• Published 3rd Jul 2018
  • 8,312 Views, 610 Comments

The Champion of Harmony - Voxum



Princess Celestia understands that being an Element of Harmony is dangerous, and that Twilight and her friends are bound to make enemies. So, naturally, the only course of action is to send a guard to keep them safe, even if they don't know about it.

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Judging the Best Young Fliers!

Three weeks had passed since he'd been stabbed, and in those three weeks, he'd slowly grown closer to both Pinkie Pie as well as Fluttershy, whom he'd been teaching about some minor thestrali customs in his free time.

It was... nice.

In fact, he couldn't recall a period before coming to Ponyville that was so...

Peaceful.

There were no issues at night, even in spite of his two-day absence.

...

Thinking about it now, it was a little suspicious. After all, in three weeks, there had yet to be another attempt on any of the Bearers. Tartarus, those random events that seem to happen every few days hadn't appeared since either!

And to think, he'd spent an entire day just planning on multiple contingency plans for that kind of thing!

Oh well, no plan ever survives first contact with the enemy.

He yawned, his jaw creaking slightly as it stretched. The lack of sleep was catching up with him again. Funny, he'd just been cleared by the Ponyville doctors as having beaten his malnutrition once again, and now he was beginning to suffer from sleep deprivation.

...

Maybe there was a potion he could brew to help him feel better rested?

...

Damn, he just reminded himself that he still hadn't visited Zecora or the twins.

He was just digging himself deeper and deeper, huh?

Shaking his head, he quickly jumped out of bed and headed into the restroom, where, after a wonderful shower, he quickly ran through his morning routine.

While it might not seem like it, Emerald took great pride in his ears and fangs, like any self-respecting thestral should.

In fact, the fangs and ears, mostly the ears, were the most treasured part of a thestral's body. Like a pegasi's wings, a unicorn's horn, or an earth pony's hooves, a thestral's ears were the most sensitive and most intimate place they had. It was why he didn't have an issue with Sparky touching his wings almost a month ago.

If she had touched his ears, well, that would be another story entirely.

One that would have ended with her in the hospital, if he was being honest.

A quick series of knocks interrupted his thoughts mid-step on the stairway. Frowning slightly, wondering who the hay would be bothering him this far out of town, this early in the morning no less, he jogged over to the door and opened it, revealing the familiar sight of a certain wall-eyed delivery mare.

"Ah, Ditzy. Do I have a package, or are you just saying 'Hi'?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Considering that the princesses, as well as Wisp, were the only ones aware of his current location, and that Ditzy was a very kind mare, the latter wasn't too far out of the question.

Said clumsy mare gave him a bright smile,

"Hi again, Emerald! I've got a letter for ya!" she said brightly, tugging a letter from out of her bag, almost sending the rest flying, "Here ya go!" she added, thrusting it out for him to take, that bright, oblivious smile still stretched across her features. He found himself smiling lightly in return, and took the letter,

"Thanks Ditzy. How's Dinky?" he asked, feeling conversational, her smile widened, somehow,

"She's doing great! My little muffin's such a little smarty, why, I bet she'll make it into Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns with no problem!" she gushed, her eyes gleaming at the mention of her pride and joy. Emerald's brow raised in surprise,

"She's aiming to go there?" he asked, stunned when the mare nodded rapidly, "Well, with a mother like you cheering her on, there's no doubt she'll make it," he commented, earning a bright red blush from the gray mare,

"Aw, hush. I just love my little muffin, is all. No matter what she chooses in life I'll cheer her on!... And bake her favourite blueberry muffins!" she said. Emerald's smile dropped slightly at her declaration, but he immediately replaced it,

"That's good, Ditzy. Dinky's lucky to have someone like you," he stated, earning a wide smile,

"Thanks! I appreciate it!" she said, before her eyes drifted, somewhat, to the letter in Emerald's hooves, "Oh horseapples! I gotta go!" she panicked, before jumping into the air and darting away, roughly plowing through a cloud that got in her way as she did so.

Emerald watched the mare rush away, the false smile on his face dropping quickly, and he turned back inside, closing the door behind him.

"... Damn. Still bugs me, huh?" he muttered to himself, then turned his gaze onto the letter, "Well, let's see who's dumb enough to send me a letter," he added, and tore open the letter, before flicking the letter out, catching it in his other hoof.

Dear Emerald,

Hey bud, it's your old pal, Spitfire! Remember me? 'Course you do. Anyways, it's been a while, hasn't it? Can't wait for the Gala to come around so we can all meet up again like old times! I'm kinda surprised that the tickets haven't been passed around yet, actually.

But I'm a little pressed for time right now, so I'll get straight to the point.

You remember the Best Young Fliers Competition a couple months ago, right? Of course not. Some dumbass let a bunch of rouge thunder clouds loose, and it wrecked the Cloudsdale Colosseum. Anyways, we've finally managed to repair the damn thing, and the competition's a couple hours away. I'm sending you this letter because the Wonderbolts and I are supposed to judge this thing, but Soarin, the moron, thought it would be smart to hide the fact he's got the Feather Flu, and most of the others got it too. Now it's just me and Fleetfoot, and we need a third judge. You up for it?

Even if you're not, this could be an amazing opportunity for you and me to catch up, you could even bring along Wisp.

You should be getting a couple V.I.P tickets too, so you can bring whoever you want. Just lemme know, hope you enjoy.

Spits

P.S. Hope you ain't stressing yourself too much again! And you better not be going hungry either! I'll kick your flank if you are!

He stared at the letter, the familiar hoofwriting of his old hothead of a friend bringing back some old memories.

Looking back at the envelope, he shook it around, feeling something move around inside. Upending the paper, three silver tickets fell out, each one emblazoned with the Wonderbolts insignia, as well as the words 'Best Young Fliers' in large, gold print, as well as a small lanyard with a card attached reading 'Judge' in black print.

...

Well, at least something interesting was happening again.

Smirking, he fished around in his saddlebag, which he kept by the door, and brought out a pencil and quickly scrawled an affirmative on the back of the letter, as well as a small request to Luna, before sending it away with the lighter.

It might take him away from his job for a while, but family came before work, even for someone like him.

Hopefully the Cakes won't be too angry.


"The Best Young Fliers Competition?" Mrs. Cake asked, stacking a layer of cake a top another, which her husband was keeping steady, "Why, I think I remember something about that..." she murmured,

"Oh right!" Mr. Cake began, "Rainbow Dash came in a couple months ago, absolutely furious! She kept repeating something about a flying competition and faulty weather ponies. Was that it?" he asked, returning his attention to the cake they were making when it wobbled dangerously. Emerald nodded, though they weren't paying attention,

"Probably," he said, tossing the rag he was using to the side once he finished with the counter,

"And you want to go?" Mrs. Cake spoke up once more, placing a third, smaller layer a top the large pastry.

"In a sense," Emerald admitted, keeping an eye on the cake they were making, the damn thing was still wobbling, "I've been asked to help judge it, actually,"

"What?!" Mr. Cake shouted, unintentionally knocking the cake down, which was quickly caught by Emerald, who gave him the stink-eye along with his wife, "Sorry,"

"A judge?" the pudgy baker asked, "No offense to you, dearie, but, why would somepony want you to judge some little flying contest? Well, aside from... you know," she said, gesturing to his bracelet. He nodded,

"None taken," he said, setting the cake and stand back upright, "But a friend of mine asked for some help. Apparently one of the Wonderbolts caught the Feather Flu and the others contracted it as well, and she needs someone else to take the third seat, and I just so happen to be the first creature she thought of. I'm assuming that, at least. I could've been the last for all I know," he finished.

