Such a serene morning. The butterflies flying blissfully between the flowers, the birds nestling with their young as they prepare their morning feed, and all the young bunnies hopping in and out of visibility along the tall grass, chasing and playing with one-another mark the joyous arrival of Spring. Trotting confidently through this peaceful commune of nature was a white mare, her bat-like wings folded against her and her green streaked mane flowing elegantly back and forth with each step. The thin, cobblestone trail she followed led to her family owned onsen, a property she settled after discovering her cutiemark. Quite a fine establishment for a pony who loves to soothe and treat others, if she did say so herself. As she approached, however, she noticed a sudden darkness fall over her, before being assaulted by an ear-shattering boom of thunder and zapped by a fierce strike of lightning.
The mare remained still a moment, her hair still fizzing with static. However, within her charred face, the carefree smile remained, and she raised her eyes to the gloomy cloud above her with a friendly tilt of her head. "Cloud Skipper, I should warn you of my distaste for such ill-advised humor on my morning walks," she spoke. The cloud trembled slightly and, after a brief pause, shattered into bits of puff, yielding to the force of the dark-blue, pink and technicolor maned Cloud Skipper. The pegasus darted for the ground, spanning a long trail of dust as she slid to a dramatic stop in front of the white mare.
"I thought I had you this time!" bemoaned Cloud Skipper, throwing her hoof up in front of her friend's face. "I had it all planned out! I'd strike the cloud, lightning would come down, and you would be all--AHHH! MY LOVELY MANE! WHATEVER IN EQUESTRIA WILL I DO?--all surprised and everything! Does nothing scare you, Oasis?"
"If you truly wish to see me surprised," Oasis replied in her dulcet tone, a single eyebrow raised in mild challenge. "I suggest you step up your game. Preferably at a later time, mind you. My morning promenade is not to be trifled with." She calmly walked past her friend, continuing to the wooden bath house in the distance. However, she soon found her gait interrupted by a sudden and violent tugging at her tail. "Cloud Skipper," Oasis began, conceding no visible reaction as she turned her head back. "Such simpleminded tactics will not work on me, I'm afraid. And again," she stated, extracting her tail with one powerful tug. "Do not disturb me this morning. You will not enjoy the results."
Cloud Skipper spat a loose strand of the static hair from her mouth and assumed a competitive pose.
"Is that a challenge?"
"No," replied Oasis, solemnly shaking her head. "It is a warning."
Leaving the dark-blue pegasus behind, Oasis resumed her walk. The sweet aroma of the hot springs drifted through the air, entrancing the nearby bunnies playing in the surrounding field. They hopped up to the cobblestone path, rounding themselves in front of Oasis. "Oh, hello little ones," she said, her voice as tranquil as her pink-haired Grandmother's. "Were you planning on visiting the onsen today?" The bunnies nodded their smiling heads in unison. "Exquisite!" Oasis reached down and tussled the hair of the nearest one. "Let's all go together then. I shall prepare a private vicinity for you upon--"
A shadow suddenly passed over them, followed by a harsh thud from behind the bunnies. The bunnies slowly turned their trembling heads around to discover an open-mouthed Cloud Skipper, her tongue extended fully out and her bottom eyelids pulled down by her hooves. "BLEEEHH!" she shouted like a cold-stricken monster. The bunnies scattered off the trail in horror and returned to the safety of the tall grass. Oasis met her goofy horror with stern disdain.
"Cloud Skipper..." she started, glaring into the pegasus's dark-violet eyes. Cloud Skipper rebuffed the eye contact with a playful, challenging smirk. Oasis held for a few moments, then, with closed eyes and a sigh, passed Cloud Skipper and continued on her way. Nearing the entrance of the onsen, she noticed a patch of beautiful flowers adorning her path, laid out in patterns of blues, greens, and yellows. Kneeling down to their level, she inhaled and savored each of their unique fragrances. Many had died off during Winter, but with the arrival of Spring, they were finally ready to repopulate and return to their original vibrancy. As she smelled, a rather loud chomp sounded to her right. Cloud Skipper stood emphatically chewing over a set of headless flowers.
"Mm..." sounded Cloud Skipper, her mouth opening wide before each chomp. "These are so good! Oasis, you should totally try one!"
The impulse to gasp entered Oasis, but she refused it. She glanced mournfully at the broken stems, then raised her head and continued onward. Her path remained unassailed until her hooves broached the onsen's steps, at which point a rapid succession of chirps and tweets called down from the tree at the left corner of the building. Oasis quickly checked the area around her. No pony to the right. No pony to the left. All clear. She flexed her wings out and flew to the branch from which the troubled chirps emanated.
