Opening my eyes, I find myself staring up at the plain white ceiling. My room is flooded with light pouring in through the balcony window. Must be morning. Not feeling like going back to sleep, I roll onto my belly. The action triggers all sorts of ticklish sensations in my wing as it is rubbed over the cloud. It only serves as a reminder that I’m still a pony; a flying magical pony thing sure, but it still doesn’t feel right. Even now after all the time I’ve been here, it still feels so surreal. I glance across the room to the main door. So, what am I doing today? Today is… I glance sideways. Right, there’s no calendar in this room. What day even is it? While I’m busy racking my brains, the door opens.
Snow trots in, pushing with her magic, a food trolley.
“Morning Snow.”
“Good morning Jonathan! Do you remember what’s happening today?”
Oh, I remember now. It’s pony school. I wonder what sort of things I’ll be learning. I suppose reading and writing pony-ish is important. Reading will probably come first, since you need to be able to read before you write? I never took language class back home… But, it’s painful to think back there, there’s no way of knowing how long I’ll be stuck here for. To live in a castle, it’s many a little girl’s dream isn’t it. But as in many of the old stories, the princess is trapped in the castle. I feel trapped here too. Trapped in a body not my own, in a world not my own. A world of magic and castles and princesses and ponies. But it’s not my world. I suppose I’ll have to learn about this world’s culture too. I guess that’ll be interesting.
But there’s also magic… I look up towards my horn, hidden behind my mauve mane. I haven’t had much luck with that thing so far. I don’t look forward to that. I realise that I haven’t answered Snow yet, she’s waiting expectantly for my answer. I can’t help but let out another sigh as I slip out of bed.
“School, right?”
“Eh, close enough. Here, I brought us some breakfast!”
She releases the trolley in the usual spot. I move over to lay down on a cushion across from her. She levitates two trays onto the floor and then the food. I look over the selection. We each have an apple, what looks to be some apple tarts, a salad sprinkled with some kind of purple flower and… a cupcake?
Snow levitates her apple to her mouth to take a bite out of it. I’m left eating mine off the tray again, but I don’t mind; it’s what the non-unicorns do and I don’t want to try touching my magic after everything that it’s done. Next is the salad, it looks fairly normal to me, except for the purple flowers on the top. Snow’s chowing her’s down hungrily. Tentatively, I press my snout into the bowl and scoop some into my mouth with my tongue. Eh! It’s bitter, and dry and- I cough loudly, almost choking as the half-chewed mouthful is thrown back into the bowl. Oh come on… I’m a horse, I really should be able to eat this stuff. And now Snow’s giving me a funny look again.
I’m still hungry though. I carefully tap my tongue against one of the purple flowers. It’s bitter and dry, the source of the irritation. Mindful to avoid the flowers, I try the rest of the salad. Without the overpowering bitterness in the way, it’s actually quite nice. Soon, all that’s left is the cupcake. I’m not sure why there’s a cupcake on the breakfast trolley, but Snow’s… already eating hers. I guess we had muffins yesterday, so why not a cupcake? So I take a bite, and that is overpoweringly sweet! First, too bitter and now too sweet? I force myself to swallow. There’s no way I’m eating that, and now Snow’s looking at me weirdly.
“Jonathan, are you okay?”
“Um, yes?”
“Is there something wrong with your food? First, you coughed on your salad, and then you're not eating your cupcake? Not to mention all the other times… Wait, you’re not allergic to flowers? Are you?”
Allergic to flowers, is that even a thing? I don’t think I’ve been having any allergic reactions to them, but I’ve noticed that every flower I’ve eaten has tasted bad. And none of the other ponies seem to have the same experience.
“Snow Blossom, how did those purple flowers taste to you?”
“Oh, you mean the crispy veramints? They taste… slightly minty, but also fruity I think. Why, what did you think of them?”
“Bitter. Overpoweringly bitter. And also dry.”
She frowns at that.
“I don’t think I’ve ever known a pony to find veramints bitter. But what about your cupcake? I’ve noticed you usually only don’t like flowers. But I’m pretty sure there’s none in that.”
“It’s too sweet.”
“I guess they are a little… I’ll make sure to get some less sugary next time. Or muffins, I know you like muffins.”
“Thanks Snow. So, now that breakfast is over, can you tell me what sort of stuff I’ll be learning at school? Reading and writing? Or maybe history and culture?”
She leans forwards and whispers “Actually, that’s a surprise.”
Standing up, Snow begins to clear everything up.
“Go freshen yourself up and then we can go.
After dropping off the breakfast trolley with another pony who was waiting just outside my apartment room, we set off into the endless hallways of ‘the Canterlot maze,’ a pegasus guard falling into step beside us. Once more, I’m wearing my new wing-covering ‘saddlebags.’ As Snow leads me through the castle, I can’t help but wonder how any pony can navigate a place like this. There’s not even anything resembling signs or maps and everything looks the same! I briefly consider trying to work out where we’re heading, but there’s no chance of that. Instead, I take to watching the ponies going about their work around us. For the most part, everypony ignores us. But I think I catch a few curious glances thrown our way out of the corners of my eye.
