Ten-Seconds Flat-Top

by pjabrony

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Character, Rainbow Dash, Adventure
Length: 5268

A barnstormer is out-racing Rainbow Dash. What's her secret?

Rainbow Dash is the best flyer in Equestria. . . right? Turns out there's a new pony in town, a barnstormer who's putting on an air show where it seems the mane attraction is challenging Rainbow Dash to simulated combat! What's her secret, and can Rainbow find it out in time to beat her?

Published 2012-05-28 02:34:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-05-28 02:34:01 UTC

The Challenge

Author’s Note: Published Memorial Day (US), 2012, this fic concerns a character loosely based on a real-life person, John Boyd, who served in the United States Air Force. I think that some of his ideas rival Sun Tsu’s for sheer brilliance and applicability, and so I wanted to write a kind of tribute to him. On this day, it’s important to think about the heroes of war, which is the blackest part of human history and, until we can be as enlightened as the ponies of Equestria, utterly necessary.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rarity and Fluttershy paraded through the market, looking at various baubles and tchotchkes as a throng of ponies milled about. It was a busy day in Ponyville, and the two friends chatted and laughed as they tried to avoid being crushed.

“So, dear,” said Rarity, “Have you anything planned for after we finish shopping?”

“Not really. Just go home and take care of the animals, then maybe a nap. It’ll be nice to have a lazy day for once,” said Fluttershy.

“It will be lazy. Sometimes I wish there would be a bit more excitement around here.”

From far off in the distance, a crack of thunder rolled across the market square. Heads turned to look at the sky, but the only clouds to be seen were non-threatening and puffy white.

“Fluttershy, was there any rain scheduled for today?”

“I don’t think so, but I don’t keep track religiously. Honestly, the weather pegasi still scare me a bit. If only Rainbow Dash were here, she could tell us.”

The rolling boom got louder and a streak of gray smoke and lightning tore across the sky. The ponies in the market let out a collective gasp as the streak curved straight up, paused, and then corkscrewed toward the center of the square. Everypony cleared the area, but at the last minute it pulled up out of its dive and glided in for a landing.

“Well, that must be she now,” said Rarity. “At least, I can’t think of anypony else who would be stunt flying in the middle of a crowd.”

The smoke cleared, and they could see that it was not Rainbow Dash, but a pegasus that nopony recognized. She had a gray coat with a sky blue mane and tail. The mane was cropped very short and styled to be perfectly flat. Her wings were spread wide behind her making her look larger than the average pony, and matched her spread-wing cutie mark. She wore a white linen scarf that flapped behind her in the breeze and flight goggles that she pushed up to her forehead. In her mouth was a piece of straw that offset the wide smile she gave the crowd.

“Hello, Ponyville!” the newcomer said. “Looking for some excitement to break up the monotony of the day? Then come everypony and see the finest air show that Equestria has to offer! Starring yours truly, the pegasus who’s barnstormed from Baltimare to Bom-Bay, Flat-top Birdheart!”

The crowd smiled receptively at the display. To punctuate her sentence, Flat-top leaped back into the air and started performing tricks, looping around and trailing smoke to skywrite. She dived toward a fruit stand and picked up three brightly colored apples without even slowing down. Making another pass over the crowd, she juggled the apples with ease, her toothy grin never leaving her face. The ponies stomped their hooves in applause.

“What’s this?!” came a cry from the edge of the group. “Somepony else thinks they own the sky over Ponyville?” Rainbow Dash stood with an angry look on her face as the crowd parted to let her through.

Flat-top landed, still brimming confidence. “Well, who’s that then? What’s your name, little filly?”

“It’s Rainbow Dash, and I’m no little filly! You’re looking at the Best Young Flyer winner, the Iron Pony of Ponyville, the Mistress of the Sonic Rainboom, and a personal friend of the Wonderbolts!”

“Well that’s just great, just wonderful! It fills my heart to see young pegasi learning the art of stunt flying! Why not stay and watch the show?”

“Watch the show?” said Rainbow. “When I’m around, I am the show! No pegasus who hops around from town to town can know the Ponyville sky like I do! You want to give them something to see? Then let’s have a race!”

“A race? I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the fastest flyer around, just a skilled pegasus who likes putting on a display to thrill the senses and make you feel like little colts and fillies again. Folks, I’m not looking to get into a contest with anypony. All I want is to entertain with my air tricks and stories of my exploits from all over Equestria!. Who wants to see some priceless artifacts that I’ve collected over the years?” Flat-top asked the crowd as she reached into her bag for the items she mentioned.

