“Stay inside little colt.” his mother kept telling him. The dark blue colt looked outside his window at the dark, stormy night. The clouds were silhouettes that could barely be seen, due to the moon hiding itself in a sea of dark storm clouds off in the distance. The rain began to patter down, first lightly, until it began to pour. To him, it felt like they were living under a waterfall. Although he should have expected, living on a cloud a next to Cloudsdale meant they had to endure the worst of the weather, fresh from the skies. A sudden knock was heard on the door and his mother left him to open it.
“It’s pouring out there. The wind is also making it almost impossible to fly. The weather pegasi and i have all decided to call it in a night." he told her, taking off his coat with his mouth and throwing it at a chair in the room nearby. The storm was raging by now, the wind howling loudly all around them. The windows were battered by raindrops, hurling at their house at speeds faster then any pegasus. The little colt kept staring out the window, waiting for something to happen, something amazing. He had a feeling, deep in his chest, he knew that tonight was a special night. The urge to run outside and fly in the rain was overwhelming. Star Storm always did love to fly in the rain, he loved the feeling of the raindrops hitting his wings, softly pelting his body, then cooling off his wings as he continued to fly. He loved the feeling of being fresh, up high in the sky where nothing could get to him. The sky was his sanctuary.
"Star, go to sleep now." his mother said, breaking his thoughts. She walked in, putting a hoof around him. "This storm will be over tomorrow and don't think you can fly in this weather just because you're called Star Storm." she told him as his father walked in along besides them.
"Come on son, we're going to go to Cloudsdale tomorrow. We'll show you how to change cloud shapes and create rain... it'll be tons of fun!" he said with a grin on his face, rustling Star Storms green and white man with his hoof. Star Storm looked at his parents and hugged them both, smiling at them. Leaving their embrace, he approached the stairs.
"I'll be the best flyer in Equestria one day!" he told them as he walked up the stairs to his room. The colt entered his room upon reaching the second floor and stood in the doorway. "G'night!" he yelled to his parents, closing the door. Although instead of sleeping, he sat by the circular window next to his bed. It provided a clear view of the Equestrian world from up above, although at the moment it was covered in darkness. He looked underneath him to see the town of Ponyville glowing gently. The lights in the houses began to disappear, one by one, as tired ponies all began to sleep. Cloudsdale meanwhile still had various lights on, clearly seen in the distance. The windows of the weather watching pegasi were still on and some pegasus were running in and out of the building. Star Storms curiosity peaked when he saw a pegasus flying towards his house, urgently, in the rain. The sound of a door opening and the hurried chatter between two of the pegasi downstairs interested him.
"...a tornado... the reports of.... colts and fillies to stay indoors no matter... close all windows and doors." he heard from the conversation downstairs.
'A tornado?' Star Storm thought, as he looked out his second window opposite to the window he was previously staring out. In the distance, he could see a dark pillar of wind, approaching Ponyville. Fear began to corrupt his mind and he left his room, running down the stairs. Downstairs, his parents were conversing with another pegasus, one who was a workmate of his fathers. His parents and the weather pegasus briefly looked at him as he walked downstairs, but then continued their conversation.
"We are currently waking the weather fighting pegasus and the wonderbolts. I have been advised to tell all pegasus living within the vicinity of Cloudsdale to return to Cloudsdale immediately for a emergency meeting. Anypony to young must stay indoors no matter what." he said, partially repeating what he said earlier so that Star Storm understood too. The two parents looked at each other and then simultaneously looked at their son.
"Stay here." his father told him. The weather pegasus left their house for the next house nearby as his parents went outside. Stretching their wings momentarily, they looked back at their son with grins. His parents, unlike others, were confident and youthful. They ran off the cloud, diving down, then spearing back up again as they approached Cloudsdale. Star Storm ran up to his room and looked out the window. The pillar of darkness was now getting larger and closer. He could see it approaching a farm down below. His heart sank as he realised what that farm was. That was the home of his best friend, a filly he met a while ago by the name of AppleJack. Did they know about the tornado approaching them? His mind began to panic, jumping to conclusions as to what might happen. He ran downstairs, again, bolting out the door his parents had foolishly left open. His wings were compact as he jumped off the cloud, diving down into the darkness. Then, his wings spread out, catching the air and sending him gliding towards the farm.
