Legacy of the Pegasi
Chapter 4: Foes and Friends
Soarin coasted lazily across the sky, his wings carrying him farther and farther away from Ponyville. The warm air currents around him caressed his wings, allowing him to glide about aimlessly as he took in the vast landscape before him. He was awash in a sea of brilliant blue, limited only by dull browns of the earth below, and the gravity that somewhere bounded the opposite end of the earth. This was the pegasi's domain, the near limitless freedom of the sky. To quite literally escape the confines of the earth, to feel the comfort and subtle joy of the endless blue realm and to sail that much closer to the stars within Luna's serene night.
All pegasi had experienced such emotions at some point or another in their lives, Soarin' included. Like other pegasi, the sky was his home, his refuge. In times past, these emotions, these thoughts, had brought him peace of mind. Yet, despite the images that moved through his mind, and the landscape before him, Soarin' felt nothing.
The Wonderbolt, stared blankly ahead, unsurprised as he continued to drift. It wasn't the first time this remedy had failed him. But the blue expanse before him had another use, one that Soarin' had applied before, the reason he was now alone in the countryside. He could feel the pinprick in the back of his mind, the seething tension that continued to rise and fade within him. He'd soon be rid of that.
Without any indication, Soarin' took control from the wind currents around him, rocketing himself vertically, deeper into the sky. He felt the protest of his wings, the wind whipping viciously around him, as gravity pulled at him, daring him to go further. Soarin' smirked. Where there had been a face of indifference, there was now one of wicked determination. Gravity and the sky could taunt him all they wanted. Soarin' relished the challenge.
The Wonderbolt continued to press on, daring himself to climb higher. Even as he focused on the beating of his wings, Soarin' could feel the tendrils within his mind again. No!
The pegasus suddenly broke from his climb, craning his head backward, the world spinning round before him. He began to fall, quickly pushing himself into an inverted turn, righting himself as he plunged to the earth below. Soarin' gritted his teeth, hooves outstretched as he pushed himself harder, reaching speeds other pegasi could only dream of. This was what he lived for. What he had always lived for. When something got in the way, he found a way to beat it back down. I'll be damned if this thing gets the better of me! Soarin' called out menacingly within in mind, daring the foreign emotion.
He continued to streak toward the ground, nothing but a blur amongst the backdrop of the sky. Soarin' angled his wings, in a windswept form. Only military pegasi could pull off flight such as this. The light blue Wonderbolt grinned. He could feel the increase in speed, the precision from his superior skill. The mach cone began to form in front of him, beginning to ripple about.
The ground was fast approaching, he wouldn't have much time to pull up before his speed alone would prevent any kind of recovery. He should have pulled up, he should have cared. But at that split second, he didn't. I.., I have to, have to... break it. His concentration was pure. Flight. Daredevil flight. It gave him focus. It always had. It always would. He could feel the tension recede; it was practically nothing. His sheer will, and the adrenaline of the moment were vicious weapons, spurred on by the insane rush before him. A cocky grin tugged at Soarin's mouth. He could feel himself returning to form, years of carefully crafted barriers and internal power falling back into place. Yes... Victory was within his reach.
Without warning, the tendrils within his mind lashed out, images, memories, anxiety, tension, fear, guilt; they all bombarded the pegasus, nearly overwhelming him.
What in the... Soarin' fought against the sudden onslaught, straining to maintain control. Anger flared within him. No. I'm in control, he mentally seethed. The surge was momentary, the visions and emotions subsiding. It had been only a flash, but the few seconds had been crucial. The ground was coming up fast. Without thinking, the Wonderbolt straightened his wings, pulling as hard as he could. Soarin' clenched his jaw in a raw, silently primal rage. He could feel the pull in his muscles as the multiple Gs wracked against his body. His descent began to level out, but the pegasus' speed was still astronomical. And he wasn't just heading for the ground. His flight path put him directly through a tree line. There was no time for thinking, no other option. A split second later Soarin' leveled out mere inches from the ground. Tucking in his wings for less than a second he simultaneously rolled to the left. The pegasus' dodge split between two oaks, as he blasted through the tree line at sub-sonic speeds. The sheer force alone from his wake left a massive swath where grass and small trees had once been.
Immediately Soarin' began to flap his wings, continuing to push himself. He wouldn't be fazed by a close call, he was a Wonderbolt, a military pegasus, he wouldn't allow fear to-
Ripples of his internal foe flared once again.
How in the buck? Soarin bristled, still streaking near the ground at dangerous speeds. It was still there. Not as strong as before, but there was no mistaking the consistent presence the seemed hellbent on reducing him. Disbelief momentarily flashed across his mind. No, damnit. NO! You want a fight? By the Archons, I'll give you a fight!
Anger surged through the Wonderbolt again, as he pulled into the air once more. He steeled himself again, using the speed from his earlier dive to pull several loops and rolls, putting his concentration to the test. But the anxiety did not subside this time. Rather, it countered blow for blow, rising with Soarin's every attempt to blot it out. Soarin audibly growled, pulling out of a particularly tight loop, shooting himself up into the sky.
Reaching his apex, the Wonderbolt hovered for a few moments. His foe rampantly assaulted him. Fear. Anxiety. Panting heavily, the pegasus was once again at a loss. Why did he feel this way? He had no reason to! A sudden swelling of rage coursed throughout Soarin'. “WHY WON'T IT WORK? WHAT IS THIS?! I AM NOT WEAK!” He screamed at the top of his lungs.
It responded. Images flashed through Soarin's mind. With every blink he was greeted with a new picture. The Twin Storms. Fear. His Mother and Father. Anxiety. His Father's cryptic message. Tension. Pain. Guilt.
Soarin' froze. The images stopped, the emotions ceased. He only felt one thing. Familiarity. At one time, he had felt those two...
A horrified and enraged look crept across the Wonderbolt's face. The pain, the guilt. Those were not foreign. “I've never felt, these...” He whispered, trying to convince himself. Those aren't part of what happened! They can't be! Yet familiar they were. The truth and the mysterious connection enraged the proud pegasus.
