“Now make sure that rope’s tighter than a bundled up knapsack, sugar!”
“I can’t feel my butt anymore,” Rainbow Blitz grumbled, yanking the rope taut around his midsection. Capricorn walked up, horn aglow in preparation of a spell. Rainbow Blitz flinched at the magic’s contact, his body developing an emerald glow as the aura spread over his features in a molasses-like viscosity. He inspected a hoof with skepticism, turning it over to see that the light had fully incased it.
“What the heck is this, Cappy?”
“Impact reduction spell,” He mumbled, eying his friend up and down to ensure that the spell had fully incased him. “Your dad’s already gonna throw a fit when he sees that bruise on your bum. May as well give you back to your parents as unbroken as possible. You ready?”
“No!” Blitz hissed, his eyes narrowed in a vicious glare. “I didn’t sign up for this, Cappy! You’re the one who said I have to-um, you know.”
“Are you saying you think she’s ugly?” Capricorn asked rhetorically, a smug eyebrow raised as he baited the rainbow colt.
“What?! No! She’s the prettiest filly in Ponyville; everypony knows that!”
“So you don’t wanna kiss her?”
“Yes- I mean no- I mean,” Blitz stammered, blushing furiously at his verbal slip. He took a deep breath, calming his speech and flush before looking his grinning friend in the eyes. “I don’t think I’m ready is all.”
“Sure you are! You just don’t know it yet.” Capricorn took a few steps back, cupping a hoof to his mouth to amplify his hollering. “He’s all set Golden Delicious! Do your stuff!”
“Maybe this isn’t the be-YEEEEEEOOOOW!” Rainbow Blitz howled, the rope squeezing the air from his lungs. Golden Delicious swung the rope fervently, forming a circular rainbow at the fiber’s end as she increased its velocity. Rainbow Blitz attempted to stretch his wings out from their folds. To his horror, the inner wing remained pinned to his side, the force pressuring it stronger than the specified muscles used to unfold it. Blitz’s vocal pleas to stop were lost among the air resistance. Golden Delicious reached max velocity, signaling to Capricorn with a wave of her immaculate hoof; the alicorn colt fired a green blast from his horn, singeing the rope thin. Rainbow Blitz squeezed his eyes shut, tears brought forth from the wind and his imposing fate.
*Snap*
Golden Delicious and Capricorn watched in stunned silence as the rainbow colt catapulted through the orchard, taking several branches with him. Apple leaves that had scattered throughout the air hovered gently down the ground, making soft rustling sounds in an otherwise completely silent scene. Golden Delicious shifted her eyes to her side, silently demanding an explanation from her winged friend. Capricorn hopped gracefully onto a single hoof, spinning around several times until his inner wing found itself pinned into its folds.
“Oh….”
Soarin’ pumped his wings against the air currents, sweat dripping off him as testimony to his strained efforts. The rings under his eyes formed deeper creases as several worst case scenarios played through his panicked mind, each ending disastrously for his little son. Soarin’s terror-filled fantasies were interrupted by a strong force colliding into him from above, sending him sprawling into a massive cloud bank. Eyes closed, he groaned painfully, flipping onto his back and pressing down onto the cumulus with his forehooves. He rose halfway before realizing somepony was pinning his wings down with their hooves. Soarin’ squinted his eyes open, meeting the amused gaze of his colorful wife. Rainbow Dash leaned forward, giving him a surprisingly gentle kiss despite the force she was exerting on his wings. She drew back, meeting his angry look with one of nostalgia and contentment.
“Just like our fifth date. Good times, good times,” She cooed, blushing slightly as old memories washed through her mind. Soarin’ growled deeply, his eyebrows narrowed and his muzzle scrunched into an angry scowl.
“Get off, Dashie! I have to find Blitzy while I still have the chance!”
Rainbow Dash let her smile fade and raised a quizzical eyebrow. “Do you even know where he is?”
Soarin’s features drooped miserably and he shook his head slowly. His deep green eyes glistened with fresh tears. “No, I got a bad feeling about an hour ago and I haven’t felt anything since. I’m scared, Dashie. What if he-“
Rainbow Dash silenced him, a blue hoof pressed against his lighter toned muzzle. “Hey now, don’t talk like that. He’ll be fine. Now if only we knew how to find him.”
Fluttershy hovered precariously into the airspace, out of breath from her attempt to catch up to the two athletes. She flopped onto the cloud, gasping for precious air to relieve the burning in her wings. “I –gasp- have an –gasp- idea –gasp-.”
Both Wonderbolts turned their attention to the animal caretaker, giving her reasonable time to recover from her physical endeavors. Fluttershy wiped the sweat from her brow and regained her composure. “Why don’t you two just make an appearance in town? You’ll draw quite a lot of attention, and that way you can let him find you.”
“Uhhh, Fluttershy,” Dash drawled, her uncertainties clear in her tone, “Wouldn’t that just make it harder to find him? I mean he’s doing something he knows he could get in trouble for. Seems to me like that’d just show him where to avoid.”
“You’re wrong, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy shook her head, her tone becoming stern, “That colt is starved for attention from you two! I bet the only reason he agreed to go along with my son was so that he could learn something so amazing Spitfire would have no choice but to let him into the practices. The poor thing is willing to put himself into harm’s way just to get some attention, so why wouldn’t he come flying to you?”
Rainbow Dash and Soarin’ exchanged mutual guilty looks, the latter more pained given his previous knowledge of the matter.
“Uuuuuuuuhg my leg! That was reduced impact?”
Rainbow Blitz leaned back against the hard fibers of an apple tree, a path of destruction pointing directly to him. He rubbed a sore spot on one of his hind legs, grimly impressed by the welt that had developed. Capricorn’s protective spell had worked, but as Rainbow Blitz discovered first hoof, that didn’t make the experience painless in the slightest. To his chagrin, the spell had reached its maximum capacity for abuse near the end of his volley, leaving him completely unprotected for the final impact. He fidgeted with his hooves, mentally berating himself for leaving physical evidence that his father could use to justify further overprotection. Rainbow Blitz’s panicked thoughts were interrupted by Golden Delicious’ honeyed voice, her tone showing exaggerated concern.
“Oh my stars!” She cried, running up to him, her gait extraordinarily fast despite her precision to avoid scuffing her hooves. Golden Delicious stopped just short of him, reaching out a delicate hoof as she prodded different parts of his body. She exhaled a large sigh of relief, “Oh sugar, thank Celestia that little Cappy’s magic trick worked. Ain’t nothin’ worse than a welt and a few scrapes.”
“Yeah, back to the drawing board,” He said, pulling himself up from his slumped position. Golden Delicious jumped forward in a cat-like pounce, pinning him against the bark, their muzzles only an inch apart.
“Now hold on, Rainbow Blitz,” She smiled warmly, “We ain’t done here.”
His cheeks flushed fully and his voice cracked as he spoke. “B-but I didn’t do the Sonic Rainboom!”
“Ah believe the agreement was for me ta help you. There was nothin’ Ah said about ya’ll succeedin’,” She said softly, her own cheeks tinted with blush. “Now pucker up, sugarcube. Ah’m claimin’ my prize.”
Soarin’ came to a hault in midair, his ears perked and eyes shrunk to pinpricks. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy spread out their wings, braking quickly to avoid collision with the stunned stallion. Dash frowned and tapped her husband with an impatient hoof.
“What’s the deal, Soarin’?”
“He’s at Sweet Apple Acres!” He bellowed, diving into a quick beeline for the apple orchard. Rainbow Dash grabbed Fluttershy by the hoof, dragging her slower friend at a high velocity to catch up with the panicked father.