"Well, I'm not against it, are you Cup?" his wife shook her head,

"Not at all! We've got Pinkie here to help out, and even if something comes up, we've honestly been looking for an excuse to spend some extra time with the foal's room, so it's perfectly alright dearie," she acquiesced. Mr. Cake suddenly shot upright,

"Speaking of spending things, I nearly forgot about your pay for the week," he said, lightly tapping himself on the head, "And here I thought the eyes were the first to go," he joked, trotting passed his wife, and reaching under the counter. Withdrawing a small sack, he tossed it over to the thestral, who caught the small bag with ease.

84 bits, with 2 bits an hour.

He didn't bother counting it, he already knew the Cakes simply didn't have the heart or intention to shortchange him.

Not that it would've mattered, but he didn't let them know that.

"Thanks you two," Emerald replied, grinning lightly, "I'll go break the news to Pinkie, might as well get it out of the way. You two know where she is?" he asked, already turning to the door,

"Twilight came by a little earlier asking for her help with something. Knowing that mare, it probably had something to do with those books of hers," Mrs. Cake joked good-naturedly. He nodded, chuckling,

"Probably. Thanks for the info Mrs. Cake. I'll be back with Pinkie in a bit,"

Closing the door softly behind him, Emerald set off towards Golden Oaks Library.

He let his mind wander as he walked. Predictably, his mind wandered to the three tickets Spits had sent to him. Obviously the badge that came with it would serve as his ticket, so that only left him with the question: Who would those tickets go to?

Wisp was already a choice. No thought or debate would change that decision, so that left two.

Well, he supposed it really wasn't a choice.

Sparky probably wouldn't mind casting a cloudwalking spell on Pinkie for him.

He brought himself out of his musings as he stepped up to the library door, pushing his way inside.

"Hey, Pinkie, Sparky, you here?" he called, easing his way inside,

"Hi Emerald!" came the familiar high-pitched yell. Taking that as an invitation, he quickly walked the rest of the way in and closed the door behind him, before sending his gaze forward.

Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, and Sparky stood before him, with the two unicorns carefully levitating a stack of books above their heads, occasionally sending one into the nearby shelves. The earth duo, however, were stuck taking books from off of the ground, which completely littered the floor, and placing them in, what he assumed was, their proper place.

"... Did a bomb go off in here, or...?" he trailed off, looking around curiously.

"Nope!" Sparky answered in a strangely chipper manner, "The girls were nice enough to offer to help me clean up the mess in the library from my study session over the weekend!" Applejack and Emerald shared a look behind the oblivious mare's back, one of them more amused than the other,

"A... 'study session'? What did you do? Empty the shelves and pick up some random books to read?" Emerald asked.

"Of course not!" the lavender mare replied hotly, "I went down a list I made, systematically going over each and every single book I found necessary and writing down my findings on Starswirl the Bearded's theory on the magical signatures found in everyday plant life!" she added, excitedly.

Rarity added her own stare into the mix, giving the bookworm a trio of deadpanned expressions sent her way, though she remained oblivious.

He sighed,

"Whatever, Sparky," he muttered, before turning to Pinkie, "Anyways, Pinkie, I came by to tell you that I'm heading up to Cloudsdale for the day,"

"Cloudsdale?!" Pinkie asked, zipping over to Emerald, unaware of the wave of books she'd sent cascading over the farm mare, who yelped in distress, "Oooh! Are you heading up there for the Best Young Fliers Competition?!" she asked excitedly, bouncing in his face.

"'Best Young Fliers Competition'?" came the confused voice of Sparky, who'd stopped placing her books away to look at them, "What's that?"

"You really need to get out more, Twilight," Pinkie responded, "Anyways, the Best Young Fliers Competition is a contest that's supposed to pit fliers against other fliers to show off their different flying styles!" she gushed, "Some are super fast! Or even super duper graceful!" she added, hopping into a pose, only to fall over.

"Good thing you're not entering. I don't think Cloudsdale could handle all of your, ah, 'grace', Pinkie," Emerald joked, earning laughs from the mares, "That being said-" he produced a single silver ticket from under his wing, "-I don't suppose you'd like to go watch?" he added, causing the mares to suddenly gasp. Pinkie froze from her position on the ground, staring up at Emerald, or, rather, the silver ticket, stunned.

Then she exploded upwards in motion, snatching the ticket from his hooves and almost knocking him over when she barreled into his chest in a tight hug.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" she cried, nuzzling her cheek into his chest like a little filly.

"You have an extra ticket to the Best Young Fliers Competition?" Rarity asked, stunned, "But, those have been sold out for months!" she said. Emerald shrugged, pulling out the other two tickets, further stunning the other mares, sans Pinkie who was too busy staring excitedly at hers,

"I have a friend who wanted me to come along. I'm already taking my sister, and Pinkie. I was thinking of giving the other to Fluttershy," he admitted.

Not like it was really important information.

"She already has a ticket," Rarity said, causing Emerald to frown, "Rainbow Dash asked her to go so she could support her for the contest," He clicked his tongue,

"Really?" she nodded, "Damn. Now wh-... hold on... do you girls hear that?" he asked.

It was faint, but steadily growing louder. Something small and moving fast was making its way towards the library. He walked over to the window, aiming for a better vantage point, when he realized what the sound was.

"Get down!" he snapped, ducking underneath the window, just as a blue blur shot through, somehow not hitting anything, before it crashed into the far wall, sending the neatly organized books careening into the air, before gravity took effect and the books fell, blanketing the floor, and the mares along with them.

...

Well, that was interesting.

Like moles, the mare's heads soon popped back out from their paper ridden prison. Crash unsteadily rose to her hooves, the other girls shakily following her example moments afterwards. Before anyone could start berating the mare for wasting their clean up, Fluttershy flew in through the window, under her own power, unlike the previous entree.

"Rainbow Dash, you rock! Woohoo!" the quiet mare said, her voice barely above a whisper, highly contrasting the excited nature of those words. She noticed the condition of the library, and the ponies in it, a moment later, however, "Oh my! Did my cheering do that?" she asked innocently, looking around with worried eyes. Emerald snorted,

"Oh, I'm so glad you're my cousin," he muttered, before turning to her, "No Shy, your cheering didn't do anything," he assured her, making her nod,

"Oh, good. I was afraid I'd been too loud," she replied, smiling gently.

Emerald nearly doubled over in amusement.

Why was his cousin so adorable?

...

Damn, never thought he'd ever so much as think that word.

This town was making him soft.

Shit.

"Sorry everypony," Crash said, finally shaking off her dizziness, "That was a truly feeble performance," she groaned,

"Oh it wasn't that bad!" Fluttershy kindly assured the mare, "I thought it was wonderful! I especially liked it when you made those clouds spin!" Crash scoffed,

"Not my performance! I'm talking about yours! That feeble cheering!" she clarified.

"What are you girls arguing about?" Rarity asked the two, causing Fluttershy to frown slightly,

"Were we arguing? I'm sorry," the shy mare apologized unnecessarily. Emerald snorted again, patting the naive mare on the back. Crash groaned,

"Ugh, I wish you girls could come to Cloudsdale and watch me perform in the Best Young Fliers Competition! Fluttershy's good support, but her cheering isn't exactly inspirational,"

"Ooh! Ooh! I'm going Dashie!" Pinkie nearly shouted in excitement, waving the silver ticket in her face, "Isn't it great!? Emerald gave me a ticket!"

"What?!" Crash shouted, before turning to him, "How did you get a ticket to the Best Young Fliers Competition?!"

He blinked.

Was that supposed to be an insult of some kind?

Eh, he'd heard far worse.

