She remembered the praises the tutors would give her. From her fighting style to her shooting accuracy, she was showered with compliments all the time during the Academy. It was nice. She loved the praises because it meant her hard work was showing, and that made it worth it. She was boastful, sure, but she never bragged of something she couldn't do, and everyone knew this, which was the reason she didn't get a lot of enemies during her training. Actually, she got along pretty well with the other recruits. And the tutors. Overall, a lot of people liked her in the Academy.

She remembered that one time... She was halfway through their year in the Academy, and as always Dash was taking extra lessons with the Close Combat tutor. Both women were engaged in a match that ended when, with a clever movement, Dash pinned the tutor to the mat. The elder woman laughed.

"Girl, you've improved!" they parted. "I feel like soon you won't need my help at all."

"Pff, of course, I've improved, I'm the best!" Dash boasted, proud of beating the invincible tutor in her game.

The tutor laughed and grabbed her water bottle. "If you didn't have a spot secured at Celestia's special unit, I would've sent a recommendation letter to Spitfire ages ago!"

The name did not ring a bell in Dash's brain at the time. "Spitfire?"

The tutor stopped mid-sip, her eyes wide. "You don't know who Spitfire is?"

"Uh... no?"

"You haven't even... heard about her?"

"Never."

"Girl, where have you been all this time?!" the tutor was shocked that her star pupil did not know about this mysterious woman. "She's a legend around here, along with her two teammates. They were inseparable, the best of the Academy until you girls came and stole the title. Made their way up the ranks in no time, now they're the Elite Lead Squad of the Wonderbolts at the young age of 24! Do you know who the Wonderbolts are?"

"I think I've heard the name? Right after the phrase 'Man! How I would like to join'."

"Well, duh." the tutor put her bottle down. "Any recruit with raw talent would kill to be a Wonderbolt. Especially the daredevils, like you. However, the Wonderbolts are more... military than ATIDA. Although they're technically part of ATIDA. Anyway," she went back to the mat. "Enough small-talk, girl, come back here so I can kick your ass!"

After that talk, she had overheard conversations about the Wonderbolts and, she remembered, a girl from her class had been recruited in her seventh month in the Academy. Although she never had time to actually investigate them, she heard constantly Spitfire's name, often accompanied by two other names: Soarin and Fleetfoot. These names were even used to praise her and the other girls in some occasions. Once, the shooting instructor in charge of the Myths said that Dash's, Sunset's, and Twilight's shooting accuracy was something he hadn't seen since Soarin had graduated. Apparently, an amazing shooter. As for Fleetfoot, some instructors had compared Dash's speed and agility to this woman's abilities. Fleetfoot also had a reputation for being a prankster, and sometimes tutors would recall any of her pranks during breaks and laugh at the memory.

So was Dash surprised when these three legends appeared in the Myths' conference room? A bit.

She stared for a couple of heartbeats, taking in their appearance, for no one had bothered to show her a picture of these three legends. She instantly noticed the impressive musculature in Soarin and Spitfire. Fleetfoot had muscle too, but not as much as her teammates, for her figure was more aerodynamic and flexible. She was short, though surely she was a few inches taller than Dash. She also noticed both girls were really pretty, Spitfire's features sharp, while Fleetfoot's beauty was fresher with her wide smile.

As for the man, well... Dash had to admit he was pretty handsome too, and that eyes of that shade of green weren't common.

"Wonderbolts?" Fluttershy asked out loud, breaking the short-lived silence. Only then noticed Dash had been staring all the time. She cleared her throat. As much as she liked the idea of working with such legends, she couldn't help but feeling a bit childishly offended.

"They're a special Agency from Cloudsdale, am I right?"

"You are," confirmed Fleetfoot, shooting Dash a silly wink. "Got a good one!"

"Oh, so you have heard of them!" Celestia smiled. "I can't believe I had forgotten to introduce you all before."

"I highly doubt that would have been possible, considering our schedule," Spitfire claimed, then smiled. Her smile wasn't as wide as Fleetfoot's, but it would do. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Celestia has told us marvels about all of you."

