From Beyond the Veil

I stood gazing over the pond from atop a small hill. I had my hands on my hips, taking a few deep breaths and enjoying the fresh air. Tree branches hung overhead from the tree behind me.

"So this is where you used to come study during your school days, huh?" I asked as I turned to look at Twilight, who was lying next to the tree reading a book.

"This is one of the places, yeah. My favorite place was inside the library," she responded. "This just happened to fit the request you asked for, 'a small body of water in a nice open area.'"

"Yup, this definitely fits the bill," I said, looking back over the pond before clapping my hands together excitedly. "SO, Ready to finally see and understand my form of magic in action?" I asked, looking back to Twilight.

"Yeah! Let me just put my book away." She said, closing her book and sliding it into her saddlebag that rested on the ground. She then got up and walked over to me.

I took a breath and began my lecture as I slowly walked towards the pond. "Elemental magic in its nature is very logical, simple yet also very volatile. Thus, much like you unicorns need your horn to focus your magic. Elemental magic needs its own focus. Luckily, any creature that has sentience and is self-aware has one. It's called our imagination. As you could do anything with magic if you know the science behind what you wanna do and the mental capacity to do it." I stopped just before the water's edge and turned back to face Twilight. She looked so excited and invested in my words. Made me feel warm inside. "A live demonstration of the magic was how I was introduced to the way of thinking required to use Elemental magic. As such, I will mimic the same situation with you."

I turned slightly and stretched my arm out over the water, gesturing to it. "If you wanted to walk across this pond and not sink into the water, how would you do it?" I asked with a smile.

Twilight was quick and sharp with her response. "Well, normally I would teleport across, but if I had to walk across, I say I would have to reference Starswhirl the Bearded's water walking spell-."

I made a loud, incorrect buzzer sound effect with my mouth, cutting off Twilight instantly. "WRONG," I stated bluntly.

Twilight was flabergasted. "Huh- what? Didn't you just ask how I would walk across the water?" She scrambled to find her words.

"I did. You're just using the wrong mindset and, even worse, the wrong magic." I added.

"Huh- what- I don't understand." I clearly had Twilight confused. So, I decided to give her a hint.

"Don't think about magic. Think about science." I said aloud.

Twilight cocked her head at me in confusion. Seeming more lost now.

"Okay," I began. "Lemme explain. Elemental magic is, in its simplest form, bending the laws of nature, the world, and, in the most extreme cases, reality to suit our needs." I turned and looked back over the pond. "How I would approach walking across the water here, I would start by strengthening the surface tension to withstand the weight of one such as myself. Then, I would make my feet hydrophobic and increase my body's overall buoyancy. If I were to combine all of that into a spell, or what we call a sigil, I should be able to walk on water with ease. Observe."

I focused my mind and took a deep breath. A large circle appeared in the air and glowed in front of me. "For this sigil, I would need, at the minimum, three water runes." I paused, focusing my mind once more as the five water runes appeared and embedded themselves in the sigil. "Then I would need earth rune and sky rune. The purpose of these extra two runes is to do two things. One, the earth rune strengthens the water tension, and two, the sky runes make me more buoyant. They will mix with two of the other water runes upon the sigil casting to apply the effect to the water. Then, the last water rune is to strengthen the water's surface tension." I paused again, socketing the last two runes into place on the sigil.

"Wait a second." Twilight started, causing me to turn my head and listen to her question. "How do you know the runes will do that?" She asked.

"One, because I told them too. And two, the runes have their own form of basic sentience in a way. They just need guidance to know what they are supposed to do, and then they fill in the rest from there. As I said earlier, Elemental magic is logical and scientific. I took that explanation of how I would walk on water, and im focusing it through the now completed sigil. The runes know my intentions, my thoughts, and my will. As such, they fulfill them as required. For me, the goal is logical and scientifically sound. So it is logical and scientifically sound to the runes as well." I explained. I put my hand to the sigil and pushed it, releasing the magic and casting the sigil into a spell. I then slowly raised my foot over the water and stepped onto it. My foot hit the water and bobbed a few centimeters downward, but it didn't break the water's surface tension. I took another step, and the same result followed. I looked back with a cheeky smile at Twilight, whose mouth was agape in surprise. I did a few laps around the pond before stepping onto the earth again and releasing my mental hold on the spell.

"So, the runes work based on intention rather than having a specific hold in the world?" Twilight asked, rubbing her chin with her hoof in thought.

"In practice, yes, in their original nature, not so much. Think of the Elemental runes as Iron ore. You can't do or make much with it. But when you put it through a forge, you can turn it into a sword, a chest plate, and an iron beam from construction. But YOU are the forge that turns the elemental runes into an active force. In a way, Elemental runes are just potential energy waiting to be used and turning into kinetic energy or active energy. The runes, by themselves, hold a lot of power but can't act on by themselves; they need a catalyst to give them a purpose to act." I explained.

"Okay, I think I got it. It's a little funky, but I think I got it." "she said, nodding her head.

