Wufei awoke the next morning, prepared for his usual routine. As a man dedicated to keeping his body in the most appealing condition to admire his strength, he was one that was always true to his training schedule. The sun had barely risen, which gave his red room a dark bloodied color. The house was quiet, and the only things he could hear were the birds chirping outside his window. This was his signal to get up. He jumped out of his cot and stretched out every appendage, including his wings. They ruffled back into place as he cracked his neck twice by bending it side to side. Wufei threw himself on to the cold, wooden floor to get on his back, propping his front legs behind his head. It was with this position that he would begin his one hundred sit-ups, followed by his two hundred push-ups, and many more exercises. These would never take him very long to do, as he was accustomed to this amount of work he put on his body for over a year now.
After he was done with his workout in his room, he grabbed a white towel from his closet and whipped it on to his blue back by using his teeth. Wufei walked over to the door and opened it, exiting into the living room. As his hooves clopped against the floor heading to the washroom, he was surprised to see that Heero was up as well. The living room was just as dark as Wufei’s bedroom, but anyone could see the fixated, intense blue eyes, even with the lack of light that was about them. The green pegasus was just sitting on the couch, his front legs crossed over his chest. His eyes were focused precisely on the door.
“Do you ever sleep?” asked Wufei, as he stopped walking.
“Not really.” Heero didn’t move a muscle to recognize Wufei’s presence.
“What are you doing, then?” asked Wufei. “I never see you up when I do my work out.”
“I’m waiting.”
“For what?”
“Anything.”
As he saw that this conversation was meaningless and going nowhere, Wufei continued his walk to the hallway where the washroom was. He was stopped once again by the sound of Heero’s voice.
“I’m going to leave in a little bit to go to Sweet Apple Acres.”
Wufei turned around, his eyes squinted. “And just what are you going to be doing there? Playing with that kid?”
Silence was his answer, as Heero’s gaze against the front door grew only stronger. Wufei rolled his eyes and proceeded to the washroom, closing the door behind him. As he walked up to the tub, he threw the clean towel on to the floor. Soon the faucet was on and the bath was running with nice, refreshing warm water. He periodically checked its temperature to see if it was to his tastes, and when it was, he hovered himself into it. Wufei sat there, motionless and with his eyes closed, if only for a few minutes. He sank lower into the tub until even his snout was hidden under its waters.
He was reflecting on what had been said to him yesterday while he, Trowa, and Applejack were working within the apple trees. At one point, Rainbow Dash had flown in to take some apple from the orchard, but when she saw Wufei, she began talking to him. She spoke of the racing proposition she had mentioned at their welcoming party, and had wondered if he was still up for it. But of course he still was, so they had agreed that the next day they would race. The meeting time would be at noon, right above town hall.
With his nostrils, Wufei produced many tiny bubbles in the water, blowing air out of his body. Today was that day, and he was physically prepared for it. Now it was time to work on his mental abilities with something to relax him for the next hour. His eyes shot open, and he flung his body over one side of the tub, the opposite of where his towel was. He pulled it back in with a bath toy between his teeth. It was a yellow, rubber duck, which Wufei let into the water, watching it float away in front of him. He grabbed it again with his two front hooves and smacked it, making it squeak.
After his bath was done, and he had dried off with the towel, Wufei left the washroom to find that Heero’s body on the couch was replaced with Duo’s. He was sipping away on a small carton of apple juice. As soon as he noticed his companion had entered the room, he put the container down and waved.
“Mornin’, Wufei!” said Duo.
Wufei nodded at him. “What’s the situation for breakfast?”
“I guess it’s whatever you want,” Duo shrugged. He pointed at the kitchen. “I bought some juice boxes this morning, and we’ve still got a bunch of sweets from Pinkie Pie’s party.”
“Is that really all that we have?” asked Wufei. Duo nodded, making the blue pony sigh. “That’s nothing substantial at all. This won’t be good for my race today.”
“You have a race today?” asked Duo, tilting his head. “With who? If it’s with Heero, you missed him. He booked it out of here when I woke up.”
“No, it is not with Heero at all,” replied Wufei. He tightened every muscle in his body so that he could straighten his pose, making him look intimidating. “It is with a bold mare that goes by the name of Rainbow Dash. She claims that she is the fastest flyer in all of Equestria.”
