//------------------------------//
// Float or Fall 
// Story: Bloodsong 
// by Not_A_Hat 
//------------------------------//

I drifted awake, and instantly wished I hadn’t.
 
I lay still, trying for more sleep, but my mind was in turmoil. Noon sun seeped through the blinds, unobscured by clouds. I tasted the air, listening to the weather outside and the Storm in my mind. It was a beautiful day. I groaned and rolled out of bed.
 
I considered last night's discoveries as I brushed my wings, scrutinizing them for damage as I prepared for what was left of the day.
 
I kept recalling the knotted feather as I pondered what had happened. I'd run from that for years, carefully shielding myself with habit. I had acted outside my carefully constructed boundaries – again – when I had rushed after Octavia, and that worried me. Sure, her surrender to Azure had been part, but my reaction…
 
Still, as I thought it over, again and again, I couldn't see myself doing anything different. Abandoning a comrade simply wasn't acceptable. If a Hunter had been in her situation, I could have left happily, trusting their skill to extricate themselves. However, Syzygy or Intaglio or Origami or any of the few I'd worked with wouldn't have allowed a situation where they needed my help for escape.
 
They'd have never relied on me, when the cards were down like that.
 
I chewed that idea over as I ate my oatmeal. I really wasn't sure how I felt about it. My new situation was creating liability after liability. Syzygy was closer to me than I'd ever been comfortable with. Octavia was a glaring weakness in any sort of fight, and Auric had me more in his sights than ever. But what could I do? Could I fade away again? Any path I saw led me closer to what I'd been running from. The feather whirled back to the forefront of my mind, and the whole thing restarted.
 
I quietly cleaned up, considering my next move. I was ready to go out, do something, but I really had no plans for today. I couldn't sleep now. Maybe I should visit Vinyl, see if one of her friends had a lead on the sigil. I moved to leave, but as I cleared the table a mess of paper came into view, leaning against the door just under the mail slit.
 
"What the…"
 
I inspected the top piece.
 
Supplementary form 1919-B, expedited procedure for retrieval of impounded…
 
"You've got to be kidding…"
 
…to be filled out in triplicate, no later than…
 
"No…"
 
An awful feeling clawed at my chest as I realized what had happened. The paperwork for my house was following me. Flashbacks of struggling against the bureaucracy flitted past, and I heaved a juddering sigh. I carefully gauged the depth of the heap, and came to a horrible realization.
 
There was more. It was growing.
 
"No, no, no! Sleet!"
 
I slumped, considering my options. The pressure of all the real problems I had to deal with rushed through my mind, until I finally made a decision. I hefted all the paperwork and gave my house a long, slow look. Possession was nine-tenths of the law, right? And even in the worst case… I didn't really like it that much.
 
I pushed the door open and marched outside, standing on the edge of my small porch.
 
Building another house could be fun.
 
I scraped up all my annoyance with petty hassles, stupid rules, and ridiculous procedures, and launched the entire bundle off with one strong heave.
 
"Hah!" I laughed, instantly feeling more cheerful as the stack shredded in its plummet, fluttering to pieces and spreading wide to drift past the field below. I watched for long moments, appreciating the changing shape and texture of the paper cloud as it dissolved into the distant buildings of the city.
 
Too bad the rest of my problems couldn't be fixed as easily.
 
I drew in a deep breath and launched myself off the edge, heading towards Vinyl's. I was already accomplishing things! Why stop now?
 



 
"Syzygy?" I blinked in surprise as Vinyl’s apartment door drifted open..
 
"Silver!" He gave me a pleasant smile. "Fancy seeing you here!"
 
"What—"
 
"Come in, come in!" He ushered me through, out of the sun. "We were just waiting for you. Did you get my letter?"
 
"Um, no." I glanced around Vinyl's dim living room, spotting her on the couch and Octavia in the recliner. "I don't, uh, maybe it got lost?"
 
"Well, no matter." Syzygy shrugged. "But it's good you came. We were about to get started!"
 
"What's going on here?" I stepped closer to Octavia, taking in the mug she was holding.
 
"He's calling in last night's favor." She waved the cup, and I realized it was filled with blood. "Already."
 
"I don't like making others wait." Syzygy smiled.
 
"What is it this time?" I eyed the mug, curious.
 
