Life, Death, and Ponies

by thunderclap

Crash Landing

You stepped out of the boutique feeling a little drained. Playing the violin again had brought up a lot of memories. Some good, others were very painful. You sighed for a moment and clipped the violin to your shoulder bag before starting to think.

‘That was… interesting to say the least. Rarity was nice enough but the violin and jacket being free was a bit much. She also said something about Applejack talking about me. I wonder what she said about me.’

‘She probably said that I’m some weird pony that woke up in the orchard and managed to get a job cooking with her grandma.’ You thought with a weak smile. Then you let out a large yawn and stopped for a moment. ‘Man I’m starting to get tired. I should find a place to rest for a minute.’

You scanned the area for a good place to rest without being disturbed. Nothing jumped out at you until you saw a lone cloud hovering above a clearing just outside of town.

‘From what Flarewing told me clouds are incredibly soft. Actually, he said they were the second best thing to lie down on. It took me a while to figure that one out.’ You thought with a grimace at remembering the double entendre. ‘And the sad thing is that I consider the pony who scarred me on a regular basis to be my best friend. Oh well, no sense worrying about my mental instability right now. If I remember correctly there was a spell in one of the books that the princesses gave me that would allow me to walk on clouds.’

You opened up your bag and used your levitation to bring up both of the books that the princesses had given you before you left. You quickly leafed through the pages of both books until you found the spell you were looking for.

‘Ah, here it is. The “Cloud Shoes” spell. If applied properly then whoever this spell is cast on will have the ability to stay on a cloud as if they were a Pegasus pony for three days. That’s perfect I’ll only need the spell for about an hour or so.’

You gathered the necessary amount of energy into your horn and released the spell. You didn’t feel that different than from a moment ago, but decided that you could test it out when you reached the cloud. You made your way into the clearing. You used your magic to levitate yourself onto the cloud and let yourself drop onto the fluffy, white mass. You were relieved when you didn’t fall through the cloud as you landed with a small bounce.

“Ha! I continue to make a mockery of the laws of nature. Who needs physics when you have a magic horn?” You gloated to no one in particular. You lied down on the cloud and quickly got comfortable. Before you knew it you were dozing off. That’s when a dream set in.

You were about six years old in this dream. This was made clear by you running up to your mother with your backpack still on. She caught you in a warm embrace and looked at you with her ice blue eyes shimmering happily. Her long jet black hair simply fell from her shoulders, framing her soft and kind features. She had her trademark smile on which could turn even the worst day into a good one. Your mother started stroking the back of your head and said.

“Hey there, Kiddo. How was School?”

“It was great!” You enthused. “Today we talked about the planets in our solar system.”

“That sounds like a lot of fun. Can you name all the planets?”

“Uh-huh, and I can do it in order too: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.”

“You’re such a little genius.” Your mother cooed, tousling your hair a bit. “Did anything else happen in School?”

“We talked about what we wanted to be when we grew up.”

“And what do you want to be when you grow up?”

“I want to be a Veterinarian and a Fire Fighter and I want to play the violin like you do Mommy.”

“Sounds like you’re gonna have a lot on your plate, Kiddo.” Your mother replied chuckling a bit. “Say, do you know what all those jobs have in common?”

“No, what?”

“They all help people in some way.” Your mother stated simply.

“I don’t get it.” You said with a rather confused look. “I see how a Veterinarian and Fire Fighter help people, but how would I help people by playing the violin?”

“Because the violin… Actually just music in general speaks to human emotions and can make us feel something. The Greeks called the release of emotions catharsis. Except it usually meant the sadness we feel when watching a tragic play.”

“Catarasis?”

“Ca-thar-sis.” Your mother sounded out for you. “It might be easier if I just showed it to you.” With that your mother stepped out of the room for a moment and returned with her violin. “The thing you have to remember about a good instrument is; that it’s able to make someone feel almost any emotion.”

Your mother brought the bowstring down on the instrument and played a few long, haunting, notes. “How would you describe that sound?” She asked, looking up from the violin.

“It was… sad, and lonely.”

“Good, now how would you describe this?” Then her hands seemed to glide along the violin as a series of crisp, cheerful, sounds were emitted from her violin.

“That was really happy sounding.”

“Very good, and what do you think would happen if we put the two together?” And with that your mother played a few bars that started off sad and then ended on a cheerful note.

“It made it sound like something bad happened, but then everything got better.”

“Bravo my little maestro.” Your mother replied with a theatrical bow. “Music can be used to tell an incredible story without ever saying a single word. When people listen to music, they get whisked away to a world where nothing matters. Not their age, where they come from, or even their values. Music provides a way for people to come together, if even for just a moment. And that’s how music helps people, Kiddo."

“I love you, Momm…”

You never had a chance to finish your thought as you were wrenched back into reality. Your eyes tore open to see a rainbow colored streak crash into you. You and the rainbow streak tumbled through the cloud you had used as a makeshift bed and collapsed onto the ground. The instant you hit the earth all of the wind was knocked out of your lungs leaving you a wheezing mess. You winced in pain and started to curse under your breath.

