Learning to Fly… Again
Nimbus stumbled out of his dorm room, sore and exhausted. The previous day in Practical Operations, Dusk Shine had decided to send the cadets for an eight mile endurance gallop, and Nimbus was feeling it now. On top of that, he was now stumbling around blindly in the dark at 0430 in the morning. From the sounds behind him, it didn’t seem as if Storm Runner was faring any better. There was a loud crash, followed by a yelp and the sound of debris tumbling out across the marble floor.
“Dang it, there goes the trash can,” Storm Runner hissed.
“Come on,” Nimbus said, “we don’t want to be late for- oof!” Nimbus collided headfirst with a wall. Dazed, he took a step back and almost ran Storm Runner over.
“Geez,” the blue Pegasus said from behind, “let’s just get out to the parade field before we cause any more destruction.”
“Yeah,” Nimbus agreed, panting, “sounds like a plan to me.”
A week ago, Nimbus had received a letter from Polaris, stating that the old Pegasus wished to meet on the parade field today at 0500. Nimbus had been preoccupied with worry about the upcoming Dizzitron tests, and was still a bit apprehensive, but by now his curious excitement about what to expect today vastly overshadowed his worry.
The two Pegasi stumbled out of their living quarters and into the crisp, cool, early morning air. By now, their night vision had almost adjusted, and they set off for the parade field.
“So,” Nimbus said, leading the way across the bridge to the main hall, “you make any progress on Sun Blaze?”
“Nope,” Storm Runner snorted, “I tried talking to her once and narrowly avoided being bucked in the face. She hates me, probably because I’m associated with you.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Nimbus admitted, “she nearly knocked me over after the dogfight last week.”
“Well, you know what they say- hard to get just makes the chase that much more fun.”
Nimbus raised an eyebrow as they rounded the back corner of the main hall; the parade field was just ahead. “Who says that?”
“Well I’m sure somepony said that,” Storm Runner said, defending himself, “and if not, then I was the first!”
The parade field was a large, flat rectangle of carefully-trimmed grass. On one side, a large podium stood, which, as legend stated, Commander Hurricane had once used to address her troops. Polaris was standing in the middle of the field with a board propped up nearby, silhouetted against the light of the coming morning. Celestia was at work once again, raising the sun.
“You know, that’s got to be tough,” Nimbus thought aloud.
“What?” Storm Runner said.
“Raising the sun,” Nimbus said, “I mean, you know how long it takes for the sun to rise? Princess Celestia is using all of her effort over that entire span of time just to raise it. It’s like… doing push-ups for ten minutes straight.”
“Huh, yeah, I never really thought of it like that,” Storm Runner admitted. “Plus, she does the same for the moon each night. Definitely not an enviable job, I guess.”
Polaris watched the Pegasi as they approached. “Good morning,” Nimbus said as he arrived.
“Good morning to you,” Polaris replied, eyeing Storm Runner. “Storm Runner,” he said, “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
“I’m Nimbus’s roommate,” Storm Runner said, “and you could say we’re wingponies.”
“Well in that case, good morning to you as well. And don’t think I don’t notice you passing notes to Apogee in class.”
Storm Runner blushed. “Apogee, sir? She’s on the other side of the class. I think you might be-“
“Mistaken? Oh, I know your tricks. Very clever, using your fellow students as a delivery chain.”
“Thank you,” Storm Runner said, beaming.
Polaris chuckled. “Stallions will be stallions. I know better than to try and stop you. As long as you keep performing well on your classwork, I don’t see it as a problem.” Polaris turned to Nimbus. “Now, Nimbus- glad you could make it here. I think I owe you a few explanations, then, don’t I?”
“Well… sure,” Nimbus said.
“Have a seat,” Polaris said, indicating the ground. Nimbus and Storm Runner sat down on the grass. “Believe it or not, this starts with a little physiology lesson, combined with a touch of flight physics.” Polaris drew the outline of a wing on his portable board. “Remember when I said that this is what your wing looks like from the side?” he asked. Nimbus nodded. “Good. During the dogfight yesterday I had the chance to see what your wing does in actual combat. The results were very interesting.”
