Wings

She had to admit she really did love flying. The feel of the wind rushing past her was exhilarating, but she also felt relaxed. Despite her lack of practice, her strength was increasing too. Sometimes it seemed she could almost keep up with Rainbow Dash, even when she shot ahead with a burst of speed, as she was so fond of doing.

A burst of strong turbulence came seemingly from nowhere and nearly toppled her. She flapped her left wing as hard as she could and barely managed to avoid spinning out of control. Yes, her control still needed a lot of work. She made a mental note to improve that. And her stamina was not too great either. They had only been flying for a little over an hour, and she was already getting quite tired. Not to mention disoriented, due to all the loops and stunts they'd been practicing. Where exactly were they?

She scanned the ground for familiar landmarks. Up here things looked so different. Sure she had been up in the balloon a few times, but that was with a map where she had planned the entire trip out in advance, and where she was paying attention. She spotted a large forest in the distance. But which one? There were so many: Everfree Forest, White Tail Woods, … She stopped herself. Listing the Equestrian woods wouldn't help her figure out where she was. She maneuvered close to her friend.

“Where are we? I'm getting pretty tired.”

“We're a ways east of the Galloping Gorge. Want to stop by my old haunt to rest a bit? Cloudsdale is closer than Ponyville.”

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. She had half expected her friend to give her a hard time about today's lack of endurance. “Yes, that sounds great. Thanks, Rainbow Dash,” she said with a tired smile.