February 30th, 993 Domina Solaria

Stallionsday.

When Doug first heard the name of the week, he had thought it somewhat patronizing. Especially with it being their ‘day off’, a day of rest, much like they view winter as a season of holidays and relaxation. Well, half day for him; the Apples view work on the farm as less of a job and more of a calling. To be fair, that’s true for the vast majority of the ponies.

Doug lays on the warm grass on the north end of the farm, content to watch one of those rare exceptions zip back and forth. The afternoon sun is quite relaxing, and he basks in the fifth cloudless day in a row. Two books lie by his side, the thick aeronautics textbook open to a complex diagram of a corkscrewing aerobatic maneuver. The other, a Wonderbolt wingbook annotated by Sight Seer’s tight but flowing script, shows a similar diagram except it also includes how to incorporate additional ponies into the maneuver and notes on how he performed.

For this one Rainbow Dash starts with exaggeratedly large loops, gradually tightening while keeping a perfect circle. When she can't get her radius any smaller she holds for as long as she can, her speed staying as even as possible.

Eventually the cerulean pegasus finishes her fourth flawless circuit of the ‘advanced’ vertical portion (she deemed herself ‘competent’ on the ‘beginner’ horizontal portion after the first try). She pulls out with a dazed expression, her magenta eyes spinning in circles as she goes back to large loops. After one turn the lithe pegasus turns the circle on its edge, keeping her form perfect and making a mockery of how gravity would mess with her spacing.

Doug smiles to himself as he watches Dash struggle with the ‘expert’ level maneuver. She would occasionally dip out of her tight circle, sometimes obviously so, and her frustrated grimace is visible even so far away. Except rather than giving up the mistake spurs her to greater efforts, correcting her wings and compensating for the constantly changing conditions. By the third iteration she hasn’t messed up a single line, yet she still goes through two more repetitions to make sure she has the move down perfectly.

Doug wishes he had a phone or camera to record this. The only thing that might make it even cooler would be to throw a wispy cloud in the mix; not too thick to mess with her flight, but substantial enough to capture the vortexes spilling off her wings. It would turn the clear blue sky into a picturesque landscape of white spirals, the golden sun casting everything in a radiant glow. Perhaps the ‘day’ version of A Starry Night?

It’s amusing, these perfectly clear skies. They let him see clear across to Canterlot to the east, or to the Unicorn Range to the northwest, or to the pegasi working the weather above Ponyville. It turns out, sight works just as well in the opposite direction, and the Apple orchards - being comprised almost wholly of straight lines of trees - do not offer the best of cover from a sky-based observer.

Thus, nearly every pegasi working weather last week, and more than a few who weren’t, caught at least a glimpse of Rainbow Dash and Doug going at it, either with a cooler or through the barn windows.

Turns out, their response to what might have mortified Doug was bemused chuckles, covert transfers of bits, and curious questions on what it was like. Unfortunately, growing closer to the pegasi didn’t help Doug with the unicorns and earth ponies around town, and if anything made them more distant.

Still, Doug can’t help but get excited as he recalls fond memories of his activities with Rainbow Dash. His eyes watch the skies yet focus on nothing in particular, taking long, deep breaths as his hands form a pillow behind his head.

“That good, huh?” Rainbow Dash greets cheerfully as she lands next to Doug, her gaze lingering on his crotch. His head lifts to wave before plopping down on his stomach. She merely rolls her eyes, settling in ponyloaf next to him on the grass. She hates the dirt, but at least the grass spot Doug picked isn’t too bad. She’ll need to remind him to bring a blanket or something next time, but she always forgets. She idly inspects a hoof, grinning. “Yeah, I am pretty awesome.”

“That you are,” Doug replies for perhaps the third time that day. His hand stretches around the pegasus, briefly caressing her muzzle on the way to the textbook. He lifts it over her body, transfers it to the other hand, before resting along her sweaty back. “Ready for the next one?”

“Sec,” Rainbow Dash says, flipping back a page to the loop diagrams. She takes a pencil in her mouth and writes down her speed and radii next to Sight Seer’s. She frowns, a light huff escaping her throat.

“What’s wrong?” Doug asks as he turns to look at the numbers. “Still too large?”

Rainbow Dash nods. “Sight Seer’s great because he’s precise, he always could be perfectly lined up wherever he happened to be. But his acceleration isn’t quite up to my levels.” She huffs again. “I should be doing better than this.”

“Hey, you’ll get there,” Doug says with a reassuring stroke of his hand. Rainbow Dash quivers, loving the motion. He briefly lifts the textbook. “Ready?” Doug glances back at the book, then flips back a page. “Or did you want to try constant angular velocity?”

“Why can’t you use small words,” Rainbow Dash moans, rubbing at her ear with a wing.

“Because it’s more precise and this is the kind of language they’re expecting you to use on the exam,” Doug repeats for perhaps the fourth time that day. “It just means that you complete a full circle in the same amount of time whether the circle is big or small.”

“I’m never going to get this,” Rainbow Dash flops to her side and moans into his chest.

