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The Astonishing, Alarming, And Awesome Adventures Of Aphidgust Airin Adrigal the Eighteenth
In The Beginning, Aphidgust Left His Home And Ventured Forth Into The Great Unknown
All this time, every moment in my entire existence in this life, I have been training.
Diligently, I've been honing my considerable skills and increasing my incredible natural talents. For years now, all I've done is prepare for one magnificent mission. One could say I've spent my life burdened with a glorious purpose. 'What is this inconceivable goal?' I can hear you asking. 'What could possibly require so much effort from so admirable a Breezie that it'd take his whole life to be ready?
Attending the School Of Friendship!
No, wait, it sounds really stupid when I say it like that.
Listen, I am the chosen one! The one selected to represent my entire race! I'm practically the only ambassador the Breezies have had in I-can't-remember-how-long-because-I-never-paid-attention-in-history!
Yes, yes, you may clap now. I know, I know I'm incredible, thanks for stating the obvious, puff-brain.
There I was, up in my luxurious upstairs bedroom, where I lived in the largest house in the world. I hail from a long line of only the most prestigious members of our race, the Adrigals, and we accept only the best for our day-to-day lives. I had just finished with packing my baskets for the imminent departure into Equestria, and I felt only the most immense satisfaction and eagerness for the upcoming journey.
Nope, not a speck of any other emotions to be found in my being just then, no sirree. I most definitely was not feeling any sort of anxiety, or dread, or fear, or unease, or angst, or hunger, or-
"{HA!}" Said I, with all the confidence I could project as I unflinchingly stared myself down in the mirror. "{Ha! I have been waiting so long for this and I am all too ready! Soon, I will be living in a giant world of mountain-tall creatures for the foreseeable future and I have absolutely no misgivings about it whatsoever!}"
Having determinedly spoken these truthful words, I donned my baskets and purposefully marched down the stairs, my antenna twitching with absolutely nothing other than the excitement of what was soon to come. Really, I have no reason to be afraid. I couldn't possibly be more prepared for this! Years of preparation, of diligent (At least, diligent in the things that mattered) training in all areas of Breezie culture. I've even thoroughly practiced my Equestrian to the point that my tutor said I was fluent! Or, at least, that's what I thought he said, I couldn't really be sure.
Hey, gimmie a break, okay? Equestrian is such a hard language! Every word has, like, three different meanings! And don't get me started on the seriously overcomplicated grammar.
No, really, don't. I don't even wanna think about it.
It took all of forty seconds to exit my enormous house, and I took immense pride in that fact, seeing as most Breezie homes take less than ten to exit. Smirking to myself as I fastened my baskets, I launched into the air, carefully navigating to travel along the correct wind-path.
Breezies don't like walking, you see, and most of us can't fly under our own power. But we took care of that conundrum cycles ago by constructing large fans to move the air past residential areas and all throughout town. Don't ask me how they're powered, because it's a closely-kept secret.
...
I'm kidding, they're powered by our magic. It's pretty versatile stuff with a whole host of uses, and we're mostly limited by how little we can use at one time.
Luckily, I don't have that problem.
My smirk grew substantially as I thrusted my hind hooves behind me and with a burst of Airin began rocketing forward at immense speeds that would tear any sane Breezie to shreds. I passed by several others on the same wind-path, my wake leaving them spiraling out of control.
I didn't care, instead speeding up as I reached the town proper and diving straight to the ground, landing in an epic pose without braking whatsoever and also without breaking anything whatsoever. I slowly lifted my head to gaze at my adoring fans, which consisted of the entire town and probably my entire race.
I'm kind of a big deal, you know. Ambassador for all Breezies and all that. I've had scores of adoring fans since the moment I was born, each excitedly reading the news reports about my progress as I grew up. Each heavily invested in my development and often watching me practice my powers. Each dependent on my not screwing up or ever failing, pushing me to succeed or else face the disappointment of my entire species. That was fine. After all, how could I not succeed at something?
I hovered in the air, waving at my fans while propelling myself forward with the tiniest use of Airin from my back. The crowd cheered, throwing flower petals at me as several reached out in hopes of getting a high hoof, which I magnanimously provided.
