The Winning Failure

by marley

Chapter 46

Chapter 46
Cloudsdale was clearly visible on the horizon now. The pair put on more speed hoping to get a chance to talk to their friends before the Inquiry started. Soon they landed in front of the Wonderbolt Compound and entered the now familiar courtyard. Several ponies were present including Mr. Immelmane, Frost and Sunrise Cloud.

“Hey Dash! Firewing! Welcome back,” said Frost happily.

“Hi Frost, hi everypony,” said Dash. “Great to see you all again.”

“Wow! Firewing, nice flight suit,” said Sunrise Cloud. “Did Rainbow's friend make it?”

“Yeah, she did,” said Firewing. “Don't you just love it?”

“And how is my new protege?” asked Mr. Immelmane. “Rested I hope.”

“Not really,” said Dash ruefully, “I think I've spent almost as much time in the air as I did during the try outs.”

“Really?” said Immelmane. “I thought you wanted to take a break.”

“I did but I ended up being the guest of honor at a victory celebration put on by Ponyville,” explained Dash. “Firewing and I did a little show for them too so we had to practice Monday, perform Tuesday and then fly here today.”

Mr. Immelmane chuckled. “Welcome to the world of the celebrity. Well, you can take a break for a day or two over the next week. I won't need to see you again until next Saturday. After the Inquiry, we can get your materials and have lunch.”

“That would be great,” said Dash. “I can't wait to get started.”

“Good,” said Immelmane. “I've been thinking of a way to incorporate that flat spin ending into your routine. If you start higher up, say fifty hooves, you might be able to do it safely.”

“I thought so too,” said Dash, “but not anymore. I tried it at about twice that and almost crashed.”

“What!?” cried Immelmane.

“When we did our routine yesterday the air was real choppy so I put in even more space for safety,” said Dash. “It was a good thing I did. I went into the trick and there was nothing under my wings. I just kept falling. It was a downdraft. A bad one. I've never been so scared. I was able to pull up between the sets of flat spins and do the ending the way I did it in the try outs. I hit my tail on the ground but nothing serious. I was lucky.”

“You were a hundred hooves up and still almost crashed?” said Immelmane. “That should have been plenty of room. That must have been quite a downdraft.”

“I need to learn to read the air better,” said Dash. “I shouldn't have been caught off guard like that.”

“We'll work on that,” said Immelmane. “Don't let it worry you. I'll do my best to keep your routine safe. What was the show like?”

“Firewing and I did our routines and added some moves to stretch them out,” said Dash. “Between our routines she did a little sky dancing with my friend Fluttershy.” She laughed. “After my routine the town pegasi carried me off on their backs, Firewing too. They didn't know I almost wiped out.”

“Fluttershy, Fluttershy, that name is familiar,” mused Immelmane.

“She was a student of yours a long time ago,” said Dash. “Yellow with a pink mane and tail. Three butterfly's for a cutie mark, but I guess you wouldn't know that. Very timid and nervous. Mmm easily startled, awful flier.”

Immelmane suddenly remembered. “Scared of heights!”

“That's her,” said Dash.

“And you got her into sky dancing?” said Immelmane. “How wonderful.”

Rainbow Dash laughed. “No, not me. She was here spying on me and saw our shows last week. She just loved the beauty of it so much that she wanted to try it herself. It's funny, for as gentle and timid as she is, if something grabs her, she's unstoppable. Do you know of a good teacher for her?”

“Why don't you teach her?” asked Immelmane.

“Me?” said Dash in surprise, “I don't know how to sky dance!”

“You don't?” said Immelmane, whose surprise matched his protege's.

“I followed along a little when Firewing was showing Fluttershy but that was the only time,” said Dash.

“So all you've ever done is stunt flying?” asked Immelmane.

“That and racing,” said Dash. “But Firewing and I were talking and I think I should learn some. We figured that some of the moves would help me with my routine. I know I can't fly flat out for my whole show.”

Immelmane shook his head. “It never occurred to me that you wouldn't know sky dancing. Most ponies start with sky dancing and then move up to stunt flying. Yes, you will need to learn some. We might have to start Firewing sooner so she can work with you. If not we'll have to get you an instructor.”

