Our Time to Fly

by Shokinaw


Chapter 12 Confronting the Storm Part:3

 

Chapter 12:

Confronting the Storm

 

Part: 3

“Spike! Where were you?!” The young dragon hadn’t stepped two feet inside the locker room door before Scootaloo had grabbed him by the horns of his helmet and yanked him down to her eye level. “You’ve got some nerve showing up late now of all times! What were you doing?!”

“I was just finishing up with Diamond Tiara. Why? What’s up?” A glance around the room showed no sign of Rainbow Dash, but Twilight had enough crumpled parchments at her hooves to make the room look like a scene out of one of his scribe sessions. Pinkie Pie was scrambling around attempting to jam a bunch of confetti, streamers, team pennant flags, fireworks, pamphlets, balloons, and posters into a dozen or so cannons.

“We’re what’s up! There’s no time to lose! We’ve been bumped up! Way up, like the in five minutes we need to be out there kind of up! Captain Dash is out there right now gathering up all of the clouds we’ll need, and Twilight still hasn’t figured out what she wants to read for the introduction!”

“I know what I want to read, but everypony said it was too long!” Twilight complained as a scroll magically unwound in front of her, showing her original introduction. It was over ten feet long and he had to avoid getting tangled in it as he tried to reach for a party cannon to help move. “How am I supposed to shorten this? We’re talking about the beginning of a new age for Equestria here! There’s so much to tell! I’ll never be able to summarize everything and still keep it in context with all that was happening!”

“Then why not just try to focus on Princess Celestia in the castle then get right to the poem?” Spike suggested.

“But that leaves out why the dragon was there in the first place!”

“Nopony is going to care about the dragon, Twilight,” he rolled his eyes, “they’re here to see the pegasi win. Just stick to that and it’ll be fine.”

“Nevermind her! Pinkie’s up first, so she’s the one we gotta rush! For whatever reason, she went and volunteered to do the introduction to the whole ‘Skirmish for the Skies’ set!” With all her might Scootaloo tugged and pulled on the rope to take out her party cannon.

“Skirmish for the Skies? What’s that?” Tucking two cannons under his arms, and curling his tail around another, Spike followed Scoot out the door.

“It’s us! I mean it’s all of us! As in the Cloudsdale Flight Teams versus us. They turned it into a full-fledged competition. Sort of like a half-time show in between qualifiers so it doesn’t throw the whole audience off.”

“Sweet!”

“It would be sweet, if you didn’t see who they asked to be the judges: Two of the Wonderbolts, who were here judging the qualifiers anyway, The Princess, and one of the committee members themselves! Can you believe they’d so blatantly cheat us out of our bet like that?! Apparently the guy’s our Captain’s old coach. Talk about unfair!” Scootaloo exclaimed as she had to stop and take a breather before she could continue pulling the cannon along. Normally she’d have no problem  with it, but she had to be careful about wearing herself out before the show. Thank the heavens Spike had caught up to them, she was beginning to think it would be just her and Pinkie Pie moving all the gear.

The breather was for more than just giving her limbs a break, though. This whole mess had her in a panic, and her hooves just wouldn’t stop shaking. Scootaloo leaned up against the wall, and slumped down on the floor.

“You gonna be alright?” Spike asked as he was heading back down the hall.

“Yeah, I’m just… it’s just this whole thing’s getting to me. Why does every moment have to be some kind of trial? Can’t there be just one time everything is easy?” She let out a shaky breath.

“Well, that’s an easy answer. It’s like you said. Today’s the trial run. It wouldn’t be much of a trial run without any trials, would it?” His tail lifted her up and dropped her off on his back as he went back to pick up another load of cannons.  “Don’t get overwhelmed. Just remember that it’s all practice, and you’ll get through this. “But it isn’t all practice anymore. Not with that bet that Diamond Tiara made. If we don’t do well, it could ruin things for a whole lot of pegasi!”

“Nah, even if we foul up, there’ll be others. Look how many came out to help us put together the street show last night. You think they’re just going to sit back and let the committee do whatever it wants? Besides, the bet was that Rainbow Dash couldn’t do anything about the committee decisions. You and I are still free to help out however we want.”

“Oh hey! That’s true!” The heat from his scales flowed through her and she let herself relax against him, hanging her head between the crook of his shoulder and his neck. “I thought you were supposed to be the nervous one.”

 “I still am, a little, but a good friend taught me how to deal with it.”

“Sounds like a great pony,” she chuckled as she snuggled against him more. Suddenly her eyes went wide, and she sat upright, slipping off his back staring at him like he was a lunatic. “Spike! Where is your armour?!”

“I took some off so I could move these cannons. It comes off real easy, turns out. Just have to undo three straps, and it falls to pieces.”

“Just because it comes off easy doesn’t mean it goes on easy! It took forever to get you suited up! Come on! You need to get back in costume right now! Go back and get it!” In a flash she took off to the locker room, sending Twilight’s notes scattering everywhere. “Twilight! You and Pinkie need to stall them!”

“Stall them? What for? Everything’s almost ready.”

“Just do it, okay! We’ll let you know when we’re ready!” With that she took off again after Spike.

“But how am I supposed to stall-” her question was cut off as her magic followed her subconscious tendencies, and the large pile of notes magically floated all back into one neat pile in front of her. One such scroll happened to be her very long introduction. Twilight smiled wide. “Well, if they insist!”

 
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The Qualifiers had come to an intermission. The ponies were settling back in their seats waiting for the shows to start up again. The spectator fee had been waved, though nopony was certain why. But because everypony had been watching the ‘pre-shows’ all morning it was the largest attendance the qualifiers had ever had. Normally it was just supposed to be a small practice before the main event. Just some flight scouts, a couple prestigious volunteer judges, and competing coaches and their teams were all that was supposed to be there. Instead the giant coliseum had sold out completely as a fully licensed event. The qualifiers so far had been fun, and the fans were already trying to make guesses at which team would be in the finals.

As the audience sat down, they were treated to a strange sight out on the arena grounds. Two dozen cannons formed a ‘V’ shape and each was aimed at 130 degree angles into the sky with a thirteenth sitting at their conjoining point. Excitement raced through the audience as they quickly settled back into their seats, wondering what surprise was in store for them.

The Princess, her Captain, and the fashion designer sat together on the royal balcony overlooking the field of clouds below. There were eight score sheets laid out in front of Princess Celestia, one for each team. They earned a royal frown of annoyance from her. Instead of sitting back and enjoying the shows, now she’d have to specifically look for any mistakes. She had no idea on how many points she should take off for what, and only vaguely had an idea of what she was even supposed to be looking for. It was a small price to pay for setting things straight, though, so she had accepted the task quickly.

“You’re sure marking this contest is going to end all of this mess the committee made?” It wasn’t the first time she asked for confirmation about this. She had left the actual discussions in her Captain’s capable hooves, but now that it came down to it, she felt it might have been a mistake. There was satisfaction in knowing one had a guiding hoof in things. One could judge how things would turn out much easier when personally taking part. Unfortunately doing so would have defeated the purpose of choosing the Captain to begin with. There was a bit of a control freak in her, she had to admit, and over the years she’d been trying to let it go. Giving all control to a single pony was just too dangerous. If anything were to happen to her, as it was, the whole kingdom would fall apart. And the truth was now that she was no longer as powerful as she had been in the past; she wasn’t as able to protect herself or her subjects. The elements of harmony were no longer under her power. Their responsibility had fallen into other hooves, and in the larger picture, that was a good thing. But it was very difficult to accept that she needed to fall back into more of an advising role sometimes, especially when it came to subjects as personal as this one.

With sharing responsibility in mind she wanted to test her new Captain’s ability to judge delicate situations. He was far more used to the more abrupt and blunt political aspirations of minotaurs. The pegasus was a soldier first, she understood that, but he would have to be much more than a soldier to attend the gatherings, and handle the volatile situations such as this one that often found their way into her courts. Now she just wished that his first test didn’t have so much to do with her son and his friends.

"I am sure," he responded with a nod. "They bet against the wrong flight team. They're taking her too lightly and him too." His eyes turned far across to the complete other side of the large stadium, looking in the direction of the south judge.

So he knew something he wasn't telling her. "You seem to have intimate knowledge about the situation. Is there some personal involvement I'm not aware of?"

"Yes, your Majesty."

"Would you like to share it?"

"Not in particular."

"I prefer not to give direct orders, Captain, but if you're going to force my hoof about this..." Celestia let the sentence trail off. He understood her meaning. An explanation was in order and she wasn’t about to let it go without one.

"At the corner of this whole situation there are two coaches involved, and they will determine everything. I was fortunate enough to be a student under both, and I know them fairly well. I can guess how this is going to go."

"Aaaah!" comprehension dawned on Rarity and she pointed dramatically towards the Captain, "I see! Why, you're one of Rainbow Dash's old flight school classmates!"

"I was.” The Captain confirmed as he considered Rarity for a moment before continuing, “I don't think she recognizes me, though. Can't blame her. You couldn't call us friends outside of class. Never much got along with that griffon she used to hang out with, and those two were nearly inseparable. I took Dash up on her remedial lessons all the same. I've never regretted them. That filly could fly. Not just in the clouds like the rest of Cloudsdale coaches taught us, but experienced flying through trees, around mountains, over rivers, canyons, and meadows. A pegasus could redefine everything they ever knew about flying just by being caught in her tailwind."

“And this other coach? Am I to understand the mess is his fault?” The voice of the Princess snapped him out of his thoughts of his youth and back to reality.

“No, Feather Guide isn’t the type to think about stuff like money or finances. All he knows, all he sees, all he ever thinks about is flying and coaching. It wouldn’t be like him to even consider any of this other mess on the sidelines. In spite of his one track mind, his skills have put him in a position that’s able to put a stop to this nonsense.”

“And he will?” Rarity tried to confirm. The Captain gave a noncommittal grunt in answer before voicing his concerns.

“Feather Guide is a hard stallion to impress; set in his ways, and rigid as a brick wall. He’s been marking pegasus flight scores for the past forty years, and as a rule you never get a 9 or above from him. The most elite of teams often get a low 8 or high 7. Pegasi refer to it as the 9.75 barrier. An elite team on their best day may win them an 8.9. If every other judge gives you a 10, you’ll never get more than an 8.9 from Feather Guide. It leaves you at a 9.75 average. Only one flight team has ever broken that barrier. If you’ve ever heard of the Wonderbolts being called the ‘9.8’s’, this is why. He gave them a 9.1.”

“And you’re betting that a small, rookie team of fledglings lead by a first year Captain is going to impress this stallion enough to turn everything around?” Celestia was less enthused about this new information.

“Outside of the Captains of the flight teams, every pony is a rookie at these games. They’re the Fledgling Flier Competitions after all. Being a small team isn’t a weakness either. The fewer fledglings there are the fewer mistakes are possible. With only quality fliers on their team it’s actually one of their greatest strengths, whether they know it or not. The larger the team, the more chance there is that one of the team members will mess up and lessen the scores for everypony. The real question would then be how much faith do you have in your Spike and this Scootaloo?”

Rarity and Celestia glanced at one another at the mention of Spike and shared a smile.

“Spike will be fantastic. You can be certain of that. His aspirations are much higher than this,” Celestia answered for them both.

