Guitar Strings and Dragon Wings

Metal In Equestria: Chapter 12

Ponyville continued its light hum of activity as the day spurred on. Most carried on with daily business.

Belch* "Ha! Good one man!" Wallace had out-done himself again and Jiggs gave his approval.

"That's well… gross." Twilight groaned. "Why do you have no manners?"

"Well," began Jiggs, "we actually do have manners, but sometimes we forget about them around friends. Who wants to hang out with people that won't let them be themselves?"

"Hmm… I see." she mumbled.

Wallace looked over his left shoulder. "What about you miss Highlight? Got a special dude you dig?" He cracked a short laugh.

She blushed and looked away out of embarrassment. Finding the right words took some time. "Um, no not really. I used to like this guy because he seemed charming at first, but it turned out he was a jerk later on."

"I feel ya." Jiggs lamented, "Fuck posers."

Twilight wasn't quite sure what he meant by that, but she could at least tell he was on her side. "Yeah, pretty much." she quietly concurred with Jiggs.

The dirt beneath their feet crumbled with every step. The weather still pleasant; the sun still shining.

"How much further?" Wallace moaned, "We still have to get lunch too."

"But we just had breakfast." Twilight retorted.

"Doesn't matter. Maybe a sandwich?" Wallace tried in vain to defend himself, "Humans get hungry fast Miss Highlight."

"Calm down dude." Jiggs asserted. "She's just trying to help. Quit giving' her your shit about your problems."

"Alright, fine." Wallace's tone hadn't changed a bit.

Twilight waited for him to cool off. "To answer your earlier question, we are about 10 minutes away. There isn't much farther to go."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it!" Twilight chimed. "Hey what happened to Patrick?" she had finally realized he was no longer following. "Oh no! He could get in trouble! Or worse, I COULD GET IN TROUBLE!"

"Chill out Highlight." Jiggs put a hand on her shoulder, to prevent her from hurting herself. "Packie's a stupid fucker, but he's not that stupid. He'll be fine."

Twilight pulled herself together with his help. "Yeah… you're right I suppose. I just hope he's okay..."

"Yeah don't sweat it." Wallace picked up the pace of the group. "Besides what's the worst he can do with two useless wings?"

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Fluttershy's cottage was a comparatively short distance from Sugarcube Corner. Packie had walked with her there, despite the wandering eyes of the town's residents. It was a fairly odd sight to see a Pegasus walking, even odder with a human companion. They passed over a wooden bridge and walked along a slow-flowing stream. The constant hum of activity slowly dissipated behind them. This stream took them deep into a nearby forest. The trees were tall like Redwoods but let plenty of sunshine seep through the canopy above them. Spots of sunlight pocketed the landscape. They came to a large car-sized rock overlooking the stream which Fluttershy perched herself on.

"Come on up!" she exclaimed. Packie was somewhat shocked at her sudden outburst. "Oh… I mean if you want to… you can come up here with me." She took note of his surprise and changed her behavior to better suit the situation. "So I'm going to show you how to fly, at least as best as I can." she said lightly.

"That's all I want! No seriously I can't get it out of my head." Packie was visibly excited. At the same time he held a little fear out of the back of his mind.

What if I fail? He asked himself. I'll look like an idiot.

"Don't worry. I'm not the fastest flier, but I am quite nimble if I do say so myself." Fluttershy was anything but a gloater, but she still wanted him to trust in her abilities. She might have had to stretch the truth a little bit. "Well first you need to actually move your wings."

"Yeah you're telling me." Packie hung his head and sighed.

"Can you please take off your shirt?" She paused awkwardly, "... for flight purposes only! I swear!"

"It's really okay. Don't sweat it." After much fumbling with the black cloth it slid off his head and down the back of his wings, coming to rest on the rock.

"I think I know what to do! But, um… you can't fidget at all when I do this. It might hurt a little tiny bit."

"Go right ahead. I'm ready for anything." He said.

"Okay let's do it." Fluttershy began to move behind him. She caught a glimpse of his subtle abdominal muscles. His arms were toned as well; his blond hair glistening in the small patch of sunlight encasing them both. She placed her hooves around the joint attaching his left wing to his upper back. "This might hurt. I'm sorry please don't be mad." Fluttershy tugged on the joint and there was an audible cracking sound.

SNAP*

"AHHH!" he clenched his left shoulder with his right hand and fell to his knees. "DAMN IT!" His voice echoed through the silent forest.

She immediately let go and felt tears welling up behind her eyes. Hurting him hurt her as well, but in a different way.

Packie took a few deep breaths and collected himself, getting up off his knees.

After a few moments the sound of running water from the nearby stream was the only background noise. Fluttershy watched his back muscles flex and his left wing start to extend outward. His wing dropped back down and conformed to his body once more.

"Y-you… almost had it." She assured him.

"I know." He mumbled. "Please would you do the other one?"

"I don't want to hurt you though." Her voice was soft and soothing.

"Just do it please, Shy. I'll be okay."

"Alright… I will." She reached up and placed her hooves around his right wing this time. This time there was no warning, but Packie was ready.

SNAP*

He did not yell or scream, but simply let out a small grunt though clenched teeth. "I ain't no pussy, dad." He mumbled.

Fluttershy made her way around him and met his gaze. Their blue eyes greeted each other again. "Are you alright?" she asked silently.

"Yeah… now I am." he said slowly. A tear rolled down his right cheek.

He forcefully contracted the muscles in his back and his pearly white wings burst forth, making a loud SWOOSH noise. Some loose foliage on the ground was blown away by their sheer power.

"I'm definitely alright." He assured her.