//------------------------------// // Flight School, Version 2.0 // Story: A Song of Transformation // by Honey Lavender //------------------------------// Yeah, remember when I said that I looked forward to flying? FUCK. THAT. What nobody tells you is that before you can learn to fly, you have to learn how to hover. And hovering is exhausting; how do these ponies do it so often? Even now, as I’ve flopped onto a stray cloud that happened to be within my (extremely short) effective range to get some rest, my wing muscles hurt. Instinctively, I turn my head towards my flank, and take one of my wings in my mouth. I have no clue how, but somehow I know what I’m doing; maybe it’s the same way that I’ve managed to land on this cloud without completely busting it. Regardless, I start to preen crooked feathers back into place on my wings; it feels amazing, almost like a massage. Rainbow Dash eyeballs me from a few hundred feet above. “C’mon, newbie! What’s the hold up?!” Rainbow dives down to my side, coming to a hover next to my perch. “Oh, that. Sore already, huh?” I stop my grooming to give her the stank eye, before folding my wing back up against my body. “Yeah…” I mutter, shifting on my cloud. “I don’t understand how you all do it for so long. I’ve only been at this for what, an hour? And I’m already hurting…” Rainbow Dash cocks her head to one side, staring off into space. I can’t help it; her expression is so amusing that I have to chuckle at it. “Anyway, I think this is the only time in my life that I’ve ever been anxious to get to the classroom-based portion of flight school.” Rainbow Dash seems exasperated by my whining. “And where’s the fun in that?!” A valid question; as long as I can remember, my favorite parts of learning to fly a plane had been when I got a chance to go on an actual hop. And here I am, sitting on a MOTHERFUCKING CLOUD, wishing I was in the classroom. What in Equestria has gotten into me?! A small pony in the back of my mind laughs at the absurdity of the situation; it seems that the longer I stay here, the more I change. But is this change for better, or for worse? I flick my ears, shaking my head to rid myself of these minor annoyances. “Taking a break, but still learning something useful?” I offer, desperately hoping that Rainbow will be okay with the idea of descending back down to the Golden Oak Library for a book session with Twilight. She looks me over for a moment, then finally responds. “Ugh, fine.” Rainbow Dash has an expression of pure disgust, although her magenta eyes still betray a playful anticipation. She wants me to be able to fly as much as I want it for myself. I spread my wings, and hop up before busting right through the cloud that had just been my perch. Landing still doesn’t come naturally, though, and I find myself flat on my belly at Twilight’s hooves. I look up, smiling, to see Twilight sporting a confused expression. “Book work,” Rainbow lands a few feet away, and explains simply. I nod eagerly. Twilight just shakes her head, and motions for me to stand up and come on in. Sweat beads on my brow, as I pump my wings frantically to stay airborne. I lock eyes with Rainbow Dash, pure determination keeping me up at this point. Her magenta eyes stare back at me, emotionless. We’ve been going at it like this for the last 3 hours. She perches in a cloud, I hover next to it as long as I can, and she comments on my technique and how long I lasted. So far, she hasn’t been impressed; for a full-grown stallion I certainly have no endurance; a small filly could outlast me in hovering next to this cloud. Rainbow yawns, checking the timer; I’ve beaten my best time. The look on her face says it all, though; keep going. On the ground, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are watching in awe as I attempt to master that which any other pegasus could do; any other pegasus, that is, except Scootaloo. I can’t help but feel like I’m replacing her; but until the small orange filly’s wings grow a bit more, she’s just gonna have to be out of luck. Rainbow Dash and I continue our staredown; I don’t know how much longer I can go. Suddenly, I don’t need an answer to that question as my wings refuse to continue moving, instead deciding to lock into position for me to glide down to the ground. I don’t even bother trying to land, opting to just flop onto my belly. I can’t even move. Leaving her cloud perch, Rainbow floats