“And little Scootaloo will be quite gifted, I understand. She has, what did Dashie call it? Ah yes, a sky call, or some such thing.”

Both the Princess and the Captain stared at Rarity as if she had two heads. Princess Celestia found her voice first, while the Captain was still busy picking his jaw off the ground. “She has the Sky Call? You’re sure that’s what Rainbow Dash said?”

“Yes, of course, she was very excited about it. I guess it slipped my mind, in all the commotion. That is a good thing, is it not?”

It was the Captain’s and Princess’s turn to share a smile, and the Captain nodded. “As long as she conquered it.”

“I certainly hope so. The poor thing couldn’t even get off the ground for the longest time. She’s twice the age of most of the fledglings I’ve seen here, and has only been flying fully for about a month or so.”

“I think this is going to be a show to remember.” Celestia glanced down to the arena.

“And it looks as though they’re ready to start.” Rarity added, “I know a party cannon when I see one. Those are definitely Pinkie Pie's.”

“Ladies and Gentlecolts!” came Pinkie Pie’s voice over the loudspeakers. “Today, you’re all in for one, big, ginourmous, super-awesome treat! In honour of Princess Celestia, we have put together a teaser for the big day to come! Eight flight teams will compete in a fully marked competition, all judged by a team of very special judges! As everypony knows, the judges can be found in the four corners of the stadium so they can see the show from every angle. To your south is the familiar face of Coach Feather Guide, the long-time official judge selected by the Flight Committee!”

There was a long applause, mostly because it was a sure sign the show was about to start, but there was something different in the air; a growing excitement that left everypony watching on edge.

“To the West and to the East, your judges are Soarin’ and Captain Spitfire of the Wonderboooooolts!”

The crowd went wild at the announcement as both pegasi, fully decked out in their flight suits, stood up and waved.

“And ponies, put your hooves together for our North judge, the Princess of Equestria herself, Princess Celestia!” The announcement was followed by the opening notes of the Equestria National Anthem and all the pegasi sang or cheered along the rousing music in honour of their royal guest. The Captain stood rigidly at attention, as Celestia stood up to greet her little ponies. Rarity sang along, happily helping herself to some of the crowd’s attentions.

Was this what Sweetie Belle was experiencing right now? Singing on a stage in front of thousands of ponies? The only thing Rarity could think of that might be better was to be the object of adoration herself! Sometimes she truly envied her sister’s gifts. Rarity waved along with the Princess as the anthem ended, half pretending the adoring public were cheering for her.

It didn’t last long though and as the theme died out, six different spotlights, all the colours of the rainbow, flicked on around the cannons, and began shining into the large bundles of fluffy clouds in the sky. Then the spotlights began to move, swiveling and swinging over the crowds in the stands. All attention turned immediately to the center of this lightshow, where a humongous pile of balloons emerged from beneath the field of clouds below. They drifted towards the sky, and reflected the beams of the spotlights, scattering them across the coliseum in a spectacular wave of scintillating lights. The spectators cheered as a guitar riff played loudly over the speakers in the background. The exuberantly cheerful-sounding announcer spoke up again.

“Eight flight teams compete, but only one comes out on top! This is a no holds barred competition, meaning the teams will be able to stunt, act, dance, or race towards victory using whichever method of their choosing! Personally, I’d make it an eating contest.” The guitar riff screeched to a halt at the strange statement. “Have you been to the lobby? Cotton candy clouds are amazing! Oh, and Rainstorm Slurpies! Whoever thinks of these things is a genius!” The sound of a straw sucking the last remnants of a slurpy left most of the crowd laughing, not quite certain if they had just listened to a commercial or not.

“Oopsie! I was supposed to keep talking about the competition, right?” Again the guitar riff sounded off, louder than ever. “These eight fantastic flight teams will compete for Princess Celestia’s honour in a battle royal, a skyward onslaught, a skirmish for the skies! So stomp your hooves and cheer for our first team of competitors!”

 The cannons started going off, two at a time, blasting swirling fireworks into the sky, huge piles of confetti and streamers, and pennant flags of the starring flight team. In another spray of confetti the last cannon in the V went off, and a helmet-wearing pink earth pony was blasted upwards much to the audience’s surprise. She was sent streaking through the air, sending balloons and streamers twirling in her wake until she performed a somersault, landing gracefully on several balloons.

“It’s a stunt show in the form of a play, so you better get ready for some surprises!” All the balloons, confetti, and streamers in the sky suddenly popped or disappeared all at once, leaving Pinkie falling straight down. She slid a pair of flight goggles over her eyes, and twisted into a dive.

“Expect the unexpected!” she shouted as she fell, only to stop in midair, held up by some kind of massive wind from beneath the cloud cover, hovering there just above the field.

“And enjoy the most stunning death defying stunts, you’ve ever seen!” Pinkie finished, to a roar of cheers.

Below the cloud, out of sight from their spectators, Twilight was magically moving the coloured lights around, beside Pinkie Pie’s huge fan, which Scootaloo had used to train with. She was still gathering up the pieces of balloons and decorations her spell had teleported down there when she heard her cue. Hopefully Spike would be ready soon, Pinkie’s antics could keep anypony entertained, but soon Twilight was going up there. As much as she hated to admit it, there really were only so much of a history lesson and poems ponies could take.

“The story they want to tell begins looooooong aaaaggoooooo, deep in the annals of Equestrian history. So listen close to this tale of how two pegasi and a princess met.” With that, the fan was turned off, and Pinkie slipped into the clouds. In her place rose a small, ordinary platform, with the large Skyblazer Crusader banner standing high overhead. On the platform stood Twilight Sparkle, and before her was a small pedestal that held a large dramatic book. It was a scene that clearly contrasted from the surprise and excitement just a moment ago. Twilight, cleared her throat a bit before starting to read.

“It was still the early years of the first age of Princess Celestia’s rule, and all were filled with mourning for the loss of one of the Celestial Sisters to her lunar imprisonment. Our ancient capital was still freshly abandoned by its ponies. It held too many memories of a Princess that had betrayed them all, and transformed into Nightmare Moon. Princess Celestia had removed herself from the throne, seeking solitude for comfort from the longing of her sister’s return. She refused to leave the confines of the abandoned castle where she and her sister had lived together.” Twilight turned one of the large pages dramatically, hoping the team would be ready soon. She was only a paragraph in, and many of the pegasi we’re already beginning to look sleepy. In spite of it, she continued.

“With her retreat from the kingdom’s affairs Equestria became vulnerable, and rumours of fantastical creatures roaming the land grew common. What purpose these foreign monsters sought nopony could know, and so in fear we surrounded ourselves with walls of stone and great fortresses. In the years to come we learned to defend our lands, but by then strange beasts had rooted themselves into our unoccupied mountain dens and deep into the shadows of our forests. Many challenges stood before ponykind in those days, but no quest held more importance than finding comfort for the loss of a sister.” A small wisp of green flame burst and fizzled out in front of Twilight. That must be the five minute signal. Thank goodness. If they were falling asleep during these interesting parts, the longer poem was really going put everypony down. She better get to it quick.

“The tale of how that comfort was found was recorded in a poem. A poem that Ponyville’s Flight Team will play out for us today. So without further adieu Captain Dash and the Skyblazer Crusaders presents: ‘The Broken Flight of Philomena’!

There was scattered applause in the bleachers, as there was still no sign of the actual flight team. Celestia’s ears had perked up at the title, though.

“Oh no, not that! Tell me they didn’t make the show about that!” The last thing Rarity ever thought she’d see was the Princess of Equestria biting her lip nervously. That is exactly what she was seeing, however. The Captain was looking on curiously as well, not quite sure what to make of the sight.

“Whatever’s the matter, your Majesty?” Rarity tried, “It’s just an old poem. Spike said you used to read it to him.”

“It’s-it’s a little bit too personal. I really don’t think I could take it, honestly.”

“You cannot leave, you’re the North judge,” the Captain insisted, “besides, I’m sure they will do the poem justice.”

“You don’t understand,” Celestia looked over to her pet phoenix, perched in front of her. Something somewhere up in the sky had caught Philomena’s attention, and she had a good idea of what it could be. Shaking her head, she looked back down to Twilight Sparkle, who had begun reading the poem. “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”
 

Twas the early years when all seemed dark

When stars grew dim and lost their spark

The long days seemed weak, and full of blight

Our Princess refused her sunlight flight

 

Her cries were filled with a deep despair

For a gripping loss her heart did bear

Equestria had fallen into mourning

Their blessed sunlight was no longer warming

 

Her sorrow was felt for many a mile

So began the quest for a sister’s smile

The first to try were the unicorns

From whom new magical spells were born

 

Gathered they their best and brightest

Their craft was honed to its finest

For years they ensorcelled and enchanted

Until all the lands were filled with magic

 

The unicorns decided to complete this duty

By greeting the sister with a vision of beauty

With their power they shaped a crystal heart

That beguiled towers, homes, and each pony’s part

 

These crystal ponies were a heartening sight

Of grace, of charm, of enthralling light

But even the brightest was but a mar

To her missing sister of evening star

 

So the plea sought out ponies of earth

Who knew well the ways of granting mirth

Of brightening hard days with laughter and fun

And the satisfaction of a job well done

 

They called upon their most noble steeds

Of might and skill like none had seen.

With great care and effort they designed

A castle town on a mountain side

 

With a pride that soared them to new heights

They raised their pillars of ivory white

Strong walls and towers of intricate schemes

With golden gilds of patterned sunbeams

 

Their audacious project once complete

Of castle and towers and city streets

An elegant home was what they had wrought

A gift to the Princess christened Canterlot!

 

Lost was the Princess to a dream-like haze

And far from their city she turned her gaze.

Their work, their efforts had all been in vain

She’d never stray from where the sisters reigned

 

Then came at last the desperate cry

Cast to the heavens and pegasi

They sent their teams throughout the sky

Searching the lands both low and high

 

Was there a gift to replace the night?

And bring their sun back its warmth and light?

They travelled North, South, East, and West,

Two by two they sent all their best.

 

And as two of the ponies fly,

They heard the plea; they heard the cry

Of strangest wonder like no other

A flaming bird of light and splendour

 

It twisted and flew, it skittered quite frantic

It darted and fell, plunging down in panic

For upon its tail with fiery breath

Flew a monster rank with wanton death…

 

The outcry of a bird snapped everypony’s attention away from the unicorn on her little stage to see a spark of red and orange flitting in and out of the clouds, a tiny dark spot against their white. As the orange speck came closer it burst through the front of the largest cloud nearest to the audience with another piercing shriek. A young phoenix streaked by over their heads, leaving a tiny trail of fire as it went. They had no time to take in its mystical detail though, as a roar soon followed, loud enough to rattle their seats. Its source remained yet hidden from view but all eyes turned back towards the cloud the firebird had shot out from. The highest point of the cloud exploded like a volcano sending wisps of steam and mist shooting away. Out of the center of this explosion came the incredible sight of a deep black dragon, pushing straight up into the air before leaning back, almost lazily flipping around.

Gravity took over and pulled the heavy dragon down, setting it easily on the bird’s fiery trail. The chase was on. The phoenix darted left, then right; up then down. It attempted to shake the monster off its trail. Speed was the phoenix’s only advantage but the dragon took each turn in stride, not fooled by the phoenix’s myriad of movements and tricks.