Polaris drew three lines curving over the top of the wing, and five curving underneath it. “This is airflow over a normal Pegasus wing. Fast moving air over the top creates a low pressure area, which gives you lift, allowing you to fly. Now your wing was doing something most unusual. I noticed at times you reverted to low speed maneuvers to gain the upper hoof. You maintained control in those maneuvers because your wing curved itself, basically changing its profile shape, or airfoil. You were able to create lift at speeds where a normal Pegasus wing would have stalled, or basically stopped generating lift. This is caused by certain muscles in Pegasus wings, which have, over time, become functionless, with one exception- the muscles in your wing. Somehow, you’ve figured out how to control them, which allows for the potential for some incredible maneuvers in flight.”
“Really?” Nimbus said, “that sounds neat, but why are you telling me this?”
Polaris grabbed a flyer from his saddlebag and passed it to Nimbus. “Have you ever heard of the Cloudsdale Meet?”
Nimbus eyed the flyer, which detailed the event. “No, I haven’t. This says it’s a big mock dogfight between Equestria’s top military flyers.”
“Right,” Polaris said, “and every year, the Aviator Training School here gets its flank served to it on a silver platter. If you feel up to it, we may be able to turn our luck around.”
“Wait…” Nimbus said, registering what Polaris had said, “you want… you want me to represent the Royal Equestrian Air College at the Meet?”
“That dogfight last week wasn’t just for Dusk Shine’s class,” Polaris said, nodding, “I’m in charge of selecting REAC’s competitor for this year.”
Nimbus wasn’t sure what to say, until Storm Runner elbowed him in the gut.
“What are you thinking about this for?” the blue Pegasus asked, “this is the chance of a lifetime! Take it!”
“Alright,” Nimbus said slowly, looking Polaris in the eyes, “I’ll do it.”
“Excellent,” Polaris said, “then your training starts this morning. Follow me, please. We’re going for a gallop.”
Without warning, Polaris started galloping. Nimbus and Storm Runner got to their hooves, still sore from the previous day, and caught up as best they could.
“I don’t get it,” Storm Runner panted as he and Nimbus fell in next to Polaris, “how is this going to help Nimbus fly?”
“Because,” Polaris answered as he and the two younger stallions galloped along the mountain’s edge, “to maintain a competitive edge, one must be in good physical condition..”
“Makes sense,” Nimbus agreed, jumping over a rock, “so essentially we’re building cardiovascular fitness?”
“Precisely,” Polaris said, "of course getting the chance to teach a little aeronautics lesson never hurt either."
Nimbus kept going, feeling the pain in his legs slowly start to subside as he continued forward. The cool dew clinging to the grass beneath his hooves felt refreshing, and watching the majesty of the rising sun completely took his mind off of his own minor hardships.
“As Pegasi, we are extremely sensitive to changes in wind and electrical currents,” Polaris continued, “spread out your wings; we’re about to go downhill. Once you feel yourself lifting, get your hooves clear of the ground. Do not move your wings to climb. Move them only to maintain your altitude above the ground. Pull up at the last minute."
“Okay…” Nimbus said hesitantly. Ahead, a fence was blocking off a particularly steep drop-off. Polaris headed for the fence, building speed.
“Oh no,” Storm Runner breathed, “he’s not going to-“
Polaris leapt into the air over the fence, picking up speed rapidly as he started galloping downhill.
“Looks like he did,” Nimbus said, “and we’re going to do that, too.” Swallowing any doubt, he propelled himself over the same fence. Storm Runner had no choice but to follow. As Nimbus’s hooves hit the ground, he dug them in, clawing for traction. He was picking up speed rapidly, and ahead was a sheer drop. “Come on,” Nimbus said through gritted teeth, raising his wings. He could feel the air rushing over them, but he wasn’t fast enough yet. Ahead, Polaris was already airborne. Nimbus felt a small tug on his wing, and, trusting Polaris’s advice, he lifted his hooves off the ground, expecting to come crashing back down. What happened instead completely took him by surprise. As his speed picked up, Nimbus found that he was holding in position just a few scant inches off the ground, and accelerating rapidly. He hadn’t had to move his wings at all! The drop-off was coming closer, and Nimbus now began to move his wings, actually forcing himself to keep from climbing. The feeling was exhilarating. Here he was, capable of touching the ground if he’d wanted to, accelerating to high speed and actually forcing himself back down towards the ground. As the edge of the drop-off fell beneath him, Nimbus pulled up sharply, using his speed to climb. The sudden change in movement was so sharp, in fact, that Nimbus could actually see his field of view blacking out at the corners. Fearing for the worst, he leveled off and his vision returned to normal. Polaris flew up next to him shortly.
“And there you have it,” he said, “proof that you don’t actually need to flap your wings to fly.”