down to my side. “Well, that was 5 minutes, 12 seconds; your personal best,” she looks at Scootaloo, before continuing “Not bad for your first day.” I grunt; it’s all I can manage as I struggle to tuck my wings away. Scootaloo seems dejected by the fact that her hero has a new student; of course, then again, none of the crusaders would recognize me as a pony. They were in school when the transformation had taken place. “Yeah,” I grunt from the exertion as I stand up. “Not bad at all.” I look at the 3 fillies as I speak, just to see their eyes go wide. “Surprise.” Instantly, I’m swarmed by the Crusaders, who are bombarding me with questions. Mostly “when” “why” and “how” but 2 questions in particular stand out to me. The first comes from Apple Bloom. “Where’s your cutie mark, Steve?” That silly filly… “I don’t have one, because apparently I never discovered my special talent,” I reply truthfully. “I guess you could say I’m starting with a clean flank!” I cringe internally at my own pun, but at least everypony else finds it funny enough to crack up at. The second is from Scootaloo. “Does this mean you’re replacing me?” My heart sinks, as I choke back tears. This poor little filly actually thinks that I’m replacing her as Rainbow’s protege. I look Scootaloo straight in her fuchsia eyes, and I respond from the heart: “Scoots, I’m just here for a few weeks, at the most. You’re here for your entire life. And even if something happened that causes me to be here for the rest of my life, I’ll still step aside for you. You looked up to Rainbow Dash first, so it’s only right that you are first in line…” The orange filly seems hesitant. “Just think of me as a test run; the more mistakes that Rainbow makes with me, the smoother things will go when it comes to be your time.” Scootaloo thinks for a moment, then nods. Rainbow Dash nods at me approvingly. The sun is setting, as Rainbow Dash, the CMC, and myself make our way to Sugarcube Corner. We don’t know what Pinkie Pie has planned, only that we should probably be there. As we walk in, the room is completely black. I brace myself for- “SURPRISE!” The lights turn on all at once, and all of Ponyville has somehow packed into this tiny little shop for a party. Naturally, I had not finished preparing for the shock; as the lights come on, my wings fire on autopilot driving me into the ceiling. Mother of God, I really need to stop hitting my head like this… “What do you think? Do you like it, Steve? Do you? Do you? Do you?” Pinkie Pie is bouncing up and down in front of me, as I shake my head to clear the sudden dizziness that has set in from the impact. “Uhn… need to get control over that,” I groan as I stand up from having belly flopped on the floor in the doorway to the Sugarcube Corner. I tuck my wings away once more, and survey the room. “Is all of this…” I look questioningly at the pink earth pony, who is bouncing unnaturally in front of me. “Of course it is, silly! I always throw a welcome party for new ponies in town, and this was the first chance we’ve had since you arrived!” Pinkie has stopped bouncing, instead preferring to just stand still and beam at her handiwork. Speechless, I just wrap Pinkie Pie in a giant hug with my forelegs and my wings. This is, by far, the furthest that anyone, or rather, anypony has gone to make me feel welcome. “Steve! Can’t breathe! Please… looser…” Shocked by my own strength, I release the poor mare from my embrace. “Sorry…” I grin sheepishly. “Nobody has ever done something like this for me before, that’s all…” Pinkie Pie nods. “Vinyl! Let’s get this thing going; party hard, everypony!” The room erupts in applause for Pinkie Pie as Vinyl Scratch salutes from the turntable set up in the corner of the room, then drops the bass like nopony ever has before. It’s been 3 days since I assumed pony form. In that time, I’ve finally figured out the whole walking business, and even been able to work my way up to a slow canter. I still fall on my face, but not nearly as often, especially at a leisurely walk. What I’m most proud of, however, is finally gaining enough control over my wings to fly. Nothing fancy, but I’m at least able to get from point a to point b now. I’m thinking about accompanying Rainbow Dash to Wonderbolts HQ to check up on my dead airliner; I’m still working towards getting back, after all. Besides, it’ll be worth it to see the look on Spitfire’s face when I turn up