Blast From The Past

by Blazer

Chapter 3

Ryan checked the clock. “Okay. Hour and a half. Plenty of time.” He said to himself. He sat me down on the couch, pulling his chair closer so he was sitting at my side. “One more thing before we start. When one is going to be hypnotized, it only works if the patient wants to be hypnotized. So, just to make sure…”

He put a hoof on my shoulder. “Are you sure you want to do this? Once we start, there’s no going back.”

My will still resolute, I nodded swiftly. “Yep.” I replied.

Ryan returned a deft nod, then closed his eyes. His voice softened as he spoke. “Imagine you’re in a broad green field. Your rear hooves have rooted themselves into the ground, keeping you completely still. A gentle breeze caresses your cheeks, and your breathing becomes deeper, almost slowing to a stop..”

He paused to allow me to visualize the imagery. “And now, imagine the place you want to go.” He paused again as the old photo materialized in my head. The young, grinning mare reappeared, the background suddenly so clear now that I had actually thought about it. It was in the midst of an apple orchard, the spring apple blossoms filling the boughs of the apple tree behind her.

“And now, you look up and you see a lone cloud. Just an ordinary cloud. However, when you try and concentrate on it, it starts to drift away. You watch as the cloud becomes smaller and smaller, concentrating hard on the lonely dot in the sky.
3…
2…
1…
You
Are
Asleep…”
--
The picture still floated in front of me, the mare still staring at me in the face. I could now almost hear the birds chirping in the neighboring trees. The apple blossoms swayed in the breeze, shaking me out of my trance. Did… did the picture just move?

The soft breeze caressed my face, bringing the sweet aroma of the petals to my nose. The birds’ chirping was audible now, their melodies carrying across the rosy-smelling breeze. The mare’s smile widened, her lips moving now.

Wake up.

I cracked an eye open hesitantly. The mare had disappeared, but the background remained in place.

And it was in color.

I shifted marginally, my face receiving a douse of the bright sunlight when I moved into a parting of the leaves. I sat up quickly upon realizing where I was. Ryan’s office had disappeared, leaving me in the apple orchard. All the nonsense the guy was spouting wasn’t a lie…

I quickly lay back down, suddenly giddy with excitement. I was in the past! Albeit a little different from the Buck to the Future movies, but still in a place where nopony had ever dared set hoof in.

I couldn’t help a loud laugh, my heart aflutter with joy and triumph. The laugh continued on its own, pouring forth from the pure excitement that almost seemed too great to contain. I felt like I could laugh forever, and nopony would—

“What’s so funny?” Came a voice.

I clamped my mouth shut, causing the laughter to quickly die off. I quickly rubbed the tears from my eyes, whirling on the source of the voice.

An orange mare stood several feet away, an unfriendly scowl on her face. Freckles dotted her cheeks, which were partially covered by her blonde bangs parting right above her eye level. A large Stetson hat sat on the back of her head, the brim framing her face like a saintly semi-circle.

I gave her my best smile, which really wasn’t that great. “H-hello…”

“I’d say howdy too if ya weren’t tresspassin’!” She shot back, her eyes narrowing.

Trespassing? Perfect…

“I’m sorry. I’m…” I paused thinking hard. “I was… flying from Manehatten. The shade down here looked nice, so I decided to rest in what I thought was just a forest. I guess it really was an orchard after all…” I trailed off, her venomous glare silencing my explanation.

After a long silence, she turned away, trotting towards the sunrise. “Manehatten, huh? Well, this ain’t Manehatten, city-slicker. I dunno what yall do in Manehatten, but here in Ponyville, we don’t go bargin’ into another pony’s property without their permission.” She huffed.

Where is this?

“Anyways, unless you got business with the Apple Family, you’d best git. You’ve got wings, don’tcha?” She asked, starting off towards a large farmhouse.

Suddenly worried I was losing my only potential guide, I trotted after the farmpony. “Hey, do you know where I could find the nearest town? I need to find a certain… uh… Pegasus.”

She nodded to a path that traveled eastwards from the farmhouse. “That should take ya straight to Ponyville. Nearest town for miles. It shouldn’t be a long flight.” She explained, a little calmer after learning I was a victim of circumstance. However, something about me being from Manehatten irked her, which kept her on the defensive.

Ignoring her irritation, I expressed my gratitude. “Okay, thanks, Miss…?”

“Applejack.” She blurted out. “Although I h’ain’t lettin’ ya leave until you give me your name, city-slicker.” She said, fixing me with a disapproving stare.

“Oh, it’s Jetstream.” I replied quickly. “Sorry for not introducing myself earlier.”

“Jetstream, huh? Figures. Fittin’ name for a pegasus, I guess.” She said, shrugging.

I forced a smile. “Thanks."

She gave a half-hearted grunt before mild curiosity sparked behind her green eyes. “S’pose I can ask about this Pegasus yer lookin’ for before ya leave?”

I hesitated, biting my lip. “I… uh… I’m looking for… A certain mare.” I stuttered.

Her eyebrow raised. “That don’t narrow it down very much, now does it?” She said expectantly.

“A certain Pegasus mare?”

“You said those already.”

“Alright, alright. Her name’s Rainbow Dash." I offered.