“I'd feel more comfortable with Firewing,” said Dash, “but whatever you think is best.”

“We'll talk about it later,” said Immelmane. “Windyday is here and we have to go over some things before the Inquiry.”

Rainbow Dash looked around and saw Windy, Spitfire and the rest of the Wonderbolts landing. The mares were wearing a white wrap around their middle with a red number on it. The males are similarly clad but with the colors reversed. Firewing saw them too and ran over to Windy. Dash trotted over to join them.

“Firewing! Rainbow Dash! Welcome back!” Windyday hugged them each in turn.

“Gee Windy, we've only been gone three days,” said Rainbow Dash. She laughed.

“It's good to be back Windy,” said Firewing. “How's your training going?”

“Great!” replied Windy, “It's hard work but I love it. I'm flying in the number two slot behind Spitfire. You'll be starting in the three slot, Firewing.”

“I wonder where they'll put me,” said Dash.

“You'll have to learn all the positions Dash, we all do,” said Windy. “Two is just my regular position. Firewing will be the regular number three.”

Immelmane stomped his hoof on the stone to get their attention. “Ladies, I need to see you all in the dining hall now please. We need to go over a few things before the inquiry starts.”

The ponies followed Immelmane, Spitfire and Soarin into the dining hall and found some seats. There was a stack of files on one of the tables and Immelmane called off each ponies name and had them come up and get a folder. The folder contained the statement they each gave after the incident with Twister.

“I want you all to look over the statement you gave last week,” said Immelmane. “The ponies on the board of inquiry have already read your statements and will be asking you questions about them. I advise you to keep your answers short and to the point. There is no need to provide additional information unless asked. If you find any errors in your statements, let me know so that we can inform the board. I'll give you a few minutes to look over your statements.”

Rainbow Dash and the other witnesses read over the statements. Rainbow Dash noticed that while the statement is accurate, some of the things she told Immelmane are absent. She walked over to Immelmane and asked about it.

“The answer is simple; only the facts are present in the statement,” said Immelmane. “The things I asked that required your opinion are absent. The board has reviewed the facts only. They may ask you questions or your opinions if they require them but their real purpose is to first analyze the facts in order to render a fair judgment. They don't want our opinions of Twister to influence their verdict. After they decide guilt or innocence, they may want to hear what we think.”

“She didn't come to defend herself or apologize? I would have,” said Dash.

“That is because you possess things like courage and honor,” said Immelmane. “She just wants to hide.” Immelmane's contempt was obvious.

“But she has to know that her punishment will be harsher with no apology,” said Dash. “Even if she didn't mean it, I'm surprised she wouldn't come to give one.”

“She might be too scared to come,” said Immelmane with a shrug. “She knows Frost is here. Frost and Sunrise Cloud both have a lot of friends in Cloudsdale.”

“I guess that could be it,” said Dash. “I know I wouldn't want to be on Frost's bad side.”

A pony entered the hall and summoned Immelmane, Spitfire and Soarin to meet with the board. In their absence, the ponies begin to talk among themselves. Little of the conversation concerned the inquiry, centering instead on Firewing's flight suit and Windyday's first day of training. Only a short time had passed until the pony that summoned the first group of witnesses returned.

“Rainbow Dash, Windyday, Firewing, Frost and Starshine, come with me please,” said the pony.

The five ponies followed their guide to the hall where the dance was held. It seemed strange that the serious proceedings were held in the same place where they were honored and had so much fun. The first group was still there as the five ponies were led before a group of seven ponies on the same platform where they had eaten dinner only five days before.

The pony in the center introduced himself. “I am Mr. Lighthoof. I will be conducting this hearing. Rainbow Dash, have you read over your statement?”

“Yes sir.” said Dash.

“And is it accurate?” asked Lighthoof.

“Yes sir,” repeated Dash.

Lighthoof continued the questioning. “From your statement, you said that you followed Frost when she flew off in pursuit of the second group just before the incident. Did you have a good view of the actual collision?”

“Yes sir,” said Dash.

“Your description agrees with the other accounts but I would like to ask about the collision itself,” said Lighthoof. “Describe it to us.”

