My Little Pony : Spirits of Harmony

by PairADice

Ch4: Just Wing It

Wind Sprint ran through Bitburg, a town three miles south of Ponyville, nearing the end of her Monday delivery route. With her mail satchel slung over her shoulder, she ran to a bulletin by the town hall and skidded to a stop. She reached into her satchel and tacked a promotional flyer onto the board. Thankfully, Bitburg was the last town on her route and this was the last flyer that she had to post for the day. With a relieved sigh, she held up the flyer and tacked it onto the board. She huffed and closed her satchel, and she turned away from the board and ran home.

After a long week of work, Wind Sprint finished her Friday mail route, and she lumbered back to Ponyville. She headed toward Strawberry Shortcake’s shop, Berry Café. After a full week of seeing those dreadful flyers, all she wanted to do was sit back and stuff her face with a dozen delicious blueberry muffins, preferably with ones coated with extra sugar crumbs.

When she saw Berry Café, she picked up her pace slightly. Despite the weariness in her legs, she fixed her eyes on the rustic, circular building with outdoor seating surrounded by decorative berry bushes. Though a Closed sign hung on the front door, she entered the café. When she didn’t see Berry in the store, she knocked on the register counter twice.

“Berry? You in here?” she called.

Within seconds, Berry emerged from a door that led to the kitchen. “Hi, Wind Sprint!” she said with a welcoming smile. She washed her hooves in a small sink concealed beneath the counter. While she dried her hooves, she asked, "Here for your after-work snack?”

“Yep,” she replied lazily and tossed five bits next to the register, “make it a big one. And get one with the biggest sugar crumbs.”

Berry stopped and looked at Wind Sprint with concern. “Everything ok?” she asked as she pulled a muffin out of the pastry display case.

Wind Sprint groaned, took off her mail satchel, and tossed it on the nearest table. She sat down and rubbed her forehead with her hooves. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s been a long week is all.”

“I see,” she replied. She walked around the counter carrying one large sugar-topped blueberry muffin centered on a simple circular, white coffee plate. “This’ll cheer you right up.”

“Thanks.” Wind Sprint sat up, looked down at her muffin, and licked her lips. As always, she picked off the biggest sugar crumbs and set them aside so that she could save the sugary goodness for last. When she finishing stripping the top of her muffin, she reached down and took a large bite, savoring the perfect blend of warm, fluffy bread, crispy sugar crumbs, and sweet blueberries.

While Wind Sprint ate, Berry dumped the leftover pastries in the trashcan, and then she removed the empty trays from the display case and proceeded to wipe the counters and clean the bakery display case. Moving on to the pastry trays, she cleaned them with a damp, soapy rag and stacked them in piles of five. Once all the trays were clean, she reached underneath the counter, pulled out a stepping stool, and slid it to a spot on the floor in front of the cupboards.

Distracted by the stool’s dull rattle whenBerry shoved it across the floor, Wind Sprint looked up from her muffin. She watched Berry step onto the stool, pick up a stack of trays, stand on the tip of her hooves, and slide them on top of the cupboards. When she put away the last stack of trays, she hopped off the stool and kicked it back underneath the counter. Wind Sprint realized that she had stopped eating her muffin, but she continued watching Berry anyway.

Despite Wind Sprint’s unsettling stare, Berry started sweeping the floor as if she was alone in her café. However, she didn’t like the idea of somepony staring at her while she worked, so she looked at Wind Sprint with an awkward smile and said, “What?”

Scoffing under her breath and shaking her head slightly, Wind Sprint replied, “Nothing.” She took a small nibble of her muffin; then she scowled. Unable to restrain herself any longer, she said, “Berry, why don’t you use your wings?”

“What’s that now?” she said while sweeping.

She closed her eyes and forced out the question again. “Why don’t you use your wings?”

Berry stopped sweeping and stared at the collected pile of dust and crumbs on floor, unsure if she should feel confused or not. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“Your wings, why don’t you use them? Like just now, why didn’t you just fly to the top of the cupboard?”

“Oh…I – um…” She propped the broom against the counter. “I…I don’t know. I guess I don’t really need to use them.”

Wind Sprint sat up straight, unaware that she was glaring at Berry. “But why? You have wings…” she said, finishing the last words like a whimper.

“But I bake for a living. We bakers generally don’t care for racing and high speed and all that.”

“But you have wings!” she shouted.

Stepping back, Berry grabbed her broom, held it across her chest, and fiddled with it in her hoof. “Why are you being like this, Wind Sprint?”

“Why are you being like this?” she snapped. She snatched her mail satchel off the table and threw the strap over her head. “You have wings, so why don’t you use them already!” she said as she stormed out of Berry’s café, leaving her alone and confused.

Wind Sprint wandered aimlessly around Ponyville, mumbling to herself. She thought about going home, but she found catharsis in kicking pebbles while she walked. Once her anger wore off, she felt somewhat silly for getting so upset. It wasn’t as if Berry’s flightless existence was breaking news to her. Regardless, there were days when merely seeing a flying pegasus filled her with indignation, even though she had accepted her role in life long ago.

When she heard somepony running towards her from her left, she snapped out of her musings and saw her friend, Celestial Sky.

Sky awkwardly stumbled to a stop in front of Wind Sprint. “Aww,” she said with a playful pout, “I was going to challenge you to a race.”

Wind Sprint laughed, thinking back to when she first introduced herself to Sky by challenging her to a race. Although she knew a quick, friendly race would make her feel better, she shook her head and replied, “Nah, I’m good.”

Surprised by Wind Sprint’s answer, she exclaimed, “You don’t want to race?!”

She shook her head.

“What’s wrong? Did your mail route tire you out?”

“Psht, are you kidding me? I run that route five times a week. That stopped wearing me out ages ago.”

“Oh…of course. So is something bothering you?”

“Eh…” Wind Sprint shrugged and started walking with Sky. “It’s Berry. She – well, she didn’t…I kinda…ugh, it was about her wings.”

Raising an eyebrow, Sky said, “Her wings?”

“It’s not as stupid as it sounds,” she said defensively. “That pony has wings and all she wants to do is pick berries and bake cakes all day. Imagine if a unicorn only used her magic to read books.

“Yes…how horrible…” she said, giving Wind Sprint a look of mild scorn.

“You’re telling me.” She nodded then sighed, oblivious to Sky’s resentment. “But yeah, the whole thing came up because of those flyers.” She pointed at the Ponyville bulletin board.

Wind Sprint avoided looking at the board, but Sky stopped and read the flyer that Wind Sprint had been distributing all week.

Aerial Racing Competition of Equestria

Soar to the Top

Sign-up Location: Cloudsdale Stadium

Sign-up Deadline: Saturday, April 23 at 10 AM*Must be 13 or older

*Identification and 20 bit application fee required

Sky was familiar with this competition, and though she never attended one, she knew that this competition, the Arc Races as most ponies called it, was popular during the spring. Ever since cloud cities capitalized on cloud-walking spells and gondolas for the earth ponies and unicorns, allowing them to temporarily ascend up to cloud cities for the competition, popularity for aerial racing increased annually.

