Red Sky At Dawn

Red Sky At Dawn.

Spinoff of Steadfast Sky.

Chapter 4: The Family

Astral

There I was, standing in a town square surrounded by guards. My metal friend lay next to me, and Zee clutched at my leg in terror as they advanced. What was I going to do?! They'd capture us, and that would be it! Freedom over! The circle grew tighter, and tighter, and tighter until...

"Stop! What are you doing?!"

The guards moved aside to reveal a well built stallion, grey in colour, with a puzzled look on his face. He observed my and Zee's terror. "Why are you frightening these children?"

"Sir, we believe that these are the ones responsible for the theft." a guard spoke up.

"The picnic?! If that was the case then why so many guards? There must be something else going on other than the theft of a picnic!"

"They are under arrest for theft sir."

"Those two didn't steal it!"

"Well... they're under arrest for harbouring a criminal." the guard gestured to Crisis' crumpled body.

"I retract my claim."

"I'm sorry sir?"

"They are forgiven for the theft. Let them go." the stallion smiled at us.

The guard, however, shook with rage. "But sir!!!" he cried out.

"No buts. They are forgiven." the stallion looked down at the guard. "Unless you are questioning my authority..."

"No sir!" the guard replied standing to attention. He then turned and spoke reluctantly to us. "You.. you can go free..." the guards dispersed, and soon the courtyard was back to normal, bustling with ponies. The stallion walked over to join us, his stride indicating influence and power. I looked down at the ground as he approached. "I'm sorry sir... we needed food, and had no money so my friend took it upon himself to get hold of some..."

"Nonsense!" the stallion scoffed. "There's no need to be sorry! You were hungry, so he took some food to help you! All he had to do was ask, and the three of you could have joined us!"

I was shocked. Where was the anger, the hatred? "You mean... you're not mad?"

"I'm mad with the guards for turning such a small crime into a full blown investigation. So then, what are your names?"

"I'm Astral, this is Zee and that's Crisis." I pointed to his crumpled body, and then remembered how he had fallen. "That reminds me! Crisis! Are you okay?"

There was no response, and I cried out in anguish. Next to me Zee collapsed onto the ground, lying with his frail head against my flank, and coughing painfully. The stallion gasped.

"Are you okay?"

"We're fine... we'll just have to find somewhere to stay for a while. Thank you again!" I took hold of Crisis' arm, and began to pull him in the direction of an alley.

"Come and stay with me and my family!"

I looked back at the stallion. "What? Oh no, that's okay..."

"I insist! Just until you get back on your feet! I assure you, I have more than enough room."

"Really? You'd let us stay?"

"And I think we need to take your friend Zee to a doctor, he sounds very sick!" with that, the stallion walked across to me, and helped me lift Crisis. Zee clambered onto my back. "Thank you mister." the zebra said.

"Please, call me Stark." we walked for a while in silence, before finally reaching a grand white mansion. "This is my home!" said Stark gesturing to the building. "Now come on inside to meet the rest of the family!"

"Family?"

"Oh yes Astral. While you stay here you're part of the family too!" Stark opened the front door, and smiled at me.

"Welcome to the family!"

Crisis

I awoke slowly, trying to recollect why I had shut down, then sat bolt upright as the memories returned. I had shut down in front of all those guards! Had we been captured? Where was...

"Shh.. there, there." came a soft voice. I looked to my right and saw a teenage pony standing alongside the bed. She looked a bit older than Astral, and wore a kind expression, but those were not the first things I noticed. She was silver. Her coat shone almost parallel to mine, and I was amazed by the detail of colour. Her mane was a light grey, as were her eyes, narrowed slightly with age and full of concern. "Where am I?" I asked her hesitantly, while looking at my surroundings. That's when I recognised her.

She was the older sibling from the picnic! The picnic I stole! I launched myself towards the window, only to find that my body, still weakened, moved sluggishly. The pony held my shoulders, and gently pushed me back.

"Don't worry, you're okay. There's nothing to be frightened about."

"There's everything to be frightened about! Surely you're... angry?"

The pony shook her head. "No. Why would I be? You were just hungry."

"I wasn't hungry, but my friends we..."  a thought occurred to me. "Where are my friends?!"

"Astral is downstairs, and Zee is at the doctors."

"Doctors? I guess he was pretty ill.. so you just let them stay here?"

The silver pony laughed lightly. "Of course! You needed a place to stay."

I sat up once again. "Well, umm... thanks for your hospitality.. I'll just be going now..."

"You need rest Crisis."

"You know my name...?"

"Astral told us all about you."

"Uh... well in that case you probably already know that I heal faster than ponies. I'll just walk this off..."

