Turbulence

Chapters

Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter One

Chapter Two

Wind flowing through your mane, you casually glide through the air to your destination.

After your strange encounter with one Rainbow Dash, you contemplated her request for most of yesterday. You were still uneasy about this whole thing, but for whatever reason, she was really relying on you. You couldn't help but wonder if you were her only ally in this, or if she had garnered a small army for her mission.

Still, you wondered if there was something more to this than her desire to see Thunderlane fall from grace. Perhaps she had just fooled you into thinking it was because she wanted to see him have a change of heart. Though she did look genuinely excited when you agreed to help her...

You still were unsure of what to make of this whole thing. You had spent so much time pondering it, that you barely had time to look over the signup sheet you were given. It said something about three fields, some basic rules, and other things. After you had filled out everything, you went straight to bed. Even if you weren't so excited about this whole thing, might as well make the best of it, right?

Either way, you figured you would try your best to help her. Clutching the signup sheet in your teeth, you settled on a quick glide to the city in the sky. You had only been flying for about ten minutes, and you were already able to see the city coming into view now.

Fast approaching your destination, you steadily slow yourself to a casual pace and simply admire the city. It had been years since you last visited Cloudsdale, and that was to meet up with visiting relatives. You hadn't come here out of your own volition in ages.

Looking around, you see most of the city had been unchanged. Large, stone columns and delicate cloud structures were all around, and pegasai were quickly bustling to and fro. Beautiful, rainbow falls were drizzling from fountains and other peripherals here and there. In the town square, one particular fountain graced the entire surrounding area with a dazzling array of colors billowing from its top.

There were a few new buildings that you didn't recognize from your last visit, but for the most part, the city was unchanged. It didn't look like there were any drastic changes to its basic layout or anything.

Trotting forward, you set your new destination for the Great Hall. Or, as you liked to call it, the Not-so-Great Hall. You had paid a visit to it the last time you were in Cloudsdale. Though the outside looked promising, the inside was anything but. Columns were rundown, the ceiling was sagging, the floor tiles were cracked and missing, so on. Even the windows were dirty, and the chandeliers looked ready to shatter at any moment. And the amount of garbage lying around was simply ridiculous. Needless to say, you weren't impressed.

It didn't matter. You were certain that this competition wouldn't be held inside the Hall itself. There's no way that could work. But with that knowledge, you were curious. Where exactly would this game be taking place? You figured your questions would be answered soon enough. They might have been answered earlier if you had actually taken the time to read that sheet. Oh well, what can ya do?

After a few minutes of walking, you came upon the (Not-so) Great Hall. The Hall had been around ever since Cloudsdale was founded decades ago. As such, it is considered a sort of landmark for the civilians, and is often used to organize large events or gatherings, such as Turbulence Tag, apparently. The outside looks no different than when you last visited, so you fear for the worst as far as how the inside must look.

The exterior of the building doesn't look bad, per se, but it could use touching up. Several large, stone columns surround the entrance, which is led to by a series of small stairs. Pegasai were flying about, in and out of the entrance. Some of those entering were carrying their own forms, similar to the one you have.

Making a quick flight up to the entrance, you push the door open and let yourself inside.

Strange. Your jaw muscles seem to have ceased functioning properly, and your paper is on the floor now.

"...Holy crap."

To say the interior has been improved upon would be an extreme understatement. Everything about this place has been revamped! The stone pillars no longer look like they're about to buckle, and stood very strong. The ceiling was decorated with paintings similar to those of Renaissance painters. The floor was like one, giant mirror, and its glossy finish reflected everything. You could see your face on it!

Up above, the windows were decorated mosaics, which displayed famous ponies from Cloudsdale, the princesses, and more. Each of them must have been made up of thousands of slates of glass. All around, small information booths equipped with the most up-to-date technologies were being manned by ponies, guiding and directing visitors and civilians alike. The entire building had been revitalized since you had last been here.

Needless to say, you were impressed.

"Surprised?"

A familiar voice to your left catches your attention. Snapping out of your stupor, you look over and find a familiar rainbow-colored mare walking toward you. She had something tucked under her wing.

"Uh, yeah! When did this place..."

"About a year ago. A bunch of ponies were complaining that the Great Hall, well...it kinda sucked. So the Mayor of Cloudsdale decided to run a little project to fix the place up!" Rainbow says.

"...Not bad." You reply simply.

"Yeah, I used to hate this place. It was so...bleh." She says, sticking her tongue out for effect.

"Yeah, I visited this place a few years ago. Wasn't pretty." Craning your head around, you look at all the sights. "I gotta say, they did a pretty good job at it!"

"I'll say!" She replies, perky as ever. "I can't believe how cool this place is now!"

"Yeah..." You look down and pick up your sheet. "So, where do we drop these things off?"

"Oh, follow me! I'll take you there!" She begins to trot forward, and you follow suit.

On some of the walls, schedules for meetups and events were listed with appropriate times. Ponies were examining the schedules and bustling all around, carrying papers, chatting it up, giving directions, and the like. The building was rather barren on your initial visit, so to see it so revitalized made you happy. A landmark like this should actually deserve to be considered a landmark. Whatever that mayor did, he did it right.

Rainbow led you over to a stand being run by two ponies, a mare and a stallion. "Hey, we need to get this guy registered for the competition!" She says for you.

"Alright, do you have your papers?" The mare asks nicely. You give her your signup form. "Now, let's see here..." She takes a few moments to scrutinize the paper. She utters words and phrases under her breath as she examines, such as 'okay' and 'looks good.' After a short period, she looks up. "Alright, looks clear to me! Give him his flag!" With that, she takes a stamp and plants it on your paper, leaving a mark resembling two wings.

The stallion dips his head into a box near the booth and pulls out a rolled up piece of purple fabric. Handing it to you, you take it a place it under your wing, giving him your thanks. With that, Rainbow beckoned you to follow her.

"Awesome! We're all set!" Rainbow says excitedly.

"So Rainbow, tell me." You start. She looks at you expectantly. "Just how many ponies are we going up against?"

"Oh, I dunno, like, a few hundred, or something." She says, not even sounding nervous.

"Wait, what!?" You exclaim.

"Chillax, it's no big deal. I mean, you got me!" She puts a hoof to her chest as she says that.

"Y-Yeah, but how exactly are we going to survive an onslaught of that many ponies, if we even get to being one of the last ponies remaining?"

"We just gotta play it smart." She says coolly. "There'll be some serious flyers out there, so keep your wits up!"

"Hey, hey, if it ain't Rainbow Dash!" A voice calls from behind the two of you.

"Oh, great." Dash says, an annoyed look on her face. [url=]"It's him."

Turning around in unison, you're greeted by a dark-grey pegasus with an ice-colored mane and tail. His mane was done up in a sort of mohawk fashion. His Cutie Mark depicted a stormcloud, and he looked at the two of you with an amused look in his golden eyes. Behind him are two light-purple mares who look to be siblings.

"Fancy meeting you here!" He says, giving a rather cocky glare to the two of you. He runs his eyes up and down you. "Who's your boyfriend?"

You feel your cheeks heat up at the word 'boyfriend.' "He's just here to compete in Turbulence Tag, Thunderlane. What do you want?"

"Nothing, I just want to see who's gonna attempt to break my record." He says while nonchalantly looking at his own hoof.

"Jeez, no one cares about your stupid record, Thunderlane!" Dash looks like she's beginning to grow furious.

"Then why so mad?" He asks teasingly.

"Because you can't shut up about it!" Dash groans slightly.

"Psh, you're just jealous because I have something you don't. Admit it." He doesn't even look at her as he speaks.

"Uh, who's the one and only one who did the first Sonic Rainboom?"

"Beginner's luck." He responds quickly, still not looking at her.

"What is your deal!? Ever since you got that record, you think you're better than everypony else!" She looks ready to sock him into next week.

"Only because I am."

Dash growls slightly, then lowers her head. Her voice calms slightly. "I'm gonna break that record, Thunderlane. When I do, maybe you'll learn something..."

"Hah! Good luck with that! I'm the best there is!" With that, Thunderlane begins to walk away, laughing all the while. The mares following him do the same.

Looking over to Dash, you can see she is furious. Letting out a snort, she lowers her head again. "Wow..." You start. "You weren't kidding. That guy really is a jerk."

"I know...he used to be so cool. I don't know what happened..." She sounds distraught.

"Yeah...But I think I do." You reply.

"What do you mean?" She asks, looking up to you.

"...Nothing." Looking around, you see several ponies filing out to the back exit of the building. Almost all of them were carrying or wearing flags similar to the one you had. "I'm guessing we need to head out there?"

She perks up slightly. "Oh, right! The game's about to begin! C'mon, this way!" With that, she quickly trots over to the exit you following close behind.

Now that you've met your prime competitor, you suddenly feel like you need to win this more than ever. If he has the same blindness that he did back then...Perhaps winning was your only option.

This is gonna be a long day...

Chapter Three

You don't normally get nervous about anything these days, but the crowd in front of you was making it difficult not to be.

Outside the Great Hall, ponies upon ponies had gathered for the competition. Most of them were residents of Cloudsdale, and you couldn't recognize them. There were a few you recognized from Ponyville though, including that wall-eyed pegasus. You wondered how well she would fare in all this. The crowd was enormous. There had to be at least three hundred ponies, if not more. You were beginning to feel your odds dwindle.

"Uh, Rainbow Dash?" You whisper to the pegasus at your side. She looks to you. "Are you sure about this?"

"Oh, come on! Where's your spirit?" She asks, trying to uplift you.

"Just seems like we're up the creek without paddles, here..." You can't help but feel slightly on edge at the ensemble of ponies before you.

She giggles before answering. "Lighten up, it's just a game! Well, for us it's kinda more than that, but still!" She wraps a hoof around your shoulder. "Relax, we got this!"

Why are your cheeks warm again? You shake your head. "You say that, but it still-"

"FLAGS, PLEASE!"

The two of you jump at the sudden, booming voice. Turning to face your new company, you find a blue stallion with a short cut, yellow mane and tail. On his vest is a small badge labeled "TTP."

"Do you two have your flags?" He asks again.

"Oh, uh, yeah, right here!" You pull your flag from under your wing and present it as Rainbow does the same.

"If you would, please prep your flag for the game and head to the pavilion in front of the stage. The competition will begin momentarily!" He doesn't lower his volume as he speaks.

"Oh, sure, thanks!" You respond hastily. He seemed satisfied with that response and walks away to pester some other ponies.

Breathing a small sigh of relief, you look to your flag. You don't know exactly how to put this thing on. "Uh, Rainbow-"

"It's cool, I got this!" She suddenly swipes your flag from your hoof. The next thing you know, several straps are being wrapped around your chest. She lifts your legs and pulls the straps over them, wrapping them around your shoulders. With an audible click, the clasp on the front of your chest closes, securing the flag in place. Before you could even realize what was happening, you were all set.

Rainbow Dash put her hooves on the sides of your chest, tugging the straps to ensure a tight fit. "Alright, you look good!" You couldn't help but notice that her hooves seemed to linger on your sides, and she almost seemed reluctant to pull away. You figured it was nothing.

The flag itself was a long, purple piece of fabric, decorated with many symbols. The majority of them were stars, moons, clouds, lightning bolts, and the like. Along its surface, it read the words 'Turbulence Tag.' The flag was about two feet in length, and draped along your body in a fashion similar to a cape.

"Alright, thanks!" You tell her. "Do you-"

"Nope! Got it!" Somehow in those few seconds, she had managed to get her flag on. How did she do that, you wonder.

"...Okay then." You look to where all the ponies were being told to gather. "Shall we?"

"Let's do this!"

~*~*~

Well, this is certainly uncomfortable.

You and Dash had only waited in front of the pavilion stage for a few minutes before being swallowed by a sea of ponies. Pegasai bordered all sides of you, and you were packed in like sardines. Crowds weren't really your strong suit.

Rainbow Dash didn't seem nervous in the slightest. She was switching her gaze to all the ponies around her, looking as excited as she's ever been. She was brimming with energy, ready to take to the skies and smash that record to pieces. It was kind of cute, to be honest.

You were a little less enthusiastic. You only wanted this whole thing to be over so you could get away from all these ponies. You still had no idea how you would fare in this competition. You don't doubt yourself, but the numerous ponies around you would surely make your life Hell in this game.

The stage in front of you had been barren for quite a while now. The personnel said that the game would start soon, so you wondered where the announcers and what not are. You were getting a bit anxious waiting. "Rainbow," you start. "When exactly-"

A sudden explosion of lights and fireworks from the stage gets the attention of everyone in the audience, including yours.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts!" A mare's voice over a mic exclaims. "Welcome, one and all, to the 37th iteration of Cloudsdale's very own TURBULENCE TAG!"

The crowd erupts into a flurry of screams and applause. The only thing you could hear, however, was Dash's squeals of excitement.

On the stage, an orange mare with a headset appears. "What's up, everypony! Are you ready to get started!?" Everyone in the crowd screams 'YES!' in unison. Well, everyone but you. You were just trying to not go deaf at the uproar around you. "Then it is my honor to welcome the one and only creator of Turbulence Tag, Cirrus Streak!"

The applause bursts again as a white stallion trots onto the stage. His mane is a slick grey, and his blue eyes keep a calm expression, even in the midst of the screaming plethora of ponies in front of him. He merely waves at the crowd for a moment, waiting for them to settle down.

Once the applause dies down, the stallion begins to speak. "Good afternoon, everypony. I am Cirrus Streak, creator of Turbulence Tag." His voice is rather calm, considering he's the head behind what is apparently one of Cloudsdale's biggest sports. "It is my pleasure to have so many ponies coming together to celebrate this occasion. Both those participating and those viewing at home." The crowd erupts into a more controlled applause.

"Huh. I never knew this game was so big." You whisper to Rainbow.

"It used to not be, but ever since Soarin' played a couple years ago, it got a lot bigger!" She whispers back. Does she have like, the monopoly on Wonderbolt trivia, or something? You muse to yourself.

"Before we begin the competition," Cirrus says. "I'd like to go over the basic rules for any newcomers we may have. The goal is simple." A green mare walks up next to him. On her back is a flag, much like the one you are equipped with. "Players without flags must remove the flags of players who still have one. Should you lose your flag, don't try to 're-equip' it." He punctuates his point by tearing the flag from her back. The moment he does, he holds the flag into the air. It suddenly disintegrates in his hoof, and its bits scatter in the wind.

"Players who still do have their flag must simply hold on to it for as long as they can! Protect it with your life!" He pumps a hoof as he speaks. "Now, some more basic rules. First, no roughhousing. This is a friendly game of sportsmanship."

You hear Rainbow click her tongue at that statement. "If only Thunderlane could get that through his head." Still peeved at him, I see.

"Second, no fraternizing with the enemy. If you are caught purposefully aiding the other team, you are disqualified. Some of you may be wondering how we will know. Well, this is the answer!" On cue, a small cloud came floating up next to Cirrus. In the middle was a small lens of glass. It almost looked like a puffy eyeball. "These are our CloudCams! Crafted by Cloudsdale's finest engineers, they will examine and broadcast the actions of any player they so desire. Please, do not tamper with them. Our budget is slipping as is!" He says jokingly, earning a few chuckles from the crowd.

"Wow, they really pulled out all the stops, didn't they?" You whisper to Dash. This time she simply shushes you.

"Now then, as for the playing field," He turns around, and screen drops from above. On it is displayed three different 'bubbles,' laid out in an inverted triangle pattern. "There are three fields in which players may run about. The Fair Field, the Foul Field, and the Falls Field." He takes out a small, extending wand and points it towards the 'bubble' on the bottom of the screen. "The Fair Field is where you will all start. It's right behind you, actually. This field has moderate cloud occupation, as well as some generic buildings and other structures. It is the easiest to maneuver in. In the same vein, it is also the easiest to be caught in."

