//------------------------------// // Smooth Flying // Story: Light Crash's Last Flight // by Redwolf15 //------------------------------// Those two mares were flying circles around everypony else. The rest of the fliers were still on three hundred and something when the cyan and opal mares were done. It became hard for Light Crash to breathe no thanks to those smokes. He hated that he depended on them.  When he was finally done with his five hundredth lap, he headed to the mess hall. He was third to last to finish, two others whose names Crash didn't know were still going. Before entering he dug out another smoke and lit it. He looked in his package and found that he only had five left.  'Doubt that I could buy any more in a place like this.' He thinks after taking another drag from his smoke.  After finishing it, he throws it down and smothers the flame with his shoe. He opens the door to the mess hall and the smell of food wafts through the air. Light grabs an apple juice, a few carrots, and a sandwich. He hears grunts of struggling and sees Snowflake arm wrestling two stallions at the same time, with only one arm. Cloudchaser was beside him and Thunderlane opposite of them. They watched in amusement as the two other stallions tried with all their might to beat Snowflake, who didn't even look like he was trying.  Crash sits on the same side as Thunderlane, just in time as Snowflake finally decides to end the futile struggling. He slams both of their arms down, throwing both of them off their seats and winning in one try. Thunderlane and Cloudchaser laugh and congratulate their friend as he stands up, yelling out a "YEAH!" in victory as he puts both fists in the air. Crash laughs along, seeing the embarrassment of the faces on the other two. "Hey, Light Crash, glad to see you finally made it, beginning to think you died out there." Thunderlane jokes, just noticing his presence.  "It's not going to be that easy." He looks around the mess hall and notices that the two mares from before aren't around. "So where are they?" He asks the others. "Who?" Cloudchaser asks, not sure who he means. "The two mares that made us look bad. Who are they anyway?"  "Oh, them. Not sure where they are. But the one with the rainbow mane is Rainbow Dash, the best flier in our town by far." Thunderlane answers. "It's always been her dream to join the Wonderbolts. I’m surprised that it took this long for them to notice her, especially since she saved their lives." Light Crash thinks a bit, knowing that he heard that name somewhere. "Wait, Rainbow Dash, where have I heard that before?" He leans back sifting through his memory bank. Then it finally clicks. "Wait, you mean the Rainbow Dash? The same Rainbow Dash who won the Best Young Fliers competition that happened about two years ago, and performed the Sonic Rainboom?" The three of them nod their heads. "Damn, what of the other mare?"  "No idea, none of us have seen her before. But from what we've seen, she's got about as good a chance as Dash does at becoming a Wonderbolt." Cloudchaser says. "Say Light, can you still do that thing?" She asks with a devilish grin coming across her face changing the subject. "What do you- oh, you mean that. Yeah, I can still do it." He confirms, not sure where she's going with this. "Well then, why don't you arm wrestle Snowflake here. He's one away from winning ten in a row." She suggests. "No, you know the repercussions of me doing that, and I always hate when it happens."  "Oh come on, it'll be great." She starts begging. "Nope, not going to do it." He starts eating his meal and looks back at her; she was giving him the puppy dog eyes. "Not the eyes. Please." She kept pushing. "Fine." She whoops in cheer that he accepted. "What's she talking about?" Thunderlane asks Light Crash.  "Sit tight and you'll find out." He pushes his food to the side. "Okay big guy, let's get this over with." They grip each others’ hands, while Thunderlane covers his head with his own. "Okay boys, basic rules. First to drive the other's hand into the table, or whosoever arm doesn't snap off, wins. No distractions of any kind, using any other part of your body other than you hand will be considered cheating, and leave the smack talk for later. Or not, your choice." He lets go, signaling for them to start.  Light Crash uses all his strength against Snowflake right from the start, struggling to win. But through all his might, Snowflake's arm doesn't budge an inch. But he knows this isn't going to work, it’s just a part of his plan. Stage one, he deceives the opponent into thinking that he's nothing special. Snowflake lets out amused laughter and he slowly bends his arm down, becoming the obvious winner.  Stage two of Crash's plan, he uses his ace.   Light Crash's blood starts rushing through his body fast, his heart rate increases, and he gains strength. Pools of strength. Snowflake's arm stops moving one way and starts going the other, while Light Crash's began going up. Snowflake, not sure how to explain this turn of events, starts trying. He grits his teeth together and tenses his muscles, his veins bulging out more than they already were.  A small crowd gathered around, joining in the excitement, they were all dumbfounded by what was happening. The only two that were uncertain as how this was possible was Cloudchaser, who only looked amused to see the white stallion actually trying, and Light Crash.  