• Published 29th Nov 2013
  • 3,976 Views, 48 Comments

Mirror Blue - Crowne Prince



In his quest to become a Wonderbolt, Soarin' finds himself saddled with the responsibility of being the Element of Loyalty and trying to keep up with the newest Wonderbolt, Rainbow Dash.

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1 - Brief History of the Best Young Failure

Applejack pawed the ground. “What’s that face for? You telling me you live in Ponyville and don’t like apple pie?”

Soarin’ shrugged. “It’s okay.”

“Well okay ain’t good enough. This here pie’s gotta be just right for the Summer Sun Celebration, and you’re not leaving till it is.”

“Aw come on Applejack, I need to clear the skies.”

“And that’ll take you what, ten seconds?”

It was true, but Soarin’ would take any excuse at this point to avoid eating any more than he felt like. Desserts were great after a race and all, but he’d been sitting here for who knows how long eating nothing but pie, all because he ate a whole pie that one time on the opening day of cider season.

He mashed a scrap of crust on the table into little pieces, pushed them around, crushed those, and pushed the pie dust around some more. He glanced at the fresh apple treat in front of him and the steam rising from the gap where a single slice was missing. “It’s good. Can I go now?”

“Good ain’t good enough!”

“Okay, I lied.” Without hesitation Soarin’ plowed his mouth right into the pie pan and made a spectacle of himself. “Mmm. It’s so good. Please somepony, please save me from this delicious pie. Nom nom nom,” Soarin’ mumbled through mouthfuls of dessert. Gobs of apple filling dangled from his mouth and smacked onto the table.

“Fine, fine. I’ll get somepony else to try the pie.” Applejack sighed. “And we haven’t even gotten to the fritters yet.”

---

The chain of events that morning brought Soarin’ to the Everfree Forest, on the other side of a broken bridge he was supposed to tie up for the ponies on the other side. A Shadowbolt blocked his path. Now he had to choose between becoming a Shadowbolt leader and helping out the group of ponies across the rift, some of which he barely knew, and others he didn’t exactly get along with. It was not a difficult decision to make. The rope to the bridge was in his mouth. All he had to do was talk.

“You,” Soarin’ said. “I choose you.” The bridge between the five mares and the foreboding castle tumbled into the mist. There was no way Twilight Sparkle would make it to the Elements of Harmony now.

The Shadowbolt emissary’s eyes shone with malicious glee. Her smooth voice beckoned. “Very well… Captain.” The word rolled off her tongue. “Now come with us.”

Soarin’ snorted and put a hoof to his mouth trying to hold it in. Chuckling slipped around his pursed lips and it couldn’t be stopped: he burst into laughter. “Oh. Oh man, the look on your face. Really? Like, seriously, ‘Them or us,’ come on! It’s just a rope bridge. And Captain of the Shadowbolts, a team I’ve never even heard of? I’ve got my sights set so much higher.” He prodded the bewildered pegasus with his forehoof. “I doubt you’re even real ponies. Are you shadows or something? You’re kinda cold and clammy.” He poked at the Shadowbolt with curiosity.

The midnight mare snapped out of its surprise and pushed Soarin’s hoof away.

Soarin’ grinned. “Fine, keep your secret. I’m going to get that bridge back now, and I’m bringing the others with me. If you’re still here when I get back, I’ll sock you one.” He dove into the chasm, ignoring the frustrated snarls from the main Shadowbolt.

A few seconds later the stallion emerged from the mist carrying the loose half of the bridge in his mouth.

“What the hay, Soarin!” Applejack complained. “We thought y’all had left us here. We were gonna send Fluttershy after you.”

Fluttershy cowered behind Rarity, her hooves glued to the ground.

Soarin’ waved a wing. “Pff. I’d never leave my friends hanging. Give me another second to tie this up. Be right back.”

---

Soarin’ finished telling his story to his weather team. “And that was how we trounced Nightmare Moon. Apparently I’m the Element of Loyalty. No, I don’t really get what that means either. There are these gems that have power in them, and when you wear them around your neck they make your magic stronger.”

Thunderlane looked skeptical. “So I guess you’re a hero now or something? Don’t you wonder why you’re the only dude in that group?”

Soarin’s ears swiveled forward, because he hadn’t thought about it enough to realize that was the case. A perplexed frown crossed his face.

Cloudchaser jabbed Soarin’ with her wing. “One stallion to go around? Must be so tough,” she said sarcastically.

Soarin’ pushed back at the lavender mare. “Come on guys, they’re my friends.”

