Chapter 4: Shooting stars.
Thrashing. He remembered vaguely he was thrashing in his sleep. Darkness, absolute darkness. An evil cackle, whispers, constant whispers. Offers of power, untapped potential, impossibly enticing offers of other things whispered in the depths of his mind. A constant pull, powerful, relentless.
A refusal.
Now there was anger, rage. Disappointment, resentment. A pair of red glowing eyes in a vicious scowl. Screams of anguish and frustration, whispers of threats filling his mind. Claws reaching, flexing, straining, getting closer and closer. A voice, dark and angry…
“You’re MINE!”
~*~
Demonheart shot up, forehooves holding him up, eyes wide, drenched in sweat.
The whispers…
They swirled around him, harsh whispers and quiet screams of frustration. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes again. Gradually they faded away until, with soft ‘boom’, they were gone entirely. Panting heavily, he opened his weary eyes and looked around. It was still dark, probably early morning. He was in a cottage, and the feeling of a mattress beneath him told him he was in bed. A few memories of the previous night hit him and he looked down across from him on the bed. Clinging to his waist with a peaceful smile on her face was a sleeping Fluttershy. That one drink he’d had for the courage to dance with her had affected him more than he thought it would.
You never could take your liquor Demon, this just proves it.
Shaking his head, he very slowly squeezed out from the affectionate pegasus’ grasp, slipping a pillow in for her to cuddle instead, which she almost instantly did. He couldn’t help but smile at the sweet little Pegasus before checking her and himself for any signs of damage or… other activities, although he was sparing for her own modesty and his own sense of integrity when checking her. Satisfied that nothing untoward had happened the previous night, Demonheart opened the window and prepared to leave, but something made him stop. He looked back at the peaceful form on the bed before looking around guiltily. Nervously, afraid she’d wake up, he trotted over to her and, very gently, pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead before blushing hotly and swiftly flying from the premises out the open window, closing it with a lingering look at her angelic form before leaving.
~*~
Dawn.
Applejack knew it well, and this night had seen her sleep well, so she rose well and rested, ready to start a new day. Trotting out of her room, she looked over at the next door to the right. Demonheart’s room was closed to the public it appeared. AJ grinned.
Payback time Ah reckon.
She pounded on his door.
“C’mon Sleepyhead! Got work to do!”
There came no answer. No answer at all. AJ frowned and banged again.
“Hey! Ah said wake up! Got some apples to harvest!”
Again silence was her answer. Growling irritably, she shoved the door open.
“Now look ya…. Oh.”
She blinked a few times at the empty room, feeling like a complete fool. Thankful that nopony saw her do that, she closed the door and walked downstairs for breakfast.
~*~
“Ah’m tellin’ ya, he wasn’t in his room. Ah don’t know where he was.”
Big Mac and AJ had just finished breakfast and were headed out to the orchard to start another long day of work. Big Mac was listening to Applejack with little interest.
“Eeyup. He didn’t sleep here last night.”
Now, it must be said here that Applejack didn’t really remember what happened last night. She was lucky in the way that she never seemed to get hangovers, but when she drank she tended to forget everything. And getting competitive with Rainbow when it came to drinking often ended in disaster. Nothing terrible had happened, but Rainbow had lost and AJ had enjoyed the party until going home, completely drunk.
As a result? She didn’t remember squat about it.
“He didn’t? Where in tarnation would he be then?”
A muscle in Big Mac’s cheek twitched.
“Fluttershy’s Ah’d say.”
On the other end of the spectrum, Big Mac wasn’t a drinker. It’s not that he didn’t like alcohol or the euphoria that sometimes came with it, far from it. However he didn’t like the effects he got the next morning. And an angry Big Macintosh was a force to be reckoned with.
Especially with a headache.
Applejack found herself laughing softly at her brother’s rather obvious (to her) jealousy.
“What? Ain’t got her outta yer system yet brother? That was years ago ya know.”
