Soldier of the Night

by Skyfire Storm

8. Flying Follies

A year later...
It was a beautiful mid-June morning in Cloudsdale. Storm, and most of the other kids in the city were off on their summer break until mid-August, which gave them two months to do whatever they pleased. Right now, while the family was downstairs eating breakfast, Storm was slumbering in his bed.

Meanwhile downstairs, the family had finished eating their breakfast and were busy listening to the morning news and weather report on the radio. Just then, the doorbell sounded, startling everypony in the room.

"I'll get it..." groaned a now 17-year old Gust, who got off the couch, went up to the front door and opened it, revealing a tan Pegasus mailmare, who was slightly shorter, but somewhat more buff than Equinox was. The mare was shaking uncontrollably and was struggling to look away from Gust. "Yes?"

"Does a Mrs. Equinox Moon live here?" the mare asked.

"Mom!" shouted Gust, turning away from the mare. "You have mail!"

"Alright!"

"She'll be here in a sec," said Gust. "Stick around."

"Alright, sir," the mare replied, shaking slightly. "Sorry if I seem awkward; it's my first day on the job."

"That's understandable," nodded Gust. "I think you're doing good."

"Thank you sir," she replied, giving him a small smile, which he gladly returned.

Just then, Equinox arrived at the door and Gust left upstairs to wake up Storm.

"Here you go, ma'am," the mailmare smiled in response, passing her the letters.

"Thank you!" Equinox beamed, before noticing the mare shivering. "Are you cold or something, ma'am?"

"No, no," the mailmare replied, stuttering somewhat. "This is my first day on the job, so I'm just pretty nervous."

"Ah, I understand," said Equinox. "You know, I was like you when I first joined the Weather Team, but then, I realized that if I try my hardest, I'm going to succeed. And from what I can see, you're trying pretty hard."

"Thank you, ma'am." the mailmare smiled. Equinox always had a way with words. Whenever somepony needed her advice, no matter if it was a family member, a close friend or even a stranger, she was always happy to help.

"No problem." she smiled. "Have a good day at work."

"You have a good day as well, ma'am," the mailmare replied, a smile forming on her face. "Goodbye!" she said, waving to Equinox, who waved back, before going to the next house down the road. Equinox closed the door and went to the kitchen. She put down the envelopes on the kitchen table and begun to open them all up, one by one.

"Hey honey," said High, who was washing the dishes. "What did we get in the mail today?"

"Just a few bills and the kids' school grades," replied Equinox.

Just then, Mist and Storm came into the kitchen.

"Hey mom," said Mist, sitting down beside her. "Ooh, what's this?"

"Your school grades, sweetie," replied Equinox. "Hi, Storm."

"Hey mom," replied Storm, rubbing his eyes slightly, before outstretching his hooves. "That storm kept me awake all night... What's the weather supposed to be like today, dad?"

"Well, I am happy to say," begun High Wind, a smile forming on his face. "That we won't be getting any more storms for the next week or so."

"That's good to hear," Storm replied, also sitting down at the table beside Mist and Equinox. "Finally, I'll get a good night's sleep. Oh, and what's this?"

"Your school grades." replied Equinox. "We'll open them all up after you finish breakfast, alright?"

"Alright..." replied Storm, before making himself some chocolate cereal for breakfast.

After eating his breakfast, Storm made his way to the living room and sat down on the couch beside Equinox, Mist and Gust Wind.

"Alright, everypony here?" asked Equinox. "Alright, let's see your grades, kids. Okay then, first up, we have Storm's grade..."

"Why me?" asked Storm, a sheepish grin forming on his face. "Why not Gust or Mist?"

"Because you're the only colt in our family who still doesn't have his cutie mark." replied Gust. "I mean, look at Mist. She's two years younger than you are and she already has her mark."

Storm's grin slowly turned into a sad glare. He sighed sadly, before turning to look at Mist's cutie mark which she had just got a few weeks ago at a weather pony event; a sun covered by a thick layer of mist. Mist had just turned thirteen, and already she had her cutie mark, unlike Storm, who was fifteen and not even close to getting his.

"Shut up, Gust..." he growled under his breath. "Just shut up."

"Why don't you make me, blank-flank?" Gust sneered.

"Boys, boys!" said Equinox, staring at both of them with a stern look on her face. "Calm yourselves."

"Alright mom..." said Gust.

"Sorry." said Storm.

"Storm, just because you don't have your cutie mark yet doesn't mean anything bad..." explained Equinox.