"And about your special capabilities," added Soarin, at last saying something. Dash made a mental note that he was the quietest of the triad.

"Well, you've been talking a lot about us!" Pinkie said to the sisters and burst out laughing immediately.

Luna chuckled. "Don't look at me, I handle the School... Mostly. She's the one bragging about you seven all around." she made a gesture with her head to her sister.

"It's nice to hear about your pride towards us, Luna," Sunset playfully arched an eyebrow.

Dash noticed Soarin and Spitfire glanced at each other, and Soarin mouthed the word 'Luna' with a questioning look at his Captain. Spitfire subtly shrugged in response and they both turned back to the other people. Dash tried to think of a reason for this weird exchange between them, but she didn't have to think it too long. Formalities. These three people were trained differently than the Myths were, although they went the first half-year to the Academy. As she had been told before, the Wonderbolts acted more like the military. They were soldiers. Soldiers that, undoubtedly, addressed their superiors formally.

So seeing the Myths address the Heads so informally surely wasn't acceptable in their eyes.

This miffed Dash a bit.

It also miffed her a bit when, as he was turning back to looking forward, her eyes crossed with Soarin's. She mentally cursed for being caught looking their way and diverted her attention back to the girls talking.

"Why don't you have a seat so we can discuss the mission?" Celestia invited the Wonderbolts to sit down. They sat down in the three spare seats Dash had noticed when she stepped in. Dash sat down as well when Fluttershy, next to her, tugged at her shirt.

She had something in her mind before Celestia started, though.

"I understand you three are here to help us," Dash said, glancing at the Wonderbolts. All three turned to her at on her. Green, amber and magenta eyes stared at her. "But I don't think it's a good idea to involve people who don't know about magic in a magic-related mission. No offense."

"None taken," Fleetfoot replied, her smile never faltering. However, Spitfire and Soarin frowned slightly.

"Rainbow Dash! Don't be rude!" Rarity scolded her. Dash raised both palms innocently.

"No, don't worry, her concerns are legit," Spitfire claimed.

"Magic may be your field of expertise, but we've got years of experience," was Soarin's response.

Dash felt a rush of anger.

"Yeah, well, we have years of experience with magic too, you know? A decade, actually."

"Dash..." Applejack warned her. "Slow down..."

"I'm not having anyone judging us from our short experience, no matter how Elite of a leader they are," Dash replied, lowering her voice. However, in the silence of the room, she was absolutely sure the Wonderbolts still heard her, judging by the eyebrow Soarin raised.

"That's not at all what he meant, Rainbow Dash," Twilight shot her a dirty look. Dash huffed. "Stop acting like a child."

Dash leaned back and shut up, and seeing the chance to talk Celestia clapped twice, turning the focus of the room to her. Her smile was still on but looked kinda forced. This was definitely not how she was expecting this meeting to go, so she laughed with a hint of awkwardness. She quickly clicked around her laptop to connect it to the screen.

"Alright, gir- Uh, I mean, everyone..." she glanced at Soarin with an apologetic look. Soarin replied with a tiny smile. "Sorry, it's the force of habit. Anyway. Turns out Sombra has decided to step out of the shadows even before we expected it," in the screen, some kind of invite appeared. "This is an invite to the Pyrite Gala, an exclusive event meant for the top business people from the country. Have you all heard of it?"

"I went a couple of times!" Fleetfoot proudly claimed. "My parents are loaded, so I was kinda dragged into that kind of stuff. That was so long ago though, and for a ten-years-old, they can be so boring. Especially when your favorite cousin would never go..." she shot a look to her male companion, who stifled a laugh.

"Fancy Pants goes there every year, and I have a few clients here and there that buy my designs for this Gala as well."

Luna blinked twice. "You do?"

"Oh! Are you a designer?!" Fleetfoot squealed. "Girl, I've been killing to get my hands on a couple of new dresses, preferably something designed especially for me, you know what I mean? What's your boutique's name? Maybe I can-"

"Fleetfoot, focus," Spitfire ordered, and Fleetfoot immediately shut her mouth, but not before she whispered:

"You are no fun!"

