Slowly, very slowly, I found myself becoming aware of my surroundings. I was on my side, laying on something soft. Opening my eyes, I found myself to be in darkness. I sat up abruptly, concerned as to where I was, and winced as I was immediately reminded of my many bruises.
"Oooow." I groaned out.
"It's about time you woke up." I voice said from somewhere in the darkness.
I shot a startled glare around, looking for the source of the voice. I realized then that night had fallen, that was why it was so dark.
"Who’s there?!" I barked, groaning as I tried to get to my feet.
"Calm down." I heard the voice again.
This time, I caught the feminine sound to the voice and my mind flashed to the end of my fight with Black Mane. I heard what sounded like a match being struck, and a moment later light crept into the room. I quickly realized I was in own room inside of the royal palace, laying in my bed. Looking to the source of the light, I saw a pony sitting behind a small lantern. I quickly recognized it as the red pegasus that knocked me out.
"Y-you?!" I gasped, "What are you doing here?!"
She smirked at me from behind the lantern. "I brought you here, remember?" she said coyly.
"I remember you kicked me in the head." I said with a frown.
"Yeah, so?" she said simply, "You were being all macho when it was clear that you were hurt. So I did what I had to. Next time, just accept the help or I'll start calling you Silver the mule."
"And you had to kick me in the head?" I said, attempting to ignore her last comment.
"Well, it was either that, or let you fall from the academy to the dirt," she stated, "We both know you could barely stand. Do you honestly believe you would have made it down on your own?"
I sighed. She was right. I was exhausted. I could barely even stand... But she didn't have to knock me out. I shook my head and smirked at her. "I would have made it down just fine," I said, pausing deliberately before I continued, "But I'll admit I may have had some trouble with the landing."
She laughed. "Well, sounds like you're still able to think clearly," she said, "Guess I didn't kick you as hard as Breezy thought."
"Trust me," I said, still feeling the throb on the side of my head, "You kicked me plenty hard."
She chuckled and walked over to me, carrying the lantern in her mouth. She placed it on the bed beside me and looked at me closely in the yellow light.
I leaned back a little, not entirely trusting this pony after having been kicked the last time we were this close to one another.
"Oh calm down," she said, "I won't bite. I'm just checking to make sure you're not hurt." She checked me over quickly, then sat down on the floor before me. "Yeah, you should be fine." she said with a nod.
An awkward silence fell over us after that.
Eventually, I cleared my throat and tried to lessen the tension. "So..." I said, breaking the silence, "Who are you?"
She chuckled and shook her head at me. "Guess I did knock you out before I introduced myself, didn’t I?" She said. She rose to her feet and bowed formally to me. "Name's Sky Flare," she said, "Advanced Ariel Maneuvers Instructor, and substitute Combat Instructor."
"You're a teacher?!" I gasped.
Sky Flare laughed. "Not by choice," she said, sitting back down, "I'm only doing it keep my dad happy."
"Your dad?" I said, "And who's that?"
"Blue Breeze." She said with a half sigh.
"Breezy's your dad!?" I said, surprised. I looked her over anew. She definitely had his personality, that was for sure, but Breezy was blue. She was reddish-orange. 'Her mother must be red then,' I thought, figuring coat color worked like hair color in humans, 'Or she could be adopted I guess.'
"Yeah," she said, "He doesn't like the thought of me going off to see the world on my own, so I stuck around the academy. Eventually became a teacher. More to pass the time than anything else really." She sighed a little.
"I take it you're not a fan of being a teacher?" I said.
"Not really, but it's something to do at least," she said, "Ninety percent of what happens around here is the same old thing, time after time."
"Sounds a little boring." I said, thinking about it.
"It is," she said, her eyes lighting up a little, "Which is why I'm still here."
"What do you mean?" I asked, growing a little uneasy.
"You started off terribly," she said, a grin gradually growing over her face, "But in the end you K. O’d Black Mane in one shot. Even I can't do that. I know Karate, and that was not it. Whatever you did there was practiced motion. And part of a totally different style of fighting that I have never seen or heard of before."
"Well, if the only style this world has-" I started, then quickly cut myself off and began again. "If Karate's the only style this area has, then of course you wouldn't have seen my style before."
