My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Matchmaker

Chapter 10

"wow. Zilver really said that?" Ash asked. The humans gathered at Orion's engine room when they learned of what had transpired hours earlier to the guys.
"yep. The Scumbag said that he was gonna have nothing to do with Applejack or their foal." Aura angrily said.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"yeah, but Spike and Rarity have a big problem." Ash said. "thanks to Sweetie Belle and her love for Spike, there's a chance that their relationship is over and done with before it began. And he had such a good plan to win her love."
"well, you haven't keep keeping an eye on Shadow." Satoshi said. "he's in love with Dash but since she's going out with Soarin', he's keeping his feelings bottled up. Eventually, they're gonna explode out."
"well, Twi and Halo are reaching a breaking point. Literally. I think if they don't talk soon, they won't have a chance to reconcile this." Req muttered.
"well, me, Bahamut, and Sora can safely say we don't have to worry about this." Jax said as she leaned back.
"aren't you guys lucky?" the rest sarcastically replied.
"but seriously, we need to do something for them.' Sora said. "If not, this could cause a lot of damage to them."
"especially Starlight." Req added. "If a expectant mother gets under a lot of pressure, it can have very bad consequences on the baby. I'm glad Jess was strong willed when she was pregnant."
The gang looked at each other and nodded. "well, I can't believe I'm saying this, but… Requiem, time to unleash the romance monger."
Requiem disappeared for a moment and reappeared dressed as Cupid. "I'm ready to go to work." she jokingly said. A arrow tipped with the heart symbol fell out of the plastic bow she held. Everyone gagged at the outfit and instantaneously came up with the same reaction:
"Lose the outfit!"

Shadow & Dash:
Volare

Shadow mumbled to himself in his garage custom-built by Satoshi and Big Mac as Spanish music played over the radio, looking over the blueprints to his prototype. "maybe if I… no no no no no. that won't work. Maybe… crud, no. that won't work either."
he closed his eyes and thought though some variables to it to his invention. But quickly, those thoughts were replaced with images of Rainbow Dash. He snapped his eyes open and shook his head. "it's too late, Shadow." he said to himself. "She's already with Soarin', a Wonderbolt. No way she'll be with you now."
He shook his head of images of her and went back to work.

Dash giggled as she neared the end of the latest Daring Do in her bed. "Can't believe she gave me the first copy of her new book. This is so awesome!"
"I know. It's pretty awesome." Soarin' said, reading it with her.
Dash smiled. "You're pretty awesome, Soarin'." she closed the book and kissed him.
That kiss gave Soarin' a idea. "Say, Dash. Do you want to, I don't know, move our relationship further?"
"Further? Further how?" Soarin' raised both eyebrows alive with a creepy chuckle. "oh. You mean…" she made Bed Cricking Sounds, finishing that sentence.
"yep. What do you say?" Soarin' moved close, making Dash nervous.
"un… Soarin', I'm actually waiting until I get married. You understand, right?"
Soarin' whined instead. "oh, come on Dashie. It's quite a fun experience." he softly blew into her ear, making her quiver.
"eaaaahhhh…" she bolted out of bed and hovered in front of it. "I-I-I-I-I-I just remembered. I have to help Shadow with that device of his. I-I-I'll be back soon." she flew on out, shaken a bit.
Soarin' groaned as he laid back on the bed. He hit himself in the head, muttering "stupid, stupid, stupid. Curse me and my Libido."

Shadow groaned as he slammed his head into his table. "Ay. Why can't I think of anything?" someone knocked on his door, breaking him from his blueprints. "Come in." he called. The door opened and Dash walked in. Shadow stammered. "d-d-d-d-dash. What brings you here… to my room?" he nervously chuckled.
Dash groaned. "Soarin' wanted us to… do the… oh, how did Jax put it? The Horizontal Tango."
Shadow thought for a moment, trying to figure what she meant by that. He didn't have to think long. "OH. You mean…"
"yep."
"yeesh." Shadow shivered.
Dash chuckled. She looked around Shadow's room. It was a complete pigsty with almost anything and everything strung around; books lay open, papers are flung around, clothes were laying on the floor. Only clean place was his desk. She took notice of the Blueprints on it. "What's that?"
"oh." Shadow returned his attention to it. "remember that invention I'm working on? A device that would allow Earth Ponies and Unicorns to have the ability's of Pegasi like being able to walk on clouds?"
"emm… roughly."
"well, I'm having trouble trying to come up with a good design that would work but I keep coming up with nothing. {(That, and the fact that my love for you is killing me.)}"
Dash took a look at the design and sneered when she saw it. "no wonder. It's too big."
"It is?"
"yeah. Try making it smaller, more compact. You have the wings over-sized and the hovering components are too big for a single pony to wear."
Shadow looked to his blueprints in question. "huh. I never thought about that."
"why? It's a simple design oversight, right?"
"yeah, but how come I never thought about that?"
"I dunno."

