "My name is Thornheart Nightingale" she answered softly.
Chapter 2 InkI was awestruck with the presence of Thornheart, I mean her mane glistened in the moonlight above to go along with that yellow glow she was giving off from her eyes. My mind went to millions of places until I had the courage to speak up. "So you called me over here, why?" I asked trying to hide my nervousness. Thorn (short version) walked herself a few inches towards me which meant that her muzzle was close to mine and I could hear my heart beat fast. "I heard your so called commander tasked you and some other pegasi to spy on us to see what technique we're going to use correct?" She hit the nail straight on the head with that statement. I didn't know whether she read my mind or she's just that damn good at reading ponies minds, either way I tried to say something but no words came out so I basically stood there with my mouth open. She smiled like poison and that's when I noticed a black puddle underneath her hooves but she wasn't drowning or starting to sink...she just stood there. She noticed my stare and giggled like a cute filly. "I see my ink power seems to have caught your interest" she said circling me around again. "Let's cut to the chase" I blurted out, wanting to see what she had to offer. "Cutting straight to the point eh? Well since you asked I'll tell you, since Spitfire wants to be sure the Shadowbolts want to lose at those games I want you to bring that mare over to the base on your undercover mission. Once I open up, I'll have my other members take you to the meeting room to grab the plans and I'll handle that mare your bringing." she explained quite amazingly as a matter of fact. I nodded in agreement with her plan, before I decided to leave she planted a soft gentle kiss on my right cheek. "See you around pumpkin" she said before disappearing in the darkness. The thought of her kissing my cheek before leaving kept replaying in my head, even when I got home later it still wandered around my mind. No mare has ever kissed me before (with the exception of my mother and little sister) so this is going to stick with me for a while. I laid in bed thinking about her plan that I would let her handle Fleetfoot, whatever that means. What would she do to her? A bunch of dark and eerie thoughts begun to surface and play a gruesome murder of Thorn engulfing her in a flood of ink and use her form as a way to infiltrate Cloudsdale and kill all the Wonderbolts then take over Equestria with an iron hoof. But then I realized that we have two princesses that would reduce Thorn to ash if she tried to so that wouldn't happen. One thing that stayed with me was that smile, she would scared colts and fillies with that devil like grin. A flash of when she took off her goggles, revealing those eyes that glowed a yellow hue in the moonlight echoed itself inside my mind. Then there was her giggle, that sounded sinister in it's own right and that's all I can say on that. I felt my eyes get heavier until I finally fell asleep, knowing that I need all the sleep I can get in order for me to make this undercover plan to be successful. Once I was in a deep sleep, I woke up in a clear white room sitting down in front of a static television. Looking around, I saw nothing but pure white and that damn TV that only showed static. I got up from my seat and tried to find a doorway so I can leave but none showed up. "Just my luck" I grumbled in frustration. That was until I spotted a stallion wearing a three piece suit and his mane and tail were jet black. His crystal green eyes pierced through my soul as he was staring at me with malice or at least it looked like malice I really don't know. He sat in a seat next to me after I had already stood up to find an exit but I guess he had other plans. "Who are you?" I asked. "Who I am isn't important right now, what is important is you need to go along with this plan Thorn has planned out" he responded sharply. Oh great he's going to start the pronoun game I didn't know whether to take this stallion seriously or not, since there were no other option on the table I guess I'll be a part of this little game. "Okay since you obviously don't want to tell me what your name is, I'll tell you mine," I began to announce but he stomped a hoof down that caused the room to shake in an unnatural way. "You name doesn't concern me little peagsus so do not speak it!" he growled. So I guess he doesn't like names very much, which is understandable. His demeanor was warm and frighting but at the same time it sent a chill up my spine nonetheless. All of a sudden, the walls began to bleed out with dark black ink that reached my hooves and was rising rapidly. "I shall see you again old friend" he disappeared after saying that. I had to find a way out and fast but I couldn't see any exit in sight. No windows, no doors, I was trapped in this room of bleeding ink that rose up to my neck until my head reached the rooftop wall. I screamed for help, it fell on deaf ears because no one would be able to hear me. Suddenly, the ink reached me all the way and starting to drown until I stopped struggling to the surface if there was one and closed my eyes. BEEP BEEP I jerked up quickly in my bed with sweat dripping down my head and back of my neck looking around my room. All my belongings along with my singing trophies I won ever since I was a colt stood neatly on the brown bookshelf. My wonderbolt uniform was still hanging outside my bathroom door so that was a plus. I got out of bed to wash my face and await Fleetfoot with out undercover mission to infiltrate