//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1. The Flying Earth Pony 
// Story: Princess Pinkamena 
// by PersephoneSleeps 
//------------------------------//

Between the dusty stacks of forgotten books, two young ponies worked. Well, one worked, one bounced around the room singing about her love of ice cream. 

"Pinkie!" snapped an overly-tired Twilight Sparkle, "If I'm going to finish this in time, I'm going to need peace and quiet!" Her ears flattened against her head as she compared the mass of ribbon and wood to the design she had found in some ancient inventor's diary. 

"Ooh! I can be quiet. I can be the quietest quiet pony you've ever met!" 

A purple swirl of magic lifted up a nearby magnifying glass, and Twilight used it to examine the stitching in front of her. "Then do so," she grunted, prodding an extended branch with her hoof. 

Pinkie smiled knowingly, and sat down beside her friend. When she first met Twilight Sparkle, the purple pony had been certain that they would never, could never, be friends. But Pinkie knew that they were going to be best friends. Her mother's personal student had been just as lonely and in need of a friend as she had been, and Pinkie's relentless pursuit had finally paid off. 

As if she was thinking the same thing, Twilight murmured, "Shining was sent to the Northern Border yesterday." She stamped her back hoof irritably, "My parents almost didn't tell me, they thought I might not be able to deal with it." 

"Oh Twily," Pinkie scooted closer to her friend, and draped her front leg around Twilight's shoulder. "Shining is the best soldier in Equestria! He'll be back before you know it."

"Thanks, Pinkie." The purple pony sniffed, and made an effort to straighten her shoulders. "Now, let's get back to making this the greatest Birthday surprise the Princess has ever had!" 

"Is it ready?" 

"I think so," said Twilight, poking the contraption again. "It matches the diagram exactly, but what I don't understand is why no pony ever tried it bef-"

"Can I put it on?" begged Pinkie, jumping to her feet. "Please, please, please, Twily?"

Twilight laughed, and began to help Pinkie slide the contraption on. 

"Oof. Pinkie, stop wiggling!" 

"But this is so exciting! Mother is going to be thrilled!" 

"Hey! Watch your hooves." 

...

"Can I move now?" 

Twilight laughed at her friends's enthusiasm, and backed away. "Yes," she said finally, "Now you can move." 

Pinkie grinned as she looked down at the harness she had been strapped into. It was made from the scraps of roughly one hundred ribbons. All knotted together in a multicolored harness that held up two... well, they might be called wings. Twilight had tied sticks and branches together in a rough wing-shape, and then had stretched a wooled blanket over each. Had an older pony been present, the thing would have been burned on the spot. But the two fillies looked at it with pride and delight. 

"it's beautiful!" squealed Pinkie, bouncing up and down. 

"And we're just in time for breakfast," laughed Twilight. "When your Mother moves the sun higher into the sky, you can soar down over the party and surprise her!" 

They burst into a run, Pinkie lagging slightly behind due to the added weight of the wings. 

Their hideout was in a portion of the attic they called "The Overlook." A long time ago it had become a sort of storage area for excess manuscripts and damaged tomes. Over the years it had been filled with various curiosities and useless artifacts. The two fillies had found it a year ago- right after Twilight had become Luna's student. It was the perfect place for secret plans and heartfelt confessions. 

The fact that it had roof access made it even better. 

A rickety ladder was slung against one wall, right below the single round window. 

"Hello Mr. Spider!" Greeted Pinkie as she climbed past a rather large spider. She heard Twilight groan below. "Oh, and hi Mr. Spider's babies!" 

"Pinkie!" cried Twilight in a shaky voice, "The sun will be up any minute." 

"Got it." Pinkie's ears flattened in concentration as she scaled the rest of the ladder. She tried not to focus on how bulky the wings were, or how it chafed uncomfortably against her coat. 

She made it to the top, pushed open the window, and delicately stepped out onto the purple clay tiles of the roof. The wind caught at her mane and tail, pulling her gently. She breathed in deeply, and felt her nerves dissipate as she smelled the familiar sent of trees, grass, and Honey's cooking. Below, she could see the hundreds of guests filling the courtyard, their laughter floating up to her ears. Beyond them, the Everfree Forest tangled in comfortable chaos around them. The ruins of the lost castle could be seen in the distance.  

She knew that behind her was the only safe road through the Everfree Forest. She had dubbed it the "Shiny Road" when she was much younger, on account of the way the smooth stones shone in the moonlight. 

There was a whimper behind her, as Twilight stepped out on the roof. "So. Many. Spiders." She squeaked. 

"Come on Twily, we need to make our entrance before Honey brings out her hot chocolate." Pinkie hopped along the roof, oblivious to the gasps below. "Ready?" 

For the first time, a glimmer of doubt crossed Twilight's face. "Maybe we should've done some tests first. We don't know if it will hold one of us, let alone both of us." 

"Nonsense Twily. You're the second smartest Pony ever! It's going to be great." 

Twilight peered down at the ground, where a cluster of ponies were gaping up at them in shock. "I don't know-" 

But two pink legs wrapped around her middle, and then the two plummeted downwards. 

"Woohoo!" shouted Pinkie, her face right beside Twilight's. This was amazing! Everyone's eyes were on her, and any moment she and Twilight would soar above them. 

Any moment... 

"Ahhhhhhh!" Screamed Twilight, right at the moment that Pinkie realized that they were not flying... they were falling.