He moves his pointer to the 'bubble' on the top left. "The Foul Field is for expert flyers only. It has heavy cloud occupation, and is infested with nasty thunderstorms and whirlwinds. NOT, for the faint of heart." With that knowledge, you figured it would be best to stay way from that area, lest things get dire.

"And lastly, the Falls Field." He puts his pointer on the top right section. "This is a newer area we've designed. In it are multiple rainbow falls and rivers. Along with that, we have the Multicolor Maze, a maze crafted out of solid rainbow! Be careful you don't trap yourself in it!"

"Don't worry," Rainbow whispers. "It's not too hard to get through."

"Wait, how do you know that?" You ask.

"Easy, I helped design it!"

"Wait, what!?" You ask harshly.

"After I did the Sonic Rainboom, they wanted me to help design a new part of the playing field for this game! So I helped make the Multicolor Maze!"

"Isn't that cheating?"

"Not really. Besides, Cirrus up there doesn't have a problem with me competing!"

This mare is trickier than I thought... You think to yourself.

"Now then." Your attention is brought back to Cirrus. "We are ready to begin!" He holds up a flare gun. "When I fire the flare, a clock will start and you all scatter like flies! When the clock strikes sixty seconds, I myself will eliminate one player! After that, I'll drop out, and it is up to that player to continue building the horde from there! Are there any questions?" The crowd remains silent. It was weird, seeing the crowd this quiet when they burst into applause at everything else he said. "No? Well then, don't blame me if you screw up!"

With the crowd laughing again, he lifts the flare gun into the air, pointing its muzzle upward.

"Is everypony ready!?" He yells.

The crowd shouts 'YES!' in unison.

"Here we go!" Rainbow says. You simply nod in response.

"On your marks!"

Wings flared, every pony prepares to launch, you included.

"Get set!"

And then he waits, slowly building up the dramatic effect. You can feel the tension rising in all the ponies around you. All the ponies around you were like coiled springs, ready to fire at any moment. Your heartbeat booms in your ears in anticipation. Any second now...

...

"GO!"

*BAM*

Time seemed to slow down for just a moment, as hundreds of pegasai take to the air all at once. Feathers scattered and ponies burst into the air, leaping from the ground and fleeting into the field behind them. It was almost like this entire scene had been rehearsed and directed, all these ponies taking to the sky in unison like this.

Time seemed to return to its normal pace as you quickly launch into the air and flee from the stage. It only took a few seconds for you to get separated from Rainbow Dash in all the chaos, but you couldn't dwell on it. You needed to get as far away from Cirrus as you could. You can only imagine Dash's disappointment if you were the first one eliminated.

A torrent of wind pushed you all around from the wings of hundreds pegasai flapping in unison. You fought to make your way out of the chaos and into clearer skies. The farther away from Cirrus you got, the better.

After several moments of furiously beating your wings, you managed to break away from the crowd. Looking back, you can see the stage. Cirrus simply waits peacefully as the counter behind him ticks down, which is currently at fourteen seconds.

What!? How was I in there for that long? You ponder.

No time to dwell on it, you turn around and keep flying, focusing on getting as far as possible. You counted the seconds in your mind.

12...11...10...

The pegasai around you were slowly growing farther apart.

7...6...5...

You still had no idea where Rainbow had flown off to. Great leader she is.

3...2...1...

A loud buzz from the stage catches your attention. Looking back, you see Cirrus shooting off the platform, quickly darting for the nearest target. Luckily, he wasn't flying in your general direction. You stop for a moment just to watch.

Some of the ponies who hadn't gotten too far from the stage at this point were quickly darting away from Cirrus. He had set his sights on a small crowd who had gathered, and they dispersed immediately. Ultimately, he had singled out a particular target.

You watch him rapidly chase down a purple mare. It's one of those mares that was accompanying Thunderlane earlier. She quickly swings to and fro, dodging him at every turn. She was graceful, but Cirrus was quickly overtaking her. She refused to give in, veering left and right rapidly trying to lose him.

Though she fought valiantly, it was all for naught.

*RIP*

You watched as her flag disintegrated in Cirrus' hoof. The look of utter disbelief was very evident in her face.

With that, Cirrus tucked his wings in and dived out of the sky, leaving his new minion to begin the elimination process. You could see the look on her face fade from disbelief to pure, unbridled rage. You can only imagine her fury at being the first one to be eliminated from the competition.

Suddenly, she looks at you. Only now do you realize you are the one nearest to her.

Oh crap...

Looks like you had lingered here for a little too long. You quickly turn around and book it. Glancing back, you see she is in hot pursuit of you. Normally being chased by mares would be a good thing, but...

You look forward just in time to see a large cloud right in your path. Pulsing your wings downward, you launch yourself just above the clouds path, your hooves barely scraping its top. You glide over it, and continue flying forward. Looking back, you see your pursuer had dodged it much more gracefully than you.

You really wish you had some sort of plan at this point. Looking around, you try to find anything that could help you get away from her. With your flag intact, that is. The cloud occupation in the area was growing, and you found yourself having to maneuver more and more to avoid crashing into one. You had no idea if these clouds were solid or not, but you didn't want to experiment to find out.

Suddenly, a young colt flies out in front of you, shock on his face at the incoming pony projectile. Twisting your body, you force yourself into a barrel roll, and barely manage to veer to the left and dodge him in time. Looking back, you see the mare immediately take the chance and rip his flag from his back, adding to her army. That colt has no idea what's going on, and the confusion is evident in his face. She doesn't stop, and continues chasing you.

You dip downward, and find the area below is even more heavily infested with clouds. Turning right, you continue to a more congested area. The clouds here are even bigger, and you are forced to take more gratuitous turns to get around them. The mare seems to have no trouble keeping up with you though.

Your eyes are darting all over the place, looking for any viable source of escape. Your options are slim, as the clouds grow more and more congested. You fear that you may end up boxing yourself in at this point. Looking around, you see a possible exit. Several, large clouds were drifting toward each other, creating a narrow opening between them. On the other side was clearer skies.

You formulate a plan. It's risky, but if you succeed, you would escape.

You kick it into overdrive and fly right for the opening. The escape route grew more and more narrow as the clouds closed in on one another. The clouds touched, and began to merge together, the opening between them slowly closing. You keep flapping. This is your only shot!

You are only a few feet away from it now! You give your wings one final, powerful pulse and tuck them in. You condense your body as best as you can, and hope you make it through.

Time slows down as the tunnel passes around you. As you pass through, your back hooves barely graze the edges of the opening. Once your body fully passes through it, your wings shoot open and you continue forward.

A rather loud thud followed by a shriek from behind gets your attention. Looking back, you see the mare was trapped. Her torso had been caught between the clouds, and she was now struggling to free herself. She pushes against the clouds with all her might, but she was stuck firmly in place. She looks to you with a less-than-amused expression. You give her a sheepish smile and shrug in return.

Flailing her limbs, she yells at you. "You won't beat Thunderlane!"

Yeesh, brainwashed or what? You think while rolling your eyes. Turning around, you fly off in search of someplace to rest and recharge.

You only hoped that taking a break wouldn't be the death of you.

Chapter Four

What is that video game all the kids are playing these days? Steel Grind Solid, or something? The one where that stallion is always sneaking around?

That's kind of what you felt like right now.

After having evaded being caught by that mare a good twenty minutes ago, you found yourself in a sort of palace within the Fair Field at the moment. With your back against a stone pillar, your heart beats feverishly as you wait. You opted not to fly, as the beating of your wings would give away your position. You could hear the patrolling of ponies on the other side of your pillar.

The colt that the mare eliminated while chasing you must work quickly. There were already numerous ponies missing flags after that, including the two in this room. You could only wonder how many others have been eliminated already.

Cautiously, you peek your head around the column to get a grasp on the situation. Two ponies were looking around, trying to find anyone who may be sneaking around the area. You felt like a spy avoiding security guards, or something. Like a criminal on the run.

As far as they're concerned, that's not far from the truth. Those ponies over there are Hell-bent on eliminating anyone they find with a flag. With that knowledge, you opted to take great care in avoiding them. The less you make your presence known, the less running away you have to do.

You pull your head back behind the pillar as one of the ponies begins to approach your direction. The only exit happens to be in the direction that the pony is coming from. Wonderful. Looking around, you look for anything you could use to escape. Looking down to the ground, you spot a small pebble. You pick it up in your hoof. You have an idea, but this was a bit of a long-shot.

Very carefully, you wind your foreleg back, the pebble in the grip of your hoof. You wait for just a second. The flapping of the approaching pony's wings grows louder by the moment. After a short period, you sling your hoof forward and toss the pebble down the corridor. You pray that the pony didn't see the pebble fly.

The pebble makes an audible 'click' as it hits the ground. You hold your breath and rotate around the pillar slightly. Within seconds, the pony speeds to the pillar's side, and looks towards the noise.

"Who's there!?" He yells, oblivious to the trick.

You take the opportunity and sneak around the pillar. You try to find a balance between moving fast and staying quiet. You gently flap your wings to put yourself into a gentle hover as you float towards the door. The stallion doesn't seem to even notice you escaping.

Once you reach the exit, you kick it up a notch and fly away at full speed. That was too close. You make a mental note to not end up trapping yourself like that again.

You heart rate gradually returns to normal. Even if you were dragged into this game somewhat unwillingly, it was actually quite fun. There was a certain thrill factor it was igniting within you, and you were slowly getting more and more into it.

Scanning the sky, you look for a place to rest and recuperate. You had still not seen hide nor hair of Rainbow since the competition started, nor had you run into Thunderlane. You figured Rainbow would be using her knowledge of the Multicolor Maze to its fullest, but had no idea where Thunderlane would be. You wondered if either of them had been eliminated yet.

After a few minutes of flying, searching, and keeping a sharp eye out for any members of 'the horde,' you find a lone cloud. It looked rather misshapen, and it was somewhat secluded from the rest of the clouds. You didn't care. It was out of sight from most of the playing field and it was a place to catch your breath, even if only for a moment. Flying up to it, you plant yourself right on top of it.

You shake your head slightly to rid yourself of the 'willies' you attained after having just played the role of spy. You breath deep in an attempt to relax yourself. You can't get too relaxed though. You never know who's watching.

You shift your legs slightly, and place one of your hooves on another portion of the cloud. Strange...this part of the cloud feels different. Almost like flesh.

Wait....did the cloud just move?

"YEEEAAAAAHHH!!"

You're suddenly thrown into the air in an explosion of feathers and cloud vapor. Disoriented from the sudden lift-off, you shake your head and look back to what was once your resting position, only find a massive ball of muscle flying at you.

You pulse your wings and narrowly dodge being tackled by the incoming projectile, letting out a yelp as you do so. The mass falters in midair before turning to you, giving you a look of pure blood-lust with his blood-red eyes. Atop his head is a short-cut brown mane, and his entire body is nothing but muscle with white fur draped over it. Oh, and he has no flag.

You knew this guy all too well. It's hard to forget his face.

"R-Roid Rage!?" You squeal.

"YEEEAAHH!" He yells.

Oh, Celestia. You roll your eyes and immediately turn around, booking it from the beast. You had no idea where you would go to lose him, but you needed to do something.

Looking back, you see him keeping up with you, steam billowing from his nostrils. He resembled a freight train, and probably would hurt like one too. His wings were small, but they managed to keep him at a speed matching yours. They buzzed like a hummingbird's wings as he chased you. You shudder to think how fast he would be able to move if they were average size...

You keep flying forward, pushing your wings to their full potential. You dip downward into a more congested area, hoping to lose him in the midst of the clouds. Approaching a cloud-infested flight space, you veer left and right, trying to lose him, or at least confuse him slightly as to your direction.

Apparently, your plan backfires. All your dodging around clouds does nothing to deter him. He just plows right through them, not slowing down in the slightest! Every cloud in his path bursts into a mist of vapor, and he tears through them like wet tissue paper.

You've got to be kidding me... Your veering allowed him to close the distance slightly. You needed a new plan, and fast.

You continue your mad flight. You look around you to notice the cloud congestion was being replaced with rainbows. Looking around, you see that there were numerous rainbow falls all around. You deduce that you have officially entered the Falls Field.

"YEEEAAHH!" Oh yeah, so has he.

You notice something following you from your left. Looking over, you see one of those CloudCams that Cirrus was talking about. It was keeping up with you rather nicely, and its lens was staring at you. Knowing that hundreds of ponies were probably watching you running like a little filly right now didn't help ease your nerves.

You look forward just in time to see you're about to run into a fall. You try to barrel roll out of its way, but it was just too late. Your suddenly swallowed up in numerous colors. Suddenly, your white coat has been made to look like a lollipop.

Not only is your coat a fashionista's nightmare, but the rainbow liquid is slowing you down. The extra weight is just enough to allow Roid Rage to slowly gain on you. Thinking quick, you throw yourself into a barrel roll. Most ponies actually can't perform a proper barrel roll. They can spin in midair, sure, but a true barrel roll forces ponies into a desired direction. It was a maneuver you had perfected years ago. Something you were patting yourself on the back for now.

You throw yourself downward and to your left, slinging off most of the rainbow matter. Looking back, you see Rage hadn't anticipated your sudden change in movement, and lost some of the distance he had gained on you. You doubted you could fool him with that again though.

You fly around incoming rainbow falls and avoiding tainting your coat any more than you had already. As you fly, that wall-eyed pegasus flies out in front of you. Like the colt earlier, you pulse your wings downward and fly over her. Looking back, you see Roid tear her flag from her back with his bare teeth. She has no idea what went wrong.

You watch as the flag disintegrates in his teeth. "YEEAAAHH!"

Of everypony possible, I get the craziest one chasing me. Of course, right. You think to yourself. Your wings were steadily growing more and more weary. You needed to lose him. Fast.

You notice the CloudCam has strangely disappeared. Looking forward again, you find yourself being swallowed up by rainbows again. Only this time, the rainbow wasn't in liquid form. It was solid, and formed a tunnel around you. Was this the Multicolor Maze?

You didn't care, if it was a possible escape, that was fine by you. The tunnel branched off into multiple paths. You had no idea where any of them led, but they were all viable options as far as you were concerned.

You randomly turn down a tunnel to your right. The buzzing of tiny wings behind you confirmed that 'Mr. Muscle' was still in hot pursuit of you. All the colors of the light spectrum flashed around you. It was almost like you were having an attack of epilepsy, what with all of these colors.

Up ahead, the tunnel veers to the left. You quickly turn down the path, only to stop immediately in midflight. You were nose to nose with Rainbow Dash! And she still has her flag!

"Uh, hi!"

"Are you being chased too?"

"Oh crap!"

Rainbow Dash looks around. To either side of you are paths branching away. "Um...follow me!"

She quickly flies down the one to her left, and you follow suit. Looking back, you see she was being pursued by two mares. You don't look at them for long before they are slammed into by Roid and promptly knocked away.

"YEEAAHHH!" He yells. Is that the only word he knows?

"Oh Celestia, you got him chasing you!?" Rainbow asks sharply.

"I-It's not my fault, he tricked me!" You defend.

She looks at you incredulously. She groans and rolls her eyes before continuing. "Whatever, let's get out of here first! We can't lose him in here!"

"And why's that!?" You yell. Your voice echos in the rainbow cavity.

"He may look stupid, but he won't ever let up if he's chasing you. His wings are small, but he can fly forever. He's like a big, muscly bear that hates ponies!" You simply look at her with confusion. She glances at you and rolls her eyes again. "When he's not all crazy like that, he's actually pretty cool to hang around with, alright?"

"Whatever, so what's the plan?" You ask.

"Just follow me, we'll figure something out!" She takes the lead, and you follow close behind.

The two of you twist and turn, trying to not smash into the walls of the maze. Roid Rage follows close, mimicking your every turn. The two of you whisk past the turns and graze the walls, never letting your speed falter. For you, it was both out of fear of losing, and fear of getting near that thing.

