Fallen Eagle

Chapter 26: Top Bolt

Oh, my, gosh guys. Thank you SO much on getting this story to 100 favorites! Triple digit faves, follows and reviews?! Every time I upload a chapter, you guys blow my expectations out of the water.

And before we get to the story, I just want to say thank you to specific author: Sassymouse. Thank you for allowing me to use your OCs from Dashing and Soaring. It was a ton of fun getting to use them in Fallen Eagle. And if you guys are not subscribed to her story, GO DO IT NOW! Or you know after you read this chapter lol. I promise, you will not be disappointed with her story.

Sorry guys, I'm really short on time, so no replying to reviews this time. I will however, do that next time, promise! If you have any questions, just PM me.

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The second and final day of our trip in the Crystal Empire was not as eventful as the first day. In fact, I can barely remember anything about our second day besides prying Twilight away from Cadence when it was time to leave because she couldn't stop talking, or waking up cuddling with Applejack. Thank God nopony else knew about that, or else Cadence and Rarity might flip out and beg me to tell AJ how I felt. Speaking of the white unicorn, I do sometimes get nervous when I see her talking with Applejack since she was the first pony who saw my attraction to the orange mare. However, as far as I could tell, she kept my feelings a secret, but for how long could she do that? I had no clue.

As for now, it's been about a day since we arrived back in Ponyville and I had decided to do a little Fall Cleaning of my shack, mainly because it had gotten really dusty and I had wanted to secure the door and window and fill any cracks in the walls to keep the heat inside. Plus, the parts for my wood stove would be arriving soon and AJ and I had to plan where to install it. "Ah thought yer military trainin' would make ya keep yer barracks less dusty," the farm pony teased me with a stuck out tongue while she utilized a wet rag to clean my little window.

"Hey, at least I don't have dirty clothes just scattered about," I smirked back, sweeping some dust on the floor into a dust pan and dumping the contents into a trash bin. I mentally agreed with the pony though; I had been getting a little lazy with keeping my shack clean. Yet, it was in no way a disaster like I had seen Rarity's 'inspiration room.' I call bullshit on the fact that she believes 'organized chaos' helps get her inspired. "Although, you're probably not used to clothes right?" I paused my sweeping momentarily, looking over at the orange mare.

"Eh, with how much Rarity designs, Ah've gotten used ta seein' clothes more often," she responded, taking off her hat and wiping her forehead. "'N Ah'm proud 'o ya fer keeping yer room smellin' nice. Ah can't tell ya how many times Ah've just walked by my big brother's room 'n thought my nose was gonna shrivel up 'n fall off my muzzle," she chuckled. I snickered, knowing what she meant, but that didn't irk me. Guys usually have smelly rooms, but we don't care as long as we can find music, the TV remote or the bed.

"I wish Applebloom was here," I poured another dustpan full of dirt and dust into the trash bin, sighing and wiping my hands. Applejack tossed her wet rag onto her back for a short storage area and turned back to face me. "Not that you're not fun enough to be around," I assured her.

"Yeah, but she's doin' really well in school. 'Specially in chemistry thanks ta Twilight's tutorin'," she grinned. "Speakin' 'o school, be prepared fer her askin' fer help on math 'n writin'. Applebloom may be doin' well in chemistry, but math still confuses her sometimes," Applejack explained.

"I won't mind helping, I mean I did help her get over an important step in becoming a mare," I reminded Applejack teasingly. My friend's cheeks flushed pink and she looked away.

"Again, Ah'm sorry 'bout that Cougar," Applejack apologized for about the thousandth time on the subject.

"Yeah, I get that AJ, but I'm just letting you know Applebloom's never annoyed me and I don't think she ever will," I explained. Applejack smiled and took the wet rag off her back, soaking it in her water bucket and began to wipe down my tiny bookshelf.

"Have ya ever even gone up ta that there loft?" the mare asked me as she wrung out the rag and continued to wipe dust off anywhere she could find. "It looks like ya haven't even touched it since we fixed up this shed," Applejack added. I looked up at the ladder that was caked with dust and the darkened loft where light seemed to never exist. I have been up there only once, but that was awhile ago. The only time I ever even went up to the second story was when I stored the surprise from my F-15 under a brown tarp on top of the loft.

"Maybe once when we first fixed up this place," I casually turned back to her before returning to sweeping under the loft. "I don't have that much stuff with me; it doesn't really make sense to go up there," I explained.

"Well, ya could clean the loft out 'n use it fer a guest bedroom or turn it into yer personal bedroom 'n use this space down here as a livin' room or somethin' else," AJ said. I was only half-listening to AJ as my mind drifted back to the jetpack. Nopony but Luna, and maybe a few dungeon inmates, knew of the device's existence. Naturally I did want to tell her and Applebloom, perhaps Rainbow Dash, but how would I explain what the hell it is to them and how it works or even what it's for? I kept the notecard from Stinger tucked away as a bookmark in one of my three Daring Do books and read it once in awhile, but even I still couldn't figure out how the jetpack worked.

"Sounds good, but just a reminder AJ, the cot is good enough. I don't need a regular bed anymore," I replied, "the last time I even slept in a regular bed was when Luna 'invited' me to stay at the castle during the heat season."

"It'd be no trouble at all Cougar ta make ya yer own bed," she assured me with those shiny emerald eyes, practically trying to butter me up. "All Ah need is yer say so, 'n Ah could whip it up faster than Winona chasin' after Angel," she giggled. Sighing, I set my broom against the wall and put my full attention back to Applejack.

"Applejack, you and your family have already done so much for me. You don't need to waste your time and energy on something as frivolous as a bed when I have a nice and comfy cot to sleep on." Applejack was about to retort, but I continued to speak. "And if the cot ever busts or breaks, I'll sleep on the floor until I've acquired enough of my own bits to buy a new cot." The mare patted my back with her hoof, chuckling softly to herself in the process.

"Oh Cougar, sometimes yer just too modest fer yer own good," she started to wipe off the ladder with her wet rag, going up the rungs every few seconds. I gulped, silently praying that she wouldn't go all the way up to the actual loft. The brown tarp was just in front of the ladder, but not really visible from the bottom floor.

"And is that a bad thing?" I continued the conversation, hoping that it would distract her from the secret.

"Course not Coug," she looked back down at me from halfway up the wooden ladder, "ya've just done plenty 'o good things here 'n you deserve ta treat yerself ta a reward every now 'n then," she turned back to her task at hand and continued wiping down the wooden rungs. When she surpassed the top rung and I heard her hooves clopping on the loft floor, the sound of a tarp rustling made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. "Cougar, what the hay kind 'o backpack is this thing?" Applejack asked as the rustling sound of the brown tarp faded away. Looking up at the loft, the mare had the jetpack in both of her hooves as she showed it to me. "It sure is heavy," AJ added.

"Right, that," I exhaled, putting the broom up agains the wall and the dustpan right next to it. Ever so carefully, Applejack began to crawl down the ladder, trying hard not to slip or drop what she thought was a regular backpack. "AJ, let me take that," I grasped the device in my hands and took it from the pony so she wouldn't injure herself by falling or whatever.

"Ah'm very capable 'o carryin' heavy objects," she dusted her forehooves off when she got off the ladder. I took the jetpack that still looked brand new thanks to the tarp and set it in the corner near my tiny bookshelf. "Now, what in the wide, wide world 'o Equestria is that Cougar? Ah've never seen a backpack like that before," she asked me for the second time. My cot creaked as I sat down, propping up my head with my right fist.

"That's not a regular backpack," my hand softly patted the empty space on the cot next to me. Without hesitation, Applejack turned around and plopped right down next to me, though still confused about the device in the corner. "Do you remember back when I Luna invited me to stay at her castle for a weekend?" I asked. AJ nodded her head, pursing her lips a little at the memory. "Well, Luna took me down to the dungeons where she and Celestia had stored my jet that is pretty much useless now. Just for a trip down memory lane, I took a seat inside the cockpit, trying to recapture that feeling of soaring through the air."

"Didja find it inside your jet?" Applejack questioned.

"Yeah, I climbed from my cockpit, but I saw an open compartment door behind where my seat used to be and this was sitting inside. Apparently, the Air Force was experimenting with using what us humans called 'jetpacks' and pilots would use them if we had to eject for whatever reason behind enemy lines or if the rescue chopper couldn't reach us in time, we would fly back to base or to the nearest allied base," I explained. Applejack shook her head, shocked at my explanation.

