Prologue-Pt 5: What Are Friends For?
Notes: This chapter was originally going to be nearly 10k words, but I thought that was overkill, so I hope I split it correctly. Warning: Science content and more weird humor ahead!
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August 25th, Afternoon
“Oh Rainbow Dash, you’re a real riot sometimes,” Twilight patted her friend on the back with a hoof. “Nopony cares that we had to use a book to educate you about colts. It’s something we all learn eventually.”
“Yeah, just…argh, it’s so embarrassing!” Dash rolled off the couch and shook her mane out.
“What’s embarrassing? Asking for help?” Twilight gave her a look but the rainbow Pegasus shook her head again.
“No it’s not just that…well, maybe it is that, but….urgh, I dunno,” she dismissed it with a shake of her hoof.
“Hey, don’t let your pride get in the way of letting your friends help, Dash,” Twilight smiled knowingly. “That’s what friends are for.”
“Yeah, I guess,” she shrugged her shoulders before glancing up. “Hey, where’d Volare go?”
“He’s over by the front door,” Twilight nodded and Dash looked to see Volare’s wings standing at attention, flapping ever so slightly as he gazed out the door and into the sky. “Oh my…his wings aren’t doing that because…well, you know,” Twilight indicated the Anatomy book with a nod.
“What?! No, Twilight!” Dash burst out laughing. “You think too much sometimes, you egghead! No, that’s a different reaction altogether.” She trotted towards Volare, who was still staring out the door, breathing deeply of the smell of fresh rain and wet grass. “No, what Volare is doing right now is something all pegasi feel: the desire to fly!”
“What’s the difference?” Twilight asked, a little blush sneaking into her face.
“Heh, that’s easy! See the way he’s standing; front legs straight, back legs bent, tail down, and ears back? It’s so he can get a good running start and be more aerodynamic in the air!” Dash grinned, for once knowing something in more detail than her bookworm friend. “As for that…other feeling…” she rubbed the back of her head with a hoof, a little extra color in her own face. “Let’s just say that everything stands up and leave it at that. Jeez, I thought you were like the ultimate know-it-all about ponies, Twilight.”
“Huh? O-oh…I guess I’m rusty on pegasi anatomy…” Twilight trailed off, her face fully pink now. They stood there for several moments, looking around at anything but each other.
“Yeah, this isn’t awkward,” Spike said aloud, snapping the two ponies out of it. “Yo Volare! Let’s hear your side of it!”
“Wha-huh? My side of what?” the dark blue Pegasus shook his head, looking back at the dragon.
“These girls wanna know whether you wanna fly or if you’re getting-mmpph!” Twilight grabbed Spike around the mouth with her hoof and gave Volare an overly large smile.
“What Spike means to ask is if you’re having any sudden weird feelings out of the ordinary at the moment.”
Volare gave her a weird look before answering.
“Yeah, now that you mention it, my wings are…I dunno how to describe it,” he glanced back at them and shook them. “Really tingly all of a sudden. It’s like I’m suddenly aware they’re there more than I had before. Dash, do you know what I’m talking about?”
The rainbow pony stepped in front of the horribly blushing Twilight and gave him an all-knowing grin.
“Heck yeah I do! It means you wanna fly, dude!”
“But, how can that be? I wasn’t born a Pegasus, so where would the flight instincts come from?” Volare asked with a frown, but Dash thumped him on the head.
“You’re a pilot you dork! All your instincts are up there! We just gotta move them from machines to wings,” Dash explained as Volare rubbed his head. “You’re already kinda doing it yourself, we just gotta help ya along the next few steps until you gain confidence in your wings, that’s all. After that, you’ll be flying on your own, I’ll bet!”
“Makes sense,” Volare looked back towards the door. “Can we try right now?”
“Why not? I’m up for a little flight myself, actually,” Dash cantered out the door, Spike and Volare on her heels.
“Wait you guys!” Twilight cried as she quickly searched her bookshelf and grabbed what she was looking for before following the trio outside.
“What’s that, Twilight?” Spike asked of the book she hovered next to her.
“Advanced Equine Anatomy,” Twilight held it up, and Volare’s eyes dilated a bit.
