//------------------------------// // Preparations // Story: Twilight Sparkle Gets Flying Lessons (From a Wonderbolt) // by Blue Dragon //------------------------------// “A Wonderbolt in Ponyville… A new recruit, I take it? Who’s the lucky pony?” Spitfire had to resist the urge to laugh. She swallowed it down, and maintained a steady smile instead. It held a hint of amusement around its creases. “Hardly. It’s more of an assignment, really.” The receptionist shifted her hooves around the documents she was holding, glancing sideways. Nopony else was present at the desk, besides the clock that beeped absently and the occasional sound of somepony walking down the hallway. A stamp was embroidered on the mare’s chest, just above a pocket. Ponyville Hospital was stitched clearly into it, with a simple black and white design. Underneath, a name tag made it clear that this pony’s name was Scarlet. Scarlet said, “Oh, I see. Well, what was it that you needed again, dear?” “I’m here on official Wonderbolts business,” Spitfire flashed her captain’s badge, “for something very important. May I speak to a doctor? Someone important, maybe?” A pony couldn’t have looked more offended if she tried. The receptionist’s eyebrows shot up, and her lips parted. Her grip on the papers in her hooves tightened. When it finally registered, she huffed, stood up, and trotted off in a short clip. Spitfire pretended not to notice. When the mare returned, a stallion followed her, wearing a white coat that signified his status as a licensed medical official. Well, not officially, but everypony just assumed it anyway. His coat had the same hospital patch Scarlet’s did, but his name was Scrubs. He had a stethoscope hanging around his neck. “Yes, ma’am? What is it you need?” Spitfire stood up straighter, pulling out her Wonderbolt badge once again. Scarlet took her place at the desk once again, throwing metaphorical daggers at her. Spitfire said once more, “I’m here for official Wonderbolt business, under the order of Princess Celestia herself. I require a D-4 Magic Neutralizing ring for my assignment.” The doctor’s eyes narrowed. A beat of silence passed between them. “Isn’t that a bit extreme? Those are strictly for medical uses only, in the case that a unicorn needs to be stabilized during a procedure--” “It is necessary.” The stallion stared hard at her. “Surely I can convince you to utilize a lower tier item. Perhaps a D-2 ring…” Spitfire shook her head, growing more weary of the drawn-out conversation. She knew what she needed; she had already planned it all out. “No, that won’t work. I told you what I needed, so it would be cool if you could go ahead and get it now. I would appreciate it.” Brosque. Spitfire didn’t really care at this point, this exchange had gone on far longer than it should have, and she had other things she had to do. Finally the doctor walked away, shaking his head. When he returned, he was holding a brown paper bag in his mouth. He handed it to Spitfire. Clearly he was a stallion of his principles, and this went against every one. “As long as it’s for a good cause.” “I swear it. It will be for the good of Equestria, in the long-run,” replied Spitfire. Scrubs visibly relaxed some. He smiled, causing Scarlet to smile, too. She must have admired the stallion very much. “Have a good day now,” he said, returning to his office in the back. Spitfire waved, before turning around and trotting to her exit. Finally. She addressed the mare over her shoulder, “Have a good day, Scarlet.” She must not have been expecting it, because she didn’t reply right away. Spitfire didn’t wait, and instead went back outside. She was more than happy to be out of the stuffy hospital. Spitfire couldn’t stand them, all the sick ponies, ponies who had given up, ponies who weren’t really there anymore… She swore to herself when she became a Wonderbolt that she would never find herself in that position. Not as a patient. Not as a loved one. It would be too much to bear. The captain shook her head as she stuffed the bag into the inner pocket of her trench coat, and found herself marveling at the village. “It’s such a small town,” she murmured to herself, her eyes following a pair of ponies going about their day. The brown stallion was carrying his marefriend’s groceries in his saddlebags, looking as if he was more than happy to do so. She laughed and poked him in the side in a teasing manner. “And unusually happy civilians.” Spitfire shook her head. She had one more stop before she would be satisfied enough to return to the library. Now, if only she could find what she was looking for... The Wonderbolt approached the happy couple (who were still cracking jokes, apparently), intent on getting some directions. “Excuse me,” she said. The stallion turned toward her, and the mare followed suit. “Yes?” Now that she was closer, Spitfire could better see the two ponies’ cutie marks. The stallion had an hourglass on his flank, and the mare had a rose. “Can I get directions to the nearest seamstress?” The stallion looked away while the red-headed pony’s expression brightened. “Oh, I know! The Carousel Boutique has the best fashion designer in all of Ponyville; if you need anything at all, Rarity is who you should see. Time Turner promised me he’d get me a dress from there, but never did!” She glared at him, and he smiled bashfully. “Roseluck, please!” Roseluck hmphed before looking back at Spitfire. “Anyway, it’s