"{I LOVE YOU APHIDGUST!}"
My smirk widened even further, baring some teeth as I pointed my forehoof in what I thought was maybe the direction the voice had come from.
"{Thank you, random citizen!}" Said I, finally reaching the end of the impromptu runway and coming to a halt just before the stone wall where the portal to Equestria would appear. I sighed heavily in what was most certainly annoyance and definitely not relief upon realizing that the gateway was not yet open. Instead, it looked like my old fluff-brain of a dad was going to give another one of his infamous speeches. I could tell because he was at the end of the runway and rested his hoof on my back in his classic 'proud father' gesture.
Blegh.
"{We are gathered here today to celebrate the departure of our beloved Aphidgust Airin Adrigal the Eighteenth!}" I rolled my eyes and faced the crowd as they gathered together, submitting to another boring speech. "{Ever since he emerged from his egg I new he was the one. Today, I, Aphidgust Airin Adrigal the Seventeenth, congratulate him as a proud father and a good friend should!}" More cheers and another eye roll from me as I gave my markedly-taller dad my finest deadpan. Either he didn't see it or he didn't care, because he continued with his boring announcements.
"{And ever since his mother and clutchmates passed away in a tragic accident, my son has been training even more diligently to prepare for exactly this moment!}" I sighed, absently combing through my right wing membrane in a quest to find and eliminate dust particles that may interfere with the channeling.
"Tell us something don't know we." I muttered in Equestrian as I picked at the membrane with my antennae.
Now, you must understand, going to Equestria after all this anticipation was not exactly appealing, but listening to another one of my dad's recycled speeches? No thank you. I'd rather get this show on the road early than suffer through one of those again .
So, I decided to do just that.
My cocky smirk returned as I concentrated on the feeling of buzzing energy filling my hooves. A slight twisting of them in the ground was all the warning anybreezie got before I released a small amount of Airin and launched into the sky with a great rush of wind. Breezies scattered every which way, carried along the twisting air currents by their untrained wings as I released yet another portion of my power, rocketing towards the stone wall that would soon become my exit.
My trusty wings directed the airflow along their many facets, subtly enchanting it with power before funneling it directly into my Airin core. The Airin reacted to the newly enchanted breeze, releasing a flood of raw Breezie magic into my surrounding area.
Now came the hard part. I had to focus quite hard to draw that Breezie magic back into my grasp, preventing it from melding back into the ambient magic of our world. From there, all I had to do was recite the incantation, and the portal to Equestria was opened solely by my own effort instead of that of a whole town's worth of Breezies doing a day-long ritual.
As you can see, I'm pretty awesome.
I shot through the swiftly-shutting portal with one last burst of Airin, emptying the energy from my hind legs in order to close the distance in time. I could open it, sure, but delaying its inevitable closing for the weeks required to harvest pollen was a skill that was quite beyond my considerable talents.
Finally, I was through and into the massive world of ponies.
No, I did not immediately scratch at the stone wall where the portal had been in a blind panic. Why would you even ask such a thing? I was prepared for this! I had been in Equestria before!
...once.
It didn't matter, because I soon turned and began resolutely hovering through the tunnel, head held high and a confident, not-at-all-faked grin on my face.
My faked grin fell away immediately upon witnessing the absolutely enormous shadow of a giant figure blocking the light ahead. A gargantuan horn easily twice my height lit with a light-blue glow, illuminating a freaking massive face.
"Oh, you're out early! Aphidgust, right? I'm Starlight Glimmer, your new headmare!"
The pony's voice reverberated through the stone tunnel and echoed straight through my skull, rattling my brains and shaking my delicate Breezie skeleton to its core.
The last sight I observed before collapsing in an unconscious heap was the concerned visage of a colossal unicorn, and my last waking thought was the following:
Holy Levinger, I'm so not ready for this.
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The Astonishing, Alarming, And Awesome Adventures Of Aphidgust Airin Adrigal the Eighteenth
Soon After, Aphidgust Was Shown The Campus Of The School Of Friendship And Subsequently Given A Place To Stay
"Hey, Aphidgust?"
