//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Siren Songs // Story: The Mare of Everfree Lake // by Gordon Freepony //------------------------------// Chapter One: Siren Songs The crowd was cheering wildly in the stands as the pegasi zoomed along the cloud track. It was the day of the Wonderbolts Derby and many ponies from across Canterlot had come to witness the event. Even Princess Celestia herself was in attendance, watching in anticipation from a balcony above the rowdy populus below. Many were shouting praise of their favorite athlete while the occasional few were arguing about bets placed before the race. It was amazing that anyone could hear the ponies advertising the peanuts and cola that walked amongst the stands. In that regard, the city's nobles that were in attendance were much more fortunate, having populated the private club level rooms above the track and away from the crowd. Meanwhile, down on the track, The Wonderbolts were focused on only one objective: the finish line. Spitfire held a steady lead, but Soarin' wasn't more than a few inches behind, fighting as hard as possible to at least gain a lead on his team captain. He could hear the shouts of the crowd growing louder now. The race was in its final lap. Soarin' gave the adrenaline full control over his body as he pushed to make it to the pole position. 5... He and Spitfire were inches apart in distance and closing. 4... They rounded the final turn together and entered the home stretch. 3... Spitfire flashed him a look of confidence...or was it cockiness? Nevertheless, the gap continued to close. 2... Soarin's could feel is wings burning instensely with lactic acid and his heart thudded against his ribs in strenuous effort. 1... Sorain' shut his eyes and forced his wings to pump just a few more times before... *FLASH* Cameras clicked as the pegasi shot across the finish line at blinding speed, sending the crowd into a frenzy of excitement. Snacks and hats were thrown up into the air as the fans celebrated the event's ending. The nobility treated the race's end like a golf tournament, lightly clapping their hooves with faces that seemed to show indifference. A small few ponies were either groaning in defeat or crying because they lost a nicely sized chunk of bits at the betting booth. One could only hope that they learned a valuable lesson about gambling today. Once they came off the adrenaline rush, the pegasi landed and prostrated themselves before Princess Celestia. She gestures for them to rise. "Thank you all for participating in this year's Wonderbolts Derby! I am proud to be here today and witness the fruits of your labors on the practice field." A stadium official trots up from behind and gains the Princess' attention with a poke on the shoulder; faint whispering could be heard after she leaned down to his level. A few moments later, she turns to the team. "It appears that we might have a draw on our hooves this year! This doesn’t happen too often!" Soarin' froze and thought to himself, "A draw? How could it have been a draw? I could have sworn..." "I must join the referee to review some photographs taken at the finish. I shall return with the verdict in a few moments" They disappear together into a booth and closed the curtain behind them. Meanwhile, Soarin' was sweating bullets and silently praying that he was victorious. "Come on, I have to have gotten it!" Come on...!" The longest five minutes of Soarin's life passed by and the Princess returned with a small grin on her face"Our first place winner in this year's Wonderbolts Derby goes to...Spitfire!" He had failed; his expression sank a bit, but quickly reverted to his poker face. The entire stadium erupted into applause at the announcement. Confetti fell from above and showered the team in colors from across the spectrum. The top three racers took their places on the tiered pedestal before the grandstand and Celestia appeared with a box containing their reward for a sport well played. She floated a gold medal over to Spitfire and lowered it onto her neck; the same was done for Soarin', who recieved the silver medal for second place, and White Vortice, the third place recipient of the bronze medal. All three respectfully bowed down to the Princess and took a few moments to wave at their adoring fans before returning to their locker room. <============================================> "Dammit." Soarin' could be heard stripping his flight suit off and tossing it into his locker. "I can't believe I missed it by that much." His captain was hanging her goggles and suit up in her locker as he spoke. "Oh, come on, buddy. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. You did your best and that's what matters." "My best isn't good enough." He shuts his locker in disappointment. "I'm getting better, but I'm still not there yet...I have to keep pushing further." A silence pervades the atmosphere between them. "...so you agree, then?" Spitfire sighs. "Look. No one is ever perfect at what they do. Hell, even the Princesses are prone to making mistakes at some point or another. It's good to set goals for yourself, but you're selling yourself short. The pony everyone around you sees, especially the mares, is so much more than what you feel you are! Don't let mistakes tear you down." Mentioning the word "mares" sunk his already poor mood even further and he became quiet again. They eventually packed up their belongings and made their way back onto Canterlot's streets; no words passed between them as they trotted together under the lampposts, whose glow were mere candles to the lights of the towering buildings above. The blue pegasus was the first to break the silence. "...I don't know about you, but I'm gonna go grab a drink before heading home." "Is this your way of asking me out on a date?" Giggling ensued. He facehoofs at Spitfire's attempt at humor and gives her a hard glare. "Please don't do this to me, we've been over this before and I'm not interested. Besides, you're my boss...it wouldn't be right." "Can you at least TRY to pretend that was funny?" Soarin's expression shifts back from annoyance to disappointment. "...I'm sorry...really. I know you're different from the majority, but I'm sick of mares following me around because they want to marry into money...I just wish for a single pony who would look beyond that and see me for who I am.” A pat on the back could be felt as Spitfire tries to comfort her partner. "I know the right one is out there for you...who knows? Maybe she's even looking for you." With nothing more to say, she takes off into the upper levels of the city, leaving the upset pegasus to his own devices. <============================================> The Bronze Kettle was a popular bar and restaurant in Canterlot, commonly attracting the more elite crowd due to its high prices and entrées of small proportions. It was here that the Wonderbolt made his way to so he could relax after a less than satisfying afternoon. He sat himself down at the far end of the bar and leaned his head on his hoof. The barpony, having seen Soarin’ come here frequently in a sour mood, recognizes him and serves up the usual glass of Eisen on the rocks with a single cherry submerged within the alcohol. “Thanks...” He takes a sip of his drink and sighs, tracing his hoof along the edge of the glass. Not even ten minutes after arriving at the bar, a feminine voice featuring a thick accent made itself known. “Ah…I see the great Wonderbolt named Soarin’ has reduced himself to drowning his sorrows in a strong drink~.” It was Fleur De Lis, a pony mare who commonly associated herself with the likes of nobles like Fancy Pants and Prince Blueblood on many an occasion. She was skinny and slightly tall relative to the average mare, but exceedingly attractive. Her milky fur was accented by a short baby pink mane and a cutie mark of three “fleurs,” as they were called, that adorned her flanks. He shrugs. “I hardly drink enough to get even remotely wasted.” “I couldn’t help but notice that you are alone here~.” “That’s the point. I don’t exactly want to be around anyone right now.” “It’s about the race this afternoon, isn’t it? I was there this afternoon and saw you lost to your partner by a small margin.” “Don’t remind me.” Without moving his chin from his hoof, Soarin’ blinks and turns his eyes towards Fleur. “Why are you here?” She faces away and bats an eyelash at him. “I figured you could use some…pleasant company, dear.” “It’s appreciated, but I would rather not.” A hoof snakes around Soarin' as Fleur pulls their bodies close together. "Even so, I'm sure that you were handsomely rewarded for your efforts this afternoon. A pony with your accomplishments deserves something grand~." “…that’s it.” He removes her hoof from his shoulders and leaves the payment for the Eisen on the bar before going out of the restaurant. Fleur sat wide-eyed in surprise at Soarin’s reaction. Stallions never turned down her advances in the past. “W-wait…where are you going? Was it something I said?” Soarin' departed from the restaurant without a word in return and darted off into the twilight sky. He had no particular direction in mind...as long as it was away from Canterlot and ponies like Fleur whose hearts were in their checkbooks. "What's the point of it all? How in Celestia's name am I supposed to find love in money? It just doesn't work like that.” His flight lasted for much longer than he anticipated, being that he was distracted by his own thoughts. To his chagrin, he had wandered over the Everfree Forest “Aw, damn.” As Soarin’ changed his heading to return home, a peculiar sound caught his ear… "Huh? Is that...music?" It was indeed music. A simple melody that floated through the air and managed to catch his attention. He flew over the forest canopy in search of the voice's origin until he found a place where the trees opened up into a large clearing where a lake sat undisturbed by ponykind. The voice was at its loudest here...whoever was singing couldn't be too far off now. He turned his head about in all directions unable to pinpoint the source of that song...until he saw her. A mare sat on her haunches while gazing upon the crystalline surface of the lake, occasionally disturbing it by touching it with her hoof. Her seafom-colored body seemed to have just the right curves in just the right places. The ruby-colored