Chapter 10: The Flying Lesson
Rainbow Dash sat up against the tree Ace had agreed to meet her at after his test at the club that night. The moon was a beautiful crescent just wide enough to allow some light to shine through to see. Prefect for a flight lesson.
"You did good tonight, Luna." Rainbow smiled as she leaned back against the tree. "This is one heck of a moon-rise I'm seeing..."
Rainbow was tuckered out from the party, but she was always ready for more flying. Especially with Ace. She smiled at the thought. "I'll show that gimpy stud how flying's really done..." She chuckled out loud.
"This gimpy stud is no longer gimpy..." Ace remarked, walking up the hill, his sunglasses and headphones gone, but his mane still styled back. His sudden appearance shocked Rainbow Dash so much she fell off to the side of the tree. Ace chuckled. "A little clammy, and none too fresh after that rave, but no longer gimpy." He flapped the wing. "See?"
Dash sat up, blushed, and smiled. "S-sorry you heard that..."
"What? The gimpy thing? Pfff, forget about it." Ace chuckled as he took a seat next to her under the tree.
She blushed and said, "Sure...let's go with that..."
They remained silent for a few moments, Rainbow Dash occasionally tilting her head to see what Ace was doing just inches off to her side. All Ace was doing was staring at the night sky...the stars...the moon... He seemed to always be thinking about something when she saw him. Her gaze fell on Ace's shoulder. Being tired enough, she resisted the urge to lay her head down on his warm, strong-looking shoulder.
Eventually, Dan turned his head and returned Dash's gaze. "So, ready to get started?"
Dash shook her slightly to bring herself back to reality, "Oh...oh heck yeah!" Her wings started flapping behind her and she lifted up off the ground. "Ready for me to show you how to fly like a pro?"
Ace shrugged and half-smiled. "I'm more ready than I'll ever be..."
Dash chuckled, "Okay, now...from what you've told me about your injury, you'll basically need to re-learn how to fly."
"Correct." Ace pointed at her. "You up to the challenge, speedy?"
"Of course I am!" Dash said, doing a triple flip in the air before stopping in front of Ace, still hovering. "When I'm done with you, you'll be beyond your past level of flying."
Here he was. Learning to fly. Dan couldn't believe it. "Of all the things I'd thought I'd learn to do in my life, flying was not one of them." He thought to himself.
First, Dash taught him how to take off. This was relatively easy. She taught him how to flex his back muscles in a not too strong, but finessed kind of way at the same time to achieve liftoff. She put her hooves on his back, running them down from his neck until she found the muscles she was looking for.
"Okay, you feel these?"
"Yeah?"
"Delicately, but with a slight amount of power, do what you did when I saw you coming out of the forest, but flex them both at the same time."
"Got it..."
"And over and over again to get a flapping motion so you can stay up."
"Rrrrr...c'mon..." Dan started flapping his wings as Dash instructed, and, to his surprise, he lifted up off the ground. "Hah!" He exclaimed. "I'm flying!"
Dash chuckled, "Yeah, you are!"
"Look at this!" He gestured down at the ground, still staying aloft. "This is...just awesome!"
"You act like you've never flown before, Ace." Dash said, trying hard not to laugh.
Dan coughed and then regained a tone of seriousness. "Sorry... It's just been awhile is all..."
Dash chuckled, "Oh, I'm sure. Now, try following me." She flew upward at a not-too-fast speed. "When changing directions, always take account the angle of your body, wind speed and-"
A light blue blur zoomed past her and stopped ahead of her a few meters away. Dan smirked. "You were saying?" He floated there, putting his two front hooves on his hips, sticking out his tongue.
Dash was shocked, "Wow Ace. You're a natural!"
"Yeah... who knew, right?" Dan shrugged. "I sure didn't."
Dash smiled evilly, narrowing her eyes. "We'll see how long that pride of yours lasts!"
Almost in the blink of an eye, Dash was gone, zooming away from him over the trees off to Dan's left.
Dan laughed through gritted teeth and he took off after her.
Dash looked behind her to see if he was tailing, and not seeing him, laughed out loud.
"What's so funny?"
She cried out in shock as Dan was flying upside-down above her, smiling.
"I don't get it." He chuckled, flying around her in a circle.
Dash smirked, "You're not supposed to get it, Ace!" She angled upward and started flying up, Dan following suit.
Down below, Twilight and Rarity, who had followed Dan, were watching the two ponies fly.
They were awed by the spectacle of Dan and Dash flew straight upward at incredible speed, spiraling around each other in the air.