Sweat starts coming down from both of their brows, each struggling to gain the upper hand.  The two fight with all their might and if they try any harder, they'd literally be sweating bullets. A bloody curdling cry is heard through the entire mess hall, catching everyponies' attention. Spectators watch in disbelief as they see Snowflake's arm pressed against the table with Light Crash's on top.  The room is silent, with the exception of two stallions breathing heavily. "How did you do that?" Thunderlane asks breaking the silence, disbelief that the obvious winner just lost in a duel of might. Light Crash was feverishly taking in oxygen.  "Yeah?" Snowflake asks, just as winded as Crash. "That... That's a... secret." He responds, finally catching his breath. "He can activate his adrenaline at command, boosting his strength, speed, and stamina to unimaginable heights while and reducing pain."  "Cloud!" Light yells at her, now knowing that everyone else knows. "Since when did that become a secret?" She teases. "But it has one unfortunate side effect..." And as if right on queue Light Crash loses all strength and flops onto the table surface and his stomach growls louder than Snowflake’s blood cry. "He gets pathetically weak."  "FOOO-OHOHOH-OD!" Light Crash complains, unable to use the muscles in his body to reach for his tray.  "Thunderlane, help me get this lunk head to the emergency room." Cloudchaser says to her friend.  "Why am I the lunk head? You're the one that said I should do it." Light Crash says weakly.  "That doesn't mean you should've listened to me." She says to her friend as the two grab each of his arms and throw him over their shoulders, dragging his body to the infirmary. "I'm surprised that you're even alive let alone conscious." A light gray pegasus says after she took a look at his vitals. "Normally, anypony using that much power would leave some serious strain on their body, may never be able to use those muscles again, and using adrenaline consciously to boot. And let's not even get started on how your lungs are looking,"  'Damn smokes. Wish I could quit.' Light Crash thinks to himself as he sits on the bed, strength fully recovered. "But other than any of that, everything else looks good. Still unsure how you're alive though." "Well if it makes you feel any better the first time I found out I was able to do this I nearly did die. I spent three months in the hospital recovering."  "It doesn't. If it's alright with you I'd like to run some tests and figure out how any of this is possible." "Sorry doc," Crash says to her as he slides off the bed. "But I've gone through that with countless others, and the latest hasn't come any closer than the last. And personally, I find it a complete invasion of personal space."  "Well, I can't force you into this. Okay, you're free to go." Light Crash walks out the door and lights another cigarette, inhaling deeply. It always feels good having a smoke after an adrenaline rush; it's like sex.  "Hey there." A familiar mare greets Light Crash.  "Hello," He says back, unsure if she's just being friendly or wants to talk to him. "That was pretty cool what you did at the mess hall back there. I saw the whole thing."  "Thanks." Light Crash thinks back but doesn't remember seeing her there. But that doesn't surprise him; there were a lot of ponies gathered around. "You know I must say that you impressed me when Spitfire addressed you. You showed no fear and full confidence. That tells me one of two things about you: You're either determined to be a Wonderbolt, or an idiot." "What'd you call me?" She asks feeling offended.  "I mean that unless you're truly determined to be a Wonderbolt, and by the way you fly I can tell that you do, you'd be an idiot not to be scared by Spitfire's intimidation." He clarifies before being beaten into next week.   "Oh, well what about you? You didn't look scared of her either, and you didn't finish that early."  "Are you kidding? I was terrified! But I knew the method to her madness. Thanks to the information that I held, your boldness, and that other mare's competitiveness, our own chances of becoming a Wonderbolts increased. And from seeing how you two faired in the speed department during the five-hundred laps, I'd say the two of you will become Wonderbolts hands down. But me, I can't say." "Hey what do you mean 'our chances' increased?" She asks. Light Crash was caught off guard. "Didn't you know that it was a test? Pick those that had the mental ability to stay calm under pressure?" She shakes her head. Was he the only one that caught on? "Well, you better look out for that when they're around. Everything they do to us is a test. Whether it's seeing how strong you are, or how tough you can look. To be a Wonderbolt is not just how good a flier you are, it's how much pressure you can take."  "Everything?" Light crash nods his head. "Wow, I knew becoming a Wonderbolt would be tough, but that hard?" He nods again. She puts her hands in her pocket and her eyes go heavy; that special spark that Light Crash noticed in her back in the lineup was gone. "Hey, I never introduced myself. Name’s Rainbow Dash." She pulls her hand out of her pocket and is instantly out of her gloom, the spark back in her eyes. "I'm Light Crash." He shakes her hand; it's surprisingly strong. "Hey, Crash!" He hears a familiar voice and sees an even more familiar mare flying their way.  "Yo." He says simply to her when she arrives.  "Hey Cloudchaser, you know this guy?" Rainbow Dash asks her. "Yup, knew him before I knew you. Hey, if you don't mind I'd like to borrow him for a while." She says. "Sure, catch ya later." She waves to Light Crash and flies off.  "So, what do you need me for?" Light Crash asks after Dash leaves.  "Just follow me." She tugs on his arm and they fly in the opposite direction as Rainbow Dash. "So how's Snowflake?" Light Crash asks as she drags him. "He'll live, but his pride will never be the same. And don't worry about him jumping you in the middle of night and snapping your neck, he's a good sport about these kinds of things." She teases. "Well, never thought that would happen until now. Thanks for putting my mind at ease." They share a laugh, and just for a second, everything seemed like it used to be; before Cloudchaser moved away.  They fly away from the academy unseen, as it's prohibited to leave and the punishment is expulsion, but they've never been the type to follow rules. She leads him to a spring; a mountain grew high up one side with a waterfall running into a pool. To the other side was lush with green grass and flowers of many different colors. It was a little patch of heaven. They sit on a cloud and watch the wild animals spend their time playing.  "So what's your life been like since moving?" Light Crash asks as he rolls on his back and stares at the sky. "Hasn't been that bad. Ponyville’s a nice town and all, and there's a lot of excitement that happens, but it's not the same. Can't say the same for Flitter, she got into the swing of things on day one. I was able to finish High school with passing grades; not great, but passing. Dropped out of college and found a nice job. Flitter and I decided to be roommates and have rented a house. She's still in college, made new friends as you can tell, mom's still..." "Always on your case?" Light Crash finishes for her. "Yes, but she means well. How about you? How's everything back in the old town and the others?" She asks rolling on her side to face him. "They're well. Boom's making a career for himself as a boxer, no surprise there. Shine, Serene, and I are all in college. Shine and I are still doing stupid things with Serene constantly yelling at us." Cloudchaser laughs, recalling some of the things those two would do. "Some things never change, huh?"  "Yeah, but nothing stays the same." He turns to face her, his eyes dull; years of their life together, gone. All the laughter, shouting, crying, the good times, the bad; all lost. Only memories now. "What happened?" "I didn't have a choice, you know that." She replies, thinking the same as him. "No, not that, what happened between us? Did it really work out?"  "Of course," She sits up. "We loved each other, we were great together." Light Crash sits up with her. "So why'd we stop? Why don't we start over, pick up where we left off? I know where you live now. I'll drop out of college and leave town. I'll move to Ponyville and everything will be just like it used to be for the two of us."  "You can't do that; you'll be throwing your future away!"She raises her voice. "You aren't doing that! We may have had something once, and we still could, but what you're saying is stupid. And I know about stupid." Instead of yelling back at her to push her to give in, he leans in, grabs her arms, and kisses her. Cloudchaser was caught off guard from this, surprised by his quick act. At first she didn't know what to do, but soon gave in, closing her eyes and enjoying the moment as their tongues danced together. He finally broke the connection, they breathed lightly, holding each other closely.  "I've missed you." She says quietly to him, tears in her eyes. "Okay, maybe this can work out. But on one condition." "What?" "You quit smoking when you move in." She teases by holding her nose, causing the two to laugh together. A warm, hearty laugh that lasted a second longer than usual. "Come on, we should head back before we're noticed missing."  They fly once more through the sky, a now setting sun changing the color of the clouds and sky. They made it to the Academy by nightfall, making sure to not be seen. They kiss once more before departing to their dormitories. Light Crash flies in through the open window, making as little noise as possible. He floats into one of the many beds in the dorm where all the newcomers stay.  "Hey, where have you been?" Thunderlane whispers, popping his head over the bunk bead that he shares with Light Crash. "We didn't see you or Cloud after what happened in the mess hall."  "Yeah?" Snowflake was beside them, his bed looked like it was about to collapse from his weight. Light Crash tried figuring out how he never saw them as he flew in. "We were... out." He puts his arms behind his head and dozes off, only willing to give that little bit of information. The two stallions look at each other, not sure what he means by that. After giving a shrug to one another, they follow his lead and fall asleep. Well, sleep wasn't the right word. Thanks to Snowflakes loud snoring, everypony else in the room are more so moaning.