Return to Flight

by Outlaw Quadrant

8 - Shock Therapy

Fresh air mixed in with rainwater, one of Rainbow’s favorite scents.

Just as she had done on Saturday, she rode on top of a soaring cloud with Swift as the struggling pusher. This time, there was nothing to fear other than catching a cold. Darkness surrounded them but that didn’t bother her either. She did have something to complain about, however, and she wasn’t shy about putting it out on the open.

“Is this thing you’re going to show me the same surprise as my lunch?”

Swift rolled his red veined eyes. “I told you already I had no clue you hated peas. You didn’t even know there was any in your food until I told you.”

She waved him off, “Excuses, excuses. C’mon! Get with the program! If you’re my friend, you should know what I like and don’t like. Otherwise, how will you know what to get me for my birthday? You do know when that is, right?”

You only told me five times today. “I hear ya,” he said, exasperated by the question.

They climbed toward the gray cloud layer in a familiar area for Rainbow Dash. Nearby, the Stallihorn Mountains, the main range separating Ponyville and areas beyond, were but a jagged shadow sprawled across the purple horizon.

“Whoaaaa!” A sudden gust tried pushing her off the cloud and she had to grab ahold. “Hey. Why are we here of all places? Don’t you know this whole area’s a rough patch for flying?”

Swift winked. “Gotcha, Rainbow. Nopony travels through here and the clouds around here are super low maintenance. I made myself charge of this area, natch.”

“Okay, but that still doesn’t explain why you’re taking me here.”

“Just give it a minute,” he stated as he pushed her and the cloud right into a massive cumulus cloud the width at least half of Ponyville’s city limits. “I don’t wanna spoil the surprise for you.”

“Surprise? Heh. I don’t think a pony like you can sur—prise, me.”

The grey sea around her parted for clearer skies. That was too short distance travelled to traverse the cloud and she soon found out why. She discovered the secret within the cloud, a hollowed out chamber. The walls stretched hundreds of feet above her head, with a part of the ceiling thinner than the area around around it, allowing the celestial moon to provide natural lighting. Rainbow hopped off the cloud and onto a clearly marked runway, one of two.

“No, way!” Her jaw dropped like a stone. “No way!”

Cloud hoops, floating posts and hollow tubes, oh my! Her eyes filled with the same wonderment she experienced the last time she’d seen something like this.

“Junior Speedsters Camp!” she squealed, jumping in place. “It’s almost like the real obstacle course! T–this is… I don’t know what to say, Fly!”

“You could start with awesome,” he said with a chuckle.

She stammered, switching views between him and the makeshift course. “H–how did you, I mean, you left after midnight!”

Just drinking the most coffee I’ve ever had in my life. “My pop’s a bit of a cloud expert. You pick up a few things to make stuff like this faster than usual. So, you’re ready for the next step?”

“Since yesterday!” Rainbow boasted. “Which Speedster challenge will I do first?”

“Hold up a sec,” said Swift in a more deliberate tone. “Before we even think about that, you gotta learn how to hover in the air. Now—”

Rainbow zoned out most of his instructions. All she needed to understand is that this was a hover race all the way to the canopy. This would be the same as yesterday, except without the water to constrict her movements. Muscle memory would lift her out of her dilemma and Flying Stress Syndrome would be a mere mosquito.

Blah, blah, blah! C’mon! I’m ready for this! Get ready to get creamed!

They took positions side-by-side before Swift started a verbal countdown. Rainbow unfurled her wings and awaited the green light. Despite his warnings, she was ready to go at maximum wingpower, anything to win.

“Go!”

She released the brakes, but rather than lift into the air, she was back in that black world with the faraway wall. The same voice that berated her was present, calling out to Rainbow with the same derisive tone.

“You can’t make it, Rainbow Crash! Give up!”

“I won’t,” Rainbow shrieked back.

The mare trudged forward and for it, fear delivered a crushing blow right out of her daydream and sent her tumbling onto the chamber floor. Her hind legs never even lifted off, adding to the shame that leaked down her face. When a shadow cast over her, she shied away from it.

“I’m not crying,” she whimpered. “Something just got in my eye.”

