A simple flap of the wings. That’s all there is to it, right?
That’s what she had been telling Twilight this entire time! Just a flap, or a “down thrust” in egg-head terms. Twilight just couldn’t seem to get the power behind it. She flew a lot like Fluttershy, low to the ground and rather slowly. But slow just didn’t satisfy Rainbow Dash.
“Come on Twilight! You can do better than that!” Rainbow teased. Even her “slow” glide was faster than most ponies. Twilight, just having received her wings, had no chance in keeping up.
The purple princess struggled to hold her own weight off the ground, even without trying to move forward. She was completely and utterly out of breath. Gravity got the best of her, and she fell to the ground with a thump. “Rainbow Dash!” She managed to scold the pegasus pony as she gasped for air to cool her burning lungs. “You know I’m no good at flying! Why must you be such a show off?”
Dash landed in front of her student with a huff. “How are you going to get any better without practicing?”
“I am practicing!” Twilight growled back.
“Yeah, but you’ll get even better with a little competition!” The rainbow-maned pegasus was annoyed at Twilight’s way less-than-perfect performance. “And there is nopony more competitive than me!” The feathers in her wings outstretched as she put on a very prideful pose. “Besides, you have more feathers in your wings, so you must be able to at least fly as fast as… Fluttershy!” She was going to say herself, but there was no way that Twilight, or anypony for that matter, would be able to fly as fast as her.
The alicorn continued to lay on the ground, allowing herself to rest. There were a lot of reasons why she wasn’t living up to her friend’s expectations. For one, she just got her wings a month ago. Another was that she had to overcome at least 1500 Neightons of force just to sustain a hover! She dismissed any of her arguments. Rainbow Dash was too stubborn to listen to any of them. Instead, she rested and focused her glare on the pegasus, waiting for the next thing she would say.
Rainbow Dash sighed. “Alright. I guess you did do pretty well today…” She was somewhat impressed that Twilight was able to move forward a little bit. Fluttershy had not taught her that in her lessons last week. “You deserve a break! I’ll see you next week?” Dash flashed her best smile, knowing that Twilight wouldn’t refuse.
Twilight weakly got to her hooves. “Yeah, I guess. Same time, same place?”
“Totally the same time, but I have an idea. Why don’t we meet about halfway up the mountain, the one that used to have the dragon on it?” Dash asked.
“Sounds good to me, I’ll see you there.” Twilight wondered what Rainbow Dash had in mind, but she was sure that her friend had good intentions.
-~-
The week had gone by slowly for Rainbow Dash, but it was finally time for Twilight’s lesson this week. Actually, it was a little past the designated time, and Dash was growing a little impatient. In a sudden flash, Twilight materialized close to her. “There you are! I was worried you chickened out!”
“Sorry, I got caught up reading one of Starswirl’s studies, you wouldn’t imagine the things he discovered during his long life-”
“Yeah yeah, so are you ready to get started with today’s lesson?” Dash hovered a few meters above the ground, preparing to reveal her plans for this afternoon. “I thought that you might need a little head start to get yourself going, so I brought us up here…”
Twilight began stretching her wings and legs. “Can’t we do a bit of stretching exercises first? I haven’t had time to practice all week, Celestia is allowing me to go through the parts of the Royal Library not open to the public, and-”
“Sure,” The pegasus cut Twilight off, knowing that she would start ranting about egg-head things. “We can do some stretches if you want to.”
For a few minutes the pair did some stretches, Twilight took it slow and carefully thought out her actions. Once she became an alicorn, the books about flying techniques stowed in the Ponyville Library became of use. She had read them before, but only now was the knowledge contained inside the pages capable of really helping her. Rainbow Dash rushed through her exercises, if they could be called that. She lazily stretched, demonstrating her superior flexibility in ways which she didn’t push herself too far. Dash’s display somewhat inspired her alicorn friend, and the purple pony stretched with pride.
“Alright!” Dash launched off the ground and hovered in place. “You ready to start now?”
