//------------------------------// // "Original" Comp. No. 1 // Story: Starlight's Symphony // by Phoenix Heart 27 //------------------------------// The summer after she turned 9 brought Starlight Sonata some incredible changes to her life. For one, she finally got to experience what all the other Pegasus foals in her school (and others) got to experience: the first mandatory flight class. For reasons she didn't understand, the introductory course ran through the summer and the full course would be throughout the school year. While excited, Starlight couldn't help but be extremely nervous for her first day of flight courses. While her Papa reassured her that there was nothing to be afraid for, Starlight was still unconvinced. ‘What if they can't get their instructions through to me due to me being deaf? What if I can't hear what the instructor says and end up crashing or something? Oh Faust I’m gonna puke from these nerves!’, Starlight thought to herself as she and Melody Star flew up to the cloud building where the course would be taking place every Saturday morning in summer. Seeing her sister looking a bit green and with a look of overthinking on her young face, Melody took a pause and knelt down on the clouds to Starlight’s level. “Hey. You looking nervous isn't gonna help your performance you know.”, Melody signed. “Easy for you to say. You have already passed basic training and are already in senior training at High School levels. Plus you don't have to stress about whether or not the instructor can sign or have the patience to wait for an interpreter to get me to follow instructions on different flight patterns! I do! Add to the fact that I know next to nopony there and I’m as you would  say ‘fucked’! So of course I'm freaking out!”, Starlight Sonata signed with no stopping. Ignoring the choice swear that her sister inexplicably let out (how she knew the exact sign for that, she didn't know), Melody sighed as she scooped up a struggling Starlight and held her tight in her hooves. “Watch me carefully” Melody started as the pair of them entered the large colosseum-like building of clouds “Every Pegasus has to go through this. It doesn't matter if you can hear or not. Heck, I know for a fact that even the blind can manage to find their way through a minefield in the sky! The only thing that's currently holding you back from doing this is you and your insecurities. Did you know I felt similar things to what you're feeling on my first day of flight training? As shocking as it is, yes. I was so nervous I almost fell off the runway leading up to the cloudesseum. Mama had to grab me by my tail in order for me to not free-fall 2,000 feet. The point is, Starry you can't let what you think might happen distract you from what will actually happen. You got that?” With an affirmative nod from her sister, she continued “Good. Because you are gonna rock it in there. Besides...Mama and Papa already told me that the instructors already know about you as you likely aren't the only ‘unique’ foal in the class for this year's roster. Trust in them and you won't have anything to worry about aside from creaming the competition when it comes time for a race.”, She finished with a light chuckle. Heeding her big sisters’ words, Starlight grinned and with a determined look in her eyes, she set off into the main waiting area while her sister signed her in. 20 minutes later… The group of exactly 40 colts and fillies between 2nd and 4th grades were herded into the largest of the training areas. Color coded tags hanging from their necks to show which groups they’d all be placed in. The idle chatter of youngsters ceased when 4 grown ponies appeared at the front of the room. Immediately Starlight recognized one of them as her teacher Ms. Willow and the other as her gym coach Mr. Breeze. A smile slowly appeared as she watched the younger pony next to her teacher sign to all those who couldn't hear the introductions. Paying close attention to what color badge she wore (pink) and to where those with those tags were to line up at. After she saw that the introductions were over with, she saw the same pony who was clearly the interpreter hold up a pink flag. Somehow knowing this meant for those with that color were to come line up there, she flittered over there. “Okay everypony. For those who don't know me, My name is Ms. Willow. I teach at Cresthoof Elementary/Middle School. As I can see a few familiar faces here today, for the time being, I am not your teacher...or at least not until September that is” she pauses to laugh a bit before continuing “Anyways, for the next 6 weeks I will be your Flight instructor. You all will follow mine and Ms. Zipper Wing’s every tutorial. We understand that not everypony is gunning for Wonderbolt status speed and agility here, but for those who actually do, well….. let's just say be prepared for some hard training. Now, show of hooves. Who here has ever flown past the bare minimum of 5 wing power per hour?”, Ms. Willow signed/asked with an excited look. The response was almost instantaneous with most of the foals raising a hoof. “Good, because we're going to by the end of summer break quintuple that amount.”, Ms. Willow said before she signed for everypony to follow her to the second biggest training area. Lined