Chapters The arrival, the table, and the house.
Chapter #1: The arrival, the table, and the house.
I walked out of the air chariot, grabbed the bird cage and thanked the guards. They nodded and flew off back to Canterlot. With that done, I opened the cage to let the animal sealed inside free. He cawed in thanks and took off to the skies as a small red feather had freed itself from his body when he flew off. I shook off the negative feeling that seeing that put me through and began to walk down the road.
After a couple minutes I had crossed paths with one of the ponies that lived here in Ponyville. She had a white coat, a dark purple mane, and was wearing an expensive looking dress.
“Hi, um I’m new here and I was told I needed to talk a mare named Princess Twilight Sparkle. Do you know where she might be?”
The mare nodded her head. “Why certainly. She’s in her castle. I can take you there now if you wish.” She requested.
“Thank you miss that would be very kind of you.” I commented.
“You’re welcome, and my name is Rarity by the way.” She replied with a smile. I nodded my head in acknowledgement.
“My name’s Stormcaster, but my friends ca me Storm. Nice to meet you Rarity.” I commented back. As we walked through Ponyville I noticed all the curious stares I was getting from the onlookers.
“Why is such a young colt like yourself travelling alone?” She asked.
“I wanted to travel by myself for a change. The guards can get on my nerves sometimes and my dad taught me how to protect myself from ponies who are not-so-nice. Just in-case something were to happen.” I replied.
Rarity looked at me as if I’d grown two heads, but eventually she shook it off and continued to escort me to through the town. She eyed the empty bird cage with curiosity. “He’s kind of a free spirited bird. I let him roam free as long he stays close enough to come when I call him.” I explained.
“Ah. I see.” She replied. When we arrived at the castle I thanked her for her for showing me the way and knocked on the door. I heard hoofsteps coming from the inside of the large alcazar.
“I’ll be right there.” A voice called from the inside. A moment later a dark coated alicorn, with a dark blue and pink mane and answered the door. “Oh, Hi Rarity, what brings you here?” She asked. Rarity then gestured towards me. I smiled and waved at the alicorn.
“I saw him being dropped off by a royal chariot.” Rarity informed. The mare nodded as she held the door open for Rarity and I to walk inside. I gestured for Rarity to enter first. She thanked me as I walked inside behind her. “He has great manners.” Rarity commented to her friend as I walked inside. She nodded.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re Stormcaster, right?” Twilight asked. I nodded.
“I got a letter from Princess Celestia telling me that you’d be staying here in Ponyville. She told me that you wanted it known that you wanted to live on your own.”
I nodded. “That is correct.”
“I’ve already made arrangements for your house in Ponyville. I have construction ponies waiting for your blueprints tomorrow, so they can start building your new home.” She informed. I nodded again as I followed her through the foyer.
When we arrived at a spacious living room I noticed another pony who was busy redecorating the room. She had a bright yellow coat and a pink mane. “Now tell me, where are you from?” Twilight asked to start a conversation as Rarity, Twilight and I took a seat in the living room and I set the golden cage on the floor beside me.
“Well, I primarily live in Canterlot, but I also spend a decent amount of time in Cloudsdale.” I replied.
“Really?” Rarity inquired as the other pony took a seat beside Twilight and Rarity.
“Yeah. it’s actually quite nice, although my parents are pretty busy.” I replied.
“Do you have any friends back in Canterlot?” Twilight asked.
“There’s this Unicorn named Star Flash and an Earth pony named Violet Speeder.” I replied.
That’s when the pony I didn’t recognize had spoken, well whispered would be a better description. She was sitting across from me but I actually had to lean forward to understand what she was saying. “Hi. My name is Fluttershy and well I saw that there is a bird cage behind you and I was wondering if you’d tell me what kind of bird do you have, but if you don’t want to tell me I just want to let you know that you don’t have to.” Fluttershy commented.
I nodded. “He’s a phoenix named Blaze. I let him do what he wants until I need him, I then I send him off again when the job’s done.” I explained once more.
“How did you come across such a magnificent creature?” Rarity asked.
“It's kind of a long story.” I replied. They nodded in understanding, not pushing the subject any further.
“You keep mentioning that your parents are very busy, what do they do?” Rarity asked. I opened my mouth to reply, then I thought better of it and closed it again, not wanting to give an answer. After an uncomfortable silence the three mares decided to leave the subject unanswered. Sensing my discomfort Twilight cleared her throat.
“So. Why did you move to Ponyville?” Twilight asked.
“My parents decided that I should take a break from Canterlot and well here I am.” I replied.
“Well then. It’s nice to see that you’ll be staying here in Ponyville.” Twilight replied in a joyous manner.
“Yes. It is.” I replied back with a smile.
“Well. Enough about me, I want to know about you three and maybe a bit about Ponyville if you have the time to spare.” I suggested.
“Twilight here, is quite skilled with magic, Fluttershy is good with animals, and I’m a seamstress and fashion designer.” Rarity informed.
“Really?” I said intrigued. She nodded.
“Hey Twilight where should I put your spare quills?” A voice asked. A baby dragon walked into the room, holding the writing utensils.
“Oh. This is my personal assistant and dear friend, Spike.” Twilight informed. I nodded at the dragon, he silently eyed the cage and nodded back.
“What’s your opinion on Phoenixes?” I asked.
“Eh, they’re nice. Most of them anyways.” He replied.
“That’s great. He won't be much of a problem.” I stated. He nodded. Twilight seem confused by the question.
“Dragons and phoenixes have a complex history.” I explained.
“How so?” She asked. Spike shook his head from behind Twilight, warning me not to explain the subject to her.
“You don’t want to know.” I replied to follow Spike’s request. She nodded.
“To answer the question you had, put them in the study next to my journals. I’m going to need those for later.” Twilight said.
The baby dragon nodded and left. There was a knock at the door moments later. A bright pink pony with a dark pink mane was invited inside. She was only in my presence for about 10 seconds, before she managed to get on my nerves. She started asking me about a million questions at once and didn’t even give me time to answer them before she started asking another.