Begin Song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVmaEyQDz1Q

Volare (Gypsy Kings version with English Lyrics)

Shadow's ears pricked up when he heard the song began to play.
"is this what I think it is?" he asked himself.
Dash looked over to the radio and got confused. "the song? What of it?"
"you never heard of it?" Shadow asked in disbelief. "it's only the greatest song ever."

(1st one) Volare. Oh, oh. Cantare. Oh oh oh oh.

Dash wasn't so sure about this being the greatest song ever. It was catchy, but greatest song ever? Nu-uh. Without warning, she found herself tapping her hooves to the song. Guess it had some catchiness.
Suddenly, Shadow grabbed her and started dancing with her.
"Whoa! Hey! Shadow!"

(2nd one) Volare. Oh, oh. Cantare. Oh oh oh oh.

It took Shadow that long before seeing what he was doing. He quickly let Dash go. "eh hehe. Sorry. I just love this song."
"So I felt." Dash said, brushing off her front-left leg. "Could've at least warned me before suddenly asking me to dance."
"Sorry, I…" Shadow's ears perked when he fully heard that. "wait. You want to dance?"
"yeah. It would be good practice for when Soarin' will ask me to a Gala."
"o-oh." Shadow felt a tiny bit hurt that Dash was using him for this. "well, let's get started."

(3rd one) Volare. Oh, oh. Cantare. Oh oh oh oh.

Shadow took Dash's hoof and the 2 began to dance to the tune. The way they moved, it's like they knew the other's move before the other even made it.

(4th one) Volare. Oh, oh. Cantare. Oh oh oh oh.

Scootaloo walked on by Shadow's workshop and passed by, giving it a passing glance.
5 seconds, she ran on back to the window to see Dash and Shadow dancing.
"What the hay? What's she doing with Shadow?" she muttered. She shook her head and looked in.

Dash started to get tired. She let go and panted. "Sorry. Getting tired." she panted.
Shadow moved his mouth to the left. He grabbed her and pulled her close. "tired is just a silly expression."
Dash looked to the camera, confused as hell. (yeah, get in line pal. I don't get what I put down either.) before they began to dance.

Scoot's mouth dropped when she saw Shadow bring Dash close to him.
"That S.O.B. he's trying to steal my cousin's girlfriend." she angrily said though her teeth.

(5th one) Volare. Oh, oh. Cantare. Oh oh oh oh.

The song almost reached it's end, same with Dash and Shadow.

When the song ended, Shadow held Dash closed and dipped her.

End Song.

Shadow and Dash looked into each other's eyes, each lost in them. Shadow realized what he was doing and held her up. "Un… sorry about that." he nervously said.
"It's un…" Dash was still pooped from the dancing but there was something more to it. She shook her head, getting rid of it. "it was nothing. Don't worry about it."