"Pegasus." Vinyl shrugged, holding up the bottle. "He wants to see if she has wings."
 
"What?" A bubble of curiosity rose to the surface of my confusion. "Do you think she will?"
 
"Dunno." The DJ shrugged. "I mean, I don't, but…"
 
"Only one way to find out." Octavia looked down into the mug for a long moment. "Ziggy, you set?"
 
"Almost." Syzygy adjusted something on the floor, and I realized that part of the surrounding mess was less musical than usual. Small measuring apparatus were scattered around, blending into the background jumble. "This would be much easier at my lab."
 
"Yeah, no." Vinyl shook her head. "We're doing this in a place where she feels at least a little more comfortable."
 
Octavia looked to me, smiling ever so slightly. I shrugged back. Vinyl might still be sore over Syzygy's last stunt, but I did agree somewhat. At the very least, giving in to the obsessive researcher's demands too easily seemed incautious.
 
"Here goes." Octavia raised the glass and sipped.
 
Syzygy glanced from one instrument to another, making notes and adjusting.
 
I looked on. Nothing happened.
 
"This could take a while." Vinyl scooted over, patting the couch beside her. "Come on, take a seat."
 



 
"This is strange." Octavia finished the last sip of blood with a small shiver.
 
"Please, explain." Syzygy produced a notebook and poised himself for notes.
 
"Jitters." She shivered again. "I feel like moving. And everything is… wobbly."
 
"Like it's speeding up and slowing down?" Vinyl leaned closer.
 
"Yes, that." Octavia nodded. "Sometimes you seem normal, but it's like a record spinning at different speeds. Sometimes you go slower." Her voice accelerated and slowed as she talked, the cadence of words moving at random speeds.
 
"You're flaring." I stepped closer. "Same as you did with unicorn magic, but it's all internal."
 
"Hmm." She moved to stand.
 
"Hold up, don't—" Vinyl held out a cautioning hoof, but it was too late. Octavia rose jerkily and took a long pace.
 
Her legs didn't react as expected. The first too-fast step overbalanced her. She stumbled for footing, but missed. She started to fall but suddenly accelerated, pushing herself completely into the air with an incautious lunge. I watched in surprise as she slowed half-way through her tumble, managing to unsteadily land on her hooves.
 
"Are you holding the magic back?" I recalled her ability to suppress unicorn magic.
 
"Mmm." She nodded.
 
"Try letting it out. This will be easier if you actually do have wings."
 
She nodded once, and concentrated for a minute.
 
"Oh, um…" A look of annoyance crossed her face as her teeth suddenly grew, her coat thickened, and her eyes slit. There was a twitch along her barrel, and small bat-like wings suddenly writhed out of her coat.
 
"Fascinating!" Syzygy stepped in, trying for a closer look until one wing sprang open, nearly clipping him in the face.
 
"Woah." Octavia wiggled her new limbs.
 
"Wait!" I tried to stop her, but again it was too late. They caught the air, and I felt her magic engage as she flapped. Suddenly, there was a small gale in the room, swirling around and knocking her over. She managed to adjust at the last second, turning her impromptu flip into a haphazard landing.
 
"Um." She stood for a long moment, unwilling to move.
 
"Here." I walked over and pressed gently on the joint of one wing, unlocking it and folding it back against her side. She worked the other until it slowly folded as well.
 
"So, you can't do this?" She turned to Vinyl, who was smirking quietly.
 
"No, I can't." Vinyl shrugged. "I'm not… I don't know how to explain it. My magic isn't broad enough?"
 
"It's about the amount you can express." Syzygy made a note, explaining in a distracted voice. "The difference between burst strength and stamina."
 
"So I'm stronger than Vinyl?" Octavia frowned.
 
"Maybe, but…" Syzygy sighed, lowering his notebook. "Magic isn't quite the same as muscles. Think of it like water. There's a fountain inside each of us, which feeds a pool. This flows through our bodies, carried by ley lines, to produce magic. Vampirism wrecks the fount and changes the ley lines, but the fundamentals are similar. Thing is, you're not limited by the size of your previous pool – you can always add more by drinking blood. However," he punctuated his point with a stab of his quill, "this doesn't mean you can actually cast stronger magic than before, because although your ley lines might change, they can't move magic faster. Somepony with broad ley lines can cast a lot of magic quickly, but if they don't have the power to draw from, it won't do them any good. You can have a lot of magic to draw from as a vampire, but if you can't actually express it, it won't help. Your pegasus magic is more advanced than Vinyl's because your ley lines carry it better, it seems. She simply doesn't have the breadth needed to grow wings."
 
