“Wake up, sleepy head,” comes a voice. I snuggle further into my covers. I don’t want to get up yet.
“It’s time to get up, Loopy.” The voice seems gentle, but it sounds like a temper is being held in check, “Kendra.”
I slide an eye open enough to recognize the pony, Sunset Shimmer, and groan, “Give me another hour.”
The chime of magic sounds and my warm covers are yanked off of me, earning the mare a dirty look. “Please?”
“No, it’s time to get up. Helen is making breakfast, and I want to work on both of you today.”
I groan, then my stomach gurgles. I look over at Kendra and see that her eyes are slowly opening as well. “Fine,” I grumble. Sunset turns and heads out of the room. I look over at Kendra, “Five more minutes?”
She sits up and rubs my ear, “It will turn into fifteen or twenty, then we’ll have Sunset up here. I have a feeling she won’t be as nice if she has to come back here.” She puts her feet on the floor and finally stands up, stretching. I stretch all four legs and flip onto my hooves. I find my wings extending, but I don’t feel the energy to fly...Maybe after breakfast.
I follow Kendra and soon, wonderful smells hit me right in the nose. I flare my nostrils, bringing in the delicious flavors. “Mmmmmmmm,” I murmur. We get to the kitchen, and I hop onto the bench as Kendra takes a stool.
“Morning,” I grumble, and a coffee cup slides over to me. I inhale the aroma, “A latte?”
Sunset smiles, “Yeah, we’ve got a good coffee maker, so you can have drip, or we can make espresso. I thought you would like a latte.”
I take a sip, then smile, “I usually have just regular old coffee. This is awesome.”
Sunset smiles, then a plate of food is sat down in front of me. I look at the waffles, sausage and scrambled eggs. I look at the woman who just set down the plate, “Thanks, Mrs. Shaw,” I murmur and grab the fork, fitting the strap around my hoof.
“Loopy, I’m Helen. No need to be formal here.”
I look down, “I’m sorry. You guys are just so nice. It’s too much.”
Kendra nudges me, “Your Grandma made you breakfast like this all the time.”
“She’s family,” I say softly as Kendra digs in.
Sunset levitates a fork, “You know, Kendra, after this morning, you aren’t going to be touching any utensils to eat. We’re going to get you proficient in your telekinesis.” Her fork spears a piece of waffle and floats it into her mouth, after she swallows, “Even if I have to tie your arms to your sides, I’ll get you using your TK like it’s second nature.”
Kendra pauses, looking at the food on her fork, “What are the fundamentals? Moon Shadow has talked about them a couple of times.”
Sunset smiles, “Fundamentals are exercises designed to get a unicorn proficient in their magic quickly. You will have to learn to sense with your magic, along with doing multiple tasks at once. I’ll start you on easy ones, but they will get progressively harder.”
Kendra smiles, “Oh, that’s awesome. I thought teaching would be all boring lectures.”
Sunset grins impishly, “Oh, you are going to have to listen to a few lectures too.”
Kendra groans, all through school, she hated lectures. Her favorite class was shop. She can weld better than most of the guys in her class could.
Sunset and Helen keep the conversation flowing as we eat. But finally I have to push my food away.
Helen stands up, “I had better start making some sweets… and doughnuts… and all the yummy stuff that magic users need.”
Kendra looks at her, “Sweets?”
Sunset hops off her seat. “Magic can be very taxing to the caster, especially a new magic user… one who hasn’t developed her magical reserves. Trust me, you are going to be craving high calorie foods for the next couple of weeks.” She walks out of the kitchen; Kendra follows, and I come along too, curious as to what’s going on.
“Now, as a magic user, you are a conduit. You control the energy flowing through you. Until you get used to it, you’ll find you use your reserves quickly.”
Kendra furrows her brow, “If I’m a conduit, then how do I use reserves?”