The ground was getting closer, and closer. Pinkie tightened her hold on Twilight, her heart crushing as she thought of how sad her mother was going to be. Bracing herself for impact she whispered, "Bye Twily." 

But the impact never came. 

Glittering purple magic surrounded the two fillies, helping them drift slowly to the ground. They landed on the smooth stones of the courtyard, and Twilight promptly fell to the ground in relief. Pinkie, on the other hand, felt a lump grow in her throat as she met the furious gaze of her mother. 

"Pinkamena. What. Were. You. Thinking?" Huffed Luna, approaching the two fillies as the crowd parted to let her through. She held her head high as Pinkie shuffled from hoof to hoof. 

"I just... surprise?" 

Her mother's eyes widened, but her voice remained calm and composed. "We will discuss this later. Go with Honey." 

"But-" 

"Go Pinkamena. And think about what would've happened had I not been here."





Soap bubbles filled the air as the two fillies scrubbed what felt like a mountain of dirty dishes. They had been set up in the far corner of the kitchen, where Honey had brought all of the dishes from the morning celebration. Racks of drying dishes hung around them, dripping rinse water onto their fur. 

Pinkie was unusually silent as she scrubbed a giant mixing bowl. She had never seen her mother look so... disappointed. Her ears hung low as she stared miserably at her reflection in the bottom of the bowl 

"We would have been splattered all over the cobblestones." She intoned gloomily. 

Twilight's ears pricked up, and she looked over from her tub of forks. "What was that?" 

The pink filly sighed, and lowered the bowl back into the sudsy water, "Mother said to think about what would have happened had she not been there, and I did." She turned to face Twilight, "We would have died. Our bodies would have been crushed beyond recognition, blood would've splashed everywhere, and Mother's birthday would have been ruined forever." 

"Well, I'm glad that you realized that." 

Both fillies jumped at Luna's voice. The dark mare stood with Honey, and watched bemusedly as the fillies dropped their scrubbing rags and waited to hear what the princess would say. 

Luna smiled gently, "Are you feeling alright Twilight, you look a little... ill." 

Pink spread across Twilight's cheeks. "Heh, heh, I'm completely fine, Princess. I just, er..." 

"Just feeling a little queasy at the idea of your blood 'splashing everywhere'?" guessed Luna knowingly. "Well I hope you have learned something from this Twilight Sparkle. You may be my most faithful student, but I will not tolerate putting yourself- and Pinkie-" she added, looking sideways at her daughter, "in trouble. Run along now, your parents are in the courtyard waiting for you." 

With a murmured "Bye Pinkie, Goodbye Princess Luna, Honey,"  Twilight trotted off. 

"I reckon I can finish the dishes sugar cube," said Honey in the silence that was left after Twilight's departure. "You two have some talking' to do." 

Pinkie kept her gaze directed at her hooves as she followed her Mother out of the kitchen and through the castle. The familiar path to her mother's apartments passed before her eyes, and before she knew it she was sitting in her favorite overstuffed armchair in the corner of her mother's bedroom. She could feel the cool air from the open windows gust over her as she shifted from hoof to hoof. 

"Darling, will you look at me please?" 

Pinkie looked up tentatively, tucking her tail around herself tightly. Her mother sat on the rug in front of her. 

Her mother's voice was gentle, but grave, "Do you understand why I was upset with you?" 

Pinkie struggled not to hang her head again. "Yes." 

"It was incredibly dangerous to jump off the roof. You know that already, so I won't rub it in anymore, but I don't think you could possibly understand... Mena, if I lost you I would never be able to recover. You mean more to me than anything in the world, and I can't imagine-" 

A horrible sinking feeling settled in Pinkie's gut as she realized that her mother was crying. In a flurry of pink she hurled herself from the chair and into her mother's arms. 

"I'm so sorry Mama, I wasn't thinking about what could have happened! I just wanted to be able to fly across the sky with you to welcome the sun." The little filly, scared by her mother's tears, could not stop the sobs that burst forth. 

"This was about greeting the sun?" 

"Kinda," sniffled Pinkie, she pulled back and gazed up at Luna, "I overheard someone-no I can't tell you who Mama- say that if  they were the child of an alicorn princess they would be really disappointed if they were just a boring old earth pony. And then I realized that i would rather be an alicorn than a earth pony. But mostly because I wanted to fly. Imagine how much fun you could have pranking people if you could fly! And then they said that if they'd be even more upset if they were an alicorn who had a boring earth pony-" 

A large, dark blue hoof clamped over Pinkie's mouth. "That's enough of that. You are anything but boring, Mena. You are smart, and clever, and funny," she leaned down to nuzzle her nose against Pinkie's, and the little filly let out a squeal of laughter, "and perfect just as you are. I would never want anyone else for a daughter."

They stayed like that for a moment. Pinkie closed her eyes and grinned as she felt her mother's warm fur surround her. There was nothing, she decided, better than hugs. Especially the ones that came from her mother. 

Something still bothered her though. "Mama," she asked quietly. 

"Hmm?" 

"I really wish I could fly though." 

Luna leaned back so that she could smile into her daughter's face, "All you had to do was ask." 

That evening, as Luna flew across the night sky to welcome the full moon, a tiny pink filly flew at her side. Wearing a magical set of turquoise wings (which her mother claimed were made from "morning dew and spider silk") that allowed her to glide gracefully alongside her mother, was Equestria's first flying earth pony.