Mother Knows 20% Better [Closed:Rainbow Dash and Zap Apple]

[Hippo]

 

It was a sunny day in Ponyville. Only a few clouds left over from the morning weather pony could be seen, not so much as in imperfection but possibly an intentional flaw to give Ponyville that quaint charm it was so good at showing. It was the normal midday hustle and bustle in the marketplace and from a distance the occasional shopkeeper's bells could be heard ringing their invitation for customers to browse wares and goods of all kinds. But on the outskirts of Ponyville where the grass grew longer and the hills began to roll, it was much more peaceful. So peaceful, that the flapping of a pair of butterfly wings against the soft breeze created the ambiance for what would otherwise have been considered an ideal place of meditation. A pony seeking relaxation could trot themselves to this spot and be able to sort out their thoughts and their dreams with comfort of interference.

 

But of course, that was not the plan for today. Instead this grassy hoofhill would be introduced to a pair of wings with a very young mind controlling them. An orange pegasus pony flying only a couple pony heights off the ground was fluttering inconsistently towards the crest of the hill. The colt was not flying very fast, but the excited sounds from his mouth made the noise of what it might sound like had he been flying at breakneck speeds. The foal slowed to a hover and after a few seconds of wobbling himself down to an even-hoofed landing, he struck the ground with the force of a small jumping fall. After a short wince, he looked back from where he came and yelled excitedly to his mother who was following close behind. "Did you see? I was flying fast! Faster than you!"

 

Zap Apple had spent ample time with his mother Applejack on the apple farm, where he learned all about the apple trade and the farmer pony family values. He learned how to toughen his skin and how to deal with animals. The small amount of time he spent in the Everfree was experienced alongside Applejack who was always there to protect him, but to also remind him of the dangers that lurked where few ponies canter. And Zap had spent time with his other mother Rainbow Dash, but he had only just started to really learn how to fly. A couple weeks ago, he was able to take to the sky without any help from his mother for about five seconds. It was a big win in his eyes and made him feel motivated to fly higher and longer. But so far, his flight was still limited to the strength of his wings, which was only showing the beginning signs of being able to deal with more enduring flight challenges. Zap Apple had dreams of being able to fly above the clouds and do stunts and tricks like his mother Rainbow Dash did for the Wonderbolts. And he was so sure of himself that he would join her in wearing that blue suit even though he had no concept of what that meant.

 

This grassy hill had become a usual spot for Rainbow Dash to show Zap the beginnings of pegasus mobility, and since they arrived for today, Zap was eager to get started with what he wanted to do, as if it was up to him. "We're here, now you can show me how to do tricks. I wanna do a big trick!" He fluttered in place, his wings buzzing violently, before his wings gave up and he landed back on his hooves.

[RainbowFoxxy]

 

Rainbow followed behind her intrepid young foal. More than once she had stifled giggles and little sounds of admiration as Zap made his way towards the summit of

the hoofhill. He was just so dang cute! It was hard to hold back her admiration of his attempts at becoming a great flier. However, she certainly didn't want him to think she was laughing at him! She'd never do that! She was as proud as a mom could be of the little guy!

 

What a perfect day! She breathed in through her nose, letting the smells of grass, woodlands, and good times mingle. They'd come to this place a few times before. It was fast becoming the favorite spot for all things pegusi between the two of them. Here he'd learn to buzz those little wings, lift up from the ground, and touch down without catastrophes of tangled hooves and wings. 

 

Today would be his first day of learning just the tiniest touch of finesse. Someday he would be a great flier, Dash was determined to see that! However, it was a step by step process. She'd guide him through the whole thing and she felt privileged to do so!

 

"Oh I saw little guy!" She lighted on the ground next to him and grinned. "You were flying faster that me! You're getting faster every day Zappers!" She ruffled his forelocks between his ears.

 

Rainbow glanced about, deciding what they'd work on for the day. She's took to calling basic flight maneuvers 'tricks' for the moment which seemed to motivate Zap nicely and help him feel accomplished. 

