Hoofing with the Devil

(FYI) A friend of mine (Who prefers to stay anonymous) had decided to draw Stormcaster after reading my fanfic. I have posted the link to below for those who want to see what they’d drawn for me. It’s a really good drawing and I was happy to see the finished work and I know that you’ll be too.

Drawing #2 is coming out soon. Keep yer eyes peeled.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1kTofMIuSWVemg4ZHMwemVzOTZJU2FpbU1WTndSY0FIOU00/view?usp=sharing

Chapter #4: The training session.

Rainbow, and I were flying just above the clouds with Twilight on my left flank, and Fluttershy was just a few feet below us on my right flank trying have a conversation with Blaze. “How does she do that?” I asked Rainbow quietly.

“How does who do what?” She responded in the same quiet manner.

“As far as I know, Celestia, Luna, and I were the only ones who could talk to the Phoenixes. Apparently Fluttershy is beginning to learn. She can also talk with beavers, squirrels, various birds and a number of woodland creatures.” Rainbow shrugged.

“That’s just part of who she is.”

“Fair enough.” I looked back as I felt a gust of wind brush against my wing.

“How you doing back there?” I asked the yellow mare that struggled to stay aligned with the rest he group as we picked up speed.

“I could be doing better.” I looked back at Rainbow Dash and motioned towards the yellow mare. She nodded in response and started to fly ahead of me. I put a hoof on her shoulder and shook my head no when she turned back to look at me.

“I want to lead.”

“Fine.” She replied as she began to fall back. Rainbow Dash flanked to my left, and Fluttershy banked to my right, creating a slipstream big enough to support the timid yellow pegasus.

“Only use your wings when you need to. Just spread them out and let the Flipstream do the rest.” Rainbow Dash told her. She nodded and obliged to the request. A ball of white fire joined Fluttershy in the slipstream.

“How come he gets to go into the slipstream?” Rainbow Dash complained.

“He’s old and too stubborn to accept the inevitability of death. My advice is to just leave him be, I won’t be able to convince to leave the slipstream anyways.” Rainbow grumbled something I could not decipher. As we began to fly over Ponyville I could see as the residents looked up at us as we flew above them. A sharp pain hit my chest as we began to grow closer to the center of the small town.

I began to feel woozy as we passed sugarcube corner. It felt as if my heart was beating a million times a minute when the schoolhouse passed my line of sight. I then began to feel tired probably from the mass amount of energy I exerted from leading the formation. It soon felt as if my heart had gained twelve pounds when we exited the town limits. I tried and failed to shake it off, but I still continued to lead.

My heart rate only began to get faster, as I tried to relax and I began to feel even dizzier. I began to see spots in my vision. I groaned as I concentrated on seeing straight. Without warning, I gone into an inside loop and flanked Rainbow to her right. “Take the lead.” I breathed as I secured a new spot in the formation.

She was confused on why I choose to forfeit my position, but didn’t object. My head was throbbed in pain, my eyes stung, and my heart was beating so fast I thought it was going to break free from my ribcage, but I decided to keep going as Rainbow’s slipstream helped me regain my bearings.

“Are you alright, Stormcaster?” Twilight asked, concerned.

“Yeah. I’m fine. Just a little tired.” I lied. She gave me a worried look before she nodded. Blaze shot a ball of fire at me. The white mass of heat traversed my fur, absorbing my pain, and filling me with energy. My eyes widened as small pains rocked my chest as my heart began to slow, causing me to relax.

“Alright, everypony. Take a left.” I called as the fire slowly began to die away.

“What was that?” Twilight said as we settled out.

“Phoenixes are very magically gifted.” I decided was the appropriate answer to the question. The princess of friendship continued with her distrusting stare, but thankfully didn’t question any further. We flew in silence for several minutes, just enjoying the feeling freedom and peace that flight can give.

“There it is.” I said as I pulled into a roll to get out of the slipstream and slowly descended towards the destination. Rainbow Dash followed behind me, then Twilight, and finally Fluttershy and Blaze. There were no words in any language to describe this place was, calling it beautiful just won’t give it the credit it deserved. The hill itself was dotted with pink and white blossoms. Various trees outlined in the distance and lush green grass as soft as the clouds themselves brushed against my hooves, giving me a feeling of serenity.

There was not a single dot of white in the sky, and a bright warm sun glowed in the distance. The sounds of birds and insects echoed from the trees off in the distance, and a breeze as soft as a yearling’s touch blew against my coat. The four of us stood there silently for several moments, captivated by the view before us.

“Alright, guys. What do you want to learn first?” I asked after a moment of silence.

“Whatever trick is the most difficult to perform.” Rainbow replied brightly.

“I had a feeling you were going to say that.” I said with an evil yet playful smile, exposing the tips of my fangs. Fluttershy shied away from me with a scared look on her face.

“Don’t worry. It’s perfectly safe, I’ve done it like a million times.” I told Fluttershy to try and assure her. She nodded cautiously but didn’t show any signs of wanting to advance.

“Fluttershy." I said as I guided her away from the others to talk to her in private.

"Rainbow, Twilight, and I will be right there with you. We won’t let you get hurt.” I said to try and convince her to join us. She shook her head.

"I haven't really been that good of a flier. I don't want to slow the rest of you down." She whispered.

