//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4 
// Story: Life as a Pony 
// by Tray Hunter 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 4: Ready for Level 2

by Tray Hunter

I was sure now. 
It had to be a dream. 
Maybe I realy just passed out at the party and had been out since then. 
Or maybe I just passed the sides and was fighting my way through the circles of hell itself. 
I must have been staring in the distance for about 5 minutes or so.
"Wakeupwakeupwakeup!"
Nothing, I was still in the park. 
'I'm getting some strange signals up here!
What's wrong, dude?'
There it was again!
That voice that had been ther efor so long, claiming to be my brain. 
I couldn't trust it anymore!
Which brain is laughing at its own body?
That didn't even make any sense!

"I know what to do!
B, get the painkillers ready!"
That said, Lyra slammed a straight hoof into my shoulder, kicking me out of my trance.
"Ouch, what was that for, Lyra?
I was about to wake up from this coma or whatever I'm in!"
"Coma? You realy think this is a dream?
Maybe I should be charmed that you assume dreaming of me...or just hit you harder next time!"
"Nonononono, I believe you already!
I just need some time to process all of this. 
And..."
"And what?"
She looked at me rolling her eyes. 
"And I need a smoke!"
Said that, I put a cigarette in my mouth and lit it. 
It felt as if the whole world became a little bit clearer, as I pulled the smoke into my lungs.
When I released it, all there was, was a coughing unicorn. 
"Uuh, and I thought I'd never have to smell this again!"
She coughed again and murmured something about a plotthole or something.
'Dude, I think the lady want's you to cut it out.'
I rolled my eyes and suddenly the smoke stopped in its tracks. 
It hovered in midair for a second and then formed a small ball which grew a little bit, each time I blew more smoke at it.
I looked at Lyra, being sure it was her wizzardry, but only found a confused expression mixed with suprise and a small cocktail umbrella of awe.
"Did you do that?
I heard about pegasii manipulating clouds but it takes years to practice that!"
"I didn't even intend to do that.
I just wanted to stop you from coughing!"
She sighed and took a deep breath.
"And thanks for that.
Seems like you can just use your magic similar to us unicorns. 
You just have to imagine something and with a bit of concentration on the mere thought alone you can make stuff happen."
'Tze Magiks!'
We both laughed at this.
Although Lyra's copyspell just transfered half of my brain, it seemed to have covered at least all of the ponystuff. 
Refreshing! 
At least one pony could relate to our jokes.
Even if this particular pony was technically a human aswell.
"So... I can do stuff by thinking of it?
How awesome is that?"
I clossed my eyes and held my head with my hooves. 
"Laservision, Laservision, Laservision!"
"I don't think this will work.
Even with all the energy in Equestria, you won't do any good if you don't know how to use it."
"No laservision?
Aaaw horseapples.
What about invisibility?"
"I heard of one pony mastering a full transparency..."
"Whooohoooo!"
I closed my eyes and tested my luck again. 
"Invisible, Invisible, Invisible!"
"But it took him 120 years to perfect it!"
"You realy are a joykill, aren't you?
Is there anything I can learn right now?
Flying for example?"
"Flying?"
She shot me a confused look. 
I stretched my wings and pointed at them.
"Oh, you have wings!
Well, then flying shouldn't be too hard. 
Although, I can't teach you how to.
Also I should leave.
BB probably wonders why sending a simple letter is taking me so long. "
"Letter?"
That rang a bell. 
I reached for the apologymuffin in my pocket and held it in front of me. 
"I guess Ditzy takes the term "express delivery" pretty serious."
I took a bite from the muffin. 
"Sfo fuuu weeeli kenft veech me fo fyy?"
She looked at me as if I was some kind of... actually I don't know what she saw in me at this moment. 
'You realy can't teach him to fly?'
"Nope!"
'All hope is gone!'
I frowned at Lyra. 
"But I know somepony who can!
Although he won't make it easy for you. 
Thats for sure!"
"Fveerr kenf I finf vimm?"
"Beg pardon?"
'Where can we find him?'
"Oh, just follow that alley over there. 
It's not too far from here. 
You'll know it when you see it."
I guess that was her standard routine for descriptions. 
You'll know when you see!
"Well ok, I gotta go!
See ya around, Smokey."
She got up to leave. 
"Schmogfie?"
I spat out half of my muffin while saying this and swallowed the other half. 
She pointed at the smokecloud that was still hovering beside me.
I blew some air at it and it vanished. 
"Mmh, kinda like it. 
Anyway, bye Lyra and thanks for everything!
Oh, and our greetings to Bon Bon aswell."
She waved a hoof and left. 
'We better get going aswell.
Although I'm not sure what she meant with "he won't make it easy for you".'
"Doesn't matter as long as I reach level 2 in pegasusmovement!"
I got up and stretched my wings.
"Let's go!"

