Blitz

1

"Hey, Dash?"

"Yeah, squirt?"

"Why me?"

This question threw Rainbow Dash off like a strong gust of wind; she hadn't been anticipating it, neither to hear nor to answer.

Blitz had his front legs locked around her neck, laying across his carrier's back as she flew down towards Ponyville. The trip itself only took an average pegasus thirty minutes. Dash could be there in fifteen, but today she had a passenger to think of, despite his numerous requests for stunts. Her face contorted as she mulled the question over, thankful that her small friend could not see the tears welling up in her magenta eyes. A mournful sigh escaped as she fumbled for the answer.

"Well... there... there was a filly a few years ago, about your age. About as spunky as you too." A sliver of a grin began to show itself as Dash brought up the memories she believed locked away. "She followed me around everywhere. Desperately tried to get my attention, to impress me I guess. But I just ignored her like the cocky foal that I was... until she got sick of it. We finally got into a fight one day. Before I could make it up to her, her family moved away. Worst timing ever. She probably still hates my guts. Her name was Scootaloo."

"So... this time with me is a sort of amends?"

Rainbow Dash cringed; the blunt way he had put it struck her heart. "Yeah... I guess you could say that. I know it makes me sound really selfish, and I don't mean to- "

"It's okay," he interrupted, squeezing her neck into a tight hug, "I'm just glad I can help make you feel better." Something between a choke and a cough came out of her throat; she covered her mouth with a hoof, using every ounce of her willpower to stop from breaking down. She had just admitted to her possibly biggest fan that she had her own reasons for hanging out with him, and he didn't even mind.

"Hey, squirt? Do me a favor?" Dash decided now was a good time to execute her surprise for the colt.

"Of course!" He was more than happy to oblige.

"Spread your wings out."

"Um... alright." He did so. The air rushing over his wings felt different from whenever he ran. It seemed to brush his feathers with an ethereal comb. "Now what?"

"Now," Dash grinned, "hold on tight!" In an instant, her own wings were tucked against her body. It took Blitz a moment to realize what had just happened. He was now the one carrying them!

"Am I... flying!?" His heart threatened to beat itself out of his chest as he held on. The feeling was beyond anything his imagination could have possibly invented.

"Sort of!" she responded, letting Blitz enjoy himself a bit longer. They had only lost a few feet of altitude; she was prepared to regain control of their flight at a moment's notice if need-be.

"This is so cool!" Some part of him knew it wasn't really flying, but he didn't care. He was having too much fun.

The regular drop in altitude from Blitz's inability to sustain them both actually worked to Dash's advantage, she found out, as she let him carry them the rest of the way. Only once did he try flapping his wings, accomplishing absolutely nothing, and settled on merely gliding them down.

A rather large cottage, seemingly built from a tree, came into view, signifying the outskirts of Ponyville. An aura of absolute peace surrounded both it and the various forms of life around. Rainbow Dash resumed her flying duties, landing them a short distance away.

"I don't want to upset the animals with an abrupt landing," she explained as Blitz slid off of her back, "so we'll walk the rest of the way." He seemed not to hear her, however, as he brushed his hoof against the grass, giggling as it tickled the bottom of his foot. Of course, her mind reasoned, if he was ever down here before, he wouldn't remember. So this is all new to him. Already satisfied with the sensation of grass, he quickly turned his attention to the nearby dirt road that led up across a bridge and to their destination. Blitz pounced, stirring up dust as he pawed at the ground.

"It's so... solid!" He could feel the miniscule particles of dirt cling to his normally clean coat. A realization suddenly struck him; he swiveled his head around to fully appreciate his surroundings. It all seemed so... endless. He could run as much as he wanted without falling off the edge of Cloudsdale.

Rainbow Dash saw the gleam in his eyes. "You're rearing to go, aren't you?" He nodded, his wings parting from his sides. "Well," she smiled, stepping beside him, "see that bridge? We'll race to there."

"You got it!" He bent, getting into position. Everything but the bridge became shut out as his wings moved to their familiar spot. Dash took her own stance, looking over at her competition.

"Ready?" The only reply was a small nod. It surprised her on how focused he was; a stark contrast to his usual hyper self.

"GO!"

