//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: The Adventures of Us. // by Wind of the Skies //------------------------------// I follow along quietly. When suddenly I'm scooped up into a hug. “Cute as always.” She nuzzles the top of my head and sniffs lightly. I nuzzle into her chest and smile at this. “You sure you don’t want the job? You’re a good therapy pony.” “I’m pony. This is what we do. Right?” I look up at her uncertainly and she boops my snoot. I go cross eyed and scrunch my muzzle. “If only everypony thought that Windy. If only… You smell of blueberries.” She absentmindedly grabs a brush and starts grooming me. “You help one of the guards again?” I nod and she brushes my mane slowly. I close my eyes and revel in the feeling. Quite happy to simply lie here and get taken care of. She starts humming and I drift off to sleep. When I wake up she has curled around me protectively and fallen asleep herself. I wiggle a bit to free a forehoof. I use it to grab the teddy bear and bring it close. With that done my tummy rumbles and I yawn squeakily. I blink slowly and fall back asleep nuzzling into her side as I do so. The next time I'm woken up it’s by a gray hoof gently nudging me. “It’s time to wake up Windy. You hungry?” My tummy answers her question by rumbling loudly. She laughs lightly. “Come on then. Get up and I'll feed you.” I open my eyes and mumble at her. “No you cant sleep here more. I need to do my job soon. Don’t you?” I frown at this and think. After a moment I nod at her and stand up stretching my little wings as wide as I can while yawning ferociously. “Time to be big again soon? Food first? Please?” I look up at her and blink my little eyes. She smiles down at me and levitates me onto her back. I flop down and examine my tail. She’s really good at brushing me. We trot out of her office and into the cafeteria. “You sure you want to leave Wind? You’re quite good at comforting ponies.” She looks back at me hopefully and I make a silly face. “Can’t stay. Both of me agrees with this. There’s things left unfinished.” We finally make it to the counter and she orders food for both of us. We sit down at a table and a guard rushes over with an excited flap of his wings. I eat slowly and wave a hoof. “Little Wind! Thought you’d be gone by now. Err. Could I hug you?” He shifts around and looks awkward for a few moments. I swallow the bite of food and tackle-hug him so quickly he actually falls back in surprise. “Quick ain’t ya? heh.” He sighs and hugs back carefully. After a few moments he sets me back in my chair and nods at his boss respectfully. I look back to her and shrug before eating once again. “That was nice. But I...” I shake my head and finish eating. “Make me big again please.” my voice has a bit of desperation. From where I have no clue. I'm shaking visibly and looking at her with big puppy eyes. She looks alarmed by this turn of events and nods quickly. Her horn flares up brightly and a bolt leaves it and hits me. When I open my eyes I'm looking over her head. “Thank you Overmare. Uhm. I brought a bounty back. I’ll need the payment now. I...” I shake my head and grimace. “I can’t stay at the Branch for long.” I quickly bring out the bounty on the name thief hound. She scans it and nods. Her horn flashes and a sack of bits appear on the table. “Thank you for the hospitality.” I scoop up the bag and go out the window in a flash. When I next open my eyes I have no clue where I am and I'm panting. I set my saddlebag down and scream loudly before flying back into the air with a ferocity I haven’t felt in a long time. I close my eyes tightly and try to lose myself in some advanced aerial maneuvers. I come out of a triple corkscrew and flip around so I could buck a cloud into nothingness. It had enough static charge in it to create a single bolt that impacts me roughly. I hit a tree hard and shakily make my way up into the air to fly some more. I practice some of the material I saw last time I watched a Wonderbolts show. When I finally come too I'm sitting on the ground hugging my saddlebag close and there’s a mare looking at me in concern. “You alright? I saw your little show there. It was amazing! I mean some of it was old Wonderbolts material but the rest was stuff I haven’t seen before.” She looks abashed at her enthusiasm but sits down next to me. “You alright? I’m not the best at emotional stuff I admit. But I'm a good listener.” I shrug and motion for her to continue talking. “You sure? You look kinda torn up about something.” “It’s nothing I can really explain. What’s your name?” I smile at her ice blue countenance and release my saddlebag. “If you’re sure. Some of those patterns looked like old time combat moves. The other stuff was just elegant beyond belief. What kind of training have you gotten?” She tilts her head at me curiously and I smile. “Not much to be honest. I used to watch the Wonderbolts flight shows when I could. Some were old combat maneuvers to be honest. They do look pretty neat when you’re watching them.” I yawn at her and pull out a flask for a drink. I offer it to her but she shakes her head so I tuck it away. “I’m Wind. Where are we? I just took off in a random direction” “We’re near Cloudsdale.” She replies easily and rustles her wings. “How long has it been since you’ve seen a Wonderbolts show? I’m going to guess not for a while right?” She smiles at me and I relax into the tree slightly. “Not in a long while. I always was impressed by the ponies who fly in it though. It made me wish I could fly like that. So I trained as best as I could.” I stretch my wings out and yawn. “Haven’t flown that hard since Pegasopolis. Darn am I gonna be sore in the morning. What is your name?” I tilt my head curiously and then tilt it more so I fall on my side playfully. “Oof. Meant to do that.” I smirk up at the laughing mare but remain quiet. “Fleetfoot. Wingpony of the Wonderbolts. Wanna get a bite to eat?” She smirks down at me when my eyes widen. “Yep. Thought so.” She offers me a hoof and pulls me up when I grab it. “You are really light.” “It’s nothing. I am getting kind of hungry again though.” My belly rumbles loudly and I laugh. “Lead the way if you please.” She beams at me. “Great! This way.” She shoots off into the distance and I give chase quickly.