//------------------------------// // 1 - The Champions of Equestria // Story: Riding the Storm // by Lantheros //------------------------------// It was the last lap of the Sky Race, and the pegasi were going to face the Knockscrew again, right after the long straightaway. Many rookies lose lift from their wings trying to clear that turn after coming too fast from the straight. When that happens, they would hit the protective nimbostratus so hard that they would knock themselves out, leaving them unconscious for several hours; hence the name of that turn. But this wouldn't be a problem for Rainbow Dash. In front of her, Thunderlane was frantically flapping his wings, unfolding them at every turn in order to take full advantage of the air friction. The two favorites of the race were flying a few feet away from each other, sometimes so close that it seemed they almost were touching. Since the other flyers were several laps behind them, the entire attention of the Cloudsdale spectators was completely centered on the two pegasi coming down the home stretch. Rainbow had trouble seeing her opponent ahead of her: her goggles had flown off a few laps before and the wind seared her eyes, almost as if the air was burning. When she stretched her forelegs, trying to accelerate, she felt a sharp pain in her wing muscles, causing her face to twist in agony. It’s over! thought Thunderlane with a smug smile, looking at Rainbow behind him. Their speeds increased dramatically, as the Knockscrew drew closer. Dash had to close her sore eyes, unable to further withstand the constant winds lashing at her face. It was in that moment that she felt a fire burning in her chest, which rose all the way to her mind. Don’t give up! she told herself. Rainbow squinted, trying to maintain sight of the track while pushing her body beyond its limits. The air constantly grew keener, creating a deafening roar in her ears, while the clouds began to pass by her as quick as lightning. Everything became a blur. In the midst of the chaos, she focused on a dark spot oscillating wildly in front of her: it was Thunderlane, getting closer and closer. She couldn’t clearly recognize him, but it seemed that he was getting nervous; perhaps he could almost feel Rainbow’s breath down his neck, which was exactly what she wanted. Another thirty feet and they would come to the notorious final turn. Both of them zipped forward at breakneck speeds while the spectators followed their every move, afraid that the contestants would knock each other off the track while attempting to take first prize. The rainbow-haired pegasus felt adrenaline coursing through her body. Dash lived for moments like these: the risk, the speed, the sensation of facing fears to overcome her limits and, last but not least, victory and the attention of everypony focused on her. Fueled by that incredible rush, Rainbow inched closer to her rival ahead until she finally got into his wake; she felt the drag fading away, followed by a sudden thrust, as if she had been shot from a cannon. Dash bolted forward above Thunderlane, catching him off guard. He watched her from below, unable to distinguish between the pegasus and the blue sky, if not for her rainbow tail. In that moment the blue pony fully spread out her wings, causing a twinge of pain throughout her body. Her opponent, more stunned than ever, saw Dash suddenly pull back, unaware that he had already reached the end of the straightaway.   By the time he brought his attention back to the race, it was already too late. He tried to slow down and maneuver back to the track, but his wings failed him and the black pegasus crashed loudly against the vaporous nimbostratus cloudwall. Clouds, though soft, can be quite painful at the right speeds. “Booya!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. With only a clear track between her and the finish line, she reopened her wings and tilted to the side in order to complete the Knockscrew. The turn pushed Rainbow Dash to her limit. Her wings trembled under the growing strain of the centrifugal force, threatening to crumple under the weight of this mighty law of physics. “Don’t. Fail. Me. Now!” growled the pegasus between clenched teeth. With her last ounce of strength she completed the turn, gliding rapidly towards the finish line below her. Rainbow Dash zoomed across the line and the crowd let out a deafening cheer. *** ***** *** The attention of everypony was focused on Rainbow, even as the other pegasi finished the race. She stood there, panting, with battered wings; her face showed clear signs of fatigue, but was nevertheless framed with the kind of smile that comes from a hard fought victory. When the last contestant finally crossed the finish line, the announcer signaled the end of the competition, calling out the names of the top three winners. Even if that race wasn’t of any particular importance, for Rainbow Dash it still represented a well-earned