'I'll be there AppleJack!' he thought to himself, angling his body into a more aerodynamic position so he could fly faster. He saw the farm up ahead and he saw the Apple family outside, staring up at the tornado that was soon about to hit their farm. Their farm was what stood between the tornado and the rest of Ponyville, meaning they would be the first to get destroyed. As he began to swiftly descend upon the farm, he saw Mac, AppleJacks brother, turn around and look at him. Mac then nudged Granny Smith and with his head pointed at Star Storm. Star Storm gently spread his wings at an angle that let him slowly drop down onto the ground. After surveying the family, he noticed a certain orange filly was not around to be seen.
"Wheres AppleJack??" Star Storm asked them.
"She's out in the fields, on a camping trip." Granny Smith replied. Star Storm felt a sudden chill run down his spine.
"WHAT?!" he yelled, frantically scanning the horizon for a camping tent. All he saw was trees, hundreds of them.
"You have ta find her!" Granny Smith said, watching the tornado in the distance creep up on the farm.
"Eeyup." Mac said, looking the other Star Storm in the eyes. Star Storm spread his wings once again and in a second, pushed his wings as hard as he could, propelling himself into the air. Star Storm flew just a hoofs length above the trees, his eyes darting all over the place, looking for the tent. The sound of the tornado was extremely loud by now, as it was just over the hills. The wind sent his mane fluttering over his eyes, whipping his face. After a minute of flying across the orchards, he spot a bright white tent, glowing in the darkness. A silhouette of a filly was portrayed on the side of the tent wall. Star Storm flew down in front of the tent and with his hooves, he split open the doors to the tent.
"AppleJack?" Star Storm asked. Inside he saw a little orange filly hiding in between her covers. "AppleJack, why didn't you just run back?" he asked.
"Ah...Ah don't know. Ah'm scared." she told him.
"Well you aren't going to be safe here!" he said, quickly exiting the tent. Looking up, he saw the tornado, already sucking the apples from the trees on the far end of the field. It was approaching them quickly and they could feel the force of it already sucking them in. The trees began to bend towards the tornado, their roots snapping and the wooden trunks creaking.
"There ain't time ta run back!" AppleJack said, just as the tent began to start moving. Star Storm picked AppleJack up with his forelegs and began to beat his wings.
"AppleJack... not calling ya fat or anything, but your a bit to heavy to carry!" he yelled against the roar of the tornado. "Hold onto the trees!" he yelled louder. AppleJack ran towards a tree and grabbed onto a root sticking out of the ground. This tree was quite big and did not seem to bend as much as the rest of the trees in the orchard. Star Storm quickly followed, holding onto the root next to her.
"AH'LL HOLD O- ---!" she said, the rest of her sentence cut off by the now raging storm only metres away.
"A--LE--CK!" Star Storm yelled, watching as her body began to get lifted into the air. He felt his own body get lifted too, his hooves digging into the root as the pull of the tornado began to drag them towards it. AppleJacks body was now swerving up and down and her right hoof lost grip of the root.
"------" she attempted to yell, but all that Star Storm heard was the wind rushing past his ears. The tornado was right next to them now. This tornado, luckily, was only a very small tornado, one that could probably be destroyed by a team of weather fighter pegasi. The weather pegasi, it seems, were more occupied by the hurricane further out. This tornado was nothing compared to out there, but for two young ponies, it seemed quiet frightening. The tornado approached them, now just 2 trees away. Then, in a split second, AppleJack was thrown into the air, her body being sucked into the tornado. Without thinking, Star Storm jumped in after her, his body spun around in the flow of the tornado. Through Star Storms eyes, the world flashed by and every now and then he'd see a flash of orange, indicating AppleJack was with him. They were thrown around together, their orientation completely gone.
"Remember son, the angle of you wings is very important when it comes to flying. With the perfect angles, you can do anything!" his father told him. The dark blue colt looked at his father and back down on the ground. They were standing on a cloud together, high above the ground. "Go on, jump!" his father said with a grin.
"O...o-ok." Star Storm replied. He began to jog towards the edge of the cloud, the jog soon turning into a gallop. As he neared the edge, he jumped off, feeling the wind flow through his mane. A second later, his father had jumped off along by him and was now diving with him.
"Spread your wings!" he yelled as they fell. His son obeyed, stretching out his wings fully. The wind was cool on this beautiful day. Remembering the words of his father, Star Storm angled his wings so they were completely flat out. Before, he had only flown like birds fly, beating their wings countless times to stay airborne. This was the very first time he had ever done this.
"Hey... this isn't that hard!" he yelled to his father.