There was a scramble of hooves from the second floor, followed by Quatre’s voice at the top of the staircase. Wufei turned around to witness what was going on, as the alicorn carefully crept down the stairs, but stopped halfway once he saw his friends. Quatre gave them a nervous smile and even giggled. He continued his walk down the stairs and got to Wufei, where his smile grew even wider.
“Good morning, everyone!” said Quatre, as gleefully as he could.
“Quatre, you’re acting really weird,” said Duo. He picked up his juice carton and sucked on it again. “What’s going on?”
Another set of hooves began walking down from the second floor, and the sight that befell them made Duo drop his drink. It was Trowa who descended from the staircase in quite the tight jumpsuit, as it made it all the way down to the end of his upper leg. It was made up of multiple different patterns of red, greens, and blues. The suit had slits on the sides for his wings, which seemed to glisten with golden glitter. He ruffled them a little, making the sparkles fall to the floor. Wufei looked like he was going to be sick as a green tint appeared under his cheeks.
“Quatre, thank you very much for helping me get my costume on,” said Trowa. He looked at his body, lifting his hooves. “If it wasn’t for your magic, I don’t know how I would have put this on myself.”
“What kind of injustice has happened to you?!” yelled Wufei. He stomped in place and turned his head to Quatre. “Quatre, explain this to me!”
The alicorn’s ears flattened themselves against his head. “Well, Trowa got a package this morning and it was from Rarity. This was in it, along with a letter.”
Wufei shot Trowa a menacing glare that could have penetrated the very wall. It didn’t seem to affect him, since he was still examining his entire body. He spread his wings out fully, sending the golden sparkles into the air. Some landed on Quatre’s snout, causing his nose to twitch and make him sneeze.
“Trowa, how could you be wearing something like that?” asked Wufei. This caught the dressed-up pony’s attention so that he would stop moving around. “I know that you are a clown, but how could you be wearing that horrendous get-up made by that supposed fashion designer?”
Trowa flapped his wings feverishly and flew right up to Wufei’s face, pressing his nose against the blue pony’s face. His backside was pointed up into the air, and it looked like steam was coming out of his very nostril. His green eyes looked like they were turning a shade of red with the rage that was emitting from his bones. This sent Wufei back a few steps in worry, but Trowa followed along with him. His teeth grinded against themselves as something of a growl came out from within his throat.
“Don’t you dare say anything bad about Rarity!” hissed Trowa. As he continued, Quatre flew up into the air to try and push his body to the ground, and slowly succeeded. “She is a magnificent mare and I will kindly ask you to refrain from saying anything negative about her!”
“Alright, alright, I will watch what I say!”
Trowa huffed through his nose like a bull, folding his wings up tight. Quatre patted his head in an attempt to calm his friend down. With all of this drama, the only thing besides the heavy breathing coming from the angered one was the sounds Duo was making. He was obnoxiously sipping from his juice box, his eyes glued to the scene of Trowa actually expressing rage. The juice box was closing in on itself with all of the pressure he was putting into it. Trowa whipped his head away from his friends to the direction of the door, and walked around Quatre to reach it.
“She is requesting me to perform in the talent show tomorrow evening,” he said, throwing the door open. It hit the wall with a bang. “I will be going to her boutique now to practice on my balancing act. Good-bye.”
Almost as if nothing had happened at all, Trowa calmly and collectively left the house, into the streets of Ponyville. Quatre walked halfway out the door to wave his friend off. After a mere moment of doing this, he turned around and sighed with a smile. In his mind, that confrontation could have gone in a far worse direction, and he was glad that he had been there to stop it. Wufei was stunned in his spot on the floor, and it looked like his expression of fear was frozen on to his face. Duo threw his juice box on to the floor, random droppings coming from its straw. He walked up to Wufei and began poking his cheek to try and get some sort of reaction.
“Hey Wufei, you still in there?” asked Duo.
After three more pokes, Wufei came back to this world and swatted Duo’s arm away from his face.
“I am fine, Maxwell!” shouted Wufei. He walked up to the door next to Quatre and peeked outside, watching as their clown walked away into the distance. “I didn’t think he could lose his composure like that.”
“I bet he has a crush on that Rarity chick,” said Duo, snickering at his own comment. He skipped outside and jumped into the air, doing little circles a few feet off the ground. “The guy fell in love with a little pony! That’s the funniest thing ever!”
