• Published 12th Jul 2012
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Soarin' to new heights - Collins4112



Soarin'. The captain of the Wonderbolts and bachelor.

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Below the clouds

Chapter Two: Below the Clouds


To add more depth I decided to change the perspective. I hope that is okay.

"Meet your son, Little Wings." The mayor's words rang loudly in my head. A son? How the hell did that happen? I mean, sure, he had a chin the resembled mine, and his mane was very similar to mine, but that could just be a coincidence. I'm sure there had to be somepony out there that looked like me.

"It can't be mine." I said disbelievingly. I pounded my hoof down on the desk, hitting it a little too hard, but I didn't let my face betray the pain. Her face didn't change or betray any emotion. Even her eyes just stared at me with a very businesslike professionalism. She rummaged around in a drawer for a while. I was starting to get angry: her movements were slow, like she didn't care how long I had to sit there and squirm.

"He is yours. It's on the birth certificate." She said plainly as she slid a piece of paper across the large wooden desk. I turned it around and indeed it did have my name listed as the father… not that it proved anything. It wouldn't be the first time some mare came up to me and claimed I was their child's father. Every time unicorn magic had proven that I was not the dad. I gazed over at the mother's name. Oh shit. I knew that name. Rosemary. She had been very nice when I went to visit her small authentic Stalliongrad quinine café. One thing led to another and I had slept with her on my visit to Ponyville, and as I recalled she told me to 'unleash the beast' (In other words, I didn't wear a condom).

"That doesn't prove anything!" I shouted at her. She just stared at me with those cold, political eyes. Somehow I knew this child was mine, but I wouldn't be admitting that… I hoped all the same that this foal wasn't mine. I didn't want anything to do with him.

"I have a unicorn on call. She can be down here in five minutes to prove that this innocent little foal is yours." Mayor Mare glared at me. I sunk back in my chair, defeated.

"Fine." I grunted. I ran my hoof through my blue mane. "Bring the unicorn down."

"Get Twilight down here, please." Mayor Mare pressed the intercom button.

"I'll get right on it." The secretary's voice came back. We sat in a staring battle for the next few minutes… she won.

I turned to see a purple unicorn with a bright smile on her face. I groaned: I recognized her as the Element of Magic. I was hoping I would have gotten a two bit unicorn that had very little knowledge of magic, not the freaking student of Celestia herself.

"Hello, I'm Twilight Sparkle. What did you need Mayor?" The purple mare asked with a slight tilt of her head.

"Ah yes, Ms. Sparkle. Do you know the spell to identify the parents of an individual?" The mayor asked. She nodded. "Good. Now can you tell me if Soarin' here is this foal's father?"

Twilight took a good look at what was supposed to be my son. "You sure you need a spell for this? It kinda already-"

"Just do it." I hissed. She looked offended, but performed the spell anyway.

"Yep. This is your son." Twilight said, less friendly this time.

"Thank you Twilight. You may go now." The mayor nodded her thanks, before the purple magic mare backed out of the room.

"That kid has to be at least eight months old. Why tell me now?" I asked.

"Ah yes, his mother passed away due to an unfortunate sickness." She said. "So he is placed under your care now."

I didn't want a damned foal mucking up my life. So what if his mother died? I wasn't really his dad, a real dad would care for his son, and, well… I didn't! I had better things to do than take care of this ankle biter. "Put the stupid kid up for adoption! I don't want him… I don't care that his mother is dead!"

"Listen up, you son of a bitch, that mare was a loving, caring mother that just wanted what's best for her son! I am proud to have called her my friend. For whatever reason she thought it was best to leave her motherless child in your incompetent care, but I promised her on her deathbed that I would see it done. Now you're going to take him or else." The mayor's voice got very low.

"Are you threatening me?" I shouted. Blood started to pump to my head: I could feel it, like a pulse in my body quickly growing to an explosion. My bastard son started to cry in his basket. "You do not threaten me!"

Those eyes! They drove me to do it. Those cold, uncaring eyes, as she looked at me like I was the ridiculous one, not wanting to take my bastard in. I dove across the desk in an instant, then grabbed her by the collar of her suit and smacked Mayor Mare across her face, sending her to the ground. Her nose was bleeding as she got up, the crimson fluid running down her face.