A small amount of applause was scattered among those watching, more out of habit than anything else. It was tradition to applaud the team members as they made their appearance, but most were understandably distracted, too surprised to stomp their approval. Here there was a young dragon, suited from tooth to tail with black-plated armour that flared with a glaring light every time the sun reflected off it. They had the chance to tell, now, with the chase just in front of them. It wasn’t black scales as they first thought, and only edges along the faint yellow underbelly showed the creature’s true colours.

The phoenix escaped back into a cloud with the dragon almost on top of it. With the line of sight to the chase broken, the audience now turned to the new arrivals who sat on top of a cloud much higher up, surveying the scene below. One of the figures, a young, orange pegasus none had ever seen before, outside of her picture in a pamphlet that had fallen into their laps after the cannon fire. It labeled her part as ‘the crusader’ in the play. She bore a cable wrapped tightly over her shoulder and around her torso. There was also a large pack on her back, which she unstrapped and set down on the cloud beside her. At her side was a face every member of the audience recognized. A cheer went up, rousing the crowd into a thunderous applause as the ‘Sky Captain’ on the banner below appeared. As the applause died down the poem continued, resonating throughout the coliseum.

 

And though they were beset with fright

The pegasi gave chase in flight

They could not allow what was to happen

To save this bird they were quick to action

 

  Again phoenix and dragon blasted out in a spectacular display from the pile of clouds, the chase was still going at top speed. Each pegasi copied the technique the dragon had done before, flying upward first, then letting gravity take them into a dive, allowing them to build up their pace and easily join the pursuit. The Sky Captain barrel rolled into position beneath the dragon, and the younger pegasus, the crusader, swooped in over top.

In annoyance the dragon roared, turning its attention towards these interlopers on its game. It swerved upwards after the young one. Its jaws snapped at her, this way and that. But with every turn it made, she kept in stride, matching her wing beats with that of the dragon, gliding just over top. Below them the same scene unfolded, with the Sky Captain barely avoiding nips and bites. Even so, she continued her flight path, the pegasi pair keeping just out of reach of the beast’s hungry maw.
 
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Rarity’s heart jumped with each loud snap. The opening scene hadn’t fooled her; Peewee’s shrieks were sounds of enjoyment. It was nothing more than the games of tag she often seen Spike and the phoenix play. But her armour design made Spike seem brutish and she had only seen Spike move so reflexively fast when he grappled with the manticore. Indeed, all this biting hardly seemed like Spike at all. Equally distracted was Princess Celestia who only just then hastily scribbled notes after spotting the other judges do the same. She had just caught on that the flight team had entered their first gliding formation, ‘the vertical line’.

She wasn’t sure what to write. The three looked straight to her, and they certainly seemed to move well together. Was that a full mark then? She had to predict what the other judges would write. She couldn’t afford to play favourites. The Captain gave a low whistle beside her. “Niiiiice glide path, the little one’s a bit shaky, looks like she found some thermals to keep in the air longer. That should help out her score. But can that dragon glide or what? He makes it look easy. Even Rainbow Dash is having a hard time keeping pace with him.”

“What? How can you tell?” Rarity asked, not at all certain of what she should be looking for.

“Watch for the curve of their spine. It should always follow their glide path. See how the pegasus in the top spot’s spine curves upward? It isn’t in sync with where they’re flying. That means she’s being pushed upwards, it’ll keep her straight enough for a really good score, but it’s not relaxed enough to earn her a perfect mark. She might have trouble keeping it together once she loses those thermals. It’s something to watch out for. That dragon though, he’s bending that neck of his to fake those bites, that should throw off his spine, but from his shoulders down to his tail, all of it is moving perfectly, even without looking where he’s going! If it wasn’t for that armour weighing him down, I bet he could out-glide every pegasus in this city. Clever way of disguising the young one’s shaky path though. Now it looks like it’s more out of feigned fear than lacking skill.”

Straining to watch the curve of their bodies, the Princess and Rarity both started to see glimpses of what he was talking about. “You must know a lot about this. I wasn’t even sure what to think outside the play.” Rarity admitted without turning her eyes from the show.

“I had two great flight coaches,” he murmured in explanation. It was probably the first time since she met him Princess Celestia managed to catch him wearing a smile. It quickly disappeared as if he just realized it was there. She smiled wide enough for them both and moved the judging sheet between them.

“Perhaps you could help? I’m afraid this really is not one of my areas of expertise.”

He gave a slight nod and moved closer to observe her notes and to help make adjustments as the team moved into the ‘vertical V’.

 
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Suddenly the crusader dipped, taunting the dragon’s fangs. It snapped once more as she drew close, but to no avail. It was just a small distraction but that’s all that was needed. In a flash of colour the Sky Captain bolted out front, plucking the bird from the air. The firebird squeaked in surprise, the dragon roared in rage, and the audience rose in cheer. They watched as the she pivoted upwards and down, then side to side, trying to shake the menace on her tail. But it swayed and dipped with her across the sky like a large shark on the tide hunting its prey from below.

Its attention was squarely focused on the thief of its quarry. A sharp twist and quick dive quickly changed that as the crusader pest crashed down on it, smashing her hooves into its armoured flank. She pushed off his armour and along to his side. The dragon twirled into a roll. Dangerous wings lashed out. She rolled with it, the wings slashed air. Twice more it rolled. Twice more she followed. The pair was caught in a death defying dance where one missed maneuver would quickly end it all and the crowd was eating it up. Every coordinated twist and roll drew a low rumble of oohs and aahs.

 The stalemate was finally broken as the dragon’s irritation flared. Instead of another roll it tore sharply into a side swipe, but the crusader was waiting for precisely that. Hurling herself upwards in an upside down flight path right above the savage beast, she was just inches away from the sharp black spines that ran down its back. There the crusader hung, out of reach of whipping tail and flailing claw. Unhitching the cable from over her shoulder, she deftly latched one end to a metal spine.

Noticing its new accessory, the dragon shifted into a dive. Weight and strength sent the creature rocketing towards the clouds below, pulling the cable with it. The coils of cable caught tight on the crusader, sending her spinning uncontrollably away, crashing into a pile of clouds off to the side. The spectators watched on at the edge of their seats.

Finally free of the pest, it swept back up towards its previous prey. By now the Sky Captain had pulled away, but her progress was constantly hampered by the struggles of the frightened phoenix that blazed wildly in her hooves. The dragon was catching up fast. She turned, wheeled, and twisted to shake him off, but without her partner to distract him he followed her every stunt just behind! Behind them both, an orange blur joined the chase until she too was behind the dragon’s swishing tail, dodging the loose cable that whipped in the wind. The three pushed up high into a climb, then plummeted into a dive, pulled out and flew in circles around clouds and leaving trailing vapours at the edge of their wings, marking the path of their lethal game of follow-the-leader.

The young pegasus managed to catch up enough to clamp her jaw down hard around the cable hanging off and trailing behind the dragon, a reward of metallic taste against her tongue, just as the Sky Captain escaped into the highest and largest cloud from where the pegasi first appeared onto the scene. She rocketed back out of the cloud and dipped into another, quickly concealing herself from view. Within the billows of fog the dragon quickly lost sight of its mark. Below the crowd could see its intimidating shadow searching this way and that while the crusader clung to the cable with all of her strength. The poem continued during the break from the action.

Through twists and turns and into clouds unseen

Across the sky the deadly pursuit careened

But finally their escape seemed assured

When one had captured the fiery bird

 

She picked up her pace to get away fast

But the dragon’s wrath was incurred at last

Giving in to its rage, fury, and ire

With piercing roar it lit the sky on fire!

 

The dragon inhaled long and deep until it felt its lungs burn for release. Then, with a loud guttural roar, it unleashed a flaring torrent of bright green flames. Wave after wave of the blaze swept over the swells of clouds, transforming them into a swirling mass of steam. The ancient beast of fire did not stop until it was panting, and almost all of the clouds had disappeared, including the one the Sky Captain flew into and all of its neighbours. The crowd gasped, for in spite of the now missing clouds, there was no sign of the Sky Captain. They had all watched for her fleeting form to flee from one of the clouds, but it had never come. Every eye was drawn instead to the swirling spark of orange flame among green that plummeted from sky to land on the coliseum floor below. The pegasus that had been holding it was nowhere to be seen. The Captain of the guards was quick to his hooves ready to interrupt the show, but Celestia’s hoof on his shoulder gave him pause. She shook her head with a knowing smile. Frowning, he sat uncertainly back down to watch.

It seemed the only safe place from the flames was at the dragon’s tail from where hung a young pegasus soaked from warm steam that still lifted off her. Her teeth remained wrapped around the cable, but now there was a large covered bundle that hung off her tail by its straps. The mare had rescued it from its fall from where the solid cloud it was resting upon earlier was burned away. The savage beast looked down at the phoenix that lay still on coliseum grounds below. Then sneered at his stowaway with a nasty-looking, toothy grin. The crusader answered only with a defiant glare.

Whipping down towards her, its fangs bared, it snapped at her but again caught nothing but air. It tried again and again, but missed every time. Whenever it reached for the tasty morsel, its own tail pulled her away! Furious, the dragon chased its own tail in circles, as fast as it could until it had to pause to catch its breath. The mare hung on tight and stuck out her tongue, blowing it a raspberry for its effort. Its shoulders slumped and the dragon gave the audience a flat look. A chuckle rolled through the crowd. They were beginning to come to grips that the missing pony was all part of the act.

The dragon tried whipping its tail up and down, but the stubborn pegasus held on, only wrapping the cable around a hoof for a better grip in response, and fixing her opponent with a challenging glare. It let out an annoyed snort in response and began bucking across the sky like a wild bronco, trying desperately to shake the pony off. But no matter how much it wheeled and flipped or bucked and kicked the pony never lost its grip.

If bucking couldn’t remove its stowaway than perhaps speed could. With a smirk the dragon pushed towards the sky, climbing higher and higher until the pair was just barely able to be made out, and then, tucking its arms, legs, and wings in, it dove straight down. There was a collective gasp from the crowd as they plunged, quickly followed by one of surprise as at last the article in the bundle was revealed. The mare let loose the tight straps and the sheet that hid its nature was left sailing away in the wind. Sliding her hind hooves into place on the board, grasping the cable, she stood upright on two hooves to a round of gasps and cheers. It was to be the first recorded stunt with a skyboard in pegasi history. It was the first of many.

Peeling out of the dive, the dragon flew over the crowds sending the sky surfer just over their heads. She even hoof bumped a few of the spectators that dared a closer look. After a lap around the coliseum the beast soared back into the sky, doing everything in its power to free itself of its ridiculous burden. It twirled around and twisted, flew in loops and dives, in and out of clouds, and around bends and curves, all to no avail. Not only did the crusader endure its tricks, she performed stunts as she did! Every twirl was met with a spiral on her board. The top of every loop launched her into the air long enough to spin into an upside down pirouette; where her board spun so fast she ended up resembling a propeller. In dives she bounced from side to side like a skier on an invisible mountain slope, and in bends she would stretch out, letting the board leave her hooves, catching it with her tail, and righting herself back on it as they straightened out.

