That Saturday morning...
After eating breakfast and saying 'goodbye' to his family for a couple of hours, Storm left home and made his way to the west side of Cloudsdale, where his flying lessons were going to be held. His nervousness grew as he neared Star Nights' and Solar Blast's home; as much as he wanted to learn how to fly and try to fit in with his peers, he was worried whether he was going to do good or not, but Storm knew he had to learn to fly in order to make it in Cloudsdale and fit in society. He just had to. Another thing he was hoping to do was to befriend Blue and try to impress her with his flight skills. He had developed quite a crush on her ever since he first met her, but he was nervous about whether she was going to like him or not.
Fifteen minutes later, he arrived at the house, and after a few minutes of nervously pacing up and down the pathway leading to their front door, he finally plucked up the courage to knock on it. To his surprise, it was neither Star Night nor Solar Blast - it was Blue instead.
"Hi..." she begun. "Storm, is it?"
"Hey there." he said. "I'm here for the flight lessons. Uhm, are your parents home?"
"Yep." she grinned. "They're just in the kitchen. MOM, DAD!"
"Yeah sweetie?"
"Stormfire's at the door!" she shouted.
"Come on in!"
Storm did as he was asked to and stepped inside the house. It seemed much bigger than it was the last time he went, but maybe that was because Equinox wasn't with him this time.
"Hi Storm!" begun Star. "How are you doing?"
"I'm doing well, ma'am." he replied.
"Are you ready for some flight lessons?" asked Solar Blast.
"I sure am!" he grinned.
"Wonderful!" smiled Star, before walking out of the back door into the backyard. "We're waiting for you outside, alright?"
"Sure thing." replied Storm. Just then, Blue came over to him.
"So, you can't really fly, huh?" asked Blue.
"Yeah..." groaned Storm. "I think I got the hang of the basics, but I just find it hard."
"Don't worry." she smiled at him. "I think you'll do great."
"You really think so?"
"Absolutely." she grinned. "I was like you at one point."
"You were?" he asked, his smile dropping into a frown.
"Yep. I didn't learn to fly until I was nine or ten, and you should be around six or seven in this part of the country if you want to learn how to fly." she explained.
"Wow..." replied Storm.
"Yeah." she groaned. "And even today I still can't properly fly."
"Really?" asked Storm, genuinely feeling sorry for Blue. "Why don't you ask your parents to teach you?"
"I don't know..." she sighed. "I guess I'm just too scared. I don't know what they're going to think of me after I tell them."
"Just tell them..." he said, nudging her slightly. "I'm sure they won't think anything bad about you."
"You sure?" she asked, ears perking up slightly. Storm only nodded in reply and smiled. "Hmm... maybe I'll ask them. I mean, they are my parents after all, and they are the best flight coaches in all of Cloudsdale County..."
Just then, Storm found himself looking at Blue. She seemed to be even prettier than when he first met her, but Storm knew that he still couldn't trust mares or fillies, not after what happened between him and Summer a year back, plus, he had no idea if she liked him or not. However, there was something about Blue that was different. Maybe it was because she was friendly and talkative besides being rather pretty, or maybe it was because she had similar problems to Storm.
"Hey Storm, are you coming or what?" called out a voice from the backyard, obviously belonging to Star Night, which snapped Storm out of his trance.
"Yes ma'am!" he replied, walking out of the back door. "You coming, Blue?"
"Alright." she grinned, following Storm into the backyard.
Storm stepped out of the house and his jaw dropped at the sight. Behind a picket fence surrounding the backyard, was a large strip of land that Storm could have sworn was an old and disused runway; it was around the length of North Cloudsdale Park, which was one of the largest parks in the entire city, and at least half its breadth, just perfect for large aircraft such as planes or airships. It stretched at least several hundred feet from the fence to another, much taller and electrified fence, which marked the border between the airport and the rest of the city. If this was where he would be doing his flight lessons, he was in heaven.
"It sure is massive, huh?" asked a voice, which belonged to Blue.
"Yep." he replied. "Is that a runway or something?"
"Well, yeah." begun Solar Blast. "This house was actually built at the very end of Cloudsdale International's original runway, after it closed down."
