The Ballad of Wingless the Pegasus

Chapters

A (Somewhat) Unnoticed Arrival
Returning to the Scene
You say alcoholic, I say alcohol enthusiast!
*Dramatic Flashback Sequence Initiated*
*Dramatic Flashback Sequence Re-Initiated*

A (Somewhat) Unnoticed Arrival

The birds chirped happily along the quiet back road from Cloudsdale, the only other noise being the squeaking wheels of an old cart being pulled along the gravel. Even the hooves of the young colt attached to it were oddly quiet. The stallion stopped the overladen cart with difficulty, and looked at the sign before his destination.

“Welcome to Ponyville.”

He grunted a mirthless laugh and resumed his journey into the small village. Before anypony saw him, he pulled a long dirty cloak from his saddlebags and threw it over him. He pulled the hood over his eyes, straining against the harness as he pulled the cart up the hill into town. This early in the morning, not many stores had opened their doors. Shopkeepers were setting up their stands and cleaning up before the morning rush of customers. He wheeled past one bakery with a particularly delicious looking facade, a pink mare sweeping the entrance to what he could now see was “Sugarcube Corner.” She looked up and, spotting the hooded figure, squealed and scooted alongside, matching his speed.

“Hi! My name’s Pinkie Pie! I haven’t seen you around before, although I haven’t seen your face yet and it would be really weird for me to know who you are without seeing your face or cutie mark yet. Speaking of which, why are you hiding your face? -GASP- Are you a spy? Are you like Mane Bond from those movies? OOOH wait ARE you Mane Bond? Oh NO! I didn’t just give away your cover did I? Oh my goodness this is so exciting I’ve never been friends with a spy before! Of course how could I know if one of my friends was a spy? There’s Twilight, she’s pretty smart and close to the Princesses, so she COULD be a spy, but I don’t know if..."

His face unseen, the rambling mare never noticed the growing irritation of the stranger until he snapped, a growl in his voice. “HEY! I don’t care who you are, and who I am is none of your damned business! There’s no WAY I would be friends with somepony as overly annoying as you! So just... PISS OFF! Shit...!”

He pulled away from the shocked and hurt looking Pinkie Pie, who sat back on her haunches and let out a quiet sob. He glanced back at her, thinking to himself, “Hmmm...I was pretty rude back there, maybe I should... naaah, I’m just sobering up is all. I just need a drink” He spotted a small cafe with a little foal in front setting up a little newspaper stand.

“Hey kid!" he said stopping in front of the cafe. He unlatched himself and walked up to the little colt. “How much for a paper?”

“Two bits sir!” the little one squeaked out. The elder reached into his saddle bag and pulled out an indiscriminate amount of bits and held them out to the young one who took it with wide eyes. “Keep the change,” he said as he grabbed his paper and headed to one of the tables in the small serving court of the cafe. Not wanting to be seen, he took a seat in the back corner, facing a wall. He plopped his paper in front of him as the waiter approached him.

“Good morning sir and welcome to Obsonium Café, my name is Phillipé. What can I get for you today?” The unicorn waiter asked, order pad hovering in front of his upturned nose.

“Hay bacon sandwich, lettuce, tomato, salt, and scotch whisky, on the rocks...make that two scotches.” He didn’t have to look up at the waiter to notice the sneer in his voice.

“SIR, it’s only Seven AM, surely there is something more suitable, perhaps a coffee, or tea, or...” The hooded colt interrupted.

“I didn’t order a damned lecture, now are you going to bring me my food and drink or do I have to buy this restaurant and FIRE you just so you can get it through that thick skull of yours this is a restaurant and not a rehab clinic?”

The waiter was silent until he snapped his order pad shut. “Y-yes sir, of course sir.” He trotted away. Now alone, the stranger sighed and turned his attention to his paper. He flipped it open only to find his face staring back at him. It was a picture of the news conference the day before yesterday, he recognized it from the nervous sweat pouring from his face. He scanned over himself, seeing his usually well groomed hair unkempt and in his eyes, plastered to his brow with perspiration. Looking closer he took notice of his back. He hadn’t even tried to hide those ugly nubs. His eye searched until he found the right headline.

SEAMLESS, SON OF LATE AERONAUTICAL OUTFITTER BANKRUPTS COMPANY

NOW MISSING, FAMILY OFFERS 10,000 BIT REWARD

“Oh shit,” Seamless said aloud. He read on:

(Cloudsdale, APP) Seamless, or as he is infamously dubbed, “Wingless” was reported missing today by distraught Family and friends. (he laughed at that last word) Seamless, pictured above, was last seen leaving Monday’s news conference in which he announced that the long successful custom tailoring service, Hem & Seam Incorporated, was bankrupt and is closing it’s doors indefinitely. The family business has long been known for their innovations in aeronautical attire and formal wear, more specifically being the sole provider of uniforms for the racing and acrobatics team, The Wonderbolts. Along with other very prominent customers, Hem & Seam has provided almost all formal wear for the royal family.

Hem & Seam inc has been run by Seamless’ family for more than five generations, recently being handed down by his late father, Hem. There were no reasons given as to why a still successful company is bankrupt, or closing shop, but for years constant rumors and police reports of Seamless’ unruly spending on unknown, unrelated projects and drunken escapades are to blame.

“We are just so worried about little Seamless!” His aunt Lacey choked through tears. “He’s never been the most stable boy after his little...’accident’” Seamless is well known for his eccentric behavior in and out of flight school, but probably most notable of all was an impromptu race between winner of the Young Flyers Competition and Element of Harmony, Rainbow Dash. This resulted in him breaking a camp speed record but also in a devastating crash where both of his wings were accidentally amputated.

Seamless is a very lean pegasus with a red coat and mane with black streaks in the latter. His identifying marks include his amputated wings and a parachute cutie mark. If you have any information at all, please contact....

Seamless stopped reading and folded up his paper, his mind racing around, “So, they’re already looking for me, eh? Not surprising, all the ‘families’ money is actually MY money. Wonder where the hell they scraped up 10,000 bits anyway...”

He stared at the wall contemplating ways of changing his cutie mark. So immersed in thought he never noticed the two mares sit at the table behind him. So focussed was he he didn’t notice one fly up to him until she tapped him on the shoulder. “Hold on a moment, I want to see a paper,” she said to her friend. “Hey buddy, can I borrow your paper?”

He waved her off, “Yeah uh-huh, go for it.”

“Thanks.” She snatched it off the table just as the waiter came back with the order. Seamless snapped back into reality at the arrival of his food.

“Is there anything else I could get you sir?” All he received in return was a grunt and a shake of the head. “Ahem...you’re welcome...” He looked over at the two fillies behind Seamless. “I’ll be with you girls in a moment.”

“Thank you Pillipé, take your time,” a small voice responded. As soft and quiet as the voice was, it caught Seamless’ attention. He recognized that voice...from somewhere. And now that he thought about it, he recognized the other too. He couldn’t turn and look for fear of being seen by somepony he knew, so he grabbed his glass of scotch and sipped it, leaning back in his chair to the conversation they were having.

“Why did you want a newspaper?” the soft voice asked.

"Twilight said I was mentioned on the front page! I don’t know why, some reported probably saw an awesome trick I...did... Hey. hey this is an article about Les.”

Seamless’ heart stopped. She used his old nickname. But only two fillies ever used it before...”but no, it can’t be...”

“Really?” the soft voice continued. “What does it say?”

“Uhhh apparently he bankrupted Hem & Seam...not surprised. Woah, he’s missing! 10,000 bit reward!”

“Oh my goodness! I hope he’s okay...” the quiet one trailed off.

“Oh so do I! I hope he’s healthy enough to come here so I can give him a piece of my mind, and a bit of hoof in his ass!” The louder one said with force.

“Oh Rainbow Dash, you don’t really mean that do you? I know you and Seamless didn’t separate on...good terms.”

Worst fears come true, Seamless’ heart nearly popped. It WAS Rainbow Dash. And who he guessed must be Fluttershy too. “Why, Celestia, why oh why did I come HERE?”

“SHHHH! I don’t want anypony to know I know him that well!” She leaned in closer to whisper to Fluttershy. “And ‘good terms?’ How about NO terms? The last time I ever saw him he was bleeding, dying on the finish line.”

Seamless’ mind raced, looking for a way to slip past the two without being noticed.

“And of course did he ever bother to write?” Dash Continued “Maybe during this long time try to find me? NO! As far as I’m concerned, ‘Wingless’ IS dead!”

His mind snapped. Grabbing his saddlebag he poured bits next to his uneaten sandwich. He galloped past the returning Phillipé and the unsuspecting fillies, knocking over the waiter and the girls’ table. he quickly strapped himself to his cart and rumbled off as fast as he could down the street.

“Woah, what’s his deal?” Dash stared at the dust cloud left behind.

“I don’t know. I think he’s just incredibly rude.” Phillipé said as he dusted himself off. “I didn’t expect a threat from my first customer of the day...or at all to be honest.”

“I wonder if that’s the same pony who just upset Pinkie Pie?” Fluttershy wondered.

Phillipé picked up the table with his magic and straightened it out. “I believe he’s the stallion who will be buying Chaise’s old furniture shop down the road.”

“You mean the old guy’s shop by my place?” Dash asked.

The Waiter thought for a moment, then nodded. “If you mean the cloud house above South Main Street, then yes.”

Rainbow Dash looked down at her hooves, thinking to herself for a moment. But then she suddenly jumped into the air. “I uh, gotta run home real quick, I...forgot to feed Tank! Yeah...” She flew up, grabbed a stray cloud, and was off.

