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Chapter 1: From on the streets to a new friend
On the streets
He was hungry. He was cold, tired, wanting for a friend but more than anything, he was hungry. He would sit by the road using his magic to hold up a small cup and asking anypony that passed by for spare bits, food, anything. He was amazed how far he had fallen. Almost two years ago he was on top of the world. Now he had to beg just to stay alive.
It was the same every day. He would get up, walk down the road until his hooves couldn't hold him anymore, sit down and beg, and try to sleep. He never did get much sleep, and when he did sleep, he was visited in his dreams by one certain pony. Every night it was the same dream. After the dream he would wake up with sweat on his brow and tears in his eyes. He cried because he knew that no matter how hard he tried he would never forget the mare of his dreams. So he always kept moving, because if he couldn't forget her, then no matter what he would find her.
Big Macintosh was walking down the road on his way back home. He loved visiting family in Appleoosa, but he hated being away from the farm, so he moved quick enough to make sure he was back by dinner, but not too quick as to miss the beautiful country side that he passed by on that lonely dirt road. He was thinking about the food that awaited him at home when he noticed somepony on the side of the street. It was a dark blue unicorn with a royal blue mane and tail to match. Big Mac could tell he was a stallion, and he looked just a hair shorter than the farm pony. Upon closer inspection, Big Mac could tell that the pony wasn't having the best of times. Always willing to lend a helping hoof, he went up to the pony and started talking with him.
"You alright there friend?" he said in his low southern drawl. "Looks like you need a little help."
"I'm fine," the blue unicorn replied," just fine."
"Ya don't look fine out on this here road all by yourself."
"I can make it on my own, but thanks for asking."
The pony was stubborn, Big Mac could tell. He had handled stubborn ponies before, like last harvest season when his sister Applejack thought she could buck all the trees in the orchard with no help. But through that, Big Mac learned that most of the time when ponies were the most stubborn, that was when they needed the most help.
"Look, Ah'm just trying to help you out. Ah don't know what goin' on, but everypony needs a friend."
The pony looked up at Big Mac and said, "You're the first pony to try to help me in a long time, thank you."
The farm pony just smiled and said, "Follow me, Ah reckon ah can find you a place to stay. By the way, the name's Big Macintosh, but most ponies call me Big Mac."
"Nice to meet you Big Mac," the unicorn replied, "I'm Stormy Weathers, but you can call me Stormy."
Stormy and Big Mac spent the first part of their walk together in silence, neither pony knowing what to say. That is until Big Mac spoke up.
"So, why were you out there all alone?" the big red stallion asked, "What's your story?"
Stormy thought about it for a while until he decided that if this pony was going to give him a roof over his head, the least he could do was tell him why he needed it.
"My family was poorer than most when I was born. My mom and dad were able to find work on a lemon tree farm so that they could earn enough money for some food. Eventually the owners of the farm gave it to us and it became our soul property. When I got older, I discovered I had a talent for magic, not just normal magic, but things most unicorns that were twice my age couldn't do. So, my parents saved up enough money and sent me to Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, where I was able to truly hone my abilities. It was there also where I met the pony of my dreams. She was smart, funny, beautiful, and we fell in love the first time we saw each other. After about two years, my parents sent me a letter that I had to come back home because they were going to lose the farm. I didn't want to leave but I had to. After six months of working on the farm, the inevitable happened, we lost it. I left home with one single purpose, to find my mare so that we could be together again. I've been roaming Equestria ever since but I never could find her. I considered giving up a few times, but the thought of her always kept me going. That's my life, beginning to end."
Big Mac sympathized with the blue unicorn. He truly felt bad for him. He assured Stormy that he would find his mare, and that if he needed to Big Mac would help him find her. It made Stormy feel a lot better that there was somepony that understood what he was going through and wanted to help.
When they got to Sweet Apple Acres, Big Macintosh looked at Stormy and said, "Welcome to your new home, friend"
A New Home
Stormy looked out over the apple orchard and marveled at its size. His family's farm wasn't nearly as big as this. Then again, most ponies liked apples much more than they liked lemons. He followed Big Mac down to the main house on the property and went inside. The first thing he noticed was the smell of a home cooked meal. He hadn't eaten in days and the grumbles and growls emulating from his stomach showed his hunger. When Big Mac entered the door behind him, he called out "AJ, set one more place at the table, we got a guest."
