He wasn’t going to make it. His heart thundered in his ears as he continued to climb, eyes forward as his goal drew closer. “Just hang in there, Jared,” he panted, trying his hardest to ignore his tormentor pursuing him. “You got this. Only a little bit more…”

“Come on, slowpoke, you got to flap those wings harder or you’ll fall out of the sky again!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she drifted by, on her back to show off. “Just get to that cloud, and then you can take a break!”

Jared tried to scowl, but settled with continuing to gasp for air as his chest burned from the exertion. Looking up, he almost stopped flapping as the cloud was practically within reach, but with one last herculean push he dropped onto it. He sank down into it, wings splayed out as he felt the ache catch up with him.

Finally mustering enough willpower, he forced himself upright, groaning as his muscles protested. He’d been practicing flying for over four months now, but every day seemed as hard as the first. Well, that wasn’t true, but compared to how he’d seen Rainbow fly in the past, he wondered if there wasn’t some side effect to the Conversion that they hadn’t anticipated.

“Not too bad, dude,” Rainbow said as she landed. Her hooves sank into it too, and she stamped it irritably. “Although, I’m surprised at how… weak your flying is.” She fixed him with a reproachful glare. “You better not be sneaking snacks with Pinkie.”

“Between the language lessons, the walking practice, and this flying stuff, I’ve barely had any time for any social life,” Jared muttered as he stretched his limbs with a wince. “So, are we done for today?”

“Yeah, we can take a break,” Rainbow said, poking a hoof at the cloud thoughtfully. “I might have you do something easy later, practice your dives.”

Jared groaned as he got to his hooves, only to remember where they were. “I swear, I’m never going to get the hang of this.” He peeked over the edge, the red wing visible on the Bureau roof below.

“Oh, don’t be such a wuss,” Rainbow said, giving up her poking to stand next to him. “This cloud’s nothing compared to the ones we got back home. Besides, you’ve been a pony for almost four months now, you ought to be flying like a pro. Thought all humans dreamed of it or something.”

Jared rolled his eyes as he spread his wings. “Yeah. Just that most of us aren’t four foot high ponies when we’re doing it.” He took a deep breath as he glanced over the edge again. “Plus, when we hit the ground in the dreams, we just wake up.”

“Come on, it’s almost dinner time,” Rainbow called as she leaped past him. “I hear it’s fresh spinach again!” She leaned forward sharply, almost pointing straight down as she dove for the roof.

Jared’s stomach growled, and he felt his wings start to spread. “I swear, don’t know why I bother letting her get to me,” he muttered as he jumped off the cloud. His insides lurched as gravity took hold, and he fought back the tingle of panic as the ground began to race toward him. “Okay, just deep breaths, flare your wings, head steady, and control the wind. Simple.” He spread his wings, reaching out to help guide the wind under them. The air responded sluggishly, but he managed to stabilize into a glide.

Letting out the breath he’d been holding, he folded his wings in, angling into a steeper dive. His insides lurched again as he picked up speed, and he squinted as he followed Rainbow toward the roof. As it drew closer, he watched Rainbow for a sign to pull up, only to sigh as she continued to arrow in. “Showoff,” he muttered as he spread his wings, circling the roof twice to bleed speed before landing on the gravel. Despite having had the time to get used to having hooves, he was amazed by how little they hurt.

“And Rainbow Dash takes the lead again! That makes a perfect winning streak!” she crowed, wings flared as she struck a victory pose.

“Yeah yeah, laugh it up,” Jared said as he started for the door, only to stop in the entrance. Ahead of him, the stairs innocently awaited their turn to torment him. “Should have just taken the quick way…”

---

“So I don’t get it, Twi,” Rainbow Dash mumbled around her mouthful of spinach before she swallowed. “Jared’s been flying for months now, but he doesn’t seem to be getting much better.” She glanced at him. “Plus, we keep stopping for breaks on clouds, and he keeps sinking too far into them.”

