A Darkened Heart

Chapter III: Flying High

Cinder opened his eyes to find he was no longer in Ponyville, rather in a world of dreams. His eyes went wide to take in everything that he saw. Then she stepped forward. Princess Luna. Princess of the Night and Dreams. Cinder came to the conclusion that he and Flitter had fallen asleep on that bench.

Luna stepped forward and leaned her head down to nuzzle Cinder on his neck. “Hello, child. We have things to discuss,” she said in her soothing voice.

The soot colored colt looked down, smiled and proceeded to walk with her. “Well Princess, what is there to talk about,” asked Cinder. As they walked, Cinder could see his memories and events of his life flashing past him, in presentation slides.

“Do you feel alright Cinder?” Luna asked. “You have been isolating yourself for quite some time, and I’ve grown concerned,” she said stopping at a particular slide. It was the one of Ember. Old feeling of pain and regret rushed to Cinder’s face, causing him to hold back tears. Luna noticed this, and smiled slightly, remaining in her same spot.

The ash colored colt felt ashamed that this had to keep coming up. He just wanted to move forward with his life. Lowering his head, Cinder closed his eyes. “You know Princess, yes. I feel like I have moved forward. Flitter and I are becoming very good friends. And I feel someday we’ll become more..” his voice trailed off as a slight pain shot through his left shoulder. That was the signal of him waking up.

Luna smiled and gave Cinder one last nuzzle. “Trust your heart Cinder,” she simply said.

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Cinder slowly opened his eyes to find that Ponyville was practically deserted, except for a few scattered couples. Cautiously moving around, so as not to stir the mare still next to him, he glanced at the clock.

11:32PM

Damn it. I need to get to bed. I know exactly what Luna meant, and she’s right. It’s time.

He felt a gentle muzzle touch his neck, and turning to his right, he saw Flitter looking at him, faint stars twinkling in her eyes. Cinder had had a rather interesting first day in Ponyville. He already made some friends, found a mare that is generally interested in him. That made Cinder smile to himself, and as he exhaled slightly, Flitter broke the silence.

“We should probably get home, ehe. It’s late. But… I’ll see you tomorrow right?” she asked, hopping off the bench and turning to face Cinder, who was still sitting upright on the bench. Their day together had certainly bore many fruits, her movements being matched by his, her flirtatious advances met once Cinder felt comfortable. He nodded with a slight smile on his muzzle.

“Of course Flitter. Cya tomorrow,” Cinder remarked, walking down Stirrup Street, glancing over his shoulder as Flitter fly to her house. He felt a sigh of relief run through his body as he turned his attention back to the street in front of him. Again, he passed the tea station, an apple vendor and other shops, shut down for the night. The night was starry, with a few clouds scattered around, and a cool breeze gently flowing through the streets. As Cinder continued to walk toward his apartment, he noticed that lights were still on in the local library, which was built into an oak tree. Even though it was late, he thought it odd that somepony would be up at nearly midnight.

Dismissing the thought completely, he came upon the Carousel Boutique, the fashion spot of Ponyville. It too, was closed up for the night. The town was so peaceful this time of night, being that it was already midnight by the time Cinder reached his apartment. Rather than sauntering up the stairs, he flew up to his third story windows, since he knew he had left it unlocked, and flew into his window. Stretching his wings, he made his way to the shower. The hot water cascading over his ash colored body felt great, as he reconciled his thoughts of the day

Heh, first last night getting here, then meeting Rainbow, then her Pegasus buddies, then her close friends, THEN Flitter.. ugh. Some days… Glad I stumbled on this little town. Always hated the big city…

His musing was cut short by a glance at the clock.

12:09AM

Ponyfeathers¸ he thought. I have to be up early for my morning flight.

Without another thought, he jumped out of the shower, drying himself off with a towel, and hopped into his comfortable bed. His eyes slid slowly shut as darkness crept in and took him away from the real world.

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A shrill alarm broke Cinder’s dreamless slumber. Wondering why Luna did not visit him that night, he slinked out of the bed and glanced at the clock next to his bed

8:30AM

Perfect.

He always woke up at around that time. Too early seemed nuts, too much later seemed lazy.

He hopped out of bed, stretched his wings and thought back to last night. Flitter was being very flirty and forward, which, according to Cloudchaser, was not like her. Maybe she had a change of heart. Choosing not to think too much on it, he made for the shower, which greeted him with its warm embrace. The water trickled over his body, relieving any traces of stress or discomfort.