Snarling, Soarin' dove downward, trying to leave the enigma behind. Argggh. Do. It. Again. Do. It. Again. Beat it back. Beat it back. But the pain and guilt followed. This action was familiar. This painful and guilt ridden flight. Unthinkingly, he fell right into step. With every blow, Soarin's increasing anger fueled his suicidal stunts. It was a battle of wills, each countering the other, raising the bar in the next attack. But he wouldn't quit. Defeat did not exist within his mind. One way or another Soarin' would win, even if it was an opponent he didn't know. Even if it was something within himself.
The anger continued to build, barely contained. Still diving, Soarin eyes snapped like a hawk below him. In an unbridled rage, the light blue pegasus rocketed below into an apple orchard.
The ground rose up before him in a matter of seconds, but the pegasus didn't flinch. He didn't have time. A split second latter rows of apple trees flew past him, now more like static obstacles that mocked him, dared him to thread his skill through the maze before him. Soarin' didn't even have to think. Blistering through the straightaway of wooden trunks, his foe simmering at the back of his hooves, ready to deliver the counterattack, the Wonderbolt let go.
In the blink of an eye he tucked his wings, rolling through several columns of trees, leveling out three rows across. His timing had been perfect, micro adjustments in his speed and wings allowing him to deftly splice through the gaps that were barely there, all in a single roll.
He was breathing hard, the strain beginning to take its toll on him physically as well as mentally. Sweat spilled into his eyes, stinging them. But he wasn't finished. He could feel his opponent building, readying the offensive. He took only a millisecond to level out, his wings instinctively pushing him forward, harder, faster. His eyes narrowed as he looked ahead. The end of the trees to the left and right was rapidly approaching, leading toward a massive red structure. A barn. Soarin' beat his wings harder, increasing his already volatile speed. It would be close. Very close.
The blue pegasus pumped his wings harder, ignoring the pain the wracked them, drawing himself as close to the ground as he could, forcing himself to tuck his hooves in. Soarin gritted his teeth. He could feel a rumble within him, phantom lightning strikes dancing around as his vision blurred to a malevolent and sickly purple. An instant later the wooden rails fell away from his side, the window of opportunity almost wasn't there. Closing his eyes, he gave his a violent upward thrust, as the mirage of the Twin Storms chased after him. But Soarin' ignored it. His body flung upward as he pivoted into a corkscrew, arcing through the upper level barn door opening, the top of his head grazing the frame. Time seemed to slow as the interior of the barn spun around him. His mind barely had time to register the half opened barn door that was the exit.
In that agonizingly long second the storm was upon him. He could feel the heat at his hooves, the arcs of lightning chasing after him, hellbent on snaring him within their clutches. But there was something else. He felt a presence, like everything, all the emotions and visions, were pushing it towards him. He had tried to out run it, but here and now, in this weightless second, he was helpless against it.
Suddenly, an ethereal, ghostlike whisper grazed his ears. “Your wounds...” Soarin' was stunned in confusion. He could feel the cryptic words wash over and through him. It was not one of malevolence. Rather, it felt as if the aura was trying to, to... help me?
Then as quickly as it came, the words, along with the specter of the storm, and the all encompassing flurry of emotions bombarding him, receded. Soarin' didn't have time to fully comprehend what had just occurred. Time rapidly began to return to reality. Coming to the end of his corkscrew, the Wonderbolt hugged his appendages close, willing his body to the impossibly small slit left by the barn door.
Time regained its mastery over reality, as the pegasus blur spun through the opening. He could feel the strain tear away at his body, the force that he had put his wings through. His mind was equally exhausted, the conflict inside leaving him ragged. Barely clearing the barn door, the pegasus blasted out into the vast blue expanse over the farm below. A massive boom filled the air, the compression released from the small exit.
Soarin' jerked his wings open, the sudden catch in the wind sending jolts of pain through his appendages. But despite the pain, and the mysterious voice, the Wonderbolt throttled his wings onward. He ignored the protests of agony that his body assaulted his mind with, just like he ignored the visions and emotions that thrashed the edge of his mind. His vision was starting to blur, but he couldn't succumb. Soarin' couldn't live like this.
And then he felt it. A noticeable change. As he approached Ponyville, he could feel it. A break in the offensive, his mind finally began ease. No. Not yet. Just once more. Then... I'll have it. I'll win. Instinctively his body twisted toward the village that seemed to beckon to his weary mind. Just one more stunt.
“Just one more.” Rainbow Dash whispered to herself. High above and just on the outskirts of Ponyville, the prismatic mare stood lightly upon a cloud. She was covered in sweat, her mane slick against her body. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, her breath in quick gasps. But that had never stopped her before. It wouldn't now.
“You got this Dash! Piece of cake!” Scootaloo shouted from a cloud off in the distance.
Rainbow Dash saluted her younger friend, a confident smirk on her face. When don't I?
Moving toward the edge of the cloud, Rainbow Dash took a moment to survey the sky before her. Then, taking a deep breath, the pegasus turned around, and fell backwards off the cloud, dropping like a rock.
Seated upon her cloud near Ponyville, Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Psshhh, showoff.”
Eyes closed Rainbow Dash counted. One. The wind whipped around her, daring her to extend her wings. Two. She could feel gravity's pull in the pit of her stomach, as she tumbled over and over. But she wouldn't let it break her concentration. Not yet. “Three!” Dash exclaimed aloud, as she shot her eyes open like a hawk. The stunt mare was greeted with a rapidly spinning world as the distance between herself and the ground diminished. In one swift motion, the pegasus deftly opened a single wing while she was still upside down. Immediately catching the wind, the resistance agilely flipped Dash over. At the precise moment, she shot her other wing open, leveling the mare out and ricocheting her forward.
Some would have jumped to their hooves in applause at such a feat, but Dash was more than a one trick pony. The dive had only been the opener. Rocketing forward, she immediately entered into a massive sky-field of Everfree clouds. The clouds bulged in and out unnaturally, gaps opening and closing without warning between them. Grinning Rainbow dodged the minefield of clouds before her. The pegasus rolled left and right, cutting this way and that way throughout the ever changing obstacle course.