Realizing that Wind Sprint had left her by the bulletin, Sky caught up with Wind Sprint and said, “So, you’re saying that you want to race in that competition?”

“Of course! ...if I had wings. I’ve been wanting to race in that competition since I was old enough to register."

“But Wind Sprint, you’re the fastest runner I’ve ever met. You don’t have to be a flier to-”

“You don’t understand, Sky,” Wind Sprint said. Recalling her fight with Berry, she stopped and took a deep breath, determining that she didn’t want to quarrel with Sky too. “Running is great and all, but that’s only because hooves are all I have. But what I wouldn’t give to have my own wings.” Once again, Wind Sprint continued trudging along without Sky.

Sky stopped and rubbed her chin, furrowing her eyebrows as she recalled spell books that she had read. When a specific spell book came to mind, she called out, “Hey, Wind Sprint! I think that I can get you some wings.”

In the Ponyville museum, Sky led Wind Sprint up the stair tower leading to her apartment. Wind Sprint entered Sky’s room, and she saw a rectangular wooden desk, a bookcase, a window that overlooked Ponyville, and a door that led to what Wind Sprint assumed was Sky’s bedroom. To Wind Sprint’s surprise, books were wedged into her bookshelf and a variety of stationary and alchemic compounds were scattered across her desk. Based on what she saw in the museum, she assumed that Sky’s room would be equally pristine.

Sky rushed to her bookshelf, and despite the disorder, she ran her hoof over the book spines and pulled a book from the shelf within seconds. “Here it is!” Sky proclaimed as she carried it to her desk.

Stepping closer to the desk, Wind Sprint looked down at the book and read, “The Equine: A Guide to Transubstantial Anatomy?”

“Yes indeed!” Sky grinned, and then she opened the book and flipped through its pages.

“That sounds um…complicated.”

“Oh, it is extremely complicated!” Sky’s smile widened with glee. “This is a popular textbook in medical schools all over Equestria!”

“Medical schools? Like, magic for doctors?”

“The same! And inquisitive unicorns such as myself.”

Wind Sprint’s eyes widened. “But you’re not a doctor.”

“Nope.” Sky shook her head once.

Rubbing her neck, she laughed nervously and said, “Um, Sky? I don’t mean anything by this, but are you sure that you can handle this kind of magic?”

Sky stopped flipping through the pages, flattened them with her hooves, and then looked up at her, still smiling. “Wind Sprint, please,” she said, and then she closed her eyes and placed her hoof over her chest, “I’m Princess Twilight’s private student. Any spell can be conjured after a bit of intense reading. You know, magic is magic, right?”

“If you say so… You’re the unicorn,” she replied with an anxious grin.

“Ok, let’s see here…” she muttered to herself, burying her face in the book. “Um…uh…ah ha! Here it is: Artificial Appendages! Ok, ok, ok…” She ran her hoof over the section headings. “Legs...no…hooves…uh, amputa – oh no, no, no! Ok, um…lemme see…ok, here we are! Artificial Wings!”

Wind Sprint leaned forward eagerly. “What’s it say?”

“Everything you’d expect. A brief history of the study…notable spells…hmm, it talks about wings of gossamer and morning dew, but that sounds a bit fragile. I don’t know what kind of crazy pony would trust those wings for flying.”

“Yeah, hardly sounds like racing wings,” she said, and her face fell.

Sky continued reading in silence, her head lowering closer and closer to the pages the longer she read. Wind Sprint stood by the desk, shuffling her hooves and glancing aimlessly around the room, resisting the urge to fill the silence or express her boredom and impatience.

“Ok, you have two options here,” Sky finally said, “the gossamer wings, though a rudimentary spell, will allow you to have wings indefinitely.”

“But you already said that they’re too-”

“I know, I know, let me finish." She held up her hoof in front of Wind's Sprint's face, startling her. "However, this modern spell, transmutated wings, will give you actual pegasus wings, but it can last anywhere from eighteen hours to three days.

“Eighteen hours to three days?”

“Yeah…and apparently that’s a generous estimation. It’s a highly unstable spell, which means that its duration can vary depending on the pony, external factors, and a number of other variables.” She flipped through the chapter again, making sure that she didn’t overlook anything. “On the bright side, research is being done to increase and stabilize the spell’s duration. Be happy that we’re not living in the twelve century when it was first created. At that time, it only lasted two to three minutes!”

“So these wings are my only option?”

“I’m afraid so,” she said and sighed. “Do you still want to do this?”

Looking down at the book, Wind Sprint observed the anatomical diagrams of a pegasus and an earth pony. The thought of having wings grow out of her back was frightening, but she knew that transmuted wings were the only way she could compete in the Arc Races. She had been waiting for an opportunity such as this since she was a filly, and a unicorn finally stood before her with a spell that would give her what she always yearned for.

With a determined smile, she said, “Yeah, let’s do it.”

Sky nodded and stepped away from her desk. With the textbook levitating in front of her, she said, “All we need now is a pegasus feather.”

“Great! You have one, right?”

After scanning her desk, she nibbled on her bottom lip and said, “Huh…I do not.”

Excitement vanished from Wind Sprint’s face. “What?” she said, appearing to be on the verge of tears.

As if from nowhere, a voice in room said, “You can have one of mine.”

“Gah!” Wind Sprint and Sky jumped. They faced the corner from which the sound came and saw Angel Eye.

“What are you doing here?!” Wind Sprint shouted.

Stoic and unflinching, Angel Eye emerged from her inconspicuous spot in the corner and said, “Um, I work here.”

“But how long were you standing there?” Sky asked.

“Only for a little bit. I came up here to ask about a minor situation in the art gallery, and I overheard that you need a pegasus feather. Sorry for listening in, but you can have one of mine if you’d like.”

“Oh – uh, yeah!” she replied, still flustered. “That’d be great! Thank you, Angel Eye.”

“No problem,” she said, and then she plucked a lavender feather from her left wing and held it out to Sky.

Lowering her horn, Sky levitated Angel Eye’s feather from her hoof and suspended it in front of Wind Sprint’s chest. Sky closed her eyes and pictured Wind Sprint’s spine in her mind as the book instructed. Magic collected into her horn, and she felt energy draining from her body. She struggled to remain on her hooves as a wave of white light flowed out of her horn and wrapped around Wind Sprint. With all the strength she had, she reared and slammed her hooves on the floor, blasting the spell at Wind Sprint’s chest. The room filled with a blinding light, and Sky collapsed on the floor.

When the spell struck her chest, Wind Sprint lifted off the floor and writhed into a fetal position, holding in screams of agony. Though she tensed her muscles, her body shook violently as the magic churned within her body. Eventually, the magic concentrated at two spots on her back, and she felt as if somepony was pressing two smoldering branding irons on her back. From those two spots, she felt her skin and bones stretching away of her body until it felt like the skin on her back had torn open.