 

"A big trick huh?" She flapped her wings just a bit. "Well, we've warmed up flying here so that's taken care of." 

 

"You want to practice 'up, down, side to side for a little bit?"

 

Up, down, side to side was a fun game for practicing basic wing control. She would move either up, down, one side or the other and he would try to mirror it.

 

"Up!" She flapped a bit, leaving the ground by a few feet.

 

[Hippo]

 

His mane now moderately ruffled by his pegasus mother, Zap wore a smirking smile to complete the brash and ready-for-action attitude he learned from her some many days prior. He was ready to learn some new tricks, and so with his mother's imagination leading the way he prepared by angling his wings for a take-off stance. As she commanded to go up, he jumped and started flapping his wings at the same time. Still smiling, one could see the effort in his face as he tried hard to keep his wings flapping fast enough to keep from having to catch himself with his hooves. Because he was still apprehensive about falling, his legs were still stretched out underneath in order to brace himself for an emergency landing, but he would never admit that he was afraid. After a few seconds, Zap had successfully matched the height his mother was presenting, although he had some trouble keeping a stable altitude. His voice stuttering as he fluttered. "Up! What's next?"

[RainbowFoxxy]



 

Rainbow grinned with pride as her little guy put on his brave face and went about following the given command of "up"! She knew it was best to go slowly and make things fun so that he was successful and felt he was gaining new accomplishments each time they practiced. It was just so darn cute to see those little wings buzzing and Zap working his heart out to stay off the ground until she told him otherwise.

 

Of course she also noticed those legs, ready for any kind of emergency. That was good. He needed to learn to look after himself during flight. For now it was fine that he had his emergency landing gear down. Eventually he'd fell more stable and start to lift his legs as he flew. She also knew she'd have to teach him hoe to fall pretty soon. It was best to stay comfortable with it and not tense up. A tense fall could leave to strains and sprains of the fetlocks and Celestia forbid a break. Learning to fall was actually really fun so she moved it up on the check list for a soon and coming lesson.

 

"What's next?" She eyed his brash and brave face before raising an eyebrow. "Side... to... side...!" As she spoke she slowly directed herself slight to the right and then back to center before moving slightly to the left. This one was a hard one and she knew it. He could do it though. "Remember, it doesn't need to be far to the sides. Just a little bit. Angle one with just a little down and the other just a little up."

 

The proud mom waited to see if her foal could mirror the move. 

[Hippo]

 

Zap's fluttering sped up at the new command of moving side to side. All he had to do was a strafe. This was something he was not good at, knowing how to finesse his sideways movement seemed counter-intuitive to his understanding of the main purpose of flying which was to travel faster in the air going forward. With a trying smile, he attempted to shift his torso so that his left wing was higher than his right. Slowly, he started accelerating sideways to the right. At first barely, then noticeably, and then swiftly, he was flying strafe to his right side, able to hold a steady altitude for the time being. But he went too far. Unable to slow his lateral movement, he tried to angle his right wings up but was having trouble shifting his weight back. He could not get his back muscles to shift the way they should. And the distraction of focusing on weight shifting, he stopped maintaining his flutter rate and thus lost altitude. Seconds later, he felt the inevitable and gave in to the fall. Attempting to brace for impact, his legs made a sideways contact with the ground, and he was force into a roll. His body rolled twice before coming to a rest. He was unhurt, but he was embarrassed that he failed. He stood up and dusted off the dirt and grass on his wing to try again.

[RainbowFoxxy]



 

Ah the things RD was glad Applejack was not around to see. She imagined if AJ had watched their little guy take a tumble like that she'd be right at his side dusting him off and telling him how great his attempt had been. However, that wasn't the way a Wonderbolt trained and it wasn't going to happen like that with just momma Rainbow around! Nope. He'd be tough about it since he wasn't really hurt. She'd picked this slope with falls like this in mind. The turf was deep and super soft. Able to cushion falls from no great heights. It was absolutely the perfect training area for a bright young flyer like Zappers!