To make matters worse she did it all in a single breath and she still managed to go on and on. At first I tried to play it off as if I was actually listening to what she was saying. I would occasionally nod, and make small comments. When she showed no sign of slowing down, I slowly began to get angry. “STOP!” I finally yelled after about a minute or so.
The entire room had gone completely quiet almost immediately. I rubbed my temples to try and get rid of a headache was beginning to form. “Tell me your name and then only then can you start asking questions. But one question at a time, and please give me time to answer it.” I requested roughly. She nodded unfazed by my sudden upburst.
“My name is Pinkie Pie, who are you?” She asked excitedly in a high pitched squeal.
“I’m Stormcaster.” I replied trying to block the negative thoughts and emotions that she gave me from seeping into my voice.
“Oh! Do you like parties, because I like parties and maybe I could throw you a welcoming party. Yeah that’s what I’ll do I throw you a big party.” Pinkie Pie said excitedly.
“Thank you for suggesting but I really don’t want to have a party.” I commented quickly.
“Oh, ok then.” She replied. “Then how about a small get together?” She suggested half a second later.
“No.” I replied.
“Group discussion?” She asked.
“No.” I denied once more.
“Welcome dinner?” She requested.
“I already said no, now take that as my answer and leave me alone!” I replied angrily with my nostrils flaring as I slammed my hoof on a nearby table. A soft thud followed by loud crack echoed throughout the castle as the small coffee table shattered. Rarity and Twilight leaned away from me in a mix of fear and shock.
“Uh, Pinkie. I think I hear Mr and Mrs. Cake calling for you.” Rarity commented lightly in a daze. Within seconds, the pink mare left, bouncing out of the large castle.
“Sorry.” I apologized as I began to collect the broken pieces off the floor. Twilight slowly managed to recollect herself.
“You just broke a table.” She said softly.
“My anger got the best of me, it does that every once in awhile.” I said embarrassed as I bent down to pick up the pieces. She nodded uncomfortably.
“What about your hoof?” She asked concerned as she used magic to repair the table.
“My hooves have been broken many times over that I don't even feel it anymore and another thing is that they grow back stronger when they heal. They are actually lot thicker than your average pony. It’ll take a whole lot more than a table to crack these foals.” I commented.
There was another uncomfortable silence when what I said began to sink in. I cleared my throat to get rid of the choking silence. “If you need me I will be working out the details to my house.” I said quickly as I flew out of the house near the speed of sound to avoid any more undesirable situations.
Later that day.
As I was sketching out a blueprint for my house on a storm cloud I had formed, an unknown pegasus had flew through what I was doing and dispersed the cloud. She had a bright blue coat and a rainbow colored mane. I sighed in frustration and flew after her. She was fast, I give her credit for that but fortunately I am faster.
I accidently shot ahead of her by at least ten feet, before stopping to an abrupt halt to counter my mistake. It took her a moment to realize I was there, but when she did she stopped as well. “Do you realize what you just did?” I asked slightly annoyed as I pointed back to where the cloud once was. She turned around to look and soon turned back around to look at me.
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t see you there. Here let me fix that.” She apologized as collected clouds to start rebuilding cloud before it completely vanished. I stood there frozen in thought. She looked familiar but I couldn’t remember where I saw her from. After a moment I realized what she was doing, so I shook away my thoughts and I flew over to help her.
“You’re new to Ponyville aren’t you?” She asked when I started to re sketch the design to what would be the foyer.
“Why, yes I am.” I replied as I started to sketch out a different part of the house. “You’re pretty fast for a colt. May I ask what you’re name is?” She requested.
“Stormcaster. What’s yours?” I asked.
“Rainbow Dash.” She answered. The gears in my head slowly started to turn as I concentrated on where I seen this mare before. She just looked so familiar. That’s when a thought came to me.
“You’re the mare who did a sonic Rainboom durning the best young flyers competition.”
She gave me a questioning look. I flinched slightly. “Yeah. I am, wasn’t that awesome?!” She commented proudly moments later. I silently praised myself for the fact that she didn’t catch my blunter.
“Yeah, you were amazing. I don’t know what I’d do if you didn’t save the Wonderbolts that day.” I said with sincerity knowing for those words to ring true. The next few hours had actually gone by pretty quickly. We talked, laughed, and joked while we formed different blueprint ideas for my house.
With several different blueprints completed, I had to sit down. All I had left to do was give the designs to the construction ponies and see which ones that were willing to build. I looked back towards the sun. There was at least three more hours of daylight, then it was time to get some good ol’ sleep. “Thanks for your help Rainbow. I could have never gotten this much done on my own.” I commented as we stopped to take a break.
“No problem.” She replied. “The construction ponies will be on their way here tomorrow to get the materials needed to build the actual house.” She nodded as a form of reply and laid down next to me with her arms bent to support her head.
“A friend of mine is pretty good with designing things, and interior and stuff like that. I could bring the cloud to her and see what she has to say about it if you want.” Rainbow Dash suggested.
“It’s Rarity, isn’t it?” I guessed.
“You’ve met her?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“She escorted me through town so I could have a chat with Princess Twilight Sparkle about my accommodations.” She nodded.
“Do you know where I can get a bite to eat? I’m starving.” I said my stomach grumbled.
“There’s a bakery and a farm down in Ponyville, make your pick.” Rainbow replied.
“Let’s go to the farm. I’m in the mood for pie.” She stretched to pop her muscles and got up.
I shot off the roof at blazing speed before Rainbow Dash’s voice stopped me. “That’s the wrong way.” I heard her yell. To avoid losing my speed or altitude I folded my wings against my body and leaned back causing me to perform a loop to get me going in the opposite direction.
I then flipped over and spread my wings to get myself upright. I then pushed another boost of speed. Rainbow Dash’s jaw hung open as I flew past her. There was a whoosh, and the next thing I know is that Rainbow Dash is flying in formation behind me. Thankfully we were pretty close to the destination, I folded my wings against me and began dive bomb towards the large plot of land that I assumed was the farm.
