In a flash of magic, Sterling Silver closed his last bag and hauled it onto the cart. He had been studying a bit of magic in hopes of finding something interesting. It was fun to use his horn as a magical tool after years of it not doing anything truly useful. It was one of the benefits of growing up. Of course, he wasn't a total stallion yet. He was missing one prime sign: his cutie mark. Sterling's blank flank was due to his youth and the fact he had never traveled outside of the Crystal Empire, and barely out of his castle. He had no idea what his destiny was for sure.
Sterling was a prince, technically. He had nothing to show for it, though. All he had was his horn, not wings in addition, as most royalty did. His mom, Princess Cadance, and his sister, Gold Heart, were alicorns. If there was one pony who made Sterling feel terrible, intentional or not, it was Gold. She was not just born an alicorn, but she already had her cutie mark, even though she was only a little older than him. It was a heart with wings, which just made him feel even lower every time he laid his eyes on her flank.
Sterling wanted his wings and cutie mark badly, which is why he was making the journey to Ponyville. There lived his aunt, Princess Twilight Sparkle, an alicorn who could teach him how to earn his own wings, and, of course, his cutie mark. He was nervous departing from his family when he wasn't full grown, but he had to find out his destiny.
A servant trotted up to Sterling's room. "Are you ready to leave, Prince Sterling Silver?" inquired the guard.
Sterling took one last look at his room and sternly replied, "Yes, please."
The servant responded, "Very well," and hauled the suitcases onto his back. Sterling grabbed a carry-on in his mouth and followed the servant downstairs.
Cadance and Shining Armor stood with their daughter, waiting to bid Sterling farewell. The foal paraded down the stairs behind the struggling servant, lifting one suitcase off the servants back out of charity. After he threw the case and carry-on outside with all his tiny might and the servant did the same with the rest of the bags, Sterling turned to his family. "Mom, dad, Goldie..."
"Sterling, this is really brave of you. I trust you're going to find your destiny in Ponyville," Cadance told her child.
Gold trotted over to her brother and playfully poked him with her horn. "Nice job, little bro. I'm sure you'll get your cutie mark soon enough." Shining blushed a little as his sister flashed the winged heart on her flank.
He quietly replied, "Thank you, Gold," and walked over to hug Shining Armor. Afterwards, he started off. He looked back at his family, who were all extremely proud of him. He smiled and added, "I love you all, and I'll contact you as much as possible, but Auntie is waiting!"
As the carriage approached, a crowd gathered around Sterling. Sterling didn't like the ponies gathering aroung; they always said things like, "It's the LITTLE prince!" or "He'll be a true royal ONE day," or something else that made him feel unworthy. They were cheering for him now, but if Goldie had been leaving, there would be much more commotion. He climbed into the carriage, led by two pegasi. If there was one thing he was excited about, it was being able to fly in the carriage. It was probably as close to flying as Sterling would ever get!
As the pegasi drew him closer to his destination, Sterling was astounded at the sky. He could see so much of Equestria, albeit tiny. It felt awesome: the wind in his mane, the feeling of being above all...if only he could feel like this every day!
Sterling was nearly drifting off to sleep when the carriage stopped in front of the Ponyville library where Twilight lived. He snapped awake, jumped out of the carriage, and gleefully busted through the door. Twilight was at a table, reading, of course. He rushed over and glomped her, shouting, "Aunt Twi-Twi!"
Twilight chuckled at her nephew, nuzzling him a little. "Nice to see you, too, Sterling! Now could you maybe get off me...?" Sterling got up, allowing Twilight to stand and stretch her wings. She noticed Sterling become nervous when he saw her wings. "Sterling, what's wrong? Aen't you excited? I was going to introduce you to the other foals in town."
Sterling smiled through his envy. "It's fine, Auntie. I'll go put my stuff in my room." Spike came downstairs, nodded at Sterling, and helped upstairs with a few small bags; Twilight and Sterling took the rest.
After he was settled in his room, Sterling went ballistic with excitement. "So, are we going out? Are we going to find some new people? Are we going to learn enough to earn my wings? Are you gonna teach me about friendship and stuff?" He was incredibly eager, reminding Twilight of her days as a mere student.