"But!" Vinyl rose. "That's not an all-or-one thing. I'm much better at earth pony magic than pegasus; probably better than my natural unicorn magic, in some ways. If we're just talking how much I can use." She walked over to Octavia. "I think it might be because I'm an invert. We don't really get… the full package."
 
"I'd agree." Syzygy picked his notebook back up. "Now, can you suppress your vampire nature while still expressing pegasus magic?"
 
"I'll try." Octavia concentrated again and slowly shifted. Her eyes lost their slits, her coat thinned, and her teeth retracted. Slowly, her wings thickened and fluffed, producing soft grey plumes. They became proper pegasus wings, with long, narrow feathers. 
 
"Excellent!" Syzygy tucked his notebook away and pulled the door open. "Let's see what you can do!"
 
"What?" Octavia gave him a puzzled smile.
 
"Come on, Silver! Let's see if she can fly!" Syzygy looked to me.
 
"I don't…" I paused. "That's going to be tricky, Ziggy."
 
"Psh, you're a flight instructor, right? That's why I wanted you here!"
 
"I've never taught foals, though." I frowned back at him.
 
"Do you think I can't learn?" Octavia gave me a challenging glare, and I sighed.
 
"I don't really know." I shrugged, musing. "Maybe the basics? It takes years to learn proper spellcasting or how to grow plants, as a unicorn or earth pony. Flying is no different."
 
"I'm not a foal." She carefully folded and unfolded her wings a few times. They were elegant, if a little on the small side. Maybe they would grow with more practice, like her horn had?
 
"Well… we can try, I guess." I nodded. A few falls wouldn't kill her, not with how she healed. "Alright, I'm game."
 



 
"It's… going to be a nice afternoon." Octavia looked around at the clear blue sky, dotted with puffs of cloud. "I can feel it."
 
"Mmm. Light winds, warm, low humidity. Should last into the week." I watched as Vinyl and Syzygy struggled up the fire escape. We'd decided that the nearest usable open space was on the roof, a flat, empty concrete square. As long as Octavia didn't fall over an edge, she should be safe enough practicing up here.
 
"Okay." Syzygy brought a swarm of instruments up with him. "Give me a few flaps!"
 
Octavia gave me a questioning look.
 
"Go for it." I shrugged. "You've got to start somewhere. Until you stop flaring, it's really about all you can do."
 
She nodded once and awkwardly spread her wings.
 
"Hold up." I stopped her, looking at her stance. "Bend your knees, and don't lock your wings open unless you're gliding." She adjusted, relaxing her stance somewhat. "Raise them to just above your ears, and sweep to just below your stomach. Do a few slow flaps, and then try it more quickly."
 
She nodded and took a few cautious flutters. Vinyl grinned, waiting. Syzygy measured her meticulously. Finally, she took one swift stroke.
 
I winced as her magic caught, nearly as powerful as an adults… but with all the control of a newborn. She yelped as it launched her into the air, cartwheeling. Her wings slammed shut, and she tumbled overhead for a long moment before she managed to center herself and pull a half-decent landing.
 
"Did you do gymnastics?" I raised an eyebrow at that. I'd half-expected her to come down on her ear.
 
"As a teenager." She drew a few gasping breaths. "I guess I remember some."
 
"That'll help."
 
"Ow." She shook a hoof. "That's… oh, there it goes." She tested it gingerly. "I guess I sprained it for a moment there." She spread her wings again, more cautiously.
 
I watched for several minutes, trying not to laugh as she managed to flip and tumble and jerk into the air several more times. Her magic was firming, though. Her fifth attempt was much less jerky, and by the twelfth, she was nearing stability.
 
"You've mostly stopped flaring, I think." I turned away from where she lay crumpled on the roof, annoyance on her face as she tried to fold her wings and stand simultaneously. "Hey, Ziggy, got what you need?"
 
"I think so." He checked his instruments again. "Why?"
 
