//------------------------------// // Chapter-8 Central Park // Story: To Touch the Sky // by TankFBI //------------------------------// I slowly stirred my soggy cereal, resting my head on my hoof as I gazed into the milky mixture. Its wavy patterns flowed by as I stared at it thought. “Something on your mind kiddo?” Fleetfoot asked, between bites of her own food. “I just had a strange dream is all,” I muttered, the lanky silhouette of the dark pony flashing through my mind. “Well, did Luna help you out?” Fleetfoot questioned, breaking me out of my stupor. “Who is that?” I asked, looking up from my bowl. “You don’t know who Luna is?” Fleetfoot asked with a tilt of her head, perplexed that someone apparently had never heard of this Luna. “Nope, I’ve heard the name a few times but I have no clue who that is,” I responded with a shrug. “I can’t believe you don’t know who Luna is, she’s one of the princesses of Equestria!” Fleetfoot exclaimed. “Is she the white one with rainbow hair?” I asked, I had seen a crudely drawn picture of a ‘princess’ at school, though I didn’t know who it was. “No, that’s Celestia. Luna is the dark purple one, dark mane, slightly shorter.” As Fleetfoot explained Luna, my breathing started to quicken slightly. Every description she was giving matched up to the pony I had seen in my dreams, and that pony wasn’t happy to see me. “So, she’s nice right?” I asked with an uneasy chuckle. “Oh yeah, I’ve had to do a few Wonderbolt things with her and she seems nice.” Fleetfoot shrugged. “She’s a princess, after all, they’re all nice.” I didn’t know what to think of her. It was pretty clear that she knew I was hiding something, and someone knowing my secret was not a good thing… or a bad thing for that matter. Ponies had been nothing but nice to me since I arrived  (mostly), yet I would rather not risk it. If Luna, one of the country's leaders, had acted with hostility who knew what the other princess would do? But Fleetfoot said she was nice…. “I need to read more up on them,” I thought to myself, I was getting too many conflicting signals on what to think of Luna. I was still in the before common era part of my history book, surely they would show up at some point soon. “Well, that’s good,” I said with a sigh, staring back down at my cereal. “Why’s that?” She asked, mouth full of cereal. “Oh, no reason,” I said, playing it off, Fleetfoot not seeming to care much more. With my mind now filled with even more questions, I proceeded to wolf down the rest of my breakfast to distract myself. We were going to the park today to meet with Sunny after all. I knew I could use a day of fun, I couldn’t say I’ve had fun recently. Fleetfoot and I cleaned up the kitchen before we headed out, I was making sure to do my part around the house. Even just a little made me feel slightly less guilty about eating Fleetfoot’s food and using her home. Before long, I was on Fleetfoot’s back flying through the sky. Well, more like riding through the sky on a pegasus. The cool morning air flowed through my mane as we jetted through the sky toward our destination. We filled the time primarily with stories told by Fleetfoot about her shenanigans in the Wonderbolts including but not limited to, pranking Soarin, and a lot of pranking Soarin. She and Spitfire seemed to really have it out for the guy. As we approached the park, I couldn’t believe how big it was. For a floating city, I didn’t think they would sacrifice that much space for a park but I was wrong. It was a rectangle about a thousand yards by three hundred yards, covered in hundreds of trees and various small bodies of water. Cobbled paths snaked their way through the foliage, each one taking a unique path through the park. While it was no central park, it was still pretty cool. I could see dozens of ponies going about their day. Their colorful fur coats contrast against the green grass making them easy to spot and follow. We slowly descended toward a large open field in the center of the park, a stone statue of the princesses marking the middle of the park. I felt my face hit the back of Fleetfoot’s head as we touched down, quickly spitting out some of her hair as we came to a stop. “Meet me back here in two hours, that sounds good?” Fleetfoot asked as I hopped off her back, stretching my legs as I felt my blood rush back to my limbs. “That sounds good, see ya later!” I waved, Fleetfoot waving back as she quickly took off into the sky and out of sight. While I had begun to realize that ponies were generally nice than people, I was still surprised that Fleetfoot would leave me alone in a park for a few hours. Maybe these ponies were nice than I thought… With a shrug, I redirected my attention to the area around me. Searching for a little yellow pegasus, though I quickly spotted a yellow filly sitting under a tree about twenty