Loud hissing air shot around me as I shot through the skies at neck breaking speeds. I landed flawlessly with a giant cloud of air, and dust that surrounded me before settling back towards the earthy floor. I was soon met by Rainbow Dash’s shocked face when she landed. I grinned devilishly.
“Where did you learn to fly like that?” Rainbow Dash asked in awe.
I shrugged. "Rainbow Dash. I have wings, I guess that counts for something, right? I am not really sure." I said jokingly.
She rolled her eyes and smiled as she said: “What was with all of the turns and twists?”
“It’s a technique that I use to help me turn or switch directions without having to slow down or exert too much energy and it also lets me fly longer.” I replied. Her facial expression looked something similar to a filly in a candy shop. “Can you teach me how to do that?” Rainbow Dash asked excitedly.
“How about tomorrow, it’s getting kinda dark and I’m starting to get a little tired.” She nodded in understanding.
“Come on. They should be over by the field.” Rainbow Dash said as she began to walk past the barn. As I followed her as I began to go through my coin bag and count the number of bits it contained. When we had arrived to what I assumed was the farm, I was met by four ponies of all different ages. The first was an elderly mare with a green coat and a white mane. She was the oldest of the group.
The second was a larger pony, he had a dark red coat, and dark yellow mane. He seemed to be the second oldest. The third pony was a mare with a bright orange coat and a straw colored mane. She was the third oldest and the last pony was a filly not much older than me. She had a bright yellow coat and a pink mane.
I couldn’t help noticing that she had something that I unfortunately lacked, and out of spite choose not to describe it unless absolutely necessary. A cutie mark. As mentioned before, it will not be described. The orange pony had introduced me to her and the other ponies who worked the farm.
“My name’s Applejack. She said as she pointed to herself. She then motioned towards the oldest pony of the four. “That’s Granny Smith.” She then motioned towards the large red pony. “This here’s Big Macintosh, although we just call him Big Mac.” I nodded. “And this is Apple Bloom.” Applejack said as she motioned towards the youngest pony. “And we’re the Apple family.” She said to finalize her greeting.
“I’m Stormcaster, nice to meet you all.” I greeted back. “It’s nice to meet you too.” Applejack replied.
“Well, since I’m here. I guess I’ll take two your apple pie’s please.”
“Of course, that’ll be 4 bits.” I reached into my pocket placed the currency in Applejack’s hoof. Big Mac nodded and left to go get the pies.
“I haven’t seen you around here. What brings you to Ponyville?” Applejack asked.
“Well, my parents are pretty busy ponies, and my half sister didn’t exactly have a free schedule either so my parents wrote me a letter suggesting that I go to Ponyville.” I explained.
Big Macintosh had come back holding my pies. I thanked them and flew off the farm with Rainbow Dash tailing behind me. When I arrived back at the spot where I met Rainbow Dash, I decided to sleep on the cloud that was closest to what would be my home, considering the fact that my house was still needed to be built and I was feeling too lazy to do anything else.
With that settled. I lied down, shut my eyes, and let drowsiness take me.
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I talk have a talk with a princess, and an interesting visit to the hospital.
Chapter #2: I talk have a talk with a princess, and an interesting visit to the hospital.
There was a nudge at my shoulder around midnight that woke me from my sleep. I groaned as I got up and stretched my muscles. When I finally looked up, I was face-to-face with Princess Luna. As usual she had one of her guards with her. "You're mad at me, aren't you?"
“I’m not angry with you, but Celestia told me what you’ve done to Twilight’s table. She's disappointed.”
“I don’t see why you’re going to actually bring the table thing up. You know what happens when I get angry so it shouldn’t be much of a surprise to you and I don't care what Celestia thinks. Plus the whole thing wasn't my fault. If that mare had just-” I was interrupted.
“Her name is Pinkie Pie, and she was just being friendly.”
I sighed. “Why did you send me here? It hasn’t even been an entire day yet, and I’ve already screwed up.”
“I didn’t have any control over that. It was your dad’s decision. Not mine or even Celestia's."
“Well, it was a stupid one. He doesn’t know half of what that thing can do when it gets control over me. He should know by now that I just want to be left alone.” I replied harshly. She shot me a disapproving look. I could see sorrow in the guard’s eyes.
“You know as well as I do that he's doing this for your best interests in mind.”
“I know.” I replied sadly.
“You’re going to do two things tomorrow, you’re going to apologize to Pinkie Pie, and you’re going to Ponyville Hospital to see what they can do about your...condition.” I groaned in distaste when I heard the words ‘hospital’ and ‘condition’ I already know where this conversation was heading.
“No. I can handle it on my own, as long as I stay in a good mood I can keep it under control.”
“You’ve been ‘handling it on your own’ for about a year and just think back on all of the horrible things you’ve done when you let ‘that thing’ control you.” She chastised.
“I don’t let the thing control me, I would never let something as horrible as that take control of me in Equestria. It forces itself onto me, I can’t hold it back no matter how hard I try. When I’m feeling or giving off so much negativity, it swoops in and takes ahold of me. And for the record, I think that pegasus deserved it, he shouldn’t have been picking a fight with me.”
“You snapped his wings, broke his neck, back, and both of his jaws. He’s just started to recover from the coma you put him in. And. To make matters worse he didn’t even touch you.” She retorted. The guard cringed.
“It wasn’t me, you know that Luna.” I said in a angry tone.
"Why did you even get mad at him in the first place?” Luna asked.
“He was saying things bad about my MOM!” I challenged loudly. I saw lights flicker on from down below, but I didn’t care. The guard had stood up stern, and alert. He shot me a disciplining look.
“He doesn’t even know about your mother, if he did, he probably wouldn't have said the things he did.” Luna pointed out getting louder than I was. More lights began to shine down below.
“Then maybe he should know, maybe everyone should know about my mom!“ I got even louder as a snarl formed on my face.
“What did I tell you about using those mannerisms in Equestria!”
“You will not tell me what I can and cannot do. I am my own thestral.” I growled at her, using another one of the forbidden mannerisms. The guard had walked over to me, and placed a hoof of my shoulder, warning me not to do anything stupid.
