Skye shouted and sprung forward. His wings caught a draft and he flew up into the arena. He felt his body tingle as he passed through the golden aura that encircled the entire playing field.

Wish I had more time to chat with Role. He's up to something…

"Shake a wing, flyboy! We'll need to arm ourselves with some clouds. Follow me! We're going into the heart of the storm!" Rainbow tilted to the side and adjusted her course to fly toward the buildings situated in the middle of the sky.

A huge tower, much like a lighthouse, was poking its way up about half the height of the playing field. The top had an opening to allow any pegasi easy ingress into the center of the complex. Below the fog shrouding its appearance were 4 identical bunkers. All five structures were connected on the inside. In theory, a pegasi could take cover via one building and exit out another. Because it was built from compacted sheets of clouds there was no way to simply pass through a wall as if it were a normal cloud. It would take an enormous amount of energy to bring down this safe haven.

Skye could almost feel Rainbow's tail tickling his nose. He was keeping a very close distance to make sure they weren't split up early on in the match. The dots in the distance were growing by the second. Everypony had the same idea: go for the tower.

"They must have a buncha cloud machines in there!" Rainbow shouted over her shoulder. "Just look at 'em all shooting out the top of that tower! We're gonna grab one and break away before we get caught in a fight!"

"Well, if it isn't Rainbow Dash!" A mare with a light turquoise body was gliding along the left side Dash. The gold stripes among her amber mane were almost unrecognizable due to her hair being pulled back by the wind.

"Lightning Dust!" Rainbow growled and motioned for Skye to move to the right of her body. He obeyed and took cover at her side.

"I believe we still have a score to settle from back at the academy, eh? You didn't forget, did you?" Lightning Dust narrowed her eyes at Rainbow's partner. "Who's the stallion? Couldn't find a real partner in time for the competition? I wouldn't have said no if you begged nicely."

"Skye is a real partner, Dust! He's a heckuva lot more reliable than you ever were! But if you came looking for some score-settling then I hope you're ready to take on the best team in the-"

"Now, Jetstream!" Lightning's lips curled into a smile as she veered away.

A mare fired upward from below an attempt to knock out both members of Team Sky Dash. Her lavender body blurred between them and only a charged thunder cloud was left in her wake.

"Skye, evade!" Dash pleaded.

But it was too late.

The cloud erupted and caught Skye's left wing in the electrical burst. The lightning crackled followed by an ear-splitting boom. That was all it took to disorient Skye and send him spiraling off course. Rainbow readied to assist him, but Lightning Dust cut in front of her. With her forelegs folded over her chest, Dust was ready to get her revenge on Rainbow Dash.

"You humiliated me in front of Spitfire!" Lightning Dust bellowed. "I am not going to let you off that easily. Hope your friend can handle Jetstream. She's a lot nastier than she looks."

Rainbow punched her forelegs together and readied to make a beeline for the closest cloud. "She'll have to be pretty nasty to take down that stallion."

. . . . . .

"Team Cold Sweep has been eliminated! You heard it right folks! The first two ponies out were Whitewash and Wind Chill. Team Natural Disaster, led by Chemtrail and Force Majeure, made quick work of these weather rookies. Not the most honorable move, but up here anything goes!" The announcer's voice was barely audible over the cheers in the grandstands. Off in the distance, two ponies caused the lower portion of the barrier to materialize once more as their limp bodies passed through.

Scootaloo leaned forward and swallowed. "Hope you two know what you're doing out there."

. . . . . .

The world around Skye spun endlessly. Jetstream's attack had sent him off course and out of control. He straightened his wings for balance and tried to ignore the ringing in his ears. Despite the tingling sensation in his wing, Skye was still able to move every feather. The cloud-producing spire wasn't far. It was his only chance to stay safe. "Dash said to get to the tower and grab a cloud. I can take cover for a few minutes too. Hope she's alright." With a flick of his wings, Skye was off to the large tower in front of him. Hunting for Dash in this state would only leave him open to another attack. A moment of protection was all Skye wanted. Unfortunately, Jetstream wasn't about to let her prey escape.

Rainbow watched her dazed wingpony head inside the top of the keep as she continued to preoccupy Lightning Dust. I don't want to lead her over to Skye. Even if he is tough, Dust'll tear him apart! Rainbow shot upward and could feel the disgruntled mare keeping a good pace behind her. The out-of-bounds area of the field wasn't much higher. Leaving the arena would result in an immediate disqualification. With as fast as Dash was travelling, it was important to keep an eye on the shimmers of the barrier at all times.

"If you're just going to keep running then I'm going after your friend down there!" Dust held her wings out and came to a complete stop. She continued sneering while Rainbow Dash made an aggressive U-turn. "Aww, trying to protect him?"

"You play dirty!" Rainbow charged a cloud and flung it for Lightning Dust's face. Her opponent easily dodged and made a charge for Dash. A hoof struck Rainbow in the chest and knocked the wind from her lungs.

"I've been waiting for a long time to do that, Dash!"

Rainbow coughed and grabbed Dust around her neck. Lightning gasped at the sudden movement expecting to have more time to get away. With a flick of her wings, Dust was being carried through the arena trapped in Rainbow's foreleg. "I'll be feeling that one tomorrow for sure!" Dash narrowed her eyes and adjusted her flight path for the electric cloud that had missed Lightning Dust. "But you'll be feeling this one for a week!"

