//------------------------------// // Dive! // Story: Learning to Fly // by Aldrigold //------------------------------// “Alright Twilight, you’re doing great.” Twilight weaved around clouds, keeping her wings spread and using the movements of her body to change direction without changing altitude. It was difficult, and more than once Twilight clipped the edge of a cloud with her wings. It was hard getting used to the fact they were solid to her now. Below her, Ponyville bustled in its usual morning routine. Rainbow kept pace with her, flying backwards, which was probably a stunt in itself. “You’re amazing, Twilight! For an egghead, you’re pretty athletic in the air!” Twilight grinned. Takeoff and landing was still difficult, but she was getting used to flying. She didn’t have to flap her wings quite so often, the long feathers and shape of the wings giving her the lift she needed to stay in the air. Of course, they had been cloud weaving for hours, so she figured it was only natural that she had learned something. “Okay, Twilight, land on that cloud there. Let’s try something a little more fun!” Rainbow pointed, then zipped up ahead, landing on a cloud that they had passed several times in their circuits around the town. Okay. She could do this. Twilight flexed her wings, then beat them powerfully, throwing her body forward like Rainbow Dash always seemed to do. The burst of speed didn’t last long, but it was enough to prevent her from having to spiral up to gain altitude. However, it didn’t prevent her from having to beat her wings frantically to gain altitude when she fell short, and she grabbed the cloud with her hooves at the last second, pulling herself up with kicks of her hind legs and beats of her wings. "Uh, Twilight..." Rainbow began. “Made it!” Twilight said between quick breaths, nearly falling on her face onto the cloud. She would never quite get used to how clouds felt. They weren’t quite like pillows, though they were soft. But somehow she thought she could sense the water molecules underneath her hooves, forming a lattice that felt secure one second and intangible the next. “Okay, what’s next?” “That.” Rainbow pointed into the distance. Twilight leaned forward, blinking, then nearly stumbled on the cloud. “No. That!” Rainbow grabbed Twilight’s head, pointing her in the right direction. “The clock tower?” “No!” Rainbow sighed. “Those! That circle of clouds! I set them up, and I want to see you dive through them! See if you can do it anywhere near as fast as me!” She jumped onto all fours. “Ready to try and follow me?” Twilight’s first thought was to refuse. A dive? She studied the clouds. There were 11 of them, set up in a loose circle, all waiting to knock her out of the sky if she messed up. But no. She had to at least try. Be fearless, like Rainbow! “Okay,” Twilight said. “Let’s try it.” “Good. Try and keep up!” Wind rushed, blowing Twilight’s mane into her face as Rainbow took off. “Okay Twilight,” she said to herself. “You can do this!” With a kick of her back legs, she launched herself off the cloud, remembering to keep her head up as she leapt. With a flare of her wings the sky took her, her speed immediately halved. Rainbow Dash was a streak of color ahead of her. “C’mon, Twilight!” the pegasus called. “Follow my lead!” Twilight narrowed her eyes, her shoulders burning as she flapped her wings and headed into what was quickly becoming a very fast dive, following Rainbow’s trail toward the ring of clouds. The wind whistled in her ears, her eyes watering, and her heart began to beat double. This was the fastest she had ever gone. Her heart beating quickly became anxiety, and then panic as the rushing wind deafened her and made her blink tears and sweat from her eyes, the image of the ground below her a blurry mess that was quickly getting bigger. The ring was close, and to her left! She was going to miss it, and she was going too fast. Too fast too fast too fast! At the last second, the blue and rainbow motley ahead of her swerved, and Twilight forced one thing into her mind—wings, now! She threw them forward, muscles straining, and turned, wrenching her shoulder with the force as she followed Rainbow through the ring. Another stray cloud puffed into nothingness ahead of her as Rainbow broke it. “That was great, Twilight!” Rainbow bellowed over her shoulder. “A lot of pegasi would be way too scared to try a dive like that, but you did it!” “Yeah,” Twilight said shakily, wincing as she flapped her wings and her muscles twinged. “That was great.” She eased into a