Man of War

Chapter 280 Past VS Present

Perspective: Rainbow Dash

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BE-SLAM

I slap my alarm off as I snap awake. Today is the day! I practically throw myself out of bed as I zip around the room to get ready for the day. There's not a moment to lose! Comb my mane! Grab my flight suit! Brush my teeth! I need to get through my morning routine as quickly as possible so I can get out of here!

I burst through my bedroom door and zip towards the kitchen! Tank was on his way to me, but I rushed past him too quickly to fully notice. I start to zip around the kitchen to get things ready for the day. I'm going to need to pack a meal for later. Oatmeal should be a good enough breakfast. At least for me that is. Soarin can make something if the others need more. Gotta get the rest of my gear for the show though.

Today is the annual Equestrian Aeronautics Show. And the Spartans are going to take home the gold.

Though normally you have to be invited to attend, we're going to make an entrance that leaves them no choice. With the Captain out I know I can convince Storm to let me lead us to victory! Miles was on the fence about the whole thing the last few years. He doesn't want out first year to compete anything but a landslide victory. And even though I could take home the most medals on my own. The rest of the team needed time to get up to my level.

But this is the year we're going to jump in and blow the Wonderbolts out of the sky! We'll crash their party and steal their awards, leaving them a total mess! They'll regret ever doubting us and learn to keep their grimy little mitts off others special flight moves and embarrass them in front of all their friends and family...

I mean, today is totally the day the Spartan Jumpers make a name for themselves. Yeah... that's what this is all about.

As I bolt from task to task the others slowly start to trickle in. Soarin was first in. After a quick peck on the cheek he took over making breakfast. He knows what today is. Ever since his injury forced him out of the Wonderbolts he's really taken to being the stay at home parent. He also part times as a junior flight instructor, but I know it's not his dream. That's also a part of why I need to win this today. I want him to know that backing me this whole time wasn't a waste. I need to prove to him that I'm not just some... loser dropout...

Scootaloo drags herself in next. I don't think she knows what's going on. All of my zipping around is most likely what woke her up. I manage to pause by her to give her a quick nuzzle before returning to look for the rest of my gear. Seeing her stretch out her wings and plop down at the table reminds me of when I was her age. She's almost done with school! And after that... Well, I think she's mentioned some college or possibly trying out for certain Air ball teams. Maybe some combination of the two. I still remember the days when she couldn't fly and rode around on that scooter of hers. And now she's about to start her professional career! It fills me with pride to see her advancing like this. But it also makes me feel incredibly old too.

Jet is the last to make it out. He's as chipper as usual. He and I are both morning ponies. I doubt he knows what's going on today too. But he'll follow along regardless. He's always down for an adventure. He gets that from both Soarin and I. He's also got both of our natural talent for speed and maneuverability. When he gets older he could give me a run for my money!

I stop by the kitchen table and look around in a panic. I have everything but my helmet! Where could it be!? I checked everywhere it would normally be! It's not a small thing, how could it be hiding?

"Dash?" I look over to Soarin. He just nods his head down and I see Tank slowly hovering towards me with my helmet in his grasp.

"Thanks buddy." I tell him as I take it from him. It give his little heli-pack a look over before booping my nose to his. I feel a little silly as the kids snicker at me. But Tank just boops me right back. "Okay! Okay! Okay!"

"What's with all the zwooshing!" Jet asks as Soarin starts to set breakfast. "Got a mission?"

"Something like that." I tell him as I take my seat. Soarin passes me a bowl and I mouth my thanks to him. "Today I'm taking the Jumpers to crash the Equestrian Aeronautic Show."

Jet and Scootaloo give me a surprised look. Though jet is surprised with excitement while Scootaloo is surprised with concern. To be fair, she was there when Spitfire stole my thunder.

"That's today?" She asks as the rest of us start to eat. "A-Are the jumpers really ready for this though? I mean, I know you are!"

"Nice save." I comment as I start to eat. I want to scarf it all down and get moving, but I know better. I don't want anything going wrong today. Everything has to be perfect.

"But what about the others? And don't you have to be invited?" Scootaloo asks.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about all of that!" I tell her between mouthfuls of oatmeal. "I've got a full proof plan for that. And the Jumpers are more than ready for this! Just you wait and see!"

"Wait... WE'RE GOING TO THE SHOW!?" Jet asks, practically spitting out all of his food in his excitement.

