Clandestine Emotions

Chapters

Friend
Flight
Fall

Friend

Chapter 1

Friend

“They were divided into three separate nations, each consisting of entirely one race. War was commonplace, not a year went by without a new conflict arising between them. Tensions were high and the land was constantly ravaged by battles. But, thirteen centuries ago, something remarkable happened. A certain pair of Alicorns came by and ended the bloodshed. Can anyone tell me their names?”

The words reached her ears, yet they were overshadowed by more important thoughts. These magnificent imaginings were of the sky, clouds, and the wind. But most of all, just how blue it all was. Pure, vibrant cerulean. A deep, wonderful cyan that stretched endlessly. It was her favorite color.

These images and sensations floated wistfully about in her mind, pulling her attention away from the tasks at hand, and dropping them off somewhere north of reality. Here, in the wonderful realm of daydreams, she imagined humid updrafts carrying her to wherever she might desire to visit. Whether it be the historical city of Cloudsdale, built upon the clouds, or the many islands to the west that harbored unknown secrets, the breeze would awaken her and blow away any stress that had accumulated throughout the day. Cool air would contrast the warming sunlight that anxiously greeted her on the horizon, and everything would be perfect. Of course, she still could feel the amber rays of afternoon sun upon the back of her neck, and hear the dull conversation of the teacher, but overall her mind was a mile upwards.

Unaware of her student's aeronautic bliss, the teacher continued. “Yes, it was her Highness, Princess Celestia and her sister Princess Luna that ended the bloodshed which plagued all three of our cultures.”

The gist of the lesson made its way past her imagination, bits and pieces of faded information writhing their way in between her dreams of flight and rooting themselves into memory. Not that it did her any good though, her father had already relayed to her the magnitude of epic tales from many years ago. Whether true or not, the heroic and legendary stories of warriors and armies fascinated her to no end. Towering generals clad in gold plated armor, leading their battalions to victory against whatever sorry foe that happened to stand in their way. She would sit attentively as her father would unravel the mysterious of the past, and if she was lucky, even act out some of the more humorous historical occurrences.

“Ditzy!” The grey Pegasus cringed as her eyes snapped open. She was retrieved from her venture into the past by the abrupt sounding of her name. The wonderful scenes that were projected on the back of her eyelids instantly faded, and her attention brought back to the horribly boring classroom. It was apparent by the teacher's stare that she had grown wise to Ditzy's wistful imaginary antics.

“Can you tell me who built the city of Cloudsdale?” the teacher asked with a sigh, followed by a scowl. This wasn't the first time the student in question strayed away from the current lesson to delight in her runabout imagination.

Ditzy smiled, for a moment there she thought she was going to be asked a question she couldn't answer. Surely the teacher could do better than that.

“The Pegasi.” she said proudly, a flutter escaping her wings. Albeit small, the resulting gust was strong enough to scatter the nearest classmate's papers, earning another bemused frown directed to the mare. Looking at the colt next to her, she was met with rolled eyes. Replying with a sheepish grin and reddened cheeks, Ditzy got up out of her seat and proceeded to pick up the papers. Images of sunlight-crested clouds were still fresh in her mind, and no doubt she would return to them after the teacher resumed her lesson. The class laughed in mockery at another one of Ditzy's antics. It wasn't everyday she messed something up, (she was really tying hard not to) but it was enough to make her the target of the student's cruelty.

A small giggle resonated from behind Ditzy, it was different than the rest of the laughter, it stood out. This high pitched chuckle was not from a student who wished to make fun of Ditzy, no it was childish and amusing. She turned around to see a likeness of herself, only a bit older and with a few minor differences present. The near-mirror image smiled, and bent down to help her gather up the pages that were presently strewn about the floor.

Quick work was made of the task with the help Ditzy received, and as they handed the various notes and illustrations to the studious colt, the teacher announced the end of class. After Ditzy left and found the filly that helped her trailing close behind, it was apparent that the two walked the same way home, and unspoken consent was given to walk together. On the way home, they exchanged humorous observations and imitations of how their teacher's nostrils flared when she was angry.

***

It was nearing the end of spring, and summer would soon be upon the town in which Ditzy resided. The winter air retreated back north, and patches of snow and ice were no longer present on the side of the road. The sun seemed to be nearer to the earth, and noon now had the ability to persuade citizens into opening their windows to cool their homes. It was at this time, that Ponyville was in one of the it's busiest times of the year, the growing season. With it's populace mainly made up of wingless, hornless, Equestrian Farmers, the town was a bustling center of commerce, work, and the ever-present sound of hooves tapping along the cobblestone streets. Joining into this chorus of pedestrians was Ditzy and her classmate.

On both sides of the rood, market carts were lined dress-right-dress, ever so unintentionally neat and in order. The customers however, danced back and forth, dodging the occasional passerby that walked into their path. Seeds, bulbs, soil, plants, roots, tools, plows, and other varied agricultural means constantly changed hooves as citizens bartered and bought, filling the air with financial speech. Ditzy herself couldn't understand it. She knew that Earth Ponies were serious when it came to their farming, but all this hustle surely wasn't necessary. Still though, the atmosphere added to the knowledge that summer was on the horizon, and that meant a break from school, which meant no work, which meant more time to practice trying to get up into the air. She unconsciously stretched her wings, and felt another's presence to her right. It reminded her that she had company, and that she had forgotten to introduce herself. Ditzy smiled and did just that, not wanting to acknowledge that they had been walking for a good twenty minutes before the matter arose. Her company returned the smile and revealed her name.

“Raindrops.” she announced in a sort of singsong voice. The kind that starts at one note and ends at another, slightly lower one.

Ditzy's first thought asked herself who on Earth would name their child Raindrops, but remembering her own name, and politeness prevented her from asking quite like that.

“Why do they call you that?” Ditzy asked, but cringed after she had said it. It hadn't come out exactly how she wanted it to.