"Hang on here a second, are ya sayin' that you can fly with that there jetpack?" her jaw dropped and her hoof pointed to the jetpack.

"That's the idea," I replied, "but I have no idea how to use it, what I would use it for here or even how it works. I'd probably get killed trying to fly it, so here it sat gathering dust for about a month until you found it."

"It didn't come with instructions? Hmm, Ah'd think the military'd care enough 'bout ya ta at least give ya instructions on how ta use it," she scratched her chin.

"Well, it came with one little notecard from my superior," I corrected the mare. "In it, he said that it uses a special power cell that helps it last for 120 years before dying and that when I wear it, tiny scanners scan my arms' positions, relaying the information back to the CPU which speeds it up and slows it down." Applejack gave me the ever so classic deer in the headlights look, and I would've been shocked if she hadn't. "Don't worry AJ, I don't know how the hell that works too; I'm no physicist or scientist."

"So what are ya gonna do with it?" She asked me, taking peering back at the corner behind us.

"I don't know, I'll probably keep it under the tarp or gut it and keep it as a wall decoration," I grunted as I stood up from my cot. Applejack hopped off my cot and opened her mouth to say something in return when we were joined by another pony.

"Good mooooorning Applejack!" Rainbow Dash poked her head through the door with a cheesy grin on her face. "Morning to you too Cougar," she added, trotting into my shack casually.

"Oh good, you're here to help us clean?" I joked.

"Nope, I heard you guys talking and I thought I'd grace you guys with my awesome presence!" She replied, leaning against the doorframe.

"Ya weren't eavesdroppin' on us were ya Rainbow?" Applejack's right eyebrow slowly rose up. The cyan pegasus gave a mocking scoff in reply, putting on an innocent display that only Discord could rival.

"What? No, I'm just here to see if you have any spare cider I can take back to the Academy tomorrow. The recruits and Soarin' can't get enough of it," she explained, licking her lips in thirst. "That and I overheard you talk about flying, Cougar," the pegasus turned to me with a smirk.

"And what's your point?" I questioned.

"If anypony's talking about flying, I'm gonna drop in my two bits," she stuck her tongue out at me. "So were you talking about flying your jet thingy in the past or maybe seeing if Luna will take you for a flight sometime?" Rainbow trotted over and stood next to Applejack. AJ had rolled her eyes when Rainbow revealed she had in fact been eavesdropping on our conversation.

"Firstly, I'm not sure Luna can support my weight," I began.

"Yer all muscle Cougar," AJ countered, "Ah'm sure she could handle ya."

"Wouldn't that make her look very demeaning?" I crossed my arms. Rainbow and AJ looked at each other before sort of agreeing with me. "And to answer your question Rainbow, I was explaining to AJ here that the Air Force gave me an experimental device that allows me to fly in emergency situations," I pointed my finger over to the corner yet again. Maybe I should build a big trophy case and put it on there so ponies can stop asking.

"How in Tartarus is a backpack going to help you fly?" Rainbow glowered at me as if she was telling me, 'Do I look stupid to you?' Grumbling, I picked up the jetpack, swung the straps over my shoulders, unfolded the arm bracings that housed the scanners, and pushed the red button on the right strap. Suddenly, the wings opened up with a FWOMP from the core of the jetpack and the engine kicked on, lifting me off the ground only by a few inches. Rainbow's eyes bulged out of her skull and her jaw dropped from the site before her. Rainbow grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and shook me violently.

"RACE, ME, NOW!" She exclaimed, her wings flapping like crazy. Shoving her away and pushing the red button again, the jetpack engine slowly died and the wings folded back up into the core.

"Sorry Dash," I folded the arm bracings back up and took off the jetpack, setting it on my cot this time. "But I don't know how to fly this damn thing. I'd probably get killed if I tried. And even if I did magically know how to fly, tell me what use it'll be useful here in Equestria," I demanded. "Also, I have no idea how fast I can even go." Rainbow's face twitched slightly before her wings slowly calmed down and she gently touched her hooves to the wooden floor.

"That's a good way to piss a pony off Cougar," the pegasus grumbled.

"You think I knew you were gonna challenge me to a race? I figured you'd twist my arm and insist that you teach me how to fly with this thing," I said sarcastically. Rainbow did a double take before her eyes lit up again and she got a really creepy smile on her face. I wanted to tell her that I was joking and that I had no intention of ever using the damn thing, but Applejack unfortunately took what I said to heart as well.

"Actually, that sounds like a pretty good idea Cougar," the orange mare grinned, shoving my arm a little. "Ya got Rainbow 'n Soarin up there at the Academy that can teach ya. Why Ah reckon they can have ya flyin' like a bird by tomorrow evenin'," she added.

"I think you girls need a lesson in sarcasm," I muttered.

"Yeah! I can talk Soarin into helping me teach you all you need to know about pitching your body, doing barrel rolls, recovering from spin outs, all that good stuff!" She beamed, standing on her rear legs and squeezing me with her left foreleg.

"Ah don't think he needs ta learn all 'o that Rainbow Dash," Applejack clapped her forehooves in front of Rainbow's face, snapping her from her daydream. "'Sides, Ah think Cougar done learned all that in the Air Force, right?" She winked at me, causing my body to jolt slightly.

"Right," I sputtered out after blinking several times, "but can we think about this realistically please?" I begged. The two mares in front of me now gave me their full attention, waiting for me to get to the point. "If I do go and learn how to maneuver my body with this damn thing, tell me this: When in the hell will I ever need to use it realistically? Sure I miss flying, but between this and my jet is like comparing an apple to ice cream. They're both food, but completely different!" I exclaimed.

"You can perform air shows with us!" Rainbow Dash radiated excitement.

"You didn't hear anything I just said did you?" I said flatly.

"Well, ya could use it ta get apples out 'o the tops 'o the trees faster," Applejack explained, "or haulin' hay bales up ta the top floor 'o the barn," she smiled. "Ah know yer strong enough, but haulin' bales 'o hay still takes awhile."

"I don't want to get lazy," I quickly shot down the idea.

"Pfft, lazy ain't in yer dictionary Cowboy," AJ playfully shook her head. I face palmed, getting slightly aggravated that the two ponies were completely missing the point that I saw no need or use for learning how to use this thing.

"Hey, why are you so against this? Didn't you want to see the Academy at some point or the whole Wonderbolts Team face to face because we remind you of your Bluebirds or whatever?" Rainbow Dash demanded like a private investigator.

"Thunderbirds thank you very much," I got a little defensive about my branch's flight demo team. "And to answer both of your questions: Yes. But to actually fly without the aide of my jet? That's just too outrageous for me. And why are you so bent on getting me to go?" Rainbow Dash bit her bottom lip so hard that I thought she would draw blood, but she groaned and growled in annoyance.

"Maybe it's because I might wanna hang out with you a little more. You're one of the most badass creatures I've ever met and you love flying if you've spent seven years in the Air Force," she explained.

"Oh God, you're not jealous are you?" I asked stoically, hoping that she wasn't. In the back of my mind, I was pretty confident that she wasn't jealous that I wasn't spending time with her; she had Soarin, Fluttershy, Scootaloo, Pinkie Pie etc. to hang out with. Maybe I should try to spend a little more time with the others like AJ wants. Besides her, Luna and the Crusaders, I really didn't hang out with anypony else. Lyra and Bon Bon I've only really talked to so they didn't count. Although, I guess I could count the camping trip as hanging out with Rarity and Rainbow Dash.

"Please, I don't get jealous. This is just a golden opportunity for us to connect a little more and for you to meet some of the most amazingly awesome ponies in Equestria!" She shouted into my face. Applejack grabbed Rainbow's tail with her mouth and yanked her away from my face.

"There's no reason tryin' ta make the guy deaf Rainbow, although Ah agree that ya bring up some good points," Applejack concurred with her friend. She then turned her gaze back to me, "Is there another reason yer so against this Cougar?" she softly asked me.

"No, not really," I sighed in defeat. "It'd be great to hang out with you Rainbow, but like I said before, this would more than likely be a one and done deal. I can't for the life of me figure out what else I could do with it." I jabbed my thumb back to the jetpack.

