//------------------------------// // First Flight // Story: Foal Tales // by Drakkith //------------------------------// “Momma!” Rainbow Dash groaned and covered her head with a pillow to block out the small, excited voice. “Momma!” came the voice again, followed by two small hooves pressing into her side and shaking her through the covers. “...what is it, Cobalt?” she asked from beneath the pillow. “Fly, Momma!” She lifted the pillow and peeked out to see the outline of a small colt framed by the dim light coming in through the window. His coat matched his namesake color and his dark mane danced as he shook her again. “Fly, Momma! Fly!” “Cobalt...” She let the pillow drop back down and stretched out, reaching over to the empty spot where Soarin should have been. With her husband out of town for the week she had the entire bed to herself, something she had planned to enjoy for as long as possible. But apparently the other occupant of the house disagreed with her plan as a second later his small head wormed its way underneath the pillow until he was so close she could feel his warm breath on her nose. “Momma," he said. “Fly.” She drew in a breath and blew it out, sending him into giggles as the air rushed over his face. He retaliated and her face scrunched up as air and droplets of moisture hit her. “Ugh... you’re annoying, you know that, kiddo?” She gave him a quick kiss on the muzzle. “I guess I did promise though...” “Promise!” “Okay, okay... I’m up.” She picked the pillow up and rose to a half sitting position. Eying her son, she smirked and dropped the pillow on top of him. A moment later his head popped out and his blue eyes met hers. “Fly?” “Yeah, Kiddo. We’ll fly.” He let out a cry of joy that made her smile and then leaped to the floor where he dashed as fast as he could to the bedroom door and out into the hallway. “Breakfast first, Cobalt!” she yelled. * * * A half-hour later and they were out the door. Dash squinted and yawned as the early morning sunlight struck her face. “I’m never promising anything again...” she mumbled, shaking her head to wake up as they stepped onto the cloud. Cobalt raced ahead to the edge where he popped his wings open and leaned out to look at the ground. “Uh uh, Kiddo. Wait for momma,” she called to him, quickening her pace to a trot. He turned to look at her when she caught up. “Fly?” “Patience my little winged wonder.” She tussled his mane and grinned as he tried to push her hoof away. “Now come over here and let momma stretch first, okay?” With that she led him a little ways back from the edge and launched into a quick series of stretches. Cobalt followed along, stretching one leg after another in time with her. She showed him the correct way to stretch and then laughed when he lost his balance and fell over while trying to pull a foreleg across his chest. “Looks like you inherited your father’s balance,” she said as she picked him up and placed him back on his feet. “But once your older all those skills you picked up from your mom will kick in and you’ll be a wonderbolt like her, won’t you, Kiddo?” “Wonderbolt!” he said, throwing his hooves in the air. “Yep! You’ll be so good you might even break my own records.” She crouched down and nuzzled him, rubbing the side of her face against his and then scratching his neck with a hoof. “Just imagine it. Cobalt Streak, son of the great Rainbow Dash and almost great Soarin, blazing through the sky over a packed stadium while the crowd below roars! You’ll be the best flyer ever! Well, after me of course. Right?” “Fly?” “Hold on, we gotta stretch those wings out first.” She sat up and snapped out her wings. “Momma, wings,” Cobalt said, pointing up at one. “Yeah, they’re pretty awesome.” She wiggled her wingtips, eliciting a giggle from him. “Now show me those wings, Kiddo. Which one’s your left wing, huh? Show me your left wing.” He stuck his right wing out. She snorted and shook her head. “You are definitely your father’s son. Now show me your other wing, your left wing.” He looked at his right wing in confusion. “Left wing, Kiddo. Left.” He looked left and extended his other wing before turning back to her. “That’s it, Cobalt! Great job!” she said, his face lighting up in a smile. “Now let’s finish stretching so we can go fly, okay?” “Fly!” * * * Minutes later found them at the edge of the cloud. Rainbow Dash lay down and put a wingtip on the cloud. “Climb on up,” she said. He scrambled up her wing and stood on her back with his forehooves on her head. “Fly momma! Fly!” he said, pointing off into the sky. “You asked for it! Now grab momma’s neck and hang on!” As soon as he had wrapped himself around her neck she leaped over the edge. Cobalt gasped and his grip tightened as she swept her wings down and propelled them into the sky. Up and up they went, until her cloudhouse was but the tiniest dot of white against a carpet of green that stretched from horizon to horizon. She did a few easy flips and rolls, listening to her son squeal in delight each time they went upside down. Her eyes closed and the world became just the air rushing over her wings and that warm little colt around her neck. At moments like this, had somepony asked her which she enjoyed more, her flying or her son, she wouldn’t have able to answer. Before Cobalt was born flying had been everything to her. Everything. Every moment of every day had been spent training for the Wonderbolts, planning