"Let me go!" Dust squirmed, while attempting to buck away from Dash; the strikes of her hind legs doing nothing more than sliding down he captor's fur.

"Oh, I'll let ya go! But you'll think twice before comin' after me and Skye again! Your friend's just lucky she caught us off guard! Otherwise we woulda done this a lot sooner!" Dash twisted her body and released Lightning Dust.

Before she could spread her wings to break away, Dust passed through the electrified storm cloud and screamed as she felt the volts flow through every nerve in her body. She looked down at her trembling hoof and could feel her fur standing on end from the static. Dust's breathing relaxed. She was still airborne, only singed. She looked up to the cackling Rainbow Dash. "Y-you didn't finish me… Why? That cloud was barely strong enough to knock out a filly! You think I'm that weak?" Lightning Dust wasn't sure if she should feel relief or rage.

"'Cuz I don't abandon my wingpony. I want to stay at his side throughout the entire match. Win or lose, we're doing it as a team." Rainbow huffed and zipped away. Lightning Dust could only turn her gaze to the complex in the middle of the arena.

"Jetstream…"

Skye looked up into the mostly empty tower he had flown down. Other than the weather ponies feeding water into the hungry machines to produce an arsenal of clouds; there wasn't much going on. Even the aroma inside was a plain as the decor.

Jetstream was sitting on the lip of the tower entrance and could see Skye resting on his flank at the very bottom. "Ah ha! I found you!" Jetstream pushed the goggles up onto her forehead. "Thought you could get away?"

Skye groaned and rubbed his throbbing head. "Go bug somepony else! You scrambled my brain with that cloud burst!"

Jetstream jumped from the edge of the tower and dive-bombed her way past the cloud machines. She smiled as Skye quickly galloped away down a hallway leading to one of the square bunkers. "All it takes is one good hit! You were clumsy!"

Her snappy remark echoed in Skye's head. No, clumsy was when Dash hit me with a bolt in the training facility. This was just me not paying attention. I didn't know we'd be attacked so quickly… He smashed his hoof into the wall and hurried away from the sound of flapping wings behind him.

While the spire had most of the cloud machines pumping out from the top there were still stray clouds to be found inside the bunkers. Whoever designed this complex had planned for a large-scale battle inside. "I need to get out of here fast. Getting caught in these narrow halls is a perfect way to get-" Skye smiled and grabbed a cloud next to him. "Okay, Skye, gotta get ruthless. All that matters is Dash. She'll deal with Lightning Dust. You deal with Jetstream."

Dash pulled her head back as a cloud rose up through the inside of the tower. Her hooves and wings were keeping her balanced as she readied to make the descent into the stronghold. "Hope you're okay, flyboy…"

"You better get moving." Lightning Dust shakily landed next to Dash. "There's a lot of ponies closing in on us."

Dash continued staring down into the pit and wondered if she'd find Skye knocked out somewhere on the inside. "Then we'll just have to fight our way out!"

"I'll cover you. Just go find your friend. Even if it's too late for Jetstream I'll at least help you."

"Funny way of settling a score…" Dash sneered.

"You have a funny way of making me feel like dirt every time we fly together." Dust hopped onto one of the rising clouds and spread her wings. "If I'm going down, then I'm making sure I KO more ponies than you, Rainbow. Now get moving before I change my mind and shoot you down."

Skye's shaking hoof was planted firmly inside a storm cloud in front of him, while his wings carried him down the twisting hallway back to the tower base. Jetstream was right behind him, but now there was no sign of her. His nervous stomach was rumbling more than the cloud. Where is she? Did she retreat to find her friend? A bolt sizzled past Skye's head. He quickly whipped his body around and held the cloud out to absorb another attack.

Jetstream was holding two small cloud chunks in her front hooves. Somehow she had managed to sneak up behind him. "I knew you'd turn around and go looking for me!" She dashed forward and raised one of the clouds above her head. "Perfect chance to sneak up behind you!" She punched a hoof forward, but was blocked by Skye's cloud. Her hoof slammed against his. "And now I'm gonna use your own cloud to roast ya!"

Skye waved his free hoof over the cloud, and quickly released the other which was buried inside. The tips of his scruffy foreleg fur were covered in ice. "Too bad it's not a thunder cloud!" Skye turned and bucked his hind legs into the cloud. A cold shiver snaked through his lower body.

It erupted and sent chunks of hail into Jetstream's face. She screamed and fell onto her rump as she rubbed her bruised eyes. Skye snarled and slammed her back against the wall. As he stared into her swollen face he felt his boiling blood turn to a simmer. He could easily turn this mare into a notch on his scorecard. With a single jab, Jetstream would be eliminated and carried away to the infirmary. He'd be one step closer to victory. But being exposed to her frosty tears and squeals of pain would do nothing for Skye in the long haul.

"You're not my enemy." Skye stepped back and allowed her to slide down onto the ground. "I didn't join this just to beat the fur off as many ponies as I could."

"I guess we're both softies." Dash snickered behind him. Skye splayed his wings and spun around. "Easy! It's just me. C'mon, we gotta get outta here. In a few minutes we'll be surrounded. Better to be out in the sky when that happens. Dust said she'll cover our escape."

Skye wrapped his forelegs around Jetstream and lifted from the ground. Every flap of his wings was more strained than the last. "Let's take her back to her friend."

Jetstream rested her head against Skye's leg and gave a small nuzzle. "Thank you…"

. . . . . .

