//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: Ponyville's new neighbour // by Tecuro //------------------------------// “Oooo! A race!” Pinkie piped, whilst bouncing up and down “This is going to be so exciting!” “Well, well, well. Ya’ll ain’t been in town for more than a few hours and yah already got yurself ah competition with Rainbow Dash,” Applejack said, slightly impressed “Why, Ah reckon that’s ah record, right there.” “Now do be careful, Arrow” Rarity said to the falcon, whilst stroking his back “I would hate to see your magnificent feathers get covered in dirt and sweat and the like.” Arrow simply blushed. “Steed, I don’t know if this is a good idea.” Twilight told him, felling anxious. “What do you mean?!” Steed answered, obviously annoyed, “Look at her, over there!” he gestured to Rainbow Dash who was currently in the middle of her warm-up routine (wing-ups) “so full of herself, she could do with being knocked down a few pegs!” “But this is Rainbow Dash!” Twilight whined “She’s the fastest pegasus I know, maybe even the fastest in Ponyville!” Arrow audibly gulped at this news. “Hey boy,” Steed said, scooping Arrow onto his hoof and looking him straight in the eye “So she may be the fastest Pegasus in Ponyville; it doesn’t matter if she’s the fastest in all Equestria! We can’t let her get away with what she said! You’ve got to get up there and defend not just my honour, but yours as well” Arrow gave Steed a little nip on his nose “I know boy, I love you too.” Twilight felt a little awkward at hearing that. “And remember; this isn’t about wining, it’s about showing miss high-and-mighty over there we are not happy with being looked down on and that we ARE proud and noble!” Arrow let out his loudest screech yet and took of straight to the barn with the others in tow. Arrow landed next to Rainbow Dash while the ponies lined up behind them to get the best view of the high-octane action that was about to ensue. “Took you long enough,” Rainbow teased at Arrow as he took his place next to her “As for the track; first fly straight to the edge of the orchard, then follow the border for one circuit before heading back here as fast as you can. Think you can manage that?” She asked Arrow, who simply glared at her then opened his wings in anticipation for the start. “Twilight, count us down,” Rainbow said, whilst also getting prepared. “Fine,” Twilight conceded “3… 2… 1… Go!” The moment Twilight finished her count down both racers left the ground with enough speed to launch dust into the faces of the spectators, much to Rarity’s dismay. It was a feat in itself for the audience to keep their eyes on either Rainbow Dash or Arrow, their speed was blinding, both putting everything they had into staying in front and neither giving the other an opportunity to overtake, but as fast as Arrow was he didn’t have enough to stay ahead of the pegasus for very long, he could do a fine job of keeping up with her and had her beat when it came to agility but on the final stretch to the finish Rainbow put on a sudden burst of speed that she had been holding back since the start and streaked past Arrow like a rainbow- lightning bolt and landed in front of the group a full minuet before him. “Awww yeah!” Rainbow yelled once she had come to a stop. “I’m not called Rainbow Dash for nothing!” Steed went straight to Arrow, who had collapsed in a heap of feathers the moment he touched the floor, and Twilight followed to see if she could lend a hoof (plus a small part of her wanted to say ‘I told you so’). “Hey, boy!” Steed said to Arrow, kneeling down next to him and supporting his head “You were great! I thought you had her for a minuet there!” the falcon looked up to the stallion and pecked at his check “There’s nothing to be sorry for, you did great up there. It wasn’t about wining, remember?” Steed said then rubbed the falcon’s belly vigorously. “Ooohhh, tough luck Arrow!” Pinkie chimed, with a compassionate tone, “maybe next time!” “Well maybe next time you don’t have to make such a mess?” Rarity added, brushing dust out of her mane, “still, admirable attempt, very well done!” she added with an approving smile, again Arrow simple blushed. “Mighty fine work, partner!” Applejack said to Arrow, patting him on the back, “yah sure gave ol’ Rainbow Dash ah run for her bits!” “Well I won’t deny that was fun to watch but can we try to act with a bit more decorum now?” Twilight asked to Steed, looking a little irritated. “Maybe you should ask that to Rainbow Dash,” he replied, gesturing behind Twilight to where Rainbow was approaching. The pegasus walked right pass every other pony and straight to Steed then smirked and said “You’re not bad, Steed.” “What?” he asked supremely confused. “The best way to get to know somepony is to compete against them, and it works for animals too,” She explained, then nodded towards Arrow (still catching his breath) “That falcon was willing to go through all that for you, and I can tell he’d be willing to go through a lot more. If he thinks you’re worth it then that must mean he really likes you.” Rainbow Dash lifted her hoof to Steed “And if a falcon likes you that much, you can’t be that bad.” Steed looked at the others, who were all anxious to see how he would react, and then let out a short laugh, and knocked Rainbow’s hoof with his own. “Yippee!” Pinkie yelled and rocketed into the air, while confetti (somehow) exploded in showers over the group. “Arrow,” Rainbow said to the exhausted falcon, who looked up to her from the Steed’s hooves “Nice work. You’re gonna go far, kid” Arrow let out another screech, whilst hopping onto Steed’s back. “Well,” Applejack began “Ah reckon we all know where t’ go now” “I don’t” Steed stated, looking blankly to the girls for clues as to their next destination, only to find they were as confused as him. “But of course!” Rarity suddenly exclaimed, before turning to Steed, “You simply must meet Fluttershy!” Steed then smiled, knowing now what Applejack had been suggesting, “Oh yeah! The other pegasus! What did Braeburn say about her?” he asked to Arrow, who tugged at Steed’s mane with his beak “That’s right; ‘shy an’ nervous but really kind’,” Twilight felt that the accent was unnecessary, but chose not to call Steed out on it. “That sounds like our Fluttershy!” Pinkie said, with a little giggle “An’ that didn’t sound ah thing like Braeburn” Applejack added, looking sarcastically snide. “I know; I’m not great at accents” Steed confessed, looking bashful. “That’s a great impression of Fluttershy, too!” Pinkie stated, upon seeing Steed’s posture “Do me next! Do me!” she virtually demanded of him, whilst leaning closely into Steed’s face. Steed shot a curious look at Twilight. “It’s best just to go with it,” She told him. Steed sighed, then put on a big smile and started jumping in place shouting “Fun!” in a high-pitched voice over and over; the display sent all the girls into fits of laughter. “That’s just like me!” Pinkie said, after calming down and catching her breath “You should do this professionally!” “When I’m finished with mountains,” Steed assured her, grinning widely. “So are we planning to see Fluttershy or not?” Rainbow Dash interjected. “Yes!” Steed yelled, suddenly looking very determined, “No distractions,” he then started marching off, before stopping, looking back at Twilight and asked, “Where is she?” “She’d probably be at her cottage, follow us” She replied and started walking in the complete opposite direction Steed had headed in, while Arrow gave him a sharp whack on the back of his head for being stupid.