Blown Away

Twilight could feel the cool wind in her mane as she nimbly avoided the clouds of the Dragon Course. Her fellow students cheered her on from down below. Rainclouds were of no trouble. Twisters were a walk in the park. The last obstacle, the towering pillar of thunder, seemed to cooperate with her efforts, leading her through.

“Congratulations, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash met her at the finish line. “I knew you could do it. I think you were even faster than my best time!” Thump. An odd noise could be heard, coming from nowhere in particular. Spitfire headed over.

“I guess you could handle it after all. Good work, Cadet,” she glanced at her clipboard. “Huh. Another academy record.” Thump.

“Thanks! Do either of you hear that?” Twilight asked, puzzled. Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to answer, but was drowned out by another loud thump. “Wait… what?” Twilight asked, looking around. The white clouds that they had been standing on had turned dark gray. The academy was nowhere to be found.

“What just happened?” she asked, turning back towards Rainbow and Spitfire. They were nowhere to be found. Thump. Her side began to itch furiously.

As Twilight turned to inspect her side, the sun began to go down, quickly changing the sky from blue to red. A large smiling face made of rainclouds formed in the sky above her, one she recognized immediately. “Princess Celestia?” Twilight asked. Thump. There was that noise again.

The face frowned and opened its mouth, but all Twilight could hear was the howling of the wind. Thump. Bang. A loud clap of thunder startled her. The winds began to shake her back and forth against her will. The princess began shouting, “Twilight, wake up! You’re going to be late!”

Twilight Sparkle groggily opened her eyes as her mind returned to reality. “Wha… Rainbow?” Rainbow Dash was shaking her back and forth. Behind her were shards of broken glass. “Did you break in?”

“Sorry. I was tapping on the window forever, and I guess the last one was a little too forceful. What did you lock your window for, anyway?” Rainbow asked. “Anyway, Spitfire starts training in about five minutes, so you better hoof it. That burn get any better?” She pulled Twilight out of her sheets and stared at her side. The wound had already begun to heal.

“It’s fine, Rainbow… You don’t have to worry so much. Wait. Did you say… five minutes?” Twilight eyes widened. “But… but… I don’t have time to brush my hair. Or eat breakfast. Or...”

“Let’s GO,” Rainbow Dash dragged Twilight out of the window and they flew into the air. Twilight winced as her side throbbed painfully.

They arrived just seconds before Spitfire emerged from her office. “Good morning, everypony. Tomorrow is your chance to show us what you’re made of, so today will be recovery. Take it easy and perform your best tomorrow. Just one lap of the butterfly course for each of you. Two for the experienced fliers.” The ponies broke off into the groups and headed towards the course.

“First!” Rainbow Dash called, rushing through the starting line. She had finished her two laps before Twilight even reached the course. “Well I guess I’m done for the day,” Rainbow said.

“Showoff,” Twilight grinned, and headed into the butterfly course, taking it slow. Her wound didn’t hurt too much and she was able to fly normally, clearing the first and second obstacles with no problem. Now all that was left was a straight stretch to the finish and…

A pegasus rushing forward collided with Twilight, brushing her concealed wound. “Sorry!” he called, then stopped and turned around. “Are you okay, Princess Twilight?”

“I’m… fine…” Twilight said through gritted teeth. She had curled up her legs in pain, shuddering. Her side throbbed again before returning to normal. Finishing the lap, she headed off to take a rest.

“Stopping after just one?” Spitfire asked, approaching Twilight. Twilight instinctively covered her side with her wing and regretted it as the pain returned.

“Yeah, I’m just a little winded,” Twilight said, smiling sheepishly. As she turned away, Spitfire poked her in the side. Twilight fell down, writhing in pain on the floor of the cloud. “Ow…” she moaned.

“Rainbow Dash! What is this?” Spitfire asked. Rainbow flew down to join them, wincing at Twilight’s pain.

“I, uh…I don’t know?” Rainbow Dash offered.

“It’s just a stomach ache. I didn’t have time to get breakfast this morning and it hurt,” Twilight explained. With a stroke of luck, her stomach rumbled.

Spitfire nodded. “Oh alright, I guess I just mistook it for something else.” Twilight and Rainbow Dash collectively let out a sigh of relief. “Take care of yourself, Twilight,” she pressed an energy bar into Twilight’s hoof before taking off.

Twilight munched on the energy bar hungrily as Rainbow Dash examined her side. “You really did a good job of hiding it,” Rainbow said. “But it doesn’t look like you’ll heal up soon enough for the Dragon Course. Maybe you should call in sick.”

Twilight swallowed and turned to face her. “No way am I ever calling in sick when I’m not actually sick. I’ve never called in sick before. Not even when I was sick! I can’t miss a day of school, especially not one as important as this!”

“You’re that determined, huh?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Determined or crazy,” she thought to herself. “Okay then. I have one last thing for you tonight. We’re going to try the Dragon again. But this time, I’m going through it with you. Anything happens, I’ll be right there by your side.”

Twilight nodded, finishing her energy bar. “I’m going to go do another run of the Butterfly. Maybe with a bit of luck, we can still get through this.”