//------------------------------//
// Barn storming 
// Story: Far From Home 
// by Donner Texas 
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"Look Cole, it's been ten days since we lost Miles. Everyone is busy looking for him elsewhere. No one suspects us; we're off the hook." Alex reassured Cole as they walked into the dim lit warehouse. Over the past year this warehouse had been the site of their frantic experiments. For many years prior it was Miles' secret getaway. They both were reminded of this as they walked past his car and under the massive American flag hung from the rafters. 
"Well if there's no heat on us, let's use our time to get him back," Cole said with a look of guilt. Alex looked away "we can't Cole, you know we have no idea what happened. For all we know he really is dead and we're wasting our time." Cole looked down at his shoes like a scolded child. "The machine was supposed to cut wormholes, maybe he's just in another dimension." Alex gave Cole a look of disapproval. "Well isn't that lovely, he's just out in another dimension. Maybe one where dinosaurs are still alive, or he went to the future, ooh!" Cole gave Alex a hurt look "you're an ass Alex."
Cole then stood up and walked over to the forlorn blue mustang. He remembered all the trouble they had all gotten into in this car. With a loving pat goodbye he turned walked toward the door. Turning back he gave Alex one last look. He spoke softly,"Miles had a theory about this." Alex sneered at Cole and replied "oh really, and what was his brilliant theory?" Turning his back to Alex Cole replied,"he thought that when people create something it becomes real. In this reality or in others." Cole then walked out the door. 
Alex yelled after him "yeah, and I suppose that means that there's a dimension for StarWars and Superman too!" But no one heard him, he was alone. He grew frustrated to the point of going berserk. The tiny TV and N64 were his first victims, followed by a flashlight, and a collage of track ribbons hung on the wall. With one last enraged howl he flipped Miles' desk and stormed out of the warehouse. 

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Miles began to get nervous as he followed Cloudchaser out unto the field behind the Ponyville hospital. Cloudchaser spread her wings,"so you wanna take a slow lap to the river and back?" She looked back at Miles who was tentatively flapping his wings. With a quizzical look she asked "you really don't know how to fly do you?" Miles just looked at her sheepishly. "No, as of right now I have no clue," he said; avoiding a direct lie and the entire truth at the same time. "Well I guess we'll start with the basics," said Cloudchaser as she took off and hovered over him. 
Giving it his best effort, Miles reared up onto his hind legs and sprang into the air. With a massive flap he ascended. Panicking he tucked his wings at the peak of his ascent, plummeting toward the ground. Instinctively he threw out his wings and began a glide. Cloudchaser swooped in on his left side, they were wingtip to wingtip. "Well the altitude was impressive, but the fall was not. Next time don't freak out, we own the skies." With that she accelerated. Mimicking the movement, Miles began to try weak flaps. 

It felt good, hell it was better than good, it was fantastic. It was the best he had felt in a long time. Miles decided to put his body to the test. He began to flap his wings with strong, purposeful rows. He began to pick up speed. Within seconds he had caught up to Cloudchaser. With a cheeky grin she shot him a look that said "gimme your best shot!" She then began to gain altitude. Not to be outdone Miles also ascended. Reaching the safe pegasus flight ceiling they leveled out. Cloudchaser looked back at Miles and yelled "I learned this one at the Wonderbolt Academy!" Suddenly she pitched left, tucked her wings and rolled belly up, initiating a dive. Miles followed suit, gaining massive amounts of speed as he followed her flight path. He tried to squeeze through the neatly bored holes she made in the clouds on the way down, but merely obliterated them with his much larger frame. 
As they broke through the last cloud together Miles realized just how fast he was going. Pulling past Cloudchaser, he looked up with is body inverted. He saw the contrails indicating he was about to break the sound barrier if he gained more speed. Cloudchaser gave him a frantic look as she spread her wings and angled up. With this quick example and his impending splatter, Miles did the first thing that came to mind. He threw his wings open and started screaming. Neither made him feel better. His descent was now angled and his speed was dropping to the merely uncontrollable. A vast improvement over the suicide dive he was in moments ago. He began to angle up, but inexperience sent him into a lateral spiral now completely and utterly out of control he looked at his surroundings. Through the haze of up and down playing ring around the rosie he could make out one thing on the horizon; a barn. 