"Easy there buddy." Soarin tells him as we all chastise him for being gross. "But yes. Who else is going to cheer on your mother and the other Jumpers?"

"YUSH! YUSH! YUSH!" Jet cheers as he pumps him fists into the air. We all share a laugh at his excitement. Scootaloo gives me a concerned look before she starts to eat.

Even though I know she has high faith in me I know she's worried about today. She was there when I tried out for the Wonderbolts and was shown up. Back then she held me in such high regard. Seeing me flounder like that... well, she may have taken it as hard as I did. But not today! This time we're going to be the ones to take home the gold!

I take a look outside and note where the sun is. I wolf down the last of my oatmeal before rushing around the table to give my goodbyes. I zip out the door and drop down the race towards the Captains house. I'm sure he'll want to take the family and get a good show! Especially to see us making it on our own! This'll show him that we can manage on our own without him.

I rush to the front door and throw it open. I pause when his two wolves rush out and scurry off before walking in.

"... saw that scary monster." I only catch the last thing Tempestive says as I approach the kitchen. But I can see whatever they're talking about has put Miles in a slight state of shock. Luna isn't looking too thrilled either. I stand there for a moment as an awkward silence fills the room. Whatever they were talking about, it seems like it was heavy.

"Is this a bad time?" I ask, getting all of their attention.

"Rainbow Dash!" Miles chirps as he tries to compose himself. "What're you doing here? Did something happen?"

"No, nothing has happened... I'm just here to relay that I'm taking the Jumpers to attend the Equestrian Aeronautical Show. It would be good to have a cheering section, if possible." The table blanches from my announcement. Most of them are too whiplashed to say anything right away. But Luna manages to find her voice first.

"Don't you have to be invited to attend that?" I roll my eyes to that.

"Only if you don't know how to make an entrance." I tell her confidently. "I know these ponies. Being invited is their way to gate keep who they compete with. But make an entrance that ensures that everypony is talking about you... Well, showing up but not competing is the same as telling everypony that you're too chicken for a real contest! Trust me, we'll compete!"

"Do you believe that you'll win?" Miles asks. His tone is a little more serious than before. He knows what this all really means. We've done missions for the world, sure. But this is something on a different level. This time it's directly challenging what Equestria is supposed to be dominant in. It's about becoming the king slayers of the air.

"We have nothing to fear." I tell him before I slide my helmet on. "Will we see you there?"

Luna and Miles share a look but Tempestive looks as if he's about to explode. I had a feeling having him in the room would help persuade them to my side. And from the sounds of it, it seems like they could use a distraction. Miles and Luna share a silent conversation before Luna sighs in defeat.

"We'll be there-" Miles starts.

"YES!" Tempestive yells in excitement as he springs into the air. Before we could say anything further her rushes out of the room. I assume to go tell Shadow what's going on.

"Get ready for a show Cap'n! You haven't seen flying like todays! We'll take home the gold for sure! Just you wait!"

I don't wait for him to respond. I'm too pumped to sit still! Plus I still have to get Storm and the other Jumpers together and then race to Cloudsdale. The competition starts in a few hours so I don't have a moment to lose!

Much like my plan to attend the competition, my plan to convince Storm Cloud was more asking for forgiveness rather than permission. I mostly just grabbed all of the Jumpers, told them there was an urgent mission to attend to, and started flying towards the airfield. Once we were halfway there I started to tell them the game plan. Most weren't too happy that we're competing with such short notice. To be fair, I normally wouldn't do something like this. But...

I know these guys. We've been training for the past four to six years together! I've made sure that the amount of wing power per flier is at a competitive level! Everything we've drilled is far more demanding than this show. I wouldn't allow any of them to call themselves Jumpers otherwise. I've seen what the Wonderbolts consider a normal training regiment. So I made sure that every single Jumper would be able to meet or exceed their expectations.

Most of this was just me pushing them as hard as possible. It's a bit easier to do so while in a military setting. Especially one as demanding as the Spartans. But then there was the treasure trove of info I was able to pull from the Terradisians. It wasn't easy to get into the Core, but once I was able to it unlocked everything.

Unique flight patterns. Equations for air resistance and aerodynamics. Advanced dietary plans and exercise routines. There was even a program that could scan our wing flaps and maximize our thrust output! It took a lot of study and coordinating with the Captain, but we worked our tails off to get to this point. And we're more than ready to win this.

