They visited the radio station first, but the door was locked. Vinyl knocked, but there was no reply.
Belle bounced past it without much delay. "This is logical."
Octavia nodded in soft agreement. "If he was here, he'd be broadcasting in all likelihood. You know where he lives?"
"His bakery." Belle gestured grandly at a building made of bits of stone and metal sheets. Hanging over the front door was a large sign with a crudely drawn duck wearing a chef hat and balancing a great pile of loaves of bread that appeared to be moments away from toppling over.
Vinyl leaned her head back to admire the sign. "That is adorable. Hey, I remember his bread, only thing I could keep down for a little while there. I'd like to try some when I can actually enjoy it."
"That was a rough time." Octavia strode for the door purposefully. "I doubt he will keep you waiting as soon as we--" She had a hoof raised, ready to knock, but the door opened without such crude measures being required.
Quarter stood there with a smile. "Hey! Duck! They're here!"
"Yay!" came from the back. "Who?"
Quarter rolled her eyes even as she gestured for the guests to come inside. "Your musical friends and the metal filly are all here, probably to see you, knucklehead."
Octavia dipped her head towards Quarter as she walked past. "I hope things have been going well?"
"Are you kidding?!" She put her hands at her hips. "I'm doing great! I can't believe I was ever worried about leaving that snores-ville. How about... hey... did you get a haircut? Or would that be a mane cut? Either way... something's different."
Octavia managed to restrain her amusement, just smiling gently.
Vinyl was less successful with a brief guffaw. "Yeah, looks good on her, right?"
"I like the crown," agreed Quarter with a nod. "Duck, you coming out?"
"Quack?" Duck poked his head free, face matted with flour. "Hi hi hi! Good to see you're all back. Give me a moment." He vanished back into the kitchen.
Belle pointed up at the menu. "We will have two mini loafs."
"Two minis!" echoed Quarter.
"Two minis!" replied Duck from the back. A moment later two little rolls fell down a chute and landed behind Quarter, who grabbed them fairly instantly.
"Here you go." She held out the two buns towards Belle, both warm and fresh looking.
Belle sat to accept them balanced on her forehooves, but she pivoted her midsection, turning to her companions. "For you."
With a glowing horn, Vinyl snatched the one to the left and floated it right up to her mouth to chomp a piece off. "Oh yeah! This is the stuff. Duck, you hear that? You are the queen of baking."
"Aw, thank you. Wait, can I be a queen?" He emerged from the back, patting his wings together along the way in small clouds of flour. "Hello!"
Octavia's smile dimmed a little. "You would not wish it." The smile returned as she willed the other bun up and took a smaller bite than Vinyl. "Very nice, I will agree. Have you any butter?"
"Oh, um... not really." He rubbed behind his head. "Milk is kinda hard to get, and you need that to make butter, so... I'd love to have butter! Butter and bread goes together super good!"
Quarter lifted her shoulders. "We'd need a cow or three, then we'd have to take care of the cows. Then you can get milk, then you have to make butter out of it. That sounds like a whole new job on top of the ones we already have." She started counting fingers. "Baking. Radio Stars. Proud Knights of Turves. Our schedules are really full."
Duck moved right up to Octavia. "Glad you're back! They said something bad happened to you, but you look alright... Even better! Ooo, nice crown."
"That's what I said," protested Quarter with an extended tongue.
Octavia shook her head. "You two... Did you really not notice these?" She spread her wings out in either direction.
"Oh I have those!" Duck imitated the gesture with his own wings. "I keep forgetting I have them, but there they are. Isn't it fun to... wait a second..." He squinted at Octavia suspiciously. "You're trying to change the subject! You're back, it's time to celebrate!"
"Affirmative!" easily agreed Belle, clopping her metal hooves.
Quarter joined in on the clapping, though her bare-skinned hands made a very different sound than hooves banging together. "Alright! We threw a party when we got back, why not one for you guys too? Hey, where's the big guy?"