At last, the magic ceased. She fell on the floor and stayed still. Her body trembled and her back ached, and all she could think about doing was waiting for the pain to pass. But then, she felt a unfamiliar twitch. Alarmed by this new feeling, she lifted her head and her eyes widened. She held her breath and looked at her back.

Attached to her back was a pair of orange wings identical to the color of her coat. They were tucked against her ribs, folded together like a neatly wrapped package. With a shaky breath, she willed movement into the new appendages on her back – the wings extended slightly. Like opening a freshly printed book, the feathers rustled as they spread apart. Laughing and smiling, she looked at Sky and spread her wings.

Angel Eye gasped.

“It worked?” Sky panted.

“It worked!” Wind Sprint looked back at her wings again, and she repeatedly retracted and extended them as if she was revving a new vehicle. “Oh my gosh! This is – this is awesome! Thank you, Sky! Thank you so, so, so much!”

Sky stood up and breathing heavily she said, “You’re welcome, but thank Angel Eye. We’d be searching for a pegasus feather right now if it wasn’t for her.”

“Don’t even go there, Sky. This is amazing,” Angel Eye said, gazing upon Wind Sprint’s wings, amazed by Sky’s ability to produce such a spell.

“But be careful, Wind Sprint,” Sky continued, “I know you’re excited, but your body is not used to having wings so don’t overexert yourself!”

“I know, I know. But they feel amazing!” Wind Sprint flapped her wings and lifted off the floor.

“Hey, I said to take it slow!”

“Don’t worry! You did a great job!” She flew to ceiling, swooped down, and made a loop. “They work fine!”

“Wind Sprint!” Sky scolded. She lowered her horn and attempted to grab Wind Sprint with her magic; however, Wind Sprint easily slipped out of Sky’s feeble magical grip, expended by the transmutation spell.

Deafened by excitement, Wind Sprint flew out of Sky’s room and called out, “Thanks again! I owe you two big time!”

She spiraled down the stair tower, dashed through the museum lobby, pushed the front doors open, and flew into open skies. Taking a moment to look at the ground, she felt an exhilaration that she had never felt before. No longer chained to a horizontal plane of existence, she looked skyward and saw a cumulus cloud drifting above Ponyville, and with a daring grin she soared high into the sky and pierced the cloud.

Leaving a wispy trail of vapor behind her, she arced backwards and fell back among the clouds. She flipped over and weaved through the clouds, occasionally grazing them with her hoof. When she had her fun, she flew as high as she could, and at the height of her ascent she spread her legs and wings as if she were raising the sun.

Taking deep, satisfied breaths, she flew in place and wiped the sweat from her forehead, looking down at Equestria far below her. She could see so much: the endless expanse of billowing clouds that blanketed the land, the vast plains of Equestria that stretched beyond the horizon, and everything that inhabited them. Closing one eye, she pretended to cradle her hometown in her hooves, amazed that it looked so small. Upon seeing the world from above, she could not comprehend how she had been able to remain content as an earth pony for years – and for that matter, ponies, unicorns, and any other non-winged creatures.

North of Ponyville, she saw her birth home, Cloudsdale. Up in the sky, she could actually see the cloud buildings, the grand staircases winding through the layers of the city, and the rivers of rainbow and water vapor cascading over the clouds. Turning away from Ponyville, she flew towards Cloudsdale.

She approached the edge of the city and hesitated when she reached the nearest cloud, realizing that she didn’t know if her new wings had granted her the ability to walk on clouds. Though she knew her wings would catch her if she fell through the clouds, she extending her right hoof as if she were about to step onto a thin sheet of ice. She lowered herself onto the cloud and put weight on her hoof, and instead of falling through the cloud her hoof met a fluffy yet firm surface. Laughing, she hopped onto the cloud and jumped up and down as she ran into the city.

She ran through the town square, ignoring the buildings, ornate columns, and city fixtures, all of them made entirely of clouds. Rather than marvel at the city’s well known structures such as the Cloudsdale Weather Factory or the prized Hurricane Amphitheater, her eyes darted back and forth at the pegasi flying above her and the pegasi walking on the clouds with her. For the first time in her life, she was surrounded by pegasi, and her heart fluttered for joy as she ran to the east side of Cloudsdale.

After climbing a wide staircase that led to a housing cloud, she approached a house on the edge of the cloud that overlooked Cloudsdale – her throat suddenly became dry. She forced herself to salivate and cleared her throat, and then she raised her hoof and knocked.

The door opened, and a female pony peeked out of the house, a pony with an orange coat slightly lighter than Wind Sprint’s coat and a multicolored mane of red, blue, and green tied up in a ponytail.

“Wind Sprint!” the pony said.

“Hi mom.” Biting her bottom lip, she waited.

Her mother, confused by Wind Sprint’s presence in the clouds, looked at Wind Sprint’s hooves and back to her excited face. Eventually, she looked at Wind Sprint’s side and gasped. “Wind Sprint?!” she exclaimed, and she scrambled out of the house. “You’re – are you? You –”

“Yep, I have wings!” she replied as she embraced her mother. When she released her mother, she asked, “Where’s dad?”

“He’s inside.” She let Wind Sprint into the house and quickly closed the door behind her.

Wind Sprint trotted through the entrance hall, passed the staircase that led to the second floor bedrooms, and entered a circular living room. Crescent couches lined a circular depression in the center of the room, which was occupied by a round glass coffee table. There was an open kitchen to her left and a sliding door that lead to a small patio that overlooked Cloudsdale.

Jet Sprint, Wind Sprint’s father, was sitting on the couch fiddling with a camera, the object of his leisure time. His mane was jet-black and combed to the side, his coat was cool-blue, and his eyes were deep green, like Wind Sprint’s. When he saw Wind Sprint standing with her mother, he stood up, set down his camera, and a flash of excitement came over his face, but he did a double-take when he saw her wings.

Staring at her wings inquisitively, he cocked his head to the side, and said, “Wow…this is a surprise.”

“My friend made them for me just a bit ago! Aren’t they cool? Now you don’t have to fly down to Ponyville to visit me anymore! Isn’t that awesome?”

“Yes. Yes, it is,” he replied through an obviously forced smile. “But Wind Sprint, you do realize that you will need to have that spell reapplied soon, right?”

“Yeah, yeah. I can have my friend do it again later. I have up to three days; it’s not a big deal.” She waved him off, wanting to maintain the excitement in the room.

Her father furrowed his eyebrows and asked, “Wait, how long are you planning to have those?”

Wind Sprint stopped pacing and her smile faltered, unsettled by her father’s uninterested tone. “Just today and tomorrow for now,” she answered. “I’m going to compete in the Arc Races!”

“The Arc Races?!” Her father exclaimed. “You mean the Aerial Racing Competition of Equestria? That one?” Her father exclaimed.

“Yep!” Wind Sprint beamed.

“But Wind Sprint!” Her mother scurried to her side. “Didn’t you say that you got those wings today? And isn’t this your first time with wings?”