Raindrops smiled, as if she expected her to ask.

“Because, I can do this.” She spread her wings, and for the first time, Ditzy noticed that she was a Pegasus, another similarity between them. Raindrops took off skyward, to the complete surprise of the customers around her. The shock lasted only a moment, as they quickly returned their complete attention to whatever was to be bought or sold. Ditzy blinked, and loss sight of Raindrops, who quickly returned to her vision as a miniature, black silhouette. This figure grew as it neared the ground, and slowly detail returned. Raindrops landed with something between her front hooves, something white and wispy. Ditzy cocked her head before realizing what it was that her friend had retrieved from the sky. It was a cloud. An actual piece of malleable air and water formed into a cotton-like puff before her.

Raindrops smirked. “Watch this.” She released the object and it floated in place. Raindrops tapped it with her hoof, not forcefully, but just enough for it to lose an inch or so of altitude. A few seconds past, and the cloud began to change. Grey seeped inward from its sides, spiraling into the center of the mass.
It now held the title of a storm cloud. Another tap and muffled thunder was produced, and amazingly, Raindrops had lived up to her name as water trickled from the belly of the cloud fragment.

Ditzy failed to suppress the gleaming look of amazement that washed over her sight. Her mouth hung open upon completion of Raindrops' feat, in which she clasped her hooves together from both sides of the cloud, and it completely vanished. Raindrops looked up to see her audience's reaction, and chuckled at her look of awe. If it wasn't for the fact that Raindrops had just created a micro-climate before eyes, it was her ability to fly that struck an almost unnoticeable pang of envy inside of Ditzy. They were virtually the same age, yet Raindrops was already able to fly hundreds of feet off the ground, Ditzy not an inch.

“That's amazing.” she remarked. Not sure herself whether she was commenting on the weather creation, or flight.

Raindrops shrugged her wings and cocked her head with a smirk of modesty. “Not really, we are Pegasi.”

Ditzy looked up from the spot where the cloud vanished. “You mean, all Pegasi can do that?”

“Yeah, haven't you ever tried it?” Raindrops asked with a chuckle. Her smile faded as she looked at Ditzy, who after Raindrops had asked her question, was now looking towards the ground, her complexion reddened with embarrassment. The was a pause in dialogue, the sounds of bustling Ponyville however, continued uninterrupted.

It was Raindrops who broke the unnerving silence.

“Can you fly?” she asked. Ditzy replied by shaking her head, her eyes still locked onto the ground confirming Raindrops' suspicion.

Raindrops silently exhaled as she looked up towards the clouds with thought. The noisy atmosphere seemed to lower a few decibels as she contemplated what to do next. A moment passed before she took off, a sudden breeze ruffling Ditzy's mane. The suddenly distraught filly feared the worse after whom she thought was a friend had just abandoned her.

“She left, like everyone else.” She thought, mouthing over the words, yet no sound escaping her lips. Ditzy swallowed, her throat had become dry as soon as Raindrops mentioned flight. She turned to walk home, head still hung low as her hopes of a friend were shattered in mere minutes. However, a sound of hooves hitting the ground tickled her eardrum, making her stop the somber walk home.

“What did I do wrong this time?” she asked herself, knowing she had no answer. The sight of the ground would not become blurry with a mask of tears. Ditzy was all too used to this situation, it had replayed itself countless times before. At least, this time there were no hurtful words or mocking laughter.

“Where are you going?” Raindrops' voice resounded against the background noise. She trotted to catch up with Ditzy, and held out a hoof in front of her face. “Here.” Raindrops beamed as she held out a cotton treasure from the sky. “Just tap it.”

Ditzy looked at Raindrops with an unsure expression as she released the puff. It sat there, silently floating up and down, the breeze slightly pushing it forward.

“Well it's not going to stay there forever.”

Ditzy hesitantly poked the cloud, and instantly it darkened. Her look softened, and Raindrops nodded for her to do it again. She complied and mimicked her first action. Immediately a shot of amber lighting struck the ground beneath the cloud and a roar of thunder radiated outward. The two jumped back, startled by the sudden surge of light and sound. Ditzy was now on her haunches, shaken by the flash of noise, when something told her to look up. Raindrops saw this, and also looked skyward to find the clouds darkening above. The only appropriate response Raindrops could think of was laughter.

“Looks like Rain.” she said as seriously as she could muster, her cheeks were puffed with the containment of giggles.

Even though the sudden change of weather that seemed to have come from her own hooves was unsettling, Ditzy still needed to shoot an unamused glare at her friend’s pathetic pun. However, her sight moved away to a few feet ahead of them, where Rain started to patter the ground, sending market owners scrambling to close up, and customers hoarding together their new possessions. The precipitation grew heavier by the second, and almost drowned out Raindrops' speech.

“Come on, my house is around the corner!” she called back as she started to gallop away, slowing down to wait for Ditzy.

Ditzy pulled her gaze from the frantic market and got up from the ground to join Raindrops. The storm was nearing, and the two were barely in front of the downpour. Raindrops still failed to hold back laughter as the two dodged the edge of the storm. Given the circumstance, she would've just flown towards home, but she couldn’t do that to Ditzy. Instead, she moved by her side barely outrunning the water that fell from the angry cloud cover.

The overpowering ambiance of markets was replaced with an equally loud shower of Rain broken up by the distant yells of those who were caught in it. These two were muffled by an occasional injection of thunder above. Although it was only mid-afternoon, the sun was now well hidden behind the monochrome sky, and its light was absent on the ground below. This gave the whole town a strange feeling of false night; where one knew it was supposed to be light, but the sun was nowhere to be found.

Ditzy and Raindrops continued their escape from the torrential downpour. Soon enough, they neared Raindrops’ house, and retreated inside just before the storm overtook them. Raindrops closed the door, panting heavily from the run home coupled with her subdued chuckles. Amazingly, they were dry having barely missed the front of the storm.