Scootaloo hid around the corner as Dash and Shadow walked outside.
"Thanks for the dance lesson, Shadow. Maybe that'll get Soarin's mind off of doing the deed." Dash said.
Scootaloo breathed a sigh of relief. "{(thank goodness. It was just a dance lesson. But why Shadow? And what does she mean by 'doing the deed?)}"
"r-right. G-glad I could help." a hurt Shadow said.
Dash noticed this. "Shadow? You okay?"
"y-ye… no, no I'm not." Shadow sighed. He didn't want it to come out and give Dash trouble. Dash cocked her head to the side while Scootaloo peered from around the corner. "Dash… I… I'm in l-"
"There you are!" Soarin' exclaimed. He flew on down from above and landed between the two. "I've been looking for you everywhere."
"Why?" Dash asked.
"well, Spitfire came by, looking for you. She saw you in action a few times and she was quite impressed when you performed a Sonic Rainboom at the Royal Wedding. And during the Best Young Fliers competition and…"
Hope started building up in Dash. "Soarin'… are you saying…"
Soarin' smirked. "Spitfire wants you to audition for the Wonderbolts."
Inside, Dash's heart exploded in delight. Outside, she was pulling loops and flips so fast, no one should be able to do them. "YES! WOO-HOO!" Shadow was happy for her; Her dream was coming true AND her boyfriend was a Wonderbolt himself. Then… why did he feel dead inside? "…so cool. Oh, This is SO AWESOME! Isn't this awesome, Shadow?"
"yeah. Really cool. I-it's great." he said tonelessly. Soarin' and Dash suddenly hugged and kissed. Shadow looked away, almost catching a glimpse of a certain orange mare. Speaking of which…
"{(Rainbow Dash is going to be a Wonderbolt? This is gonna be awesome! But seriously, what's up with Shadow?)}" Scoot's peeked back around to see Soarin' and Dash fly away and a defeated Shadow walk back into his garage.

Shadow sighed as he walked back to his desk. "well… as long as she's happy…" he sadly said as he sat back down. Scootaloo peaked in though the garage door. "I mean… what chance to I have with a Wonderbolt?" Shadow sighed as he leaned forward onto the desk. "as long as she's happy… I don't care what happens to me."
Scootaloo pulled her head back and thought to herself. "{(Feelings? Wait. Does Shadow love Rainbow Dash? I-impossible. She loves Soarin'. right?)}"

"I. am hanging out. With the Wonderbolts! This is too awesome!" she squealed. She and Soarin' were at the Wonderbolt Headquarters in Canterlot, having the time of her life.
"if memory serves, you 'hung out' with us back at the Grand Galloping Gala 2 years ago." Spitfire said. Dash chuckled nervously as she thought back to that night and the chaos she and her friends caused.
"So, Soarin' said you guys were interested in my talents?" Dash asked, hope rising up in her.
"indeed we are." Spitfire gestured to the veranda. Dash nodded and the 2 walked to it. "I won't lie, I've seen you in action, Dash. You've got quite the skillset; able to go faster then Mach 1, the buccaneer blaze, not to mention that you can perform the once mythical Sonic Rainboom… and the fact that you represent a Element of Harmony is also a good thing."
Dash went *Sqwee* as Spitfire kept talking. "{(oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. I'm talking with Spitfire; the Wonderbolt leader, and she's considering inducting me into the Wonderbolts! This day can't get any better!)}"
Spitfire noticed she wasn't listening and waved her hoof in front of her face. "Ms. Dash. Ms. Dash, you okay?"
Rainbow snapped out of her mini-trance and blinked. "oh. Sorry. I was too excited. Being a member of the Wonderbolts has always been a dream of mine ever since I was a filly."
Spitfire chuckled. "Isn't it for all of us?"
"not for one of my friends." Dash chuckled. "She had never even heard of the Wonderbolts until I told her."
"wow. Sounds like quite the Ditz."
"That was her name too. Ditzy. Of course, I just called her Derpy." Spitfire laughed as the 2 walked back in.