yards away. I quickly realized it was Sunny and began making my way over. Her ears perked up as I approached, putting down whatever it was that was in her hooves as she looked to see who it was. “Oh hey, Evan!” She lit up, waving at me. “Hey Sunny, what are you doing?” I asked as I approached her and saw that she was sitting across from an equivalently yellow unicorn with a large stack of cards between them. The unicorn gave me a little wave as I approached. “Me and my sister are playing Love! The gathering, do you wanna play?” She asked, motioning to another smaller deck of cards next to hers. “Sure, but I don’t know how to play,” I said, taking a seat next to Sunny. “I’ll show you,” she said as her hoofs made quick work of shuffling the deck, the cards effortlessly sliding between each other. The unicorn in front of her shuffling her own cards with magic. “Okay, so this is how you play…” Sunny began, explaining the rules of the game. My mind, however, was elsewhere. After Sunny’s sister waved to me, it was processed that she was a unicorn. While strange, I assumed that it was probably not an uncommon occurrence to have siblings of different tribes if your parents are mixed. I was sure that as a unicorn, Sunny’s sister likely knew some stuff about magic. Magic that could get me home? A long shot, but it would be a start. I had yet to talk to a unicorn for very long other than the ones in the hospital. “So do you want to go first?” Sunny asked, snapping out of my chain of thoughts. “Oh, uh how about you and… what’s her name?” I asked, pointing to her sister. “It's Bright Sky, but you can call me Sky,” Responded Sky, answering the question. “How about you and Sky go first and I’ll watch,” I suggested, to which Sunny happily accepted. We played on for what felt like hours, the time flying by in the blink of an eye as Sky and Sunny thrashed me in every game we played. Combo after combo, countering everything I could throw at them. I didn’t know how they did it, but they obviously spent a lot of time playing each other in this game. The one thing that surprised me was how well Sunny could hold her cards, while I knew that hoofs were fairly dexterous, I was surprised with how easily she could hold and pick from her cards. Some things never ceased to amaze me. “And that’s it! You lose again!” Sunny exclaimed, finishing off her combo causing me to lose all my health. I felt my shoulders sag, my mouth agape. I thought I was doing pretty well, yet Sunny apparently had other plans. She had been toying with me the entire time… I stared at the cards for a few moments, trying to decipher how I had missed the obvious trick Sunny had played. I looked to the sky with a groan, though my attention got drawn to a pale blue filly landing in the middle of the park. Alone. Crying. I sat up, my thoughts now on this filly. I didn’t have to look twice to confirm that it was who I thought it was, Misty. She was slowly carrying herself toward a large tree about fifty feet from me, and it was clear that she was limping. Hardly placing any weight on her right foreleg. My breath caught in my throat as I watched her struggle for a few more steps before collapsing to the ground in a heap, her lying form shaking as she cried. “Hey, I’ll be right back,” I told Sunny, receiving a nod as she started another game with her sister. I hastily made my way toward Misty, my eyes never leaving her as I approached. I felt my heart start to race, had someone done something to her? Was she hurt? Had something even worse happened? “Misty? Are you all right?” I asked, my mouth falling open in horror as I saw the condition she was in. Her eyes widened as she recognized me, tears streaking down her face as she spun around in an attempt to shield me from seeing her. As she scooted herself closer to the tree, I could see her rubbing her foreleg across her face trying to dry her tears. “I-I’m… f-fine,” she choked out between sobs, gasping for air as she tried to calm herself. “No you’re not, I’m here for you,” I said taking a seat next to her, slowly rubbing my hoof on her back. She scooted away, still not looking at me. However, I just scooted right back up to her. She didn’t move away this time though. We sat there for a few moments, Misty regaining her breath while wiping the tears from her face. Her breath was shaky as she did so, her right hoof not being moved once. I wrapped my arm around her, causing her breath to catch in her throat, as I pulled her in for a hug. She didn’t move for a moment, processing what I was doing, quickly wrapping her hooves around me a moment later. We sat there in each other's embrace for a few more moments before Misty let go, wiping the final tears from her eyes. “Are you feeling better now?” I asked with a calm voice, looking her in the eyes. “Yeah…” She squeaked out, her voice a whisper