Half an hour later he stepped out, dried himself off, had a quick breakfast and made for his morning flight.

As Cinder left his apartment window, the fresh gust of Ponyville’s air hit his muzzle. Celestia’s sun was beaming down on Equestria as everypony went about their day. He could see bakers and newcolts bustling about, as well as mailmares in the sky, delivering today’s news. He smiled as his gaze came across three school age fillies darting towards their school. Even though, he didn’t get much time to look, Cinder could have sworn one was riding a scooter. The ash colored colt soared through the sky, as he continued to watch other ponies down below. He spotted Applejack, Rarity, Twilight trotting down the street together, with Rainbow Dash hovering just above them. Smiling slightly, Cinder turned his attention to the sky in front of him, and adjusted his flight path to the outer parts of Ponyville, maintaining his cruising speed. He allowed his mind to wander slightly, but not too much since he had to concentrate on flying. Duh.

Shooting through the outskirts of Ponyville, the amount of ponies started to thin, as expected. The colt turned back to Ponyville, giving long, gentle motions with his wings. He spotted the four mares still trotting down the street happily chatting amongst themselves, their destination unknown. Cinder randomly executed a double barrel roll, for no reason at all. Rainbow Dash caught Cinder’s movement out the corner of her eye, and smiled.

“Girls, we have company,” she said with a sly grin. The three other mares shot glances up at the ash colt rolling through the sky. Cinder, oblivious to his audience was barrel rolling, somersaulting and freefalling through the sky. He loved to freefall, where you go up really high in the sky, roll on your back and fall to the ground then launch at the last moment.

Finally, after Cinder’s last free fall, he caught a glimpse of Rainbow’s mane blowing in the breeze. Righting himself, he grinned goofily at the three mares transfixed by his feats. Rainbow raised an eyebrow, chuckled then trotted over to Cinder as he dropped to the ground.

“Having fun Cinder? You put on quite a show for us,” she remarked dryly with a giggle.

“Ah found it to be quite amazing’, if ah must say,” Applejack commented, bringing herself back to reality.

“Agreed!” piped up Twilight, who was trotting over to Rainbow and Cinder. “Where’d you learn to fly like that? Only Rainbow is our most “eventful” flyer around here,” she said as her eyes met his, all the while holding a slight grin. Her eyes wandered over Cinder’s figure, then snapped left when a noise sounded. Cinder smiled slightly, folding his wings and adjusting his stance.

“Heh, thanks girls. I got bored and decided to..uhm.. mix things up,” he said as a wind blew through Ponyville. He scanned the immediate area around him, seeing nothing of interest. Just then, Rarity chimed in. “We were on our way to get breakfast, darling. Care to join us?” The white mare was looking directly at him, her purple eyes locked on his. Her heavily styled mane was something he hadn’t seen too many other mares using around Ponyville. But everypony had their own style. Cloudchaser was the second pony he could think of who had a stylized mane.

“Sorry girls, I’d love to, but I already ate. I’d tag along anyway if that’s ok,” he said, tone even and cool. He never was one for outwardly expressing emotion, and kept them in check 90% of the time.

“We don’t mind at all, Cinder. Be happy to have yah tag along,” replied Applejack, starting for the restaurant in question. Cinder followed the queue and fell in with the group, as did the other mares.

The colt fell back slightly and listened to the others idly chat amongst themselves. About what, he wasn’t sure. Rainbow Dash trotted in sync with him, but was listening intently and only sometimes remarking about what the others were saying. However, she finally glanced at Cinder, let out a slight chuckle.

“So loverboy, how was last night?” The question was worded sarcastically, he could tell that. But it was mixed with seriousness. Trademark Rainbow Dash.

“Well, what do you mean “how was it?” We went to the City Hall, camped out on a bench for a couple hours, then separated and went to bed. No big deal,” he replied. Pausing for better word choice, but it was too late. They were already out.

“Uh huh. Ya know Flitter really likes you right? I mean REALLY likes you. Cloudy told me she wouldn’t stop talking about you when she got home,” retorted Rainbow.

A slight blush came over Cinder’s ash colored cheeks as he thought back to last night.

“And she told me this morning that she thinks you’re a really neat colt,” she added. “Sounds to me like you got a mare who’s already smitten with you, after one day too!” Rainbow added a hearty chuckle to a playful punch at Cinder, who was still blushing as his mind mulled over last night.