“Sure you are. Once you’ve flown it, you’ve gotten it.” Doug pats her barrel three times, the last ending with him rubbing her side. “Just think of your angular speed as how fast you go around the circle, except you’re counting the fraction of the circle instead of the number of strides.”

Rainbow Dash nods along, enjoying the motions against her body. “If it’s big, I need to go really fast.” She grins. “I like going really fast.”

Doug chuckles as he stares into those beautiful magenta eyes. “That you do. And if it’s small, you go slow. Otherwise, if you had one pegasi doing a big circle, and another doing a small one, the small circle will get done quicker and your formation would get out of sync.”

“Got it.” Rainbow Dash yawns as she glances down at the textbook. She rolls over, now facing away from him, resting her head on his arm. “Go ahead and read the corkscrew description. Totally paying attention. But, just so you know, I’ll probably need to hear it twice.”

“Not a problem,” Doug says jovially as Rainbow Dash wraps her forelegs around his arm, squeezing him gently. He bends his arm around her neck and hugs her just as tight, only for her tail to entwine around his upper thigh. Doug smirks as he reads through the long form description of the maneuver, the kind the Wonderbolt applicants are expected to be able to recite verbatim and then perform flawlessly. About halfway through he feels her relax, likely fast asleep, and he finishes the section before setting the textbook off to the side.

“You two look so perfect together.”

The soft, feminine voice is quiet enough to not startle Doug, even as it comes from right behind him. Doug tilts his head back just the barest amount, not wanting to wake the mare in his arms. He never heard the approach, and yet there is the butter yellow pegasus, pink mane flowing around her head. Fluttershy has a soft smile on her muzzle, yet she immediately shies down when he looks at her.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” She bows her head even lower. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“It’s okay,” Doug whispers back. He glances at Rainbow Dash. If she hears, the only indication is a flick of one ear, and nothing else. “She could use the rest. She’s been going hard at it for quite a while now.”

“I saw.” Fluttershy slowly gets up, cautiously approaching Doug. His warm and inviting smile draws her in, and she tucks her legs in ponyloaf next to him. “Do you think she’ll get in this time?”

“I…” Doug stammers; the truth is that he doesn’t want her to go. “I hope she can follow her dreams.” He lightly scratches at Rainbow’s wing, drawing a slight shift in her position and a happy coo. “And I think she’s got a pretty good shot at that.”

“Yey,” Fluttershy cheers, as faint as a light breeze.

The two sit in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the warm rays of the sun. Eventually Fluttershy shifts nervously, her brief spurt of motion enough to draw Doug’s attention.

“Um,” Fluttershy starts, and it might not have been the first time. Her mouth continues to make motions, but if she’s saying anything it’s too quiet for Doug to hear.

“Yes?” Doug says, raising an eyebrow.

Fluttershy’s muzzle breaks into a wide smile as her eyes light up like the sun above. Her wings even poof just a fraction away from her body. “Really?” she asks in a joyous whisper that would have been a shout from anypony else. She bounces back and forth excitedly. “Nopony’s ever said yes before!”

“I meant that as a question,” Doug clarifies immediately.

Fluttershy deflates so quickly Doug is surprised he didn’t hear a pop. “Oh,” is what he imagines she says from the way her muzzle contracts to the eponymous shape.

“I didn’t mean ‘no’,” Doug says, wanting to leap up and console the desolate pegasus. He might have if his arm wasn’t trapped. “I couldn’t hear you. What did you want to do?”

“I-it’s okay,” Fluttershy ekes out. Her head turns away, and now he can’t even try to read her muzzle. “I just wanted to…”

Doug reaches his free hand over, forcibly turning Fluttershy’s head towards him. “Try again.”

“D-did you w-want to s-see t-the snakes?” Fluttershy asks, a smile slithering across her muzzle.

“Are they nice snakes?” Doug asks, both intrigued and suspicious.

Fluttershy nods, her smile stretching even wider, not unlike a python eyeing a rabbit.

“Alright,” Doug says, bobbing his head. “That sounds like fun.”

“Yey!” Fluttershy cheers and bursts away like a coiled cobra.

Rainbow Dash stirs at Doug’s side from the light breeze, a hoof pressing across his chest and stopping him from getting up.

“Yes?” Doug asks, looking down at the cerulean shoe.

“You should date her,” Rainbow Dash says quietly, flicking her mane towards Fluttershy.

“Really?” Doug says with a slight frown, peering at the frolicking pegasus who seems to be confiding some secret to a nearby butterfly.

Rainbow Dash nods. “You’re the first stallion she’s ever asked to meet some of her critters, as far as I know. And I doubt any of them have the teats to say yes, too.” Her voice drops as she furtively glances from side to side. “Did you know she’s friends with bears?”

“But they’re public enemy number one,” Doug says worriedly, then ruffles Rainbow Dash’s mane. He pulls his arm out as she snickers. “Catch ya later, Dash.”

Rainbow Dash yawns, smiling to herself, before flopping back down. “Good luck, ‘Shy,” she mumbles to herself.

Next Chapter: Ch. 64 - Slitherpinch Estimated time remaining: 7 Hours, 20 Minutes