We have enough fliers for two Flights. Which only doubles our chances of winning! Since I'm the Lieutenant for the Jumpers, I lead the first Flight. On my tail is Dust Devil. She's our most senior flier that's not an officer. Ellzy is next with High Flier on his tail. Most teams would pair griffins with griffins since they don't tend to have the same flight speed as pegasi. But I made sure to pair the griffins with ponies just to show off our coordination.

The second team is lead by Storm with Johnathan on his wing. Jonathan is actually a better flier, but Storm has him out ranked so there's no fixing that. I'd say Jonathan is probably our second best flier skill wise, so he'll actually help Storm look better in the end. Rounding out their team is Night Fury with Shifted Past on his wing. Though we have the changeling altered as a pegasi so he can match his speed.

I take a look to my right and make eye contact with Dust Devil. She blinks to me before moving closer to speak.

"Everything okay?" She yells over the wind.

"Yeah. Call it out, helmets on!" I tell her, getting a solid nod in return.

"ARMOR ARMOR ARMOR! PREPARE FOR CONTACT!" She yells to the others. I slide my helmet on as wait for the HUD to come online.

We're competing in our full armor. Just to show off. Though it is Terradisian armor, it is modified for flight. So it doesn't protect as much as a normal set. But it's even lighter with the added benefit of still being some of the most protective armor for any flier! It still needs some work though. I feel like the wing joints are a little too exposed and the shoulder sleeves could use some better padding.

I shake my head when I hear the others sounding off. It's time to get my head into gear.

"WING FOUR, READY!" Night Fury yells out.

"WING THREE, READY!" Storm Yells out next.

"WING TWO, READY!" Ellzy calls out. My Hud turns on and I take a look down below.

The airfields of Cloudsdale fill me with slight dread for a moment. Every time in the past I've competed here in something's always gone wrong. People stole my routine. Scootaloo got injured. Rarity almost fell out of the sky... But not this time! This time... we're winning.

"WING ONE, READY. DROP TIGHT LEFT AND BREAK FLOW!"

We all bank to our left and start to race down towards the airfield. We've worked on some shorthand orders. Some phrases we can pass along to one another just so we can keep our speed up. Drop is pretty obvious. Descend quickly. Break flow is a little more complicated. Essentially it means go against whatever currant there is. Head wind, storm direction, or blitz through an opposing force head on.

The airfield is filled with various troops of ponies and griffins flying around. But there is a single mass flying around the center track. They're most likely warming up. But I can see several Wonderbolts mixed in there. More than anywhere else. So that's where we're going to my our entrance.

The eight of us have our wings tucked as we let gravity do its thing. Though I miss the air racing through my mane, having an altimeter in my view is a very nice bonus of the helmet. And there's still that weightless feeling that comes with racing towards the ground and max speed.

A single referee sees our Flight and starts to whistle at us. But we're not going to listen to him just yet. Just as the others notice his annoying blows and look up we finally make it to the mass and fly through at break neck speeds. I took aim for a specific fiery orange pegasis mare and cut her off. The shocked look on her face was almost worth all the trouble.

When our Flight breaks through I snap my wings open. The effect is immediate as we kill our speed.

"THIS IS IT!" I yell over the radio, another courtesy of the helmet. "Flights break and Scout the mass!"

Storm breaks left and I break right. We did lose the majority of our speed, but we never stopped. We we have just enough momentum to get us on level with the mass of confused ponies and griffins. We start to circle the group, building more and more speed as we start to narrow in on them.

Most are too confused to do anything right now. But there are a few that know what's going on. Spitfire is glaring daggers at me right now. Even though there are others asking her questions her attention is solely on me.

Good.

When we get close enough to start hitting the group I break off from circling the mass. Storm follows after me without order. We perform a rising helix in front of the mass. It's a tough move to make. Basically Storm and I are weaving between each other while our tails are dramatizing the weave. Doesn't sound hard on paper. But If Storm and I don't manage the weave correctly we'll cause a crash in the tail.

Banking right to weave once more I see the three tails behind me whip pass me to complete their helix. Opposite of us the second Flight is doing the same. Storm looks to me as I hesitate in the air. He's waiting for me to make my move. I take a quick glance down to make sure that we have their attention. And sure enough there isn't a single person looking anywhere but at us.

"DEAD DROP!"