“That’s not about what I think it’s about, is it?” Volare asked slowly, his eyes riveted on the book title.
“Um, what do you think is in here, Volare?” Twilight narrowed her own eyes. Volare responded with awkward twirl of his hoof and after a moment, Twilight nearly grabbed a rock and threw it at him. “Volare, you pervert!! This gives further insight on Equine Anatomy, specifically on ponies such as Pegasi and Unicorns!”
“Oh, my bad,” Volare blushed furiously, making Dash chortle and Spike facepalm.
“Yeeahh…I figured it would help you the same way the other book helped you walk; by helping you to appreciate the technical and scientific aspects of the muscles of your wings and how they allow you to fly. And as I said, I’m obviously a little out of touch with pegasi anatomy as well, so it’s a win-win,” she explained as Dash made a face.
“Pffft, he doesn’t need to know all that, Twilight!” Dash shook her mane. “He’s a pilot! He’s got the instincts! Just use them, Volare!” The rainbow Pegasus launched herself into the air and landed on the roof of the Library with little effort. “See, easy!”
“Yes Rainbow, for you it is,” Twilight turned back to see Volare’s mouth dropped open and his wings drooped a bit. “Hey, don’t think you have to move as fast as her. Nopony is judging you right now on how you learn to be yourself.”
“I know but…jeez…how am I ever gonna be able to do what she just did when I can’t even move my wings up and down on my own?” he replied with a tinge of despair, punctuating the fact with his flopping wings.
“It’s all about confidence and trusting your gut, dude!” Dash slammed into the ground hooves-first, rocking the front yard before she grinned fiercely. “You think I got to where I am now by being a scaredy cat?”
“Of course not, Rainbow, but we can’t treat him like an adult in the manners of flight just yet; just like how we had to start from square one on walking and running. And that turned out just fine,” Twilight turned to Volare with a smile that slowly faded to a look of concern. “Unfortunately, flight is much trickier than walking, so we can’t have overblown expectations for him right off the bat. Sorry if that offends you, Volare.”
“No, I understand,” he sighed and looked up at Rainbow Dash. “Hey Dash, you wouldn’t be mad if I studied up on how my wings work before I try flying, would you?”
“Oh…hay, I suppose not,” Dash said, her own wings dipping a tad. “But don’t take too long dude; I wanna see whatcha got!” She flew up into the sky and gathered some clouds in her hooves before bringing them down to Earth and fluffing them into a great pillow. “I’ll just shut my eyes for a bit here while you guys hit the books…” she had dozed off by the time she finished her sentence, making Volare chuckle.
“I swear, I dunno how she does it.”
“Does what?” Spike spoke up for the first time in a while.
“She’s like a light switch: on or off,” the Pegasus mused as soft snores emanated from the cloud. “Heh, anyways, where do we start on this, Twilight?” He turned back and gave the Unicorn a nod, eager to learn.
“Well we…hey, I’m not irritating you with my…well, the way I act, am I?” Twilight asked, not taking her eyes off the cover of the book. “I know it sometimes rubs Dash the wrong way and it bores other ponies to death when I go off on my little tangents like this…”
“Not at all, Twilight.” Her gaze rose to meet Volare’s sincere smile. “You’re wanting to help me adapt to this world, and that in itself is a blessing; much more helpful than a lot of humans I knew, for sure.”
“Really?” her ears perked up.
“Mhm, plus I think your little tangents you fly off on are kinda cute.” Volare gave her a mischievous wink and had to dodge the book as she swung it at his head playfully.
“Ok, now you’re just teasing me!” Twilight protested as Volare laughed and Spike gagged.
“Ugh, am I gonna have to babysit you two lovebirds or something?” Spike crossed his arms. “I thought you said you weren’t gonna put the moves on her, dude!”
“Nah, I’m not! I was just messing around a bit, that’s all,” Volare smiled awkwardly.
“Yeah, well my version of messing around happens to involve causing third degree burns,” Spike scowled.
“...Point taken. No, no, we’re good Spike, we’re good,” he chuckled and turned back to the Unicorn. “Just learning how to fly here and nothing else, right Twilight?”