 

She was proud to see him give it his best go and move to the side. It was a big improvement for sure. Side to side was no easy feat for a beginning flyer but it was essential for going any further. If you couldn't move to the sides well, anything that came your way would become impassable. She took a few hovering feet closer to her little guy and spoke clearly.

 

"That was a really good recovery there Zap!" She landed next to him. "You kept yourself loose and didn't take the main impact of the landing." She noted the path he had taken. "The roll was just what we want too. Don't try to stop yourself just roll with it!" While she spoke she quickly checked him over with just her eyes, making sure he had no injuries. 

 

"Ok, let's practice that side to side movement here on the ground." She lifted her wings and dipped her right side down. "Follow me ok?" She moved so her had a clear view of her back. "We have to shift our wings using our back and chest muscles." She tensed the muscles and slowly tipped her wings in the other direction. "Right, like that! Yep!" She encouraged him. "Let's keep going with this for a few more side switches." She moved her wings one way and then the other, watching to see the movements of his muscles and wings. 

[Hippo]

 

While Zap's smile was currently hidden, his mother had a smirk as if she knew exactly how he felt. Tough love was in abundance between the two parents who represent the Wonderbolts and run a farm that feeds thousands of ponies. But what separated the two was Rainbow Dash was much more eager to teach him strength and tenacity before tending to his condition, whereas Applejack was quicker to protect and be nurturing at the expense of the opportunities to illustrate humility. They both taught him valuable lessons, just in different ways. Zap wasn't even done shaking the grassing off his wings before his pegasus mother positioned herself to show him how it's done. She was angling her body and her wings to show how he should use his muscles to move, but it wasn't easily obvious to Zap, he just hadn't gotten that muscle memory down just yet. So with stray blades of grass flying out of his wings as he started to flutter on the ground, he tried to angle his body so that the wings were moving the in apparent direction they should go, but he was using his legs to angle his body.

[RainbowFoxxy]



 

Rainbow admired tenacity and he son had it in spades! She proudly watched as he attempted to copy her movements, gibing it all he had. 

 

"That's right!" She coached him. "Ok, hold on for just a sec Zap." She put a hoof over his fluttering wings to stop them from spreading any more grass bits about. "Watch momma close now," She spoke as she shifted both her wings over to the right. The one on the right angled low to the ground and the one of the left came up parallel to the ground. "This is a wing stretch we use in the Wonderbolt!"

 

She knew he always perked up when she mentioned the Bolts. Who wouldn't? They were awesome! Rainbow came over next to her son and used her hooves to put his wings in the desired positions. She left off a little as she didn't want to him to over stretch anything. "How does that feel?"

 

After a few more moments she released his wings. "Ok, let your wings go back to what feels comfortable." She beamed at him and flicked a stray bit of grass off the end of his muzzle.

 

"So Zappers?" She coaxed him. "You think you can fly fast to that tree?" She pointed out a tree in the near distance. It was important to mix the easy stuff in with the hard stuff. No need to get the little guy frustrated.

[Hippo]

 

Zap was starting to get a little impatient because he could tell that he wasn't doing everything correctly, even though his mother was there to cheer him on. He pensively just did as he was told when she instructed him, but did have the satisfaction of being able to accomplish his own ability, yet. Baby steps. When Rainbow controlled his wings to put them in a stretch, he winced a little and held his breath unnecessarily. He had athletic genes somewhere in him but they hadn't woken up yet, he was still very inexperienced to conditioning his own body for increased mobility, but he was also fairly young, too. He was still far ahead of the curve. "It feels rough," he said in short exhales. He was too young to appreciate joy of flexibility. Perhaps he would value it more when he got older and saw his flexibility wane.

 

After the stretch, she bet on him to fly to a tree as fast as he could. "Yeah!" He angled towards the tree and took off at it. Because one of his wings was primed from stretching, he found it easier to flap it, but his other wing felt average causing him to have to readjust his angle of approach to the tree. In an unfavorable zig-zag, Zap bumblebeed his way to the tree and landed softly at the trunk. He looked back at his mother and smiled. "I did it!"

