Chapter 5
Lessons
After a filling lunch and a stop by the gem store to snag a few rubies for Spike, the trio headed to the fields on the north side of Ponyville. Barring the occasional tree, the terrain was relatively clear and, after a call to the Canterlot Airbase control tower for confirmation, had guaranteed uncrowded skies. All in all, it was a perfect place to teach an Alicorn to fly.
"Alright, Twilight, listen up." said Dash as she started the lesson. "The first lesson of the day is attitude."
"... Attitude?" asked Twilight skeptically.
"Yup, attitude." Dash confirmed. "A Pegasus has to WANT to fly in order to do so. Remember how Fluttershy's wings locked up when we went to evict that dragon that one time?" she asked, receiving a nod from Twilight. "It's the same thing. Fluttershy was so terrified of facing the dragon that she didn't want to fly, knowing that flying would mean she'd be at its lair sooner."
"I see..." said Twilight, still not convinced.
Rainbow Dash just shook her head at her friends scepticism. "Alright then, I got one question for you, Twilight." she said, pressing her face into Twilights. "Do you want to fly?"
"Y-yes." replied Twilight hesitantly, staring at her friends magenta eyes.
"Good. Keep that thought in your head." said Rainbow Dash. "Now, I'm gonna teach you the same way most Pegasus parents teach their foals. I'm gonna need John's help with this, though." She looked over at John and winked, receiving a nod in return. He had an idea as to what she was gonna do. Before Twilight could ask a question, Rainbow Dash swooped down, grabbed Twilight just ahead of her wing joints, and took off.
"Rainbow Dash, what are you doing?" asked Twilight, fear showing in her voice.
"Teaching!" replied Dash, levelling out at one thousand feet. "First lesson, do what comes naturally." With that, Rainbow Dash let go, and Twilight plummeted.
After letting out a quick scream, Twilight's instincts took over and her wings began to flap. Her fall slowed, but wasn't stopped. At two hundred feet, she closed her eyes and braced for impact, but felt her fall stopped as strong arms wrapped around her midsection. She looked up to see that John had transformed into his robot form and managed to catch her before she pancaked on the fields below.
"Hey." he said.
"H-hey." she responded sheepishly, trying to top herself from blushing. A few seconds later, John landed next to Rainbow Dash and set Twilight down.
"Alright, Twi, that was a good first lesson." said Dash, earning an enraged glare from Twilight. John could almost see smoke curling from her mane and tail, and her coat was practically glowing.
"Good? GOOD!? I could've been killed!" she exclaimed.
"But you weren't, and that's what counts." replied Dash. "Heck, you even managed to slow down. If you had kept flapping your wings you probably would've landed safely."
"And you say that this is how Pegasi teach their foals?" asked Twilight
"Not exactly. Most Pegasi push their foals off a cloud instead of dropping them, but I had to improvise." replied Dash. "I had to see if you had the right instincts, and it looks like you do. Now, all we need to do is improve your technique. Let's start lesson two." When she finished her statement, Rainbow Dash once again grabbed Twilight and took off. "This time I promise not to drop you."
"What're you trying to teach me this time?" asked Twilight.
"Listening to your senses." replied Dash as she slowly cruised around the sky with Twilight underneath her. "Spread your wings and close your eyes. Tell me what you feel."
Breathing a sigh, Twilight shut her eyes and flared her wings. She let out a gasp when she realized just how sensitive her new appendages were. She had been too terrified the first time to notice, but now Twilight could practically feel every particle of air as she was carried along by Rainbow Dash. She noticed that there was a slight crosswind coming from her right, which became a headwind as Rainbow Dash turned. Twilight couldn't tell their exact speed, but knew that Dash was flying at a leisurely clip. When Twilight relayed all this information to Dash, the cyan Pegasus grinned from ear to ear.
"Not bad. With practice, you'll get better at listening to your senses, though." she said. "For example, I can tell we're flying at thirty knots with a five knot headwind, relative humidity is around thirty percent, and there's a lot of jet exhaust up here."
