Playing With Fire

Chapters

First Impressions
Sky-Bound
Alone Together
New Fires & Old Heartbeats
End of The Line
The Fall
Dead or Alive
Pandora's Box
Reunions

First Impressions

You can do it right this time... I thought to myself as I prepared to leap off the high dive at last. I was at my favorite swimming pool practicing my dives which I evidently suck at. It's not as if the past 3 times I over-did it and did a back flop...actually that's exactly what happened. Anyway just about everyone else had left since it was starting to get dark but I wanted to get it right just once before heading home. There were a few diving boards at this pool, at least when I messed up I did so on one of the lower two. This time, I wanted to try my luck on the high dive.

I tried to not imagine how agonizing a back flop off of that would be as I climbed to what felt like my doom. I looked about and saw that no one was paying attention should I fail again, which was a nice change. I stretched my arms and made sure my trunks were secure before running across the diving board.

I dove and closed my eyes but after a moment or two of not hitting the water something felt off. I was falling longer than I was supposed to. I opened my eyes to see a huge cloud coming to meet me, oh yeah and somehow there were a bunch of pony-like creatures in uniforms or something standing in a circle around the would-be impact zone.

Oh shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, I'm dead, I'm dead I'm a goner... Would have been my final, proud thoughts if it didn't turn out clouds weren't softer than a bunny in a pillow fort. Still hurt like hell after falling though. Immediately I heard voices of shock and surprise and after a few long moments with my face still buried deep in the cloud I could start to make out what they were saying.

"What in the hell is that!?" I heard someone shout.

"Is it dead?"

"I vote we poke it."

"We should flip it over, maybe that'll help determine species and gender." I heard a slightly older voice say.

"You first, could be like a possum or something, wonder if it'll bite." A concerned voice responded.

"Think it can talk? Hey, buddy? Yoo hoo? Anyone home?" I felt something poke me in the back. I wanted to respond but I was nervous they would be holding pitchforks or something and decide to give poking me with that a whirl.

No longer content to try and hold a conversation with the back of my head I felt a pair of hooves slide under me and flip me over.

"Hey, it looks kinda like a minotaur, but different. Ain't got no horns, and not as much muscle as they usually do. Is it a girl minotaur? I've never seen a girl minotaur." A young voice said before I finally opened my eyes.

Immediately I saw a bunch of blue-uniformed ponies of a variety of colors and hair-styles. All staring at me, probably about fifty or so of them. Completely unsure of how to respond or why they were speaking perfect English I kept quiet for at least another moment.

"Hey there, are you okay? We're not going to hurt you." Came the same young voice, this time from the light blue mare standing over me like a vet checking for injuries on an animal.

"Who are you?" I finally asked. She recoiled out of surprise and backed up a little.

"You can talk!?" I heard a several voices say at once.

"Yeah...and I think I might be on drugs...like all of them." I said as I turned my head around trying to get a view of all fifty ponies staring at me like I had a brick sticking out of my skull. Another funny thing I noticed is that they all had wings and had brightly colored eyes.

"Umm...okay...let's get you out of the open..." The light blue mare said.

Another, louder voice spoke up after her. "Everyone get back to your usual jobs, the meeting will be re-scheduled for tomorrow afternoon!" With that all but a few of the ponies dispersed and began to speculate about my to themselves. The ones that remained followed with the one that was carrying me, that being a bigger, dark-blue, male pegasi and next to him a fiery colored mare.

Before long I was carried into a big quiet room with lockers and showers everywhere, I'm going to chance a guess at the locker room. Before we entered I noticed it was part of a much larger building, probably where they lived or trained or something, but I didn't have long to look. Thankfully we were the only ones in the locker room. They laid me on an empty bench and backed up a little, giving me some room to sit up.

I finally had a chance to get a good idea of how big they were and surprisingly most were only about a head shorter than me and easily comparable to my own size. If one of them were to stand on their back legs they'd probably be level with me.

"Okay...first things first...who and what are you and how the hell did you get here?" The mare with the fiery hair asked pointedly.

"Um...my name is James, I'm a guy. And I'm a human...and I don't have a damn clue...honestly I'm trying to not freak out..." I said nervously as I looked between them.

"Nice to meet you, James. Why would you be freaking out?" The blue stallion asked as he tilted his head to the side.

"Well...where I come from horses are a lot bigger, don't have wings and don't speak perfect English, it's just us humans." I explained.

"Ponies." The yellow pony in front of me stated.

"What?

"We're not horses, we're ponies."

"Um...well back where I'm from, it's horses. The adults are called horses and the young ones are called ponies."

"I said, we're ponies. Maybe they said it wrong where you're from but here we are ponies. We can call you a monkey if you'd like. All you're missing is a tail and no one could tell the difference!" She barked with increasing frustration. The two beside her took a step away from both of us for their own safety.

"Ahem...says the horse..."

"You're pushing your luck...watch it monkey boy..." She narrowed her eyes at me.

"I'm so afraid, horse lady. What are you gonna do anyway?" I closed my eyes being as mature as I am, stuck my tongue out at her. In hindsight I probably shouldn't have done that...

Just a moment after I did that I felt something connect with the side of my face. Hard. The motion kept going, knocking me on my ass to the floor and on my back. My eyes flew open when I impacted and I looked at her wide-eyed as I massaged my cheek. She was standing on her back legs and holding her right hoof in her left one, red from the impact.

Holy shit that hurt! Ahhhh...the fuck...ahhh...okay...fuck, I'll call em ponies...damn she hits hard. It's a miracle my jaw works.

"Swing and I'll really kick your ass. That was a warning shot." she said sternly.

"Okay...sorry. Ponies it is, but don't call me a monkey again." I surrendered, it was better than getting smashed in the face again.

"Deal." her expression softened as she extended a hoof to help me up. I reached with my other hand and she pulled me to my feet. "Sorry I lost my temper. Let's start again."

"Where are you from anyway?" The fiery one asked again.

"From this place called Earth. Humans are the only sentient race and many of them look like me but there can be a lot of variations on how people look." I informed her.

"Who are the three of you anyway? You have my name."

"My name's Spitfire." The fiery-haired one nodded.

"Mine's Soarin." Said the dark-blue stallion.

"And I'm Fleetfoot." The younger mare smiled.

"So um...why don't you tell us about yourself?" Soarin suggested.

Their names were a little out of the ordinary, though they were talking ponies so I figured I'd let it slide. I had heard some pretty odd names back on Earth after all.

"Not a whole lot to tell, really. I mean I did well in school. I made some nice friends. I like swimming and stuff like that when I have time. I have always wanted to be able to fly, guess that's why I like swimming so much, I feel weightless and you can glide through the water. I want to be a pilot one day." I answered. They exchanged puzzled looks while Spitfire looked behind me for something.

"What are you looking to find?"

"Well you sure don't have any wings. How would you be a pilot?" Spitfire asked. Soarin gently nudged her.

"Hey, for all you know he could be sensitive to that kind of thing, remember that unicorn in Canterlot? Rapidfire said the same thing and the poor kid started crying." Soarin remarked.

"Oh...right, sorry." Spitfire confessed

"No, it's alright. Um...back on Earth pilot must be a different meaning. We have this big metal planes, like flying machines. Humans can't fly but they could in one of those."

"Oh. Um...alright. Hope that works out for you." Spitfire said slowly with an uncertain expression.

"What about you guys?"

"I am the captain of the Wonderbolts, the finest flying unit in Equestria." Spitfire stated proudly.

"And I'd be second in command, Soarin." Soarin said in turn.

"I'm um Fleetfoot, kinda new here so I don't really have a position..." she said as she kicked at the ground in embarrassment.

I sat more a moment and nodded my head trying to wrap my head around how this world could even exist at all. I made a mental note to bring it up later.

"No I mean who you guys are, not what position you are."

"Oh, alright. Well you see, Soarin and I joined the Wonderbolts together years ago, maybe five or six years. We did pretty well and before we knew it were made it this far already. We've been friends since high school and it's always great to be able to work with your best friend everyday." She smiled and elbowed Soarin playfully, he winced just a little but I noticed it was more in response to what she said rather than the elbow.

"Not a lot of folks really know me here yet. The plan was to sign up with one of my friends but he didn't pass the initial tests due to an injury. Honestly it can be a little lonely sometimes.

There was a story I could relate to. Though things had gotten better eventually, high school was exceedingly lonely for quite a while.

"Nice to at least know you guys a little better. Where am I anyway, and what are you going to do with me?" I asked, only moderately afraid of being tied down and being dissected by a bunch of talking ponies.

"You're in Cloudesdale, Equestria." Spitfire said quickly before looking to the two beside her. "You two, a moment in private. Now." She said before they went into an area of the locker room that was much farther away as well as out of sight, leaving me to my thoughts for now.

Maybe I'm in a coma? I don't remember hitting my head on anything. I don't think I'm dead. A weird dream? No, feels far too real. Eh, might as well see where this all goes. What's the worst that could happen. Oh shit, I did not just think about that. It's dangerous to even think about that let alone say it. Crap, well now I'm cursed. I thought to myself when I started to hear bits of what they were saying.

"We should contact the princesses...they'll want to know about this." One of them said softly. They were making an effort to make sure that only they'd hear what they were talking about.

"He seems peaceful at least." I heard Fleetfoot say

"Hold up, I don't know how good his hearing might be, let's move a little farther away." I caught Soarin suggesting. They probably agreed because after that I couldn't hear them. Rather than be reasonable and wait for them to get back, my curiosity got the better of me and I walked myself as close as I dared without being seen. Soon I began to hear them again.

"-kept somewhere for now. Maybe with one of us." Spitfire added. Soarin and Spirfire seemed to debate something after that but I couldn't make out a word of it.

"I'll give him a place to stay." I eventually heard Fleetfoot offer. Well on the plus side I don't think I'd be getting dissected tonight.

"Why?" Spitfire rebuked. Once again I barely managed to gleam out a word of the short debate until it was over.

"-that...and he's kinda cute..." I heard her say, which is honestly the most surprising thing I could have heard. Aside from the small ego boost I was happy about how it seemed to be going overall. I noticed a brief moment of silence followed after Fleetfoot said that but it picked up again.

"Alright...he's all yours." Spitfire said with a tone of finality as I heard them began to trot back to me. Like a kid about to be caught with his hand in a cookie jar I hurried silently back to my seat and acted like a nearby poster was the most fascinating thing in the world. I looked over the details of it to erase suspicions that I was eavesdropping...even if I actually was.

"We're going to send a letter to the princesses, the ponies in charge of Equestria, about you. In the meantime you'll be staying in Fleetfoot's quarters." Spitfire told me.

"Umm...okay." I responded with the intelligence level of a retarded gopher.

"We'll find some ways for you to at least be helpful while you're here. What do you eat? Meats, veggies, or both?" She asked as if she were an interviewer.

"I'm an omnivore, I can eat things like bread, fruits, vegetables and most meats just fine."

"Okay, we'll introduce you to the chef later, when you meet him ask him for a gryphon menu. We'll also give you some bits to spend on necessities, not much but enough to feed you." Spitfire told me.

She pulled a small bag from a pocket on her suit and gave it to me. "Make it last the week."

"Oh and I really am sorry about before. It has been a long day and I'm a little stressed out." She sighed as she looked away.

"Yeah...same here, I shouldn't of kept saying that to bother you." I said sheepishly.

"Are we good?" she asked.

"Yeah, we're good." I smiled to make my response clear. "So...what now?" I asked hesitantly.

"Soarin and I have to contact the princesses and coordinate some things. Fleetfoot gets to give a tour of Cloudesdale but primarily the area where the Wonderbolts are. Enjoy the tour!" Spitfire finished with a smile before turning an about-face and heading off somewhere else, leaving me with Fleetfoot.

She reached her hoof out to meet me. "Hey, like I said um, I'm Fleetfoot, I guess you're with me for now" She smiled. Figuring the only sign it could be I reached my hand out and shook her hoof, it was softer than I anticipated.

"Any questions?" She asked eagerly.

"Believe me, I'll have plenty later" I breathed as I looked awkwardly around the room.

"Alright, well let's get on with the tour." She sighed.

Fleetfoot led the way out of the locker room and down the hall into what looked like a recreation area. There were some tables, some comfortable looking couches, and most everything you'd expect in a normal recreation area. It seemed a little odd how many similarities they seemed to have with people but I'd think more on that later. I may be an open-minded person but a new world and talking ponies is quite a bit to absorb all at once and just keep going.

After a brief look around the recreation area Fleetfoot continued with the tour and showed me the whole building, it seemed that many of them did indeed live here, not out of lack of money but they seemed like a close-knit group and it was all that much less time to be able to go to work every morning. They had everything they might need, ranging from an indoor gym to a community kitchen and a library, all of which were in rather impressive condition. The light blue mare in front of me told me her room wasn't far from the rec area but we'd see it later.

Soon we were outside in the city of Cloudesdale itself, it truly was beautiful. A sea of clouds surrounded us and pegasi streamed back and forth throughout the city. Then it hit me like a brick.

Holy shit I'm on a floating city, holy shit holy shit. Of course I had to fall into a magical flying city. Oh I'm only way up in the fucking clouds. Must think happy thoughts.

I must have been staring out in the blue for longer than I realized because soon I heard Fleetfoot calling me.

"Hey, you okay?" She said in mild concern.

"Yeah it's just...I've never been on a floating city before and really it's a little scary." I admitted after swallowing a lump in my throat.

"Oh...I can see why, you don't have wings so it would be scarier than it is for me, right?"

"Pretty much."

"Oh...I don't mean to be insensitive but...how would you fly?" Fleetfoot asked politely.

"Actually a lot, but don't worry about offending me. Sometimes I kinda just look at the sky and try to imagine wind in my hair and soaring around." I looked at the open sky around me rather longingly, it's still nice to dream sometimes.

"It is really nice, I guess most of us just take it for granted everyday." She breathed as she looked around with me, trying to understand what it would feel like if she had never seen it before.

We both just stopped and looked around for a moment, ponies were flying everywhere with great ease and dexterity, possessing such skill at every little maneuver. For them no doubt it came as naturally as walking.

"I know this might all be a lot for you, or maybe not. I don't know what Earth is like, but it would be best if we tried to help you assimilate here. If you insist on keeping clothes we'll get you some more, I doubt what you have now will last forever." She said while keeping her eyes on a young pegasi attempting tricks in the air nearby.

"It's too bad you can't see it. Sure it's not beautiful like this place is but...once in a while it can really surprise you. I'm going to miss it..." I thought back to the hikes I had taken around varies mountains and forests. Away from the noise of towns and people you could appreciate the quiet beauty of nature...and I would never see it again, or anything familiar. I sat down and looked blankly at the foreign sky in front of me. The gravity of the situation began to sink in.

"Hey, you okay? It'll be alright. James. Come on, look at me." Fleetfoot brushed a wing against me to get my attention. "I'm gonna make you a promise. Until you get home I'm here to help you. So if you're good with it, I would like to be your first friend in Equestria." She smiled encouragingly as I turned to face her.

"Thank you, that means a lot. Friends. Likewise if you need help with anything I'll be there."

"Awesome, now we should find something we can do that'll help take your mind off things. I know a great restaurant not far away, it caters to gryphon diets too so there should be plenty that you like."

"Sounds nice, but I feel kinda under-dressed..."

"Doesn't bother anyone if you're naked or not. You're still more dressed than most folks. I'm wearing this flight suit because I just finished flying laps not long before the meeting, then you came here. I might as well still wear it since the owner of the restaurant we're going to gives discounts to Wonderbolts."

I tried to keep in mind what Fleetfoot said as we went further into town, the number of ponies and the occasional gryphon increasing along with the buildings until we came up on an area that resembled a plaza of sorts. In the middle stood a proud statue of some armored pegasus flanked on all sides by different shops and restaurants.

"Hey, Fleetfoot, who's this supposed to be?" I asked her. As we approached closer I began to notice just how detailed it was. He was covered in what almost seemed like Roman armor and every inch of the statue looked like hours were poured into its creation.

"That is Commander Hurricane. He was the final leader of the pegasi tribe, way back when pegasi, unicorns and earth ponies lived in tribes separate from each other. He was one of the founders of what would become Equestria." Fleetfoot explained with a hint of pride in her voice. She went on telling me about the basic history of Equestria, everything from Luna's banishment and return to the defeat of some great evil named Tirek. It seemed that Equestria didn't have as much violent history or wars as humanity did but it would still suffice to say that they have a colorful history.

"I get the feeling he was well liked. The details on this are astounding."

