Chapter 6: Friendship
The Whitetail Woods were looking...desiccated. The last rainstorm had been reserved for Ponyville's farming community, which meant that, aside from the forest's maple grove (cultivated for their sap), the forest had been left untouched. The trees, hardy after many years of growth, looked relatively healthy, though their leaves were beginning to droop. But the grass, save for the little growing along the banks of the various streams and brooks that wandered through the woods, was beginning to turn brown and wilt. Many of the wildflowers had already wilted away, making the forest look considerably more barren. The result resembled a locale caught in a disjointed position between different seasons, the trees still looking much like they did in the present late summer while the grass and other plants looked as though they were going through fall.
In spite of this, or perhaps because of it, the wood was still a beautiful and scenic place and the group of foals could hardly keep their eyes from wandering as they traveled along one of its many paths. "So you and your brother race through here?" asked Sweetie Belle.
Rumble nodded shyly. "We do it almost every Saturday. It's a lot of fun."
"But Ah thought ya didn't like racin' or any of that other sports stuff," Apple Bloom pointed out. It was true. Rumble frequently avoided joining any actual competitions, even those meant for foals his age.
Rumble sighed. "It's fun racing my brother because we're just playing and having fun. I actually tried one of those official competitions once and I totally hated it. Everypony was obsessed with winning. It was like none of them really liked what they were doing unless they won, so winning was all that mattered. It was scary, so I dropped out before it even started."
"So you just enjoy racing for its own sake then," said Dawn, "Win or lose, the outcome is unimportant so long as you enjoy the experience."
Rumble nodded slowly and uncertainly. Dawn actually sat down, his hoof to his chin in thought. "That is actually quite profound," he mumbled, thinking it over.
Perhaps this is the sort of state of mind that I seek, he thought to himself, I have largely studied the Gale King as a means to an end, that end being a way to protect and defend myself. To that extent I have pursued the mechanical aspects of the style as far as I can. But perhaps what I need is to allow myself to be absorbed into the act of practicing itself. If Rumble races not because he sees a race as a competition, but as something to be experienced purely for its own sake, then perhaps I can try something similar. A fight is another form of competition in its essence. A slight smile spread across Dawn's face as he thought he might have stumbled across some important secret.
"Um, Dawn?" asked Apple Bloom, waving her hoof before the colt's vacant eyes, unaware of his epiphany, "Are ya in there?"
"Oh, sorry," said Dawn, snapping out of his reverie, "Let's continue."
As the quartet started walking again, an orange and purple figure took up a position behind them. Scootaloo followed the group at a cautious distance, watching and listening to everything, her expression still forlorn. She wanted to approach, but her feelings of shame and guilt stopped her. She was sure that Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle would push her away again. And she couldn't even look Rumble in the eye anymore.
For the first time, Scootaloo understood what Rumble must have gone through every time he had tried to join them, only to have his attempts arrested by her angry glares and barbed comments. It felt horrible. The feeling only compounded her sense of shame.
In actuality, all four of the foals had been uncertain about Scootaloo's position. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle both remained very unhappy about Scootaloo's behavior and had adamantly decided against inviting her unless she specifically apologized. However, it was clear that their hearts weren't in it and they were clearly disappointed when Scootaloo failed to make any effort to make amends before the foursome had made for the forest. Rumble hadn't said anything on the topic before they left, but it was clear that he wasn't certain he wanted to speak with the pegasus filly again, lest he trigger another outburst like the previous day's. Dawn kept his thoughts to himself. His efforts to make himself more open to the feelings of others had succeeded in apparently forging the beginnings of a connection with Rumble. But he was still uncertain about what he could do to help the overall situation with Scootaloo. So, he waited and silently kept track of her as she followed along silently behind them at the very edge of his awareness.
The group stopped at a small clearing, where Rumble pointed out a pair of trees standing side by side with a pair of red ribbons tied around their trunks. "That's the starting line," he said with a happy smile. Rumble began to lay out the course that wound its way through the forest. It was a ground-level course that used the trees as fixed obstacles, with the ribbons denoting where to go. The red ribbons marked the starting point and also signaled parts of the course where the flyer had to go straight. A yellow ribbon meant a left turn. A green ribbon meant a right turn. A series of trees, marked with pink ribbons, indicated a slalom where the fliers had to weave between the trunks until the pink ribbons ended.
