New Way Home (17) (Patreon)

Lin didn't take off after her first flight practice.

It wasn't like she expected to; she hadn't learned how to climb in one lesson, or scuba dive. Any skill worth learning was going to take considerable discipline and practice to master. It was fine that she didn't take off and soar over Salt Lick after a few hours.

How amazing would it be to be able to fly back to the hotel, maybe right up to her balcony? Then everyone would see that there were some good reasons for staying in Equestria, along with all the bad ones.

The other students didn't have the endurance to keep going all day, and neither did their teacher. A few hours, and Chandelle told them she was heading off to duty.

"We can be back every three days," she said. "Maybe a little longer as you start developing. But until you get airborne, we have to build your muscles. Focus on what we practiced. If you're feeling well enough tomorrow, do the wing-lifts. Flying is a harmony between muscle and magic. If either is missing, you will not leave the ground."

"Does it have to be every three days?" Ethan asked. "Why not tomorrow?"

Lin winced, scampering up towards the mare and opening her wings so that she was between the officer and her class. "We're grateful for every second you're teaching us, miss. Don't hold Ethan's eagerness against him."

"I don't." Chandelle patted Lin's shoulder with her wing and walked around her to look at the other students. "Some of you may be as eager as Ethan. That excitement is encouraging. So many ponies take this for granted and don't properly appreciate the miracle of flight. I look forward to sharing this miracle with you all.

"However, the magic will not prevent the activity from exerting significant physical strain. You are going to wake up aching tomorrow. Your back will hurt like you just got run over by a zebra. Continue practicing, and be back here in three days. Those feelings will pass, as you develop your flight muscles. I know you can all make it into the air if you work at it."

Then she left, and Lin's little flight class gathered around her. Everyone looked as though they'd just endured a challenging physical activity, sweaty and disheveled, with wings hanging slack to their sides as they walked.

Too bad everyone doesn't have wings. No one here is going to be obsessing over how stuck we are. They'll go back upstairs and sleep.

"Three days," Lin told them. "I'm going to try and practice those exercises each day until then. Though I guess we'll have to wait and see how sore we'll all be in the morning."

It wasn't just them in the empty field. A handful of local ponies lingered on the sidewalk, though most of them were now making their way back to town. But they had the grace not to be disruptive about watching, so Lin hadn't objected to them.

Maybe it was a good thing: show the locals that they all wanted to do pony things as much as they did.

There were a few more from their own group, those without wings or who hadn't been able to join.

"I'm going to keep going for a while," Ethan said, stretching his wings wide. The gesture was much harder for him than it had been before, now that his wings and the surrounding muscles had all been strained by a few hours of exhausting practice.

"Maybe you shouldn't." Lin rested her foreleg on his shoulder, then met his eyes. "Ethan, I'm as excited to fly as you are. But if you push yourself too hard, you could strain something, or maybe even break it. Then you might be grounded for weeks, forced to watch the rest of us while you spend the whole time wearing a cast."

She lowered her voice, whispering into his ear. "We don't know how long we'll be here. But having an instructor is way more important than getting really good at it right away. Don't overdo it."

Ethan met her eyes, and for a second she thought he might argue with her. Then he relaxed and let both wings settle against his sides. "I guess that makes sense. But I'm practicing tomorrow. Whatever you do, I wanna do more."

No one else reacted. Several made their way back towards the hotel, muttering to each other about lunch and the showers inside. Maybe they didn't know why Ethan pushed so hard, or they didn't care.

Lin did, though. He wanted to be a boy so bad that he was still trying to prove it.

"I'm sure you will," Lin said. "And when we're both flying, you'll be flying loops around me. But we'll get there safely."

He met her eyes for another few seconds, looking like he might start crying. Then he broke into a trot, hurrying for the hotel.

Lin wasn't completely alone, though. Thomas had been there for much of the lesson, watching with the other refugees and occasionally cheering them on.

Granted, there had not been very much to cheer about yet, since no one had succeeded. But maybe that would change in a week or two.

"You were really pushing," Thomas said, meeting her awkwardly by the sidewalk. "I was positive you were gonna get up into the air there once or twice. Got way more airtime from a jump than you should've."

Didn't feel like I was close. He's just being nice to me. But if that was true, did Lin actually mind? Thomas hadn't been as close before the disaster that got them both stranded here. Or after it, though of course she didn't blame him. It was Lin's fault they were trapped in Equestria.

"Thanks," she said, her wings opening and closing nervously beside her. But even that was probably something she should suppress: she'd been sweating for several hours, filling her coat with the scent of barns and work animals.

