New Winds on the Horizon

Just to start, I want to say I thought Season 3 was EPIC!

But enough of that! On to the story! Let's see if all this waiting has made me lose my touch.

Enjoy!

~Cyclone speaks in these~

+Proton speaks in these+

/ I respond to them in these \

[These are author notes]

“...”

“...”

~...~

+...+

“Naga, thi-”

“SHHHHHH!!!”

I pressed my lips firmly together. The alicorn’s scythe was easily within his reach, and even with his eyes closed, there was still that inkling which said he would know if I tried to just get up and leave.

+This is stupid.+

~I can agree with that. Just leave.~

/ Did you not hear my monologue? \

+Monologue?+

/ ...Never mind... \

“Just keep your eyes closed and allow your mind to drift.”, Naga said, his voice carrying an almost dreamy echo to it, as though he were half asleep.

I rolled my eyes slightly and kept them open. There was no way he could tell behind my shades.

“I said closed, Atom.”

Son of a...

“Ugh, fine. I just don’t see a point to this.”

“To put it without all of the so-called wisdom, it helps you keep a lid on your emotions.”, he said, tapping his hoof against my head to emphasise his point. “Now shut up and meditate.”

I tried it. Best I humour him.

With my eyes closed, I didn’t see as ,after a minute, he opened his eyes and picked up the scythe. The bottom of the handle had dissipated into a writhing tendril of shadows, sliding back and forth silently.

The alicorn slipped around behind me and readied the scythe.

The first I knew was the whistle as the shadowed half of the handle slid into the back of my skull writhing through my very being and grabbing at different thoughts that raced around.

The presence of something else besides Cyclone and Proton was overwhelmingly painful and it burned through all three of our collective minds.

Through my screams I heard Naga speak, “What have you got distracting you so bad huh?”

My muscles clenched with the intense pain rendering me totally unable to fight back.

+ATOM! DO SOMETHING!!!+

~FUCK THIS HURTS!!! GAH!!!~

Suddenly the pain and presence within my mind was relieved, leaving my ears ringing and me, hooves splayed out, face-first on the ground.

Beyond the ringing, I could hear the sounds of a scuffle, and struggled to turn myself over and lean up.

Hooves on my shoulders forced me to open my eyes to see Rhino, his mouth moving, yet the sounds passing through my mind without registering. Behind him, Naga struggled to throw the others off him as they held him away from me.

“Atom? You ok?”, Rhino’s voice felt harsh against my ears as they recovered, making me wince, but I nodded.

He helped me to my hooves as the rest of me restarted.

The first thing I noticed in this scene was that the bags on Rhino’s eyes had gained another layer. The poor guy still must not have been able to sleep.

My attention quickly shifted as I recovered, the pain turning into a seething anger. My friend attacked me!!!

“What the flying fuck was that Naga?!?!?!”, I exclaimed at the alicorn as he shook the others off.

“You wanted me to teach you how to meditate. I can’t do that if you’re distracted by something.”

My scowl hardened, “You attacked me!”

“Hah! I was merely searching through your mind to extract what was bothering you.”

My teeth ground against each other as my anger simmered at his arrogance.

“Whether or not something it bothering me is MY business and not your’s!”

“Do you want to meditate or not?! Maybe it would help to cool all three of your idiotically furious minds!”, he retorted.

+SAY WHAT?!+

~Can I buck his teeth in now?~

/ Hell. Yes. \

Without a word Cyclone took over and shot out a hoof, crashing it into Naga’s chin, the force of it catapulting him back a few yards.

The alicorn quickly recovered and readied himself, his eyes ablaze.

“Say somethin’ about us again! I dare ya!”, taunted Cyclone.

Naga’s eyes flashed with annoyance, “You dare to strike the son of Luna?! Friend or not, I’ll grind you into the earth!!”, he bellowed.

Cyclone roared at the challenge and cannoned toward Naga.

The alicorn stood still as Cyclone raced closer, until the last second when he dodged left and grabbed Cyclone’s wing.

Naga yanked Cyclone closer and held him by the throat. Naga turned using the momentum to slam Cyclone down into the ground harder and pin him there as he struggled.

“HEY!”

Before anyone could react to the voice, a teal aura engulfed both of us.