“Right!” she nodded and opened the book to the Pegasi section, a hint of color other than purple in her cheeks as she began the lesson on Wings.
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“Ok, so lemme get this straight,” Volare sighed and rubbed his aching eyes; they’d been over Wings from shoulders to wingtip but there were a few things that he was trying to wrap his head around. Spike had long sense lost interest and had curled up in front of the Library and was snoozing in the sun, as was Dash still on her cloud pillow. “Because of the wings a Pegasus has, they have stronger hearts than most poines due to the increased need for bloodflow to their wings?”
“Yes, that’s right, and larger lungs in order to move more oxygen into the blood for the wing muscles while flying,” Twilight nodded. “Those larger lungs also help tremendously at higher altitudes where there is less oxygen to be found.”
“So that explains why pegasi have such great endurance on the ground; because their bodies are designed for the higher stresses of flight,” Volare tapped his chin thoughtfully.
“Yes, and maybe that’s why pegasi sleep a lot,” Twilight’s eyes ran over the text. “Because the lack of flight stress on their bodies lulls them into a sense of…well, laziness, for lack of a better word. And so if they can’t occupy their bodies with flight, they tend to simply sleep to conserve energy instead. It’s like the everyday challenges we earthbound-ponies face just aren't enough of a concern to them. But that doesn’t make sense either because so many are also hard workers…” the Unicorn closed her eyes, going over the variables in her head.
“Maybe it’s the extra oxygen, Twilight,” Volare spoke up. She opened her eyes and raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
“I mean…while in my jet, if the oxygen levels get too high, a pilot can get drowsy or even pass out, especially if their bodies don’t need it at the time…so maybe that extra lung power is actually a bit of a hindrance at ground level because they pull too much oxygen from the air when they’re not being active. And in ultra-athletic pegasi like Dash, that would explain their laid-back behavior when not engaged in activities.”
“…which would also explain their desire to constantly be in motion and their almost loathing of things being too slow for their liking,” Twilight looked up from the book with a wide grin. “Volare, you’re a genius!” It had been a long time since she’d had a real scientific conversation like this with someone other than Princess Celestia herself.
“Heh, nah, just common sense,” Volare rubbed the back of his head and smiled. “And a lot of time in planes, I guess.”
“Even so, that was some pretty good deduction!”
“Thanks. So, there was one other thing I was curious about,” Volare turned back to the text and pointed at a section with his hoof. “It says that the nerves and muscles for the wings actually branch out from behind the ribcage instead of the shoulder blades.”
“Which would explain why you couldn’t fly just by shrugging your shoulders a bunch. Heh, imagine how silly that’d look,” the Unicorn giggled.
“Yeah, I’d look like I was confused all the time or something,” Volare laughed as he shrugged his shoulders and ran in a circle around the Unicorn before flopping back down with a chuckle. “Good lord, what’s wrong with me today?”
“Isn’t this how you normally act?” the Unicorn asked with a puzzled look.
“No…I mean, yeah I had my goofball moments, but,” Volare looked down at the wet grass. “All those years of dedicating myself to success and advancement, 'yes sir, no sir' and all that….I guess I kinda lost sight of who I used to be; I guess I overdid it…and lost sight of the really important stuff." He frowned but Twilight patted his back.
“Hey, I know how you feel,” she gave him a soft smile. “I got so absorbed in my own studies that the Princess practically kicked me out of Canterlot and told me to go and be social and make some friends. Heck, she even had to trick me into thinking it was another study lesson, I was so obsessed with learning.”
“You still kinda are,” Volare chuckled.
“Yes, true…but, I’ve learned that some things are more important than having my nose in a book. And I think you’re figuring that out in your own way, Volare,” he looked up at her. “So don’t think of it as something being wrong with how you feel; that’s how I felt at first until I discovered the magic of friendship. Think of it as taking a different path towards what you wanted all the time.”
“And what is it you think I want, Twilight?”
“What we all want in life: acceptance.”
Volare’s eyes widened a bit. She was right. He only busted his butt all those years so he could be accepted into The Angels. And now he was working towards being accepted as a true Pegasus. She was right… “Wow…that’s really deep, Twilight.”
