//------------------------------// // 5 - Training from Blaze // Story: Top Wings // by Outlaw Quadrant //------------------------------// Mattresses, water balloons, a portable vacuum cleaner, pillows, a small fan with attached gauge, a larger fan at least twice a pony’s height, fog clouds, regular clouds, the party cannon, and a masseuse table, all items out of place at Ponyville’s track and field. Yet, they were all there at Blaze’s request and in prompt time. Pinkie had most of these items stashed inside tree trunks for reasons Swift found perplexing. “In case of what emergency?” he said, tilting his head. “Gotcha, I think.” Twilight placed the small fan by the track. “Ahem! This, fillies and gentlecolts.” She noticed Blaze’s deliberate coughing, “And falcon—” “And dragon,” Spike added. The bookworm shot a half-eyed glare at her assistant. “This is an anemometer. It’s—” “We don’t have time for one of your boring lectures,” Rainbow groused while pointing at the afternoon sun. “Just get to the point!” “Ugh! Fine.” She tossed her long, technical explanation in her internal recycle bin. “Basically, it measures your wing power, which we’ll use as a rough gauge of your progress. All you have to do is go at full speed from the starting line and pass by the anemometer.” Rainbow started hovering. “So, does that mean if I have more”— Her hooves did an air quote. –“wing power than Swift, does that mean I’m a better flier than him?” Twilight rubbed her jaw. “Well, I suppose you could say that, but there are many other factors than just—” “Got it!” Giving Swift a sly smile, “Let me set the bar for ya.” She zipped all the way to a white line painted across the track lanes. After a few wing stretches, she licked her chops, ready to confirm her status as the best flyer in Equestria. “Let’s do this!” Raising her hindquarter, she went full throttle, but kept her front hooves planted for an instant. Then, she rocketed down the lane, leaving a rainbow streak in her turbulent wake. After she passed by her friends, the accompanying gust grabbed onto everyone’s cheeks and pulled them all the way back. Fluttershy lost grip with the ground, but Applejack’s hoof saved her from mimicking tumbleweed. When Rainbow returned, Twilight whipped her head until her manestyle returned to its conservative shape. “Fifteen point four wingpower!” the unicorn proclaimed with a raised hoof. “So, how great was that?” Rainbow said with a wide grin. Twilight shrugged. “A great number but of course, everything’s relative.” Swift glided toward the start line, while Rainbow kept a judicious eye on him. If there was a habit he had that grated her, it was Swift holding back his true potential. In the impromptu training sessions they held last week above the Stallihorn Mountains, she continually pestered him how wrong that was to the point that they made an agreement. Instead of using words, she should signal not to slack off with a muzzle tap, and she did so as he landed on the starting line. He responded with a nod. Leaning forwards, Rainbow watched her friend go through the same motions she did, but instead of getting his wings moving, Swift raised them skywards, and held them there. When his appendages swooped down, it shoved the air with enough force that it scraped off the surrounding grass. As the slender stallion rocketed down the track, a visible airwave trailed him, but it soon disappeared, leaving only light and medium blue streaks. Once the stallion made it past everyone, the sound he created was not quite like Rainbow’s, a high-pitched whine dripping with raw power. It was a touch softer, with a faint gurgle. Again, they all got an unwanted new hairdo. Twilight read the gauge, only she found the result a little surprising considering Swift’s unintentional mowing job at the starting line. “Fourteen flat? Well, okay, I guess that’s what it is. Did you get those times, Spike?” The dragon held up a clipboard with half the sheets torn off. “Not exactly. I’ll need some—” Pinkie already had clean paper on the ready. “Never mind.” “Excellent,” said Blaze. He hung a purple whistle around his neck. “Then we can begin.” Besides the track and field, Twilight aimed her horn at the massive fan. Soon, the magenta-glowing blades were in motion, generating an increasing gust with an accompanying whine. On the apparatus’ other side, Fluttershy bounced on a fog cloud, which spewed out a fine mist. Rarity