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Post by Snowdrop on Apr 21, 2012 23:12:12 GMT -5
Today was the day! It was bright and sunny with a cool, steady wind and Snowdrop was absolutely dead-set on getting off the ground today! And not just for a few seconds before crash-landing in some shrubbery, either! This was going to be real flight! tucking her head under her wing a moment, she tugged on a ribbon to make sure it was secure.
Right wing, Check!
Left wing, Check!
Perhaps she still had trouble keeping her wings in unison, but so what? She had creativity and inventiveness! Today, she'd hit upon a genius idea! She'd tied a little silver bell to each wing! These bells would jingle with each flap she made! If both wings were in sync, the bells would ring in harmony! if they weren't working together, she would be able to hear which wing had gone off!
Oh yes. This was a much better idea than tying herself to the tail of an oversized kite, trampoline or no trampoline! This was the idea that was going to work! Eagerly, Snowdrop whisked round to face into the wind. Three! Two! One! Go! The little filly charged down the incline she had chosen, gathered herself up at the right moment, and sprang into the air!
A merry jingling of bells- uneven at first but then miraculously, more in unison! Snowdrop didn't fly exactly... but she fell a lot slower than she would have normally. A popular pegasus term for this was 'featherfall'. It was close enough to the flight-deprived little pegasus! Snowdrop delighted in her brief moments of airtime...until she noticed something she probably should have thought of before.
Ahead of her was a wide, rather quick-moving and deep river. Had she merely crashed and tumbled as usual, she would have landed far short of it. Had she been truly flying, or even a straight winged glide, she would have easily cleared it. As it was, she saw she was headed to land right in the middle! A bit alarmed, Snowdrop flapped harder- but being so distracted, her wings happily went out of sync, and with a yelp and a splash, she was in the river!
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Post by Kale on Apr 22, 2012 0:09:08 GMT -5
"Hm...no, needs more salt." Turning toward the counter, Kale clenched a salt shaker in his teeth, then, with a few shakes of his head, put a dash of the seasoning into the sauce. His pesto-peony sandwiches would fall flat if the pesto was too bland; even the highest quality flowers couldn't make up for that. Upon tasting the sauce again, the pegasus considered for a moment, then nodded in approval. "Aunt Saffron, the pesto's ready!" he called to his earth pony aunt. He'd explained earlier that he'd have to leave right after the lunch rush, what with having a filly to teach.
Glancing up at a clock, Kale gasped when he saw he was already five minutes late. How had time gotten away from him!? Galloping out the back door, he narrowly avoided colliding with his aunt as she came down the stairs. "Sorry, I'm late!" he shouted over his shoulder, taking to the air as soon as he was outside. With how energetic and impatient Snowdrop was, the stallion could only imagine what sort of trouble she'd get into if somepony kept her waiting.
Unfortunately, Kale was no Wonderbolt, and even flying didn't get him to Whitetail Wood quickly. Swooping low, the pegasus hit the ground running, only coming to a halt as he reached the top of a hill. He whipped his head in every direction, scanning the trees and grass for the splash of blue and white that was Snowdrop. When he finally caught sight of her, though, it was just as she was making an actual splash.
"Snowdrop!" he shouted in alarm, breaking into a gallop once more as he charged at the river. Leaping the moment his hooves touched the shoreline, Kale spread his wings and glided to the center, where Snowdrop had gone under. Folding his wings in once more, the pegasus lost altitude rapidly and plunged in himself. If this sounds uncharacteristically heroic for the stallion, it is worth noting that his dive was less than graceful; the impact sent water shooting up his nose, and he actually flipped over before regaining his senses.
Once he righted himself, Kale wrapped a forward leg around Snowdrop. He broke the surface of the water with a gasp, then began kicking for the shore. Once the two pegasi reached land, he released the filly, sprawling out on the grass and panting. "Do you...do you plan to start every lesson like this?"