She made her decision: "Alright, Sterling, I could show you around. The other foals in town would probably love to see you!"
Sterling jumped for joy. "Are there any other blank flanks?"
Twilight thought for a second, then reacted. "I could take you to see one filly I don't believe has her cutie mark. Her mother and I have connections-"
Sterling had snapped Twilight's wings and started pulling her out. "C'mon, we gotta start now!" he mumbled. Twilight shook off her nephew and guided him out the door.
Sterling and Twilight arrived soon at a beautiful boutique. Twilight flew up to the window and called, "Rarity?" On the other side of the window, a white unicorn with a curly purple mane was snipping what appeared to be a tiny dress. She turned toward the cry to find her close friend Twilight. She smiled, trotted downstairs, and opened the door.
"Twilight! Lovely seeing you here. Oh, I have huge news to tell you! Come in, I'll show you...well, well, well, who do we have here?" She crouched down to the the colt next to Twilight. "I assume this is the Sterling Silver I've heard about? A young royal if I ever saw one." Sterling blushed and thanked Rarity. "So, I brought Sterling over to meet your filly. He seems really eager to meet her." Twilight looked at Sterling, nearly jumping for joy. Rarity smiled. "I think she's upstairs. I'll call her down." Rarity called, "Bright Eyes, honey! Come down and meet Sterling Silver- he's your age, from the Crystal Empire!"
A filly unicorn appeared from elsewhere. She had a pink and purple wavey mane and a pair of aquamarine glasses. What disappointed Sterling was the image of a light bulb on her flank. She had her cutie mark already, and even seemed to be showing it off a bit. She went to her mother's side as the latter explained, "Bright Eyes here has just earned her cutie mark! She was helping me sew up a few dresses- not exceptionally well, but still well- when she showed me one of her own designs she had drawn up. And I tell you, it was marvelous! My little filly has a talent for creativity and art of all sorts. Bright drew me up a couple more designs, and voila! Her cutie mark appeared!"
Bright Eyes went over to Sterling proudly. "I've been working on my own on some artwork and creative writing, not all of it fashion design, though. It's my destiny, as it turns out, and I love it."
She concentrated her magic to levitate a lavender flier toward Sterling. He read it aloud: "We invite you to the cute-ceañera of Brightlight Merveille Eyes, tonight at 6:00. Refreshments and entertainmentwill be available. Celebrate the glorious occasion of one filly receiving her destiny..." Sterling's voice trailed off and he stared sadly at Twilight, who petted his head.
Rarity saw Sterling moping, so she added to him and Twilight, "You know, Bright Eyes knows a few other ponies for Sterling to meet. They happen to be very nice." She nudged Bright towards Twilight and Sterling. "Bright, darling, could you help direct Sterling to Sweet Apple Acres to meet some new friends? Twilight and I can stay here," she coaxed her, winking, "and plan your party."
Bright seemed eager enough to take Sterling on his tour. "Okay! Come along, colt."
Sterling followed Bright to a farm full of apples, where dozens of ponies were diligently working. Bright and Sterling approached one small filly with her sandy hair flat, trying to no avail to shake apples off a big tree. Sterling peeked and saw, unfortunately for him, she also had her cutie mark: half an apple. Bright tapped the filly on the back. She turned, letting a few loose apples hit the ground.
Bright Eyes introduced the ponies to each other: "Sweet Cider, meet Sterling Silver. Mommy says he's from the Crytsal Empire, and he needs to make new friends." Sterling rolled his eyes a bit at his introduction, and approached the wide-eyed new filly. She seemed very excited.
"Woowee, from the Crystal Empire? Mama says that's where the ponies with the sparkly manes live! Nice to meetcha. Mah name's Sweet Cider." She gestured Sterling to her clan. "The Apple family is one of perseverance and cooperation. We all help out 'round here to make sure the farm is runnin' smooth." She wiggled her bottom to emphasize her cutie mark. "Ah earned this a while back when ah started partakin' in the farmin'. Suits me well, huh?" Sterling became glum again. Sweet's smile fell as she glanced at his flank. "Why, your flank's still bare?" She perked up again. "Not to worry! It'll come one day, they say. Just keep searchin' for your destiny!"