Sunset smiles, “I keep forgetting, you didn’t grow up around magic like the ponies. What would be basic education for a unicorn or a human magic user who was found a lot younger than you were is all new to you. Let me start at the beginning.” She turns and walks down the stairs to the basement.
“A pony can make a shield that can stop bullets, or even a rocket. With a basic understanding of physics, you know that no biological process can produce that much energy. And you also know the law of conservation of energy, right?”
I know this one. “Energy cannot be destroyed or created. It can only change forms.”
Sunset smiles, “Right, the first law of thermodynamics. And magic does not violate it, completely.”
Kendra furrows her brow, “Completely?”
Sunset giggles, “We know that magic is everywhere around us. We tap into the energy around us when we use magic. The thing is, there is no known way to measure or quantify that energy, except with magic users. So, we can’t prove that the magical energy exists, but we know it’s there because we can tap into it.”
“So, for the last twenty-five years, unicorns have been driving the scientific community bonkers?”
Sunset nods, “I have personally been told that what I do, what is part of me, is impossible. Then I levitated a pencil out of his pocket and transformed it into a hummingbird.”
That gets a laugh out of me, “And what did he do?”
“His eyes bugged out, and he walked away very quickly.”
That gets laughter from all three of us, then Sunset quiets down. We are now in a large room, devoid of furniture, with thick concrete walls and ceiling, “This is a room for magical training. The concrete has been enhanced, by myself, to be able to take anything you can throw at it. It is a safe place for up to a mid-level unicorn to practice casting without worries about damaging anything important. Even the lights are protected.” She points to the strip lights on the ceiling, “Kendra.” A plastic storage container is levitated over and the lid pops off. “Time to learn your telekinesis.”
After about an hour, Kendra is able to pick things up with her new magic. Finally, Sunset pulls out a steel ball and sets it in front of the human, “This is not a ball, Kendra, it is a puzzle. Over a hundred pieces of steel are here.” Her magic causes the ball to fall apart, then it puts itself back together. “You need to feel each individual piece. Feel where each part connects with its neighbor, then show me when you have it fully apart.”
Kendra encases the ball in her magic as Sunset turns to me, she pulls me over to the side of the room, “The first time I dealt with that particular puzzle, it took me an hour to get the first piece out. Now, I want to help you.”
I look down, “I don’t know how a unicorn can help me fly.”
She giggles, “You would be surprised, Loopy. Magic is a basic component of all ponies. Take Lightning Dust, for example. Before she lost her flight, she was actually a lot brighter turquoise than she is now. We didn’t understand how she had grayed out after fighting the clone. It wasn’t until we found out that she was unable to fly anymore did we understand fully.”
My ears fall as I cock my head to the side, “Her color changed?”
Sunset nods, “Yes, she did.”
“Wow.”
Loopy looks back at Kendra, who is concentrating, the ball encased in her blue aura, then back at Sunset, “How can you help me fly?”
Sunset lights her horn, “Both Mischief and Dust said you have strong magic, to the point you are likely a speedster, but you are clumsy in the air. Dust said you had the same problem as a foal in Equestria, so I’m going to see what’s going on. May I touch you?”
I nod and she brings her horn close, finally touching my forehead. After a moment she murmurs, “Looks like your magic is centered on your cutie mark and your head. Not your wings. It will take training to channel your magic where it belongs.”
I frown, “I don’t understand. How does where my magic is centered matter?”
Sunset extinguishes her horn and sits back, “You are a pegasus; you have inborn magic. You don’t really notice it, so you haven’t learned how to feel it again.”
“I know I have magic, but how does that help?”
Her horn lights again, and my wing is extended from my body. I look back at it. “Loopy, these wings are way too small to get your body off the ground. You fly with your wings, but also with your magic. You use it to lower your weight, to provide lift, and for propulsion. In the case of speedsters, you even use it to dissipate the heat of flying at extremely high speeds.” She looks wistful, “And in extreme cases, like Lightning Dust, it is used to assist breathing at extremely high altitudes… and to provide protection against impacts. If it weren’t for her magic protecting her, she wouldn’t have lived at all through her crash. Rainbow Dash wouldn’t have been able to destroy that barn in the TV show without her magic, either. Your magic should be centered on your wings, Loopy.”