Just then a light orange pony walked out from the kitchen wearing an apron covered in flour. "Howdy there stranger," she said with a grin on her face,"Ah'm Applejack." She then shot an annoyed look towards Big Macintosh and mumbled something under her breath about uninvited guests.
"Nice to meet you Applejack, I'm Stormy."
Stormy then followed Applejack into the kitchen where he saw a pale yellow filly trying to use the stand mixer on the counter, which resulted in a batter of some sort splattering everywhere, including the three ponies just walking in the door.
"Apple Bloom! What have ah told you about using my cooking tools?" As she scolded the small filly, Applejack wiped the gooey substance off her face.
"Ah'm sorry Applejack," Apple Bloom replied, "Ah was just tryin' to help."
Applejack just smiled and patted her little sister on the head, "That's alright, we'll clean it up later, right now its suppertime."
The four ponies then sat at the table and began to eat. Applejack updated Big Macintosh about every thing that happened on the farm while he was gone, and Apple Bloom entertained the group with stories of what her and her friends had gotten into that day. Stormy didn't really talk that much. He was never good at starting the conversation. And it wasn't until later that night after Apple Bloom went to bed, that Applejack asked the questions she wanted answers to.
"So Stormy, how do you and my brother know each other?" Stormy was about to answer when Big Mac did it for him.
"We met on my way back from Appleloosa, he needed a place to stay and ah said we would be happy to accommodate him."
"Big Mac," Applejack replied,"Ya can't just go picking everypony havin' hard times off the streets and tell em that they can stay with us. Ah mean do you even know who he is past what he calls himself?"
"As a matter of fact AJ, Ah do know him. He's a good pony and just needed some help."
"Well Ah won't believe it until Ah hear it come from the horses mouth."
Stormy knew it was coming so he prepared himself and told Applejack the same story he told Big Macintosh on the road. By the time he finished Applejack had already decided she could trust this pony. If for any reason, because he could lend a much needed hoof around the farm. Applejack prepared the guest room for him and that night, Stormy had the first good nights sleep he had had in a while.
That sleep was broken however when he heard the crow of a rooster. As he looked out the window, he saw Celestia's beautiful sunrise and knew that it was time to get to work. He had promised the Apples the night before that he would help around the farm as much as he could, and he never broke a promise. When it came to bucking trees, the experience of working on a farm plus the leg muscles he had developed from walking so much over the past two years helped immensely. He was so much of a help in fact, that the three working ponies were able to cut the work day short for the first time since, well, since forever. Stormy loved being able to work again and having friends like Big Mac and Applejack working with him made it an even better feeling. For the first time in a long time, he felt good.
After a while though, Stormy felt as if he had overstayed his welcome. After all, he never let himself stay in one place for too long. One night he packed his belongings and tried to sneak out the door. What found him as he left though, wasn't what he expected.
"Now where do you think yer goin'?" Big Macintosh asked the unicorn.
"I've stayed here too long," Stormy replied,"I have to go."
"Stormy, listen, I know you miss your mare, if Ah left behind the pony I loved Ah would feel the same way. But this is your home now. You'll find her, Ah know you will, but you'll do more danger to yourself out on those streets then you'll do good. You need to stay here with the ponies that care about you, and we do care for you,a lot, so please if not for yourself then for us, please stay."
Stormy thought about what Big Mac said for a long time, and the more he thought about it, the more he knew that the farm pony was right. His mare was waiting for him, and he didn't want to end up dead looking for her. He knew that staying here was best.
"You're right Big Mac. I need to be here."
"And don't worry Stormy," Big Mac said to the forlorn pony,"if it comes down to it we'll find her together, you and me."
"Thanks Big Mac, for all that you've done for me."
"No thanks needed, Ah bet ya would have done the same for me."
As Stormy went up to bed, he thought about what he had been going through for the past two years. How everypony looked down on him and never even took a second look at a homeless pony. Then he thought about the past two weeks. He thought about the Apples, how kind and generous they were. As he was falling asleep, he thought to himself, "I'll never go back to that life I knew, this is my new life. This is my new home.