A horrendous, bothersome, insistent voice tore relentlessly at my once peaceful rest. I was not one to so much as accept such an intrusion, let alone heed its unwelcome call. The only reactions that the troublesome noise elicited from me were an indignant grumble and a shuffle to a more comfortable position.
"Hello? It's time to wake up now. I still have to give you your tour around campus!"
Drowsily, I waved a foreleg in the nuisance's direction, determined to get my much-needed beauty rest.
"{Nnnnurrfffive more minutes...}"
I barely registered what sounded like an annoyed huff, and rather than speak further I instead turned completely to lay on my belly and bury my face into my glorious, hoof-sewn, enchanted, dandelion-seed stuffed pillow.
When did my pillow get so hard?
Suddenly, the powerful scent of what had to be a million different spices burned through my nostrils, and I was only able to last a precious few moments more in blissful unconsciousness before jetting several hooves into the air, coughing violently. I was instantly awake and scanning my immediate surroundings, noting the overall flatness and vastness of them. Where am I? This doesn't look like anyplace I've seen before.
"Ah, looks like my smelling-salts spell worked!"
I started at the incredibly voluminous sound coming from directly above me, nervously lifting my head there while subconsciously lowering my body to the ground. I recognized the ginormous face from before as memories began flowing back to me. The unicorn was much easier to make out in the light of the sun, and I made note of her dark fuchsia clothing.
Breezies don't usually wear clothes; we're so lightweight that any dressage but that made of the lightest materials would weight us down far too much, and those substances were pretty hard to come by. However, one of the things that marked the Adrigals' status as the best Breezie family ever was our clothing, and I myself had packed plenty in my baskets. Seeing as this pony wore clothes, she was likely of high standing, perhaps even equal in status to my own family.
"How could you?! Rude of you, quite that was!" I shouted at her in my finest Equestrian, huffing with irritation. What? Did you think I was gonna be all respectful to her just because I thought she was on par with my family?
That's just ridiculous. I've always been higher than my family, being the chosen one and all, and I was undeniably higher than this behemoth of a creature, headmare or no.
In any case, the unicorn seemed repentant enough, judging by the way her posture slumped and she raised a hoof in apology, so I decided not to blow her into the stratosphere.
This time.
"Oh, I'm really sorry! It's just that we don't have a lot of time and I was really worried that I'd hurt you!" This heavily amused me, and I launched myself up off the ground to be eye level with the mare, cockily staring straight into her wide, grey-blue, Breezie-sized eyes. Well, one of them. I couldn't exactly look into both at one time, given how close I was.
"HAH! You, hurt me? Don't laugh make me." My confident smirk was back in full force as I blasted past her head, taking a concerning amount of time to actually pass it. "Now, leave let us. Tired I grow of this place." The sound of her clearing her throat, which I could hear even through the wind of my speed, caused me to stop and turn in the air towards her.
"Actually, that's not the way we'll be going." Seconds passed as I confusedly looked at the pony, then the cave entrance behind her, then northeast, which was where I was heading and the direction of Equestria, then back. Starlight's smile grew as this cycle continued, and she approached my hovering form with thundering steps that shook the ground.
"Tell me, have you ever teleported before, Aphidgust?" I blanched, my self-assured smirk now gone completely as I gulped nervously. I'd heard horror stories from Breezies who had encountered 'helpful' unicorns before, who wanted to teleport them closer to home. There's a reason we Breezies rely only on pegasus assistance when we migrate every two cycles. Every other kind of pony magic is too dissimilar to our own, and messes with our fragile equilibrium too much.
I was about to shake my head and ~~plead for mercy~~ order Starlight to walk instead as she reached me and lit her horn once more, but a realization entered my mind, and my cocky smirk was back in full force. Sure, those wimps got screwed over pretty bad from the teleportation, but I'm different! I'm totally too epic to fail! I'll be fine!
Exactly several centuries of light blue swirling Tartarus later, I was indeed totally, definitely fine.
No, I wasn't collapsed in the oversized grass, projectile vomiting my breakfast out while Starlight awkwardly patted my back with her giant hoof. Why do you ask?