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Post by Snowdrop on Apr 22, 2012 1:06:30 GMT -5
When the cold water had first closed over her head, all had been chaos and confusion. Snowdrop couldn't make out which way was up and which was down. And then as the water soaked mane, wing, and tail, it all became crystal clear. She sank to the bottom. She looked longingly up at the rippling surface and the slanting sunbeams. Was she going to drown?
Not today! Snowdrop watched as a shadow blocked out the slanting sunbeams and Kale practically somersaulted onto her out of nowhere! The little filly was scooped quickly off the bottom and then her head was above water! She coughed and spluttered all the while Kale was pulling them to shore, and she lay spread out on the grass with him gasping for the sweet, sweet air. Air had never tasted so good!
"Do you...do you plan to start every lesson like this?"
Snowdrop considered this as she heaved one last deep breath. Then her breathing slowed and became regular. She probably should have been ashamed, putting Kale at risk like that. Perhaps she ought to apologize for always being so much trouble, even though she tried so hard to be good. Then, she remembered something and it was such an electrifying thought that she sprang to feet as though the very ground had bounced her into the air, bells jingling!
"Oh, Kale! I flowed! I flewed! I mean, I was flying! Just a little bit, but I wasn't falling! I stayed in the air a little while!' Overjoyed, the little filly jingle-bounced around the stallion, turning cartwheels and flips and any other acrobatic that could possibly express her overflowing, energetic happiness!
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Post by Kale on Apr 22, 2012 1:53:12 GMT -5
Waiting to regain his own breath, Kale watched the expressions on Snowdrop's face go from mere relief, to thoughtfulness, to rather unexpected ecstasy. Widening his eyes, the pegasus watched as she began leaping and cavorting around him. Pushing himself up to a seated position, he continued to stare at the filly, furrowing his brows in confusion.
What in Equestria was she so happy about?
"Oh, Kale! I flowed! I flewed! I mean, I was flying! Just a little bit, but I wasn't falling! I stayed in the air a little while!"
"You did? That's great!" Kale replied, genuinely happy for her (if still a little puzzled by how quickly she'd moved past the 'I almost drowned' issue). "But you've got to be more careful," he added, voice taking on a sterner edge. "You were lucky I got here when I did. Next time, there might not be anypony around to help." Eying his dripping fur, the stallion gave a small sigh, then rolled over once in the grass. Getting back to his hooves, he shook a few extra droplets out of his feathers and turned back to Snowdrop.
"Now, what exactly ha--" Kale began, but cut off when he noticed the unusual accessories Snowdrop had attached to their wings. "Um...what are those for?" he asked curiously, pointing to one of the bells. This was all just a little stranger than the pegasus was used to.
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Post by Snowdrop on Apr 22, 2012 3:06:21 GMT -5
Snowdrop wasn't too concerned about Kale's sternness. She understood that it came from an affectionate regard for herself- and she loved him for it. She nodded wisely in agreement with his reprimand. She should be more careful. She would be, from now on. But she didn't really think that there would ever be a time when he wouldn't be able to save her in time. He was her hero, the closest thing to perfection she knew personally. The thought of her flight came back to her again and she giggled ecstatically at the remembrance of it, prancing in place with joy!
When Kale pointed out her training bells and asked her what they were for, Snow looked from one wing to the other. She was delighted that she hadn't lost one, not even when she had plunged into the river! She gave herself a head-to-tail shake, jingling all the while, and then looked up eagerly at Kale before explaining.
"Well you see, I cant stare at my wings when I'm flying you know, because then I wouldn't be able to watch where I was going, and anyway, my neck would get tired, looking over my shoulder and besides, they don't always behave even when I'm watching them!" Snowdrop paused to take a deep breath after this excited run-on sentence. "So I thought, what if I could hear them?" Snowdrop demonstrated the harmony of the bells with a few quick wingstrokes. "When they flap together, they make a nice sound, ringing together, but when they don't, I can hear each bell separately! so I know without looking which wing is misbehaving!"