Tired and breathless, Seamless stopped running a couple of blocks and turns from the Café. He caught his breath and out from under his hood. He had stopped right in front of his new home. An old clydesdale sat in a rocker, watching him, in front of an old shop called “Chaise’s Quality Furniture.” Seamless unhooked himself and trotted up to the old timer.

“Are you Chaise?” He asked the old timer.

“That I am sonny, and you must be the young buck wantin’ to buy my store.” He replied with a wheeze.

“Yes, I am. You said in your post 4,000 bits, as-is and I can move in right away?”

“That’s right! Place is empty, except for the upstairs apartment has a couple things you can have. There’s a shipping port in the back where you can unload your cart. I have the deed right here, just sign it and she’s all yours!” Chaise stood and picked up the deed and an old quill from beside his rocker and held them both out.

Seamless Pulled a sack from his cart labeled “For the shop” and tossed it at Chaise’s hooves. He then grabbed the deed, signed it, and handed it back over to the ageing stallion. Chaise looked at it and smiled.

“Alright Mr. hehe ‘Cherry Tomato’ you’re all set. I’ll get this over to the mayor’s office right quick! here...is you copy." He tore a paper off from the carbon paper on the back and handed it to the other colt. "May I ask, what do you plan on doin’ with my old shop?”

Seamless rehooked himself to his cart and began pulling it around back of the shop. “None of your Bucking business, get the hell off my property.”

Chaise stared incredulously at the cloaked pony and slowly walked away with his sack of bits. He cast a frown back at his old shop unaware that the conversation, along with the insult he just had was eavesdropped upon from the cloud hanging unusually close to the ground above. Rainbow Dash pulled her head back onto the cloud.

“Well well Mr. ‘Cherry Tomato.’ After the prank I’m about to pull, that will be the last rude thing you dare to say to another pony in this town!”

“So...why can’t Twilight come?” Dash asked Pinkie Pie through the dark. The two had hidden themselves in an alleyway across from the old Furniture shop.

“She said she needed to get up early in the morning to do some shopping. Something about Spikey having the hiccups and setting her bed on fire again.” Pinkie Shivered. “Plus it’s really cold out tonight!”

Dash rolled her eyes. “Yeah, whatever. So, did you bring the stuff!?”

“Yep! It’s all here!” She motioned to the small cart behind her. “One bucket full of molasses, a BIG bag of feathers, Mrs. Cake’s exercise trampoline, a spool of strong thread and the cart itself. So what kind of prank are we going to do?”

“Okay, it’s like this. See those steps on the side of his shop? He has to go up those steps to get to his apartment. So when he goes up, he will hit a trip wire, and this bucket of molasses will swing down and cover him in the sticky stuff! And of course he’ll be all like ‘Ahhh what is this?’ and stumble back and fall onto the trampoline! That will spring him up into the bag of feathers making him look like a chicken! And THEN as he’s falling from the bag of feathers, he’ll land in the cart, which will roll down Main Street! The steepest hill in town I might remind you. He won’t know what hit him, and he’ll go for the ride of his life! Isn’t it an AWESOME plan?”

Dash beamed at Pinkie, but her smile fell right away when she saw the frown on her face. “I... don’t know Dash, that sounds like he could really get hurt.”

“So what?” Dash asked. “He deserves it either way. Besides this is revenge for whatever he said to you, and just his general rude...ness!”

“Dashie! I don’t want him hurt!” She gave Dash a small smile. “I only prank for fun silly! I don’t want revenge. Maybe if we make it a little safer, or do something that will make him laugh...”

Dash interrupted, “No, we’re doing it my way.”

Pinkie looked down for a moment. “Then I won’t do it.” She unhooked herself from the cart and started walking away. “Sorry Dashie, and please, try not to hurt him.”

“Wait! PINKIE! Grrrr....alright, fine, I’ll do it myself!” And with that Rainbow dash set off to make her plans ready. She set up the feathers and molasses, and stashed the cart and trampoline nearby for when they were needed. After double checking everything, she flew back to her waiting spot to wait.

An hour passed. Then two. By hour three she was fighting a losing battle with her eyelids. But once they shut, she was out like a light. Hours later, just as Celestia brought the sun up, Dash woke with a start, a slamming door being the culprit. She blinked twice, then realized she was still in the alleyway. Looking out, she could see “Mr. Tomato’s” hooded silhouette locking up the front door to the shop. He then walked around the corner, turned his rear to Dash’s hiding spot, and started up the stairs.

Dash sprung into action, flying silently across the road she went to spot where the trampoline and cart were hidden, grabbed the former and flew it into just the right position at the bottom of the steps. On her way back to get the cart, however, she realized even the fastest flyer in Equestria wasn’t fast enough now, hearing the trip wire snap. She raced around the corner in time to see the bucket swing towards his head.

In the long hours of this chilly morning, the thick molasses had chilled nearly solid, so instead of covering it’s target in a mass of sticky goo, it connected with it’s target with a sickening crunch. The force of the impact knocked him back, hard. He sailed down the steps, bounced once, and onto the trampoline, which shot him upwards, past the bag of feathers, and down in front of the shop door with another loud crunch.

Meanwhile, Dash was glued to one spot, watching her mistake unfold before her eyes. She stared at his motionless body lying on the sidewalk. Dash didn’t even realize she wasn’t flying anymore until she willed herself to move closer. She stumbled over and gently nudged him. The only response was a gurgle. She looked down closer. Her pupils dilated as she saw a slow trickle of blood flowing from his snout. Those same eyes then darted around the street, scanning for witnesses, though they found none. She whispered a fearful apology to the stallion, and took off toward her home.

Returning to the Scene

Trotting down Main Street Ponyville, was the odd, yet not so unusual sight of a purple unicorn with a mile-long list floating just in front of her nose. Just behind, was the even stranger sight of a stack of boxes with a pair of scaly legs trying to keep up with the fast paced mare.

A young dragon's face appeared around the teetering parcels and asked with a groan, "Twilight, why are we doing so much shopping today? We already bought ALL this junk two days ago! And I thought we were just shopping for a new bed..."

Not taking her eyes off the checklist, Twilight Sparkle replied impatiently, "Because Spike, I figured since we have to go across town to Chaise's shop, we might as well pick up some more supplies along the way. Like the saying goes Spike, 'Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it!'"

Spike grumbles and rolled his eyes. "We could have at least picked this stuff up on our way back, my claws are KILLING m-oof!"

His sentence was cut short as he walked right into the solid still rump of his friend. Most of the packages flew up and away, bottles of ink and other liquids shattering as they struck the ground.

"Whu-what the hay Twilight? What gives?.Spike said, rubbing his head.

Twilight was staring ahead, confusion crossing her face. "That's weird, that's Chaise's shop up ahead, but the sign is gone...and all the windows are painted black. Did he close shop in the past couple days?"

"Huh...I don't know. If he did, he did it in a hurry. Look at all the garbage he left around!" Spike pointed to the littered ground in front of the shop.

The two walked closer to the shop. Indeed somepony had left this place a mess. Somepony had hung a bucket of...something, a trampoline, a dirty sack and an old cart. She moved in to inspect the junk but stopped short when she heard a grumbling gurgle. "Spike, you can't be hungry yet, we just ate!"

"It wasn't me Twilight. It came from under there," he pointed at the sack.

Twilight leaned in, and she could hear it more clearly. Curious as she was, she grabbed the rag with her magic and moved it away from what was underneath. She gasped, seeing the unconscious stallion, the front of his nose caked in dried blood. She poked him with her hoof, and got no response. She leaned in close to his head. "Well, he's breathing pretty shallow, but they're even breaths."

She moved around him, taking in his injuries. "Well, his nose appears broken. But his pupils dilate, so I don't think he has a brain injury..." She said lifting his eyelids and shining some light from her horn in each. "Spike, find out who he is, check his cutie mark, and see if he has any I.D. or something."

Spike nodded and lifted the saddle bags off the unconscious colt, but dropped them, seeing his back. "Whoa."

Twilight followed Spike eyes and saw what he had "whoa'd." She had to choke back another gasp at what she saw. On his back were two mangled nubs, both hairless, where a pair of wings must have once been. Twilight stuttered for a moment, "Ah...-ahem- um...Well...quit staring Spike, can you see his cutie mark?"

"Yeah, it's a...parachute. That explains those then." he said pointing at the scarred nubs.

"Spike, don't be rude! That cutie mark rings a bell, but I can't remember...oh well, look in his bags, maybe there's something in there." Twilight continued checking for other injuries, this time using a spell, but her gaze continued to drift towards the stallion's back.

Spike went about digging in the bags, pulling out three empty bottles of whiskey, a large bag and a rolled up piece of paper. Spike kicked the bottles back in the saddle bags, and opened up the small sack, pulling up a clawful of bits. "Jeez, this guy doesn't just carry small change, does he?" He put the coins back and turned his attention to the paper. "Hey, it's a deed. Looks like Chaise DID sell his place. Heh, Cherry Tomato. Must be this guy."

Twilight finished checking Cherry Tomato for injuries. "Well, he isn't seriously hurt, just a broken nose and a gash on the back of his head. Maybe a little concussion. I think he should see a doctor, but just in case, we shouldn't move him far. Let's get him up into his apartment. Find his keys Spike."

Spike dug through the bags again and pulled out a set of key. He rushed up to unlock and hold the door open for Twilight as she levitated him up the stairs.