I'm very proud to say that it only took me, the great Aphidgust Airin Adrigal the Eighteenth, around three minutes to be mostly recovered from the experience. Hah! Those fools told me it was weeks before they stopped seeing stars! I shakily rose into the air and wiped my muzzle on the blanket-sized hoofkerchief the headmare offered me, stopping both actions when I was eye-level with her once more.
"So, uh, you ready to start the tour of our campus?" I grew confused as I considered her words, running them over in my head as I gazed out at the utterly massive school. We'd teleported to the grassy meadow just beside the path running up to it, so I had a full view of the distant structure.
"Why we are doing this in place the first? Don't think you I can figure it out myself?" The unicorn smiled knowingly as she began walking up the path, upon which I reluctantly followed, hovering to the right of her severely oversized head.
"Well, I was worried that it would be hard for you. Being a student here, I mean. With so many peers that are so much bigger than you are, and having to navigate through such a large campus, even by our standards. I figured I'd give you a personal tour of the place to help out with that, while also assessing your abilities and how much you'll need assistance to do things." That statement caused me to pause and stare incredulously at the back of the oblivious unicorn's head. Assistance? For ME? Does she have any idea who I am?! Still, I managed to remain silent, deciding that it wasn't worth the effort to protest.
We traveled up the path, occasionally passing other giants of various species. Each time one of them went by, I had to spend yet more Airin to correct my flight. Seriously, these chumps were so massive that the wind-wake of their passing blew me off course. After a while of this, I noticed that my reserves were getting noticeably low--not, mind you, low enough to require serious adjustment, but if I wanted to have any left to work with in the near future, I'd have to stop using so much.
Do you realize how long it takes for Airin to regenerate?! At this rate, I'd be lucky to be at half capacity by next week! My performance just before I left home certainly did not help things; all the Airin from my back, head, antennae, and legs was entirely spent, leaving what was left in my barrel and the sparse traces within my wings as the only reserves I could call upon.
So, you know, about enough for a large (by the ponies' standards) tornado, if I blew it all in one go.
I couldn't do that, though: I needed to ration out my supply if I was going to be living in this world of giants for the foreseeable future. If only there was some moving object I could hitch a ride on, something more reliable than the turbulent air currents, something heading in the same direction as me, and that, ideally, I wouldn't have to separate from.
Hey...wait a second...
My mind made up, I casually drifted over to Starlight's enormous head, latching onto her twitching ears as I made myself comfortable on her silky mane. Heh, I could get used to this. I thought as I repositioned her hairs, carelessly ruining her previous well-kept manestyle in the process. Fortunelessly, I was not stealthy enough to avoid detection in my endeavors--though, to be fair, I wasn't exactly trying to be--and the headmare tilted her head to glance up at me with her oversized eyes.
"And just what are you doing up there?" I smirked at this, pointedly resting my forelegs against her enormous horn as I shifted into the most comfortable position I could. Surprisingly, that position was in fact very comfortable. As in, like, rivalling my best-of-the-best mattress back at home in comfortableness. I got so comfy that I caught my eyes drifting shut several times, and had to shake myself awake to get rid of the fatigue.
Hey, it was an exhausting day so far, okay? You try teleporting several hundred megagusts away and see how long it takes to recover!
I'll betcha it'd be more than three minutes!
"Tired I am: Cannot fly much more." Wait, that sounded way too ~~pathetic~~ dishonest and untrue! "Er, could fly for longer, but, good idea is not. Need conserve flight, so fly later can." The headmare quirked an eyebrow at this, marginally jostling me in the process, but eventually nodded her consent, very nearly dislodging me from my perch as she did.
"Alright, I'll take your word for it, but Rarity's going to throw a fit when she sees what you've done to my mane." The furry floor beneath me shook slightly as she continued walking, increasing the pace to a brisk trot. Strangely enough, I had to resist the urge to fall asleep then and there several times, even while being vigorously bounced up and down. This giant mare's head was unfairly comfortable, and it made me wonder if other ponies' manes were similar. Heck, maybe every creature's crown was an optimal spot for resting!
Something about the bobbing motion was bringing back nostalgic memories from my grubhood. Memories of being held, rocked softly to either side, kept safe in my loving mother's embrace. Memories from before she and my siblings...