"Wait, you can feel jet exhaust?" asked Twilight, eyeing Rainbow Dash skeptically.
"No, I can smell it." replied Dash. "Okay, Twilight, for this next lesson, I'm gonna have to drop you again."
"D-drop me?! AGAIN?!"
"Yes Twilight. Now, don't panic." said Dash. "You are completely safe. John or I WILL catch you if anything bad happens."
Twilight took a few calming breaths before nodding. "What do you want me to do?"
"You already know how to glide. That's what I need you to do." replied Dash. "Only this time, try flapping your wings at the same time. If you have trouble, just listen to your instincts. We already know they're good. You ready?"
After a few more deep breaths, Twilight nodded again. Despite what Dash had said, Twilight wasn't dropped, but rather tossed . She sailed forwards out of Rainbow Dash's grip and was soon gliding, fighting back the urge to scream the whole time. Eventually, however, she gave her new wings a tentative flap, and actually gained a few inches of altitude. Now fighting off giddiness, Twilight's wings flapped with more conviction and she soared ever higher into the air. No longer able to contain her excitement, Twilight began laughing.
"You're doin' great, Twi!" yelled Rainbow Dash. "Now, let's try for a landing!"
Quickly getting her laughter under control, Twilight, once again letting her instincts take over, reshaped her wings into a delta pattern and began her descent. Swooping down like a bird of prey after a mouse, she was soon flying only a few feet above the ground. Twilight flared her wings and came to a smooth landing in front of where John was standing.
"Wow, Twilight. You're a natural." said John with a warm smile on his face.
"I'll say." said Rainbow Dash as she came in for her own landing. "Are you sure this is the first time you've flown?"
"Heh, it was mostly instinct." replied Twilight modestly. "So, what do we do now? What's the next lesson?"
Rainbow Dash scratched her head, contemplating Twilight's question. "I dunno." she finally said. "I mean, you've already got the basics down. Everything else is just practice." Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in Rainbow's head, and she grinned ear to ear. "I know! Lesson four: Having fun!"
"...Having fun?"
"Yup!" replied Rainbow Dash. "Let's just get up there and fly around. It'll be good practice. Now, c'mon!" With that, Rainbow Dash took off, followed by a giddy Twilight. John couldn't help but chuckle at the two of them, and was about to join them when a rock hit him in the side. He turned to see who threw it, only to find a Pegasus mare sitting under a nearby tree and beckoning him over. Her coat was off-white with a pink man and tail, and her cutie-mark was of a sun partially obscured by a cloud. He slowly approached the Pegasus and cocked an eyebrow.
"Do I know you?" he asked. In response, the Pegasus giggled. It was a giggle he had heard dozens, if not hundreds of times. John would recognize it anywhere. "Tia?"
"Shh. Not so loud." she said. "I don't want anypony to know I'm here. They'll just make a big fuss."
"You do this often?" asked John.
"Not often enough." Celestia sighed. "It's nice just to get out of the Palace and away from the bickering nobles and just be myself every now and then. Problem is, my guards nearly panic every single time."
John just chuckled at that mental image as he transformed back into human mode and sat down next to the disguised Princess. For her part, Princess Celestia laughed along with him. After a minute, the two of them regained their composure.
"So, how's she taking it?" asked the Princess.
"Pretty well, actually." replied John. "She was worried about what her friends would think about her transformation, but I reassured her that they'd be supportive." He looked up into the sky where Rainbow Dash and Twilight were flying around and smiled. "A fact that's being proven even now."
Celestia just laughed quietly. "Yes, having friends always makes the transformation easier." she said, before sighing softly. "At least in my case, as well as Cadence's. I don't know how Luna managed."
"Wait, Luna?" asked John with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh yes." replied Celestia. "She was a very anti-social pony back in the day. It's probably what allowed the Darkness to corrupt her."