The glow around Seamless faded, as Doctor Cook released his spell. "Well miss Sparkle, you were right, his nose is broken, and he does have a slight concussion. He may get a little feverish too, from that big cut on the back of his head, and from being outside for a long time last night. He should be okay, as long as he stays in bed for a week or so, have regularly changed bandages and make sure he gets plenty of fluids." Twilight nodded.

"And you may want to clean this place up as best you can." he added , wrinkling his nose at the appearance of the apartment. And true enough, the place was a veritable dump. There was a thick layer of dirt on the floor, walls, and even the ceiling. There was only one small coated window as well, so dirty you couldn't tell if it was day or night outside. In the corner there was a toilet, as to whether it functioned, neither Twilight or Spike refused to check.

The doctor snapped shut his bag and moved to the door. "I do have to say miss Sparkle, I'm surprised you are agreeing to look after this stallion, considering."

Twilight looked confused and uneasy at that. "Considering...what, exactly?"

Doctor Cook laughed and opened the door. "No worries Miss Sparkle, I adhere to my Hippocoltic Oath. I won't say who he is to anypony. I'll just say, 'good luck' to you and your dragon friend." With that he closed the door and walked off.

Twilight felt sick to her stomach. She looked down at Spike who had the same uneasy look in his eye. "Am I supposed to know who Cherry Tomato is? Do you know?"

"Not a clue. I think we would recognize a famous pony, especially with the name Cherry Tomato."

"Hmmm." Twilight thought to herself for a moment. But her train of thought could not be held long, breathing in the musty air of the room. She looked around her at the dirty conditions. The air seemed to thicken, and walls seemed to close in around her. "Ugh...this must be how Rarity feels some of the...ALL of the time."

"C'mon Spike, let's get out of here for a few minutes, I need some air." Twilight picked up her things, and she and Spike walked down to the front of the shop. "Although...we shouldn't leave him alone for long."

"Uh, Twilight? How is it you're supposed to look after him? I mean, we don't know him, and you've got that report on Saddle Arabian export laws to finish for the princess, don't you?"

"Oh no! I almost forgot about that! Ohhhh but...what about...Wait. What about Fluttershy? She's good with animals, so I'm sure she could change a bandage well enough! Why don't you run along and find her Spike, ask her to come by so I can explain things."

This time Spike's stomach actually did grumble. He looked up at Twilight, grinning sheepishly.

Twilight closed her eyes sighed, "And tonight I'll get you one of those Sapphire Cupcakes from Sugarcube Corner."

She opened her eyes at Spike only to find no baby dragon occupying the spot. Only a large dust cloud remained, which she gazed along, seeing Spike at the end, sprinting as fast as his little legs could take him. She sat back and looked up at the clear blue sky. "Great, Rainbow Dash moved her house again. I'm getting really tired of trying to find her when I need her."

No sooner had the words left her lips, that particular pegasus leaped out from an alleyway across the street, hollering about a white cat clawing into her hindquarters. "Bloody...CAT!" she bellowed bucking around until the cat released her. The fluffy feline flew away and gracefully landed on her paws. Giving Dash a distasteful stare, she turned and sauntered off through town.

"I hope Rarity puts you in a cat kennel for a MONTH Opal!" she yelled after the cat, who paid no-never-mind to the literally butt hurt mare.

"Rainbow Dash!"

Dash spun around, looking in every direction, spouting apologies to whoever called her name, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I REALLY didn't mean it!, I'll pay for everything, I swear! I..." she spotted the unicorn no more than ten feet away. "T-Twilight?"

She looked relieved, but suddenly looked a little fearful and very ashamed. "Oh um...h-hey Twilight! How... are you? What uh, are you doing...HERE?"

"Never mind me," she scolded, moving closer. "What...was THAT all about?"

Rainbow Dash shuffled her hoof in the dirt. "Oh, uhhh, that was Rarity's cat. Opalescence. She really needs to be an inside cat, you know? I mean..."

Twilight cut her short, "Not that! What you were shouting afterwards? After I said your name?"

"Uhhh," Dash's mind raced faster than she could fly, searching for any excuse possible. "I...thought you were somepony I owe bits?"

At first Dash thought her lie had not worked, as Twilight continued staring her down through an awkward silence. Then Twilight sighed and gave a sad smile. "Dash, have you been betting on Wonderbolt's races again?"

Dash was shocked. It was not EXACTLY where she was going with her lie, but it worked out, she guessed. "I...Yes! That's it! Woo, I can't get anything past you can I Twilight? Aheh..."

"Oooh Dash, you know you should come to me when you feel the urge to bet! As your G.A. sponsor it's my duty to help you through those times! Please, please, PLEASE come to me if you feel like betting again? Won't you?"

"I-I-I suppose."

"Good," Twilight moved over to Dash's side and put a foreleg around her shoulder. "Now, since this was a slip up, I think I feel alright...I think, about doing this, but how much do you owe the bookie?"

Dash suddenly became very good at doing a Fluttershy impression. "Oh about 200 bits..."

Twilight removed her hoof from her friend's shoulder. "What was that? I couldn't hear you..."

"200 hundred bits, okay!" Rainbow Dash didn't know how she came up with that specific number, but she figured she could leave it for the colt she hurt. "Maybe it'l be enough for a doctor... Speaking of which, where is..."

"Wow, Dash. I don't...okay here." Twilight pulled a checkbook from her saddle bag and wrote one out for Dash. "Of course this will have to come out of MY stipend from Princess Celestia. I hope she understands that I'm using a month's worth of grocery money to keep my friend's legs and wings broken by some loan shark or whatever."

She tore the check from the book and floated it over to Dash, who reluctantly took it in her mouth, but Twilight held it firm, the glow from her horn not fading from the paper. "But! If this happen again, I will NOT be able to help you, got it? And I will make you go back to meetings again, okay?"

Dash nodded her head with each question. "T-thanks Twi, I swear I will pay you back."

"Oh Dash, you know you don't have to pay me back, what are friends for any..." An idea popped into her head, looking up at the shop apartment. "Actually, I know exactly how you can pay me back! Come with me."

"Okay!" Dash said excitedly. "I wonder what she wants me to do? Oh well, any reason to get away from the shop until I can figure out how to payback that colt is fine with me!" But her heart froze when she saw where twilight was heading: right up the stairs to Cherry Tomato's apartment!

You say alcoholic, I say alcohol enthusiast!

Twilight could see the growing discomfort etched in Rainbow's face as they stood up in the dingy apartment. She figured it was either from the brief yet still daunting task of caring for a recently injured pony, or the deplorable conditions of the room, despite Twilight managing to pry the filthy window open.

"And remember to make sure he drinks enough water okay? He needs to get as much fluids as possible okay? Now I should only be a few hours at the MOST, while I try and track down Spike and Fluttershy, but we need to face the fact that Fluttershy might not be able to look after him, and...Rainbow? RAINBOW DASH!" Twilight ended in a huff.

"Huh? yeah, I'm...listening. Feed him, water him, help him to the toilet, something about Fluttershy....blah blah blah. Seriously Twilight, do you REALLY think I should be...doing this? I've never done this before, and I..." Dash looked down at her hooves shuffling in the dirt on the floor.

"Dash, you'll do fine. And besides, I have a lot of work to do for Princess Celestia, AND I guess I need to go write her a letter explaining why I'm now flat broke. That will cut into a large chunk of my time." She looked at the abashed Dash, and smiled. "It will be okay Dash, I know you can do it. Besides, you will probably have Fluttershy to help you some, if not most of the time. But if she can't be here often remember DO NOT change his bandage! Let me or Fluttershy do that!" Her expression turned back into it's serious pose.

"Okay, okay! You said that..." Rainbow Dash sighed. "But, you do know best Twi"

"Thank you Dash." Twilight picked up her bags and placed them over her back. "Now, watch him like a griffin, okay?"

Dash threw up her foreleg in a mock salute, "Yes Sir! M'am Sir! M'am!"

Twilight rolled her eyes and walked out the open door. As soon as her hoofsteps were no longer audible, Dash ploped down with a loud "harrumph" and she glared at the unconscious pony. "I guess this is my...recompants.... recumbents...recompens...whatever, me making amends to you."

She stood again and began pacing around the room for awhile. unlike Twilight, she kind of thought the room was "creepy" and "cool," she even began considering asking the stallion if she could use it as part of a haunted house for Nightmare Night the next year when a groan came from the bed. Dash jumped at the small yet silence shattering noise.

"Oooh, my head..."

"H-hello? Mr. Tomato?"

"Huh?" Seamless turned his head slowly towards the noise. Unable to see with a wad of bandages wrapped around his head, he panicked." Whu- AHHHHHHH!" Seamless screamed and tried getting up, only resulting in him smashing his skull against the headboard of the bed.

"WHOA whoa, you need to calm down!" Dash jumped up and gently put her hooves on Seamless' shoulder, which along with his now overly painful head, seemed to quiet him down. "You need to relax, you have a...what was it...a con-cushion."

Seamless rubbed his covered temples as best he could. "A...what? A concussion?"

"Yeah, That"

Seamless groaned. "I...Yeah! No Shit! Guh, dolt...Who are you anyway?"

"My name is Rainbow Dash...Mr. Tomato." She added that last part with an obvious air of disgust.

"RAINBOW DASH!" Seamless sprang up again, once more smacking his head on the headboard. He wrapped his forelegs around his head and let out a long groan.

"Wow. What is you problem?" Dash asked, very taken aback by the second outburst.

"Ooooh, no problem here, uh, Miss Dash! Thank you for coming by to point out the obvious, but your services are no longer required! So just," Seamless waved a hoof at the wall. "Show yourself out if you would, thanks."

