The two mares walked side by side through ponyville, heads down low as they spoke to each other in hushed tones. They never spoke to anypony, and had long since stopped any contact they had with their earth pony sister, Record Disk. Although they had always been loners to an extent, it had never been like this. Everything changed after they took their flight exam...
A cold breeze ruffled Windy Skies short, blonde and blue mane, and she sighed. "That feels so good, the pegasus ponies did a great job with the weather today, sunshine all around!" She chuckled and looked at her sister, who was hopping from hoof to hoof and looking around nervously. "How can you laugh at a time like this?! This decides our whole lives!" Windy put her hoof on Night Sky's shoulder, shaking her head. "You have to stop worrying, The Rainbow Factory no longer exists." Night sighed and nodded, knowing her sister was right, but ever since she heard the tale of The Rainbow Factory as a filly she had been terrified. It gave her nightmares for months, and made her dread the day when her flight exam came. Windy knew that Night was thinking about the Rainbow Factory, and as she sat on the soft cloud beside her sister, watching a tangerine stallion taking off and completing a practice course the instructor had set for the group, she considered what might happen if they did fail. After not much thought, her mind wandered to the Rainbow Factory, try as she might to forget it.
The news of the Rainbow Factory had been leaked after Scootaloo escaped from an insane Rainbow Dash and Doctor Atmosphere, the factory was burned, and the weather factory beneath it relocated. Rainbow Dash joined the Shadowbolts, she knew that Spitfire and Soarin' wouldn't even want to be near her after what had happened. She had ruined any chance she had at fulfilling her life's dream.
However, the Shadowbolts welcomed her after they heard of her evil exploits in the factory. Doctor Atmosphere was never seen again. The thought of two highly dangerous and completely insane murdering ponies free in ponyville made Windy terrified. She didn't want to let herself think about something so horrible, but she couldn't help but wonder if there was a new Rainbow Factory somewhere. The rainbows were still shining bright in Equestria, and with both ponies free, it was plausible, right?
She jumped a little as she heard the voice of the instructor, booming throughout the coliseum. “Remember, if the judges lose sight of you for any reason, you will be automatically failed. The test consists of three sections. Weather clearing, Agility, and finally Recovery. Clear the clouds, fly through the hoops, and then fly to the marked elevation. Close your wings for at least three seconds. Any less and you’ll fail, but you won't get higher marks if you keep them closed for longer. Recover before you hit the cloud floor. Any questions?” He nodded with satisfaction as everpony looked quite clear on everything, and was about to turn away until a lavender mare spoke up.
"What happens if we fall and get injured? Or die?" The instructor turned his head again, and laughed a laugh with no humor. Cold and hollow.
"Then you should feel ashamed. You're a failiure." Without another word, he turned and stood near the judges.
He only cares about us winning... If we die, it's no loss... We're just failiures...
As she lost herself in her thoughts , she was brought back to reality with a jolt as she felt her sister's hoof on her back. "Didn't you hear?! He called your name! Get out there, quickly!" Night pressed her hoof in the small of Windy's back, pushing her to her own hooves and forwards, until she was next to the instructor. "You know the drill. Clear, fly, fall, complete." She nodded and gulped, taking off. As she felt the familiar breeze pushing through her feathered wings, she relaxed, forgetting where she was and letting the rush of the flight take over. Before she knew it, the test was over. She passed. She grinned at her sister.
"Nothing to worry about!" She mouthed up at her before going to join the other ponies that passed at the west gate. She sat next to the lavender mare, who grinned at her. "It was such a relief to pass, I thought I was going to fail for sure!" Windy giggled and nodded, "Me too, but as soon as I took off I was completely fine, just like any other flight. I'm Windy, what's your name?" Just as the mare opened her mouth, Windy heard a stomach churning scream. As she turned her head, she saw a blur of black, blue, and purple falling from the sky. As Night Sky took a run, she found that her wings had frozed shut with terror, and wouldn't open. She plummeted to the ground, tears streaming from her eyes and her short mane and tail flying, until she fell to the ground with a sickening thud. There was a silence for a moment, before the reality of the situation finally hit Windy.
She screamed, jumping up and running as fast as her legs would allow her, kicking up dust until she got to the grass where Night lay. She looked up and saw the faces of a few pegasi looking down at them, shocked, but no-one came to her aid. She sobbed as she looked into her sister's half open yellow eyes. She was barely concious and bleeding from her head, and as Windy looked her over her battered body she realised, bile rising in her throat, that one of Night's bones was sticking through her foreleg, the pale creamy white of her bone and torn ligament shocking against her black coat.
She turned around to see if anyone was coming with help, and to her surprise she saw the lilac pegasus, also with tears in her red eyes. "W-will she be alright?..."
Windy ignored the question, turning her attention back to her sister. A few minutes of silence later, Windy saw a shadow cross over her and Night, but she didn't look up. After a moment, "Miss, you'll have to go join the others at the gate, they're leaving now." Windy looked up at long last, seeing a bored green mare, pointing at the group with her hoof. She thought about being angry for a moment, but then decided that might not be the best if she was intending on getting help. "My sister... She fell, broke her back leg, she needs a doctor! Please, please help us!" She looked up at the green pony, her eyes wide, pleading, and filled with tears. The mare sighed and shook her head. "If you're not going to join the group, you're going with your sister to the failures. You too," She said, nodding towards the lavender mare.
Windy gave a shaky sigh and ignored her completely, not caring if the mare chose to go or not. She turning back to Night, just as her eyes started to flicker open. "W-windy... What... What h-happened?" She raised a hoof to her head, wincing slightly. Her older sister started crying again, tears of relief rather than horror. "You fell... Your wings didn't open..." As she paused, she heard the green mare's hoofsteps getting fainter and fainter as she walked away, and a cart pulling up at the east gate. She guessed it was for her, Night and the lavender mare, if she was still with them.
A few moments later she heard hoofsteps coming towards her. "Get in the cart . I'll take care of your sister." Windy turned and looked up, using her foreleg to block out the sunlight. She saw a brown, stern faced colt, staring down at her. She wasn't sure if he could be trusted, but she supposed she didn't really have much of a choice. She trotted towards the cart, surprised to hear hoofsteps behind her.
"You stayed... And I don't even know your name.." The mare shrugged and smiled a sad smile. "My name is Amethyst Shine, and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I left."
Windy smiled a genuine smile, despite the fact her stomach was doing somersaults and she felt she might faint any time soon. She turned and jumped into the cart, if it could even be called that. It was splintery brown wood, no windows, one door, and hard seats. She left the door open and moved to the side as Amethyst got in beside her. Both the mares watched Windy's sister as she lay on the grass, the colt, presumably a doctor, tending to her wounds. They were so intent on watching the doctor and Night Sky, they never heard any hoofsteps. "Ahem... Hello..? You failed too?.." Both ponies turned their heads, looking down and seeing a large stallion, ruby red mane and shining green coat. "No... we passed... But my sister was injured and I refused to leave her. So we're here, with the "failures" as they so politely put it. What's your name? I'm Windy Skies, this is Amethyst Shine, and my sister out there is Night Sky."