"Yeah, very much actually. There were three great sculptors working on it tirelessly and it was supposed to be finished in only a few weeks but they didn't feel it paid proper respect to him so they worked on it for a couple months. This statue is actually only a few years old so that's why it looks so new. The other one was practically ancient but it eventually became too fragile to keep out here, now it's on display in a museum in Canterlot with some other relics."

"Neat. Maybe we could see the one there one day?"

"If we get a chance, sure. I haven't been to Canterlot in a while but I know a cool DJ there too. Vinyl Scratch, she's great with dubstep and electronic music though she does plenty of rock music too, she keeps it varied. I know her personally and last time we spoke she was talking about wanting to make some of her own songs. She even introduced me to her roommate Octavia, they get along pretty well even though she plays classical music. Believe it or not they've even started doing songs together and the result can be breathtaking."

"Damn, that's awesome. How'd you meet them?"

"They actually came up to me after a show one time and asked for my autograph, I'd heard of Vinyl here and there and Octavia once so I agreed only if I could get theirs. They laughed and eagerly agreed and soon we began to talk about interests and found that we all actually had quite a bit in common and we kinda became friends from there."

"Cool, would it be alright if I met them in the future?"

"Sure, and they'll probably introduce you to Anders, some guy they met a few weeks ago. They haven't told me much about him but from what I can gleam he's not your average stallion. Hey let's talk more in the restaurant that way we can eat by the time we finish."

I nodded in understanding and Fleetfoot led us down a walkway to a nice looking restaurant with a sign on front that read "Rib-eye in the Sky". Upon entering we were quickly greeted by a silver-colored mare that guided us to quiet corner table with a view of the entire restaurant. Moments later a gryphon came to our table with a stack of menus in her claws. Her sunset colored feathers appeared to blend seamlessly into the fur that made up her lower half and even with her wings tucked in I couldn't help but feel a little small in her presence.

"Hello and welcome to "Rib-eye in the Sky", my name is Valera and I will be your server today. Which menu would you two like? We have a carnivorous menu, an herbivorous menu and one for omnivores as well." Valera's beak curved into a polite smile as she ran her talons between the menus.

"Um...oh, sorry. Let's just say I'm new in town and everything is pretty new to me so I'm still trying to soak it in. The omnivore menu I suppose." She had caught me while I was a bit lost in thought about today's events.

"Hmm...I think I'll try an omnivore menu too.

"Here are your menus, and we have a nice couple's dish if you'll look the the specials that you two might like." She cheerfully winked at us before continuing. "And I understand that a place like Cloudsdale can be a little frightening at first but you get used to it. I'll be back shortly to take your orders."

"No, no we're not a couple, we're just friends." I tried to tell our waiter but she was already gone, I looked beside me to Fleetfoot whom only offered a shrug in response.

"Don't worry, she probably knows I'm out of your league." Fleetfoot flashed a cheeky grin as she patted me on the back with a hoof.

I raised my hand to come up with what was sure to be a witty and clever response only to find I didn't, worse I had no response I could think of at all, even saying "nuh-uh" slipped my mind so I simply slumped into my seat with a slight pout, disappointed that I would surely think of the best possible response sometime after dinner.

"Aww, take it easy bud, you know I'm kidding."

"Yeah, we both know who's the pretty one anyway." I stuck my tongue out in a goofy smile. She laughed and said "sure, I bet you get all the stallions."

As our conversation carried on our waiter eventually returned and took our orders. I chose a small salmon with garlic bread on the side and Fleetfoot decided to choose the same, saying that she might as well try it. A short time later our food was brought to us on a steaming platter as Valera when placed it on the table. She bowed her head and departed towards the kitchen so we could enjoy our meal.

"I thought ponies couldn't eat meat?" I said as Fleetfoot readied a fork to dig into the salmon.

"Well, we can but we normally don't. We don't need meat in our diet to be healthy and if we eat too much it can make us sick. Like if I had fish once or twice a week I'll be fine, but if I'm eating it every day or two I'll start getting sick." Using her hoof she lifted a piece of the salmon to her mouth and ate it, slowly pondering the taste as if it was a food she hadn't eaten since childhood.

I started to bite into the garlic bread when I heard Fleetfoot chuckle lightly.

"You certainly pick interesting food for a first date, James. Fish and garlic, you're not kissing anyone tonight are you?" she teased.

"You picked the same thing! I could say the same for you. Plan on knocking out your date and dragging him home with fish and garlic breath?" I made a fainting gesture and Fleetfoot returned with wide eyes and a fierce blush in her cheeks.

"Shut up!" she croaked as laughter began to break into her voice. "I said I wanted to try it and I am! It's not like I was going to try and kiss you yet!" As soon as she spoke her eyes instantly grew to the size of plates and she threw her hooves over her mouth as if she could catch the words before I heard them. Her blush didn't exactly help hide it very well either though.

"Um...wow, I didn't know you saw me that way..." I said in a surprised but small voice.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that it's just that I kinda find you attractive and...I know that even if I did we just met and it's super early and...damn! Just eh...pretend you didn't hear it, please?" she rambled in a panicky tone.

"Fleetfoot. Fleetfoot! Relax. I was just...surprised is all and I'm really flattered you think that way." I smiled to ease the tension. "You're a super nice and sweet girl and since we're on the subject...I think you're cute too." That seemed to visibly ease her nerves as she finally relaxed her posture and blew out a long breath of relief and eased in a tiny smile.

Going local already are you? I though subconsciously.

"If you like we can still pretend neither of us heard those last bits or whatever you'd like."

"I uh...yeah, and thank you, it means a lot. I don't get that from a lot of people. I don't know...maybe get to know each other a little more and see what happens?" she asked nervously.

"I'd like that."

"Awesome! I mean, yeah that's great."

We both shared a laugh and with the tension eased we returned to our meals. After we finished Valera came over and retrieved our plates and when she came back we split the bill evenly. After making sure we didn't leave a mess on the table for the staff to clean up we stood up and left the restaurant. On the way back Fleetfoot pointed out an un-populated alley that she claimed to use as a shortcut to get back to the Wonderbolts building when she was running late

"Say, how come no one is freaking out here? A strange creature shows up out of nowhere and no one panics, people just go about their day." I turn around and gesture Fleetfoot to all the ponies walking outside that alley as if I'd been here for months. I wasn't right out in the open but it's not like I was hiding from folks either.

"There's lots of different intelligent races in the world, and we see new and unusual things all the time. I've noticed some give you a couple odd glances now and again but most ponies are used to odd sights" she informed me.

"And no one is bothered by the fact that I'm half-naked right here?" I gesture to my swim trunks, only now did I begin to realize that it would be windy up in a floating city. The chilly afternoon wind was making my nipples pointy enough to cut diamonds.

Well no shit, Sherlock. I thought to myself. We're only...actually I don't want to know how far up were are but it's pretty damn high.

"Um...in case you didn't notice most folks around here are naked...nudity isn't a taboo in a lot of cultures, like ours. Flight suits like ours are to help make us a little more streamlined for the airshows but mostly for the sake of uniformity." She educated me like the stupid human she probably imagined I was.

"Oh, duh. Now I just feel oblivious. Just a little odd, I'm used to living in a culture that did have a serious nudity taboo so it might take a while to adjust." I blushed a little.

"Yeah, and I forgot to mention...we read minds!" She said excitedly. "I can tell what you're thinking right now..." Fleetfoot flashed me a dirty grin as she stepped closer to me.

"Uh...wait what, how...what are you doing..."

"Shh...you know you'll like it..."

I tried to back up as she walked me closer to a wall. My cheeks turning crimson in embarrassment and uncertainty. Just when I ran out of room Fleetfoot's lips began to quiver and she fell to the floor laughing.

"Ahaha! That was hilarious! The look on your face was priceless. I'm sorry but I knew I'd never get another chance like that." She stammered out in between laughs as she stood herself back up. "

My face were still flushed red in embarrassment when I tried talking. "That was just mean! Why would you-"

"Oh you probably would have done the same." She returned as she gave me some space.

In all honestly she's probably right, though I was mostly just surprised, she seemed like a different mare than the one I had just met earlier.

"And here I thought you were shy!"

"Oh...well I kinda am, well at least until I get to know folks a little, and I'm working to get over being shy. You have an honest face too." She blushed just slightly.

"Thanks...err...I thought you'd never seen a human before?"

"Oh, I haven't, but it's fairly universal, damn near impossible with changelings though." She laughed a little.

"...what are changelings?" I asked hesitantly.

Her expression morphed into one of pondering as she seemed to think about how to explain what changelings were. "They're basically shaped like ponies but instead of regular skin and fur they have chitin and stuff, like some bugs. They need love to survive...yeah I'll explain that later, sounds odd at first. They possess the ability to change forms at will, the closer to their natural body size the easier it is, everything from chickens to dragons but like I said, it's harder for them on both extremes of the spectrum. They're so good at changing shapes that if they've seen someone before they can imitate exactly how that person looks, but the imitation is only as good as their memory." She strung her words together as if she had been waiting for someone to ask her.

"You seem to know a lot about these guys" I replied with a bemused look.

"Well I'm actually friends with a few. Their image has improved tremendously in the public eye lately though some are still mistrustful. They can actually be amazing people once you get to know them."

I nodded in understanding. "Interesting to know." For a moment I forgot what we had been doing before Fleetfoot's prank. I looked around for a small reminder when I once again realized I was all but naked. Not only was it awkward to be in the middle of a city half-naked, it felt like my balls were going to freeze off at any moment. I looked over to Fleetfoot and realized she didn't seem cold in the slightest while it was like being trapped in a freezer to me.

"How in the world are you not freezing?"

"Huh? Oh um well I'm a pegasi, most pegasi don't get cold easily, that and we have fur. Are you that cold? Let's head back inside, I'll have to give you a better tour another time. No good for you to freeze to death on day one. We'll try to get some clothes tailored to you as well, our tailor usual works with ponies but he is really good at other species too, like gryphons and minotaurs, even clothes for a dragon once!" She said excitedly as she took a hold of my hand with her hoof and led me back towards the building.

"Wait wait wait...did you just say dragon? Minotaurs? What else lives around here? Oh man...I swear if I wake up and find myself in my own bed this will have been one odd dream."

"And they say I'm odd...trust me James, you can bet those big blue eyes of yours this is no dream."

"Heh, I have the big blue eyes?" I remarked with a chuckle.

"Oh shut up. Not like it's a bad thing. Ponies have bigger eyes than some other species."

"Anyway, how'd you grab my hand with hooves?" I asked in confusion, she looked at me like I just told her that I have two ears.

"How wouldn't I? Have you lived under a rock? Okay, we have a lot to talk about later on. Follow me." She sighed as she tugged on my hand. "I can see why you're cold too, I can tell you don't exactly have much fur first off, and you still look like you just climbed out of the water. It'll take a while to get you clothes but there's some blankets in my room. I'll find you a towel to dry off first though."

Before long we passed through the double-doors into the Wonderbolts building. As we paced down the hall to Fleetfoot's quarters two familiar ponies came into sight, Spitefire and Soarin. As we neared them they stopped and started talking to Fleetfoot.

"Fleetfoot! Got some news. We've already received Princess Celestia's response. She wants to meet the hu-I mean James in three days, Friday afternoon. She seemed excited actually, said that Equestria hasn't seen humans for a very long time. She's interested that a second one has appeared so soon." Spitfire said with a tone of eagerness.

"...second one?" I asked, trying to poke my head into the conversation

"Oh, hey um...what was it...James! Yeah, a few weeks ago another human appeared. Fleetfoot or myself can tell you more later. It's getting late, you two may want to turn in for the night. Seeing as you aren't familiar with anything here I want to set up a special class for you over the next few days so that you can learn more about our world. All of the species living here, culture, lifestyle, and more."

"Cool, thank you for your hospitality." I told her

"Um, sure thing. It'll take a little while for me to set up so it'll start at noon tomorrow. I'll see you there." Spitfire said as she left with Soarin in tow. As she turned down the hall she spoke up again. "Oh and behave you two!" She said in a teasing tone.

I immediately noticed Fleetfoot blushing. She momentarily away looked when she realized that I saw.

"Oooh, careful, she said we gotta behave. I know that sometimes I can just be irresistible but you heard what she said." I grinned.

Fleetfoot lightly punched me in the shoulder as she laughed.

"Oh wow. Cocky one aren't you? Too bad I'm still outta your league." She stuck her tongue out in a mock act of immaturity.

"You're right, you gotta aim a little higher for me."

"Oh I'm sure you were such a romeo before you got here, we are all graced with your charming presence." She remarked sarcastically.

"Glad you understand." I said as I put my hands on my hips and acted as if I was serious.

"Well let's get to bed, I used to have a roommate in here so I have a bunk bed. The top one is all yours, don't worry it should easily be big enough for you." Fleetfoot said as she opened the door to her room.

True to her word the bunk bed was fairly big by human standards. The entire room was the size of a college dorm, next to a window sat a desk with papers and writing utensils scattered around it , to the right was the beds and to the left wall was a number of cabinets, dressers and a table with a few chairs around it. On a nearby shelf there appeared to be plenty of games that could be played with friends, including several the seemed strangely like ones I had myself.

Fleetfoot took a few moments to show me a few of the interesting hidden features in the room as well as where everything was and where certain items were kept if they were needed, like bandages or water. When she was done with that she sleepily crawled into her bed on the bottom bunk and asked me to turn off the light switch that was by me. I did as she asked and carefully crawled into the bed above hers.

I almost wondered if I was actually awake when I climbed in, the bed was almost impossibly comfortable. This must be what true love feels like. It was the most blissfully comfortable and nice bed I had ever touched in my entire life. Folks here must have it really good if this is the standard for bedding.

"Goodnight James." She said as she pulled the sheets over herself.

"Goodnight Fleetfoot." I told her.

As I felt myself quickly falling asleep I took a little time to think over the days events, all thinks considered, I was adjusting extremely well in my own mind. Though knowing me, it'll probably sink in tomorrow or the day after. Before long I could feel the worry slipping from my mind as I drifted off to sleep for my first night in a strange new world.

Author's Note

(By the way, I'm aware my stories in general, especially this one, might contain plenty of mistakes, whether it's pacing or grammar, if anyone would be interested in sticking around and helping to proof-read chapters when I'm finished with one it would be greatly appreciated.)
Woo! I think that's the first double update I've done in one night, updated Invasion of the Pink Menace and posted this story, both of which happen in the same world as The Sound of a Heartbeat. Hope you enjoyed!

Anyway... It was actually Kaidan and a few others that inspired me to branch out into more kinds of stories. I especially love Dash of Humanity and the sequel. Anyhow I've been itching to do a Wonderbolts one like this for ages now but I've been working on Sombra's Redemption. Like the others I'm going to certainly lie about making it a chapter or two and make chapter after chapter until it reaches a natural ending or they ship me off to the wacky shack...again. At which point of course I'll make a sequel which you will all love. "But this story su-" *BANG*. Any questions? Also worth noting I plan in general, not specific so don't cry in shock if James goes for say Fleetfoot or something (harder to make a title for that kind of thing anyway and Playing With Fire just seems to stick)

By the way, I couldn't really figure out how to include it in the story but in this the pegasi have long since gotten some unicorns to enchant the permanent clouds of the city themselves so that anyone could walk on them. Also the mature and sex tags will come into play a little bit later, just not quite yet.

Really I want the story to evolve naturally, with most of my stories it feels like the story writes itself and I guide it in general directions, I don't plan terribly specific because I feel like it could make the story feel too artificial, but I'll try to let you guys know ahead of time if I think I'll add character or genre tags to the story as appropriate.

Hey, I'm finally finished editing, ended up being a lot longer but don't worry the later chapters will be more frequent and not quite as beefy but enough to end at a reasonable point

Sky-Bound

"James. James! Wake up!" My groggy mind barely started to register that someone was calling me.

"What? Why? The sun isn't even up! Let me sleep." I told her while I covered my face with a pillow.

Yesterday's events just now started returning to my mind as well as my current situation. To confirm that it wasn't a dream I sat up in bed and looked at Fleetfoot, only mostly sure she wasn't imaginary.

"Come on, I wanted to show you something. We pretty much have all day, we just have to be there for Spitfire's class this evening. Besides, I think you'll like it."

"Can I take the pillow with me?" I meant it seriously, I would pet a grizzly bear if it meant I could keep a pillow like this.

"No. Hurry up, if we do this now we can still have time to get breakfast before we find you some new clothes. Unless you'd rather keep those shorts forever."

"Alright, so what are we doing now?"

