First Flight
First Flight
By Caelus Storm
Caelus sat by the edge of a cliff. Far below, off in the distance, Ponyville looked like nothing more than a model. But right now it was the sky that held his attention. Or, more correctly, the three ponies in the sky. Three pegasi flew around, doing daring tricks and playing games. The pegasi laughed happily as they soared effortlessly through the air. Caelus flapped his still under developed wings and sighed. He wanted to fly like those pegasi above him. His mother told him that he would be old enough to fly eventually. But "eventually" seemed like it was oh so far away. And the sky just looked so blue and inviting.
Caelus sighed again, ears drooping. Someday, someday he would be able to soar up there with all the other pegasi.Someday, he would be the one playing games in the air. But for now, he was stuck on the ground.
"Someday," he promised, "Someday, I'll be just like them." With that, he left the cliff, and began to trudge back home. His mother would be worried if he wasn't home by suppertime.
Two Years Later
Caelus stood on a thin tree branch high above the ground. He felt lucky this time. This time, he would stay in the air. He flapped his wings as hard as he could, and jumped from the tree. For a moment there was free fall. Then Caelus felt himself slowing down.
"Yes, I did--," he said, just as he hit the ground. Hard. The landing left scrapes on his knees, and for a moment, the pain brought tears to his eyes. He shook it off.
"Ponyfeathers," he muttered, kicking a rock with his hoof. He had been at this all day, and so far, he had nothing to show for it except a fresh collection of scrapes and bruises.
He climbed up the tree again, this time to an even higher branch.
"Here goes," he said, launching himself out of the tree. This time, he managed to turn his fall into a barely controlled glide. "I did it!" he exclaimed. "I really did--"
THUNK!
Caelus was cut short short as his glide brought him face to face with a tree. Caelus fell the rest of the way to the ground. Some tree branches managed to slow him down, but he still landed with a solid thud.
"Oof," he said, as the wind was forced from his lungs. "Ow," he groaned when he could breathe steadily again.
"Are you alright?" a voice said.
Caelus turned around, startled. He now faced a pale purple filly with a yellow orange mane. She was about his age of seven years old. Her light amber eyes stared at him with concern. Caelus dusted himself off.
"I'm fine," he said, "Who are you?"
"My name is Summer Skies," the purple filly said. "What's your name?"
"Caelus Storm," Caelus replied.
"What are you doing out here anyways?" Summer Skies asked.
Caelus looked at the ground, embarrassed. "I was trying to learn how to fly," he said.
"Any luck?" she asked.
"No," Caelus muttered, annoyed.
For a moment, Summer Skies was silent. Finally, she said, "You know, I don't know how to fly either."
"Really?" Caelus said, curious.
"Yeah," Summer Skies said, looking slightly embarrassed. "Maybe we could help each other?"
Caelus smiled. "Sure, why not?" he said, extending his hoof to Summer Skies. She returned the gesture, and they lightly bumped hooves.
"So, where shall we start?" Summer Skies asked.
"Well, I was thinking..."
A Few Months Later
Caelus and Sumer lay on the ground, eating a picnic lunch at the edge of the forest. From where they sat, they could see to pegasus ponies flying around, clearing clouds from the sky. One of them was an orange pegasus with a pink mane, while the other was sky blue with a rainbow mane and tail.
Caelus sighed. "I wish i could fly like her," he said.
"Who?" Summer asked.
"That one," he said, pointing at the pegasus with the rainbow colored mane. "She's the best flier I've ever seen."
"That's Rainbow Dash," Summer said, "and she's 'the best flier to ever come out of Cloudsdale' according to her. It looks like she's letting Scootaloo help her with the weather today."
Caelus rest his head on his fore legs. "I'll never be able to fly as well as her." he sighed.
Summer put a hoof on Caelus' shoulder. "It's okay," she said, "I bet one day you will be the best flier ever."
"I don't think so," Caelus said, eyes beginning to fill with tears. "I can barely even glide to the ground, much less actually fly."
"Oh Storm," Summer said with a faint smile. "You're doing great. In fact," her ears drooped a little, "I think you're a better flier than me." She sniffled slightly.
It was Caelus' turn to comfort his friend. "Summer," he said, "you are doing just as well as, no, better than I am. You can already hover a little bit. I can't do that. I bet you'll be the first one of us to get off the ground."
"Really?" Summer asked, her eyes wide. "Do you really think that?"
"Of course I do," Caelus said. "In fact, I don't think I would have gotten anywhere without your help. You were there to cheer me up every time I fell."
"That's what friends do," Summer said, wiping her eyes with her hoof, "they are there for each other. And besides, you helped me just as much. I don't think I would have come close to gliding without your helpful tips."
The two young foals high hoofed each other, then went back to eating their lunch. They told each other stories, and giggled at each other's jokes. When they finished their picnic, and put everything back in the basket, Caelus said, "Come on, we should get back to practicing. I bet I can glide farther than you can."
