The sun was shining high in the sky over Cloudsdale, making the clouds feel extra fluffy and looks brighter than ever. But from your home down on the ground, on the outskirts of Ponyville, you could only speculate on what it was like up there right now. From the ground floor window of your parents two story wooden cottage, you could only imagine what the clouds felt like under hoof; not just the clouds of Cloudsdale, but all the clouds in every inch of the sky. When it rained, you imagined they felt like fresh dough, soft and squishy. When it was hot, you would close your eyes and wonder if they felt like cotton, dry scratchy. And when it was cold, you pondered if they were sleek and hard, like a frozen pond.
But that was as close as you got to those far away fields of white, plushy air that you dreamed about each night. That was as close as you thought you would ever get. When you were just a young colt, no more than a month old, the doctors in Cloudsdale diagnosed you with what they called “Soft hoof”, a condition that made it impossible for you to walk on the clouds like other Pegasus. As if that wasn’t bad enough, you were also born premature. You were born two months earlier than your expected due date. You were weak, frail; doctors didn’t think you would live through the night. But against all odds you did. You lived through the night, and into the next day. Little by little, doctors grew more and more confident in your development. After two weeks of being kept in the clouds dale new born infirmary, you were released into your parents care.
By then, the doctors had already diagnosed you with soft hoof, but it would be another 3 months before they realized that you were not hitting one of the most crucial Pegasus milestones. By the time a Pegasus is three months in age, they should begin to flex their wings for the first time, something that you were not doing. It was another shocking announcement from the doctors that made your parents decide to leave their home in the sky. Your wings had not developed as they should have, and were therefore too weak to ever properly sustain your body in flight. And so, shortly afterwords, your parents packed up all their belongings and bought a house just outside Ponyville, where you resided with them to this day.
Today however, was a different day. You didn’t know it yet, but today was the first day of the rest of your life. Today was the beginning of the countdown to the day you flew. The day began like any other. You woke up after a full eight hours of sleep, and proceeded to take a shower. As you walked downstairs from your room to the bathroom, you find a not on the landing written in your mothers swirly, elegant handwriting.
“Good morning sweetheart! Your father insisted we leave early to make it to the train, he was so certain we were going to be late and miss the train to our second honeymoon! I'm sure he was just panicking as usual, and that we made it just in time. There is plenty of food in the pantry, and we left Five hundred bits in case there was an emergency. Please sweetie, try to get out a bit while were gone? Your father is rolling his eyes as I write this but why don’t you try having a party while were gone? Just don’t stay inside all the time. There is a great big world out there. Just because you can’t fly doesn’t mean you can’t explore it! Have fun and we will see you in a month!
XoXo Mom and Dad.
P.S. This is your father writing, if you DO have a party, do NOT enter the wine cellar. You can use the wine in the pantry, but be responsible.
Love, Dad.
You sigh as you crumple up the note and toss it into the waste basket in the corner. That was your parents for you, your mother out going and adventurous, and your father, the stingy Stallion who constantly worried. Both of your parents came from wealthy backgrounds and prestigious families. Your mother was the heir to a sizable sum of money; her father was the Stallion responsible for inventing the flavored bit used by the ponies who drew chariots. Your father’s family on the other hoof owned extensive vineyards all across Equestria, and were renowned for their award winning wine. Because of the amount of money they shared, you and your parents were always taking trips to new and exciting places. When you were younger the trips seemed amazing, but as you grew, the magic of seeing place after place grew a little dull, not to mention that every trip you went on had a “flying” Aspect that you could never be a part of due to your wings. Your parents would always ask if you were comfortable being alone during those times, and you always told them yes. After all, you didn’t want your condition to get in the way of the fun of others. Never the less, as you grew, you found that the trips would grow more and more centered and flying only trips, until one day you declined to go with them at all. By then you were well old enough to stay home alone, and your parents seemed to understand.
After a moment of wondering how you were going to pass a months worth of free time, your stomach’s constant protest made you opt for breakfast, When you're done eating, you return to the bathroom and enter the shower. You enter the broad and deep wash basin and turn on the hot water, waiting a few moments before slightly turning the cold handle. You enter in and sigh, goose-flesh popping up all over your skin as the sudden change in temperature makes you shiver. The hot water felt good on your coat, and for a moment, you simply stood there, letting it wash over you.
“I'm alone… no one is watching….” You briefly ponder your next course of action for a moment before sighing, and unfurling your wings. This was the only time you dared to do this, any other time it seemed to strange. When you were a foal you would simply say that you didn’t want to fly, and anyone asking simply left it at that. As you grew older, you found it harder and harder to come up with excuses as to why you never flew, but you always managed to come up with something.
“I hurt my wing.”
“I flew earlier and I’m tired.”
“I'm saving my strength to audition for the Flight Team.”
“I got grounded.”
