New Perspectives

by Alerhys

Part Seven

Applejack looked at an empty cart. She’d had another stream of curious ponies and well-wishers once she’d returned from lunch, most of them happy to buy something from her in exchange for hearing the story, from the horse’s mouth as it were. The resulting business had left her without anything to sell by mid-afternoon. “Guess that’s one silver lining to this cloud.” She closed up the cart and began to look over the harness; she was used to adjusting them to switch between Macintosh and herself, but accommodating her wings properly would take some thought.

“Can I offer you some assistance, Applejack?”

Applejack looked back and grinned. “Howdy, Rarity. Didn’t think you were the sort to be messin’ around with tack.”

“A good designer must know function as well as form, darling. Please allow me.” A light blue glow formed around the harness, buckles opening, adjusting, and closing again until the result was neatly fitted to Applejack, leaving her wings unimpeded. “And voilà!”

Applejack inspected the rig, shifting in place and opening and closing her wings. “Thank you kindly; it’s mighty nice, Ah admit. Ah’ll have ta remember how it’s done, for future use.”

“You’re quite welcome. Before you take off, Fluttershy wanted you to know that she wouldn’t be by today, but I gather that’s a moot point now.”

“Yeah, I’d heard as much indirectly, but thanks again.”

“I left her by the grain shop, laden with her purchases. She seemed almost giddy about it.”

“If her day was anything like mine, she got some real good deals today. Seems like everypony was willing to part with a few bits in exchange for askin’ me questions. Guess Ah don’t blame ‘em none for bein’ curious.”

“I must confess to being rather intrigued myself, but you’ve undoubtedly had enough interrogation for one day. Do come by if you need any alterations done, perhaps new bags or a strap for your hat?”

“Ah’ll be sure to. If ya see Apple Bloom, remind her ta get home before dark, OK?”

“By all means.”

“Appreciate it. Later, then.” and with that Applejack began pulling the cart down the road toward Sweet Apple Acres.

***

Rainbow Dash’s lunch had been pleasant, all things considered; she, Twilight and Spike had talked about the upcoming Summer Sun celebration, how their pets were doing, Sapphire Shores’ latest tune, Rarity’s latest accessory line; anything and everything but what had happened to Fluttershy and Applejack. Bidding her two friends farewell, the cyan pegasus took to the air and flew high enough to select a nice puffy cloud just right for an after-lunch nap, but once again sleep eluded her. Finally she became tired of tossing and turning and stood up. “I’ve got to stop avoiding Fluttershy some time. Might as well see how she’s doing,” she sighed to herself, before sailing off her perch and gliding back over the town. A quick pass through the market section elicited the information that Fluttershy had headed home, and a couple of minutes later Rainbow was knocking at the cottage door.

“Oh, Rainbow, it’s so good to see you,” Fluttershy said brightly when she saw who was there. “Won’t you come in? I was just putting my shopping away and was going to put on some tea.”

Despite herself, Rainbow was still shaken by the sight of the grounded pony. “Um, sure, great,” she replied to the ground in front of her in a manner that was more reminiscent of Fluttershy herself than her usual style, as she followed Fluttershy’s hooves into the cottage.

Fluttershy paused and looked back as she reached the entrance to her kitchen. “Rainbow, are you all right?”

Dash glanced up, then dropped her eyes again. “Of course, why wouldn’t I be? Are you all right?”

Fluttershy stepped close to her friend. “I’m fine. But... you don’t believe that, do you?”

Dash glanced up again. “What? What are you talking about?”

Fluttershy’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Rainbow Dash, please, look at me.”

Dash tried to hold Fluttershy’s gaze. “I am looking at you.”

“No, you aren’t. You’re looking everywhere else but. Look at me!”

Rainbow tried, but at the sight of Fluttershy’s bare back she averted her gaze again. “What are you going on about, Shy?” She was startled when Fluttershy grabbed her head in her hooves and glared at her. “Hey! What are you doing?”

“What do you see, Dash? What do you see when you look at me?” Fluttershy released Dash’s head and took a step back.

“This is crazy. I see you, Shy, what am I supposed to see?”

“You see a pegasus that’s lost her wings, don’t you? You won’t even look at me, like there’s something wrong with me!” the yellow pony retorted, her voice starting to rise.

“That’s not...” Dash tried to reply, but Fluttershy stepped forward again and interrupted her, poking a hoof into the other pony’s chest.

“There’s nothing wrong with me, Rainbow Dash! Nothing! I’m not a maimed pegasus!” Fluttershy punctuated each sentence with another poke to the chest, and Rainbow found herself pushed into a sitting position.

“Fluttershy...”

