Friends, Forgiveness, and Magic
Brave Bird's Blitz
Rainbow Dash flew over to the group and hovered in midair. “Hey Gilda! You keeping up with me?”
Gilda smirked at her. “Keeping up? Oh, I’m gonna do a lot more than that Dash. Don’t think I’m going to go easy on ya just ‘cause you’re a pal. That day with the Shadowbolts is mine!”
Rainbow smirked back at her. “Aw, you think you can beat me. Sorry G, if anyone is winning the competition, it’s gonna be me!”
“Keep telling yourself that,” Gilda said as she glanced back at Discord and Chrysalis. “Listen Dash, there’s no doubt that you and I will be the fastest fliers there. But my cheering squad can’t match my performance and I could use a little help with them.”
Rainbow stared at Discord. “Yeah, looks like.”
Discord frowned and snapped his fingers, causing the cheerleader’s outfit he had been wearing to disappear. “Alright already! That’s a no on the outfit. Forgive me for wanting to show my enthusiasm.”
“Uh huh. Sure.” Gilda’s tail swished at Chrysalis’ general direction. “She’s not much better either,” she said to Rainbow.
Chrysalis frowned in confusion. “What’s wrong with my cheer? ‘ALL HAIL GILDA!’ is a great cheer.”
Rainbow let out a chuckle. “Sorry Gilda, but I’ve never had to deal with cheering that weird. You’re on your own.”
“Well what about your cheer team?” Gilda asked.
“Don’t need one. The crowd will do all the cheering I need,” Rainbow bragged.
“She’s too lazy to find anyone,” Discord translated.
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Do you think Nightmare would be willing to cheer for me?”
Gilda shrugged. “I dunno. She said she’s not sure how comfortable she’d be with being up in Cloudsdale all day, if you know what I mean.”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Is this another ‘Nightmare doesn’t like the sun’ thing? She’s flown around during the day before, right?
Chrysalis shrugged. “Maybe she uses her wings more at night. Maybe she doesn’t want to sit on a cloud, high up in the sky, during the day, and for the entire competition.”
“Who knows?” Discord said as he played around with a light bulb he had summoned, having grown bored of the conversation.
Chrysalis frowned. “In any case, I’m sorry you don’t think we’d be great supporters Gilda.”
“Hey, come on guys. I don’t mean it like that. Maybe if you just clap or something,” Gilda said.
“Hey guys!” Sunset Shimmer called out as she approached them. “Gilda, Rainbow! You two excited for the competition tomorrow?”
Rainbow grinned. “You know it!”
Sunset sighed. “I just wish I could go up there with you guys to cheer you on.”
The light bulb in Discord’s claws just lit up. “Ooh. There’s an idea.” He grinned and disappeared in a flash of light.
A sneaky smile slowly formed on Sunset’s face. “Huh. It actually worked this year. Excuse me guys, I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Wait! Sunset, I still need those crystals you promised me!” Gilda shouted.
“Don’t worry, I’ll bring them over when I’m done!” Sunset called back as she ran to Clear Crystal Caverns. Curious as to what she was doing, Rainbow and Chrysalis followed her.
Gilda watched them run off before she shrugged and leapt back into the sky. Her eyes darted back and forth as she examined the clouds she passed by as she flew. Eventually she spotted a cloud that was much darker and stormier than the others. “Perfect. No more distractions. No more fooling around with lame techniques. Time for the Brave Bird’s Blitz!”
And with that she charged at the storm cloud.
“Really?” Smog asked with a hopeful smile “We’re actually going this year?”
Nightmare Moon sighed as she sorted away a book. “Yes Smog. I want to be there to support Gilda and Rainbow. King Sombra, Princess Twilight, and the Shadowbolts will also be there. It's been a while since I talked to any of them. Put it all together and I suppose I can stomach being closer to the sun for a few hours.” She frowned at the sunlight coming in through the window. “Although I don’t see why we can’t have the competition at night.”
“Wouldn’t the competitors need the light to see?” Trixie asked as she flipped through another book.
Nightmare telekinetically yanked the book out of Trixie’s grip and sorted it away. “There’s moonlight and stars! They could see just fine!”
Smog shook his head. “Nightie, I thought you weren’t scared of the sun anymore.”
Nightmare glared at him. “I have never feared the sun.” She fidgeted a little. “I’m just…not an outdoorsy mare.”
Smog opened his mouth, but before he could add anything else to the conversation, they were interrupted by a panicked shout. Gilda came crashing through the open window and smacked into a bookshelf on the other side of the room.
“Ouch. Are you okay Gilda?” Trixie asked.
Gilda stood up and shook off the pain. “Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry about that guys.”
Nightmare smiled. “Good to hear.” She pointed at the fallen books. “Now clean up your mess please, because I’m not sorting these books a second time today.”
Gilda glanced at the books and dismissed the idea with a flick of her tail. “Eh, I’ll get to it later. Sorry, I need to get back to practicing.”
Nightmare nodded. “Ah yes. Chrysalis told me you’re perfecting your Brave Bird’s Blitz move. You’ll be happy to know that Smog and I will be attending this year’s competition, just to cheer you on. I look forward to seeing it.”
Gilda’s beak twitched between a happy grin and a nervous smile. “You are? Huh. Thanks Nightmare, Smog. I…I won’t disappoint.”
