What’s it like to fly? Ask a dozen different pegasus ponies and you will get a dozen different answers. For example, if you were to ask my friend Rainbow Dash, she would go on at length about how awesome it is. Wind in your mane, with not a care in the world. If you were to ask Star Catcher, she would likely say how liberating it is, and how by having the gift of flight, the pegasi are truly blessed. If you were to ask Thunderlane, he would probably explain how flying is liberating and how he loves to explore the unknown. But to me, flying reminds me of friendship. For without my best friend in the world, I never would have been able to overcome my fears and finally soar through the sky.
Most pegasi take flying for granted. I’m sure you’ve already read several papers talking about the adrenaline rush, or descriptions of wind whipping through fur, feathers, and hair or about how flying through clouds can be kind of ticklish. You’ve probably read a few essays talking about how flying gives their authors a sense of freedom because they’re not confined to roads and paths on the ground like unicorns and earth ponies are. And don’t get me wrong, I love those feelings too. But that’s not what flying means to me.
I suppose it’s no secret that I’m among the weakest flyers in school. I’ve struggled just to meet the bare minimum flight requirements and I’ve been picked on because of it. I can’t help it – flying absolutely terrifies me. Or at least it used to. A few years ago the school therapist diagnosed me with acrophobia and the fear of falling. She recommended that I transfer to Ponyville and she drew up all the paperwork to that end. My parents signed the papers and I thought that was the end of that. I was apprehensive about it because it meant leaving everything I knew behind me, but I was also looking forward to it because it meant no more being bullied because I couldn’t fly.
But it turned out that there was one pony that objected to this plan. My best friend in the world, Rainbow Dash, wouldn’t let me go. She even offered to transfer to the new school with me, even though doing so would almost certainly put an end to her dreams of one day becoming a Wonderbolt. Since I couldn’t transfer until the next school year, I made a deal with her – if she could help me improve my flying I’d stay here in Cloudsdale. Every day after school I trained under her instruction. I trained as hard as I could. I just couldn’t bear to see her throw away her dreams on my account.
Rainbow Dash is a lot of things: awesome, cool, talented, the best flyer to ever come out of Cloudsdale (she was reading over my shoulder as I wrote all that, she’s also kind, sweet, and dedicated to her friends but she wouldn’t let me write any of that because she thinks it’s too mushy and would destroy her image – she can be silly like that sometimes) but she’ll be the first to admit (and I’ll be the second) that she’s not very patient. I know it was frustrating to her to spend hours every day helping me train instead of working on her routine to impress the Wonderbolts, but to her credit she never once complained about it.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that she’s not a very good teacher. She demonstrates and expects that to be sufficient. I think she lacks the words to exactly explain what’s so engrained into her from years of practice. But Rainbow’s a great friend and a surprisingly competent coach. With her guidance I became an adequate flyer by the end of that summer vacation and I stayed here in Cloudsdale with her (I guess that’s kind of obvious or I wouldn’t be writing this essay).
And this is what it’s like for me to fly. Every time I take flight I think back to how Rainbow Dash was so distraught at the thought of losing our friendship that she went above and beyond what most ponies would do just to keep me in her life. I’ve never thought I was anything special and Rainbow really is so very talented. I think about how even though she’s impatient by nature she was patient with me. I think about how I was able to overcome my fears because of her being there for me. She never once let me fall. By thinking about all this while flying, it helps me push out the fears I still feel naturally. I suppose I can’t help that I’m scared, but I’ve learned how to overcome those fears. That means a lot to me and it’s why I’ll never take flying for granted.
In conclusion, flying makes me think about my friends, and the sacrifices one in particular had to make just to help me soar through the air with her. One day when I’m older I’ll probably move to the ground – I can’t help it, I visited there once by accident and I fell in love with all the cute little animals like bunnies and butterflies that we don’t have here in Cloudsdale. But even though I’ll be living on the ground, I won’t be grounded like I would be if I had taken the easy way out and moved to Ponyville two years ago.
This is an excellent paper, Fluttershy. As always, you provide unique insight into the topic. Even your predictions of your classmates’ papers were spot on in their accuracy. Speaking of your classmates, I can tell you helped Rainbow Dash with her essay (I can always tell when you help her with her homework) and you have my condolences for having to listen to her dissertation on Wonderbolt flight techniques.