She eyed me a little, but seemed to shake whatever thought she had from her mind. "Exactly," she said, "And no one else has seen it either. Not even Black Mane. If he had, then you would have wound up on the floor again."
I shrugged, but quickly regretted the motion as pain radiated through my bruised shoulders.
"I wanna learn it," she said adamantly, "It's new, and different, and no one but you knows it here. So I want you to teach it to me."
"Wait, what!?" I said, glancing at her in in surprise.
"I want you to teach me that style," she said again, "And in return, I'll teach you how to use those wings of yours to do things you never imagined."
"It's not exactly something you can just learn overnight!" I protested, "It takes years of practice and repetition. And besides, Breezy's already taught me how to fly. What more can there be to learn?"
"I'm not stupid," she stated bluntly, "I know learning something new takes time. But it doesn't exactly seem like you're going anywhere anytime soon. And besides, from what I hear, you showed up out of nowhere and are now living right here in the palace. And as for what more there is to learn about flying?" She stood up and flared her wings out. "How about how to turn for one. I know you still have trouble with that, not to mention your hovering... It's cause you're not using all your wing to guide the airflow around you."
I watched as she hopped a few feet into the air and began to hover in place. I was amazed. She barely bobbed at all, and almost seemed to float there like she was held in place by some invisible wire. Even Breezy, who I thought was the best flier I'd ever meet had more of a hovering motion than she did.
"You need to use all your feathers, not just the flight ones," she explained, "And you need to center yourself. If you can't keep your balance, you'll generate a wake in the wind. That's why you move so much when you hover." She dropped to all fours and extended her hoof towards me. "So, do we got a deal or what?" she asked. "I teach you how to really fly, and you teach me how to fight like you do."
I stared at her, momentarily speechless. She wanted me to teach her martial arts in return for flight lessons. Not a bad trade off really, but it takes years to actually learn anything useful about fighting. And years more to be able to put it into use. I had no idea how long I was going to be here for, but I certainly hoped it wouldn't be that long. But, I guess there was no harm in teaching her what I could in the time I was here. And it'd be nice to be able to actually complete the timed course without destroying half of it...
"Why not." I said. I reached my hoof towards hers to shake it, but paused as i realized I had no idea how to shake a hoof.
Sky Flare thankfully intervened. She thrust her shoe into mine in what resembled a fist bump, then stomped her foot down hard onto the floor. "Excellent!" she exclaimed, "We'll start first thing after class tomorrow."
"W-wait, after class?" I said.
"Well yeah," she said, "Unless you wanna toss away whatever recommendation got an amateur like you into the combat classes."
I frowned at that and sighed. "Alright," I said, "After class... Where should I meet you? Outside the combat building?"
"Not a chance," she said with a laugh, "No way I'm gonna risk any nosy ponies learning my, or your tricks. There's a forest about fifteen minutes flight from here to the south. I'm sure you've seen it. We'll meet there. No one'd think to look for us outside of the city."
"Wait!" I gasped, remembering my nightly dinners with Celestia and Luna, "I can't. I have to meet with the Princesses for dinner."
"That's fine," she said, "We'll just meet up after that then."
'What have I gotten myself into...' I thought. It took me a moment to realize what I had just finished saying, and when I did, I leaped out of bed and onto my feet, despite the protests my aching body made.
"Hey, where are you going?" Sky Flare asked as I started for the door.
"To dinner!" I said quickly, "I have to be late by now. And if I missed it entirely, I should at least apologize to the Princesses and explain what happened."
"Calm down," Sky Flare said with a calming gesture of her hoof, "Dinner was canceled tonight."
"Why?" I asked, sitting down on the floor instantly.
"Not really sure," she said, "A guard came by to tell you that an envoy from the Crystal Empire was here and that your meeting with the Princesses would have to be postponed till tomorrow night."
"The Crystal Empire?" I repeated, "Where's that?"
Sky Flare looked at me quizzically. "When dad said you weren't from around here, he really meant it huh?" she said, seemingly amused by my confusion, "The Crystal Empire is a place far north of here, in the frozen wastes. Celestia niece, Princess Cadence runs things there now. So by envoy, the guard probably meant she's here for a visit. Though I didn't see her, so I can't say for sure."
