//------------------------------//
// Chapter Nine:  The Next Milestone 
// Story: Sky Dancer, the First Flying Unicorn 
// by Scroll 
//------------------------------//

Feather Wind and Star Breeze both decided to take a break from his storytelling for a good several hours. They flew around in the sky and talked about all sorts of other things, mostly personal life business and, for once, it was Star Breeze doing most of the storytelling. She talked about things she eventually wanted to do in life and some boys she had a crush on.

    One problem she had in her life when it came to socialization stemmed from her parents’ frequent roaming about. They literally lived on an airship that flew back and forth all across Equestria which delivered both cargo and passengers.

    Sometimes her father would be hired to take care of weather problems. A common example was winter wrap up in several towns and cities. When Feather Wind was hired for such tasks, he often took care of it in a matter of a few short hours. Sometimes it was too fast considering certain things like animal life waking up in the area so the effort needed to be adjusted in some cases.

    Of course, there was Stern Wing doing her own thing too. Her multiple jobs didn't always keep her with her family. Sometimes she was contractually obligated to fly off on her own to take care of business. Sometimes she would be gone for weeks at a time, and sometimes it was Feather Wind gone for almost as long. At times when neither parent could take care of her, Star Breeze was left in the hooves of many potential friends or family members.

    While this frequent travel strained Star Breeze's relationships with any pony other than her parents, she admitted that she enjoyed traveling. In just a few short years of her life, she saw many kinds of terrain, cultures, towns, cities, and creatures. She felt privileged. She befriended a few that were temporary passengers on their airship. Sometimes she still wrote them letters and, over the years, she gained a growing complex network of various friends with whom she wrote letters back and forth. Star Breeze grew rather adept at long-distance relationships due to many years of practice. It required a lot of patience to wait for those letters to be delivered back and forth, but it gave her a reason to wake up excited every morning.

    As the process continued, some of them started writing to each other. Star Breeze felt like she was the bridge that filled the gap between many ponies from distant areas across Equestria. Her friendship gave them the incentive to think beyond their local homes.

    Due to frequent contact, some of the mail carriers themselves became Star Breeze's friends, not the least of which included Dunken Doo.

    For various reasons, Star Breeze enjoyed frequent mailing discounts but, even with that, the mail delivery service still made a lot of money off of her.

    As for how Star Breeze gained her money, she earned it by an allowance from her parents, tips from passengers in exchange for odd jobs and sometimes she delivered letters herself since her home was traveling back and forth across Equestria anyway. When she was in the neighborhood, she was allowed to deliver letters herself, including her own letters sometimes. It was just another excuse for her to see her friends.

    She heard many stories from some of those passengers or other places that she visited. Star Breeze wasn't just friends with ponies from her own age group. Being as young as she was, her friends were more often older ponies, sometimes even very elderly ponies. In general, it was the elder ponies that had the most stories to tell, and Star Breeze was usually endlessly fascinated by them.

    “I understand my life has some drawbacks compared to others,” Star Breeze said after a sip of water from the pond near the waterfall, “but what I've gained in return cannot be measured. I want you to know that just in case you have any doubt about it. I love my life, Father, and I have both you and my mother to thank for it. Regardless of any hardship you tell me about for now and the rest of your story, know that I personally consider all of it worth it. I am indeed benefiting from the hardships you endured before, and it is wonderful.”

    Feather Wind sat down next to the pond as he said, “I am very pleased to hear that. I love you, Star Breeze, and I love to see you happy. I also know your life isn't perfect, but I've traveled about long enough to know that no pony else has a perfect life either. Even Celestia.

    “Actually, she's got a whole host of problems to deal with. Enough, in fact, she can barely see straight at the end of the day due to her fatigue. She tries to hide it under a brave smile, but I know by now the burdens of immortality or having so many ponies look up to you for guidance.”

    “Have you ever met the princess in person?” Star Breeze questioned.

    Feather Wind looked at her strangely. “Of course I have, on many occasions. Actually, I've met her right in front of you a couple of times.

    “Hmm.” He looked corner-wise up. “But I suppose you were pretty young back then. I guess it doesn't surprise me that you would not remember, now that I think about it.”

    Star Breeze thought on it, then recalled with a bit of a distant look, “She's the one with the rainbow flowing mane, correct?”

    “I thought every pony knew that,” Feather Wind figured as he looked back at his daughter. “That said, not every pony has seen it in person like you have.”

    Star Breeze closed her eyes slowly as she thought back. “I barely recall a moment when I saw her standing on a balcony shortly after she raised the sun. I was hiding somewhere, observing her. I think I just wanted to watch her raise the sun just once. I believe she had a golden aura around her very tall horn.

