//------------------------------// // Aspiring and Flying // Story: Brony Recon: To Live and Love in Equestria // by Freescript the Bard //------------------------------// Storm's POV "Are you sure I can't--" "Nnope!" "Maybe just a little--" "Nnope!" "Not even a teensy, eensy--" "Fer the twentieth time, Storm, ya can't use yer magic to harvest faster!" Applejack exclaimed. I sighed and continued bucking the trees. Caramel had twisted his hoof yesterday, so I volunteered to fill in for him that day. Unfortunately, applebucking had a long history and many earth pony traditions, so I was naturally discouraged from using magic. I felt like Twilight at Winter Wrap Up. So I continued down the line of trees, often taking at least two bucks each to knock every apple off the tree. Not being an earth pony didn't help, as the work was even harder without the strength and durability of the nature-blessed race. But as long as it was for Caramel, then I would pull through this. It wasn't long until I saw my love slightly limping down the hill with a plate of food in his teeth. "Hey, Storm," he greeted, kissing my sweaty forehead, "I, um, thought I should bring you lunch." D'aww. "Thanks, Caramel," I said, taking the plate with my magic and chowing down on a DLT (daisy-lettuce-tomato) sandwich, "this is great! Did you make this?" He nodded, making me d'aww out loud. "I grew the daisies myself," he said, blushing. "Don't try to hide your blush," I said, "it makes you look cute." He smiled and blushed deeper. "Really?" "Yeah, that's part of who you are, and it's part of the reason I love you," I replied, giving him a light kiss. "Storm, I love you too, for your laugh, your magic tricks, and most of all, for you." Despite my perspiration-covered body and the fact we were in the open, he hugged me close and we shared a passionate kiss among the sweet scent of apples. "Ahem," a voice said, bidding us turn to see Applejack smirking at us, "if y'all are done snoggin', ya can help move the carts up to the cellar." Caramel and I gave a nervous chuckle and pulled away. "I'll see YOU at home," I said in a seductive voice, trotting over to the basket-laden carts. "I look forward to it." Kind Greetings' POV My favorite food in Equestria had to be a DLT. The daisies were a far better replacement for bacon, my equine mouth savoring every bit. So there I was, sitting on the balcony, eating a sandwich. For the first time in days, I didn't worry about Sky or Luna, or even the mission. I gasped, a clump of food still in my mouth. "The report!" I rushed to the desk that had been moved into the room, taking out some parchment and slipping on a magnetic bracelet. I was supposed to report back to Cereal and Seth on the fifth day of the mission using my ever-present necklace. I scribbled down the name of each brony and where they ended up, putting Storm, Shift, Rainchaser, and Aegis in Ponyville, and Skyblaze and I in Canterlot. Continuing my report, I wrote a synopsis of the last five days and how negotiations were going with the Princesses. I hesitated, deciding it would be best not to mention the relationship between Skyblaze and Luna. Facehoof. And here I thought I would have a day without thinking about it. I had enough experience from college to know that the public tends to freak out when exposed to something they don't understand. Like an extra-dimensional creature being a suitor to the Princess. So I kept it off-record. Finalizing the report, I rolled up the papyrus and tapped it to the necklace. The crystal and the scroll flashed a white light, the report completely disappearing. Satisfied, I trotted back to my sandwich. I was about to take another bit when the crystal flashed again, spitting out a folded piece of printing paper. I unfolded the reply. Brony Recon, Thank you for the report. This proves that the portal is, in fact, functional. We await another report next week and every week after, similar to Twilight's friendship letters. Thanks again -Cereal Velocity Leave it to Cereal to come up with the most pony way to do things. I guess it would make doing this more relatable to a brony correspondent. In any case, I stowed the letter in a drawer in my desk. Finally, I was able to finish my lunch in peace. Aegis' POV I bucked the tree causing a cascade of apples to come falling down, two landing on my head. Too down to care, I moved on to the next tree. On a normal day, Rain and Rainbow would occasionally fly overhead, doing some aerial maneuver. But they had all but disappeared, Rain giving some excuse of 'royal business'. Ever since Rain learned how to fly, she had been hanging around Rainbow Dash, the two being inseparable. My hopes dropped when I witnessed the two curled up next to each other on the barn roof, sleeping off the day's practice. I never saw Rain being one to swing that way, but in any case, my chances of being with her were next to nothing. Seeing those two together put a heaviness in my hooves. I decided to help the Apple family in the early fall harvest to pass the time and the feeling, but even then my heart still weighed down my mood. It was two days since then, but I still thought about the two mares on the roof. To aspire for either of them would be a literal statement, the two being pegasi. I wasn't jealous of Rainbow, as that is something I don't really respect in anypony, especially myself. Instead, I found myself wishing I could be up on that roof, napping with the two pegasi mares. Wishing I could join them in the sky when they practice. Wishing I could just be near them, and they would notice. It's not that I regretted being an earth pony, but it would help if I were a pegasus. "Y'all alright there, Aegis?" I turned to see Applejack, looking at me with concern. "Yer saggin' a mite. Is somethin' wrong, Sugarcube?" I sighed. "I've been kinda… down, lately." "Depressed is what ah think," she said, "it's about yer friend, Rain, ain't it?" I nodded. "Ah've seen ya lookin' at her. Rainbow too." "I just don't know, Applejack. I