“How do I fix that?”
“It’s simple, Loopy. Training, lots of training. I will show you how to feel your magic, how to push it into your wings, and how to feel the connection.”
“How?”
She smiles, “First, close your eyes.” After a moment, “Good. Now, feel your body.”
I think for a moment, “What am I feeling for?”
“Your magic.”
I concentrate… she told me my head and my cutie mark. I open my eyes, “What does my cutie mark have to do with anything?”
She reaches out and touches it. I’ve been concentrating so hard on my body, her touch sends electricity throughout my body, and left behind is a strong warmth, “You have a very special cutie mark, Loopy. One of magic: strong magic. I don’t know if you are a magic user pegasus like Dust was, but you have very strong magic. I could feel it sitting next to you. You could be like Rainbow Dash, and your magic be geared for your speed, but only time will tell.”
I look down and finally close my eyes again, concentrating. She touches my cutie mark again, “You have a very similar, if not identical, mark to Starswirl the Bearded. And you know what kind of magic user he was.”
“But I’m a pegasus.”
I get nuzzled, “Oh, Loopy. All ponies have magic.”
I finally find the energy inside me; I feel myself reaching out for it.
“Ah hah!” Comes a voice, breaking my concentration. I look over and see that Kendra is smiling; she has the first piece of the puzzle out. I smile at her as she concentrates again.
I shake my head as Sunset moves over to Kendra, talking to her softly. I keep concentrating. And I feel my wings, feel my magic. She said it was in my head as well. I can feel the warmth there. But how to connect all of that to my wings?
I slowly extend my wings. They are where the energy needs to be. I feel the magic, but how? I can feel it. I crouch down, keeping my wings extended.
Kendra calls out, “Try arching your back!” Only to be admonished by Sunset. I think for a moment… can’t hurt. My eyes go wide when I do. I feel that connection. It’s there, I can make that warmth flow into my wings. I straighten out, I can feel how the power is supposed to go. The magic is making my feathers hum. I’ve got to fly. I push my wings down, I slam into the ceiling, then all goes black as I hit the floor.
***
“Loopy, wake up.”
I slowly open my eyes, blink, and look at the golden face in front of me. My hazy memories take several seconds to assign a name to that face.
“Sunset.” I’m able to murmur.
She smiles at me as my vision finally clears, “I wasn’t intending you to fly down here; I just wanted you to feel your magic. Once I had Kendra going well, I was going to take you outside.”
I rub my head. Wait a moment, shouldn’t it hurt? I look at her in confusion.
She chuckles, “Loopy, you did a hot takeoff with less than ten feet to fly up. I could feel it over there. You hit the ceiling, then the floor, face first. You had better be glad I worked with Doctor Ray and Star Crossed. I’m not as good as either of them, but I can heal broken bones and chipped teeth.”
I rub my head, “I broke bones?”
She nods, “Your hard head isn’t that hard, Loopy. You cracked your skull, and broke three teeth on the landing. Good job on the face first landing there.”
She floats a mirror over to me, I look at myself for a second, and feel my teeth with my tongue, everything feels normal. I look at her quizzically, she smiles, "as I said, I healed you, Loopy."
I feel myself blush, “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be, Loopy. You figured it out. Now, can you do it again?”
I look down, “I think so.”
“Good, let’s head upstairs, and you can show me.”
I follow her upstairs and presently we are in front of Dust’s house. I look around, “Is this enough space?”
Sunset giggles, “It should be. I don’t think you need as much space as your Widgeon to take off.”
I look at her as she backs away, “Okay, try what you did before.”
I crouch down and arch my back. I can feel the power, the energy inside me. The magic. I spread my wings, it takes a lot of effort, but I can feel the power, and it moves with my will. I push it to my wings, and once again my feathers are vibrating with energy. Like before, I push my wings down and take to the air.
