//------------------------------// // Taking Flight // Story: Free to Fly // by I am not a Dalek //------------------------------// Chapter 4- Taking Flight The house is silent as I slowly wake up out of the best sleep I have had in days. Beside me, the warmth from Soarin’s body is radiating into me, comforting me and pushing away all my bad thoughts. It's amazing how he's managed to scare all my nightmares away by just being here beside me. The light blue Pegasus is still sleeping soundly beside me, his breathing deep and even. I smile at how peaceful and how much younger he actually looks when he is asleep. Soarin’ is only two years older than me, he’s actually only twenty three, but he looks so much older than me, probably because of the height difference and whatnot. Still, now that he is sleeping he looks around eighteen years old, without a care in the world. It makes me feel happy. Soarin’ mumbles in his sleep about a Wonderbolts meeting which he is apparently late for, and he apologises multiple times, probably to Spitfire. Amused by the fact that he is sleep talking, I curl up closer against his body and listen as he mumbles away about not getting his daily apple pie. However, after the first few moments, it begins to get interesting. “But, Spit, she’s done a Sonic Rainboom. Can’t she skip the Academy?” Soarin’ mumbles and my ears prick up when they hear the words ‘Sonic Rainboom.’ He’s talking about me. “I know it’s not fair and she’s always going to be first choice but...” his words begin to merge together and are impossible to make out, so I give up listening and return to looking at him. He has a small scratch running beneath his left eye, from the corner of his eye to his mouth. That must be from the cave. Although his injuries aren’t noticeable unless you sit down and analyse him like I am, they are still pretty bad, and he has quite a lot of them. They're like his battle scars. Slowly, I roll out his warm embrace and trot into the kitchen in attempt to get some food for us both. I look through the cupboards and find some left over dandelions and bread. Hidden within the breadbin is a box of cupcakes so I decide to use them as well. I really need to go shopping today. Once Soarin’ wakes up I’m going to try and fly again, I’m not going to let my fears get to the best of me. Maybe I’ll even perform a Sonic Rainboom. I think back to Soarin’s sleep talking as I wonder what they were talking about. Did this conversation really happen or was it something he conjured up on his own? If it was what really happened, that means I have a huge chance of getting into the Wonderbolts after the Academy. I make the sandwiches and leave them on the table; I’ll eat when Soarin’ wakes up because I don’t want to be rude or anything. Maybe I could fly a bit now. Stretching my wings out, I give a powerful flap and soar out of the window. The wind rushes through my mane and runs through my feathers, making me shudder in delight. This is what I love. Suddenly, I remember that Rarity made me some customised goggles, so I zoom back into my white home and search through my saddle bag in attempt to find them. The light blue goggles glisten at the bottom of my bag, I carefully pull them out and examine them. Rarity must have put an awful lot of work into these; around the strap my cutie mark has been created with small gems matching the colours perfectly. She has sewn my name around the back in delicate stitching as well. The goggles themselves are firm and strong; they also seem to have a lot of protection against the rain. I’ll need to thank Rarity for this; they’ll come in handy, especially in weather duty. Sliding the goggles over my head, I adjust them until they fit firmly around my head and find that they’re a perfect fit. I glide out of the house again, and fly as high as I can. Ponyville is small below me; I can only barely make out the small houses and Sweet Apple Acres. My own home is quite small as well as I float high above Equestria. I flip over and throw all thoughts out of my mind as I focus myself on my flying. I push my body forward as fast as I can, flapping my wings harder and faster against the wind. The wind is so strong now that it’s pushing my lips back, forcing the air to rush into my mouth. Most ponies don’t like this feeling, but I love it. I love the adrenaline that it gives me, the exhilarating feeling that lasts with me hours after I finish flying. The cone of the sound barrier begins to form around my body, causing me to flap my wings harder than ever. Holding my forelegs in front of me and my hind legs straight behind me, I’m zooming towards the ground with my body in a diagonal line, allowing myself to cut through the air with ease. The cone sticks to my body perfectly, waiting for the right time to shatter around me, all I need to do is give one last push then it’ll be done. I await the perfect moment, the moment when Ponyville is finally starting to take shape again. My heart pounds and a bead of sweat trickles down the side of my face as I give one last powerful flap and break through the sound barrier. My body shudders as a loud boom shakes the air around me. My legs feel warm as I begin to fly upwards again. I continue to fly as I glance behind me and see the rainbow forming behind me. I fly up towards my home and find that Soarin’ is sitting outside and watching me as I stop in front of him. “Good morning!” I say cheerfully, pleased that I’ve been able to fly without any incidents. Soarin’ smiles at me as he holds out the plate with our breakfast on it. “Hey, I see you managed to do a Rainboom.” “Yup, I’ve still got it in me!” I say, I am honestly really chuffed with myself for that. Soarin’ takes a sandwich and eats it quickly before looking at me with his goofy grin across his face. “How about that race then? This time I can actually kick your flank,” he winks at me and I can tell he’s getting cocky. Giving my wings a powerful flap which causes his mane to blow backwards, I smirk at him. “It’s on.” “On your marks,” Soarin’ starts, getting into position. “Get set, go!” We both set off, following the same route which we did last time. I am really tired from the Sonic Rainboom, but I still push myself, I have to win this race. My wings start to burn in pain slightly as Soarin’ begins to overtake me. Ignoring my wings protest, I continue to push myself as we reach the first half of the race. We fly around the mountain before heading back towards my house, Soarin’ zooms past me and I glare at him, it’s not really fair considering I’ve just done a Sonic Rainboom. But, I can’t seem weak. I need to win this. I sit back for a few moments, giving my wings a rest before pushing myself harder than I ever have before. Soarin’ glances back at me in confusion, I know he’s wondering why I’m so far behind. I use that moment to fly forward as fast as I can and I speed past him, leaving him in my rainbow trail. Behind me, I can hear Soarin’ curse and flap his wings harder as he tries to catch up. The finish point draws closer and my heart begins to pound in excitement. I’m going to beat a Wonderbolt in a race. Oh my gosh! I come to a stop on top of my cloud home and bounce up and down in joy. “Oh yeah! I beat you right after doing a Sonic Rainboom!” I cheer to Soarin’ who has just landed beside me. Soarin’ sighs. “Fine, you win, this time.” “I can’t believe I beat you, I honestly thought I’d do terribly considering I was in pain after doing the Rainboom,” I smile slightly; I am honestly really pleased that I was strong enough to do that. “Yeah, yeah. Well just wait until you have to race the other ‘Bolts,” Soarin’ smirks. “Well, knowing you, you’d probably kick all of their flanks with ease.” I nod in agreement, suddenly too tired to talk. My legs begin to sway involuntarily, and my whole body has stabbing pains shooting through it. I wince slightly as my legs give out under me, and I collapse into Soarin’, rather ungracefully, causing us both to fall into a pony pile on the ground. Soarin’ groans and looks at me, concern evident in his emerald eyes. “Are you alright, Dashie?” “Yeah, just tired,” I whisper as I curl up on top of his body. I feel a pair of wings wrap around me and Soarin’ lets me lie on top of him and drift off to sleep, hoping that my body will be in less pain when I awaken. Slowly, I fall asleep against Soarin’, without a care in the world.