as she continued to stare at the dirt. “Do you want to tell me what happened?” “It-” she hesitated, wiping a stray tear. “It was those bullies from school,” She began, her breathing becoming more labored. I patted her on the back, giving my reassurances causing her to quickly calm back down. “I left my house because… I just wanted some alone time. Then when I was coming here the same colt from the lunch room pushed me. All his friends laughed at me… and when I was on the ground, they kicked me as they walked by.” She choked out, nearly in a whisper as she recalled the events. Her body shook as the event played through her head. “Did they do anything else?” I asked, quickly looking her up and down for any injuries. At this point, it had just gone beyond bullying and became full-on physical assault. I could feel my blood boiling at the thought of that goon, his face flashing through my mind. I would get back at him, I didn’t know how, but I would. Maybe ponies weren’t as nice as I thought… “No… but they said some… things…,” she paused for a moment, her eyes never leaving the ground. “But they just left me after that, then I came here…” “Well you’re all right now, nobody else is going to hurt you if I can help it,” I said as I patted her on the back. We sat there in silence, staring up at the sky as a cool breeze washed over our bodies. Our fur swayed softly in the midday weather as we sat together. Misty ruffled her feathers as she felt the soft breeze blow over her. I enjoyed Misty’s presence, she reminded me of my childhood friend Bella. She was someone who I used to play with at the park every day, sharing laughter and fun for hours on end. Though one day she didn’t show up to the park, and I later found out that she had been hit by a car earlier in the week. Pushed by a group of bullies as a ‘prank’. I could feel my own tears welling up in my eyes as I reminisced about my previous life, one that I possibly may never experience again. Though I quickly blinked away the tears, nothing was impossible. I would get back, I didn’t know how, but I knew I would. A cyan figure darted past overhead, catching my attention. I quickly realized that Fleetfoot was back. A smile spread across my face as I thought of a wonderful way to cheer Misty up. “I’ll be right back,” I said to Misty getting to my hooves, receiving a nod in confirmation. I trotted to the middle of the park where Fleetfoot had dropped me off, only having to wait a second as Fleetfoot landed in front of me. “So, how was it, buddy? Did you have fun with your friends?” Fleetfoot asked as she furled her wings. “It was fun, I played cards with my one friend. But I saw one of my other friends and she… had an incident.” I stated causing Fleetfoot to gasp. “Oh no! What happened?” She asked, her smile quickly fading. “Well remember that bully I punched the other day? Well, he saw my friend who I was defending and he and his buddies roughed her up.” I said, Fleetfoot’s eyes getting wider the more I described what had happened. “Why if I ever find that colt…” She growled through clenched teeth, the rest of her statement a quiet grumble that I likely wasn’t supposed to hear. “She’s sitting under that tree over there,” I motioned toward the large tree, Misty still laying underneath. “And since she’s a huge Wonderbolts fan, I thought if she met you it would brighten her mood,” I suggested. “That sounds like a great idea!’ Fleetfoot said with a smile, and without missing a beat, we made our way over toward Misty. A small smile never left my face, I couldn’t wait to see how she reacted. “Hey Misty,” I said as I nudged her on the shoulder, causing her to look up. “Hey, what were… you…” Her words died in her throat, her breath seizing as she saw who was standing next to me. “Is… are you… are you F-Fleetfoot?” She asked in a whisper, her eyes scanning Fleetfoot in disbelief. “I’m Fleetfoot all right, the one and only!” She exclaimed, flaring her wings in a little pose.  “Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!” Misty started saying as she got to her hoofs, bouncing up and down on three legs. Her wide eyes stared at Fleetfoot, still not believing what she saw. A smile quickly spread across her face as she went from surprised to overjoyed. Fleetfoot looked at me with a raised brow, motioning to Misty with confusion. I just shrugged in response, I did say she was a Wonderbolts fan. “Are you ok-” Fleetfoot was cut off as Misty, in the blink of an eye, ran up and hugged her tight. “You’re my hero!” She exclaimed, her face pressed up against Fleetfoot’s chest. “Why am I you’re favorite? Every other foal always likes Spitfire or Soarin!” Fleetfoot asked, confounded. “Well, it’s because you… are like me…” She said, face still buried in Fleetfoot’s fluff. At that moment, I watched as Fleetfoot’s expression went from shock, to