Beneath the leaves and situated between two branches was a small nest of baby birds, each one chirping endlessly at their mother to feed them the seeds she'd gathered at the far edge of the nest. The mother paused in her task and shifted her head to Oasis, who politely bowed her head. "I apologize for intruding," said Oasis. "I feared your babies were in danger of some sort. I'll leave you be--"
"Thought you could hide from me, huh?!" shouted Cloud Skipper, crashing her head in through the leaves. The startled mother launched into frenzy, shooting off her nest with outstretched talons. Cloud Skipper reflexively pulled back before the swipes could reach, but Oasis took the full brunt of the blows, falling from the tree with the mother in close pursuit. Oasis impacted on the ground. Her head was reeling, but before she could recuperate, the mother besieged her with an onslaught of pecking and scratching. "S-Stop, please!" cried Oasis, her face covered in lacerations. Cloud Skipper charged to her side.
"Get off her!" she shouted, knocking the bird away with a swing of her hoof. The mother took off back to her tree, only turning around a moment before entering to deliver a final squawk of warning. "Yeah?" yelled Cloud Skipper. "Well same to you!" After watching the mother disappear into the leaves, she returned her focus to her Oasis, who was still trying to get a grasp on her bearings. Cloud Skipper moved beside her friend and supported her to a stand. "Geez," said Cloud Skipper. "Didn't know birds were so dramatic. Guess I'll be a bit more careful next time I..."
Her eyes met those of Oasis, which were now neither stern nor saddened. Rage pulsated within those draconic blue eyes and pierced through to Cloud Skipper's very being. Cloud Skipper gulped. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't realize--I just wanted--"
"A challenge?!" Oasis roared contemptuously. Her eyes kept beating down on Cloud Skipper, pressuring her--daring her--to respond.
"Y-Yes..." Cloud Skipper conceded.
"Fine then," Oasis said, calmly but with a passionate undercurrent of fury. "How about... a race? Tomorrow. Afternoon. Five-Thirty. First to circle the Everfree Bogg and return is the victor."
Cloud Skipper felt her competitive spirit flare. "Bring it on! If I win, you have to spend an entire day helping me prank ponies!" she announced with newly found courage. Oasis nodded in a serious fashion.
"And if I win," she began, the lacerations on her face still fiercely burning. "Every morning, for the rest of our lives, you don't speak to me. Ever."
At this, Cloud Skipper was taken aback. "Oasis... I was just..." But Oasis did not back down from her glare, and Cloud Skipper could feel her pride boiling up inside, clamoring to give an answer. She yielded. "Deal!" shouted Cloud Skipper, extending her hoof to Oasis. Oasis gripped it in her own hoof, and as the two shook on it, Cloud Skipper could feel Oasis's grip tighten to a powerful, painful clench. She quickly wrenched herself free. Her hoof pulsated red, and as she rubbed it, she suddenly found Oasis directly in front of her, leaning in close to her ear.
"See you tomorrow," Oasis added.
Wearing her sweet smile, Oasis turned around and returned to the steps, gracefully ascending them before pushing through the onsen's large wooden doors with ease. Cloud Skipper just stood there. A chill had run down her spine and frozen her legs. The Spring sun slowly thawed her back to reality, and her eyes widened. What did I just agree to? she thought, staring at the wooden doors her friend had entered. Then, after waiting a few moments, she attempted a smirk and awkwardly delivered a nonchalant laugh. No big deal, right? I just have to win tomorrow and everything will be fine. Same as always! As she returned from the tree to the path, she hazarded one, final look at the onsen's closed doors.
...Right?
Cloud Skipper stretched her legs atop the brown tiling that was her second story roof. Morning came and went, and the afternoon was steadily creeping forward. At least, it seemed to be. Cloud Skipper wasn't really sure what time it was. Didn't need to know. Better to focus on stretching. Details would just stress her out. She jogged quickly in place before striking a fierce pose, her wings fully extended above her. She was ready.
With a leap, she hurled herself from the roof, free-falling to mere feet above the ground before unfurling her wings and swiftly diverting her course upward. Cotton Candy shot her head out the first floor window. "Cloud Skipper!" shouted Cloud Skipper's mother, now leaning halfway out. "Wait! You're supposed to help me with organizing a dance in Canterlot today, remember?! Rememb--" She overextended herself and fell to the concrete beneath her. As she picked herself up, rubbing her bruised mouth, she eyed her daughter's pink mane disappearing into the forest surrounding Fluttershy's home. Oh boy... Candy internalized. I hope Prism can spare a day...