Ditzy sat down, and tried to regain her stamina. She looked at Raindrops “Wha- what’s so funny?” Ditzy asked between breaths. She put on a nice, false smile and chuckled along with her.

Raindrops pointed to the sky, finally succeeding in catching her breath. “That, you did that.”

Ditzy automatically looked to where her friend was pointing, and shook her head. “What? No, I didn’t. It was a coincidence.”

Raindrops laughed. “Uh-uh, no it wasn’t. My dad’s a Cloud Kicker, I know how a Pegasus makes weather. The storm came up as soon as you hit that cloud.” she replied with a smile.

Ditzy looked at Raindrops with a bewildered expression. “A Cloud Kicker?” she asked in a confused matter.

“Yeah, a Cloud Kicker. You know, the Pegasi that make the weather?” Raindrops said, feeling as if she would soon have to explain the details. Ditzy sat there, raising an eyebrow, displaying that she, in fact had absolutely no clue as to what the filly in front of her was talking about.

“Oh come on, how else do you think storms happen? They don't just appear out of nowhere.” Raindrops continued, swirling her hoof around in the air for emphasis. Ditzy opened her mouth to protest, but stopped and thought.

“They don't?” She asked.

Raindrops brought the hoof still in the air to her face, and sighed. “No, Pegasi control the weather. Cloud Kicker is just the...you know, nickname. Sometimes they have to buck the clouds to get them started.”

“So, we're the only ones that can do it?” Ditzy asked.

“Well, us and Celestia. Unicorns try, but they're generally not that good.” Raindrops moved from the door over to the rug that Ditzy was presently sitting on. The whole room had a sort of amber mask to it that set a calm and tranquil attitude. The walls and floor were a smooth finished wood, and still smelled freshly cut. Outside the storm raged on, Rain battered the window panes and the roof, sending the muffled sounds of tap-dancers into the house.

Ditzy's thought's moved to Celestia. She had only seen her once or twice, but knew every bit of her history from her father's stories. This was a lot, considering Celestia was over a thousand years old (without looking it of course). Her mind moved through the pages of her memories and onto the first time she saw her. Ditzy was only a young filly, and never saw a creature like her Highness. She was considerably taller than anyone she had ever seen, and possessed both the wings of a Pegasi, and the horn of a Unicorn. It was not until later did Ditzy's inquisitive nature find that this combination was called an Alicorn, and Celestia, along with her sister, were the only two in the world.

The second time Ditzy caught a glimpse of the ruler was when she walked down the main path in Ponyville. It was an annual occurrence and, as tradition, the citizens of her town bowed as she would pass them. Though, Ditzy noticed something out of place, Celestia had a confused expression, almost as if she was embarrassed. She constantly bent down to those who bowed, and whispered something in their ears, causing the citizen to stand up and look around nervously. It was almost as if she didn't want them to kneel down in her path.

Ditzy thought it odd. If even half of the kind and heroic deeds of their ruler were true, then Equestrians were right in bowing. The Princess looked after the entire nation. She protected it, and served it with every iota of her being. So why then, did she insist that people treat her as a common citizen?

Ditzy, after realizing that she did not have an answer, moved back to reality. The absence of speech that persisted during her muses was not awkward, but more welcomed than one would have thought. The sound of the storm replaced any uncomfortable silence between the two, but Ditzy finally spoke, wanting to start conversation. After all, the Rain showed no immediate signs of slowing down.

“Where's your parents?” Ditzy asked. Her voice interrupted the outside river-dance, but was a well suited addition to the noise.

“Well, I don't live with my mom, and dad's probably out helping to fix the mess you made.” Raindrops replied, causing both to chuckle a bit. “I meant to ask, how did you do that on your first try?”

Ditzy shrugged her wings and looked around the room. “I just...you told me to tap it, and...” Her gaze returned to Raindrops and she shrugged her wings again.

“The first time I tried that, the whole cloud just disappeared.” she said with a giggle. “Listen, we need to get you off the ground.”

“What?” Ditzy wasn't really listening. Raindrops had brought her attention back the the puzzling meteorological accomplishment earlier, but she returned her thoughts at the current statement.

“We have wings for a reason, time to actually use yours.” Raindrops flexed the top of her right wing a bit before tucking it back to her side.

Ditzy glanced over to her own feathery appendages as her friend spoke. She would give anything to fly, which is why the fact that she hesitated at Raindrops' offer confused her. Nonetheless, the over joyous reaction one would expect from a Pegasus who cannot fly was delayed, and Ditzy looked further into the matter.

“Who taught you?” She asked. From the quick takeoff Raindrops had displayed earlier, Ditzy assumed that she was in no way new to the ability.

Raindrops thought for a few seconds as she recalled the eager days of flight training and the ignored bruises and cuts that she never let hinder her progress. Her thoughts quickly moved to the first time she actually stayed in the air for more than a few seconds, and force of the impact when her wings gave out. “My dad taught me on his days off, everyday we would work a little harder until I could fly to school and back by myself.”

Ditzy felt her heart lower by a few centimeters. To say that she hadn't tried to fly would be an ignorant statement. However, her father was not able to show her how to even get into the air, let alone stay aloft. Her father, whom was also a Pegasus, loved her as much as a father could, but was also a very busy stallion, which consequently disallowed him the time available to teach his daughter how to fly. Ditzy's mother was a blurry, distorted memory in her mind. She only remembered her voice, and when she asked her father about her, he would contract a sort-of sickened look which would cause him to hug Ditzy and tell her he loved her very much. Ditzy soon realized that she would receive no answers to her questions, and eventually stopped asking. She did however, continue flailing about the yard, trying to soar up into the atmosphere. Countless mornings, afternoons, holidays, and vacations Ditzy could be seen feverishly flapping her wings and jumping into the air. She no doubt had the will to fly, but it seemed that it was impossible to get the young filly airborne. Thus, it was to her dismay that through the countless months of aching wings and injured spirits, one by one her classmates came to school with beaming faces, bragging about how much they flew over the weekend, or how they won a race against their siblings.