"Catching bad guys faster?" Rainbow shrugged.

"I'm not a cop," I replied, "or a guard," I quickly added.

"What about that one pony ya caught and beat up fer tryin' to kill Princess Luna?" Applejack placed her hoof in my hand.

"I would have to wear it 24/7 then; I'd look ridiculous taking Bloom to school or going to see Luna with that thing strapped to my back for no other reason," I gulped, slowly moving my hand away from her hoof.

"Put it on with your helmet and your sunglasses and you'd look like the second coolest thing in Equestria," Rainbow persuaded. I briefly imagined myself with the jetpack, my helmet and sunglasses on; what came out was a white version of the Falcon from Captain America 2. "Come on!" the cyan pegasus was practically in begging and groveling mode, "don't you miss just zipping through the clouds at Celestia knows what speed with nothing higher in the sky than the sun on your back?" Fuck, that was the biggest thing I did in fact miss about flying my jet, other than with Reaper as my wingman.

"If it's to hang out with you and Soarin, then sure, why not?" I gave in. "Plus, I've kind of wondered what it'd be like to fly like some of my favorite super heroes," my inner child bloomed for a second.

"YES, YES, YES!" Rainbow pumped both her forelegs in the air in victory. "I'll come by tomorrow morning at 0500 to take you up the Academy myself. You'll just need Twilight to whip up the cloud walking spell for you," she was about ready to burst with excitement.

"Hold on a second," I stopped her little happy moment. "You, Rainbow Dash, are aware that there's a 5:00 A.M.? I guess miracles do happen!" I teased the pony. Applejack had told me that Rainbow loved napping just about as much as flying; I've even found her snuggled up in some of AJ's trees occasionally.

"Just for that, your first piece of training tomorrow is gonna be on the dizzitron," she growled at me. 'What in the hell are you talking about?' I mentally asked myself before she turned back to Applejack. "And don't think I've forgotten why I came here in the first place Applejack," Rainbow Dash held out her hoof.

"Ah've got some spare cider in the cellar," AJ rolled her eyes with a sigh. "Come on Cougar, Ah need ya ta watch Rainbow so she don't take more cider than Ah give her," she shot a questioning look to her cyan friend whom innocently whistled. I followed suit, but not before realizing what else Rainbow had said to me.

"What exactly do you mean by a cloud walking spell?"

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(The Next Morning. Cougar's POV)

As Celestia's sun peaked over the mountains on the horizon, a steaming mug of hot coffee was brought to my lips as I sipped the delicious drink. Applejack had taken me to Twilight's castle for the cloud walking spell after we gave Rainbow some apple cider for the Academy. So apparently only alicorns and pegasi can walk on clouds without the aide of the spell; how was I supposed to know that? It certainly wouldn't have surprised me if all pony races could walk on the clouds with all I've encountered here so far. But nonetheless, I received the spell so I wouldn't die from falling through the clouds. I was expecting a pinch or some kind of quick pain, but it was actually rather tingly, sort of like all my nerves within my central nervous system lit up at once and then went numb for a second.

My jetpack was currently strapped onto my shoulders, though I had the arm braces folded against the pack so I wouldn't accidentally bump the button and send myself flying through the wall. I also had my sunglasses tucked into my shirt collar and my purple helmet sat on the tabletop next to my plate of buttered toast, the sun's morning rays were gleaming off the purple surface. Taking a small bite, I wiped my hands of the crumbs and took another sip of my coffee. Checking the time on the clock above the door, I sighed, expecting Rainbow Dash to be a few minutes late, but it was already a quarter after 5:00 A.M.

"Ah figured ya would've been gone by now," Applejack yawned, pouring herself a cup of coffee and sitting down next to me. I've gotten so used to seeing her in her hat that whenever she woke up without it, she almost looked like a different pony. "Yer not too surprised are ya?" Her voice brought me back from my thoughts.

"No, not really," I chuckled, setting my mug down and pushing my plate of toast over to the mare. "You can have a bite if you want, I promise I'm not sick or anything," a smile spread across my face. AJ looked down from the plate of toast and back to me with a smile all her own as she reached her hoof down underneath the toasted bread with butter and brought it to her mouth, taking about half the toast in one fell swoop.

"Thank ya kindly," she swallowed and thanked, "oops, 'scuse me," she blushed as a tiny belch escaped her mouth.

"I'm a little surprised no one else is up at the usual time," I took the other half of the toast and took my own bite. Applejack had left the tiniest hint of apples on the edge of the toast, making it taste even better than before.

"Welp, since the usual apple season is over, we do normally sleep in till 'bout six or maybe seven durin' the fall 'n winter months," Applejack explained, taking a nice, long sip of her coffee.

"So then what are you doing up at this time?" I questioned, getting up from my chair and setting my plate in the sink. I ran water over it to wash off all the crumbs and little globs of butter so Granny Smith or Big Mac wouldn't have to wash it themselves. There was a faint thunk as AJ set down her red mug on the wooden tabletop.

"Ta be honest, Ah wanted ta see ya off myself," smiled warmly at me. "Ah wouldn't be much of a friend if Ah just let ya leave without somepony sayin' goodbye, even if it's just fer a day," she said gently. Before I could reply with a thank you, albeit a stammering one, AJ yawned mightily again, stretching her forelegs up in the air.

"You didn't have to lose any sleep over me," I quickly refreshed her coffee mug.

"Ah know fer a fact ya'd do the same fer me," her hoof softly laid atop my hand as I reached for my own coffee mug. My pale blue eyes looked up from her hoof and into her own emerald green eyes. Looking into her eyes reminded me of the old tails sailors being drawn by the call of mythical sirens from their songs, but with me however, AJ's trusting and kind eyes seemed to work the exact same magic. The sound of her chair scraping across the wooden floor made me realize that she had released my hand from my hoof. Shaking my head, the mare turned on the kitchen sink, splashing cold water on her face.

"Y-yeah, I would," I agreed with her statement. Suddenly, the kitchen screen door flew open, revealing Rainbow Dash standing on the porch. The pegasus mare stumbled inside and grabbed the entire coffee pot with both hooves, bringing it to her mouth and downing the rest of the caffeinated goodness.

"Ah'll clean that first 'fore Ah brew another batch," Applejack ran warm water over the lip of the coffee pot.

"Sorry I'm late Coug," Rainbow grumbled and burped at the same time. "My stupid alarm clock didn't go off this morning, and my coffee pot wasn't plugged in and I'm too cheap to buy coffee from one of the convenience stores," she explained with a groan.

"Oh, it's not a problem Rainbow," I assured her. "AJ and I were just enjoying some coffee," I gestured to the farm pony that was busy cleaning out the pot of coffee that Rainbow Dash drank from.

"Good 'cause we got a lot to do today Cougar," Rainbow nudged my elbow with her hoof. "come on, we gotta get going so we can have as much time to whip you into cadet status by dinner time," she got behind me and tried to push me out of the kitchen.

"Hold on now Rainbow," Applejack produced a pie from the refrigerator, "don't forget Soarin's pie now ya hear?" She slid the apple pie across the countertop towards Rainbow Dash. The pegasus took the pie and set it on her back.

"Thanks Applejack, good thing you reminded me. Who knows what Soarin' would be reduced to without his mid-week morning pie?" She joked. Taking advantage of the opportunity, I grabbed my helmet from the table and held it upside down in my hand, ready to leave.

"Ah guess Ah'll see y'all tonight then?" Applejack asked us. Rainbow Dash nodded and held the door open for me to leave. Taking a look back as I stood in the doorway, Applejack leaned against the counter, waving her hoof at me.

"Hot air balloon leaves in ten, let's get a move on!" Rainbow demanded. Ignoring her for only but a moment, I walked back into the kitchen and stopped in front of Applejack. Curious, the mare braced herself on the counter and used it to help steady herself on her hind legs. Wrapping an arm around her neck, I pulled her in close for a goodbye hug. Thankfully, I didn't catch her by surprise or anything as she returned the hug and seemed to nuzzle her head into my chest.

"Keep an eye on Applebloom AJ," I winked at her as Rainbow bit my pants leg and yanked, telling me to get my ass in gear.