Role eyes were squinted at the battlefield as he scribbled notes down on a pad of paper next to him. Twilight's head was turning from Role to the battlefield until she finally decided to question his odd behavior.

"Umm, what exactly are you doing?" Twilight blinked.

"Taking notes." The quill dipped into the inkwell before continuing to eliminate all white spaces on the parchment.

"Okay… notes on what?" Twilight pushed her inquisitive muzzle closer.

"Oh, my bad! I forgot that you can't really see what's going on out there. One moment please!" Role grunted and the golden glow from his horn formed a transparent screen in front of Twilight. She touched her hoof against the surface expecting to meet some form of resistance. Rather, her foreleg passed through. "I'm studying the different attacks of the pegasi and taking notes on their weak points. I know you're not fond of Dark Magic, so I wasn't going to say anything. For me, all I can see out there are auras of energy, vitality, and the flashes of different weather spells. It's kinda hard to explain. Use your Spell of Focus on that window I formed and think of a pegasus out there."

Twilight did as instructed and focused her thoughts on Rainbow Dash. The magical screen rippled and before her very eyes, Dash and Skye were seen flying up through the tower. "It worked! She's still okay! But what's with all the strange colored bars?"

"Oh, uh…" Role blushed a bit. "Just a way for me to keep tabs on everypony." The quill fell onto the paper as he focused his attention on Twilight's view of the competition. "The red bar is her vitality."

"Why is some of it missing?" Twilight's worried face inched closer.

"Because she took a hit out there. If you tripped and scraped your leg, that bar would dip down a bit. You physically took damage. The body isn't working at full capacity because now your brain is worrying about the damage it received. Rainbow's more than okay though. I watched the hit. She took a jab from a pretty high leve-, from a strong mare." He laughed nervously.

"There's also a green bar."

"Yep. That's a measurement of a pony's energy. Still full. Not a surprise. Rainbow hasn't done too much zipping about. Now if she pulls off a Sonic Rainboom and flies for an extended amount of time without resting her feathers you'll see that bar drop significantly."

"And the blue bar…?" Twilight felt an eyebrow rise up to her forehead.

"This all sounds a lot more ridiculous when I have to explain it out loud!" Role cleared his throat. "The blue bar is unique to each race of pony. For us it would measure the amount of magic we have in our body. Our horns gather more mana from the environment over time, but a unicorn can only hold so much! With a pegasus, it's how much power they can use to manipulate weather. Here." Role narrowed his eyes and the pony on the screen shifted to Skye. "He's lost a quarter of his blue bar because he just unleashed a nasty hail attack on a mare inside that complex. His energy bar even dropped a bit because before he flew into that tower a thunder cloud erupted next to his head. Skye's a little worse for the wear, but his levels should stabilize a bit now that he's back with Dash."

Twilight clapped her hooves together and squeed. "This is so exciting! You've taken all of the data and processed it into a visual representation!"

Role leaned back in his seat and hoped his ever-growing head wouldn't block the view of the ponies sitting behind him. "Yeah, I'm pretty amazing…"

Twilight rolled her eyes and focused back on Rainbow Dash, who was in the process of leading Skye back to Lightning Dust.

. . . . . .

Rainbow crashed against Skye and immediately knocked him to the side as a lightning bolt sizzled between them. "Head on a swivel, Skye! No time to space out! Ponies are closing on every side! Dust's up ahead on that cloud. Drop off Jetstream and let's get the hay outta here!"

"Got it!" Skye flapped and targeted the mare off in the distance. Dust was trying to shoot down anypony attempting to reach the top of the tower. The sky was a mess of lightning bolts, shockwaves from thunder clouds, and even chunks of snow and ice. Each pegasus was bringing a different skill to the table. Most ponies who had been knocked out so far were the result of two very heartless stallions.

"Dust!" Jetstream managed to shout from the safety of Skye's forelegs.

Lightning Dust held her fire and waved Dash and Skye over. "What are you two doing?!"

"Flyboy couldn't leave your partner down and out. Better for you two to finish this together!"

The group covered their faces as a cloud exploded and sent Dust from her perch. Her wings shot open and safely carried her back to Jetstream's side. "Alright, I'll take it from here." Lightning Dust bumped her hoof against Skye's after he released her injured friend from his grip. "Thanks again. I thought the best way to survive was just to knock out everypony I could find. As much as I hate to say it, you and Dash are a much better team that we are. Even when you're split up you still act with each other in mind."

Jetstream lowered her goggles over her eyes. She grunted and flapped her wings. "But if it comes down to us four being the last two teams in the arena, we're going to give it everything we got!"

"Wouldn't have it any other way!" Dash yanked on Skye's foreleg. "Now let's go grab us some clouds and find Chemtrail!"

Skye pushed Rainbow away as two more lightning bolts whizzed past his still ringing ears. A pony was closing in on them.

And fast.

"Heads up, flyboy!" Her voice cracked as she shouted. "Looks like he found us first!"

Skye turned his head and saw Chemtrail closing in directly behind him. There was no way he would be able to escape from a dead stop. "Shoot!" Skye attempted to maneuver away, but his foe simply flew over him.

"I told your cocky friend that my first goal was to knock out all the newbies. I want to savor taking you down, Skye." Chem made a beeline for Lightning Dust and Jetstream. "You don't help the weak; you make an example out of them!"