    “It was . . . beautiful but, after that, I continued to sit there and observe her when she floated a brush to her mane and stroked through it several times as she hummed to herself. Her voice was lovely, and I recall being enchanted.

    “I must say, the brush didn't seem to have any effect. Her mane didn't look any straighter with each brushstroke. It just continued to flow. I think it was more of a ritual of hers.”

    “That's all that's needed, I suppose,” Feather Wind figured. “Sometimes the rituals we do help us to prepare for our day. I'm sure it's relaxing for her. It's kind of like meditation is for me.”

    “At one time I think she spotted me.

    “As a matter of fact, I'm almost certain. She froze in mid-stroke of her mane and her humming stopped. One of her eyes, the left side I think, looked right at me. The other side was covered by her flowing mane.

    “At first she looked startled so I felt startled too. I wanted to fly away but, for some reason, I just froze.

    “After a few seconds her wide-eyed, startled expression relaxed and she even seemed amused to notice me. She continued to stare at me for several more seconds as she resumed brushing her mane and hum softly out into the wind.

    “Part of me felt embarrassed to be caught like that but another part of me melted with pleasure. That song was so soothing.”

    Feather Wind smiled warmly. “That's nice to hear. You shared a nice, special moment with the princess. As much pleasure as you felt, I think she felt the same on some level. You probably cheered her up too, even if it was a bit intrusive on her privacy but I think she knew you meant no harm, that you were only curious.”

    “Well, anyway . . .” Star Breeze gave a side glance to her father, “. . . get on with your story. I don't want to be your age by the time you finish. Part of me thinks this story is just starting to get good.”

    “Starting to?” Feather Wind reflected questioningly.

    “Well I already knew from the beginning you were going to fly someday. You've been doing it all my life. That's no shock to me. I also knew about your cloak. That's no surprise to me either. You're wearing it right now.

    “Beyond this point, however, I sense I have considerably fewer spoilers so, for me, that's what makes this phase more exciting. At this point all I can tell you is that I eventually get born, you marry my mother at some point, you join and then leave the Wonderbolts for some reason, you acquire that gem you wear around your neck practically all the time,” Star Breeze rolled her eyes with that announcement, “we get our own airship, and the rest we all know, so how about you get on with the parts I don't know.”

    “Very well then,” Feather Wind indulged.



xoxo



    {I think I can safely say that the next major milestone of my life happened about four years after I got my cutie mark. I'll go over the gist of the most important things that happened during that time.

    {Flight training continued, of course, for about three and a half years but, after that, Sky Dancer grew too busy with the Wonderbolts to devote more time to your mom and me. The principle reason for that was he finally became a full-fledged Wonderbolt. I had seen a bunch of their shows in the interim so I had a basis of comparison between them and Sky Dancer and I knew, deep down, he was going to make it into the Bolts.

    {It's kind of difficult to explain why I knew that. He was very good. I saw that first hoof, but I've also seen the rest of the Bolts in various shows. They were very good too. It was hard to tell you what separates him from them. The only thing I could say was the fact that we both had such an innate connection to the sky. We both felt like it was a part of us. That might have been true for the rest of the Bolts as well, but I couldn't say the same about the rest of the recruits or reserves.

    {Sky Dancer had something that some of the other reservists lack, and the only word I could think of was a spirit and innate connection to the sky.

    {It was an instinct, you could say, but I just knew he'd make it into the Bolts, and he is the reason why I can rightly claim that you do indeed have a family relative in the Bolts, in this case on your mother's side of the family. I almost made it myself, but I dropped out and I'll get more into that later.

    {After Sky Dancer grew too busy for us, we figured I had already learned enough from him to continue my own practices. 

    {I remember sitting with him on top of a cloud one day as we both watched a sunset together. Both of us spoke very few words to each other. It felt like we didn't need to. We just understood each other on some innate level. We barely even glanced at each other. We just stared into the sunset, each of us knowing that things were going to change after that day but, for some reason, deep down, it didn't feel like goodbye. I almost believe that we had a connection so deep that neither of us feared separation. In such a case we'd continue to feel each other from a distance.

    {As unlikely as it may sound, I hope you find somepony that you can bond with on such a deep level. It really is quite a comfort.

    {Sky Dancer . . . I don't know why I chose that name for my first fictional poem. I guess something about it called to me when I wrote it. Maybe I heard it in the wind. I could imagine it said, at least on a subconscious level, “His name is Sky Dancer and he, too, is one of us.”