(One Hot Air Balloon Ride Later)

You're not nervous about walking on clouds are you Cougar?" Rainbow teased me as she paid the hot air balloon pony a few bits. The Wonderbolt hovered above me with her forelegs crossed, impatiently waiting for me to exit the balloon basket. I still had my helmet in my hand and I now had my sunglasses over my eyes since we were now above the clouds.

"I'm more scared of falling through the clouds to be honest," I gulped in reply. Sure, I trusted Twilight enough that she wouldn't give me a bum spell on purpose, but what if it didn't work on me specifically? And I'm not sure Rainbow could support my weight if she tried to catch me.

"Don't worry, the cleanup crew is fast and efficient at cleaning up splattered gunk," Rainbow leaned against the basket with the very definition of a shit-eating grin on her face. Narrowing my eyes, I grabbed her Wonderbolt goggles, stretched them back, and snapped them onto her face. "YOWCH!" She cried in pain and rubbed her eyes to soothe her agony.

"You do know I'm actually serious about this Rainbow?" I asked her, not caring that she was still in a little bit of pain.

"Of course I know, just trying to lighten the mood Mr. Buzzkill," she put her goggles back over her eyes. "Now come on, Soarin and the cadets should be up in about fifteen minutes," she exclaimed. "Not to mention you're costing the balloon pony some bits for not leaving," she added. Indeed as I looked over at the balloon operating pony, the yellow pegasus with a Scottish golfing hat atop his head was giving me an icy glare.

"Hurry it up laddie," a thick Scottish accent penetrated my ears, "I can't have any lollygaggers taking up me precious business that feeds me wee ones," he gave me a mighty kick in the ass, making me stumble like a drunk out of the purple basket. I braced myself for the feeling of free falling into the ground below, but it never happened.

"Alright, you're not falling to the ground on your flank, now let's move it," Rainbow nudged me forward. Clearing my throat, I got ahold of myself knowing that Twilight's spell did in fact work and Rainbow began to escort me through Cloudsdale. I had to admit, it was pretty beautiful up here with Celesita's sun shining off the white columns of clouds that were layered all over the place. "So, do you like everything so far?" The pegasus and I crested a small cloud hill to reveal the heart of Cloudsdale. If real life had sound effects, a cash register sound would've played when my jaw dropped at the scenery sitting before me.

There were numerous huge buildings scattered around, and each of them were built with cloud columns as supports all around their circular cloud foundations. All of the buildings reminded me of artist renditions of ancient Greece and Rome from the architecture the pegasi had adopted. An old memory clicked on in my brain of Pegasus from Hercules the Disney movie. The little kid inside me expected to see Zeus walking around with his lightning bolts in front of Mt. Olympus. "That over there is the Cloudeseum where I won the Young Flyers Competition by saving Rarity, The Wonderbolts and performing my second ever Sonic Rainboom," Rainbow Dash bragged as she snapped my jaw back into place. Okay maybe she could support my weight if need be.

"This is beautiful Rainbow Dash!" I exclaimed, wishing I had brought my phone to take pictures.

"Yeah, it isn't called the greatest city in the clouds for nothing!" She declared. Apparently waking up early was a habit adopted by the majority of pegasus ponies. A few pegasi that I had never seen before stopped flying or walking on the clouds to take quick looks at me. 'I hope we won't have any scream teams,' I thought to myself. As if by chance however, the pegasi either just pointed at me with their hooves and flew off or just didn't say a thing and went on their merry way. Being pointed at didn't bother me a bit, I was point worthy after all. "If we had more time, I'd show you more of the weather factory over there," she turned my head to a large cluster of clouds surrounded by black storm clouds, a few real rainbows and what appeared to be rainbow waterfalls.

"Oh well, maybe next time when I have my camera," I said in a disappointed tone; that tour would've been really interesting. A few construction noises, mainly jackhammer sounds, nearly drowned out Rainbow's voice as she talked to me.

"What in Celestia's name is that?" A gruff construction worker's voice asked.

"It looks like that primate that's all buddy-buddy with the Elements of Harmony and the royal sisters!" Another voice explained as I walked by them. 'Better than being called a freak or a monster,' I shrugged off their comments.

"And just over here, is the greatest place where only the top 1% of pegasi go to become the most daring, amazing and spectacular flyers in Equestria: The Wonderbolts Academy!" Rainbow excitedly announced like Viper from Top Gun to me, grabbing my neck with her foreleg and pushing my cheek against hers as she motioned to a large cloud area just off the outskirts of Cloudsdale. A huge cloud building with the words Main Hall greeted us as we passed through a gate and under a sign that read Wonderbolts Academy.

"Good morning Rainbow Dash," a guard pegasus greeted us and granted us permission to enter the grounds.

"The obstacle course and training grounds are on the other side of the main hall, the mess hall, the gym, the weight training room and the barracks," Rainbow actually planted her hooves on the clouds and trotted along next to me. "Bugle call should be in three minutes, just made it," Rainbow congratulated herself as we entered the double doors of the main hall.

"Oh hello Rainbow, didn't expect to see you back this early," a dust colored mare approached us from the mess hall with two plates of food on her right foreleg. "And, is this the Cougar guy you keep talking about on your free time?" She tilted her head me as if she was studying an exhibit in a museum.

"Darn right, this is the coolest human you'll ever meet Feather Duster!" Rainbow shook me around like a trophy, causing me to drop my helmet. "And the only one," she added. I bent down and picked up my helmet before tucking it under my arm. 'Feather Duster? Doesn't sound like a Wonderbolt material name to me,' I pondered mentally.

"Don't worry, my real name isn't actually Cougar, it's just a call sign," I assured Feather Duster when she had a weird look on her face at the mention of my name. I guess we both had something in common.

"Nice to meet you," she said, not having enough forelegs to shake my hand. "What did Rainbow bring you for?" She questioned.

"To teach him how to maneuver his body in the air and to test out his jetpack," Rainbow said for me, turning me backwards to show the device to the pegasus.

"Interesting technology," she said, impressed. Well, it's good to meet you Cougar," Feather Duster smiled, "with what Rainbow's told us about your love for speed and flying, you'll fit right in here," she winked. "Now if you don't mind, I have to eat my breakfast before my janitorial duties call," Feather Duster explained before walking as carefully as she could on three legs. "Just please don't make too much of a mess if you do!" She shouted from down the hallway, stopping in front of an office door.

"Seems like a lot of food for such a small pegasus," I commented. She seemed to be in between Scootaloo and Rainbow's size, pretty small I had to admit. Rainbow Dash chuckled and patted the back of my jetpack.

"Oh, she hides it really bad, but Soarin and pretty much all of the guys told me she has a thing for Fire Streak," she told me, "except Fire Streak of course. But his twin bro Lightning pretty much confirmed it." I drew a blank face when Rainbow told me the names of her fellow Wonderbolts, making me feel sort of like an idiot. "Rrrrrrriiiiiigggggghhhht," Rainbow said slowly, "I've gotta introduce you to everypony before we begin any of your training," she gazed at the clock in the hallway. "The bugle is gonna sound any second. Let's head to the mess hall where Soarin and I can introduce you to the cadets and the rest of squad," Rainbow ordered me just as a loud bugle horn blasted through the loudspeakers of the academy.

"They're expecting me right? I don't feel like explaining about my name again," I said, holding the door to the mess hall open for Rainbow Dash. She flew in quickly, making a few banners above flutter in her breeze.

"Yeah, though you're used to being stared at right? Oh and I should warn you, there's a Wonderbolt here named Surprise, and she's sort of a, second Pinkie Pie, in pegasus form," Rainbow blushed, embarrassed that she forgot to tell me.

"Dear God," I said to myself as if time had stopped. "That's something that you should have told me about last night so I could be better prepared for a storm like that!" I scolded the mare.

"Also," Rainbow tried to change the subject on me, "stay away from the cookies until Rapidfire gets his own, unless you want to wake up in the dumpster out back," she warned me again.

"Cookies for breakfast?" I asked in disbelief. Rainbow nodded her head and gathered up a plate of food and some more coffee. Apparently, there was but one chef in the entire Wonderbolts Academy. This perplexed me until I realized there was probably less than thirty pegasi here, so one chef could easily prepare meals large enough. Speaking of the chef, a green stallion with a pot of vegetables as his cutie mark was eyeing me as I walked by the breakfast bar, grabbing a few doughnuts. "Morning," I smiled as I slinked my way down the bar.