Chemtrail snatched Dust's old cloud and charged it between his hooves. Sparks were smacking him in the face as he struggled to maintain the amount of power hissing in front of him. "If you won't claim them as a couple of points then I will!" He launched the cloud from his forelegs and twisted his body to a halt. This ruthless hunter wanted to enjoy the view of his kill.

The cloud erupted in an explosion of lightning and sent a screaming Jetstream plummeting to the ground below. Skye watched in horror as a single move from Chemtrail decimated a pegasus. Dust ignored planning a counterattack and instead abandoned the arena to scoop up her badly injured partner.

Just like that; Chemtrail was gone. Off to assault another group of ponies. Heavy-hoofed or not, he was technically still playing within the boundaries of the rules. This was a competition to highlight the strength of the pegasi. There was no good or evil; only ponies striving for victory. The pegasi's war-like instincts were truly unleashed here.

Rainbow shoved a cloud into Skye's hooves. "Now's not the time for gawking! There's nothing more we could have done. Let's just focus on taking out Chem and Force. C'mon, I saw Cloudchaser and Thunderlane head into the tower. We can all come up with a plan together."

Skye's eyes were still quivering as he watched the limp pegasus hanging from Lightning Dust's forelegs. A medical team flew over and took the unconscious pony away on a stretcher.

"We spared them… Only for this to happen…"

"Skye Shot, let's go!" Rainbow barked. She grabbed his foreleg and yanked him away from the scene.

. . . . . .

"How many ponies are down?" Skye poked his head out the bunker window. Team Sky Dash and Team Thunder Chase had successfully united together within the safety of the northern bunker. Ponies were still battling inside the tower, but the majority were frightened rookies simply huddled up to hide from the chaos outside.

Only an hour into the competition and the skies were quickly being cleared by Force and Chem.

"Between fifty and sixty." Cloudchaser sighed. "At least half of them are the result of Chemtrail and Force."

"They even went as far as to attack ponies who were already engaged in battle." Thunderlane winced as the sound of pony smacking against the outside wall sent a chill through his body.

"They're taking out all the weaker ponies for fun! I know this is a competition, but the newbies don't deserve this kind of treatment. It's disgusting!" Rainbow slammed a hoof against her thigh.

"What can we do?" Skye watched a red streak zoom past the opening of the building.

"We form a team. None of the rules say you can't temporarily team up with another duo." Rainbow lifted off the ground and readied to fly outside. "The four of us will corner Chem and Force so that they only come after us. It's dangerous, but I can't just watch the younger ponies get torn apart!"

"Agreed." Cloudchaser bumped her hoof against Rainbow's and took a deep breath. "Rainbow, you're the fastest, so your job is to keep them corralled. I'll try to stay in between and keep them split up. Gotta keep 'em close but separated! Skye and Thunderlane, I want you two as decoys. Not to sound rude, but you'll seem like easy targets. If they do come after you, Dash or I will step in. We may even be able to land a few hits on them if they do break away to attack you!"

"Hurray for being a decoy." Skye hung his head in defeat.

"Yeah, but they don't know how hard you've been training, Skye. You're like… the Element of Surprise!"

Everypony groaned at the cheesy remark, and the newly formed squadron departed from the safety of the complex. Even if Chemtrail and Force had more talent than most ponies they were still just as fragile. All it would take is a single bolt of lightning to send them spiraling down in defeat. The only problem was that meant stepping hoof out onto the battlefield once again.

. . . . . .

Scootaloo cheered in her seat as a boom of thunder knocked a pony out and sent him twirling from the arena. "Let's go Sky Dash! You can do it! Not many ponies left up there now!"

"Dumb-Bell succumbs to a nasty thunder attack and takes a tumble! That leaves his partner, Bulk Biceps, as the only remaining representation of team Bulk Up!" The announcer's voice echoed from one speaker to another.

Inside the arena, the only sounds that could be heard were the screams and shouts of the competitors. The spell Role had set up was exactly the same as Blueprint's analytical spell she had cast on Scootaloo during her leg examination. The ponies within were completely cut off from the raucous cheering outside the thin barrier. They were unaware of which teams had fallen and which teams were still plugging away for dominance.

. . . . . .

A thunderstorm was forming in the middle of the arena just above the pointed spire of the tower. The dark clouds were circling the heart of the storm, with one stallion coordinating the entire effort within the safety of his natural disaster. Not a single ray of sunshine could puncture the darkness threatening to spread over the arena.

"Hide all you like, my little ponies! You're not safe in there. I'm going to take you all down with a single flick of my hoof!" Force gritted his teeth and flung another storm cloud into a nearby cluster.

"I don't think so!" Dash smashed her hoof across his face and sent him tumbling away. Within seconds, Chem was giving chase to the rainbow trail darting away from the storm. "And you think you're going to catch me?" Rainbow tore a chunk off the cloud she was holding and lobbed it behind her. A burst of thunder exploded and temporarily stunned her pursuer.

The rain started to fall onto the buildings hiding the cowering ponies. Their heads lifted to the lowered ceilings of the bunkers. The splattering of rain drops did little to comfort their nerves.

"If we go out there those two'll just pick us off, and if we stay in here then we're just sitting ducks!"

"I'm scared too… This isn't at all what I expected."

"We gotta think of something! Maybe we should all form a big team? Ya know, make one last stand?"

"YEAH!"

The swirling mass of grey was almost unstoppable now. Force was guarding his storm and swatting at Skye and Thunderlane each time they made a pass at him. Rainbow was having no problem keeping Chem distracted while Cloudchaser tailed him.

