//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Spectrum Spectacular // Story: Strange Winds // by Caelum //------------------------------// Chapter 5 As soon as Rainbow saw the pony fly into the cloud layer she knew that she had him. This was mostly because, less than an hour earlier, the cyan mare had placed those clouds herself. And she knew exactly what was above them, and that was… ’Absolutely nothing,’ she thought with exhilaration as she kicked her wings into overdrive. With a massive burst of adrenaline rushing through her Rainbow let loose a frenzied burst of speed, spurred on by the proximity of her goal. As she shot through the cloud, into the wide open expanse of blue sky, she felt Celestia’s glorious sun warming her cheeks and adding significantly to her feeling of triumph. “Got you now!” Rainbow shouted as she shot through the cloud. The cyan Pegasus quickly stopped, confusion building as she whipped her head around in search of her absent cream hued target. Seeing nothing in the empty sky above the cloud layer, Rainbow swiftly shot back to the opposite side of the precipitate fog, scanning the airspace around her. Rainbow frowned, as unbidden thoughts of failure and actually being outmanoeuvred by somepony rose within her mind. Crushing amounts of frustration, and feelings of wounded pride, built up as she gave a low growl at just the notion of being beaten. And that’s when she heard it. A distinct sound and one that she had heard for a short time only, yet one that was familiar all the same. It was faint and small against the great whooshing of the higher altitude’s gusts of wind. The small sound was none other than the whistling tone that had originally alerted her to the approaching missile of a pony’s descent before he had burst her clouds. Faster than a bolt of lightning, Rainbow’s head snapped downwards searching for the cream hued target among the distant blurred shapes below. She narrowed her eyes with the effort of trying to pick out the small cream speck that was her goal. ’There…’ Directly below her, barely more than a pinprick against the vast sea of the green grass, was the cream pegasus. Wings tucked against his body in a nose-to-the-earth dive he was obviously trying to get as close to the ground as possible without being detected, in the hopes of finding safe haven there. Despite her feelings of mild animosity Rainbow couldn’t help but be slightly impressed at how the pegasus had performed and conceived such a devious evasive manoeuvre. Immediately, Rainbow performed a barrel roll transferring into a head-first dive as she began to propel herself towards the fleeting speck that was the cream coloured Pegasus. Rainbow’s eyes were narrowed, trying her best to keep him in her sight. Feeling a slight drag holding her back the rainbow maned mare extended her neck as far forward and as straight in front of her as she could, while tucking her legs tightly against her body. She smiled as she began to pick up an astonishing amount of speed in a matter of seconds, only giving further credit to the cyan mare’s well known athleticism. As she gained on the pegasus she felt the thrill of the chase fill her body and mind causing a determined grin to form on her face. Knowing very well that she only had less than a minute to catch him she began to beat her wings furiously, the twin cyan appendages becoming dual cyclonic blurs on either side of her frame due to their rapid pace. She knew that to reach the pegasus before he found refuge on the ground, so she would have to push herself to, and past, her absolute limits. Giving a short grunt with the effort of pushing herself so hard, Rainbow’s eyes locked onto her rapidly approaching target. With a smirk she felt the familiar tingling feeling spreading over her body as she began to push closer, and closer, to the sound and spectrum barrier. As the beginnings of the mach cone surrounded her slim frame, Rainbow became acutely aware of her heart hammering against her ribcage; like a hoof on a drum. Focusing her eyes forwards once more she could see the cream pegasus looking back at her over his shoulder. ’That’s right buddy,’ thought the pursuing Rainbow Dash, ’I’m right behind ya.’ With an icy cold feeling the mach cone, which had been forming around the pegasus, began to solidify. From a translucent grey to a bright silver cone which coiled itself around the rainbow maned pegasus’ inertia, steadily shrinking as her momentum increased further. A thin bead of sweat rolled down Rainbow’s face, and she gritted her teeth, pushing against the resistant barrier. Suddenly, through the veil of the sound and spectrum barrier, she saw her target’s wings snap open, and rapidly pull him out of his dive. A small twinge of fear touched Rainbow’s mind as the cream pony sped away. Now, for Rainbow, pushing through the immense wall of the sound and spectrum barrier was as easy as blowing the seeds off of a dandelion; as long as she went straight that is. Pushing through it diagonally however was a cross between impossible and suicidal. So, when the cyan mare began to angle herself towards the very specific pegasus below her, she knew that this was going to be one of the most complicated and dangerous Rainbooms she had ever attempted. Despite her mind warning her of the danger inherent in what she was doing she did what she would always do in this situation. She would do the only thing expected of Equestria’s Best Young Flyer. She did it anyway. Letting out a shout, tainted with her frustration at the tricky pegasus below, she pushed through the pain of going through the resistant barrier sideways. Rainbow did her best to track the flying pony as he wound between the trunks of trees, only narrowly avoiding collisions. As soon as he cleared the forest and levelled out over the grassy field below him Rainbow saw her chance. Raising her wings behind her, for one final push, she vaguely noticed him look up in shock at the silver cone which surrounded her. Pushing down with all of her might, Rainbow felt the thin white barrier shatter with concussive force as she rocketed towards the pegasus, the full colour spectrum exploding across the sky in a shockwave behind her, punctuated by a monumental *KRAAACK-BOOOM* sound. Looking behind her at the spectacle Rainbow couldn’t help but laugh hysterically. ’I can’t wait to see his-‘ Rainbow’s thought process was stopped abruptly, as she gasped in horror. When the cyan mare had turned her head back around she had expected to see the cream pony’s shocked face staring back up at her, but instead all she saw was the other pegasus hurtling to the ground with his wings flailing wildly, trying to find stability. Unfortunately his efforts were in vain against the crushing concussive wave of force from the Rainboom. Her face setting into a concrete line of focus Rainbow shot after the falling pegasus like a bullet from a gun. Swooping him into her forelegs and rapidly ascending again just inches from the rocks below. “Hahaha, oh yeah! Who’s the most awesomest pony in all of Equestria?” Rainbow’s voice had taken on its usual swagger, but upon looking down on her newfound companion’s face, her gaze lingered on the new hoof-shaped bruise forming on his forehead. A sudden heat flowed into her cheeks, as she blushed profusely. After seeing what damage her ‘rescue’ had done the only thing the usually ‘so sure of herself’ mare could do was look away from the discolored mark on the stallion’s head while muttering a sheepish “whoops” as she looked for a good landing space. ***** Pain. Throbbing, Aching, PAIN. Call it anything you want, but that’s what you felt as you opened up your eyes, again, looking up into the sky with the mighty sun seeming to be mocking you. “Really?” Your exasperation was evident in your voice. “I mean come on! REALLY? Can I not stay conscious for ONE day? ONE DAY! That’s ALL I’m asking for! Gragh!” At this outburst you suddenly hear a slightly nervous laugh come from your left side. “Heh. Er, sorry about that,” said a voice. Turning your head sideways, to face the new speaker, you see the cyan mare from before. She notices that you are listening, so she continues. “Y’see when I did the Sonic Rainboom it threw off your balance, causing you to spin out of control. And when I came to rescue you” you see her chest slightly puff out at this, “I guess my hoof kinda, accidentally, hit you on the head.” Slowly, you take in the information that the pony in front of you had just given you, trying to figure out why it seemed so familiar. However, in your muddled state of mind, you couldn’t quite place it, ’if only Twilight were here, I’m sure she-‘ your entire train of thought is brought to a screeching halt as two words separated themselves from the entire explanation the cyan pegasus had given you. ’Sonic Rainboom.’ The two words rang through your mind with all the force of a clock tower bell being struck at high noon. Suddenly the conversations with Twilight at Fluttershy’s cabin came rushing back to you. Looking again at the mare in front of you, you see the similarities in her appearance with the very brief description the purple unicorn had given you. ’Rainbow mane, cyan blue coat, magenta coloured eyes, well,’ you muse to yourself, ’it seems that this is Twilight’s friend, Rainbow Dash, but then again just to be certain…’ Your head swimming, you push yourself back up onto your hooves, stumbling slightly as the blood rushed back to your head in a torrent, throwing off your balance. Regaining your composure you look to your pursuer/rescuer with a look of uncertainty, well aware that just moments ago, or maybe it was more than moments. You aren’t quite sure whether you can trust this pony, given the aching bruise on your forehead, a constant reminder of your recent ‘rescue’. A rescue that was made, ironically, by the pony in