Gilda flapped her wings and flew out the open window, passing by Chrysalis as she buzzed into the library. “Oh dear. Sorry about Gilda’s mess, Nightmare. Maybe I can find a few of my changeling friends and they can help you tidy, if they’re not busy.”
Nightmare sighed. “Thanks Chrysalis, I appreciate it. So, how do you think Gilda’s doing?”
“She’s nervous. She’s hasn’t been able to do a Blitz in a long time. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash can do a Sonic Rainboom whenever she wants. I think Gilda is afraid that that she won’t be able to compete with that,” Chrysalis said.
Trixie grunted. “Trixie knows the feeling. She once faced off against a rather famous magician as part of a charity event.”
“I heard that story,” Smog said. “Didn’t you win?”
“Obviously. But Trixie’s opponent was an earth pony magician. And he was keeping up with a unicorn of my abilities! Trixie was technically victorious, as always, but…her act just wasn’t as impressive as a magician who wasn’t using real magic!” She sighed. “Trixie wishes she could be an alicorn like you, Nightmare. Aside from the obvious reasons, she could fly to Cloudsdale and cheer Gilda on.”
“Don’t you know a cloud-walking spell?” Nightmare asked.
Trixie waved a hoof. “Oh I suppose. But there’s nothing impressive about a spell that any unicorn can cast! Trixie wants to enter Cloudsdale the way only Trixie can!”
“As flashy and as egotistically as possible?” Chrysalis asked.
Trixie grinned. “Yes.”
The front door opened and Sunset came running inside with a big grin. “Then boy, do I have news for you!”
As Nightmare, Smog, Sunset, Trixie, and Chrysalis made their way to Clear Crystal Caverns, Princess Twilight touched down in front of them.
“I’m a princess!” she declared. She zoomed over to Trixie and winked. “Do you want to be a princess too?”
Princess Twilight snapped her fingers and turned into Discord with purple wings and a horn. He removed them and regrew his own before holding out the alicorn set for them to see. “Buy a pair of wings and a horn! Experience the magic!”
“The best part is, they’re not even that expensive!” A voice sounded out behind Discord. The unicorn stallion that walked up to them had a pale olive coat, with a red-and-white mane and tail. He also wore a fancy blue shirt and hat.
“They only cost a few tail hairs, drop of blood maybe. Even less than that!” Another voice sounded out. The other unicorn stallion was identical to his twin brother, except he had a small mustache and a deeper voice.
“And you two are lucky enough to receive the friends and family discount too!”
“Now, we are required to inform you that the horn and wings are a temporary transformation only! Thirty hours, so keep an eye on the clock!”
“Even so! Miss Shimmer, Great and Powerful Trixie, surely you can’t pass on a deal this sweet!”
Sunset smirked. “Nice to see you two again, Flim, Flam. What, no catchy advertising jingle this time?”
Flim chuckled. “Why would we need to? Between Mister Discord and Miss Pie, our enthusiastic sales-creatures are do all the advertising for us!”
Nightmare frowned. “Miss Pie? You’re working for Pinkie Pie?”
Flim chuckled. “Good heavens, no! She’s working for us!”
“Charming mare she is! If only we had met sooner!” Flam said.
“Ah, but we did meet her sooner, remember dear brother?” Flim said.
“Ah, yes. Awful business, that was.”
“Ruined our business proposal with Apple Pie Incorporated, she did.”
“Remember the pumpkin-”
“-with the bathtub-”
“-and the chess pieces-”
“-and the frosting?”
“Oh yes. And the alligator, don’t forget that.”
“I wish we could.”
“But other than that, Pinkie is a real joy to work with!” Flam finished.
“…Indeed. So, Trixie can be an alicorn?” Trixie asked Discord.
“Me first!” Sunset declared, a big grin on her face.
“Of course!” Discord snapped his fingers and Sunset grew orange wings while Trixie grew blue wings.
“YES!” Sunset flapped her new wings and rose into the air. “Bow before me peasants! Princess Sunset hath arrived!”
Flim chuckled. “Don’t worry Trixie, she’s just joking-”
“You call that a declaration? Behold!” Trixie yelled as she rose into the air. “Bow before the airborne and immortal Trixie!”
“HA! KNEEL BEFORE NIGHTMARE MOON, EMPRESS OF THE NIGHT AND ALL WHO DWELL IN IT!” Nightmare declared with a booming voice as she too rose into the air.
The other stared at her.
“Um…sorry,” Nightmare said as she touched back down and folded her wings. She smiled sheepishly. “I thought we were doing a thing.”
“We were. And you won it,” Sunset said.
A flash of light went off in front of them as Pinkie Pie, Maud Pie, and Rarity appeared in front of them.
“Hi guys!” Pinkie sang cheerfully.
Nightmare frowned. “Hi.”
“Well, what do you think darlings?” Rarity asked them as she flapped her new feathery white wings. “I wanted to be there to support Rainbow Dash and Gilda too. And Pinkie Pie was kind enough to provide me with my wings free of charge, in order to help make up for her many misdeeds against Peaceville. Isn’t that right?”
Pinkie didn’t seem too bothered by Rarity’s sudden glare at her. “No problem Rarity! Anything for a friend!” She floated over to her sister. “That just leaves you Maud!” She snapped her fingers and Maud instantly grew a gray horn and gray wings.
Maud calmly examined her back. “That’s new.”
“Yep! So, what do you think?” Pinkie asked with a big smile.
“I don’t like flying much Pinkie. You know that,” Maud said.
