Learning to Soar

by Pinky Music

Chapter 6

It was 7:30am, and my dreams were pleasant...until Twilight started to wake me up. It was funny, normally I would be up by now, but the excitement for today’s activities, combined with some homesickness, gave me a little bit of insomnia the night before. My continued resistance to her efforts irritated her enough to levitate me out of bed and into a tub full of cold water.

Shocked into conscious thought, I couldn’t help but scream, “Ahhh!! Twilight! No fair!” My lower lip shivered at the freezing temperature in the tub.

After I dried off, I put on the hospital scrubs again, the only clothes that I owned, and met up with Twilight. My lack of clothing was something that I would need to fix somehow. I quietly wondered if Ponyville had the equivalent of a Goodwill nearby.

The morning sun was warm as the chirping of the late night crickets gave way to the rattling of morning cicadas. As we walked down the road from Twilight’s castle I was surprised at just how far it was from Ponyville. On top of which, Twilight moved at a snail’s pace. Every few feet she’d stop and glance about suspiciously in an attempt to see who might be watching.

“Twilight, I’m pretty sure our TV doesn’t work that way.” I replied, “Is this part of the reason you wanted to get out of the castle early?”

“It’s just the idea…” said Twilight with concern.

I sighed, “You know, a little bug or gnat can watch what we do too. But, they aren’t going to do anything to us right?”

“But, what if they …I mean….”

“Twi, come on. Don’t you think that your magic, hell, even the magic of the princesses, would have seen anything like a camera watching you?” I asked in exasperation.

Twilight shot me an angry look as we walked down the path in near silence. She continued to mutter to herself about what measures she might have to take now that interuniversal beings were watching. With each new proposal, the tenor of her voice increased in desperation.

I sighed, “Twilight, I’m not as smart as you, but how about this: somehow those that write the show get their ideas subconsciously. Perhaps they are attuned to this universe in some fashion.”

Twilight looked at me with a sudden understanding, “I can’t believe I never thought of it that way! It’s entirely plausible!” My theory did prevent her from going into panic mode, but she started babbling on how this would be possible, most of which I tuned out because it was so far over my head it wasn’t funny.

“Twilight, I’d love to hear a dissertation from you about this,” I said in a noticeably sarcastic tone, “but do you think we could go somewhere to get some real clothes for me? I doubt these scrubs will last long with regular use.”

Twilight gave me the stink eye for a brief moment, then said, “To get you some new clothes, we’d have to go to Carousel Boutique.” Her knowing look told me this was my first opportunity to apologize to a pony I had wronged.

My cheeks flushed in embarrassment, as I remembered her calling me a ‘Monster’. “Well, then I have first pony to apologize to then, don’t I?”

“You’re right, Maverick. I’m glad you’re taking responsibility for that.” she said with a smile, “We should probably get you some saddlebags too, if possible. I’ve got at least one little gift for you that will help you get around.”

“That’s cool.” I said vacantly as I wondered just how Rarity might react to seeing me again.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well,” I began, “how mad do you think she’s going to be with me?”

“You did ruin a dress of hers.”

“Yeah, I remember, I was there.”

“But if I know Rarity I’m sure if you are honest and sincere in your apology, she’ll forgive you.”

I nodded. “You know, you’re probably right. I mean she is one of your closest friends. If anypony would know, it’s you Twi.”

We talk a little more about Earth in the five or so minutes it takes us to get to Carousel Boutique. “Twilight, I think you should enter first. I’ll be right behind,” I shivered at the thought of an angry Rarity, despite Twilight’s assurance.

“Fine, if it’ll make you feel better.” Twilight reluctantly conceded, and we entered the Boutique. If it wasn’t for what happened to the dress, it would have been a pleasure, but right now, it would be nice to not be knocked silly. Little did I know what was about to happen...

Rarity was working on a dress at the time with her back to us, a pretty purple and white ensemble with gems scattered about. She applied a golden ribbon to it, along with some more gems as accent. She paused a moment when she heard the door open.

“Good morning, Rarity!” Twilight said.

“Hello, Twilight. What brings you here?”

“I have a new friend here I’d like you to meet. This is Maverick.”

“Always a pleasure to meet…,” when she turned around and saw me, she gave me an angry glare. I merely gave a sheepish grin and waved a hoof. “You! You destroyed a beautiful dress!” If she could shoot fire from her eyes, I’m sure she would.

