I Just Gotta Know
"Do you ever feel like you were born… wrong?"
"Huh?"
"I mean… I dunno, sometimes I feel like I was meant to be a pegasus. Like you."
"Oh, uhm, maybe?"
Rainbow craned her neck over to Fluttershy. "Seriously! I've had dreams where I was a pegasus soaring through the sky as fast as the wind itself!" She gestured up to the sky with a hoof and smiled. "The wind in my mane, the sun on my body and the ruffling of wings," she giggled. "Fluttershy, I could practically feel it!"
Fluttershy wiggled next to Rainbow. Her wings stretched awkwardly underneath her. "I've had dreams like that too. Except, in mine, I was an earth pony like you," she admitted with a blush. "I didn't have to worry about these pesky wings and I could just live on the ground with everypony else."
Rainbow gave Fluttershy a funny look. "Well, you could just move down here," she pointed out. At Fluttershy's grimace, she chortled. "I'm serious! There's this little cottage at the end of town that basically has your name on it."
"Oh, I don't know… I like visiting you, Rainbow, but moving would be a big change…"
Rainbow looked up at the clouds. The grass beneath her tickled at her back, but it felt calming as the wind softly blew her mane around. "You see that cloud up there?"
A white tuft floated in the sky. Fluttershy nodded.
"It looks like an eagle," Rainbow said with a smile. "I think I could be a good eagle. They're awesome, like me! Plus, they're great fliers, and I think I'd be a good flier too if I had wings."
"Maybe."
Rainbow snorted. "Maybe? Come on, I'd be great and you know it!" She rolled over onto her stomach and propped herself up. "I mean, I'm fast, have good reflexes, and I totally have the awesomeness to make me a good flier." With every new adjective, she struck a pose, which made Fluttershy giggle. "Right?"
The yellow pegasus nodded. "Right."
Rainbow grinned and looked down at Fluttershy. She was so… quiet all the time. But she was Rainbow's closest friend, and her only friend, really.
Plus, she was a pegasus! She was so lucky, and she didn't even know it. Sometimes, Rainbow thought that Fluttershy would really rather be an earth pony, like in her dream. And not as a joke, or anything. How could she not want wings?
Rainbow stared at Fluttershy, who stared back with a tiny smile. Rainbow shook her head, then offered a hoof. "Come on, get up. You're gonna show me how to fly."
Fluttershy blinked. "What? But you're an earth pony."
"I know," Rainbow responded with an eye roll. "Obviously. I can't fly, but you can show me like you were teaching me how."
Fluttershy took Rainbow's hoof and used it to help herself up. "Uhm, okay… I guess?"
She knew that Fluttershy wouldn't understand, but Rainbow had to know how it felt. How it felt to really fly. She trotted eagerly as she followed Fluttershy to a flatter area of the clearing.
Fluttershy flexed her wings awkwardly at her side with a slight frown. "I'm… not sure how to do this."
Rainbow gawked. "What? But you fly all the time!"
"I know," Fluttershy mumbled, "but I've never had to show anypony…"
Rainbow whined. "Oh come on, Shy. I just wanna know what it feels like!"
The pegasus looked back at her wings, then squinted. "Okay, I'll try…"
"Yes!" Rainbow cheered. If she could get Fluttershy to like flying more, then at least she had that. Even if Rainbow herself couldn't fly, helping her friend discover why flying was so awesome was pretty much the next best thing.
Rainbow grinned as Fluttershy extended her wings to her side. Her wing feathers ruffled in the gentle wind. Soft yellow primaries danced with the breeze as long, flight-ready wings prepared to take the pegasus to the sky.
Rose red eyes drifted over Fluttershy's wings. Every feather fell perfectly into place, and Rainbow knew then that Fluttershy took expert care of her wings. Fluttershy glanced at Rainbow, then took a short gallop forward. Her wings beat strongly once, sending a gust of wind that pushed Rainbow's mane back for a second and sent Fluttershy up into the sky.
Rainbow gasped in awe. She knew that Fluttershy wasn't the most graceful of fliers, but she gawked anyway. Fluttershy seemed unsure of what to do once up in the air, so Rainbow wordlessly gestured for her to keep flying.