“Yeah, so?” she said with a shrug. “I flew all the way up here, didn’t I?”

“But dear, you-”

“No, Wind Sprint,” Her father interjected, shaking his head. “I don’t want you racing with those!”

“What? Why not?!” Wind Sprint looked at her mother, hoping for support, then back to her father.

“You’re going to hurt yourself!”

Wind Sprint’s cheeks flushed. “I can fly just fine! I already told you I flew up here!”

“Yes, but that was just one-”

"And I didn’t do it all tired and wimpy and stuff either!”

“No, Wind Sprint, no! You can’t just jump into a serious race without-”

“I’ll be fine, ok!” she shouted. “You’re my parents! There’s pegasus in me! I can do it!”

“But you’re not a pegasus!” Her father yelled, overpowering her voice.

Wind Sprint choked. She felt as if her father had grabbed her neck and slammed her onto the floor, her excitement trampled and ground into unsalvageable rubble. The wings that she had been flapping with unbridled ecstasy were now rigid and tense, pressing into her sides as if that would somehow conceal them from view.

“What…what are you saying?” she asked, struggling to keep her voice steady.

Her father looked at the floor, considering his words carefully. After some thought, he said, “It’s great to see you up here, walking on clouds and all. But you don’t have to get that spell just to come up here to visit us. As for the competition, we just don’t want you to get hurt. Aren’t there races for you down in Ponyville?”

“But…” Wind Sprint’s lips started quivering. “I have wings…”

“But for how long? You could start sinking into these clouds at any moment,” he said, pointing at Wind Sprint’s dirt stained hooves.

“I-I should still have a few hours at least…” she replied feebly.

He scowled. “That not the point-”

“Dear…” Her mother set her hoof on his shoulder.

Wind Sprint was not listening anymore, for her mind was lost in deafening thoughts. Her parents were talking to her, but Wind Sprint could only look down with an empty stare. Knowing that she couldn’t maintain her composure much longer, she faced the front door.

“I have to go,” she said.

“Wind Sprint,” her mother pleaded.

“Registration ends soon. I don’t wanna miss it. See you later.”

Speed walking, she left the house.

Once she closed the door, she kicked off the clouds and flew away from Cloudsdale. Suspended in silence, she gazed down at Cloudsdale and the land far below. Fighting the ache in her chest, she closed her eyes and cried silently. As the ache in her chest eased, she shook her head and rubbed her eyes.

She didn’t lie; she really did have to register soon. But for some reason, resulting from a childhood delusion or otherwise, Wind Sprint thought that she would be registering alongside her parents. Not even an hour ago, she saw it all – her, walking on clouds by her parents’ side, registering for her first race as a pegasus. And afterward, if time allowed, they would have a celebratory dinner at whatever decent restaurant Cloudsdale had to offer. But she wouldn’t know where to find a decent meal in Cloudsdale. Cloudsdale was her parents’ home, not hers. Maybe her father was right; maybe she should fly back to Ponyville, wait for the spell to wear off, and then continue her life on the ground as if this day had never happened.

Narrowing her eyes defiantly, she sniffled and rubbed her nose. No. When she flew for the first time, she knew that she could never be content with life on the ground ever again. She was meant to be a pegasus, and Cloudsdale was her home – she just had to prove it.

With one powerful flap of her wings, Wind Sprint dived toward the heart of Cloudsdale. She streaked through the air, diving faster and faster. Bracing herself, she slammed into the cloud road, spraying cloud chunks on unsuspecting pegasi. Her impact formed a crater, but Wind Sprint walked out of it as if nothing happened, ignoring the startled pegasi that were staring at her.

She approached an all too familiar flyer tacked onto the local bulletin. After taking note of the information that she needed, she ran to the Cloudsdale Stadium wearing a face of fiery determination.

The next day, Wind Sprint stood among a large group of pegasi, each wearing a numbered piece of cloth on their rump. Looking at her number again, thirteen, she grinned and suppressed an excited giggle. She couldn’t believe that she was about to race with wings. Last night, when she registered for the competition, she was worried that she would be denied because her wings were artificial; however, after a doctor examined her wings for performance enhancers, the registrant signed her up along with everypony else.

Now that she was standing in the Cloudsdale Stadium, old memories, partly fond and partly foul, came over her as she beheld the racetrack. Scooting to the edge of the cloud, peering down at the ground beneath the track, she remembered all the times that she raced underneath racetracks. Lost in her memories, she could’ve sworn that she saw a young, orange earth pony preparing to race with the pegasi flying above her.

As she craned her head farther over the edge, a hoof touched her shoulder. Startled, she gasped and jumped away from the edge.

“Wind Sprint?” a female racer said.

Wind Sprint turned around and saw a sky-blue pony. Her mane was light silver with streaks of royal-blue highlights, and Wind Sprint didn’t recognize her at first. But when Wind Sprint saw her Cutie Mark, a snowflake blowing in an icy gust of wind, she looked into the pony’s eyes with dread.

“Yeah…” The pony’s eyes lit up. “Yeah! Wind Sprint!” When Wind Sprint didn’t respond, she continued, “It’s me, Featherfrost.”

After taking a deep, steady breath, she replied, “Yeah, I know who you are.”

“I thought I saw you this morning, but then I thought, ‘Wait, no, Wind Sprint’s an earth pony.’ But I wanted checked just to be sure, and here you are! It’s been so long! What are you doing here, and where did these come from? When did you decide to get this done?” She pointed at Wind Sprint’s wings.

Wind Sprint’s pulse quickened and her mind flooded with angry, spiteful thoughts. Despite what she was feeling, she deliberately kept her tone even and her expression blank. “Yesterday,” she answered.

“Wow!” she exclaimed. With genuine concern, she asked, “Are you sure you can race?”

“Yeah, I can race.”

“Well, just make sure you don’t hurt yourself-”

“Don’t!” she snapped. “I’ll be fine!”

Featherfrost backed away. “Ok…if you’re sure. My heat is starting soon, but Wind Sprint, if you’re free after your race maybe we could – um, get a bite to eat or something. It’s been so long, and I know that I wasn’t exactly the best-”

“No, I’m busy. Good luck with your race, Featherfrost.” She turned around started stretching her hindquarters.

She stretched her legs and stared at the floor, wondering if Featherfrost was still standing behind her. Fighting the urge to look behind her, she wondered if she had been too harsh. However, she recalled all of Featherfrost’s taunting and teasing when she was a filly, and the more her mind replayed her brief reunion with Featherfrost, the angrier she became. That pony had the audacity to approach her before the most important moment of her life, the same pony who gave her the childhood nickname Wingless. To make it worse, Featherfrost invited her to eat after the race as if they were good childhood friends. Wind Sprint scoffed and shook her head. She would not be fooled; she knew that the same bully from her childhood was still lurking behind Featherfrost’s pleasant smile.