There wasn’t any time to worry about that, because before I knew it, a pillow was rocketing to my face and knocked me over before I could duck. Dazed, I sat up, only to have a barrage of pillows rain down upon me. Now, I remembered pillow fights when I was a kid, they were nothing compared to how fast a unicorn can fling a pillow. If this was a cartoon, there would be little birds flying around my head.

Rarity reloaded and continued on, “Do you know how long I worked on that dress to make it absolutely perfect!? It took me two whole days to collect the gems I had sown into it, not to mention a week getting the pattern right!”

She chucked a couple of pillows at me, one I had barely managed to dodge, while the other took my legs out from under me, which caused me to faceplant painfully into the floor. I looked at Twilight for some help, but it seemed she was slightly shocked at Rarity.

“It was going to be for Princess Cadance! She deserves better than to have her dress mutilated by the likes of you!”

With that, she threw another pillow and a ruler at me. I managed to dodge both, but she grabbed the ruler again in her magic and smacked me on the flank with it.

“AAAAhhh!!!” I groaned in pain and dropped again onto my rump.

Before Rarity could reload, I cowered behind Twilight as I shouted, “Rarity, please, I’m sorry!”

Twilight, who had recovered from her shock, approached her, while I remained where I was, “Rarity, can we have a moment?”

“Yes, darling.” They moved out of earshot, all the while Rarity glaring at me. Twilight was updating her on my situation. At a few points in the story, she looked at me, then back at her, and her expression softened until she was calm again. At that point, they moved back over to where I was sitting.

“You’re...really sorry about what happened?” Rarity asked.

I nodded, “Yes. I was just scared out of my mind, and I deeply apologize for what happened to the dress. I’ll pay you back, do a jig, anything to make it up to you.” I looked deep into her eyes as I spoke, my ears drooped in regret.

Rarity almost looked like her normal self again, “Well, Twilight told me you are trying to make amends and if she believes you deserve a second chance, then I shall give you one as well.”

“Thank you, Rarity,” relieved, I added, “I was also wondering if you had something that looked better than these hospital scrubs. I just don’t have any way to pay you right now, however.”

She gave me a look over, “Please step up here so I can get your measurements.”

I stepped up onto the platform as she brought out a measuring tape and started taking measurements, which included putting swatches of clothes on me. A pin caught me in the backside and made me yelp in pain. I held the retort that was about to come out. Given what I had done, she deserved to get a hit in here and there.

Twilight just smiled and nodded. “Maverick, we should get going. I’ll get you a muffin at Sugarcube Corner while we talk to Pinkie.”

“Sounds great! Thank you again, Rarity, for the second chance. I will never forget this.” Nor would my rump forget the smack of that ruler. I was sure I’d have a welt from that.

“Just don’t try on any more dresses, darling, and that will be payment enough. Oh! I almost forgot! Here is a set of saddlebags. They are a little bit used, but I would rather they go to somepony that could use them instead of throwing them out.” She levitated them out and settled them on my back. It was a strange feeling to be sure, but not uncomfortable.

“Agreed. Besides, I don’t think that pink was very flattering on me.” We all have a good laugh at that one as Twilight and I left the Boutique.

“Remember the gift I told you about earlier? Well, it’s a map of Ponyville. Here, I’ll put it in one of your saddlebags for you,” Twilight said as she levitated the map over, opened one of my bags and put it in.

“Thank you for the map, and for helping to calm down Rarity.” I smiled as we made our way to Sugarcube corner.

It took all my willpower to prevent from squee’ing when it came into view. The smell of fresh pastries hit my nose, and I could almost taste the cupcakes that awaited inside. There was also the smell of buttered bread, which made me envision a loaf easily breaking apart in my hands...if I still had hands. I almost didn’t want to enter for fear of ruining the image. It wasn’t until Twilight dragged me in with her magic that I realized how long I stood there, drool pooled at my hooves from my tongue that hung from my mouth.

“Twilight, I can walk, you know.” She released me from her grip at that, and I looked around the shop. It was exactly as I expected, with all sorts of confectionery delights around. One could get a cavity just looking at everything. All the smells I anticipated were here: sugar-filled chocolate cupcakes, bread that looked fresh from the oven, with just the right hint of butter on top, and frosting-covered cake made my mouth water again. As I turned around toward where the main counter was, my vision became obscured by two blue eyes surrounded by pink. “Yaaa!” I screamed and backpedaled away, landing on my rump.

