//------------------------------//
// Capítulo Ocho 
// Story: Cuatro 
// by Dirty Bit 
//------------------------------//


Capítulo Ocho


Sonido


The next day, Twilight stirred from her slumber with a quiet yawn. She rubbed her eyes and stretched her hooves before she hopped off of her bed and went to her mirror to brush her mane.

Spike was next to wake up as he stretched himself and tiredly scratched his back. He then looked around to see that Twilight was up, and turned to see the guest bed was empty "Erm...Twilight? Where's Cuatro?"

Twilight stopped brushing her mane to hear her assistant, and she woke up more when she looked over to the guest bed as well "Huh? Maybe he got up before us...I just figured out last night that Cuatro's more of a nocturnal alicorn in a sense."

Spike hopped from his bed "Really? Never would've thought..." He waddled near the stairs.

Twilight continued brushing her mane "Yup. He even admitted that the moon, his most favorite sight, almost makes him smile easier than Pinkie! Can you believe that?"

Spike went to leave before he turned to Twilight dumbfounded "Seriously!? So he likes the moon THAT much? This'll make this day all the more interesting."

Twilight perked up "That's right! We're going to visit Princess Celestia tonight! We better take care of whatever we're doing before we decide to go!" She then finished her brush and joined Spike at the stairs. When they went down, they noticed their pale house guest reading another book, only it was levitating in front of him wrapped in a green aura. Twilight beamed at Cuatro upon seeing this "Good morning, Cuatro! I see you mastered telekinesis this morning!"

Cuatro shifted his eyes to Twilight "Last night, more rather...And good morning to you, too." He then looked down at Spike "And you, as well, Spike..."

Spike waved before he made for the kitchen "I'll go get breakfast ready for us! Be sure to come when it's ready!"

Twilight nodded to Spike, then trotted over to Cuatro's side and sat next to him on the couch as he continued to read. She examined the book before she smiled "I see you're onto intermediate spells already! You must have quite the aptitude for magic despite your amnesia!"

Cuatro nodded "I suppose this is one of my advantages as an alicorn. It shall benefit me greatly as I progress through my days..." He flipped a page with his magic "I have to ask you, Twilight..." The lavender bookworm tilted her head "Princess Celestia...Are you most certain that she would even remember me at all? That she wouldn't be foggy about my existence as I am myself?"

Twilight blinked before she responded with a befuddled tone to match her expression "What are you getting at? Do you not trust the princess?"

Cuatro flipped another page and responded in his unchanged tone "I'm not questioning the princess' trust..." He shifted his eyes to Twilight "I'm questioning yours...I cannot be certain if she may or may not know of me the moment we meet..."

Twilight stared before she smiled "Well, perhaps you two have been separated for a long time during your lives? This is only a theory, though alicorns are said to mature much slower than regular ponies. I'm sure she could identify you just by looking at you!"

Cuatro kept his stare on Twilight and replied "You really are her personal student to talk so highly of her. I only hope your judgement is correct when the time comes..." He went back to reading his book "We'll have ten hours to prove your judgement properly..."

Twilight frowned at his response 'Was he this callous before he lost his memories? Perhaps it is a good idea to teach him more about friendship if it means changing his outlook on life...' She then nodded "I guess you have a right to your own opinion. I just hope you have as much faith in her as I do, Cuatro..."

"Breakfast is ready!"

Twilight turned to the kitchen with a smile "Well, that's our cue! Are you coming?"

Cuatro kept his eyes on the book "Is it inappropriate in this house to read during a meal?"

Twilight paused before she giggled 'He's just like me when I was a filly...' "Well, I don't see the problem with it just this once. You seem like the kind of stallion that knows how to handle books properly!"

Cuatro nodded as he rose from the couch while levitating the book next to him "Much appreciated..." He followed Twilight into the kitchen and took his seat as Spike prepared hay bacon and eggs. While he kept his book levitated, he also focused some magic into levitating a fork to help him eat his food. He stabbed his utensil into the hay bacon and chewed properly as he read more of his spellbook.

Spike watched before he turned to Twilight with an arched eyebrow. The lavender bookworm sighed "He asked nicely. Cuatro's practically engrossed in the spellbook's content!"

Spike sighed as he dug into his eggs "I just hope he doesn't act this way on the trip to Canterlot today..." He then chewed his portion of food.
_____

Later on, Spike cleaned up the mess inside of the kitchen while Cuatro continued reading his book in the library, Twilight reading one of her own.