“You’re one to talk, Duo!” said Quatre, as his head bobbed by tracing the black one’s path. “When we first came here, you were flaunting about yourself and Princess Luna!” His cheeks reddened and he turned his head to the ground. “You were also flirting with Applejack, which was really embarrassing to watch.”
Duo waved every single comment off with his arm as he continued to do tricks and spins in the air. At a drop of a coin, he was able to change direction without a moment of hesitation. His cross would shine in the sunlight when it was hit, momentarily blinding his friends and those around him. Other ponies had stopped to watch. Even with this condition, Wufei watched in awe at Duo’s aerial skills, as he shot up higher into the air. He walked out on to the street to get a better view of the act, with his friend flying above him. Wufei spread his own wings, but didn’t take off---he just looked at them. Doubt crossed his face, but just as it had come, he forced it out of his mind, only to have it return to him again.
With tiny flutters, Duo hovered back down to the ground, bowing to his little audience. Quatre got up on to his hind legs and clapped with his hooves in applause. Duo did multiple bows to the villager, but was stopped when someone tapped his shoulder. He looked forward to see that it was Wufei, shyly avoiding eye contact with him.
“You seem to be a skilled flyer,” said Wufei, casually coughing every now and then. “Mind if you teach me some of those tricks before my race with Rainbow Dash today?”
“Wait, you’re racing Rainbow Dash? Are you sure about that?”
This voice swimming with concern had come from Quatre, who was now advancing towards them. Wufei’s ears straightened up, his short tail flicking about.
“Yeah, is there a problem with that?” he asked. “Do you think I won’t win?”
Quatre had stopped walking and held a single front hoof in the air. He opened his mouth to say something, but immediately shut it when he saw the pain Wufei was trying to hide within his eyes. Instead of saying his original thoughts, he put on a soft smile for his friend.
“No problems here,” Quatre said gently. “You’re going to be just fine.”
“Good.” Wufei said quickly. He turned his head to look at Duo. “Now, about those techniques of yours. You will teach them to me, correct?”
Duo sat down and shrugged, his eyes blinking rapidly. “Sure, I guess so. It’s not like you to ask for favors or anything, Wufei.”
“Don’t mind any of that, just go back inside and grab your bag,” said Wufei, pointing at the braided one. “I’m starving, so we’re going out for breakfast first.”
“Are you kidding me?” asked Duo, throwing his arms up into the air. “I already told you, we’ve got food in the house!”
“And like I’ve already told you, that food isn’t sufficient for a race. We’re eating healthy this morning, and you’ll be buying us breakfast.”
Though not at all pleased with this order, Duo got back on to his legs and stomped to the house, huffing and puffing all the way. Wufei looked up into the sky in the direction of town hall, where its different colored flags swayed gently in the almost unnoticeable breeze. The atmosphere was unlike the one that was present the day before, where the winds rocked every single house with its power. Though cloudy, it was sunny; with this, however, it still didn’t change the one common factor that both days held. The streets were still bare of its young ones giggling and laughing, and the adults still remained in their stressful state.
Even though he was living in his own mind at the moment, Wufei felt Quatre’s presence approaching, and wasn’t shocked when he was next to him. They stood, side by side, watching the very flags change course in the breeze.
____________________________________________________________________________
The sun stood directly above the three pilots, beating down on their backs, as they were now above the tallest point of town hall just a few hours later. Wufei flew around impatiently in circles, sometimes even breaking out of one to create his own figure-eight patterns in the sky. Quatre and Duo were lying on a large cloud together, legs folded in, casually chatting away. The others hadn’t discovered that their pegasi abilities allowed them to sit on clouds and control the weather, so while they were waiting, Quatre showed them. As other pegasus ponies flew by, Quatre would stop talking to wave at them as a friendly greeting. This made even the oldest of mares blush at him.
With every pony that flew their way, Wufei become more and more agitated. At one point, he suddenly flew to town hall’s peak and got on top of its ball. He stomped all four of his legs repeatedly, grunting with every movement. Quatre and Duo ended their conversation when they saw this and rushed on over to him, leaving their cloud behind.
“I don’t understand it!” howled Wufei. He stopped jumping and shook his head. “Where is she? Rainbow Dash said at noon she would be here!”
“I’m sure she’ll be here soon!” said Quatre, flying right up to Wufei’s body. He placed his two front hooves on his shoulders to try and steady him. “Knowing her, she’ll be here in a second, I promise!”