"You bucked an Earth pony in the chest, which broke seven of his ribs, punctured one of his lungs, and put him in the Canterlot ICU for 6 months.”
Although I couldn’t see his facial expressions because of his helmet, I could tell he was disappointed. “He tried to steal from me so I taught him a lesson on a little thing called Karma!” I replied in a loud yell.
More lights from down below was beginning to flicker on.
“THAT WAS NOT KARMA! YOU COULD HAVE KILLED HIM!” She screamed using the traditional canterlot voice as her coat began to transition into a darker shade of black. There was silence and I felt my emotions shift.
Within a fraction of a second, I went from a scorching anger to intense sorrow. Luna’s coat slowly faded back to the original color as she calmed down when she realized my shift in emotions. “Ok, fine. I let those things get the best of me that time, but it’s not like something like that has happened any other time before.” I replied in an apologetic manner.
“The four unicorns ponies that had their horns snapped and the three earth ponies whose legs were broken
” I swallowed the urge to gag when the memories resurfaced. That first one was particularly gruesome.
She had gone silent, waiting for what she said to sink in. “Ok. I have a problem." I acquiesced.
"You're going to apologize to Pinkie and you're going to visit the hospital." She demanded.
"Ok." I said, hanging my head low. There was silence.
“Stormcaster. Your dad and I have your best interests in mind. I just want you to get some help with managing your feelings."
“Yeah. I know.”
“Your hospital bills will be paid for, so don’t worry about that.” I nodded as I began to feel depressed.
“I’m nothing like the other ponies here. I’m a monster that needs to be locked up in prison.” I said in a low voice.
“You are not a monster, you’re just like any other pegasus. You just need help with dealing with your emotions.”
"Well, I don't know anypony else besides you who has to deal with this.Let me take that back. You're better off than I am." I said as I began to pity myself.
"You can have that problem solved if you just go to the hospital, I'm positive that the doctors there can find a way to help you." She inquired.
“Is that coming from you, or from him?” I asked as I stabbed a wing at the guard when I figured out who he was.
“Stormcaster, the best thing for you at the moment is hospital treatment. It is coming from all of us." Luna said in a calm voice.
“You know how I feel about hospitals.” I replied in an attempt to dissuade her.
“It’ll be fine, it’s not like you’re going in for surgery. Just go talk to the hospital’s psychiatrists. They might know how to help you as they did with me.” I looked averted my gaze, embarrassed by what she was saying.
“Stormcaster.” She said in a motherly voice. I looked up at the night princess. ”You’re just like any other pegasi. You have four legs, wings, and a love for flying. But in ways you’re different from everypony. You have a wonderful dark grey coat, a glorious brown and red mane. Can you think of any pony that is as unique as you?" She asked.
I shook my head. “You’re eyes are two different colors. With one brown and the other gold, and you’re wings are the most unique wings in all of Equestria. They have the shape of the mountain Pegasi, but are covered in feathers like the Equestrian pegasi. If that isn’t unique then I don’t know what is.” I still wasn’t convinced.
"Stormcaster. I didn't get my cutie mark until long after I was crowned a princess but even then, It didn’t stop me from knowing that I was unique in my own way." Luna revealed.
"Really?" I asked amused. She nodded in reply. I couldn't help but to smile when a wave of emotion hit me.
“You are very flexible and vivid with your emotions, and that’s okay, but learning how to get control of them is a different matter.” She said in a serious tone. I nodded. “Can you do me a favor and think on this? I’ve got to go and lower the moon. I’ll be back to see you as soon as I’m finished. Before I go I at least owe you this." l smiled, knowing what she was going to do.
The princess nodded to her guard.“That’s Princess Luna, to you.” The guard corrected with a smile as he took off his helmet.
Knowing that he’d been allowed off-duty I had proceeded to tackle him into a hug. He smiled and combed his hoof through my mane. A ball of fire circled the two of us before it perched on my shoulder and dissolved. Revealing a dark red phoenix with black and gold feathers on his underbelly.
“Hi, Blaze.” I commented. He cawed in response.
“You really need to keep those emotions of yours in check, only Tartarus knows what you might do to somepony that really gets under your fur.”
I nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“Good.” He said as he sat on his haunches. “How's the housing situation coming along?”
“I'll ask to stay with Twilight or Applejack tomorrow while my house is being built and renovated with my stuff. Both of them have spare rooms.”
“And who will be paying for the construction and shipment of your things?”
“Princess Twilight said she had it covered.”
“That was generous of her.”
“Yes. Yes it is.”
“Torrent. It is time to go.” Luna said. He stood back up, almost immediately.
“I’ll write to you when I can.” He said as he put his helmet back on. I smiled and saluted to him as he reattached the saddle to his harness and flew off towards Canterlot.
Later that day.
While the construction pegasia were busy with my house I took a trip to the castle, only to find Spike and Twilight organizing the shelves inside the castle’s library.
“Hey, Twilight could you take me to see Pinkie. It’s important.” She nodded as she got up and followed me out of the large crystal fortress. I let her head the way when we reached the street.
“Twilight?” I asked as I followed her to my destination.
“Yes?” She replied back.
“Do you also mind taking me to the hospital after I visit Pinkie?”
“Why, is something wrong?” She asked.
"Yeah, it's my hooves. They feel kinda sore from breaking that table yesterday." I lied. She nodded thinking what I told her was true.
"Sorry about that." I apologized.
"It's alright. I repaired the desk with magic, remember?" She reminded me. I nodded.
”Now about your hoof, I could probably fix it with magic as well if I knew what was wrong.”
“Well. I’m not exactly sure what’s wrong, the doctors could examine me and find out the problem.” I replied.
“We should go there now, just to make sure it isn’t something serious.”
“No, it’s fine. I can walk if I don’t put too much pressure on it.” I replied with a light smile in an attempt to convince her. She gave me a nod, although I could tell she wasn’t convinced. The second I knock on the door to Pinkie’s house with I later find out it was the same place where she works.
The pink mare answered the door. It only took her half a second to realize it was me and Twilight at the door. “Hi, Pinkie can I talk to you for a minute?” I asked quickly so she wouldn’t start rambling again. She nodded and bounced to her way to an empty table and sat down.