Pinkie went on one of her rapid sentences, “Hey! You were the one running through town, and I was like ‘you’re the one Twilight was looking for!’ and you distracted me when you ran, then you shoved some balloons at me, and I was all ‘I love making balloon animals’ right?”

My eyes widened in amazement at what I just witnessed and concluded that the show did not do her credit for being able to say all that in one breath. If there was an auctioneer here, they would probably pray that she never become one, “Yes, that was me, Pinkie. I came to apologize for my behavior that day. I really like you because you’re friends with everypony and try to make all your friends smile. I hope we can be friends.”

Pinkie rushed to hug me, “Oh, I forgive you. Besides, I love making balloon animals, and making new friends!” She hugged me even harder.

“Pinkie...not so...hard!” Pinkie released me, while Twilight chuckled as I caught my breath.

“Ooohhh!!! Gotta plan a ‘Welcome to Ponyville-Equestria-Becoming a Pony’ party!” she yelled as she somehow hovered in midair and shot off as only she could. Twilight and I looked at each other, wondering how she knew about the 'Becoming a Pony' part, which neither of us had informed her of yet.

Meanwhile, Twilight had purchased two muffins and was waiting at a table for me. Freed of Pinkie’s hug, I sat down at the table and checked myself for damage, but everything was ok. My eyes drifted down to the muffin on the table, and I picked it up to start eating, lost in thoughts of home.

Twilight noticed and put her hoof on mine, “Maverick, what’s wrong? You seem a little down.”

“Oh, just a bit of homesickness I think. I’m sure it’ll pass.”

“I can’t imagine how you’re feeling, but I’m here if you need to talk anytime.”

I don’t know why, but part of me wanted to lash out at her, and I reigned it in. She was only trying to be a good friend, after all. “Thanks, Twilight, but there is another thing that bothers me a bit. I don’t like having others pay for what I need, it makes me feel like a freeloader.”

“I can understand where you’re coming from, Maverick. Once you get to flying, I’m sure I can help you find a job. In the meantime, you can help Spike with odd jobs around the castle. I’d be happy to pay you bits for whatever you do.”

It touched me that she would make an offer like that to somepony she still hardly knew, and my homesickness was forgotten as I thought about it. “You know, I’m going to have to break this habit of thanking you, Twilight. I am glad to be able to help out in any way I can.” It made me smile again.

She finished her muffin, while I put the remainder of mine in a bag so we can get to Rainbow Dash’s place. It confused me as to why she was in such a hurry, as far as I knew, she didn’t have anything else planned today. Maybe she just didn’t want to waste any time.

When Twilight stopped, I looked up and my jaw dropped, as Rainbow’s house was more incredible than I could have imagined. Just like the show, rainbows made graceful curves up and over the ends of the clouds that held her house up, to say nothing of the towering magnificence of the house itself. I wondered how much it cost her to get that built, when the question of how to get up there popped into my mind, “Umm...Twilight, how are we getting up there? You know I still can’t fly.”

“I’ll teleport us up, so get ready.”

I braced myself as Twilight charged the spell. Once again, the familiar stretching and popping sensation surrounded me and we reappeared in front of Rainbow Dash’s front door. My stomach got a little queasy, but nowhere near as bad as the first time, and I was glad for that. I looked over the edge and the fact we were at least 200 feet up off the ground while standing on clouds made me giddy and I started bouncing around, yelling, “Whee!”.

Twilight gave me an irritated glare as she yelled, “Maverick! This is serious!”

“Aw, Twilight. Give me a little slack, we can’t walk on clouds where I come from!” I whined.

She rolled her eyes and groaned, so I followed her to Dash’s front door.

Twilight walked up behind me, and I knocked a few times. We waited a few moments, looked at each other, then I knocked again. Now we heard some movement inside, along with a muffled “Owww! Tank! Coming…”

The door opened, and a very disheveled-looking Rainbow Dash appeared at the door, yawning, with bags under her eyes. I was tempted to ask her if she had a tangle with a manticore or something, but decided against it.

Twilight looked concerned, “Rainbow, sorry if we woke you up, but Maverick here is feeling better and has something to say.”

Dash looked irritated, “Twi, you do know it’s my day off, don’t you? I need to catch up on my napping.”