Just as soon as he said that, a cerulean blur mixed with rainbows sped passed them in the sky, zooming right by Duo. The motion caused him to spin in the air like a dradle. The mass of blue came to a mid-air stop, revealing itself to be none other than Rainbow Dash. She flipped her mane to get the hair out of her face, smiling all the way. Wufei got off of his perch as she flew up to the group of three.
“Sorry about that, guys!” shouted Rainbow Dash. “I was getting my cheerer ready for me!” She rubbed the tip of a hoop against her chest, as if it could make it shine by doing so. “The greatest flyer in all of Equestria can’t go into a race with her cheerer!”
Suddenly Wufei’s eyes widened and he looked at his two friends. One, being Duo, was holding his head to try and get over the fact that he was seeing stars. The other, Quatre, was frantically waving his arms about, not sure as to what he should do to help his friend. Wufei pointed to them with a sense of pride in his voice.
“These are my cheerers,” he said. “Quatre and Duo.”
Rainbow Dash nodded, crossing her arms. “That’s pretty cool that you’ve got two.” She put on a smile and let out a nervous chuckle. “Well, my cheerer is worth two cheerers, so we’re equal!”
“And where is your cheerer?” asked Wufei, his eyes searching for other pegasi.
“She’s at her place with the animals,” replied Rainbow Dash, pointing off into the distance where trees started to gather. “She’s Fluttershy. The race will be at her house.”
“F-Fluttershy?”
Now it was Duo who had to help his friend, for Quatre’s wings decided to not work and almost sent him falling down. Duo had hooked him underneath his front legs and was flapping his wings even harder to carry the extra weight. The pure white face of the alicorn was now a flushed red; he scrambled his arms so that he could cover his face, as his mouth let out a squeal.
“That’s a little weird,” said Rainbow Dash, her eyebrows raised. “Is he going to be okay? We’ve really got to get going.”
Wufei slapped his hooves to his eyes, for he couldn’t bear to watch this. Duo leaned in to whisper into Quatre’s ear, his breath tickling its inner parts, making that part of his body twitch.
“Dude, get a hold of yourself,” he said quietly. “Wufei is going to have our heads!”
Quatre nodded and vigorously rubbed his face one last time. He squirmed out of Duo’s grasp and was now flapping his own wings, keeping his body afloat in the air. With that being done, Rainbow Dash nodded her head and took off into the sky where the forest was. Startled by the sudden burst of speed, Wufei bolted after her, leaving both of his friends to try and catch up with them.
The mare was moving so fast, but even at her pace, Wufei was catching up to her with increasing acceleration. Soon he was flying right next to her, his arms out in front of him. With her rainbow mane slapping the air behind them, Rainbow Dash smirked at him, a daring look in her eye. She was met with the very same from Wufei. She kicked up speed and was now crashing through clouds with him, having Duo and Quatre behind to deal with the puffy white pieces smacking in their faces. It had now turned into a miniature game for them, to beat down every cloud that was in their path. They were inadvertently clearing the skies for the ponies below, who waved up to them in thanks for their actions.
Soon they were flying over a tiny wooden cottage on the outskirts of the dense woods. It was settled next to a babbling river, a bridge connecting it to a path that led to town. The area was ordained with thick bushes, bird houses, and flowers. Further ahead of them was some sort of cloud shaped obstacle course, with what looked like rings made out of the fluff. Rainbow Dash shot down from the air, followed close behind by Wufei. They promptly landed right at the front door, kicking up a gust of dirt. Rainbow Dash flitted the material away with her wings, chuckling, as Duo and Quatre landed behind them, gasping for air. She gave a good punch to Wufei’s shoulder, as he stood there trying to keep his cool. He wasn’t going to admit it, but it felt like his lungs were going to collapse and that his heart was going to burst out of his chest.
“That was pretty fun, wasn’t it?” asked Rainbow Dash. “Just as I thought, you’re a pretty good flyer! I can’t wait for this race!”
“Same.”
With as much enthusiasm as she had, Rainbow Dash pounded her hoof into the wooden door. Slowly, it began to creak open, and a shaking yellow pegasus poked her head out. It was Fluttershy, hiding half of her face with her long, pink hair.
“H-Hello?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. When she realized who was at her door, she opened it wider, stepping outside. “Oh, it’s Rainbow Dash.” She moved her head to the side to see the two stallions standing further back. “And is that...Duo?”
At first, Duo’s eyes held nothing but confusion as he looked right at the yellow pony. Finally, something clicked in his head and he waved right at her.