“Yeah, and it took a massive turning point in my life to realize that.” She looked from the Anatomy book, to the sky, and then back to Volare. “Maybe what happened wasn’t so bad…maybe you coming here was just a turning point.”
“Heh, when you put it that way…it really doesn’t seem so bad.” The blue Pegasus smiled and looked at her. “Twilight…thanks. You’re one wise Unicorn and your friends are lucky to have you.”
“But in that case, you’re lucky to have me too,” she tilted her head with a smile. “Because I consider you my friend, Volare.”
His heart leapt a bit and he had to look away because he suddenly 'got some dirt in my eye.' “But I’ve only been here for less than a day and I’ve probably been nothing but a pain in your neck since I’ve gotten here.”
“Hey, if there’s one thing I’ve learned since I came out of my tower and started making friends, Volare,” she nudged him with a hoof. “It’s that I’ve become a fairly decent judge of character. You’re a good guy, if a bit lost. But what are friends are for if not to help get each other get back on the right track.?”
“That…heh…thanks Twilight,” Volare wiped his muzzle and looked back at the book, trying to distract himself so he didn’t shed a happy little tear in front of her. This place was making him soft…but he didn’t necessarily dislike it that much. It was a nice change of pace. He was feeling a little light-headed, but maybe that was the extra oxygen and the hunger in his belly. “Anyways…Um, let’s get back on the subject of wings so I can get my worthless butt in the air!”
“Right!” Twilight said with a determined nod but laughed as she heard Volare’s stomach growl loudly and he forced a grin. “But as soon as this lesson is over, we’re gonna get you some food before you keel over again!”
“Urgh, are you two eggheads gonna quit flirting so we can teach flyboy here how to, ya know, fly?!” Rainbow Dash yawned, looking down at the two mortified ponies.
“W-we are not flirting, Dash!!” Twilight shouted, to which the rainbow Pegasus smirked. Volare simply covered his head with his hooves, blushing even harder than Twilight was. “We were simply discussing how the lessons we learn about friendship and acceptance have a lot of parallels!”
“Suuure…remember you’re the one who taught me all about those colts and pony behavior, Twilight. I’m not as dense a student as you think I am,” she teased until Twilight grabbed the cloud with her magic and dumped Dash out on her flank with a very uncool oof. “Hey, what was that for?!”
“You sleep too much because you take in too much oxygen due to lack of activity and it’s a vicious cycle, Rainbow,” Twilight returned Dash’s bewildered look with a knowing grin.
“...Huh?”
“What I mean to say is you need to do some activities. Go fly around a bit while we finish our lesson and be back in an hour. Then Volare here is gonna show you just how much he’s learned about flying!”
“Ha, we’ll see! You better bring your A-game, Volare!” Dash called as she jetted off to go practice her Wonderbolts try-out routine.
“Well, that was”- Volare began before Twilight cut him off with a look that warranted neither argument nor small-talk. Even his stomach stopped growling under her glare. She wasn’t mad at him per se', but he wasn’t about to tempt fate either. “So, um, where were we?”
“…Wings and how they're attached to the ribcage instead of the shoulder blades." The smile from earlier was long gone and replaced with a look of determination.
"Right, right, got it!"
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Small note: Volare had better listen to Twilight cuz she means business about science!
XD;
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Volare, you sick son a (Top) gun!
(See what I did there?)
Hahaha Twilight is so out of character, in the beginning, it's painful. Oddly enough she reminds me of Akane from Ranma 1/2 or any other abusive female character from Anime. Got a laugh out of me at least.
Pacing is kind of wack as well.
383566 I know, but like she stated, she's never felt this way before...maybe Spike was onto something about those hormones...
Just not a normal day around the place
And don't worry, things get alot smoother after this...and then Pinkie and her weirdness enters the picture
383597 Nothing beyond what I've read
Hrm...reading back over this latest chapter....I really probably should have extended it further, but idk who'd wanna read a 10k word chapter
XD;;
Oh well, live and learn ^^
Thanks for reading this you guys, it means alot to me :)
“Yeah, well my version of messing around happens to involve causing third degree burns,” Spike scowled.