"Friend of mine sent it to me, along with two other V.I.P tickets. One of which is for my sister, and the other was supposed to be for Fluttershy here, but I heard she already had one," he said, glancing at the now sheepish looking pegasus.

"Sorry,"

"Well, how the hay is Pinkie supposed to get up to Cloudsdale?! She's not even a pegasus!" Crash insisted, glaring at him. Emerald shrugged,

"Ever heard of magic, Crash?" he asked, "'Cause that stuff's pretty handy,"

She growled at him.

"Oh! I can't wait to see you do a Sonic Rainboom! I've never seen one but I can't help but imagine how awesome it would be!" Pinkie continued prancing about happily,

"What's a 'Sonic Rainboom'?" Sparky asked. Emerald sighed,

"A Sonic Rainboom," Emerald began, catching everyone's attention, "Is a magical phenomona unique to pegasi. When a pegasus gets going fast enough to cause a Sonic Boom, their pegasus magic, if it has the right ratio's of flight, weather, and wind magic, could cause a rainbow to happen at the exact same time, causing a Sonic Rainboom. As it stands, while many pegasi can perform a regular Sonic Boom-" Crash snorted at that, obviously not believing him, "-very few have the right makeup. Many have come close, but to this day, only one has succeeded. Aside from its inventor, Commander Hurricane, no one has ever performed the Sonic Rainboom,"

"Nopony except Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie cut in, grinning widely. Emerald looked at her,

"What?" he asked, before scoffing, "Please. I know a thing or two about rainbows, and I've never heard of anyone else performing a Sonic Rainboom,"

"You know a thing or two about rainbows?" Sparky asked, "What's that supposed to mean?" Emerald fidgeted slightly, before sighing,

"Ever since I saw my first rainbow as a foal, I've been a little... enamored with them," he admitted, "So I did my research on them when I got... the free time," he added.

"Well," Crash began, "to be fair, it was when I was just a little filly,"

"Yeah, but I betcha'll do it again!" Pinkie gushed, "It's gonna be soo amazing! Right?!" Crash swallowed a nervous gulp, but managed to speak,

"A-are you kidding? I-I'm the greatest flier to come out of Cloudsdale! I could do a Sonic Rainboom in my sleep!" she boasted, though the nervous stutter detracted from the overall image in Emerald's opinion,

"Well, with that kind of attitude, you'll definitely win!" Sparky encouraged,

"I hope so!" Crash breathed, "The grand prize is an entire day with the Wonderbolts!" Emerald hid a smirk, "Imagine that! A whole day in the company of the greatest aerial flight team in all of Equestria! It'll be a dream come true!"

"Yay!" came the quiet cheer from the shy mare, causing Emerald to snort again. Crash and the others gave Fluttershy a deadpan stare, though it held more amusement from the others. During the moment of near silence, Emerald heard a faint thud from upstairs.

"Well, anyways. Shy and I have to head up to Cloudsdale. The competition is in a couple hours, and I definitely can't miss it! Hehe," she said, before turning to Fluttershy, "You, on other the other hoof, better keep practicing!" she snapped, before flying out the window she came in from, leaving the five ponies and thestral behind.

Fluttershy sighed and turned to the girls and Emerald, just as an unfamiliar sight made its way down the nearby stairs.

The young drake had soft purple scales, with a light green underbelly and set of spines running down his back, ending at his spade-tipped tail. His large, green reptilian eyes shined with a youthfulness that usually was not present in dragons his age, a testament to his time spent with ponykind.

Emerald frowned slightly as the young drake coughed, earning the attention of the ponies in the room, and unintentionally cutting Fluttershy off before she could speak,

"Hey, uh, Twilight?" the drake spoke, his voice high and coltish, he was probably around school-age, "You got a letter from the princess," he said, showing the lavender mare a rolled up bit of yellow-ish parchment, sealed up by a red ribbon. It glowed with a faint purple light, before it floated over to Sparky,

"Thanks Spike," she said, smiling at the young drake, "It's nice to see you're finally awake," she added, smiling knowingly. He held his claws up in a defensive gesture,

"Can you blame me?" he asked, "You've been studying all weekend! I think I deserve sleeping in today!" he snapped without heat, causing Sparky's cheeks to flush,

"Right, right," she laughed, "Well, uh..."

"Well, we've been working all day too helping out our dear Twilight," Rarity began, seemingly oblivious to the sudden change in the drake's behavior, namely the dopey eyes he was now directing at her, "Could you help us clean this up? I'm afraid Rainbow Dash made a mess of things," she added, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

"O-of course Lady Rarity! I'd be honoured!" the drake sputtered, almost tripping over himself as he began feverishly picking up books.

Sparky threw Rarity a dark look, though it wasn't noticed.

"Thank you Spike," Sparky responded stiffly, obviously displeased, but used to this behavior, much to Emerald's amusement, "Anyways..." she trailed off, opening the letter, "Ahem. 'Dear Twilight Sparkle. It has recently come to my attention that the Best Young Fliers Competition is finally being held after the unfortunate damages caused a few months ago. As you may know, my sister and I will be overseeing the contest as extra judges alongside the Wonderbolts and their guest judge.'" Emerald grinned, "'As such, I have noticed that your friend, Rainbow Dash, will be participating. I pulled a few strings and got you and your friends some extra tickets to the performance. I hope to see you there. Sincerely, Princess Celestia. And Princess Luna, whom is currently staring over my shoulder as I write this.'"

Emerald snickered.

A sudden, sheepish chuckle came from the young drake, who then pulled out three silver tickets,

"Hehe, I, uh, almost forgot about these,"

As Sparky took the tickets from the sheepish drake, Emerald couldn't help but sigh.

Three tickets.

Just enough for Sparky, Applejack, and Rarity.

Obviously, the princess had somehow become aware of Emerald's newfound appreciation for the pink mare.

...

Luna probably found something in his dreams that tipped her off, and she shared the information with Celestia.

...

Dammit Luna, she promised not to muck about in his dreams. Now what the fuck was he gonna do with his extra ticket?

He with held a sigh, however. It's not like it really mattered.

Looking back towards the now excited mares, whom were excitedly chattering about the competition. It was likely they wouldn't question the whole thing, merely chalking it up to Celestia's 'wisdom' or some such.

Besides. It's not like it'll hurt anyone. They'll figure it out when they see him judging the contest anyways.

On that subject, Emerald idly wondered if he should be worried about it. After a moment of thought, however, he decided he had no reason too. Being friends/siblings with Spitfire had absolutely nothing to do with his job, so he really didn't have to keep it secret at all. It was more of a preference in the end.

Shrugging, Emerald walked towards the mares,

"This is wonderful!" Fluttershy spoke, "She's practiced the Sonic Rainboom a thousand times! I wasn't sure if my cheering would've been enough for her!" she admitted, relieved,

"Are you kiddin'?" Applejack asked suddenly, "She seemed pretty confident to me. Tootin' her horn louder than a tuba player in a marchin' band!" Emerald rolled his eyes,

"You obviously can't read body language or tone very well," he snarked, catching their attention, "She was stuttering, and her voice lacked any firmness in it. Not to mention, she wouldn't look any of you in the eye," he said. Rarity nodded,

"Exactly! And I've seen and held enough fashion shows to recognize stage fright when I see it!" she stated firmly, before turning to Sparky, "Now, go on! Find a spell that'll get us wingless ponies into Cloudsdale!"

"And dragon," Emerald spoke up suddenly, an idea coming to mind, "I still have an extra ticket, and I might as well give it to Spike here, since he's been listening in the whole time," he reasoned, flicking it over to the young drake.