Vinyl snorted softly. "You notice No Name not being here before you pick up that Octavia's a flipping alicorn? You guys are precious, never change." She pointed back into town. "He's chatting with Longshot last I saw him."
Quarter leaned forward a bit. "You're going to have to tell me what an 'alicorn' is, to start."
Duck tilted his head. "I don't know that word neither."
Belle joined in the motion, lifting her shoulders as she stood up. "Designation mismatch. Alicorn, noun, the horn of a unicorn." She pointed at Octavia. "You are not an alicorn."
Octavia blinked softly. "I hadn't expected that... In Equestria, where we're from, alicorn is a commonly accepted term for ponies that have both wings and a horn. What a curious shift in meaning, considering most other words didn't suffer from such shifts."
Duck blinked softly, his eyes moving between Octavia's horn, to her wings, and back. "Ohhh! Yeah, you do. Did you always have them both?"
"I did not." Octavia reached with a wing to pat Duck gently. "Now, since you have wings, and I presume you know how to use them?"
"Yep! I forget I have them, but I can use them." He lifted into the air and soared across the room to land next to the door. "Ta da!"
Octavia brought her hooves together in a polite little clop. "Very good, now would you be inclined to show me how to do that?"
"Oh! Ohhhh, oh! Okay." He bobbed his head quickly. "Quarter, cancel all appointments!"
"You don't have any."
"Good job!" He thrust a hoof into the air. "It's time to learn! Onwards!" He pointed outside before marching out of his bakery. "Oh, keep an eye on the bread."
"What? I don't get to watch? Bah." Quarter remained behind, willing to make that sacrifice even if she complained.
Vinyl followed Octavia and Duck out. "No way I'm missing this. Spread those wings, girl!"
Belle pronked along after them. "Proper care should be employed to minimize injury chances."
"I would appreciate that." Octavia nodded lightly. "Any ideas?"
"Be careful." Duck nodded softly as he looped around the bakery to a ladder and propped it against the bakery itself. Its rungs were spaced just so and its steps were deeper so an average pony would be able to basically walk up the ladder, which he did. "Come on up!"
Octavia scaled up after him, with Vinyl hurrying up just after up, giggling.
Belle remained on the ground, watching them.
Duck extended his wings. "It's easier to fly with a little height, see?" He walked right off the edge of the building, vanishing from sight a moment before he came back up, soaring in a lazy circle. "Now you try," he shouted from above.
Octavia wrinkled her nose. "Do you not have more... advice?"
"Not really. You kinda have to do it. Quack." He clopped his free hooves eagerly. "C'mon!"
Vinyl nudged Octavia on her rump. "Go on. You have them, use them. I would if I could, trust me."
"Yes, I feel certain you would..." Octavia stepped closer to the edge and peered over the side. The ground seemed too far away, even if it was a one story building. "Perhaps--"
As she turned to flee, Vinyl shoved her with both forehooves and a fiercely glowing horn.
"Vinyl!" She yelped as she began to fall. Her wings flapped wildly, trying to stop the descent, which they failed to do, but Octavia struck the ground just a little slower than she should have, grunting with the impact. "Vinyl Scratch! When I get back up there, I will have stern words for you!"
Octavia was back on her hooves and circling around the building rapidly. "I swear, you have not an ounce of manners or decorum; shoving me like that!"
As she arrived at the ladder, there was Belle, clopping joyfully. "You look... strangely excited."
Belle bobbed her head. "You flew!"
"I did not." She frowned at the metal filly.
"Incorrect. It was not graceful, but you moved through the air without injury. Flight: Successful!"
"You heard the filly," called Vinyl from above. "Get up here and do it again."
Octavia scowled at Vinyl as she ascended. "Perhaps we should first ascertain how well you fly."
Vinyl danced away from the edge. "No thanks. You're the one learning. Go on, you did great."
"You did great!" came from above, Duck circling them. "Way better than my first time, trust me."