"Don't worry about Steamed Vegetable, he's just all bark," Rainbow assured me when I sat down at the table next to her. Right then, the Mess Hall doors flew open as numerous other pegasi either glided in or trotted inside looking for food. Soarin was leading the group of Wonderbolts and cadets into the Mess Hall with a tired grin on his muzzle, though everypony maneuvered around him like a river going around a rock. The light blue stallion smiled even bigger as he waved to the both of us and flew over to our table.

"Hey, good to see you make it here Cougar," Soarin proclaimed, sitting across from me but next to Rainbow Dash. "What do you think of Cloudsdale so far?" the Captain of the Wonderbolts inquired. I could feel a few pairs of eyes staring at me from behind, but I paid no attention as I stuffed a doughnut in my face.

"I wish I had more time to tour Cloudsdale, I can tell you that," I swallowed my bite of doughnut. A few cadets sat down at the table next to us, eating their food and watching me.

"Well, you'll have to come up more often then," Soarin smiled. "To be honest Cougar, when Dashie here told me that you could fly with artificial wings on your back, I thought she had too much cider to drink," he joked, earning himself an icy glare from Rainbow. "But, I think this could be one of the greatest accomplishments not only for the Wonderbolts, but if our scientists can harness your technology, other pegasi that can't fly due to wing injuries or wing deformities can!" He declared.

"Soarin, did you steal a dictionary and a thesaurus from the library?" Rainbow lightly tapped his noggin.

"Uh no, why?" Soarin questioned.

"No reason," Rainbow Dash ate up some of her eggs. The clopping of hooves drew my attention over to my right where four pegasi were munching on food and staring wide-eyed at me. One mare in particular had white fur and a mane that looked exactly like Pinkie's, except it was yellow- oh shit.

"SURPRISE!" The mare screamed right in my face, scaring the shit out of me. My plate went sailing behind me, crashing into a million pieces on the cloud behind me.

"Celestia dammit ya buckin klutz!" The chef yelled at me, "do you have any idea how hard it is to find porcelain plates up here!?" After getting my pulse down to non-threatening levels, I turned to the Pinkie clone who was grinning at me really big.

"What in the hell was that for!?" I yelled back at her, though it didn't seem to faze her at all. Instead, the mare hopped up and down on her legs, giggling.

"That's my name silly!" She noogied my head, "I thought I'd skip the boring part of you asking my name and get right to me telling you my name!" She explained. "One of my bestest friends, Pinkie Pie, talks about you all the time in her letters to me," she didn't stop bouncing up and down.

"Lay off the damn sugar kid," I mumbled. "How did you guys pick her to be a cadet?" I asked Soarin. He and Rainbow Dash looked at each other before chuckling to themselves.

"She's actually a Wonderbolt Cougar," Rainbow correct. "Yeah, she's a pegasus Pinkie Pie, but she's also a really good flyer and takes her job seriously," the cyan pegasus explained.

"Just give me a cupcake and I'll fly for the next week!" Surprise stuck her tongue out as she smiled. "And if you want to know the best places in Cloudsdale to get goodies, just give me a holler Cougar!" She gave me a bone crushing hug.

"Cougar's here to fly Surprise, not die from your affections," Soarin pried the mare off of me. She waved goodbye and Pinkie-hopped away to the breakfast bar for more sugary snacks. "SURPRISE, WHO SAID YOU COULD HAVE MY COOKIES?!" A thick Austrian-like accent bellowed.

After making sure my arms were still able to move, I looked over at the other two pegasi standing next to me. One was a stallion pegasus with fur very similar to Soarin's and a spiked up dark and light blonde mane. The second pegasus was a pink mare with a dirty blonde mane and tail and a sneer across her face. Standing next to her was another pegasus mare that was purple in fur color and had orange and blue stripes in her mane, sort of resembling the colors from NERF darts. And the fourth pegasus was another stallion who looked exactly like the other stallion of the four pegasus group, except he had white fur and his mane was orange and cream colored.

"Name's Lightning Streak," the light blue pegasus extended his hoof to my hand, "I've been wanting to meet you for awhile now to talk about how you were able to fly in your world," he introduced himself. The second pegasus rolled his eyes and grumbled.

"Oh shut up Lightning," he ordered, "you just wanted to meet him to see if he was smart enough to play checkers." Lightning turned to his twin and growled, holding up his hoof like a fist.

"Mind your own business bro," Lightning retorted.

"Name's Fire Streak, unfortunate big brother of this moron," Fire shook my hand. "You'll have to excuse him; he's a few arrows short of a quiver if you catch my drift. And very immature," he added. "Glad to finally meet you though Cougar," he greeted.

"Nice to meet you too Fire Streak," can't wait to get back up in the air," I replied. "And I don't like checkers, I'm more of a chess guy," I looked over at Lightning Streak.

"Buck that; it hurts my brain too much," Lightning shook his head. My gaze focused on the purple mare that for some reason couldn't keep her eyes on me for more than three seconds at a time. She was probably afraid of me; she was a smidge shorter than a few of the others and she looked like a quiet pegasus, kind of like Fluttershy.

"What's your name miss?" I asked the purple pegasus. She looked away, not saying a word before looking back up at me. Yep, shy as hell, not that it bothered me or anything. "I know I'm a very different creature than you're used to seeing, but I'm a nice guy," I tried to placate her fears.

"L-Lullaby," she whispered meekly in return. And like Fluttershy, her shyness was actually pretty damn cute.

"She a Wonderbolt too?" I leaned back to Rainbow Dash. She shook her head in reply, telling me she was a cadet. "Ah, well hope to fly with you today," I winked at her, "maybe you can show me a thing or two?" I asked. Lullaby 'eeped' and turned around, trotting over to the breakfast bar.

"Great, you managed to scare Lullaby," the last pegasus that bothered to see me rolled her eyes. The smug look on her face never once left during my introductions. "Is there anything useful you can do?" She asked.

"Knock it off Spring Song," Rainbow sounded just like Stinger when Boa would mouth off to everyone. "Remember, he saved me and my friends and sister from Timberwolves," she reminded this, Spring Song. The mare leaned against the table, getting into my face.

"Look, I don't care what you've done while you've been in Equestria. And frankly I don't have a problem with you," she assured, "just don't get in my way today; my official tryouts to join the Wonderbolts are soon and I need all the time to practice."

"Okay," I swallowed another bite of doughnut.

"I'm the best flyer here; I don't need some incompetent monkey ruining anything for me," she playfully yet in a bitchy way smacked my cheek with her hoof. Soarin groaned, setting his elbows on the table.

"Sorry about Spring Song, she's just a little full of herself," he said.

"A little?!" Rainbow's hooves slammed on the tabletop.

"Dashie," Soarin cut her off, "you know she's not worth it," he soothed her anger. "These two were at each other's throats for a long time until Rainbow was offered to join the 'Bolts. I thought Spring Song would take it hard, but she somehow found something good about it and proclaims she's now the best flyer in the reserves," Soarin delineated. "But she does have the skills, you have to admit Rainbow," Soarin turned back to his girlfriend whom nodded reluctantly.

"Ah, a combination of Maverick and Iceman, interesting," I polished off my doughnuts. "Boy, I really need to show you guys Top Gun," I replied to Rainbow and Soarin's blank stares. "So, am I gonna meet any of the others or is that it?"

"Well, breakfast is almost finished," Soarin stretched his wings, "and some of the cadets and squad members don't get a move on until afterwards, which is right about now actually. You ready to start practicing Cougar?" He asked me. Feeling a little more confident than last night, I stood up and pushed the button on my jetpack strap. Rainbow got an evil grin on her face and floated her way up to my eye level.

"First stop: The Dizzitron Cougar," she grinned.

(Outside at the Training Grounds)

I was staring at a green version of what looked like those cartoon hypno patterns outside at the training grounds. Soarin, Rainbow Dash and I were joined by the few cadets that wanted to watch and Surprise, Rapidfire, the Streak Twins, Spring Song and Lullaby joined us as well. "Okay, what the hell am I looking at?" I asked Soarin whom chuckled.

"First thing the cadets go through here at the academy is the dizzitron Cougar," the stallion proudly patted the side of the large saucer-like device. "It helps us get a measure on how well they can recover from a spinout," he explained.

