Chapter 2: Practice Makes Perfect
“Come on, Spike. All you have to do is flap your wings.” Rainbow Dash called from above.
Spike’s expression turned to one of annoyance, “Easy for you to say, Dash. You’ve had wings all your life. You’re familiar with them. Do you know what it’s like to suddenly have two extra limbs?” He retorted; to which Dash just huffed. He flexed his wings once again. Slowly, they fanned out. He lifted them up and braced himself for whatever may happen in the next few seconds. Resuming what he found to be the most comfortable take-off position, Spike aligned the length of his body parallel with the ground. The purple wings descended powerfully. The resulting wave of pressure collided with the surrounding shrubbery. The sound of rustling leaves and twigs filled the air as his wings ascended once more.
Another thrust and Spike could feel his pressure on the ground decrease sharply. By the third thrust, his limbs were no longer in need of touching the ground and supporting him. It took him longer than he would ever admit to realise he was flying; or at least, hovering, just above the ground. His wings seemed to continue beating without the need for conscious thought as he travelled onwards and upwards.
Rainbow Dash grinned at the now airborne dragon. “Awesome! We have lift-off!” She cheered, “See if you can make it over here.”
Spike’s eyes locked on his target; the cyan Pegasus with the wild, multi-coloured mane. His mid-section rose and fell with each flap of his wings as he picked up forward speed. He curled his limbs to be flush against his body. He focused on the control of his wings. The air felt thick; each beat feeling as if they were pushing through syrup. Dash’s mouth appeared to be moving but any voice would have been hopelessly drowned as he attempted to block out any external distractions. She was almost invisible against the backdrop of the sky. Her multi-coloured mane and tail waved lazily in the breeze. She was smiling; twin pools of rose red absorbing his being.
Spike lost focus. His lapse in concentration caused his gaze to slip downwards. He almost screamed in surprise at the realisation of just how high he had flown. The dragon was at least fifty metres in the air. As his confidence fell, naturally, his body followed suit. His wings instinctually snapped to his sides as he tumbled from the sky. Horizons flew past his vision in a blur of light blue and olive green. Anticipating a rather hard landing, he braced himself. It was incredibly fortunate that the pair had chosen to start practicing over a wheat field.
The streak of purple and green never felt the impact. Instead, he felt the stinging shock to his nervous system that accompanied such a collision mere seconds after it. The momentum caused the dragon to roll across the tall stalks of wheat several times before coming to a rest on his back. His limbs were splayed out in random directions. A screen of dust started to form around the impact site, encasing it in a thick shroud.
The entire world was pitch black. Clearly, something was amiss. There was no feeling; just pain. A muffled voice called over the darkness. His vision slowly returned but it was of little use at first. It was far too blurry to distinguish one shape from another. The voice was still shouting something unintelligible. He could only assume it was Dash. Spike shook his head, trying to shrug off the effects of the fall. After blinking a few times, complete clarity returned to his vision. Dash was standing over him with a concerned look on her face.
Disregarding any potential spinal damage, the cyan mare placed her hooves on the dragon’s shoulders and shook him vigorously. “Spike! Are you alright?” She called loudly.
Spike’s eyes stared off into space while he mumbled hazily, “You... wings... sky... fall... ground... ow...” His voice trailed off at the end.
Dash frowned, “Uhh... You landed on your head, didn’t you?”
He blinked; his gaze drifting as if he was watching a tennis match in slow motion. Green eyes met Dash’s own with a blank expression. “Ahuh,” He managed to utter.
Scanning the mass of scales, Dash failed to find any significant external damage. A few skin-deep scrapes scalded the arm he had used to shield his face but were only skin deep and drew no blood. “Anything broken?” She asked hesitantly.
Spike groggily sat up and looked at her, his eyes no longer boggling. “I doubt it. Dragon bones are as strong as their mass in steel... Or was it Titanium?” Only just seeming to notice the damage to his arms, he added, “Flesh however, is a different story.”
A veritable symphony of cracks and pops echoed from Spike’s spine as he stretched out on the dirt. “Ugh,” He stood up and stretched his wings. “This is really going nowhere,” pausing, he let out a long sigh before continuing. “Maybe these flight lessons weren’t such a good idea. I appreciate your help, Dash, I really do but maybe I’m just not ready for flight.” His face was rife with disappointment.