“Totally not here or anything,” Jared muttered as he ducked his head back into the bowl for more. The novelty of eating with his face had worn off, though he still felt weird when it came time to pick things up with his mouth. Though at least he didn’t taste what he was carrying. Usually.

The bureau cafeteria was emptying as ponies and humans finished up their meals. The rest of their friends had excused themselves, either to finish their work or to retire for the evening. Pinkie waved enthusiastically as she bounced out of the room, hurrying to catch up with Rarity, AJ, and Fluttershy.

“Well, I’m not exactly sure, though I do have some theories,” Twilight replied, reaching into her saddlebags and retrieving a book. Pushing her bowl aside as she it down, she carefully opened it. “I requested this from the Canterlot Archives after noticing a few of the unicorn converts struggling with their lessons. It details some of the more… unique magical symptoms that can afflict ponies. In particular, a rare case known as Thaumatic Depletion.”

“Thauma-wha?” Rainbow asked as she took another bite.

“Basically, it’s when the magic that permeates all living things in Equestria is reduced, either deliberately or by accident, to a dangerously low level. Once afflicted, a pony would notice themselves getting tired more often, or needing to eat more to refill their reserves. More specific abilities like flight, earthsense or casting would also deteriorate,” Twilight replied, sitting more upright as she flipped through the pages. “Although it is uncommon, it might be what’s affecting all of us.”

“Whoa whoa whoa, hold on there a sec. What do you mean ‘affecting all of us’?” Rainbow sputtered. “I’ve been flying just fine, haven’t noticed a thing wrong!”

“Yes, but don’t forget, we had to go back to Equestria for the funeral,” Twilight said quietly, trailing off for a moment. “While we were here working on the serum, I’d noticed that my magic was gradually weakening. Initially I didn’t think too much of it, the stress of trying to save an entire species and all.” She chuckled awkwardly. “Anyway, as time went on and my reserves didn’t replenish like normal, I started monitoring everypony. And in all of us, the results were the same: A gradual depletion of the magic that is within us all. After the… initial panic, I figured out that there was no way that our magic would fully vanish, but that by returning to Equestria, we could effectively be ‘recharged’. At least, that’s my current theory, anyway,” she admitted with a sheepish grin. “Thaumatic Depletion’s not very common back in Equestria, so there’s not been much research done on it.”

“Well, what should we do then?” Jared asked. “I mean, if this is going to be a problem, maybe we ought to tell someone, do more work on the Conversion serum? It’d not be good for PR if ponies start falling from the sky, after all.”

Twilight chuckled nervously and glanced at Rainbow Dash for a second. “Well, I don’t think that’d happen, but I’ve been talking with Celestia about doing some more research, just to be safe.”

Rainbow Dash and Jared both blinked, swallowed nervously, and ruffled their wings in unison. “So… what happens then?” Rainbow Dash asked, ears flat.

“Well, I was thinking about how the return to Equestria restored our own internal magic levels, and a thought occurred to me. Even Jared, a newfoal, who’d never been exposed to the magic that fills Equestria before that trip, soaked it in. I’d thought it was the leftover energy from his Conversion, but I took some readings after we got back. And they showed a blend of my magic and normal background magic, though heavily skewed toward the background magic.”

She leaned forward, the book forgotten in her excitement. “So, I started thinking—”

“As if you ever stop,” Dash muttered with a grin.

Twilight’s ear flicked, but she kept talking, “Anyway, I wanted to say, I think part of Jared’s problems with his flight training is because he’s not had as much exposure to Equestria’s background magic as we have. So, I wanted to ask if you’d be amenable to testing my hypothesis, Jared.”

“And that would be…?” Jared asked, though he had a suspicion brewing.

“That if we expose you to the background magic of Equestria, it’ll infuse you until you reach the right level for a pony of your age and size. Now, once you return to the United States your levels will start to drain again, but at least your body will be more tuned to use your innate abilities.”

