At Your Wing

by WyngsTriumphant

Opposite of Healing

“Oh, wow!” Vapor Trail gleefully cried as she gazed out into the view before her.

A soft woosh filled the air as the ocean waves lapped lazily against the beach. The sun sat level on the horizon, shining just enough to create a wondrous array of colors that filled the sky and tinted the water. Next to her walked her best friend and wingpony, Sky Stinger, enjoying not only the sight, but also the soft breeze that cooled his cerulean fur.

“Hope this place is as good as Spitfire says,” he mumbled, his stomach growling.

A short distance away, along the beach path they traveled, the proud fliers of the Wonderbolts chatted amongst themselves while following behind the fiery-maned Spitfire. As a means of celebrating the day’s successful joint performance between the main team and the reserves in Applewood’s Air Megalosseum, the Captain had invited the team and reserves to her favorite bar and restaurant in the area, a small pub in a town just outside the city.

“Hold on, I got this!” Vapor Trail exclaimed, brushing her multicolored mane aside as she reached into her saddlebags, pulling out a camera. Sky Stinger chuckled. His friend had recently taken an interest in photography, and upon hearing that the trainees were invited to attend the performance at the city of Applewood, she had decided to bring along her camera to capture the scenery.

She quickly recalled her lessons, sitting down to stabilize herself and adjusting the camera settings to perfectly lock in the sight of the sun and the beach. Slightly sticking out her tongue in concentration, she focused herself and aligned her hoof over the trigger.

SNAP!

“Yes!” she rejoiced, gleefully analyzing the photo as the instant film came out of the front of the camera. “This is so amazing!”
Sky Stinger chuckled once more.

“Yeah, yeah, but not as impressive as my performance today! Did you see me pull off that sweet backflip near the end of the routine?” He boasted as he helped his friend up.

“Good for you, mister ‘Princess of Flight’,” Vapor rolled her eyes, smiling at seeing her friend so content with himself.

“Seriously? Rainbow told you that too?” Sky groaned.

“No. She told the whole team,” Vapor clarified, giving him a teasing grin. “I think it fits you well, though. Wait ‘till we’re full Wonderbolts, and then your nickname will be set in stone!”

“Great, just what I need,” Sky sighed in frustration.

“But seriously, it was awesome to see you in flight today! Looks like all those training sessions with Princess Twilight paid off. It’s good to see you working up your own skills, without having me to boost you,” Vapor commented, glad to see improvement in her friend’s flight abilities.

“Yeah… I guess…” Sky responded, his smile falling a little. As somepony who strived to stand out from the crowds, to be appreciated, he didn’t much like the idea of his success being dependent on somepony else. He knew her past actions were with good faith and intent, but that didn’t change the fact that he had won his accomplishment not by his own merit, but because he had been propelled, sometimes literally, by somepony else. The thought made his self-esteem ring hollow.

His mind drifted away from the present, to a much sadder time. A time where his performance was overshadowed by the achievements, both scholarly and physical, of his siblings. A time when his parents were so busy balancing work and life at home, that they hardly had time to pay attention to him specifically. He knew they loved him, he never doubted it, but it was hard to feel proud of one’s-self when there was nobody around to celebrate or share in those triumphs and successes. Reality dealt another harsh blow to him as he remembered that that last thought wasn’t technically right, since he had hardly gained any of those achievements, at least flight-wise, by himself.

Vapor noticed the look on his face, eyes widening as she realized she had accidentally opened a still-fresh wound in her friend’s ego.

“S-Sorry! I didn’t mean it like that, I meant-,” she hastily retracted, stuttering.

“No, no, it’s fine, I just… uh…” Sky began, but his words stopped at his tongue,, unsure of how to explain his troubles.

“HEY, YOU TWO!!!” Spitfire’s shout came piercing between them. They turned to see the Captain and the rest of the team now a considerable distance away, waiting for them to catch up. “Some of us are thirsty here! GET GOING!!!”

“Yes, Ma’am!” Both pegasi nervously replied, saluting. Though admittedly, they were both glad for the interruption that helped bring them out of their awkward moment.

As they quickly took off after the team, Vapor cast another look in Sky’s direction. His face was completely neutral, with no visible signs of any mood. His eyes, though, gave away what was not visible. Those brilliant, sea-green eyes. She could never truly put a hoof on why, but she frequently found herself observing his eyes whenever he was looking elsewhere. Those eyes had a certain gleam to them, a spark that caught her own and seemed to transfix her…

A spark that had currently faded, if just for the time being.