The announcer called the seventh wave of competitors from the waiting room out to the starting cloud, a lone cloud on the racetrack that marked the starting and finish line. Wind Sprint was next. Eager to race, she went through another full-body stretch and trotted in place.

Within ten minutes the seventh race concluded and preparations for the eighth and final race were made, and the announcer blared, “Numbers seventy-one through eighty, report to the starting line! Numbers seventy-one through eighty, report to the starting line!”

Wind Sprint, on the tip of her hooves in excitement, leaped out of the stadium waiting room first and flew out to the racetrack. After reporting to the clerk of the course beside the racetrack, where she stated her name and confirmed her racing number, she went to her assigned lane on the starting cloud. She crouched at the starting line, grinding her hooves into the cloud. She couldn’t believe this was happening, a chance to prove that she wasn’t just a wingless pony.

The referee flew onto the starting cloud and approached the start line.

“On your mark…” he bellowed.

Wind Sprint squatted, took a deep breath, and tensed her muscles.

“Get set…”

She exhaled.

Bang! And Wind Sprint charged off the cloud. She flapped her wings and sped through the air. Approaching the first turn in the track, she leaned to the side and drifted through it. At the second turn, she dashed through it with greater speed and completed her first lap. Until the halfway point in the race, Wind Sprint kept up with the other racers, but as the race progressed she fell behind.

Five more laps to go. The muscles in her wings burned, but she kept pushing.

On the final lap, she felt as if her wings were about to snap off her back. There were four racers ahead of her, and this was her last chance. On the first turn, she swerved around the bend and sped past two racers – third place. She maintained her speed throughout the straight stretch of the track. Approaching the second turn, she swerved into the inner lane, slipping in front of the racer who was in second place.

She swooped into the final length of the track. Everything in Wind Sprint’s mind and body wanted to stop. But she kept pushing. She clenched her teeth and flew with everything that she had. Without bothering to look at the last racer in front of her, she closed her eyes and reached for the finish line.

As soon as she crossed the finish line, she tumbled onto the starting cloud, all her energy spent. The stadium roared with applause. She wasn’t sure if the crowd was cheering for her or other racers as they crossed the finish line, but whether there was applause or silence, she had never been more relieved to finish a race in her life. Even the thought of twitching one of her wings seemed to induce physical pain.

She lifted her head from the soft cushion of the clouds and looked at the black scoreboard on the opposite end of the stadium. Results flashed onto the screen. After waiting a brief moment, Wind Sprint appeared in the first place slot, beating Thunderbuck by 0.21 seconds.
Another wave of applause surged from the crowd. Flabbergasted, Wind Sprint laughed. She knew that friends and families were probably cheering for racers that they knew; nevertheless, for this brief moment, she stood up, legs wobbling, and pretended that they were all cheering for her.

As Wind Sprint decided to try flying off the field, Featherfrost flew to the starting cloud from the waiting room. “Wind Sprint,” Featherfrost called out, “that was ama-!”

“I’m fine!” she sneered and shook out her wings. “I’m just stretching. Don’t wanna get sore, you know.”

To avoid Featherfrost, Wind Sprint jumped off the starting cloud and flew to the first cloud that she saw, the muscles in her wings and back nearly cramping as she flew. She landed on the cloud with the water table. To keep herself from looking back or even slightly to the side, she snatched up a cup of water and chugged it.

“Would you like more?” a smiling water-filly said, sliding another cup toward Wind Sprint.

“I’m good, thanks,” Wind Sprint replied icily.

She slammed her paper cup on the table, crushing it beneath her hoof, startling the young filly, and she left the table. Nopony would bring her down, especially not Featherfrost. All she had to do was win the final race.

Outside the stadium, Wind Sprint stood alone, banishing all the naysayers from her mind. They didn’t matter anyway; after all, she proved herself today.

“Wind Sprint!” Pair A. Dice called.

Recognizing that overly bubbly voice, Wind Sprint turned and saw Pair running towards her. She couldn’t help but smile when she saw not only Pair running to meet her on the clouds, but Sky, Angel Eye, Berry, and Woodwind as well.

“You? You came?” Wind Sprint said, welling up with joy.

“Of course we came!” Pair squealed.

“Oh, but not just us.” Woodwind said, shaking her head. “You’re the talk of the town! Ponies all over Ponyville saw you fly out of the museum. Nopony could beli- I couldn’t believe it!” She placed her hoof on her chest. “Naturally, all of Ponyville came up here to see you race!”

“Yeah, Sky told us everything.” Berry said.

Out of all Wind Sprint's friends, Berry looked the least enthusiastic. Though she smiled, she scanned Wind Sprint continually as if there was a repulsive leech or an unsightly tick on her coat.

“We watched your race!” Sky said. “It was incredible! I can’t believe you were able to exert that must stress on your wings so soon.”

“Yeah,” Pair said and nudged Sky, “you should’ve seen Sky while you were racing! I thought for sure she’d be hoofless by the time the race was over!”

Wind Sprint couldn’t help but grin, and she looked back at her wings and flipped her bangs proudly. “Yep! I guess I’m meant to have wings after all. Speaking of which, Sky, I’m probably going to need another spell soon. It’s been a little more than a day now.”

Taken aback by her sudden request, Sky mumbled, “Um…Well…You see…I don’t know, Wind Sprint. I’m still recovering from the spell last night. I’m…I’m not sure that I can do another just yet.” She rubbed her temple, avoiding eye contact with Wind Sprint.

“But you’ve gotta try. The big race starts at six o’clock tonight. I’ve gotta make sure that I have wings.”

Sky gave her friends pleading looks, hoping that one of them would change the subject or defend her. When no one spoke up, Sky looked at Woodwind and remembered how she had exhausted herself when Pair needed help setting up her game store. Wanting to do the same for her friend, Sky looked back at Wind Sprint with an anxious chuckle. “Ok then…here it goes. Berry? Angel Eye? Could one of you lend me a feather?”

Berry shrugged apathetically, so Angel Eye rolled her eyes and plucked another feather from her wing, and she held it out for Sky.

Planting her hooves and lowering her head, Sky pointed her horn at Wind Sprint’s chest. Like last time, Sky levitated the feather from Angel Eye’s hoof and suspended it in front of Wind Sprint. White sparks sputtered from Sky’s glowing horn, and her forehead beaded with sweat. She grunted and strained, but she could only conjure feeble sparks that fizzled out before they even touched the clouds.

“Come on!” Wind Sprint shouted.

Distracted, Sky lost focus and concentrated magic exploded from her horn. Her friends were blasted off their hooves, and Sky blacked out and collapsed.

Once the bright blotches of light faded from Wind Sprint’s vision, she rolled back onto her hooves and ran to Sky. “Are you ok?” she asked.

Rubbing her forehead, Sky replied, “I…I think so…” She slowly opened her eyes as if she had an intense migraine. Closing her eyes again, she barely nodded and said, “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

Angel Eye, Berry, Woodwind, and Pair, now on their hooves, helped Sky stand up while Wind Sprint stood by assessing Sky’s condition. While her friends asked Sky how she felt and offered comforting words, Wind Sprint remained silent, holding back the question that she wanted – no, needed to ask. Once Sky seemed to be talking and moving normally, Wind Sprint could not restrain herself any longer.

