//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: The Eighth Element?! // by PaisleyPerson //------------------------------// Chapter 2 “Come on, Soarin’! You can do it!” “Go, Soarin’!” “Ya got this, pardner!” “Are you sure about this?” Contrary to the rest of the encouraging shouts, Charcoal’s voice was laced with doubt. Perhaps it was just due to the fact that he woke up on the wrong side of the bed, but something about this wasn’t sitting right with him. Fink and Shift had escorted Charcoal out to Ponyville, where the rest of his family and friends were waiting. The group gathered on a green, grassy hill somewhere between the town and the Everfree Forest. Rainbow and Soarin’ had been coming out here every day for a month to practice, trying to build up speed. Normally this would indicate a big race coming up, or at least some sort of event. This time, though, the training sessions were merely the result of Soarin’ trying to obtain a personal goal: performing a Sonic Rainboom. After all this time, Soarin’ was finally ready, and their friends had gathered to watch. Well, minus Discord and the dragons. Spike and Blaze were out visiting Garble at the moment, and the draconequus was probably off causing trouble in another dimension. According to Twilight’s calculations (and Twilight was always right) they were a safe distance from the town so no buildings would be harmed by the aftershock, but the townsfolk would still get to witness the spectacular colors that accompanied success. She estimated that even some of the Everfree’s residents would catch a glimpse of the light show. “Soarin’s just attempting a Rainboom, not unlike the dozens that Dash has performed before. What could go wrong?” Acrylic Storm, his thestral mother, inquired. She was gray with a blue mane currently pulled back under her trademark beret, which poked out in a bun, a long, barely-restrained cluster, and a mess of free flowing curls. It vaguely irritated him that she could be so casual about it while anxiety was nearly driving him mad. “I don’t know... I’ve just got a bad feeling,” Charcoal hesitantly confessed. “What’s the problem, son? You’ve watched Rainbow perform plenty of Rainbooms before. Soarin’s just going to give it a go, is all,” the colt’s father, added. Torchwood was extremely tall- a trait Charcoal was beginning to take after. He had a chocolate coat and black and blond streaked mane and tail, both cropped short. Like Acrylic, Charcoal's father seemed perfectly at ease. “Hmm...” Charcoal doubtfully hummed. He knew that his parents were right. After all, it was just another Sonic Rainboom. And the weather was perfect- it was a warm, sunny day with clear skies. So why was his stomach knotting in dread? “Hey, Mama?” Lilac Bud, Charcoal’s younger sister, meekly called out. She had a bold purple mane, and crystal blue eyes that were currently warped with discomfort. “Yes? What’s wrong, baby?” Upon noting the distressed expression plastered on her little face, Acrylic instantly scooped up the pink filly. “I don’t feel so good all of a sudden,” she explained, clutching her stomach. “I’m not feeling my best either, Lilac,” Shift spoke up from the right. Charcoal examined his own stomach pains a little more closely, wondering if the unease he felt could merely be some sort of stomach bug. “Maybe it was all those apples you kids had at breakfast,” Flash Sentry, Twilight’s visiting stallionfriend and bodyguard, suggested. “Are y’all dissin’ my cookin’?” Applejack crossly accused from the other end of the assemblage. “’Course not, Aunt AJ!” Spectrum, Rainbow and Soarin’s son and another of Charcoal’s friends, quickly put in. “Only... the rest of us have been feeling a little queasy since then,” Candy Apple, Applejack’s own daughter ever-so-helpfully piped. “The apples couldn’t have been it, anyway. We ate at the Everfree Palace,” Shift reminded. “Yet, I’m feeling a bit squeamish myself,” Fink voiced. “And Char’s been feeling sick since this morning. Isn’t that right?” “A little,” the prince confessed. ‘A lot’ is what he really meant, but he wasn’t about to admit it- especially not in front of his worry-wart mother. “Come here.” Speaking of, Acrylic stepped up to feel his forehead and check for fever. “Oh dear. Darling, are you feeling ill at all?” Rarity did the same and anxiously pressed a hoof to her little Petticoat’s forehead. “Just a little, Mother,” Petticoat formally addressed, pushing the elder mare’s hoof away so that it wouldn’t disrupt any of her perfectly-combed blond hairs. Apparently her sick stomach wasn’t worth risking her hairdo. “I feel fine,” Thunder Cloud, Spectrum’s younger sister put in. “Ditto,” Spectrum himself added with a shrug. “It’s just you guys.” “Is anyone else feeling sick?” Unlike his wife, Caramel was more concerned about the welfare of their friends than insults to the lunch his family had provided. Slowly, about half in attendance raised their hooves. “Well, you know what