Returning to the edge of Ponyville, Cloud Skipper began retracing the stone path to Oasis's onsen. She trotted as she did so, hurrying past the trembling bunnies and the beheaded flower stems. She was getting her pre-race cardio in. That was all. However, her hurried pace was brought to an abrupt halt as she spotted Oasis standing just before the path's end. Cloud Skipper smiled instinctively, but her grin was rebuffed by pure indifference, coated in a series of nasty, scabbing wounds. Oasis turned her head back to the onsen and began walking to its steps, a disillusioned Cloud Skipper trudging along behind her. The large doors swung open and sent the hanging 'Sorry, We're Closed' sign bouncing as they rebounded off the walls. A thin layer of steam flourished above the baths and carried with it a positively luscious scent. The natural motif mixed with the building's symmetrical design manifested a delicate but perfectly balanced sense of feng-shui. Cloud Skipper checked Oasis's expression again, and the feng-shui died a brutal death.
"This way," Oasis stated. Cloud Skipper nodded and followed.
The hallway proved uncomfortably long, but led to a fortunate destination. A rather large, outdoor hotspring, its water shining clear blue in the beaming Spring sun. "Oh yeah!" cried Cloud Skipper, jumping past the open paper screen and diving into the refreshing warm water. She resurfaced and squirted a stream of water from her mouth. "A little hotspring time to unwind? That's fine with me! In fact, let's just forget about the race. We could just hang-out and--"
"I think you misunderstand," interjected Oasis. "This is where our race will commence, and also where it shall finish."
Cloud Skipper blinked. "The spring?"
"Yes," Oasis stated. "It is one of our larger springs, both in width and depth. I know you'll throw caution to the wind regardless of the danger for the sake of victory, so I decided to even the odds. With a pool of water to cushion my landing, I needn't slow myself to avoid injury. I refuse to lose for thinking of my own well-being, and I will no longer be hindered by considering the well-beings of others." She turned her head to the paper screen behind her. "Much like you, I suppose."
Oasis kept her view fixated on the screen, hiding her face from Cloud Skipper. Cloud Skipper climbed out from the steps and quickly shook herself dry. She looked at Oasis, but found only her back. "Oasis... I--um..."
"Our referee should be arriving soon," said Oasis, still facing the screen. Cloud Skipper continued looking on, then lowered her head. After a period of silence, a shadow moved across the paper screen, continuing along it until it reached the open door. A white pegasus with light brown hair entered, a single golden feather peeking out from her folded left wing and a pair of binoculars hanging around her neck. Oasis graciously bowed her head. "Thank you for coming, Angel Feather."
Angel Feather smiled. "Well," she started, resting a hoof on Oasis's shoulder. "I suppose someone has to make sure you two don't hurt yourselves too badly. Just be sure to keep a high elevation over the Bog. I know you want to keep the race a secret from your parents, but it's dangerous over there. I don't want to see anyone being grabbed by some over-sized plant roots."
She walked to the center of the floored area, then turned to face the two opponents. "I'll be keeping track of you with these," she explained, lifting the binoculars. "So no cheating, either of you. Over the Everfree, any foul play can end disastrously, and will probably cost you a lot more than just a disqualification, so be careful, okay?" The competitors nodded. "Good," complied Angel Feather with a content smile. "Follow a linear route to the Bog and back. First to pass me is the victor, and the loser must perform as an assistant to the winner in the next 'Best Young Flyers Competition', as per the stakes in the bet." Cloud Skipper checked Oasis, who remained a serious deadpan. So that's how she convinced her to do this...
"Now," continued Angel Feather. "Are the both of you ready?" Oasis nodded ardently, and Cloud Skipper, somewhat less so. Angel Feather raised a concerned eyebrow. "You alright, Cloud Skipper?"
Inhaling deeply, and after performing a quick, in place jog, Cloud Skipper struck another fierce pose. She met Angel Feather's eyes. "Does it look like I'm not?" She extended her wings high above her head. "We starting this thing or what?"
Angel Feather studied her a moment longer, then, after extending her own wings out, ascended to an elevation just above the roof. Oasis lifted herself as well, leaving Cloud Skipper alone on the ground below. Cloud Skipper peered down into the clear blue water, reading her reflection. Her face was not that of a fierce racer; not the strong, courageous visage of a Wonderbolt like her grandmother's. It was sorrowful. She feared losing her friend, not simply in the mornings, but entirely. Oasis rarely acts this serious, or so... distant. Her eyebrows softened, then, with a grimace, tightened themselves over her eyes. She slammed a hoof into the water and scattered the reflection into disjointed layers. All the more reason to win, she concluded. A day of pranks will be just what they need to rekindle their friendship. She was certain of it.
"Cloud Skipper!" echoed Angel Feather's voice from above. "Are you sure you're alright? We can take another day, if you need us to." Oasis kept her back to the spring, facing the Bog. Gritting her teeth, Cloud Skipper reeled back and took off with momentous force. She flew up within a near millisecond and upon arrival shot both Angel Feather and Oasis a pompous grin. "Of course I am! Who do you think you're talking to?"