"Awesome!" he gushed, snatching it out of the air. Sparky threw Emerald an appreciative look, before looking around, scowling slightly,

"Well, how the hay do you expect anypony to find a flight spell in THIS mess?!" she snapped,

"A flight spell?" Pinkie asked, before snatching a book from off the ground and throwing it over to the bookish mare, "Here ya go! Page twenty-seven!"

"How did you do that?" Emerald asked, watching as Sparky's eyes widened in surprise,

"It fell on my face when Rainbow crashed in here! Convenient, huh?!" she said excitedly,

"Yeah. Convenient," he muttered.

"Here it is!" Sparky shouted, holding the book up, "A spell that should allow earth ponies and unicorns to fly for three days," she grimaced suddenly, walking forward, "Ooh, it looks pretty difficult. I'm not sure I could do it for all of us. At least at my current level," she resigned. Emerald shrugged,

"Just use a clou-"

"Well you've got to try!" Rarity encouraged, cutting Emerald off, much to his annoyance, "For Rainbow Dash!"

"Well, if you're gonna ignore me..."

"Well... alright," Sparky agreed, unintentionally ignoring Emerald as well, "But, who'll be the test subject?" she asked, looking around.

The other three mares winced slightly, with Emerald and Fluttershy watching on. Emerald sneered suddenly, looking for a little payback,

"How about Rarity?" he suggested, "It was her idea," he snarked, grinning wickedly. The mare in question paled slightly, despite her white coat, before giving a resigned sigh,

"Well, alright. For Rainbow Dash, I will go first!"

"Okay, everypony, could you step back a little?" Sparky asked, moving a few feet away from the anxiously waiting mare, "I'd rather not have anypony get in the way. It's a pretty complex spell, and who knows what could happen if I screw it up,"

"Way to give us some confidence," Emerald sneered, before grinning a little as the mare flushed in embarrassment, "You'll be fine," he amended, figuring he might as well be a little encouraging as well.

Sparky gulped slightly, before closing her eyes and focusing.

A moment passed, before her horn started glowing a brilliant purple. A pair of electric blue ribbons flew from her horn, and began to wrap themselves around Rarity, lifting her off the ground as they cocooned her. Emerald managed to catch her sending Sparky a worried look, before the ribbons covered her face.

Once Rarity was fully encased in the spell, a small glowing orb emerged from Sparky's horn, emitting a faint aura. It stopped a foot away from the concentrating mare, before flashing brightly, magical sparks arcing outwards, before it suddenly burst, bathing the entire room in a brilliant white light, knocking Sparky backwards, causing her to collide with Emerald, who had closed his eyes and folded his ears in preparation of a loud sound or bright light.

The two of them flew backward, sandwiching him between Sparky and the bookcase he'd been standing in front of.

-----

Twilight opened her eyes, only to have to blink away the spots in her vision. Her head was pounding slightly, though it was debatable if it was from either from the impact or the drain of the spell.

She leaned back slightly, feeling exhausted from the spell. Rather than the somewhat cool feeling of the wall that she'd been expecting, she found herself leaning into something warm.

She adjusted herself, searching for a more comfortable spot to rest, and ended up pressing the side of her face against the warm surface, when she heard something.

*BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP*

She smiled slightly, finding the strange, but constant, sound of the beat rather comforting.

*BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP*

Huh. That's odd, she thought, it kinda sounds like a heartbeat.

"You comfortable there, Sparky?" came an amused voice from just above her, just as a sudden draft passed over her ear, sending almost pleasant shivers down her spine.

Her eyes shot open, before she slowly, almost agonizingly, looked upwards.

And amethyst met sapphire.

She couldn't help but stare for a moment, finding those deep blues almost entrancing. They were so deep, so vast, like the endless sky. She felt a small spark ignite within her as she stared, and she found herself searching hungrily for the answer.

Emerald was... amused.

It seemed that Sparky was a little distracted by something, and was busy staring at him like a particularly interesting new book.

And yet, there was something else residing in those eyes of hers. They shined with unrestrained awe, peering deep into his soul, desperately, and almost reverently, searching for something. Glowing with an almost timid power, he could practically see the tidal wave of magic coursing through this mare's very being. But what struck him the most, was the unrestrained joy floating in those bright eyes.

As if she'd found something that made her happy.

And, yet, he found himself feeling... unsettled.

"You can get off of me, ya know?"

Twilight blinked, slowly coming to her own senses. Once her brain finally began working once more, she turned red and promptly shoved herself away from the thestral, feeling absolutely mortified.

That was soo embarrassing!

Now Emerald probably thought she was some creep, or even worse! A little love-struck filly who couldn't stop staring into somepony's eyes!

Oh, she really hoped she hadn't screwed up the sort-of-friendship she'd managed with him!

She shook her head. No time for that! The wing spell she'd cast on Rarity should have worked, now all she had to... do was...

"Woah...." the word escaped her lips as she finally turned back to her tes-friend.

Wide butterfly wings, far wider than Rarity was tall, spread outward from her back, glistening with faint dewdrops. They shimmered in the line, shining with so many colours Twilight doubted she could name even half. Large strips of her new wings stood out in greens and blues, and even yellows and pinks, bathing the room in an almost supernatural glow as the light dared filter through the glorious image of those wonderful wings.

"I, uh... I think it worked," she managed dumbly.


Emerald yawned, his jaw stretching wide, subtle cracks emanating from him, so quiet that even he barely heard.

A giggle caught his attention, bidding him to turn to face the ecstatic unicorn, who performed dainty spins and spirals with the use of her new butterfly wings, once or twice coming dangerously close to the balloon and Sparky, Pinkie, Applejack, and Spike resided in.

Pinkie had, predictably, roped him into making the journey with them as they made their way to Cloudsdale in Sparky's hot air balloon. Not that he minded. It was rather... cute to see the way Sparky suddenly started avoiding his gaze.

Although he wasn't quite as fond of the giddy, knowing grin Pinkie started sending her.

It spelled trouble. Not just for Sparky, but for him as well.

Shame he'd have to deal with it.

"Ya know, Rarity," Emerald began, "Sparky over there said those things were made of morning dew and gossamer. If you end up damaging them and plummeting to your death because of your little tricks, I might just spend too long debating on whether to save you or not to do anything," Emerald threatened easily. Unfortunately, the effect was lost on the happy mare, who merely sent him a wink as she passed by once more,

"Oh don't be so dramatic dear colt," she admonished him, as if he were a child, "You're simply jealous of these absolutely gorgeous wings of mine!" she gushed, staring lovingly at said appendages out of the corner of her eye.

Emerald sighed,

"Yeah, because I'd prefer a pair of dainty little magic twigs over my own damned limbs," he muttered darkly, slowing down his pace, until he came eye to eye with the mares in the balloon's basket. "You know, I was just going to suggest that cloudwalking spell in the beginning, before I was interrupted by that mare," he said, jabbing a hoof at Rarity, before dropping it back down. Applejack sighed,

"I wish ya did, sugarcube. I dunno iffin' I can handle any more of that mare gushin' over those fancy new wings o'hers," the farm mare whispered back at him, as if worried the fashionista would overhear. Sparky sighed, irritably,

"Come on you two," she gently scolded, also keeping her voice down, "I know Rarity's being a bit annoying right now, but this is for Dash!" she said.

"Please," Emerald remarked, not bothering to correct her, "I wouldn't be surprised if Rarity got so caught up in her wings that she forgot all about the competition,"

Faust, for all he knew, she might even end up trying to join the damn thing!

Thankfully, there were procedures for last minute entrees, being that there could be none, so it wasn't much of a worry.

Turning his thoughts away from the nuisances that surrounded him, he picked up his pace.