"So, you purposely make them spin themselves off course with this thing?" I asked. I tried to imagine rookie NASCAR drivers purposely wrecking in order to practice recovering from a real wreck, or the Air Force putting me into a flat spin to see if I can pull out.

"Gotta learn it somehow!" Rainbow grabbed me and strapped me into the device. "Ya might wanna put your helmet on now," she advised as she double-checked everything on the dizzitron. I slid the arm braces over my arms, making the engine of my jetpack roar to life as the wings popped back out. I buckled my helmet on and tightened it so it wouldn't fly off and hit some poor pony in the head.

"Careful, some ponies are known to barf their first time around," Soarin warned me.

"Fifty bits says he upchucks all of those doughnuts bro," Lightning held out his hoof to his brother. I grinned as Fire Streak slapped his twin brother's hoof away, shaking his head.

"The record is held by yours truly, can you beat it?" Rainbow bopped my nose. She gave Soarin the okay to turn it on and test my ability to recover from a spinout.

"I wish I had some popcorn," Rapidfire licked his lips.

"Beat ya to it buddy," I heard Surprise munching on the buttery treat. The red stallion's jaw dropped at the bucket of popcorn that appeared literally from Surprise's mane. "Come on Cougar, you can do it!" She cheered me on. The machine turned on and I began to roll in circles, the image of the ponies in front of me began to go in circles as well. I shut my eyes and pretended I was doing a barrel roll in my old F-15 so I wouldn't feel sick, but it didn't work very well.

'I probably shouldn't have eaten anything,' I thought. The spinning started going faster and faster. I had forgotten my sunglasses, so my eyes were watering like crazy as I rolled through the air.

"RELEASE!" Rainbow Dash shouted to Soarin. All of a sudden, my restraint let go and I felt myself flying through the air at about 100 miles per hour. I opened my eyes to see the runway below me disappear, giving way to how high in the air we were. My mouth refused to open so I could scream; this was a pretty scary ordeal.

"FLY! FLY CELESTIA DAMMIT!" Rapidfire's thick accent shouted. Not having much time to think, I flung my arms to my side and the wings of my jet pack followed suit with a huge burst of acceleration from the engine. My speed picked up dramatically as I flew threw a few straggling clouds at God knows what speed. My arms flailed up as the jerkiness of everything at once had caught me off guard, and my wings spread out, slowing me down almost immediately. It was like hitting a brick wall, and I felt the sensation of dropping like a lead balloon.

"RECOVER! YOU CAN DO IT!" Rainbow encouraged me. My arms seized up, unable to swoop back to get my speed up to where I would stop falling and fly back to the group. "COME ON! DON'T GIVE UP!" She shouted.

"OOF!" I shouted as my body hit the ground, or the cloud, below pretty hard. I bounced up and forward, somewhat rolling in mid-air. You'd think the soft, fluffiness of a cloud wouldn't hurt that much. But with Twilight's spell, it actually did hurt, yet not as much as if I were hitting real ground.

"OOOOH," the pegasi viewing me grimaced as I kept hitting the cloud. I felt my momentum slowing down as I kept bouncing off the cloud, but my eyes widened in fear as I saw how close to the edge I was getting. Outstretching my arms, I managed to twist my body around so my legs were dangling off the edge of the cloud rather than my arms. My arms gripped the cloud as hard as I could command them, trying to keep from falling. My jetpack was humming along, having not taken damage from the crash.

"Cougar!" Soarin screamed as he and Rainbow jetted towards me. I looked down at the ground that seemed lightyears away, but it didn't bother me thanks to my love of flying. The two blue pegasi landed in front of me and wrapped their forelegs around my arms, yanking me up onto the cloud. I had to catch my breath before doing anything except dropping to my hands and knees. Needless to say, my head was spinning from falling with style as Woody would put it. "You okay bro?" Soarin placed his hoof on my back.

"Yeah, that was a nasty tumble you took," Rainbow agreed while Lullaby, Rapidfire and Fire Streak trotted over to us. My body began to shake as a new sensation began to well up within me. Whether or not I had a concussion or I bruised a few ribs was left to be determined as I whirled around with my head sticking over the edge of the cloud.

"Is okay?" Lullaby softly asked Soarin.

"BLEEERRRGGH!" my morning coffee, toast and doughnuts were emptied from my stomach and out of my mouth. "And I thought my test flight in the F-15 was bad," I groaned, clutching my stomach as more contents were expelled out of my mouth.

"Those poor ponies on the ground," Fire Streak shielded his eyes.

"You done bro?" Soarin helped me to my feet. I shuddered, wiping off my mouth with my arm and stretching out my arms and legs that had cramped up. My response was a quick nod as I began to walk back to the dizzitron.

"Woah, maybe you should rest first?" Rainbow suggested as I was limping slightly while walking.

"Yeah, maybe you really hurt something internally," Rapidfire pondered. Holding up my hand in defense, I waved them off and got back in the dizzitron.

"I'm doing this until I get it down," I said with a few sharp breaths. "Just got the wind knocked outta me," I added. Surprise on the other hand had dropped her bucket of popcorn and was staring in shock at me.

"You're like a crash test dummy!" She exclaimed, earning angry glares from Rainbow, Soarin, Lullaby and Rapidfire. "I mean, you were just all zoom, shoo, crash, bang, crack and bleeeerrggh!" She imitated me throwing up. "At this rate, I'm gonna need more popcorn!" I'm pretty sure she didn't enjoy me getting injured and tormented, instead she probably marveled at the fact that I managed to get up after taking that punishment.

"Let's do this," my jetpack engine ignited once again as I pushed the red button. I had figure out a way to keep the engine off, but have the braces still on my arms. In a weird way I couldn't comprehend however, the engine could run without taking off if I moved my arms, even with the braces in their flying positions. There was a small probability that I had to thrust my arms back in order to take off, a theory that I had to test at some point. The machine whirred to life, and the background began to circle and spin once again.

(6 hours later)

After about my 15th attempt solo, Soarin decided that the strongest Wonderbolts, Fire Streak and Rapidfire, would follow the path the dizzitron sent me so I would stop busting my ass. We had been at it for hours, but luckily everypony here was determined as I was to help me get this down. Unfortunately, I had lost count of how many times I had tried this, but I didn't care about that fact; I was looking at it like Thomas Edison had when he created the lightbulb. I've figured out how to not recover from a spinout dozens of times. And the one time it will take me to do it properly will be a sweet emotion.

"We'll try one more before breaking for lunch," Rainbow bit her lip at the cadets and Wonderbolts that were losing patience and energy. At least Lullaby offered to bring me water and creme to dull the pain from the bruises.

"Need, pieeeeeeeee!" Soarin whined as he clutched his stomach.

"Ask Rainbow Dash, Soarin," Lightning Streak joked, nudging Fire Streak in his ribs at his 'joke.' Rainbow and Soarin glared spears at their fellow 'Bolt. As for Fire Streak on the other hand, he reared his hoof back and punched his brother upside the head, knocking him to the ground.

"For Celestia's sake Lightning, we're 24 years old!" He spat at his immature twin. Lightning Streak scoffed, dusting off his uniform as he picked himself up off the ground. "Grow up a little okay?" Fire Streak offered a little brotherly advice.

"Just because you have a fancy office doesn't mean you can be a bully bro," Lightning refused to look at Fire Streak.

"Are we really bringing up that nonsense again!?" As the twins began to bicker back and forth, Rainbow rolled her eyes and floated upwards to talk to me. She rested her cyan hooves on the restraint, making sure it was secure.

"You know Cougar, don't you think you should go home soon? I mean, I know you want to do this, but should you really risk broken arms and legs over defeating the dizzitron? " She asked me.

"Rainbow, you and Applejack wanted me to try this, remember?" I reminded her. "Sure I'm a little sore, but that's the military life. Keep picking yourself up until the job is done, and my job today isn't done," I refused to give up. Shrugging, Rainbow jetted down to the control panel and pulled the lever down to start up the dizzitron one more time. Securing my sunglasses, I held my breath when the machine reached full velocity and Rainbow activated the second lever, releasing me from the machine.

As I saw the group leave my eyesight from getting launched like a cannon ball, I took a few deep breaths as I thrust my arms back hard, reactivating my wings and the engine of the jetpack that hummed and then began to rumble. Keeping myself straight as I stopped rolling in the air, I began to zoom across in a straight line with my arms outstretched like the wings of an F-14.