“Yup, that’s me!” he shouted. His boisterous voice made her cringe. “I’m surprised you remembered my name!”
“Well, yes, I couldn’t ever forget it,” said Fluttershy. She flattened her ears. “You were so very loud.”
The noise of someone hyperventilating was heard, and Duo turned to his side to see that Quatre had turned beet red again. His chest was heaving in and out, and his wings were flapping at the speed of light. Even feathers were flying out from the wild motions. Fluttershy gasped and walked up to him, as Rainbow Dash gave him the same weird look from before and Wufei shook his head in shame.
“Umm, excuse me—” started Fluttershy, as she reached a hoof out to Quatre. “—but are you going to be okay?”
All breathing stopped, as Quatre fell on to his side, a happy smile on his face. Fluttershy yelped in fear and began flying around in circles above the fallen stallion. Duo walked up to Quatre and kicked him gently in the leg; there was a reflex of the body kicking back, so at least he wasn’t dead. Laughing awkwardly all the way, Quatre pushed himself back up on to his feet, but was immediately tackled by the yellow mare. She grabbed hold of his body from the front and started speaking at the speed of light.
“Oh my gosh, are you okay? That was so scary! You’re going to be okay, right? Oh dear, oh my, please be okay!”
“I-I’ll be fine!” squeaked Quatre, his face still flustered. His eyes darted everywhere and he brought his shoulders close to his neck. He held out a hoof for Fluttershy to shake. “My name is Quatre.”
Fluttershy lightly touched it. “Hello there. I’m Fluttershy.” When she felt that there was no threat, she put on her own sweet smile. “Oh, you look just like this little foal I saw the other day with my ducks!”
Quatre squealed again. “Really? You really did?”
“Yes, and he was so cute!” replied Fluttershy, rolling her eyes up to the sky. By doing this, she missed Quatre’s little dance. “This pony named Trowa was watching him. Duo was watching him too!” Her eyes went to Duo, who had a hoof up to his mouth. “How is the little baby pony?”
“You know what, he’s got a little fever today,” said Duo, who was trying to hold in his laughter. “He’s all red and stuff. Mama’s taking real good care of him.”
“Yeah, yeah, can we get on with this thing?” asked Rainbow Dash, stomping a hoof into the ground. “I want to start racing!”
Not waiting for an answer at all, Rainbow Dash bent her knees and took off right back up into the clouds. Wufei did the same to catch up with her. Duo left the ground as well, but he didn’t get far until he realized that Quatre and Fluttershy weren’t behind him. He turned to see that the two of them were conversing on the ground, with the mare shaking in fright. Quatre was talking to her and reassuringly put his hoof on her head. She nodded and said something to him in response. Quatre and her slowly ascended, with the alicorn taking hold of one of her arms to help her up. She was doing her best not to panic, with the tiny tears rolling out of her eyes being her only release. When they reached Duo, he grinned and took her other arm, and went along with them to their destination.
The racing course made out of clouds wasn’t too far off from Fluttershy’s house. It was enclosed by its own cloud ring to keep the race track together. When they reached it, they landed on a cloud platform with two poles, holding red flags on them. The group had landed right in between them. The track itself had many things to it; cloud rings to fly through, random cloud blocks, and even narrow pathways that looked it would create a single-file stream. Not too far off from them was another platform with its own set of red flags.
“Okay, so this is it!” yelled Rainbow Dash. “It took me forever to make, but I wanted to make sure this was good enough for the both of us!”
“It seems like a worthy course,” said Wufei, as he surveyed the whole thing. “You put a lot of work into it.”
“Well, I’m the best around here, so yeah!” Rainbow Dash said with a cocky laugh. She got really close to Wufei and started pointing to the different obstacles. “Okay, here’s the course. First you’ve got to go through all ten of the rings, okay? You can’t hit them at all. Then, what you’re gonna want to do is kick out fifteen of those clouds. I made thirty in total, so that’s fifteen for both of us. And then, after that, you’ve gotta go through the pathway I made there.” She rocked her head in the opposite direction of Wufei’s face. “Now, you’d think once you get to the pathway, the winner be pretty much be a set deal, because you can’t go around anyone. But once you get out, you’ve still got at least another thirty feet to get to the finish line!”
“It sounds like a promising race.” said Wufei, nodding.
“Umm, excuse me, Rainbow Dash?”
