The Fairytale

Jet Stream stared at himself in the mirror and nervously fidgeted at the collar of his uniform, constantly finding something slightly off and trying to fix that, only to mess up another part of it. He was nervous; he and Shining Armor were to attend a garden party held by the famous pony Fancypants with plenty of famous and rich ponies attending as well. It was this point that made Jet so nervous; while Shining Armor came from a fairly well-off family, Jet had come from poverty, his father had been crippled during his own military service and his mother had barely been able to feed them off of what she had been able to earn doing odd jobs. It was something he had struggled all through his life, always being compared with the children of the wealthy and never being able to measure up.

“Are you still messing with that? I left you for ten minutes and you haven’t moved one bit!” Shining Armor remarked as he entered into the room he shared with Jet.

“Oh, uh… look Shining, I just… I don’t really want to go,” Jet remarked, turning around to look at him.

“Jet, c’mon, you need to stop worrying so much. Do you really want to miss the chance of meeting some nice filly?” Shining asked, walking up next to Jet and used his magic to fix his collar.

“Shining, what would you know, you had to barely do anything to get Cadance,” Jet shot back.

“Take that back, Jet!” Shining remarked.

Jet let out a sigh and rubbed the side of his head. “I’m sorry… Shining, I didn’t mean that… I’m just so nervous,” Jet replied and turned back towards the mirror. “I mean just look at me, there’s nothing flashy about that, just a dull, bland colt,” Jet remarked, pressing his hoof against his reflection.

Shining Armor shook his head and walked over to the colt. “Jet, not this again, you can’t keep doing this to yourself. I’m sure there are plenty of fillies who would be interested, you just need to be willing to let them know you.”

Jet stared at his reflection for a moment, focused on his green eyes. “You’re right, I am better than this,” he remarked and turned to Shining. “And I guess we better get going then.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jet Stream and Shining Armor didn’t take long to walk to the party, where Cadance was already waiting for them. Shining and Cadance had been together for about half-a-year, shortly after their second year at the academy, but had known each other for years as she had taken care of Shining’s younger sister for years. Cadance actually never minded allowing Jet to join in on their fun, since he didn’t have any other friends to spend time with and he certainly got along with her fairly well. But he was always the odd pony out and the two were spending more and more time together, all on their own and Jet knew exactly where things were headed. Although they had known each other for years, Jet knew that he and Shining had already begun to drift apart; with Cadance in his life Shining had an entirely new focus. Jet was… well he was just the same as he ever was, and that there was his problem.

“I almost thought you weren’t going to make it,” Cadance remarked as they approached before stepping up and giving Shining a kiss. She was dressed quite formally, far fancier than the academy uniforms he and Shining were dressed in. But that was the restrictions they had to abide by, it was considered unprofessional to go around to social gatherings dressed all flashy; they were expected to maintain the dignity of the uniform.

“Please, you really think we’d miss this?” Shining asked and nuzzled her cheek.

“So it’s fashionable to be late then?” Cadance asked, giving him a cute smile before leading the way to the party.

The three were immediately greeted by Fancypants and Jet nearly fainted on that. Sure, the party was being hosted by the stallion, but he never imagined he would have the time to greet every arrival. “Welcome, my young guests. It is quite an honor to have you,” he said and turned towards Cadance. “Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, how lovely you look tonight,” he commented and gently kissed her on the hoof.

“Yes, isn’t she just too precious?” Shining Armor remarked, gently putting his hoof around Cadance’s waist.

“And I take it you’re this lovely lady’s fine stallion?” Fancypants replied, seemingly unaffected by Shining rather blatant show of dominance.

“Yes, this is Shining Armor, he currently in his last year at the military academy,” Cadance pointed out.

“Fantastic! It is always a joy to meet those ponies who are willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of our beloved country and princess.” Jet then felt all eyes on him and he couldn’t help but start shaking a little. “And this is a fellow student of yours, Shining Armor?” he asked.

“Yes, this is my friend, Jet Stream,” Shining replied and motioned for Jet to say something.

“Oh, uh, well… yes, I’m Jet Stream, it’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.” Jet nervously bowed to the stallion, who just smiled.

“You don’t need to be so nervous, young stallion, we’re all here to relax and enjoy ourselves. Now if you will excuse me, I have more guests I need to speak with,” Fancypants remarked and walked on over to another group of ponies who had just arrived.

