The sky ain't the limit
Almost a week had passed since his crash. By know his wings were back to normal, his feathers shining and it didn't hurt to move them at all. Today they would begin actual flight lessons! He couldn't wait! Though he had planned on returning to Cloudsdale as soon as he was good to fly back, the opportunity to have flight lessons from the best flier in all of Equestria was too good to pass up. He had written another letter to his teachers at flight school, taking a few more days off. It was weekend anyway, so no harm done. Right?
He finished his morning routine in just under twenty five minutes. That was how fast he could now down three bowls of oatmeal with apples and nuts. It was quite a spectacle to behold. Apple Bloom nearly chocked trying to imitate the process. Being ready to depart five minutes early earned him a satisfied nod by Rainbow Dash. But she still kept her unamused face. She never smiled while training with him. At least not when he looked at her, but he was sure he had heard her giggle a few times, when he had not been looking.
“Recruit! Today marks your first day of actual flight training. I don't want you to strain you foal weak flight muscles again, so we start with warm up. A NICE AND COZY TEN MILE GALLOP WILL DO WONDER! FOLLOW ME RECRUIT!” she told him, first as a stern speech, the last sentence again as an angry shout.
With that she took of. Storm reared on his hind legs and set off in a brisk gallop trying his best not to loose her.
They made a twisting and turning trail through the apple orchards, finally following a small path up a mountainside. They arrived at a long plateau. It had a gentle drop and ended in a sheer cliff. It made for the perfect natural runway. If you could manage to get airborne before you fell down the mountainside. It was actually the same spot the crusaders had used for their paragliding adventure.
The gallop up to this place had not been easy. But after his days of special Rainbow Dash training, it hadn't been hard on him ether. He was certainly warmed up and he had still lots of energy to spare. His wings flapped up and down in anticipation. This was going to be good!
“Alright recruit!” Dash spoke up. Did he imagine it, or was she actually smiling at him this time?
“Well start nice and easy to get you back in the air. You are off to a running start and than I want you to circle the orchard till further notice. NOW GO!”
“YES MAM!” he replied, saluting with his hoof. He reared on his hind legs, than he was off.
At galloping speed, the runway would run out in mere seconds. But that proved to be no problem, when he spread his wings and caught headwinds, it was all he needed to get airborne. He passed the cliff and flapped his wings a few times to gain altitude. He had not flown far from the cliff, when a gentle, warm updraft took him in, pushing him upwards.
He had read about this in his recent flight theory lessons. Thermal updrafts: When the sun heated the land and the air above it, it would expand, thus become lighter than the surrounding air, which would result in it rising upwards. Colder air from the sides would flow in the low pressure zone, heat up and then too rise, this way feeding the updraft. It was not all that complicated once you put you mind to it. It was a new experience for Stormheart though. You didn't get any good thermal updrafts at Cloudsdale altitude.
He rolled slightly into a left turn. As he circled the updraft, it took him higher and higher and he didn't have to pump his wings at all. Just keeping them spread wide and adjusting his course by minor wing movement and weight shift was enough to keep him airborne.
Stormheart couldn’t help but smile happily. This was great! The warm updraft blowing through his feathers, the wind in his face. And of course the simple sensation of flying high above Equestria again. He had not know, but he had really missed it. And this was even better. Normally flying was hard work for him, but this took no effort at all! And there were neither his impatient parents, over critical teachers or his stupid classmates spoiling it for him. This was just plain fun!
Rainbow Dash was flying a bit further away, watching her recruit with a satisfied smile. She didn't fly any closer as not to disturb him with the turbulence she created. Of course she had planned this out to the last detail beforehand. Scouted for the perfect place and arranged for the perfect weather. She had just known, that with a nice and steady updraft involved, those big wings of Stormheart would stop being a handicap and actual become useful. Seeing as he grinned widely while circling higher and higher, she could not help but pat herself on the back. Well done.
After watching him a few more moments, she flew to a nearby cloud and settled down on it. Let the colt enjoy flying freely for an hour or so, before real training began. She would use the time for a nice little nap.
Stormheart found flying like this to be very calming. It was almost like meditation really. Slowly all disturbing thoughts left his mind, as he only concentrated on the airflow around his primary flight feathers. The wild excitement of the first minutes of flight faded away and made place for peaceful content.
He closed his eyes. At this point he could easily navigate by the feeling at the tips of his wings alone. He could feel the updraft, almost grasp its gentle power. His mind wandered. It was as if he could sense even further. Feel the whole of the weather around him. The updraft he was in, as well as other ones nearby, a gentle wind from the southwest, a single cloud weighted down by a pegasus resting on it.
He blinked confused, shook his head and tried to orientated himself using his normal senses again. What was that? Had he fallen asleep during flight, like swallows did? Could a pegasus even do that? Or had he been daydreaming? Yes, probably daydreaming. But something gave him pause. As he looked around, he saw a single cloud with a rainbow maned pegasus resting on it, taking a nap.
The rest of the flight training was no fun and games. Rainbow wanted to tackle the main problem she saw with Storms flying. The lack of strength in his flight muscles to utilize his wings. Technique and a few tricks would work themselves out after that was accomplished. Or so she thought.
Training began with her showing him his goal.
“RECRUIT! By the end of my training, I want you to be able to lift little Tom here.” she explained tapping her hoof on a giant rock. She didn't give him any time to recover from the shock though. Without warning she threw some saddlebags over his back and filled them to the brim with stones.
“ENOUGH OF THE LOLLYGAGGING! WE HAVE TO REACH APPLELOOSA BY DAWN AND AIN'T GOT SUNLIGHT TO SPARE!”
They did not really make it to Appleloosa that day. With that much ballast it was all Stormheart could do to stay in the air, hovering just above ground. They made it to Sweet Apple Acres by dawn.
The following days were a mixture of strength and extreme high altitude training. Living in Cloudsdale, Stormheart was used to high altitudes, his blood as thick as it came. So Rainbow had to step the training up a notch and booth of them spend hours flying way above cloud level.
It was freezing cold. If not for the hard work they had to put into flying in the thin air, they might have frozen solid. Both of them were breathing heavily, trying to get enough oxygen took a lot of effort. It was hard work, even for Rainbow. At the end of each session, she too was glad to rest in a comfortable bed.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders joined in on his strength training. That meant he had to carry them on his back. At first he could only carry one at a time, but soon all three of them were flying on his back, screaming in glee when he stepped up his speed. How he was able to fit the three on his back he never knew. But he was glad that Rainbow was always near to catch any of them, if they fell of. That actually happened a few times. None of them let such minor annoyances ruin their fun though.
After a week of hard training he had gained a lot of new strength and flying came easy to him. He could still not lift Tom. But that did not bother him that much. It had probably been a joke of Rainbow anyway. Or some kind of longtime goal. Maybe he would test his wings at the rock again in a year or ten.
Looking back the two weeks in Ponyville had been among the most enjoyable of his life and he was saddened by the thought of leaving and going back to Cloudsdale. But he couldn't put off flight school any longer. Reluctant he got ready to leave on the next day.
The animals of the Everfree Forest hid in their borrows. The hydra sought shelter in the swamp, maniticors crouched in fear and even the mighty Ursa Major moved deeper into its cave. A storm was coming.
Special thanks to Mobius of the Moon for proofreading.