Of Hooves and History

by Ahmad J Charles

Towards the Sky

Cinnamon rolls are one of the most amazing treats to eat, without a doubt. But as a starter meal in the morning, they are not ideal. Mere minutes into packing up the tent and I could feel the sugar rush in my veins. Sunny was simply sounding and looking positive all-round, while Izzy was chatty and bouncy.

“At least she’s not bouncing off like a basketball,” I thought with a smile.

“Let’s keep moving,” Sunny declared. There were no ifs or buts about that. Our worn feet were now refreshed, so we hit the road and kept walking for another 45 minutes non-stop.

“My legs feel tired,” Izzy groaned, wiggling her forehoof.

“Would you rather have me carry you but leave the paramotor behind?” I teased.

“Oh um no-nah, nah it’s alright Aiden, my legs are fine, totally fine, yeah,” Izzy sputtered, and I bit my lip fiercely to hold back laughter.

We eventually took a rest at the hour mark, and I glanced around. Just a city block’s length off the road stood a couple of boulders. Climbing up, we sat back in the natural aura. The sky was dotted with blend of cirrus and cumulus clouds with the pale yellow sun casting widely over a wide grassland dotted with no less than four types of trees. I wiped my eyes and subtly shook my head in wonder at how beautiful Equestria could be.

Even Izzy, who had likely traveled down this path at least once before in her life, smiled with humble happiness.

“Everything those radiant rays touch, is ours to explore, observe and seek understanding and meaning from,” I began, pointing to the sun as I quickly realized the convenience of the setting. “But with such a journey comes great challenges and responsibilities – for one’s self, and for others whom they choose to form close positive bonds with during the journey.”

Sunny gave a nod – an affirmative, convincing nod of acceptance of truth, before adding some words of her own. “I am honestly glad you came into our lives, Aiden. You’ve shared so much with us in culinary and mechanical aspects, and been nothing but a source of love, support, and mutual connection.”

“Do you want an ear scratch?” Izzy teased, and Sunny fought back a blush, losing within the first two seconds.

“Come here, you two sugar pies.”

I coaxed Sunny into my lap and caressed her cheeks and gently scratched behind her soft plushy ears with one hand, whilst simultaneously giving Izzy the same treatment with the other. She rested her head on my shoulder and gave a soft, fluttery purr – a sound I had never heard any pony make. It did feel like being with Ryder’s aunt’s two over-endearing cats in the garden. However, our perfect wholesome loving moment was obliterated by a pleading shout coming from a line of trees in the southeast.

“Sunny! Aiden!”

My heart jumped as I immediately recognized the voice. We scrambled off the rock and soon spotted a familiar beige-yellow body sprinting out of the trees.

“H-Hitch?!” Izzy exclaimed in shock.

“Did you seriously run all the way here from Maretime Bay?” Sunny asked concerningly.

“Y…yeah, I did. Listen, Sprout’s escaped!”

“What?”

“Where?”

“I decided to detain him for a few days, then Queen Haven offered to extradite him to a maximum holding cell in the Zephyr Heights castle, but I just got a letter from the Pegasus Royal Mail that he wasn’t in the prison chariot upon arrival!”

“Which way did he escape?”

Hitch shakily held out a hoof, a clear indicator we were moving too fast. “Pipp texted me that the guards found a few blurred hoofprints heading west and slightly north.”

“There’s a clearing with an old monument there,” Sunny noted. “Could be a meeting point.”

For a moment I paused, then my fingers snapped with a crackle. “It all adds up. Equestria has a shape-shifting traitor sowing seeds of mistrust, fear, and division. Sprout has an accomplice who assisted him in changing his physical appearance, then came to Bridlewood to spread his dangerous rumors.”

Hitch nodded affirmingly. “It’s likely he somehow saw you and realized it was a golden opportunity to begin his antics all over again. Question is, who is that accomplice?”

“We’ll figure it out on our end,” Sunny declared proudly. “You take care of Maretime Bay as the honorary sheriff you are.”

I knelt down and put a hand on Hitch’s shoulder. “Trust me, it’ll be fine. Together, we’ll cover both towns.”

He smiled back at me and handed a small pouch. We gave each other a mock soldier-salute, before parting ways.

Grabbing our bags (and cart), we all headed back to the road and continued on our way, enjoying the sights and sounds of nature around us whilst pausing and taking sips of water where necessary. Finally, the tallest rock spires of the Zephyr Heights mountains came into view on the farthest horizon.

“Let’s camp here,” I ordered, setting down the paramotor. “To fly this thing takes a high level of observation of climate – the wind, especially.”

“Wish Zipp was here,” Sunny lamented. “She knows every aspect of wind stability down to the feather tip.”

I gestured to a side pocket of the paramotor seat and pulled out a vane and anemometer. “At least the basics can be calculated with these.”

“Cool! What is that?” Izzy leaned in eagerly.

“It’s a combo of two things – a vane and an anemometer. With it, we can measure speed and direction of wind as it blows. Hopefully the readings will indicate calmness, or we’ll have to either wait it out or call off the flight.”

A look of despair crossed Izzy’s face. “I sure hope it will.”

The next morning, we got up bright and early with the sun. I recited a little hymn poetry, and gave Izzy a little hoof massage. After a short breakfast of the remaining cinnamon rolls and sharing a flask of water, I took some stuff out of my backpack and laid out the plan.