Rainbow Dash grinned as the adrenaline coursed through her. The previous weeks may have taken their toll, but nothing could separate her from the thrill she felt now. Not some weird book. Not the Twin Storms. Not ever her-
Suddenly she felt it. The feeling as if she was being watched. Reluctant to stop, Dash shrugged off the minor distraction. Meh, its probably nothing, I have been working pretty har-
Again. She could feel more than eyes upon her now. Being a pegasus, she could sense the feeling of another flier around her, the flap of wings, the changes in the air. Huh? What the? Rainbow Dash slowed herself, rapidly twisting her neck about trying to locate the other pegasus. But there's... The presence continued to build, phantom gusts brushing alongside her, the echo of wings a-flurry all around the lone pegasus in the Everfree clouds. More than a little unnerved, the stunt mare came to a halt, hovering as she spun about, eyes darting about the clouds. “There's nopony...” Rainbow Dash started to speak still dumbfounded, when she realized it was a presence she now felt. She felt many. All around her.
“Nopony here?” The puzzle mare whispered to herself. In a huff of frustration, the pegasus yelled out. “ALL RIGHT REAL FUNNY, YOU BETTER COME OUT IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YA!”
Trying to ignore the truthful fear that was rapidly building within her, Rainbow Dash scanned the clouds around her. Seconds passed, and the fear began to bubble up as the lone mare's challenge went unanswered. The aura of pegasi around her continued to build. Her ears twitched involuntarily, sending an ice cold fear rippling throughout her body, freezing her on the spot. Whispers. Voices. They came and went with the winds, sometimes far, others near, but all around. Garbled and half there, she couldn't make out what any of the rising wave of ghost like voices where trying to say. “THIS ISN'T FUNNY! SHOW YOURSELVES!” Rainbow called out again, barely containing her facade that there were physical pegasi around her.
“Oh the hay with this!” Dash daringly said out loud, suddenly pushing her wings hard and thrusting herself away from the spectral area. She could feel the vast aura begin to fall away behind her, rapidly replaced with a wave of relief and exhaustion. “That's it. I'm done with all this mental mumbo-jumbo. As soon as I get back to Ponyville I'm going to sleep for a whole day.” Reassured, Rainbow Dash let herself relax as she traversed through the clouds, reaching the very center, a large enclosure of bulging clouds.
At that very moment, she felt it.
It started as tiny pinpricks in the back of her mind. The pegasus started to groan at the sudden renewal of the week long annoyance, but as if in a chastising response, it lashed out within her mind. Rainbow suddenly staggered mid flight at the unexpected onslaught. “What in the hay...?” Whatever it was that had been affecting her the past week or so, it had never been so... forceful.
She didn't have time to think on her mental adversary’s new advance, when she immediately felt very vulnerable. In the split second it took her to realize the aura from just minutes before, it overtook her in a massive wave, enveloping her in a renewed force of screaming, panicking voices, and the billowing of pegasi air currents. They were joined by a sudden squall of high winds, attacking the cyan pegasus, and warping the Everfree clouds, pulling them together into a cage.
But the stunt mare was too busy with the invisible apparitions around her to take notice of the changing sky scape. Rainbow covered her ears, trying to shut out the terrified onslaught of screams that swirled around her.
“Watch out!”
Rainbow Dash instinctively flung herself to the side, eyes tracking the very real and very clear voice from only seconds before. A large crack immediately filled the air, followed by the echo of thunder, the kind of sound that came from the collapse of a cloud-stone pillar. Confusion filled Dash's eyes as she looked around, trying to determine if it was her sight or her hearing that was deceiving her. The crunch of the phantom stone-cloud structure continued, a chorus of horrified gasps of ghosts filling Rainbows ears.
“Sky Dancer look out!” The voice from before called out again.
“By Celestia it's coming down!” Called out another voice, a stallion this time.
“What's happening? WHAT'S HAPPENING!?” A terrified mare's voice cut through the air.
Panicking, Rainbow dodged every which way, all about what her eyes told her was a clear expanse, but what her ears told her was a very real carnage. The wind continued to build, and if she didn't know that she was within the white clouds of Everfree, Rainbow would have sworn she was in a hurricane.
The massive structure finally 'collapsed', the massive roar exploding throughout the enclosure of Everfree clouds. Tearful screams filled the air, as the moans and screams grew louder. Echoes of similar structures breaking soon filled the cyan mare's ears.
Hovering in place and panting heavily, Rainbow could hear the resulting tragedy unfold before her. A flurry of emotions filled her. Fear. Sadness. Helplessness. She wanted to do something, help somepony. Frustration overtook her.
“WHERE ARE YOU? LET ME HELP YOU!”
But she was met with only the continued audible destruction within the sky. She could feel them, sense them. They were real. Or had they been? New emotions crawled up within the stunt mare. Her foe from recent weeks assaulted her with a new found weapon. The opponent within her bombarded Rainbow Dash with vague, near forgotten emotions. A connection. A familiarity. The voices, the mass panic. W-What is this? What is all this?
The curious thought only lasted a second, as phantasm wings buffeted her exhausted body. With difficulty, Rainbow pushed her fear aside, mustering as much courage as she could, if only to think straight. Her eyes quickly made out the hazy view of Ponyville in the distance, the Everfree clouds mockingly revealing and stealing away her escape. Straightening herself out, she burst with as much speed as she could, darting for one of the distant openings.
She was almost within reach of one of rapidly closing exits, when the gale force winds around her attacked the cloud, wrenching it shut. A split second later Rainbow's view was blinded by a crack of intensely white light, followed by an explosive barrage of rolling thunder. The shock wave sent her hurtling away from the wall of clouds, back to the swirling epicenter of screaming ghosts and the cascade of crumbling cloud-stone.
Struggling to regain control, Rainbow pulled herself about, wresting control from the winds. “By Celestia, what is going-” She started to say, but all speech left her when she opened her eyes.