Fleetfoot simply smiled and walked to the door. "I invited a unicorn over earlier while you were still sleeping and with what you said yesterday I think you'll thank me after this. He waiting just outside, come on, this will be all the better with the stars out."

"Okay, well let's go meet him." I hopped out of bed and joined Fleetfoot just before she opened the door, revealing a light blue pony like herself except he seemed to have a bigger frame in addition to being male, and rather than wings at his side a horn with a spiral pattern on it adorned his head.

"I'll need to cast the spell outside, please follow me." he said briefly before taking off on a light trot down the hall. Fleetfoot and I followed. Once we were outside the building he led us to a small clouded wall that formed the end of the city.

"James, his name is North Star. He's going to give you wings!"

"Wait, really? Awesome! But how would I fly with them? I've never flown and I have no idea how I'd even control them." I asked, I was thrilled about the idea of flying but nervous that for whatever reason it simply wouldn't work for me.

"Understand that these are temporary because this is a difficult spell to do. They will last at least two hours, any longer than that and they could start fading without warning so keep an eye on the time. You won't be capable of true flight but you will be able to glide so remember to keep your wings outstretched. Fleetfoot here can help keep you flying and make sure you're safe. Anything more and Fleetfoot can explain it to you." Soon North Star's horn began to flicker to life. "Just hold still. This will hurt a little but you should get used to the wings quickly."

A blue light erupted from him and impacted my shoulder. It stung like hell for a few moments as the impact felt like it burned from my shoulder straight to two spots on my back where the pain eventually subsided. Then a pair of long, white, almost angelic appearing wings grew from my back. They remained folded and close to my side however.

"H-holy shit...this is...wow...thank you. How do I move them?" I tried to shrug my shoulders and while that moved the wings I couldn't directly control them doing that.

"Simply think about what you want your wings to do. Focus and think clearly about exactly what you want them to do and they will do it. Try reaching me with your wing."

Following his command I closed my eyes and thought hard about my intent, simply reach out with the right wing and tap him.

"Good job. Now you can also hold small object with your wings but don't try to pick up anything you couldn't with say...two or three of your fingers, otherwise you can damage them and it will hurt. Now stretch your wings as far out as you can."

I did as North Star asked and pictured myself stretching my wings as far as I could, reaching up towards the sky. My wings followed my thoughts and reached out and up to the air above me.

"Good, good, you learn quickly. Well that's about it. Listen to what Fleetfoot says and enjoy your wings. James, Fleetfoot, have a nice day." He bowed his head and Fleetfoot returned the gesture and promptly turned away to leave.

"Soo...what do you think?" Fleetfoot walked in front of me with a smile on her face.

"I love them...thank you so much. I don't know how to really thank you, or North Star, really."

"Don't sweat it. Now come on, let's try those puppies out!"

"Okay so what should I do? Just spread my wings out and say hop to that cloud out in front of us?"

"Sounds good. Good luck!"

"Wait, what are you..." I thought Fleetfoot was doing something but before I could figure out what she pushed me off the cloud.

"AHHH FLEETFOOT! HELP! I'M FALLING!!"

"Open your wings!" She called out from above me. My mind was on the verge of panic but I tried my best to open my wings quickly. I closed my eyes and tried to not imagine splattering on the ground below. I imagined my wings stretching out and taking me to the cloud I was aiming for and when I opened my eyes I was relieved to see that they had opened and turned my falling into a gentle glide. After a couple moments I saw Fleetfoot fly parallel to me with a knowing smile.

"See, I knew you could do it. Just keep calm, I'm going to help take you back up higher so you can aim for that cloud again." Fleetfoot put two hooves on my sides and proceeded to carry me up higher with her. Soon we were high enough that I could glide to the cloud I had missed.

"Okay, when I let go you're just going to glide straight over to that cloud, keep calm and remember I'll be right behind you. Ready? Go!" she shouted as she threw me forward and into a gentle glide. I flew steady and focused as best as I could, though I couldn't help but hear a noise come from the right as what sounded at first like a small whistle became a giant blast of air as a blur of air passed inches in front of me. Before I could make sense of anything it felt like I got hit in the ribs by a train.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" I cried in pain as I began to spiral down through the sky. Fear gripped my heart as I watched the ground come closer. I looked to the right and noticed Spitfire falling right next to me, only she didn't seem responsive, she looked unconscious. I glanced up and saw Fleetfoot bearing down on us as fast as she could.

"JUST HOLD ON!"

Come on...focus...focus...fly damn it... I thought to myself, the agonizing new pain in my side made it all the more difficult to focus and I only managed to stretch my wings a little but it was enough to stop the spinning after a few seconds. I looked back down and saw just how high up we had truly been, we were far away from the ground but the distance was shrinking fast and even if Fleetfoot made it in time I wasn't sure if she could carry both of us.

I tried to guide myself to where Spitfire was falling and dove downwards to catch up with her before putting both hands on her back. The wind in my eyes made it hard to see what I was doing but I managed to turn with her in still in my grip. Soon I had my back facing the ground with her above me as I held on and and tried my hardest to stretch my wings out. I chanced a look back down and swore my heart skip a beat when I saw how fast we were approaching the ground.

Open damn it...open! I focused on my wings more and ordered them to spread apart into a glide. Fleetfoot was just about to catch us but it didn't look like she'd be able to slow down in time even if she did make it. I closed my eyes and concentrated. Hard.

Open your wings... a calm voice in my head repeated softly.

I felt the muscles connected to the wings respond properly and open at last. We were still going fast but now we were gliding rather than falling, then I felt my back brushing past the grass before impact. All I could feel was sheer pain as my hands were forced to let go of Spitfire and I began to tumble and bounce on the dirt before sliding into the dirt, leaving a long trail behind me. My vision was blurry as I finally came to a halt.

So much...pain...Spitfire...have to check... my hazy mind was just barely functioning as I blinked a few times to look for her, though my vision remained terrible. I stumbled to my feet before collapsing to my knees within a second. Just a short way ahead of my impact zone I noticed Spitfire laying on the ground though she left a couple dirt patches versus my crash site. I crawled towards her and only managed to make a quick check. She appeared to be breathing at least and I didn't see anything that was too bad, but she wasn't too much better off than me. I put one of my hands on my back and tried to stand back up when I felt blood running down my hand, my back was still numb and only now could I feel something on it.

I caught a glimpse of Fleetfoot galloping towards us with Soarin shortly behind her before everything began to fade and I blacked out, falling to the ground with a gentle thump on the dirt.

"What the hell happened! Spitfire doesn't look to out of sorts but look at fucking James! The doctors have never worked on a human before and they aren't even sure he'll wake up!" I could barely make out the sound Fleetfoot shouting to someone. It was strange, it felt like I was almost dreaming, time crawled by and it felt like my body took every way around waking up.

"We were on the patrol checking for anyone falling from the city! We turned a sharp corner and before we could react Spitfire crashed into him and I just barely missed doing the same! It's not our fault about what happened. I know you're concerned but this isn't the time to be throwing around blame."

"I...I know...but the doctors already said Spitfire would be fine, a week of recovery, at the most. James, they aren't sure about. They said he could wake up and recover within days or not wake up at all. They said it was lucky he didn't break his back, but that he was bleeding a lot from his back and there were cuts all over him, probably from going over some rocks. I should have been faster. I could have caught both of them." Her voice began to waver as she made a sniffling sound.

"Hey there, come on, Fleet. He'll be fine, don't worry."

"At least he managed to slow down and glide before he hit, otherwise it would be worse. He even managed to save Spitfire."

"True, I'm impressed, if it weren't for him, she could be far worse off...even..."

"But she's not, he saved her life." she said somewhat proudly.

The entire time they talked it all still felt like one of those lucid dreams, only I couldn't respond, as if I couldn't find the right muscles to open my eyelids. My whole body screamed in a numb pain, I could still just barely feel wings on my back, it must have still been very recent. I had no idea where I was now, I didn't feel dirt anymore. It felt more like...cloth, a bed maybe? I could feel it close to my back too, probably band-aids.

Ugh...I...wake...wake... I tried to will myself awake but to no avail. Soon I heard a weak voice speak next to me.

"I...oww...shit...what in the world...how'd I get here?" Spitfire asked in a raspy voice.

"Woah, take it easy, Spits. You were injured, you're in Cloudsdale Central Hospital." Soarin called in a gentle voice.

"Soarin said that you were on a patrol this morning when you guys turned a corner and hit James. I called a Unicorn earlier in the morning that gave him temporary wings and he was learning how to use them when you crashed into him. He was hurt but still awake and you were knocked out on impact. While you two were falling he managed to catch you and slow the decent enough for you to survive. I saw him try to crawl to you and collapse right after he got close. He's right next you. He still hasn't waken up yet..." she said in an increasingly sober tone. "The doctors don't have any experience with his kind and aren't sure how humans handle trauma. They took some blood from James just before you woke up and are running tests to see what they can find out about him, like if a blood transfusion would work with him. He doesn't have any deep lacerations but he still lost so much blood..."

Silence followed briefly after Fleetfoot's summary.

Just how bad did I get hurt? I can hear them but it still just feels like a bad dream. What if it is? Come on...I should be able to wake up...

Slowly but surely I could at last begin to feel my hands and feet, soon I could sense the rest of me and honestly I would have rather stayed asleep because it hurt beyond words. Sensation slowly flowed back into me.

"Look, Fleetfoot. None of this is your fault. We know you did your best."

"But it still wasn't good enough..."

Pain. So much pain, but it has never felt more wonderful at the same time. Slowly I could feel the engines in my body start to run again, my heartbeat drummed to a new tempo and I felt the wind drawn into my chest. I clenched my fist and took in a fresh breath. I could sense the room around me grow silent as I did. I sat up and was finally able to open my eyes. They burned for a moment from the brightness of the room but they adjusted and the first thing I saw was Fleetfoot and Soarin by the foot of the bed I was in, Spitfire was revealed with just a glance to my right.

"JAMES!" Fleetfoot shouted with glee and wrapped me in a warm hug, I felt her quickly land a kiss on my cheek before backing away with a smile on her face, practically bouncing with excitement.

"You're okay! We were worried! You saved Spitfire's life you know." she said eagerly. As she spoke I couldn't help but notice a couple tears finishing their race down the side of her cheeks.

Soarin smiled and nodded. "Thanks for catching Spitfire, how are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a train and it decided to back up, then I got thrown in a washing machine full of hammers." I groaned in pain and held my stomach, I looked down and realized that much of me was covered in bandages. I was dressed in a light robe that at least covered my manhood and whatever wasn't covered by the bandages. As I looked at it Fleetfoot spoke up quickly.

"Oh right, I got that for you while you were out, I know how you are about being naked. Your shorts are done for though." she said as she held up my shorts for me to see. At first they looked fine but she turned them around, revealing a giant hole that had formed over nearly the entire back side. If I wore them my ass would stick out like a pair of white bongo drums.

"Yeah...and sorry about hitting you. I truly appreciate what you did. I owe you big time." Spitfire said, glancing away and rubbing the back of her neck.

"Don't worry about it, glad I could help, though if we had been more careful it wouldn't have happened to begin with."

"No...we shouldn't have gone that fast around a blind corner. It was just an accident." Spitfire replied.

"Heh, hardly been a day and you're already becoming a bit of a hero to people." Soarin grinned while Spitfire and I returned confused looks.

"Oh, right you two were out. There's a small crowd outside waiting to meet the alien that saved our captain." He cast a quick glance my way. "They all wanted to come in and see you two right away but Fleetfoot looked like she would tear apart the first pony to try." Fleetfoot smiled sheepishly and looked around the room as if she were innocent of such an accusation.

"I wasn't being that scary."

"You threatened to feed one of them to a manticore." He stated bluntly.

"So..."

"Anyway, James. I mean it, thank you."

"No problem, might as well get out of bed though." I sighed as I swung my legs over to the side of the bed and gently placed my bandage wrapped feet on the cloud-stone floor, it gave very little while walking but it still managed to remain comfortable at the same time, lucky thing too considering it felt like someone hit my feet with a meat tenderizer. As soon as I stood up and put weight on my legs I collapsed to my hands and knees. Soarin and Fleetfoot rushed to pick me up by my shoulders.

"Whoa, careful. You nearly died a few hours ago, don't go bouncing around like you just woke up from a refreshing nap. I don't know how resilient humans are but you need to take it easy for a while." He said as he tried to guide me back to the bed with Fleetfoot's aid.

"No, please I want to try the use the wings again, just a little more before they go. Just a short distance, doesn't have to be high up. I know the spell is going to wear off soon." I begged as I struggled to stand up, trying to hide how much it truly hurt.

"James, no. I'm sorry but you can't. Sorry to be blunt but you look like shit and a filly with a broken leg could probably whoop your ass right now.

I gave a short huff in response. "Fine, but I'm gonna lay down when I'm ready. My legs might hurt but they're also cramped to hell.

Fleetfoot rolled her eyes. "Alright, but if you collapse again I'm going to say I told you so."

I tried and failed to suppress a laugh. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"Says the cripple." Fleetfoot smirked as I stumbled and grabbed onto the bedpost.

"Oh...fuck you." I waved my hand back at her and Soarin as I made my way to the window.

"Sorry bud, you're not my type." Soarin responded with a cheeky grin.

"You two are just awful, adding insult to injury, literally." I responded, trying to hide the smile already on my face.

"Welcome to the family, good luck getting out." Spitfire laughed and reclined back into her bed. "Eh...Rapidfire's going to have a cow...if he asks about me tell him that I don't need my baby brother to make soup five times a day for me." She waved her hoof vaguely towards Soarin.

After finally reaching the window I could look down and saw that they weren't kidding about the crowd. Their "small crowd" was probably at least a hundred ponies gathered around the hospital doors.

"Wow...that's a lot of people. I don't understand, I didn't jump off a cliff to catch Spitfire, I was falling and I simply caught her and tried to minimize the impact for both of us." I said, backing away from the window so as to not get spotted.

"You hadn't even had those for ten minutes and you still managed to save not only yourself but me as well. That's an impressive feat in my book." Spitfire said plainly.

"Alright, come on, you need to lay down." Fleetfoot stood on her back legs and directed me back to my bed. She backed away a pace or two when I finally laid all the way on my back. "You would not believe how fast news spreads by the way. I already got a letter from Vinyl asking to meet you and I think there's more ponies on the way to town just to see you. A new species arrives and folks usually don't take a ton of notice but when that same person saves a celebrity the next day, it makes headlines."

"Wow...I'm not shy but I mean...I've never really been the center of attention, I still don't feel like I totally deserve it though."

"Imagine how we feel. One time I rescued a cat from a tree in Ponyville and they acted like I just fought a bear one on one. Though at least they aren't always that bad you get the idea." Soarin continued.

"Yikes."

"Yeah, hold on, let me get the doctor. I'll be right back." Soarin slipped out the door and returned only moments later with the doctor in tow, who looked shocked to seem me sitting up in bed awake.

"Incredible. You should barely be breathing, you look like you wrestled a dragon and you're awake already. I wasn't expecting that for at least another day or so." the doctor commented.

"You should have been in here a moment ago, he was trying to walk around and even wanted to go out to try the wings again." Fleetfoot told him. He returned an impressed look.

"Astounding. Well before I'd say you should spend a few weeks here recovering but you look like you could walk out yourself in a day or two. Do you possess any magical abilities?"

"Um...not that I know of, humans can't use magic."

"Simply amazing...I hope you wouldn't mind if I ran some more tests, we need to change your bandages as well."

"I suppose it's alright..." I breathed. I just hoped that it wouldn't involve a lot of needles. Unfortunately it involved a shit load of needles. About nine different needles to be exact. None of them drew a lot of blood on their own but with their added effect I was starting to feel light headed. After that was done he started to take off the bandages on my legs and replace them with Fleetfoot standing in the hallway. I was becoming less covered by the second, with only my waist down and some spots on my arm still covered.

"Oh um hey Fleetfoot, would you mind waiting with the others?" I asked as the doctor pulled the ones off my arms and replaced those as well.

"Nah."

"Why?"

"Makes you uncomfortable." she grinned.

"Please? At least close your eyes? It's still kinda weird for me."

"Oh fine." Fleetfoot sighed. "If it really bothers you. Let me know when I can look again." Following her word, she closed her eyes but remained in the doorway.

Once her eyes were closed the doctor pulled off my robe and continued replacing bandages. After the he stripped the bandages from my torso he tossed the bloody gauze in a marked bin next to him. Once the bandages were off my back I felt open wounds exposed to fresh air, and with that a fresh sting.

"Ah...hey, mind if I see how bad it is?"