victory: one that she wouldn’t have given up for anything in the world. There was a quick awards ceremony, after which some pegasi among the spectators made their way to the star of the race, crowding around her. Dash took on an air of indifference despite the flood of compliments and praise. Risk, speed, overcoming my limits... All of these are great, but there’s nothing quite like victory and being the center of attention, she repeated in her mind while smiling back at her fans with a total lack of modesty. “Hey! What are you doing back there?” yelled Rainbow after spotting a pink tuft at the far edge of the crowd. “Same old Fluttershy. Come here!” The other pegasi stepped aside, revealing Fluttershy partially hidden behind a small chunk of cloud. “Oh… well… I...” she whispered. “I can’t heeear you!” teased the blue pegasus, putting a hoof behind her ear. Fluttershy smiled and timidly added, “…great job, Rainbow Dash!” Rainbow returned the smile and then brought her attention back towards the fans to soak in the praise. After celebrating for a bit, fatigue had started to heavily weigh down on the victor, so Dash decided to head out (making sure to get the last bits of praise from her fans of course) to enjoy a well-earned nap under the sunset. “Only the best pictures on tomorrow’s newspapers!” she told the reporters before leaving. *** ***** *** Equestria’s horizon was filled with the reddish glow of the sun, steadily making room for the night. There were a few clouds up in the sky and, on one of them, Rainbow enjoyed a well-earned rest. Lying on her back, hooves behind her head and directly facing the sunset, she could feel the warmth of the last rays of the evening sun. There was a deep calm all round but Rainbow's ears were ringing and her mind was still focused on the events of the day. For several moments she relived the emotions that were evoked as her mind was brought back to the race: the wind, the clouds darting past her, dueling Thunderlane during the final stretch, reaching the finish line... and then the crowd, the compliments, and that incredible sensation of importance in the midst of her fans. No doubt about it! Today I literally flew like the best of the best, she thought with satisfaction. A feeble sound, barely audible despite the calm, made Rainbow suddenly turn around. A few feet in front of her there was a pegasus that she had never seen in Cloudsdale: pale gray, slightly in his teens, with thick purple hair that was fairly long and a bit messy, holding a pencil and a piece of paper in his mouth. There was something strange about that pony but, at first glance, Dash couldn’t quite figure out what it was. A little bit further behind, a middle-aged pegasus was watching him with a slightly melancholic expression on her face. Probably his mom, thought Rainbow Dash, who in that moment would have wanted anything except for another fan looking for yet another autograph. “Well, nopony said the life of a superstar was easy,” she sighed, rolling her eyes towards the sky. She turned back to the gray pegasus and yelled, “So, who do we got here?” The young pony put his paper and pencil in a bag that he kept at his side. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Rainbow Dash,” he said calmly, with a neutral expression on his face. “Yeah, I know… everypony says that,” she replied with an air of superiority. “I know that you train hard, and today you showed me that, with persistence, you can achieve great things.” “Oh, were you at the race? Sorry if I don’t remember... it’s just that in middle of the crowd there were so many pegasi that I probably didn’t see you,” replied Rainbow, hiding a bit of embarrassment. “I wasn’t at the race.” “You… weren’t?” “No,” continued the pegasus. “I observed you from up there,” he said, slowly raising his head towards a distant, isolated cluster of clouds. “It’s there where I live and observe you during your training and while you race.” Rainbow felt slightly shocked. “Oh wait, don’t get me wrong,” he stated with a hint of a smile. “I’m not a stalker. It’s just so hard for me to get around, and crowds can be very dangerous due to my physique.” It was then that Rainbow clearly understood that strange feeling she had noticed when she first saw him. Taking a closer look at the pony, she realized that he was really thin and had an unusual posture: fairly slim but his limbs weren’t quite correctly aligned. What had also seemed to be a simple pack belt actually doubled as a strap that kept his wings tightly pressed against his body. With that strange, thin body, his thick purple mane made him look even more frail. “I’m a unique pegasus you know,” he said with a firm, almost prideful tone. “I’m the one and only pegasus in all of Cloudsdale who cannot fly.” Rainbow’s eyes opened wide in surprise and she stared at him, completely dumbfounded. She didn’t know what to say. All that came out was an unsure, “Oh... well...” The mophead