The sky was pushing her up. Or was the ground falling with her on top? Neither. It was just her waking up.
The first Rainbow Dash saw was the clouds. She remember she had the ability to walk on them. Dashie felt the wet ground below her, meaning it had rained during the time she was passed out.
“Thanks sky, I would have needed it two days ago!” Walk on clouds - Who was she kidding? With her luck she would probably never fly again. Dashie tried to stand up. Her hooves felt numb. Despite this, there was no pain, except that wasn’t true. “Stupid air! Stupid wings!”
She ignored the grogginess. In one rapid stream of flaps Dashie rocketed toward the sky, only to plummet hoof fallen to the ground again. Some of the sand entered her mouth. She coughed it up. “Hurgh... Stupid air! Stupid wings! Stupid... Hargh... Sharptooth!”
The pegasus kept trying to bring herself airborne. Each wingbeat that did not bring her higher only made her angrier.
“Stupid air! Stupid wings! Stupid me! Fly Rainbow! Fly!”
“To many flaps.”
Rainbow Dash landed on her hooves and rapidly faced the voice. “Who’s there?”
“Excuse me miss, but what are you?”
“I asked you a question!” Dashie raised her wings in aggression. “Now, answer me or I’ll smack you!”
Rainbow Dash spotted the creature next to a dried out tree. It appeared to be standing on a branch. “Me is sorry me scared you, are you from the mysterious beyond?”
“Last chance.”
“If you tell me your name, me will tell you mine.”
The agreeable voice showed no sign of hostility. Dashie calmed herself and lowered her wings. Her heart gave a jolt when the male creature suddenly spread his own wings, which were huge compared to the rest of his birdlike body. His eyes were large and bulgy. The back of his head continued to a pointy end while the front of his face was mostly covered with his large beak. The latter was almost as long as his body and ended in a upside-down scoop. The air stirred around Dashie as the creature landed only a couple of hooves in front of her. She subdued her urges to accommodate his flying.
“Close enough.”
“My name is Petri. What's your name?”
"Rainbow Dash.”
“Rainbow Dash? Suiting name for you, indeed.”
Petri had one of the friendlies eyes Dashie had ever seen. He also had the habit of separating his words with short pauses. His voice had a rusty core.
“What did you say?” Dashie asked
“What did me say?”
“I said, what did you say?!”
“Me said... I mean, I saw you fly, and then me said...” Petri hesitated. His eyes turned blank. “What did me say?”
Dashie slammed the hoof over her face.
“Alright, lets take this from the beginning: I am here, trying to fly back to my friends. It all goes well until you say something about flaps and, very successfully might I add, break my concentration!”
“Oh, yes. To many flaps. You’re not gonna go far, with or without your broken concentration, not unless you get your thrusts and strokes right.”
Rainbow Dash put on a confident smile. “Listen pal, i don’t know where you come from, but I am an honorary member of the Wonderbolts. - Blasted my way through Cloudsdale flight school, entered highest step of the winner podium before anypony else in my age. Trust me, if anyone here knows how to fly, it’s me.”
“Me have no idea what Wonderbolt are, me have no reason to doubt you, me only have reason to doubt your downstrokes.”
Rainbow Dash thought she might explode with anger. “Then, why don't you show me?!”
Petri spread his wings of leather. His first and only downstroke was all he needed to rise three meters into the air. The flow of it still wavered the raggedy mane of Dashie as he landed softly.
Dashies’ magenta eyes glared statically at the strange creature with a chocolate brown skin. Dashie could not believe she might have gotten herself in a situation when she might be forced to accept flying lessons from a stranger. Dashie remained silent for a couple of seconds, but she quickly made up her mind. “Hmmm, alright. Come over here and show me.” Her voice darkened. “But I’m warning you, spill this to somepony else, and I have no idea what I’m gonna do.”
“Oh, me don’t know, me spilled a lot of things in my days.”
“Promise you won’t tell!”
“Tell? Oh no, me won't tell anyone about this. Spill something me might, but me won’t tell... Eh." Petri looked at Dashie cluelessly. "What is it me won’t tell?”
“Urgh... About this! About the fact that you’re teaching me how to fly, or I’ll be a laughing stock in the Wonderbolts until the end of time!”
“Oh, me won’t tell, me won’t. But me still don’t know what there is to spill. Are you and me going for drink?”
