Monday, April 11th. 11:40 The Young Flyers Competition Contestants entrance

The roar of the crowd overwhelmed Dash at first. She gripped her lance tighter for a moment, glad for the thickly-padded leather gloves Bronze had insisted she wear, no matter how much Rarity had argued they stood out like a sore thumb against her flightsuit. It had all happened so quickly. Entering the arena, walking to Soarin's side... The other three contestants had been ordered to fight in the melee while she was throwing javelins. She had managed to score five solid hits on the javelin throw.

When it was her turn to join the combat display, however, she noticed that there was nopony else waiting except for Soarin and her father, who was holding onto her mother’s lance. Soarin grinned at her and blew his whistle, a short series of blasts that she knew immediately was a signal for someone. Like she’d been waiting for this, from Celestia’s private box, Fleetfoot rose into the glorious aura of the noon sun. She wasn't in a show uniform, with the glitter and soft silk like the rest of the Wonderbolts were. The shape of the chainmail reinforcements under a thick velvet shell was obvious to Dash. Apparently Fleetfoot meant business. Dash felt her mouth dry out, and tried to swallow a few times, attempting to ignore the rapid beat of her heart.

“Fleetfoot! Oh Light, that’s Fleetfoot! Why in Equestria is she going to be my partner?!”

Moving to Dash’s side, Blitz offered out her mother's lance, his prideful grin wide and firm. Humor danced in his eyes, and Dash suspected he’d known who was going to fight her all along. When she took her lance, Blitz finally spoke up. “The ‘Bolts were arguing over who'd get to fight you, but Fleetfoot won out. She was your mom’s wingpartner a long time ago. Do us both proud.”

To Dash’s shock, her sire slipped one of the flowers from his garden out of his suit. It looked healthier than she’d ever seen any of them bloom. Uncomfortable feelings welled up in her chest, and she tried to speak, but Blitz beat her to the punch. “Watch her left leg. She got a nasty scar on it years ago, and it still bugs her sometimes… I have always loved you, Dash. Your mother would be proud to see you here today. “

As her father tried to avoid looking her in the eye, Dash saw his begin to tear up. He pinned it to the zipper of her flight suit. Dash took a moment to look down at the flower. The faint flecks of purple in the blue were just like her eyes. When Blitz clasped her shoulders firmly, she finally looked up at him, as he gazed deep into her eyes. His voice was soft and quick. “Now go kick her ass.”

Nodding sharply and blinking rapidly to stem the tears already trying to form, she gave him a smirk. She didn’t trust herself to speak. Not right now. When he nodded back and stepped aside, Dash took a deep breath.

Stepping out from under her father's shadow, Rainbow Dash adjusted her grip and lifted the blade of her mother's lance. A new roar joined that of the crowd; as one, every Wonderbolt Dash could see stamped their feet and clapped their hands. Unlike the wild, uneven roar of the crowd, their united effort was timed as one, and over the crowd’s roar, a new name was called.

“Dash!”

A pause, and Dash’s heart skipped a beat. She couldn't think; couldn't breathe. All as one, again the Wonderbolts roared:

“Dash!”

They knew her name. Everypony watching knew it now. A slow trickle of sweat ran down Dash’s neck, but distantly, she remembered Blitz bringing her to the Young Flyers Competition as a filly. They had done the same thing for Soarin, and Blitz had told her afterwards it was because his dam had died from injuries she sustained on the Night of the Red Sun.

Remembering how Soarin had responded, Dash echoed his response. Thrusting her mother's lance into the sky, Dash saluted them in return, and the cheer fell off.

Across the melee circle from Dash, Fleetfoot shifted her stance, her right leg drifting back as she hefted her lance. Meeting the Wonderbolt’s gaze, Dash lowered her lance, and shifted into a ready stance. Walking between them, Soarin lifted both hands high overhead, his silver whistle glinting between his lips as he took up position.

Eyes locked, bladed spear in position, Dash felt almost foalish as the scent of the flower tied to her flight suit drifted up to tease her senses. Her father’s voice came to her from the memory of watching Soarin stand where she stood now preparing to fight: “Remember, Dash. It’s important that they don't tense up while waiting for the whistle. They have to stay loose, stay on the balls of their feet, and use their eyes before anything else. They watch the way each other breathe. The shift of their leg muscles. Every action they take tells a story.”

Very carefully, Dash shifted her weight and adjusted her stance while never taking her eyes off Fleetfoot. Nearly hidden by the roar of the crowd, Soarin suddenly inhaled and began to blow. For a moment, the world slowed down, running in slow motion around her as if covered in jam. A muscle in Fleetfoot’s cheek twitched, and her left leg tensed to accept weight. Unlike every other sparring match this morning, the Wonderbolt officer wasn't waiting for Dash to act first. She sprang into motion, lunging forward before Soarin’s hands had even dropped past his chest.

Yet in Dash's slow, silent place in the world, for all of the older mare’s tremendous speed, to Dash, she moved in slow motion. Almost without needing to think about it, Dash dove to her right, moving away from Fleetfoot’s more powerful side. Her body moved practically on its own, whipping up into position to jab once, a swift, focused strike at Fleetfoot’s left shoulder.

For the briefest moment, Dash could feel a bit of pressure on the tip of her bladed lance head. There was a whisper of metal cutting fabric and a flash of glitter as the sun caught a hint of the hidden mithril chainmail. Then, all at once the world came back, flooding her quiet moment of focused thought, and washing it away with a cacophony of noise and motion. Where she had momentarily felt like she had forever to plan a reaction to every action Fleetfoot made, Dash now struggled to keep up with how quickly Fleetfoot reacted to everything Dash attempted.

Sweat began to stream down Dash’s back, but her mind was flooded with memories of the last time she had fought somepony this challenging.

Nearly two years before, The Apple Family Barn

Applejack had knocked Dash to the floor of the barn, pinning her to the ground with a foot on her shoulder. The taller mare held Dash’s trapped arm with two hands to keep her from wiggling free. Panting for breath, Applejack whistled sharply, her breathless voice making no attempt to hide how impressed she was. “You have got to be the squirmiest mare I've ever rumbled with, Rainbow Dash. Do they teach that in Cloudsdale?”

Dash lay face down, trapped by the weight planted on her shoulder. She was unable to break Applejack’s iron grip no matter how much she twisted her arm. Panting for breath into the loose stack of hay, Dash pushed her head out of the scratchy mess before snapping back. “Sure. You say that, but if I try to fight you now, you'll break my arm! How's that fair?”

Not pausing to watch as Applejack started to rationalize herself, Dash shifted all of her weight onto her free arm and leg. She rolled herself over sideways to loosen the pressure on her arm, instead of pushing up against Applejack’s restraining foot like the farm-mare probably expected. Off balance from the sudden loss of footing, Dash caught Applejack further off guard by grabbing her hands where she was already gripping Dash’s other hand and, with all of her strength, pulled Applejack down on top of her. The result was a sweating mess of panting bodies and tangled limbs, and a crude mix of cursing and laughter from the powerful earth mare.

Enjoying her minor victory deeply, Dash awkwardly moved one tangled arm over and pulled a piece of straw out of Applejack’s face. “So, I’ll ‘never escape your best hold,’ right? What do I win?”

Her cursing and laughter stopped, and in answer, Applejack leaned in, her eyes half closed as she pressed an aggressive kiss to Dash’s lips. Gasping for breath when Applejack eventually let Dash pull back, Applejack cocked an inquisitive eyebrow high. “What do you think you win, sugarcube?”

Crashing back to reality, Dash barely had any time to react to Fleetfoot’s next move. The older mare made a thrust at Dash’s exposed left side, and Dash tensed as if to leap away once more. But at the last second, she twisted her upper body instead, the lance missing by only a hair’s breadth.

As the blade whistled past, Dash wrapped her arm around the wooden lance’s shaft, trapping it against her side even as Fleetfoot continued forward in a rush. Ready for the impact, Dash was still shocked by pain as they collided together. Momentarily regretting that she hadn’t worn her own chainmail, Dash did her best to ignore the distracting pain of Fleetfoot’s armor crashing into her chest.

Reacting as swiftly as she could, Dash cocked her head back before lunging forward and attacking in that brief opening. Dash knew that the crack of their skulls colliding would continue to haunt her well after the fight.

Ignoring the sickeningly dizzy feeling that dominated her head, Dash let go of Fleetfoot’s lance and dropped her own at the same time. She balled her fists together and struck Fleetfoot’s right shoulder, landing three rapid, heavy blows down onto the Wonderbolt’s weapon arm. In the process, Dash shredded her leather gloves on Fleetfoot’s exposed chainmail, and took a stunningly accurate and hard punch to the temple for her efforts.

Dazed and barely able to focus with her left eye after the blow to the side of her head, Dash kicked up her lance and retreated to a safe distance. The only condolence she could take was that Fleetfoot was breathing just as hard as she was, and her grip on her weapon appeared loose. Dash was only allowed a moment of reprieve before Fleetfoot pressed the attack once more.

The next few minutes were a blur. Dash’s world consisted of feints, dodges, attacks, and the constant roar of the crowd. Eventually, the two pulled apart, trying to gain some space. Fighting her scattered thoughts, Dash desperately tried to recall how long they’d been fighting. She knew that the time for their match would run out soon, and she had to win this fight.

A faint feeling of slick warmth distracted Dash momentarily, and she couldn’t help but notice distractingly that she'd cut her hands more than she'd first noticed on Fleetfoot’s armor. Hunting for a plan, Dash remembered some advice Bronze Feather had given her from their duel.

“Sometimes Dash, you'll encounter a foe too heavily armored to beat in a fair fight. When that happens, you need to get smart. Every armor has holes somewhere: the back of the neck, the elbow, the shoulder. And if you can’t find it? Disarm them. Almost anypony will give up a fight if you can steal their weapon out of their hands.”

Dash forced her lazy eye to focus on Fleetfoot’s right leg, ignoring the growing pain that throbbed in the back of her head. It would be so simple: just rush forward, distract her, and steal the win. But was she fast enough to trick a Wonderbolt twice?

Widening her stance, Dash lowered her lance and aimed for her new target. Trying to minimize how obvious her breathing and movement might give away her real goal, committing her body to the strike as though it were her final chance to win. She only hoped it would be enough to throw the seasoned veteran off her guard.

Despite how hard she was breathing, Fleetfoot was still light on her feet. And for just a moment, Dash worried that the senior mare would dodge her completely. She beat her wings to add speed to her frantic charge. Adrenaline pumped through her body in time with a heartbeat that pounded in her ears. It took everything she had to turn her lance in the final beat before the two fighters met.

Spiraling her blade to wrap around Fleetfoot’s lance, Dash twisted sharply and used the leverage to pull against the older mare's grip as hard as she could. This time when they crashed together and locked body to body, Dash kept driving forward, using her wings’ powerful beats to knock Fleetfoot back and off balance.

In a final surge, Dash twisted her lance straight up and thrust her arm out to the side, finally overpowering Fleetfoot and forcing her away. Breathing hard, a dazed part of Dash’s mind realized that a sudden silence had filled the arena. As Fleetfoot’s lance soared through the air and clattered to the ground, nopony moved. Bouncing several times, the lost weapon rolled to a stop nearly twenty feet away. In one motion, Dash spread her wings wide and leveled her lance at the Wonderbolt, forcing her weary arms to point the blade at Fleetfoot’s chest. Her dry lips and weary voice cracked as she croaked out the traditional request. “Do you yield?”