What had once been a puffy white enclosure was now a collection of massive black and purple hued thunderheads converging around her. It was the Twin Storms. She knew it couldn't be possible, it shouldn't have been possible. Just outside the reality of her own sight, the Cloudsdale Cloudseum was being torn apart.
She had little time to think however. Massive thunderheads warped around Rainbow Dash, stopping short of engulfing her, but that did little to sate her fears. I gotta get out of here! Rainbow darted every which way, but massive clouds blocked her every move. She could hear the muted thunder around her, lightning strikes that where there but not there, jumping out at her, caging her within the phantasm storm.
Forced into the only safe spot, the very center of the storm-cage, Rainbow was forced to endure the Cloudseum's final moments. The voices from years ago were now more clear than ever, their depth of sorrow, terror, and raw emotion infecting the cyan mare. She had to force herself not to dive after the scores of ponies whose voices screamed out, fading as they fell to the earth. She hovered in place, staring at the sickening familiar clouds around. Then she felt it. All the anxiety from the recent weeks filled up within her again.
Rainbow gritted her teeth, anger coursing through her. “What do you want with me?” She seethed through her clenched teeth, throwing her forearms up in defiance. “WHAT IS IT!? WHAT DO YOU WANT!? WHAT CONNECTION COULD I POSSIBLY HA-”
“Quickly, Star Chaser! Take my hoof!”
Rainbow Dash went numb. A voice, a shockingly familiar one, was catapulted from the deep recesses of her mind, locked away by time. She had been very young. She had nearly forgotten. But she knew that voice. What had only been vague and hazy memories were now crystal clear. The floodgates opened, and the cyan mare was wracked with new kind of pain and sorrow.
“D-Daddy...?” Rainbow dared to meekly call out, the name quivering on her lips. The wind, thunder, and lightning continued to rage around her, forcing the mare to strain her ears, the only connection she now had.
“Cloud Charger what's going on? What's happened?”
“I don't know! We just have to get out of here!”
“Look out!”
The sound of crunching and grinding cloud-stone resonated through the air. Rainbow looked about frantically, desperately trying to find the sound of her parents voice. “Oh no, oh no, oh please Celestia no...” Rainbow pleaded out loud, a fresh wave of fear rising up with the tears that filled her vision. It was only going to get worse. Another wave of gasps and terrified shrieks filled the sky as the sickening crumbling reached it's crescendo, the phantom waves of a massive pillar toppling over rippling throughout. A deafening boom erupted all around Rainbow.
“DAD!? MOM!?” Rainbow Dash screamed out, tears flowing freely as the wide-eyed mare desperately flitted about trying to locate something, anything, in the open space.
“Please, … say SOMETHING!” Silence. “ANYTHING!?” The pegasus screamed out in fear filled terror. But there was nothing. The orchestra of carnage and death continued to play out all around Rainbow Dash, but she was oblivious to it. She only knew sadness, an uncontrollable sorrow twisting throughout her. She hovered in the center of the storm limply, tears dripping from her downcast face. “Please...” A foal like whimper escaped her breathe. “Mommy...” A barely controlled sob shuddered throughout her. “...Daddy...” All self control left the cyan mare. Silent whimpers and sharp gasps shuddered uncontrollably through her body. “Don't leave me.”
“An open wound...”
Rainbow gasped out loud, spinning about. She felt it within and around her, the pinpricks within her mind, the ethereal voice upon her.
“You!” She lashed out in anger, sorrow momentarily thrust to the side. “Why are you doing this to me?”
“...why do you ignore it?”
“What...? I...” She started to say, when the foe within her mind suddenly lurched. Dash felt anger and hate. She could feel the internal presence throwing them about within her. Why make me feel this way, after all this? Betrayal. But why? It wasn't at the voice around her. Not at the festering that had plagued her mind for weeks now. Realization suddenly dawned upon her. These weren't created emotions, placed within her. They were hers. She could feel them, buried deep away in a forgotten place, and now suddenly ripped out and forcefully cast upon her. “But... I don't... I don't know these...” She trailed off, trying to deny it to herself. No. Its gotta be some kind of trick. I can't even place why I'd feel this wa- A new emotion suddenly surged from the depths, striking her hard. Guilt. Before she could question more, the attack was followed by another. A loathing, self hate. Confusion filled the mare as she contemplated the new additions. These were hers. Rainbow Dash couldn't deny it. But where from? Why now?
She tried to shut out the flurry of emotions that relentlessly assaulted her. But in her weakened state, her pitiful resistance only incensed the onslaught. In a like fashion, the storm around Rainbow joined with her belligerent emotions, reaching new levels violence. The pegasus' vision began to blur and her head began to spin, consciousness leaving her.
“A broken sword did not defeat him last...”
The words barely registered in the back or Rainbow's mind. Her vision continued to fade as her wings began to flutter haphazardly. The lightning seemed to grow more violent, flashes of light only hastening her receding vision.
“Find each other... mend the tear...”
Falling. She was falling. Hooves and wings limply outstretched toward the sky, the mare could barely see the full and terrific majesty of the raging storm. This can't be it. I can't go like this! She pleaded mentally, trying to rouse her flailing wings, to no avail. I have to... to do something about this.
But it was too late. Her vision left her, only the fierce whipping of wind and the booming of thunder filling her ears before she passed out entirely.
“RAINBOW DASH!”
An instant later Rainbow Dash's eyes shot open. Gasping for breathe, she abruptly realized that she was no longer falling. Facing downward, she could make out the sight of a much closer Ponyville between the patches of pure white clouds. White clouds? But what about-
“Rainbow? Oh thank Celestia you're awake!”
Rainbow Dash turned her head to the left. “Ugh... Scoots?” She was straddled sideways along the orange and purple pegasus, her rescuer having difficulty remaining airborne.
“Are you...” Scootaloo took several deep breaths before finishing. “Are you okay?” Scootaloo looked over to the cyan mare in concern.
“Yeah, yeah, I think so.” Rainbow grumbled, testing out her wings briefly before rolling off, coming astride of her fellow pegasus a moment later, the two drifting toward Ponyville.
