//------------------------------// // Best Known For Giving Up... // Story: It's All Downhill From Here // by B_25 //------------------------------// Working for Rarity, doing business with Twilight, or getting dragged out of bed by Cloudchaser, it would appear that the mares in Spike’s life always decided his schedule for him. He’d need to work on that. However, there was no time to think about that in his current predicament. Instead, his thoughts were occupied with trying to keep up with Cloudchaser as the two ran across town. “Hey, wait up!” Spike called out from behind her as they were making there way to the park in town. “Some of us still haven’t fully woken up.” Cloudchaser merely rolled her eyes and decided not to respond. The little dragon would have to learn to keep up with her. She wanted to win. After another minute or so of racing through and around the townsfolk and establishments, they arrived at an open glade on the outskirts of the park. A perfect location for some training. “Here we are, Spike.” Spike staggered up next to her, his tongue lying limp out of his mouth as he tried to catch his breath. “Ugh, I don’t know about you, but just getting here was enough exercise for one day for me.” “Well, that’s just too bad because we’ve got a lot of work to do, today. We need to make sure we have an edge on the competition.” Cloudchaser clenched her teeth, thinking about one pair in particular. “Um, okay,” Spike replied, “but do you have any particular training in mind? Or did you just pull me out of bed to enjoy the scenery?” “Of course I thought of some things to do! What, do you think I don’t know what I’m doing?” Cloudchaser immediately searched her mind for anything that could contribute to training because she, in fact, had no idea what she was doing. “Uh-huh,” Spike said, arms crossed. “Whatever you say.” “Psh, let’s just get started,” she said with an eye roll. “Okay, what did you have in mind?” Cloudchaser quickly took stock of her surroundings. Trees, grass, dirt… she didn’t have much to work with. “Well, we don’t have a whole lot of training equipment or anything to work with, so we’ll just have to get creative.” Spike looked around the area and turned his gaze to his partner. “Michalangecolt couldn’t be this creative.” “Well, we’re supposed to be able to work together to win a scavenger hunt, right?” “Yeah?” “So, I guess we should try working together a little bit.” “Okay, makes sense,” Spike said. “Any ideas?” “Hmm,” Cloudchaser said, rubbing her chin. “I got an idea. Hop on.” She leaned down and motioned for Spike to jump on her back. “Wait a sec, you want to fly with me riding you? What if you drop me or something?” Spike had only ever flown with his close friends, so he wasn’t sure about flying with somepony else. “Look, you’re just going to have to trust me. I’ve been flying my whole life and I imagine it’ll come in handy during the games if we can fly together. So hop on.” Spike looked her in the eyes one last time before deciding she actually made sense. “Alright, just be careful, alright?” Spike cautiously got onto her back, locking his legs behind her wings and wrapping his arms around her neck. “Alright, I’m ready.” “Good. Hold on tight!” Cloudchaser gave Spike a devilish grin and jumped in the air, immediately spreading her wings and soaring into the sky. Riding around on pegasi was something Spike had never fully gotten used to . Maybe it was just his fear of heights, or maybe it was motion sickness, but either way, he always felt the need to close his eyes and pray for safety the entire time. Especially when it came to fast flyers. And she was fast. Not as fast as Rainbow Dash or anything, but she had power to her flight, and she wasn’t afraid to hold back. “Alright, Spike,” she called back to him. “If you’re gonna get used to flying with me, you’re gonna have to get used to the whole package. Let’s try a few trick moves.” “T-Trick moves?” Without a response, Cloudchaser bolted up in the air at full speed. She went higher and higher until she finally came to a sudden stop. Spike could feel his stomach rising into his chest. It was like a roller coaster ride without the safety bars. And, as with any roller coaster that goes up and up and up, only one thing could follow. “Here we go! Hold on!” “Ahh!” Cloudchaser did a quick spin in the air and dove downward, locking her wings to her side. Spike gripped his arms even tighter around her and plunged his face into her mane, hoping to avoid any visuals of what was about to happen. He could feel the full force of the wind trying to separate him from her