"Alright, there's no permanent damage and it should heal well but it's not pretty." he warned. He pulled a pair of mirrors out of a drawer and angled them so I could see my back clearly. It was pretty torn up and was red almost all over, it look almost like I had been whipped then dragged over cement. "There will be scars, but just pop in here and mention Doctor Torch and I'll come and make them disappear. Magic can make it look like you never got injured."

"Thanks, Doctor Torch, I really appreciate it."

"My pleasure." he responded as he began to replace the bandages he had taken off. "By the way, I noticed you bleeding a little freely when Fleetfoot carried you in, poor dear looked like she was going to fall apart. I'd recommend drinking plenty of fluids and eating some more salts so your blood congeals faster. Eat something too after we're done. You lost a lot of blood today and I know the needles didn't help in that regard but it will help me greatly, especially if you come back here. Stop by the hospital's cafeteria before you go if you're heading out of here today, eat something filling.

"All that's left it to finish the bandages around your waist." I avoided what would be awkward eye contact as Doctor Torch replaced bandages around my waist and lower abdomen. After inspecting me as a whole, checking that all of the new bandages were secure he backed up a step and handed the robe back to me.

"You can look now, Fleetfoot."

She blew out a bored breath and opened her eyes and watched the Doctor finish his examination.

"James, I may not have great knowledge about your kind but I have worked with plenty of mammals and I can tell what a creature is in good health or not. I'd say you are a healthy, strong, well-endowed young male in his prime. As far as I can tell you're the model of health."

"Hmm well-endowed, Doc?"

"Huh? Oh why yes he appears to have fair muscle density and no deformities as far as I can tell and ohhhh...well that too I'd suppose." Doctor Torch said as he rubbed his chin. Meanwhile I stood in awkward silence as Fleetfoot wiggled her eyebrows at me and began laughing to herself. I looked at the Doctor with an accusatory glare.

"What? It's not a bad thing. Isn't she your mare-friend anyway?" He got the message when I simply continued glaring. I noticed Fleetfoot blush out of the corner of my eyes as well, bright velvet showing easily on her blue cheeks despite her best effort to hide it.

"Um...no doc, we're just uh...friends."

"Oh, my apologies, when I saw her carry you in I had thought you two were courting or-" I gently nudged the doctor as an indicator that now would be a good time to stop talking.

"Right, right, sorry. Well when you leave be careful, don't want you to get swarmed by the mob outside."

I followed Fleetfoot out the door and back into the room that Spitfire was still laying in with Soarin beside her as she banged the back of her head into her pillow out of boredom

"Ah, you're back, care to join me in my endless boredom?" Spitfire asked sarcastically.

"Sorry, not a fan of hospitals." I shrugged.

"I'll stay with ya, Spits." Soarin told her.

"Thanks, well don't let my broken ass keep you guys here, at least I don't have to make it through a swarm of paparazzi." she chuckled.

"Come on, we'll get you back to my place and we can take it easy. Also don't let the folks out there get too close, they'll be excited to see you but if they get too close they can topple on top of each other and then you. Happened to me once. Would be bad in your condition." Fleetfoot said as she guided me away from Spitfire's room and down the hall, then down the elevator that led to the ground floor.

"Alright, thanks. I'd rather just eat when we get back as well than risk getting mobbed in the cafeteria." I told her as I fiddled with the robe, trying to to find a way to secure it better. Before long the elevator doors opened and we could see the collection of ponies waiting beyond the glass doors of the entrance.

"Alright, stay close to me and try to not get kidnapped. Happened to me once, though it was actually kinda fun, it was three mares and they took me bowling with them. It was nice, we actually keep in contact too."

"You just have all kinds of interesting stories don't you?"

Fleetfoot simply grinned while we continued walking towards the doors. As we neared we finally caught the attention of the mob outside, who were now shouting and eager to get a word from us. It was like watching children ready to break down the door to a candy store.

"Ready.?"

"Nope."

"Great, let's go!" Fleetfoot said as she pushed open the doors, the wave of sound that was outside now hitting me full force as I heard the crowd buzz with questions. They did their best to squeeze in question after question.

"Stranger! What were the circumstances surrounding your saving of Spitfire!?" One of the reporters asked, trying to put a microphone in my face for an answer.

"Tall one! Is it true you're already engaged to Fleetfoot!?" a second voice called out.

"Is it true that you're the hybrid of a dragon and minotaur and can breathe fire!?" yet another asked, which I honestly couldn't put a serious response into words for that one.

"Are the wings real!?"

"Did you plan Spitfire's injury to further your own agenda?" one asked with an accusatory look.

Soon the barrage of questions came even faster as the crowd closer in, asking increasingly strange things as I backed up closer to Fleetfoot, too nervous to even form a response to any of them.

"QUIET!!!!" Fleetfoot roared back to them. All noise ceased and it was as if the air itself did its best to be silent.

"Now. James is very injured and really shouldn't even be walking so give him some space." she ordered. The crowd obeyed and gave me some breathing room."

"We are not engaged nor are we dating. He is not a hybrid and cannot breathe fire. He is a male human and he means no harm. His wings are from a spell that was cast on him this morning that should wear off within an hour or two. What happened that put him and Spitfire into the hospital was purely accident, simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Any more questions?" She spoke with practiced ease and confidence to the crowd, something she surely had experience doing.

A single pony raised his hoof. "Can he use magic?"

"No." I responded myself.

"All of what Fleetfoot has told you is true. My names is James Winter and I only wish to help."

"Mr. Winter?"

"Please just call me James."

"James. How does being a hero make you feel?" A mare in the back called out.

"I'm not. I just did what I could and tried to prevent her from getting hurt if I could avoid it."

"What would you say you are?" she responded.

High off my fuckin' ass... I was tempted to say as I remembered that I'm still in fact in a flying city talking to ponies.

"Lucky." I smiled as I raised my wings and saw how torn and beaten they were, if they weren't going away soon anyway they would take weeks, maybe months to completely heal. Apparently the photographers thought now was the perfect time for pictures if they wanted any and a mess of cameras were raised from the sea of ponies as they began snapping pictures with my beaten wings still in the air. Though I had to admit, it did look kinda cool.

"Now please, everyone let us through. As I said James is badly hurt."

"Why is he wearing a robe?" a gray mare up front asked. "Are the injuries all over him?"

"He um...has a nudity thing, his kind usually wears clothes."

"If he's male why does he have nipples? Is he a hermaphrodite?" she returned. She now looked at me specifically. "Mr. Winter? Are you sure you're not a female? Lots of mammals can have relatively small mammary glands, there's no need to be ashamed." she said in a consoling tone. As if that wasn't enough a couple more mares joined in.

Great. Now everyone thinks I'm a chick...

"Yeah, I can see it, he, or she appears rather feminine in appearance."

Oh this is bullshit.

Fleetfoot who I thought was on my side was now just barely suppressing her laughter, water formed at the edges of her eyes as she tried to keep it bottled up. Eventually she burst out laughing like a maniac.

"Traitor..." I whispered to her.

"Come again miss?" She smiled mischievously back.

"You know for a fact I'm a guy."

"I don't know...I haven't seen proof." She said, sticking her tongue out at me. "Just open up your robe a bit and they'll believe you. They're not the one with the taboo."

"Sounds like you just want to see me naked."

"Sorry, dear, I'm not into girls." she said with a cheeky grin.

"I'm still not gonna flash a crowd on my second day here..."

I noticed the crowd was barely paying attention to us for the moment now at least. They were too busy throwing back evidence as to whether I was a male, female or something in between apparently.

"Yeah but their reaction would be priceless and it's not like you'll get in any trouble."

"You have a warped sense of humor." I told her.

"Do it and I'll see about taking you to Canterlot and meeting Vinyl at her club, first thing tomorrow. It costs extra and hurts but the doctors can heal you and Spitfire up completely before it even gets dark, though both of you are gonna want some bed-rest right after, assuming it doesn't knock you right out. You'll feel better after but it hurts like hell while it's happening." she said in an attempt to persuade me.

"If you don't, they will keep this debate going on for weeks until you find a photographer stalking you through your window."

"You're making that one up."

"Wait a few weeks and tell me that." she said as she looked around at the sky. There were even pegasi with cameras up there as well taking aerial photographs.

"If I get arrested, this was all your idea." I whispered to her as she laughed, her head still pointing up at the pegasi in the air. While she wasn't watching I took a long breath and threw open my robe, flashing a crowd of pastel colored ponies as they all watched in silent surprise. I caught the small sound of a voice in the back saying "Damn."

Once the initial stupor wore off they started reaching for their cameras but I covered myself just before any pictures were taken. Only once I was covered up did Fleetfoot notice I had done something.

"Wait, I missed it?" she asked.

"Yep."

She shrugged and looked to the crowd. One voice spoke to her.

"He's a guy alright." a stallion said bluntly.

"Now that that's over with...let's go back in so they can clean this up. I'd rather not feel like a cripple for a few weeks." I told her, already walking back into the hospital.

Once inside we made our way back to the room I had been in. Spitfire was already out cold and Soarin refused to carry her to her quarters, saying that last time she dislocated his jaw when she kicked him on accident after waking up.

"Alright. Here's a rope for you to bite on." Doctor Torch said as he put a rope in my hands as he pulled a table near me. The last thing I remembered after that was a glowing sound and the doctor's voice. "Now this might sting a little..."

"Ah...Fleetfoot? What happened?" I groaned as I sat up. I realized I was back in Fleetfoot's room and in my bunk again. Everything hurt, most notably my jaw and ass for some reason, though I noticed the injuries themselves were gone. Equestrian medicine thus far seemed to function strangely.

"Well he cast a minor memory wipe spell on you, just so that you wouldn't remember the procedure because it did look quite painful. Then he cast a paralysis spell over most of you so you didn't thrash about or hurt yourself. He called in a nurse to slowly take off your bandages while he healed the injuries themselves. Once that was done he took your temperature with a rectal thermometer to make sure your body didn't overheat itself. Let me tell you that thing was HUGE." Fleetfoot said, putting her hooves about ten inches apart from each other to give a size estimate. "I think it was the kind they use on dragons usually, they didn't have any normal ones on hand but don't worry you took it like a champ!" She said gleefully with a false smile of innocence.

Even if my pride was wounded at least I know why my ass hurt now...if she told anyone else I might just have to strangle her...

"Why didn't he use an oral thermometer!?"

"Because the rope was stuck in your mouth and I thought it would be hilarious so I asked him to." she said, batting her eyelashes at me and putting on another innocent smile.

"You're not right in the head."

"That's common knowledge." she replied casually.

"Where's all of the sheets? And your mattress?" I said after i noticed the bed felt a little different. Fleetfoot stepped to the side to reveal a surprisingly impressive pillow fort, though it looked like she had taken pieces from half a dozen beds to build it.

"Where did you get all that?"

"I kinda sorta maybe raided the supply room...come on it'll be fun, it's plenty big for both of us and it's stable so you won't wake up with a sheet in your face in the morning."

"Alright sure, you already stole the sheets anyway." I surrendered. That and I secretly really wanted to sleep in a pillow fort. As soon as I stood up pain shot through me and I fell to the floor, landing on my back. Fleetfoot whom has already disappeared into the fort quietly reached out to me and pulled me in, like a beast dragging its helpless prey home. Once inside I realized that Fleetfoot did actually plan this out, there was plenty of room for me to stretch my legs and lay down and the floor itself was like a giant pillow with how soft it was. There was enough room for Fleetfoot to stand on all fours as well.

"I know it's still in the afternoon but you're going to want to sleep the rest of the day, if you start moving around a lot that pain is going to catch up to you, besides it gives me an excuse to sleep some more too." she said with a chuckle as she crept into an especially comfortable corner of the fort. It already seemed like night but that was probably just because she did a good job of keeping the light out of the fort.

"You did a great job with this fort, Fleetfoot. And we can still go to Canterlot tomorrow like you said?"

"I did say we would, whenever you get up we'll catch a balloon ride from here to Canterlot, look around a ways and stuff before heading to Vinyl's club that night. I'm pretty sure your class today and tomorrow will be cancelled considering how Spitfire will be feeling."

"Alright, great. Well I'm not one to turn down some extra sleep. Just don't let me sleep in too late." I told her as I stretched out, careful not to do anything that could risk bringing pain again. I think it just happened when I tried to move too fast. I looked at my back and noticed that my wings weren't as pronounced anymore, they were slowly shrinking into nothing. Now they were only half their original size. At least I did get to try them out earlier, maybe I could see about getting that spell cast again some time. Soon I felt my mind began to blur and slip into slumber while the wings started shrinking faster now.

"Sleep well, James. You did great today." she whispered encouragingly as my mind began to shut off. As painful and brief the day had actually been I still enjoyed it overall. The wings Fleetfoot was kind enough to help me get had easily been the best part of the day and I was happy that my injuries were gone, though the pain was trying to tell me otherwise. My thoughts drifted to how generous Fleetfoot had been and how helpful she was as reality faded into dreams and I fell asleep inside her giant pillow fort.

Author's Note

I'm back bitches! Hope you enjoyed, it took so much longer because of all the editing that went into the first chapter, I added enough that it could have been a second chapter. As I always I enjoy to hear your thoughts on the story. Get ready for updates on a few things soon. I am especially excited about where I'm taking Sombra's Redemption...just wait...it'll be worth it I promise. Oh yeah I know I said it wouldn't be too long but...I kinda accidentally lied. I looked at the word count when I was nearing the end and I'm just like "...whoops." Knowing me I probably made a mistake or two (or fifty) but I'll keep an eye out myself and try to fix as much as I can while I continue working on this and my other stories.

Alone Together

I felt a soft gust of air blow over my face as my senses began to come alive. I noticed the breeze came at regular intervals as well. My mind was still just barely working at the moment but it occurred to me that I had slept inside so a breeze wouldn't make any sense unless a window was left open. I cracked one eye open lazily to determine the source of the wind. Just inches in front of me I saw Fleetfoot laying right on top of my chest, still asleep and blowing air over my face as I looked at her, her mouth was open just a little and she was laying on me haphazardly, it looked like she rolled on top of me in her sleep and didn't notice. As I tried to free my arm from under her a drop of saliva landed on my cheek.

Eh...now that's charming...come on, time for you to get up...

I did my best to move Fleetfoot without waking her up but it seemed impossible. She was heavier than she looked. I'd be able to move her but not without waking her up so I did the only thing I could, I laid on the floor and accepted my fate. When I noticed another drop about to fall on me I did my best to tilt my head away but I couldn't make it out in time, this time it landed right between my eyes.

"Aw come on..." I whispered to myself as I tried to escape, but as I squirmed she only grasped on tighter to me, like I was a runaway pillow. Soon another drop fell on me. "Come on, Fleet. Let me up..." I was going to have to wake her up after all. I didn't want to sit like this for who knows how long until she woke up.

She closed her mouth and blinked her eyes lazily as she grumbled and took in another breath. Then her eyes shot open when she noticed the close proximity between us.

Our gazes locked onto each other and held for several long moments, neither of us quite sure what to do. It felt like I was staring through the depths of deep blue gemstone and into her soul, and she was doing the same with me. I couldn't think clearly while I looked at her, all I could think about was how calming and beautiful her eyes were. Eventually she whispered something but maintained the short distance between us.

"Good morning, James..."

"Morning, Fleetfoot. Um...this is unusual."

"Oh...right. Do you want me to move?"

"...no. This is actually...really nice." I whispered back to her. I saw a warm smile form on her lips as she laid her head down in the crook of my neck and held it there. We laid there for a time before drifting back off to a blissful sleep.

A few hours later my internal clock told me that dawn was on its way, crawling through the atmosphere to take the mantle that the night had held.

Once I opened my eyes I was pleased to see Fleetfoot still there, only just waking up herself.

She looks so peaceful when she's asleep...if only this moment could last longer.

Moments later she woke up with a lazy smile and an adorable case of bed-head. "Hey James..." she said with a yawn.

"Hey." I whispered back.

"Hmm...I don't wanna get up."

"We have to at some point." I said as I reached an arm up and prepared to take the top off the pillow fort.

"I swear I will get North Star to turn you into a frog if you don't keep your cuddly ass down here right now." she giggled as she pulled me back down.

"Well this is fun..."

"Yes it is. Ah damn it. I didn't realize how thirsty I am."

"Get some water then, you're the one on top."

"Meh...it's such a hard choice."

"You can get some water and we can get back to just being like this if you want."