right around the corner. Are you new in town?” “No,” Spitfire had to resist the urge to chuckle. “I’m just here on business, thank you.” “Oh, well, if you’re ever in need of flowers…” Roseluck started digging in Time Turner’s saddlebag, and ended up pulling out a red rose with a business card attached. She handed it to Spitfire. “You should come visit my shop. Especially before you go to Daisy’s store, she’s always taking my clients.” “You’re a walking advertisement, aren’t you?” Time Turner joked, to which his marefriend smacked him in the head playfully. Spitfire nodded, deciding it was a good time to get out of there. “I’ll consider it, thank you for the directions.” She put the rose in her trench coat and started walking away. Behind her, Time Turner and Roseluck were engaging in another of their silly lover’s quarrels, apparently about how often she would tell ponies about her store. It was pretty funny to listen to. Soon enough Spitfire reached what looked like a very elegant building for such a shabby rundown town. The first thing that came to her mind was, This must be it. She entered the building with little hesitation, a bell signaling above. “I’ll be there in just a moment!” somepony shouted from somewhere within. Spitfire walked a little further into the room, and simply waited. Eventually a pony with a white coat and stylish purple mane walked in. Her eyes were a deep blue, and upon sight, her jaw dropped. “Oh… Oh my…” was all that she could say. Spitfire stared. “This is a DISASTER!” the unicorn mare exclaimed dramatically. Within seconds she was at Spitfire’s side, poking at her attire. “It’s a miracle that you made your way here, dear, this is a fashion emergency! Whatever convinced you to wear that monstrosity?” “Um, this? It’s not that big of a deal…” “But it is! Here, let me help you find something that would suit you more.” The crazy pony pulled Spitfire further into the Carousel Boutique. “Look, all due respect, ma’am, but I’m not here for myself. The trench coat stays.” Spitfire dusted herself off and straightened her fedora. “Rarity, was it?” Rarity’s expression could only be described as disappointment. “Um, yes. My name is certainly Rarity, and I welcome you to the Carousel Boutique. What did you come here for, besides what you really should have?” The Wonderbolt decided to let that slide. “Do you think you could make me a chicken suit?” There was a beat of silence, in which Rarity simply stared in disbelief. Spitfire smiled in response to that look, finding pleasure in it. “You can’t be serious.” “I am.” Rarity sighed and looked away, rubbing a hoof against her forehead. “Oh, I need all the business I can get, but a chicken suit…?” Spitfire pulled out a small draw-string bag and waved it in front of the seamstress. It was rather hefty. “I’ll pay handsomely for it.” Rarity’s expression lit up, almost as if there were sparkles in her eyes. She smiled widely, but thought better of it and straightened herself up. “I see. We can negotiate the costs later… But I shall accept the commission. I’ll need a pony to model it once I’ve got it put together, to ensure it fits correctly.” Spitfire stashed the payment back into her trench coat. “Okay, I’ll be here. There needs to be holes for pegasus wings, too. How long will it take?” The unicorn shifted her gaze over to the clock a little ways away, seeming to calculate. Then, she said, “I think I have just the right material in my desk… But it should be finished before the afternoon is up. Business has been a bit slow recently.”   Spitfire nodded her understanding. “Is there something I can do while I’m waiting?” Rarity glanced around her home and workplace, but when she found nothing, she looked back at her customer with a smile. “Normally, my customers would leave the boutique while I work, but knowing Ponyville and you being a tourist—obviously—you may watch me as I work. I’m sure you have interesting stories to tell… Like about the origin of that horrid thing you’re wearing, or why anypony would ever want a chicken suit.” “You’re right, they make quite the story.” “...So you’re here to teach somepony how to fly?” Rarity said as she pulled the needle through the coarse white material. “Yes, and that’s what this chicken suit is for.” Spitfire leaned against the pony mannequin to her right, barely suppressing a yawn. Rarity nodded once, lifting one of the sleeves and starting to sew the orange fabric to the body of the costume. “How could a chicken suit possibly help a pony learn how to fly? I may not be a pegasus, but the very thought of wearing… such a fashionably backwards outfit is appalling.” “Oh, it has its uses.” Rarity frowned at such a non-committal answer, but didn’t reply. She simply continued her work and, within minutes, was finished. She lifted the awful looking costume she couldn’t believe she’d just created, and part of her wanted to doom it to the deepest pits of Tartarus. But she looked over at the other pony and hesitantly said, “It’s finished. Would you mind trying it on to make sure it will fit the pony you intended it for?” The Wonderbolt nodded, then looked around precariously, before shedding the trench coat and fedora. Rarity gasped. “You!” Spitfire stared, not quite understanding where the familiarity in that exclamation was coming from. “What?” “You’re the pony that was at the Best Flier’s Competition! The Wonderbolt, I believe? And you were at the Wonderbolt