//------------------------------//
// On the Horizon 
// Story: Finding a Home 
// by Jeckard Cain 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 17: On the Horizon

"I," gasped Sparrow, "Can't" another breath, "breath." He finished before going back to panting. Next to him Split Shifter was gasping for breath as well. Both of them were clearly in pain, but then again, it was 600 laps. They did them all, not stopping for a second. Sparrow tried to tell Split they should stop as they wouldn't be expected to actually finish, but Split just kept on flying, so Sparrow kept up with him.

"Hey," Split was actually able to lift his wing up and pat Sparrow on the shoulder as they lay on their backs in the grass, "we did it didn't we?" his wing slipped off Sparrow's shoulder and back to the ground. The sun had begun its descent in the sky and they lay there panting for what felt like an hour before one of the Wonderbolts wandered up to them. Sparrow immediately recognized the fiery yellow and orange mane, Split must've seen her too but they couldn't stand at attention even if they wanted to right now. So they both settled on just trying to calm their breathing.

"Congrats on setting a new Academy record." Spitfire started, then smirked,  "Not so much on making Fleetfoot angry though, that was a mistake. Hopefully you boys learned your lesson?"

"Yes ma'am." Sparrow responded.

"Yes ma'am" Split Shifter replied as well.

"Good to hear, we had the cooks leave some dinner in the warmers for you. Go get cleaned up and eat. You two will be up bright and early tomorrow morning for our normal flights. If I hear of any more funny business going on it's both your flanks on the line, do you get me?"

Sparrow struggled for a full minute, his every bone aching as he tried to stand, his legs screaming in protest telling him to just stay down. But he knew he needed to do this if he wanted to be seen as anything more than a miscreant. Halfway through standing, Sparrow collapsed, his body screeched in agony, he might've stayed there if he didn't feel a hoof stretch under his right talon and begin to lift. Sparrow looked to his right and Split Shifter was halfway off the ground and struggling just as badly but found the strength to try and lift his friend up. Sparrow renewed with determination grabbed onto his wing pony's hoof and together they stood up fully off the ground. 

Spitfire's sunglasses lowered to her snout as her mouth hung open slightly. As she stood there in awe of the two recruits, both Sparrow and Split looked at each other and smiled before facing Spitfire and suddenly, standing at attention, offered a crisp salute and both responded, "YES MA'AM!"

****

The next morning came too early for Sparrow's liking. His body was wracked with pain as he stood up from bed, he wanted to lower himself back down to the bed and just stay there. He knew that wasn't the best of ideas however. He started walking towards the exit of the dormitory, joining a line of other trainees groggily proceeding forward. Some ponies looked forward to the morning flights as it was their way of waking up for the day. Usually Sparrow was in that group, not today however as he was still sore from yesterdays punishment flight. 

Sparrow saw Split Shifter a few spaces forward in line, looking just as tired. "Hey," Sparrow called out to him "you good?"

Split turned his head and grinned with his eyes closed "What do you think?"

Sparrow chuckled, "I'll meet up with you once the flight starts." Split nodded and turned back to the front of the line.

****

The flight hurt more than usual, but that was to be expected. Anytime Sparrow or Split slowed down they encouraged each other to keep going. When they both started to slow down an instructor flew up beside them and asked them if there was a problem. It was a long 30 minutes to say the least. Sparrow and Split were some of the last to return to the food court. They were both drenched in sweat and their bodies ached worse than before. Sparrow knew that if he and Split weren't given any time to recover soon, they wouldn't be able to keep up with the training. 

After the two of them finished breakfast Sparrow decided to see if he could find Spitfire and explain the situation to her, she needed to know that Split might not be able to recover from this if he wasn't given a proper recovery time. 

****

"But ma'am! He can barely even walk at this point, his body is giving up on him!" Sparrow pleaded

Spitfire waved him off, "You both brought this on yourselves. If we don't stay adamant in your punishment then the other trainees will think that we'll take it easy on them, that is not the purpose of this training." She took her sunglasses off and rubbed the ridge of her nose. "Look, I hear what you're saying Sparrow, I do, but if we go easy on you guys after what you did then our credibility goes down. You need to learn to bear it as a team and keep each other going, it's what we're all trained to do as Wonderbolts, if you can't do that, then you both don't have a place here. Now get back to class trainee."

Sparrow was filled with rage but offered a salute "Yes ma'am." he turned and left the office, almost slamming the door behind him.

****

Sparrow stayed near Split as much as he could, keeping him motivated to keep on going through the day. Split did the same for Sparrow when he almost gave up. They functioned together as a team and kept pushing themselves that day. Classes were tough to stay awake through, food didn't taste good but they both needed to eat, further training pushed their bodies into overdrive and they both struggled to keep up with the other flyers.

The week passed by in a blur for Sparrow. The only thing he remembered throughout it all was how much he ached for the first few days. After about three days however, he began to grow accustomed to the training, it became easier to stay awake in class, the food still didn't taste good but he was thankful for the meal. Both he and Split were getting leaner, stronger, faster. The daily training became a warm up for them both and they excelled in further exercises that were given to them. 

Split didn't fall apart like Sparrow thought he would, in fact, the pony was doing better than even Sparrow could in some aspects. Sparrow was still faster than him, but Split was able to maneuver himself in such an impressive way. The instructors took notice of the team and began giving them both tougher exercises to complete. Sparrow felt strong, stronger than he ever had before, here he was in a training school for flight in Equestria. He never thought he would make it this far. 

****

During lunch on the 6th week of training Sparrow thought about somepony he hadn't in a while. Applejack. He realized that in all the excitement of the training he hadn't sent a single letter to her. His gizzard knotted up and he got up from the table, Split looked up at him "Where ya goin?"

"I forgot to do something, something really important. I'll be back in a few." Sparrow stood up from the table and walked away from a confused Split Shifter.

"Well I'm takin' your food then!" Split called after Sparrow.

Sparrow cracked a grin as he walked. He made his way back to the dormitories and found some writing supplies kept in a desk near his bed. He didn't have a writing quill but he did have some ink. Well, I guess it can't be helped Sparrow tilted his head back and grasped a feather from his wing, he tugged gently and pulled the feather out, a sharp pain hit him and then disappeared. He grasped the feather in his talon, feeling slightly uncomfortable but nonetheless he needed to write. He dipped the tip into the ink and brought it down to the parchment.

Applejack,

I hope this letter finds you in good health. Things have been fairly tough up here and I'm sorry I didn't write sooner. There's just been so much on my mind that I couldn't find the time to sit down and write you, I know I know, excuses. 

The good news is that I've been training a ridiculous amount with a new friend, his name is Split Shifter, once we're done with the training I'll have to see if he wants to come to Ponyville to meet you and everypony else. He's a nice enough guy, maybe a bit too interested in mares more than anything else but he's been keeping it under wraps. 

It's been painful sometimes here, not just physically, but mentally too. I don't think I would have made it this far if it weren't for Split. He's almost like a brother to me. Weird right? 

Well I can't think of anything else to write for now, and I need to get back before training starts up again. I... I miss you Applejack, I really do. I still think about our night in the rainstorm. How you stayed there with me and how we comforted each other. I want to experience that with you again, even if it takes me longer to get back to Ponyville, I want to be there with you again. I miss the Apple Family orchard too, thinking of the smell of the apples is making me hungry even. I'm rambling at this point. I'll try and write again soon Applejack. Take care.

Yours truly, 
Sparrow

Setting down his feather next to the parchment, Sparrow looked over it for any glaring errors. Smiling to himself he rolled up the parchment and sealed it with some ribbon before bringing it to the front of the room where they had a mail drop off point.