Before Fleetfoot could answer, the piercing shriek of Soarin’s silver whistle split the air, signaling that their time was up. Suddenly sagging, like a puppet whose strings had been cut, Dash dropped to her knees in a dazed stupor while the arena exploded in a newfound roar of energy. It wasn't until Blitz clasped his hands on her shoulders and Surprise took her lance away that the words Fleetfoot whispered with a small smirk as the whistle sounded fully registered.

“I yield, Rainbow Dash.”

The ringing in Dash's ears had not faded from the chanting of the crowd by the time Surprise and Blitz helped her back into the waiting room. She was greeted by the roar of other contestants, followed by their jubilant cheers and overly-enthusiastic slaps on the back. Eventually a medic forced her way past the gathered crowd with the help of a guard, and after seeing the bruise on Dash’s forehead, she demanded to inspect it closer. There had even been threats of stitching a cut on her brow closed when Dash tried to say she was fine.

Dazed and feeling slightly nauseous, Dash simply tried to ignore how far her stomach had sunk, despite her victory. She took a deep breath, trying to stop her stomach from jumping around. ”I mean, I won, but if I feel this bad now, I’m not going to be able to do much of anything during the free-flight part…” She fought down the panic that thought brought on, and instead just looked up to where her dad was, smiling proudly. She flashed the cockiest grin she could manage at him. Distantly, she could make out a familiar voice, but the tone was strange, and the room was so noisy that she just shrugged it off.

Changing back in from the tunnel entrance to the arena, Soarin roared over everypony in the room, a breathless cadet at his side carrying his lance and shield. “Where in Tartarus is Gentle Breeze!? She's supposed to be up now! Anypony? She ain't exactly easy to miss in a crowd. Bat mare, about five foot six, white hair? Anyone?!”

Earning a moment of silence with the powerful volume of his voice, Soarin scanned the room. Meanwhile, the guard at the door continued his argument. “...And I told you, lassie, if she doesn't have her competitor’s ID, she can't bloody enter the locker room. Just ‘cause you say she's part of the competition doesn't change anything.”

Confused, disoriented, and unable to do much more than focus on the odd conversation that wouldn't end by the door, Dash watched the guard as the familiar voice outside grew more frustrated with every word. “And. I. Said. SHE. FORGOT. THEM! INSIDE!”

The next thing that happened made Dash actually worry about how hard she’d hit her head. One moment the guard was snorting derisively and had begun to close the door in the face of whoever he had been arguing with, and the next he was thrown back several feet, his breastplate dented inwards from a terrific blow. Everypony in the room was immediately on their feet and rushing to react, while Fluttershy walked demurely through the doorway, a worried look in her eyes. “Ohhh- I hope he's okay… I told him we didn't have time to talk.”

Jaw agape, not believing her eyes, Dash watched as a short bat mare stepped around the downed guard, shaking her head. She looked as surprised as Dash felt, and she said exactly what Dash was thinking. “But… you didn't even have gauntlets on or anything! How did you do that, Fluttershy? And can you teach me how to do it, too?”

Soarin recognized Breeze and rushed over to her while gesturing for the rest of the crowd to back off. He tried to appear calm despite grabbing the bat filly by the hand but his voice sounded frustrated. “Oh by the Light! Hurry up, Breeze, you’re late and not even geared up! Where are your blades? And where were you, anyways!?”

Uninterested in being rushed, Breeze rolled her eyes and snatched her hand out of Soarin’s. She took her time walking over to her locker and unlocking it. She muttered under her breath at the older stallion. “I did what I said I was going to do. I went to feed my bird friends. I got a loaf of bread from the kitchen and stayed out of everypony's way. No fights or anything, just like I promised Silk.”

With her young friend taken care of, Fluttershy only needed a moment of looking around the room at stunned or confused ponies to become immediately self-conscious. But as soon as she noticed Dash watching her, she gasped and rushed across the room to the medic’s side. “Oh Dashie! What did you do to your hands!? You cut them up really badly!” Rifling through the medic’s open bag, Fluttershy’s only response to the medic’s glare was to point her back at her work. “I’m just an herbalist, so I’m no good with complicated medicine, but I can at least dress her hands while you do something about that big bruise on her face, alright?”

Whether it was due to remembering that this unassuming mare had dented the breastplate of the guard with just her bare hand, or the oddly powerful stare she leveled on the medic, there was no argument. Fishing out of another bag still clipped to her side, the medic passed a bottle that Dash didn’t recognize until they opened it. At the faint but familiar scent of iodine, Dash’s stomach only sank lower, rolling against her will, as if offended by the mild metallic odor. Starting to get a little worried, Dash finally spoke. “You don’t really need to stitch anything, right?”

Wetting a cotton cloth, the medic turned to Surprise, who Dash was shocked to see, and gave her a nod. “If she needs stitching and won’t hold still for me, you hold her head. But-” Turning to look at Dash, the medic glared at her sternly. “If you hold still, and let me clean the blood off, we can see if I need to stitch you or not. So stop getting so excited, alright?”

Swallowing back the feeling in her stomach, Dash gave the mare a serious nod, but couldn’t keep herself from gasping when Fluttershy poured the sterilizing liquid over her scraped up knuckles. Making herself breathe slowly, the squeeze of Blitz’s grip on her shoulder was reassuring, and she made herself relax as best she could.

As the medic started rubbing the cotton over her face, Dash needed something, anything to focus on to get away from the splitting headache that spiked through her skull as the medic put pressure on her face. Her distraction came in the form of Soarin and the bat mare that had showed up with Fluttershy. While she had added almost no armor to complement her black flightsuit, Dash was equally surprised to see she had also grabbed the oddest choice of ‘weapon’. On each hand, the mare had fitted heavy steel bladed gauntlets that enveloped her arms from hand to elbow on both sides, while the metal guard on the outside of her arm continued all the way up to her shoulders. They were clearly recently forged, with only a few faint nicks on the highly-polished metal. The twin, built in, claw-like blades extended forward a full eighteen inches from between the index and middle finger as well as the pinky and ring.

She was fascinated by the way the young and tiny mare walked with confidence beside Soarin out into the arena, standing as tall as she could manage beside the towering Wonderbolt stallion. Moving slowly to the middle of the sparring area, Breeze and Soarin squared off. A stallion - and not just any stallion, Soarin - with lance and shield against a mare with claws. Dash almost felt bad for the small mare - this would be over before it even began.

Dash glanced down at the work Fluttershy was doing to wrap up her hands, the clean white bandages helping to stop the bleeding. Truth be told, her hands felt better already. As a whistle split the air, Dash’s attention jumped back to the fight outside.

The two combatants watched each other until the start whistle pierced the air. In an instant, the filly bolted forward, her wings beating just as furiously as her legs pumped. She dove and slid feet first on her suddenly-folded wings to come up under Soarin's upraised lance and shield taking the Wonderbolt by surprise. Using her tiny size to her advantage, Breeze leaped back up inside his guard, pressing herself close against his body. One of her bladed gauntlets trapped his lance between the blades, while the other scraped over his shield wrist, shredding the cloth and raking against the chainmail beneath.

Climbing higher, Breeze unfurled her wings for balanced and braced her feet on Soarin's knees, inexplicably clinging onto him. With a flick of her wrist, her bladed gauntlet raked across the back of his weapon hand, shearing through the silk of his suit and into the skin beneath. Between the pain and the wrenching motion of her bladed gauntlet, Soarin was forced to let go of the lance.

As shocked as Dash was, the filly didn't stop her rapid, berserker-like combat style. The moment Soarin released his lance, that gauntleted hand shot up, balled into a fist. The mare expertly landed three rapid blows to Soarin’s temple, without once scraping his face with the blades.

Reeling backwards, his eyes glazed over, Dash could already see it, even if the rest of the crowd hadn't noticed yet. In a split second, the diminutive mare had knocked the Wonderbolt unconscious, and was even now riding him to the arena’s cloud floor, still trying to make him release his shield with rapid and calculated blows to the wrist.

Silence spread over the arena as the crowd realized just how quickly the tiny bat mare had felled the stallion. Surprisingly, growing slowly from the Wonderbolts themselves, a cheer began to rise. Unable to join in after a glare Fluttershy leveled at her when she tried to, Dash could only mutter under her breath. “What in Tartarus happened there?”

1pm, The Wonderbolts Arena, Fleetfoot’s Office

Dusk had been on his feet with many of the audience when the bat filly knocked out Soarin, holding Scootaloo on his shoulders so she could see over the crowd. Which was how the royal messenger found him when he arrived. With a bemused expression on his face at seeing a magistrate hold a filly on his shoulders, the messenger handed Dusk the scroll. Once Dusk passed Scootaloo to Pinkie, he accepted the scroll and sat down, breaking the seal only after carefully inspecting the crest.

Magistrate Dusk Shine,

If you are free, it would be best if we talked before the rankings for the first two three rounds get posted. Simply show my crest to any guard on duty and they will direct you to my offices in the barracks.

Major Fleetfoot

Excusing himself from the box, and giving Rarity’s cheek a soft kiss so he could whisper in her ear where he was going, Dusk mulled over the few facts that this letter added to the enigma. Until now, he had been willing to ignore the odd comments from both Dash and Blitz had made about how strange the missing announcements of what the current standings were. Why would a member of the Wonderbolt command ranks wish to talk with a civilian about a matter of military concern?

It wasn't until he noticed an old flyer on the wall as he made his way back to the main staircase that Dusk picked out an answer. An answer that left him fuming.

Just as Fleetfoot had said, all Dusk had needed to do was show her crest to the first guard he met, and soon he was being led out of the arena grandstands, and into the older building that was the Wonderbolts barracks. Trailing after the guard in the tight stairways but matching at her side when they came to a flat landing, Dusk attempted to focus, relax, and gather more information. “Tell me, Senior Airpony, has Winter Dust of the Pegasopolis Historical Society or Spring Rain of the Commander Hurricane Memorial School judged one of these contests before?”

Shocked out of her measured pace, the young mare fell off her stride for two or three steps before realizing she had fallen behind Dusk and had to catch up with him in a quick rush, answering hurriedly but trying to act casually. “What? Oh, well at one time or another, they've each taken a turn as judges of the Young Flyers Competition. I suppose now that you mention it, it is a little odd, but they are both respected elders in Cloudsdale society.”

Nodding calmly, Dusk worded his next question as diplomatically as he could manage. “And do many of the Wonderbolts consider Blueblood’s marefriend, Red Rail, a skilled enough judge of the talents of a Wonderbolt? I don't mean to be rude about her medical condition, but she is listed on the pamphlets as the replacement judge for Spitfire.”

Unsure of how to respond to Dusk's carefully selected phrasing, the young Wonderbolt mare coughed nervously into her hand, looking around for some way to change the topic. “Say! Did you know, Magistrate, that the Wonderbolt barracks is built based on the original plans made by Blazing Firefly himself? We've had to scale the building up over the centuries, but he thought it was important officers and recruits live together with their families to improve morale!”