pony’s voice radically changed pitch, as if he wanted to quickly change the subject. “Well yeah, it’s a weird disease, but that’s not the point.” His head slowly turned back towards the bag and he pulled out the paper and pencil from before. Holding them tightly with his teeth, he spoke as if he were chewing his writing utensils. “I don’t want your autograph to hang as a trophy in my room, like all of those stupid fans who are always crowding around you.” With hesitation, Rainbow took what the pegasus handed her and listened to what he had to say. “I would like you to write something to remind me that the real champions of Equestria are those who struggle to reach their goals.” His tone became more resolute as he continued. “And you, Rainbow Dash, are one of those champions.” The rainbow pony glanced down at the paper. It was a printed photo of her crossing the finish line at the race from earlier that afternoon. “Icarus,” said the frail pony. “Huh?” “My name is Icarus!” he repeated impatiently. “Oh, right!” she quickly replied. She took the pencil between her teeth and began writing on the photo but, for some strange reason, she was so nervous that she just wrote the first thing that came to mind. “Funny, isn’t it?” he continued. “Icarus, like the mythological pony who lost his wings from flying too close to the sun. But unlike him, I’ll never run the risk of falling to my doom, simply because I can’t fly,” he said, smiling weakly. Rainbow remained silent as she finished up her work and handed it back. Icarus thoroughly read over what she wrote and, once finished, added with a touch of disappointment and arrogance, “Yeah… I was expecting something more original, but I guess you’re tired from the race, so I guess this will have to do.” Dash’s initial surprise was partially replaced with a small dose of irritation and there was silence between both of them for a moment. “It is time to go, Icarus,” said his mother. “I’m coming!” yelled Icarus. “I have to go now. Thanks, Rainbow,” he concluded, while putting his stuff in his backpack. He turned and, with a bit of uncertainty in his steps, limped away from her. Dash was going to ask him how he had made it to her cloud and how he was going to leave, but then she saw him climbing carefully onto a cirrus cloud next to his mom: the most soft and delicate cloud to be found in the skies, up where the oxygen starts to thin out. Only extremely particular circumstances, such as the use of magic, were able to preserve the consistency of the cloud at lower altitudes. “Thank you, Rainbow Dash,” said his mother loudly, right before flying away, gently pushing the cloud on which Icarus was sitting. “It was no big deal,” replied Dash quickly, still recovering from the awkward feeling that she had felt during the entire meeting with Icarus. She stood there for a while, watching them flying away towards the cluster of clouds that Icarus had shown her. That encounter had left her puzzled and, deep down, she could feel a strange sense of discomfort within. “Oh, there you are Rainbow,” said Fluttershy, flying behind her. “Uh… what?” “Everyone is waiting for you at Pinkie’s to celebrate your victory!” “Yeah… yeah, sure! The party!” replied Rainbow, masking her discomfort with a veil of false enthusiasm. “Let’s roll!” she exclaimed, diving from her cloud towards Ponyville. During her headlong descent, with the wind flowing through her mane, she turned her head back one last time towards Icarus’ home. She couldn’t see it anymore: it was too far away and too dark for her to spot in Equestria’s star-filled sky. *** ***** *** It didn’t take long for the party to get crazy: first, it was organized by Pinkie Pie, so it was pretty much impossible to keep tame. Second, every friend of Rainbow was there to celebrate her victory. Needless to say, there were compliments, music, and plenty of cider. “Trust me, Rainbow,” said Rarity while gesticulating with one of her hooves in the air, “your performance was absolutely breathtaking, incredible, marvelous, even when viewed from the ground!” “Thanks…” replied Dash, with a slightly forced smile. “Listen here, partner,” continued Applejack. “If it was up to me, I’d have you pulling my plow! I’m sure you could till all them fields in less than a day!” “Thanks, you’re too kind…” Twilight was seated at a table nearby with three emptied mugs of cider sitting in front of her. The feeling of inner peace that she felt was apparent by the expression etched onto her face. “Seriously,” exclaimed the slightly out-of-it unicorn, “the way you knocked out that pegasus... that, whatshisname? Tunder... Thuderlame... was just fantastic!” Spike pulled Twilight’s tail to get her attention. “Uh... Twilight, you didn’t drink all those mugs by yourself, right?” Noticing the situation, Applejack explained with an embarrassed smile, “Ah-hem, well… I had some spare barrels from a special stock to get rid of… That cider might be a little