Dash slowly looked me over and realized I was the pony she knocked out at supersonic speeds. “Hey, you’re the one I knocked out...you must have a really,” YAWN, “tough head.”

I chuckled at that, “Yeah, Rainbow, I wanted to apologize for everything that happened. Can you forgive me?” I offered my hoof.

“zzzz...Wha..where?” She had actually fallen asleep while I was apologizing! I must have telegraphed my feelings or something, because Twilight put her hoof on my shoulder before I could do something I’d regret.

“I said I apologize for everything that happened that day you knocked me out, and I have no hard feelings about that, either.” This time I hope she heard me, I don’t like repeating myself a lot like that.

“That’s ok...at least we both have a hard head, so that’s a start,” she yawns, then looks at Twilight, “It’s my day off and I’m really beat. My bed is calling me back.” With that, she shut the door. This left me a bit confused.

“Twilight, who is going to train me?”

“Fluttershy.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I know Fluttershy is completely kind and caring, but she didn’t strike me as a flight instructor. Besides, wasn’t it Dash who taught you how to fly when you became an Alicorn?”

“That’s part of the reason I’m having Fluttershy train you. Dash was really tough to learn under, and I didn’t want to witness a repeat of that sort of training. You wouldn’t like it, trust me.”

My eyes widened in surprise, “I didn’t know the whole story behind that, so I appreciate your honesty.”

Twilight teleported us back to the ground and we continued on toward Fluttershy’s place. Spike was right, this last time I barely felt a thing from my stomach. Teleporting was nice and all, but I’m itching to fly. Maybe it’s a pegasus instinct combined with my desire to be an Air Force pilot.

I imagined flying around, doing loops and plowing through clouds, it made me believe that Twilight was right about having Fluttershy train me first. Besides, after I get better at flying, Dash could step in if I wanted to do more, maybe racing or something. Regardless of where my path would take me, I resolved to make the most of it.

We moved along, noticeably closer to the Everfree forest, and as I looked around in awe of the surroundings, my pace slowed to where Twilight was directly in front of me, which caused her to call out to me. I quickly trotted up alongside her, glad that the day was sunny and warm, but not obsessively so.

The buildings started to get fewer and farther between, which made me wonder how far out of town Fluttershy’s cottage was until it came into view as we crested a hill. It looked just as it did in the show, quaint and surrounded by flowers and animals. It was incredible seeing all the different colors of birds, which only made me feel better about my situation. My wings fluttered in excitement at the prospect of flying, but that excitement was tempered a bit because of the fact that I realized it wasn’t going to be easy.

“Please wait outside. I would like to explain the situation to Fluttershy alone.” Twilight said as she held a hoof up to me.

“Sure thing, Twilight. I don’t want to cause a problem.” with that response, she went inside. Despite my curiosity, I kept out of earshot, not that Fluttershy’s voice would be loud enough to be heard. With the area around her cottage covered with flowers that had vibrant colors and most of the birds around with spectacular plumage, it was easy to get distracted, but it didn’t last long as I realized that I was going to be able to fly soon, Air Force be damned. While I waited for them to finish, I pulled out the remainder of my muffin to finish it. As it was about to enter my mouth, a noise came from a nearby tree. With my ears able to move toward the sound I was hearing, it didn’t take long to discover the source. It appeared to be a squirrel watching me from a tree.

“Oh, hello there. You look kinda cute.”

With a speed that surprised me, he flew down and snatched the muffin from my hooves and ran off with me in pursuit. A couple of times, I was close to catching him, only to have him change directions at the last second. He darted around a corner of Fluttershy’s house while I followed closely, then he went through some sort of fenced-in paddock. I jumped over the fence and then doubled back toward the tree he originally came from. I couldn’t catch up before he scurried up the tree to a branch I couldn’t reach (at least not without flying) and blew a raspberry at me while he finished the muffin as I stood underneath, my forehooves on the tree. Without a thought as to how crazy it sounded, I yelled, “I hope you get some indigestion from that!”

It was at that point that I heard somepony clearing their throat, and when I turned around, an amused Twilight was there, along with Fluttershy, who was hiding behind her mane. I gave an embarrassed grin and said. “Uh, how long were you there?”

“Long enough.” Twilight said, and introduced me as I trotted up, “Fluttershy, this is Maverick. Maverick, this is Fluttershy, and she’s agreed to teach you how to fly and take care of your wings.”