You hoped Rainbow Dash was as familiar with this maze as she claimed. The two of you had been cruising through it for the better part of two minutes. And that was flying at high speed! You can't imagine just taking a gentle stroll through it. How expansive was this maze anyway?

You take great care to not bump Dash as you fly. You can only imagine her frustration if you caused her to fall out of the game. Because of your reluctance to fly next to her, you had to fly right behind her, giving you a perfect view of...well, her backside. You try not to glance at her, but you don't have much of a choice. It was either stare uncomfortably, or lose her and be left in the clutches of the beast following you.

After about another minute of flying, you spot the light of the sky outside. You breathe a slight sigh of relief, knowing that she hadn't steered you wrong. The two of you exit the maze, and bolt away from the rainbow tunnel. Unfortunately, Roid was still right behind you, yelling all the way.

"Any ideas, Dash!?" You yell to her.

"Still thinking on it!" She replies.

"Not exactly inspiring confidence here, Dash!" You call out. You look to her to see she's examining the surrounding area, looking for a way to shake the crazed stallion.

At last, her gaze settles on something that evokes a bit of fear in you. A large, slow spinning whirlwind on the edge of the Foul Field.

"Uh, Dash?" You ask tentatively. That gleam in her eyes was scaring you.

"Follow me! I've got an idea!" You were afraid she would say that.

She immediately turns towards the swirling vortex and you reluctantly follow. Though you were genuinely curious as to what her plan entailed, you still knew this wasn't a good idea. For whatever reason, you trusted her though.

The two of you enter the mouth of the whirlwind, and are immediately blasted by its powerful gusts. Both of you keep your flight path in check though, and continue down the vortex. Luckily, this wasn't a lightning infested one, so the only real danger was being thrown out of it. The tunnel of wind is quite long, and its 'walls' are pretty expansive.

"YEEEAAAHH!" At least he's kind enough to let you know he hasn't given in. Looking back you see Roid has followed you right into the abyss.

"So what's the plan!?" You are forced to yell to keep your voice audible over the gale.

"Go to the edge and fly with the current!" She yells back.

"Wait, you want us to speed up the tornado!?"

"Yeah! Trust me!"

And with that, she flies away from you to the edge. Despite how much you loathed this idea, you didn't have many other options. You fly to the opposite wall, and begin flying with the current. The two of you kept your flight paths parallel to one another as you began to circle round and round.

Though your flight path was skewed slightly, the speed of the vortex kept you moving ahead of Rage. You give it your all, trying to speed up the current. You can slowly feel your speed building, if not because of your wings. The added speed of two ponies was causing the tornado to close tighter and tighter.

The space between you and Dash slowly grew smaller and smaller. Tears were beginning to form at the edges of your eyes as the wind speed picked up. Your wings were aching from the insane amount of force you were taking, and you hoped that whatever Dash had planned was going to work.

You and Dash had caused the tornado to grow incredibly tight, and there was very little space between the two of you at this point. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Roid Rage was actually struggling to fight the current. Though the two of you were making your way deeper into the tornado, the force of your flying and the current was pushing him back. Dash's plan was working!

Looking forward, you see yourself growing close to the exit. "Dash! Are you sure this will work!?" You yell, barely audible over the winds.

"I have no idea!" She yells, tears flowing from her eyes. You notice something in forming in front of her. It almost looked like a cone.

And what's that forming in front of you!?

"Dash!?" You yell again, even more frantic this time.

"Just a little more..." She yells back. The two of you were mere inches apart, and the exit was rapidly approaching. Suddenly, the cones in front of the both of you change shape. "Quick! Take my hooves!"

Without a second thought, you throw your hooves towards hers and interlock them. The two of you are sent into a spinning frenzy, like a mad corkscrew. You weren't even sure if your wings were making a difference at this point, but you kept flapping. The cones in front of you had merged into one, and grew tighter by the second.

You can barely keep your eyes open at this point. The exit is right there! Flapping your wings in unison, the two of you make a beeline for the exit.

Right as you hit the exit, you feel a shift. It felt like you had just smashed through a brick wall. Accompanying the feeling was an ear-shattering explosion. Looking back, you see a massive trail of all the colors of the rainbow spiraling behind you. Mixed in with the colors was a streak of white.

Rainbow's eyes are glued shut as the two of you are launched away from the vortex. The two of you are spiraling incredibly fast, but not so much that you lose control. After a few moments, you can feel your inertia gradually slowing. Rainbow Dash opens her eyes and looks back with you.

After a few seconds, the two of you slow to a stop in midair, your rainbow trail stopping with you. The two of you shake your heads in unison, and look to the explosion of colors you had just created. She simply looks at you with a dumbfounded expression.

Before she gets the chance to speak, you hear a thud. Looking back to the vortex, you see it's now spinning out of control. It was far more tight-knit than it was when you first entered, and it was spinning ridiculously fast. The exit had been sealed off thanks to your efforts.

Suddenly, a small white speck is launched out the end from which you entered.

"NOOOOOOooooo...." Is all you can hear as the speck flies out of view. All that was missing was a 'ding' sound effect from the cartoons.

You and Rainbow Dash look at what you had just accomplished in awe. Not only did you lose Roid Rage, but the two of you managed to cause a Sonic Rainboom in the process. A Sonic Rainboom, which was accompanied with an additional white streak.

She looks right at you, disbelief in her features.

"That...
was...
AWESOME!"

She suddenly throws her forelegs around you and brings you into a hug. "We did it! We totally did it!"

With newly warm cheeks, you raise a hoof to her back. "Er, yeah...I guess we did." You breathe a sigh of relief.

"And look at that! A Sonic Rainboom! No, it's like...a spiral, with white in it! We totally gotta call that somethin' else! Something that's like, at least twenty percent cooler!" She's absolutely lost in her excitement, like a foal on Hearth's Warming, about the feat you had just managed. You were just relieved to be alive.

"Er, Dash?" You ask. She looks to you, excitement clear as day in her face. "Maybe we should find somewhere to hide before we start discussing names. Ponies are probably gonna be coming here soon."

"Oh, heheheh...right." She nervously rubs the back of her neck, a blush present on her face. The two of you take off to find somewhere to rest and recharge.

Back to playing spy...

Chapter Five

"...And so I tossed the pebble."

"And!?"

"He flies over, looks towards where I threw it..."

"Oh my gosh, no way!"

"And he yells out, 'Who's there!?'"

"Hahahahh! Seriously!?"

"Yes! And I got right past him!"

"Wow, what an idiot!" As Dash bursts into laughter, you couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the circumstances you managed to bypass yourself.

"Da-ash, come on, keep it down!" You say through your chortles. "They're gonna hear us!"

"No they aren't, relax! Look," she peeks her head out of your little bunker and looks around. After a second she retracts her head. "No pony in sight, we're fine!"

"If you say so..." You reply, leaning back slightly.

After your little adventure involving a certain, muscular, behemoth of a pony, you and Dash had run away to seek some shelter. Your little unintended explosion of colors in the sky no doubt attracted a lot of attention.

Luckily, the two of you managed to find a small hideaway in the clouds. After locating a rather secluded part of the Fair Field, Dash immediately started building a small bunker. She crafted a small, hollow cloud for the two of you to simply hide in, at least until you were found or were ready to get back to flying.

The bunker itself was comfortable enough. It was large enough for the two of you to fit in, but small enough to not raise any eyebrows from the outside. You and Dash took a moment every now and then to take surveillance, just in case any members of 'the horde' might be snooping around.

When you weren't on the lookout, the two of you simply enjoyed a casual chat. You had been telling each other about the feats and daring escapes you had managed up to this point. Dash had a particularly impressive one involving using the colors of rainbows in the Falls Field to trick ponies into thinking it was her. You have no idea how she would have gotten away with that.

But of course, you both agreed that none of your other near-escapes even came close to the feat you accomplished earlier. That Rainboom attracted a lot of attention, sure, and it could have been the death of you, but in itself, it was the most amazing thing you had ever done. There was no way you would ever accomplish something like that again. You wondered if Roid Rage was okay after having been launched away. That must have been some force he went through to get launched that far.

After a few minutes, once Rainbow had managed to stop giggling, you spoke up. "So, any idea how many players there might be left?"

"Not sure. I don't think there are too many with flags, though. I saw a lot of ponies without them before I ran into you." She replies, smiling all the while.

"Maybe we'll actually make this happen then."

"Heck yeah! With as good as we are at flying, we got this in the bag!" She replies, folding her forelegs behind her head and leaning back coolly.

"Oh, come on, I'm not that awesome." You respond, feeling a bit bashful.

"Uh, hello!?" She sits back up. "Did you see what we did back there with Roid? That was amazing! It takes a lot of strength to pull something like that off, and you've got it!"

"Well, maybe I do. But hey, had it not been for you, I'd have been toast!"

"If it weren't for you, I might not have pulled that off!" She leans back again and closes her eyes. "I'm glad I picked you."

You stop yourself from responding right away. Something about that had been bugging you ever since she came to you for help. You thought it was nothing at first, but the more and more you thought about it, the more it just seemed out of place. "Dash," you begin. "I'd like to ask something."

"What's that?" She replies, her eyes gleaming.

"Why exactly did you want me to help you?" You ask.

She pulls her head back a little bit. "Oh, I dunno, you just seemed like a good flyer to me. And I was right, wasn't I?" Was she trying to change the subject?

"Sure, but you couldn't have known that just from how we met." You point out.

She begins to look a little nervous. "Um...call it a hunch? Besides, you were on that show! Wonderbolt Wonders! Only really good flyers get on that show!"

"Sure, but I was contestant #16, I got kicked off pretty early. Why would you pick me?" You respond, validating your point.

She simply looks at you with an 'are you serious' expression on her face. "You told me yesterday that you were #26."

Oh crap. "Uh, I did? Ah heh, must have gotten my numbers mixed up-" She cuts you off by putting her hoof to your mouth.

With a pleading expression on her face, she speaks. "You weren't #26 or #16, were you?" You simply stare into her big, magenta eyes, unable to respond. Something about her stare was just paralyzing you, cutting off your words. You don't know what it is, but they were captivating, hypnotizing even. Your vision darts between both of her eyes, hoping that one of them would paralyze you at least a little less than the other, but no dice. "You lied to me, didn't you?"

At last she removes her hoof from your lips and you find your words again. "Dash, I-" She cuts you off again.

"You were #9, right?"

You were afraid of this. She knows. She knows precisely who you are.

Contestant #9, one of the finalists on Wonderbolt Wonders.

And the one who dropped out first. Not because he was eliminated, but because he chose to quit.

"What...How did you...?" You respond.

She lets out a slight laugh before responding. "I kinda dig the Wonderbolts, you know. I know what goes on around them, and with how good you were? I wasn't about to forget your face." She gently pokes your chest.

"So...I guess you're wondering then..." You start.

"The whole world is wondering, dude." She responds. "You had that competition in the bag. Why did you quit?"

You let out a slight sigh, remembering your motivations for quitting. Some ponies would have thought your reasoning silly, but to you, it was everything. "You remember that other guy, Crash Course, right?"

"The guy who won? Yeah, what about him?" She asks.

"Well...He was kind of what drove me to quit." You reply.

"What!?" She suddenly looks furious. "He didn't make you quit, did he? Did he threaten you!?"

"No! No, it's not that...He didn't make me quit, but he's what made me want to quit, in a way." You reassure her.

"Wait, what?" She says with a confused look. "What do you mean?

"Just hear me out for a bit, okay?" You ask. She nods, and sits back. Taking a breath, you continue. "Crash Course and I kind of became friends because of that competition. He's a cool guy and everything, and one helluva flyer. And though I hate to admit it, you're right. I was better than him."

"So why'd you quit?" She asks again, forgetting to not interrupt. You didn't care though. Her interruptions at least told you she was interested.

"The truth? It's kind of what Thunderlane has now." You reply.

"What do you mean?" She asks, leaning forward slightly.

"Crash Course...I think he forgot what the competition was. As we got closer and closer to winning, he started to, well...lose it." She gives you a pondering look, prodding you to continue. "He became so obsessed with winning. He lost sight of the fact that the competition was a sort of game. It was a shot to be in the Wonderbolts, sure, but it was also for fun as well. He started lashing out at everyone else, putting himself above them. If the conversation wasn't about him winning, then he didn't care."

"So...him being crazy made you quit?" She asks, tilting her head slightly.

"Not exactly...After I saw what had happened to him, I realized something. I was worried that I would become that. The Wonderbolts, they're all fine and dandy, but if they can turn a pony as nice as Crash into, well...that, then maybe I didn't want to be a part of it." You let out a small sigh. "Every time I looked at him, I saw something in his eyes. At first, it was a sort of passion. That 'flame' of passion. He wanted to prove he was worth something, to show the world he had potential. But slowly, that flame changed into something else. A sort of hunger. He no longer cared about the competition, or having fun with it all. All he cared about was coming out victorious. I don't know if he's changed or not, or if he realized what he had become...And for that, I feel sorry for him."

A silence passes between the two of you. You weren't looking at her, but you could feel her staring at you. It was almost as if she were examining the validity of your words. You hadn't told this tale to many ponies, but the few that you had told, that simply laughed and called you a liar, saying you quit out of fear.

Their words were sort of true, in a way. You dropped out for the fear of becoming what Crash Course had become. A sort of monster. A monster with an appetite that could only be satisfied by victory. A cold, unfulfilled victory. You wondered every day if he had ever reflected on what he had become.

"Wow..." Rainbow says. You look up at her, and she gives you a sort of sympathetic look. "You're even cooler than I thought."

"Heh...thanks, I guess." You reply jokingly.

"No, really!" She slowly begins to lean closer to you. "I always thought you quit just because you thought you were too good for the Wonderbolts, or something..." She looks away, a slightly bashful expression on her face. "I had no idea it was for a reason like that..."

"It's fine...not many ponies know why. You're one of the few." You respond, sitting up slightly.

She smiles cutely. "Heheh, I guess I should be honored. Even more honored that you're helping me, right?"

You smile in return. "If you want...So, how do we go about beating Thunderlane?"

"You poor, deluded things, you'll never beat me!"

The two of you freeze. You didn't say that. She didn't say that. But you both were thinking the same thing.

Oh crap.

In an instant, the cloud bursts into vapor from a solid kick. You and Dash quickly bring yourself into flight with a quick flap of your wings. Looking up to the source of the voice, you find a familiar, dark-grey colt floating above you.

And he doesn't have a flag.

In less then a fraction of a second, you and Rainbow had whirled around and were flying away from your attacker. The beating of wings behind you had confirmed your fears that he was giving chase. Not taking time to look back, you fly forward and faster, dodging clouds like you had been doing for the better part of the morning.

Being in the Fair Field, there were plenty of clouds in your way. However, you had plenty of experience today in dodging them, and wasted no time in avoiding each and every one. Looking over to Dash, you can see her having as little trouble as you were. Her flight style, although incredibly quick and spunky, was actually quite graceful. She danced around the clouds without breaking a sweat, and had no issues whatsoever in her flight.

Bringing yourself back to your situation, you found yourself slowly being consumed by fog. You see Dash has a confused expression on her face as you slowly begin to lose your vision. The fog steadily grew thicker and thicker with each passing second.

The amount of actual clouds here was beginning to dwindle, with only a couple thrown in your way. You dodged them with ease, but realized that the clouds presented another problem. They had forced you off your original path, and only now do you realize you had lost Rainbow Dash in the mist. You couldn't even see Thunderlane.

In short, you were alone in the abyss as the prey.

You panic slightly, knowing that your only ally might be missing. "Dash!?" You call out. No response. You turn your head all around, trying to spot any sign of the mare.

You hear a chuckle. "What's wrong? Can't focus without your boss guiding you?"

"Thunderlane! Where are you!" You yell.