Miles reached into his pocket and pulled out his lanyard. He stopped. He shouldn't have pockets or a lanyard. He looked up and froze. He was back in the warehouse. Something was wrong though, he could see himself. Cole and Alex had finished arguing, Miles pulled out a flash drive and walked over to a strange machine. In the other hand his lanyard. Miles realized he was in a hallucination, he must be unconscious, yet again! Now he could figure out how he got here! Cole made a joke, and then... "Wake up! Yer in mah barn you scoundrel!"
He was brought back by Granny Smith's labored drawl. Miles tried to stagger to his hooves, but landed in a heap and a dust pile at the hooves of Granny Smith. "Mac! Big Macintosh get over here! We've got ourselves a visitor!" She called to the massive red stallion. Applejack, hearing the commotion also came over. "Shoot, he put a hole in the barn the family just put up," she commented as she walked. Mac helped Miles to his hooves. With a wobble he stammered an apology,"sorry ma'am, my first flight got a little out of hand," he staggered and was caught by Mac. "I promise I'll help y'all fix it up." Granny Smith commented,"at least this one's got manners," and trotted off, mumbling about young'uns not having a lick of sense. Miles was left with Big Mac and AJ in the barn. 

"So you mean to tell me a pegasus, almost as big as my brother and as old as me has never flown before?" Applejack's question turned Miles' rattled brain on. There was no lying his way out of this one, he was totally rattled and was face to face with the element of honesty. Choosing his words as carefully as somepony who just crashed through a barn could. "Yeah, I'm not from around here." He didn't think about what he said until AJ gave him a suspicious look. 
He was about to reply with another brilliant answer, but Cloudchaser swept in. "Oh Celestia! Is he ok?" She frantically cried as she galloped over to where the group was gathered. "Erm... I'm as ok as you can be after severe dehydration and punching through a barn. I just owe Big Mac and Applejack a new barn," he said as calmly as possible. AJ suddenly turned toward him," I never told you my name!" Realizing he had just blown any cover he had retained he tried to recover. All three of the other ponies stared at him intently. With a sigh Miles gave in," I guess it's time for those answers Cloudchaser." "Eyyup," Big Mac spoke everypony when he said that. "All right, but what I say stays between us four," Miles demanded; he looked each pony in the eyes. 
"Sure"
"Gotcha"
"Eyyup"
And with their word of silence he recounted his knowledge. 

"Simply put, I'm not from here. I've never had wings, a tail, or hooves. But I'm here now. I really don't remember exactly how I got here or exactly what I was doing. All I know is that my friends and I were doing an experiment, it went wrong, and now I'm a pony." Applejack spoke first, the other two had looks of awe on their faces. "That still doesn't explain how you knew my name." Miles took a deep breath, this was the hardest part. "Well where I come from y'all are characters in a show. I watch the show, so therefore I know about you. I also know about your friends." By now all their eyes were wide open. "Prove it," was Applejack's response. Miles began to recount the discord incident, her sleepover at Twilight's, and the Winter Wrap Up. All of their mouths were wide open along with their eyes. "So you know our life story? We're not real?" Applejack was the only one who could even move at this point. Miles thought about this for a second. 
"No, you're real and I'm real. I'm also going to assume that where I'm from is real too. Which means my theory is correct! When we create an idea an alternate reality is created to house it! Do you know what this means!" Miles' excitement was lost on everypony else. "No sugar cube, I have no idea what your fancy talk means. But I know someone who will." Applejack's suggestion sunk in. "Ok," Miles agreed. He knew that his only way home was going to be with a skilled magician. He didn't see any unicorns on Sweet Apple Acres. "Let's go find Twilight," Miles said with an air of excitement. With that he and the two mares departed for Ponyville. Big Mac stayed behind to fix the barn, and with a groan headed to the woodshed.