“It is often said that a virtuous person should not be stung from the same hole twice, but I was. So let’s ensure the skin-hole isn’t penetrated for a third time. Sunny, I need you to proceed to Zephyr Heights immediately and send them a message of my arrival. Izzy, can you draw quickly?”

“Sure.”

I pulled out my notebook and a pen, and with some guidance, Izzy drew a rough sketch of my standing stature. I then added a short message:

To Her Majesty Queen Haven,

I shall be visiting your kingdom shortly. My arrival will be at your palace by way of air. With me I bring two of your daughter’s good friends, Sunny Starscout and Izzy Moonbow. Should you wish to detain me for a private questionnaire session, I shall humbly surrender, though it should not really be necessary.

Whichever way, I look forward to meeting and introducing myself to you, your guards, and the citizens of Zephyr Heights with an open air of friendship and peace. Above is a rough visual concept of my physical form.

Sincerely,
Aiden Walter Dixon

After adding my signature, I neatly rolled it up and handed it to Sunny. She slid it into her saddlebag and took off down the road like a Pony Express thoroughbred, still rigged to the cart.

“Now,” I began, turning back to Izzy, “We will test, then wait another thirty minutes before testing again. Rinse and repeat over a two-hour period. This will give us a set of data to observe and analyze.”

I powered up the iPad and plugged in the wind meter. Opening up an app, the two connected up.

“See?” I said, showing Izzy the screen with rapidly changing numerical metrics. “That’s real data on the air movement. If you can please hold it straight and raise it up as high as the cord will allow, thanks.”

Izzy gently grasped the wind meter in her unicorn magic as I guided her on how to balance it. Then she gradually lifted it up, and the three-meter-long cord began to unwind.

“And… stop!” I ordered, holding the cable to stop it accidentally unplugging or bending. “Keep it there for a bit.”

Five excruciating minutes passed as we waited for the slight breezes and gusts of wind to arrive. They soon came, and Izzy grinned at the fascinating sight of the little cups spinning around and the arrow jiggling in the blowing air.

“Okay, lower it down now,” I said, and we then examined the results.

“2.5 miles per hour with a gust of 5. Not too shabby.”

After waiting and testing and waiting and testing, the results were all in. An hour after the first test, the wind reached about 5 miles per hour, but the gusts didn’t climb above 11.

“Fairly safe, I’d say,” writing down the metrics in my notebook. “Let’s go.”

I slid the notebook, pen, iPad, and wind vane into the side pockets, since Sunny had taken my backpack. Izzy could barely sit still as I opened up the wing and laid it out perpendicular to the wind direction, carefully examining the lines to ensure no tangles. Timing with the next wind gust, I gently pulled on the line tips and the wing partially inflated and rose slightly, before letting it fall down in a smooth, even arc.

Next I carefully unpacked Ron’s vine rope contraption and securely hooked it all up. Izzy pulled on her hoodie and earmuffs. I zipped up my jacket, and strapped on my helmet. Now we were ready for takeoff. I shimmied into the seat and clipped on the wing straps, then Velcro-ed the throttle line to my left arm, slipping on the control glove. Izzy gently leaned up on me as I clipped the straps in place.

I pressed the starter and primed the motor in power stage 1, feeling rather nervous as the three-blade propeller whirred to life behind us. It had been a month since my last flight – and that was on Earth, solo! But I had a yearn to share the magical experience of flight with a wingless friend, and nothing would stop that!

Checking one last time that everything was safely in place, I threaded the brakes and A-lines through my hands, and angled my arms backwards.

“Ready to take to the skies, Izzy?”

“Ready!”

I pushed up into a squat and took off running Naruto-style with all my might. Izzy kicked the ground for added support as the wing started rising up like a banana-shaped balloon. Taking a smooth, deep breath, I slid my fingers off the A-lines and gently pulled the brakes, ensuring a fluid connection to the wing as I gave the motor a smooth but swift burst of power into stage 2, all the while maintaining my running speed as best my strained legs could handle.

“Left side straight and vertical?” I yelled over the buzz of the propeller.

“Check!”

“Right side straight and vertical?”

“Check!”

“Awesome!”

After a good fifteen meters my legs felt like they were going to explode. I cranked up the motor even more and felt a slight upwards pull – the signal to initiate liftoff. I squeezed the brakes a bit and we leaned back, letting the wing do the work. Izzy let out some hoofy-kicks, gasping with so much awe her horn sparkled like a glitchy Christmas light. I gently pushed out of my squat-run as the wing’s lift increased. We were airborne at last!

“Okay there Izzy, we’re gonna take this nice and easy!” I announced, smoothly sliding off the brakes. “Alright, keep on the speed, I’m going to shift into stage 4 of power in a bit.”

We glided over the grass and gradually gained height, soaring above the trees. I gently squeezed the throttle a teeny bit and banked left, just to get myself in line with my planned flight path.

“Whaaaaaaaaaaawwwwww!” Izzy breathed at the slight feeling of lateral G-force.

“Alright, climb time.” I gently angled back straight, tightened the harness, and shifted up into the next stage of power.

“Stay with me Izzy, stay with it!” I called out encouragingly while the propeller whirred louder and louder, pushing us up higher into the sky.

Author's Note:

The one I (and I'm sure most of you) have all been waiting for.

Comments

[StarzGecko]

I need to see a video of this I don’t think I ever watched it before?

[Ahmad J Charles]

11333456
A video of what, exactly?

[StarzGecko]

11333866
The flying thing they are using. I just watched it and looks cool