Thirty Seconds / Memories From Beyond The Stars

Three seconds.
I feel the wind rip through my mane and coat. I close my eyes, taking it all in, the feeling, the sounds, the rush. I love it all, the excitement of it all overwhelms me. I can hardly contain it.

"Are you ready?" She said, looking at me, a cross between impatience and anxiousness on her face.
"You know it!" I reply, flapping my wings. Ready. Ready to start my training with the greatest flier who ever lived.
I've been waiting for this moment my entire life, spending time with someone whom I call my 'big sister', someone to take me under her wing and teach me everything she knows. This was that moment; the time had finally come. And I was ready.

Ten seconds.
I take time away from my moment of bliss and look up towards the sky. The rich blues and pure whites never seemed so close; and yet, so far. Almost as if I reached out to touch them, I would swipe the surface just before they became out of reach. I see a blurred flash of cerulean and rainbow dart off the platform far above me, and then sharply turn. It is coming for me, chasing me. The object becoming larger and more clear with each passing moment. I think it's Rainbow Dash.

"Don't worry about it squirt." She said to me, ruffling my mane as she did so. "These things take time, I'm sure I didn't get it on my first try." She reassured me of this, yet I knew it wasn't true. I knew that she had probably been able to fly perfectly the first time. After all, flying is her special talent. I wonder what mine is...

Eighteen seconds.
Yeah, it's definitely Rainbow Dash, I can see her clearly now. A look of determination is present in every part of her being. Her eyes are focused, determined, and...wet. I can see a stream of tears slide down her cheek for a moment before being whisked away. They almost seem to be falling towards the sky. I lay there, on my bed of air, wondering why she is crying. Are they tears of joy? Have I finally made her proud?

After a few more attempts, Rainbow Dash had told me we were going to see the doctor, that it was time for my physical. She told me it was necessary for us to continue my lessons. I believed her.
The doctor talked to her after he was finished. He told her words I didn't understand, but words she must have known. I know she knew because when the words left his mouth, I could see her taken aback by them. Taken aback as if the words he spoke had surprised her, pushed her back even. I had seen tears well up in her eyes, glistening in the fluorescent light as they looked to me. Why are you crying Rainbow Dash? We're tough. I thought tough ponies weren't supposed to cry...

Twenty-three seconds.
She is close to me now, she can almost reach me. Her arms are outstretched. She is trying to catch me so she can wrap me in her warm embrace and tell me how proud she is of me. I open my arms and wait for her embrace, smiling as I do. She starts to move faster, catching up to me. Almost there. I'm waiting Rainbow Dash, I'm waiting.

After we leave the doctor's office, she tells me about those words I didn't know. I felt that each word was a punch to my gut. Handicapped. Never fly. I felt sick to my stomach. She wrapped her wing around me and pulled me close. She assured me that things would be OK. That we would make it through this. That my special talent was still out there. We both cried.

Twenty-eight seconds.
You're so close Rainbow, so close. With each passing moment she gets closer and closer to me. Within more she is right in front of me, just barely out of reach. It is then when I notice that the look on her face wasn't pride, or happiness, it was anything but. The look in her eyes was of pure terror. The tears that dampen her coat weren't tears of joy, but tears of sadness. Why are you crying Rainbow Dash? I proved them wrong, I proved them all wrong! I'm flying Rainbow Dash! I'm flying.

I had spent the last three months trying to prove them wrong, to show them I can fly. I just have to put my mind to it. After all, I've been told that all my life, "If you put your mind to it, anything is possible.". I know I can fly, I believe I can. I just have to make them believe, I have to show them.

Thirty Seconds.