Academy where my friend went to a while ago! What was your name… It starts with an ‘S’, doesn't it?” Spitfire jumped up and practically shoved a hoof in the other pony’s mouth before she could continue her ramble. “Don’t say it so loudly. There are some who would appear just at the mention of my name, especially since I don’t know you very well and we’re in such a public setting.” Rarity nodded, to which Spitfire removed her hoof. The seamstress took a moment to compose herself before saying, “So it is you. What could you possibly be doing here in Ponyville? There’s hardly a pony here who could get you to visit just to teach them how to fly! ...Do you remember me?” The Wonderbolt slipped into the chicken costume. “No, I meet a lot of ponies daily, so you can’t expect me to remember a pony I might have seen twice. The only thing I remember from the Young Flier’s Competition is the pony with the butterfly wings, and that was a nightmare.” Rarity grew quiet as Spitfire finished getting the strange attire on. It fit her perfectly; it was silky smooth and comfortable on the inside, while feathery and not kind to the touch from the outside. There were holes for her wings, which could open and close with ease, and a single opening for the wearer’s face. Rarity had even created a cone that would sit on the pony’s nose, further defining them as a chicken. It was even fitted with a wattle and protruding tail feathers. Whatever seemed to have bothered Rarity was gone within the next minute. She dropped the issue in mind and eyed the pony-chicken. “That looks pretty good, all things considered.” “Yeah, this’ll be perfect,” Spitfire said from the air, testing how aerodynamic the material would be. She landed moments later, taking the costume off and returning to her original coat. She then pulled out the draw-string bag once again and tossed the entire thing to Rarity. “Will this cover it?” Rarity looked within and was not disappointed; it was even more than she’d expected when Spitfire had pulled it out initially. “Oh, it most certainly will.” The captain smiled before folding up the costume and putting it in the very same paper bag she’d gotten from the store earlier. She started making her way to the door, the fedora hiding her fiery mane once more. “Will I be seeing you again?” Rarity asked as she began to put her materials away. Spitfire shrugged. “Most likely. I’ll, uh, be sure to put in a good word for you. Thanks for the swift and quality service.” The seamstress smiled to herself, smoothing her mane out and levitating the leftover materials back into a neat pile over where she’d gotten them from. “You’re welcome, darling, do stop by whenever you’d like. Maybe we could gossip over a cup of tea, hm?” The pegasus pony opened the door, the bell ringing from above for the second time that day. “Perhaps.” Then, Spitfire figured it was about time to return to the library. The sun was beginning to set and she, being the absolutely amazing navigator that she is, was afraid she wouldn’t be able to find it once it grew dark. Not to mention how tired she was. She could barely keep her eyes open at this point, let alone navigate properly. This town didn’t even have street signs, for pony’s sake. She’d been up since the early hours of the morning, just to make sure she got to Ponyville early enough to see what she was dealing with. As a Wonderbolt, it was her sworn duty to uphold all of what Princess Celestia wished, and to help provide protection and defense on a moment’s notice. Everyone who signed up knew the risks. But coming to a small town like this to teach a sheltered little princess how to fly… That wasn’t why she became a Wonderbolt in the first place. In fact, she was being tethered until the pony showed results. Fleetfoot was acting captain of the Wonderbolts for all air shows while she was away “on business”. Obviously, if she was going to get put out for this then she wasn’t going to make it easy for her student, either. It was going to be a fun, if a little bumpy, ride… For her, at least. It would be a fun story to tell to her teammates when she got back. As Spitfire arrived at the library, she decided she would avoid running into the little purple dragon or the librarian (no need to raise suspicions about where she'd been... Plus she was beyond exhausted). So, she flew up through the window and set her things to the side before settling in the bed. “Finally, I can relax…” She stretched her wings out in the same manner she’d told Twilight to, and lounged in the bed for a moment, making sure none of her muscles were tight. This was an everyday ritual at this point, seeing as how she would fly for hours on end. Then she buried herself underneath the blanket and gave way to a restful slumber. In the morning, she would give Twilight Sparkle a hard work-out worthy of a Wonderbolt. And nothing could be better than what she had planned with the chicken suit… Within moments, Spitfire was fast asleep. “I wonder what could be taking so long…” Twilight said, pacing. The sun set hours ago, and her new housemate hadn’t ever returned from her journey outside. “Do you think she’s lost?” Spike shrugged and continued sweeping. “Maybe, maybe not. She could be sleeping on a cloud or something, don’t pegasi do that sometimes?” “Yes,” Twilight replied, still walking back and forth. “But I highly doubt she would be doing that!” “She said not to wait up!” Spike repeated. “Besides, she’ll