John barely suppressed a cringe at the mention of the Darkness. It was the corruptive influence that Nemesis Prime used to transform Princess Luna's into Nightmare Moon, When Nemesis' prison was breached and he was released, not even the Elements of Harmony were able to free Luna. It wasn't until Celestia forcefully severed the Darkness' connection to the Lunar monarch that she was ever truly freed from its influence.
"At least we don't have to worry about that nightmare anymore." said John. "So, are you gonna stick around for the surprise party Pinkie's undoubtedly planned by now?"
Celestia turned to look at John with a raised eyebrow. "What's the occasion?" she asked, only for John to point up at Twilight, who was performing a series of aileron rolls. "Oh. I see... wait, how do you know Pinkie Pie's throwing a... nevermind, it's Pinkie Pie. Forget I asked that. Well, I guess I could make it. Twilight will no doubt have questions for me. Might as well get them out of the way."
"Speaking of which, when are you going to tell her the truth?" asked John. "As I've said, I don't like the fact that we're lying to her, even if it is by omission."
"Neither do I. But I fear how she would react." she sighed with a deep frown.
John reached over and tussled Celestia's mane, wearing a large, goofy grin on his face. "You don't give her enough credit, 'Tia. Besides, it's not like the truth's a a terrible one."
"The fact that I had a plan to replace my sister with Twilight isn't a 'terrible' truth?"
"Meh, she'll get over it." replied John, still smiling. When he looked over to where the disguised Princess was sitting, he could tell from her deep frown and half-lidded eyes that she did not share his mirth.
"You're right, John." she replied. " I will tell her after the party tonight. I just hope she can forgive me."
"As far as I can tell, Princess, as long as you come clean there's nothing to forgive."
The Princess chose not to respond, save for a soft smile and a single tear as she turned to face the deep blue sky where Twilight and Rainbow Dash were too busy to notice. "Look at those two, just flying around without a care in the world. Oh, how I miss those days. Back before I had to be careful about how I act and what I say lest somepony thinks any less of me. I would give anything to be that young again."
"We all wish that, 'Tia." replied John as he lay down beside the disguised Alicorn.
"Oh please, you're only two or three years older than she is. Wait until you reach your first millenium."
The Autobot turned his head and shot Celestia a dirty look. "Thanks. I've been trying not to think about that."
"It's really not so bad." she said. "You just have to always look on the bright side."
John couldn't help but chuckle at the Sun Monarch's joke before letting off a sigh. "How do you do it, 'Tia? How do you not despair whenever a friend dies." he asked, looking over to see tears streaming from her eyes despite her soft smile.
"It's never easy losing someone you care about." she said. "It always hurts the first few years. Even now, I still cry whenever I am reminded of lost friends and lovers. I've even had this same conversation with Starswirl and Stormwing, two of my closest friends, both of whom I have lost before Nightmare Moon rose to challenge me the first time. I have fond memories of both of them, along with hundreds of other Ponies that I have let close over my long life. But it is those memories that keep me going." She turned and looked straight in the Autobot's eyes, still smiling and crying. "Cherish the moments you have with your friends, John, for it is always fleeting in the great cycle of time, and it is our lot to live on without them."
All throughout the Princess' story, John could feel tears welling up. He had never liked to be reminded that in only a few short years, his friends would no longer be around, while he would remain unchanged. It almost drove him insane after Galvatron turned John into what he is today. Not even Optimus could offer much in the way of guidance. But Celestia... Celestia had lived all her life amongst mortals. She knew how it felt to lose someone close to her. Not to the ravages of war and conflict, but rather old age and sickness, a concept that is entirely foreign to Cybertron.
"Well..." said John with a smile, "at least I'll have three close friends joining me into eternity."
"It's like I said, John." replied the Princess. "Always look on the bright side."
All in all, Twilight wasn't the only one in the area to learn an important lesson, albeit it would be a lesson that she would have to learn sometime soon.