Life in the College was amazing. Every day, we woke up at 9am to get ready, as classes were at 10am, except for weekends, where we were allowed to leave the College or wander around all day. We all lived in a room with one other pegasus, sharing a bunk-bed. My roommate was, however, horribly annoying. She was a beautiful pegasus, I'll admit that, with a long blonde mane, a pure white coat and dazzling blue eyes. But she never shut up! She kept gossiping about other pegasi that I either didn't know or didn't care about. I wouldn't have minded it so much if I didn't hear her constantly gossiping about me with her group of friends. She didn't even try to be subtle about it. She just pointed to me and said something that was probably as stupid as everything else that came out of her mouth, while all her equally stupid friends laughed along. I don't know how she managed to complete the race. I would have thought a mare like her would be more concerned with her mane than whether she passed a test. Not to mention that every morning she would wake me up with her bad singing in the shower. Then there's the fact that she had to put tons of makeup on her face. Not only in the morning, when I'm as the grumpiest I can be, but in class, and the teacher has to stop us all so she can inform the stupid mare of the rules of the College. Not only was it a stupid thing to do, because we all wore the College uniform which covered our faces anyway, but it was an extreme waste of time that she could be using doing something productive. She annoyed me so much. Still, I tried not to let it get to me, because I had studying to do. The lessons consisted of mastering the three elements of flying: speed, grace and stamina. It was very rare for us to have textbook work, where we researched famous flyers and their secrets; most of the time, it was practical lessons. Races where we worked on our least favourite of the three elements, to try and get better at it. For me, speed was the easiest element to master, while grace was the hardest, though I didn't really struggle with any of them in particular. The headmare often awarded me with medals and such for my hard work, and I won almost every race. Some pegasi envied me, but for the most part I was quite popular in that school, even with pegasi older than me, for my skills. I often saw the silent messenger on the corridors. I didn't know why I was so interested in him, but his veil of mystery sucked me in. I probably wouldn't have been half as interested in him if I knew something about him. But, whenever I mentioned anything about him to any other pony the same age as him, they made some excuse and rushed off. However, one day, when I was out with the older pegasi at a cafe outside of the College, I asked them about him. Everypony went silent and looked at each other in fear, except for one pony. He was always the type never to follow authority; he was brave, but foolish, so, when all around him went quiet on the subject, he almost saw it as a challenge to speak up.

"His name's Damien Shadowbolt. But, around the school, we all call him Raven Shadowbolt, or just plain Raven, though never to his face."

"Why do you call him Raven?"

"'Cause, in all kinds of mythology, ravens are seen as intelligent creatures, right? Well, Damien's the smartest pegasus you're ever likely to meet, but he's also crafty, sneaky and sly. If you ask me, he's damn creepy. Still, I thought you'd be more interested in the last name than our nickname for him."

"Shadowbolt? What's so special about it?"

"What the hell, kid! Have you been living under a rock all your life? The Shadowbolts are the second most famous flying group in all of Equestria!"

"Wow, that's amazing!"

"Nah, kid, you don't wanna join the Shadowbolts. They're evil, y'know. His dad was the one who founded the group, and he plans for Raven to take over when he dies. Apparently, they're on Nightmare Moon's side."

Even I knew about Nightmare Moon. By this point, she was still in banishment on the moon. The student continued with his story: the Shadowbolts were often hunted down for supporting her and committing what were thought to be 'evil deeds' in her name, and even Princess Celestia thought of them as a real issue. Because of this, they were forced into hiding, as banished as Nightmare Moon, unable to wander into ordinary society, in the fear of being turned into stone or executed. However, seeing as Damien was only the son of a member, he had committed no direct crime, and was therefore free to do as he pleased.

"I've never spoken to him in my life, and I don't plan to. Fuckin' creep. If I had my way, he would be in that stone garden with the rest of those-"

It was at that moment that we all saw Damien. He was walking around with three other pegasi, who were talking quietly to each other. They were dressed normally and looked perfectly ordinary. Nothing about them seemed threatening, yet, when he and his group walked past, all around him went silent. They ignored them as they made their way to a table in the cafe. A few seconds after they sat down, everypony started talking again, and the stiff silence that had filled the air was gone. It was only the Shadowbolt-hating pegasus that sat next to me who still glared at them all, especially Damien. Before we knew it, he was on this hooves, walking towards them menacingly. We all watched in fear and curiosity from the table. As he continued to walk, other ponies stared at him, thinking he was mad, until every eye was on him and Damien, who looked at the furious student with the calmest of expressions.

"Hey, Raven!"

Damien's eyes narrowed at the nickname, but he didn't interrupt the student, and continued to stare him out.

"If you think you're so tough with your stupid little group, how about you prove it? I challenge you to a race, right here, right now, to the College and back!"

Quiet gasps could be heard from other tables, but mostly there was nothing but silence. If a pegasus challenges another pegasus, you had to take up the challenge, no matter how difficult or biased, no exceptions. If you didn't, then you weren't a real pegasus. Everypony knew that Damien wasn't the type to start a fight, but he was also the son of the Shadowbolt leader. If he were to decline the fight, the Shadowbolts would be more hated than ever, and I doubt any Shadowbolt could live with the shame. The Shadowbolt's future rested on the next words that came out of Damien's mouth.

