01. Trust
Hey, listen up. I've got a question for you. Have you ever wanted to rewind time? Ever wanted to fix any of your mistakes? What about the things you never had the chance to do or regret not doing? Needed another shot at something you failed at? Wanted to say "yes" at a time where you said "no"? Pass up on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? Blindsided by life? Maybe there's someone you miss dearly and would give the world to be with again.
Strike a nerve? I bet I did.
That's fine. You don't have to answer, I'll do it for you. The answer is a resounding yes. Of course you have. We all have. We're all victims of the merciless passage of time. We're helpless. It's completely out of our control - the past is the past, and yet somehow, for some reason, we love to believe there's absolutely nothing we can do about it.
The chances that slipped, the ones we loved and the things we lost, the surprises that blessed and the ones that hurt, the things you did right and the things you did wrong, your successes and your regrets, the loved ones you want back in your life -- they're all in the past. What are you going to do about it? You don't know, do you?
The truth is, I've figured it out. I know what to do. You don't need to work on a time machine, you don't need to conjure up some magical spell. You don't even need to try to right your wrongs, but you sure as hell don't give up either.
Wanna know the answer? Yeah. Of course you do.
Here, let me tell you my secret.
Skies Apart
Recon
"You're gonna be late if you keep doing this, you know," a familiar scratchy voice said, breaking the silence. The stallion paid no heed. He just continued to stare at the paper he finished writing on, mind completely adrift. "Uh, hello?" she repeated. No dice.
She floated over to the blank-faced stallion sitting at his desk and slapped him in the back with one of her powdery blue wings. Again, no response whatsoever. She brushed aside her multicolored hair and peeked over his shoulder. She sighed and rested a hoof on him.
Dash had known him for quite some time now, huge childhood friends in the greatest sense of the term. They might as well have been blood related. She was used to his constant mood swings and his aloof tendency to just drift off, and she was used to being there to get through whatever he was going through. Likewise, he was extremely smart and wise beyond his years, which Dash admittedly needed a friend for, so they almost completed each other.
However, since he was a little colt, he'd been exchanging letters almost twice a week with some other filly out there. It seemed to be the one thing that kept him happy outside of his time with Dash. She vividly remembered him trudging through the snow in the winter and the blistering heat of the summer, every single day, just to check the mailbox in anticipation of her letters. Even during class, while others were looking forward to recess and being dismissed, he only cared to check the mailbox. It's almost as if the letters were the sole purpose he lived for.
A few years ago, she stopped sending letters. He never did. He stopped eagerly checking the mailbox every day, but he still wrote his frequent letters to her. It pained Dash to see him wasting away his time and emotion for such a lost cause. Dash never even knew the girl's name. Likewise, he signed his letters anonymously as well. Dash never figured out the reason why. But, she'd just about had it with having to see and deal with this almost every day.
"You know, it's cool and all that you want to keep writing these letters to her, but what good is it gonna do?" Dash scolded. "You gotta move on." He still lay motionless for a moment, a brisk breeze floating through the room from the opened door. After a moment's passing, he merely yawned and turned to her, a smile on his face.
"I know she's still out there," he said with wistful eyes that betrayed his wide grin. Dash narrowed her eyes, shook her head and made her way to the door. He followed her with his frosty blue eyes, the same smile still glued on his face.
As Dash turned the corner to leave the room, she peeked back in with a cheeky and mischievous grin. His eyes caught it in broad daylight.
"And why are you so happy?" he asked.
Dash laughed. "It's nothing," she said with a sinister smile. "Just that she's gonna be really pissed if you're late again." Dash took off and chuckled as she saw his eyes bolt wide open as he fumbled off his chair, swearing, in a scramble to find his training uniform.
"Why didn't you remind me earlier?!" he yelled out in disarray. "Dash, help me you-!"
"Nope!" Dash called out, laughing as she darted away, leaving the confused, frustrated, and about to be screwed pegasus to himself.
[ ยค ]
The fog lifted from the grounds as a familiar light burst through the clouds above the horizon, a pure azure sky pushing away the darkness of the night, creating a beautiful, awe-inspiring gradient of blue and black, dawn and dusk. The sunlight had now peeked above the horizon, illuminating the sky and painting the clouds around them a beautiful gold. Truly a sight to behold.
