The mare closed her eyes and breathed a heavy breath while she lay in the open field. A fresh smell of grass intertwined with the sweet, delicious scent of apples from Sweet Apple Acres, off in the horizon. Above her, stars came into view as the sun began to set and the moon began to rise. Off to the left side of the pony, while she lay on her back, the pegasus mare opened her eyes to see the little pony besides her yawning at the stars.
“You seem to have no cares about the world when you are ‘up there’ in the sky. What does it mean? What does it mean to fly?” the little voice said, yawning once more. The pony’s voice was quiet, almost drowned out by the calm wind that swept across the field of Equestria and blew across both equine’s manes.
“’What does it mean to fly?’ It’s hard to put it into words,” the mare said as she put her hoof to her chin for a second. After a long pause, and a hearty smile, the mature pegasus said, “A powerful sensation spreads throughout your entire body. It courses up and down your spine from head to hoof. From the tip of my longest feather on my right wing all the way to the longest on my left. I would say the very essence of a pegasus is flight. There are some who can’t turn on a single bit, yet they have the strength to cause miniature tornados. Some pegasi are so weak they can’t even lift a sack of apples. What they lack in strength they make up for in agility and grace. Speed and Strength, Agility and Power – I could go on, but I won’t.”
A coy grin came to the mare as she turned to the little pony by her side. She looked towards the sky and soon continued her conversation. “The slightest alteration of a wing can turn your entire body and cause you to roll; it can cause you to ascend in the gentlest of manners, yet it can also cause you to descend in the most rapid of ways. It was pure magic that first time I managed to use my wings to fly in that open sky over Equestria. That sensation to look down and see the world below me, it would be like a unicorn feeling the charge of energy when they cast their first spell. Or so I hear. It would be like an earth pony’s defining moment in their life as they face of their toughest adversity. Again, so I have heard. Perhaps, perhaps it’s better to say it feels like the first time you earn your cutie mark.”
The pegasus reached towards the sky with her right hoof and pointed at a cloud in the distance near the rising moon. Soon, she motioned in a gentle and smooth manner, with her right hoof, across the sky towards another fluffy cloud that sat peacefully near the setting sun off in the distant horizon past Sweet Apple Acres. While the two ponies lay on the crisp green grass, the mare said to the little pony, “You travel across land; you travel for such a long time on your hooves, and, after all of that travel, you reach the borders of Equestria. With the sky, there are no borders. From horizon to horizon here in Equestria, the sky is an endless plane of existence. Sure, places will claim they have ‘rights’ to the sky above their land, however, that isn’t true. The sky belongs to no pony. It belongs to no gryphon. That plane of endless existence which circles this great world we call home belongs to no bird, dragon, phoenix, or any other creature that can fly. To call the sky home… it’s an understatement. I feel like I can go anywhere.”
“You know, you are quite the poet.” The little voice said; its sound was quiet, as gentle as a feather landing on fresh fallen snow, while the wind swept across the open fields once again. The little pony let out another yawn towards the stars, and then, in a confident tone, asked the pegasus mare, “Sorry if I ask you about it. I know it must bug you.”
“I don’t mind. I’ll always be willing to tell you what I feel when I go into that vast open sky.” The mare said with a smile as she turned towards her left before she looked at the stars. “Wow, they are really beautiful tonight. Princess Luna did a spectacular job on them.”
“Is it wonderful? Is it ‘really’ that wonderful to fly?” The little pony said.
“I think it’s time we headed back. You have school tomorrow, and I’ll never hear the end of it from Ms. Cheerilee if you are late because you stayed up too late.” The mare said as she put the small pony on her back and took off into the sky. In her gentle ascent, taking her time to let the little pony on her back rest, the pegasus said in her own quiet voice, “I will always be willing to answer your questions, no matter how many times you ask me. That’s why I’m here.”
The journey towards the small pony’s home took longer than usual as the pegasus moved at a peaceful pace across the sky, the clouds remaining almost motionless. Light from the streetlamps along the roads in Ponyville came into view, the houses illuminated from the candles inside as ponies ate dinner, chatted with one another, and kept each other company.
Both ponies arrived at their destination of a small, quaint house on Stirrup Street. The little pony let out a final yawn as the mare opened the door to the home. After a muffled “thanks” to the pegasus for bringing her home, the equine said to the mare, “I just wanted to know what it would be like to fly. It would be interesting to be by your side one day as you make a delivery, mom.”
Author's Note
Made of the Equestria Daily's writing prompt. I had a bit of difficulty figuring out if I should write this with Scootaloo in mind while she talks with Rainbow Dash for some "sisterly" bonding, or if I should go with Derpy. In the end, I made it a bit open ended where names aren't outright mentioned. The last part is the only defining part I wanted to make where it would reference Derpy's fandom given job as a mail mare.