"I'm everywhere that you aren't, but at the same time, I'm nowhere at all!" He says, poorly disguising his mind-tricks.

"You aren't scaring me, Thunderlane! Show yourself!" You yell back into the abyss.

"As you WISH!" From your left, the colt comes flying at you with great speed. Pulsing your wings, you dodge him rather easily, and he vanishes back into the fog. "Ergh, you're quicker than you look!"

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" You ask. You begin flying forward, attempting to find her. You call her name out several times, trying to locate her.

"Man, are you obsessed with her or what?" Thunderlane's voice echos. You ignore it, and continue looking for her. "Oh, not talking to me now?"

"This isn't the real you, Thunderlane!" You yell back.

"And how would you know who the 'real me' is?" He asks back.

"Dash has told me how nice of a guy you are. Are you about to tell me that she would lie about that?"

"How nice of her, but I'm guessing she never told you the truth, huh?" He asks, tease in his voice.

"What are you talking about?"

"Uh, hello? Who do you think the record-holder was before me?"

"Wait, what!? Are you saying-"

"Of course, you idiot! Rainbow Dash!"

You're at a loss for words. If Rainbow Dash was the previous record holder, does that mean...she tricked you?

"Do you understand now? She's not doing this for me, or for you! She's wants you to help her win so she can get her record back!"

You stop moving forward. As much as you hated to believe it, all the evidence is right there. She picked the best flyer she knew besides herself, to eliminate one player in particular. That player being the current record-holder. If what Thunderlane said was true...

No. You saw that look in her eyes. She genuinely wanted to take Thunderlane down. Not for herself, but for him...at least, that's what you wanted to believe. Thunderlane's words held a vibe of truth in them. Who were you supposed to believe?

"Thunderlane...are you-" You stop mid-sentence when you hear a sound from behind you. Without a second thought, you immediately roll to your left, narrowly dodging a tackle from the colt.

"Gah!" He exclaims. "How do you do that!?"

Without responding, you turn to your right and begin flying blindly. You have no idea where this will lead you, but if you were gaining some distance between you and him, you were fine with it.

Your mind was spinning. Were his words true? Was she simply using you, or was he just trying to mess with you? Would Rainbow betray your trust like that, or was she more loyal than you knew?

Who should you trust?

After a few seconds of flying, you come to a small cloud among the fog. Without any other ideas, you take the cloud and begin to reshape it, letting you slip inside and hide. Once you were tucked away within the cloud, you constrict the entrance, letting you peek out of it through a small opening.

For a few seconds, you both hear and see nothing. The fog was incredibly thick, and you couldn't see more than twenty feet in front of you. You took a moment to consider your options. If you were not eliminated, you could always simply drop out of the game, and let Dash handle this on her own. You didn't want to resort to that if it turned out that Thunderlane was truly lying to you.

If you did manage to lose your flag, you could always take Dash down with you. You've proven that you are one of the few who can keep up with her as far as speed is concerned. But if it turns out she wasn't tricking you, what would come of that? You had no idea how to approach the situation, and your brain was mulling over every possible detail, trying to give you a hint as to what to do.

A sound from outside breaks your train of thought. Peeking through your cloud, you see Rainbow Dash, frantically looking about. You open your mouth to call out to her.

Time seems to slow down. Out of the corner of your eye, you see a dark-grey missile fly at Dash. You don't even get the chance to yell out before he wraps his hoof around her flag and promptly tears it from her back.

Her face contorts with anguish as she watches her flag fall to pieces in his hoof. Her eyes go wide, knowing her chances at winning were gone with the wind.

You were her only hope now.

Thunderlane gives a cocky smile before speaking. "And when I find your little boyfriend, I'll take him down too!" With that, he speeds off, leaving the foggy abyss.

You wait for a moment, not wanting to leave the cloud before Thunderlane was truly out of earshot. You watch as Rainbow begins to tremble in shock. Her face bears a completely baffled expression, and her bottom lip quivers. You can almost see tears forming on the edges of her eyes.

Not wanting her to be more heartbroken, you emerge from the cloud and present yourself. She looks over to you, sadness evident in her face.

"I...I'm sorry..." She manages.

"Dash. Tell me the truth." She reels back slightly. "Were you truly the record-holder before Thunderlane?"

"What? Y-Yeah, I was but-" Her eyes go wide. She suddenly gasps, catching your drift. "No!"

"Are you just trying to get your record back!?" You yell.

"No! I'm not! I just wanted Thunderlane to...." She pauses for a moment, looking away. She seemed to be searching for the words. "It's just like you and Crash Course!"

"Oh, really?" You ask sarcastically.

"Thunderlane has lost it, and I want him to get over it! Please, it's not what you think! I'm-" She freezes in mid-sentence as a sound from behind catches her attention. Looking behind her, you see the object that has invoked her fear. She doesn't turn around, knowing what's behind her.

It was a CloudCam. And it was staring right at you two.

Neither of you move for a moment. Dash looks at you with a pure fear in her features, her eye twitching slightly. Your eyes dart between her eyes and the camera. The camera silently watches the two of you from behind her. Without a sound, she simply mouths one word.

Run.

Chapter Six

Adrenaline pumping and blood rushing through your veins. It was a feeling you weren't fond...at least, at the moment.

Of course, it's a rather odd feeling. It's not every day you're being chased by the self-proclaimed 'best flyer in all of Ponyville.' Then again, considering her resume, that may not just be a self-made title. You don't know whether to be honored or frightened to have her chasing you.

"Get back here, you!"

Oh, right. Frightened.

Thanks to Thunderlane, you and Dash were forced into being enemies. Not so much enemies as you were rivals. That stupid CloudCam hasn't left you alone, and apparently finds your little chase scene here fascinating. As long as that thing is following you, you can't simply stop and talk with Dash. Any sort of fraternizing with the enemy results in disqualification, so your only option right now is to run.

You made your way out of the fog-infested area in which Rainbow had lost her flag. You didn't want to take a chance at getting ambushed in there. You already had your hooves full dealing with her. Thankfully, she wasn't putting up a huge fight, and you could tell she was trying to keep you in the game. If she really wanted to catch you, she probably could.

Instead, the two of you were playing a sort of game for the viewing audience. You had been flying for several minutes, just trying to look convincing for the camera. Whatever you two were doing, the audience must have loved it. The camera wouldn't let up chasing after you two.

"I'm gonna get you!" You hear Dash call out. You could hear the falsehood in her voice. She had been yelling like that ever since this game of cat-and-mouse started. You hoped her voice was muffled as far as the camera's sound was concerned, otherwise it wouldn't be hard to tell she was faking it.

Of course, the age-old obstacle of clouds was growing more annoying than it was useful. With most of the viewing audience probably knowing how good of a flyer Dash is, she couldn't simply lose you around a turn. She had to make this believable, lest you both be kicked out of the game and lose your chance at Thunderlane's defeat.

You still don't know if Dash's intentions behind breaking his record were honorable or not. Then again, if she only wanted her record back, why would she be letting you live? She would have no use for you now, seeing as she's out of the game. With both her and Thunderlane having been eliminated, would she really even care about the record at all, seeing as neither of them have a chance at improving upon it?

You still weren't sure, and there was still just a bit of doubt in your mind. For whatever reason, she wasn't taking you down yet. Until you had those answers, you figured it would be best to just continue along with the game.

At this point, you found yourself reentering the Falls Field. The number of rainbow-colored obstacles and strange absence of clouds confirmed that. As much as you would adore taking in the sights of the pastel-colored playground, the goose chase you found yourself involved in prevented that.

You realize that leading her in here was a bit of a bad move on your part. Rainbow Dash had supreme knowledge of this field, and could use it to its fullest in striking you down. She could take you down in a heartbeat if you let the candy-colored field get the better of you. Then again, perhaps that knowledge could come in handy...

You consider heading towards the Multicolor Maze again. Until then, you focus on avoiding being turned into a lollipop again. Weaving your way around the incoming pools of rainbow, you effortlessly glide around every incoming obstacle. Though the rainbow falls could potentially be more dangerous, there were nowhere near as many of them as there were clouds in the Fair Field.

Without even looking back, you know Dash was having as little trouble as you were. Knowing this wouldn't be near enough to shake her off your tail, you focus only on getting to the Multicolor Maze. If memory serves you correctly, a CloudCam won't follow you in there, giving you at least a little leeway on making some sort of plan.

Within seconds, you spot the giant maze floating in the sky, its colors glistening in the sunlight. Without wasting time, you direct yourself towards one of the entrances and dive right in, your pursuer in tow. Looking back, you see the CloudCam hovering near the entrance, refusing to follow. You figured they were programmed to avoid this place. Couldn't have clouds getting lost in the maze, now could they?

You turn a corner and continue to fly at a slower pace, allowing Rainbow to catch up to you. When she rounds the corner, she slows down to match your speed.

"Okay, we're good for now...." She says with a pondering look on her face.

"So why should I believe you about Thunderlane?" You ask, not wasting time.

"Seriously!? Is now the best time for this?" She replies curtly.

"Yes! Now, before we have to start running again!"

"But, I...Ugh, fine!" She throws her hooves up in frustration before continuing. "Did you know Thunderlane has a little brother?" You shake your head. "His name's Rumble, and he's pretty torn up over this."

"Wait, what?" You respond.

"Yeah, Thunderlane even brags to his little bro about it. Rumble hates it, and he himself asked me to break the record! He thought it might make Thunderlane a little less, y'know...a little less of a jerk."

"And why should I believe you?" You ask skeptically.

"Ugh, short of bringing Rumble here to tell you, I can't prove it, alright? You just have to believe me when I say I'm not lying to you!" She's almost yelling at this point. Even with what would be a solid reason, you still were a bit unsure.

You open your mouth to respond, but you're stopped at the sound of approaching wings. Rainbow seems to notice it as well, and simply mouths the word 'run.' Without thinking, you turn and begin flying away from the mare. You can hear her following suit, and when you look back, you see two more ponies had joined in the chase. Great, like you needed more pressure. At least they were lagging behind Rainbow.

Looking forward again, you see multiple turns coming up. You realize how bad of an idea this was on your part now. You have no idea how to get through this maze! Panicking slightly, you only hope that you can get lucky and escape by some miracle.

Suddenly, you feel your left hoof getting slapped. Without a second thought, or much of a choice, you turn to the left down a tunnel. Looking back, you see Rainbow nodding slightly. Was she guiding you through the maze?

Bringing your eyes forward again, you simply continue down the corridor of colors. It was almost like you were going to have an epileptic episode, what with all these colors bombarding your retinas. Fighting off the slight nausea from the rapid-flashing tunnels, you continue forward.

Another fork in the tunnel was coming up. You slow down ever so discreetly to allow Rainbow to catch up again. Once you heard her getting very close, you felt a solid hit on your right leg. Taking the hint, you speed up and head down the right turn. Glancing back, you see Rainbow had fallen behind a bit, and the other two ponies were still in pursuit of you.

The two of you continue this system of slow down, directions, and speed up through most of the maze. Each turn you took, you noticed the two unwanted pursuers were falling behind more and more. You kept it up, and gradually your hopes began to build, thinking you might make it out of the maze unscathed.

With another slap on your left hoof, you turn down the corridor without a second thought. You cringe slightly at the sight before you. A flag-less mare was hovering in midair ahead, waiting to ambush you!

You had to think fast. You can't tackle her, you can't turn around, and you can't simply turn into another path. With very limited options, you come up with a risky plan. You kick it up a notch and speed right toward her, not letting up. Her face contorts slightly with fear, but she doesn't back down. With uncertainty in her features, she continues to hover in your way.

You aren't giving in though, and hope that your pseudo bluff works. You continue to speed toward her. She was growing closer at an incredible rate. Just when you are but a few feet from her, she gasps and shuts her eyes out of fear.

That's your cue! At lightning speed, you twist yourself into a spin. You pulse your wings right as you go upside-down, and continue to spin. Once you're upright again, you tuck your wings in. Touching down on the bottom of the tunnel, you immediately bring yourself into a running position. Glancing back, you see the mare was just turning around to give chase, only to see her get thrown out of the way by Dash.

She brings herself into a reverse-flying position, her back facing you, and yells back. "He's mine!" If this were any other scenario, this wouldn't be as weird to hear.

Looking forward again, you see the exit to the tunnel is fast approaching! Kicking it up a notch, you race for it. Reaching the ledge, you jump off and bring yourself back into flight. You only hope that another CloudCam wouldn't end up chasing yo-

"You're not getting away from me!"

Why would Dash say something so cheesy? Unless... You glance back. Yep. A CloudCam was following her again.

Rolling your eyes at the persistent paparazzi pursuer, you fly a bit faster. At least you lost your followers from the tunnel. You hoped they could make their way out of the maze intact.

You suddenly begin to hear a loud, low-pitched siren. Strange, that was never mentioned in the opening ceremony. Is there some kind of emergency going on?

Looking up towards the sound, you see a gush of rainbow liquid falling right at you. Without thinking, you throw yourself into a barrel roll and narrowly dodge the incoming fall. Without slowing down, you look up. A large cloud with multiple ports on its underside was releasing new falls. The ports were numerous, and seemed to only serve the purpose of being a new obstacle. You curse the sick, otherworldly force who decided to throw these in your way.

Your multitasking skills are being put to the test now. You have to keep your eyes forward to avoid any existing falls. You look up constantly to keep a lookout for any new falls being released. You have to dodge any incoming falls. And to top it all off, you keep Rainbow's position in check, lest you get caught by her. All in all, a thrilling experience.

The falls overhead were being released in rapid succession. Why would they pick such a perfect time to let these things loose? You don't know, but you do know that you hate it. You prayed to Celestia that one of these falls would at least strike the CloudCam and get rid of it for you. Screw the budget, you want some mercy!

Through all the twisting and weaving around falls, you realize that your flight path had changed drastically. The Multicolor Maze was no longer behind you. Instead, it was to your left. How did this happen, and if you are this off-course, where's Rainbow?

At least one of these questions would be answered in the near future. Winding your way around another newly released fall, you suddenly find yourself face-to-face with Rainbow Dash.

Before you even get the chance to speak, you are suddenly hit by a torrent of water from above. Or, rather, a torrent of rainbow. Snapping your eyes open, you can't see anywhere in the thick liquid. With absolutely no sense of direction, you force yourself into a clumsy swim, just hoping to escape the fall.

After a few seconds of a less-than-graceful swim, you manage to get out. You rub your eyes and rapidly flap your wings to dispel the sticky liquid. Rainbows never were the best material to bathe in. After a second of flapping, you're able to keep yourself afloat in the air.

You turn around to the fall, only to be greeted by a rainbow-covered body flying at you.

After a rather painful collision, you and your attacker are sent spiraling downward. Both of you scream as you plummet, and you have absolutely no idea which way is what, further disorienting you. A few seconds of unguided falling pass before the two of you collapse onto a cloud. To your left is a pool of rainbow which lazily pours over the edge.

Your attacker lifts herself up and shakes her body, throwing rainbow-matter every which way. Some of it lands on your face, which you wipe off with a spare hoof. Once she had cleared her face to an acceptable state, she looks into your eyes.

The two of you go silent. This seemed like a familiar scenario.

With a rather noticeable blush on her face, she simply stammers for a few seconds. Why were her wings halfway unfolded? You noticed you had a warmth in your cheeks as well. Why did this seem to be such a common theme for you today?

A sound from behind her catches the attention of both of you. A CloudCam decided to broadcast this little scenario to the world. What was possibly one of the most awkward moments in your life, on your back with a rather cute mare on top of you, both of you soaking wet, is now live for every pony in the world to see. Wonderful.

She bites her bottom lip, knowing what was behind her. "Er, aha! I've got you now!" She exclaims, feigning victory in her voice. "This will all be over quick!"

She begins to reach for your flag. You needed to think, and fast. A bit of a difficult task considering your situation. Even then, options were short on supply. With hitting her out of the question, you had to think of some way to get her off of you in a believable fashion.