Ponies were still enthralled by the new arrival, but Rarity and Fluttershy joined their friend on the outside of the crowd. “Gee, Rainbow,” said Fluttershy, “Does Flat-top really bother you that much?”

“I’m not bothered. I just have to watch out for competition. Who knows, someday I might be up against her for a spot on the Wonderbolts!”

Flat-top was telling her stories to the admiring listeners, and a phrase came out loud enough for Rainbow and the others to hear. “And that was when the Wonderbolts asked me to join up, but I told them that the regimented life held little appeal for me, and that I’d much rather keep barnstorming, flying free wherever I please!”

Rainbow looked sheepish. “OK, maybe not.”

“I think you’re being just a tad possessive,” said Rarity. “You don’t have to issue a challenge to every other pegasus who likes to do stunt flying,”

“Maybe you’re right,” said Rainbow. “Maybe I don’t need to constantly prove myself. Maybe I am quick to issue challenges. Maybe. . . “

Another of the daredevil’s stories was reaching its climax. “And the challenge I developed was how I earned the nickname, ‘Ten-seconds’ Flat-top!”

Steam came out of Rainbow’s nostrils. “Maybe I should show this catch-phrase-stealing, barnstorming, carpet-bagging, side-winding, four-flushing, beat-up old mare a thing or two about what flying really is! Hey! Flat-head!”

If the parody of her name shook Flat-top’s sang-froid, she gave no indication. “Hey, Rainbow Dash, welcome back to the show! Do you want to swap stories? Surely you’ve been through some awesome adventures that we’d like to hear about.”

“I’ve got a story for you! It’s in progress now and it’s the story of how you were completely forgotten! You got a challenge? Bring it on!”

“Oh, no. No, I’m not here to challenge, just to have fun! Besides, that’s something for advanced pegasi who have been around for a while.”

“You’re starting to try my patience,” Rainbow said. “Whatever you’ve got, I can handle!”

Flat-top’s expression changed from pure glee to a glint of opportunity. “Well, if you really insist. . .”

“You bet I insist!”

“If you really must. . . “

“You bet I must!”

“If you’re really willing to put up fifty bits. . . “

“You bet I’m willing to put up. . . fifty bits?”

“Well, in that case, let’s head over to the edge of town where we’ve got some room!”

Rainbow’s had a stunned expression as Flat-top led the crowd away. “What did I just agree to?”

“I think you agreed to bet fifty bits on a flying challenge,” said Fluttershy.

“That’s what I thought I did.”

“Do you have fifty bits?” asked Rarity.

“No,” said Rainbow. “Not to spare anyway.”

“Then what are you going to do?” asked Fluttershy.

“I guess I’ll just have to win,” said Rainbow.

She followed crowd out to the edge of town, where she realized how smart Flat-top had been. The contest would get tongues wagging and ponies interested in her show, and win or lose, she’d probably come out ahead. Rainbow wouldn’t be so lucky.

When they had plenty of open country in front of them, Flat-top stood next to Rainbow and said, “OK, this should be enough room. You ready?”

“What is this challenge, anyway? It had better be a fair one or no bet!” said Rainbow, hoping for an escape.

“Fair? In point of fact, you start off with an advantage!” Flat-top said, still selling to the crowd. She reached in her bag and pulled out a long, thin tube of bamboo and several tiny pellets that she put into the tube. “Ever see one of these? I picked It up from a merchant in Gallopoli who brought it from the jungles far to the east. It’s a tribal blowgun from pony headhunters who would put poison or knockout darts in it. I use it for a more benign purpose.”

Rainbow Dash, who loved adventure novels, was intrigued despite being in the midst of a contest that might cost her a significant amount of money. She watched her opponent fly low and slow, spitting out the pellets that shattered along the ground and spread gray paint in a line of splatters.

“Perfectly harmless paint,” Flat-top said, “but it could be a poison dart. This is simulated combat. Here’s what we do: we fly around with me ahead and you trailing me. I’m sure a speedster like you will have no problem keeping up. As soon as we fly across this line, time starts. Again, you’re behind me. The challenge is this: within ten seconds, I’ll have out-maneuvered and gotten behind you, and I have to paint your flank gray!” She punctuated her sentence with another spit of a pellet to extend the line. “All you’ve got to do is last ten seconds to win fifty bits from me. So, are you backing out?”