"Oh no, I am staying right here. I'm here to repay you...repay a debt to the mare who saved your flank, and as far as she's concerned, MY flank! So, you're stuck with me for the time being. Now what was with you screaming when you heard my name? Do you know me?"

Seamless was glad the bandages covered his head, otherwise his blush would have been very visible. "Ahem...uh no, I just, uh recognize you from the cafe earlier...Might be a little, uh, embarrassed is all. I'm sorry about all that by the way."

"You mean yesterday. You were hurt yesterday. F-from what I was told anyway."

"I was out all night?"

"Yes, and it's really not me you need to be apologizing to, it's my friend Pinkie Pie. And while you're at it, you need to apologize to Phillipé, the waiter at the restaurant!"

"Oh." Seamless pondered around in his head a moment. "She must mean that annoying mare...great... Well, I'll uh, get on that, as soon as I feel better."

"Good. Glad to hear it. Now, since I'm here for the time being, is there anything I can get you? Maybe a bit of water?"

Seamless smacked his lips. "Yeah I am a bit thirsty, but I think the only water faucet is outside behind the shop."

Dash huffed and went outside to search for the faucet. While outside, Seamless tried getting up. As soon as he got a few inches up a wave of dizziness and nausea hit him, sending him back down to the pillow. "Well, I'm going nowhere fast. But damn, I HAVE to get away from her. I can't believe she hasn't figured out who I am. But...I think I have no choice, I AM stuck with her. I guess as long as my head is wrapped up and I keep my robe or cloak on to hide my back, she won't recognize me. And...maybe I can get her to trust me, so if she DOES find out who I am...

He turned his attention from his thoughts as Dash reentered the room. "All I could find for drinking was this bucket...um, it was full of, well...anyway it's clean." She said.

She held the bucket in front of his head and helped him take a long drink, Seamless moaning in pleasure a bit from the cool liquid in his throat. "Oh...thank you, I needed that." He licked his lips, moistening his dry lips.

"No problem. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

An idea popped into Seamless' head. "Actually yes, can you hand me my saddle bag?"

Dash picked them up and plopped them in Seamless' lap. He grunted a small thanks and began rummaging through them. Albeit, blind, Seamless managed to identify everything he grabbed, "Hmmm no. Is this...no that's too small, must be the mouthwash. Oh here we go." He took a long drink from a bottle before Dash could react. He spit it out, scraping his tongue on his hoof. "Nope...that's my spare ink."

Dash stifled a snort of laughter but not well enough. "Oh find that funny do you featherbrain?" That seemed to suppress the laughter down to a chuckle at least. Finally after rummaging around for another minute, he found what he was looking for. A small plastic box, and a large silver flask. As soon as he had the flask in his hooves, he opened it up.

Dash looked at him worriedly. "Hey are you sure that's such a good idea? You being...injured...and..."

Her sentence dropped short as she watched him tilt his head back and drain a good quarter of the large flask in a single swallow. "Ahhh, that really gets rid of that water taste." He looked towards Rainbow Dash's general direction and held the flask out to her. "Care for a wee dram?"

She scratched her head nervously. "I don't know, I don't um, drink a lot..."

He laughed and shook the flask towards her. "Oh go on, you have sounded like nothing but a nervous wreck since I woke up. It'll help you relax."

She hesitated but, not seeing the harm in it, took the flask and tipped her head back, taking a small shot. She shuddered as the warm amber liquid spilled down her throat, and a little down her chin. "UGH! What is that? And how can you slam it down like that?" She groaned in slight disgust, wiping her chin.

Seamless laughed so hard it made his head hurt more. "Ohhh... Well, practice makes perfect! And it's scotch whisky. Glenfurlong, a good 13 years old. Go ahead, take another."

She stared at the flask. Her stomach and tongue said no, but her brain overrode them, so she took another, larger shot. This time it went down a little easier, and it all managed to get into her mouth this time. "Actually, it's not that bad." she said with a cough. Seamless simply smiled and and held out the little box.

"What's that? Dash asked.

"It's a little hoofheld radio." He gave it to Dash. "Think you could tune this to the Wonderbolt's race?"

"C'mon Fluttershy, please? It would only be for a week at the most, and it would just be the same as helping out an injured animal, help him eat and drink, and change his bandage everyday. Maybe give him an ibuprofen once in a while too." Twilight paused to take a sip of the tea Fluttershy had made her. She glanced over at Spike, still sleeping in the sun, a half eaten painite he managed to find along the way still clutched in his claw.

"I don't know Twilight, He was just so rude to Phillipé yesterday, I just don't know if could..."

"Well, what if he just had a really bad day? I can't imagine somepony could be THAT rude all the time. But the point being is that I'm really busy this week helping the Princess, and you're the only other pony that would know how to take care of him. All-in-all it might only be until he wakes up. He wasn't exactly carrying small amounts of bits when I found him, so he could probably afford to hire a nurse."

Fluttershy stared at her cup of tea. Twilight could see her mind whirring with possible reasons not to do it. She nearly had given up all hope until she drank the rest of her tea in one gulp, looked at Twilight with a sigh and said softly, "okay, I'll do it."

"...and here comes Soarin on the outside, taking the lead! He's now followed by Charming 'The Lightning' Flash, who is right on his fetlocks, and two lengths behind is the rest of the pack, Spitfire at the head, not letting anypony get by her, half a length behind her is Jet Charger, then Curly Cloud, Swan Victory, Bright Obsidian and taking up the rear is Limaceous Lee! And here we come into the final stretch of this winding track, Lightning Flash coming back up beside Soarin, they're neck and neck, and here they come to the finish line and it's...! Oh my Celestia folks it's a photo finish, they were so close! And behind in third is Wonderbolt's Captain, Spitfire, still fighting back the other ponies as she crosses the finish line! Behind her in order it's Jet Charger, Swan Victory, Curly Cloud, Bright Obsidian, and as usual in the back of the pack, is Limaceous Lee! Poor, poor, Limaceous lee, will he ever win a race? And here we go, the results are in! Oh WOW, Soarin wins buy less than a nose, a mere two inches!"

The rest of the commentary on the radio was drowned out by Rainbow Dash and Seamless screaming in joy over the winner. Whisky splashed everywhere, unnoticed by the already inebriated Dash, and the blind Seamless.

"...'So I just pushed myself as hard as I could, imagining that delicious pie flying right ahead of Mr. Flash. I tell you I've never been more hungry for pie than I am right now, so if you would excuse me...' Thank you Soarin for that...insightful comment. Up next, we'll have Spitfire explaining her team strategy for today, then we'll have a word with Blazing Saddles Captain, Charming 'The Lightning' Flash, but that's all for me for today. This is Bryan Furlong, handing the microphone off to my co-conspirator, Mr. Sam Reinick...

Seamless switched the radio off, unable to hear it over Rainbow Dash still ranting and raving over the win. "Hey Dash!, DAAAAASH! YOOHOO! Equestria to Rainbow Dash!"

"Omigosh! I just can't belieeeve it! This is like...Soarin's three hundreth win...or something...but, ooh, lemme get that from you!" She snatched up the tipped over flask next to Seamless and rectified that by draining it. "Mmm, s'good. Anyways."

"Dash!"

"Hmm? Oh yes, Mister, uhhh Potato?" She said a smirking grin spread upon her face.

"I think you've had enough."

She looked down at the flask, then back up at Seamless. "S'good thing this is empty then!" She burst out in a fit of giggles.

Seamless rolled his eyes under the bandaged. "Still a bloody lightweight." He chuckled inside.

Dash gasped through her laughter and rose up, her face flushed from alcohol and lack of air. "OH! Ohohoh! I almost forgot, I wanted to ask you! Um...hold on, I think I forgot."

Seamless sighed and waited. After a minute, he thought maybe she had passed out, so he cleared his throat.

"Huh?" He heard from the floor. "Oh, yeah, right. I wanted to *HIC* ...s'cuze me. I wanted to ask you, why are you so mean?"

"What? What are you talking about?" he asked, despite knowing exactly what she meant.

"Oh please, Cherry! You were so rude yesterday! You really hurt Pinkie Pie's feelings. She only wanted to be friends with you, so just, why?"

"Well, I don't know. A lot of shit has been on my plate recently."

"No, that's not a good enough excuse! That's...Unacceptamal!"

"You mean... never mind. Seriously though, I didn't MEAN to act so badly, she just kind of crept up on me. I was walking into town and BOOM, there she was! Right in my face talking about how I'm a spy or something."

"Well, that IS Pinkie Pie." Dash said with a wave of her hoof. "As long as you say you're sorry, she'll be okay. But what about Phillipé? He did nothing wrong."

"Um." Seamless couldn't think of a good reason why. "He was just, uh, he had. Um, well that is to say, he was...had just caught me at a bad time. Like I said, I haven't been having a good week, or month so far."

"Or a good four years, to be exact." He kept that thought to himself.

"Well, I hope it starts getting better, because you are really mean when you're grumpy."

"Heh, yeah." Seamless scrambled around for a change in subject. "So uh, about yesterday. Sorry to eavesdrop, but you said you knew that guy on the front page of my newspaper?"

Dash's inebriated joy died at those words, and a dark face replaced the one of drunken stupor. "Oh. Him"

She wobbled into a standing position, and balanced herself as best she could. "I can't believe you don't know him. I mean, sure you're not a pegasus , but he's pretty famous. You've never heard of Hem & Seam Inc? I mean, you like the Wonderbolts, so you had to have heard of about them."