"Wow..." gasped Storm. "So, what you're saying is that we are standing on what remains of a runway?"
"Yep." he grinned. "That's why we don't want to have our flight lessons anywhere else."
"Anyways, are you ready?" asked Star, who stood behind the picket fence, wearing a red cap with the words GO CLOUDSDALE written on the front, and a pair of aviator shades.
"Yes, ma'am." he replied, walking through the gate and standing beside her.
"Great!" she grinned. "Alright then. When I give you the signal, I want you to trot down the field, and just before you reach the electric fence at the other end, I want you to start flapping your wings as hard as you possibly can, alright?"
"Okay, ma'am." he said, putting on his game face. He looked around to see Star, Solar and Blue standing to his left, Blue giving him an encouraging smile. He returned the smile, before turning back to face the airport before him.
"Get ready..." begun Star.
"Get set..."
"Go!"
Without any warning, Storm trotted down the field as fast as he possibly could. Eventually, he begun to near the electric fence which bordered the airport and begun to flap his wings slowly at first, but grew faster and faster. A moment or two later, he pulled off the ground and hovered in midair. He looked around to see Star, Solar and Blue trot towards him and grinned at them, but before he knew it, he fell back down to the ground and landed on his back hooves.
"Ouch..." he groaned, trying his hardest to stand up on all fours.
"Oh my gosh Storm, are you alright?" said Star, trotting over to him, followed by Blue and Solar, who was carrying a first-aid kit in his hooves.
"I think so... ma'am..." he hissed, before turning back to look at his sprained hoof and yelling out in pain. "AUGGHHH! It hurts...!"
"Is it broken?!" asked Blue, rather frantically.
"I don't think it is... I think it's just sprained." explained Storm, tears rolling down his face.
"You can't always be too sure, Storm..." explained Star, before taking the first-aid kit from Solar and opening it. She scrolled through the box's contents, looking for a bandage, before finding one and unwrapping it. "You're lucky I have first aid training. Where does your hoof hurt?"
"It's my back left one." he hissed in pain, pointing to his back left hoof, which was badly bruised and swollen. Star gave him a compassionate smile and wrapped the bandage around his injured hoof.
"You're alright now." she explained. "Come on, we'll take you home."
"Thanks ma'am." he smiled, before being pulled up by Solar and Star and taken back to the house.
Storm sat on the couch, drinking some ice-cold soda and watching the news on TV. He groaned, not just because he was in pain, but because he failed his first flight lesson. He could only imagine what his family, especially Equinox, his own mother, would say about his failure. While he was wallowing in self-pity, Blue came over to him and sat down beside him.
"Hey..." she smiled. "Is it better?"
"Well, sorta..." he replied. "It still hurts..."
"I think you did pretty well." she said. "Especially for your first attempt."
"Really?" he gasped. "Thanks, although I think I did horribly."
"No problem." she smiled, before frowning slightly. "You did better than I'll ever do, that's for sure..."
"Hey." he said. "Don't put yourself down. I'm sure you're a great flyer, Blue."
"Thanks, Storm..." she replied, her smile returning to her face.
"Can I ask you something?" he begun.
"Sure." she replied.
"Wanna--wanna be friends?" he stuttered.
"Absolutely." she smiled.
"You--You do?" he asked.
"Yep." she replied. "In fact, you're one of the only ponies that's been nice to me."
"Really?"
"Yeah..." she sighed. "It's not something I like to talk about though."
"I'm sorry..." he said, rather reluctantly, yet instinctively putting his wing around her. She was slightly taken aback by this, but she didn't seem to complain and decided to just go with it. "That must be horrible.”
"It's okay." she replied, smiling at him. "Listen, about your flight skills... look, Storm, everypony makes mistakes, but it's best to choose to learn from them. And what are you going to do once your hoof heals?"
"Fly better?" he asked.
"Not 'fly better'." she explained. "Fly faster, and stronger. Concentrate. And I hope you get better soon."
"Thanks Blue." he smiled. "Wanna hang out during the week?"
"Sure."
A week later...
