Come Fly WIth Me
“It’s great to see that you enjoy flying Swift, but don’t you think you should walk for now until we start flight practice?” Soarin’ asked his one-year-old daughter, Swift Apple, who was flying to keep up with her walking dad. He honestly believed that she spent more time flying than walking.
“I’m fine dada,” The brown coated pegasus said, ignoring her father’s advice.
It was Soarin’s day to watch his kids while his wife worked in the fields, helping her brother harvest some apples. Both Soarin’ and Applejack wanted to spend as much time with their children as possible but work on the farm made that difficult for them. So, one of them would watch the kids one day while the other worked on the farm, and the next day they’d switch jobs.
Since Applejack had no wings, one thing Soarin’ liked to do on his days with the kids was to give Swift Apple some flight lessons. Swift, like some pegasus children, learned how to use her wings very early on and she was a competent flyer for her age.
Soarin’ looked to his left side but was immediately alarmed when he noticed somepony was missing. He quickly stretched his right wing out, signaling for Swift Apple to stop and she obeyed, landing safely on the ground. The concerned father looked behind him and saw the missing pony a few feet away from them but still following them slowly. The pony was an earth pony foal with a light blue coat and a golden mane like his mother’s, but unlike his mother’s mane it had a few blue streaks in it.
“Hey, Stark, buddy, are you having a hard time keeping up?” Soarin’ asked.
“I’m OK daddy, I guess I just got distracted.” Soarin’ was relieved that his son, Starking, was all right but he was also upset with himself for not doing a better job at watching over him.
Soarin’ still remembered how scared he and Applejack were when the doctor told them that their son was born with a medical condition, called Type I Osteogenesis Imperfectca, or Brittle Bone Disease. The doctor tried to explain it by saying that it’s like their son was born a pegasus, minus the wings, which meant his bones were more petite and weaker than the bones of an earth pony. At that moment, the most important question that came to mind was “will he be able to walk without breaking his legs?” Fortunately his condition didn’t seem to be that serious but he recommended keeping a close eye on him and to restrict most physical activities.
Though try as they might to prevent injures, Starking was prone to fractures and he got them frequently. The weak colt could even be doing something as simple as running but then cry out in pain a few minutes later due to a fractured bone. This was very hard for both parents at first but they soon learned that fractured bones were just something that was inevitable for their son and that there wasn’t much they could do about that. Because of that, Applejack and Soarin’ were forced to become doting parents, but they still tried to give him his own independence whenever possible.
“Mov’ Star!” Swift Apple, who thankfully was not born with any type of Osteogenesis Imperfectca, was growing impatient with her older brother’s walking speed. The little filly started to lift herself back in the air, but once again, Soarin’ stretched out his wing and gave his daughter a stern look, forcing her to land back down on the ground.
“That was a very rude thing to say to your brother and rude little fillies don’t get to practice flying.” Soarin’ saw the remorseful look on the brown coated, blue maned, little filly after he chastised her.
“Sowwy dada.”
“I’m not the one you should be saying sorry to.”
“Sorry Stawin.”
“Now you’re acting like a good little filly. but I want you to walk with me and Starking for the rest of the way, rather than flying. That way you won’t tire yourself out before the actual practice begins.”
The time Swift Apple spent apologizing allowed her brother to catch up with them. Soarin’ pulled his wing back and they continued to walk but they did so at a slower pace so Starking could keep up. Had Soarin’ been looking behind him, he would have seen the dejected look on his son’s face. Even though his dad scolded his little sister, the young colt couldn’t help but feel guilty for slowing them down. It made him feel like the weak pony he was supposed to be.
Soarin’ led his children to the field at the entrance of Sweet Apple Acres, where they wouldn’t disturb or distract Applejack and Big Mac while they harvested the apples. Starking sat down in the shade of a nearby tree as he watched his father give some instructions to his sister.
“Now remember you’re still a beginner, so don’t fly any higher than my head. For starters, fly over to the barn and then back to the fence, then we’ll go over some of the basic tricks I showed you.”
After getting her instructions, the baby peagsus flapped her wings and took to the air, flying straight to the barn. Her father followed her as she flew to the barn, ready to catch her if she started to experience problems and fall out of the air. Raising Starking had taught Soarin’ that it was better to be safe than sorry.
“No need to go too fast Swift, this is just a warm-up,” Soarin’ told his daughter once she started to pick up speed. Even without going too fast, it didn’t take Swift that long to fly to the barn and then back to the fence. However, her dad felt she needed more warm-ups so he had her fly to the chicken coop and then back to the fence, and then he had her fly to the pig pen and back. This annoyed the baby pegasus but she obeyed her father’s orders since she knew these warm-ups would be over soon and then she could do more advanced stuff, and her patience soon paid off.
“All right, I think you’ve done enough warm-ups. Why don’t you try flying in a zigzag pattern. Remember what I told you, count to three and once you reach three then you either fly down or you fly up.”
This was one of Swift’s favorite ways to fly so she gleefully did as her dad told her. The brown furred filly started off flying in a straight line, then dipped downwards for about three seconds before flying back up and repeating her pattern. Soarin’ was impressed with how graceful his daughter was flying, she had certainly improved since last time where her hooves were constantly touching the ground whenever she dived down.
Soarin’ wasn’t the only pony who was impressed with Swift Apple’s flying. Starking watched his sister with amazement throughout her entire flight practice, even during the warm-ups. The young colt was struck with awe as his sister soared through the air, reminding him of some of the tricks his best friend, Silverwing, would show him whenever he came over for a play date. One day Starking knew he was going to be able to fly just like them.
