• Published 26th Mar 2012
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Blue Angel - V-Pony



A Blue Angels pilot is saved from a fiery crash by a most unexpected savior

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The Hurricane-Pt 5: Mind = Blown

August 27th, Noon
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“And that’s how Volare came to be in my bedroom,” Twilight finally finished the recap, stopped pacing the floorboards, and flopped down on the end of the bed, noting the rather shocked look on Rarity’s face in the process. The white Unicorn’s mouth was hanging open ever so slightly, and Twilight’s horn glowed as she closed it for her. Rarity turned her head to face Volare, as if expecting some sort of off-beat punchline, but there the Pegasus was, still sitting on Twilight’s bed and wearing a sincere smile.

“True story,” Volare nodded as the fashionista shook her mane in slight disbelief. True, she and her friend had probably handled stranger circumstances overall, but even so, this particular circumstance was…unique to say the least and a bit tough to swallow.

“This is-what I mean to say is,” Rarity tried to speak, cleared her throat and tried again. “Ahem, sorry. What I meant was…this is incredible. Twilight, do you realize the significance of what you’ve done here?”

“Well, I know I kinda winged a spell or two, but they’ve kept Volare alive up to this point, and more or less in one piece,” Twilight tilted her head as Volare gave her a playful but thankful shove in her shoulder.

“No!” Rarity suddenly interjected, bue she corrected herself quickly when she caught the perturbed look on the Pegasus’ face. “I-I mean, yes, those are certainly important as well, for without those, Volare would not be here! But what I’m talking about are all the new ideas our new friend here has brought with him from Earth!”

“Friend?” Volare cocked an eyebrow. “So soon, Ms. Rarity?”

“Oh just Rarity, darling,” she waved a hoof slightly. “And of course ‘friend’! Any friend of Twilight’s is a friend of mine! And though I have less than kind words to say about Pinkie and Rainbow Dash at the moment, as well as a bit of irritation that you were introduced to them first, without inviting me to lunch”-

“It was kinda a spur of the moment thing, Rarity,” Volare twiddled his hooves. “If you’d been there, we would have invited you as well.”

“Oh pish, of course you would have,” Rarity smiled brightly. “What’s a meal without me there to hoof out the newest and juiciest gossip? In any case, a friend of any of my friends, even those two hoodlums, is a friend of mine!” She grinned and turned to Twilight. “Anyways, back to my point: his ideas!”

“Which ones,” Twilight asked, a bit defensive of her friend and more than a little wary of the somewhat hungry look in Rarity’s eye.

“Why, the culture of Earth, of course,” Rarity beamed. “True, they’re a fairly war-like race, but surely such an advanced group has a sense of fashion, right? Volare, if you’d be so kind, I’d like for you to tell me all you know about it,” she grabbed a quill and parchment from Twilight’s desk and hovered them before her, ready to take notes on the subject.

“Um, Rarity,” Volare suppressed a laugh. “I’m not sure if I’ll be much help; I was a soldier, and most of our “fashion” was utilitarian and not exactly what you have in mind.”

“Hmm, even so, I’d like to listen to what you have to say about it,” the white Unicorn said earnestly. “Or at the very least tell me what you yourself find attractive on other human mares.”

“They’re called women, Rarity,” Twilight interjected with a bit of irritation.

“Right, right, women,” Rarity mouthed the strange word for a moment. “So, what can you tell me about it, Volare?”

“Well, if you really must know,” he relented and told her all he could remember about military uniform dress, rankings, medals and service bars of present-day uniforms. He told her of pilots’ garb, even about how some pilots still wore silk scarves to emulate the spirit of the first aviators, something Volare himself had taken up doing on occasion. To his surprise, Rarity scribbled down more than a few notes on the subject.

“How about the fashion of your women,” Rarity tapped the quill tip on her teeth twice before looking up. “Do you know anything of that?”

“Eh-heh, I’m pretty sure I’m not much help there, Rarity,” the Pegasus blushed slightly.

“Oh come now darling, tell what tickles your fancy when you see a woman walking by wearing it,” Rarity batted her eyes suggestively, and the Pegasus did his best to swallow the dry lump in his throat.

“W-well, I-er”-

“Ooookay, I think that’s plenty, Rarity,” Twilight stepped in again, forcing a smile. Like herself with science, Rarity could sometimes get carried away with her fashion. “He’s obviously not much help in that department, especially if you keep putting those sort of thoughts in his head. Besides, even if he does tell you what sort of women’s clothing he finds attractive, I doubt it would have the same effect if a mare wore it.”

“Oh, you never know,” Rarity mused. She looked over at Volare who was attempting to sink down and hide under the bedsheets as subtly as possible. “Unfortunately,” the Unicorn hopped up and stretched, gazing up at the clock on Twilight’s bedroom wall. “Since we’ve been at this for more than 2 hours now, it’s gotten me caught up on my schedule, and now I must run.”

She gave Twilight a quick hug before turning to Volare. “I’m sorry if I made you a tad uncomfortable, but “fashion is my passion”, as Pinkie would say,” she chuckled lightly. “I’ll see about making you a little something suitable for a pilot to wear.”

“But I can’t fly at the moment,” the Pegasus protested, gesturing to his limp wing.

“Oh, but surely Twilight can get you airborne again,” Rarity patted his hoof. “And when she does, I’ll make sure my little gift finds you. Do take care Volare, Twilight,” she smiled and patted Spike’s spines. “You as well, Spikey. Ta!” And with that, the fashionista trotted down the stairs and out the door, on the look out for Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie as she headed towards Carousel Boutique.

“Well, that was….interesting,” Volare shook his head a bit.

“Heh, sorry about that,” Twilight apologized. “Rarity can be a little overbearing at times, but she means well.”

“Oh, I know, I know,” Volare said off-handedly before realizing what he’d uttered.

“You know?” Spike eyed him curiously. “But Rarity said she’s never met you before; how could you know she was like that?”

“Oh, um,” the Pegasus was getting a little tired of this crap! “I just knew a few women from Earth like her, that’s all, heh-heh.”

“Riiight…ok,” Spike replied with a not-quite-convinced tone. “So, you two gonna continue your little Q&A while I fix the window all by my lonesome?”

“Oh my gosh, I totally forgot, Spike,” Twilight slapped a hoof to her forehead. “Um, Volare, are you ok with waiting for a little while? I know I promised to tell you about the wedding, but we really need to fix this window before pests and weather start getting in.”

“Oh no, that’s totally fine, Twilight,” Volare waved a hoof before a thoughtful smile spread across his face. “In fact, if you don’t mind, could I sit outside in the yard while you two fix it?”

“A-are you sure you’re strong enough for that, Volare,” Twilight said with no small amount of surprise.

“Yeah, yeah, I think I’ll be ok,” he stretched his left wing and slung his hooves over the side of the bed again. “Besides, this way I won’t delay having the window fixed any longer, what with you having to run in and out and check on me all the time.”

“Aww, that’s very considerate, Volare,” Twilight smiled. “Are you sure?”

