NaNoWriMo2015 Oneshot Colletction

Obsidian Sunrider, usually known as Sun, stood at the edge of Canterlot’s cliffs, overlooking a huge chunk of Equestria below. He smiled. The day hadn’t yet begun and the sun was just barely beginning to colour the horizon, and the sky was a deep, beautiful purple that was beginning to make its way towards red.

Sun took a deep breath and closed his eyes, his sunny yellow sides expanding, the muscle of his wings becoming a little more pronounced. He exhaled, and opened his eyes, the sharp green orbs now showing a pinpoint focus. He opened his wings bringing them up into position with a slow, careful, precise motion. Then he powered into a single downstroke, hitting the cruising speed of the average Pegasus almost instantly. That wasn’t even a good fraction of his top speed.

He angled up, going far faster than the majority of pegasi could even hope to hit. As he got to what he judged high enough he pulled in his wings, angling his nose to lead him into a dive, the lazy arc he inscribed into the air far understating the speed he was travelling. As he began to descent, he started to travel faster. Faster. Sharper descent. Faster speed. Sun opened his wings into a sharp V shape, accelerating even more, the mach cone behind him quickly forming, then getting sharper. Closer to his body. He began to feel the familiar resistance of the mana barrier. This time… this time he would break it.

The resistance started to get tougher. He went harder. The harder he pushed, the tougher the barrier began to feel. And then, it happened. That familiar doubt began to wiggle into his mind. What if he couldn’t make it? What if he wasn’t meant to? All of one flyer had broken the mana barrier in the last thousand years. What make it possible for him?

Just like that, the barrier began to solidify again. It was solid and unyielding. And the barrier seemed to turn Sun’s mach cone into a spring. A catapult. And another familiar feeling took hold. That of tumbling uncontrolled through the air, backwards, head over hooves over wings. A feeling of such familiarity he barely had to do any sort of reorientation before he snapped out his wings and twisted himself, easily catching himself on the air and causing barely any strain as he reoriented himself into a fast dive, pulling up in a way that seemed almost lazy, though anypony that knew anything about stunt flying would understand that the angle and speed of his recovery would knock the majority of untrained and even amateur flyers right into unconsciousness. As he rose into the air, the sun rose behind him, and from the right angle, he rose with the very sun itself, like a phoenix out of the ashes as he ascended. And then he once more descended, though this time he spiraled down in a lazy circle, like the reverse of a thermal glide, landing outside a small building in the middle of the International District. The Obsidian Martial Arts Academy.

Sun gave a smile, and unlocked his school, slipping inside and locking up behind him. He breathed a deep breath in and made his way into the back, not even turning on the lights. It wasn’t like he had to. He knew every nook and cranny of the building. Every obscurity. And so, when he heard a creaking that shouldn’t have been. When he saw the ghost of a light that wasn’t usually there, he knew something was up. He sidestepped, his left wing shooting out in a single, fast strike. It hit the pony beside him in the throat, dropping him like a sack of potatoes, unable to say anything as another precision strike knocked him out.

Sun then began to move carefully, silently, towards the kitchen of his martial arts school. The light within was on. He slipped his eye around the corner to see who was within… and gave a soft sigh as he  noted the soft green Pegasus with the jade green mane. She had a rather curvy figure, mostly consisting of what many might call ‘cuddle padding’, and had her left, good, eye facing away from him. He turned on the lights in the dojo itself, and noted the unconscious pony on his floor was Moonlight Dancer. A white Pegasus, with a thick, wavy black mane and the petite body of a dancer or gymnast. She was also unconscious on the mat, though Sun failed to feel too bad about it. She knew him, and had still attempted to sneak up on him in the dark of his home in the early morning.

He turned back off the lights, figuring she’d wake in a few minutes and fully entered the kitchen. “Hi Hope,” he greeted the mare in the kitchen.

She gave a light jump and glanced over at Sun, before she smiled softly. “Hey Sunny,” she said quietly, before turning back to the stove and breakfast. Though why Dawn had woken up not only early enough to make him breakfast, but also come over to his house to do that in the first place was a little mystifying. Something that was very quickly demystified when she spoke next, keeping her nearly floor length mane in the way as sort of a shield from him. Not out of fear of him, but out of fear of the look he might end up giving her when she told him her news.