Seamless scratched his head for a fake view of uncertainty. "Um, can't say I have. I don't follow the races all that much anymore."

"Huh... Anyway, Hem & Seam do, or at least did all of the uniforms for the Wonderbolts. Pretty good stuff too. Heck they were the first to make a fabric to keep you dry and warm, without magic at all!"

"Sheen polyester fiber," Seamless said under his breath.

"What was that? Uh, never mind." Dash shook some to the drunk from her head before continuing. "But this guy, Seamless, and his dad were pretty smart. Coming out with new uniforms every couple of months, each one so much cooler than the others. And they did a lot of fancy stuff, like dresses and tuxedos. But Seamless' dad died about a year and a half ago, and since then he's kinda been, well an idiot."

"How so?" Seamless pressed on, wanting to hear her view.

"Well I guess, and I don't know much, since I kind of skip over news about Seamless, he was getting drunk a lot. Did some really stupid things. There was this one story about a celebration party for the Wonderbolts last year, and he did something so stupid even the Princesses wanted it all hush-hush."

Seamless thought back to that night and chuckled inside. "But what about this guy? How do you know him?"

Dash stared at him, trying to figure out why he was so interested. In her current state however, this was all but impossible. "Well...are you sure you want to hear about this? It's not a great story, and..."

"No no, please, do tell! I'm not going anywhere, and I'm out of whisky anyway, so I don't know, tell me a story."

"Okay..." Dash plopped back down on the floor and tapped a hoof on her chin, thinking back.

DRAMATIC FLASHBACK SEQUENCE INITIATED!

Dramatic Flashback Sequence Initiated

A rainbow streaked across the sky, arching over Cloudsdale in a spectacular show of technicolor speed. Young Rainbow Dash looked back at the stream of colors emanating from behind her and beamed. The Sonic Rainboom! It was supposed to be just an old mare's tale, be she did it! Sailing across the sky, slicing through the finish line, she stopped flapping and braked right next to the cloud bleachers where everypony jumped down and began congratulating her.

Dash looked around her at the gathering ponies, barely unable to contain her joy. She proudly nodded at all the compliments given to her.

"Way to go Rainbow Dash!"

"That was so awesome! Can you do it again?"

"WILL YOU SIGN MY FLANK!?!"

"You're the best Dash!"

"Eh, it was kinda cool..."

The crowd quickly went silent and turned to see who made that last comment. Dash looked through the ponies to see a colt, not much older than she was, staring at her with a devilish little grin on his face. He sported a blood red coat, with a mane to match, with the exception of large black tips fading into the rest of his hair. He tipped his sunglasses forward, revealing his nearly black eyes, and trotted up to Dash.

"'Kind of cool'?" Dash asked incredulous. "That was amazing!"

Dash got a round of agreeing murmurs throughout he crowd. She zoomed up into the colt's face and stared him down, though he stood, unflinching. "Why don't you think that was cool?"

"Ohhh, I don't know. Although speed is one thing, it's nothing without proper maneuverability. Tell me, can you bank and turn at high speeds, or are you all about the speed?" He asked.

"M-my maneuverability is top-notch, thank you very much!"

His eyes pierced into Dash, seeming determined and stead fast, and with two words, nearly broke the multicolored pegasus' resolve.

"Prove it"

A round of gasp went about the crowd, and they all looked at Rainbow Dash, who was sweating slightly. "A-alright, name the time and place!"

"Woody Coltwood Memorial Track, right now."

"Woody's Field? Are you nuts? Those are for colts and fillies three years older than us!"

The colt pushed his glasses up his face and turned away. "Well I suppose we could just call it off then...I just thought with a cutie mark like that you could be the BEST flyer in Equestria."

Dash's eyes opened in shock. She looked at her flank to see a cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt jolting out of it etched on her side. "OmigoshmohmigoshOMIGOSH!" She thought. "I got my cutie mark!" She looked at the colt walking away.

"Hold on a minute!" Dash yelled after him. "I'll do it."

Dash and the young colt took their places at the starting line. She looked down at the aerial course, the twisting and turning lines of hoops and the tall pillars of the slaloms seemed almost too much for the filly, even though they were doing the short course. Up in the massive stands, what seemed like a small blob of color dotted against the backdrop of the huge cloud stadium where the spectators and even the neighsayers from the race before. They all cheered this time though, as this was bound to be the best race yet.

A small filly took his place in front of the two racers with his checkered flag. "This race will be timed! Follow all the markers to reach the end. If you knock one of the markers, you will be penalized with one second on your time. Do you understand?"

The two nodded to the filly and at each other.

"On your marks!" Dash and the colt stepped up to the line.

"Get set!" They knelt down, wings spread.

"...GO!" The filly waved her flag and the racers sped off to the first round of obstacles. Dash looked behind her with satisfaction to see the colt a ways behind her, although he was matching her speed with what seemed like almost no effort. She looked ahead as she came to the first obstacle, the slalom. She started gliding, and came up to the first pillar getting ready to turn around the first cloud. But when she twisted her wings slightly for the bank and turn, she found that they wouldn't turn without huge amounts of strain. Unfortunately, she realized this too late. Instead of a swift turn, she listed almost lazily, trying to maintain her lift while turning. Her wing simply sliced through the first three pillars before slowing down enough to perform her turns and twist around the remaining five.

Once again she looked back at the colt, who made short work of the slalom. He neatly missed each pillar, albeit somewhat slower than what Dash thought acceptable. Almost right away, he was right behind her again as they came to the next obstacle, the loops. Two outside loops, and an inside loop, ending with an Equestrian bunt. There were hoops of clouds strung along the whole of the track to mark which stunt to do.

Dash flapped harder to break away from the colt before diving into the first loop. She could feel her speed pick up diving down, but kept flapping anyway. She dipped down through the first hoop, and sped through each hoop of the loop. Through each loop she could see the top of the hoop getting closer and closer. Her speed was too much, and on the last of the hoops she hit it head on.

That threw her concentration a little, slowing her down, a lucky break for her on the next loops. The next loop she only gliding down, not flapping until she reached the vertical climb. This time she didn't miss a single hoop. The inside loop was almost too much of a breeze, except she couldn't get the speed she wanted, even with her flapping her wings as hard as she could. On the dive of the loop however, she finally reached a speed she only found "somewhat slow" and sped toward the bunt. She looked back once more before diving, but didn't see the colt behind her. She smirked, thinking he must have gotten tangled up in the loops. She turned ahead to the half loop only to see a bright red flank obscuring her view.

"Wha...?" Was all she could spit out. The colt had angled the last turn so perfectly that he had come out of it right on top of Dash, and he had taken the opportunity to get ahead of her. She shook her head to regain her composure before they both angled down into the Equestrian bunt before the final leg of the race. Both of them flew in perfect formation around the loop and came into the final straight stretch that spanned the entire length of the course, back towards the finish line.

"Now this is where I've got him!" Coming into the stretch, Dash used every once of her remaining strength to burst ahead of the colt. He almost forgot to keep flapping with this sudden burst of great speed, but he kept his cool, and did the same. He pushed himself harder and harder, closer and closer to tailing the filly. Dash didn't dare look back to see where he was. She closed her eyes and focused on nothing but more speed. She squinted into the wind and saw the flag filly just in front of her and let out a burst of speed that would've broken the wings of some foals. She streaked across the finish line just as her energy gave out and she skidded to halt barely on her hooves.

A moment later the colt came right behind Dash, and threw out his wings, braking right in front of dash, and laned softly on his hooves, panting heavily. They both turned to the timer board, just as it lit up with their times.

Finish Time Finish Time

Rain D 54.14 Seam L 56.34

Dash would have jumped for joy if she had any energy left from the day. Two races and she had won both of them! All she managed was a small chuckle. The colt cleared his throat and pointed back at the screen. Dash looked up to see more numbers appear.

Finish Time Finish Time

Rain D 54.14 Seam L 56.39

Penalties Penalties

Rain D 4.00 Seam L 0.00

Final Time Final Time

Rain D 58.14 Seam L 56.39

Dash's jaw dropped. How could she have forgotten the penalties? Her head sagged and she dropped down onto the soft cloud floor. "You were right. I stink." She said, defeated.

She heard the colt's panting breaths come closer. He dropped down next to her and gave her a nudge. "Hey, I never said you stink. Besides, look at those times! Both of them are track records! Not just anypony could make those times. And, I'm sorry if I was kind of rude at all before. I just see so many kids here push for either speed or agility without realizing you can have both. But I think you're on your way to being one of the best flyers ever!"

She lifted her head up and looked at the colt. "Trust me on this, you are a pretty darn good flyer." He took his sunglasses off and stuck them on Dash's head. "And pretty cool too if I may say so."

"What's your name?" Dash asked, a small blush on her cheeks.

"The name is Seamless!"

"My name is Rainbow Dash." She held out a hoof which Seamless shook vigorously.

"Good to meet you Dash."

"How...how did you do that track without hitting a single marker?"

"It's all in the speed Dash." he said with a wink. "A lot of speed is great, but if you ever want to do anything with your flying abilities, you gotta know how to dodge an obstacle. Sure that was one heck of an angle you pulled in the race before, but I'm willing to bet that was from the air pressure hitting the ground that helped you do that."

"What? I...don't understand. How can you know so much about flying, you're barely older than I am!"

"Well for starters I usually train at home with my tutor. My dad wants me know everything there is to know about flying so I can help him when I get older, so he has me train after camp too."

"Wow." Dash looked back at the ground. "How can I ever be good though if I'm just stuck here. Mom can't afford a tutor..."