"I appreciate your help, mom, but I just don't feel like this is normal..."

"You bet your flank it ain't normal!" shouted Gust.

"Gust, I've just about had it with your behavior!" yelled Equinox. "Quit pestering Storm, alright?!"

"Yes mommy."

"Good." said Equinox, calming down noticeably after her little outburst. "Anyways, look Storm... I could have told you before, but I didn't... I waited until I was sixteen for my cutie mark, and I got bullied relentlessly for most of my school days."

"Yeah, same..." groaned Storm, thinking about Hurricane and his friends, who usually bullied him relentlessly, especially Hurricane, who pestered him the most after what happened between him, Storm and Summer. "Nopony leaves me alone..."

"Hasn't your dad dealt with them before?" asked Equinox.

"Yes, but this time it's different..." replied Storm.

"I see..." she begun. "In fact, I'll talk to their mothers about it and they'll talk some sense into those delinquents."

"You sure that'll work?"

"Trust me; I'm your mom and I know what's best for my children." she replied, giving them all a friendly smile. "And if one of my children needs my help, I'll always be there for them."

"Thanks mom." replied Storm, hugging her tightly.

"No problem, son." she replied, hugging him back. "Me and dad will always be there for all of you, whenever you need us. Come 'ere, both of you." she said, outstretching her hooves so that Mist and Gust join in the hug. "There's room for all three of you."

"Alright then." smiled Mist, hugging Equinox.

"Okay." grinned Gust, also joining into the hug. After the hug was done, they all sat down on the sofa.

"So, anyways..." begun Equinox. "Storm, you shouldn't worry about not having a cutie mark. You're still the best son I could ever ask for; you're clever, you're talented, you're just a great kid..."

"What about me?" asked Gust.

"Oh..." replied Equinox, a small smile forming on her face. "How could I forget about you, Gust? Both of you are the best sons I could ever have asked for."

"Thanks mom." both of them replied in unison.

"And you Mist, are the best daughter I could ever ask for." smiled Equinox, before ruffling Mist's mane.

"Thank you, mom." replied Mist. "You're the best mom ever."

"Thank you, Mist..." begun Equinox, before continuing with her cutie mark talk. "And Storm, your cutie mark will come when the time is right, and when it does, I'm sure it'll be as unique as you are. So, don't be afraid to be a blank-flank. Like I said, your cutie mark will come when the time is right."

"I sure hope so, mom." Storm cracked an optimistic smile. "Anyways, let's see our grades."

"Right then." replied Equinox, opening the envelope containing Storm's grade and unfolding the grade paper. "Let's see... For Math, you got straight A's... wow. I'm really proud of you, son."

"Thanks mom." blushed Storm.

"I won't be surprised if your cutie mark ends up being math-related." explained Mist.

"You think so?" asked Storm.

"Maybe..." she mused.

"For English, straight A's..." continued Equinox. "For Physics you have B's. Again, not bad. For Chemistry, A's. For Biology, B's. History is straight A's, social studies is again, straight A's. For Phys Ed, mostly E's..."

"Oh boy..." Storm thought to himself, gulping.

"Let's read this..." begun Equinox, with a concerned look on her face.

Stormfire is not one of our best students when it comes to physical education. Although he tries hard, his flying skills are below average and he frequently ends up crashing into things, especially on our obstacle courses. However, with some considerable difficulty, and with the help of some friends, he had managed to get to the finish line several times before.

We understand that he is not from the country and that he doesn't understand the basics of flight very well, but we do want what's best for our students, and so we request that you enroll him in a flight training program over the summer break.

"So, I'm pretty bad, aren't I?" asked Storm.

"Yes..." replied Gust.

"Zip it, Gust." said Equinox in her sternest voice, causing him to cower behind the sofa. "No, Storm... Listen, I was going to teach you how to fly back in the Gryphon lands, but unfortunately, due to my wing injury, I couldn't... and I still can't. If I do teach you how to fly, the wing might come completely off. Don't blame yourself, blame me. I'm sorry I couldn't teach you how to fly."

"No, mom. It's okay..." said Storm, putting his hoof around her. "It's not your fault... Accidents happen."

"Yeah, well, if it wasn't for this "accident", you'd be flying by now." she replied coldly. "I'm a horrible mother."

"What? No. You're the best mother ever." replied Gust. "And your wing injury doesn't change that."

"I agree." said Storm. "Don't put yourself down like this."

"Yeah." begun Mist. "You're amazing, mom."

"Thanks kids..." she replied. "You're all incredible kids."