Dash decided she liked Fleetfoot. She seemed like lots of fun, compared to her teammates, she was bubbly and smiling all the time. She reminded her of some other bubbly girl she knew.

"Well, we have the certainty King Sombra will be there this year," Celestia claimed.

Twilight's eyes widened. "How? I haven't heard anything about that."

"We had the other hackers after him," Luna claimed. "But worry not: no one can compare with you, Twilight."

"Well, thank you!"

"There's going to be a business meeting, and they're using the Gala as a facade," Celestia continued with the explanations. "Apparently, they're going to deal with the arms they brought through Filthy Rich's Importer, and sell it to the best bidder. And this bidder is pretty picky and demanded King Sombra's presence. We'll take advantage of that."

"So it is an undercover mission?" Dash confirmed. " That's nothing we haven't done before, I mean, no offense once again to the Wonderbolts here, but I can't really see the reason why they're here, we're pretty capable of handling this ourselves."

"Well... If Celestia called us here it's for a reason, right?"

This majestic comment, which sent a chill down the spines of the rest of the people in the room, was blurted out by Soarin. Immediately, the man's eyes widened, realizing just how bad-versed his words were.

"Wait, I'm sorry, I didn't-"

Dash stood up in a jump, slamming both hands on the table and glaring daggers at the man sitting across the table. The other Myths looked at their friend, surprised at her outburst. As for the four remaining women, they here hiding their faces behind hands and binders. Ill Omen.

"Shut. The F*ck. Up." Soarin did as told. Dash was trembling with held-back rage, and the man shrunk even smaller with each passing second, not looking anymore as an imposing man but as a frightened child.

Before things could get out of hand, Applejack grabbed Dash's arm and pulled her back, for she looked ready to pounce on the man. Dash didn't fight her but neither parted her eyes away from Soarin. Applejack forced her friend to look at her in the eye.

"Calm down, Dash."

Dash pressed her lips together. She was furious, offended at the comment this man that barely knew them had made. He could say he was sorry all he wanted, that was an insult for her and her friends and all their hard work as Myths. She was boiling of anger. And though she wanted to hold back, she highly doubted she would be able to accomplish such feat.

So she took a deep breath and escaped Applejack's arms. However, deep breaths failed to calm her, so she just sat down and shut her mouth.

"It seems like we're all a bit on edge right now," said Spitfire, standing up while sending one last glare at Soarin, who shrunk even deeper in his seat. She turned at Celestia. "Do you mind if we leave this meeting for some other time, Head? Maybe after we've gotten a good rest we'll discuss the Pyrite Gala properly, hopefully with no bickering, ma'am."

"I think that's a good idea, Captain. You already know where your chambers are, please rest and excuse us for this lack of... hospitality."

"I'm the one who is sorry ma'am, for Soarin's behavior. He usually has more tact." Spitfire mumbled. The comment was clearly not targeted at Celestia but at her right-hand man.

"Everyone, you're excused," Luna said to the room.

Dash wasted no time and stood back up and left the room. She knew her friends, and probably the Wonderbolts as well, followed her with their eyes, but she couldn't care less at the moment if her reaction was childish. She just wanted to lock up in her room until her anger faded. Or maybe vent with a punching bag. Whichever worked, thankfully her bedroom provided both options.

Soarin had never felt so stupid. He had his dumb moments, sure, but that one was probably the dumbest one yet; he knew he messed up. And Spitfire looked pissed as well. As soon as Rainbow Dash had abandoned the room, she had turned to him glaring daggers and wordlessly obliged him to stand up and dragged him out of the room. Fleetfoot gave chase to her friends.

"Guys, hold up!" she begged to her two best friends. Soarin only took sporadic glances at her, and she was wearing an ashamed expression which made him turn right back again. "Spits, please, Soarin has already embarrassed us enough!"

"Hey!"

"Don't 'hey!' Soarin!" Spitfire barked back. "You have no right to 'hey!' after the one you pulled back there!"