"Sounds good to me." she whispered back to me with a grin. Then we heard a small cough of surprise from just outside of out pillow fort. She exchanged an "oh shit" look before she threw off the top of the pillow fort and saw Spitfire and Soarin looking back, Soarin seemed amused and was starting to snicker while Spitfire looked like she'd just seen a ghost. It didn't help that Fleetfoot was still on top of me.

"Um...you kids behaving?" Soarin creaked out.

We all shared a long awkward silence before Fleetfoot spoke up. "I swear I didn't screw the alien."

Unfortunately my mouth started working before my brain did and opened at the wrong time. "Aww, did you not like last night babe?" I was swiftly rewarded with a punch in the side of the face, Fleetfoot maintained eye contact with the other two as she did so. After she hit me she kept a hoof there over my mouth to keep me silent while she started blushing a crimson hue on her cheeks.

"How long have you two been standing there?"

"About five minutes." Spitfire said with an awkward expression.

"Were we interrupting something?" Soarin asked.

"We were just sleeping together." She said before realizing that only dug the hole deeper. "I mean we were doing anything we were just kinda...laying next to each other. It was um...he was cold."

Soarin silently left the room for a moment as Spitfire spoke. "We came to tell you that the doctors found something unusual with Jame's blood and they ask that you two come by within the next couple days. That's it."

Being on her own, she shuffled awkwardly and avoided eye contact until Soarin returned.

"We'll leave you two be to...yeah..." Spitfire croaked before departing down the hall. Soarin silently put a condom on the floor and pushed it our way slowly.

"Here ya go..." he chimed before following Spitfire away from the room, closing the door behind him so we could be alone with the awkwardness that lingered in the air.

I picked up the condom and held it, in front of me. "Extra-large. Not sure what material. Flame-retardant?" I turned it around "Dragon-ex?" Fleetfoot took this time to cover her face with her hooves and bury herself into a pillow.

"Oh my god they think we're sleeping together..."

"Technically..."

"Shut up."

"What if they think I'm easy or like a slut or something? They're not ones to gossip but still word could get around. Fleetfoot, two days is all it takes." She groaned and buried herself deeper and began to make sniffling noises.

"Hey, it's not like that, and we didn't do anything. No one's going to think you're a slut. You're a great gir-I mean mare and anyone that thinks otherwise is an idiot." I proclaimed confidently. She sniffled again and retrieved herself from one of the pillows that belonged to our now crumbling pillow fort.

"Y-you think so?" She choked out, a lone tear broke through and slowly roll down her cheek as if uncertain whether it should fall. I gently placed a hand on her cheek and wiped the tear away.

"Yes. And I mean it, come on. They're your friends, we can just tell them it was a misunderstanding, and it's your life, no matter what you do, do what you think is right and don't worry about what others think." I gave her a reassuring smile and pulled her into a hug.

"You're really sweet you know...thank you so much."

"Sure thing. After all you've helped me so much. When I got here, I was scared, hell I still am." I exhaled and stared into her sapphire blue eyes. "But you have helped guide me and gave me the greatest gifts I could ask for." She returned the look I gave her and waited with bated breath. "You gave me, a person you had never met before, your trust, your kindness, and your friendship and I appreciate it deeply and I will do anything, anything in the hopes that I can someday repay you."

She smiled genuinely and I watched a few more tears run from her eyes as she squeezed me tightly, holding on for several long moments. She sniffled slightly and spoke in a soft, almost loving tone. "I think I know how you can repay me..." She held her hooves at my shoulder but backed away so she could face me. "If you want to repay me...ask me..." She shut her lips and seemed to hold her breath as she looked away for a moment then back to me.

"Ask me..."

"Yes?" I said as she avoided my eyes again.

"I want you..." She bit her lip and closed her eyes tightly before continuing. "I want you to ask me on a date..." She said quickly and in a nervous tone. She looked at me nervously.

"I'm sorry I'm all emotional for no reason, you don't have to say any-"

"Yes." I cut her off as she looked back at me, uncertainty painted across her face.

"Huh?" she uttered in a baffled tone.

"Fleetfoot, would you do me the honor of going on a date with me?" For a moment the very air between us stood still.

"I'd love to!" She shouted with glee and squeezed me until I swore my eyes were about to pop out.

We both smiled and she even giggled a bit.

"Fantastic! Just gotta figure out where the date would be then." I stood up straighter and made sure the robe was covering me adequately.

"There's probably a good place in Canterlot. We can go whenever you're ready." I noticed Fleetfoot was practically beaming at this point and though I only now realized it there was a joyful smile on my face as well.

"Great, let me just grab a water bottle real quick...they're in this one right?" I asked as I reached into Fleetfoot's nightstand. I fumbled around briefly before finding an unusual pink object and a couple batteries.

"Hey, what's this thing?" Ordinarily I would have thought that would be stupid to ask but be as early as it was my brain wasn't quite working yet.

"What's wha- NOTHING! Put it back! It's um..it's a special order toothbrush!" She shouted as her cheeks burned red.

"Are you sure? Wait it looks kinda like a vibrator..." I said suspiciously. Within seconds I was tackled and her vibrator went straight up into the air. My mouth gaped in surprise as I fell to the ground in perhaps the worst timing I have ever seen. A second later I accidentally caught it in my mouth. Fleetfoot offered a mixed expression of horror and simple surprise.

We both sat still as I awkwardly pulled it out of my mouth. Once it was out Fleetfoot snatched it and popped it back into her nightstand in the blink of an eye. She looked at me awkwardly before finding a pillow to cover her face with.

"What. The fuck." She withdrew her head from the pillow only to smack herself in the face with it again before throwing it against the wall.

"Well that was..."

"Shh. That never happened. You did not have my vibrator in your mouth. End of story."

Without another word we grabbed a few things and left to find a balloon to take to Canterlot. After a few minutes we found one and the attendant charged only a modest fee for us to take it to Canterlot. It was a deep shade of crimson and surprisingly had enough room for a few to lay on the floor of the basket comfortably.

Soon we were off in the sky with only the occasional howl of the wind to break the silence. I spent about ten minutes simply admiring how the balloon looked since I had never ridden in one before. It would be about another half an hour before we would arrive so I thought now would be a good time to start back up the conversation.

"It didn't taste bad at least..."

Fleetfoot's responded by banging her head on the rim of the basket and sighing. "No, Fleetfoot. Murder isn't alright." She said to herself.

"Sorry...well this morning still turned out nice don't you think?"

"Yeah...actually it really did." She turned back to me and smiled.

We began to talk about our thoughts about the past couple days and even share a bit about what our home worlds were like. She seemed to be in awe about some of the feats in technology that humanity had made and what some people could do even if as it turns out, pony technology rivaled humanity's in many ways. That was when I told her about human history. She wasn't as disturbed as I'd picture she would at least but she certainly didn't approve of much of it. I filled her in on the basics of our history and she told me as much of her world's history as she could.

As it turns out Equestria is just the country while Equis is the name of the planet itself and with minotaurs and gryphons being apex predators in nature they ended up having more wars and a historical trend comparable to that of humanity.. Ponies meanwhile appeared to have a relatively bright and fascinating history to explore.

Eventually the discussion turned to more personal matters...

"So...who was your first marefriend? Or would it be girlfriend?" Fleetfoot asked.

"Oh well...first real one was named Sierra. I mean she was nice and all but it didn't last long, we got along and had plenty in common it's just, there were no sparks or anything. It was a little weird for both of us so we eventually went back to being friends." I explained with a shrug as I looked out at the landscape below. If I looked carefully I could see a majestic city resting on the side of a mountain which I could only assume would be Canterlot. "What about you? Who was your first relationship?"

"Well...first relationship I had was actually a gryphon named Valerie, though she was fine with just Val."

"So you used to be into girls?"

"Well I'm with you now so...guess I still might be." Fleetfoot flashed a cheeky grin.

"Aww...am I pretty at least?" I asked in a girly tone. Fleetfoot burst out laughing.

"Yes you're beautiful, darling." She responded jokingly.

"Why thank y-" I began as I glanced over the side of the basket, seeing a blue scaled dragon flying just underneath us. "Holy shit! Fleetfoot look! There's a freaking dragon right under us!"

Fleetfoot gave me an interested look and looked over the side with me. "Hey I think I know her! That must be Nova! I met her through Vinyl and Anders not too long ago." Fleetfoot cupped her hooves around her mouth and tried to shout towards the dragon. I really, really hoped she was friendly...

"Yo! Nova! That you!?" She called out. The dragon maintained her slow flight but turned her head to look at us.

"Oh, Fleetfoot. How nice to see you. Who...another human?" She responded in a calm, but easily heard voice. When she noticed me she fixed her eyes on me with curiosity

"...another human?"

Author's Note

Hope you guys enjoyed! Working on my other stories but also looking to do another one-shot, what genre do you guys propose? I been really craving to write a horror/ghost/scary story lately myself. I know this one was short but I know that also means the next one will come sooner. Also I'll do up to three one-shot stories over the next few days. Comment on what kind you'd like to see, as well as what characters and I'll see what I can work out. Btw with clop chapters would you guys just want me to mark with a "*" next to the chapter title or want me to just post them on their own little story with a link to them?

New Fires & Old Heartbeats

"You mean there's another human around!?"

"It would appear so, little one. A young one like yourself named Anders appeared a few weeks ago. Oddly enough he was a pony for some reason but I returned him to his true form. He is still residing with Vinyl Scratch and that one with the cello...Octavia, that's it. They're all in Canterlot." Nova explained.

"We were just on the way to Canterlot actually!" Fleetfoot said out loud.

"Ah, it would certainly be good for you all to meet him..." The blue dragon's voice trailed off as though an idea had suddenly come to mind. "Hm...Fleetfoot, would you mind if I invited your mate as well as Anders to my home tonight? I have something to teach him that could benefit all of us."

For a moment Fleetfoot's eyes seemed to pop out and she coughed into her hoof loudly.

"Oh! Um...we're not mates! We just met and-"

"Don't fret, my dear. It's natural and I don't judge you. He seems nice." Nova said with a warm smile. By now Fleetfoot was about as red as a tomato and I was all but shocked into the silence, also because of the fact that I was talking to a dragon was finally kicking in and I had to resist the urge to hide.

"No no no no no... we haven't "mated" or done it or anything!"

"Oh. Well are you courting him? I have a friend that might like to meet him. A dragoness about his age." She looked between us as if she was trying to detect any chemistry between us.

"I...yeah...I suppose. We haven't actually gone any dates or anything yet..."

"It wouldn't hurt to meet her, who is she anyway?

"Telara. She lives around Ponyville near Valerian, if you just find him he could put you two in contact."

"Oh, neat." Out of the corner of my eye I would have sworn I saw Fleetfoot's eye twitch for a second.

"Anyhow. I digress. I would very much like for you to come, just you and Anders however. Fleetfoot I'm sorry but with what I'll be showing him anyone not participating but nearby could get hurt."

"Oh...it's alright, it's not like I own him. I'll just hang out with Vinyl." She said with a hint of discomfort.

"Wonderful. Just talk to Anders. He should be with Vinyl. Leave with him tonight and he'll take you. He knows the way fairly well."

"Cool. What will we be doing?"

"That's a surprise." She smiled. "But you'll like it, trust me. Anyway I should go. I need to prepare a few things for tonight. Farewell to both of you." The dragon nodded and with a strong beat of her wings took off well ahead of us towards the mountain in the distance.

After she was gone I could tell Fleetfoot seemed as though she had something on her mind.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Just fine." She huffed without even looking at me.

"You sure?"

"Yeah...just...it's nothing."

Was it something I said? Did I do something?

"So what do you think about dragons?" I asked as Nova finally began to disappear from view.

"They're alright. Some can be rather frightening though." She said with a wave of her hoof.

"I think they're just so cool. Flying and breathing fire and stuff? I mean that must be awesome."

"Yeah, sure. Pegasi can fly too, with the right spell from a unicorn they could breathe fire for a while too. And fur is softer than scales." She responded with her head pointed to the ground while she lead against the side of the basket.

"Yeah but scales are cool too, they're all shiny and it looks bad-ass."

"Maybe you should go out with one if they're so great." She let out a long breath and continued looking at the ground. Then something clicked in my head.

Dumbass! She's probably jealous about how you're going on about how cool you think dragons are and you're missing every hint! That must be the answer, still...she's jealous? No one's ever acted like that with me...no one else I dated really cared enough to get jealous whenever I talked to another female friend of mine or something like that. Wow...

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that! Please understand that-I come on, you know you're the only one that...I..." I sputtered nervously.

She just looked back at me with barely open eyes and sighed before looking away again.

"You know you're the only one that I care about like that! Please...I've never met anyone like you and I-"

In the span of a second Fleetfoot was holding me with her hooves around my neck.

"You talk too much." She whispered softly and held her head on my shoulder. We remained like that for a long moment until she backed away with a gentle smile.

"You're a little smelly and you look a bit like a monkey." She said simply but continued before I can respond.

"You have no common sense and you're a dork. A love-able dork. You're also my love-able dork and don't you forget that. You're stuck with me, mister." She tapped her hoof on my shoulder.

"Heh. Thanks, I think...you really think I smell?"

"A little, but in a good way, I actually kinda like it. Smells kinda like a fuzzy bunny."

I gave her a mock look of betrayal.

"I'm kidding. You smell...I don't know, strong but not in an over-bearing way, like a "you'll be safe with me" smell...if that makes any sense at all. I can't really explain it."

"Oh, um alright."

"I wonder if Soarin and Spitfire told anyone about...you know."

"Don't worry about it. And I don't think Spitfire would do that after I helped her, she really seemed to appreciate it."

"Yeah, you're right. Anyway I got dirt on them if they do." She flashed an evil grin.

"Oh ho ho. Fleetfoot plays dirty?"

"Well...I did hear some noises from her room one night...and a sound that reminded me a lot of the kind Soarin makes when he's working out..." She wagged her eyebrows.

I blushed and did my best to not burst out laughing. "Oh shit! When was this?"

Probably about a month ago. I could be wrong though, not sure. But it was a while before they stopped.

"How long were you listening in anyway?"

Now it was Fleetfoot's turn to blush. "I uh...not long...really..."

"Fleet..."

"About an hour..."

"Damn."

"I know...I'm a bad girl...I should be punished..." She said with a sultry gaze.

"You're not right in the head."

Fleetfoot dropped the act and started laughing, after a couple seconds she accidentally snorted and then tried to cover her face with a gasp.

"Pffffft. I'm the dork?"

"Shaht ap!" Her muffled voice came from behind her hooves.

"Bad girl to dork in .2 seconds..."

"Silence!"

"Suck it." I stuck my tongue out in an immature gesture that usually only children made.

"Bitch, you suck it!"

"Haha, wow. Mature."

"You're just mad cuz mine's bigger."

"Classy. Hey, look!" I said, catching a glance of the area behind me. "We're just about there." Canterlot appeared to only be moments away. The only surprising thing was that I didn't notice it sooner.

Fleetfoot and I took the time to enjoy an up-close aerial view of the city until we landed at an area filled with other hot air balloons. We departed without a second glance and continued into the streets.

"Wow. This is...wow...big." I said quietly as I gazed up at the impressive towers and buildings.

"Yep. The beating heart of Equestria. Welcome to Canterlot. Home to countless artists, musicians and artists, along with species and groups of every stripe. Also home to some of the best strip clubs in the world." Fleetfoot said with a flourish of her hoof. I simply ignored the last part with a shake of my head and kept walking with her though the streets. We passed a variety of species as Fleetfoot led the way to Vinyl's club.

A minotaur, a handful of changelings, several gryphons, a zebra, a couple bipedal dragons and more walked right by in addition to more races I didn't even know about as well as the local ponies.

"This is just...beautiful in a way..."

"What do you mean?"

"All these different races, walking the same streets together, individual yet they all get along, there's unity and peace. It's just as amazing as the place they walk."

"What, have you never seen that kind of thing?"

"No...not really. Humanity is completely alone and even then it wasn't until in recent years that we really stopped discriminating against others because of beliefs or skin color. Wars and riots have happened over just that kind of thing.

"That's...really tragic actually."

"Yeah. It's like a utopia here."

"Eh...not quite but I do have to say...now that I think about it our world is pretty amazing." A moment of strange quiet passed until she spoke again, her hoof pointed up the winding road in front of us. "We're almost there, should just be a couple blocks now."

The conversation naturally died out until we reached the place. All along the way I watched in awe at the number of different peoples living together in harmony and signs of the impossible all around. A dragon flew acrobatically up in the sky. A unicorn danced nimbly as shards of glass whirled around her in unison, carefully controlled by her magic. Everywhere I looked was a prime example of how fact was truly stranger than fiction.