“What is it, Dawn?” he asked her softly. She rarely got that look around her friends. Especially not around Sunrider.

“So, the Princess asked about you yesterday,” Dawn started, sounding nervous. “Not you specifically, but of the pony that flew every morning at sunrise.”

Sun nodded. “And?” he asked, his voice not sounding nervous quite yet, as he watched his friend.

“She knows I know who you are because I might have said something a little angrily about a week and a half ago. When you were trying to break the mana barrier without a spotter. Again,” she said, shooting him a glare with her left eye. Her right one was hidden behind her mane.

Sun nodded nervously, decidedly not mentioning what he’d been doing that morning. There was really no need to add any more to the mare’s ire than already there. “What did she ask?”

“She just wanted to know what it was you did. It’s not every day you find a pony capable of nearly breaking the mana barrier.” Sun knew there was a catch. After all, nothing could be that easy. Nothing. Sure enough, Dawn continued after only a short pause “And now that she knows who it is that can pull that off, and what you do, she’s wondering if you might be interested in teaching some advanced flight lessons for pegasi going in for advanced training. Especially the ones in the air force,” Dawn continued, glancing over at Sun.

“No. Dawn, I told you, I’m not that good a flyer.”

“That’s bullshit,” a new voice wheezed from the doorway as Moonlight entered, glaring at Sun. “Total and complete bullshit. I saw you outrace a Wonderbolt once. Oh, and let’s not forget the time you took out an Intelligence Sector Guard when you thought he was breaking into your home. When he attempted to fly away.” She gave him a deadpan at his look of surprise. “If you remember, I came over to visit you? Was here when you got back?”

Sun nodded. “Still doesn’t count for much. Why would I be good enough to teach advanced lessons? Wouldn’t it be better to get another pony?”

“Most of the rest of them are almost always on active duty, or part of the Wonderbolts,” Dawn interjected. “We need more dedicated instructors and you’re too nice to become an Elite Airforce Flyer and too self-conscious to join the Wonderbolts.”

“I still remember his reaction when that scout found his practice spot in high school,” Moonlight laughed, causing Sun to turn a glare on her. She just looked unrepentant. “But come on, Sunny, you can still run your dojo! It pays real good, too,” Moonlight explained.

“No. Not unless I lose my contract with the Hospital for Therapy,” Sun told them flatly.

Dawn’s eyes widened. “Oh… I forgot about that,” she admitted apologetically. “I’ll… let the Princess know then.”

Sun nodded. “Thanks,” he said softly. “Besides, I don’t want to teach others how to hurt better. I want to help.”

Dawn opened her mouth to answer, but paused. She shut it again and nodded, the expression on her face that of no wanting to reopen an old argument. When Moonlight looked like she was going to say something, Dawn just shook her head, and the other mare backed down. It was rare enough for Dawn to get assertive outside work that it usually did evoke a cooperative response from her friends. Moonlight didn’t exactly look like she was happy to put her words to rest, though.

“So, you came and cooked breakfast just to give me the offer?”

“No,” Moonlight said with a smirk. “It was also to inform you the Royal Equestrian Ballet picked up a couple new ponies and I’m going to set you up on a blind date with one.”

Sun’s face almost immediately burned bright red as the two mares giggled. “And if I say no?”

“Too late! First one’s tonight, good luck, now I’ve got to get to the studio. See you guys later!” And on that note, Moonlight turned and bolted from the building before Sun could gather his wits.

Dawn giggled. “Pancakes?” she offered, stepping to the side and showing a skillet with a bunch of the fluffy round things on it.

Sun blew out a breath, and, ignoring Dawn’s teasing smile, nodded, walking over to the already set table in the room. She laughed once more, before pulling out a towering stack from his oven and adding the ones on the skillet to it, bringing it over.

“This is going to end badly for me, isn’t it?” Sun asked as Dawn sat down with him.

“Probably,” she admitted. “This is Moonlight we’re talking about, after all.”

Sun sighed once more, giving Dawn a long level look. He then turned to his pancakes so he didn’t have to respond. Dawn only giggled.