Only to do a short forward loop, landing face first in the grass.
“Oh, Loopy.” Sunset groans as she rushes over to me, her horn lighting again as I spit out a mouthful of dirt and another tooth.
In moments her magic grows a new tooth and she steps back, “I’m not really certain how…” She trails off as the sound of raucous laughter reaches us.
“Oi! Now you are a pegasus, Loopy. You’ve tasted dirt!” I look up and see that Mischief is fluttering down towards us, “I was taking a nice nap, and I hear Momma Sunset talking. So I take a peek over the cloud and see that you’ve got your balance off.”
Sunset nuzzles me, “I think Mischief can help with this. I’m not really good at teaching actual flight. I can help with magic, but that’s about it.” She turns to Mischief, “You be on your best behavior. Teach her, don’t tease her. Got it?”
Mischief salutes, “Of course, mum. Better get back inside, don’t want hot takeoffs to give you a migraine.”
Sunset moves off as Mischief comes up to me. I close my eyes and cringe. To my surprise, I’m nuzzled by the white mare. I open my eyes and look at her in shock, “I’m sorry for flying off the handle, Loopy. I overreacted.”
“I hurt your mom. I know I’d be mad if you hurt mine.”
She chuckles, “Oh Loopy, me mum is a tough ole bird. She probably laughed it off, and grumbled about getting healed.”
I remember how Dust acted. “That about covers it.”
She smiles, “I love her with all of my heart, but she isn’t the easiest pony to live with. I actually moved out at sixteen. She threatened to cut me off financially. I told her to go the fuck ahead and took off, leaving a crater.” She looks back at the house, “Fire and ice we are, Loopy. I know she loves me just as much, but we’ve been butting heads since I was a foal. Around the time I got my cutie mark is when it started.”
I look at the Mobius strip with rainbow stripes on one visible side to it, “How did you get it?”
She chuckles, “That’s a story for another time, Loopy. Let’s get you flying.”
It turns out, Mischief is actually a patient teacher. She shows me how my balance is important when it comes to takeoffs. She shows me a hot takeoff, and after a while, I’m able to perform one myself. Combined with Sunset’s lessons on focusing on my magic, and getting it where it needs to be, I’m in the air consistently in a matter of hours.
“There we go, Loopy. You can feel your balance, you can feel your magic.” She gets close and nudges me with an elbow, “How does it feel?”
I let my wings work automatically, staying in the air is nearly effortless now… just have to keep in mind my magic. I smile at the white pegasus, “Wonderful, Mischief.”
She comes up and nuzzles me, “Flying is truly the best thing in the world, for a pegasus.” She does a loop around me, “Unicorns can do all the magic they want.” She flips on her back and hovers upside down, “And the earth ponies can do…” She stops, looking at the ponies walking on the street, “Whatever they do. But I’ve got to say, pegasi have it best.”
I giggle, “I’ve been told by some earth ponies that being an earth pony is the best.”
She comes up next to me, “Oh really, what earth ponies?”
I blush, “Zed.”
She powers away, doing a short loop once again, “My brother? Are you sweet on him?”
I shake my head violently, “Oh, no.” I stop for a moment, thinking about Zed. For some reason, my wings stop listening to me, and I have to fight to stay in the air. “He’s nice, and all. But I don’t know how I’m going to land.” I finally force my mind away from thinking about him and my wings start to work correctly again. I get back up to Mischief’s level, I smile at her brightly.
She looks at me, “So, are you going to sell that plane of yours? You understand your wings now, don’t need it anymore.”
I look over Dust’s sprawling house, where I can just see the wing of my Widgeon. I shoot up to get a better view of the plane, “I don’t think so, Mischief. She’s been my baby for a few years now. She’s sheltered me in the worst weather. She’s been my constant companion. A home. A place of shelter.” I chuckle, “An she’s got a lot more cargo space than I could ever carry.”
