Soul Ties

Chapter 8-Flying... At last?

A/N: Thanks for the constructive criticism I received last chapter, I have taken that into account and have changed the structure of this part to match the recommendation of *Insert Reviewer's Name Here* who advised me to change the structure so that every new line spoken by a character will be separate from the main dialogue. I had planned to do this all along, but wasn't sure to include it or not because I had no idea this would get even one reviewer. Anyway, I can't say who gave me that constructive criticism because I have no internet connection at the moment and- I'm blabbing on. Sorry, You may now read.

I stared up at the cloud supporting the hysterical pegasus. This was going to be awkward to explain. I mean, how do you explain how a... um... mature pegasus can't fly? I guess it wouldn't be far off from an adult human who struggles to walk...

Dash stifled her laughter and peeked over the cloud to stare at me. "So, you can't fly. And you need me to teach you how to fly." She snorted.

I sighed, "Well, uh, yes. I was sorta told, by a friend of mine that you can teach me. Is- is that true?" I smiled hopefully.

She just gawked at me for a few more seconds before roaring with hilarity again. She smirked back at me. "Oh yeah? Does this friend think I'm willing to waste my time on some grown stallion who can't fly? Should have learned when you were a foal, mate." And with that, she tossed onto her back, her forelegs wrapped round the back of her head. Oh, for crying out...

"Think... think..." I muttered to myself. She didn't half seem bloody big about herself. To be honest, I really didn't want this kind of person... pony... thing... teaching me. Too arrogant, cocky. "Fine." I shouted. "I was told you were, I don't know, some amazing flyer or something, best in the world and all that jazz, but obviously if you can't be asked to teach someone in need, I guess you're not... " An idea popped into my head, "...all your cracked up to be." Wow, what an insult. Shut up, brain. I began to walk off before something slammed into my side and pinned me to the ground.

"Not all I'm cracked up to be, huh?" Stated the pegasus pinning me to the ground. "You got it right, I AM the greatest flyer. And I'll prove it. This afternoon, this day, this week, I will give you this stupid flying lesson. Then we'll see who isn't all she's cracked up to be." She seethed into my face.

I smirked. Perfectionary. "Yeah, sure. I knew you'd see it my way. Oh, it would have been a shame to spread around how... bad a teacher you are at your own game." Yep, no going back now.

She grinned back. "We'll see who's spreading what around what by the end of this. You're not all your cracked up to be, non-flying blank flank."

My eye flickered. I said I would scream. I want to scream. No, control it. just let it pass by. "Deal."

30 minutes later, beside lake..."

"Right, okay rookie, this will be the site of training. If you fall during flight, you will fall in the lake, so as to prevent death. Now, open your wings." Dash ordered, hovering in flight.

I grinned sheepishly. "I... uh, sort of, well kind of... don't know." I murmured.

Dash placed a hoof onto her forehead and sighed. "I never thought it possible, but I have found somepony even less of a natural flyer than Fluttershy. Look, you just open them. It's just the same as moving your leg, genius."

I tried tensing the muscles around my body, but to no avail. "Nope, can't figure it out." I stated, simply.

She shook her head and hovered over to me. She grabbed one of my wings and waved it around. "Feel that? Just use those muscles, it's easy. Can't see why you have so much difficulty over it."

I felt the muscles moving around my shoulders. It felt bizarre, almost inverted in a sense, and I instantly felt as though I was in control of them and I could remember where they were. Once she let go, I tried flexing them. To my surprise, they unfurled themselves and spread themselves to my sides. I tried stretching them and was surprised at how supple and light the joints felt as they supported the muscles encasing them. It bought back a sense of nostalgia, almost... was this what it was like to have arms? But inverted? Ah, well. At least this is progress. "I see. Never noticed the sense of muscles there, in all honesty." I smiled as I looked at the blue down jutting out my upper back.

Dash smiled. "There ya go. Anyway, next step. Flap your wings, obvious, but knowing you..." She landed in front of me before taking off again with two short strokes of her cyan wings.

I spread my fifth and sixth limbs and gave a soft stroke with them before giving two more potent flaps. My eyes widened as I shot off the ground with more velocity than I had expected. I stopped flapping, bad move. I landed flat on my face on the bank of the lake. I gasped for air and spat out the clump of mud lodged in the back of my throat. I coughed a couple more times before righting myself.

Dash snorted, "You might want to remember to keep flapping when flying, rookie."

I sighed. "I realise that." I spread my wings out again before making another attempt at flight. This time, however, I tried two lighter strokes and gained flight slightly more easily this time. I kept flapping at the same rate, and was eventually able to hover a couple of metres or so off the ground.

"Good, you figured out hovering. Next step, we head to that cloud over there." Dash announced.

I stared at the sky above the lake. My jaw slowly dropped as I took in the distance between the ground and the white vapour in the sky. It seemed to be endless miles away, and a sense of nausea washed over me. "Uhh, do we have to go to that clou-" I was stopped by a spectrum blur casting my hair... mane... thing over my eyes and my footing (correct term for equines currently unknown) disrupted as the wind slammed into my side. I stared skyward to see the trail heading for the cloud. What the... is that even possible?

I stared down at the ground. Oh, send my family condolences, sweet mud. I gulped and unfurled my wings tentatively. I began the irregular contractions of my wings as I began to hobble through the air towards the sky.

""Don't look down... down look down... everything is fine. Haha, yes. Nothing to worry about, just me and the air in perfect harmon- OH CRAP! How bloody high am I? Holy... I looked down didn't I?" I clenched my eyes shut and felt my body tense up as my mind began to swim. I was going to fall. I was going to die. The mud was going to send condolences to some imaginary family of mine, and I wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Oh, to be a creature with wings who's afraid of heights. I have the joy of that, don't I. I felt the familiar cold nip of rushing air biting my face, which was when I began to force my eyelids open again.