tried to tell Rain about how I feel before we came to Ponyville, but I never worked up the courage," I told the farm mare, "Besides, now she's too involved with Rainbow Dash to notice me." "And what do ya feel about Dash?" The question caught me off guard. "I… I don't know. She's kinda pretty and a lot like Rain. But I feel shy when talking to her. It's like I'm…" "Crushin' on her too?" Applejack accused, taking me aback. "Um, kinda… but she doesn't seem the type that would like me." "That's true," she said, "listen, Aegis, Ah want ya to tell Rain how ya feel 'bout her, 'cause Ah think she feels the same way. Ah seen her looking at ya the same way ya look at her." "But… I've been trying to get her attention for a month now," I said, "and plus, she's with Rainbow Dash. How can she love me and be with her at the same time?" "It seems to me yer taking this out o' context," she said with a sly smile. "I don't follow." "Well, the way Ah see it, yer a rather lucky stallion," she exclaimed, "not only do ya have a mare crushin' on ya, but there's another mare who would tag along jus' fer the former. You'd have two mares at yer side who'll love ya just the same." I raised my brow at her. "So you're saying that by being with Rain, Dash would stay for her?" I reviewed, to which she nodded, "but isn't that…" I trailed off, looking for the word. "Polygamy?" she said, surprising me with her vocabulary, "well, Ah ain't gonna say everypony agrees with it, but it ain't illegal." Oh, right. Equestrian law is different. "But… do you really think Rainbow Dash will be okay with it?" "Let me tell ya a little secret," she said, dropping her voice, "Dash will go fer either, if ya get mah drift. Even dated mah brother fer a bit. Ah don't see the problem with somepony who resembles him." It was true, even though I was a darker red. "Thanks, AJ." "No problem, pardner," she said turning away, but stopped, "oh, an' if it comes down to it, Dash prefers top." She trotted quickly away, leaving me dumbfounded. Skyblaze's POV I woke, blinking. Looking at the time, I saw it was only two in the afternoon. I had no idea why I was awake, but I could tell I wasn't going to sleep any time soon. I tried to slide out of bed, but Luna had subconsciously wrapped her hooves around me in the night, and she pulled me closer when I attempted to escape. So there I was, in Luna's death grip, racking my head for a way to get outside for a flight. "Oh, Luna. I love you, but sometimes you hold me down," I whispered to my love. "I am a Princess. It is impossible to hold down that which is not excelling past in the first place," she whispered back, surprising me in her alertness, "would you like to go for a flight, Sky?" I nodded feverishly, "oh, alright. But I am coming with you, now that neither of us will be able to fall asleep again." "I wouldn't have it any other way," I said, rolling out of bed. We stretched our wings and I cricked my neck, Luna opening the window. As soon as the opening was wide enough, I shot past Luna and out into the open sky, traveling at a speed most pegasi would be jealous of. Hmm, why not put my amazing speed to the test, I thought. I began to spiral upward, past the cloud layer and on for another minute before coming to a hover. I sighted a pond and decided that, if something went wrong, it would be best to have a softer landing than the ground. I began my dive. Really, the way that Dash did a Sonic Rainboom was kinda the wrong way. I pulled my forelegs close to my chest, leveled my head, and drew my wings half in, reducing my drag and speeding up beyond terminal velocity. The cone of force began to form and close in around me far earlier than I expected. Mach one in Equestria must be lower than earth, because if I was going this speed back home, a single-engine plane could go faster. I neared the breaking point of the cone, the wind putting tears in my eyes as I concentrated on the rapidly growing blue spot. I felt my body lengthen in the shear force. The sides of the cone closed in. Almost there. The force brushed my wingtips. Almost there. There was one final push and then… "Sky!" I collided with Luna. To be honest, I completely forgot she had come out with me. Sometime during my high-speed dive, my target switched to another point of dark blue. Midnight blue, to be exact. Resistance took over, our speed reduced by it, with the help of a few clouds. We both flapped our wings furiously, trying to get control of our fall. Just as the ground loomed inevitably close, we both flared our wings and glided shakily to a tumbling landing. I got up, shaking my head and looking over at Luna. "Well that was fun." She raised a brow. "Yes, but next time, let us not include mortal peril in such activities." "Ditto," I remarked. Luna giggled and sat down next to me, kissing my nose. "I guess I'm not the only one with bad aim." "What do you--" I kissed her lips, swallowing the oncoming words, "you are rather deviant." "Oh, I'm just getting started," I said, grinning evilly, "oh look, your feathers are all put of sorts." "Don't you dare…" "REVENGE!" I yelled, tackling her and sitting on her chest, "and now, feel my pain…" Her eyes widened in horror. "No, for the love of the Faustic-AAAAAAA!" she screamed as I preened her wings. It took a longer time than mine, her wings being twice as large. Still, the longer I preened, the longer she was tortured. Finally, as I adjusted the last feather, a starry aura surrounded me, throwing me off her and pinning me on the ground. "Now it's your turn, my love," she said in a dark voice. I shrugged and willingly opened my wings. "Go ahead, beautiful." She frowned. "You're… okay with me preening you?" I smiled. "Meh, I've actually come to welcome it," I said, "after all, it feels great when you do it." "You have grown too comfortable with other ponies conducting your sanitary activities." I shook my head. "You are the only one that I would let near my wings," I answered lovingly, "now help a brony out." I waved a wing at her.