Princess Spike

by Daelyx Len Auphydas

Wings

Spike and Twilight stare blankly at Rainbow Dash for a long moment, until Spike eventually opens his mouth to speak. "Um. We decided to whatnow?" Spike asks, lost.

Rainbow Dash looks a tad offput and steps back. "Um. Is that not why you came to see me?" She asks. "Remember when I offered to show you how to fly the other day?"

Twilight perks up, but still looks confused. "Uh, you flew down here, we didn't come to see you."

Rainbow Dash rolls her eyes, and points her hoof up at the clouds above. "Well duh. Spike wouldn't be able to fly up to my house anyways!" It's only then, that Twilight and Spike look up to realize that they had teleported directly underneath where Rainbow Dash's residence is currently parked, and understanding dawns on the two of them.

"Ohh..." Twilight and Spike say in unison, before Twilight steps forward. "We didn't know you were here, we just wanted to get out of town because Spike was uncomfortable with the amount of attention he was getting."

Rainbow Dash noticeably wilts, her head drooping towards the ground. "Oh." The tone of disappointment is easy to hear in her voice. She stretches out her wings to fly away again, but Spike steps forward, interrupting her.

"But, while we're here, we might as well." Spike glances over at Twilight. "...Right? I can, right?"

Twilight puts her hooves up disarmingly. "You don't have to ask me for permission."

Seemingly Rainbow Dash just then actually fully notices what she is looking at, because her brow raises and she looks at Twilight confused. "Just what happened with you? Another magic accident?" Spike can't help but think the prismatic pegasus doesn't sound as surprised as one might expect. He guesses that's just what life is like for them.

Twilight shakes her head and just dryly responds with "Just a delayed effect from the spell. I'm working on it." Her tone of voice doesn't invite any further questions, so Rainbow Dash just shrugs and moves on.

"Alright, well, Spike. Have you tried out your wings yet?" Rainbow Dash asks, triggering Spike to shake his head. "Well, first things first, you should get used to moving them and figure out how to propel yourself with them. Then, once you're used to that, I'll coach you through taking off." Rainbow Dash's voice slips into her instructor mode. It's considerably different than Twilight's instructor mode- Much less professional and more energetic. "Lets start with some sprints, but use your wings to help propel you forwards. You know, like Scootaloo does on her scooter."

Rainbow Dash takes up position on a flatter piece of ground and flares her wings out. "Just watch me, then try to do the same thing, alright?" She takes off at breakneck speed on the ground, flapping her wings with many short bursts, rotated downwards to angle the force forwards instead of up.

"That isn't how you taught me to fly." Twilight points out, raising her brow.

Rainbow Dash rolls her eyes. "Yeah well, I learned my lesson from how many times you crashed while learning. I thought about it a while last night and then I got this idea from seeing Scoots scootering around town. Just bend your wings while on the upstroke and spread them wide on the down-stroke, that's how you make sure you're moving in the right direction." Rainbow Dash showcases the technique by slowing down her wing flaps enough for Spike to see. "Alright, now you try."

Spike trots over to where Rainbow Dash had started and paws at the ground with a hoof. Try not to trip over your legs, this time... He gulps nervously. Unsurely, he twists his wings down like Rainbow Dash had shown, and starts beating the air with them, while Twilight and Rainbow Dash watch. At the sound of Rainbow Dash's whistle, he takes off running, slowly at first and then faster and faster, flapping his wings harder and harder.

"You're doing great, Spike!" Twilight cheers from the sidelines. Encouraged, Spike charges faster, now galloping at full speed, doing his best to bend his wings on the upstroke just like Rainbow had instructed; That way, it doesn't catch as much air when flapping back up, which would be counterproductive to forward momentum. But then, something goes wrong; His wings snap shut and the force that pushes forth from them shoves Spike downwards, and his face plunges into the dirt.

Earthy. Spike groans from disorientation, not entirely sure what had happened. His front half had plunged down into the soil, getting a helping of dirt in his mouth which he promptly spits out, while his back half kept trying to move forwards, leaving it to pitch up into the air ungracefully.

"Spike! Are you ok?" Twilight canters over to him and pulls him out of the dirt, as Spike shakes his body free of as much mud and dirt as possible.

Gonna need a long, relaxing bath tonight... Spike thinks to himself. But all he actually says is. "I'm fine. Just a little bit of dirt."

"You twisted your wings too far back, and propelled yourself into the ground." Rainbow Dash states, trotting up and using her wing to dust off Spike's face. "You have to always be perfectly aware of what angle your wings are at to make sure you're going in the direction you want to. It'll probably take a while to get used to."

