Swiftly Through the Air

    I tossed and turned in my bed; I couldn't sleep. One thought that popped into my mind was that I was laying on my wing wrong. Hey it's happened before! Then, strangely, I heard a... boys voice in the back of my head, it asked 'Wing?' that definitely confused me, the voice sounded like it thought I didn't have wings. Just to be sure I took a look at my back, sure enough they were there two light pink bumps on my side, just as they had always been. I looked down at my cutie mark: a bright red heart with white feathered wings to each side. I smiled as it reminded her about the first time I had ever flown as well as when my cutie mark had first appeared, when my heart had felt like it was soaring next to her.

    When I was done smiling to myself through my memories I looked up... then screamed.

    "Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" the walls were closing in, not only that they were turning into the blue checkerboard... just like the...everything... had when Discord took over Ponyville. The walls were jerking in, going in far then coming out again in the time it took to blink. "Aaaahhhh!" the walls were coming in fast; the door was already gone. I had had dreams like this before but never this realistic, I was starting to contemplate whether or not it was a dream. Was Discord back? Is that why I was seeing this?

    I woke up in the closest a pony can get to a cold sweat, panting, wide-eyed, and scared. Looking around I checked my walls, not a single trace of the checkerboard remained. If it was ever there at all, I was starting to dismiss that as a dream, let me correct that: Nightmare. I saw my flight goggles on the shelf across my room, I suddenly wished I was a unicorn so I wouldn't have to get up, then immediately dismissed the thought; what would I do with out my wings! I got up and walked to the other side of the room, stood up on my back two hooves and grabbed the tan leather strap. After I put the goggles on my forehead I felt much less... light headed, my goggles were worn and tattered but I refused to let anyone get me new ones: I'd had these since I first moved out of my parents house. Since I was already up, and knew I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep for fear of going back to that dream, I started to preen my feathers, then stretched. When I was done I looked out my window and suddenly felt a longing for the sky. 'Surely Soarin won't mind if I take a quick night-flight; he knows I'm claustrophobic,' Thinking that I opened the window and flew off.

    The winds were smiling at me tonight, and I knew I shouldn't be worried; I was in the second most  protected area in Equestria, the first being Canterlot. All of the thermals were out, making it easy and fun to ride. I tilted my wings so that I flew straight up without moving a feather. It felt wonderful, the sky and I were one, the stars guided my wings instead of me, and the moon controlled my mind. Then suddenly a strong wind sliced through the thermals and caught one of my feathers, which gave it the starting grip it needed to carry me.

    I was tugged along, no matter how hard I flapped my wings I couldn't leave. I knew that this wasn't the time of year for the katabats to blow, so the back of my mind tried to tell me that it was what Rainbow Dash was worried about, the thing I had dreamed about: Discord. My worst fear.

    "Hahahahaha, so Airheart second in command in the third squadrin of the Equestrian forces, is truly a Vivid Dreamer," I would know that voice anywhere, but now it was the embodiment of evil. It was not the laughing voice I heard three years ago. The voice of the old Discord was gone replaced with a cursed voice, strangely I saw a red glare of to the side of me, yet I couldn't move twords' it; my hooves were tied to the floor somehow. 'Buck,' I thought.

    "Discord! Show yourself!" I yowled, not caring who heard me, in fact I would be glad if someone did.

    "Ah, still as feisty as ever I see," he said without a hint of surprise in his new voice.

    "Show yourself, NOW!" I yelled, making my wings to blow in the direction of the voice, making the fetters around my hooves come loose. That caused a dragoniquis to fall off a half hidden cloud.

    "Now, now little one. Let's not get any feistier," he said, his red eyes glowing pits of hatred, still spewing the red smoke. I fell mid-flight after I felt a searing pain in my wing, after turning my head I immediately wished I hadn't, my right wing was spurting blood. Then I felt a wind as strong as the one that had brought me here. I quickly escaped this one however because I was caught off center then used the momentum of the wind that alowed me to peel off from the side. Using the speed boost it had given me I used my wings to propell me forward. I felt my eyes tearing up and debris flying by, I wanted to put on my goggles, as they were only on my forehead, but I knew I couldn't it would waste to much time because Discord might catch up to me. I suddenly ran into a wall, a wall that no one could see.

    I woke up the way you do in the movie, popping up with wide eyes. I looked around my room seeing the familier lime green walls, I calmed down. Then became more worried as I realized I couldn't remember my dream; I always remember my dreams. I looked around a second time and decided to get a glass of milk, since from childhood experience I knew I wouldn't be able sleep until I walked around. The glass of milk was refreshing, but made me tired again. So I crawled back into bed and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

    "Everyone falls for that trick, it's a very easy one to use as well," as if to demenstraight how easy the spell is I suddenly felt a wall pushing me into the ground.

     "Stop... it ... Discord," I managed to say through the dust and graval. Suprisingly, he did, but only after he cut my wings up more.

    "You were actually harder to catch than I had planned Missy," Discord started,"But when your gone taking over Equestria will be much simpler, not only will your worthless captain be an easy target, but I'll finally be able to try my new spell!"

    "Soarin is not worthless!" I shouted through all my pain, then fell. That effort put a new light in Discord's eyes.

