3 - To Fly Without Wings
States of mind can really affect what a pony feels inside, and Rainbow Dash felt a deep sense of frustration when she woke up the next day.
She brought her mind back to Icarus’ outburst, to his furious rant, and that spark of complacency that she had seen in his eyes when Fluttershy was left speechless. Focusing on what had happened, she had no doubt in her mind: Icarus had behaved poorly, no excuses.
Right after that thought, she brought her mind back to the words of Icarus’ mother: "Since he was just a little colt, he has always had to live far away from other pegasi” and “Those few times he has been in contact with them, they hurt his feelings, and when his condition worsened he had no choice left but to live here, isolated amongst the clouds.”
She then thought about his behavior, at the pleasure he had cooking with Pinkie Pie, talking with Twilight, at his almost touching discomfort at Rarity’s boutique and, finally, experiencing for the very first time being accepted by a group of friends.
“It’s likely that...” she said, talking to herself, “so many emotions swirling inside him that he had never truly felt before... might have spun him around a little bit, and he probably felt like he was on top of the world... for the very first time in his life.”
She then thought about it a little bit. “However, what he said to Fluttershy… He could have at least said that he was sorry.” The image of Icarus looking down, while being reproached, appeared in her mind. “In the end he seemed sorry… really sorry…”
“But right now I don’t care,” she broke off. “It’s better if I don’t think about it for a while.”
Dash had done nothing else but think about Icarus for the past two days, completely forgetting about her upcoming commitments. She quickly checked her to-do list and noted that, for the following day, there was scheduled a massive downpour, the likes of which had not been seen for ages.
There had been some complications and the pegasi had opted to bring a good portion of rain in just one stormy night: in the afternoon they needed to lay out an enormous cover of black clouds, full of rain and ready to burst after sunset.
Without wasting anymore time, she took off towards Cloudsdale to join the team in charge of the storm. During the trip she remembered that she would have another race in a couple of days.
Nothing serious, she thought, but I was forgetting about it and I didn’t train at all…
Finally she just tried to distance her thoughts, simply looking to focus on the task at hand.
*** ***** ***
It was the middle of the night when the pegasus got home, exhausted from the workload they had had to make sure the cloud cover was extended far enough. In the distance the first rumblings could be heard, sign that the storm was forming. Some purplish clouds, lightened by thunderbolts, appeared intermittently for a few fleeting moments, in the dark cloudy mass.
Rainbow observed the scene for a few moments from the window, before she lay down in bed; there was going to be a lot of noise a little later, but she was used to the sound of thunder and, at these altitudes, it would be muffled anyway.
Don’t know what tomorrow will be like, but I’ll figure things out when it comes, she concluded, right before closing her eyes and falling asleep with little effort.
Something softly woke her up: somepony had gently shaken her while she lay in bed. She slowly opened her eyes and mumbled incoherently, then she took a look around and saw that it was still dark. A sudden thunderbolt flooded the room with light, revealing Icarus sitting next to her, slightly panting. Rainbow jumped out from her bed.
“What... what... what the heck?!” she rattled, rubbing her back.
Icarus started to fidget and said, “S-sorry Rainbow! I didn’t mean to scare you!”
“What are you doing here?” she asked perplexed.
The gray pegasus, still agitated, looked out the window and tried to put some words together.
“Well, I…”
“Where’s your mom?”
“…she’s at home.”
“At home? How did you get here?”
“You’re asking me? Today you pretty much laid out a huge black carpet between me and you. All I needed was a little push to dock my Cirrus onto the clouds below and then I walked here on my own hooves.”
“What? Your mom doesn’t know you’re here?”
“What do you think?” he asked with a smile.
“You’re insane. I’m taking you back home right now.”
The unexpected guest was visibly worried and placed himself in front of Rainbow, trying to stop her.
“Wait Rainbow, just listen to me!”
“You’ve got nothing to say: you shouldn’t be here, plain and simple.”
“No, please listen to me, I need to ask you a big favor.”
“You come to me in the middle of the night, your mom completely unaware of where you are, and to top it all off you expect a favor?” she asked irritated.
Icarus took on an extremely sincere expression, lifted up a trembling hoof, and put it on Dash’s shoulder.
“Rainbow... don’t make me beg, it’s not something that I like doing, you know. I’m just asking you to listen to me.”
The blue pegasus felt torn and started to look around, trying to find something to say.
“I’m listening,” she finally said. Icarus smiled.
“Listen, I know it’s a very big favor and… so I don’t expect that you’ll agree on the spot but... well, I want you to take me to ride the storm.”
“WHAT?!” yelled Rainbow bewildered.
“I want to do what pegasi call ‘Riding the Storm’! I’ve heard that it’s one of the most fantastic flying experiences ever!”
“No way!” concluded Rainbow hastily. “You’ve lost your mind if you think that I’ll bring you in the middle of that chaos out there!”
“Have you ever ridden a storm before?” asked Icarus hopefully.
“I… yeah, a few times, but…”
“Perfect! You can do it again! Do it for me!”
“No, Icarus, it’s too dangerous, you could really get hurt. Even the most expert pegasi are reluctant to ride the storm.”
“But they’re not you! They’re not… us. They’re not champions like we are, Rainbow!”
She looked down. “No Icarus, this is too much. I can’t do it, I’m sorry."
