Back when you were younger, you often played spy-esque games with friends. Of course, they were just that; games. Generally, with games, you can always choose when to quit. With these games of espionage, you always tended to quit rather quickly. Why?
After narrowly escaping Rainbow Dash, you had done two things. The first, was that you had escaped once again to the Fair Field. You're currently bunked inside a low-floating cloud inside of a large hall. On all sides, large pillars held up a roof over your head, and the marble floor below was shiny enough to serve as a sort of mirror. With that, ponies were floating all about, scouring the hall for any stragglers.
The competition was really dwindling down now. You hadn't seen any other players with flags up to this point. You had seen dozens of pegasai flying about without flags, but not a single one with a flag. You seriously began to wonder whether or not you were the last one standing. Which is great, you know, no pressure.
The second thing you had done was mentally berate yourself over and over again. You could not stop questioning what drove you to do what you did to Dash. There had to be so many other peripherals of escape you could have chosen, yet you picked that one. Sure, you couldn't think of any other way to have escaped at the time, but that doesn't mean you had to go through with it.
You can only imagine Rainbow's fury after that. She is probably no less than pissed off that you did that. All her stammering must have been a result of her being unable to cope with her anger. Needless to say, you weren't looking forward to running into her again anytime soon.
You figured now would not be the best time to be fretting over your inevitable death at her hooves. Right now, you only wanted to focus on not losing your flag. Cautiously opening a small hole in the cloud you were hiding out in, you peek outside. As you expected, pegasai were flying all about and clouds drifted through the hall at lazy speeds. The hall itself was rather incongruous, and had plenty of room for all of its current inhabitants.
Some of the pegasai checked random clouds for any ponies who may be taking refuge in their interiors. This struck a pang of fear in you. If any of those ponies came to you, you would have to run faster than a cheetah on the hunt. If just one pony found you, everyone else would know about it in a heartbeat. The problem here is that your cloud, unlike all the others, was not moving. It bumped against a pillar while you were hiding in it, and lost all inertia. Simply put, you're a sitting duck.
If you didn't get out of here, there was no way you wouldn't be found. You couldn't simply fly out, not without getting spotted. You would need a plan. Some way to sneak out of here undetected. If you could make your way into a cloud that's moving, you could ride it right out of here. The only problem would be getting into such a cloud unseen.
You look around some more, being careful to avoid stirring so much. The clouds all around drifted through, most of them being funneled in through some sort of wind tunnel. Pegasai would pick random clouds to inspect every now and then. It was only a matter of time until someone noticed the little cloud in the corner that wasn't moving.
You needed to get out of here. Not only was the cloud you were in uncomfortably hot, but you risked being caught the longer you stayed. Looking towards the end of the hall where the clouds were floating in from, you spot one in particular that was drifting quite close to you. It almost looks like it will touch your cloud.
If you do this, you will need to be fast. The cloud approached lazily, and grew closer by the second. You need to time this perfectly. Shifting around a bit, you position yourself in such a way that you'll be able to scramble into the cloud as quick and cleanly as possible.
The cloud is right in your path now. You take a quick glance around, hoping no one was watching. With this being your best bet, you take hold of the edges of your cloud, and climb through. Pushing an opening in the approaching cloud, you scramble inside, and seal off your entrance. Slowly, the cloud drifts away from your previous chamber.
Your heart is beating at what should be a concerning rate. You could only pray that no one saw you move into here. You were reluctant to peek out of the cloud, for fear someone might notice your shifting. You figure that if anyone did notice you, you might as well prepare yourself, and figure out where they would be coming from.
Very delicately, you bring yourself up to the opposite wall of the cloud. Slowly, you begin to peel back some of the material, and peer outside. No one was heading directly for you at the moment, it seemed. Pegasai were bustling about, checking every nook and cranny of the hall, searching for any flags. You could only hope that you would drift out of here before anyone decided to check your vessel.