"Don't worry if you don't get it. It's a difficult concept to understand, let alone explain." I reassured her.

"I do have a question though. What are the elemental runes exactly, and where did they come from?" Twilight asked.

"Excellent question! The elemental runes are essentially the building blocks of the primal realm that were the foundation for our realm, just like how atoms and molecules and all those microscopic things are our baseline building blocks. The Primal realm is the opposite of the realm we lay on. Everything there is a cloudy energy mist. At least, that is what the books I've read say. Whereas everything here is physical and compounded into the world we know. The elemental runes are essential to both the physical and energetical bridge between the realms now that the two realms have reached their full potential." I explained.

"Huh... Although I find it highly unlikely that our entire world, including ourselves, came from a place of infinite energy and magical symbols. The whole concept and philosophy is actually very interesting." Twilight commented.

I gave her a slight side-eye at her comment and shrugged it off with a sigh. She had been making comments similar to that the entire time I've been showing her my people's culture. She finds it interesting but doesn't seem to believe the whole of it. She knows the magic is real because I've used it. But other than that, she holds her world's Ideals firm. I understand and respect her. However, this is how things worked in my world, and for some reason, it's wrong just because it's different. I couldn't comprehend that. Even the pony I had gotten closest to, Shining Armor, didn't fully believe my world and the way it worked. It was, for lack of better terms, Extremely Infuriating.

I sighed and tried to clear my head with the first thing that came to mind. "Shifting Focus, POP QUIZ!" I turned sharply and suddenly. I pointed my finger at Twilight, catching her by surprise. "Now that you have a better understanding of how my people's form of magic works. I'm now going to cast a spell, and you are going to try and tell me how the spell works. Then we can move on to the next topic."

"Okay?" Twilight said, slightly confused.

"Alright, pay close attention and think about science and logic while observing." I reminded her as I readied myself. It was an easy spell, for sure. One that we all learned magic-wise when first dabbling into the realm of using fire-based spells. Since the ability to make a fire in a pinch is very important.

I raised my hand and snapped my fingers. Then, small sparks flung outward immediately as the snap happened. I quickly yet casually opened my hand, and the sparks flew inward toward the center of my palm and compressed into a ball that quickly grew and ignited into a ball of fire the size of a baseball. While all this was happening, a single fire rune sat in my palm, resting against my skin.

"Now, what did I do to cast this spell?" I asked.

"Hmmm..." Twilight said, rubbing her chin with her hoof.

"Here is a hint: It involves how fire starts naturally in nature," I added.

I waited a few moments while Twilight. Thought before she answered. "It's probably wrong with how funky this magic is, but is it heat?"

"Heat is sometimes the by-product of this sometimes. Other times, you could be dragging your feet, or in this case, your hooves, across the carpet, and you could shock your friends accidentally." I responded. I had a smile on my face this whole time.

Twilight went back to thinking, this time with a frustrated look on her face, which caused me to giggle, and then I was told to shush, which caused me to giggle more.

"There's no way it's friction, right?" She said.

"DING DING DING! We got a winner here, folks!" I yelled as I ran in circles, celebrating.

"HOW IN THE NAME OF CELESTIA DOES THAT HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH WHAT YOU JUST DID TO MAKE A FIREBALL?!" Twilight yelled, clearly very annoyed.

"Okay, lemme explain." I started. "So what I did was snap my fingers, which caused friction. When you start a fire in nature, you need a spark, which, the majority of the time, is caused by friction, whether it's striking a match or a flint and steel. All the way to rubbing sticks together fast enough to cause a friction burn. Friction is the main contributor to actually starting the fire, alongside air and fuel." I explained.

"How does friction start fire naturally in nature, though? All the things you said require pony or human interaction with nature." Twilight questioned.

I pointed up and said. "Lighting, one of the leading causes of natural forest fires."

Twilight shot me a 'really?' look.

"Lightning is a sudden discharge of STATIC electricity. A significantly larger form of the shock you build up, which you occasionally shock your friends with. How Lightning works is when a large condensed area of clouds gets close enough. Positive and Negative charges build up and start rubbing against each other, which is FRICTION between electrons and protons on a level smaller than microscopic. With how many of those charges there are in that small space. That static energy builds up extraordinarily fast, and when it gets big enough, it discharges. Thus giving us lightning, which can strike a tree and cause a fire. That fire was still, in a way, all caused by friction. BOOM." I said, gesturing with my hands that I dropped a mic and walked a few steps away before circling back.

Twilight opened her mouth for a moment to contest. Then, she thought for a moment and shortly after closed her mouth.

"Okay, I see your point. But how did you fuel the fire in your hand? I know you have air, but what about wood or anything like that?" She asked.

"You know how I said the Elemental runes were a bridge between the two realms, right?" I asked. Twilight nodded.