Her Story
Twilight Sparkle was reading. Not a big surprise, she was always reading. It seemed like those books could give her something that nopony else could. The books never argued, they never lied, and they always seemed to have the answers. She had come to realize, though, that they could never replace friendship, or love.
She had felt love before. It was the kind of love that was true, that could never be broken, no matter what. Not a day went by that she didn't think of him and how their time together was taken by something that was out of their control. She hated not being able to see him, but it was no use. "Its been two years," she thought, "he's probably forgotten me by now." She would think this from time to time but today was the worst. It was the anniversary of the day they met. She could remember it almost like it had happened yesterday.
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4 Years Earlier
Twilight was on a mission. She was sorting through book after book like a madmare. The princess had just given her an assignment and she wanted to start on it right away. When she had finally found the perfect book she dashed out of the library, and ran into another pony head on. The collision had caused her to lose her magical grip on the book and she wasn't very happy about almost losing it. She wanted to give this pony a piece of her mind, but when she got up to look at him it stopped her in her tracks. Twilight felt something strange, something that even she couldn't explain. She was drawn to him.
"Oh, I'm sorry miss, let me get that book for you." He lit his horn up with a brilliant royal blue light and levitated the book with ease. He offered to walk Twilight back to her home and as if on instinct she accepted his offer. They talked about everything while they were walking, from magic, to books, to politics, everything. It was the first time she had ever been able to have this intelligent of a conversation with anypony but the princess. She didn't want it to end. She felt like she could talk to him forever. She never believed in love at first sight but now, she had experienced first hand, and it was wonderful. When they got to Twilight's home she realized that she had never introduced herself.
"Thank you for walking me home," she said, "I'm Twilight Sparkle"
"Very nice to meet you Twilight Sparkle," he replied, "I'm Stormy Weathers."
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Twilight had set her book down by this point and just sat in her chair thinking about that night. She thought about all the dates they went on and how happy he had made her. But, whenever she thought about the good times, eventually, her thoughts would lead her to the bad times.
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They sat at the train station for what seemed like forever. They didn't speak, they just savored each others company.
Finally, when the conductor called for everypony to get on the train, Stormy got up. Immediately, Twilight brought him into a loving embrace. "Please, if you have to go, let me go with you." She said.
"Honey you know I can't let you do that," he replied with a hurt tone of voice, "I love you more than anything on this or any other world, but you need to stay here and continue studying. That's what's best for you. But don't worry Twi, as soon as I can, no matter where you are, I'll find you and we'll be together again. I promise.
She let him go. She had to, there was no stopping him. As the train left, She heard him scream, "I love you!" She wanted to reply but she knew he wouldn't hear her. She left and felt as if there was nothing left for her but her books and her studies. Nothing but the lonely life she led before she met him.
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Twilight shed a tear but quickly wiped it from her face. She went out of the library. She thought that maybe the fresh air would help her. Besides, she was running low on apples anyway.
Reunion
Stormy wiped the sweat from his brow. Applebucking season was over and now, with no trees to buck, Stormy was on his first trip to Ponyville to help sell the apples he and his friends had harvested. Stormy and Big Mac's job was to unload crates of apples off of the cart whenever Applejack, who was at the stand selling, needed to refresh her supply. It was hard work, but being with his friends made the work fly by for Stormy.
By midday the cart was almost half empty. Although, Stormy wasn't surprised, the Apples did have a monopoly on the apple business in this small town. Ponies would line up just to get a bag of delicious apples, and it also didn't hurt that AJ had some cider samples out for anypony who was feeling thirsty.
"Applejack sure does have a lot of friends here in Ponyville. " thought Stormy. Throughout the course of the day, he had noticed a few ponies that he could tell were best friends of AJ. A rainbow maned pony who was more interested in challenging her to a race than buying apples, a timid pegasus who would barely speak above a whisper, a very stylish unicorn who came up to the stand with a umbrella (even though there wasn't a cloud in the sky), and an earth pony who could barely keep herself standing still, and wouldn't shut her mouth for one second. Stormy never introduced himself, but he did notice how Big Mac wouldn't stop looking at the shy one,Maybe there's something to that? , he questioned in his mind. Not wanting to cause embarrassment, he just went along with his work, hiding an amused smile at his friend.