No acrobatic maneuver the dragon performed seemed able to separate this pony from its cable, so it resorted once more to what its kind was most well-known for. Inhaling again, and before the crowd had a chance to guess what was to happen, several blasts of flame were sent out ahead of the pair in an up and down pattern. The dragon tore right through the middle of each blast in turn, looking to char the pest with the dragon flame that was sent flowing down its fire-proof body. The stunned ponies watched in disbelief as each blast of flame was first pierced by the dragon, leaving a hoop of fire behind him. Her wings a blur, the crusader had to react fast. She pulled her board up for the first hoop, and bent down into a sharp dive for the next, only to be yanked back upwards for the last, nearly losing her grip.

Turning sharply, the dragon sucked in another breath as deeply as its lungs would allow. The beast began to whirl around into a continuing barrel roll. Then in one giant, steady stream it unleashed a path of smoke and flame that was left in a spiraling trail behind it. Alone it would have been a magnificent and intimidating sight, watching the dragon wreath itself in swirling streaks of green fire and black smoke. But even more amazing was the pegasus at his back who was surfing above the waves of swirling fire beneath her, expertly navigating each thermal current left by the vibrant green inferno.

Round and round and round she glided just above the lethal spiral of fire. With each loop she made, the cable would catch along a bulky metal plate or spine of the dragon’s armour. She was somehow managing to twist and tie the cable around the fearsome monster even as it attempted to cook her alive. The crowd cheered as the dragon had reached the summit of its climb. Caught and tangled, unable to fly even a second more, it began to fall towards the last of the clouds below. The crusader offered it a smirk and released the cable before skidding to a stop on top of the cloud’s surface as the dragon fell through. With a gloating look of victory, she kicked up her board and held it overhead. The audience went wild, but was stunned back to surprised gasps, as what fell out from the bottom of the cloud was not a dragon, but a steaming pile of black dragon-shaped armour!

For a single long and drawn out moment there was no telling roar, no sign of movement, or struggle. Then from beneath the clouds at her hooves, just in front of the crusader rose the mythic monster. Time seemed to slow for the crowds watching from below. They stared as the purple pony eater soared above the young pegasus, missing her by not more than a meter. Steam trailed after it in a slow, dramatic curl. Ash and green glowing embers dripped from its body all around hers as it passed by overhead and dived back down behind her. Then time caught up and took everypony by surprise, because the crusader found herself being pulled into the dragon’s tail wind as it plummeted back down into the cloud.

Once again the dragon roared and once again large waves of fire went flowing behind him, leaving the cloud dissipating in his wake. But without the weighty metal along his back, or the drag of a passenger slowing it down, the turns were faster, looser, and what was once a single, twisting stream of fire was now a sea of smoke and flame! A swirling sea that wrapped around him until he resembled a single giant fireball streaking down and splitting the sky in two with a tunnel of vibrant green and scorching death left in its wake! Into the middle of this burning ring of fire the pegasus fell, and was lost from sight. At last the savage beast exploded from the end of this blazing trail, scattering green glowing embers as it skidded to a stop, licks of flame burning across its body. It panted and heaved, tired and barely able to hover in the air.

Not seconds behind him came the crusader on her strangely-shaped wooden plank. She was bent so low her chin nearly bumped against the board, her forelegs were flying up behind her, one hind leg bent low, and the other strained to stretch out as far as it could. The tunnel of the dissipating flame launched her towards what was left of the last remaining cloud in the show. A cloud that was, after the dragon’s fiery descent, curiously left in a ramp-like shape that pointed straight up into the air.

Her board caught on the cloud’s surface and the crusader was sent rocketing into the sky in the fastest ascent the audience had ever born witness to. The speed was too much, her hooves slipped from her board completely and gravity took her. Head first she was caught in a tailspin, and coming down as fast as she had went up. Her board, though untouched, rotated with her body not even a foot away. The audience watched with bated breath, waiting for her to pull out of the tailspin with ease so they could give her an overdue applause. But it didn’t’ happen. Instead the crusader and her board began to spin faster and faster, one around the other! The colours blurred together until she seemed like an orange comet followed by a pink tail streaking down towards the dragon who was too exhausted to get out of the way in time.

In a last desperate defense the beast shot out a weak blast of flame at the oncoming crusader charging towards him. The flame scattered on the wind, obscuring the impact from spectator’s view, but the result was obvious. They collided and both dragon and crusader fell into a tailspin towards the coliseum grounds at different angles. Every pony was left watching with their hearts in their throat. Twenty stories from the coliseum grounds, then ten, neither flier showed signs of stopping. At six stories, they still had a chance. Three stories, their wings flew out to slow their descent. They were coming in too fast! Two stories, the spinning stopped, but it was too late to pull up! In the last hoof-biting seconds, neither pulled up but instead pushed further down into a forward somersault to land hind feet and hooves first. Their speeding impact sent tufts of cloud from coliseum grounds wafting around them.

A good many yards away the crusader’s board landed edge first, sticking out of the cloud at a tilt. The bottom of its frame was covered in black scorch marks, much like the fur of its owner. Two haggard opponents stared at each other from across the field. Between them a phoenix lay still. It was a standoff. Both weary warriors watched the other for any sign of movement that would begin the battle again, watching for any sign of weakness or distraction that would win them the day. The distraction came in the sound of another pegasus roaring down from above like a rocket. A cheer rose through the crowd as some pony pointed to the sky and shouted: “There she is!”

And there she was; a streak of rainbow tearing from out of her hiding spot high in the sun. The Sky Captain hurtled downwards in a rush of speed few pegasi in the world could match. Unsatisfied with the speed limit of terminal velocity, her wings were little more than a smear of colour at her back pushing her faster and faster against the natural barrier, but never quite through it. The dragon made a lunge for safety, but there was no escaping what was coming. Just five stories above the coliseum she slammed herself against that natural barrier, blasting through it and crashing into the coliseum grounds. A rainbow coloured explosion shook the stadium, rocking the spectators in their seats, and sending any hovering pegasi tumbling back to theirs. Wafting clouds of red, purple, yellow, and green lifted upwards in the shape of a giant mushroom, and a ring of colours swept by overhead centered above the point of impact.

When at last the ponies could see the stadium grounds once more, the dragon lay still. Above the beast the Sky Captain hovered victoriously, but it seemed a hollow victory. Reaching down to pass her hoof over its eyes, she closed them in respect. Then, she surveyed the scene around her noticing the crusader, curled into a ball for protection. Scorch marks ran up and down her fur and mane, and she was quaking in fear, afraid to look up. As the Sky Captain hovered slowly over to the crusader the poem continued in the background.

 

What happened the heroes would never tell

Of just how it was that the dragon fell

One life had been traded for another

It had not felt like there was a victor

 

Having fought hard for the life of this strange bird

Their worries renewed for it had been injured

It seemed a mournful and a bitter end

They knew not how to set its wing to mend

 

Landing softly beside the young pegasus, the Sky Captain bent low and gently lifted the crusader’s chin, forcing her to meet her gaze. Sighing in relief at the sight of her flight partner, the crusader lifted her legs to reveal what she had been huddled around. There sat the phoenix, now awake, and snuggled against her. The older pegasus smiled and backed away, pointing a hoof towards the royal balcony.
 
 

So to their Princess they quickly flew

Hoping she would know just what to do

And though they knew their presence might be resented

To the crown the phoenix was to be presented

 

Once mourning sister heard their plight

Her heart grew heavy at the sight

Of two ponies scorched and burned

At their hooves this broken bird

 
 
The tired crusader nodded, and in exaggeratedly slow movements began a wobbly flight to arrive before Princess Celestia. She bowed respectfully low as she hovered, holding out an outstretched leg, where stood the firebird happily. The Princess offered her hoof as a perch which Peewee quickly accepted with a cheerful chirp, hopping onto it as Philomena bent down low to inspect the new arrival. They twittered what could have been an introduction, but were interrupted by a light gasp from Rarity off to the side. The birds quickly looked her way only to see she was staring back up at the Princess.

Turning to her, they both cocked their heads to the side, wondering why tears would trickle past a warm smile.
Memories played behind Celestia’s eyes. Swallowing a breath, the Princess stood up and took a step to the balcony edge. Her royal voice rose over the din of the crowds below, easily drowning out Twilight Sparkle’s reading. The coliseum grew silent as she spoke loudly to the flight team, though it wasn’t to Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo her words were directed. It was to a pair of pegasi from long ago, their image traced transparently over the two that stood before her now. Whether they were simply dreams or the spirits of friends gone by, Celestia couldn’t tell, and she couldn’t bring herself to care. It had been many long years since her memory of them had been so vivid, so very alive. The words of the poem came as natural to her as breathing.

 

 

“Only with your aid shall I try

To teach this bird once more to fly”

From then on the four were as one

And of better friends there were none

 

Though not forgotten were her tears

For her family’s better years

By the time the phoenix once again did soar

The cries of the Princess could be heard no more

 

Though those pegasi have long passed on

Nothing so small could sever their bond

Their friendship forever true and tried

Glows through the phoenix at royal side

 

Feats of skill and magics great

Could never take her sister’s place

Twas through the strength of the joy in friends

A sorrowful heart as hers could mend

 
 

For a very long moment the world basked in the quiet as the illusions before Celestia smiled happily, radiating a light far brighter, far more comforting than any her sun had ever provided. Tears slipped down her cheeks as the memories and emotions overwhelmed her. At her side, a light stomp pierced the silence, followed by another, and another. The Captain was applauding, and Rarity was quick to follow. Soon her escort of royal guards joined in, and then the crowd was on their hooves stomping, and cheering. It took Celestia half a minute before she joined in with a whispered ‘thank you’ to Scootaloo who nervously took that to mean she was dismissed, and that she should go back and take her place beside her Captain.

Spike cracked one eye open, taking a peek to make sure the show was over before standing to his feet and walking over to join his team as they waved to the crowds. He lifted a claw to wave as well, but not as much to the crowd as it was to the Princess and to Rarity on the balcony, and to Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle over on their stage. Twilight waved back with a large closed-eye smile, and Pinkie had the mic back in her hoof.

“Ladies and gentlecolts, ‘The Broken Flight of Philomena’ by your Captain Dash and her Skyblazer Crusaders!” With that Pinkie pulled a rope and four party cannons leaned straight up boomed loudly three times each. A few thousand more coloured streamers, bit of glitter, pennants, and banners were blasted into the air, carried by the wind out over the audience, and some sailing right over the walls to the streets outside.

“Well done, you two. No matter what the judges say, I’m proud of you!” Rainbow Dash said loudly above the crowd, “Almost as proud as you should be of yourselves. I couldn’t have asked for two better students, or better teammates. Thanks for coming with me.”

“Thank us for coming with you?” Scoot laughed before hugging her idol, “thank you! Thank you for believing we could! Thank you for giving me a shot when nopony else in Equestria would! And thank you, Spike. You didn’t have to do any of this! You would have been happy just to learn to fly! Thanks for pushing on just for us.”

“No, thank you for encouraging me to try,” Spike said as picked them both up easily and wrapped them in a hug. “Thank you both for pushing me to be more than I thought I ever could be.”