After about 30 minutes of trotting, the alley ended in a cornfield.
'You think we missed it?'
I looked around and noticed an old house aside of the road.
It wasn't any special or unique, just old and tattered. 
The windows were nailed shut and the roof had some holes in it. 
'I'm not sure but something about this screams psychopath, maybe it's the complete lack of nearby civilization. '
"Naah, Lyra wouldn't send us to some hillbilly ponies with beartraps for a cutiemark!"
'I hope you're right.'
I went over to the house and looked at the door.
"Mmh, no door bell or sign.
Hello? Anypony home? Any canibalponies?"
'I'll buffer some adrenaline.
Just in case they answer the last question with "yes"!'
I rolled my eyes and pushed against the door. 
It was open, so I went inside. 
"Hello? Anypony heeeeeeeeeee-"
As I fell into the darkness, I instinctivly spread my wings although it didn't help, because I didn't know how to use them yet.
I guess it was some kind of pegasusreflex. 
I glided to the other end of the hole and slid down the wall, using my wings to slow down my fall. 
As I arived at the bottom it was dark.
And I don't mean "dark as the night" dark. 
I mean dark as in "Oh my gosh the sun just went off"!
'Let's try this sensorthing.'
Said and done, I switched to my magicsensor and looked around. 
Judging by the small dots above me I was about 60 m  under ground. 
I later found out that these little dots were earthworms. 
Magical earthworms!
I looked around further. 
The hole was almost perfectly round and the flat bottom of it was covered in small stones.
Lot's of small and pointy stones. 
Suddenly something catched my sight.
"Are these... are these drawers?
There realy are foals who live in a hole in the ground?"
"Who are you calling a foal?!"
I reared up and threw my hooves in the air. 
Out of nothing a bright glow appeared right in front of me. 
I switched back to my normal vision but what I saw was far from scary. 
Before me stood an old looking, thin, white pony with a expresionless look on his face. 
I looked him in the eyes but noticed they were competly white.
I waved a hoof in front of his face and suddenly a thin creacking hoof hit my head right under my ear. 
"Ouch! What was that for?"
"For breaking into my house, staining my walls with you dirty hooves and insulting your master!"
"Master?"
"You came here to learn how to fly!
And you will have to fly, if you're going to leave in honor!"
You will adress me as sensei or master!"
I looked at him and something on his back caught my attention. 
Down from his body hung two seemingly lifeless wings with feathers as transparent and thin as silk. 
"Oh you gotta be bucking kidding me!"
He smacked my head again. 
"Your training will begin soon!"
He went to a drawer and picked up some weightbands. 
As he threw them into the dirt before me he said
"Wear these around your wings!
And take off all these rings and jewelery!
You're looking like a coltcuddler!"
He went away and sat on a chair that stood in one corner of the hole.
Well, given the fact that it was round, there weren't any corners but I think you get the idea. 
'You and your luck!'
"He's a real plothole but he's right.
If we want to get out of here, we'll have to fly!
Or dig our way out!"
'We better stick to the flying part.'
"Then it's settled!
I learn to fly, no matter what that creepy jackpony throws at me!"
The same moment, said jackpony threw a copie of "The Complete Compendium of Equestrian History" at my head.
It was going to be such a great time. 

The training was indeed as hard as ponyly bucking possible!
After a few days of torturing me, he decided the weights weren't heavy enough and sat on my back everytime I had to run my laps in the hole.
And let me tell you, he may be skinny and old but if you have to carry his lazy plot around for the entire day while he smacks your head everytime you walk too slow, you don't care if your bed is only a pile of small rocks!

