As Lark walked towards the locker room, he felt a heavy weigh on his shoulders. His heart picked up its pace as every step closer to the locker room felt like his last. The Cannonball Test was by far the worst one of the entire Aviation Club. It was mostly reserved for acrobats and stunt people, but because it involved flying through the air, it was part of the licensing process. Since the flying "act" was always a popular spectacle to watch at many events, its inclusion was mandated.

Lark didn't have to worry about dying, since the safety gear was enhanced by a strange, unknown means from the Mushroom Kingdom. It was a trade secret amongst the industry, almost as much as whatever Government projects might exist. Lark didn't understand how or why, but the items exported by the Mushroom Kingdom were considered special and very expensive. All he knew was that he had very little to worry about in regard to getting seriously hurt but feel pain he would. Lark had failed his first cannonball test resulting in a sore and bruised body for weeks.

It was because of the Mario Brothers that the Little States and the rest of the human territories were safe from many other attacks from strange creatures and enemies. The Mario Brothers were so well regarded, that Mario himself was added to the Mount of Great Leaders. And apparently, out of all places for Lark to complete his test was no other than the Mount of Great Leaders.

"Great! I get to possibly bomb my hole test with the mountain's faces looking right at me! Oh c'mon! Why can it be in a safer, more secluded spot?"

As Lark made his way to his locker, he noticed Goose already kitted out in his personal gear. The young man must have noticed his forlorn expression, as Goose sat down on a bench and turned his full attention to Lark.

"Hey, my man, what's shaking you up? And by shaking, you're dang near shaking on your sneakers too!" asked Goose.

The boy stopped just before his locker and looked at his mentor before sighing, "It's the test. I hate the cannonball. It's so scary, more so than skydiving."

The blonde-haired man's eyes widened at Lark's claim before whistling and replying, "Dang! Now that's a bold claim! But you've done it before though and you've gotten so far. So why worry about something you've done before?"

The boy stopped and tried to reply but couldn't. He thought really hard, but words were not coming to his lips from his brain. After thirty seconds, of silence Lark said, "I don't know. I may have done it before, but I just...hate it. I hate not having control the moment the cannon throws me into the air. It's scary and the worse since this is the Pilot Class Test. I also have a bad feeling about this test. I don't know how, I don't know why, but I just do. So there, I don't want to do this test."

As Lark crossed his arms and looked at the locker while thinking about his worries. The young man put a finger on his chin, as if he was contemplating his words. As if having an epiphany, Goose snapped his fingers and said, "Well, it's your call. Don't do it if you don't want to."

This took the young boy by surprise, making him turn back to the young man and asking, "Wait...WHAT?!"

"No way, he can't be serious! That's not what I expected mentor to say."

Goose nodded, "Really, really. I too have walked away from tests before. When it didn't sit right with me, I walked away. It took me a long time to get out of the Beginner class. It took even longer when it came to the Pilot Class. You, however, went through the Beginner class much faster than me, or anyone for that matter. So what I'm really saying is..."

Goose took his helmet off and rubbed his hair before continuing, "Every time we go out there, it's a risk. It's up to us if we decide it's worth it or not. If you want to get your Pilot Class Pilotwings, you're going to have to take that risk. Neither I nor Hawk can make you get in that cannon. Just know that, whatever decision you make, you need to stand by it."

Goose then patted Lark on his shoulder and said, "Now, I'm gonna go out and Hang Glide. What are you gonna do?"

The young man walked out of the locker room, leaving Lark standing there. The boy contemplated his mentor's words carefully and thought, "He's right! I'm not gonna let some stupid cannon stop me! Pilot Class, here I come!"

With a determined look on Lark's face, he grabbed all of his protective gear and equipped it. He adjusted his number 28 plate, his favorite number. He had chosen it partly due to his birthday being on the 28th of his birth month but there was another reason. The other reason he chose it was due to his age of 14 years old. Lark had felt he had doubled as a person in the growth of his courage and over all character. Because of these reasons, he felt it was a number fitting for him.

Everyone at the Aviation Club knew if a number 28 was on a personal item, it was likely Lark's property. And the boy preferred it that way, both as his theme and property marker. Lark checked his gear one last time and made sure he had his phone, wallet, and that his personal protective gear was properly secure. Satisfied every thing was in order, he looked at his reflection in a nearby mirror.