Then a stray bolt of lightning caught the tip of Thunderlane's wing. A plume of feathers burst into the sky as the bruised stallion attempted to stay in formation with Skye Shot.

"Thunderlane!" Skye shouted and abandoned his next pass at Force. He flew down beneath the clouds and grabbed the injured pony around his shoulders to brace him up. "Are you okay? Can you still fly?"

Thunderlane winced and shook a loose feather from his wing. Skye could see the sizzling flesh and remembered the feeling all too well. There was no way Thunderlane was going to stay airborne much longer.

"Let me go. I-I can still fly!" Thunderlane pushed away from Skye and tried to regain his composure. "It's just a scratch." Each flap of his singed wing sent another surge of pain through his body.

Skye watched in horror as the rusty furred Force barreled past and stabbed two lightning bolts into Thunderlane. Cloudchaser shrieked in the distance and broke away from Chemtrail to help her ailing partner. Thunderlane coughed and watched as Skye grew further away from him.

"Thunderlane! Thunderlane!" Cloudchaser screeched as she watched his wings go limp.

Skye zipped after him and felt the rain smacking against his flank. "Hang on! I'm coming!"

Thunderlane shook his head slowly and groaned. "No… I would have only held you guys back with my wing injury… And now… I can barely keep my eyes open."

Skye desperately reached his hoof forward to grab Thunderlane's, but was swatted away. "What are you doing?! I can help you!"

"Skye Shot… this competition isn't about winning or losing… it's about showing the world how strong we pegasi really are… I'm amazed I lasted as long as I did… I'm proud to have flown by your side. It's because of ponies like us that Cloudsdale will always be the greatest city in all of Equestria."

Skye screeched to a halt as Thunderlane passed through the barrier. He landed in Fleetfoot's hooves and was carried away to safety.

. . . . . .

"Looks like Thunderlane wasn't able to take the heat and has been eliminated." The announcer roared.

A few rows back from Scootaloo a light-grey colt lowered his head. "I'm still proud of you, bro."

"Rumble?" Scootaloo hopped over her seat and climbed up next to the colt. "I didn't know you were going to be here. Sorry about Thunderlane."

"He kept telling me he wouldn't get very far. It's just… after the first few teams went down I thought maybe he had a chance at winning." Rumble sighed. His eyes still aimed between his legs.

"Cheer up! He did a great job! Before you know it you two will be in there together!" Scootaloo squeed and stole the empty seat next to him. "It may not be front row, but I can't stand listening to that old-timer go on about his whacky adventures. I don't even think most of them are true!"

As the two foals laughed together, the tensions inside the arena were still at an all-time high.

Force's storm was growing at an alarming rate as he dodged the jabs of a crazy Cloudchaser. Rainbow's assault on Chemtrail was going as planned. Her speed and agility made it almost impossible for him to land a hit on her. The big problem was that soon this thunderstorm would expand even further and threaten to consume the audience.

. . . . . .

"How's the barrier?" Twilight leaned over to Role Play, who was scribbling away on another piece of parchment.

"It'll hold for now. Thirteen more ponies just passed through. I see vitals on Skye, Dash, and Cloudchaser. That means they're still going strong! The only thing that worries me is the rate at which that storm's growing. I can control some pretty strong magic in that field, but natural disasters are an entirely different story. Just keep your hooves crossed that the competition ends before the barrier does!"

"If we were able to control the weather then there wouldn't be a need for the pegasi. It makes sense that their magic is different from ours." Twilight continued looking into the murky weather conditions threatening to consume her friend. "Do you think we should warn somepony?" Her voice was as logical as ever.

"Not as long as New Jockey's number one storm-buster is up there!" Role reclined into the cloud and folded his forelegs across his chest.

. . . . . .

Skye shook the water from his mane and continued his upward assault at the storm. "If I can't catch Force, then I'll just tear down this entire storm myself!" He shouted.

Force was readying another lightning bolt in hopes of taking Skye down in the same fashion as Thunderlane.

Rainbow twisted her body and broke away from Chem in an attempt to warn Skye of the incoming danger. She could only see a silhouette of her partner due to the heavy cloud cover. "Skye! He's aiming right for you! Dodge! Break away!"

Skye narrowed his eyes and cracked his right shoulder. "No… Forget dismantling the storm for now!" Beads of water rolled down his body. Skye's mane was fully slicked back from the intense speed and nonstop torrents of rain. Fleetfoot told me I'm good at taking a hit. Even if I mess this up I'll still have enough strength to bring you down!

The rain poured from Force's drenched body as he smacked his hoof into the cloud and fired another lightning bolt down at Skye. "Guess you didn't learn from Thunderlane's mistake after all, eh?"

The tightly bound bolt crackled as the raindrops struck against it. Skye pulled his right hoof back and screeched to a halt. A sheet of water was torn from his fur at the sudden stop. He slowed his breathing and focused on the yellow dart of paralysis careening through the foggy conditions.

Hope you're watching over me for this one, Soarin.

Skye punched forward. The bolt made contact in the dead center of his hoof. An electrical current caught onto his scruffy fetlocks but quickly fizzled out. As he followed through with the motion, the lightning almost seemed to be resting on his hoof. The sharp bolt was sent back to Force at nearly twice the speed of the original shot.

There was no moment to flee. The explosion was instantaneous.

Skye shook his foreleg and breathed a sigh of relief.