[RainbowFoxxy]



 

Rainbow watched her little guy go towards the tree, if not a bit awkwardly... that's funny seeing as how she'd definitely stretched both of his wings. As a trained athlete she'd never stretch just one side. Probably one was just a bit tighter than the other. His wing tendons and muscles were still forming so that would make total sense. Anyhow, he made it to the tree and RD clapped her front hooves together at the result. 

 

"Hey! Great job there Zappers!" She flew over to him and nodded in approval. "You're doing great!" 

 

She thought for a moment and then ventured a leading question. "Hey Zap? You wanna see something super cool?" She smiled a waited for his answer.

[Hippo]

 

"Yes!" Zap jumped up and buzzed in place for a few seconds before landing back on his hooves. He wasn't sure what his rainbow mother was about to show him, but he hoped that he would be able to participate. He loved seeing the moves his role model showed him, but he was also more willing to try things himself than he used to be. He was eager to see if he was about to see her do a trick he could learn to do today, or if she was going to incorporate him into the trick as well. Whatever the case was, the foal that Zap was would throw all the caution into the wind in order to impress himself on something he may or may not be capable of doing, his imagination at the very least taking him to the heights of enjoying his first year of flying.

[RainbowFoxxy]



 

Not wanting to push the little guy too far on his lessons, Dash figured she would take him to see something that had inspired her as a budding flyer back in the days of her youth. It would involve a trip up to Cloudsdale but that wouldn't be a problem. Zappers had been up there quite a few times before, and had even been baby sat at her house one time. She blanched at the thought of getting her mess of a cloud house ready to accept not only her son but a babysitter too! Thankfully today it would just be her little guy and he didn't mind a mess.

 

"Ok! We're gonna go up to Cloudsdale. Got something for you at my house and then..." She winked. "There's something super awesome to want to show you!"

 

She would allow him to buzz as far up as he wanted and when he started to show signs of getting tired she'd bolster him up the rest of the way.

 

"Let's get going!" She flexed her wings and did a few flaps, letting him move at his own rate. 

 

Someday he'd be able to make the trip all by himself but that would be a while still. Rainbow watched him with loving eyes, not wanting to miss a minute of time with her special little guy.

[Hippo]

 

Zap was born in a barn to earth ponies. He spent a great deal of time inhaling the rustic air that blew through and around the apple orchard. And mother Dash was there, too. But almost like a visitor. Zap understood that his pegasus mom did not live where he lived, but he never knew why. His imagination might have brought him to conclude that Rainbow Dash never sleeps and thus never needs a place to lay her head. But that would be proven incorrect as a few times he saw her napping on a cloud, the same way Granny Smith did in a rocking chair, albeit with a little less grace.

 

So the excitement in Zap Apple rose as he realized he was going to visit the place where she lived. Was this house a place where he could sleep? Where there toys there? "Oh. Kay." Zap muttered as he tried to ready himself for a high flight. He knew how hard this was for him, but he only needed to trust his mother to help him get to the destination. He started to flap his wings quickly, at first with irregularity and then consistently. He hovered slowly up and attempted to increase his speed upwards. He dared not look down, knowing that even if he doesn't fear heights, that he gets distracted by how excitingly far away the earth had become. He was able to flap his wings without strain by the time he could see the tops of all the buildings in Ponyville.

 

Zap Apple started to grimace as he started noticing the tops of trees underneath him. His ascent would continue but at a slower rate.

[RainbowFoxxy]



 

Rainbow flew close to her little guy, proud as she could be! He was already a strong flier for his age. Yep! He was probably better than she'd been at his age! He would definitely make a great flier someday. Her heart soared with the possibilities. He could be more than she ever was and that was all she could hope for. Of course she also wanted him to follow his dreams. She'd share her' dreams with him slowly over time and in the end, he was free to choose what was best for himself one day. Of course she did hope in flight tournament trophies and Wonderbolt colors but she'd let him have his own choice when it was time.

