I wish it was Rocket Science...
"What d'ya mean, 'How am I flying?'," Rainbow asked, quirking an eyebrow as she rubbed her ear. "Hello? Pegasus? Wings?" she teased, flapping her hooves in time with the last word.
"But that's just it!" I boggled as my eyes danced over her feathers, "You shouldn't be able to fly at all with those equine-avian limbs! Their surface area coupled with the rate at which you're beating them is grossly insufficient to provide the lift necessary to keep anypony of your mass aloft!"
"Huh?" she retorted while stubbornly refusing to obey the simple laws of Newton as she hovered lazily.
Twilight stifled a short giggle, "He said you weigh too much for your wings to let you fly."
"Hey!" Rainbow shoved her face into mine, pushing it back. "Are you calling me fat?"
I took a step back, but the cyan pegasus followed. "What?! No, I-"
"Captain Kiwi!" the cotton candy coated mare interjected. "That's not a nice thing to say!"
"But I didn't-" I stammered, backpedaling physically as well as mentally. "I meant-"
"What? That my wings are too small?" Rainbow huffed as she crossed her forelegs, "I'll have you know plenty of stallions have complimented me on my wingspan."
"Oh I'll bet they have, dear." Rarity piped up, flashing her a knowing smirk.
Dash's hooves landed with a clop as a faint blush colored her cheeks. "That-that's not what I meant!"
Evidently, Twilight couldn't contain her laughter any longer, "Rainbow, he really didn't mean it as an insult." She paused to wipe a tear from her eye. "He doesn't understand that pegasi don't fly the same way birds do."
"Wait a minute," I blinked, my brain sifting through the implications of what I just heard. "Are you telling me there's a source of lift other than Bernoulli's principle?"
"I think you mean 'Berneighlli', and yes, pegasi wings generate their own kind of magic fields that both compliment and magnify the lift they provide. In addition to allowing flight, these and other autonomic fields interact in various ways with clouds and other meteorological phenomena." Twilight all but instructed, her eyes closed as she spoke with that confident smile. She was only missing some graphs and diagrams to complete the lecture. Of course, I knew better than to ask, even in jest. I was sure she had them.
In any case, whatever she said next I missed entirely. I was too engrossed in my left wing, wordlessly staring as I slowly worked the primary feathers back and forth. Is she serious?
Three.
What am I talking about, she doesn't strike me as the kind to joke like that.
Two.
Besides, I did see that pegasus flying right before my-
One.
My head snapped up as the realization slammed into me with all the force of a freight train, "You mean I can actually FLY with these?" My eyes darting across my wings as they shot open, my voice climbing a couple decibels on the way.
"You're jokin' right?" Applejack ventured, her eyebrows crooked. The half-smile she wore slowly faded as I answered her question with silence. She whistled softly while adjusting her hat, "Well I'll be ... a full grown pegasus not knowin' he can fly. Now I have seen everything."
Rainbow was up in the air again, obviously much more comfortable in the sky. "No way!" She shook her head, "I don't believe it! I'd sooner forget how to walk before I forgot how to fly!"
I fell back on my haunches, ears drooping as my gaze drifted onto idle hooves pawing at the grass. A nauseous flutter was filling the pit of my stomach as I reluctantly added, "Rest assured, I had forgotten that as well," I sighed, "Pinkie can attest to that."
A warm foreleg hooked around my neck as the aforementioned mare sat next to me, "You don't have to take a test, silly!" she giggled, "Anypony can see you're walking much better now, not that you were that bad at walking before, more like you only forgot half your legs." A sudden gasp caused her face to light up, "Maybe you've only forgotten half your wings too!"
Pinkie let go as I spread my deep green feathers wide and gave them an awkward flap before I sadly repeated Rainbow's gesture. "I'm afraid not, Pinkie. It doesn't feel familiar at all." That wasn't entirely true. My wings still had that impression that I've always had them, but the ways in which they moved felt as alien as ever. The dichotomy between those sensations bothering me more than anything.