powered up her vacuum, so she could make it disappear into its round canister. After a few minutes, Spike replaced the thick hose with one that was longer, but narrower. When the dragon finished, he flipped the vacuum switch to reverse mode, and allowed the fashionista free reign in aiming the hose’s tip by the fan’s side. Out came a consistent wisp of white fog that the manufactured wind took backwards in a straight line. A whistle blow later, Rainbow flew straight ahead toward the blades, until she found equilibrium between her forward speed, and the wind’s push. Once the misty trail hit her muzzle, it split into two. It curved around her body’s contours, and then regrouped behind her tail. Unfortunately, the visible air also tickled her nostrils, causing a sneeze. What came out immediately splattered all over her face, make her wretch. “How much longer?” she protested. Blaze tsk-tsk’ed at the wavy air flowing across Rainbow’s outline. “Your hooves are not straight, and your back is not arched properly.” She scrunched up her face. “So? I’ve always flown this way!” Twilight traced the visible air. “Your body is creating too much drag, which will wear you out faster.” She brought up a book titled Aerodynamics, It’s Not All Hot Air, so she could show her friend the demonstrating a pegasus’ profile. “Try doing this, Rainbow.” “Huh?” Her eye twitched at how much lower the pony’s middle section was compared to the rest of the body. “Is that even possible?” “We must try,” said the falcon. “Even a small reduction in drag can pay dividends in a long race.” “But—” Blaze silenced her with his small instrument. With some grumbling, she gave it a shot, stretching her hooves until they felt ready to fall off their sockets. Her ribcage eked out a centimeter, but they stiffened up when she asked for more. That apparently wasn’t enough, as she got more shrill noise from the trainer. Now she realized why her weather team kept stealing her whistles the time she tried using one at work. “What now, Blaze?” she blurted. “You’re currently not flexing enough. It appears we’ll need Applejack’s services for this after all.” The trainer pointed at the cowpony, standing by the masseuse table on the track’s inside field. Other than the local chiropractor, she was an expert in bending a pony’s body without hurting them, or at least that’s what she claimed. Rainbow had her suspicions. “Do you know what you’re doing?” she said as she laid flat on the table. “When you spend every other day fixin’ up Granny’s back, you learn a few things.” She wriggled her hooves. “Now, dontcha move on me. This won’t hurt, much.” Meanwhile, Swift took her place, keeping in mind about the posture illustrated in Twilight’s book. The hooves were cake, but his middle section cooperated with only half an inch. When he heard Rainbow spitting out brief oofs and ouchs, however, that convinced his ribcage that a little pain now was better than possibly more later. However, he still got a whistle tweet, making his eyes grow wide. “Um, something wrong, Blaze?” The falcon’s beady eyes narrowed at his middle section. “Your form is acceptable, but at the rear, hmm, interesting.” Pinkie spun her hoof around. “Ooooh, swirly!” Swift turned his head back, realizing what fascinated the party pony. Below his wings, some white smoke spun around with great speed. “Whoa! What is that?” The bookworm flipped a few pages to a chapter named Vortex Theory. Unfortunately, it was lengthy, technical, and a section Twilight hadn’t reached yet. Blaze peeked for a look, but got a headache with all the jargon. Instead of reading for hours, the falcon made an educated guess. “It’s the reason why you’re agile,” he said feigning confidence. Swift immediately bought it with a nod. “Gotcha. So, um, I’m good?” Blaze rubbed his beak. “I suppose.” The stallion’s smile grew wide. “But just in case. Applejack? Are you finished with Rainbow?” They all turned to the masseuse table, where they found their friend doing an impersonation of a wriggling cyan pretzel. Mouths dropped open, except for Blaze who maintained his stoic expression. Applejack acted as though her friend’s hind hoof wrapped around her head was normal. “Just gotta let ‘er sit like that for a few minutes,” she said, giving everyone a wink. She padded an empty spot on the table. “C’mon, Swift. Don’t be a stranger.” Swift trembled as though the cowpony was a mad scientist, with him being the