Pinkie giggled. “I know. But you won’t be doing too much flying. You’ll just be sitting on a cloud as we cheer for Rainbow Dash! And Gilda too, maybe.”
Maud’s gaze slowly drifted toward the general direction of Cloudsdale. “Do they have rocks in Cloudsdale?”
Pinkie snapped her fingers, causing the mustache on Flam’s muzzle to fly off. “Darn! No, they don’t. Oh well!” she said cheerfully. “Sorry to get your hopes up like that. Maybe this will cheer you up.” She snapped her fingers again.
Maud lowered her head and sniffed at the rock that just appeared. “Metamorphic rock.”
“Ah, I see what you did there. …And yet I still found it boring,” Discord said. “If anyone needs me, I’ll be turning the Cutie Mark Destroyers and Apple Bloom’s club into mini-alicorns.”
Nightmare, Smog, Trixie, Sunset, Flim, and Flam all stared at him in horror. “Don’t even think about it!” Nightmare shouted. But Discord had already disappeared with a mischievous chuckle.
The next day, Gilda and Rainbow both flew over to the Cloudsdale Coliseum. They touched down on the cloud as Rainbow waved to the pegasus by the entrance. “Hey, LD! Good to see you again!”
Lightning Dust turned to face them. “Rainbow Dash. Huh. What are you doing here?”
“I’m here for the Best Young Fliers competition, same as my pal Gilda here,” Rainbow answered. “We’re in it to win it! Well, I am. She’s here for second place.”
Gilda snorted. “Dream on Dash.”
“I’m afraid your friend is right, Rainbow. I can’t let you enter the competition,” Lightning said.
Rainbow’s gasped. “What?! Why not?”
Lightning gave her a cold glare. “Because apparently, the last time you were anywhere near Cloudsdale you unleashed a lightning storm on the whole area.”
Gilda growled at Lightning. “What? You’re crazy, lady. Dash wouldn’t do something like that. Maybe I would, but she wouldn’t.”
At that moment, Hoops flew over to them. “Sorry, but she did. Saw it with my own eyes.”
Gilda smirked. “Which are currently covered up by your bangs, so I’m still not sure how great you are as an eyewitness.”
Hoops frowned and tried to brush his mane away from his eyes. “Whatever. I still saw her use lightning against a whole lot of innocent people.”
“Wait!” Rainbow cried. “I didn’t hurt anyone with that lightning! I just kinda, sorta broke the stuff around them. Ya know, market stalls and other stuff. All completely replaceable! Didn’t Fancy Pants pay for the damages?”
“He did. He also wanted me to tell you that it’ll be the last nice thing he does for you,” Hoops warned her.
“Aw, I wouldn’t worry about that. I said sorry. We’re cool. …Right?” Rainbow asked nervously.
Lightning sighed. “Come on Rainbow. It’s only until people calm down and forget about it. Sign up again next year and you’ll be good to go. Besides, you won last year’s competition with that Sonic Rainboom of yours, didn’t you?”
Rainbow moaned. “Yeah, and it was awesome. But all I won was a little bit of cash. This year’s prize is an entire day with the Shadowbolts! Please, can I be in it?!”
“Sorry Rainbow,” Lightning said. She offered her a small smile and said, “Maybe your friend here will win first prize and you can see the Shadowbolts with her. I wouldn’t get my hopes up though if I were you.”
Gilda watched Lightning and Hoops fly away, before her gaze darted down to see Rainbow holding her front limbs. “G! You gotta win the competition!” she begged.
“What happened to me ‘keeping up’ with you, the clear winner?” Gilda said.
“GILDA!”
Gilda chuckled. “Relax Dash. I’m just joshing you. Don’t worry, you were the only flyer I was worried about. That day with the Shadowbolts is ours! Even if I can’t do a Blitz,” she mumbled the last part out.
But Rainbow’s ears still caught it. “Can’t do a…Gilda, if you were having trouble doing a Blitz, ya should have said something. I could’ve…”
“Like I said, relax Dash. Focus on something else. Like…oh hey. Our cheer squad is finally here.”
They both looked up to see the other Elements flying down towards them, with Smog sitting on Nightmare’s back.
“Hey, nice work Discord,” Rainbow said as she saw the new wings on Sunset and Trixie.
Discord gave her a dramatic bow. “Thank you, thank you! You’re too kind!”
“Oh, but she’s right! These wings are exquisite!” They turned around to see Rarity flying towards them. Following behind her was Big Macintosh, Zecora, and Cheerilee leading a small group of school kids, including Diamond Tiara’s Cutie Mark Destroyers, and Apple Bloom and her friends. All of them with wings and horns.
“Wow,” Sunset said as she watched the school group fly into the coliseum stands. “Looks like you and Pinkie just made Flim and Flam very rich stallions.”
“That they did!” Flim sang as he zoomed by them, on his own set of wings.
“Discord, my good draconequus!” Flam said as he zipped over to them and hovered in midair. “We delivered your share of the profits to the Chaos Corner, as requested. Now, if we could speak to you about-”
Discord held up a claw. “Thank you, but I’m afraid our partnership must come to an end. This was fun, but I prefer to be a solo act.” He glanced at the other Elements. “Well…not exactly but…oh, you know what I mean.”
Flim sighed. “As you wish. Perhaps next year?”
“Perhaps,” Discord said with a sneaky grin. “If I’m lucky, Alicorn Day could become a national holiday.”