"It's okay," came a timid voice from behind Rarity. The white unicorn shifted to the right as Fluttershy walked up beside her. "I imagine it must feel terrible, not remembering things you're expected to know, not to mention waking up somewhere unfamiliar. I don't think I could ever handle that as well as you are," the soft-spoken pegasus nearly whispered. Her head remained bowed, staying closer to my own sunken eye-level. "It's not your fault, though. After all, you didn't choose to forget, right?" Fluttershy offered with a gentle smile. While she was speaking, she must have taken a few steps closer, but for the life of me I couldn't remember seeing her move.
"That's true," I mumbled, my unease slowly draining away. There was still so much I was missing, but she had a point. I shouldn't be ashamed of something I had no control over, but emotions hardly ever listen to logic.
Fluttershy added, "Twilight asked us if we might be able to help you ... um, remember. So-"
"SO!" Pinkie interrupted, bouncing around the group. "We should start with your name! I vote for Professor Plum!"
"Why in Equestria would you call him that?" Twilight trotted forward, giving her head a tilt.
The excitable mare pushed open one of the ground floor windows and leaned out from inside, "Well, we've already got the library and candlestick!" Pinkie waved a brass candle holder as Twilight covered her face with a hoof.
"I, for one, think he deserves a name a little less ... eccentric, wouldn't you say?" Rarity mused, punctuating her question with a slight toss of her mane.
"I'm partial to something simple myself," Applejack pondered as she tapped her chin, "Maybe related to his talent." Her emerald eyes glanced over in my direction. "What is your cutie mark for anyway?"
"I'm sorry ... my what?"
"Oh, you poor thing!" Rarity gasped as she covered her mouth, "You really have been dealt an awful hand." She blinked for a moment before straightening herself up. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry. Where are my manners? You asked us a question." Rarity apologized as she stepped up to her more rustic friend. "Applejack, if you'd be so kind..."
The orange mare subtly rolled her eyes and turned to present her flank, upon which was emblazoned a set of three stylized apples. As I looked around, each and every one of them had a design of their own adorning their sides in the same location. A set of gems, three butterflies, party balloons, a tri-colored lightning bolt, and a starburst made up the rest of the group. Everything else was so vibrant and new, I hadn't been paying nearly enough attention to what was right in front of me.
Or on me.
Before I could inspect my own mark, Twilight cleared her throat, "A 'Cutie Mark' is an outward representation of somepony's special talent, and what makes them happiest."
"You mean everypony's got one of these?" I raised an eyebrow, scanning the area for any other ponies. "Everyone's born knowing what they're good at?"
"If they were, it would sure save my sister a whole heck of a lot of trouble," Applejack lamented with slow shake of her head.
"They appear once you've figured out for yourself what your own talent is," Twilight clarified. "And since you've already got one, then you must have too." She flashed a hopeful smile, "Do you ... remember?"
I leaned back and gazed up at the sky as I dredged through my memories. Nothing new was coming to the surface, nothing familiar or recollected about gaining a talent illuminating emblem. But ... I have one, so it must have happened ... right? My lips began to pull into a short frown as I struggled to conjure up what I must have lost.
"I don't know when it happened," I sighed as my eyes refocused, "but I do remember what I'm good at."
"Teaching, learning, especially in the sciences. I love that jolt of insight you get right before you figure out that problem, or witnessing that same look in someone's eyes after they finally understand what you've been explaining." A smile had worked its way onto my face as I spoke. Thoughts of grateful students and their relieved expressions as they thanked me drifted through my mind's eye, but the joy was short lived as I couldn't help but notice that none of them were ponies. Were any of them real?
"Okay! So he's an egghead," Rainbow flapped over to Twilight, "but I'm not gonna let you saddle him with something un-awesome like that 'Glass Slide' nonsense."
The librarian shook her head with a soft laugh, "Alright Dash, what do you suggest, then?" Rainbow opened her mouth only to close it again with a furrow in her brow.
