“Twilight!”
“Twilight!”
“TWILIGHT!”
Twilight Sparkle shook her head and looked at Rainbow Dash, who glared at her. Twilight grinned nervously and blushed.
“Sorry, I wasn’t listening.”
“I can see that. Look, Twilight, I can understand if you’re not interested in getting better at flying-”
“No!” Twilight shouted and then blinked before speaking again in a quieter tone, “I would love to learn what you can teach me.”
“Ok then. Please stop zoning out. What are you even thinking of? There’s nothing out here!” Rainbow said and waved at the surrounding landscape.
The surrounding area was a gigantic meadow that lay just outside of Ponyville. It was perfect for young pegasi to practice flying since there was nothing they could crash into that was big or bulky in case they fell out of the sky and the ground was extra cushiony for them from the nearby stream that flooded every so often from the amount of rain this particular area got.
Despite there being nothing out in the meadow, Twilight did find one thing that interested her more than flying and that particular thing made it hard to focus.
Well, not a thing really, but a pony. A particular pony. A particular pony’s flank.
“Thanks again for inviting me out here, Rainbow Dash.” Braeburn said from his position off to the side. “I’ve always wanted to see your awesome flying stunts. My cousin Applejack tells me about them sometimes so I’m glad I get to see them in person. And thanks for letting me wear one of the Wonderbolt’s old suits. Believe it or not, I’m a secret fan of the Wonderbolts.”
“Yeah, getting my hooves on these things was pretty easy. Their gift shop in Cloudsdale sells lots of them. They’re really comfy too.” Rainbow Dash said as she stretched in her suit and gave her wings a sharp downward flap, “They’re comfy even when flying. And you don’t need to thank me so much. It’s no problem. I know you can’t fly, but of course you would want to see me teach Twilight here some of my awesome stunts.”
“Oh yeah,” Braeburn said with a grin. “That’s exactly what I want to see.”
“Yep…” Twilight added distractedly. She did agree; the suit was rather comfy. However, her eyes wandered over towards Braeburn.
“I sure do love wearing these suit things. It’s almost like I’m wearing nothing at all!” Braeburn said happily as he pranced around in the suit while waving his tail back and forth in an almost hypnotic way.
“Oh, how I wish you weren’t,” Twilight muttered as she licked her lips and stared as Braeburn shook his flank in the air.
“Yeah…” Rainbow said as she gave an odd look to Braeburn before looking back at Twilight. “Now, am I going to teach you some cool stunts or what?”
“Of course,” Twilight said with a nod as she peeled her eyes away from Braeburn’s flanks. “Show me how to do the first one.”
“Right.”
Hardly a second later, Rainbow shot off into the air. Twilight took the moment to look back at Braeburn, who had laid down on the grass and was staring up at Rainbow. Suddenly, he looked at Twilight. His apple green eyes seemed to stare into her and Twilight found herself blushing. He then smiled at her, to which she smiled back. Suddenly, a loud noise was blown into her ears.
“HEY!”
Twilight turned away from Braeburn to see magenta eyes staring directly into hers.
“Wah!” She screamed and backed up a few steps. Rainbow was staring at her.
“Well? Did you get that?” She asked as she raised an eyebrow and crossed her forelegs.
“Oh yes,” Twilight nodded and smiled nervously even though she hadn’t been watching at all. “It was a good stunt.”
“Alright,” Rainbow said suspicious before grinning. “Then let’s see you try it.”
“O-ok.”
“You’ve got this Twilight,” Braeburn said cheerfully. “A few loops, a dive and a swoop. Doesn’t seem too hard to me.”
“Ok.” Twilight said and secretly thanked Braeburn for telling her what she missed. Taking off, she flew high into the air until she could barely see the two ponies on the ground.
“A few loops, a dive and a swoop,” Twilight muttered. “Shouldn’t be too hard.”
Twilight did two loops in the air, then, taking a deep breath, she dove towards the ground. She gave a few flaps, but then allowed herself to free fall just as she had seen Rainbow Dash do so many times. She spread her wings, but couldn’t pull up in time, crashing into the, thankfully soft, ground.
“Are you ok, Twilight?” Rainbow asked as Twilight stood up and blinked the black spots out of her vision.
“Yeah,” She said weakly. “I think I hit my funny bone though…”
“I don’t find that humerus! You’re supposed to spread your wings way before you get close to the ground. Were you even watching me do the stunt?” She asked suspiciously.