front of you who had been trying to capture you with extreme prejudice. “What’s your name?” You ask with a painful grimace as the vibrations of your voice pulsated through your battered skull. “Or, actually, no, better question would be who are you?” At this you see the assumed Rainbow Dash puff out her chest in pride. “Well,” begins the cyan pegasus with a cocky grin, “You just so happen to be in the presence of the fastest flyer in all of Equestria! And the winner of the Best Young Flyer award. The one, the only, Rainbow Dash!” She exclaims this as she rears up on her hind legs, adding to the effect. ’Bingo’ you think to yourself as the now confirmed Rainbow Dash settled back onto the ground with a content smile. “Fastest flyer in all of Equestria?” You ask dryly, “how can you be so sure of that?” You see Rainbow’s magenta eyes give a brief flash of annoyance. “Psh, because,” she recovered, “I am the most awesomest. Besides, I caught you, didn’t I?” “I wouldn’t so much say ’caught’, as knocked unconscious.” You retort causing the mare in front of you to break eye contact. Looking up into the sky with a hoof rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment Rainbow appeared at a loss for words. “And without good reason too!” You continue, “there I was having just-“ but before you can continue Rainbow, her previous embarrassment giving way to anger, cuts you off. “Hey!” She yells out in anger. “Now wait just a second. ‘Without good reason’? Are you kidding me? You’re the one who busted my clouds while I was napping and almost killed me!” Her wings were flaring up behind her in agitation. “Almost killed you,” you snap back with annoyance. “How about you almost killing me, with your Sonic Rain-whatchamacallit!” “It’s called a Sonic Rainboom, jerkwad, and if you hadn’t gone flying through those trees, making your flight path off-balance, you wouldn’t have been taken out by the shockwave!” “Oh, so now it’s my fault that your…your…thing” you say waving an angry hoof in the air as explanation, “knocked me out of the sky?” “Well…yeah! If you hadn’t have busted my clouds in the first place then none of this would have happened!” Rainbow exclaimed jutting her chin out, refusing to take responsibility for her actions. Sighing, you look away from the infuriatingly stubborn Pegasus, before you look in the direction you think that Fluttershy’s cottage was. “Fine, whatever,” you say with a hint of resignation in your voice, “you win Rainbow. Now I’ve got somepony who is probably wondering where I’ve gone off to.” As your mind turns to Twilight you feel a cringe of guilt in your gut. ’Ah crap I told her that I’d be inside in a bit. And I think this is a lot more than that’, giving a slight shake of your head your mind turns back to the situation at hand. “So if you don’t mind I’m just gonna go, goodbye.” At that you raise your wings and prepare to flap downwards with the intent of flying in the direction you believed Fluttershy’s cottage to be in. That was your plan, but it was quickly stopped by a sharp pain in your shoulder, right where the wing joint was. Hissing in pain you gingerly fold your wings shut, and look to the wing in question. There, on the joint of where your feathered appendages connected to your back, you can see a dark purple bruise, and severe swelling. Huffing in frustration you try to move your wings again, this time being stopped before they can even extend fully. Seeing the look of pain on your face you hear Rainbow’s stubborn tone turn to a more concerned one. “Hey are you alright? Your wing looks like it’s hurt.” “No, I’m fine,” you lie, “I’ll just walk. Don’t worry about it.” You turn away, to start the long walk down to the main road. As you turn, though, you hear a slight *WHUMF* behind you followed shortly by a stern-faced Rainbow Dash landing directly in front of you. “No, you’re not fine, and no, you won’t ’just walk’.” Looking into her fiery magenta eyes you briefly consider refusing again. But considering her adamant stare and how outright pig-headed she had been just seconds ago you let go of the thought. Turning your body slightly so that the injured wing was facing Dash you simply nod to the darkly purpled area behind your shoulder blades. Rainbow walks over with her confident gait, leaning in close to examine the afflicted area she extends a hoof and gently probes the injury with her hoof. This slight prod, however, was more than enough to elicit a less than savoury response from you as you shrink away from the cyan mare’s outstretched hoof a couple of steps. “Why don’t you be a bit more careful where you poke the injured pegasus, huh?” came your reply hissing through clenched teeth. “Hey! I’m the pony helping you, so don’t give me that ungrateful tone,” snapped Rainbow. Then her voice changing to a softer tone she continued, “if you don’t stand still then I won’t be able to help, so if you just stay still and think of something