The mare in question turned around to spy Fluttershy shaking like a leaf. Quatre was calmly petting her head to soothe her, but it didn’t seem to be working.
“W-where can the three of us stay?” asked Fluttershy. “I don’t want to get us hurt.”
“You guys can chill on the sidelines over there!” shouted Rainbow Dash, pointing to the course outline on her right.
With that being cleared out, Fluttershy darted over there in flight, leaving Duo perplexed. He poked Quatre in his side to get his attention, for he was now looking all around him at the wonders of the heavenly area.
“Hey Quatre, what’s up with her?” he asked. “She couldn’t fly up here without us, but then she just goes and does that by herself.”
“She’s just scared, that’s all,” answered Quatre, moving his eyes to her. He waved at her, and she shyly wove back. “She doesn’t like heights. Come on, let’s go over there.”
As the two of them went to join Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash was revving herself up for the event. She got low and kicked at the ground, digging into the cloud they were standing on. Wufei did the same as her, and they simultaneously spread their wings to get ready. The three cheerers were watching intently at the suspenseful wait; Duo and Quatre were sitting next to each other, but the alicorn made it his duty to have Fluttershy on his other side. She was pressing her hooves up to her mouth and mumbling many things at once that didn’t even sound like a type of language. Nervous sweat was coming out of her pours, along with more tears, as her eyes kept on darting to the ground below.
Quatre noticed this, and pressed his hoof against her back. The tension that she was holding in her muscles was released, and he felt it in the pit of his stomach. It was like it was turned into knots, even more so than the ones it were in now. She put her hooves down and smiled at him, a blush forming in her cheeks. Quatre smiled back, but continued to think on what he had just felt.
“Alright, we go when I say go, okay?” asked Rainbow Dash.
Wufei nodded.
“1...2...3...go!”
And they were off as fast as lightning. Rainbow Dash was instantly in the lead, for she had turned into a stream of colors before Wufei’s eyes. He couldn’t be behind her, not at the very start of the race. He flapped his wings harder and tried to pick up speed, as the jungle of cloud rings quickly approached them. As he best he could, he tried to swerve around and pass her, but she was moving her body in random directions, making that idea almost impossible.
They had reached the rings and she was still in front. But at this point, Wufei was right on her tail, sweat droplets forming around his brow. Rainbow Dash passed through the first five rings in front by herself, but after that Wufei was by her side. This seemed to shock her at first, but then it only increased her want to win. The rings were big enough to fit the two of them as they streamed through the rest together. Now it was on to getting rid of the cloud blocks in a timely manner.
As that process began, Duo and Quatre’s ears were being pelted by the screams coming from the quietest of them all. Fluttershy was belting out her cheers, yelling at the very top of her voice. She was moving her body in every which way, going with every chant she could think of. Quatre was eyeing her carefully, but at the same time, giving support for his own friend by shouting. Duo was trying to top Fluttershy by hopping up and down in place, hooting and howling.
“Hi there, everypony!”
The cheer group ceased as the three of them turned to meet their visitor. Applebloom was with them, along with Heero. He was holding her close to his chest, as his own body was in a vertical position. He was just beyond the outline of the race course, and seemed intent on staying there, for he wasn’t moving any closer with the filly in his arms. She seemed absolutely delighted and waved at the group, but it was Fluttershy’s shriek that wiped the smile off of her face.
“Oh my gosh, Applebloom!” she cried. “What are you doing, it’s dangerous up here!” She glared right at Heero, showing her strong, maternal side. “She shouldn’t even be here! She’s supposed to be on the farm so she doesn’t get sick! You bring her right back to the ground this instant!”
“Aww, come off it Fluttershy, it’s okay!” said Applebloom. “Applejack just wanted to see how ya’ll were doin’, ‘specially you, Fluttershy. She knows ya don’t like heights.” She pushed her head back to look up at Heero, her bow brushing against his chest. “Also, we’re gonna try gettin’ mah skydivin’ cutie mark today!”
“Skydiving?” repeated Quatre. He turned to fully face Heero. “And what does that entail?”
“Well, that’s easy!” giggled Applebloom. She threw her arms up into the air. “Heero’s goin’ to let me go, and ah’m gonna land on the ground!”
Duo smacked his face. “Heero, are you on crack?! Why are you trying to teach this one how to be Evil Knievel and do all the crazy things you do?! She doesn’t even have a parachute!”