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Post by Kale on Apr 22, 2012 15:00:09 GMT -5
Even after his short attempt at being a stern adult, Kale apparently could do nothing to dampen Snowdrop's enthusiasm. She merely nodded a bit, then went right back to victory dancing. Giving a resigned, if also somewhat amused, sigh, the stallion just waited for the filly to calm down a bit more before asking why she had bells tied to her wings. As was typical for Snowdrop, she launched into a motor-mouthed explanation that Kale just managed to get the gist of.
"So I thought, what if I could hear them?"
It was a good idea, Kale had to give her that. He honestly didn't have any idea beforehand of how to help her through it; he'd just figured it would get worked out on its own eventually. And in a sense, it had! Thank goodness for Snowdrop's obsession with flying, it made his job a great deal easier.
...maybe the damsel-in-distress routine she kept pulling was to balance things out.
"When they flap together, they make a nice sound, ringing together, but when they don't, I can hear each bell separately! so I know without looking which wing is misbehaving!"
"I like it," he said, gently tapping one of the bells with a hoof. It jingled lightly for a moment, then he set his hoof back on the ground. "Alright, before you try flying again, let's see you flap. Go slow, first, we'll speed up the better you get at it." As much as he thought her plan was smart, the stallion was hesitant to rush things. It was that sort of behavior that had gotten him soaking wet in the first place.
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Post by Snowdrop on Apr 22, 2012 16:39:04 GMT -5
See? It was a good idea, even Kale liked it. Snowdrop gave him a sunny smile as he lightly flicked one of the bells to hear it tinkle. When he suggested that they take it slow however, it pained her a little. She didn't want to practice wing exercises, she wanted to fly! She was wild to try flying again!
Unlike Kale, Snowdrop lived in a constant state of being wet or dirty or more often, both. Granny Weathermane had laughingly thrown up her hooves and surrendered the challenge of trying to keep Snowdrop spotless. Instead, each morning, out by the back door the old mare filled a tin washtub with extremely soapy water. Before Snowdrop was to come inside, she was to jump into this washtub and roll around. Sometimes, by the end of the day, it was impossible to tell if the water was making her any less dirty! So being wet was not such a big deal to her.
On the other hoof, however pleasant and quiet and peaceful the bottom of the river might be, Snow didn't really fancy another trip down there anytime soon. So, with a sheepish grin, she decided that perhaps Kale was right. Besides, she could practice anytime she wanted, but an actual lesson was something she only got to do when Kale was there! Snowdrop fixed her eyes on Kale cheerfully and began the familiar pattern of flaps.
At about the minute mark, the longest period of time yet, the right wing went off. Snowdrop instinctively turned her head to look, stopped herself, and with an expression of concentration, stopped both wings for about six beats before starting them again in unison. It was a bit of a long pause, and in flight she would have probably just begun to really fall (unless she had stopped them in a glide,) but it was still a leap in progress. At least she looked to be in control of her wings. At least, while she had all four hooves firmly on the ground anyway!
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Post by Kale on Apr 22, 2012 18:07:53 GMT -5
Snowdrop obviously didn't appreciate the slow-and-steady approach the same way Kale did. For a moment, her face fell, and it seemed like she was going to protest--and to be honest, Kale wasn't sure he could refuse her if she did. He'd never really dealt with a foal before, and he'd always assumed he'd be bad at it. Now that he was actually getting along with one, alienating her was the last thing he intended to do.
But fortunately for the stallion, Snowdrop broke into a shy grin and did as she was told. Flashing a smile in response, Kale shifted his gaze to her wings, watching with increasing astonishment as they remained in harmony for what was, in comparison to her performance from the previous lesson, an eternity.
While this was general cause for celebration, one aspect of Snowdrop's attempt did give Kale pause. Once she restarted her flapping, he let her continue for another several seconds before holding up a hoof to halt her. "You've obviously been practicing," he said with an encouraging--and somewhat proud--look. "But you have to be careful when you stop flapping. Don't fold your wings back in; keep them out, you'll at least stay up long enough to start flapping again."