Slowly but surely, Ditzy became the only Pegasus in her class that couldn't fly.

As another kick to the face, Ditzy's class was made up entirely of Pegasi.

Salt in the wound was delivered in the fact that Ditzy's entire school was made up of Pegasi.

She attended Ponyville Flight School. (Although lesser known, and less prestigious than Cloudsdale Academy, the Ponyville Flight School was made as a transitional element from the days of grounded Pegasi foals, to high flying, aeronautic beings. This did nothing, however to cushion the blows Ditzy received from not being able to soar.)

It was known throughout the school that Ditzy Doo was the only Pegasus that was unable to fly in virtually the whole town. This, coupled with her occasional wall-eyed stare didn't make for a welcoming atmosphere. The school's instructors could not be bothered with Ditzy when they saw that she was hopeless at leaving the earth. It is a commonly known fact that the flight instructors of the academy resemble the officers of the Royal Equestrian Air Corp themselves in the fact that when dealing with the one and a million young Pegasus that inexplicably cannot fly, the student's will to learn falls on deaf ears. This furthers the traditional notion shared among the culture, that a Pegasus who cannot fly serves no purpose more than taking up space. It seemed though, that Raindrops was different than the majority of Pegasi. Here she was willing to teach a Pegasus, who should already be mastering advanced flying styles, how to properly flap her wings.

“Tomorrow's Saturday, we can start then. My dad says the best weather always comes after a storm.” Raindrops said in her characteristic musical voice.

Ditzy was still unsure of the whole thing, but she knew in the back of her head that Raindrops was being sincere. However, Raindrops was the first pony to ever hold a decent conversation with Ditzy, let alone offer such a kind gesture. It was expected that she was wary at this new kindness directed towards her.

“Really?” Ditzy tried to seem less interested than reality, yet the excitement was still present, shown in the form of her cracking voice. She quickly covered her mouth at the end of the question, cleared her throat, and regained composure.

Raindrops politely ignored the fumble and continued. “Of course. You know that hill that's next to the school? That's where I learned, its perfect.”

Ditzy recalled the location. To the left of the school grounds lay a spike in elevation. It was covered in tall grass that reached her knees, and would cushion any fall a beginner may experience. Raindrops knew this, and also knew that there would be many falls on Ditzy's part, which is why her mind instantly jumped to the safe grass-laden knoll.

“So, how about noon? Its settled then.” Raindrops said.

Ditzy nodded. The agreement was slightly one-sided, but she didn't mind if it meant a friend and a chance at flying. Upon the close of negotiations, the dancers on the roof finished their performance, and the applauding thunder also faded into silence as if on cue. Even without knowledge of the time or sight of the sun, both could infer that night would soon be upon their side of the world. With a smile and a wave, Ditzy parted the home of her new and really, only friend, and made her way to her own house.

***

Purple darkness crept from seemingly out of nowhere, lowering the towns contrast and brightness by the minute. The town workers were about, mainly Unicorns. They walked down the side of the street to the metal boxes that resided on every other corner, and in admirable unison, they placed their horns upon them. With a soft glow, each worker's horn was illuminated, and in a few short seconds, so were the lamp posts that dotted the sidewalk. Ditzy watched as the night was brightened by the artificial glow, and the workers marched on to the next set of lights. It was amazing really. Ditzy never truly understood magic, and didn't think anyone else did either. However, it was a respectable aspect of Equestria’s daily workings. Magic lit up the night, powered trains and ships, and was argued as being the controlling force of the entire world. Ditzy wasn't that philosophical, but knew things had a certain way of going about. If magic was the culprit then so be it, but for now Ditzy welcomed the light before her as she walked home with the knowledge that she possessed something far greater than she ever had before.

A friend.

Flight

Chapter 2

Flight

It was relatively dim, save for the pinstripes of sunlight that somehow moved through the curtains and blinds unaffected. Ribbons of gold weaved their way through the windows with little cost to their luminosity, and focused their brightness on the resting. It seemed that the sun was feeling particularly mischievous today, targeting late-sleepers on this Saturday morning. Narrow sections of light had been placed perfectly over Ditzy's eyelids while the rest of the room fell under shadows. This assault on her eyes had not gone unnoticed, she had endured the intrusion of light for some time now, but knew opening her eyes would just magnify the problem. So, content that her sheets kept the slight morning coolness at bay, she rolled on her side to escape the celestial wake-up call.

While Ditzy might have evaded the nuisance that was the sun, the grandfather clock that resided near the bottom of the staircase was not as easily avoidable. Her brain preempted the audible attack that would soon be unleashed, but did not prioritize the actual movement of getting up and out of bed. That was, until the sound of the clock's three-tone chimes reverberated through the walls, and ever so politely threw itself against her eardrums. Whilst the addition of two pillows over Ditzy's head slightly muffled the noise, it was not enough to allow the continuation of her rest.

Ditzy had been defeated.

She threw the sheets off her bed, slid onto the wood floor, and in a move of childish mockery, the clock's bombardment of sound stopped as soon as she stood up. She could almost hear the ambient laughter of the two pranksters Father Time and The Sun, before they searched on for the next poor, tired soul.

The amber wash of the morning only dimly illuminated Ditzy's room. It was simple enough, a bed, a rug, a bookshelf, two windows and a desk. She slowly walked to one of the windows, still holding on to some wayward wisps of sleep, and pulled back the barrier that should have protected her from the daylight. She shut her eyes, waiting for the flood of blinding white as she coaxed her artificial night to flee into the comfort of the shadows. As the waves of sunlight cascaded into her room, she ignored her stinging eyes and turned her back to the “heavenly splendor”.

