The bright celestial sun shone down on the winding dirt road that skirted a wild and frightening forest. A pair of eyes shone from the bough of a tree that stood away from its neighbors, squinting against the harsh light, barely making out a haze of dust slowly working its way down the path.
Small puffs of dust danced around each hoof fall as the colt made his way down the long road. White showed though the considerable layer of dirt built up on his flank but even the filth could not mask the green color of fresh leaves on his mane and tail. The even brighter green stripe seemed to shrug off the dust altogether. The normally tussled look of most pegasi had somewhat diminished from sweat and heat of the long day. Plunging his head into a small brook a few hours back definitely hadn't helped matters either.
Spotting a nice looking tree ahead he abandoned the road, thinking to take a short break. He deserved that much. Shrugging off his saddle pack, a groan escaped him as the colt spread his cramped wings. Letting out a satisfied huff as he lay down, he thought about how far he had come. It had been a long... a very long journey. One he had accomplished at an impressive pace.
I didn't know I had it in me. He thought to himself.
Taking a moment to look about his surroundings for the first time he startled as he saw something strange on a distant mountain side. Squinting against the glare of the sun and the haze of the summer heat, he could just barely make out the soaring spires of a cliff side city. Perking up at what he saw, the colt realized it must be Canterlot, the famous capital of Equestria.
I’ve made better time than I thought!
If it was indeed the fabled city, he was close to his destination. The realization seemed to bolster his energy. After resting for a moment longer, he groaned as he got back on his hooves. A halo of dust erupted as he stretched and shook himself, wincing as he did so.
No wonder pegasi don’t wear saddle bags....., the pegasus thought as he coughed from the ensuing cloud. If its this dry out, there's sure to be a major storm scheduled for tonight or tomorrow. He thought as he coughed.
Good thing I’m this close. Get a move on and you wont have to camp out in it!
He hated storms.
Snap!
Whirling around to face the untamed forest the colt suddenly got the feeling he was being watched.
I don’t like the look to this stretch of the forest either. Just another reason to get going.
After peering into the darkness of the forest for a moment the bright pair of eyes from above watched the colt take off down the path at a quicker pace than when he arrived. Sharp talons briefly gripped the branch before launching off.
The colt glanced back just in time to miss a dark shadow shoot from the tree he had just rested under.
A small town rose up from the horizon as the dirt covered colt charged down the path. A sign post a league back had let him know his destination was near. The small town of “Ponyville”. He had also spotted the specks in the sky and knew it meant the local pegasi crew would have a storm in full swing within minutes.
Celestia! I HATE storms like this. I haven’t seen one this big since, well....
He had just entered the town when he heard a gasp so loud and long he nearly tripped. Skidding to a halt he saw a nearby bush jump several feet into the air before rocketing away without even touching the ground.
Whaaaaaa??? Since when do bushes have cotton candy pink tails? Wait.... since when do bushes gasp or fly?!
The first clap of lightning from the gathering storm broke into his thoughts causing him to glance quickly at the darkening sky before galloping at full tilt to the first public building that appeared to still be open at this hour. He burst through the door just as the first sheets of rain enveloped the town.
“..so you see you simply must come over and try my new line of.....”
A pure white unicorn with styled lavender hair stopped mid sentence. Both she and another purple unicorn gaped at the intruding colt.
“err.... sorry. It looked like you were open and..” He managed to stammer between gasps from air before getting cut off.
“SORRY?! I should hope you're sorry! Look at the state of you! Completely covered in filth! What are you thinking?! To be seen in such a state! Its simply.... unbecoming!” The white unicorn continued for several minutes. Okay, probably not quite that long but it sure seemed that way to the bewildered colt.
"And, furthermore, taking care of one's mane is simply one of the most important things a pony can- Huh?"
Cutting her off in the middle of the mares (rather impressive) spiel about the importance of taking care of ones mane, the pegasi colt merely sighed and walked back out into the storm. Immediately the heavy downpour soaked him to the flank, washing most of the grime and dust off. Giving a quick shake he shed most of the water as he came under the awning above the door. Satisfied with the results he trotted back inside the library.
"Better?" He said, barely stopping himself from laughing at her reaction.
That had certainly silenced the mare.
After taking a moment to be sure he wouldn't start laughing he asked, “So, uh, I saw the lights on and thought you were open......?”
The purple mare was the first to recover this time considering her friend still seemed to be on the verge of fainting. (Or was she trying to hold in her last meal. The pegasus couldn't quite tell.)
“Wha... oh! Yes! Or at least, for a little while longer. I was just about to close up. I’m Twilight Sparkle and this is my friend Rarity.” She said indicating to her still speechless friend. "And you are..."
The colt tried shaking out some water stuck in his ear.“Oh. Uh, I’m Aero Stormbreaker but my frien... err... back home it was just Aero." The colt finished awkwardly. "Sorry about just bursting in like that. I didn’t really want to get caught out in that storm.”
“No problem! We're always happy to help a pony out.” Twilight said nudging the other pony, breaking her horrified stare.
“Oh.. yes.. of course..” Rarity managed to mutter obviously having trouble looking at him.
“So where is home for you anyhow? I take it you’re new in town?”
“You could say that. I just arrived and only barely managed to beat that storm. I don’t think I’ve ever run that far that fast in my life.” The pegasus said with a chuckle.
“Well why didn’t you just out fly it?” Twilight asked obviously confused. “You surely could have beat it then.”
“Oh... uh.. well.. my doctor said I should stay off my wings for a few days. I uh, sprained them clearing some stratus clouds on weather duty back home.”
Twilight, sensing the awkwardness in his voice, raised her eyebrows prompting further explanation.
“High winds got the better of me.” He muttered unconvincingly
Suspicions aroused in both unicorns now Rarity asked, “And where did you say you were from again? I’m terribly sorry. I cant be so forgetful at times.”
“Um.. a good ways east. Just a small town. You probably haven’t heard of it.” The green maned pegasus was obviously extremely uncomfortable.
“You might be surprised! I have a highly successful line of all weather fashionable outfits that have absolutely been the rage in the east. Grazefield, New Saddle, and even Hoofington have all been in high demand.”
“A bit further east actually. So you’re in fashion?”
Both mares frowned at the tactless change of topic. While Rarity usually loved talking about her latest fashion lines, a colt who was okay with taking a quick shower in the rain obviously had about as much interest in fashion as her farmer friend Applejack.
After offering a painfully forced smile Aero was suddenly engulfed in a blinding purple light as a slightly tingling sensation spread across him.