There was no point correcting the lie, wanting to preserve her dignity. “Tell me when you’re ready to try again.”

He didn’t have to wait long. One minute was enough for Rainbow to make a second attempt. Again, she prepared for takeoff, but the moment her hooves lightened, a horrifying shudder sent her back down in a small puff of cloud dust. Once more, she hid her face until her frayed nerves cooled off. Soon, it became a vicious cycle of constant failures. One attempt became twenty-five but the floor had a magnet-tight grip on Rainbow. Her tears turned more salty and Swift optimism wilted over time.

Shoot. This isn’t working like I thought it would.

All her grunts and huffs were daggers right into Swift’s heart. Her suffering was much like his: the falls, the tears and the testing of resolve. Echoes from his trainer bounced around his head, muted but encouraging words as a rope lifted him off the ground. He spent endless days weaning off the strand into using his wings, time that he simply didn’t have with Rainbow. She had to be stronger than he was and yet she got back up weaker and with more black around her eyelids every single time.

Then she remained down on the cloud floor, the only movements being the rise and fall of her chest as she labored to breathe.

“I’m not Rainbow Crash,” she muttered. “I’m the best—” Whimpers stopped her sentence short. “I can’t do this. There’s no way I can do this.”

Swift sat right in front of her, lips moving for words that weren’t there. These were the moments he feared - he had to be more than the pony simply that gave her direction. He had to inspire her to continue, somehow. Solutions wouldn’t come save for one that brought disgust to his face.

Clearing his throat, he adjusted his vocal chords for a deeper pitch. “Rainbow. Where’s your pegasus pride?”

Rainbow lifted her head and rubbed some buildup on her nose. “W–what? What did you say?”

He firmed up his posture. “That’s right! If you’re truly the best flier in all of Equestria, you must defend your title! This thing you’re fighting is not stronger than you! I want winners, not quitters! I won’t have my son, er, you, wallowing in pity like a foal that cries because the milk is too cold! You have a duty as a pegasus to be—”

She was still in tears but coupled with a bellowing guffaw. “Y–you… what… ha, ha, ha, ha!”

“Eh,” he mumbled with his regular voice. “What’s so funny?”

“What were you trying to do?” Rainbow slapped the cloud floor, “If you were trying to cheer me up by being really silly, y–you totally nailed it. Ha! Ha! Ha!”

“But I was trying to build up your confidence,” he complained. “My pop would say stuff like that to me all the time.”

Rainbow stumbled back onto all fours, struggling to breathe. “Yeah, I’ve never met your dad but something tells me he doesn’t sound like that. Heh, heh, heh.”

“Ughhhhh. Whatever,’ he said, throwing up his forelegs.

“But no, really. Thanks. I feel better after that. C’mon. Give me a Hoof bump.”

He raised his hoof, willing to accept the gesture. Then, a hammer struck him. “Ooowwww. Shoot! Okay. Well, I guess you’re ready, then.”

“Ready for what?”

“Something I was hoping I wouldn’t need to use. One second.”

He pushed off and accelerated toward the furthest wall. Calculating his trajectory, she found something that was within chamber all this time but hadn’t noticed - a collection of small dark clouds. As expected, he brought one of these rumbling cotton balls all the way back and over her head.

She stepped out of the cloud’s shadow but he kept moving it, “Umm, Fly? What exactly are you—”

Zap! Lightning struck inches from her face. She leaped into air - her high-pitched scream no match for the thunder’s boom - before flopping back down. Headache and all, she shook an angry hoof.

“Darnit, Fly! What do you think you’re doing?”

With a shrug, “You can’t take off, right? If this will get you jumping that high, then a few wing flaps and you’re hovering. Problem solved!”

“No,” she shouted with a hoof stomp. “What if you hit me by mistake?”

“It’s low voltage, so it won’t hurt, much.”

“I said no!”

Swift pulled on his face skin. “Ugh! I know this isn’t wicked at all but this should speed things up. Just think about being able to hover by the end of the night. You want that. Shoot. I want that so let’s do it, okay?”