    {As for me, I continued my studies of course. I actually got pretty good at it over the years. I crammed all kinds of scholastic knowledge up in my head which I rarely found useful in real life.

    {Of course, my true passion had always been flying.

    {In the later years of my flight training, Sky Dancer backed off more and more as we seemed to have a good hoofle on our situation but, as time went on, there were some consequences to becoming too good at my art.

    {For you see, in all that time, your mother had yet to unlock her own cutie mark. It wasn't for lack of trying either, but I suppose you could claim her attempts did not have a lot of variance to it. I guess she was so caught up in flying and her dream of being a Wonderbolt someday that she kept on at it long past the time it became relatively clear this was not her destiny.

    {I think that she eventually realized she'd never be able to keep up with me and, I have to tell you, she was a really-really strong flier. I was pretty sure her wing flaps could cause enough wind to knock over a small building if she wanted to. She was hale and healthy. Perhaps she was a bit lacking in the maneuverability department due to her size but that's why we practiced.

    {But, as time went on, it became clear to her that there was no way she could keep up with me. Not when it came to flying. If somepony like her could not keep up, one of the strongest and healthiest horses out there, then I think she eventually gave up on the Bolts as well.

    {I don't really know when it happened and she never told me. Maybe it was something she didn't know either. It was probably something that she gradually realized over time. She had a different attitude about it at the beginning compared to the end.

    {In the beginning, there was a sense of excitement in her eyes. A sense that she was taking the necessary steps to one day achieve her dream. Back then she was filled with foalish wonder, and it made her spirit light and soar.

    {Over time, however, I saw a gradual shift in her eyes. At first, it looked depressed, but it then shifted into some kind of bittersweet acceptance.

    {Your mother continued to fly with me as best she could but, by then, I think the purpose changed. No longer was she really trying to keep up with me in order to get into the Bolts. She flew with me just to be with me, I think. She flew with me so we could both do something together, something she knew we both thoroughly enjoyed.

    {I pretended not to notice this change in her eyes but I was definitely one to pay close attention to her reactions. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to rub it in. Deep down, we both knew the truth about our situation. It didn't need to be said.

    {For the longest time I expected jealous rage from her but what I saw instead was tender affection tinged with a bit of regret. She loved me, I could tell, but we also both saw a diverging path between us.

    {No matter how much you love somepony, they don't always necessarily share your destiny. She had one of her own but I felt like I was holding her back somehow. She stayed with me longer than she should have because she simply wanted to stay.

    {I think she didn't care about her destiny as much as most other ponies would. First, it was the Wonderbolts, then it was me. She kept finding new excuses to delay her true destiny.}

    “But . . .” Star Breeze almost objected. One calm look at her from her father, however, stilled her tongue. What she knew about her mother and what her father was telling her now seemed at odds but then it occurred to her that he would probably explain later on, so she bade quietly, “Continue.”

    {We were both growing up, and already she was far older than most ponies would be and still lack her cutie mark. I never saw her complain about it. That came more from her peers instead.

    {I remember how others sometimes asked her, “Are you really even trying?” or “Don't you care about finding your true talent or destiny?”

    {She kept assuring them she was fine, and I kind of think she meant it. She had something in the meantime that made her content in delaying pursuit of her true self.

    {Since we married each other later on, you could also argue that she was, in fact, pursuing her true destiny. Just another side of it, is all, and deep down I think she sensed what she was really meant to do. I saw examples, glimmers of it, many times over the years.

    {Then, one day, everything changed between us. I remember exactly how it started too.}



xoxo



    Feather Wind flew to a stop, hovering in mid-air. As he did so, his body glowed with silver energy, using his telekinesis to keep himself suspended like that. For him, that was the best option to hover in place.

    “What's up?” Stern Wing asked curiously as she flew up to her friend then flapped to hover in place.

    “The winds have changed,” Feather Wind announced as he looked about in a searching, mystified way.

    “Well of course they have! You've been controlling them all day,” Stern Wing pointed out.

    “No. It's not that. It's something else.”

    Feather Wind closed his eyes, paused and listened. He felt the winds shift, and it communicated to him a minor form of danger.

    “A storm,” he eventually said as he opened his eyes again. “A storm is coming.”

    “Really?” Stern Wing asked then looked around. She eventually spotted something that helped to confirm that theory. She saw a pink flying pegasus pushing a dark cloud away, then she said, “Stay here. I'm going to go ask her something.”

    Stern Wing curved a bit down and zoomed away towards the other pegasus who was at a lower altitude initially but steadily climbing up.