"Another Princess?" I said, taking note, "Does she have both a horn and wings too then?"
Sky Flare raised a brow at that. "Yeah, all Princesses do." she said simply.
I had thought everything was run by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. I hadn't really thought about the area's outside of Equestria much at all. But it seemed like all royalty were a mix of Pegasus and Unicorn. Though I had several questions I wanted to ask, the look on Sky Flare's face told me I should stop before I draw too much more attention to myself.
I cleared my throat and did my best to compose myself and hide the pain I was still in. "Thanks for letting me know about the dinner," I said, "And thanks for helping me get home. Though next time, no kicking."
She smirked at me. "No promises." she said, before getting to her feet and heading to the door. She flicked her tail at me as she walked past and chuckled as I flinched.
I frowned at that.
"Get some more rest," she said, "I expect to be impressed tomorrow night." She left before I could think of a reply, and with the click of my door behind her, I was left in silence.
Now alone and with no one to see me, I dropped to the floor where I sat, and within moments I was once again lost to sleep.
The next day went far better than I had expected it to. Thanks to Breezy being as loud as ever, I managed to be up in time for quick meal before class. I was still sore, but I worked through it. Something about the food here just seemed to fill me with energy. Once at class, it was like night and day with Black Mane. He approached me the moment I entered class, and in front of everyone apologized for his manners. He even laughed about the events of the day before, saying "I always say one should never underestimate their opponent, no matter how much you think you out match them. Looks like even I still have some room to grow." I felt no bitterness in him at all about the knock out. In fact, he seemed to hold a great deal of respect for me now because of it. Even asking me for a rematch after I had graduated.
Dinner that night, though interesting, thankfully avoided touching on the subject of my dispute with Black Mane. Princess Celestia seemed a little distracted to me. She and Dawn spent nearly the entire dinner talking about magical artifacts. She even gave one such trinket to Dawn. A bracelet of some sort. It had apparently been made by Starswirl the Bearded, the Unicorn that made the Mirrors we had traveled here by. Though I didn't understand much of what they had talked about, I came to learn of one very important fact. Though it was broken now, this bracelet once gave non Unicorns like myself the means to use magic. Not in any great way mind you. But simple magics could be infused into such items, and through them, grant the user command over that magic. This bracelet for instance, once granted the wearer telekinesis. They could move cups and chairs with ease. While any Unicorn with even a mediocre level of magical experience could out perform such trinket users, it was still a great boon to those non magic users that received them. I know I would have loved one. I could still barely use my mouth to manipulate even simple things like drawers or curtains. And how anyone could write while holding a pencil or quill in their mouths was entirely beyond me. The sheer amount of versatility something like this would grant was a fascinating prospect to say the least, however unlikely it was that such items could still be found in working condition.
After dinner is when life got really interesting though. I flew to the forest Sky Flare had designated as our meeting place and we discussed our ground rules for some time. While she was teaching, I was the pupil and would do as told. Sky Flare had an intense dislike for repeating herself any more than she deemed necessary. And while I was teaching, she would keep her sarcasm to a minimum and do her best to ignore everything she knew about her worlds way of fighting. We had some hiccups to be sure, but overall it went rather well. Sky Flare was a remarkable teacher. Both she and Breezy shared the same deep passion for flying. It was clear in the way she flew circles around me. She spent two solid hours instructing me on the intricacies of hovering and proper feather management. As well as the purpose of each and every feather. And in return, I spent two hours teaching her about my worlds martial arts. I told her my particular style was called Tai Chi. In truth, it was a mix of a few different styles I had gotten familiar with over the years, Tai Chi being the main that my style was derived from. She took to it rather well, all things considered. I attributed her quick grasp of its concepts to her clear devotion to the Karate she had apparently mastered at a young age.
After that, I went straight to bed, only to repeat the process in full the next day.