Eventually, we reach one final stairway that seems somewhat familiar. At the bottom is a rather tall door, flanked by a pair of guards.
“Jonathan, we’re here. Now, are you ready?”
“Isn’t this that gym place you showed me on the tour?”
Snow frowns for a moment.
“Jonathan! I said, are you ready?!”
“I guess?”
“Good, let’s go”
With a quick nod to the guards, she opens the door with her horn magic and walks through. I follow her in, alongside our guard and the door is closed behind us. As the echo reverberates throughout the massive hall, I take in details. It's definitely the same place, although I was kinda expecting to be taken to a classroom. What are we going to be doing here?
The chamber is comprised of some kind of pony gym equipment in one corner. In the middle is a massive sandpit, surrounded by a large eight-lane running track. Snow leads us across the track and into the sandpit towards another pony. As we trek across the sand, I wonder what this room is actually used for. I’d previously assumed this place was for the palace guards and this sandpit was a sparring pit. But they already had those outside and at the barracks. I don’t see anypony else here other than that one pony waiting in the sandpit.
The pony is a male pegasus, wearing some kind of light padding armour and a whistle around his neck. He meets us in the centre.
“Well hello there! Snow Blossom, Jonathan, Feather Brick.”
Ah, so that’s the name of today’s guard, he’s kinda quiet. The new pony holds out a hoof, presumably for me to shake. I hold out my hoof too.
“My name is Wispy Skies,” he continues. “And I’ll be your flight instructor today… and tomorrow, or not tomorrow? Next week? Well, I don’t have the schedule, but for the duration of your stay anyway. Just call me Wispy. Nice to meet you!”
At this point, I’ve already tensed up. Did he just say… flight instructor? Very slowly, I let my gaze drift towards the ceiling, where a massive obstacle course made of clouds looms above us. I barely register Snow’s magic picking the saddlebags from my back.
“Impressive, ain’t it. Took all of yesterday evening to set up. Y’know, I ain’t never taught an alicorn to fly before. In fact, when I heard it was an alicorn I was to be teaching, I couldn’t believe my own ears.”
I shake my head in an attempt to clear it.
“So… flying? I wasn’t expecting that.”
I glance over at my uncovered wings.
“Especially not so soon…”
“Eh, don’t worry about it. You ain’t gonna embarrass yourself in front of nopony right down here. I bet you’ll be a better first time flyer that Princess Twilight Sparkle after she got her wings?
That momentarily throws me for a loop? ‘got her wings?’ So another alicorn who wasn’t always an alicorn… interesting.
“So, why don’t you come and show off those wings of yours, Jonathan?”
“Huh, what, now?”
“Yes now! Why do you think we’re down here?”
“Can’t we do this another time?”
“Nope! Princess wants you up in the air and flapping those wings. Those may be lookin’ healthy now, but they won’t be for long if you don’t use them!”
“Uhh…”
“Come on Jonathan! Open em’ up! I need to see what it is we’re working with here!”
“Right… wings… open…”
I look back at the feathery appendages neatly folding along my back. How do I go about doing this? I try concentrating on them. One twitches slightly, but otherwise I do not get any response. Well, I know they can move. I try thinking back to all the times they’ve opened on their own. Suddenly, my left wing springs open with enough force to throw me sideways into the sandpit. I land heavily on my right wing and a lance of pain shoots through it.
“Oww…”
“What was all that? You’re going to ruin your wings like that! Get up!”
I’m in too much pain to respond. And even if I wasn’t, I don’t know how to get up from this position, so I’m content to just lay awkwardly in the sand with one wing in the air and the other crushed below me. After a moment, Snow’s magic lifts me back onto my hooves. Wispy walks around me to inspect my wing. I wince as he tugs it open and quietly regards the ruffled feathers.
“Eh, it’s not as bad as it could be, but we’ll have to get it preened out before you can take to the air.”
Dropping the limb, which flops limply on the floor, he walks back round to inspect my undamaged wing.
“Hmm. Not the worst I’ve seen. Good feathers, but your preening leaves something to be desired. Muscles look strong, but are starting to show early signs of atrophy. I guess the cloud course can wait, preening’s now first lesson of the day, but we don’t have long left to get you in the air. I have my work cut out for me now, don’t I. Alright, hold your wings out, like this.”
With one wing already extended, all that’s left is my limp wing. Hopefully falling on it didn’t break anything… Focusing on the sensations in the wing, especially where the ache is coming from, I manage to raise it shakily into position. The feathers are quite messy. Thinking back to my earlier preening attempts, I bend my neck round and start nudging the feathers back into place.
Wispy, who is watching me, steps in with his own advice.
