The Mission Begins Anew

by comicfan616

The Sky-Vapor Mission

“Another day, another mission.”

“Any ideas?”

“Not off the top of my head. I was just about to look through the list.”

“Hmm… Wait, stop here a minute.”

“You mean this?”

“That’s it. Sky Stinger and Vapor Trail.”

“That one? Really?”

“Problem?”

“No, not really. It’s just… I’ll be honest with you; this one seems a little out of place, you know? I mean, most of the missions we have on file and have done so far tend to be of the ‘larger impact’ variety. This one, though, it’s kinda small potatoes in comparison. It’s a bit jarring.”

“I won’t deny that, compared to everything else we had the girls do so far, this one doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. But our job isn’t to save Equestria from the threat of the month; that’s the princesses’ job. Our job is to help Princess Twilight spread the magic of friendship across Equestria, whether that be for a large city or just two ponies.”

“I’m not saying it’s not important. It’s just a little weird that we’re going from a Las Pegasus resort hotel with bad business practices to just two friends who need to learn about self-confidence.”

“Regardless, it’s a friendship problem that needs solving, so let’s get to the solving.”

“Right, right. So, Sky Stinger: the guy’s become confident enough in his abilities that he actually believes he’s Wonderbolt material, not realizing that most of his ‘talent’ is really just Vapor Trail providing the air currents he needs to pull off his tricks.”

“Personally, I’d argue both of them have potential to become Wonderbolts. Sky Stinger has the drive and the ambition. And while Vapor Trail doesn’t know it yet, her willingness to help others in spite of herself makes her the perfect team player.”

“The main problem here is obvious: Sky has unknowingly relied on Vapor’s assistance for so long that he feels he doesn’t need to improve; and Vapor lacks the confidence to believe in herself, something every Wonderbolt needs.”

“If these two don’t get into the academy, it’s all too likely their friendship will end. He’ll blame her for his overconfidence, and she’ll feel like he doesn’t appreciate her company.”

“So what we need is to temper his overconfidence with some actual skill and build up her confidence to the point where she can be proud of herself for once.”

“As far as the Sky Stinger angle goes, we’ll need Princess Twilight for this. However this goes down, Sky will realize that his own skill, or lack thereof, won’t be enough. The more he knows about what he’s doing, the better his chances are of actually being Wonderbolt material.”

“But knowledge is only part of the problem. If he wants to make it as a Wonderbolt, he needs to let go of the crutch that is his best friend.”

“Might be difficult. Vapor Trail has never been one to stay too far from Sky. And part of that is her unwillingness to be the center of attention. I mean, the only reason she’s even trying out for the Wonderbolts is to keep up the charade.”

“All she needs is a confidence boost. The way I see it, Sky’s not going to believe that his abilities are exaggerated until Vapor herself confirms it for him, and she won’t do that without the confidence to stand up to him. Besides, if she is Wonderbolt material, as you say, she needs to see herself as someone to be proud of, both in Sky’s eyes and her own.”

“Sounds like the choice here is obvious.”

“Rainbow Dash is practically Ponyville’s one-mare cheering squad. She managed to bolster the entire pegasus population in preparation for that Tornado Day last year. Getting one Wonderbolt-in-training to believe in herself would be child’s play by comparison.”

“Not to mention she could teach Vapor a few tricks of her own. Let’s face it; if she’s going to be a Wonderbolt, she needs to be able to fly in tandem with them.”

“Double whammy. Confidence booster and flight coach.”

“Yeah, I think we got this one covered.”

“Well, it is a very straightforward mission.”

“Are you really still complaining about that?”

“I never was! I was merely stating an opinion.”

“Yeah, you do have a bad habit of doing that.”

“Hey, be glad I wasn’t stating the opinion that you’re just trying to hook these two up.”

“…You’re joking about that, right?”

“Are you denying it?”

“…Calling Twilight Sparkle.”

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Just call her.”

“Hmhm. Calling Rainbow Dash.”

“Your mission begins here.”

"..."

"You still haven't denied it."

"Oh, sweet deities."

Author's Note:

Welp, that all from me, folks. No, the story isn't ending here. After all, the series is still going on (last I checked, anyway), and that means plenty more map episodes. I just can't write any more chapters for episodes that currently do not exist.

But fret not, for I will upload new chapters probably after each new season until such time as the mission ends.

Comments

[Comickook]

Not much I can say other than excellent job on this latest chapter. The exchange was well done and the reason for the importance of the mission was well given. I'll definitely be looking forward to more of this as soon as time and inspiration will allow.

[Dlaf rferg]

Ah, but until then, when the inspiration strikes, you can make your own missions!

I still enjoy these though.

[comicfan616]

7869327 Intriguing, but as these segments take place in the world of the map and are written without standard narration, it wouldn't work as well.

[Dlaf rferg]

7869342 I see how that would be a problem.

It's a nice thought though.