Vapor Trails

Chapter II: A Heart’s Wings

Upon reaching the grassy field outside Ponyville, the couple landed softly, touching down a few feet away from the rest of the group. They trotted over to rejoin their weather colleagues. Everypony had reported back to Rainbow Dash with successful results, which was a good sign. It seemed that everyone in Ponyville and all the little creatures that were surrounding it were ready for the storm.

All around, smiles were spread across the ponies faces, including Rainbow Dash when she had heard everypony’s news.

“Good work everypony,” the cyan mare said with a swish of her tail. “There’s nothing left to do today, so everypony gets the rest of the day off.” With that statement, the group cheered and started to break apart, leaving Rainbow, Cinder, Flitter and Cloudchaser together. Flitter let out an excited yelp as she nuzzled her coltfriend once more. She didn’t mind showing her affection in public, but some things they could only do in private. Cinder had no idea what the time was, but judging from the Sun’s position, he guessed it might be somewhere around 3pm.

Hard work sure flew by when he wasn’t paying attention. No pun intended.

He exchanged a glance with the mare standing next to him, then Cloudchaser then Rainbow. Each thought was on the ponies mind.

What to do for the rest of the day.

“Are you guys as bored as I am,” Cloudchaser asked, her heavily styled mane blowing in the breeze. She was right. Cinder was bored. He hadn’t much free time given his job.

“Yep,” chirped a cheerful Rainbow Dash, her wings extended for no apparent reason.

“Hey I know!,” she added, “Why don’t we go by the school? I heard the Crusaders are doing something weird today.”

“Weirder than their usual antics?” Cinder flicked his tail once, curiosity peeked.

“Apparently so,” replied Rainbow. “Scootaloo told me that me that they were doing something special.”

Cloudchaser rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Those fillies always get into trouble.” She closed her eyes and giggled, remembering her filly days.

Cinder has spent a little bit of time with Scootaloo and the other Crusaders since he and Flitter had started dating. Scootaloo idolized Rainbow Dash from what he saw, and she knew it. The little filly looked up to her like a big sister, and it warmed the colt’s heart to see that.

“Alright, let’s go! School’s about to let out anyway,” Flitter announced, taking to the skies and flying towards the school, leaving the other three behind.

“Hey, wait for me!” Rainbow and Cloudchaser followed suit.

Cinder took a slow breath and closed his eyes, before taking to the sky, quickly catching up to the three mares.

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The group of four soared through the sky with grace and agility, with Cinder chasing Rainbow through a cloud obstacle course for fun. Flitter and Cloudchaser flew together and giggled at the sight of them chasing each other. Cinder and Rainbow were evenly matched in the sky in terms of speed, but Cinder had a tad more agility, able to take corners slightly faster than her. The field was about a five minute flight from the school at speed, and just as it came into view, the bell rang.

Cinder was being as random as he could possibly be, doing barrel rolls and backflips all while flying in mid air. He wasn’t trying to impress anypony, he was just being random.

Cinder was flying upside down, derping around for no apparent reason, but glanced to the school at the sound of the bell. Righting himself, him and the three mares made the descent onto the school grounds. He smiled to see all the young ponies pour out of the school with smiles on their faces, ready for the weekend. He caught sight of the three fillies, Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Bell trotting along together, diverting from the group and heading for a picnic bench.

“There they are,” Rainbow said enthusiastically. She made a sharp descent, aiming directly at the three fillies, Cloudchaser and Flitter following her path. Cinder arced above them, going vertical, and then free falling for a bit, his wing grazing the top of a tree. He headed back to the other mares, which had already landed and were talking to the fillies, Scootaloo’s eyes wide with excitement.

Her eyes caught sight of Cinder looping around lazily in the sky, who was flying upside down, again for no apparent reason.

“Hey Cinder!!” Her voice was high and enthusiastic.

He smiled and made his final descent, dropping right next to Flitter, his hooves kicking a small cloud of dust as he landed.

“Hiya kiddo, what’s up?” Scootaloo had a lot of nicknames, ranging from Scoots and Squirt from Rainbow Dash. Cinder had thought up kiddo.

“Eh, not much. Just got out of school.. UGH it was boring.” She literally bounced around Cinder as she continued to talk. She stopped in mid air, and turned to him, her body arced.

“Hey where’d you learn to fly like that?”

“Huh?” He gave the orange filly a quizzical look.

“Those things you were doing. Those were so cool!” Her wings were buzzing like a bee as her eyes grew even wider.

“Oh those? Heh, I just made those up. Pretty cool huh?” He was so amused by the filly’s energy and enthusiasm he couldn’t help but smile. She reminded him of a filly version of Rainbow Dash.

