//------------------------------//
// Stick That Feather in Your Cap! 
// Story: Equestrian Eeveelution. 
// by Symphonicdysonince 
//------------------------------//

A few days had passed since the Crusaders had passed their tests, and life had mostly returned to normal. Scootaloo was working on a harness for Zepher, while Apple Bloom integrated Triphyle into the farm's routine. Sweetie had begun bugging Twilight and Runic for more books on summoning.

Eros, for her part, spent her time trying to stalk us, without going too far from Sweetie. We ignored her to continue our own routines. It's not like she was any good at actually hiding.

Today, Rainbow and I were sitting on a cloud near our home, practicing our language comprehension skills.

"Okay, give me the next one." Rainbow prompted.

<<One Won was a racehorse. Won Two was one, too.>> I recited. <<One Won won one race. Won Two won one, too.>>

"Just saying numbers is not a tongue twister!" Rainbow griped.

<<Those weren't all numbers!>> I insisted.

"Excuse me."

"Oh, yeah? Then what were ya sayin'?"

"Pardon me."

<<I said: One Won->>

"HEY!" Rainbow and I looked down. An older donkey glared up at us, the cart he was strapped to settling into the ruts in the road. "If yer done, could you tell me how far it is to Ponyville? I hope to get there before lunch."

"Yeah," Rainbow pointed into town, "shouldn't be more than fifteen minutes. You're not that far out, you should be able to see it past those trees."

"Oh. Well, thanks kid."

"Not a problem. See ya around!"

<<Enjoy meeting Pinkie!>>

Rainbow glanced at me. "Oh, hey, Oldtimer!"

"M'name's Cranky!"

<<He certainly lives up to it.>> I snickered.

"If you're looking for a place to eat, try Sugarcube Corner."

Cranky nodded. "Thanks."

We watched him plod on towards town. I shook my head, turning back to Rainbow. <<You wanna try the twisters again?>>

Rainbow glanced over at our house, specifically our bedroom window. "... No, I promised Scoots I'd meet up with her to check up on her harness. I don't know why." Rainbow sighed. "I get that she looks up to me, but I don't know anything that might help. She'd have better luck with Rarity than with me."

<<Not really.>> I countered. <<Rarity knows less than you about how fabric affects flight.>>

"I can't help with a harness, though."

<<Twilight might.>> I could see Rainbow turning the idea over. <<It's not a fault to admit when you don't know something, and you know you can't have all the answers.>>

Rainbow nodded. "Yeah, I guess so." With a lazy shrug, Rainbow rose into a hover. "So, what've you got planned for the day?"

<<Gonna hang out at the training yard.>> I stretched, looking off the edge of the cloud. <<Might help out on the farm, build up my endurance.>>

With a nod, Rainbow flew off, kicking a random cloud down beneath me for me to jump to. Doing so, I landed on the road and made my way to the farm. Skirting the farmhouse, I thundered through the rodeo track to Zann's wardrobe. I carefully made my way in, hoping to spot someone to be a sparring partner. Sadly, Zann wasn't in, his foundry left cold.

I left the wardrobe and sat beside it. Great, now what am I going to do?

"You wanted to fight someone?"

Kinda. I wanted to work on my moves. I paused in thought.

"Didn't you tell Yomega that you wanted to create a move?"

Fuck, that's right! I got up and stretched. Been so focused on Cy's Volt Tackle and Zann's leg, I completely forgot about that! From the corner of my eye, a blur of pink movement pulled me from my thoughts. "I wonder what that was..." I mumbled. With a crash, Cranky came wheezing through the clearing, casting a fearful eye back over his shoulder. I turned my head as I watched him pass by. How fast can Pinkie move...?

"No!" I shuddered. "Not thinking about it, not thinking about it." I moved out into the clearing, trying to think of something to try.

"Hey, what about that super charged Sunny Day from Winter Wrap Up?" I grinned, knowing I needed to try it. Bracing myself, I began to use my Sunny Day. Pulling power from the pool I could feel in my chest, I cupped it in my jaw. Nursing it and feeding the ball I could feel growing more power, I aimed at the tree we've previously killed.

Knowing that I couldn't hold it as long as when I first did this, I decided to wait until the energy ball would start to cause discomfort before launching it. Almost, almost... There!

I spat it out, the force of the launch pushing me back a little. I kept my eye on the ball as it rocketed down the field, panting to cool off my tongue.

"Hey, Leo! Have you seen Pinkie? She said that- Oh shit!" Zann ducked, the ball zooming past withing inches of where his head was. He turned just in time to see it strike the tree.

My fur was blasted back from the force of the explosion, smoke and dust kicked up into a cloud that barely hid the bits of bark and wood flying off into the trees around us. Zann and I stared dumbfounded as the smoke cleared to reveal the tree.

The blast hadn't hit the center of the tree. We could tell by the six foot deep chunk blasted from its right side. The bark and timber around the the crater was splintered and forced away from me. Oddly enough, there wasn't any charring or smoldering, although there were wisps of steam rising from the edge closest to me.

Zann turned a wide-eyed gaze towards me. His mouth flopped open and closed, various sounds croaking from his throat. Eventually, he was able to get his thoughts in order. "What... The fuck... Was that!"