Sweet Cider gathered the few apples she had collected, Bright and sterling picking a few up with their magic. Sweet led them to another pony, a much bigger one with a ponytail, who was placing a fresh apple pie on a table. Sweet called to her, "Mama, mama! Bright's here, and she brought a friend with her! Ah've been showin' him 'round the farm a bit. He's from the Crystal Empire!" Bright Eyes seemed unamused at her friend's enthusiasm.
Sweet's mom turned around and seemed to recognize Sterling. "Hey, aren't you Sterling Silver, Twilight's nephew?" Sterling nodded. "Well, ah've heard a lot about you!" She shook his hoof. "Ah'm Applejack. Your auntie Twilight's a very close friend of mine. From what ah've heard, y'all are a prince, the only son of Cadance?" Sterling proudly replied, "That's right."
Bright's mouth was wide open, and she zipped over to Sterling with as much enthusiasm as Sweet had shown. "I didn't know you were royalty! Squeeee!"
Sweet petted Bright to calm her down, then rolled her eyes over toward Sterling. "Some ponies just don't know how to contain themselves. C'mon, ah'll direct you back to town." Sterling and Bright followed Sweet Cider.
The minute they entered town, the trio encountered a blast of blaring music. Sterling yelled over the racket, "Where's that sound coming from?"
Sweet, unable to hear over the music, replied, "Come again?!" They went through that routine twice over until Bright shrieked, "I can't take this! That filly needs to learn volume control!" She paraded into a house, the other two following.
Inside the house, two ponies - an adult and one Sterling's age - were playing a kazoo and an electric guitar, respectively. Bright stomped over to the little one and yelled over the music, "Boogie Beat! Turn it down! I can barely hear myslef think!"
Boogie smirked and shouted back, "You can't stifle my epicness!" Bright went to the amplifier and unplugged the guitar. Boogie's music became gentler. She and the older pony frowned, but the older one, who had been dancing funkily, cheered up quickly.
"Don't be such a sourpuss, Bright Eyes! Boogie and I were practicing for your party!"
Bright smiled. "Well, it's my party, so I should determine how hard you should rock. Nice kazoo playing, though, Miss Pinkie Pie."
Pinkie responded, "Aw, Bright, you can call me Pinkie!" She noticed Sterling and bounced over to him. "Hi there! I haven't seen you before! You're such a cutie! I'm Pinkie Pie, and that's my daughter, Boogie Beat!" Boogie smiled over at Sterling. Pinkie kept talking, barely taking a breath: "Well, you know about Bright's party, right? 'Cause I'm doing the decorations, and Boogie's playing the guitar there! She's really, really good! And she got her cutie mark last month 'cause she loves playing it so much!" Sure enough, Sterling saw Boogie had a guitar surrounded by a few music notes as her cutie mark.
Pinkie continued: "So, you're coming, right? Because I wanna make you feel at home, and the party's gonna be awesome, and-"
Boogie stopped Pinkie. "That's enough, Mommy. Sterling probably wants to see more of Ponyville. You keep going with the decorations. I'll show Sterly here the garden." Pinkie nodded in agreement. Boogie nudged Sterling to follow her.
Boogie led the others to a cottage. No one was visible, so Boogie called out, "Yo, Rosethorn, y'out here?" No one responded.
Sweet Cider started blushing a little, so Sterling asked, "Sweet, what's wrong?" Sweet didn't answer, but Boogie teased, "Oh, she's just nervous about seeing her coltfriend." She elbowed Sweet.
Sweet snapped, "No I ain't. Rosethorn and I are just real good friends, and y'all know that, Boogie."
Boogie whispered to Sterling, "She's so in love with Rosethorn."
Upon hearing Sweet Cider's voice, a pale yellow pony with a long pink mane slowly approached. She quietly talked to the fillies, "Hi, you want Rosethorn, I guess." They nodded. Sterling ran up to the pony, but she panicked and hid behind a tree before he could even get two words out.