A cloud of dust kicked up as they took off together, staying neck-and-neck; not that she was giving it her all. She glanced down, noticing the difference in their strides. While her legs kept the steady four-beat rhythm of a gallop, he barely moved his legs at all; his front legs would afford him balance for only a second while the back legs replaced them, allowing him to push off the ground. The momentum he maintained meant he would gain speed at each stride, letting his legs rest in the air a second longer each time.

One thing he had not taken into account, however, was the difference in surfaces. While Cloudsdale was soft and gave-way under hoof, the hard earth resisted against each step; the result, Blitz quickly learned, was that he could push harder with his back hooves, thereby allowing him to go even faster than he originally believed.

They hit their imaginary marks simultaneously, tucking their back legs underneath themselves in perfect synchronization, sliding to a stop just before the bridge.

"That was fun!" Blitz proclaimed through light gasps, catching his breath. "I've never been able to go that fast before! Can we do it again!?"

Dash smiled, panting rapidly herself. "Sure! I'd love a full speed race. But it'll have to be later, okay?" Blitz nodded his agreement, following her across the bridge and up the dirt road.

2

A silvery blue pegasus rounded the cottage's corner, spotting two figures trekking up the lane. A small breeze ruffled his two-tone mane and matching tail; shades of gold and blue exactly the same as his Wonderbolts uniform. Flash recognized one traveler immediately as his teammate, and dearest friend, Rainbow Dash. The colt following her, however, he could not even guess at. He turned back, peeking his head around the corner.

"Fluttershy?" he called out. She turned her head, questioning him with a glance as chicken feed poured from a sack she held. "We have visitors. One is Dashie."

"Oh how lovely," she answered, joy seeping into her voice. "Please, go greet them. I'll be done with the morning chores soon."

Flash nodded, returning to the front of the cottage. The visitors stood patiently as he approached, a toothy grin stretching his face.

"Dashie!" Flash threw himself at the cyan mare, who returned the hug with equal affection. He spotted the pegasus colt standing next to her. "Who's your friend?" He extended his leg in greeting; the colt took it eagerly.

"I'm Blitz, sir!" he answered, shaking Flash's hoof vigorously.

"Pleased to meet you, Blitz. I'm Flash." He stood tall, stretching his neck straight up to its fullest, planting a hoof on his puffed out chest and striking a daring pose. "The Wonderbolt!" A goofy grin adorned his face. He opened an eye when his display was received with snickers, ears drooping slightly.

"What?" He stuck out his bottom lip in a pout.

"Flash..." Rainbow Dash let out an amused sigh, her fit of giggles over. "You are such a dork."

A pastel yellow pegasus, soft-hued pink mane cascading majestically over her thin neck, sauntered up to the group, giving her own introduction with a curtsy. Blitz returned the favor, bowing in a gentlecoltly way before returning his attention to Flash.

Rainbow Dash motioned to her young friend. "Blitz here was the one with the special ticket." Flash fell back on his haunches as his mouth dropped, pupils almost non-existent.

"Th-th-the ti-ti-ticket?" He couldn't believe it. In his haste to spend the day with his lovely mare, he had completely forgotten that event. He tried to swallow, a lump forming in his throat.

"I-I-I-I... that is to say... you see, Blitz.... um..." He sighed, hanging his head between his forelegs, giving up. "Okay, I forgot. You can be mad at me. I deserve it." Rainbow Dash facehoofed, shaking her head with a groan. A twinge of concern pulsed through her body when she realized that she had no clue if he was being merely theatrical or not.

Blitz only giggled, patting the overly dramatic pegasus on the leg. "It's okay! Really! I'm not mad." Flash's ears perked up, his smile returning.

"Really?"

"Yes!"

Fluttershy moved next to her love, giving him a soft hug. "I didn't know you were so good with children." She giggled, a sparkle in her eye. "That makes me glad." Flash cocked his head curiously.

"Why does that make you glad?" His eyes widened as she whispered into his ear, turning to gaze at her excitedly. "Really? You're serious?! We can have one!?" Her response was a sheepish nod. The very thought filled him with joy. He had always dreamt of being a dad.

Rainbow Dash was forced to puncture their moment with an audible throat clearing.

"Blitz?" She looked down at the eager colt; he returned the gaze. "Why don't you go with Fluttershy and see the animals? I need to have a word with Flash." For a heart-stopping moment, she was afraid he would object. The glowing grin that suddenly burst forth, however, proved her fears unfounded. He trotted merrily beside the soft-spoken mare as she lead him toward both the rear of the house and wonders he had yet to lay eyes on.