With everypony watching, Rainbow had only one answer. “This will be a piece of cake! I’ll almost feel bad about taking your money. Almost. Now, who’s got a clock to time this thing?”

Doctor Hooves happened to be among the crowd, and had his faithful hourglass with him. Setting it up for ten seconds worth of sand, he gave the high sign to the two competitors.

Flat-top put the blowgun in her mouth and took off. Rainbow followed after. In a lazy circle they flew several hundred yards away before heading back to the start line. Flat-top called back through clenched teeth, shouting so as to be heard,. “Hey, Rainbow!”

“Yeah?!”

“This might not be the best time to tell you this!”

“Uh-huh?!”

“But I’ve done this challenge hundreds of times and never lost!”

Flat-top picked up speed as they approached the line. Rainbow pumped her wings furiously as she prepared to follow whatever maneuver the boastful pegasus would throw at her. The wind flew through her face and made her mane wave. She could see Flat-top’s short hair just buzzing in the breeze. They hit the line.

And Flat-top stopped short.

She had slammed her wings out perpendicular to the way they were travelling in order to achieve maximum drag. No pegasus ever did such a crazy move while flying. Not only would it hurt a very sensitive part of the body, but by losing all momentum, she would quickly lose altitude as well. Nevertheless the move caught Rainbow Dash completely by surprise and she zipped past Flat-top. A moment later, she felt something cold and sticky on her flank.

Flat-top did drop out of the sky, but she righted herself quickly enough and came in for a landing. When Rainbow glided next to her a moment later, she was already in her triumphant pose with the piece of straw back in place. “Gee, Rainbow. I would have to change that nickname to “Two-seconds” if everypony were like you!”

“You caught me by surprise! Double or nothing!”

“If you’re that eager to have your backside be the same color as mine, I can understand that! But I’ve got to do my show now, and I hope everypony stays to see it!”

“Tomorrow, then!”

“Well,” said Flat-top, still facing the crowd, “if I’m going to stay in town, I’ll need a place to do it. Is there anypony here willing to put up a boarder for the night?”

Most of the stallions and more than one of the mares put up their hooves. Rainbow trotted away with her head down as the show began. She was sure that Flat-top would make a lot of money, not the least of which was her fifty bits.

“The whole thing was a setup from the beginning!”

Rainbow Dash, back at her home in Cloudsdale, was venting her anger to Fluttershy.

“She came into town knowing that I wouldn’t resist a challenge, and ran it on me so fast that I didn’t know what I was doing!”

“How could she have known about you?” asked Fluttershy.

“Duh! Because I’m Rainbow Dash. Everypony who follows the flying world knows about me, or ought to! She thought she could put one over on me. Well, just wait until tomorrow. I’ll win back my money and humiliate her.”

Fluttershy decided not to react to Rainbow’s bragging, or to point out that even if Flat-top had specifically set Rainbow up, she still volunteered. Instead, she asked, “How are you going to do that?”

“Simple! Now that I know what her plan is, I won’t come in as fast, and when she brakes like she did, I’ll just wait her out until she loses altitude. She won’t have a chance! In fact, I’ll go out and practice that kind of braking myself.”

Suiting the action to the word, she flew out the door and looped around a few times before throwing her wings out to the wind. Fluttershy could see the expression on her face, and she winced in sympathy. But Rainbow kept at it until she had the move down, then came back to Fluttershy.

“I’m not going to go all out today,” said Rainbow. “I don’t want to tire myself out before I whoop her tomorrow. You want to give it a go?”

“Oh, no! The windburns you must have on your wings, I wouldn’t want to experience that.”

“You’ve got to put up with a little pain if you want to be a top stunt flyer.”

“But I don’t want to be a top stunt flyer. Or even a bottom one.” Then Fluttershy thought of something else. “Rainbow, what if she doesn’t do the same trick the next time as she did for this one?”

Rainbow, who had still been flapping her wings in a hovering pattern, stopped short and fell to the cloud. “Hm, I hadn’t thought of that. Good thing I’ve got you around, Fluttershy! Well, if she doesn’t brake then she’s got to keep going forward, right? And if I’m slowed down, she’s that much farther from my rear. So this plan works either way.”

“I hope you’re right,” said Fluttershy.

That feeling of doubt stayed with Fluttershy into the next morning when she met with Rarity again. Unlike the day before, the market was not crowded at all, but even the vendors had seemingly abandoned the square.

“Where is everypony?” asked Rarity.