Spike was busy sweeping the floor while the two ponies were busy reading. Sometimes, the purple dragon wished that he would get a proper vacation from doing all of his chores, even if he favored being Twilight's number one assistant. While he swept, there was a knock at the door, and Spike waddled over to answer. At the door was Rainbow Dash with an eager smile "Hey, Spike! Is Cuatro there?"

Spike nodded "Yep, come on in!" He opened the door and allowed Rainbow to fly inside.

Twilight looked up from her book and noticed the cyan pegasus with a smile "Oh, hey there, Rainbow! Are you looking for one of the new Daring Do books?"

Rainbow Dash shook her head "No, not today, but thanks for reminding me!" She landed near Twilight and Cuatro "I'm here for Cuatro, actually!"

Twilight frowned before she spoke in an unamused tone "Are you going to ask him to race you?"

Rainbow Dash grinned "Sure am! I just gotta see how good he can do in the air! He needs to put as much use into his wings as he does his horn!"

Twilight narrowed her eyes "Shouldn't you at least acknowledge the fact that he wants to study more than race? He'll probably decline your offer the moment he recognizes you!"

"Actually..."

The two ponies turned to Cuatro as he closed his book as well as his eyes "While the offer does not seem tempting, Rainbow Dash is correct with me trying to put my wings to use..." He slowly unfurled and examined his left wing "I have only used my wings to fly atop the library...I can only wonder the full extent of my power in both flight and magic..."

Rainbow Dash grinned and turned to Twilight "See? And here you thought he would just go back to reading!"

Cuatro turned to the cyan pegasus "You did not let me finish..." The two mares looked at the strange alicorn "I'll oblige to one race and one race only. I wish to see my performance in flight before I can go back to studying magic..."

Rainbow Dash shrugged "Alright, I guess I can't stop you when it comes to learning, but thanks for agreeing to a race!" She grinned "You'll probably have a chance at catching up to me since you're an alicorn!"

Cuatro nodded "Perhaps..." He rose from his couch and turned to Twilight "I shall return shortly, Twilight Sparkle and Spike..."

Spike blinked "You're actually gonna race? This I gotta see!!" He turned to Twilight "Is it okay if I go with them, Twi? I wanna know how this race will play out!"

Twilight hummed before she nodded "I suppose it isn't much of a problem if I'll watch as well. But where's the race going to be held? Are our friends going to watch as well?"

Rainbow Dash smiled "Well, not all of them, since AJ, Rarity, and Fluttershy are all busy, but we're gonna go from Sugarcube Corner all the way over to Whitetail Woods and back! I already have Pinkie ready to tell us when to start! It's good to know we have a slow-growing audience, too! Let's get going!" The group then trotted out of the library and made their way towards Sugarcube Corner.

While they trotted towards Sugarcube Corner, Cuatro looked down in thought.

"Perhaps I've made the wrong decision in accepting Rainbow Dash's challenge...I can only hold my own and push to the limit since this may be a short race according to Rainbow Dash's demonstrated velocity..."

Out of nowhere, Cuatro grunted and clenched his eyes shut when he felt another migraine. He could not make out the instant worry he caused his new friends as another scene played in his mind. There were several scenes of two blurry bipedal figures consantly disappearing and reappearing at different areas instantaneously while clashing. The newest scene was with a dark winged figure being surprised from behind by a figure with a blade in hand.

"What...!?"
"He slipped through my Peski--"
"That wasn't Shunpo. That was Sonido."

Cuatro opened his eyes when his pain slowly faded to see Twilight, Spike, and Rainbow Dash staring at him. Twilight trotted up with concern "Are you sure you're in any condition to race, Cuatro? I don't think it's healthy to do any high-speed activity with you having constant migraines at undetermined time periods."

The strange alicorn stood in silence when he reviewed the latest scene in his mind with slightly dialated pupils.

"Sonido..."

Cuatro paused further before he shook his head and regarded his friends with his normal emotionless stare "No...I want to race Rainbow Dash. I refuse to back down from a challenge..."

Rainbow Dash stared before she beamed at Cuatro "I like your style, C!! Let's get moving so we can get this race started!" The group continued their trip to Sugarcube Corner, with Twilight and Spike trading worried glances unbeknownst to Cuatro, who only had one thing on his mind as they progressed.

"Sonido..."
_____

At Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie trotted in place outside with a checkered flag between her grinning teeth.

Rainbow Dash waved "Hey, Pinkie! We're just about ready to start!! This is gonna be great!!"