 

Up, up, up they went. A little at a time until they past the roof lines. Wow! He didn't start to slow down until they had almost gone above all the trees! When she could see he was beginning to flag she flew under him and bolstered upwards. This would make him feel like he was climbing higher on his own but also he'd know she was right under him in case anything happened. This way they'd be able to progress safely and at a good rate. 

 

The pair continued on, into the brightness of day and towards a very special place Rainbow had in mind. It wasn't long until the outlines of that place came into view...the Wonderbolt training academy!

 

"Almost there Zap! You still feeling good? You're flying is great!"

[Hippo]

 

Zap felt the support from his mother underneath him, but was only focused on his own ascent. As he got tired, he began to really slow down his flapping, and once he felt the lack of progress coming from his feathered extremities and the weight of his body laying on his mother's back, he regarded his attempt as futile and stopped flapping his wings. He breathed heavily to return to a more relaxed state but found it troubling only a little. The air at this height was different, it wasn't as breathable and it made Zap make larger inhales than he was used to. What a workout. Flying was hard.

 

As Zap lost focus of his body, and started looking around, he could see Cloudsdale in the distance but bigger and closer than he had ever seen it before. But they were flying towards what looked like a giant playground on a mountain top, full of obstacle courses and a rainbow river that poured from the industrial complexes from Cloudsdale above it. The buildings were all combed with clouds but the trees on the mountain still gave it that grounded feeling. There lots of other pegasus ponies there too, flying through loops and congregating with each other, many of them wearing flight suits. "Whoa! Where are we going? Is this where you live, Dashie?"

 

[RainbowFoxxy]



 

Dash began to guide the foal through the decent that would end up with them on the greenery just off of the main flight deck. As they got closer, other ponies started to fly closer to them.

 

"Well, I do live here sometimes actually! It's a great place! Lots of Fun!"

 

"Hey there!" She called out, waving to a few friends of hers. "Thought it was time to show the little guy the ropes around here!" She chuckled and smiled at her son. Wow! She felt so proud right now. She'd already checked with Spitfire about this visit and as it turned out a few other Bolts were keen to get a glimpse of the famous Rainbow Dash's son! Speculations were of course flitting around. That he'd be the top flyer in  Equestria for sure, that he must have an amazing set of wings, that he would soon be flying circles around everypony! Of course they also knew of Zap's age and that he was far from developing what would some day be awesome skills. 

 

Two or three pegasi flew up and reached out for hoof bumps with Zap Apple. "Wow Zappers! Looks like everyone here really likes you!" She smiled and directed him to the soft patch of grass for their landing. A few more light flaps and they had touched down. "Great job on that one slugger! You're getting stronger every day!"

 

She gave him a moment to compose himself and them spread out a wing towards that main training area. "Welcome to Wonderbolt Headquarters!" She knew he wouldn't totally get what that was but that wasn't a problem. She just wanted him to have like the most fun day ever!

[Hippo]

 

Zap was enamored of the stranger pegasi that greeted him as they approached the grassy plateau. They all seemed really proficient in flying, more so than other pegasus ponies Zap had seen around Ponyville, like Fluttershy or Derpy Hooves. Rainbow Dash guided Zap to the surface and once they got close enough, Zap fluttered himself to a landing with only as much of a half step of re-balancing and not falling over as he would sometimes do. His eyes glistened as he looked at all the features of the headquarters. "Whoa!"

 

Zap turned and looked at Rainbow Dash with excitement. He knew that for whatever reason, he was not necessarily allowed to be here, but today was the day he finally got to see the place for himself. "Am I going to become a Wonderbolt today?" Zap's understanding of what it meant to be a Wonderbolt was limited. He hadn't even been to or heard of regular pegasus pony flight camp, something he would probably experience at some point in the next few years. But he knew that his mother was cool enough to be a Wonderbolt. As so he wanted to be one, too.

[RainbowFoxxy]

 

"Well, actually yes!" The voice came from behind the pair and RD smiled before she had turned around. She'd asked the Captain to do her a solid and Spitfire hadn't wanted to let her down. Really it was the least the yellow pegasus could do for the future Captain of the team and one of the saviors of Equestria! 