Flying is totally rad! No, it’s more than just rad, it’s way awesome! There’s the adranalinadrenaline rush, there’s the wind whipping through your hair, there’s the awesome feeling of breaking through the visible light spectrum (of course, I’m the only pony awesome enough to pull that off!)!
So wearwhere do I start? They say save the best for last but that’s loser talk! I say start with the best and only talk about the best, and of course the best are the Wonderbolts. You wannawant to talk flying these ponies know flying inside and out, like the back of their hooves!
Feathermay is the Team Captain, and she’s got 14 years, 6 months, and 27 days experience with the team! She’s totally been the captain for 8 years, 3 months, and 15 days and you don’t get to be Team Captain of the Wonderbolts without being the best of the best of the best! Her signetursignature move is the Flying Feather, which is a way cool pun on both her name and the adult expression us fillies aren’t allowed to say. Anyways, so the Flying Feather (I just love saying that when I can’t get in trouble for it!) is comprizedcomprised of Feathermay pulling off a triple loop de loop through a flying hoop comprised entirely of birds (How rad is that? Totally rad, that’s how!) cauzbecause her special talent is talking to birds (of course that makes her Fluttershy’s favefavorite Wonderbolt). And then as she flies through the hoop she has so much speed she blows feathers off each of the birds and it looks like somepony blew up a pillow factory with all these feathers just floating there.
Then there’s my idol, Firefly! Talk about the best of the best of the best, Firefly really is totally the awesomestmost awesome pony ever! Firefly’s cutie mark is a lightning bolt and of course that’s what her move set is all about – lightning! She puts on an electrifying performance (lightning’s electric, get it?) filled with bolts of lightning and crashes of thunder and the double inside out loop! It’s loud, it’s flashy, and I love, love, love it!
Misty Fly is one of the newer recruits to the team. She’s cool. With a name like Misty, you just know her talent lies in rain or water. And of course that’s accurate. She splashes her way threwthrough her routine, blowing holes through walls of mist and creating rainbows with the resulting water droplets. Being named Rainbow Dash, you can understand why this move in particular fasinatesfascinates me. I’m working on it myself! One day I’ll be able to perfectly replicate it, leaving rainbows everywhere I go. Won’t that be like totally awesome or junk?
And then there’s the newest member to the team, Spitfire. She trails flames as she flies and all of her moves are fire based (how cool is that?!?!!). She’s definitely become a fan favorite in the very short time she’s been with the team. I mean, seriously! She plays with fire! My parents don’t let me play with fire no matter how nicely I ask. How will I ever get to be a Wonderbolt if I can’t match Spitfire’s moves though? They just don’t understand. It’s so unfair.
So yeah, that’s all the current Wonderbolts. I don’t know a whole lot about previous Wonderbolts because there aren’t a whole bunch of books on the subject. And well, I guess I don’t need to tell you my stance on reading since you’ve heard it enough times. But let the record show I’m no egghead!
Let’s talk about the future Wonderbolts instead. Of course I’ll be the Team Captain, performing my signetursignature patented Sonic Rainboom! I don’t think you were there when I pulled it off, so I’ll explain it to you in detail: I fly high up in the sky and then fly as fast as I can towards the ground. Aw yeah, the wind whipping through my mane! The feeling of every single wing feather rustling as I fall and then bam! Giant rainbow time! Of course I have some other sweet moves I’m working on like the Buccaneer Blaze (right now it’s not really blazing without fire but someday it will be!), Fantastic Filly Flash, and the Super Speed Strut! They’re gonnagoing to be so awesome! The Wonderbolts will love them!
And of course Fluttershy will be right there by my side. I don’t know how she would ever get along without me, after all (she’s reading this over my shoulder and agreeing…and she says hi by the way)! So we’ve been working on her flying and her moves. Right now all I know for certain is that she will incorporate lots of cutesy butterflies into her routine somehow. No amount of begging or pleading from me has convinced her otherwise (maybe you can talk some sense into her?).
So yeah, that’s what flying means to me. Being awesome, being cool, chilling with my friends, becoming a Wonderbolt. And if you give me a good grade on this paper I’ll put in a good word for you with the Wonderbolts once I’m Team Captain.
