Chapter 10: Fly to Survive
Rainbow Dash floated high into the sky, I followed after. I was just over the library when I saw Spike and the rest of the others getting into a hot air balloon. Spike blew a huge green flame into the balloon and it started to lift off the ground.
"We're going far from Ponyville, just over those mountains over there," Rainbow Dash pointed.
"Where is that? I never saw that in the show before?" I said, curious.
"That is a little past Ghastly Gorge, its nothing but wide open space, perfect for flying fast!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Okay. Are they coming with us, cause at the rate that thing is going, it'll take us all day to get there," I said.
"Don't worry, we're gonna go ahead of them, in fact we are racing there, and that starts in, three, two, one!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
She took of in a huge burst of wind, flapping her wings insanely fast and furiously, like a fighter jet taking off at full throttle. I quickly followed behind her. I took off at full power, closing the gap between us. I pulled up right next to her. She noticed me and looked at me in the corner of her eye.
"So, you're still just as fast!" she yelled, "See if you can keep up!"
She squinted and started flapping her wings harder, a white foggy cone forming around her as she flew faster. There was a sudden loud explosion as the cone flashed and Rainbow Dash broke the sound barrier, flying ahead of me in a burst of speed. I took off as well, easily breaking the sound barrier.
Rainbow Dash and I were traveling at mach speed, but I was gaining on her, and was about to pass her up when I saw a new cone appear around her. My eyes widened as I realized what she was doing. She started to crackle with electricity and there was a colorful shimmer around this cone. In another violent explosion, Rainbow Dash took off again, faster than I could imagine, disappearing into the distance leaving nothing but a rainbow colored streak. I looked behind me to see the expanding rainbow shockwave growing farther and farther behind.
"Holy shit, I was right there," I said to my self in excitement.
I kept flying following the rainbow streak in the sky. I could see the end of the line, and almost flew right past Rainbow Dash, but I 'slammed on the brakes' and slowed down as quickly as I could.
"Whoa, what was that about, are we here?" I asked, panting a little.
Rainbow Dash was holding up a stopwatch.
"Uh-huh, a seventeen second gap. And your panting," Rainbow Dash said disappointedly.
"Hey, I don't get to fly around back at home. In case you didn't know, it's not exactly common to have the ability to fly," I said.
"Well, we're gonna fix this, you can't get tired like that when you're fighting Xendo!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Okay, so, what are we doing?" I asked, looking around below.
There was a jagged, rocky landscape below, full of a maze of canyons and ravines.
"This is an obstacle course. You are to fly through the obstacles down there on the ground, starting from up here. You must fly through each checkpoint and touch off on each flag before flying back up here where you finish," Rainbow Dash said.
"Okay, is that all?" I asked.
"No, you are being timed. You have to try and get the lowest time possible. Each time you can shave off five seconds, a new section of the course opens. Then, you must complete the additional section while staying under the maximum time limit," Rainbow Dash said.
"Right, and that time is?" I asked.
"My time, one minute and fifteen seconds," Rainbow Dash said.
"What!? One minute and fifteen seconds! I can't do that!" I said.
"Well then, I guess you'll just have to keep flying this course until you can!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
"Now, on your mark! Get set! Go!" Rainbow Dash yelled, blowing a whistle.
I took off, heading for the ground. I landed on my feet, crouching forward than leaping for the first checkpoint. I flew through the checkpoint, touching the flagpole just on the other side, then I quickly darted to the right for the next.
I flew for the checkpoint, rolling sideways so I could pass through the narrow gap. I turned mid-air and flew through the checkpoint feet first, touching the flag and jumping off of the wall towards the next checkpoint.
I continued on through the obstacle course as fast as I could, but I felt like I wasn't going fast enough, I was still kinda tired after racing Rainbow Dash here.
Finally I hit the last checkpoint. I flew through it and landed on the other side, jumping off the ground, taking off up above. I stopped right next to Rainbow Dash, who stopped her stopwatch.
"How was that? Did I qualify?" I asked panting.
"Hm, an impressive one minute twelve, not bad, but you'll have to do it again," Rainbow Dash said flatly.
"What!? Why!? What did I do wrong?" I asked.
