//------------------------------// // Chapter 15 // Story: Wind Chaser // by Thaylien //------------------------------// Wind Chaser, Chapter 15 In which things get pretty noisy, pretty fast. * * * When a guy stands up and tells a group of innocent people to bring him... The one that you are? Possibly... The one known as you? Nah, just leave it. When a guy stands up in front of a crowd of innocents and threatens them in front of their leaders, who have the power to blast him into a nice pile of crispy bits, and give him nightmares about it in the afterlife, he's got a plan. As such, Wind Chaser did not immediately leap out from his place in the waiting tent with the six girls in tow to confront the possibly crazed wolf. The seven of them had been asked to wait in this nice, shady tent, placed at the back of the gathering ground, directly opposite the stage so that, just like a ceremony inside a hall, they would be called up along a central aisle between the crowds and present themselves on the steps of the small stage. It was a nice gesture, Rarity had said, reminiscent of the ceremonies from their triumph over Nightmare Moon, with the whole open-air parade atmosphere going on as it had. Now, though, all of them were struggling with the events unfolding. Three guards down, Celestia and Luna sizing up the threat to their subjects before making their move and one manic-eyed wolf princeling shouting down a microphone. "We have to do something," Twilight began, "Yeah! We have to kick his flank!" Dash leapt up and out, only to be grabbed by Applejack, yanked back by her tail, "What the-? AJ!" "Hold yer horses!" The farmer threw a foreleg over her friend to calm her, "We need a plan." "Exactly, darling," Rarity agreed, "and we simply must do something about those horrible robes, he looks like he's been sleeping in a barn!" "What's wrong with sleepin' in a barn?" Applejack demanded, "Oh, well nothing, dear, so long as the place has been thoroughly cleaned first. That, however, certainly wasn't the case for him." "Ah'll have you know-" "We don't have time for this!" Dash broke in, "What we need is to-" "Oh please don't fight..." Fluttershy murmured so low that only Kirianna heard her as the parasprite buzzed nearby. "I've got an idea! What if we sneak out the back and load up a catapult with cake and cupcakes and banana pudding, because everyone knows that the best KERSPLATS come from banana pudding, then we have to cut the legs of the stage aaaalmost all the way through, that way when we fire the catapult the big mean wolf'll get hit and CRR-ASH! Right through the stage and into a vat of chocolate!" "Ah said wait! Twilight'll have a plan soon!" "Uhm..." Twilight herself didn't look too sure of that. "Everypony calm down." Chaser stepped right into the middle of their group, using his size, wings and best calm, steady voice to get their attention. They fell silent, except Pinkie, who made some odd sound like she was swallowing back the rest of her words. "Leave him to the Princesses, if they're as powerful as I think they are, we've got nothing to worry about here. There's something bigger about to happen." "What makes you say that?" Twilight moved a little closer. "Dash, remember back at the storm? I said then, if something huge and unnatural is going on, get the guy in the robes with the glowing orb?" "Yeah, but this isn't like that... is it?" She seemed a lot more willing to listen to him after remembering that. "Exactly the opposite." Chaser nodded, "The guy with the robes is there in front of everypony this time, so where's the huge, unnatural thing that we'd have to get him for? It's a distraction. He can't stand up to the Princesses, although I'm a little worried about the other ponies out there, but he's either completely lost his nut, or there's a plan going on that he's stopping us all from noticing." "So what do we do?" Dash was a pent-up ball of action about to explode if she couldn't do something about this soon, hooves spread like a cat about to pounce, tail lashing the air. "Find it." He replied, "Just keep out of that wolf's line of sight and we'll all look for whatever trick he's got up his sleeve." * * * They lifted up the edge of the tent and made a break for it, straight away from the stage and getting a couple of streets away before they stopped to regroup. "Where to now?" Twilight looked around. "Uh... girls?" Fluttershy didn't look away from what she had seen, "Maybe it's that?" She pointed a little shakily. When they looked, the collective size of their eyes was possibly no bigger than a penny. I wonder if that ever hurts... Maybe it's just a special adaptation to something? They have special eyes! Shut up! You'll make me laugh! Thpeeeeethial... Shut it, tart! As inappropriate as Kirianna was being, the situation looked pretty dire. To the north there was no longer just one spike of a mountain, they'd told him the story of when they'd climbed it to ask a dragon to move along, instead there was a wall. Slate grey, craggy and, worst of all, moving inexorably closer. As they watched the mountaintop was engulfed and from within the depths lightning began to strike at the trees on the slopes, illuminating the silhouette in ghostly fire. "Heavens to betsy..." Applejack understated, "How'n tarnation are we supposed to deal with that?!" Dash shook herself, "'We' don't, this is a job for me and Chaser, right big guy?" "Yeah, I reckon it is..." He replied, thinking hard. Twilight shoved a hoof at each of them in turn, "Now