"That will just add to your crash if you don't take your homeless son in." She had an edge to her voice. A commanding tone that told me she wasn't kidding.

"What are you blabbering on about?" I demanded. My hoof still had a speckle of her blood on it.

"If you refuse my offer, I will release to the press that you struck a government official, and left your poor infant son to rot in an orphanage." She hissed. She had me in a corner: if I didn't take my son my reputation would be destroyed. I would be forced to leave the Wonderbolts. Why, you might ask? Well, other than the constant mockery of me that would follow, show sales would start going down because everypony would know I had done something bad.

I had no other choice, but to accept. "I agree."

"Good. I will have ponies watching you, if you so much as lose that kid for a second, you're finished!" She said, and then hit me with a hoof. For a desk pony, she had quite a punch: I was dazed for almost thirty seconds. "Don't ever touch me again!"

I was started to get real angry again. Deep breaths... Think about your whirlpool tub... Your time in the tropics... I soon calmed myself down. My anger could... get out of hoof sometimes. Although I think I had every right to be angry.

"Thank you for your time Mr. Soarin'. All the foal supplies you'll have to purchase yourself, but I'm sure you can handle it." She spat at me. I glared furiously at her, hoping to get a reaction, but she just sat indifferently.

The basket sat in my hoof with a little less weight than I expected. My son was smaller than what an eight month old should have been. Leaving town hall was awkward: the lobby had filled up with ponies, who were all gazing at me in surprise. Some of them tried to look and see what I had in the basket.

A rainbow flash blocked me as I attempted to leave the government building.

"Hey Soarin'!" The best young flyer in Equestria shouted at me. "I just wasn't sure if you got my letter; I know you're busy and all with being one of the super awesome Wonderbolts, so I was wondering if you could get me an audition."

"Look kid, I'm busy." I explained. My wings gave a good flap and lifted me into the air. Rainbow Dash caught up to me in a few seconds.

"What you got there?" She asked. I gave her the eye in hopes she would go away. She didn't... She never does.

"None of your business." I snapped back harshly. She tried to get a look into the basket: I pushed her away, but the rainbow maned mare came back with more force. Then the basket slipped from my hoof.

It plummeted through the clouds. I went into a nose dive in a vain attempt to catch up to the basket that held the fate of my career in it. The ground became closer, but the distance between me and the basket grew further apart. Five hundred feet...three hundred...one hundred...the basket shattered as it struck the ground. I turned away as I tried to hold the bile building up in my stomach from escaping.

Sure, I didn't want the kid, but I didn't want him to die... He had just been foal and, now he was splattered on the ground. I vomited up the contents of my stomach. If there had been a pony under me they would have been covered in bile. Celestia why do you curse me today? First I have a bastard son, and now he was nothing but a red mush on the face of the world. The more I thought about the gore, the worse it got in my mind's eye. I retched as another wave of vomit splattered to the ground.

"Soarin', why'd you take off like that?" Rainbow Dash hovered right in front of me.

"Look." I shuddered as I pointed to where the basket had shattered in a gory mess.

"Uhhh...you mean a broken basket and vomit?" Her voice was full of confusion.

"But...but..." I stammered. I turned slowly to face what I thought was a murder. No blood, no body...I felt a large sense of relief... I wasn't a murderer. That left one question… where was Little Wings? As soon as the thought came to my attention it was answered.

"Hey look, wonder what a foal's doing out here?" Rainbow asked as she pointed out a little colt floating a few feet above the ground. Rainbow swooped down and grabbed him out of the air. "Hey there little guy, what are you doing out here?"

Rainbow took a good look at my son. "You know, Soarin'. He looks a lot like you...Ohmygosh! You have a son! Who's the mother? Is it Spitfire? I bet it's her. Is it-"

I had to stuff my hoof into her mouth to stop her from rambling. "No! Yes, this is my son, and no, Spitfire is not his mother. You don't mention this to anypony, got it?"

"Okay..." Rainbow Dash looked down for a moment and I felt a moment of victory: finally, something that didn't go wrong. "So about my letter?"