Noticing how the mare refused to meet his gaze, turning away from him to stand before one of the grand windows that lined the hall, Dusk gave her a definitive sigh. “In other words, you are all annoyed that a Canterlot Noble is getting to judge a Wonderbolt tournament despite her obvious lack of military or real world experience. But you're also too polite to openly protest against a disabled mare.”

Idly fingering the blue drapes, Dusk’s escort answered - after a fashion - as she looked out the window. “It sure is a nice and sunny day. No reason to linger on disappointing weather while the sun is shining.”

It wasn't hard for Dusk to understand the uncomfortable situation he had put her in, and rather than bother her anymore, he simply nodded to himself before gesturing to the distant door at the end of the hallway where two guards were watching them. Conveniently far enough away to be out of earshot… at least for most ponies. Dusk was sure she had stopped to avoid being overheard, even at this distance. “I take it that's Fleetfoot’s office, right?”

Springing to attention as if they had never broken off their original conversation, the mare rushed to Dusk's side and returned to a stiff but professional posture. “Yes, of course, magistrate! The medics should be done with her. Her brawl with Firefly’s foal left her a bit bruised, if grinning like a filly!”

Making himself relax a little as he approached the door, Dusk saluted the guards with respect while his escort showed them Fleetfoot’s letter. Proving they were good at their job, the guards spent a few minutes intensely inspecting the finite details, and even looking through a silver-edged book. Dusk was confused at the presence of portraits drawn on almost every page until they stopped on a picture Dusk instantly recognized as himself. He was also surprised to see that on the opposite page, a stunningly accurate copy of his crest had been drawn.

Satisfied, the book was closed, and both guards offered Dusk a salute in return, the tall mare speaking up at last. “Sorry for the delay, Magistrate Dusk Shine, but security is tight right now.”

Accepting their apology and leaving his escort behind with a gentle wave of thanks, Dusk walked into the office alone. The single window across the room was shuttered tightly closed, meaning all the light inside the chamber came from a small fireplace on the north wall to Dusk’s right and a collection of candles upon the cluttered desk. The rich scent of honey hung in the air and drew his attention to the mare behind the desk. Her shoulder was covered with a heavy poultice, held in place by a cloth wrap. It mostly hid the bruising that had already begun to form over the spot Dash had hammered on her shoulder, while the stitching over her left eye was fresh. Dusk then realized that the honey in the air was an attempt to mask the slight smell of blood coming off from her.

Lifting a hand, Fleetfoot forestalled Dusk before he could speak, signing paperwork on her desk with efficiency. Regardless, her serious expression barely hid a grin that curled up the edges of her lips. When she spoke, laughter danced in her eyes, and her words sounded surprised. “You’re not screaming at me, yet. If you’re that much like your brother, it means you’re either in seething-rage-mode, or are busy calculating all the political angles… unless, I suppose, Princess Cadence showed up unexpectedly and talked to you before you got here. She has a knack for calming your brother down to at least a ‘frustratedly accepting’ level.”

Remembering the few times he had met and talked with Fleetfoot before moving to Ponyville, Dusk wondered just how often his brother’s work overlapped with the Wonderbolts’. Stepping forward, Dusk placed both hands flat on the desk and exhaled with great care, making sure to do it overdramatically, as he remembered his mother doing before talking to a particularly sharp-tongued retainer from Saddle Arabia years ago. “I might have been angry, Major Fleetfoot, but it wasn’t your fault Spitfire got new orders. I might have been infuriated, in fact, if the Wonderbolts ran a rigged event. I might have been livid, Major, if I thought for a minute some council of elders was playing a secret game of favoritism behind the curtains. But I talked to a mare on the way here, and without ever saying a word, she expressed the shame running through every Wonderbolt at the mishandling of today’s events. And that is why I am not upset. Because that is what you wanted to talk about, correct?”

Bursting into laughter, her hard demeanor dropping entirely, Fleetfoot pushed the page she had been reading across the table to him, her signature still wet and fresh at the bottom. “You figured it out already. Well, that just means I have less to explain and apologize for. These are the current standings according to three judges whose opinion will not matter after today. But ignore them. Dash may not know our moves as well as Thrash, and she isn’t as crazy as that little bat pony, but so far she’s the best pony on the field… and if you ever tell anypony, I’ll have to deny it, because three judges who have never held a weapon in their lives voted for political reasons instead of brains, skill, and natural talent.”

His eyes dropped to drift over the paper before him. Dusk wasn’t surprised to see that Thrash had made it in first due to ‘perfect’ scores in all three opening events. That Dash had been forced into second came as no shock now, but the thought that somehow Blueblood was earning favors from others by dragging her down angered him. He took solace in the fact that the young filly Gentle Breeze was in third due to how impressive her martial skills were, no matter the embarrassing way she had crashed during the first flight routine. Pushing the paper back towards Fleetfoot, Dusk made himself remain calm, breathing with focused care. “And you would count it a favor if I didn’t tell Rainbow Dash? She’d never stand for lies this obvious. She’d-”

Shifting in her chair a little, Fleetfoot coughed loudly, interrupting him. “She’s the Element of Loyalty. The Wonderbolts… The real Wonderbolts, we pride ourselves on loyalty… and self-sacrifice. I have a feeling you’re underestimating her. I think these results will only make her try harder. At least, that’s if she’s anything like her mother. And after that fight, I think it’s safe to say she has a lot of Firefly in her.” Pausing to sip at a cup of thick herbal tea, Dusk noticed the way she winced at just lifting it. Fleetfoot’s voice was softer when she finally continued. “Speaking of parents, you should know your own are doing well. Your mother has made it her mission to show Celestia’s compassion to the poor and clanless griffons.”

Caught by the whiplash of Fleetfoot's sudden change of topics, Dusk’s mind raced to adjust. His last conversation about his mother with an outsider had not been reassuring, and to have the taste of political favours on his lips moments before having her brought up left him uncomfortably ill-prepared. “I- she… well yes. But why-”

Placing her empty tea mug on the only bare corner of the desk, Fleetfoot gave him a wan smile. “Not that I would ever discuss military policy with a civilian, even a magistrate appointed by Princess Celestia herself, but you can be assured that your mother’s charitable work will continue. It’ll be announced before the flying display that I am bringing reinforcements to Spitfire personally. And what’s more, a respected hero of many skirmishes with the griffons will be at my side. Coming fresh out of retirement, Rainbow Blitz will make a great advisor to help with the ongoing Griffon Civ-” Cutting herself off, and giving a long and pained sigh of annoyance, Fleetfoot started again, raising her hands up to further empathise the words she already clearly disliked. “Forgive me, I obviously misspoke. We are attempting to help calm the current griffon ‘unrest’.”

Now Dusk understood. Fleetfoot was clearly not supposed to speak on these topics, but felt it worthwhile to bring them to his attention. Perhaps she wanted to soothe his worry about his parents, or maybe to show her own frustration at the political doublespeak she was forced to deal with. Regardless, the idea of the largest battalion of the Wonderbolts joining Spitfire’s in dealing with the Griffon Empire was reassuring. Trying to relax, Dusk picked up Fleetfoot’s quill and scribbled on a piece of paperwork that had been discarded under the mess upon her desk. Passing it over to the Wonderbolt, Dusk stood up again while putting her quill back in its inkpot. “I daresay the young Emperor will be grateful for the opportunity to have the Wonderbolts’ assistance in quelling this unrest. With Blitz to advise both you and Spitfire, there will soon be peace again.”

Fleetfoot looked over his note, and folded it up, slipping it somewhere inside the loose torso of her uniform. Suddenly professional again, she snapped to attention, her salute as crisp as any that Shining Armor had given. “It was a pleasure to talk with you Magistrate Dusk Shine. I regret my new orders mean I won't be able to see you after this tournament is over, but duty is duty, and the Princess never asks more from us than she sacrifices herself.”

Returning Fleetfoot's crisp salute, Dusk started to turn away, but a half-thought tickled his mind, and he paused, turning back. “By the way, Fleetfoot. If a new applicant wanted to add details to her paperwork… just where would one have to submit the changes?”

The confused look that appeared on her face lingered for just a moment, before Fleetfoot shifted to rest her hands on her hips. “A recent application? I've got them all on file here for the tournament, Dusk. But they ship off to Canterlot once all the judges’ scoring is finished and attached.”

Relaxing a little, Dusk stepped back up to the desk, returning to a professional posture as he addressed the Wonderbolts commander. “Rainbow Dash asked me to add another name to her contact list, and since it would save time and paperwork if I did it now, before it gets filed in Canterlot, I'd like to ask for your permission to do so. If we need an additional witness, surely one of your guards will do, right?”

Pulling open a drawer on her otherwise-messy desk, Fleetfoot revealed crisp pages of paperwork, a stunning contrast to the dull and smudged mess that lay all over. Reading off the names, she drew out Rainbow Dash’s and gave him a shrug. “If a magistrate witnessed by a member of the Wonderbolt command staff isn't enough for the pencil pushers, a random guard would never make a difference.”

Relaxing and laughing a little at Fleetfoot’s playful but open contempt for the administrative side of her job, Dusk scanned over the paperwork, finding the space where Applejack and Blitz’s names had been written. Oddly, beside Blitz's name there was a highly detailed stamp. It was emblazoned with many symbols and filigree that resembled the Wonderbolts’ own emblem. There were two notable differences on this one, however. One of the wings of the sigil was folded in, where the Wonderbolts’ were normally spread wide. Additionally, there were two letters inscribed in the center, simply reading ‘D.D.’ Pushing his confusion aside for now, Dusk signed in his own name then added it to the bottom of the page along with his own emblem, and passed the page back to Fleetfoot.

While she signed her own name beside the two places he had, Dusk couldn't help but inspect the silver emblem again. Its similarity to the Wonderbolts’ emblem made it feel like he should know it, but its minor difference stumped him. “Fleetfoot, what does that mean? ‘D.D.’?”

Flicking her eyes to the sliver design, Fleetfoot gave him a small shrug, her tone mild, careful. “That’s an emblem for special ops.”

Realizing she was being evasive, Dusk pressed the commander gently. “But Blitz isn't special ops… is he?”

Giving Dusk a mild, blank stare, Fleetfoot blotted the wet ink and returned the page back to its drawer before answering stiffly. “No, Blitz isn't.” Using a knee to close the drawer, the noise of it banging shut seemed to close the discussion as well. Fleetfoot straightened up, pulling up her uniform to cover the bandages. “We’d better be going now Dusk. The Wonderbolts display starts soon, and Dash is scheduled to go first as soon as we're done.”

Clearly not interested in talking about the odd emblem, Fleetfoot escorted Dusk from her office. Dusk mentally filed the emblem away, wanting to look into it further. He doubted it would harm Dash in any way, but he also didn’t like potentially problematic surprises when it came to his friends.

2pm, The Wonderbolts Arena

The thunderous applause echoed through the staircase as Dusk rushed two steps at a time on the way back to his seat. He paused once, just long enough at a window to peek out and see what had the audience going so crazy. Nothing had started yet, but in the air overhead, lone Wonderbolts flew in full military uniform, moving with such speed that they left behind contrails. It was clearly part of some planned, organized effort, with each new arrival passing once over the crowd before crossing the arena in a straight line from where their display ended, until they landed on the upper wall. Every time another joined, those on the wall shifted a few feet over, leaving exactly equal distance between every Wonderbolt standing at crisp attention. Already, over a hundred stood at attention, and the pace only seemed to be picking up.