Thunderlane huffed. “So are we! I don’t see why we don’t get to be superheroes too.” Thunderlane did not understand why six new, loosely bound friends should get glory instead of a solid weather team. Plus, until last week nopony had even heard of this so-called Twilight Sparkle.

Soarin’ stuck his tongue out. “Well, you know, life’s not fair and all that stuff. It doesn’t matter anyway because we gave the Elements to Princess Celestia. Now come on, we’ve got some rain scheduled for this afternoon. I’m going to go check on Sweet Apple Acres to see if we need to bring it out that way. See ya with the weather crew in a few hours.”

The first member of the Apple Family Soarin’ happened to spot from the air was Applejack. She walked alongside Twilight. Soarin’ prepared to land and overheard their conversation about the upcoming Grand Galloping Gala.

“And I have extra tickets,” Twilight finished saying.

Soarin’ dropped in, landing right between Applejack and Twilight. “Did you say have another ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala? Can I go with you?”

The two mares looked at him.

It took a few seconds for Soarin’ to realize why they were staring. “Oh, not like a date or anything. I just meant with you. Go with you. To the Gala. As friends.”

Twilight blinked. “I knew that. But Spike says the Gala is dumb and gross. Why would you want to go?”

“Why wouldn’t I want to go? Spike’s just a kid, Twilight.”

Spike folded his arms and harrumphed. “I’m not a kid,” he mumbled.

Soarin’ back into the air. “Do you realize that every pony who is any pony will be there – and that means the Wonderbolts! This could be my chance to show them my moves. Maybe not even that, maybe just meet with them! It could be the start to the career I’ve always dreamed of. Please Twi, I’ve been trying to get in forever. Pleeeease.” The stallion begged, hanging upside-down and flapping in front of the unicorn’s face.

“I’m sorry Soarin’,” she replied. “Applejack already said she was interested in the ticket to help with her business, and—”

“And I claimed it first,” Applejack finished. “So there. Besides Soarin’, you never take anything seriously. You’d probably forget all about the Wonderbolts the minute you saw the buffet line.”

Twilight started to back away as Soarin’ and Applejack locked eyes. “Not serious? You can’t take a break AJ! You’ve probably never had a day of fun in your life.”

“Have too.”

Soarin’ prodded the farmer with a hoof. “I thought you were supposed to be honest.”

Applejack mashed her forehead against Soarin’s. “You callin’ me a liar, hay for brains?”

“No. I’m saying you’re too serious, Applebutt.”

Twilight squeezed in and forced them apart. “Enough! I don’t want to give the ticket to either of you seeing you fight like that. I’ll just keep it until someone comes to their senses.” She gave each of them a deliberate glare and stomped off.

Applejack and Soarin’ zipped over to a tree stump to settle the score with a hoof wrestle. Even after Princess Celestia sent new tickets so the whole group could go, Soarin’ refused to admit he’d lost to Applejack.

Tickets to the gala meant Soarin’ had two good chances now to impress the Wonderbolts.

---

Soarin’ sighed and decided to tell it to his friend straight. “Fluttershy, you suck at cheering.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

It was true: they’d been practicing for at least an hour, and Fluttershy’s cheering was still at the same level as her indoor quiet voice. In fact, now that Soarin’ thought about it, her indoor quiet voice was all she had. Maybe he should have started by teaching her basic talking.

“Never mind," he said. "I’m just glad I’ll have someone to support me at the Best Young Flyer Competition since Thunderlane and Cloudchaser have storm duty that day. I really wish the others could come too.”

Fluttershy ducked behind her mane. “Um, well, about that.”

Soarin’ didn’t hear her. “It won’t matter if I can’t get this dang move right! I need to try harder.” He took off.

Twilight came over the hill at a trot. “Hey Fluttershy, I heard Soarin’ screaming and making a bunch of noise over here. Is everything okay?”

Fluttershy smiled. “You didn’t hear my cheering? We were practicing. Er, were. Soarin’ is flying now.” The stallion zoomed across the sky. “He’s tried to do Thunderwings a hundred times now. This is important to him, but I don’t think I can cheer loud enough to help.”

“Thunderwings?” Twilight tipped her head. “What’s that?”

“It’s so amazing. There’s a big burst of light in the sky and then these golden wings that spread out. But… I’ve only seen it once. Most ponies say it’s a legend.”

Twilight paced in a circle. “If your cheering alone won’t cut it, maybe all of us should go to the competition. It shouldn’t be difficult to take the hot air balloon up past the clouds.”

“You won’t be able to get very close in the balloon. The area is a no-fly zone during the Best Young Flyer Competition.”