bit… stronger than usual.” Twilight smiled back, wobbled a bit away from the table, opened up a scroll, and put a blotch of ink next to a line that read: “Analyze the effects of cider at a party: check.” Even though she was having a good time, Rainbow wasn’t able to ignore the sensation that still lingered from the meeting with Icarus. She went over to a window to look at the starry sky, feeling a strange weight pressing down on her heart. “Is there something wrong?” asked Fluttershy gently. “No, everything’s just fine. It’s a party dedicated to my win at the race today, what could possibly be wrong?” Then she quickly turned around and said, “Why do you ask?” “It’s just that all evening you have seemed kind of... out of it... as if you were worried about something,” replied her friend, lowering her gaze. “It’s just that… you know, I’m just tired. That race was really exhausting,” said Rainbow, while trying to put on her best poker face. After a short pause, Fluttershy replied, “I understand,” not convinced at all. “Really, I’m fine. I’m just tired,” she concluded. Pinkie Pie hopped excitedly towards Rainbow and extended her a mug of cider. “Of course you’re tired! You flew like a lightning bolt! Like... like a super lightning bolt! No, no wait! You flew like a thousand lightning bolts who race to see which bolt is the boltiest!” The pegasus smiled and took a sip of cider. “Meh, it doesn’t seem that strong to me, Applejack...” she remarked, with an air of indifference. *** ***** *** It was in the dead of night when Rainbow went back to her home in the clouds. While attempting to land, she struggled to fly in a straight line and ended up crashing disastrously on the floor. “My head...” she mumbled, bringing a hoof to her temples. “Dang cider…” She staggered a few feet through the dark cloudy corridors of her home, before collapsing on her bed, completely exhausted. She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. After a couple of minutes, her thoughts returned to Icarus and she asked herself why she felt so uneasy after meeting with him. She turned, lying on her back, and stared at the ceiling as her eyelids began to close. Moments passed, in which the blue pegasus was assailed by thousands of thoughts. In the end she lazily covered her face with a hoof. Sure... I don’t know exactly what kind of disease that pegasus has, but... who knows what it must be like to be a pegasus with wings and not able to fly. She rolled around nervously in her cloud bed. Flying is my life... every pegasus loves to fly. What must it be like to spend your entire existence among the clouds with those who can fly around with ease… while you are forced to travel with a belt strapped to your wings? Watching races from hundreds of yards away... She stopped moving for a bit and felt that strong sense of discomfort again. Is it possible that… I feel guilty for Icarus? Flight and athleticism have always been my strengths… I’ve always wanted to be the best of the best, while that pegasus can’t do anything but watch everypony else fly around. My problems, my races, that time when my wing got sprained or even that time when I got upset because I didn’t even finish in third place. I mean… all of my problems sound ridiculous compared to what Icarus has to face. Like when Mare Do Well stopped me dead in my tracks: I only thought of making myself look good, losing sight of what was most important... but a pony’s gotta learn, right? There was a long pause, during which her train of thought traveled to this conclusion. I feel so... stupid. I don’t get it. It’s as if everything important to me that I’ve lived my life for became totally worthless after meeting Icarus. If, for example, I wasn’t able to fly anymore...” But she banished that thought, terrified and incapable of imagining what that would be like. Her focus on Icarus lasted for just a little while longer. Tiredness quickly took over, throwing Rainbow into an odd slumber filled with various images and feelings. She would remember none of those dreams, but she would definitely be restless that night. *** ***** *** She woke up late in the morning and was blinded by an annoying sunray. Her head felt heavy and she noticed bags under her eyes as she quickly checked her reflection in a puddle that she used as a mirror. “Special stock, huh?” she mumbled sarcastically. She went outside to stretch her muscles and a gentle breeze passed by, which helped her wake up a bit. While taking in the view of the clear horizon, her eyes unconsciously fell on a tiny white spot in the sky: Icarus’ solitary home. It’s really cut off from the rest of the world, she thought. She sat down and tried to manage the torrent of emotions she felt, having little success. “Why in the wild world of Equestria am I still thinking about him? He just wanted an autograph, plain and simple. And if he can’t fly, what can I do about it?” she asked herself, more confused than ever. “Sure... I