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// 28 - Road and Cloud 
// Story: Bullets of Fire 
// by BlackWater 
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Soarin' breathed in the rich morning air and savored the aroma of fresh cut grass and damp dirt. It was invigorating to him even though some other ponies hated the scent. Only a few clouds drifted in the sky overhead, so the day was generally bright and sunny. Perfect for the race that laid ahead.
Today was certainly not a day to test his ultimate limits, but it was still necessary to give it all he had. He calculated that he'd be faster than nearly every other member of his team and he'd soon get to find out. The pony with the start gun was making her way onto the edge of the large dirt path. Their race course was certainly not the puny Canterlot track that they sometimes raced for the snobbish unicorns. No, the course before them was the massive Road and Cloud at Mt. Canter's summit. It was just the kind of course that Lightning Streak had gotten injured on. But that event was an unfortunate fluke and none of the Wonderbolts were looking for accidents today.
Blaze was on Soarin's right side with the captain's triple-wing on his left. He knew Blaze enough that he knew he could count on her. In fact, she had been getting serious like he had been before the event and her wings looked a tad sharper than they used to. Only her lack of his raw talent would hold them back from a guaranteed second place. Misty gave a muffled whinny, reminding him how determined the lead wing was.
"I'm not going to race for second," he heard the fiery mare whisper to him. Blaze was even more determined than himself and she had seemed to have a chip on her shoulder for the last few days. Soarin' knew better though. Sure he wasn't going to race for anything but first but he was experienced enough to know that determination alone was not enough to win. No matter how talented he was, the tri-wing had him beat in pure physical ability. He and Blaze would race hard but there was no beating reality.
Soarin's muscles readied as his peripheral vision noticed the start-pony levitate the gun with her unicorn magic. It aimed into the air...and shot. Sound like thunder erupted from around him and also from him. The start of the race was a dirt-side sprint and was no time for thought. None of the Wonderbolts failed the start but doubtlessly one of the teams had hesitated for a fraction of a second. That time would be a deadly loss and an advantage that Soarin' was always ready to take.
Blaze, as rambunctious as ever, had nearly leapt in front of Soarin' to form their pair's drafting head. He was supposed to be the one to do that, but he couldn't argue it until the race was over. No breath could be wasted on anything but the in-out necessary to maintain moving speed. They hadn't even gone fifty hooves out from the spectator stands when Spitfire's tri-wing slipped its way into first like a fish flowing downstream. No surprise there unless one was speaking of the white mare included in the triplet.
The dirt that had picked up from the thundering of the Wonderbolts' hooves was beginning to form an unbreakable cloud behind them even though the track crew had dampened the ground to prevent it. At least it wasn't in front of them or else they'd be running into each other. One hundred hooves from the stands, the running teams were still packed too close together and had to jostle for room.
Fleetfoot and High Winds were moving up ahead from their right but it only provoked Blaze into making an early move. The orange mare reduced her pace and angled away from Soarin's direct center, allowing him to get a draft burst and shoot forward into Fleetfoot's victory path. The opposing mare had to ease off to avoid a collision, which was just what Soarin' needed to keep their lead position. He could feel more than hear his running mate behind him and knew she had used their draft early because Fleetfoot was one of the 'Bolt champions in leg speed. They couldn't afford to make up all of their time in the Cloud sections.
A lightly forested area was fast approaching and the ravine was soon after. Soarin' knew just as Blaze did that Spitfire's team would leave them eating cloud fog after that point but he wasn't going to put any less effort in trying to keep the difference down. The first tree zipped by him like lightning and the gallop suddenly sounded a whole lot closer. Blaze missed one step behind her partner and almost tripped, as she still wasn't as used to the conditions of Road and Cloud tracks. Open grassland one minute and then trees surrounding you the next. The sudden shadow, closeness, and smell of damp bark still unnerved her free-flying pegasus roots. Perhaps it was fear of the forest canopy, however light, that dared block her path back to the sky. In any case, she didn't falter much and was still in the lead runners with her partner.









Silver Lining's heart tightened. What had High Winds done to him? He couldn't afford to be thinking of other things during a Road and Cloud! Curse that mare! If only she hadn't told him all of those things before the race. So what if he had a tendency to reference Misty's style in his fashion choices? That was just an extremely obscure and unintentional coincidence. But no. He took his looks seriously and knew it was true that he liked Misty's sporty personality. It was a refreshing contrast to his own intricacies...
"Whoa!" Rapidfire wavered in front of him as Silver Lining nearly clipped his left quarter. 
The troubled stallion knew he had to focus or he'd cause an accident. Curse that mare! He would have to do something about the whole thing after the race. It took enough focus to simply stay in the race, never mind matters of attraction. Rapidfire was fast on his hooves and no wonder since he was Fleetfoot's main competition on the ground. Only Spitfire's special training managed to keep the two runners in synch with each other. No doubt something that the captain had counted on when pairing everypony up. And Silver Lining could draft well with his friend too - if he focused.
