Solar Flare stood watching as the impending cloud mass drew closer and closer. The instant they covered the sun, he would be off like a rocket. Just a few more minutes. He was itching to get off the ground, practically dancing with excitement. He looked down and glowered at his wings and the shining spots the were leaving on the ground. Just a few more minutes, and he would be free. He looked around for the nearest set of stairs, and apon spying some on a nearby building, climbed as high as he could. He looked far out across the city, to where the edge of the clouds' shadow was just appearing. Closer, closer, closer still it came. After glancing around, he stretched out his wings, flexing them in anticipation. Only a few more seconds now, he could see the shadow coming. He bent his legs, tensing up and getting ready to launch.

"Oh yeah, it's go time." He said, as the shadow passed over him, and all of the energy he had been containing exploded out through his legs, launching him high up into the sky at an incredible rate. Just as the ark from his jump peaked out, his wings flashed open, and he sat hovering for a few moments.

"Anypony want to got flying with me?" He yelled down to the ground below.

Solar watched as a pony with bat-like wings flew up, and he smiled.

"I'll join you. Haven't stretched my wings since I got on the train. Captain Ebony Coldsteel, Lunar Guard; pleasure to meet you." The stallion said. Solar nodded, sticking out his hoof to shake.

"Solar Flare, Scientist, engineer, and daredevil. Nice to meet you too. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one whose wings are a little...  Unusual." He said, glancing back at his own crystal wings.

"Sure thing. Be careful around the castle, first, that thing sucks heat out of the air like crazy. If you're lucky, it causes a rolling draft a little higher up, and there are some great hotspots up there. Here, I'll lead." Solar flare said, taking off at a high speed. Remembering his company, though, he decided he should probably be a little more considerate. He turned at looked back at the stallion.

"Sorry, I guess I'm just excited, the last cloudy day was last week." He said, chuckling in mild embarrassment.

Solar flare sighed, spreading his wings out wide.

"It's these things. They reflect and refract light in sometimes unpredictable ways, and I've accidentally done everything from setting a building on fire to bleaching a pony's mane white. So, now I can only allow myself to fly when it's cloudy, or there isn't much of a moon, or I might hurt somepony." He said sadly, flapping powerfully again to compensate for his prior stillness.

Solar nodded, flapping to gain a bit of altitude before gliding a long stretch, sweeping wide around the castle. Every now and again he did a barrel roll, or a quick dive and reascension. The cool, fresh breeze whipping past his face, the feeling of the thermals scooping him up, and the sight of even an enormous city like the Crystal Empire made small; these were the moments he lived for. He had to find a cure for his wings, so he could fly forever. He looked back to see if his companion had kept up.

As Ebony glides through the sky, a hawk appears with a scroll attached to its claw. The captain stops and plucks the message, pausing to read it. "Damn, of course right when I get here, works calls me back. Solar Flare, it's been great meeting you but duty calls! Have a good one!" With that said the captain zooms back to the train station and catches the next departure to Canterlot.