...well...
In any case, we soon reached the grand, ornate, needlessly-large (not just to me, they were over-proportioned even for somecreature of Starlight's size) double doors that made up the entrance to the school proper. I discreetly wiped away all traces of a mysterious wetness that appeared around my eyes as Starlight lit her horn to open the gateway to my new life.
Immediately beyond the immense doors was an even more colossal main room, complete with branching hallways, extensive decorations, and scores of creatures.
All of whom were big enough to casually squash a regular Breezie beneath their various appendages and not even take notice.
I'd been a present notion all throughout my interactions with Starlight and while we passed fellow students on the path, but it was only now that I truly appreciated just how big each and every one of them was. My primal Breezie instincts were screaming their antennae off.
You might think that I was scared by such a show of size. Intimidated, perhaps by their probable might in comparison to the average Breezie.
Aside from my unreasonable genetic reaction, you'd be dead wrong, fluff-brain.
Of course I wasn't scared: I'd been trained my whole life for this! You know by now that I'm hardly comparable to the average Breezie (and if not, then you're stupider than I thought.) Why did you think my species used selective breeding to make such a long line of increasingly overpowered members? So that the final product of that line could quiver in fear just when his fans needed him most?!
Nay! I'd show those chumps that they put their faith in the right Breezie. There's no way I'd let a life's worth of non-stop training go to waste like that!
I'll have you know that my posture was as confident as could be, and I only flinched back in reactive fright twice as the headmare proceeded through her tour. The school's layout was, while massive, relatively simple and intuitive, so I had no issues committing it to memory. I figured I wouldn't have any problems navigating through the place, but if so, there were plenty of creatures I could ask for directions.
One obstacle I had to keep in mind was how much Airin it was going to take to travel through this place: Between the sheer scale of it and the unreliable turbulence from all the traveling giants, that amount was looking unfortunately large.
Not impossible, mind you. If I was at full capacity, I could blaze through the school for hours and still have plenty to spare. Thing is, I wasn't at full capacity, so in order to move around campus for the next few days, I'd likely have to either hitch more rides on the local behemoths or eventually be left completely powerless.
One of those options was significantly more attractive than the other, for many reasons--not least of which was that I'd get to see if all creatures' heads were this cozy.
In any case, Starlight was clearly quite popular in her school: She often stopped to exchange words or give out hoofbumps during the tour. Granted, that probably should not be very surprising information--she was the headmare, after all, and seemed like an altogether nice person, if a bit of a pushover--but it was good information to have, regardless.
Eventually, after about thirty or so minutes, the tour was completed, with the last stop being the dormitories, and the headmare stopped just outside of a pony-sized door, which simply read: 166 (Thank goodness numbers were universal.)
"Alright! Here's your room, Aphidgust! Go on and make yourself at home!" The mare's horn lit once more, causing the door's handle to turn and push inwards, enveloped in a bright blue glow. I (somewhat reluctantly, I admit) leaped off the unicorn's head in response, flaring my wings so as to hover in the still air before slowly propelling myself with a miniscule amount of Airin. An awkward cough slightly shook my position in the air, and I twisted to regard my headmare with an impatient expression. Her own was set in an expecting form, and after several seconds spent in blank silence, I finally realized what she wanted.
"Oh, yes. Thanks to you, I give. Happy now?" The giantess smiled largely at this, and gave a succinct nod before gesturing me inside with her hoof.
"Yes, Aphidgust, I am. Now, get yourself settled, your roommate should be here in a few minutes." Starlight teleported away after that, and I managed to make it several hooves into the enormous room before what she'd said finally caught up with me.
Wait, my roommate?!
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The Astonishing, Alarming, And Awesome Adventures Of Aphidgust Airin Adrigal the Eighteenth
Once Settled In, Aphidgust Met His New Roommate And Proceeded To Get Into Many Disagreements With Her
A roommate.
A ROOMmate.
A roomMATE.
RoOmMAte.
You know, even after running the word around in my head a few ~~hundred~~ times, I still couldn't quite understand its meaning.