“So, what do you want to talk about?” She asked jubilantly.
“Well, um. Actually, I came to apologize for my behavior yesterday, it was very immature of me.” Pinkie nodded.
“Apology accepted.” She said half a second later. I was taken aback by a response so quick.
“Really?”
She nodded. “You might be very strong, and kinda scary but you’re my friend. So, yeah. I forgive you.” She replied in a joyful manner.
“You think of me as a friend?” She nodded.
“Thanks Pinkie.” I said as I tried to fight off the smile that began to part my lips. She squealed.
“I just love making everypony smile.” She said happily. Twilight motioned for me to leave when a pony walked through the door to order something.
“I have to be going now Pinkie, I have some stuff I need to take care of.”
“Oh, Ok. Bye.” She said joyously as she waved when I started to make my exit. Fifteen minutes later, I was sitting in the Ponyville Hospital. Rainbow Dash and Twilight were in the room with me upon my request.
“Hi. You can call me Doc or Doctor Horse. Whichever you prefer. Now. What seems to be the problem?” A light amber colored pony said as he looked over my medical history. Which was probably blank. Hospitals have a way of bringing back most of my uncomfortable memories, they smell weird, and I know for a fact that ponies die here on occasion. I don't want to be it's next corpse.
“Stormcaster says that his hoof isn’t feeling well.” Twilight said as she motioned at me. The doctor had walked over to me and held out his hoof. I leaned away from him in fear, not sure what he was going to do
“It’s alright Storm, he won’t hurt you.” Rainbow said in an attempt to encourage me. I reluctantly reached my hoof towards him. The doctor took a moment to inspect my ‘injured’ hoof. He then went ahead to inspect my other three hooves.
“I don’t see anything wrong. They are a lot denser than any other ponies’ hooves I’ve seen that’s for sure but that’s not of any concern.” The doctor commented. Everypony nodded.
“I’m going to need an X-ray to make sure there isn’t anything damaged internally, and I’m also going to give him a few tests to make sure to make sure that I got anything that might have missed.” The doctor stated.
“You can come back later when I’m finished with Stormcaster’s examinations.” The doctor said lightly. The ponies nodded and one by one they began to leave the room.
“So. How did you hurt your hoof?” Doctor Horse asked.
“That’s not why I came, I lied so I could get an excuse to get here. I just didn’t want them to find out why I really needed to be here. According to Princess Luna, I’m actually in need of a psychiatrist.” I said in a low and embarrassed voice. The doctor slowly nodded his head in understanding.
“I’ll get one here as soon as I run a few tests.” Three hours later, I was laying on a couch with tissues balled up all over the floor. The psychiatrist pony was a mare with a white coat and a gold mane, she introduced herself as Dr. North Star.
She took a few minutes to explain about a non disclosure contract, and had me do an IQ test. “Can you tell me a little about life is like back at home?” She asked.
“I live here now, my dad is always travelling, and sending me off to live in all these different towns. Heck, he's gotten so busy that he stopped sending me letters. For a minute there it felt as if he stopped caring about me.” I vented angrily. Dr. Star waited for me to calm down before continuing.
“What's changed your opinion?”
“I talked to him last night. In pony, not a letter. We talked for a bit and he promised to take time out of his day to write to me.”
“I’m curious. Can you tell me more about your dad, and how he makes you feel?” She asked as she used magic to have her notebook and pen to start taking notes again.
“For starters my dad works for the E.U.P. as one Luna’s elite guards. It’s his job to make sure Luna goes to place to place safely, and to keep the princesses protected during public events and diplomatic visits. I really don’t get to see him as often as I like.”
My emotions shifted between sadness and joy as I thought about last night. She nodded as more notes were written down on the notebook. I wiped my eyes dry. “You’re proud of him aren’t you?” She asked.
“Well, yeah. But I almost never get to see him, and when I get one of those rare chances, he has to stay on duty. Which means he can’t move, speak, or get distracted useless Luna or any of the other princesses let him off duty.” I said as I tried to avoid the mare’s gaze.
“All I want is to him to do is tell me that he loves me at least once, just to let me know that he cares.” The mare put a hoof on my shoulder.
“Stormcaster.” She said to get my attention. “I may not know know your father, but I can tell you that he does care for you even though he doesn’t show it very often. He’s not just keeping the princesses safe but he also protecting all of Equestria. He cares about you, and everypony else that lives in Equestria. That’s why he does what he does. He became part of the E.U.P. to keep you safe.”
I smiled. “I didn’t think of it that way. Thank you for that.” I commented as a feeling of joy filled me.
“What about your mom?”
The atmosphere and my emotions shifted on an instant. The psychiatrist notices this almost immediately. I could read the discomfort on her face.
“She...She's...She's not.” I stopped and broke into tears, not finding the strength to continue. There was silence for several moments. She placed a hoof on my shoulder.
I shivered as another stream of tears left my eyes. “It’s alright, just let it all out.” She said as she lightly patted me on the back. A couple of minutes later I was ready to start talking again.
“Feeling Better?”
I nodded. “A little.”
“Good. Is there anything else you think I should know?”
“I would like some help with handling my emotions.” She nodded as she continued to write for a few more moments. When the last thing I said managed to get to her, she stood up straight on the chair she was sitting in.
“Could you elaborate on this?”
“When I am feeling sad enough my weather magic makes some of the clouds turn black and start raining, and sometimes I’m not even in the air when it happens.” She nodded as her quill started writing down more notes. “If something makes me angry enough I will black out, and when I resurface I find out that bad things had happened. Very bad things and I know that I was the cause of them.”
There was a long silence before Dr. Star had said: “Thank you for your cooperation, Stormcaster that is all I be needing from you today. I want you to come see me twice a week.”
I nodded, ending the conversation and her visit.
A tour of Ponyville, and a job well done.
Chapter #3: A tour of Ponyville, and a job well done.