He wondered if Luna had brought Wisp like he'd asked. Hopefully she did, it would be wonderful to spend time with the little filly again. Shame it had been so long she'd he'd last visited her up in Canterlot.

He idly wondered if there was a way for them to spend more time together.

The rest of the trip to Cloudsdale passed by absurdly quickly, but it wasn't until Rarity decided to fly a little bit ahead of them all, that Emerald started paying attention again.

He gaze flew upward, taking in the large, floating city.

Cloudsdale was a large, floating empire that spanned miles across the sky. Made almost entirely of cloud, it served as the largest collection of flying creatures in all of Equestria. With buildings designed from the old, pre-unification days, Cloudsdale, despite the modern attachments to the city, remained as it always had been. A fortress in the sky, designed to strike down upon its enemies from above, smiting them with lightning.

Shame there wasn't enough colour. You'd think a pegasus city would have more rainbows.

Pity.

"Rarity?! Are you flying?!" came a sudden shout, from a familiar voice, prompting Emerald to cease his scan of the city, as well as his critical assessment of Cloudsdale's lack of rainbows.

"I most certainly am!~" the butterfly-mare sang, doing a gentle loop in sky, before floating over to her friends, "Aren't my wings absolutely smashing?! Twilight made them for me, and I just absolutely adore them!" she squealed. Emerald sighed, darting forward and landing roughly on the ground, startling Fluttershy,

"Yeah, you haven't shut up about 'em either," he snarked, before smirking at Crash's stupefied gaze, "Damn, if you think her wings are shocking, just wait 'till the others get here,"

"Others?!" Crash asked him, looking in his direction as if he was crazy.

Rather than answer her, Emerald merely smirked and directed her gaze over to a patch of cloud that had begun to swell, before the cloud burst, revealing the balloon that had carried the three mares and dragon all the way there.

"Wow! This is amazing!" Crash shouted, grinning brightly at her friends as the balloon touched down,

"I can't believe you all made it!" Fluttershy added quietly, but no less excited,

"Are you kidding?!" Pinkie asked, "We wouldn't miss this for the world!" she shouted, jumping out of the balloon.

"WAIT!" Crash shouted, her voice laced with honest concern, only for it to turn to befuddlement once she saw, not only Pinkie, but Sparky and Applejack standing on the cloudy surface.

"How did you do that?" she asked as Pinkie cartwheeled passed her, giggling happily,

"Well," Sparky began, "I found a spell that grants a pony temporary wings, but that was too difficult for me to do more than once. Luckily, Emerald knew about a spell that let's ponies walk on clouds!"

"And dragons too!" Spike cut in, looking far too excited to be irritated, Sparky laughed,

"Yeah, and dragons too!"

"Nice! Hehe, I'm real glad you're all here. To be honest, I was beginning to feel just a little bit nervous. Hehe," the athletic mare admitted sheepishly, before brightening up, "Hey! We've got some time before the competition! How about Shy and I give you girls, and guys, a tour 'roud Cloudsdale?" she offered.

"Well now, that sounds mighty fine ta me!"

"I've always wanted to learn more about Cloudsdale!"

"Ooh, a chance to show off these lovely wings of mine? Of course!"

"Wooh! This is gonna be so much FUN!"

"Cool!"

With those excited mutterings, the Ponyvillians all began walking away excitedly, but it was Pinkie who stopped them surprisingly,

"Hold on," she said, uncharacteristically serious, before about-facing abruptly, glaring after Emerald's retreating form, "Emerald! Where are you going?!"

Her yell prompted the other mares, and drake, to look after the thestral, who turned back, grinning cheekily

"I told you gals earlier. I have a sister to meet up with. Besides, my friend'll kill me if I'm late for the competition," he said, giving them all a slight wave with his wing, "I'll see you lot later," he finished, before turning back and walking off into the crowd, leaving the Ponyvillians behind.

Pinkie pouted slightly, before brightening up,

"Oh well! I'm sure he'll be having tons of fun with his sister and friend!" she assured herself, and began hopping in the direction they'd been going previously. Twilight and Applejack shared a somewhat amused look, before following their hyper friend.

Although, Twilight couldn't help but wonder.

Just who was this friend of Emerald's? How did they get, not one, not two, but three tickets, four including his own, to an event that's been sold out for months? Was it the same friend from the Flim and Flam incident? And finally...

What would she be able to learn about Emerald from them?


Emerald trotted casually amongst the crowd, searching around for any sign of that familiar filly.

From what he knew, Wisp would've snuck away from Luna the moment she heard that he'd arrived in Cloudsdale.

Bless her little heart, that little rebellious side was probably the only thing about her that she'd really gotten from him.

Which, in hindsight, was probably a good thing.

He noticed a jackhammer fall from a couple clouds above him, but disregarded it as an accident a moment later. At least, he would've if it wasn't for a sudden screeching that permeated the air after the hammer hit.

It seemed he was the only one to hear it, as no one else around him so much as twitched in response. Emerald darted forward, zipping through the throng of pegasi, with the occasional griffon, until he finally came to the source of the screech.

His eyes darted around the area, taking in as many details as he could.

It seemed to be a park, with multiple sets of cloudy playground equipment littering the area. It seemed the jackhammer had landed smack dab in the center of the clearing, and, from the looks of it, it hadn't hit anyone.

It didn't stop the foals and parents from looking up worriedly, though.

The screeching reached his ears again, this time from directly above him. Before he could check, he felt a slight, but noticeable, weight settle onto his back. He analyzed its shape and size for a moment, but just before he realized what, or rather who, it was, a voice called out.

"Bolero, come back! Big Sis Luna's gonna be mad if she found out you're scaring ponies again!" came the young, high-pitched squeal of a little filly.

Emerald quickly directed his gaze to its source, finding a familiar face jogging up to him, though with her gaze focused on the weight on his back.

Whisper Moon, or Wisp for short, was a medium-cobalt filly, with a silvery white mane and tail that flowed from her body in gentle waves, a little blue horn peeked through at the top. Her bright orange eyes gleamed cheerfully from behind a pair of silver-framed, rectangular glasses. A bright red heart gleamed upon her flank, the white star in the center denoting her love for practicing her magic.

She to a stop at Emerald's side, pouting adorably up at the figure on his back, yet still didn't realize that her dear older brother stood in front of her.

Emerald gave a light smile, turning to face the creature on his back.

Bolero was a small yellow fruit bat, whose bright yellow colour still, to this day, reminded Emerald of a lemon. His ears jutted upwards from his skull, easily a bit longer than his little head. Small, yet sharp, fangs jutted from his upper lip, gleaming slightly in the sunlight. A pair of bright yellow wings wrapped around his torso as he sat upon Emerald's back, having recognized his owner long before the little filly he'd been living with for the past few years now had.

Bolero screeched lightly at the little filly, who only pouted harder,

"But Bolero! You know that Big Bro Emerald's gonna be here soon!" she challenged the bat. Bolero, the smart little bugger, just stared at her for a moment, before hopping over to rest atop Emerald's head, being mindful of his ears. Predictably, Wisp's eyes trailed after her troublesome pet, but wavered downward slightly when he rested above his perch's face.

Wisp blinked slightly as her gaze met with a familiar pair of amused blues, before she gasped,

"Emerald!" she shouted excitedly, before glomping her dear brother, who laughed at her antics,

"Hey Wisp," he returned the hug easily, and tilted his head, "And hey to you too, Bolero. You haven't been giving little Wisp trouble, right?" He felt the bat rapidly shake his head as he hopped back to his owner's back, just as Wisp dislodged from her brother, looking annoyed,

"He totally has! He always screeches in my ear to wake me up, then he sometimes steals my glasses and makes me chase after him! Big Sis Luna had to a put a spell on 'em to keep 'em from bein' stolen!" Emerald smirked, turned to face the little bat with an amused grin,

"Really now?" he asked, raising an eyebrow when Bolero turned his head away, attempting to look innocent, "Well, I'll deal with you later, bud," Returning his gaze down his his little sister, Emerald grinned, "So, how's life been treating you at the castle?"

