As the sun began its journey towards the horizon, Silverstream and Smolder entered Twilight’s office.
“It’s good to see you two again. You know, it’s incredible how one little incident can trigger someone to change. All over the school, I’ve seen and heard about students using your new goal-setting and idea-sharing strategy to achieve and succeed. I too have been planning, and I’m going to extend the gym provisioning one step further.”
“Does that mean I can ride Spinner again?”
“Wait for it. After school hours, Starlight will check up on you both to ensure that homework is finished and checked in. Once that’s been confirmed, you can have access to the gymnasium keys until bedtime. Additionally, each month I’ll be allowing you to visit Ponyville, and bring your toys on a field trip to Canterlot. Sound fun?”
“Wooo-hoooo! Absolutely!” Smolder exclaimed with a fist-pump. “There’s so much we can do!”
“Well, then, I’ll see you again later after work’s done. And Smolder, here. You deserve this.”
Twilight unlocked her desk cupboard and pulled out the skateboard, holding it up. Smolder eagerly but gently took it and gave a polite thank-you before leaving, with Silverstream in tow.
“Yona find math so complicated!” Yona groaned, peering over the equation for the fifth time.
“Hey guys!” Smolder said excitedly, running down the hall to the table where Gallus, Yona, Sandbar, and Ocellus were gathered. “We got our toys back!”
“But where’s Silverstream’s bike?” Gallus bluntly pointed out.
“Oh, it’s in the gymnasium,” Silverstream replied, shrugging it off. “Starlight found some grease for it, so I should be good to go this evening! After homework, of course.”
In the next few hours, the six friends peered over their homework, examining each question and answering them properly across a variety of subjects they’d been taught – biology, mathematics, the history of Equestria, and more. At last, all the work was done – only for one thing.
“Think we still got time?” Smolder asked, gesturing to an open window that showed the sun setting.
“Yeah, we’ll be fine!” Silverstream replied, nodding excitedly. “C’mon, let’s get those keys!”
The two left their homework by the table and raced off.
“Yona will bring these to Headmare Twilight, too!” Yona declared, piling all the books onto her back, only to have some of them fall off.
“I’ll help ya,” Gallus sighed, picking up a few and flying off, Yona following close behind. They soon caught up to Silverstream and Smolder. Sandbar opted to stay behind and read some books instead.
“Here’s all our homework,” Gallus declared, setting down a large handful of books on the desk, before adding Yona’s house of cards to the stack. Twilight’s eyes almost bulged out at the sight of it, but held her cool.
“Took you quite a while this time ‘round, but it’s done. Here ya go,” she said, handing the keys to Smolder. “Have fun and try not to cause damage, alright?”
“We promise!” Silverstream replied, clasping her hands together in a solemn pose.
The two friends ran down the hallway to the gymnasium and unlocked it. Inside, Smolder flicked a few switches, unlocked the storage room, and pulled the door open. Flicking on a light switch, she found Silverstream’s bike and pulled it out. Armed and ready with her grease, Silverstream got to work, gently lubing the chain, gears, axles, and headset join points. Rubbing off the excess with a rag, she cranked the pedals and flicked the handlebars, ensuring they spun smoothly without any resistance. Now she was ready to begin with her friend.
Smolder walked over to the middle of the room and just dropped the board, before circling around it, observing closely all the different components and how to effectively use them. The creative juices were starting to flow.
In a quick move, she stomped on the tail with her left foot, grabbed the nose, and gently hopped upwards, swinging her right foot around and onto the back trucks in a precarious balancing act. A quick thought rushed through her: if I gently hop off, that’ll free the board, and then...
With a gentle hop, Smolder ‘hovered’ for a bit, then quickly flicked the board with her fingers. It spun right side up, and she dropped back down onto it, adjusting her balance and rolling away. Turning in a half-circle, she tail-skid to a stop and closed her eyes, tracing out the movement with her finger.
“Into the midpoint, around, down on the side, hop onto the wheel, flick out to spin. Push, hop, flick. Go.”
Smolder angled herself parallel to the board, and pushed the board sideways to the left using her front foot, in an opposite stance. Right as the board fell on its side she hopped onto the back wheel with her right foot and flicked outward, using her left foot as a guide to spin the board around. However, the board just scooted out in front of her. So she tapped the tail, got the nose in the air, and tried again and again. And again, and again the board just wouldn’t spin – it’d just scoot out.
After twenty-five tries, she took a break and flopped down on a floor pillow, her body exhausted and her feet sore. But the voice still remained in her head: you can do this. You have to do this.
Meanwhile, Silverstream was having a good deal of fun. She’d figured out how to use her wings to balance while standing on the front wheel pegs, and holding the seat with one hand, so the back of the bike rose up. She also held out her other hand for extra balance.
Then she tried to turn…and fell over. After several failed attempts, she finally managed to turn in a full circle without losing balance.
“Try that again!” Smolder laughed. “It was impressive. How about balancing on the back peg?”
Silverstream’s eyes narrowed skeptically. “Are you suggesting I try a new trick?”
“Yeah! Go for it! You have very good balance naturally as a hippogriff.”
So Silverstream got back on her bike – the right way – and put her left foot firmly on the back wheel peg and leaned forward and up, making sure she didn’t shift her body weight too far forward. Then, gripping the handlebars, she kicked out with her right leg and pulled herself in a circle, using her wings to assist balance and rotation. Curious and excited, she grabbed the front wheel peg with her left, switched feet, and pumped with her left leg, causing her to spin even faster. It was practically bike pirouette.
Feeling happy for her friend, Smolder fought to hold a manual, and used her arms to pull herself in an inward motion. Now she was spinning as well. They made some ten rotations… only to be interrupted by a whistle and gasp from the gymnasium entrance. Apparently, all the movement and the whirling noise had caught some attention.
“Whoa, that’s so cool!” Starlight squeed, having walked in. “You two are better than I thought! I can see you’ve got great talent with your toys!”
“Oh, yeah…whoa!” Smolder replied with a gasp, slipping off her board in surprise at the appearance of the guidance counsellor. “We’ve been practicing different tricks using nothing but our creative minds.”
“Oh yeah! Wheeeeee!” Silverstream cried, having been lost in the moment as she stood on the front wheel pegs with one foot and hurled the bike around, kicking at the air and the front tire.
Starlight gave a pleased laugh. “Anyways, it’s time for an evening snack and bedtime.”
“Aw!”
“C’mon,” Starlight coaxed. “You can always come back tomorrow evening. Better yet, since the weekend’s coming up, why don’t you visit Ponyville?”
Smolder and Silverstream shared a look. It sounded like the perfect idea. With some warm-up sessions, of course.