While she would agree that faster was better, this was pushing the limit. The last thing she wanted was replacing one fear with another, although just about anything would be better than Flying Stress Syndrome. “A–all right. But seriously, if one spark touches me—”

He shuddered at the mare’s deadly scowl. “N–no worries. Just start up your wings. I’ll do the rest.”

Rainbow followed his instructions, but the expected white flash didn’t show. Swift had his hoof up and held it there.

“What’s the hold up?” she complained. “Are you trying to—?”

Whack! went Swift’s hoof on the cloud, releasing its charge to Rainbow’s left. She soon found herself a few inches up in the air except gravity didn’t put her back into place. Her wings were performing the simplest of acts but after everything she has gone through since her accident, she was back home in the air.

I’m doing it! I’m—

Suddenly, the fear locomotive ran right over her. The landing knocked the air out of her but not her spirit. There was nothing to cry about except for a long overdue, hard fought victory. However, this was no time to celebrate - three seconds of airtime wasn’t enough. She wanted more, much more.

“Rainbow?” Swift floated down to touch her.

She stared at him, resolute. “Again. Let’s go again.”

---

Nap time.

Unfortunately, two hours of thunderclaps meant a throbbing headache that would deny her from a quick slumber. If she couldn’t sleep, then she’d take this time to prod more into what made Swift Flying the pony he was.

“So you’re telling me you and your friends not only saw, but fought off a Leviathan?” she quipped, sitting across from him. “I’ll admit that’s a pretty good lie.”

“Eh?” he replied. “First off, that did really happen. I didn’t say I fought it, though.”

She stroked her chin, “Hmm, lemme guess. You were a decoy?”

“What was I supposed to do? Kick him in the nose?”

“Exactly! I bet you’re always playing it safe and you know why?”

The statement paralyzed him. Why I– it’s not that I… I wanted to do more. I was, I couldn’t—

“You’re too weak,” she answered, poking his chest.

His thought suddenly disappeared as quickly as it came. “I’m what now?”

“Just look at you. Sure you got the wing power, but look at these!” She grabbed onto one of his forelegs and squeezed them. “I’ve seen colts with better muscles than you!”

He tried prying away from her grasp, “I’m not that… ow! Too tight! Too tight!”

With a sigh, she acquiesced. “See what I mean? I bet you don’t even work out.”

“I have a routine,” he said, rubbing his mane. “Some stretches, a short run and—”

“Well, you need a new one! Hoof wrestling match right now!”

His pupils retracted; he already knew the outcome of this game. “How about we continue with your—”

“Swift?”

His face muscles twisted in unnatural directions. “Don’t call me that,” he uttered through clenched teeth.

Rainbow placed her hoof in the ready position. “What are you going to do about it, Swift? Whine and complain? Oh, boo hoo! Rainbow’s using my name against me! Waahhhhhh!”

Twice in a row in thirty seconds, that was more than he could bear. With all his might, he grabbed onto her foreleg and tried squeezing the cyan out of it.

“Ready?” said Rainbow.

Swift snorted in response. So you want to call me that.

“One.”

Not wicked!

“Two.”

Take this!

“Three!”

His challenger pushed his entire body straight through the floor and into a freefall through the mist.

Wha—what? What!

Once he overcame the initial shock, he fluttered back into the chamber where Rainbow was rolling around in utter glee. He hated admitting it but her laughter stung more than his reddish hoof. He returned to his prior spot but refused to face her directly.

“Why did I even bother?” Swift muttered to himself, clutching his sore foreleg.

She finished off with a few bangs on the soft chamber surface. “Hey? Do you need your mommy to kiss that boo-boo for you?”

“Whatever,” he grumbled.

The mare sat up and facehoofed. “Ugh! Don’t give me a whatever. You can’t let somepony walk all over you like that. Pegasus pride, remember?”

He rolled his eyes.

“C’mon! Let’s do a few more and work those hoof muscles!”

For a moment, he thought of fleeing the scene, but no matter how difficult a pegasi she was proving to be, he had promised to help her. That and he didn’t want to hear his name a third time this evening. Reluctantly, he switched his hurt hoof for the good one and hoped that he’d be more ready this time.

“Ow!”

