//------------------------------//
// Chapter One: Breeze 
// Story: Flying, Not Gliding 
// by Razor Blade the Unicron 
//------------------------------//

A slightly tall pegasus with a buttercream coat and a long pink mane was standing shyly next to a unicorn with a pink coat and short two-tone mane of violet and lavender, who was holding a clipboard in her magic. Fluttershy and Amethyst Star wouldn't be two ponies who would normally interact with each other if it weren't for one pony that heavily depended on each of them.

"I'm, um, not intending to mean here..." stammered Fluttershy. "But how, er, strong again the wind do breezies fare?"

A breezie with an aquamarine mane and lemon coat was standing on Amethyst's back, who couldn't help up sigh at the question. "You can ask it to me straight, Flutters; I know jat breezies are all pathetically weak." Twirly twitched her wings slightly. "And the answer to your question depends on how large the flock is. The larger the flock, the stronger the breeze can be because they support each other. The smaller, the more gentle the breeze has to be."

"So, uh, how many pegasi should we have providing the wind?"

"Three light fliers will probably work." She paused to think. "Might want somepony else on hoof to help if needed."

Fluttershy gave a small smile. "Thanks you, Twirly. I'll go see who will be best suited for the job."

The pegasus strolled off along the edge of the crowd that had formed, looking anxious as she had to go talk to ponies. Amethyst made a checkmark on her list, and nodded in satisfaction.

"All that's left is to make sure the path for the breeze goes a safe distance around any obstacles." said Amethyst to Twirly. "And Flitter is already working on that."

"Leaves are some of the most dangerous obstacles!" warned the breezie. "Just one could separate the entire flock!"

She raised an eyebrow as she started off to find Flitter. "Really?"

"Yep. And the usual rule is jat if somepony gets separated, they have to cry out for help so the whole flock can stop to help them." A small smirk formed. "Unless you don't say anything."

Amethyst paused at hearing this from her friend, and added it to her mental list of what she knew about Twirly separating from her flock. "Are you ever going to tell me?" she asked.

For that, she received a scowl. "As soon as you tell me about your sister."

She continued walking. "Fair enough."

Many had things they refused to talk about with anypony, and for Amethyst and Twirly they both refused to speak about their families. They were at a stalemate with each other for answers, since they only would tell if the other did. This didn't make them dislike each other for doing so, and they normally just ignored the subjects.

"Hey, guys!" called Flitter from the air, waving her hoof. "I need Twirly to check the route I chose."

Amethyst nodded, and gave Twirly gentle nudge to get her going in the air. The breezie's wings twitched up and down as she glided up, using a tiny bit of her own propulsion. She made it up to Flitter rather quickly, and hovered in place.

"Alright, I'll test it out." she said. "You just give a nice gust of wind."

Flitter smiled. "Sure thing! It starts back here..." 

Both flew off, leaving Amethyst waiting on the ground. She double-checked her checklist to make sure that she didn't miss anything, and was pleased to see that she hadn't. Occasionally she would get distracted by Twirly messing around with things. As she put her clipboard away in her saddlebags, Amethyst felt somepony tap on her shoulder, and she turned to see who it was.

"Oh, hello, Rarity." she said casually. "Is there something you want to ask?"

"Yes, darling." said Rarity, who was wearing some decorated sunglasses. "I just had a question about the breezies."

"And what's that?"

"Well, I'm just a bit confused, that's all. If Twirly only needs a breeze to go faster, why do the other beezies need one at all? Can't they just fly on their own power?"

Amethyst knew the answer in an instant. "Oh, it's quite simple to explain. See, the breezies are carrying a very special pollen that they need to transfer home for the plants to keep growing. Since the flower that the pollen comes from can't be grown anywhere near where they live, they need to go and harvest it. But the pollen only has two days before it goes bad, and they need to bring it home before the gateway to where they live closes, as it only opens once a year. The breeze generated from the pegasi flying preserves the pollen in the baskets, making sure that it won't fall out or go bad too soon."

She nodded from the large amount of information. "I see... So why does the breeze have to be so gentle? Twirly is okay with one pegasus giving her a third of the amount of breeze as an entire flock, so I don't quite follow."

"Oh, well that's just Twirly being Twirly. She trains her hardest to get stronger, which is way she can withstand stronger breezes than other breezies. After all, she doesn't fly with a flock."

"Speaking of, why isn't she with a flock? Did the poor dear get separated?"

She shrugged. "She's never told me. I just found her alone, and she wasn't even nervous about it. She just looked at me, and her eyes lit up with excitement."

Rarity nodded again. "Ah."

"Attention everypony!" called out Flitter just as Twirly flew back down to Amethyst. "The breezies will be arriving soon, so everypony must stay on the ground unless you're a designated flier. When the breezies arrive, make sure that you don't have anything that could suddenly knock them off course, and that you're very quiet due to them having sensitive ears!"

Amethyst looked over at who the fliers, who were Fluttershy, Flitter, and, surprisingly, Rainbow Dash. Thunderland was on the ground below them in case they needed more wing power.

"Why Rainbow Dash?" she asked softly to Twirly.

"She may be all about speed, but she can flap her wings really lightly and still stay in the air." replied the breezie. "And Fluttershy and Flitter are there to monitor her just in case."

Rainbow Dash raised her hoof in the air, which signaled Mayor Mare to start speaking.

"Everypony!" she said softly, the crowd quieting. "Please welcome the breezies!"