Icarus sat down and, with extreme effort, tried to lay aside all his pride.
“Listen, Dash, I… I don’t want to leave this world as a pegasus that has never flown. I’ve tried that once, you know? When I was just a colt. I dove from a thin cloud layer and I spread my wings… I was left wearing a cast for almost a year, and you can see the results with my crooked legs and tied-down wings.”
Dash felt something digging deep in her chest.
He started to tear up. “I would dive every single day, every single moment, to experience those few seconds of emotion in the void again, but I would risk too much, so I can’t... not without you,” he concluded, looking at her intensely.
“Don’t do this to me, Icarus,” she answered, her voice trembling slightly.
“Just once. Me and you. Riding the storm. Then, if you want, I’ll hide away forever on Equestria’s highest clouds and we’ll never see each other again. Don’t deny me my last wish, I beg you.”
Rainbow was silent, not knowing what to say.
“You see?” said Icarus, rubbing his wet eyes with a hoof. “You got me to beg.”
The two pegasi were standing still, surrounded by the silence and the darkness, both broken by occasional lightning and thunderbolts.
“I... all right,” said Dash finally, feeling everything but convinced.
“Really? Awesome!” he exulted, performing the equivalent of a standing jump as best as he was capable of doing.
“But we’re doing the wrong thing…”
*** ***** ***
As soon as they were outside, Icarus observed the clouds below, while Rainbow was trying to assemble a small heap of black clouds, shaping them into an oval.
“I should put you on this cloud and take you home... riding the storm my hoof!”
A strong wind was violently ruffling the pegasus’ purple mane while he basked in the deafening roars and the thunderous light-show, now getting closer and closer.
“This isn’t a cirrus cloud though,” concluded Dash when she finished. “Are you sure this one will work?”
Icarus took a look at it. “It’ll be perfect. Storm clouds are unstable but very fluffy… even if they’re a little bit wet. But it won’t be a problem."
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
“Don’t worry,” he reassured her with a half-smile. “After all, I’ve got you by my side, right?”
Icarus climbed onto his new ride, trying to get himself as comfortable as possible, while Dash positioned herself behind it, covering a large part of it with her body so that she could have the best possible grip on it.
Both of them looked hesitantly at the huge cloud stretch, thunder and lightning crackling below them.
“You still sure about this?” mumbled Dash.
“Truth is, I’ve never really been sure of anything in my life… until now."
At the end of those words, Dash got ready to jump, but Icarus interrupted her at the last second.
“Just one last thing.”
He turned his head and, with his teeth, loosened the belt around his wings, freeing them.
“Just don’t overdo it,” she warned him.
“Don’t worry, I don’t want to shatter my wings… They’re too frail for me to spread them out. I just want to feel the wind on my feathers… I want it to be like a real flight."
With that last sentence and a strong feeling of indecision to overcome, Rainbow jumped into the void.
*** ***** ***
The descent was fast. Extremely fast. Dash didn’t spread her wings out at all, letting themselves precipitate downwards in free fall at increasingly higher speeds.
Icarus felt his stomach rise and felt a burst of adrenaline throughout his body. Fear told him to hold onto the cloud beneath his legs as best as he could but, given his disabilities, he wasn’t able to do much.
As they descended, Rainbow noticed that Icarus was visibly frightened and, to avoid having things getting out of hoof, she put her body forward, gently pushing the pegasus against the cloud and bringing her head to the side, next to his, cheek to cheek.
Icarus felt her warmth on his back and his neck. He perceived Rainbow Dash’s presence next to him and he calmed down, letting excitement take over his fear.
The cloud carpet was getting closer and, when they broke through it, Icarus instinctively closed his eyes. When he reopened them, he could only gape in astonishment: the warm and cold air currents had created inside the clouds an enormous, dark, and cloudy tunnel, seething with thunder, lightning, and lights.
Dash spread her wings and started to quickly soar through the entire length of it.
Lightning strikes were literally dancing beside them, spectacularly exploding like fireworks, while the whole black tunnel was continuously twisting in the grip of the storm about to reach its apex.
The pilot pitched upwards, gradually moving to higher altitudes: they broke through the tunnel once again and passed by an endless series of clouds that were randomly strewn out around the heart of the storm, until they finally reached the top of it.
Icarus couldn’t contain his excitement and astonishment any longer: below them, the mantle kept putting on a show of lights and sounds while, above their heads, a majestic moon magically illuminated the skyline. The pegasus let out a cry of wonder.
“Are you ready to see how you really ride a storm?” asked Dash with a smile, gently pressing her cheek against his.
“Do whatever you want,” he answered, eyes filled with tears. “Just don’t stop now.”
Rainbow and Icarus dove again, faster than before. They took the same path back until they entered into the tunnel again: they darted between the electrical shocks, the deafening roars, and the rare works of art that the storm chaotically crafted within the cloud stretch.
The free fall lasted so long that they found themselves underneath the storm and a violent downpour quickly soaked them. Upon feeling that chilling sensation, Icarus started laughing like a madpony, overcome by his joy and excitement. He thanked the rain, not only for the feeling of ecstasy, but also because Rainbow wouldn’t see his tears of joy.
Rainbow got caught up in the moment as well: she realigned her flight path and cut through the rain, laughing wildly.