"Octavia, here's a question." I turned back to the grey mare, who'd managed to right herself. She fluffed her wings, sneezing at the dust she raised. "I think you can at least learn to flutter. Do you want to practice the fast way, or the safe way?"
 
"Hmm." She considered, rubbing her chin. "Which one's more fun?" She gave me an impish grin.
 
"Oh, the fast way. Definitely." I spread my wings, grinning back. "Vinyl, Ziggy, we're going flying. Be back in a few hours!" I scooped her up in my flow, blasting skywards. She flattened her wings against her sides, looking down as Syzygy packed up and Vinyl waved, dwindling quickly behind.
 
I left a burning contrail, aiming for one of today’s few clouds. I circled it, checking it was unused, before I wafted her over.
 
"Woah!" She wobbled as I released her, landing with a soft poomf on the fluffy cumulus. "This… This is neat." She struggled upright, legs splayed for balance in the shifting surface. I alighted nearby, watching as she took wobbly steps, prancing and exploring the tiny island. She leaned over the edge, looking down, before pulling back quickly.
 
"Vertigo?"
 
"For a second." She leaned out again, more slowly.
 
"So, um." I rubbed an ear, considering. "You trust me to keep you safe, right?"
 
"Really?" She wrinkled her nose at me in consternation. "You're still asking that, after yesterday?"
 
"Good. Remember this. Nose down, small movements, full extension for a glide, but stay relaxed and don't lock up."
 
Her brow wrinkled in confusion. I grinned widely and pushed her over the edge.
 
"Eeeeee!" She flailed for a moment, surprise breaking her composure, before she vanished with a thin wail. I chuckled and leaped after her.
 
She flailed for a moment. I could feel the air jump and shudder as her wings flopped, spinning her left and right until her customary control re-asserted itself and she acted on my advice. She pulled her wings in firmly and relaxed, steadying her airstream. She actually closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath, before making small adjustments to point her nose down. I dove below her, flitting left and right, carefully monitoring her movements as she began spreading her wings. Her airstream thickened and strengthened, reacting as she opened her span slowly. I saw her concentrate, begin to really feel the air as it rushed through her wings.
 
"Hold it there!" I called, as she reached half-extension. "Small movements, try and flex your feathers!" This was the real test, whether she could grasp the flow of magic consciously or if she would be constrained to relying on instinct – instinct she had never developed as a foal. I recalled doing this same exercise with my father, how I'd taught a few of my sister's friends. It was very much all-in, learning to run before you could walk. When it worked, though, the results were impressive.
 
She spun left and right, swooping and rolling, but never going into a tumble. I saw consternation cross her face as the ground neared. I moved in, scooping her up long before crashing became a concern. I didn’t want any alert citizens trying for a ‘rescue’. 
 
"That was a good start." I pulled her close, slowing our fall with short, rapid strokes, wings blurring as I gradually bled away momentum. "Try again?"
 
"Yes please." She grinned. "Let's go higher!"
 
"Alright." I banked into a low loop, trying to save energy, before rocketing skywards again. "Remember—"
 
"Nose down, slow movements, full extension for a glide but stay relaxed and don't lock up." She spread her wings slightly, pulling against my airflow as we rose.
 
"Got it." I nodded, looking down on the diminished city. "Ready?"
 
"Go!" She spun, orienting. I dropped her again.
 



 
She was panting and a few of her feathers were loose when I finally wafted us back to the cloud. She had managed to turn a fall into a glide. It wasn't the most graceful recovery I'd ever seen, but it was serviceable.
 
"What's next?" She gave me a bright-eyed smile, prancing a small circle as I landed beside her.
 
"We're taking a break. And I need to know if you've got enough magic." I pointed to her wings. "You really shouldn't be losing feathers so easily." A long grey plume fell from her wing and I snagged it, tucking it behind my ear.
 
"Mmmm…" She inspected her wings. "I am feeling sort of thirsty. But let's take a break." She flopped down on the cloud, breath slowing from rough panting to more regular puffing. "So, can I do it?"
 
"I think you can." I lay down beside her, rolling to stare up into the broad arch of blue. "You were beginning to move your magic consciously. You can at least learn to flutter."
 
"So much to learn…" she muttered, spreading her wings and flapping slowly. "The more I learn, the more there is. Here and last night, more questions just keep coming up."
 