A week after his first failure of a flight lesson, Stormfire's hoof had fully healed and he was able to walk properly without the need for other ponies helping him. Right now, he was on his way for his second flight lesson and he couldn't be more excited. Why was he so excited, you might ask. Well, it wasn't just because he was going to learn to fly, but because he would be able to see his new friend Blue again.
Around twenty minutes later, he reached the house and walked up to the front door, before knocking on it. Just like last time, Blue opened the door.
"Hey Storm." she smiled. "I see your hoof has healed."
"Hey Blue." he replied. "It did heal, although it still does sorta hurt at times..."
"You think you'll be alright to do today's flight lesson?" she asked.
"Yep." he said. "Are your parents home?"
"No, not right now." she shook her head. "They had to go to fill in for a couple of ponies at work, but they'll be back in a few hours."
"What happened?"
"From what I know, something's happened there resulting in two injured stallions."
"Oh yeah..." he mused. "My mom told me about that... there's been some kind of meltdown and they're struggling to keep it under control."
"They fixed it yesterday." Blue replied. "They're replacing the faulty equipment today."
"Right."
"Do you wanna come in?" she asked, pushing the door open further. "Like I said, they're supposed to be back in a couple of hours, but in the meantime, we could hang out if you'd want that."
"If that's alright with you." replied Storm.
"It's perfectly fine." she smiled. "Come on in."
Storm did as he was told and followed Blue inside the house.
"You wanna grab something to eat from the kitchen?" she proposed. "I'm sure my parents won't mind."
"Nah, I had breakfast about half an hour ago." he explained.
"Fine." she said. "Wanna watch something on TV?"
"Sure." he replied. "What about you?"
"No, sorry..." she sighed. "I have to practice for an important music exam."
"You do?" Storm gasped. "What instrument do you play?"
"Piano and guitar." she explained. "Though I'm pretty bad... want me to show you?"
"I'm sure you're not..." Storm replied. "Why do you say that you're bad?"
"You haven't heard me play yet..." she sighed, before walking up the stairs. "So, you really want to see me play?"
"Yep." he replied.
"Alright..." she sighed. "Follow me, please."
Storm did as Blue asked him to and followed her upstairs to her room. Her room was rather big and spacious and its walls were decorated with posters of famous athletes from around the Cloudsdale area, including the Wonderbolts, as well as those of famous pop stars and bands. There was a computer desk standing in the corner of the room home to a laptop directly opposite her bed and there was a state-of-the-art electronic keyboard just across from it. Another instrument which caught Storm's attention was a six string ocean blue electric guitar standing next to a small amplifier. While Storm was checking out the room, Blue went to sit in front of the keyboard. She turned it on and changed the setting to 'grand piano'.
She sighed, before clearing her throat, which got Storm's attention.
"Where can I sit?" he asked.
"Just sit on the bed..." she smiled. "Should I start now?"
"Yep." he grinned.
Blue took a deep breath in, before playing a quick piano solo to get herself warmed up, which immediately captivated Storm; he had no idea she was so good. She then paused for a quick moment, before playing the song, one which he recognized as being played often on a local classic rock station. Storm watched and listened in awe.
"Sorry." she said, ending her playing abruptly. "I forgot the rest of the music.."
"Wow..." said Storm, in awe. "That was pretty--I mean, that was good. Great, even. How long have you been playing for?"
"I played piano since I turned five, and I taught myself guitar at age 13."
"Wow. Are you self-taught or something on the keys?"
"Well, yes and no," Blue chuckled in response. "I actually picked up a lot of the basics by ear, which led to my mom - a violinist who actually used to play in the Canterlot Philharmonic - to arrange piano lessons for me...what basically happened was we bought an old piano at a yard sale, and I, being the inquisitive little filly I was, started playing about on it; eventually, after a month or two, I managed to be able to pick out basic chords and be able to play songs I heard on the radio by ear, after only listening to them once or twice."
"That's amazing," Storm smiled, in some awe. "So, you've got perfect pitch?"
"I guess you could say that," Blue replied, running her right hoof down the keyboard and promptly playing an improvised piece. "I actually had no idea that I was capable of playing by ear, but looking back now I guess that's what led my mom to provide piano lessons for me in the first place."