“Of course!” Twilight lied. “You don’t have to be so sternum…”
“I’ll going to do it again just in case you didn’t see it right the first time. That way, when you do it, you can learn not to crash into the ground.” Rainbow said and took off once more.
Twilight watched as Rainbow Dash soared into the sky. Something suddenly brushed up against her side and she looked to her right. Braeburn had moved up beside her as he watched Rainbow Dash, his tail brushing up against her hindlegs. He glanced at her and she looked away with a blush.
“I’ve always wondered what it’s like to fly. Applejack thinks that earth ponies should just keep their hooves on the ground like we’re meant to, but I’ve always wondered what it would be like to fly or soar through that blue ocean of sky and feel the breeze in one’s mane.”
“I used to wonder that too sometimes before I become an alicorn. There aren’t any proper spells that can give you wings without some odd consequence or bad side effect,” Twilight replied happily. “But now that I can fly, it feels amazing.”
“Really,” Braeburn whispered as he scooted in closer beside her so that his side was now pressing up against hers. She could feel the heat of his body against her wings and his breath near her ear. “Does it feel magical?”
“It does.” Twilight replied softly just as Rainbow landed on the ground. The warmth from her side was gone in an instant as Rainbow trotted up to her.
“Did you get that?” Rainbow asked.
“Yep.” Twilight said and glanced at Braeburn who was laying on his back and staring at the sky.
“Good. Then let’s see how you do.” Rainbow said.
Twilight took off into the sky once again. She did two loops in the sky once more before diving down to the ground below. This time she kept her wings steady and outward and she flew down slower. Far before she hit the ground, she flew upward and straight through a cloud. She stopped, shaking the cloud out of her eyes as she landed.
“Well, you did better this time,” Rainbow said and chuckled. “Just try not to hit a cloud next time. Now, I think you’re ready to try something a little harder.”
“Ok.” Twilight said.
“Now this one,” Rainbow said as she began to flap back and forth in front of Twilight like a drill sergeant, “Is a bit tricky. If you don’t do it right, you could seriously injure your wings, but I happen to believe that you can do it.”
Twilight gulped.
“Now, the trick is to not get nervous. If you ever lose control and start to panic, make sure to think rationally. Your wings can act as parachutes if you ever get into any trouble. Just stretch them out as far as they can go. Your feathers should act as a naturally parachute as long as you don’t panic,” Rainbow instructed. “Got that?”
“Yep,” Twilight said nervously. “But are you sure that I’m good enough for such an advanced trick?”
“Yep. I pulled this one off when I was five.” Rainbow boasted.
“Probably nearly pulled your wings off too.” Braeburn muttered.
“Now you’re going to have to watch me carefully. One wrong move and BOOM, off go your wings!” Rainbow said sternly. She then started to laugh while pointing at Twilight. “I’m not serious. I wouldn’t have you do something that dangerous. The worst that could happen are a few broken bones. I didn’t have any trouble on my first try and you shouldn’t either, not with an awesome friend like me teaching you.”
“Ok, Rainbow.” Twilight said as Rainbow took off.
“Watch me carefully!” Rainbow Dash shouted though Twilight could no longer see her.
Twilight stared at the blue sky. She couldn’t see Rainbow Dash anymore, but the wind began to pick up and a rainbow streak suddenly shot through the sky at a dive. It pulled up quickly and flew in a tight circle before diving once more while spinning. Just before it hit the ground, it pulled up quickly and flew directly above Twilight and landed on the ground behind her.
“Just like that,” Rainbow said. “It’s easy.”
“That seems a little too dangerous. What if Twilight gets hurt?” Braeburn asked and looked at Twilight. “I don’t think she should be doing something like this.”
“Lighten up, Braeburn. She’ll be fine,” Rainbow said confidently. “With an awesome teacher like me, there’s no way she’s going to have any trouble.”
“If you say so.” Braeburn muttered.
“I’ll be fine.” Twilight assured Braeburn. He nodded in response.
Twilight took off into the sky. She went as high as she could until she could barely see Rainbow and Braeburn. She then quickly dove downward at an angle before she pulled her wings backward and flew around in a tight circle. She began to feel dizzy but shook it off and kept flying. She then dove and began to spin.
The world was getting much closer much faster than Twilight thought it would. She began to panic as she tried to straighten her wings, but the wind kept pushing them upward. She was falling too fast to slow down.