Seen from below, their dark shapes appeared sporadically, contrasting the clouds above illuminated by the thunder; a lightning-lit demonstration of two pegasi that were a bit crazy, in the middle of rain and euphoria.
They then decided to go back into the tunnel and savor one last maneuver. It took only a second.
A thunderbolt struck suddenly only a few feet away from them, creating a shockwave so forceful that it overpowered Rainbow Dash, whom lost her grip on the cloud.
The blue pegasus rolled several times in the air before she managed to take control of the situation and realize what was going on. Terrified and in panic, she looked around frantically, searching for Icarus. A lightning bolt on a distant cloud illuminated his dark silhouette: he was plummeting to the ground.
Without even thinking, she dove headlong for him, wildly flapping her wings to reach him as fast as she could. Despite her anxiety, she was lucid enough to be able to tear off a small chunk of a cloud during her descent.
Only a few dozen feet remained from the ground and the rain was falling heavily when Dash collided with Icarus with her cloud, doing her utmost to save him. She tried to regain altitude, but she had arrived too fast and the crash was inevitable: right before hitting the ground, she managed to turn on her back, taking on herself most of the impact. Icarus and the cloud, however, slipped out of her hooves again and they both crash landed on the wet ground in the middle of a pinewood.
*** ***** ***
Dash recovered almost immediately, feeling extremely concerned. She stood up but felt a sharp pain in her back due to the crash landing. She nervously looked around, wondering where Icarus could be.
The rain continued to fall unceasingly, pushed forward by the mighty wind from the ongoing storm.
She yelled his name again and again and then she saw him, during an extremely short lightning strike, lying on the ground not far away from her. She rushed to reach him, fearing the worst.
The pegasus lay stretched out on his side and, underneath the storm, it was difficult to get an idea of his current condition.
Rainbow tried to rouse him with a hoof: Icarus’ eyes opened wide and he suddenly started gasping for air.
“Icarus! Icarus, are you all right??” she asked worriedly, her voice partially muffled by the heavy rain.
“I… uh…” he murmured.
“How do you feel?”
Icarus waited a moment to recover and, when he tried to stand up, he collapsed to the ground uttering a cry of pain: his right wing was bent downward.
“M-my wing… it hurts…” he whispered through gritted teeth.
“Hold still, don’t move!” urged Dash, who was starting to panic once again.
Icarus tried to hide his grimace of pain behind a smile.
“Chill out Dash, everything’s all right… I think it’s just … uh… dislocated.”
He tried to delicately move his wing but the attempt resulted in another unbearable stab of pain.
“No,” he declared with closed eyes. “I think I busted it pretty bad...”
“This was a stupid idea and I, twice as stupid, agreed to go through with it!”
“Rainbow…”
“I knew I shouldn’t have done it… I knew I should’ve brought you immediately back home… I knew I…”
“Shut up for a second and listen to me!” he interrupted her. “This was the most… wonderful, the greatest, the most… amazing thing I’ve ever done. Even now, this burning pain makes me feel alive, more alive than ever…”
Rainbow Dash tried to calm down and listened to Icarus, whom continued, “Don’t have any doubts: you gave me the most intense rush of emotions that I’ve ever felt in my entire life... and which I will probably never experience again. Riding a storm is... absolutely incredible."
Icarus gulped loudly and, hesitantly added, “But even better… was riding the storm next to you."
The two looked at each other for a moment, recognizing clearly each other merely by the lightning’s light.
Eventually, Rainbow seemed to calm down completely and, with a bit of emotion in her voice, responded, “All right Icarus... actually that was... pretty awesome. But now you have a messed up wing and we’re talking under heavy rain. We’ve gotta get out of here.”
They both looked around, trying to understand where they had landed: a difficult task during a stormy night.
“I think,” Dash tried to guess, “that we’re in the Everfree Forest... Actually, I’m sure of it: do you see that path? All we have to do is follow it to get back to Ponyville, and from there we’ll get you all fixed up.”
“Are you sure?”
“Uh… maybe, I mean… yes,” she stuttered.
“You might be right… Isn’t that the same road we took… yesterday afternoon?” he asked, bringing back a bit of sorrow from that memory.
“Yeah, I think that’s it."
The wounded pegasus thought about it for a while and then drew Dash’s attention to him.
“Listen, I have another favor to ask you…”
“No more flying!” she answered instinctively.
“Yeah, that’s fine,” he nodded. “Actually, I wanted to ask something else... If that path leads to Ponyville... then that means taking it in the opposite direction will bring us to... Fluttershy’s place, right?”
“What are you getting at?” she asked with suspicion.
“Could you… could you bring me to her?”
“Icarus… it’s raining cats and dogs, you’re hurt, your mom is surely looking for you, and when she finds out what I did she’s gonna kill me! We can’t stay."
“I’ll handle her, no joke this time… But first I’d like to see Fluttershy."
Rainbow could guess what the pegasus intended to do, but she also thought that drawing out that night full of surprises was overkill. Once again, obvious common sense lost out.
“All right, Icarus... but then you are marching straight home, and there’s no Fluttershy or storm that’s changing that!”
“Deal... and, this time, I would like you to help me up."
Dash tried to push him from the side: Icarus brought himself up with intense effort and some signs of pain.
“I’m not sure you walking there would be a good idea...”
“I know my limits. I can do this but, afterwards, I’m gonna need a ride,” and then he started to limp towards the trail.