I stared down towards where the ground was, but all I could see was a deep shade of blue slowly growing larger. I mentally slapped myself. Of course, we were over a lake in case the inevitable happened. Well, guess I can relax a bit now. I began to calm down, and was actually looking forward to the plunge into the cool aqua below going to cushion my fall. "Huh, is it me, or is this fall taking a while? I mean, what has it been, about... thirty seconds? Okay, here comes the landing... Right, bonsai!" I yelled as I prepared to belly flop into the forgiving H2O.

SPLAT. Blubble blubble blubble. My whole body went rigid from shock and excruciating pain. let me take that back, water is not forgiving. Nope. My stomach felt like a sledgehammer had be slammed into it, my lungs were empty, and I began to panic. The feel of my lungs screaming for oxygen washed over my brain, and I began to swim. Well, by swim, I mean thrash like a sloth in piranha infested syrup. Yep, I wasn't getting very far. More just creating a whirling torrent around myself, but staying static, almost in a state of suspended animation. My lungs began to give way to water, and I was pretty sure I was screwed. As soon as I was about to gasp in mouthfuls of liquid, I felt something tug around my waist and drag me to the surface. I couldn't move, I was just taking deep breaths in an attempt to recover from my own incompetence.

I was dumped on the bank of the lake as I hacked out a wad of water I had inhaled. I looked up to see Dash, water dripping off her profusely. She sighed and frowned at me. "Look, you can't just expect me to do everything for you. Not only can you fly, but you can't swim either? Why didn't you say before we went to a lake for lessons? I knew it, you have less natural ability in sports than Shy, and that's saying something." I opened my mouth to say something, but she cut me off. "Look, just... go home, and meet me again tomorrow. You may improve by tomorrow." With that she shot off, leaving my saturated mane slung across my face. Oh, joy of bloody joys.

I opened the door and walked into me and Lance's home. I saw lance sitting on the settee across the room. He looked up and snorted, "Wow, someone had a good lesson, I see. Didn't know you were taking swimming, though."

I frowned. "Shut up. Don't remind me. I did have a flying lesson..." Lance cut me off

"Yeah, how did you do? Are you good enough to say... start your job tomorrow?" He grinned at me.

I sighed. "No, Lance, I was about as compatible with the air as a skunk is compatible with five star perfume."

Lance rubbed his chin. "So... you were good? Great! We'll get you off to Cloudsdale tomorrow..."

"No, no, no!" I yelled. "Look, I did a bad example. Anyway, I could hardly fly to begin with, and I wouldn't even call it airborne, it was more like flopping through the air at the velocity of a speeding brick. So, no, I can't get the job. I'll have to get something else if must be employed."

Lance's eyes widened. "No. No way. If you don't get this job, then you won't get to join the council, and I'll be stuck round mares who would be more suitable in a bloody museum than at these meetings with no other male creature in the room! It's torture!" He pleaded.

I smirked as an idea popped into my head. "So, you do think they are horrid, these meetings? And that's why you are so keen to get me this job, right?"

He smiled sheepishly. "Well, uh, not necessarily. The job pays well too, you see. You could buy yourself, I don't know, a darn smexy beret with it... or a tutu if your into that sort of stuff..."

I shook my head. "Look, here's the deal. I'll try my best to become decent at flying, and if I do, I'll apply for the job. But the issue is that I just can't fly. I don't know whether I have too little energy or confidence, or what have you. I just couldn't fly without just falling in mid flight."

An idea appeared to pop into his head. "Hmm, not enough energy you say... I may have the thing for you..."

"Don't say anabolic steroids..." I muttered. Knowing him, it was a possibility.

"Hah! Nope, steroids don't have enough energy for you, Peggy. What you need is..." He paused as he rummaged through a drawer in the kitchen. "...one of these!" He had a bottle clenched in his teeth. He tossed me the bottle and it landed on the floor in front of me.

"What's this?" I asked, bemused at the container filled with almost glowing liquid. the label slapped across the front read: Iron Wing; replenish the glucose lost during extensive flights. I nudged it over and read the ingredients. my eyes widened. five grams of sugar? fifty milligrams of glucose sugars? "Lance, this stuff is enough to blow your brain off the hinges!"

He smirked smugly. "Yep, just the thing for you, mate. Go on, chug the whole thing down! Give it a try, I have loads in there."

I lowered my head and cautiously picked up the bottle. I supported it with a hoof and snapped off the top, the bottle emitting a loud fizzing sound as the bubbles reached for the neck where a new opening had been created. I eyes it one more time. Well, here goes nothing. I threw my neck back and began to ingest the seemingly radioactive beverage. It tasted mildly sweet with a slightly sour orange aftertaste. "Hmm... Not bad." I murmured, punctuating he sentence with a belch from the carbon dioxide in the drink. "Can't say I've felt anything differe... whoa... Crikey!" I gasped as a feeling washed over me. I felt alert, and every nerve on my body tingled with sensitivity. My eyes were wide open as a wide grin spread itself across my face. I threw the empty bottle in the air before catching it in my right hoof. "Hey, where have you been all my life?" I chuckled. My brain was going fifty to the dozen as I felt my wings slowly unfurling. Hmm... Evening practice flight, anyone?

Anyway, how was it? Oh yeah, this was on a small hiatus while I sorted all my main homework tasks that I have received lately. I have exams coming up in a couple of weeks, so I need to revise too. So this will be updated slightly less frequently, just so I can fit in more time to revise. One last thing, do you prefer the new layout of the story or not? Please tell me what you think, as I do realise I have a lot of changes to make as this is my first piece of fanfiction, yadda yadda yadda... Anyway, thanks for reading, remember to review! :)