“Do you think you can try again?”

Berry, Angel Eye, Woodwind, and Pair looked at Wind Sprint as if she had committed a crime. Sky looked down at her hooves, and Wind sprint couldn’t tell if Sky was ashamed for not being able to help her friend or because she had failed to cast the spell.

“Goodness, no!” Woodwind exclaimed. “She is not doing that again.”

Regretting that she had asked, Wind Sprint nodded immediately. “Ok, ok, I'm sorry. But I just need to get-”

“No, that’s enough.” Berry stepped forward, confrontation emanating from her eyes.

Though Berry caught Wind Sprint off guard, she stood her ground, glad to have a reason to lash out at Berry for staring at her with disdain since she arrived. “Do you have something to say to me, Berry?”

“As a matter of fact, I do. You need to give up those wings there.” Berry declared.

“Oh, really?” Wind Sprint narrowed her eyes.

Berry sighed and attempted to sound more rational. “Wind Sprint, a day ago you never would’ve asked one of your friends to do something like this. Ever since you came to my bakery yesterday, you haven’t been yourself.”

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever, I’m fine.”

“Don’t give me that,” she scolded, “I saw you looking all high and mighty after your race, like you’re too good to talk to that one pony.”

Upon hearing that, Wind Sprint wanted to buck Berry where she stood. Clenched her hooves and gritting her teeth, she seethed, “I am too good to talk to that pony. You don’t know who she is or what she did!”

“Berry,” Angel Eye interjected, “that was Featherfrost, and she wasn’t very nice to Wind Sprint when-”

“That’s not the point!” Berry shouted over Angel Eye’s voice. “You’re not acting like you – that’s what I’m getting at! They’re not natural, those wings; they’re messing with your head. I say get rid of them if you know what’s good for you!”

Stepping forward threateningly, Wind Sprint said, “Not natural, huh? Then why don’t you take your own advice and get your head out of berry bushes and live up in the clouds where you belong.”

Sky, Pair, Angel Eye, and Woodwind gasped.

Berry stood still though Wind Sprint’s face was inches away from her. “I made my choice, but at least I’m not-”

Wind Sprint scoffed and mockingly said, “Don’ give me dat! Hai, I’m Strawberr'eh Shortcake, and everypon’eh should be like me cuz I’ve got everythang figured out! Here, eat sum pie!’”

Stepping between them, Sky said, “Wind Sprint, calm down! She just wants you to be happy!”

“If you want me to be happy," she said to Sky, "then get her out of my face!” She gave Berry a hateful look.

Wind Sprint expected one of her friends to back her up, but they didn’t respond.

“Fine!” She stomped away from them. “I don’t need you! Any of you! I can win this thing by myself!”

Sky, Angel Eye, Woodwind, and Pair chased after Wind Sprint, pleading for her to stay with them.

Without looking back, she shouted, “And don’t bother coming to the race!”

She tuned out whatever her friends were saying until she could not longer hear them. On her own, she looked down for something to kick, as she often did when she was frustrated on the ground. Seeing nothing but fluff, she scuffed her hooves on the clouds, and she scuffed again, and again, and again. Eventually, she kicked the clouds while she walked, making disheartened grunts with each kick.

Enduring her parent’s rejection was hard enough, but hearing her friends reject her wings was unbearable – well, hearing rejection from Berry at least. Wind Sprint readied her wings for flight, for the thrill of flying silenced all burdensome thoughts. But she sighed, tucked in her wings, and continued walking, unable to understand how the wings that gave her so much happiness and joy could also give her so much heartache.

She climbed down a cloud staircase connecting from Cloudsdale Stadium to the town center. Halfway down the staircase, she felt as if she had started walking on an overly soft mattress. At first she ignored it, dismissing the sensation as an odd patch of cloud, but the feeling did not go away. Soon it felt as if the clouds beneath her hooves were thinning into quicksand.

Looking at her wings and down at her hooves, she realized that she was sinking into the clouds. She looked at the ground miles below, and her heart started pounding in her chest. Hyperventilating, she sprinted down the stairs.

In the town center, she frantically searched for a hospital. She scanned the town several times, and in her panic she did not see the hospital at first. When she finally saw it, she made a beeline toward the building.

Within fifty yards of the hospital, she was up to her knees in the clouds. She waded through the clouds, clawing at them for something – anything that could hold her weight. As she ran, she noticed shriveled, orange feathers falling through the clouds. With a look of horror, she looked back at her wings again and saw that most of her feathers were gone. The limbs were retracting back into her body, leaving behind decaying skin that vaporized into glowing white embers of dying magic.

Realizing her dire situation, through fearful tears, Wind Sprint cried, “Help!”

She cried for help again and again. She was twenty yards away from the hospital, and she was up to her neck in the clouds. Like a swimmer shackled in irons, she could not keep herself up no matter how much she swiped at the clouds. Although she knew this, she did not stop struggling.

As the clouds reached her chin, she saw pegasi rushing out of the hospital. Wind Sprint reached out for the nearest pegasus, the receptionist, and clung to her the moment their hooves met. At that moment, her hooves lost all grip on the clouds, and she felt Sky’s magic depart from her.

“How’d you end up like this?!” the receptionist asked while other nurses helped lift Wind Sprint above the clouds.

Wind Sprint didn’t respond. Burying her face in the arms of the receptionist, she hid her face and cried. She didn’t know if she was crying from intense fear, frustration, or whatever, but all she did know was that her life was in the hooves of a group of strangers.

As Wind Sprint’s world faded into darkness, she heard a nurse call, “Get a stretcher out here!”

Wind Sprint woke and found herself laying in a hospital bed. She rolled onto her side and saw that she had a fresh pair of wings protruding from her back. Seeing her wings again, Wind Sprint exhaled with relief.

“Oh, good! You’re awake!” said a female doctor checking up on a patient in the bed next to Wind Sprint. “You must’ve had a pretty good scare. I know I would’ve.”

“You could say that,” Wind Sprint replied and grunted as she rolled onto her back. Realizing that she had blacked out, she sat up abruptly and asked, “How long was I out? What day is it? Hey, doc, how long was I out!”

The doctor walked to her bed and pulled out Wind Sprint’s clipboard, and she said with a raised hoof. “Take it easy, now. You were only out for a little over four hours.” Reading from the clipboard, she said, “So, the transmutated wings spell, was it?”

Wind Sprint nodded.

“You should’ve known better than to walk on clouds alone with that spell. It’s still a very unpredictable, unperfected spell,” he said, her tone gentle.

With her arms crossed, she rolled her eyes, thinking of Sky. “Yeah…I know,” she said.

“Luckily for you, we had a unicorn doctor with us today for the Arc Races.”