eyes seemed to shine brighter than the stone itself. Her mane shared the same shade as her body while sporting streaks of deep green that almost resembled kelp. Her skin appeared smooth to the touch, unblemished by time and free of a cutie mark. Soarin's heart was being tugged and hard. He had begun to fall for her. "She's...beautiful..." The mare turned to the frozen pony and smiled. "I see you are enjoying my song~!" "Y-yeah...that was amazing..." She giggled at his struggle to respond. "May I ask who my audience was today~?" "Soarin', m-ma'am..." "Such a gentlepony! I've never been referred to as that before. Now for me to introduce myself!" With a curtsy, she continues. "My name is Dulset. Dulset Tarn. It's a pleasure to meet you, Soarin'." Dulset stands again and pauses before walking over to him, giving his well-toned body a once over with what seemed to be a wanting expression. "My, you seem to be a strong, valiant pony. What do you do for a living~?" He manages to gain some confidence in his speech and puts some pride in his stance. Now they were talking his language! "I am a member of the acrobatic flight team called the Wonderbolts. We do a number of shows across Equestria together along with an occasional race in Canterlot." "Ah! An athlete and a performer! Quite a combination..." She leans in close to his face with a half-lidded gaze, her warm breath gently brushing past his cheeks in an almost teasing way. "...don't you agree~?" And Soarin's attempt to improve his posture went out the window as his wings almost instantly stiffened up at her flirtatious behavior. Being a stallion with a sense of self control, he managed to force his wings back down against his sides. "I thought you would!" Dulset walks past him towards the edge of the water while swaying her flank, causing her tail to brush up against his chin. Once more, his wings shot up into the air and turned rock solid. “Now let’s see if you can back that up~!” "Back what up? Saying that I'm a good flier?" "Yep! By flying me over the forest. I wanna be able to see all of it from up above~!" The pegasus could only shrug. It was a small request. A flight over the forest? A cake walk. He kneels down so that Dulset could climb onto his back. She happily obliges and hoists herself up, wrapping her forelegs around his neck and her hind legs around his waist. "Are you ready, Dulset?" A simple nod tells Soarin' what he needs to know. With a few powerful flaps of his wings, he goes airborne, hovering over the surface of the lake. He makes a few laps around the lake to warm up his wings and adjust himself for carrying his passenger, who impatiently taps his shoulder. "Come on! I thought we were gonna fly OVER the forest!" He chuckles and pulls his goggles down over his eyes. "Oh, you'll get more than that~." Without warning, he shoots off into the sky at blinding speed. His charge clung on for dear life to keep from falling off, but as soon as she looked down at the land below, she was immediately overtaken by the natural splendor Equestria had to offer. Directly below them was the sprawling canopy of the Everfree Forest, which faded and turned into vast meadows. All of the nearby burg of Ponyville could be seen a short distance from there as well. Gazing above and beyond the forest, Dulset's eyes widened at the sight of the cities that dotted the horizon. Soarin' made a final pass over the lake heading west, where Duslet got to see Celestia's setting sun in all of its glory and no trees for it to hide behind. Eventually, it was time to land. Soarin' touched down at the shore of the lake and folded in his wings to allow Dulset to disembark. And by disembark, I mean stumble onto the grass while recovering from an adrenaline rush. "That...was...amazing~!" “I’m glad you enjoyed it. After all, flying is my special talent.” “I’m glad that we were able to have a good time together~.” She flashed him a wink that made her ruby eyes glitter. Soarin’ wasn’t able to look away, entranced by her natural splendor. “Why don’t you come back tomorrow so we can have some more fun together, hm~?” “Uh,” he struggles to keep from being distracted and composes himself so he could respond. “Yeah...t-that would be cool!” Dulset plants a soft kiss on his lips and whispers "I'll be waiting for you right here, Soarin'..." His face turns beet red under his sky blue fur at the moment their lips made contact. What was left of his partially stolen heart was gone now...gone and in Dulset's hooves. Soarin' gives her a grin before flying off into the dusk and to his home back in Canterlot. This was gonna be an interesting story for the team to hear. <============================================> DISCLAIMER: None of the material presented in the preceding fanficition belongs to me. "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" is trademarked by Hasbro, Inc along with all respective characters, settings, etc. The original character "Dulset Tarn" was used with the explicit written permission of her creator/Ponychan roleplayer, Kanumani. This fan fiction is being edited and proofread by JuyUnseen, Kamunami, and MatthewMissouri; this chapter is a "beta release" to observe reader response.