The young boy remembered who he was before joining the aviation club on a whim. He used to be shy, nervous, and unsure of himself no matter what the situations were. The rush of his first test and success had pushed him out of his shell and into a larger world. Lark refused to be that boy every again and he was going to blow the cannon test out of the water. He puffed his chest in pride and gave himself a thumbs up before saying, "You got this! Now go get it!"

Lark confidently strolled out of the locker room and met the group, who were ready to head to the hangar. It didn't take long before Hawk took them to their testing areas.

As they all rode in the large van, Lark thought to himself, "I got this stupid test. Ain't nothing gonna go wrong!"

Rainbow Dash, after taking Applejack's advice, decided to forgo her training until the afternoon and chilled out for most of the day. Rarity and Fluttershy were both busy doing their respective chores and work, which meant Rainbow Dash couldn't hang out with them. Twilight Sparkle and Spike were still walking around Ponyville doing boring library related activities, which meant cool stuff with them was out of the question. This left Rainbow Dash with little to do on a Saturdays with out flying.

She flew back to her house and grabbed some spare Bits and played some arcade games. Some of them happened to be new and the mare found herself killing time more than she expected. After having her fill of games, she went and bought herself a sandwich and took a power nap on a nearby cloud. After seeing where the sun's ray were shining, Rainbow Dash realized it was probably close to 3 PM. The last thing she needed was to be late and be one Applejack's bad side.

The mare got up from the cloud and flew to the nearby Ponyville Clock Tower. She saw that she only had two minutes to 3 PM, and said, "Horse apples!" before taking off to Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow Dash flew as fast as she could and avoided a few pegasi flying in the air. The other ponies were taken by surprise as she slew past them, who yelled at her. Rainbow Dash even avoided Ditsy "Derpy" Hooves, who was carrying a basket of muffins. The sudden rush of air caused the basket to fall from her teeth's grip, making the mare scramble in a dive to reclaim her baked prize.

"SORRY!" yelled Rainbow Dash.

The blonde maned and gray coated pegasus mare ignored her as she successfully reclaimed her basket of muffins. Happy her treats were safe, Ditzy shook her head in disapproval before flying away. Not wanting to have another accident, Rainbow Dash avoided several clouds, expertly weaving and dodging them. This turned out to be a good call, as Cloudchaser and Flitter were enjoying a picnic on the cloud. The last thing Rainbow Dash needed was to get shouted at with the two sisters, especially since their parents knew her parents.

As she continued to fly, Sweet Apple Acres came into view. Focusing on her landing spot, Rainbow Dash decided to land with a back flip, hoping to make a big entrance. As the trees cleared beneath her, the mare expertly performed a black flip and laded on all fours. As the dust kicked up, Applejack came out of the barn, using her stetson hat to wave it away. Once the view was clear, Applejack whistled, "Well, dang girl! You tryin' to kick up a dust storm or somethin'?"

Rainbow Dash shook her head and grinned, "Nah, the ground is just getting out of my way. It must know I'm awesome or something."

Applejack rolled her eyes before pointing towards the very large pile of hay.

"Ah went ahead made the pile that you asked for. Now how's this trick of your gonna work?"

Rainbow Dash explained, "Okay, so I'm going fly up take a few cloud and swirl them around. After that, I'm going to turn them into rings and make a vertical drive through the rings as fast as I can. Once I'm through the rings, I'm going to stop at the last second. And the hay is just a back-up if I don't stop in time."

Applejack nodded and said, "Sounds good to me. You ready to start?"

The Pegasus mare said, "Hay yeah! All I need you to do is just watch and get help if I'm hurt. Not like that's gonna happen."

Applejack walked out of the way before saying, "Be careful, because Ah don't want you breaking your wings again."

Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and hovered above the ground before replying, "One time! And it's not gonna happen again!"

The country mare whispered, "Ah still got a bad feeling about this. Just don't know why but Ah can feel it in mah bones."

The Pegasus mare took off into the sky and spotted some clouds not too far off from Sweet Apple Acres. Gathering the clouds was as easy as a foal's playtime and it wasn't long before she moved them to where they needed to be. Rainbow Dash made quick work spinning the clouds into rings and checking their size. Satisfied that all was right, she went to her starting point. Applejack looked almost like a small dot on the ground but Rainbow Dash's eyes could see the country mare was cheering her on.

As her confidence was boosted from her friend's cheering, the flying mare locked eyes on the rings. Licking her lips as if she were a predator eying her prey, Rainbow Dash said, "The Wonderbolts are so gonna want me to join the team after I show them this trick! And nothing is gonna get in my way."