“Urgh,” he stood up straight, causing his knees to pop audibly. It was painfully obvious that he wasn’t nearly recovered yet as the blood ran out of his face and he paled quickly. But he set his jaw, and after a moment, his vision lightened somewhat. “Totally. It’ll give me a chance to get outta this dark Library anyways, no offense, Twilight; I just miss having the sky over me, you see.”

“Completely understandable,” the Unicorn nodded and offered her shoulder for him to lean on. “Come on, I’ll help you down the stairs.”

“Nah, nah, I-agh-think I got it,” he forced a pained grin as he limped towards them. “Just be ready at the bottom to catch me in case I fall,” he chuckled lightly. As he reached the top of the stairs and saw how far he would fall, his vision swam a bit, and he had to shake his head to clear it. That was weird…

“Aye-aye, captain,” Twilight gave a small salute and waited patiently at the base of the stairs, Spike following behind him.

“Heh, don’t-ow-call me captain, Twilight,” Volare winced and forced his mind to focus, determined not to get light-headed and fall in front of her. Dammit, come on, Volare! He hated feeling so damn weak!

“Oh, why’s that?” the Unicorn asked as the Pegasus made it to the bottom with a small sigh.

“Because I only made it to Lieutenant.”

“Ah, I see…so you’d only have two bars on your uniform shoulder, right?”

“Ah, so you were listening up there, eh?”

“Of course,” she smiled and escorted him to the front door. “Spike, where’d I put that window-ah, nevermind,” she spotted it leaned near the front door. “Found it! Gimme just a sec and we’ll fix it…again,” she gave a small shake of her head, causing Volare’s ears to droop.

“I’m sorry about that, Twilight,” he said with a downcast face. “I’ll help pay for it when I can find a job.”

“Hey,” the Unicorn rounded on him slightly and poked him in the chest with a hoof. “You didn’t mean it, so don’t you worry about it, ok?”

“I know…but even if I didn’t mean it…I just,” Volare trailed off, a pained, distant look in his eyes.

“Volare?” Twilight nudged him with concern.

“Sorry, I’ve just…I guess I’ve just got a bad habit of not letting things go…even the little things like that…even the accidents,” he looked at her with a sigh. “Sorry.”

“Quit apologizing,” the Unicorn scolded him gently. “Like I said, it’s not your fault, and even if it was, I forgive you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really. Why do you seem so surprised?”

“I guess…so many things are stored in permanent records on Earth, and it makes it tough to truly forgive and forget, ya know?”

“Well, that’s not how things are around here, so don’t worry, ok?”

“Ok.”

“Good,” she gave him a one-hoofed hug and then looked down with concern at his right wing, practically dragging on the ground. “Can you not lift that at all, still?”

“Not a bit,” he gritted his teeth and tried, but only succeeded in raising his blood pressure a bit. “It’s weird; I can feel everything along it, but I just can’t move it.”

“At least the nerves are intact, then,” Twilight nodded thoughtfully. “Well, we can’t have you dragging it around, so until we get it figured out,” she looked around for a bit before laying eyes on the blanket on the couch. She quickly hovered it over and folded it into a crude sling before binding up Volare’s wing against his side. “There, that’ll do for now.”

“You think it’ll heal up, Twilight?”

“I…” she hesitated. She really had no idea; if she’d done the spell correctly, he should have had some mobility by now, but she didn’t want to worry him. “I’m sure it will. I mean, I couldn’t find any book in my collection that talks about what I did, but I know I read about it somewhere! If it’s not better by the time I leave tomorrow, I’ll search the library in Canterlot unil I find something on how to get you back to normal.”

“Thanks, Twilight. You’re a real pal. And even if it doesn’t heal completely…I still owe you my life,” he gave her a small squeeze of his own, despite the ache in his wing.

“Aww,” Twilight blushed a bit before turning to the door. “Ok, you ready to get back into the world, so to speak?”

“Mhm,” he nodded and she opened the door, letting in the mid-morning light. “Ahhh,” he squinted in the light…but the warmth of it felt so good on his sore body, and he soon became acclimated to the brightness outside. Twilight led him around to the side of the Library with the broken window and pulled up a bench for him to sit on. As he sat down, he spied the broken glass shards and feathers scattered on the ground beneath the window, and he visibly shuddered at the memory of that night. Had it really only been two days ago? It seemed like an eternity since then…

As he pushed the memory from the forefront of his mind he looked out and beheld Ponyville waking up for the day, well, the ones that hadn’t already been roused by Rarity’s screaming. Although the town proper was some distance from the Library, from here he could see Earth Ponies and Unicorns alike opening their windows and leaving their homes for their jobs or just to enjoy the pleasant day. In the sky, a few Pegasi flew here and there, some landing in the town square and poking about the market stalls already open for business. Volare settled back into the bench and allowed himself to relax a little bit. It was so peaceful. The early fall sun was still warm, though there was a definitive nip in the breeze that caressed his sore limbs, promising cooler days to come soon. He looked up to see the leaves on the Library were already starting to brown ever so slightly. He turned to observe Twilight floating the window pane out the door and over to the base of its future home.

“Hmm, looks like it’ll be sunny again today,” Spike said out loud as he observed the cloudless sky, a claw shielding his eyes. “No storms scheduled by the Pegasi; perfect weather to fix this thing,” he said as he headed back inside and reappeared on the inside of the broken window, standing on the parapet that ran along the inside of the tree.

“Wish I could help,” Volare said as Twilight gave the new window pane a final inspection.

“Heh, we’ve got it; this isn’t our first rodeo, as Applejack would say,” she grinned.

“Yeah, no sweat,” Spike said as he rubbed his claws together. “Same way as always, Twilight?”

“Mhm, you’re good to go, Spike,” Twilight nodded. Volare watched as Spike opened his mouth and breathed green flames along the edges of the broken window, melting the sap that held the pane in place. Once it was sufficiently loosened, he gave it a swift kick and knocked it out of the hole in the tree, Twilight catching it before it smashed into the ground. She hovered it off to the side and sat it down before floating the new window up to Spike. Working carefully, the dragon guided the window into its place and gently heated the edges of it, causing the tree’s sap to flow out and seal the window in place. He gave it a few quick thumps with a claw knuckle and then gave Twilight a thumbs up; it was holding well.
“And that’s that,” Twilight said matter-of-factly as she sat the broken window pane and glass shards by the street to be picked up by rubbish ponies later. She turned back to see Volare gaping a bit. “What?”

“Wow, that was pretty cool,” the Pegasus grinned. “You two made a good team there.”

“Yeah, we kinda do,” Spike nodded as he exited the tree. “When I slow down enough for Twilight to keep up with me of course,” he flexed an arm before catching the Unicorn’s expression. “What, I’m just kidding, Twilight.”

“I know, but I still feel this innate need to keep you in your place,” Twilight tousled his spines with a hoof. “Can’t imagine why, though,” she said with a wink in Volare’s direction.

“Argh, alright, alright,” Spike growled a bit and pushed her hoof away. “Gonna embarrass me…so now what?”

“Well, we already packed my things last night,” Twilight reflected. “Did we already get all the supplies picked up for you while I’m gone?”

“Yep, they’re all packed away in the cellar, and if I need more gems, Rarity is bound to have some.”

