The Fledgling
A cold wind sailed over the land of Equestria. Dotted here and there were ponies known as the Pegasi. They were trying in desperation to knock away the dark clouds dotting the horizon. It seemed to be getting colder and colder and none of the ponies could explain what was happening. They all watched as the first snowflake fell from a cloud, slowly and sluggishly.
The wind started to pick up and snow whipped into the face of the Pegasi. They were sent into a whirl of panic as they were blown out of the sky. Several abandoned the operation and flew back to their home in the clouds, while other tried in vain to subdue the oncoming blizzard.
“No don’t stop! We can’t give up! We have to keep trying!” a certain pony in a blue and yellow lightning striped outfit yelled.
“Give it up Soarin! We have to go back to Cloudsdale before our wings freeze over! Everypony else is already on their way to look for shelter and you should too until Celestia figures out how to stop this mess!” another pony in the same outfit cried and flew off into the storm.
‘If even Spitfire is giving up this easy then this storm must be really really bad! I should head back before the storm swallows me up!’ Soarin thought and took off into the ice filled sky.
He was hit by tons of snow and he knew by the time he got back that he would never want to see the terrible array of ice crystals again. It filled his nostrils and ears, but his eyes were protected by his goggles. Even though that part of his body was safe he still was having a ton of trouble making it through this mess. The wind howled in his ears, and pulled on his wings so hard he thought he was going to be flung back into the abyss of the snow and darkness.
Soarin was nearly there though; if only he could push his wings a little harder, make his body move a little faster then he would be safe under the cover of his cloudy home.
It was then that a weight slammed onto his back causing him to plummet nearly to the ground. He struggled with the weight and tried to shake it off only to hear a squawk of protest as he did so. His eyes fell on an animal on his back. It was a bird but Soarin was too blinded by the snow to get a better look at the poor little bird. He sighed and flew harder, pushing himself to his very limits to reach his home in the clouds.
He had finally made it, and plummeted down onto the safety of Cloudsdale’s soft cloud ground. He fought the rest of the way through the storm and into the Wonderbolt’s Academy, where Spitfire would be waiting for him. As he entered he heard another squawk of protest before he had fully stomped into the place.
‘Oh right that stupid bird that fell on my back…This storm is terrible! It’s knocking eagles out of the sky! The weight of that thing nearly made me plummet to the ground!’ he turned his gaze on the bird.
It was a bird that he had never seen before, at least not anywhere in this part of Equestria. It was pure blue except for its eyes and a patch of white on its chest. Frost shimmered around it, and it stared at him with piercing red eyes. There was a thing on its head that kind of looked like jewels, but they didn’t glimmer in the same fashion, and Soarin blinked.
“What are you?” he asked the bird curiously as he stepped inside.
The bird let out a series of frantic squawks and flapped one of its wings. The other hung lifeless at its side and it turned to him, tail streaming out behind it. It hopped for a bit the fell over and let out a loud shriek, and a beam of ice flew from its beak.
Soarin leapt back and nearly slammed into a surprised looking Spitfire.
“What did you manage to pick up this time Soarin?” she sighed and looked the bird over. “What in the name of Celestia? I have never seen a bird like this one before!”
Soarin blinked at the bird, “Well it got hurt or something during the storm. Look at its wing and its shooting ice from its mouth! I don’t think that’s something natural…”
“That’s for sure…” murmured Spitfire in reply as she approached the bird.
It shrieked at her and got back up on two legs. It faced her fiercely and unleashed a beam of ice from its beak. Spitfire flew up and out of the way, dodging the birds attack. She sighed, “Hey little buddy we’re not trying to hurt you! We just want to patch up that wing… ok?”
The bird shrieked at her and Spitfire sighed again, “Soarin go get a nurse ok? I will try to calm this thing down!”
Soarin flew off to find a nurse. He got the nearest one who wasn’t already busy with another patient. She approached the bird, soothing it with kind words. The bird shrieked at her and sent another beam of cold blasting toward her face, she was unable to avoid it and froze on the spot.
“Uh oh… ummm heheheh we have a nurse down…” Soarin muttered.
Spitfire had no idea what to do. Perhaps they could have a unicorn subdue the thing with magic. She gazed at it and watched in a little bit of surprise as Soarin approached it, “Soarin don-“
But it was too late and Soarin was close enough to be in the beam of frozen deaths way, and yet the ice bird thing didn’t attack him. It squawked in protest a little and shot ice in the air as a warning but didn’t touch Soarin at all with its deadly beam.
“Hey now it’s going to be ok… errr there there little guy, or girl!” Soarin approached it and was close enough to touch it.
He stuck a hoof out and poked the injured wing softly. The bird squawked and shrank away, but Soarin once again spoke softly, coaxing it until he was able to get a good look at the wing. “Did you sprain that thing little buddy?”
The bird squawked then chirruped and fled to the safety of underneath Soarins legs. It shrieked at anyone who got near them and Soarin realized it was protecting both itself and him now.
“Good luck with your new and... err scary bird friend thing...” Spitfire muttered and flew away, tired of the annoying bird constantly shooting ice at her.
Soarin sighed and murmured, “Ummm I need to rest. Maybe tomorrow we can sort out exactly what you are little buddy…” he gently nudged the bird from under his legs and sank down.
The bird snuggled into him, as Soarin felt his eyelids grow heavy with sleep. In his dream he was flying with a certain light blue and rainbow pony. They were soaring through the sky and racing swiftly.
“Soarin…” his friend called.
“Soarin!” he tilted his head in confusion.
“SOARIN!” a sharp voice snapped. “Wake up you big mound of sleeping feathers! We have a lot of clouds to clear! The blizzard has finally stopped!”
It was Misty Fly, a member of the Wonderbolts team. Soarin sat up and groaned, rubbing his head. He had fallen asleep in his outfit and not bothered to slip out of it, because of the exhausting night he had.
Then he remembered the soft mound of feathers that had stayed beside him.
It was missing…
Author's Note
Pokemon and Ponies crossover tiiiime!~