the Shadowbolt HQ but my mind wasn't thinking about that right now. That dream when I was engulfed in nothing but black ink...was that real? No it couldn't have been! But then again... I didn't know what to think of my dream other than that the fact it was scary as hell. Being engulfed in ink? That's a fate worse than death. After regaining what little sanity I had, I made my way downstairs and cooked some scrambled eggs along with some fresh milk Fluttershy gave to me as a present for helping out her animal friends. As a went to take a bite of my eggs, it turned into ink like from my dream and I almost dropped my fork looking at it. My unstable mind thought of the sticky slimy ink instead of warm delicious scrambled eggs. I tried to close my eyes imagining my food be food again and for some reason my scrambled eggs and milk returned to me. A knock at the door nearly made me jump out of my chair, I put my fork down on my plate then walked towards the door cautiously. Thank Celestia my house has a little peephole that I can look through, what I saw was that damn ass kisser Fleetfoot with two plastic bags with the shadowbolt uniform in both bags, waiting for me to answer the door. I did let her in then quickly closed the door and locked it. "Okay so you know the plan right? We disguise ourselves as Shadowbolts then figure out what they're planning" Fleetfoot reminded me, insulting my lack of attention. "Yea I understand" I say gritting my teeth, keeping myself from shoving my fork into her eye. She handed me my Shadowbolt uniform that looked surprisingly very terrifying to look at especially the cutie mark skull on the flank side. Fleet tried hers and looked even more ridiculous than in her normal uniform. But then from out of nowhere I heard a very seductive voice enter my ears. Put me on Dazzle At first I thought it was my mind playing tricks on me but this time I looked at the outfit and it sounded like it was communicating with me. Whatever the case maybe, I strapped on my Shadowbolt uniform before putting on the yellow tinted goggles over my eyes. All of a sudden, my fur suddenly felt more at home with this outfit because it fitted to be snug like a blanket. This is kinda odd but at the same time it feels really really good As we left my house I couldn't help the sick smile I had on my face for some reason show itself.
Chapter 3 UndertoneThe forest air was stuffy and horrible, like some kind of musty air. My goggles got fogged up most of the time which made seeing anything virtually impossible, I even chuckled a little when one tree branch slapped Fleetfoot in the face and caused her to fall on her back. She rubbed her flank before I helped her upwards. "Thank you" she thanked me. Fleetfoot has NEVER said anything nice to anypony with the exception of Spitfire but that's a whole different story that I do not want to get on to. Anyway, I went on front while Fleetfoot followed behind me until we finally arrived at the Shadowbolts HQ. The outside walls looked like reinforced metal material that wasn't familiar to me, they had 4 guards on post: 2 mares and 2 stallions, and their insignia flowed in the gentle autumn breeze which made that musty stench go away some. "Whoa this place is even more amazing than I originally thought" I said astonished by what I was seeing. Fleetfoot wasn't all that impressed and kept walking forward. You can at least try to be a little amazed, but no that would be too hard for you wouldn't it? My heart skipped a beat when I laid my eyes on that mare I met hear the old bridge in the Everfree Forest. She didn't have the goggles on, letting her hypnotic stare draw me in like a lost pony at sea but damn was she the most beautiful mare, not to mention mysterious. She walked over to us with that same devil like grin spread across her face to welcome us. "Welcome you two I bet your hoping for your 1st training session aren't you? Well if you are, this time can't be anymore perfect considering the Equestrian Olympic Games are on its way so we could use all the help we can muster" she welcomed in her soft yet firm voice. "Happy to do so" Fleetfoot spoke intimidatingly or at least she was doing a bad job of it. I face hooved at her failed attempt at trying to be intimidating among the Shadowbolts. Even some of the commanding officers raised a single eyebrow at what Fleetfoot tried to do. This stupid mare I swear to Luna "Ahem well anyway if you two would be so kind and follow me to our meeting room, where our plan talk is already in progress" Thorn said, getting a hint of sanity back into everypony despite Fleetfoot's failed attempt to sound tough. We both walked behind her and I saw her ass sway from side to side and quickly blushed through my goggles. Being on the inside of their HQ was actually pretty surreal, the propaganda posters were intimidating enough without me or Fleetfoot walking by. A tall stallion put his hoof in front of me, forcing my body to stop moving. That's when I remembered the plan Thorn had told me when we first met in the Everfree Forest. "Miss Fleetfoot would you kindly follow me to the training grounds please?" Thorn insisted. Fleetfoot agreed to follow her to the "training grounds" even though I knew it was a lie. I was led by two big muscular stallions into their meeting room which housed computers all over and most showed the news, today's stock exchange, or schematics of a simulated pegasus stunt test currently being processed. Just staring at it with my mouth wide open was all it took for them as one of them pulled out a black and white flash drive and handed it to