*** ***** ***
It was a long time before they spotted the home’s outline in the distance. They crossed a bridge over a small stream, with its flow almost doubled, and they finally reached the door, where they knocked.
A faint light appeared behind the windows and, shortly after, a timid Fluttershy appeared from the doorway.
“Rainbow Dash?” she exclaimed in surprise, seeing them soaking wet. “And… Icarus?!”
“Hi, Fluttershy,” answered her friend with an embarrassed smile. “Mind if we come in?”
She quickly let them inside, figuring that something had gone wrong.
“You’re dripping wet. Wait here while I get you something!” and she came back with a couple of towels. Icarus remained with his head down the whole time, staring at the floor, lightened only by a few dim candles.
Seeing the towel, he gently asked, “I’m sorry… I find it difficult to… I mean… to move my hooves as you do… and I’m dripping on the floor, I don’t want to…”
“Oh! You’re right, I’m sorry!” replied Fluttershy instinctively, gently covering him with the towel.
Icarus stared at her and the shy pegasus thought she must have said something wrong again.
“I mean… sorry like… it’s not that I think that you… well…”
Icarus felt a growing sense of regret inside him; he thought about how he had treated her the day before, and how she was treating him in that moment. He slightly shook his head, causing the towel to slide to his shoulders and approached Fluttershy.
He closed his eyes and gently lay his forehead on her chest.
“I don’t expect to be forgiven for what I said to you,” he whispered, “but I wanted to say that... I’m sorry.”
The shy pegasus’ face changed from an expression of surprise to joy. She instinctively tried to hug him but Icarus stepped back right before she could do so, feeling extremely embarrassed.
“Well… I…” he mumbled.
“It’s ok,” Fluttershy reassured him with a very sweet smile. “Everything’s all right.”
*** ***** ***
Sunshine’s yelling could be heard all the way to Ponyville, probably, and Rainbow Dash’s eyes were squinting from every high note that came from Sunshine’s throat (and there were many of them).
“Have you gone out of your mind?” she ranted. “Do you even realize what might have happened?!”
Icarus, in the meantime, was lying down nearby with his wing in a sling, resignedly listening to the fit of rage that Dash was having to suffer through.
All three of them were in the gray pegasus’ room and his mom was boiling mad. He tried to defend his friend several times but Sunshine quickly scolded him.
“You be quiet! I’ll deal with you later! Running off like that...”
“Why does everypony keep telling me to be quiet lately?” he asked himself quietly.
“And you, Rainbow, I can’t believe you did something as stupid as this! Look! Look at his wing! It could have been much worse than this too!”
“I… I have no excuses,” she admitted with regret.
“Is that all you have to say? I have no excuses?” she pressed her.
“Mom,” continued Icarus, “you can yell all afternoon but the truth is, if I could go back in time, I would do it again, even if it meant breaking all of my bones."
“Perfect! Now I’m going to have to watch to make sure that you don’t sneak out and convince her to throw you into another random storm!”
Her son became sad. “You know that’s not going to happen."
“Yes… that’s true,” answered Sunshine, after a pause that calmed her down a little.
“What do you mean?” asked Dash in a hushed tone.
“We got some news this morning,” she replied, forgetting for a moment what had just been happened. “Some very important news for Icarus… It seems… that in Baltimare a team of doctors and unicorns have found a possible solution to his problem.”
“Really?” exclaimed the blue pegasus, bursting with joy.
“Yes,” said Icarus a little angrily. “And that means I’ll have to leave tomorrow...”
Rainbow’s sudden joy faded slightly, hearing those words, but that was without a doubt the best news he could get and understood that it was also one of the few chances he had ever gotten.
“It’s a bummer that you have to leave so unexpectedly, but... this is great news! You finally have a chance to get better! That’s awesome!”
“I know, that’s true,” continued Icarus with low enthusiasm. “But it’s not a surefire cure... they’ll have to keep me under observation, do some tests. That doesn’t necessarily mean that I will heal… and they also told us that… this treatment doesn’t come without risks.. I’m not very keen about it but… if this is the only chance for my son to… to have a future with outspread wings, then…”
“You know it’s the only way, mom. I’d rather try and fail than stay my whole life sitting on a cirrus cloud with my wings fastened by a belt.”
“I know...” she admitted, lips trembling. “It’s just that... if something were to... go wrong...”
“That’s ridiculous!” he yelled, almost with his same old arrogance. “Did you see what I’ve done? I’ve ridden a storm! I’m the flightless pegasus who rode the storm! I soared through lightning and thousands of thunderbolts! I crash landed and yet I’m still here, happier than ever!”
Sunshine, hearing what her son had gone through, seemed about to faint.
“You’re not exactly helping me out here, Icarus!” exclaimed Dash.
“But it’s true!” he insisted. “I can face that and much more!”
“I need to sit down,” whispered his mother, taking a brief rest.
“You know, Rainbow Dash,” she finally said, “the mother inside me would like to tear out all of your feathers, one by one."
Dash felt uneasy again for the umpteenth time.
“As a mare, however, I’ve seen the joy in Icarus… I cannot recall in his entire life a moment of happiness greater than now… and it’s actually all thanks to you,” she concluded with a smile.
“So my feathers are safe...?”
“For now… but if you scare me like that again … your feathers will be all that’s left of you,” she uttered, looking quite serious.
