//------------------------------//
// -81- Honey and Peaches 
// Story: The Anthropologist 
// by Weavers of Dreams 
//------------------------------//

"Hey, would you like me to do a barrel roll before we land?" Monkey asked his passengers.

"Is that where you spin really fast?" Henry asked nervously. He loved the flying, but he didn't want to do anything too frightening.

"Common misconception," the stallion laughed. "That's an aileron roll. A barrel roll is where you make wide loops in the air as though you were skimming along the inside of a barrel."

"Oh," Henry nodded, understanding most of that. "W-will we be flying upside down still?"

Monkey nodded. "Just for a little bit."

Now the colt seemed conflicted, a gentle hoof through his mane reassured him. "Don't worry, Henry. I promised not to let you go."

The colt looked up into his adopted mother's eyes and nodded. "Okay. It'll be... fun?"

"You got that right, kid," Monkey chuckled as he began to put some more distance between them and the airship. One he deemed they were a safe distance away, he began picking up speed and arching his plane in an upward angle. He could practically hear his passengers tense up as he angled the assent steeper and steeper.

Henry felt as though he were moments away from panicking as he felt gravity shift around him. He felt heavy. Really Heavy. His mother held him tighter, and he could feel her heart start to beat a little faster. He dared not make a sound, though the pressure he felt in his chest probably would have made it come out as a girly squeak. He was also grateful he hadn't drank a lot of water that day. Come to think of it, they didn't even have breakfast, and it was way past lunch by now.

Lyra herself was glad she had an empty bladder. She only prayed she wasn't crushing her son as the climb made her more and more tense. But she had to keep up a brave face for her colt. Butterflies were flapping in her stomach something awful, but she just clenched her teeth and kept her eyes wide open above her forced grin.

Soon enough they were upside down and staring at the ocean, which made the two non-winged ponies suck in a deep breath. They seemed to hang there forever, unable to look away from the long drop. Then came the descent.

Both Lyra and Henry shrieked in terror as the plane arched downwards at an alarming rate. Monkey, however, was laughing his head off as he listened to their reactions.

Though, it was fascinating to both non-flying ponies. As they descended, they experienced a sensation of weightlessness that made Henry's cap seem to float off his head, and Lyra's mane lifted in an eerie fashion. But, of course, this only lasted a few seconds.

Monkey had leveled out the plane again and everything fell back into place. Well, Henry's cap was a little askew, but that was quickly corrected.

"Well?" Monkey inquired, looking back to give his passengers a broad smile. "How was that?"

"Again," henry shrieked wildly, clapping his hooves. This surprised both adults, but Monkey complied nonetheless. Twice more he performed barrels rolls, and twice more did the mother and son scream in terror with smiles on their faces. It was like a roller coaster ride without any tracks.

"Well, we're getting a little low on fuel, folks," the pegasus finally had to admit, much to his guest's disappointment. "This will conclude today's flying."

After landing, Henry practically oozed out of the cockpit once the canopy had been opened. He fell upon the wing and then slid off onto the deck. Lyra was quick to see if he was alright, but then she noticed the goofy grin on his face.

"That was awesome," Henry chuckled, making his mother smile. "But, let's never do that again... like... ever. Oaky?"

"I'll think about, sweetie," Lyra kissed his nose and helped him back onto his hooves. "I'm so proud of you today, Henry."

"Aw, mom, not in public," Henry smiled a bit before developing a small fit of dry heaves.

The unicorn promptly began patting his back. "That's it. Let it all out, kiddo."

"'Ey, mifta, a' yu giffen poniff widef in yu pwetty pwane?" A chubby little unicorn filly had seemingly appeared from nowhere, skidding clumsily across the tarmac as if in a race for her life. Well, except for the broad smile that adorned her freckled, dark honey face. The poor thing tripped over her own hooves and began tumbling rapidly in the their direction. Bouncing, even.

She came to stop when Lyra snatched her up in her hooves. "Whoa. Easy there, small fry."

The filly just gave her a lopsided, toothy smile and twisted about in the grip until she was looking at Monkey. "I faw yu flying wiff dese uffer poniff. Can mi and mi mama haff a wide too?"

The pegasus couldn't help but smile as he apologized. "Awe. Not now, little filly. I need to refuel and do a little maintenance after all those stunts I pulled. I'm sorry if that upsets you."

The little unicorn frowned a bit. "Ah. It'f okay, mifta. I juf wan'ed mi mama to haf fun. Fhe be fo fad fince her affident."

Having recovered some, Henry gave the filly a curios tilt of his head. "What's wrong with your voice?"

That earned him a tap on the nose and a disapproving glare from Lyra. "Henry. Apologize, now."

"I'm sorry," he quickly replied, folding his ears back. "It's just that... you sound kind of like my sis... new sister... Twist. Only a bit more..."

The filly giggled, cutting him off and surprising the adult unicorn. "I know. It'f weiwd. Mi mama fayf I ned pwactife talking. Fhe twyf teafhing me. I've gotten mufh bedda too. That'f what mi mama tellf mi."

Lyra blinked and gave the filly a tiny squeeze. Almost like toy, the filly squealed in delight. "Ah. Such a sweetie little Filly. You must be the brightest little star in your mama's sky. What's your name?"

"Precious, where are you? Please don't run off like that. You know mommy can't keep up," a voice called out, causing Lyra's head to whip around in its direction as her pupils shrank to pinpricks.

"No," she found herself gasping as she set the filly down next to Henry. She stood up onto all fours and watched as a mare came into view.

Staggering, actually, a unicorn mare with peach fur and a strawberry mane rounded a stack of crates, looking about frantically. Then she spotted the filly of her distress. "Oh. There you are, Precious. Stay put this time, please."

"You!" Lyra shrieked, lunging across the gap between them so that she was nose-to-nose with this new mare. The mare was scared out of her wits by the sudden action, lowering herself until her belly almost touched the deck. By this point, the mint unicorn was baring her teeth and growling. "What are you doing here?"

"I-I-I was l-looking f-for my daughter," the peach mare gulped and whimpered. "Who are you? I'm sorry if we caused any trouble. I accept full responsibility for any damage caused."

"Like you did when you got my brother killed?" Lyra shouted so loud that it echoed about the hanger, causing all work to come to a standstill.

The mare looked aghast and paled a substantial amount as the words rang in her ears. After a moment, a spark of recognition ignited a memory in her head. "Lyra? L-little Lyra Heartstrings? Is that you?"