    "Then why were you the one coming up with all the plans?" he asked, what he said was half true; most of the stratagies that Captain Soarin released were based off my plans, I shook my head, purging my mind of these thoughts. "I could let you stay you know," Discord said with a mischeivious look,"Once the last two Pricesses are gone I'll make you the alicorn princess of chaos." That was sure an offer, but I knew he was lying, it was then I noticed the Alicorn Amulet around his neck. "Ah," Discord said following my gaze, "Yes, I retreived this from the Everfree forest a while back, I need a boost for my magic you see. Although my magic is the strongest in the universe, this little gem helped me perfect my spell."

    "No," I said struggling to stand. When I fianally managed it I had used so much energy that I could barley say what I had stood for, "No, no to everything you just said. Soarin is not worthless, I'm not an alicorn, I am not a princess of chaos, I am the pegasus Airheart."

    "You lost your chance then," he said horribly as the red smoke streamed thicker from his blood red eyes, "You lost your chance." Suddenly I was in the air, but not because of my wings. My head was bursting with pain, not only because of my wings. Discord was crushing my face and muzzle between his paw and claw.

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     I woke up the same way as I had at midnight, except this time I remembered my dream clearly, even before I had woken up the first time. That was strange. Then I looked at the clock.

    "What the heck! It's 12:44! I was supposed to be ready to go by now!" I had absolutely no time to change my boxers so I just threw on my jeans, purple T-shirt, and lucky white nikes. As soon as I had finished I heard the roar of Erin's car.

    "Coming!" I called out the window. I quickly grabbed my black sweat-shirt than ran outside.

    "You over slept?" Erin asked, surprised obviously looking at my hair. Looking at my self in the mirror I laugh, my hair looks like a birds nest!

    "Here," Ida giggled from the back seat, though to be honest I hadn't noticed that she was here, she searched through her bag until she finally pulled a brush from it. Why did she have a bag? I have no clue. After brushing my hair into its original style, which was long bangs over my face and the rest of it, well, not tangled, I asked Erin why his sister was coming.

    "I have absolutely no idea," he said without looking back, which was a good thing since he was driving.

    "Where are we headed?" I asked since I had not listened at all during our pant conversations.

    "Just a restraunt," Erin answered. Ha, go figure. Quarter of a century and we are celebrating at a restraunt. It made sense though; none of us liked drinking... well except for Ida.

    "Are we headed to Evan's to pick him up?" I asked absent-mindedly.

    "Yeah," Erin replied turning the corner. I hated the part of town Evan lives in, though I guess if he can afford it it doesn't matter. Turning my mind away from that I focused on my dream. Why was I a stinking pink pony, and most of all why wasn't I able to change the course of my dream? That was the way it was with me, I was always changing my dreams for the better, but this time I couldn't manage it. Soon we pulled up in front of Evan's house, and I noticed he looked tired. 'I wonder if he had a disturbing dream as well?' I asked then laughed inside. Evan was always scared.

    "Come on Evan!" I called out the window. After seeing us his expression brightend. I looked out the window at the sky... and suddenly felt a longing to be there. I blinked once, then twice. Wasn't that the same feeling the pink pony, Airheart, had? 'Hmmmm,' I decided to think more about that later, now it's time to enjoy myself.

    The meal itself was pretty awkward, but while we were waiting the only brony of the group, that anyone knew of anyway, Erin, made us read his new fan-fic. I absolutely love reading Erin's stories; somehow he made each and every word he used come to life, sending pictures through the mind.

    "Okay," he started, "What do you think?"

    "I love it!" Evan said.

    "What do you have planned for it?" I added.

    "Well... saying it would ruin the story, but I guess I could tell you," Erin said, "Roseluck is going to be cursed by Discord, which sends her here, then she starts rapidly turning into a pony. That starts when she gets a Cutie Mark tattoo on her thigh."

    When Erin was finished there was a strange silence at the table, from everyone but me. Though strangely I noticed that Ida seemed, a bit... paler than usuall, that meant she was scared, and Ida is never scared.

    "Why is everyone looking so weird?" I asked cluelessly. That got me a bunch of looks from around the table. Then everyone sighed;

    "Nothing..." Evan, Erin, and Ida said that at the same time, at that we started to get looks from the people around us

    "Really, no thing," Ida said a couple seconds later.

After that awkward meeting I quickly got up, left the room, and hailed a taxi home.

   "Okay," I said when I got home,"That was awkward..." I walked aroud for while then fianally noticed a stench,"Wow," I said, "Time for a shower." Do you remember this morning? When I woke up late? Well, I knew that I was starting to smell so I just jumped into the shower. As soon as I got in I started to wash my hair, but then I noticed a weird tattoo... it was on my thigh... and it was the winged heart from my dream... That alone worried me. I knew I couldn't have gotten a tattoo today. I never got drunk so I couldn't have gotten it then. 'When did it appear?' I asked myself, the voice of the mare from my dream whispered to me;

    "When you first flew"... great, if it wasn't enough that I had a tattoo on my butt that had to have appeared between this morning and now, I had a talking pony in my head. My eyes suddenly opened Pinkie Pie wide with realizeation. My friends acted weird when Erin mentioned a tatto... on a thigh.

    "What the heck!" I shouted, "I can bealive Ida and Erin did this, but not Evan, and he still looked strange at the restraunt.

    I knew I needed to sleep now though. I needed to sleep now... but still; WHAT THE HECK!