me. You see? Following what Thorn said led you to victory said some strange voice in my head. I turned around to see who whispered but found nothing. I accepted the flash drive and tucked it away for safe keeping. Sometimes, I feel like I have this other voice, talking to me. It's been happening to me ever since I could remember but when time grew on, the voices disappeared for a short time until Spitfire offered me a job as a Wonderbolt, then those damn voices began again and this time I don't think it will leave again. My dream of being engulfed in ink burned a hole in my head that will leave a permanent bruise for years to come. A shrill scream coming from down the hall shook me out of my deep thoughts. I ran out of the meeting room, not caring about the passing pegasi when I would bum rush them trying to reach the source of the scream. When I got close to the door way, my hoof touched something sticky and wet, when I looked down I could see ink and my mind swirled along with my heart sinking. Whatever is going on, it has to be about this god damn ink. I opened the door, much to my surprise Fleetfoot was standing like a statue like she was in a trance. Thornheart turned my direction and gestured me to come in. I walked in cautiously, as my hooves splashed on the ink blots on certain parts of the floor. "Thorn what did you do?" I asked quivering. The sly yet beautiful pegasi gave me a sinister smile before speaking, "Why nothing if you minus the scream Fleetfoot did earlier but after I calmed her down she shared some really amazing things with me," she explained with that creepy demonic smile spread across her face. I couldn't get over the fact Fleetfoot looks like she was hypnotized by a vampire or something. At least I have the flash drive on me I thought to myself. Thorn whispered something incoherently in Fleetfoot's ear that made her body contort in an unnatural way but it was like something should be wrong with her, then again what would be wrong with her that hasn't been documented? Trying to forget all the terrible things she did just to get Spitfire-senpai to notice her made me sick to my and some of the other Wonderbolts stomachs. She sabotaged Dash and Soarin's wedding party by setting the presents in flames, getting Dust kicked out for a mistake SHE caused but Spitfire being the pony pleader took Lightning Dust out and promoted Fleetfoot to second in command. Leave her There was that voice again and this time I could hear it coming out my ear. Leave her there, you know all the other Wonderbolts utterly despise her. No pony will miss her if you leave her there It made sense in a sick way but the voice in my head was right. No pony would miss this little pain in my flank for months, I could tell Spitfire that she was brutally killed but died fighting in her honor. Yea, she would totally buy that hook line and sinker. "Actually Thorn you can keep Fleetfoot, I have what I came for" I said sternly. She nodded in agreement and walked me out of HQ, stopped in front of the front door. The next few seconds of silence were doused with a kiss on my lips. I felt her warm tongue swirl around mine until we broke away, letting a string of drool go down our mouths. Thorn happen to notice my blushing cheeks as well as my wings sticking straight up. She giggled, "Wing boner?" I looked at my wings and soon realized what she meant by that. "Oh um sorry about that" I apologized, finally getting my wings to go down. "It's alright trust me you were my first kiss I've had" she said smiling again. I am her first! Oh my Luna this is awesome! Thorn was kinda taken back to my now excited expression but returned the favor with a soft kiss on the cheek before she walked back down the hallway. Boy did I have a story to tell Soarin when I get back.
Chapter 4 The NightMorning came as a surprise to me after I flew home when Thorn kissed me before I left with that flash drive that had some evidence that they would use a certain Wonderbolts flying technique at the Games coming in 2 days. Shoot! I'm going to be late for exercises before practice, so I put on my uniform then bolted out of the house like a streak of lightning. Little known fact about my flying just in case you were wondering, I leave fire tracks in my wake whenever I feel like I'm going to be late for anything...much like now. Lucky for me, Soarin was there before I was so he could cover my flank. Yep he always had my back unlike Fleetfoot who used dirty tactics like causing a rough house then blaming it on somepony else just to please her Spitfire-senpai. For the first time in a long time, the grounds were actually enjoyable again without anypony giving Fleetfoot a dirty look. "So did you get the drive?" Soarin asked me. "Yep but Fleetfoot didn't make it out with me but she fought valiantly for the cause" I lied, making fake tears fall from my eyes. I don't know if he bought the fake crying bit of the whole made up confession about Fleetfoot fighting valiantly when I just saw her standing there like a statue, Thorn heart smirking that devilish grin that glued to my mind. Then it was that kiss we shared under the moonlight together. No other thought came close to staying instead of that kiss Thorn gave me. My thoughts came to a screeching halt as I heard Spitfire's booming voice, I almost mistaken her for either Princess Celestia or Luna. Everypony including me got in an upright position as Spitfire walked back and forth until she stopped in front of me, lifting her cool shades up and squinted. "Firestarter did you and Fleetfoot retrieve what I asked for?" Spitfire asked me in