Bugs, Fluff and Other Stuff

by Silent Whisper

Unusual Wingspans

Diary of Celestia, Day 1205.

You can always tell what sort of pegasus a pony is by the shape of their wings.

For example, Rainbow Dash. Sure, to a unicorn, she has feathers, she flies around quickly, and if it looks like a pegasus and quacks like a pegasus, it must be one, QED. But a pegasus can tell that her wings were angled and slender, like a falcon’s. There’s a reason that some pegasi are faster than others, and she is simply built for speed. It’s genetics, and the Wonderbolts naturally favor those whose wingspans destined them for ever-faster flight times.

Or take the other pegasus Element of Harmony: Fluttershy. Now, an earth pony might see her as weak, because she doesn’t fly quickly or seem to want to fly much anywhere at all, but where her wings lack speed, they more than make up for in power. They’re like an albatross: built for gliding and power, but they take too much energy to use whenever she feels like it. On the other hoof, she can lift and toss a bear over twice the size of her with little to no effort, and she makes very good use of it.

Of course, my faithful student still has a lot to learn about the differences in wingspan and feathers. It should come as little surprise that she struggled when learning how to fly; she was watching Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy’s flight patterns, when she should have been asking her dearest pet for some advice. I look forward to the day when she realizes that she can fly as silently as an owl does. I’m certain Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie will make great use of her pranking capabilities.

My sister’s wings are that of a sparrow’s, if you’re curious, and Cadance’s resemble a crane’s. I’ve spent many hours watching them fly, and I’ve had little to do but attempt to spot the similarities and differences. It’s the little things that a pegasi’s eyes would notice, like the way Cadance leans into the wind (she was, after all, originally a pegasus, and is far more comfortable in the air than any of the other princesses), or the way Luna’s feathers twitch when an evening storm is on the horizon.

My own are quite more difficult to identify, but they closely resemble an eagle’s. I’m built to glide without landing for a long time, so long as the currents are there to keep me aloft. Don’t ever tell my sister this, but I’m jealous of the way she’s able to flit around effortlessly. I’d love to be able to hop from balcony to ledge without the additional strain.

Each wing type is different, and each possesses its own unique abilities and downsides, but there’s one thing I’ve yet to explain to Twilight about alicorn wings. See, our shapes may be as varied as any other pegasi’s, but a special magic burns in our blood, one that we can’t quite claim as any of the pony races. It’s the secret to our immortality as well, but thankfully I’ve got plenty of time yet to tell her before she goes through her first, ah, cycle.

There’s no easy way to tell her that our wings are a different sort of magic, and thus our entire bodies. We’re birds of different and unique feathers, so to speak, but we all share the inherent magic of a phoenix’s wings as well. We burn bright while we’re alive, and then… we die, dear diary. And from the (hopefully well-guarded) ashes, we are born anew...

… and usually a lot more filly-sized than most ponies are willing to accept from a reigning monarch. Thankfully, I’d invested in the research to create a series of illusions so most ponies wouldn’t notice. It had become rather necessary when I no longer had my sister to cover for me. There’s often a learning curve of some sort as my younger self is reborn, but we age back to an adult fairly quickly.

On that note, I am quite thankful that it was merely the Element Bearers who saw my sister when she was still a filly upon her return. In retrospect, a lot of her acting on impulse that led to her banishment could’ve been seen as her going through an accelerated puberty for the… sixth time, I believe? It doesn’t get any easier, even when knowing what to expect. My poor sister. I shall bake her more apology pancakes tomorrow.

Note to future Celestia: tell Twilight about the phoenix-rebirth thing before some catastrophe kills her for the first time. We don’t want another Cadance episode, now do we? The Crystal Empire (and Shining Armor) was a strangely alien place to visit for a while afterwards.

I’m thankful, at the very least, that I haven’t encountered very many of the more unusual wing shapes possible. I’ve only met one emu-winged pegasus (the poor filly), and a few rare hummingbirds. It definitely could be worse. I’m bracing myself for the day I meet a penguin!

Comments

[SIGAWESOME]

a few rare hummingbirds

Scootaloo?

I’m bracing myself for the day I meet a penguin!

I could imagine a rookery of penguin pegasi (pegawins?) living in ice-bound fishing villages in the northern Crystal Empire.

[MixMassBasher]

Now thats an interesting idea