must have seemed a bit insensitive, but I didn’t know what to say... Nothing like that has ever happened before. Maybe I should see him one more time... talk to him... I dunno.” She spent several minutes fighting against her thoughts, unable to reach a conclusion. “Screw it! I’ve never been good at these kind of things, but it doesn’t cost anything to see him! I’m sure he’ll enjoy the visit.” And she took off, flying towards his home. *** ***** *** She normally wouldn’t have had any problem reaching her destination but Icarus’ home was hundreds of feet above most of the houses in the sky, not to mention the hangover she was suffering from last night. After several minutes she finally reached the small cloudy expanse where Icarus’ house was located. The mansion was made with clouds that were much more vaporous than your average cloud. They were probably able to maintain that state due to the high altitude. All around the house there were cirrus clouds floating in the sky, whitish wisps of smoke, more or less like what Icarus was riding on when they had met. The building had several balconies, upon which there were some rather quaint objects: canvases, shelves filled with books, some strange silver plants and, last but not least, a huge shiny telescope mounted on a tripod. Only enchanted objects could stay on these clouds without falling through them, thought Rainbow. She warily approached the entrance: a large door, carved and adorned with metal vines, occupied most of the main façade. Everything around her was quiet, with the exception of high altitude winds blowing about sporadically. Dash felt a bit uneasy in front of the impressive display, as if it were impossible to gain entrance to the home. She summed up her courage and, with a bit of reluctance, she knocked several times on the door with her hoof. After several minutes had passed, Rainbow knocked once again, thinking nopony was home; she was about to leave when the door slowly opened, revealing the figure of Icarus’ mother. “Rainbow Dash?!” she asked astonished. “Uh... yeah, it’s me,” she mumbled. The mother appeared slightly worried due to the pegasus’ visit and after a brief pause added, “What… what brings you here?” Dash was looking for something that would make sense to say, but even she herself didn’t know why she was there. “Well... I’m not here for any specific reason. It’s just that... since I met Icarus, I’ve had this strange feeling... and honestly, I don’t even know why.” Her words came out almost like a confession; the other mare listened carefully and stared down at the ground. “I know it probably sounds stupid but... when I met Icarus... it’s like a part of my life has been called into question. Until yesterday, it never occurred to me... that there could be a pegasus pony with this kind of medical condition. It caught me off-guard, and I feel like I was insensitive to his circumstances.” “Ah no,” interrupted Icarus’ mother. “Icarus admires you so much.” “Yeah, I know… but when we met I just spouted out gibberish. I don’t think I made a good impression on him.” “Don’t you worry, Icarus is used to the surprised reactions that he gets. He doesn’t even take notice anymore, really. In fact, he says that it makes him feel... unique,” replied the mother, with a touch of sadness on her face. Dash sighed heavily and asked, “Speaking of which... what is going on with this condition that he has?” “It’s really... strange,” explained the mother. “It showed up when he was about two years old... otherwise we wouldn’t have given him the name Icarus. It almost seems like a cruel joke...” she sighed bitterly. “Anyway, my name is Sunshine,” she added, after a short pause. “Oh, my bad. You see? I didn’t even ask what your name was. You can imagine what a great conversationalist I am,” said Rainbow, feeling a little bit embarrassed. “Don’t worry about it,” she replied with a smile. “As far as Icarus’ disease goes... I don’t want to get into too much detail, you only need to know that his disease surprised every single physician in Equestria.” “Does it make it so that he can’t fly?” “It’s one of the side-effects,” Sunshine continued. “It’s actually much more complicated than that. Basically his bones are extremely fragile. This is why he has to live at this altitude, so that we can make use of the skies’ softest clouds which help to make sure that he is safe and doesn’t hurt himself.” “Is it really that bad?” she asked, showing visible signs of discomfort. “I would be lying if I said no… As you might have noticed, because of this disease his body did not develop properly. If he were to ever spread his wings mid-air... they would snap like twigs beneath a hoof. Even walking on solid ground instead of the clouds could cause problems.” For a split second Dash’s heart stopped. Sunshine smiled and continued explaining. “We try as hard as we can to make him comfortable. His father works far away from Ponyville, earning just enough