Stormfrost and Flamefire launched off the ground, with some of the Desert Herd steeds, including Smokeroot and Lightwing, to see them off. These pegasi traveled with them up to the cloud layer, but here, all the pegasi, including Stormfrost and Flamefire, stopped. The clouds were almost black and lit up every so often with flashes of lightning. “You sure we should go on?” Stormfrost asked Flamefire.
“Yes,” the handsome stallion answered, his orange wings tipped with silver flashing when the lightning flashed, complimenting his chestnut coat. He was stunning and strong, and Stormfrost had no doubt that he could make it through the lightning.
Stormfrost smiled, her ears tipped with pink. “Are you ready then?” She breathed. In answer, Flamefire shot up into the clouds. HIs shadow appeared with the lightning, silhouetted against the light. It gave her confidence. “Thank you,” she told Lightwing. “For all your help.” In answer, Lightwing bowed his head, a gesture of respect.
“You are noble and brave,” he said. “It is an honor.” Stormfrost returned his bow, and then followed Flamefire into the storm.
The storm was wild and wicked, and the lightning pushed at them from all directions, but Stormfrost’s reflexes helped her avoid the bolts of electricity. She followed Flamefire’s path up, trusting him completely. The thunder followed the lightning, like a stormy line dance. It shook her every time, even when she saw it coming. But she kept pushing on. Soon, the rain was coming in torrents, making it hard to breathe, water choking her when she tried. But she couldn’t give up. Flamefire was still pushing ahead, and so would she. Soon, a beam of light broke through the cloud, and Stormfrost flew even harder, dodging the now weak bolts of lightning coming at her from all sides. Flamefire’s glowing wings now had color, and Stormfrost sped toward them as if they were a beacon, and suddenly she was above the roiling mass of cloud, and bright blue sky and Flamefire’s wings glowed around her, and she bathed in their light, taking a deep breath, filling her lungs in totality for the first time after that ordeal. It was amazing. Flamefire smiled at her, and she beamed back as if it was the first smile she’d seen in her life. Flamefire and Stormfrost, as if they were one being, took the deep breath she had practiced, and shot up higher into the sky.