I'm Not Small, I'm Aerodynamic!
by PonyThunder
First published
After breaking her wing and being grounded for a couple days, Rainbow Dash gradually realizes that she's a lot smaller than she realized without always having a birds-eye view on the environment.
Featured March 13th, 2017
After breaking her wing and being grounded for a couple days, Rainbow Dash gradually finds she's a lot smaller than she realized.
My tags: Heartwarming
Inspired by this wonderful artwork:
Colored Source
Non-Colored Source
I'm Not Small, I'm Aerodynamic!
Rainbow Dash trotted along the grassy path towards Fluttershy's cottage. Under normal circumstances she would have preferred to fly, but due to an unfortunate flying accident and an afternoon spent in the hospital, she was under doctor's orders to refrain from using her wings for a little while. Based on the number of times she'd had to undergo this agony before, she mused about obtaining a frequent patient card at the ponyville hospital.
She knocked three times on the solid oak door, and Fluttershy answered. The sounds of muffled hoofsteps sounded from behind the door until she opened it, tilting her head down to greet her.
"Hello, Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy answered cheerfully.
"Hey, Fluttershy, I was just--"
"Oh my," Fluttershy interrupted her, "what happened to your wing?" She peered over Dash's flank and inspected the wing with her own, which was considerably larger in comparison.
"I...had another flying accident," she replied in embarrassment, shifting herself away.
"Oh...I'm sorry to hear that," Fluttershy replied softly. "Is there anything I can do to help? How about a cup of tea?"
"Sure," she replied, "but there's another reason why I came here. I um...need a place to stay for the night. I can't actually fly home...doctor's orders..."
Fluttershy's face lit up. Despite being reserved and a little too shy, she loved playing the role of host for her friends. "Absolutely, I'll get a teapot boiling and set up a spare bed for you."
They went inside and Fluttershy went to work, humming gleefully in the kitchen as Rainbow Dash waited in her living room. She took a seat on a comfy looking chair, noticing that without being able to fly she actually had to hop up onto it. To add insult to injury, the back of the chair towered several inches above her head. Without a bird's eye perspective, everything seemed so much bigger than she was used to.
"Here's a cup," said Fluttershy as she set down a steaming cup of tea next to Rainbow Dash on a tall coffee table. She took a seat on another chair nearby, effortlessly sliding into place and putting her snout up to a steaming cup of tea, enjoying its calming aroma. Rainbow Dash watched for a few moments before taking a sip and setting her cup down on the coffee table, which she had to lean and stretch to reach.
Suddenly, the light above them flickered and went dead.
"Oh ponyfeathers," said Fluttershy. "That light is always going off. I'll go grab a spare."
A few seconds later, she returned with a replacement. Rainbow Dash watched, expecting her to flutter up and insert the new bulb. Instead, she merely stretched and brought a long, slender hoof up towards the ceiling to screw it in. Rainbow Dash watched in awe at how she managed to reach incredibly high with so little effort. There was no way she could have done the same thing without using her wings. Fluttershy sat back down at her chair and took another sip of her tea and smiled. Several thoughts started to run through Dash's mind, eventually resulting in a decision to ask Fluttershy a question.
"Fluttershy..." Rainbow Dash trailed, "am I...small?"
At first, she seemed surprised by the random question, but a small smile grew on her face. In a few moments, Fluttershy tried to figure out how to respond. Of course Rainbow Dash is small. Everypony knows that she's extremely small for a pegasus. But...she probably doesn't want to hear about that...
Seconds ticked by on a small clock nearby before she had to provide an answer. "Well...yes," she replied meekly.
A small twinge of embarrassment filled Dash's face before she continued the conversation. "How small?"
Now Fluttershy had no idea how to respond. Already, she was well aware that she was treading on eggshells. "Well...I...don't know."
An unsatisfactory answer, as indicated by a look of frustration on Dash's face. She asked again. "Come on, just tell me...I can handle it."
Well, I suppose she's given me permission to be brutally honest, Fluttershy thought to herself. She stood up. "Come stand next to me."