Pulling away from the poor view, Dusk turned back to the stairs, rushing up the last flight to finally return to the level where his box waited. Grabbing the railing for support as he bolted around the corner, Dusk collided straight into Fluttershy.

For what felt like an embarrassing eternity, one of Dusk’s hands rested on Fluttershy’s chest, while Fluttershy’s arms grasped at his sides. Lost in her eyes, Dusk felt his cheeks heat up, but his mind had shut down, and seemed to have no reason to try and restart anytime soon.

Loudly laughing and cuffing Dusk’s shoulder, Blitz was the one who broke the oddly serene moment created by two ponies accidently rushing through the halls. His boisterous voice booming in the empty stairwell. “Are you two going to stare at each other all day? Or are you going to kiss the mare and hurry back to the box seats? My filly is set to go as soon as the Wonderbolts finish and I'd like to be there to see what new tricks she's come up with while in Ponyville.”

Embarrassedly pulling out of Fluttershy’s arms - and his hand off her invitingly-soft chest - Dusk tried to stammer out an apology to the shy mare, but Fluttershy didn't give him the chance to do so. She wrapped her arms around his free hand, pressing her chest against his side as she began to lead him down the hallway. Her own cheeks were tinged a soft pink, but her voice sounded oddly confident. “Dash was pretty beat up after her fight with Fleetfoot, Dusk. Thankfully she didn’t need any stitches. I bandaged her hands up and made her some herbal tea to help calm her head and stomach… I’m a little concerned, I don’t think she should be doing the free-flight after that fight. But she was really proud! She even got a little giddy when Zesty Turnover, Soarin’s assistant, came and offered her the first flight after the Wonderbolts. Isn't that great? She’ll practically get to fly with the whole Wonderbolts corps watching!”

Bombarded by Fluttershy, both verbally - and nearly physically - Dusk found himself unable to ask Blitz about the odd emblem he’d seen on Dash’s paperwork. Dusk relegated the thought to a distant mental note, and instead squeezed Fluttershy’s hand tightly, leaning close to be sure she heard him over the crowd’s ongoing roar. “Really, Fluttershy? I’m sure Dash will do just fine. You know how she can be. Besides, I’m sure she's practically beside herself at the idea of getting to show off for so many Wonderbolts!”

Alone on a cloud high over the arena

Rubbing her bandaged hands together nervously, Dash circled the lonely cloud she'd had set aside for her by Zesty Turnover. Far below, if she really strained her vision, she could just make out the weather school students as they removed the clouds that formed the arena floor. An hour ago, she'd been beside herself at the offer of going immediately after the Wonderbolts. Twenty minutes ago, she was panicking over what to do with such an important role in the show. Now she just wished she had thought to bring a spare pair of gloves and a toque or hood. Pacing helped, and she contented herself in watching the lightshow the more veteran Wonderbolts made as they continued to pile on top of the arena. “Two hundred… so many Wonderbolts, and all in one place… Surprise wasn't kidding at all… I hope you know what trouble you're getting into, Dad.”

Upon returning to the boxed seating, Dusk found himself sitting together with Fluttershy in the back row of seats, with Scootaloo standing up on her chair at his other side. The excited filly was shouting at the top of her lungs, along with most of the crowd. Standing up together in the front row of the box, Pinkie, Rarity, and Blitz were completely absorbed in the flight show the Wonderbolts were putting on. Racing at speeds that left faintly blurred trails of magic behind them, the professional flyers never seemed to run out of new acts to perform. A full wing of sixteen Wonderbolts flew with arms linked, mimicking the wings of a great bird soaring in grand arcs and slow spirals, diving down through the hole where the floor of the stadium had once been, only to return from outside the wall, separating and racing so fast they all left a blue blur in their wake.

Dusk tried to relax and sit back, simply enjoying the show and company. He gripped Fluttershy’s hand as she scream-whispered names of ponies moving too fast for him to recognize in one ear, while Scootaloo bellowed the names of the moves they were pulling off into his other. Overhead, Fleetfoot directed them all like a conductor, blowing signals on her silver whistle and using simple gestures to give commands. For a moment, the show was pure bliss.

Dusk turned to make a comment to Fluttershy, but paused when he saw her. Her cheeks were still tinted a soft pink, and she was smiling ecstatically as she watched the show. Grinning widely himself, he opened his mouth to talk, when suddenly the noise of the world disappeared.

Dusk frowned, still watching Fluttershy’s mouth move, but no noise came out of it. He raised his free hand to try and get her attention when a shock coursed through him, and he jolted in his seat, both hands gripping the armrests tightly. Blinking rapidly, he tried to sit up after the pain left him, and he saw Fluttershy turn to him, a worried frown on her face. He saw her mouth moving again, but he still couldn’t hear anything.

Dusk’s first thought was to try and get the group to move back to one of the wooden, constructed areas. As he tried to get out of his seat, however, an all-too-familiar blackness consumed him. Creeping in from the edges of his vision, everything began to fade into darkness.

Meanwhile

Running and swearing constantly through the unfamiliar halls of the arena, Applejack was out of breath, lost, and completely unsure of which way to turn next. For the third time since she'd decided to rejoin the others, she found herself in another damned cafeteria. She made an exasperated noise before voicing her frustration. “Not even Big Mac eats enough to need three damn dining halls!”

With nopony around and the signs all gibberish talking about ‘mezzanine’ this, and ‘upper gallery’ that, Applejack was getting frantic and starting to open doors at random, looking for something, anything familiar. Rushing back out into the staircase, Applejack tried to whistle to calm herself down. The soft and pillowy clouds underfoot didn't help any to soothe her discomfort after leaving the garden at Blitz's house. “Maybe… maybe I try one last floor, then give up and head back to Blitz's. At least he has a nice wooden deck and the garden… plus I won't look like a lost foal looking for her ma.”

Throwing open what she swore to herself was the last damned door she would check, the laughter of a familiar, if breathless, voice caught Applejack’s ears and soothed her nerves. Not twenty feet away, Surprise stood with a full wing of her fellow Wonderbolts, all lost in breathless chatter. Stepping over the threshold of the doorway, Applejack steeled herself against the embarrassment of asking Pinkie’s cousin for directions and called out.

“Surprise! If you got a second I could use a lil’ help. I'm trying to find-”

As the crowd of Wonderbolts turned to look in her direction, the whole world started falling around Applejack. Heading up.

Meanwhile

Dash stood at attention on the edge of her cloud, barely managing to balance her weight with widespread wings so she could watch as the Wonderbolts cleared the air. Far, far below, she heard the silvery call of Fleetfoot's every whistled order, especially those warning Dash it was almost her turn to start. One by one, the Wonderbolts settled into place, taking up their perches around the top of the arena again. Dash felt almost giddy at the chance to start. Then from somewhere far away, a new whistle, this one clearly from a bronze whistle, split the air in the traditional cry for help.

An SOS.

Straining her eyes and crouching low on her cloud, Dash’s eyes hunted among the crowd, frantically searching for the source, but a second whistle, another silver whistle like Fleetfoot’s, joined the cry on the far side of the area.

Before Dash could locate where the danger was, a full wing of brass whistles joined the chorus of the one bronze, and below her, the Wonderbolts turned to action, diving from their perch in uniform wings. En masse, the two hundred soldiers took control in organized flight. While Dash’s heart raced, they plunged through the open floor of the arena, coordinating without need for signals or whistles. Before Dash knew where or what had happened, it was over. The panicked signals ended as the Wonderbolts returned much slower, many teams working together to bear a load.

As ponies calmed and the crowd cheered the rapid response to whatever had happened, Dash heard Fleetfoot’s whistle cry again. The order to start the Solo Flight Display. One step forward launched Dash off her cloud, her wings folded in close to build up a little speed.

Unable to shake the familiar sound of all of those alarm whistles from her head, Dash focused on the Wonderbolts still flying back to their seats as she descended. The Superspeed Strut took a lot of momentum, so she had the time to look arou-

Below her, Dash recognized the rainbow hues of Blitz's hair long before she was able to make out the two stallions that were helping him back to the clouds. His wings were spread wide, yet they hung limp. He was making no effort to assist them in the climb back up.

Dash hardly noticed her heart beginning to race. She turned her keenly focused vision to scan over the next pair following behind, where she identified what could only be Rarity's vivid purple locks.

Next came four Wonderbolts carrying an improvised sling made out of their tool belts, where Applejack, face pale and still clearly panicked, clung onto Surprise for dear life.

Behind them came Pinkie, held in the arms of two furiously blushing mares with the party pony’s trademark pink lipstick all over their cheeks.

She hurriedly tried to pick out the rest of her friends, but she couldn’t find them.

There was no Fluttershy.

No Scootaloo.

No Dusk.

Without even thinking, Dash abandoned her routine, turning to dive through the open arena floor.

Dark Abyss

Dusk found himself floating in a darkness thicker than Nightmare Moon's dream domain. He tried to look around, but his body was paralyzed in place, held by some unseen and unfelt force. He tried sparking his horn, to bring some light into this endless void, but his magic felt deadened, gone.

As he tried to subdue the panic that he felt gnawing at his heart, two vivid flames of green fire manifested before him. Below them a shapeless mouth opened, and searing flame burned away at Dusk's will, stifling his attempt to feel at his magic. This void wasn’t cold like Nightmare Moon’s dream world had been, and those burning embers of green lava left Dusk’s body wracked with pain.

From an oddly detached point of view in his dull mind, a few things started to feel familiar to him. This was like... like the time Nightmare Moon had killed him. The thing’s mouth closed, a black tongue licking at its undefined lips. And then the nothingness before him laughed, a cold, heartless mirth that only hinted at the creature’s sadistic delight.

Dusk's heart froze as the thing’s lips parted again, but this time no pain came. It spoke. "She made me a snack and left it unguarded? I'm delighted! I’ll have to thank you for the meal, Celestia. I've slept far too long, robbed of my true glory, little pony. And what a feast you are...”

Frozen in the soul crushing weight of those flaming green eyes, Dusk could only watch as the unformed monster leapt for him. Flames of green flickering from its black muzzle as it ripped open his chest, gorging on his magic. Vision fading into the darkness, Dusk found the spells he'd once had such a firm grasp on slipping out of control one by one. Struggling with everything he had left, Dusk fumbled to maintain one last bit of magic, not for himself, but his herd. For his friends. Everything hurt, and the thing on his chest would not stop. Slipping in the darkness, Dusk felt the last spell escape his fingers...

Vision coming to him blearily, the intense sensation of pain and falling that had consumed Dusk a moment ago jerked to a stop as Fluttershy’s frantic voice called for his attention. "Dusk! You gotta wake up! Dusk!!! The spell’s fading, Dusk! We can't hold you much longer!"

Suspended over the world by four hands desperately trying to pull him back onto a cloud that refused to hold him anymore, Fluttershy and Scootaloo strained against his weight. Dimly, Dusk realized his face was soaked with tears, just like Fluttershy’s cheeks.

