Chapter 27: Like a Tree In a Storm

“I’m surprised you found the time to look in on us,” Dash said to Gearhead as they stood together on the oval running track where she was training Ponyville’s entire Pegasus population. Twilight and Spike were there to help monitor and record the Pegasi’s wing power using an anemometer.

Dash’s comment was not entirely without merit, given how Gearhead and Fluttershy had been avoiding each other recently, apart from situations requiring that both be present – and even then they kept their distance from each other. Watching the Pegasi train did not count as one of these necessary situations, so when Dash noted how rare it was for Gearhead to be out and about, she was correct. To her, how busy he was with his gadgets was clearly just a convenient excuse to avoid Fluttershy.

“In just a few days, you are going to be leading Ponyville’s Pegasi in lifting a column of water to Cloudsdale for all Equestria to use. It is not just because I was raised on a farm that I am interested in the process, but also the fact that I carry some Pegasus magic myself. Also, it would be good for Snowbelle to watch other flyers.”

“If you’re so interested, why not participate yourself?”

“I am not certain that is such a good idea, and neither is Snowbelle: she might end up freezing the water, even if she can lift it without Pegasus magic. As for me, if I use the Alicorn Engine I do not know what effect the particles might have, and I would be committing to spreading them throughout Equestria without that knowledge.”

“You’ve had the Alicorn Engine for a long time already. How do you not know of all of its side effects?” Twilight asked.

“Because we have yet to perform experiments testing every possible situation. Widespread propagation could have a different effect on every other living thing from what happens when I fly over anyone or anything. And it would be in the water, something every living creature uses.”

“That’s a shame: it would probably be useful to have you on the team.”

“Except you notice the Engine does not have any wings, so how much ‘wing power’ could I possibly possess, right?”

“What about your Wind Wings?” Dash asked.

“What happens if they interfere with the tornado itself? What if the tornado cancels them out, and you have to send one or two of your Pegasi to rescue me? I would end up being more of a detriment than a help if I cannot predict precisely whether or not I can contribute to the effort. Better to stand off, at least until I have a solution.”

“Fine, so you can’t participate,”

“Not for now,”

“What’s that mean?”

“If Spike sends a letter asking Princess Celestia whether there are any ill effects from adding my Engine’s power to rainwater, maybe she will know whether I can use the Engine to increase the tornado’s overall rotation speed. Even just a little would help. But that is only if you end up being close to the minimum requirement.”

“Then you’ve got nothing to worry about, because we’re gonna bust right through the eight hundred wind power minimum and make a new record at a thousand!”

“YEAH!” Snowflake snorted.

Gearhead chuckled. “He is nothing if not enthusiastic,” he said ruefully.

“I don’t think anyone could argue against that,” Twilight said.

“Alright, who’s up next?” Dash asked.

“Fluttershy,” Spike said. “I don’t even know what to expect.”

“Why?” Gearhead asked. “Just before that thing with Iron Will, she was flying with me and Snowbelle over the Everfree Forest almost daily, and carrying out the same tricks I did.”

“She’s also awesome at pulling off sweeping dives to save her critter friends,” Dash gushed. “She’ll do great!”

“I am glad you convinced her to do this, Dash,” Gearhead said.

“It took a lot of convincing, but it’ll be worth it if it helps her get more confidence.” Snowbelle chirped in agreement from atop Gearhead’s head.

“Here she goes,” Dash said. As they watched, Fluttershy looked around nervously. When the yellow Pegasus’s eyes fell on him, Gearhead felt Snowbelle rear up and flap her wings enthusiastically. From the feel of the wind, she was spinning all the way around. It really was a shame Snowbelle could not help with the tornado, with all that energy.

And then Fluttershy seemed to swallow her doubts, just before she took off. She was not exactly going fast, but she was not going all that slow either – until Flitter and Cloudchaser giggled while they were looking across her. Fluttershy definitely noticed, and she slowed to half her previous speed just before crossing the line. Gearhead looked at the anemometer reading.

“I’m not telling her, you tell her,” Spike said to Twilight.

