//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 // Story: Wings for a Pony // by Brawney Hooves //------------------------------// Later that evening Rainbow Dash and Clay took a chariot to the palace for the Gala; Dash was in her Wonderbolt uniform while Clay was wearing the suit Rarity had made for him. Clay wasn’t used to going to fancy gatherings and hated wearing the suit, but for his mother’s sake he complied. “Now remember, if you need me I’ll be at the Wonderbolt VIP section with the team. Just show them this and they’ll let you in.” She handed Clay a ticket with the Wonderbolt’s symbol on it, which Clay stuffed it into his jacket pocket and nodded to confirm he understood. After a long ride the chariot finally stopped and they both exited. Clay had only been to the palace once before, and he had to admit it was just as incredible as the first time he saw it this close. As he stared at the palace Dash nudged him to remind him that they still had to walk there first. The two ponies walked the path to the front entrance and into the grand foyer, which was starting to fill with the posh ponies Clay detested so much. Dash stooped and looked to her son. “Now be on your best behavior, okay?” Clay didn’t respond as he looked around the room at all the ponies he would have to behave for. He hated this, the whole thing, the ponies, the awkwardness, all the regulations and rules he would have to follow. Clay wanted nothing more than to head right back home and be with his friends in Ponyville, but he knew how important this was for his mother so he forced a smile and nodded. Dash left Clay and joined the other Wonderbolts in the VIP section while Clay stood there wondering what he could do to not get into trouble. As he thought he ended up bumping into a nearby pony and fell on his rump. “Oh geez, I’m so sorry, I didn’t…” “Clay is that you?” a feminine voice asked. Clay looked up and found himself looking at Aunt Twilight Sparkle “Aunt Twilight, it's so good to see you!” “Likewise, Clay. Where's your mother?” “She’s already with the Wonderbolts, so I’m just cruising.” Twilight looked at the pony before her; she couldn’t believe that the little colt she'd foal-sat for had grown into such a handsome young pony. “So what brings you here Aunt Twilight?” Clay asked, hoping to break the silence. “I’m here to meet the princess, and I was planning to meet up with your mother and the rest of your aunts later.” “You and my mom get together?” Twilight smiled. “Of course we do! It’s our own little way of staying friends even after all this time.” Clay looked at his aunt who still looked very much the same as when he last saw her, Applejack and Pinkie Pie were the only ponies he met on a regular basis as far as family was concerned; Fluttershy mostly kept to her cottage, Rarity frequently visited Canterlot to fill requests, and Twilight was usually in her library reading books or enhancing her magic. It was nice for him to see his aunts every once and a while and catch up. “Hey Clay, would you like to meet Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?” Twilight asked cheerfully. “M-me m-meet the princesses? Uh, no thanks Aunt Twilight. I’m trying to avoid trouble today.” Twilight gave an encouraging smile “It’s no trouble at all. The princesses are quite nice when you get to know them.” “Um, thanks but no thanks. I uh, I think I hear my mom calling me.” “I don’t hear anything.” Twilight said, puzzled. “I’ll be right there Mom!” Clay answered his mother’s fake call. “It was nice seeing you again Aunt Twilight, I’ll see you again soon, bye!” Clay galloped off in the opposite direction leaving Twilight very confused at what she had seen. Clay kept running until he could no longer see Twilight and then slowed to a walk as he breathed a sigh of relief. He then started thinking again about whether or not he should actually visit his mom. Then he remembered that if his mother was there, than so was Sky Blazer, and if Sky Blazer was there than so was Sky Tearer. Remembering the constant bullying from his childhood riled up bitter feelings, but he soon forgot them when he heard two ponies talking and one of the voices sounded familiar. “Philomena please stop moving so I can get your dress straight.” A posh pony said as he fumbled with the Pegasus’s dress so that her wing could fit through its opening. “Dad I hate wearing this stupid dress, and I told you to stop calling me that!” “Now my dear, Philomena is a beautiful name for one such as you and not that ridiculous name you insist on using in public.” “It’s not ridiculous it’s awesome!” “Sweetie, you are using the name of a filthy insect.” The posh pony said with disgust. “Firefly is a cool name and I’m going to use it however I please, especially when I join the Wonderbolts!” The posh pony scoffed. “I knew those Wonderbolts were a bad influence on you. Honestly flying around at speeds that could get you killed. Your wings should be used to get you where you need to go and to add to your elegance. Not to show off for commoners.” “But Dad it’s fun, and I feel so alive!” “There is nothing fun about doing something dangerous and you don’t need to do something life threatening to feel alive, now come along. I will not hear another word on this.” “But Dad…” “Come, Philomena!” As the two ponies walked off Clay