Jared nodded slowly. “Well, it sort of makes sense…”

Rainbow laughed. “He learns quick, Twi. Anyway, where would we send him? Canterlot, I guess?”

Twilight snorted and rolled her eyes. “I suppose, although we could send him to Cloudsdale. Would be a good place for him to see pegasus culture up close.”

“Heck yeah it would!” Rainbow said, wings fluttering as she leaned forward. “Cloudsdale’s still one of the best cities around, aside from Ponyville, of course. Jared should totally go! I’ll show him the sights, get a chance to really show him what it means to fly.” She waved her hooves around to simulate banks and dives.

“Who said anything about you going, Rainbow?” Twilight said calmly as she closed the book and put it away. “Jared’s the only one who’d need to go, after all.” She met Rainbow’s glare of disbelief cooly, but after a few seconds broke into a grin. “Sorry, couldn’t resist.”

“S’not funny, Twi,” Rainbow muttered, though the hint of a wry smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “So, when do we leave?”

---

“We should be seeing it any second now!” Rainbow shouted as she drifted closer to the chariot. “Although I still say you should just get out and fly the rest of the way there.”

Jared glanced over the edge of the chariot again, blanching a little at how high up they were. “I think I’m just fine here for right now. I just don’t know why Twilight didn’t send me to Canterlot instead. If all we’re doing is trying to expose me to the background magic, wouldn’t that make more sense?”

“I guess,” Rainbow said, tapping a hoof on her chin in thought. “But, to be honest, I think coming to Cloudsdale instead is a much better idea. It’s just a pegasus thing, you know? Every pegasus deserves a chance to set hoof there.”

“You make it sound like Mecca or something,” Jared replied, squinting as an indistinct, off-white mass began to appear in the distance.

“Dunno what that is, but Cloudsdale’s pretty awesome. Check it out,” Rainbow said proudly, gesturing with a hoof as details began to resolve.

The city was huge, sprawling out across the sky like a massive, disjointed juggernaut. It appeared at first to be one singular mass of cloud, though as they drew closer he could see gaps of clear sky. What appeared to be buildings perched atop the drifting platforms, some neatly organized while others followed no sensible pattern. Smaller clouds drifted around the main ones like escorts, tiny dots darting every which way. Jared realized that those had to be pegasi, which brought a whole new sense of scale to bear.

Rainbow’s laugh snapped him out of his daze, and he realized that he’d been leaning forward unconsciously. “Take it easy there, would suck to have to explain to Twilight how I let you fall out of the chariot before we even got to Cloudsdale!”

She drifted in closer, pointing toward the larger platforms. “See, it’s actually really cool. You remember how we can walk on clouds because we make them firm enough? Well, since so many pegasi have worked on Cloudsdale’s clouds, they’re actually strong enough to support things, like the weather factories.” She gestured at the largest cloud, a complex arrangement of clouds and pipes squatting atop it.

“And this is what makes the weather for the entire continent?” Jared asked skeptically.

“Well, there’s the Everfree, and the far north and south, but other than that, yeah.” Rainbow sighed happily, before rolling into a spontaneous barrel roll. “Ah, it’s so good to be home.”

Jared watched her as she drifted lazily away before turning his attention back to the approaching city. The details of the buildings had begun to resolve, taking on familiar curves and edifices, and he had to rub his eyes to make sure he wasn’t imagining it. Sure, he’d seen something similar in Canterlot, but to see it repeated here only made the disconnect worse. “I still wonder if you’ve not been spying on us, and getting inspired by our architecture.” He blinked as what was unmistakably a colosseum came into view. “Or you could be just ripping us off wholesale.”

“What, the Cloudiseum? That’s been around forever! We hold the Best Young Flier’s competition there every year. I won it two years ago, you know,” Dash said with a grin of pride.

“No, I don’t think you told me this week yet,” Jared replied sarcastically.