"Well, I was speaking very literally. Not only are runes used as bases for casting spells. They are a gateway to infinite energy. You can use them to power spells using energy from the primal realm. It just causes energy to both open the link to the primal realm to use that energy and to keep that link open. In doing so, I used energy from the primal realm focused through a fire rune to fuel the fire. However, It does require concentration to do so. But when you use a spell enough, it can become second nature, like breathing. When I use that fire spell, I don't even feel the stress of the link until I start making either bigger, hotter or just a fuck ton of fire." I explained.

"Wait, You're saying the runes can tap into a power source that has near-infinite energy?" Twilight asked, stunned.

"Yes, but it's not 'near infinite.' It is just infinite. There is so much fucking energy in the primal realm, both already there and being made constantly by the Elementals just existing, not to mention the arc elementals whose whole purpose is making energy from nothing, that our sun would burn out billions of millions of billions of years from now. And that massive energy pool wouldn't even stir or ripple even if we used it to as much of a capacity as we could. As a matter of fact, it would have gotten bigger." I corrected.

Twilight sat there, jaw agape for a moment before just whispering. "Oh my gosh."

"YEAH. Everyone has the same reaction when they hear that the first time. I did the same thing. But now that we've covered the basics of magic. We can start getting into the nitty gritty of it-" The ringing of my Wristpad cut me off.

I held up a finger to Twilight and said, "Hold, please." I then turned away from her, flipped open my Wristpad, and answered the call that was coming in from Romulus. "Hey Romulus, what's up? I'm kinda about to get into a lecture about magic with Twi-"

"You are late, Sir! The princesses have been waiting along with a crowd of over three hundred ponies for over half an hour!" Romulus yelled, cutting me off.

"What?! What are they waiting for?! And why is there a crowd of three hundred ponies outside my forge?" I asked, utterly confused.

"Sir, Did you forget we're running the test flight for the Frontier today?" Romulus asked.

My eyes widened in shock as I realized. "FUCK! It totally spaced my mind when I got my discussion started with Twilight! I'll be there in twenty tops; just tell the crowd to hold on a little longer." I said, closing my wristband. Promptly ending the call. I whipped around and dashed past Twilight, grabbing my bag that was leaning against a tree as I ran across the grassy courtyard. "Why the fuck is there a crowd to begin with?" I said under my breath.

Shortly after my sudden departure, Twilight appeared alongside me, going at a fast trot. I still wasn't as fast as ponies, and I don't think I ever will be without using magic.

"Wait, you forgot about your test flight today? You literally said when we met up that it was probably going to be a short session." She said.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It actually just spaced my mind. When I start talking passionately about a subject, I tunnel vision on it and kinda forget a lot of other things I'm thinking about at the current moment. Happens more often than you think." I responded as I rapidly ran out of breath.

"Well, In any case, I know a shortcut to get us back to forge." She said with a smirk.

I slowed down and started to catch my breath. "Really? Where-" I was cut off as a bright flash of pink light erupted from Twilight's horn, blinding me. I was mid-run and tripped and fell as I felt the ground suddenly change beneath me. I put my arms out so I stopped my face from hitting the ground and pushed myself back to my feet. When I looked up, I saw myself in front of the forge, my large Aircraft sitting ready to go on the landing pad beside it. I turned my head behind me at a loud set of shocked gasps to see a huge crowd of Ponies, including the Princesses, who were being addressed by Romulus moments before my sudden arrival. Twilight was standing next to me with a smile and a few beads of sweat dripping down her forehead.

I stood up straight as I prepared to take over for Romulus, who stepped aside as I stepped forward. "Sorry, everyone. I didn't mean to make you all wait this long. My lecture with Twilight had this whole event in my mind, a very annoying thing that happens to us humans when we are passionate about something. But now I am here. I need to put on my flight suit, and we'll be set for takeoff."

A loud response of groans came from the large crowd of ponies. Which Celestia quieted with a wave of her hoof as she spoke. "Come now, everpony. We did come to see the unveiling of a marvel of magic and science. Such things take time to prepare, and our helpful friend Riley has been working very hard to get to this point. Im sure we can all wait just a few more minutes." Celestia looked at me and nodded to get everything ready. Shining Armor was standing next to her alongside a few other guardsmen, and he did the same when I set my eyes on him.

I nodded in response and turned back towards the forge, grabbing Romulus by the collar as I walked towards it so he could walk with me. I let go of him once he started walking with me and asked, "Why is there such a big fucking crowd? I only told Celestia, Shining, and his sister about this shit."

"Well, sir, I can shed some light on that," Romulus answered. "Celestia and her sister showed up with the guards and the crowd around an hour ago. In short, She gave me a monologue about how this was a big day for you and thought having a group to celebrate its success would be a nice gesture. After that, she gave a small speech to the rest of the ponies to get them excited for the test flight. The Wonderbolts showed and gave their, how should I put it, 'Opinions' on whether or not the Frontier would fly. And let's just say they were not kind remarks. Spitfire was the leading contributor to these remarks."

"Of course she was," I said as I pushed open the door to the forge. "What about Soarin?" I asked.