Splat! Another defeat but at least he saved the embarrassment of going through the floor. However, now he had to shift weight between the two throbbing forelegs just to stay on his haunches.

“Hurts, doesn’t it?” Rainbow remarked.

“Lots,” he said, wincing.

“Good. No pain, no gain! C’mon! Best three out of five!”

“Maybe we should stop. I sorta need my hooves for our training, remember?”

She sighed in frustration. “Fine.” Then, she snatched onto his less red hoof. “But I’ll do you a favor. Let me show you the proper technique. You’re doing it all wrong.”

Swift raised a suspicious eyebrow. “You’re not just saying that to get me to hoof wrestle some more, are you?”

“Lighten up, Fly.” She moved his hoof in a slow deliberate fashion. “See? No funny business here.”

He loosened up his muscles allowing her to place his foreleg gently in between each other. “Sure. I have my eye on you.”

“You’re too much,” she snickered. “First, you want to shift the power to, um… this is… how you do it.”

“Eh?”

What she held, it had a warmness that transferred into her body. Rainbow looked up to his face when something struck her- his pale bluish orbs. Around them, veins drew in closer to them to disrupt the calmness encased within the trembling iris. She swore there was something mysterious in there the deeper she searched but couldn’t find anything except a mesmerizing package rivaled only by a rainbow spanning the sky.

“Are you actually gonna do something,” he asked, smiling matching the width of hers.

“I was, um, what was I, doing?” Rainbow snapped out the stupor and as such, let go of his hoof. “Um, never mind. How about we get back to work but I do have one request.”

“Lemme guess. Less juice?”

“Actually, can we crank up the juice?”

Swift leaned back, surprised at the suggestion. “What? You’re bonkers! Why would I do that?”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this but I need to be even more startled. I’m starting to get used to the lightning so I need it louder. More power! More thunder! Should speed up things even more, right?”

“Well, I guess but—”

“Do it!” ordered Rainbow.

“Umm, you sure? You see, when I ordered these from the Cloud Factory, I think—”

“Are you here to help me or not? C’mon, Fly! I can take it!”

The conversation was over, whether he wanted it over or not. He fetched another product from Cloudsdale’s Weather Factory, which the weather team told him was durable and reliable. However, this was an old batch from a month ago; thunderstorms were in nopony’s forecasts for that span. The way the cloud felt on his hooves didn’t feel quite right, as though whoever made these created them in a hurry. None of this would be a problem if he didn’t need a higher setting.

“You ready,” he asked, placing the cloud over her head.

Rainbow flexed her wings, “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

She stared at the hovering stallion, waiting for the eventual strike. When he did hit it, a burst of white light blinded everything in the room while a thundering boom shook her off her hooves. After a few seconds of total blindness, a smoldering pile of black came in focus directly ahead. Then she saw a few strands of hair not covered by ash - two shades of blue.

“Fly!”

Rainbow crawled up to him and shook him violently. “Fly! Fly!”

A few coughs knocked off some of the dusty buildup. “I knew some of those clouds were bad,” he slurred as he took a seated position. “Guess—” A body shake tossed a few errant sparks “—ugh. I’ll have to make some new ones for tomorrow.”

Her head tilted and her jaw shuddered. “How… you’re okay! You’re okay! B–but how?”

Struggling for a smile, “Lightning resistance.” He discharged more static electricity. “I have more than your typical pegasus. It’s one of those things that runs in my family line.”

She mouthed a whoa. “That’s pretty awesome. So you don’t feel anything at all?”

“Not quite.” He began scratching all over his body, first a little but then left marks on his coat. “Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Itchy!”

---

After three hours, the good news for Rainbow Dash was that she no longer needed thunderclouds to hover off the surface.

The bad news was that she continued having trouble staying afloat.

Swift stood on a solitary cloud right in the chamber’s middle, encouraging his friend to reach his position. “C’mon!” he would say, clapping his hooves but she barely acknowledged him. Ten seconds was the time she could hold a hover before her wings and determination would run out of juice. As the night went on, the mare that attacked head on turned to a pony that could barely stand, let alone fly. Crust developed on her eyelids and she went from talking to communication via moans and grunts.

Finally, as the moon shone its brightest for the night, she went down and stayed down.