Sweet Cider went over and told the pony, "Miss Fluttershy, this here colt's our new friend, Sterling Silver. We brought him over here to meet Rosethorn."
Fluttershy peeked out and gently came out from behind the tree. She spoke faintly, "Well, hello, Sterling. I'll go get Rosethorn for you." She went around behind the cottage, and the others followed.
Sterling soon found himself in the most beautiful garden he had ever seen. All types of gorgeous flowers bloomed around him. He joked, "I guess I need time to stop and smell the roses, huh?" He literaly started sniffing a rose. Suddenly, he heard a different voice of similarly faint tone: "Please be careful around the roses, okay?"
Sterling turned around and laid eyes on a colt with a light green mane and pale yellow body. Sweet approached the colt, saying to Sterling, "This is Rosethorn. We've known each other longer than any other foals 'round here." Rosethorn blushed.
Sterling saw Rosethorn's cutie mark was two rose flowers overlapping at a short stem. "And of course you have your cutie mark. Know what? I don't even care anymore," he dully told Rosethorn.
"Sorry," replied Rosethorn timidly, "I just love working in the garden. I don't want to brag, but these flowers are amazing. I'm proud of them."
Sterling smiled. "They all look and smell wonderful."
Suddenly, a streak of fiery wind passed over, nearly destroying the flowers. Rosethorn rushed over to try and shield his flowers from harm. Sterling cried, "What was that?" None of the foals seemed to know for sure, They all ran toward the direction the streak had passed, but it passed over twice more in different directions, causing the fivesome to race it back and forth, eventually becoming dizzy and falling over. From above, they heard a teasing cackle, then the same voice shouting, "Oh, man, you guys were going nuts down there!"
The foals looked up to see a blue pegasus colt with a fairly short rainbow colored mane hovering above them. He dashed off in another streak of fire. Bright rolled her eyes. "Must be the 'town's starring junior athlete,' Trailblazer," she told the group sarcastically. "His head is up in the clouds so much- both literally and figuratively- that you can barely see the kid unless- Celestia forbid- he thinks he needs you." Bright nudged Rosethorn. "Maybe you should fly up and tell him to quit it."
Rosethorn bowed his head. "Let him do what he wants. I'm not going to cause trouble for anypony." Bright stared at him, her glasses reflecting blinding light. Rosethorn caved and, struggling very much to remain airborne, flew up to Trailblazer.
"Excuse me, Trailblazer, but could you please stop confusing us?" Rosethorn gently requested.
Trailblazer snickered and responded, "I'm not trying to mess with you; you just happened to be in my way. I'm trying to get better at speed flying, and I wanna see if I can be as good in speedy pegasus sports as my big brother." He started to look a little gloomy as he looked behind him at a larger pony with a spiky blue mane. Trailblazer then descended to the other foals' level, but continued to stretch. "Comet Blast is better at everything because he's older, but I wanna beat him in something, or at least get up to his level." He changed his expression to a determined one. "And I'm gonna aim for the very top! Being the very best among foals is fine, but being the very best like no pony ever was? That's my goal."
Sterling smiled sincerely. Trailblazer shared the exact same plight he did with Gold Heart! A closer examination of Trailblazer revealed something else about him. "Hey! You don't have your cutie mark yet!" Sterling screamed in delight.
Trailblazer briefly blushed, then tackled Sterling, pinning him down and shouting, "What's the matter with that? Don't judge me! Everypony says it'll come in due time!"
Sterling, gasping for air, assured Trailblazer, "No, it's great! I don't have mine either!" Trailblazer saw, indeed, Sterling was a blank flank as well. "I was feeling really left out," Sterling continued after Trailblazer let him get up.
Trailblazer flipped his long mane out of his eyes and smiled as he hovered over Sterling. "We oughta be friends. We can work together to get our cutie marks!" Trailblazer offered his hoof to Sterling; Sterling hesitated. Trailblazer urged Sterling, "Come on! Give me some hoof!" Sterling smiled and brohoofed Trailblazer back.