With that, the stallion glanced around, then walked up to the top of the hill. Waiting until Snowdrop followed him, he pointed at an adjacent hill. "I think you're ready to try the running start again. Start from that hilltop, you should be able to at least fly back to this one. Just remember what I told you, okay?"
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Post by Snowdrop on Apr 23, 2012 2:28:00 GMT -5
Were there any words to describe Snowdrop's feelings when Kale decided that the time had come to try another flight? If there were, she couldn't think of them. With a little cry of joy, she dashed away from the stallion at top speed, tearing down the side of this hill and up the side of the other, The jingling of her bells growing a little fainter as she put distance between them. at this rate, even if she never learned to fly, she would still make a champion sprinter, though such thoughts were probably better left unspoken.
As for the hill, Kale had chosen well. From that hill, she could run into the wind and attempt to take off, with minimal rocks, bushes, or rivers to land on or in. There was the river she had fallen in before, of course, but the odds were she wouldn't be able to reach it, and if she did, she would certainly have to pass Kale first!
Reaching the crest of the hill, Snowdrop skidded to a stop and spun around, taking a moment to breathe and enjoy the feeling of the wind. Raising a hoof, she waved eagerly at Kale. It was time! She crouched down like a cat about to pounce and before he could blink, she was off! As before, it was an excellent running start with a beautiful leap off the ground!
But... that's almost as far as it went. Though her first few flaps were unsteady, she quickly gained confidence and her wings seemed cooperative. The problem now was that the filly had experienced so many crashes and tumbles that she instinctively kept her feet down rather than tucking them up or stretching them out. This practically doubled her wind resistance, and deprived her of gaining any real 'lift'.
So once again, she was only performing feather fall, looking like nothing so much as a white hen that had been tossed up into the air and was flapping hard as it came down. Still, it was airtime of a sort, and though she only landed on about the halfway point of Kale's hill, it was at least twice the distance a plain leap or a tumble would have taken her. Progress after all! Elated, the filly pranced the rest of the way to her teacher!
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Post by Kale on Apr 23, 2012 18:52:11 GMT -5
If Kale had any fingers, he would have crossed them now. As he was stuck with hooves for the present, though, he was forced to simply watch Snowdrop dash off for the other hill and hope she'd actually heard anything beyond 'you're ready to try again.' At the very least, she wasn't going to go for another dive; the stallion had made sure she was far from the river. He hadn't even dried off all the way yet.
As usual, Snowdrop's attempt started out beautifully. Whether through practice or just sheer energy, the filly was quite a racer on the ground; Kale bet she could even outrun some adults. At the moment she leaped, the stallion cringed, expecting the worst. But that soon gave way to astonishment as the filly took to the air--and stayed there. Of course, it wasn't much of a flight, as her outstretched legs robbed her of the momentum they'd provided on the ground, but the fact was that Snowdrop was airborne, and flapping her wings properly.
She might as well have been performing a sonic rainboom, though, for how happy it made both pegasi.
Normally not the type to express happiness so blatantly, Kale found himself rearing up onto his back legs and pedaling his forward hooves excitedly. "That was great!" he exclaimed, finally settling back onto all four legs as Snowdrop approached. "You're learning a lot faster than I did."
Of course, there was still much room for improvement, so after taking a moment to let Snowdrop bask in success, Kale continued. "There is something I noticed, though." Unfurling his own wings, the stallion kicked off from the ground and hovered a foot or so in the air. "You have to get your legs up, having them down like you do will make it a lot harder to move." Pulling his legs up to a folded position to demonstrate, Kale glanced at them before looking back to Snowdrop. "You should only have your legs down when you're about to land." Dropping back to earth, the pegasus folded his wings back up. "So, you wanna try again?"
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Post by Snowdrop on Apr 23, 2012 19:56:41 GMT -5
If Kale had taken two of the brightest stars out of the night sky and placed them in Snowdrop's eyes, then...he would have been a real jerk and someone probably should have kicked him for putting foreign objects into the eyes of a little foal! But even so! Snowdrop's eyes couldn't have shone any brighter than they did just then, hearing such praise!
