//------------------------------// // Reconciliation and Wing Tests // Story: Of Hooves and History // by Ahmad J Charles //------------------------------// I took a folding chair from the kitchen storage room and was led by two guards to wing of the castle I hadn’t been down before. It looked just as grand as any other hallway, but along one side were cells lined up. Some were larger than others and looked more like luxury hotel suites (without kitchens or a full bathroom), while others were smaller and only had the bare essentials inside, with no gold accents or even furnishings. We arrived at a cell at the end of the hall, barely five by nine feet in size, with a hoof biometric scanner beside the inch-thick bars. Inside Sprout sat hunched over on the bed, peering at a scrap of paper on the ground. “We will be back at half past the hour,” the guards reminded me, before continuing with their patrol shift. “So, we’ve ended up together, yet separated,” I began, unfolding the chair and sitting down. “Sprout Cloverleaf and Aiden Walter Dixon.” “Yeah, that’s only occurred ‘cause you put me here,” he retorted. “FOR SIXTY DAYS!” I sighed. This was likely going to be a long talk, but I had to shorten it. “Perhaps that will give you some time to reflect on your decisions and misdeeds. We all have choices, and several influences behind said choices. I might not know much about you, but if my friends are to be believed, your fellow sheriff overlooked several red flags, and your mom nourished the foundation of your ideals, which played a significant role into where you are now. The blame game will never work. If anything, this room serves as an aid in your introspection.” “Your mouth doesn’t have to be so fancy-schmancy,” Sprout remarked. “Only if yours would be polite,” I replied, cocking my head slightly. “Now, let’s look at your records. You were raised up with a fixated mindset, and seized an opportunity and tried so hard to make yourself look like the strong, fearless leader and hero the world needed via manipulative groupthink of toxic ideas, only aided by peer pressure of fulfilling a role you clearly were not well-trained for. And when it failed, you practically committed attempted murder. Brushing aside the sentimental value of somepony’s home, destroying a building with its inhabitants still inside is no trivial matter. Ponies could have died. Could you live life after seeing another pony’s body mutilated and stained with their own blood from bricks and debris via your own doing?” I expected him to yell, but instead his lips were quivering like water in a shaken cup. “Why… I…” Noting his tears spilling on the floor, I raised my voice firmly yet slightly. “Turn and look at me in the face!” Anxiously, Sprout lifted his head and casted an anguished gaze through the bars. The moment his eyes met mine, I softened my complexion and voice. “Had you come face to face with me within a day of escaping from the prison cart, what would you have said to me? What would you have done to me?” “I… I d-d-don’t know wh-what I’d say,” he sobbed. “Maybe I could have found out…” “That I wasn’t some big evil monster that Equestria needed to annihilate?” I finished with a warm smile. “Perhaps. I just wanted to prove I was worthy, and your presence provided me with the perfect scapegoat for ponies to rally and unite around me.” “Our minds are stronger and more fragile at the same time,” I replied compassionately. “And sometimes, they need a little help. If you’re searching for a path towards achieving worthiness, start with making amends with yourself. Work on that fear and ego and take back control of them. Seriously, please don’t lose hope in yourself. In these ensuing eight weeks, you got a chance to fix yourself and be a good friend to Sunny and Hitch, just as you were as a little colt, playing imaginary adventures together with them.” Without skipping a beat, I continued, eager to hold his attention as long as possible. “I get the whole game. By building up approval of others, you cultivate internal support and false hope in your ideas. Can’t do that in your original form ‘cause everypony knows you. I’ll hand it to you – you are good with identifying and capitalizing on opportunity. And now’s as good of a time as ever to utilize that skill for your benefit – and hopefully other ponies’ too in the future. You know, when I first arrived, I gave everypony something special