All she got back was a surly grunt and she laughed softly again. A laugh that faded away as both ponies stopped, looking with stunned incredulousness at several rows of apple filled baskets before them, laid out in neat lines. Easily twelve baskets across, they were two baskets high and at least four deep. One basket on the back left hand corner was missing, marring the almost picture perfect image.
“Big Mac…. Did ya start workin’ before?”
Big Mac shook his head slowly.
“Eenope.”
The resounding ‘thud’ of hooves striking wood followed by the many smaller thuds of smaller apples falling floated to their ears and the pair of farmers followed the sound curiously. They almost ran headlong into Demonheart, who was pulling two of the great baskets with a look of raw determination and concentration on his face. Mumbling a muffled sorry, he continued pulling the baskets, watched incredulously by the young mare and her brother as he took them back to his pile. AJ and Big Mac, who had followed him, looked at him curiously. The Pegasus paused in his duties, looking from one to the other. Applejack spoke.
“Sugarcube, how long have ya been workin’?”
Ebony shoulders lifted in a shrug. He had no idea.
“Had to have been a few hours with the amount ya managed to rake in.”
Another shrug before a silky voice floated on the still wind.
“I couldn’t sleep…”
Big Mac felt a muscle in his cheek twitch at the words but held back his jealousy once more.
“Have ya eaten anythin’?”
A shake of the head.
“Wasn’t hungry…”
The big stallion pawed at the ground ineffectively, looking around.
“Um… C..Can I please get back to work?”
Both AJ and Big Mac looked at each other, then at the pile of baskets in front of them, then back at each other. A unanimous decision seemed to pass through the two before they both turned back to him.
“Alright, ya can keep goin’.”
He nodded a little and skirted around the pair, heading back the way he’d come. AJ looked at Big Mac.
“He ain’t working like that all day. He’ll be plum tuckered by midday.”
“Eeyup.”
~*~
Contrary to AJ’s words, Demonheart seemed hellbent on continuing his hard work. Slick with sweat, panting and muscles screaming at him, the big Pegasus was outdoing even Big Mac that day. Of course, unknown to AJ and Big Mac, he had a lot on his mind he’d rather not think about at that point in time. This was all new to him.
Valour…
Suddenly he stopped and looked around feverishly.
Valour.. What are you doing you stupid Pegasus?
Whispers filled the air around him and he swallowed heavily.
“No…” He whispered back. “Leave me alone…”
Oh, you know better than that. You can never be rid of me.
The whispers slowly got louder and he shook his head, trying to dispel them.
“No… Go away… I control my own mind…”
For now little Pegasus. But, as a guest, I insist that I receive a turn.
The voice was light hearted, sing-song. Playful even, but carried with it intent so murderously malevolent that, despite the heat of the day and his exertion, Demonheart felt chilled.
“As host, I must… deny… your r…requ…est…”
He was having trouble speaking, trouble repelling the insatiable, lustful pull of the voice and his eyes slammed themselves shut and he grunted, leaning against a tree to support himself.
You might try to, but eventually I’ll come out to pla-ay♪
~*~
At first, Applejack dismissed it as wind in the trees.
Faint sounds that vaguely resembled whispers.
She’d found her imagination had, in the time she had to work on the nicer days, wandered. Sometimes it went places that were pleasant, other times not so much so. She figured that was just her imagination playing tricks on her and dismissed it. They faded away fast enough. She kept at it, plodding relentlessly from place to place, stacking the baskets where Demonheart had started, resigning herself to bringing them in later. It was a shorter trip to the barn anyway.
It wasn’t until Big Mac resolutely told her to start taking them into the barn to be stored that she realised not only had the whispers stopped, but she could no longer hear Demonheart’s bucks. As much as she loathed admitting it, the big Pegasus was a hell of a farmhand. Tireless, strong and determined, the Pegasus had shown himself an invaluable worker, albeit not the fastest in normal circumstances. Most times she’d seen him walking at a leisurely trot, a faraway look to his single visible eye. His mane was getting scruffy again, as was his tail, and his previously beautifully groomed coat was dirt stained. The work was getting to his looks again. AJ found herself snorting softly with laughter at that thought.