I tilt back and leave my wings to relax against the air. Our flights drop down together in perfect unison. A dead drop is a classic maneuver, maybe even low bar. But it's the uniformity that makes it worthwhile. The instant compliance with my moves and call outs are what will set us apart from the others. I know my Flights will perform the moves without question. And I know they know how to do it all. You don't need to be the most skilled to win this contest. Uniformity is what will carry the day for us.

We drop for a moment before we perfectly catch ourselves and flip back to a hover. Just in time to be one level above the mass of confusion. We stay there in the air flapping in unison, as if we were marching in place while airborne. Those below are quiet. Some seem impressed while most are just confused. But there are the select few that are genuinely angered by our presence here.

I take a deep breath as I ready myself to address them. It's been a while since I've had to do any public speaking. I just hope my voice doesn't squeak.

"THE SPARTAN JUMPERS HAVE COME TO COMPETE!" I announce to the crowd. But they're all a little too confused to know what's going on.

"This is an invitational contest!" Spitfire yells back, flying up to be on the same level as the rest of us. "You can't just show up and-"

"Well I take it our invitation got lost in the mail then." I tell her, getting few chuckles here and there. She just glares at me, annoyed by my presence even more. "Though, if you really don't want us to compete, we'll understand. We wouldn't want to challenge the mighty Wonderbolts in their home turf!"

There are a few more snickers from the crowd. Mostly from the griffins that I assume are from the colonies. I knew it wouldn't be hard to get the crowd on my side. I'm sure most of them are just here to compete for the sake of flying. Most don't hope to ever actually beat the Wonderbolts. If anything, they come here to hopefully get scouted by them.

"It would be no challenge-"

"Then what's the problem!" I yell over her as I zip within hoofs reach. "Your call there. Accept the challenge or fly away with your tail tucked between your legs. What'll it be?"

She considers me for a moment. She's weighing her options right now. She eyes my armor and underlying flight suit. The number of fliers with me. She must be thinking of the Flights she has present. Wondering if they can beat a group like us. We must look slow. Weighed down with armor. Maybe even a little clunky too. Mixing ponies and griffins within Flights.

If I were in here position, I'd take the challenge. But she's not in this for the love of contest. The Wonderbolts usually use this contest as a sorta scouting and fixer contest. Either they find new talent and bring them into the fold. Or they crush the competition and use the victory as a morale boost for the rest of the flight season. It's a middle ground contest. Small enough for the big shots to not take too seriously. But big enough to make waves for the flight season.

"Alright. We won't protest your addition." She tells me, offering a hoof to shake. I grasp her hoof and we each try to put as much pressure into it as possible. "Break a leg."

"Keep wishing." I growl back to her. We break away from one another and I fly back to my Jumpers. They huddle up with me as I take a deep breath.

"No turning back now." Storm tells me as he watches the Wonderbolts huddle up.

"Do you really think we're going to compete with the Wonderbolts?" High Flyer asks nervously. "I mean, I came here to fight! So don't worry about me... But, you know... It's the Wonderbolts."

"Don't worry about them." I tell him as I remove my helmet. "We've drilled longer and harder than any other group here. We've been waiting for out chance to show the world what we're made of, and now's our time! Don't worry about winning. Just focus on your wing mate and remember your training."

They all share a nod and we start to discuss todays events. I know we're ready. I know we can win! But I also know that this isn't going to be easy. No matter what, all that bravado won't mean a damn thing if I choke again. If any of us do. But there's no time to focus on that. It's game time.

Todays competition has three events. Usually a group would try to have one or two teams per event. But our two Flights are competing in all three. Most fliers don't have that kind of endurance, but we have more to prove.

Each contest awards points for the top three positions. First gets you five. Second gets three. And third gets one point. If you're team can get fifteen points, then you're the Golden Wing. There have only ever been three Golden Wings in history! And as much as I'd like to win the title, I know it's not likely. It's a team event, so there's little chance of that.

The first contest is an agility relay course. Best of three laps around the lower section wins first. Tied times go to sudden death relays. Hitting any of the obstacles will add time to your run. Of all the contest today I believe we'll do the best of this one. With our slightly higher weights we'll better manage the maneuvers. Most get distracted and try to speed through it all. Slow and steady is the name of the game here.