"Soarin and two of his close friends within the bolts were the only ones with positive outlooks on the whole matter," Romulus answered.

"Good, at least he is still one of the good ones," I responded as I pushed open another door. Revealing a refurbished suit of combat armor like the one I was wearing when I first crash-landed in Equestria, hanging on a custom armor rack. I had tinkered with it to be thinner, sleeker, and overall more mobile. I grabbed the chest piece and began putting it on.

"Romulus, help me out with this?" I asked.

After a few minutes, I was suited up, save for the Helmet, which was sitting on a nearby table while I did the last few straps.

"Oh, Sir, before you head back out there. It would be best if you spoke with the arc Elementals before you go. They Still haven't produced a third elemental for the new Arc core for the Frontier. I've tried to do it myself, but you are more capable of convincing them." Romulus added as I grabbed my Helmet and tucked it under my arm.

"Romulus, it's not a matter of convincing. Making another arc elemental for them is like a bunch of humans cutting off bits of themselves to make a whole new human. It takes a lot out of them. The fact they made the two they already have in these last three months is astonishing. Normally, you're supposed to wait at least six months!" I responded as I walked past him, and he held open the door.

"I am very well aware, Sir. You just seem to have the ability to talk to them better than I ever could." Romulus continued as he walked beside me. "Just have a quick conversation with them and see if they would be willing to split up one of the original three."

I held up a hand to stop him. "We already tried that. The original three we pulled from the Frontier are inseparable. You know this. That's why we need them to make another three arc elementals. And we can socket them back into the Frontier since they are locked into their new slot in the back room of the forge. I'll have a word with them; you try and keep that crowd out there entertained a little while longer." I said I arrived at a large metal bulkhead and began cranking the wheel lock on the center of the door.

"That's what I've been doing for the last half hour. You were late, Sir. Im sure I could do it a little while longer." Romulus said as he departed. I heard the loud clank of the metal lock unlocking, and I pulled the large hunk of steel that was this door open and stepped inside.

The room was small yet very well-lit by the pulsing blue wires that ran along the ceiling and parts of the wall. Along with the large pillar in the center that had the same glass canister the Arc elementals were sitting inside when I fixed it back in the Everfree forest. Just now, it was much bigger, the glass was properly fixed, and there were five of the arc elementals shimmering around inside the container.

"Hey guys! How are you all doing in there? Comfy, I hope." I asked as I walked up to the large glass cylinder.

The bright blue balls of electricity inside beeped in agreement simultaneously.

"Good, glad you all aren't cramped in there." I took a quick breath inward. "I'm sure you all can guess why I'm here by now, yeah?"

The Elemental's beeps turned sour and grumpy, confirming my fears.

"Yeah, I know it hurts when you guys do it now. But the Frontier won't fly without a three-stage arc elemental reactor core. And since your original three are stuck in the casing, I need a new set of three, and we're one away." I said politely.

The elemental's beeps grew tired and hesitant; they recalled how many they had made over the last three months and how much work they had put in to get what they had already done.

"Please, guys, I got a crowd of around three hundred ponies outside expecting to see the Frontier fly today. Along with a particularly racist group of ponies who don't think my tech can fly at all. I wanna prove them wrong, but I can't do that with a two-stage reactor. Please, guys?" I pleaded.

They were still hesitant about doing another summoning so early since the last one this last month and a half ago. But they were close; they just needed a push, a selling point.

"If you do it, I'll leave you guys alone on this subject AND personally set up that lightning rod we talked about." I offered with a smile.

The moods of the Elementals immediately switch tones at hearing the words 'lightning rod.' They did a short set of beeps that meant, "Promise?"

"I promise on my royalty as a prince of Romulios," I swore.

The Elements started electrically popping rapidly as they grew bigger and brighter, bright enough to make me look away and cover my face, but the wires also grew brighter. The room began to vibrate slightly until the light slowly dissipated. I returned to look back at the capsule as now there were six elementals shimmering around. Albeit dimly and much slower than they were before.

I walked back up the capsule and tapped a few buttons on the console next to it. A small arm that looked like a double-sided ice cream scooper came out of a hole that opened in the bottom of the capsule-like a crab claw, grabbed one of the elementals, and took it downward into the pillar.

A slot opened in the lower half of the pillar, and there was a smaller capsule identical to the one needed for the Frontier in it, along with the same elemental inside it.

"Thank you guys. I'll get that lightning rod up tomorrow; with the Frontier soon to be flying, it will be a piece of cake," I said as the arm grabbed another one of the younger elementals.

As the arm deposited the final young arc elementals, I grabbed the handle atop the smaller capsule and twisted and pulled it from its slot in the pillar. I said goodbye to the rest of the Arc elementals as I left the room and re-sealed the bulkhead. I held the capsule in my left hand and let it dangle down by my leg as I walked casually. I passed by the back holding my Helmet, picked it up nonchalantly, and tucked it under my right arm.