Love it. May steal it, if that's okay.
383766 Have at it, dude
383647
Who'd want to read a 10k word chapter?
I definitely would. :) I like longer chapters.
Ya, considering I've read all of Duties... which is COMPLETELY 10k+ word chapters...
384157 Heh, I'll keep that in mind then
384892 Really? Dang...
Must be a damn good story though
385848 Ya, it's good as long as you're not one of those people that is just against Mane 6 Alicorns
385856 GOD MODE HACK!!!
My attitude about this chapter:
s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/web05/2011/11/9/16/enhanced-buzz-4086-1320875059-6.jpg
385848
Try "The God Particle." While mostly 6-7k word chapters, EquZephyr released a chapter with 16k words. It was chapter 21- Dimensional Spaces, with a total of 16,550 words. The story itself is a HiE, but an incredible one. He also released a chapter with a word count of 15k words. It was chapter 11- Meeting The Ponies, with a total of 15,754 words. If you want to read an interesting HiE, "The God Particle" is a must.
hey author guy if this hasnt been made be4(in the story i mean) i think u should do it
volare has a thing like rd with the sonic rain boom. imthinking he flies around attracting clouds like a magnet then when he breaks the sound barrier he shocks all the lightning and rain out of the clouds. at first i thought it could be called a sonic rainboom but thats rd's special move so haowabout sonic lightning boom? just a thought so ifit happens I CALLED IT
Volare responded with awkward twirl of his hoof and after a moment, Twilight nearly grabbed a rock and threw it at him.
“Volare, you pervert!! This gives further insight on Equine Anatomy, specifically on ponies such as Pegasi and Unicorns!”
“Oh, my bad,” Volare blushed furiously, making Dash chortle and Spike facepalm. and this part: “These girls wanna know whether you wanna fly or if you’re getting-mmpph!” Twilight grabbed Spike around the mouth with her hoof and gave Volare an overly large smile.
now i can SO relate to this chapter and the last one! my wrong thinking friend as Volare my second wrong thinking friend (but shes more funny than wrong) as Twilight my other friend wich is both of them combined as Rainbow Dash and me as Spike (but i would be laughing like my dorky pinkie pie self)
i miss my friends... (long story there...) 
Yep, that's it, that's me right there. "Now that I know how this thing works inside and out, let's DO THIS THING!!!"
I love how most of the time, when reading this, I can hear the voices of these characters from the show in my head. Great work! ^.^
383766 That sounds like the pyro.
Im sorry, I cant read this. Its....to put it bluntly, terrible. Starting with the OOC. Too much h4t3 to write an all out review, sorry.
hmmmm, so good so far, but instead of using your oc as volare im gonna use my mental picture if him when you first described him
Make a circle joke already!
1396718
My brother was playing as a Pyro (TeamFortress2) as I read this.
Are you a time traveler?
Honestly I hope this is a RainbowVolare not a TwilightVolare, it's been too long since I've read a good dash romance and it's hard to find straight rainbow dash stories!
Also was kinda hoping this would be dashes perspective I miss her mind being part of mine which is partly why I was looking for a new book to read but whatever
ts3.mm.bing.net/th?&id=HN.608016237932907905&w=300&h=300&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0
As far as i know, the latter is a display of shock
(A literal 'fight or flight' response if you will, 
) or arousal 
I hope that that helps
Wow. That.. . That is brilliant!!!
4415029
Agreed it makes so much sense
( lol don’t blame but but this is toooo tempenting to not say)
Twilight; LETS MAKE FRIENDSHIP!!!!
Volare; volrare blushes even harder no thanks to dash’s previous comment and stutters a bit in reply, uh..eheheh...y-yeah friendship...yayyy.
This rouses Twilight to look at him with a confused face and just “huh’s” and goes back to explaining the nerves being connect behind the ribcage with no further distractions
(A/N; GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE CLOUDS BOY!!!! (><))
I'm just wondering why he never questions how rainbow was on earth and even thou he is a pony he could go back to he's family but other then that great story so far thank u 💕💕💕💕💕💕