It was my turn to roll my eyes as I took the opportunity to get a good look at my own flank while they were occupied. I appreciated how much they were trying, but suitable names don't just arrive by serendipity. Then again, I would have said magical epiphany-tattoos don't just suddenly appear either. I pushed my glasses out of the way with a hoof while I used it to rub my tired eyes. I hope I start remembering things soon or I'm just going to get crazier.
Adjusting the lenses back onto my muzzle, I swiveled my head around to peer at my cutie mark. On a field of deep green fur was the image of a cloud with two rods sticking out of the top of it and slightly angled away from each other. Between the tips of the rods ran an arc of lightning.
"A spark gap?" I chuckled under my breath, momentarily lost in how crisp and clear the design was for being on fur.
"I'm sorry, darling. What was that?"
I looked up to see that Rarity, as well as the other five mares, had stopped talking amongst themselves at her question.
"Oh, uhh, nothing," I swallowed absently, shifting my weight between my hooves, "I just recognized that my mark was depicting a spark gap is all."
"Is that what you call it?" Applejack cocked her head to the side as if mulling something over.
"I say, it does have a nice ring to it," Rarity considered, her sapphire eyes giving me the once over. "Yes, I think he could pull it off quite nicely."
"Pull what off?"
Twilight was grinning again, "A pair of conductors that ignite a spark when the breakdown voltage is exceeded, leading to a flash of light, sound, and heat." She nodded, "Very apt for a talent centered around sudden or intuitive cognition."
"But what does that have to do with-"
"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Rainbow soared in a looping arc before quickly coming to a stop inches away from my face. She floated back a half step and extended a foreleg. "Nice to meet ya, Spark Gap."
"Ah," I replied, more than a little stunned as I automatically shook the proffered hoof. "Likewise, Ms. Dash."
Does that work? Can I just call myself Spark Gap from now on?
It's a name. What makes it different from any other?
Well it's-
A bright pink head intruded upon my inner debate, bubbly personality in tow. "You don't seem very excited about it. I can't throw you a 'New Name Party' if you're not happy!" Pinkie was already wearing a conical yellow and blue party hat and holding a hoof-full of streamers.
"The name is great, Pinkie. I was just thinking about how it's still not ... mine."
She giggled, "Think of it as a nickname until you can remember your real one! Besides, just because you may call a cupcake a muffin doesn't make it any less tasty!"
"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet," I quoted, the seeds of a smile taking root.
Rarity's ears perked up, "I didn't know you were a fan of Shakespony." She paused for a moment, her eyes calculating something behind a growing smile. "In fact, I've been looking for somepony to accompany me to the newest performance of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' in Canterlot."
"Uhh," I stalled. My throat was giving the Sahara a run for its money. "Thank you, but I'd hate to take that opportunity away from any of your friends here."
"Nonsense! It would be an excellent way to jog your memory," Her stare switched gears as she began sizing me up in an entirely new, and slightly uncomfortable way, "Of course, we'd have to find you some proper attire..."
"Hold up!" Rainbow called out from above. "He's not doing anything until he re-learns how to fly!"
"Do you have any idea how long that could take?" Applejack hollered up at the energetic pegasus. "We're supposed to- I mean, I'm sure he'd appreciate remembering everything sooner rather than later."
"Oh please, with me showing him the ropes, he'll be flying in no time." Rainbow shot off in a streak of colors, circling the library while deftly weaving over and under its branches and balconies.
"There's no rush, really. I'm not on any schedu-"
"Well if you're so confident about it," Applejack smirked from under the brim of her hat, "I've got a barrel of our finest cider tucked away that says you can't get him airborne in under three days."
"Three days? Isn't that a little fast?" I swallowed, my gaze jumping between the two mares.
"Hah! That's not even a challenge!" Rainbow's hooves made contact with the ground as she screeched to a halt in front of Applejack. "I'll have Spark here soaring over Sweet Apple Acres by the end of the day tomorrow or my name's not Rainbow Dash!"
"That's ... you ... what?" I stammered, "Why would you make the dare harder?"