“What in the hay happened out there?”
Rainbow Dash stared back in disbelief. “What do you mean? Didn't you see it? I just got sucked into the most dangerous storm I've even been in my life!”
Scootaloo gave the mare an awkward stare. “Uh, Dash, what are you talking about? There wasn't a storm.”
“What? You didn't see the thunderheads? The lightning? It all came out of nowhere! You didn't hear the Cloudseum tearing apart, or all... all those pegasi...” Rainbow trailed off, an echo of sadness passing through her.
“The Cloudseum being torn apart? But Dash, that's in-”
“Cloudsdale, yeah I know, I know.” Rainbow jumped in, frustration still in her voice. “But I know what it was. I was in the Twin Storms. I could hear... everything.”
Scootaloo simply gave her friend a mystified look. “I'm not trying to say you're wrong Dash, I can tell you're not lying.” An apologetic look crossed Scootaloo's face as she continued. “But... it's just... it's just that all I saw was right after you entered the sky-field, you just sorta stopped.”
“Stopped? What do you mean?”
“Just stopped for a few seconds. Then you sorta just darted in a few directions randomly, like you were chasing something... or lost or something.” Scootaloo tried her best to sound unsure herself, not wanting to make her friend sound crazy, but it fell flat. “Next thing I know, you're falling.”
Rainbow was only left with confusion. How could she have not seen it? Then she remembered the voice at the end. She knew it from earlier. From the warning. From the book in Twilight's library.
“Weird thing is though,” Scootaloo started again, “as I was diving after you, I got this really weird feeling. Like... like there were a bunch of pegasi all around, even though I couldn't see em'.”
“Wait, you did?” An incredulous and somewhat hopeful tone in Dash's voice.
“Yeah, and there was that feeling again, the one I told you about. Like something... something different was-”
“Pulling at the back of you're mind.” Rainbow finished flatly.
Scootaloo gave her friend a surprised look. “Uh, yeah. What's going on Rainbow Dash?”
The cyan mare simply stared ahead. “I'm not sure squirt.” The voice's message resonated with Dash. Find her. The elder pegasus glanced over to her teenaged friend. Scootaloo? But what about this wound, what about “him”? She sighed inwardly. Still more questions than answers. The rainbow colored pegasus turned again to the copper mare.
“But whatever is going on, I'm going to need your help.”
Scootaloo returned with a resolute face. “Don't worry Dash, you can count on me.”
The two continued to fly silently toward Ponyville, now just outside the village limits. Breaking the silence, Rainbow turned once more to the other pegasus.
“Hey, Scootaloo.”
Scootaloo turned, looking curiously toward her friend, not accustomed to hearing her full name. “What's up?”
“Thanks. For saving me.”
The copper mare grinned. “Hey, I couldn't let you leave me hanging like that, now could I?”
Rainbow smiled, and was about to shoot back with her own remark, when a distant sonic boom erupted off in the distance.
Both pegasi immediately took note of the sound, looking over past Ponyville.
“What in the hay was that? It sounded like thunder.”
Rainbow Dash remained quiet, frowning as she gazed over toward Sweet Apple Acres. “No. That wasn't thunder. It was a sonic boom.”
“A sonic boom? But that means...”
“Yeah. There's only a few pegasi in Equestria that can do something like that. C'mon, lets go check it out.”
Soarin' glided uneasily above the small village of Ponyville. Ragged breaths shook his body, sweat still streaming into his face. His body ached, his wings were on fire, and his mind felt like it was a scarred and worn torn battlefield. Hovering just above Ponyville, he allowed himself a moment to collect himself, a reprieve that the mysterious little village seemed to give his mind. He could feel his opponent retreating in proximity to the village, shirking away ever since he had left the apple orchard.
The sonic boom, it must have worked, he thought uneasily. But it wasn't enough. He could have left it alone. He could have landed in Ponyville, found Spitfire, grabbed a much needed drink, and let his mind rest with his wounded opponent on the outskirts. That would have been the easy thing to do. But Soarin' didn't leave a job half finished. He had his enemy in the throes of defeat, wounded, and at his mercy. He would finish it off, once and for all.
Without another thought, Soarin' dove downward toward the quiet village. It wouldn't be quiet for much longer. Wind whipped around his face as his body began to protest yet again. But this time it was unaccompanied by his mental foe. Soarin' grinned, confidence swelling within him. He could feel his self assurance returning. He was the best and he had known it, it had always been there, and no mental parasite playing on his memories, no cryptic and ghostlike voice, was going to snatch it away from him. He didn't understand what it was so insistent on telling him. Interestingly enough, he didn't care.
Once again moving at near breakneck speeds, Soarin' tucked his wings in, letting gravity take over. He could make out the various ponies that loitered about Ponyville, some pointing to the sky toward the daredevil Wonderbolt. Soarin' grinned, confidence washing over him. A crowd had always pushed him to consistently out do himself. And with the way things had been all day, Ponyville's citizens were in for one heck of a show.
Gravity continued to pull on the blue pegasus, but Soarin' didn't flinch. He was coming down directly on top of city hall, smack dab in the center of Ponyville. The large structure suddenly seemed to rise up out of the ground, threatening to spear him with its flagpole. But it was an empty threat, a static obstacle that pegasi danced around in mocking laughter, fit only for the elite airborne race to defy in an aerial display of majesty and arrogance. Soarin' could feel his feathered nature rise up within him, a welcome and powerful ally. It filled him with pride, gave him focus, and diminished the foreign thoughts that would dare to tear down his birthright, his very spirit as a pegasus.
Eyes narrowing, Soarin' let his pegasus instinct, forged razor sharp in the crucible of the Wonderbolts, take over. His wings suddenly flared open, tugging against his battered frame. Pain was there, but it didn't seem to register in the pegasus' mind. Still moving at daredevil speeds, the stallion canted his wings in reflex, barely skimming the roof of town hall. At almost the same time, he banked left, pulling as hard as his wings would allow. He made no sound, but Soarin' felt the strain all the same, a lone vein pulsating at his brow. At such speeds the out-swing of his turn shot Soarin' to the outer circle of town square, his body rolling sideways as his deftly maintained the high G turn, hooves barely scraping the tiled roof tops that formed the loop.