Vapor gave a subtle sigh in defeat.

…

The roar of the crowd intensified as dozens of pegasi zoomed past the stadium seats, leaving their flight trails and strong gusts of wind in their wake. The citizens of Cloudsdale cheered as the pegasi continued their flight around the obstacle course of the race track.

Sky Stinger was mostly oblivious to the cheers of the crowd as his vision remained locked on the path before him as he tried to maneuver around his rivals. He knew that they all had in mind but one thing; to secure a place on the podium, the triumphant stage reserved for the top 3 racers of the annual Cloudsdale Regional Invitational Circuit. The owners of the city’s Racing Colosseum had spent the year scouring the thousands of pegasi around the city, in search for young, talented racers deemed worthy of partaking in the competition, a proud local tradition of the city, limited ONLY to its residents. Hundreds of citizens and their families would come out in flocks to witness the city’s talented young fliers and cheer on their relatives and friends.

Speaking of which…

“COME ON SKY! YOU’VE GOT THIS!”

Sky Stinger’s eyes locked onto one single mare sitting in the crowd, her cyan, emerald, and yellow mane standing out in his eyes. She sat alone amongst the rows of pegasi around her. Even from far away, as he zoomed past at maximum speeds, he knew he could never lose sight of his best friend. As it was when they were kids, so it was now, him competing, her cheering, ever loyal.

He smiled.

Focusing back on the task at hoof, Sky leveled his flight path once more as he and the racers exited a corner. Remembering his training with Princess Twilight, he inhaled sharply and began to create massive wingbeats, raising his altitude. Though slightly slowed, he now had a small height advantage to the other racers, giving himself a clear path ahead. With more powerful and directed wingbeats, Sky was able to rapidly accelerate and overtake a sizeable part of the racers. With a small and calculated dive, Sky now positioned himself back on the flight line, ahead of several competitors.

Sky smirked, glad to see his training had been paying off. While endurance mattered a lot in competitions, as Spitfire constantly nagged the reserves, Sky was aware that sometimes, it took a bit more than that, which is why he had devoted time in training to his wingbeat patterns. Sculpting his wing muscles precisely, he was able to summon small, powerful bursts of speed when needed.

Endurance, my flank, he celebrated, thinking. Bet none of them expected THAT.

Perhaps not, but the sudden spike of cheering from the crowd informed him that they were more than satisfied. Cheers from the residents, claps from some of the elder, experienced fliers, and even shrieks of delight from some mares.

Sky smirked, filled with confidence and adrenaline, as the race progressed on. Snaking around poles, dashing straights, narrow tunnels, and sharp corners. An excited crowd, cheering in awe and amazement of their feats.

His feats.

This is what he lived for. And soon, he would be hearing those cheers not from the middle of a group of racers, but from a triumphant stance upon the victor’s podium.

A quick glance ahead of him told him that he was near the head of the pack, with only a few pegasi left in front of him.
This was it, the last obstacle before the final sprint.

Sky zipped past the purple pegasus mare in front of him, quickly repositioning himself so as to be in the slipstream of the next racer in line, using the slight boost in aerodynamics to take a breath and relax his wings from the push he had just made. The relief was brief, however, as he spotted the unicorn-enchanted series of hoops they were about to arrive upon. The last curve of the track. His mind quickly working, he carefully aimed his approach so as to not hit the edges of the hoops, hurting his wing and breaking his speed.

His wings and speed were steady, as he easily made his way through the hoops, but another quick glance told him that it was not enough. The front-fliers had all successfully made their way through most of the hoops as well, keeping a steady pace. They were all conserving their energy for the last sprint. He wouldn’t be able to catch them in time to place, even for third. He would either have to hope that one of them made a mistake… or take a risk.

Time slowed-down, his vision narrowed, and in a split-second, the choice was made.

Focusing his body as much as possible, Sky made one last, powerful wingstroke, then clasped his wings to his side and narrowed his body as he dove full-speed into the hoop in front of him, right beside the third-place stallion.