Though a bit slow and awkward at first, Fluttershy flew back and forth above an awe-struck Rainbow. The pegasus loosened up with every turn, her smile widening until finally, she flew smoothly. The wind blowing her long mane everywhere, only further framing the pegasus in a light pink canvas.
That look. That look of bliss on Fluttershy's face as she flew was what Rainbow wished she could feel. It just looked so… freeing. So liberating. So fun.
Even though she had never flown before, Rainbow felt grounded. Watching her friend have fun in the sky made it almost bearable, though. She hoped that Fluttershy could at least learn to make the most of it. Rainbow settled down back on her side as Fluttershy giggled, now flanked with birds.
Fluttershy's wings flapped in a different pattern than Rainbow thought they would. Maybe it was because she wasn't a very experienced flier, but her wings beat a lot more often than Rainbow would have guessed. Then again, what would she know?
She watched as Fluttershy continued to giggle as she flew. With each passing moment, she eased up more and more, and even as ungraceful as she was, she was a lot of fun to watch. The midday sun behind Fluttershy made her seem like she was glowing; like some kind of… angel. Rainbow grinned, her gaze softening. Yeah, she definitely was like an angel.
Maybe she could lead her somewhere better. Rainbow didn’t have wings, sure, but Fluttershy did, and she could be happy enough for the both of them. Rainbow would make sure of it. If Fluttershy was happy, then hay, Rainbow was happy.
Her eyes followed Fluttershy as she descended back to the grass, slightly flushed. As she trotted back to Rainbow, she tried to hide in her mane. She probably forgot that Rainbow was watching her, which made the earth pony smirk.
“So was that fun?” Rainbow asked with a smug look.
Fluttershy settled down next to her friend. Rainbow could see the tips of her feathers bristling. “Yes…”
Rainbow laughed and reached over to hit Fluttershy gently on her foreleg. “I told you! I could tell. You looked so happy up there,” she recalled. Fluttershy smiled and nodded slightly, which in turn made Rainbow’s own smile widen. “How does it feel to fly?”
The pegasus stuttered and blinked a few times. “Um, I… Uh…” Her wings ruffled at her sides as she shrugged. “I don’t know? It’s kind of… scary, at first. Even for me,” she admitted. “Or maybe that’s just me… I know that all my little bird friends love to fly. Sometimes I fly with them and I have so much fun.”
Rainbow nodded. “It really looks fun. I wish I could feel what it feels like.” She looked up to the sky and sighed. “At least I can dream about it, I guess.”
The wind picked up a bit. Rainbow’s mane whipped in front of face, but she did nothing to fix it. “You know, if I was a pegasus, I bet I’d have a cool name. Something like… Rainbow Gust, or Rainbow Thunder… or Rainbow Dash,” she suggested. Rainbow smirked, feeling satisfied. “Yeah, I like Rainbow Dash.”
Fluttershy giggled next to Rainbow. “What’s wrong with Rainbow Wish?”
“You mean apart from the fact that it’s uber lame?” Rainbow responded with a groan. “It just isn’t… me. It’s so… cheesy. Why do you think I have everypony call me Rainbow and not Wish?”
“Well… Rainbow Dash? I think that name suits you, pegasus or not,” Fluttershy said with a smile. “Maybe someday I can show you how flying feels… That would be fun.”
Show her how flying feels? “How would you do that?” Rainbow asked, slightly intrigued by the idea, but mostly curious as to how she would even go about doing it.
Fluttershy pouted. “Oh, I don’t know. I didn’t think that far ahead…” She trailed off and gazed at Rainbow. “Well, you’re a little smaller than me. Maybe I could carry you… I don’t usually carry anything bigger than a rabbit or two, but if it’s to help a friend…”
Rainbow smiled and shook her head. “Maybe, but I don’t want you to hurt yourself. I can probably ask Lyra. She’s good at magic and stuff. I think she actually used to be in Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, so she probably knows a spell that can help.”