The next contest is probably going to be the hardest for us. It's a climb test. You start near the ground and need to fly up a quarter mile. Then you drop back down and repeat the process for however many laps they're calling for. If you hit the ground it's an automatic disqualification. With our armor on this is going to slay us. Though we're going to try and win, we're okay with losing this one. If we can win the first and last contest then all will be good.

The last contest is the most brutal. One massive relay. Fifteen miles. Nonstop! Even without the other competitions that is pretty brutal. Most flight schools only check for your three mile flight time. So something going five times the distance while timing you is rough! But luckily it's a relay, so you trade off between the various wings you have. This one is a bit of a toss up. We've done it before on our own and our times aren't bad. But it's a matter of preforming under pressure.

And if all else fails, and three different teams win each contest, it goes to sudden death. A freestyle contest to show off your skills in the air! The refs turn into judges and score you on originality, style, and speed. Hopefully it doesn't come to that though. The last time I was here it did... and things didn't end well.

All Flights line up for the first contest as the judges raise their flags. It's going to be back to back, with the Wonderbolts going first. Since they have six teams, it's going to be easy for them to fill in the best positions. Dust Devil and I are third in line, which is a decent enough spot. Early enough to see the times we're going to need. But it's still fairly early. If we don't set the bar high enough then the others will use it to push themselves past us.

"ON YOUR MARK!"

This is my favorite part of any contest. That moment before they start the race. Everypony tenses and the air goes still. I can feel the slight breeze flow across my wings as I snap them to the starting position. The world fades away as I stare down the track before us. This is everything that I live for, all caught in a split of a second.

"GET READY!"

This is it. This is where we show them who we are! Who I am! I won't be overlooked this time. I won't lose to Spitfire this time! It's time to fly.

BANG

Instinct took over as I break the sound barrier and race ahead of all the others. I didn't intend to. But sometimes it just happens when I'm that focused. Although breaking ahead of the others is a nice start, I've pushed too hard and now I have to break to get through the first hurdles. But the crowd here loved it.

Vertical columns of clouds lay in a jagged pattern ahead of me. I flair one wing out to break and pull myself tightly into the turn. I tuck my other wing in the hopes to use the drag to turn tighter. There might have been just enough space between the start line and the first column to let me keep the advantage!

I keep my focus forward and wait until the column leaves my view. Then I barrel roll into the turn and break early to head for the next column. It looks like there are five columns so I prep in my mind how to manage this weave. In my turn I manage to see the line of ponies behind me. Spitfire is almost in arms reach of me. Dust Devil is neck and neck with the Wonderbolt I'm assuming is tailing Spitfire. I couldn't see Storm and Johnathan, but I can't worry about that right now.

Even with my breakneck start Spitfire is keeping pace with me right now. I think she's using me to cover the drag on the first lap so she can save her energy. I was planning to do that, but I guess this is what I'll have to deal with now. I also need to make sure that Dust doesn't get left behind. Our second wing can't start until we both pass the finish line.

With each weave I blead a little more speed to let Dust catch up. But Spitfire never tries to take the lead. Dust even manages to gain on her a little. But she's pushing herself to do it. I take a look ahead and note that the next part of the course is a pitch and dive. I know this is one we've trained on constantly, so I feel just a little more confident.

"Break right lane and tighten up!" I call over the radio.

"MA'AM!" Without question the other Spartans roll to the right and we tighten out formation. Though we lose the immediate lead that's okay. We'll make up for it on the later laps.

I glance to my right as Dust pulls up to me and we begin to pitch up. Like synchronized swimmers we dip down and open our wings fully. We take long deep flaps to guide us over one obstacle. Once we're over we close them tightly to drop back down and repeat the process. We pitch up and down in rhythm as we bound our way through the cloud bars.

I notice the last of obstacles of the relay. The first one is a cyclone down and into a down draft. It looks like you'll need to do two or three spirals down before you have to climb back up to the starting position. There we can tag Ellzy and High Flier for their relay.

They changed the course last minute! Last I checked there wasn't a climb in the relay. Let alone one going against the wind! Did they know we were going to be here? How could they have? I didn't even know we were going to be here! No, no, it doesn't matter. There's no time to focus on that. Like Miles says, 'Planning is invaluable, but they never make it past first contact.'