I walked back outside and was face-to-face with the crowd once more. I spotted Twilight and Shining armor next to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. I wanted to wave since they, too, saw me and were waving at me. But my hands were full.

"I'd wave back, but I got my hands full!" I shouted. Holding up my Helmet and the capsule. They nodded in understanding, and I kept heading for the Frontier. I saw a smaller group of the wonderbolts on the way. Spitfire and Soarin were among them. Saorin was nice and waved, whereas Spitfire gave me a dirty look and shouted some comments about the Frontier. Things along the lines of "piles of scrap metal" and "a bucket of bolts."

All I could do was smirk. "This bucket of bolts and scrap metal is gonna leave your ass winded and spiraling in the clouds fuckhead! Learn some humility in the next ten minutes cause your gonna need it, asshole!" I shouted as I walked up the entrance ramp of the Frontier.

The interior was revamped heavily, as many things on the inside were bent out of place due to the crash landing. I walked over to a side wall and pressed a button as a slot for the capsule opened. I set my Helmet on a hook temporarily and brought up the glass of the capsule to my face.

"Okay, guys, Im gonna send you guys down to the power chamber and give you some time to spread yourselves out throughout the Frontier. Once I got the go-ahead were set to fly from you guys. I'm gonna start her up, and we're gonna take to the skies." I explained.

The Arc elementals beeped in understanding.

"I will note this Aircraft is much more demanding power-wise than where you guys just were. Especially in full flight mode. Giving you guys this heads up now, okay?" I added.

Once again, the elementals beeped in understanding. I slotted the capsule into the slot and closed it off. I heard the tube suck the capsule downward. In a few seconds, all the dim lights inside the Frontier came to full brightness. I exited the Frontier and decided to go talk to the princesses while the Elementals got comfy.

I walked out of the Frontier and ignored more comments from Spitfire as I walked back toward the main crowd. Thankfully, I didn't have to push through ponies to get to them, As Celestia told them to make way for me.

I walked up to Celestia and luna and gave my usual respectful royal kneel. "Seid gegrüßt, Majestät, Elemente erblicken uns."

Celestia tried to mimic the expression but absolutely butchered the pronunciation of the words. I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Not quite the right way to pronounce it, I'm afraid. But I appreciate the gesture nonetheless. I'll teach you how to say it properly some time." I said, getting up from my kneel.

"Oh, I figured you would, Seeing as you've been away from home for so long. And it would be nice to understand a bit of that ancient tongue better. It just sounds so fascinating!" Celestia said with a warm smile. "Don't you agree, sister?" She said, looking at Luna.

"Not as much as you, dear sister, but I do admit, it is quite captivating." She responded.

Celestia returned her gaze to me. "So you're going to finally test out your machine today? Oh, so exciting! I can't wait!" Celestia said, fiercely hiding the giddy child under her royal expression.

"Yeah, we're going to fly the Frontier today. I gotta ask, though, Why the large crowd? It's not like I'm going back home or anything. Not like I could anyhow. Not yet, at least." I said, slowly drifting into a mumble the longer I talked.

"Well, most of these ponies are heads of major manufacturing or mineral processing operations and such from across Equestria. I figured you could use some easy advertisement," she said as she leaned her head in close to me and winked, sticking out her tongue ever so slightly.

"Oh, you sneaky fucking genius!" I whispered.

"Riley," Twilight's voice caught my attention. "From what I've gathered, this aircraft is supposed to fly, correct?" She asked.

"Yes, and it runs on the most utilized fight engagement system Romulios has to offer," I responded.

"Out of curiosity, how fast do you think it can go?" Twilight asked.

"Do you wanna know how fast it CAN go? Or how fast I THINK it can go?" I counter-asked.

"Um, why not both?" she said nervously with a smile.

"Okay, well, before I answer that, now I have to ask. What is the fastest thing that can fly here in Equestria?" I asked.

"Well, technically, the fastest fliers are the Wonderbolts. But the fastest thing I can think of, off the top of my head, is a pegasi that can perform a sonic rainboom, which is breaking the sound barrier in a rather spectacular fashion." Twilight answered.

"Okay, so, the official specs for the combination of the two Arc gyroscopic drive burst engines in the wings of the craft combined with the Raw power and thrust of the 'thunderclap' rear heavy rocket thrusters. On top of the anti-gravity matter weight reduction drive. It could reach speeds of Eleven thousand five hundred and nine times the Speed of sound or Mach fifteen with full direction mobility and turning availability," I said, calculating the math in my head.

Twilight looked at me confused, seeming not to understand me, along with the two royals and Shining armor next to me. It dawned on me they didn't know my units of measurement. Gah, im still learning this shit to this DAY.

"Fifteen times the speed of sound." I corrected myself. The Faces of the ponies around me almost made me keel over from laughing too hard.

Once I was able to recover from my laughing fit. I had to hit them with the other half of my answer.