couldn’t believe what he saw. The filly that had been talking to her father was the same one he had seen at Sweet Apple Acres, only this time she was wearing a pink frilled dress, an altered hairstyle and a look of annoyance as she walked off. Clay found himself staring again as his heart began to race, he had learned her name and it rang in his head like a school bell, 'Firefly.' Clay gave a happy smile as he continued to watch the two ponies walk off into the distance and then when he could no longer see them he started walking again, eager to tell his mom about what he had learned. Then he stopped as he remembered Sky Tearer and decided that maybe he should get some air in the gardens instead. Clay breathed in the crisp clean night air as he made his way through the large garden. The scent reminded him of when his mother used to place him in her saddle bag when he was a young colt and fly him through the night sky to help him sleep. He missed that feeling of the wind in his mane, eventually he got too big to be carried around or to fit in his mother’s bag. The very last time he had been flown his mother lasted a little longer than their usual trip. Clay never wanted that night to end and deep down he hoped that his mother didn’t want it to end either. Clay had always been a bit envious of his mother, of how she could just fly at a moment’s notice, and wished with all his heart that he could fly with her. . . but that day when he fell from the tree was when reality had sunk in, he was an earth pony and was doomed to walk on the ground to the end of his days, no matter how hard he might wish otherwise. Still the thought of seeing Firefly again made Clay forget his sadness as he began thinking of what he would say to her if he ever worked up the courage to talk to her. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a voice behind him, a voice that filled him with fear and anger. “Well look who it is. Old blank flank Clay!” Sky Tearer said mockingly. “I didn’t recognize you without you hanging around your mommy! What’s the matter did she finally get sick of you and just fly away? Can’t say that I blame her.” Clay kept his feelings bottled up but he felt like he was going to explode with rage. "Don't listen to him! You promised mom to be on your best behavior, so don't do anything stupid! Clay thought to himself as Sky Tearer laughed coldly behind him. He decided it was best for him to just leave and look for his mother or one of his Aunts before things got out of hand, but as Clay started walking Sky Tearer had to keep running his mouth. “That’s right run! Run back to your filly fooler mom!” That did it. As soon as those words reached his ears he stopped, and a switch had been turned on in his head that made him feel like he could take on Nightmare Moon herself. He turned back to Sky Tearer who was laughing at his own remark and then leaped at him with all his might, pinning him to the ground. Rainbow Dash stood amongst the other Wonderbolts taking pictures with other ponies, talking to complete strangers about things that went way over her head and occasionally checking to make sure that none of the other Wonderbolts got into any trouble. It was long and tiring and she wished that she could hang out with her friends, who were in Canterlot by now. But she was captain and she couldn’t go just yet. She was about to head over to the buffet when a small voice came from behind her. “Captain Rainbow Dash it’s you!” Dash looked behind her to see a small white Pegasus colt with a flame colored mane run up to her brimming with excitement. “Hey Flash, how ya doing?” “I’m doing great captain Rainbow Dash!” Dash smiled and then looked around. “Hey, where’s your mom and sister?” “Right here, Rainbow Dash,” said Spitfire. She was followed by a small yellow Pegasus filly with dark blue hair. “Spitfire! You know you're retired, right? You're off the hook for these fancy dress deals.” “Well I may be a former Wonderbolt, but that doesn’t mean I can’t drop in to say hi to my old team every once in a while.” After Spitfire had her two foals she decided it was time to leave the Wonderbolts and make Rainbow Dash the new captain. Dash had felt a little guilty, she was the one who inspired Spitfire to have those foals, but in truth Spitfire did seem happy even though she wasn’t living the dream anymore. “I’m glad you came, it hasn’t really been the same since you left.” Spitfire smiled at Dash. “Well I just came to say hi to you and Soarin' and the others. . . but it’s nice to hear that I’m missed.” Dash smiled back and then looked down to the filly beside her mother. “And how are you doing, Swift?” The yellow filly began backing behind her mother. “Come on Swift it’s just Rainbow Dash.” The little filly poked her head out again doing a perfect imitation of Fluttershy. Dash smiled as she remembered when Clay first met Spitfire and Soarin. Swift slowly approached Dash and spoke in a small voice. “H-hello Miss Rainbow Dash.” Dash smiled as Swift hid behind her mother again. “You've got some awesome little foals, Spitfire. You must be proud.” “Swift may be shy, but I'm proud of both of them. Say where's your son by the way? I haven’t seen him since we gave him that poster.” Before Dash could answer a crowd had begun to form around a nearby window and ponies were starting to