“Alicorn Day?” Nightmare asked with a raised eyebrow, as Flim and Flam flew away to get seats.
“You’re just jealous because I thought it up first,” Discord said as he crossed his arms.
“Well, let’s keep it as just a day,” Nightmare said as she watched Trixie and Rarity circle in the sky. “You’d take all the uniqueness of being an alicorn from me if they stayed like that.”
“Yes, yes, I agree. I’ll zap them back once they’re on the ground again,” Discord reassured her impatiently. “Now when can we watch Gilda blow up the sky?”
Gilda chuckled. “Not for another hour or so.”
“Very well. Ooh, perhaps you could give us a tour Gilda?”
She shrugged. “Dash knows the area better than I do. And there’s not much to look at. I mean, it’s a cool cloud city and all, but it’s not like there’s a weather factory or anything like that.”
Rainbow frowned thoughtfully. “Wouldn’t it be cool if there was though? Sure, we can control the weather but what if we could completely control it? No surprise storms or anything like that, we just tell all the clouds when to rain and when not to.”
Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t that get tedious after a while? A team of fliers controlling every cloud in the world?”
Gilda opened her beak to add her own thoughts, but something caught her attention. “Well what do we have here? Gilbert, is that you?!”
They turned around to see a younger griffon eagerly flapping towards them. “Gilda!”
“Hey squirt!” Gilda said as she grabbed him into a tight hug before giving him a light, loving noogie. “What brings you here?”
“Gilda! Don’t call me squirt in front of the other Elements!”
“So you did remember my stories.” Gilda turned to face her friends. “Guys, this is my younger cousin Gilbert. He lives up in the Crystal Empire. Gilbert, you clearly already know who’s who here.”
“Yep!” Gilbert rushed forward to shake their hooves and claws. “I saw all the news stories about how you guys beat Eternal Twilight, Spike, Eternity, and even the Pink Trickster! And Gilda told me lots about you in her letters.”
“Funny, she never mentioned you before,” Smog said.
Gilbert smiled sheepishly. “I was kinda avoiding meeting with you. I didn't want to start acting like a lame fan boy in front of you guys. Didn’t work, did it?”
“Oh come now sport! There’s nothing lame about a polite fan like yourself!” Discord said cheerfully.
“Heh, heh. Don’t call me sport either please,” Gilbert requested.
“Gilbert, it's great to see you, but seriously what are you doing here?” Gilda asked.
Gilbert held up two talons. “One, I wanted to see you create that Brave Bird’s Blitz you told me about. And two…” He stopped and nervously rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m kinda on a date with someone, and they were planning to come here anyway.”
Gilda’s eyes widened. “A date? Aren’t you a little too young to be thinking about that?”
Gilbert shrugged. “She’s only a few years older than me and it’s not like we’ve done anything beyond a few hugs.” He looked over his shoulder. “Hey, here they come now.”
They all turned around to see Countess Cadance and her assistant Fluttershy fly towards them. Fluttershy touched down beside Gilbert and smiled at him.
Cadance grinned at them. “Hey guys! I haven’t seen you all since the Gala. How is everyone doing on this fine day?”
“We’re good,” Nightmare said as she examined Cadance. For some reason, the other alicorn was twitching a bit and her normally neatly brushed mane was looking a little disheveled.
The other Elements bearers said they were fine. But Chrysalis was staring at Cadance with confusion and concern. “…Miss Cadance, are you okay? Your emotions are all over the place.”
Cadance froze before her eyes focused on the cloud they were standing on. “Um, what do you mean?”
“I mean exactly that. You look happy, angry, sad, and in love all at once!”
Cadance giggled weakly as she continued to avoid eye contact. “Oh, I’m sure you’re just seeing things.” Fluttershy frowned and poked Cadance with her hoof. “But um…maybe you can help me and Fluttershy with something?”
Chrysalis nodded. “Of course. What do you need?”
Cadance glanced at the other Elements but looked away again. “Um sorry, could we go somewhere a bit more private?”
Chrysalis nodded again. She gave her wings a little buzz in preparation for following them. “Hopefully this shouldn’t take too long. I’ll be back to see your Brave Bird’s Blitz,” she told Gilda.
“Oh! Um, one more thing before we go. Did I see Zecora here earlier?” Cadance asked.
Smog nodded. “Yeah Discord turned her and a bunch of our other friends into alicorns.”
“Good.” Cadance smiled sheepishly at Gilbert. “I need to borrow Fluttershy for a bit, but we’ll be back before the competition starts.”
Gilbert glanced at Fluttershy before getting up to stand beside Gilda. “Okay. But hurry back. It starts in less than an hour.”
“Don’t worry,” Cadance said as she tried to suppress a sudden twitch. “This shouldn’t take too long.”
As Nightmare watched them go, she spotted something in her peripheral vision. But before she could get a good look at it, the violet cloud had drifted away.
Less than an hour later, Gilda was glaring at Sunset. “Ya mind running that by me again?”
“Not so loud,” Sunset hissed. She glanced at the other competitors and whispered to Gilda, “We entered the competition to help you out.”
“Yeah, I got that part. I’m just not getting the how of it.”
“It’s simple. During my performance, I’ll only give a half-effort. Good enough so that I don’t look like a fool, but bad enough so that you’ll look much better by comparison.”
“Oh! Now I’m getting it." Gilda smirked. "Sneaky.”
