//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Soarin' Skies // by arcTangent //------------------------------// The voice came to him again in his sleep. Hurry, young lad. The evil awakens. It was almost exactly like the dream he'd had in class: he was floating (or falling; he wasn't sure which) through a void, surrounded by nothingness. From the darkness emerged the alicorn, glowing with divine power and beauty, spreading its wings and addressing him as "the hero." As their power grows, mine weakens. You are the fulcrum that must balance the scale. "Balance?" he asked, his anger growing with every word. "But I don't even know what powers I have! Why are you so cryptic? Why can't you just tell me straight?" If I gave you the answers to your questions, it would defeat the purpose. "What purpose do it have to make me find them?! I don't know anything, and you do! But you refuse to tell me!" It is not in my power to tell you. Soarin' was furious now. As he writhed in anger, a dark tornado started to form. Winds swept his mane and tail aside as he stared venomously at the mysterious alicorn. He yelled, and the tornado rushed forward and lashed out at her like a whip. Still yelling, he opened his eyes. The dream was over, and he was lying in bed. His grandpa was standing in the doorway of his room. "Everything all right, sport?" he asked. "I heard screaming. You doin' okay?" Soarin' nodded. "Yeah, Gramps. Just...a bad dream." "Okie-dokie, then. Well, breakfast is almost ready. Just come down whenever you're ready!" He turned around and went back downstairs, his hoofsteps echoing on the wooden floorboards. The colt blew a stray strand of hair out of his eyes. That encounter was a bit much. He didn't know why he'd gotten so worked up over it. At least the other nightmare has stopped, he thought. ---- After preparing for the school day and meeting up with Spitfire, they walked over to the school together as usual. All memories of their somewhat icy reception from the previous day had been forgotten. As they approached the main entrance, they caught sight of a group of foals crowding around something they couldn't make out. "What's all the commotion about?" Spitfire asked, but just then they heard her brash, shrill voice and knew instantly who it was. "Fillies and gentlecolts!" The speaker's voice carried loudly over the sounds of the crowd. "May I have your attention!" Soarin' strained his neck to get a closer look. Sure enough, the multi-hued mane of the filly standing in the center of the crowd confirmed her identity as that of Rainbow Dash, one of their classmates. She was passing out pieces of paper that he assumed were invitations of some sort. He listened to the cyan pegasus as she spoke. "This afternoon, right after school, there's gonna be this big race that me and some jerks are gonna be having. It's a race to defend the honor of a certain pegasus who I'm sure you all know very well. These jerks have been picking on this filly for far too long, and I'm gonna use my superior skills to shut them up for good!" It was at this moment that Soarin' noticed Fluttershy standing timidly next to Rainbow Dash, cowering in shame. Obviously she didn't like being thought of as the center of attention, even if the attention was really going to Rainbow. Dash continued speaking. "So everypony come out and support me as I show those bullies who's the boss around Cloudsdale!" The audience cheered enthusiastically. Fluttershy wrapped her pink mane over her eyes in an effort to appear invisible, but obviously it did nothing. By this time the fliers had been passed around to everyone, including the birthday boy and his friend. They both read the papers, which depicted a streak of rainbow shaped like a lightning bolt along with the information about where and when the event was to take place. "Well, should we go to this?" Spitfire asked after reading the notice. "I mean, it can't hurt. And those jocks really need to be taught a lesson." "Yeah, a lesson in how not to be stupid," Soarin' said, stuffing the flier into his schoolbags. "And besides, it's not like you have anything better to do with your life," she joked. On any other day he would have come up with a witty retort, but her words reminded her of what the alicorn had said to him the night before. He apparently did have something better to do with his life, and she had no idea. But how could she? She wasn't the one who was chosen by a goddess to go on some brave quest and defeat the powers of darkness. Heh. When he put it that way, the whole thing seemed kinda cool. He felt a sense of inner excitement to get started on this journey, become a hero, and get the fame and glory he'd always wanted. Maybe I don't have to be a Wonderbolt for people to notice me, he thought. At this point the wind had started to pick up again. The trees swayed in the light, warm air, sending a somewhat sweet scent over the schoolyard as all the foals galloped inside, not wanting to miss their first period class. ---- All day Rainbow Dash sauntered through the halls with her head held high. Today was the big day! It was finally her chance to show those jocks who was boss. Nopony messes with Fluttershy and gets away with it! The three bullies were all years older than the other foals in their class, having already gotten their cutie marks. That was because they'd each been held back twice for failing all their classes. After all, it