"Don't try anything fishy now!" She says, her hoof dragging your flag from underneath you. Think, dammit, think! What can you do? The cloud under your back is solid as stone, so you can't simply hope to bore through it. Time was running out!

"Don't try anything fishy now!" She repeats, emphasizing the word fishy. Her hoof was now wrapping around your flag, prepping to tear it off. Come on, think! What could you do!? Something tricky, something devious, something...fishy.

What's that word that rhymes with fish? Well, sort of rhymes with it? Dish? Bliss? Miss?

...Oh no. Is that really all you can do? Is there no other way?

Doesn't look like it. Whether or not you and her would enjoy this, you know she will kill you for it.

With as much reluctance as you could possibly bear, you bring your lips forward and lock them with hers. Her eyes go wide and she brings her head back slightly, but not enough to break it off. Her wings shoot up with an audible 'pomf,' and her body locks up. Just before you close your eyes, you can see her face has turned red as a rainbow.

She tasted sort of like berries. A mixture of all kinds, that somehow blended harmoniously into something sweet. Something, dare you say it, delectable. Almost like a rainbow of flavors. You dared not try anything with your tongue though, lest you get your skull ripped off.

After a few seconds, you pull away. Your cheeks are warmer than the sun, and rightfully so. She wasn't even looking at you. Her eyes were focused on nothing in particular, just staring off into the distance. Her wings were completely rigid, and her body was frozen in place.

"You...I....we just...uh..." She stammers helplessly, unable to form a sentence consisting of more than a few words.

"Ah...heh heh!" You chuckle helplessly. Taking the opportunity, you quickly slide out from beneath her. Standing up, you flap your wings and bring yourself into the air. She hasn't moved a muscle, and it doesn't look like she will for some time. Not wasting time, you fly off, with your flag intact.

At least the CloudCam was generous enough to not follow you, if only so it could broadcast someone else's embarrassment.

Chapter Seven

Back when you were younger, you often played spy-esque games with friends. Of course, they were just that; games. Generally, with games, you can always choose when to quit. With these games of espionage, you always tended to quit rather quickly. Why?

Because it gets old. Fast.

After narrowly escaping Rainbow Dash, you had done two things. The first, was that you had escaped once again to the Fair Field. You're currently bunked inside a low-floating cloud inside of a large hall. On all sides, large pillars held up a roof over your head, and the marble floor below was shiny enough to serve as a sort of mirror. With that, ponies were floating all about, scouring the hall for any stragglers.

The competition was really dwindling down now. You hadn't seen any other players with flags up to this point. You had seen dozens of pegasai flying about without flags, but not a single one with a flag. You seriously began to wonder whether or not you were the last one standing. Which is great, you know, no pressure.

The second thing you had done was mentally berate yourself over and over again. You could not stop questioning what drove you to do what you did to Dash. There had to be so many other peripherals of escape you could have chosen, yet you picked that one. Sure, you couldn't think of any other way to have escaped at the time, but that doesn't mean you had to go through with it.

You can only imagine Rainbow's fury after that. She is probably no less than pissed off that you did that. All her stammering must have been a result of her being unable to cope with her anger. Needless to say, you weren't looking forward to running into her again anytime soon.

You figured now would not be the best time to be fretting over your inevitable death at her hooves. Right now, you only wanted to focus on not losing your flag. Cautiously opening a small hole in the cloud you were hiding out in, you peek outside. As you expected, pegasai were flying all about and clouds drifted through the hall at lazy speeds. The hall itself was rather incongruous, and had plenty of room for all of its current inhabitants.

Some of the pegasai checked random clouds for any ponies who may be taking refuge in their interiors. This struck a pang of fear in you. If any of those ponies came to you, you would have to run faster than a cheetah on the hunt. If just one pony found you, everyone else would know about it in a heartbeat. The problem here is that your cloud, unlike all the others, was not moving. It bumped against a pillar while you were hiding in it, and lost all inertia. Simply put, you're a sitting duck.

If you didn't get out of here, there was no way you wouldn't be found. You couldn't simply fly out, not without getting spotted. You would need a plan. Some way to sneak out of here undetected. If you could make your way into a cloud that's moving, you could ride it right out of here. The only problem would be getting into such a cloud unseen.

You look around some more, being careful to avoid stirring so much. The clouds all around drifted through, most of them being funneled in through some sort of wind tunnel. Pegasai would pick random clouds to inspect every now and then. It was only a matter of time until someone noticed the little cloud in the corner that wasn't moving.

You needed to get out of here. Not only was the cloud you were in uncomfortably hot, but you risked being caught the longer you stayed. Looking towards the end of the hall where the clouds were floating in from, you spot one in particular that was drifting quite close to you. It almost looks like it will touch your cloud.

If you do this, you will need to be fast. The cloud approached lazily, and grew closer by the second. You need to time this perfectly. Shifting around a bit, you position yourself in such a way that you'll be able to scramble into the cloud as quick and cleanly as possible.

The cloud is right in your path now. You take a quick glance around, hoping no one was watching. With this being your best bet, you take hold of the edges of your cloud, and climb through. Pushing an opening in the approaching cloud, you scramble inside, and seal off your entrance. Slowly, the cloud drifts away from your previous chamber.

Your heart is beating at what should be a concerning rate. You could only pray that no one saw you move into here. You were reluctant to peek out of the cloud, for fear someone might notice your shifting. You figure that if anyone did notice you, you might as well prepare yourself, and figure out where they would be coming from.

Very delicately, you bring yourself up to the opposite wall of the cloud. Slowly, you begin to peel back some of the material, and peer outside. No one was heading directly for you at the moment, it seemed. Pegasai were bustling about, checking every nook and cranny of the hall, searching for any flags. You could only hope that you would drift out of here before anyone decided to check your vessel.

From behind another cloud, a yellow mare appears. You notice that she's eyeing your cloud in a rather unsettling way. Oh, no... She begins to approach you. You very slowly crawl away from your opening and bring yourself back, hoping the shadows of the cloud would mask you. Sweat begins to dribble down your muzzle. You could only hope that you were near a viable exit, and that you had it in you to outrun everyone in this hall.

You refuse to move a muscle. Any shift right now would be a dead giveaway to the approaching patrol. She doesn't let up on her approach, and seems set on checking your vessel. You hold your breath and wish for some kind of miracle.

The mare's attention suddenly shifts. She glances to the right of your cloud. You thought you heard someone calling out, maybe to her. For whatever reason, she turns, and flies off. Unlocking your muscles and letting out a deep sigh, you relax a bit, knowing you were just saved. You give a silent 'thank you' to whatever distracted her, knowing it just saved your flank.

You weren't out of the frying pan yet, though. You remain as still as you can, and watch as the hall passes by. Some pegasai eyed your cloud every now and then, but flew off within a few seconds. You slowly drift for a few minutes, before you finally notice that the sight of the hall's walls was being replaced with a clear view of the sky.

Slowly, you poke your head out of the cloud and look back. The hall was growing smaller as the distance between you and it grew. Retracting your head, you shift position to exit the cloud from the side that was facing away from the hall. You poke your head out.

...Only to be greeted by a pair of offset eyes.

It was that wall-eyed pegasus from earlier. She was staring right at you. Well, half way, at least. Her left eye was admiring the sun or something.

With only your head protruding from the cloud, she hasn't seen that you don't have a flag yet. You needed to think of something, fast.

"Uh..." You start shakily. "This cloud is all clear."

She partially stares at you, seemingly scrutinizing you. Her nose scrunches up a bit, and her eyes squint. After only a fraction of a second, she speaks. "Okey dokey!" With that, she simply flies off (upside-down, no less) without another word.

Knowing that you should not have gotten away with that, you shake your head. After waiting until she was far out of sight, you pull yourself out of the cloud and begin to fly. You were glad you got even a smidge of rest, even if it wasn't much. Having been running for the better part of the game, any rest you managed to get was well appreciated.

You start to fly away from the hall, taking great care to keep out of sight of any wandering eyes. Luckily, this area of the field wasn't heavily populated at the moment (something you were incredibly thankful for.). You figured that it wouldn't hurt to find somewhere to just chill for a moment.

After only a brief moment of flying, you come across a rather misshapen structure resting on a large, flat cloud. It must be some form of obstacle designed for the field. It was made of marble, much like the buildings you had been in before, but it looked like it had collapsed. Its structural integrity wasn't your concern though. You admired it for the fact that nobody else was around it at the moment.

Quickly gliding up to it, you work your way around a fallen pillar, and plant yourself down on the cloud platform. You were entirely out of sight of that hall in this spot. Leaning back on a pillar, you take a few deep breaths, and try to re-stabilize your heartbeat. That near-disastrous encounter with Ms. Wall-Eye caused your pulse to skyrocket, what with that having nearly led to your downfall. Thank Celestia she bought your bluff.

You wipe the sweat from your brow. Your wings were beginning to feel rather weary from all this excitement, and you only hoped that it wouldn't go on for much longer. With that thought, a problem presented itself. Just how would you know when there was only one pony standing? Would there be some sort of announcement, or something? It was never explained, so you have no idea if you would be last or not.

Either way, you figure you would cross that bridge when you got to it. You have more pressing matters to concern yourself with. One such matter being Rainbow Dash. You still have no idea where she may be, or what she may be thinking right now. You barely knew the lass, and you just kissed her. Could she sue you for that? She has plenty of witnesses.

Now you're just thinking nonsense. Surely she wouldn't do something like that. She knew as well as you did that your little stunt was the only way you would have gotten out of there in a believable fashion. You couldn't simply lie back and lose the game like a coward, could you?

Yet you could have lost. You could have simply taken the fall, and dropped out. After all, she still hasn't presented any bullet-proof evidence of her motives...or had she? She is out of the game. If restoring her record was her intention, why would she need you now? She has already lost. It would seem a tad pointless for her to keep you going now, considering she has no chance at redeeming her title now.

Though it is a bit of assumption on your part, you don't think Rainbow would be one to simply try and force someone to fall from grace just out of a grudge. She seems a bit hot-headed, sure, but would she really only be out to make Thunderlane lose out of spite? That's just child's play!

What she said about Thunderlane's little brother...Rumble, was it? She said that he specifically asked her to break the current record. That in itself sounds like a rather noble reason. Would she really make that up? No, no...there's no way someone could lie about that.

Your brain was in knots trying to figure it all out. You only wished that there would be some kind of sign pointing you the right way...

At that moment, a bright light suddenly fills your eyes, blinding you. You clench your eyes shut and cover them with your hooves, trying to filter out the sudden rays. After a few seconds, the light dissipates. Slowly, you bring your hooves down and cautiously open your eyes, afraid you would find yourself face to face with a pony.

When you confirm that there is no one immediately around you, you can't help but ask.

"What the heck was that?"

Looking around, you find nothing about the area had changed. Reaching back, you feel your flag was still intact, so that much is safe. There was really nothing that had just changed.

Rubbing your forehead a bit, you can't help but wonder what just happened. Had Celestia just played a joke on you, or something? You had heard a few rumors about how she is a bit of a prankster, but surely that wasn't-

A shift on your platform causes you to freeze. The weight caused the cloud to slightly dip behind you. Fearing the worst, you slowly turn your head around. You are immediately greeted with a pair of familiar, magenta eyes.

"Hey."

"RAINBOW!?" Without a second thought, you throw yourself into the air and attempt to fly away, only to be stopped dead in your tracks by a sharp pain at the base of your tail. Looking back down, she had grabbed your tail in a fraction of a second, and was holding you in place. For a mare, she has a strong grip.

"Calm down, I'm not taking your flag, dude." She says in a slightly annoyed manner.

"Oh, uh...heh heh!" You reply lamely, bringing yourself back down to her level. What exactly are you supposed to say to her? This is a bit of an odd scenario you were in, and you weren't sure how to approach it. "So...uh, are you-"

"That was a pretty ballsy thing you did back there." She replies, cutting you off. "I'll be honest, I didn't expect that, especially from somepony as reserved as you." Her face holds no emotion, save for the little smirk she was wearing.

"Oh! Uh, yeah, that! So, um..." You really felt like you were on the spot here. "You're not, like, mad about that, are you? I mean, it was the only way I could get away, and I mean, if you are mad, I'm sorry, I'll-"

She stops your rambling by putting a hoof to your mouth. "Dude, calm down. I'm not mad. I get it! What I was hoping you do wouldn't have been anywhere near as believable as what you did! And besides, uh..." She looks away, a rather noticeable blush present on her face. "...I'd be lying if I said I didn't like it."

Now it was your turn to blush. She enjoyed that? "Oh! Well, um...Gotta do what ya gotta do, right?" You reply awkwardly. You nervously rub your foreleg. "So, would you, I dunno...maybe want to-"

She cuts you off again. "Maybe we can talk about that later. We've got more important things right now." You mentally berate yourself for bringing that up, then nod slightly. She removes her hoof from your muzzle and continues, her voice suddenly far more serious. "Alright, things are gonna get really intense now. You're gonna have to give it your all to stay in the game now."

"Uh, quick question?" You interrupt. She nods, prodding you to continue. "Just how many are left in the game?"

"Dude, don't you know?" She replies. You respond with a quizzical look. "Did you not just see that big light a few minutes ago?"

"Yeah, what was that anyway?" You ask.

"That was the signal! Look at your flag, dude!" She points to the fabric draped along your back.

Looking back, you see your flag has radically altered. Rather than that cool purple, it was now a sleek gold color, and the patterns on its surface seemed to glow. The entire flag almost seemed to be shining, reflecting off any and all rays of light.

You turn your attention back to Dash. "Are you saying..."

"Yes!" She says excitedly, a smile on her face.

"You are the only one left!"

Remember how you felt nervous earlier? Take that, and multiply it by about one hundred. With that simple information, the entire game has just been turned on its head for you. You were the last stallion standing. It was you against every other pony in that pavilion at the start of the game. The lone soldier against the horde.

It was you against the world.

"Dash...How did I-"

"That's not important! What matters now is you staying alive!" She says, fierce as a tiger. "You're out of the frying pan and into the fire! Now," she says as she starts to draw on the cloud with her hoof. She traces out three circles before continuing. "We're in the Fair Field right now. From what I've been through, staying here would be suicide for you. Everypony will be looking for you here."

"Alright, so get out of here ASAP. Got it." You confirm.

"The Falls Field will be okay, but if you go there, be careful. Getting lost in there will get your flag ripped off, got it?" She says, almost sounding like a coach.

"Got it."

"And of course, the Foul Field." She looks up to you. "If you think you've got it in you, go there. A lot of ponies won't follow you there just out of fear alone. It really is a field that will kick your flank, 'kay?" You nod, letting her go on. "If anypony, Thunderlane will definitely be going for you in there. He won't rest until he knows you're done for, got it?"

"Avoid Thunderlane like a mother bucker, got it." You respond.

"The CloudCams will be all over you, so I can't really help you much. We're running out of time right now, too." She says while looking around.

"Wait, what?" You ask.

"That crazy lightshow you just saw? That was the signal. It basically tells everypony where you are right now."

"Th-They're all coming here right now!?" You ask incredulously.

"Yeah, so you'll need to get moving. I can't do much for you now. It's all up to you to break that record!" Gee, thanks for the confidence boost!

You look away from Dash. Your time here was running out. Soon enough, the horde would be upon you, trying to tear you down. Could you do this? Do you really have it in you to break that record?

"Thunderlane's record is seven minutes and twenty-six seconds. Your flag will keep your time, by the way." Looking back, you see that there was a small number ticking on the base of the flag. It was currently at one minute and seven seconds. Bringing your focus back to Dash, you suddenly find she's giving you a quick peck on the cheek. "Good luck out there, stud."

With that, she brings her hoof to your chest and pushes you off the cloud. Letting out a small yelp, you quickly remember you have wings. Whipping them open, you bring yourself into an upright position, and begin to head for the divide between the Foul and Falls Fields.