From behind another cloud, a yellow mare appears. You notice that she's eyeing your cloud in a rather unsettling way. Oh, no... She begins to approach you. You very slowly crawl away from your opening and bring yourself back, hoping the shadows of the cloud would mask you. Sweat begins to dribble down your muzzle. You could only hope that you were near a viable exit, and that you had it in you to outrun everyone in this hall.
You refuse to move a muscle. Any shift right now would be a dead giveaway to the approaching patrol. She doesn't let up on her approach, and seems set on checking your vessel. You hold your breath and wish for some kind of miracle.
The mare's attention suddenly shifts. She glances to the right of your cloud. You thought you heard someone calling out, maybe to her. For whatever reason, she turns, and flies off. Unlocking your muscles and letting out a deep sigh, you relax a bit, knowing you were just saved. You give a silent 'thank you' to whatever distracted her, knowing it just saved your flank.
You weren't out of the frying pan yet, though. You remain as still as you can, and watch as the hall passes by. Some pegasai eyed your cloud every now and then, but flew off within a few seconds. You slowly drift for a few minutes, before you finally notice that the sight of the hall's walls was being replaced with a clear view of the sky.
Slowly, you poke your head out of the cloud and look back. The hall was growing smaller as the distance between you and it grew. Retracting your head, you shift position to exit the cloud from the side that was facing away from the hall. You poke your head out.
...Only to be greeted by a pair of offset eyes.
It was that wall-eyed pegasus from earlier. She was staring right at you. Well, half way, at least. Her left eye was admiring the sun or something.
With only your head protruding from the cloud, she hasn't seen that you don't have a flag yet. You needed to think of something, fast.
"Uh..." You start shakily. "This cloud is all clear."
She partially stares at you, seemingly scrutinizing you. Her nose scrunches up a bit, and her eyes squint. After only a fraction of a second, she speaks. "Okey dokey!" With that, she simply flies off (upside-down, no less) without another word.
Knowing that you should not have gotten away with that, you shake your head. After waiting until she was far out of sight, you pull yourself out of the cloud and begin to fly. You were glad you got even a smidge of rest, even if it wasn't much. Having been running for the better part of the game, any rest you managed to get was well appreciated.
You start to fly away from the hall, taking great care to keep out of sight of any wandering eyes. Luckily, this area of the field wasn't heavily populated at the moment (something you were incredibly thankful for.). You figured that it wouldn't hurt to find somewhere to just chill for a moment.
After only a brief moment of flying, you come across a rather misshapen structure resting on a large, flat cloud. It must be some form of obstacle designed for the field. It was made of marble, much like the buildings you had been in before, but it looked like it had collapsed. Its structural integrity wasn't your concern though. You admired it for the fact that nobody else was around it at the moment.
Quickly gliding up to it, you work your way around a fallen pillar, and plant yourself down on the cloud platform. You were entirely out of sight of that hall in this spot. Leaning back on a pillar, you take a few deep breaths, and try to re-stabilize your heartbeat. That near-disastrous encounter with Ms. Wall-Eye caused your pulse to skyrocket, what with that having nearly led to your downfall. Thank Celestia she bought your bluff.
You wipe the sweat from your brow. Your wings were beginning to feel rather weary from all this excitement, and you only hoped that it wouldn't go on for much longer. With that thought, a problem presented itself. Just how would you know when there was only one pony standing? Would there be some sort of announcement, or something? It was never explained, so you have no idea if you would be last or not.
Either way, you figure you would cross that bridge when you got to it. You have more pressing matters to concern yourself with. One such matter being Rainbow Dash. You still have no idea where she may be, or what she may be thinking right now. You barely knew the lass, and you just kissed her. Could she sue you for that? She has plenty of witnesses.
Now you're just thinking nonsense. Surely she wouldn't do something like that. She knew as well as you did that your little stunt was the only way you would have gotten out of there in a believable fashion. You couldn't simply lie back and lose the game like a coward, could you?