chatter amongst themselves. “What’s going on?” Dash asked a nearby pony, pointing towards the crowd. “Some pony down there is beating the tar out of another pony!” Dash's heart stopped as she ran to the window herself and saw to her horror Clay on top of another pony. “Clay, no!” Dash took off and zipped out to the gardens. Clay was standing over Sky Tearer, letting his hooves fly into Sky’s face, an intense hatred in his usually calm eyes. “DON’T…EVER…CALL…MY…MOTHER…A….FILLY FOOLER…YOU…NO GOOD…SACK OF MULE….” Before Clay could finish he was grabbed from behind by a pony who began holding him back. “Let me go I’m not done with him yet!” Clay shouted as he still kicked at the air, but stopped when he looked behind him to see the pony that had grabbed him…his mother. Clay stood absolutely still as his mom kept her hooves on his arms. Sky had gotten to his feet, his face bruised and swollen from Clay’s assault. Clay looked down at the ground while his mother spoke in a low tone, “Clay I think it would be a really good idea if you left. Right now. Go with Aunt Twilight and leave the castle, we'll talk about your punishment later.” Clay looked up at his mother. “Mom I…” “Now, Clay.” Dash said in a low, somewhat angry tone. Clay looked back down at the ground and began to walk towards Twilight, who was part of the crowd that had gathered. She looked at him with worry as tears began to fill his eyes, and then escorted him to Canterlot. Sky’s father Sky Blazer had arrived, he was identical to his son in appearance, except for his Wonderbolt uniform. As he looked at his son he shook his head with a cold glare. “Shameful, Sky. Letting an earth pony get the better of you.” Sky said nothing as his father looked to Rainbow Dash. “Fine son you have there, Captain.” He said sarcastically. “Yeah, sorry about that. I’ll make sure he's punished for this.” Dash said, hoping to make amends. “You're lucky he isn’t an Pegasus or I would see to it that he would never join our ranks. That boy of your is savage and out of control. But then that is to be expected from being raised under one so unrefined as you Miss Dash.” The group of ponies that had gathered around had grown quiet as Dash looked back at Sky with an intense hatred. She may be in charge, but she still couldn’t go at him unless it was self-defense. Besides, even though Clay had left she still needed to set an example. “First off, my son is not savage or out of control. And he'd never attack anypony without a reason, so I’m sure that arrogant ass of a son of yours is partly to blame. And if you insult my son again, or if I ever see your son harassing him again, I'm gonna make sure that a threat from being expelled from the Wonderbolts will be the least of both your worries.” Dash growled through gritted teeth. Sky Blazer said nothing as he continued to look into Dashes eyes. “Now if you don’t mind, I think that you and I still have some business to finish.” Dash turned and went back inside to get ready to perform for Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, while Sky Blazer turned to his son and then struck him across the face. “Don’t ever make a fool out of me by losing to a filthy earth pony again.” He said in a low cold tone. Clay didn’t say a word the entire walk out to Canterlot. Twilight wanted to talk to him, but she didn’t know what she could say at this point. Eventually they reached Canterlot and headed to the doughnut shop that Twilight and the others had gone to after their first night at the Gala all those years ago. Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and even Spike were already there enjoying some doughnuts. “Twi, Clay, good to see…” Applejack stopped when she saw Clay's tear stained face and Twilight's worried expression. “Clay, are you alright what happened?” Asked Fluttershy, concerned. Clay said nothing, and walked over to a table and sat down. As he got closer they noticed the dirt from the ground on his jacket. “Clay, what in Equestria happened to you dear?!” Rarity shouted fearfully. Clay looked back at his aunts worried expressions, then he dropped his head on the table and began to sob. “Sugarcube?” Applejack said quietly. “I screwed up.” Clay said through his tears. “How did you mess up?” asked Fluttershy, reaching over to rub his head. “He got in a fight with Sky Tearer,” said Twilight as she sat next to him and began rubbing his back. “That horrid pony that’s been picking on him since he was a colt!?” Rarity gasped. Twilight simply nodded. “I really tried not to. I really did.” Clay said tearfully. “But then he called mom a…” The others leaned in closer. “A what dear?” Rarity asked. “He called mom a filly fooler.” The others exchanged glances as Clay kept sobbing. “Why of all the no good. . . who does that pony think he is!? That's none of his darn business!” Applejack said, outraged. “Oh sweetie, you know your mothers not. . . interested in other mares don’t you?” Twilight said still rubbing his back. “I know she’s not, but every time I hear somepony say that about Mom, I just lose it.” His aunts gave him sympathetic looks as he continued, “And it’s not just today, he’s been calling mom that for as long as I’ve known him!” “Clay dear, you can’t just attack, no matter what anypony says about your mother. It’s not civilized.” Rarity proclaimed, suddenly Clay looked