The blue furred colt took a quick look at his bare back and let out a dejected sigh. His wings still hadn’t come in yet and he was beginning to get impatient and distressed. It had been his dream to fly ever since his dad told him stories about his days as a Wonderbolt and showed him some of the flight techniques he used to do for his shows, and Starking was determined to follow in his dad’s hoofsteps.
He had always assumed that his wings would just grow out of his back one day when he got older, but when his little sister was born with wings, he was more than a little confused. He even asked Silverwing about this and he mentioned that he was also born with his wings. Then he remembered that his mother, his uncle, and his aunt didn’t have wings either and that’s when he got worried. If they still haven’t gotten their wings yet then who knew when he was going to get his. He could be one hundred years old before he finally got them.
Swift Apple continued to fly in a zigzag pattern for five minutes before she landed carefully in front of her proud father.
“You really have improved since the last time you practiced that trick, you didn’t even touch the ground. I’d say you’re even better than I was at your age but I didn’t even fly until I was three years old, so you’ve certainly got me beat. I wouldn’t be surprised if one day the Wonderbolts-” Swift stopped her dad’s praise by lightly tapping his leg.
“Tired dada.” It was then that he noticed that his daughter was lightly panting. It was just as Soarin’ had predicted, his daughter had tired herself out from all the flying she did on the way here. Then again, it also didn’t help that she was only one year old, and didn’t have too much energy to begin with. So he decided it was best to cut practice short for today.
“OK, that’s enough for today, let’s go back inside. I’ll get you some lunch and then you can take a nap. Come on Starking, we’re going back inside for lunch,” Soarin called out to his son but he didn’t respond.
The young colt stared blankly into space, deep in thought. Did he have to do something to earn his wings and if so, what? Would they come faster if he got a cutie mark related to flying? How would he even get a cutie mark for flying if he didn’t have any wings? Was he supposed to make some cardboard wings, wax wings, or even mechanical wings? These questions plagued Starking’s mind when he thought about why he didn’t have any wings yet. He’d always thought about asking his dad these questions, but felt too embarrassed. However, his impatience was getting the best of him, so he made up his mind to ask his father later.
“-Stark? Starking? You OK buddy?” Starking was suddenly brought back to reality once he heard his dad calling his name. The colt had been so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t even realize that his father and sister were standing right in front of him, staring at him with concerned eyes.
“I’m OK daddy, I’m just daydreaming,” Starking replied while lightly shaking his head.
“Well we’re going to go back inside for some lunch, I could make you a tulip sandwich.”
“That sounds great, you make the best tulip sandwiches daddy,” Starking said, smiling at the thought of his dad’s delicious tulip sandwiches.
“Well maybe this time I’ll let you help me make it and I’ll even show you the secret-” Soarin’ stopped when he suddenly felt something tugging at his tail. He quickly turned around and saw his daughter pulling his tail to get his attention.
“Up dada, pwease,” Swift requested with pleading but tired eyes that Soarin’ couldn’t help but smile warmly at.
“Sure thing, sweetheart.” Soarin’ bent down and allowed his daughter to climb up on his back. After making sure she was comfortable, he lifted himself up and continued to walk back to the house. The retired Wonderbolt took a moment to admire the beautiful scenery and atmosphere of the farm, both of which made the light blue pegasus’ decision to settle down here an easy choice. Of course, having a tough and beautiful mare like Applejack as a wife made that decision even easier.
Sorain’ then checked to make sure his son was able to keep up with him. It seemed like Starking was doing a good job keeping up with his father, but Soarin’ also noticed a troubled look on his face, the same troubled look that he’d been wearing a lot lately.
Soarin’ had tried to ask his son what was troubling him the first time he noticed that look on his face but he’d refused to admit anything was wrong. Whatever was bothering Starking, he wasn’t comfortable talking about it yet so his dad didn’t force him to. He did, however, try to encourage him to talk about his problems.
“Haypenny for your thoughts.”
“It’s nothing really,” was all Starking said, greatly disappointing his dad.
“Is that so? Because I always thought you were a bright kid who had a lot going on in his mind, not some dummy who wastes his time thinking about nothing.” Starking was starting to have second thoughts on whether he should ask his father about his wings. Although, if he was going to ask him, now was as good a time as any.
“Well, maybe I was thinking about how cool it looks whenever I watch Swift or Silverwing fly or whenever you tell me one of your stories about being a Wonderbolt. Hearing those stories and watching those two fly makes me want to fly too but I still don’t have my wings yet and I’m tired of waiting. So daddy when will I get my wings?”
Soarin’ stopped dead in his tracks and his eyes went wide when his son asked that. He had to choose his next few words carefully and give it some thought. He always knew that Starking was fascinated with flying but he would never have imagined that his son actually thought he was going to get his own wings. The adult pegasus was taking too long thinking of a response and he could already see that his son was starting to look worried because of his father’s silence. He had to say something and he had to say something now!
“.....I don’t know, I can’t even remember how old I was when I got my wings and-”
“-You told Swift that you didn’t start flying until you were three,” Starking interrupted his dad so he could remind him of a detail Soarin’ had forgotten. Soarin’ felt like he was about to start sweating as he tried to quickly think of a response.
“....That’s right, I must have gotten them sometime before I turned three, but I can’t remember when. Tell you what son, right now I have to make lunch for you and your sister so I can put her down for her nap and then we’ll talk about this,” Soarin’ couldn’t help but feel guilty for putting this important talk off until later, but he didn’t think there was anything he could say now. He needed time to think about how to handle this situation.
“Promise?”
“I Pinkie promise,” Soarin’ told him as he pretended to stick a cupcake in his eye.