Your enthusiasm never ceases to amaze me, Miss Dash. I just wish I could focus that enthusiasm on your schoolwork instead of on the Wonderbolts. As stated previously, I’m afraid I really don’t need any favors from your favorite flying team now or in the future. However, I’m willing to do you a favor. You’re very close to failing this class, which would result in you being held back a year. For extra credit, write me a paper about why you helped Fluttershy with her flying. I expect it to be suitably heartfelt.
The simple answer to your question is that Fluttershy’s my best friend in the world. She’s always been there for me and I’ll always be there for her – whether it’s to protect her from being teased or to help her overcome irrational fears.
I’m guessing you’ve figured out that I’m not as dumb as I act. If not, well, I guess the cat’s out of the bag now. The long answer is sufficiently complicated and I’m asking for your discretion on everything written here.
Fluttershy is one of those rare ponies that are truly selfless and generous. It’s a true pity that so few of our classmates can look past the awkward flyer and see the real pony on the inside. She’s kind, gentle, caring, but most of all she’s genuine. Everypony says things like ‘good luck’ or ‘feel better’ because they’re expected to. I’m guilty of it myself. But if Fluttershy says it, she means it. If you’re sick she’ll be there with a bowl of soup. If you’re nervous about a competition she’ll be there to cheer you on. It’ll be a barely audible cheer, ‘cause that’s just how she is, but the support is heartfelt.
I’ve spent years repressing my feelings, my intelligence, and anything even remotely feminine. I have goals and I really do intend to make good on them. I will fly with the Wonderbolts someday, and if not it won’t be for lack of effort. Of course, I know that just leaves more questions, so I’ll answer them as quickly as possible. By showing feelings you can be construed as weak. Nothing like wearing your heart on your sleeve to leave you open to emotional manipulation by bullies. As for the feminine, you know, I really do like fluffy kittens and cutesy butterflies like the ones Fluttershy draws in the margins of all her papers. But the Wonderbolts are macho. Such things are exactly the opposite of lightning bolts and explosions.
But the one you’re probably most questioning is why I hide my intelligence. This is perhaps both the silliest and stupidest thing I’ve ever done but… Fluttershy likes to give back. Unfortunately when you’re as awesome as I am, there really isn’t much she can do for me. Okay, I can’t cook worth a feather, but I’m not going to use Fluttershy as my personal chef. Or my maid, for that matter. She feels so indebted to me she randomly cleans my room while I’m at practice. She’s worse than my Mom. And she’s always so happy to do it, too. And I mean that literally – she whistles a little tune and all she wants is for me to be pleased with how nice she made things look. But I don’t want an indentured servant.
So I fake the stupidity so she can feel better about helping me the way I’ve helped her. I know you know she edits my papers. It helps her feel more confident in her own abilities if she’s nurturing somepony else. I’ve tried to steer her towards tutoring some of our other classmates but she suffers from severe social anxiety. Since the Wonderbolts are mostly about physical ability, intelligence was the most rational thing to cut.
So there’s only one pony she can do that for, and that’s me. It makes her feel worthwhile, like she’s repaying the kindness I showed to her in the past. But that bodes the question you asked originally. Why did I do it?
Because I knew she could do it if she only put her mind to it. Her problem was a mental block, not a physical disability. We’ve been friends for years now. We met on the very first day of school and I was there to stand up for her when she needed it. Why did I stand up for her that first day when I barely knew her? Because it was the right thing to do. Now I do it because it’s what true friends do for one another. I don’t leave my friends hanging – not now, not ever.
Fluttershy’s at her best when she’s helping others to be their best. On top of that, she feels like she owes me no matter how many times I assure her that she doesn’t. One day when she finally realizes how awesome she really is, I’ll tell her the truth and I hope when that time finally comes that she’ll forgive me. Right now though, I’m doing my best to help her by letting her help me because it’s the only thing I can think of.
So there you have it – I’m not a stupid pony obsessed with the Wonderbolts, I’m a horrible pony who manipulates and deceives her best (and only) friend. I may be surrounded with other ponies on the playground, but I recognize the difference between popularity and friendship.
Finally, now that you know my deepest secret you have my sincerest apologies for having to read through the drivel I submit as homework. I’ve deceived you and every other teacher in this school as well.
