| “Out of the way!” Boomed an imposing voice and Flick felt a sharp push as a large and imposing Pteri shoved past her. She sighed and ruffled her wings, glaring at the muscly bird strutted off in front of her.
It was the 22nd annual Pteri Flying Championship and Flick, a beautiful Faerie Pteri, had arrived to watch it unfold.
“Flick! FLICK!”
Flick turned to see who was calling for her, and her face broke into a wide smile as she spotted her best friend Jeremy. It was easy to spot Jeremy - the large Chomby literally towered over the flocks of Pteris.
“Jeremy!” Flick beamed, “How are you? What brings you here?”
“I couldn’t miss watching you take part!” Jeremy replied.
Flick’s smile dropped like a Slorg sliding down a slide.
“Jeremy,” she said softly. “You know I won’t take part. There’s no way I could compete when -“ |
Author: stormydreamer
Date: Nov 7th
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"--Magus the Great is competing."
Flick and Jeremy turned as one to look at the imposing Pteri that had pushed his way past her moments before.
Magnus the Great was a Tyrannian Pteri with a tremendous wingspan. Just one of his wings could have served as an umbrella for a Neopet twice Flick's size, and even though she was small, that was still saying something. And as big as his wingspan was, his ego was twice that size. He had won the Pteri Flying Championship five years running.
Nobody is in his league, Flick thought. Certainly not me.
Jeremy shrugged. "Sure you could. Winning may be the point for Magnus, but why not compete for the experience?"
Flick sighed. The trophy was going to be presented by the Golden Pteri, and she would have given anything to meet him...if only...
| Author: fox_confessor
Date: Nov 8th |
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"Well, I suppose I could compete, but don't expect much..." Flick muttered softly.
Jeremy guffawed, "That's the spirit! Just have fun with it!" He poked his friend playfully, but she wasn't having any of it. Glumly, she spread her small wings and fluttered above the Chomby's head, then gave him a little wink and took off towards the starting line. The big Chomby laughed and waved as she disappeared into the crowd.
Flick fluttered high above the starting line, looking for an opening. As she slowly made her way patiently into the crowd, she spotted an opening. As she politely made her way into the hustle and bustle, she felt a familiar shove.
"Hey there little lady, Ha!!" the voice mocked.
Flick was left smoothing her feathers as the obnoxious laughter faded, and she saw the generously sized derriere of the Tyrannian Pteri settling into the first starting line position. Flick smoothed her feathers, furrowed her brow, and decided that she'd try with all her might to show Magus the Great that he wasn't so Great after all.
| Author: patter_paws
Date: Nov 9th |
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Sure, he had won the past 5.. or was it 6 races? But Flick was feeling a confidence boost from her friend. Maybe small and agile was better for this type of competition.
She got into her flight stance and waited for the bell to set them off. Many feathers ruffled next to her in anticipation. Her eyes reluctantly fell on Magus once more. She wondered what pre-race rituals he had to pump himself up.
The large Pteri was bouncing on the tips of his talons. As Flick watched, she noticed he had a small bottle clutched in his wing. He glanced from side to side and drank the contents of the bottle quickly. Flick looked around them but the other Pteris were too busy absorbed in their concentration.
What the heck was in that bottle?! Flick wondered. Could it be possible that Magus was cheating somehow? It would make sense how the muscly Pteri was able to win so often. Flick became extremely agitated and made up her mind.
She was going to confront him…
| Author: treeword
Date: Nov 10th |
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Or at least, that was the plan. But it was hard enough to find a spot in the starting line, much less move through the crowd closer to Magus. Flick's attempts to approach Magus resulted in her bumping around and being pushed back by other Pteris. If there were a way to get his attention, call him out before the race has a chance to--
"It is time for the 22nd annual Pteri Flying Championships to begin!” cried the announcer. “Everyone please get in position! May the best Pteri win in feats of speed and agility as you race through the obstacles to the finish!"
No! There was no time! She had to get to him now. She spread her wings and began to fly upward.
"On your marks!"
Flick was pulled down by an Electric Pteri. "We don't set off until they say go! Do you want to get disqualified?"
"But Magus-" Flick started.
"Get set!" the announcer called.
The Electric Pteri readied their wings. "Worry about it later, if you wanna race at all.”
"GO!"
The Pteris spread their wings and zipped off, with Magus bumping past the Pteris nearest to him and zooming ahead with unimaginable speed. Flick, distracted and unprepared, was knocked back by the force of the other Pteris’ propulsions, and fell to the ground.
"Ugggh..." She groaned, but she lifted herself quickly. There was no time to lose, if she wanted to get anywhere near Magus--
"Oh!" Flick saw a tiny bottle where Magus was. She hurried over and grabbed it, reading the label. It wasn't detailed, but it told her enough...
Flick gripped the bottle with her toes and sped off. A bottle in the midst of a crowd wouldn't mean much, and others may not believe her word alone. But if she could catch up to Magus, use the bottle and the race to reveal his enhancements, then she could prove his misdeeds to all...
| Author: gentle_lil_queen
Date: Nov 14th |
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Despite a late start, Flick had no trouble catching up to the back of the crowd, her litheness and light body propelling her forward. The competition was composed of at least a dozen Pteris, Flick wasn't sure exactly how many since her own participation was a last minute decision. But she had now passed two birds in last place, and was steadily gaining on another. The confidence she was feeling after her conversation with Jeremy only spiked higher as she flew closer to the leading flock.
