We meet in the locker room and Spitfire glares at us. “This is the first year we haven’t had a publicity stunt as our guest. We will wow them. And with any luck we should have fun out there.” She flares her wings and beats them twice and the others repeat the gesture. I noticeably do not. Fleetfoot stares for a second before shrugging and tossing me a flight suit.
“Wear it with pride. When this is over you’ll always be welcome here.” She hits me gently with a wing and starts pulling hers on. Crazy pony. I too start pulling on the flight suit of blue. After flapping my wings to make sure nothing was catching I wait for the others to get ready and fill me in on the plan. Spitfire ruffles my mane good-naturedly and a blue stallion slaps me lightly on the back as we trot towards the exit to fly, Spitfire telling me the plan along the way.
“Basically we’re doing the practice all over again. Just try to keep up with the lead pony and this’ll be better than last year’s show automatically.” She smirks crookedly at me and nudges me sideways with a wing and I stumble right into Swiftwing.
“Sorry. I’ll watch where I'm going next time.” Swiftwing mutters to me staring out the door. It’s a painfully bright day out there after the dimmer lights of the changing room. If I perk my ears I can hear the gentle roar of hundreds of ponies talking to each other. A gentle breeze washes over the crowd and they quiet down expecting something. Which they get when we soar through the air overhead at to speed as we perform aerial maneuvers in such a speed I was having a bit of trouble keeping up. At one point I ended up linking hooves with Fleetfoot and we spiral around briefly before separating and swooping down low over the crowd again. We twirl and flip with all the grace of an acrobat as we awe the crowd with our flying.
I laugh happily as we continue the show. Most fun I’ve had in years. Unlike the hollow joy that comes from the foalification spell, this hard almost painful flight is the clearest thing I will remember for a century. Life isn’t about the simple joys, life is about moments like these. Where you put all your effort in simply because you can. Because, you’re alive. The cheering of the crowd carries me through the show. The admiration of the many is the wind beneath my wings once again and I scream in exhilaration as I carry out the tightest turn I can manage into a dive so fast I can almost feel my feathers ripping out. But then, altogether too soon the show ends and I have to land. I’m shaking, my mind screaming at me to take off again and keep going, that flight is the only option. I manage a few weak flaps before a firm hoof lands atop my back and I freeze.
“That’s enough Wind. You’ve done enough. More than enough.” My wings twitch feebly at the voice before I’m dragged into the shade. “You about made us work to keep up.” A water bottle is pushed into my mouth and I drink the water slowly. A breeze curls in and caresses my outstretched wings. I pant and focus on the brown hoof with the water bottle.
“Been awhile since I’ve dealt with this, that type of reaction is rare nowadays. Overflight is no big issue however so they should be fine.” The hoof pulls back and swaps the bottle for another which I greedily take into my hooves and drink as well. The hoof ruffles my mane goodnaturedly and I glance at its owner. A brown stallion with a white mane stands there with a smile. “I’m Driftwood, the resident medic for the Wonderbolts. It was quite a show this year.”
I close my eyes and let my wings droop. “Thanks… its been awhile since I flew like that.” I lie down and the breeze picks up in intensity for a brief instant before dropping off entirely. “Can’t say it wasn’t the most fun I've had in ages though.” I give a devilishly tired smirk before taking a nap.
When I wake up it’s dark outside and I’m in a bed. It’s warm and comfortable with a fuzzy plush laying next to me. After a moment of stilled breathing I check to make sure it is a plush. When I'm sure that I'm not sharing a bed with a pony yet again I stretch my wings out and grab it bringing it within my hooves to squeeze. It squeaks pleasingly and I go back to sleep. It was very thoughtful of them to do that for me. What seems like seconds later I'm woken up by a blue hoof ruffling my mane.
“Wakey wakey. You probably will wanna get back onto the road before the captain decides we need to keep you. That involves a whole ‘nother thing you shouldn’t deal with.” Fleetfoot speaks loudly and yanks the blanket away. I blink blearily and get up stretching my wings widely. “Dang, do you have reach with those. Almost makes me feel inadequate.” She sets my saddlebags on the bed with a plushie Wonderbolt. It kinda looks like Swiftwing to be honest. “We figured to give you a gift. So we did.” I shrug and put it in my empty saddlebag with it’s head sticking out. Nice.
I smile at Fleetfoot and settle my bags on my flank. “It’s been real fun. Thanks for the memories.” Her turn to shrug as I open the window and fly out. What a pleasant detour that was. But eternal as always is the law of all good things coming to an end. I shrug start flapping my way to the Dragonland. That wyvern needs to be dealt with. It’s still early in the morning, the moon peeks through the clouds still. Its comforting glow lighting my path to the distant country the dragons call their own. I flap my fatigued wings until I can no more and I rest upon a cloud a breeze blowing it north. With a bit of gentle redirection I start floating on a more westerly path. I stretch my wings out from time to time to test how sore they are. I look down at the dusty plains rolling underneath me and I smile softly,
“Sands how I hear your call, even here I feel the grit beneath my feathers. One day maybe...” I hum and sort through my saddlebags idly. The blue plushy smiles at me encouragingly and I boop its nose quietly. “Keep on smiling you. It’s cute and I like it.” I roll my eyes at it in a silly manner and rest until I can fly once more. A few minutes pass and I start playing with the plushy idly, making it soar through the air and making wooshing noises with my mouth. It passes the time quickly and soon I can stretch my wings once again without the tearing pain. I put the plushy back in my saddlebag and get up stretching my wings out luxuriously. Feels nice. I smirk and fall through the cloud with a whoomph. I flare my wings to catch the wind and rise above majestically, soaring through the sunny sky with a light cheer.