hold on a minute you two, both of you always throw yourselves into danger and I'm not letting you do it again. We do this together!" "Um... together? As in, all of us?" Fluttershy timidly raised a hoof. "Together." Twilight nodded, emphatically. Without another word the little pegasus promptly stiffened with a tiny bleat and fell sideways against Chaser, nearly tipping over completely if he hadn't steadied her. "I don't think there's a lot you can do, Twilight," Chaser began, "not up there at any rate. Besides, they'll probably need you here in Ponyville." "But-" "No 'but's Twi, Chaser's right, what good can the rest of us do up in the air?" Applejack pointed out the major flaw. "Hey, we've all got something we can do!" Dash broke in, surprising all of them, "Fluttershy, you need to get all the animals somewhere safe, AJ makes sure the farms are secure, Pinkie and Rarity can batten down the hatches, keep the houses and shops safe, and Twi, you should probably get to the square, see if you can throw up a shield that'll protect all the ponies there if that storm gets too close. Oh, and tell the Princesses what's happening, that way they can kick that wolf out while we tear that storm apart." They paused for a minute, that... was actually pretty good... "What's with you guys? Let's go already!" There were visible head-shakes all around as they got rid of their surprise. "Alright girls, that's the plan." Twilight rallied them, "Fluttershy protect the animals, Applejack you take the Acres and anywhere else you see along the way, Rarity and Pinkie Pie can look after any building that's in danger, and I'll protect everypony in the square. Rainbow Dash and Wind Chaser, we're counting on you to deal with that storm, watch out for each other, okay? Let's do this!" Twilight put her hoof in, the others followed suit and then paused again, waiting expectantly. "Well? Come on, now, Chaser." Rarity prompted him. "Me too? Uh... sure..." He hesitated, but put his hoof in too. With a small, enthusiastic cheer, they broke the circle and galloped to their respective tasks. Dash and Chaser were left in the street, Ponyville empty around them, and only their sudden abandonment keeping them in place. "Do you, maybe, have a plan for that, too?" He stared at the threatening wall. "Uh, sure... kinda." She stood beside him, staring too. Well, she's one-for-one on good plans versus bad plans so far, lets give her the tie-breaker. "I'll have your back." He reassured her. "I know." She still stared, then sighed, "Okay, here's what I got. The last storm they made was massive, but inside it was hollow, remember?" He nodded, "Well that isn't normal, storms need all that mass to form rain and ice, but what if it's not supposed to make either of those? What I think it's there for is making lightning." "Sure, I remember how easy it was for them to make a whole wall of it." He agreed. "Exactly, so, I had a plan when I saw that first one too. All storms need an axis, the eye of the storm. It's a point in the air that the storm whirls around where the air can be almost still. The bigger the storm, the bigger the eye, and the last one had a huge eye. All that air spinning around, plus that still air in the middle and then all that open space? Perfect for making lightning. Anyway, if I could have got into the eye and started a counter-spin, or broken it up somehow, the whole storm would have collapsed. Only problem was that I couldn't do it fast enough." "So the same strategy here, then? Get into the eye and tear it apart? You know there's going to be wolves in there too." "Yeah, that's the plan. As for the wolves, that's where you come in, think you can back me up long enough to do the job?" "Distraction? That's one of my favourite games! That, and if it's the same wolves, I owe them a rematch anyway." "Good. Now, let's do this before I regret it." And her head turned, planting a quick, but strong, kiss on his cheek before he could protest. She blushed as his face reddened too, "Don't die in there, okay?" With a fast-fading rainbow trail behind her, the red-faced pegasus hit the air ahead of him. Yep, called it. Shut it, tart. No, really, how the hell do you do it? Is there some magical field around you? Is it that you already have one girl and other girls just pick up on that and want it for themselves? Seriously, am I the only part of you that ever wonders about this? Since I can't remember wondering about it since you appeared, then yes. ... Fair enough. Look, you know this is trouble. The sooner we leave, the sooner you can clear your conscience and carry on. Do NOT let a cute female guilt trip you into falling for her. And we're having this conversation because... ... Crap. Just... catch up or something. He beat his wings a little harder, drawing closer to the subject of his internal debate. * * * Twilight skidded to a stop behind the tent they'd left a short while ago and thought about her approach. If she just rushed in there, lots of things could go wrong... But if she tried to sneak around she might get caught and the wolf on the stage might come after her. "I'm still waiting, Your Highness," Athelgeir's voice echoing and slightly distorted through the megaphone, "where is your champion? Your rescuer?" "Psst! Twilight!" It was Spike! He was holding up the back of the tent and peering out, beckoning to her, eyes wide with fear. She ducked into the opening and gave him a quick hug to reassure him. "Where is everypony? I looked inside as soon as I could, but you