After a few minutes of crying, Equinox calmed down noticeably.

"So, what could I do to learn how to fly, mom?" asked Storm.

"Hm..." she begun, trying to think of a good flight teacher for Storm. "Ah. I know who'd be able to help you."

"You do?" asked Storm, his ears perking up.

"Yep." smiled Equinox. "My two friends from the Weather Factory; Solar Blast and Star Night. They started doing this flight school thing a few months ago, but unfortunately, almost nopony wants to get enrolled, so I think it'd be a good idea that we enroll you."

"You think it's a good idea?" asked Storm. "I mean, I'm pretty bad."

"You're not, you just need to control yourself during flight." replied Equinox. "Personally, I think you're great, sweetie."

"Thanks mom."

"No problem." she smiled. "And I think it'd be a great idea for you to get involved."

Three months ago

"Alright, you no-good winged earth ponies..." begun a rather intimidating voice, which belonged to the high school's flying coach, a buff, light-brown stallion who looked like he just stepped off the set of an action film. The young stallions and mares present immediately stopped messing around and turned to face the coach, all of them standing as still as military ponies. "Is everypony here? This is going to be fun..."

The colts and fillies nodded in reply, all equally intimidated by the coach's gruff and no-nonsense demeanor. "That's good." he replied. "Very good."

"Sorry I'm late!" shouted Storm, trotting out of the school building to where the class was. The colts and fillies gathered (including Hurricane, Summer and their friends) all chuckled among themselves, while the coach facehoofed himself.

"Get over here, you smartass." said the coach. "There'll be no latecomers to my lessons, ya understand?"

"Yes sir..."

"What's that? I didn't hear you, Stormfire."

"YES SIR!"

"Good. Alright then, for being late to class today, you're starting our first flying race."

"Flying race?"

"Yes, you wimp!" said the coach, with a rather angry tone in his voice. "You're going first in our flying race."

Storm gulped before looking around to see most of the students in the class laughing at him (excluding Singer and Violet, who just watched from behind the coach). What was this talk about a flying race anyways? He wasn't told the last time he had phys ed that they were doing a flying race, and it unnerved him just looking at the obstacle course which they were going to be flying through. He couldn't even fly properly, for Celestia's sake! The obstacle course itself was massive. It stretched from the cloud field where they were standing on to the hoofball field on the other side of the school campus and it amazed him that something as big as that could be afforded by the Cloudsdale school district.
"So, ya gonna keep looking at the course or are you going to start?" asked the coach. Storm immediately turned around and looked at the class, who were all chuckling at Storm.

"Yes, I'm gonna start." replied Storm. "Sorry sir."

"Get over there." barked the coach. "I want to see how good you are at flying."

"Yes sir..." replied Storm, rather nervously, before trotting up to the obstacle course and getting a better look at it. "This is a bit... big, don't you think? He he."

"What's the matter, Stormy?" asked Hurricane in a mocking voice. "Too chicken to fly?"

The vast majority of the class chuckled at Hurricane's statement, while Storm gave him a disapproving glare. This was now personal. Nopony was going to mock him anymore. He needed to do this race.

"Alright then." said Storm. "I'm gonna do this."

"Okay then." replied the coach. "Class, get into your starting positions."

The class did as the coach told them to, all of them lining up in rows of three. Storm was lined up at the very start, with two Pegasus colts and one filly behind him, the filly's name being Rainbow Dash.

Storm looked over the edge of the obstacle course and begun to shake like a foal's rattle. There was a fifty-foot long gap in the clouds, which extended to the very bottom of the cloud bank on which Cloudsdale was built on. Beyond that gap were several pillars made of water ice, and after that, there were several large boxing gloves seemingly coming out of nowhere. And that wasn't all! There were also large balls floating above the clouds, which he presumed they had to fly between. Storm gulped as he looked at the obstacle course. As much as he was afraid of doing the practice race, he still knew he had to win it.

"Alright, you wimps!" shouted the coach, getting the attention of almost all of the kids. "This will be your first practice race this year, and you will get one practice race each month until summer break. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Alright." said the coach. "You will fly over this gap, between the Moving Pillars of Terror, through the Gauntlet of Terror, and the Floating Rubber Balls of Terror. Yes, there will be a lot of terror in this course, and don't worry, it'll only get more and more terrifying. Anyways, on your marks..."

"Get set."

"Go!"