Looking around, you see pegasai on all sides, all preparing to bombard you. You quickly take stock on all the incoming pony-projectiles, and try to forge the best course of action. This won't be easy.

From above you to your left, was the best opening. You wait until the ponies all come relatively close to you. Once they had close the distance, you quickly throw yourself into a roll and head for the opening, easily bypassing all the incoming pegasai. Not making your life easy, more of them were showing up by the second, making you dodge to and fro in a mad dash to avoid all of them.

You constantly veer up, down, left, right, and every other possible direction to avoid the invaders. Your eyes are darting all over the place, relentlessly searching for the best path to take. Pegasai swarmed you from every angle, and with each successful dodge, the horde of ponies chasing you from behind grew in size. Within only a brief moment, the crowd behind you was made up of hundreds of ponies.

With all your dodging, you suddenly found yourself approaching the Falls Field yet again. Considering your options, that might not be the best place to take refuge in. Should you find yourself running into the Multicolor Maze, you would easily be boxed in. All they would need to do is wait for you at every possible exit. The rest of that field wouldn't do much good for you either.

As you grow closer, a cloud in your path suddenly bursts into vapor. From its mist rises a familiar colt.

"Hello there!" He yells out, his forelegs raised to catch you.

You pulse your wings and whip around him from his right, narrowly dodging his ambush and skewing your flight path entirely. With a cry of frustration, Thunderlane brings himself into a flying position and begins to give chase. With him in the lead of the herd, you suddenly felt more nervous. That anxiety was only added onto when you saw where you were headed.

The Foul Field was directly ahead.

This won't end well...

Chapter Eight

Wings churning, forehead burning, and sweat running, you push yourself to your absolute limits. It was for good reason, of course.

You have never been so scared in all your life.

You were digging your way deeper and deeper into the Foul Field. The word 'foul' doesn't even come close to doing the field justice. Dark storm clouds and high winds comparable to a hurricane bombarded you from all directions. The rain pelted against your face in a nonstop torrent, and your eyes were burning from the abuse.

Any sane pegasai would have simply high-tailed it out of here. Though you consider yourself relatively stable, the crowd of ponies giving chase to you argued otherwise. After you had entered this hell-hole, you noticed the group of pegasai behind you had shrunk slightly. Perhaps they wanted to keep what shred of sensibility they had.

Even then, the crowd hadn't exactly dissipated all that much. At least a hundred ponies were still on your tail, if not more. Some of them were competitors you had to deal with at least once. That mare who was eliminated first, the raging hulk of muscle Roid Rage, and a few others. Though you couldn't hear much, there wasn't any doubt in your mind that Roid had been yelling his trademark phrase this entire time.

To your left is a CloudCam. It still perplexed you as to how this thing could keep up with you, especially in this gale. They weren't kidding when they said it was crafted by the finest. Either way, it wouldn't let up as it silently observed the chase. How does a camera like that function in this storm?

You quickly bring a hoof up to wipe the excess water from your eyes. Your mane was absolutely soaked at this point. The extra weight from the water was tiring, but it didn't slow you down more than any of the ponies flying behind you. Even with the added weight, you were still ahead of them.

You figured Rainbow Dash had followed you in here, but she was lost in the midst of the crowd. You glance back every now and then to try and spot her, but no luck. She's completely swallowed up. Even a pony as colorful as her doesn't stick out in the mass of bodies.

One colt, however, did stand out.

"I'll crush you!"

Even with the storm, you could still hear him. Thunderlane was still in the lead of the herd. He almost had a sort of bloodlust in his eyes. Even if every pony else dropped out, he would go out on a limb to make sure you didn't defeat him, for whatever reason.

Your flag whipped around wildly on your back. It was being tossed all directions by the winds. Even in this cloudy inferno, the flag was easy to see, thanks to its unnatural glow. Its bright light cut through the clouds and made you stand out among the darkness.

Your wings are burning feverishly, crying out for you to stop flying. If only the pony who was the second to last to be eliminated could have held on for at least five more minutes. Maybe you could have gotten some substantial rest. You grit your teeth and fight the pain, determined to hold on until the end.

You crane your head around. Behind you, you see several contestants were beginning to drop out, not wanting any part of this madness. You don't blame them. Heck, you would like to join them but you can't, not quite yet. Turning your head just a bit more, you attempt to read the timer on your flag. You can't read it perfectly, but you manage to see that you've lasted for roughly three minutes at this point. Okay, four minutes longer, c'mon...

You turn your wings and twist your body all around, avoiding every incoming obstacle. Not only would crashing into any clouds here mean certain flag-removal, but it would also mean a free bath. As pleasant as that may sound, you weren't exactly in the mood for an impromptu shower.

All the wind was making it rather difficult to steer. You had nearly crashed several times simply because the wind forced you a certain direction. You considered using the wind to your advantage and help you steer, but you quickly discarded the thought. These winds almost seemed to have a mind of their own, trying to sabotage you. Instead, you had to work alone.

Alone. That's how you felt right now. With that entire crowd against you, you were a lone wolf. Your only ally in this was Rainbow, and even then, she was against you now too. Even if it was against her will, she was fighting against you. You felt horrible, having to force her into this. Especially after your little...engagement, earlier.

Your mind couldn't stop jumping back to that. Every time you thought of her, you thought of that moment. Perhaps it was just a male thing, but you couldn't help but feel it wasn't. You did enjoy it rather profusely, and she even admitted she did too. And she did say she would talk with you about that later...

You shake your head. This is the last wall of defense, the final round of the fight, the end of the line. There's no time to think about that. Such distractions will cost you the game if you let them get the better of you. Looking ahead again, you gracefully weave your way above, below, and around the clouds, attempting to get as far ahead of the crowd as you can. With losing them out of the option (you can thank your flag for that), you had to rely on endurance and speed.

"You won't beat my record, punk!"

Namely endurance.

You roll your eyes a bit. No time to turn back and respond to his comments, you focus only on not crashing. The wind shifts again, attempting to push you to your right. With the wind, a few clouds are thrown into your path as well. You quickly pulse your wings downward in an attempt to dodge them, and narrowly avoid two of the fluffy projectiles.

Another cloud is tossed in your way, and you barely manage to steer yourself out of its path. Your hooves scrape against its surface, taking a bit of its fluff with you as you pass. You correct yourself in midair, trying to realign yourself with gravity. Staving off a fit of vertigo, you continue your mad flight into the vortex.

Looking forward again, you find that the field is beginning to change. As much as you've prayed it would change for the better, it did not look like it was going to. The clouds were growing even darker, almost to the point of being pitch-black, and the rain was beginning to fall more heavily. This entire area almost seemed...unnatural. It was growing out of control...

Were you even in the Foul Field anymore?

Wondering if this was a bad idea or a terrible idea, you look back. The horde of ponies following you had greatly diminished. Only a few stragglers were still following, and you could even see Dash!

One by one, the ponies broke off and stopped giving chase. As the crowd continued to shrink, Thunderlane began to look back. Noticing his horde of helpers devolving, he begins to look incredulous.

"What the hay are you all doing!?" He shouts over the wind. "We need to stop him!"

The ponies ignore his pleas, and continue breaking away. He grits his teeth in anger, and his cheeks even begin to turn red with rage.

"Thunderlane!" A voice calls from above him. The two of you look up to see Rainbow flying overhead. "We need to stop! This is getting crazy! You know we shouldn't fly in this, it's not safe!"

"Not until I have his flag!" He yells back. She just rolls her eyes and continues chasing. "Just give me your flag, you punk!"

For a brief moment, you consider taking him up on that request. This was clearly becoming far more dangerous than it should be. This wasn't just the Foul Field anymore, it was a wild zone. An untamed and unconstrained patch of clouds. No pegasai was responsible for creating this area, and it simply manifested from the edge of the Foul Field. The longer you stay out here, the greater risk you have of getting seriously hurt.

You look back to Thunderlane and look right into his eyes. Right as you do, you see it. You know you can't back down now.

He had that look in his eyes. That same hunger that he had all those years ago.

Even under such insane circumstances, Thunderlane was too blind to realize what was happening around him. He only cares about his record, about standing above the rest. If you back down now, who knows what kind of pony he could turn into. If he wins, there might be no bringing him back.

At that moment, a bolt of lightning comes crashing down near you. Recoiling slightly, you look to where it struck to find the CloudCam that was following you had been utterly destroyed. It let out a strange sound before careening away and promptly exploding.

Not counting your blessings for having nearly lost your life, you keep going. With the gale-force winds slamming you from all directions, your wings are beginning to go numb at the strain on them. You also notice that you developed a migraine at some point.

You risk another glance at your flag. You find it is at six minutes and nineteen seconds. You're almost there! If you can only hold for just a little longer...

"Stop, please!" That voice...It sounded so weak and helpless. Was that Thunderlane? Looking back, you see his eyes are full of despair all of the sudden. "You don't get it!"

"What are you talking about!?" You say, not looking ahead.

"I need this record! It's the only reason he still cares about me!" Was that rainwater in his eyes, or...tears?

"What!? Who!?" Dash yells, still following close behind.

"My father! He thinks I'm worthless, okay!? This is all I have to show him I'm worth something, worth being his son! Please!" His voice was beginning to crack...was he serious?

He claims his father is behind this. You've heard of stories like that before, a child proving to their parents that they should be proud of them, but...were his claims genuine? This entire game, he's put you down, manipulated others, and has been an all-around jerk. Did he really feel that way?

Was his tough guy attitude just a mask? A way to hide his true reasoning behind this? If his father really did think that of him, it could explain why he was bitter. Yet he had that hunger in his eyes...Or did you misinterpret it? Looking into his eyes, you see nothing but fear. A fear so deep, it gives you chills. It wasn't a rational fear, like being afraid of this weather. It was something far deeper. Something incredibly close to his heart.

He wasn't lying. But you had to ask yourself: Would letting him win really help him?

If he was this afraid of his father's approval, perhaps it wasn't for the best that he won. His fear of losing and over-protectiveness of his record would drive him to madness one day. Similar to...him. If he won, what good would it do him in the long run?

You turn your head to look at him. "Sorry Thunderlane, I can't do that!"

His eyes widen a bit. "What!? Please! I'm begging you!" Even Rainbow Dash looks surprised at your decision.

You turn forward and ignore his pleas. Trying to filter out his constant yelling, you focus on not getting hit. By clouds or by lightning, everything was an obstacle for you. Looking up, you can see where lightning was about to strike, as a formation of light would manifest in certain spots in the canopy of clouds overhead. With a light formation growing directly ahead, you roll to your right and barely dodge a bolt in time.

The three of you dance around all the hazards and dangers of the stormy inferno, each trying to avoid losing the game, losing their record, or losing their life. The storm seemed to go on for miles, as far as the eye can see. There is seemingly no safe way out of this. If you were going down, you were going down fighting.

Looking over to Rainbow, you see that she is struggling just as much as you are. You desperately wanted her to get the hay out of here. She has no reason to be following you now. With the CloudCams no longer following you (or rather, no longer able to follow you) she doesn't have to follow you. You wanted her to get out of here, to find somewhere safe. She's risking herself over nothing, she doesn't have to be here!

Why would she continue this mad chase, knowing how dangerous it is? Is she only doing it to make sure you win, or is she concerned with your safety? Either way, as much as you wanted her out of here, that look of determination in her eyes said otherwise.

You narrowly dodge another cloud, and continue flying forward. Looking up, you spot another bolt about to strike just in time. Lifting yourself up, you stop just in front of it, as it flashes right before your face. You squeeze your eyes shut out of reaction, and your ears are ringing due to the loud boom following the bolt. Rubbing your eyes, you blindly fly forward. Your pause in midair had stopped all your inertia, and you needed to get moving. With no idea how much time you had left to go, you didn't want to stop at all.

Opening your eyes again, you're greeted with the worst obstacle possible.

Thunderlane.

"You're done!"

Before you get a chance to react, he tackles you in midair. Losing all sense of direction, you have no control as he promptly grabs your flag, and tears it right from your back.

Silence. No pony says a word. Other than the vicious storm surrounding you, not a sound is to be heard.

Rainbow stops in her tracks, roughly thirty feet from the two of you. She looks at the two of you, a strange mixture of shock, fear, and intrigue on her face. She can't bring herself to speak as the three of you simply hover in the air.

Thunderlane bears a wicked smile on his face. Your flag glows in his hoof, as he chuckles slightly. "Well now," he says, the cockiness in his voice having returned. "What did I tell you! You can't beat me, you only got," he pauses, and takes a very quick glance at your flag. "Seven minutes and twenty-three seconds!" He begins cackling like mad. All that fear he possessed mere moments ago, gone.

"I...lost..." You say, crestfallen.

"Of course you did! See for yourself!" He thrusts the flag to you, which you reluctantly take. All that work, putting yourself at risk so many times, all worthless. None of it came to fruition.

Looking down at the flag in your hooves, you suddenly felt confused. "Uh...Thunderlane?"

"What?" He asks in an uncaring manner.

"I think you might have read this wrong." You feel your spirits rise ever so slowly.

"What!?" He asks in a much more caring manner.

Lifting your free hoof, you wipe the excess rainwater off the flag. The numbers were no longer obscured, and now read:

7:29

He flies over to meet the object of your attention. Your face lifts, and his falls.

"I...won."

"I...lost."

With that, the flag dissipates in your hooves. As its last few bits blow away with the wind, Thunderlane bears an expressionless face.

"I...lost." He repeats. "I...I can't even...He'll be..."

"Thunderlane..." You say, putting a hoof on his shoulder.

"You broke the record!?" You and Thunderlane look over the interrupting voice. You see Dash bears a dumbstruck look on her face. You give her a simple nod, confirming your victory. Her eyes practically begin to glow.

And so do her wings, and her mane, and...

You look up. Directly above her, a ball of light was forming.

"DASH! LOOK OUT!"

"Huh?" She looks up and finds the ball crackling. Letting out a yelp, she pulses her wings and flies back. She's not quick enough, however, and the bolt makes contact with her left wing. Accompanying the crackling boom was a bloodcurdling scream.

Once your temporary blindness wears off, you look down to see Rainbow Dash plummeting.

"RAINBOW!" You yell out. "Thunderlane, c'mon!" Without pausing, you immediately begin to give chase to the falling pegasus. Looking back, you see Thunderlane is flying in the opposite direction.

You curse him under your breath, and focus only on helping Dash. She was falling rather fast, and you could tell she was fighting to stay conscious. Her wing was an unsettling shade of black, and she fruitlessly tried beating it to slow her descent.

Her futile attempts at flying only resulted in a pained look on her face. After a short period, she stops flailing, and looks to you, a desperate look in her eyes. She reaches up to you, begging for help.

No way in Tartarus would you let her die this way. You kick it up a notch and put even more strain on your already battered wings. Rain pelts your face and clouds fly past you as you plummet with her.

You notice the clouds around you taking a different shape. No longer were they in your way, but formed a tunnel around you. You're flying right into another vortex.

Lightning begins to bolt in from all directions. You fly all directions, trying to avoid each bolt. The vortex was pulling you every which way, trying to throw you off course. Dash was lucky she hasn't been hit again, and you can only pray that her lucky streak continues.

You notice all your dodging was only bringing you farther and farther from her. If you kept this up, you would lose her. You had to think fast! How could you speed up?

Looking around, you see the current is spinning towards the direction Rainbow is falling. If you could use that to your advantage...

You change course slightly, and fly towards the edge of the vortex. You realign yourself with the wall of clouds and begin flying like mad. Immediately, you could feel yourself gaining speed.

Though you could hardly see out of the clouds, you knew you were moving much faster now. Tears are brimming on the edges of your eyes from the forces on your body, and your wings are burning from the speed.