And here Rainbow Dash thought she was dumb, this guy made her look like Twilight Sparkle.
“Riiiiiiight.” Dashie sailed the vocal while frowning. “In your dream.” She muttered.
“Great. Then me will tell everyone about this but avoid spilling water.”
“Oahrg...! You know what? Forget it! I’ll handle this on my own!”
Petri saw Dashie turn tail and walk away. He looked after her like he was watching a fish wander of on dry land.
“Okay then. Me wish you luck.”
Rainbow Dash heard the flapping of the creature behind her. In just a moment, Petri would sail the sky while she would be stuck on the ground.
“Hold on.” Dashie called. Petri flew back again. Dashie turned and looked at him with surrendering eyes. “Show me how you do it.”
“How not to spill?”
“No! How to...” Dashie sighed. “Show me how to fly.”
“Oh, why didn’t you just say so? It is not that hard, but you need to put power in those first downstrokes, especially someone as heavy as you.”
Dashie had been called many things in her life but she had never been insinuated for being fat. Her right eye twitched.
“Lift your wings, just like this. Then thrust yourself forward while pressing the air down, hard.” Petri illustrated by making an arch in the air. “Now, you try.”
Rainbow Dash tried. It ended up being nothing more than a jump.
“To many strokes. as I said...”
“I know what you said!” Dashie ventilated. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. She tried again.
“No, to many again.”
“But I’m doing what you said!”
“You do to many strokes because the first one is not powerful enough. Another thing me see are your thrusts. Make sure to jump forward, rather than up, more wind for your wings to catch.”
Dashie did what Petri said. “There. Not better.” She sulked.
“Much better.”
“I’m not flying. I’m never gonna fly.” Dashies voice started cracking. “I’m a pegasus that can’t fly.”
“Only if you give up.”
Rainbow Dash snorted. Her magenta eyes swelled up with tears. “I’m a failure, a loser.”
“Me met many losers, one of them my uncle, at least he was, as long as he only cared for himself and a stupid meteorite. You want to fly home to your friends, you’re no loser, you winner.”
Dashie laughed sarcastically behind her tears. He blue ears pointed down the sides of her head. “Who would want to be friends with me? I used to be awesome. Now look at me, all I do is complain.”
“Maybe the problem is you forgot you’re awesome?”
Dashie snorted. Her crying faded. Was this truly all that was missing? Had she just forgotten about her awesomeness? Come to think of it, when was the last time she told somepony else she was awesome?
“In Equestria.” Dashie replied to herself out loud.
“What’s an Equestria?” Petri asked.
“My home.” Dashies’ magenta eyes turned glittery, but not with tears. How could she have forgotten about her home? The home she grew up in, the home were she got her cutie mark.
“What is that thing on your flank?” Petri asked.
“My mark.” The eyes of Dashie hardened with determination. She raised her wings, galloped forward and tried again. Then again. Then again. Then again. Each try resulted in a longer flight
“You got this.” Petri motivated.
“I got this!” Dashie jumped forward and stroked, only two times this round. She had soared almost five meters when suddenly the wind caught her from below.
“Oh, now you REALLY got this!” Petri cheered.
Dashie had risen several meters when gravity came with its input. Petri joined her side.
“Calm down. Don’t flap against gravity, stroke!”
Dashie did what Petri said. She needed less power in her strokes now. Rainbow Dash and Petri sailed out of the rocky ravine Dashie had fallen into. In front of her, the majestic sight of the land before time widened with its mushroom rocks and the biggest trees Dashie had ever seen. Long rivers stroked the land. Some herds could be seen wandering close to them. Somewhere, beyond the horizon, volcanos burned. Her eyes widened in awe. “Wow!"
“You did it! You're awesome!” Petri blasted.
Rainbow Dash grinned behind her tears of happiness. “I’m AWESOME!”
He told her the rainbow rodent would be here, that useless husband of hers. Was he ever going to get anything right? The female Sharptooth growled. She scanned the area around her one last time. The ravine was as empty as her husbands head. He failed to get rid of that longneck and he failed to get her the lavender rodent.
The ground rumbled when Sharptooth left the area. Was she going to do everything herself? No, she would let her husband try, just a little longer. Maybe she could, at least, get a laugh out of this before the end?