Ch 6, Training the Wing

Garn stared at the ceiling, aware that he had just admitted to feeling he had never fostered before, what’s worse was that Celestia knew his history, yet he had not told the others, least of all Luna, who remained cuddled next to him.

He couldn’t bare to think of what would happen when they defeated Chaos, what would happen when he used the final word to destroy him.

“Garnet?” Luna whimpered, nuzzling him gently.

“Yes Luna?”

She smiled and leaned up, her blue hair waving in her face.

“You said yes. What were you dreaming of last night?”

Garn blushed and looked away, coughing even though he didn’t need too.

“I dreamt of a land free of darkness and everyone being free to pursue their own happiness.” He quickly lied.

She gave him a “Oh really” look, and then proceeded to get out of bed, making sure to look at him before he could catch her. She smiled softly, he had held her the entire night, and for the first time in a thousand years she didn’t dream of Miasma and the darkness.

“That was the best night sleep I have had in a long time.” she stated, turning away so he could not see her smile.

“Well it doesn’t have to be the last. I could teach you the words or… Or we could do this again?”

She turned around with a wide grin, her hand resting on her hip, eyes blazing like a star. The look she gave him set off a fire within himself, and he found himself fighting the urge to lift her up and lay her down on the bed, beginning to-

“Luna? Rainbow dash is asking for Garn.” Celestia said while poking her head in the door.

Garn muttered a curse under his breath but secretly thanking her for breaking up a possible mistake. He stood and pulled a shirt on, walking out with Celestia leaving Luna, who gently lifted her hand and then brought it close to herself, mind running with new thoughts.

Garn entered the living room and found Rainbow Dash hovering in mid air, her eyes drilling into his.

“So why aren’t you training flutter and me?”

Garn shrugged and stretched his arms out.

“Saving the best for last Dash, your training is the hardest, most rigorous out of all the others, and I have something special for Fluttershy later, so for now it’s just you and me.”

Dash smiled wickedly and lowered herself to his eye level, holding out her hand in challenge.

“Last one to the top of the mountain kisses Celestias flank.”

Garn grinned maliciously and felt the air become denser with the two of them preparing flight. Applejack opened the sliding door, and before it clicked open the two shot outside. She trailed behind him a good five feet, grunting as she pushed herself to move faster. Garn knew the limits of the human body during flight, and Dash would soon have to find out as well. He slowed down and suddenly stopped, watching as she shot past.

Judging by the way her blur moved during flight, Garn knew she was moving at least 80 miles per hour. She turned around and cried out victoriously, and choked on the laugh as her body spun out of control, shooting towards the ground faster and faster.

“Frije!” Garn yelled, and Dash came to an abrupt halt wrapped in a glowing red light. Her rainbow hair swayed in the breeze, and she looked up with a hurt expression on her face. He set her down gently and she merely laid on the ground, grunts and moans of pain echoing throughout the forest.

“Shows you right, you don’t have the endurance of a Pegasus any longer.” He explained as she laid on the ground holding herself.

“What does it feel like?”

She grunted and he saw her fighting back tears. Tears of pain and defeat.

“Does it feel like your skin is on fire? That every bone is screaming in fiery pain?”

She nodded her head, averting his steel gaze.

She flinched as he knelt beside her, and suddenly felt a golden light enveloping her.

“Dash, you have nothing to be ashamed of. You can talk to me.” He soothed, holding his arms open as she sat up and stared at him.

She sniffed hard and began to sob, jumping up to embrace him tightly, crying onto his shoulder as he hummed and patted her on the back.

“So What’s been bothering you Dash? What’s really wrong?”

Dash wiped her eyes and looked to the ground, clutching the fabric of her jeans s she tried to speak.

“It’s Fluttershy…”

Garn smiled he already figured.

“And?”

She shot him a glare and softened, sighing and blushing as she tried to put her feelings into words.

“I’ve known her my entire life, and she is the best friend I ever had. But lately when we sleep in the same bed I get these feelings…” she looked at him beneath her hair and gripped the fabric tighter.

“Down…down there.”

Garn was the one to blush now. He had not expected this kind of problem, and quickly thought on how to go about it. He arrived a conclusion soon after, and sat next to Dash and staring at the sky.

“That’s a normal emotion, your attracted to Fluttershy.”

Dash raised a fist and opened her mouth, but quickly lowered it and looked away.

“I know. But that feeling… I cant sleep when I look at her, and she rolls over and hugs me when she sleeps. I haven’t slept good since we got here.”

“I can understand that, but there are… ways to control and release this tension. Although I’m not the one that has to teach you.”