“I was following Frost but I quickly caught up and was along side of her when it happened,” said Dash. “Spitfire pulled out of her dive in an inverted position and the others were executing the maneuver. Razor was next and she did it. Sweet Clover tried to do it but was really out of shape and couldn't do it so she dropped out of line. Twister wasn't in the line anymore and was moving much too fast to do the move but she tried to pull into the line in front of Sunrise Cloud. Right at that time, Sunrise pulled up in the inverted position and Twister hit her from above and behind. She came in at a slight angle from the side too and hit Sunrise with her hooves. Sunrise dropped and Frost and I went after her. She barely pulled out in time and hurt her wing doing it. She landed immediately and I...”

“Thank you Rainbow Dash,” said Lighthoof. “That is sufficient. Do you think the accident was avoidable?”

“Twister could see what was ahead of her,” said Dash. “She could have aborted or flown parallel to Sunrise Cloud.”

“Could she have flown in behind her?” asked Lighthoof.

“I doubt it,” said Dash with a shake of her head. “Twister was going much faster than the other ponies in the line.”

“Yet she was able to pull in behind Razor after the collision,” said Lighthoof. “Why is that?”

“First of all,” Dash began, “she didn't perform the inverted pull out. She pulled out normally and then flipped over. Second, a lot of the speed from her dive was lost from the collision.”

“Do you think it was on purpose?” asked Lighthoof. “That she used Sunrise Cloud to slow down so she could get back in line?”

Rainbow Dash was stunned. “I...I never thought about it that way. I can't imagine any pony doing something like that. I suppose it's possible, but I don't know what was going through Twister's head at the time.”

“That will be all for now Rainbow Dash,” said Lighthoof. “Windyday, tell us what you saw regarding the collision.”

“What Rainbow Dash said was accurate,” replied Windy. “I was watching from the cloud with Mr. Immelmane, Soarin and the others. From the angle I saw it, Twister was trying to get back in line after an earlier mistake. When she did her dive she cut through the line and was traveling roughly parallel to the line Spitfire was leading. When Spitfire pulled out of the dive inverted, it put her on the inside of the arc the others were flying. When Sweet Clover was unable to pull out properly, it left a gap in the line. Sunrise Cloud tried to close the gap and at the same time Twister tried to use her position to take the space behind Razor. That is when the collision took place. Twister hit Sunrise as she was doing her inverted pull up and sent her into a spin. It was remarkable that she was able to land safely.”

“And do you believe Twister intentionally used Sunrise to scrub off speed and regain the position?” asked Lighthoof.

Windy nodded her head. “I believe so. If she had not hit Sunrise she would have passed through the line of ponies and leveled out below. She was going far to fast too pull up on her own.”

“How were you able to tell this from the distance you were from the accident?” asked Lighthoof.

“Mostly due to their wing positions and the pattern on Sunrise Cloud's suit,” answered Windy. “The diving line of ponies were trying to control their speed and were also spinning. Twister was simply in a semi tucked wing position in a controlled dive. After she started trying to pass, she made up the space between herself and the lead ponies very quickly. Even though I was some distance away, I was able to clearly see Sunrise start her pull out. Just as she did it, Twister flared her wings to slow down and pull up. She hit Sunrise hooves first and I saw no adjustment to avoid the collision.”

“Do you think Twister could have avoided the collision?” asked Windy.

“Yes,” said Windy. “Her flying made no sense at all. Gaining a position or two while missing the tricks was not going to improve her chances nor was bullying her way through fellow competitors. She was taking a lot of unnecessary risks and was causing problems before the collision.”

“I understand you knew Twister before the tryouts,” said Lighthoof. “Did she do anything like this previously?”

“I don't claim to know her well,” said Windy. “I went to Phillydelphia and raced against her once. It was a three lap open, low level, twenty mile course. There were two classes of racers on the course at the same time. Twister and I were racing in the open class and there was a youth class which took off after we started. Twister was able to to get into the lead position while I was pacing myself in the pack. About halfway through the second lap, we started catching the youth class racers. By this time I was racing third and Twister was about twenty lengths ahead of me. As we neared a turn in the course, Twister gained a little altitude. It looked like she was going to fly over the youth racer, her name was Moon Rain, but as they went through the turn Twister suddenly dived and took an inside line through the turn. They brushed wings and Moon Rain was startled into straightening her line. She lost altitude and hit the tops of the trees before she could recover. A referee took statements from the ponies that witnessed the so-called accident but apparently they believed Twister's story of a downdraft that caused her to drop and as the reason that Moon Rain lost altitude.”