Somewhere far away, he thought he could just make out Pinkie and Rarity’s voices in frantic conversation. Meanwhile, the continued cry of a silver whistle proclaiming an SOS signal echoed in his ears. The faint flash of familiar blue and yellow uniforms rushing past his position in the thin cloud wall, out into the open sky below, made a part of his brain nearly cry with relief. But he had no strength, no control. Something he couldn't remember, couldn’t even conceive of, had taken everything he had. Dull to the world, he simply stared dead-eyed at Fluttershy’s sobbing face.

It took everything Dusk had to focus, to find words that slipped away every time he tried to voice them. “Scoot… whistle?”

The filly gasped, releasing his hands with one of hers, and searched her pockets, growing more frantic with every passing second that she found nothing.

Distantly, looking through the thin cloud barrier around them, Dusk could make out the Wonderbolts passing them again, heading up, carrying loads.

But Dusk, Fluttershy, and Scootaloo were inside the clouds, hidden from the open sky. Would anypony think to look for them here in the thin wall of white?

Straightening up victoriously, Scootaloo pulled her hand out of her pants pocket, and proudly produced a small brass whistle. But as she shifted her feet, her right foot shot right through the thin cloud, only just stopping as it sunk past the knee. Panicked, Scootaloo cried out something Dusk couldn't understand, and she stumbled again, struggling to get her balance back even as she began to sink further into the cloud.

Desperately, Fluttershy let go of Dusk with one hand, and grabbed Scootaloo’s flailing arm, pulling the young pegasus in close.

Fighting back against the obvious panic in her eyes, Fluttershy turned to look back at Dusk, struggling to pull both Scootaloo back on top of the cloud, while supporting his limp body. Sobbing again, she tried asking him one more time. “Dusk! What do we do!?”

With the last of his ebbing strength, Dusk made himself speak, stuttering under the strain of effort. “C-call... Da-Dash!”

And then Fluttershy’s grip failed, and Dusk was falling again, his vision blurring back into nothing.

Dash heard the shouts of confusion and concern as she passed the approaching Wonderbolts. She didn't care. When ponies on the stands fell silent as she passed them, it didn't matter. But when a new whistle- a filly’s whistle of brass - started to cry out from somewhere below, her heart jumped, skipping a beat.

Shooting out through the open hole where the floor of the arena had been, Dash left her wings folded, eyes rapidly refocusing as she strained to look through the thin clouds beneath the stands.

For a brief moment the clouds cleared and she could see them. Scootaloo and Fluttershy were stranded on a thin cloud together. Yet they were pointing down, and screaming. Turning towards the open sky between the arena and the ground, Dash’s eyes searched everywhere for any sign of Dusk.

Far below, dropping like a rock thrown off the side of a cliff, Dash saw a distant black dot that could only be Dusk falling into the open sky far below. Twisting around to reorient herself, Dash bent into the growing wind generated by her rapid descent, her mother's goggles strapped tight to her face and blocking out the worst of the biting gale.

Despite how much Dash tried to streamline her body, she fell too slow. Far below, she could still make out Dusk’s limp form, and while she was already moving faster than him, there was simply no way she would ever catch up. As the wind blew back her loose hair, desperation sunk in. Unfolding her wings, Dash bent them to task, demanding they increase the speed of her descent. Muscles straining, she forced them to strike against the thick wall of wind that made every flap at this speed so bone-achingly difficult.

And then, like the first few seconds of her fight with Fleetfoot, the world slowed down before Dash’s eyes. She could see when she would catch up with him. When she’d be able to grab his ankle. When she’d finally slow enough to start trying to pull out of the suicidal dive she was now locked in. She mentally screamed at every muscle in her wings, her back, demanding that they beat faster, harder, more.

And it still wouldn’t be enough. She’d catch him, but only a hundred feet off the ground. If she tried to pull up at that point, she’d be going so fast, she’d snap her wings, or break her spine. Nothing could save him now.

Then a voice came to her. It was speaking so softly that Dash almost thought she had imagined it at first. ”You’re faster than this. You can close the gap before it’s too late. You’ve done it before.”

Feeling like a foal, Dash cried out back at… at what? The whisper in her mind? Her own self doubt? Something… else? Something more? “I can’t do it! I’ll break my wings if I go any faster, and even then I’ll never have the time to pull out of this dive… I- I- I failed.”

The voice laughed, silken in Dash’s mind. It sounded so familiar, but she knew she’d never heard it in her life. It sounded like Mrs. Cake. Like Princess Celestia. Like… like Firefly. Like every motherly figure she’d ever known. ”You can save him. You did it once before. Just like when you flew for Fluttershy… Do the impossible, Dash. Be the wind.”

Dash knew what the voice wanted. A Sonic Rainboom. Dash’s mind blanched at the insanity. How many times as a teen had the teachers demanded she do it again? How many times had Gilda bullied her, berated her, bugged her day and night to pull it off? How often had she failed, had she crashed, had she blown out a wing or pulled a muscle because somepony wanted to see that her Rainboom was real, and not just some legend, some lie she’d made up? Some story she invented to be popular or famous?

Dash couldn't help herself. The voice was gone, and yet she had to look back, to peer up over her shoulder, to hunt, if only for a split second for the source of the voice. But nopony was there. Nopony was nearby at all. For a split second, she focused back up, up and up into the distant stadium that lay so far above and behind them. And her heart froze. Princess Celestia's eyes met Dash’s in that brief moment... and her gaze was full of fear.

And then there was no more time. Body straining, muscles crying out, Dash turned back to Dusk. She leaned into the wind, whipped her wings furiously, and flung herself bodily into the wind, one last time. “For… For Dusk… I’ll do it for Dusk.”

For a second and for an eternity, the world froze, and everything was still before Dash. Oddly, she found her mind returning to the second before she reacted to Fleetfoot's lunge at the start of their fight. Distantly, Dash felt the world cracking around her, like she was at the heart of some impossible thunderstorm, but it was located entirely inside her chest. Like viewing the world through stained glass, everything around her was beginning to blur in a myriad of impossible colours.

Yet as Dash’s wings began to beat the next flap, she felt it. The explosion of speed, the burst of impossible energy. The riptide as the air itself split open before her and a cacophonous gale of noise tore the world asunder, roaring in her wake.

Dusk was closer in that one beat, and Dash’s fingers strained out before her, achingly close, yet immeasurably far away. A new thought burst in her mind. “I don’t even remember how I landed last time… how in the fuck am I going to do this while carrying somepony!?”

The next beat of her wings brought Dash even with Dusk, allowing her to wrap him up into her arms. With the next flap, she managed to level out. Turning her attention ahead, she looked for a wide open clearing to land. Maybe a river, some water to absorb the impact and not kill the both of them.

All she could see was an ocean of trees. Trees everywhere - except for a lone barn, filled to the brim with hay. Gritting her teeth, Dash’s next flap set her course straight for the barn. She tried her best to slow her flight, but the sheer pressure of the world around her forced her forward continually...

She barely remembered the next flap, her vision full of hay and pain.

2:30pm, Dusk's Library, Ponyville

Bronze Feather tapped the edge of her quill against her lips, scowling at the page in front of her. “Just how in the Light does Dusk keep from throwing everypony out of town and building a wall? Days like today... nopony needs days like this.”

It had all started when the Cakes’ new oven arrived on the train this morning. Derpy had been extra careful. She'd arranged with the labor board for all the extra muscle she needed. She'd even hired two other pegasi to help watch from overhead. Except…

Beginning to write again, Bronze spoke her thoughts aloud as her quill ran across the page. “Unfortunately, the Cakes had not measured their doorway to make sure the new oven would fit. Thus her eight helpers were left sitting around with a ten foot oven while Derpy and the Cakes removed a wall from Sugarcube Corner. Unfortunately, next door was the entrance to another of Ponyville's more popular restaurants, Roseluck’s Flower Shop. Soon, with the Cakes closed, and Roseluck’s blocked, a crowd gathered. Some to watch, others to jeer.”

Sitting back a little in her chair and contemplating the day, she drained the last of her glass of water. Bronze gave a sigh. Idly she brushed ash from her hair, muttering to herself. “And if I ever find out just what pony thought it was a good idea to start a fire and sell honey glazed hotcakes, I’ll hang that pony by their toes.”

Suddenly, the whole library rocked as if hit by a catastrophic storm. Rushing to the window, Bronze watched in wonder as a rainbow-colored shockwave passed overhead, crashing through the town and knocking some ponies off their feet. Laughing, Bronze couldn’t help but smirk as she abandoned her paperwork, heading outside to make sure nobody had been hurt. “At least Rainbow Dash is having some fun… So this is what life is like as Ponyville’s Vicarius... Dusk, I hope you never take another holiday.”

9pm, Cloudsdale Military Hospital

Luna sat on the edge of Dusk’s bed, a wet cloth in one hand while a unicorn nurse helped by holding him rolled over onto his side, exposing his back for the princess. The stallion lay motionless, with no sign of life at all save for his slow and shallow breathing. With care, Luna brushed the cold wet cloth across his shoulders, amazed at the massive red welts that had formed across his shoulders.

Luna softly sighed, brushing her free hand through his hair and dropped the wet cloth back to the bowl. Shaking her head, she reached over and patted the nurse’s hand, speaking gently. “Thank you for your assistance, dear, but you might as well take off. We’ve tended to his wounds. All he needs now is rest, and I can watch over him.” Waiting in silence while the young mare left the room, Luna turned to look at her older sister, her voice low and careful. “Sister? I’ve found the leak.”

Turning in her seat, Celestia gently placed the tabloid magazine that she had been reading in her lap and looked over at the bed. Luna drew her hand up, idly running it over Dusk’s back, shaping a rune in silver-blue magic. For a moment, nothing happened, then a rapid series of complex, arcane emblems rippled forth from Dusk’s body, ever-shifting, with wild flares of magic burning off from the outer edges. With both hands, she rolled Dusk over onto his chest, and framed the ever-shifting emblem with both hands, pouring magic into it. She rapidly drew yet more runes on Dusk’s flesh, pausing occasionally as she watched the symbols spread in the air over his body, their glowing light illuminating the air with ever more arcane sigils. Watching her sister weave spells together in the moment, Celestia let out a low sigh. “You even cast magic like him… Well? What happened? What broke the shield?”

Shaking her head dismissively, Luna sealed the magic she had used to make the spell over Dusk visible. “Starswirl taught us both magic, and… well, I suppose you know why his style feels more familiar to me.” Studying the extensive magic runes that filled the air over Dusk’s hospital bed, she was forced to shift the symbols, angle them, reorganize and look at them from different positions.

After a few minutes, she at last fully understood the massive spell as a whole, and knew what had happened. “And no, sister. It’s nothing like that, this isn’t some new break in the spell. It's like you had suspected before. He's leaking magic - maybe it turned on him in an attempt to finish breaking the seal. The feedback must have caused him to blackout. Dusk's magic is so strong that it’s been breaking the seal you placed on him, without him even directing it. Dear Starswirl, you two really did a fantastic job of crafting this trap for my darkness... but this was never really meant to be cast by one pony's magic alone, was it?”