"Now, here's the Kicker! Now, if you removed the ability to turn or go any direction other than straight, turned off a few safety couplings, and had all systems only power the engines and flight systems, along with having the Arc elementals powering the things hit the systems with full power. You could theoretically go Mach fifty. Or fifty times the Speed of sound." I added.

The loud thud of Twilight's body hitting the floor as she passed out caused me to lose it even harder.

Once, I composed myself once more, and Twilight came too. I had to put something out there. "Of Course, the Aircraft, if manufactured and enchanted to the absolute best, would only last about ten seconds due to the sheer air friction alone. It would literally tear itself apart. Besides, it never was necessary to go that fast anyway. Hell, we never really went up to match fifteen in those things, anyway! We barely went above Mach six." I said, trying to ease everyone's mind, which worked slightly.

I heard a ping on my wristband, signifying it was time to take flight. I bid the Royal sisters, Twilight, and Shining a farewell and ran back to the Frontier with excitement. I yearned for the moment I could hop in a cockpit and just fly without any risk of getting shot down or blown up.

I ran up the entry ramp and closed it on the way in, along with grabbing my Helmet off the hook I set it on. I then walked through the interior until I reached the now singular Pilots chair in the center of the cockpit. I removed the copilot's seat since It wasn't exactly needed. I sat down in the seat, buckled in, and put on my Helmet.

On the right armrest of the seat was a throttle control and a few buttons on the sides. At the same time, the left had a pilot's Joystick with a trigger and a small thumb joystick with a few buttons beside it on the Joystick itself. The armrests were lowered, and the back of the chair was leaned back farther than normal, yet the whole thing was raised higher than usual. It was my personal choice for a Pilot's chair. The cockpit window was fully replaced and was expanded to widen the pilot's field of vision.

I gripped the Joystick in my left hand and rested my right hand on the throttle. Once I did so, the chair scooted up slowly to the dash. It gave me an even better view, but I also made it to where I couldn't get out of the chair. Not easily, anyhow.

I tapped the side of my heart as the interior hud hummed to life. I leaned forward and tapped one of the screens and synced my Helmet to it as the hud shifted to a flight control hud with altitude, wind speed, and such. I also opened a direct comms channel with Romulus.

"Spyglass, do you copy?" I asked.

"Going back to our tactical radio names, I see, Draco Leader," Romulus said snarkily over the Radio.

"Old habits die hard, Spyglass. Im going ahead with Engine startup; you have one minute to ensure everyone outside is at a safe distance from the landing pad." I said.

"Roger that, Draco leader. I'll see to it that it's done." Romulus assured me. After a few seconds, I heard his voice over the intercom at the forge; it was muffled as shit as I was turning on the pressure seal and the anti-g-force enchantment, among other systems, so I didn't turn into a human beanbag on certain turns mid-flight.

I went through all the usual systems before I got to the engine ignition. Which I waited on Romulus for since I wanted outside Confirmation the engines were on.

"All civilians are clear of the takeoff area, Draco leader. You are clear for engine ignition." Romulus's voice resurged over the Radio.

"Roger that Spyglass. Going for burn." I said, leaning forward to what the engines in the wings from the cockpit. I quickly twirled the Joystick a few times to see the large discs of the ringside engines turn and move with the controls to see if they synced up properly, which they did. I then flipped a switch and saw the center of the disc open as an electric spark ignited into a bellowing blue flame in the center of the newly opened area of the right disc engine. I checked the left one and saw another bellowing blue flame.

"Spyglass, I have wing engine ignition confirmation. Standing by for Rear engine ignition confirmation." I said.

"Roger that, Draco leader."

I waited a few seconds before he came back over the Radio.

"Rear engine ignition confirmed. Dracro leader, you are clear for takeoff." He said, causing me to smile in delight.

I moved the right stick ever so slightly to increase engine thrust. I saw the bellowing flames in the wing engines nearly triple in size as the whole craft slowly began to rise. I pushed the stick ever so slightly forward to increase the Speed a little more and used the Joystick to turn the craft toward the audience of ponies. I felt right at home in this chair. I felt in control for once in a familiar setting.

I gave a small wave to all the ponies and continued with my flight test. I decided to see just how sensitive this could be. I jerk the Joystick to the right and damn near hit the mountain above my forge with how fast the craft moved to the left. But, with that action, I immediately knew the sensitivity of my craft. I found myself weaving in between the taller buildings of Canterlot and the towers of the royal castle with utter ease. But I wanted to get to the good part that would really blow everyone's pants off, especially spitfires.

"Spyglass, Im going to move from hover test mode to flight test mode. Am I clear for testing shift?" I asked.

"Draco vortex, you are clear for the testing shift. Move over to the original takeoff area and show these ponies the power of Romulios engineering." I could hear his tone shift in the second half of his statement. Causing me to smile sadistically.

I moved the Frontier back above the original landing site but pointed towards the wide open air of Equestria, away from Canterlot and its mountains.

I flipped on the intercom and said. "This concludes the hover flight test. We will now move on to the full flight test." I started and turned off the intercom.