her stern voice. "Yes ma'am but unfortunately Fleetfoot didn't make it so she wanted me to give you this in honor of her valiant sacrifice" I lied to her, pulling out some damaged Wonderbolt goggles I found in the garbage. Spitfire rubbed them like Fleet actually died. Hook line and sinker. "I see, well she won't die in vain," Spitfire began. "At the Games, I want you Firestarter to lead our squadron in Fleetfoot's memory" she announced to me. "It would be my honor" I responded, saluting her. Spitfire took the flash drive from me before dismissing us to our normal routine. I kept myself from laughing after the made up story, bringing out those broken goggles from the garbage, and actually having Spitfire believing the whole thing. When I went to my locker to put my lunch in, Soarin just so happened to walk by and by the look on his face it was like he won the lottery or something. "What's got you all chipper today?" I asked him curiously. "Well with Fleetfoot gone, things have gotten smoother around here and the best part of it is that we're ahead on schedule so we'll have the technique down by the time the Games arrive" he explained to me. No doubt in my mind at all, once Fleetfoot was out of the picture, everypony has been training very well. Once the Games get going it will run like a well oiled machine now that I exterminated a little thorn in everyponies back. I had every right to agree with Soarin, nothing was gonna stop me from being overjoyed about this sudden revelation. Spitfire set the broken goggles on a wooden pole sealed inside a glass container for safe keeping. That was a good move Firestarter you really showed her who's the top pony in Cloudsdale the voice in my head said to me in a whisper. There it was again, that raspy but calm demeanor of that voice in my head began creeping it's way back into my mind for no particular reason at all. Something about the voice was that it was like mine but darker and more sinister as if I had some alter ego like Jekyll and Hyde, it could be. I remember seeing that stallion wearing a three piece suit, black mane and tail, and a black flame cutie mark. He had the same red gemstone necklace as me so marking it as something unreal was not going to get me anywhere. A flash of his image echoed itself in my head, causing me to have a mini headache. "Hey Dazzle you feeling okay?" Soarin came up to me asking me that simple minded question. My eyes turned pitch black before changing back to their normal hazel glow as I turned to face Soarin. "Yea I'm doing fine" I answered him with a light smile on my face. Soarin had mixed feelings of my sudden smile after having a mini headache a few minutes before he came. I put on my goggles then headed to the training grounds where Spitfire and two other Wonderbolt cadets that were going to help perform this breathtaking move Spitfire was talking about. "Since Fleetfoot is no longer with us I am appointing Firestarter Dazzle to be our new leader to help us perform the most famous pegasi move at the Games. I hope these two cadets will do a fantastic job" Spitfire explained. A small hint of remorse did fill my heart about filling Fleetfoot's hooves, being that Thorn is using her for who knows what. It quickly faded when Spitfire named me leader of the squadron when normally it was going to be Fleetfoot that was going to lead the group into the opening credits of the Equestrian Olympic Games. Now that title was around my name and I loved it. Finally, without that pesky Fleetfoot to ruin my fun, I was the one ponies young and old were going to remember. Once those Games start it will be my time to shine I thought to myself. I soon instructed the two other cadets in a skydive yet it was more of an air stunt to open the show up that sets up the rest of the mood for the entire show. When I was up there, I was free to fly away and forget my problems down on ground level such as letting Thorn use Fleetfoot to do whatever she pleased. I finished the routine by having the cadets form a loop as I zoomed past them in a streak of flames, that impressed Spitfire. A please smile spread across Spitfire that I thought Tia herself shined a light on her. Dropping down with a smooth landing, I high hooved the two cadets before they went to the exercise room. As soon as I turned around, Spitfire was the next pony to make me almost knock her out silly. "That was some awesome tricks Dazzle! If you keep up this momentum going into the games then we'll really wow the crowd" Spitfire said to me, still with that excited look on her face. "This will show those Shadowbolts what we're really made of" I said in response to her excitement. The flash of Thorn heart echoed inside my head in the form of 60 second video like clips that I was experiencing. On my way home from work I happen to be spotting a Shadowbolt near the front door and it struck me because I wasn't expecting anypony at my house. Upon further inspection, the mysterious Shadowbolt turned out to be Thorn heart relaxing near the two concrete steps that led up to the door to enter. My throat was dry, I didn't know this would happen right here but I guess I'll find out soon enough. "Thorn what are you doing here?" I finally manage to say. "I came here to well catch up on some sleep while you were working under Fleetfoot's senpai" Thorn explained. Judging by the look of things, she was the only mare out here and no pony was following behind her in an ambush attempt. But no she was all alone with me in the coming darkness. "I don't really have time to stick around but I just wanted to thank you for letting me keep Fleetfoot. She's actually useful inside our base, especially the stallions during late night training" Thorn heart explicated to me. Some of what she said I should be concerned about but there was nothing illegal going on. "Well you'll be happy to know that since Fleetfoot is out of the picture, Spitfire has named me leader of the flight squadron that is responsible for calling the opening ceremony" I tell Thorn with a spring in my step for good measure. Thorn let out a giggle before speaking again, "Glad your happy you finally take that leadership role" she said proudly. I only smiled and received another kiss before Thorn left, leaving me with amazing dreams in the near future.
