//------------------------------// // II (Legs) // Story: Flying Alone // by Neko-sama //------------------------------// The freezing temperatures were taking a real toll on my body. The feeling in my wings and hands had long since faded, and now my legs were starting to give up on me too. I was clutching my bandaged hand closer to my chest, hoping to give it some kind of warmth in the cold autumn night. It had been almost a month since I had done my best to fix it, but it still showed no real signs of improvement. At least it's not infected, I thought. The walls of the stone houses of whatever town I had wandered into began to blur slightly, and my head felt extremely light. I had gone almost a week since I escaped the last person I stole from, and my body was dying from thirst. I had found a few lakes and rivers scattered around my path, them being my only source of sustenance in the past month of hardship. I wandered into what looked like the town square. In the center was the multi-story town hall, looking over the entire town. There were benches dotted about the small circular path that surrounded the building. I did my best to hobble over to one before my legs decided to completely quit on me. I crawled onto it, and curled up into a tight ball in an attempt to keep warm. My body was shivering and showed no sign of stopping. Well, if I'm gonna die, might as well be where everyone can see., I chuckled to myself, ultimately accepting my fate. The night was slowly getting colder, and with no food in me, the sheer freezing air would surely take my life. I closed my eyes in a vain attempt to get some sleep in before I died. I turned over so that my face was against the backrest of the bench, and curled up tighter. My breathing eventually began to slow and my body felt relaxed for the first time in days. I awoke from my short slumber to someone poking me in the ribs. "Hey buddy! You're on my bench," the voice said. I turned to look at the owner. She had a old worn-out coat wrapped around her small body. Her fur was a vibrant teal color, and her eyes were a warm shade of gold. In a contrast to her fur, her mane was a mix of varying shades of yellow, ranging from a similar shade of gold in her eyes to a dangerous shade of electric yellow. She continued to look down at me with her gaze of annoyance, and she was tapping her foot in impatience. "I'll...trade you...for some water," I croaked out. Her eyes shifted from annoyance to sympathy. "Are..you okay buddy?", she asked, trying her best to care. I shook my head in a shivering motion, and curled up tighter. "When did you eat last?" "A week ago," I replied. She looked around the park, and unwrapped her jacket. She reached inside and removed a can of soup. "Uh look, it's not warm or particularly gourmet, but it'll keep alive through the night," she said, her sympathy genuine this time around, "We gotta look out for each other right?" I took the chilled can, and nodded at her. My chapped lips did their best to form a smile, and I sat up. I offered the seat next to me, and she sat down. "Got something to open this with?", I asked. "No...can you use your pure masculinity and testosterone to pop it?", she replied jokingly. "I don't think that's how it works." "Well then, we have a problem buddy. I guess we just have to imagine how bad it tastes." "Or we look for something metal and sharp." I did my best to get up from the bench, and walked down one of the adjacent allies between a house and a building that looked to be made of gingerbread. In the ally was a dumpster, and I opened the lid. "You have fun!", the mare said, "I'll avoid dying from an infection over here!" I rolled my eyes, and removed one of the black trash bags. I threw it to the ground with a loud clatter, and hopped down from the dumpster. "Keep it quiet! You trying to wake the neighbors!", the mare hissed. "Would you like to help?!", I snapped back. She threw up her hands in surrender, and I went back to work. I ripped open the trash bag, and the pungent odor hit me like a wall. The small of rotting fruit and discarded food caused me to gag and my eyes to water. I took a few steps from the bag to gather as much fresh air in my lungs as I could. I took a mighty inhale, and went back to sifting through the trash. My hands pushed aside the fruit and cakes, until I came across something metallic feeling. I pushed aside some butter wrappers, and came across what appeared to be broken blade of a blender. It wasn't big, but it was thick enough not break when I stabbed the can, and what was better it was small enough to conceal. This might come in handy, I said, leaving the mess I had made in the alley. "Find something?", the mare asked. I showed her the blade, and she made of face of mock approval. I took my seat next to her, and motioned for the can. She placed the cold metal in my hand, and I stabbed the top with enough force to make a small split in the lid. I wedged the metal in the split, and slowly but surely peeled back the lid of the soup. I peeked inside, and looked at our meal for the evening. It was hay and daisy soup in some kind of broth. There were little bits of vegetable floating around the larger pieces of daisy petals and hay. "Looks...uh...good," I said as genuinely as possible. "I told you it would be bad, you just didn't listen", the mare replied, "Gimme." She took a gulp of the soup, and grimaced as she swallowed. "Yep, it was bad as I thought, but if it keeps you alive, you might have to settle," she said. I took the can with a shivering hand, and took a sip of my own. The contrasting flavors of the daisy, vegetable, and broth were too great, and it was an overall struggle to swallow. "Ugh! That wasn't fun...", I said to the mare, "Anyway, I never got your name." "Lightning Dust," she replied, "And I'll take a guess that yours isn't buddy?" "It's uh...", I said, racking my brain for something, anything to help me. "Legs! It's us! Your friends!", the rainbow-maned mare's voice replayed. "It's Legs," I finally replied. "Well then Mr. Legs, you can finish the soup. Tomorrow