"You used your feet to jump or kick off. You were only supposed to fly," Rainbow Dash said, "here, let me show you."
Rainbow Dash quickly flew down to the obstacle course and started right away. She zigged and zagged through each checkpoint with astonishing speed and accuracy. She flew straight through a checkpoint, touching the flag, then stopping almost suddenly and taking off straight in another direction. She was like a laser beam bouncing off a mirror!
She finished the course and flew straight up to me, not even tired.
"See, just flying, no kicking or jumping off of things," Rainbow Dash said, smiling.
"Ugh, alright, I'm ready when you are coach," I said, getting in position for take off.
"Ready? Go!" Rainbow Dash shouted, blowing her whistle.
I took off again, flying straight for the first checkpoint, trying to slow myself down as quickly as possible. I grunted with effort, trying to fly through the checkpoint and slow myself down instantly after making it through, touch the flag, then quickly taking off again. I went through the whole course, turn after turn, trying my hardest to keep my speed and try not to touch the walls or ground.
Once again I finished the course, flying back up to Rainbow Dash so she could stop the clock. I floated there, panting, starting to sweat.
"Hm, one seventeen, you can do better!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
"Oh, come on, how about I use the Kaio-ken this time?" I suggested.
"No, no 'kayak-can' or super saiyan or whatever! You won't be any stronger or faster when using those if you can beat this course as you are now!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Fine, you're right, but can I take a break?" I asked, wiping sweat from my forehead.
"Would Xendo give you a break during the fight?" Rainbow Dash asked with a stern look on her face.
"Um, maybe? You never know, he might," I said shrugging.
"No! Now run the course again!" Rainbow Dash shouted, then blowing her whistle loudly, making my eardrums throb.
I took off as fast as I could, quickly slowing down as fast as I could trying to make it through the checkpoint. I flew through, quickly touching the flag, then taking off hard, putting all my strength into flying. I flew the whole course gritting my teeth, sweating, my lungs on fire. After flying through the last checkpoint I served straight upward, shouting in effort and taking off quickly, blasting up rocks and dirt below.
I stopped next to Rainbow Dash, waiting to hear my time, breathing hard, heavy, and quickly, hunched over with my hands on my knees, floating in the sky.
"Hm, better, one minute fourteen. Now how do you feel?" Rainbow Dash asked smiling.
"Like, crap," I said between breaths, "I don't, think, I can, keep this, up!"
"Don't be a wimp! You're doing great, just keep this up and I know you'll be able to do it," Rainbow Dash said.
I was slowly starting to catch my breath. I hung in mid air, looking around me. I looked at Rainbow Dash, looking at her wings, watching very closely.
"What are you looking at?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Your wings. I think that's the reason you can fly this course so well," I said.
"What, but, what makes you think that?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Well, when you fly, you flap your wings and move the air, and you lift yourself," I started. "When you have to stop suddenly for those turns, I've seen how you open up your wings and catch air, then flap really hard to get moving in the other direction."
"Yeah, and? What's wrong?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Well, I don't have wings. I fly by using my energy, I push it down below me, like a jet or something, like rocket propulsion," I explained, "I don't have wings to catch the air and stop suddenly, I have to direct my energy in front of me to slow down, below me to stay in the air, and to the side opposite of the direction I want to go in. It's hard work."
"Well then you should have no problem then," Rainbow Dash said chuckling.
"What do you mean, you have to do three things in order, brake, then turn, then fly. I have to do those three things all at once at the same time, brake and turn and fly," I said.
"Yeah, but I've seen you down there, you're just throwing your energy all over the place, stirring up wind and dust. Why don't try directing it, you might not tire out so quickly if you're not 'flailing around'," Rainbow Dash said, laughing.
"Okay, that's great, how the hell do I do that? I've always flown this way," I said.
"I don't know, concentrate, and keep practicing. I practice my flying every single day of my life, and look at me now! It's more than just a way of getting around, it's an art form, a technique that I spend every day trying to perfect," Rainbow Dash said with a hint of pride.
"You're right," I said, thinking to myself, considering her words.
I floated there a bit, concentrating, trying to raise my energy a bit, preparing to run the course again.
"Alright coach, blow the whistle," I said, getting into position.