Well, I knew what it meant , of course. How could the Great Aphidgust not know what something means? You definitely know better than to make such a ridiculous assumption.
What I mean is I was trying to grasp all the connotations of its meaning, you know?
No?
I think my mind was getting scrambled just thinking about all of this, which hardly helped anything.
I found myself pacing through the air (don't ask, it's a Breezie thing) while considering this newfound information. Eventually I tired of this, so I sat down on top of the wardrobe with a dignified huff.
This new room was massive , but I'm guessing by now you can already assume that much. Aside from that, I was beginning to notice some key differences in this one compared to the bedrooms of back home but, again, I couldn't really explore those all too well just yet; their sheer size rendered the investigation a whole chore unto itself and I only had a few minutes to prepare.
They put me with a roommate! I'd have to share my living space with somepony! Can you even imagine what that's like?!
I sure couldn't!
Whose idea even was this in the first place? Whoever bunked with me would definitely be much bigger than I was, and I didn't take up nearly as much space as other creatures! Heck, one of their supply closets would be perfectly fine for me to use!
...I mean, that wouldn't exactly be the most dignified thing, but who cares about that?! It'd be better than sharing a room with a giant!
Clearly, something must have fallen through and I needed to speak to somecreature about it. Some kind of clerical error or whatever, which I wouldn't put past them. All that headspace and no brains to fill it, just typical.
With a resolute nod, I pushed off towards the door, but halted in midair upon realizing one key factor:
The door was closed.
Normally, closed doors weren't a big issue in the slightest. Doors held two purposes, after all: To be closed, and to be opened. Over the course of my amazing life, I had utterly mastered many things, one of which was the skill of opening doors. So, no, opening the door wasn't the issue.
The closed door was massive, though.
It was roughly as tall as a small mountain.
...and that was a pretty big issue.
Pun intended.
I spent longer than I care to admit trying to open the door. Scrabbling, scratching, grabbing, and whatever else had no effect on the polished round metal handle. I'll have you know, though, that I did all of this with the utmost poise and grace, not flailing, flopping, or flipping around in the slightest.
What was the logic, here?! What creature could even use round door handles? I'd heard of creatures with things called 'fingers', but aside from them and unicorns, the rest of us were just left to fend for ourselves? That was pretty speciesist if you ask me.
And yes, I did try using Breezie magic on the handle, too, which would normally have worked just fine. The issue was, with how little Airin I had left to spare, combined with the dreadfully low amount of airflow in the room, there was no way I could generate enough in one go. One thing was for sure: I'd have to get some kind of circulation in here, and pronto, or else I'd never be able to get around.
Well, I could get around, but doing so would spend Airin that I really needed to save up at the moment, as discussed previously. Really, all I required was some airflow and the rest would come easily enough, but this bedroom didn't even have that. Did they take my Breezieness into consideration at all when they assigned this room to me? At this point, I was half-convinced I was in the complete wrong room and the headmare was simply more senile than anycreature realiz--
The door opened.
The door. Opened.
Hurriedly, I zipped straight back to the wardrobe's top, nearly getting blown completely off course from the rush of pushed air from the opened door. Just in time, too; a wave of wind traveled across the room, and my innate Breezie senses allowed me to feel its path as it swept across every last surface.
My attention was focused solely on something else, though: The giant unicorn with a persian pink coat, vibrant orange-and-yellow mane, and brilliant golden eyes that absently roved the room. You may be thinking I was somehow scared by her or something, but I'm hoping you've gotten smarter than that by now, because you couldn't possibly be more wrong.
Indignantly, I rose straight into the air and gracefully propelled myself closer, chastising the inconsiderate mare all the while.
"What thinking are you?! Blow me into next Tuesday your plan is? I you show to mess me with!"
The unicorn simply stood there like an absolute daff, staring blankly at me as I puffed my cheeks out and shook my foreleg at her.
"WELL?! Answer me! Or have you no space in enormous head your do to so simple something?!"
The mare continued to wordlessly gawk at me, even despite my perfect, grammatically-flawless Equestrian. Her clueless act was getting really old, really fast, so I accordingly attempted to snap her out of it. With a puff of expelled Airin, I soared forward and landed solidly on her muzzle. Her eyes--both of which, need I remind you, being easily the size of myself--immediately crossed to regard my fuming form as I impatiently stamped a hoof.
