//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7 
// Story: The First Standoff 
// by bookhorse125 
//------------------------------//

Before long, they could hear the screaming. And not long after that, ponies started rushing at them, running away from a glowing red fire in the distance.

Panic started building in Gusty’s chest, but Maggie looked calm and collected, maybe even a little bored. She forged through the sea of screaming ponies with Gusty in her wake until they reached the source of all the commotion.

A tent in the marketplace was ablaze. A huge creature stood outside, roaring fire into the inferno. It had the head and hindquarters of a goat, as well as the head and front paws of a tiger. The beast’s tail was a live snake, writhing and hissing at anypony who dared come close. The tiger head reached into the blaze and pulled out a table covered with tools falling out of a toolbox. The goat head snapped up the tools, and the tiger growled at it, snapping and snarling before launching itself at the goat. The creature danced in a circle, getting the snake tangled up in its legs, causing it to topple over.

A few ponies had begun throwing buckets of water on the fire, Maggie among them. Gusty turned to help, but something she saw the monster doing out of the corner of her eye made her stop. A pony was standing stock still, staring at the inferno with his eyes wide in shock. And the creature was creeping up on him. Its claws reached out, its tongues flickering between its teeth hungrily, and then-

With a wordless cry, Gusty lit up her horn, making a long, thin whip appear from the end of it, made of energy and crackling as it hissed through the air to knock the beast back.

Gusty placed herself between the monster and pony, her horn lit. The creature staggered to its mismatched feet and looked around in confusion, but once its beady eyes - all six of them - landed on Gusty, it roared and let out a blast of fire aimed straight for her. She met with an equally powerful blast of magic.

The monster roared again and, bit by bit, began to gain the upperhoof, slowly pushing back against Gusty’s beam. Sweat poured down her face, and she gritted her teeth and dug her hooves into the ground. She felt the flames white-hot against her horn, she was certain that this was the end-

Gusty.

She nearly lost control at the sound of the voice in her head, but it wasn’t Ocean Breeze’s voice. This one was female and kind and comforting.

There is a time and place for strong emotions, the new voice instructed her. This is one of them.

Strong emotions? Gusty thought. It seemed like that was all she’d been feeling for the past day. Taking a deep breath, she focused on her hurt and anger at her brother’s lies and betrayal, her pain and heartbreak at seeing her friends suffer, her despise and hatred of Grogar and her desire to rid Equestria of his tyranny.

Newfound strength coursed through her veins, and with a defiant cry, Gusty channeled it all into her magic. A bright light blast exploded in front of her, nearly blinding her though her eyes were closed. When it cleared, she opened her eyes to see the monster lying half a block away, smoking and covered in burn marks. It got to its feet and ran away, whimpering.

The fire in the tent had been put out. All that remained now was a burnt tent frame and some charred furniture. A small flame flared out, but Maggie stamped it out.

Panting, Gusty turned to see the pony whose life she’d saved, and took a step back in shock. It was Rex, the pony whom her brother had worked for for a time, and instead of thanking her, he was glaring at her.

“Well?” he snapped, standing up. “Have you come to finish me off?”

“What? N-no!” Gusty protested. She sensed rather than saw Maggie come up behind her. “I was trying to save you from that monster, who, if you didn’t notice, was about to eat you, so, you’re welcome.” She lifted her head and blew her bangs out of her eyes.

“Yeah, right,” Rex snorted. “Nopony’s been able to make the monsters leave. I bet you’d zap all us non-unicorns with your horn and fry us to a crisp if given the chance.” He turned and ran down a side street, leaving Gusty in a crowd of whispers.

“You know, he does have a point…”

“...never seen anything like it…”

“Just Boom! Bye bye monster!”

“...would be just like a unicorn, though, to pretend to save somepony before they zapped them,” one earth pony grumbled, glaring at Gusty.

“I would never zap anypony! I-I don’t know what happened!” Gusty stammered, taking a step back. “I swear, I never meant to hurt anypony!”

Gusty lit up her horn and teleported both of them out of there. They arrived at a two floor brick building, and Maggie gently let Gusty, who was still in a daze, into the building, up a flight of stairs, down a hallway, and through a door, which she promptly shut and locked behind them. She sat Gusty down on the couch and plopped down next to her. For a while, they sat there in comfortable silence, and then Gusty spoke.

“What did Rex mean back there… that nopny was able to make the monsters leave?” she asked in a quiet voice.

Maggie sighed. “Nopony’s powerful enough - or crazy enough - to stand up to them, and if anypony did, they would most certainly not make it out of there alive. The monsters just come, take what they want, destroy some things, make a huge mess that we have to clean up, remind us that Grogar’s still in charge… They leave eventually. But nopony really knows when. Sometimes they stick around for days, sometimes minutes. They usually come alone, but every once and a while, they bring their ugly friends…''Her eyes hardened. She chuckled, though her voice was hollow. “This one time, it seemed like every monster in all the land was descending upon us. They destroyed the whole city… we had to rebuild everything from scratch.”

Something about the way she said it, like she was used to her life turning into living hell, made Gusty’s blood boil. The shock and confusion that had plagued her mind since the monster incident vanished.