I flipped a switch on the right armrest, and the discs in the wings turned ninety to where the bellowing flame pointed behind the Aircraft, but the flame was compressed into a ball magically within the engines. "Switching disc engines to flight mode," I said as I leaned back into the chair, mentally preparing for what was about to happen. I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to make a statement like thunder that followed a bright flash of lightning.

I took a deep breath and rolled my fingers, gripping the thrust control stick.

I then pushed it forward in a sudden movement.

The following thunderclap and force that made me sink into my seat gave me a rush of adrenaline I hadn't felt in a long time. It was like scratching an itch you haven't been able to in years as the Aircraft shot forward with incredible Speed. I found myself entranced by the feeling of being this fast, this up high, as I watched the clouds zoom past me. After a moment, this feeling left me, and I was back in control. I immediately turned and pulled the Joystick, causing the craft to spiral into a barrel roll and pull upward higher into the sky. I began doing all sorts of tricks, flips, and combat maneuvers to put this craft through its paces. I often found myself screaming in delight as I did so. I even pushed my luck and flew between the towers of Canterlot. I avoided the builds as I could have very easily shattered the glass in the windows.

I then saw Cloudsdale in the distance, and a thought popped into that dastardly evil head of mine.

"Let's go flex on the bird horses."

I took off for the city. Upon arriving, I took over one of the empty racing tracks and flew through the rings and such. Enjoying myself immensely.

However, Imagine my shock when going below each one, and a rainbow-maned pegasus kept pace with me just outside the cockpit window. I saw her turn towards me and wave casually. I was stunned for sure. Then she started talking.

"Computer, translate what she's saying for me."

In a few moments, the pegasus came over the interior intercom.

"If I had known Twilight had Invited me to see this thing, I would have showed up dangit! This thing would be great to race against." She said, slightly annoyed.

I flipped on my intercom and said. "Yeah, no, I don't think you can race this thing above this Speed. Because Im not even trying right now."

"What?" She said in response, shocked by what she heard. "I betcha I can!"

"No," I chuckled, "No, you can't. This thing can go so much faster."

"Oh really, well we'll just see about that-" She was cut off by the thunderclap of the engines as I cranked up the thrust and broke the sound barrier AGAIN and soared up to Mach two and left her in the fucking dust. I pulled back on the Joystick and flew higher. Doing more tricks at a higher speed.

Suddenly, I found myself gazing upward toward the higher blue sky, Toward the great beyond. I double-checked that I had the experimental interplanetary pressure system still installed on the craft, which it did, and contemplated some things.

"Sir, no, we have no idea if that works yet." Romulus's voice appeared over the Radio suddenly.

"Um, what? I dunno what you're talking about." I said quickly, trying to play dumb.

"Sir, I have a video feed from your Helmet pulled up right now. I just saw you check for it." He responded.

"Check for what?" I said, still playing dumb.

"The system we were testing to see if we could take humankind into space, The interplanetary pressure system. I'm gonna tell you now, I forbid whatever you're thinking!

"Romulus, we never got the chance to test it properly, and the tests we had done were all good! I wanna know how close we were to getting everyone out of that hell." I said, finally dropping the act.

"Absolutely not! It's too dangerous!" Romulus said, standing his ground.

I looked up at the great beyond for a few seconds.

"FUCK IT!" I jerked the Joystick back and shoved the right stick forward, sending the craft up to Mach five.

"SIR, WHAT ARE YOU-" I hung up the coms link and focused on my assent. I increased the thrust again, going up to Mach seven, and prepared the activation of the pressure system.

"Remote control access detected from an outside source," The feminine robotic voice of the Aircraft said aloud over the intercom.

Romulus was trying to override the controls and take control of the craft. Not today, buddy, I need to know...

"Computer! Send Designation 'Romulus' Override code: MR-LN 1927. Command: FCK-FF. Also, counter remote access."

"Understood, Maser royal override accepted and sent. Locking out remote access."

I refocused and increased the Speed to Mach ten. The whole craft began to shake but still held steady. I kept hold of the Joystick and kept the craft on Course. I eyed the altitude meter until the time was right.

"Computer active atmospheric thruster boost!"

"Command confirmed, activating boost."

I sank back further into my chair as I heard what sounded like an explosion behind me. Followed by a roaring rumble as my Aircraft's Speed doubled to Mach twenty. The sky's color shifted from blue to black and filled with stars. I reached my arm forward and triggered the pressure system. I saw the whole interior of the craft hiss and compress as it became sleeker and tighter.

I suddenly felt weightless as the thrusters burned out and the Speed stopped. The craft slowly came to a stop as air bursts shot out of the hull, and the wing engines flipped to slow the craft to a stop.