    While Stern Wing flew away, Feather Wind channeled another ability he started to master over the last few years, the ability to hear conversations at a great distance. There was a delay, and the greater the distance, the greater the delay, but he heard voices in the wind. Voices that did not belong to the wind itself. Instead, it was the voices of others carried by the wind.

    This technique was not perfected yet. Some voices were too quiet to hear. Other voices came in louder, especially if they sang.

    Feather Wind did not catch all of the conversation, but enough to get the gist of it.

    That pink pegasus was actually quite startled to find another pegasus flying in this air space. She thought everypony had been warned already. The dark cloud she was carrying was to join with a set of others. Together it would create a storm. A scheduled storm.

    How did I miss that? Feather Wind wondered to himself. The way this pink pegasus was talking, the warning about the storm should have been obvious by now. In that case, how did we miss it every single time until now? Surely we haven't been that busy in the sky . . . have we?

    Feather Wind looked towards the sun and was surprised how far it had advanced in the sky. In fact, it was nearly sunset.

    Huh. Wow. I guess we have been busy today.

    Stern Wing flew back up to her friend in alarm and announced upon arrival, “You're right! There's a storm coming soon. Indeed, a little too soon to remain safe to fly up here. There isn't any shelter for several miles as well and, if we don't land soon, we'll get caught in the storm unless you can hold it back.”

    “Perhaps for a moment, but that would require constant concentration,” Feather Wind reported to his friend. “If I don't remove the source of the storm then struggling against it would be a never-ending battle. That would be like swimming against a river current.”

    “In that case, follow me. The one that I spoke with, Puffy Cloud-Mix, said that she saw a cave somewhere nearby that we can take shelter in until the storm passes. The thing is, I think I spotted it as well so I might be able to find it again.”

    “Let's not tarry, then,” Feather Wind agreed with a bit of urgency in his voice. “Lead on, my friend.”

    “This way!”

    Stern Wing dove down. Feather Wind followed her, ceasing to glow as he proceeded. The winds around him suddenly shot down. He spread his Mist Cloak to catch it.

    “YOU DO REALIZE, OF COURSE, THAT WE'LL BE STUCK IN THERE ALL NIGHT TONIGHT,” Stern Wing shouted over her left shoulder in an attempt to be loud enough to be heard while they dove.

    Feather Wind did not say anything. He just remained focused. He even blew a little wind ahead of himself to accelerate her pace. He eased off of that as they neared the ground. She probably had to search the area for a bit before either of them found it.

    Fortunately for them, it only took them a few minutes but, even during that time, the storm winds started to pick up. Feather Wind concentrated to bring up a resisting force wind against the storm winds. For now, he succeeded but he knew the task was only going to get more difficult as time went on.

    But they found the cave before it got too difficult. Stern Wing was the first to land in front of the cave and she held a leg back to Feather Wind to indicate he should stay back for a bit.

    “Stay back. I'm going to investigate this first and make sure the coast is clear. This cave is large enough to be a bear cave, after all.”

    “Proceed,” Feather Wind bade, then it occurred to him that he should help light her path. He closed his eyes and concentrated on a spell. At first, a light source ignited around his horn but then the light hovered off of his horn and proceeded to float into the cave.

    Stern Wing did not expect that but accepted it quickly. She waited for the light to enter first then peered into the cave from around the corner carefully. She looked left, she looked right. The coast seemed clear so far.

    The light Feather Wind created continued to float further into the cave. She waited until she could see through every shadowy corner before finally moving about and into the cave to take a closer look.

    Stern Wing remained in silence for several minutes before calling back, “Okay. The coast is clear. You can come in now.”

    While Feather Wind waited, he protected himself with a force barrier even while also maintaining concentration on the floating light within the cave. The barrier would have been invisible if it weren't for the rain. Each drop helped to highlight the limits of the barrier and, as the rain came down harder and harder, the barrier became more and more visible, even started to glow a bit.

    That all changed when Feather Wind entered the cave. At that point, his horn dimmed somewhat as concentration on the energy barrier ceased but he still maintained the floating light orb.

    “Come here,” Stern Wing bade. “I think I found the most comfortable spot.”

     Feather Wind obeyed. Joining by her side, he eventually settled down and rested beside her. Stern Wing also settled down next to her friend.

    She had quite a bit more bulk next to Feather Wind. Not fat in most respects. Simply bigger, and that meant she had more blood and warmth passing through her system.

    Feather Wind, in contrast, was shivering. He may have successfully defended himself from the rainstorm but it was still cold in the cave nonetheless. The chilly stormy air did little to help alleviate the situation.