I kept my inner brony at bay so she wouldn’t get scared. “Hi, Fluttershy, I’m pleased to meet you.” Her coat and mane were more pretty than I had imagined.

“Um...Hi, Maverick.”

Before we got too far, Twilight moved to me, “Maverick, come back to the castle when you’re done. I may have some things for you to do so you can earn some bits.”

“You got it. Thanks, Twilight.”

As Fluttershy looked down, I tried to break the tension. “Fluttershy, thanks for agreeing to train me. Before we get started though, would you be kind enough to show me around? I had a dog from where I came from, and would like a little tour.” That comment had the intended result, which brought Fluttershy out of her shell a little.

She said in a louder than normal voice (for Fluttershy, anyway), “Really? What kind of dog was it?”

“Well, we called the breed a ‘Jack Russell’ terrier.” I was about to describe their role, when I thought that the part about hunting foxes would not sit well with her, and settled for just a simple description. “They are a small and energetic dog.”

Her smile brightened the mood. “They sound adorable! Well, let me show you around.”

As we headed around her cottage, animals started to appear from almost everywhere. It felt as if they were both curious about me and happy that Fluttershy was there. Several rabbits approached, as well as that flying squirrel that stole my muffin.

“Hey Fluttershy,” I pointed at the squirrel with a smile, “what is his name?”

“His name is Squirrely. He’s a flying squirrel.” she said, as he flew down to my back, and I raised my wing to my face. He ran up my wing to look at my face, then blew another raspberry at me before he jumped off and scurried back up the tree. Fluttershy giggled, “Don’t mind him, he’s just having some fun with you.”

Somewhat unconvinced, but not wanting to cause an issue, I respond, “If you say so, Fluttershy. You’re the expert here.” Meanwhile, the squirrel was making faces at me before we moved away.

As we continued the tour, she showed me her butterfly garden, bird sanctuary, as well as other various animals such as dogs, a couple of tortoises, bees (stayed away from them, never did like ‘em) and her friend bear Harry. He gave me a hug after she introduced us and it felt as if a rib was going to snap.

“Harry...can’t...breathe!” I squeaked out, and he dropped me. “Ugh, now I know how getting checked between two forwards must feel like.” Fluttershy had a confused look to her as she apparently had no idea what I was talking about. All the while, Squirrely followed us, and he seemed interested in me for whatever reason.

I followed her inside, where we headed to her living room so she could show me how to care for my wings. I looked around at what felt like a miniature city of pets. Off to the side, a blur of white passed by, which made me flinch. Shortly after, a white rabbit was sitting on her couch, glaring at me. I smiled at him in the hope it would break the tension, but he only crossed his arms and tapped his foot. “Fluttershy, I don’t think he likes me.”

“Oh, he just needs a little time to get to know you, that’s all. Angel, this is Maverick. I’m going to be teaching him how to fly.” Angel’s expression seemed to be one of shock, then he started to laugh. “This isn’t funny Angel. He came from another world and was turned into a pony.” That got him to stop, but he just waved a paw at me dismissively.

“Now, Maverick, let’s take a good look at your wings.”

I spread them as requested. Even though my body was still new, there were some feathers that apparently were out of place, most likely caused by my failed attempt to fly when I first arrived and my subsequent escape attempt. “Wow, they look a little...messy.”

Fluttershy nodded and continued, “You need to take good care of your wings, so part of that is learning what the feathers do, and how to preen them. We’ll first go over what they do. The most important ones are your primary feathers. They help generate your thrust and lift, so without even one of them, you will have problems flying.” She extends one of her wings and shows me the feathers she was talking about. Likewise, I looked at one of my own, which still was alien to me, to examine what mine looked like. I had to turn my head a fair bit to see them all, and the flexibility of my neck was beyond what I was used to, after all, as a human, my neck couldn’t turn enough to let me see my own back.

“Wait, Fluttershy. Don’t we pegasi use magic to fly, just as we can for weather control?”

“Not really, Maverick. All our flight is governed by our wings and bone structure, which is similar to a bird’s.”

I wasn’t too sure about that, but then when I reexamined my memories of the show, it never really explained how pegasi flew. All I had to go on was headcanon from the fandom, which, as it turned out, was partially right but mostly wrong. It meant that if I were to return to Earth somehow, but stay as a pegasus, I would still be able to fly. I shook myself free of these musings and returned to paying attention to Fluttershy.