“I think they’ve already gathered outside of town for the next air show,” said Fluttershy.

“Or to see Rainbow Dash race Flat-top again.”

“It’s not really a race. I think that’s Rainbow’s problem. She’s used to simple challenges where more wing-power is better. She tried practicing last night, but she gave up a lot faster than I usually see her do when she really wants something. She said she wanted to rest up.”

Rarity was only giving Fluttershy half of her attention as she examined a trinket at one of the few stands that had opened for business.

“I’m sorry, what? You’ll have to forgive me, I just think the whole stunt flying concept is a trifle gauche, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh, I do. But I just want to be there for Rainbow. Even if she puts out an image of being so confident, she can get her ego bruised so easily. That’s why I’m going to head over now to see the challenge.”

“Is it starting now? Let’s go! Oh, I hope we get a good viewing spot.”

“But, Rarity. I thought you said that you didn’t care for the flying.”

“Ah, well, it’s as you said. We have to be there for Rainbow Dash. As her friends. To see her lose. I mean, to comfort her when she loses. If she loses! Ahaha.”

The two of them abandoned the market for the flight grounds where both Rainbow and Flat-top were stretching their wings in preparation.

“I hope you haven’t already spent those fifty bits,” said Rainbow, “because they’re coming home where they belong!”

“Maybe so, kiddo, maybe so. I’m just going to go ahead and let my flying do the talking.”

They started farther back from the line this time, so there was less of a lazy circling and more of a direct path to the start line. Rainbow kept her distance, realizing that a large part of this challenge happened before the clock started, and was psychological. Flat-top kept turning her head to make sure that Rainbow was keeping up. Then she pumped her wings for speed. Rainbow kept her pace. They crossed the line. The clock started.

Both of the combatants flared out their wings. Rainbow hadn’t technically crossed the line, but she had enough momentum to carry her over. Flat-top’s move showed itself to be a feint as she took her speed advantage and climbed for height, looping around to try to get behind Rainbow.

By her count, Rainbow had lasted a second and a half, which gave her a way to go. But while she could have just gone for an escape if she had been at top speed, braking meant that she was going to wind up in close quarters with Flat-top if she stayed around.

Well then, she thought, since forward is out, and up is taken, that only leaves down! She dove for the ground and streaked her wings behind her, letting gravity and her own aerodynamics generate speed. But above, Flat-top had cut her loop short and was still behind her. Too far back for a shot, and Rainbow was picking up speed.

But then she realized the drawback in choosing this particular direction: one eventually ran out of down. She would have to level out soon, and that would make her an easier target. She checked the clock in her head. Six seconds. Call it five, to be on the safe side.

She had one more option. Instead of leveling out, she could try a bounce maneuver. Make a sharp bank turn before she hit the ground, and use the speed advantage she had to climb for altitude. Flat-top was probably planning for level flight, and once she reached the ground, Rainbow would be too far away and in a position to regain the speed advantage and run out the clock.

She put her back hooves underneath her and pumped as hard as she could in the other direction. Just one moment of confusion on Flat-top’s part was all she needed, and the prize and the pride were hers.

But she didn’t get it. Flat-top had leveled out, but much higher than was necessary. While Rainbow was slowed down for her move, Flat-top was right in line for a crossing pattern. She took her time and spit through the blowgun. Rainbow felt more paint strike her flank.

“Time?” called Flat-top to the crowd below.

Doctor Whooves checked the sand. “Eight seconds,” he said.

The crowd erupted.

*******************************************

“I cannot believe this! Do you guys know what I hate more than losing? Losing twice!”

Rainbow Dash had ranted non-stop since the challenge ended, but Rarity and Fluttershy were the only ones not still glued to the air show.

“Fluttershy, you’re a pegasus. Tell me something brilliant about flying that I can use to beat her!”

“Oh, Rainbow. I couldn’t even begin to talk about that. Besides, I had my eyes shut the whole time.”

“Argh! Rarity, she’ll need someplace to stay again tonight. Can’t you invite her over to your house and seduce her into telling you her secret?”

Rarity started rooting around in her bag.

“What are you doing?” Rainbow asked.

“Just a moment,” Rarity said. She dug out a pair of reading glasses on a chain and slipped them on.

“I don’t get it. What’s with the glasses?”

Rarity pushed them down her nose and looked over the top at Rainbow while pursing her lips. “I felt that this gesture would be the best response to your question, since any words I would use might traumatize poor Fluttershy.”