Dash gulped and Sunshine left the room to prepare for the next day, leaving them alone.
“Gee, that was close… and I’m dead tired… I just want to crash on my bed and go to sleep,” sighed Rainbow.
“I’ll let you go, don’t worry. I really made you run the gauntlet tonight."
“Dealing with you is a full-time job.”
“I know, I know… it’s hard to stay away from a charming pegasus like myself."
Rainbow’s eyelids suddenly dropped and the blue pegasus swayed for a second before recovering.
“Uh… listen… I’m so tired I can hardly stand…”
“Go ahead, it’s not a problem. However…”
“What?” she asked yawning.
“Maybe later, after you’ve rested, let’s say tonight... if you would like to drop by… before I leave tomorrow… that would... be nice,” he mumbled incoherently.
“Tonight?” she asked.
“Seeing as I have to leave tomorrow… Don’t get me wrong: I hate sappy farewells but… I just wanted to… I mean… one last night with the two champions of Equestria together,” he concluded embarrassedly.
Dash smiled.
“All right, Casanova! You know that I can’t say no to a charming pegasus like yourself."
*** ***** ***
The air was cool and the night perfect: lying on the clouds near Icarus’ home, the two pegasi were watching a spectacular starry and clear sky, beautiful beyond belief, as is usual in the hours following a big storm.
Dash was lying on her back, hooves on her chest, and face looking up towards the constellations. Icarus was next to her and, due to his wing, was resting on his side: an issue which still did not prevent him from relaxing and marveling at the spectacle above them.
Everything around them was absolutely still, minus the usual gentle blowing of the high altitude winds.
“It’s silly, isn’t it?” asked Icarus, breaking the silence.
“What?”
“You know... the stars, the sky... lying here, fixated on watching a black sheet full of specks.”
“That’s not true: it’s beautiful.”
“Knowing you I would think you’d prefer activities that are a bit more... active.”
“You’re making the same mistakes I did, Icarus. Once, for example, I thought that reading was stupid, only meant for eggheads. Then my perspective changed. It took me a few weeks in the hospital and a bandage on my wing to understand that… but in the end I figured it out… Like when I was so sure about my beliefs… which I’ve learned to question by being with you…”
“Certainty gives security,” he answered thoughtfully, “but it essentially shuts every door and it leaves no open possibilities. I think you’re right, yet I still wonder what you could’ve learned by being with me... besides having patience, I mean.”
Dash looked at him with sincerity.
“Before... I raced… I’ve always raced. I thought that there was nothing worth doing unless it involved speed and the esteem of everypony else. I’ve always seen the landscape below me at such speeds that… when I finally stopped to really look at it, I realized the beauty that I was missing.” She brought her gaze back to the sky, feeling a bit of emotion growing inside her. “Instead I should have just slowed down... so that I could discover that there are ponies able to fly even without wings.”
Icarus really appreciated those words.
“The faster we fly,” replied the gray pegasus, “the more we distance ourselves from those whom cannot fly. You know, Rainbow… I think I’ve learned something too.”
“I’m all ears.”
“I... I know how I am: when you grow up being treated a certain way, you’re raised with notions that are difficult to change, I’m aware of that. And trust me, it’s not that I’ve never tried to act differently…”
“I don’t think you should change, Icarus…”
“I know… as time went by, I’ve learned not to rely on others’ opinions and to keep pushing forward. I’ve had to struggle with things that everypony else could do every day without even thinking twice about them… I’m proud of myself… even though… lately I’ve also had the opportunity to be ashamed of some things I’ve done.”
Dash remembered something she saw a while ago in a book.
“You know… once I read somewhere in a book, don’t ask me which one ‘cause I don’t remember, that you can’t improve without a little pain first.”
“What I’ve learned,” added Icarus, “is that serenity isn’t something that solely depends on a situation. In other words, it’s not hard to be happy in a happy situation... it’s a whole another story being able to always be happy.”
“Unless you want to become a spiritual master,” replied Dash laughing, “I doubt you’d even be able to do it! I can’t even imagine what that’d be like!”
“Yeah… pure utopia, right?”
“I don’t know… think about it. A week ago I thought that utopian for you was baking muffins with a somewhat wacky chef... or being in a beauty salon, or sitting down to eat with other ponies or... riding a storm.”
“...or talking underneath the stars with you.”
Both of them continued to silently watch the sky, which was occasionally cut through by some lonely shooting stars. Icarus, lost inside that black sea, was caught by a mild discomfort.
“Do you remember what I told you this morning? That I can deal with this and much more?” he asked with his voice choking up and teary eyes.
“Yeah… yeah I remember,” she answered, sensing that there was something wrong.
“Well… truth is… my situation, my disease… it’s definitely not getting any better. I’ve already went beyond the most optimistic predictions by carrying on until today…”
Dash turned to her friend and, hearing his words, felt short of breath.
“And even the therapy that I’m going to begin,” he continued, “comes with an uncertain outcome. Now I’m here looking at the sky, as I’ve already done in the past, and I’m wondering if… if this will be the last time I’ll see the stars… if I’ll be able to hear the wind blowing among the clouds again… if there will be another starry sky for me…”
Rainbow felt a deep pain in her chest. She kept looking at Icarus, whose face was slightly tear-stained, and she tried to say something. She knew all too well, however, that any words of comfort would be a waste with him, so she decided not to say anything.