“Hey, watch it, or I’ll bust your flank with more flying practice!” Rainbow said with an evil grin. “Anyway, we’re close enough now to see if you’ve really got what it takes.” She rolled again, right over his head, and gripped him by the shoulders. “After all, no real pegasus would consider landing in Cloudsdale under someone else's wingpower," Rainbow said firmly as she tensed. "Besides, everypony needs to take that first flap on their own."

And with a heave, she pushed him right off the back of the chariot.

---

Jared didn’t even have a chance to yell, the wind catching him up into a tumble. He fought to keep his breathing normal as he remembered the training on how to break a fall. ’Flare your wings, keep your head steady, and control the wind,’ he chanted silently as he snapped his wings and head out, reaching for the wind as he did so.

And it answered.

He felt it surge up, practically coiling around his wings as he stabilized, throwing him head over hooves in the opposite direction. He flailed his hooves, wings flapping awkwardly as the wind rushed over his coat. He grit his teeth, closing his eyes as he tried to arrest the new tumble. He felt the telltale lurch, and couldn’t help but glance toward the ground, so far away. “Come on, come on, come on, come on!” he shouted in desperation, reaching out for anything as he began to fall. A faint shout found him, and he looked to see Rainbow streaking after him, determination etched on her muzzle.

He lost sight of her as he tumbled again, the expanse of Cloudsdale filling his vision. His wings continued to twitch and flap madly, the wind roiling around as his mind fought for control. And then it hit him. He knew what he had to do, and kicked himself mentally for not realizing it sooner. If the wind didn’t like him controlling it, then maybe the other way around could work. “Here goes nothing.” He closed his eyes, turned his head toward the ground… folded his wings in, and gave up the struggle.

A few frantic seconds passed, and then he hesitantly started to spread his wings again. This time, he could feel it, the wind rushing back in. But instead of trying to force the control, he relaxed, wings twitching to compensate as it pushed under them. He turned their angle, almost giggling as he curved upward, the ground replaced by clear sky as he soared upward.

“Now that’s more like it!” Rainbow shouted as Jared shot past her, rolling on her wingtip as she followed him. “Knew you could do it!”

Jared didn’t hear her, his entire attention on the sky ahead of him. He could see distant clouds, and his wings itched, wanting to just keep on going. It wasn’t just the wind, he realized, as his whole body tingled from the energy flowing past him. It wasn’t quite like the tingle from the times he’d been teleported… this was something more fundamental, and he embraced it as he emerged above Cloudsdale. Turning over into a spiral, he saw an open space and angled toward it.

His hooves touched down, barely sinking in as he stood there, wings still spread. His body quivered as he gasped for air, a sheen of sweat matting his coat. “That… that was—”

“That was awesome!” Rainbow shouted as she skidded to a halt beside him. “I gotta admit, thought you were just gonna fall all the way, but you proved me wrong.” She beamed at him, until a sudden flash of light half-blinded her. Blocking the source with a wing, she stared in surprise as a vibrant glow surrounded Jared’s flank. “Well, that wasn’t something I’d planned on.”

“What is it? Do I have something on me?” Jared reared in surprise, turning his head to see as the glow faded, something taking shape through it.

“Yeah, you got something all right,” Dash replied, tilting her head to stare at the compass that adorned his flank, a faint glimmer still surrounding it. “I guess that answers whether you newfoals can get cutie marks or not.”

“But what’s it for?” Jared asked, sitting down hard as he stared at his new… tattoo, he decided. No way in hell he was calling it a ‘cutie mark.’

“Heck if I know, buddy. That’s up to you,” Rainbow said, bumping his shoulder with hers. “But hey, look at it this way: At least the whole sky’s open for you to figure it out.”

He looked up, feeling another tingle race through his wings as the wind washed over him. He could feel it now, the energy Twilight had talked about, bristling along his wingtips and into his body. He now understood the challenge the open sky put before him... and he resolved to meet it.