I radio the course change to the others. They sound off and we make out way to the first cyclone. This is the easiest part of the course. We just need to maintain a tight formation and let our added weight push us forward. If we speed up too much it'll widen our turn and could put us out of alignment with the others. But if we go too slow we'll turn too tight. We just need to find our middle ground and maintain it. It's only the first lap. No need to push things too hard. There's plenty of race left to go!

There is no guard rails for how quickly you go down. There's a ring you need to get through at both ends and an arrow pointing you the right. When Dust and I break through the ring we're tie with Spitfire and her wing mate. The four of us are banking at the same angle, flying in such a tight formation that we're nearly touching. As we go around in a large circle I can feel my weight pulling on me. My hooves are getting heavy and my wings want to snap straight back. I'm sure everyone is feeling this, but I love this feeling!

The earth is trying to yank me out of the air and I'm putting everything I have to keep flying! Nothing makes me want to fly faster or go higher than the feeling of the earth trying to keep me down! I glance to Dust Devil and she nods to me. Without saying a word she knows what we're going to do.

Near the end of the third spiral we break hard right and give a large roll around Spitfire's group. Even though they break ahead of us for a moment we get a small speed boost when we dive early. We break through the last ring at the best angle for the climb and manage to jump ever so slightly ahead of the others. Immediately the massive gust of downward wind hits us like a brick wall. But we close our wings and straighten out as much as possible to let our built up momentum slingshot us up through the air tunnel.

We nearly make it halfway before we start giving it our all! This is the flying equivalent of running through a water logged trench. You can't get ahead without skipping the actual obstacle course. But rather than taking larger steps, here we need to narrow out and create as little drag as possible.

The rushing wind drowns out all other sounds as we near the end of the down draft. I can see Ellzy and High Flier in position, waiting for us to tag them. We just need a few more seconds... almost... there!

SNAP

The moment we flew out of the wind tunnel we snapped forward and tagged in our next wing. The two of them break away the platform as they take off down the track. I almost didn't realize that we were finished with our first lap until Dust Devil gasped loudly. We took first in that round. And we had a three pony lead over Spitfire!

"What was that maneuver!?" Spitfire demanded as we took our positions at the finish line.

"What? Looking to steal that too?" Dust Devil asks before I could say anything. I nearly choke on my own laughter as Spitfire just growls at us and starts to berate her teammate.

"Good job Dust." I tell her as I roll my wings out.

"Yes Ma'am! Let's capitalize on this lead now!" I nod to her and watch the race.

Storm and Johnathan took fourth on the first lap. Not the best, but what can we do about it now? I knew we should have forced Storm and John to focus more on wing training. But they're both specialized in other fields for the Spartans. So that took more training hour from flying.

Ellzy and High are making good use of the lead we gave them. Although the Wonderbolts tailing Spitfire are closing the distance on them, it won't be enough for them to take the lead. And we're the anchors for this wing, so we're in really good position right now.

Night Fury and Shifted Past are doing better than I expected. They managed to move up one in the rankings. But Shifted is clearly struggling more than Night. I knew the changeling would, but that's also okay. As long as they can maintain this polling we'll knock the other groups out of score board, giving the Jumpers the best lead possible.

As the others start to climb up Dust and I get ready. We're leading by mere seconds. A single mistake could still ruin our run! But we're also ahead enough that we could clutch victory from the others! Don't lose focus. Don't get cocky! Remember our training and execute! It's time to show them what we can do!

Perspective: Miles

I've never been to any of these flying competitions before. Rainbow's talked about them before, at length, but I wasn't really all that interested. Although I've gotten better at flying, I still feel fairly amateurish in the air. Makes sense, but it's not something that comes naturally to me.

Not Tempestive though. He's in the air any chance he can get! Once Rainbow made mention about this contest he was bouncing off the walls, literally. It was a good distraction from... the previous conversation.

I knew him seeing me in human form would be jarring. But... I guess I didn't think he'd call me a monster. I know he doesn't know better. But... I don't know. I guess I wasn't ready for that. Luna was sympathetic. But there's nothing to really do about it now. But the idea of telling him about what I really am is much more daunting now.

I don't want my son to think I'm a monster. But more importantly, I don't want him fearing what he is. He's still only six. Even with how quickly ponies age compared to humans, he's just a kid. I don't want him having to worry about stuff like that. Originally I was planning to tell him sometime this year. But now... maybe it's too early.

I'm completely lost to these thoughts during our flight to the arena. Even with Tempestive asking a million questions I couldn't get my head straight. Every thought that comes to mind has it's own line of questions that I can't answer. When would be the right time? Should we have told him sooner? How do we tell him? What does he do with this information?