Cinder sighed, “That’s just it Rainbow. After one day, she’s already completely swoon. It’s not that I find it annoying, in fact I don’t at all. But I think she’s moving a bit too fast. I mean, you wouldn’t jump headfirst into a pool if you didn’t know how deep it was right?” The colt half cocked his head to the right, trying to see if that made sense. The cyan mare nodded in response. “Yeah I agree with you. I mean, I understand the whole “love at first sight” thing, but you’re right. She’s moving too fast. Cloudy says she’s usually way more reserved, even shy around colts and stallions.” As they arrived at the restaurant, Rainbow and Cinder’s conversation was cut short by Twilight popping up between them.

To be fair, all of Rainbow’s friends were acting a bit off when Cinder was around. Maybe it was a game they were playing. Maybe they were just being nice. Whichever way it went, he took it with his usual laid back sense.

“But, don’t you want somepony like her? Whoa.. that came out wrong. I meant, if you were looking for a special somepony, would she be up for it?” Rainbow had grimaced at her first sentence, hastily rephrasing it in order not to make Cinder uncomfortable.

“Now that you mention it Rainbow, yes she would,” he said matter-of-factly.

“She’s a really pretty mare, and I think it would be awesome if she considered me “somepony” material as well.”

Rainbow laughed for a second and turned to face Cinder, a look of amusement in her eyes. “You’re a hoot Cinder,” she said. “No wonder Flitter likes you".

The colt followed Rainbow into the restaurant; where lively and ambient white noise met them. Server ponies were hurrying around, all the while the kitchen steamed of something that smelled really good.

As Rainbow Dash and Cinder approached their table, Applejack glanced up and scooted over, allowing Cinder to slide into the booth next to her. The smell of the food was making him hungry, again, so he decided to order something anyway.

“So Cinder,” a cheerful Applejack remarked as she turned her attention to him. “Ah haven’t heard much from Rainbow about you. What’s yer story bud?” Her emerald eyes were emblazed with interest and intrigue. Being a farm pony in Ponyville was an important job, especially being that summer was coming to a close and autumn was approaching. That meant the Harvest was coming around.

“Well Applejack,” Cinder replied, taking a sip of water; “I’m from Las Pegasus, flew in a couple of days ago during that storm, and settled here in Ponyville to make it my new home. Simply put, I needed a fresh start. The big city was getting a bit annoying, and I guess now all I need to do is find a job,” he finished with a chuckle at his remark about Las Pegasus, which was entirely true.

At the mention of the word “job” Applejack stiffened with a wide smile on her face. “Ya know.. We here at Sweet Apple Acres got the Harvest comin’ round soon, and we could use an extra pair of hooves and wings. Would make the chores of the day go a might faster.” “I’d be mighty thankful if you’d come work fer us on the farm,” she added.

All eyes were on Cinder, as he took another sip of water. He didn’t expect a job offer to come up so quickly, but it was a job. And he always said If life hands you something, you’d best take it and run.

“That sounds awesome, Applejack,” he quipped; “I’ve always wondered what it’s like being on a farm”.

“Well shoot, we got us a deal! Follow me after we’re done here, and ah’ll give ya the rundown,” she said with another wide grin. And she right for doing so. Harvest season put a great strain on the local farms, from Ponyville to Appleoosa. Farmers needed all the help they could get, whether it be collecting the crops, applebucking the trees or just general maintenance and assistance. They ate in relative quietness unless Rarity gave some random gossip.

Pinkie Pie was NOT there at their social gathering. Which was completely un like her.

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Applejack and Cinder trotted in step down the dirt path with each other toward Sweet Apple Acres. The group had each gone their separate ways after breakfast: Twilight returned to the library with Rarity and Rainbow Dash went off to go to work with the weather team, leaving Cinder with an entire day to follow Applejack and learn the ropes of the farm. His mind had been elsewhere as they continued along the path, past the school which was still in session.

Rainbow Dash was right. Flitter was being really forward with him, and according to her sister, she was the direct opposite most of the time. I wonder what got into her..

“And here we are. Home sweet home,” a voice snapped Cinder out of his mobile daydream. He looked forward to see himself looking at a ranch, with a big red barn next to the farmhouse, with acres of apple trees surrounding it. He smiled slightly as Applejack went through her basic list of instructions for Cinder.