“You’re just going to give up?” Dash raised her brow in a genuine look of surprise.
“No, I... I...”
“A couple of little slip-ups and suddenly there’s no point in continuing. Is that how it is?” Rainbow Dash’s face twisted into a scowl.
Realising mere words could not help him, Spike relented. “...Yes.” He looked shamefacedly at the ground.
A sky blue hoof planted itself firmly into the centre of Spike’s chest as she leaned in close to his face and whispered harshly, “You’re not giving up while I’m your coach, kid.” She punctuated the sentence with a not-so-gentle clop to the side of his head. The tension in the atmosphere noticeably dropped as Dash moved away. She tapped a hoof on her chin in thought. “You may have a point though, Spike.”
“With what?”
“Your body might not be ready to fly just yet,” her face suddenly lit up, “but that just means we’ll have to try less conventional ways of training.”
Spike looked at the now excited mare with suspicion. “What exactly do you have in mind?”
“You’ll just have to wait until we get to AJ’s, won’t you?” She said excitedly. With a single stroke of her wings, Dash was airborne. “Race you there! Onetwothree GO!” In burst of light of colourful brilliance, the Pegasus disappeared.
Spike blinked several times, not completely understanding what had just happened. As quickly as she had left, Dash was back, with an embarrassed look on her face. “Heheh, I... I guess I got a little carried away and forgot you couldn’t fly yet.” Failing to see any logical reason behind her actions, he just shrugged nonchalantly. “How fast can you sprint?” She made her way a little closer.
“I don’t really know, I haven't tried.”
Dash smirked, “Down on all fours, kid. We’ll make it your warm up; as fast as you can, to Sweet Apple Acres. Go.”
Celestia’s sun hung high in the sky, overlooking the vast apple tree plantations that were Sweet Apple Acres. Had the nuclear giant possessed the blessing of vision, it would have beheld a most unusual sight. Amidst the sea of green and brown, a blur of purple snaked quickly through the groves. A speck of blue lead a few lengths ahead.
With each lengthy stride, the purple mass increased it’s speed. The soft ground beneath it crunched and was indented with a small crater at each footfall.
Spike found his body naturally shaping itself into a missile. His pointed snout sliced through the air with great ease. The air would flow around midsection and over his wings, flush against his side to avoid creating air pockets. His long, pointed tail was designed with the most important task: to rejoin the airflow behind him. Had his profile ended in a flat rump, he would have trailed a turbulent slipstream. The wave of negative pressure would slow down his movement significantly. With his tail pointed straight though, he was almost frictionless moving through the atmosphere.
His thoughts turned to the pony soaring above him. She was far less aerodynamic than he was, yet she could exceed speeds he could currently only dream of. Her short and flat muzzle would meet with enough resistance as it was, not to mention her flank. Her tail would work with the same principal as his, but not nearly as efficient. He had to respect her; she let no disadvantage hinder her ability.
Spike swerved sharply to avoid a post in the pathway that seemed to come from nowhere; his feet sliding involuntarily. He had lost a substantial amount of speed in order to avoid a head-on collision. ‘Ugh!’ His internal monologue erupted, ‘How does she do that?’
Spike had no time to consider the question as he skidded to a halt. Dash had landed next to a large shed and was waiting impatiently for him.
She smiled slyly before whispering just loud enough for the dragon to hear, “Let the games begin.”
It was intended to be a harness, but it felt more like a noose. Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Big Macintosh all took hold of the same rope and attempted to hoist Spike into the air. The rope lead up and around one of the rafters in the shed’s high ceiling then back down and around his torso. A strong pull at the rope could be felt, but only enough to make him stand on the tips of his claws. All three of the supposedly strong ponies were groaning in effort. Sweat began to bead on the trio’s brows as they increased their efforts. Painfully slowly, he started to rise.
Finally, when Spike was far enough off the ground, the rope was fastened to a large hay bale.
“Hoooweeee Spike, ya’ll are a lot heavier than ya look.” Applejack panted, wiping her face with a hoof.
“Eeyup,” Big Macintosh managed to squeeze out in concurrence.
Spike looked away in embarrassment. The momentum of the movement of his head immediately transferred to the rest of his body and he started to pivot clockwise on the end of the rope.