Though his speed had dropped, Soarin' still whipped around the center of Ponyville like a slingshot. The citizens below barely had time to witness the blue blur that seemed to move with alicorn like agility. If they didn't catch the split second aerial display, then the oblivious ponies below became acutely aware of the thunderous wind that billowed behind the Wonderbolt, traveling like a runaway freight train and crashing about the square like a mini-tornado.
Soarin' took little note of the chaos that erupted behind him. Though he stared ahead in precision flight, his real focus was on the fledgling enemy within. He could feel it trying to rouse itself, trying to meet his counterattack. Not... going... to... happen, he thought icily. The pinpricks were there again, weakened on the edge of him mind. He could barely hear what sounded like a whisper, seemingly trying to desperately reach him through the frail tendrils that flailed out at him.
He had completed a half circle of the village center when Soarin' abruptly rolled inward, wings forcing him downward. Shooting out from the half-circle, he pulled himself above the small river that traveled nearby, wings pushing him still as the Wonderbolt barely cleared through a series of low bridges. He exited from under the last bridge with a massive whoosh, multiple geysers of water erupting from the pressure in rapid sequence alongside each bridge. Supreme and smug confidence swelled within Soarin; he could feel his absolute control wailing relentlessly at his unnamed opponent, it's dull throbs offered no resistance.
Not finished yet, the blue pegasus zoomed around again, taking only a split second to eye a narrow alley way back into town. Perfect. The blue stallion pushed his wings, driving headlong into tight corners of Ponyvilles side streets, rolling left and right, dodging market stands and unaware ponies.
Soarin' almost laughed out loud. What he was doing was dangerous, turning Ponyville into his own obstacle course. But the stallion couldn't help it. Every random obstacle, every unexpected challenged; he had aced them all. In fact, he hadn't felt this way in a long time. Pure exhilaration pulsed throughout his body. It was the masochistic pleasure of pushing harder to the next level, mixed with the adrenaline that only a dare devil could appreciate. And I'm almost there. Almost there.
The alley abruptly ended, spitting Soarin' out into a small circle within the town, the center topped off with a statue of Princess Celestia, the ruler in a majestic pose on her rear hooves. Well, majestic to some perhaps. Soarin' grinned mischievously. S'cuse me Princess, the bold pegesus thought, rolling as he split between the ruler's two aft legs. Mentally, another hammer fell, Soarin's unwanted visitor throbbing ever fainter. Righting himself, the Wonderbolt guided himself close to the stone street, blinking past a narrow archway, and launching himself up once again above Ponyville.
Hovering somewhat limply, Soarin' gasped for breath, an awkward smile on his face between heaves. How do you like that huh? He boasted to his adversary. I'll always come out on top, no matter what! Trembles and twitches in his mind were the only response. Seconds passing, the Wonderbolt gathered himself, mentally and physically. Far below he could make out a bell tower near the center of town. Taking one last deep breath, Soarin' flared his wings, testing what strength they had left.
“That's it then. Time to end this.”
Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo drifted into Ponyville, lightly touching down on the outskirts of town. Though they had both heard what was curiously a sonic boom from across the village, neither one of them expected the sight they now beheld.
“What in the hay?” Scootaloo exclaimed.
Though silent, Rainbow Dash was equally dumbfounded.
The scene before them was anything but normal. Ponies all around the the river were soaked to the bone, while the banks appeared to have been flooded, fish scattered about.
“There wasn't a storm scheduled today,” Dash wondered aloud. “So how did this happen?”
Strolling onward towards town, both pegasi stared awkwardly about, still trying to decipher what had happened. Most ponies around them grumbled and griped, some silently muttering something about a “crazy pegasus”. There was one pony, however who was of the opposite opinion. Drenched to the bone, she was jumping about in large puddle that had collected on one of the bridges.
“Woohoo! Did you see that! He just flew down and then “FWOOOSH!” Water everywhere! Hee hee!”
Rainbow Dash smiled knowingly, calling out to the pink earth pony. “Hey! Pinkie!”
The party mare's ears perked up at the sound of her name, and in one swift motion jumped off the bridge and cannon balled into the river. The resulting tidal wave only served to further douse those Ponyville citizens who had foolishly remained.
Scootaloo looked around expectantly, but her companion simply waited, not at all surprised.
Then, as if on cue, a subtle boom could be heard from under the water. It was followed by an underwater explosion of streamers, confetti and a pink blur that shot out from the river in a shallow arc, landing right at the hooves of the two pegasi.
Scootaloo gaped in confusion. “How... wha...?”
Dash smirked. “Don't think about it too hard Scoots.”
Pinkie Pie suddenly popped up between the two, with no explanation as to what she had just done, or how she was suddenly dry.
“Hiya Dashie! Hiya Chicken-loo!”
Scootaloo groaned, about to retort to Pinkie's misuse of her name, when Rainbow cut her off.
“Pinkie, what in the hay happened here?”
“OhohohohOH, you would've loved it Dashie! First he did this huge dive, and then there was this big whoosh of wind in the center of town that you should totally check out 'cause it made this HUGE messymess, but it didn't last long because he went all spinny aroundaroundaround and around the roofs and THEN he just zoomzoomzoom zoomed under the bridges and splashed water EVERYWHERE!”
Pinkie smiled massively at the two pegasi, not once taking a breath.
Once again, Scootaloo gawked awkwardly for several seconds at the neon pink curiosity next to her. “What?”
Rainbow sighed, putting her hoof to her temple. “Pinkie. Who did all this?”
“Hrm? Why didn't you just say so silly! It was this really speedy blue pegasus with a dark blue mane. Somepony I've... never... met... before.” Pinkie's eyes suddenly went wide in realization. “Omigosh!” She gasped in exaggeration. “I gotta get ready!”