"It's been fun!" the filly squeaked, "Rosy's been helping me with my magic since Miss Light left!" she frowned slightly, "I miss Miss Light..." she murmured. Emerald smiled at her gently. He'd never met this 'Miss Light', but whoever she was, she'd helped his little sister grow in her magic capabilities faster than he'd thought possible.

"Well, I'm sure we'll meet her again someday. Then you can spend all your time learning from her again," he replied, cheering up the little filly almost immediately,

"Yeah! Definitely!" Emerald chuckled at her excited manner, before turning,

"Come on Wisp. Let's see if we can't find Spits and get ourselves a little tour of Cloudsdale, hmm?"

"Ooh! I can't wait to see Big Sis Spitfire again!"


"Well, well, well. Look at what the cat dragged in!"

Emerald chuckled at the sound of the familiar, scratchy voice.

He and Wisp had made it all the way to the Cloudsdale Colosseum, searching for their sister-by-bond, to little avail. Thankfully, it seemed she decided to reveal herself.

Emerald and Wisp both turned to the source of the voice, whom was now walking towards them with her signature cocky grin.

Spitfire was an athletic mare, down to the bone. Her brilliant orange fur did nothing to hide the years of toned muscle that rippled across her form. Her fiery orange mane lie slicked slightly backwards, giving her an air of professionalism. Darker orange eyes gleamed with experience, as well as a darker light that belayed years beyond her age. Her toned legs strutted across the cloudy floor, sending up light puffs of cloud with every step. Her flaming wing of a cutie mark stood proudly atop her also toned flank.

Spitfire, Captain of the Wonderbolts, stopped in front of him and Wisp, only to be nearly knocked over when the excitable filly glomped her as well.

...

"So, how's the guard treatin' ya?" Spits asked the taller thestral by her side, keeping an eye on little Wisp as she looked around the market with wide eyes.

"Eh, they're fine. Being in both the Elite Solar and Lunar Guard is... actually fairly easy for me," he replied, grinning at his happy little sister, which triggered a new thought, "How's... the family?"

The three of them, four if Bolero was counted, had decided to go for a walk around Cloudsdale, with Spits giving the two of them a small tour of the places she tended to frequent. As it was, plenty of the pegasi, and even the griffons and the, very, rare dragon parted in front of them, likely because of Spits, if the awed gazes they were sending her way meant what Emerald thought they did.

They had to speak in hushed voices to keep others from hearing their conversation, as well as having to tug lightly on Wisp's tail whenever she accidentally strayed too far from them.

"Everything's easy for you, Emm," Spits scoffed, "I'd bet you a thousand bits that you STILL haven't found something you're bad at. As for my family..." she sighed, "It's... still hard..." he frowned at the despondent tone, but shook it off,

"I still don't understand ponies very well, Spits, does that count?" he admitted jokingly, she laughed, his attempt at humor cheering her up rather quickly.

"Oh please! Even I don't understand other ponies very well!" The two of them laughed for a bit, enjoying each other's company.

They lapsed into silence for few minutes, finally making it out of the market.

Emerald was content. Spending time with family, even if it was just two members of it, made him happy. It had been so long since he'd last spent time with his family, his real family.

Sure, Fluttershy and him shared blood. But if there was one thing he understood above all others, it was that blood didn't make you family. It was the bonds you shared with others that made them family.

While he'd immediately give anyone who shared blood with him a chance to forge that bond, it didn't change the fact that he didn't truly consider her family. Not yet, anyways.

He looked over at Spitfire and Wisp, the latter of whom was being regaled with tales about life as a Wonderbolt from the former. He couldn't help the joyful smile lighting up his face at the sight of his precious little sister being happy.

She'd lost so much when she was young, and even more when they finally escaped. It was good to see her happy. It made him happy to know that he played a significant part in that cute little smile on her face.

The moment was slightly ruined when the sound of static filled the air, the source coming form the many intercoms laced throughout the city,

"Excuse me everypony! The Best Young Fliers Competition will begin in one hour! Now's the time to make your way to the Cloudesseum!"

The static continued for a moment, before it cut out.

Emerald sighed irritably at having his little moment of joy ruined.

Being near Wisp made him happy. Thanks to him judging the damn thing, he wouldn't get to spend a lot of time with her, especially when Luna and Celestia had to take her back to the castle.

It was shame he had to move around so much. If he could just stay stuck in one place for an... indeterminate amount... of...

Ohohoo!~

He couldn't stop the massive grin threatening to split his face in two. Thankfully he toned it down slightly as he turned to the two mares,

"Well, you heard the pony you two!" he said, his voice was far too chipper for him, but he really didn't care at the moment, "C'mon! We don't wanna be late, now, do we?"

Both Spitfire and Wisp shared a look.

Did they even want to know?

-


-

Twilight sighed, burying her face in her hooves.

Emerald was right. Rarity did get so caught up in those stupid wings of hers that she totally forgot about Rainbow Dash!

Now that mare had somehow charmed her way into entering the competition at the last second, and there was nothing the four of them could do!

Hopefully, everything would turn out all right.

She brought her gaze back up. at least the Colosseum was nice.

Tall pillars spewed from the clouds below, easily towering over any building back in Ponyville, stretching all the way up to the highest point. A series of steps behind her and her friends spiraled throughout the outer ring, giving any non-flight capable creature access to their seats, which Twilight was quite thankful for. Large, cushiony clouds acted as their designated seats, each cloud allowing six ponies to comfortably sit atop them.

In hindsight, it was a good thing Rarity had joined the contest, according to their tickets, they would've been split up into different sections. Thankfully, the tickets Pinkie and Spike got from Emerald were marked in their booth, so they managed to stay together.

Though, she was just the slightest bit nervous as to who their sixth spectator would be, if there was one.

Turning her thoughts away, she glanced up at the Princess's booth, where both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna sat, with a large blue heart adorned with a sun standing proudly behind them, a large statue of an alicorn shadowing them from behind.

She could've sworn she saw Princess Luna throwing a slightly peeved glance back at the sun behind her, but she was certain that was just her imagination.

Just like the small yellow bat resting on the lunar co-ruler's back was likely just a trick of the light.

"So, is there anythin' we can do fer Dash?" Applejack asked behind her,

"Oh, I don't know," Fluttershy responded meekly, "Rarity seemed awfully determined,"

"Well didn't she see how sad she was making Dashie?!" Pinkie snapped, unusually angry.

"Excuse me!" came a small voice form behind the five, cutting off any reply to Pinkie's statement. Twilight and the others turned around, finding a little blue filly staring up at them, "Um, is this booth five? I'm s'pposed to be in booth five!"

"It sure as sugar is!" Applejack responded warmly, previous trepidation forgotten, making room for the little filly to hop onto the cloud with them. She smiled up at Applejack, before jumping up onto the cloud with the older ponies and drake,

"Thank you miss!" she chirped happily, adjusting her glasses with an orange glow of magic.

Twilight stared at the filly, heavy rings of familiarity sounding her head. She looked just like a filly she used to tutor in magic back in Canterlot, but there was no way...

Unless...