in current form! I still haven’t managed to gain control of my wings launching me upwards when I’m surprised, though, and my head really hurts because of it. So I guess that Spitfire will still be able to hold that over me… I make a soft bank, the cool breeze feels amazing in my fur as I angle towards my destination: a rather soft-looking cloud that’s in just the right amount of light to read. Discord’s comments have been weighing on me- you’ll know the answer when you see it; what you do with that knowledge is up to you. Discord knows something; the only question is what? POP! Just my luck… “You know, that little stunt you pulled by taking the shape of a pony made you really hard to find,” Discord laments. “Speaking of which, how ARE you enjoying this life? It couldn’t have been easy to learn how to use your body all over again…” The ancient draconequus stares me straight in the eyes, just to make a point. “You…” I sputter, searching for words. A very ugly narrative has just slotted itself together, and I’m actually quite pissed off about it. “You interfered with the portal, didn’t you? You’re the one that’s been orchestrating this whole thing!” Discord’s face turns to utter surprise- more concerningly, utter GENUINE surprise. “Oh, heavens no! Fluttershy would kill me… well, not kill me, but you get the point. Quite frankly, your story is one that I couldn’t have arranged nearly as well myself. Sometimes, the truth is stranger than fiction!~” Upon his making this declaration, I’m left feeling confused. If it wasn’t Discord, then what was keeping me here in Equestria? Discord motions towards the paperback volume I’d brought to my cloud to read. “You know, I’d get to reading that if I were you. You never know; maybe the answer lies within the pages.” Then with a snap of his fingers and a mighty POP! Discord is gone once more. Dumbstruck, I watch the happenings of Ponyville down below with a blank expression. I prepare the cloud for a quick nap, worrying the whole while. Something’s not right in Equestria; else, I would’ve already been back home. No, something is interfering with the process. I’m only left with one question, though. What is it? I can see the portal ahead of me; I flap my wings harder to get to it. I fly, and I fly, but I never get any closer. My ears prick, and I can hear the roaring intakes of my 737’s engines. I look behind me, and to my horror my plane is bearing down on my position, piloted by absolutely nobody. Panicked, I start to bank away from the plane’s flight path, while rolling to keep my balance and sense of direction true. Or, at least I ATTEMPT to; as I start the first motions of my evasive maneuvers, my left hindleg is snagged by a stray vine. Before I have a chance to question the validity of this deus-ex machina restraint, three more bind to my other legs, followed by 2 more that bind my wings. I’m trapped. Trapped, and staring certain doom by my own plane in the nose. I cry out: “Somepony! Please help me!” … … … The vines melt away, and the plane disappears into thin air; I see a dark, winged pony flying their way to my side. “Princess Luna!” I cry out, recognizing the princess of the night for having saved me. The princess comes to a hover at my side, putting a foreleg around my neck to alert me that everything is alright. “I don’t understand… what does it mean?” Luna looks at me sadly, her sapphire eyes comforting to gaze into. “That was a warning,” she begins. “I can explain more tomorrow; come to Canterlot. Fly as fast as the wind will carry you, and bring Twilight with you. Until then, I must leave you… you’re safe, Steve. Sleep now…” Then, with a slight shift of the breeze, I drift off into more peaceful dreams… I awaken with a start; Celestia is raising the sun. Remember Luna’s words from the night before, I race to the Golden Oak Library. “Twilight!” I pound my hoof on the door. “Twilight! It’s urgent!” The swings open, and I’m greeted by a very groggy Spike. “Oh, hey Steve.” Spike yawns. “What can I do for you this morning?” Urgently, I relay Luna’s message to Spike. The baby dragon perks up immediately. “Woah, that’s important! I’ll get Twilight down here!” A few moments later, with the library nearly completely torn apart, Twilight and I are in the air, making all haste to Canterlot. Whatever Luna is going to tell us, something tells me that the timeline for my return home has just been drastically altered…