Slowly, you turn your head towards the inside of the vortex. You can barely see the shape of Rainbow as she grows near. You need to time this just right! If you miss...

You shake your head. No time to think about that! Giving it your all, you speed up even more, and slowly gain a bit of lead on Rainbow. Making sure you can line yourself up, you prepare to launch.

This is it, your only shot. You wait, just for a brief moment. Once you were about five feet ahead of her, you let loose. Pulsing your wings, you shoot out from the wall of the cloud. Turning upside-down, the world begins to move in slow-motion as she falls right towards you. At some point, she had managed to turn herself to face you. You open your forelegs, and right as the distance closes, you wrap around each other and dart out of the vortex.

Flying at mach speed, you quickly find yourself growing further and further away from the storm. The crackling of lightning and torrent of rain slowly died down as the two of you escaped the abyss.

With aching wings and a soaked mane, you breathe heavily to catch your breath. Looking down to Dash, she has almost a lustful look in her eyes.

"Thanks..." She whispers. She then closes her eyes and wraps her forelegs around you a bit tighter, pressing her head against your chest.

You simply smile in return, and continue the flight home.

Chapter Nine

You can't but notice your path has darkened, thanks to all your pacing.

After arriving back to the pavilion, Rainbow was quickly taken away to be examined. Thankfully, there were special tents set up beforehand just for situations like this. Manned by doctors, ponies were being treated namely for small injuries they may have acquired during the game. Many of them were simple injuries, like sprained wings or ankles, nothing major.

Rainbow's injury, however, was easily the most severe out of every pony here. You couldn't help but feel guilty for causing this. If you had just quit while you were ahead, none of this would have happened. You could have avoided ever going into the Foul Field. You could have just tried your luck in the Falls Field. No matter how you look at it, there is some way you could have avoided this situation.

So many worries were lingering in your mind. Would her wing be okay? Would she be able to fly again? Would she hate you for this? That last one is a bit of a stretch, but with how worried you were, you couldn't help but question every possibility. The fear of her being unable to fly was the biggest of them. How would she be able to live not flying? Isn't it her life's passion?

All of these questions and more plagued your mind nonstop as you paced in front of the tent Rainbow was in. Waiting for her to be tended to, you had been walking here for the better part of an hour. The award ceremony was supposed to take place right after the game ended, but when you arrived with the unconscious Rainbow Dash in your grip, the officials decided to hold off for a bit.

The doctors refused to allow you entry. They wanted as 'clean an environment as they could get.' Unable to be at her side, you settled for staying as close as they would allow you. Feeling responsible for this whole ordeal, you wanted to be there for when she wakes up...hopefully wakes up, anyway.

A few ponies had come by after hearing about the situation to give you their condolences. Some were dreadfully worried, and a few waited around for a bit. None of them had stayed for as long as you. You felt obligated to remain here, despite the protests of your leg.

You glance at the clock hanging on the tent. You find you've been pacing here for about an hour and a half. Letting out a sigh in worry, you continue pacing, being left to your thoughts.

"...Hey."

You raise your head. Approaching you was a colt. He bore red eyes and a severely tear-stained face.

"Thunderlane?" You respond.

He trots up to you before responding, his gaze set on the tent. "How is she?"

"I don't know, they won't tell me anything yet. She passed out by the time we got here." You respond, concern evident in your voice.

His gaze begins to jump all over the place, as if he was searching for what to say. "Look, I...I..." Small tears begin to form on the edges of his eyes, and he begins to choke up. "I-I'm sorry, dude...."

"Thunderlane-"

"No, let me finish." He says, cutting you off. "I....I shouldn't have just ditched you like that. I can't even...I can't forgive myself for that. And her?" He asks, pointing to the tent. "H-How could I ever face her after that? She'll hate me for good..." His lower lip was trembling slightly.

You look into his inflamed eyes. That hunger from before, completely gone. In its place was insurmountable grief. "Look, you had to get out of there. The longer you stayed, the more danger you would have been in. I'm sure she'll understand."

"You say that, but still....perhaps I should have just stayed in there. Maybe then I wouldn't have to put up with him." He replies.

That's something that had been bugging you when Rainbow wasn't dominating your thoughts. "Thunderlane...what you told me...was that true?"

"About...my father?" He replies hesitantly. You nod, prompting him to go on. He looks to the ground before continuing. "I wasn't kidding. He's just so...so...unbearable."

"How so?"

"He, well....He can't accept failure. He won't tolerate anything less than first place. He's just....so obsessed with victory, he forces me and my little bro into everything he can, trying to get us to win. I mean...It's always the same thing. 'Win, win, win!' I..." He stops for a moment, drawing a shuddering breath. "...I bucking hate him sometimes..."

"Thunderlane..." You place a comforting hoof on his shoulder.

"He's so...I can't stand him. I just, I..." A tear runs down his face. "After this, I don't know what he'll do..."

You could feel him shiver ever so slightly under your hoof. "Is...Is it really that bad?"

He glances around uncomfortably several times. "You have no idea, dude..."

For all the trouble he may have given you throughout this day, you couldn't help but feel bad for him. A perfection-obsessed father, controlling his son with an iron grip against his will. It wasn't exactly the healthiest lifestyle, you figured. Though you yourself never grew up in something like that, you knew it couldn't be pleasant.

And this colt was living evidence of that. He was quivering in front of you in fear over his inevitable punishment. Something about this just rubbed you the wrong way. Though you couldn't offer much, you wanted to at least help ease his nerves.

"Thunderlane," you begin, taking a more serious tone. "Your dad needs to understand this. Nopony is perfect. We're all bound to make some mistakes, and lose a few rounds here and there. It's not about winning every time, it's the fact that you tried that's important." Thunderlane looks up to you, a bit of surprise on his face. You continue. "If your father can't get it through his head that nopony can win every time, then, well, buck him. You need to stand up to him, and let him know that you are a great flyer, and one helluva competitor. I've seen that with my own eyes to know it's true."

"I..." He stammers. "I don't know if I-"

"Thunderlane, don't doubt yourself. What happened to that fierce Thunderlane, the one I was running from out in the field? What happened to that swagger? Is this the real Thunderlane, the one who cowers before a bit of opposition?" He lifts his hoof, and back his head up a bit. "You're strong, Thunderlane, and if I've learned anything today, it's that you are a fighter. Don't let some stallion's words make you back down, you hear me?"

He simply stares into your eyes for a moment before lowering his head, eyes closed. His breathing seems to slowly level out, and his expression slowly changes. Rather than the fear-induced look he had, it slowly adapts into a scowl.

"...You know what?" He whispers. His head shoots up, and he looks at you with a fierce gaze. "You're right. I'm not gonna...I'm not gonna let that jerk run my life! I am a good flyer! I don't care what he says! I held that record for a year!" He says, his voice growing louder with each word. "Yeah! I don't need his approval! I'm an awesome flyer!"

"That's the spirit!" You reply.

"If he says anything about this, buck him! I don't need his critique! I might've lost, but I nearly died trying!" As true as that was, it still unsettled you a bit hearing it.

"Aheheh, yeah..."

"And hey." He says, turning to face you. "You are a damn good flyer too. Those moves out there...you have some serious skills. I can see why she wanted you to help her."

"Heh, yeah, I- Wait, you knew I was helping her?" You ask, a tinge of fear in your voice.

He smiles. "It ain't that hard to figure out, dude. But hey," he places his hoof on your shoulder. "Don't worry. You earned that record."

Looking into his eyes, you can't help but smile yourself. "Thanks, Thunderlane..."

He smiles a bit bigger as he retracts his hoof. "Alright...I'm gonna head out and see if I can find my little bro." He takes to the air. "When she wakes up, let Dash know that....that I'm sorry. Really."

"Don't worry," you respond. "I will."

He flashes one last smile, then takes off, leaving you alone again. You look to the ground with a smile. You hoped that everything would work out for the best for him.

Looking back the tent, the clock lets you know you've been here for nearly two hours. Letting out a sigh, you continue to wait. You wished the doctors would have the courtesy to at least let you know everything was okay.

Suddenly, the entry flaps on the tent opened. Looks like you would get your wish. Stepping out was a dark brown stallion, adorned in a white coat. Around his neck hung a stethoscope, and he looked to you with an expressionless face.

You immediately step up to him. "How is she?"

A small smile forms on his face. "She's going to make a full recovery." You let out a sigh of relief, knowing she wouldn't be crippled for life. "Though she won't be able to fly for some time, her wing was only temporarily disabled by the bolt. Miraculously, it only nicked her wing. If it had been any more direct, she might have lost it."

"How long until she can fly again?" You ask.

"We're not entirely sure, but we would suggest she doesn't try to fly for at least three months, with only small exercises after that." He puts a hoof on your shoulder. "She's incredibly lucky to have somepony like you." Your mind tossed that around for a moment. To have somepony like you...how exactly did he mean that?

"....Hm. Thanks."

He gives a small smile. "Now then, would you like to see her?" You nod, and he begins to turn around.

...Only to stop in his tracks.

The tent opens once more. Looking past him, you see a familiar, prismatic mane approaching.

"...Rainbow?" Her mane is scraggly, and she has bags under her eyes from exhaustion. Her wing is wrapped up tight in bandages.

"...Hey." She says weakly.

The doctor responds before you can speak. "M-Ma'am, what are you doing? You should be resting!"

"Don't worry, I'm fine," she responds. "Besides, you've got bigger problems. The colt in there is gettin' antsy again." To punctuate her point, you hear the sound of some pony waking up in a very violent manner.

"Oh no, not again. Uh..." He looks unsure of himself for a moment before he turns to Dash. "Just don't go hurting yourself. That wing is tender enough as is." She simply nods, and he retreats back into the tent.

Once the doctor was out of view, Dash turns to you once again. She has that same look on her face from earlier. She slowly walks up to you. The two of you simply stand there for a moment, unable to say anything, or possibly waiting for the other to start. You're not sure exactly how to start. What do you say to the pony whose life you just saved? And what does she say in return?

After a moment, you finally decide to break the ice. "So..." You start smoothly.

"So." She says, not breaking eye contact.

"I, uh...how are you?" Stupid.

"Hehe, been better, I guess. But you can't bring this mare down!" She says, lifting a hoof for effect.

"Heh, y-yeah..." You pause for a moment, not knowing what to say next. You didn't want to bring up Thunderlane, not quite yet. You wanted to save that for another time. As such, you were having trouble forming words. "So...no flying for three months?" Way to throw salt in the wounds.

She turns her gaze to her bandaged wing. "Yeah, kinda sucks. But hey," she says, looking back to you. "Better than never flying again, right?"

"Definitely, yeah..." You reply, rubbing the back of your head.

"Did they hold the award ceremony yet?" She suddenly asks.

"Oh, no, they haven't. They're holding it off until I say, actually." You reply.

"Good." She suddenly scoots closer to you, never breaking eye-contact. "I didn't want to miss it."

You smile a bit before glancing away. "Dash, I...I'm really happy you're okay. This is all my fault, and I...I'm sorry I put you through this."

She suddenly looks a bit more distressed. "Wh-What? This isn't your fault! If I didn't want to be out there with you, I wouldn't have stayed."

"But, I thought you-"

"I don't care about that record. I'm happy you broke it, but...I followed you because I was worried about you, dude." She puts a hoof on your shoulder and looks to the ground. "I was...I didn't want you to get hurt."

"But...you got hurt in my place."

She continues staring at the ground for a bit before smiling. "But hey, we're fine, right? It could have been a lot worse!"

"Well, yeah..." You start. "Still, three months, maybe even more, without flying. I still can't help but feel that I-"

You're cut off as she suddenly plants her hooves on your cheeks and kisses you. Your mind shuts down at the sensation of her lips pressing against yours. That familiar taste of berries was still there. This time, however, it was amplified as she pushed into the kiss with copious amounts of passion. Her functioning wing flapped slowly as she leaned into you ever so slowly, and she pulled you closer as well. After a moment, you finally gain a bit of control on your body again as you push back into her, further deepening the kiss.

After several seconds the two of you pull away, tingles running through your body. She gazes into your eyes lovingly without pulling herself any farther away. "Dash-"

She cuts you off with a hoof to the lips. "Shut up. I don't wanna hear it." She says, smiling. You simply smile under her hoof and nod. "Now, don't we have an award ceremony to attend?"

~*~*~

"Uh, Dash?"

"Yeah?"

"You sure about this?"

"Oh, come on, what's the big deal?"

"I don't remember this many ponies being in the game."

"Doesn't mean they don't want to see this!"

"But still...not very settling."

You don't normally get nervous about anything these days, but the crowd in front of you was making it difficult not to be.

The award ceremony was about to begin. From behind the stage, you and Dash watched as the crowd in front of the platform grew. Pegasai of all shapes and sizes gathered to attend. Though many of them were contestants you recognized, a lot of them were unfamiliar. They must have been families of the contestants.

The personnel of the game allowed Dash to come backstage with you at your request. After the incident, you really didn't want to let her be alone for any brief moment of time. Especially after your 'shenanigans' earlier.

You feel your heartrate increasing slightly. "I didn't expect the crowd to get this huge..."

"Stop worrying! All you gotta do is accept the prize, wave to the crowd, and you're good!" You figured she was right, since she probably went through the same thing.

You take a few breaths. "Yeah, yeah, alright. Let's do this. So, when are they gonna-"

"Fillies and Gentlecolts!" A mare's voice booms. "Welcome one and all to the Award Ceremony of the 37th iteration of Turbulence Tag!"

The crowd erupts into a boom of applause. Hooves stomp, cheers are sung, and a few airhorns blared. You figured the personnel weren't fond of those. No one is.

"For the procedure," the mare on stage starts. "Allow me to once again welcome Cirrus Streak!"

From behind the curtain on the stage, Cirrus emerges once again. The crowd erupts into applause once more, and Cirrus waves to them all, waiting for them to settle. Once the applause dies down, he speaks.

"Thank you all for attending, everypony." He starts. "To those of you competed, I sincerely thank you for joining us in this little festivity. You all battled valiantly, and it was a pleasure to have you all compete!" Some of the competitors flew above the crowd and made a few gestures, and the audience continued to applaud them. "I would also like to thank those who viewed, both here and at home. It is your continued support that keeps the spirit of this game alive!"

The crowd cheers once again. At this point, it grew a bit monotonous to you. You just wanted to get this over with, despite how big of an honor it should be.

"Now then," Cirrus continues. "It is my great honor to welcome the winner and the new record-holder of this year's Turbulence Tag!"

Before you step out onto the stage, Rainbow gives you a quick peck on the cheek. "Good luck out there, stud."

Blushing slightly, you step out into the view of the crowd. Right as you become visible, the crowd roars with applause and cheers. A few mares flew above the audience to give you some questionable gestures. You dared not look back to Rainbow Dash.

On the screen behind Cirrus, a projector was displaying several images. On the left was your face, along with your name. On the top right was record of your time, and below it was a box displaying some of your performance in the game. It currently showed you outrunning Roid Rage.

You focus only on getting to the center of the stage with Cirrus Streak. Once you reached him, he turned to face you fully.

"Young stallion, you have proven yourself a fantastic flyer, one of the highest magnitude." He says, making you feel slightly giddy for some reason. "It is with great honor that I present to you, this!"

With that, a purple mare approached the two of you, carrying a folded cloth in her front hooves. She quickly reached Cirrus, and he unfolded the cloth. Beneath the fold was a pendant that glowed in the sunlight.

"For proving your mettle, and for setting a new standard, I award you with this, the Turbulence Token of Tenacity!"

Strange name, you think to yourself. He lifts the medal over your head and places it on your neck. The fabric around your neck was a blue and white cloth. The pendant consisted of two golden wings, and between them was a lightning bolt carved of diamond. A bit of an unsettling jewel, but you weren't about to complain.

"Thank you." You reply simply. The two of you give a small bow to each other, and turn to face the crowd.