“I feel better now,” she offered. “No, really,” she insisted, almost laughing as Maggie opened her mouth to protest. “I think all I need is a good night’s sleep. It’s been a long day.”

Maggie’s apartment consisted of four rooms, the first of which was the kitchen, though the tiny kitchenette and table with two chairs hardly took up any space, so a couch and some armchairs sat next to a fireplace. Maggie’s room had a bed, bookshelf stuffed with books, and a desk that looked like a tornado had swept through it. There was a picture hanging on the wall of three ponies drinking milkshakes, but Maggie ushered Gusty away before she could get a good look at it. The third room was the bathroom.

The room that Maggie had Gusty settle in was collecting dust, just as she’d said, but other than that, it was perfect. There was a window facing the east, with a desk under it. A dusty but not empty bookshelf stood against the southern wall, with a bed opposite that.

“I washed the sheets this afternoon, and you can help yourself to the books, and if you want anything, anything at all, don’t hesitate to ask, okay?” Maggie said fervently, wringing her hooves. “Well… what do you think?”

“I-it’s perfect,” Gusty gasped, running over to the window and throwing open the curtains. The view over the harbor was stunning, and as Gusty pushed open the window, a light breeze blew in and immediately calmed her down. She whirled around and flopped onto the bed. Maggie winced as a cloud of dust rose into the air, but Gusty didn’t seem to notice. With a sigh, she pulled a blanket over herself and fell asleep, her chest rising and falling peacefully.

Maggie smiled before using her magic to close the window, draw the curtains, and close the door behind her, leaving the unicorn to sleep.

She dreamed that Grogar came and destroyed the entire town, killing all her friends, and when she tried to stop him, an army of monsters, all wrapped in shadow, blew fire all around her. She saw her brother in the flames, and when she cried out for help, he merely shook his head and said, “This is for your own safety, Gusty.” Then Ocean Breeze melted into Grogar, who laughed and said, “This is the little brat who fought off my monster? Do not worry, my little pony. I will destroy you, just like I did your parents.”

His horns lit up, bright yellow crackling with black lightning, and Gusty shut her eyes, holding her breath, bracing herself for the impact, which never came. Gasping, she opened her eyes to see everything around her moving in slow motion.

Gusty, said the same voice from earlier, sounding loud and echoey in the eerie silence.

“Where are you?” Gusty demanded, whirling around in a circle. “Who are you? What do you want from me?”

I’m not going to hurt you, the voice said, and for whatever reason, Gusty believed her. I mean no harm, I’m only here to help.

“Help protect me, no doubt,” Gusty snapped, forcing fury that she didn’t really feel into her voice. “Just like my brother!”

The voice chuckled, and Gusty was taken aback. On the contrary, she said, unlike your brother, I see no sense in trying to protect you, as you both don’t need it and will, no doubt, find your way around anything I do. So, no, I am not here to protect you the way Ocean Breeze tried to. Rather, I will give you guidance, so that you may protect yourself when you need to.

“Geeze, where have you been all my life?” asked the unicorn, finding that she liked this new presence in her head much more than she liked Ocean Breeze’s. “Hey, um, quick question: how do you know so much about magic?”

My husband was a unicorn, the voice said now with a touch of sadness to it. He told me a few secrets.

“Your husband was a unicorn?” Gusty asked. “Was?” Also, does that mean that you’re not?” Her mind flashed to Oasis, and how her parents forced her to hide her identity. “Does that mean you’re ashamed of me?”

Of course not, the voice said. I would love you if you had six arms and legs and were as tall as the treetops.

“Okay…” Gusty turned to look at Grogar, who was frozen with a cruel sneer on his face, flames whirling around him. “Why are you talking to me now? Do you want something from me?”

It’s okay to be scared sometimes, the voice said in a soothing, comforting voice. It’s natural and it’s healthy. But you cannot let that fear control you. Then you become a weapon for others to manipulate to their purposes. Remember that fear, no matter what happens, is just another emotion. You can control it.

“But wait a minute,” Gusty said, confused. “You told me that I should use my strong emotions and just let them all out instead of controlling them.”

And there is a place and a time for strong emotions and letting go, the voice clarified. That is not all the time. Finding the right time is always challenging.

“Why are you telling me this?” Gusty whispered, suddenly feeling close to tears. “What if… what if there’s too much to be scared of, a-and I can’t control anything, and I end up hurting somepony, and everything goes wrong, and I’m to blame, and I c-can’t do anything, a-and it’s all my f-fault?”

Gusty, my darling, the voice whispered. There will always be somepony for you, whether you know it or not. But even if you don’t really know who they are, trust that they can give you strength and courage. Here, try it.

Taking a deep breath, Gusty lifted her head and stared straight into Grogar’s eyes. She reminded herself that he wasn’t real, and that she was in charge. Gradually, the scene around her began to recede. It’s not real, it’s not real, Gusty told herself firmly. She blinked, and she was alone. The fire and monsters were gone.

“Thank you,” Gusty whispered. “Oh - who are you, anyway?”

Her voice was growing fainter as Gusty woke up, but she heard the voice say, My name is Whistle. It’s nice to finally meet you, my daughter.