"So ya run this course every time ya race yer brother?" asked Apple Bloom. While the layout was impressive, the fixed position of the trees meant the course couldn't be varied in structure, unlike the ones made from clouds that pegasi normally used.
"Why don't you use clouds?" asked Sweetie Belle, "Then you could use as much airspace as you wanted and set up whatever course you liked." That much was true. Official pegasi courses, not to mention training ones, ran the gamut from simple circular tracks where speed was essential, to mind-boggling pieces of architecture that utilized the three-dimensional potential of pegasus flight to its absolute limit. Everything from daring loops to carefully constructed perspective puzzles that used the fact that most clouds essentially looked alike to hide twists and turns was conceivable. Compared to all that, the relatively mundane tree course set up by Rumble and his brother seemed tame by comparison.
"I wish we could. But clouds like that have to be requisitioned from the weather factory in Cloudsdale. And they're expensive. My brother can't afford anything like that. Hay, even Rainbow Dash can't afford it and she's the manager." Rumble let out a defeated sigh before brightening back up. "But this is good enough for me. My brother even gets Cloud Chaser and Flitter to change up the ribbons without us knowing sometimes. That way we can be surprised when we race."
"Interesting," muttered Dawn, thinking about it. His realization was immediate. Thunderlane was, in essence, training his brother in advanced flying skills. The ribbons served as signals to indicate the path the course took. Changing them up kept Rumble and Thunderlane from memorizing the course, which meant that Rumble had to look for and understand the signals and respond to them immediately, lest he lose ground. The fact that it was a race kept Rumble from slowing down if he had difficulty understanding where he was supposed to go. It was the kind of training that would serve Rumble well in almost any pegasus job. His brother seems to be the thoughtful sort.
"So are you familiar with the layout of this course?" asked Dawn, looking at his soon-to-competitor.
"Yeah," Rumble looked down, "My brother and I ran it just this Saturday. But that was just the first time. I'm sorry, but I didn't think about racing you until just today, so I couldn't get anypony to change it up."
Dawn tilted his head. "That's fine. If I can read the signals, it shouldn't be a problem. Shall we get started then?"
"Sure. Let's get stretched out first." Rumble began to go through a series of warmups and stretches that showed he was quite experienced with the physical side of flying.
Dawn simply rolled his wings and fluttered them to shake out his joints, stretching his muscles only slightly. His Master had taught him ways to keep his muscles supple and ready, even during periods of extended inactivity. "In the real world, you will rarely have the time to limber up for a fight. Your enemies won't give you the luxury of going through your stretches. You must learn to maintain a state of physical readiness, able to respond at even the slightest provocation."
It was a lesson that had served Dawn well in his life, both before and during his sojourn in the Everfree. After all, many of the angry ponies seeking his life and the monsters of the forest looking for the same never gave him any warning before they struck.
By the time Rumble was finished, Dawn was waiting for him at the starting line. Rumble was a little worried, hoping that his opponent didn't pull a muscle or otherwise injure himself because of his lack of preparation. In spite of that, he resolved to do his best and took his place. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom stood on either side of the pair. Behind them, Scootaloo slowly paced into the center of the clearing, her eyes following them intently.
"Ready!" squealed Sweetie Belle, raising her hoof.
"Set!" shouted Apple Bloom, mirroring her friend.
The two fillies took a moment to share a glance before grinning. Thanks to the excitement of this race, they were able to forget their fight with Scootaloo, if only briefly. But anger and hardship could wait for a little bit. They had made a new friend and it was time to watch him do what he did best.
Their hooves descended as their voices shouted out as one. "GO!!!"
"What's the big deal with dragging us all out here Thunderlane?" asked Rainbow Dash, giving her friend and subordinate a mock glare.
"Oh come on boss," protested the stallion with a slight grin, "It's not like there are any clouds for us to find right now. We must've all gone over our assigned sectors a dozen times by now. Besides, look..." He jabbed down sharply with his hoof, indicating the woods below them.
Following his instructions, Rainbow Dash gazed down. She and Thunderlane weren't the only pegasi hovering over the Whitetail Woods at the moment. They had already been joined by Thunderlane's fillyfriend, Cloud Chaser, who in turn had been joined by her sister, Flitter. Blossomforth and Cloud Kicker also showed up to see what all the hubbub was about with Storm Front swooping silently in from above, his presence barely a footnote to the group.