She turned on her side, placed her hooves around his waist and hugged him gently, trying to not hurt him.
Finally she spread out a wing with which she used to cover the young pegasus’ injured one.
Icarus buried his head in her chest and, choked up, whispered, “I’m scared, Rainbow Dash…”
They embraced each other tightly, forgetting for a moment about the cinnamon bones.
“I wish I could say something…” added Dash with emotion. “Something magical that’d make you feel better… but the only thing I know… is that what we’re going through right now is the best proof of life and our will to live that we have. I’d really wish this moment would last forever.”
*** ***** ***
The gray pegasus leaned out from the train coach at the station, with a smile rarely seen on his face. The railway engine wasn’t moving but, from its whistles and puffs, it was clear that it would be taking off soon.
Below him, the friends that he had recently come to know gave him their best wishes.
“I hope you like it!” exclaimed Twilight excitedly. “It’s the most complete encyclopedia I could find in all of Canterlot!”
“It’s wonderful,” answered Icarus, turning towards the inside of the wide cabin.
In this order he saw: four books stacked on top of each other, brown betties, a vase with gorgeous flowers, a new outfit ready to be worn and, last but not least, a huge pile of pink cotton candy.
“Thank you all for the gifts and also for the… uh… mountain of…”
“It’s like I’ve told you!” exclaimed Pinkie with a bounce. “It’s soft like your cloud! Plus, it’s… pink! It’s also good for emergency food!”
“Thank you,” repeated the pegasus sincerely.
The group was only missing Rainbow Dash. In reality, she wasn’t missing: she was found perched on a lonely cloud, far far away. She was watching the whole scene with her teary eyes, thinking that if she had gone to him earlier, she would have gotten emotional to the point that she would have broken down and cried. Therefore she opted for a last minute appearance, to avoid a tear-jerking farewell.
She dived and, in less than no time, glided next to the group of ponies.
“Sorry I’m late!” she exclaimed, pretending to be out of breath. “I just got here from training for tomorrow’s race!”
Icarus smiled, not believing a single word she said.
“So, Casanova,” continued his friend. “Are you ready to leave?”
“Actually, after having met you I would rather stay here. But... this is something that can’t wait."
“Yeah, it’s what you gotta do. Ah, listen... I didn’t bring you any farewell presents... I’m... I’m not really good at this sort of stuff."
“Don’t worry,” he reassured her. “You’ve already given me more than you could possibly imagine.”
“Yeah, but…”
The whistle from the locomotive abruptly interrupted them and would be leaving at any moment.
“C’mon Rainbow,” answered Icarus. “We both know that we don’t like sappy farewells…”
“Well… this isn’t necessarily a farewell."
“I hope so with all my heart. And, if you have the chance, promise me… Better yet, all of you promise that you’ll come visit me."
The group enthusiastically agreed. Only Dash was not rejoicing, looking at her friend with a touch of sadness.
The whole line of wagons made a jump and the train slowly got on the move. The ponies continued their friendly goodbyes as he was progressively moving away towards his destination.
Rainbow said nothing and only watched as the speed of the train continued to rise.
When the train was a little ways away from the station, Twilight whispered, “I really hope they can help him. He deserves it."
“I like him the way he his… with cinnamon bones," replied Pinkie with a muffled voice.
Dash suddenly felt confused, as if she was lost in emptiness, and started looking around, blindsided by a sudden uneasiness.
She finally couldn’t take it anymore.
She took off and flew towards the coach carrying the pegasus. Her friends watched the whole scene astonished.
“Icarus!” she yelled, trying to shout over the sound of the accelerating train.
The gray pony leaned out again and, rubbing his hoof underneath his eyes, exclaimed, “What are you doing?! I told you no sappy farewells!”
The train gained speed and Rainbow started falling behind.
“Icarus, listen!” she continued out loud. “Tomorrow! Tomorrow, when the clock strikes two…!”
“What’s going to happen tomorrow??”
“Whatever happens, when the clock strikes two, look up at the sky, towards Ponyville! Got it?”
Icarus responded right before she slowed down and landed out of breath, but she was too far away to hear him clearly.
“Tomorrow,” repeated Dash softly. “Tomorrow at two o’clock…”
-Epilogue-
The competitors were positioned at the starting line, anxiously waiting for the checkered flag. The crowd was excitedly cheering and the tension in the air was so thick that you could cut it with a knife.
Every pegasus got into position and started frantically flapping their wings in place, preparing themselves for the impending start. A deafening noise, like a thousand crazed hornets, spread throughout the cloudy arena.
Rainbow was up in the first row, looking proud and confident. Thunderlane next to her winked and they both exchanged satisfied smiles.
After a few moments of increasing excitement, the signal was given and the competitors took off.
Dash made one of the best starts she had ever done in her life, immediately outstripping the group by several yards. The audience went wild and the sportscaster heatedly started commenting about the performance of the multicolor maned pegasus.
The squad rapidly approached the end of the straightaway, ready to take the first turn, but while the contestants started tilting in order to follow the track, Rainbow didn’t modify her flight path and carried on.
The audience gasped in surprise while the announcer babbled astonished.
The pegasus started to pull upwards more and more until she was flying vertically towards the top of the skies. The stadium behind her became farther and farther away.