"...um..." The fuzzy ground beneath me rumbled in time with her mutter and I raised a demanding eyebrow, expectantly staring into her right eye as she gave one slow blink. "...hello, angry bug. What're you doing in my room?"
My jaw dropped.
The absolute nerve! Who did this mare think she was?! Calling the great Aphidgust Airin Adrigal the Eighteenth by such a blatantly offensive name! How could she so carelessly sully me like that?! How dare she insult me like that?! Nay, not just me, but my entire family! A whole lineage of the greatest Breezies to ever soar the skies, and she reduces us to mere BUGS?!
I would not stand for this! In the name of all Breeziedom, this kind of offense would not go unpunished! I would teach this foolish mare exactly what this 'angry bug' was doing in her room:
Pummeling her face!
The pure, unadulterated rage flooded every fiber of my being and I glared at the mare with the blazing fury of a thousand suns.
For some reason, the unicorn didn't begin shaking and begging for mercy.
"Aww, cute!"
...it would appear that my angry face did not have the same effect on these giants as it did back home.
I blinked, dumbfounded, and the ire disappeared as abruptly as it had arrived. I found myself only able to sit limply on the mare's muzzle, head bowed in thought as I considered her reaction.
I was the most powerful breezie to ever exist, you see, and as such I was used to being revered and feared by my peers. To have my efforts at being threatening disregarded in such a blatant way was...disheartening, to say the least. A wave of fatigue swept over me, and it was about then that I realized I'd spent way more Airin for that stunt than I probably should have. So much for saving it for later...
My body was definitely feeling the withdrawal and it was not happy about it; everywhere I was missing Airin was beginning to ache and feel suddenly fragile, which wasn't exactly a pleasant sensation.
I'd run out of Airin only a few times before in my amazing life, but the memories of how it felt to do so still haunted me to this day. A quick check-in revealed only a few morsels left in my upper barrel and most of the traces in my wings utterly gone. It was mildly disturbing to see just how fast I could subconsciously spend the stuff, even taking into consideration how I needed to spend more the less I had; a task that would take only a hoof's worth at full capacity suddenly look three times as much when I was running low.
In short: I needed to cut back on my spending and I needed to do it now .
I emerged from my thoughts at around the same time that the mare set me down on the room's gargantuan desk, watching dully as she sat in the accompanying chair. Her expression was one of faint embarrassment, features crinkled in apology as she rested her elbows on the desk, steepling her hooves and peering at me from over them.
"Soo...eh...I just realized that you're probably my roommate, huh?" She chuckled nervously at my unamused look, absently tapping her giant hooves together. "I mean, Mom didn't tell me much about you, just that you were from someplace far away and a little on the...small side."
The mare muttered something under her breath which, to my begrudging admiration, was somehow too quiet for me to hear even despite her size. Then, "gee, this is awkward, huh?" I rolled my eyes at that and made to respond, but a loud gasp of realization interrupted me, soon accompanied by a rush of wind as she thrust one of her forehooves in my face. "Oh! I'm Luster Dawn! Pleasure to make your acquaintance!"
Another loud gasp came after that, probably because my wings got caught in the air current and sent me careening backwards. Of course, this wasn't that big of an issue, since my amazingly well-trained instincts kicked in and I immediately regained control of my path. Still, this mare's utter carelessness was annoying and her sheepish chuckle even more so.
Huffing indignantly, I settled back down on the expansive desk with gentle grace--I felt like stomping, but without Airin, my legs probably would be too fragile to handle the force--before glaring spitefully at my roommate.
"Here's how will go things: Refer you to me will as 'Aphidgust Airin Adrigal,' because that my name is. Carry me you will everywhere, until Airin my comes fully back. Not you will make fast movements, or else I beat you up will. Capiche?!"
Luster blinked blankly at me for a few seconds and I could practically see the gears--little though there were--turning in her head. Finally she leaned forward, saw me brace for impact, leaned back, opened her mouth, and spoke.
