//------------------------------// // Chapter Three: Thoughts and Feelings // Story: Pegasi Of A Feather - Love At First Flight // by Skatter //------------------------------// I am once again awoken by the not-so-soothing sounds of a brass whistle being blown. In a frenzy, I jump out of bed, hitting my head on the top bunk. "Ow!" I exclaim, painfuly. "You ok, Daze?" Lily asks, as she quietly slips out of the top bunk. "Yeah...Just bumped my head." Lily laughs and pauses a moment to smile before she replys. "You sure are having a stroke of bad luck, huh?" I nod and laugh while I put on my flight suit. I rub my right wing in the area lightning had struck. "How's your wing?" Lily asks, "You will still be able to fly, right?" "Oh, yeah. Of course...I, uh...Been through worse," I say hastly, knowing it was a lie. I watch as everypony leaves the cabin, dressed in an array of colors. "Come on. You can't be late again." "Hey! I was almost late!" "Okay, fine. Well let's go before we are late," She states, jokingly. Trotting off side-by-side, we make our way to the main field. As we continue on our way, I begin to give some thought about my feelings for Lily and let out a quiet, depressing sigh. The reason being my thoughts about her...Denying me...But that's not the only problem clouding my thoughts. I worry about not being able to express my feelings to her. Arriving at the field, I spot a larger cloud maze above us, and numerous weather machines floating about. "Attention, cadets! Today we will begin the first of five advanced weather navigation drills! The drills will test your ability to recover from spin outs, your ability to dodge different obsticals, your ability to handle windy conditions, your ability to deal with severe rain conditions, and your ability to deal with severe snow storms. Understood!?" Steel Wing announces. "Yes, sir!" We roar, as usual. "Alright! Head to the mess hall and get some breakfast! Meet me back here in fifteen minutes!" "C'mon, Daze! Let's go get some oats!" Lily gallops off towards the mess hall leaving me behind. I trot off after her, smiling. Once I make it inside, I see Lily at our usual table and walk over to her. "It's my turn to get breakfast, ok?" "Haha, OK. I'll have...A bowl of honey oats, and an apple," She says gaily while swinging her legs back and forth.. I fetch our breakfast, bring it back to our table, and sit down. "So, what do you want to talk about?" I ask softly. "Well...Um...Can I ask you something...Personal, Daze?" "Yeah. Of course. What is it?" She pauses for a few moments, continuing to eat, before asking me her question. "Do you...Like..." She blushes and then continues to speak. "Flowers! Yeah, Flowers!" "Oh, uh, y-yeah." "What is your favorite flower?" "Um...A...Lily..." We both instantly blush, but are stopped from continuing our talk as Steel Wing trots in. "Attention! Break time is over! Let's move out!" "Let's...Uh...Talk about this later...OK?" Lily says tenderly. "Y-Yeah..." We travel to the main field with the rest of the herd, and standby for our orders. "Listen up! We will be doing a two stage spin out training drill today! The first stage will consist of being strapped up on this here machine and then when it hits the target speed, you will be released into the air spinning. You must recover from the spin and land. The second stage will consist of the same machine from stage one, but this time you will be launched into a clouds. With no visuals, you must once again land! Am I clear! "Yes, sir!" "Line Up! This test will be testing you all individually! This is the only test where teams do not matter!" Lily and I line up, landing somewhere in the middle of the line. As the line moves forward and pegasi are propelled into the air, Lily moves forward, swinging her flank back and forth causing me to blush. As we reach the front, my heart pounds as I contemplate if my skills are truly good enough to complete the task at hoof. I watch Lily get launched into the air and in moments land perfectly, like a danty butterfly. "That was amazing, Lily!" "T-Thanks. I bet you will be better." I walk up to the machine and get strapped in. The machine begins to whirl, spinning faster and faster. In a matter of seconds the world becomes blurred. Suddenly I am propelled into the air, spinning rapidly. I spread my wings almost instantly as I try to balance out. Once I was remotely straight, I dart towards the ground and brace myself as I hit the ground. To my suprise, I landed perfectly. I head to the back of the line where everypony sat, dizzy and tired, and sit down next to Lily. "You did great, Daze," Lily said quietly, placing a hoof on my lap. I blush and smile. "Th-Thanks...Lily...I..." I get up and walk away from Lily a little. Lily gets up and follows me. "What is it, Daze?" "N-Nothing..." "I...I...You...I feel the same way about you, Daze..." I watch as Lily blushes, pausing and blushing myself. "You mean...You...L...Like...Me?" "I...Do...When we met...I just felt...Something strange...And good about you. I...I mean I don't wan to force myself upon you..." "Lily...Your not...I was hoping I wasn't pushing myself on to you..." "Daze...Do you...Really like me?" "Lily...I more than like you...Your so nice. Your...Your somepony who I...Want to be with." "Somepony...To love?" We touch our front hooves together. "Yeah..." I say slowly, staring into her eyes. At that moment we started to lean in towards one another, closing our eyes and going for a kiss that we both wanted badly. Before it could happen, Steel Wing yells out anothe set of orders. "Attention, cadets! After your performances, I have decided that six of you will be ending your camp days right here! You will now break for lunch! At the end of lunch I will announce the names! Move out!" I look back at Lily and stare deeply in her eyes. "Wanna skip lunch and head back to the cabin...Where we can be alone?" Lily asks intimately. "Y-Yeah..." We trot off towards the cabin, smiling at one another. I no longer have to fear denial...Because now...I have her...And our feelings could not be more mutual.