Skyfire's Story

I hovered in the air with leisure, flying as though nothing had ever happened. Letting out a luxurious whoop, I stretched my wings to their full extent and soared further into the cloudless sky. I had never been so limitless, never so free. I could fly forever and ever, with no ending.

Then, it happened. In a rush, the sky turned a shade of golden-yellow in a flash. The storm clouds appeared out of nowhere, as if they had been following me, waiting for the right moment. As the clouds closed in, flashing their wicked lightning tauntingly, I tried to fly upwards to escape the fate that I already knew awaited me. Instead of shooting into the sky above me, I fell. Looking to my right, I saw that my wing had dissapeared once more. The clouds moved below me, somehow quicker than I, and surrounded me in a sphere. The lightning came from all directions...

Skyfire jerked awake with a scream, long and shrill. Tears flooded mercilessly from her eyes, soaking her cheeks. She took in choked and hollow breaths rapidly, trying to calm herself. It was all a dream. Just a dream. But, regardless of what she told herself, Sky knew. It wasn't a dream. Her wing was gone. Forever. The lightning, the fall, those yellow-gold eyes, all of it would haunt her. Forever.

At last, the tears stopped. Finally. Skyfire collapsed back onto her bed, feeling the wires that connected her to the machines poking into her. Pain enveloped her side, but she didn't care. She didn't care about anything anymore.

A soft knock on the door revealed a blue nurse, her silvery mane swept into a bun; Nurse Scope. "Skyfire, dear, are you alright? I heard you scream..."

"I'm fine."

"Oh. Well, it's about time for breakfast, anyway. Could we bring in something for you?"

"No. Thanks."

Nurse Scope just shook her head with a small sigh and left, shutting the door behind her with her silver magical aura. As soon as she left, Skyfire let another tear slip out of her eye, slide down her cheek, and plop against her pillow, where it became nothing more than a damp spot. She missed flying, the freedom. She missed her home...

Without meaning to, she drifted to sleep once more. Privately, she wished she would dream of the sky; she wished she would go back home.

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Sunlight was burning through Skyfire's eyelids, making her world go from soothing black to a jolting blue. Sky blinked slowly, beginning to wake up from her slumber. Beside her, several familiar Pegasi were sitting in chairs, having quiet conversation that was held in whispers. Skyfire could only hear snippets.

"Extra... needed... for... current... Scope... Screaming... Nightmare..."

Skyfire blinked once more, trying to process. Scope had told about the screaming? Surely, others had heard, but Scope tattled to Wingbeat? Ugh.

With a groan, Skyfire sat up and let her eyes travel to her bedside. A plate of muffins, now cold, sat there, with a note that had "I'm sorry, please get well soon." Scrawled onto it, next to a smiley face. Sky had the impression of a foal writing it out, but only one pony loved muffins that much in all of Equestria, and only one pony could write worse than a foal; Skyfire pushed Derpy's muffins away a little bit, not wanting to see them, and attracted the attention of several Wonderbolts, the ponies in her room. Skimming her eyes over them, Skyfire spotted Spitfire, Rainbow Dash, Soarin, Fleetfoot, Lightning Streak, Misty Fly, Fire Streak, and Silver Lining.

"Hey, Skyfire!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, a bit too cheerfully. The cyan Pegasus jumped up from her chair and walked over to the patient, offering a hoof bump. Wordlessly, Sky stared at the outstretched hoof. Really? Did Rainbow think everything was okay, despite her severed wing? Did she think that everything would go back to normal, just like that?

Seeming to get the hint, Rainbow pulled back. "How'd you sleep, Sky?" Soarin asked her, using his wing to pull Rainbow pack gently. Skyfire shrugged. "Dunno. Fine." She mumbled, drooping her head down and letting her mane fall into her face. You could practically hear the crickets chirping as the team members exchanged glances with each other.

Fleetfoot shuffled her hooves awkwardly. "I heard that the other trainees are coming up to see you today, probably after we head out." The young mare managed, trying to start conversation. Skyfire's head jerked up suddenly. "Who got in?" She blurted out, making eye contact with the other ponies. Sky was pretty certain who it was (Prism Streak, of course) but still wanted to be sure of it. Silver Lining, Misty Fly, and Fire Streak - three of the five judges - all stared at each other expectantly, wondering who would say it. All eyes seemed to settle on Misty.

"Ugh! Fine! Three judges over two, it was Sugar Breeze." The yellow mare gasped dramatically, throwing her front hooves into the air in exasperation.