money so that he can live a full life.” She then looked up to the balconies. “This whole building is enchanted: the work of dozens of unicorns whose expertise lies in the art of matter manipulation. The cirrus clouds are also enchanted, along with almost everything else around here. Those silver plants are supposed to… catalyze the magic, or whatever those unicorns said; I am not knowledgeable in such matters.” “That makes two of us,” replied Dash, with a weak laugh. “It’s not that bad up here: he can watch everything around him with his powerful telescope. He also reads a lot and is getting into painting. Sure,” she added sadly, “it’s not the average pegasus life…” “Is he home right now?” asked Rainbow. Sunshine looked down, moved closer towards Dash, and gently closed the door behind her. “Yes he is,” she replied under her breath. “However I should warn you, Rainbow Dash: Icarus is a very peculiar pegasus. I’m not solely talking about his physique; since he was just a little colt, he has always had to live far away from other pegasi. Those few times he has been in contact with them, they hurt his feelings, and when his condition worsened he had no choice left but to live here, isolated amongst the clouds.” “I see… but…” “Please let me finish,” interrupted Sunshine. “What I am trying to explain to you is that you might not like Icarus. He has had to adjust to living a solitary life with constant physical pain and without anypony being able to give him even a sliver of hope for the future. He thinks in a way that nopony in Equestria could possibly understand. He doesn’t follow the same social norms that you and I are used to.” “So... basically you are saying that he’s a little tough to deal with, right?” asked Dash, a little bit confused. “I’m telling you that, usually, we are used to making friends with those who we like and who we enjoy spending time with. If you think that is what friendship is all about... then Icarus is going to give you a hard time,” she concluded abruptly. At first, Rainbow thought that Sunshine was exaggerating but, looking into her eyes, she understood that she was quite serious. “Would you prefer that I didn’t meet with him?” she asked reluctantly. “I’m not sure,” the mother answered uneasily. “Meetings with Icarus rarely end well. Yesterday he only wanted an autograph; today, it would be different.” There was a long pause in which Sunshine seemed troubled by a torrent of conflicting emotions. “All right Rainbow,” she finally said. “If you would like to talk to Icarus, go ahead.” Dash smiled. “Yeah, I just want to talk to him real quick. Honestly I don’t even know what I’ll say. I feel like I just need to talk to him, that’s all.” “I’m pleased to hear that. Come in. You will find him upstairs. But remember what I told you,” she replied, inviting Dash inside. “Icarus isn’t like any other pony you’ve met before.” “I’ll keep that in mind,” remarked Rainbow while entering the house, showing a bit more confidence than before. *** ***** *** The inside was not so different from the average Cloudsdale house, except for the walls, which were less bright and defined because of the clouds used. In front of her, Dash saw a staircase leading up. She slowly walked upstairs, looking around curiously. Reaching the top of the staircase, she found herself in a hallway with plenty of doors, of which only one was closed. She peeked in the rooms, to see if anypony was around, but she guessed that Icarus was in the only room where the door was shut. She approached the door and took a deep breath. “Come in,” said Icarus, having anticipated her arrival for a while. Rainbow gently opened the door and stuck her head into the room. Icarus sat facing a canvas on which he had already started painting. He slowly moved the brush between his teeth, creating a seemingly incomprehensible mess of color. The room was full of books and had numerous windows that gave a panoramic view of Equestria, breathtaking to say the least. “Did you hear me coming in?” asked the guest. “It’s always really quiet here,” answered Icarus, after putting down the brush. “Besides, you surely have noticed that I can look at the whole world from this place. Therefore, your question is idiotic: I saw you coming and I heard you knocking,” he concluded, without even looking at her. In that moment, the words of his mother came to her mind and she tried to avoid harboring any ill feelings towards him. “Why are you here?” asked the gray pegasus. “Well… I… I just came to see how you were doing.” “Half of the ponies that come to see how I’m doing are doctors, the other half are the ones looking to satiate their morbid curiosity about the freakshow. And you don’t look like a doctor to me.” “No no,” replied Dash, feeling slightly uncomfortable. “I just wanted to talk to you.” “Fine,” continued Icarus impassively. “What do you want to talk about?” “When we met last night I wasn’t aware of your condition. I wouldn’t