Stormy was just unloading the last of the crates, when he thought he heard a familiar voice. He stopped and craned his neck in the direction of the sound, trying to determine if his suspicions were right.
"Good afternoon, Applejack."
"Well howdy there Twilight, what can I get for you today?"
Stormy jumped at that last sentence,"Alright Stormy, don't jump to conclusions, , he said to himself as his thoughts were racing, "there are probably a lot of ponies named Twilight."
"Oh, not much," Twilight answered, "just two bags of apples will do."
"Runnin' a little low at the library?"
OK , Stormy thought, there could be a lot of mares named Twilight, but there's only one pony that I know that would live in a library, but just in case, I need to take a closer look.
When he made sure no pony was looking, Stormy moved a little closer to see AJ and this mare she was talking to. That's when he saw it, the violet colored coat, the purple mane with the pink streak down the middle, and the cutie mark of a burst of magic on her flank. It was her, he had finally found his mare.
Stormy managed to slip away unnoticed by his friends. He wanted to stay, but he wasn't going to lose Twilight again. He followed her, making sure that he was out of site, and she led him to what looked like a normal old tree from a distance. When he got closer however, he noticed the door and windows and the sign placed out front reading simply "Ponyville Library". He wondered how he would show himself, he wanted to surprise her but he didn't want to make a scene right in the middle of the town. After pondering over this he came up with an idea. Using his magic, he conjured a cloak, put it on, and knocked on the door.
After a couple seconds, the door knob turned and Twilight appeared at the door. "Welcome to the Ponyville Library," she said in a cheery voice, "how can I help you today?"
"Oh, I was just wondering if you had a certain book that I've been trying to find." Stormy lowered his voice so that Twilight wouldn't recognize him.
"Well I'm sure I can help you," Twilight replied, "just follow me."
Twilight lead Stormy into the library. When they got there, the latter started checking book after book until Twilight finally said to him,"Sir, if you'll what your looking for, I'll be happy to help you find it."
"Thank you, I'm looking for Princess Celestia's Guide to Basic Teleportation Skills ." Stormy saw Twilight's face twitch a little at the name of the book. It was the book she had checked out from the library when her and Stormy first met.
"Sir, I have a copy, but I don't feel comfortable lending it to somepony that I don't know, it holds a lot of sentimental value." Twilight replied.
"Come on Twi," Stormy took the cloak off and used his normal voice, "I'm sure you can lend it to me."
When Twilight saw Stormy, her face changed, not to happiness like Stormy expected, but sad, like she wasn't what he expected. He was about to ask her why she looked that way when she answered his question before he asked.
"You're not real," she said in a cheerless voice, "you're just another dream. I'll think your real, fall in love with you all over again, kiss you, and wake up. So lets just skip the rest and just kiss me so I can wake up."
So he did. Stormy kissed her with as much love as he could, just to prove to her that he was real. When she broke the kiss, Twilight closed her eyes and opened them, but instead of waking up in her bed with tear stained fur and sadness in her heart, all she saw was Stormy. Her face lit up with the biggest smile she had had in a long time.
"It's not a dream, you have come back." was all Twilight said.
"Yeah, babe," Stormy responded with tears of joy in his eyes,"and I'm never leaving again, ever, I can promise you that."
Stormy and Twilight talked for hours, about everything they had missed in each other's lives. Stormy loved catching up with his mare, but more than that, he just loved being with her again. After a while, though, Twilight asked Stormy something that surprised him. "Stormy, I love you, and I've missed you more than you could know, and I don't want to spend another moment without you. I want you to come live at the library with me."
Stormy heard this and knew what his answer was without thinking. "Yes, Twilight, I'd love to live here with you."
After this, Stormy left the library. It took a little explaining to Big Mac and AJ why he was leaving, but that night he packed his things and left Sweet Apple Acres. And as he laid next to the mare that he loved, the last thing he said before falling asleep was, "Happy Anniversary, Twi. I love you."
(This is the end but look forward to my next installment, coming soon!)