The farmer pony continued. “Well, Ah guess Ah’ll see ya’ll later. Me an’ Big Macintosh have a tonne’a work ta do.”
“That’s okay, AJ. See ya!” Dash smiled as she waved the other pony off. She quickly turned her attention back to the dragon suspended above the ground. He was turning on the rope, against his will. She lifted up her hoof and brought his slow movement to a halt. “Better?”
Spike craned his neck to look back at her, sporting an unhappy glare. “Thanks. You still haven’t told me what the point of this is.”
To this, Dash lifted her head and spoke proudly, “We’re going to make sure you have the proper flying posture.” She scanned Spike’s posture briefly before instructing, “Extend your wings, keep your spine straight and face forward...”
Spike felt no problem with his original posture for flying but knew better than to question the pony’s knowledge of aeronautics. For every adjustment he had made, Dash seemed to notice several other things wrong. As time progressed, his position began to grow uncomfortable.
“Hold it there!” Dash commanded, unfurling her wings. She stood in front of the dragon, facing the same direction. Her wings started their natural and rehearsed motion, gently at first, then progressing to a stronger variant. She held herself in position, doing her best to simulate the wind sheer of flight.
The feeling on Spike’s end, he found interesting. He could feel the air passing over every inch of his body. The appendages protruding from his spinal column caught the breeze and started exerting a light upward pressure. Remembering another correction Rainbow Dash had made, he pulled his limbs in closer to his body. ‘I could get used to this feeling.’ He thought. Was this what gliding felt like? If so, he couldn’t wait to try it for real.
A sigh of disappointment whisked out of Spike’s throat when he realised it was over.
“So, did you feel it?” He snapped up at the sound of Dash’s voice.
“Uh... Feel what?” Spike frowned.
“You know! The feeling of flying. Being suspended in the air, the wind in your mane -uh, in your case, scales- you know, freedom!”
“I guess... It did feel really good, but I think it’ll be better when I actually get to fly.”
“Okay, I think it’s time for some wing exercise.” Dash beamed as she untied her student from the harness.
Spike smiled to himself, realising the humour in the situation as the cyan mare worked meticulously underneath his belly. He shuffled his hind legs, trying to give her more room to do her job. Dash attempted to say something, though her voice was muffled by the hard, pink object in her mouth.
“Gee Rainbow, couldn’t make this scene any more awkward, could you?” Spike rolled his eyes, remembering her insistence that this was the best course of action.
There was a soft click as she secured the second last hoofcuff. She took the last pink ring out of her mouth and began securing the last leg to the ground. “Hush up. We don’t need you taking off accidentally when you have made it abundantly clear you can’t control your own flight yet.” She grinned deviously. “Besides, some stallions would give anything to be in this situation.”
Ignoring her comment, Spike let slip the other question dancing on his psyche. “Just why do you just happen to have four brightly coloured hoofcuffs just lying around, anyway?”
“I... Uh... That’s not important.” Had he been looking, Spike would have seen something of a rarity; Dash’s face flushed a deep shade of crimson. She positioned herself a couple of metres directly behind the dragon and shouted for him to start flapping his wings. She suddenly took on a very serious demeaner. “Five minutes, all you got, go.”
Unfortunately for Spike, everything sounds easier in theory. At the start, there was no problem, beating his wings with little effort and great strength. As time wore on, however, that order would be reversed. The muscles in his wings ached at each contraction. If anything, it took more energy to perform this exercise on the ground. The air was confined by the barrier beneath him. That meant his wings met an already compressed cushion of air on each down-beat. Five minutes becomes an eternity when exerting strong physical effort.
Everything not tied down securely behind Spike was waving wildly in the gale. Apple trees erupted in a chorus of chatters within the branches. Even some apples could be seen falling to the ground. Baskets full of fruit were knocked over; splaying their contents in random directions.
That was it. Whether it had been five minutes or not, Spike didn’t care. The ground looked unusually comfortable as he collapsed in a tired heap. He stared ahead at the soil that moved slightly and dispersed a small amount of dust every time he
took another heaving lung full of oxygen.