“You guys are no help! I’m going to go over to Twilight’s! She’s always good for advice.”

Rainbow flew across town to the library, enjoying the chance to use her wings without intense concentration about maneuvers. She found Twilight at work dusting the books.

“So, Twilight. I need to find something on this pony who’s running the air show!”

“There’s an air show in town? I’d like to see that.”

“You can do that later. I need all you have on this “Ten-Seconds” Flat-top Birdheart.”

“The name doesn’t ring any bells offhand, but you’re welcome to look through the section on flying, and of course I’ll help. Those books are on the top shelf, for obvious reasons.”

The two of them searched for a long time with no success. It was getting tedious, and at one point Rainbow ventured off into the next section. “Ooh, The Best of Daring Do Fan Fiction!”

“Rainbow Dash!”

“Sorry, Twilight.”

“You know what? You keep looking here. I’m going to go check periodicals.”

A few minutes later, Twilight said, “A-ha! Here’s a profile of her and an interview.”

“Lemme see!” Rainbow darted for the floor, upsetting a pile of books and earning a scowl from Twilight.

“It says here,” Rainbow read, “that she was the developer of the Lightning Method. But it doesn’t say what that is!”

“You have to read the whole thing, including the insets,” said Twilight. She began reading in her signature didactic tone. “L-T-N-G. The Lightning Method describes the four steps everypony goes through when making a flying maneuver.

“Look. The flyer must gather information about the area she is flying through.

“Think. The flyer must then process the information.

“Know. The flyer, having the options laid before her, must know which is the right one.

“Go. The flyer must execute the maneuver.”

“Know doesn’t start with an N,” said Rainbow Dash.

“She probably thought it sounded better than the Light-King Method,” said Twilight.

“Right. So now that I know her strategy, all I have to do is look and think and make the right decisions.”

“I don’t know if it’s that simple—“

“No, that’s gotta be it! Thanks, Twilight! Can I keep this magazine?” asked Rainbow.

“You can borrow it, sure, just—“

“Thanks again! See ya!”

Rainbow ran out the door and had taken off before Twilight could react. She said out loud to nopony, “I have to start making ponies take out library cards before they borrow.”

As she soared home to Cloudsdale, Rainbow had a mental picture of some of the moves that Flat-top could make from different positions. When Fluttershy knocked on her door some time later, she found Rainbow poring over some parchment that she was sketching out a game plan on.

“Hey, Fluttershy, come on in. I’m just working through this. I’m definitely going to win tomorrow.”

“Rainbow, what if she doesn’t want to fly again tomorrow?”

“She’ll fly. She can’t resist the temptation of easy money. I’m telling you, I’ve got her figured out, both on the ground and in the air!”

Fluttershy muttered something mostly inaudible. The only word that Rainbow thought she heard was “overconfident.”

“OK, here’s how I know I’m going to win. Twilight found an old interview with Flat-top where she spilled the way she flies. Now that I know it, this is going to be a piece of cake!”

“I just worry about you. You’re going to have to work a lot of overtime on the weather to make up for that money you lost.”

“First off, I like working weather jobs. And second, I’m going to get the money back. See, my mistake has been thinking that this is all about wings, when it’s really about brains. And once Rainbow Dash puts her mind to something, nopony can stop her!”

*******************************************

“Come one, come all, for the final day of the air show in Ponyville! You miss this one, and it’s a long way to the next show in Ponyongyang!” Flat-top was making her pitch in the town square mostly to older ponies who liked to take it easy and so hadn’t come to the first two. She had shown enough originality in the second show that those who watched both were keen to see the third, and those who had missed one were kicking themselves for it.

Rainbow Dash didn’t even bother to land as she taunted the daredevil. “You know, everypony’s probably coming to see me outfly you, so you ought to give me half of what you’re making! But I’ll settle for just winning it triple-or-nothing!”

“Now, Ms. Dash. I feel bad about taking your money. You might get resentful and start drumming up bad press for me. I couldn’t have that.”

“The bad press would be if everypony knew you chickened out of a challenge!”

“Oh, I’m not much worried about that. When they know that I’ve added two more wins to my record—my perfect record—I doubt they’ll think it was cowardice.”

“Ha, then you don’t know ponies!”

Most of the crowd who had enjoyed both Flat-top’s showmanship and her salesmanship would have begged to differ, but Flat-top said, “All right, I will make you an offer. First off, if we fly, this is absolutely the last chance. Agreed?”

“Fine! Once I know that I can beat you, I’ll be satisfied.”