The walk back to the house was a walk of silence. While Swift was resting on her father’s back, already trying to take her nap, Starking was eagerly awaiting the discussion he was going to have with his father about his wings. At last, he was finally going to get some answers and he could stop worrying about when he would get his wings. Soarin’, on the other hoof, couldn’t stop worrying about what to say to his son. He just couldn’t tell him that he would never get wings, that would crush him, but then what would he tell him? The nervous father thought about just saying “I don’t know” again, but that was taking the easy way out and his son deserved better than that. He just hoped that lunch would give him enough time to think of a good answer.
Unfortunately it didn’t take long for Soarin’ to make Starking’s tulip sandwich and it took less time for Starking to finish it. Soarin’ fed Swift Apple some applesauce since she was still a baby and her diet didn’t include too much solid food. Feeding his daughter was normally a hassle, she had gotten bored of non solid food and would refuse to eat any. She’d squirm in her high chair, seal her mouth shut and even knock the spoon out of her parents’ hooves. This normally resulted in some kind of mess in the kitchen or on her parent’s coats, so her parents would usually spend a good half hour cleaning up the kitchen and themselves.
Today was different though, Soarin’ was actually looking forward to cleaning up a mess since it would give him time to think about what to say to Starking. This time, however, the baby filly was actually on her best behavior and ate her food without any fuss, much to the surprise and disappointment of her father. She really had worn herself out during flight practice and she knew that the sooner she finished her lunch the sooner she could take her afternoon nap.
After getting Starking settled in the living room and giving him some paper and his crayons, Soarin’ carried his daughter upstairs into her nursery. He laid her down gently into her crib and pulled her blanket over her.
“Are you comfy?”
“Yes dada.”
“Do you want me to read you a story before you go to sleep?”
“No dada, too tired,” Swift said as she let out a big yawn. Soarin’ looked around the nursery until he found his daughter’s favorite toy, a stuffed bunny, and tucked in under the covers with her.
“Here, you’ll sleep better with Houdini protecting you.” Swift immediately grabbed the stuffed bunny and cuddled with it.
“Thank you, dada.”
Soarin’ continued to search the nursery to see if there was anything else he could do for her but then he scolded himself once he realized what he was doing. While it was true that Soarin’ did want to make sure his daughter was comfortable during her nap, he was also using this as an excuse to stall for time so he wouldn’t have to talk to his son. He was acting like a coward but it was time to put an end to that, so he gave Swift a quick kiss on the cheek and then headed downstairs to talk to his son.
When he came downstairs, Starking was in the middle of drawing a picture, seemingly oblivious to his father’s presence.
“Hey there, sport, what’re you drawing?” Soarin’ asked, but the foal quickly covered up the picture.
“I’ll show you when it’s done.” Normally Starking didn’t like others to see his pictures until he was done with them. Of course, the colt’s pictures were as crude and basic as any drawing a four-year-old might make, but his dad was proud of them nonetheless. In fact, Soarin’ would rather have his son’s artwork hanging on the wall than any one of the paintings they have in those fancy museums in Prance.
Soarin’ sat down on the living room couch before taking a deep breath, preparing himself for what was most likely going to be an uncomfortable conversation, at least for him anyway.
“All right son, let’s have that talk I promised you.” Soarin’ could see pure joy and eagerness in Starking’s eyes as he set down his crayons and joined his father on the couch. He’d finally figured out what he wanted to say to his son but he still needed to think of how he wanted to phrase it. There was a brief moment of silence between them as the father did his best to put on a smile that didn’t show how uneasy he was, but he’ knew that if this silence lasted for much longer the young colt would know something was wrong.
“....You see son.....while a good number of ponies do get their wings when they’re born, there are some that will get their wings when they get older. I’m sure you’ve noticed that there are several grown-up ponies that don’t have any wings Well that’s because some ponies never do end up growing wings, like your mother, aunt, and uncle will most likely never grow wings. However, since I have wings, there’s still a chance that you might eventually get some wings.” Soarin’ hoped that pointing out that most grown-up ponies were wingless would help ease the eventual disappointment his son would feel when he didn’t get any wings.
However, it had the opposite effect on him. Starking’s face was lit with hope and excitement just from the mention that he had a chance to get wings. It really did help calm the fears he had when his father reminded him that many grown-up ponies didn’t have wings. “When do you think I might finally get my wings?”
“Your guess is as good as mine, but in the meantime you should try to find some other hobbies and activities that may interest you, just in case you never get your wings. You never know, you might find out that you enjoy this new thing more than you would flying. Take me for example, I used to think there was nothing I wanted to do more than to be a Wonderbolt, but then I fell in love with your mother. So I tried helping her with her farm work and I found out that I loved it just as much, if not more, than being a Wonderbolt.” Even though Soarin’ was lying to his son about possibly growing wings, he still wanted him to find some other interest in life. This way Starking would have something to fall back on instead of just putting all his eggs in one basket.
“But I really want to fly daddy, then I can become a Wonderbolt too and I can be just like you when I grow up.” It took a lot of effort for Soarin’ not to burst out into tears. His son just told him he wanted to be just like him when he grew up, that should have the happiest day of his life. Instead it just served to remind him him of how sad his son’s situation really was.
“You can’t imagine how proud I am to hear you say that. However, you don’t have to become a Wonderbolt to be just like me. No pony, including myself, would think any less of you if you never become a Wonderbolt when you grow up.”
“But I want to be just like you, daddy, and the only way I can do that is by being a Wonderbolt when I grow up since I can’t be a farmer,” Starking told his father, earning him a slightly confused and concerned look from him.