“Then there’s probably a spell that can help us. Come on, let’s get the others!”

---

Soarin’ and Fluttershy arrived in Cloudsdale ahead of the group, just in time to run into a trio of mean-spirited male colleagues from flight school. The leader spotted them and jeered. “Hey look guys! It’s Snorin’ and his beautiful bride.”

“Yeah,” the second guy said. The forelocks of his mane covered his eyes. “Why don’t you two like… get married or something.”

“Snorin’s probably so boring he puts her to sleep!” The three bullies broke into raucous laughter. Soarin’ rolled his eyes.

Underneath a furious blush Fluttershy looked annoyed. “I – I – I think you must be mistaking me for someone else,” she chirped. “Soarin’, I didn’t know you had a special somepony.”

“I don’t,” Soarin’ said. “Anyway, just ignore these guys. They work in cloud construction. That’s why I decided to join the weather patrol even though my specialty is cloud manipulation. Don’t take a job where you can’t get along with your coworkers.”

“Hey guys, look, they’re so in love they’re not even paying attention to us! Fine, whatever Snorin’. Bet your routine’s gonna be a real snoozer! Hah!” The three took off laughing.

“Ugh,” Soarin’ groaned. “I can’t stand those guys. Sorry about that Fluttershy.” The stallion’s train of thought was cut short by the strangest thing flying towards them. “Woah, is that a huge butterfly?”

Fluttershy turned around to see. “Oh, no, that’s Rarity. Twilight was trying to do a spell but it was too difficult to repeat. Everyone else can walk on the clouds, though.”

Soarin’ stared at Rarity’s unique wings. He didn’t know there was a spell like that. He also did not know there was a spell that could cause so much trouble. Rarity was obsessed with her wings, and so was everypony else. They were so beautiful that the unicorn decided to enter in the Best Young Flyer Competition at the last minute. Now Soarin’ got to deal with his stress about the competition and worry about winning a beauty contest against Rarity at the same time.

Soarin’ pasted his entry number over his cutie mark twice, once on the left flank and once on the right. Twenty-three, the very last entry. When his turn finally came, Rarity emerged from the dressing room. “Rarity is ready!” she said aloud.

Soarin’ scanned her costume. “Er, are you sure? You’ve got something on your face. All over it, actually.”

Rarity was too self-absorbed to hear Soarin’s confused remark. The flight coordinator, an unsympathetic mare, tapped her clipboard. “Look you two, there’s only one slot left. Figure out who’s going out or both go out at once. I don’t care.”

Rarity drifted toward the arena. “See you in the sky, darling. Oh, and I changed the music.”

“While you were in the dressing room?” Again, Rarity was too far gone to even listen.

Soarin’ was ticked. He thought his friends were coming to support him, not compete against him. He had half a mind to let Rarity go out alone so he could see if the Wonderbolts were more interested in looks than skill.

That was a dumb idea. He’d been practicing for weeks.

Soarin’ burst into the arena fast enough to leave a perfectly pony shaped hole, wings flared, in every single one of the clouds lined up in front of the arena entrance. He banked hard and swooped in a large circle around the ring, gaining speed, before he aimed for the receding holes in the row of clouds. He raced back through the holes again with such precision that not a single cloud puff broke off.

Soarin’ transitioned into a circular whirlwind pattern around the first cloud. The wind from his flight caused the cloud to rotate and then spin. He zipped to the next cloud and made it spin, making his way down the row. He ignored the feeling that he was going to fail. He would do this. He would fly.

The aspiring Wonderbolt shot past Rarity. More speed. Higher. The sound of wind whooshed through his ears. The audience gasped in awe.

Then they gasped in terror.

“She’s falling!” somepony shouted.

Rarity’s piercing screams drowned the spectators out. Soarin’ whirled around to see and Rarity was nowhere – no, she was a falling speck. The colors of the wings that had defined her were gone.

Soarin’ charged for the ground. He’d done this before. He could make this. It was the same as the time all those years ago when Fluttershy fell from Cloudsdale.

Below, two streaks of blue and gold shot from the stands toward Rarity. Everything was a blur in Soarin’s field of view. He threw one forehoof forward and felt air resistance curling around his feet. Rarity's thrashing knocked out the two Wonderbolts who went to help. Their wings weren’t moving.

Soarin’ couldn’t get past that barrier in front of him. The ground was coming up too quickly. He wasn’t going to make it. If he didn’t pull up now he’d hit the ground at this speed. Luna save them all. One… two…

The impact crunched into Soarin’s back. An explosion of ringing metallic distortion sang over the end of his life.