"She also told us that you'd be reluctant to stay here."

I looked the silver pony directly in the eye. "You know my name, so what's yours? Fairs fair."

She smiled gracefully at me before replying. "My name is Serenity."

"Yeah, well I'm sorry Serenity, but this ain't my scene." I sat up once again, and pushed the covers off of me. "We'll get out of your hair... or rather mane now."

"Crisis, Zee's not the only one who needs to see a doctor."

"What, is Astral sick to..." suddenly I realised what she meant, and I sighed deeply. "Seriously? A doctor? For me?"

A look of concern crossed Serenity's face. "You collapsed Crisis. We need to make sure everything's okay."

"As much as I'd love to watch your doctor puzzle over me, I've got more important things to do, so...." I walked over to the bedroom door, and pulled it open, before turning back to Serenity. "See ya."

With that I left the room, and began to walk across the hall, limping and moving slowly. Serenity walked after me, and I felt a flicker of annoyance at her persistence.

"Crisis, you're limping."

"Yeah, I noticed."

I began to walk down the mighty marble staircase that linked the top and bottom floors, only to get halfway and stop. From midway on the stairs, I could see into the living room where...

The family. The family I had stolen the basket from were laughing happily and lovingly together, with an extra guest...

Astral was laughing with them. Serenity stepped up to my side, and spoke levelly to me, "This is why we want you to stay Crisis, so you can join the family. What to you say?"

I looked back to Serenity, and answered her question. "No." I the traveled down the remaining steps and strode to the front door of the mansion. "I don't do families."

Serenity looked on sadly, as I opened the front door... only to hear Astral's voice. "Crisis! Where are you going?" the unicorn stood behind me alongside the rest of the family, all of whom looked concerned. The sight made me feel sick.

Families made me feel sick.

Astral

I looked on in confusion, as Crisis stood by the front door. "Where are you going Crisis?"

"I'm getting the hell out of dodge."

"What?"

"I'm leaving. You coming?"

"What? Now? No!" I gestured to the family behind me. "I'm staying here until Zee gets better!"

"You... you are?" Crisis paused, then turned. To face away from us. "Okay then, I'll meet you in a few days."

"What do you mean!?"

"I'll stay out in the city, and wait for you. Families aren't my thing."

This time it was Serenity who spoke. "Stay Crisis. Please."

Crisis looked torn for a split second, but he quickly recovered. "No can do. I'll never understand you ponies. Hatred one minute, meaningless love the next. I can't handle that." The silver Biomech sparked, then faded into thin air as he began to cloak himself and the door slammed shut, leaving us alone. I sat down in the grand hallway, as loneliness began to sink in. Then I was pulled into a huge hug by the family, and the loneliness vanished instantly.

Crisis didn't know what he was missing here.

As for the family themselves, there was the father Stark, a leading businesspony, and an important figurehead in Stringhalt. He was a grey colt, who was wise and good natured. It was Stark who had taken us in, and I already understood that he had great power in this city.

Serene, the mother, was an important political worker who advised the mayor on ways to improve life for ponies in the town. Her coat was a luxurious white, and her pristine mane the same.

The youngest sibling Glance was a colt, just a bit older than Zee. Glance was already top of his class in school and was amazingly educated. He, like his siblings, had a silver coat that shone in the light.

The next oldest was Shine, a filly about the same age as me. Shine took more to adventuring than learning, and she spent most of her time attempting a vast variety of hobbies. She claimed that she was searching to get her cutie mark, and from the jumbled mix of her room, I believed her!

The final, oldest sister was Serenity and she was the most prominent in the family, and the one I bonded with most. Her coat outshone the rest of her family, and I found her grace and kindness incredible. Serenity was mature, and knowledgeable like me and we often talked about current affairs, and the various aspects of modern life in Equestria.

Of all the families that Crisis could have robbed from, he picked the kindest most understanding family in all of Stringhalt.

Yet he didn't want to stay with them.

Zee

I heard Crysus! He was going downstairs to see Astral, and that meant he was awake. I was about to call out to him, when Doctor Francis put a thermometer in my mouth. It was all cold, so I spat it out.

The doctor immediately placed it back into my mouth, and this time I kept it in. Satisfied, the doctor took the temperature, and wrote something on a piece of paper. I struggled to look at it, but the table it was on was too high... the door opened, and Serene and Serenity entered. Upon seeing them, I called out happily, "Hey!!"

Serenity smiled at me, but Serene was more serious, and she spoke with concern to the doctor. "Is Zee going to be okay Francis?"

The doctor looked at his notes. "He is very malnourished, but hopefully with a few weeks care and rest he should recover. Where did you say you found him?"