“True…hmm…” she tapped her chin before catching the somewhat pleading look on Volare’s face. “Yes, Volare?”

“Well, I was just wondering,” he twiddled his hooves. “Since you’re not busy, and you did promise you’d tell me about it…”

“Oh, right, the wedding!” Twilight exclaimed. “I seriously almost forgot; I’m sorry! Gimme a sec and I’ll go get my notes and quill,” she ran back inside.

“Heh, you’re interested in a wedding, dude,” Spike crossed his arms and gave Volare a strange look.

“Well, actually yes,” he replied. “More specifically who the bride and groom were because Twilight gave me this suggestive little half-answer when I asked about them.”

Spike’s eyes went wide and a grin grew across his face. “Dude, you’re in for a good one, then.” As the baby dragon took a seat against the tree, Volare became distracted by a flash of color out of the corner of his eye; a flash of pink color to be exact, and it was bouncing right for him.

“Howdy there, Volare-bear,” Pinkie Pie giggled at the little rhyme and waved as she approached, stopping when she was mere inches from the Pegasus’ nose. She inspected him for a moment before looking him in the eyes with her own bright blue ones. “Sooo…you look a lot better than the last time I saw ya!” She suddenly gave him a tight hug.

“Wha-Pinkie?” Volare winced in slight pain before returning the hug. “You ok?”

“Mhm, I am,” she said into his shoulder before pulling away. “Just glad you are too, that’s all,” she said with a grin. “How’s your wing? Whoa, why’s it tied on like that? I could have sworn Twilight stuck it back on with a spell.”

“Heh, it’s not tied on, just tied up for the moment,” he laughed a bit. “Still can’t move it worth anything, though. Twilight says that if it’s not back on the road to recovery by the time she leaves tomorrow, she’s gonna look through the library at Canterlot to figure it out.”

“I see….wait, she’s leaving tomorrow?” she asked with a tilt of her poofy-maned head.

“Yeah, you didn’t know?”

“Nope, she never told me anything about it,” Pinkie then leaned in closely. “You think it’s a secret mission?”

“If it were secret, why would she tell me about it? Maybe she just hasn’t gotten around to talking about it; she is a pretty busy girl after all.”

“…good point! Speaking of whom, where is she anyways?”

“She ran inside to get her notes,” Spike flicked his thumb towards the front door.

“Ooooh, what’s she taking notes on,” Pinkie asked excitedly.

“Me, actually,” Volare said. “I’ve kinda been her little guinea pig the last few days in the Q&A department.”

“I see; it all makes sense now…wait, what?”

“Ugh,” Volare facehoofed. “I’ve been telling her about Earth and she’s practically written a novel on it; probably a study report. And in exchange, she’s been telling me about Equestria.”

“Aha, I get it now,” Pinkie beamed. “What were you guys about to talk about, exactly?”

“Actually, she was going to tell me about some sort of wedding you guys helped save a while”-

“OH, the Royal Canterlot Wedding!!” Pinkie squealed. “That was a superiffic wedding and the most epical "battle to save the day" battle ever!!”

“Yeah, Twilight mentioned something about a fight there against someone named Queen Chrysalis,” Volare nodded. “She didn't go into too much detail, but you’re making it seem like such a huge event!”

“It really was! Practically all of Equestria got involved! Ooh, ooh! Did she tell you who the bride and groom were,” Pinkie practically bounced as she talked….actually she did bounce…quite a bit in fact. Volare had no idea where she got all the energy from. Maybe there was something in those cupcakes…

“That was actually gonna be my first question,” Volare replied as Twilight ran out the front door with her quill and notes.

“Found them!” she skidded to a stop and spotted the pink Earth Pony. “Oh, heya Pinkie! How’s it going?”

“It’s going great,” Pinkie grinned. “Volare here was just telling me how you were gonna tell him the story of the Royal Canterlot Wedding…and who the bride and groom were,” she nudged Twilight in the ribs with an elbow. “Soo….tell him!”

“Heh, alright, I will,” Twilight chuckled and sat on the grass. But right as she was about to begin, she noticed Volare’s eyes drooping as he slowly leaned forward. “Volare?” She held the Pegasus up with her magic.

“Huh…wha,” he shook his head groggily. Maybe it was the warm sun causing it, but he was just feeling so sleepy all of a sudden…or maybe it was lack of blood sugar due to the blood loss…yes, that was it! “H-hey, Pinkie?”

“Yeah, what’s up, Volare-bear,” she asked a bit fearfully.

“Do you…do you have anything sugary?”

“When don’t I, why?”

“Because…all the blood I lost…it’s got my blood sugar down and that’s why I feel so weak,” he blinked heavily. “So I was wondering if you had anything sugary to spare so I don’t pass out and miss such a good story on such a fine day.” Quick as a wink, Pinkie produced some cookies from her saddlebags and waved them under Volare’s nose, much as a doctor would wave smelling salts under the nose of an unconscious person. Salty or not, it did the trick, and Volare’s nostrils snuffled deeply. “Ah, that smells good.”

“Tastes even better, silly,” Pinkie said as Volare took a small bite…which led to another and another, finally ending with him devouring the cookie with great gusto.

“Thank you sir, may I have another,” he chuckled as he felt the warmth of the cookie spread throughout his body. After a minute or two, he sat up, eyes wide and alert. “How much sugar is in those things?”

“Well, I don’t call them my triple sugar cookies for nothing,” Pinkie beamed proudly and held out another one. “You did want another, right?”

“Absolutely!” The Pegasus practically inhaled it and licked his lips. “Wow, these are great. I feel a lot better now, thanks Pinkie.”

“It’s one of the many things I’m here for,” she grinned and turned to Twilight. “Um, you can let him go I think.”

“Oh!” the Unicorn released her magical grip on Volare, allowing him to lean back on the bench. “Sorry.”

“It’s good,” Volare waved a hoof dismissively. Damn, those cookies hit the spot! It seemed all the food around here, even the carrots which he’d sworn for years he hated, tasted great!

“So, let’s tell him about the bride and groom now!” Pinkie practically pleaded, making Volare laugh out loud. And here I thought I was the one who wanted to hear about it!

“Ok, ok,” Twilight took a deep breath and exhaled before looking at Volare. “Alright, since you’ve been so patient; the names of the bride and groom are Princess Mi Amore Candenza and Prince Shining Armor.”

“…who?” Volare tilted his head in confusion. He had never heard their names pop up on the show.

“Oh, you know Cadance doesn’t like everypony using her formal name, Twilight,” Pinkie shook her mane. “Princess Cadance is Celestia’s neice!”

“That would explain the royalty part,” Volare nodded, noting the almost uncomfortable expression on Twilight’s face. “Heh that’s kinda funny though.”

“Oh, how so?”

“Heh, in the Blue Angels squad I had just joined there was a pilot who’s name was almost the same: Cadence,” he chuckled. “She was a real hot-head and the only female pilot on the squad. Princess Cadance wouldn’t happen to be the same way, would she?”

“No, no, no, Cadance is kind and caring and patient,” Pinkie smiled. “And she was Twilight’s foal-sitter when she was younger too!”