“It was her first practice run,” Gearhead said, “and we can double the reading to get the speed she was going before those two laughed across her nose.” Gearhead practically glared at the two mares, who jumped back a bit. But not fast enough, because Snowbelle winged over and honked in their faces before looping back. She landed beside the anemometer and tapped the glass lightly with a claw, as though making sure it was not broken. But because Twilight had thoroughly tested it beforehoof, they all knew it was working.

“We're sorry, Fluttershy,” Cloudchaser said.

“We didn’t know what we were doing was so hurtful to you,” Flitter said.

“You can run it again if you want,”

“Yeah!” Dash said. “Like Gearhead said, it was your first practice run. We can see your best once you’ve warmed up.”

“I don’t think I have it in me,” Fluttershy said, tears already in her eyes.

“Of course you do,” Twilight said. “We’ve all seen how incredibly strong you are at one time or another,”

“Yeah, strong,” Dash said, rubbing unconsciously at her ribs, still remembering how Fluttershy had stomped her to the floor.

“But one WP?” Spike scratched his head. “How? Ow!”

Twilight tried to shush Spike, but Fluttershy could not help but hear that.

“Fluttershy, wait! Are you going to let one little thing get in the way of your doing this?” Dash asked.

“Yes,” Fluttershy sobbed, and ran – not flew – from the track.

Dash sighed. “I was hoping this wouldn’t happen.” He turned to Gearhead. “Well? You’re gonna go after her, aren’t you?”

“You are the coach, Dash. Besides, you know that I am not any good with her right now.”

“I know the two of you are awkward, and that’s why it’s the perfect opportunity to work out whatever happened.”

“It is a little more complicated, when the fear is related to something that has not happened yet, or may never will. As Twilight can attest, the future is a nebulous, ever-changing entity. And I like to think that I am smart enough not to put myself into a position where I will get knocked down, thus triggering the very thing of which she is afraid.”

“So then it’s fine if it’s me because it already happened to me once?”

“It happened to you because Fluttershy is more afraid of Dragons than she is of hurting a resilient friend she knows will heal.”

“And you’re different how?”

“You are right: I am not that different in that case. I will go talk to her, as a friend.”

“Wait! You’re right: I’m the coach and her best friend. I should be the one who brings her spirit back up.” Dash flew off after Fluttershy, leaving the field in Twilight’s and Gearhead’s custody.

“You know, you’re pretty manipulative,” Twilight said.

“I know not to what you are referring,” Gearhead said. Snowbelle whistled innocently.

“Okay, just who came up with that?”

In the same instant, Gearhead shrugged his shoulders and Snowbelle shrugged her wings.

“Okay, that’s creepy,” Spike said. “Just a little bit.”

“So about that letter..?”

“Right away, sir!”

With the Pegasi out training for tornado duty, business was much slower than it would have been otherwise. The Pegasi themselves made up about one third of Ponyville’s total population, and not counting Twilight, Spike, Gearhead, and Snowbelle some of the other residents came out to watch. Some of them even made wagers about who was faster or slower, and how they might compare to one of the Wonderbolts. Naturally, with her fifteen wing power at the start of training, Rainbow Dash ranked the highest out of her whole team.

Gearhead realized that when there was something new or interesting going on, Ponyville had a tendency to flock to it. If it happened for long enough, they stayed until it became routine or uninteresting, and then they wandered off to the next novelty.

That feeling of novelty might have been a good part of what kept them coming back to Gearhead’s Gadgets more often than the citizens of any other town or city that Gearhead had ever visited. This was good for business, and good for Gearhead’s sense of stability, however he had to wonder if he could keep his business going if he suddenly became uninteresting. If he ran out of ideas and sold his gadgets to everypony who would buy them in Ponyville and Canterlot, would he have to leave?

Gearhead discovered that he did not want to leave his friends, and he did not want to revert to being a wanderer. Yes, he had stayed in Ponyville for many moons, but it was the fact that he had made friends here that would make it so difficult to leave, if he ever needed to do so. Not only that, but he had to consider what was best for Snowbelle as well. Foals needed routine and stability in their lives, and baby Dragons did not seem to be all that different in that regard. Gearhead was not the only one who had friends here, either. But if Gearhead was unable to sell his gadgets here for whatever reason, he would have to come up with a different way to make money.