isn't hard to flunk out when you spend half the school year in the detention room. They felt like it was their duty to rid Cloudsdale Preparatory School of all the "weaklings," of which the yellow filly was one. She remembered the events of the day before: seeing the helpless filly being pushed around, flying over to her and defending her honor, accepting the challenge to race. She remembered the amused looks on the colts' faces as they realized she was serious. She remembered how she had brushed aside their insults and jeers, being the loyal friend that she was, and sticking up for those who needed to be stuck up for. Fluttershy herself didn't comment on the situation. She tried to talk to her friend about the dangers of going to such lengths just for her, but her timid voice barely reached the cyan filly's rapid-fire brain. She insisted that she didn't want to have anypony go to the trouble of defending her, that she didn't like making a big showdown of it all. Alas, her friend was too busy with her own agenda. By Celestia, if Fluttershy isn't going to put her hoof down and stand up to those punks, I'll be the one to do it for her! ---- Half of the Cloudsdale Prep student body was crowded into the tiny stands that afternoon. Soarin' and Spitfire were up in the front, having an excellent view of Rainbow Dash as she warmed up before the race. Standing next to her were the three bullies, who looked arrogant and smug as they jeered and laughed at pretty much everyone. No one gave them the time of day; everyone wanted Dash to emerge as the victor. Fluttershy stood on a tiny cloud in front of the starting line, holding a checkered flag that would be used to signal the race's start. She swayed it timidly as she cast her gaze towards the ground below, her pink mane obscuring the vision in one of her eyes. "What's taking them so long?" Spitfire complained over the din of the crowd. "I have things to do, places to go, ponies to see!" Her friend rolled his eyes. "Spitfire, you only wanted to come because you had 'nothing better to do.'" "Well, I didn't think it would be as boring as this!" She rose from her seat and prepared to walk out of the stands. "C'mon, let's scram." "Hold up!" Soarin' raised a hoof to silence the rad-maned pegasus. "It looks like they're saying something!" Spitfire sat back down immediately, not wating to miss a second of the drama. It appeared that Hoops was yelling something at Rainbow Dash. "You're going down, Rainbow Crash!" he said, pointing at the ground below to articulate his point. The cyan filly returned the threat with a challenge of her own. "In history, maybe!" Facing forward and posing determinedly she added, "See you boys at the finish line!" By this point the audience had realized that something was about to go down. The anticipation grew so thick that you couldn't have cut it if you sliced it with a chainsaw. The noise from the stands ceased. The air was still as the four racers tensed, poised and ready to begin, their eyes on the flag being held by Fluttershy. The flag was raised. Time slowed to a crawl. Perspiration dripped down Rainbow's forehead. Then, after an eternity of waiting, the flag dropped. And they were off. The four pegasi zoomed forwards at incredible speeds, so fast that the audience could barely see them. Suddenly the stands erupted in cheering as Rainbow Dash started off in the lead. Nopony noticed Fluttershy being knocked off balance during the racers' start and falling from the clouds onto the surface far below; they were too bust watching in awe as Dash sped past her competitors, leaving them in the dust. "Rainbow! Rainbow! Rainbow!" the crowd cheered as the ponies sped through the first gate, followed by the next, and then the next. Dash was leading by a wide margin. Glancing over her shoulder to check on her positioning, she sped through each obstacle, deftly defying all odds. The others weren't so lucky; Dumbbell crashed headfirst into a cloud column, rendering him disqualified from the race. She was now a huge distance ahead of her competitors. She felt the wind in her mane, the gust in her wings, the adrenaline coursing through her veins. She had never felt so free. Grinning hugely, she relaxed and let down her guard for a fleeting moment. It was the worst possible time. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Hoops body-slammed into her, sending her tumbling head over hooves. He'd cheated! Quarterback had told him about a shortcut before the race, but QB himself failed to spot it in the heat of the moment and was left far behind. "Later, Rainbow Crash!" he called as the filly with the multichromatic mane righted herself. He sped off into the lead, leaving her to orient herself. She was furious at the dirty trick he'd played. "Hey!" she shouted after him as she increased her speed to catch up to him. But it was no use--he was just too far away. Then a wild idea played at the corner of her mind. Maybe, just maybe, this is crazy enough to work! She pulled in her wings and began a nosedive right for the ground. Her speed rose dramatically as she went into freefall, letting gravity do the work for her. Her arms extended in front of her, she zoomed at a rapid pace towards the surface below. Her lips curled back from the G-force as a cone of light energy formed around her. Almost there! she pleaded, shutting her eyes as she prepared to pull out of the dive. Then everything stopped.