“Whoa, small world,” Volare said thoughtfully. “And who’s Prince Shining Armor?”

“…my older brother,” Twilight finally said.

“Whoa…” the Pegasus slumped back a bit, digesting this new information. “I didn’t know you had a brother, Twilight.”
…crap

“That’s because I never told you, Volare,” Twilight gave him a wary look. “You keep acting as if you should know these things. Why is that?”

“Oh-um, I just studied up on things a good bit back on Earth and it’s kinda weird for me to not know at least a hint of what’s going on, that’s all,” Volare gave an exaggerated grin.

“Ah, I feel the same way sometimes,” Twilight nodded in understanding.

Jeez, Volare, you really gotta just stop assuming things or they’re gonna start suspecting you…
“Anyways, why didn’t you tell me you had a brother…” a look of shock spread across his face. “…who’s royalty by marriage…which would make you royalty, Twilight!” He pointed a shaking hoof at her. “Jeez, um, should I be bowing?”

But Twilight simply frowned and shook her head. “See, that’s why I didn’t want you to know. It makes me…uncomfortable.”

“Why would you be ashamed of being royalty?”

“It’s not shame. I just don’t want anypony treating me any differently than if I were just normal, regular, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Oh, but you’re not normal and regular,” Pinkie gave her a chummy hug. “You’re awesometacular Twilight Sparkle, and we wouldn’t want you any different!”

“Yes, you feel that way, Pinkie, but Volare hasn’t known me as long, and”-

“Hey, I can vouch for myself,” the Pegasus interrupted. Without missing a beat, he achingly rose from the bench and bent his neck in a small bow. “If it’s what you want, that will be the extent of the formalities I’ll show to you,” his eyes rose and he smiled.

Twilight blushed almost as pink as Pinkie Pie, and that was no small chore! “Volare, stand up; you’re embarrassing me,” she patted his mane and he complied, sitting on the bench again before chuckling to himself. “What?”

“Oh, well, you’ve got plenty of ammunition to toss my way on my bad flying and newness to being a pony,” he shook his head. “But now I’ve got a way to push your buttons if I so choose,” he gave her a cheeky grin.

“How so?”

“My Dear Princess Twilight,” he replied with a mock English accent, making the Unicorn blush anew. She hoofed him in the side without thinking as Pinkie rolled in the grass in giggles. “Argh, am I not allowed to have a sense of humor,” he laughed as he grimaced from the blow.

“Ah, sorry,” Twilight winced. “Just…watch how much you bandy that one about, ok?”

“Doesn’t everypony know, though?”

“Yes, most of them do, but I just don’t like the attention of being bowed to and all that,” she explained. “Just treat me like you would before I told you, that’s all I ask.”

“Heh, ok,” Volare agreed and leaned his head back, looking up at the sky. Across his vision, the occasional colorful Pegasus zipped by high above him. But strangely enough, the more he thought about it, the less he wanted to be up there with them. He drifted in his thoughts for a long moment, his brain calculating how high they were and then for some strange reason he then began to calculate how long it would take for him to fall from such a height and how many pieces he’d splatter into when he hit the ground…

“Equestria to Volare,” he was roused from his thoughts by a pink hoof waving in front of his face.

“Huh,” he shook his head and tore his eyes from the sky and looked back down at Twilight and Pinkie who both wore concerned looks. Even Spike, who’d been silent this whole time, had risen from his seat against the Library to see if he was ok.

“You kinda spaced out there for a minute,” the dragon said. “You ok, dude?”

“Yeah, yeah, I just…” he blinked twice and shook his head again, as if trying to shake a fly from his ear. First the stairs, and now this… “Yeah, I guess I did space out; I’m good.” Spike nodded and then sat back down as Pinkie hopped up on the bench with Volare, just in case he fell over or something; she was beginning to think this guy was just putting on a brave face to cover his weaknesses for the moment. He reminded her a lot of Rainbow Dash in that regard…

“You seemed pretty deep in thought,” Twilight offered. “What about?”

“Heh, flying, or well, the lack thereof,” Volare admitted.

“Well, unfortunately, you’re a good ways away from doing that anytime soon,” Twilight patted his hoof. “Anyways, you wanna know anything else about the wedding before we move onto the rest of the questions I have for you?”

“Just a little bit. I take it your brother is older than you?”

“Mhm, 8 years to be exact,” she nodded and smiled.

“What’s he like?”

“Oh, um, he’s a good head taller than me, about your height in fact, but a little heavier. He’s got darker blue eyes than you, and a blue mane with white fur…”

“No, not what he looks like,” Volare chuckled at Twilight’s scientist tendencies. “I mean what’s his personality? What’s he to you as a big brother? Are you proud of him getting married?”

“Of course I’m proud of him,” Twilight smiled. “True, he did kinda beat me to the punch, but he’s older so I guess that’s reasonable,” she said, a bit crestfallen.

“Oh, it’s ok Twilight,” Pinkie nudged her with a hoof. “You’ll find yourself a stallion one of these days. Heck, he might even be in town right this minute; ya never know,” she winked at Volare who’s eyes went a little wide and he coughed lightly. Pinkie got the gist and she backed off before Twilight noticed. “Or, he might even be in Canterlot and you’ll meet him when you go there tomorrow!”

“Who told you about that,” Twilight asked in slight surprise.

“Volare did; uh-oh, was it a secret?”

“No, I just hadn’t gotten around to tell you I suppose,” she tried to look irritated at Volare, but realized how hypocritical that would have been…as many unsaid things of his that she knew…

“Ah, we kinda figured as much, right Volare,” she bumped a shoulder against him, and he smiled in return. This pink pony was certainly doing her best to cheer him up…then again, this was Pinkie Pie; it was practically her job to do so!

“Right. So what’s Shining Armor’s personality like? He hasn’t let being royalty go to his head yet, has he?” he continued where he left off.

“Oh, not if I can help it he won’t,” Twilight chortled. “In fact, I’ll be visiting with him when I’m in Canterlot just to make sure it’s not,” she winked. “And did I mention he’s the Captain of the Royal Guard,” she said with more than a little pride.

“Whoa, seriously?!”

“Yep; he’s pretty dedicated to his job though, and it doesn’t let us see each other too often.”

“When’s the last time you saw him?”

“The wedding 6 months ago, actually,” Twilight sighed. “It’s been such a busy summer that I haven’t had the chance to talk with him in person since. Although I can send letters to him via Spike, it’s just not the same, ya know?”

At least you have that small luxury, Volare though, almost bitterly. No, come on man, it’s not her fault; don’t you dare put a shred of blame on her!

“…and since we have a good two week break between now and the Running of the Leaves, I figured now’s as good a time as ever to go visit; plus I’ll be looking into how to fix your wing,” Twilight continued. “Hey, maybe I’ll even get him to come down with me and compete in the Running this year!”

“That’d be superiffic, Twilight!” Pinkie beamed. “Oooh, and I could ride in your balloon like last time and call the whole race with Spike again!”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” the Pegasus grinned, feeding off of the pink pony’s infectious happiness. “So what’s he like as a brother to you?”

“Heh, it may seem kinda silly, but until I moved here to Ponyville, he was really my only friend outside of Princess Celestia.”