That was when Gearhead recalled Rarity’s suggestion to advertise his services to other cities and towns, so new prospective customers would come to him, instead of the other way around, which was what he had been doing all along. If he could make ponies from all over Equestria want to come to Ponyville or nearby Canterlot to buy his wares, then he would not have to move – but doing so would require showing those customers why his gadgets were worth all the time, effort, and money they would spend just to reach his shop.

If it meant staying with his friends, and providing Snowbelle a stable home – at least until he took her to the Mountains to decide where her home was – then that was exactly what he would do. Thinking of friends and stability, Gearhead determined that he would speak with Fluttershy sometime soon, when the situation did not depend so highly on her often-fragile emotional state. For now, it was more important that she find the confidence to participate in tornado duty and help carry water to the rest of Equestria than it was to repair their relationship.

Gearhead returned his attention to his experiments: he wanted to be able to answer Dash’s concerns as quickly as possible, so he had transplanted a row of simple plants to be exposed directly to the Engine’s particles. At the same time, beside that set-up, he was running full-spectrum synchronization tests on the twin-core Engine. Once that was ready to go, he could test how multiple turbines interacted with each other, so he could determine whether the Alicorn Array defence project was even viable.

Gearhead was still working on these experiments when the door chime sounded, so he quickly cleaned himself up before he took the one-way dumbwaiter to the Workshop. When he answered the door, he was surprised to find a Pegasus standing there when all of the available Ponyville Pegasi were training. But then it was obvious that this was a courier from out of town. Gearhead took the proffered envelope and tipped the mare, who immediately left.

Gearhead closed the door, and then opened the letter to read it. Snowbelle hopped over to read over his shoulder. It was from Father and Vines, jointly asking that he report to Verdant Fields to clarify some issues enumerated in the contract he had drafted and sent them. They had even included a list of their questions so Gearhead could prepare. This was one of the ways in which Gearhead recognized that Vines was not a truly antagonistic presence in his life: his eldest sibling merely wanted what was best for his family, and this time he saw that with some changes, what was best was to support the Alicorn Array initiative, which would give Gearhead, and thus Herd Verdant, a lucrative contract with the Crown.

That Vines and Father had not instructed the courier to wait for a written response meant that they expected Gearhead to arrive at Verdant Fields before the mail Pegasus could. This would have been an impossible expectation before his previous flight, when he had proven he could do it. Gearhead realized he could easily make the flight now, thanks to the stabilizer system. But he wanted to make a little adjustment so Snowbelle could sit inside it comfortably. He went back down to the Laboratory to work through this new issue.

By the middle of the week, Gearhead could no longer deny the urge to check in on Fluttershy, but he did not want her to see him doing it, so he used his magic to get around quickly and quietly, leaving his Engine behind.

And was both shocked and pleased to see her training, with help from her critter friends. From the exercises she was doing, she was increasing her strength as well as her resistance to her performance anxiety (to judge by the pony masks the critters had crafted). To avoid having her anxiety levels rise instinctively from having another pair of eyes on her, Gearhead excused himself to go to the training field.

When Fluttershy did make her grand entry onto the scene, Gearhead was glad he had left when he did, otherwise he would have been unable to change and see her get to the starting line like an athlete in final prep. This time there was no hesitation when she launched off the line, and Fluttershy ignored everypony’s gazes on her. Gearhead, Twilight, and Dash checked the anemometer.

“Five wing power?” Fluttershy said, wide-eyed. “There must be some mistake: I trained so hard!”

“But Fluttershy, this is an amazing improvement over your last time,” Twilight said.

“Five times as fast? Definitely impressive,” Dash said.

“Oh yeah?” Fluttershy asked, steaming. “How would you feel if everypony else was flying at ten-point-oh wing power, and you were only doing five?”

“Well, I...”

“Exactly! You would be embarrassed,” Fluttershy started crying, and turned to flee again.

“Wait, Fluttershy!” Gearhead flew around to head her off before she could get away. “Who are you racing against?”

“Racing? There wasn’t anyone...”