Down from the sky came an adult pegasus with a mane the same as Trailblazer's, except it was longer. She landed carefully, seeming to not want to upset something. She looked Trailblazer in the eye. "How's it going, Trailblazer? You haven't given up, have you?"
Trailblazer gave the mare a determined smirk. "Never, Mom!"
She patted his head. "You're going to be a good example for your little brother or sister." She sat up, letting the fillies see she had a lage stomach.
Boogie whispered to Trailblazer, "Why is your mom so...fat?"
Trailblazer sharply whispered back, "She's gonna have another foal, stupid!"
Boogie gasped and gleefully cheered, "I love babies!"
Trailblazer's mom gave Boogie an odd look and slowly said, "...right....Oh, I didn't introduce myself!" She struck a victorious pose. "My name's Rainbow Dash, one of the fastest pegasi in Ponyville! My husband's not here right now- he's a full-time Wonderbolt, so he's at a lot of competitions." She pulled Trailblazer closer to her, much to his dismay. "Trailblazer, if you wanna try out your moves during Bright's party tonight, I suggest you get back to work."
Trailblazer prepared to fly back with his mom. "I guess I should. Later, guys!" The duo took off.
"Well," Bright told her four friends, "we should all get home. I have a party, and I expect to see you all there!" She winked. "Yeah, Auntie Twilight's probably wondering where I am. I wanted to talk a bit with her, anyway," Sterling agreed. With that, the friends departed back to their homes.
Later that night, Sterling sat talking with his aunt as she helped him get dressed up for the party. They talked about the two things Sterling was dying to: cutie marks and earning wings.
"So, my cutie mark will only appear once I have my destiny figured out?" Sterling asked as his aunt, already dressed in princess-like attire, levitated over a tuxedo for him to put on.
"Well, that's what it represents: your destiny. Once you find something you really enjoy, something you want to spend the rest of your life doing, the thing you're exceptional at...you've found your destiny, and your cutie mark will reflect that."
"But how come it isn't there yet? There's a lot I like doing, like studying, like you said you do, and...well, trying to earn my cutie mark." Sterling struggled with his suit.
"But that isn't your passion, is it?"
"I don't....think so."
"Then chances are, it's not your destiny." Twilight went over to Sterling to help him with his suit. "I learned the hard way that just studying isn't going to be enough. To earn your cutie mark, you need to experience the world to find your place in it. Once you can find a way to fit..." She magically pulled the suit over her nephew's head. It fit him perfectly. "...you'll be comfortable." Twilight, Spike, and Sterling left the library and traveled downstairs.
Sterling whispered to Spike, "Do you understand anything she says?"
Spike shrugged, whispering back, "Sometimes she forgets to make sense, I guess."
The cute-ceañera took place in the boutique; however, it was now decorated with balloons and streamers of various colors. A table of refreshments was against one wall with many hungry and thirsty ponies serving themselves. A banner with the words, "CONGRATULATIONS, BRIGHT EYES!" hung from the ceiling. Drawings and paintings, all done by Bright Eyes, hung everywhere. There was also a pile of gifts in the corner. Trailblazer and Sweet Cider were standing nearby, Boogie in a smooth lavender dress and Trailblazer wearing an orange cap with Rainbow Dash's cutie mark, the cloud with rainbow lightning striking, on it. Boogie, practicing her guitar, watched Traiblazer frown at the stack. "I didn't know I was supposed to bring a gift!" he cried.
Boogie passed him a card, telling him, "You can piggyback my card."
In the middle of the room stood Bright eyes. She was in a light blue gown with dark blue lace and one ribbon in the back. Ponies were complimenting her, telling her she looked gorgeous. when they said something like that, Bright blushed. Rarity, standing by her daughter, spoke up: "Yes, well, while I did make the dress, she was the one who drew the design for it. I figured this was appropriate, since this was the design that helped her discover her destiny." Rarity smiled proudly. "Of course, I must take some credit for my interpretation..." Bright's dad elbowed Rarity to stop her from looking foolish.