"Hey." Seamless gently turned Dash's head back towards him. "How would you like to come train with me? I'm sure my dad wouldn't mind the tutor helping us both."

Dash's eyes lit up. "You really mean it? B-but...I don't have the bits for a tutor, as well as flight camp."

"Oh that's no problem at all! We've got more than enough bits to cover you."

Ignoring her exhaustion, Dash sprang up and hugged Seamless around the neck tight. "THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!"

Seamless coughed, his face turning more red than usual. He could only choke out "DA-SH! AIR!"

Three years later

Two streams of color streaked across the courtyard in the middle of an old cloud mansion, back and forth. They would have faded from view within seconds if it were not for the two ponies creating them, blurs flashing within a multicolored and solid red streaks. A whistle sounded and reverberated around the courtyard, and the lines of color faded. Rainbow Dash and Seamless braked midair and fluttered down to the floor, both on the verge of collapse due to the over exhaustion.

"Good work guys, take a five minute break!" A solid white colt with a blonde crew cut hollered from his lounge chair in the corner. Dash and Seamless caught their breath as best they could and walked inside for a cold drink of water.

"That...was...INTENSE!" Seamless huffed.

"Oh come on...you aren't...going soft...on me...are you?" Dash puffed back. The two reached the kitchen, not bothering with glasses, turned on the faucet and drank directly from it. After a long drink from the both, they began stretching to keep from cramping.

"Well...I haven't had much of a break. Dad's been working me into the night at the shop. He thinks this...'polyester' fabric is going to change Equestria! Or something li-AAHHH My latissimus is cramping!"

Dash stopped her stretching and began massaging the back muscle. "Wow, you are really stressed out. How late has he been working you?"

"Ahhh, aahhhh....about...until...two or three...in the morning...oooohh right there!" Seamless melted into Dash's hooves.

"What? Did he do this last night? You said you got up at six!"

"Yeah, last night...and I did get up at six. Had to work the register. Don't know why, no pony comes in that late. Ahhh, thanks Dash's you're awesome!" Seamless stretched his wings out and flexed. "Y'know, if you weren't the second best flyer in Equestria, you'd make a darn good masseuse."

"Hehe, thanks, I...did you say 'second best'?"

"Haha, only after me!" Seamless winked at her before dropping to the floor to do wing ups.

"Right, sure!" Dash's voice dripped with sarcasm. She moved around to face him and dropped down to join him in the warm up. "Anyway, after this I'm going over to Gilda's and we're going to catch the eight o' clock movie, wanna come?"

"Uh...nah, I'm good. I've...got some more work to do." Seamless looked uneasy to Dash, but it was hard to tell from the wing ups.

"Oh come on! We haven't hung out in like, forever!"

"What about now?" He asked.

"This is a workout. Not hanging out. Big difference." Dash rolled her eyes, not noticing Seamless pick up his pace.

"All the same, I enjoy doing this with you. Maybe next time, okay?"

"Nuhuh! You gotta come with! Take some time to yourself for once, your dad will understand. And no excuses. You've given me every one under Celestia's sun, and even still you use that old 'I need to help my dad' excuse."

Seamless was really pushing himself hard, practically staying airborne with each thrust. "And I...mean it...every time!"

Dash finally took notice. "Les, slow down, you're going to cra-"

"AHHH!" Seamless dropped to the floor.

"-mp again." Dash said flatly. She stopped and began massaging Seamless' back again. "C'mon Les, what's the matter, don't you like hanging out with me anymore?"

Seamless mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Dash..." Seamless flipped over and grabbed her hooves in his own. He looked up into her confused face. "Dash I...I need to go." He got up off the floor and walked away towards his room. Before rounding the corner he stopped and looked back at Dash. "Have fun with Gilda tonight Dash. And finish up our workout hard for the both of us."

He went around the corner. As soon as he was sure he was out of sight and earshot he galloped as fast as he could to his room. When he reached it, after a few minutes, seeing as the house was so large, he slammed his door as hard as one could slam a cloud door and threw himself on his bed. He groaned and pounded his hooves on the pillow. He would have screamed into it, but clouds don't muffle the way regular pillows do.

He turned over and stared at the white ceiling. "Why can't I just tell her?" He looked down at his side, staring at the large red canvas just waiting to be painted with his mark. "Because even though she is my friend, she could never go out with a blank flank. She's just...too cool."

It was true, no pony his age, at least as far as he had heard, was still blank. It happened, he was sure, but rare enough it was never heard of. How could he, the most talented flyer in Equestria, only ever bested by his Dash, still be a blank flank. "It's a good thing I didn't stay at flight camp. I'd be the laughing stock."

He sat up and looked out his window just in time to see Rainbow Dash fly off in the direction of Gilda's house. He sighed and rolled off his bed. "Come on Seam old chap. You can think up a way to win her over can't you? Let her win a race? ...Nah She would think I'd actually gone soft. I know she isn't one for jewelry. Too 'frou-frou.' And I REALLY doubt she'd go for the whole mooshy die-hard romantic thing. I can only imagine her face if I walked up to her in a tux with a bouquet of roses. Little Barry Manelow in the background. Jeez, what is the one thing, that Dash would think would be the most awesome thing in the world, she just couldn't say no?"

The exhaustion of the day came upon Seamless suddenly, and he found himself drifting into sleep.

Later, he woke with a start as the sun was going down, the curtains casting a long shadow across his face. He jumped up and looked around him. His eyes rested on what he looked for, the alarm clock. Eight forty-five. "Well, there goes my chance for tonight."

Seamless imagined it in his head. He would rush into the theater, just before the movie started, get up on stage, and profess his love to a large group of strangers, though he only had eyes for one filly in that theater. "BAAH!" he exclaimed. He sat down on the bed and rested his face in his hooves. "Why can't she be like any other filly. Be girly."

"Because then you wouldn't like her as much. Girly girls were never your thing." Seamless said aloud to himself. "You like her because she's strong and courageous. She's not afraid to do anything, even if..."

In terms of light bulbs lighting up above a pony's head, Seamless' would have been a halogen bulb. He threw open his window and bolted for Downtown Canterlot.

Dramatic Flashback Sequence Re-Initiated

Up on the screen, a brown unicorn held onto the hoof of a grey earth pony, allowing him no chance to pull away. The earth pony moaned in agony, as the chemical burned into his leg.

"No. No I...don't" He begged.

"Listen to me! You have to consider the possibility that Celestia does not like you. She never wanted you. In all probability, she hates you. This is not the worst thing that can happen." The unicorn held tighter.

"It isn't?" The brown one strained out.

"Buck damnation! Buck Redemption! We are Celestia's unwanted foals? So be it!"

"Okay okay! Just give me some water!" The desperation in the earth pony's eyes could not have been more apparent.

"Listen, you can run water over your hoof and make it worse or..." He slammed that hoof into the table, getting the other's attention. "You can use vinegar and neutralize the burn."

"Please let me have it!"

"First you have to know, not fear, KNOW, that someday you're going to die."

"You don't know how this feels!" The pony raged at the unicorn. He in turn raised his own hoof, revealing a furless, lip-shaped scar.

"Its only after we’ve lost everything that we’re free to do anything."

Dash was awoken from her awesomeness stupor by a tap on her shoulder. She turned her head and tried to see the pony silhouetted by the projector's blinding light. The pony moved in closer.

"Les?" She whispered. "Is that you?"

"Yeah." he whispered back. "Sorry to interrupt but I need to talk to you."

"Les, I've been waiting for months for this to come out. If I leave I might not get my seat back, even with Gilda here."

A loud SHH was heard from two rows behind, though it died off as quick as it came when Seamless shot them a glare that could melt steel. He turned back to Dash. "Dash this is super important. I really need you to come with me."

Gilda turned in her seat towards Seamless. "Listen dweeb, she already said no, now buzz off!"

Seamless ignored her. "Dash if you come with me I'll give you my autographed Wonderbolt's uniform."

Dash whipped around to stare at Seamless. She was silent for a moment before speaking not so quietly as before. "You mean the 980 Miracle in Air uniform signed by Dave Silks and Bill Balk?" This solicited many a shush from the rest of the audience.

Seamless pressed a hoof to her mouth. "Yes, now come." He grabbed her hoof and dragged her outside. "Now, follow me." He flapped his wings and took off.

"But...What about...!" She hollered after him. When he didn't answer, she grumbled and went after him. "Fine..."

The flight wasn't long, only taking about five minutes. Dash knew exactly where they were going as soon as she saw a large stadium looming in the darkness ahead. They flew in over the stands and landed on a platform overlooking the entire airfield.

"Woody Coltwood Field." She whispered to herself and turned to Seamless. "Alright Seamless, what is so important that I'd have to wait for my movie to out on beta?"

"Dash, I've been wanting to talk to you about this for a long time. I don't really have the courage to tell you...though..." Seamless hung his head and searched for the strength to just say what he wanted to.

Dash walked up to him and put a hoof on his shoulder. "Does this have to do with earlier?"

"Yes, very much so. Dash...I'm just going to come out and say it. I really like you." He smiled up at her.

Dash took her hoof back and backed up a couple steps. "You...you mean like...'like' like?"

"Yes." His face fell at the look on Dash's. She looked fearful, but confused, unsure of what to say or do.

"Les...I-I don't know...what to say."

"Seamless steeled himself and puffed out his chest. "You don't have to say anything Dash. I know how you feel, you don't want to ruin what we have already, right?"

"Yeah Les, I like you a lot too, but what would we do if it didn't work out?"