Below them, Rainbow Dash was surprised to see a small group of foals standing in a clearing. There were five. In the clearing proper were Rumble and Dawn, along with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Hanging back behind them a short ways was Scootaloo. Rainbow felt her heart lurch when she saw the bright orange filly, who was clearly still forlorn with the events of the previous day.
"This is the first time Rumble's brought anypony from school out here," explained Thunderlane, "This is huge!"
Cloud Chaser giggled and gently nuzzled into her coltfriend's neck. "Aw, you're just so happy to see Rumble make some friends."
"You bet I am," proclaimed Thunderlane, grinning from ear to ear.
"What's so big about this place though?" asked Cloud Kicker, looking down dubiously.
Thunderlane gave them an enthusiastic explanation of the course he had set up. Rainbow Dash was duly impressed with the idea. After all, she had spent much of her time honing her agility in Applejack's orchards, dodging between trees. She was surprised by Thunderlane's audacity. The rather random arrangement of the trees of the Whitetail Woods was a far cry from the neatly spaced rows of apple trees that made up the orchards of Sweet Apple Acres. This kind of course was substantially riskier to run.
"You and I are gonna have to run this thing a few times," Rainbow said with an eager smirk as she glanced at Thunderlane, "I can't believe you kept such a wicked course all to yourselves."
Thunderlane blushed. "Well, I thought it would be a good idea. Rumble needs something to put all his energy into."
Flitter and Cloud Chaser both giggled knowingly.
"Hey!" exclaimed Cloud Kicker, "It looks like Rumble and the new colt are gonna race."
"Really?" exclaimed Thunderlane. This was an unexpected development. Rumble normally wasn't competitive in the slightest. Even the races between him and Thunderlane were purely for fun and the young colt couldn't care less who won and got his enjoyment from putting forth his best effort. Ideally, that was the perfect attitude for a race, but given the highly competitive nature of pegasus society, it was rarely enough. To see Rumble racing against somepony other than his brother was completely unprecedented.
"Oh, they're at the starting line," whispered Blossomforth, apparently forgetting that they were already several dozen meters up and didn't have to worry about being noticed unless she began to shout.
Sure enough, Dawn and Rumble were at the starting line, with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle eagerly giving the countdown. Everypony focused their attention on the two competitors, save Rainbow Dash, who once again flicked her eyes towards the isolated Scootaloo, who watched the whole affair from a distance. They watched and saw the signal. However, the beginning of the race was so swift, almost everypony missed it.
Rumble's eyes threatened to pop from their sockets in shock at what he witnessed. One moment, Dawn was standing next to him on the starting line. As Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom dropped their hooves, it was like watching a frame skip on a film reel. Before he even realized it, Dawn was several meters ahead of him and pulling away rapidly. It was like the colt had teleported away from the starting line and was now hurtling down the course at top speed.
Gritting his teeth, Rumble put all his strength into his wings, surging forward, even as he tucked his legs in and pushed his snout out, trying desperately to get as streamlined as possible. As he strained to his absolute limits, he was rewarded with the sight of Dawn, who was no longer pulling away as quickly. Before long, Dawn was no longer pulling away and now the gap between the two colts was beginning to close. Rumble was gaining ground. In spite of his absurdly fast start, it was clear that Dawn was slower than Rumble in terms of pure speed.
For the time being, they proceeded straight ahead, their path indicated by the occasional red ribbon dangling from a tree trunk. However, the first turn was coming up fast. Rumble remembered this well enough from the first time had run the course and angled his wings to take the turn without losing speed.
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom gaped as they watched the colts surge off. Dawn and Rumble were swiftly receding in the distance. An unpleasant realization dawned on Sweetie Belle. "How are we gonna watch them if we're on the ground like this? I can't see a thing anymore."
Apple Bloom thought about it, tapping her chin thoughtfully. Looking around, she spotted a nearby hilltop, one that looked like it might have a good view of the course in its entirety. "Over there," she shouted. The two fillies wasted no time in rushing off to find the vantage point.
Scootaloo lifted a hoof to follow them before reconsidering. The other two fillies were likely still sore about the way Scootaloo had treated Rumble the previous day. She didn't feel like confronting them just yet. Instead, she tried to figure out a different way to watch the race. Her wings twitched and a smile spread across her face as an idea solidified her in her mind. Scootaloo spread her wings and with a single, sweeping downstroke, shot upwards.