Ol’ Rare’ll have a field day with him each week. Ain’t nothin’ Big Mac can do to stop her in this respect.
She paused, full cart attached to the harness on her back, just outside of the barn door. The whispers were back, this time followed with a familiar voice.
”Please… leave me alone…”
The whispers grew in volume, AJ frowned.
That Demon in there? Who’s he talkin’ to?
The whispers suddenly went silent and a bout of violent coughing replaced it. Concerned, Applejack opened the previously closed door to the large structure just as Demonheart collapsed, still coughing. Shedding the harness, and therefore cart, AJ rushed over to him, recoiling as splatters of blood came into her view range. She started checking his body for lacerations of cuts as his coughing subsided.
“Ya alright Sugarcube?”
The big stallion nodded slowly, panting heavily.
“Y..Yes..” he rasped softly.
It was at this moment AJ noticed blood on his lower jaw and her concern grew.
Oh Celestia he was coughin’ up blood!
“Sugarcube, Ah gotta get ya some help. Ya ain’t well. Come on, Big Mac can handle the apples. Ah’ll just get Applebloom to…”
She paused. Her sister, Applebloom, was out crusading for her cutie mark with her friends down with Fluttershy.
“Well, there goes that idea. Mac’ll understand. C’mon, I gotta get ya to the…”
She stopped again as she noticed the slow, steady breaths of the stallion laying before her and smiled a half smile, still concerned.
Well wouldja look at that. Asleep.
~*~
Flames.
Flames of deepest crystalline blue, screams of pain and shock. The spreading of ice across the landscape. Buildings being encased, snap frozen in but an instant. A dark figure standing tall, laughing, magic swirling around him. Massive wings framed him and a long, wickedly pointed horn sprouted from the head. A pair of glowing red eyes, sharp incisors made for tearing and piercing. Sadistic laughter so cruel it could freeze one’s blood in the very veins it coursed through.
“Yes! YES!”
Power. Power coursing through the leylines that run through the body of all living things, power no normal creature should have. Boiling, practically screaming to be let out. It was intoxicating, drawing him in, enticing, tempting…
It was so difficult to turn away.
~*~
Demonheart woke up suddenly, sitting bolt upright, eyes open. The pale gleam of hospital wallpaper glared back at him obstinately. He was panting heavily, and…
What?
His mane was straight again, the severe, surgically precise cut Aloe had given him prominent. His coat was clear of dirt and grime, and his throat no longer hurt, nor did his chest. He also had a pleasant buzzing in the back of his skull and an IV drip in his arm. He looked at it stupidly, trying to puzzle out what it was in the fog that had suddenly drifted over his mind. When it finally, and very slowly, registered that it was what it was, his foggy mind tried to comprehend the meaning behind the drip.
IV drip… white walls… itchy sheets… oh damn, where am I? I can’t even remember…
“Um…A..Are you feeling better?”
The soft voice knocked him out of his reverie and he looked for it, finding it in a nervous Fluttershy beside the bed. He found himself smiling stupidly and saying something. He couldn’t hear what he was saying before yawning and stretching, getting lightheaded and collapsing back onto the bed.
Asleep.
~*~
Fluttershy’s day had started how it always did after a night with the drink. Snout first in a bucket with Angel reprimanding her. She finished feeling sorry for herself when she felt the bunny give her rump a firm kick and began doing her chores, albeit unhappily. Chickens first, then the bunnies (Angel included since he was the main reason behind doing the rabbits second), then the many birds that crowded around her house for food. It had taken her most of the morning to do so, followed by several visits from ponies from around town complaining of pet ailments or difficulties.
She tried to get them over with as soon as possible.
As soon as she did she finally went in for something to eat, which Angel seemed happy with. After which she went back to bed to feel sorry for herself. Something Angel clearly didn’t agree with. He’d tried to stop her, but she’d simply brushed him out of the way and closed the door. There were very few rules that Angel followed, but the one he DID follow with no degree of uncertainty is the one regarding rooms and closed doors.
One did NOT open a closed door to somepony elses’ room if they closed it.
If one did have to enter another’s room and they’d closed the door, then one must knock and await confirmation of entry.