The golden mare, immersed in sunlight, swept back her fiery mane and took off her glasses, grinning at the beautiful daybreak. At times like this, she was never more proud and grateful to be a pegasus. Nothing was more beautiful than the ethereal skies. She felt a pang of pity for the earth ponies and the unicorns for not being able to wake up to this beautiful experience every morning. She wished she could have spent the entire day relaxing among the clouds, but there was still business to attend to.
She took in a deep breath and exhaled, ready to begin the day. "Line up," she commanded to the fleet of pegasi in front of her. They straightened themselves up uniformly at the sound of her voice. After scanning the group, she noticed yet again, a certain someone was missing.
She sighed, slightly frustrated, and switched immediately to her commanding tone. "Do whatever you need to do to warm up," she instructed the pegasi. They nodded and briskly took off to their morning routines. She spoke again. "Not you, Dash. Come here for a second."
She reluctantly obeyed, trotting slowly to the golden mare. "Yeah...?" Dash nervously asked, even though she had a solid idea of what was coming.
"You know what the problem is."
"I'm sorry Spitfire, I-"
"This isn't a place where I appreciate slackers. I accepted him here solely because of your recommendation, Dash," she scolded fiercely with subtle venom in her words. "I've had it with him. He's out."
"Come on, Spitfire! He's a great flyer, and while it might not seem like it, he's got passion when he wants to, he just-" Dash was cut off again.
"Clearly, he doesn't have it now. That's all that matters to me," Spitfire remarked. "Soarin, go tell them to update the roster. The new guy's out." Soarin nodded, and turned to take off before Dash interjected again.
"Soarin, wait!" she called out, turning to Spitfire. "He's gonna be here soon, he just had to take care of something," Dash tried to explain. Spitfire sighed and shook her head. Dash spoke up again. "How about this? If he doesn't win the race today, I'll drop him out and I'll even leave myself."
Spitfire raised her eyebrows. "You, Rainbow Dash, trust him with your spot in my academy? You're crazy." She smirked. "You know I'm going to be competing too, yeah?"
"Yup, I trust Frostwing. He's the second best flyer I know," Dash said with a laugh. Right at that moment, as if on cue, the sleek grey pegasus pierced through the clouds, screeching to a stop in front of them, visibly worked up and gasping for air.
"Sorry... I'm... late," he apologized to the golden mare in between gasps. His normally frosty, mesmerizing blue eyes looked tired and his normally sharp, dark mane was unkempt and messy. He stared daggers at Dash. No more staying up past midnight on academy days for him, especially considering his irresponsibility and his equally irresponsible neighbor. His eyes locked on to the rainbow pegasus.
Spitfire found the sight of his condition amusing, and chuckled a little. "Well then, good luck today," Spitfire told Frostwing. His heart skipped a beat, surprised she wasn't immediately unleashing all hell upon him considering how she reacted to his, what she called, 'atrocious' punctuality in the past. Spitfire looked back at Dash with her fiery, confident eyes, and smirked. "Good luck to you too, Dash." She gulped and put on a grin of her own, trying to mimic Spitfire's demeanor. Frostwing frowned at the odd exchange.
The golden mare gave Dash a little punch and turned around to tend to the rest of the academy. Soarin followed in tow, not speaking a single word to the pair. Frostwing raised an eyebrow, a puzzled look on his tired face.
"What the hell have you gotten into now?" he asked. "Spitfire didn't seem mad at all, did you say something to her? Lying again?"
"Ehehe..." Dash's laugh dragged off. Frostwing already stared daggers at her. "It's not that, I kinda made a bet? Maybe?"
His voice turned rock hard. "What do you mean, maybe?" He was genuinely upset at this point. Despite his relatively low lack of motivation to succeed in the academy, looking like a fool wasn't something he was interested in doing.
"I told Spitfire that you're going to be competing in the demo race today. And if you don't win, that uh..." Dash stammered her words, feeling Frostwing's piercing eyes on her. "We'd both leave the academy."
Surprisingly, Frostwing didn't get angry. Instead, he looked at Dash with warm smile and chuckled with a cocky grin not unlike the fiery mare. He laughed.
"That's it? Shouldn't be any problem then."