"Look, kid, we're not looking for recruits right now." I explained. Little Wings squirmed out of Rainbow's grip, but before he could fly away, I grabbed him up...couldn't have the same thing happen again. "But if you promise to keep this quiet, I can get you a private audition."

"That would be so awesome! Cross my heart and hope to fly stick a cupcake in my eye." She literally stuck her hoof into her eye, it looked painful, but I supposed that she must mean it.

"Alright. I'll contact you when I get your audition time, but remember-" My hoof dragged cross my lips to mock zipping it shut. She looked like she was about to explode in excitement. Before things got out of hoof, I took off into the sky and towards my home.

I banged on the door to a rather large house, made from light fluffy clouds. It wasn't near the majesty that mine was... but I digress. Little Wings was still getting used to me because he kept squirming, biting, spitting up, and doing other repulsive things foals do.

The large door opened to reveal my co-captain, Spitfire.

"Wha- what are you doing here?" She asked rubbing her eyes; she must have been taking a nap.

"This." I held up Little Wings to the flame maned mare and she reared back in surprise.

"Is that…" She didn't need to ask the whole thing, before I nodded. She started to laugh... at me! "I so told you! Looks like Fleet Foot owes me a few bits now, but anyway I told you that your 'nights' were going to lead to this. Poor little guy, his dad's a bum."

"Yeah... Ha ha... his name is Little Wings. Now, I need your help..." I pleaded and she after she finished laughing at her own joke, she let me in.

"Yeah? What do you need help with?" Spitfire led me to her kitchen. It was a lot less messy than mine and looked like it was used to cook more than frozen pizza.

"This kid's a little demon; he keeps biting or pulling my mane, or some other disgusting thing!" I explained. Little Wings was buzzing around in the air.

"This little guy?" Spitfire asked. My son flew right in to Spitfire. "He doesn't seem like he could cause any trouble."

"Well, he does, but due to... circumstances I can't put him up for adoption-" I was cut off.

"Wait, why can't you put him up for adoption?" She raised a questioning eyebrow.

"It's a long story."

"Well, just give him back to his mother." Spitfire suggested. She opened her fridge and rummaged around for a little bit, and eventually came up with a cup of applesauce that she tossed it on the counter.

"Thanks." I was awfully hungry so the applesauce looked good, but she slapped my hoof away when I reached for it.

"Not for you." She gave me a look like I was incompetent. She opened a drawer and pulled out a spoon.

"Fine, but I can't give him back, she's dead." I explained. Spitfire put on a look of concern towards Little Wings.

"Geeze, poor kid." She slid the spoon over to me. "Since you obviously know nothing about taking care of a foal, and are way too dumb to learn on your own-"

"Hey!" I protested. She was throwing insults my way like I was an idiot. "I'm not stupid, you know."

"I'm just kidding. Anyway, why don't you try feeding him?" She suggested. I shrugged. How hard could it be? I grabbed the applesauce cup and the spoon, and then got Little Wings close to me. I scooped up a healthy glob of applesauce, and proceeded to draw the spoon close to his mouth.

His mouth was closed tight. The spoon poked him in the face leaving a little residue of applesauce on his muzzle. Then I tried again...and again...and again. "Come on kid, just eat it."

Spitfire laughed. "Give it here."

The applesauce slid across the cloud counter towards her. She took the spoon from my hoof and proceeded to give him spoonful after spoonful of the applesauce, as my jaw dropped.

"Ho- How did you do that?" I managed to get out.

"You got to be gentle with kids, Soarin', not be angry at 'em." She finished feeding him the rest of the cup. She grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled a bunch of words on it. "Here's a list of things you're going to need to properly take care of a foal."

I took the list and gave it a look over. "All of this?"

"Yep, I'll watch him while you go and get that stuff." She started to push me towards the door. The list was at least a hundred items long, and some of it seemed weird, like talcum powder. What is that for?

She pushed me outside the house and the door slammed shut behind me. I took another long look at the list and flew off to a long day of shopping.

Thanks for all the favs and thanks to my beta reader BlackRoseRaven.