“What makes you think that?” Even though he asked, Soarin’ had a pretty good idea what his son was referring to but he just wanted to make sure he was right.
“Because I’ll get boo-boos if I try to do farm work. I heard you and mommy fighting about me one night and how I can’t do much because of my medicel....medigel....medibal...” Starking was struggling to think of the correct word so Soarin’ decided to help him out.
"Medical condition."
“Yeah that’s it. You both said that I couldn’t do much work on the farm or else I’d get boo-boos. Then you two started yelling about what to do with me, it was scary.” Soarin’ remembered what Starking was describing to him. Although he and Applejack didn’t yell at each other, but some voices were raised, but nothing serious. While the ex-Wonderbolt never had too many arguments with his wife, most of the ones they did have were over their son and what was the best way to raise him.
When they first heard Applejack was pregnant they thought they would make great parents, but they never expected that their foal would be born with weak bones. This left them second-guessing a lot of their parenting decisions. Sometimes they had different opinions on what to do for their son and that sometimes led to arguments between them. Fortunately, it wouldn’t take too long for them to make up since they knew that they both wanted what was best for their child.
“First of all, we weren’t fighting that night, we were having a discussion. Second, we were discussing-” Soarin’ put extra emphasis on discussing, he didn’t want his son to think there were any serious problems between him and his wife. “-whether your medical condition would get any better later when you grow up. Your mother thinks that it’s possible that your bones may get stronger later in your life, so there’s a chance you could do some jobs on the farm, just like there’s a chance you could get wings.”
Memories of that night were flashbacking in the father’s mind. Applejack had desperately clung on to the hope that Starking’s bones might get stronger in the future and that they should think of some light physical work he could do when he’s older if that does happen. Soarin’, however, didn’t think that was going to happen since the doctor told them that their foal would most likely develop hearing loss and scoliosis when he got older. Instead, he suggested that they should find more academic activities for their frail son since it was very possible that his bones would never get stronger as he got older. His wife misunderstood him and told him that she wouldn’t be the type of parent who forces their kid to constantly study at a young age. Even after explaining what he meant, AJ still wasn’t completely sold on the idea and insisted that there had to be some kind of farm work her son could do.
She did end up apologizing to him the next day and told him that she’s was not against Starking pursuing more academic interests but it just felt weird to her. Ever since her family first settled in Ponyville, they’d always been apple farmers and it was more than a little disappointing to know that her foal would most likely be the first Apple to not be an apple farmer.
“That would be awesome! If I get any stronger than I could be a Wonderbolt and a farmer.” Starking was ecstatic just at the thought of being both a Wonderbolt and a farmer, but Soarin’ let out an inaudible groan. His son certainly wasn’t making this conversation easy. However, a moment of relief was offered to the uneasy father when he heard the backdoor open and hoofsteps in the house.
“That’s probably your mother, I need to go talk to her for a moment. Why don’t you get back to drawing and then we can talk about this some more later.”
“Nah, that’s OK daddy. I think I know enough now, thank you.” Starking hugged his father before he could lift himself up off the couch. All the nervous feelings Soarin’ felt, all the lies he told his son and all the times he felt uncomfortable lying to his son felt worth it just to have his son hug him and give him a loving look of admiration. The father gave his son a gentle pat on the head before he got off the couch and went back to his drawing, while Soarin’ went to go find his wife.
Soarin’ found his wife in the kitchen, sitting at the table and eating some apple crisp she got from the fridge. The orange furred, golden haired, mare smiled softly at her husband “Howdy, sugarcube, where’re the kids?”
“Starking’s out in the living room drawing and I put Swift down for a nap a few minutes ago,” Soarin’ took a seat in the chair next to his wife and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “How was work in the fields today?”
“It was nice, but boy am Ah beat,” Applejack said as she removed her trademark stenson and used it to fan herself. After putting her hat back on her head she shot her husband a seductive look. “Ah feel like Ah worked up a lot of tension in these muscles, maybe later Ah can get one of those amazin’ massages ya give.”
“Yeah maybe later.”
Applejack was surprised by the dull tone of her husband’s voice and the blank expression on his face, his mind certainly seemed like it was elsewhere.
“Somethin’ wrong, sugarcube?”
“Starking asked me when he was going to get his wings.” Applejack froze in place once Soarin’ told her that. She was so caught off guard by this that she didn’t know what to say at first.
“.....Ah see, how badly did he take it?” Applejack asked. Soarin’ raised an eyebrow at her, not quite sure if he liked what she was implying.
“Excuse me?”
“Ya did tell ‘em he’ll never get wings, right?” His wife asked, giving him a stern look.
“No, of course not. I’m not going to crush that poor kid’s dreams.” Soarin’ was surprised she was even considering telling him the truth right now.
“We have ta tell him sooner or later.”
“So why not later? I know you’re the element of honesty, AJ, and I love your honesty but there are times where the truth hurts more than a lie.”
Applejack was taken aback to see her husband raising his voice with her, but she didn’t let it show. Instead she just raised her own voice to match his
“Is that so, cause the way Ah see it, we’re just buildin’ up his hopes which is going to make it more painful fer ‘em when he finds out the truth.”
“He’s a little boy AJ, do you want to go out there and tell him ‘sorry kid but you’re never gonna get wings and you’re never gonna fly.‘” Both parents were now glaring at each other with intense eyes
Meanwhile, Starking had finally finished his drawing and he wanted to show it to his parents, hoping they’d hang it on the fridge. The toddler searched for his parents but it didn’t take him long before he heard the sound of raised voices coming from the kitchen. The colt’s heart sank when he realized his parents were fighting again and he didn’t want to show them his picture while they were in a bad mood. Since most of their fights were about him, the troubled foal sat down and listened in to hear what they were saying about him, and hoped that they would make up soon.