“Nah, I sorta know the feeling,” Volare shook his head before his eyes went soft and distant. They only did so for a moment, but the Unicorn made a mental note of it.

“He was my BBBFF.”

“Say what?”

“Oh, Big Brother Best Friend Forever,” Twilight explained. “Like I said, kinda silly, but that’s been my nickname for him since I was this tall,” she held a hoof close to the ground.

“Awwww,” Volare involuntarily said as he thought of a baby Twilight that small. She’d certainly grown since…

“So how about your family, Volare,” Twilight asked. All of a sudden, it was like a switch flipped, and the blue Pegasus practically clammed up.

“Uh, I, um…” he closed his eyes and sighed. “W-what do you want to know?”

Twilight took note of this sudden change in demeanor, and treaded carefully in kind. “Just the basics. You had a mom and dad, right?”

“Mhm, every human baby does at some point or another.”

“How were they to you, I mean as parents?”

“Um…”

“Did they love you?” Twilight asked before she could stop herself. She could tell she was touching a raw nerve here, but she didn’t know how to back out of it now. Luckily, Pinkie Pie was there and noticed the same thing.

“Of course they loved him, Twilight,” she leaned into Volare slightly. “Just look at how great a guy they raised!”

“Heh, thanks Pinkie,” Volare gave a half smile. “Yeah, they loved me for the most part, but when I got a little older, well…things often go this way…we kinda had a falling out and…can we please talk about something else for now? Sorry.”

“No, no, it’s ok,” Twilight scribbled something in her notes before moving on. Whatever she’d stumbled onto about him, it was obviously too painful to talk about, and she swore to herself that she wouldn’t go back into his mind like that again to see for herself.
“Um, let’s see…were you married yourself before you came here?”

The question came so far out of left field that Volare laughed loudly for a moment. “Nah, I’d never had time during my job to even consider it.”

“Were you single, though?”

“Let me remind you that I was a pilot in the greatest stunt squad to fly the skies,” Volare said suggestively, but Twilight wasn’t fazed. “…ok, yes I hadn’t had a real date in years.”

“Workaholic, huh?”

Volare made a face and nodded with a groan.

“Oh, oh, I have an idea!” Pinkie exclaimed. “I can help both you and Twilight find a special somepony, since you two haven’t had a date in forever!” But at her statement, Twilight and Volare simply roared with laughter.

“Oh lord, Pinkie,” the Pegasus wiped a tear from his eye. “You’re too much sometimes. I think I’ve got it covered on my end.”

“Already got your eye on somepony,” she waggled her eyebrows before Twilight swatted her with her notes.

“Oh, lay off the poor guy; he’s got bigger things to worry about right now. Like recovering, right Volare?”

“Right.”

“Yeah, but what about after he’s gotten better?”

“Well, I’ll probably get a job to help pay for the damage to Twilight’s Library.”

“I told you not to worry about that,” she reprimanded him again.

“Well, I’ll at least get a job so I have something to do,” he explained. “Being in the military…it gives you this sense of duty. I guess it’s the macho competitive atmosphere or something, but it sometimes makes you feel guilty if you’re not constantly working towards some sort of goal or accomplishing a task.”

“You don’t feel guilty right now, do you?” Twilight asked.

“A little, yeah,” he admitted. “I mean, I’m practically free-loading on you guys and”- He stopped when Twilight’s notes swatted him on the nose. “Ouch, what was that”-

“Stop feeling guilty for things your friends do for you, Volare,” Twilight scolded him, this time legitimately irritated. “They’re called favors, and that’s what friends do for each other.”

“Sorry…just been a while since I’ve had friends outside of the job, I suppose,” Volare hung his head. “Just not used to the generosity around here.”

“Well, you better get used to it,” Twilight lifted his head with her magic and winked at him. “Cuz we got plenty more where that came from!”

“We sure do, and even more than that!” Pinkie grinned and tossed some confetti from her saddlebags onto him.

“What was that?”

“That was some more!” Pinkie said matter-of-factly, causing the pagasus’ face to split into a grin again.

“Heh, thanks you guys,” Volare smiled. He felt so damn lucky… “So, you have anymore questions about my family, Twilight?”

“Um, just one…who else were you close to in your family besides your parents,” she asked tentatively, not wanting to spoil the fragile good mood.

“Well, like how you had a BBBFF, I guess I had a…LSBFF,” he said. At their questioning looks, he explained: “My Little Sister Best Friend Forever. Let’s just say that she was my closest friend for years.”

“You still in contact with her?” Twilight asked, and Volare immediately got that distant look in his eyes again, but it didn’t fade this time as his smile faded completely.

“I…we…I haven’t spoken to her since I went into the Navy,” he finally said. “Let’s just leave it at that.”

“Did you have a falling out with her too”-

“Never, Twilight,” Volare suddenly growled and wiped at his face. “Sorry, got dust in my eye or something…I may have watched out for her because she was my little sister, but she was just as competitive as I was…I let her win a lot, but every now and then, she’d beat me for real and it’d make me realize that I needed to push myself that much harder or else she’d catch me one of these days.”

“I think Shining Armor and I had the same thing going,” Twilight smiled. “As I got better at magic, he wasn’t just letting me beat him in our little games anymore…maybe that’s what pushed him on.”

“Did you ever ask him?”

“No, I never did actually. Maybe I can when I meet him tomorrow,” Twilight mused and scribbled something else in her notes. “Oh, Volare, pertaining to your little sister; what was her name?”

“Agatha,” he said after a pause. “But I called her Aggie all the time…it irritated her,” he chuckled at the memory.

“Volare, you keep saying was,” Twilight said and the Pegasus stiffened. “Isn’t Agatha”-

“No more, Twilight,” Volare looked up, his eyes visibly wet this time. “You’ve heard about her, and there’s no way she can be here for you to get to know her better, so that’s all you need to know, ok,” he blurted out and hung his head. “She can’t be here like me…and that’s the end of it…can we please just talk about something else?”
Though he tried to hide the hitch in his voice, he couldn’t stop the tear from falling and visibly splashing on the bench. He wiped his eyes roughly and sighed, shaking his head softly.

Without saying a word, Pinkie gave him a gentle hug while Twilight simply sat there on the grass like a fool. She looked over at Spike, but he had fallen asleep during this. Great…
She looked back up at Volare. “I-I’m sorry, Volare…urgh, I just keep asking the wrong questions today…sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, Twilight,” Volare replied as Pinkie let him go. “I just got a little bitter there, that’s all. Just be grateful you can still see your brother, ok?”
“Ok,” Twilight agreed, though to what she wasn’t exactly sure…maybe she didn’t want to know.

“Besides, it’s like we said earlier,” Volare forced a smile. “A scientist accepts that not everything is sunshine and rainbows, even if they wish they could be.”

Still didn’t make it fair, Twilight sighed before a thought popped into her head; a way to turn the mood around!
“Hey, speaking of science, Volare,” the Unicorn perked up. “You’ve been able to talk with me about all these theories and numbers without getting bored to death like most other ponies do…why is that?”