Celestia turned away, her breath catching suddenly. She walked to the window, opening it to look upon the night, focusing on the point where her distant sun had set nearly an hour ago. When she finally spoke, it was quiet with a somber tone. "We crafted it to limit Nightmare Moon, until we could figure out some way of saving you, dear sister... It was never really meant to shield a pony for so long. Anything else I add to it at this point may just make it worse - his magic may consider a new influx of my own as an attack. I could break the seal just by checking it. Can you reinforce it? Seal off the leak? His magic shouldn’t recognize yours… it may yet be safe."

Leaning down, Luna realized Dusk was mumbling. After listening to his words for a moment, Luna shook her head remorsefully. “Even in his sleep, he finds no respite from the pain... it seems the feedback hurts him still. I will try, dear sister. But this spell has no counter, no way of removing or ending its effect... it makes me nervous. Still, if we do nothing, his pain will only return, and grow worse. Yet... I think I can repair this rupture. May Dusk someday forgive us for what we do. It is necessary, however. If his magic does this without his conscious control… I will need Starswirl’s notes, sister.”

Shutting the window and closing the blinds to shield the room once more, Celestia turned, giving her sister a solemn nod. “They are in the vault in Canterlot. Will you need long to study? How can we protect him from another episode like this while he continues to leak magic like an open wound?”

Luna looked up, suddenly worried, her calm disposition breaking as she collapsed the spell that sustained the arcane runes in the air over Dusk’s bed. ”It’s complex magic. I knew how Starswirl thought well, but I do not know how long it might take to properly alter the spell. We- we can only try our best to keep Dusk away from trouble. To keep him from attacking himself until I’m ready. I-I’ll put a seal on this leak. Maybe it will hold until we’re ready… Maybe.”

Celestia gave a sigh, and walked back to her chair. Needing to keep herself busy, Celestia picked up the tabloid again, smiling as she trailed her fingers across the cover.

Dusk’s sudden inhalation of breath was followed by a soft sigh, his voice calming the princesses’ nerves as he finally spoke, however weak it was. “Is it night already? Pri- Princess Luna? But I was-” Dusk broke off, coughing several times before continuing. “Was just watching the Wonderbolts’ performance…”

Flipping her magazine closed, Celestia held it up so that Dusk could see the cover. On it was an artist's image of a lone unicorn fighting a cartoonishly large hydra. Celestia curled her lips into a grin, her voice a playful coo, as she hid her worry from her student. “Only watching? My dear Dusk, between stories of you single handedly slaying hydras and defeating griffons, I assumed you had grown bored of merely watching and tried to participate. I've always encouraged your ambition, but being the first Unicorn Wonderbolt, well… the Cloudsdale Elders are already whining enough as it is because I let Luna enter a bat pony after the deadline had already passed."

Dusk laughed softly, before flinching from the lingering pain. Suddenly gasping in panic, his eyes shot open in fear. In a rush he struggled to sit upright, but quickly stiffened and fell back onto the bed. Luna frowned and grasped his hand, squeezing it tightly as she leaned over him, brushing her fingers through his hair. “Slowly. Slowly. You've had a very long day.”

Still wincing a little as he accepted Luna’s support, his eyes were still wide with alarm. In a hurried, pained voice, he managed, “Rarity? Applejack? The girls? Where are they, I have to-” Dusk tried sitting up again, but Luna pressed one hand gently onto his shoulder, keeping him in place with no effort.

Tossing the tabloid into the pile of magazines on the bedside table, Celestia reached out from her chair and squeezed Dusk's free hand, her voice softer now. “Dusk, they’re safe, I promise. The Wonderbolts caught all of them. Applejack was near Airpony First Class Surprise, Pinkie Pie’s cousin, when your spell failed. She raised the alarm that something was wrong, and there were ponies falling through the clouds. The rest of them were saved by an assortment of the rest of the Wonderbolts. Blitz tried to carry both Rarity and Pinkie by himself, but overstrained his wings.”

Celestia sighed, shaking her head. Luna took the opportunity to pick up her sister’s story, her voice soothing to Dusk’s worn body. “It seems the Elements cause trouble no matter who they are represented by. Thankfully, Blitz was otherwise unhurt. You, however… they couldn’t find you. Rainbow Dash noticed that you’d already fallen through the arena. That mare did the impossible to save you, Dusk Shine. She performed the Sonic Rainboom. You should see that she is appropriately awarded.“ Luna smiled at Dusk, teasing and serious all at once.

Dusk looked shocked, and it took him a moment to find his voice. “So much happened… I don’t remember any of it. One moment I was watching the show, and the next… I’m here.”

Celestia looked her student over with a critical eye, a slightly reproving tone entering her voice. “You need to slow down, my most faithful student. Cadance will get mad at me if you keep trying to kill yourself. Well... madder, I suppose. Your spell was ingenious, however. I’m surprised you put together a cloud walking spell, but why did you design one that needed to be maintained? Honestly, I was more surprised you didn’t know one already - I suppose it was a failing of mine that they weren’t included in your studies. Regardless, I cast a cloud walking spell for the other Elements. It will last a week, though I’m sure you will all be leaving as soon as you’re fit to walk.” Celestia shook her head, before continuing. “We have at least three cloud walking spells on record in the Canterlot archives if you want to try one of them out later. They all don't need to be sustained constantly, just cast once every few days.”

Nodding slowly, trying to take in everything she was saying, Dusk finally reopened his eyes, thinly smiling at the golden goddess. “Thank you, Princess, I will check them out at some point in the near future. And I will try to slow down, I promise. I already swore off hydra hunting. At this point, I’m only afraid of what Barb will do to me after the last few days…” Voice trailing off, Dusk closed his eyes and raised a hand to massage them, before continuing in a softer tone. “Still, I could almost swear I remember some faint impression of… two green flames, and that… that place. So similar to Nightmare Moon’s void. But why would I remember that place?”

Celestia’s eyes fluttered, first wide open, then closed. She stiffened in her chair, and took a deep, careful breath out of her nose. The goddess’s voice was sharp, a startling contrast to her previously teasing and gentle authority from before. “Green flames?” There was a moment as her words lingered in the air, then her eyes reopened, and they bore down on Dusk with an intensity that made him want to disappear into the bed. “Dusk, nevermind your nightmares. We taught you in a lesson about alchemy concerning burning copper or boron, it made the fire turn green, correct?”

Slack-jawed, Dusk couldn't help but stare at Celestia, struggling to remember the experiment she spoke of, desperate to avoid her disappointment in the face of her suddenly angry tone. “I- I'm sorry, princess. I just- I don't even remember that lesson. I'm so sorry. I'll try to remember.”

Celestia paused, and looked up at the wall over Dusk’s head, struggling to calm herself. After a few moments, she reached out and cupped Dusk’s cheeks, before leaning down to press her forehead against his. Her voice was once more gentle, though this time there was a sad note to it. “Dusk, none of this is your fault. I’m sorry if I made it seem like it was. You've had a taxing week. Nopony can blame you for your magic getting a little out of control.”

Standing up slowly, Celestia cleared her throat and glanced at Luna. “I’m afraid that I can’t stay, Dusk. Even with the sun set, I have matters to attend to.”

Dusk watched as Celestia strode out, her right hand balled into a fist so tightly that the veins in her arm bulged out. Turning his head slightly, Dusk’s eyes met Princess Luna’s. Her striking cyan-blue eyes almost felt like they were absorbing him as she gazed into his soul. Trying to free himself from her captivating gaze, Dusk’s voice was a shallow whisper. “I failed he-”

Placing two fingers on his lips, Luna hushed him, shaking her head dismissively. “You’re too hard on yourself, Dusk Shine. You’re only a pony…”

"But I can't be 'only a pony'!” Dusk interjected; against his better judgement, perhaps, but he felt that it had to be said. He tried to pull himself up once more, but Princess Luna restrained him easily, gently pressing down on his shoulder. Feeling like he had to continue, Dusk spoke again. “Princess Celestia gave me all this responsibility, I can't let her down! She was the one who gave me almost everything I have! My friends, Barb… none of it would be possible without her! If I-” Dusk began coughing again, and Princess Luna watched him, her thoughts a mystery behind those cyan pools.

Dusk couldn’t take the powerful mare’s gaze for long. Slowly, he turned his head away from her, to gaze at the far wall. Instead of saying anything, the princess continued to stroke her fingers through his hair, dragging her thumb across his brow as he gazed at the wall. It was a struggle to remain silent. More words sat on his tongue, danced on his lips. He wanted to express how important it was that Princess Celestia never regret taking him on as a student, but his body felt so weak.

The lunar goddess sighed, her voice distant, almost distracted. “You’re just like him, you know. Starswirl took failure harder than anypony I’ve ever known, Dusk Shine.”

Dusk froze, confused. Slowly he turned his head back to meet the pale moon goddess’ eyes. “Starswirl… failed? At what? And when he failed? What did he do after that?”

Luna turned to look out at her rising moon, and laughed softly, shaking her head and sighing wistfully. “For all his power, he was still a unicorn, Dusk. Not an alicorn. And even my sister and I fail from time to time. Nopony is perfect. But Starswirl… When he failed, he redoubled his every effort. He became obsessive. Day and night he’d work on a solution, going without sleep for weeks if that was what it took. Sometimes he wouldn’t even see me, or our foal, until he had fixed his mistake.”

Dusk remembered many late nights, and just as many early mornings, that involved Barb hitting him with a broom. Smirking softly, Dusk lifted his hand without Luna’s support and cupped her hand on his cheek, squeezing as best he could with shaking fingers. “I guess… I’m… just lucky I had Barb. She wouldn’t let - wait, your and Starswirl’s foal?!” Dusk’s eyes had widened when he realized what the pale goddess had said, and his jaw worked to produce more words, but nothing came out.

Putting a finger to his lips, Luna giggled with amusement for a moment before she hushed him again, her voice a whisper that carried a hypnotic lullaby. “Sleep, Dusk. Your keen mind needs it. I will tell you of Starswirl - and our foal - another day.”

Midnight, Canterlot Military Hospital

Dash awoke with a start, her body covered in cold sweat. Her aching limbs screamed as she rushed to sit up, panting for breath, the image of the oncoming red barn as vivid to her now as it had been then. Warm hands gripped her shoulders, attempting to force her to lay back down, while a soothing voice called her name. Eyes unable to focus, Dash looked in the direction of the voice, her dry tongue and aching throat fighting back against her as she fought for words. “I- did… is- Dusk! Did- how is-”

A glass of water pressed to her lips prevented her from finishing her sentence, but the cool liquid felt heavenly to her raw throat. Swallowing as much as they would give her, Dash started blinking, and shadows began to come into focus as she made her eyes refocus. A unicorn was holding her shoulders, rubbing them. And a pegasus with drooping wings folded to his back had been the one who spoke and gave her the water. He then took the unicorn’s place, resting hands on her arms as he started talking again. “He woke up before you did, Dash. When we found you two, you’d curled yourself around him to take the worst of the landing. It’s just lucky that barn was so full of loose straw.”

Recognizing Rainbow Blitz by his voice, her eyes still refused to properly focus. Dash reached for his arms with aching hands, and squeezed down as hard as she could. “I need to see him. I- I need to know he’s really okay. Dad- I need to tell him something… something important.”

