//------------------------------// // Stay With Me // Story: Free to Fly // by I am not a Dalek //------------------------------// Chapter 3- Stay with me Around me, the crowds are cheering as the Wonderbolts perform their daring tricks. I seem to be frozen in place, unable to move at all. Still I forget about my immobility instantly as I’m drawn into watching the amazing show. They do their epic finale as they create a lightning storm in the sky, sending loud cracks throughout the Gorge, causing the audience to gasp in shock and excitement. Then I see him, Soarin’. He zooms into the Gorge, his goggles fitting perfectly around his eyes, his suit pressed slick against his body. My heart pounds against my chest as I watch him fly around in awe. He cuts through the air with ease, his mane blowing in the wind. He has the most important part of the finale; he has to fly through the lightning storm, avoiding all the bolts whilst he performs back flips and nose dives. I watch in fear as the Wonderbolts dodges the lightning with ease and escapes without a single scratch on him. Suddenly, there is a loud bang and I look over to see that it’s happening all over again. The ground around us is shaking and rocks begin to fall, however, this time I’m stuck to the ground, unable to move. So, I watch painfully as Soarin’ tries to escape the falling debris. My friends try to pull me back, but I end up yelling at them, telling them to go. Soarin’ sees me, I know he has. I can see it in his eyes as they widen in fear and he attempts to fly towards me. The ground beneath me collapses just as I see a rock fall on top of Soarin’s flying body, sending crashing towards the ground, to be buried in the debris. “No!” I scream out as I plummet to the ground as well, suddenly, I’m buried in a pile of heavy rocks and the last thing I think is that it’s my fault Soarin’ died. It’s my entire fault. **** “No, Soar!” I scream as I fall out of the bed with a loud thump. The sheets are tangled around my body and I thrash about in attempt to escape, still screaming in terror. I’m drenched in cold, sticky sweat as the sheets stick to my body, making it even harder to escape their death hold. Hooves gallop down the hallway and smash into my room. “What’s going on?” Soarin’ shouts, prepared to hurt whoever is causing me this pain. Soarin’s light blue hooves come into view as he crouches down in front of me, he seems to be less tense now that he’s realised what really happened. He gently begins to work on untangling me from the mess of blankets. Once I’m free, he pulls me into his warm arms and strokes my mane. “It’s okay, Dashie,” he whispers as he rocks back and forth. “I’m here, now. Okay?” Collapsing into his chest, I finally break and sob violently into him. “You-You died, under the boulders.” Soarin’ is silent for a few moments before he gently kisses my forehead, flattening my messy mane with his hooves. “No, you saved my life, Dashie.” “I couldn’t, I was stuck, you tried to save me and it was all my fault. I’m sorry!” I cry into his soft blue fur, where my tears fall the fur darkens. Soarin’ continues to stroke my mane, whilst he whispers into my ear, “No, I’m here, we’re here. It’s okay Dashie.” I have never broken in front of any pony like this before; I’m used to bottling my emotions up, never letting them go. But now, with Soarin’, I am allowed to let it all out because apparently that’s a good thing. It feels as if I’m crumbling like pastry in his arms as the tears flow out of my eyes uncontrollably. What is going on with me? I used to always be able to keep my cool and now I even freak out about flying. There is definitely something wrong with me. Soarin’ continues to comfort me as he holds me close against his warm body; I close my eyes and listen to the soft rhythm of his heartbeat, using that as the only thing to keep me sane. Finally, after what seems like hours, my crying begins to stop and all that is left are the sniffles that the tears left behind. Soarin’ gently places me down on the floor before walking over to sort out my bed. Curling up on the floor, I watch as he takes a new blanket out of my wardrobe and throws it over my bed, straightening it out with his mouth. I glance up at the clock on my bedside table, curious about what time it is. I’m shocked to see that it’s already three AM. I actually did get some sleep, it seems. Once my bed looks decent again, he carefully picks me up and places me down on the bed, making sure that I’m comfortable whilst he tucks me in as if I’m a filly. Just as he kisses my forehead and begins to walk out of the room to go to bed himself, I catch his hoof in mine, causing him to look back at me in confusion. “Stay with me, please?” I whisper, my voice shaking in fear. Soarin’ looks at me for a few moments and touches my cheek with his hoof. “Of course,” he whispers and slides into the bed beside me. Feeling his body pressed against mine instantly causes me to relax and momentarily forget about all the problems which lay ahead of us. As we lie here together, we are in our own world. No pony can disturb us, no nightmares can hurt is. It’s perfect. Our heartbeats are in sync as we look into each other’s eyes, our legs tangled together as we lie side by side. Soarin’ leans in and kisses me gently at first, before I pull him closer and it becomes more passionate, it has more meaning in it, more feeling and power. His hooves move up and tangle in my mane as he pulls me closer to him, I can taste the mixture of apple pie and toothpaste on his lips as his soft lips move against mine. “Just forget about everything, Dashie, forget about it all.” Soarin’ whispers, his lips still pressed against mine. “With pleasure,” I whisper back. All I can think about is Soarin’ and the feeling of his fur against mine, the feeling of his soft lips moving rhythmically with mine. Somehow, he has managed to push all fears out of my mind. Soarin’ is different, like no other stallion. He makes me feel different, feel special and important. He can make me forget something that has been so bad it has made me cry for the first time in years. I don’t understand what he’s doing but I am grateful for having him here beside me, I don’t know what I’d do if I was alone. Slowly, we both pull out of the kiss and begin to drift off to sleep in each other’s, both of us fighting away the nightmares for the other. Drifting away peacefully, I fall asleep in the arms of the most amazing Pegasus in Equestria.