Sunset’s smirk grew bigger. “It gets better. Some of the changelings here are still in disguise.”
Gilda’s eyes swept across the other fliers, including several pegasus ponies, changelings, teenage dragons, another griffon or two, and a few creatures that she was pretty sure were related to Discord, they were just that weird.
“See those three pegasus ponies? They’re actually some of Chrysalis’ changelings. They’re part of the plan too. Trust me you’re sure to win this, even if you can’t do a Blitz.” Her smile lost some of its sneakiness and grew a little more honest. “But I know you can. You really don’t need our help here, so have a little more faith in your abilities.”
Gilda smiled. “Thanks. Nice to know you guys have my back.” She frowned as she stared at one of the changing rooms. “But what’s Trixie’s deal?”
Sunset frowned. “I didn’t think anyone would lose their head about having wings anymore than me, but somehow Trixie manages to out-ham us yet again. She might be the only you have to worry about.”
“Out-ham us?” Gilda asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Something Discord said. I don’t know what he meant but I think it suits Trixie.”
Outside of the back stage that the competitors were using to get ready, hundreds of ponies, dragons, changelings, and other flying creatures were seated within the Cloud Coliseum stands. Discord was creating plenty of snacks, foam fingers, and other items for himself, Nightmare, Smog, Gilbert, Rainbow, and Rarity.
Gilbert’s tail swished impatiently. “What’s taking Fluttershy, Miss Cadance, and Miss Chrysalis so long?”
“I can’t speak for the first two, but at least Chrysalis has returned,” Rarity said as she spotted Chrysalis buzzing towards them.
“Did I miss anything?” she asked.
“I am currently eating my chair,” Discord announced as he took another bite from the ball of cotton candy that was once an ordinary cloud. “Besides that, not much really.”
“So what did the Countess need help with?” Smog asked.
“Sorry. She made me promise not to tell anyone. For that matter…I’m still a little confused about what she wanted me to.” Chrysalis frowned. She shook her head and took one of the empty seats. “It’s probably nothing. Let’s just watch the show.”
“Your anxiety confuses me. I have already told of the one simple remedy,” Zecora said.
Cadance nodded a little too energetically. “Yes, right. But what I’m asking is what if that remedy doesn’t work?”
Zecora smiled calmly to reassure the Countess. “The cure always works, no need for agitation. Perhaps you could tell me more about your friend’s situation?”
Cadance paced nervously around the room. “Look it’s…it wouldn’t…it wasn’t exactly…” She stopped pacing and took several calming breaths. “Miss Zecora, you’re right. The solution is clear to me. I am very sorry for snapping at you. Please, go back out there and enjoy the show.”
Zecora nodded. “I do have some herbs that can calm your emotional sway. If you ever need my help, seek me out on any day. Now I must return to…oh, excuse me Miss Fluttershy. For now, I must bid you both goodbye.”
Fluttershy smiled and waved at Zecora as she left to go find a seat for the show. As soon as she was sure that Zecora was out of earshot, Cadance turned to Fluttershy. “Okay, it’s just us now.”
“Are you feeling any better?” Fluttershy asked softly.
Cadance moaned and rubbed her face. “No. We might have a problem. Zecora doesn’t know of any other cures and Chrysalis wasn’t able to help either.”
Fluttershy gasped. “They couldn’t help you? But that can only mean…”
“I know. It’s getting worse. Fluttershy, what are we going to do?” Cadance cried.
Fluttershy gently patted Cadance’s wing and gave her a calm smile. “We proceed to the next step. Maybe sooner than we had hoped, but it’ll all be for the best. Won’t it?” When Cadance didn’t answer her, Fluttershy continued. “Before I met you I didn’t know what I would do with my life. You’ve been a wonderful teacher, a great boss, and a dear friend. Let me help you the same way you helped me.”
Cadance sighed. “You’re right. I can’t get worked up about this. In the meantime, I’ll just have to put on a brave face for the Best Young Fliers Competition.”
Fluttershy smiled. “There now, are you feeling better?”
“I am,” Cadance said. She smiled and brushed Fluttershy’s mane with her hoof. “Thank you Fluttershy. You know…you always know what to say to cheer me up…”
Fluttershy gently pushed her hoof away. “Cadance.”
Cadance froze before she unfurled her wings. “You’re right. Let’s just get to the show.”
“Ladies and gentle-creatures!” The announcer shouted into his microphone headset. “Please rise and join me in welcoming our beloved rulers! King Sombra and Princess Twilight Sparkle!”
The crowd started cheering wildly. Above the coliseum, King Sombra hissed at Princess Twilight. “You planned this on purpose, didn’t you?”
Princess Twilight smiled. “Come on, you were the one who said you wanted to try something flashier than a cloud-walking spell and flying through the air in your shadow form.”
King Sombra grimaced at the pink butterfly wings that her spell had given him. “I appreciate the thought, but you teleported us here before I had a chance to change their appearance. That is why I am accusing you of giving me girly, fairy wings on purpose.”
“They’re not fairy wings, they're made from gossamer and morning dew.”
“With respect Sparky, those sound like fairy wings. May I ask for your help in simply changing their appearance?”
“Fine. I still think you're overreacting” Both of their horns glowed before a flash of light turned King Sombra’s pink butterfly wings into black dragon wings.
“Ah. Much better.” And with that, the king and princess flew down into their private seat to watch the competition, waving to the cheering crowd.