"Yeah."
 
"Like that sigil, the knotted feather. If Steel Breeze and the vampires both want something connected to it, and they're begrudgingly cooperating, we probably need to investigate it. Do you think we can get Intaglio onboard, scrounge up some other Hunters?"
 
"Intaglio will be willing, but he's solidly restrained by his job." I frowned. "I don't think others would be much help, honestly. It would be just your word against his. I mean, we could hire them, but that would mean official channels, and official attention. Not what we want, I think."
 
"Sure." She mused for a long moment. "That sigil, though. It meant something to you."
 
I didn't answer, simply mulling that over in my mind, considering the whole mess again.
 
"Silver."
 
"Mmm?"
 
"Talk to me."
 
"…I don't know what to say."
 
"Say what you're feeling."
 
We lay in silence a few moments longer, before Octavia rose, leaning over me to look down at my face, straight into my eyes.
 
"Silver."
 
"Yes?"
 
"I want you to trust me."
 
I thought over that for a while, simply turning the idea over in my mind. The whole mess of problems I was trying to sort through came whirling back to me. The feather loomed foremost.
 
"Look, Silver." She moved away, lying back down with a long sigh. "Just… trust me. Please?"
 
"Alright." I sighed as well, letting a little of my frustration evaporate. The image of paperwork scattering in the wind flashed back through my mind. A trouble shared was halved, after all, and she had a stake here. "Alright." I shaded my eyes, ordering my thoughts. "It's… a little difficult, though. Have you ever heard the legend about why there are three races of ponies?"
 
"Several versions."
 
"Well, here's what I was told." I sat up, drawing in a deep breath. She gave me a bemused look as I composed myself. "Before Luna, before Celestia, before Equestria, ponies had no magic." My voice took on a deeper tone as I remembered my father, how he'd told the story in his rolling voice. "There were only ponies. They were hunted by monsters. They struggled to find food and were at the mercy of the skies. They dwindled and dwindled, moving and hiding to survive."
 
"Until one day, they stumbled across a dragon." Octavia sat up, eyes twinkling as she interrupted my narrative. I nodded, letting her continue. "He rested in the center of a garden, guarding a well filled with stars, wrapped around a persimmon tree with six fruit, hard as crystal, and he had a hundred heads."
 
"But he didn't harm them." I took over again, at her nod. "He allowed them to live in his garden, and they were safe there. But they couldn't leave. Eventually, he made them an offer. He would give them three gifts, pieces of his power so they could survive, and in return, they would guard the well when he left." I offered the narrative back with a pause, but she shook her head slightly, so I continued. "They accepted. The first drank from the well, and found magic between the stars. She became the first unicorn. The second ate the leaves of the persimmon, and found magic in all living things. He became the first earth pony. The last breathed the smoke from the dragon’s hundred heads, and found magic in the air. She became the first pegasus." I sighed, flopping down again.
 
Silence reigned for a few more minutes.
 
"I've heard that," Octavia offered. "Or something like it, at least."
 
"Mmm. Here's a little extra, that may not be so commonly told. Some of that magic still persists. The old stuff, the wild stuff. The unicorn fished in the well and made a circlet from stars. The earth pony dug up the roots of the tree and made a circlet of the very blood of the earth. The pegasus seized the vapor in the air and twisted it into a ring of clouds. They each bequeathed these to their descendants."
 
"That's… I may have encountered it as well." Octavia frowned. "But that's about the founding of the old kingdoms, right? The rulers of the three tribes were supposedly descended from them."
 
"Well, yes." I sighed. "And, maybe not. My father, at least, believed that there was more to it. See, his magic… and mine, is a little weird."
 
"Aaah." Octavia mused for a moment. "Weird how?"
 
I felt the Storm in my mind, weighing the question.
 
"Weird in that I can do things a normal pegasus can't. I'm strong – although there are plenty stronger – but I'm also different. I don't claim any mythical inheritance. I mean, there's variation in magic already. Party ponies, or sorcerers like Verdant, or time-mages, or… you know. Cutie mark variation, or just being super powerful."
 
"What's it like?"
 
"It's like…" I tried to encapsulate the idea, struggling to fit it to words. "It's like there's a storm inside me."
 