Chapter 5 Merry Go RoundI awaken where I was left last time, engulfed by nothing but ink and losing air fast, but a surge of adrenaline kicked in as I was swimming upward, hoping that something was coming towards me would help me. My lungs began to have this burning sensation with me holding my breath this long, until I finally reached up and breathed a sigh of relief as I rose up from my inky fate that befallen me. The place I ended up in was an amusement park setting with rides and prize stands all over the place which is what I enjoyed a small colt. But what was this doing in my dream? Was it replaying my memories or something? If this was really a memory, it would show the colt version of me along with my mother and father but that didn't happen unfortunately. I started walking around than I remembered as a colt, the rides music was dark and brooding instead of cheery and playful, most of all blood was out of them. My fear creeped back in but I choose to hold it back, all of a sudden that stallion from before stood near a black and white tent past the merry go round. He stared at me for a good minute or two before going in the tent and soon enough I followed. Entering the tent, everything was empty except for the one spotlight shining on Fleetfoot who was dressed as a sad clown looking up at the light that shined on her. "Come sit" the stallion said to me. I sat next to him, still in shock that this is where that ink led me to. "I can't really image that I would be in a tent...but why is Fleetfoot in a clown costume?" I asked the mysterious stallion. "She is going to perform for our amusement" he responded coldly. I looked over as soft music started to play, prompting Fleetfoot to dance in a strange motion. Most moves involved knocking over things, others involved staring and making out with a picture of....Spitfire! How could I have been so stupid, she's reenacting her tactics she used to get to the top of Spitfire's list or at least she was almost there if I hadn't left her with Thornheart. This image of Fleetfoot doing all these things made me sick and amused at the same time. This stallion seemed to enjoy himself because he was eating some popcorn in accordance to what's going on in front of him. I guess if he was enjoying the show then I might as well. The show lasted what was a few hours I guess, time works differently in my dream. Soon as we left the stallion guided me to another place which from the look of it was some twisted house of mirrors only without mirrors. "What is this place?" I asked looking around at this place. "Your deepest desire" he said unlocking the door. He stepped out so I could enter, for a moment I hesitated but after a minute of me standing there my hooves began to move inside the decrypted place. The hallways were completely dark so I couldn't see a thing, small voices began to point me in so many directions I couldn't fathom one. I turned left into a now lit room where two doors stood out, one was painted completely black while the other painted a cool shade of bright orange. I wonder which door I should enter first? I pondered, rubbing my chin with my hoove. Two nameplates suddenly appeared on the doors out of thin air. Shadow Ink Spitfire and the Wonderbolts The room would show me my deepest desire so I chose the black door and entered. Ink surrounded me again but this time it wasn't going to try to suffocate me but it just stayed at the bottom, small drips occasionally fell on my head. I hit something very slimy and gross touching my dark red coat then realized that slimy thing was actually an ink version of a cocoon placed in the far side of the wall, barely clinging to life. "What is this doing here?" I asked myself. I poked it once with my hooves making it jiggle a bit which I thought was kinda funny. All of a sudden the cocoon started to shake before opening, revealing that Shadowbolt Shadow Ink wearing a red velvet dress, her mane in a ponytail, red lipstick and eye shadows of the same color, and black diamond earrings staring at me with those yellow eyes and smiling. "Well hello my little flame" she teased. I looked down at myself, noticing my clothes suddenly changed into a suit and tie. I didn't know how I got that but it looked good on me. "Shall we dance?" she asked, extending her hoof. "Of course sweetie" I responded. I took her hoof and began to dance with her, the venue changed into some kind of ballroom dance routine so I went along with it. We danced in front of thousands of other ponies young and old watched us dance to our hearts content, without any outside interference at all. Wow this is really amazing I said to myself, looking around at the sudden crowd of ponies. Dancing around with this mare made me feel happy so I began to smile again after a long time of having to deal with all those other ponies. I was finally able to be my beloved. We ended the dance with a soft kiss