Pepper trots over and has a seat, hoping that Black Hawk sits as well. She just listens, no snark, no eye rolls. She just tries to lend an ear. Until...

"You're like the 7th pegasus I've ever met," Pepper eventually admits, not asking what Black Hawk did to bail, or earn her Cutie mark getting burned off. "My ancestor Blue Breeze was a winged stallion who got stuck in a Stable when the megaspells hit, and while he certainly kept his legacy going... There still aren't many of us. My uncle was the only pegasi relative I had and my family pretty much dumped me on his doorstep as soon as I started walking on the ceiling. Hell, you're the only pegasi close to my age I've seen for that matter."

" Talk about nice. Uncle Straight Arrow told me never to fly above the cloud cover," she waves a hoof at the sky, albeit solemnly, "he always said it was too dangerous. I think he kept telling me the same story of how a friend of his never came back from there, only he'd change the name, sex, and what the hell they were trying to prove in order to ground me... I dunno what he'd make of it being "nice." I'm sorry you had to leave that."

"Are they looking for you?"