"You've always struck me as even-tempered." She arched an eyebrow.
 
"No, no. Not emotionally. Magically. I don't even know how to explain it, really. But even in a blue sky like this, I can sometimes hear the rain. And if there's magic nearby, thunder booms. If I'm really down, I can feel sleet sliding down my coat. When I'm angry, lightning starts dancing. I can sort of… let it out, let it affect the world, but it's extremely draining. I don't even know. It's who I am; who my father was. And it's different. That's about all I know."
 
"You think that's why they're after you? The ones with the knotted feather?"
 
"I…" I mulled the question over. "Yeah, I do. I'm pretty certain they were after my father before he disappeared."
 
"Did they…"
 
"No idea." I rubbed my head. "I don't think so. He taught me everything I know, but not everything he knew. There were strange ponies around, bothering him, and he… left. I don't know what happened, but he disappeared. Later there were more, ones with that sigil, and… I sort of did the same. I ran out on my sister, left Cloudsdale. There was a dust up, and I think I convinced them to leave her alone. I came here, hoping against hope they'd follow, but trying to stay low-profile enough they couldn't find me."
 
"And now this."
 
"Now this."
 
"Hmm." Octavia thought it over for a long moment, before rising slowly. "Okay. Thank you, Silver."
 
"You're welcome." I rose, fluffing my wings. "Ready for another round? Or do you need to get some more… blood?"
 
"Blood, I think." She ran a hoof through her mane. "Then, we need to visit my parents."
 
"What?"
 
"I really should have talked to them days ago. My parents and my brother. If we're going any further with this, they have a right to know what's happened with me. Don't worry, I won't tell them any of your secrets."
 
"Octavia—"
 
"Hush." She swiped me with a wing. "What, Silver, did you think I was asking just to hear you talk? You're not the only pony who's allowed to help others. You're working with me on the carcanet. Did you think I wouldn't offer a hoof in return? We're in this together. One way or another. Let me risk a little for you." She grinned and, before I could even formulate a reply, leaped off the cloud.
 
"Hold up!" I dived after. "I haven't taught you how to land yet!"
 



 
"So!" Octavia threw the door to Vinyl's apartment open, wings vanished and an earth pony again. "Have you got ideas? Plans of attack? Leads? Anything?"
 
"No, I don't—" I stumbled in after, still trying to understand what she was getting at. "Look, can't we just stay away from this? Focus on the carcanet, and—"
 
"Lay low?" She whirled back to face me. "No, Silver, we can't. We've come up against this knotted feather twice now. Do you really think ignoring them will work?"
 
"…No." I finally acquiesced with a sigh. "No, I guess you're right. I just… I don't…"
 
"Don't know how to deal with them, after hiding for so long? Have no idea where to start on a problem that's seemed so huge and insoluble to you for so many years? Can't bring yourself to face what you're running from?"
 
"…Maybe." I sighed.
 
"Well, that's okay." Octavia leaned in close. "I'll help."
 
"Hey, Octy!" Vinyl stepped out of the kitchen. "What are you talking about? How'd it go?"
 
"This knotted feather thing. Pretty good, but I can barely glide so far. Please don't call me that."
 
"Oh yeah, that sigil." Vinyl scrunched her nose. "I was thinking, maybe Skimmer or one of the gang would have a lead. Maybe—"
 
"Ah!" Syzygy followed her into the room, picking up his instruments as he came. "You're back!"
 
"Yes." Octavia gave him annoyed look, and swatted at the nearest crystal. "Enough of that, Syzygy. We need to think about our next step, find out about this knotted feather sigil and come up with a plan."
 
"Oh, that." The unicorn lowered his tools. "They're called Primalis. They search for unusual or interesting magic. There's something less than a hundred in the city, and they have a meeting-place in the back of Buttered Crumpet's hotel."
 
We all stared at him for a long moment.
 
"What?" He gave us an innocent smile. "Was it something I said?"
 
"How…" I trailed off, trying to frame the question. "How do you know that, and why didn't you say anything sooner?"
 
"Well, we all split up pretty quick last night. And I can't tell you too much. I gave my word, you see. But it's not so surprising I know something."
 
He floated a gold-and-white lacquered pin out of his saddlebags, in the shape of a knotted feather.
 
"I am a member, after all."