And so Angel stood there variously hitting, knocking, pounding and kicking the door to try and make her open it to no avail. Fluttershy was not feeling well and she didn’t plan on allowing Angel to make her work. That was simply not going to fly that day.
It was late afternoon when Applejack finally arrived at the house and called out to her. She had considered ignoring her and going back to sleep, but in the end her insistent calling roused her and she regretfully left her bed for favour of talking to her friend. When AJ had told her Demonheart had been admitted into the hospital, It had taken a moment for Fluttershy to remember who Demonheart was. AJ had bluntly reminded her that she’d spent a good portion of the night at his party the previous night and had not only danced with him, but had practically been taken home by him.
Much blushing ensued as Fluttershy stammered a reply, then simply left.
And so here she was, sitting at the bedside of a stallion she barely knew. She had been forced to insist that he was most certainly not her coltfriend to the head nurse, who had eventually backed down with an annoyed look to her face.
And so she waited.
It was a strange experience. In his drug addled state, Demonheart seemed to speak to himself a lot. His murmurings often strayed to something that must have been dark, or hard to remember without pain, because several times she caught him crying. Once she could have sworn that he’d opened his eyes slightly and she’d caught a flash of red, but she dismissed it as light refraction.
We’ve all seen redeye in photos.
His first awakening had scared the holy hell out of her and she sat frozen as the big stallion had stared stupidly at his arm before she’d spoken. His goofy smile made her giggle softly just before he passed out and, concerned, she’d called the nurse.
Both of them now sat around him, the nurse checking him over, Fluttershy just being nervous.
“Well miss, His throat will be inflamed for a few days so I don’t suggest letting him talk very loudly, his chest might pain him a little bit since he wasn’t just coughing up blood from a raw throat, looks like a burst vessel. But it’s minor, so he’ll be okay. Your coltfriend is very lucky.”
Fluttershy felt herself blushing furiously.
“He’s not….”
“Pardon?”
“He’s n..not my coltfriend…”
The nurse looked at Fluttershy.
“No? Pity. You two would make a cute couple. And the way you two were dancing last night, you could have fooled me.”
Fluttershy simply blushed heavily and looked away.
How exactly did we dance last night!?
~*~
Demonheart huffed irritably. It wasn’t often the big stallion found himself annoyed, but this was one of those times. Confined to his room by a very insistent Applejack and a stallion who was stronger than he was, not to mention a little bigger, Demon was forced to lay in his bed and watch as AJ and Big Mac hauled in all of his hard work, feeling worse than useless. He hated the feeling. His now pristinely clean feathers ruffled lightly in his agitation and he sniffled softly. It was dark now and the last few baskets were being loaded into the barn when a knock came to his door. He shifted in his bed and looked over at the door before speaking softly.
“C..Come in?”
The door opened and a little yellow filly with a large red bow in her mane of (Ironically) also red walked in carrying a tray. On said tray was a steaming bowl and cup. The filly, of whom Demonheart recognised as the youngest member of the Apple family based in Ponyville, Applebloom, smiled at him.
“Howdy mister! Granny told me to bring you some soup since you weren’t that well. Ah hope ya like it! Oh, and there’s honey in ya tea too. Get well soon!”
The little filly beamed at him one last time before bounding away, the door closing behind her. Demonheart smiled and looked down at the soup tray she’d put on the bed.
~*~
When Applejack poked her head into his room later that night, she was satisfied to find him fast asleep. She was about to leave when the tray caught her eye. It sat at the doorway, just at the threshold so the door wouldn’t hit it if opened, but it was clearly visible. On it was a small note. AJ glanced up at the writing desk and frowned.
Ah didn’t know we kept any ink in here…
She took the tray anyway and brought it downstairs to wash, then opened the note.
Let alone scarlet ink.
The writing was highly sophisticated, high class print and AJ felt her eyes widen in surprise.
“Miss Applejack.
Please thank Granny Smith for the soup. It was wonderful. But I wish to get back to work.