It was only when Fleetfoot knocked on the door of what I could assume was the club we sought that snapped me out of my trance.

A long moment passed before the door swung open. It wasn't vinyl that answered it, but rather a human about my height, with dark hair and a pair of bright brown eyes, blinking at the sight of my as I similarly looked back in surprise. In the background I could hear hooves hitting the floor until a white unicorn with electric blue hair and purple shades over her eyes.

"Hey, who's he-" She looked at me with her mouth open slightly.

"Um...hey..." Fleetfoot did her best to break the awkward silence between the four of us. This is James...James, meet Vinyl and um...Anders."

"Oh...nice to meet you, James...this is Anders. Anders...this is Fleetfoot and James."

While the two mares spoke, the other human and I remained silent out of an uncertainty of what to say. He almost looked like he saw a ghost. A second later I realized it wasn't just surprise as to the cause of his reaction. I saw a glimmer of recognition.

Wait...it...it can't be...I...how...

It felt like my heart stood still. "A-Anders?" I reached out for his shoulder as if to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

"James?"

"This can't be real...how are you-" I was cut off when he surged forward and hugged me.

"I can't believe the odds! I never thought I'd see you again!"

Powerful memories came to me like a great flood. Anders and I had been like brothers, as well as our friends David and Caroline. I hadn't seen Anders for over two years due to having to move away. We talked as often as we could online, though that was only a handful of times a month until about a month ago he just inexplicably stopped responding to my messages. I thought he just got tired of trying to keep a long-distance friend, which honestly hurt more than I'd care to admit. We were like brothers, we shared everything and the world wasn't as scary with him nearby. True friends for life.

"What's going on?" Fleetfoot and Vinyl asked in a confused unison to Anders and I.

"Are you okay?" Fleetfoot asked me.

I turned to look at both of them and smiled.

"I've never been better."

Author's Note

Okay, am I the only one that when I'm reading a story and the author posts something like a month later you have no idea what the hell is going on at the moment? If that's the case with you guys I could put the author's notes at the top with a quick recap of what's going on/where they are. Would y'all like that? Also, the chapter title, yes or no. I wanted something cool that would also be like bringing The Sound of a Heartbeat together with Playing With Fire. You know like the new fires being the relationships that blossomed into a fire for the couples and the old heartbeats being the old friends being reunited.

As always hope y'all enjoyed! For my loyal readers.

End of The Line

Author's Note

Okay so I'm going with the idea that I'll kind of provide a bit of a recap since I'm tired of reading a story and being like "what the devil is going on?" until half way through. "What's this? Orion delivers updates? Blasphemy! Well I cleared the writer's block and I know what to do. Anyway, the recap.

So far James arrived in Cloudsdale and after a spell giving him wings (temporarily) and an accident he ended up saving Spitfire's life. Afterwards he went with Fleetfoot to finally visit Canterlot and discovered one of his closest friends was actually the first human in Equestria and had been living with Vinyl for a few weeks at this point. Also on the way to Canterlot they met a dragon named "Nova" (Pay attention to that name, you'll keep seeing it.) Anyway she asked for him and Anders to come to her tonight so she can teach them a few things.

Also it shouldn't be hard to figure out Dungeons & Hydras = Dungeons & Dragons. Yes, it's in there. D&H is basically just Equestria's version of D&D. By the way, Thestral is also another name for bat-ponies.

(Also has not been edited so let me know what you guys think and if you spotted any errors.)

End of The Line

Anders and I spent hours catching up while Fleetfoot and Vinyl talked about...whatever mares talk about when the guys aren't around I suppose.

Anders gave me a brief tour and explained how things had been going with him the past few weeks, adding the fact that he and Vinyl have apparently been a couple for a few days now while I told him of my experience the past few days. I told him that as it happened, Fleetfoot and I had started going out only this morning.

We were discussing the likelihood of more people arriving when Vinyl and Fleetfoot approached us with eager grins. Vinyl's horn was glowing and she appeared to be holding something behind her back.

"So..." Vinyl began. "How do you boys feel about role-playing?"

I noticed a bead of sweat quickly form on Ander's brow and he was clearly a little nervous.

"Umm...are you sure? I mean with all four of us it would be a bit much but if you guys want to I suppose..." I glanced at him while Vinyl gave him a puzzled look.

"Huh? I mean you guys interested in playing "Dungeons & Hydras?" Vinyl said, revealing a stack of nerdy books and maps, characters and other miscellaneous items.

I nearly burst out laughing while Anders sighed in relief.

"I mean sure!" He recovered quickly.

"Great, we'll go set it up in the corner real quick." She said, turning around with Fleetfoot and going to the other side of the building.

With them gone I patted Anders on the shoulder and laughed. "Someone's got a dirty mind!"

"Shut up!" He responded. His cheeks were already beet red.

"Oh relax. Hey remember that time you tried to hook up with that girl we played D&D with?"

"James..."

"You tried asking her if she wanted to role-play in the bedroom." I said, barely containing another laugh.

"Also worth noting we later found out you accidentally gave me an alcoholic drink rather than the apple cider I asked for and that was after 3 full cups. And just for that I'm going to tell them the result of the date you went on with Jessica."

My expression instantly turned serious. "You wouldn't dare."

"That so?" He grinned mischievously.

"Hey guys! We're ready! Get over here!" Fleetfoot called over to us from the table they were set up at. We approached while I kept my eyes on Anders, ready to strangle him if he spilled the beans.

"Oh wow. This looks just like when we played Dungeons & Dragons back home! I'll be Cleric!" Anders said excitedly.

"What about you, James?" Fleetfoot said, looking up from the rule-book.

"I'll be Ranger."

"Cool. I'll be DM." Vinyl said.

"And I think I'll go Paladin." Fleetfoot declared.

After Vinyl gave us some background info on the campaign she'd be starting us on the rest of us finished picking races. I chose to be a storm dragon while Anders went Gryphon. Fleetfoot chose a Thestral for her own character.

Vinyl cut to the point fairly quickly and started us off at the entrance of some dungeon filled with goblins. We used some strategies suggested by Fleetfoot, which I'm almost ashamed to admit, trumped even extensive D&D experience. All was well until we came up to the final chamber and the massive hydra within.

Anders fought valiantly but was quickly devoured by the hydra, leaving Fleetfoot and I hopelessly outmatched and without a healer as well. I tried to maintain a distance and fire arrows into it while she kept the beast's attention.

"Fleets! Got anything you can use against it?" I asked nervously while Vinyl demonstrated her eerily well-perfected evil laugh.

"Foolish mortals! I will enjoy the taste of your flesh!" Vinyl said in a voice that one would imagine an evil hydra might have.

Eventually the hydra cornered Fleetfoot's Paladin and I after funneling us in by collapsing specific pillars. I could risk an opportunity attack but Fleetfoot's character was more unlikely to because of the heavy armor slowing her down. I hated to do it but it was my only chance. I made a mad dash past the Hydra's left flank, narrowly missing the opportunity attack while Fleetfoot tried to hunker down behind her shield.

"Gah! You jackass!" She cried out.

"Sorry, best of luck!" As I said that Fleetfoot located a sock she discovered caught in the stack of books and threw it at my head. The impact didn't hurt but the smell could have stunned a charging bull. I looked at Anders as if he had just tried to murder me.

"What? Vinyl's friend offered to make me some socks but until then I've only had those." He said with a shrug. Apparently I wasn't the only one that could detect the stench and I saw Vinyl take the sock in her magic and try to burn it.

"I'm sorry dear but this might kill someone." She said as the small flame quickly consumed the sock before dousing the flame. Anders gave a small pout. I knew that he usually liked to wear socks whenever he was indoors because he said his feet tend to get cold easily.

After the sock of death was safely incinerated we resumed the game in which I was running for my life and Fleetfoot was about to get eaten by the hydra. That was when Vinyl rolled the number that would be the final nail in the coffin. The feared twenty. The critical hit was more than she could take and poor Fleetfoot was soon eaten by the monstrous hydra, leaving me standing on the other side of the chamber. I was next on the menu.

"Come on man, you can do it." Anders encouraged.

"You let me die! I'm gonna laugh when it eats you." She stuck her tongue out in a mock pout.

My character's high speed was the only reason I wasn't a pile of bones yet though not many of my attacks were going to beat the hydra's daunting armor class. Then I asked Vinyl about the condition of the ceiling and began to hatch a plan. She said that it was weak from the already collapsed pillars and the center of the chamber was especially fragile. She cocked an eyebrow at me, rightfully suspecting what I had caught onto.

Vinyl was no longer holding back as she used the hydra every way she could to try and kill me. I made it to one of the three remaining pillars and made a strength check against the unsteady beam. Vinyl rolled some dice and declared the pillar knocked over. She described the rumbling noise the ceiling would make and resumed running the hydra against me. I repeated the process for pillar two and the ceiling further destabilized.

It all came down to the wire as I charged to the final pillar with the angry hydra hot on my heels. I hastily attempted to knock down the pillar as the hydra attacked. My hit points swiftly dropped down to the a single digit but I managed to knock down the pillar. Vinyl described the ceiling collapsing and the entire room more than a few feet from the sides became buried in a small mountain of rubble with hydra underneath.

Vinyl described my character glimpsing a tail flailing in vain before finally going limp. Against all odds, the hydra was dead. Anders congratulated my victory and Vinyl did as well while Fleetfoot quietly let out a huff of disappointment but was smiling again only moments later.

"I was wondering if any of you would catch on!" Vinyl announced as she began wrapping up the game for now. Anders gave her a puzzled look.

"I thought you guys would get the idea when I started knocking over pillars but only James got it and by then the rest of you were hydra chow."

I grinned a little while Anders and Fleetfoot tried to protest that they would have figured it out if they had the same amount of time I did before they got torn apart. After a moment I heard the protests die down and Anders whisper to Vinyl before picking up heading to the front door, picking up a bag set beside it.

"Hey um...sorry to cut this short but there's this...thing I need to go to. I'll be back later tonight." I rose out of my chair before he opened the door, remembering what Nova had asked of me.

"Anders."

"Yeah?"

"We know where you're going, don't worry."

"I...don't know what you mean." He said as he avoided my gaze.

"We saw Nova on the way here. She was interested when she saw me and asked me to accompany you tonight when you went to visit."

"Oh...well then we'd best hurry. It's already getting dark and the way gets dangerous at night. I have the only torch so stick by me...and watch out for slopes and cliffs. It might rain later and it gets slippery." He said in a serious tone.

"See you guys later!" I called to Fleetfoot and Vinyl. Fleetfoot seemed a little concerned by his warning and insisted on a quick hug before we left. I braced myself as she ran up and threw her hooves around my neck.

"Be safe you two." She said, turning her head up to look me in the eyes. It felt like every time her bright and serene eyes met mine my heart stopped. A jeweler's masterpiece couldn't hold a candle to the gems I saw right now. It was unfortunate that it had to be cut short when Fleetfoot reluctantly backed away towards Vinyl so we could leave.

"You too, Fleets. We'll be fine." I smiled.

"Take care Anders!" Vinyl called as we were walking out the door. Anders likewise returned a farewell.

Anders led us through the central part of the city during the day's twilight hours. Eventually the building grew smaller and farther apart until we neared one of the far walls of the city.

"So...you met any of the princesses yet?" He asked with an eager grin as we departed through the gate.

"Nah. I got here Tuesday and there was a letter sent out for me to meet Princess Celestia on Friday but some things happened and I figured maybe we could just visit the castle? Isn't that where she lives?"

"Yeah, well best of luck with that."

"How was your first meeting with her?"

Anders gave a chuckle. "Awkward. As. Hell."

"How so?"

"I'll tell you later. You'll get a good laugh out of it...Vinyl sure did."

"Oh, ok. How much further is it anyway?"

"A while. Hold up one sec." He said as we neared a large bush just outside the edge of the city. He dug into it and pulled out a mace. He passed it to me to hold on to while he lit the torch. We continued under the darkening skies with him bearing a torch up front and I wielding a mace in back. I inspected it and quickly realized it was the real deal.

"Um...Anders...what's the mace for?"

"First time I went this way Timber Wolves tried to kill me."

"Oh...sounds fun." I remarked sarcastically.

"I mean actual wolves made of timber. They're animated by magic or something. Still eat meat for some reason."

"Do you ever wonder if we're really here and not just on one hell of an acid trip or something?"

"...maybe."

We continued talking as we made our way along the convoluted path that led to where Nova lived. The journey was uneventful, the destination however, was not. Eventually we neared the mouth of a large, dark cave.

"NOVA! I'm here with James!" He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted into the cave. A deep groan echoed back from something within and the cold torches that had been resting on the cave walls burst to life. From deeper within I watched a massive blue creature approach. Anders doused his own torch and encouraged me to set down the mace.

"Can't you be late for once? I was almost convinced I had enough time for a nap..." The dragon approached, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She came to a stop only a short distance in front of us and I got a true idea of just how impressive she was. As well as the primal urge to run away screaming like a little bitch. Apparently my mute terror was noticed.

"Oh hello again, James. As always, nice to see you Anders. Can you wake him up? I think I broke him."

"Oh crap. Yo, James, wake up."

"Huh? Oh yeah. Please don't eat me." I said nervously to the she-dragon looking at me.

"Then don't look so delicious." She grinned.

"Relax, she's joking." Anders said with a wave of his hand.

"Buzzkill." She huffed. "Anyway it's time I told you the real reason you're here. Anders. Demonstrate."

He backed a short distance away from me and closed his eyes. He held out his hands and seemed to be focusing intently and just as I wondered why a crimson ball of fire appeared in each hand. I watched in silent awe as he began to artfully maneuver the flames around him, going to far as to make the illusion of having fiery wings.

He opened his eyes to look at me and I was shocked to see that even his eyes appeared as if they had a small flame coming from them. Nova smiled and spoke in a soft but excited voice while Anders further demonstrated his abilities.

"We are going to teach you how to use magic.." She held up a claw in front of me and a larger ball of fire appeared before she snuffed it out by closing her talons.

We had spent the past three hours with Nova giving me a crash course in the use of magic. Only at the very end was I even able to cast anything and when I did I accidentally launched myself into the stone wall. After Nova peeled me off the floor she decided to call it a day so I could soak in what I learned. It wasn't as exciting as I expected initially but by the end I was ecstatic. I had just used magic! ...even if it almost gave me a concussion.

We gave our farewells and before long I was holding the mace with Anders carrying the torch. Only on the way back of course did it begin to rain.

The rain wasn't so bad at first but it only grew heavier and it doused the torch before long, leaving us to trek carefully through the dark. Soon it almost seemed like the ocean was raining down upon us.

"Anders! I'm soaked to the bone over here! Can you use some of that fire magic you did?" I said loudly, the rain was deafening and I could barely hear myself think let alone speak.

"It's a complete downpour and you think I can use fire right now?"

"I don't know! You still know the way through this?"

"Yeah but it'll take longer! Just watch your step!

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry I-WOAH!" I tried to wave him off but as I did I lost my footing. As I began to lose balance Anders was quick to grab my arm and pull me back towards him safely.

"What did I say!?" He shouted.

"Oh...shit man...thank you." Was all I could say in between ragged breaths.

"Yeah...well, just be more careful please." He said almost inaudibly with the heavy noise of rain all around.

We walked together in silence until we began to hear the troubling sound of thunder. It was very loud and sounded far, far too close for comfort. Anders stopped for a moment and my blood ran cold as I heard it rumble like a great beast.

"MOVE! We need to get to the city now!" He shouted. He ran but he kept low to keep his center of gravity close to the ground and to make himself a slightly less likely target. I emulated him and we picked up our pace.

All of a sudden I heard the ground only thirty feet behind us explode as it was struck by a fierce bolt of lightning. The sound was deafening beyond comparison and it served to double our pace. My heart beat like a mad drum and every hair on my neck stood up.

Once more a streak of lightning erupted from the sky, this time it was further up the mountain. I thought little of it until rocks began to tumble down towards us.

"Look out!" He quickly pointed to a rock that was sailing towards me from the ledge overhead. I ducked in time to avoid it but I only narrowly missed the one that sailed right past my chest as I did. We dodged the rocks and debris that came our way until it stopped at last.

At last the lights of the city appeared in the edge of my vision but in my heart something felt wrong, somehow as if it wasn't to be. Then time just seemed to slow down. Anders was a short distance in front of me when I heard something crack the sky. The darkness was ripped asunder as a great arc of electricity struck just a few steps away from me on my right. The ground immediately around it exploded in a mess of disturbed soil and I recoiled away. I slipped and began to fall. Time felt like it came to a screeching halt. I saw everything. I saw the dirt still flying up and the look of pure horror as Anders looked back at the fate I was about to meet.