I turned the stick slowly and found myself looking at half the sun, along with the rest of the planet. The clouds and storms on the surface moved and swirled constantly. The Cockpit window adjusts its tint to accommodate for the sun's brightness. The continents below the cloud cover the planet were rigid, rough textured, and full of color due to the differences in elevation from the mountains and hills. The sight was something I had never thought to behold in my life. I'd seen pictures from satellites, but never like this. I looked down at the planet and just felt small. I thought about the war and just how small it was in the grand scheme of the universe. It made me shed a few tears, I'm not gonna lie. Why did my whole race have to die before we could explore the stars?

I grabbed my necklace with my old friends' dog tags on it and my royal crest and held it tightly.

"I made it, guys; I made it, Dad. We were so close, yet we weren't quick enough to finish it." I paused for a second as I got choked up on my words.

"I wasn't quick enough to finish it. I wasn't good enough to end the war once we had their capital in sight. I needed to be faster to save our people. And now... Im the only one left."

"pressure seal working at Sixty percent capacity. Five minutes of oxygen Remaining."

My eyes went wide when I heard the ship's computer say that. "Uh, shit, FUCK, I forgot re-entry protocols! Uh, Uh, UH!"

I flicked on the communications channel to Romulus.

"Romulus! I need you to walk me through re-entry protocols and make it fast! I got less than five minutes up here." I said franticly.

"Godammit Riley, I told you not to do this!" Romulus said angrily.

"LESS SCOLDING MORE HELPING!"

"Okay, Im hacking back into the Froniter systems since you locked me out. I am going to put a flight path with instructions on your hud. FOLLOW THEM EXACTLY as you see them! I can see the pressure seal isn't holding because the new cockpit isn't fully calibrated to it. So re-entry is gonna be tricky." Romulus explained as the path began to form on my hud.

"What do you mean by tricky?" I asked nervously/

"Well, without the complete pressure seal, the fireball on entry has a chance to seep through the cracks of the cockpit that connects it to the plane, and you could burst into flames, but there's only a chance of that happening."

"A CHANCE?! How big of a chance?" I said as I started to breathe really fast out of fear.

"Not important, focus on getting back down here. You got two minutes of oxygen left, so you don't have a lot of time." Romulus responded.

"Oh fuck, Okay, here we go!" I said nervously, breathing heavily.

"Next time, LISTEN TO ME when I tell you NOT to do something!"

I started the descent following the path laid out for me to a T. The Frontier began to shake violently as the gravity of the planet took hold and steadily increased our descending Speed. We very quickly got faster and faster until I noticed an orange glow creeping into the edges of the cockpit window as a firey cone began to engulf the Aircraft. It quickly became very hot inside the Aricraft to the point of me getting drenched in sweat. The flames only got brighter and brighter as I pushed farther into the planet's atmosphere.

"You're almost there, Riley. Just keep pushing!" Romulus reassured me.

"So... fucking...hot..." I coughed out as my grip on the Joy stick loosened due to heat exhaustion, and I began to drift off Course. I felt myself going limp and my eyes growing increasingly heavy.

"No, Riley! STAY AWAKE! Do not close your eyes! Stay awake!" Romulus demanded.

I shook my head and Ripped off my Helmet. The hud overlay on the cockpit window screen was still there, thankfully. I reached out my right hand and focused on a sigil. The front outside part of the Aircraft had a large sigil appear in front of it, spinning rapidly as I used the sigil to quickly disperse the flames over a wider area to lessen the heat.

I felt myself lurch forward in my seat, and the Speed of the craft decreased rapidly and suddenly.

"Okay, I remember that from science class. We just hit the troposphere and exited the stratosphere."

"Alright, Sir, the worst is behind you now. I can see the fireball effect dissipating. You'll be passing the upper layer of clouds shortly. Fly through a few to cool off the hull and bring it home."

Upon landing back at the forge, I felt a small wave of relief wash over me as I sat in the pilot's chair, turning off the engines and non-essential systems. After that, I got up and picked up my Helmet off the floor as I had tossed it away when I ripped it off mid-flight. I hung it on the same hook I had before and lowered the exit ramp at the back of the craft. I exited the Frontier and saw the large crowd of ponies in an uproar. My gaze naturally drifted to the Wonderbolts, who were moving in the air, mouths agape in shock. I shot them a wink and two finger guns as I slowly approached the crowd. Only to be intercepted by Romulus, who promptly slapped me across the face.

"Don't you EVER do some shit like that again!" he scolded.

"Romulus, relax, would you? Can't you see the bright side here? We have a semi-working pressure seal! We just gotta tinker and test it a little more, and we can go back up there whenever we want!" I said, rubbing my stinging cheek and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, sure, sir, that's what you were saying five minutes ago when you were having a panic attack in the cockpit," Romulus stated.

"Hey! That was five minutes ago! I'm looking on the bright side now; you are the one being all negative!" I said with a smile, throwing an arm around his shoulder and walking towards the large crowd.

"By the elements, what am I gonna do with you?" He said, rubbing his metal face. "Whatever, Im still gonna scold you later! But for the sake of us being in front of the princesses, I'll keep quiet, Sir."

"Sounds good to me!"