Spike nods, grunting with determination, and gets back in place to try again. This time, when Rainbow Dash whistles, Spike takes off at a more steady cantering pace, flapping his wings slower and more methodically to keep them easier to control. With this strategy, he is able to run all the way across the flat top of the hill without issue.

Rainbow Dash and Twilight both clap their hooves together for their friend and brother respectively. "Whoo! Great job!" Rainbow Dash cheers out. "Now, give me another ten laps!" The shriek of a whistle sets Spike off again.

Rainbow Dash has Spike do various exercises to get used to using his wings, until she feels the alicorn is ready for something fancier. "Alright, Spike! It's time to try and fly!" Rainbow Dash announces.

"Huh? But, I'm still not that coordinated." Spike exclaims, worriedly. But Rainbow Dash just shakes her head.

"Nah, don't worry, you'll be fine. I'll help you balance yourself and provide extra wingpower if you need it. It'll be just like when I take Scoots 'flying'." She explains. "I'll support you from underneath so that you can just focus on doing your best without worrying too much about crashing. Alright?"

"A-alright." Spike replies nervously. His wings spread out, and he looks over at Rainbow Dash uncertainly. "So, how do I um... Take off?"

"Just pull your wings all the way back and snap them down with all your force. Focusing on just moving away from gravity helps, too. Something about pegasus magic, I don't know the details, but it works. Finally, try jumping on your first stroke, it gives you a good boost, its a lot easier to gain lift once you're already in the air." Rainbow Dash instructs.

Spike takes a deep breathe. Thankfully, channeling magic is something he had gotten rather used to throughout the last couple days, so he can somewhat understand what Rainbow Dash is telling him to do. He pulls his wings all the way back, and then leaps into the air. He would have fallen right back to earth, if Rainbow Dash wasn't there to help steady him by pushing up on his barrel with two hooves. With that help, Spike is able to stabilize somewhat, though there is a nauseating feeling of lacking control as he struggles to keep his wing-beats going straight up- Instead, he drifts from side to side, forward and back, like a drunken stallion.

Hissing, Spike strains to balance himself without relying on Rainbow Dash's aid. He feels the magic inside him struggling to keep up even as his wings burn- The exercises of the day had been quite exhausting.

"Woah!" Rainbow Dash shouts and ducks away, as Spike's wings release jets of green fire from between the wingfeathers. Thankfully, Rainbow Dash is able to dodge away from the sudden firestorm, but without Rainbow Dash's support, Spike loses his aerial balance and starts plummeting sideways. The alicorn's eyes widen in fear as his wings freeze up in nervous shock, but just before he can hit the ground, another body leaps into him, letting him down much more gently as the two tumble onto the ground.

"Spike! Are you ok?" Twilight shouts, and Spike realizes that it was her who rescued him.

"I-I'm fine! Thanks to you." Spike replies, staggering back up to his feet. "Whew... Sorry about that, Rainbow."

Rainbow Dash trots up alongside him, also looking concerned. "Well, I've never seen that happen before. That new body of yours does some weird stuff, Spike." The pegasus bites her lip. "Still, I'm sorry I didn't catch you like I said. I'm just glad you didn't get hurt."

Spike smiles faintly at the reminder that his friends really do care about him. "Its fine, Dash. But I think that's enough practice for one day, wouldn't you say?" Spike grunts, looking down at his coat- Its lustrous sheen now entirely missing in favor of a thick coating of dust. "I'm gonna need the mother of all baths when I get home..."

Rainbow Dash nods. "Yeah, I'll say. Maybe you should check in with the spa." The pegasus suggests. "Still, you did good today. Better than Twilight did on her first day flying, that's for sure!" Rainbow Dash snickers.

Twilight glares at her friend. "Hey, I don't remember getting nearly as good advice then either, you just told me to take off and left me to it!"

Rainbow Dash shrugs, grinning with amusement. "Yeah, whatever."

Spike calls the two of their attention back to him once again by clearing his throat loudly. "Rainbow, could you do me a favor?" Spike asks.

Rainbow Dash cocks her head to the side curiously. "Uh, sure. What is it, Spike?"

Spike pauses for a moment, contemplating, before making up his mind and setting his jaw firmly. "Could you gather the girls? I'd like to talk to all our friends at once after I've cleaned up. If that's alright." He explains.

Rainbow Dash studies Spike's face for the rationale behind the request, but eventually just shrugs. "Sure, I guess. Shouldn't be a problem for a pegasus as fast as me." The instructor voice had well worn off by now, replaced with the boastful Rainbow Dash that everypony knew and loved.

Spike snickers a little at the response, before looking at Twilight. "Alright, Twi, let's go. I've got a weeks worth of grime and mud to wash off."