She perked up, her passive smile turning into an eager grin. “Or I could go hang-gliding! Or sky-diving, or parachuting!” Rainbow sat up, propping herself up with her forelegs as she thought of other ways she could feel the wind in her mane like Fluttershy did. “Base jumping sounds fun! I know somepony who used to do that; I could ask her. You’d totally do this with me, right Shy?”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “Wait… do what?”
Rainbow leaned over until she was practically nose to nose with Fluttershy. “Oh my gosh, Fluttershy! We could go ziplining! Or high-diving! I know Ponyville has a high-diving team… Yeah!” She put her hooves on Fluttershy’s shoulders and shook her. “Do you think that would work?”
“Uhm….” Fluttershy hesitated. “Maybe? I don’t know, Rainbow. That sounds… scary. And a lot of it is just falling, not flying...”
“Oh,” Rainbow gulped. She deflated a little and retracted from Fluttershy. “You’re right.”
Fluttershy squeaked and reached out to Rainbow, keeping her from sinking further away. “But I think it would give you a good idea of what it’s like to fly. Really!”
But I’ll never really know, Rainbow thought to herself. She frowned a little, but before Fluttershy could notice, she shook it off and smiled. “Yeah. Maybe I’ll try it someday.”
Fluttershy nodded, but said nothing else. If Fluttershy noticed Rainbow’s frown, then she didn’t show it. That was okay, though. There was nothing more to say, and frankly, Rainbow decided she could definitely use a nap, and hopefully a dream to go with it. She rested her head on the floor and closed her eyes.
As the wind died down and warmth enveloped her, she swore could almost feel real feathers on her back already.
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- applejackofalltrades · 4.6k words · 60 12 · 947 views
- Snow Quill · 3.2k words · 66 11 · 829 views
- applejackofalltrades · 2.2k words · 56 2 · 1.2k views
- The Red Parade · 3.8k words · 40 5 · 460 views
- Bicyclette · 1.9k words · 55 11 · 1.2k views
- Ninjadeadbeard · 3.5k words · 134 9 · 2.2k views
- Graymane Shadow · 3.1k words · 141 9 · 1.8k views
- MistyShadowz · 2k words · 33 1 · 1.2k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.244 seconds
Total duration
837 users online
1,410,989 hits today, 2,829,583 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Immediately intrigued!
You finished a 1756-word story in just one night? That's amazing! And it's really well-written too, not some sort of crackfic or cringefic.
10898145
I'm glad ^^
10898146
It's all the speedwriting. Sometimes ya just gotta spew out a bunch of words in a limited amount of time haha. I'm glad you think its well written :) Thanks
:O
IT ME
10898181
It is you!
10898185
I'll remember to credit you in my fic too :>
Reminds me of the comic (issue 81) featuring the story of an earth pony who dreamed of flying with the Wonderbolts and experimented with heavier-than-air flight.
Too bad Rainbow Dash has no technical skills to speak of (as far as she's been presented in canon, anyhow).
You manage to eke put some strong emotions yet again. Good work, Jay.
As much as I love this, I'm going to be the grammar police here. Pegasus is always capitalized. You missed it every time here. I blame this being a speedwrite.
All that said, I do love that somethings never change. AU or not. Though I do wonder what this will mean for the future. Unless I missed it, the events of the show won't massively change.
Flutterhy and Rainbow don't feel any different. Aside from the obvious.
I'm overthinking this aren't I?
10898285
You're wrong.
Auto-correct normally capitalizes 'pegasus' because in the general world it refers to a specific individual - Pegasus, which is a proper noun and thus capitalized. In the context of this (and other stories on this site) it refers to a species and does not need to be.
You sure didn't insist that Earth Pony be capitalized every time, and it's the same thing.
10898285
Usually, yes. The original Pegasus was a unique creature, and so Pegasus in context of Greek mythology is a proper noun. However, pegasus is a common noun in the MLP universe as there are many of them. Just like human is generally not capitalized.
Made me think of → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdoSy4ROZpg
10898285
I'm trying to think of any grammatical reason why "pegasus" should always be capitalized? It's not a proper noun, it's not a nationality.