Kale was proud of her! Kale had said she did great! Highly energetic by nature and even more so when she was feeling happy, Snowdrop flung herself at the stallion, wrapping forelegs around his neck and giving him an exultant hug for just a moment. Then she sprang away and giddily danced on the grassy hill for a full two minutes before she could be calm enough to attend to what Kale was saying now.
It didn't seem so hard, tucking up her feet, Snowdrop thought, glancing at her own. After all, it came naturally whenever she jumped to clear a fence or a log or a rock or a bush or any kind of object that was in her way, really! And it would help a lot? Consider it done, then! At Kale's inquiry about whether or not she was ready to try again, the filly responded with a loud, exuberant "YES!!!" followed by a long, fading chain of 'yes!'es as Snow half dashed, half bounced, back to the other hill.
Snowdrop was so mirthful, so tickled that everything was going right today, that she didnt even notice that the cool wind was suddenly cold. Nor did she notice the sudden lack of sunlight as dark clouds came together, seemingly out of nowhere. In Snow's world, all was rosy and lovely at this moment!
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Post by Kale on Apr 24, 2012 1:37:58 GMT -5
Kale had grown quite accustomed to Snowdrop's particular brand of enthusiasm: cheering, leaping, and going in circles were all becoming old hat to the stallion. What he didn't expect, however, was the hug. It lasted too short for him to fully process what she was doing, and by the time he thought he should react in some way beyond arching his eyebrows, the brief embrace was over.
Watching as Snowdrop resumed her more standard celebration activities, Kale reflected on how odd their little friendship was. Having been an only foal, the pegasus supposed that Snowdrop was like the little sister he'd never had. It was probably rather presumptuous of him to equate this with such a close bond, but still, the idea was nice. If he'd had the fortune of having a sibling, he knew he would have loved one like Snowdrop.
He sighed.
"YES!!!"
Once again, Snowdrop went bounding off toward her start line, leaving Kale with nothing to do but watch and wait. He had much higher hopes for this time; with the progress they'd been making, it might be the first time the filly not only glided, but flew. At the very least, her distance might improve significantly. She might even be able to get back to where he stood!
A breeze, stronger than the rest, began ruffling Kale's mane and feathers. Frowning lightly, the stallion turned his head up at the sky behind him. He hadn't realized there was a rainstorm scheduled for the day, and he sighed again at the thought that he was going to get wet all over again. He'd have to get Snowdrop home, her grandmother probably wouldn't like it if he brought her back with a cold--
Snowdrop!
"Snowdrop, wait!" Kale shouted, subconsciously taking a step in her direction. "The wind's getting too strong, don't try to fly yet!" He wasn't sure if she could hear him above the weather, but he desperately hoped she would. There was no telling how she'd fare against storm-level winds when she could barely even glide properly--and too high a chance that this would be the time he couldn't save her.
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Post by Snowdrop on Apr 24, 2012 2:46:49 GMT -5
Snowdrop reached the top of the hill and didn't even come to a full stop before making a sharp about-face and racing down the hill again. She didn't even think about checking the weather first, and if she had, she probably wouldn't have stopped anyway. Rain? Feh! What was a little rain anyway? She spent more time in it than out of it!
However, Kale's warning, shouted in an urgent tone, was more than enough to check the filly. Catching only the first part of the warning, Snow put her hooves down and skidded to a stop, wings outstretched for those first clumsy flaps. Instead, she stood as if frozen, gazing at Kale with wide-eyed alarm and surprise. What's wrong? she wondered. Why call for a wait? Wait, what happened to the nice sunny day? It's-
Just then, Snowdrop was forcibly struck by a wind stronger than any she'd ever felt before! It was far too strong to be a normal pegasus-storm wind! Even Kale would find it hard to stand a blast like that, but Snow, still frozen in place from her screeching halt, was literally picked up and thrown sky-high! She didnt even have time for a yelp!