Not that it smelled that way to her, anymore. But Lin could still be objective, sometimes.

Apparently Thomas couldn't. He didn't seem to notice, smiling awkwardly at her. "I was just... you know, thinking. About our situation."

Lin nodded absently. She looked to either side but found the other ponies were already gone. No locals would overhear—only Night remained nearby, though still far enough away to give the two some privacy. Had she done that on purpose? Or maybe she was just distracted...

"Yeah? About that conference you had with Shauna?"

"And..." He stiffened. "Yeah, that. Conference, right. We decided to... stay active, while we wait to hear back. Winston got some magical textbooks from the library. Not sure what the hornless ones are going to do."

"Earth ponies," Lin corrected. "That's what they're called, remember? Not 'hornless'. That makes me think of something else." She giggled, and he laughed along with her for a few seconds.

"Earth ponies, right. A few want to look for jobs in town, see if we can maybe save some money. There are trains here. Even if the court doesn't want us to go to Canterlot, we still could. Just have to buy some tickets. Either sending a few representatives, or maybe all going at once. Jury's out on what we'll do. But helping the pegasi learn to fly... seems like a great idea."

"Thanks." She tucked both wings against her sides, or tried. Even after months, they didn't always obey her. When her emotions grew intense, some things just happened. "Not just mine. I think lots of us felt it. It was one of the dogs' stupid rules, so we spent all that time wanting to do it. Now we can."

She turned back to the hotel, and Thomas trailed just beside her, keeping pace. It would be too indulgent to go for another long bath after last night. But she needed a shower, anyway. "Was that everything?"

"Oh! I..." Thomas stopped in place, letting Lin walk past him. "Yeah. Just thought you should know, in case you don't get to talk to Shauna. That was it."

Oh. Lin had no problem tucking in her wings after that.

Lin made it halfway to her room before Winston caught up with her. She heard his hoofsteps first, light and purposeful against the carpet. Her wings twitched with sudden nervousness, but she kept walking.

"Hey Lin!" His voice was warm and friendly. "Saw your practice from the windows. Looks like you've got some real talent!"

She slowed her pace just enough to let him catch up, forcing a polite smile. "Thanks. Though Chandelle might not think so. I couldn't tell if she thought I was doing great, or maybe terrible."

"Are you kidding? You moved like a natural, did each of the exercises like you'd been practicing for weeks. The others were flapping around like fish. Even Shauna seemed overwhelmed."

Lin laughed. He wasn't wrong about that part. "Fish eventually learn to swim. Maybe we'll learn to fly."

They walked up the steps together, towards Lin's room. Winston stopped her near the doorway, touching it with a hoof.

"Thomas isn't..." he began. "Look, there's no other way to ask this. If you're unhappy with the way he's treating you, tell me. You aren't trapped, and we want to help you."

Lin's wing twitched at the mention of Thomas, opening halfway in the stairwell. Not that there was anywhere for her to fly. "I've known Thomas for a decade now, since we were both in grade school. He's never hurt me. And I've given him reason more than once. He's been kind when I didn't deserve it."

"Right, right." Winston nodded thoughtfully. "Just friends though, yeah?"

"Just friends," Lin confirmed, perhaps a little too quickly. She kept her eyes fixed on the door in front of them. Other hooves moved on higher floors, stomping up or down. But none sounded close. They still had their privacy, for a little while longer. "Thomas has been great support through all this. But that's it."

Winston's expression brightened. His tail flicked to the side, smacking into the nearby wall. "In that case... we might be here a while. I know I talked about dinner when we're back on Earth, but if that's going to be a year from now, or longer... I don't want to keep my life on hold like that. Do you?"

"No," she said reflexively. "I'm not gonna sit still. That's why I wanted to learn to fly. If we're living here anyway, I'm going to use every minute."

"Exactly!" Winston moved aside, no longer holding the door. He wasn't trying to pressure her into the answer he wanted. She could walk right past him to her floor, and her room.

"I know the circumstances aren't great. But if we're gonna be trapped here... I'd rather be trapped with someone I care about. How do you feel about dinner?"

Lin blinked, caught off guard. Part of her wanted to refuse immediately. But the warmth in Winston's voice gave her pause. When was the last time anyone had wanted her like that? Whatever she thought she saw in Thomas obviously wasn't there.

"I... um..." She cleared her throat. "That might be nice."

He lit up. "Really? That's awesome! I... I've asked around already. I think I could have enough bits for us both some time next week. A real date, as normal as horse world permits."

"Sure," Lin said. It came so easily, she hardly even believed it herself. "But I should probably get cleaned up now. I smell like a gym."