10898219
If only she was more of an egghead haha.
10898223
Hehehe thank you ^^
10898285
I feel like the only thing that would change is that Dash won't be a Wonderbolt. I dunno what else it would really affect. Probably nothing. Thanks for the comment.
10898333
Haha yeah true ^^
10898356
Who did the Rainboom would change. Might've missed it, but it does sound like it did happen and the girls got their cutie marks 🤔.
10898394
Oh pfft yeah thats a uh... that's a big one. Actually, when I was writing this, i remember considering that, but i figured they'd all just get it in a different way. Its subtle, but I implied that Twilight isnt there, which is why Rainbow brings up Lyra and not her. I also considered having Rainbow mention Applejack in a way that insinuates they arent friends, but just acquaintances, but I couldn't find a way to make it seem natural.
10898400
Twiilight not being there could mean this is set before she moved to Ponyville. That's what I got anyway. Either that, or I'm overthinking what this.
10898419
Its very much open to interpretation, really. Take it as you want
10898157
No problem. Anyway, speaking of being able to speedwrite, TEACH ME YOUR SECRETS, SENSEI!
10898472
Honestly, the way I learned was just do start haha. Joined Quills and Sofas and I never looked back. Now I can (on occasion if I have an idea to run with) write like 3k words in an hour or two
10898485
Cool.
10898472
As someone who can write 1k words in an hour, I can tell you it's just about practice. Speed isn't everything, mind, quality is more important.
But you can set yourself a timer for 30 mins or an hour, write just during that period and check how many words you wrote. Repeat as often as you need to. Eventually you'll get faster.
I... Jesus this hurt to read. That sort of longing, that ache in your soul... it's a familiar one, and to see it on Dash is just painful. You did well writing this, for sure.
This was sweet. The best stories often come from impulse writes when you're feeling down.
The irony I suppose is most everyone reading this story don't know what it's like to fly either. So we're in Rainbow Dash's shoes as well.
If I'm not mistaken, G3 Rainbow Dash was an earth pony that always dressed in style.
This is such a sweet Story and quite honestly, discribs how i feel. I ofzen look up to the sjy, mostly at night, and wish for wings, even if they where only there for an hour mine. Just sorow trough the skys, be close to the stars, feel the wind...
Now i am sad again
10898620
Thanks for the advice.
So if her name is Rainbow Wish and she couldn't make a sonic boom, what's her cutie mark? Lol sorry this is immediately where my mind goes.
10898680
Thank you very much, I did my best to try to convey that without bringing the entire mood down. Glad you liked it!
10898691
Precisely. Maybe we all long to fly a little inside.
And yes, you're absolutely right about gen 3 Rainbow Dash haha.
10898774
Having wings would be pretty cool. Sorry to make you sad!
10898827
Haha no no that's fair. I was thinking that too as i was writing and ended up just assuming her cutie mark would just be a lightning bolt (no cloud) and I did have a reasoning for that (i even drew it in the cover art!) but I can't for the life of me remember :P
10898842
Lmao well this story was certainly a delight and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you!!
Hey, watching this story made me think of a lot of bronies who use Pegasus as OC, including me.
Very sad, but great little story.
10898893
My main ponysona is a pegasus, too! So I empathize.
Thanks for the comment :)
This is sweet. You have shaped the characters well, and it's almost heartshaking to see Rainbow still being ambitious and enthusiastic even if she has no wings.
I couldn't say anything more. Fic's faved; I'm moved.
10898989
Thank you very much for the kind comment :) and also for the fave
10898842
Eh its okay. i like beeing sad. Sad is good... Sad means i still feel something xD
I can relate to RD really hard here. It hurt to read this. So, good job. I could feel that longing. I’ve felt it a lot before (for different things).
Good job dude this was phenomenal.
10899149
Thanks man! Sorry to hear you could relate on different levels, but I figured that would happen to at least one person, seeing as how it stemmed from some feelings I was having.
Thank you for the comment :) have a good one
10899001
Sheesh are you always this extra? 🙄
10899224
Probably
10898356
Perhaps her situation would improve when Twilight finally comes to town. Though regularly casting the butterfly-wing spell would probably get exhausting.