“Next, you have your secondaries. You can stand the loss of a few of these, but, like the primaries, lose enough and you will also have problems maintaining your lift.” She again showed me with one of her wings, as I mimicked her movements. It still amazed me at how I was able to get at all the feathers that she was pointing out, despite some of them being difficult to get at, which made me even more appreciative of the fact that I could have somepony help out as needed.

“The rest of the feathers on your wing are there to help protect your flight feathers, so losing them won’t hurt you, but you should still be careful not to lose too many of them.”

I noted the remainder of the feathers she was pointing out to me. “Fluttershy, it’s amazing, I never realized how important all these feathers were. I guess I was just taking things for granted because I never had wings before.”

“Um...I can see how you might feel that. Twilight had the same issue when she became an alicorn.”

That surprised me, as Twilight didn’t seem the type. I thought she would have gone to read a book on pegasi anatomy or alicorn anatomy (if one existed).

“To continue, however, preening is very important, as it keeps your feathers nice and straight, as well as lubricated with oils that are in our mouths. Preening is also a very intimate activity between two pegasi, so you normally want to only do this with or to somepony you are close with, either a family member or a special somepony. It can also mean that you are looking for...more.”

Ok, she had to mention that part, which now made this feel a little awkward and caused me to blush, “Ok...hmmm...that may not come up but...that’s good to know.” Great, now I’m unintentionally mimicking Fluttershy. My eyes had drifted over to her and noticed she was also blushing at what had been said, which made this moment all the more uncomfortable.

After a long pause, she proceeded to show me on one of her wings, which helped me as I followed her movements to shift the wing into the positions she needed. It still amazed me that my pony neck was that flexible, and that made it feel weird that I could look at my back just by turning my head. Without that, it’s doubtful that I could have gotten it done. Regardless of how well it seemed I was moving my wings, it still took some getting used to, as I wound up smacking myself in the face once or twice, earning a little giggle from Fluttershy and a blush of embarrassment from myself. I grabbed a feather of mine in my mouth to straighten and oil it, but I held it too hard, so when I pulled my head back, the feather came out with it. My eyes went wide and watered with the pain, which caused me to yelp. My wing, now bleeding from the feather I unceremoniously yanked out, trembled in a pain as alien to me as these wings are.

“Oh, let me get something to help you, I’ll be right back.” Fluttershy rushed down the hall and came back with a first aid kit. She took a bottle from the kit, shook it up and set it down. “Maverick, this is going to sting a bit, but I need you to hold your wing still.”

I held my wing out full and steady, despite the slight sting coming from it, “Ok, I’m ready.”

She took the bottle, aimed it at where the feather was, and sprayed. It was all it took in me to keep from retracting my wing from the feeling. It felt better when she was done, and at least the bleeding stopped.

“Excellent, Maverick. That should heal overnight, but shouldn’t hurt your flying tomorrow. We’re just going to be hovering, so you won’t be using it too much.”

“Now, before we go on to your other wing, preening is also the time you want to pluck dead feathers so a new feather can grow in its’ place. Look along the center of one of your feathers, and you will see a dark red line, that’s your blood and indicates a healthy feather, and you saw what happens when you pluck them. If you only see what appears to be a hollow tube, then that’s one that is dead and needs to be removed. I don’t see any on your wings, but I have one here.” She then showed me the feather on her wing that matched her description of a dead feather. As I leaned in to get a better look, what she had said regarding preening being an intimate act struck home with me, and I could feel my cheeks flush with embarrassment. I pulled back quickly from her wing, which put me off balance and I fell to the floor, right onto the wing that I plucked the feather from, earning another yelp as I immediately jumped up to my hooves.

It amazed me how much care is needed to make sure one can continue to fly as I start to work on my other wing, straightening out the feathers that were out of place from my earlier attempt at flying and my escapades, and took great care not to repeat what I pulled earlier. Even when I was studying for the Air Force, I looked at maintenance manuals for various aircraft and while preening was not as hard as all that, It gave me a newfound respect for what I’ve seen birds do with their feathers. When I was done, she inspected my job and was pleased with what I had done, as I gingerly folded my wings back at my sides.