Without any hesitation, the colts and fillies took off through the obstacle course. Storm flew over the gap, somewhat poorly compared to the other colts and fillies, but was still in first place. He turned around to see around fifteen other colts and fillies flying directly behind him, before turning back to face the obstacle course. The class all flew between the first three pillars, with Storm still in the lead much to his surprise. Just then, while Storm wasn't looking, somepony managed to catch up to him, and that somepony was Hurricane.

"Hey Storm!" he shouted.
"Huh?" asked Storm, turning to face him. Just then, Hurricane slammed into Storm, knocking him off-course and sending him spinning out of control into one of the ice pillars.

"Sayonara!" shouted Hurricane, now in first place. Storm groaned and slowly got up from where he landed, before turning to look at the swarm of Pegasus ponies flying between the next few pillars, towards the next stage of the practice race. He then turned back to face the coach, who was motioning for him to join the rest of them in a frantic manner. Storm groaned and dusted himself off, before taking off in a jerky manner and joining the rest of them. After struggling to get through the group of Pegasi, he managed to get into second place, right behind Hurricane.

"Hey Hurricane!" shouted Storm from behind him.

"Huh?" asked Hurricane, before turning around to notice Storm flying right behind him. "Oh, hay no!" Hurricane, without any warning, flew right into Storm, knocking him off-course again and causing him to crash-land onto a cloud.

"Gah..." groaned Storm, trying to pull himself up and get off the cloud. Once again, he ended up in the last place, and watched the other foals fly through the rest of the course. He groaned and pulled himself up before turning to look at the coach, who watched him with disapproving eyes. "Well, I guess third time's the charm..." said Storm, before beginning to flap his wings and trotting down the cloud. Although he managed to get himself off the cloud and fly between the ice pillars, he was still far from the rest of the group, who were at least a few hundred feet away from him. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew in between the pillars and into Storm, knocking him yet again off-course, but he continued to fly. He flew back into the obstacle course and grinned, thinking that he was in the lead, but crashed into a large rubber ball. He bounced off the ball and landed on the cloud between the Balls of Terror and the end of the Gauntlet, disorientated, but before he could continue on with the course, the others had already passed him. A few moments later, the coach landed in front of him and groaned.

"Yes... sir?" asked Storm.

"Look. I know that you find flight hard, and I understand that." he begun. "But if you want to be good at phys ed, then I'd suggest you stop messing around and learn something useful for once."

"I understand, sir." replied Storm.

"Go and sit down at the bench." the coach said, pointing at the bench, which was way back at the start of the obstacle course. "Oh, wait. You can't fly... How are you supposed to get to the bench, huh?"

"Mr Coach, sir." begun a rather brash female voice, which belonged to a voice that they both recognized; Rainbow Dash. "Don't you think that Storm is already tired enough?"

"Miss Rainbow Dash..." replied the coach, sighing. "I appreciate your concern---"

"Can I take him to the bench?" she asked.

"Go ahead." replied the coach, before turning to look at Storm. "Get up, alright?"

"Yes sir..." replied Storm, slowly getting off the cloud and dusting himself off.

"Alright, I'm going to go to the others..." the coach said. "When you're done, I expect you to be back, Miss Rainbow Dash, or that'll be twenty-five press-ups."

"Yeah, yeah." she groaned. "I'll be back before you know it coachy."

"Don't you dare call me that..." the coach growled. "Or that'll be fifty press-ups. Alright, get going!"

"Okay." she said, wrapping her wing around Storm and taking off with him back to the start of the obstacle course. After they landed, she led him to the bench and sat down beside him. "You alright?"

"Huh?" he asked.

"I asked if you were alright." she replied. "I'm Rainbow Dash. You?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. My name is Stormfire, but you can call me Storm..." he replied.

"So, you can't fly very well, huh?" she asked. Storm only nodded in reply.

"Can you teach me how?" asked Storm.

"Sorry, dude." she replied. "I don't take teaching requests."

"You're like my idol." he said.

"I am?" she gasped.

"Yep." he replied. "I've been a huge fan of yours ever since I saw you win a race back in Elementary School."

"Really?" she grinned. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I was too scared, I guess..." he replied, scratching his mane. "Tell me, was I bad?"

"Well, you were not that good..." she said. Storm sighed sadly. "But that doesn't mean you are bad. Listen, in my opinion, every Pegasus pony can fly. They just need to try their best, and that's what I'm asking of you, alright? Just try your best. Try your best and it'll all go great."

"You sure?" he asked, his grin returning to his face.

"Absolutely." she replied.