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Post by Kale on Apr 24, 2012 3:22:48 GMT -5
Snowdrop's prompt halt was a great relief to Kale. He'd been terrified the filly would get bowled over by the crosswinds the moment she left the ground; Celestia only knew what kind of damage the resultant landing could do to her. "Stay there!" he hollered over the shrieking wind. He began walking down the hill, carefully watching his hooves to make sure he kept a careful footing. Moving as quickly as he could without compromising safety, the stallion had just begun to climb the second hill when a shriek of alarm caused him to snap his gaze upward.
A flash of white and blue tumbling through the air told him all he needed--but didn't want--to know.
"SNOW!" he cried, fixed to the spot by horror for a moment. That moment didn't last long, though, and once it had passed, the stallion threw all caution to the ever-mounting winds. He didn't stand too much better of a chance in these conditions than Snowdrop did. Only a really talented or experienced flyer could claim to know their way in weather like this. But there wasn't anypony else around, and therefore nopony else who could help. Kale was just going to have be the next best thing.
Fortunately, it wasn't too hard to fly after Snowdrop. After all, she was being carried by the wind; Kale could enjoy the benefit of a tailwind and a relative lack of cross-breezes. However, the air was still far more turbulent than he was used to, and the constant splashes of raindrops on his face were no help. But the pegasus did his best, darting through the sky after the wayward Snowdrop.
"Snowdrop!" he shouted as he drew close to her. Holding his front hooves out as far as he could reach them, he yelled, "Grab on!" The moment she did, he pulled her close, holding her similarly to when they'd first 'met.' He hadn't realized how much more difficult it would be to fly while carrying her, though, and the crosswinds began buffeting him harder and harder the closer they got to the ground.
Just before he got within landing altitude, a particularly strong windshear struck the pegasus, knocking Snowdrop out of his grasp and him off course. Banking at a canted angle, Kale hit the ground left wing first--and just before plowing into the grass and dirt grabbed his attention, the feeling of something snapping caused him to cry out in pain. Of course, this was soon muffled by the aforementioned plowing, which finally brought him to a standstill (and left a small trail of uprooted and disheveled grass).
Groaning, the stallion forced himself to lift his head and look around. "Snowdrop!?" he called. "Are you alright?"
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Post by Snowdrop on Apr 24, 2012 4:46:33 GMT -5
The feeling of having the ground pulled out from under was an awful one! Snowdrop felt sick, and if she hadn't had much bigger worries and concerns than that at the moment, she might have been sick! She made no attempt to do anything but keep her wings out. She had no idea how high she was, or which way was up. She barely knew if she were flying or falling! She couldn't do anything to save herself either way! It was terrifying, this feeling of helplessness!
And then, miraculously, Kale was there with her, trying to help her, to catch hold of her! She saw him reaching out as far as he could, and could hear him shout over the wind.
"Snowdrop! Grab on!"
Snow reached out, but it wasn't far enough. It wasn't going to be enough, she was sure! But then, a sudden wind change, for her or for Kale, and then she could reach and she DID! Snowdrop clung as tightly to Kale as she could, and he held onto her tightly. This was the part where, as before when he had caught her that late winter's day, the filly just shut her eyes and concentrated on clinging to her hero!
But something happened, just before they hit the ground. Snow could never decide later whether something besides the wind had struck them just then... or not. Maybe a flying tree branch, maybe something else. But Kale's landing shifted and... either he let go in a last ditch instinctive effort to save himself- Or, as Snowdrop secretly felt sure, something had ripped her right out of his grasp and thrown her, hard, to the ground.
"...owdrop?! Are you all right?!"
A blurry vision of something green and brown slowly brightened and came into focus. Grass. The wind howled over her head, she was soaking wet from cold rain, and some inner prompting kept her low to the ground, even if she was unsure why. She turned her head very slowly to look at Kale, wordlessly. At once, tears filled her eyes and she crawled towards him, not daring to stand lest the wind find a second hold on her! "I'm all right, Kale!!" she called back, the words more of a sob than a reassurance.
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