up in straight lines of two, the 14 colts and fillies were lead into the spacious training area. They were all in a state of dazed when they saw the various pieces of equipment from wing resistance bands to weighted hoof bracers and all other agility materials like cloud rings to fly through and hurdles to leap over. It was almost overwhelming, yet the foals didn't show it. With excited squeals, the usually quiet rarely used room was suddenly filled with the chatter and laughter of kids as they all went around and tried out everything. Starlight was about to try out the weighted hoof bands when somepony, rather literally fell into her. “Ow!”, Both ponies groaned as they rubbed their aching heads. Picking themselves up, it was only then when they both looked at each other. A pair of amber eyes met forest green ones. As if time itself paused the two ponies just looked at each other. Surprise overcame them both as other foals barrelled into them both. Once again having to pick themselves up. Laughing at the situation, “Sorry. I should've seen where I was going. My name's Spirit Chaser.”, The amber eyes signed as she dusted off her wings. “It's ok. I should've watched where I was lifting. The name’s Starlight Sonata. A pleasure.”, The green eyes one replied smoothly (barely covering up her embarrassment). Both fillies couldn't find it in their hearts to not continue “talking”. So, they resolved to use their mouth reading skills and actually conversed with one another as they both worked out their wings by wing ups and hoof training. Eventually the instructor held up a green flag and everypony fell in line as the instructions were given. “Okay, everypony needs to pair up. Throughout the remainder of this beginner's course and yes, that includes the school parts as well, these will be your wing partners. Wherever you go in this course, they go too. You will support one another and not only will this be a great team building experiment, but also a way for us all to get to know one another better. Now. Find. A. Partner.”, Ms. Zipper Wing signed/explained. Then the nervous energy exploded and was replaced with excitement. “Do you want to be my partner?”, both Starlight and Spirit asked at the same time. They giggled (despite only one of them barely hearing it) before agreeing. This was followed by the new partnership flying off to do some basic flight maneuvers. 4 hours later… With the first day of practice complete, older ponies came to pick up younger ones. On their way back home, Starlight Sonata couldn't help but “talk” the whole way home and when they got home too. “Oh Mel! It was amazing! I mean the cloudesseum is HUGE and all the ponies there wereso fast and I know I gotta work on it in order to get better. Plus, I didn't even tell you the best part---”, Starlight was interrupted by slamming face first into her new grand piano (whilst walking into their new conservatory addition to their house). “Try to be careful with random pianos in your path.”, Melody signed as she laughed. “Laugh all you want. Don't forget I still have my ace up the sleeve.”, Starlight glared as she signed to her sister before sitting down at her piano. Pencil at the ready in her mouth. “Oh yeah? Like what?”, Melody signed in a way that called her little sisters’ bluff. Without looking up from her piano she typed on the pad set up on her piano before passing it to her sister. “Remember what I caught you and Checker Flag doing when you were supposed to be ‘foalsitting’ me two months ago? Exactly that.”, Melody read aloud. Her face paling at the thought of what her little sister had seen her and her boyfriend doing on the couch in the den accidentally. “”You. Wouldn't. Dare.”, Melody signed with a heated glare. “Try me ‘Melody Anastasia Star’!”, Starlight typed back as she stretched her hooves and began to write down what she was gonna play. 2 hours later… “Melody! Wanna hear my newest composition?”, Starlight asked as she interrupted her sister from her dance routine. “And why would I do that? I'm in the middle of getting this routine right.”, Melody stated while pausing her ghetto blaster. “Because you're my sister and I Love you. Plus Mama and Papa are out on their weekly ‘date night’ so you're my test subject--I mean gracious audience. Please Mel?!”, Starlight buttered up her sister. Finally folding via the puppy dog eyes, Melody followed her sister into the conservatory. The evening sun casting a glorious glow upon the 9-year-old as she began to play a rather light, almost romantic piece. Her hooves gliding across the keys effortlessly as she's half paying attention and half remembering the conversations she had with Spirit Chaser that day. When she finished, she was once again met by the cold silence. The vibrations still tingling in her hooves as she turned to her sister and asked how was it. “Starlight Sonata, I don't know how you do it.”, Melody signed in a mystified way. “Do what?”, Starlight asked. “Continue to compose such beautiful music with next to zero effort at all!?! I swear it's like your hooves have a mind of their own.”, Melody replied to her sister with a grin. Feeling humble and knowing the proper response to these types of situations, Starlight Sonata bowed and thanked her audience. The same wistful smile never leaving her face.