Mischief is above me. “But it’s so slow,” she moans, looking at the plane.
I nod, “By your standards, she is slow. But for most pegasi, she tops out about the same speed they do.”
I get an ear thumped by the white pegasus, “You are a speedster, Loopy.”
“I know.” I look back at Mischief, then at the plane, “She’s my baby. I’m not giving her up.”
Mischief looks at the plane, then at me, “Well, it’s your decision. Just don’t expect me to ride with you anytime soon.”
I look at her slyly, “Even if Zed, Rinoa, and Rydia are with me?”
She looks thoughtful as I streak off to the south. Heading over the water as I pump my wings furiously, I look down, and Mischief is on her back, keeping pace with me with her forelegs behind her head. I go vertical, powering for some altitude, only to hear Mischief call behind me, “You had better get a lot of experience in the air before you try to beat me, Loopy!” I streak higher, then turn north. I can feel my magic, it’s exhilarating. I keep accelerating, and soon I can feel the resistance as I break through the sound barrier. Mischief is keeping by my side, a big grin on her face. I do a loop at over the speed of sound, then streak towards the ground blasting through a couple of high clouds on my descent. Then I land on a big fluffy cloud about a thousand feet above the ground. I hold my wings out for a moment as Mischief lands beside me.
“It’s okay, Loopy. You are a pegasus.”
I shudder a bit. “In Equestria, under Discord, you didn’t land on clouds.” I take a moment to fold my wings, “You would never know what would happen. Some would just disappear… some would be sticky, and it’d be horrible to get away from them. Or they might’ve had spikes in them that would strike when you landed.” I shudder again, a few tears dropping.
Sitting down on the cloud, I look around, Mischief comes up to me and folds a wing over me in a hug. I find myself snuggling into her side. She murmurs in my ear, “I can tell you are pent up. It’s okay, Loopy. I won’t tell anyone.”
I let out a sob. I’m trying to control myself, but the tears keep coming, “We were starving, scrounging for anything to eat. Avoiding his dragon patrols. Life was scary.”
She pulls me tighter and I sob in her grip, memories surfacing. Nimby and I on the run from a dragon patrol. Nimby and I helping earth ponies harvest the food. Visiting the zebras and the unicorns, trying to keep Discord from noticing us.
I cry for a long time before I am finally able to sniffle and pull away from Mischief. I look at her, “I’m sorry.”
She nuzzles me, “I’ve gotten to know a few ponies that lived what you went through before Discord got them. Don’t worry, a lot of tears have been shed because of him.”
I nuzzle the white pegasus, “Thank you, Mischief.”
She backs away a bit, sitting down and folding her wings at her side, “So, what are you going to do?”
I shrug my wings, “I don’t know.” I look around at the town below, “Do they want a weathermare that needs a lot of training?”
Mischief giggles, “I don’t see them saying no. Pegasi are always asked if they want to join the weather service. The pay is good. And controlling the weather for the entire nation is a big task. We have enough pegasi to do the job, barely.”
I cock my head to the side, “Why aren’t you in the weather service?”
She chuckles, “Oh, I’ve got a lot of me mum in me. I’ve started a couple of businesses. Sometimes I’m super busy, other times…” She gives me a sly grin, “Not so much.”
I furrow my brow, “And it’s slow right now?”
She nods.
I move forward and hug Mischief, “I’m going to explore New Beginnings for a while. Thank you so much for helping me.”
She nods and takes off. Her takeoff is hot, so the cloud dissipates underneath me. I let myself fall for a few seconds before I spread my wings and fly towards the town, finally landing in the open air marketplace. There are ponies everywhere! Back in Equestria, I remember a lot of ponies, but they weren’t happy like these ponies are. Smiles are everywhere. They are haggling over prices, over quality, over everything about what is being sold. Ponies are running around, and foals are in abundance, too.
Something runs into me, causing me to trip. I end up on my back, “What the?” I moan.