Pinkie pulled out the flag from her mouth and spoke "You bet your cupcakes it is! I can't believe Cuaty's actually gonna go up and try to race Dashie! I mean, I thought he didn't like racing since he loved to study magic even more than that! I already wonder how fast he can go if he actually fly that fast! Maybe he can go as fast as Dashie since he's an alicorn and stuff an-"

Rainbow Dash interrupted "That's good and stuff, Pinkie! Let me and Cuatro here get prepared!"

Cuatro stepped up "Not to sound deterred in my desire to race, but where exactly is Whitetail woods? I cannot exactly race without a determined direction of travel..."

Rainbow Dash hovered and pointed left from Pinkie's doorstep "It's about west from here! You can't miss it!" She flashed a confident smile at Cuatro "I hope you're ready for this thing, Cuatro! I wanna see you actually use those wings before I win this thing!"

Cuatro did not react to Rainbow Dash's words, but instead replied cooly "Your speed is only exceeded by your confidence...That can be your downfall if you're not too careful..."

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes with a grin "I guess since you're an alicorn, you think you can talk big! This'll be so much fun!"

Spike was tensed up by their words "Holy guacamole! I think this might be a good race after all!"

Twilight tilted her head in confusion "I've never seen Cuatro this confident about racing before...Maybe he's willing to make Rainbow Dash happy with this one race!"

Pinkie nodded "Okay, everypony! Start your wings!!" She placed her checkered flag in her mouth and planted her hooves in the snow.

The competitors took their places behind a line made by Rainbow Dash as they stood ready with their wings flared for flight. Cuatro was focused on the race, but at the same time was focused on the memory that played in his head.

"Sonido..."

He remembered the figures travelling in blurs, as if teleporting constantly. How they moved to long distances in minimal time and how the winged figure, who striked the most question towards Cuatro, did the same effortlessly.

"Only one way to find out..."

Cuatro kept his eye on Pinkie, who slowly raised her checkered flag with her wide grin. He slightly narrowed his eyes and gave his wings one minor flap. Rainbow Dash noticed this and only held a smug smile 'I got this in the bag! Let's see how fast Cuatro can move before this is over!'

Pinkie giggled before she jerked her head downward and waved the flag, signalling the race to start. Rainbow Dash grinned and instantly took to the sky as she left behind her prismatic trail. Cuatro stopped to take a deep breath.

Twilight blinked "Cuatro? Cuatro, what are you doing?"

He stared at Rainbow Dash, who was easily breezing through the skies before he uttered to himself "Sonido..." To everypony's surprise, there was a slight tremor and the sound of booming static before Cuatro instantly disappeared out of existence in a blur.

Twilight, Spike, and Pinkie darted their eyes around in search of Cuatro "Wh-Where did he just-...!?" Twilight nor Spike could not believe the sudden action displayed by Cuatro.

Pinkie gasped "Wowee!! Do you think Cuaty might be even faster than Dashie!? I'll bet he practiced for days before he lost his memory!!"

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was easily breezing across the sky with a smile on her face "Awww yeah!! Feel that wind!!" She said to herself as she looked behind. She did not even see a trace of her opponent while she flew on her way to Whitetail Woods, and only sighed before smiling 'I'll bet he's trying to lull me into a false sense of security and thinking he can just travel through the air, isn't he? This is too rich! If that's his plan, then I'd say he's-'

Suddenly, Cuatro appeared next to Rainbow Dash, matching her exact speed as he moved with his emotionless face. The cyan pegasus was instantly overwhelmed as she unconsciously flew with her jaw hung open while staring at Cuatro with widened eyes. The strange alicorn shifted his gaze to Rainbow Dash before he looked ahead and disappeared with the sound of booming static in his wake.

Rainbow Dash stared before she shook off her stunned expression. She narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth as she picked up the pace in her flight 'Did he just teleport right next to me!? That cheater!! But wait...His horn wasn't even glowing...Could he honestly be that fa-NO!! I will NOT be outshined by a stallion!!' The cyan pegasus launched herself near the woods with more speed.

She flew over the woods and looked around as she tried to find any sign of Cuatro. The cyan pegasus perked up when she noticed the strange alicorn hovering lazily in the air up ahead and zipped up to him. She glared at Cuatro while she hovered in front of him with a pointed hoof "Have you been teleporting this whole time!? That's cheating, you know!!"

Cuatro only shook his head and asked "Judging by the distance, we are over the western edge of Whitetail Woods, correct?"

Rainbow Dash arched a suspicious eyebrow "Yeah...why?"