“Then who!” she yelled, quickly lowering her voice purely out of respect that he was attempting to help her.

“I want you to go the lake, lay out a blanket, and think about Fluttershy. If you feel the need take off your clothes do so and trust me, you’ll know what to do from there.”

She looked at him with a peculiar stare, stood, and then awkwardly held her arms out.

“you can hug me Dash.”

As soon as he said it her arms were around him, and she sobbed quietly with a smile on his face.

“Thank you. I wont fail, I’ll come back soon better than ever!” she yelled joyously before shooting off in the direction of the lake.

Garn shook his head and began to doubt what he had created, rather than just stand there looking like a fool, he decided it was time to Give Pinkie and Fluttershy the tools they would need to help the fight against Chaos.

He landed at the front door and was greeted by applejack, who had gone from swinging the heavy War hammer to intricate thrusts and aerial maneuvers, even going as far as flip away backwards and bring the hammer down on a log, splitting it into tiny pieces. He looked over to his left and saw Rarity and Twilight dueling, graduating from throwing stones to casting streaks of piercing blasts of magic. He was proud of the girls. In a matter of days they had grown accustomed to their human forms and found the ability to fight, a skill his mother stressed to him the denizens of Equestria had buried.

“Garny Warny!” Pinkie yelled as she drug Fluttershy to his side.

“We want to train too! What can I do, am I going to be a ninja cupcake thrower? Oh! I can be the cake pirate arrggghhhhh.” she stated while leaping around him.

He held his hands out to the two elements, a long slender leather pouch in one hand and a silver box in the other. Pinkie snatched the pouch and explored it’s contents while Garn had to open the box and show Fluttershy her gift. Pinkie was the first to notice, dragging an ebony black flute with gold winding vines on the outer shell from the pouch. Garn slipped a simple steel ring with a lone amethyst embedded in the center on Fluttershy’s finger, drawing a gasp from the shy woman.

“It’s amazing…” She cooed, marveling at the shimmering jewel.

“It’s a flute!” Pinkie cried out with a sing song voice.

“Yes Pinkie, and this flute is very special, it has magical powers that can be activated with special songs, and I need you to memorize each and every song in the book.

Before he could explain more Pinkie dashed into the house, and the light sounds of the flute could be heard inside.

“Fluttershy, you will not be fighting at all, you serve a purpose greater than even me.”

Fluttershy blushed and hid her face behind a bang of curly pink hair.

“This ring is filled with a very, very special power. I’m going to show you.”

He looked at Twilight and whistled for her attention.

“twilight? Could you throw some magic my way, I need to work on my barrier spell.”

Twilight obliged and sent a piercing hot blast at him, which he raised an arm to defend.

The magic splashed over his arm, and he grunted in pain as the light subsided to reveal a blistered burn of a deep red hue.

“What in Celestia's name!?” Twilight gasped. Fluttershy grabbed Garn’s arm and stared at it, unaware of why he would do that.

“I’m so sorry Garn, does it hurt? Do we need to find a healer?” As she rambled the gem on her ring glowed brighter and brighter, and she stopped speaking as the wound began to heal, blisters subsiding and skin growing over the burned areas. In a matter of seconds the arm was completely healed, sans missing some hair.

“Did I do that?” she whispered.

Garn smiled and showed her his arm, which had everyone else beaming over it.

“That’s the power of compassion Fluttershy.”

A sudden boom echoed in the distance, and everyone’s eyes were drawn to the cause of the explosion. Fluttershy’s eyes widened as everyone looked up, seeing Rainbow Dash descending towards them, wrapped in nothing but a blanket and a wide grin spread across her face.

“Dash! Are you alright?” Fluttershy asked, her eyes filled with love and worry.

Dash looked at Fluttershy and shuddered, a wider grin growing on her face.

“After we defeat Chaos, there's something I GOT to show you.”  she sighed, running a hand through her hair as she gazed at Garn.

“I just made a sonic rainboom.” she whispered while giggling.

“And how do you feel?” Garn asked with his arms crossed, struggling to not smile.

She shrugged and smiled softly, her eyes falling on Fluttershy more often.

“Like I could take on the world. Like I need a nap.”

Garn nodded his head at the house and Dash hovered inside, closing the door gently as she did.

Fluttershy looked at him wide-eyed and mouth agape.

“I haven’t seen Rainbow that relaxed in forever, what did you do?”

Garn smiled troll style and shrugged.

“I gave her the tools, she figured out how to use them.”

He walked away from the crowd while whistling and went to the living room, marveling at how fast they were learning. At this rate they would be able to go against Chaos in a matter of days, if he didn’t attack by then.