As he felt his body dizzyingly twist through the hoop, Sky caught a look of shock, then worry, then focus as the third-place stallion realized the challenge. As they both successfully cleared the hoop, Sky was glad to see his risk proved effective, as he was now in third, just barely ahead of the third-place stallion as they straightened out into the last sprint, the checkered line clearly ahead. First, second, himself, third-now-fourth, and fifth places were all in close proximity. Their wings beat almost simultaneously as they all harnessed the last of their strength in a final frenzy toward the finish line.

Sky closed his eyes. Just a few meters left. As the meters seemed to slowly tick by, a sudden and rising stiffness spread through his wings. His risky overtakes had taken their toll, he had but a small bit of energy left. Clenching his teeth in furious determination, he cleared his mind, willed his body, and beat his wings one last time.

He felt the SNAP! of the referee’s camera as the photo-finish took place.

…

Fifth.

Sky could still feel himself numb, only able to blankly view the participation ribbon in his hoof.

Around him, celebrations were heard as the three winners took their places on the podium, exhausted, but proudly displaying their medals as their friends and family cheered. The newspaper ponies struggled to reach the front of the crowd and capture a shot or possibly victory quote from the racers. The noise simply further numbed his mind and heart.

“Sky?”

Her again. Sky looked behind to see his friend timidly walking up to him. She had her head low, looking up at him as if in search of some response. Her mane slightly blew in the wind, a small piece covering her face. Despite his loss, the display of victors, and the mess of the crowds, she had still found her way to him. The sight of her gave his heart a slight stir. A small and fleeting warmth. His defeat hung too heavy for him to pay it any mind, however, and the emotion was soon enough drowned out by his misery.

Vapor calmly tried putting her hoof on his shoulder. Sky still gave no response, looking onwards still, but not refusing the gesture either. Vapor meanwhile, grew worried as she watched her friend look up at the podium, a look of envy, frustration... and defeat.

On top of the second-place stand was a dark-coated, white-maned stallion, proudly posing for the cameras and waving to the crowd, an egotistical grin on his face. As he scanned the mass of ponies, his eyes briefly caught sight of Vapor, just as her own attention focused to him and the other winners.

The stallion’s grin changed to a roguish smirk, his eyelids lowering as he cast a suggestive wink at Vapor. The mare felt herself blush heavily, giving a weak laugh, and looking off in another direction.

Sky caught sight of the whole event, causing his nostrils to fume and his frown to intensify into a cold, hard glare aimed at the stallion. The silver-winner didn’t seem fazed, simply giving a subtle snicker as he turned his attention back to the cheering crowds and newspaper ponies.

“A-Are you alright?” Vapor asked, recovering from the embarrassment as she realized her friend was still in a troubled, now seemingly angry state, as he glared daggers at the oblivious second-placer.

“I’m fine.”

But he was most certainly not.

Author's Note:

Very well, my first foray into the world of pastel-colored ponies is complete!

I'm quite happy with this first chapter, and this story in general. I saw "Top Bolt" and of course, as any shipper worth his OTPs, began to pair these two together. Can't deny, they're cute, and I can't help but cheer them on. They need each other more than they realize, methinks.

Hope you enjoy, a thumbs up and a comment are always appreciated! Until the next chapter!
-Wyngs

Comments

[Wing]

I saw a few things in this that are probably worthy of a once-over.

That stuff aside, I love this. :3 You captured the characters very well, and directions for their growths are apparent. Definitely looking forward to more. :)

[WyngsTriumphant]

7910428 Well, this went through my hooves and two others', so at this point, if we still didn't catch something, then whatever, we did what we could . Will keep a sharper eye on the future chapters, though. Thanks for reading!

[Wing]

7910478 ;) Some always get through. I firmly believe it's a rule of the writing universe. I wouldn't worry about it too much. The storytelling is great. :)

[Lotus Moon]

This was a great read. It really picked up my day. Can't wait to see what happens

[Emperor]

So I'm curious. The race is stated to be open only to residents of Cloudsdale. Sky Stinger and Vapor Trail are stated to be from a place called 'Stratusburg', so how are you reconciling this? Just assuming they live in Cloudsdale here, or perhaps Stratusburg is a suburb of Cloudsdale?

The Vapor infatuation with her definitely-her-coltfriend is strong. Hoping to see some cute couple-y interactions

[Jay Watson]

Always loved this duo and having another story for them is great. Liked the description of the race; lots of action and a great feel of the race's finish and how Sky felt afterwards.