Yet you could have lost. You could have simply taken the fall, and dropped out. After all, she still hasn't presented any bullet-proof evidence of her motives...or had she? She is out of the game. If restoring her record was her intention, why would she need you now? She has already lost. It would seem a tad pointless for her to keep you going now, considering she has no chance at redeeming her title now.
Though it is a bit of assumption on your part, you don't think Rainbow would be one to simply try and force someone to fall from grace just out of a grudge. She seems a bit hot-headed, sure, but would she really only be out to make Thunderlane lose out of spite? That's just child's play!
What she said about Thunderlane's little brother...Rumble, was it? She said that he specifically asked her to break the current record. That in itself sounds like a rather noble reason. Would she really make that up? No, no...there's no way someone could lie about that.
Your brain was in knots trying to figure it all out. You only wished that there would be some kind of sign pointing you the right way...
At that moment, a bright light suddenly fills your eyes, blinding you. You clench your eyes shut and cover them with your hooves, trying to filter out the sudden rays. After a few seconds, the light dissipates. Slowly, you bring your hooves down and cautiously open your eyes, afraid you would find yourself face to face with a pony.
When you confirm that there is no one immediately around you, you can't help but ask.
"What the heck was that?"
Looking around, you find nothing about the area had changed. Reaching back, you feel your flag was still intact, so that much is safe. There was really nothing that had just changed.
Rubbing your forehead a bit, you can't help but wonder what just happened. Had Celestia just played a joke on you, or something? You had heard a few rumors about how she is a bit of a prankster, but surely that wasn't-
A shift on your platform causes you to freeze. The weight caused the cloud to slightly dip behind you. Fearing the worst, you slowly turn your head around. You are immediately greeted with a pair of familiar, magenta eyes.
"Hey."
"RAINBOW!?" Without a second thought, you throw yourself into the air and attempt to fly away, only to be stopped dead in your tracks by a sharp pain at the base of your tail. Looking back down, she had grabbed your tail in a fraction of a second, and was holding you in place. For a mare, she has a strong grip.
"Calm down, I'm not taking your flag, dude." She says in a slightly annoyed manner.
"Oh, uh...heh heh!" You reply lamely, bringing yourself back down to her level. What exactly are you supposed to say to her? This is a bit of an odd scenario you were in, and you weren't sure how to approach it. "So...uh, are you-"
"That was a pretty ballsy thing you did back there." She replies, cutting you off. "I'll be honest, I didn't expect that, especially from somepony as reserved as you." Her face holds no emotion, save for the little smirk she was wearing.
"Oh! Uh, yeah, that! So, um..." You really felt like you were on the spot here. "You're not, like, mad about that, are you? I mean, it was the only way I could get away, and I mean, if you are mad, I'm sorry, I'll-"
She stops your rambling by putting a hoof to your mouth. "Dude, calm down. I'm not mad. I get it! What I was hoping you do wouldn't have been anywhere near as believable as what you did! And besides, uh..." She looks away, a rather noticeable blush present on her face. "...I'd be lying if I said I didn't like it."
Now it was your turn to blush. She enjoyed that? "Oh! Well, um...Gotta do what ya gotta do, right?" You reply awkwardly. You nervously rub your foreleg. "So, would you, I dunno...maybe want to-"
She cuts you off again. "Maybe we can talk about that later. We've got more important things right now." You mentally berate yourself for bringing that up, then nod slightly. She removes her hoof from your muzzle and continues, her voice suddenly far more serious. "Alright, things are gonna get really intense now. You're gonna have to give it your all to stay in the game now."
"Uh, quick question?" You interrupt. She nods, prodding you to continue. "Just how many are left in the game?"
"Dude, don't you know?" She replies. You respond with a quizzical look. "Did you not just see that big light a few minutes ago?"
"Yeah, what was that anyway?" You ask.
"That was the signal! Look at your flag, dude!" She points to the fabric draped along your back.
Looking back, you see your flag has radically altered. Rather than that cool purple, it was now a sleek gold color, and the patterns on its surface seemed to glow. The entire flag almost seemed to be shining, reflecting off any and all rays of light.