once I’d come to know them well. And you are no exception.” I got off the chair and knelt in front of the jail door, my hands pushed through the bars. “Come here.” Confuzzled, Sprout cautiously approached – and as soon as he was close enough, I pulled him close and gently scratched him behind the ears, thereby erasing the sobs and sorrowful sighs and replacing them with more tears, albeit smaller, softer ones of gratitude. “It’ll be okay, I promise,” I whispered in his ear, gently caressing his neck and back with my other hand, just as I had done for Izzy. “I’ve finally found a way back to my world. Let us part ways with no hate in either of our hearts towards each other. We could learn so much from each other and had some fun experiences, but alas, my time has come. But know there’s quite a few ponies who are looking forward to reuniting with you.” He let out a sniffle, and I could feel the empathic energy radiating between us. “I’ll miss you, Sprout,” I said, planting a soft kiss on his forelock, resulting in an even tighter hug that squeezed my ribs against the metal bars. “Take… care of yourself, alright?” “I will. Thanks for believing in me.” “And likewise for taking time to listen.” Right on cue, the two guards returned. I waved goodbye to Sprout with an encouraging smile as they escorted me back to the main castle quarters. Right away, Sunny and the group had questions tumbling out of their mouth, and Haven’s eyes swirled. “Girls, I already answered most of these questions already.” “He’ll be alright,” I replied confidently. “Just… needs to be watched over. And two suggestions: let Hitch visit him occasionally, as the two are close. Secondly, give him something positively productive to do. And thirdly, give him some unicorn cupcakes as a reward for achievements. Make sure they’re freshly baked.” We spent the rest of the day in the Fun Sanctuary. Zipp tried out my skateboard, and I showed Pipp a short video on music production. “Wow, I never imagined you could distort vocals in a pretty way. I gotta talk with my production team about this!” I handed her the iPad. “Take it to ‘em right now. Hearing and seeing is believing.” Pipp excitedly hopped in the basket elevator and glided back up to the secret entrance, holding the end of some rope, while I measured the length of it. “All good, thanks!” I called out, and she released the rope. With the measurements in place, I turned to others and started discussing the plan. “The entrance for the balloons is too narrow for the paramotor wing, so it’s going to be tricky. I can launch the wing up in reverse. Then I can run backwards, untwist the wing, and slide it sideways through the opening. With one of the fans, we can guide the wing through the process. Finally, when I’m facing the right way, it’s simply a matter of running as fast as possible with all the remaining space on the landing strip.” Zipp rubbed her chin. “Sounds quite plausible, though these fans do not have variable speed settings. I will have to switch them on and off by cue. The large one is fixed, but the smaller one can be repositioned. Let’s get the paramotor in here before sundown.” Izzy volunteered to go, then Sunny suggested her Earth Pony strength would be a valuable asset. “Let’s just all go,” I said, hopping into the basket and pressing the release button. With my added weight it took longer, but we eventually reached the entranceway at the top in two up-down sessions. Upon entering the guest suite, I checked the battery levels. Happily, it was fully charged. I emptied the seat’s cargo pockets and pouches of everything besides emergency essentials, before disassembling Izzy’s harness and extension. She took the wing in its travel bag, while Zipp, Sunny, and I handled the harness and seat. Pulling it there was easy enough with the built-in wheels, but lowering it into the Fun Sanctuary was another challenge. We couldn’t be in the basket along with the paramotor, or the cables risked snapping. “How about I go,” Zipp suggested. “You all keep an eye on the cables, and I’ll press the releaser. ‘Cause I can hover instead of sitting in the basket.” “Pffft, big brain moves huh,” I replied with a nod. How is this athletic gal so intelligent? Sunny and I observed the pulleys carefully as Zipp floated down with the paramotor. It shot down with a blur, almost hitting the bottom before Zipp jabbed the releaser. “It’s down!” she called