Hybrid Lives

by Ignimbrite

The Aerobat

METAR KARM 312224Z AUTO 14008KT 5SM- HZ BKN010CB 21/17 A2970

Flame Feather checked the report. It was less than five minutes before he would be going out, and the weather looked perfect.

Looking out, he saw the ponies scattered across the grassy field. Many of them were earth ponies, although he saw a few unicorns among them as well. The ground ponies were his favorite audience. They seemed to enjoy the thrill of watching his performances more than the pegasi did. The pegasi usually just preferred pointing out how "easy" and "entry level" his tricks were compared to the ones they knew.

He shook his head. That last part wasn't the thing to think about. Not now, at least. He needed to save those thoughts for later, when he needed them.

They resurfaced again. The other pegasi saying he'd never be a professional stunt flyer were annoying, and he'd proved them wrong after a lot more practice than they would ever know.

The ones joking about his parents, on the other hoof...

Oh no, I'm heating up again, I can feel it.

He employed the trick his mother had taught him. He counted while breathing in, counted to hold, then counted breathing out. Slowly, he calmed down again. It was just in time too. Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was just about time for the show to begin.

"Alright everypony, let's all thank Bell Tailslide and Falling Leaf for their performance." The ponies outside applauded. "And now, for our next act, please welcome Flame Feather, the Equine Torch!"

The ponies clapped as he stepped out onto the field. He shook hooves with the two last performers as they headed to the tent, then waved to the crowd. After that, he spread his wings and took to the air.

He set off into his barnstorming routine, starting with a few loops and hesitation rolls, gradually building into more complex tumbles and spins. It wasn't exactly Wonderbolt material, but the ground dwellers tended to enjoy it.

His flight style was odd compared to the other pegasi. Instead of relying on wing power for everything, he would rise higher than what was strictly necessary to start a trick, then dive into it, letting gravity do most of the work. He might not have been so good at hovers or the Ponychev Cobra, but he could certainly snap roll better than anypony else he knew.

He checked his watch. The time had come.

The time had come to think about all those things that he told himself not to think about in the tent.

Ground pounders. That's what they had called them. They called his mother that for not having wings. They called his father that for choosing to move to the surface just so they could be together. They even called him that just for being born to them.

He was getting angry again.

Good. Almost there. I just need to concentrate.

It had felt odd at first, deliberately making himself angry while doing something he loved, but it didn't take long for him to get used to it. In a way, it wasn't that different from the acting methods stage ponies sometimes used. One might even argue that that was exactly what he was, a stage pony, with the entire sky as his stage.

He concentrated again.

Come on, it's now or never...

He heard a heckler in the crowd. Looking down, he saw one of the pegasi who used to taunt his family. That did it.

A fireball sailed across the sky, leaving a trail of flames behind it. The fireball circled up into a barrel roll. It then looped through a Cuban eight and a couple snap rolls before flying through a set of water sprayers that had been installed near the landing area.

The crowd cheered as Flame Feather landed and shook the water out of his mane. He bowed to them, then stepped aside so that the next performers could begin their part of the show.

He smiled as he stepped into the tent and picked up a picture.

"Wish you could have been here to see that one. You would have loved it."

Author's Note:

Pegasus/Kirin hybrid