“I. Am. An. Earth. Pony! You don’t look at Pinkie Pie like that. You didn’t look at Applejack like that. And You. Will. Not. Look. At. Me. Like. That!” Rainbow Dash found herself on her back on the floor, looking up at an angry Fluttershy without quite being clear how it had happened.

“I’m an earth pony! I’m a good earth pony. You know those big sacks of corn feed, that I used to have delivered? I walked home with three of those on my back this morning. Three! Along with a bulging set of shopping bags. Like it was nothing! All the ponies in town, Rarity, they saw me, they were impressed, they didn’t look at me like I was crippled, because I’m not!” Fluttershy was breathing heavily, but to Dash’s relief she hadn’t resorted to The Stare.

Rainbow took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Fluttershy. You’re right. I... It’s not easy. We’ve known each other since we were fillies, I can’t just forget that in a day. And I know I couldn’t have done anything, but I still feel like I let you down. Again. And, and it scares me, OK? One second you’re same as always, the next you’ll never fly again. Every time I try to sleep, it’s the same nightmare, everypony falling and I can’t do anything...” Dash realized that tears had begun to leak from her eyes.

The anger vanished from Fluttershy’s face, and an expression of concern replaced it. “Oh, Rainbow, none of this was your fault.”

Dash blinked furiously. “I know that. It doesn’t help. I told Twilight the same thing this morning about not being able to fix it with her magic, but I don’t know if it helped her either.”

Fluttershy put a hoof under Rainbow’s neck and helped her friend back up onto her hooves. “Come on, let’s get that tea on and have a talk, all right?” She led the way into her kitchen and busied herself with preparations while Dash sat down at the table. “It’s not like you might think, Rainbow. I do remember being a pegasus before, but I know that’s not what I am now. I’m an earth pony, and I don’t feel like I ought to be able to fly. I feel strong and stable on the ground, even more than I used to.”

“I’m not sure that makes me feel better, Fluttershy.”

“If you mean that what did this is scary, I agree, but it’s gone now. What I’m trying to say is that I’m not trying to put on a brave front here. I’m really, truly, content.” The conversation was paused as Fluttershy added tea leaves to the pot and carefully brought it and the cups to the table. “Please understand, it’s not that I don’t miss being a pegasus; flying is really convenient sometimes, and it was easy to overlook all the flying I used to do when so much of it was below treetop level. And, well,” she added shyly, “it’s been kind of awkward, with the birds.” She smiled again. “But Pinkie is helping me with jumping and climbing, and Rarity is helping me reorganize my house and she got me these really cute step stools, and Twilight said that when I really need it she’ll use the spell that she used on Rarity for the Best Young Flier competition.” She looked up from pouring the tea and giggled. “I would look good in butterfly wings, don’t you think?”

“Sure. Really nice.”

“I’m still me, Rainbow. I might not have wings on my back anymore, but I still have them on my flank. Taking care of critters is what I do, and if some of how I did it before isn’t available, well, other things about it are better. I can understand my animal friends even more now, and that’s a good thing, right?”

Dash found herself looking at Fluttershy’s cutie mark as she took in what the other pony was saying. “You’re right. I didn’t think about it like that. I didn’t realize, but you’re right, it makes sense. You’re my good friend, Fluttershy, the earth pony who takes care of the forest critters, and that’s how it is.” She stretched her neck and wings with a groan as the tension of the last three days finally released itself.

“Do you want me to give you a massage?”

“Nah, I’d probably fall asleep on your couch if you did that and I have a feeling if I did I wouldn’t wake up for a while. I’m going to have my tea and my visit, and after we finish I ought to go pay a visit to Applejack.”

Fluttershy nodded “I think that’s a very good idea.”

***

Applejack couldn’t decide if the cart felt heavier to her than before she had changed or not; she tried flapping her wings a few times when she had to pull uphill, and it seemed to help, but whatever pegasi did to make vehicles fly through the air didn’t appear to be something that just happened, at least not for her. Still, she made it back to Sweet Apple Acres in good time and stowed the cart away, carefully looking over how Rarity had arranged the harness before hanging it up. She hadn’t encountered anypony else in the process, and she was just as happy about that; by her reckoning Granny would be busy in the house, Macintosh inspecting the south section, and if Apple Bloom was around it was probably at her clubhouse. Exchanging her usual hat for the helmet she wore for demolition work, she headed west to where she knew there was a relatively clear spot among the stands of apple trees.

As she trotted between the trees, the familiar sights, sounds, and smells should have reassured her, but she knew that something was different. Walking up to one particularly large tree, she put a hoof up to it’s bark. “Howdy, Old Sprout. How’s it goin’?” She waited a moment, then dropped her hoof back to the ground. “Just like yesterday.” She shook her head. “Oh, Mac, how are we gonna work this?” Straightening up, she resumed heading for the clearing with a determined look. “One thing Ah am not gonna do is waste time cryin’ about somethin’ Ah cain’t do anything about.”