Octavia deflated with a heavy sigh. "No more shoving, I insist..." She spread one wing, then the other. "I will move at my own rate, thank you."
Duck did a lazy circle before veering down, swooping just past Octavia. "Stop thinking so hard and just do it," he called as he went past.
Vinyl tossed her head towards the retreating form of Duck. "You're not going to let that birdbrain beat you, are you? I know you can do better."
"This isn't a contest." She brought her wings down in a measured flap, feeling the air move around them. "Let's approach this carefully."
"You're thinking, Quack."
"Yep. He's right. More moving, and falling." Vinyl rolled a hoof. "Go on."
Octavia raised a hoof to her face. With a glowing horn, she took off her crown and floated it towards Vinyl. "I don't want to be poked by this on a bad landing."
"Got it!" She tucked it away safely. "Now go!"
Octavia counted just under her breath, "one, two... three!" She jumped forward, wings out. Gravity began pulling at her swiftly, drawing her towards the ground. She flapped wildly a moment before she felt her wings catch something. She went stiff and started to go forward as well as down. She hit the ground with a skidding stop with two forms of momentum to come to a halt. "Ow..."
"Wooo!" cheered Duck from above. "You did great! Wow! I didn't get off a glide like that until like a week. You're a natural!" He clapped eagerly as he flew around above.
Vinyl brought up her hooves to her face as she cheered. "Yeah girl! If you kept your hooves down, you could have hit that landing. Come on back up here and do that again!"
Octavia rose to her hooves with a grumble and circled back to see Belle was still there, smiling at her. "You can't see much from here. Why don't you watch from the front?"
Belle shook her head. "Someone has to be here to offer encouragement when you ascend. I have accepted this task. You are doing well! I can only fly for very limited definitions of the word. Jealousy 110%!" She didn't sound jealous, smiling and clopping.
Octavia shook her head softly as she began walking up the ladder. "Thank you. Now if I could just avoid the crash at the end."
"Oh, that's easy." Vinyl offered a hoof to help Octavia up the last step. "Stop flailing your hooves and act like you're jumping down." She danced from hoof to hoof. "Land on these, not your belly." Her ears suddenly pricked. "But don't be stiff! You have to bend your knees." She dipped down as her legs all bent at the same time. "See? Like a jump." She straightened out fast enough to propel herself up into the air a few inches, then came down into the same crouch. "See?"
"Vinyl... Why do you know so much about landing?" She had a fine brow raised towards Vinyl as she approached the edge that promised pain and perhaps... freedom?
"I have friends, some of them fly, and I watch them." She stuck out her tongue. "I told you I'd totally be down for wings. I mean, not for a trade. I like my magic thank you very much."
"Right..." Octavia took a slow breath. "On three... One... Two..." She just jumped instead of saying the last number. She angled her wings in the way that seemed to catch last time and instead of just plummeting, she began to move forward and down, accelerating as she went. "This is..." Her teeth were clenched but she tried to keep Vinyl's advice in mind, hooves down to catch herself. "Just a jump, just a jump, just a--"
She hit the ground with her forehooves and bent at the knees. The rest of her body kept moving and she began to tip forward dangerously. She quickly scrambled forward, dancing awkwardly, but coming to a halt, still standing. "I did it!" she laughed, a strained smile on her face. "I did it! I flew!"
"You flew!" agreed Duck, clapping wildly over her. "You did great!"
Sudden new applause broke Octavia's moment of joy. Others had been watching her and were politely clapping and cheering. She felt blood rush towards her face but she fought against it, turning stiffly towards the building she just jumped from. "T-thank you, all of you. There remains far more to learn."
When she arrived at the stair guardian, Belle, the little filly was stomping the ground with celebration.
"Thank you." She paused to kiss Belle beside her horn. "There's more to do." Up she went back to the roof. "Alright, Miss I Know How to Fly but Have No Wings, how do I actually ascend instead of just falling with class?"