The orange filly rocketed upwards. As she reached the apex of her flight, she lifted her wings and swept them down again, sending her higher still. Reaching the apex of her second ascent, she could see Dawn and Rumble clearly as they streaked between the tree trunks. Leveling out her wings, Scootaloo began to apply her other lessons. Just like the other day in the schoolyard. Instead of descending, she used her magic to hover in the air.
Without the ground directly beneath her to provide a certain sense of stability, Scootaloo wobbled considerably as she glided through the air in a rather ungainly manner. Working desperately, she was able to stabilize herself enough that she could focus her eyes on the race below. Moving her wings carefully, Scootaloo drifted into a slow pursuit that would keep the two colts in her sight.
The first turn of the race arrived so swiftly that, even though he had been expecting it, Rumble nearly missed it. He barely got a glimpse of yellow showing on his left. He angled his wings, leaning heavily into the turn but allowing himself to swing around so as to come out of the turn with most of his speed intact. It was a tricky move to pull off in the cramped confines of the forest, but Rumble succeeded admirably...
...And was very nearly sent tumbling by the shockwave as Dawn surged past him on the inside. The Dawn's sudden acceleration caught Rumble completely off guard. He was floored. Pulling off such a tight turn at these high speeds should have been impossible. But now, Dawn was once again surging ahead and Rumble was forced to pour all of his strength into catching up.
"Sweet Celestia!" shouted Cloud Kicker, rearing back in shock, "Did you see that?"
"Saw it," replied Blossomforth, her voice hollow with awe, "Still working on believing."
Even Rainbow Dash, experienced racer and stunt flyer that she was, was stunned by the display. Rumble's turn had been functionally perfect, the kind of turn she would have pulled off in the same situation. But Dawn once again seemed to vanish at the corner, only for the watchers' eyes to catch up to him once again as he hurtled through the next straightaway. She hadn't been able to see what move the ebony colt had pulled off, but the results couldn't be argued with.
If he can teach Scootaloo to fly like that, she's gonna be amazing.
Rainbow zeroed in her focus on Dawn, watching as he and Rumble approached the next turn. It happened so quickly, Rainbow wasn't entirely sure what he did. Dawn twisted sideways, bringing his wings up for a powerful downstroke. As he passed the tree marked with a green ribbon, his hooves seemed to lash out at nothing. In perfect synchronicity, Dawn's wings rushed down and he shot off to the right. Once again, Rainbow briefly lost sight of him as he accelerated out of her field of vision before finding him again.
"Uh oh," groaned Thunderlane, pressing and embarrassed hoof to his forehead.
Wondering what he was talking about, Rainbow turned her attention to Rumble and gasped to see that the poor colt had stumbled at the last turn, apparently catching it too late to react and was now struggling to regain the ground he had lost.
Rumble's cheeks were flushed in embarrassment. He had been so focused on Dawn, he had forgotten to pay attention to the course itself. When the right turn had come, Dawn vanished from his vision like a mirage. Rumble noticed the ribbon a split second later. But it was too late to react. He shot wide and banked heavily into the turn. Before he could resume flying at full speed, he had to reorient himself and find his way back onto the course. It was a grievous error, one that had cost him a great deal of ground as Dawn continued to lengthen his lead.
With a frustrated growl, Rumble beat his wings and rushed to catch up to the colt. What's wrong with me? It had been months since the last time he had stumbled over a turn like that. These days, even when Flitter and Cloud Chaser had freshly reset the course, Rumble had little difficulty adjusting to the changes just by looking for the ribbons that marked the path he was supposed to take. Having gone through this process dozens of times now, Rumble knew how to look for and recognize the signals as they came. There was no reason for him to be slipping up this badly. If things continued like this, Dawn would only widen his lead further.
Dawn! That's it! I'm getting way too worked up about him. I'm so fixed on what Dawn's doing I'm losing my focus. In the friendly races with his brother, Rumble had always been able to absorb his consciousness into the act of racing itself, without sparing a thought for his opponent. When he was flying, it was just him and the course, with no need to worry about anything else. Racing with someone other than his brother had made that abundantly clear.
Taking an enormous risk, Rumble closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and pushed Dawn's presence in the race out of his mind. When he opened his eyes, he felt fully in control. The next turn was coming. Rumble took it without the slightest hesitation, his focus narrowed and his sharp eyes already scanning for the next ribbon.
