“Come on ponies, we’re nearly there! Just a bit more wingpower!”
Above the reservoir, a plethora of colours swirled around at blinding speeds as hundreds of pegasi flew in a funnel formation. Rainbow Dash was once again captaining the pegasi for the annual Cloudsdale Tornado. She would have taken part this year but due to that rather unfortunate incident with Scootaloo’s scooter, she wouldn’t be flying for a few days.
“Stupid gravity…” she grumbled. She looked at the meter and smiled greatly. “We’re at 778! Push a little harder!” she cheered on.
Inside the swirling vortex, the pegasi were flapping their wings with all of their might to try and hit 800 wingpower.
“Come on Sis! You’re slowing down!” shouted Flitter.
“You’re slower than I am!” replied Cloudchaser with slight anger.
But there was one individual who was determined to make up that extra 20 wingpower all by himself. This pegasus was Heatseeker, or Heaty as his friends knew him. He was always the one to go the extra mile, as long as it got the job done. Always the athletic one, Heaty pushed himself harder and harder to go that extra bit faster.
“Come on Heaty.” he shouted to himself. “This is where you shine! Soarin’ is down there, watching us do this so we have to look good!”
Flapping his wings a little bit faster, he smiled at the pegasi he flew past. Fluttershy, Flitter, even Snowflake was flying this year!
*WHOOSH*
A sky blue blur shot past him and he watched as the blur was coming back around for another pass. How was this possible? A pegasus that was almost triple the speed he was?! Unthinkable! He watched as the blur slowed down a touch when it approached from behind. Looking to his right, he saw a sky blue mare with a two-tone blue mane fly past him, giving him a sweet smile.
Heaty gulped slightly as he watched her fly away. “Wait a minute...I recognise her.” He tried to process where he knew her from before a voice caught his attention.
“795! JUST 5 MORE WINGPOWER!” he head Rainbow’s voice echo.
Hearing that was all he needed as he pumped his wings as hard as he could. All those months of training would finally pay off! Dodging pegasi left right and centre, he spotted the mare again and remembered where he knew her from. “That’s it, she works at the Weather Factory! Wow...she’s fast. No wonder she’s always making storms.”
“800!”
The water soon spiralled up the tornado, straight towards Cloudsdale. Heaty watched the water travel upwards, like a reverse downpour, and smiled greatly. He was proud that himself and the pegasi around him successfully pulled it off once again.
“Good job!” came a female voice.
Heaty turned to see the same mare pass him by again, only to see her wink at him. “Thanks!” he called back. “Wow...never got that before…”
The tornado began to die down as the pegasi slowed down and began to land. Heaty hovered in midair as he observed the ponies below him.
“WOO! Oh yeah! That was so awesome!” He pointed a hoof to some descending pegasi. “You were awesome guys! All of you!” They gave a friendly smile in return. “I can’t believe I went that fast. It was probably the fastest I ever--”
“WATCH OUT!”
Heaty didn’t even have time to react as a pegasus collided with his head, sending him crashing to the ground. Landing on his side, he groaned in pain as the left side of his body screamed in agony. He managed to get himself upright, clutching his head with his hooves. His jet-black mane hung over his forehead as he groaned in pain.
“Oh my goodness, I’m so so sorry!” came the voice of a mare. He heard her land next to him and approach him quickly. “I couldn’t stop myself! Are you alright?”
Heaty felt his hooves being grabbed by the mare in front of him. As she pulled them down, he heard a gasp, to which he opened his eyes. In front of him, stood the same mare as before. The same sky blue mare. He opened his mouth to speak but another flare of pain shot up his body.
“Oh no, that’s gonna hurt for a while.” Heaty watched as the mare looked over his head for any sign of further injury. “You’re gonna have a mark on your head for a little bit…”
“What happened here?” shouted Rainbow Dash as she ran over to the pair. “Wild Wind. What’s he in pain for?”
“I crashed into him. I was going to fast and…” Wild Wind leant down and put her hooves around Heaty’s shoulders, giving him a light hug. “I’m so sorry…”
Heaty didn’t know what to do. His body was hurting but his mind couldn’t comprehend what was happening now. He slowly leant his head on her shoulders as she hugged him.