"YOU'RE DOING IT BRO!" Soarin exclaimed from down below. Looking around after getting my eyesight back to normal, I saw that I was not spinning anymore; I was flying, with a jetpack, fulfilling childhood fantasies of superhero fans. Feeling excited, I thrust my arms back again hard, causing the wings to follow suit, shaping me like a bullet through the air and gaining me speed.

"DON'T GO TOO FAR!" Rainbow warned me as I was getting a little carried away with seeing how fast this thing could take me. However, who could blame me? Flying was my passion for so long and even though it was only four and a half months of being grounded, this was so refreshing to feel the wind on my face. Deciding that I had gone fast and far enough, I swept my wings forward, slowing me down to a relatively normal speed. I then realized that I had no clue how to turn, so I did my best by trying to bring as much weight as I could onto my left arm to bank my way around.

Banking and turning around was kind of wobbly, but I expected that would be my next lesson to work on before tackling the obstacle course. The pegasi below were clapping their hooves on the cloud and cheering as I approached them and prepared to land. However, the child within me surfaced again as I outstretched both of my arms, leaving my wings still perfectly straight, and flew over the group, but not before exclaiming one of my favorite quotes of all time, "To infinity, and BEYOND!" I shouted as I flew over the group and slowly descended until my feet touched the runway and I ran, jogged and finally walked my way back to the group.

"That was awesome!" Rainbow jumped up and hugged me.

"I knew you could do it bro, nice work!" Soarin patted my back.

"Congratulations, you stopped using your ass as a landing pad," Rapidfire joked. I managed to let out a little chuckle as I shook his hoof. I kinda felt like Maverick and Merlin at the end of Top Gun as everyone on their carrier congratulated them for a job well done.

"Okay, yes it was nice that you finally stopped sucking, but can we eat lunch now?" Spring Song crossed her forelegs. "It's two hours past the normal lunch hour," she whined. Soarin's belly growled in agreement with the whiny cadet.

"Break for lunch cadets!" Soarin announced as he nearly got run over by both cadets and squad mates as they flew past him to the Mess Hall. "You coming Coug? Steamed Vegetable makes killer pies," he licked his lips.

"Yeah, but just bring out to me, I need to sit down for a minute," I sat down at a table next to the Mess Hall doors.

"Are you sure you're okay dude?" Rainbow asked in a very concerned tone.

"I'm fine, just still trying to catch my breath," I replied, leaning against the table I was sitting at. Rainbow and Soarin exchanged worried glances before trotting into the mess hall. Removing the arm braces, I reached up and unbuckled the jetpack, letting it fall off my arms before setting it up on the table. "Ah," I grimaced in a little bit of pain while trying to stretch my arms. My torso was extremely sweaty, causing my shirt to stick to my skin. There wasn't too much pain radiating off my muscles, but it was still noticeable.

"N-need some more creme?" A sweet voice asked me. Lifting my head up, I saw the purple fur and orange and blue mane of Lullaby as she sat down across me with the tube of muscle relaxing creme.

"Uh, sure I guess," I removed my blue Air Force shirt. A few blue and purple bruises were tattooed across my arms, chest, abs and back, scaring Lullaby a bit by the looks of it.

"Oh wow," she said as her eyes darted away and put some of the creme on her hoof and began to apply it to my sore muscles. She seemed to be a little nervous around me still, I guess I'm gonna have to fix that. "You really took a nasty beating today," she added in her meek tone as her hoof softly traced over my abs with the creme.

"You don't have to be afraid of me Lullaby," I smiled down at her, "I'm a nice guy; I won't do anything to hurt you," I assured her.

"It's not that I'm afraid," her hooves began to rub over my biceps. I could feel her hoof trembling as she continued to rub the soothing creme all over my bumps and bruises. It wasn't cold out and I don't think she was sick or anything. Could she be angry?

"Well, then what's wrong Lullaby?" I asked her. She ceased massaging the creme onto my skin, dipping her hoof into the jar again and rubbing it over the side of my ribcage.

"N-nothing, it's stupid," she quickly stammered. "Spring Song just thinks she knows everything," Lullaby added, putting a little more pressure on my ribs, making me wince in pain. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" She apologized, taking her hoof off of my ribs.

"It's cool," I seethed as the pain vibrated throughout my ribs. "And what's this about Spring Song?" I asked her. The purple mare sighed, setting the jar back down and wiping her hooves off on the cloud below.

"Spring Song kept being rude to you while you were trying to fly," Lullaby revealed, sitting back on her haunches next to me. "She wasn't cracking immature or rude jokes like Lightning Streak, she was just mocking you every time you crashed. It made me so mad because I knew you were trying your best," the mare gripped the tabletop with her hooves. Oh boy, the asshole squad mate, I knew that all too well from my early days in the Air Force and from Top Gun naturally. "I mean, you could've been seriously hurt and she was talking about how much you sucked and that you'd be a danger to every pegasi in the air if you kept trying to fly." I placed my hand on Lullaby's shoulder, making her freeze.

"Lullaby, you can't let somepony's words get under your skin," I advised, "you'll only make yourself miserable listening to hurtful things. So Spring Song thinks I suck, so what?" Lullaby sighed, looking down at the cloud and back up at me.

"It's not that her words got under my skin, it's the fact that she didn't care one bit that you could've been seriously injured. Instead, she kept mocking you and reminding us that you might break your neck." She laid her chin on top of her forelegs. "I'm used to her ego around the academy, but to say those awful things about somepony as brave and nice as you just hurts," she admitted. I wrapped my arms around her torso, which wasn't hard since she was a little bit smaller than the normal pony mare, and squeezed her lightly. She squeaked like Fluttershy did when I would hug Fluttershy.

"You're too kind Lullaby," I chuckled. "I thank you for being concerned for my feelings and health, but what Spring Song thinks, I don't give a shit about," I swore. Lullaby's golden eyes looked up at me, kind of like a puppy dog would look up at its master. "It doesn't matter what Spring Song thinks of me, what matters most is what I think of myself. Trust me, you'll be a lot happier if you only focus on your own opinion," I smiled. Still trembling, the purple pegasus gulped.

"I-I think you're one of the sweetest creatures I've ever met," she sheepishly smiled, climbing down from my hug.

"Woah, what's going on here?" Soarin asked as he belched. Some red goo coated his muzzle, probably from strawberry, cherry or raspberry pie. "We leave for a few minutes and you're trying to hook up with one of my cadets?" He joked. Lullaby blushed like crazy and denied it.

"N-no! I was just helping him with his pain creme and we started talking about Spring Song acting mean about him," she explained.

"At ease Cadet Lullaby," Soarin laughed, "I'm just teasing ya," he ruffled her nerd colored hair. The purple mare started to breath heavily and looked away from all of us. "Hope you like vegetables and pie," he announced, dropping food in front of me. I picked up a piece of celery and began to munch on it.

"So, we were thinking that after lunch, we could take you to the race track on the academy grounds and teach you how to turn without, you know, flying a hundred miles off course," Rainbow explained, taking a huge bite out of a hay sandwich.

"Race track?!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, we use it to make the cadets run laps," Soarin replied. "Or, fly laps in this case," he corrected himself, digging his whole face into a pie.

"Okay then, who's gonna be the lucky one to help me with that?" I questioned, taking a sip of water to wash down the celery. Rainbow looked at Soarin who then looked around at a few of the pegasi that were hanging around outside. The two then looked across the table at Lullaby whom was nibbling on a carrot.

"Since we're not gonna teach you anything about speed just yet, I'm sure Lullaby can help you with that," Soarin said, swallowing a huge bite of pie.

"Wait a minute, you mean one on one with Cougar?" Lullaby asked, darting her golden eyes from me to her commanding officer. Soarin nodded in response, causing the purple mare to hide behind her hooves.

"Well, more like you'll fly next to him and teach him how to turn while we watch," Soarin tossed his empty pie tin into a nearby garbage.

"CUPCAKE!?" Surprise jumped out from under the table, holding a huge tray of cupcakes.

"Dammit, stop that surprise!" Rainbow pounded her chest, coughing up a piece of her sandwich. The white pegasus ate a cupcake in one bite, still offering us the tray.