Not skipping a beat, the party mare bounded off into town.
“Blue pegasus? That doesn't really narrow it down too much.” Scootaloo speculated. “Make any sense to you?”
“Maybe...” Rainbow Dash started to say, as the two pegasi strode side by side into town. Blue pegasus, blue mane, and a sonic boom? But that could only mean...
“Whoa! Dash, check it out!”
Pulled from her thoughts, the stunt mare took in the scene before her. The center of Ponyville was completely trashed. Papers littered the ground, complementing the numerous upturned markets stalls and stands, their products spilled out into the street. Much like before, various ponies milled about angrily, once again citing an “insane flyer”.
“By the Archons!” Rainbow Dash swore silently. “Pinkie wasn't kidding.”
“This place looks like it was hit by a twister.” The younger mare commented.
“Yeah. Too bad it doesn't really help us right now.”
“Help us? Help us what?”
Rainbow jumped into the air hover lightly just above the rooftops, her teenage friend joining her. “Find the Wonderbolt, whoever he is.”
“How can you be sure?” Scootaloo questioned, watching as Dash scanned the sky around Ponyville. “Besides, if he did all this, how in the hay are we supposed to fin-”
Gasps and angry heckles from below cut off the copper mare.
“There he is again! Just what in the hay is trying to do!?”
“Somepony needs to stop that maniac!”
“What?! Again?!”
Looking down, both pegasi found a throng of incensed ponies, their eyes skyward. Rainbow Dash suddenly spun around, craning her head upward. There, among the clouds, was a light blue pegasus.
“There!” Dash exclaimed, Scootaloo following her gaze toward the sky.
“Him? Are you sure? He's just hovering there.”
As if on cue, light blue stallion suddenly tore into a dangerously steep dive. He was gaining a tremendous amount of speed, and was heading straight into the center of Ponyville.
“What in the hay?!” Scootaloo shouted in astonishment. “Dash he's going way too fast! If he keeps going like that...” The copper mare trailed off, a worried look on her face.
He won't be able to pull up in time. “Come on!” Rainbow bellowed, speeding off toward a low lying cloud.
Scootaloo raced after the prismatic mare. “What? What are we doing?”
“Gather as many of these nearby clouds as quickly as possible and bring them here! Hurry!”
Scootaloo didn't need to be told twice. Speeding off, she began rounding up the surrounding clouds. Racing off herself, Dash did the same, all the while keeping the rocketing pegasus in her field of vision.
Archons help me, I hope we can do this in time.
Soarin' dove toward the Ponyville bell tower, limbs outstretched and wings beating furiously. This was it. He was finally going to be rid of whatever parasite was eating away at him, plaguing him with old memories, distorted emotions, and vague messages. Then he would be back. Back to the successful daredevil stallion that lit up Equestria's skies. He just had to focus, in this one final stunt.
The wind howled in his ears as wisps of cloud blurred past him. Soarin' could feel his speed reach terminal velocity. He snapped his wings close to his body, letting gravity take over. The pegasus was locked in on his course. There was no going back. In just a few seconds, it would all be over.
Again time seemed to slow. An amethyst hue crept along the edge of his vision; his opponent seemed to be drawing him in. It was an act of desperation, Soarin' could tell. Do your worst, he mentally steeled himself. There would not be an upset to his victory. With every beat of his heart his vision continued to fill with the sickly purple of the Twin Storms. But instead of the fury and malevolence that had dogged him before, instead he felt the return of the aura of an ally, again like somepony was reaching out to help him, strengthen him. The Wonderbolt grimaced, trying to shut out what felt like a trap. He tried to focus on the bell tower, pushing himself with his wings once again, trying to cling to the reality of their motion. But it was no avail. The aura seemed to be directing his mind, commanding with a military like authority. In a final throb, his vision obscured by the echo of the Twin Storms, the world around him melted away, and Soarin' entered the confines of his own mind. He stood for a second, as the purple haze around him cleared, revealing the landscape around the stallion. It was a battlefield, the sky bounded by the distant raging of the Twin Storms, and the earth with fresh wounds from the fighting of combatants that bled across the landscape. Strangely enough, it seemed as if the fighting had been between two pegasi, the marks from ancient weapons laying claim to the carnage of the world around him.
He should have felt alarmed, worried, or even angry. But all Soarin' felt at that moment in time was a very strange calm. Even as he moved forward, he could still feel his body in flight. In the distance the light blue stallion could make out the hazy aura from before. As he got closer, he could feel the pitiful heaves and throbs of his opponent, as if it knew that his very approach, both on hoof and in flight, would be its end. Soarin' smirked. “Good to know I do a thorough job. Still doesn't explain why it brought me here though.”
As he walked closer, the aura began to recede and fade. By the time Soarin' had reached it, the haze had disappeared entirely. But it was what it revealed that stopped Soarin' in his tracks. Before the Wonderbolt was the collapsed skeletal remains of a pegasus, slightly larger than himself. What? Confusion bounded about Soarin's mind. This is what's been messing with my head all this time? The skeleton seemed ancient, upon its skull was an ancient battle helm of sorts, complemented by a pair of dual daggers that hung limply on the skeletal forelimbs.
“Soarin'.”
The Wonderbolt froze. It was the same voice as before, clearer now, stronger, commanding even. What scared him the most though, was from where it had come from. Soarin's eyes locked with the skeleton before him. The skull had suddenly turned to face him, meeting his gaze with its eyeless sockets.
“W-what in depths of Tartarus...” He mumbled in fear.
Suddenly, the ethereal aura returned, radiating outward from the dead pegasus. It slowly began to wrap around the body of the skeleton, lively features coming into form. As it did so, Soarin' felt a renewed clarity in the presence before him. Authority. Respect. Strength. Trust. Sadness. He not only felt these qualities in the consciousness around him, he felt them within himself. It was as if there was connection between himself and the ghost before him that went beyond pegasi kinship. By now the specter had come to represent the deceased pegasus. The ghost's eyes shot open, zeroing right on the Wonderbolt.