"He was living out on the streets! Can you imagine?"

I strained at the covers. I wanted to go play with Crysus! The doctor noticed my struggling. "What's wrong Zee?"

"I wanna play wif Crysus!"

Serenity and Serene exchanged a glance, and then Serenity spoke to me.

"I'm sorry Zee, but Crisis is busy. He won't be back for a while."

"Where is he!!??"

"He doesn't like us Zee." came a harsh female voice. Astal walked through the door, anger etched on her face. "He left because he doesn't like us."

"Crysus... doesn't like me?"

Serenity attempted to comfort me. "That's not true. He just feels out of place in family situations. He's going to wait until you're better, then return."

"We don't know that for sure..." spat Astral.

Serenity sat at the foot of the bed, and looked at me directly, her silver eyes shimmering even in the low light. "He will come back Zee. Because he loves you. Even if he doesn't realise it yet."

"Okay..." said Francis, packing up his equipment, "I think we should just let Zee rest for a while." reluctantly, the others left, and soon it was just me. Alone.

I started to cry, and laid back on the pillow.

Where was Crysus?

Crisis

It was a great day out, if you could call it that. As usual, forbidding grey clouds hung in the sky, and the light that reached Stringhalt was bleak and lifeless. A guy could get sick of clouds...

I was also sick with Astral, or more importantly, her decision to stay with that family. I muttered to myself as I walked down yet another deserted alleyway. Then I stopped.

There was a kid, about the same age as Astral standing in the alley ahead of me, an earth pony. I realised that I had neglected to activate my cloaking systems, and the kid was staring at me intently. He raised his head and shouted loudly, "CAWCAW!"

What the? why was he...? I suddenly realised what he was doing. He was signalling! But to who? I whirled around to find three older earth ponies standing behind me. What was this, some kind of kids army?

"Listen cub-scouts!" I called out warningly, "If I were you, I'd run back to my treehouse..." the irony was that they were older than me. They were about Serenity's age and looked pretty rough.

"Nice try agent of the Shadow Stallion!" the middle pony said extravagantly. "We've found you, and your evil ways of evil will be stopped!" his comrades cawed in response.

Shadow Stallion? I raised my hands, and started to correct them, then stopped myself. Maybe... I could let them think I was the Shadow Stallion's agent, after all...

I could use a fair fight. Just to test my skills on a weaker opponent. And now, I had three of them. I balled my fist. This could be fun!

"You got me! I guess you discovered my identity." I stepped forward, causing the three to step back in fear. "But I'm afraid I can't let you leave here.... What do you say to a fair fight?" I was met by a chorus of whimpering from the now terrified earth ponies, and then a cawing from... The rooftops? I looked up to find a huge number of very young earth ponies, stamping their hooves, and cawing. They covered the surrounding rooftops, and all looked angry. Oh heck, this was starting to look like a mistake! Why couldn't I judge situations correctly?

I raised my hands again."Okay, let's just.... uh... whatever happened to a fair fight?"

"Sickle Ravens never play fair with bad guys! Now get im!" cried the ringleader. With another round of cawing, the rooftop ponies began to throw stones at me. One or two stones might have been an annoyance, but that many? There were hundreds of stones pelting me, making it impossible to concentrate on the task at hand. Running away.

I ducked and dodged to avoid stones, only to run into the path of more, each one seeming to hit with deadly strength. This had gone horribly!

The three leader ponies advanced upon me holding in their mouths, the ropes of...

"A net?!!" I cried aloud. Okay, that was it, the show was over! I raised one hand, and conjured a ball of electricity, surprising myself, and my attackers. The motion stopped the flow of stones and the advance of the net, and silence fell about the courtyard. As more and more energy flowed into to ball, increasing its size, I spoke to the gathered crowd, my voice filled with malice."The next pony to throw a stone gets this in return."

There were gasps, and a few whimpers from the younger ponies. At last I had the upper hand! So this is what it felt like to be the master of a situation! To have unrivalled power! To instil fear into othe...

As if sensing my corruptive thoughts, the clouds opened up into a full blown rainstorm, with raindrops so thick that you could almost swim in them.

Not that I noticed this, after all, electricity and water don't mix. All that rain conducted the energy ball directly into me, forcing me to the ground as the Sickle Ravens ran for shelter. The power I had generated surged into me, flooding my thoughts with blinding energy, and my circuits with overloaded power. I cried out in pain, and then as the charge ended, lay twitching in the torrential rain.

I felt cold, useless and...

Lonely.

