Shadow in Equestria

by ClankHoof


5. Celebrations and Competitions

I slept a little later than I intended to, and pondered skipping breakfast. Then thought it better to give myself the boost. Plus, that pastry shop I went to yesterday sold the most delicious cinnamon rolls I've ever tasted. Plus meeting that perky pink pony again could perhaps lighten my mood a little.

The streets weren't as busy as they had been the day before. Maybe something happened. I don't know, and decided I could ask about it at the Sugarcube.

-S-

It was strangely dark when I entered the shop, but could dimly make out the 'Open' sign hanging on the door behind me. Was the power out?

I nearly jumped out of my skin as the lights came on with a loud "SURPRISE!" from a large group of ponies in the middle of the room, the front of which was the pink pony I had been vaguely thinking about earlier.

"Hi again! I told you I'd throw a party for you, especially after I heard you were he one who saved Sweetie Belle, which made you doubly deserving of a party!" She exclaimed, practically bouncing up and down with glee.

I could see many of the ponies I had met in the past few days, including Sweetie Belle, who was in a wheel chair off to the side near the other CMC.

Twilight walked up to me with a shy-looking yellow pony with a light pink mane.

"I thought you might want to meet Fluttershy. She's a little shy, but one of the kindest ponies you'll ever meet. She takes care of every little creature in need." The shy pony gave me a half-hidden smile, but didn't make eye contact.

"Hello, Fluttershy. I'm Shadow. It's great to meet new ponies. I'm a bit of an animal lover myself, but travel a little too much to keep a companion." I said this as softly as I could, while still being loud enough for her to hear me in the crowd.

"H-h-hello." came a soft reply.

Twilight motioned over the other four main ponies I seem to know the most around town, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie, and even the rainbow-maned pony I met briefly, who gave me a look, reminding me that I hadn't apologized to her yet.

"You don't seem to know this, but the six of us are known around here not only as best friends, but as the Elements of Harmony. Basically, the protectors of Ponyville, though we have helped other places throughout Equestria." Twilight said.

Now it was my turn to have my jaw drop to the floor.

I had heard of the Elements, but had remembered them being tied to the Princesses of Canterlot, but they were powerful stones or something, not living ponies. Though now that I've had the chance to see them all together, I could vaguely see what each pony's element was. My guess was that Flutttershy was kindness, as Twilight had mentioned that earlier; Pinkie had to be laughter, as I couldn't imagine her not happy; After seeing Twilight the other day, I could guess that hers was magic; Applejack was either honesty or loyal. Or perhaps she was generosity? After that it got a little hard, as Rarity could be more powerful than Twilight for I knew, or could be anything Applejack was, as I have yet to hear her lie or be disloyal, the pony that stumped me the most was the rainbow mare, as I didn't really know her that well. I kind of guessed she couldn't be generosity. She was a little too self-centered for that one. Sigh, maybe I should just keep my mouth shut until I knew for sure. Who knows, perhaps I caught her on one of her bad days or something.

As I thought, they explained to me which pony was what element, and it left me a little bit biased on my thoughts on who was what.

"Oops,I almost forgot. I finished your saddlebag, Shadow. Try it on, lets see how it looks." Rarity grabbed a box from one of the tables with her magic. I opened it, to see a dark green bag with grey buckles.

I put it on, and saw that she not only did the design of my old bag, but slightly improved it. She had some small hidden pockets that were easily reachable under each wing hole, and it was slightly more aerodynamic, and had a slender, flexible frame. The other ponies gawked at it as well.

"I hope you don't mind the minor changes I've made to the design. Sometime when I work on a project, I get a little carried away." Rarity looked at me anxiously.

I smiled. "I think it's wonderful. Fits me perfectly, and the straps are of a very soft and padded material. What did you use?"

"Oh, just a little bit of down feathers Fluttershy collected for me. It makes the most wondrous soft stuffing, and doesn't come directly from the birds, so it doesn't hurt them."

I saw Fluttershy smile a little wider at that last comment. "It was my idea." She said in her soft voice, more confident than when she first spoke to me.

I saw Rainbow Dash, as Twilight referred the rainbow colored mare as, eyeing the saddlebag. But when she noticed me watching her, she simply said "Meh, needs to be about 20% cooler to suite my tastes."

Apparently Rarity understood her remark more than I did, because she rolled her eyes.

"I know a friend of yours helped you make the original design, but could you perhaps ask him if I could make these for other ponies? I think even Rainbow Dash couldn't say no to such a stylish saddlebag like this. It looks like the next must-have for any Pegasus, because of how it fits around the wings."

"I think it'll be alright. My friend, Starfelt, isn't even in the clothes industry; she made it as a gift when I left Los Pegasus. I guess just give her some credit somehow, and I'll mention what you're doing the next time I write her a letter."

"Wow, you really have been traveling a lot. We rarely seem to get out of Ponyville, except for the countless trips to Canterlot whenever the Princesses need us." Rainbow remarked. "I mean, can you believe that Princess Celestia wants to go there in a few days for some fancy-smancy banquet? Yech, I'm not much for the manners and eti-...what's the word?"

