Flight School is back in session over in my Equestrian dreamscape. After a less than sterling first day [link]
I did make some progress over the next few days, and by the fourth day I was actually making progressively longer and longer glides from my perch on top of Sweet Apple Acres.
Rainbow Dash eventually apologized for having forcefully ejecting me off the platform the first time, and I was starting to gain some understanding and feeling for this thing called flight. However I was still being overwhelmed at times by all the subtle little things that make the difference between a wonderful flight and another round of Sky Brush plowing some more of Sweet Apple Acres with my face. Or in this case pile-driving some unsuspecting apple tree a like an out of control Equine Exocet! [link]
A little twist of my flight feathers here. Flexing my tail just so. Reading the wind and knowing what the right amount of lift feels like. Learning how to guess my airspeed and altitude. Of even greater importance has been gaining an understanding for the magic that regular pegasi use instinctively to gain the necessary lift and thrust to fly. It is this magic that allows a pegasi generates more horsepower, pun intended, than just their muscles and wings can account for. When it works and everything clicks I feel this subtle tingling in my wings and suddenly it feels as if someone has hit the the nitrous oxide button in my wings. Of course right now it is not always going off when I want it to. I am pretty certain this magic is why pegasi can obtain some of the top speeds they do and can achieve the spectacular rocket pack like rates of climb and hover with such ease. Also with sufficient skill it permits pegasi to perform certain aerobatic maneuvers that birds just can not do.
Rainbow Dash is somewhat appalled that I just didn't possess this instinctive knowledge that young pegasi foals are born with, but her student Brick, her nickname for me, is so clueless! Good thing ponies seem to recover quickly from boo-boos!