"Looks like your brother's got his head back in the game," observed Cloud Kicker with a wide smile as the race progressed.
"Whoo hoo!" shouted Cloud Chaser, pulling an exultant loop, "Go for it kiddo!"
The pegasi of the weather team continued to watch the race with abject fascination. Dawn had gained a sizable lead, thanks to Rumble tripping up on the second turn. He continued to take corners with ridiculous agility. In spite of this, Rumble was actually beginning to close the gap again, his sheer speed allowing him to overcome the advantage of Dawn's ludicrous dexterity.
Rainbow Dash watched carefully as Dawn approached the slalom, almost missing the light hoof tapping on her shoulder. Looking over, she saw Storm Front hovering next to her. Storm Front silently gestured with his hoof, drawing Rainbow's attention to a patch of sky over the forest. Her eyes widened at what she saw, a small orange and purple filly soaring in a rather ungainly manner over the course, her eyes fixed downwards.
Rainbow's eyes widened at the sight. She exchanged a glance with Storm Front, who nodded silently as she quietly withdrew from the cloud of watching ponies. When she was far enough away, Rainbow Dash sped up and rushed back to town. She needed to talk to Pinkie Pie about something.
Rumble had nearly caught up to Dawn. He now had the other colt in sight as he rounded the next turn. Up ahead were the trees marked with pink ribbons, indicating the slalom. Rumble narrowed his eyes in concentration. If he did this right he could minimize the shifts he had to make and go through the obstacles without losing the slightest momentum.
Dawn banked slightly to get around the first tree. Swiftly, he kicked out and shot sideways through the gap between the first two. As he did so, he kicked in the opposite direction, halting his sideways momentum before launching himself sideways in the opposite direction. Too late, Dawn realized his mistake. His method, while blindingly fast, was abrupt and wasted a great deal of energy as he was forced to skip from side to side. With each movement, he was overcompensating for the previous one, losing precious time as he shuffled back and forth between the trees.
Rumble, on the other hoof, flowed between the trees as naturally as water around rocks. Easily adjusting and drifting into each slalom, he sped through the obstacles easily, barely different than flying in a straight line. The tips of his feathers brushed ever so slightly against the rough bark as he shot past the trees. Coming in low, he cut under Dawn and continued on, taking the lead for the first time.
"The new kid didn't do so well on the slalom," noted Cloud Chaser as she watched.
"Rumble's going to win!" exclaimed Flitter jubilantly.
"It's not over yet," Blossomforth pointed out, "They have a ways to go before they reach the finish line."
"Rumble's faster," observed Cloud Kicker as her eyes followed the competitors, "But that other kid's got some crazy moves. If he can get enough of a lead through the turns, he might be able to avoid being overtaken on the final straightaway."
"Hmm," mused Thunderlane, "What do you think, Rainbow Dash?" Silence greeted his query. Looking up, Thunderlane blinked in confusion, looking around for the rainbow-maned pegasus, who was nowhere to be seen. "Rainbow?"
Rumble's field of vision narrowed. He didn't notice the scenery in the slightest. The world around him narrowed to the trees before him and the ribbons marking the course. He drifted into a turn around a yellow ribbon, which was almost immediately followed by a green one, then another yellow, sending the course into a vicious S-curve that could send him careening off into the surrounding foliage if he wasn't careful. Once again, he felt the shockwave of Dawn's sudden acceleration wash against him as a black streak with silver highlights shot past him, Dawn's cornering allowing him to make up for the time he lost on the slalom.
Rumble could care less. He spared no thought for the other colt and focused all his strength into his wings, pushing himself harder than he ever had before. Once again, he pulled past Dawn on the latest straightaway, only for the colt to gain again on the next turn. As it was, they were neck and neck.
Rumble's coat was soaked with sweat. The muscles powering his wings were burning from exertion. Here came the last turn. Rumble leaned into it as hard as he could. He could feel the strain on his wings nearly double. Once again, he felt the burst of air as Dawn took the same turn, shooting past Rumble on the inside. The gray colt felt a brief twinge of anxiety, but forced it down. Sparing any thought for his opponent would distract his focus. Instead, Rumble focused on drawing out every last ounce of strength he had. His wings beat a furious tempo as he accelerated down the final straightaway.