    To help rectify this, Feather Wind shot a constant beam of energy into a stone a few feet away from them for four straight seconds. The magical laser, which emitted from the tip of his horn, heated the stone in seconds and also caused it to emit a warm glow.

    With that done, he rubbed his hooves together then held it out towards the warmth of the glowing stone.

    Stern Wing, by his side, wrapped her right wing around her friend and pulled him closer. Sharing body heat, she figured, would also help them endure this cold and stormy night.

    Feather Wind physically shivered for several more minutes but inwardly he felt an intense glow from his own emotions. This proximity to his friend intoxicated him, especially with the scent of her that filled his nostrils which was enhanced by a wet mane.

    “Aw! So romantic!” Star Breeze said in a gushy way.

    {It was. You have so little idea how warm a firestone can feel or how comforting a loved one's body heat can feel when next to a cold storm raging just outside your reach. It's like seeing a light in the darkness. The contrast makes it stand out all the more. It made that moment feel all the cozier while next to each other.

    {As time went on, I felt I could no longer restrain my emotions.}

    Feather Wind turned to look at Stern Wing's face for twelve long seconds before suddenly, and probably unexpectedly, kissed her.

    Sure enough, she did look taken aback in surprise.

    {But I noticed she was not horrified or disappointed. Just shocked was all but, as the moment settled, I saw her cheeks and bottom of her eyes glow with emotion. Clearly there was an embarrassment but something else as well. Something not easy for her to admit because she was more accustomed to restraining her emotions.

    {Beneath that, however, there was love.

    {Your mother had always been such a tomboy. She could tackle other boys with the best of them, and trust me . . . I'll elaborate more on that in my next story but, for now, I just want to say how masculine she usually acted.

    {Your mother is very strong and assertive, and I'm not going to sit here and tell you that that was just a mask. In no way did she ever pretend to be strong. Instead, she actually was, and still is, that strong, but I also suspected it wasn't the whole truth.

    {I've studied her very intently over the years and, similar to Sky Dancer, I think I've grown to understand her on a deeper and more spiritual level. There's something more to her, too. Something she's usually afraid to reveal to anypony else. A soft and deeply feminine side that I always suspected was there and desperately wanted to be seen.

    {Throughout all these years, you see, I never forgot one very important thing . . . no matter how she acted, no matter how tough she seemed on the outside . . . through it all I never once forgot about the fact that she was a girl, and I loved her for it. I craved to see more of it. That's probably why I acted on that emotion and kissed her for the very first time.

    {As she continued sitting there reeling from shock and glowing crimson with embarrassment and love, I contemplated the irony of our situation. Usually I was the soft and timid one but, in a moment when I finally showed some bold initiative, that just happened to be the moment that revealed her own soft and feminine side. It made me wonder if we would always remain on opposite ends of the spectrum in that regard, even if we temporarily switched sides.

    {Maybe, by being bold, it was the only way to bring out her other self.

    {As I said before, in no way did she ever pretend to be strong, but that other side of herself was left rejected and starving. I think she needed to bring it out far more than she would admit to herself.

    {Her personality made her a natural protector so it felt strange and uncomfortable for her to reveal her own vulnerable side. Usually, her first instinct would be to hide it as soon as possible. The only possible exception was to be with somepony she trusted to the very deepest level of her being. Only with such a pony did she feel it was safe enough to reveal her fullest self, and I knew deep down she would feel infinitely grateful for that.

    {Finally somepony who truly knew her and accepted her for every fiber of her being. Finally somepony she knew for sure who would not judge her. Just accept her and enjoy her company, whatever she might be.

    {That brief moment of assertiveness on my part also revealed something else to her as well. The reason she felt safer to be her fuller self with me was because I proved to her that I could be strong too when I needed to be. The only time she could feel safe enough to reveal her vulnerable side was in privacy with the one she totally trusted and somepony who proved to her that that pony could protect her too.

    {In that way, we covered each other exactly the way we needed to. In every possible way that mattered, we were a perfect fit for each other. Even our flaws signaled that.

    {Finally she nuzzled close against me, rubbing her face against mine. I could practically still smell her embarrassment, but she was starting to relax about it.

    {I knew, at that point, she crossed over a barrier in her heart she could never cross back. From that point on our relationship reached the next milestone. From that point on we were far more than mere friends and, no matter what, we knew we would always protect and be there for each other, come what may.}

    “I will always protect you,” Stern Wing said with a voice quivering with emotion which included, among other things, very deep sincerity.

    {In hindsight, I very much doubt she fully realized on that day how difficult keeping that promise would be someday but, through it all, she always kept her word.

    {Always.}