"Accepted."

With that, they both took off at the same time, flying over the cafe. Everypony looked up at them in awe, some cheering, others watching in silence. From this distance, it seemed as if the student was winning, racing ahead in quick bursts of energy and speed. However, the student soon grew weary and slowed down, while Damien's wind-related powers meant that he had an advantage, and soon caught up to him. After a few minutes of this constant struggle, the College was in sight to them. The student was far ahead by this point. We all assumed he was going to win. However, just at that moment, Damien spread his wings, concentrating on something. Suddenly, a large forcefield of silver wind enveloped him, pushing him forward. It looked exactly like an invisible Sonic Rainboom. We all gasped, including myself. I didn't know that anypony else had an ability like mine. But before I could think what to do about it, he had already won the race, and the other student was still flying back from the College. Damien was greeted with wild cheers from his small group of friends, while most of the other pegasi ignored his victory and walked away, displeased that he won. After a few minutes, the panting student appeared and went up to Damien, who was still being congratulated by his genuinely adoring friends, causing him to smile, embarrassed.

"That wasn't fair! Using that wind thing was the same as cheating!"

Damien's smile disappeared as he turned to look at him, keeping a calm expression.

"I'm sorry. It's not really something I can control. If you want a rematch, I won't say no."

It could have been taken as a challenge, but the student chose not to see it as such, and instead only glared at him and walked away, not being able to cope with the shame of being defeated twice in a row by the same colt. By that point, I knew I had to start talking to him more. After all, a pony like me didn't care about who was popular or not. I only cared about the successful, the winners of this world. I was determined to be one of them, no matter the costs. I wouldn't allow my vision towards that to be clouded. A few days later, I spoke to Damien for the first time. I waited until he was away from his group, who would have thought me mad for approaching them. I didn't want them interrupting our conversation. There were pawns. I only cared about the bishop that walked in front of me, making his way to the College garden now that classes had ended for the day.

"Hey, Damien, you dropped this!"

He turned around to see me holding up a book called The History of Cloudsdale. I had, in fact, broken into his locker the night beforehand and stolen it, so I would now have a conversation starter. He walked towards me, looking menacing in his uniform, as I couldn't see the expression on his face. All I could see were those ice blue eyes, analysing my every movement with a sort of cunning that only true rulers could master, seeming to stare right into my mind. Then his eyes softened at the sight of the book.

"Thank you."

He took it from me and started to walk away.

"Wait, Damien!"

He turned back, book already in his bag.

"Yes?"

I wanted a way of attracting his attention, but now I had no reason to, it seemed the potential conversation had vanished. I was close to telling him that it was nothing when his curious gaze turned to recognition.

"Tell me, have you ever completed a Sonic Rainboom?"

"Yes! That's me!"

"I was sure I recognised you somewhere. I think I delivered the invitation to the College..."

"Yeah! You did!"

I grinned like an idiot, until I realised that I had broken any indifferent demeanour that I could have shown. I cursed silently at my foolishness, expecting him to look at me worryingly. However, he only chuckled lightly.

"If you want to talk, next time, just ask, instead of going to the trouble of stealing my book."

I must have looked shocked, but he only smiled. However, his once friendly smile now seemed sly and sadistic.

"I know a lot more than that, Rainbow Dash, the Wonderbolts fanatic. Say, your skills are impressive. Would you ever think about settling for second place?"

I understood what he was implying immediately, and managed to get some of my charm back.

"Don't worry. I dream of success, not the Wonderbolts. If the Shadowbolts happen to become as successful, they'd be my idols. It all depends."

His smile only grew at this soft rejection.

"I like a mare who knows what she wants. Come see our group anytime you want."

Just like that, I was in. I hanged around with Damien and his friends for the rest of my days at the College, until he graduated, and then I studied even harder than before for a year, not really feeling lonely because of the large amount of work I had to do. In the end, I graduated with flying colours. Every flying-related job I wanted was open for me. After much thought, I eventually decided on a job working on the weather side of things. I was the weather moderator, making sure everypony was doing their job correctly. Sometimes, when others were acting uselessly, I stepped in and completed the job myself, causing other ponies to believe I worked as a common weather controller. Other pegasi, however, knew that I was far too important for something so simple. At other times, when they were all doing a good enough job and needed no further instruction, I liked to nap on a nearby cloud. After only a year or so at the job, I was able to afford a large house in Cloudsdale, which I loved. I was respected by many other pegasi, and seen as an important part of Cloudsdale's weather system. However, that was not what I wanted. I had success, but I also wanted fame. Working in something undramatic like weather systems meant that I didn't have that. However, I still knew that becoming a famous flyer was the only way to achieve great fame in Cloudsdale and beyond. So, I continued to practise, waiting for the day that the Wonderbolts contacted me. However, that wasn't my fate. My fate was to take the second most famous group of flyers and bring them up to become the best. But not just that. I was definitely capable of that. But I was also capable of much more. I didn't know that yet, but I was capable of changing the world with a movement of my hoof, if only given the chance.