Force shouted in agony as the electricity surged through his soaked body. A berserk Cloudchaser finally caught up and swung her forelegs into his face. Force's head spun from side-to-side as Cloudchaser's hooves continued to pummel his swollen cheeks. It seemed like she wasn't going to stop until she heard a bone shatter. At this point, she didn't care if it was the bone in her leg or Force's jaw.

"How could you hurt Thunderlane like that?! Two bolts were overkill! You knew one was enough to paralyze a pegasus! You could have killed him!" She screamed with tears rolling down her eyes. "You're a monster!"

Force coughed and sent a splatter of blood onto Cloudchaser's chest fur. His vision was growing blurrier by the minute. He landed a hit on Cloudchaser and knocked her away. A mare under the spell of bloodlust was a dangerous thing. "Y-you're too late. This storm is going to consume all of us…" Force struggled to maintain his altitude.

"Then you better go down with ship!" Cloudchaser tackled him and carried the battered stallion toward the field of lightning bolts behind him. "I was supposed to keep you separated from Chemtrail and I'll gladly sacrifice winning to do so!"

Her wings flapped harder. Skye could only watch as she vanished into the aerial graveyard.

Both ponies fell into the heart of the storm and vanished from sight. Rainbow came to a halt and could sense the incoming catastrophe. Neither Cloudchaser nor Force would be coming back to assist in taking down Chemtrail.

"Skye, we have to go." She grabbed his hoof and pulled. "C'mon!"

"But… we can-"

"We can't help her! Consider them both knocked out, okay?"

"No!" Skye violently pulled his hoof away. "It's bad enough I had to watch Thunderlane go down! I can't stomach Cloudchaser being sucked into that thing!"

"She's stronger than you think. Even if she falls out of the arena, we both know she'll be back working in the factory tomorrow morning." Rainbow held back her tears. Watching Skye's tough exterior crumble was heartbreaking.

A loud rumble of thunder rippled across the sky as the storm clouds crackled and started to erupt around them. Skye's hoof shook in frustration as he realized his proximity to the gloomy sea of unstable weather was too dangerous.

"Please, Skye… We have to keep going. As a team. Remember? You and me 'til the end?" The rain streaked down Rainbow's face as they both struggled to cope with another comrade falling in battle.

"Y-yeah…" Skye couldn't tell if he was crying or if the rain was just stinging his eyes more than normal.

Most of the arena was now consumed by the rampaging storm. All Skye and Dash could do was fly to safety and plan their next move.

. . . . . .

Outside the arena, the crowd was starting to worry about the weather conditions. Only a thin blockade was separating the peaceful blue skies from the thunderous monster within.

Role was quickly paging through a spell book and starting to feel the pressure. "Okay, so… looks like we're going to have a little problem if that thing breaks loose…"

"We're going to have more than a little problem!" Twilight flailed her forelegs up.

"Calm down! It's still contained… but think about it. The best pegasi Cloudsdale has are beating each other to a pulp in there. Most of them are already banged up or knocked out. There won't be any capable pegasi to bust apart this storm! We'd have to evacuate everypony and see if Celestia can lend a hoof."

"What about your friend? You said-"

"That was different. Even with his endurance I'm sure he's starting to tire out in there. I don't know if he can handle something this massive. I've never seen a storm grow so fast. We shouldn't place this solely on his shoulders."

. . . . . .

Cloudchaser held Force tightly against her body as the two fell through the layers of the storm he had created. Each burst of thunder and every streak of lightning made her wince in fear.

"She's the best I've ever created… When the competition started I created an air current to take all of the freshly made clouds and pull them into my storm… I will take all of them out… Just like we planned… I did everything you asked, Chemtrail. Now go and finish that outsider before he causes any uprisings at the factory!"

"You're insane!" Cloudchaser banged her head against his and knocked the few moments of consciousness from Force's exhausted body.

"I… am the greatest weather genius Equestria will ever see…"

A blinding flash illuminated the arena, and a huge stream of lightning fired into the structures housing the remaining ponies. Chunks of the tower splintered off as the entire complex was consumed by the electrical discharge. The ponies attempted to escape, but were struck down by the constant flow of lightning.

Cloudchaser was no exception.

Skye lowered his head and watched as ponies fell by the dozen. He slammed his hoof into the cloud beside him and felt it vanish. A drizzle of rain fell onto his eyes as the storm gobbled up the remaining peacefulness of the arena. Rainbow could tell he was frustrated and wrapped her forelegs around him. She was never one to display her softer side, but this was no time to be stubborn. Somepony she cared about was falling apart right before her very eyes.

"Cloudchaser took him out. For us. Who knows what kind of tricks Force would have used if he was able to fly around in his own disaster? They might be out of the competition, but we're still in. And unless my eyes are playing tricks on me I only see one pony left to beat." Rainbow pulled the goggles from around his neck and fastened them over his eyes. Skye blinked and nodded slowly.

"Come on, flyboy, lead the way. This time I'm the wingpony." Rainbow winked and slid her goggles over her watery eyes. "I want to see a real weather pony in action."

Skye flapped his wings and easily cleared his fastest speed on record. A smirk crept over Rainbow's face as she hurried after him. The clock was ticking. Team Sky Dash had a renewed sense of purpose. It wasn't vengeance driving them; it was teamwork. The will to always pick one another up and press on.