“Ya know that’s not what Ah’m sayin’. Ah think we should sit em down and let ‘em down gently. Ah just think this way’s less painful fer ‘em, so don’t try ta make me the villain in this situation!” Applejack’s voice had risen so much she was almost shouting. Soarin’ let out a sigh, he had clearly upset her and that wasn’t his intent. This discussion clearly got out of hoof.
“I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings and to be fair I understand your point. However, I just can’t agree with you on this. I just feel he’s too young and that we should wait a few years before telling him the truth,” Soarin’ lowered his voice as he spoke and both he and AJ softened the expressions on their faces.
“And Ah understand where yer comin’ from, but think about this fer a sec. Say he goes out into town one day and starts tellin’ other ponies that he’s gonna get wings someday. Ah’m sure there’ll be a few nasty ponies who’d make fun of ‘em and tell him the truth. It’s better he hears the truth from us, rather than some stranger.” Applejack tried to reason with her husband and there was silence between them for a moment. Soarin’ was actually thinking about what she had told him and debating with himself if she was right, but that moment of silence didn’t last too long before he finally replied.
“I’m sorry but I still don’t see that as being our only option. Starking isn’t allowed to go into town without at least one of us with him so we can steer him away from any conversations like that. Besides, you and I both know the adults in this town aren’t that nasty.”
“True, but what about when Starking starts school? Kids can be pretty cruel and Ah’m sure they’d tease ‘em when they find out he thinks he’ll get wings.” Applejack retorted. she knew how mean some of the foals in town could be just from her little sister’s personal experiences.
“He still has about two years before he starts school and if he hasn’t figured out he won’t have wings by himself, then we’ll tell him. The only other kid he hangs out with now is Silverwing and if you really think that he may be a problem then we’ll just talk to Thunderlane about it and explain the situation to him. He can then talk to his son about this and make him promise never to tell Starking he’ll never get wings.” Now it was Applejack’s turn to think about what Soarin’ had told her. However, right before she could reply to her husband, their conversation was interrupted by the slamming of an upstairs door, followed shortly after by the sound of Swift Apple crying from being woken up from her nap.
“What in tarnations was that?!” Both Applejack and Soarin got up from their chairs and went to investigate the noise.
Applejack was about to head upstairs but stopped when Soarin’ stuck his hoof out after noticing a piece of paper lying face down on the floor. After picking the paper off the floor, he turned it over and his eyes went wide with realization and fear. It was a picture of two stick ponies, both were pegasi, flying in the sky with lots of clouds around them. At the top of the picture it had the words “Daddy and me” written in crayon.
“Oh no, oh no,”
Soarin’ showed Applejack the picture and she too now realized what had happened. “Oh horseapples, we better go talk to him.”
“You should take care of Swift and put her back to sleep, I’ll start talking to Starking and then you can join us once Swift is asleep again,” Soarin’ suggested and Applejack nodded in agreement.
Both parents wasted no time in getting upstairs so they could attend to their children. However, Soarin’ was finding it difficult to knock on his son’s bedroom door, his fears and nervousness getting the best of him. He could hear his wife’s cooing voice as she spoke to Swift Apple, “It’s OK my sweet little apple, mama’s here”. His wife was doing her job as a mother and he had to do his job as a father, no matter how hard it was. After taking a deep breath, the nervous father finally knocked on his son’s door.
“Hey there, sport, you doing all right?” Soarin’ ask but he got no immediate response. After waiting a few seconds for his son to say something, He put his ear to the door to see if he could hear anything but he wasn’t able to. The concerned parent waited no longer and opened the door to his son’s room, just to see if he was in there. He was lying on his bed with his face buried in his pillow as he cried into it.
“I don’t wanna talk right now,” Starking cried once he took notice of his dad’s presence in the room. Soarin’, however, ignored his sons words and sat down on the bed next to him and gently rubbed his back with his hoof.
“I said I don’t want to talk right now!” Starking’s voice was starting to rise, which caught Soarin’ off guard. His son had never reacted like this before.
“I know son, and normally I wouldn’t force you to talk when you didn’t want to but I think it’s important that we talk now about what you just heard.”
“It’s not true right daddy? I really am going to grow wings, right daddy?” The little colt asked with desperation in his voice and tears running from his eyes. This was Soarin’s chance, if he really wanted to, he could just lie to his son and cheer him up for the moment. It seemed like that’s what his son wanted him to do, but was that really the best thing to do? He thought about how Applejack told him that if they kept building his hopes up like this then it would hurt more when he finally found out the truth. His wife’s point was becoming more clear to him once he saw how upset Starking really was.
“......I’m so sorry.....No, you’ll never grow wings.” Soarin’ felt a few of his own tears forming after finally making that confession.
“Why daddy, why did you lie? Mommy says it’s bad to lie,” Starking asked as more tears started to form in his green eyes and run down his blue fur.
“Your mother’s right, most of the time it is bad to lie but there are some times where it’s OK to tell a lie so you don’t hurt somepony’s feelings. I thought lying to you would be better because I thought the truth would make you sad.” Soarin’ did the best he could to explain his actions to his heartbroken son but he still didn’t seem to understand.
“That sounds like a stupid reason to lie!” Starking angrily pouted.
“Would you not have felt this sad if I had just told you the truth when you first asked me when you were going to get your wings?” Soarin’ asked, genuinely wanting to hear his answer. Starking was about to say something but then he quickly paused, finding it difficult to come up with an answer.