20 minutes later, Spitfire, Dash, and Soarin' converged into Fire's office.
"So… how do I enter the Wonderbolts?" a giddy Dash asked.
Spitfire, who sat in her chair, glanced up at her. "well, it ain't no picnic. We just don't let anyone in. there's rigorous training you must overcome, near-impossible tasks. And even if the future-bolt is more then worthy with flying skills, there's also formal skills you must know."
Dash gulped at the thought. "f-f-f-formal?" the idea of a formal Rainbow Dash, one as prissy as Blueblood or Fleur-De-Lis, scared the living daylights out of her. "y-y-yeah. I'm not what you would call the formal type."
"neither is Soarin' but he's learning." Soarin' chuckled nervously as he blushed. Spitfire grabbed a clipboard and a pencil. "okay. Age?"
"20."
"birthplace?"
"FeatherTop, the Gryphon Kingdom Capital."
"pa-" Spitfire stopped when she heard that. "wait, did you say FeatherTop?"
"yeah?"
"I was born there too."
Dash was surprised. One of her idols was born in her hometown. "Get outta town."
"no joke. Where were you born?"
"Southern District. You?"
"Eastern District Slums. I was poor."
Dash just playfully shrugged. "proof that good talent can come from anywhere."
"True that." Spitfire and Dash laughed.
Soarin' felt uncomfortable. "Can we get on with this?"
"oh. Right right." she brought the clipboard back up. "Okay, Parents?"
"Mother: Shine Dash. Father: Golden Day." Soarin' went wide-eyed when he heard that.
"okay. Re-"
Soarin' interrupted the interview. "hold hold hold hold hold hold. Wait wait wait wait wait wait." Dash and Spitfire looked over to him. "did you just say your father was Golden Day?"
"yeah but I barely knew him. He left when I was 2." Soarin' squealed like a pig when he heard that. "What?"
He just sat there with a frightened expression. "my… father's name… was Golden Day. And he left when I was 2."
The gears in Dash's head grinded to a halt, knowing full well what Soarin's talking about. "So wait… does that mean… we're…"
"Brother and Sister?" they both said with fear in their eyes. They looked at each other, figuring it out. They gagged and spit, getting the taste out of their mouths.
Spitfire watched in fear. "did I miss something?"
"we were going out for the past couple of weeks!" Dash gagged.
Soarin' brushed his teeth with a toothbrush. "I'm just glad we just kissed and didn't go all the way." a disturbing thought entered his head. "the kids would've been horrifying mutants."

"I've never been so embarrassed in my entire life." Soarin' groaned as the 2 walked though a twilight Ponyville.
"me too." a grossed out Dash groaned. "Think I messed up my entry into the Wonderbolts?"

"Soarin'?"
"I don't think so. Spitfire's always been one for comedy. CRUEL comedy."
"I know. I saw her laughing her butt off."
Soarin' pondered for a moment whether to ask, even if the answer was obvious. "So… I guess this means we aren't going out anymore?"
"Doy!"
"Yeah. Stupid question."
They both heard panting coming towards them. They looked to their left to see Scootaloo running up. She reached them and panted heavily.
"Squirt, what's wrong?" Dash asked.
Scoots caught her second wind. "It's Shadow. He's gone!"
"What?" they both exclaimed in surprise.

The door to Shadow's garage burst open as Dash flew in. she landed on the floor and was shocked by what she saw. Soarin' and Scootaloo ran in and saw the same thing.
The garage was completely empty. There was nothing, no notes, no books. Nothing.
"I-I don't understand. Why would Shadow leave?" Soarin' wondered.
Dash took a step forward and stepped on something. She looked down and found a piece of paper. She bent down and picked it up.
"What is it?" Soarin' asked.
"It's a letter." Dash said. "A goodbye letter."

'Dash
I'm sorry for saying goodbye like this but… but I had no choice. This has been torturing me for the past few months but I never had the courage to say it, and when I did someone always interrupted us. So… this is the only way I can think of.
Rainbow Dash. I love you. I have since that day we met but I just couldn't say it. And then you started going out with Soarin'. that was a knife though my heart but I didn't say anything. What chance would I have with a Wonderbolt? If given the choice, you would've gone with him every time. And no matter how hard I tried, you wouldn't leave my mind. Hopefully, time away will get you out.
I'm leaving and I don't think I'm coming back. Just… seeing you with him and me not saying anything is killing me inside. Good-bye Rainbow Dash. I love you and I wish you the best with Soarin'.'

Dash shakingly gasped as she finished reading it. Soarin' took it and read it over again as Dash fell to her knees.
"S-Shadow loved me?"
"and he's gone to avoid giving you trouble." Soarin' muttered. "guess it worked in the opposite direction."
Dash looked back on the past few weeks. That explains why he was acting so weird and sounding so depressed. Her heart told her what to do. "I have to find him." she got up and headed for the door.
"you don't even know where to start looking." Soarin' interjected.
Dash stopped just a few inches from the door and looked down to the ground. Soarin' was right. She doesn't know where he went. She felt bad, very bad. Heartbroken. Sick, even. Her vision suddenly turned blurry as she had trouble standing.
"Dash?" Soarin' and Scootaloo called out. She suddenly fell over, vision going dark upon impact.

Author's Notes:

not exactly a happy ending, is it? is Shadow really gone? NAH! i wouldn't get rid of one of my characters. of course, this won't be resolved for a LONG time.