"Doing things with class is your specialty, no wonder you picked it up quickly." Vinyl nodded confidently. "Hey, Duck!" she called up towards him. "Get down here!"
"Okay!" He circled downwards and landed beside the two mares. "Quack?"
Vinyl pointed upwards. "She's got landing down, now how does she go up?"
"I learned falling first. If you think you have that?" He looked to Octavia questioningly.
"Perhaps a few more times to be sure." She moved to the edge and looked around. "This time I'll try to... aim a little." She pointed down the road. "I'll try to land in front of that house if I can." Both of her would-be instructors clapped in approval and she nodded, confidence building.
She jumped into the yawning void, her wings catching her. She leaned her body and she banked quickly, slapping right against the side of the building and coming tumbling down. "Ow..."
A paw grasped at her and another came in opposite it, helping her back up to her hooves. A random citizen had assisted her, a smiling fox pony. "Thank you." She smiled awkwardly, folding her wings back in. "Turning is not as easy as it... seemed."
"What's going on?" No Name was approaching the crowd, pushing through it fairly easily. "Octavia, you alright?"
"I'm mostly fine. These are learning bruises." She smiled a little awkwardly. "Good to see you again. I trust your visit went well."
"Yeah fine." He looked up to where Duck and Vinyl were peering down off the roof. "Did they push you off?"
"Only the first time." She huffed and started circling back to the ladder. "I'm learning, really. Would that there was a shortcut, but life rarely works that way. If I wish for these limbs to be more than ornaments, proper time, and a few minor injuries, are the price."
"Vinyl," bellowed several of his snakes in chorus. "Heal her when she comes up."
"You got it," came her shouted reply. "You're doing great, 'Tavi."
"Affirmative," agreed Belle as she bounced towards No Name. "Welcome back. Learning progress: 6% Progress Rate: Meeting or Exceeding Expectations. Grade: A." Soon she was on top of No Name, taking her favorite perch. "Join me in encouragement duties."
"Yeah sure." He pointed to the ladder. "Don't get hurt."
"Too late for that, but I'll keep it to a minimum if I can." She dipped her head, then walked back up to her teachers.
The day went by. Octavia threw herself from the rooftop over and over again, though her crashes became less frequent, and her airtime slowly evened out. She was falling with class, able to soar on stiff wings for some distance before gently touching down on ready hooves.
"They adapt."
No Name heard the thump of a larger-than-average but still smaller-than-him pony beside himself. "Hey Shot."
"Longshot," she corrected, watching Octavia fly past. "She resembles an angel even more now... But that is not what makes her an angel, you realize."
"Mm?"
"Do you think that a pet name, or perhaps a couching for some... baser desire?" She hiked a brow. "She is beyond such things. I would not... besides, I happen to enjoy the company of stallions, so there is that."
Belle tilted her head down at Longshot, ears erect.
"Don't stare at me like that. I know you're not a filly." She reached up and booped Belle on the nose. "And I'm alright with that."
Belle wriggled her nose, raising a hoof to it. "I am a perfectly standard filly for a filly of my age."
"You are the only filly your age, which makes you perfectly standard for such a filly, it's true. Again, it's alright, Belle, now... Error, are you thinking cross little thoughts as she practices?"
"She's learning how to be unnatural..."
"She did not control what body she had. Few of us do. She has it, and she will use it. This is the very basic of nature. A bird has wings, and it flies. A cat does not, and it does not pine for wings it will never have. It races on speedy paws a bird will never know."
"Yeah..."
Longshot huffed softly. "Be happy for her achievements. She is smiling, and happy. No matter what else, is that not worth being happy for?"
"Affirmative! The happiness of friends increases personal happiness ratios without diminishing the happiness level of anyone else involved. If only we could create happiness in sufficient quantities of friends to create a happiness loop."
"Ain't how it works," noted her mount.
"He's got that part right." She glanced down at her gleaming star. "He did a right good job, just to note." Her accent seemed to shift, becoming more Western as she considered her sheriff role and the star she wore. "Got it up to a right mighty shine."