"That's really awesome," Storm smirked. "You're really talented."
"Thanks Storm," Blue smiled in response, before changing key and playing something completely different, a very complex piece by the sound of it. "I mean...my dream is to play full-time, or at least teach ponies how to play."
"So, you'd like to be a music teacher?"
"Perhaps, or at least a concert pianist...or maybe a singer even...my voice hasn't really been up to scratch lately since I'm actually recovering from strep throat at the moment, but I could sing for you if you'd like."
"It's fine, you really don't have to. Maybe some other time, once you've fully recovered that is," Storm replied. "I'm sure your voice is just as beautiful as your piano playing."
"Thanks, Storm." she smiled at him, a reddish blush forming on her face before sighing and cutting off her improvisational jam. "It means a lot to me when ponies say that."
"Are you alright?" he asked in some concern. She sighed and shook her head, indicating a 'no'. "What's wrong?" he asked, moving to sit beside her.
"Storm, it's just..." she begun, sniffling slightly. "It's just... I sometimes feel as though I'm not good enough. I feel talentless, I feel like everypony else is just better than me, which they of course are. I can't even fly properly, for crying out loud...this is the only thing I know how to do well. I'm worthless..."
"Hey, don't call yourself that." he begun, wrapping his wing around her. "I don't think anything like that about you."
"You don't?" she asked, teardrops rolling out of her eyes.
"Nope." he replied. "In fact, I think quite the opposite of you. I think you're very talented, in fact, I won't be surprised if you become a musician or something like that. And most importantly, I think you're a great friend, and whoever doesn't think that about you is crazy. But, you need to learn to stop doubting yourself and believe in yourself, because I know you are capable of great things, Blue. Everypony is, pretty much. You need to believe in yourself, because I believe in you."
Blue's sad glare slowly begun to disappear from her face and was replaced by her smile, which Storm thought was the cutest smile ever. However, instead of saying anything, she hugged him as tightly as she could.
"You're the greatest friend I ever made..." she said, tears rolling out her eyes as she hugged him.
"That's what I'm here for, Blue..." he smiled, hugging her back.
A couple of hours later...
Solar Blast and Star Nights returned from work, which meant only one thing; it was time for Storm's second flight lesson, and he sure hoped not to fail this one. He stood facing the abandoned and disused runway at the back of Blue's home and prepared himself both physically and mentally for his flight lesson. It was a rather hot and sunny day, a bit too hot in Storm's opinion, but he wasn't going to let the heat get the better of him. Just then, Star, followed by Blue came over to him.
"So, Storm..." begun Star, carrying a pair of hoofguards. "You ready for today's lesson?"
"Yep." he grinned, before noticing the hoofguards in her hooves. "Hoofguards?"
"Yep." she replied. "Your mom asked me to give you them, so you don't injure yourself like last time. I'm not paying your hospital bill if anything serious happens to you."
"Yeah..." he groaned, putting on the hoofguards. "So, what are we going to do today?"
"Well, I figured I was going to show you how to take-off properly..." she explained.
"Isn't that what we done last week?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Yeah, but let's do it today." she replied. "If you do good on today's lesson, we'll move onto something else, alright?"
"Sure." he replied.
"Oh, and Storm?" begun Blue.
"Yeah?" he asked, turning to face her.
"Do you remember what I told you last week?" she asked.
"Uh... no?" he raised his eyebrows.
"Fly fast and hard, but concentrate... alright?" she explained. "I don't want to see you get hurt."
"Alright..." he grinned. "I'll try my best."
"Okay." Star smiled. "You ready?"
"Yes ma'am." he replied.
"So, Storm..." begun Star. "In order to take-off properly, first of all, you must prepare yourself."
She then moved to stand to Storm's right and outstretched her wings. Storm turned to look at her and back at Blue, who was giving him a friendly and encouraging smile, which he returned. He then outstretched his own wings.
"Alright then, I want you to trot down the runway and at the right moment, start flapping your wings." she instructed him, before trotting down the runway and beginning to flap her wings. She then took off into the air and landed back down on the runway in front of Storm and Blue. "Now, it's your turn, Storm." she smiled.