 

RD turned with Zap and spied the incredibly awesome Spitfire hovering in front of them. She patted Zap on the back lightly and then pointed up at her Captain and friend. "Zap, this is Spitfire! She's the Wonderbolts Captain! Remember I told you about her?" She gave him a moment to see if he could remember. "Spitfire this is my amazing son Zap Apple!" 

 

Spitfire landed next to them. "So, how's he liking this so far?" She asked RD while glancing around to make sure it was still safe for them to be standing on the grassy sward. Eventually the area would need to be used for the day's training but for now, all clear. 

 

"Oh, I think it's right up his alley!" Rainbow beamed.

 

"Hey Zap Apple?" Spitfire spoke kindly to the little guy. "How'd you like to be an honorary Wonderbolt?" 

[Hippo]

 

Spitfire. Spitfire...    Zap had remembered the name, but he wasn't good at the memory of other stories unless he visualized them himself in his limitless imagination. He didn't picture Spitfire as a slick light-colored mare, but rather a larger figure that towered over other ponies because of the way Rainbow Dash described her with Zap listening to the descriptions. Zap knew Spitfire not for her ability or leadership skills, but by the fact that she is his mother's boss or teacher. Sometimes it seemed every time Spitfire's name was mentioned to Zap, it was when Rainbow Dash was explaining she had to go to work instead of spend time teaching him to fly. So Zap was not too mindful of Spitfire's purpose, only that she was a road block for Zap's playtime with mom. That is at least until now, offering him the status of honorary Wonderbolt of which he only so much understanding of how cool that might be.

 

"Honorary Wonderbolt!?" Zap fluttered in place. "Oh yeah! I want to be one!" Zap stopped his fluttering and switched to a pensive frown. His emotion was free wielding, but his filter was absent. "But I don't want you to yell orders at me or tell me to go places I don't want to go." Zap sounded pouty, practically blaming this yellow pegasus for all the times Rainbow Dash couldn't glide with him. And being a little colt who loves using his words with as many descriptors as possible, he added the sensation and evidence of his findings. "Dashie says when you give her orders, you sound like a hungry bugbear who forgot to take a nap."

[RainbowFoxxy]

 

RD blanched when Zapper told the Captain she was not to yell him. Next is positively cringed when he respoke some of her less savory words towards her fearless leader. Sure, there were times when she'd rather not be called in. When she'd rather stay on the farm and have a relaxing evening with the Apples and little Zap in front of a fire enjoying some hard earned cider. But overall she was always excited and pleased to be called in for duty or of course to take directions from Spitfire. 

 

The mare tapped her front hoof nervously while rubbing the back of her neck with her other hoof. She found herself wishing she had her flight suit on to hide the blush that covered her cheeks. "Uhhh, heh heh!" She moved closer to Zap and ruffled his mane again to get him to stop before he said more. "Wow! Yep! He sounds excited all right!" She grinned at him hopelessly for a moment.

 

"Ohhh really?" Spitfire narrowed her eyes at Rainbow for a moment before a smile wrinkled the corner of her muzzle. Soon she was laughing outright. "Oh, if only that was the worst thing I've heard my recruits say about me!" After she finished her laugh she smiled at Zap and moved something from a small saddle bag she was carrying. "Here yah go sport! You're on the team now as an honorary Wonderbolt recruit! I'm sure you're momma here will have you trained up for try outs soon enough!" Spitfire offered a blue colored bundle to the young colt. 

 

"Wow Zap!" Dash trotted around her son. "What do you think about that?"

 

The bundle was an honorary Wonderbolt recruit flight mask. It covered the face and neck of the pony wearing it in the cobalt blue and yellow streaks of the famous 'Bolts!

[Hippo]

 

Zap took the mask and took a good look at it while holding it up. "Whoa!" After a few moments of trying to figure out how to put the thing on, he snapped the mask on around his neck and shimmied the eye holes to where his eyes are. His mane was not placed through the top correctly and was covering one of his eyes partially. "I'm a Wonderbolt now! Woooooooooo!" Zap took off running and started flapping his wings. He successfully flew at a relatively rapid pace for several strides before losing his wing balance and tumbling down onto the tarmac. He rolled several times before stopping, much like he did earlier on the ground. When he sat up, he was noticeably dizzy and disoriented.