“Oh, sorry, we didn’t see you there.” I turn my head to see three foals there, a strawberry colored pegasus is rubbing her head. Two other foals are sitting there. One of them, a purple unicorn with a light green mane, comes over to help me to my hooves, “We should watch where we are going.”
“Oh, it’s okay, I’m just getting used to all of this.”
“Used to all of this? Are you from one of the other pony towns? Or one of the cities where a lot of ponies live?” The strawberry colored pegasus chirps.
“Oh, oh, oh,” A third pony chimes up, a yellow pegasus with a red mane, “You’re from overseas.”
The strawberry colored pegasus whaps the yellow foal with a wing, “No, Zap Apple, she doesn’t have an accent.”
Zap Apple rubs her head, “So, where are you from?”
I look at all three of them, “I just finished changing. I was from Kansas.”
The unicorn moves forward, “You just changed? But I thought the twenty-fifth anniversary of Discords defeat was just a few days ago.”
I nod, “I was hit by his spell on June first of 2020.”
“Oh, that’s cool!” The unicorn sticks out a hoof, “I’m Dizzy Twister, that’s Zap Apple, and that’s,” She points to the strawberry colored pegasus, “Berry Breeze.”
“Loop De Loop.” I smile, “Call me Loopy.”
“Hiya Loopy!” They all three say in unison. With a good approximation of the Royal Canterlot voice.
“Know any good places to eat?” I ask, my stomach grumbling.
They look at each other, then at me with matching smiles, “Cutie Mark Crusader Tour Guides!” They shout in unison, slapping their hooves together in a three pony high five. Something catches my eye. When the girls shouted, all the ponies nearby flinched away. I look at the three youngsters.
“I’m vaguely aware of the show, are you saying you three are…”
Berry Breeze interrupts me, “We got the idea from the show, we are as much on a mission for our cutie marks as Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were for theirs.”
Zap Apple spreads her wings, “We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders, New Beginnings Chapter. Because when life gives you apples, make lemonade!”
I shake my head. Hard. What did I just hear? I find myself being drawn into town by the three energetic youths. All three of them keep up chattering as we walk. I find myself taking to the air to hover, remembering the lessons that are fresh in my mind. Zap Apple takes to the air too, herding me forward and keeping up a running account of New Beginnings as we move along.
Berry Breeze points her hoof around, “When New Beginnings was being set up, they first wanted the town to be laid out like Ponyville from the show. But with the addition of the Chinese ponies back in 2022, the population grew like crazy. Nopony wanted high rises like you would find in Chicago or New York, so it was decided that no building would be over twenty stories.” She smiles, “But we have a lot of sprawling neighborhoods here. Ponies do like living close to each other, but not like some of those urban designs.”
“What are you, an encyclopedia?” Zap Apple says sarcastically.
I suppress a giggle as Berry whaps Zap’s ear and streaks off. The other pegasus hot on her tail. Dizzy Twister runs along with us, “Those two.”
I smile as they cavort in the air, wrestling and playing. Nimby and I did that as foals.
“And, here we are.”
I look at the sign, “Cookies and Cream Sweets.”
I look down at Dizzy, “Is it good?”
Dizzy nods enthusiastically, “Oh, yes. Best around. I mean, if you want to go to Hayburger, you can. But if you want the best sweets in the US, you’ve gotta go to Cookies and Cream.”
I let myself land, feeling a wistfulness as my hooves touch the ground. I’ll fly more later. Now that I can do it when I want, I want to do it all the time. I look back at the two pegasus foals, “You going to join me? I’ll pay.”
No more words need to be spoken to them, and we all enter the large eatery. The building is shaped like a large, ornate cake. I look around inside; there are bright colors everywhere. There are wait staff moving among the tables and about the hundred or so ponies here.
I look up at the main counter. A unicorn mare is standing there, watching the staff do their jobs. This place is crazy busy today, apparently.
The foals take up three chairs around a table and I hop into the fourth one. Menus are in a metal holder in the middle of the table. I grab one and open it.