He landed next to her and lazily tried to lift her. “Rainbow? C’mon. Up you go. We’re not done yet.”

“This is too much,” she replied, nudging away his foreleg. “Can’t we call it a night?”

“It’s not midnight yet. We still have time.”

She made some whining noises but otherwise refused to budge.

With a melancholy sigh, Swift prepared the cloud that would aid in taking her back home. As he worked his magic in making her ride the most comfortable possible, a shrill whistle resonated within his head. This moment triggered a memory had surfaced and right away, he clutched his forehead.

Shoot! Blaze and that whistle of his! He blew it every time I tried to cut my training short. He blew that thing just about every chance he had! Even now, it’s driving me bonkers! Wish I could’ve broken that thing and—

Just like that, he had himself another idea. If she wanted to go home so badly, then she’d do anything to reach that goal. He just had to set a trap, one that might put him in peril if he wasn’t careful.

He positioned the cloud fifteen feet above the mare.

“Hey! How am I supposed to get on from down here?” she yelled.

He patted the cloud, “How else? You hover up here. Nothing to it.”

“What do you mean, hover up there? I told you I’m done with training.”

“It’s not training,” he replied, keeping his cool. “Just come on up, and we’ll head out of here.”

Under normal conditions, reaching his altitude was foal’s play - this was climbing the highest peak in all of Equestria.

Flipping the switches, her wings came alive, generating the necessary lift for takeoff. Like a broken record, levitation made her teeth chatter and her body jitter. Every inch was a tug-of-war battle between fear and her love of flying and it gnawed away at her climb rate. However, her goal was soon within reach. One hoof on the cloud meant she could pull herself up and end this long night.

Then the cloud crept upwards, thanks to the stallion’s sudden pull. A few tears ran past her nascent scowl. “What are you doing?”

He perspired as though he was in a sauna. “Climb on board.”

Once more, she reached for cloud but Swift denied her. Her wings sputtered, halting her ascent but Rainbow thought less and less about the terror. No, she wanted to clock him for doing this to her. He was supposed to be a friend; all her other friends would never be this cruel. Anger was the propellant that kept her going.

“You’re gonna pay!” she bellowed.

Flap by flap, what was a hobbling pegasus clinging to flight transformed to a shark. Swift had reeled in his bait but he found himself doing everything to get away from those sharp teeth. She continued climbing at an increasing rate: fifty feet, one hundred and more. What had been a faraway ceiling was turning into a barrier that would force him to stop in a few seconds. He didn’t even get a chance to reach the top.

“Fly!” She flipped onto the cloud, smoke coming out of her nostrils.

He fell backwards, forelegs flailing. “Hold up! Hold up! You did it, Rainbow! You did it!”

“Don’t try to waste time!”

“Look where you are, please!”

She granted him a cursory glance only to double take. All that distance, she and only she covered it. Carefully, Rainbow tried to hover once more and lo and behold, it was easy as breathing.

“Rainbow! Y–you’re holding it. You’re holding it!”

What had frightened her two minutes ago was an inconvenience that soon fell by the wayside. All at once, her negative energy switched polarity and exploded with a celebratory scream. Was this all she could do, she thought. Maybe this was the big moment when she was back at full strength.

“Rainbow, don’t!”

Rainbow went full speed ahead but immediately, all the horror of flight took it away. Gravity took over and pulled her down into a spin.

“Yahhhhhhhhh!”

In a flash, Swift had grabbed onto her dangling hind leg. However, he joined her in the downward spiral of doom. All her mocking about his strength was no joke after all. His hooves stretched like rubber bands and with all this tension, they may just snap.

“I won’t, let go,” he huffed.

Swift revved up his wings to maximum. He bit on his tongue, forcing him to bear the pain until he slowed down their descent.

“Brace!”

Both he and Rainbow fell onto the chamber surface and rolled sideways in opposite directions. Rainbow immediately reached for her sore back but otherwise, she marked this down as a successful crash landing.

Swift remained face down, panting for air. “Rainbow,” he wheezed. “You, ugh, you—”

Dusting off some cloud dust, “I think I’m okay. One second.” Rainbow lifted straight up and held the position for a few seconds. “Forget okay. I feel awesome! Look at me! I’m hovering! Woo!”