[RainbowFoxxy]

 

Rainbow smiled proudly at her son as he got the mask in place by himself. She was reaching out to help get his mane situated when the little guy took off!

 

"Pegasi foals..." She shrugged at Spitfire apologetically.

 

"Apple didn't fall too far from the tree huh?" Spitfire watched Zap Apple as he picked up speed, in a safe direction for the moment. 

 

A moment later she noticed his direction change for the tarmac! "Oh Celestia!" Rainbow flew towards the little guy as he cleared the grass and entered the flight zone. She feared for her son instantly and her stomach dropped even as she flew towards him thinking of how AJ would respond to this shenanigan. A breath escaped her muzzle as she looked to the skies and noted that nopony was landing. At least he wouldn't get tossed by incoming air traffic.

 

Tarmac was no forgiving though and before she could get to him he had hit it pretty hard. 

 

"Zap!" She flew to his side and checked him over. "What in Equestria!?" She calmed herself. No reason to upset him. She wasn't mad she was just scared. "Are you ok Zappers?" She questioned him gently while checking him over. Thankfully it appeared to be another rough tumble and nothing more. A good flier was bound to have countless crashes and this was another one for the lists. 

 

"Does anything hurt?" She carefully extended one of his wings which appeared to be in working order. She was counting this up to a few bruises but was there an damage she couldn't see?

[Hippo]

 

Zap uncomfortably picked himself up on the rugged landed surface. His breathing pattern indicated that he was favoring a part of himself, but once he stood up and corrected his posture, he seemed in good health and his breathing was normal. Foal bones sometimes seemed like they were made of jello. "I'm okay, Dashie." Zap's left front leg had several bruises, but was adorned with a pretty significant scrape that Zap didn't fuss about. The redness from the marks stuck out on his already fairly reddish hue. Instead of suggesting rest, Zap's mind was still filled with possibilities of what he could do at this giant adult playground, and he wanted to explore more. "Can I do some tricks or something. Is there an ob-obsta... obstagol course?"

[RainbowFoxxy]

 

Aw! What a trooper her little guy was! She could see he was a little banged up on that front leg. Yep, that would need tending before they were able to try out any of the flight practice areas. She knew he wouldn't be too keen on getting his scrape cleaned but it would have to be done! Luckily she'd panned to take him into the barracks to see her bunk anyway. Plus, there was a special surprise waiting for him in there!

 

"You're a trooper Zappers!" She spoke kindly to him before a quick head pat. "Listen, I want to show you something cool before we try any tricks ok?" She eyed the barracks with a smile. "Let's go check out the barracks."

 

She lead the foal towards the famed dwelling and pressed open the front doors. "This is where Dashie stays when she's not at home with you on the farm!" It was a pretty impressive place but maybe not so much to one so young. She pointed to the display of past 'Bolts. "See, here's all the cool stuff from other Wonderbolts!" She noted in particular a pair of goggles up near the front. "Aren't these cool goggles?" She tapped the display case glass in front of the goggles. "These were General Frostfeather's! Flight goggles are super cool don't yah think?"

 

She hoped he'd think they were cool as he might soon have a pair of his own...

[Hippo]

 

When Zap entered the barracks with his mother he thought of many questions to ask, but the curious mind was too observant to speak. He let his eyes wander around the rooms and hallways, looking at all the memorial figures and trophy cases adorned with hundreds of shiny objects. When they approached a pair of old goggles in a display case, Zap ho-hummed the device. They looked rusted and too big for his head, so he couldn't see himself wearing them. He also had no clue who General Freezing Feathers was. "Where are your goggles, Dashie?" Zap had seen his mothers goggles before and played with them, but his head was always too small to hold the goggles up by themselves, so he would always have to hold them up to his face with one hoof.