“God dammit what hit me?” You said grimacing a little.

‘Just calm down and assess what we know.’ You thought. ‘I was having the first pleasant dream that I can remember for… years. When all of a sudden a rainbow pushed me through a cloud and is currently crush… Wait, why do I feel so warm right now?’

You opened your eyes to see that a sky blue Pegasus mare with a rainbow colored mane was lying on top of you. She still seemed dazed from the collision and had her head on what would have been your chest. You winced a little at the realization of a certain response you were having from the mare’s current position on you.

‘Damn it! Come on you freakin’ hormones, calm down! Well this just great… New body same damn urges. I thought I said I wasn’t ready to call anyone attractive yet?’

Your heart stopped momentarily when the mare’s eyes fluttered open. They were a rosy pink color that, under normal circumstances you would’ve called interesting, or maybe even pretty. Then again these were anything but normal circumstances and those eyes only filled you with a strange terror upon looking at them. You pretended to only just be recovering when you heard the mare say.

“Ow, what the hay just happened?” She said in a tomboyish voice.

“Ouch, what hit me?” You replied in a similar fashion. You heard a surprised yelp and soon received a hearty hoof to the face as the mare scrambled off of you.

“What are you doing there, you creep?!” The mare boomed as she stared daggers at you. You brought yourself back to your feet and rubbed your muzzle for a moment.

“Hey I was just minding my own business when you crashed into me. Excuse me, if that makes me a creep.” You retorted, annoyed at the mare for one, interrupting your dream, and two because she was pinning the blame on you.

“Yeah right,” She snorted, “I was working on a new routine and I wanted to go through a cloud. Next thing I know I’m on the ground.” She explained, keeping her glare trained at you.

“Did you ever think that somepony might have been on the cloud?”

“Last time I checked only a Pegasus can walk on clouds.”

“I’m a unicorn, and we’re kind of known for doing magic.” You retorted in a somewhat condescending tone.

“Whatever just leave me alone you weirdo.” The mare said, bringing down her right fore-hoof down for the first time since you two had crashed. She winced for a moment and immediately brought the hoof back up. Your expression softened and you sighed as you made your way toward her.

“Here, let me see your hoof.” You said with an outstretched hoof of your own.

“Why would I want to do that?” The mare asked taking the hoof further away from you.

“Because it could be seriously hurt and the faster you get somepony to treat it the better; and lucky for you I can take care of anything up to a minor fracture with my magic.”

“How do I know you’re not gonna make things worse?”

“Just let me look at your hoof.” The mare reluctantly allowed you to examine her hoof and you gently placed it within your own front hooves. “Okay tell me where it hurts.” You said as you applied pressure to different spots until you got a response.

“Ow, ow, right there!” The mare wailed.

“Relax, you’re doing great.”

“Why are you doing that?”

“I can’t exactly treat a wound if I don’t know where it is. And I guess I’m sorry for being in the way of your routine.”

“No, I’m the one that crashed into you.” The mare admitted sheepishly. “I’m Rainbow Dash by the way.”

“I’m Blackstar, and I have to say that a little humility looks good on you.” You said with a grin.

“Shut up, Weirdo.” Rainbow Dash said with a small giggle.

“Alright, Rainbow, I need you to try and wiggle your hoof.” You said becoming serious again. Rainbow Dash complied and she slowly wiggled her hoof back and forth.

“It hurts, but I can do it.”

“Good, it seems like you only have a sprain. Now that I know what I’m dealing with I can treat it properly with a spell.” Rainbow Dash nodded in consent and the tip of your horn glowed as you used the necessary spell to treat her hoof. You were done in a few moments and you slowly released the hoof from your grasp.

“There you go, should be good as new.” Rainbow Dash put her hoof to the ground and a smile sprang up on her face.

“Wow, you weren’t kidding. My hoof feels great! Thanks, Blackstar.”

“Don’t mention it. But can you tell me why you were doing stunts in the first place?”

“I’m training to be in the Wonder Bolts! I’m already the fastest flier in Equestria but I was working on a totally awesome routine that would’ve impressed them for sure. You know, until I crashed into you.” She said rubbing the back of her head with her hoof. You had actually heard of the Wonder Bolts. Flarewing had brought them up a few times and told you something very interesting about them.

“It’s funny you bring up the Wonder Bolts. My best friend is actually the brother of their leader.” Rainbow Dash’s face lit up and she started muttering “Ohmygosh” to herself for a few moments before she was able to speak.

“Your friend is Spitfire’s brother?” She exclaimed. “You have to get him to put in a good word for me!”

“I could do that. But it’ll cost you.” You said with an imitation of Celestia's evil grin.

“What cost?”

“It’s simple really; all you have to do is beat me in a race. You can fly and I’ll use a little spell that I’ve been working on. I promise that it isn’t teleportation.”

