Go!

by Closer-To-The-Sun

Chapter 8: Rainbow In The Dark

Chapter 8: Rainbow In The Dark

Night had fallen across the camp. In the dormitories, all the lights were turned off and the residents were fast asleep. One blue pegasus was still awake in her bed. Just like the night before, Rainbow Dash was unable to sleep. This time, however, she was awake not because she was restless, rather she had plans.

Turning her head, the filly saw the clock read ten minutes until midnight. Sitting up in her bed, she looked out the window into the black night. Despite the darkness, she could see the bleachers along the runway. A smirk came across her face as she moved off her bed. Putting her scarf around her neck and the room key tucked in the scarf’s folds, she quietly slipped out of her room.

Rainbow Dash moved quickly and with a slight bounce in her trot. She exited the dorms and headed straight to the bleachers. The metal seats were empty and cold to the touch. Setting her key and scarf down the metal, Rainbow Dash began stretching her limbs. While doing so, she looked up high into the sky, seeing Princess Luna’s moon and the multitude of stars shining down on the camp.

“Evening, Rainbow Dash,” a relaxed voice called out.

Dash turned around to see Windy Skies, “Oh, hey.”

“Come back for some more practice?” Skies smiled as he placed a few of his own items on the bleachers.

“Don’t get a fat head, I figured if it worked, might as well make use of it,” Rainbow explained herself as she sat on the ground to stretch her limbs more.

Skies laughed slightly, “That’s why I offer it to others to give it a shot. A little can go a long way.”

“Enough chit-chat, what are we doing tonight?” the blue filly wasn’t in the mood to waste time.

“Ooo, looks like somepony is eager to start, aren’t they?” Skies joked, “Well, it’s the same deal as last time, stretching first and foremost.”

“Yeah, yeah….”

The two ponies continued warming their bodies up. Windy Skies brought up Rainbow Dash’s improvement earlier in the day, “I have to say, you really stepped up your strength in those wings today.”

“Yeah, well, kinda had some help,” Dash looked away from the stallion, not wanting to admit he was right about something.

“Nah, that was all you! Your wings might be small, but you have speed, something most large winged peagsi don’t have. You just have to learn how to use it right.”

“Use it right?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, it’s all about how you use your talents.”

She was still puzzled, “You mean like if I use them for good or evil?”

“What? No, not like that!” Skies waved his hooves in front of him as his head shook, “I mean how you use your talents and advantages in your flying. All flyers have different traits that can help, or hinder, them when they fly. Some don’t have great endurance, some have excellent reflexes, others might have a good hearing during flight, like myself, or might be built for speed, like you.”

“I’m….built for speed?” Rainbow echoed.

“Yup. You might be small, and even frail if you get into a collision, but your body is ideal for pushing your speed limits. Just like earlier today, you pushed yourself with the endurance glide. Not exactly an easy task for one with small wings, but you still did stellar!” the green stallion explained, standing up and opening his wings out.

“So, I got to use these ‘advantages’ or whatever,” Dash began, using air quotes, “to improve myself.”

“That’s right.”

“And this has nothing about me using them for good or evil?”

“No! Geez, you think this is some sort of comic book or something?” Windy Skies raised a hoof to his head.

“What?” she shrugged, “I’m just checking and all.”

Skies moved the hoof and looked to the blue pony, “Anyway, are you done with your stretching?”

“Yeah.”

“Then get ready for speed.”

Rainbow stood up on her hooves, “Huh?”

“Tonight, we are doing what I call ‘spurts’,” Skies stated.

Rainbow edged on, “And those are….”

“Well, what does it sound like? You short distance flying at a quick pace. What will happen is that I will time you on fifty meter tests. The goal is to keep the time low after each time,” Skies explained.

“Pfft….that’s so easy!” Dash brushed the thought aside.

“You have to do these one right after another,” the stallion added.

“Say what?”

Skies elaborated, “That’s the point of spurts, you keep your speed up, your time low, and make use of your energy wisely.”

“N-No problem….” the filly said nervously.

With a confident smile, Skies spoke, “Don’t worry, just try your best. That’s all that matters.”

On the runway, Rainbow Dash lined up at the marked line. On the other side, Windy Skies was waiting with a stopwatch. The green stallion looked at the small pony at the starting line and raised a hoof in the air.

His voice called out, “Ready?”

“Not really….” Dash mumbled to herself.

“Go!”

Rainbow’s wing flapped as fast as they allowed, pushing the little filly along down the runway. She was quickly nearing Skies and the end line. A happy girl came across her face as she zoomed past the stallion. Returning her hooves to the ground, Dash gasped for air quickly. However, her ears perked up.

“Ready?”

“Again?” she managed to mutter.

“Go!”

Now with her goal being where she was a mere moments ago, Rainbow moved her wings quickly. Her wings carried her back to her staring position. The pain and tiredness was already starting to hit the little blue filly.

She crossed the line and turned around to look back to Windy Skies. Breathing heavily, her face grew more determined.

“Two down, many more to go! Ready?”

“Bring it….” she spoke through her teeth.

“Go!”

Letting out a squeal of both ferocity and soreness, Rainbow Dash pushed herself off of the ground and flew back towards Skies. Her speed was picking up and her time improving as she crossed the line again. She turned around and readied herself again.

“How are you feeling, Dash?” he asked, looking at the already exhausted filly.

“Don’t talk. Say it,” she replied, sweat starting to form on her brow.

Skies smirked, “Determination, that’s what I like to see! Ready? Go!”

Rainbow took off again.

For ten full minutes, Rainbow Dash kept this up, pushing her body’s limits. Her body was pour sweat from it, but it did not phase her. All she seemed to care about was going faster, beating her time. Her determination seemed to keep pushing her.

“Alright, Rainbow Dash, that’s it.”

Dash looked to the green pony, “That’s it? We’re done?”

“We’re done.”

“There’s no way, Skies. I mean, I still got plenty of energy in me,” Dash quickly flapped her wings, which caused her to flinch in pain slightly.

Skies replied, “I’m not denying that you have energy left.”

“Then what’s the deal?”

Skies paused for a moment before replying, “Well, how do you feel?”

“I feel great. Like I can wrestle down Princess Celestia herself,” Rainbow bragged.

“Are you tired?” he asked.

“Well, duh. You just made me go through a nightmare of training,” she stated.

“Then, there you go.”

“Huh?”

“Describe to me how you feel, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow paused before replying, “I feel great. I mean, yeah, I’m, like, really tired and all, but I feel like I can just take on the world. It just feels so awesome. It’s, like….magic or something.”

“And that, my dear Rainbow Dash, is what’s called the joys of flying. Pushing yourself to not only do better, but to be better and get a feeling like no other,” Windy Skies explained.

“This….” Dash stopped trotting, “This is the feeling that I felt with my dad back then….”

“Your first time flying?”

“Yeah….it’s the same feeling….” she seemed to be frozen in her new found relevation.

Skies smiled, “It’s your passion for flying and your passion for speed becoming one. Weird, huh?”

Rainbow nervously nodded, “Very….but, I like it….”

Turning, the stallion gathered his things from the bleachers and trotted off back toward the dorms, “Now you can really fly to your full potential.”

Comments

[NinjaMidget]

Chapter 8 Review

A good chapter. I like the little revelations that Dash keeps having. A couple notes on this one.

*****
"Rainbow’s wing flapped as fast as they allowed, pushing the little filly along down the runway." Might want to rethink this sentence.

"Her body was pour sweat from it, but it did not phase her." Another one to rethink
*****
I'm not trying to be nit-picky, here. I do the same thing when I'm writing. It sounded great in my head, but reading it later, it sounds off.