Shaking his head, Blitz forcefully yet gently pushed her back down to the hospital bed. He easily pulled her hands away, and folded them over her chest. “No Dash. You don’t. He’ll be okay, and you need your rest worse than he does, if Princess Celestia’s account of his condition is true. Now lay down, because we need to talk while you’re still awake.”

Feeling as feeble as a foal, Dash stubbornly struggled to resist her sire’s demand, yet her hardest efforts were worthless against his powerful grip. She lay back and gave up, looking away as she thought about what he said. Distantly, Dash heard the sound of one of the breathing machines that helped dying ponies breathe, and memories of her mother and her room came rushing back all at once. Without even the strength to cry, Dash forced herself to gaze into her father's eyes as he started to speak, finally able to control her focus again.

“Dash, you did an incredible, impossible thing today. Where the Wonderbolts overlooked three missing ponies, you blew past them all, and found them. You even mastered the Sonic Rainboom before a crowd so large that nopony will ever doubt you again. Dash, I’m so proud of you today… and I know what I say next will make you hate me.”

Watching as tears began to roll down his cheeks, the rush of her traumatic memories of hospitals, and the possibility that Dusk was really dead, all killed her will to fight against him. The unicorn had left the room, and only now did she realize it. They were alone, and she was watching her father cry for the second time in her life. “Dad… I- I could never hate you.”

The stallion’s lips curled up as he laughed softly, and leaned down to hug her tightly for just a moment, breathing out an exhausted sigh. “Maybe… maybe not. But Dash… Things have been moved up. The last few members of my portion of the battalion arrived early. Favourable winds, can you believe it? I… I want to stay here Dash. Stay by your bedside and then follow you back to Ponyville. I want to make sure you and Dusk are safe and happy.... And that’s why I have to go. Tonight. Spitfire and Fleetfoot grew up in a world with relative peace with the griffons. They’ll need help dealing with aggressive griffons. So to keep you safe, I have to leave.”

Now Dash understood why Blitz looked so torn. He had left her mother in a hospital room like this once, and by the time he returned, she was hardly there anymore. The distant, incessant sound of the breathing machine in a nearby room sounded louder than before. Dash could almost swear some prankster had moved it closer while she wasn’t looking.

Lifting a shaky hand, Dash stroked a tear off Blitz’s cheek, her voice soft but tender. “Dad… I want you to come visit Ponyville too. But- Well, Fleetfoot and Spitfire and so many other ponies are already in the Griffon Empire. Dusk’s parents are there. I- I can wait for you to visit Ponyville when things are better. Just- Just promise me you’ll bring Surprise, and Twilight Velvet and Night Light and- and well everypony you can home safe, okay? Don’t worry about me. I’ll be out of this bed tomorrow, no matter what the doctors say. So go… go make ponies safe. It’s what Wonderbolts do. Sacrifice for the greater good, right?”

For a long time, Blitz held Dash’s hand, rubbing his thumb across the back of it. The movement was so comforting, Dash felt she might fall asleep again… except then she heard the continued soft breath of the machine as it sucked in air, and pushed it into some unseen pony’s lungs. At times, Dash found it so loud, she wondered if they had hooked her into one while she blinked. Was she sleeping between blinks? It felt as if so much time was passing.

Then, one time when she blinked, Blitz was gone. He had left her with only the faint memory of a soft kiss that lingered after he vanished. Dash’s body jerked as she started, shocked to see him gone. Her eyes flew across the room, looking for him, panicked at first. She’d never gotten to tell him she loved him before he left. Eyes finally misting up, Dash closed her eyes and let the tears fall silently for a time.

Eventually, Dash opened her eyes, promising to herself that she’d write to him every week. No matter how busy things got. Filled with determination, she looked around the room once more. With no lights on, and the drapes half closed, Dash could only stare at the faint hints of moonlight and wonder at the time. Just how long had he stayed? How long had she slept?… Distantly, that Tartarus-damned machine hissed as it drew in more air, followed by the groaning huff as it exhaled.

Dash saw the room again. Immaculately clean and white. The mare under the sheets was so thin and pale, she was more like a corpse than the powerful flyer that had taught her how to soar over the clouds. Dash blinked back tears, and the mare was gone. Replaced by a broken stallion with blue hair, and violet eyes. He kept begging for her to come back, to not leave them.

Inhale. Exhale.

Dash was on her feet, and halfway to the door before her knees gave out and she crashed to the floor. She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Not with that interminable noise. Not with the memories it brought back.

She had to crawl the last five feet to the door. And her arms shook as she forced her body back to her feet. She needed to get out. She needed quiet. She needed to find him.

Breathing faster and unable to slow down as her heart beat like a drum in her chest, Dash demanded her feet take her weight again, an act made bearable only by leaning heavily against the wall. The hallways were dimly lit, and looking in both directions, Dash couldn’t tell in from out, only that in one direction she heard a nurse talking. Turning in the other direction, Dash gripped the handrail on the wall with both hands, and dragged her shoulder against the smooth surface, sometimes stopping to rest her face against the cool comfort when it felt like her lungs were going to explode.

The corner came next. Somewhere behind her, Dash could still hear the nurse talking, and the sound of wheels rubbing against the floor. Dash turned at the first corner she found, as it was easier than trying to walk the eight foot gap across the hall without a hand hold or a wall to lean against. Besides, it put a wall between her and the approaching nurse.

And left her face to face with Applejack.

Wide awake despite the late hour, Applejack sat in a chair positioned outside the door to a room that looked just like Dash’s. Dash couldn’t help but wonder, just how far had she come? Twenty feet? Thirty? Before she could even catch her breath or turn back, Applejack glanced up and scrambled to her feet, rushing to Dash’s side, and pulled the smaller mare into a tight hug. Nuzzling against Dash’s hair, Applejack kept her voice quiet, whispering in her ear. “Oh- no no no, Dash! You shouldn’t be up! You ought to go back to bed and lay down! The nurses, they were really serious. If they saw you try something crazy like this, they'd drag you back to bed!”

Holding her ground, Dash groaned a little as the powerful mare squeezed her close. Forcing her muscles to listen to her, Dash reached around Applejack’s waist and weakly hugged her back. “No. Not until I see Dusk.”

Applejack whistled softly, shaking her head in disbelief. “You stop acting all tough and talk to me straight, Dash. Why in tarnation do you gotta see Dusk? By the Light, mare, you can barely stand up!”

Hanging her head against Applejack’s shoulder, Dash drew a careful breath, voice catching in her throat twice as she struggled to make herself speak. “Because... because every time I close my eyes, I see my dam lying broken in a hospital bed, a machine forcing air into her lungs. Because I’m terrified that the same thing happened to him, that I did that to him, and that’s why nopony wants me to see him. Because until I know he's okay, with my own eyes, I can't relax.”

Shaking her head and supporting Dash with an arm around her hips, Applejack reached out with a free hand, and carefully opened the door to Dusk’s room, offering Dash a glimpse inside.

Somepony had opened one of the blinds, and in the glow of gentle moonlight, Dusk slept peacefully. No machines. No noise. There were only a few small bruises on his face and bare chest. A powerful feeling of relief rushed through her weary body, and Dash felt instantly better. Pushing into the gap between the door and the wall before Applejack could stop her, Dash wiggled free from Applejack’s grip and into the room. She staggered her way across the floor to Dusk’s bedside.

Ignoring Applejack’s attempts to quietly order her to stop, Dash stood by his bed for a moment, watching Dusk breathe quietly. After a few moments, she pulled his bedsheet down and crawled onto the bed. She burrowed in against his side, pulling up the blanket before wrapping her arms around his bare chest, using his shoulder as a pillow. The comforting sound of his heartbeat reassured her that he was fine, and she closed her eyes, finally able to relax.

By the time Applejack reached Dash’s side, her friend was snoring softly into Dusk’s ear. Shaking her head but smiling, Applejack made sure the blanket covered the two sleeping ponies. Pausing to watch them for a moment, she couldn't help but chuckle. “Rarity would melt if she saw this!”

Shaking her head, Applejack backed out of the room, walking as quietly as she could and closing the door gently.

Back in the hallway, the door was cool against Applejack’s back as she tried to calm her racing heart. ”The nurses are going to bloody skin me if they find out I let Dash in… by the Light, I'm as much of a sappy fool as Rarity.”

She took a moment to move her chair back to where she had found it before turning down the hallway. A few minutes’ walk brought her back to a busier part of the hospital, until she found the room where she had left the others.

Seeing the door open quietly, letting light from the hallway into the dimly lit room, Rarity sat swiftly to attention, a cup of tea cradled in her hands. Her face twisted from an expression of momentary concern before recognizing Applejack and relaxing into a soft smile. Patting the empty chair at her side, she called out in a low whisper. “I didn't expect you to come back until morning. Is something the matter, hun?”

Shaking her head softly, she walked carefully past the twin couches where the others lay curled up. Pinkie was sprawled upside down on one couch, her feet going over the back of it while her back was on the floor. Applejack had no idea how that was comfortable, but Pinkie had immediately passed out when she got there. Scootaloo’s head lay in Fluttershy’s lap, the filly sleeping only fitfully. Applejack smiled at seeing that she had calmed down enough to pass out at some point. ”Poor thing. Kept saying it was her fault that Dusk fell, no matter how much we told her that was foalish. Nothin she coulda done.”

Sighing and slipping into the chair beside Rarity, Applejack squeezed her lover's hand gently, keeping her voice soft to avoid waking the others. “No, everypony's okay, Rarity. Dash… Dash is even up and walking already. I'm going to be in so much trouble with the nurses, Rares.... I let Dash climb into Dusk’s bed and cur-”

Using both hands to fiercely grasp one of Applejack’s larger and stronger hands, Rarity let out a loud, excited gasp. Her starry eyes were wide open as she leaned in close, her ecstatic voice nearing a foalish squeal of joy. It grew louder as she got more and more caught up in her fantasies, threatening to wake the sleeping ponies in the room. “Did they kiss? Are they talking? Oh~ I knew they'd finally admit-”

Clamping her free hand over Rarity’s mouth to silence her, Applejack sighed and shook her head slightly. ”They’re just sleeping, Rares. Dash probably shouldn't have even gotten up, but she was Tartarus-bent on making sure Dusk was fine. The moment she caught sight of Dusk she curled up into the bed with him and passed out like a light.”

The noise that Rarity made as she cried out in delight under Applejack’s hand would have embarrassed the farmpony for the rest of her life, but it wasn’t too surprising coming from the fashionista. Finally slipping free of Applejack’s hand, Rarity put a hand to her brow, swooning back against Applejack’s body. “Oh, it's just so romantic! She's saved him twice like that! Once from Nightmare Moon, now from falling off Cloudsdale! It's like they were destined to be together.”

As Rarity curled up into Applejack’s side and burbled romantic nothings to herself, Applejack sighed, leaning over to kiss the top of her lover’s head. “I just hope she admits her feelings before she chokes him from embarrassment.”