The present day...
A week after the school grades arrived and Storm found out his phys ed results, Storm and Equinox left home for the flight training program where he was to be enrolled in. The 'flight training school', if one could call it that, was located at a rather spacious abode in a suburb on the west side of town, perched on a cloud cliff several hundred feet high overlooking the small commuter town of Cloudview. The house also had a decidedly massive back yard which was adjacent to one of the airport's several runways, the boundary between the airport and the rest of the city being clearly marked by a looming, electrified fence with barbed wire running atop it.

Storm and Equinox walked up to the front door of the house, and while Equinox rang the doorbell, Storm nervously paced up and down the path to the house, trying to gather his thoughts and regain his bearings as a feeling of foreboding anxiety grabbed hold of him and refused to let him go. What if he fails the flying lessons from day one? As much as Storm was afraid of the flying lessons, he was determined to learn how to fly. After all, he didn't want to be considered some 'winged earth pony' who somehow made his way up into Cloudsdale.

A moment or so later, the door opened, revealing a tall, blue-purple mare with a white-yellow mane, who Storm presumed was Star Nights. "Hey Equinox!" she waved. "What brings you here today?"

"Hey Star." she said, briefly turning towards Storm to give him an encouraging smile. "This is my second oldest son, Stormfire."

Storm, somewhat hesitantly, walked up to the mare and shook her hoof. "Nice to meet you, ma'am."

"Nice to meet you too, Stormfire." she explained, smiling at him, before moving slightly to the right, to reveal a smaller mare (who looked to be of Storm's age, or perhaps less) of the same color, the only difference being her mane, which was blue-purple. Her cutie mark was of a blue crescent moon. "This is my daughter, Blue Night."

"Nice to meet you." he said rather nervously, outstretching his hoof which she shook. "I'm Stormfire, but I guess you can call me Storm."

"Hi, my name's Blue Night." she replied, giving him a friendly smile. "Are you from around these parts? I've never seen you at my school before."

"No, I'm from the north side of town." he replied.

"Ah, that's cool." she smiled. "That's where the Cloudsdale Arena is, right?"

"Yep." he replied. "Do you go there?"

"Yep, every once in a while." Blue replied.

"What do you go watch?" Storm asked.

"I usually go to see the Wonderbolts live, however if the arena hosts concerts, then I sometimes go with my friends." she explained. "What about you, Storm?"

"I go to watch the Wonderbolts." smiled Storm.

"I'm thinking you two will be the best of friends..." replied Star. "Come on in and have a seat."

A moment or two later, Equinox and Stormfire (who could not stop looking at Blue Night) went to the living room and sat down at the table. While Equinox and Star were talking what they did lately, Storm kept staring at Blue. To him she looked absolutely gorgeous, however, he didn't keep that thought in his head for long after remembering what Summer did to him. After Summer dumped him, Storm stopped trusting mares and fillies (except his mom and Mist), fearing that if he ever fell in love with a mare, she'd treat him the same way Summer did. However, something about this mare was different from all the rest of the mares he had ever talked to. She seemed nice and friendly (unlike Summer), and pretty talkative. And boy was she pretty. In fact, in Storm's eyes, no mare was prettier than Blue was, not even Summer. However, he tried to keep the thoughts of him talking to her, becoming her friend and eventually asking her out at bay, that is, for now.

"So, you want to enroll Storm in our flight training program?" asked Star.

"Yes, I do." replied Equinox. "I figured he needs the exercise and the skill."

"Storm." Star begun, snapping Storm out of his daydreams.

"Yes, ma'am?" he asked.

"No need to call me ma'am." Star smiled. "Just call me Star, alright?"

"Yeah, okay." he replied.

"So, you want to learn to fly, huh?" she asked. "Well, you've come to the right place. Here, we'll teach you how to fly like a pro, and since your mom is a close friend of mine, your lessons will be free of charge."

"Really?" he asked. "That's cool."

"Yep. If you come here every weekend from now up until August, we'll get you flying like a professional flyer by the end of the summer break." replied Star. "So, do you want to join?"

"Oh, yes I do." he grinned. "I'd love nothing more than to learn how to fly."

"Great. You start on Saturday."

Author's Note:

And that's Chapter 8 done, everypony. Chapter 9 will be up soon.

Comments

[SageBrony07]

Nice chapter. I approve of the new crush. Storm needs it. He needs to be able to trust girls and Blue seems like a good choice. Great job.

[HolyCross9]

I agree with SageBrony on what he said. After all, Storm should at least give Blue a chance, despite how badly Summer harmed him emotionally.