circling spiral, too tired to try and hover by flapping her wings like Rainbow did. “Check it out, Applejack’s down there.” Rainbow pointed, and Twilight spotted the red and orange forms of Big Mac and Applejack pulling carts toward Sugar Cube Corner. “Alright, let’s take a break. Then we’ll try something even more fun!” Rainbow rocketed down toward the ground, Twilight shaking in her wake. Flapping ungainly, Twilight turned and started circling lower, toward where Rainbow was now talking with Applejack. She had a long time to go before she could match Rainbow’s speed. She would have to try harder. “Well, howdy there, Twilight!” Applejack tipped her hat as Twilight landed heavily on all four hooves at once, the alicorn trying to hide a wince as soreness arced up her shoulder. She would need ice tonight. “I hear Rainbow is teaching you to fly, just like Celestia said!” “Yep!” Rainbow puffed out her chest. “She’ll be flying rings around Ponyville in no time!” Applejack lifted her hat up. “Rings around Ponyville? Why would you want do that?” “Why wouldn’t you?” Rainbow returned, and Applejack shook her head with a smile. “We’re just headed into Sugar Cube Corner to pick up some supplies for Granny’s apple pies. Why not come in with us? I’m sure you could use a snack after all that learnin’ to fly, right Twi?” “Sure! And I can grab some cupcakes for Spike!” Twilight said with a grin. “And then you can practice balancing cupcakes during flight for Spike,” Rainbow added. Twilight blinked, but didn’t argue. She didn’t want to risk dropping Spike’s cupcakes, but if balance training was what she needed to be a good flying partner for Rainbow, then she’d do it. Surely after a meal her tired wings would recover. “Greetings!” Mr. Cake called from behind the counter as the group of ponies entered the shop. “What can I get for you today?” He stood up, and his eyes widened as he caught sight of Twilight. “What can I get for you today, Princess?” he added. Twilight’s face heated. “It’s okay, you don’t have to-“ “Princess?!” Mrs. Cake poked her head out of the hallway, Pound and Pumpkin cake in her arms. “Princess Twilight! Good to see you. Whatever you’d like, it’s on the house!” Applejack turned to Twilight, raising an eyebrow. Twilight wished she could sink into the floor. It had only been a few days since returning to Ponyville after the coronation, and she hadn’t anticipated… well, this. Her friends certainly didn’t see her any differently! “TWIIIILIIIIIGHT!” A pink blur leapt from out of nowhere, wrapping its hooves around her neck. “I haven’t seen you in forever!” Mr. and Mrs. Cake just stared, Mr. Cake’s eye twitching. “Pinkie,” Twilight said with a small laugh. “It’s only been a few days.” Behind the excitable pony, Mr and Mrs. Cake smiled, the tension gone from their faces. Pound cake laughed, drool leaking from his snout. Thank goodness for Pinkie. “I know Twilight, but the coronation was sooooo amazing and I couldn't stop thinking about it and so I thought about you but you weren’t here so it felt like I hadn’t seen you in forever! Do you want a muffin?” On the last word Pinkie leapt into the air, all four hooves off the ground. “Uh, Pinkie? The flour?” Applejack motioned to her cart. “Omigosh, you’re right!” Pinkie squealed. “Lemme get it!” She braced herself on two hooves, as though she was going to start aiming to be the winner of the running and the leaves, and then all momentum left her as she started hopping normally toward the back of the shop. “Wow,” Rainbow Dash said. “I should probably help her get the bags.” The pegasus flapped along after Pinkie. “So, how’s it going with Rainbow?” Applejack asked. Big Mac walked up to the glass display case behind her, shoving his face toward it and licking his lips. Mr. Cake watched the other stallion nervously. “Oh, it’s alright.” Twilight tossed her mane. “I’ve got the hang of staying in the air, at least.” “She’s not pushing you too hard, is she? You know Rainbow.” Applejack shook her head with a rueful smile. Twilight thought to the panicky dive, the fear rising in her gut again and her folded wings twinging in memory of the wrenching twist. “It’s… it’s nothing. I can do it.” Applejack’s eyes widened slightly. “Well, if you have any problems, be sure to tell her. She takes things pretty intense sometimes.” Applejack chuckled. “But if you just told her to slow down a bit, she’d understand for sure.” Twilight nodded, but she wasn’t going to tell Rainbow anything of the sort. Twilight had never failed a test, and she wasn’t going to let Rainbow down.