“Yeah. Sure.” Wind Sprint said, recalling the doctor at registration who had examined her wings for performance enhancers. She scanned the room for a clock and found on the wall to the left of her bed. It read 4:30, which meant that she had thirty minutes to report to the stadium. “Thanks for the help, doc. Just give me what I need so I can get out of here.”

“What’s the hurry? Just take it easy. Do you have someplace to be?”

“Yeah, I do.” She threw off her blanket and hopped onto the cloud floor, which felt refreshingly firm again.

Wind Sprint checked out of the hospital with the receptionist. Recognizing her, Wind Sprint thanked the receptionist for catching her while she signed her release forms. The receptionist and passing nurses asked Wind Sprint how she had found herself in that situation, but Wind Sprint avoided their questions, only giving them vague answers. The last thing she need was a herd of doctors lecturing her for racing with transmutated wings – there were more pressing matters on her mind.

Once she checked out of the hospital, Wind Sprint tested her new wings by stretching her wings. They felt the same as the ones that she had before, and knowing that, she flew toward the stadium.

When she reached the stadium, she joined the finalists in the waiting room and received a new racing number from the clerk of the course, number eight, for she won the eighth and final heat. The eight preliminary races that occurred earlier had been building up to this final race, the race that all of Cloudsdale came out to see. If she won this race, she would move on to Nationals, where she would compete with racers who won the Arc Races in their respective area of Equestria. Though she was so close to that reality, she felt as if she was in a dream. But this was it, the race that would define her as a pegasi. She would not lose.

While waiting for the race to start, she watched the other competitors prepare for the race. Featherfrost was among them. Wind Sprint did everything that she could to avoid her; however, she often glanced at Featherfrost from the corner of her eye, telling herself repeatedly that she could beat her. After waiting for what felt like hours, the racers were called into the stadium. Many of them dashed out of the waiting room, performing loops and twirls for the cheering audience. Wind Sprint, however, casually flew out and marveled at the stadium that surrounded her.

Blinding spotlights illuminated the track, synchronized colored lights flashed at the rim of the track, a pep band played from a small section in stands, and the scoreboard featured each racer's stats. Amazed, she took in everything that her senses could perceive, determining that this would be an event that she’d never forget.

One by the one the racers reported to their assigned lane on the starting cloud, and Wind Sprint stood on the number eight imprinted on the cloud. She tuned out the crowd, determined to remain focused, and she shuffled her hooves.

A male announcer’s voice blared throughout the stadium. He rambled on about the Arc Races, what will happen to winner, and other exciting things about the competition that excited the crowd. When the announcer concluded his speech and a brief introduction of each racer, the referee approached the starting line. He lifted his hoof over the horn and said, “On your mark…get set…”

Wind Sprint crouched down – ready.

The horn blared and Wind Sprint soared off the starting cloud with the other seven racers.

Twenty laps, that’s all she had to do. Much more familiar with flying, Wind Sprint maneuvered around the track and the other racers with ease. She swerved through the turns and streamlined her body on the straight stretches.

Though she was racing better than before, she was also racing against better fliers. Like her last race, Wind Sprint was able to keep up with the other fliers for half of the race. But as the race went on, she struggled to keep up. Sweat poured down her face, but she swallowed the pain, allowing it to fuel her.

Three laps to go. She lingered in fifth place since the thirteenth lap – but this wasn’t good enough! She pressed harder and harder, ignoring the painful feeling in her gut that seemed to be tearing apart her innards with each passing second. She passed another racer – fourth place.

Two laps to go. She flapped faster and faster. Coming up on the next racer, she zipped through the turn and passed him – third place.

Final lap. Two more fliers stood in her way of first place, and one of them was her, Featherfrost. She would not lose to her. Giving everything she had, Wind Sprint stretched and flapped until it felt as if all her limbs, both real and artificial, would pop out of their sockets. She took deep breaths through clenched teeth. Thrusting her weight forward, she streamlined her body. She was inches behind Featherfrost’s hooves now – she just had to give a little more! Giving it her all, she streaked past the finish line.

The crowd thundered with applause.

Wind Sprint, sprawled on the starting cloud, immediately looked up at the scoreboard. Her name appeared in the third place, mere milliseconds after Cirrus, who placed second after Featherfrost.

Winds Sprint’s head fell, resting on the clouds in defeat. She failed, and if what her friends said was true, all of Ponyville and Cloudsdale saw it. Feeling as if all of Princess Twilight had sentenced her to public humiliation, she was called out to the winner’s platform with Featherfrost and Cirrus. Begrudgingly, she climbed onto the lowest platform and was presented a bronze medal. Though she knew that she should be pleased with third place, she couldn’t convince herself that it was good enough. She accepted the medal, sure, but merely looking at it filled her with disdain.

The moment the ceremony and honorary speeches finally ended, she climbed down from the platform and headed out of the stadium.

“Wind Sprint!” Featherfrost called from behind her. “You were amazing!”

Attempting to maintain her pride, Wind Sprint turned around, stood up straight, and said, “Yeah, I know. I’m an earth pony and I almost beat you. I’m not so Wingless now, huh, Featherfrost?”

Ashamed, Featherfrost lowered her eyes. “No…I guess not. Look, Wind Sprint, I’m sor-”

“That’s right, I’m not!” she snapped. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have friends who want to see my awesome medal!”

She turned around and walked away from Featherfrost taking quick, sharp breaths through her nose. Though she may have lost to Featherfrost, Wind Sprint had the satisfaction of knowing that Featherfrost would be ashamed for nearly losing to an earth pony who only had wings for two days, and she wanted to keep it that way.

As she stepped out of Cloudsdale Stadium, another pony called, “Wind Sprint.”

Recognizing the voice, she turned and saw her father, the last pony she expected to see. “Dad?” She almost smiled. “Where’s mom?”

“She’s still in there.” He nodded his head back toward the stadium. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“Really?” Wind Sprint said, looking down at her medal, unsure of whether she should flaunt it or hide it.

Her father smiled. “Let me see.” He reached out and grabbed Wind Sprint’s medal. “I can’t believe you placed third. Really, I can’t.”

“You’re not upset?” she asked.

“No, of course not!” her father said. “Wind Sprint, I’m proud of you, so very proud of you! It’s just…I thought you already knew that.”

She huffed. “Of course you’d say that. What kind of parent wouldn’t?”

“Wind Sprint, listen,” he said, and he guided her to a bench and sat down with her. “When you were born, I won’t deny that we were shocked. We were. Completely! I mean, two pegasus parents having an earth pony filly? What’re the odds, you know? The doctors said that they could give you wings such as the ones that you have right now.”

“Then why didn’t you? And why didn’t you ever tell me about this spell when I was little?” she snapped.

“Because you were our Wind Sprint,” he replied calmly. “You were and still are our precious little filly, and we didn’t need to give you wings to make you any better than what you are. On top of that, we didn’t want you to have to the spell reapplied day after day. I just don’t know how you would’ve handled that as a filly. And what if something went wrong? What if the spell gave out while you were walking home from school? We couldn’t bear the thought… So your mother and I chose to leave Cloudsdale and start a life in Ponyville so that you could grow up and become the pony that you were meant to be.”