want you to think that I was being... rude. Basically, I didn’t realize that... that you...” Icarus bowed his head and turned towards Dash with a harsh look on his face. “So... that’s how it is, huh?” he asked. “What do you mean?” “You know, Rainbow, at first I thought that you were different, that you would understand.” The blue pegasus furrowed her brows, unable to get Icarus’ point. “I also thought you were smarter,” he added pretentiously, “so let me enlighten you: do you really think that yesterday I came to beg for your attention? Or for your pity?” “Well… no, I…” “It’s funny how things change. I was just one fan among many, before you understood my situation. Right?” Rainbow didn’t answer and Icarus seemed to grow annoyed. “I’m sick and tired of everypony’s stupidity. Yesterday you treated me like everypony else, while today you come here to talk to me and see how I’m doing. Would you ever do that for an ordinary fan? For any average pegasus? For a pegasus in different conditions from mine?” “Listen Icarus, I’m not here to take pity on you,” the mare answered hesitantly. “I just want to let you know that, since yesterday, I have mixed feelings. It seemed... unfair to me, that I’ve centered my whole life on flying competitions while you have to live like this. It’s something that I’ve never considered before.” There was a moment of awkward silence which was then broken by Rainbow, trying to take control of the conversation. “I had always been sure that I could prove myself by comparing myself with others by winning and through competition. After having met you, though...” At those words, Icarus suddenly turned around, accidentally knocking his canvas on the floor and started breathing much more rapidly than before, clearly upset. He stared at Rainbow with a spark of rage in his eyes and muttered, “You’re just like everypony else. At first you treated me like your equal. I thought that a pegasus whom sacrificed so much for her passion would understand. Instead, you come here now as if I were a victim of cruel fate! What? You think that I feel inferior to you? That you are some kind of role model to me?” Dash took a step back without realizing it. “I thought you were a champion like me,” he continued vehemently, “because, like you, I’ve had to face challenges day after day to get where I am now. Of course I don’t have a bunch of fans to prove that; the only proof is here, standing right in front of you. From what the doctors said, I would have lived at most another year and wouldn’t be able to walk after a couple of months. They told me that more than two years ago. I proved them wrong.” “Icarus, I…” “Merely the fact that I am here, alive and standing on my own hooves, makes me one of the greatest champions in all of Equestria!!” he yelled, with all the breath that he could muster in his fragile body. Rainbow was shocked by the pegasus’ ardor, which initially was softened by his meek appearance. She tried to say something, anything, but not a single word came to mind. Icarus seemed to calm down: he approached the painting and, with some effort, put it back where it was originally. With his back turned towards Rainbow, he added, “I’ve spent several months looking for a champion like me. I didn’t find anypony similar to me, but then I saw you. I watched you during your training, during your defeats, when you kept getting back up, and I saw willpower and a combative spirit. But now that I know you better, I guess I was wrong.” After those words, he took a piece of paper from the shelf and tossed it to her hooves with a little revulsion: it was her autographed photo. “I wanted this to remind me that anypony can do incredible things if they fight for it. But, to you, I’m just a poor stricken pegasus, worthy only of compassion and pity. You can have it back, if you want, I don’t need it anymore,” he concluded indifferently, bringing his attention back to his painting. “Icarus, you’ve got it all wrong,” resumed Rainbow. “It’s not like that...” Dash felt unfairly accused by the pegasus, but deep in her heart she couldn’t deny feeling pity for him when she first saw him climb up on his cirrus cloud. “Tell me,” added Icarus calmly, “how would you feel if tomorrow you lost your wings, and the ponies that you knew started to treat you like a victim of circumstance?” Those words brought her back to the time when she ended up in the hospital, after breaking her wing. Being confined to a bed was terrible, sure, but the commiseration that she got from some of her visitors was even worse. Even though she thought he was overreacting, she understood what Icarus was trying to tell her. The words from the gray pegasus brought her back to reality. “You may leave now.” “Icarus, I didn’t mean to…” But he ignored her completely and started to paint again slowly. *** ***** *** Rainbow left the room with the photo in her mouth and feeling miserable. When she got outside, Sunshine was sitting