“That was awesome!” Nimbus said, “how did you know that would work?”
“Because I’ve done it before,” Polaris answered. “The phenomenon is called ‘ground effect,’ and when I was in the service, we used it to take off when carrying weapons or armor too heavy to lift in a vertical takeoff. In your case, though, it’s also a good demonstrator for how a wing really works.”
Storm Runner ripped by at high speed, barrel-rolling and whooping.
“Well, I’d say it was a good lesson,” Nimbus said, beaming. He turned his head as a ray of sun caught the corner of his vision. The sun was rising.
“Look at that,” Nimbus breathed.
“Never gets old,” Polaris agreed, dipping his wings and flying back towards the campus. Nimbus and Storm Runner followed.
“So when I pulled up,” Nimbus said, “my vision started going dark for a moment. Was I just seeing things, or what?”
Polaris looked interested. “Really? You started blacking out? I wonder… You see, there have been times where Pegasi have blacked out in flight before. As I understand, it’s usually happened when pulling out of a fast dive, but never on takeoff. You must have pulled up sharply enough to slow the flow of blood to your head.”
“Whoa,” Nimbus said. Polaris chuckled at his student’s awe as they landed.
“That’s it for today,” Polaris said, “I won’t keep you two Pegasi from breakfast. Don’t forget, there’s a quiz in class today.”
“Absolutely,” Storm Runner said, grinning, “I’ll see you later!”
Polaris nodded as the two Pegasi headed for the main hall. Storm Runner was practically bouncing with glee all the way.
“That was so awesome!” he said, “I was just… hovering over the ground, picking up speed! So cool!”
“It certainly was,” Nimbus said, pushing the door to the main hall open for Storm Runner. The two made a beeline for the dining hall immediately. “After that workout,” Nimbus confessed, “I could totally go for a nice hot plate of hashbrowns with…” Nimbus stopped when he realized that he was the only one speaking in the dining hall. Though the room was full, not a single voice was heard. It was eerie. Storm Runner nudged Nimbus.
“What?” Nimbus said, confused.
“Look,” Storm Runner whispered, pointing to the television hanging in the corner of the dining hall. Nimbus turned his gaze to the screen, where everypony else’s eyes were glued. On the screen, the news was playing as usual. The camera was focused on the city of Fillydelphia, where smoke was rising between a group of buildings. Nimbus went cold, stepping up towards the screen and listening as the reporter spoke.
“…the bomb was detonated in central Fillydelphia, where Princess Celestia was meeting with the city’s mayor. One suspect has been apprehended, and was carrying a videotape with the following message.”
The screen switched over to what appeared to be a dark room, with a single, hooded pony standing and facing the camera. The pony began to speak, with a voice that carried a soft, but sinister tone.
“Equestria, this is your first warning. For what is approaching a millenium, you have blindly followed the tyrant known as Princess Celestia- a pretender who banished the figure you have all come to call “The Mare in the Moon” one thousand years ago. The Mare in the Moon was painted by your society as an evil being, but we have always known the truth. By bringing about Night Eternal, Equestria would have been saved, for in the darkness, we are all equals. We are the Awakening, and we are here to remind you that in five months’ time, the Mare in the Moon will return. Know that our cause is just, and that we will do our best to show all of you how shortsighted we were to trust Celestia. Follow us, rise against the sun, and the Mare in the Moon will reward you when she returns. Stand in our way, and like a shadow in the night, we will attack without warning. Finally, I leave you with this- as long as Celestia remains on the throne, we will continue to carry out our strikes of justice. Celestia, if you hear this, step down for the sake of your brainwashed populace and turn yourself over to us. If you’re truly the leader you pretend to be, you will realize that this is your only logical option. Remember- the night is coming.
The video faded out and was replaced by an anxious-looking reporter, running down casualty tolls. Slowly, noise in the cafeteria began to increase. Nimbus turned to Storm Runner.
“What the hay is going on?” he asked finally. Storm Runner shook his head.
“I wish I knew. All I can say is that some group of crazies out there wants Princess Celestia off the throne, and they’re prepared to hurt ponies to accomplish that goal. We don't know who they are, we don't know where they're coming from, and we know that as long as they exist, bad things will happen." Storm Runner sighed. "Sometimes the world just sucks, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Nimbus said, trotting slowly over to the breakfast line, where he grabbed a bowl of cereal and brought it back to his seat. He was hungry, he knew, but all throughout the meal, Nimbus never took a single bite.