for training for the Wonderbolts, or napping on a cloud while dreaming of the Wonderbolts. And she’d made it. She let the memory of last week’s show play in her mind as she flew. Twists and turns, loops and rolls, all while maintaining those three inches between her and her teammates as they arced over the crowd. Not to mention her solo flight. There was nothing like the roar of ten-thousand voices crying her name as she blew by a packed stadium trailing a rainbow shockwave that sent hats and popcorn flying. Absolutely nothing. “Loop, Momma! Loop!” Except that. She canted her wings and arched her back, carrying them into a shallow loop as Cobalt’s cries filled her ears. At the apex of the loop she leveled off and shifted him around to her chest. “Alright, Kiddo. You’re turn. Put those wings out and let’s see you fly!” With two hooves she lifted him up, grinning as his little wings popped out and caught the air. “I fly, Momma! I fly!” he cried, spreading his wings and legs out as far as they would go. The sight of the sheer joy on his face turned her grin into a full smile. Time lost its meaning as they soared through the blue sky. It was just her and her son. Closer than lead and wing pony could ever be. She took them through a dozen different aerial maneuvers and before long she noticed he was pulling his wings in little by little. “Tired?” she asked. He looked down at her and shook his head. “Yeah, you’re tired,” she said, “Just a few more minutes and we’ll head-” She was interrupted by his body unexpectedly lifting up off her hooves. For a moment she just stared at him. He was flying. For the first time. Bobbing up and down in the air above her with only the wind under his wings to hold him up. “You’re flying!” she cried, waving her hooves to show he was holding himself up. His eyes widened at the sight of her hooves no longer carrying him. “Momma I fly!” he cried. “I fly! I fly!” “You’re flying!” she said, her voice suddenly squeaky and high pitched. “Ohmygosh you’re flying!” A feeling, like she’d just won first place in every event in every sport ever invented, grew within her. It was in her chest. It was in her stomach. It was the the driving force behind the smile on her face, the biggest smile she’d ever given, and one that would have given Pinkie Pie a run for her money. She drew her hooves back and, after he failed to fall out of the sky, spiraled through the air around him. “Keep it up! You’re doing great, Cobalt!” She didn’t know how long they flew, him gliding along while she cheered. It could have been minutes. Hours. It was only when one of his wings buckled that she swooped in and caught him before he could fall. She embraced him, squeezing his body to hers and feeling his chest heave from exertion. “Momma... I fly...” he panted. “You did, Kiddo! And you were awesome!” She leaned in and nuzzled him, getting a weak nuzzle in return before he lay his head on her chest. He trembled from exhaustion and only had one of his wings folded up. Looking around, she spotted a cloud in the distance and veered towards it. When they arrived she fell on her back and sank partially into the surface. “I am sooo proud of you!” She planted a long kiss on his muzzle, right above his nose. He smiled up at her with half-lidded eyes and then yawned. “I think it’s time for nap. Okay?” He nodded and tried to stand, but his legs were wobbly from being held up in flight for so long and he stumbled off of her chest before collapsing at her side. Dash rolled over and bent her head down. Using her mouth she carefully folded his wing back into place and fixed a few of the small feathers sticking out. When she was done she just stared, watching as sleep quickly overtook him. That feeling when he’d risen out of her hooves had only grown stronger. She wanted to take off, to fly around Ponyville and throw open every window and every door, to let it flow out of her and into everypony she could find so they could share in that wondrous feeling. She closed her eyes and basked in the memory, remembering the joy on his face and the sight of his little wings holding him aloft, and the feeling within her built until she felt she would burst. A sniffle caught her unawares and when she rubbed her eyes her hoof came away with moisture on it. She was crying? For a moment her eyebrow flicked up in confusion. She was happy, not sad. Then she gave a little snort as the realization hit. She hadn’t believed anypony could be so happy they would cry. That was for love stories and movies, not real life. No one acted like that. Or so she’d thought. She looked down at her son, so small, yet so much bigger than the day she’d heaved and squeezed and pushed him into this world. The feeling behind her eyes shot up even higher and she inhaled sharply as her vision clouded over. She squeezed her eyes shut as her feelings overflowed and poured down her face. After a few moments she opened them and looked back down to where Cobalt lay. That was it. That was his first flight. It would never happen again. One day he’d truly fly, not just glide, but this was his first step towards going out into the world on his own. His first step towards growing up. Leaving. “Oh, Cobalt...” she whispered, bending down and nuzzling him, gathering him in her forelegs and pulling him to her. One of his wings fluttered and slapped her in the face. “Yep.” She spit out a small feather. “Just like your father.”