while everypony applauded our performance and we took a bow as we got a standing ovation from the crowd. That has never happened before. My alarm clock awoke me from the greatest fantasy I have ever had but from looking down at myself, it would seem that my body heated up for a second after that amazing dance routine with Shadow Ink. My heartbeat moved a step faster than normal because of the fact Ink keeps surrounding my mind night and day, even if I'm just doing exercises it never leaves my head. "That was awesome" I said with a beaming smile on my face. It was a good thing I didn't have to head over to my workplace due to the fact the Olympic Games start in 1 day. So today was relaxation day for me, I decided to go pay Shadow a visit to her home in a small village called Hollow Shades deep in the Everfree Forest. Going there would require anypony to have nerves of steel and a strong will to navigate through the Forest instead of 'giggling at the ghostly' or some other nonsense. Entering the Forest was the easy part, navigating was hard due to a growing mist forming which made seeing anything virtually impossible. I used my horn's orange hue to guide me through the mist until the village of Hollow Shades came into view, it looked like a small town with every type of supernatural pony going about their normal lives as if they're special abilities didn't really bother them. "Firestarter Dazzle in Hollow Shades? This is quite a sight to behold" Shadow said appearing out of a market with a saddle bag full of stuff. I turned around to get a good look at her semi gray coat that shined with her jet black mane, that just completed the look entirely. "Shadow Ink I-I didn't know you were here, let alone be stocking up on food" I stammered a bit. She exchanged a smile before escorting me to her home. I was finally going to see what her life is like outside the Shadowbolts My heart skipped a beat again.
Chapter 6 Dark EyesLooking at the house covered in shrubs but it was a faintly small house. I stepped up three steps before Shadow Ink opened the door, revealing a sort of Victorian Gothic style with a lot of band posters along with her signature Shadowbolt uniform and goggles hanging on a coat rack. I walked inside with my mouth gaping open, just taking this all in. "Judging by the look on your face I can see your impressed" Shadow smiled chucking a bit. I was trying to speak but nothing came out as soon as I closed my mouth to avoid getting a bug in my mouth. "Yea this place is pretty awesome Ink, I never knew a Shadowbolt lived in a place like this" I said, still in a status of shock and awe. "I thank you for the compliment" Ink responded, "Would you like something to drink?" she asked me. I nodded quickly, she exchanged a small laugh before going into her fridge to pull something out. Soon enough, Shadow came out with two bottles of water then offered one to me. I accepted the gesture and drank some before tightening the cap back on the bottle. "So what brings you here sweetheart?" Shadow asked curiously. "Well I don't have to go training in Cloudsdale due to the presence of the Equestrian Olympic Games so I thought I could come visit you" I explained blushing a little. Shadow could see through me and started to realize what I was really doing all the way out in Hollow Shades, that she knew I fallen in love with her and she would be right. Ever since we met that first time, I was in love with her and that's all I think about at night, while I'm flying high above Ponyville. Just her well brushed mane along with those hazel eyes drew me into her more, she continued to stay in my thoughts all throughout my life. My gemstone started to emit a small light, one that I have never seen before. "Something wrong with your pendant?" Shadow asked with a bit of concern starting to show on her face. The light dimmed down enough for me to assess what was going on. "To be honest this pendant does a lot of strange things" I said to her. We continued to talk for what seemed to be hours before I waved goodbye but before I got a chance to leave, Shadow kissed me, making my wings stand up again. After being with Ink for what seemed like hours I began the long haul back home. The steamy air made it hard for me to sweat considering I am a walking time bomb so sweating meant nothing to me, all I wanted to do is head home and do absolutely nothing. As soon as I got back to Ponyville territory Spitfire stood with what was a busload of Wonderbolts surrounding me from all corners and above. My heart began to quicken at what Spitfire was doing here of all places. By examining her face she was 10 seconds away from taking somepony's head off. "What were you doing in the Everfree Forest? It is forbidden for anypony to enter there" Spitfire explained. "Yea I know that, I was just making sure no Shadowbolts got through here and cause havoc around Ponyville" I lied, trying to cover myself as much as possible. Spitfire's anger was that of a raging bull so one wrong step will land me in a pool of hot water. "What in Celestia's name were you thinking? And more importantly who were you seeing in there?" she asked, getting closer to my face. Sweat began to drop down my face behind the fact I was secretly meeting a Shadowbolt named Shadow Ink, but I couldn't tell Spitfire that or she would have one of the princesses lock me up in a dungeon. Worse case scenario, I might get kicked out of the opening intro into the Games so telling the truth in this case was a bad idea. "I was trying to find out where Fleetfoot was taken and I wanted to go get her back" I made up