Fellowship is Madness

by Imperator Chiashi Zane

Best Young Fallers

Blueberry Jam stopped outside the library, her cart, now emptied of merchandise, coasting to a gentle stop at the door. Something was different from when she had passed it this morning. There was a small blimp floating above it, tied on the balcony railing, and she could see a leather clad grey figure hanging off one of the engines, “Hammer! What are you doing up there!?”

The Thestral turned her head, and dropped, wings splaying out to bring her to the ground in a more-or-less gentle crash, “You didn’t hear the news? Cloudsdale’s going to be overhead for the Best Young Flier competition, and Ferrous ‘n me are gonna be in it. I’m getting Kajiik’s blimp ready to sit up there ‘cause him an’ Iron, an you an Barkskin can’t walk on clouds.”

Kajiik leaned out the door of the blimp, “I’m working on it. I’ve almost got a spell to let us walk on clouds, but I haven’t figured out that wing growth spell.”

Blueberry sighed at him, and shook her head. He had been trying to actually make a spell to sprout wings ever since he had seen her true form. Maybe he would eventually figure it out. She gawked up at the blimp, “So, how long until we leave?”

“Forty-eight hours. I’ve got your tickets already onboard. Just dress nice and I’ll get us all enchanted before we arrive.”

She smiled, “Ok.”
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The trip up was mostly uneventful, after a bit of a squeeze to get all seven of them into the gondola made for three. Eventually, Barkskin just called up some extra clouds to make a patio around the gondola for Ferrous, Hammer, and Fleethoof to sit on. Upon reaching Cloudsdale, however, it became obvious that many other spectators had the same idea. The sky was full. Kajiik grumbled a little, but he finished drawing the lines on the deck, and with a flash, all of them had the cloud-walking spell on.

Blueberry was the first to test it, as she could pop her wings in an emergency. Proving that it worked, she encouraged the others to step out onto the cloud. With a little bit of a rush, the seven headed across the clouds of the landing field, and into the cloudeseum, a massive ring of clouds open both above and below. Rings of cloud seats filled with Pegasi and Griffons made up the majority of the walls, but there was a booth, the Royal booth, where Princess Celestia sat, along with two other figures, one a dark blue, the other a faded grey. The blue one was curled up on a cloud pillow, hiding her head from the bright sun, but the grey one stood tall, head high in the air.

The group split up, letting Hammer and Ferrous slip down to the staging deck as they made a path for the stands.

There were a good fifteen pairs in the staging deck as Hammer arrived, and she swiped their numbers as she signed in. They were going up as number thirteen, together. From what she saw, several of the other groups were going as pairs, but there would still be about twenty presentations.
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Up in the Royal Booth, Princess Celestia raised her hoof, ready to present the opening act, the Wonderbolts. Before she could open her mouth, a grey, weathered hoof pressed hers back down to the cloud, “May I do the introduction, Daughter?”

She nodded to the elderly creature at her side. A Norse Arachnipony, Sleipnir stood half again as tall as Princess Celestia, on eight legs. His wide stare caught everyponies eyes as he stepped up to the railing and raised his forehooves. With a rumble that could make even stone quiver, he spoke. The Royal Voice, ”Children of my Children. Descendants of Wind and Fire. I welcome you to this, the One hundred and Seventy Third Best Young Fliers Competition.”

His voice tapered off as a scream tore through the air. A white smoke trail and a red smoke trail intertwined into the middle of the circle, where they stopped abruptly. Two Pegasi in blue jumpsuits with yellow streaks on them, one golden furred, the other the color of freshly cleared sky. Their right forehooves barely touched as they hovered in place for a moment before spinning into a tornado of white and red smoke that exploded out across the crowd, exposing an empty chasm in the middle.
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“Ha! I never get tired of that, Spits,” the blue pony, a stallion, slapped his hoof on the other’s back.

Merlin Spitfire shook her head. Her partner and second in command of the Wonderbolts, Armstrong Scimitar, was a fifteenth generation combat flier, but a showpony at heart, “Soarin, I will cut off your wings if you touch my back again.” And he was far too touchy feely for her. Always poking at everything he could get his hooves on. It was why he only had his left ear. The right one was entirely prosthetic after a ‘Completely Unexpected Early Detonation of a smoke rocket’ that had been slung over his back. Backwards. The green smoke had stained him almost jungle green for three months, and the launching charge had burned his ear clean through at the root. Exactly like she said would happen if he poked at it instead of focusing on the run.

He didn’t even look hurt at the potential risk to his wings, or scared. She figured that was because he was insane. He was literally only allowed to fly in the Wonderbolts because of his father, though he had definitely earned his rank.
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The first thirteen presentations went well, and it was time for Ferrous and Hammer to go out and present their show. Five minutes. Both unseated their enchanted hammers, and flew out, dragging the heavy metal tools through the air. Taking up their places on the scattered clouds, they began to recreate a mythical tale.

In five minutes, of course, they couldn’t do the whole thing, but the first act of ‘How Equestria was Made’ was a drastic event. Even sped up so it didn’t take two hours, they had needed to clip out most of the speaking, leaving in only a few key shouts. And swinging of hammers.

Very intentionally, they slammed the hammers together, the impact making a rainbow burst of light that tore across the arena. Hammer stood on air, her wings flapping slowly but powerfully, “Loki Laufey, Liesmith, Thorsbrother, Errantson, I Exile thee from Asgard to a new world, where trouble will seek you, never to let you rest. None shall believe your lies, nor, indeed, your truths. BEGONE!” And with that, Hammer swung her hammer into the cloud she had been standing on, setting off a ball of lightning that flashed bright enough to nearly blind everypony in the stands.

Returning to the staging deck, they encountered the towering grey stallion, who leaned in and whispered in a voice that nopony else heard, and if they had, would have denied it. At the same time, it was chilling, and steaming. It ripped through the Thestral and Griffon, yet touched as light as a feather, Excellent performance, my children’s children. I regret to say though, that the true story was not nearly so dramatic. I certainly don’t remember my father wielding a hammer against the Allfather. A spear, yes. But the hammer was always my uncle’s weapon.”

Ferrous swallowed, “What do you mean, the True story? I thought the whole thing was a myth.”

Sleipnir let out a sound that was half derisive snort, half giggle, and entirely unsettling, “If only it was that simple. Let me tell you a story…”
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A scream of fear tore out of the smaller of the last pair as a gust of wind slammed her into her partner. Her wings crumpled and she dropped out of the sky, scream fading out as she lost consciousness. The Wonderbolts launched, but they had been running non-stop for three hours, doing a presentation every fifth show. They would never be able to catch up. And with how low they had been to start with, she was already out of range of the emergency crews.

Blueberry launched herself over the edge, casting quickly, first an acceleration spell to boost her faster than her legitimate terminal velocity, then a strength spell to help her wings as they tore from her back. Her hooves wrapped around the unconscious mare, and her wings flared, burning with the strain of doing a hard-brake. The Wonderbolts arrived and took the load off of her quickly as her wings disappeared in a cloud of green fire.

“You saved her. It’s ok. You’re both safe. How in Tartarus did you do that? I’ve never seen a Unicorn sprout wings out of nowhere.”

“I’mma special Unicorn. Blueberry Jam, Ponyville.”

The Wonderbolt carrying her nodded, “Armstrong Scimitar. My fans call me Soarin.”

“Nice t’meet you Soarin. You mind setting me with my friends? Row eight. They’ll take care of me.”
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”It would appear that the show is over. What a shame. I shall have to finish my tale later. May the ancient winds be at your back, and fly safe.”