Soarin' quivered ever so slightly. He knew who this pegasus was, but it was the very last thing he would have expected to encounter. Slowly, years of military training involuntarily snapped him to attention.
Commander Hurricane 'stood up', leaving the bony skeleton behind. Embodied by the purple aura, the form of the stallion before Soarin' constantly seemed as if it were caught in the wind, wisps flickering at the edge of its body like an open flame. Garbed in full combat attire, the military pegasi regarded Soarin' with a steely gaze.
“Why do you delay? Why do you resist?” Commander Hurricane questioned.
“I...w-what?” Soarin' replied, not sure how he had found the courage to speak.
“Old scars reopened and a broken blade.” The military pegasus stared off behind Soarin', seemingly lost in thought. “It took three united to cast him down. Three there are now, but two lay bleeding, one unguarded, open to harm. He will not be struck down by a blunted edge.” The spectral stallion regarded him once more, a fierce intensity in his eyes. “Why do you delay?”
“I don't even know what the hay is going on!” Soarin' exclaimed, frustration suddenly outweighing his fear. “What do I have to stop? Who are the other two?”
Commander Hurricane squinted for a moment at the Wonderbolt. Then without an indication, the spirit took a step forward, raising a single bladed hoof. Soarin' twitched away ever so slightly, but the presence before him compelled him to stay, to wait. Commander Hurricane paused for a moment, before suddenly thrusting the blade into Soarin's forehead.
Soarin' flinched, but there was no pain. The ancient pegasi retracted his weapon. Meeting Soarin's eyes with a forlorn look, Commander Hurricane gestured to his right. On the battlefield that was Soarin's mind, new, but ancient memories manifested themselves in a haze. Scores of military pegasi filled the expanse of a raging storm, the most violent Soarin' had ever seen. They battled against other pegasi, dragons, and what appeared to be storm clouds given pegasi form, lightning bolts forming their wings and the blades that adorned their forearms. Out of the massive fray above him, Soarin' made out three prominent pegasi. Commander Hurricane flew in the center, flanked by two others that Soarin' didn't recognize. They forced their way through the battlesky, flying a formation that reminded Soarin' of one of the Wonderbolts more aggressive routines. Though their foes attempted to strike the trio, an unexplainable force protected them. Every blow Commander Hurricane and his companions wielded seemed to be magnified, violent bursts of lightning and vortexes assaulting their enemies. Soarin' could feel it; it was like an echo, just a ripple that he felt in his blood. But it wasn't magic. Soarin' knew what unicorn magic felt like, rather, this was unique, something that he could feel pulling within him.
The three pegasi blasted their way through all opposition, making headway toward the heart of the storm. The landscape around Soarin' and Commander Hurricane shifted, suspended them near the epicenter. Immediately the trio of pegasi blazed past them, swatting down their foes with ease as they finally reached their destination. Turning around, the Wonderbolt beheld what Commander Hurricane was trying to show him. Tornadoes raged without restriction around the center of the storm, but they seemed to have purpose, direction, even malice. Commander Hurricane and his allies, protected by their barrier, pushed through the barricade of twisters and lightning, coming finally to their singular objective.
Soarin' turned to Commander Hurricane. “Is this-” He started to question, but the ghost was lost in a seething stare.
Turning back to the center of the storm, Soarin' was bombarded by a massive wave of power. It wasn't magic, but its malevolent nature told him that it controlled everything that was happening around them. His eyes met a singular pegasi, hovering at the center of the swirling tempest, lightning arching from his wings while vortexes formed at his hooves. For a split second Soarin' swore his eyes met the purple hued eyes of this magnified pegasi, and at that very moment a single word entered his mind. Archon.
The power continued to emanate from the center of the storm, battering Soarin's already feeble mind. He could feel what little strength he had being sucked away. Off in the distance, Commander Hurricane and his companions split apart at high speed, swirling around their target in battle. Blades met armor while lightning and gale winds passed between the three heroes and their foe. Feral words were shouted among the combatants, but Soarin' couldn't hear them, consciousness starting to slip away. Commander Hurricane turned to him, a foreboding look on his face.
“You must not allow this to come to pass.”
All sight was gone. All Soarin' could feel was the sudden abrupt tug on his body.
“Find the others. Heal your wounds.”
The Wonderbolt's wings suddenly erupted in pain.
“Preserve the legacy.”
Soarin's eyes suddenly shot open, greeting him with the fast approaching Ponyville. He gasped for breath, and instead caught the wind in his mouth. His wings beat erratically, as he moved at top speed. Unfortunately, the Wonderbolt's mind had taken one too many precious seconds to catch up. The Ponyville bell tower was now much closer, the large instrument swaying back and forth.
Oh, buck.
Soarin' fought against his own body, trying to out do the pain one last time. But his body rejected him. Cramps and spasms wracked his wings. Come on, come on! He mentally chastised himself. He continued to force his wings, trying desperately to time his move, to split right by the swaying bell. Instead he was on a collision course with tower.
“Hurry Scoots!” Rainbow Dash yelled, as she quickly bundled together a mass of clouds.
The copper mare sped over to her friend, pushing along another clump of white cloud.
“Rainbow Dash! Look!”
Dash turned toward the sky where the light blue pegasus had suddenly lost all control, plummeting at high speed toward the bell tower.
“Grab a hold here!” Rainbow quickly point to one side of the now sizable cloud. Moving along astride of the younger pegasus, Rainbow began to push. “Push as hard as you can, and follow my lead!”
It was agonizingly slow at first, but the two pegasi began to push the massive cloud toward the bell tower. The two beat their wings as hard as they could, rapidly gaining speed.
Scootaloo called out over the blur of wind to the stunt mare. “Dash, we're not going to make it!”
Rainbow jerked her head up toward the falling pegasus. “Yes we are! Push harder!” She yelled, grimacing as her already tired wings started to burn. We have to.
The gap between them and the tower was very small now. But it would be close. Very, very close. Come on, come on, COME ON! Rainbow screamed in her mind, thrusting her head downward and pushing as hard as she could.