Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, and Skid were huddled around the yellow form of an injured but peaceful pegasus. He turned to face a pony with a muffin on his head as he walked in.
“It was touch and go for a moment, but after some rest she will make a full recovery.” The 5 breathed a sigh of relief and Skid had to smile in relief too. They all turned their eyes on Fluttershy as she opened two weary eyes and gazed at them. Her eyes held only a tired gaze, but as they rested on Skid, they widened momentarily before am emotion radiated from the eyes. It took Skid a few moments to work out it was gratitude, and he smiled warmly at the pony. He walked over and gently bopped her on the nose.
“Introduction can wait, get some rest you deserve it.” As if him speaking was a cue, her eyes closed and she returned to sleep.
“I’m going to have to ask you to leave now, she needs rest.” All six of them nodded, and they left the yellow mare to sleep. As they exited he could feel their solemn thoughts, all focused on Fluttershy and he felt compelled to make them happy again.
“I know this is probably a bad time…But I don’t think Fluttershy would want you five to be sad when you could be having fun at the picnic because of her” he wasn’t entirely sure he worded that right, but it was the best he could do. They gazed to him as if he had just said humans were real, before Twilight gave a warm smile and nodded, turning to Applejack.
“Skid’s right, she wouldn’t want us missing out on some of your apple fritters.” Pinkie pie starting bouncing around the group, it was a little amusing to see her instantly go from sad to exited.
“Yeah!andwecantotallyhostanotherPARTY-Ohmaybejustapicnicforwhenshegetsbetterbuttwiceasawesome!” The others giggled and all nodded in agreement. As they headed back towards Applejacks Skid noticed Dash was gazing to the sky, seeming to be a little antsy.
“Is there something wrong?” Dash jumped, her wings opening in surprise as she turned to gaze at Skid.
“No, not really, well ok just a little.” The others paused and waited for Dash to speak.
“I kinda wanted to practice some new tricks this afternoon, but with the picnic being late and Fluttershy-“The others smiled and nodded, Twilight putting a hoof on Dash’s shoulder.
“Actually, I had something to do to, what do you all say we call the picnic off and make it an entire day next time?” She glanced to the four mares behind her and they all gave a smile and a nod. So with that the group started separating and Skid sighed, it was time to get to know Rainbow Dash.
“Hey Dash” he started, gaining the mares attention.
“Mind if I come and watch?” Dash lit up in excitement at being able to show off her stuff, and nodded enthusiastically. The others giggled, and he and Dash bid them farewell before heading towards some kind of clearing that Skid assumed was used by Dash often.
“Just sit down, and watch my awesomeness in action.” Following her orders, Skid sat down as she took to the sky and began a show of aerobatic feats. Even he couldn’t deny, she was pretty good and she showed an enjoyment in the simple act of pushing herself to the very limits of what she could do. However just as she seemed to be invincible, the wind turned against her and she started to spin out of control, coming to a crash landing in the field.
“Are you ok” he asked, running over to her with haste. She picked herself up and grinned while wincing.
“I meant for that to happen.” He chuckled, and they shared a small laugh before she eventually just stuck to gliding around in the sky, not pushing herself, just flying like this was who she was. He smiled, longing to have that same freedom, before shaking his head and clearing away such poisonous thoughts. He was a loyal servant, and nothing more.
“Hey, Twilight had this wing spell that she used on Rarity this one time, maybe we can get her to do it on you and we can fly around a bit.” Skid blinked, surprised and exited at the same time.
“As it happens, I know the perfect spell, give me a moment” he replied, and began to concentrate. He made his disguises horn glow, spread his wings out and slowly build the illusion to include them instead of hiding them, but as normal Pegasus wings. When he was done he looked like an Alicorn, and he flexed his wings experimentally before taking off and joining Dash in the sky. She glanced his wings over, seemingly satisfied by the illusion.
“Nice, they look like they’re in peak condition; you might even be able to keep up with me.” He raised an eyebrow, rising to her challenge.
“Oh really, I say challenge accepted oh Dash of the Rainbow.” She blinked in confusion, and he vanished from view. When Dash turned her head she saw him rapidly gaining distance and a grin plastered onto her face, soon enough they were neck and neck and Skid even thought he might be winning, until he noticed she was flying backwards at a leisurely pace. She winked at him, and suddenly it was him that was left in the dust as she vanished and the distance between them rapidly grew in distance. Try as he might, he couldn’t catch up and she made it back to the clearing with plenty of time to spare, Skid had to catch his breath before speaking.
“Not bad rookie, we should fly again sometime” she mocked, a grin on her face. He ended the illusion and returned to being a unicorn and rolled his eyes.
“Don’t lie; I totally could have won that.” Dash put a hoof around his neck and rolled her eyes.
“Sure you could Skid, sure.” Dash stepped back to give him room, and he turned to face her and smiled. They bumped hooves before it was time for Syth to head home, and separated. He had to admit, Dash was alright once you got to know her. Sure she was a little aggressive, prone to coming to the wrong conclusions, and very competitive, but she was who she was and she didn’t lie to herself. He sensed a fragility to her, but he couldn’t pinpoint it just yet. As he headed into his new home he gave a sigh and turned to raid the kitchen before seeing food layed out for him. He turned and glanced into the living room to see Twilight had fallen asleep at the books and chuckle lightly. Eating quickly, he washed the plate and headed upstairs. Tomorrow he would have to try and teach her telepathy, and he had no idea how. But for now, sleep would be all that greeted him. With the window closed, blinds shut, and door locked he curled into his cocoon, knowing he was safe from prying eyes and drifted into sleep.