Seamless' smile returned. "It will work out Dash. We're so alike, you and I. Our only faults are our stubbornness. Think about it, when have we ever fought about anything other than racing?"

"Well, never. And we rarely argue about that too, because you won't race against me."

"That's because we're a team Dash. We shouldn't compete against each other. But I've thought about that too. We're going to settle it here and now, so there is no point in arguing about it in the future. We're going to race, right now."

"Les, I don't know." Seamless stopped her.

"This is it Dash, and these are the rules. You have to go as fast as you can. I've removed all the obstacles from the course, so it should be a breeze for you. But, there are stakes in this race."

Dash gulped as Seamless continued. "If you win, we will stay friends, I won't mind, because hanging out with you will be enough. Not right away though, because I want more. But if I win, you agree to go on one date with me. Just one. If you still feel the same way after the date, then we will act like YOU won the race, okay?"

"Well, that's fair I guess." Dash looked down kicked at the fluffy cloud under her.

Seamless moved closer and lifted her head. "Dash, if you only want to stay friends, I understand. But I can't just act like none of this is real. If you really want to stay friends, then you know you will win this race. But I know we will be great together..." Seamless turned and walked up to the starting line, but not before giving her a playful slap in the face with his tail. "Which means I'm going to win."

"He really knows how to push my buttons," Dash thought. "Alright Les, we'll do this." She stepped up beside Seamless. Looking over at him a determined smile spread across her face. "But I think we would be better as friends, so I'm going to win this race."

Seamless chuckled and waved his hoof towards the stands. A pony Dash hadn't noticed slowly flew up toward them. He landed a little roughly on the perch for the flag pony. "Is that..." Dash started, staring at the

"Woody Coltwood himself. He cleans the place up after races. Doesn't fly much anymore though, getting up there in age." He nodded to the aging stallion who nodded back and pulled out a green flag and a checkered flag. He readied the green flag, raising it above his head.

"You ready for this?" Seamless asked Dash, not too sure himself.

"I guess so." Dash replied, adverting her eyes.

A raspy voice came from the flag pony stand, "On your marks! Get set! GO!"

As they both jumped off the starting line Dash was nearly blown away by the shock wave Seamless created as he shot off around the track. She wavered in the air but kept on course and sped off after him. She held firm, keeping half a furlong between them. Seamless didn't bother to look back, keeping his mind fixated on the goal ahead. He had to beat her, just this once.

Dash stared ahead, bewildered at the speed Seamless put out. It was taking almost all her strength to keep up. "No. We can't do this. I have to beat him, we'll never be the same if we go out, even once!" Dash put every bit of strength she could muster into her wings and put forth a burst of speed that made old Woody's false teeth drop out of his head. She came up inch by inch, closing in on Seamless as they came around the track to the halfway mark.

Seamless heard the buzzing of her wings behind him but blocked it out, his mind still on the task at hand. This one time, he wouldn't let Dash beat him in a race of speed. He strained himself, feeling his muscles tire after an already taxing workout earlier. Beating his wings faster, he managed to ignore the pain and speed up. The increase in speed was noticed as he heard the buzzing of Rainbow Dash's wings fade behind.

Coming into the final stretch of the field, he felt the air pressure build around him, a cone of white peeling off his outstretched hooves. He bent his head into the wind, pushing himself to continue. The air tightened around him, squeezing at his forehooves and head. He less than a hundred meters away from the finish, he was going to win! But quite abruptly, the cone was gone. A sudden tug of air at his head caused him to veer straight down. Caught in the stall, he slowed down significantly. He distinctly swore and turned back up just in time to see Woody wave his checkered flag front of Dash, who rocket across the finish line.

Woody shot Seamless a sad glance as he flew up across the line and landed next to Dash. The old stallion dropped his flags and flew off towards the stands to wait for the young ones to leave. Seamless was too astonished to even pant, his body and mind in shock from what had happened. He stared at Dash, who jumped up and cheered.

"Ha HA! I knew I was the fastest in-" She stopped cheering as she turned and met Seamless' sad face.

"Way to go Dash." He softly said.

"Les. I'm-" Dash started to say, but Seamless cut her off.

"It's okay Dash. You won, as I thought you would." Seamless tried to give her a smile but it only enhanced the grimace.

Rainbow Dash held her breath. She saw the heartbreak in Seamless' eyes, and it physically hurt her. Why, she asked herself. At first she thought it was seeing a friend she could never turn her back to in this much pain. But then a thought intruded the previous. "Could it be...?" She questioned herself.

Seamless turned and beating his wings, floated above the cloud. "Like I said, we'll still be friends. I just...gotta go finish that work for my dad now."

Seamless started to fly off, but was turned around by a forceful hoof. He cried out but was immediately silenced by a pair of lips joining his. Dash stared directly into his eyes, the eyes that held so much sorrow before but now held confusion on increasing joy, and wiped a tear sliding down Seamless' face. She broke away and smirked at the awestruck colt. "Now don't go all sensitive on me Les. Way I see it you beat me before we got-"

Dash was stopped short again, as Seamless threw himself into her. Locking lips once again, they fell to the cloud floor. The two wrestled around, neither willing or able to break the embrace for air. Back in the stands, old Woody looked on and smiled. "Ah young love. Shame it won't last."

eight months later

When pegasi get older, and their legs and wings just are not what they used to be, one would figure they would need some support, right? But what would a pegasus use? Not a wheelchair, too cumbersome. A walker? No, that was for the ponies stuck on the ground. A pegasus uses a cloud, and although the clouds are in complete control of the cloud, it's easier to float near the ceiling of a house so one does not bump into things.

So when Hem looked down on his son, he did so literally as well as figuratively. He glared down at Seamless, attempting to break his resolve, but the young boy stood his ground, or in this case, stood his cloud.

"This matter is solved boy, I forbid it!" He growled.

"I don't care Dad! Nothing you say will change my mind."

Hem rolled his eyes. "How many times do I have to go over this with you? It's a tradition among us pegasi of higher affluence! And to break that tradition is not only absurd and unheard of in our family, it outright disgraces us! This is just as bad as you wanting to be a mechanical engineer. Your hooves are made for stitching, not cracking and splitting in some earth factory!"

"I already told you Dad, try as you may, you won't get me to follow in your hoofsteps. That was settled months ago. And traditions change Dad. Did you not once tell me of our ancestors eating meat in Central Equasia because it was tradition there? And how many ponies do you know of now that eat meat over there?"

"That is not the same Seamless! That was nearly eight hundred years ago, this is now! Today! I entertained your little infatuation because I thought you would come to your senses boy. You should throw away the unkempt tramp and move on to somepony worth knowing!"

Seamless let out his own growl and flew up into the face of his father. "Don't. You. DARE say that again Dad! You ever say something like that about her again, I'll BEAT you to where you'll be so incompetent you'll need more than that cloud to get around!"

Hem didn't move a muscle, other than the one twitching below his right eye. "Get out of my house," he hissed.

With that Seamless turned and flew out the front door. He kept flying, aiming for some place he knew he could think in private. Deciding anywhere in Cloudsdale wouldn't work, he flew up towards the sun, high enough to where nopony would come by or come looking for him. He settled on a stray cloud that had broken loose from the weather plant below.

Seamless sighed and stared out over Cloudsdale. Though he still loved his father, after that fight, there was no good outcome of showing his face around here anymore. Hem had many connections, and a fight like that could warrant a disownership from his father. And that wouldn't look good to the other residents. Tradition was tradition, and every time a member of Seamless' family was married, it was a town wide event. What was worse was that he threatened his father. That would get around town soon enough. Might even be a newspaper article on it.

That didn't bother Seamless, it was what he would tell Dash, how could he break the news to her, right after he asks the biggest, most important question of his life? He reached in the bag adorning his back and pulled out a small velvet lined box. He opened it and examined it once more. It was hard for Seamless not to look at it, he had made it himself. "For a pony using his hooves, I sure did a good job. I hope she likes it." He pondered.

Seamless moved the note suck on top to the side and pulled the long chain out from the box and caressed the silver chain and pendent. It was a simple snake chain, but the pendent stood out. Two wings, crossed and bound within each other, carved and etched from a single solid silver ingot. Seamless had used a rotary tool shipped from Mount Paddock, painstakingly carving each tiny detail. He put more hours into this than any of his projects before.

Seamless put the chain back in the box and into his bags. He sighed and jumped down from his cloud, back to the city below to find Dash.

Dash brooded as she paced around the living room of her small house. It was a nice little house, although too cramped for Dash's style. She had taken residence here to continue weather patrol training. She vowed that as soon as she was done, she would build one heck of a house somewhere.

But what Dash brooded about was not her house, or training for that day, but what had happened between the two destinations. Her face scrunched up at the thought. She was going to have to kick some flank over this. She knew it was Hem's doing but she had no qualms about kicking the head in of an old crippled man, not after what he had done. She had just about resigned herself to going to jail for assault when a knock came at her door.

She thought about just leaving who ever it was alone, letting him or her think she wasn't home, but decided she might as well answer it. Might be something about work. Dash walked to the door and flung it open. And their stood her love, squinting in the sunlight with a huge smile plastered on his face. The smile slid from his face however at the sight of hers.

"Hi Honey." He said as he walked in and kisses her on the cheek.

"Yeah. Hi," she replied, irate.

Seamless kept his bags on and sat down on the couch. He turned and looked at Dash, who was still standing with the door wide open. "Dash, come sit and tell me what's wrong."