An announcement rang over the tumultuous crowd declaring all around the coliseum the judges were ready. Everypony grew tense. The flight team had their hearts in their throats. In the audience Diamond Tiara was gripping her father’s hoof as tight as she could, her teeth clenched tight. Filthy Rich looked proudly down on his daughter, and looked up to see the first score from the West side judge, Soarin’. He stood up, holding the number over his head for all to see:

‘9.8’

The crowd went wild. Spitfire was next as the East side judge, and she quickly raised her own.

‘9.9’

Another roar of cheer left Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo’s grip tight around Spike as they now looked to the royal balcony. This was it. Their first scores were sure to be high enough to offset whatever Coach Feather Guide would give them, as long as Princess Celestia marked them well. She was arguably the most affected pony out of everypony there, she had to give them a-

‘8.9’

Their faces were stuck frozen in dumbfounded surprise. It was a full mark lower than the other judges. The Princess was wiping her eyes and giving a sharp look to the soldier beside her who shrugged apathetically.  Rainbow Dash grimaced. Feather Guide was a harsh marker on his best of days. He could easily give them a six or a seven without any pegasi questioning it. An 8.9 was not going to be enough to win them over the Cloudsdale shows to follow. Like a pony facing her executioner, she turned to stare Coach Feather Guide in the eye as he brought the axe down. It wasn’t her he was looking at, though. He was staring at the north judge rubbing his chin in thought. With a respectful nod to the royal balcony he met Dash’s gaze, he raised his own card.

‘8.9’

Around her Scootaloo and Spike were squealing in unabashed joy. She felt them hug her, and jump up and down, but it all seemed so far away. If there were any words in the midst of their happy screaming they were completely unintelligible to her. Somewhere in the middle of that rush of victory was where she should of been, screaming her head off like everypony else. But she wasn’t. Instead she was struck into stunned silence. Her body felt tired, sluggish, and unresponsive. Twilight and Pinkie had rushed over to join them in a group hug, but her bones felt too heavy to lift and hug them back. Instead, she simply stared off at Feather Guide, only moving her head when somepony would block her line of sight.

He was staring back, but his look seemed unreadable. No telling smile, or frown, no sense of loss, pride, or victory. Finally breaking eye contact with her he wrote something down on a piece of paper and called over a nearby guard. Trading words for only a moment, he passed a piece of paper to the soldier before pointing to her. Sitting back down both Feather Guide and Rainbow Dash watched the guard quickly trotting over. She stepped away from her crowd of friends, who stopped celebrating momentarily to watch the exchange. With a smile the guard passed her the folded note.

“Great show out there, Captain Dash. It was really amazing.”

“Thanks,” she smiled trying to be appreciative and pretend like the note wasn’t the only thing on her mind right then. Seeming to understand, the soldier gave her a quick salute and went back to his station. Opening the note revealed it to be an invitation to his office after the show. Not just to her, but to her and her flight team. Looking up to stare at him, he sat with his hooves together, hiding his muzzle from view, in attempt to disguise any expression he might have worn. He seemed nervous.

She passed the note to Scootaloo and everypony read it with her over her shoulder. “He wants to see us after everything’s over,” Dash explained, a little nervous about the confrontation herself. “What do you think?”

“I don’t mind either way,” Spike frowned, “he’s a complete stranger to me.”

“Yeah, Captain, if it means a lot to you, we’ll go, but if you don’t want to see him, let the big shot hang out in his office by himself. We’ve got a victory celebration to get to!”

“The show ain’t over yet, Squirt, but yeah, we do have a lot to celebrate, don’t we?” Dash said with a grin, ruffling her protégé’s mane.

“I think you should go,” Twilight put in softly, taking the folded paper returning it to her friend’s hoof. “His opinion obviously means a lot to you, Rainbow Dash. You might regret not going, and that’s what going this far was all about, right? Giving everything you had without leaving behind any regrets?”

“Yeah. Yeah it was,” she agreed. He was still watching her, obviously waiting for some kind of response. With a short nod she confirmed her attendance, and he put his hooves down, letting out a shaky breath. It gave her a smile to know he was just as nervous about it as her.

“Come on guys, we’re holding up the games!” Dash shouted back to her excited team of friends. A few minutes were needed for her to gather her team and herd them off the field for the next competitors. The ponies in the bleachers continued to thunder their applause as everypony made their way into the dressing rooms with a load of props, mostly composed of dragon armour.

Unlike the rest of the masterwork of cloud masonry that was the coliseum, the dressing rooms looked gritty, dirty, and disheveled. The atmosphere of heroes past which emanated from the rest of the building stopped at these doors. Those were the heroes of a bygone era, and Dash would bet her last bit that they’d be more comfortable sitting in here with her team than they would enjoy being on the pedestals pegasi had put them on outside. If the great halls were for heroes past, then the field and the dressing rooms; these places were for heroes of their present. They were made tough so they could endure the rage and tears of defeat, and the blasts of energy and celebration that came with triumph.

Now Rainbow Dash looked on at the scene playing out here in her favourite place in the world. Twilight had just magically dumped a few gallons of water over Scootaloo and Spike, and now she was running while holding up some ‘How to’ guide about the history of athletic celebrations, using it as cover from her fledglings who had started up a water fight using the numerous sinks to hose her down. They ended up accidentally soaking Pinkie Pie as Twilight ducked behind her. Everypony in the room was then immediately greeted to a party cannon barrage.

This was what I wanted to see.

That was the thought that bounced around in her head now as she stood in the doorway watching. These tough walls wouldn’t see defeat in the eyes of her team, not today. There was supposed to be something else she came to Cloudsdale for, something she had to struggle her whole life to achieve, but she couldn't recall what it was. Whatever it was paled in comparison to what was right in front of her.

A blast of water quickly broke her out of her train of thought. Scootaloo and Spike were grinning mischievously over by the sink. “Come on, Captain! What are you waiting for?!”

Rainbow Dash smirked and pretended to roll up sleeves of a shirt she wasn’t wearing. “You’re trying to take me on in victory celebrations? Fledglings, you have whole lot left to learn!”

She pounced towards the two, flying over to chase the fledglings down.
 
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“How could you?! You knew what we had riding on this! We’ll lose everything we’ve built towards!” Lofty Heights had her forehooves on his desk, and was bawling Feather Guide out.

“Hmph. I marked the fledglings fair.”

“Fair! Fair?! You didn’t even give any of the other teams higher than a 7!”

“They didn’t deserve it,” he shrugged, “which is your fault, by the way.”

“My fault! How is anything on your stupid score cards my fault?!”

“By taking away the other Flight Team Captain’s trademark stunts, their teams suffered for it. Their routines were broken, and everything felt off. You could really tell they were missing something from the shows out there today. Rainbow Dash’s team won by a landslide because there was not a single thing missing from their show. In the real show the others will be a lot better, not sure how well they’ll hold up against what we saw out there, but they’ll definitely go home with better scores.”

“That’s right! She still did the sonic rainboom, right? What we saw out there, it’s basically the same thing, just used a little differently! We can use that against her, to drop her marks!” Already thinking of ways to use this to her advantage, Lofty began pacing back and forth in front of the coach’s desk.

“There were similarities, I admit, but you’ll never convince anypony they were the same stunt. It’d be like trying to tell them landing on a dive is the same move as a dive.”

“Why does it feel like I’m the only one trying to think of a way out of this?!” She brought her hoof down hard on his desk again, pushing one of the pictures there into his lap. With a frown at her, he reached down to pick it up, and smiled as he saw which one it was. His hoof traced over the faces of the foals there.

“Because we lost, and there’s no two ways around that. You underestimated her and thought that a Sonic Rainboom was the only thing you had to worry about. You were wrong. A pegasus like her would never be content to sit on a single stunt, she was out learning new things this whole time. A pegasus like her will never be content at all. They have to push every limit you put them up against. I failed the moment I put a wall in front of her. There’s no wall big enough to stop Rainbow Dash, and if the world is lucky, there never will be.”

“You could have been that wall! You did this on purpose for some misguided sense of loyalty! Even if you think she deserved it you could have given the other teams a better score.”

“Do not presume to tell me how to judge a contest.” His eyes flashed in anger, hard and unyielding like the rest of the old pony. She understood she was beginning to cross lines with him that nopony crossed. “I wasn’t the only tough marker out there. Are you going to go complain to the Princess next? Our score cards matched almost to the decimal for every flight team we marked.”

“Don’t get me started on that. That rotten, little filly tricked me!” An angry swat from Lofty Heights sent one of Feather Guide’s golden trophies skidding across the floor. “Do you even know who that dragon was? Just the adopted son of Celestia herself! Apparently she was only here to see him perform, so of course his team was going to get her highest scores!”

“I don’t pretend to know what she was thinking, but I agreed with every mark she put down. I had no idea how much experience she had at competitions. I think I have a newfound respect for her.” There was no reason to bother about the trophy. They could all be scattered across the floor for all he cared. There were other boxes of them in his closet waiting for their turn in the sunlight.

“I don’t know why you’re so calm about this! I’m not going down alone! And where is Shady Deals? If he thinks he can dodge this by not being here, he has another thing coming. You’ll both go down with me for this!”

“I doubt that, Lofty,” Feather Guide sighed heavily. He really didn’t like doing this kind of thing. Times like this made him wish he was still coaching, or on his old flight team. When he became a member of the committee so many years ago, he had hoped it would be like that, be like being a member of a team again. It never happened, and probably never would. The committee was nothing like a flight team. There was no loyalty to be found among its members. “We didn’t participate in your deal with the earth pony, only in the offer presented to Rainbow Dash and her team. As for Shady, he will be by shortly. I don’t think you’ll be pleased to see him.”

“I see, so you’re both going to have me take the fall for all this.”

“You entered this nosedive all on your own, so don’t blame us now that you can’t pull out of it. Don’t think you’re the only one with troubles over this either. Our reputation is caught in a tailspin thanks to this sponsorship idea you and Shady cooked up. It’ll take me years to put our committee back in decent formation.”

A knock on the door interrupted any retort she had on the subject. The knocker didn’t wait for a reply before walking right in. It was a fairly large crowd, even for Feather Guide’s office. The Captain of the Royal Guard was escorting Shady Deals, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and Filthy Rich. In Silver Spoon’s mouth was a large brown envelope which she happily set down on the desk.

“Your papers are here, all drawn up and ready to be signed,” Diamond Tiara practically sang. To say she was looking forward to this moment wouldn’t do it justice. This was her pay off, and if the air shows she seen today were any representation of what was going to happen in the real show a couple weeks from now, it would be the only payoff from her deals she’d see. Just what team was going to be able to top sky-surfing dragon fire followed by a rainbow explosion? This would be her victory, right here in this office, and she was going to enjoy every second of it.

With a great deal of effort Lofty Heights tried to compose herself as she stared at the envelope on the desk, refusing to go anywhere near it. “I see. That was faster than I anticipated.”

“Don’t worry about a thing. Silver Spoon is quite talented with writing up official documents, and your fellow committee member was kind enough to offer any assistance she’d need in filling out the details.” Her friend pushed her glasses up further on her nose and stuck her chest out at the praise. “I’m sure you’ll find everything in order.”

“I’m certain I will. And a royal escort besides? Was this really necessary? I’m a lawyer, not a criminal. Did you think I’d run away?” snapped Lofty, her voice dripping with contempt.