When the pills Dr. Horse gave me a few minutes after my talk with Dr. North began to take effect, I walked out of the hospital room feeling refreshed. It was almost like Luna had used one of her relaxation spells on me. For the first time in a long time, I actually felt at ease. When I entered the waiting room Rainbow and the others spring from their seats.
“Are you alright darling?” Rarity asked as she rushed towards me. I nodded.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I replied as I licked my hoof and wiped the area around my eyes, getting rid of the tear stains on my face. Rarity leaned away in disgust. The grin on my face quickly melted away as I saw two nurse ponies rush an unknown stallion on a stretcher to the emergency room.
“How about if we head outside, I’m starting to feel a bit uncomfortable.” I said, silently wishing not to end up like him. The others nodded.
“What did the doctor say?” Rainbow Dash asked when we were walking back to the town’s center.
“He kinda freaked when I told him what happened, and he gave me a bottle of pills he wants me to take to stop my hooves from aching, but other than that he said that I’d be perfectly fine.” She nodded. Not a complete lie.
“How about a tour of Ponyville?” I suggested to keep my mind away from what I learned at the hospital. The six friends agreed. Pinkie showed me around the sugarcube corner, while explaining that she makes cupcakes and desserts at the bakery. Rarity gave gave a show of her boutique while flinging idea after idea at me about what I should wear, and what saddlebags I should carry, and what fashion ideas are in style.
I turned a vast majority of her comments down. Fluttershy showed me around her cottage and explained all of the different methods she uses to help wounded or sick animals while pointing out all of the animals that took residence in her small cottage. Applejack had given me a tour of her farm, while explaining all of the tasks that her family does to supply food to Ponyville.
Rainbow gave me a quick spell of her house.
A few minutes later Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and all of the others were sitting in the throne room of the castle. The castle itself glowed with magic and gave off an aura of power when the six friends sat in their respectful royal chairs.
"So, what do you think of Ponyville?" Twilight asked.
"It's nice. I think I'm going to like it here." The purple mare nodded. A bird call rang out in the distance, causing the six to jump in surprise. A ball of fire had flown through a window, set my saddlebag ablaze as it flew past me, and gone out through another window. The mares stared at my saddlebag with eyes widened in shock as they eyed the burning bag.
The fire quickly burned itself out, revealing a pair of scrolls with two red feather on top of them. The two letters just barely peaked on the outside of my travel case because of it’s size. “It’s just Blaze.” The six mares nodded.
I reached into the saddlebag and pulled out one of the scrolls while trying my best to think of the unavoidable truth that I was cursed to endure.
“What does it say?” Pinkie Pie asked as I read through the letter.
“The wonderbolts are coming to Ponyville in this upcoming week, and they are inviting all of you to come to the show.” I said trying to sound surprised by the news as I pulled up seven premium backstage passes, and tickets for front row seats attached to the letter.
"How did you get all of the good stuff?" Rainbow Dash asked gleefully as I handed each of them a ticket and backstage pass.
"Let’s just say I have a few connections.” I commented bluntly.
Rainbow Dash nodded happily, not caring for an explanation. “What kind of connections?” Twilight asked.
“My dad.” The six mares nodded weakly, knowing that it was a sore subject for me to talk about.
“What about the second letter?” Pinkie asked excitedly as she bounced up and down. As requested I pulled out the second letter. It had a bright seal and a red bow that tied the scroll closed. Rainbow stared at the scroll in surprise.
I slowly untied the bow and my eyes darted as I read the letter. “What does it say?” Rainbow Dash asked still excited about the tickets. I huffed an annoyed sigh, and made a high pitched whistle.
“Why don’t I ever get a break?” I asked myself, angered by quick change in circumstances. A ball of fire materialized on my shoulder before burning itself out, revealing a dark red and gold phoenix.
“Did she send it over?” I asked the bird on my shoulder. He cawed in response.
“She knows that I just moved, right?” The phoenix nodded.
“Do you mind if I work on a project here in the castle, my house is still under construction and I have nowhere else to go.” I commented.The six mares were incredibly confused but nodded in agreement.
I thanked them and let out a sharp whistle. A gold and dark red bird materialized on my shoulder.
“Can you go grab my tools, headphones, and calibration devices?” The bird nodded as he shot a ball of fire in the air, causing a small portal to form as the magically induced fire expanded. He flew through the gateway making the portal collapse on itself.
The six mares looked beautifully confused as they turned to look at the spot where the bird had vanished, and then back at me. When he had gotten back, he circled around me forming a tornado of fire, before coming to an abrupt halt. I was now wearing an all black outfit fitted with tons of pockets, multiple sashes, and a utility belt equipped various tools.
Blaze opened another portal by my hooves, and out came a large black box with backward double quarter note on the sides and a large red button on the top. “You have a job?” Twilight and Rarity asked in shock. I nodded as I grabbed a small remote from my utility belt, pointed it at the device, and inputted several codes.
The mechanism made a small beep as it opened, showing all of the inner components. "This device a highly complex machine. It takes a watchful eye to replace parts, and quite a bit of knowledge to figure out the mechanisms, and in most cases not even that is enough to make this thing start working again."
I used one of wings to deactivate the main battery from the reactor core, setting the mechanism on standby. I then used my hooves to reroute the secondary batteries to the external and internal fans to cool off the gadget’s fusion chambers and metal plating. While I used both of my wings to get out all of the dents in the machinery, and replace the burnt out wiring.
The mares were completely silent while I worked, awestruck by my ability to work on such a complicated piece of machinery.
“What’s the speed of light?” I asked the ponies without taking my eyes away from the machine.
“1 ,079, 252, 848,800 meters per hour” Twilight answered. I nodded and made a few more adjustments based on those numbers.
“Speed of sound?”
“1,225 miles per hour.” Rainbow Dash answered. I nodded in thanks and made more adjustments. A couple of minutes later Spike came in with a plate of sandwiches and set them by me as I worked. I thanked him but my attention didn’t waver from the task at hand.
“Blaze.” I called. The bird materialized in a ball of fire and slightly heated my sandwiches.
“Thanks.” I commented. The phoenix cawed lightly in response before shooting a hateful glare at the baby dragon.