this story as I possibly could and hoped that stuck. Spitfire's facial expression went from pissed off to a slight hint of valor in her voice as she raised a single hoof for all the cadets to lower their weapons (in this case magic for most of them) to heart what I just said. "Did you find anything?" Spitfire asked me. Crap! Now she wants evidence of anything remotely leading to Fleetfoot This wasn't looking good at all. I felt something touch my flank, causing me to jump but all of a sudden a torn up Wonderbolt uniform suddenly appeared in front of me. Spitfire noticed it and picked it up like somepony died or something. What I couldn't understand was how in the hell did that uniform appear in the first place. Off the corner of my eye, Shadow winked at me before disappearing from view, I was grateful that she was there to cover for me even more than Soarin did. "This is what I found Spitfire" I said, presenting the torn uniform to her. Spitfire quickly took it from me and examined the rips all over it, that's when a single tear went down her face because one of her best commanders just sacrificed herself for the greater good. Now that Fleetfoot is out of the picture, it's your turn to shine among them that voice in my head said to me. I tried to make out where the source of where that odd yet soothing voice was coming from. From whatever corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of that dark haired stallion wearing that same three piece suit from my dream I had last night and the night before. Spitfire along with the other Wonderbolt left, all except Soarin who had a strange look on his face. It was that of suspicious and untrustworthy sense for me for some reason. "Is that what you actually did inside that forest Dazzle?" he asked, raising a single eyebrow. He knows about our plan, we will end him when the time comes but right now is not the time the voice whispered. "Yes" I answered, making a broken smile appear on my face. That seemed to satisfy him because he gave me an approving nod then left, catching up to Spitfire and some other cadets that flew ahead. I breathed a sigh of relief as Shadow appeared from what was behind a tree or something but it seemed her small smile never left her face, plus she looked like she was about to laugh. Before I had a chance to say anything, Shadow suddenly burst out laughing. For a moment I tried to understand what she was laughing about but then I remembered myself handing over a torn Wonderbolt uniform to Spitfire before I chuckled a bit myself before I started laughing myself. To be honest I thought it was pretty funny at the very least because handing Spitfire that torn uniform from who knows where, she thinks it belonged to Fleetfoot. So after a few minutes of laughter we finally stood to our stances, breathing heavily from all that laughter. "I can't believe she fell for that, I found that uniform from one of my Shadowbolts and had him paint it in Wonderbolt colors then cut out tears to make it look like Fleetfoot fought when in reality she's with us" Shadow explained. I couldn't help but chuckle a little bit from that explanation, from the fact that Spitfire treated it as if Fleetfoot died or something. Just thinking back to that moment from a minute ago almost made me burst into laughter. "Speaking of, where did you keep her just in case somepony stuck their nose where it didn't belong?" I asked curiously. "We keep her around me since my ink can pretty much seem invisible to the naked eye" Shadow replied. I nodded before hugging her as a way to say thank you for covering my tail feathers before Spitfire was about to give me a throat lashing. "You have fun doing the opening act of the Games, I'll be watching" Shadow teased me before she went back into the forest. My heartbeat was beating a little faster than before which was uncommon for me. I looked at my mane and for some reason it was changing jet black. That's when my eyes changed from green to nothing but black.
Chapter 8 Song In DeathZipping up my uniform after my eyes suddenly changed pitch black won't leave my thoughts when I got home after dodging a major bullet from Spitfire about why I was in the Everfree Forest. Today is the day I looked at my mirror at myself. Instead of seeing what was my Wonderbolt outfit, my reflection manifested into that dark haired stallion from a previous dream I had. At first I jumped, but after a quick realization that he made an appearance before, it didn't really effect me much. I got closer to the mirror just to see if this was an illusion or something and turns out it wasn't. "What are you doing here?" I asked. The stallion only looked at me before disappearing back into my own image of myself as a Wonderbolt. "That was odd" I said to myself, straightening my goggles. I sped off to the stadium where the Games are being held, which was better than the winter ones taking place in Snowy Mountain. There were times I couldn't get snow off my uniform because it was so cold. So this was a change, banners showing the 4 alicorn princesses who were going to judge this year's competition, the field neatly grassed up for the javelin event, and don't forget about the flight rings Dash was going through along with 9 other competitors. All of those events sounded amazing but what concerned about the opening sequence with me and two other cadets to start off the show. A small but noticeable grin spread across my face. Spitfire was checking out some of the events planned for tonight, I know deep down she means well but after I broke the news about Fleetfoot's passing that has sent