That... was true. So Soarin shut up and allowed his best friend to drag him through the corridor of the bedrooms. Spitfire halted in front of hers and pulled out the card that Celestia had previously given her to open the door, slid the card over the panel and shoved Soarin into the room. Fleetfoot flinched when Spitfire gave her a deadly stare.

"What did I do?!" Fleetfoot pouted. Spitfire's only response was her glare, and Fleetfoot added no other word before sneaking into the room. Spitfire walked in behind her and closed the door. Soarin watched the show of which he was the protagonist from his sitting position on the couch of the bedroom. Fleetfoot approached him and sat down next to him.

Spitfire approached both cousins and stood before them, arms crossed, towering over them with a harsh glare. Soarin couldn't meet her eyes out of shame. As for Fleetfoot, she was puffing her cheeks, still not understanding what she did wrong, which was actually nothing in Soarin's eyes. But neither of them dared to confront Spitfire.

"Alright..." Spitfire sighed. "It's pretty obvious that went bad. No, it was terrible. Guys, we can't have arguments like that with the other squads, especially not with Celestia's and Luna's favorite pupils. Soarin," Soarin flinched, glancing at his fiery Captain before adverting his eyes again. Spitfire glared harder. "What happened back there?"

Soarin muttered his response. "I... I'm sorry, Spitfire. I seriously didn't mean it to come out that way..."

"Of course you didn't! You're physically incapable of connecting your brain to your mouth!" Spitfire spat, eyes looking at the ceiling with exasperation.

Fleetfoot flinched. "Spits... Calm down. I know this past few days have been pretty hard for you, but you'll give yourself an ulcer if you keep this up."

"Guys, I love you two like siblings, but you're not making it easier for me!" Spitfire claimed. She fell into the sofa behind her, massaging her temples. Soarin and Fleetfoot got up and approached her, each bent down at each side of her rubbing her arms.

"I'm sorry..." Soarin muttered first. "I'm sorry for that slip-up-"

"Slip up!?" Fleetfoot laughed. "Dude, you f*cked it up back there!"

"Fleetfoot!" this time this yell came from both Spitfire and Soarin.

"Geez, I'm sorry, but it's true."

"Yeah, I messed up, I know!" Soarin sighed. "But I really didn't mean it. We've been stressed as well and I think it's catching up to me... I promise that I'll make things right, alright?"

Spitfire couldn't answer, for three quick knocks interrupted their conversation. Seeing Spitfire too stressed to answer and knowing Fleetfoot could say more than intended, Soarin went to open the door himself.

Which proved not to be a wise decision when the person at the door was the cause of the problem. Sort of.

Rainbow Dash was in the hall, and the face she made when she saw him was clear as water of her emotions involving him. Soarin didn't blame her. He would be pretty pissed as well if the roles were reversed. He wondered if she would be as ashamed of those tactless words.

Dash breathed a frustrated sigh. "Could you three please lower your voices? The walls are thin."

Soarin felt the heat on his face increase. He tried to put on a smile, but it ended up being an awkward one. A very awkward one.

All he dared to reply was: "Uh... Sure..."

Dash nodded at the time she humped and turned around. Soarin took a quick glance back at his friends, who urged him to apologize right away, so he turned back to the quickly-walking-away young woman.

"Um... Rainbow Dash! I..."

But she ignored him and entered into the third door from Spitfire's, leaving him with his apologies halfway out of his mouth. Soarin ended up leaning forwards and had to catch himself from falling to the floor. He sighed, hanging his head. From behind him, Fleetfoot let out tuts.

"That's a stubborn one..."

Soarin banged the head against the door frame. So much for making things right.

"Here you go, sister..." Luna set a cup of Celestia's favorite green tea in front of her. Her elder sister had her face buried into her arms. She raised her head at her sister's words and the scent of fresh tea, drawing a weak smile on her face.

"Luna, you're the best, how come you always know what I need?"