"Is that a challenge?" Summer said, "You are so on."
With that, both foals raced to the nearest tree, laughing with childish joy.
Two Years Later
Two foals stood at the edge of a cliff. One was blue with a black and gray mane, the other light lavender with a yellow orange mane. They looked at each other, both nervous, but neither one willing to say anything.
"Are you sure?" Caelus asked. He looked over the edge of the cliff. His head spun in a moment of vertigo. He had never realized just how high this cliff was.
Summer shook her head. "Maybe not," she said. She looked down over the edge, then closed her eyes and took a half step back. She took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "But you never know until you try," she said, and leaped over the edge.
Caelus gasped when his friend started to fall towards the ground. "Summer!" he shouted.
Suddenly, Summer rose back up to level with the cliff edge. Her wings were beating rapidly as she forced herself to stay hovering.
"Summer," Caelus cried in relief.
Summer opened her eyes and looked around. A smile spread across her face. "I did it," she said, "I'm flying." She flew in a big circle, then did a quick spiral upwards. "Come on, Storm," she called out, descending back to the same level as Caelus and the cliff. "The air is great."
Caelus looked down again. He felt his heart thumping wildly in his chest, probably loud enough for Summer to hear. He gulped. Here goes nothing, he thought. He jumped off the cliff, beating his wings as hard as he could. He felt himself beginning to fall.
"AAAHHHHHH," he shouted. He closed his eyes. When he didn't feel the crushing impact with the ground, he cracked open his eyes. he was no longer falling, as he thought, but hovering. And slowly gaining altitude. When he was finally level with Summer, his face split into a huge grin.
"You did it," she cheered, doing a pirouette in midair.
"I did it," he said. "We both did it."
"Woohoo," Summer said. "C'mon, let's have some fun." And she soared off.
Caelus followed her. They soared through the air, doing lazy circles and tight turns. Summer even grew daring and did a loop-de-loop.
"Storm, you gotta try that," she said, "it's super fun."
"I don't know," Caelus said. Summer looked at him pleadingly. "All right," he relented. He started to dive towards the ground, then angled up quickly. The world was first below him, then behind him, then above him, and then back below him. As soon as the dizziness passed, Caelus let out a whoop of delight. This was the best feeling in the world, being in the air. He felt like he had left all his troubles behind on the ground. Up in the sky, they were free.
Caelus and Summer spent another hour stretching their wings, growing more and more confident every minute. however, they soon began to tire. They landed back on the cliff, both sweaty and panting from their exertion. Summer was beaming with pride, and Caelus felt himself unable to keep the grin off his face.
"That was awesome," Sumer said.
"I can't wait to do it again," Caelus said, "although, I bet my wings will feel like lead in the morning." He flapped his wings, wincing a bit at the soreness.
"Mine too," Summer said. They high hoofed each other. "All that flying made me hungry. Wanna grab something to eat at Sugarcube Corner?"
"You bet," Caelus said, following his friend. As they walked back towards Ponyville, he spoke up.
"You know, I don't think I ever would have jumped without you there," he said.
"I don't think I would have either," Summer said, thoughtfully. "In fact, I don't think I would have opened my eyes if you hadn't called out."
They both smiled at each other. After they got their treat from Sugarcube Corner, they both parted ways to take a bath and a nap.
"See you tomorrow?" Caelus said.
"Absolutely," Summer said. She smiled mischievously. "Bet you can't beat me in a race," she challenged.
"Oh, it is on," Caelus replied with a smile of his own.
Several Years Later
Caelus stared out at the scene before him. In the distance, he could see the outline of Ponyville. The sun was low in the sky, but it was still a few hours away from setting. he stood at the edge of a cliff. It was a peaceful spot, and one that he knew well. He had spent many days of his foalhood here. He flapped the tips of his wings slightly. Those were good memories. The sound of approaching hoofsteps caused him to turn his head slightly.
Summer came to stand next to him. "I can't believe it has been so long," she said. A light breeze tugged at her mane.
Caelus nodded. "Me too," he said, "It feels like it was just yesterday."
They were both quiet for a long moment, both of them thinking back to their first flight.
Summer spread her wings. "You read?" she said.
Caelus smiled. "Let's go," he said as he spread his own wings.
They both leaped off into the sky, leaving the ground behind in an instant. Their wings flapped easily, when they had once struggled to keep aloft. The sky was the perfect shade of blue, and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. Caelus and Summer soared and dove through the air, daring each other with new tricks and short races. They played the games they had dreamed about as foals, and laughed and each other's antics.
I love to fly, Caelus thought, as he chased Summer in a game of tag, but it's even better to fly with friends.
"C'mon, Storm," Summer called out, "Bet ya can't do this."
"Bet I can," Caelus shouted, and followed Summer off into the cool blue sky.