weren't here!" She shushed him as his voice started to climb the panic registers. "It's alright, Spike, we needed to get to where nopony could see us and we discovered his trick. There's a huge storm moving down on us, the wolf on stage is a distraction until it gets here. The girls are securing the town and the farms in case it reaches us while Rainbow and Chaser are heading in to try and break it up." "That's a relief, but what about you?" "I'm going to put a stop to this nonsense here, it's gone on long enough." She started towards the main exit, "Stay here, Spike, and if something happens, run and get the girls." "Gotcha." He breathed a small sigh of relief at not having to jump out to confront the crazy creature. "Well, here goes." With a deep breath she stepped out. * * * "I'm getting a little tired of waiting, Princess, where is my foe? Is he even in this... place?" Athelgeir's amplified voice was bored, the initial thrill of his entrance was waning now, but neither had the princesses attacked to change the situation, not with his stance right over the top of one of the guards. "Wind Chaser is right where he needs to be, Athelgeir, stopping you!" A single voice, clear and defiant, rang out from the central aisle. "Twilight?" Celestia murmured, unconsciously. "What is she doing, sister?" Luna muttered next to her, the royal poker-face in place. After a pause, Athelgeir barked a laugh, "Stopping me? Hah! He's not even here." The wolf dismounted the stage with a predatory grace that belied his mass, his robes fluttering and fanning around him in a disturbing parody of the princesses' manes. "I invoked my right to challenge, the pony Wind Chaser owes a debt for crossing the royalty of the Úlfur, for denying me my conquest, for bringing me shame and for preventing my rise to my birthright as Mikill Úlfur!" As he spoke, his voice a growl that chilled her to the bone, Athelgeir stalked down the main aisle, ponies shrinking away and trying to find space in the crowd of faces that had turned to watch. Now, he brushed past her, the edges of his robes wafting across her face and bringing with them the scent of rain on the earth, and returned on her other side, stalking away towards the stage again. "And I do not bring with me simply my own righteous ire and shame, but that of my people. The pegasus who fought my Storm Guards desecrated our most sacred arena, destroyed the great dome which has stood for thousands of years, brought ruin to our capital city, and shamed my father, the Mikill, before he could attain his final triumph and pass on his mantle with pride." Athelgeir whirled at the last, snarling through bared fangs and glaring at the unicorn intruder with the fury of a true predator, "And. He. Isn't. Here." He bit the words off as statements, the words themselves had teeth. She should have been terrified, but just one bit of knowledge was all it took to help her keep her cool. Lifting her chin, Twilight put on her best 'conclusion of a lecture' face and gave him the worst possible reply he could have received; "Because you aren't a threat." There was silence. Even the ponies around her, cowed as they were by the enraged royal wolf, stared at her with the startled expressions of those who could not quite come to terms with the truly bizarre. "Wind Chaser saw through all this, he saw your plan and he's gone to stop your storm before it even gets here." There was a sussuration of murmurs and whispers through the crowd while Athelgeir stood, stock still, staring with narrowed eyes at the purple interloper before him. "Then that is regretable, little pony, because then how will he ever save-" he crouched lower with every deliberate word, legs coiling to spring, "you!?" * * * The two of them raced towards what Chaser was beginning to think of as 'the wall'. There didn't seem to be any edges to it, just a top and a bottom and endless grey-purple-yellow-white masses from horizon to horizon. "Same way in?" He rode the wind like a man paddling out into the waves to surf, all roll and buck, using the downsweep to keep his momentum. "Keep low until you get in close, then follow me up before we hit lightning and heavy winds!" She yelled back, one hoof pointing to the line of dancing, jagged legs of the bottom-most tier of clouds. Scale was the most deceptive thing, he knew clouds, had flown through and around them for years, and while Equestria's clouds were a little different to his pegasus body, they still followed at least some of the same rules. The closer he got to the edge of the wall, the more massive it seemed. What he'd first thought was a waving field of grass was quickly resolved into the thrashing tops of trees. Like distant mountains when you walked across a plain, no matter how huge they looked at a distance, the real size was always, always an awe-inspiring realisation. Feeling like a surfer about to attempt a three hundred foot world record, he rode the wind in closer. * * * Twilight appeared again further down the aisle in a flash of her signature magic, leaving Athelgeir momentarily mystified as to her disappearance, only to be forced to back up once again as the predatory prince reoriented himself for a more studied attack. "Clever trick, little one, but it shall not be so easy to do that again." "She will not need to." Celestia's imposing voice broke in at last, Luna standing firm beside her, "Your time here is at an end, Prince Athelgeir, and we shall not allow you to attempt more harm on our subjects." The sight of two