up. “Thing is…” “Just tip it over and pull it,” I instructed. “It’ll roll on its wheels.” Zipp gave it a soft kick, and it flopped like a sack of potatoes. She rushed around and grabbed it before the propeller could hit the stone ground, and slowly eased it off the basket. “All good!” I congratulated with a beaming smile of relief. Izzy went down with the wing, then Sunny and me. We set aside the grind rail and quarter pipes, ensuring the area was as spacious as possible before unfurling the wing in front of the entranceway. Expanding it out was easy enough without a fan, but one step outside crushed my hopes of a successful takeoff. The wind hit me like a rude guy in a train station crowd. “Sorry guys, it’s not looking likely for a flight,” I announced sadly. “Don’t be too quick to judge Zephyr Heights,” Zipp chuckled, tapping me on the back. It’s called that for a reason. It’ll be cooler but calmer in the early morning. Let’s try to get this thing in the air.” So I sat down, wiggled into the harness, crossed over, clipped up, and gripped the controls. As I backed up and pulled, Zipp briefly fired up the fan before quickly shutting it off, providing a gentle breeze to push the wing upwards. I slid down on the brakes to stabilize the wing, and Zipp fired up the fan again, this time at an angle. I backed up further towards the entranceway, untwisted, and pulled one side of the wing. It bumped the entranceway frame and collapsed on one end. Bummer. The second attempt was better. I stood further forward. Zipp adjusted her fan timing, and I didn’t have to use it to initially raise the wing. Third time ‘round I miscalculated the pulling and it hit the frame again. On the fourth attempt, Zipp used a large torn cloth to suppress some of the fan’s breeze, and it worked! The muffled wind pushed the wing sideways with minimal turbulence. If only I could maneuver through the entranceway… On the sixth attempt I finally made it through. The wind totally collapsed the wing and tossed it aside, but at least I was in the right position to take off. “Awesome!” Sunny exclaimed. “Now we just have to wait until tomorrow morning.” “Where have you all been?” Haven demanded as we burst through the dining room doors and scooted over to the chairs. “Food’s probably cold by now.” “Practicing pre-flight takeoff maneuvers,” Zipp replied proudly. “Aiden’s exit plan, remember?” “Oh… yes,” Haven said slowly. “How could I forget? Ah, so much to manage. All in the life of royalty, right?” I smiled awkwardly. “Indeed, Your Highness. Indeed.” Most of the food was still fairly warm, and we ate happily, sharing with Haven all the fun we had that day. Pipp returned my iPad and gave a thank-you hug, which I responded to by picking her up and cuddling in my arms. Before returning to the guest suite, we were escorted to the castle’s loading bay, where Sunny and the others got a good look at the elemental ores. “Looks plentiful enough,” Izzy confirmed. “We can just lay these on flat ground with some smaller plain ol’ rocks to stabilize them. If not, a metal frame might be necessary.” “The shipping crate may work too,” Haven suggested. “We’ll figure it out in Maretime Bay.” Bedtime in the guest suite was a rather quiet affair, given we knew what was to come tomorrow. I took a shower while Izzy read a story on my iPad, and Sunny just stared out the window at the starry sky. Cleansed and in good spirits, I gave the final carry-me-to-my-bed session for Pipp. “It’s gonna be a blast tomorrow,” she whispered joyfully. “And a noble moment of fun-filled friendship,” I replied, planting a soft kiss on her pastel pink forehead. “Goodnight, Addy.” “Goodnight, my little pony.” Before sleeping, I took the time to go over everything, to ensure nothing was misplaced. Thankfully, my friends had taken good care of that. I folded up all my clothes (except the ones I planned to wear during the flight) and packed up all my belongings in the duffel, leaving out the lightest items for the paramotor’s side pockets. “Aiden?” Sunny whispered as we tucked under the covers. “Yes, sweetheart?” “When I was a filly, I wished to have a friend who could fly. Of course, I met pegasi later on, but I wasn’t expecting to meet and befriend an earth-dwelling creature who could fly. You are an Earth Pony, in a way.” “Hehe, yeah, you’re right. I didn’t ever think of it that way. Happy to have you as a good friend, Sunny.” “You too.”