A New Age

by James Pwyll


Practice

Some situations a pony simply did not wish to find themselves in, regardless of the reasons behind it. For Pipp, who was very much used to things being planned out and under control, today was one such occasion. For she was not within the comfortable confines of her room, her palace, nor even within the boundaries of Zephyr Heights. Instead, she stood upon a precipice, quite literally. A tall cliff-edge, peering over a vast chasm below, so deep that cloud obscured what was beneath it. A loud gulp came from the princess, and it was clear to all that she was hesitant. But it wasn't long before an encouraging nudge was felt to her side, causing her to turn and look upon her companion for the afternoon. Izzy, who was as excited as always. "Come on, Pipp! You've flown a tonne of times by now!"

Pipp, naturally, gestured to the dangerous lack of ground over the edge of the aforementioned cliff. "Yes, but this is a little different, Izzy! I've flown in controlled places, yes, but I've never...done this!"

Izzy snorted briefly. "Don't worry! If what Sunny says is true, you pegasi used to be able to do way more dangerous flying than this back in the day."

A begrudging nod from Pipp. "Maybe so, but you'll forgive me if I'm not exactly comfortable with testing that theory out in, well, this type of way!"

Izzy considered that, then resumed her smile. "Alright then, no problem."

Pipp blinked to her. "No...problem?"

Izzy shook her head. "Nope. I'll just practice my own stuff." Her horn lit up with her words, indicating that she was ready to start levitating something.

Pipp, though grateful that she'd been given a reprieve from testing her flight abilities, nevertheless watched with uncertainty. After all, Izzy was an unpredictable mare to say the least, and there was no telling what she'd do here. Sure enough, the pegasus mare took a step back as she saw her friend cast her glow upon the entirety of her body, and within moments of realising this, she saw with astonishment as Izzy was now levitating herself, as if possessing flight of her own. Granted, her levitation was only about an inch off the ground, and yes she seemed to struggle a great deal with it, but even so, the princess was impressed. "I...I've never seen a unicorn do something like that."

Izzy giggled. "Well, to be fair, how much unicorn magic have you, me or anypony else really seen?"

Pipp shrugged. "Hmmm, good point."

Then, after maintaining her levitation for a few moments longer, Izzy glanced over the edge of the cliff, soon developing a mischievous smirk for herself. "You know, it'd be a shame if we came all the way out here and didn't make use of this place."

Suddenly feeling more nervous, Pipp looked to her friend warily. "Izzy...what are you suggesting?"

Izzy, to Pipp's immediate surprise, began to inch her magically-enveloped self over to the edge of the cliff. "Well, we gotta test these powers of ours out, right?"

Instantly, Pipp's eyes shot open, realisation coming to her over what her friend was about to do. "Izzy...get away from the edge." But, after seeing Izzy just keep that happy smile of hers, she herself had to step closer. "Izzy, I'm telling you, this isn't funny, please come back over here."

Unfortunately, her pleas were completely unheeded, as Izzy made that final nudge to take herself right over the edge. Immediately, Pipp covered her eyes, unable to bear the sight of her friend falling to her doom. But, as the moments passed, there was no sound of screams or distress, only silence. So, slowly, the princess peeked out from her hooves, and what she saw astonished her. Izzy was still floating, now, completely above the seemingly-endless drop below, and even had the confidence to show it. "Wow, you don't really appreciate how high up we are until you're over it, right?"

Though relieved that her friend was okay, Pipp knew she was still in danger, and so resumed her previous requests. "Izzy, for the love of the sun, please come back over here!"

Izzy giggled, then, after just a few seconds, started to look concerned. "Um...uh-oh."

Pipp's face went pale. "Uh-oh? What uh-oh?!"

"I...um...seem to be kinda, sorta...stuck," Izzy replied.

Panic gripped the pink pegasus now, and in a jolt of decisiveness, she spread out her wings and, in an almighty thrust, launched herself right past where her friend was hovering, fear be damned. Izzy watched as her friend swerved around, hooves outstretched, then pushed her back over to the solid ground of the cliff's top. Pipp was right behind her, and as Izzy finally relented on her magic, allowing herself back to the ground, the two panted heavily, Izzy from the exhaustion of maintaining her magic, while Pipp's was largely out of her heart beating frantically. "Izzy?" she managed to get out.

Slowly, Izzy looked to her. "Yeah, Pipp?"

Pipp glared angrily at her. "Never...ever...under any circumstances, do that again!"

Though as optimistic about things as she usually was, even Izzy couldn't help but agree to Pipp's request with a nod. "Yeah...I think I was just about done by the time you pushed me. One more moment and...well..." She didn't finish, and quite frankly Pipp didn't want her to. Instead, the two completely flopped down onto their bellies, their collective tiredness plain for all to see. For a long time, the only thing that could be heard on this high plateau was the sound of the two mares trying to catch their breath. But, of course, it eventually fell to Izzy to change that, looking to Pipp with a slight smirk. "If it makes you feel any better...you did just prove to yourself that you can fly over big heights like that."

Rather expectedly, Pipp's eyes narrowed to that. "I do wish I hadn't had to try and save a dear friend to have to prove it though, Izzy!"

As before, Izzy nodded, accepting her companion's position, and then, after glancing around and looking like she was just about done for the day, she looked once more to Pipp. "So...ice cream?"

Pipp, regaining her smile, nodded. "Ice cream."