“Why do you want to race?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Because a competition will make things more interesting. If you win I’ll tell my friend to put in a good word for you. If I win then you have to put on a frilly pink dress and make you tell everypony in town that you’re a pretty pony.” You said with an evil grin.

“Why would you want me to do that?” Rainbow Dash asked in a tone that was somewhere between shock and disgust.

“I’m still a little sore about the kidney you crushed when you interrupted my nap.”

“Whatever," Rainbow Dash said regaining her confidence. "it doesn’t matter what you want me to do, nothing your little horn can do will beat my all natural speed.” Rainbow boasted.

“Glad to see you’re so confident. First one to that mountain over there is the winner.”

Both of you took your starting positions and you gathered energy in your horn in preparation for the spell you were about to use. You were actually planning on using an acceleration spell that you had created yourself. This would be the first time you would be using it on yourself and you wanted to see what would happen.

There was another reason for this race and it wasn’t humiliating Rainbow Dash for revenge, although if that did happen then you were okay with that. The real reason for this race was for you to experience competition. Back when you were human most of your time was spent alone and when you did interact with others your own age they never really wanted you to participate in whatever game they were playing. You were genuinely curious what competition felt like and from what Applejack said, Rainbow Dash was the pony to provide the feeling.

Rainbow Dash yelled “go”, and you quickly set to work on creating the spell. In a few moments the spell gave your legs unnatural speed and the world became a blur. You took the lead away from Rainbow Dash and were enjoying the wind rippling through your hair. A few moments later you noticed something odd appearing in front of you. It was almost invisible but came into focus just enough for you to make out what it was.

‘No way! Is that a Mach Cone? This spell works even better than I thought it would. Let’s see you top that, Miss Fastest in Equestria.’

You were convinced that your victory was assured when you saw something that looked like a prismatic explosion in your peripheral vision. You didn’t have time to wonder what it was when an all too familiar rainbow streak rushed past you and made you lose your footing. You slid into the Mach Cone which stretched back like it was made of rubber and tossed you back a good twenty feet or so. You had just picked yourself back up when Rainbow Dash glided over to you with a smug look on her face.

“So when you tell your friend to talk about me, make sure he says that I’m the most awesome pony in all of Equestria!”

“You broke the sound barrier.” You stated in a state of slight disbelief, panting heavily from all the energy the spell took.

“Yup, I should’ve told you that I could pull off the Sonic Rainboom, but the look on your face right now is priceless.”

“Don’t be too proud of yourself, if I work on that spell a little bit then I might be able to do the same thing. But for now I’ll take being the second most awesome pony in all of Equestria. That was pretty fun.”

“Yeah, I’m surprised an egghead like you could keep up with me.”

“What makes you think I’m an egghead?”

“For one thing you know how to walk on clouds even though you’re a unicorn, and you just give off a smart guy vibe, you know? The fact that you’re carrying a violin doesn’t help.”

“Excuse me for knowing how to play the violin.” You said in a mock offended tone. “I’m hungry what about you?”

“Yeah, a Sonic Rainboom works up an appetite like you wouldn’t believe. Come on, loser has to pay for the meal.” She said with a laugh. You sighed and the two of you started making your way back to Ponyville.

Comments

[Iambrony]

JOLLY GOOD SHOW!
I wield the sword of FIRST!
Turely amazing my good sir, FAVORITE! Oh wait I already did.
WATCH!
i487.photobucket.com/albums/rr233/ArtemisKilljoy/maga_sword.jpg

[3Orifice]

Tracking! I absolutely love this story to the point it might be a new drug!

[Calclor]

Can't wait to see him meeting Fluttershy

[Sleipnir]

The only gripe I have about this chapter is how easy you make it sound to break the sound barrier. Both times Rainbow Dash did it was flying almost straight down, and I'm pretty sure doing it at a 90° angle would be practically impossible.

[thunderclap]

294535 Technically the character didn't break the sound barrier. Yes, he did come close but he's still at the stage where the force of his speed is causing the air molecules in front of him to pile together creating the mach cone, signifying the approach to the speed of sound. Also he's been practicing this spell "off-screen" for a while on small objects, which is why he's able to use it so proficiently. Normally, I hate doing this kind of cop out but I had to make an exception in this case otherwise the character might still be in the castle.

[Sleipnir]

295335 I was actually referring to Rainbow Dash. The show treats the Sonic Rainboom as sort of a "legendery event." You made it sound like an every-day occurrence.

[thunderclap]

295363 I guess I see your point, but when I was writing the chapter I kind of pictured Rainbow Dash doing the same diving maneuver she always does when she does the Sonic Rainboom. And I couldn't really describe it since she would still be behind the character while doing so. Sorry for any mix ups I caused in your head.

[Phase Nexus]

295377
Ninja Derpy is Best Derpy.

[Starlight Uplifting]

Fuck it why not have all the Ex Machina??

Just kidding loved this chapter...so emotional but washed off with cute humor