pity, to love all over the course of three seconds. Her features softened as she embraced the hug with Misty. They held each other tight. Even though Fleetfoot had just met this filly, she shared a connection with her that I couldn’t quite understand. It made me realize how little I truly knew about Fleetfoot. “You feeling better now kiddo?” Fleetfoot asked as they finally let each other go. “Yeah, I feel better now, thanks,” Misty responded, looking up at Fleetfoot with respect and wonder. “Hey Misty, do you know Sunny Breeze?” I asked, hoping that they didn’t hate each other for some random reason. “No, though I’ve heard her name before,” She said, her smile never faltering and not taking her eyes off Fleetfoot. “I want to introduce you guys to each other, as well as Fleetfoot,” I said, waving them along. The grass crunched below my hooves as we trotted back to where Sunny and Sky were playing cards. Their distinct colors quickly appeared, Sunny nor Sky raising their heads from their game as we approached. “Hey Sunny, sorry I took so long,” I said as I stood before her and Sky. “I was talking with Misty Breeze. Do you know her?” “No, I’ve never met her before,” She responded, placing her cards in the grass. “Well Sunny, this is Misty. Misty, this is Sunny,” I said as they began to greet each other. They quickly found multiple common interests like card games, Wonderbolts, and candy to name a few. I grinned when they began exchanging their favorite candies, most of which I had never heard of. Though some did sound oddly familiar. I had a slight feeling I knew what Kat-Kits were. Fleetfoot also joined in on the conversation when Misty mentioned her, Sunny expressing her amazement toward the Wonderbolt. They were talking in their own little circle, hitting it off nicely. I noticed that Sky was still sitting on the grass, shuffling her deck of cards around. I decided that now would be a time to ask some questions. “So… Sky,” I started as I took a seat, causing her to look up. “Do you know magic?” “Uhm… yes. I’m a unicorn after all,” She laughed a little. “Basically all unicorns know magic.” “Oh yeah, I knew that,” I chuckled a little. “I meant to ask how good you were at magic.” I knew from the reading that I’ve done that some unicorns can perform much more complex magic than others. The ancient unicorns, for example, could only perform magic that was fractionally complex compared to what a unicorn of today could do. “I’m pretty good at weather magic, though I’m not the greatest when it comes to other subjects.” Magical subjects, that was something that I would need to research. If I wanted to get out of here, I would need to know what type of magic I’d be dealing with. “Okay, thanks. I was just curious, I’ve hardly met any unicorns.” I said as I got up. I could hear Sunny, Misty, and Fleetfoot finishing their conversations behind me, goodbyes being exchanged. “Well if you ever want to learn about unicorn magic, I’m always happy to help,” She said with a smile. “I definitely want to know more, I’ll see you later Sky, you to Sunny,” I waved as I walked back toward Fleetfoot and Misty. “Bye Evan, see you later!” Sunny waved back, smiling before taking a seat next to her sister. “Did you really shave Soarin’s muzzle while he was asleep?” Misty asked through her giggles. “We sure did, and you,” Fleetfoot redirected her attention toward me as I approached. “Oh hey, kiddo! You ready to go?” “Yeah, I want to take a nap,” I said as I walked up to her. “But it’s only one o’clock?” She questioned, raising an eyebrow. “Exactly,” I responded, laughing a little. “Thanks, Evan, it was really nice talking to you,” Misty said, giving me a small smile. “No problem, I’m always here if you need me,” I said with a little bow, Misty giggling in response. “See ya kid, it was nice meeting you! I can’t wait to talk again!” Fleetfoot said as I hopped onto her back. We waved as we flew into the air, darting through the sky a moment later. Time for my one o’clock nap! I eagerly shoveled spoonful after spoonful of risotto into my mouth, it’s delightfully cheesy taste filling my mouth. Fleetfoot had somehow outdone herself again. If there was one thing I would miss about this place, it would be her cooking. She had been learning more cooking recipes and techniques, saying I had given her a reason to learn. Boy was I happy she decided to do that. I quickly scraped the last bit of food into my mouth, pushing my bowl away with a sigh. “Man, that was good!” I complimented as I sat back in my chair, patting my full belly. “Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it,” She said as she ate another spoonful. “This is one of my favorite dishes too, known it since I was a kid.” “You know, I’ve been wondering,” I began as I sat up. “How did you join the Wonderbolts?” “How I joined the Wonderbolts? If