Sterling, Twilight, and Spike walked into the party. With a sly smile, Spike strutted over to Rarity, only to be glared at by her husband, causing him to back away. The sight made Sterling giggle a little. Twilight dropped off the present she and Sterling had gotten Bright Eyes on the pile, then she nuzzled Sterling and joined her friends by the refreshments table. There, she congratulated Pinkie, "Nice job on the decorations! And Boogie's music sounds great. She's one talented filly."
Pinkie nodded. "I know, right? She's my awesomest daughter! Wait...she's my only daughter...oh, who cares?! She's still amazing!"
Sterling met up with Bright Eyes. "Bright, this party is great! It looks really fun. Does everypony get something like this after earning their cutie mark?" he asked her.
Bright smiled as she observed the scene. "Sometimes, sometimes not, and sometimes they do, but not as great." She changed the subject: "So, you're a prince, huh? I bet it really is beautiful in the Crystal Empire, like Mommy said, isn't it?"
Sterling started to droop again as he thought of all the times he played second banana to Gold Heart back home. She had had a cute-ceañera even greater than this, one fit for, of course, a princess. He hated being behind her in everything, and how everypony looked down on him as a result. He flatly replied, "Yeah. It's...really something back home."
Rarity began to speak: "Attention, mares and gentlecolts! I would like to officially start the party by introducing a star guitarist, the most talented filly (in terms of music, at least) in Ponyville....Boogie Beat!" Boogie smiled at the crowd and began to play a peppy tune. Many of the ponies started dancing, especially Pinkie, who was getting down like a madmare. Sterling watched the crowd of dancing ponies- how they all had their cutie marks, how some had wings. He decided it would be best to get some air, so he went outside.
Sterling sat down outside and thought about what he desired most, when he spotted Trailblazer zooming high in the sky. He shouted up, "Hey, Trailblazer! What are you doing?"
Trailblazer called back, "Can't talk now! Practicing a skyball trick! Gonna show the partygoers!"
Sterling asked, "What's skyball?!" Trailblazer stopped in the middle of the sky and zoomed down. "You must be kidding," he said, somewhat disgusted. "Skyball? the fast-paced pegasus sport? You have to keep the ball away from the other team while flying at top speed?" He prepared to fly again. "I guess since you're a unicorn, you wouldn't know. If you'll excuse me, I gotta get back to practicing now ."
Sterling snagged Trailblazer's tail as he was starting to fly and cried, "Wait!"
Trailblazer stopped his ascent. "What is it? I'm on a time limit. Once Boogie's run out of music, they're coming out here."
Sterling twirled his hoof around in the dirt. "I was wondering if...maybe you could let me fly with you?"
Trailblazer guffawed. "Fly with me? Sorry, but that isn't possible."
Sterling started to argue, but then his other new friends came outside. "Bright? Shouldn't you be at your party?"
Bright Eyes shook her head. "They left me alone for a while to watch Pinkie dance."
Sterling turned to Boogie Beat. "And Boogie, shouldn't you be playing the music?"
Boogie shrugged. "I took five. We wanted to check on you."
Sterling was amazed that his new friends were concerned. "You...cared about me?"
"Of course, Sterling. You seem really nice," Rosethorn told Sterling.
Sterling felt respected. "Thank you, guys." He looked over at a confused Trailblazer. "There's an idea that I had, but it's pretty tricky. Would you guys be willing to help me pull it off?" The other five looked at each other, turned to Sterling, and nodded. Sterling's eyes shimmered and he gave the group a huge smile. "Perfect! Let's start right away. This is gonna be great!"
Inside, Twilight was talking with her longtime friends. "I'm glad that Sterling is getting along with your foals. He really wants to be accepted, I think, and if he makes friends, he can become a new pony."
Applejack grinned. "Doesn't this whole scenerio sound a bit familiar, Twilight?"
Twilight grinned back. "Yes. Sterling's convinced if he studies like me, he'll get his wings."
Rarity rolled her eyes playfully. "Kids. They're so naive sometimes, so illogical." She glanced at Pinkie nearly drowning herself in the chocolate fountain. "And here, Rainbow is having a third..."
"Hey, I'm a great mom. I can handle my kids. What happened to Esmeralda, huh, Rarity?"
