A Song of Transformation

by Honey Lavender

Where e≠mc²

It's been almost a month since I got out of Ponyville General, and you better believe I don't miss the place. In that time, we've managed to finish installing both engines and the magic battery packs, mostly rewire the control panels to include new functions in lieu of old ones we've dropped and, my personal favorite, started prepping the body for a new paint job. Nothing against my flight school's insignia, but this thing isn't even going to fly when I get back to Earth; it'll be gliding at a ratio of roughly 17,000 feet traveled for every 1,000 feet of lost altitude because the redesigned engines will completely lose power once I leave Equestria's thaumatic field (something Twilight has taken every possible opportunity to remind me of) - and all of that is assuming I fly in a straight line and hope there's a mile of straight, flat pavement I can set it down on at the end of it. More realistically, I'll be making a series of turns to avoid traffic and line myself up for wherever I'll have to set it down, meaning I can expect to travel roughly half that distance per 1,000 feet lost.

I'm not sure what's sadder: the fact that I've actually agreed to a modification which will force a dead-stick landing when I get home, or the fact that I just went through all that trouble just now solely to justify a paint job... not that I care - when I get back, my future won't be in a cockpit. It's only a matter of time before something about Equestria leaves my mouth, and I'll find myself wearing a straight jacket in some asylum somewhere... ergo, combined with the fact that the airliner will cost more to re-outfit for earthly flight than it's worth and that the damn thing will likely never see the air again once I'm done with it, I think it ought to at least look nice for its final flight. Wouldn't it be appropriate that it should bear some custom insignia that Pinkie and I have come up with, which involves the all the princesses' cutie marks in one giant compilation piece? Considering the popular vote among the group was to call the project 'Equestria One,' I think it fits perfectly.

Back on topic, though, things have been great for the most part. I'm currently reinstalling one of the last couple panels we have left, which didn't have any modifications made to it, but was necessary to remove in order to get at some of the wiring for the adjacent panel with a slew of new functions being added... the portal spell matrix controls, to be exact. Twilight hasn't been too open about the specifics when it comes to those little buggers, and it's been a bit frustrating.

After all, Celestia knows that if there was ever a single point of failure in this whole plan, it would be them.

Speaking of the devil, she's here right now. And Twilight's cleaning up my mess. Again. I can hardly be blamed, though. There's a gap in my memory, and the next one I have is of reading a letter allegedly in her horn writing stating that she was the one to tamper with my mind.

Rationally, I know she didn't. Someone else is responsible for the missing day in my memory. Emotionally, though... when the Princess arrived, I saw red. I snapped, and I lunged for her, hell bent on planting a boot in her flank just like my rich Uncle Sam taught me.

I never made it, though. One of her guards intercepted me, and received my boot in her stead... then proceeded to give me a black eye in return. Which I deserved. And then began the talking.

I shake my head, rubbing my sore eye, and focus on torqueing down the bolts. One after another, I tighten them to spec, my torque wrench announcing each success with a resounding click. The princesses are laughing about something. Another click.

Then, hoofsteps approaching from behind.

Celestia clears her throat.

"You know I didn't write that letter, right?" Click.

"I'm aware." Click.

"And I didn't alter your memory." Click.

"I gathered." Click.

A pause, during which I torque the last three bolts, then return my wrench to my borrowed toolbox.

"So who's your money on, then?" I ask, half knowing the answer deep in my gut.

"Concord," she answers simply.

I sigh deeply. I had a feeling, but I'd been hoping it wasn't right. This means I brought it all upon myself by returning the long-lost draconnequess back into society.

"I was afraid of that."

Celestia gives me a sympathetic smile.

"So what's your plan?"

"Undetermined," I grunt, standing up straight for the first time in a couple hours. "In the meantime, though... we need to fire this thing up and see if it'll even run. I'm assuming you'll want to see that?"

Celestia's smile widens.

"I'd love to."

---

"All clear for engine start!"

Spitfire's command sets off a flurry of motion, as ponies rush to move tools and equipment into and out of position, then get clear of the large turbofans. I turn to Rainbow Dash, who's faithfully positioned in the FO seat to my right.

"Ready?"

Dash salutes.

"I was born ready!" She declares.

Nodding in satisfaction, I begin walking through the checklist with her. The GPU is already running, giving us power to our instruments for our pre-startup checklist. Slowly, painstakingly, I guide her around her half of the cockpit, directing her to the numerous switches, dials, and gauges indicated on the QRH. She's learning quickly, but she could still use a more experienced hand to lead the way.

Upon determining that we're go for engine start, I signal to Soarin, who starts the huffer. Air surges through the bleed lines, causing engine 2 to start windmilling. Slowly, painfully, the turbines start to spin up, that classic sound not unlike the THX studio card starts to reverberate through the frame, causing a slight shudder that makes me fear for my aircraft's airworthiness. It's a good thing she only has 2 more flight cycles left in her life, because it suddenly dawns on me that she might not be structurally sound for any more than that. Finally, the moment of truth, and I flick the #2 fuel control up to the 'on' position. A sudden surge in pitch, and the engine finishes spooling up, sustaining itself on magic and momentum. Soarin shuts down the huffer, and Flitter disconnects the hose.

A quick redirect of my bleed air, and #1 begins to spool up. It coughs out some smoke as it burns away the protective coat of oil we'd laid down after replacing the shattered fan blades, but otherwise spins up just like its #2 counterpart, before finally stabilizing once I flick up its fuel control.

I let the engines idle for a minute, then two, and then five. I hold down on the brakes, and slowly start throttling up. Ever so carefully, I run the engines up to TO/GA, only to bring them back to idle a minute later. I lift the locking levers, and engage my thrust reversers, making sure that they work as intended. Satisfied, I walk through the shutdown procedures with Dash, grinning from ear to ear.

Equestria One's engines are fully operational. Twilight's redesign works.

I'm going home.

Author's Note:

PSA: FUCK Depression.

That is all.

Steve Axios will return.

Comments

[demondude123]

Hi, curious outsider who hasn't read the story here, but is the MC a werewolf or something? Not harping on werewolves–top 5 fantasy creatures honestly–I'm just curious since the cover art, title, and descriptions are giving me a pretty strong vibe of them.

Again, not hating or harping or whatever, just curious.

[Honey Lavender]

11311103
That's a negative, Ghostrider. MC is NOT a werewolf.

Title is meant to reflect that the story touches on themes of identity exploration and personal growth. No more, no less.

As for the cover art... it was a good stock photo with a clean silhouette, and 6-years-ago!me decided (s)he could use it instead of commissioning cover art that wasn't in the budget

[KittyrinnAiko]

I think if I were in his shoes I'd remove everything from the interior that didn't need to be there. Following that, the addition of gas bags to even further lighten the aircraft. It doesn't need to lift it like a lighter than air craft but would give him a lot more time to land on the other side.

[Honey Lavender]

11311566
;)

[Blaster M]

Number Five is alive!

[David Silver]

AI Review: https://www.fimfiction.net/group/217075/ai-reviews/thread/521776/a-song-of-transformation-by-honey-lavender70-10