“I take it that you don't believe it,” said Lighthoof.

“No other pony felt any turbulence that day,” said Windy. “Intentionally ramming a pony that is not even racing against you makes no sense so I guess it was easier for the judges to believe her.”

“Thank you Windyday, that is all for now,” said Lighthoof. “Firewing, you state that you did not actually witness the collision itself.”

“No sir, I was trying to talk Mr. Immelmane and Soarin into stopping the exercise,” said Firewing.
“Starshine alerted me when the collision occurred and all I saw was Sunrise spiraling down.”

“Why were you trying to stop the exercise?” asked Lighthoof.

“I was afraid that some pony was going to get hurt,” said Firewing. “There had already been a couple of near misses and a minor collision. The line had almost dissolved and the only pony still under control was Razor. The rest were all having trouble.”

“After you saw the collision, you went to assist Sunrise Cloud?” asked Lighthoof.

“Yes,” said Firewing, “Windy had already taken off and was heading for the medical team so Starshine and I dove toward where Sunrise Cloud landed.”

“Thank you Firewing,” said Light hoof. “Frost, you were the first to take off and were heading toward the second group before the collision?”

“Yes,” said Frost.

“Your account of the collision agrees with that of the other witnesses but you don't say if you thought it was intentional. Do you think it was?” asked Lighthoof.

“Yes,” replied Frost. “Whether it was planned or not, Twister dove into Sunrise Cloud and made no attempt to avoid it. Dash had passed me and so maybe didn't see things quite the way I did. I absolutely think she used Sunrise to slow down and change her direction.”

“Is that why you broke off from going to Sunrise Cloud and attempted to attack Twister?” asked Lighthoof.

Frost hesitated before answering. She had feared this. “Yes. After I saw Sunrise land and knew that Rainbow Dash was going to her, I went after Twister.”

“You also knew of Twister's encounter with Moon Rain before the try outs, is that right?” said Lighthoof.

“Yes, Moon Rain is Razor's, her real name is Rain Zephyr by the way, younger sister,” said Frost. “Razor, Sunrise Cloud, Sweet Clover and I are all in the same club. I am their flight leader.”

“Did you give any instructions to your club members regarding Twister before the try outs?” asked Lighthoof.

“Not before the try outs because I had no idea she was going to be there,” said Frost. “I did instruct them after lunch the first day. I told them to keep away from her and to fly together if possible. I also warned them that she was not above cheating, though they all knew that. We had heard from other racers and spectators that she would sometimes use her flank or hooves against an opponents wings and of course there was the incident with Razor's sister.”

“There was no plan to harm her or sabotage her chances of success?” asked Lighthoof.

“No, we were all to keep our distance and if anything did happen they were to let me handle it,” said Frost.

“Why not let the authorities handle it?” asked Lighthoof.

“I am their flight leader and it is my job to take care of them,” said Frost. “Letting the authorities handle something was on my list of options.”

“Apparently assault was also on your list of options,” countered Lighthoof. Frost was silent. “After the qualification race, you went to the defense of Rainbow Dash and Windyday. Why did you feel compelled to do that?”

Frost felt like she was on trial now but tried to keep her voice even. “Twister came up to Rainbow Dash after the race and accused her of causing her to lose and then she blamed the rest of us for not warning her, which was a lie. Windy stood up to her and Twister made a veiled threat. I stepped in at that point and backed up Windy. I guess I did that because Rainbow Dash is an old friend and what Windy said was true. Rainbow Dash didn't make Twister come in last, she flew a poor race.” Frost suddenly laughed.

“Something about this amuses you?” asked Lighthoof.

“Just Twister thinking she could beat Rainbow Dash,” said Frost. “Yeah, that's pretty funny.”

There were some snickers from the rest of the ponies too. Dash smiled nervously.

“You don't think Twister had a chance to beat Rainbow Dash?” asked Lighthoof.