“Very good, Maverick. You learn fast! That will be all for today, but tomorrow we’ll start with some basic flying exercises and hovering. Would you like some tea before you go?”

Normally I’m not a tea person, but I couldn’t help myself and answered, “Tea sounds like a great idea, thank you,” and I waited in her living room as she trotted off into a back room to prepare the tea. Until now, I hadn’t fully examined her cottage. All the little nooks and crannies that animals could stay in was amazing, and seemed to just be part of her house. A few mice had come out of their hole to take a look at me. In an attempt to be friendly, I moved one of my hooves toward one. “Hey there, little fella,” the mouse sniffed it, then returned to their home.

Fluttershy returned with a tray that had a teapot, two cups, and some sugar cubes. “How much sugar would you like?”

“Well, I don’t really drink a lot of tea, so I will defer to whatever you recommend.” With that, she put two cubes in and hoofed the glass to me.

She made me feel so calm that the glass was at my mouth and I was drinking before I even thought about how my hooves were holding the glass. I shoved thought out of my mind and continued to drink as the tea was absolutely delicious, steam wafting up from the mug, enhancing the scent. My mouth exploded in a cacophony of flavor when the tea hit my tongue, “Wow, this is amazing Fluttershy, I don’t know why I’ve never tried this before!”

“T-thank you, Maverick.”

I finished the tea and set the cup down. “I...I am glad that you are giving me a chance here. I’ve always wanted to fly back home, but I couldn’t because I couldn’t see in color. It’s so exciting to be able to fly under my own power. I was afraid that you would be too scared of me.”

“Maverick, Twilight said you needed help and you are a good pony. She told me what happened when you arrived and that you were just frightened -- I know how that feels. The urge to panic is almost irresistible. Just remember everything I will be teaching you and I will be proud.”

“I will, and... thanks, for everything.” I said, swinging one of my forehooves in front of me.

“You’re welcome. I’ll see you tomorrow at 10, ok?”

The time agreed upon, I left for Twilight’s castle. After all I had done, my only wish was to be worthy of her efforts. She truly deserved to be the element of kindness.

The afternoon sun was warm as I wandered through the streets of Ponyville. The murmur of other ponies going about their days and the soft clatter of various carts mixed with the sounds of chirps of nearby birds. For the moment, a small smile crossed my lips as I took in the sights.

As my hooves wandered so did my mind. While part of me was amazed at how quickly I’d adapted to walking on all fours, the ease of handling items as a pony and just how peaceful it was here, another part of me made my heart ache. The quieter I was the louder that part grew. It wasn’t long before the gray years of my past were attempting to flood my present. My smile evaporated.

Quickly, I began to sing a little song to myself. My pace quickened and soon I found my way heading to the largest building in the area, Twilight’s castle. It was the one place that I was sure to find a soul or two that I could talk with and keep my mind off of my troubles.

True to her word, Twilight had work for me to do at the castle, from sweeping up a few rooms, to helping Spike put some new books she received away. She had left Spike and I in the hallway to work on the list she gave us.

I took a nervous look at Spike before grabbing a broom and heading toward the open library doors. Spike followed with the box of books and another broom. Once in the room, I started sweeping up awkwardly, not being used to standing on my rear hooves for an extended period of time, not to mention that my hips started hurting after a bit. I wished that I could hover, at least that way I could hold onto the broom without worrying about balancing.

Spike was doing his part putting books away, and we continued working for several minutes in stunted silence. I noticed he would occasionally look over to me, which gave me the impression that he wanted to talk, but wasn’t sure where to begin.

“Maverick, you missed a spot,” Spike pointed to a small pile of dust on the ground.

“Oh, thanks, Spike,” I responded with a smile, and swept up the dust bunny.

“Hey, no problem,” he replied and resumed his straightening.

I watched him work for a few minutes as he deftly dusted the shelves and rearranged the books into neat rows. “Wow, you’re quick,” I complimented.

“Thanks,” said Spike, “Twilight likes everything to be just so. Especially in the library.”

“I bet.” I responded then cleared my throat, “Hey, I know we didn’t exactly get off on the right hoof, but I just want to make sure you knew that I’m not looking to take your place or anything like that.”

Spike blinked. “Why would I think anything like that!?” he asked, “I know this is only temporary. As long as you don’t intend to do anything toward Rarity we’re fine.”

“What? Oh, no no no, Rarity is only a friend, nothing more,” I said as I resumed my sweeping.

