//-------------------------------------------------------// Everfree Pass -by Lore-Lei- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Everfree Pass //-------------------------------------------------------// Everfree Pass It all happened during the middle of the night, clear as a crystal, the full moon shining bright atop, praised countless stars. While most creatures were in the middle of their sleep after a hard day's work, one was planning something different for the night. She leaned against the wall of the cliff on the road, her mustard colored back being covered by some dirt but that didn't mind her much. She kept staring down the other side, the endless forest of the Everfree below, ever so wild, yet beautiful in its own way. A cold breeze blew from her right, charming, almost seducing her nerves for a little moment before passing by. It was 'her' perfume. She stood up, brushed the dirt off her back and rolled forwards a little bit. She kept her eyes on the road on her right, rough on the sides but smooth enough in the middle for this purpose. Not even her ram horn that curled elegantly around her ear bothered her this time. She began rolling her skates back and forth, ones that allowed one to achieve speeds of pegasi: thundreskates. Beautiful purple and black colors adorned the little roller skates she kept turned off, but not for long. The perfume hit her again, as the sounds were heard from above, as something would step towards her slowly, one by one. The adrenaline started to flow through her veins, as her breathing became deeper and heavier. From the top of the crest, a silhouette appeared, making its way upwards, gaining full color after reaching the its top. It was her counterpart, the ivory to her ebony. Her purple curls floating gently in the wind with, as her gown elegantly reacted to every little breeze. The purple and white skates on her hooves slowly rolling her forwards, without a sound, like a spider going for her prey. She stopped by the other unicorn, who slowly passed by behind her as a shark, lining up next to her. With a quick flick of her rear hooves they hit their own skates in a matte black area, causing a small spark to appear, and repeating the process with their front hooves as well. Suddenly, the skates come to life. The plastic rims in the wheels covered by rubber began to glow with an intense turquoise and amethyst aura. They both rolled their front hooves on the ground, as the machines roared up with a high pitch noise, awakening the sleeping fauna in a distance. There was nothing, but silence afterwards, the only thing they could hear was their breathing, and the beating of their hearts. The Ebony and the Ivory mistresses gazed in each other's eyes. One's was sparkling amethyst filled with love, lust, pleasure and desires that was not and will never be fulfilled. The other one had eyes of shining a ruby, hiding misery, pain and suffering, both of others and herself. The two mares stared deep through the windows of one another, as if they were being hypnotized. Thousands of years could they spend as lost souls, looking for treasures in the other, treasures they already found long times ago and were willing to share. Yet there was always something more to find, and their curiosity drove them to look further and further. From below, a long howl of a wolf woken up by the roars was heard, that snapping the unicorns from their stasis. Their hearts were working overdrive, waiting for the voice of nature to fade. The long howl eventually went silent, and the ponies pushed their hind limbs back, resulting in both skates to roar up once again. It began. The ebony mistress took the lead in an instant, the ivory however was much more tactful, she rather waited until the succubus made a mistake, and then attacked. On one side, was the wall of rocks and safety, and on the other... oblivion. It was dangerous, but they were living with danger all the time, they embraced danger itself. A slight left turn followed by a sharper right one, the skaters of the night, like ballerinas danced through each turn down the canyon. A very sharp right turn was coming up, forcing both of to hit the breaks. However, while the succubus' model had its breaking mechanism in the rear skates, the vampony had it in front. She saw what is going to happen, and by crossing movements with her legs she made her way as close to the wall as she could, then hit the breaks. The dirt torn up under them, as the ebony one slid out to the side while taking the turn, almost putting herself in a complete stop, whereas the ivory one approached the sharp turn from the farthest side, taking the turn in the closest arc possible, then ending up next to the wall's side again, overtaking her competition as her tail slightly teased the other mare in the exit of the corner. A smaller straight was coming up, making the succubus able to catch up to the vampony, but overtaking her was impossible, as she found herself in the outer edge of the road on a long left turn. Both skates began to slide in the dirt, the ivory taking the turn in the ideal line once more, while slowly forcing the other down by accident. The emptiness below came closer and closer each second, yet the vampony had no intention to do so, and slowed down a bit more to give space to her rival. Two of them were head to head now, rolling with enormous speed in another straight when a small quake shook the ground. The enormous stones that meant safety on their left began to fall into pieces as a loud avalanche. But it took much more for them to stop, as the two dodged the gigantic boulders like they were simply dancing, making chicanes and slaloms between the obstacles. The ivory one however did not see her demise above, speeding towards her, but when the ebony mistress noticed the incoming danger she rushed in, knocking the other pony to the left while she recoiled to the right. A split second later, the gigantic rock smashed into the place they were, as the rage of the mountain came to an end. A few more left and right turns lead down the mountain road as the trees of the Everfree was reaching up for them. After a sharp left turn, another straight came up, that specific straight they were longing for since the beginning. The two mares bent down and gave it all they got. Their manes wagging wildly from the speed, as the road suddenly disappeared under their hooves. The ebony and the ivory mistress were flying through the night, the thunderskates screaming like fillies on a rollercoaster. After an air-time that seemed as if time would have slow down, the succubus hit the ground hard, but the vampony on the other hand chose a different method. Her nightgown curling around her body suddenly folded out and became a pair of wings aiding her to gently glide down, into the forest. True, she arrived behind her rival, but that was an acceptable loss, unlike crippling one of her legs for example. The finale was here, all that was left is a run through the forest path. The two creatures viciously cut through the bumpy and narrow road between the trees, awakening everything in their way. The faces of the angered trees however, didn't bother them. Any wrong move here and they could have find themselves lost in the woods, maybe even injured. A hand-shaped branch with three fingers reached from above out to take the succubus, but it wasn't quick enough. The dodging maneuver a bit of took her time, but not enough for the vampony to overtake her. The flowers on the side bobbing their heads as the two passed them almost head to head. The finish, the edge of the forest was so near, yet in the heat of the battle, it looked so distant. Even the small critters left their nests too see the end of this duel. The two rivals shot out from the forest like bullets, hitting on their breaks to put an end to their wild ride. Both breathing heavily from the exhaustion and shaking from the adrenaline, they stared at one another once more, as with a little fling, the machinery on their hooves turned off. Their smile was a summer noon in the cold night, warming up both their hearts, as they began to roll forwards to the little desert town in a distance. They asked no questions, they had no complaints, they had nothing to say, for they could see it all clearly in the eyes of one another. As for who won... it did not matter, for whoever passes the Everfree is always a winner.