Chemtrail was waiting in the center of the storm. His leather jacket was tattered from a few close encounters with the lightning bolts. He turned his head to the side and saw Skye Shot bowling toward him. "This time I'll make sure you hit the ground! No mercy!"

Skye punched forward and missed his target. Chem flew after him and started gaining ground as Skye weaved between the lightning streams striking against the bottom of the force field. He could feel Chem's hoof inching closer to his tail.

Here's a little move Soarin taught me!

Skye pulled several clouds against his body and continued trying to shake Chemtrail. As he held the clouds he could feel the energy charging inside of them. The grey clouds turned black and sizzles of lightning stung through Skye's uniform. He straightened his flight path and released the clouds.

Chemtrail gasped and attempted to dodge the charged mines as they burst and lit up the sky. He shielded his eyes from the flashes and felt two hooves smash against his wings. Rainbow sneered as her legs made contact into the muscles connecting Chem's wings to his body. As she pulled away, two clouds were planted on Chemtrail's back.

"Ugh! You're such a pest!" His eyes widened as the thunder clouds erupted and numbed his wings. Chemtrail's speed had been severely hindered. He wasn't the same stallion as before. Disorientation had taken over. Uncertainty and fear were starting to show in his eyes. He was alone in a shark tank with two beasts ready to consume him.

Skye performed a U-turn and narrowed his eyes. "You can't withstand too many hits, Chemtrail. It'll feel nice to unload some punches on that ugly mug of yours!" He outstretched his left foreleg and caught Chem in the throat.

Chem gagged and scrambled to pry the tightening leg away from around his neck. Even his oxygen intake was now in danger. The fancy flightwork of Skye and Rainbow had turned the tide battle to their favor.

"Alright, Dash, like we planned! It's time!" Skye shouted as he tightened the grip around Chem's neck.

"You sure you can do it?" Dash hesitantly asked.

"Positive. My wings've never felt stronger! One last hurrah!"

"See you at the winner's circle, flyboy!" Rainbow winked and reached her legs forward. Her speed drastically increased.

"And as for you!" Skye slammed his right hoof into Chemtrail's face. "You messed with the wrong stallion." Another hoof jammed into the shabby hostage as he struggled to break free. "You're faster than me, but I'm stronger. Much stronger."

"I-I'm stronger than you'll ever be! You're nothing but a cloud-pusher!" Chem managed to force the words from his sore throat.

"Then let's just see how strong you really are. Want to feel a lightning bolt rip through every nerve in your body?" The muscles in Skye's foreleg bulged into Chemtrail's throat. At this point Skye didn't care if he strangled Chem to death. "After all, if you're as strong as me you can recover and fly to safety, right? You can bring yourself back from the brink of death and fight back, right?!" His voice was even louder than the bursts of thunder exploding across the horizon.

Rainbow pushed her body harder and felt an aura of wind forming around her forehooves. The weather was preventing her from creating a Sonic Rainboom faster due to her constant change of course to avoiding the lightning bolts. Her legs kicked off just before each bolt left the cloud. "I've never seen a storm this bad…"

A bolt of lightning struck against Chem's back as he yelped in pain. His saliva splashed onto Skye's mane after they cleared the first cloud.

"Don't go passing out on me yet. We're not done!" Skye could feel Chem's body twitching from the jolt.

He flapped his wings and darted to the right as another surge of lightning parted the rain droplets. He threw Chem into the bolt and barrel rolled away to safety as the blast knocked him off course. Skye whipped his body around and grabbed the paralyzed pony once again.

"Y…You…" Chem tried to speak, but failed. Smoke was rising from his fur.

"Now you know how I felt. If I let you go right now you'd plummet to the ground and go splat, but I'm not ready for that satisfaction yet. How about one more for the road?" Skye smirked and ruffled the top of Chem's mane.

Dash watched as the color of the aura around her hoof changed from a translucent white to a pointed array of every color within the spectrum. "It's time! Hope he's ready…"

Chemtrail screamed in agony as another bolt sizzled his insides. Skye laughed as he followed the lower perimeter of the arena and continued picking up speed. "You'll wish this next attack was just a simple lightning bolt. After this… you'll be lucky to ever fly again, you demon!" Skye shook the water from his mane and pushed his muscles to accelerate further. He knew there would be time for rest soon. Win or lose, this was the moment he had trained for.

The moment he had survived for.

Rainbow was gritting her teeth and trying not to fling herself off course. Despite the size of the arena she was having trouble performing laps while still maintaining the speed for a Sonic Rainboom. Her eyes caught a glimpse of Skye approaching through a flash of lightning. "He's coming!"

The rain pounded against Skye's face as he changed course and flew upwards into the storm clouds.

Dash broke through and could feel the shockwave erupting at any second.

"Here we go…" Skye flapped harder and whipped Chem's ragged body around as he spiraled past the incoming bolts of lightning.

"That's as… long as I can hold it!" Dash shouted through her clenched teeth.

Skye flung Chem to the side and gave him one last smile. "How's it feel to lose to a cloud-pusher?" He zipped upward and extended his wings.

Skye locked eyes with Dash and time seemed to stand still. She had that same beaming smile on her face that Skye had fallen for back during their first skirmish in the weather facility.

Dash zipped past Skye and focused on hitting her target. "See ya on the other side, Chemtrail!"

The storm clouds pressed against the upper portion of the barrier. Role could only watch as his friend's energy meter started to plummet "Oh, boy. I hope Skye's doing what I think he's doing."