I assure you, my condition is not fatal nor debilitating. It recurs every so often, but mostly keeps to itself I have had it for many years and the inactivity that I must face now is driving me insane. Mostly because I know I owe you and your family so much. I wish to be done with this debt as soon as possible so I may be on my way and out of your mane. I’m not the best company to be had, especially in large crowds.
Please speak to me tomorrow morning with your reply, I wish to know if you will allow me to work once more. I have only worked for two days and it’s simply not enough.
Sincerely.
Demonheart.”
The spidery script was difficult for Applejack to read, although she puzzled her way through it, brows furrowed. At the end, she felt herself frown deeper.
Nurse Redheart told us not to let him work for another few days. Ain’t sure though. He seemed okay when he got back, though Fluttershy said it was the painkillers they had him on, which he refuses to take. Ah’m not sure I should let him work tomorrow…
Still trying to puzzle things out, Applejack went to bed, her beloved Stetson finding its way onto the hat hook by the inside of her door.
~*~
“Twilight! Ah wanna speak with ya!”
Applejack pounded on the door to the library. She never seemed to go half way, it was either a pinch or a pound. Or in this case, a tonne. In her mouth was the note written by Demonheart, the spidery hoofwriting a dull maroon rather than scarlet as AJ had thought that previous night. The sound of claws on wood scrabbled it’s way to AJ’s ears as the door was opened by a disgruntled Spike, who merely waved Applejack in before slamming the door shut again. It was too early for the little dragon and he wasn’t happy with being woken up. AJ wandered in.
“Spike, ya know where Twilight is?”
A surly shrug and a grumble about the basement was all she got in return, so AJ figured she may as well check said basement. However she was careful doing so. The basement of the Library is where Twilight conducted most of her experiments, some with catastrophically epic results.
As if on cue, a large flair of light came from the bottom of the final door to the basement’s main room and AJ heard a muffled curse and groaned.
“Twilight, some day you’re gunna end up without all your apples in the right tree.”
~*~
Boredom.
Demonheart knew the feeling all too well. Today was no exception. Having had his offer to work refused, Demonheart had been told to go and spend the day out and about. This was not how he wanted to spend his day. He felt guilty that he wasn’t working at the farm, anxious that he was alone and nervous from all the looks he was receiving as he walked down the streets of Ponyville. He tried to avoid looking at everypony else, but he seemed to be getting more attention here from the majority of the local populace than he was at the party the night before last. To be honest, he was hungry, had no bits at all since he wasn’t being payed to work at Sweet Apple Acres due to his debt and had no intention of talking or even approaching any of these mares (and, it seemed, a few stallions) who were eyeing him off like he was a prime specimen of agricultural land or a new fangled piece of cuisine that absolutely HAD to be sampled.
Suffice it to say, he wasn’t happy.
He was so busy worrying about what the ponies around him would do, he almost ran straight into Rainbow Dash, who had flown in front of him, landing in a small dust cloud that he completely failed to notice.
“Hey! Aren’t you meant to be helping AJ at the farm and stuff?”
A flush found its way onto the big ebony stallion’s cheeks and he nodded slowly, shyly.
“T..They t..told me not t… that I had the day off…”
Rainbow scoffed.
“Really? Why? Can’t hack the farm life?”
He didn’t answer, scuffing at the ground with his hoof. Rainbow huffed and strutted around him.
“Y’know, I don’t like criminals. And I REALLY don’t like thieves. They’re low, cowardly and too lazy to work on their own.”
She punctuated each new insult with stomp of a hoof as she strutted around him, and he flinched back at each one, feeling the familiar surge of rage that came with the judgements.
“We here in Ponyville are a hardworking bunch. We don’t need ponies like you to come and start messing with us, got it?”
Thinking back, Demonheart didn’t really remember seeing Rainbow personally at the party held for him, or rather on her own. She’d always been with Applejack, and hadn’t met his eye once.
I guess this is why… He thought grimly.
“Heck, I doubt you could even be bothered to race me. Too scared you’d lose.”
A low growl emanated from the stallion and Rainbow turned to look at him from where she’d looked past him in her arrogance, meeting a burning, determined glare from a single purple iris, a conflagration of single minded purpose so intense it unnerved her slightly and she couldn’t help but take a half step back.