not too far away, waiting for her with a bitter smile on her face. “I don’t know what you talked about,” she said, “but judging from the tone of voice, I’m guessing it didn’t go very well.” Dash remained facing the ground. “Yeah... it was nothing short of a disaster.” “Don’t blame yourself. Icarus has weathered all kinds of storms, and some of them left their mark on him for the worse.” Dash pondered for a few minutes, then looked up at the mare and said, “I think I understand… I didn’t want to sympathize with him, but if I was the one lying on the cirrus cloud and somepony tried to sympathize with me, I’d be extremely annoyed.” “For Icarus it’s a bit different. He’s had to deal with a lot of unwanted sympathy since he was a little colt. He might have told you about the physicians. Nopony thought that he would make it, but he did nonetheless. I believe it was since then that he decided to distance himself from every form of victimization and pity.” The blue pegasus’ face took a serious tone. “He wants to be treated like everypony else... with dignity.” “Exactly, I don’t think it could be said any better. He wants to be treated for what he really is: a pegasus,” concluded Sunshine. Dash took a look at the photo she signed the previous day and started to think. Then, suddenly, she placed her hooves on Sunshine’s shoulders, whom was visibly surprised. “Listen,” she said with conviction. “I have to ask you a very VERY big favor… Would you trust me enough to leave Icarus with me?” “Beg your pardon?” “If I promise you that nothing bad would happen, and if I can persuade him, would you let Icarus spend at least one day with me?” “Well… I don’t know… It is quite dangerous for him to leave this house!” “I realize that, and I don’t expect that you will say yes all at once.” “What are you going to do with him?” “There are… some ponies I would like him to meet.” “Oh no!” said Sunshine worried. “That wouldn’t help him at all. We’ve already tried that before!” “Please Sunshine, just give me a shot. If anything happens to Icarus, I promise you that you will never see me across these skies again,” she concluded with a look of sincerity. Sunshine didn’t seem convinced and took some time to mull it over. “I don’t think it is a good idea,” she finally said, “but if you can persuade him… just for one day…” “Fantastic!” yelled Rainbow and, without wasting any time, she took off. She made a quick turn around the building and landed near one of the windows of the room where Icarus was painting. When Icarus saw her smiling face pop up from outside, he looked surprised, then impatient. “You’re blocking my light,” he said irritated. “Listen here, Icarus, how long have you been locked up on this cloud?” asked Dash with a defiant look. “It’s none of your business,” he replied indifferently. “And I thought I told you to buzz off.” “Make me!” said Dash laughing. The gray pegasus put down the brush, resigned. “I swear I’ll be off in a minute, but first I have to ask you something.” “There’s no use in trying, I won’t change my mind about you.” “I really don’t care what you think about me. But if you’re really consistent with what you say, I want to see how much of a champion you’ve made yourself out to be.” Icarus started to show a faint interest in Rainbow’s proposition, who had guessed that Icarus was at least as prideful as she was. “Come with me to Ponyville tomorrow, near the ground, if you dare. There are some ponies I want you to meet,” she concluded, leaning her chin on her hoof. “I don’t need other ponies like you around me,” he replied annoyed. “Oh... I see. You don’t have the nerve… Months and months, maybe years, being isolated up here must have made you weak, that’s understandable.” Icarus wasn’t dumb and he figured out that Rainbow Dash was just trying to rile him up. He never would have fallen for such a pathetic attempt to goad him if it wasn’t for his pride fueling his train of thought, which he knew would betray him at the worst possible moments. “That’s ridiculous. And I know you just want to trick me.” He remained silent for a bit, unsure if he should start painting or answer back again. In the end, he gave in. “But I don’t want to sound like a hypocrite! Fine!” he said solemnly. “I’ll be there tomorrow: I’ll come to your stupid Ponyville, I’ll get rid of your so called friends and I’ll come back up here, demonstrating how pathetic you are.” Rainbow smiled and enunciated, “I! Can’t! Wait!” She took off from the windowsill and, flying backwards, glanced at Icarus, “Tomorrow afternoon, right after lunch time! We’ll see if you have the guts!” “Ridiculous,” mumbled Icarus to himself, starting to paint again, feeling slightly nervous. Before leaving, Dash glided towards Sunshine and, while stalling in midair, yelled, “Just one chance, it’s all I ask!” And then she dove towards Ponyville. Now I have to find a certain somepony, she thought, right before vanishing into the low altitude clouds.