“Fluttershy. No pony is perfect at everything. Everypony has flaws. Either accept it and do something about it to make it better, or wallow in self pity, and suffer for the rest of your life. I don’t care what choice you make. Just make it quick." And with those words, I walked back to Twilight and Rainbow to let her think about her decision in peace.

Rainbow Dash and Twilight were laying on clouds, talking amongst themselves about something. They hushed themselves almost immediately and turned to look at me when I walked over. That began to make me suspect what they were talking about. “Where’s Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked.

“I gave her something to think about. Chances are she will be joinin’ us quite soon.” Twilight and Rainbow nodded.

“Alright, what I’m going to teach you is something I like to call the double loop and horizontal flip.” Rainbow nodded, and Twilight just looked confused. I sighed and showed them what the move looked like to fulfil a request from Twilight. After a brief demonstration of the maneuver, I landed with a small cloud of dust as the dirt at my hooves shifted.

I felt a large and familiar sting in my chest after pulling off the move, and my breath hitched as I readjusted my weight. By that time, Fluttershy had began to walk towards us. I greeted her halfway. “I want to learn how to do that….if it’s ok with you.” She whispered as she looked towards the ground and shuffled her hooves.

“I knew you would make the smart choice. Follow me.”

“Alright, the double loop and horizontal flip is quite simple. Just get high enough, and when you do, pull into a wide loop and do a barrel roll.” Rainbow nodded and flew off to try and perform the trick. To make a long story a relatively short one, she managed to pull of the trick with ease. Twilight had the same result after her second or third attempt.

Fluttershy as expected, had some problems. As it turns out, she was afraid of flying too fast, and when she looked down, it evolved into hights, and then somehow her own shadow began to scare her. When she got over the fact that she was in the air, and flying at a somewhat fast pace, her timid nature made her afraid of falling.

That soon turned into the off chance that she might crush something while landing, or hit a bird, or some other flying creature while in the air.

In other words, it was extremely frustrating. Twilight and Rainbow must have seen the stress she was beginning to put me through. After all her complaining and failed attempts to do one of the simplest maneuvers I could possibly think of. I began to get a little upset.

Rainbow put a hoof on my shoulder and gave me an understanding look. “Don’t stress on it. She isn’t that great of a flier, and if she can’t do it, don’t try to force it on her.” I sighed and nodded my head in agreement.

“You know Fluttershy better than I do, any advice?” I asked.

“She’ll get it eventually, and when she does congratulate her and give her another maneuver.“ I nodded. When Fluttershy tried to pull into the inside loop, she squealed in fear of something yet again and started to fall towards the ground below. After she'd tried and failed to stabilize herself during her plummet not just once but three times. She began to panic.

Rainbow had taken to the sky faster than I could blink, her friends weren't too far behind. They soon joined Fluttershy in her fate when they got smacked in the face and wings by her flailing hooves. Consequently, sending them spiraling out of control. Judging from how far it took them to get to her, I'd say they were about was about 40, maybe 50 feet in the air. The drop would either leave her broken in more ways than one and (maybe) paralyzed, or it would kill her if she landed awkwardly.

I flew to where she would land. I shot upwards and caught Fluttershy and her friends before they could plummet to the ground. A sudden burst of pain set itself against my chest as the weight of not just one, but three ponies came upon my back. When I landed back onto the hill, the pain intensified.

I fell to a knee, taking deep and shaky breaths, and set a hoof on my chest trying to ease the immense pain and slow my heart rate. There was an uncomfortable silence and the three accompanying me began to panic yet again. "Stormcaster. Are you ok?" Rainbow asked. I nodded and tried to look up as I waved her off.

"Do you need help?” Twilight asked. I quickly shook my head no, trying to get her off my case.

"Stormcaster. Don't lie to me, do you need help?" Twilight pestered.

"No. I'm...fine" I said between wheezy breaths.

"Do you need to go back to the hospital?” My eyes widened at the word hospital.

"I'm fine." I managed to breathe out without wheezing. Twilight gave me a condescending glare but thankfully didn’t push any further.

“I think that’s enough training for today. Don’t you think Storm?” Rainbow said, dropping a hint. I nodded almost immediately.

“Let’s fly back to the castle.” Twilight said. With no objections voiced, we spread our wings and took off.

Fluttershy came to meet me at my side while we were in the air. “You okay?” I asked. She nodded.

“Yes, but what about you? Are you okay? That's what I'm more concerned about right now.” She asked.

“I'm fine. Just got a little winded, that's it. There's nothing to worry about.”

“Alright Stormcaster, I believe you.”

Just then, Rainbow barrel rolled towards us before nose diving to my underbelly and flipping to her other side me face me.

“You alright Storm? The whole wheezing thing was totally not cool, I just want to make sure.”

“Yeah. I'm alright. No need to worry.” She nodded.

The flew ahead to catch up with Twilight. I immediately curved my right wing to reach into my saddlebags and pulled out the bottle of painkillers that Dr. Horse written me a prescription for. I popped one of the small capsules in my mouth, shivering with delight as the bittersweet taste of the drugs met my tastebuds before quickly setting the bottle back into the saddlebags.

I proceeded to fly towards the others. Hoping that none of caught my actions.