“That is not true, because whatever we do when we perform, we cannot help comparing ourselves to at least one other. I cannot help it either: every time I fly I compare myself to Prism Flight – Rook’s stability, Contrail’s team booster, and Prism’s leadership and pure speed. My magic? I compare it to Twilight’s, Dawn’s, or Dusk’s.”

“Yes, but they’re the best. I’m... not.”

“You, Fluttershy, can be the best version of yourself every day. Two days ago, what was your speed?”

“One wing power?”

“And today, after only days of serious training?”

“Five wing power.”

“A five hundred percent improvement in under a week. Do you know how much more athletic Pegasi would do for such a leap in performance?”

“Pretty much anything,” Dash said. “Except to cheat, at least, that’s true of most of us.”

“There may not be much time left, but you’ve already gotten halfway to the goal,” Twilight said.

“And you have just the right pony to take you as close to the rest of the way as you yourself can dare to get,” Gearhead said.

“I do?”

“Your best friend,”

Dash and Fluttershy blinked at each other. Then they broke out laughing at how obvious it was. “So, up for a dash?”

“If you’ll have me,”

“There’s nopony I’d rather have,” Dash said.

It was tornado day. Gearhead stood with Twilight beside a giant anemometer, helping her with the final tune up. With his Alicorn Engine and healing magic, he was also with the Emergency First Aid Team, able to temporarily heal a broken wing and put Pegasi back into the operation if need be. He hoped it would not come to that, though.

With the tuning complete, Gearhead went to the first aid tent to help Nurse Redheart with the check-in. He had to double-check the list against the Pegasi he could see lining up for the initial formation to be sure of what he was seeing, and then he went to Spike and Twilight.

“Do you really think you can break the record?” Spike was asking Dash.

“Absolutely! You saw those numbers too: we had lots of tens and even a couple of elevens.”

"And Fluttershy improved a lot too,” Twilight said.

“About that record, Dash,”

“Oh, Gearhead! So how ‘bout it? How high do your numbers say we can go?”

“If we push it...”

“Yeah?” Dash was beaming with expectation.

“Seven fifty,”

“Wait, what?” Dash had been leaning forward, and now she lost her balance and fell on her face. “You did that on purpose,” she grumbled from the ground.

“It is a rude, but necessary, awakening.”

“So who’s the lazy-bones who’s dragging us down?” Dash got back up, and Gearhead had to turn the clipboard so she could read it.”

“Thunderlane! I knew that cough would be trouble.”

“Actually, Rumble and Nurse Redheart say he and all of the other no-shows are down with the Feather Flu. Being part-Pegasus, I wonder if I could get it despite not having feathers.”

“It doesn’t literally happen to your feathers,” Dash said as she checked the list. “Eighteen down? That many?”

“Let me crunch the numbers,” Twilight said, taking the list over to an abacus she had brought for just such an occasion. After a couple of minutes where she checked and rechecked to make absolutely certain of her math, Twilight turned to Dash, who was still wearing a hopeful smile. “I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash, but we just don’t have the numbers.”

“For the record?”

“Forget the record: you may not have enough Pegasi left to lift the water up to Cloudsdale! You might be able to get 785 out of everypony, Fluttershy included, but if you push your team beyond that, they’re liable to get hurt.”

“Everypony’s waiting. Captain Spitfire is waiting. We can’t just quit without trying.” Dash turned to the other waiting Pegasi. “Can we?”

“No!”

“So we’re not gonna give up, are we?”

“No!”

“Nevermind smashing the record: we’re gonna lift that water up to Clousdale with everything we’ve got!”

“YEAH!”

“Okay, I have a new appreciation for Snowflake,” Gearhead admitted. “But you may still need to take some drastic measures to make this whole thing fly.”

“Did you get a reply from the princess yet?”

“Unfortunately not. But you could ask the Wonderbolts for help. I am sure just Spitfire would have more than five wing power in her.”

“I don’t wanna do that if I can help it,” Dash said, “after all this is a Ponyville effort. But thanks for the suggestion. Alright ponies, get ready: we fly on the horn!”

“YEAH!”