“Oh, that,” Volare chuckled. “Well, it may come as a surprise to you, but I hold a degree in Applied Physics through the Navy, fairly useful if you’re a pilot or an engineer on the ships.” *

“Wow, seriously?” Twilight smiled, though inside she was a little disappointed. And here she thought he was just interested in it because of her…just a little too much wishful thinking… “So you really weren’t just going along with what I said?”

“Nope, I’d have called you on it if you were wrong, though that hasn't happened quite yet,” he flashed her a smile, his mood lightened significantly.

“So you’re interested in Physics, eh,” Twilight asked, to which the Pegasus nodded. “Hrm, what else are you interested in? Or what humans in general are interested in?”

“Like entertainment or something?”

“Yeah, exactly,” the Unicorn pulled out a new sheet of paper and readied her quill. “Were you into sports?”

“Oh, absolutely,” Volare grinned. He then went on to describe the sport of baseball, and how he’d played the pitcher position for years, from Little League through high school. He wasn’t nearly good enough to go pro or even go to college on a scholarship on it, but it kept him out of trouble and he enjoyed the thrill of the game. He finally had to hang it up when he tore a tendon in his elbow and had to have Tommy John surgery; he didn’t recover fast enough to make it onto his Senior Year team, but he still played sandlot games whenever he could.

“So I guess you stayed in pretty good shape as a kid,” Twilight asked, remembering Rainbow Dash’s reports of a lot of humans seeming pretty overweight.

“Mhm, I was skinny as a beanpole for the most part, as my coach would say,” he chuckled at the memory. “Didn’t matter what I ate, I just couldn’t put much weight on as long as I stayed active.”

“That’s a plus,” the Unicorn hmm’d and made another mark on her notes.

“What exactly are you writing down about me there, Twilight,” Volare asked, trying to peer over the top of her notes without falling off the bench; and impossible task to say the least.

“Huh? Oh, just information on humans in general and how you personally compare to them, that’s all,” she explained.

“Am I gonna get a passing grade, teach?”

“Heh, don’t push your luck too much,” Twilight laughed and read down the notes.

“Psst, Twilight, I think he deserves an A for Effort,” Pinkie said past her hoof, as if in secret.

“Hrm, maybe…”

“Aww, come on, teach, gimme a break,” Volare played along for a moment. “Tell me I’m gonna pass; I can’t fail this exam,” he begged with mock-terror.

“Well, for what I can see, you could do with some improvement,” the Unicorn winked. “But it’s looking good so far. What else…oh, are you a big reader of books?”

“Not nearly as much as you, Twilight,” Volare shook his head. “Then again, that seems about impossible-ow!” He rubbed leg where Twilight had poked him with her quill.

“Care to extrapolate,” she waved the quill dangerously while wearing a mischievous grin.

“Nope, I’m good.”

“What were your favorite books?”

“Oh, I read all sorts of things, though I liked science fiction the best.”

“Makes sense,” she nodded and chewed on the quill for a moment. “Who were your favorite authors?”

“I don’t think you’d recognize them,” he began to protest but stopped when she looked up.

“Doesn’t mean I’m not still interested.”

“Oh, ok…lemme think,” he tapped his chin for a bit before recalling all the major authors he enjoyed reading; from Stephen King, to Edgar Allan Poe, to David Cook, and all the way to Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and their detective novels. Those last ones in particular got Pinkie’s attention, and she rattled off into a story of how she and Twilight had used deduction to figure out the mystery of who had been devouring baked goods on a train.** Though it had turned out to be their friends the whole time, it was still fun using logic to figure things out like that.

“Very interesting,” she marked off something else on her notes and looked up. “What else? You like movies and...TV, I think it's called?”

“What human doesn’t,” he stated before describing the types of shows he liked to watch, though he nearly let it slip about a certain animated show that beat the pants off of most other shows of the day. He then went over the movies he enjoyed, which spanned all topics from Action, to Drama, to Comedy, and even the occasional Romance flick.

“Romance movies? Kinda weird for a soldier to be interested in, wouldn’t you say,” Pinkie Pie gave him a playful nudge.

“Well, I,” he sputtered. “I merely dabbled in them and…oh, what’s wrong with having a sensitive side?!” he asked, completely red-faced as Pinkie rolled off the bench in a fit of giggles. Even Twilight had to fight to write her notes down in a straight line as she held in a bout of laughter of her own.

“Heh-heh, oh Celestia,” she chuckled and sighed. “Let’s see…hrm, I actually don’t have any more questions on my list.”

“Wait, seriously,” Volare’s head cocked to the side.

“Well, not at the moment anyway. Pinkie do you have any questions for him on the subject of entertainment?”

“Do I?!” She leaped back up on the bench, blue eyes wide. “Volare…how do you feel about parties?”

Oh lord…
“Well, I never really went to too many; too busy with my job, you see”-

“So you never just cut loose and had a blast?” the pink pony asked. “Never jumped up on the floor and cut a rug? Never just partied all night long?”

“Heh, I think I was a little too reserved for that sorta thing.”

“But you seemed so confident when you were talking about flying,” Pinkie mused. “That never crossed over into the social scene?”

“I suppose not,” he frowned. “It’s different Pinkie…on the dance floor, you’re under the control of the crowd, of the music; moving to their every whim…but in a jet,” a smile grew on his face. “Or in the sky, you are in control of you…it’s hard to explain, but I just felt more free and myself when isolated in a jet cockpit where I was mostly free to make my own decisions…do what humans were never supposed to do. It was a different kind of danger than being swept up on the dance floor, but it was a danger I enjoyed…that kind of danger, of living on the edge with nothing around but the sky and the wind as your judge…it was more fun than a dark floor on the ground.”

“Wow,” Pinkie said in awe. “That’s…”

“Awesome? I know,” Volare grinned.

“…Meh, I still prefer to party on the ground,” Pinkie giggled, making Volare sputter again. “Oh, lighten up, I’m just joking. Hrm, what other questions…oh! Did you ever listen to music in your jet?”

“Oh, all the time,” he grinned again at the memories. “In fact, I listened to music on foot, in the car, at home…heck, pretty much everywhere. It gave me a rhythm I lacked without it, I suppose.”

“Ooooh, if you like music that much,” Pinkie got an extra twinkle in her eye. “I’ll be right back!” Without warning she dashed off from the Library and headed into town, her pink tail the last thing they saw before she zipped around the corner of a house.

“What the heck was that all about,” Volare shook his head and turned to Twilight, who merely shrugged.

“I dunno, honestly,” she stood up from the grass and stretched. “But I’m gonna go put these notes up while she’s gone. You want some food?”

No sooner had she asked than Volare’s stomach growled audibly. “Heh, I guess that’s your answer; those cookies didn’t exactly hold me.”

“You in the mood for anything specific?”

“Oh, just any old thing you’ve got in there,” he waved a hoof. “Though if you have any of those peaches left that Pinkie brought over the other night, I’ll take one of those.”

“I’ll see what I can find; I think the bottomless purple stomach over there ate them all, though,” she snickered and pointed at Spike, who was stretched out in the sun and snoring softly. Volare rolled his eyes at the snoozing dragon as Twilight disappeared into the tree, reappearing a few minutes later with a few brown vegetables hovering around her head.
“Well, I was right; all the peaches are gone. But I found some potatoes.” She quickly zapped them with her horn and pitched one to Volare. “Careful, it’s hot!”