"Are you kidding?" she scoffed, "Like I'm going to wait two extra days to get my hooves on that sweet apple cider!" Her mane fluttered as she whipped her head around to meet Applejack's challenging stare. "You just have that barrel ready," Rainbow ran her tongue across her lips before turning back to me, "And I expect to see you on the field north of Ponyville at 8 o'clock sharp, wings primed!"
I sat there stunned as a lone twitch plagued my right eye.
What have I gotten myself into.
* * *
The sun had long since set as I paced in front of the window. I never imagined Twilight would go so far as to set me up at an inn, not that I was complaining. She said it was no trouble, that it was being paid for by the princess who I guessed was their head of state, but I was too tired to press the matter further. I didn't want to try their patience any more than my questions already had.
A lamp on the bedside table illuminated what the light of the moon did not. There was a small writing desk in the corner of the room opposite the bed, whose quilted covering was appearing more inviting by the minute. At first I was surprised there wasn't a closet or a dresser, merely a trunk that sat at the foot of the bed.
Though with how few clothes, if any, they wear, I suppose it makes sense.
They?
... we
I sighed as I removed my glasses, placing them next to the lamp. A part of me knew I should be excited at the prospect of learning ... re-learning how to fly, yet my heart remained restless. Something more was bothering me, giving rise to a persistent sense of dread that I couldn't shake from my very core.
Are you afraid of her?
Who?
The mare from your dream.
The second floor window provided an excellent view of the night sky as I gazed through its panes. I drew in a deep breath while my eyes lingered on the stars before coming to rest on the nearly full moon.
No. She was just part of a dream. Random images produced by neurons firing as they attempt to sort and pack the day away.
Afraid of forgetting more, then?
My stomach tightened.
... I've made my peace with my memories. I don't look forward to losing any others, but it's out of my control.
Then that still leaves something else as the source of your distress.
The mattress sank as I slowly climbed onto its downy softness, a far cry more comfortable than the hospital's own spartan accommodations. I grabbed a corner of the blanket and pulled it about my shoulders. It was pleasantly warm, but it did nothing to thaw the chill of unease I carried.
I didn't want to acknowledge it, not even to myself, but there was something off with the way Twilight and her friends were acting. Maybe I was just being paranoid.
That doesn't mean you're wrong.
Thanks, brain, for that stunning vote of confidence.
I tapped the light off with a hoof and rolled over, doing my best to think about nothing until sleep finally took me.
* * *
"Oh, come on!" Rainbow yelled from her treetop perch, "It's like you've never even used your wings before!"
I spat out a blade of grass and dust as I struggled to stand. "Yes, Dash, that's what forgetting how to fly means!" I rebutted irritably. We had been at it for over three hours in what I can only describe as a near constant state of perpetual crashing.
"Okay, reset and give it one more shot, then we break for lunch. I'm starving!"
"You're starving?!" I grumbled, flexing my wings, "I'm the one doing all the work."
"Yeah, you're also the one eating all the dirt," she teased as she stuck out her tongue.
I narrowed my eyes at my tormentor before replying, "Touché." I spread my feathers again as I had been instructed, going through the cycle for a hovering flap in my head.
One: Wings up, tips out.
Two: Sweep down, full extension.
Three: Fold in, draw up.
My wings followed along, matching my mental practice. Satisfied, I took in a deep breath and held it, steeling myself as best I could. A light breeze played across my back, ruffling my mane just enough to let me know it was there.
Alright, here we go.
I started flapping in earnest. One-two-three. The weight on my hooves vanished as they naturally tucked in slightly. One-two-three. I slowly rose, gaining foot after foot until I was level with Rainbow. One-one-two-two-three-three. I started to wobble as one wing got ahead of the other. My teeth clenched as I tried to reign in the overeager appendage.
"Easy! Don't fight against them, let them carry you!"
It took everything I had to listen to her as I began to sway more forcefully. I shut my eyes in advance of the coming crash as I focused on just flapping and less on each wing's specific position.
One-two-three.
I gingerly opened my right eye and peered around. Everything bobbed slightly at a steady rhythm. Looking down, I noticed the tree was below me.
"Hah!" I exclaimed, grinning like a madman. "I did it!"