else I’ll be able to see what’s wrong, okay?” After she is done reassuring you your head begins to nod up & down. You couldn’t quite understand why but for some reason the cyan mare’s voice was oddly… comforting. Causing you to immediately relax and move back within her reach. Staring straight forwards you see, out of the corner of your eye, Rainbow gingerly stepping forwards with a hint of a smile playing on her lips. Immediately you begin to examine every last detail of the tree 15 yards away from where you stood. You look at its brown bark, the cracks and fissures between separate pieces giving the needled giant a wisened, ancient look. The image of the tree however is blacked out from your vision as your eyelids reflexively close from Rainbow prodding another sensitive area near your wing. Giving a slight gasp of pain, you clench your jaw shut tight, but you uphold your silent agreement with Rainbow. You stand stock still, unmoving despite the sharp pain. “Ouch,” Rainbow said, “I thought this might be the case.” Turning your head sideways to face her you notice she is frowning particularly at the swollen nub sitting on the joint of your wing. “Why, what is it,” you question with a slight edge to your voice. Rainbow just furrowed her brow and looked to the injured area with a look of concentration as she examined the injured are further. “Is it bad?” traces of fear are audible in your voice due to the pegasus’ lack of response. Hearing your concern Rainbow seems to snap out of her trance. “Hm? Oh, right!” She stops hovering over your body and gently lands next to you. She looks you in the eye before she continues. “Well, no it’s that serious, but your wing is a teensy bit out of alignment with the socket.” Seeing your look of panic her words come out in a rush. “But don’t worry! It’s not that big of a deal. I’ve had way worse things happen to me than that! Besides all we need to do is pop it back into place!” She states with a reassuring grin. This time, however, Rainbow’s calming tone did little to ease your nerves. You looked back to your wing and then to the smiling pegasus next to you, and you let out a groan. “Will it hurt,” you ask, simple resignation emanating from your words. “Oh no, not at all,” replied Rainbow her voice dripping sarcasm, “I’m only forcefully pushing the joint of your wing back into proper alignment.” “Oh, well if that’s all.” You leave the rest of the sentence hanging with a slight chuckle. “That’s right, medical pony extraordinaire right here and at your service.” Rainbow stated giggling. “Oh good,” you say rolling your eyes with a humorous smile on your face. “Well I’m so glad to have your-“ Now, had you been able to finish that sentence you would have continued your playfully sarcastic ‘praise’ of Rainbow’s self-proclaimed medical prowess. However, as it were, your sardonic remark was abruptly cut short by two things. The first being a very loud *POP* coming from behind you somewhere. The second was a sharp stabbing pain originating from an area directly behind your shoulder blades. Stars exploded across your vision as your wings popped back into its socket, and you jumped sideways, away from the ‘medical pony extraordinaire’ who was hovering by your flank, yelping in pain. “Son of a bitch,” you swear turning to the, now laughing, Rainbow Dash. “Aren’t you supposed to count to three or some crap like that?” Once more alighting on the ground beside you, Rainbow stuck her nose in up in the air. A smile playing across her face she simply pointed her hoof at you, or more specifically slightly above you. Puzzled, you look to where she is pointing, and chuckle at the sight of your wings both arched high above your back in receding agitation. Turning back to Rainbow you sigh slightly which only added to the self-satisfied smirk that was quickly growing across her face. “Go on,” she began, voice full of self-gratification, “tell, me HOW awesome I am and what a great medical pony extraordinaire I am. And say it like you mean it” she cuts in as you begin to open your mouth in reply. Groaning you slump to the ground, all four legs splayed out around you in mock exasperation. “Do I have to,” you whine playfully. “Yes” comes the simple reply. “But whyyyyyy?” “Because, I said so, besides I’m awesome enough to deserve it.” “But-“ “No buts!” Said Rainbow, cutting you off and silencing you with a wave of hoof, “Now,” she continued “repeat after me; I hereby state…” “I hereby state…” you parrot sarcastically “Hey, no sarcasm, buddy, that Rainbow Dash is super awesome…” “Hey, no sarcasm, buddy, that Rainbow Dash is super awesome…” Stopping, you see the serious look plastered on Rainbow’s face. “Oh, come on, really?” You groan, and Rainbow gives a nod. “Really,” replied Rainbow with another nod of her head. Giving a frustrated sigh you simply mumble an incomprehensible “fine” under your breath before continuing the repetition of Rainbow’s praise