“Agh, no kidding,” the Pegasus tossed it from hoof to hoof before breaking it open to cool it. She’d cooked it through and through with her horn, and he couldn’t help but chuckle again. “Heh, microwave,” he muttered, drawing a look from the Unicorn. “Nevermind,” she shook his head and began to eat the toasted tuber. He looked back over at Spike still snoozing in the sun.
“Hey Twilight?”

“Mhm?” she said around a mouthful of potato.

“What exactly is Spike gonna do while you’re gone, unless he’s going with you?”

“No, he’s staying here this time to watch the house.”

“And me, right?”

“Actually, that all depends,” Twilight said thoughtfully.

“Whatcha mean?”

“I mean if your wing isn’t getting back to normal by the time I leave tomorrow, I’ll have to leave you with someone more responsible than Spike.”

“Hey, I can take care of myself,” he protested lightly.

“I’m sure you can, when you’re healthy,” she replied a bit sharply. “But it’s gonna take you a good while to recover from that blood loss, and in the meantime, I wanna leave you in the hooves of someone who can help in case you get light-headed or something.”

“But who?”

“That’s just what’s bugging me a bit…I don’t know who. Certainly not Pinkie or Rainbow Dash, for obvious reasons.”

“How about Rarity?”

“Hrm, maybe, but she’s always got a busy schedule filled with dress-making and seeing clients for her designs,” she pondered. “And I doubt she’d want a crippled Pegasus hanging around and distracting her, no offense.”

“It’s ok,” Volare replied. As he finished up the potato. “How about Applejack?”

“Heh, I would, but as nice as she is, she’d likely put you to work, and as weak as you are right now, I dunno how you’d handle it.”

“Oh come on, I’ll bet I could work on a farm a bit,” he hopped up from the bench and immediately got light-headed and had to slump back onto it. “Ow…or maybe not quite yet.”

“Indeed,” she was about to continue down the list of ponies who could take him in when Pinkie reappeared , and she wasn’t alone this time. “Oh gimme a break,” Twilight moaned as she beheld the pink pony hopping their way, a pair of mares in tow that Volare didn’t recognize immediately.

“I’m back!” Pinkie practically sang. “When you said you pretty much couldn’t function without music, I thought of my two friends here, sooo…guys, this is Volare,” she said to her two friends.

One of the ponies in question was a grey Earth Pony mare with light purple eyes, a long dark mane and wearing a purple bow tie and carrying herself with a rather cultured air, similar to Rarity, though this attitude didn’t seem to be artificial, but rather ingrained in her personality. On her flank was a treble clef cutie mark the same color as her eyes and bow tie. She gave Volare a gentle nod as she approached.

The other pony was her exact polar opposite in appearance and attitude and seemed vaguely familiar. While the grey mare seemed refined, this one seemed anything but. The white Unicorn had a wild cobalt blue mane that hung off one side of a face that wore a wide grin and dark purple shades that hid her eyes entirely. On her flank was a cutie mark in the shape of two black musical notes, hanging around her neck was a small black sphere, and on her back was a bright blue saddlebag labeled similarly to her cutie mark. She seemed to be constantly bobbing her head to some hidden beat as she approached, giving her an all-around party-hard, raver expression. Without hesitation, she trotted up to Volare and shook his hoof heartily.

“Dude, so you’re the new guy in town,” she greeted him with a tomboyish voice that was only accentuated by the fact that she was practically shouting at him as she did so. “Welcome to Ponyville! Name’s Vinyl Scratch and this here is my good pal and roommate Octavia,” she gestured to the grey mare who dipped her head with a wince at Vinyl’s mannerisms.

“Vinyl, perhaps you should take it down a notch,” she spoke with a light English accent as she nudged her friend in the side. “You’re not in the club at the moment and there’s no need to”-

“Say what?” Vinyl asked loudly. “You gotta speak up,” her horn glowed and a small ear bud floated from out of her ear. “I’m bumpin some mad beats and you’re gonna have to talk louder!” At that moment, Volare remembered who Vinyl Scratch was from fan art on the net; she was also known as DJ PON-3, the premiere disc jockey of Equestria.

“Urgh, can’t you ever give those blasted tunes of yours a rest, even to meet a friend of Pinkie’s,” Octavia facehoofed.

“Oh, alright, I gotcha,” Vinyl turned to Volare and hoofed him the ear bud; it was cordless and lightweight. “Pop that in your ear and we’ll get acquainted DJ PON-3 style!”
Not entirely sure what he was getting himself into, Volare obediently put the ear bud in and looked to the Unicorn.
“Hang on to your flank!” she laughed. In his ear-in his mind, really-Volare heard and practically saw a record being dropped onto and spun on a DJ turntable. There was a scratch of a needle on a record and a moment of silence before Volare’s mind was bombarded with an assortment of bass, percussion, and over-dubbing that rocked his ear drum and nearly shook him to his knees. All around his mind’s eye, bright lights the same color as Vinyl’s cobalt mane flickered and flashed to the pounding beat, making his real eyes blink as if trying to clear themselves.

“Good stuff, huh?” Vinyl clapped him on the shoulder after a moment before he nodded quickly. This wasn’t exactly his style of music, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t get used to it. He grinned in response to Vinyl’s question and she laughed again before clicking the music off with her horn and floating the ear bud out of Volare’s buzzing ear.
“That was a little of my own personal work,” she said proudly. “Whoa, you ok, dude,” she lifted her shades off to reveal dark magenta eyes as she looked down at the Pegasus whose body was shaking a bit as he sat on the bench, his mind bouncing all over the place. “Have you never done this before?”

“What did you do to him,” Twilight cried as she shoved the DJ out of the way and patted Volare on the face. “Volare, are you ok? Pinkie didn’t you tell them what had happened to him?”

“Well, I didn’t quite get that far,” the pink pony said as she kicked at a dirt clod.

“It seems like Vinyl may have overdone her welcome,” Octavia shook her head and knelt down in front of Volare. “Twilight, it’s ok; Vinyl did the same thing to me when we first met. She simply hit his mind directly with her music, in all honesty acting a bit like a hallucinogenic drug; but it’ll wear off in a bit. See, there he goes,” she gestured to the Pegasus who leaned forward and shook his head a few times before looking up and surprising Twilight with a smile.

“Volare, are you”-

“Yeah, I’m good,” he answered and turned to Vinyl. “That was a helluva rush.”

“I know, right?!” the wild-maned Unicorn held out a hoof to him before frowning. “Oh come on bro, don’t leave me hangin’!” Volare laughed heartily at that moment despite the ringing in his head. His first hoof-bump with a pony and he was sharing it with Vinyl Scratch! He returned the hoof bump with gusto, making Vinyl whoop and turn to her roommate.
“I like this guy, Octy!”

“You seem to like all stallions whose heads don’t implode from your bloody wub-wub music,” Octavia rolled her eyes. “I do apologize for Vinyl’s behavior; she can be a bit…outgoing to say the least. A bit too much so at the best of times.”