The announcer spoke up again. “Please welcome our celebrity judges for the Best Young Flyer Competition: the Shadowbolts!” The crowd cheered again as the Shadowbolts soared across the sky, before they suddenly pulled together into an tight formation and exploded apart with a burst of dark purple fireworks. The crowd cheered at the impressive trick as the Shadowbolts took their own seats.
“And now, let's find out who will take the prize as this year's Best Young Flyer!”
Backstage, the manager for the event spoke up. “Okay everyone, it’s show time! Contestant number one! You’re up!”
“Ooh! Ooh, ooh, that’s me! That’s me!” A white pegasus with puffy yellow hair shouted.
Sunset frowned. “Who’s that?”
Gilda shrugged. “Dash mentioned a pegasus called Surprise. She fits Dash’s description to a T.”
“Her voice sounds familiar.”
Gilda shrugged. “Maybe. Can’t say for sure if I recognize it.”
The competition sped by quickly. Twenty competitors flew out into the arena before Trixie and Gilda went out. Sunset was true to her word and purposely gave an average performance to make Gilda look better. During Trixie’s performance, Sunset flew over to join her friends in the stands. Trixie was very flashy, creating magical flaming hoops to fly through, while making flowers and fireworks rain down from the sky.
Discord chuckled. “Oh Trixie. You attention-stealing horse, you.”
Rarity huffed and crossed her front forelegs. “I understand what you were trying to do Sunset, even if it was a little dishonest. But how could Trixie just enter in at the last minute and put on a show like that when Gilda worked so hard for this competition? You’d never catch me doing something like that!”
Sunset shook her head. “I was confused at first, but I think I see what she’s doing now. One of the more recent rules in the Best Young Flier’s rulebook is that: In the rare event that a flier possess extra magic and/or abilities, the competitor must refrain from using them during his or her performance or risk disqualification. Trixie is using her magic while knowing that it’s going to get her kicked out of the show.”
Rarity blinked. “But then, why even enter the competition in the first place?”
Sunset smirked as Trixie conjured up a burst of fireworks that spelled her name out in flashy lettering. “Like Discord said. Trixie is an attention-stealing horse.”
“Hmm. In that case, perhaps I should have attempted something similar,” Rarity said to herself. “I could have used a spell or two perhaps. I did have this one dress that would have-”
“Hey! G’s up now! GO GILDA GO!” Rainbow cheered. As Gilda flew out into the arena, she felt her confidence rise as she saw her friends cheering for her.
But while Gilda was performing her routine, slowly building up to the Brave Bird’s Blitz, something else was occurring. From where she sat among the crowd, Surprise spotted a dark purple cloud fly over the stands. She felt a shiver go down her back as her senses alerted her to something sinister going on. Making sure that nobody was looking, Surprise grew fingers out of her hoof and snapped them, turning herself invisible.
Pinkie Pie flew after the purple cloud, observing it as it floated near Nightmare Moon’s head before quickly zipping over to Gilda’s position. Just as quickly, the purple cloud fled from the griffon’s head and shot itself at Countess Cadance’s seat in the stands. Pinkie watched the purple cloud coil itself around Cadance’s head. The pink alicorn appeared to be experiencing a headache that grew a lot worse as the purple cloud spun faster and faster around her. Cadance gasped as sharp pain blasted through her horn. She stood up from her seat and mumbled, “I…I need some air…”
Her assistant, who looked really familiar to Pinkie, stood up to follow Cadance as concern flashed across her face. But Cadance pushed past the yellow pegasus and pushed herself out of the cloud stand’s wall. She flapped her wings and hovered in midair for a few seconds as she took several deep breaths.
That’s when the purple cloud snaked itself around Cadance’s wings and snapped them. Cadance screamed in pain as she began to plummet from the sky.
With her enhanced senses and her position in the sky, Gilda was the first one to see and hear Cadance's screaming before anyone else. “Whoa! Hold on Cadance!” she yelled as she soared downwards. Pinkie watched Gilda dive after Cadance, just as the Shadowbolts found the source of the screaming and chased after her too.
“...Oh…only because I really wanna see what a Brave Bird's Blitz looks like,” Pinkie muttered to herself. She snapped her fingers, causing several small chaotic events to go off at once.
Balloons became untied and began floating around the audience, blocking their view of the falling Countess and making sure that no unicorn could interfere. Storm clouds appeared in the downward path of the Shadowbolts, catching them off guard with unexpected lightning strikes and knocking them unconscious. And lastly, one BIG storm cloud appeared in Gilda’s path. With that, Pinkie sat back and watched.
Gilda saw the storm cloud appear and recognized it as the opportunity she needed to both save Cadance and win the competition. As she reached the cloud, Gilda folded up her wings and fell into a dive-bomb. Her griffon magic, enhanced by the crystal energy that had absorbed the day before, allowed her to absorb the lightning from the storm cloud and channel it through her wings. Her whole body began to glow electric blue as the lightning crackled around her. As soon as her dive-bomb reached its climax, she unfolded her wings in one sharp, quick movement. At last, after all the practicing she had done before, she had timed it exactly right. The blue energy immediately turned bright red, making Gilda look like her body was bathed in fire and lightning. To top it off, a shockwave of red lightning spiraled outwards from the point the energy had shifted.
“WOO! A Brave Bird’s Blitz! Way to go G!” Rainbow cheered.