I’m being honest, I got very lucky.” She responded, staring off into space. Her recollection was interrupted as I gave a little cough followed by a smile. “I’ve always wondered how ponies joined the Wonderbolts. It seems like you guys are just a stunt group, but I’ve heard you mention missions before.” “Oh yeah,” she chuckled nervously with an uneasy smile, rubbing the back of her head. “You aren't supposed to know that… please don’t tell anypony…” She whispered as if someone was listening. “Okay…” I responded hesitantly. “Ignoring that stuff, how do you join the Wonderbolts?” “Well, usually you join the royal guard. Then you get promoted, and if you manage to catch the eye of a Wonderbolt, then there is a chance that they ask you to join.” “Is that why you were lucky?” I asked, this group reminding me more and more of the Blue Angels from Earth. “Actually, it was another reason.” She began, laughing a little. “It was only because I put a hole in Spitfire’s house.” I laughed a little, I wouldn’t put it beyond Fleetfoot to do something like that. She’s already a very hyperactive pony, and if she was any more active who knew what she could have done? “The long and short of it is, I was doing a stunt that was way outside my skill group. Like, borderline illegal.” “Why would a stunt be illegal?” I asked, curious. Whatever she was doing must have been not only dangerous for herself but for others as well. “Well, I was trying to do a sonic rainboom. It’s illegal to perform because of how dangerous it is and the property damage it can cause,” She began, a smirk spreading across her face. “I still remember Spitfire’s face when I came crashing through her wall.” “What’s a sonic rainboom?” I questioned, having no idea how you could make a rainbow sonic. “Well, it’s what happens when a pony breaks the sound barrier,” Fleetfoot responded nonchalantly, my jaw hitting the floor while nearly falling out of my chair. How an organic, living being could go faster than the speed of sound and live I had no idea. Humans had to strap themselves to a rocket and sit inside a metal sarcophagus, the g-forces alone being extremely dangerous. Yet these ponies could do that on their own accord, their bodies somehow able to survive the experience. On top of that, if Fleetfoot had been going hundreds of miles per hour, crashed, and lived, there was no telling what else these ponies survive. “It’s easily the most difficult thing a pegasus could ever attempt to do, and with only one pony ever able to do it.” “Who did it?” I asked my mouth still slightly agape. “Rainbow Dash, you met her before back at HQ.” “I remember her.” I nodded in recollection. She was pretty memorable, you know, rainbow hair and all. “Well, I tried to do what she did. I failed to say the least, yet I got close. So close in fact that Spitfire, after chewing me out, forgave me for the damage to her house. Two weeks later, I got approached by her once again, this time asking if I was interested in joining the Wonderbolts.” “Why did you join the royal guard?” I wondered out loud. While I was assuming, Fleetfoot just didn’t strike me as a big military person. It just didn’t fit her constantly happy, bubbly attitude. “Well, I just thought of it as a sort of getaway. A change of pace you could say,” She shrugged. “Teenage me just wanted to get away from my parents.” “Did you not like your parents?” I questioned, earning a flat gaze from Fleetfoot in response. “That’s a story for another night, I think it’s time we hit the hay,” She quickly responded, yawning. “But it’s only-” “I’m tired, I’m going to bed,” She said curtly. “You can stay up if you want to,” She said as she quickly got up. My eyes were wide, and my heart caught in my throat. I watched as she hastily trotted over to the kitchen, deposited her dishes, and made her way up the stairs to her room. Her eyes not once looking over in my direction. I sat there for a few moments, pondering what had just happened. While Fleetfoot had never lost her temper with me before, I had obviously struck a nerve. She was usually very happy to answer whatever questions I had during dinner. But I had never heard her talk like that before, even her response to me getting suspended was more tame. I felt my nose furrow as I replayed the situation in my mind, each recollection only causing me more confusion. I eventually gave up on trying to understand what happened, I would just ask Fleetfoot again tomorrow. Though I knew I’d have to approach the topic carefully, I reasoned that maybe she was actually just exhausted or something. I rinsed the dishes off, placing them neatly on the drying rack before I made my way up to my room. I sat down on my bed, deciding that reading a bit would take my mind off things. I picked up my history book, flipping to the page where I left off before I continued to read.