Skyfire fell back onto her pillows, her mind fuzzy once more a Misty Fly's words. It was... Sugar Breeze? Sugar, who always taunted her for no reason? Sugar, who managed to get the other fliers to dislike her because she was the only Wonderbolt foal? Sugar Breeze was a Wonderbolt now?

In her haze, she hardly noticed the angry conversation that was beginning to stir up in the room. Spitfire and Lightning Streak were arguing with Misty, Fire, and Silver about Sugar Breeze, Rainbow and Soarin eventually siding with the pair.

"Sugar Breeze? I still can't believe you went through with her!" "She's a talented flier, Spitfire! We couldn't let her go!" "But her attitude!!! She's not exactly the nicest pony, you know!" "Lighting Streak, you're not even the captain, why should you call the shots?" "Because I know what's best for the team!" "And Spitfire doesn't?" "Maybe we could just settle this later?" "SHUT UP, SOARIN!!!"

Soarin's face twisted into an offended frown. "Why me?! Why not Fleetfoot?!" He replied to the group, waving his hooves towards the icy pegasus. Fleetfoot just gasped in anger before jumping to her hooves, marching over to him, and pressing her nose to his. "Say it again, I dare Ya!" "You're the one who needs to shut up! Your voice is so nasal!" Fleetfoot's nostrils flared with anger, and Skyfire broke out of her haze once more upon hearing Soarin. Oh, Fleetfoot's gonna lose it!!! As if she had read Sky's mind, the mare let out a loud insult like a slap across the face. "WHY, YOU SON OF A-"

The door slammed open suddenly, cutting Fleetfoot off and making Everypony jump in surprise. Skyfire, though she couldn't see who awaited her at the door, felt a tiny bit of disappointment settle in her stomach; the idea of Fleetfoot telling Soarin off with just priceless!!! If only the door hadn't open-

"Oh, dear. I hope we aren't interupting anything."

Several other familiar Pegasi stepped into the room, all of which Skyfire knew well.

First came Stormy Skies. The stallion was smaller than most, shorter and thinner, but it helped in the agility category. (This was told by his cutie mark, which was a lightning bolt that appeared to dodge clouds easily.) His coat was a darker shade of blue, almost like the sky just after sunset, and his light gray and gold mane was growing out of his face, almost like Spitfire or Soarin, and there were goggles hanging from around his neck. His eyes were a startling gold, and they rested on Skyfire with light concern.

Walking close behind was Flying Colors. She was a stunning white, with black dots mingling together near her hooves and wing tips. Thick lashes coated her icy blue eyes, and complemented her long and messy rainbow mane very well. Her mane was usually styled so that it fell sideswept across her left eye, but now it was pushed back with goggles. The spots on her legs were also partially hidden by the leg wraps that she wore to help her with the muscle pain she sometimes got. In her flank, three water drops that were colored with the primary colors resided, showing off the time that she had captured the water from Rainbow Falls and transported it through a tornado (Sugar Breeze had been helping) to the Crystal Empire. Despite her feat, the pegasus was very shy. With a small smile, she skittered inside.

Next was Prism Streak. He was a lighter yellow, with a navy and dark blue tussled mane. Unlike Storm's, his mane fell down in a shaggy mess, covering a bit of his royal blue eyes with the ends. On his flank, there was a navy Phoenix, with a few blue feathers mixed in; it indicated that he had once saved a Phoenix nest that was full of eggs from falling into a pond; the image of a full grown phew I had appeared on his flank, indicating that the lives he had saved would one day be beautiful, strong, and... Powerful. Ever since, he had been a flight guard at the Junior Speedsters camp, helping out the kids who had a bit of a struggle with certain aspects of flight. Sky could tell that his work had a positive effect on him, from his attitude to his toned arms. A bit of athletic tape wrapped around his bad knee, but that was the only indication of a weakness. He stopped for half a second, just.. Staring. Skyfire shifted uncomfortably, not knowing what to do. Fortunately, somepony else walked into the room.

"Ugh, Prism! Move it!"

The last addition was Sugar Breeze. She had a long, wavy white mane that had some streaks of off-white in it, a supple baby pink coat, and, unlike the others, showed no signs of practice at all. Although she claimed it was preposterous, Everypony knew that she wore fake eyelashes; you could especially tell whenever one of them was crooked. Her voice was harsh, much like her tornado cutie mark, and breezy confident, like the wind marks that seemed to egg on the funnel on her flank. Skyfire just couldn't help but wonder sometimes if Sugar had gotten her cutie mark by helping Fly with the transportation of Rainbow Falls waters, or if it justo effected her personality. But, then again, who knew? But, at that moment, Skyfire knew one of Sugar's most annoying traits.

It was the Wonderbolt title that she now carried.