"Whisper?" she asked, causing the small pony to turn to face her. The two unicorns stared at each other for a moment, before little Whisper gasped,

"Miss Light!" she gushed, jumping up and glomping the stunned mare, "I missed you so much! Why'd ya go?!" she asked sadly, looking up at the mare she was hugging with her big orange eyes.

Twilight's heart lurched slightly at the adorable sight. She had no idea that Whisper had missed her!

She winced internally.

She remembered the day she met Whisper. It had been a regular day back then. She'd woken up, had three cups of coffee, as was her standard back then, and gotten straight into her studies in the library.

Moondancer had come by at some point, but Twilight had, in her mind, politely declined whatever invitation the mare had tried to give her. She'd then become engrossed in her studies, not even realizing that somepony had come into the library to check something out until Spike practically tore the book she'd been reading from her magical grasp.

She had been angry with him, initially, but had calmed slightly when she saw the adorable little filly behind him, looking confused. Back than, Whisper's mane and tail had been significantly shorter, and she was nowhere near as excitable as she appeared now, and, most notably, had lacked a cutie mark back then. She had tried to get her whatever books she needed as quickly as she could, but the filly had found interest in her own research instead.

She'd been greatly annoyed at first, but her prickly behavior didn't faze the filly in the slightest. If anything, her irritated behavior seemed to put Whisper at ease, as if she was used to dealing with somepony of a similar attitude.

She wasn't sure how she'd managed to get her to start showing off some of the spells she'd been researching, and, eventually, the filly asked if she could teach her.

At first, she was stunned. She'd always greatly admired her teacher, and often wished she could give somepony else the exact same joy she always felt with her teacher. The fact that a little filly had been standing in front of her, asking to be taught had made Twilight ecstatic!

So, from that day on, Twilight dutifully, and even happily, began teaching Whisper about magic. She was only ten at the time, and, for some reason, it seemed her magical growth had been stunted by something. But, thanks to Twilight's almost strict lesson plan, her magic began to grow, and, in no time, she was already moving passed the basics into some of the more advanced magicks!

Twilight had always assumed the little filly had just enjoyed the lessons, learning about magic from someone else. It hadn't occurred to her that Whisper liked her!

"W-well, the princess needed me to head to Ponyville for a little while, and, well... I just wanted to stay," Twilight finally managed to answer. Those big, watery eyes didn't let up, if anything, they seemed even sadder,

"But you never visited! You didn't even sent a letter! I thought you forgot 'bout me!" she cried. Twilight frowned, her eyes now just a little teary as well,

"I'm sorry!" she gushed, wrapping her own hooves around the filly, "I didn't think you missed me that much," she muttered into her ear. Whisper nuzzled into her chest a little, her own hug tightening,

"'Course I missed ya Miss Light," she murmured.

"Uhh... not that I mean t'interuppt yer reunion, but... who's this Twilight?" Applejack asked, noticeably uncomfortable. Twilight looked over at her for a moment, before realization struck her.

"Oh!" she started, gently setting Whisper back down, "I'm sorry! Ahem, girls, Spike-" she added upon noticing his glare, "-this is Whisper Moon. She's a little filly I used to tutor back in Canterlot,"

"Hi!" Pinkie squealed, her previous anger forgotten in lieu of the new pony in front of her, "I'm Pinkie Pie!" Whisper giggled at her attitude,

"Hi Pinkie! I'm Whisper Moon!" she returned, smiling up at the bigger pony. Pinkie stared at her for a moment, before giggling and snatching up the tiny filly in her hooves,

"Ooh! Aren't you just a little cutie!" she gushed, bringing her into a tight hug. Rather than feel uncomfortable, Whisper just laughed and eagerly returned the hug.

Fluttershy gave the young pony a shy smile from behind Pinkie, becoming just a little more bold when Whisper returned the grin.

Applejack smiled at Whisper once Pinkie put her down, and tipped her hat at her,

"That there's Fluttershy," the farm mare informed her, having noticed Fluttershy's almost greeting, "I'm Applejack. Nice t'meetcha!" she added, holding out her hoof. Whisper smiled at the farm pony, and eagerly shook her hoof,

"Hi Applejack!" the happy pony returned. Applejack smiled a bit brighter at her, before frowning,

"I hope ya don't mind me askin', but where're yer parents? Shouldn't they be here with ya?"

Applejack had been so focused on asking Whisper that, in her mind, extremely important question, that she didn't notice Twilight frantically trying to signal her to shut up.

Whisper looked up at the bigger pony, and tilted her head,

"My parents didn't want me," she answered simply.

-----

Emerald had the sudden urge to beat the shit out of Applejack.

He had no idea why though.

He shook his head, ridding himself of those unnecessary thoughts. The announcer was due to introduce the princesses and the Wonderbolts at any moment now.

He clicked his tongue in annoyance, pulling at the skin-tight blue suit he'd been all but forced into.

Spits had thought it'd be a good idea for him to wear the Wonderbolts uniform, that way he wouldn't stand out as much.

As to why she had an unused Wonderbolt suit with his measurements just lying around, she didn't say.

As it was, the thing was... annoying. It pressed his coat down, a sensation he was entirely unused too, and he found it all too unpleasant.

"Hellooooo everypony!!" came the masculine voice of their announcer, "I'd like everypony to give a big round of applause for our rulers, Princess Celestia, and her sister, Princess Luna!!" Emerald growled slightly at the almost dismissal of Luna, but it went unheard over the cacophony of the crowd's roaring, "And, please welcome our celebrity judges, and their guest, theeeee Wonderbolts!!"

Taking that as the cue, Emerald, along with Spitfire and some other mare he didn't know, presumably Fleetfoot, launched themselves out from above the arena.

Gliding over the crowd, Emerald found himself rising upwards alongside Spitfire and the other mare. They continued rising upward, before coming together into a tight spiral, before bursting apart in three directions.

The crowd roared, arguably louder than they had for the princesses, and Emerald and the others simply drifted over to their platform, where mulitple cards lie, each with numbers atop them to represent whatever score they gave the contestants.

"Now, let's see who's got the stuff to take home the prize as this year's best, young, flier!!!"

Without any sort of fanfare, the first contestant flew from the curtains down below and began their routine.


Emerald yawned slightly, dividing his attention between the contest, and keeping an eye on Wisp's seat.

The contestants, while not particularly good by his standards, were decent enough for their purposes.

While Spitfire and the other mare, whom he learned was indeed Fleetfoot, gave somewhat generous sevens, eights, and the occasional nine, Emerald's scoring tended to lean towards fours, fives, and sixes, with two or three ones thrown in for some particularly atrocious routines.

Emerald sighed, glancing down at the roster once the fourteenth pony left the stage. They still had one more to...

Hold on...

"Why is it that the roster says Rainbow Dash is number two, yet she hasn't come out yet?" he asked, turning to face Spits. She looked back at him, confused, before snatching the roster away from him,

"What the hay...? Same thing with number four. I'm pretty sure I heard something about a unicorn with butterfly wings..." she muttered, Emerald blinked,

"What?!" he snapped, tearing the roster back over to himself, and, sure enough, the name 'Rarity' was plastered directly in the number four spot, "How in the name of Tartarus did she get on the list?!" he snarled, "I thought there were rules in place about last minute entrees!?"

Spitfire glared back at the roster, but before she could speak, someone cleared their throat behind them. He turned, finding a tan mare wearing a pink cardigan looking annoyed,

"We got a problem," she said, "Number four wouldn't get outta the bathroom, and number fifteen is bein' slow. Both of them are gonna perform at the same time, what are we gonna do?" she asked, her gaze traveling between the two Wonderbolts and Emerald,

"Well, we might as well judge 'em both at once," Fleetfoot said, shrugging her shoulders, Spits sighed,

"Yeah, we don't really have a choice, do we?"