"Finally! It only took you all morning," Rainbow stretched as she flew up from her branch. "Now it's time for phase two: gliding."
My smile waned. I should have known that wasn't going to be the end of it.
"Now that you're up here," she continued, "you've got the altitude to start a glide." Rainbow stopped flapping and opened her wings, pulling out of a shallow dive. She soared in a wide curve, hardly loosing any height as she picked up speed. With a sharp turn she flew up, slowing her ascent until she was next to me again and resumed hovering.
"Just like that. Now remember, it's all in the feather-tips. Once you hold your wings out steady, all you need to do to adjust your course is tilt your trailing pinions."
I nodded, swallowing my nervous flutter before extending my own wings. The ground began to accelerate as I flew forward, the wind tossing my hair about. There was a giddiness welling up inside that was about to make me laugh, but something was wrong. The field was getting closer, a great deal closer, and fast.
"Pull up!" Rainbow called out from beside me.
"I'm trying!" I shouted back, frantically attempting to turn or change my path into anything other than a direct confrontation with terra firma. All I could manage was to slow my descent as I ploughed into the ground, kicking up chaff in my wake. The impact sent my glasses flying while I skid across the grass to a rather undignified stop, legs splayed behind me while my chin rested in the dirt.
"Any landing you can walk away from..." I groaned, not even bothering to lift my head.
Rainbow sighed before touching down, "You alright? That one looked pretty rough."
There was a twinge in my chest as I put my hooves under me again, "Nothing broken, I think." I stood up and wearily shook off the dust from my coat. "But I don't know how much more of this I can take. You may have the stamina to keep this up for a full day, but I'm nearly beat as it is."
"You're not trying to give up, are ya?" She stepped in front me, cutting off my escape. "We've got some cider to win!"
"There you are saying 'we' again. You're the one that made that bet, remember?" I sat down, inspecting my glasses. "I just don't think it's going to happen today."
Rainbow chewed on her lip for a moment before her eyes lit up, mischievous grin not long behind. "Tell you what. How about I take us to lunch, and then afterwards if you still don't feel like continuing, you can head back. Deal?"
I studied her up and down, unsure what she was playing at. Was she counting on swaying me with an argument to be made over lunch? In any case, I couldn't see anything wrong with it, so I agreed. "Deal."
As we walked back into town, well I was the only one who walked, she flew slightly ahead still wearing that smug expression. I wondered where we were headed. Last night we simply had some sandwiches Twilight had already prepared, though when she had the time to plan or do that I'm still not sure.
"Now just wait here a moment, I'll be right back!" Rainbow smiled, taking off in a blur which left me standing alone. We had come to a stop in front of a cafe on one of the main thoroughfares. Other ponies were seated outside the establishment enjoying their refreshments. Across the street I could see more townsfolk as they went on with their day. Aside from the species and almost storybook village, this was normal.
"Maybe I haven't forgotten everything," I mused to no one in particular.
"Watch your hooves!" A voice called out, causing me to step back as a yellow chariot with a black and white checkered stripe pulled by two grey pegasi landed in the road ahead of me. Before I could ask, Rainbow poked her head out from the vehicle.
"Hop in!" she waved, motioning me to join her, now sporting a saddlebag emblazoned with her characteristic bolt. "The restaurant I want to take you to is a little far, so I thought we'd ride." I carefully stepped into the taxi colored chariot, keenly aware that there was neither seat belts nor, well, seats. Once I was aboard, the two stallions wasted no time in taking off.
"Where are we going?" I asked, watching Ponyville fall away behind us and doing my level best to hang on with only hooves.
"Raindrop's, it's one of my favorites over in Cloudsdale." She nudged me and my heart skipped a beat as I lost traction for a second. "They have the best hay fries with cheese curds and onion gravy." Her inflection alone nearly caused me to salivate along with her.
"That does sound good, I can't remember the last time I had pub food. Will it be a long ride?"
"Nah," Rainbow shook her head and pointed at a cloud front. As we crested the rise before us, I had to hold onto my jaw.