A firm pat on the shoulder broke his temporary trance. Rainbow Dash leaned in close to Spike’s ear. “You did good, kid.” She consoled. The cuffs around his wrists and ankles were quickly removed. “Same time on Thursday?”
“Yeah... can’t wait.”
Author’s Note:
I apologise for this terrible, terrible chapter. I am really quite disappointed in it, myself. I do have a feeling this will be the one that could lose me some readers. Oh well, it had to be done. At least now I can get to the good stuff...
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Saw this updated, I just went M Bison in my head. YES! YES!
What?
Pfft, this was an excellent chapter. And, like you said, now we get to move on... ;D
After Screaming at the top of my lungs the full M Bison YES! YES! i settled down o read the second chapter.
After passing out from a awesome overload at the end of the chapter. i sit and ponder? where is rarity now? is she still MIA?
this is an amazing story.
I say old chap, its fantastic.
I cant wait for a spiffing third chapter.
keep up the good show old boy.
What are you talking about?? I can't wait for more!
We're getting to the good stuff!?!
:mbisonyes:
Will track when I login.
four brightly colored hoofcuffs Pfft HaHaHa
25170 I for one, am not surprised...
More. ASAP. Dunno whats so bad about, I'm def keeping an eye on this one.
Believe me, this chapter is good for the fic overall.
Everything has 'chapters' or 'scenes' like these, where character development and exploring each other take precedence over intense action or romance scenes.
How would Boromir's death had felt if he had never talked with Aragorn in either of the two elf cities?
If your reader can't sit through one chapter of establishing a relationship (ESPECIALLY BETWEEN 2 CHARACTERS WHO ALMOST NEVER INTERACT IN THE SHOW), then you probably shouldn't be too worried about losing them in the first place.
Keep up the good work.
YES! YES!
Sir, I can assure you, you did NOT lose me (or anyone else if I can punch the ungrateful bastards back in line).
Very well written and compelling in every sense of the word. I really like the way Rainbow acts embarassed while at the same time being offensive and teasing herself. You really nailed her character, and I love you for it.
I expect great things from this (especially after this terrific setup) and eagerly await your next chapter.
Hit the keyboard and deliver!
25280
You make a good point but I don't know who Boromir is. In any case, the reason I'm not all that happy with the chapter is that... I'm a bit 'OCD' when it comes to what I write. For me, it was like a non-event. Barely even any character building (although it does accomplish a bit of friend-shipping). Thankfully this chapter is now complete and details do not need to be said again. The next chapter will have a few weeks time skip (not giving anything away).
25322
Bah, you never read/watched Lord of the Rings?
Oh well. It's just that the little blurb at the end of the chapter sounded very distressed. No need to fret over a chapter like this. It's a 'necessary evil' almost.
25322
Seriously?
LOTR?
Helloooooooo...
Training montauge complete.
Returning to the plot in 3...
2...
1...
25416
I wouldn't call it an evil.
Honestly, I had fun this chapter. It's nice to see character developement in stories. I'll be keeping my eye on this.
Hmm. I can see why some wouldn't really like this chapter. For one, when you compare it to the first chapter, there is little actual character building and is instead traded off for character interaction. Whereas, the first chapter shows the reader the relationship between Twilight and Spike, the second chapter focuses mainly on the physical interaction between Spike and Rainbow Dash. From an objective point of view, one can see that while the overall writing style has stayed the same, the differences between the two are apparent. However, this is not to say that this chapter is disappointment in any way, shape, or form. In my opinion, you nailed each character's personalities (ponyalities, dragonalities?), created a realistic setting, and even added a touch of humor as well ( the part with the hard, pink object made me go "wat?" for a second, and the handcuffs were hilarious). Additionally, I believe that this part is necessary to create a sort of base (Spike's respect for RD's flight abilities) where the relationship can blossom from. I look forward to the next few chapters.
Hoofcuffs....wouldn't put it past her. lol
.......inuendo joke. that is all.
--Spike groggily sat up and looked at her, his eyes no longer boggling. “I doubt it. Dragon bones are as strong as their mass in steel.” Only just seeming to notice the damage to his arms, he added, “Flesh however, is a different story.”--
Trivia fact: Weight for weight, bone is ten times stronger than steel.
In other words, him saying that his bones are as strong as their mass in steel is not really saying much.
10/10 would chuckle again