In all her lessons with Rainbow Dash, what had she learned? She had to stop panicking and think.
“Think Twilight! What would Rainbow Dash do?”
There had to be something that Rainbow had said that would help her.
“If you ever lose control,” Rainbow’s voice echoed in her mind, “And start to panic then-”
“I sure do love wearing these suit things. It’s almost like I’m wearing nothing at all!” Braeburn’s voice interrupted and echoed through her head. She imagined his meaty flanks swinging back and forth in front of her face. “Nothing at all… nothing at all… nothing at all…”
Twilight began to drool. The ground began to get closer and closer.
“Nothing at all…”
Suddenly, the world became dark as she hit something soft and uncomfortable.
****************
Braeburn knew this was a bad idea. He saw Twilight lose her balance as she became dizzy during the fall. He saw Rainbow fly towards her but he knew she’d never make it in time. Digging his hooves into the ground, he thought very hard about a Sweet Apple Acre tree that he once slept against.
Roots grew from the ground and wrapped themselves around Braeburn. He winced as they dug into his skin. The roots began to glow and the ground began to shake. Then Braeburn tugged.
***************
Twilight sat up and shook her head. She looked around. She was still in the sky but she wasn’t flying. She looked down and noticed that she was sitting on top of a very large apple tree. She hadn’t see any trees in the meadow when she first got here, so how was this one here?
“Twilight, are you ok?” Rainbow Dash asked as she hovered over Twilight.
“How did this tree get here?” Twilight asked in confusion.
“Braeburn,” Rainbow said as she nodded towards the concerned looking stallion. “But are you really ok? What happened up there?”
“How did Braeburn get a tree?”
“I dunno. That’s earth pony magic for you.” She shrugged.
“I thought earth pony magic was used to help grow better crops and to have a better connection with nature?” Twilight asked as she shook the leaves out of her mane.
“It does.” Rainbow said as she circled around Twilight restlessly.
“Then how does that have anything to do with summoning giant trees?” Twilight asked.
“I don’t know. Ask Applejack and Braeburn or something. They’ll know,” Rainbow said as she flew down towards the ground with Twilight. “But for now, I think we should end our lesson. I think you should go home and rest.”
“Ok.” Twilight replied as Rainbow Dash flew away.
“Are you ok?” Braeburn asked as he trotted up to Twilight.
“How did you do that?” Twilight asked and pointed at the tree. “That should be impossible! It takes years for trees to grow and even magic can’t force a tree to grow to its full age in seconds!”
“Well, that’s how earth pony magic works. I didn’t just grow a tree from nothing; I pulled this tree from Applejack’s farm. She’ll send it back when she finds it missing.” Braeburn said calmly.
“You pulled it?”
“Yes,” Braeburn said and sighed. “And I shouldn’t have. I’ve probably damaged the tree. Applejack is not going to be very happy.”
“I don’t understand. You can pull something from far away and bring it here? Like teleportation?”
“I suppose, but only with plants,” Braeburn replied with a sigh. “Listen, Twilight…”
“This is incredible! I didn’t know that earth pony magic could do that!” Twilight squealed in excitement. “Can you show me more sometime? Oh, I’ll have to gather Pinkie and Applejack too. I’m going to have to run some tests. I’ve always wanted to learn more about earth pony magic, but I’ve always thought that its effects on crops were all there was to it, but now I found out you can do this! I’m going to have to figure out what else this type of magic can-MMMFF!”
Warm, soft lips connected with hers mid-sentence. They pressed against hers softly but firmly as Braeburn put a hoof to the side of her face. Then suddenly, the feeling of pleasure was gone as Braeburn backed away from her. He stared at her with his bright green eyes and Twilight felt her face heat up. Nopony had ever kissed her before.
“Uh…” Twilight stammered.
“Look, I’ve been meaning to ask you something for a long time. W-will you go on a date… with me?” Braeburn stammered nervously. Twilight stared at him.
“A date?” She squeaked. Nopony had ever asked her on a date before. Especially not Braeburn. Was she dreaming? A look into his apple green eyes told her he was serious. She nodded and smiled.
“Yes, I would love to go on a date with you, Braeburn.” She said and he grinned.
“Great! How about I walk you home?” Braeburn asked with a smile.
Twilight nodded. “Thank you.”
Tails intertwined, Twilight and Braeburn walked away from the large tree and into the sunset as the last few rays of light cast a shadow over the tree.
Author's Note
Maybe there will be a sequel!