“....Yes, I still would have been sad, but it still didn’t feel good to find out I was lied to.” It was just as Soarin’ thought, it didn’t matter if he had lied to him earlier when Starking asked him if he’d get wings, he was in a lose-lose situation either way.
“Maybe it’s for the best that you now know you’ll never get wings. Now we can start thinking of other interests you might have, we may even be able to find your natural talent.” Soarin’ hoped this would raise his son’s spirits but the gloomy expression on his face had not changed.
“There’s nothing I can do if I can’t fly, I’m useless.” Soarin’ was taken aback by his son’s harsh words about himself.
“You’re right, there is nothing you can do with an attitude like that. So you were born an earth pony instead of a peagsus, that doesn’t mean you’re useless. Earth ponies may not be able to fly like a pegasus or do magic like a unicorn but they still have merits of their own. Just look at your mother for instance, she can-” Starking didn’t even let his father list all the things his mother could do before he started crying again.
“-But I can’t do any of the stuff mommy does because of my medibel condition.” Starking still couldn’t pronounce medical condition but his father didn’t think now was the appropriate time to correct him.
“OK that may be true but there’s more to being a farmer than just physical work,” Soarin’ told his son but Starking just rolled his eyes at this.
“But I can’t do any of the really fun and cool stuff. Everytime Silverwing comes over he always tells me about all the cool stuff him and his daddy do together. A lot of times that means he tells me about the times him and his daddy go out flying or telling me about the tricks his daddy taught him. Whenever he describes flying to me it always sounded so cool, so awesome, so exciting, so free. After hearing all that, I knew I wanted to fly and be a Wonderbolt just like you since I couldn’t do any farm chores. I thought flying was the one thing I could do without getting boo-boos but now I can’t even do that,” Starking sadly sighed.
Soarin’ remembered how upset his son was when he and AJ turned down his offer to help with the farm chores because of his young age and weak bones. Later that day, Starking snuck out and tried to kick a tree just like his parents would, what followed was the loudest shriek of pain the young colt ever let out. He ended up breaking both his legs and had to wear a cast and use a wheelchair for three months. It was a rough three months for him but his parents did everything they could to make it more enjoyable for him, they even gave him his first box of crayons. Starking spent most of his time drawing and listening to his dad tell some stories about being a Wonderbolt or his mother would tell him stories about her adventures with her friends. Soarin’ wished they could cheer him up now as easily as they did during those three months.
Soarin’ really did feel bad for the poor kid, this wasn’t just about not being able to fly, this was also about all the restrictions the four-year-old boy faced. He really wished there was a way he could grant his son’s wish to fly, but then an idea popped into his head. He was surprised he didn’t think of this sooner but there was a way his son could actually fly with him. But first, he needed to get something from the attic. Before he could give this anymore thought, there was a knock on the open bedroom door and Applejack stepped into her son’s bedroom.
“Hey, Ah hear some little colt is feelin’ a little down today.” Applejack was more than a little surprised when her husband approached her with a look of desperation on his face.
“Honey, I need you to do a favor for me. I need you to try to comfort and cheer Starking up without me while I go look for something in the attic. At least, I hope it’s in the attic.” Before Applejack could ask him what he was looking for, he’d already run off in the direction of the attic. She knew that Soarin’ loved Starking dearly and wouldn’t abandon him, so whatever he was looking for in the attic must have been something that would help him. The orange mare took her husband’s place on the bed and she wrapped one hoof around her child and gently pulled him closer to her.
“So, yer pa tells me that yer upset about not bein’ able to fly. Well ya can-” Applejack was interrupted by her son, who had an irritated look on his face.
“I can’t do anything because of my bones!” Starking was getting tired of being told that he could do other stuff. “I can’t fly, I can’t do farm work, I can’t even play ball right.”
Applejack knew what her son was referring to about not playing ball right. When Silverwing came over to play one time, he brought a ball with him and wanted to play catch with Starking. However, AJ was worried that the ball would get thrown too hard and hurt her fragile foal. So she suggested that they roll it instead of throwing it.
Even though Starking was enjoying the game, Silverwing made it clear that he prefered throwing the ball rather than rolling it by constantly complaining. He even made his best friend cry when he said that this was the baby’s way of playing. Thankfully Thunderlane scolded his son, made him apologize, and even grounded him for a week because of his behavior.
“Actually, when ya get older there may be a chance that yer bones will get a little stronger and then maybe ya can do some farm work.” Applejack thought the possibility of being able to do farm chores would at least cheer him up a little but Starking gave her a look of disbelief.
“Yeah, just like how one day I’ll grow wings.” Starking spoke with a sarcastic tone and a sneer.
“Well Ah ain’t gonna lie to ya, yer bones will most likely never be strong enough to do most, if not all, of the physical work on the farm. But it’s still a better chance than growin’ yer own set of wings.” Applejack tried to find the right balance between being truthful with him but also giving him a little hope, but it didn’t seem to be working with Starking.
“What if they don’t though, what if I’m this useless when I grow up?” Starking cried causing Applejack to tighten her embrace but not tight enough to hurt him.
“Yer never gonna be useless even if yer bones never get any better. Yer problem is yer thinking only about doing physical work, maybe ya’d do better as an academic,” Applejack said, fully accepting that academic activities were more up Starking’s alley. Besides, being an academic didn’t mean there wasn’t some type of farm work he could do.
“What’s that?” Starking wasn’t even going to try to pronounce academic.
“A smart pony. After all, yer just learnin’ how to read now and that’s better than most ponies at yer age. Ya already enjoy drawin’, maybe someday ya’ll become some sort of famous artist. Ya may even be good at those fancy mathematic problems yer uncle’s good at. There’s lots of great possibilities for smart ponies like you, even if you can’t kick a tree, fly, or even throw a ball.” Applejack was relieved to see that her son’s expression was softening a little bit but he still looked sad.
“Could I still become a Wonderbolt or do some work on the farm as a smart pony?” Although Starking asked with a small trace of sadness in his voice, it was mostly overshadowed by the genuine curiosity he was feeling.
“Ah’m not so sure about bein’ a Wonderbolt but there’ll be plenty of work on this farm for ya when ya grow up. In fact, between me, yer father, yer uncle, and yer aunt, Ah’m sure we have enough strong hooves on this farm, but we could always use a brain. Maybe ya can handle the business side of things, ya could even be our accountant,” Applejack suggest, piquing the colt’s interest.
“What’s an accountant?”
“It basically means ya count stuff for us.”
“I can do that!” Starking shouted, immediately brighten up. Applejack wished his father was here to see how cheerful he was now. He then leaned over his mother’s lap to stare at the cutie mark on her flank.
“You have three apples as a cutie mark,” He then looked back at his mother’s face and stared at that for a moment. “You have three freckles on one side of your face and three on the other side, giving you a total of six freckles.”
“Wow, yer already good at that, and that’s just one thing ya can do. Since yer so good at drawin’, one day Ah might even get ya to paint our fence, or maybe even our barn.” The look of pure joy and excitement on Starkings face when his mother suggested that had made almost every last tear go away.
“That would be cool! I could even paint cool pictures on the side of the barm!”
“Yeah that does sound like it would be cool.....but only when yer older,” Applejack quickly added that last part after she realized that Starking might try to actually draw on the barn now. She wanted to encourage her son but she didn’t want to give him any mischievous ideas, he had already gotten in trouble once for drawing on the walls in the house.
The colt’s eyes were now dry and a smile had finally returned to his face. However, that smile soon started to fade and he began to look sad again, although this time Starking did his best to put on a small smile, but it wouldn’t fool his mother. “What’s wrong sugarcube? It sounded like ya were really into those suggestions.”
“I am, they sound cool and all but I still kinda wish I could fly. I still think it would have been cool to fly with daddy,” Starking shyly admitted. Applejack could see this was something that he was always going to be disappointed about. She did have one idea on how to help him get over his disappointment but she wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to say, even if it wasn’t necessarily a lie. However, AJ thought maybe it was time to take a page from her husband’s book and raise her son’s hopes and spirit, it was certainly better than watching him sulk.
“Now that Ah think about it, there is one pony who actually did grow wings of her own and she’s a personal friend of mine, Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Applejack told him but Starking just gave her a skeptical look.
“You’re making that up aren’t you mommy?” Starking wanted to believe what she was saying but he had already been lied to about this once today.
“Ah’m the element of honesty son, Ah’m terrible at lying, so ya can believe me when Ah say that Princess Twilight didn’t always have wings. She was actually born a unicorn, but she didn’t just randomly sprout wings one day, she earned those wings. Remember those stories Ah told you about me and mah friends goin’ on adventures to help Equestria? Well it turns out that those tasks were Princess Celestia’s way of preparin’ Twilight to become a princess. She got her wings through hard work, determination, and with the support of her friends and family. Maybe somethin’ similar could happen to you.” All of the skepticism had vanished from Starking’s face and was replaced with wonder and amazement.
“You mean I could one day be a princess?” Applejack couldn’t help but chuckle at her son’s words.
“Ah think that would actually make ya a prince.” Applejack knew that her son actually had a very slim chance of ever becoming an alicorn. As far as she knew all of the princesses were unicorns before they became alicorns, but to her that just meant that her son would be the first earth pony to become an alicorn. She genuinely believed that if her son applied himself and strived for the same ideals Twilight did then he too could become an alicorn and if anypony ever told him or her that he couldn’t, well then buck them.
“How long will it take for me to be a prince?”
“If ya do become one it wouldn’t be for a long time. Twilight was just a filly when she started her studies for Celestia and she just became a princess a few years ago.”
“Aw, but that’s such a long wait,” Starking complained.
“Maybe, but maybe that’s a good thing. It’s takes a lot of hard work to be a prince and there’s plenty of responsibilities that come along with it, and yer still a foal. Also, Ah appreciate ya wanted to help out around the farm, but don’t worry about that fer now. Just enjoy yerself and have fun because ya ain’t gonna be a foal ferever, but ya just have to be careful not to hurt yerself.”
“But I want to grow up now so I can do all the cool big pony stuff,” Starking whined.
“Ah know, sweetheart, but sometimes ya just got to be patient. Take me and yer pa for instance, when we started datin’ yer pa was still with The Wonderbolts so Ah didn’t get to see him that much. Sometimes we’d even go fer months without seein’ each other so we had to rely on a long distance relationship. It certainly wasn’t easy fer me but Ah stuck with it and was patient because Ah knew Soarin’ was a stallion worth bein’ patient fer. Then one day Ah got a letter from Soarin’ but the only thing in it were a bunch of tickets fer me and mah family for the latest Wonderbolt show. Ah was a little disappointed at first but then we noticed somethin’; the tickets we had were for a Wonderbolt show called ‘Goodbye Soarin’. Ah was more than a little confused by this since he never mentioned that he was leavin’ The Wonderbolts in any of his letters. Mah entire family went to the show and at the end of it, Soarin’ came out to give a farewell speech but then he invited me to join him on the field. He told everypony that Ah was the mare that captured his heart, and that Ah was the reason he was retirin’. He told them that he wanted to settle down into a new life, as mah husband, and then he asked me to marry ‘em,” Applejack sighed happily as she flashbacked to that romantic night.