Flapping furiously fast with the speed of her Blitz, Gilda caught up to Cadance right away. Once she had reached the Countess, Gilda cut off some of the excess energy so that the red lightning wouldn’t hurt Cadance. Gilda caught her and quickly flew back upwards to grab the three falling Shadowbolts.
“She’s won’t be able to hold them all at once!” Rainbow exclaimed. She quickly shot out from her seat, a Sonic Rainboom forming behind her as she caught Nightingale and Vortex while Gilda caught Descent. Gilda and Rainbow both carried the ponies they had saved and gently set them down on the Cloud Coliseum floor. They both grinned as the cheering crowd went absolutely nuts.
“Hail the conquering heroes!” Discord sang as he teleported next to them. “Shower them with praise and chocolate milk!” He snapped his fingers and turned every cloud in the entire coliseum into his trademark cotton candy and chocolate milk clouds. And the cheering was doubled.
Cadance rested in a private room within the Cloudsdale hospital while the king and princess used their magic to fix her wings up. The Elements, Rainbow, Rarity, Gilbert, and Fluttershy waited for her to recover. “King Sombra, Princess Twilight, I’m so sorry that I disrupted the competition like that.”
Princess Twilight smiled kindly. “It’s not your fault Cadance. Still, if you were feeling under the weather you could have just told us. The people of Cloudsdale would’ve understood if you couldn’t make it.”
Cadance shifted her head to look at Gilda. “I also wanted to say thank you to you, Miss Gilda. I might have survived the fall, but I would have been in considerable pain for several days. Thank you.”
“You would have survived the fall?!” Gilbert asked out loud.
“Alicorns have ridiculously thick skulls,” Discord told him. “You could smash at their heads with a sledgehammer and they wouldn’t even notice.”
Nightmare and Princess Twilight both glared at him. “Gee, thanks,” the princess mumbled sarcastically.
“You’re welcome!” he answered cheerfully.
“Still, you have saved a member of the Royal Family. Both of you have,” King Sombra said to Rainbow and Gilda.
Princess Twilight’s horn flashed as she summoned two crowns with gold feathers in them. “That's why, for your incredible acts of bravery and your spectacular Brave Bird’s Blitz and Sonic Rainboom, we are proud to present the grand prize for best young flyer to this year's two winners, Miss Gilda, and Miss Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow gasped as the second crown rested on her head. “But…but I wasn’t even allowed in the competition! They wouldn’t let me in because of the huge storm I made a while back!”
“Um, Rainbow Dash?” They turned around to see Lightning Dust and Hoops waiting outside Cadance’s room.
“You two just saved Countess Cadance and the Shadowbolts. I’d say that everyone has forgotten about that small temper tantrum of yours.” Lightning grinned. “On top of that, the Shadowbolts are looking forward to meeting all of you. Gilda did win the grand prize: A whole day with them. King Sombra said there’s nothing in the rulebook saying that she can’t bring her friends to see them.”
King Sombra winked at Rainbow. “It’s good to be the king my dear. Now go. You don’t want to keep them waiting.”
“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!” Rainbow screamed with joy as she zoomed out of the hospital.
“Best day ever!” Gilda roared triumphantly as she flew out too. Nightmare and her friends eagerly chased after them to meet the Shadowbolts. Once they were gone, only the king, princess, countess, Fluttershy, and Gilbert remained in the room.
Gilbert glanced at Cadance, then at Fluttershy. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Thank you Gilbert, but I just need to rest. Go on, enjoy the day with your cousin. You have all day today and tomorrow to be with her, before we must return to the Crystal Empire.”
“Okay. Sorry that our date ended badly Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy smiled at him and made a few gestures with her hooves and wings. Cadance translated, “She said, ‘The date wasn’t ruined. I had a wonderful time, thank you.’”
“Okay then! See ya!” Gilbert said as he flew outside too.
As soon as he was gone, the king and princess turned on the countess. “Cadance, do you or Fluttershy have any idea what might have caused this? Wings don’t break like that for no good reason.”
Fluttershy shook her head. “We didn’t see anything unusual. I just got a splitting headache, I left the show to clear my head, and my wing suddenly felt like it had been ripped off,” Cadance said.
Princess Twilight stared at her with concern. “Cadance, there's more to it than that. You’ve been acting odd lately. Ever since Pinkie’s return, defeat, and reformation. Did something happen?”
Fluttershy and Cadance exchanged worried glances. They both made a series of gestures. It looked like they were having a silent argument. After several gestures, Cadance sighed. “Okay. I’ll tell you. For a long time now, I’ve had a…rare condition. I’ve been taking medicine for it, but ever since the chaotic battle with Pinkie, our supplier has had difficulty producing more of the medicine I need.”
Princess Twilight gasped. “You’re sick? Cadance, why didn’t you tell us sooner? What sort of illness is it?”
“With all due respect Princess Twilight, that’s private information. You should know that we as rulers of this kingdom cannot show any sort of weakness. It would cause our citizens to worry for us and our enemies to strike at us,” Cadance spoke softly.
“What enemies?!” the princess exclaimed.
Cadance blushed. “Sorry. Just something King Sombra told me when he had a nasty cold once.”
“I wouldn’t pay much attention to it Sparky. I say all kinds of crazy things when I’m sick,” King Sombra said. “However, I understand what you are saying Countess Cadance. I take it that before today only you, your assistant, and your supplier knew that you had this illness?”
“My supplier doesn’t know that I’m the one with the condition,” she answered.