come back eventually. It’s her responsibility to teach you now, she can’t just run away and not do it or something. Stop wearing a groove into the floor, sheesh.” The dragon picked up the dust pan, now filled with dirt and trash, and went over to dispose of it. He made a big show of it, giving Twilight a ‘you should know better’ look. He did that a lot. “You can’t expect me not to worry when a pony is unaccounted for, Spike!” “Look, Twilight, you go get some sleep while I finish picking up. And if she doesn’t show up by the time I’m done I’ll wake you up and we can go look for her or something. Okay?” The assistant’s reasoning was spot on, as it always was whenever Twilight’s wasn’t. They seemed to swap places in that way, whenever one of them went off the deep end. Twilight mulled it over, part of her just wanting to get some sleep, and the other telling her she’d be unable to. Finally, she decided there’d be no harm in agreeing with his sentiment. “Alright, you win. If something comes up, you have to wake me up though, promise?” Spike mock-saluted, his tail straightening behind him. “Aye-aye, cap’n!” Twilight gave him a hard look, as if testing him. Then, she turned around and began her trek up the stairs. Every step brought another level of weariness upon her, leaving her wanting sleep more than ever. After Spitfire had left to do whatever it was she did in town, Twilight practiced those wing exercises. For a very, very long time. She wanted to be able to fly more than anything, just so she could get back to her studies. The actual aspect of flying wasn’t what she cared about, even when she had the skill under her belt she probably would never do it anyway. But still, Princess Celestia thought it was important, so here she was with a professional trainer. Hopefully the Wonderbolt’s level of expertise would make this experience as painless as possible. Once she hit the last step, Twilight began to do her wing reps. She knew once she reached the bedroom, nothing was going to keep her from passing out right then and there. The alicorn reached the bathroom and began to brush her teeth. The multi-tasking proved to be a bit difficult, as she had to keep pausing her brushing to keep up with the reps. But with time she finished both, washed up, and slinked into her bedroom. She was so exhausted, she could hardly recall all of the elements of the Periodic Table, and that was an issue. Internally she thanked Spike for watching out for her, glad that she could get some rest. Twilight slid into her bed, a light sigh escaping her. She took a moment to appreciate the warmth that surrounded her and the plush bedding pressing against her stiff wings. It felt so relaxing. Just as Twilight’s eyes closed and she began to drift away, she felt a ghost sensation of a pony’s hoof, thrown across her stomach. At first she ignored it, thinking nothing of it. There wasn’t anypony there. But then she felt herself getting pulled lightly toward the other side of the bed, and now she was starting to realize that there definitely was somepony here. Then, a pony whispered in her ear, “Mm, babe…” Twilight jumped out of bed with a shriek. She had never, ever slept with another pony at such close quarters, much less been called something like that. She was so freaked out she couldn’t even recall what the pony’s voice sounded like, much less a single element on the Periodic Table. “Huh, what?” The rustling of bed sheets made it clear the stranger had sat up in bed. Twilight lit up the room with a spell, and her eyebrows lifted in surprise at the pony residing in her bed. “Captain?” The two ponies stared at one another for a few moments, bathed in silence. Spitfire started to grow embarrassed, shrinking down slightly with a light blush on her face. “Er… I, uh… Am I in your bed?” Twilight nodded once, starting to feel embarrassed herself. Spitfire stood up and walked over to the now apparent bed on the other side of the room, trying to defuse the situation with the least amount of awkwardness as she could. As she stepped up on the bed, she oriented herself toward Twilight. Her gaze was averted. “We will never speak of this again.” “That’s fine by me,” Twilight agreed. She didn’t even care about why Spitfire was in the bedroom despite having gone out long ago, after such an awkward situation. She glanced at the door, where Spike stood, peering in. He gave her a thumbs-up with an unsure expression, to which Twilight nodded simply. Then he smiled and went back downstairs. Twilight figured her shriek must have unnerved him. The alicorn princess turned the light out and returned to her bed, still feeling sheepish about what had just occurred. She heard a similar sound as Spitfire apparently laid back down, too. I wonder what she was dreaming about. Gosh, that was awkward. She must be one of those ponies who likes cuddling in their sleep. Twilight Sparkle rolled over, letting her eyes close once more. There was no reason to worry about something that small; it was completely accidental. It could've happened to anypony. Plus if she was going to do more training in the morning, she needed her beauty sleep. Hopefully Spitfire wouldn’t hold this against her and make the work-out even harder. That would be awful! Soon enough, both Twilight and Spitfire had drifted back to sleep in their respective beds, and Spike slinked in a little while later into his basket. It was a restful night for all three.