next victim. “Oh shoot.” With a flick of the quill, Spike checked off both pegasus for the aerodynamic test. Neither was ecstatic about it. “I still can’t feel it,” moaned Swift, wriggling his back. Rainbow’s head skewed slightly left. “It keeps doing that. Maybe I should see a real chiropractor.” Blaze ignored their complaints, opting for a quick trill with his whistle. “Stability test. Go.” Both pegasi flew toward the fan, which now spun faster than before. The grass below tore from its shallow roots, and finding new homes in the pegasi’s faces. After some quick apologies, Rarity and Twilight poured more magic onto the machine, bringing the wind speed closer to that of a hurricane. The duo applied maximum power, even as their faces flapping about provided a constant distraction. Much to Blaze’s surprise, the ponies held a stable position, although from the pained expressions, it wouldn’t stay that way forever. Then again, the unicorns’ horns flickered like a malfunctioning light bulb. “Twilight! Rarity!” Blaze yelled over the roaring machine. “You must push harder!” With bit lips, the unicorns scrambled for more juice, only it came out in uneven bursts, making the air increasingly turbulent. The pegasi found themselves in a raging battle with endless, precise course adjustments, a battle that Rainbow realized she was losing. She bobbled further off the centerline, triggering mental alarms. It was a sound she was a little too familiar with, as being a high-performance pegasus meant constantly being close to the thin line between immaculate flying and a spectacular crash. There was a reason why she earned the moniker Rainbow Crash, and she was in danger of exposing to everyone watching why. I… must… hold on! This fan has… nothing on me! Meanwhile, Swift had a different problem on his hooves. If agility was his ace in the hole, flight control was close behind. However, what he wished for right now was more wing power. The fan was on the verge of hurling him away, just as with the tornado did to him years ago. Even with the throttle all the way up, he pushed on it anyways, causing his wings to flap beyond their limits. They started sputtering, but with the machine’s power ebbing, he backed off a little, believing he was gaining the upper hoof. However, his ears twitched, warning him that his friend was losing control. His instincts were right, as Rainbow tumbled right at him. Immediately, he prepared himself for a grab. “I gotcha! I—oof!” They stuck together like glue, as the machine pushed them toward a massive tree trunk. With what little control the slender stallion had, he latched onto the mare, while stretching his wings wide, taking the pair downwards. His wings folded back in just before his back skidded through a thin grass layer. However, he held his passenger tightly until the two came to a complete stop under the tree’s shade. Immediately, Rainbow rolled off so she could get up. However, since she banged her head on the stallion’s chest, her hooves thought taking her right into the trunk was a good idea. Meanwhile, Swift fidgeted around the field, realizing he could feel his backside again thanks to a singeing chlorophyll streak. “They’re doing a funny dance!” Pinkie giggled. Twilight cringed at the two dusted-up ponies. “I don’t think that’s what they’re doing. Blaze, do you think we should cut this session short?” A quick peek at the machine made up his mind. Only one of its blades showed signs of warping. “Hmm, let’s do three more rounds.” For Rainbow, Pinkie’s party cannon aimed right at her rattled her nerves. “Um, Blaze? What exactly are we doing?” His talons poked a pillow stack. “On the track, contact is inevitable. Although we should race in a proper manner, that does not preclude us from at least defending ourselves, especially from Gilda. However, if control is lost, we should practice safe crash landings. Remember, to finish well, you must first finish.” Twilight and Rarity levitated the mattresses below Rainbow, with Fluttershy adding a thin cloud layer thereafter. “These will substitute for the track’s bottom surface.” Spike stuffed a pillow into the cannon. “Ready to fire!” Rainbow didn’t know what to make of all this. “So, I’m just supposed to body slam it?” “That’s right,” said Twilight. She flashed a smile. “Don’t worry.” She pressed her hoof on the ammunition, which swallowed it whole. “These pillows are super soft. They shouldn’t