Dropping altitude as quickly as possible Courtier couldn’t help but wonder what was going though the head of the princess’s student. It was true that Sunset Shimmer had managed a spell that had given her wings, but she was new to flying, how could she even think of doing a full dive off a cliff. It had taken Courtier weeks to learn how to pull out of a full dive like the one she was attempting. But then, a moment or two earlier then was optimal, Sunset spread her wings wide, shifted her weight, and straightened out, flitting quickly forward towards the maze of rocks that made up the racecourse. Courtier came out of his dive a little lower and slightly more graceful then Sunset had, but he had to admit she was quite a good flier for only having a maximum of a years worth of practice, and even then not having wings at all times.
Courtier was easily able to keep time with Sunset, but it seemed to be more of a challenge to catch up or overtake her. Her wings seemed to help her make tight hairpin turns without losing much speed in the process, but he knew this course much better and all he had to do was bide his time until the straight away at the end. Putting on a burst of speed he was able to get himself close enough behind her to speak with her.
“Be Careful Sunset, these rocks can be dangerous for someone who doesn’t know them!” He called making sure to project his words forward so they would not be lost as the both cut their way through the air.
“I told you not to worry about me!” Sunset basically shouted over her shoulder. Courtier smiled to himself, she might be beating him at the moment, and be handling her flight rather well, but she was still a beginner and had no idea how loud her words had been when they were blown back to him.
“Well in that case I won’t go easy on you then!” Courtier grinned, making sure that his voice would be heard even as they shot around another bend in the rocks.
“Catch me if you can!” Sunset shouted as she tucked her legs in tighter and buzzed her strange insect like wings a little faster, shooting ahead and through a gap in the rocks that Courtier had not considered for a shortcut. A single curse escaped Courtiers mouth as he rushed the long way around the boulders Sunset had just avoided. As she came back into view Courtier realized they had reached The Vultures Tongue: the final stretch of the course, walled on either side by broadly spaced boulders, and a straight away over open water. This was part of the course where races could be won or lost, and he wasn’t planning on losing this one without a fight. Sunset had a decent lead on him, but he could tell she was struggling with the powerful wind currents that burst past the boulders on the ocean side of the course. Making his body as small and aerodynamic as possible Courtier put on a burst of speed leaning into the new side wind to lower its effect on his increasing speed.
Sunset was struggling but she didn’t seem to let that hold her back, she increased her speed probably assuming that Courtier would be doing the same as she flew towards the arching rock that she had correctly assumed to be the end of the racecourse.
Courtier smiled as he started to gain on her, he was glad she had come. Sunset had presented a pleasant distraction to what could have been an absolutely miserable weekend. In fact he had forgotten all about Hearts and Hooves day, and Gilda’s teasing that he didn’t have a special some pony. Suddenly a though hit him, almost causing him to slow down: although Sunset was as rude a Gilda could ever be, she was actually sort of nice when you got to know her, and she seemed to be ligamently curious about his place as The Sky Kings Squire, not to mention she seemed to have not only tremendously powerful magic but also a confident appearance he couldn’t help but be drawn towards.
Before all these thoughts could really condense into anything specific, something struck him as odd. The water didn’t seem right, in fact it seemed to be moving out from under them. Snapping his head sideways he saw something that made his wings stiffen. A large wave was approaching them at tremendous speed, forgetting the race he changed course and rocketed upward above the top of the wave as it past through the boulder wall and started to crash into the middle of The Vulture’s Tongue. Looking down he saw Sunset Shimmer still speeding forward 10 seconds away from the final arch, but also just moments away from being pulled under by the wave crashing in.
Diving as fast as possible he shouted her name as the wave crashed over her pulling her underwater and out of sight. Knowing that he was her only hope he put clenched his hooves together tucked his head down and prepared to dive underwater in the same method Griffins used to catch ocean fish.
The Cold water struck his body as he tucked his wings tight to his sides to keep the inner feathers dry enough escape the watery depths. As his whole body submerged he caught sight of Sunset thrashing slightly as her magic wings dissolved slowly in the salty water. Fighting to keep his eyes open, wings tight and mouth shut Courtier hooked his forelegs around Sunset’s shoulder and started kicking towards the surface. Trying to remember everything the Sky King had taught him in their training sessions Courtier prayed to the Princess that they would not be caught again by the power of the wave and slammed against the boulders or cliff on which the wave would be breaking.