Reaching the clearing, she looked up at the sky and stretched out her wings, thinking of all the times she had seen pegasi in flight. Jumping as high as she could, she beat her wings furiously, hauling herself up to treetop height before her momentum slowed and she found herself barely able to keep hovering. As she had managed at home the first day, she slowed her efforts just enough to descend safely to the ground, where she stood breathing heavily. “All right, there’s gotta be somethin’ Ahm not gettin’ here. Let’s try it again.”

***

After heading back to the market place and finding that Applejack, like Fluttershy before her, had left early, Rainbow Dash flew high over Sweet Apple Acres and was rewarded with sight of a flash of orange between the trees in the western part of the orchard. Soaring toward the spot, she watched the other pegasus making an attempt to fly. “She’s strong, no doubt about that, but she has no idea how pegasus flying really works, not that I can blame her I guess.” Seeing AJ drop to a landing, she dove down and landed next to her, eliciting a surprised look.

“You know, AJ, I can understand orange pegasus loyalty and all that, but I have to let you know that Scootaloo is not your best role model for flight.”

Applejack’s mouth worked for a moment. “Yeah, I kinda made that joke to Apple Bloom already,” she replied in a flat voice.

Dash promptly sobered up. “OK, you know what? I’ve spent three days being stupid with my best friends. It wasn’t fun. Talk to me, AJ.”

Applejack pulled off her helmet, wiped her face with a hoof, and met Dash’s gaze. “Ah’m lost, Dash. Ah don’t know what Ah’m doin’. Ah don’t even really know what Ah am anymore.”

Rainbow nodded. “You know what? I just had a long talk with Fluttershy. Little, uncertain, Fluttershy. And not only did she know exactly what she was, she explained it so well than even I understood it.”

“Ah’m glad for her, then.”

Dash walked to Applejack’s side. “Look past your wings, AJ.”

“Huh? Ah don’t get what yer sayin’.”

“On your flank. Three apples. Not three clouds, or twisters, or feathers, three apples. You’re still you, your cutie mark proves it.”

“Mah cutie mark. I got it when Ah realized how much Ah loved this place.”

“And that hasn’t changed, has it?”

“No! Never.”

“So you’re still Applejack. You’re just not Applejack the earth pony any more; you’re Applejack the sky pony. Even if you can’t be everything the earth pony was, be the best sky pony you can.”

“Yeah. That’s kinda what Ah had in mind when I came out here, truth to tell.” She looked at her friend, green eyes staring into magenta ones. “Dash?”

“Huh? What?”

“Please? Teach me. There’s nopony anywhere that’s better at bein’ a pegasus than you. Ah got ponies dependin’ on me, a farm to work, an’ not a lot of time to figger all this out.”

“Teach? I’m no...” Rainbow Dash gazed back into Applejack’s eyes; the mare that never needed help from anypony looking at her without a trace of pride showing, pleading for her to show the way out of the maze her life had been thrown into. She couldn’t help but recall her own journey; the parents, teachers, coaches, and friends that had made the effort to try and help an undisciplined flying prodigy realize the potential they had seen in her. It hadn’t always been the most successful, but it had always been sincere. “I mean, yeah, of course, what are friends for? When I’m done with you, you’ll be the most awesome pegasus in Equestria!”

“Heh. Dontcha mean the second most awesome?”

“Hey, either I’m the most awesome pegasus around, or I trained the most awesome pegasus around. I can’t lose!”

Applejack threw her wings around Rainbow’s neck, a pegasus hug. “Thanks so much, Dash.”

“Don’t thank me yet, AJ. Wait five minutes.”

“Fer what?”

“First lesson. Spread your wings and look up.”

Applejack complied, opening her pinions and her gaze as instructed.

“See that? That’s the sky, AJ. That’s where pegasi live, and it’s where you belong now. I know you’ll always love the land, but you can’t let it hold you down any more. You can take care of the ground, but you have to let the sky take care of you.”

Applejack struggled with the concept. Since she’d gotten her cutie mark, the idea that she was the farm and the farm was her had been the center of her world, but the utter conviction of her best friend’s words was undeniable. The dream from her first night came back to her, with the feeling of floating like a cloud; was that what she was missing?

“Now listen carefully,” Dash added, “because I’m going to tell you the most important thing that a pegasus ever learns. It’s where everything about flying comes from. When you fly, your entire body, from wingtip to wingtip, is nothing more than a part of the sky itself.”

“Th’ sky... itself.” Applejack trembled, her ears cocked as if hearing a call for the very first time. She felt light, like a cloud.

Rainbow smiled. “Now, let’s begin with Level Flight.”