Serenity

I sat next to Zee on the warm carpet next to the fire while he drew pictures of the things he loved. There were pictures of an older zebra (his brother?) and the various family members. The young zebra also drew pictures of... Crisis. Crisis with the family, Crisis playing in the park. If only those pictures could come true for the little guy...

Astral sat on my other side, engrossed in a book I had given her, a classic work of fiction. Surprisingly, Astral had never read fiction before, and she seemed amazed by the concept of escapism that fiction created. My parents were out for the night, no doubt at some political party, meaning that I was in charge of the house. Glance and shine also sat with us around the fire, both of whom were also reading. Shine was reluctant to read at first, but after realising it could mean a cutie mark, she became immediately interested. Just as Zee finished a surprisingly good rendition of father, there came a weak knock at the door. Astral and I exchanged glances, then we both rose to answer it, the same thought on our minds.

I reached the door, undid the bolt and pulled it open to reveal...

Crisis. He was sitting in a puddle on the front step, and the rain was pelting his scratched body. There were burn marks along the metal, and he twitched every so often. "You.. should have seen... the other guy... he joked weakly, then collapsed onto the front step.

We cried out, and ran to him, soaking ourselves in the process, as the steady rain fell upon Stringhalt.

Astral

It had been a week since Crisis' return, and he had already managed to bond with the family, or at least partially bonded. He was reluctant at first, and was even scornful about certain aspects of family life, but he was still loved in return by all of us.

Eventually, the day came when Zee was better. The doctor deemed him fit, and I realised it was time. This week had been the best I could remember, but there were still more pressing matters at hand. In a house as warm and friendly as this one, it was easy to forget the steadfast clouds coating the sky, the slavery of certain races, and the brutality of others. It was up to us to sort these problems out, and that's what we would do, gathering the elements as we went.

And by we, I meant Crisis and I. Zee was not invited.

The little Zebra's face fell as I informed him that the journey was too dangerous for a foal, and that he would have to remain here. Then the tears began. It was breaking my heart to leave him, but it would break my heart even more to see him hurt. I was offered a permanent place in the family, as was Crisis, but we both refused. The mission came first, and we would leave.

Then came the tragedy.

After that, all of our plans changed.

Serenity

It was the last day that Crisis and Astral were staying, and I decided to join them on one last shopping trip for supplies. That way, they wouldnt feel the need to steal picnic baskets!

Astral and I picked out the essential items, while Crisis (hidden by invisiblity) and Zee mucked about together one last time. We finished, leaving the market place with everything on the shopping list, first aid, food, blankets, and we returned home.

Except it wasn't home. Not the way it was. The house was ablaze, flames roaring into the afternoon sky, the soaring blades of fire brushing against the cloud layer. I screamed in horror, and was about to dash towards the house, when Astral held me back. She pointed with one shaking hoof to a group of guards, shrouded in smoke from the fire. Why weren't they trying to...?! Then I saw the guards properly and realised why.

They were griffins. Which meant... this was the Shadow Stallion's doing. Without thinking, I dashed towards the guards, snorting with rage. "Where is my family!!!??" I roared into the face of a guard, tears mixed into the anger.

"I'm afraid that your family has been convicted of high treason. As have you missy." the griffin laughed cruelly. "You're under arrest." he pulled out a lasso from behind his back, and stepped towards me. I couldn't believe this was happening.. my family...

"Not in my neighbourhood!" came a voice from behind me. Crisis, ever the image of reason, sat on an overlooking rooftop, his legs crossed. When he spoke, he did so with a cocky accent filled with self assurance, and smirking courage. I had to hand it to him, even in a crisis the guy was headstrong.

The griffin guards didn't seem to know how to react, so Crisis answered for them. "Run Serenity!! I've got these guys covered!" I bolted, feeling the lasso scrape the air behind me. Astral and Zee grabbed my hoof, and the three of us began to run. "Crisis!" I called out, "Come on!!"

"I'll hold them off." he said bitterly. "Just get as far from here as you can!"

I listened to his advice, and soon the three of us reached an abandoned courtyard, far from that rich street where I had once lived.

Had once lived. I lay down on the cobblestone, and cried my heart out. Astral and Zee joined me, and finally, eyes still filled with tears, I turned to Astral. "I'm coming with you. We're gathering those elements, and if it's the last thing I do..." I looked up to the oppressive clouds above Stringhalt and called out in anguish. "I'm stopping the Shadow Stallion!!!!!"

Crisis

I sat on the roof as the guards approached. Was this a bad idea? Too late now... Well at least the others had escaped. If nothing else came from this, then so be it.

The roof of the mansion finally collapsed in sparks of fire, and the anger I felt conjured up more sparks.

Blue sparks.

I raised my hands and pointed them at the guards, before laughing hysterically.