“You’re not a criminal. They don’t cause me near as much trouble,” the Captain answered shortly, taking off his helmet and tucking it under his wing. “The Princess insisted on my presence because she wishes to see this transition go as smoothly as possible. I was also to strongly advise the remaining members of the committee to revisit this sponsorship idea after the events of this morning. There is also a matter of complaints about a conflict of interests in your finances.”

“I don’t believe sponsors will be a compulsory part of competitions anytime in the near future, Captain. If the Princess would like, we will gladly set up an appointment to talk further about it at a later date,” Feather Guide assured him, and gestured to the envelope, “however, this is the matter currently on our hooves and I would prefer to have it settled. As for the financial issues, I’d normally refer you to our lawyer, but it seems we’re about to lose ours. I’m certain Shady has a few ideas he’s working through.”

The Captain nodded and looked over to Lofty Heights. Taking the hint, she made her way over the desk. “You seem particularly happy with yourself over this.” Her statement was directed to a sneering Diamond Tiara, as she slowly picked up the envelope and took out the form. “All you’ve done is stop what could have been the greatest gathering of athletes the world has ever seen.”

“Those gatherings take place at the games. Our ponies shouldn’t have to move from their homes to participate,” Tiara retorted back. “You think your idea is something new? Something we haven’t seen before? Big city organizations like yours do this kind of thing all the time. Whether it’s the universities or corporations, they’re always trying to steal away our brightest and our best for their own purposes.”

“It’s for their own good, and the good of us all. Just imagine what they can do if you let them all come under one roof! Think of the feats they could accomplish!”

“Same old excuse too, it seems. Putting a bunch of brilliant ponies in a single building doesn’t make us advance faster. All that actually happens is somepony else takes the credit for their accomplishments, while hundreds of brilliant ideas are left to stagnate since the one organization can only work on so many at a time. The hierarchy of their workplace keeps ponies that could have been leaders of their towns stuck as lowly assistants! If you really wanted ponies to advance, you’d support their efforts to improve the towns and places where they live instead of trying to bunch them all up into one place.”

“As intriguing as this debate may be,” interrupted Feather Guide, who wore a look that didn’t seem intrigued at all, “I suggest we refocus our attention on what we’re here to do. Lofty Heights, your resignation please?”

“Fine! You want it so bad you can have it!” Her name was quickly scribbled down over the appropriate blanks before she slammed the paper down on the desk. “There. Was it worth it?”

“Why not ask the pegasi lining the streets on your way out?” Tiara smirked widely. “They’ll probably have the answer you’re looking for.”

That comment earned her a vicious look from the lawyer as she trotted past everypony and out the door with as much dignity as she could manage. On her way out she nearly bumped into another trio of ponies; probably the last trio of ponies in Equestria she wanted to see right then. At a quickened pace she wordlessly trotted past them. Rainbow Dash took a moment to watch her go before sticking her head in the door.

“It’s done then?”

“It is.” Her old coach confirmed for her before addressing his colleague, “Shady, I’m going to need my office. Could you and your friends excuse us?”

“I’m afraid I can’t allow that,” The Captain stepped in. “The conflicts of interest are a legal issue. I need to know it’s being resolved. Now.”

“Captain! My friend, my pal, my buddy! This is me we’re talking about! Deals are my game, Shady’s just my name. Here’s my card.” The greasy pegasus wore a large smile and slid a business card into the neckpiece of the Captain’s armour before wrapping an arm around the big pegasus and patting his chest plate. “All my deals are, of course, on the up and up. Why as soon as I found out about this funny, little business scheme I’ve been wheelin’ and dealin’ the day away. We’ll have this whole matter straightened away in no time.”

The Captain wasn’t buying any of it. When the Princess asked if all the issues were resolved regarding the council, he wanted to be able to answer with a ‘yes’ not a ‘maybe’. “Not good enough. I’ll need your plan of action within the hour, or you can expect charges laid in the next.”

“Then perhaps I could help in this particular scenario?” Diamond Tiara’s father suggested with a boatload of smarm.

“And you are?” He had to suppress a shudder. Business ponies. He couldn’t decide which he liked less, the fast-talking slime balls, or the smug ones trying to pass themselves off like gentlecolts but never quite making it.

“Why, I’m Filthy Rich, owner and proprietor of Barnyard Bargains? Not to mention nearly all general retail in Ponyville. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

“And you can help with this how, Filthy?”

“Please,” he scowled momentarily, idly wondering why everypony instantly assumed a casualness with him, before perking up, “I prefer Rich. And I can help by providing a whole new area of investment that could not possibly be associated with pegasi in any way.”

“Richie, baby, coming to my rescue! What do you got for me?” Thankfully the slimier of the two detached himself from the Captain’s armour. He made a mental note. It would need a good scrubbing later. And about a few thousand new layers of polish before it would feel clean again.

Rich smiled as he headed for the door with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon trailing behind. “Tell me, Shady, what do you think about apple farms?”

“I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” The two stallions laughed as they left, and the Captain turned to speak to Rainbow Dash.

“Captain Dash, I have to ask you to wait outside for a few more minutes. I have something that needs to be discussed with Coach before your meeting.”

“Uh-huh. Sure, no problem.” She frowned as she watched the soldier head back into the office and shut the door behind him. The pale orange fur and no-nonsense attitude made the large pegasus seem familiar when she first met him, but now with his helmet off, revealing his short, spiky, red mane, a memory irked her, tickling the back of her mind. Just when she thought she had it in hoof, she was distracted by Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon who hung back momentarily after Filthy Rich and Shady Deals began talking business.

“Hey, what you guys did out there was incredible! You really came through. I just wanted you to know that,”  Tiara said. Silver Spoon stood silently beside her, nodding her agreement.

“Yeah, we were pretty awesome, but you didn’t do too bad yourself, Brat,” Rainbow Dash remarked with a cocky grin. “That deal you made probably saved the future of flight shows for years. But don’t think we’re gonna go easy on our deal just because we’re gettin’ chummy now.”

“That goes without saying. I only expect the best from a Ponyville Flight Team, but if you don’t deliver I’ll be there to collect.” With that she flipped her mane over her shoulder and quickly caught up with her father.

“Thank you.” Silver Spoon said quietly while offering them all a small smile. “You probably don’t know everything this meant to her.”

As far as parting words went, those seemed oddly enigmatic, but to Scootaloo, stranger by far was the sense of pride towards in their tones.

“Wait, what just happened here?” She asked looking to the rest of her team for some kind of explanation.

“Dunno. Magic of friendship?” Spike tried, only to earn a disgusted expression from Scootaloo.

“That is one friendship I think I can do without.”

Rainbow Dash laughed lightly at that, but her eyes were drawn back to the closed office door. Her thoughts were guesses of what could have been transpiring inside. The last thing the Captain said to her before closing the door kept playing back in her head. Something about the way he called him Coach.

 
***************************************************************************

The Captain and Coach Feather Guide remained alone in awkward silence. The meticulously placed pictures that hung along the wall had captured the Captain’s attention, or more specifically the empty space where one picture had hung. The longer the silence went on, the more nervous Feather Guide became. After a full minute of waiting for the large pegasus to speak up, he stood up with the missing picture in mouth, and hung it back in its place.

“There. I suppose that can be the first step to restoring order around here.” The Captain nodded, only half listening. Curiosity was never one of Feather Guide’s stronger traits, but it tingled in him now, mingling with a sense of fear that he wasn’t used to. Forty years of performing and teaching death defying stunts, not to mention scoring the most renowned stunt ponies in that time had taken away any sense of fear of ponies. But this wasn’t a pony in front of him, this was a representation of royal law. It wasn’t the first time he’d run across a law or two. The bureaucracy of the committee spilled over with legal ramifications all the time. He had never seen it enforced by one quite so war-weathered however.

“When was it we first met, Coach?” The sound of the Captain’s voice breaking the silence was startling. It took him a moment to think of the answer.

“A little over three weeks now as I recall.”

“I see.” There was a slight chill in the response that caused Feather Guide to doubt himself. “Three weeks. That is when we began securing the coliseum for the Royal Visit. In that time I have seen many of your old students pass in and out of your office doors. It is commendable, especially with the games about to be held. You must have been swamped with work.”

“I always make time for them. They’re the reason I do what I do. None of this would have any point to it without them.”

“I see.” Again, that chill hung in the Captain’s tone. It didn’t sit right with the compliments he had just addressed him with. “So you know them well?”

“Very well. I’ve studied their names and exploits, I have piles of newspaper articles pinned on my walls back home, framed articles of their successes and triumphs. These ponies are my pride and glory, all of them, every single one.”

And they were. The Captain noticed all the subtle, telling signs. The swell in the coach’s chest as he spoke of them, the look of recognition in his eyes as they traced over the faces in the pictures, and the look of fondness that creased his features as scenes from his past played out in the old pony’s mind.

“Then I hope you remember Rainbow Dash with the fondness of all your students. She may not have trained under you as much as you would have liked, but she is still one of the ponies on this wall. When she left, it was for you.”

“You care for her, don’t you?”

The Captain turned to look seriously at the old coach, and said: “Her among other ponies.”

“Then perhaps I owe you an explanation of sorts,” Feather Guide frowned as the colourful pegasus in the picture drew his attention. “I wasn’t acting out of spite at these games, at least, not completely. When Rainbow Dash won the Best Young Fliers, the decision was taken out of my hooves. I can’t remember being as furious as I was then. Do not take this badly, I am glad everypony was saved, and it was a tremendous thing she did. No matter how you look at it, however, the stunts she performed during the actual competition were amateur, clumsy, and wild. Those three traits have always been a part of her style. They can be exciting crowd pleasers, but they are not the sign of a good stunt pony. Frankly, I didn’t feel she was anything other than a very talented amateur.

“When I heard of her application to these games yesterday, I shut her down under the impression that it was the same old Rainbow Dash that I once knew. Failure is a hard thing to take after so much effort has been put into something, but it makes a great teacher. I wanted her to fail so she could learn how to do things right. It would be all too easy to just let her enter the competition and perform a single maneuver that would steal the show. I could bask in the praise of the crowd for teaching her, her gratitude for letting her join might have been so great that it could earn me back into her good graces, and no pony worth their salt in the games would blame me for doing so. But I’m not a pony out for glory. I’m just an old coach, and there’s nothing easy about being a good coach.

“I was angry when she left my office, and I began to question my motives. ‘Maybe I jumped to conclusions?’ I remember thinking. So I checked her paper applications. Her team was registered barely a month before today, and they didn’t even have a team name decided. As a personal favour Shady looked into matters a little more closely. His contacts in Ponyville suggested their flight training had only begun at the beginning of the summer. I felt assured in my judgment that she was unfit to be a flight coach. I didn’t deny her because of financial gains or any of that nonsense. It was out of belief and plenty of evidence that pointed to her not being ready.”

“But you were wrong?” the Captain smiled as he caught on to where this story was leading.

“I was wrong,” agreed the old coach with a warm smile and a chuckle directed towards the picture. “I was so wrong, in fact, that it’s hard to see how I ever thought I was doing the right thing. What I saw today wasn’t the Rainbow Dash that I once knew. This wasn’t a clumsy, nervous rookie. This was a professional the like of which I’ve seldom witnessed. I couldn’t believe it. Most of the stunt show, she spent hidden in the sun. The show instead was focused on the fledglings battling it out with the most amazing custom stunts I’ve ever seen in the Fledgling Games. The moves were well-practiced and forcefully perfected in a way only endless hours of talent and practice can attain. Captain, I have every intention of apologizing to Rainbow Dash. I don’t expect forgiveness, but I owe her that much.”