"Etiquette, dearie. And I think it's a great idea. Every time we go up there, the other famous ponies have no idea who we are or that we're so close to Celestia herself." Rarity said.

"That's because every time we've come, there's either been a major catastrophe, or Celestia invited us to spice up their parties," Pinkie piped in. "Speaking of parties, it's time for cake!" She grabbed my hoof and dragged me over to a huge chocolate cake, then cut me the first slice.

"Pinkie, you said you girls are close to the Princess?" I asked, hoping they weren't all just over exaggerating.

"We'll duh. Being the Elements means we get a lot of trouble come our way that we have to stop, which has caused lots of problems in my friendships, but we always get through. Like there was this one time, when I thought my friends didn't want to come to my parties anymore, but they were just planning MY birthday party. Maybe that isn't really a "saving the world" problem, but I was like 'oh no, my friends don't like me anymore,' and then I was like 'I have the best friends ever!'."
You know what I mean?" I started to regret asking such a hyper pony a simple question.

Luckily, Twilight came over to save me.

"You mentioned the other day that you were heading for Canterlot too. You should join us. I bet the Princess wouldn't mind an extra guest, especially since you have been great to have in Ponyville."

It seems as though Applejack spared my humility by not mentioning my poor ability at farming to her friends.

"That sounds like fun, but I really shouldn't intrude on your special event, especially your time with your Princess. Though, If you could just mention that I request a short chat with her, and use of the library when i get there, that would be great. You've done a ton for me already; I couldn't possibly overuse your hospitality."

"Nonsense, it'd be a pleasure. Besides, you're not going to get there as fast as the Ponyville Express. Fastest train this side of Ponyapolis." Applejack replied matter-of-factly, "and we always get the best seats."

"Ya. besides, you said you don't like to fly." added Rainbow Dash.

"Actually, I said I didn't want to race. I like flying just fine, and am an excellent flyer." I said.

"Prove it then." Rainbow said, narrowing her eyes with a smirk. "Fly to... the schoolhouse and back!"

I sighed. She wasn't going to give up, and now she was thinking I wouldn't want to look like a wuss in front of all these other ponies. I had to admit to myself that I did owe her, because of our first meeting.

"Alright, fine. I'll do it. But let's make it more interesting. You can race me there and back."

Rainbow couldn't hide back her smile, as she had finally gotten to me.

-S-

Everyone headed outside to watch. I took off my new saddlebag and watched Applejack trot to the schoolhouse, to make sure we weren't cheating by not going around it. Rainbow Dash and I stretched behind a line Twilight scratched into the dirt with her hoof.

"You ready to feel the power of a Rainboom? Cuz that's all you're going to see while you're eating my dust." Rainbow said, flexing her wings like she had on the cloud when I first met her.

"I have no idea what a rainboom is, but I we shall see who's going to be left behind." I grinned. I knew I had to try my hardest. I'd seen her fly before, but she hasn't seen me; she may be a tough opponent, but at least I had a small advantage.

"Alright, you two ready?" Twilight said, procuring a checkered flag from thin air. We leaned forward into ready positions.

"Ready. Set. Go!" The flag fell.

Rainbow Dash and I flew forward in a flurry of wings and feathers.

The wind whipped across my face and through my hair. I almost forgot the thrill of going such fast speeds in the air. I was so caught up in the moment, Rainbow Dash managed to get a little ahead of me, and we were almost to the schoolhouse. Then I remembered my lessons my elder Pegasus mentor had taught me at the orphanage many years ago, including a special move you could pull off when going around corners to gain extra speed. I just hope I hit the curve just right.

I flew a little more to the outside, to give myself more room. If I hit the flagpole, I was going to end up with a nasty bonk on the head.

Rainbow Dash reached the building a little before I did, and i saw her rainbow-colored tail disappear behind it. I had to do it now. I bent my wings, feigning a left, then quickly changed direction, causing myself to spin around, dropping quickly towards the ground diagonally. If I pulled back too early, I'd hit the side of the schoolhouse; too late, and I'll make myself too dizzy, and most likely overshoot my target, lose control, and -I winced- end up with a mouthful of dirt as I hit the ground.

I sensed that I hit the mark, so I straightened out and arced away from the ground at speeds that were tugging at my face and body. I had a lot of Gs behind me, but it didn't pull me to the ground; more that it pushed me back up, speeding me forward.

All I could see was a blur of color. Tears managed to slide away from my eyes, falling far behind me as I flew. I saw a speck of cyan on my left, which i guessed might've been my opponent. Then I realized I was going too fast; I had overshot the finish line, and was heading back out towards the Everfree. I tried desperately to stop, but it seemed like my wings were pinned to my sides. I also noticed that I was well past the peak of my arc, and was heading back towards the ground.

If I couldn't slow my descent, I could seriously injure, if not kill myself, in the landing.