Author's Notes:

Canterlot City, Equestria #2651914

Johnny Alex Carmichael cocked his head as he took two quick strides as he noticed the railing before he smirked slightly. “Ever seen someone defy gravity?” he quipped.

“Huh?” Shining Armor said in confusion. “Nobody can defy gravity,” he said with confusion.

“Really? Then I shouldn’t be able to get up that railing…. without using the steps,” he said with amusement as he rolled his shoulders before he pushed off, unaware that his body was passively absorbing Equestrian Magic, hence, he could strengthen his body and manipulate his aura in a stronger state than that of even Master Shaolin monks. The bodysuit he wore enhanced these talents. Barely visible nickel sized gaps in his palms appeared to be repulsor sensors.

They widened into small sapphire openings before a deep silvery blue aura flared, reacting almost like jets and shoving him at high speed up the railing though he shot almost twenty yards further on before he tumbled with the landing, feeling dizzy from the abrupt acceleration.

“How’d you do that?” Shining Armor said with confusion as he galloped up to him.

“Do what?” Johnny said with confusion, not understanding. He didn’t realize that his armor had thickened in response to his impact before thinning again.

“Fly without wings!! I mean, it’s obvious you don’t have wings,” Shining commented.

“Actually, if you think about it scientifically, if you have the right shape of something and enough thrust behind it, it’s entirely possible anything could fly… though I wouldn’t advise flying into space without any sort of protection… it would make the fluids like blood and such in the body react rather… violently,” he said wryly, shrugging.

Shining laughed at that. “You sound like Twily, talking like that,” he said fondly, his gaze flicking towards the castle for a moment.

“Personally, I know about science… a fair bit, but I was always more interested in the terrestrial sciences than the astronomical kind… admittedly, I love admiring a good night sky. It’s rather relaxing. Although admittedly… there are always chemicals that react violently with water. Hell, even something as simple as table salt can if given the proper… preparation. My personal favorite… is dry ice… frozen carbon dioxide,” Johnny said with a grin.

“What’s so fun about it?” he said in confusion as the other ponies caught up.

“It can be summed up in four words: sealed bottle, water, boom,” Johnny said with a chuckle, smirking.

“Eh?” Shining muttered, confused further.

“Dry ice, or frozen carbon dioxide…. essentially the primary gas you exhale, is one of the few elements that sublimate straight from a solid to a gas. Water accelerates said process. Stick it in a sealed bottle… it will eventually blow the bottle apart,” he clarified.

Shining shrugged. “I never paid that much attention in science,” he admitted.

“It takes a particular kind to enjoy Chemistry. Personally, I preferred a more…. explosive approach. For example, chlorine by itself is a lethal gas, while sodium alone is a metal that reacts highly explosively with water. Take a guess on what the are combined as sodium chloride,” Johnny said with a snicker. He grunted slightly as one of the military ponies shoved him from behind. “Baka,” he said dryly, cocking an eyebrow as he snorted as he walked towards the palace, cautious as he didn’t know what to expect.

“I have no clue,” Shining said wryly. Alexis smirked, almost seeing question marks floating above the stallion's head.

“Table salt, the very kind you put on eggs, fries, and in a variety of other things, like cakes,” Alexis said nonchalantly. He snickered at the multiple thuds he heard, glancing over his shoulder as quite a few of the military ponies, as well as the self-proclaimed 'nobles', were rising to their hooves.

He hummed softly, looking around as he exhaled softly, simply enjoying the breeze for a few minutes. He glanced up at the towers, tempted to see what kind of view was visible from the top.

He glanced at his hands before he noticed the rounded circles before they irised open, exposing what made him vaguely think of a single word, though he couldn't remember why it seemed familiar or where he'd heard the term.

"Extremis," he muttered under his breath.