“Not a chance,” said Frost. “All of us knew that but she wouldn't listen. Rainbow Dash took off fast and into the lead and from then on the rest of us were racing for second place.”

“Yes,” said Lighthoof, “I remember there was some speculation about whether Rainbow Dash had baited Twister during the race. Would you care to comment on that Ms. Dash?”

Rainbow Dash nodded her head. “I had been warned before the race, by Frost and Windyday, that Twister might try something and I figured the best way to stop her was to get in front and not let her catch me. Once I got in front and got a good lead, I just flew away from her whenever I saw her gaining. I wanted to beat her and I wanted to beat her bad. I wanted to let her know that she shouldn't mess with me.”

“Was there any reason to think she would 'try something', as you put it?” asked Lighthoof.

“She insulted me the morning before the race and I don't take that sort of thing lying down,” said Dash. “We didn't really argue much but she also said some mean things about some other ponies that rubbed me the wrong way. I didn't trust her and after Frost told me about what happened to Razor's sister I trusted her less.”

“Were you afraid of her?” asked Lighthoof.

“I was afraid of what might happen if she tried anything dirty with me,” said Dash. “I wanted to win, not get tossed out for fighting.”

“You would have fought her?” asked Lighthoof.

“I would have defended myself,” replied Dash.

“Alright,” said Lighthoof. “Starshine, you were also on the cloud used as a base for the exercise. Your, account also agrees with the others so I'll ask you only if you think Twister's collision with Sunrise Cloud was intentional.”

“I don't know,” said Starshine. “I was mesmerized by what I saw but I can't analyze it the way Windy did. I do know that Sunrise had no warning and that Twister did hit her hooves first.”

“Thank you Starshine,” said Lighthoof. “That concludes the interview with this group. Please move to the back and allow the next group some room.”

The next group came in and is asked similar questions as the first. Their answers are considerably more heated than that of the first group. Sweet Clover, Goldmane and Sunrise Cloud are scathing in their testimony. Razor, being right behind Spitfire and concentrating on the exercise, saw little of the mayhem behind her and mentioned only the moment when she felt Twister brush against her tail.

At the conclusion of the interviews the ponies on the board thanked the witnesses and went to a private room. Most of the ponies immediately beset Spitfire, Soarin and Mr. Immelmane with questions but received only 'wait and see' for an answer. The conversation drifted from speculation about Twister's fate to Firewing's trip to Ponyville and Windy's first days of training.

Spitfire admired Firewing's flight suit as much as the others and made Firewing model it. Firewing strutted around like a model on a runway while the others laughed at her antics. It felt good to break the tension of the formal board. The members of the board re-entered the room after about a half hour.

Lighthoof stood and addressed the group. “We have reached our decision. After reading the statements and listening to the testimony of the witnesses we conclude that Twister acted in a reckless, malicious and irresponsible manner. The collision was an act of assault and only Sunrise Cloud's very generous decision not to press charges prevents us from forwarding our findings to the authorities and initiating criminal proceedings. We can and will therefore, issue the following censure.”

“The pegasus known as Twister is banned from all racing and stunt flying competitions where more than one pegasus is in the sky at the same time, for a period of five years. She is also banished from the city of Cloudsdale for three years. She is to avoid all contact with the pegasi who were involved in the try outs, also for a period of five years. Failure to do so may be cause for our appealing to the authorities for her arrest on the charge of menacing.
All sanctioned flying organizations in Equestria are to receive a copy of our report and it is to be read aloud at their next meeting and is to remain posted in their headquarters for the duration of her ban. The bans start at dawn in four days to give us time to communicate our decision throughout Equestria. Does any pony have anything to add?”

Windyday arose. “Sir, is it possible for you to have her submit to mental testing or therapy?”

“Unfortunately, we cannot do that without a criminal conviction,” said Lighthoof. “We are going to suggest it to her. She will receive a copy of our decision, delivered by two leading pegasi of Phillydelphia, a guard and a doctor. She will get a personal explanation of our decision and recommendations then. As you may know, she is eligible for a review of status after half of the ban has passed. Her failure to try to help herself will not get the ban lifted any sooner. If there is nothing else I will close these proceedings.”

No pony said anything. “Very well, I hereby call these proceedings at an end.”