"Looks good." No Name lifted an ear towards her, but his attention was on Octavia, returning for another jump. "Hey, have you tried just... flying from the ground?"
Octavia stopped mid-step. "You can do that?"
"Yes!" came Duck from above. "But it's harder. Let's go to the next step, Quack!"
"You heard the teacher." She smiled sardonically as she ascended the ladder to try the next leg in her aerial journey.
Bullette inclined her head at Longshot, examining her. "You have reigned for--"
"--a long time," completed Longshot with a little smile. "Like you, and your friend there, I don't quit easily. Many of the ponies here don't even remember the first time you two washed up on our shores."
"Error: There are no shores within a 24 hour traveling radius."
Longshot squinted at Bullette. "There are times I swear you do that on purpose. Error, you really should teach her better."
"Ah ain't never promised ah was any good at this." He shrugged ponderously, though it did not dislodge Bullette. "So we're the old pony club."
"Can we be?" She reached a hoof for his shoulder. "It would be nice having someone I know has a decent chance of still being there... What's even out there that keeps you wandering away? You just come back with new scars, and new reasons to frown."
"You know it don't work like that."
"And I will continue resisting it." Her eyes followed as Octavia flew in almost a straight line for a time before starting to dip. "Just as she struggles against gravity... She is getting better. I can only hope I will eventually win as well. Is the thought of peace that frightening?"
"You know there ain't no peace in this world."
"I know Turves comes as close as most places gets." She stood up slowly. "I know you like protecting things. Why can't you help me protect this little spot? Shelter other people who need a safe place, so the world can be just a little better. Doesn't that sound nice?"
But he did not reply.
She watched him silently for a time, but she eventually moved on with a little sigh. "I have to get back to work. Return safely, remember that order." And she was gone.
"She's setting herself up for a break if I get hurt..."
"She values her friendship points with you more than her mental wellbeing." Belle tilted her head. "That is unwise."
"Yeah... relationships are like that sometimes. I'd do some pretty stupid things to keep you safe."
"I would also be stupid for you!" she cried in a sharply modulated voice, bouncing once atop him. "I prefer to be smart for you."
"Feeling's mutual." He smiled a little. "Here she comes."
Octavia was trotting back from her latest flight. "Still here, I see. Thanks for guarding the steps for me."
"Your flight is improving," sang Belle. "You will soon achieve acceptable mastery."
"I do hope so... At least I don't feel like I'm about to hurt myself each time." She began ascending the stairs. "I almost wish I didn't have quite so many witnesses. Is my flying that interesting?" She vanished up onto the roof out of sight. They could hear her sharing some words with Vinyl and Duck.
"The angel takes flight," spoke a snake with a voice similar to Longshot.
"Angel, Type: Outsider, Alignment: Lawful Good." Belle tilted her head left and right. "Octavia is not from this plane and she is the required alignment. Is that what she means?"
"Yeah, but nah, not entirely... There's more to it than that."
"Many angels have flight capability. Her angel rating has increased!" Belle clopped her hooves. "Some angels like playing instruments."
"Angels come from clean places, without dirt, filth, or ash." No Name wrinkled his nose lightly. "They don't worry about mortal things like eating or shitting."
"Invalid! Octavia's digestive tract is working within acceptable variations. Physical excretions occur every 12 to 18 hours."
"Thanks for that mental image." He hiked a brow with a wry smirk. Thinking of Octavia's bathroom habits had not been the goal. "That isn't what I meant. The place they come from, you don't have to think about that. You're hungry, you just get some food. Thirsty? Plenty of water... Here, it's a bit more complicated."
"I am unequipped to judge that..." It wasn't as if she needed to eat, drink, or find a place to use a bathroom.
"Because you're my little angel." He smiled at that. "And you aren't flyin' away from me, right?"
"Negative!" She hugged him from above tightly, clutching to him.