Dawn was just ahead. Then they were right next to one another. Agonizingly, Rumble began to pull ahead, first by a nose, then a head. By the time they shot through the final pair of flags, Rumble was leading by half a body length.
The two colts flared their wings. Rumble's hooves skidded across the ground as he failed to fully cancel his momentum before he landed. Dawn managed to make a much more controlled landing and settled to a complete stop the moment his hooves touched dirt.
Rumble's legs shook nearly giving out as the rush of adrenaline faded, leaving him feeling tired, woozy and like all his bones had been replaced by jelly. All told, there were worse sensations he could be dealing with. Right now, all he wanted to do was collapse to the ground and not get up until his body felt like a solid object again.
As it was, he really did collapse when Sweetie Belle slammed into him like a white bullet, knocking Rumble off his hooves as she tackled him in a fierce hug. "Congratulations!" she exclaimed, practically squealing in her excitement.
"Ya both put up a mighty good show," Apple Bloom weighed in, smiling widely as she trotted into the clearing, "Ah was bitin' mah hooves at how close it was."
"Sweetie..." gasped Rumble as he struggled extricate himself from the unicorn's embrace, "...air!"
With a gasp, Sweetie Belle released the poor colt and jumped back. As she did, her mind reflected on the situation she had just been in and she flushed a brilliant red. "I-oh...I'm so sorry Rumble I didn't mean to..."
A hoof steadied Rumble's shoulder and helped him up into a sitting position. Looking over, Rumble saw that Dawn was helping him sit up. "That was an excellent race," he said simply.
"Thanks," panted Rumble, suddenly aware of the fact that for all his efforts, Dawn didn't seem to be breathing very hard. In fact, he looked nowhere near as tired as Rumble did. Rumble found himself frowning. "You didn't take it easy on me, did you?"
Dawn shook his head. "No. In fact, I haven't exerted myself like that in some time."
"Then how come you're hardly even breathing hard?" asked Rumble, his tone accusing.
"Breathing techniques," replied Dawn simply, "I've been taught how to control my breathing to help recover from exertion and to even allow me to exert myself further than I already have."
"Huh," mused Rumble. That actually sounded pretty useful. "Could you teach me how to do that?"
"Certainly. They aren't the most difficult skills to learn." Dawn stepped aside and allowed Rumble to use his side to help him rise to a standing position.
"In any case," said Rumble, "That was pretty fun. We should do it again some time."
Dawn found himself returning the other colt's smile. "That sounds like a good idea." He extended a tentative hoof. "So...friends?"
Rumble looked down at the hoof for a moment before raising his own and bumping them together. "Friends."
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were beaming at the display. However, their attention was drawn by the sound of rushing air and hooves smacking into the dirt. Looking over, they saw Scootaloo settling onto the ground, looking surprisingly tired herself.
An uncomfortable silence fell over the clearing. For a moment, the only sound audible was that of Rumble's still heavy breathing, which was almost matched by Scootaloo's. She stood stock still before finally beginning to walk slowly over to where Rumble stood, her face lowered to the ground, refusing to meet Rumble's eyes, her expression unreadable. When Scootaloo came to a stop in front of Rumble, she slowly looked up.
Their eyes met. Rumble flinched away instinctually, his subconscious expecting another round of verbal abuse. However, what he saw in Scootaloo's eyes gave him pause. Her anger and resentment were gone, replaced by sorrow. "Rumble..."
Her voice was barely a whisper. Rumble found himself leaning forward to try and catch the next thing she said. Scootaloo squeezed her eyes shut as tears ran out of them. "I'm sorry."
Again, silence fell over the group. Scootaloo said nothing else. She merely stood quietly as tears continued to run down her cheeks. Rumble was dumbfounded, unable to find anything to say. He wasn't even sure of what to think. he never expected Scootaloo to apologize to him and certainly not like this. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked on with expressions of fear and concern, worried over the course things might take. As was his wont, Dawn observed impassively, simply waiting patiently for the next step in the sequence of events.
In spite of his expressionless face, Dawn's insides churned. Now that he had become friends with Rumble, having felt a bond forming between the two of them in their race, he found himself hoping that Rumble would accept Scootaloo's apology. He also found the expression of fear and guilt on her face deeply uncomfortable to look at. The whole thing struck him as strangely familiar, quite similar to how Applejack had apologized to him over a week ago.