"So, translated, you're saying you want to be carried everywhere, you don't want me to make sudden movements, and your name is Aphidgust Airin Adrigal?" I nodded fiercely, stamping a hoof for emphasis.
"The Eighteenth." The unicorn blinked once more, shaking her head before returning her oversized gaze to me.
"Right...how about I just call you 'Aphid'?"
This infuriated me all the more, but the art of compromise is one that all the greatest heroes know well. I, as one myself, was well-versed in the give-and-take nature of such a thing. It was thanks to this that I magnanimously accepted the nickname. Blatantly offensive though it was, I could at least relent on that front.
I clenched my teeth and grimaced, thoughts of my long-respected lineage tearing through my consciousness, but eventually managed a nod. Luster seemed greatly pleased at this movement, if her beaming at me and straightening in her seat was anything to go by.
"Alright! I accept both of your other terms as well. You don't look very heavy, and studying my notebooks doesn't take much movement at all!" That said, the mare carefully hopped down from her enormous chair, turning towards the doorway just as a few bags and a suitcase came floating through. I monitored their speed quite warily, but luckily she was thoughtful enough to levitate them at a reasonable velocity.
I wasn't unused to levitation; I did say that Breezie magic was quite versatile, after all. Still, watching the items soar through the air made me fairly nervous, though I knew not why.
Maybe it was because they were the size of entire houses . Witnessing one creature easily levitate a whole home's worth of material kind of has that effect, I'd think. Granted, I could do the very same when I was fully recharged, but that wouldn't be for some time. As well, the slowly-growing ache in the majority of my body kept me all too aware of how fragile much of me was at the moment.
Don't misunderstand--I could definitely escape a potential attack and beat this mare senseless without too much effort, but I'd be pretty useless afterwards. Well, as useless as someone as great as I had the capacity to be, but the point remained.
Luster Dawn appeared to be busying herself with unpacking her strange building-sized bags, so I accordingly fluttered up to the wardrobe I'd been on earlier, making sure to keep my spending at a minimum. The baskets I'd brought with me were still there, somehow, but I didn't dare question how they'd withstood the wind forces. Slipping them on without difficulty, I reentered the air to flit down to the wardrobe's ornate double doors, noting with some mixture of relief and awe their ornate appearance and apparent high quality.
Maybe this won't be such a bad place to stay, after all.
My plan, of course, was to claim this polished piece of furniture for myself and set up my things in there. I figured my inconsiderate roommate would at least be content with everything else in the room, and I couldn't exactly use those things anyway. She probably wouldn't ever need the storage, since a student of her station couldn't possibly have that many clothes to put away. Plus, being able to close those doors for a bit of privacy greatly appealed to me, if only to get out of range of those eerily large eyes.
I had thought that the giant mare I'd be living with for the foreseeable future would be on the same page and thus allow me the space.
Apparently, I thought wrong, because not two seconds after I entered the enormous wardrobe--something I was able to do by nature of the non-circular shape of the doorknobs--a veritable hurricane of launched cloth and random accessories slammed straight into me before falling to the floor. I yelled, thrashing while entangled in the huge blankets of fabric, before being mercilessly pinned to the bottom of the structure.
Initially, this wasn't too bad; the giant clothing, while heavy, was quite soft and I didn't have very far to fall in the first place.
My relief, however, was cut short when I realized one critical issue with my current situation:
I couldn't breathe.
Torturous moments passed as I wiggled about in vain, trying to take heaving breaths but receiving only clods of dust and fuzz for my troubles. Just when I thought I'd have to deplete the rest of my stored Airin to get this mountain of piled fabric off of me, my vision lit up in a brilliant reddish-orange glow and the pressure was removed.
I gasped for air, pushing off the floor to confront my savior, who was peering down at me with yet another sheepish expression.
"Whoops! Didn't see you there, Aphid. D'ya mind getting out of my wardrobe?"
My expression soured as I slowly rose to her eye level. Whatever Luster Dawn saw in my gaze, she apparently didn't find it endearing this time, if her gulping uneasily and taking a step back was any indication.
"YOUR WARDROBE?!?!"
Filled to bursting with indescribable fury, I launched myself forward.