She didn't give a second thought before taking off at a high speed, certain nothing would stop her from nailing the stunt.

To say Lark's anxiety was high was an understatement. The ride to Cannon Launch Pad was excruciatingly long. The van went to many other locations first to drop off the other members for their own tests. Robin was the first one to be dropped off, who gave the rest of the group her best wishes. She was as confident as ever, and left the van with no hesitation. Ibis and Goose were the next ones to be dropped off. That left him with Kiwi, Hawk, and just himself.

Kiwi's stop was next as Hawk pulled up to the Gyrocopter launch pad, and let his daughter out. She took her safety gear and waved good-bye to Lark. Despite the grey overcast skies, her spirits were in a stark contrast to Lark's. As Hawk drove off, he could see Kiwi take off in her Gyrocopter and was out of view a short moment later. Lark sat back in the seat and felt the anxiety of his impending doom become heavier. Thirty minutes later, they arrived at the cannon launch pad.

Taking a sigh, Lark grabbed his gear and was followed by Hawk. The sky was still grey and hadn't changed a bit. The young boy could only hope it wouldn't rain as that would make his test harder. Lark must have lost track of time as Hawk said, "Okay, time to get in the cannon. Remember your fundamentals, Lark."

He nodded but not before gulping in fear. He put his safety gear on and connected his helmet's chin strap. Not wanting to delay the inevitable, Lark climbed into the cannon and took the control of the cannon using the wireless switch. This was the most difficult part of test. It was based purely on gauging your ability to measure distance and the force needed to reach the target pad.

Without the use of safety gear from the Mushroom Kingdom, this test would be all but impossible to safety attempt. He started shaking in fear in the cannon before Hawk called out, "I hear you shaking in the cannon, Lark. Just take deep breath and calm down. You have time before you need to launch."

The young boy did just that, and took a deep breath before counting to ten. After calming down, his body no longer was shaking. This allowed him to think more clearly before focusing his attention back to finding the target. Using the wireless controller, he moved the cannon around in order to find the target pad. He found the target pad and was surprised to see where it was located. It was located on the Mountain of Little States, right next to Mario's Head.

With Mario being a hero and celebrity, he felt a strange sense of encouragement. Lark then said to Hawk, "I found the target! I'm ready to begin the test."

"Remember to check your aiming point before applying power. Take notice of the power scaler and time your shot. You only get one chance to take this test. I know you got it in you to get at least a bronze."

Heeding Hawk's words, Lark made his adjustments to the aim at the target pad. The power scaler began to slide up and down, indicating the altering power input of the cannon. It was now all up to him and Lark knew it. He focused on the target pad before looking at the power scale one more time, he decided that an 85% charge would be enough to at least his the target.

Taking a deep breath, Lark slowly pressed his finger towards the launch button and was almost ready to press it until something went wrong. A loud crack of thunder started him, causing him to slightly move the cannon over to the right. His finger hit the button, launching him in the air. Hawk watched as Lark sailed through the air, and heard the young boy scream. The man could only watch in horror as he noticed Lark every so slightly move away from the target pad.

Lark could fell the air hit his face at high speed and struggled to keep his mouth closed to avoid the air going. As the target got closer and closer, the face of Mario became closer and closer, and not the target pad.

"No! I'm gonna hit Mario's face! I'm gonna fail and have to do this test again!"

But that wasn't even the worst of it, Mario's face suddenly turned into Wario's face. Wario's reputation among the Little States was as poor as it was in the Mushroom Kingdom and Lark was going to run face first into his teeth. Lark had no clue why Mario's face was replaced with Wario, but it made no difference as he was about to crash into the stone. If things couldn't get any worse, the statue somehow moved and opened it's mouth.

Instead of impacting the Wario statue, he was swallowed whole into a void. Lark screamed once more before the statue closed it's mouth, with no sign of the boy to be seen. Hawk couldn't believe what he was witnessed and wasted no time in getting help. Hawk had no time to waste as seconds meant everything to Lark's safety, and the man wasn't about to lose a student on his watch.

He didn't know what to he was going say to his daughter nor Lark's parents, but he was not going to rest until Lark was brought back home. The day for aviation testing was over and now the race to get a fellow aviator, had just begun.

Author's Note

Sorry for the delay, but life keeps taking me away from writing. This chapter was going to be longer but I had to stop it here. I think you guys have waited long enough.

And oh no! Lark has been taken by a strange Wario portal! Where could it possibly go to? Tune in next time to Pilotwings64: My Little Pony.