Of Hooves and History

A Winged Revelation and A Campfire Horror Story

The salty sea air stood still as we collectively used Ron's vine rope to haul the paramotor components up the cliff incline. it wasn't easy. Squeezing the main frame out of the portal was a challenge in itself, and bearing significant weight, it took three tries and a near fall to get it consistently moving up.

Sunny and Izzy pulled from the top while I pushed, given my greater foothold on the cliff than their hooves could. Groans and moans of exertion could be heard, but a word was spoken. I silently whooped a "Yes!" as the main frame landed safely at the base of the tree, but that was all. Hauling up the other items wasn't too difficult, and by noon, all six items were hauled up to the clifftop.

Sunny sat by the tree, staring blankly at the maimed branch with an indescribable face. Izzy looked rather normal, but I could sense from her body language there were even more questions. Might as well give up the goat, so to speak – but don't initiate it.

"Ready to go?" I asked, sliding on my backpack and gripping the paramotor frame.

"Ready as ever," Sunny replied, a slight unsteadiness in her faux confident voice. She trotted over to the box and pushed it with her head, which was admittedly rather nerving. Izzy used her unicorn magic to lift the propeller, and I took the duffel with my other hand, clipping the wing bag to the top of the paramotor frame.

Barely a quarter of the way through the forest and Sunny was sweating bullets pushing the box. Coupled with the handgun demo prior, I really felt awful.

"Leave it," I said softly, patting her shoulder. "I'll come back for it. Let's go."

"Okay, hah, thanks," Sunny panted, and we carried on our way, soon arriving in the forest village. Alphabittle was there to greet us, and I shook his chunky hoof with a smile.

"Ooh, what do we have here?" he inquired with a sly smile, observing all the bags.

"This isn't even the whole package," I laughed. "Still one that I'll bring in a moment. If you can keep them off to the side and ensure they aren't touched."

"Will do."

I propped up the paramotor frame, set down the bags, and dashed back into the forest for the box. There was not much difficulty locating it; it had a bright red lid and a white label. I lifted one end up and dragged it through the forest, clearly indicating my return.

"You may come watch, but it's not necessary," I announced, as several unicorns gathered, before dispersing. Clearly their curiosity levels were considerably lower than Izzy's. However, Ron Roper stayed.

"Now, let me explain," I began, opening up the box and the duffel. "This is a paramotor, or powered paraglider. Sunny knows 'cause I've shown here photos and a video of it, but I'll reitereate. It's... basically a chair with a giant block and a fan strapped to the back."

I pointed to the round bag. "This... giant mushroom, holds a wing. It's curved and made of special fabric, with thin ropes attached to it to control it. Clip them to the chair, get a head-run into the wind on flat land, and away you go."

"Sounds like fun," Ron said. "And how..."

His voice cut out as it was replaced with a joyful gasp and shriek from the other two, as they connected the dots of my plan.

"You're going to go flying?!"

"AND TAKE ME WITH YOU?!"

"Yes, Izzy!" I said with a grin. "We'll start halfway on the route and –"

There was not a need to complete my speech as my midriff was warmed by the engulf of purple unicorn forelegs. Instead, I jumped to the next one. "And that's where you come in, Ron."