//------------------------------// // Flameout Protocol // Story: A Song of Transformation // by Honey Lavender //------------------------------// We’re about a halfway to Canterlot when I signal to Twilight to land on a cloud. I may be able to fly, but I still have next to no endurance; that comes with practice, which I’ve had relatively little of outside of Rainbow’s gruelling lessons. At first she seems irritated, then she notices my rapid panting and sagging form; it’s pretty clear that I’m not gonna be able to go very far without a break. We bank towards our target perch and land in formation, her being the lead pony and myself the wing. “Sorry…” I gasp in between deep breaths. “Still… not much… endurance…” I flop onto my belly, the cloud making a soft spot to lay on. Twilight smiles gently, and then settles down across from me. “Don’t worry about it; I have to remember that you’re not used to the strain of flying. You’ll get used to it, though.” I give her an appreciative glance, and take a few moments to slow my breathing. “So… I noticed the look on your face a few days ago; what was that all about?” I start slowly, not wanting to lose this opportunity to get an insight to Twilight’s thought process. “You looked like you had something you wanted to say…” Twilight seems irritated for a moment, then, with an expression of defeat, looks kindly into my eyes. Her amethyst eyes feel like they’re boring into my soul as she begins to speak. “Oh… that. I was wondering when you were going to ask about it. I…” she trails off, almost as if she’s ashamed of something. “I helped myself to reading that book that was in your bag.” And just like that, Twilight seems to have a huge weight taken off her chest. I can only laugh heartily; it seems that EVERYPONY is drawn to my copy of Fallout: Equestria for some reason. Twilight looks at me strangely as my fit of laughter subsides. “I’m sorry… I just couldn’t help myself. Although I expected you to be a bit more… mad, I guess? What’s so funny?” I gaze at Twilight, wishing desperately that I could deadpan the answer… but after laughing so hard, and with the strain that all of my recent flying has put on my inexperienced body, it’s all that I can do to barely get it out in the first place. “You’re fine,” I begin, still giggling from my laughing fit. The emotional high that I’m on feels like I’m… well, high. Blast this pony body, and its more extreme emotions. “It’s just that you’re not the first to help yourself to a reading of it.” She looks at me, confused. “Discord…” I trail off, but the look on her face tells me that I don’t need to explain further. “Anyway, what about it? Is there something you want to ask me, Twilight?” She looks down, poking the cloud sullenly with a lavender hoof. “When you were addressing your lack of cutie mark, it reminded me of the Crusaders,” she begins explaining, a depressed expression decorating her face, “I couldn’t help but wonder if it’s possible.” Her amethyst eyes bore into me. “If ponies going to war is possible. If us screwing everything we’ve worked to achieve in the last millennium is possible. And if so, who will clean up after us? Will they be able to forgive us?” On this last question, Twilight breaks into an uncontrollable sobbing; all I can do is hug her, and give her a mane to cry in. She’s been my friend through all the shit that Equestria has put me through, so it’s the least I can do to be there for her in her darkest moment- that’s what friends are for, after all. “Oh, Twilight…” I begin, unsure of where I’m headed with this. “Everything’s going to be fine. That story… it’s what we refer to as an alternate universe. As long as the ponies of Equestria remain true to the kind, caring nature that you all have shown me since I’ve arrived here, that story can never come to be. And that's voiding out the fact that it was already voided out when you ascended...” Suddenly, Discord’s words echo in my mind: You’ll know the answer when you see it; what you do with that knowledge is up to you. I begin to have a sneaking suspicion that he’s already figured it out, and is working the board to force me to realize it, too. He hasn’t been orchestrating my misfortunes; he’s been orchestrating the resistance. He had been pointing to Fallout: Equestria, and he’d dropped another hint that should’ve registered sooner: You know, I’d get to reading that if I were you. You never know; the answer could be in the pages! “Hnnnngggg…” I groan as Twilight finally finds her composure once again. She looks at me quizzically. “I should’ve figured it out sooner! The book… it’s the answer. It has the key.” Twilight’s amethyst eyes light up with understanding, as she comes to the same realization as I have. “THE GEMS!” we cry out in unison. Nothing more needs to be said; once we’re back from Canterlot, we’ll have a lot of research to do. It’s a slim chance, but one we have to take regardless- we might be able to use Equestria’s abundantly occurring gems, and a fair amount of magic, to get my jet off the ground. It’s not a complete plan, but it’s the foundation for one. Excitement sending new energy to my wings, I take off with a joyous shout. Twilight follows close behind, and we continue winging our way to Canterlot with renewed vigor. “Wait… what?!” I’ve directed this question to Luna, dumbfounded. “When you arrived here, you triggered a long-lost magic that hasn’t been seen since before we came to power,” Luna explains. “Your very presence has had rippling effects across both this world and your own; your choices have the potential to change the destinies of yourself and everypony else.” I stare blankly, and cease