hurt.” She didn’t find that reassuring. Granted, they were bags filled with feathers, but she remembered the time Pinkie accidently fired a cream pie onto her face. A few marbles were lost that day. “Um, are you sure about—” The whistle went off, prompting Pinkie to smack the cannon. A pillow emerged from the barrel, twirling at great speed. Rainbow’s instincts gave her two options, avoid or strike back. She chose the latter, so she led in with her shoulder. Her opponent bounced right off without making a dent. It retreated toward the ground, but a blue hue took it back with its kin, ready to fight once again. “Heh!” Rainbow flexed her upper torso. “That wasn’t too bad. C’mon! Bring it!” Blaze complied, allowing the cannon operator free reign to pop Rainbow with a steady pillow stream. One by one, Rainbow knocked them out with ease, but her friends caught them, so they could try again, hoping they could somehow rattle the mare by attrition. No such luck. Once the brash mare was popping her opponents with a yawn, the falcon signaled all stop. “Well done, Rainbow. It appears we can increase the cannon speed.” Pinkie reached for a knob on the party cannon’s rear. “How much higher?” Rainbow pointed skywards, “All the way up!” Blaze began questioning her logic, but he was too late. A pillow exited the cannon like a kamikaze, making a beeline right at the brash mare without a care for its own welfare. With a strike on Rainbow’s chin, the projectile tore apart, spilling its feathery guts into the air, but not without sending her reeling a full revolution. She zigzagged in random directions, not knowing where she was; only that something ticklish was brushing against her coat. Echoing voices came into her ear, but they might as well be talking from a mile away through a can. The next thing she knew, her head struck something squishy, sending her somersaulting onto her back. Two Fluttershys soon crowded her vision, as she realized that “something squishy” was the pillow’s falling remains. Soon, her other friends and their doubles appeared, asking if she was all right many times like a skipping record. “Maybe we should take it down a notch?” she slurred. It was Swift’s turn for some pillow slamming, and he demonstrated his willingness through the dripping sweat from his forehead. “Do we really have to do this?” Rainbow, standing by the cannon, looked at the Swift she spotted on her left. “Of course you do!” She then realized the pony on the right was the real deal, and moved her head accordingly. “Half an hour with this baby, and I feel stronger already!” “But you got knocked down half the—” “Tweet!” went Blaze’s whistle. The stallion’s instincts kicked in, making him lean left. The flying pillows gave Swift a close-up greeting before twirling past him. His relief was short-lived, however, as another round left the muzzle. Again, he denied a strike with an upward aerial flip, earning him a shrill toot. “This is not an agility exercise,” said Blaze, wagging his talon. “You must strike back.” He moaned aloud. “Can’t I just avoid anyone that tries hitting me on track?” “I like that idea,” Fluttershy chimed in. “It’s much safer.” The falcon shook his head. “Fly, even with a pony with your skills, avoidance maneuvers may not be entirely possible for such a long event.” Swift raised his hoof for a counterpoint, only to catch Rainbow’s nose tap. This time, he responded with silence, which got Rainbow hovering. “Think of it this way. See this?” She flexed her hooves, revealing a bulge. “I have it.” She pointed at him. “You don’t. That’s a problem.” That wasn’t the first time he heard that, and not just from her. Everypony had brought that up at some point in his life, from his parents when he was a colt down to total strangers. It was a non-issue for him, until he met Rainbow Dash. She mentioned it almost every day, and by now, it was hitting a nerve. “I have some muscle,” he huffed. Swift tried bringing out the big guns, except somepony would need a magnifying glass to see any protrusions from his trim body. “Weak hooves,” said Rainbow with a singing tease. With half-shut eyes, he turned his head to the trainer. “Blow the whistle,” he firmly said. Blaze granted his wish. Swift aimed his body at the cannon’s muzzle, ready for a matchup. An imaginary bell rang in his head, and his opponent came out, ready for a fight. I can do this. I can do this! Oh, shoot! The impact