up. “Well what am I supposed to do, just let him call my mom a lesbian?!” Clay shouted angrily making his aunts flinch. “Now Clay, even if your mother was a filly fooler, that don't mean that it's a bad thing." Applejack pointed out. "You'd want your mother to be happy with somepony, stallion or mare, right?” Clay nodded. “I guess. But it's a lie!” “We know, Clay. . .” Fluttershy said sympathetically. Twenty minutes later the door opened to the shop, they looked to see that Rainbow Dash had arrived looking tired and slightly angry. Clay looked up to his mom as she approached. “Clay, I can't believe you did that! I told you to behave and what do you do? You pick a fight with the son of one of my teammates! You could get me into a lot of trouble for this, what were you thinking!” “Mom, Sky was…” “I don’t care what Sky says. I know he picks on you, but you can’t pick a fight with him. It makes you look bad and it makes me look bad. Can’t you just ignore him like I told you to?” Clay tried to speak again. “But Mom, he said that…” “I don’t want to hear it. When we get home, your tail is so grounded.” “But…” “No buts, Clay! I’m sorry, but I'm not gonna let you get away with fighting.” Dash got quiet as she looked at her son, shaking her head. “You know Clay…I expected better from you.” Clay couldn’t take it as he got up from the table and left the doughnut shop. “I just don’t know what to do with him sometimes!” Dash shook her head and sat down at a nearby table, and then she noticed the looks she was getting from her friends. “What!” Dash asked feeling betrayed. “Rainbow, honey, ya need to talk to him.” Applejack replied. “Oh, I will! I thought I told him not to let what bullies say get to him.” Dash started rubbing her temples. “I mean, so they make fun of him. . . he can just walk away or ignore them, but he just makes it worse by giving them what they want.” “Dash, he’s not picking a fight because of what they say about him, he’s picking a fight because of what they say about you,” Twilight replied. “Me?” Dash said startled, the others nodded. “What's that kid been saying about me to get Clay so angry?” “He calls you a filly fooler, Dashie.” Pinkie pie said bluntly. Dash blinked. “A filly fooler?” Again they nodded. Dash looked down at the table and then sighed before leaving the shop to talk to Clay. Clay hadn’t gone far. He sat on a bench next to the shop, looking not sad but angry, something Dash wasn't used to seeing from him. She remained silent as she sat next to him. “I embarrassed you I get it. Well don’t worry because I'm never going to the Gala again.” Clay snapped. “Clay, why didn’t you tell me he was calling me a filly fooler?” “Because you just would have told me to suck it up!” Clay replied still angry. “I thought he was making fun of you.” “He does, Mom! He keeps saying that you don’t love me, that I’m a charity case, that I’m a burden to you, he’s been saying that to me for years and he never stops! He just won’t…” Clay hung his head. “Clay, you know I’m not a filly fooler. Why does it bother you so much?” Dash asked trying to understand her son’s anger. “But that’s why it bothers me, it's a lie. He doesn’t know the real you like I do. Because to me, you're everything Mom. You took me in when I was abandoned, you raised me for almost my whole life, I can’t even remember my real mom.” Clay shut his eyes as he continued to speak. “I try so hard to be the perfect son, because you’re the perfect mom, because you treat me like your own even though I can’t fly, because …” tears had started to form in Clay’s eyes again as he looked up at her. ” I love you mom.” As Clay finished he did something he hadn’t done in years, he buried his head in his mother and started sobbing again. Dash simply smiled and slowly stroked the back of his head while he cried. He didn’t even care if anypony was watching, he had been waiting to say that for years and it felt good to finally let his mother know how much she meant to him. “You don’t have to defend me, Clay. I’m a big girl and I can handle myself just fine. I know what Sky says hurts you, but you know what? I had bullies too growing up that said I would never be the fastest flyer, or join the Wonderbolts, or perform a sonic rainboom and guess what?” She released Clay and held him at arm’s length. “They were wrong on all three, because I proved them wrong and ignored what they said about me. No matter what Sky says about you not being my biological son, you don’t have to listen to it, and do you know why?” Clay shook his head still crying slightly. “Because I love you Clay, with all my heart. And you don’t have to be the perfect son…because you’re already perfect.” Clay felt overwhelmed. He hugged his mother tightly and began crying harder, not from sadness like before but from joy. Dash smiled and began stroking the back of his head again while behind them her friends looked through the door smiling and crying slightly as they listened. Dash kissed Clay on his head and then let him regain his composure “Now let’s spend some time with your aunts and then we’ll head home, okay?” “That…would be nice.” Clay said, wiping his tears, “Uh, Mom? Am I still in trouble?” “Yeah. . . but I’ll go easier on you.” She smiled at him and they reentered the doughnut shop while Twilight and the others tried acting nonchalant.