“You’re on.”
~*~
“Applejack, please. Just because he writes with flair does not mean he’s from someplace like Canterlot! Now can you please leave me to my studies? I’m still working on this spell.”
AJ shook her head stubbornly. She was down with Twilight in the basement of the great tree that made up the library, currently picking out chestnuts the size of cherrystones from the unicorn’s mane.
“Nu-uh. Ah wanna know more ‘bout this stallion stayin’ with me. Ya sure ya can’t tell me nothin’?”
Twilight groaned and looked at the letter again.
“Fine, fine. Sophisticated, Stylised. Likely went to a very good school. Since he’s a Pegasus, I’d wager it was in Cloudsdale. Likely written by hoof if the faint depression on the paper at about half way is anything to go by. The scratchiness means it was written via quill.”
Twilight found herself frowning.
“Hold up, do you keep quills in the rooms AJ?”
Applejack snorted.
“Don’t get it into your head that we do. Ain’t been a quill in the house since we got pencils.”
Twilight’s frown deepened.
“There’s only one other place he could have gotten a quill without leaving the room… you’re positive he never left?”
“Absolutely. Tarnation Twi, ya doubtin’ the Apple family?”
Twilight ignored the playful jab and groaned again.
“He plucked it from his own wing. And if you don’t have quills in there, you don’t have ink. That, naturally, means he had to use something else.”
She held up the note for AJ to look at again.
“Red ink? Don’t be so sure. He wrote it in his own blood because he had no ink.”
The note scrunched itself up and burst into flames, earning a startled yelp from Applejack.
“He wrote the note with his own feather plucked from his own wing using the blood as his ink.”
~*~
“Alright. Three laps around the entirety of Ponyville! Can’t hit clouds or other ponies. You still in?”
Rainbow glanced cockily back at the stallion slightly behind her, standing on the cloud start line. He didn’t hold the normal stance of a pony at the ready for a race. His head was held lower, and his stance was subtly more aggressive. He more resembled a predator on the brink of pouncing or giving chase than a Pegasus preparing to race. It was almost intimidating.
But then, Rainbow wasn’t one to back down from a challenge.
Settling down into the well known posture of flight readiness, as she had countless times before, Rainbow stretched her wings, watching as the big stallion did the same, although in a much more subtle way. Where as her wings were literally opening up and out, stretching the muscles, she noted his wings barely moved, the wing joints rotating. Again, this was more the movement of a predatory animal than of a pony and this time it did unnerve her.
Oh cut it out Rainbow! You’re going to beat this thief, then you’ll be able to cruise around and do whatever. Like you always do. Yeah. Maybe take a nap.
She grinned as a thought struck her.
“Care to make a bet?”
The black stallion glared at her.
“I win. You take a day of work. You win, I take a day of yours.”
The ferocity in his voice firmly discouraged anything Rainbow had to say and she looked forward.
“Alright then. Get ready!”
She found herself tensing. A glance to her right revealed he hadn’t moved.
“Get set!”
Her hind legs bunched up, coiling like springs. The stallion beside her barely moved, leaning forward a bit, getting down low to the cloud. It was disturbing just how much this pony looked like a predatory animal rather than a civilised pony.
“Go!”
The pair shot off the mark, Rainbow taking a leisurely pace with the stallion. Or, leisurely for her. His wing beats were slow, measured and powerful, unlike her faster flapping. She smirked.
“That the best you can do?”
She deliberately pulled forward a bit, looking back at him, taunting him. With his mane whipping back from the wind, both of his eyes were visible to her, burning with an intense flame.
But not one that would be associated with heat.
Somehow, the look chilled her rather than instilled her with the feeling he was angry. This was not something she was used to. Suddenly just wanting the race to be over, she snorted and shot off, building up speed rapidly. She was about halfway around the track when she realised she was still being followed closely. She looked back and was stunned to note that he was still right behind her!
How…
Then it hit her.