"Awwww..." Rarity gasped. "That's adorable!"
Twilight smiled, "I agree..."
Both mares sighed as the two ponies reached the peak of their climb, their silhouettes showing with the moon in the background.
Both Dan and Dash were laughing and panting at the same time. Dash floated forward and little bit and wiped a bit of sweat from her forehead with a hoof. "Whew...you're the first pony in awhile that's been able to keep up with me that long..." She remarked. "I'm impressed."
Dan was even more tuckered out, his styled mane now completely messed up from the wind. Dash laughed as Dan shook his head vigorously to get it back to it's shaggy texture. "I didn't know I had it in me, honestly..." "That was the most fun I've ever had in my life!" He thought to himself.
Dash floated closer and said, blushing, and smiling lustfully, "Think you can go faster?"
Dan widened his eyes at this remark, not sure how to take it, "Um...well, I don't know. Can you go faster?"
Dash retreated a little and smirked, "It's called a Sonic Rainboom."
"Sonic Rainboom?" "What is that, breaking the sound barrier, or something?" Dan asked, reminded of the Sonic Booms fighter jets made on Earth.
"Not just the sound barrier, but the visible light spectrum as well." Dash said, advancing toward Dan again.
"The speed of light and sound!" Dan was shocked. "I'd love to see that... There's no way I could do it."
"I'm the only Pony ever in Equestria to pull it off." She said proudly, putting her hooves on her hips.
"Care to show me?" Dan said, this time he moved closer.
She advanced so her face was only inches away from Dan's. She gazed at Dan's brightly glowing golden eyes. They were like beacons in the night sky to her. She smiled mischievously. "My pleasure..."
Before Dan could say anything else, she was off.
Twilight gasped, "What is Dash doing?"
The sight of the speeding pony flying downwards and steadily getting faster made Rarity gasp. "That's not the Sonic Rainboom she's attempting to do again, is it?"
"Yep..." Fluttershy said from behind them, her eyes narrowed. "She must really like Ace for her to show off that much."
The three mares gulped as the a Sonic Boom echoed around the field as Dash broke the sound barrier. A cone slowly formed around Dash, and that cone quickly turned into light. Another deafening boom sounded, this time a massive rainbow followed Dash wherever she flew, causing a shockwave of a rainbow to go sailing across the sky.
"She did it..." Twilight muttered. She looked at Fluttershy, who was gazing up at the rainbow shockwave with a warm smile on her face.
"I thought she couldn't do that intentionally..." Rarity said, mouth agape.
"Infatuation can make some ponies do crazy things..." Twilight remarked.
Dan was stunned into shock. So into shock that he actually had to keep his wings from failing on his as he floated there, watching as Rainbow Dash zoomed back up to him. She crashed into him and then spun around together. The momentum off the push made them go spiraling out of the moon's glow. Eventually, they stopped spinning in the air.
Dan kept his hooves on her shoulder and he gazed down at Dash's smiling, panting face. "What'd ya...what'd ya think, Ace?" Dash asked, eyes glowing with pride.
"What did I think?" Dan said, closing his eyes halfway and shaking his head, "The question is what DIDN'T I think... It was incredible. I've never seen any like it." He sighed. "I didn't even know it was possible to go that fast."
Dash sighed and buried her face in his chest fur, embracing Dan in a hug. Dan was about to ask what Dash was doing, but he instead put a hoof around her back as she embraced him. Lost in the moment, Dan closed his eyes. "No girls ever treated me this way on Earth... Not even Lauren..."
"Take me home, Ace..."
"What?" Dan looked down at her as she looked up at him.
"The Sonic Rainboom takes a lot out of me... Can you give me a ride home? I can barely fly straight..."
Dan chuckled as he angled himself so that Dash was on his back. "What? Am I your designated flyer now?"
"No..." She collapsed on his back. "Just for tonight..." She nuzzled the back of his neck as he began flying towards her cloud dwelling nearby.
Flying through the front entrance, Dan touched down. He looked down. "Huh...I can walk on clouds... I forgot, is it only Pegasai that can walk on clouds, Das-"
Turning his head, he noticed she had completely fallen asleep. Smiling, he trotted over to the fluffy cloud bed and gently slid her off his back and onto the bed. He moved the cloud pillow under her head.
Impulsively, not knowing why, he bent down and kissed her cheek.
Dash yawned and stretched a little in her sleep, a little smile forming on her face.
"Goodnight Dash..." Dan whispered as he silently took off out of Dash's dwelling and making for Twilight's house. It had been a very, very long night.