“You want to be tugging on the feathers, not pushing them. You might damage the shafts if you do it like that. If they’re healthy, they’ll straighten out. If they’re damaged, they’ll pull out”
Huh. I look closer at the patch I’d been working on. I carefully tug on one, and it pulls straighter before snapping off. It seems I’d been bending the stems by inadvertently squashing the feathers inwards, and also messing up the ones in the surrounding area even more. I start tugging more out. Getting them in my teeth isn’t the easiest thing, but my flexible neck allows me to reach most of my wing.
“Try using your tongue. Using your teeth like that can mess up the feathers underneath. Your feathers are also a little dry-looking, not too bad though. Your tongue will help moisten ‘em and prevent them from becoming brittle. It’s important that you do that often, especially after a good drenching. Plain old water can wash away the oils your wings produce, so you should always preen after a shower. As good as your natural preening oils are, I would suggest using proper conditioner; you should have some in your room. It’ll provide more long-term protection and give your feathers a shinier sheen.”
I pause my feather licking.
“Uh, Wispy. What do you mean by preening oils?”
“Eh, I thought that’d be common knowledge. Not that I was going to leave that part out if you forgot. Now, preening oil is the oily substance produced under your wings to moisten your feathers and keep 'em in top notch condition. It won’t apply itself - that’s your job. After you’re done with straightening your feathers, I want you to lick under the base of your wing to get some oil on your tongue. Eh, that’s where your preening glands are.”
Once I’m finally finished with my wing, it’s looking almost good as new. It’s clear that there’s still room for improvement, but I guess I’ll get better. Following Wisp’s instructions, I bend my neck under my wings and (ewww) stick my tongue into a sensitive spot just underneath. Immediately, an oily substance seeps onto my tongue. It tastes weird, not bad, just weird. Oh well, here goes… I start using my tongue to spread the oil across my wings. It’s absolutely disgusting, but if that’s what pegasi have to put up with, I guess I’ll have to as well.
I look back across both of my outstretched wings. They’re kinda glossy now and the feathers are nice and straight. I cannot say how long it took, and there’s no windows down here either, but I’d assume it was at least 2 hours of licking. And, I feel like it helped. Not just in cleaning my wings, but getting a proper feel for them. Running my tongue carefully over each individual spot with no other sensory inputs has helped me align the tickling sensations of preening to each area of my wings. It won’t have given me instant masterful control, but it’s at least a start.
I carefully flap my wings up and down. Now that I think about it, I’ve been holding them out for quite a while and they don’t feel in the slightest bit tired. I guess pegasi wings have to maintain this position under much more strain when gliding, so I suppose it makes sense.
“I see you’re ready and raring to go, now Jon. Keep flapping. Get a feel for your wings.”
Flapping them slowly like this produces a light breeze which tickles the hairs around the edges of my hooves. I don’t feel any lighter yet, but I’m not flapping them much. I very slowly begin to increase my flapping speed, feeling the motion of my wings bending to slip through the air on the way up and seeming to stretch out to catch it on the way back down. The feeling is kinda therapeutic. And then I feel myself pulled onto the tips of my hooves as I push down a touch too hard. I freeze my wings, my heart suddenly beating rapidly from the shock. It wasn’t enough to leave the ground completely, but it almost got me airborne.
“Good. Good. Don’t stop. You almost had it! Come on, one more try.”
Taking a deep breath to calm my racing heart, I raise my wings. I flap them down. Woah! Too hard! I’m suddenly in the air, a couple feet off the ground. Surprised by the sudden takeoff, my next flaps come out of sync and I flip sideways to land in the sand on my back; all the air being driven from my lungs. Oops. I try to rock myself upright, but there’s resistance from my head. A few more rocks and I roll over my wing. This time, my wing is flat out on the ground and doesn’t get crushed. My head however, jolts, as something stops it following. With a few head shakes, I finally get it free, throwing sand into the air where some of it hits Snow in the face.
Standing up, I look at the horn shaped gouge in the sand. Another reason I don’t like having a horn.
“That was quite the crash there weren’t it. Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it, but maybe we should work on wing control a bit first. It’s about lunch time now, so we can finish it here if you want. Although I don’t mind if you wish to practise a little more first.”
Now that I think about it, I am quite hungry now. And that little flight, no matter how brief, had me terrified for a moment. I think I’m ready to stop now. The idea of flight still scares me, but I find myself kinda looking forward to it somewhat. For now though, I’m ready for lunch. I turn towards Snow to ask what she thinks… and her face is covered in sand. She looks a little annoyed actually… Snow Blossom suddenly bursts out laughing, dispelling my fears.
“Well, I’m just about ready for some lunch myself. You ready to go Jonathan?”
“Yeah, I’m ready Snow… Bye Wispy, thank you for teaching me this morning.”
“Eh, it ain’t no problem Jon, have a good day yourself now! Oh, and one last thing. I want you to keep practising controlling your wings. Here, a book on wing exercises. I want at least 20 minutes a day, okay?”
“Okay!”
Snow takes the book with her levitation and slips it into my saddlebags as she floats them over my back.
“Come on then Jonathan, I better get myself cleaned up before lunch. Bye Wispy!”
And so me, Snow and that quiet guard start making our way back towards the exit.