“What do you two think you’re doing? Disturbing the peace!?”, the voice demanded.

The others just stared in awe at us since they still hadn’t gotten over how both me and Naga had so quickly busted off at each other.

I could gather from the voice that it was a mare. Either that or an oddly high pitched stallion, but that wasn’t very likely...right? Also, she seemed to hold a high amount of authority in her voice.

“Listen lady,”, I replied, Cyclone finally relinquishing control of my body, yet I still couldn’t see the mare as she held me both upside-down and facing the opposite direction, “I don’t know about you, but I’m rather uncomfortable up here.”

I heard her huff in response and she released her ma-

“OW!”

Did I mention I was upside-down still when she dropped me? Yeah. Good.

“I’m only going to ask one more time, what were you two doing?!”, her tone had a hard edge of anger. Have I heard this somewhere before?

I got up and turned to the mare, only to start and pull down my shades.

“Sharp?”

I was looking at a unicorn mare I’d known for years. We were childhood friends. She had a slim build, but stood firm and proud. She had a split sapphire and light blue mane, with a cyan coat. She kept a silver pinstripe vest across her chest, and matching glasses set on her snout. Her cutie mark was of a simple cobalt-handled magnifying glass. [Holy crap, for once I did a descriptive paragraph instead of just a picture. I’m proud of myself! XD]

Her eyes darted across me as she ticked off a mental checklist with amazing speed, “Oh my Celestia! Atom!”, she beamed, grabbing me in a hug.

I chuckled and returned the embrace.

+You cooled down yet?+

~Hell no! I’m gonna smash Naga into the next dimension given half the chance.~

She broke away and took a good serious look at me, “You look so different! Even your cutie mark has changed! How is that even possible? Did you get married? Was it you who helped stop the griffons taking Ponyville?”

“Woah, Sharp. Easy with all the questions.”, I smiled, “I’ll answer them quickly.”, I took a deep breath for this, “My cutie mark did change, don’t know how, I did get married to a lovely mare named Applejack, also the Element of Honesty, I may have gone a tiny bit stir crazy, no fault of mine, when stopping the griffons taking Ponyville, but yes I did stop them of course with the help of all the new friends I’ve acquired here.”, inhaling again, I allowed her a small amount of time to comprehend it all.

After a moment of thought, “So I’m guessing all my chances with you are blown now?”, she said chuckling.

“Fortunately for me, yes.”, I said smirking at my own joke.

She laughed, punching me playfully in the shoulder, “You’re still the same crazy bastard as ten years ago.”, she peered behind me, “So are you going to introduce me to your friends?”

I turned to them, “Oh right, uh...guys, this is a very old friend of mine.”, she stepped toward them with a pleasant smile.

“Sharp Vigil. Forensic detective for the Royal Guard based in Canterlot.”, Sharp stated proudly and shaking each of their hooves.

Zeph chuckled slightly, “With an introduction and title like that, you must have lots of friends.”, the sarcasm dripping from his playful tone.

Sharp turned her head with a deadpan look staring at the tan stallion.

“And with a mouth like that you must get all the mares.”

~Snap!~

+Zeph, you just got burned by a mare.+

The others snickered as Zeph searched for a counter, and when none came Sharp turned back to me.

“Anyway, Atom. As lovely as it is seeing you again after so long, I must continue with my duty.”

Something clicked in my head, “Wait are you the one they sent down from Canterlot?”

Earlier this morning I’d decided to alert Canterlot of yesterday’s incident near the Everfree by having Spike grudgingly send a letter.

“Yup. Got the order straight from the Princesses.”, she replied with a proud smirk.

At this my brow furrowed. Why would the Princesses be dealing with such a small matter? However, I quickly dismissed it.

“I’ll let you continue then. Don’t be afraid to come and find me sometime later and we’ll catch up eh?”

“Sure thing!”, she embraced me again with a beaming smile that would make Pinkie Pie jealous.

She detached and made her way out toward the Everfree.

“Back to training!”, Frag exclaimed, turning back clearing that had become our training ground.

As Frag walked back with the rest of the group, Rhino hung back a moment as a beep came from his watch.

“Frag!”

The pegasus in question turned back to the green unicorn, “Yeah?”

Rhino showed his watch, “It’s 1pm, didn’t Twilight say she needed you at the library for then?”