Slowly, Rumble lifted up one wing and brushed his feathers ever so gently against Scootaloo's cheek, gently wiping away her tears. Scootaloo's eyes opened tentatively at the touch and she looked up to see warmth and acceptance in Rumble's eyes as he gave her an encouraging smile. "Thank you," he said, "And I forgive you."
Before any more could be said, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom tackled the orange filly simultaneously, sending the trio into a complex tumble before settling into a three-way embrace. Scootaloo hugged her best friends fiercely, tears once again flowing freely.
"Don't ya ever do somethin' like that again ya big chicken!" cried Apple Bloom. Sweetie Belle said nothing and simply chose to gently nuzzle Scootaloo, who simply held her friends all the tighter.
Dawn looked on and felt the beginnings of a smile tugging at his lips. He was starting to feel relieved and briefly wondered if this was what Red River had been talking about. He certainly felt nowhere near as empty as he did before.
Rumble also smiled as he watched the Crusaders make up with each other. Part of him felt a little guilty that he had indirectly been the cause, or at least the catalyst, for their temporary breakup. He felt much better knowing that they were happy and together.
Thunderlane wiped a tear from his eye as he watched the tender scene play out below them. He had initially planned on heading down to congratulate his little brother on his victory, but stopped when he saw Scootaloo arrive. Rainbow Dash had reported the incident between the two foals to him yesterday. While Thunderlane had been angry with Scootaloo, he had allowed Rainbow to be the one who handled the affair. As it turned out, it had been the right thing to do.
"Looks like things are turning out alright," said Cloud Chaser, who had stooped down with him. She gently nuzzled her coltfriend's cheek. The fact that Thunderlane wasn't afraid to show that gentle, sentimental side of himself was one of the things she loved about the stallion, although she would never outright say as much.
"Yeah," agreed Thunderlane, deciding to give the foals some privacy, "We should get back to work."
Cloud Chaser nodded and the two of them flew up to join the rest of their team.
The afternoon having been spent, the group of five foals went their separate ways, their hearts lighter now that the affair with Scootaloo and Rumble had been resolved. Dawn soared along on his way back home, riding the thermals rising off the ground as the sun set. His wings were a bit worn out from all the exercise they had gotten that day, but he was still a ways from being completely exhausted.
"Hey Dawn!" Looking around, Dawn saw Rainbow Dash hovering nearby.
"How can I help you Rainbow Dash?"
"Actually, I wanted to ask about Scootaloo," said Rainbow as Dawn coasted to a halt, hovering in the air without actually flapping his wings, "About that thing with Rumble?"
"They made up," answered Dawn simply, "She apologized after the race today."
Rainbow let out a relieved sigh. "That's great. With all that' happened, I so did not want that hanging over everypony's heads."
"With all that's happened?" asked Dawn, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh right," blurted Rainbow, "I actually wanted to tell you something else. This is kinda big, so we might need to talk for a while."
"Why don't we go to mom-my home," suggested Dawn.
Hearing Dawn refer to Fluttershy's quaint cottage as his home caused a warm feeling to build in Rainbow's chest. "Sure. I wanted to talk to your mom about this too. Let's go!" The two pegasi resumed their flight, now heading straight for Fluttershy and Dawn's house.
Twilight's studies were interrupted by a knock on the door. Lifting her nose away from the books, the librarian made her way to the door and opened it to reveal a gasping Ditzy Doo, resting on top of a rather large crate. "Special delivery," wheezed the gray mare as her eyes spun about their sockets.
"Oh no! Ditzy! Are you alight?" asked Twilight, "You shouldn't be handling packages that large. It's not safe."
"I'm...fine," gasped the exhausted mailmare. In spite of her protests, Twilight quickly grabbed Ditzy with her magic and levitated her into the library. She quickly situated Ditzy on some cushions while she went to the kitchen to fetch some water.
After ministering to her guest, Twilight turned back to the door and examined the crate. It was a little too large to fit through the door itself, so Twilight decided to teleport it in. A few seconds and two bursts of violet light later and the crate was sitting on the floor in the center of the library. Twilight used her magic to pry off the screws holding the top down and lifted it away to reveal several books, binders and folders
"Oh!" exclaimed the lavender unicorn with a gleeful squeal, "These must be the texts Princess Celestia promised me. Now I can start my research. I'll have to let Dawn know right away."