"Let's hear it for our champion!" Cirrus bellows.

The crowd explodes with cheers, from stallions, mares, and foals alike. You lift a hoof and begin to wave at the crowd, smiling all the while. You recognized a few faces, like that cross-eyed mare who was cheering like a maniac.

One face, however, caught your eye. A dark-grey stallion who wasn't hollering or absolutely freaking out. On his back, a young colt was waving to you, cheering. He stood with a rather stoic look on his face. You stop smiling for a minute as you stare at him. After a few seconds, he gives a small smile. A smile which you graciously return.

You glance to your side, and look at Rainbow. She was grinning ear to ear, and you thought you saw a small tear in her eye. You give her a awkward wave, and she returns the gesture, blowing you a kiss for good measure.

You smile dumbly, and return your attention to the crowd. Perhaps this wasn't so bad after all...

~*~*~

After giving out a few thanks and receiving more applause, the ceremony finally came to an end. At this point, you were being bombarded with questions by some young foals.

"How did it feel being in that whirlwind?"

"Was the Foul Field scary?"

"Where did you learn to do that rolling trick?"

Question upon questions poured in from all sorts of ponies. You graciously answered all you could, though some of them you had no real answer for. In the chaos, you lost track of Rainbow Dash, much to your chagrin.

Eventually, the crowd begins to dissipate. Figuring it was time to finish up here, you turn around to begin your search for Dash.

...Only to be greeted with a hulking wall of muscle.

Stopping in your tracks, you feel your heart leap into your throat. He simply stared at you with his eyes. For once, he wasn't bearing his teeth.

"Uh...." You begin, unsure of what to say. He wasn't ticked off about being launched some five hundred feet, was he?

After a few seconds of him uncomfortably staring at you, he quickly lifts a hoof. You flinch slightly, expecting him to strike you. When the hit doesn't come, you look back to his hoof, which was simply waiting in front of you.

Cautiously, you raise a hoof and bump it against his. "So, uh...we cool?" You ask tentatively.

"Yeah." He responds, his voice not bearing its trademark ferocity. With that, he simply walks away without another word.

Feeling somewhat stupefied at what just happened, you shake your head. Did you just imagine that?

"See? I told you he was cool."

A familiar and very welcome voice from behind snaps you out of your stupor. Turning around, you find the lovely face of Rainbow Dash approaching you, a smile on her face.

"Heh, yeah, but it's just kinda...strange seeing him so calm for once." You reply.

"Yeah, but still. He's awesome at parties, I can say that." She replies. "So..."

"...What?" You ask.

"How does it feel, being the big winner?"

It was a question that had plagued you since the beginning. 'How were you going to feel,' was now 'How do you feel.' You had never expected to get this far, so now that you were here, it was a good question.

How do you feel?

You had met a mare. You had been involuntarily selected to be in a famous game. You had been baffled by a remodeled, iconic building. You had made a rival. You had witnessed the beginning of a great event. You had witnessed the creator of said event in action. You had avoided being destroyed by a beast of a pony. You had let out the truth about yourself. You had witnessed your best ally turn enemy. You had out-flown Ponyville's greatest flyer. You had outsmarted many a pony. You had won the game. You had bested unbearable conditions. You had saved a mare's life. You had set someone straight with their father. You had broken a record. And lastly, you had met the mare of your dreams.

All in all...

"I'd say...I feel pretty good right about now."

Rainbow Dash smiles in return, and gives you a quick kiss on the lips. Leaning back, she speaks. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's."

With that, you flap your wings and take to the air, ready to return home.

...

"Ahem."

You suddenly feel the most powerful urge to facehoof ever. Returning to the ground, you smile sheepishly and let out a small chuckle. "Heh, sorry about that."

She laughs a bit and punches you lightly. "You're such a dolt!"

With that, you lower your back legs. She climbs aboard and wraps her hooves around your chest.

"Ready to go?" You ask.

She gives you a peck on the cheek. "Yeah, let's."

With that, you flap your wings and take to the air, ready to return home.

Chapter One

Adrenaline rushing and blood pumping through your veins. It was a feeling you were fond of.

You were currently on your usual run through the Ponyville Park. It was a trek that you had made a point of performing every day. Some pegasai thought it strange that you would spend more time running and strengthening your legs than you would your wings.

But, you had more than enough training for your wings. You had gotten plenty of that years ago, back in your tryout days. Sure, you made sure to give them plenty of workout time as well, but you were more focused on your other wares these days.

Running along the dirt path, you passed several landmarks you had memorized. The park fountain, that booth that sells snowcones, the park center, the works. It was all serene and pretty, and many ponies took their time to admire the natural beauty of the place. You, however, had seen it all enough times. You only ever stopped in one spot to catch your breath, and you weren't quite there yet.

Your hooves pounding on the ground and sweat running down your face, you continue your run. The water bottle strapped to your waist was sloshing about with your inertia, and your dry throat was crying out for a drink. You opted to wait on that until you reached your resting point. There was no real need to stop so abruptly for a drink, seeing as you had plenty of room to yourself. The path you chose was one that was easily wide enough to allow you to maneuver around other ponies that may be in your way while still maintaining your speed. You learned to not take foreign paths without having done a quick pre-check through them. It wasn't a pretty crash. At least the mare's baby wasn't hurt.

Just as your legs were beginning to ache, you spot your usual stopping point; a lone tree on a small hill. You liked to just pause here and catch your breath. It had a good view of the rest of the park, as well as a lovely view of the sky. It also came equipped with a cool breeze, which was something you lavished in.

Slowing your pace to a casual trot, you waltz right up to the tree and plant yourself under its shade. Taking a few deep breaths and wiping the sweat from your brow, you lean back slightly to cool down. You had been running for the better part of an hour, and really needed a small break. Of course, you still had the return trip home, but for now, you only wanted to regain some lost energy.

Leaning back, you rest your head on the tree and take in the serenity of the area. With summer fast approaching, the flowers were in full bloom and the bees were buzzing about, absolutely giddy in their presence. Birds were chirping cheerily overhead, and a light breeze blew through the field. The breeze made quick work of the burning sensation on your body, and you were relieved in its cool embrace. The breeze had a slightly sweet smell to it, not unlike honey.

Your heart was still beating furiously, but it was gradually slowing. You relish in the cool protection the tree provided from the burning sun. Even though you made this usual rest almost every day, you still loved it. Even better was the fact that not many ponies were around in this section of the park. That fact may have ever-so-slightly influenced your decision to pick this place.

Pulling the water bottle off of your waist, you twist off the cap and take a swig. You simply allow the crystal-clear liquid to flow down your throat, providing the hydration you needed oh-so much. Running does take quite a bit out of a pony, after all. You dip a bit of the water on your hoof and dab your head with it, cooling yourself further. The air was unusually hot today, and though the breeze helped, the cooling effect of the water felt great. After a few more sips, you put the cap back on and set it on the ground, resuming your rest.

Looking around, you notice a bench that you had not seen in this area before. It must be a new addition. Looking closer, you see that the bench sports an ad on its backrest. It appears to be an ad for the Wonderbolts. On it are three ponies you recognize. Two of them are longtime Wonderbolt veterans, Spitfire and Soarin'. The last one was the new guy. The one you knew all too well; Crash Course.

You chuckle to yourself slightly. Though his name sounds like it would go against his mission statement, you knew him well enough to not be fooled by that. That colt has some serious flying skills. Heck, he might not have gotten into the group had it not been for that.

But, then again, he might not have gotten in. Not if you hadn't done what you did. You still wonder every day if what you did was the right thing. You had seen performances of him on TV and whatnot. He's just as cocky as he was back then. Perhaps if you had done him better, he might have changed...

Shaking your head, you go back to focusing on only recharging, so to speak. You take a deep breath, and quickly let it out as a sigh. You usually had a schedule that you would follow, where you would only bask here for a few minutes before resuming your run. But today, you felt like stretching out your resting time just a teeny bit longer than usual.

Looking up to the sky, you see that it is almost entirely clear. The weather crew did a great job clearing the sky today. Usually it takes them longer to finish up. There are a few stragglers here and there, but for the most part, there isn't a thing obstructing your view.

In fact, the only thing really distracting is that little speck that seems to be growing.

Wait, what?

"....ooooook ooOOoOuuUuUUUTT!!"

Before you even have a chance to move, you're hit full force by the incoming projectile. Feathers fly and bodies tumble as you and your new assailant are sent spiraling down the hill. Rolling over one another, the earth around you is spinning and your head begins to grow dizzy from the tumble. You can hear both your grunts and the other pony's as you spin. Your vision is filled with the all colors of the rainbow. And dirt. Lots of dirt.

After several, painful seconds of rolling, you and the pony who tackled you come to a stop. Your head is still spinning, but slowly the world realigns itself. Blinking several times, you dispel whats left of the vertigo. Looking upward, you finally get a look at your assailant.

As it turns out, it's a mare. A rather familiar one at that. She had a rather short mane consisting of all the colors of the rainbow, and her eyes were a sharp magenta. Her body was almost the same shade as the sky. Her cheeks were an unusual shade of red as she stared back into your own eyes.

Before you even begin to wonder why, you realize she's practically straddling you and her face was mere inches from yours.

"Um..." She starts shakily. She pulses her wings and lifts herself off of you. Now hovering, she continues. "I, uh, heheh! S-Sorry about that!"

Lifting yourself into a sitting position, you rub the back of your head. "Urgh, it's no trouble- ow!" You feel a stinging pain in the back of your head.

"Oh crap, are you okay?" She asks, genuinely concerned. She floats down to you and begins to examine your head.

"Yeah, just something on the back of my head..." Feeling around, you feel something small stabbing the back of your head.

"Uh...here, let me see." The mare gets behind you and begins to part your mane, looking for the obstructing object. After a few seconds of her digging through your hair, you feel a sharp pain.

"OW! What the heck!?" You yell by accident.

"Sorry! I had to get this out!" Looking back to her, you find her holding a large splinter. It was bigger than a toothpick!

"Woah...uh, thanks..." You gently rub your hoof through your hair, trying to find any more obstructions. When you don't feel anything, you let out a sigh and stand up.

"Yeah...s-sorry about that, I kinda messed up a new maneuver I'm trying to perfect." She says, sounding bashful.

"Eh, could've been worse, right?" You reply, trying to calm her. It seems to work, and she gives a small smile. Looking at the mare, you can now see her fully. She's wearing two small, white saddlebags. You couldn't help but wonder why she would be performing stunts with bags on. Her Cutie Mark displays a cloud giving off a rainbow-colored lightning bolt. Something about her was incredibly familiar. "Say, what's your name?" You ask.

"Oh, I'm Rainbow Dash, best flyer in all of Ponyville!" So much for subtlety, you muse. But you had heard her name before.

"Wait...the same one who performed the Sonic Rainboom at the Best Young Flyer's Competition?" You ask.

"Yup, the one and only!" She gives a slight pose to go along with her statement. You remember seeing that explosion of colors. Though you yourself couldn't attend the competition, the explosion she created went on for miles. It was quite a sight. Bringing yourself back from that memory, you realize she's been staring at you. It almost looked like she was examining you. "Hey...you look familiar...do I know you?"

You were worried she might recognize you. You were only on TV for millions to see, after all. "Yeah, you might know me from that show, Wonderbolt Wonders." The Wonderbolt Wonders...you thought back to your time on the show. Pegasai competed in a series of events for a chance to be on the Wonderbolts team. The competition was slowly narrowed down to only one winner, who would go on to be in the Wonderbolts.

"Wait, were you a contestant!?" You nod. Suddenly, she gives an adorable fangirl squeal. "Oh my gosh! You got a chance to be in the Wonderbolts!"

Your stomach twists a little. You didn't just have the chance. You were practically guaranteed a place on the squad. That is, if you had went through with it. "Well, yeah...but, I didn't make it, heheh..." It was a small lie. You technically didn't make it, if not for the reason she was thinking.

"Wow, what contestant were you?" She asks. If she's as astute with the show as you think, she might remember the stunt you pulled. You really didn't want her to know which one you happened to be, otherwise she might question...

"I was, uh, #26." You picked a number of a contestant who had been eliminated rather early.

"Oh...Hm. Thought you were someone else." She looks confused. She probably would know which one you really were if you had given her the correct number. "But hey, you must be a pretty good flyer to have been picked for the show! They don't let ponies in that easily!"

"Well, I'm not too shabby..." You really didn't want to gloat. It wasn't your style.

"You gonna show off those skills at the game?"

"Game?" You ask. "What game?"

"Uh, duh! Cloudsdale's competition, Turbulence Tag!"

"Hm...I've heard the name, but I forget. What is it?" Her eyes light up like a foal's in a candy store.

"It's this big competition they hold in Cloudsdale. It's kinda like a zombie game. Each player has a flag, and if your flag gets removed, then you're out, and you have to help take out all the other players!" She constantly gestures in her explanation. "And that's not all! If you're the last one standing, you can set the record!"

"Record?" You ask.

"Yeah! When only one pony is left, a clock starts. Hold your flag for as long as you can, and you can be the new record-holder of Turbulence Tag!" She suddenly looks distraught and turns her head away. "Er...yeah..."

Her sudden change in mood confused you. "Something wrong?"

"Yeah...that record is kinda why I'm playing." You fight the urge to roll your eyes. With how she boasted earlier, you figured she would want that record. She looks towards you. "B-But that's not why!" She quickly adds. She must have sensed what you were thinking.

"Well, why is it then?" You're genuinely curious. If not for herself, then why go for the record?

"Well...It's kinda weird. Y'see, a friend of mine is the current record-holder. And yeah, I'm happy for him to have it and all...well, I was. After he got that record, he kinda went, well, crazy." She says, rubbing her foreleg.

"What do you mean?"

"It's all he talks about now. You can't talk to the guy without him bringing it up! He acts like he's better than everypony else because of it!" She lets out a groan. "I mean, yeah, I boast about stuff, I'll admit. But he acts like he's the king of Cloudsdale because of that stupid record!"

"And just who is this pony, anyway?"

"His name's Thunderlane. He's lazy, yeah, but he's actually a really good flyer. He broke the record last year, and he hasn't shut up about it since. I was hoping that if I break his record this year, maybe he'd cool it." She suddenly gasps with a smile on her face. "Hey! Maybe you could help me! You're a good flyer, right?"

"W-Well, yeah, but-"

She leans in close to you. "Could you help me break his record?" Her eyes are wide with anticipation and that 'puppy dog' look. For whatever reason, she seriously wants your help.

You take a moment to consider everything. On one hoof, you really didn't want to end up being that record-holder. There was a good reason you dodged the spotlight years ago, and this would be another chance at it. Would you really want to go against your morals and break that record?

On the other hoof, how would you even go about winning? If this sport is as big as she makes it out to be, what are the odds of you even being victorious? Who knows how many ponies are going to participate. You don't doubt yourself, sure, but if the attending cast is overwhelmingly large, what are your chances?

On another hoof, why would this mare come to you for help? Other than knowing you from television, she has no ties to you. You're flattered by her offer, in a way, but doesn't she have any other, more willing friends? Why would she turn to a complete stranger?

On yet another hoof, how could you say no to those adorable eyes?

"Well...maybe I could-"

"Great!" She takes a paper out of her bags and thrusts it into your chest. "Here's the signup sheet! Just fill it out and bring it with you to the Great Hall in Cloudsdale tomorrow!"

"T-Tomorrow? Wait, it's tomorrow!?" You reply, completely taken aback.

"Yep! So you better get ready!" She suddenly takes to the air. "I'll see you there, stud!" And with that, she's gone.

One part of your brain was just wondering 'what the heck just happened?' The other part of your brain was mulling over something else entirely. Something about that little transaction just didn't seem right. Looking down to the signup sheet in your hooves, you couldn't help but feel something was...off.

But, your thoughts were being glazed over by one statement you couldn't get off your mind.

"What the heck just happened?"