Same room she had been in for years. Same bookshelves and blank notebooks. Same walnut desk, sloped ceiling, and books upon books that she would never find the time to read. Same collection of quills in a vase that she kept on her walnut desk, just in case she decided to utilize those blank notebooks.

Ditzy looked down on her bed, she must have left one of those quills there and went to sleep not remembering to put it away. But then she found another one, and another on the floor, and then realized that they weren't instruments of writing, but just lowly feathers. More specifically, her feathers.

“Dammit.”

Pegasi are a fascinating race. They have a rich and deep rooted history, and even a small degree of shared social psychology.

They also molt once a year.

Now was that time.

It starts off slow, and usually only lasts two or three weeks. Pegasi themselves find it embarrassing, but Unicorns and Earth Ponies find it hysterical. For the first week, flight isn't hindered, but as the days pass it gets harder and harder. Or so Ditzy has been told. As for the loss of flight, Ditzy had the mindset that you “can't miss what you never had...”, but what did bother her was school. There's really no poking fun at each other, because for the most part all Pegasi shed their feathers at the same time and rate. However, it was still annoying to walk down the hall and constantly get a face full of down and feathers.

Her nose itched at the thought.

Now that she had been ever so rudely awakened from her dreamless slumber, Ditzy rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and automatically yawned as she stretched her legs and wings. The wood floor quietly creaked in the old house, as she reflected upon the night, searching for some lost fragment of a dream. However, as she looked back to retrieve a fleeting glimpse of her imaginary paradise, she found none. Whether she had forgotten the events her mind conjured up during the night, or their were none to begin with, the time between going to sleep and waking up was not blessed with anything but the darkness of the night.

It was frustrating, Ditzy knew that she had dreamt through the evening, but could only guess what amazing scenes rolled into her mind. She had an idea though, most likely it was that one devious reoccurring dream that had both blessed and cursed her nights at the same time. Her dream's were the only place she could fly, a wonderful plane where she was able to escape into a reality in which she was able to soar well above the classmates who mocked her. But as soon as she awoke, Ditzy would be dropped back into reality, disappointed and hopelessly grounded. If only their was someone who could teach her how to get up and off of the ground, someone that was kind and willing enough to help a fellow Pegasi. Ditzy swam through her own thoughts of rightful self-pity, before a psychological event of the greatest magnitude shook her out of it.

Sometimes your train of thought is so abruptly halted that it completely forgets where the next station is. This sudden remembrance of something you may have forgotten or the realization of a previously misunderstood statement causes your eyes to open to their fullest extent, and inflicts a feeling of fear into your very core. The look on your face can be perfectly accompanied by the distant sound of glass shattering, and all of a sudden the temperature drops by an interval of a few, horrifying degrees. This is exactly what happened to Ditzy the moment she became aware of previous engagement with Raindrops.

It felt as though the windows violently opened, and the cold winter breeze returned to slam itself into her back. Her heart followed the path set by the chill shooting down her spine as one simple question arose in the back of her head.

“What time is it?”

Ditzy found her self asking the question aloud, but to no one in particular. A heartbeat passed before she set into action, speeding towards the stairs all the while flapping her wings in a frantic matter. She maneuvered the steps as fast as she could without breaking her neck, and searched for the same clock that had awoken her. Within a hair of losing her balance, Ditzy was able to swing around the corner at the bottom of the stairwell without crashing into the wall. Her sprint came to an end in front of the ornate grandfather clock that stood before her.

It was a rustic mahogany wood with a gold trim and a glass front that revealed the intricate inner workings of the machine. Her father said that it was made by the same Unicorn that fashioned the clocks in Celestia's palace, and that it was given to him as a gift after he served in the Royal Guard. It sat in the same place as far back as Ditzy could remember. Sometimes, when she was younger, Ditzy would sit in front of it, mesmerized by the predictable motions. The swing of the pendulum and the turning of the gears would capture the young filly's attention until the sudden gong of the hour would startle her away. Now, she was able to marvel at the creation when it was not forcing her awake or reminding her how late she really was.

At the moment, it was doing the latter.

It didn't take long for Ditzy to soak in the time. The minute hand clicked into place at exactly ten past twelve as she looked at it. Although slightly relieved that it was not hours past the set time of her first lesson, she was still tardy.

It could be said that Ditzy overreacted just a bit, when she burst out of her front door only having to run back moments later to close it. Her mane was entirely out of place and unattended to. The long streaks of yellow hair that normally laid a neatly tad over her eyes and down her neck was now a wiry mass either plastered to her skin or sticking up at odd angles and intervals from her head. Her frenzied appearance and gallop through the Market Center earned strange looks from those with no knowledge of what she had at stake.

In her head, Ditzy rummaged through worse case scenarios. Raindrops might have scheduled this meeting not even planning to show up, or worse, maybe she did show up on time and thought Ditzy wasn't coming. It was apparent that she was over thinking the situation, but in her head it was set in stone that her friendship rested on her arriving to Raindrops on time. With this mindset, Ditzy drove on towards the hill where the lesson was planned on taking place. With the speed at which she was moving, it was not long before she arrived at the grassy landmark.

On top of the mound, Ditzy scanned her surroundings for any sign of Raindrops. Her ears perked up for her signature laughter or that choir-like voice. Neither of her senses picked up any trace of her friend, and after what felt like a good twenty minutes, Ditzy's hope that she wasn't too late began to falter. In reality it might have been much shorter, but in Ditzy's state of excitement and fleeting doubt, time was compounded into eternity. As the arrival of her friend became less likely, Ditzy's normally outward happy demeanor faded into one of disappointment.

But wait, there it was!

The giggle. That childish, happy noise emanated from somewhere. Ditzy's ear automatically twitched at the break of silence. For a moment the sound seemed to have originated from thin air, but soon it's source was located.

Directly above.

