//------------------------------// // The Next Day // Story: God of Rage // by ShadeBlitz //------------------------------// When I woke up, I found rose colored eyes staring at me. I waited a few moments while not blinking before I said, "I shall never blink," startling the Pegasus, who turned out to have cyan fur, rainbow colored mane and tail, and a cloud with a blue, yellow, and red lightning bolt as a cutie mark. "What are you? A spy?" She said. Heh, if only she knew. I thought to myself. "Nope, I'm a human, right now at least." I said. "Ok, what is a human and what do you mean by 'right now at least'?" She asked. "First question, humans are a bipedal species ranging in the billions. If the species as a whole were set on doing one task, it would probably get done in a month or two, compare to a few years or more. Second question, I can transform by dispersing, my transformations ranging from dragons to creatures as small as cats, maybe a bit smaller. Also, my name is Alexander, but you can call me Alex. What's yours?" I asked. "I am the one and only Rainbow Dash." She declared, having taken the info dump rather well. "Well then, you make it sound like you've accomplished something spectacular, might I ask what it is?" I asked, left eyebrow raised. "Fastest pony in Equestria and first to make a Sonic Rainboom in years!" She exclaimed, showing off with a backflip. "Well then, after I get something to eat, why don't we race to Canterlot?" I asked, wanting to stretch my wings with a good race. "Prepare to lose." She said, getting hyped. I smiled, getting up and falling off the cloud. I spread my wings, heading to the nearby forest. "Don't go in there! That's the Everfree Forest!" I heard Rainbow Dash shout from behind me. "Why not? As far as I know, nothing in there has a chance against me, not even a dragon." I said with confidence. I continued to fly into the forest, looking for something to eat. I noticed a trio of cockatrices wandering below me. Gathering magic in my hand, I muttered, "Bound Dagger," causing a dagger to form in my hand. I performed a nosedive, gaining speed as I dropped. When I pulled up, I shot towards the nearest cockatrice, cutting it's neck from behind and dragging it with me as I pulled up to avoid being noticed. I pulled a sack out of my pocket, putting the cockatrice in there and heading in for another. I followed the same path, slicing it's throat and bagging it at cloud level. I did the same to the final cockatrice, head off in search of fruit after bagging it. "Why did you do that!?" I heard from behind me, turning to see Rainbow Dash following me. "So you didn't chicken out after all." I said, earning a glare. "Well, being a omnivore, a creature that east both fruits and veggies as well as meat, I often hunt cockatrices to meet my protein requirements. I don't eat the whole thing, just the muscles." I said, knowing she would freak out. She did. "You better not eat ponies, or we're going to have major problems." She said, getting in a defensive position. "Anything in the Everfree is on my list of foods. Now then, do you know where I can find any fruits or veggies around here?" I asked. "My friend Applejack might give you an apple or two, if you have the bits to pay for them." She said, having calmed down. "Ok, apples sound good, lead the way." I said, following her as she flew back to Ponyville. When we got there, she led me to an area full of market stalls, specifically a wooden, cart-like stand with an orange Earth Pony mare with a blond mane and a stetson stood. Must be Applejack. Texans and their stetsons. I thought. She finally noticed us, looking our way and flinching the moment she saw me before relaxing when she noticed that Rainbow Dash was with me. "Howdy RD, who's this critter ya found?" She asked. ...Nope, not being called an animal. "For your information, I can speak, and as to who I am, my name is Alexander, just call me Alex. Also, do you have a family member by the name of Applebloom?" I asked, earning a suspicious glare from Applejack and Rainbow Dash. "How do ya know mah sis?" Asked Applejack. "Tell me, did she mention a black dragon with red eyes last night when she got home?" I asked, being mysterious. "How'd ya know 'bout that? Were you following mah sister?" She asked, even more suspicious. "Nope. I was the dragon, I have the ability to disperse into smoke and reform as almost any living thing." I said as I put down my sack, dispersing into smoke and reforming as Shadow Streak, taking a seat on the exposed dirt. "AHH!" They shouted, attracting the attention of the whole market and causing me to transform into Shade Blitz. "Seriously? You had to scream?" I asked, sighing. "I swear, I'm beginning to feel like Casper the Friendly Ghost." I mutter under my breath, putting a hoof to my face. "Who's that?" Asked Rainbow Dash. I looked up at her, "Nopony important. How much for an apple?" I asked, turning my attention to Applejack. "Two bits." She answered. I put two gold coins on the table and grabbed an apple, taking a bite from it. My eyebrows rose in surprise, "Good apples you have here, best I've ever had." I complemented her. "Sweet Apple Acres does take pride in it's high quality apples." She said. I noticed that any previous commotion over Shadow Streak had died down and quickly dispersed and reformed as Norijiro, the actual name of my anime form. I picked up my sack, taking another bite of the apple when I remembered it was there. "Have ya met Pinkie yet?" Ask Applejack. I looked at her and shook my head no since my mouth was still full. "Ya will soon, ah can promise ya that." Ok, now I'm curious, who is this Pinkie? I thought to myself, not expecting a wall of pink to be in front of me as soon as I swallowed the chunk of apple. I obviously leaned back a bit. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie. What's your name?" She said, almost too fast for me to understand. "Hi Pinkie, I'm Alexander, but you can call me Alex." I said. She reminds me of Surprise. Oh, the hilarity that ensued the days since I met that prankster Pegasus. I thought to myself, slightly smiling from the memories. "Tell me," she said, getting serious, "Do you like parties, cake, or cupcakes?" She asked, putting a cheerful face on again. "All three, pranks too." I said with a smile, earning one in return. "Make sure to be here for your 'Welcome to Ponyville' party!" She said, hopping off. Something tells me that I won't wanna miss it. I thought. "Ya don't wanna miss a Pinkie party, 'specially when it's for you." Said Applejack. Déjà vu. I thought to myself. "Welp, best be off, I gotta eat something that you two won't want to see. Tell Applebloom I said hi." I said as I flew off, looking for a cloud that's high up. I look up, noticing the sun is halfway across the sky. Welp, slept through breakfast, so this'll have to be lunch then. I thought to myself, finding a good sized cloud that is close to the Everfree. I cut and cooked the cockatrices, occasionally taking a bite out of the apple, until all that was left was cooked meat. I then made a plate out of clouds and began eating. After I finished, I busted the cloud, dropping the remains into the Everfree, and wiping my face with a spare napkin before burning it. I flew off in the direction of Ponyville in search of Rainbow Dash. I noticed a rainbow contrail in the distance performing various forms of aerobatics. Must be Rainbow Dash, she did say that she flew fast. I thought to myself. I flew over to her, "Hey Dash! Ready to race?" I asked. "You bet I am! Just so you know, you're going to lose." She said, acting very confident in her flying abilities. Won't be easy. I thought with a smirk. "Ok, on the count of three, we race." I said, pulling a couple clouds over for us to start on. "One," I said, getting in an athlete's starting position; left foot back, right foot forward, both hands on the ground. "Two," I said, opening my wings, adrenaline beginning to rush through my bloodstream. "Three!" I exclaimed, forcing my wings to fight the air resistance as I shot off with Rainbow Dash following a second later. she slowly caught up with me, "Not bad, you really are fast, but just how fast can you go?" I asked, noticing a rise in temperature, as well as a rainbow colored cone forming around Rainbow Dash. "I should be asking you that." She said, slowly picking up speed. I followed her lead, feeling the temperature rising even more. Ok, the reentry effects should be starting any time now. I thought, noticing a slight red tint in the air around my nose. "Coming through!" I shouted as the effects quickly became more apparent before two loud booms signaled that, not only have I broken the sound barrier, but Rainbow Dash did as well. If one were to look towards the sound, they would see a rainbow contrail flying next to a small ball of fire, slowly growing closer to Canterlot. Still surprises me with how this doesn't burn, but I'm beginning to think that it might have something to do with airflow. I thought to myself, slowly pulling ahead of Rainbow Dash as the fire surrounding me got more intense. Heck, I can't even feel the heat. I thought, noticing Celestia and Luna on a castle balcony in the distance. "It's already been three minutes? Meh, still gonna make it." I mumbled to myself, hearing grunts behind me. I looked back, seeing Rainbow Dash catching up. "Good work, you are one fast Pegasus!" I shouted back at her. "You're not so bad yourself, hot shot!" She said, grinning. "C'mon slowpoke! I'll give you one thousand bits if you beat me!" I said, urging her to speed up. "Maybe a year's supply of apple cider, too!" I said to her, getting a blast of air as an answer. Now that, is a demonstration of speed. I thought, shooting of after her. We eventually reach the castle, landing on the same balcony I took off from the previous day. "I *huff* win." She said, out of breath. I quickly slowed to a stop, landing next to her and summoning a large sack full of bits and a silver coin, faintly humming from the enchantments strength. "One thousand bits and a summoning coin that only summons cider and has three hundred and sixty five uses as promised." I said, handing her the items. "Thanks. That was a fun race, you nearly beat me, and it would've been the first time that I've been beat in years" She said, having recovered like a true athlete. "To be honest, I could've gone a lot faster, but it wouldn't have been fair for you." I said, getting a shocked look from the cyan Pegasus. "How fast?" She asked, still stunned. "Using all my magic strength, I could probably fly around the planet in... I'd say thirty seconds? Yeah, 'bout that, maybe a bit faster." I said. "Prove it." Said Rainbow Dash, eyes full of doubt. "If you insist." I said, placing two dark grey circles on the ground and holding up a small, dark grey bar. "One of these circles will display a hologram of the planet and the other displaying a timer, which will start when I take off and stop when I land. This bar is a tracker, it'll mark my location on the map as I fly around the planet, and it'll activate when the timer starts and shut off a few moments after the timer stops." I walked over to the same balcony I jumped off yesterday. "I'll be flying polar, so I'll end my flight at this same balcony." I said, pressing a button on the tracker that turned on the holographic projectors before putting it in my pocket. I then shot off, watching as the scenery blurred below me while somehow managing to breathe at the speed I was traveling. At this speed, my blood can hurt someone. I thought, watching as the sea below me became covered in ice. Static sounded in my ears, catching my full attention as I tried to place the familiar noise. "North pole just passed you by, spacer." Said a female voice. No... it can't be... but it sounds so much like her!