“Oh dear Lord… all the sweets you can eat.”
Dizzy giggles, “They have great sandwiches here, even ones pegasi seem to love. With meat and all that.”
I look at her, “Meat is good.”
She chuckles, “For a pegasus… unicorns, however, not so much.” She sticks out her tongue, “Zap tried to get me to eat a tuna fish sandwich. I almost puked.”
I giggle and she looks at me, “Well, if you just got here, you need to get a place to live.”
I smile, “I’ve been living at Lightning Dust’s home for my change.”
Zap Apple and Berry Breeze just stop what they are doing and look at me, their jaws hanging loosely, “You were staying with Lightning Dust?”
I nod.
“She’s cool! She was the fastest flier on Earth! She made it from Florida to here in under half an hour.”
I look down, “I know, she told me. Twenty-two minutes.”
Both of them look at me, eyes wide, “Wow.” They say in unison.
“And what can I get you?” Comes a voice. I turn and look. The same unicorn is standing there; she’s light tan, with a brown and blonde mane. Her cutie mark is three cookies, one with a bite taken out.
I sit there stupidly, just looking at her. Zap Apple finally speaks up, “I want a monster muffin, ultimate chocolate!”
The mare smiles and looks at the other two foals, who order the same thing, then she looks at me again, I look down at the menu, “I think I’ll have a turkey pastrami sandwich with Swiss on rye.”
“Excellent choice.” The mare says, jotting everything down on a notepad suspended in her magic, “If you need anything, I’m Cookie Crisp.”
I smile as she walks away, then turn and look at the three foals, “So, how many are in your little Cutie Mark Crusader club?”
They look down, “Just the three of us. Most ponies that are still blank flanks are younger, and can’t go out as much as we can.”
“So you three are late bloomers?”
They all nod sadly, so I flag down a passing waitress, “Four milkshakes, please,” getting all three of them to perk up instantly.
I look at them, “It’s a good day, no need to be down.”
Soon our shakes are set before us. I have to laugh as they bob up and down as they drink. I know I saw something like that before. Something on YouTube, but for some reason, the Oreo commercial comes to mind when I think about it.
They tell me about their adventures until our food shows up, then they keep telling me the things they’ve tried. I vaguely remember getting my cutie mark, I keep hoping I’ll remember more of it as more memories shake loose. Moon Shadow said it’s a process, and it’s good for me to be around ponies.
***
As we exit Cookies and Cream, my phone goes off. I pull it out with my teeth and set it on the ground, look at the ringing phone for a moment, then use my hooves and mouth to open the clamshell phone, thinking I need a new one as I put my head on the phone laying on the ground.
“Hello?”
My grandmother’s voice comes through, “Mary?”
I smile, I probably sound different, “Yes, though I know my pony name now. It’s Loop De Loop, or Loopy for short.”
I can just picture my grandmother smiling bemusedly in response, “Well, a lawyer just called, about your settlement. He wants to talk to you. You are needed here, tonight.”
I gasp, my Widgeon can’t go fast enough. It’s early afternoon right now, then I think. I’ve got wings, I’m a speedster, I can make it. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
I take gently to the air, then spiral up to gain some altitude. I can feel north… I can feel my route better than I ever could as a human pilot. I streak to the southeast. El Dorado, here I come.
I am well into South Dakota, and I’m actually above the speed of sound. I can feel the strain, and keeping the mental focus to keep my magic where it belongs is a little difficult. Why is the lawyer coming? I know one of the conditions of the settlement has to do with completing college. But I’ve got a couple of years for that. And being a pegasus now means I can go to a university pretty easy, if I want to. I’m still not certain what I want to do.
My musing is interrupted by a pony cutting me off. I blink and shed my speed as I pass through their wake. What’s going on? I see a mint green pegasus, wearing what looks like a Wonderbolt uniform. She points to a cloud and heads that way. I follow her, curious. Finally we both land on the cloud. I hold my wings out for a moment, unsure about the cloud, then I fold my wings and look at the pegasus. She tosses her white mane.