She passed through different levels of clouds, cumulus, and nimbostratus, finally reaching the highest of altitudes; still far from the cirrus clouds, yet close enough to see them clearly.
She stopped to catch her breath.
Below her, the land of Equestria was visible in all of its splendor. Dash glanced at Icarus’ distant home, which by now was uninhabited: a small white dot lost in the blue. She then brought her attention back to a blurry spot on the ground, Ponyville, and, for a moment, she remembered the events that had occurred within the last couple of days. She rapidly relived her first meeting with Icarus, the feelings of discomfort, the visit that didn’t end well, the pegasus’ mane covered with flour, his interest in the library and then the outfit, the lunch, Fluttershy, ending with the storm and their talk underneath the starry sky.
She felt a brief rush of emotion and whispered, “I hope you’re watching, Icarus…”
And she nosedived.
She descended faster and faster, constantly gaining more and more speed, up until the point where she had to shut her eyes because of the wind. Her body sent clear warning signals, which were promptly ignored, as soon as the pegasus started to notice the air drag getting stronger.
Increasingly dense whitish contrails started to form around her and, while being not too far away from the stadium, she heard a deafening boom and a blinding light enveloped her completely.
*** ***** ***
Icarus continued to patiently check the clock, waiting for the minute hand to reach twelve. The train he was travelling on was by now very far away from Ponyville, having vanished beyond on the horizon many hours ago.
The clock finally struck two and the pegasus quickly looked out from the cabin window, watching the sky closely. A few minutes passed by and nothing happened.
He started to think that something had gone wrong when, suddenly, a faint glimmer appeared where earth and sky meet. This was followed by a sonic boom, like thunder, which hit the train, shaking all of the wagons for several moments. Icarus’ mane vibrated, swept backwards by a gust of wind.
Then he saw it: a big blurred circle, all the colors of the rainbow, slowly spreading outward in the blue sky, sweeping away the low altitude clouds. The valleys became painted with the iridescent reflections of the rainbow and the tear-filled eyes of the pegasus were reflecting like a mirror.
“What happened?” asked his mother behind him, worried by the commotion.
Icarus turned around with his face tear-stained and the reflection of a thousand colors coming from the window behind him.
“You know what happened?” he replied touched. “The greatest champions in all of Equestria met each other. A pegasus who couldn’t fly proved that he didn’t need wings to do so. Somepony who reached for the stars learned that it’s important to enjoy the journey while not necessarily having to reach the destination.”
The pegasus wiped his eyes.
“That’s what happened. And, despite my fears, it’s thanks to all this that today I feel more alive than ever.”
The train followed its path, travelling up and down the hills that would lead it to its final destination. It traveled farther and farther into the distance until it vanished in the horizon.
The sky, after that strange phenomenon, became clearer and brighter than ever before.
Nopony could have ever seen them clearly from the ground but, many miles away, the cirrus clouds were flying high, completely unaffected by the force that had swept away every other kind of cloud.
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You already know what i think of this story...
Simply awesome.
It makes you cry, it makes you laugh and it makes you think.
This is the kind of story that "everypony should know"
Best story in almost 3 months
x3
2884346
). Thanks for the comment! 
Well, thanks! The "translation team" has put great effort into this, so I'm glad to hear it (and also... I'm not as good with English, I think it's obvious, so I apologize in advance
2883856
Yeah, I know, and I thank you for the support you gave to what I do.
I'm hooked on this. You have quite the way with writing a description. I can't wait to give this a read!
2885013
Thanks! I hope you'll like it
This was... glorious, in the true sense of the term.
2885430
Thank you so much. I'm happy to hear it
This was a beautiful story, truly beautiful. Well done.
2888072
Whoops, my bad...
We're going to correct them asap, thanks for the hints! (btw, I'm one of the translators...)
2888142
Yeah, thanks for the hints!... and for the comment of course. I really appreciate it
I'M HEEEERE...
Aw yeah!
Best thing ive read in a week.
2893908
Thanks, I really appreciate it. It's a fic that I really care about and I'm happy that it's also appreciated here
2895504
Thanks. In the original language there is already a sequel called The Last Flight. Maybe one day it will be translated. And I like to see how Icarus isn't the only one to behave the way he does
2970790
Did you read this fanfic? Cool! I'm really glad you liked it!
Just awesome
3116407
Thank you, bro!
I'm glad that you liked it!
MY FRIEND HAVE LOVED THIS STORY, MI DID CRY, LAUGH, HOPE AND CONGRATULATIONS YOU ARE A GREAT WRITER
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3905105
OMG
So much gif XD
Thank you very much! I'm so glad you liked it!
I hope I can post the sequel (The Last Flight) soon!
Thanks again!
3934663
Thank you very much for your answer!
Like always: sorry about my English, I'm the original author of the fiction and not the translator.
I think you've got some very good points, something related not only to the English version but even to the original one. I will try to figure out these problems on the original one first, then I will discuss with the translators on how to apply the changes in the English version.
I really appreciated your comment, because it really help me/us to understand if the sentences were build correctly and the overall quality of the work. If you have some other piece of advice, feel free to contact me again!
Thanks again!
Great story, I'll be watching for that sequel.
4185899
Thanks! The translation of the sequel is done, what we need now is a capable proofreader to control the text before publishing
4193903 Cant say I'm qualified, but could I take a crack at that? I've been wanting to contribute more and something like that would be a good start.