It took some creativity on your part, but throughout your life, you never once had to admit that you couldn’t fly, even going as far as to beg your parents not to tell your teachers. But in the confines of the shower, you sometimes felt it necessary to simply, hold them open for a bit. You smiled as the warm water hit your feathers, a couple of loosed ones falling from their place and landing in the tub. No one could tell just from looking that you couldn’t fly. Your wings were big and beautiful, just like any other normal Pegasus wings were. But inside, the bones were thin, and the muscles were weak. Even so much as a couple of simple flaps caused you to feel pain after longer than a couple of seconds.
Just as you were about to reach for the soap, a knock on the door caused you stiffen, your wings twitch at the sudden sound that came from the empty house. You winced as a twinge of pain spasms its way through your wings. Gently, oh so gently, you fold your wings back onto your body, and shake turn off the water, shaking yourself dry before you emerge from the shower. There was another loud bang, followed by another, and another. The knocking was rhythmic and intentional. It wasn’t like someone was trying to alert you to their arrival, you weren’t expecting anyone, but it was more like someone was pounding something into the door. With a slightly irritated sigh, you depart from the bathroom and make your way to the large wooden door in your living room. The knocking is defiantly coming from the other side,
You open the door, and jump back a good few inches as a cyan Pegasus practically falls on top of you, catching herself on the door frame. For a second, to two of you just stare at each other, you from inside the house, and her from her strangely balanced angle in the door way.
“Uhh… Little help here?”
You blink a few times before you realize she is talking to you. “Oh, yeah… sorry about that.” You extend a hoof and pull her inside. After she regains her footing she smiles and thanks you.
“Sorry about that. I saw two other ponies leave earlier; I didn’t think anybody was home.”
You simply shrug. “Yeah, those were my parents. They left today on their second honeymoon.”
The other Pegasus nodded. “Fair ‘nuff. Oh! I’m rainbow Dash by the way.” She extends a hoof towards you. You take it in yours and give her a shake, introducing yourself before putting your leg back down at your side.
“So… Can I ask why you were banging on my door?”
“Huh? Oh!” The cyan Pegasus pulls a flyer off the door, handing it to you. “I thought that the house was empty so I was putting up this flier for the Wonder Bolts! They’re having a show in Ponyville tonight for one night only! It’s going to so wicked cool!”
The Cyan Pegasus is almost shaking, she seems so excited. This was the first time you had seen her, though you knew who she was before she even introduced herself. Tales of the Rainbow Maned, self proclaimed fastest flyer had been a source of constant amazement for you. Being unable to fly, you enjoyed hearing stories about the Pegasus who was responsible for pulling off the legendary “Sonic Rainboom.”
“I take it you’re a big fan of the Wonder bolts?”
Rainbow Dash nodded with such vigor, you swore her head was going to pop off. “I am their BIGGEST fan! I have every poster, every plush doll, and I know all their moves! Someday, I’m going to not only join them, I’m going to be the best there ever was!”
You can’t help but let out a chuckle as you reach for the door. Rainbow’s enthusiasm was almost infectious, and the determination in her voice as she spoke of her dreams made you smile.
“Well, you can go ahead and hang the flier if you want, my parents are gone for the month so they wont mind.” You try closing the door, but Rainbow places a hoof against it, holding it back.
“So I can count on you to attend?”
Her question catches you off guard. “I'm sorry… What?”
“The Wonder Bolts event? Every Pegasus in town and Cloudsdale is going to attend!”
You think about it for a minute, and then shake your head. “No, sorry. I’ve never been, and it sounds nice and everything, but I kinda don-“
Your words are cut off as a you feel the cold smooth texture of a hoof touch your lips. Rainbow just stares at you, with her big, unblinking pink eyes.
“You’ve NEVER seen the Wonder Bolts perform!?” The way she speaks makes you feel as if you uttered some form of blasphemy. You take a few steps back and shrug, blushing.
“Uhhh… No? I mean, they are just Pegasi aren’t they?”
Rainbow dash practically tackles you to the ground as she forces her way into your home, her pink eyes locked on yours.
“They are so much MORE than mere Pegasus ponies! They are like, GODS! At first they are all like, Woosh! And then the go zoom! And then, Spitfire, She’s the captain of the group, she’s all POW!”
You watch on in bewilderment as Rainbow dash continues her onomatopoeia onslaught of describing the Wonder Bolts apparent greatness. You find that she idolizes them with a almost childlike enthusiasm that is both cute, and just a little bit creepy. After she finishes her monologue, she turns to you with a wicked gleam in her eyes.
“Dude! You have to, have to see them! I'm not taking no for an answer. I’m coming right back here, tonight, and we are going to that show!”
Before you can object to her idea, she nods to you, shoves the flier into your hooves and flies off into the sky, shouting back “You’re going to love this show!”
For a few moments, you simply stand in the open doorway, unable to think as the cyan Pegasus flies away into the sky. It’s another few minutes before a though pops into your head.
“… Did I just get asked out?”
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Author's Note
This is the original first chapter, with only minor edits to grammar and spelling.