Rarity's eyes shifted. Talking about that filly often put her in a funk. "Let's not talk about depressing matters on such a happy occasion."
Boogie came inside. Her mom rushed over to her, clearly on a sugar rush. "Oh-my-gosh-Boogie! I-didn't-know-where-you-went! We-were-just-standing-around-talking-because-no-music-was-playing-and-I-couldn't-dance-as-well-with-no-music-butyou're-back-inside!"
Boogie ignored her mom's rant and announced to the party, "Hey, ponies!" Everypony turned toward Boogie. "Come outside to see the wonderous Trailblazer dazzle you with his fiery spirit and stunning moves! Ooh!" She hammed it up, even pulling off jazz hooves at the end.
Ponies gathered outside, curious about just what was going to happen. From the sky, a figure appeared. Many ponies believed it was Trailblazer. However, when the figure descended, they were shocked at his true form. "Sterling?!" Twilight cried. Sure enough, Sterling was in the air!
Rosethorn had equipped Sterling with leaves to use as wings to keep his balance. Bright Eyes had designed the leaves to look like pegasus wings, making Sterling look like an alicorn. Sweet Cider was going to catch Sterling if he fell. Boogie played out a dramatic instrumental, and Trailblazer was above Sterling, working the transparent strings that helped him appear to fly. He broke out into song...
"They tell me they envy me
For I have what they want
And I'd agrree, oh, if only
I had some wings to flaunt!
They'll watch me eventually
and they'll all be astounded!
When they see stunningly
That I'm no longer grounded!
I could tease the sky
And look down from so high
The ones I'll see who made fun of me
Out of jealousy, they'll cry
'Wings...on that thing?
Why, I can't even think!
You weren't born an alicorn!
All you had was bling!'
On that day, I'll get to say,
'It seems I earned the part.
It takes something to earn your wings
That something is heart!'
But that day is far away
In the future, it seems
Walk away? I say nay!
It's a wish...my best dream..."
Once he finished singing, something odd began to happen. Sterling concentrated as hard as he could. Then, he broke free of his strings and, for a brief minute, levitated on his own! It was amazing. Twilight took note of this: "Sterling's using spells! He's trying to levitate himself without an illusion!"
Sterling burned out his magic and started to fall, but Rosethorn and Trailblazer flew up and caught him before he hit the ground. Sweet Cider frowned. "Hey!" she shouted toward them. "That was mah job!"
Twilight and her friends ran up to the crouching Sterling. Twilight spoke first: "Sterling! That was amazing! You harnessed your magic to levitate yourself! That's very advanced for a colt your age." He blushed.
Rarity spoke her praise next: "That's a great feat you've learned. Do you teach yourself?"
Rainbow also told Sterling, "It looks like something Twilight could have done!" Sterling blushed. He loved being respected- he'd gotten quite a lot of it since he had come to Ponyville!
Applejack suddenly noticed something. "Sterling, y'all might wanna check your flank," she told Sterling playfully. Sterling's eyes widened, and he turned around, noticing...he had a picture of a shooting star on his flank!
"Wooohoo! I finally got my cutie mark! I did it! I did it!" He was jumping for joy...but then he realized something and ceased hopping. "But...what does it mean?"
Twilight thought about it, then it hit her. "Sterling, you know what you do on a shooting star?"
"Yeah. You make wishes."
"Exactly. What you did tonight was trying to fulfill your wish: to be an alicorn. Your whole life has been an attempt to fulfill your goal, right?" Sterling nodded. He did spend an awful lot of time trying to be a top-notch pony, wings and all. "You put so much emotion into dreaming and wishing, it's what you were born to do." She pointed at his flank. "That shooting star right there? It shows you're a dreamer, Sterling. You're ambitious. It's what makes you...you." Sterling, looking like he was going to cry, gave his aunt a bear hug.
The moment was killed by Trailblazer's scream of, "Oh no!" He gestured his friends over and whispered to them, "We spent so much time on this stunt that I'm not ready for mine!" He lay down and sulked. "I can't give up! I need an idea..."
Sterling contemplated for a while, then he came up with a way: "I'll help you do your stunt!"