His eyes glanced over to the picnic table, catching Applebloom and Sweetie Bell looking at him. Sweetie’s eyes were too, full of wonder, while Applebloom wasn’t impressed.

She’s definitely like her sister, he thought with a smile.

Just then, two mares came into view from the road. Applejack and Rarity had come to pick up their younger sisters.

Their eyes immediately brightened when they saw the others there. They finished their journey with a trot, Rarity stopping next to

Cinder. “Hello darling, good to see you again.”

“Hiya girls, how was school?” Applejack had found her sister, giving her a noogie through her red mane.

Sweetie Bell giggled as she continued to stare at Cinder. He knew exactly what was going on.

Cute little crush…

Flitter booped Cinder on the nose to snap him out of his daze. Shaking his head, he peered down at the energetic ball of orange fur that was literally bouncing around the mare. He smiled, failing to hold back a small chuckle. Her level of enthusiasm and energy was almost toxic, getting Sweetie Belle excited too.

Scootaloo was off talking to Rainbow Dash about something regarding to flying, which wasn’t unusual. She was a late bloomer, meaning she couldn’t fly when ponies her age already could, but Cinder thought that she would be a better flyer than most other ponies.

Applebloom had disappeared home with Applejack and Rarity was talking with Rainbow, leaving Cinder and Flitter by themselves.

A mischievous look grew in her eyes, and Cinder knew exactly what was going through her mind

Time to run!

Cloudchaser caught what was going through her sister’s eyes. She shot a glance to Cinder that said one thing and one thing only.

RUN.

The colt gulped as his marefriend turned to him, eyes burning with desire. He shot to the sky, heading straight away. However, it wasn’t in fear. But playful flirting.

Flitter grinned sinisterly and took off after her colt. She was just a bolt of lavender chasing the ash colt.

Cinder had only gotten a little ways away from the group when Flitter tackled him, sending him flying along the ground. He wasn’t hurt, just surprised at the force she could create. She was normally such a timid and gentle mare. To see her exert this much force was…. Unnatural to say the least.

Panting, her eyes wild with emotion, she held him against the ground. Then he felt her lips graze against his, gently. Her wings extended fully again, her eyes opened to meet his, glowing in the late afternoon glow.

“I love you Cinder,” she said, pressing her lips against his again before he could utter a reply. He felt his heart soar as he wrapped her in a tight embrace. He didn’t care who saw or where they landed, but all that mattered was that he was with her. Little did the two know that Cloudchaser and Rainbow were watching their little act, with smiles on their faces.

“Those two are adorable together,” Cloudchaser said.

Rainbow Dash chuckled, standing next to her friend.

“Yep, you got that right Cloudy.”

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It was 10pm by the time Cinder and Flitter got back to their apartment. They had been out on the town with their other friends; Rainbow, Rarity, Applejack, Twilight and Vinyl Scratch, mostly chatting for the most part.

Flitter was exhausted and her body showed it. Her coat was slightly dirty and her wings needed some care. Cinder smiled wryly at his marefriend who just got out of the shower, her mane wet and body gleaming from water that was left over. Her wings were draped lazily at her sides, as she continued to walk back into the bedroom, where Cinder was relaxing on the bed. It was comfortable and fluffy, soft to the touch and big enough for the both of them.

The couple had a long day, and they deserved some alone time.

Flitter had finished brushing her mane, slowly walking towards the bed then hopping up and snuggling up close to her coltfriend, her wings still lazily draped at her sides. She had a misty look in her eyes, the same kind as when they first met. She didn’t say anything, but let out a loud sigh and she relaxed on the bed with her coltfriend.

“Hey babe, your wings need some preening,” he said gently, nuzzling her on her cheek. She let out a soft moan, and turned her body so she was half facing him, her back pressing again his stomach.

“Oh you think so,” she replied with a hint of tired on her voice. “Well do you want to help me?”

Cinder smiled widely. Preening your special somepony’s wings was the most, if not boldest show of affection. Although it was frowned upon in public, preening a pegasus’ wings was not a display of huge trust, but basic wing care. Flitter moved her body so that she was facing Cinder off to the side, and extended her wing so that he could help her.

The first thing that came over Flitter was a huge blush. She had been the only one to touch her wings and the only pony she trusted with them was Cinder. She was amazed at how gentle he was with her, making sure every feather was either pulled or maintained.

He moved and kissed her gently on her right cheek, making her jump slightly. She turned her head and returned the kiss, their hearts flying high again.

Having finished preening Flitter’s wings, she moved to help him. Her touch was gentle and smooth, since she knew exactly what she was doing. He felt a slight tug on his right wing, as she removed a tattered feather from his wing. Her eyes wandered up his body where they met his, as she continued to scan his wing for any problems. They never left eye contact, as Cinder’s heart skipped a beat twice. Her eyes glowed with the candle’s light at their bedside. She moved to his left wing, gently scanning it to make sure her coltfriend was taken care of. Her eyes never left his, their hearts beating as one.