A huge Grecian styled city hung in the distance. Flowing streams cascaded in waterfalls that faded into mist and rainbow. Everything from the mammoth columns to the land they stood on was seemingly built from pure cumulus. It shone without equal among the other clouds below.
"Wow," I gaped.
"I know, right?"
Our drivers knew exactly where they were going and soon we disembarked in front of a restaurant where above the door hung a simple sign: Raindrop's. The chariot left as Rainbow flew inside. Ordinarily I would have followed, but something had me preoccupied.
I was staring at my hooves, or more appropriately, what was under them.
"Hey, I thought you were hungry?" Rainbow's voice echoed from the doorway, "What gives?"
"We're standing on clouds!"
"And?"
"We're standing on clouds!" I repeated.
"So?"
"I ... wha- ... but..." I stammered. The muscle under my eye had begun to twitch. I drew in a breath, but I was too tired to argue my point. "... Never mind, I'll just ask Twilight later." Rainbow laughed as I followed her in.
True to her word, the food was indeed some of the best I'd ever had, even if I didn't recall eating hay fries before. Throughout the meal she remained quiet, without even an attempt to strike up a conversation to dissuade me from calling it a day. Was she hoping that the food alone would energize me? After she paid the bill we headed outside and stopped at a nearby overlook.
I could see the countryside stretching beneath us between lazy clouds. Ponyville sat only a short distance away, but noticeably much further below. There was a mountain that rose not far from either, a many spired castle town built into its side.
"Well?" Rainbow asked, drawing my attention away from the scenery. "Have you decided to give up or go home?"
I really didn't want to tell her no, not after she went to all the trouble to take me out to one of her favorite restaurants or introducing me to this marvel of a city. I just knew I wasn't going to manage flying by the end of the day, and I didn't want to see her try so hard and still lose the bet.
"Oh! One more thing," Rainbow fished around in her saddlebags before pulling out a set of goggles. "You're going to need these," she added, holding out the pair.
"I ... thank you, but I really-"
"Just try them on," she smirked, nabbing my lenses before pulling the goggles down over my eyes. I blinked away the sudden disorientation, only to find I could see just fine.
"What? How did you get corrective lenses in my prescription?"
She laughed, "Twilight knows a spell or two for shaping crystal, and Rarity was more than happy to lend her talents with the rest." Rainbow smiled, "That's why she needed to borrow your glasses yesterday after we went inside. Pretty cool, huh?"
"They're perfect, Dash. Thank you again," I hesitated, "but I don't think I've got what it takes to get flying down in just one day."
"Alright," she replied, still no hint of disappointment in her features, "so you're heading back then?"
"Yes..." I answered warily. Something was definitely fishy.
We made our way down a pillar flanked street until I spotted another chariot shaped taxi. "Excuse me," I asked the driver, "Can you take me to Ponyville?"
The navy coated stallion answered me with a smile, "Sure can, son. 12 bits."
"Oh, I don't-" My face blanched as the pieces started falling into place. I turned to Rainbow, mouth agape. "You..."
"Sorry," she apologized, "I used the last of my bits on lunch. Looks like we can't take the taxi." That same smug grin was plastered all over her face.
Without money to hail a taxi, the only way out of Cloudsdale ... was by wing. She played me and I walked straight into it.
"Clever girl," I muttered as Rainbow burst out laughing once she knew I had figured it out. I wasn't about to just stick around while she reveled in her victory, so I headed back to the overlook beside Raindrop's.
I can't believe I fell for that.
My hoof stamped the spongy cumulus, but it was not nearly as satisfying as when on land.
Not that I blame her, really, but nothing's been going right. I haven't even been able to remember a single thing!
The cloud absorbed the impact from my other foreleg.
Argh! Even this ground makes for a terrible stress reliever!
I reared back and dropped my hooves with as much force as I could muster in an attempt to work out my frustration. Only this time, I wasn't met with any resistance.
My vision was obscured in a haze of white as I had the sensation of falling end over end. I managed to shake my head with enough force to dislodge the cloudlet from my face, and immediately wished I hadn't. The wind was whipping past my ears so loudly I could barely hear myself screaming as I plummeted.