Them gone, Flash dropped his 'dorky' facade, giving Rainbow Dash an accusing glance.

"What did you do this time?" His voice was coated with suspicion.

Her response was a mock-hurt grunt. "Why do you always assume I've done something bad?" His cocked eyebrow was the only answer he needed to make her cave in.

"Okay, okay!" She twirled a hoof in the dirt like a reprimanded foal. "I'm... uh... I'm kinda the Wonderbolt Captain for a week."

"WHA-" Flash stuffed his front hoof in his mouth, calming himself down before attempting to speak in a lower voice. "Why!? What happened? Is Spitfire alright!? Oh no she had an accident didn't she? Oh I hope she's alr-mmrf!" It was Dash's turn to quiet the rambling pony with a well place hoof to the mouth. If she didn't, he would never stop.

"No, nothing like that. I... I kind of called her a camera hog. We got into a fight. She got mad and threw the captain's suit at me."

"Wait wait wait." The silvery blue pegasus sat on his haunches, rubbing his temples in exasperation while trying to make sense of the situation. "So... you insult her, get into an argument, she gets really mad, and tells you to take over?" He frowned at his friend, who merely shrugged.

"Well," he bounced back to his feet with a grin, "who am I to question our illustrious leader? Oh... I guess that's you for a week!" He snorted, giggling like a schoolcolt as she hoofed him in the gut with complete bemusement.

"Oh come on Dashie! It'll be fine. Think of it like this, you get to boss me around even more than usual! It'll be fun!"

"Speak for yourself!" The distraught mare started to panic, sat on her haunches. "I'm not ready for this! I thought I was. I sort of wanted it even. But... now that it's in my hooves... I dunno." She looked down, chest rising and falling in rapid succession. A soft hoof on her shoulder caused her to look up.

"Come on, this isn't the Dashie that's been like a little sister to me." A soft voice and a warm smile. "That Dashie would see this as another challenge to conquer. And that Dashie has never failed to conquer a challenge." With a tight hug to emphasize the point, Rainbow Dash finally calmed down, eventually bounding back to her cocky self.

"Yeah... Yeah! You're right Flash. Psh, I'm not worried a lick. This'll be cake. Just watch me!"

Flash's beaming smile returned, lighting up his face. "That's the spirit!"

3

"Please try and be quiet, okay? We just fed them their breakfast, and they can be cranky if disturbed from their food." Fluttershy was more nervous than usual; she vividly recalled the antics of a certain trio of Crusaders. Her young guest, however, was surprising her with his manners; not to mention his unfathomable awe. She breathed easier as he walked with a respectful silence. Despite his obvious, bug-eyed enthusiasm, he kept his voice down to a low drone as he questioned what each animal was, which she was more than eager to answer.

"This is my first time from Cloudsdale that I can remember," he nearly whispered, speaking as softly as his gracious hostess as they crept past free-roaming creatures that were filling their stomachs. "I could never dream the Earth was like this."

A silent chuckle began her response. "It is beautiful, isn't it? I was only a year older than you when I came here."

"Did you move down?"

"Oh... kind of." Another chuckle. "I fell off of Cloudsdale." Blitz could only manage a 'guh' sound, giving her a double-take. She had put it so matter-of-factly, as if merely commenting on the weather.

"Oh, but don't worry. It was the most wonderful thing that could've happened, really. I found my special talent... and my cutie mark. It was taking care of the animals, as you can see." Which, to their surprise, they couldn't see. Lost in the most effective of time-traveling mechanisms known simply as 'talking', they had unknowingly made a complete circle, their trek ending right back at the rear of the house.

"Hey, squirt!" A familiar raspy, tomboyish voice permeated the air, rounding the corners of the cottage and landing in the colt's ears. He trotted to its source, seeing a prismatic-maned cyan mare standing at her proudest, a mischievous grin combined with an eye's twinkle etched on her face.

"How 'bout I take you up on that race?" The infectious grin spread as Blitz squinted his eyes, natural but dormant pegasus desire for a challenge boiling forth.

"You're on!"

"Good. I know just the place. You guys can come watch too," she added, looking at Flash who had taken his place next to his wife.

"Oh my, a race?" Fluttershy blinked, then smiled. "I can't wait."

"Yeah," Flash added, "this is going to be fun."