“Meh, you’re just a little too uptight, Octy,” Vinyl gave her a friend a rough shove and flicked her shades back down over her eyes. “So dude, Pinkie here says ya really like music.”

“Mhm, can’t live without it,” Volare replied as he wriggled a hoof inside his ear, trying to relieve the buzzing that remained.

“She also says you’re from a different planet called Earth, but that’s just Pinkie being Pinkie, right,” Octavia inquired with a slight smile. Volare looked over at Twilight who nodded reluctantly.

“Actually, she’s right; I am,” the Pegasus announced to the surprised mares. “I’ll explain more about it in detail later, but that’s not why Pinkie brought you here, no offense.”

“None taken, dude,” Vinyl nodded. “She said something about how you had certain types of music we might be interested in talking about.”

“That’s correct.”

“Well, then you’ve come to the right two mares to chat about it,” the Unicorn sat down on a rock and put her ear buds away in her saddlebag, allowing her to lower her voice back to a more normal pitch.

“Or rather, we were brought to you,” Octavia corrected her roommate, who laughed in response.

“Heh, guess you’re right! Whoa, what happened to your wing,” Vinyl pointed at the limb in question bound against Volare’s side.

“Oblivious as ever,” Octavia shook her dark-maned head in mild disbelief tempered with the weariness of one who’d seen it time and again.

“Oh, heh, flight accident; crashed through the window there and got it ripped off,” he said matter-of-factly, despite Octavia’s shocked expression; even Vinyl raised her shades off her eyes again in respect. “Twilight fixed me up though and I’m just recovering as best as I can. Sorry if I seem a little woozy; I did nearly bleed to death,” he smiled a little smugly, though he wasn’t exactly sure why.

“Whoa, that’s hardcore, man,” Vinyl nodded her head slightly as did Octavia in agreement.

“Indeed, that does sound rather brutal. At least you don’t seem too worse for wear,” the grey mare added.

“So, if you’re gonna be ok, let’s get back to the music,” Vinyl grinned and crossed her hooves. “What sort do ya like?”

“Yes, what types interest you,” Ocvtavia asked. “You wouldn’t happen to like classical music would you; strings, wood-winds, horns and the like?”

“Nah, he’s obviously more into my style of music,” the white Unicorn disputed. “I mean, did you see his reaction?”

“Actually,” Volare spoke up. “I appreciate them both. However, there is a type of music that I hold closer than either of those.”

“Oh, and what might that be,” Octavia asked, head tilted to the side.

“A little Earth-style music called classic rock ‘n roll.”

"Oh, Classic eh? Perhaps I'll enjoy this," the grey mare smiled demurely.

“Classic Rock ‘n Roll,” Vinyl repeated slowly with a growing grin. “I like the sound of that! How’s it go?”

“What,” Volare asked, a bit confused.

“You know, hum a few bars,” Vinyl urged him, but Volare laughed.

“Oh lord, I can’t sing to save my life!”

“Perhaps you could describe it in terms of the musical notes themselves,” Octavia offered. “Do you have knowledge of scales, measures, and musical notation?” But Volare met her expression with a blank stare. “Um, basic things like lines, signatures, notes, and clefs?”

“You’re gonna have to speak English, Octavia,” the Pegasus replied sheepishly. “I just listen to it, I don’t write it.”

“Well, what sort of instruments are involved,” Octavia asked, a little perturbed that he didn’t know the basics of music. All the while, Twilight remained off to the side, scribbling furiously on her notepad.

“Hrm, there’s drums for the rhythm of course, and sometimes trumpets and keyboard depending on the style of the song,” Volare replied. “But the main attraction of any rock song is the electric guitar.”

“…Say what, now?” Vinyl Scratch asked, completely in the dark as to what he was talking about.

“You know, electric guitar, BAH-NAH-NAH-NAH,” he mimed strumming a guitar between his hooves before realizing how futile this was. “Urgh, this is what I was afraid of; I can’t play, write, or sing, only listen and I have no way to share Earth music with you guys!” He hung his head. “Sorry I had Pinkie drag you two down here…”

“Oh, you gave it a good go, Volare,” Octavia patted his shoulder gently. “It’s just tough to convey things sometimes without the correct musical medium to”-

“Now hang on just a sec,” Vinyl jumped down off the rock and trotted over to Volare. “Just cuz you don’t have the instrument or the ability to write it doesn’t mean you can’t play it for us.”

“Huh, how,” the Pegasus asked as Vinyl grinned. She hoofed him both earbuds this time.

“Here, pop those back in your ears and watch me work my magic,” she reached down to the black sphere hanging from her neck and twice clicked a small dial on the side of it before looking up back up at him as he put the buds in his ears.

“This isn’t gonna blast me with more of your music is it,” he asked cautiously. “Cuz as fun as that was…”

“Nah, you are gonna blast us with your music,” the white Unicorn announced, causing Twilight to pause and look up cursiously.

“Ah, is this that recording device you’ve been working on, Vinyl,” Octavia asked as Vinyl hovered what looked like a small speaker from her saddlebags and sat it on the ground.

“Sure is; I hope I got all the bugs out or else Volare might fry his own brain with epicness,” Vinyl laughed as her horn glowed and powered up the speaker. Twilight gulped visibly as Pinkie giggled like crazy.

“Say what?!” Volare yelled, hardly able to hear what she was saying outside the noise canceling earbuds. These things were damn good!

“Nothing dude, nothing!” Vinyl called out and clapped him on the shoulder a bit too roughly. “Just play a song in your mind and it’ll play on this speaker here,” she pointed to it with a hoof. “And it’ll get recorded here,” she gestured to the black sphere around her neck.

“Where’d you get all this technology,” Volare asked one more question.

“Heh, we’re not as backwards as you think around Ponyville! Now come on! Play us a rock song!!” She grinned hugely. “Um, you guys may wanna stand back; that speaker may be small, but it sure packs a punch.” Octavia already had her hooves close to her ears just in case. Twilight obediently followed suit and looked over at Pinkie in shock who had produced a carton of popcorn from out of nowhere and seemed to be ready for a show.

“Alright, here goes nothing!” Volare yelled and focused his mind on playing one of the greatest classic rock songs of all time…

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Author's Note:

So, this chapter is to make up for the previous one that I and many other felt was a little too short. ^^;
Also, I’ve got an idea of what song he might play, but please tell me what what you think the greatest classic rock song of all time is, and I’ll alter the next chapter to reflect it. That’s right, you the readers, get to decide some more on how the story will go!
:D
Also-also, I hope I wrote Octavia and Vinyl correctly. I based it on how they talked on Epic Wub Time: Musicians of Ponyville--> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sob1t-iUCmE <--

Also-also-also: thanks to JJ Malcom, RedvsBlue327, Man of War, and idk12345678910 for their ideas for the Q&A!

* The US Navy Nuclear Power School offers Engineering Physics degree work which is essentially Applied Physics work

** Interesting that Volare likes Agatha Christie novels, as the MMMMystery on the Friendship Express is actually somewhat based on “Murder on the Orient Express”, and Agatha Christie novel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_on_the_Orient_Express#References

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