"Just send them out," Emerald snapped, annoyed. The mare nodded, before jogging off, "I swear, if something bad happens because of this, I'm gonna... I don't even know what I'll do..." he muttered. He felt Spitfire pat his shoulder,

"Hey, look on the bright side. We did get to spend some time together with Wisp today, so it's still a win, right?" He sighed, but before he could respond, the announcer spoke up,

"Alright everypony! Get ready for our final competitor, number fifteen!!... And apparently number four!! Wait is that right...?"

Emerald couldn't help but groan at the sight.

Crash looked like she was a few degrees away from being an ice cube with all of her shaking, and Rarity had completely dressed herself up, looking more like some peacock than a pony. The butterfly wings certainly didn't help the image.

"Ohoho! This is gonna be gooood!" he heard Fleetfoot mutter from his right. He sighed once more, just as the music started. He sneered slightly, the sounds of the piano reaching his ears.

Definitely Rarity's choice.

Rarity began her routine, prancing about the sky as if it were some ballroom dance. Crash, on the other hoof, began her routine by swerving through a series of cloud pillars. Whether it was the music throwing her off, or her own nerves, she ended up crashing into one of the pillars and was sent careening off to the side, slamming into one of the Colosseum walls, just underneath one of the platforms, whose inhabitants chose to taunt the chromatic mare using the same moniker as him.

All the while Rarity continued dancing about, seemingly oblivious to the whole thing.

It took her a few moments, but Crash seemed to regain her bearings, and shot out of the arena, going for some nearby clouds. Emerald frowned slightly, watching as she begun spiraling around the clouds, forcing them to spin. A few clouds passed, and a stray tuft smacked her in the face, sending her flying away. The spin caused the cloud to fly off course, and sent it flying back down into the arena. Quickly realizing where it was heading, Emerald couldn't help but grin as the, completely and utterly harmless, projectile flew straight towards dear Sunbutt's head.

She gasped and ducked on reflex, but that didn't stop Luna, as well as Emerald, from laughing aloud at the near miss.

Emerald quickly regained his composure, although it didn't remove the grin on his face, just in time to watch as both Rarity and Crash began ascending. His eyes narrowed and his grin faded as he watched both mares continue rising, much farther than he was sure was necessary, at least for Rarity.

Rarity finally stopped rising, looking visibly strained for anyone with eyesight like his, and spread her wings wide, allowing the sunlight to filter through her wings, bathing a good third of the Colosseum in multicoloured light.

There was just one problem though...

"Those wings are made of gossamer and morning dew! They're gonna burn up!"

Almost right as Sparky finished shouting such, Rarity's wings completely evaporated, leaving the once airborne mare flightless.

She immediately began dropping, her speed increasing with every passing second. Her screams pierced through the strained silence of the audience, still too stunned to make any proper response, leaving Emerald's ears ringing slightly from their pitch.

Seeing Emerald stunned by the sounds, Spitfire immediately signaled Fleetfoot to take off, the two mares shooting straight down towards the falling unicorn.

Emerald shook his head, the ringing in his ears dying down. Recalling what was happening, he leaned over the edge of the booth and peered towards the ground, only for his blood to freeze when he saw that fool of a unicorn flailing around so much she ended up knocking out both Spitfire and Fleetfoot!

Emerald growled and hopped off the edge.

With a single, mighty flap of his wings, Emerald launched straight downwards, going from a dead stop to nearly breaking the sound barrier in one go.

Thanks to the aid of gravity, Emerald ended up speeding downward even faster than he'd intended, but it didn't bother him.

He growled slightly, watching as the three mares below him slowly drifted apart. At the speed he was going, the angle he was currently at, coupled with the rapidly approaching ground, he'd only have time to save one.

He quickly analyzed the ground below, and nearly sighed in relief upon noticing that both Spitfire and Fleetfoot were headed towards some heavily forested areas. The fall would hurt, definitely, and they'd without a doubt break a couple bones, but the trees should break the worst of the fall. They'd survive.

Rarity, on the other hoof, was headed straight towards a clearing, and with nothing to stop her she'd end up a big red splatter mark across the grass.

Her eyes were screwed shut, and she was still screaming her head off. Although he supposed he really couldn't blame her for that.

The air around him began compressing as he neared the sound barrier. The wind screamed passed his ears, tearing over his body. Thankfully, the suit and goggles he'd been given kept his body from feeling the wind tear against his skin, as well as kept his eyes from being dried out by the wind rushing over them.

He huffed at the resistance, and gave a second, powerful flap of his wings...

And broke through.

A massive explosion rang through the arena as the green thestral shattered the sound barrier, all previous forms of resistance gone in a single instant.

The distance between him and Rarity cut down to nothing in a second. He quickly knocked away one of her flailing hooves, and snatched her up in his hooves. His wings snapped open, catching the torrent of air, causing them to painfully strain against his back, and he felt some of his muscles tear slightly from the sheer force.

But his and Rarity's free-fall came to an almost abrupt stop a moment later.

He groaned slightly, now having to flap his wings despite obviously tearing something in them. Rarity, having realized that she'd been saved, clung tightly to his body, front and hind legs wrapped tightly around him as she shook, but quiet, almost unheard sobs slipped through her lips as she pressed her face against his chest.

He frowned slightly, beginning to ascend. She must have been extremely terrified at the thought of death. He wondered what was going through her head during the whole thing.

Was she recalling good times spent with friends and family?

Was she thinking about all the things she hadn't gotten to do in life?

Or maybe she'd been going over her regrets in life, wondering how she could have possibly made a better decision?

Emerald was brought out of his thoughts by another massive explosion, signaling that someone else had performed a sonic boom. His head snapped up, just in time to witness a solid rainbow shoot passed him, leaving a rainbow contrail behind it.

Yet despite the urge to look down and see what exactly was happening below him, his eyes stayed transfixed on the sight above him.

It was... but... that's... impossible...!

"No one has ever performed the Sonic Rainboom,"

"Nopony except Rainbow Dash!"

"Well, to be fair, it was when I was just a little filly,"

No...

But that would mean...

His thoughts trailed off.

A giant ring of purest rainbow expanded ever outwards above him. It glowed with every colour he could imagine, and so many more he'd never knew existed. Brilliant waves of colour and light were left in its wake, as shining star-like sparkles flew to the ground, bathing the whole world in a soft light.

It was gorgeous. Magnificent. It tugged at his heart and, had he the sense, he likely would have begun cheering at the mere feeling of such a perfect moment.

And yet, despite its grand wonder, its one-of-a-kind charm, it was still a familiar sight.

But, that couldn't be possible. The implications it made, the truths it revealed!

An old feeling in his chest grew. A feeling long laid dormant in his heart, waiting for the right moment to trigger its return.

Tears of joy sprang forth, unannounced, and he felt them trail down his face, running over his cheeks and dripping off his chin.

He didn't didn't know whether he should laugh or cry.

And frankly... he didn't care.

Because he felt happy.

Author's Note:

Emerald recognizes the Rainboom? And he's close with Spitfire? Goodness, things seem to keep just popping out of the woodwork in regards to our favourite fire-breathing thestral.

After several mentions in the previous chapters, we finally meet little Whisper Moon, or Wisp, for short. Emerald even has a little pet bat, Bolero. Who'd've thought?

Things are getting interesting, aren't they?

Hope you enjoyed. Constructive criticism appreciated. See you next time.

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Fun fact #1: The Champion of Harmony is a rewritten version of another story of mine, which never saw the light of day, by the name of Protectors. You can tell just by the name that it went through a lot of work to get where it is now.

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