“What’s your name?” Rainbow asked.
The dark green pegasus slowly got to his hooves and shook his head. “Heatseeker. Friends call me Heaty.” he said with a small smile.
‘Well at least he’s smiling.’ thought Wild Wind.
“How are you feeling? You hurt anywhere else except for your head?” Rainbow leant in and observed his forehead. “Ouch, that’s gonna hurt tomorrow.” she said with a wince.
“I’m alright, I think.” Heaty turned his gaze to Wild Wind. “You need to improve on your navigational skills!” he jested, chuckling softly.
“Haha...yeah…” Wild Wind replied, still feeling guilty.
“I should be good to go. Thanks for your concern Miss Wind.” Heaty said, bowing his head slightly. He stared at her for a moment before turning around. ‘She’s got really beautiful eyes...’
Heaty flexed his wings and managed to take to the air. Flying forward a few meters, he felt himself wander to the left, heading towards a tree. “Whoa, what’s happening?!”
Seconds from the tree, a blue set of hooves lifted him from under his forelegs. As he dangled from these hooves, he looked up to see Wild Wind carrying him.
“You’re not flying home in your condition. I’ll take you.” She began to fly forwards at a slow pace, holding onto Heaty carefully. “Whereabouts do you live?” she asked him.
“Three doors down from Cloudchaser’s house. You know, the one with--”
“The one with a strange gates? Yeah, I know it.” she finished his sentence for him. Heaty remained still as he watched Wild Wind easily fly with him in her hooves. Getting a closer look at her, he realised how amazing she looked up close. Her mane was a variety of blue and flowed in the breeze. Her cutie mark was a storm cloud with a lightning bolt on top of it. ‘That would explain why she’s so good at making storms and gales.’
After around ten minutes, they both reached Heaty’s home. Landing softly, Wild Wind let go of Heaty and made sure he landed safely. Heaty rubbed the sore spot on his forehead to which Wild Wind noticed.
Wild Wind walked up to his door and pushed it open. “Come on then.”
Heaty stood firm as he was slightly confused. “What do you mean?”
“You think I’m gonna leave you with that sort of injury? No way! Come on inside and I’ll get some ice on that head of yours.” she instructed, pointing inside with her hoof.
Heaty didn’t argue with that logic and slowly walked into his house. Walking inside, Wild Wind closed the door behind him and marvelled at his home.
“Wow...nice place you have here.” She noticed some shiny objects in a display cabinet on the wall. “What are these for?”
“Racing.” Heaty replied, admiring his trophies. “From my college years. I was the fastest flier in all of Cloudsdale.” he said with pride. “I used to race with...argh…” He groaned again as his head throbbed with slight pain.
Wild Wind slapped her head with her hoof. “I’m so sorry, I should be helping you. Come here, lie down for me.” She led Heaty to the sofa, which he lay down on, still holding his head. Wild Wind disappeared into the kitchen and the sound of rustling could be heard.
Heaty rested his head on the armrest as he tried to remain calm. The pain was slight but it was enough to annoy him thoroughly. He listened to Wild Wind rummage around his house for something but didn’t want to move his head at risk of causing more pain.
“Here we go.” came Wild Wind’s voice in a motherly tone. Heaty felt a rhythmic gust as Wild Wind hovered over him. He watched as she placed a small white cloth on his forehead. “I put some ice in here. Hold it against your bump for a bit, it’ll help the swelling and relieve the pain.” She landed next to him on the sofa. “Try and sit up for me, it’ll help.”
Heaty did so and sat on his haunches. “How’s this?”
Wild Wind stared into his eyes for a few seconds before coughing slightly and looking away. “It’s...it’s fine.” Heaty tilted his head in confusion but dismissed it. They both sat in silence for a bit as each party couldn’t think of anything to say.
“So…” Heaty started. “Good tornado today wasn’t it?”
“Yeah it was. You were awesome.” Wild Wind responded. The awkward silence reigned almighty as both ponies were struggling to think of any topic for a conversation. “Wait!” Wild Wind hovered over to Heaty’s bookcase and picked out a book. “Is this what I think it is?!” she asked with a huge smile.