She should have known. They only met yesterday but it was apparent that Raindrops' humor was unfaltering. Ditzy looked up and saw Raindrops hovering above, a hoof over her mouth that tried to conceal her chuckles. The antic pulled a smile and laugh from Ditzy while Raindrops landed before her.

“You showed up.” Raindrops said, still smiling.

“Of course. I'm sorry I'm late, I was really sleepy and then the sun was coming in and the clock was really loud and I forgot to close the door, and then I-” Ditzy rattled off her excuses like bullets until she eyed Raindrops' expression. It was another thing that she knew she would be seeing a lot. Cocked eyebrow, half smirk, the whole face said “Are you kidding me?” Ditzy stopped.

“No problem, I would've waited...did you run here?” Raindrops asked.

Ditzy yawned to hide her heavy breathing and replied with a poker face that could definitely use some work. “No.”

Raindrops ignored the feeble lie and continued. “Never mind, you want to get started?”

Ditzy answered with an excited nod.

“Okay, open em' up. Let's see what you got.”

Ditzy was about to comply, but was slightly taken back from Raindrops' statement when it was finished processing in her head. For reasons rarely known to those who do not possess wings, what Raindrops had asked Ditzy to do was quite an awkward request among Pegasi society. “What?” Ditzy's voice rose an octave as a small, yet still noticeable blush formed upon her cheeks.

Raindrops immediately realized the insinuation of her words, but played it off with a nervous chuckle. “Oh please, I just want to know what I have to work with.”

Catching the misinterpretation, Ditzy regained composure and mentally kicked herself for being so quick to jump to conclusions. She spread her wings, casting a shadow before her. They were a bit bigger than that of Raindrops' or any other Pegasi her age for that matter, which was tragically ironic considering the fact that she couldn't fly. Raindrops saw this and even though she wouldn't admit it, was impressed. However, she decided not to mention it for fear of making things worse than they already were.

Raindrops brought a hoof up to her chin in thought, looked at the wings for a moment, and then returned her leg to the ground. “Alright, so what do you know so far?”

Ditzy folded her wings and mimicked Raindrops' action of inquiry. Her eyes moved up to the sky in an attempt at recalling any knowledge of flight that she had gained. A few minutes passed in silence, only the occasional chatter of a bird nearby making its way through the air.

Raindrops audibly cleared her throat. She wondered if her friend had drifted off in her own way, without the ability to fly. Ditzy looked down, unaware of exactly how much time had passed. She blinked a few times, and brought her still folded wings up a few inches in a shrug of uncertainty.

“Well...okay, we'll start from the top then.” Raindrops unfolded her own wings so that they were parallel to the ground. “Put em' like this, and you can start slowly.” She began slowly flapping her wings to demonstrate the movement. It didn't help much, Ditzy wasn't looking. Her eyes were clenched shut, and she was sporadically flapping her wings with no real sense of what she was doing. The sight was pathetic really. A Pegasus with strong wings that should already be soaring through the air, desperately flailing around trying to take off.

Raindrops stopped her demonstration and eyed Ditzy's sorry imitation of a Pegasus. She had to cover her mouth for fear her muffled laughter would hurt her friend's feelings.

“Ditzy.” she said through stifled chuckles. The flailing pony stopped her pitiful attempt, and looked up.

There was the face again. One eyebrow up, one cheek raised in half a smile.

In Ditzy's mind, she couldn't fathom why her wings weren't taking her up to the clouds. Physically there was nothing wrong with them, but for some inexplicable reason it seemed that she wasn't meant to be in the air.

“Like this.” Raindrops said as she repeated to show how a Pegasus should fly.

Ditzy payed well enough attention this time, occasionally looking to her own wings to ensure that they were at the proper angle.

“Good.” Raindrops said while smiling. “Now, it's all about getting the wind under your wings and pushing off with it.” She flapped once, sending herself a few feet in the air and then gracefully gliding back down. “Like that.”

Ditzy looked at her wings once more, and then brought them up over her back and down in a forceful flurry of wind and dust. It was enough to propel her into the air higher than Raindrops, and when she opened her eyes she was airborne. Her smile stretched wider than it had ever before, and in her moment of blissful disbelief she did not hear Raindrops telling her to keep her wings straight. Instead, Ditzy attempted the feat once more, this time in midair. What followed was Ditzy's right wing producing a bit more thrust than her left, causing her to roll over and plummet to the earth backwards.

“Ditzy!”

Fall

Chapter 3

The Fall

The impact was solid, Raindrops could feel the vibration in the ground beneath her. Ditzy had fallen from at least ten meters up.

“Fuck.”

There was no time for watching her language. What would've normally earned her punishment was the only way she could verbally express her horror. She galloped to her fallen friend with wide eyes and a sinking stomach. Expecting the worst, she scanned for any obvious injury as soon as Ditzy was in clear sight.

No blood, a bit of feathers still floating down, no blood, nothing looks too bad...no blood.

Eyes looked up and down as the distance closed, Raindrops' heart a jackhammer in her chest. Even though the situation didn't appear to be too drastic, her friend had just fallen from much higher than Raindrops had the last time she broke her wing. She remembered the pain as she thought back to the crunch and splinter that paled her father's face, and her heart thumped faster. She felt horrible. It was all her fault that she was going to have to carry her new friend to the hospital a day after they met.

Eyes looked again, Ditzy was laying on her back. Raindrops searched Ditzy for broken bones and battered limbs. She knew something would have to be put back into place. That is, if she was still alive.

But at least there wasn't any blood.

This wasn't how Raindrops planned to spend her afternoon. The sudden excitement from watching her new friend's first leap into the sky was brought crashing down when... well, Raindrops cursed herself for the unintentional pun. Good God, why was it taking her so long to reach Ditzy?

