Flight in Fields: A Short Story

>You look up to the sky, smiling when you see Rainbow Dash burst gracefully through a cloud

>Her mane tosses to and fro in the wind, a smile on her face as she picks up speed

>She's far from you, but you'll be damned if you didn't see her smile as she pulled up, and began climbing

>She flies higher and higher, picking up speed.

>Suddenly, she wavers. Her wings stop for a second, but then begin flapping once more as she resumes climbing higher and higher into the heavens.

"...Dash," you whisper to yourself, "What are you doing?..."

>Again, she wavers in flight, and looks dazed

>It dawns on you

>she's going too high

>She's stalling

>As soon as you realize what's happening, her wings stop moving and she slowly but surely stops ascending, curving back and starts to plummet to the earth below

>You can barely see her, but know that she's unconscious

"SHIT!"

>You break out into a sprint, keeping your eyes fixed on Dash as she falls with greater and greater speed

>Your legs carry with speed you didn't know you had, as you rush to the plummeting filly

>She's getting closer to the ground

"No.. no no no no no!"

>In one final burst of speed, you slide legs first and catch Rainbow Dash a split second before she collides with the hard ground

>You hold her tight as you two roll shortly down a hill, then come to a stop in a small cloud of dust and dirt

>You're breathing is ragged, and your eyes teary from the debris of the cloud

>You hear a low murmur, and feel Rainbow start to move as she regains consciousness.

>"Wha-... What hap-" she begins to say as she suddenly realizes what had occurred

"What was that!? What were you thinking!" you shout at her

>She looks stunned, then looks at you with a glare of her own

>"I was seeing how high I could climb! I do this all the time, Anon!"

"But you never go THAT high. You know better than that, you can't breathe when you're at that kind of altitude!"

>She grits her teeth. "So I made a mistake, who cares! I could have recovered and stuck the landing."

"You almost died! I would never forgive myself if you got hurt around me, you mean too much to me for that!"

>There's a pause between you two, and your collective glares and barred teeth slowly recede as you two attempt to regain your composure.

>Dash clears her throat and begins to speak, looking away from you a bit. "You know you're still holding me, right?"

>You look down. The cyan pony is still in your arms.

"Sorry," you say as she let go of her. She trots a step or two and begins dusting herself off. You do the same, flaking dirt off your jacket.

>Another awkward pause goes by when Rainbow Dash turns to you, a look of slight curiosity in her face.

>"So," she begins, "Why were you out here in the first place? I thought you were helping out Pinky and the Cakes today."

"They let me go early.." you say, not meeting her gaze

>"Still doesn't answer the question, Anon." she says, taking a step or two towards you

>You let out a sigh, and massage the space between your eyes.

"I thought... you know I had some free time so.. I guess I wanted to see you fly for a bit, is all."

"You're bea-... well you look really cool when flying."

>You meet her gaze, and she has a slight smile on her face, a speck of dust clinging to her nose

>"Yeah well, I guess I am pretty cool." she says, laughing slightly.

>Another pause, but this time you're both smiling. You nod to each other, and begin walking back to town.

>"Thanks for.. you know. Catching me." she says

"Anytime."

 

End