There's also her relationship with Scootaloo, which in canon was the result of her being attracted to Rainbow's top-tier flying skills (some have speculated that Scoots was specifically hoping to get some help learning to fly herself). Unless Earth Pony Rainbow Dash has something equally appealing to bring to the table, that probably wouldn't happen. Which would stink because Rainbow Dash would become a major source of emotional support for Scootaloo while she was being basically raised by whatever local adults weren't busy.
10899463
I figure that when/if Twilight even comes to Ponyville (consider that the Rainboom doesn't even happen so maybe she didn't even end up in Celestia's school, or like, things turned out different), Rainbow probably wouldn't make her do that a whole bunch. In fact, she implies here that she was gonna go visit Lyra (who did attend Celestia's school) so I figure she'd know how hard that butterfly wing spell would be.
And additionally, you're right about Scootaloo. I'd like to think they'd both somehow bond about wanting to be able to fly and try to find ways to do it together. After all, Rainbow Dash is still awesome. She just can't fly, so if her and Scootaloo ever interact, their bond would probably be very similar just a bit different in terms of what keeps them together.
Again, I made this very open ended. You're welcome to take the story as you wish and make your own predictions about things that would happen. These are just my own "headcanons" for my story haha
10899476
For what it's worth, there's also the fact that both Pinkie Pie and Cherry Berry own pedal-powered helicopters. Perhaps one of them could hook Rainbow up. Plus Scootaloo actually has shown mechanical skills. So even if Lyra couldn't handle the flight spell (Twilight looked like she was about to pass out when she cast it on Rarity), there is hope.
10898774
I myself have looked into building myself an airplane, but my current job is in an area where housing prices are such that you'd have to be as filthy rich as Filthy Rich to afford a place with the necessary workshop space. Though that could change when I get more of the experience that employers in my field like to see.
10899494
Now i need to make art of Rainbow with a pedal plane or on a hot air balloon or something haha
A short bit sweet story, hope there's a sequel.
10898146
*looks at your comment, then looks at my 1 story and several chapters of other stories over 3k all written in one night when they were written...*
10899686
Hehe, no planned sequel, but that's never stopped me before. Thanks for the comment!
And I see you're a fellow quick writer B) Nice
Well done. Not the most artistic piece in the world, but definitely a beautiful one.
Some says that the beauty of fanfics lies in fulfilling unreachable dreams. Yet, to live isn't all about getting what we want, but seeing what we have. And this piece of gem has done it so well. It reminds us how lucky Rainbow Dash is, to be exactly who and what she wants to be.
Hopefully, we should try to live our life, not as Rainbow Wish, but as Rainbow Dash.
Also, the reveal on Rainbow's name is awesome.
10899945
Thank you for the kind comment :) It means a lot. I do agree with everything you said, especially that we should live like Rainbow Dash.
Also haha the name was hard to figure out, glad you enjoyed that reveal :)
10899686
*sees how much you accomplished in one night and does a spittake*
10900829
It's all about preparation.
Before I start writing a story, I start an outline of who the main protagonists and antagonists are, what the conflict/plot is, any relevant world-building tidbits and any supporting characters along with how they tie into the story. The current story I'm writing, Blind Hope, I've been working on since at least 2016, with one aborted writing attempt that was unpublished in 2017. Hell, the main character is based on one I created for a high school creative writing project almost 20 years ago. I didn't actually get down to writing it till March this year
The only exception to this was "Of Cold Nights and Long Sleeps", which I wrote out of spite when a bunch of Sunset "Anon-a-miss" fics were published in a short amount of time with paper-thin plots (SUNSET SAD SUNSET KILL HERSELF HURDUR... god I hate Anon-a-miss stories so much, 99% of them are shite).
Also, being able to type 90+ words per minute helps too.
10901190
👁️👁️ yall plan your stories? damn maybe I should try that
10901192
I hated doing it in high school, always felt it was a waste of time, but it actually does help. Having it available as a reference if you're writing a long story helps a lot, especially if you want to avoid contradictions or plot holes.