Shining glared a little back at Jet, but Cadance smiled and approached him. “C’mon, Jet, just relax a little, there’s nothing to be worried about,” she said and gently raised his head up. “Don’t you want all the fillies to see your handsome eyes?” she added and stepped back over to Shining Armor. “Now let’s go, I haven’t had anything to eat yet,” she remarked and the pair went on ahead.

Jet took in a deep breath, steadied himself and followed them. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but Cadance certainly had a way of making you feel better.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

An hour had passed and now Jet sat alone, staring into a fountain and eating some strange thing he’d picked up at the food tables. Cadance and Shining Armor were busy with the crowds of ponies that continued to gather around them, throwing out question after question. That was typical; Cadance was a princess… of something or another. Honestly, Jet never knew what she was supposed to be in charge of and as far as he could tell, the only thing that made her a princess was some weird connection to Celestia. Not that Jet cared one way or another, she was nice and fun to be around and all that royalty stuff just made it too complicated. In any case the party wasn’t really that interesting, there were few fillies here his age and those that were already had a colt with them. It was one of THOSE kinds of parties and now Jet just felt more awkward than ever before.

“Well it seems I haven’t been doing my job,” Fancypants suddenly appeared and sat down next to Jet.

“Oh, uh, I’m sorry sir,” Jet mumbled a little.

“Tell me, young stallion, just what’s got you so sad? Youth like you shouldn’t have that much to dwell on.”

Jet couldn’t help but grin and little and looked at him. “Well, sir, if I can be completely honest… I just, well, I grew up poor and, well,” Jet stumbled a bit, not entirely sure how to say what he was thinking, but it didn’t matter.

“I see, yes that is certainly something you can’t easily rid yourself. But, my young friend, that is not something that has to define you. Truth be told, I came from such similar situations. I was not born into this wealth and fame, I had to make a name for myself and earn it. I made sure I would be defined about who I was, not where I came from,” Fancypants explained and Jet couldn’t help but stare at him in awe. Never would he have ever thought such an influential pony like himself would have come from the same place he had. “Young stallion, let your head hang in the sky and you never know what you might find,” he said with a wink and turned his head slightly towards a balcony in front of them.

Jet followed his gaze and that’s when he saw her. Sitting against the railing with a young pink unicorn with a white mane and tail, her violet eyes trained on him. But the moment his met hers, she turned away, a blush of embarrassment appearing on her muzzle. “Look to the skies, huh?” Jet remarked to himself and took a deep breath. He glanced over at Shining Armor and stood up. “I can do this, just like him,” Jet said and walked his way up to the balcony.

The young filly sat against the rail, her gaze lingered on the ponies down below. She was dressed in a fancy dress, one even more so than the dress Cadance wore. Jet just looked at her for a moment and there was something, off about her. It was as if she just didn’t belong there, that she longed for something else. He certainly knew what the felt like and slowly he approached her.

“Excuse me, miss,” he said to her and she immediately turned her head towards him. “I couldn’t help but notice you were, uh,” Jet said and at that moment he felt himself start to fall apart again.

The filly blinked at him and then a smile crossed her face. “Well, I’ve never met a colt in uniform before,” she said with such a sweet, gentle voice.

“Well, let me introduce myself, I am Jet Stream,” he said and he gently kissed her on the hoof, imitating Fancypants’ welcome earlier.

The filly giggled a little and gently patted next to her, inviting him to sit. “Well, Mr. Stream, my name is Aurora, and I am glad to see your parents taught you proper manners.”

Jet smiled and took a seat down next to her. “I thought all gentlecolts had good manners,” he said.

“Not exactly, they think they do, but all the rich colts I’ve met have been, well, idiots,” Aurora replied. “They think they are so big and important, but they’re nothing but spoiled brats who lack all concepts of common sense,” she added and turned towards him. “Money certainly can’t buy that.”

Jet smiled and nodded slightly. “Well, if you hate the whole rich thing, why come to a party like this?” he asked.

“It’s my father, he… well let’s just say he thinks money is all that matters. I just turned 16 last month and now he wants to parade me around to all the available young males. Lucky for me this party turned out be a bust for him,” Aurora let out a small sigh and gently ran a hoof through her hair. “What about you? I don’t see many military boys out at these kinds of functions.”

Jet smiled awkwardly a little and turned away slightly. “It’s not really my choice, my friend got me to come, but I’m not one for all these high-class functions myself, I always get nervous,” he replied.

“I see, well then we have two ponies here that aren’t having any fun, how about we see if we can change that?” Aurora asked and stood up.

“I think that’s an idea, and I know the perfect place.”