"It's the mystic powers of a little sister, Tia," Luna smiled and sat down in front of Celestia's desk, whose owner took the cup between her hands. Celestia allowed the steam from the tea to bath her face for a couple of seconds before taking a sip. The sisters drank tea quietly for a handful of heartbeats before Luna broke the silence.

"What are we going to do about the Wonderbolts and the Myths?"

"The Wonderbolts and the Myths..." Celestia shook her head. "Let's be honest, the problem specifically is Rainbow Dash and Soarin. Their personalities are too different, so it's natural for them to clash. However, they also really complement each other, they just need to find the right wavelength," Luna noticed the mischevious spark that ignited in her sister's eyes. "And I might have just the perfect way to make them get along."

Luna chuckled. "Careful, sister... You might end up raising even more trouble among them "

"Or I could make them besties, let fate decide!" Celestia took another sip of her tea. "Tomorrow we'll pick up the meeting where we left it. But I'll make them sit as apart from each other as possible-" Celestia blinked. "Gosh, sometimes it looks like I'm still dealing with a bunch of kids."

As far as he was concerned, legends were nothing but twisted stories of the past. Tales of extraordinary characters accomplishing extraordinary feats under extraordinary circumstances. Characters that, most of the time, were meant to induce fear of the unknown and to the curious or the daredevils, those who would go as far as facing the odds of reason to prove the things wrong or right behind them. Many cultures had rooted legends among them. How many customs were based on them?

Despite all that, most people just saw them like that: legends.

But for him, The Dreaded Black Sorcerer was never a legend.

He was his ancestor.

It had been his mother who informed him of their past, and who handed him the ring that had been handed down to her by her father before. She had told him this ring would destine him to greatness. As long as he had the ring with him, the world would be at his mercy, if not for respect, then for fear. Everyone would bow down to him. In their home, she was always kneeling down to his feet to show him he was the King. The one true King.

"My King?"

A smirk outlined his face.

"Yes?"

"My King, you've gotten another call to confirm your meeting at the Pyrite Gala, Your Highness."

Sombra frowned, irritated at this level of insistence. He didn't like the man, and he was seriously testing his patience. He had been hella insistent of his presence in the trade, and he had given in just because the walls of his palace could drive mad anyone after a while.

But this man was really asking to have his neck snapped.

Sombra turned around to find one of his soldiers bent down, in on knee, with his fist pressed to his heart and his head lowered in a sign of respect. Once again, a smirk cracked through. It was short-lived, though, for he remembered then the reason for the presence of this man on his chambers.

"Tell him that I don't want one more call from him to 'confirm' my assistance to the trade. I'm a man of my word, and if he calls one more time, he won't live to make another call."

As expected, the man gave no reaction to this threat. He simply nodded.

"As you were, My King."

"Alright, go on then."

The man got up and with one last bow of his head, he left the room, leaving Sombra alone once again. He turned around to look at his reflection, and as usual, the first thing that caught his attention was the silver ring on his right hand.

Power.

Twilight knocked at Dash's door early in the morning as she was dressing up for her solo training. The friends had already gotten used to seeing each other half-dressed, and that day Twilight caught her favorite tomboy shirtless, but neither of them cared about it. Twilight didn't care Dash didn't meet her eyes either. She just informed her that the meeting with the Heads and the Wonderbolts would be taking place once again at midday, and Celestia requested Dash to sit down in the closest seat to the door. Dash knew this was about her little, well, misunderstanding of the prior day.

"Little?!" Twilight burst out laughing. "You'll get roasted there."

Dash could only let out a nervous laugh. She was right.

Dash left not too long after her egghead friend left, even crossing paths with Twilight in the hall, who was just coming out of Pinkie's room, probably delivering the same message she had just given her. Dash held her breath when she walked past the three doors that belonged to their guests. What was Celestia thinking when giving them the three bedrooms in their corridor? Alright, it was destined for their specific guests, but it just wasn't a good idea. Well... she couldn't have guessed her dispute with Soarin, but still...

She relaxed when she climbed into the elevator. She was alone. Letting out a sigh, she rubbed her neck to ease some tension. This whole ordeal was giving her too much stress to her liking. She could relieve some of it with some yoga before the gym, and she could top it with a session with the punching bag. That was sure to do the trick.