they say. Laughter is the best medicine. Anypony up for a funny face contest?” Cheese Sandwich grinned, offering the impression of a cross-eyed puffer fish. “HE’S DOING IT! HE’S DOING IT! EVERYPONY, HE’S DOING IT!” Pinkie screeched at the top of her lungs. Cheese’s cheeks deflated as he whipped around to watch, and those feeling a bit queasy ignored their discomfort for the time being in order to witness Soarin’s first-ever Sonic Rainboom. The wind lashed at navy hair, green eyes watered, and the wind blew pale cheeks back as Soarin’ quite literally raced the sky. And his wife, that is. Rainbow Dash was coaching him every step of the way, easily keeping pace. The wind was likewise grabbing at her multi-colored mane and cyan coat, but the couple ignored the resistance and pushed ever forward. They forced the sky to submit to their speed. They pierced the very sky, partners still dancing in perfect unison, drilling a hole in the atmosphere as they twirled. “You can do it!” “Almost there, Dad!” “Go, go, go!” “Yay!” Shrill whistling filled the air as both ponies approached the sound barrier. This was it. Two Sonic Rainbooms performed at the same time! That had to break some sort of record. The onlookers braced themselves for the deafening boom sure to ensue. Charcoal was no exception, huddling close to Fink and Shift for extra protection. That uneasy feeling in his stomach still hadn’t gone away, and he didn’t think bad food could have been the culprit, anyhow. Dread began screaming as loudly as the whistling in his ears. Then the blast came. Charcoal’s entire group toppled from the sheer force, the sheer noise causing the earth to tremble. Bright colors exploded before his eyes. Most ponies would have been filled with awe by the spectacle. Not Charcoal. The colors terrified him. And not only him- most of the young ones and both ex-changelings began to squirm. Worse, the vibrant-hued aftershock was travelling this way. “No,” he choked, scrambling to his hooves. “Beautiful. Just beautiful,” Trender clucked, astounded by the exquisite scene. “I think this calls for another painting,” his mother announced, likewise oblivious to his panic. Fink and Shift, however, were not. “Let’s scram!” Shift screeched, detangling himself from Fink’s limbs and running for his life. Charcoal’s mind filled with haze, and he barely registered that he was sprinting himself. “Charcoal?” his father called after him. “Candy? What n’ tarnation...?” “Where are you all going?” Charcoal vaguely noticed that most of the other kids had bolted as well. “Run! Just run!” was all the destral could choke out. The colorful aftershock was streaking through the sky after them, and gaining. He wasn’t sure what, but he just knew that something bad would happen if the rainbow overtook him. It was inevitable, but nothing would keep him from trying. “AaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!” Nothing but that. “LILAC?” Charcoal’s hooves plunged into the dirt as he skidded to a halt, recognizing the sound of his sister’s distress. He turned around just in time to watch Lilac evaporate in a technicolor flash of light. “LILAC!” Their mother instantly broke down into a heap of tears, clutching at the dirt where her daughter once stood. Charcoal watched in horror as he realized most of the other families weren’t faring much better- Candy promptly disappeared, as did Petticoat. Everyone was soon wailing in confusion and grief, mourning the loss of their children. Spectrum and Thunder clung to one another, but strangely enough, they were unscathed. “Go, Charcoal, go!” Flash was the only one who had kept his head through the whole ordeal. Oh yeah. He was supposed to be running, wasn’t he? Charcoal’s legs kicked back into action, but it was too late. The rainbow may have worked quickly, but it wasn’t by any means painless. “YAAAAH!” Charcoal’s mind filled with color just before he disintegrated. Fink and Shift, both still running, promptly met the same fate. “What’s going on?” Acrylic wailed, cradling a hoofful of dirt as though she could ask nicely and get their daughter back. Even Torchwood’s strong arms weren’t enough to reassure her as their family- their life- fell apart right before her very eyes. “I don’t-” his words were sucked away into the swirling vortex now encompassing them all. The surviving ponies clustered tightly together at the eye of the colorful hurricane. “WHAT’S HAPPENING?” Spectrum screamed over the deafening wind. “MOM? DAD?” Thunder desperately called for her parents. Fluttershy comfortingly squeezed her close, though whether it was for the filly’s reassurance or her own remained a mystery. “NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, STAY TOGETHER,” soldier boy Flash ordered. Unfortunately, that was one order they couldn’t follow. In fact, the whole matter was completely out of their hooves by now. They were all just along for the ride, wherever the encroaching vortex took them. Or rather, when.