The next two weeks followed that pattern almost to a Tee, until Sky Flare surprised me with some very unexpected news. She told me she had entered me in a race. The Annual Canterlot Race. It drew participants and spectators from all around Equestria. The course ran straight through Canterlot. Literally It was a flying race, but a good portion of it was done at street level. Meaning almost every turn was a sharp ninety degrees. Sky Flare said it'd be the perfect test of how much I'd grown in the last two weeks. It was true, I had improved a great deal. I could even fly through the forest we trained at now without careening headlong into the trees, but I was still nowhere near as confident as she was.
"Get a move on Silver or you're going to be late!" Sky Flare's now well known voice called from the other side of my door, "The race starts in twenty minutes!"
I sighed from my spot in front of my window. I could see the academy high above, and the countless pegasus already crowding the skies in anticipation of the up coming race. I heard my door open, but I didn't pay it any attention.
"Hello?" Sky Flare said as she came up behind me, "Earth to Silver? You there?"
"Yeah yeah, I'm here." I said, half waving her off.
"Well, what's the hold up then?" she asked, "You're not scared are you?"
I laughed. "Not a chance," I said, "Just... Just thinking is all."
Sky Flare sat down beside me and frowned. "If you're not scared, then what could you possibly be thinking about?"
I let out a heavy sigh and shrugged. "My family..." I said softly.
"What?" Sky Flare asked.
"They've been at every competition, match, or ceremony I've ever had," I said sadly, "But they're not here here for this one. They don't even know about any of this..." I laughed out of nerves. "They probably don't even know where I am... Or if I'm even alive..." Much to my surprise, I felt a wing fall across my shoulders. I glanced over at Sky Flare and found her to be looking down at the floor.
"I get you don't wanna talk about where you're from, and that's fine..." she said softly, "But I get it... The family thing..."
"What do you mean?" I asked, "You're with Breezy everyday."
She laughed weakly and shrugged. "Breezy and Lemon Bloom adopted me when I was young filly," she said, "They're still my mom and dad, and nothing will ever change that. But I never knew my real parents. I don't even remember them really. So I get it."
I smirked at her and shook my head. "I never thought you would be so sentimental." I said.
"Yeah well, don't expect it to happen a lot," she said, smiling back at me, "Especially if you lose this race."
I laughed and got to my feet. "I better not loose then," I said, nudging her with my hoof, "You're actually kinda nice to be around when you're not barking orders or trying to get me to teach you one more set."
She smirked and headed for the door, flicking her tail at me as she passed.
We made out way up to the starting area and proceeded to wait for the race to begin. There were nearly thirty racers in total, of all colors and skill levels. There were even some creatures here I didn't know even existed. Like the three Gryphons that had joined last minute. Or the loud Minotaur I had seen on the ground bellow. There was even some weird serpent dragon thing hanging around a small group of ponies on the side lines. It looked like a whole mix of different things. Apparently, one of that group was going to be racing today too. A blue pegasus with rainbow colored hair. I had to ask Sky Flare if it was natural or not, and she assured me it was real. Apparently that pegasus had quite a reputation for speed too, so I was looking forward to seeing just how fast she really was.
Eventually, a few pegasus came out and started requesting that all friends and non participants leave the area.
"So will you be waiting for me with Breezy at the finish line?" I asked, glancing over to Sky Flare.
"What are you talking about?" she said, "I'm racing too."
"W-what!?" I gasped, "But why?"
She snorted at me and smirked. "You may be faster than I am," she admitted, "And you have gotten better at your flying. But like I'd pass up the chance to beat you?"
"You just said I was faster than you are though." I said, not understanding what she meant.
"And you are," she said simply, "But with how many twists and turns this race has, I'd say my chances are pretty good."
That made sense. Her logic was similar to what I would have done in a racing game. Faster cars took wider turns. While a slower car could cut a sharper corner. I grinned at the challenge. "So which of us do you think Breezy's betting on then?" I asked.
"Neither of us." She laughed.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
She gestured towards the blue haired pegasus I had asked about earlier. "He'll bet on her." she said.
"What, why?" I asked, rather confused. I had heard she was fast, but fast enough that Breezy would bet on her hands down over us?
"You'll see why soon enough," she said, "But so long as I get second, I'll be happy."