"What? Surprises are good for the soul! They keep you on the tips of your hooves, sharpen your nerves and make you prepared for anything!" She struck a dramatic pose. "So, anypony want a cupcake? I made them myself!" She sang.

"Whatever," I grabbed a cupcake with red frosting and ate it. "Now can we get a move on with my training?" I asked the group.

(Soarin's Office. Cougar's POV a few hours later)

"Congrats, you learn fast bro," Soarin allowed me to enter his personal office. The blue pegasus flapped his wings as he landed at his desk. Needless to say, his desk looked nearly identical to Stinger's desk in his own office. "Though you're still rough around some areas, but if you come here on a regular basis, you'll get it down quickly," he offered me to sit down.

"Thanks Soar," I took up his offer and sat down. "Though I have to thank Lullaby for being patient with me when I kept crashing into poles and going off course," I admitted, crossing my leg over the other. Soarin's chair creaked as he leaned back in it, the room growing quiet as we didn't have much else to say.

"Yeah, she's a good mare," he finally replied. "I'm really hoping she can keep it up and be an official Wonderbolt soon," he grabbed a pen in his mouth. "I'm thinking you can come and train whenever you're available," he piped up after scribbling something on a sheet of paper with his mouth. "My only concern would be that you'd try it alone. I can't allow a bud to get hurt, so if you do come to train on a regular basis, be sure to check in with Fire Streak, Fleetfoot or Rapidfire if Dashie and I aren't here; I take safety very seriously," his green eyes did in fact turn serious for a minute.

"Gotcha Soarin. It's kind of like the gym rules back in the Air Force to always have a spot when working out," I replied. Looking outside from the window, I could see that dusk was beginning to arrive, meaning that it would get dark soon. "Hey Soarin, can I ask you a question?" I inquired. The pegasus' eyes turned back to his normal, laid-back demeanor.

"Shoot," he gave me permission. I've been wanting to know how he's been doing for awhile now after Rainbow told me about, the incident. And I knew that it would be a sensitive subject for him, but like I've learned here, some things are better to get off your chest.

"How're you holding up after what happened with you and, well Spitfire?" I questioned, leaning forward in my chair and folding my hands together. Soarin's face contorted into a very powerful glare the memories came rushing back to him; I've seen that look on my face many a time. He looked down at the floor, letting out a depressed sigh before looking back up. Now, his face wasn't angry or glowering, it was a sad face.

"I-" he tried to say before a few tears slipped out of his eyes.

"You miss Spitfire, don't you Soarin? Even though she tried to ruin your name, career and beat up your girlfriend?" 'You fucking numbskull,' I thought to myself for making painful memories resurface for Soarin. The pegasus wiped a few tears from his green eyes.

"Call it pity, remorse or emptiness, but you don't know how much I've been through with her Cougar," he began a trip down memory lane for me. Soarin stood up from his seat and turned around to face the window, placing a hoof on the glass. "We were both trained by Captain Nighthawk in our Academy and reserves days, and that was special; he never took on more than one protege at once before. I looked out for her and she looked out for me. And even with Braeburn's help, I was still pretty irresponsible in the Academy, but Spitfire would give me the flank kicking I needed to bring me back to my senses."

"Did you have special, feelings for her?" I stood up and slowly walked over to the downtrodden pony.

"No, she was like my older sister," Soarin reached into his pocket with his mouth and pulled out a wallet-sized picture. He gave it to me, dropping it into my hand from his mouth. The picture was one of him and Spitfire on the day of their graduation. The black pegasus behind them I assumed was the old Captain Nighthawk. "None of this makes a lick of bucking sense," Soarin muttered, squeezing his eyes.

"What doesn't?" I set the picture back on the bookshelf below the window. Soarin sighed sadly again, beginning to pace around his office, looking at all of the Wonderbolts posters, books and other memorabilia.

"What she did and why she did it," Soarin turned back around and swatted the picture into a desk drawer. "The Spitfire I grew up and trained with would never let something as frivolous and trivial as sponsors get in the way of our friendship," he said angrily, slightly scaring me. He slumped over another bookcase in the office, looking at the cover of a Wonderbolts History book that featured himself and Spitfire on the cover.

"So what do you think happened Soarin?"

"I don't have a bucking clue Coug. I don't believe for a second that she would snap like that. I've been over everything at least a million times in my head; what she did, the old Spitfire would never do."

"Maybe the stress got to her?"

"She handles stress like Celestia handles cake: Swift and aggressive. Sad thing is though, there's really nothing I can prove to show that she wasn't acting like herself," Soarin

"Well, she wasn't. She was being selfish." Soarin glared daggers at me for saying that, a sentence I wish I could take back. Yet, Soarin did nothing as he slumped back in his chair, hooves covering his eyes.

"Maybe I'm just having a hard time letting go of my friend. We haven't had an airshow since then, not even a private one for the royal sisters. We've had to deal with other sponsors threatening to leave, trying to figure out new stunts to perform, and we're cracking down on our newest recruits. I've never been under more stress in my entire life Cougar; I just want my friend back."

"Have you tried visiting her in jail?" I asked, leaning down to his level from the other side of the desk. "You know, trying to talk to her about it?"

"I've tried so many times, but I'm just afraid she won't be the same as I remembered her before the incident. I guess you could say I'm scared, but how can I face her if she still wants me gone?" He asked me.

"Soar, I can't answer that on the account of I've never had someone try to do that to me," I retorted. "But you need closure on this, whether or not she still is your friend. Trust me, if you want to clear your head of this, you're gonna need to talk to her," I advised.

"B-but," Soarin stammered.

"Quiet," I quickly shut him up. "I understand the pain you're going through of uncertainty and stress, but not knowing is what's really killing you on the inside, talking to her, even if she's in jail, can rustle you up some answers. And if she's truly changed the way you fear she has, you still have Rainbow, your cadets, your fellow squad mates, and a horde of friends in Ponyville to support you," I assured him.

"Spitfire would know what to do," Soarin sighed sadly yet again, "she always had the answers for everything." There was a knock on the door, drawing us away from our conversation as Rainbow walked in.

"Hey guys, just letting Cougar know the final balloon of the day leaves in a few," she warned. "What were you guys talking about?" She nuzzled Soarin's cheek. The two of us looked up at each other, knowing that bringin up our conversation around Rainbow was a bad idea.

"Oh, nothing Dashie," Soarin returned the nuzzle, "I was just telling Cougar he can come back at any time to practice with his jetpack," he placed a hoof on her back, "so long as he has a Wonderbolt watching him," he winked at me.

"Yeah, I was thinking maybe two or three times a week in the morning?" I asked.

"Sounds good, as long as you also bring a pie for me ever time," he lightly punched my shoulder.

"I'll see what Applejack can do," I replied. Rainbow and Soarin released their hug and escorted me to the gate outside of the academy. It was really starting to get dark out; visibility was dropping until Luna could get her moon up in the sky. Luckily though, the hot air balloon pony was accepting one more trip for the night, albeit for a hefty price which I could cover.

"Well, guess we'll see you soon Cougar," Soarin tossed my helmet into the basket of the hot air balloon. I climbed into the mode of transportation as the operator counted the bits I handed to him.

"Yeah, Luna mentioned something about Nightmare Night coming up soon, you guys take part in that right?" I asked.

"I'm the best Nightmare Night prankster in Equestria, of course I'll be there!" Rainbow bragged, bumping her hoof into my fist.

"Thanks again for this opportunity guys," I smiled when the operator flipped on the propane and the balloon rose from the clouds. The two blue pegasi waved good bye as the balloon drifted through the clouds and out of sight, heading back towards the ground. Thinking about the day, I thought I had made great progress in not only learning to fly, but also expanding my comfort zone in Equestria. It took me months to be able to just leave Ponyville and Canterlot to visit another town, or Empire in my previous case. And just a few days after that, I was willing and able to leave Ponyville again to Cloudsdale, a completely different experience.

Now, I wanted to see EVERYWHERE in Equestria. I wasn't getting sick of Ponyville, but there were so many more places to visit and meet new ponies, explore new philosophies and ideas that I couldn't wait for the next opportunity to spread my wings.

End Chapter 26

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Join me next time for when Cougar has to substitute for Ms. Cheerilee at the Crusaders' school!

I do not own, Spring Song, Lullaby, Feather Duster, Surprise or the Streak Twins