The elevator doors opened and Dash walked down the corridor to their gym, passing by the gunroom and the showers on her way there. She was about to get in when something stopped her dead in her tracks.

Some sound was coming from the inside... It sounded like someone was bench pressing, judging from the metallic clangs. Dash frowned at this. None of the other girls lifted weight this early. Some didn't even lift at all.

She opened the door a bit and groaned at what she found inside.

So much for relaxing. Soarin was in there, effectively, bench pressing in the far corner of the gym, and the metallic clangs came from the plates at the end of the bar, clashing against each other every time they were hoisted up or brought back down. He lifted them with ease, making the bar go up and down like it weighed nothing. Dash squinted her eyes to try to figure out how much he was lifting.

Holy sh*t! Two-hundred-thirty pounds?!

She could barely get to a hundred-twenty! Applejack could lift a hundred-fifty, but a two-hundred-thirty?!

Then she told herself not to be surprised. This, for starters, was a man. Second, he was a military that favored strength and accuracy over agility and speed (also, why would he need to be fast with such freaking long legs? He could probably walk across the gym in a couple of strides). Third, she didn't even like him, so she had no reason to be paying any attention to what he was doing. So, trying to be a mature woman, Dash stepped back, took a deep breath and came into the room with her head high and her sports bag firmly hanging from her shoulder.

... And felt slightly pathetic went she noticed he was wearing earphones and was in an angle in which he couldn't notice her.

Better for me, I don't have the need to ignore you.

So she went directly to the mats and began her yoga session in the quiet of the gym, something which in fact actually helped her relax and loosen up before going to the treadmill for her endurance course. As she relaxed while the yoga, she began planning in her mind what she would do after the treadmill. Her plan was some strength training after the treadmill, and some push-ups and squats.

She was done with her yoga and walked over to the treadmill. She started the machine and, then, out of the silence, a voice spoke up:

"Um... Excuse me?"

Dash tensed even before turning. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Soarin standing a few paces from the machine, hands fidgeting with his earbuds. Her brow flattened.

"What?" she bluntly asked.

His response was stuttering: "I... I'm sorry..."

Dash turned off the treadmill. She had decided she would start off with the punching bag.

"Don't bother," she replied, taking her bag and walking away towards the bags. She hoped he wouldn't insist on this exchange, but he seemingly had other plans and just followed her to the other side of the gym. Dash was trying her best to keep her cool. She was, really. But she was getting so ticked off for no reason lately around this guy. She was beginning to wonder what it was all about... He seemed sincere enough with his apologies.

He was still following her when she reached the punching bags. She set her sports bag aside and started wrapping her fists in compression bandages, and he stood at a reasonable distance from her. Good, at least he isn't stepping into my personal space.

"I'm being sincere here... I'm sorry for what happened yesterday in the meeting with the Heads. I wasn't implying that."

"Fine, thank you. Now leave me alone."

Dash shot him a quick glare and noticed his bewilderment at this crude statement. Gosh, this is really the Second Commander of the Wonderbolts? He's like a child!

"You don't seem convinced..." Soarin stated. Dash secured the bandage around her hand with an abrupt pull. Soarin yelped. "Don't do it like that, it's only gonna-"

"I know how to do my bandages, unlike what you seem to believe," Dash interrupted him, sending him another fierce glare. "Look, if what you want to hear is 'apology accepted', then: Apology accepted. Alright? Are you satisfied now? Is your conscience at ease? Now you can go on and leave me alone."

And she turned her back on him once again, finishing her bandages in quick motions. For a moment, she thought he would finally mind his own business and leave her alone, and thanked the heavens for this, but she cursed mentally when Soarin added one more statement:

"I just... want to make things right. Can we properly talk like mature adults?"

Something snapped in Dash's mind.

She turned around and, in a display of superspeed, approached him. She gripped his tank top and pulled him closer to her, putting their faces inches apart and sneering at him with all the anger she could muster. He didn't react at this but froze on the spot. Surely his soldier instincts were telling her to push her away, but he was frozen on the spot, not reacting.