Finally, with strained breathing and a loss of color, Raindrops slowed to a halt before her fallen friend. She continued her search. God, she hoped there wasn't any blood. Her impromptu examination was stopped by something she hadn't expected in the least, an ear to ear grin that was framed on Ditzy's face. Her eyes were a bit askew, but that wasn't too shocking, and she was laughing in the most light hearted and childish way, a sign that should have told Raindrops that she was fine.

“Oh no, she must have hit her head.” was the first, horrifying thought that came to her as she looked down at Ditzy's blissful state. In the situation at hand, her thoughts weren't as silent as she hoped they would be.

“What?” Ditzy calmed her laughter just enough to audibly express her inquiry. Her eyes focused as she rolled over from on her back, stood up, and flapped her wings to shake off the grass that had settled upon them.

Raindrops' face was still quite pale, and this furthered Ditzy's confusion. Now, it was her time to mimic her characteristic expression of inquiry.

“What's wrong? Didn't you see me?” She was unsure and excited at the same time.

Silence, Rains gaze was directed at Ditzy, but small movements in her eyes scanned over her entire body, before they came to rest in a peculiar fashion. Raindrops was not necessarily looking at at Ditzy, but rather through her, as if some far point off on the horizon was beckoning her call. The liquid blue sheen that veiled the orbs in her skull was now a matte finish that matched her linen cheeks.

“Raindrops!” Ditzy called, hoping to relieve her from her trance.

Raindrops shifted her eyes again. They returned to their normal state, albeit a bit wider.

“Are you okay?” Raindrops said, her voice slightly cracked with the increase in volume. She was still breathing heavily, caused by a combination of running and shock.

Ditzy cocked her head at Raindrops, something was wrong here. After a few moments, she pulled her gaze away and looked at herself, flapped her wings once more, and did a little prance in place. “Yeah, I'm fine.”

Silence. Stare.

Ditzy blinked and continued speaking. “I know what happened, I'm going to try again.” she said, turned around, and reared to take off again.

“Wait!” Raindrops yelled. Not seeing that her response did anything, she resorted to drastic measures and grabbed Ditzy by the tail with her mouth.

Ditzy felt the tension, stopped, and performed an emergency landing. Raised eyebrows were becoming more and more commonplace. Ditzy looked at Raindrops, looked at her tail, and then looked at Raindrops again.

“Ahem.”

Raindrops spit out Ditzy's tail, and shook her head. “What are you doing?!” she yelled.

Ditzy's eyes went wide at the sudden outburst. “W-me?! What are you doing?!”

“Trying to stop you from killing yourself!” she retorted.

“What are you talking about?” Ditzy flicked her tail, and turned around to face Raindrops.

“Stop yelling!” Raindrops yelled.

“I'm not y-” Ditzy sighed. This was getting risky. “What's going on?” she asked calmly.

“I don't know, you tell me. I'm not the one that just fell from thirty feet! I thought you were dead when you hit the ground.” Raindrops was getting more and more frustrated. The color was absent from her face, creating a monochrome expression of fear and nausea. The blue sheen was back, now in the form of tears on the verge of flooding. Ditzy however, did not notice the severity of Raindrops' emotional state.

Ditzy looked up. “Oh come on, it didn't feel that high.”

Raindrops' mouth hung open. “How would you know, you never even flew before.” She shook her head again. “That's not the point, why are you so calm about this?”

Ditzy's mouth followed suit. “Why are you so upset?”

“Because when my mom fell from that high, she never got back up!”

Oh god the blood. Why was there so much of it? The grass was stained ruby and mirrored the sky. It wasn't her mother's blank expression that stuck young Raindrops, nor was it her father's desperate cries for help as he held her limp body. The rush of the medical officers that pushed her out the way didn't phase her a bit, and the three months of silence from her father had no effect.

It was the fucking blood. Everywhere. On the ground, in her mother's lungs, on her father's hands, on the doctor's clothes. The smell wouldn't leave her nostrils. It stained her mind like the countless rags that tried to stop the liquid from leaking out her already dead corpse.

She woke up tasting it, she went to bed smelling it. It followed her like a plaque.

But there was no blood now. Ditzy's neck wasn't bent at a sickeningly wrong angle, and the force of the impact didn't rupture her jugular. So, there was no blood today, at this moment.

“Raindrops, I...”

“No, that's not important.” Raindrops slammed her eyes shut, and waved a hoof in front of her face.

She was lying, of course it was important. The images were branded into the back of her eyelids, every single blade of grass that was washed in crimson... but she needed to focus.

“You!” Raindrops snapped her head back up, causing Ditzy to recoil a bit. “What's wrong with you?”

Ditzy tried to talk, but only a coarse “What?” passed her lips in an expression of shock.

Raindrops hit herself. “No, I'm sorry, I mean...is there anything wrong with you? Please, just....just be okay.”

Ditzy felt her own eyes moisten. “I'm...I'm fine, really. Nothing hurts. I'm okay.” She leaned forward and put her hoof around Raindrops, who now had her head bent as low as it could possibly go.

“How are you alive?” Her words came out weak and raspy.

She didn't have an answer. At first she thought that her fall was no reason for the amount of concern her friend was expressing. But, when Raindrops told her that her mother had fallen from the same height, and...and died. Well, nothing was really making any sense. While she was contemplating what had just happened, Raindrops was busy writhing from Ditzy's hold.

“Follow me.” she said, now free from Ditzy's grasp.

“W-what? Where?”

“The hospital, its not that far.” Raindrops replied, already walking in the direction of the clinic.

“Raindrops, I don't think...” Ditzy started.

“Please, just do this for me.” Raindrops stopped in her tracks. Ditzy couldn't see her face, but she could tell that tears were now falling freely down her cheeks.

Ditzy didn't really think it necessary. She felt fine, the fall hadn't even knocked the wind out of her, which was odd to say the least if what Raindrops was saying was true. No aches, no scrapes or bruises. She complied though, not following out of necessity...but something hurt deep inside Raindrops, something she didn't really want to show anyone. It didn't take a psychologist to see that.