hovering a few feet off the ground. I hadn’t even realized I’d been doing that, either, which surprises me. I’ve gone from being unable to so much as maintain lift, to subconsciously hovering in place… and apparently I still have Equestria’s worst poker face, because Celestia begins laughing. Everyone in the room just stares her direction, unsure what to think of this development. “Luna, he doesn’t know as much of Equestria’s history as the rest of us. He may have come to a level of connection with his current body that would suggest he’s been a pony most of his natural life, but he still needs us to tell him that story.” Celestia has a point; all I know of Equestria’s history has turned out to be 94 percent horse apples. And any story that helps me understand what Luna is telling me is a welcome story. Luna acquiesces, and I settle down to hear their tale. It takes a great deal of time, and when they are finished I feel like I know less than I did when I found myself in Equestria. Luna picks up where she had left off. “Right now, your destiny hangs in limbo. This is not supposed to be; hence your nightmare. Make one decision, and the very reality of your world is altered irreversibly. Make the other decision, and the same is true of THIS world. Furthermore, along the way every decision you make will have similar consequences on a smaller scale…” Luna’s expression softens. “We implore you to keep this in mind, and think carefully whenever you must make a choice.” The room seems to have gotten infinitely stuffier from the gravity of what Luna is saying. Make a decision? What is she talking about? Almost as if on cue, Celestia picks up the line once more. “I wasn’t going to offer you this decision, but in light of the situation I feel I have no choice.” I stare at Celestia, dumbfounded. “When the time comes, you will have two options: go through the portal, never to return, and likely forgetting everything you’ve seen, experienced, and done here. I don't know whether this will also alter the memories of everypony in Equestria, but if it does it will be like you never visited.” Celestia pauses to take a breath, then continues. “Or, you can choose to assume your current form for the rest of your natural life, and remain here in Equestria. I don't know what it will do to your world, but if our theories are correct, the same possibility exists as what might happen to Equestria when you make the other choice. I know it won’t be an easy decision, but you have until the actual transportation to decide.” This is a lot to take in. Fortunately, Luna has my back. “Now go; I’ve arranged for a sky chariot to return the both of you to Ponyville; you were both horribly exhausted when you arrived, and as I seem to understand it, Steve, you have a flight lesson with Rainbow Dash. We wouldn’t want you unable to take part in that now, would we?” Luna gives me a knowing look as we leave. “Faster!” Rainbow Dash is driving me pretty hard this time. From the moment that the chariot had touched down, it’s been hardcore acrobatic training. Flips, loops, rolls… what next? A rainboom?! All sarcasm aside, I don’t actually have that kind of speed, do I? Regardless, I attempt to comply. Altering the angle of my wings, I enter a steep dive, flaring my wings and pulling up at the last second to execute an aileron roll as I climb once more (and yes, I'm still using the earth's terminology for the most part). Suddenly, I have an idea. I corkscrew through the air, then start a rapid clockwise aileron roll as I perform the flight path of a flipping loop. My brain hurts from processing the rapidly changing vectors that constitute the changes of direction I have to take, but it’ll be worth it; on the way back from Canterlot, Twilight had shared an excerpt from a book with me- how the Wonderbolts create their thundering cloudtrail. Turns out it’s actually pretty easy, at least on paper. I’m about to find out if it’s equally easy in application. I stop spinning and ignite the cloudtrail as I enter one last loop, this one larger than the rest. I can only imagine the look on Rainbow Dash’s face as I do this, though, because I'm unable to look for myself as I enter the dive that she had prescribed. I plunge towards the lush green field where I had landed when I first arrived in Equestria, recognizing the very same sights and emotions I had experienced in my dreams as I do so. Attempting to fulfill Dash's instructions, I force my wings to assume the slim-delta shape that had made supersonic flight possible for the Concorde on Earth, and I begin to accelerate rapidly. As I near the point two thirds of the way down from the peak altitude of my flight path, I prepare to flare my wings for one last loop, on which I will rotate while orbiting back towards the library. Fate, however, has other plans. There’s a loud crack of thunder, and I suddenly accelerate further. I flare my wings in response, pulling up and looking over my shoulder to see what had been the source of the sound. The cloudtrail ends abruptly, and a one-half scarlet, one-half silver halo arcs away from that location. No, not halo, I realize too late, shockwave. The concussive blast hits me, sending me into an uncontrolled tumble. My tail is smoldering and I’m being trailed by a pair of flame trails that make me think of the Delorean from Back to the Future. Unable to recover from my off-course tumble, not for a lack of trying, I notice that I’m headed for the water reservoir. All I have time to do is mutter “oh shit” and suck in one last breath of air. I make impact with the water, and the sweet darkness of unconsciousness washes over me instantly…