“That’s never stopped me before,” said Heero with a mischievous grin.
Applebloom giggled some more. “Well duhh, that’s ‘cause you’ve got them wings!”
“Heero, just please bring her back to the farm in one piece,” ordered Quatre, waving an arm at him.
Almost like they were twins, both Heero and Applebloom sighed together. And just as suddenly as they came, they were gone; Heero took a nosedive with her to the ground. Even though that put Duo and Fluttershy in a fearful position for the filly, Quatre was sure that Applebloom was going to be fine. The three of them turned around just as the racers finished their last cloud blocks simultaneously. Now they were heading for the narrow pathway.
Wufei was giving it his all to try and get in front. Rainbow Dash and him were neck and neck, and only one pony could get in front for this last obstacle. He could feel the soreness in his wings, but he knew that he couldn’t give up now. Yet this goal of his was crushed, for somehow Rainbow Dash was able to let out another spurt of energy. She flew right in front of him just as they both entered the pathway. With its sharp turns, Wufei had to do everything in his power to not smack his body right into a wall. He concentrated on the flailing rainbow tail in front of him, and lowered his speed just a bit to give them space for turns. This also allowed him to save up on energy. He remembered the distance between this obstacle and the end of the course; if he could just let it go then, he might have a chance.
They had just popped out of the exit, and Wufei could hear the yells coming from the cheering section far behind them. This was when he gave it all he got. With the last amount of energy he had, he shot up next to Rainbow Dash once more. The end was in sight, and with their bodies almost the exact same distance from each other, it could be anyone’s race.
Unfortunately, this would be a race shared by the two opponents, for they both crossed the finish line at the same time. Rainbow Dash came to an almost complete stop on the platform and used her wings to slow down her momentum. Wufei, however, did not have this technique, and thus skidded out when his hooves touched the cloud. He toppled over on to his side and his body continued moving, sending him rolling over the edge and on to a cloud a few feet below. The softness of its cushions catching is weak and tired body, Wufei groaned in pain. He tried to get to get himself up, but instantly collapsed on the first attempt. The stress the race put on his whole body was incredible.
Rainbow Dash stood over him just as he tried to get up a second time, but failed. She stuck her face close to his.
“Are you okay there?” she asked him. “I didn’t expect you to just fall off like that.”
“I…I lost.”
“No, we tied.”
Wufei shook his head, moving parts of the cloud beneath his chin. “You don’t understand. I’ve now lost my honor and dignity to a pony. I thought I was going to win. I am a disgrace. I’ve lost not only my pride, but I have lost this race against you, Rainbow Dash.”
Suddenly, his body was lifted up and held in the air by none other than his opponent. He allowed for this to happen, for there was nothing he could do. His body was completely limp and hung there in her arms like a sack of potatoes. Rainbow Dash looked him straight in the eye with a gentle, yet strong gaze.
“Listen, you didn’t lose,” she said. “I told you, we tied. Which means that you are equally as good as the fastest flyer in all of Equestria.” She shook her head, frowning a little. “Isn’t that enough to keep your pride? That you’re on par with the best of the best?”
Wufei closed his eyes and smiled. It was then, at that point, she he knew she was right.
“I guess I didn’t come to that realization.” he said.
“I mean, you know, I’m not a big fan of tying myself,” said Rainbow Dash, tossing her head to the side. She chuckled at her own words. “Oh well, what’s done is done, right?”
“Yes, I suppose so. Thank you for teaching me that and showing me what I am truly capable of. It was a good race.”
As Wufei and Rainbow Dash landed right back on the cloud for the pilot to rest, the cheering group was on their way over there to see what was going on. The sun was now shifting into a later part of the sky to signal that the afternoon was getting on its way. Every pony checked in on Wufei, and he assured each cheerer that he was going to be fine. He overheard Quatre speak with Rainbow Dash on what to do to treat his fatigue, and words such as ‘bath’, ‘sleep’, and ‘food were tossed around. At this point, Wufei didn’t care quite what happened to him at the moment. He was busy reflecting on the lesson had just learned. Maybe losing over the little things wasn’t right to start fussing over and losing control---it was the bigger obstacles that you had to win. Things such as losing at a staring contest, or even tying in a race shouldn’t be treated as such a big deal. Those are the things one should try and enjoy. However, there was one thing that Wufei must not lose, or else he would never forgive himself or his teammates: that was this mission.