alicorn monarchs standing ready to face him down did give the wolf pause, momentarily, "Then it seems my challenge is being taken up by proxy. So be it." Ponies had already been backing away from the epicenter of this unexpected scene, but now they scrambled, the frightened herd kicking up dust clouds as the huge wolf turned his snarling maw on the princesses in a terrifying display. * * * This was it, they were close enough that a stray branch of lightning could snap them out of the sky. Thunder was a near constant percussive peal muffled to a dull roar by the rush of air through their ears. The winds were gusting, filled with billows and currents that they rode with practiced skill, and the sky was cut in half above them by the grey cliffs that seemed to arch outwards over them oppressively. He could see Dash was gearing up to take them into the teeth of it, her body language so much easier to read when they flew, except... The howl that drifted through the wind brought with it a chill down both of their spines. Moments later the currents in the air bucked them hard, heaving mounds of air that tried to throw them across the sky, twisting and tumbling. Chaser's unconventional wings let him hold position with more surety, but Dash's skill saw her through with unexpected grace. "They're here!" She shouted over the rolls of thunder. Ten o'clock, moving to twelve. Thanks. He squinted his eyes against the rush of air and caught the bounding movements of the storm callers ahead of them. Paws planted firmly on a cloud, one threw his head back and howled another long, low call, followed quickly by a harmonising one from his brother. Kind of pretty, when you stop to listen. The combined, almost sung, tones quickly showed effect. A downdraft, a vast one that Chaser couldn't feel the edges of, threw the two pegasus ponies at the ground like an angry giant. His heavier frame and ethereal wings buffered him from the sudden direction change, he was able to halt his momentum completely, but the lighter pony was struggling badly. She plummeted with the air, mane and tail tossed in all directions as her smaller wings beat furiously to keep her in control of the dive. Chaser? But controlling it wasn't enough, she had to pull up, she had to stop somehow! Chaser?! He watched until it became clear that she couldn't, there wasn't enough time before the ground claimed her. Catch her you idiot! Kirianna cursing him for not acting earlier, Chaser tucked his wings and stooped after her, using the same power that kept him away from the ground to push himself towards it instead, falling fast enough that the downdraft he followed felt almost still around him. She saw him coming and, despite the glare that told him she didn't want his help, angled herself with him enough that he could slip his back under her until he was sure she had purchase. Then he stopped. The same no-momentum stop he used to escape from her back when they first met was what saved them both from the embrace of the cold ground below. Pressed against his back, touching his wings, was enough to encompass his friend in his powers too... Just. He hadn't been sure that it would work so well in this form, his powers cut so drastically from the heights of his own form, but they were okay. Safe. Kirianna's mental voice breathed a sigh of relief. 'Kind of pretty'? Shut up, tart. Dash stood, wings helping, on his back, "That... was the weirdest thing I've ever done." He and Kiri just laughed, happy that she was okay, but all of their attention focused back on the wolves above them. The edge of the clouds had found them and the winds began to fling rain around. Before they could start to climb against the winds called against them, they were drenched by a swathe of water that poured from the leading storm edge. Typical, every time we go somewhere nice, the weather follows us. The old joke made him smile a little inside, even if he couldn't muster it outside. He and Dash ignored the downpour and began their climb back up into the storm, cautious now of lightning, and both tracking the two wolves that now ran back and forth watching the two ponies rise towards them again. "You think you can take 'em?" Dash asked, sidelong, as she pulled ahead. "I'll give you as much time as you need. I won't be letting them go without a fight." He assured her. "Good, I'm gonna fly straight down their throat, keep them off me and let me get inside. No way they're expecting that." "You better be careful, Dash, that's not going to be easy." "They can't push through clouds the way we can, so I'll leave them out here for you, just get me into that storm." Came to a hover, turning partway back to him to emphasise her point. All he could do was nod in return. Hens eggs of rain impacted the dry, dusty ground, throwing up little fountains of debris as they hit. Soon enough though, the parched earth was nothing but churned mud and little rivulets coursing downhill to the nearest streams. "You sure about this Dash?" the white pegasus yelled over the deluge rolling down on them, wings working to keep himself in place, his question was hurled in the direction of the smaller, cyan pegasus ahead of him. "No!" she returned, "Got any better ideas?" Flashes of lightning were arcing from the two figures that danced from one end of the clouds to another in front of them, "Ones that don't involve chances of horrific death? No." "Then keep them off my flank while I fix this." And with that, they threw themselves into the tumultuous storm.