Bottle still gripped tightly in her talons, Flick flapped on. The Electric Pteri that had restrained her earlier was just up ahead. Flick was still feeling good, filled with adrenaline from putting herself out there while also stumbling upon sensitive information about the long-standing Pteri Flying Championship winner. The thought of being the one to expose such a controversy, to the Golden Pteri of all creatures, fueled her desire to win even more.
The race barely over a third of the way through, Flick was now beside the Electric Pteri. The lustrous blue bird was surprised to see the small, skittish-seeming Pteri at all, especially since he had consistently been one of the five leading birds since the race took off.
"Your speed is remarkable," the Electric Pteri complimented her as the two birds sped forward together. He noticed the empty bottle Flick was clutching onto for dear life and squinted. "What is THAT?"
"The label said 'Rolling Clouds Elixir," puffed Flick, as she tried to keep her breathing even. "I saw Magus drink this before we took off, it's what I was trying to bring to everyone's attention before the race started! I'm not sure what exactly its effects are, but I'm determined to catch up to him and confront him, then beat him!"
The bright blue Pteri was impressed by Flick's performance in the race as well as the fact that she had caught such an act. He recognised the Elixir she was referring to, and having come second twice to Magus in the past three years, the thought of it being because of cheating boiled his blood. He wanted to help the Faerie Pteri.
| Author: baebara
Date: Nov 15th |
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Determination filled his features as he nodded toward Flick. "Together, then."
Flick smiled, gripping the bottle with newfound pride as the two of them slowly gained on the other racers. They stayed together, weaving back and forth between the other Pteris as they made their way closer to Magnus.
The thunderous sound of flapping wings made it difficult for her to concentrate on anything else but moving forward. She had to get to the front! She had to confront him! She had no other choice, but to reveal his misdeeds. She may have been a last moment entry, but all the others and her new friend had been training for this for weeks now. It wasn't fair.
Passing fifth place, fourth, third...the two of them glided with struggled breaths as they approached Magnus. The finished line was coming up fast. If they were going to confront him, they needed to do so now!
Magnus laughed as the two Pteris flocked him on either side. He glanced at Flick only for a moment, but because keenly aware of the Electric Pteri coming up on his left. "Well, well, well, look who it is." He snorted, staring him down as he kept a decent pace. Magnus barely broke a sweat as the rest of the flock struggled to keep themselves propelled forward. If Flick hadn't seen him drink the contents of this bottle with her own eyes, she was certain with how different he reacted to the heavy flight path of the competition. "Didn't think you'd ever show your face here again, Maxi. You seemed pretty humiliated last year, I figured you woulda stayed home with your feathers between your legs."
"There was no way I was going to let you get away with that, Magnus," Maxi chuckled, huffing as he struggled to push himself further. "You left me..."
| Author: rinibeeny
Date: Nov 16th |
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“NO CHOICE!” Maxi shouted as Flick lithely circled Magus, flying backwards just inches from his face to reveal the elixir bottle in her talons. It was as if they had orchestrated this grand reveal, but the two Pteris were just in sync and running off of pure adrenaline.
In seeing the bottle, the gigantic Tyrannian Pteri nearly stopped dead in his tracks, hovering for a split second before remembering he was mid-race. The colour drained from the skin behind his feathers, and his beak was agape.
“How did you… Where did you…” Magnus started in a gasp, too stunned to finish his question.
“It doesn’t matter how or where. All that matters is that we have this proof, and it’s time to give the other participants their rightful chance at winning the Pteri Flying Championship. Isn’t that right, Maxi?” Flick asked with a devilish grin.
“Absolutely,” Maxi answered with fire in his eyes.
On the ground below, Jeremy was following his Pteri friend, running on the sidelines to try to catch up. As soon as she saw Flick gaining headway in the race, he knew he wanted to see her cross the finish line up close and personal.
Then, he saw the confrontation in the air between Maxi, Magus, and Flick.
“What the…?” Jeremy thought to himself.
The Chomby looked between the race officials and the three Pteris above him and saw that they had caught wind of the situation too.
“Flick! What’s going on?!” The towering Red Chomby shouted out in concern.
Suddenly…
How will this story end?
| Author: i_lovee_icecream
Date: Nov 17th |
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The Golden Pteri flew down to the contestants, and they immediately stopped flying. He looked at the Elixir bottle and frowned at Magus.
"You're disqualified." He said indignantly, turning his gaze to Flick and Maxi, "You've done a great thing today."
"We have?" Maxi turned curiously to the Golden Pteri.
"Indeed!" The Golden Pteri beamed, "I've suspected Magus of cheating for several years now, and I just couldn't find the proof."
Flick handed the bottle to the Golden Pteri and smiled at him.
"There will be a new race, one without Magus the Great." The Golden Pteri decreed, "Now, show us all what you're made of!"
After several hours, the Pteris all returned to the starting line and took their positions. Jeremy waited patiently for Flick to cross the finish line, where he had been.
One of the Pteri judges held a starter pistol and pointed it into the air. "On your marks. Get set, Go!"
The Pteris all flew to their heart's content, flying at super speeds and determined to win the race now that Magus was gone. Flick and Maxi were neck and neck, and after about thirty minutes, they had both crossed the finish line. It was a photo finish, and Flick took the cup.
"Congratulations!" Jeremy yelled out to her, "You did it!"
The Golden Pteri flew over with the trophy and presented it to Flick, who reached out her wing to take it. This was the greatest day of her entire life.
The End.
| Author: triarthrus_eatoni
Date: Nov 18th |