He smiled back, before trotting down the runway. As he trotted down it, he turned back to see Blue and Star cheering for him and grinned at them, before starting to flap his wings. He pulled off at least ten or fifteen feet off the ground and hovered around in midair. "UH, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LAND?" he shouted from above. Star then took off into the air and hovered beside him.
"Alright then." she begun. "To land, you simply slow down your flapping speed, but not stop. You should feel yourself lowering down towards the ground."
"Okay." Storm replied, before looking at Star demonstrating a landing.
"Now you try!" she shouted from below.
Storm slowed down his flapping speed noticeably and felt himself lower down onto the ground. A few seconds later, he landed back down on the ground, right in front of Blue.
"This was... easier than I thought." he said.
"You did great!" replied Blue.
"I agree." said Star. "Usually takes at least an hour of practice to learn these flight skills. You're a fast learner, Storm."
"Storm, can I talk to you in private?" asked Blue.
"Sure!" he replied, before turning to look at Star. "Are we done for today, ma'am?"
"Yes, yes we are." she smiled. "Your next lesson is next weekend, but feel free to drop by anytime."
"Thank you, ma'am." replied Storm, before walking back into the house with Blue. They sat down on the couch and Storm turned off the TV, which Solar forgot to turn off and was now displaying static. "So, what's up?" he asked.
"I just wanted to say..." she begun. "Thank you for being my friend...this past week I've spent getting to know you was great."
"No problem, Blue." he smiled.
"I'm just wondering... am I worthy enough to be your friend, or would you like something more?" she asked, with a sad look in her eyes.
"Are you kidding?" he asked. "Of course you're worthy enough. In fact, you're more than good enough to be my friend. Okay, Blue. What's going on?"
"Well..." she begun. "I never had any real friends before."
"You didn't?" he asked. "Who won't want to be your friend?"
"I don't know..." she sighed sadly. "All I know is, nopony, except my parents and my older brother wanted to be my friend."
"You have an older brother?" asked Storm. "Where is he, if I may ask?"
"He's away..." she begun, almost breaking down. "He's a sailor in the Navy, and the last time he wrote to us, he was stationed at a base just south of Seaddle. I miss him so much..."
"Wow..." replied Storm. "I'm sorry you don't get to see him very often, but I think he's probably thinking about you right now, wherever he may be."
"Thanks Storm..." she said, although she didn't stop sobbing. Storm sighed and wrapped his wing around her body, which seemed to calm her down noticeably.
"There there now." he said, smiling at her. "Tell me, why do you think that nopony would want to be your friend?"
"Well..." she begun. "I had this one friend in elementary school called Lightning Spark... she was the best friend I could ever ask for... we did pretty much everything together and we were virtually inseparable until the seventh grade. I was quite possibly the only filly in middle school that still was a blank flank, and boy was I bullied for it. One day, while me and Lightning Spark were eating our lunch and talking, some rich and snobby fillies came over to our table and begun pestering us, especially me... and when I asked Lightning Spark if we could move to a different table, she joined in with the bullies and begun calling me names like 'no-mark' or 'Mrs. Markless'." she sighed sadly, before continuing. "I lost my best friend on that day, and my social abilities, just closing myself up in my little shell. I became the butt of many jokes, especially by the fillies who I went to class with. The bullying only stopped when I got my cutie mark..."
"Speaking of your cutie mark..." begun Storm. "What did you do to get it?"
"Well, it's a long story." she mused. "All I remember is that it was a dark and stormy night and a lightning bolt struck a utility pole close to our house, knocking out the power to the entire neighborhood. And while my parents were trying to fix the mess, I flew (rather poorly) out into the night and I cleared up most of the storm clouds that were over our area."
"I didn't know you could cloud-bust." replied Storm.
"Well, I did what I could, but it still wasn't perfect..." she sighed bitterly, her eyes dripping with water. "But even after I earned my mark, ponies still refused to be my friend... wanna know why? Because I can't fly properly. And so, over time, I begun to lose my self-confidence and stopped believing in myself, figuring that I'd never be good enough to be anypony's friend."