"Hear me out, pretty boy," she whispered dangerously. "That's the LAST offense you make to me or my team, you hear? The last one. We work in way too different ways, that's pretty clear. If the sisters brought you three here there clearly must be a reason behind that and I respect that, but let's stay out of each other's way, alright? We'll do our job and walk away from each other total strangers just as before, can we do that?"

She had no time to hear his response, immediately after she finished talking, the door opened and in came Spitfire and Fleetfoot. Both women stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of the pair. Dash stared at them and Soarin did the same, but aside from their heads, they didn't move an inch from the menacing position Dash held him in. Fleetfoot's eyes jumped from one to the other. She was observing the situation, taking note of all the details, and finally, she was the one who broke the awkward silence:

"Just what bullsh*t did you say now, Soarin?!" she let out an exasperated groan. "Seriously! I'm beginning to wonder how you've survived up until now! How come no girl has ever kicked you in the ba-"

"Fleetfoot!" Spitfire and Soarin both yelled at her, and she flinched before huffing.

"What?! I mean, he got one of Celestia's favorites against us in a record time of two seconds."

"I am not against you," Dash retorted. "I know how to keep my personal relationships and my job apart. Also, is there a reason for me to be mad at you two?"

"Not at all, Agent Dash, however..." Spitfire pointed at Soarin. "Can you please let my Second-Commander go? He might get a backache bent over like that."

Dash looked back at the man she was still holding by the tank top. How did he survive being that tall? She wondered if he needed to crouch to avoid hitting his head on stuff. Like doorframes. Boy, that would be hilarious to witness. She had to hold back a chuckled which ended up being a low noise with her throat which made him arch an eyebrow. So she just let him go. He went back to being a tower while fixing his shirt.

Dash crossed her arms before addressing Soarin. "So? Do we have a deal, buddy?"

Soarin apologetically nodded. "Fine..."

"Good," Dash grabbed her sports bag. She better punched the bag in her room. "I'll be leaving. Have fun."

Soarin saw the world spinning while being shaken like a tree by Spitfire.

"Stop messing up everything!" she complained, dragging her words. "Why are you like thiiiis?"

"I swear this time it was all her fault!" Soarin tried to defend himself. "I promise none of what I said was any kind of offense! She just took it that way! I'm not her favorite person in this world, you know."

Fleetfoot decided to stop Soarin's shaking by supporting her weight in Spitfire's back. She was shorter, but it worked. Spitfire let go of her best friend. Soarin took two steps backward to avoid any more harassing from the two women. Spitfire massaged her forehead. "Alright, what did you tell her this time?"

Soarin proceded to tell his encounter with the young woman to his two best friends, who listened to every detail trying to find just where Soarin failed to have tact. He began by telling them how, when he finished his lifting, he noticed her just finishing a session of yoga. He had stood there, doubting whether to approach her or not before he finally decided to do it when she was approaching the treadmills. He told them her unwillingness to talk with him and her cold, short-lived responses to his apologies, before reciting word by word the mouthful she gave him after he had, somehow in her point of view, told her she was immature which totally wasn't what he was trying to say.

Fleetfoot hummed. "Well, it seems this time our 'pretty boy' really wasn't at fault."

"She's a girl with a temper for sure," Spitfire stated. "Also, it seems, her pride is something not to hurt at all. In fact, I think her animosity to you is nothing else but a matter of pride at this point. What do you think, Fleet?"

"I think the sexual tension in the air is too thick, I could cut it with a knife," claimed Fleetfoot, keeping a straight face like she hadn't said anything wrong at all. Soarin chocked and Spitfire threw Fleetfoot out of her back with a blow to the ribs. Fleetfoot yelped and fell over, landing on the floor with a rough hit.

"Damnit, Fleetfoot! Out of all the things you could've said!"

"Blame me!" Fleetfoot shot back at Spitfire. "This whole situation is like a bad YA novel cliché! Anytime they'll jump to each other and savagely make out..."