Skye pushed himself into the heart of the storm and stopped. He closed his eyes and thought back to New Jockey. Feels just like before. He splayed his wings and felt a strong force of wind unleash from every feather on his body. The storm started to break from the core as a chain reaction busted one storm cloud after another. The lightning storms were shutting down. The blinding sheets of water were turning to nothing more than a trickle. Thin rays of the sun started to poke through. Before long all of the storm clouds were just flecks of water falling to the ground.

"Yes! That's the Skye Shot I know and love!" Role jumped out of his seat and hollered like a maniac.

Twilight tilted her head and tried to comprehend the occurrence. "But… how?"

Role fell back down onto his cloud and grinned. "Think of it as Skye focusing his passive magic for weather control and channeling it into a more active spell that you or I would cast. That's a very simple explanation, but we can go into the more specific details later."

"That sounds so-" Twilight started.

"Wonderful…" Spike rested his chin between his claws.

Dash's hoof came into contact with Chem's chest as the Rainboom erupted and splashed a much needed palette of color across the arena. Chem threw his head back and reached out to Dash before he was knocked away and crashed into the rubble of the marble buildings. The pieces toppled onto his body and completely covered him. She landed next to the rubble and kicked a few fragments aside. Chemtrail was unconscious. His fur was torn and an indent of Dash's hoof was still printed on his chest. "You are outta here!" Dash nudged his body to the edge of the cloud and waited for Skye to take his place at her side. "Care to do the honors?"

"With pleasure!" Skye squeed. He bucked his hind legs against Chem's body and sent him flying over the edge of the cloud and through the bottom of the barrier. A team of medics grabbed him and carried him away.

Dash grabbed Skye's hoof and raised it triumphantly as the crowd burst into cheers and applause. Both ponies fell backward and exhaled. The field around the arena vanished and the accolades from their adoring fans filled their ears. It was nice to hear a thundering noise that wouldn't cause them to fall from the sky.

"Not what I was expecting… " Skye closed his eyes. "I probably have some gray hairs in my mane now! That was stressful!"

Dash rolled to her side and smiled. "I have to say, I'm amazed. Never thought I'd see the day where you actually impressed me!

"Hey!" Skye growled.

"I'm teasing! What did I tell you before about getting your feathers in a twist?"

Spitfire hovered over the exhausted ponies and slid her glasses down. "You two actually pulled it off. I was nervous for a minute."

"Was it a new academy record?" Dash snickered.

"Very funny, hotshot. Go rinse up. Team Sky Dash has a victory banquet to attend tonight."

"Oh, not again! No more banquets! That's how this whole mess started!" Skye whined and flailed like a foal.

"I promise this time I won't be embarrassed to sit at the kid's table." Dash smiled and helped Skye to his hooves. "But only if you let me sneak over to the buffet again."

. . . . . .

Skye trotted out from the shower with a towel around his waist. He groaned and slid onto the tile in Rainbow's bathroom. "Every muscle in my body feels like it's on fire."

Rainbow knocked on the door. "You almost ready in there? We gotta shake a leg! I'm not missing free food because my partner is immobilized!"

"I don't think you fully understand the concept of love." Skye murmured.

"If it makes you feel better, Forecast did tell me we'd have some time off to recover." She giggled mischievously. "I sorta lied and told him that you were unable to fly after performing your little cloud clearing stunt."

"Rainbow!" Skye shouted.

"On the bright side, now it's like you and Scoots have something in common."

"Not funny!" Scootaloo pushed the door open. "And hurry up! I gotta go to the bathroom!"

"H-hey! Occupied! Get out, squirt!"

"I'm about to squirt if I can't get to that toilet!" Scootaloo grunted and pushed the wet stallion out from the bathroom.

The door slammed behind Skye and he groaned once again. "I'm moving back home…"

Rainbow leaned down and kissed his nose. "You are home."

. . . . . .

Dear Role,

I'll keep this short because I'm getting jabbed in the side by Scootaloo. She wants to hear my story about almost falling to the ground for the one hundredth time…

I just wanted to say it was great to see you. Once again you created more questions than you answered, but I suppose that's just something I need to get used to with you.

Once everything at the factory is back to normal I'm definitely scooping up Chase and visiting you. We still have a lot of catching up to do. Didn't you say something about a big catastrophe headed for Equestria? Honestly, you can be so melodramatic.

Oh yeah! So are you and Princess Twilight… a thing? You two were bickering like you were married. Seems like the mares just can't resist our small town charm!

Hoof bumps,

Skye Shot

P.S. Scootaloo just said I was like her big brother… And if she sees Dash as her big sister… That's it. I'm going out for some cider.

. . . . . .

Chase's eyes were heavy with exhaustion when he finally came upon the Welcome to Ponyville sign. He unfastened the cart and slumped forward. Reyn hopped from the wagon onto Chase's flank and yawned.

"How are you tired?! You slept the entire trip! Including when we stopped to actually sleep!" Chase felt his stomach grumble against the rocky ground. "We better grab a bite to eat and set up camp. Tomorrow is a big day, my friend!"

Reynard yipped and jumped to the ground. He sniffed around Chase's hooves as the pony stood up.

"Cuz after we take first place I'm using that money for an extended stay in Canterlot." Chase slammed a hoof on the ground and startled the fox. "And I'll do whatever it takes to get some answers out of our good friend Role Play."

/) To Be Continued in The Great Crusade to Canterlot (\