her over the edge somewhat, like I said she means well. She noticed my hoofsteps coming towards her so Spitfire finished what she was doing before approaching me to probably congratulate me for replacing Fleetfoot in the opening act or something really dumb. "Dazzle did you hair change color?" Spitfire asked me, pointing to my now jet black hair. I tilted my head slightly confused at what she was talking about, she grabbed a mirror and when I saw the orange turn into a black I nearly fainted. Spitfire put the mirror away, a little awkward at what she saw, to be honest I was taken back a little by the fact my mane changed color all of a sudden. I'm actually glad Spitfire caught on to it. "Oh this? I'm trying a new mane dye in the spirit of these Games" I lied, hiding the real reason for my sudden mane change color. Spitfire gave me a salute whereas I did the same to her before she flew off to I guess to check on her other cadets. Me on the other hoof I walked over to where the other cadets were stationed, keeping themselves hydrated to avoid passing out, talking among each other about the different events that we're planned, and just joking around. Even when I decided to walk by to get some water from the cooler the cadets occasionally waved at me or said hi which excited me about their enthusiasm towards this event. That was until Soarin peaked in and had that suspicious look on his face again, like I committed a heinous crime. "Dazzle we need to talk" Soarin said sternly. The rest of the cadets scooted away until it was just me and Soarin. I could tell something was about to happen but my brain wasn't really comprehending what choice of words Soarin or me were going to use. "Back at the forest when you hauled Spitfire that torn up Wonderbolt uniform, I happened to see another pony poking her head out" he accused. My heart sank, making my eyes dart open with shock and worry about how he was able to find that out. "H-How d-do y-you k-know that S-S-Soarin"I stammered through my words nervously. "I happened to see a mare brandishing a jet black hair mane, kinda like the one color you have" he said, trotting over to me slowly. My only option was to come up with an excuse to get out of this predicament or else. Before Soarin could say anything else I heard that strange voice again. Kill him, he will ruin your dreams The voice echoed in my head at the same rate of me hearing my own heartbeat thumping. Kill him! the voice continued. My heart became to sank quicker than anything in the world. I was going to bolt away but before I could do anything, all of a sudden there was a ink filled spike go through Soarin's chest, watching the blood filled spike drench and drip down to the floor. Soarin's eyes darted towards me before the spike removed itself from his chest. He dropped to the floor motionless. I just stood there in a state of shock on my face, I spotted Shadow standing there with a devilish smile as blood began to spill out onto the floor, coating the floor in crimson red. My eyes grew wide as I looked down at Soarin's now dead body. "Shadow I could get into a lot of-" She put a hoof in my mouth before I could speak another word out of my mouth. "Now now Dazzle you let me handle Soarin's body while you go prepare for the opening act okay babycakes?" she said to me, smiling. All my fears of getting in trouble suddenly just melted off of me with that one smile she gave me. I gave a quick nod so she let go of my mouth, out of nowhere Soarin's body contorted slightly before it started to 'melt off' per say and Shadow absorbed his now inky body along with the spilled blood on the ground like it never even happened. I will never forget what I just saw. "Have fun baby" Shadow cooed, kissing me. She left me there inside that tent, feeling shaky and a bit terrified from Shadow driving a spike into Soarin's chest, killing him instantly then just absorbing him like he was nothing. That wasn't something a stallion such as myself should not have a memory like that implanted into my brain. My thoughts went a billion miles an hour trying to contemplate what I just saw but then my brain went back to Shadow giving me a good luck kiss, which reminded me about the opening routine we were doing and my smile immediately came back. What do you have to be worried about? Your about to amaze a crowd of millions, even the 4 alicorn princesses are going to watch the voice whispered in my ear softly. I couldn't help but agree with that statement, with Princess Twilight along with the other three alicorn princesses watching the Wonderbolts fly high and proud would be quite a sight to see. Even though I witnessed a mirror right in front of my eyes I kept seeing the bigger picture. A bunch of hoofsteps began to come my way as I stood tall just in case Spitfire came in, only thing was it wasn't her but the two additional cadets who I trained with previously saluted at me like I was their commander. "At ease cadets, I hope that all the preparations for our opening ceremony are in order" I asked them. The nodded quickly and obediently. "Good, then I will see you both very soon" I said walking away from them. As I walking away, I shared a devilish grin like Shadow Ink did to me so it was infectious but at the same time it felt really good. Something clicked inside my head about what Ink did to Soarin earlier, how his body twitched when that blade pierced his heart before he was absorbed in ink which when I put the pieces together, Fleetfoot suffered the same fate. I put my goggles on and walked into the stadium that was filling with ponies young and old.