“Don’t even think about it.” I reprimanded the judgemental bird before he could do anything to the small reptile. He cawed in protest but otherwise didn’t advance. Instead, he wrapped himself in a ball of fire and teleported away with enough force to cause a combustion with the oxygen in the atmosphere as he left.
“What was that all about?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Phoenixes and Dragons don’t get along very well.” I commented as I worked. The blue pegasus nodded.
“You’ve said that twice already, but you didn’t give any of us an explanation on how they don’t get along.” Twilight stated.
“I strongly believe I do not need to inform you of the origins of the quarrel. If you needed to know by now, I’m sure Spike would have told you.” I commented as I reset the calibration to the device. Twilight was taken aback by my response.
When I finished replacing the last busted piece and the last of my calibrations. I pressed in a few codes on the remote, causing the device to close back into a box. I entered a few more codes to force the device to reset it’s settings. A small beep emitted from the device as the repairs were made and the device was reset.
I scribbled down a letter on a scroll, balled it up and threw it towards Applejack’s head. A ball of white fire had travelled through a window and intercepted the balled up scroll. It burned to ashes before completely turning into particles of magic, and disappearing from sight. I nodded in satisfaction and pointed to the newly repaired product.
A large portal had formed right under the machine and swallowed it whole, before collapsing into itself and vanishing from view. “What do you guys want to do, now that I hopefully have a free schedule for the next couple of hours?” I asked.
“Flying lessons!” Rainbow Dash said excitedly. I was confused for a second on why she would say that, then I remembered what I promised her.
“I’ll met you outside.” I told her. She nodded before bolting out the throne room in record time.
“Twilight, Fluttershy. You two should come as well. Just in-case things get out of hoof.”
Twilight used magic to open the doors to the outside of the building and followed Fluttershy and I out.
(FYI) A friend of mine (Who prefers to stay anonymous) had decided to draw Stormcaster after reading my fanfic. I have posted the link to below for those who want to see what they’d drawn for me. It’s a really good drawing and I was happy to see the finished work and I know that you’ll be too.
Drawing #2 is coming out soon. Keep yer eyes peeled.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1kTofMIuSWVemg4ZHMwemVzOTZJU2FpbU1WTndSY0FIOU00/view?usp=sharing
Chapter #4: The training session.
Rainbow, and I were flying just above the clouds with Twilight on my left flank, and Fluttershy was just a few feet below us on my right flank trying have a conversation with Blaze. “How does she do that?” I asked Rainbow quietly.
“How does who do what?” She responded in the same quiet manner.
“As far as I know, Celestia, Luna, and I were the only ones who could talk to the Phoenixes. Apparently Fluttershy is beginning to learn. She can also talk with beavers, squirrels, various birds and a number of woodland creatures.” Rainbow shrugged.
“That’s just part of who she is.”
“Fair enough.” I looked back as I felt a gust of wind brush against my wing.
“How you doing back there?” I asked the yellow mare that struggled to stay aligned with the rest he group as we picked up speed.
“I could be doing better.” I looked back at Rainbow Dash and motioned towards the yellow mare. She nodded in response and started to fly ahead of me. I put a hoof on her shoulder and shook my head no when she turned back to look at me.
“I want to lead.”
“Fine.” She replied as she began to fall back. Rainbow Dash flanked to my left, and Fluttershy banked to my right, creating a slipstream big enough to support the timid yellow pegasus.
“Only use your wings when you need to. Just spread them out and let the Flipstream do the rest.” Rainbow Dash told her. She nodded and obliged to the request. A ball of white fire joined Fluttershy in the slipstream.
“How come he gets to go into the slipstream?” Rainbow Dash complained.
“He’s old and too stubborn to accept the inevitability of death. My advice is to just leave him be, I won’t be able to convince to leave the slipstream anyways.” Rainbow grumbled something I could not decipher. As we began to fly over Ponyville I could see as the residents looked up at us as we flew above them. A sharp pain hit my chest as we began to grow closer to the center of the small town.
I began to feel woozy as we passed sugarcube corner. It felt as if my heart was beating a million times a minute when the schoolhouse passed my line of sight. I then began to feel tired probably from the mass amount of energy I exerted from leading the formation. It soon felt as if my heart had gained twelve pounds when we exited the town limits. I tried and failed to shake it off, but I still continued to lead.
My heart rate only began to get faster, as I tried to relax and I began to feel even dizzier. I began to see spots in my vision. I groaned as I concentrated on seeing straight. Without warning, I gone into an inside loop and flanked Rainbow to her right. “Take the lead.” I breathed as I secured a new spot in the formation.
She was confused on why I choose to forfeit my position, but didn’t object. My head was throbbed in pain, my eyes stung, and my heart was beating so fast I thought it was going to break free from my ribcage, but I decided to keep going as Rainbow’s slipstream helped me regain my bearings.
“Are you alright, Stormcaster?” Twilight asked, concerned.
“Yeah. I’m fine. Just a little tired.” I lied. She gave me a worried look before she nodded. Blaze shot a ball of fire at me. The white mass of heat traversed my fur, absorbing my pain, and filling me with energy. My eyes widened as small pains rocked my chest as my heart began to slow, causing me to relax.
“Alright, everypony. Take a left.” I called as the fire slowly began to die away.
“What was that?” Twilight said as we settled out.
“Phoenixes are very magically gifted.” I decided was the appropriate answer to the question. The princess of friendship continued with her distrusting stare, but thankfully didn’t question any further. We flew in silence for several minutes, just enjoying the feeling freedom and peace that flight can give.
“There it is.” I said as I pulled into a roll to get out of the slipstream and slowly descended towards the destination. Rainbow Dash followed behind me, then Twilight, and finally Fluttershy and Blaze. There were no words in any language to describe this place was, calling it beautiful just won’t give it the credit it deserved. The hill itself was dotted with pink and white blossoms. Various trees outlined in the distance and lush green grass as soft as the clouds themselves brushed against my hooves, giving me a feeling of serenity.
There was not a single dot of white in the sky, and a bright warm sun glowed in the distance. The sounds of birds and insects echoed from the trees off in the distance, and a breeze as soft as a yearling’s touch blew against my coat. The four of us stood there silently for several moments, captivated by the view before us.
