Flight.

“I don’t even know why I agreed to to this.” Twilight said, suddenly a bit nervous.

“C’mon Twi. This is gonna be totally fun, I just know it.” Rainbow Dash said waving off Twilight’s discomfort as she walked ahead of them.

“Where are we going anyway?” Moonjumper asked, confused as to why they couldn’t have just started their flight in the park.

“The park normally has more ponies in the air. It will be easier to move around without hitting anypony out here” Rainbow Dash explained as she continued to walk to the edge of town. “We’re actually going to where I normally practice after weather duty.”

Not long after they finished talking, they arrived at Rainbow’s training spot. A large grassy field spread out before them.

“Alright, now are we gonna start flying or what!?” Rainbow asked, a look that was almost challenging on her face. Moonjumper and Twilight looked at one another, shrugged, and then nodded.

“Okay, well I’m itching to get airborne so I’ll just see you up in the sky. Have fun and try to forget about whatever has you down for a bit.” Rainbow Dash said before rocketing into her training routine. The two ponies left on the ground looked at each other slightly confused.

“Well if she wants you to take me flying should I just get up on your back or what?” Twilight asked. She knew that some pegasi would take their non pegasus friends or special someponies flying, but she didn’t know the exact way this was accomplished.

“I am not sure, I’ve never had anypony that I could take flying. None that didn’t already have wings that is. I think that having you on my back would probably make wing movement a bit harder.” Moonjumper said. She started thinking of how she could best support herself and Twilight while in the air.

“Do you think it would work if you held me from my torso?” Twilight asked. Moonjumper shrugged, but flapped her wings and started hovering slightly above Twilight. Slowly she flew lower until she was just barely above Twilight’s back, forelegs spread out, ready to pick the unicorn up when she affirmed that she was ready. When she did Moonjumper pulled Twilight up to her while simultaneously flapping downward twice as hard to get them both in the air.

“EEEP!” Twilight squeaked as she felt the ground fall out from under her. Moonjumper hovered above the ground, letting Twilight and herself get used to the strange position that they were both in.

“Alright I think I’m good, just start slowly please.” Twilight said after a few moments. Moonjumper nodded, but when she hit her jaw against Twilight’s head they both decided it would be best to use strictly verbal and mental communication. Slowly, Moonjumper ascended, the ground falling further and further away. Something that was freaking Twilight out.

“Don’t look at the ground, not unless it is where we are going alright.” Moonjumper said, having felt Twilight tense up as they left the ground behind. Twilight just gave a small affirmative squeak, but did stop looking at the ground. This helped slightly, but her fear was far from gone.

Moonjumper started to move forward, slowly at first as she was still getting used to the extra weight. The two ponies both feeling slightly uncomfortable.

“Banking right!” Moonjumper warned as executed the familiar movements. Once again she felt Twilight tense up, and felt bad that there was little she could do to help.

‘Twilight.’ Moonjumper mentally called out. ‘Do you want me to go back to the ground for a bit?’

‘Yes!’ was Twilight’s reply. Moonjumper stopped flapping and started to glide in a wide circle to lose some altitude and soon enough they were back on solid ground. Twilight was still visibly shaking from the experience. Moonjumper felt bad seeing Twilight so uncomfortable.

“Twilight, are you okay?’ Moonjumper asked, worried about the unicorn.

“I don’t know. I just can’t get my mind off the idea of falling.” Twilight admitted with a small shudder. Moonjumper knew that Twilight did not have a fear of heights, as she owned a personal hot air balloon, and had been to Cloudsdale. But she could not figure out how to comfort Twilight.

“Twilight, do you not want to go flying?” Moonjumper asked, Twilight shook her head. “Twilight, you know that I will not let you fall. You don’t need to worry.” Moonjumper said.

“I know that, I just can’t get my eyes off of the ground.” Twilight said. Suddenly, Moonjumper had an idea.

“Then don’t open your eyes.” She said. Twilight looked at her as if she were crazy but she pushed on. “I want you to keep your eyes closed, and just let yourself feel the air rush over you, and don’t think about anything else.” Moonjumper explained.

“Well… I guess I could try it.” Twilight said.

“Alright close your eyes and I’ll pick you back up. And don’t think about anything but the sensations on your body as we are flying.” Moonjumper instructed. Twilight did as she was told. A few seconds later she heard Moonjumper’s wings beating against the air, and then Two strong forelegs wrapping around her midsection.

Twilight still tensed up a bit as she felt the ground fall away from her. But she put all her effort into concentrating on the sensations of flight. The wind blowing over her coat. Her mane and tale billowing out behind her. Without seeing the ground, she didn’t even know how high they were, Twilight had to admit that flying did feel amazing.

Twilight knew she could trust Moonjumper to hold her without fear of her slipping. Twilight almost felt like a stuffed animal with how tightly Luna was holding her. It felt comforting to have another pony so close to her while she was still slightly freaking out.

‘Twilight. You are going to hate me for what I’m about to do.’ Came Moonjumper’s mental voice. Suddenly the strong grip on Twilight was lost and Twilight was in free fall.

Twilight’s eyes flew open, expecting to see the ground rushing up to meet her. The ground was nowhere to be seen. Instead of fields of green grass, Twilight saw clouds below her, and Moonjumper was right before her looking at her with a smile. Twilight, to her benefit, was managing to refrain from screaming.

“Spread your body out!” Moonjumper yelled to Twilight. Moonjumper demonstrated and her descent was slowed a bit. Twilight did this herself and felt a lot more controlled in her descent. Moonjumper was still smiling at her and despite the fact that Twilight was seemingly falling to her death, she felt a sudden ease come over her.

For a few more moments Moonjumper let Twilight dive. Twilight felt a wave of relief wash over her as Moonjumper as back over her and wrapped her forelegs around her. This time she kept her eyes open as they flew above the clouds. Seeing what they were doing gave her a sense of context that made all of the sensations she experienced with her eyes closed feel like cheap imitations.

Moonjumper could see Twilight looking around in wonder. She felt happy knowing that her rather reckless stunt had ended up helping Twilight fully enjoy the flight.

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“That was incredible!” Twilight exclaimed as Moonjumper landed once again. Rainbow Dash landed not long after, coming to a halt right before the pair.

“You guys looked pretty good up there. How did it go?” Rainbow asked looking from one pony to the other.

“Fantastic!” Twilight began. “Moonjumper is an amazing flier, definitely not as fast as you, but she moves so gracefully through the air that after I got over my initial fear of falling. It was amazing to see what she could do in the air.”

Moonjumper gave a slight blush at the compliments that Twilight was continuing to shower on her. Luckily Rainbow Dash was quick to get Twilight’s attention off the flight.

“That’s great. Glad you guys enjoyed it, but it is getting late. I think I’m going home, alright.” Rainbow said.

“That sounds like a good idea, I am really tired after all that.” Moonjumper said, her wings drooping slightly.

“Oh, right. Hehe.” Twilight said scratching her head with a hoof. “Well then I guess we should head back to the library.”

“Agreed.” Moonjumper said. “Goodbye Rainbow Dash, this was a great way to unwind after what happened at the library.”

With that, the three ponies split into two groups, headed for their respective homes.

Author's Notes:

Well here is the next chapter. I have no idea. I'll probably edit some of this stuff later.