Under Dash’s direction, the Pegasi formed four curving lines around Ponyville Highland Reservoir, which would be supplying Cloudsdale with Equestria’s rainwater for the year. Just then Fluttershy cantered up. “I’m so sorry I’m late!” She said, and started to run past the others to take her place in formation.

“Hold it,” Gearhead said.

Fluttershy winced visibly, freezing in place. “Is something the matter?”

“Did you do all of your stretches and warm-up on your way here?”

“Well... no. But I want to contribute!”

“And you will, but only after you have completed the full routine. Otherwise I am not clearing you for tornado duty, and I suspect neither would Dash. After all, the less often I have to give you a particle bath or heal you by magic, the better. But especially the first, due to the effect of temporary immunity from magic.”

“Oh, okay,” Fluttershy lowered her head and started trudging toward the warm-up area.

“Also, Snowbelle and I do not want to see you hurt, if possible.”

“And neither do the rest of us,” Spike said.

“So get those warm-ups done, and we’ll all see you soon in that tornado,” Twilight said.

“Okay!” Fluttershy cheered up marginally almost immediately. Gearhead watched her go until she started her stretches.

<Keep an eye on her,> Gearhead said to Snowbelle, returning his attention to the others.

<I will make sure she finishes the whole set, Father,> Snowbelle said.

Gearhead nodded to Twilight, who nodded to Spike, who blew the large horn sitting nearby. On that signal, the Pegasi who were in formation took off, and started flying in a multi-layered circular formation around the reservoir. Their passage through the air quickly whipped up a tornado centered on the small lake, but its winds also blew outward, pushing anypony who might be unwary back.

As the Pegasi increased the tornado’s ferocity, Twilight read out the wing power readings. They were increasing steadily by the hundreds, to the point where Gearhead needed to use his goggles for a reason other than to get readings from his own HUD. In addition to shielding his eyes, he used the zoom and filter functions to see past the blurry wind, as well as the dust that the tornado was kicking up from the ground around the reservoir. So far, so good.

None of them could hear what was going on inside the twister, however Gearhead occasionally caught sight of Dash as she moved from flyer to flyer, encouraging them to fly their hardest, or to stay in formation, perhaps. With her attention focused on each Pegasus in turn, Dash had her team responding well.

<She is done,>

<Thank you,>

“How are they doing in there? Can I go in now?” Fluttershy approached, fighting against the winds the whole way. She had to shout to be heard.

“They’re stuck at 791 – faster than I thought they’d be able to go, but still not enough,” Twilight said.

“Numbers do not tell the whole story here,” Gearhead said as the water started to funnel up through the center. But then one of the stallions lost his focus and started to careen out of control. He grazed a mare as he tried to regain control, and sent her off course as well. Oh no, Gearhead thought, and instead of simply worrying or saying any more, he launched into his spellcasting.

“Quattuor Magnae Spiritus invoco. Lux transmutare alas!” Even as he finished, two more accidents happened inside the tornado, and more ponies lost control. Some of them got jettisoned through the windwalls in the side, while others were ejected right out of the top. Still others fell out even as the tornado fell apart, suddenly having to deal with little wind and different pressure. As they fell, still trying to regain control, Gearhead took off using his Alicorn Engine. He expanded a pair of Light Wings, making them large enough to catch whole groups of falling Pegasi at a time. Once he was certain he would not catch any more, he lowered them to the ground and dismissed the spell.

“Anypony who is in need of healing, please raise a hoof or groan in my direction!”

Several ponies responded with some variation of “ugh.”

“That is more of a moan, but I shall take it.”

“Now several other ponies did moan, but others at least chuckled. Gearhead went to work, healing the ones who had twisted a limb or broken a bone on landing. He returned to the others to find Dash arguing with Twilight.

“Even with Fluttershy you simply don’t have the numbers,” Twilight said.

“This is about more than numbers, Twilight. It’s about heart!”

“I know that, but Rainbow Dash, if you continue to push your team much harder, they’ll really get hurt.”

“I won’t just let this go without knowing we tried our absolute best,” Dash said.

“YEAH!”