Slipstreams! He’s using my Slipstream to reduce his drag and let himself fly faster!
Growling in frustration, Rainbow executed a tight roll to the left, corkscrewing out of the path of the stallion behind her. Not as agile as her, Demonheart was quite swiftly left in the dust of the smaller, lighter mare as she shot forward.
One lap down, two to go.
~*~
Grim determination dogged his every move, Demonheart was frustrated when he saw her shoot forward.
I will NOT let her win!
The purple of his eyes, aflame with determined grit, began to dilute and change.
Not on my life!
~*~
Rainbow was so far ahead in her lap that she was positive she would win. So she floated along at her leisure, still going too fast for him to catch up, but slow enough to taunt him.
The course around Ponyville was interesting. Whilst most of it was standard, circular sort of structure, halfway through there was a pillar of cloud. It had seemed that, since the first lap, the pair had, unspeakingly, seemingly unanimously decided you went over the pillar and never around or below it, and certainly not through it. Problem is, at these speeds one had to slow down in order to begin ascent.
So you can imagine Rainbow’s shock when she reached the obstacle and a black and red blur shot past her and changed direction, mid flight, without losing speed.
Reeling in shock, Rainbow growled and shot off the mark, pursuing her ebony opponent with reckless abandon. She began to gain on him until eventually the pair were approaching side by side. Or they were. The big black stallion began pulling away from her again and Rainbow stared at him in shock.
What she saw shocked her further.
Now that they were going at about the same velocity, certain aspects of him came back into focus. The most predominant thing, grabbing her attention almost instantly, was the addition of a pair of wings.
Quite literally.
Behind the set of wings based roughly around his shoulders flapped another pair of wings, dark feathered and fast. They flapped in turn. As the front pair went down, the rear pair went up and so on and so forth.
That explains the speed boost.
Frowning in grim determination, Rainbow considered her final option.
I am NOT losing to this criminal!
She’d never attempted a Sonic Rainboom from a purely horizontal angle, but it couldn’t be any harder than vertically. As a result, she found herself approaching terminal velocity for pre-barrier break and the visible cone of air forming around her hooves. She grinned as she came up to see him and then…
BOOM!
The sound barrier broke in all its technicoloured glory. The shockwave of raw energy and colour flung itself outwards, bright and obvious in the daylight, a trail of rainbow colours left streaming behind her.
She heard a cry of shock as the shockwave hit her opponent and she smirked, racing around the course for the final lap.
Two down, one to go!
~*~
Demonheart tumbled.
Hit by the powerful force that made up the Sonic Rainboom, the Pegasus flipped and tumbled in the air, fighting for purchase. His wings flared and he glared upwards, growling.
He only had two wings.
~*~
Rainbow gloated in her victory.
Not that she’d finished the last lap yet. But come on, who’s going to beat her now? Two and a half laps down, only half to go.
She was approaching the cloud pillar when it happened. With an angry roar the black streak that was Demonheart shot up from below her and, for a split second, everything went in slow motion.
She watched in horror as he shot up in front of her, too close for her to avoid him even with the added agility of the Rainboom. Then noticing his eyes, previously purple, as a pitiless, vengeful red. Then the horn on his head, spiked and lethal. It sparked and…
BOOM!
The shockwave through Dash out of the Rainboom state, hurling her backwards. It was like being hit with a wrecking ball. The stallion slashed through the barrier with magic, blue lightning screaming around him in protest as he took off, just as fast as Dash had been going moments before. The technicolour Pegasus fell hard and fast. Unable to form the wind under her wings under such extreme velocity, she was about to hit a tree when…
“Gotcha!”
The felt a pair of hooves wrap around her chest and her descent slowed, then stopped. Her wings opened again as they let her go and she caught the air around her, hovering in place. She turned and, in her surprise, noted that the black stallion had not only finished the race first, but had come back around to catch her in all of about ten seconds.
“What? How did you… What the hay are you!?”
Demonheart grimaced and turned to leave, pausing for a moment to speak.
“Didn’t you know..? I’m a thief. Honourless, useless, unwanted. I may be these things to you, but I am no murderer.”