“Cloud Drifter, 520th.” She says.
“I’m Loopy.”
“Do you know why I cut you off to stop you?”
I shake my head.
She grumbled, “Dear Celestia, what are they teaching pegasi at Rim of the Sky these days?”
I furrow my brow, “Rim of the Sky?”
She huffs, “Rim of the Sky, the pegasus settlement at New Beginnings!” She nearly shouts.
I shake my head, “I’m sorry, I just finished turning a couple of days ago.”
She does a double take, “What? Really? You just turned into a pegasus? That’s cool!”
I smile, “My birthday was June first.”
Her jaw drops, “Seriously? You were born as a human on Equestrian Independence Day? That’s amazing. You must be one of the last of the five score ponies.”
I look down and nod, “I guess so. I remember fighting Discord.”
She smiles, then it fades, “I actually did pull you over for a reason. You were speeding.”
I frown, “Speeding?”
She nods, “You were exceeding the speed of sound below ten thousand feet. You could be mistaken for a cruise missile at that altitude. And you don’t have your transponder squawking at all.”
I shake my head, “I don’t have one.”
She huffs again, “Well, you need one. If you can’t afford one, the US FAA offers them at reduced prices for pegasi. It’s a basic model, not very many bells and whistles. But it’s nuzzle friendly, meaning you can operate it with your snout. If you want to purchase one on your own dime, they do sell them in New Beginnings. They also have com gear that is integral with goggles. You have natural protection for your eyes, but it’s nice to have a good set of goggles for high speed flight.”
“Huh? Natural protection?”
She chuckles, “It’s all new to you, isn’t it?”
I nod.
“Well, all pegasi have natural ways to protect ourselves from the stresses of high speed flight, even at fifty or sixty miles per hour, you can hit a bird and it would be pretty painful. So we have a natural healing factor. It helps if we crash too. You can break bones and be back up and going in a matter of hours to a couple of days. Your eyes are protected by a third eyelid. You don’t consciously control it, but it’s tougher than most leather, and slides over your eyes in flight. You’ll notice your vision changes when you fly, it gets sharper. It’s the third eyelid. It’s structure provides limited magnification. And naturally, the faster you are able to fly, the better your protection works.”
I think about it for a moment, “So that’s what Sunset Shimmer was talking about.”
She giggles, “You know Sunset Shimmer?”
I nod, “She helped me to understand my magic, between her, and Mischief, they got me flying. I haven’t had time to learn the rules of flight as a pegasus. I know about planes. But I figured since I’m a pegasus, I don’t have to deal with transponders.”
“They are wearable, Loopy. And since you are a speedster, you definitely need one.”
I nod, “I’ll get one once I get back.”
“Where are you heading?”
“El Dorado, Kansas.”
One of her ears flicks, “Damn, I’ve got another call. Apparently some pegasus is pranking commercial flights about a hundred miles south of here. I’ll forgo a ticket this time. But keep your speed subsonic when you are under ten thousand feet. You may not make the large sonic boom that larger planes will, but if you are low enough, you can still break windows and seriously piss off humans. If you are going to fly above ten thousand, make sure you file a flight plan and use your com gear as well as transponder. Not all that many pegasi can exceed the speed of sound.” She smiles, “Follow the rules of the air for pegasi, and then you won’t be a pain in the flank for the 520th.”
She stands up and spreads her wings, then she tosses off a salute as she lets herself fall off the cloud. I move over the edge to watch her streak to the south. Then I take off myself. Keeping my speed barely subsonic. As the sun is setting, I finally land in El Dorado, right at my grandmother’s back door.
“Grandma, I’m home!” I shout.
“Oh, Mary, you are just in time. Mr. Litt has been here for about ten minutes.”
I look over, a man in a very expensive looking suit is sitting there.
“Well Miss Chan. It’s a pleasure to meet you again.”