"Hey Twilight, what's going on down there?" asked Spike, peeking his head over the balcony that looked down from their bedroom, "Whoa! You didn't order a bunch of books behind my back again did you?"
"No Spike," deadpanned Twilight, "This is all the information the ponies in the royal archives were able to dig up on the Eyes of Nightmare. With these, we can get to work on figuring out just what they are and where they came from. Hopefully, we can destroy the Cult Solar's credibility, which should give Dawn some peace of mind."
Spike nodded and stood up, groaning a little, arching his back and rolling his shoulders with a pop. "Okay, I'll come down there and help you get those sorted out."
Twilight looked up at her assistant with more than a little concern. "Are you sure Spike? Your shoulders don't still hurt do they?"
"They're still sore," answered the dragon calmly, "But it's nothing I can't handle."
"What's wrong?" asked Ditzy as she looked up from her water.
"Ah, it's nothing big," said Spike as he descended, "A couple days ago, I started getting this ache in my shoulders. It's not too bad, but it does get a little itchy once in a while."
"Oh." Finished with her water, Ditzy got up and headed for the door. "I have to get back to work. Have a nice day you two."
"Bye Ditzy," said Spike waving.
"Don't overwork yourself," added Twilight as Ditzy took to the air, waving a hoof in acknowledgment.
Working together, Twilight and Spike laid out the various tomes, scrolls, binders and other assorted packets of information that constituted everything contained in the Royal Archives that pertained to the Eyes of Nightmare. There was a great deal of disparate information to sort through, some of it useful, much of it pointless or inconsequential.
"It's gonna take a few days to sift through all this," muttered Twilight, cracking her neck, "I'm going to have to set up for at least one all-nighter. Think you can help me with that Spike?"
Spike sighed. "I don't really have much of a choice. Just remember, you still need your rest and you need to eat, so let's not go overboard."
Twilight gave her dragon an amused smile. "I think you're right. Besides, Dawn's not having much difficulty with anypony in town, so I don't think there's much of a rush."
"What about that guy Red River picked up?" asked Spike, "The one who almost attacked Fluttershy."
"He's still in custody right now. It might be one or two more days before anyone from Colt Hollow comes to check up on him, which gives us a pretty generous margin given the distances involved." Twilight grinned. "We'll be fine. Just to be on the safe side, could you head down to Fluttershy's and let her and Dawn know that all this just came in?"
"No need." Before Spike could even open his mouth to answer, the library's front door opened to reveal Dawn and Rainbow Dash, who trotted in, looking in awe at all the material Twilight had laid out.
"Wow, is this all about Dawn's eyes?" asked Rainbow.
Twilight shrugged. "For the most part. The Princess had the ponies working the archives go over them for every scrap of information pertaining to the Eyes of Nightmare that they could find. I think they may have gone through and pulled out every scrap that even mentioned the Eyes in order to come up with this amount of material.
"I'll be honest with you. Most of it isn't going to be of much use to us. I highly suspect that there's a lot of pointless speculation, some more drivel from the Cult Solar and the occasional off-hoofed mention. There probably isn't going to be a lot that could tell us about the nature of the Eyes themselves. That we're going to have to some studying to find out."
"Then what is the purpose of all this?" asked Dawn, gesturing to the texts.
"The biggest thing I hope to find is information concerning other ponies who may share your condition. There are a lot of anomalies cropping up with your situation, Dawn. I suspect that your condition is unique." Twilight paused for a moment. "Or...at least unique past the basic fact that the Eyes themselves are quite unique. With any luck, we'll be able to confirm the identities of other ponies with the eyes and, with further research and, if we're lucky, contact these ponies ourselves and get the particulars of their conditions. If we can glean any of that information from this mess, we'll be off to a good start."
"I see," said Dawn simply.
"By the way," added Twilight, "Now that we have the information, in a couple of days, I'd like to have you come over so we can start more in-depth studies of your own eyes. With the instruments in my lab we can get all sorts of data I can't get by myself."
"Sounds like a blast, Twilight," said Rainbow Dash quickly, "Actually, there's something else I wanted to talk to you about. Do you think you could help us with something?"
Twilight blinked. "Sure. Just what is it?"
Rainbow scratched her mane. "Well, we were on our way to Fluttershy's place to talk to her about it when I realized we could use your help to. You see...something pretty big just came up..."