He reached for Wind Sprint’s medal again and admired it in his hooves, staring at the #3 engraved onto the metal. He sighed with a smile and said, “I’m so proud of you – I really am. You’ve only had those wings for – what – a few days, yet you beat dozens of other pegasi who’ve had their wings since birth? That is amazing…no, incredible!”

He let go of the medal and looked into Wind Sprint’s eyes. “My speedy little Wind Sprint would run all across Equestria simply because she loved speed so much. That is the true pegasi within you, and it will always be there whether you have wings or not.”

“So you want me to get rid of my wings? Is that what you’re saying?” Wind Sprint said.

“Not at all. Yes, I don’t think you need wings, but you are your own pony now. If you truly love having wings, then keep them. Just know that I love you for what you are, no matter what.”

Understanding that Wind Sprint needed a moment alone, her gave her a hug and stood from the bench. “Now, I’m going to go find your mother. See you later.”

Wind Sprint sat on the bench contemplating what she had heard. She loved having wings, but she could no longer deny that they were not nearly as fulfilling as she thought they would be. Her friends love her as an earth pony, and her father loves her as an earth pony. But the decision wasn’t about them, it was about what she wanted. She sat in silence, weighing the pros and cons of being an earth pony and being a pegasus.

She heard a group of ponies approaching her, and she saw Sky, Angel Eye, Berry, Woodwind, and Pair standing in front of her.

“We thought that was you,” Sky said. “We looked for you after the race. What're you doing out here by yourself?”

“Just thinking,” she replied.

“Ooooh, thinking!” Pair said, rubbing her hooves together mischievously.

"About what?" Woodwind asked.

Though she was still replaying the conversation that she had with her father in her head, she shrugged and said, “Nothing much.”

“You were outstanding, Wind Sprint. You defied textbooks today. You should be proud,” Sky praised.

“Yeah…proud.” She crossed her front legs.

“Everything ok, Wind Sprint?” Woodwind asked.

“Don’t worry. I’m fine.”

Sensing that something was troubling Wind Sprint, the five ponies looked at each other with confused looks, unsure of what to do next.

“Well…” Sky said, “we’re going to catch the next gondola. It’ll be heading back to Ponyville soon, so that’s where we’ll be if you want to meet up with us. Good job on your race.”

Angel Eye, Berry, Woodwind, and Pair congratulated Wind Sprint as well, and they left Wind Sprint alone on the bench.

Wind Sprint watched her friends walk away, and then she made her choice. They hadn’t even taken ten steps when Wind Sprint called, “Sky!”

All her friends turned around, and Sky said, “Yes?”

“Take them,” she forced herself to say.

“Take what? Your medal? But you won that fair and –”

“No.” She paused. “My wings. Take my wings.”

“What?!” her friends said in unison.

“But Wind Sprint...” Sky said.

“What happened? Did someone say something unkind about them?” Woodwind asked.

“Not really,” she said, picturing her parents’ faces. “It’s just…” She shrugged again but she smiled. “I just don’t want them. Now get these things off of me!” She shut her eyes tightly.

“But Wind Sprint, you know that they will fade away, right?”

“I know,” she snapped, keeping her eyes shut. “Just do it now!”

There was a few moments of silence, and then Wind Sprint heard magic charging in Sky’s horn. The next thing Wind Sprint knew, a swirl of magic encased her body in a cocoon of light and her body levitated a few feet off the ground, just as it had before. She felt a similar burning sensation in her wings, but this time the sensation was almost pleasant. Her artificial bones shriveled into what felt like brittle twigs. Sapped of their magic, her wings disappeared.

Before she dropped, she remembered that she wouldn’t be able to walk on clouds anymore. Just as she was about to cry for help, four hooves wrapped securely around her chest, the hooves of Angel Eye and Berry.

`She looked up at them with a grateful smile and said, “Thanks.”

They pulled Wind Sprint up and carried her above the clouds.

Wasting no time, Sky, Pair, and Woodwind returned to the gondola that descended to Ponyville. Angel Eye and Berry followed them, lowering Wind Sprint back to Ponyville alongside the gondola. Back on the ground, Sky, Pair, and Woodwind hopped out of the gondola, the cloud-walking spell dissipating from their hooves, and met up with Angel Eye, Berry, and Wind Sprint.

“So, do you think you’ll miss your wings?” Angel Eye said.

She shrugged and nodded indecisively. “Yeah, I’m sure. But I think I’m going to stick with being an earth pony. I know for a fact that I’m the fastest runner in Equestria, after all! And hey, if I really want to take a day to fly, you can hit me up with another spell, eh, Sky.” She nudged Sky’s shoulder.

“There’s the Wind Sprint I know!” Berry said.

Wind Sprint turned to Berry, remembering the last conversation that they had. Gratefully and apologetically, she said, “Thanks for what you said before. I didn’t want to hear it, but it was the truth.”

“Uh huh, uh huh. Keep going!” she joked, inching closer to her.

“Oh, hush!” She said, teasing her accent in good spirit, and she shoved Berry playfully.

Woodwind stepped forward and said, “What do you say we go to Berry’s place for some muffins and tea! Let’s celebrate Wind Sprint’s phenomenal performance.”

“Ooh, that sounds great!” Pair said.

“Sounds good to me!” Wind Sprint agreed. “I’ll race you there! Loser has to pay!” She dashed toward Berry Café, laughing at the cries of protest from her friends.

Running felt refreshing to Wind Sprint, like returning to an abandoned hobby – unfamiliar yet natural. Flying was great, one of the most thrilling experiences of her life, and she would never forget it. But, on this night, the excitement that came from flapping wings, tremendous heights, and speeding through vast skies could not compare to the excitement that she felt with each powerful stride of her legs. With joy, she ran.

~~~~~~~~~~

After hanging out at Berry Café for several hours, spending the time talking about the past two days, Wind Sprint, Angel Eye, Woodwind, and Pair left Berry’s café for the night. Sky, however, stayed behind while Berry cleaned up their mess. Dipping her quill in ink, she wrote,

Dear Princess Twilight,

Today I gave my good friend Wind Sprint a pair of wings. Though she only had them for two days, she did things that I never thought possible. She was so natural with wings that you’d think she was meant to be a pegasus, but that wasn’t true. After placing third in the Arc Races in Cloudsdale, Wind Sprint realized that the only reason she felt that she needed wings was because she wasn’t happy with herself. Now that she loves and accepts what she is and the gifts that she has been given, she is happier than I have ever seen her before. So whether a pony is a unicorn, a pegasus, or an earth pony, each of us is born with something special. There will always be things that we want to change about ourselves, and sometimes there are things that we need to change, but nothing feels better than embracing the things that makes you special.

Your faithful student,

Celestial Sky

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[PairADice]

I just finished drawing Wind Sprint! :D Check it out!