He rolled himself belly up and stayed on the floor. “Y–yeah. Oh, that was exhausting. Rainbow? You—” He wheezed for air “—that was wicked but, um, let’s stick to hovering for now.”

Rainbow landed by his side, smiling smugly. Then, she gently poked him on the ribs.

“Ow!”

“That’s for your little stunt but I forgive you.” She extended a foreleg but once he reached out, Rainbow placed him in a headlock. “After this!”

Swift’s forehead caught on fire, as she knocked off loose strands of his blue forelocks. “Owwww! Ha, ha, ow! Are you thanking me or, ow! Punishing me?”

“Both,” she answered before helping him to all fours.

He coughed out a few chuckles. “Well, I’ll take that over hearing my name again.”

Rainbow facehoofed and shook her head. “I think you’re missing the point. Why do you think I use it even though you tell me not to?”

His eyelids went halfway down. “Because you know it annoys me.”

“Well, yes, but I’m also trying to help you out.”

“Uh, huh. Sure you are.”

“Think about it, Fly. It’s like bad medicine. You get used to it if you take it enough times.”

“Eh? But I thought you threw away your—”

“—then again, hmm.” She scratched her head, “I suppose it would be better if I just say it normally. What do you say I help you with your name, huh?”

“I don’t think so,” he responded, lowering his tone an octave.

She rolled her eyes. “Ah, c’mon. You’re making a big fuss about nothing.”

Swift turned away from her and took a seat. “No way.”

“At least think about it for a second!” She walked around him, “What do you have to lose, Fly?”

He crossed his hooves, but he did grant her the time to mull on this proposal. Ever since Flight School, the embarrassment over his name had diminished, thanks partly to more understanding parents but more so because he kept the origins of his name to himself. In some ways, his reactions made him stick out worse but even so, something held him back. On this, he was just too stubborn.

“I’m not feeling it,” was his answer.

With a huff, she swiveled in the opposite direction. “Fine! Be a grumpy mule!”

Swift reeled at the odd outburst. “Shoot. Why are all mad at me now?”

Rainbow kicked some cloud into the air. “I just… all I wanted.” Then, all the pent-up steam left her body in one despondent breath. “I wanna pay you back.”

“Eh?”

“I mean, I got you into this so I owe you a big big favor. I thought fixing your name problem would be a good place to start.”

“But you don’t owe me anything,” Swift said, rubbing his mane. “I’m not doing this to gain favors from you.”

Rainbow faced him once more, head down. “I know that but it doesn’t feel right if I don’t try something and this idea makes perfect sense to me. You help me beat this thing I have while I help you beat your thing. C’mon. You gotta let me have this one. Please?”

Swift fidgeted in place. “Ummm—”

“Please,” Rainbow said, putting on a pouty face.

He’d heard this story before and his answer was always the same - no. This time, despite saying it a minute ago, he couldn’t go through with it. She was practically begging with those puppy dog eyes and matching adorable posture. An outright denial would be a crime! Even if he hated the idea, he’d do anything to keep her going with raised spirits. He already made sacrifices to reach this point, so this was just another one added to the list. He just wished it wasn’t this, anything but this.

Swift pulled on his hair and yelled briefly. “All right! All right! Put that away! Shoot!”

“Does this mean—?”

“Gotcha,” he said through his sudden double facehoof. “Just don’t overdo it. Please!”

Rainbow shook his hoof, “Thank you! Thank you! I promise you won’t regret this for a second, Swift!”

Oh, the agony on his face was that of a pony doused with hot water. Hearing his name without any mockery made no difference at all. This was a horrible deal for him but he had already signed on the dotted line. This would be part of the experience with Rainbow Dash for the foreseeable future, a walk through a thorny bush.

After a long yawn, “Ok, Swift. Take me home.”

Now his head throbbed and his eardrums popped.

Why in Equestria did I say yes? Why?

Comments

[Dustchu]

Kekekeke, another interesting and well done chapter, looks like Rainbow's making very good progress.
Nicely done, nicely done.