“If you really mean that, I think she’ll surprise you with how forgiving she can be, and how much she respects you.”

“Well, surprising me is one trait she has managed to hang on to since her filly years.”

“I mean it, Coach. From the way they swooped into formation to the way they broke out, didn’t it seem familiar? It certainly did to me. I see it every day.”

“It did seem familiar, yes,” confirmed Feather Guide, not quite seeing where this was going, but the chill was gone from the Captain’s voice. He was glad of that at least. He wasn’t sure about the casual tone that replaced it however. “I’ve seen it thousands of times before as well, I’m not sure what was so remarkable about it outside of the professionalism the fledglings managed to accomplish it with.”

“Not everypony flies that way. Outside of the games it’s actually pretty rare. It’s the way you taught pegasi to fly, Coach. It’s your technique. She taught it to her fledglings just like you taught it to her.”

“I-I hadn’t caught that,” Feather Guide mumbled to himself before studying the Captain. “You are familiar with my teaching style, then?”

“I should be. The reason I see it every day is because I’ve been using it to teach our recruits how formation flying works. Your formation techniques have become a military standard. I know you’re strictly a judge of these games, but I would like to invite you out to see our pegasi troops on parade some day. I think you’d be impressed, and I’m sure you could offer our drill sergeants some pointers.”

“It wasn’t the Princess that scored the teams, was it Captain?” As the Captain grew more casual, Feather Guide’s respect for the soldier began to grow as did a suspicion that didn’t sit well with him. “You know too much about flying, and she has paid little interest in pegasi games over the years.”

“I had a couple of great coaches, two of the best in Equestria,” the Captain replied, staring back at the picture in front of them.

“No, it couldn’t be… but your name isn’t… ” Feather Guide did a double take, looking back and forth between the Captain and the picture. The suspicion grew into a realization.  “Y-you’ve only gone by your rank around me.”

“Then let me introduce myself. I’m Captain Storm Front, it’s good to see you again, Coach.”

“S-Storm Front? But you were so small! The foals wouldn’t even call you by your name…They called you… what was it…?”

“I got bigger,” interrupted the soldier abruptly, not at all enjoying the reminder of his youth. “I was beginning to wonder if you would ever recognize me. You really do have a one track mind, Coach.”

“Yes, it seems so. One of my long, lost students has been standing right underneath my nose this whole time, and I didn’t even see you.”

“More than one,” Captain Storm front said as he pointed to one of the pictures. “Drifting Winds and Thunder Rolls are responsible for finding and hauling the rare clouds up here for the big shows. That is when they aren’t out on endurance flights all across Equestria’s skies looking for them to tow home. Quick Quills is one of the better sports journalists the games have to offer. She’s always in the bleachers for every show. Silver Lining is the cloud sculptor that directs the efforts in maintaining this coliseum, and most of the city buildings. Her office is only down the hall from yours and she says you’ve never dropped by.” Captain Storm Front lowered his hoof from pointing at a small, pale pink pegasus whose flank bore a picture of a heart chipped from stone. “Those are just the ones I’ve met since I’ve been playing security guard for the last few weeks. I wonder how many more are here that I haven’t had the chance to see. Your lost students are all around you, Coach. You just had to open your eyes to see them.”

Feather Guide had to sit down. The realization of just how much his tunnel vision caused him to miss was dizzying, it felt like the room was spinning around him. In spite of his good health, for he never lost his athletic routine, he would have fallen over if Storm Front hadn’t caught him. Carefully the Captain led his old coach over to his office chair where he could be comfortable.

“I just need a minute,” wheezed Feather Guide, feeling the age in his bones and muscles more sharply than he ever had. “Just a minute.”

“Take your time. It’s probably a lot to take in.”

“I’ve been so blind. I waited everyday, hoping to see them again. How? How did I miss them?” He rubbed his eyes with his hooves and leaned forward over his desk.

“You never looked.” The answer was simple but it cut Feather Guide like a cold blade. “You were afraid. We looked up to Rainbow Dash as much as we looked up to you, sometimes more. If you ever faced any of us, you might have ended up with the answer you feared most. That there’s more to pegasi then the games, more to flight then what you were teaching. You spent your entire life perfecting coaching fledglings on how to make perfect turns, formations, landings, and stunts. If you confronted any of us, you would have had to change, Coach. You would have had to learn an entire new array of flight skills. I think you knew that. I think it scared you.”

Nodding slowly, Feather Guide leaned back and stared up at the ceiling. Surrounded by a mountain of trophies, dedications, and official papers, and still he was only beginning to understand the depth involved in teaching flight. “What use is there in an old flight coach that can’t teach a pegasus to fly the way they want?”

“Don’t say that. You discovered the foundations of formation flying. Mid-flight turns were revolutionized by your advice. Techniques taught for wind control and glide paths are centered around lessons you’ve been teaching foals for generations. The fledglings that came to you grew such an appreciation for the passion you had for the games that their dreams changed to suit yours. Can’t you tell that by how successful you were? Judging by the smiles I see on your old students, not one of them regrets the turn their life made after meeting you. Other flight coaches dream of your accomplishments. So what if you have a more specialized way of teaching flight?”

“But you-”

“I dreamed of being a soldier since before I was higher than your knee,” Storm Front interrupted with no small amount of pride. “Maybe I would have changed if I was given a year alone as one of your students. I didn’t because Rainbow Dash told me I shouldn’t. I was a shrimp of a pegasus, always picked on for my size and my mediocre skills at best. Rainbow Dash taught us we could be anything, and how flying could help us achieve our individual goals. She was an inspiration, but so were you, Coach. We were lucky fledglings to have you both as our teachers. All of Equestria would be lucky to have you both teaching fledglings again.”

With a long unsteady breath, Feather Guide tried to regain his composure. He looked up at his one-time student with frown. “Then I guess there’s only one thing left to say.”

“And that is?”

“When is your next parade?”

The Captain smiled and went for the door, “you’ll receive an invitation in the mail. But I think we’ve kept Rainbow Dash and her team waiting long enough.”

“Drizzles!” As he opened the door, the Captain found himself assaulted and left lying on the floor with Rainbow Dash standing over top of him. “I can’t believe it’s you! It’s been forever!”

“I take it you recognize the good Captain then?” chuckled Feather Guide as he stood up from his desk while the fledglings filed in behind Dash.

“Captain? So you really did make it as a soldier. Way to go Drizzles! We were rooting for yah. Where does the Princess have you stationed?”

“By her side,” he grumbled as he crawled out from beneath an over-excited Rainbow Dash. “In spite of my best efforts, I am replacing Shining Armour’s position as Captain of the Royal Guards. I believe you know him?”

“Sure do! He’s only like my best friend’s brother. Did a Sonic Rainboom at his royal wedding to Princess Cadence, you know, no biggie,” she attempted to say passively, rubbing her hoof against her chest with the most obvious hidden gloating he’d ever seen.

“Yes, well, I’d appreciate it if you left foalhood nicknames to our foalhood.” He brushed himself off and put his helmet back on. “I have a reputation to keep.”

“Aw, is wittle Dwizzilez embawwassed?” Dash needled the irritated soldier, who rolled his eyes. “You may be all big and royal guard Captain Storm Front now, but you’ll always be Drizzles to me.”

He fumed silently as Spike compared their sizes. The stallion stood a full head over her. “You used to call this guy Drizzles? And you didn’t end up as paste? How?”

“He wasn’t always this big. That’s why I didn’t recognize him right away. Here I’ll show you.” Dash darted over to the class picture and held it up for Scootaloo and Spike to see, pointing at a pony in the picture. “This is him.”

Scootaloo looked at the pony she was pointing out then over to Spike, who shrugged. “Uh, Captain? You’re just pointing at yourself.”

Dash turned the picture around quickly and grinned, glancing quickly over to Storm Front who was ever so slightly edging his way towards the door. “Not me. Look again. He’s the pony I’m leaning on.”

Her two fledglings squinted at the pony she was using as a leg rest in the picture. He wasn’t even half Dash’s size then. Scrawny was the only word that seemed to fit, contrasting starkly with the older stocky version before them. However the irritation that marked the pony’s features in the picture matched that of the stallion in front of them perfectly.

“Woah!” Spike remarked, “talk about growth spurts.”

“I filled out,” he admitted with no hint of mirth to his tone. “It is no longer difficult to see why you had such a hard time believing as you did, Coach. She’s as foalish as ever. Even so, it is good to see you again, Rainbow Dash. Perhaps after your meeting here you’ll attend a class reunion of sorts? They’re celebrating in your honour at the hotel tonight, and they asked me to request your attendance.”

“Tell ‘em I’ll be there! Well, as long as you don’t mind if I bring a few friends along?”

“I will let them know.” With a slight bow of his head he withdrew from the room, but paused as he passed by the fledglings. “You two put on quite a show out there today. I’ve never seen the like before in my life. Your efforts have done all pegasi proud, congratulations. I will look forward to returning to see the real event in a few weeks.”

“Yes sir!” They both answered with a salute, each standing a little taller for the praise. With that said the Captain made his way out, shutting the door behind him.

“Finally,” Feather Guide gave Rainbow Dash an awkward smile that didn’t much suit him, “You certainly know how to create work for me, if nothing else.”

Jokes didn’t suit him much either, Dash decided. “You wanted to see us, Coach?”

“Right,” the old pegasus coughed, noting his failed attempt at humour. “Before I get to the reasons I asked you here, however, I believe I owe you an apology. I owe you all an apology. My efforts to keep you from attending the games were the actions of a selfish, old coot that feared changing his ways. They nearly lost us the league as we know it, delayed the careers of two of the finest fledgling fliers I’ve ever seen, and cost pegasi everywhere the career of a brilliant stunt pegasus and flight team Captain. I do not expect your forgiveness, but I will work to earn it all the same. I hope you understand that I was attempting to look out for your best interests, no matter how it may have seemed.”

“Best interests? You nearly screwed us all on this one, pal!” Scootaloo answered while fixing the coach with a glare. “You have no idea what I have riding on this! You didn’t even bother asking us. Don’t just decide on your own what’s best for me without even meeting me first!

Spike remained silent on the issue as Rainbow Dash held Scootaloo back and whispered in warning, “Squirt, I know he gave us a rough go, but he’s still a coach. One of the best there ever was. Just a tiny bit of respect wouldn’t go astray here.”

“No, don’t stop her. She’s right. If I was going to deny them from taking part in the air shows, I should have had the decency to look both of them in the eye as I did it, or at least listened to what they had to say on the matter.” He turned from Rainbow Dash to look at Scootaloo herself, “I was in the wrong, fledgling. I have no excuse.”

“Well, just so long as you know, I guess I can forgive you,” Scootaloo said, closing her eyes and turning her head away. She opened one eye lazily, sneaking a peek at him before adding, “Maybe.”

“That is all I could ask. And to you as well, young dragon, I don’t know how my actions have hurt you.”