“I appreciate that, really I do, but even with Nurse Redheart and Gearhead’s healing, if your team gets too hurt, they won’t be able to perform their normal duties tomorrow.”

“This is for Equestria’s water supply and Ponyville’s pride. But I’m nothing without my team, so...” Dash turned to the others, who were waiting and listening. “Do you want to stop here?”

“Boo!”

“Do you want to give it all you’ve got?”

“YEAH!”

“Seems they’re with me, Twilight.”

“I’ll fly too, Dashie.”

“I really appreciate it, Fluttershy: I need every flyer I can get. All of them.” This last, Dash said to Gearhead, who could only give her a consolation smile.

“They’re all good to go?” Twilight asked Gearhead.

“I can clear the ones I healed, however there may be some who are putting on a brave face.”

“Everypony, wing check!” Dash said. As one, the Pegasi started to go through the stages of opening, spreading, flapping, and closing their wings. They moved slowly, and paused between stages. Walking or flying among them, Dash, Gearhead, Redheart, and Twilight picked out the ones who were favouring their wings. Redheart could only do first aid, however Gearhead could use Cura and heal them, at least temporarily, and Twilight had picked up the spell and started to use it herself. Soon everypony was cleared for take-off.

With Twilight and Gearhead once again beside the anemometer, Spike blew the horn a second time, and for the second time, the Pegasi took off and flew into formation, each finding his or her own place. Gearhead saw Dash flitting from flyer to flyer, encouraging them on and making them focus on stable, steady flying. The needle rose.

Suddenly Spike made a strangled sound, and as Twilight and Gearhead turned to look at him, he spat out a letter. At first it seemed like the wind would simply blow it away, but then it started to get sucked toward the tornado, the winds ripping the seal off the scroll. Gearhead immediately launched after it, catching it and used his forehooves to turn it over.

“Gearhead, look out!”

Gearhead looked up from the paper at Twilight’s scream to see that he was quickly approaching the windwall. He probably could have peeled away in time, but saw that there was no point in doing so. Even as the paper was ripped from his grip and torn to shreds in the fierce winds, the words written on it were burned in his mind:

Dear Gearhead,

Do it.

Gearhead plunged through the windwall with a grin on his face. It took a moment for him to find his orientation, so he would not be working against the tornado, but then he started to fly with everypony else. He adjusted the stabilizer’s wings so he could channel the Engine’s particles along them, shooting most of them out of the tornado just in case. He did have one other trick to play concerning those wings, but it would only come into play once he started passing other flyers. To do so, Gearhead opened the throttle slowly up, in order to avoid creating any sonic booms.

Gearhead was soon flying just below barrier-breaking speed. He had to jink, spiraling and spinning, around the slower Pegasi, but every time he came near one he twitched a wing, spraying that pony with a dose of particles. The treatment eased tense muscles, fatigue, and even cramps, restoring them, however briefly, to full flying capability. At first the Pegasi yelled at Gearhead for cutting them off, but they soon got the idea.

Unfortunately, Gearhead’s reading showed that the team’s wing speed had not increased nearly as much as it should have: they were still only at 798, and he was flying as fast as he dared to go! It would be a shame to go out when they were so close, and Gearhead could see that Dash refused to let it go at the point when the water was already coming through. She also refused to make it her victory by focusing solely on her own speed: she supported her teammates all the way.

Gearhead thought about the problem, and figured that it was just as he had hypothesized earlier: there was little draft at all from the Alicorn Engine because it simply did not work the same way winged flight did, or at least not Pegasus winged flight. And that was probably the key to it all, especially as that was the reason Snowbelle could not help.

Fortunately again, Gearhead knew what it was like to activate his Pegasus magic from back when he had been Dusty. The only issue was finding that little twist that still existed thanks to Discord, and pulling it straight enough for him to use that magic. While he continued to fly around the other Pegasi, providing them with some relief along the way, Gearhead explored the depths of what he guessed was his soul, where his magic resided. As Discord had said, all of the ‘slots’ were occupied by Pegasus and Unicorn magic. Twisted and inverted, but still it was magic, and it was his so he could use it. Just like he used the part that resembled Unicorn magic, he could use Pegasus flight and weather manipulation. Gearhead simply had to give it his own little twist.