"Yeah! It's called gliding!" his father yelled back. Star Storm realised how easy it was to fly without having to beat his wings, instead using the power of the air currents to keep him in the air. He no longer had to waste energy while flying and used this tactic to fly long distances without having to rest from fatigue.
"This is so much more easy!" Star Storm yelled again.
"Remember, it's all about the angles!" his father also yelled back again. Together, they used this tactic of gliding to soar across the skies. The sun was setting over the horizon and together they flew in the orange beams of light that stretched the sky. The clouds had red linings and the shadows of the hills stretched across the land. If there was ever a perfect time to fly, it was sunset. The weather was perfect, the skies were beautiful and the light was not to bright or dark. Star Storm landed on a cloud, shaking the chill from his wings. His father soon followed behind.
"Shall we get back home?" Star Storm asked.
"Yep, the last thing we want is another lecture from your mother." his father replied, stretching his wings. "You were a great flyer today. One day, you'll be a greater flyer then your old dad here." he told him. Star Storm smiled at the thought. They sat on the cloud, staring at the sunset.
"One day dad, not today." he told his father. His father put a hoof around his son and they sat watching the sun dip below the horizon, it's orange haze fading under the earth.
'It's all about angles...' Star Storm thought to himself as he attempted to stretch out his wings. He had been in tornados before, after all, his classmates at flight school would all band together and create ones during lunch breaks. Star Storm angled his wings in a way that made him regain stability, putting him in a upright position. He now used the power of the tornado to speed himself up, catching up to AppleJack who was still tumbling in the walls of the tornado. As he caught up to her, he stretched out his forelegs, grabbing the filly by the waist and holding onto her. As he grabbed hold of her, he held her in a upright position while he was still in a outstretched position. She turned her head to see what was going on. As she saw Star Storm, a feeling of relief took over her. Using his wings to turn himself completely vertical, he gains even more speed. Using the momentum of the tornado, Star Storm bursts out of the tornado, leaving a small gap in the tornados walls, which was soon refilled again. With all the speed he could muster, he flew towards the Apple family house.
"How can ya even carry me right now?" AppleJack asked him. She looked up at the pegasus holding her and saw the fierce determination in his eyes.
"I guess... it's coz of the power I got from the tornado... it must have catapulted me out. All I did was hold onto you." he told her. After saying this, he realised he was beginning to lose speed. AppleJack was beginning to weigh him down again and he was now manoeuvring his way past the many trees in the orchard. Luckily for him, the Apple family house was just ahead. Settling AppleJack down, Star Storm hovered in the air besides her. Together they made their way into the safety of the house.
"Bout time you little young'ns got back!" she yelled above the sound of the tornado. Though Star Storm and AppleJack had escaped the tornado, they were not fully out of danger yet.
"Look!" Mac shouted, his hoof raised and pointing towards a team of four pegasi charging towards the tornado. Two of which were Star Storms parents. The other two were the parents of another one of Star Storms friends, Rainbow Dash. Together the four pegasi all dived into the tornado, all spinning in a direction opposite of the tornado. This opposing force of wind created by the pegasi began to slowly destroy the tornado as it was overwhelmed by the bigger tornado. A larger, opposite spinning, pony-made tornado was now surrounding the smaller tornado. Eventually the tornado had lost its momentum and disintegrated.
"Whoa... Star Storm did ya see that?!" AppleJack asked. Star Storm looked at the sight in awe. He had never seen a tornado be destroyed like that before. The bigger tornado now began to slow down and disappeared. All that remained on the scene were four pegasi. They approached the ponies watching them, shaking their manes since they had become so ruffled.
"I thought we told you to stay inside." his father told him.
"I did... for a second. You never said how long I had to stay." the little colt replied with a mischievous look on his face.
"That wasn't very smart to fly into a tornado." Rainbow Dashes mother told him.
"You... saw all of it?" Star Storm asked.
"We sure did." said Star Storms mother.
"That was pretty brave, what you did. Plus, the fact that you did it to save AppleJack here proves that you have potential." Rainbow Dashes father told him.
"T... thanks." he told them all, looking at each pegasus.
"Come on, lets get back to Cloudsdale." Star Storms dad said to all pegasi. Together they lifted their wings and began to take off.
"Thanks for savin me, Storm." AppleJack said quickly before he got to high. Star Storm nodded to her and gave her a smile. Then, he blasted off into the sky along with the other pegasus.