"Oh really? Ok, get ready, get set. Go!" Rainbow Dash blew her whistle.
I took off again, this time trying to concentrate on just going forward. As I came to the ground I concentrated on pushing downward, sending out a ring of dust spreading out beneath me as I came to a stop. I then focused on flying towards the side, straight through the check point, then touching the flag and stopping by imagining pushing against the wall beside me with a single finger. I quickly took off by imagining the same 'go forward' feeling. I flew straight ahead for the next checkpoint, stopping quickly, touching the flag, and quickly 'pushing' off the wall with a small blast off, flying in the direction behind me for the next checkpoint.
As soon as I passed through the last checkpoint I quickly pushed off from the ground with everything I had. I soared straight up to Rainbow Dash, stopping right next to her as she stopped the stopwatch.
"Whoa! That was fast! Where did all that speed come from?" Rainbow Dash asked looking surprised, smiling.
"Heh heh, was it really that fast?" I asked chuckling.
"One minute six, yeah that was fast! Way to go!" Rainbow Dash cheered.
"Huh, well, that wasn't too hard, I guess I've just been flying wrong all my life, well I'll be damned," I laughed to myself.
"Don't call it a day just yet, you need to keep practicing with that new way of flying, sleep on it tonight and you'll forget it if you don't let your body get used to it now," Rainbow Dash said.
"Well, you're the expert, should I fly again?" I asked.
"Go for it!" Rainbow Dash said.
I spent the next half hour flying the course trying to get faster and faster, eventually shrinking my time to just fifty four seconds. At the end of one of my flights I noticed the hot air balloon now hovering overhead. I quickly flew up to them and could hear Twilight, she didn't sound happy.
"Rainbow Dash, I told you to wait for us!" Twilight said.
"Where's Dako, let me see him, I have to make sure he's okay!" Fluttershy said.
Fluttershy jumped out of the hot air balloon basket and flew straight over to me. She grabbed my face between her hooves and looked into my eyes, making sure I didn't get a concussion or something.
"Are you alright, you didn't get a heat stroke did you? How do you feel, have you been drinking plenty of water?" Fluttershy asked.
"Fluttershy, he's fine, in fact, he's been doing great, you guys should see him!" Rainbow Dash laughed.
"Well, we would've been watching him this whole time, if you two hadn't left us behind!" Twilight shouted angrily.
"Hey, we had to train so we did, what are you angry about?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"We were on schedule, there was no rush, now that we're here we might as well take a look at his improvement," Twilight said.
"Dako!" Rainbow Dash called.
"Yes ma'am!" I said, standing at attention.
"You know what to do," she said before blowing her whistle.
As soon as the whistle blew I took off for the first checkpoint in a rush of speed. I stopped just inches above the ground before flying through the checkpoint, touching the flag, then taking off to the next checkpoint. I flew through the whole course then shot back up to Rainbow Dash. She stopped the clock and turned to her friends.
"I set the maximum time limit to complete the course at one minute and fifteen seconds. He just flew this entire course in forty eight seconds, that's actually a new best for him. He's getting faster all the time!" Rainbow Dash said with excitement.
"At this rate he'll surely show Xendo what for!" Rarity exclaimed.
"Well, I might be able fly circles around him, but I still need to get much stronger," I said.
"Don't worry, we're not done here," Rainbow Dash said.
I could hear the sound of something coming, something flying very fast. Three objects shot over my head at almost the speed of sound. As they passed over they shot straight upward and split up, pulling of some kind of coordinated acrobatic stunt.
"Ah, there they are, right on time!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Are those the Wonderbolts?" I asked.
"Yup, I asked Spitfire to help me train you, looks like she was able to make it," Rainbow Dash said smiling, watching the Wonderbolts circle back around.
They flew right up to us, decelerating furiously.
"Hi Rainbow Dash, how are you?" Spitfire asked, smiling.
"I'm great, I'm so glad you could make it," Rainbow Dash said, giving Spitfire a hoof-bump.
"So, you must be Dako, I have to say, it's an honor to meet you," Spitfire said, holding out her hoof.
"Really, 'cause I think it's an honor to meet you," I said, shaking her hoof.