"Now that you have enough condition we will move on to flighttraining!"
After a week and a half, the training finaly included flying.
Good thing, my wings were the only part of my body that didn't hurt.
At least I could still move them willingly.
"Let's see if you have at least some muscles in these things. "
He pulled and sqeezed my wings as if they were made of clay or some other formable material. 
"Hey! Does breaking them make flying easier?
Because if it does I will help you with your -"
There it was again.
The hoof hitting at the back of my head. 
"You have some strong wings!
But it seems as if you have had them for only a few weeks!"
'Oh crap!
Just play along and deny!'
"Haha, good one. How should I get wings if not from birth?"
"By transformation!"
My jaw hit the floor.
How did that jackpony know about me?
Did Lyra tell him I was a human?
And what would that mean for me?
Would he smack me harder, assuming that humans have thicker skulls?
I stared at him in shock. 
Suddenly he broke out laughing.
"But that would be laughable!
You just are lazy and have never used your wings.
You run another 50 laps!
I'll rest some. 
All that laughing had exhausted me."
He sat down on his chair and was fast asleep in seconds.
'Close one.
He almost got us!'
"Yeah, but you can bet your hypocampus that I won't run one lousy lap."
Suddenly something hit my head.
As I looked at the book that laid before me it read 

"How to command and discipline your pupils in your or their sleep"

'Oh, he's good!'
I growled and began my 50 laps. 

After another two days of galopping in circles like a showpony, he moved on to wingbased training. 
Including wingpushups and powerlandings. 
Latter meant me landing and sliding over the ground, which still was nothing more than small rocks that pierced into my knees.
He also build a flightsimulator with some strings I had to hang from. 
The simulation mostly required me to dodge more books while he shouted commands at me. 
Good thing, I had the enhanced reflexes from the magicsensor. 
Otherwise my brain would have taken some serious damage from all these compendia about Equestria and guidelines about torturing students. 

After another two weeks, he woke me up in the middle of the night. 
At least I think it was night. 
The only source of light was a small candle he put in the middle of the "room".
I guess you know who was to hang over it, while training in the simulator. 
"Get up!
We need to talk!"
"Have you found out that less sleep can break a ponies will without too much effort for you?"
"Your ability to smartflank while half asleep is impressing."
"I know!
What do you want?"
"You're done!
Leave my house!"
I cracked my eyes open. 
"What?"
'I checked it.
We are not sleeping anymore!'
"You heard me!
I can't teach you anything else!
Get up and be gone!"
I got onto my hooves and looked at him.
"You are realy serious, are you."
"Get out of my house or I'll smack your lazy flank to the moon!"
His hoof flew towards my head, just to be stopped by another hoof.
All the training and smacking enhanced my reflexes by nature.
I knew where he would hit, how hard and fast he would strike and how to keep him from doing so.
"Not today!"
He put his hoof down and smiled. 
I never saw him smiling untill then. 
"Good, you realy are the most talented student I ever had.
And the first that stayed untill the end. 
The other ones left after the first days. "
"Left?"
He trotted other to a big drawer and opend it. 
Behind it was a dark staircase made of stone.
"But you said I had to fly to leave-"
"In honor!
You could have left when ever you want but IN SHAME!"
I screamed in anger.
"Why didn't you tell me?!"
'I sense a recycled punchline coming up!'
"You never asked."
'Eyup! There it is.'
I was about to beat that smile out of his face and back but then just sighed and took off. 
"Bye!"
He must've been laughing at this for the next weeks.
I, on ther other hoof, was just happy to leave this torturechamber in one piece. 
As I opend the door of the fake house it was indeed night. 
And a clear one aswell. 
I took off and felt the wind in my filthy mane and dust covered face. 
'So, how does it feel to be airborn AND free?'
"Awesome!
Although I'm starving!"
While training the only food I had were some dry roots, I found hanging from the walls. 
'And were do you think you get anything to eat at this hour?
Even if we find a store that opens at night, we still don't have one lousy bit!'
"Trust me!
I have a plan!"


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Tray here

Lot of cursing in this chapter but do not be afraid!
I'm not gonna make it a habit. 
At the moment I'm revising and editing the chapters so far. 
Maybe I'll upload it to the Ponychan soon, to find a prereader and/or editor but in the meantime I'll just try to get the best I can get out of it. 
As always:
Leave any suggestions, comments or critics in the comment section or send me a message. 
Thanks for all the attention so far. 
This chapter for example, got 10 clicks in the first hour. 
Realy!
Big thanks to you :D

Tray out