The trees that were sailing by on either side of them were a beautiful shade of deep green and the shade, grass, and occasional bird chirping would have all been noticeable and enjoyable if the style-minded stallion wasn't in the middle of a breakneck race. It was hardly a loss though, as he was quite aware of several such places he could relax at. They were the sort of places he would invite an attractive mare to.
Silver Lining's eyes narrowed against the wind that sped by them. Three pairs were holding the lead in front of them and he knew that Rapidfire wasn't going to hang back forever. One of the pairs included his personal rival, Fleetfoot.









High Winds was grumpy for sure. She had failed to get one of her two target ponies to move on each other - in spite of some very blatant suggestions. Silver Lining was sensitive enough to get bugged by some style revelations but she had to practically spill the beans to Misty. That mare was stubborn about some things and shy about others and even though they had talked at length before about her feelings, High Winds still had to suggest (gently) that Silver Lining had been checking her out. Modern romance had to be pretty messed up for High Winds to be having such a hard time getting the two together. Suggest this but don't ever mention that...she might swear never to get mixed up in it again. Especially not with Fleetfoot.
But now was not the time for contemplation. The lead running pairs were approaching the ravine part of the Cloud run and that meant she had to prepare her wings for take-off. Her partner wasn't exactly the best in the air but then neither was she. The only particularly redeeming quality about their team-up was that Fleetfoot was a champion in the hoof race. That had kept them jostling for second wing position against Soarin's natural talent and Blaze's fiery determination. That was about to end, however. The ravine came in sight ahead as a backdrop to Spitfire and her two wingmares. The trees were about to end abruptly as the path dived in a cliff-drop for the Cloud section. Their path was about to get very sunny and very windy.
Fleetfoot had no false hopes as to how she was going to place with High Winds. She was, after all, not deluded. Spitfire's wing would win with either Soarin' or Silver Lining's in second. The only question was whether it would be Fire Streak's or her own wing in last place. It was questionable. She knew she had made good distance between herself and Fire Streak due to her superior land speed, but the stallion had been training just a notch below Blaze for aerial ability. He could make up the time with the Cloud.
The smell of damp plant-life dissipated and, as Fleetfoot began to unfurl her wings, she could already feel the competition heating up. One step, two, dive! The ground shot from beneath her and she soared forward with her feathers stretching to either side. High Winds zoomed overhead and took the lead as her teammate dipped low and followed in turn. The air was fresh and only a tad cool. It was a perfect day indeed.
Two ponies suddenly overtook them on the right with incredible air speed. Fire Streak and Wave Chill were using their draft burst with a boost from the freefall to shoot up their position. It was working splendidly and Fleetfoot let out a crude word that was lost in the roar of the wind. In fact, the pair was blazing a trail right up to Silver Lining's wing. Losing momentum, they only managed to hold their close-quarters with the third-place wing rather than overtake it.
High Winds tried to quicken her own pace but was ashamed to find that she couldn't close the distance. In any case, Fleetfoot was not the strongest flier and wouldn't be able to keep up with any greater speed. So the leading mare had to decide to wait for an overtake on the next Road section where she'd swap places with her partner.
As it turned out, their position with the wings of Fire Streak and Silver Lining traded even sooner. The ravine was a deep gorge with vines and forest growth littering the walls as well as the occasional waterfall. Trees grew in odd spots on the cliff walls and, in combination with the occasional cave entrance, gave the in-out breeze an unexpected pattern and strength. One such draft was all that was needed to disrupt Wave Chill's flight path, as he was starting to edge around a leading Fire Streak. Perhaps he was getting a view to Silver Lining's wing in front of them or perhaps he was attempting a lead swap but, whatever the case, the draft picked him up from under his wings.
Some may reference Wave Chill's lack of stunt prowess as the reason he couldn't recover his path, but it would be a bit unfair to do so. He wasn't the best of the Wonderbolts but he was still a Wonderbolt all the same. It was better to peg the trouble as a mere accident. They happen to everypony.
Wave Chill went careening from behind Fire Streak and tumbled sideways towards the ravine's rock wall. Fire Streak noticed it and signaled the other 'Bolts as he veered around. Silver Lining took the cue in turn from his tailing partner, Rapidfire, and angled off with more speed than either of the others. Fleetfoot knew that she and High Winds were still too far back to reach them and had to settle for holding their forward path.
It was excruciating for both mares to watch and not just for the fact that they couldn't reach Wave Chill in time. The stallion wasn't recovering and had they been closer they would have noticed that he had lost his goggles in the spin. What should have been a simple mistake and quick rescue turned into a dramatic disaster, as another up draft from the ravine lifted Fire Streak and Rapidfire out of their rescue dive. The same draft, more powerful than they expected, reached High Winds and her partner - turning them away from the scene and taking them straight out of the ravine.
The two mares careened into a thick patch of trees a few hooves distance from the lip of the cliff. Fire Streak wound up in a similar spot and Rapidfire was taking an unintentional swim in the river that occupied a portion of the ravine's bottom. Only one pony, struggling against the freak torrent of wind, got to witness Wave Chill's collision with the rough canyon-like wall. Silver Lining just didn't have enough strength yet to power through the updraft in time.