“Sure is.” Heaty responded. “The new Daring Do. The Ring Of Destiny. I bought it yesterday. Have to admit though, it’s weird seeing Rainbow Dash on the cover.”
Wild Wind’s jaw dropped as she scanned the cover. “WOW! It is her!” She hovered back over to the sofa. “How about we read it? It’ll take your mind off the pain.”
Heaty looked into her eyes and saw nothing but plead and utter determination. “Alright then.” he said with a smile.
As they both locked eyes with the book’s contents, they both began to read out some of the lines out loud. Each line was said with a dramatic effect to really set the mood.
It wasn’t long before Wild Wind burst out laughing. “She really kicked a kitten?! AHAHAHA!” She hit the sofa with her hoof in a fit of laughter. Heaty couldn’t hold it in either and let out a small chuckle of his own. “Ohhh...that’s good.”
Heaty was about to continue before a thought plagued his mind. He closed the book, making sure to leave a bookmark where he stopped reading. “Wild Wind, can I ask you something?”
Wild Wind looked nervous. “Oh er...sure.”
“How do you fly so fast?” Wild Wind looked relieved. “I mean, seriously! You fly nearly as fast as Rainbow Dash!”
She blushed slightly at her unwanted praise. “Oh stop it. Besides, if you go too fast, you end up causing accidents.” she said, pointing to his forehead. “Anyway, it wasn’t supposed to be that hard. I was only supposed to bump into you…” Wild Wind clasped her mouth with her hooves.
“Wait...what?” Heaty removed his ice pack and stared at Wild Wind. “What do you mean? This...you meant to crash into me?”
Wild Wind’s eyes darted back and forth between the door and Heaty. She eventually sighed and looked down at the floor. “It’s just...look, I’ve seen you around Cloudsdale before and you looked kind of awesome.” She kicked her hooves back and forth. “It’s just...when it comes to talking to ponies...I don’t really know what to say.”
Heaty felt a pang of guilt for accidentally revealing her true purpose. He shuffled closer to her and held one of her hooves in his. “You think I’m awesome?”
Wild Wind’s eyes lit up. “Sure! I’ve seen you race against those knuckleheads from Cloudsdale High. They’ve got nothing on you! And I heard you’ve got a great sense of humour.” she said with a smile.
This time, it was Heaty’s turn to blush. “You...you think so?” Wild Wind nodded. “Wow...thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” She looked at his bump once again and sighed. “I was only meant to bump into you. I just thought I could try and strike up a conversation with you. I didn’t mean for that to happen...I guess I do go too fast sometimes, don’t I?” she said, her smile dropping into a frown.
“Hey, hey, hey, come on.” Heaty moved himself closer and put one of his hooves around her shoulders. “I’ve seen you around before as well. I’ve watched you create those high-speed wind storms and extreme clouds for a while now.” He leant forward and nuzzled her cheek. “Believe me...YOU are awesome.”
The two of them stayed in that embrace for a few minutes, just enjoying each other’s company. The wind howled outside as a few clouds started moving in.
“I guess I should head home. Looks like a storm...and I haven’t made it!” she said with a laugh.
“Sure thing.” Wild Wind got up to leave but Heaty held onto her hoof and pulled her back to the sofa. Before she could protest, he leant forward and planted a small kiss on her cheek. “Thanks for taking care of me. You’re a really...really great friend.”
Wild Wind rubbed her cheek where Heaty kissed her before smiling sweetly at him. She got to her hooves and walked to the door. Opening it, she turned back around.
“Listen, I’m going to Canterlot next Tuesday to go and see the new Daring Do film. Would you…” She rubbed her hooves together nervously. “Would you like to come with me?”
Heaty gulped loudly. “I erm...I should...I think I…” Before he could respond with a logical answer, he found his lips had been met with Wild Wind’s pair. She held her lips against him for a few seconds before winking at him and flying out of the door.
“See you next week!” she called back to him.
Heaty sat there, mouth agape at what just happened. His mind began to process what just happened and it could only come up with one answer.
“SCORE!”