Then came the thunder vortex.

Reams of energy, the likes of which I had never seen, poured from my hands, creating a hailstorm of electricity across the square. The flickers of light blocked out the burning mansion, and soon the air was turned a hazy, yet shocking blue. From the synapse like gaps in the storm, I could see the griffin guards collapse and writhe on the floor. This felt amazing! My true purpose, as a weapon! Killing guards, like flies!

Wait... killing?

I stopped the energy flow in horror, and reeled back. What had I done!?? I had lost control!! There were intense burn marks along the ground, and the six guards lay without movement on the cobblestone. The mansion continued to burn, and I found myself looking at the fire. I couldn't understand it.

What had possessed me? I had felt a strange power fill me as I opened fire... the same power I had felt in that alleyway fighting the kids. Was there some inner directive built into me, or was this a glitch, a virus designed to corrupt me. My owners, what had they created me for? All this weaponry and power... I dwelled on the subject a while longer, not noticing as the mansion slowly burnt away.

I was a monster... but why?

Serenity

The three of us sat in the square, no talking and now no crying. I felt that I had cried all my sadness away, and now there was only anger. Anger at the Shadow Stallion, his guards and anypony who took his side! I drew an inward gasp. That level of hatred wasn't like me, and so I focused carefully on forgiveness. One thing was for sure though. I would defeat the Stallion.

There was motion behind us, and we all looked around in unison. Crisis stood at the far end of the courtyard, black marks along his body and a troubled voice. "Crysus!" called out Zee happily.

"Let's go. I've seen enough of Stringhalt." Crisis replied.

"How are we going to get out?" Astral asked. "We're all Stringhalt's most wanted! There's no way that they'll let us leave without a fight."

"Then we'll give them one." Crisis muttered angrily.

"No!" I cried out. "We can't sink to their level!" I regained my calm attitude once again, and spoke levelly. "I know of one way out... a way to leave the city that nopony knows about. Follow me."

I led them along the strangely deserted alley streets. This was strange... where was everypony? I hadn't seem the streets this deserted since the aftermath of the child rebellion, last month.

Eventually, we reached yet another deserted courtyard, this one filled by an overbearing oak tree, it's branches weak and lifeless from lack of sun. I gestured to a single stringing branch, high above the ground and rendered small by perspective from our position on the ground. The branch hung just over the mighty Stringhalt wall. "We can climb that, then get over the top."

"Are you kidding!" Astral exclaimed, "A fall from that distance..."

"Not if we drift."

"Drift?"

I looked at the faces surrounding me. "It was a game I used to play with my older brother."

"Older bro?" said Zee. "Who's that!?"

"My older brother, Darrius. We used to climb the tree, then glide down using drifts." I pulled out a blanket from the saddlebag. "I can create a drift using this."

"By drift, do you mean parachute?" Crisis asked, his voice once again cocky. "Cause I really hope that's what you mean.."

"Parachute?"

The Biomech sighed. "Never mind..."

"What happened to your older brother?" asked Astral.

"He joined the resistance, and left Stringhalt. I haven't seen him in a year..."

"Then we'll find him." Astral reassured me. "We'll find him, and help him. But first... the tree.

Zee

The drifts were done! We had climbed the big tree, and we now sat on a branch, Astral holding me close, and Crysus standing freely. I wanted to be just like Crysus!

Serenity had given us each a drift, except me... why not? "Where's my drift?"

"Huh?" she said, eyes widening. "You and Astral can go together." I sighed. They were always babying me! I wanted a drift...

Serenity stood up on the branch, her hooves slipping a little. Then she jumped! I strained a little at Astral's grasp. "I don't wanna play drifts any more."

"Don't worry Zee, it's going to be okay." with that, Astral peered over the wall, hooves grabbing both me, and the branch. Serenity was standing next to her drift, miles and miles and miles down! Too far to...

"Jump." said Crysus.

Astral looked back, panicked. "I... I can't..."

"Then allow me!" he pushed Astral, and jumped at the same time falling beside us. The air rushed in, too fast, then the drift caught it and we glided. "Ohmyohmyohmyohmy!" Astral exclaimed. "If Unicorns were meant to fly, we'd be given wiiiiiiiiiiiiiings..."

We landed near to Serenity, and Crisis, both of whom were staring back at the wall. It was a big wall... And now, we were on the other side, away from the buildings! Into the forest, where I belonged! This was where me and my Bro lived before we came to Stringhalt! "Come on guys!" I called to the others. "Lets go!"

Gradually, they tore themselves away from gazing at the wall, and joined me.

For some reason, the three of them didn't look very happy... but why not? After all...

The adventure had started!