Rubbing his chin and looking up, Spike thought about it before shrugging the whole notion off. “They haven’t. Things were a bit harder because of you, but in the end we still got to put on the show, and you even gave us a great score. You didn’t have to. Just writing down a different number would have made us lose, but you didn’t. Even though you were a pretty tough judge, it wasn’t any worse than the Princess was. Though, I wouldn’t mind you going a bit easier on us next time, if you want.”

The old coach answered him with a flat look.

“No?” Spike tried, “not even a little?”

Another flat look was his only response, only this time it was joined by his two teammates as well.

“Okay, okay. It was worth a shot, sheesh.”

Dash batted the top most of his spines playfully, leaving it vibrating along his head. He quickly reached up to hold it still, and the ponies all shared a laugh that helped clear the air.

“I always mark what I think a flier deserves,” smiled the coach, “but I do try to offer every team some advice on what to look out for after I do. Which brings me to the first reason I invited you all to my office. I normally try to send out a review to the teams to help them along for next time. Considering what has transpired today, I believed it would be better to do so personally with your team.”

“Wait, so for a reward you’re going to tell us everything we did wrong?” Scootaloo’s jaw dropped, “What a rip o-” her Captain’s hoof quickly  cut her off, covering her mouth and lifting the smaller pegasus right up off her hooves. She laughed awkwardly to Feather Guide, hovering before him while holding her fledgling still.

“Squirt?” she whispered into Scoot’s ear. “When a judge tells you what to work on, he’s telling you what he’ll be looking for in the real event. It’s a pretty big edge, believe me.”

Scootaloo nodded her head, Dash didn’t risk taking her hoof away from her mouth, though.

“Ahem,” Coach Feather Guide continued, as if uninterrupted. “Rainbow Dash, you put on an excellent performance. I was most impressed with how you managed to adapt the four formations as part of the show. I wasn’t as impressed with how the dragon was out-gliding you. We can’t always be better than our fledglings given the nature of their talents. The heavy armour was a nice touch in attempt to avoid this, but it wasn’t enough. I advise lessening the amount he tries to snap at you both, and have him keep his eye on the glide path so you’re not so obviously being out done.”

“Yes Coach.” Dash saluted him quickly, letting Scootaloo go as she did, and instinctively standing a little straighter. Getting advice from him like this made her feel like a filly again.

“Scootaloo, was it? Your passion is admirable, the stunts and control you have over a glorified plank of wood will likely set a trend among every fledging for a very, very long time. It was your first show and already you’ll have had more effect on stunts then many professionals ever have or will. Your balance and the level of control you have will be an asset for the rest of your life no matter what you decide to spend it doing. Inexperience with flight still leaves you at a disadvantage at the games, however. It is never as apparent as it is when you’re gliding, as I’m sure you’re well aware. Tell me, what are your training methods?”

“Uh, well I do a lot of practice with the team, but on my own I try to glide when I’m too tired to do much more, or sometimes Captain Dash will tie me to a kite.”

“A kite?” He paused to stare at Rainbow Dash, who was blushing slightly, and suddenly admiring his trophy collection. “Admittedly, it will give you a good idea of how to let the wind carry you, I suppose. And gliding while tired helps you develop a relaxed posture, which is the most pressing of your needs. I should have known her training methods would be, well, unorthodox compared to mine. Maybe I can suggest a method that’s a little more ‘in the box’ as ponies put it nowadays?”

Scootaloo frowned, and looked to her Captain for reassurance. She nodded her agreement and the old coach continued.

“When you glide, copy the flight stance your fellow fledgling adopts. Tuck your legs in tight to your body, and stop trying to steer with your nose and your shoulders.” He got down on his knees, copying the stance as well as he could right there on the floor. “Your wings should carry you without your limbs helping them along, but most importantly, start using your tail to control your direction. Your dragon friend glides so well because of his excellent use of tail and wings. If you get those two in synch, your spine will line up naturally with your glide path. A kite works so well because it only has wings and a tail. Your Captain had the right idea, but maybe not the right way to implement it. Don’t become a kite, just copy it.”

“Oh! Okay. Yeah, I’ll try that!”

“I’ll look forward to seeing your improvement.” He nodded his approval and stood up before Spike. “Last but not least, the adopted son of Princess Celestia. Word of you has spread like wildfire. I must admit, I have never seen a dragon in flight before. Or even a dragon at all. Offering you advice will only be speculative at best.”

“Yeah, well, don’t worry about it. My growing up seems to be anypony’s best guess, so I’ll take a guess over nothing at all.”

“The future certainly will hold many surprises for you then. Your gliding abilities are purely unique to these shows, though maybe they’re just natural for your kind. I cannot say. I can say that they are impressive. Chasing after a phoenix was also a stroke of brilliance to add into the show. The problem is the phoenix flies far more impressively than you. It darts, feints, and dips but since you know the bird so well you simply swim through the air after it like nothing at all. This is the opening act to your whole show! It needs to be big! Intense! Dramatic! You save your dragon fire for the climax, and I wholly support that, but it means your chase scene will have to be amazing through your flight skills alone. You have to really chase that bird down, follow its path instead of using your own. Fall for its tricks. Be fooled by its feints. You probably could have plucked the bird out of the air with ease from the way you were flying, but if your stunt show is going to be a play, then you have to become an actor.”

“But, I can’t do that! Peewee is just too quick, I’d never be able to keep up!” Spike exclaimed quickly. Every trick Peewee did seemed to happen in a flash, or a split-second. Often it felt like the firebird could move at the speed of thought!

“Not true, the firebird isn’t faster than you. It doesn’t have enough strength to flow through the air like you do. It simply has a skill you haven’t honed. Turning. With as large and weighty as you are, whipping around like a pegasus or a phoenix seems impossible, but it’s because you’re coming at the problem from the wrong angle. You need to turn your weakness into your advantage. Certainly you won’t be able to turn in the same way a pegasus does, but you can equal the speeds at which they turn. When you go to make an abrupt turn, spin until you’re almost upside down, with your weight, gravity will give you a speed boost. Also, you use your tail perfectly for gliding, but you have a tendency to forget the hips it’s attached to. Focus on controlling that hind end. You walk upright, so you’re probably used to thinking with your upper body for power, but it’s the strength you have in your hips and tail that will sharpen those turns. It isn’t just true for flight, either. If you’re ever having trouble using those shoulders and claws of yours, remember that the lower body is always stronger than the upper.”

“Huh, alright, I’ll work on it.”

After an approving nod to the young dragon he directed his attention to all three of them, “I hope this advice helps you all to make the most of your training for the big show, but even without training these details, a repeat of your scores today would easily make your flight team a contender for the top spots. Captain Storm Front wasn’t lying. The show you put on out there will be an inspiration to fledglings and professional league fliers for years to come. Even so, I hope you keep what I’ve said in mind. I’d like to put another 9 on my scorecard in the near future. It’s been a long time since I could. And don’t count the Cloudsdale flight teams out yet, either. You did not see them at their full potential. When their Captains are able to include their trademark stunts into their shows, there will be no landslide victories. You can count on that.”

“Yes Coach!” The three said together, followed by a salute.

“Remember Fledglings, there is always more to learn when it comes to flight training. Your Team Captain reminded me of that lesson today. Don’t ever forget it. The consequences can be far harsher then you’d think.” With one last apologetic look to Rainbow Dash, Feather Guide gifted the team before him with another smile before continuing. “That being said, I believe you three have a celebration in your honour to attend?”

It was with cheerful goodbyes and well wishes the flight team made its way out of the office. Especially for Dash’s part, who was having a hard time coming to friendly terms with her old mentor. He hadn’t made life easy for her, but a good coach seldom did, and if his advice to her team was anything to say about it, she still had a lot to learn from him. The improvements he suggested really would likely go a long way in helping them prepare for the main event. As she turned to leave, he tapped her on the shoulder with a letter.

“I’d almost forgotten. I wasn’t the only judge interested in meeting you after the events today it seems. Captain Spitfire asked me to give this to you. Apparently she’s had an eye on you for awhile.”

A very official envelope was put into her hooves, one sealed with a pair of wings attached to a lightning bolt. It was suddenly very hard to breath. “T-the Wonderbolts?”

“Yes. I wasn’t certain I should pass it on quite yet, as I’m sure you’ll want your concentration on the games ahead. But then, I’ve already regretted underestimating your abilities as a coach, even if we have different styles of teaching. I won’t make the same mistake twice. I’m sure you’ll be able to determine for yourself whether you should open it before or after the games. Whatever you decide, the name ‘Rainbow Dash’ will be remembered for all time. So, be certain to think on how you want it to be remembered. Now go have fun. I have my work cut out for me.”

Staring dumbfounded at the letter in her hooves, it took her a few moments to register what Feather Guide said, or how he had gently led her to the door. Just as he was about to close it she quickly stuck her hoof in the way.  He looked down at it curiously and then up to her.

“Coach, don’t you think it’s time you met everypony again?” Dash asked, quickly tucking away the letter for later. “Why don’t you come with us?”

“I-I think that would be too much at once. There will be many there I owe an apology to. You have plenty of reasons to celebrate, and my presence would just dampen the mood.”

“Coach, you being there would be a reason to celebrate! They’ve all been waiting to see you as long as you’ve been waiting to see them. Come on! Join us!”

“B-but w-wait! What about invitations?” he stammered, “I wouldn’t want to crash your party.”

“Now you’re just making excuses. Besides they said I’m allowed to take friends, right? Well, that means you too!” With a quick somersault in the air she was behind him, pushing him out the door. “Get out of the stuffy, old office for a bit and come party!”

“I take it I have no choice?” he whimpered, as he was shoved into the hall and heard his door lock and close behind him.

Rainbow Dash laughed and gave him a wry grin, “Consider it payback.”

“Could have at least let me get my coat,” Feather Guide muttered as he followed the flight team outside into the foggy streets of Cloudsdale. “Autumn isn’t kind to old bones.”

“Oh please,” the ex-weather pony rolled her eyes as she took to the sky, “summer isn’t even over yet.”

“Maybe not by the calendar, Fledgling.” Feather Guide pushed into the air behind Spike and Scootaloo. He turned to view the cityscape beneath him, as the sun set behind the coliseum. “The sky doesn’t bother with little things like punctuality. Mark my words, there’s a change in the wind tonight.”

As if to agree with him, a strong gust of wind ruffled their fur, and spines in one case, leaving a shiver of cold in its wake. Twisting up and around in a swirl of mist, the gust travelled further, until it passed the borders of the city, gathering with more and more of its kind until they were rolling entire clouds along with them. The wind whistled past cold mountain peaks and over the high towers of Canterlot, trailing for miles over meadows, rippling along old lakes, and rustling through dying leaves, stealing them from their stems. They grew in intensity, uncaring of where they might trespass, glorying in their freedom without any thoughts to be had of consequence. Not even a forbidden forest of ancient times gave the winds concern as they sailed passed its chasms and cliff edges, wound their way around spooky wood, and abandoned castles.

However, embers born of dragon fire do not fade easily, and the winds had not noticed their trail had awoken this dangerous glow among some of the roots. Embers blossomed and sparked small flickers of green flame that licked at the haunted trees of the dark woods. The winds never understood when the strangeness had stolen their direction and steered them towards the small farm town not far from the woodland borders. The free wind had been bound by the wild magics of an ever vengeful Everfree.