And, like he told Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, he had to believe that he could do it.

All of a sudden Gearhead felt a tingling at his sides. He latched onto the sensation, and kept pulling at it. The tingling spread outward, opening and fanning out. He thought of flapping the energies, of sweeping them back, and then pulling them forward and flapping again.

Something clicked.

Turquoise light lit the Engine up from its sides, right down through the stabilizer’s wingtips. Gearhead could feel the winds of his downdraft against his sides and belly as it left him. He almost leaped forward, almost broke the magi-sound barrier, but he remembered what that would likely do, and settled down to simply fly with the other Pegasi. The needle jumped.

And so did the water, shooting in an incredible arc straight to the collector in Cloudsale. Dash’s team kept going until the reservoir was completely dry, and then when Spike blew the horn, they simply left the tornado to dissipate on its own and landed, cheering.

All except for Fluttershy, who was racing round and around at a speed that Gearhead had never seen her reach before – with her eyes closed. Gearhead and Dash had the same thought, moving light, fluffy clouds into her path to stop and catch their friend.

“Whoa there!” Dash said. “You can stop now, Fluttershy.”

“Indeed, we did it,” Gearhead said. “All of the water made it to Cloudsale,”

“Really?”

Dash extended a wing out to her friend. “Up top,” she said. Fluttershy slapped her wing against Dash’s, albeit gently, as was her style.

“What is that?” Fluttershy asked, gaping at Gearhead.

“Oh come on, it’s gotta just be some new level of activation or something,” Dash said.

“You are not wrong,” Gearhead said, “however it has little to do with the Engine: I finally found a way to use my Pegasus magic.”

“Oh, no wonder you could move a cloud,” Dash said. “Makes perfect sense.”

“It’s so beautiful,” Fluttershy said.

“Hey, no stallion likes to be called that,”

“Sorry!”

“No, it is alright.”

“I hate to interrupt, especially as you two’re starting to act more like normal, but Spitfire’s waiting on us.”

“Sorry,” Fluttershy and Gearhead both blushed.

“Yeah, right,” Dash waved it all off dismissively. They all went down to the ground with her. As soon as his hooves made contact with the ground, the light faded from Gearhead’s wings.

“Very impressive work up there, Rainbow Dash,” Spitfire said. “Even though the odds were against you, you showed a lot of guts, as well as great leadership skills. Combined with your having saved us at the Best Young Flyers Competition, I’m sure we could use your skills.”

“Thanks, but you’ve really gotta give it to my number one flyer today: Fluttershy!”

“That’s true, isn’t it? Great going, Fluttershy.”

“Um... thank you,” Fluttershy squeaked. Her attempts to make herself very small like usual failed, when the other Pegasi lifted her up onto their shoulders and tossed her up in celebration, chanting: “Fluttershy, Fluttershy, Fluttershy can really fly!”

“She really can,” Gearhead said.

“Hey, you did good up there too, even if you did come in late and nearly crashed the whole thing.”

“I nearly did not get it at all, Captain.”

“Well, I am glad you did. If you didn’t already have an open invite from your performance in the closed race, you would have one now: You had ingenuity and teamwork before, but until now you really couldn’t fly like a Pegasus with other Pegasi, could you?”

“No, I had my own way.”

“And as fast as it is, you never would have been able to mesh completely with the rest of your team. But now it’s a different story, so keep an eye on your mailbox.”

“In that case, what about Fluttershy and Dash?”

“Rainbow Dash has it, of course, but Fluttershy’s tendency to freeze up – her performance anxiety – is a big barrier. We all have it to some extent, but hers is pretty extreme. But since you and Dash are her team, I’m sure you’ll help her get past it.”

“We shall do our best,” Gearhead said, following the others.

“By the way, you want to hear what your wind speed was?”

“Not particularly,” Gearhead said. “Records matter much more to Dash than they do to me. I just care that we got Fluttershy to fly, and that the water is where it is supposed to be.”

“Understood,” Spitfire said. Next Chapter: 28. Hoofington Confidential Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 30 Minutes