Midnight, Canterlot Castle

Celestia waited just long enough for the guards to close the grand doors to her antechamber, but only barely. Racing across the room, she pushed open the hidden doorway that led to her vault. Reaching out with her magic, the flame from one of the many candles was pulled off its wick, and cupped in her palm. Guiding Luna into the grand staircase, Celestia rolled the tiny orb of fire between her fingers, nurturing the flame, letting it feed off of her anger as it grew and expanded over her hands. Soon a roaring ball of fire two feet wide danced over the goddess’ fingertips, her voice seething with rage. “He did it, Luna. Right under my nose! He attacked Dusk Shine without any concern for repercussions! As if I were no danger to him! The Wolf will burn! The whole frozen north will burn! I will melt his abandoned kingdom until there is nothing but ash that blows in from the north!”

Trailing after Celestia, Luna closed the hidden door behind them. She walked in Celestia’s wake with her hands calmly folded over her stomach, ignoring the intense wall of heat that the sun goddess gave off as she vented her fury. For all the rage and noise the elder sister made, the younger was like a placid pond, still and calm. As they descended the stairway to the hidden vault deep inside the heart of the mountain, Luna shook her head, her breath misting in the air, her tone icy. “No sister, you won't. If you did, we would only be in the same situation in another thousand years. Waiting for the Wolf to make himself vulnerable again. And the Crystal Empire would still be lost for another thousand years. We owe them every possible chance at freedom that we can invent. We tried and failed to eliminate the Wolf, and he is beyond our power to fully destroy now.”

Twisting around in mid-step and tossing the ball of fire from one hand to the other, Celestia drew a breath, while the stones under her feet began to hiss and warp from the unrelenting heat. “If Dusk dies, the Wolf will burn, Luna! He tried to take the life of my student! My student!”

Sighing disdainfully, Luna raised one hand to point at her sister’s feet, where some of the steps of the stone stairways were beginning to blend into one smooth depression around Celestia’s feet. “Sister. You need to calm down! You are only a danger to our ponies like this!”

Curling her lip up in a sneer Celestia shook her head and crushed the ball of fire in her hands, snuffing it from existence. “Calm down? Calm down!? I can not just calm down Luna! He attacked Dusk. He might as well be my own foal! Besides, you most of all should be angry! After all, Dusk is-"

Luna cut her sister off, one hand cutting sharply through the space between them, a softly glinting light following her hand. "I know very well about Dusk, Celestia! More than you could ever understand. Now, let us go. We have more important matters to attend to." Storming down the stairs ahead of Celestia, Luna’s body language was stiff, the air in front of the alicorn’s mouth notably visible as she huffed out a short breath.

Celestia followed behind Luna, anger still seething just below the surface. Luna was right - she needed to calm down. It would do her no good to melt the stairway down to the vault, and if she was near one of her ponies in a mood like this, she would likely injure them with just her presence.

Opening the door to the vault for her sister, Celestia only belatedly noticed a faint trail following the lunar goddess. There was ice forming around her feet, in a defined trail wherever she had walked. It had even, impossibly, survived the heat of Celestia’s own anger.

Shaking her head, Celestia let her thoughts wander as she walked into the vault. “I suppose we both need to be more subdued…”

April 12th, 4am? Cloudsdale Hospital

Waking slowly, Dusk murmured at the comfortable warmth that clung to his body. The unexpected presence confused Dusk’s weary brain, yet he found it soothing. It was as if he were being held securely in place, anchored to a safe point in reality. Still feeling weary, but as though some heavy weight had been taken off his chest, Dusk rolled over carefully, his eyes only opening as he nuzzled his cheek against... “-Dash?!”

Shocked by her presence in his bed and under the blanket with him, Dusk needed a moment to think, his heart racing while the lithe mare sleepily nuzzled his neck in return, her voice a playful whisper. “Mmm… quiet down… it's way too early to get up.”

Staring down at the top of Dash’s half-shaved head, Dusk felt a sudden pang of joy, offset by a feeling of guilt. Remembering what the princesses had said about Dash rescuing him, flashes of falling hit him, and two bottomless, burning pools of green fire… groaning in pain, Dusk’s body went rigid, his hands clawing at anything he could grab to anchor himself. In desperation, Dusk looked to his magic.

The flames of his mana had burned low again, which explained why Dusk was sore all over. Another jolt of pain coursed through him, and instinctively his consciousness embraced what little magic there was. Immediately, the heat of his essence drove back the pain, shielding him from… from the-

Opening his eyes, Dash’s face filled his view, a worried look hiding in her eyes. She had both hands cupping his cheeks, and her voice was frantic as she sat straddling his hips. “Dusk? What is it? Are you hurt? Do you need the nurse?!”

Staring up into the fierce determination that tried to mask the fear in Dash's eyes, the last faint vestiges of those memories - whatever they were - faded away, along with the pain. Able to breathe evenly again, Dusk slipped a hand into Dash’s rainbow-colored locks, on the side where she hadn’t shaved them close. “I… think I’m fine. It… I don't remember. It… it felt like something was draining me from the inside. But it's gone now. Dash- did I wake yo-”

The kiss was unexpected, but more than welcome. Dash pinned him against the bed, hands on his shoulders, and lips pressed against his hard enough he was sure he’d bruise. It took only a second for Dusk to press up against her in the kiss, arms slipping around her sides. He revelled in the feel of her pressing against him, her muscled legs trapping his in place. Dusk let a soft groan slip as she rolled her body against his, presumably enjoying the reactions she was earning from him - both physically and verbally.

After a few moments she pulled back, and Dusk noticed the tears in her eyes. Eyes that even now hardened into an almost-angry look that he was all-too familiar with. He was even more familiar with the punch she delivered to his shoulder. “You big idiot! I don't understand magic and all that stuff! All I know is you woke up and then started acting like you were having a damn seizure! If you're going to get hurt, keep it simple like bruises or strains, I can deal with that shit!”

Rubbing at the spot she'd punched, Dusk laughed warmly despite the pain. “Well, you can always give me another kiss. That made me feel better once already.”

Her cheeks darkening at his words, Dash started to turn away before something made her pause. Grinning so coyly she almost looked like she were smirking, Dash leaned down, grinding her groin against his growing hardness as her lips caressed his ear. “This is only because you're in the hospital. Don't expect this kind of treatment at home, bookworm.”

His hands squeezed her hips as much as his weakened body would allow, before dragging his fingertips up along her spine to where wing met shoulder as they kissed. Dusk heard Dash make an approving noise, the mare eagerly pressing more of her body against his. When she finally let him up for air, Dusk was blushing as hard as she had been. “Sorry Dash. But… thank you. You saved my life yesterday, and I wanted to say that befo-”

Dusk was interrupted as the athletic pegasus pulled him into another aggressive kiss. Her tongue teased against his lips, and when he parted them to give her access, she groaned approvingly even as her hand slipped in between them, moving down. When she let go of his lips, she rested her head on his chest, right over his heart. Breathing heavily, Dash’s hand cupped him where he was aroused, through the pants the hospital had given him. She smirked when he hissed in a breath, his hands beginning to massage her hips.

She deliberately changed the subject, her hand distractingly teasing and tugging at him. “Dusk… you know how you guys bought me tickets for the Wonderbolts show on Wednesday in Canterlot?”

Mind struggling to return to her birthday, trying to ignore the fact that her hand was demanding his attention, Dusk nodded. He let out a soft breath, hips jerking once on their own accord. Looking for a way - any way - to distract himself, he softly brushed his fingers against the buzzed side of her hair. He tried to keep his voice low and even as he spoke. “Of course I do, Dash. Shining Armor even cleaned my old place up at Starswirl University. Do you want the key? I had planned to give it to you before you went. It’s back at the library.”

Dash’s hand stopped teasing at him between them, and Dusk had just let out a relaxing breath as her hand slipped into his pants. Body jerking in surprise, Dusk was unprepared as she grasped him directly, her hand warm and soft against his erection. She chuckled and pressed her lips against his neck, biting him softly as she began masturbating him. After a moment, she muttered something indistinguishable into his neck. Confused, and extremely distracted, Dusk tried to clear his throat before he spoke, proud that his voice didn’t crack due to her intimate attention. “What was that?”

When Dash finally looked up at him, Dusk decided that the fact that her face was only now turning an adorable cherry colour spoke volumes about Dash’s attitude regarding intimacy. Cheeks burning, Dash managed to scowl at him despite refusing to meet his gaze. Dusk also couldn’t help but notice that she hadn’t stopped the motion of her hand at all, and he tried to stifle another groan as she repeated herself. “I said, do you want to be my guest? You didn't really get to enjoy the show yesterday.”

Dusk leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss against the sensitive spot he knew she had just past her ear. When she shivered and tilted her head away from him, Dusk laughed softly before replying. “Dash, I'd love to go with you. It would be an honor.”

Dash’s eyes lit up at his reply, and she darted forward, kissing him again. Her hand became more aggressive, now squeezing occasionally where she was getting him off. When she pulled away from the kiss, she tugged at his lower lip with her teeth, playfully nibbling on it before letting her tongue drift over it. Looking eager, she began kissing her way to his neck, whispering, "I'm just asking you to see the show with me, egghead. I'm not saying I'll join your herd or anything.”

Feeling his climax slowly building, Dusk caught Dash’s slowly swishing tail, teasingly tugging at it. He smirked as he felt her body jolt in surprise, and he could feel the muscles of her well-trained legs flex against his as her spine arched slightly. She made an approving coo that tickled his neck as she blew along it. Finding his voice, he spoke softly. “Oh, really? Well… that’s a shame. I know Applejack and Rarity will both be heartbroken.”

Giving a tiny groan and a happy little sigh as he began coiling her tail around his fingers, Dash pressed her body against him, delighting in the muscles that both her and Applejack had helped to develop on his body. Her hand began moving faster, the need in her own mind to see what other lustful noises she could elicit from Dusk growing stronger. She loved feeling his different muscles tighten and relax all over as she played with his dick. She spoke, her voice sounding even more eager than it had a moment ago. "I said I’m not asking into your herd… But," Dash broke off to kiss him again. "Maybe, if you were to ask me," she assaulted his lips again, "Really," and again, for a longer time, "Really," and again, moaning softly against his mouth as she delighted in the way his hips began jerking up against her hand, "nicely, then I might just say yes." She kissed him one last time, tongue slipping into his mouth.

Somepony rapidly knocking on the door made them both freeze, eyes going wide as they were reminded that the world consisted of more than just the two of them. Before either could react, though, the handle turned and the door swung open.

In a moment of shock and relief, Dusk realized that it was Pinkie, walking backwards. She was inexplicably dressed in a white nurse’s uniform, short skirt just this side of decent, with pink pinstripes and a tiny hat that somehow balanced on her wild hair. Coughing into her hand, still refusing to look at them, Pinkie suppressed a giggle. “So, um… You two have less than five minutes to clean up and get dressed. Rarity and Applejack have run out of ways to keep Scootaloo occupied and are grabbing your breakfasts and bringing them here. And I really don't think Nurse Redheart would like it if you two were in the middle of a sexing when Scootaloo comes to apologize to Dusk. But… if you need me to buy you a few more minutes, I miiiiiiight be able to do that… If I get to watch next time!”

Author's Notes:

This was it. This was the other major story arc I've always wanted to cover. It's why I started writing this story. Well, it's one of like ... 15 years why I started the story, but this plotline was one that I simply had to see done. God I hope you guys like it, because I've spent two years and 3 months getting this far.