Frag sighed, but turned back to clearing ignoring Rhino’s reminder.

Rhino joined us again with a disapproving look, “Ok Atom. Today it’s your d-”

*BEEP*

*BEEP*

“Rhino, you can stop your watch now.”, Glare said, well...glaring at Rhino.

The unicorn frowned as he looked at his watch, “It’s not me...”

*BEEP*

*BEEP*

We all turned to the source of the sound.

*BEEP*

*BEEP*

+Frag?+

The dark pegasus’ eyes pointed upwards as we noticed a flashing in his mane.

Blue reached into Frag’s mane, pulling out a circular device barely an inch wide in diameter, with a small red light flashing on and off to the sound of the beeping.

Frag’s pupils dilated and he gulped, “Is that what I think it is?”

~TRACKER!!!~

“FRAGMENT!!!!”

+Flaming mare inbound! TAKE COVER!+

As Frag stood frozen to the spot, we all dived behind the nearest thing that would give us the slightest protection against the raging unicorn that was barreling towards us.

Me, Glare, Rhino and Naga dived behind a nearby bench, while Janvier, Dark, Blue and Zeph ducked behind the nearest tree.

As we peeked out a blur of smoke shot past us and tackled the stunned pegasus to the floor.

"HOW DARE YOU TRY AND SKIP OUT ON ME!!!"

Frag was already sweating visibly as he stuttered his reply, "I-I, um...had to do some laundry?", he lied.

The rest of us backed up a few feet as Twilight shook above Frag...but Cyclone had other ideas...

~Time for revenge!~

Before I had time to register his exclamation, he stole control and grabbed Naga.

"Hey!", the alicorn protested.

Cyclone ignored his struggles however and launched Naga toward Frag, and the time-bomb unicorn.

The alicorn collided with Frag underneath Twilight and both cowered...

Right before the mare above them exploded in flames.

+Ouch...+

~That'll teach 'im.~

As Twilight regained herself, she dragged a singed and smoking Frag by his ear toward the library, ignoring his cries of pain.

~...~

+...+

"..."

"So, back to training?", I asked, attempting to break the stunned silence, and turning away from our smoldering alicorn friend.

"Uh...sure...", Rhino replied, shaking himself out of his daze, "So like I was saying, today we're on dexterity and maneuverability."

"Why not just say agility?"

*SLAP*

"Son of a-!"

"Remember rule 1 Atom.", Blue reprimanded after slapping me with wind...that's just putting extra humiliation into it...why me?

Rhino ignored my bemused frown and continued, "This part of training is going to be particularly fun for the rest of us."

+I don't like the sound of this...+

Janvier finally spoke up, "We need you to stand in front of the conveniently placed target over there.", a smirk slid it's way across his features as he finished.

+I REALLY don't like the sound of this...

~Stop being a wuss. What's the worse that could happen?~

/ DON'T SAY THAT!!! \

~Oh yeah... jinxing...crap, this gonna turn out really bad for us now isn't it?~

+Yes...+

*SPLAT*

"HOLY MOTHER OF-"

I recoiled as a red sphere shot past my face, impacting the target.

"Oh come on Dark, I thought you were a good shot."

"Quiet Glare. I haven't exactly had a good chance to practice throwing things at Atom's head in a while."

I turned from the target to see my friends a good few meters away standing next to crates of...tomatoes...bollocks...bollocks to it all...

+We only have you to blame Cyclone.+

~And I will still deny all responsibility.~

They stood there, just bouncing the tomatoes in their hooves, or holding it with their magic.

"The test is to dodge the tomatoes. Simple really.", Janvier called out.

"I see what you mean about it being particularly fun for you lot.", I called back.

"Yeah...we're gonna feel absolutely zero regret about this."

"How lovely...", the sarcasm dripping from my tone.

The white unicorn smirked as he initiated the test, the next crimson ball of fruit flying toward me faster than I could have hoped to react.

*SPLAT*

I recoiled at the force of the direct hit to my face, "MOTHER OF-"

*SPLAT*

"GODDAMMIT!"

With two hits to the head, I made a silent vow not to let anymore headshots arise to the satisfaction of my friends.

Quickly wiping the tomato residue from my shades, I had enough warning to sidestep a shot from Rhino, the projectile crashing into the target behind me.