pushed Swift backwards, forcing a strong wing flap to stop his momentum. There was no knockout, but even he admitted losing round one. That didn’t stop his friends from expressing their shaky complements, except for Rainbow who had no reservations cackling at his expense. “What in Equestria was that?” she shouted. “Step up your game! Again, Pinkie!” Round two ended with a similar result, as did the following chances for redemption. At first, Swift found it embarrassing that a pillow shot from a cannon had more power than he had. However, there was something holding his aggression back, his tendency to avoid physical confrontation. He had faced unfriendly ponies before, but Swift always found a way out without raising a hoof, while keeping any blows at bay. This was something he hadn’t experienced before, and by round ten, the stallion’s eye did a twitch. A small fire ignited within, one that glowed light blue like his mane. The pillows exited the barrel, just like before, unaware of the pony’s pent-up fury. Swift stretched his wings all the way back, waited for a moment, and then slammed his opponent with a slim, blue air wall. Knockout. The pillow tumbled through the grass, leaving a few tears on its delicate skin. “Well done," said Blaze with a clap. “Now that’s more like it!” added Rainbow. All the others cheered, adding to his growing smile. Finally, he proved that he did have some strength after all, although he wasn’t sure how he did it. “Pinkie, go up to Level Two,” said Blaze. Swift’s head tilted. “Level Two? Um, Pinkie? How far up does that thing go?” She peeked at the cannon’s dial. “Five!” “Five?” His body went limp, realizing his achievement wasn’t that great. If anything, he wanted to know how much stronger the cannon was at two. Unfortunately, the whistle blew before he could ask. Okay, just like before. Lean back, charge, and— Everypony winced at the impact, a pillow uppercut. Swift tumbled from the sky, but some sporadic wing flaps kept his descent to a jerky glide. Eventually, he skimmed the thin, cloud layer, until he landed belly up on the mattress. To everypony’s relief, Swift sat up before they reached him, although his pupils were drifting in opposite directions. “Did I... at least stuck… the landing?” he stammered. At the track’s starting line, Rainbow and Swift gazed at what laid at the bend, all their friends with water balloons, lots of them. A few batches levitated, with others held on hooves, or in Applejack’s case, on her tail. “How I am supposed to dodge something small as balloons at speed?” Swift pouted, as he counted the colorful water containers. “There’s so many.” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Well, he is testing our reflexes. I’m sure we’ll be able to…“She spotted Spike adding water balloons into the party cannon’s muzzle. “…avoid… them.” A lump travelled down his throat. Fifteen minutes of Level Two did get his muscles pumping, although he questioned whether it was actual progress or signals of distress. He hoped that water balloons would be too fragile for ejection, but Pinkie crushed his hopes with a test shot. “We’re getting wet, aren’t we?” said a rattled Rainbow, watching the dozen balloons splatter onto the dusty track. “Well, it’s is sorta warm today.” He added with a nervous chuckle, “Right?” Blaze raised his wing, the signal for both pegasi to get ready. Both took their time getting into a runners stance. “Here we go,” whispered Rainbow. With the whistle, the pair had a leisurely start, and then proceeded with caution toward the turn. Much to their shock, however, they went through without any sideline action, so they followed the track’s lane going the other direction. However, an ear twitching prompted Swift for a head check, catching everyone except Pinkie and Spike moving apart. When they rounded the bend, glowing red balloons travelling their direction greeted them. However, they swung wide around them, and continued with their journey. “What the…” said Swift. Up ahead, Fluttershy had a balloon ready, except her toss travelled mere inches, not even splitting apart when it hit the grass. The cannon came up next, only it spat out a hollow boom. Some blue-hued balloons hovered in their path, but they split apart like a massive door, letting them through without incident. Applejack whipped her tail, except she had nothing to throw in their direction. Blaze simply rolled the balloon on his