I watched him spin on his heel in record time but I knew he'd never make it. I was falling down towards the mountain and whatever was hidden under the blanket of darkness. As I fell further I now noticed him prone over the edge reaching out towards me, his mouth looked as if it was moving in slow-motion, screaming my name. I tried to look behind down, but I saw nothing. I tried to say something to him but I'm not sure if he heard me say it.

"I'm so sorry..." Was all I could think to say.

Is this what everyone feels like? The moment they are about to die, does the world slow down just for them to torture them with a fate that has already been sealed?

The last thing I saw was the broken look in Ander's eyes before my world went dark.

The Fall

Anders

I had just watched James fall to his death...I just...I WATCHED. That was all I did! I should have been faster. I should have stayed closer. We should have stayed with Nova until the storm passed.

A feeling of self-loathing and horror swirled relentlessly in my gut, the incident having occurred only a moment ago and yet it feels like I had spent an eternity with my hand stretched out over the edge of the abyss. It was still pitch black and the storm picked up a new wrath and pelted my back with rain drops that fell like tiny blades. The lightning was moving away fortunately enough but it became no less dark.

I knew I had a gut-wrenching decision to make. I could go down and trying to save him...assuming he was still alive and assuming I would make it myself. The other option was to get help from Fleetfoot and the others or try to make it back to Nova, she would no doubt be able to find him.

I slammed my fists into the rock I knelt on in frustration. To my surprise the rock shattered.

Nova had told me that magically ability had a tendency to surge when influenced by strong emotions, similar to how adrenaline made you more resistant to pain and sharpened your senses I supposed.

This was hardly the first time I surprised myself, a few days after I first started training with Nova I accidentally set a tree on fire while we were outside. She was showing me how to hold dozens of leaves at once using levitation. It took an amount of focus that I couldn't muster at the time, so I got frustrated and I barely noticed that I started a fire on one of the branches that singed the upper half of the tree.

As much as I desperately wanted to go straight after him I knew I'd never find him on my own tonight. I turned and began to take off back to Nova's cave, my eyes fixed on the slope that always lay below.

When I reached the cave again I found her quietly reading a book. My expression must have told her everything she knew in a single glance, along with the fact that I was alone.

"What happened!?"

"James...the storm only became more violent and he...he fell. I don't know if he's hurt or even a-"

"Then why are you wasting time!?" She snapped. In a blur she closed the book, snatched a set of robes from a nearby wardrobe and rushed outside. I was right behind her.

"Hold my robes." She said, thrusting them into my arms. "We'll move faster if you climb on." She gestured to her back.

"Hold on around my neck but mind the wings." She said as she tapped a paw impatiently while I climbed on.

The very second I was in place Nova surged out of the cave and spread her great feathery wings and I held on for dear life.

The howling wind and rain assaulted my ears but even more present was Nova's voice. "Where did he fall?"

"Down there! By the broken up road and disturbed earth!" I cupped a hand around my mouth and shouted through the fierce wind to her ear. She turned immediately to where I had directed and hovered. She craned her neck and examined the path where he would have fallen while I looked for signs of broken foliage.

"Shit! We need to hurry!" In a rush Nova dove down to the wooded area where he would have stopped rolling. Rain pelted my cheeks as my hands tightly gripped her scales. My feet lost contact and I began to desperately hope she would slow down soon.

"What's so bad about that spot!? And please slow down!"

"There's no time! I can catch you if you fall but he won't last long!" She called back to me as she hastily set down in a small clearing and rolled me off of her back unceremoniously. She wasted no time in changing to human form though she still sported a pair of blue wings, albeit smaller ones. She conjured a bright light in one hand and took off running.

"Do you want the robes? What lives down here!?" I shouted as I tried to catch up with her. With remarkable control she swiveled around on one foot mid-stride and put both hands on my shoulders.

"Now is not the time for modesty. The robes are in case James is injured or freezing and this is a manticore hunting ground! If he's bleeding badly the smell can attract them and if so he probably will be in no condition to run. Thus, get your ass in gear!"

"Aren't you cold?"

"I'm freezing my ass off! All the more reason to shut up and look for him!" She shouted with a commanding edge in her tone.

I was thankful at least that James was carrying the mace when he fell. At least he wouldn't be helpless. I let my hopes rise a little higher, until a trail of blood became illuminated by Nova's light.

Nova knelt down and touched it with two fingers. She brought it to her face and sniffed.

"That's James's blood alright and...something else. He's being hunted by something but...wow this is strange...I can't even tell what is hunting him. Some of this blood is his but not all of it."

"How can you tell?"

"I'm a dragon. Also, everyone has their own distinct smell, and I can tell if it's the blood of someone I know. You usually smell like blacksmith forge for some reason and he, cool mountain air."

"That's incredible!"

"I have to say it is...unless you know someone that doesn't shower." She raised a swift hand to cut off my response. "No more distractions. This blood is very fresh. He can't be far."

We found more blood a short distance away and it led into a small trail but then all traces of a struggle abruptly stopped. We searched for hours and became increasingly frantic. It was a painful decision, no doubt, but Nova eventually suggested we go to Canterlot and return in the morning with a proper search party...and informing Fleetfoot.

I pushed open the door to Vinyl's home with Nova right behind me, after we stopped looking for James she at last put the robes on but even so she was shivering in the cold rain.

"Hey Anders! Who's that with you?" Vinyl asked in a cheerful tone.

"I'm Nova. I'm the one Anders and James have been training with."

"Hey, Nova. It's nice to see you." Fleetfoot asked, peeking out from behind Vinyl. "Hey...where is James?"

Vinyl was the first to sense something was truly off. "Where is James..." She tried peeking behind us.

"He's...gone." I confessed in a quiet tone

"What?" She asked almost inaudibly.

"We were on the way back when the storm turned violent...he was knocked down the mountain...we found blood but nothing more..." In the blink of an eye Fleetfoot had her hooves in my shoulders and pinned me to the wall. Hard.

"Then what in the hell are you DOING HERE! She shouted in my face.

"Fleetfoot, relax! Get off Anders!" Vinyl wrapped her hooves around Fleetfoot's abdomen and pulled her off even as she continued to glare at me.

"We need to be out there looking for him!"

"We tried that! It's too dark! We need to alert the guard. Try to get a search party organized. That's his best hope of being found." I told her.

"He could be dead by then!"

"Fleetfoot, have faith in him." Nova put a hand on her shoulder. "James is stronger than you know. He will be okay on his own but even so the sooner we get a search party organized the better. No one is at fault. If you really care, come with us to alert the guard."

"Fine...but I...let's hurry." Without wasting another moment we ventured outside and straight to the nearest guard station.

Please let us find him in time...

Author's Note

A bit of a short chapter but not much I could do. I'm already working on the next chapter which I'd like to say will include the twist this story has been needing. Oh and as for the others...buckle up for one hell of a twist in the near future. :rainbowdetermined2:

Oh and please feel free to comment on how crappy my grammar might be. (I can write faster and get the real ideas out that you guys wanna see or I can slow it down some and write more seriously. Kinda like a games's graphics, you'll pretty much get the same content but if it takes longer you'll probably get something that looks nicer.)

Dead or Alive

My body heaved in agony as I struggled to retain consciousness. I felt numb around my waist. I remembered landing on something. I think it went through me. My clothes were soaked in blood and my eyes refused to focus, but my ears picked up voices. There were many voices around me. I think I was being carried at some point, then I blacked out again.

Torches surrounded me. I could see that now. They illuminated the walls of a thatched hut. My head felt light and my veins felt cold. A voice whispered "Fight it. Death will not claim you today."

My shirt was cut down the middle by a sharp talon, exposing my injury further.

"This will hurt. Badly." I could barely make out a pair of clawed hands covering my wounds. A soft red aura swirled around them and made contact with the wound. I screamed in pain. It was as if the ice in my veins suddenly ran hot with fire. A few more claws grasped my limbs and held me down as the pain multiplied.

"Wait! There's something still inside him. We need to pull it out first." I glimpsed a clawed hand descend to my abdomen and reach at something.

I howled in raw agony as something was pulled from me.

"That's...not good. Will he make it?" A voice called from behind me.

"I don't know. His strength is fading. Keep him calm. There is still pieces from the wood that impaled him in his belly. If he moves too much it will only do more harm."

The pain dragged on and spiked until it flooded my brain. I could barely register a soft voice behind me.

"Come on. Just hold on a little longer. You can make it."

"One more!" A final piece of wooden shrapnel was pulled out and this time the pain forced me to black out once more.

"Run, my daughter! Take the man and hide him somewhere. They only want him.I shall stall as long as I can. If they find him they will not be kind."

"Yes, mother." I was suddenly aware that I was being carried somewhere quickly. In the distance I heard angry voices.

"Where is the human?" Similar questions were asked but grew harder to hear as I was carried away.

"Gone now. We glimpsed him running somewhere to the East. Timberwolves will have him by dawn."

"We didn't say it was a he. Spread out and search the area!" Another voice called out.

The sounds of footsteps approached rapidly as my rescuer frantically searched for a place to hide. She dove into a large, thick bush and dragged me inside.

"Please be quiet. These are bad ponies. They wish you harm." She whispered as they approached the area. We sat in silence for what felt like hours until a familiar voice began calling out.

"Valerie? It's safe to come out now! They're gone now!"

"I'm over here!" The voice next to me responded. She dragged me out of the bush with her.

"Good, there you are. Quickly, we have to return him to the camp and get the others to help finish the healing, the longer we delay the less chance he has."

I was picked up again but I felt even weaker now. I probably wouldn't be able to stand if she were to set me down. Eventually we neared a large campsite lit by torches campfires.

"Quickly! Get the healers! He's dying!" Valerie's mother called out upon us approaching the camp.

"He's the creature from the visions!"

"It doesn't matter! If we don't help him we will never know what he has to say!"

"His kind will doom us all!" A voice shouted.

"Doom us? They will be the ones to save us!" Another replied

"Stop bickering! He is dying and needs help! The visions could be true or false but all I see is an individual that will die without intervention!" Valerie's mother answered.

"Bring him to the matriarch!" An older voice responded.

A moment later I was carried into one of the larger tents and laid on a table. Although my vision was blurry I could see a large gryphoness walk closer and stand over me.

"It's the one from the visions!! Where did you find him!?"

Pandora's Box

I woke up inside a burlap tent somewhere. A torch illuminated the area from a nearby pedestal, keeping the darkness outside at bay. I weakly coughed into my fist and sat up until pain forced me back down. A careful glance at my body revealed that although my old clothes were gone I was covered in enough bandages and strange plant material wrapped around me to act as an adequate substitute. I groaned and laid back in bed. A moment later a large, female gryphon peeked into the tent.

"Good. You're awake. You've been out for three days now."

"Where am I?"

"Not far from Canterlot. You owe a great deal to Kazumi and her daughter, Valerie. If not for them you likely would not have survived the night. I am matriarch Tamarra of our group. We came from the Gryphon Kingdoms to trade in Canterlot. It is fortunate we happened by when we did...though perhaps it is more than luck."

"I...How did I even end up here?" I stammered out.

"You tell me. You were discovered bleeding out at the foot of the mountain. If you had been there much longer you and I would not be having this conversation. Do you remember anything at all?" She sat at the foot of the bed and shook my leg. "

"I...there was a storm...there was a blast and the last thing I remember clearly is falling. I think something chased me at one point too. Oh no...the others are probably looking for me!" I cried out and attempted to get out of bed. The matriarch's claw on my shoulder forced me back down with ease.

"Easy. You're not at risk of dying in your condition but you're certainly not well enough to be running around. You'll see them again soon. " She assured me. She sighed and glanced away for a moment while clicking her talons against the bed frame. "And I suppose you at least want to stretch your legs. How about this." She looked back at me. "We'll send someone up ahead to Canterlot to tell your friends that you're alive and well with us. Do you know where we'd be able to find them?"

"No...sorry I don't know the place very well yet, not even any street names." I groaned in frustration.

"Hmm...well ponies tend to post notices at guard stations if anyone is missing or anything like that. We could check at those." Matriarch Tamarra held a talon to her chin and hummed as if she knew she were forgetting something. "Oh! My apologies. I did not ask you your name."

"It's James. Anyway it's foggy but was someone trying to find me before? I barely remember it now but I remember someone carrying me and mumbling something about bad ponies. Did anything like that happen?"

"Ah. Yes. Something close to that...there is something I should explain to you. A few weeks before the first human appeared in Equestria there were a number of individuals claiming to have had visions about a race of bipedal creatures that came through portals. Although the details vary a little most describe vast numbers of them invading with great machines and deadly weapons. It's starting to spread fear. When the first human appeared most ponies looked at them with curiosity and wonder, though a few looked upon them with suspicion and distrust. Although none have taken any action yet I would be careful, they are likely on edge with the appearance of more humans."

What if a portal was really opened to Earth? If things went badly that doesn't sound horribly far off of what could actually happen...

"That's...weird. And I was chased though, right? If it was the ponies with the visions that were chasing me what would they have done if they found me?" I asked nervously.

"Had they gotten to you they would likely take you prisoner I'd imagine. I doubt they'd try anything among us or if you were in the city but it's a different story if you're alone or with just a couple others like you were at first."

"That makes me more than a little nervous honestly...any idea what's causing the visions or if they'll stop?"

"None of us are sure." She answered reluctantly. "I'm sorry to concern you with so much just after you woke up but it was important that you know."

"Oh man...I need some air. Could I at least walk a little?" I pleaded. She nodded. She maneuvered around the bed to help me to my feet. Slowly she let go, holding her claws just under my shoulders in case I stumbled.

"Do you feel any pain or numbness?" She held one talon under my shoulder while tapping gently on places I had been hurt.

"Hmph...nothing severe but my waist is still pretty tender...feels like...well like someone tried to burn a hole through it but it's numb. Stings just a bit. My legs feel weird too." I tried shifting my weight on my left foot, then my right.

"I would be surprised if you didn't feel something like that...here." She plucked several leaves from a small table that stood in front of my bed and put them in my hand. "When the stinging starts to get worse chew on one of the leaves. It'll ease the pain. If it doesn't seem to work return to me right away. It would mean we had missed some of the debris. Do not strain yourself on anything either." At last she let out a long sigh and removed her claws from under my arms once she determined I could stay unaided.

"Anything else?" I wondered aloud.

"No no...it simply took a great deal of effort to get you to a point where you wouldn't be dying or in maddening pain...please try to bear in mind you were impaled. The fact that you can stand right now attests to not only our work but some impressive endurance on your part. Even so, avoid strenuous activity."

"No problem...and thank you. For everything. So...what happens now? My friends are probably in a panic by now." I tapered off into a whisper as Matriarch Tamarra began to inspect my body. "Is something wrong?" I glanced at the spots where the pain still ached the most.

"Hm? Oh nothing. I'm just curious about your anatomy. Perhaps another time when you have recovered you would allow me to thoroughly examine you? It would satisfy some questions of mine and a better understanding of humans would be helpful. Now please don't be upset if I'm wrong but you are a male of your species, correct?"

"Er...yes."

"Ah thank you. I have seen a couple humans but not up close until now so I had to be sure. Anyway a better understanding of human anatomy would be a great boon if I need to lend aid should I find you or another human injured." She gently squeezed part of my lower thigh and carefully poked at the inside of my knee.

"Sure. I owe you people my life." I smiled.

The elder gryphon raised an open claw. "Think nothing of it. All I ask in return in the favor to look at you closer in the future so I will become better at what I do. Now I do believe young Valerie wanted to see you when you were conscious. She seemed quite taken with you if I may be honest." She smiled. "I'll let her know you're up and I'll find someone to deliver a message to the city watch in Canterlot telling them you are safe and recovering with us."

"Thank you, Matriarch." She nodded modestly and exited the tent. Left alone to myself I took the time to look at my current state.

From my the bottom of my feet to just shy of my knee there was nothing but bandage wraps, almost like a gauze sock. from the middle of my chest down to my lower thighs was mostly some plant material that I could only assume had medicinal properties. I very gently laid a hand over where I had been impaled. I was thankful that it was covered, as if otherwise I would be able to see all the guts and organs I was never meant to. The image sent a shiver down my spine. At least it didn't feel like anything was missing down there. It certainly hurt but other than a noticeably weak feeling in my abdomen and a voracious appetite I had suddenly become aware of I felt alright.