Before I could press Sky Flare for any more information, a new pegasus walked out before us and began calling names. Those he called went up and received a number, then headed for the starting line. Sky Flare was called second, so she managed to evade any more questions.
I couldn't help but laugh when I was called. I was number thirteen. I had never believed in the superstitions surrounding that number, but I still found it slightly ironic.
Heading for the starting line, I was shocked to see Dawn in the front row of the crowd. She looked terrified, but she waved at me and smiled regardless. I waved back, a smile I couldn't shake forcing its way onto my face. Out of anyone in this whole world, Dawn was the closest to someone I could truly trust. She was the only other person that knew about me. And just how lost I felt here. After all, she was the same. So it meant a lot to have her here. I had told her about the race, but I hadn't asked her to come due to her fear of heights. I had no idea how she could be up here though, she didn't have wings. Then again, now that I actually thought about it and looked around, there were a great many other Unicorns present in the crowd. And even a few earth ponies here and there. 'It must be some type of magic,' I thought with a laugh, 'Is there anything they can't do with it?'
"Racers, to your marks!" I caught Celestia call out.
I looked around and both her and Luna above us. They were sitting on a platform of clouds, overlooking us all. I could see three trophies beside them and assumed those would be awarded to the winners. The Princesses smiled down at us all.
"You're in my spot." I heard someone say.
Looking around, I saw a rather grumpy looking pegasus glaring at me. "Huh?" I said, rather confused.
"I'm number twenty three," He said, gesturing to his number, "You're in my spot!"
Looking down, I saw glowing numbers in the clouds around us.
"Woops, my bad." I said, quickly moving out of the other pony's way.
He snorted at me in response and I quickly made my way to the spot marked with a thirteen. I took a deep breath and focused my mind for the race.
"Ready your wings!" Celestia called again.
Everyone spread their wings and went through their own pre-flight warm ups and stretching.
Celestia turned to Luna and smiled at her. "If you would do the honors, dear sister?" she said.
Luna nodded and looked skywards. Her horn began to glow, a faint thrum resounding over the area.
"Fillies and Gentlecoalts!" Celestia called out in a surprisingly loud voice, "It is my pleasure to welcome you all to this years Annual Canterlot Race! Let us have a clean and sportspony like race! And of course, may the best flier win!"
At that, a bolt of purple energy flashed from Luna's horn and streaked through the sky with a piercing whistle. Everyone around me lowered themselves onto a ready stance and I quickly followed suit. The bolt of energy sailed higher and higher, until it exploded in a shower of fireworks. Winds burst up from all around me as every pegasus in the race leapt into the air and began the mad dash to the finish.
I was one of the last to get airborne, having not known when I was actually supposed to begin. I cursed my own stupidity at not having asked before hand, but it was too late to worry about that now, I had a race to win!
I flapped my wings hard, ramping my considerable speed up to as fast as I dared with so many crowing the skies around me. I tried to maneuver this way and that, but I was effectively crowded in by the twenty or so pegasai ahead of me.
'You all won't let me pass, fine!' I thought, 'Let's see you all stop this!' I opened my wings and caught the air hard, slowing myself considerably. The pack pulled ahead a fair ways in a matter of seconds. Now at a safe distance to use my speed, I shot after the pack, angling upwards to pass over them. The point of the race was to pass through the checkpoints. It didn't matter how you got there, so long as you passed through each of them.
I managed to gain some ground by flying over the pack like this and I was quickly in tenth place. After three checkpoints, I was up to sixth. And by nine, I was in fourth. But this was the easy part. Ahead of me, I saw the course drop abruptly and carry on through the streets of Canterlot.
I took a deep breath and took the dive fast. 'Time to see if my lessons with Sky Flare payed off!' I thought as I caught sight of my teacher ahead. I had caught up to her in the dive. She was in second, and some distance ahead still was the pony in first place. That blue one with the rainbow mane.
'One trick at a time!' I thought, 'Focus on positions later, right now, bank hard right!'
I shifted my wings as I took the first turn, using my inner most feathers to handle the turbulence and my outer most to cut hard into the wind. I took the turn wide and nearly clipped an awning, but I pulled it off.
"I saw that Silver!" I heard Sky Flare call back, "That was sloppy!"
