Sonya had to force herself to break off her hug. Although she could only wrap her arms awkwardly around Darlene's human mid-section due to the height of the centaur, she longed for Darlene to understand the full sincerity of her sentiment. The lingering aggravation she felt for being turned into a duffel bag finally disappeared, giving rise once again to her true feelings for her boyfriend.
She took slow steps backward, regretting having to put distance between them. She took in the full view of Darlene's centaur body and drew in a long breath.
"Grow a large set of pegasus wings," she said. "We're gonna fly."
Darlene felt only a mild numbness and a tugging sensation on her horse half's back as two impressive, pearly white wings emerged and spread to their fullest length.
Darlene flexed her new appendages. "I'm still gonna be a centaur?" she asked, not reproachful but curious. "Won't I be kind of heavy, even for these giant wings?"
"Just in case, I'll go ahead and say that your body will be light enough to fly with the wings you have. You'll also be able to carry people on your back without a problem."
"Why do I have the feeling you're going to put that to use?"
"Probably later," Sonya winked and smiled wickedly. "For now, let's give ourselves some flying lessons."
Sonya and Darlene walked a small ways to a clearing, where the open sky beckoned from above the treeline. There were a smattering of clouds in the sky, all cotton-white, and the sun peeked out from behind one of them.
The girls looked at each other with excitement. "I'll see you up there," Sonya said as she spread her wings wide. With a fierce swoop, she thrust them downward and her body was propelled up. Several furious flaps in quick succession lifted her higher and higher, and within seconds she was approaching the forest canopy.
Darlene watched her ascend with adoring eyes. Her hair and tail danced nimbly in the air as her wings flapped with increasing grace. She seemed to be getting the hang of the wings quickly, something Darlene had silently hoped for when transforming Sonya. The picturesque beauty of Sonya's ever-smaller visage swooping through the air was exactly what Darlene had envisioned. And in a short moment, she herself would be dancing with Sonya in that wide open frontier.
Crouching on her four legs, Darlene spread her wings and shot herself upward, eager to rejoin her lover for an unimaginable experience.