"What? Why?" she replied defensively, although she knew exactly what Fluttershy was aiming at. She begrudgingly set down the cup of tea and hopped down from her perch to the floor to walk over to Fluttershy in the middle of the room. As she neared, Fluttershy's figure gradually started to seem much, much larger. She was a towering, slender giant in comparison.
"Let's compare," said Fluttershy. "Stand next to me and face the window so we can see our reflections."
Rainbow Dash sighed and aligned herself next to Fluttershy to see just how small and little she looked, only to have the startling realization that she couldn't even see her reflection above the couch that sat beneath the window.
"Oh..." said Fluttershy, with a slight hint of laughter. "Well...we can compare hooflength then."
Rainbow Dash stood with un-amusement as Fluttershy sidled next to her to compare the lengths of their front legs. She glanced over to see that the top of hers just barely reached halfway on Fluttershy's.
"Okay...so I guess I am pretty small..." said Rainbow Dash, "but at least my wingspan is the best in Equestria." Fluttershy debated for a moment whether to correct her, but thankfully Rainbow Dash decided on her own to question her own statement. "Wait...is it? Stretch out your wings."
She slowly unfurled her left wing out next to Dash's. After a split-second, Rainbow Dash retracted hers and sat back down in embarrassment and insecurity. Fluttershy returned to her seat as well before offering a few words of what she hoped would be considered encouragement. "Well...if it makes you feel any better, we all think your small stature makes you unique and who you are. Plus, it's kind of cute and endearing."
"What?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, spilling hot tea over herself. "Ow!"
"Oh, let me help you. I'll grab a towel--"
"No, it's fine," Dash replied with a grumble as she hopped down to the floor. "I'll get one. From the kitchen, right?"
"There's one on the...top shelf next to the window," Fluttershy replied as she came to an unfortunate realization. "I can get it for you--"
"I've got it," Dash replied flatly as she trotted into the kitchen and surveyed for a towel to clean up her mess. Towering high above her was the towel in question, neatly folded on a shelf above the counter top. She stretched her body upwards, standing on the tips of her hooves as much as possible to reach the top shelf.
Fluttershy timidly entered the room and saw her straining to reach the towel, to which she was a good hoof's length away from reaching. Fluttershy coughed softly. "I can...get that for you..."
Rainbow Dash turned her head and gave her a friendly death glare. Moments later, however, she gave up and returned to the floor. "Alright," she replied dejectedly.
Fluttershy walked towards her and effortlessly grabbed the towel from the shelf to give to her.
"Thanks," she said as she took the towel and used it to clean up.
They returned to the living room to talk, after Fluttershy made another cup of tea for her of course. She awkwardly twiddled her feathers as Rainbow Dash sat quietly.
Rainbow Dash spoke. "I'm not small...I'm...aerodynamic okay? It helps my lift coefficient, or something...just ask Twilight."
"Okay," Fluttershy replied, unsure of how to answer beyond a simple affirmation.
"Okay, so...I am small, but I guess it doesn't really matter anyways."
"Okay," Fluttershy replied once more.
Rainbow Dash looked uncomfortable for a moment as she decided on what to say. "So you said you find it...endearing?"
"In a friendly manner, yes. We all do."
She sighed. "All of you think that? Ugh...I guess that's...kind of okay...I suppose..." Rainbow Dash didn't think Fluttershy could tell, but deep down she felt a little warm and fuzzy about it. But there wasn't a chance she was going to tell any of them that.
"We can compare one more time if you want," said Fluttershy. "Maybe you aren't as small as we thought."
"Yeah, sure whatever," she replied nonchalantly as she got to her hooves and Fluttershy walked towards her.
Instead of comparing sizes, however, Fluttershy stood over Rainbow Dash on the tips of her hooves, nestling her chin into her rainbow mane and smiling in comfort.
"Hey, what are you--" Rainbow Dash blurted out until she was interrupted by the soft and warm embrace of Fluttershy above her. "Actually, that feels pretty good."