Cuatro nodded "Then I was correct in my judgement that this particular area we're hovering is the race's checkpoint?"

Rainbow Dash snapped to attention and glared at Cuatro before she turned and flew away at her amazing speed. While she flew, her eyes teared up from her velocity 'No way! No way am I losing this race! Cuatro thinks he can just beat me with pleasantries, but this ain't over!! I'm the fastest flier in Equestria! I can't let a pony with amnesia just beat me, even if he is an alicorn!!' While she moved ahead, she was unaware that Cuatro was flying right next to her without any trouble on his end.

From Sugarcube Corner, Twilight and the others were watching the race with their own set of binoculars. Pinkie gasped when she noticed what was happening "Wow!! He really IS that fast!!" She lowered her set and turned to the others with a smile "You think Dashie might come back from this?"

Twilight lowered her own set with a baffled expression "That doesn't make any sense! The way he moved! How it looked like he just teleported! That's inequine speed if I ever saw it!"

Pinkie scoffed "Sheesh, Twilight! Didn't you hear Cuatro? It's called Sonido!" She looked down in thought "Whatever that is...Almost sounds like a blue hedgehog..."

Ignoring Pinkie's random analogy, Twilight lifted her binoculars to get a better look at the race. What bothered her was how Cuatro managed to keep a straight face while flying at such intense speed 'What is his secret? Is he that powerful?'

Rainbow Dash was confident when she was nearing Sugarcube Corner, but when she took notice of Cuatro flying next to her, her confidence swiftly vanished and was replaced with anger and frustration. With how fast the two were going, she was close to performing a Sonic Rainboom and blowing Cuatro away while moving even faster. Sadly, she can only do it in a vertical fashion, otherwise she would cause unneeded damage around Ponyville.

Cuatro easily breezed through the air as he and Rainbow Dash were near the finish line.

"Sonido...This speed bears significance to my memories. But why did my memories consist of bipedal figures? I hope that Princess Celestia can answer my questions...But until that time comes..."

While they raced, Cuatro shut his eyes "I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash..." Before the cyan pegasus could respond with 'For what?' Cuatro easily shot forward and breezed over the finish line. From there, he reduced his speed and glided over to the front of Sugarcube Corner, meeting up with the trio observing the race.

Spike tossed away his binoculars as he ran up to Cuatro "That was AMAZING!! I can't believe you went THAT fast without breaking a sweat!! You're really something else!!"

Cuatro did not respond as he noticed Rainbow Dash approach the group as she landed and trotted with a bitter expression. He trotted over and held out a hoof "Thank you for the race...You've helped me remember the capability of my wings..."

Rainbow Dash grumbled and lightly swatted away the hoof "I'm going home! I'll see you guys later on tonight!" She took off again, but when she flew upward into the air, she set off an expanding prismatic wave. Everypony but Cuatro were phased by the burst of wind caused by it.

The strange alicorn stared before he turned to Twilight "What did Rainbow Dash just perform, Twilight Sparkle?"

Twilight regained her composure and sighed "What you just saw was Rainbow Dash's signature move, the Sonic Rainboom. She performed it once as a filly, and can effortlessly perform it whenever she picks up enough speed." She looked up with narrowed eyes "But seeing her doing it like this was completely unnecessary in a way!"

Spike dusted himself off "I agree. I mean, she's the one that wanted to race Cuatro in the first place. None of us even knew he was this fast to begin with!!"

Pinkie looked up with a frown "Poor Dashie...I should cheer her up later with her favorite cupcakes!!" She grinned "Nice race back there, Cuaty!!"

Cuatro nodded in response, but looked up at the sky as the wave died down "I don't think she will speak to me for a while..."

Twilight frowned at Cuatro, thinking he was feeling guilty for his actions, then trotted over and patted his back with a smile "Rainbow Dash is very competitive in nature, Cuatro. She'll get over it since it's just a small race and all! But in the meantime, you should probably take care of everything you wish to do before we go to Canterlot later on!"

Cuatro looked down at Twilight before he nodded "I would like to-" A sound of growling was heard as he looked down at his stomach "...Hm..." He looked away "Perhaps I have two reasons to go back to the library..." A familiar mound of pink slowly ascended from next to where Cuatro was looking as he noticed Pinkie with a grin on her face.

"...How did she-"

Pinkie pushed Cuatro into Sugarcube Corner "In you go, Cuaty! I got just the thing for you!!" Twilight and Spike followed as they shook their heads with amused smiles.


To be continued...