"So Dako, as you may have heard from my pal Rainbow Dash, my name is Spitfire. These two are my teammates, Surprise and Soarin'," Spitfire said, introducing the other two Wonderbolts.
"Wow, it's nice to meet you guys," I said, shaking there hooves.
"So Rainbow Dash, what do you have planned?" Spitfire asked.
Rainbow Dash put a hoof on Spitfire's shoulder and took her away from the group. She was whispering something into Spitfire's ear.
"Really?" Spitfire said, looking back at me, "I see."
Rainbow Dash kept whispering to Spitfire.
"Hey Rainbow, what are you saying?" I asked, a little curious.
"Well alright, if you think he's ready," Spitfire said, looking back at me.
"Alright guys, what's up?" I asked.
"Dako, it appears Rainbow Dash has organized a game of tag to help you with trying to catch or avoid someone or something while flying. Think you're ready?" Spitfire asked.
"Oh yeah, I just learned a new way to fly that I know will help," I said confidently.
"Alright, here are the rules," Rainbow Dash started, "You start out being it. You have one minute to tag everypony else. When you tag somepony they sit out for the rest of the time limit. If you can't tag everyone before time runs out the game resets."
"Okay, seems easy to me," I said.
"The second part of the game goes like this," Rainbow Dash said, "everypony else is it, and you have one minute to avoid everypony, if you get tagged within a minute the game resets, got it?"
"Okay, sure, let's do this," I said.
"Alright, Spitfire," Rainbow Dash said.
"Wonderbolts!" Spitfire called to her teammates.
They filed in at her sides and floated there awaiting orders. Spitfire signaled to them with her hooves and they each flew off to their sides.
"Ready?" Rainbow Dash said.
The Wonderbolts and I nodded our heads. Rainbow Dash blew the whistle.
I flew straight for Spitfire who was actually coming straight at me. Just when she was within tagging distance she shot straight upward into the sky, I followed after. She was flying high and I was catching up until Surprise came up on my left. I quickly broke off after her. I was getting closer to her as well until Soarin' flew up over her and fell into her place in front of me as she dropped down behind me.
They were pretty good and very well organized. I was very impressed and laughed inside, laughed in excitement and amazement to see them in action this close. They were definitely giving me the run around, but I was holding back, just to see what they would try on me. Now I knew their plan.
I let out a burst of speed and flew straight for Soarin' who quickly shot down. As he flew towards the ground Spitfire came up on my right, in tagging distance. Instead of taking the bait I shot straight over Soarin' and tapped him on the shoulder. I slowed down and let them take off underneath me, watching them level out just before hitting the ground. I watched Soarin' fly over to wait by Rainbow Dash, and watched Spitfire climb back up to altitude.
I took off again, shooting straight upward going for Spitfire this time. She started to lean back, lying upside down, flying out of her vertical climb. I headed straight for her. She rolled and resumed flying right side up and watched me close in on her out of the corner of her eye. I was only about ten feet from her on her five o'clock when she looked down, directly below herself, and I looked in the same direction. I saw Surprise, climbing fast, rising to our level. Surprise flew right in between us, trying to draw me off. It wouldn't work.
I flew straight for Spitfire, hopping over Surprise then shooting back down to fly up underneath Spitfire. As I came up underneath her I rolled onto my back, reached up, and tapped her on the chin. I then hit the brakes, letting Spitfire fly over me, then I sat up as Surprise flew straight for me. I raised my arms and tapped her on her hooves on her hind legs as she flew over me.
I turned and watched as both Surprise and Spitfire flew over to Rainbow Dash, I flew behind them to join them. When I got there everyone was cheering.
"That was amazing, you looked so awesome!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Wow, what an amazing show, truly marvelous," Rarity said in awe.
"Oh Dako, that was so exciting, you were great," Fluttershy said with a smile.
"So," I started, "Should we train the second half?"
"No, I think your good to go, that was impressive stuff, wouldn't you say Rainbow Dash?" Spitfire said smiling.
"Oh yeah, I think you've definitely got this!" Rainbow Dash said excitedly.
"Alright Dako, you've got their seal of approval," Twilight said, "I think you're done for today."
"Really?" I asked.
"Yup, now, let's get you some lunch," Twilight said, smiling.