I snorted at her as she took the next turn. "I'll show you sloppy!" I barked back, flapping my wings harder to try and catch up. That was a mistake. I found myself taking the turn way to fast and I quickly cursed myself for my reckless haste. At the last second, my mind flashed to my first day of flying. I shot my hooves out to meet the wall that I was about to leave a lasting impression on and used my legs to cushion my impact. With a yell and a leap, I kept myself on track on managed the turn. I couldn't see Sky Flare ahead of me anymore. She had apparently already made the next turn.
I sped up again, this time planning on taking the turn too wide. I banked hard and met the wall with my feet in an attempt to run along it to try and keep my speed while making the turn. It could have been done more gracefully to be sure, but the maneuver was serving its purpose. Two more turns like that and I had caught up with Sky Flare once again.
"What the hay sort of a turn is that!?" I caught her practically yell at me as she found me closing our gap with my latest trick.
"No idea!" I answered back, "But so long as it works, I'm fine with it!"
She snorted at me and took off, moving even faster than she had been.
There was a reason Sky Flare was the Advanced Ariel Maneuvers Instructor. She was faster than most to begin with, but her true talent laid in her precession flying. When she wanted to, she could weave her way through anything, even a thick forest, with no more difficulty than the wind. I got a first hand glimpse of just how skilled she was right then.
Sky Flare took the next three corners close enough to the buildings I feared she might clip them. She could turn on a dime, and with how close she kept cutting her corners, I was gradually loosing sight of her once again.
I frowned, but kept myself from trying anything more reckless than my latest wall running trick.
Taking another turn, the course burst into open air and veered hard to the right. Glancing ahead, I saw the course line up with the train tracks, then disappear into a tunnel in the mountains some half mile ahead. Sky Flare was nearly there already, and I couldn't spot the blue one anymore.
"Come on Silver, speed it up!" I barked at myself. Flapping harder, I ramped my speed up to close the gap between myself and Sky Flare. Not having to worry about turn after turn, I could go all out. I tore after Sky Flare, just catching up just as she vanished into the darkness of the tunnel.
There were guide lights set up along the track, but there were also obstacles. I couldn't see where the walls or the ceiling were in this darkness, so I was forced to fly low. I could also hear the shrill shrieking of bats from all around me, no doubt upset at having us tear through their home like we were. I had to slow my pace if I wanted to have any chance of recovering from a collision with one of the fuzzy winged rodents. I couldn't see any of the the other racers now, ahead, or behind, but I could hear their wing beats echoing throughout the tunnel.
Sky Flare would have less trouble in here than I was, so I fully expected to see her with quite a lead by the time I got back into open air. That left me with only one chance now. The straight stretch to the finish.
I burst out of the cave and followed the checkpoints in a wide arc around Canterlot as I lined up for the final stretch. Now free of the confines of the cave, I let my full speed loose and streaked through the sky after Sky Flare and the blue pegasus that was still in the lead.
In the open like this, Sky Flare's superior maneuverability was worthless. This was the speed portion of the race. She had a good lead thanks to the street course, but not good enough to counter me.
"Silver!" Sky Flare barked as I caught up with her, "Don't you dare!"
"Sorry Sky!" I called back, "But I win this one!" I laughed as I gradually pulled away from her.
I slowly began gaining ground on the blue pegasus and I grinned as I anticipated the win. She had the lead this entire time, but I was catching up now that we were in the open.
"One more to go!" I said with a grin, "One more and I got gold!"
"Gold?" I heard the blue pegasus call back, "I think you mean silver! I'm the one taking home the gold today!"
We'll just see about that!" I called back. I beat my wings like mad, pushing them to the limit to pass this other pegasus.
I laughed, greatly enjoying the thrill of this race. Up until now, I had won every academy race I had participated in with relative ease, especially if it was a straight shot. Precision courses were harder, but even then, my speed and acceleration always let me catch up in time. This was the first time I had actually needed to push myself, and I was loving it.
"Hey, your not to bad!" The blue pegasus taunted as I finally matched her speed.
"You're not so bad yourself!" I said.
"I know," she said smugly, "But you're still not gonna beat me to the finish."