talon, giving Rainbow and Swift an occasional glance. Soon, they were flying laps, as though that was the purpose all along. “Hey!” Rainbow exclaimed in Blaze’s direction. “What’s the big idea?” The trainer continued playing around with his rubber projectile. Without an answer, she went on running laps with her companion, until the monotonous routine made her attention drift to within her head. This is so boring. What’s he up to? Is he’s tricking— “Yah!” Twilight’s balloons swooshed in like locusts, but the two pegasi were too quick for the unicorn’s magic, save for a graze off Rainbow’s wing. Rounding the bend, they came under attack from Applejack’s volley. Again, both escaped with dry coats, but with a shattering bang, Pinkie fired her contraption, except it wasn’t what either had expected. “Confetti?” both thought. There was lots of it, enough that they were momentarily blinded, the perfect window for Rarity. Half her ammo veered upwards, the rest downward. When the ponies emerged from the confetti field, the balloons crisscrossed, with two exploding on Rainbow’s face, drenching her with cold liquid. Another struck Swift’s wing, causing water to spray all over his body as a fine mist. Neither had time for a breather, as the remaining balloons joined up with Twilight’s salvo to chase their prey down. Both began pulling away from them, but unlike the ponies, the balloons had the privilege of cutting the course. Even so, they rejoined a few inches behind their tails, but they had allies. Finally, Pinkie’s cannon fired off the real deal, which for the pegasi, the barrage might as well be a massive tidal wave coming right at them. Rainbow had no desire for a drenching, so she pulled up. However, Twilight anticipated such a move, and punished her with a surprise bombardment, until Blaze blew his whistle. “Rainbow?” The falcon walked right below the soaked mare. “Remember the altitude limit for this exercise. With the cloud hoops, you will have—” “Yeah, yeah! We’re working in tight spaces! I know!” She coughed out some water. “But this is crazy! No pony can react this fast!” Swift hovered next to her with what was now a wet, blue mop on top of his head. “No offense, Blaze, but I’m with Rainbow on this.” He shook his soaked tail. “I dodged what I could, but even for me, this is too much.” With a calm sigh, he crushed his balloon. “I do not expect either of you to have perfect reflexes. However, we must aim for that goal, since tomorrow, one wrong move may end your day. Now, let’s try again, shall we?” Again, he sounded his instrument. The two tried arguing, but Applejack chased them off with two quick rounds. As the others joined in, Twilight trotted over for a word with the trainer. “Pardon me for asking, but don’t you think you’re being a little hard on them?” Blaze gazed at his soaked trainees fleeing from Pinkie’s now-mobile cannon with panicked yells. “Of course not,” he said with a smile. “A little hard training now will pay dividends later.” Blaze held the clipboard up in the air. “Congratulations, Rainbow, Fly. You are now at sixteen point five and fifteen wing power, respectively.” “Wicked,” Swift panted. Not only was his damp coat wrinkling up under the orange sun, every inch of his body whined that getting struck by balloon does, in fact, hurt. “Now the only question is if I can even fly tomorrow.” “Wimp,” said Rainbow, followed by a yawn. In reality, she fared no better. She swore the heavy water on her mane was washing the colors off, and fatigue had pulled her eyelids half-way down. “Are we done, Blaze?” The falcon had a few more ideas jotted down, but even he believed his trainees had enough. That and he dare not cut into their hanging out time. “Yes, I believe we are,” he replied. “Good.” She grabbed bits of cloud off the mattress. “I’m taking a nap.” As she headed toward the same tree she walked into earlier, she could hear Swift offering to clean up, which her friends accepted with some hesitation, believing he needed rest as well. “I’m good,” he told them. For Rainbow, that worked out perfectly. He had something to do while she caught some Z’s. There was one small problem, however. After that last run by her anemometer, her wings lacked the power to carry her up to a thick branch. With a moan, she placed the cloud on the tree trunk, and then slouched on it. The tired mare kept one eye open on her friends picking up feathers, loose grass, and