Digi's Short Story

The bustling city streets was no place for a pegasus. Too much to bump into, and the ponies down there were generally less than friendly at this hour, too stressed from work to even manage half a smile. The moon above was partially hidden by clouds and smoke.

Once one gets past the layer of chimney exhaust, it was a beautiful night. The stars were out, peeking from behind the wandering clouds. It was also a bit cold, and the wind was gently whistling.

Dare fluttered above without a care in the world, just looking down on the city lights flickering below him. He knew this night was just perfect. The sky was relatively clear of other pegasi and from up there, it was only silence. No interference, no distractions, and no need to worry about bumping into another flier.

He landed on a cloud to gather his thoughts and push them all to the back of his mind. It was time to see if he couldn't break the sound barrier. Ponies often said that it couldn't be done, that one would break apart at the sheer speed one would have to accelerate to. But he knew it could be done, somepony already did it. A mare from Ponyville, or so he heard. And if she could do it, so could he.

It didn't really matter to him if she'd done it a thousand times already. If he could pull a sonic boom, even without the rainbow, it would prove all of those who didn't think he could do it, wrong.

Three...

He crouched, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes.

Two...

His hind legs dug into the clouds and his wing flared open as he coiled his body to spring forward.

One.

In a split second he was gone, ripping the cloud apart, and ripping through the sky. He could feel the rush of air going past him, whistling as his wings cut through the resistance. It soon felt as if something was pushing him back, and he though, 'This is it!' He could see the outside of his vision blurring and it slowly converged the center. 'A little bit more! Come on Dare, you can do this!'

He pushed himself to flap harder. 'Just a little bit more.' He couldn't even hear himself think anymore over the rushing air.

Just when he thought he was going to rip through the barrier, a dark blur cut him off, causing him to instinctively pull up and brake. He was mentally frustrated that all that momentum was just taken away in a blink of an eye. Though he composed himself before turning to the pegasus who cut him off.

He was raised right, and he will not succumb to negativity.

"What's the big idea? I could have crashed into you."

But the pegasus didn't seem to bat an eye. He or she had the moon to their back, making it difficult to make any features out. The pegasus simply turned away from him and flicked their tail before leaving in a hurry. But Dare saw that the stranger was looking back and even managed to make out a sly smile from their face.

"Well then, if it's a race you want..."

Dare chased after the fleeing pegasus, catching up rather quickly. He took notice of the features of a mare as he got closer. She seemed familiar somehow with her ash-colored coat and white mane. He swore he recognized her.

The mare grinned and decided that she was pulling back long enough and darted straight ahead. Of course with Dare being the type to never back down on a challenge, kept up with her, putting on a smug look.

Most of that night was spent on seeing who could fly the fastest, who could turn the sharpest, and who looked the best doing it. Not a single word was traded until they stopped.

When they finally settled on top of a building, panting from their airshow.

"I knew I recognized you." Dare started, "You're that stuntmare, Fearless Audacity, or as your fans call you, 'Fearless the Peerless.'" He couldn't help but grin.

The mare blushed. "Please, just call me Fearless. I've never been much of a fan of titles. And you, you're that insane pianist working part time jumping off buildings and into trees."

"Dare Devil, that's me. I would never have thought somepony as high up in the stars as you are would bother with the starters."

"Well I did see one of your street shows. I was surprised that you weren't already going big time."

"I can't go big time just yet."

"Why's that?"

"I gotta wait for my wingpony to finish his education first, then the two of us can focus on taking the stage. Better to have a working brain than a miscalculated head injury."

Fearless giggled, it didn't even made that much sense. "That's real thoughtful of you, I guess."

"What can I say, brothers have to look out for each other. So Fearless, what brings you here to the city?"

"Oh just visiting the parents before heading over to Trottingham. I was just going home from a stroll when I saw you speeding. What were you doing anyway?"

"Just trying to break the sound barrier. I heard somepony did it already, so it can't be impossible."

"Well, you're not wrong. The pony named Rainbow Dash did that in Cloudsdale when she was still a filly, or so the story goes. But, I wouldn't bet a limb on replicating it though."

The stallion smiled. "Oh, is that a challenge?" He said.

"I guess it's true," she giggled, "you just jump into the fire, don't you?"

They both shared a short moment of laughter before the clock tower rang.

Fearless stood up and hovered. "I got to go."

"Afraid of going past curfew?"

"You know how parents can be. Hey, if you're not busy over the weekend, I got a show in three days. You should come."

"Sure, I'll be there."

"Oh by the way, what's your wingpony's name?"

"Lightning Breaker."

"He's your brother, right? Be sure to bring him along too."

=====

"Whoa, this place is packed!" Lightning Breaker, Dare's younger brother, commented. "I'm a bit surprised you got tickets to this thing."

"Come on, at least give me some credit. This is your brother you're talking about here. Our seats are right over there."

The stadium was brightly lit with spotlights covering every nook and cranny, not letting any shadow thrive in the stadium under the night sky.

A few minutes later, the stadium dimmed, and a hush fell on the crowd. A single spotlight illuminated a monochrome mare wearing a pair of blue protective goggles up on a platform more or less seven stories high and looking upon the sea of watchers. "GOOD EVENING MANEHATTAN!" She shouted into the microphone, receiving a large roar of excitement from the crowd as jets of fire shot up from behind her.

"Alright! Good to see you all in the mood! Now I've been doing shows here for a few years already, and I feel as if this wont be exciting enough. Doing the same thing over and over again just doesn't cut it anymore. So I've decided to bring in somepony to mix it up with me tonight. And they're both sitting right over there."

A second spotlight swept the crowd and rested on the two brothers. Both of them look at each other, then behind them. "Is... she talking about us?" Lightning asked. "Did you have something to do with this?"

Dare shook his head. "No, I didn't."

"Well don't just sit there! Dare Devil, Lightning Breaker, come on over you two! Don't keep the folks waiting."

"Well, you heard the mare, Lightning. Let's show these ponies how real stuntponies work."

"Are you nervous?" Fearless asked the stallions.

"Nervous? That means we're afraid, and being afraid is not in our genes. Right Lightning? Light? Hellooo, Equestria to Lightning." Dare waved his hoof over Lightning's eyes, not even getting a blink out of him.

The young stallion was so awed at the vastness of the crowd, all those eyes looking back at him from down there. He couldn't help but stand there like a statue.

"Those genes don't seem too strong in that one."

Dare let that one pass and poked his younger brother. "You okay Light?" He poked him two more times before he snapped out of it.

"Whoa, felt like I blacked out there for a sec..." Lightning shook himself out of it.

"Hey, Light. If you're not ready to take on the crowd, you don't have to."

"So I can let down the best brother in Equestria? No way! Let's do this!"

Fearless couldn't help but giggle at the brother to brother talk going on. "Well, are you two fillies ready? The crowd is waiting."

The two brothers looked at each other and nodded. "We'll show you what we're capable of," Dare grinned slyly, "try to keep up."

"Getting cocky already? I like you. Alright, let's give these ponies a night to remember."

Lining up at the edge, the three of them wound up and waited for the signal: the explosion that would ignite the rings laid around the stadium. They would try and outfly the flames and circle twice before the final ring ignited.

Dare took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Well Light, this is our first flight with a hotshot. Let's make it count!"

=====

The race ended with a tie, Lightning did a fine job considering he never performed in front of that many ponies, and the outcome sure boosted our reputation. Soon, Fearless took us into her fold and we made a great trio.

The Monochromatic Trio, was what we called ourselves. A stupid name, I know, but that represented us perfectly.

Well, this is my entry.

I'm more used a different genre of stories, so expect something to be wrong here.