You turn your attention back to Dash. "Are you saying..."
"Yes!" She says excitedly, a smile on her face.
Remember how you felt nervous earlier? Take that, and multiply it by about one hundred. With that simple information, the entire game has just been turned on its head for you. You were the last stallion standing. It was you against every other pony in that pavilion at the start of the game. The lone soldier against the horde.
It was you against the world.
"Dash...How did I-"
"That's not important! What matters now is you staying alive!" She says, fierce as a tiger. "You're out of the frying pan and into the fire! Now," she says as she starts to draw on the cloud with her hoof. She traces out three circles before continuing. "We're in the Fair Field right now. From what I've been through, staying here would be suicide for you. Everypony will be looking for you here."
"Alright, so get out of here ASAP. Got it." You confirm.
"The Falls Field will be okay, but if you go there, be careful. Getting lost in there will get your flag ripped off, got it?" She says, almost sounding like a coach.
"Got it."
"And of course, the Foul Field." She looks up to you. "If you think you've got it in you, go there. A lot of ponies won't follow you there just out of fear alone. It really is a field that will kick your flank, 'kay?" You nod, letting her go on. "If anypony, Thunderlane will definitely be going for you in there. He won't rest until he knows you're done for, got it?"
"Avoid Thunderlane like a mother bucker, got it." You respond.
"The CloudCams will be all over you, so I can't really help you much. We're running out of time right now, too." She says while looking around.
"Wait, what?" You ask.
"That crazy lightshow you just saw? That was the signal. It basically tells everypony where you are right now."
"Th-They're all coming here right now!?" You ask incredulously.
"Yeah, so you'll need to get moving. I can't do much for you now. It's all up to you to break that record!" Gee, thanks for the confidence boost!
You look away from Dash. Your time here was running out. Soon enough, the horde would be upon you, trying to tear you down. Could you do this? Do you really have it in you to break that record?
"Thunderlane's record is seven minutes and twenty-six seconds. Your flag will keep your time, by the way." Looking back, you see that there was a small number ticking on the base of the flag. It was currently at one minute and seven seconds. Bringing your focus back to Dash, you suddenly find she's giving you a quick peck on the cheek. "Good luck out there, stud."
With that, she brings her hoof to your chest and pushes you off the cloud. Letting out a small yelp, you quickly remember you have wings. Whipping them open, you bring yourself into an upright position, and begin to head for the divide between the Foul and Falls Fields.
Looking around, you see pegasai on all sides, all preparing to bombard you. You quickly take stock on all the incoming pony-projectiles, and try to forge the best course of action. This won't be easy.
From above you to your left, was the best opening. You wait until the ponies all come relatively close to you. Once they had close the distance, you quickly throw yourself into a roll and head for the opening, easily bypassing all the incoming pegasai. Not making your life easy, more of them were showing up by the second, making you dodge to and fro in a mad dash to avoid all of them.
You constantly veer up, down, left, right, and every other possible direction to avoid the invaders. Your eyes are darting all over the place, relentlessly searching for the best path to take. Pegasai swarmed you from every angle, and with each successful dodge, the horde of ponies chasing you from behind grew in size. Within only a brief moment, the crowd behind you was made up of hundreds of ponies.
With all your dodging, you suddenly found yourself approaching the Falls Field yet again. Considering your options, that might not be the best place to take refuge in. Should you find yourself running into the Multicolor Maze, you would easily be boxed in. All they would need to do is wait for you at every possible exit. The rest of that field wouldn't do much good for you either.
As you grow closer, a cloud in your path suddenly bursts into vapor. From its mist rises a familiar colt.
"Hello there!" He yells out, his forelegs raised to catch you.
You pulse your wings and whip around him from his right, narrowly dodging his ambush and skewing your flight path entirely. With a cry of frustration, Thunderlane brings himself into a flying position and begins to give chase. With him in the lead of the herd, you suddenly felt more nervous. That anxiety was only added onto when you saw where you were headed.
The Foul Field was directly ahead.
This won't end well...