ripped rubber. She found the vista boring, so she let her eyelid fall, and soon, there was only peaceful black. Moments later, a nearby presence woke her from her slumber. Through a slit, she saw an approaching grey pony, but the track itself was devoid of debris, devices, and her friends. “How long I’ve been out, Swift?” she whispered. He rubbed his red-vein eyes. “Fifteen minutes. Everypony just left.” “Okay,” she yawned. “I need more sleep, and by the looks of it, so do you.” Rainbow patted the space on her left. “Plenty of room.” “Eh?” His cheeks warmed up a tad, although he was too exhausted to notice. At least the trunk was wide, he thought, unlike the cloud they both were on last week. He made himself comfortable, while keeping a few inches away from the mare. Rainbow had no complaints with the distance, so she looked ahead, watching a few random clouds pass by. “Hey, can I ask you something, Swift?” she said in a sleepy tone. “Blaze has helped you with training before, right?” “Uh huh?” “Was he a pain in the flank back then too?” He snorted amusingly. “Yeah, he can be like that, but he just has a high standard. In fact, he only trains somepony if he thinks they have potential. That’s what he told me back in Junior Speedsters.” With a cough, Swift’s voice became gruff, but not quite matching Blaze’s tone. “The sky’s the limit for you. All these records, they’re yours for the taking, if only you don’t withhold your talent.” “And you still do, but at least you’re getting better.” She started chuckling. “But pillows? Seriously? Remind me not to start a pillow fight with you.” His smile slanted toward Rainbow. “So says the one that can’t handle a little wind.” Without looking, she reached out for a soft jab, but only grazed his face. “I had a small slip up, that’s all.” “Uh, huh. Small.” He said with a snicker, “Whatever you say, Rainbow.” Silence then took over, with only the occasional rustling of the leaves keeping them company. Even with sleep fast approaching, Rainbow’s thoughts remained affixed on the pony beside her. Just like yesterday, he put himself in harm’s way for her, only without much consequence. It was in her nature to save others, so having the roles reversed would normally mean losing some pride. Yet, she didn’t feel that way at all. If anything, the more she thought about it, the faster her chest thumped. “Guess I owe you again for today, huh?” she whispered. There was no response, so she went on. “Anyways, I’ll just have to make tonight the most fun ever. Just you and me.” Immediately, whatever moisture remained on her face evaporated. “Two friends hanging out,” she hastily added. “How does that sound, Swift? Swift?” She picked up a faint, but peaceful snore, catching her off-guard. For all the time they’ve spent together a month ago, and during work breaks above the Stallihorn Mountains, he rarely fell asleep before she did, and that was if he even bothered with a snooze session at all. “Sounds,” She stretched her body “, like a great idea. Let me…” She stifled a yawn. “…join ya.” Rainbow shut her eyes, so she could board the train that would take her into dreamland. Soon, both stood still under the tree’s shade as the sun descended closer to the horizon, but they were not alone. Rarity had waited until her friends went in different directions before trotting back. She snuck into a nearby bush, feeling somewhat ashamed for peeking in what could be a private moment. When she pushed the leaves aside, her eyes spun around in disappointment. Wonderful. They’re both asleep. And here, I came back all this way, thinking I’d at least see… Oh? What’s this? Gravity had taken control of Rainbow’s snoozing body, taking her a tad left. Rarity’s sparkling pupils widened, and her jaw unhinged in joy. She could already imagine what was going to happen, Rainbow Dash landing on Swift’s side, followed by the bodies instinctively coming together to share in their respective warmth. The unicorn exhausted all her willpower, just so her giggle wouldn’t ruin the moment. Cruel fate, however, did, nudging Rainbow right. Instead of being acquainted with a stallion, she got up close with grass, and without skipping a snore. Rarity popped out of the bush, shaking her hooves in anger, but a lip bite kept her, “Oh, c’mon!” to a mumbling noise. With nothing more to keep her interested, Rarity left the area, complaining that she was returning without any juicy gossip.