Freedom. That was my first thought, all those years ago. When my father had arranged for me to be taken up in a hot air balloon. It was the first time I flew, and it spurred a lifetime of passion, and dreams. I was no pegasus, just a simply earth pony, the sky and me were never supposed to meet, but we did.
I was only a foal at the time, still in elementary school, but the memory is vivid, it dominates me sometimes. Mother had passed, it was a hard time for father and I, but he remained strong for me. He attempted many times, to lift my spirits, and to restore me to my usual cheerfulness. I think he feared the death would break me. In way it did, but I was not beyond repair. When a family friend mentioned a balloon ride, father must of noticed the twinkle in my eye.
I can remember waking up, as per usual, eating my oatmeal at the breakfast table. My father mentioned he had a surprise in store for me. I groaned on the inside, not the outside. Father only ever meant well. He was a kind stallion, he would never even kill spiders, only trap them and set them free outside. So while I was displeased with another outing, I went along with it, because I was trying to be strong for him; I was all he had left.
We left at noon that day. The carriage ride was long, I was curious as to where we were going, but my father was not betraying any secrets. To keep myself busy I looked outside, staring at the trees as they blurred by. Orange, yellow and red, the colours flashed in my vision. To say the trees were beautiful, would sound cliché, but in truth, they were not. They were something more than that. They were change, they were going from boring green to incredible red. I paid no attention to the fact that soon they would turn brown and fall down. I was in the moment, I stared at the trees, with true happiness. It was the ideal that something ordinary could change to into something so pretty, something better. It an ideal, that I wished upon myself.
We stopped, somewhere by a forest path. Another carriage was there. I learned it belonged to Captain Metal, a pegasus who would be accompanying us on a short walk.
Captain Metal had fought in the war. He had a great big scar, it ran down the length of his cheek; he had received it when his airship went down. I had heard the story many a time, his ship was outnumbered and out gunned, but the Captain had decided to stay and fight. In an epic battle, he took out two enemy airships before his own received a fatal wound. He oversaw the evacuation of the crew members as they all piled into the emergency balloons or flew away, but let them go without him. All alone on this deck of his ship, Metal steered it into the enemy flagship, ultimately killing their air force admiral. He managed to survive the wreck, and but he had broke a wing, and was forced to crawl back to allied lines. Metal had received a medal of the highest honour for his bravery.
Captain Metal regaled me with tales of flying. The topic had always interested me, being among the pegasi, to fly, to touch the heavens with my hoof. I was always envious of the pegasi, not needing modern technology to fly. Fate had dealt me a hand without wings. We reached a clearing in the forest, where I could see a balloon being inflated. My mood suddenly changed, no longer was I dreary, I perked up, and turned to my father, excited to hear what he had to say.
My father had opted to stay on the ground, although Metal had assured him the balloon could hold three. To this day I do not understand why, it could of been that he wished me to experience this on my own, or he simply could of had a fear of heights.
For the first time since mother passed, I was beginning to feel excitement. Oh joy, I would be in the air, I would be flying, hundreds of feet above the ground, I would look down and see my father, just a speck, on a vast expanse of beautiful colours.
Captain Metal bent down until he was level with my face. He spoke in a reassuring voice, telling me that nothing would go wrong. I didn't really pay much attention to the words he spoke; I had no fear, I was ready for the sky, and she was ready for me.
Hundreds of feet above the air. Freedom. This was it, this was my moment. My hopes and my dreams, they all came flooding to me. I was to be a pilot, an earth pony pilot, I would captain my ship, I would live in the skies. I would chart uncharted territory, I would go on adventures, I would live. Freedom. The barns below were no bigger than my toys at home, the trucks and cars were only ants to me. I was king, king of the sky, and nothing could bring me down. Freedom. I was free, I could see my mother, her face in the wind, In the clouds. This was where I was meant to be, among the spirits and the ghosts of those who I loved. Mother I had missed you so much, and then there you were, within reach of my hooves. Freedom. I leaned over the side, as much as I dared, and let out a cheer. I was happy, I was lost in the fires of passion, never wanting to find my way back. Oh father how I loved him, how I thanked him, for never giving up, for finding a way to fix my broken heart.
So now I stand. Laughing. Laughing at life, the unfair life that killed my mother, the wonderful life that granted me the greatest father; the unfair life that robbed me of wings, the wonderful life that gave me the sky anyway. I stand with change, I had become something better, something more. Here I stand, on the deck of my ship. Freedom, finally, true and ultimate freedom.