"What makes you so sure of that?" I asked.
"Because there's no way I'd loose to someone who’s still in Flight School!" she said with a laugh, "Besides..."
My heart sunk as I watched this rainbow haired pegasus flip over and begin flying backwards, still keeping pace with me.
"I'm still not even breaking a sweat!" she finished, crossing her arms to emphasize her point.
I was stunned and amazed, but I wouldn't give up that easily. Returning my focus to the finish line far ahead, I gave it my all to try and pass her again. But, just as I thought I may once again have the advantage, the blue pegasus flipped back around and began pulling ahead from me.
I couldn’t keep up.
She drew further and further ahead, and just as she neared the halfway point on our straight stretch, the most unexplainable thing I had even seen happened. There was a sound like that of a thunderclap, then all I could see was a brilliant explosion of color. The sky around me shimmered like an aurora, but more rich and vibrant in color than anything I could have even dreamed of. The blue pegasus tore off through the sky like a jet, a literal rainbow following in her wake. I wasn't an expert in physics, but I knew how rainbows worked at least, and I couldn't even begin to fathom how this was possible. But at that moment, I didn't really care. This explosion of color was beautiful and something I was never likely to forget.
By the time I reached the finish line, the blue pegasus was already being carried away by who I could only guess were her best friends.
I landed, panting heavily from the exertion of the race. I didn't even fold my wings up, instead letting them hang limply to either side of me.
"Second place goes to Silver Wing!" I heard Celestia announce, "Well done indeed!"
I laughed and looked around quickly for my friends. I saw Breezy heading over to greet me, with Black Mane, Gale, and several of my classmates in tow. I couldn't spot Dawn anywhere though. That saddened me some, but I tried not to let it bother me too much. I was certain Dawn had her reasons for not being here right then.
"You may not 'ave won me the bank boy, but you put on one 'eck of a good race!" Breezy called as he came up to me.
"Agreed," Black Mane said from behind him, "Your speed near the end was truly quite impressive. With a bit more training, you might even beat Rainbow Dash one day!"
"Who?" I asked.
"Rainbow Dash," Breezy said with a laugh, "The filly that flew circles around you."
"So that's her name," I said, filling the name to memory, "Rainbow Dash. Sky had said she was fast, but she wouldn't tell me her name."
"Aye," Breezy said with a nod, "Sky Flare's been tryin' to beat that one for years now, but she's still a might too fast." he laughed and gave me a hard pat on the back. "Too fast even for you it seems, eh?"
I laughed, then looked to the sky as Celestia announced third place.
"And third this year, is the Ariel Flight Academy's own Advanced Ariel Maneuvers instructor! Sky Flare!"
I watched as Sky Flare touched down nearby and waved to her.
She glared at me angrily as she trotted over to me.
I backed up involuntarily, half expecting her to take a swing at me with the look I was being given.
She stopped just before my face and snorted. But before I could say or ask anything, she tilted her head and kissed me on the cheek. I was stunned.
"Grats on winning silver, Silver." she said with a rather charming smile.
"U-uh... Thanks Sky." I said, still too stunned by her action to say much more. I glanced past her to Breezy and was doubly surprised to see a look of shock that equaled my own. Black Mane and Gale too were just as surprised as I was.
Sky Flare glanced back at them and frowned. "What!?" she barked, "He did good! But you all... None of you even participated!"
They all shuffled and mumbled some excuse or another.
I laughed and shook my head. They may not be the family I lost when that mirror fell on me, but they were good enough to help fill the void.
The rest of that night was filled with partying and laughter. I wore my silver medal like it was gold and recanted how i was toyed with at the end of the race by Rainbow Dash. During the course of the night, I finally found out why Dawn had been absent at the end of my race. It turns out she had gotten so into the race, she had lost focus on her cloud walking magic and nearly fell. She saved herself, but the fright of that, coupled with her extreme fear of heights forced her to leave early. I had gone to see if she wanted to join the party on the ground, but Stalwart told me she was already sleeping, the near fatal accident having drained her completely. So I returned to the party without her and resumed the banter. It was a good night. One of the best I've had in all my time in this place called Equestria.