Applejack’s eyes widened visibly before quickly returning to normal. "And might I ask what'cha be wantin' with her?

"Huh? Well, doesn't everypony want to meet her?" I asked, surprised by her nonchalant reaction.

Applejack cocked her head.

"And why would that be?"
"Well, she's gonna... Uh..."

Maybe she hasn't joined the Wonderbolts yet... But how does she know about Rainbow Dash?

"Gonna what?"
"I... I know her from flight school!"

Applejack narrowed her eyes. "A childhood aquaintaince? She never told me about somepony from Manehatten."

I gulped.

I'm really in for it now. How does she know Rainbow so well?

I let out a sigh. Better to come clean.

"She’s my inspiration. I'm following my dreams to become an acrobatic flyer because of her."

Applejack froze, eyes wide. Her mouth opened to speak, but no words came out.

A few awkward seconds passed before she let out a low chuckle. “H’actually, that’s really weird! Heehee!”

I frowned, my cheeks burning. “It's not weird. She's a great flyer!”

Applejack’s chuckle escalated into a fit of laughter. She fell on her back, laughing obnoxiously. “Ahahaha! That klutz?! Great flyer?! Hahaha! Ah, I never thought I’d hear it!”

I inhaled sharply, anger flaring in my chest. "She’s one of the best! She's one of the hardest workers I've ever known."

This only encouraged Applejack’s gales of laughter. “Pfft—hahaha! Hard worker! Oh, that’s rich!”

I gritted my teeth, turning away. "You just don't get it. You work your orchard for a living. Sure, maybe it's your dream job, but no one will question your choice. Athletes like me and Rainbow gotta fight to do what we love. Everyone tells us we'll never make it. Everyone says it's impossible. But we do what we do because we know we've got what it takes!"

I felt a presence behind me as Applejack approached.

"Whoa, whoa, now I ain't sayin' your dream was dumb! Now Rainbow, on the other hand..."

Refusing to hear her explanation, I crouched low before leaping upwards. The roar of the winds filled my ears again as my muscles pumped my wings faster, propelling me upward at a rapid pace. The heated anger pushed them further, making me ignore the pained screams of protest of my tortured muscles. However, as my anger cooled, I slowed down, letting the wind resistance pull me back. I spread my wings wide as I glided lazily, the wind dying down and allowing me to think properly.

So much for negotiating with the locals. I thought, looking down at the road that snaked between the rolling hills beneath me. I banked to the left as the road followed a riverbank; a blue ribbon against the green expanse of the rolling hills and meadows, the occasional dark green splotch of a tree breaking the monotony of the seemingly barren grasslands. The smooth, undulating plains of grass eased the memories of the argument out of my mind, calming me. The intense burning in my wings slowly eased to a dull ache, and my heart no longer beat in my throat. The cool air caressed my face, brushing away the embarrassment and tears that had stung them before.

As I continued to relax, my eyes settled on a small village that lay at the end of the road, the sun now at its apex and giving the town a homey glow. I smiled unconsciously. Don’t forget that you’ve got a job to do, Jet. And a mare to find.

I cursed aloud when a sky-blue blur whizzed past me, a gust of wind sending me tumbling in midair. I steadied myself by rapidly flapping my wings, allowing me to get a glimpse of whatever had just passed me.

I blinked away the tears, watching as the polychromatic streak began to disappear into the distance. Coming to my senses, the wing muscles began pumping again, sending me on a beeline towards the very mare that was pronounced dead the day before. I wasn’t going to lose her this time.

Oxygen filling my lungs in controlled breaths, I slowly sped up the flapping of my wings, which scooped out the air in front of me and pulled it back, propelling me forward. The violent crashing of the wind rushed past my ears, assailing my eardrums with pure noise. Muscle memory kicked in as years of practice took over, bringing me closer and closer to the Pegasus that sped ahead of me.

My eyes flicked downwards as she flipped upside-down, pulling towards the ground in a sudden dive. I pulled my own wings close to my body, flipping myself upside-down as well to join her.

We both fell for several seconds, the wind screaming past us. She suddenly pulled up, her hooves seemingly brushing the treetops. I threw my wings open, gritting my teeth as they clawed at the air and slowed my descent. I pulled my head back, throwing my weight backwards as I pulled up as well, my pectorals now on fire from the effort of flapping and holding my wings open. Fighting through the pain, I pushed myself a little further, giving me a small burst of speed to allow me to close the distance between her and I.

I grinned victoriously as I pulled up to her hind legs, and then sidled up next to her. I turned to face her, practically shouting over the wind. “Heh! Caught you!”

The same magenta eyes from yesterday turned to meet my jade ones, glazing over momentarily in confusion. Both of our eyes widened in shock as we collided with what seemed like concrete, skipping over the surface of a large lake. We had both been slowly descending, and it had only taken a moment of distraction for us to simply hit the water.

I bounced across the surface, while she did the same, almost imitating the graceful dance of flying fish that leap across a lake’s surface. The world spun into a colorful blur, sending my senses reeling into shock.

Suddenly, everything was underwater, and a giant hand squeezed my consciousness from behind, causing me to black out.

Comments

[Blazer]

Sorry; this chapter is a bit shorter than the others.

[CommanderCupcake]

742172 Too right, mate. (Soap)