back. It was terrifying. Barrel rolls, back flips, twists, turns - Cloudchaser did it all. And all the while, Spike just prayed to whatever dragon deities may have been watching over him that he would return to the ground in one piece. “You having fun back there, Spike?” Cloudchaser asked, taking a quick lull to address her cowering counterpart. “F-f-fun? If by fun you mean ‘terrified out of my mind’ than yeah, I’m having a blast!” She chuckled lightly turned her attention back to the open sky in front of her. She may have met her match in sarcasm with this dragon. Not that that was a bad thing, though. “Alright, we can take a quick break from flying then.” Cloudchaser gently swept down to the ground and kneeled down to let Spike off. The trembling dragon tried to jump off but ended up tripping and falling on his face. “Oomph!” “Woah there.” Cloudchaser reached out and picked Spike back up to his feet. “You okay?” “Yeah,” he said, dusting off his scales. “I just need a minute to regain my land legs.” Spike tried to take a step forward, but his legs buckled beneath him, bringing him back to the ground once again. “On second thought, I think I’ll just stay down here for a little bit. Feel free to join me. It’s safe, and… non-aeronautical.” “Hehe, fair enough,” Cloudchaser said, taking a seat next to Spike. “I take it you're not a big fan of flying then?” “It’s not so much the flying part of it as much as the inevitable falling to my death that could accompany said flying.” “I see. You must be an absolute joy to play sports with.” Cloudchaser smirked at Spike. “I enjoy sports. Just not ones that could kill me.” “A good principal I suppose, but just one question. You’re a dragon, right?” “Yes… Figuring that out just now are we?” “No, mister wise guy, I just mean you’re a dragon. Don’t dragons have wings and, you know, flying ability?” “Your point?” “Well, I know that for pegasi, flying is kind of an instinctual thing. It’s just something we do. Isn’t it the same for dragons?” “Not really. I mean, for some dragons sure, but not all. Besides, I don’t even know if I’ll grow wings or not. It’s kind of a toss-up to be honest considering the lack of information on my exact dragon species.” “Interesting. So, I guess we’ll just have to fly more often together to get you ready for the weekend?” Cloudchaser winked at Spike, causing him to shiver. “Fine, but only if you install some seatbelts or something.” “Ha, understood,” she replied with a grin. An awkward silence took over the two of them as they sat next to each other. The only conversation was going on in their heads. Hmm, maybe this dragon isn’t so bad. Wait, are me and her actually, like, getting along? The two of them made eye contact for a moment before quickly turning away from each other, breaking the silence between them. “Ahem, well, maybe we should get back to training,” Spike said, rubbing the back of his head. “Yeah, yeah, let’s do that,” Cloudchaser answered back, pawing at the ground. “Alright, um, did you have any specific exercises in mind? Because if not, I had a-” The two were suddenly interrupted by a voice from the distance. “And then I said to him, ‘Who do you think you’re messing with? I”m Thunderlane!’” Cloudchaser and Spike both looked up in time to see Thunderlane walking toward them with Flitter practically stuck to his side. “Wow, Thundey, you’re so brave! Then what happened?” “Heh, well let’s just say that movie theater always gives me a fifteen percent discount when I go.” Thunderlane glanced over and noticed Spike and Cloudchaser. “Oh, look Flitter, it’s your sister.” “Hey, Cloud!” Flitter called out with a devilish smirk. “I hope you two are having as much fun as me and Thunderlane are!” Spike looked over at Cloudchaser who was seething through her teeth, unable to bring her gaze from them. “Yeah! We’re having lots of fun! Oodles of it! So much fun that it’s against the law!” Thunderlane and Flitter both stared at her for a moment before snickering to themselves. “Alright, whatever sis. We’ll see you around.” As the two walked away, Spike eyed Cloudchaser’s expression, going from a vicious glare to a facehoof. “Oodles?” “Yeah, I don’t know what came over me.” “This whole ‘acting impulsively’ thing seems to be a running theme with you, huh?” Cloudchaser let her gaze travel once more to the couple walking away from them. She was just in time to see her sister press her backside against his in what she swore was pure mockery. In a flash, Cloudchaser picked Spike up in her teeth and swung him onto her back. “C’mon, Spike. Let’s get back to work. Break is over.”