"Well, some ponies are just stupid..." replied Storm. "Whoever doesn't want to be your friend is stupid and crazy. You're an amazing pony and an amazing friend... In fact, you're quite possibly, my best friend. And you'll always be worthy of being my friend."
"Thank you, Storm..." she said, turning to smile at him. "I don't think I've ever met anypony like you."
The next weekend...
Storm walked down the path leading to Star, Solar and Blue's home, ready for another flight lesson, however he was most looking forward to seeing Blue again. As he neared their home, he noticed something that made his blood boil with anger; there was a group of teenage Pegasi standing in front of their home, all apparently gathered around Blue. They were pestering her and calling her rude names.
"I don't know what you want from me..." she said, trying her hardest to back away from the bullies.
"We don't want anything from you..." sneered a young mare named Rose. "Flightless piece of trash."
"Then I don't understand..." she quivered. "Why are you all here?"
"Simple." explained a tall, yet bulky colt nicknamed "Juggernaut", apparently due to his size and body build. "Give us your bucking cash and we'll let you go."
"No, I'm not giving anypony anything." she explained. "It's my money; I earned it."
"You earned it, huh?" sneered Rose. "Well, think of this as a trade... give us the money and we'll let you go."
"I said 'no'!" she said, glaring at all of them. "How long does it take to get that through your thick, bony skulls?"
"Strong words..." smirked the colt. "Rose, what should we do?"
"Hey! Leave her alone!"
The bullies all turned to face Storm, with vicious glares on their faces.
"Well, well, well..." begun one one bully. "Lookie here, a lost bird..." he then turned to look at Storm's flank. "And look. He doesn't even have his cutie mark..."
The bullies started laughing at Storm, who simply glared, while Blue slowly backed away towards a fence. This was now beginning to get personal. Nopony was going to treat him and his best friend like that and get away with it.
"Leave her alone," said Storm. "What did she ever do to you?"
"She exists..." scoffed Rose. "That's what."
"You know what?" begun Storm. "I know exactly why you're all here. You're here because you can't handle the fact that she is better than you in every single way imaginable."
"How did he guess?" asked one of the bullies, whispering in Rose's ear. "Is he psychic?"
"What is wrong with you?” she rolled her eyes.
"Blue may not be able to fly properly like you, but she sure as hay is an amazing mare." explained Storm. "She knows how to play piano, she knows how to cloud-bust, but most importantly, she is a wonderful pony."
"Please..." scoffed the tall colt. "What are you going to do to us? Give us a pep talk?"
"No, but I will call the Royal Guard if you don't leave us alone." explained Storm. At the mere mention of the Royal Guard, the bullies begun to back away. In fact, after they noticed some armored Pegasi walking down the path, they trotted off into the distance, leaving Storm and Blue alone.
"You alright?" he asked.
"I am now..." she replied, smiling at him. "Thanks for helping me, Storm."
"No problem." he smiled. "Who were they? Bullies?"
"Yeah..." she sighed. "I'm used to them by now..."
"Nopony should have to go through such bullying. Have you told your parents?" he asked.
"Yeah..." she replied. "They explained everything to the parents, but they didn't do anything."
"Well, they do seem to be scared of law enforcement, that's for sure." explained Storm.
"They've had numerous run-ins with Royal Guards before..." she explained. "Storm, can I tell you something?"
"Sure."
"I don't know how to tell you this, but, I have a crush on you..." she explained. Storm's jaw dropped. "I had it ever since I first met you."
"You do?" asked Storm, bewildered.
"Yep." she replied. "You're just such an amazing pony, I don't even know how to put it into words..."
"Thanks..." he smiled. "I--I have a crush on you too..."
"You do?" she gasped.
"Absolutely." he grinned. "I was captivated by you ever since I first saw you, although I was too scared to admit my feelings for you."
"Same..." she sighed. "I thought you were going to reject me, like everypony else..."
"Blue?" he asked.
"Yeah?"
However, instead of saying anything, Storm kissed her on the cheek, which caused them both to blush and chuckle slightly.
"Thank you for being there for me, Storm." she said, nuzzling against his chest.
"No problem, Blue." he smiled, wrapping his wing around her. "Come on, let's get you home."