“And second,” Flat-top said, “if you win, we’re quits on the money, but if I win. . . I was planning to leave Ponyville at first light tomorrow. You put me up yourself for the night, wait on me hoof and wing, and get up early to give me a send-off breakfast.”

The ponies in the crowd gave a half-gasp, half-titter, as they knew that Rainbow Dash would be especially susceptible to the humiliation she would suffer if she lost.

Rainbow hesitated, but she couldn’t back down. “You are on,” she said.

*******************************************

Once more to the edge of town, once more to the flight range, once more into the air. Rainbow had never before had such intense concentration while flying. In her head, she saw the diagrams she had drawn the night before. Whichever pattern Flat-top took, she would be ready with a counter.

As they crossed the line, Flat-top angled up as she had last time. Rainbow sped up, planning to trail her closely, when she bank-turned to the right. Rainbow went through the cycle in her head.

OK, I see that she’s turned. She’ll lose speed for that and it could be a setup for a brake to get behind me like the first time, or go for a loop. That’s the thinking. Now I have to know what I’m going to do. Fine, I’m saying she’s not going to brake. That means keep following. Go!

Rainbow had guessed right, and Flat-top had indeed continued her loop, but by the time Rainbow was able to get the speed she wanted, half the circle was complete. Worse yet, Flat-top was diving, which would regain her the speed.

Run through it again, Rainbow thought. I see she’s diving, and three or four seconds have gone by. I can go up and try to outrun her that way. I’ve got the speed for it. Or I can keep following and go for the dive. No, there’s too much risk in climbing. The dive is the right move!

But there was no right move. Flat-top had banked again and come up right in front of Rainbow. They were in essentially the same position as they had started, but Rainbow had too much momentum and was going to pass her. Flat-top did not even have to spread her wings fully to brake, and Rainbow’s desperate attempt to dump speed wasn’t enough. She slipped ahead and once more had her backside painted.

“Aw, come on!” she shouted above the laughs and cheers of the ponies.

“Tough luck, Rainbow Dash. And here’s the real bad news: you don’t get to stay and watch the air show, since you’ll be too busy getting your place ready for me! Everypony else, step up and see!”

Rainbow kept her head down as she walked away from the range.

Fluttershy and Rarity followed her, but she wasn’t in a welcoming mood. “Leave me alone. I’m a laughingstock,” she said.

“Oh, Rainbow,” said Fluttershy. “You’re not. Everypony’s going to forget about her in a week, but you’ll still be the coolest pegasus in town.”

“Yes, and certainly we aren’t laughing at you,” said Rarity.

“You might as well be. I did everything I could. I outflew her, I outthought her, and I still lost. You guys don’t want to hang around with a loser like me,” said Rainbow.

“Now, there’s no need for that sort of talk,” said Rarity. “We’re your friends and we love you.”

“Yes, and we’ll help you get ready for her to stay with you tonight,” said Fluttershy.

A vein on Rainbow’s forehead throbbed. “That’s right, I not only have to play servant to her, I have to put up with her company all night too! This is going to be an ordeal.”

She indeed found it tedious to have to cater to Flat-top’s whims that night, but she didn’t press her advantage too much. In the morning, Rainbow woke herself up before dawn and picked up pastries to fulfill her last obligation. As they sat eating them together, Rainbow finally gave in and asked Flat-top, “You gotta tell me, how did you do it? How did you beat me? I’m younger, I’m stronger. I even read up on the Lightning Method—“

“Whoa, you found that? I only mentioned it once, when I was about your age. The librarian here must collect everything.”

“She does. But even using it didn’t help me.”

“Because I didn’t tell everything. All right. Will you promise, give me your word as a pegasus, that you won’t reveal this to anypony else, as long as you live? I don’t mind if you use it yourself, even to make the Wonderbolts, but I really don’t want it known.”

“I swear! Just please tell me!”

“The point of the Lightning Method,” Flat-top said, finishing her pastry, “isn’t to do all the steps right. It’s to do them first. Make your move while the other pony’s still figuring out what to do. Change on the fly, literally. Be flexible, and don’t follow rules. And that’s not just for combat stunt flying. I like you, kid. You’ve got a good future ahead of you. You’ve already got the rebellious streak in you. Just take it to the air.”

Rainbow was stunned, both at the revelation and the praise. She didn’t even wave good-bye as Flat-top flew into the sunset. When she finally came to her senses, she whispered, “Thank you.”