Both were quiet during the walk to the hospital. Raindrops because she was more concerned with her friend’s safety, and Ditzy because she was scared to upset Raindrops more than she already had. She would walk a couple feet in front of Ditzy, occasionally stopping and looking back to make sure she was still there. Her cheeks were damp, and the slightest shades of pink. Ditzy on the other hand felt nauseous, and couldn't help but think that a major part of this was her fault. She wasn't exactly sure how, but it was definitely enough to clench her stomach. She thought the least she could do was accompany Raindrops to the hospital to ensure everything was okay.

***

“I don't know if you've noticed, but this is a hospital. We're busy taking care of real patients with real illnesses.” The owner of the voice was quite tall, wore glasses, possessed a dark brown coat, and a darker brown mane. He was very intimidating.

“Please, I 'm just asking you to take a look at her. She fell from very high up, and I need to make sure that everything is fine.” Raindrops was pleading to the doctor. Her distress didn't seem to overrule that fact that Ditzy was standing there, quite embarrassed of the whole situation, but unharmed nonetheless.

“You already told me that.” the doctor said as he glanced over to the amber-eyed patient, and then back to Raindrops. “Needless to say I don't believe you. Unless Celestia herself came down and blessed your friend over there, your story doesn’t hold up.” He nodded his head as a makeshift goodbye as he turned hoof and walked down the corridor from which he had arrived. “It's not very funny either, and I have an amazing sense of humor.” he called back over his shoulder.

Raindrops stared in disbelief at the retreating physician, before turning herself and exiting through the building's doors, Ditzy close behind. Raindrops intended to head home, but still was unsure of Ditzy's condition, regardless of her constant reminders that she was not harmed in the slightest. Ditzy herself galloped a bit to catch up with her distraught friend, in another attempt at comfort.

“Raindrops, I'm sorry about earlier, I didn't mean-” Ditzy started to say, but was again cut off.

Raindrops turned around and cut in. “No, please I know. Lets talk about something else.” Raindrops' eyes scanned for a topic of conversation apart from her own emotions. Much to Ditzy's surprise, her eyes (and hoof) landed on one of her cutie marks. “How about that? Tell me that story bubbles.” Instantly Raindrops cheered up, almost back to her normal personality.

“Oh...” Ditzy trailed off as she looked to the mark adorning her flank. There wasn't much of a story, well she imagined there had to be, she just didn't know it. When she asked her father about it. He contracted a nervous smile, ruffed up her mane, and told her not to worry about it. He would then sit quietly with a frown and furrowed brow. “I don't really...I mean I can't remember.” Ditzy said, eyes looking downward and a hoof making circles in the dust.

Raindrops looked skyward and rolled her eyes. “Well, of course you don't.” She said sarcastically, only before catching her rudeness and apologizing. Ditzy accepted and the pair continued walking, a few uninterrupted moments of silence and Raindrops was back to her glum demeanor.

“Well, why don't you tell me the story of yours?” Ditzy tried to sound as cheerful as possible. It didn’t work.

“No, no no. I got it...I got it the day when....” She looked at Ditzy with pleading eyes. “You know.”

“Oh.” Another attempt squashed.

The rest of the walk home was now relatively dull. Raindrops cheered up a bit, but was still down, and both were questioning how Ditzy had survived such a long fall. The grass wasn't plentiful enough to cushion such a landing. She landed on her back, yet neither her wings nor spine were hurt. Head, fine. Legs, fine. Nothing externally or internally was damaged on the lucky Pegasus, so it was left at that...luck.

“Celestia must have been looking out for you. If she can raise the sun, she can catch a Pegasus.” Raindrops joked. It was a good sign that she outlet her humor.

Ditzy laughed, but took the statement to heart. If some regal Alicorn was looking out for her, what was the reason? It probably wasn't that though. Just dumb luck.

It felt longer than usual, the path to Ditzy''s house, but after a somber stroll filled with wordless questions that craved logical solutions, they both arrived at the building that Ditzy and her father had called a home for almost a decade. Ditzy's father wasn't home, something that she had grown accustomed to. So, she reached behind the mailbox fastened to the outside wall, retrieved a skeleton key, and unlocked the door in one fluid movement.

“Neat.” Raindrops remarked. “So tomorrow, same time?”

Ditzy was surprised by Raindrops' offer to resume training to eagerly. “Yeah, um, I mean if you're okay with that. I'm fine if you want to wait a bit.”

“Well, I can't wait too long now can I?” Raindrops flapped her wings and down and feathers were thrown into the air.

“You too huh?” Ditzy remarked chuckling.

Soon enough the two, along with the rest of the winged population of Ponyville, would not possess enough feathers to fly. So, if Ditzy wanted any air time, it would have to be in the next few days.

“I just need you to promise me something.” Raindrops lost her smile and gained a serious expression that called Ditzy's attention. “I need you to be careful. No sense teaching you to fly if you're only going to break your wings doing so.” They both laughed, albeit softly and a bit nervous, it was still genuine. “It's only been two days and you nearly killed yourself.” One could plainly see Raindrops was using her jokes to comfort herself.

“Okay, I will.” Ditzy assured with a nod and a smile.

Raindrops smiled. “Alright then! See you tomorrow.” She turned, waved, and started home. She would not fly for the rest of the afternoon.

Waving back, Ditzy smiled and returned inside. As soon as Raindrops had left her sight, she darted to the nearest mirror. She checked every inch of her body for injury, but to her relief, there was none. The rest of the night was spent quietly in thought. Ten meters? Ditzy wasn't sure if their was a building in Ponyville that was that tall, and yet, she didn’t even feel pain when she landed.

She looked out her bedroom window. Celestia's sun was setting on the horizon.

“Luck huh?” she said aloud. An unknown amount of time passed before she decided to stop questioning life and all it's wonders, and drifted off to another night of dreamless slumber.