“And you have sought out a cure?”
“To our knowledge, there is no cure. My medicine can fight back the symptoms, but that’s all. I have gone to several professionals, and they couldn’t help me beyond that.”
“And you don’t plan on telling us what exactly this condition of your’s is, do you?”
“I am terrible sorry Your Majesty. For the sake of the Empire, I am telling us this much. However it is best that no one finds out about this. Not until I’m ready,” Cadance whispered.
“Very well. We will respect your decision. But if you ever need our help, let us know at once. If you’ll excuse us, we must return to the Crystal Empire. Sparky, whenever you’re ready,” King Sombra said as he walked out.
Princess Twilight stayed behind, her eyes watering a little. “Please Cadance, I want to help you. Isn’t there anything I can do? If you just tell me what sort of condition it is then maybe I can find a spell or…”
She trailed off as Cadance smiled gently. “How could someone as kind-hearted as you ever be a villain? You seem so different from the stories of Eternal Twilight that my parents told me as I was growing up.”
“Cadance…”
“Thank you for your concern Twilight Sparkle,” Cadance said as she rested her head on the pillow. “But there are some things even magic can’t fix.”
It had taken a risk. Far too many risks. It had been foolish to launch an attack on the competition, especially with the Element bearers and their allies present. But there had been such doubt. Such conflict within the pink alicorn. It had gotten careless. It had thought that the return of the Pink One would have strengthened it to full power. But the Trickster knew of its existence, even as it had hidden in the shadows. And she didn’t want to share. Now, it rested within the Equestria forest, to regain its strength, to…
The purple cloud hissed as it felt magic grab it within a powerful spell, transforming it into something else. Eternity gasped as it breathed with its new set of lungs as it took on its first corporeal form ever since it had been separated from Rarity. Eternity examined its body curiously. It had taken the form of Twilight Sparkle, but without wings and with white eyes.
“Now who ever said that I didn’t like sharing?” A voice asked. Eternity turned around to see Pinkie Pie, playing with a wisp of purple smoke as she twirled her fingers.
“Pinkamania Disaster Pie. We meet at last,” Eternity said.
Pinkie giggled. “Just Pinkie, thanks. Nice to meet you too, you scary smoke of doom, you! You look tired. Want some cake?”
Eternity frowned at the summoned treat. “No thanks. I dislike sugar.”
Pinkie gasped. “You don’t like sugar?! Yeesh! And people think I’m crazy. But you have problems.”
Eternity smiled, though it wasn’t a very reassuring smile. “In all seriousness, I commend you on your escape, and on your successful takeover of the Everfree Empire. It really is such a shame that you were bested by the same fools that opposed me.”
“Oh, I didn’t lose the game. They just don’t know that we’re still playing!” Pinkie giggled.
“Ah, I had wondered about your sudden ‘reformation’. The Queen of Chaos would never fall prey to such a ridiculous trap like friendship,” Eternity spat.
“Hey! You watch your tongue Mister…Miss…whatever you are!”
“I take on whatever form suits me,” Eternity said. “Although it appears that you have forced me into this form so that we may communicate. Why?”
“I am a riddle wrapped in a mystery wrapped up in an igneous,” Pinkie said. She giggled. “Like it? Maud helped me come up with that.”
“How nice,” Eternity said as she rolled Twilight’s eyes. She held up one of Twilight’s hooves in examination before lowering it. “But you did not answer my question.”
Pinkie smiled. “Because you’re wrong about friendship. I see friendship as something very powerful. To me, friendship is everything. I’m asking if you want to be my friend?” Eternity opened her mouth but Pinkie kept going, “You’ve seen how strong the Elements are together. You, you’re all on your lonesome. You poor, poor…being. If you help me with my party plans, I could see if there’s something I can do for you in return. Sounds like a great deal, huh? Huh, huh, does it, does it?” She began poking Eternity.
Eternity scowled. “I am doing fine by myself.”
“Oh, you don’t need to hide your feelings from me! You’re only scary when you’re possessing some super powerful pony! I saw what you did at Cloudsdale yesterday. You couldn’t possess Cadance, you just gave her a big headache before trying to eat her wings.” Pinkie crossed her forelegs and frowned. “Which was really mean of you! What’d she ever do to you?” Eternity grumbled. “Oh, don’t be like that! Turn that frown upside-down! Smile!”
Pinkie snapped her fingers, causing Eternity’s mouth and eyes to twitch violently. “Okay, okay! I will listen to your proposal, just release me!”
As Eternity’s face relaxed, Pinkie hummed to herself. “For some reason, the Elements of Forgiveness are good friends. They care about each other, even though I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around why. But the point is, friendship is magic. You can’t win by facing them head-on.”
Pinkie smiled. “So you go after them individually.”
Eternity’s eyes widened. “I see. A team is only as strong as its weakest member.” She grinned as part of her hoof turned into purple smoke. “Well then, I would be more than happy to join with you in-”
Pinkie snapped her fingers and Eternity’s hoof turned solid again. “Oh ho nice try, you sly pile of sinister smokey! I never said anything about you possessing me.” Eternity flinched back at the crazed grin Pinkie gave her. “So no funny business, unless it’s from me. Okie Dokie Lokie?”
Eternity sighed. “Very well.”
“No, no. Like I did it!”
“…Okie Dokie Lokie.”
Pinkie laughed. “Oh boy! This is going to be so much FUN!”