“Basically, what ya’ll will be doin’ here is helpin’ me ahn Big Mac transport apple carts, and plow the fields. Not too much work right?” Her cheery demeanor was almost contagious, causing Cinder to smile even more. Finally, his little town life was complete. Now all he had to do was…

“Hiya sis. Who’s yer friend?” Cinder looked up to see a massive red stallion with a girdle around his neck looking at the pair from the farmhouse. This was Big Macintosh.

“Hey Mac, this is Cinder. He’s new in town and was lookin’ fer a job, an’ I know we need help out here, so I offered him a position to help you and me out!” Applejack almost jumped when she finished talking. Big Macintosh looked the ash colored colt. He saw a sleek, tone body with powerful wings and a mind that would not quit, even though he didn’t show it.

“Well howdy, Cinder. Glad to have ya along. We need all’ the here help we can get,” the red stallion chortled walking back into the farm house.

Applejack laughed heartily at Big Mac, then turned to Cinder. “We don’t start preparing for the Harvest until Saturday, so we’ll see ya bright and early here then!”

“Right. I’ve gotta do my afternoon training as well. Cya!”

Cinder turned and trotted off away from the farm oblivious that two pegasi ponies were hovering above, also oblivious to him. One was Rainbow Dash, the other was a yellow mare with a fiery mane and tail; none other than Spitfire. What the Captain of the Wonderbolts was doing in Ponyville was a mystery

Unaware that their gaze had been shifted unto him, Cinder spread his wings and flew up to a nearby cloud to begin his practice. He took a couple extra minutes to stretch himself out before executing his rigorous workout plan: a one lap endurance race of Ponyville, while weaving in between buildings. He prepared himself for this extremely hard exercise.

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“So Dash, this new friend of yours, that him down there?” Spitfire motioned to the ash colored colt that was perched on the nearby cloud. Spitfire was regarded as one of the fastest flyers in Equestria, with a clocked wingpower of 16.9, slightly higher than Rainbow’s 16.5. Neither knew what Cinder’s number was, because no pony had bothered to clock him.

“Yep, that’s him. The one time I saw him fly at speed, it was like nothing I’ve ever seen. He accelerated like…. Well a bullet. I think he’s going to do his workout now. This should be good.” All eyes were on the Pegasus now.

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Cinder closed his eyes, finished with his stretches and prepared to begin his workout.

He was ready. He unfolded his wings and lifted himself into the sky, high above the cloud. As he did, he caught side of Rainbow and Spitfire, watching him. He smiled widely. Time to give a show that they’ll never forget.

Reaching his free fall altitude, he closed his wings, flipped on his back, and let gravity take him. Freefalling was the best feeling he had ever experienced. The wind rushing through his mane until he reached terminal velocity, a cone forming around his body. At the perfect moment, he whipped his body around and opened his wings. With a huge CRACK that could have shattered the sky, he took the sharp turn as he shot through the sky faster than a bullet. He was moving so fast that he didn’t even see that Spitfire and Rainbow had moved, following him as best they could. But, all focus was forward.

He saw Ponyville coming up fast, and his obstacle course was laid in front of him. Smiling widely, he pushed faster, the buildings rushing by faster and faster, until they were a blur. Looking behind him, he let out a yelp of excitement at what he saw: a vapor trail of black and white, traced in lightning was following him, from his tail. Turning his attention back to the Ponyville that was in front of him, he did not attempt to dodge any of the buildings. Rather, at a split second left, he pulled and rocketed into the sky, going completely vertical, the lateral G force tearing at his body. He pushed himself even farther, catching the rainbow mane of a certain mare, eyes glued to his move.

Cinder let go of flying vertically and went into another free fall, this time slower than before, for he had four buildings to weave in between. He flipped his body around again, without the massive crack this time, and shot towards the buildings. He took them faster than he anticipated, pulling a barrel roll to avoid hitting a cart, and again pulling vertical after he cleared the buildings. Ponyville was far behind when he finally looked back, heading for the finish line, which was the same cloud he started on. Arcing slightly upwards, he felt the mach cone form around his body. It was only visible for a couple seconds, then dissipated as Cinder blew through the cloud, signaling the end of his workout.

Spitfire and Rainbow Dash joined him shortly,

Rainbow wearing a wide smug grin.

Spitfire on the other hand was wide eyed in utter disbelief.