Chapter 13

     "Welcome to your first flying lesson," Professor Spitfire said. She walked back and forth along the courtyard grass, eying each pegasus. "Some of you may be expert flyers, some of you may never have flapped a wing, but by the end of this year, you'll all pass the flying exam with perfect scores so I can get a raise. Got that?"

     "Yes Professor Spitfire," the students said together.

"Now on the count of three, I want all of you to begin flapping your wings. One... Two..."

     Before the professor got to three, Ditzy began flapping her wings rapidly. She gained more and more air.

"Miss Ditzy!" Professor Spitfire cried. "Come back down this instant!"

      Ditzy couldn't hear her. Her eyes were shut tight as she flapped her wings as hard as she could. She rose higher and higher.

     Finally, she opened her eyes and looked down. She yelped with fear, and her wing flapping grew uneven. She began to lose air.

     As she dropped in altitude, she grew more and more frightened. She finally stopped flapping all together and fell to the ground with a thud.

"Everypony stand aside," Professor Spitfire commanded. She ran over and looked at Ditzy.

"Ow," Ditzy squeaked. Her right hoof was bent out of shape, and tears poured out of her eyes.

"Oh dear," Professor Spitfire said. "It's a broken wrist."

     She picked up Ditzy and turned to the other students.

"Everyone will behave while I take Miss Ditzy to the hospital wing. If I see a single pony in the air, the one flying will find themselves out of Hogwarts before they can say Quidditch."

     After Professor Spitfire was gone, Gilda picked something off the ground.

Fluttershy immediately recognized it as Ditzy's rememberall.

     "Look here," Gilda announced, holding the rememberall in her right talon. "Maybe if the idiot had given this a squeeze, she'd have remembered to fall on her ass."

The other Slytherin ponies laughed.

      Fluttershy stepped forward. "Gilda? There seems to be a misunderstanding. You see, that rememberall belongs to Ditzy, and if you could just give it to me, I'll be sure to give it to her when she's feeling better."

Fluttershy smiled hopefully.

     Gilda just laughed. "If you want it," she said. "Come and get it!"

She took off and started flying in circles.

     "What are you waiting for?" Scootaloo asked Fluttershy. "Go get her!"

Nervous, Fluttershy took off. She wasn't that strong of a flyer, but she managed to fly in front of Gilda.

"Um," Fluttershy stuttered. "I don't think you understand. That belongs to somepony else, and if we get caught flying, we'll both be in so much trouble."

"Have it your way then," Gilda said. With her right talon, she threw the rememberall towards the castle walls. It was going to break on impact for sure.

     Fluttershy sped up. She flew directly underneath the ball. Just as it was about to collide with Professor Luna's window, she snatched it out of the air with her teeth and rocketed back towards the ground.

The other ponies began cheering. As she landed gracefully on the ground, the others formed a circle around her.

"Where'd you learn to fly like that?" A green pony asked.

"Could you teach me?" A pony with a bright red mane asked.

     "FLUTTERSHY!" An all too familiar voice shouted.

Professor Luna pulled Fluttershy out of the crowd with her left hoof. She must have seen Fluttershy out her window.

     As she dragged Fluttershy away from her fellow first years, Fluttershy wondered what sort of punishment was in store for her.

     Professor Luna stopped right outside the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Students didn't start this class until their second year, so Fluttershy hadn't seen the room before. At the front of the room was a grey unicorn with a scraggly black mane. He wore a purple turban and glasses that were far too big for him.

"Professor Jet Set?" Luna interrupted from the doorway. "Could I borrow Soarin' for a moment?"

"Y-yes," Professor Jet Set said. "Of c-course."

A blue colt a few years older than Fluttershy with a navy blue mane walked out into the corridor to talk to Professor Luna.

"Soarin'!" Luna squealed excitedly. "I have found you a seeker!"