Trailblazer stopped his sulk and looked up. "You would?"
"Of course. You helped me get my cutie mark. The least I could do is assist you in a rousing match of skyball."
Rosethorn looked Trailblazer in the eye. "I can help with the flying parts of it. I'm not the best, but I can try my best."
Trailblazer turned to the other three. "Girls?"
Bright Eyes stepped forward. "I can dazzle the set!"
Boogie stepped forward. "I'll play the soundtrack."
Finally, Sweet Cider stepped up. "I'll catch you if you fall...since SOMEPONY didnt let me before!" she exclaimed, glaring at Rosethorn, who cringed. Trailblazer gave his new friends a warm look, then took off.
The ponies gathered again to see the stunt. Bright Eyes threw glitter through the air, and Boogie Beat played the song again. Trailblazer emerged from the glitter, ready to race (after an aside note to Bright saying, "Was the girly decoration really necessary?"). Rosethorn was standing far away, across from Trailblazer. Trailblazer gave Sterling, who was holding a small ball with his magic, the signal to begin. Sterling let the ball loose into the air. Trailblazer dove after it, letting Rosethorn try his best to chase him. Rosethorn suddenly got a burst of energy, and he passed Trailblazer, stealing the ball. Everypony was shocked that Rosethorn had the capability to fly well- especially Fluttershy.
Trailblazer understood Rosethorn was giving it his all, and he loved that, because it made the game fair. Even so, he had to beat him. Trailblazer flew faster, leaving behind an extra-fiery trail. With great determination, Trailblazer snagged the ball from Rosethorn and carried it to a goal that had been planted on a cloud. He had succeeded! The audience cheered. Rainbow Dash was especially proud, and she said under her breath, "That's my baby boy."
Trailblazer descended to the crowd ad struck a fierce pose. Somepony shouted out something Trailblazer was shocked to hear: "Hey, look at his cool cutie mark!" Trailblazer, stunned by this remark, turned his head to see his new cutie mark. It showed a ball blazing the same way he flew. With pride, he posed with more confidence than ever before.
That night, the six ponies and their parents walked home together. Sterling began talking to Trailblazer. "It's really amazing, isn't it?"
"What is?"
"We got our cutie marks on the same day in almost the same way, and we helped each other to get it. What does that mean?"
Trailblazer affectionately punched Sterling. "It means we're gonna be friends forever." He turned to the other four in the group. "I think, since we worked so well as a team tonight, we oughta stick together all the time." The other foals agreed. The six adult mares turned to each other over their elated children, knowing this was a destined connection.
That night, Sterling was almost ready for bed when Twilight approched him. "So," she began, "are you done in Ponyville?"
"No way!" Sterling replied. "There's so much more to do here! And I finally can study friendship like you did!" He looked into the distance, reminiscing about the events of that night. "With Bright Eyes, Sweet Cider, Boogie Beat, Rosethorn and Trailblazer by my side, I can become a prince like you became a princess." He suddenly realized something and turned to Spike, who was almost asleep. "Spike...take a letter." Twilight giggled at the familiarity of the foal's eagerness. Spike grabbed a quill and paper and began to scribe as Sterling spoke:
"Dear Mom, Dad, and Goldie...I'm staying in Ponyville with Aunt Twilight. But don't worry, because I promise to write to you every day. I made new friends tonight, and they even helped me earn my cutie mark! I won't be able to fulfill anything alone. We're going to be together as long as possible, and I think it's our destiny. I'm a born dreamer, and that's my great dream: to know all there is to know about friendship, and to study it in ways you can't imagine. With love, Sterling Silver." Spike blew fire onto the letter, sending it flying toward the Crystal Empire. Sterling's family would be overjoyed to hear Sterling was happy.
Twilight kissed Sterling on the head. "Maybe one day, you can have your own loyal secretary. Now go to sleep. Tomorrow you can see your friends. Sweet dreams." She got into bed and turned out the lights.
Before he went to sleep, Sterling glanced out the window. He watched a shooting star shoot across the night sky. He looked at his cutie mark and grinned. He got into the bed with his aunt and fell asleep, dreaming of his coronation.