“I was kinda wondering, how was it before you first got here? Did you have any friends back home that you miss?”

“Well, I knew some people from work, but no one I would really call friends. Certainly nobody I would really miss. What about you? I’m sure you have stories about Canterlot before you and Twilight moved to Ponyville, right?”

“Well, yeah, on those days Twilight wouldn’t need me, I usually hung out with Moondancer or Twinkleshine. We’d have donuts at Donut Joe’s, or play some hoofball.”

“That sounded like fun. How was it moving from there to Ponyville? I ‘m sure you had things to have brought over, right?”

“Well, after Twilight found the elements and defeated Nightmare Moon, she had me go back to Canterlot and arrange moving what she needed from there to Ponyville. Of course, she had all that in a checklist, so it made it really easy to get done. It also gave me a chance to say goodbye to Moondancer and Twinkleshine.”

“I’m sure that must have been awkward, saying goodbye without Twilight being there.”

“A little bit, but Twilight made it up to them, and now she visits them whenever she’s in Canterlot, or needs to get away for a bit.”

I had finished sweeping and started helping Spike with putting the books away, “I was curious about something...I know about Ember, have you kept up with her?”

“We write each other regularly. Most of the time it has to do with dealing with pony culture, but there are times where we just write as friends. It’s nice to have a friendly dragon to write when I have questions. What about your family? Don’t you have anypony that you miss?”

I was placing a book back on the shelf when he said that. Twilight just happened by as I was putting it away when she spotted it and grabbed it in her magic, “Maverick, this book belongs in the arcane theories section over here,” she said, placing the book in the correct location before she left on another errand.

“Just add that onto the list of mess ups that I’m responsible for, eh,” I manage a half-hearted chuckle, adding, “I’ll try and remember that for the future, Twilight,”

Spike moved over to me and quietly said, “Don’t worry, you kinda get used to Twilight’s…”

“Nitpicking?” I completed for him.

Spike scratched the back of his head sheepishly, “Eh...yeah.”

I nodded in acknowledgement, then looked out the window and noticed it had gotten dark out, “Ooohh, look at the time, I think I should get to bed. Don’t want to be too tired for my flight training tomorrow. Goodnight!”

As I made my way to my room, I felt as if that could have gone better. At least I got to know Spike a bit better. I also didn’t realize how much Twilight’s nitpicking could get on one’s nerves, but I knew that that was just part of who she is. I pushed what happened to the back of my mind--I was going to learn how to fly tomorrow! It was exciting to finally attain a life-long dream.

Comments

[Zaten the Changeling]

Epic.

[FanOfMostEverything]

I wasn’t too sure about that, but then when I reexamined my memories of the show, it never really explained how pegasi flew.

Tirek says hi. Also to get him out of that cage, but he always says that.

In any case, this is settling dangerously deep into generic HiE territory. You had an interesting beginning, but a string of introductions (or, in this case, apologies) to the Mane Six is one of the biggest cliches in the subgenre, along with "member of the Mane Six teaches protagonist how to pony." Hopefully the next chapter will inject some novelty back into this.

[Pinky Music]

8943049
I look at it as going through some bad to get to the good.

[Vivid Syntax]

Very nice. You did a lot of research into wings, didn't you?

[Pinky Music]

9059997
Yes, yes I did. I wanted to be sure I got the names of the different feathers and their uses correct.

[Yutah123]

Shocked into conscious thought, I couldn’t help but scream, “Ahhh!! Twilight! No fair!” My lower lip shivered at the freezing temperature in the tub.

Oof

I kept my inner brony at bay so she wouldn’t get scared. “Hi, Fluttershy, I’m pleased to meet you.” Her coat and mane were more pretty than I had imagined.

I'm jealous.

I'm very jealous.

Ok, she had to mention that part, which now made this feel a little awkward and caused me to blush, “Ok...hmmm...that may not come up but...that’s good to know.” Great, now I’m unintentionally mimicking Fluttershy. My eyes had drifted over to her and noticed she was also blushing at what had been said, which made this moment all the more uncomfortable.

And amusing!

[DerpTape]

9060381
You did a great job. Explaining the what, why and how, without bogging down the flow of the story. I know if I tried that it would turn into a technical manual.

[Pinky Music]

9954213
I know this is very late, but I really appreciate the comment. I'm working on the second arc now.