4194199
Oh, that's good news! I'm so happy to hear that!
We were searching for some proofreaders, since the one we had can't work anymore for personal problems. Aaand, as you can see, I'm not so good in the English language XD
Actually we have an American guy who partecipated to both the translations. I can send you his contact information, if you want. He's the same guy listed in the cover page.
Here: http://www.fimfiction.net/user/ALittlePwning
You can contact him, if you want. I'm sure he can explain the question better (and faster) than me XD
It would be great to have somone else in the translation project! Just remember that we do this just for fun. Because we want to. There are something like 100 pages in the sequel, it's quite a long story, so just decide if that's something you'll like to do
For now: thank you for your kind offer! I REALLY appreciate that.
Thank you and congratulations for writing this story! You did a really great job. I like how Rainbow and Icarus have that sarcastic and snarky attitude with each other, but still care about each other. It adds a very humorous element to their relationship. The scene with Granny Smith was absolutely hilarious!
Also, I would like to congratulate your translators; I had no idea that this tale was originally written in a different language. Thanks for deciding to translate this! I am really looking forward to the sequel.
Also, for the record, I think your English is really good, if not almost perfect. (If only I could speak that well in a foreign language.
)
4456218
I'm glad to hear it!
We put so much effort to obtain a good level of quality.
One of the translator thanks you for your comment, he really appreciated it!
We are working on the proofreading of the sequel. It's almost done but we need some more time.
Thank you again for your comment!
I hope we'll publish the sequel soon and you will enjoy it!
P.S.
My english isn't good as the translators as you can see :P
It's so sad and so good! I hope Icarus will be better, and this therapy will help him, not kill him...
When will the translation of sequel be complete?
4559191 Technically the story has been translated. The only problem is that we are having trouble revising/proofreading it.
4567818
Try asking here: https://www.fimfiction.net/group/27/the-proofreader-group
4559186
Thank you so much!
We'll try to do our best for the proofreading
4575023
Here's some other groups of proofreaders and editors:
https://www.fimfiction.net/group/97/looking-for-editors
https://www.fimfiction.net/group/801/proofreading-prereading-and-editing
https://www.fimfiction.net/group/197236/overly-extensive-editors
https://www.fimfiction.net/group/200289/editorsrus
This was an excellent story. Great job.
4825791
Thanks brò
>>haradbl This fanfiction have 2 wonderful sequels and 4 spinoffs between the sequels. It's native language is Italian, thought. We hope to give soon the rest of this story to the readers.
What? There is more? What are the names of the spinoffs and the sequel? Are they in Italian only?
4830232
Yes, for now. We have the translation of the sequel already done but we need some more time for the proofreading. There are 2 sequels in italian.
Here you can find something more:
http://www.mylittlepony.it/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2720#p104104
http://www.mylittlepony.it/forum/viewtopic.php?f=102&t=4512#p226461
http://ridingthestormwebcomic.wordpress.com/
This story seriously deserves a lot more love. I can honestly say that this is one of the best stories Ive read in a very long time. (Being a speed reader, I can easily go through multiple stories a day if I have little else to do, so you can do the math!) It hits a multitude of different emotions, and the writing was smooth to read. Very lovely, will definitely be coming back to re-read all over again.
Oh man, Im crying. That was beautiful. Words cant describe how much I loved this story. It deserves so much more attention than It has. Thank you for publishing this in English so I, and everyone else, could enjoy it
. On that note, I look forward to the sequel. I wish I knew of a way that I could help spread this story. Thank you again, and keep on writing 
.
5401504
Hi! Thank you for your comment and sorry for the delay (and my bad English XD ).
I'm glad you liked it :)
If you are patient, we are going to publish the second part soon (I hope...). We finished the translation but we are still searching for a proofreader.
5456785
No, thank you for your comment XD
Here in Italy the fiction had quiet a good success, we've even done a webcomic :V
We'll try to bring the second part asap. We just need some proofreading (but we have troble finding people who wants to do the stuff).
Thanks again for your comment :)
5463608 Well, I certainly don't know any Italian, but I would be happy to proof read anything in English, If that would help at all
5463608
Hello, first off let me say that your story struck a chord with me because I have a form of high functioning Autism and two of my immediate family have a progressive disorder called Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia. Despite this I, like Rainbow Dash in the first chapter, always find it difficult interacting with people with significant issues. Even as I type this comment I am struggling to put to words my thoughts and wanting to be careful lest I unintentionally insult someone. This was a wonderful story as RD learns a lesson that our Politically Correct and walk on eggshells culture (I am from the USA) has made incredibly difficult to learn especially as one gets older and attitudes become ingrained. Even when I deal with close friends who use wheelchairs to get around I still find myself noticing their differences more than I am proud to admit and feel that twinge of sympathy that Icarus hated with a passion.
Anyways, my life story aside, I want to thank you for writing this and to ask about your sequels there being several years since the previous comments on Fimfiction.
I hope you have a chance to see this comment and I wish you succsess with whatever you have set your mind to both now and in the future.
I know that you won't read this, but..
Thanks.
Really. Thanks a lot.
And I hate you.
But most of all thanks.
(to all other readers, please someone convince him to translate the sequels.
Because -Riding the Storm- is just the start)