Twilight Sparkle stood confidently on the ground. “Yes!” She exclaimed. With a few powerful flaps of the wings, she slowly ascended a couple meters off the ground, next to the light blue pegasus. Between heavy breaths, Twilight asked; “So, what’s next?”
Rainbow Dash gleamed with excitement. “This is where the real fun begins!” She flew over the edge of the mountain, surveying the landscape. There were few trees or other kinds of vegetation. The mountain itself dropped down at a steep incline for a few meters, then suddenly sloped down and flattened. “I thought this would be a great place to practice your gliding skills. You can get an easy head start here. The wind isn’t even blowing that hard today!”
The purple princess landed hard on her hooves and peered over the edge. She wasn’t exactly afraid of heights, but she also wasn’t too keen of trusting her wings while really high up yet. “Are you sure about this?”
“Totally!” Dash flew in front of Twilight and shot her a look of confidence. “Gliding is even simpler than flying! You don’t even have to move your wings! Up and down anyways. It would be a little easier if there were an updraft, but beggars can’t be choosers!”
“What happens if I begin to fall? This isn’t exactly a short descent.” The alicorn worriedly asked.
Rainbow Dash answered jokingly, “Then instinct would kick in and then you’d really be soaring!” The look on her friend’s face read that Twilight didn’t take her statement as much of a joke. “Anyway, I’m the fastest flier in all of Equestria! You do remember who rescued the Wonderbolts from plummeting to their doom, right? In case you didn’t, it was me!” The blue pegasus flexed, making her well-toned leg muscles ripple under her skin. “Come on, you might even have a little fun this time!”
Twilight Sparkle looked down the mountain once more. Dash was right, she was very, very fast and was indeed very strong. How else could she have saved the Wonderbolts, or even competed with their Mare-Do-Well façade? “I suppose you’re right. I’ve read a lot about gliding, and how pegasus fillies normally start off flying that way. If I can hover- even just a little bit- I must be able to glide!” She felt more confident in saying that. Besides, she only had to depend on Rainbow Dash if things went awry, like if she got too tired. But gliding doesn’t even require much flapping, just feeling the wind.
The rainbow maned pony laughed confidently. “Yeah, I’m glad that you finally see it my way!” She landed close to her purple friend, and the pair got ready to begin their descent. Twilight smiled. Together they expanded their wings, feeling the wind blow through each feather.
Rainbow Dash took off and hovered a couple meters off of side of the mountain . “I’ll be right next to you the whole time, Twilight!”
The words and diagrams filling books about flight raced through the princess’s mind as she prepared for take off. Her wings were wide and dense, practically perfect for long distance flight without expending much energy. Twilight took a few quick steps and found herself slowly falling, the only thing keeping her from plummeting uncontrollably were her wings. Her new found instincts took over as she stretched her limbs straight out and faced forward.
Next to her, Rainbow Dash watched carefully, taking caution to not startle Twilight or stray too far away from her. “You’re doing awesome!” She complimented.
Twilight turned her head slightly just enough so she could see her mentor. But as her eyes drifted away from the ground, her target, she lost more focus than she could spare. Her left wing dipped down a little too much and she suddenly lost control. Spinning wildly, the harsh wind whipped through her mane and into her eyes and nostrils. Through her almost closed eyelids, she could barely make out the quickly approaching ground. She wanted to scream, but her lungs could not push any air out.
As suddenly as she started falling, she was suspended in the air, held by Rainbow Dash’s grip. “Gotcha!” the pegasus gasped. Twilight whimpered. The adrenaline pumping through her veins made it hard to remain still, and her shaking was making it increasingly difficult for Dash to keep her hold. “Let me lift you up-” Dash grunted as she pulled Twilight up, holding her close. The rainbow-maned pegasus realized that their position must look odd to any bystanders, but the princess’s safety was much more important than what other ponies may think.
All of a sudden, a powerful gust of wind pushed the pair of ponies around like a couple of ragdolls. The two held onto each other in shock, both of them screaming while the harsh air cut into their mouths. Then they were going downwards, but even Rainbow Dash was taken so much by surprise that vertigo set in and she could not tell which direction they were heading in. Down, down, down, until…
THUMP.