Oh, god. I'm going to die. I've got wings, and yet I'm going to die from falling out of a city in the clouds.
I couldn't get a bead on anything, the horizon was lost amidst the blur of green, blue, and white as I continued tumbling out of control, limbs flailing helplessly.
No! Focus! I need to get my bearings if I'm going to survive this. Think! How do skydivers do it?
I bit my lip and folded my wings in tight, throwing my legs straight back as far as they would go. After two more uncomfortable flips, my new drag profile had straightened me out. I was in a nosedive, looking directly at the rapidly approaching landmass. However, my attitude control came with a price. I was accelerating.
Great, now I can see what I'm going to hit, but also hit it faster. Awesome.
A sudden image of crashing into ground at terminal velocity flashed through my head before I could shake it away.
Not today.
I threw my wings out to start flapping but the sheer force of the updraft wrenched them back painfully and sent me spiraling out of control again, wasting precious seconds re-righting myself back into a dive. Now I was moving too fast to beat my wings to slow my descent.
Carefully, I extended my wings again. This time taking pains to keep them parallel to the wind so as not to lose my last chance at this. The ground was getting oppressively close as I closed my eyes. I imagined my wings were as those on a plane, and tilted up the trailing pinions on both as hard as I could. My body sagged as I could feel the centrifugal force pressing down on me, but I held on. The strain on my wings was enough to make them vibrate in the turbulent airstream. My eyes remained screwed shut, waiting for the inevitable collision.
But none came.
The wind about me slowed and gave way to a growing weightlessness. My inner ear was telling me I was no longer pointed down, but rather the opposite. I hazarded a peek just in time to catch the light of the sun dip behind a cloud as my climb upward came to a halt. Gravity reasserted itself for a moment before I remembered to start flapping. Shakily, I leveled myself out, thankful I had enough adrenaline left for that. My whole chest shuddered as I finally let out the breath I was holding.
"Nice recovery!" a familiar voice called out from above as she clapped her hooves together in applause, "I knew you'd remember how to fly with the right motivation."
I spun around to face her, "That wasn't flying! That was just ... not-falling! I could have died!"
"But you didn't," Rainbow smirked, "Besides, I heard you take that spill and was following you the whole way. You were fine."
If this were any other situation, I'd like to think I would have reacted differently, more level headed. As it was, being subjected to hours of exhausting rote exercises, being outwitted into continuing said exercises, and plummeting thousands of feet in primal terror had worn my rationality thin.
"I ... You ... come here!" I growled, launching myself towards the cocky mare. Dash easily avoided my lunge, dropped into a dive and took off.
"That's the spirit!" she cheered over her shoulder, "Try and keep up!"
I wheeled around, clearly outclassed in such a match up, but I didn't care. Rainbow soared off in the direction of Ponyville, the town's iconic buildings plenty visible in the distance. I pushed myself to eke out what little speed I could, but I failed to gain even an inch of ground as we flew over the countryside.
Bushes and plains began to give way to a thriving orchard, with rows of trees covering the land below. Rainbow was veering towards a red barn, buzzing the tops of the apple trees as she went. "Hey! Applejack!" she howled, "Heads up!" I caught a glimpse of the orange mare shaking her head below as I passed over the the farm seconds later.
By the time we reached the town proper, I had lost Rainbow among the buildings. My breathing was getting heavy as I began to calm down from my frustrated chase. Rounding a rooftop I heard something that chilled my blood.
A scream.
Not a joyous one full of excitement, nor a short and surprise driven one, but rather this scream had the note of actual fear. Without thinking, I vaulted over a thatched cottage in the direction of the cry.
Where are you going?
I ignored the mounting protests inside as I narrowly avoided hitting a chimney. A small market was coming into view, and the source of the commotion. Even with everything I'd seen redefining to myself what 'impossible' actually meant, I was staring at something that had absolutely no reason to exist.
Hanging just above the ground near the vendor stalls was what I could only describe as a localized singularity.
In other words, a black hole.