"Dear goodness," Soarin hid his face behind his hands.

"Oh, don't do that, you long-legged walking tomato!" Fleetfoot pointed him with an accusatory look. "Look at me in the eyes and tell me she isn't smoking hot, I dare you!"

"That's so besides the point, Fleet!" Soarin hollered back, feeling the embarrassment crawling all over him.

Fleetfoot smirked. "Oh, come on, it's been so long since you've had a good-"

"Alright, that's enough," Spitfire shut Fleetfoot with a glare.

"Whaaaat? I was gonna say a good relationship, you pervs."

"You're making him blush."

"It's not my fault he's a shy schoolgirl."

"Stop it, really," Spitfire sighed. "I don't get paid enough to bear with you two..."

"You dealt with us since we were kids, you never got paid enough," Fleetfoot chuckled. "Am I right, Soarin? Soar?"

Soarin wasn't really listening to the conversation anymore. He was staring at his shoes with a vacant expression, thinking back at his encounter with the Myth. She sure was something. What else could he say about her? As Spitfire had said, she was hot-headed and prideful, but Soarin thought about this last statement. She was confident. Not prideful or cocky, she was confident of her abilities. Because of that, it was logical she would burst if anyone dared to question her abilities which she defended with her life. Had she reasons to be like this? A little bit. After all, who, if they didn't want to get better at things, would wake up this early to hit the gym? He did so because he had the desire to be the best version of himself, professionally talking. Also, Celestia had a lot to say about the seven girls and their incredible abilities. He had never seen Rainbow Dash in person or even in a picture, but he knew well she was probably the best out of her squad, if not the best in the whole HQ. He had also been informed she had beaten Fleetfoot's speed record, Spitfire's combat record, and his own shooting accuracy record.

So he could see the problem here. Were her reactions childish? A little bit. But he couldn't blame her, he doubted he would be any less offended if someone implied his hard-work wasn't enough or whatever she thought he meant.

We'll do our job and walk away from each other total strangers just as before, can we do that?

Total strangers, huh? I don't think so.

Maybe he wouldn't become her best friend, or her friend even. But he was determined to at least leave in good terms with her. He knew for a fact the rest of the Myths didn't hold a grudge to him, so she was the one with who he had to make amends. He had promised to stay out of her way, but that didn't mean he couldn't at least try to be nice. He just had to figure out how to get on her good side.

Soarin chuckled to himself. Boy did he know her bad side. She was small, tiny even; he towered over her for a good deal. But she imposed her presence with amazing willpower and strength, and confidence. She had an aura of dominance that –if intimidating for most– it came out as pretty... charming for him. He froze in the spot as if those bright magenta eyes had turned him into stone. And since he was going to her appearance, how the hell could someone have such colorful hair? He had never seen anything like that, it was amazing. No, beautiful. She was petite and nicely built, almost as daring anyone to pick a fight with her so she could kick their *ss.

She was truly something...

"Soarin!" Soarin snapped back to reality at Fleetfoot's cry, who had positioned herself in front of him and was shaking her hand in front of his eyes. "Geez, welcome back to Earth. Where the hell did you go just now?" she frowned. "Oh, come on, you can stop blushing now. I'm not picking on you anymore."

Author's Note

Pyrite: Mineral thought to attract money, good businesses and prosperity.

Aaaand we're back at it! Sorry for the slight delay, I couldn't find a single moment to edit the chapter and publish it But here it is! I hope you liked it!

See, the Wonderbolts have always been one of my favorite group of characters, and I love working with these three specifically. I love the dynamic they have. As you can notice, I have pretty solid personalities set for each of them... Even if the show wouldn't let us know a lot about them

In short, Fleetfoot is the 'girls just wanna have fun', Spitfire is serious and down-to-the-earth, and Soarin is the lovable dork.

Behold! The Soarindash!

So this arc will be a lot about Dash's character growth, but as always, important stuff will happen here. Very important stuff. So watch out, we already have a tiny bit of backstory in this part

That's about it, thank you for reading!

Until next time!
-Midday Giggle