~We're gonna keep score.~

+2 - 1 to the guys at the moment.+

/ Can you shut up and let me focus? \

~Hell no, this is hilarious to watch, even if we do share the same body!~

I ducked down as another round of tomatoes headed toward me, 2 striking me in the side and the rest passing harmlessly over my head.

~4 - 5 to you.~

+They'll run out of tomatoes eventually.+

------------------10 minutes later------------------

+HOW ARE THEY STILL THROWING?!?!+

*SPLAT*

~52 - 50 to them Atom. And they've only got 3 more tomatoes.~

/ Thank Celestia for that. \

"Hey Atom!", Glare was calling.

"Are you gonna gloat?", I replied.

"Nah. We were wondering if you wanted to make a bet."

"A bet?", I inquired.

Zeph took over, "If we beat you, you have to pay for the tomatoes and clean up the mess after."

"And if I win?"

"Hmmmm...what do you want us to do?"

I thought about if for only a moment before smirking.

"You all have to wear dresses for a whole day!"

All of their eyes widened at the thought and they grouped together, discussing my terms.

After their little deliberation, Rhino stood forward.

"How about if 2 of us wear dresses for a whole week?"

~Do it.~

+It'll be so worth it.+

/ Oh hell yeah. \

"Alright! But I choose who."

They huddle together again.

"Deal!"

Without hesitation, "Dark. And Blue."

Both of them looked at each other, then back at me.

"Shit.", simultaneous talking is common around here.

Rhino stepped forward with 1 of the last 3 tomatoes.

"Please don't miss!", Dark pleaded.

The green unicorn's face became a tight line of concentration as he lined up his shot.

*SPLAT*

"WOAH!"

While my attention had been fixed on Rhino, Sapiunt tried to blindside me. But the shot was sloppy and sailed over my head, hitting the top of the target.

"Dude!", Blue and Dark exclaimed.

"Oops..."

+52 - 51!+

As I turned away from those idiots and returned my attention to Rhino, I had barely enough time to drop to my stomach, legs splayed out to dodge his shot.

~52 - 52!!!~

"GODDAMMIT!! I DON'T WANT TO WEAR A DRESS!!!"

"That's it!", Dark jumped forward and grabbed the final tomato, his right hoof starting to crackle with energy.

~Looks like rules are out the window.~

/ Way ahead o' ya. \

Dark's hoof launched forward, lightning charging through the fruit [Yes, a tomato is a fruit. Look it up.] and propelling it like a bullet.

Dark had thrown quicker than I'd thought, leaving me with miliseconds to pull Breeze and form the blade...but something odd happened...

In the time I had, there was no way the blade would form right, and it didn't. Knowing this, I tried hiding behind the hilt, as though it would give me some kind of protection.

*SPLAT*

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!?!?!"

The shout came from Dark. What happened?

I opened my eyes, and behind my shades I saw nothing.

Until I looked at Breeze's hilt.

A disc of wind, much to the size of a Cyclone Trap, was spinning in front of the blade, the centre aligned with the hilt.

It was a shield.

+Well that's new.+

~Wicked.~

/ Guess this hilt has more to show us than we thought. \

Releasing the energy from the hilt and letting the new formation dissipate, I surveyed the area around me, littered with wrecked tomatoes.

I couldn't say much more for myself either, my coat and mane were practically all red from tomato blood.

The others were looking at me with a rather bewildered silence.

"He cheated so I did too.", I said quickly, "Also, score's 52 - 53. I win. Dark, Blue. You guys might want to start looking for dresses."

"What the heck was that shield?!", Rhino exclaimed, incredulous.

"Beats the heck outta me.", I replied with an unknowing smile, "But are we done for today?"

"I...I guess...", the unicorn still looked as though he was trying to work it out, and not doing very well at it.

"Alright, I need to wash this tomato out of my coat. AJ doesn't like tomatoes. She says they're a disgrace to fruit.", and without another word, I took off for Sweet Apple Acres, grinning in victory.

YES! AFTER MONTHS OF BEING DEAD!

Sorry it took me so long to get this out but, I hope the length makes up for it!

Thank you all for being so patient and more importantly, OVER 20,000 VIEWS ON MOVING WITH THE WIND!

As always! SEE YA!