I'll help you get some water, but on one condition," Lightning Dust said. "And what's that?", I replied. "You NEVER take my bench again," she said in all seriousness. I chuckled and nodded my head. I took another swig of the soup, and watched her fiddle with something in her jacket. She removed a stained piece of paper, and looked at it sadly, almost like she longed for whatever was on it. "What's that?", I asked her. She jumped in surprise, and looked at me with a fake look of confidence. "Oh, it's, uh, nothing important. Just some stupid letter I found," she lied. "So why are you sad about it?" She sighed in defeat, and handed it to me. Congratulations Ms. Lightning Dust, Your application to Wonderbolt Academy was accepted. Training begins on April 3rd at 08:00 sharp. We anticipate your arrival With much congratulations, Spitfire, Commander of The Wonderbolts I handed the paper back to her, and searched for a clue at her sadness. "So what's the matter? This sounded important!" I said to her. "It already happened," she muttered. "You missed it?" "I got kicked out." "But...how?" "That blasted Rainbow Dash! She complained, so the commander played favorites and 'dismissed' me. I swear if I ever get my hands on her...she'll regret the day she ever met me!" The name she said resonated in my head for a moment, and I began to place things together. "What did she, uh, look like?", I asked as ignorantly as possible. "Blue fur, rainbow mane, cocky attitude, bitchy friends. Sound familiar?", she spat. "Actually yes, she thought I was her boyfriend or something. the whole situation was...awkward to say the least," I said, remembering my escape from her and her friends. Lightning Dust looked at me in a mix of anger and shock. "You're her...", she said, her voice trailing off, "Never mind. Let's get some sleep." She rested her head on my lap, and let out a loud yawn. "Try to get whatever sleep you can. Tomorrow, I show you how to survive." With her last statement, she drifted off to sleep. But I couldn't. Her statements about that Rainbow mare bothered me. She had some kind of personal vendetta that I wanted no part of. At least not yet. "Wake up sleepy head!", Lightning Dust shouted at me, "The market stalls are opening!" I shot awake, and looked around in panic. "What's going on?", I asked her, wiping sleep from my eyes. The sun had come out, and the square was alive with the ponies of the town bustling around the circle. "Come on...it's time to shop," she said. I got up from the bench, and wiped the dirt from the coat that had been given to me by a kind stranger. She walked off down one of the side streets, waving for me to follow. I walked down the street, taking in the scenery around me. I had to admit, the town looked much more happier during the day. The air was a little warmer, and the people didn't seem like the fighting type. "So...how are we shopping without any money?", I asked her. "Well, it was harder to get the good stuff from the mares running stalls, but now that I have you...", she said with a sadistic grin. "I don't follow," I replied. "We use our...natural born talents!", she said with the same smile. I could only stare blankly. Nothing she was saying made any sense, but my dry throat and empty stomach just told me trust her methods. "Celestia, you're dense! We use sexual favors for stuff!", she finally shouted. My eyes widened at her proposal. I may not be able to remember most things, but I knew that wasn't the norm for something as...sensitive as sex. "A-a-are you kidding!", I stammered, "We can't do that!" "Of course we can you pussy!", she shouted back, "I've been doing it for years, and I've never had a problem!" She walked out into the bazaar, and looked back at me. "Watch!" Lightning Dust walked over to a stall run by a young looking stallion, and leaned on the counter. She had a pretty look on her face, and I could see that the owner was flustered. He blushed heavily, looked around the square, and walked back into his tent. He returned with a bag of items, and handed them over to Lightning Dust. She just smiled, and walked back to me. "See!', she said, showing me the bag. Inside was an assortment of fruits, some bread, and a couple bottles of water. "Wow, I gotta hand it to you. This is a lot of food," I said in admiration. "I told you it works! Now it's your turn!", she said, surveying the bazaar. "There!", she finally said, "That blonde mare over there. Apples would be nice. So go over there, be sexy and get us some food. Water wouldn't hurt, but I have no idea if she has any. I owe some colt a blowjob, so if you could handle that while I handle him, it would be appreciated!" She walked back to the stall she was at, waving at it's owner, making him blush again. I took a step into the square, and looked own at myself. I took a sniff of the jacket, and decided to hide it behind a trash can in the side street. I looked down at the clothes I had found, and decided that they would be good enough to seduce someone. From behind maybe..., I thought. I did my best to emulate a cocky kind of stride, and walked over to the back of the apple stall. The mare was leaning over the counter, giving me a good view of her rump. She was wearing a pair of short shorts made out of denim, but most of it was covered by her orange plaid shirt. The shirt almost blended into her orange fur. Its color reminded me of the vibrant oranges of a sunset, and her blonde mane was the yellows of the same sunset. Her mane was tied loosely at the end by a red hair tie, and followed the curvature of her back. I had to admit, I almost felt guilty having to seduce a mare I didn't even know, but it was me or my morals. I took a few cautious steps behind her, and wrapped my arms around my waist. She jumped in surprise, and threw me off. Before I could regain my footing, she landed a strong kick to my gut, and I toppled over. "What in Equestria are ya doin' grabbing me like that ya-", she shouted before stopping suddenly. She looked me over for a second, and then her anger shifted to shock. "Legs? Is...is that you?"