'Hey, by the way son, you're part of an endangered species that's also at war with another endangered species.' 'Son, you're a growing young man now. Yes, man. You're half human! Don't know what that is? Remember that monster in the woods? That was me!' 'This isn't going to make sense, but you're half human son. I was from a civilization that's now gone. I got turned into an alicorn and sometimes can change back and forth. Why can't you and your mother change? No idea.'

It seems to simple to just tell him. If we were in Terradisia I would have just told him as soon as he could string a sentence together. But it didn't make sense to here. And now it doesn't make sense to give him that info without greater context. He didn't grow up with it. So now it's going to change him with little way to help him comprehend it. He has to learn who he is and what all of this means rather than just growing up and knowing! And I don't know how I'm going to break it to him when I know it scares him.

But worse of all... I'm starting to understand what Susurrans did what he did.

"Miles?" I blink a few times when Luna calls out to me. We've made it to the arena and apparently are getting snacks. I just nod to her and she gives me a knowing look. She levitates me a bucket of popcorn and a drink before several grounds workers escort us to our seats.

There's a small crowd around us gawking with a few reporters taking pictures. I guess we forgot to put Tempestive in his vest. There's only a few small town reporters, but they're about to have the story of the century. Tempestive is a little unnerved by all the attention. But he's more excited to see the competition than anything else.

We make it to a private box near the top of the cloud arena and take our seats. Well, Luna and I do. Tempestive nearly flies out the box to get a better look. But Luna teleports him back to the seat before he could get too far.

"What's the score!? Whose competing!? Are those the Spartans!? Why isn't Dad-"

"Tempestive." Luna says softly, getting him to pause mid air. "We just got here, so we don't know the score. There are Wonderbolts, Spartans, Colonial Raptors from the Griffin lands, as well as a few smaller flight groups. And your father isn't flying because it would be an uneven grouping. Now, let's settle down and enjoy the festivities."

Tempestive rushes to the wall and rears up to watch the competition. I start to spiral in thought again until the straw of my drink pops into my mouth. I look over to Luna as she smiles to me. I take the drink and set it down with a weak smile. I know she's trying to get me to speak up, but I don't know what to say.

"You know," She says in a whisper as she leans against me. "When I first saw you, I didn't think you were a monster."

"... thanks?" She hums to that. Taking small bites of popcorn as she watches Tempestive.

"I was a little too surprised to really think anything. Especially after you surrendered to me." I roll my eyes at that.

"Thanks." I say flatly. Not the best pep talk I've had.

"But then I got to know you. Got to see what you believed and how you operated. It was... difficult, at times. But once I saw the kind of man you were, I grew to trust you. Even love you eventually."

I nod to her. I get what she's saying. But... it's different. I mean, just look how Celestia acted when she met me. Or the girls for that matter. Not the best first encounters.

"I just... I don't want to worry him with things that won't make sense. Or burden him with the implications." I try to tell her, but she pops the straw back into my mouth.

"While I agree that we can wait a little longer, we will tell him eventually. Whether it's on our own accord or not." She tells me more firmly as she sits back up. I nod to her, taking a sip as I think to myself.

The crowd erupts into cheer as the first competition finishes. It would seem the Jumpers took first place. Tempestive practically explodes in cheer. I manage to clap for them, but all of my thoughts are still looming on Timely.

"Dad! Dad, did you see that!?" He asks as he runs up and starts to tug on my leg. "The Jumpers were totally awesome! They took first! Dad! Did you see!?"

"I sure did!" I say as I scoop him up and toss him into the air. He starts to zip around as he cheers for them.

I start to laugh along with the others as I let his joy infect me. Maybe I'm worrying about this too much. There's plenty of time left to tell him about this. I'm letting all of this get to my head! He's just a kid! He doesn't know better. There's still plenty of time to explain all of this to him and make sure he understands.

Perspective: Luna

Once Miles finally starts to relax I allow myself to take a breather. Okay, so this is clearly something that needs to be dealt with carefully. Which means I can't tell him that I can transform into a human until after we tell Tempestive he's half human. Clearly he would freak out otherwise. Also, it will gives me time to practice switching as well.

"And I have just the person to speak with." I mutter as I watch Shifted Past group up with the Spartans.