Princess Luna was right. Cinder followed his heart and now he could not be happier.

“Hey Cinder?” Flitter had finished preening his wings and was now getting ready for bed as she climbed back in front of her coltfriend, her eyes still glowing full of love.

“Yeah?” Cinder turned off the candle at their bedside, and scooted down under the blankets.

“I love you,” Flitter said as she curled up against him, her body was warm and silky.

“I love you too. And I always will….”

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The sun was starting to peek through the bedroom curtains when the two ponies finally woke up. They had slept like rocks, cuddling each other for warmth in the late September days. Autumn was fully in swing around Ponyville, which meant the nights were longer and the days were shorter and cooler.

Cinder looked around his bedroom in bliss. His eyes scanned everything, from the curtains on his right, to his dresser straight ahead to the still sleeping mare that was on his left. She looked so peaceful when she was sleeping, her mane falling naturally over her head. She was still sleeping, a gentle snore escaping her. Doing his best not to wake, he slid out of bed and made for the shower.

The warm water cascaded over his body, releasing tension from the past few days. It felt great, he closed his eyes and let his wings unfold slightly, relaxing the muscles. He let reality slip away from him for a while as he pondered what his life was right now.

He had a marefriend that loved him with all her heart; he had a group of friends whose bond was unbreakable and a comfortable home. His mind continued to wander until he heard something shuffle out from the bedroom. No doubting who that was.

He turned off the shower and dried himself, his mane popping into a fluffy pillow before returning to normal. Cinder sauntered downstairs to see Flitter busily making breakfast. Her right ear twitched as Cinder came in.

“Morning my sweet,” she said cooly.

“Hey babe. Did you sleep alright?” Cinder reached for the coffee pot and poured his first glass.

“Yeah actually, you’re really comfortable to snuggle with,” she replied with a giggle. Breakfast was served and was uneventful for the most part. It wrapped up as quickly as it started, Cinder hopping up to do the dishes.

“Oh you’re fine babe. I’ll do these,” he said with a smile.

“All right all right. I guess I’ll have a shower then.” She kissed him on his cheek and wandered into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

Cinder happily continued with the dishes, humming a tune to himself. He was just wrapping up when a knock sounded at the door.

He glanced at the clock. It’s 9 in the morning. Who could that possibly be?

Upon opening the front door, he was greeted by a stallion, dressed in funeral attire, oddly enough. He was well kept, mane brushed and expertly styled, all the way down to his cufflinks, a silver eagle.

“Mr. Cinder Blackstone?” Hi voice was calm and soothing, although there was something behind it.

“Yes? How can I help you.”

“My name is Silverwing. I work at the Las Pegasus coroner’s office. I wish I could be here under more pleasant affairs… but... you need to have this letter.”

Cinder’s eyes went wide with shock as his mind put together the pieces.

Coroner’s office….Las Pegasus… More pleasant affairs… Oh sweet Celestia…

His hoof trembled as he accepted the letter from the stallion. As he read it, he felt his heart stop, and his body go limp. Tears started to well in his eyes, and he sobbed softly at his door. Like a flash Flitter was beside him, only to have her eyes widen with shock as she read the letter as well.

“On behalf of the Las Pegasus Coroner’s Office, I would like to offer my condolences, Mr. Blackstone. The train leaves this afternoon at 11.”

Cinder heard every word of the off-white stallion, but didn’t acknowledge it.

“Oh baby…. I’m so sorry….” Flitter choked between sobs, still holding Cinder tight.

He let the letter fall to the floor as Silverwing turned and departed. The two ponies held each other in a silent embrace. For how long, nopony knows.

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Dear Mr. Cinder Blackstone,

I wish to have delivered this letter myself, however I’ve been tied down again. First off, I’d like to give out personal condolences to you and anypony in your immediate life. Three days ago, a large house fire enveloped the place of stay of your parents, a Midnight Blaze & Moonstar. They were pronounced dead by me personally yesterday. Your younger sister however, Daisy Flare is unharmed except for a few scratches and burns. She’ll recover.

Words cannot express the anguish you must feel right now, and I completely understand. Being a coroner is one of the most unforgiving jobs.

We did recover a letter sealed and ready to be mailed to you personally. It is waiting for you here. Your sister needs to see you as well. In this case, I’ve booked a train to Las Pegasus, all expenses paid. If any trouble is given, just show them this letter.

Again, my personal condolences to your loss. I await your arrival.

Sincerely,

Rainchaser, Las Pegasus Coroner’s Office.