"Oh...hello. Is now a bad time?" Valerie timidly poked her head inside the tent. Her beaked face bore all the colors of an autumnal sunset, only enhanced by the morning rays flittering through the forest canopy outside

"No, not at all. It's nice to talk to someone. I never got a chance to thank you for what you and your mother did." She smiled awkwardly and closed a claw around her other arm before walking inside. At last I was able to get a good look at all of her. The colors on her face blended harmoniously with the rest of her body, though I noticed a few streaks of a deep blue on her wings and feathers and although it matched her natural coat surprisingly well it was hard to doubt that she had simply dyed them or something. Her body itself seemed relatively lithe although not lacking in strength, almost cat-like.

"So...h-how are you feeling?" She nervously made eye contact before glancing away quickly, hiding away those shy golden colored eyes.

"Considering the shape I was in? Far better. I am quite hungry though." I shrugged.

"Oh!" She perked up. "I-I know this perfect recipe for fish that my mother taught me! There's a stream nearby! We could catch some fish for us to eat!" She seemed to pause for a moment before a nervous look manifested in her eyes. "You...is fish okay? I mean ponies usually just eat plants and fruits and stuff so I didn't know what humans-" She began to stammer.

"It's alright." I chuckled while raising a hand. "Yes I like fish. So where's this spot at?"

"It's not far! Come on. I'll be sure to tell Matriarch Tamarra where we're at so she won't worry." I struggled to follow just as she turned to leave. I put one foot forward steadily enough, but I collapse on the left after letting go of the bed. In a flash Valerie practically warped over to catch me.

"I'm so so sorry! I should've realized you'd still be hurt! So stupid of me! I'm sorry is there anything I can get to help or should I just go bring some back or-" She rambled on quickly as she wedged herself under my left arm.

"Valerie! It's okay. Relax. I'm just...a little weak right now is all. But I could use a little support." I soothed her nerves with quiet voice. "You're very fast." I remarked.

"Thank you...and you're very...soft. It's so strange." She mentioned as she brushed against my skin.

"Um, thanks. Your feathers feel very soft as well." I returned.

"Thank you again..." She blushed and glanced away.

"Anyway...let's go to this fishing spot of yours, you've got fishing rods right?" I asked as we began walking, trying to find a comfortable pace for both of us.

"Um..not quite. I've got this trick though, I'll show you when we get there. It never fails!" She smiled.

"Alright. I believe ya. Let's go."

Valerie shouted out to Matriarch Tamarra as we left about our plans and we casually made our way over to the stream, asking questions about each other or sharing stories as we went. The trip was quite relaxing and rather quiet as it was just the two of us most of the way.

"So Valerie..." I began.

"Yeah?"

"I don't mean to be rude or anything but...why do you seem so nervous? You don't even usually make eye contact when you speak to me."

"Oh...I didn't mean to offend you or anything. It's just...I grew up the youngest among several other siblings. Three brothers and two sisters. They were never mean to me but I never tried to irritate them and in gryphon society it can be taken as a challenge if you hold eye contact with another gryphon. I wasn't sure how you might react so..."

"It's alright. I don't mind at all." I reassured her.

She looked me straight in the eyes with her golden eyes as we stopped for a moment. Alone in the forest we just looked at each other for a moment. I struggled to find words to break the moment.

"You uh...ahem." I mouthed awkwardly but neither of us could quite look away.

"You have beautiful eyes too." She said barely above a whisper. I blinked and quickly backed away.

"Y-you! Did you just read my mind!?" I tried to back away but collapsed and fell onto the leaf coated dirt.

"I'm sorry!! I'm so sorry I didn't mean to! It was an accident!" In a moment she was standing over me trying to pick me up.

"So you can...that was...strange. How..." I felt baffled beyond words.

"It's...a gift of mine. I discovered I could read minds a few years ago when I started learning to use magic. Unicorns aren't the only ones that can use magic, it just comes a little easier to them. But yes...I read your mind. Please...please do not tell anyone." She pleaded as she helped me to my feet, still looking me in the eyes.

"Are you reading my mind right now?" I asked calmly as she resumed her place under my arm. There was a long pause.

"Yes. I can't help it sometimes and I didn't mean to. It's like eavesdropping on a conversation. Your thoughts...to me it's like you're speaking aloud and I always do my best to ignore the thoughts I hear from others, but just like when people speak aloud sometimes I can't help but listen a bit." She said guiltily. "I can also tell that you're not afraid like the others that have found out." She added with a tone of curiosity.

We resumed our walk towards the fishing spot as we talked.

"No. I won't lie it's strange, and feels a little invasive...but also kind of intimate in a weird way." I admitted.

"You're one of the few to feel that way. Most of those that do know try to keep their distance from me...it's also why I'll never find a mate. It freaks everyone out and they all just stay away from me!" She cried out despondently. She wrapped her wing around my body in a sort of hug. "Nobody knows what it's like! I can't turn it off! The best I can do is distract myself!" I gently brushed the back of her neck as she sobbed.

"It's okay, I won't mind if you do. I've got a weird mind though I must admit." I offered a smile.

"Y-you mean that, don't you?" She sniffed.

"Certainly. Now come on. I wasn't lying when I said I was hungry." I heard a shaky exhale from Valerie but I glanced a faint smile on her face as we continued walking. My thoughts dancing between the curious gryphon beside me and the smell of freshly cooked fish.

Fleetfoot

I strained to keep my weary eyes opened. My wings twitched from my shot nerves and lack of sleep as dawn wove its way through the windows of the Canterlot guard station. A short distance away Anders and Vinyl shared concerned whispers. Nova was bolting down another mug of coffee in the corner with two fingers pressed to her temples, seemingly in deep thought. In front of my were open guard reports of their search earlier in the morning. Although by all reason they had done a good job and searched a considerable area they hadn't found James, which in my mind could be seen as equally good or bad. I let out a deep groan. I wanted to vomit between the lack of sleep and the sheer amount of stress. It amazed me how close James had come to death already and I desperately hoped to whatever lords of fate that be for him to just live out the next few decades without back to back near-death experiences.

"Fear not, young one." Nova spoke in between consuming alarming amounts of caffeine. "Although I haven't had the chance to teach him much yet the first thing I taught James was a basic repulsion spell. Not powerful but enough to convince any predators he isn't worth the effort. The greatest danger he's in is from you strangling him after we find him." She smiled. "He seems like a survivor." She tried reassuring me. Although what she said made sense it ultimately did little to ease my nerves.

A moment later a guard opened the station door with a message of some kind in his hoof. "I have a message delivered from a gryphon caravan approaching Canterlot." The stallion declared as he approached to the captain of the watch station. I lost interest as the older pegasus casually peeled open the envelope and began to read the contents. After a few long moments he smacked a hoof on the table and spoke. "Listen up! It's regarding the missing persons case from last night!" In a heartbeat all eyes in the station were on him.

"The gryphon caravan claims that the human by the name of James Winter is in their safe possession! He was badly wounded but it seems they managed to stabilize him! The gryphons invite any close friends or associates of his to come visit him at their earliest convenience." He carried on in a lower tone. "It also says that while he is safe with them they believe he should remain under their care for the near future while he recovers." The old pegasus couldn't help but show a weary smiled at the four of us that had been listening with bated breath.

"Well what are we waiting for?" He chuckled. "It includes their location and I can't imagine any of you would be too eager to wait any longer."

I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding and almost collapsed with relief.

He's alive

Author's Note

Hey guys, hope you enjoyed the update! Sorry the updates are so far delayed. I never gave up on them but between being so busy, writer's block and me trying to find proof-readers (whom I'd appreciate more if they didn't vanish for months and months on end just after promising their help). So I decided that it would be much better to risk the chapter not being as good as I'd like initially then going back and fixing mistakes. After all, better late than never and I write to give y'all some interesting stories! So I really mean it when I say please comment or message me about errors or even suggestions for the story. (anything from a name you'd like to see in it for a side character or an idea for a place the characters might visit)

Anyway really hope y'all will like Valerie!

Reunions

James

"Yes! Oh come on baby! Come to daddy! Ooooh perfect!" I cheered with my rod in hand.

The smiling gryphoness beside me burst into uproarious laughter when the line snapped and my fishing pole came back to slap me in the face, wounding little more than my pride. She laughed so hard a tear or two streaked down her her crimson cheeks. "I think you scared it off with your...what was that? Were you trying to seduce it?" She cried out between bouts of laughter.

"Ah! Help me get it! He was huge!" I desperately tried to track the large fish's movements. I couldn't identify fish to save my life but all I could tell was that it looked like it would taste amazing. In a burst of speed I somehow managed to catch the monster in both arms as if thrashed about, smacking me in the face with its tail.

"Gah! Valerie! A little help?" I cried out before trying to bite onto the tail to hold it still. Despite my best efforts it must have been an entertaining spectacle to behold.

"Whew that was hilarious! Yeah I'm coming. Just don't squeeze it too tightly!" Valerie hopped off her rock and bounded across some large rocks in the stream to reach me. As soon as she did she carefully sank her talons into both sides of the fish, careful to not slip and cut my arms even as the fish's movements slowed to almost nothing.

"Wow. That is a big fish." She said simply, holding the fish up as I released my grip. Standing on her hind-legs the fish measured roughly half as long as she was tall. For just the two of us it would practically be a feast. She grinned widely at me and the fish. "Breakfast."

As soon as she said it I almost collapsed. I was barely able to stand unsupported as it was and catching that fish had taken a lot out of me. Keeping one claw in the fish, Valerie caught me in the other one. "I got you. Now come on, you'll sit out and I'll take care of the fish." I could only nod as she held me close. With a hop and a few strong flaps of her wings we were over to the other side of the bank where we had been taking turns fishing from.

Valerie laid me down gently beside a large rounded stone and dropped the fish in my lap a moment later.

"So...how are we gonna cook this thing?" A glance at the pensive look on her face told me that she was likely about to ask me the same question."

"I don't suppose you're skilled enough to cook it with magic?" She pointed a single talon at me with her palm up.

"You're in my head. Best I could probably do is push it away and even then simply throwing it would do more." I shrugged. Even if I could control fire I would probably burn the fish to a crisp, although the idea of building a cooking spit was gaining traction in my mind.

"Hm. Your idea with the cooking spit doesn't seem half bad." I felt surprised for a moment before remembering the gryphoness's unique talents. It would definitely take some getting used to but it would no doubt speed up how fast we'd be able to come up with ideas.

"And that also means you can't conjure it up either...eugh...I'll go gather the stuff for it." She blew a puff of air before walking off searching in the immediate area. I sat patiently and drew pictures in the dirt with a stick that had been sitting next to me. I settled on trying to draw a picture of Valerie while she gathered the materials for a cooking spit, glancing up at the distracted gryphon for a reference. Despite the improvised drawing material I was ultimately satisfied with the simple yet pleasant looking drawing.

"If you're having trouble with the beak a trick that helps is to imagine you're drawing a crescent moon!" She called out to me while scooping up a few stones. Though I couldn't see her face the tone in her voice told me that she was probably smiling about my little image.

Just how far can you hear my thoughts anyway? I focused, intending her to hear the question.

"About as far as if it was in ear shot! It's easier though here since it's just the two of us!" She returned. It was both strange and exciting to think of a question and hear her speak the answer.

I wonder if I would ever be able to read your thoughts like you can mine.

"Actually you can if we make physical contact! It might take a little practice though and I'm not sure but maybe at a distance too with magic or if you had some latent ability for it!" She called out again.

The back and forth continued even as Valerie finished gathering the necessary materials and began assembling a rudimentary cooking spit. Despite my protests she cooked the fish as well, making short work of the scales with her talons.

Soon we were silently enjoying the well-cooked fish as we rested against the large round boulders that dotted the banks of the stream. Valerie was examining the drawing I'd made while I sank into a fish-induced bliss.

"Hmmm...this is beyond amazing. I didn't even realize how hungry I was. You can cook a mean fish." I nearly moaned.

She returned a soft chuckle. "I think that's more just how hungry you must be."

With my mouth full of fish I simply nodded. Before I took another bite I turned towards Valerie. "How did you know I could even eat fish anyway?"

"Canine teeth." She said simply, pointing to her beak where her canines would be if she were a human. "Never seen an herbivore with canines. Plus even ponies eating a fish isn't unheard of. It just makes them feel sick if they eat too much of it."

I nodded again as I returned to my meal, watching out of the corner of my eye as she sheared off large chunks of her own half of the fish with her beak. Once we were finished we took a long moment to simply enjoy the gentle morning sunlight peeking through the trees.

A moment later Valerie let out a long sigh and stretched out her wings. "This was nice. I only wish we could do it again sometime."

"Why don't we?" I offered with a smile.

"I wish we could." She frowned as she tapped a talon on the rock she sat on. "But the caravan is going to be in Canterlot for a week. After that we'll be going back to the Gryphon kingdoms. It could be several months or more before we return." She looked away from me.

"You don't seem like you want to go..."

"I don't!" She burst out. I don't want to be a merchant my whole life! I'm sick of it! I'm grateful that I have a stable future, yeah but it's not what I want!" She jumped off of her rock and paced around as she ranted, her the colors of her feathers almost appeared to shine as they sunlight seemed to roll down her. It would have been rather picturesque if it weren't for the distressed gryphon becoming increasingly frustrated.

"What do you want to do?" I asked quietly, hoping she wouldn't turn her frustration on me.

"I want to have a choice! Maybe I want to be a damned tailor or chef! I really wish I could do something that involves flying for a job!" She continued on without even looking at me.

"Then why don't you stay? What's binding you to them?"

"I've got to provide for myself! I can't just go eat grass all day and sleep outside!" She swung an arm into the air for emphasis.

I understand but maybe we could sit down and come up with something if you simply relaxed. Although I expected the irate gryphon to respond she seemed to miss the thought, too caught up in her own tirade. At the risk of telling an angry female to relax I voiced my thoughts.

Hearing this, Valerie seemed to deflate for a moment before settling back down, although she tapped restlessly on the rock with her talons expecting me to continue. "Well I'm waiting for some brilliant idea!" She narrowed her eyes.

"Okay okay..." I raised my hands, surprised that the timed seeming gryphon I'd met earlier could have such a temper. As soon as the thought crossed my mind I caught her eyes narrow just a hint further.

"Why don't you try out for the Wonderbolts?" I smiled appeasingly.

She let out a long breath and her temper seemed to lose some steam. "Because there's never been a gryphon in the Wonderbolts. Not to mention they're based mainly in Cloudsdale even if my some miracle I got in. Plus I have no idea how I'd support myself in the meantime. On top of all that even in the likelyhood Matriarch Tamarra allowed it my own mother would shoot it down, even though I can legally make my own decisions." She pouted.

"Would there be any way for you to go to Cloudsdale to try out while the caravan was in Canterlot? Maybe they would agree to that much." I made a slow effort to stand up so I could approach her. She tensed up as my legs wobbled but I managed to maintain balance by putting a hand on a nearby tree. In a short half-glide, half-walk Valerie made her way beside me, wrapping one of my arms around her neck and holding onto my hand in a sort of assisted carry.

"Come on. We can talk as we head back." She said in a hollow tone. "And I don't know...what if it doesn't work out?" She glanced at me sadly. "It's been a little dream of mine for ages but even if it's theoretically allowed I doubt all the pegasi would want a lone gryphon in their mix.

"There's a first time for everything." I answered softly.

"I...I'll think about it." She whispered. "But what about us? Not that we really even know each other but I would like to see you again. If I were to live in Cloudsdale..."

"I've actually been living in Cloudsdale. Just visiting Canterlot for a while."

"Really?" She perked up.

"What do you do? Are you staying with anyone?" She asked in a tone that suggested just a bit more than innocent curiosity. Just before I could speak she appeared to read the words in my mind since her eyes opened wide and she seemed at a loss to find words for a moment.

"What's the matter? Do you know her or someth-"

"James!? Valerie!?" The broken tone of a familiar mare cut me off as I looked up to see Fleetfoot and the others a distance away. She stared wide eyed, alternating between Valerie and myself. A glance revealed that she seemed frayed in every sense of the word. Mane, wings, everything about her seemed unkempt. A strange mix of great stress, relief, and shock could be broadcast by the look in her eyes alone. Behind her stood Nova, Vinyl, and Anders and while none seemed quite as distraught as Fleetfoot none of them looked at though they had slept for quite some time.

"Fleetfoot." Valerie returned with a measure of ice in her voice as she held me possessively.

Everything seemed to freeze as all eyes turned on me.

Author's Note

Boom. Plot twist. And for those of you that remember I actually mentioned Valerie pretty early on... :raritywink: