The First of Many: A "Royal Canterlot Family" story

by RATNMR7

Rating: everyone
Tags: Romance, Adventure, Alternate Universe, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 2742

A prequel to "A World Above." The story of the first Pony Pan and his adventures in Paraddock.

Every legend begins from something. Or someone. Before and after Paraddock was created, there was one pony who longed for not only for adventure but a place to belong.
With his Lost Colts, his faithful companion Nicker Bell, and the Starling siblings, can Pony Pan face the nefarious Captain Hoof and his crew of dastardly pirates?

Published 2020-06-21 01:10:00 UTC
Last updated 2020-09-28 02:40:51 UTC

Prologue: Storytime

Author's Note

Author's Note: Hey there! This is my first My Little Pony story, and it's a spinoff story from one of my favorite fanfic series, the Royal Canterlot Family!

I would like to thank KidatHeart5 for her help with this story.

Disclaimer, I do not own My Little Pony. It belongs to Hasbro. The only thing I do own is Cloudy Winds, Sky and Vapor's daughter.

Prologue: Storytime

Prologue
Storytime

In the land of Paraddock, a group of ponies traversed through Turkey Wood. The group consisted of Princess Gale Force, Princes Cuff and Ruff, Princess Opulence, Princess Turquoise, Prince Oddball, Princess Corona Shine, Prince Jamboree and all of their parents.

"I can't wait to see Sky and Vapor again!" Jam happily exclaimed.

"Me too!" Opal agreed.

Whirl remarked, "It would certainly be nice to finally meet them after all that they have done."

Sky answered, "We already did at Flurry and Mischief's wedding."

"True, but I meant on a personal level." Sky merely shrugged in agreement.

Suddenly, a pack of cold turkey jumped out of the bushes and ran past the royal family. Joyfully chasing after them was a familiar griffin.

"Oh! Hey guys!"

"Gabby!" The kids, minus Gale, shouted. They ran up to Gabby and dog piled onto her. Gabby noticed the young Pegasus standing off to the side.

"Hi there. I'm Gabby. What's your name?"

Gale's face lit up and flew up to the griffin. "Hi! I'm Gale Force."

"Do you want to be friends?"

"Yes! Friends!" Gale cheered as she joined in the pile.

Another rustling from the bushes. This time, a dark blue Pegasus emerged.

"Oh! Hey kids."

"Sky Stinger!" The young royals untangled from Gabby and pounced onto the adult.

Sky wheezed, "Ack! Kids . . . can't breathe!"

"Okay kids. Get off him," Starling said.

"Yes Aunt Starling/Mommy," the kids said. They picked themselves off Sky Stinger. Sky got up and looked over at the older royals.

"And it's nice to meet you folks again. Man, it's been awhile since the wedding."

"Told ya," Sky Blitz teased, her husband jokingly rolling his eyes.

"What brings you folks here?"

Cannon Fire answered, "The whole family decided to visit Capri at her palace, but the kids wanted to see you and Vapor first."

Jam added, "But, we wanted it to be a surprise, so. . . Surprise!" Sky Stinger chuckled at the colt's enthusiasm.

"Well, let's getting going!" The group set out to the nearby chateau.

*

Even after a year since the Dark Riders incident, the chateau was still as beautiful as ever. The one difference from before was a bigger fence around the garden.

"Welcome to our humble abode!" Sky Stinger announced. Before they could press forward, a little white blur flew right into Sky Stinger's side, knocking him over. The blur, a one year old Pegasus filly with white fur and light blue eyes that matched her mother and a sea green mane and tail that matched her father's.

"Da-da!" The baby filly babbled.

Sky Stinger smiled. "Hey there, sweetie."

Gabby piped up, "Oh Cloudy, how about a hug for your big sister?" The foal, Cloudy, looked up and flew towards the griffin.

"Gab-gab!" Cloudy nuzzled into Gabby's feathery chest, to which Gabby tightened her hug.

"Awwwwww!" The children and their mothers exclaimed. At that moment, Vapor Trail flew up to the group.

She sighed, "Oh thank goodness. You got her. Oh!" She finally noticed the royal family. "Hi kids."

"Vapor!" This time, the children just simply hugged the female Pegasus.

She chuckled, "It's nice to see you too!" Vapor looked up from the kids and noticed their parents. "And it's nice to see you as well, Your Highnesses."

"You don't need to call us that," Dignity said.

Screwball added, "Yeah. No need for titles among friends."

"Very well," Vapor said. "So, what can we do for you?"

"We wanteded to see you!" Cuff answered.

Gem clarified, "We were visiting Capri and the children wanted to surprise you with a visit."

Mothball said, "And we ran into Sky and Gabby on the way."

"Yeah they did," Gabby said. "Right as Dad and I were chasing away those cold turkeys from the garden."

"Man," Sky Stinger muttered, "those things are persistent. No wonder Silver Tongue always got mad with them." The royal adults and Gale look on in confusion as their kids and friends laughed.

Vapor cleared her throat. "Anyway, so don't I get dinner started? Sky, can you entertain our guests?"

"Sure thing, honey." Sky Stinger gives his wife a peck on the cheek and she took off. The stallion turned back to his guests. "Shall we head to the gazebo?" The royals nodded in agreement.

"Race you guys there!" Gabby exclaimed, then took off with Cloudy right beside her.

"Hey!" Turquoise called out as she flew after them. The rest of the children followed, much to their parents' amusement.

*

"Sky, I have a question for you," Cornona said, waving her hoof in the air like a school pony.

Sky answered, "Sure thing. What is it?"

"Did the first Pony Pan wear his famous hat?"

"Hmm, well let me che-"

"My turn for a question!" Ruff exclaimed. "Did the first Pony Pan and Windy live happily ever after?"

"Well, um-"

Turquoise asked, "How did Pony Pan and Captain Hoof first meet?"

Cuff followed up, "How did he meet the first Lost Colts?"

Soon, more questions were throw at Sky Stinger more than he handle. The children eagerly gathered around the dark blue Pegasus.

"Now hold on! Hold on!" Sky Stinger exclaimed. "I can answer all your questions. But first, I need the journals. Screwball, can you summon the journals from the Crow's Nest?"

"Sure thing," Screwball said with a salute. In a flash, hundreds of books appeared and fell on top of Sky Stinger. The royals and Gabby gasped in shock while Screwy muttered, "Oops."

A blue hoof arose from the books which replied, "I'm okay! Just give me- Ah ha!" Sky Stinger emerged out out of the pile with one journal in his other hoof. "I got it!"

Turquoise noticed something. "That book is huge!" True to her observations, that paticular journal was twice the size of the other books, as well as in newer condition.

Sky Stinger answered, "Capri helped make this. It's not just the first Pony Pan journal but also the journals of the first Captain Hoof, the first Windy and even a few of the first Lost Colts. All in chronological order." The royal oohed in amazement.

After Screwball teleported the rest of the books away, Sky Stinger opened up to the first page and asked, "Now, is everypony ready?"

"Yeah!" All of the children ran to their respective parents, and sat beside them eagerly.

"Let's begin!" Sky Stinger read the page, "This will be my first entry in this thing Windy calls a 'journal'. It's supposedly used to write down one's thoughts, emotions, and their daily lives into it. While this does indeed seem strange, I might as well give it a try, if I ever want to learn pony customs.

"But, if I am to begin with 'journaling' properly, I should start from the very beginning of my life."

Chapter 1: Changes and Beginnings

Chapter 1
Changes and Beginnings

Long ago, between the Ancient Lands and the pony villages, there was a forest. The Ancient Forest was home to many creatures, both dangerous and gentle. But the most significant of these beings were the Flutter Ponies.

These small, yet magically gifted creatures populated the Forest treetops, protecting the animals and plants from either weather or predator. Despite this, hardly anyone have seen them or their home.

Except one.

* * *

"Pan!"

A young green Fluter Pony, Nicker Bell, soared through the treetops, searching for her friend. Why did he always have to disappear like this? Considering he towered over her and the rest of their kind, that was saying something.

Nick remembered the day she met Pan. She was only four years old when she found him on the Forest floor when he was a baby. After much deliberation, Queen Rosedust and her council decided to let him stay. Nick's mother, Perwinkle primarily raised him, but he did spend many days with the rest of the community. Even the Queen allowed him to spend a few days with her.

Soft yet bouncy flute music began high above the treetops. Nicker groaned. Not again. She picked up the pace skyward. Nick's breathe began to grow fainter as she flew higher. Most Flutter Ponies could barely reach the topmost leaves, but ever since Pan discovered he could fly above them, Nick had to practice flying higher.

Nicker Bell broke through the leaves, barely staying afloat as her cicada like wings flapped sporadically. As a sun peak over the horizon, a distant crow resonated far away. Followed by a louder crow to her right.

After taking a gulp of air, she shouted, "PAN!" At that moment, her wings gave out and she began to pummel down. But a forest green hoof caught before she could fall farther.

"Fancy meeting you up here, Nick," Pan said with a cheeky smile.

"What in Rosedust are you doing up? You're going to be late for the ceremony!"

"What? I just wanted to call out to the doodle doo first thing in the morning before the event." Pan had learned many things from not just the Flutter Ponies, but the animals. The one that captured his interest the most was the only one he has never seen. Whenever he got the chance, he would wake up before the sun would rise and answer the "doodle doo's" call

"I still don't think that's what it's called. Now, don't you think we should get going?"

Pan jokingly rolled his eyes. "Oh, very well." Pan slung his reed pan pipes around his neck and flew back down into the trees.

The pair flew together in a compatible silence. From the cover of their eyes, they noticed the rest of the Flutter Ponies making their way towards the center of the Forest.

"I wonder what your talent will be?" Nicker Bell mused. "Maybe you'll be a tinker, like me. Or, maybe you'll become a royal guard. Your sword skills has improved quite a lot. Maybe you'll become a musician, or an animal speaker. Or maybe-"

"Easy there, Nick," Pan interrupted. "We'll see what happens. Now, let's see if you can keep up." And he took off in a flash. Nicker Bell laughed as she sped up her flight.

Before long, the pair could see their destination. An ancient, giant of a tree sat in the very center of the Forest. It's golden leaves seem to twinkle with the light of the rising sun. Thousands of Flutter Ponies gathered around either on the branches or hovering in midair.

As the citizens settled in, a ball of gold colored light glided down towards the crowd. Once it stopped, the light dissipated, revealing a bright yellow Flutter Pony. In her silvery pink mane, a silver crown rested on top.

Queen Rosedust spoke, "Fellow citizens, as you know, the youths of our society will be discovering their talents today. Everyone who is the age of 10, please step forward." Along with three other Flutter Ponies, Pan stepped up and they all bowed to their queen.

As the four lined up single file, with Pan hovering in the back since he couldn't fit in the tree, Queen Rosedust's atenea glowed and ten mushroom sprouted from the tree in a circle. Placed on top of each mushroom was a single object, individually set up by other Flutter Ponies.

Queen Rosedust spoke, "Hazelnut, please step into the circle."

The Flutter Pony in question walked into the center of the circle. After looking around for a little bit, a glowing paintbrush floated into her tiny hooves. A round of applause echoed through the trees. After Queen Rosedust congratulated her, the next Flutter Pony stepped up.

Pan's mind started wandering as the process continued. As Rosedust had said earlier, this ceremony was for every young Flutter Pony to discover his or her true talent. Only problem was, Pan had so many talents. What would he spend the rest of his life doing?

"And finally," said Queen Rosedust, interrupting his thoughts, "please step forward, Pan Pipes."

Since the size of the circle was a little over the size of one of his hooves, Pan had to stay in the air. He reached for the acorn helmet, the symbol of the royal guard. But, it just softly landed on the mushroom, which lost its brightness. A little disheartened but determined, he tried again with the animal speaker symbol, a bird's egg. But it too yield the same result as the helmet. He kept reaching out for the another items, but no matter, nothing changed.

Until, there was nothing left.

* * *

Despite the cloudless evening sky, Pan couldn't believe his luck. After what happened at the ceremony, the Queen and her council had a meeting about what to do, since this was the first time in the Flutter Ponies history that an individual that couldn't find their calling.

The meeting lasted all the way through the rest morning and the afternoon. When it ended, they announced that Pan was no longer allowed to stay with them. He would only be able to return if he discovered his calling.

Pan flew to his home, a hollow willow tree. All that was inside was a foal sized bed made from woven tree branches, leaves and vines, a wooden sword that rested against the wall, and a basket filled with nuts and berries. Hanging on the bed post, was a metal tag, with a picture of a pan flute with music notes coming out.

Now alone, Pan sat on his bed and quietly sniffled. He didn't want to leave like this. Yes, he always dreamed of seeing the world beyond the Ancient Forest, but he also thought that he could tell his stories to the others. He knew he could be packing, but he couldn't bring himself to do so just yet.

"It's okay."

Pan quickly wiped his eyes and turned his head. Nicker Bell floated into the tree, sitting on his bed.

Nick continued, "Whatever happens out there, we'll face it together." Pan finally noticed she was now carrying tiny saddle bags.

He stuttered, "B-but, what about-?"

Nick interjected, "I already talked to Mother. She was upset that I'm leaving with you, but she understood. Beside, we're best friends, and best friends stick together." A tiny smile grew on Pan's face, happy to hear her statement.

Nick grinned. "That's better. Now, how about we play a song together before we leave?"

"Alright. Any requests?"

"You already know our favorite."

Smiling even, Pan lifted his instrument to his lips and play a sweet melody that Nicker Bell sang to.

Sun goes down, and we are here together
Fireflies, glow like a thousand charms
Stay with me, and you can dream forever
Right here in my arms
It’s magic, when you are here beside me
Close your eyes, and let me hold you tight
Everything, that i could ever need Is right here in my arms
Tonight
Sounds of day, fade away
Stars begin to climb
Melodies, fill the breeze
Sweeter all the time
Right here in my arms

Pan didn't know what would once he left. But all that he knew that life would never be the same, but his best friend beside him, it would be memorable.

Author's Note

Author's Note: The song is a slightly tweaked version "Right Here in My Arms" from Barbie as the Island Princess. As you can tell, the rest of the story will take place in the past. The Flutter Ponies are inspired by the creatures of the same name from G1 of MLP. Although, I did use some references to the Tinkerbell movies.

Also, the reason why I had Gabby be adopted by Sky and Vapor was because I thought it would be cute and I love Gabby so much that I wanted to give her another appearance in the series.

As for when the next chapter will be up, I have no idea, but I will try my hardest to get it done as soon as I humanly can. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!