“Did you say yes?” Once again, Applejack couldn’t help but chuckle at her son’s question.
“Yer here ain’t ya? That means Ah said yes. The point of mah story bein’ that Ah was patient with yer father and mah patience paid off in the end, just as it will for you if ya also learn to be patient for the things ya want,” Now it was Starking’s turn to hug his mother and the two nuzzled.
“Thank you for making me feel better, mommy.”
“Happy to do it. Me and yer daddy love ya very much and we hate seein’ ya sad. In fact, Ah’m sure yer daddy’s got somethin’ big planned to cheer ya up,” Applejack assured her son as she gently stroked his mane with her hoof.
“Right you are, my dear,” Applejack and Starking’s attention was immediately diverted after hearing a voice from the hallway. Soarin’ stepped in the room a few seconds later, with a harness strapped to his chest. His wife knew immediately what his plan was, but his son had no clue as to what it was.
“What are you wearing daddy?” Starking curiously asked.
“Since both grandma and grandpa were earth ponies and I was a pegasus, they were always worried I’d fly away from them. So when I was a little colt, they’d put me in this harness to prevent me from flying whenever we went somewhere. And now I’m going to put you in this harness so you can fly with me,” Soarin’ explained. Starking just stood there with his mouth hung open, he just didn’t know what to say. The only time he moved was to look at his mother, who gave him a soft smile and placed a reassuring hoof on his shoulder
“Go ahead, sweetie, this is what ya wanted.” Applejack’s words of encouragement were enough for Starking as he climbed off his bed and the three ponies headed outside.
Once outside, Applejack helped put Starking safely inside the seat of the harness. She made sure to buckle him in tight enough so he wouldn’t fall out but not tight enough to hurt the fragile colt. After all that was done, Soarin’ finally took off in the air, much to his son’s delight.
Soarin’ decided to fly only a few feet off the ground since this was his first time flying with his son. If everything worked out fine now then maybe the next time he took Starking flying then he’d consider flying a bit higher. He also tried to fly relatively slow, afraid that going too fast would be too much for his son and would scare him. This first flight was more about making sure the frail foal was safe and comfortable rather than giving him a speedy ride. Although, the cautious parent was taking all these precautions for his son’s safety, he was still worried the colt wouldn’t find this experience as enjoyable. However, his worries were put to rest when his son let out a big “wahoo” as they flew.
This might not have been how the infant earth pony dreamed he would fly but it was still everything he’d hoped it would be. He stretched his front hooves out to pretend like he was actually flying himself, he even lightly moved his body in the direction his father moved whenever he made a turn. Starking thought about closing his eyes so he could fantasize that he was the one who was actually soaring through air but he wouldn’t dare close his eyes and miss a moment of this. They only flew around the farm, but for Starking, who had just completely given up on ever flying, it didn’t matter where they were flying just so long as they were flying.
He didn’t have to worry about fractures, he didn’t have to worry about pain, he didn’t have to worry about casts, slings, or splints. He finally felt like a normal foal who didn’t have to be cautious of everything he did and for the first time in his life he felt like he could do anything. Starking didn’t want this to end, but unfortunately, after ten minutes of flying around the farm Soarin’ slowly and gently landed next to his wife, who had tears of joy streaming down her eyes as she unbuckled him from the harness.
Applejack hadn’t seen all of their flight but she certainly heard her son’s excited shouts as he finally got to experience flying. She had cheered him up and gave him hope earlier but it was her husband who found another way to give him his heart’s desire and make him forget he was even sad in the first place. It was times like this where AJ was reminded of why she loved this stallion.
“That was awesome!!! Did you see me, mommy, did you see?!” Applejack wasn’t sure if it was a good thing that he was this energetic but she didn’t have the heart to tell him to calm down.
“Ah saw. Ya looked really cool. Ah can’t even begin to tell ya how happy Ah am fer ya or how proud Ah am of yer pa,” Applejack told her son before quickly nuzzling him.
“Can we do this again daddy? Can we? Can we? Can we?” Starking asked with enthusiasm that could rival Pinkie Pie’s.
“I think that’s enough for today, but maybe tomorrow I’ll take some time off from working in the fields and we can do this for another ten minutes,” Soarin’ offered and his son accepted by nodding his head. Starking wasn’t even disappointed that his dad wouldn’t take him for another ride today, he flew today and he was going to fly again some other time. That was all he needed at the moment to be happy.
“Ah’ll bet yer uncle would love to hear about yer flight. He should be in the house so why don’t ya go tell ‘em? Remember though, walk don’t run, we don’t need ya hurting yerself after a moment like this,” Applejack added that last part because she knew his excitement would get the best of him and he’d forget to be safe.
Starking didn’t waste another second, he walked towards the house shouting “Uncle Mac! Uncle Mac!” Once he was inside, Applejack was shocked and confused when she noticed an apologetic look on Soarin’s face. The farm mare was about to ask him what was wrong but he spoke before she could.
“I’m sorry, honey, but I think today just surpassed our wedding and the birth of our two children as the greatest day of my life,” Applejack gave him a hearty smile and pulled him into a hug.
"It’s OK, Ah understand.” Applejack then planted a kiss on his lips and the two headed back towards the house so they could hear Starking tell the story of his flight to Big Mac. “Ah think somepony earned ‘emself a pie tonight.”
Author's Note
Special thanks to Allonso Bronyguy for doing the cover art, the editing, and for being a great friend.