Dash slammed the door shut and walked in front of Seamless. "I'll tell you what's wrong Seamless. It's your father. And something YOU did I'm sure. Unless you can tell me what I have done to deserve insults and glares all day from ponies I don't even know?"

"Wow that fight got around fast," he thought. "My father and I may have had a little fight today."

"From what I've been called today it doesn't seem like a 'little' fight Seamless," she said sternly. I never actually thought I'd be called a 'whore' by ponies I don't even know. What the hell were you even fighting about?"

Seamless looked away and mumbled, "We were fighting about you."

Dash groaned and threw herself on the couch next to Seamless. "Les, you said your father was over and past us seeing each other. Did you lie to me about that?"

"No, I didn't lie about it! Really, he did say he was fine with it."

Rainbow dash wasn't convinced. "Then why would he be mad at us together now? Have I done something, have YOU done something?"

"No, no Dash, it was nothing you did." Seamless slid over closer to Dash and wrapped a hoof around her. "It's me Dash, but it's something I haven't done, at least not yet."

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"I-- can't tell you yet Dash. You'll have to wait until tonight."

Dash groaned and swatted Seamless' hoof away. "And what is just so damned important that you can't tell me now huh? I mean really Les, we've been together for what, more than half a year, and you can't..."

Dash stopped and sighed. She got up and walked to the window, which she stared absentmindedly out of for a moment. "Les. You said we would never fight about anything."

Seamless got up himself and moved beside her. "I know Dashie. I thought it would never happen."

Dash turned to look at Seamless, her vision hazed through watering eyes. "I don't know if I can do this Seamless."

Seamless' heart dropped. "N-no Dash, don't say that! We can work through this, I know we can!" His Voice broke, "Dash, please, we can't just up and end this when things get tough. We need this to work, I need this to work!"

She blinked out a couple of tears. "Seamless, your dad obviously doesn't approve of me. And if I can see it then a lot of other ponies do too. If he did approve then those ponies would think twice about saying anything to me."

"I don't care what he thinks Dash. And you shouldn't either. If the ponies around here don't get that then we should move. Somewhere near by of course. Where was that town you said Fluttershy moved-"

"Seamless!" Dash was visibly blinking tears away from an angry face. "It's not that simple! You're not going to be getting any more of your dad's money if we do go. What will we do for food huh? And besides, I still have a few weeks of training to go for this weather job. I can't live like this, and I for sure can't do it with the rest of my class and even my trainers calling me a WHORE ALL THE TIME!"

Seamless shrank into the wall. Dash wiped her eyes and turned back to the window. "You should go Seamless."

"Dash, I-"

"GO, SEAMLESS!"

He bit his lips and stifled a sob. Seamless opened the door and looked once more at Dash. He took one hoofstep out the door and stopped. After a moment he walked back in and right next to Dash. He pulled out the velvet box and placed it on the windowsill. He placed a quick kiss on her cheek and whispered, "I love you Dash." And with that, he was gone, slamming the door behind him and taking to the skies.

Dash stared at the box for a good ten minutes before finally reaching a hoof up to touch it. She slid her hoof around the soft cover a moment before picking it up and opening it. Picking the note out of the box, she gazed at it until her glazing eyes were too blurry to see from. Her legs grew weak and dropping to the ground, all she could do was cry out, her weeping tears blotting and smearing the words 'WILL YOU MARRY ME?' on the simple note adorning the silver wings.

Seamless had no where to go. Dash was his only hope. "Emphasis on the 'was.'" he thought. He no longer had a home at his father's, nor a home at Dash's. Even Coltwood Field had been torn down after the old geezer passed on. The only place Seamless could think to go was the old flight camp, where he first met his Dash. Flying up to the entrance, he was greeted by a horde of little foals of many ages rushing past to be picked up by their parents. He looked around and spotted one of his old instructors.

"Excuse me, Ms. Canary?" He said meekly. "Do you remember me?"

The young mare just laughed after taking a good look. "How can I forget the son of Hem? It's been a while Seamless, how have things been going?"

Seamless focused on the cloud below. "Oh not so good I guess. I was just wondering...could I maybe just fly around a bit, just for old time's sake?"

"Oh. Of course Seamless, take your time." Seamless nodded and walked out to the track. The track he had first seen his beautiful mare. He looked out over the track, the amazing wave of color spreading across the skies still present in his memory. Flying over to the starting line, he sat down as his mind wondered towards the memories of that day. The pure joy on Dash's face when she landed warmed his heart to this day.

Then his mind flashed back to earlier. Sadness and pain is all he could recall then. He shook his head and stood up. "Only one way to clear my head," he whispered to himself. He cocked his body back, readied his wings, and shot off from the starting point, the metal beams of the flags bending with the force. He rocketed through the air, the cloud rings he passed dissolving with the gusts of wind.

Dash had searched everywhere, the Hem & Seam shop, Seamless' workshop, their local pub, and no where was he to be found. She even tried the Hem mansion. She of course wasn't allowed in, but her and Seamless' trainer was leaving, saying that he wasn't home, so no training for that day. There was only one other place in town she could look, and that was Cloudsdale Flight Camp. She soared off, clutching the silver wings around her neck.

Dash flew across Cloudsdale in less than five minutes, landing on the cloud entrance infront of Ms. Canary.

"Well if it isn't Rainbow Dash! My, my, are all my old students dropping by to say hello today?"

Dash trotted up to her. "Sorry Ms. Canary, it's good to see you but I'm looking for somepony. Have you seen Seamless around?"

"Why yes, he's out on the track right now. He just got here so i assume he's still out there, I-"

Dash didn't wait around to hear what she had to say, and was out on the track in two flaps of a wing. She sat up on the bleachers and looked around, trying to spot the crimson colt.

Seamless was having fun. As much fun as he could, navigating the track of his foalhood. The simple twists, turns, and dives, obviously child's play to Seamless, but it reminded him of days not worrying about his father's constant nagging over Seamless' future. Before it was such a big deal to follow "Tradition." Flying was the only thing he liked, next to tinkering in his own workshop. Finding ways to go faster. Faster, yet still agile.

He saw the drop for the ground level hoop coming up, so he closed his eyes, and dived.

Dash finally spotted him, quite a ways off, but still in sight. She took off from her perch, flying towards the speeding colt. She flew fast, but not fast enough to whip the chain around and break off. Dash began hollering after him, but saw him dive down towards the ground, so instead she stopped at a passing cloud to watch his dive. He flew fast, faster than Dash had seen him fly since that night so many months before.

It was then she noticed something. That cone she had seen when she made that signature flight. The cone that would become her way towards her cutie mark. Seamless was blur of red streaking towards the ground at neck breaking speeds. But then Dash saw something odd, the cone wasn't as even as hers was. In fact it was wobbling, the increasing speeds casting turbulent air around Seamless.

Then it happened. just before the ground the cone disappeared, and Seamless' nose shot straight down, instead of the angle he should have. His forelegs caught on the hoop, and he spiraled out into the trees.

Maybe, just maybe Seamless could do it. He felt the air compress around him again, tightening around his outstretched legs. The speeds incredible, shaking him back and forth and...this wasn't supposed to happen, Seamless always performed in perfect form, why would the turbulence affect him now? The shaking and tossing increased twisting and turning his wings with every flap, threatening to snap the bones. Seamless tried as hard as he could to keep himself on track, but it was no use. His left wing popped out of it's joint and his speed dropped. Not that he noticed, the pain emanating from his back was too intense. The sudden drop in speed well below mach put him in another stall, and he shot straight down.

He flared out his good wing but it only managed to bring him up a few inches, and he plowed right into the bottom of the hoop. It flipped him around in a tumble that flung him towards the woods nearby. He remembered hitting the first branch, face up towards the clouds. His vision grew black as the last thing he saw, a shadow descending from the clouds, before he passed out.

Dash landed next to the woods, eyeing the devastation before her. Small but whole trees ripped from the ground at the roots, branches shattered and strewn about the ground. She walked into the woods, scanning for any sign of movement.

"SEAMLESS!" she began hyperventilating. She tried listening for a response but her own heavy breaths and thumping heart blocked out any other sound. Her vision blurred, but came back clear as day when she saw a blotch of red. She ran towards it, still calling out her friends' name. Coming closer she saw the outline of a wing laying just behind a tree.

She approached it, on the verge of passing out from lack of air. "Seamless...are you...o-" Upon turning around the tree, she saw that it was indeed Seamless' wing. But only his wing. She backed up, unable to breath. Her whole body shook. She turned and vomited and when all was expelled, she heaved, unable to produce anything.

"Dash..."

Dash's head shot up, still not able to breathe, she heard it again.

"Dash..."

She ran towards the noise. Only a few yards ahead lay Seamless, battered, bruised, and broken. Where one of his wings used to be, only a heavily bleeding stump of bone and sinew remained. His other wing, while still attached, lay twisted underneath him, the odd shattered bone sticking out through leaking holes. All around lay feathers, sticking to leaves and branches with the slick blood coating them.

She stumbled over and dropped beside him. Raising his head up, she gently shook him. His eyes were closed and his breathing ragged, but he was still alive. "Les. Wake up! P-please..."

No answer came from the dying pegasus, only the shallow breaths of a colt on his last legs. Dash leaned in and whispered into his ear, "Please Les, wake up. I-I want to marry you! I want to grow old with you, please Seamless wake up..." She trailed off as her sobbing overtook her. She vaguely registered a voice calling from above.

"I saw him land! Down here, quick!"

Dash tried to stay calm, keep her breathing steady, but her body and mind could no longer take the devastating scene before her, so she laid down next to him and passed out.