“Alright, guys. What do you want to learn first?” I asked after a moment of silence.
“Whatever trick is the most difficult to perform.” Rainbow replied brightly.
“I had a feeling you were going to say that.” I said with an evil yet playful smile, exposing the tips of my fangs. Fluttershy shied away from me with a scared look on her face.
“Don’t worry. It’s perfectly safe, I’ve done it like a million times.” I told Fluttershy to try and assure her. She nodded cautiously but didn’t show any signs of wanting to advance.
“Fluttershy." I said as I guided her away from the others to talk to her in private.
"Rainbow, Twilight, and I will be right there with you. We won’t let you get hurt.” I said to try and convince her to join us. She shook her head.
"I haven't really been that good of a flier. I don't want to slow the rest of you down." She whispered.
“Fluttershy. No pony is perfect at everything. Everypony has flaws. Either accept it and do something about it to make it better, or wallow in self pity, and suffer for the rest of your life. I don’t care what choice you make. Just make it quick." And with those words, I walked back to Twilight and Rainbow to let her think about her decision in peace.
Rainbow Dash and Twilight were laying on clouds, talking amongst themselves about something. They hushed themselves almost immediately and turned to look at me when I walked over. That began to make me suspect what they were talking about. “Where’s Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked.
“I gave her something to think about. Chances are she will be joinin’ us quite soon.” Twilight and Rainbow nodded.
“Alright, what I’m going to teach you is something I like to call the double loop and horizontal flip.” Rainbow nodded, and Twilight just looked confused. I sighed and showed them what the move looked like to fulfil a request from Twilight. After a brief demonstration of the maneuver, I landed with a small cloud of dust as the dirt at my hooves shifted.
I felt a large and familiar sting in my chest after pulling off the move, and my breath hitched as I readjusted my weight. By that time, Fluttershy had began to walk towards us. I greeted her halfway. “I want to learn how to do that….if it’s ok with you.” She whispered as she looked towards the ground and shuffled her hooves.
“I knew you would make the smart choice. Follow me.”
“Alright, the double loop and horizontal flip is quite simple. Just get high enough, and when you do, pull into a wide loop and do a barrel roll.” Rainbow nodded and flew off to try and perform the trick. To make a long story a relatively short one, she managed to pull of the trick with ease. Twilight had the same result after her second or third attempt.
Fluttershy as expected, had some problems. As it turns out, she was afraid of flying too fast, and when she looked down, it evolved into hights, and then somehow her own shadow began to scare her. When she got over the fact that she was in the air, and flying at a somewhat fast pace, her timid nature made her afraid of falling.
That soon turned into the off chance that she might crush something while landing, or hit a bird, or some other flying creature while in the air.
In other words, it was extremely frustrating. Twilight and Rainbow must have seen the stress she was beginning to put me through. After all her complaining and failed attempts to do one of the simplest maneuvers I could possibly think of. I began to get a little upset.
Rainbow put a hoof on my shoulder and gave me an understanding look. “Don’t stress on it. She isn’t that great of a flier, and if she can’t do it, don’t try to force it on her.” I sighed and nodded my head in agreement.
“You know Fluttershy better than I do, any advice?” I asked.
“She’ll get it eventually, and when she does congratulate her and give her another maneuver.“ I nodded. When Fluttershy tried to pull into the inside loop, she squealed in fear of something yet again and started to fall towards the ground below. After she'd tried and failed to stabilize herself during her plummet not just once but three times. She began to panic.
Rainbow had taken to the sky faster than I could blink, her friends weren't too far behind. They soon joined Fluttershy in her fate when they got smacked in the face and wings by her flailing hooves. Consequently, sending them spiraling out of control. Judging from how far it took them to get to her, I'd say they were about was about 40, maybe 50 feet in the air. The drop would either leave her broken in more ways than one and (maybe) paralyzed, or it would kill her if she landed awkwardly.
I flew to where she would land. I shot upwards and caught Fluttershy and her friends before they could plummet to the ground. A sudden burst of pain set itself against my chest as the weight of not just one, but three ponies came upon my back. When I landed back onto the hill, the pain intensified.
I fell to a knee, taking deep and shaky breaths, and set a hoof on my chest trying to ease the immense pain and slow my heart rate. There was an uncomfortable silence and the three accompanying me began to panic yet again. "Stormcaster. Are you ok?" Rainbow asked. I nodded and tried to look up as I waved her off.
"Do you need help?” Twilight asked. I quickly shook my head no, trying to get her off my case.
"Stormcaster. Don't lie to me, do you need help?" Twilight pestered.
"No. I'm...fine" I said between wheezy breaths.
"Do you need to go back to the hospital?” My eyes widened at the word hospital.
"I'm fine." I managed to breathe out without wheezing. Twilight gave me a condescending glare but thankfully didn’t push any further.
“I think that’s enough training for today. Don’t you think Storm?” Rainbow said, dropping a hint. I nodded almost immediately.
“Let’s fly back to the castle.” Twilight said. With no objections voiced, we spread our wings and took off.
Fluttershy came to meet me at my side while we were in the air. “You okay?” I asked. She nodded.
“Yes, but what about you? Are you okay? That's what I'm more concerned about right now.” She asked.
“I'm fine. Just got a little winded, that's it. There's nothing to worry about.”
“Alright Stormcaster, I believe you.”
Just then, Rainbow barrel rolled towards us before nose diving to my underbelly and flipping to her other side me face me.
“You alright Storm? The whole wheezing thing was totally not cool, I just want to make sure.”
“Yeah. I'm alright. No need to worry.” She nodded.
The flew ahead to catch up with Twilight. I immediately curved my right wing to reach into my saddlebags and pulled out the bottle of painkillers that Dr. Horse written me a prescription for. I popped one of the small capsules in my mouth, shivering with delight as the bittersweet taste of the drugs met my tastebuds before quickly setting the bottle back into the saddlebags.
I proceeded to fly towards the others. Hoping that none of caught my actions.