Talons of the Storm

by Storm Talon

Chapter 19: A Harrowing Encounter

Twilight sat once again in a hospital chair next to Fluttershy, a sense of deja vu creeping over her even as she went over her notes, trying to figure out what had gone wrong with the experiment.

Sitting on the floor next to Twilight's massive pile of books, notes, and printouts, Rainbow Dash struggled to keep her eyes open. She had brought Fluttershy and Talon to the hospital while Twilight had waited to make sure the crusaders knew that day's lesson had been canceled. The three fillies sat whispering to each other and Spike on the other side of Fluttershy, worried looks occasionally directed toward the hospital bed.

The occupants of the room turned to look as they heard Nurse Tender Care greet the guards standing in the hall. She trotted in with a small smile on her face. “So, the good news is, he doesn't have any full fractures. He cracked his ribs, and his wings have plenty of cracks, bruises, and cuts, but he should be fine in a day or two. We're going to bandage him up and he should be good to go once he wakes up. He should take it easy for a few days, though.”

Rainbow Dash stomped a hoof on the tile floor of the hospital room. “Aw, man! That means he can't do flight exercises this weekend!” She pointed over to Twilight. “This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't had him overload that cloud!”

“I didn't know that would happen!” Twilight cried. “I'm just glad he didn't get hurt worse.”

The crusaders looked over to them with wide eyes. Sweetie Belle was the first to speak. “Is that because he landed on the cloud crates? What if he hadn't?”

Fluttershy looked over to Sweetie, shaking her head. “I think they meant the overloaded cloud, guys. I've never heard of somepony getting hit by one and not getting hurt pretty bad, or even...”

“But he's fine!” Rainbow cut her off, seeing the others start to tear up. “He'll be fine in a few days, and now everypony knows not to overload clouds, right?” Rainbow stared pointedly at Twilight, who shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. She opened her mouth to defend herself when there was a rustling sound from the bed.

Talon groaned as he woke up, using one paw to shield his eyes from the light. “What happen?”

Twilight averted her gaze as she rubbed her mane. “I, uh, kind of accidentally made you overcharge a cloud.”

Talon blinked tiredly as he lay on the mattress. “What?” Suddenly his eyes shot open, though they squeezed back shut as he sat up quickly, a paw rushing to the side of his head momentarily. “Everypony is okay?”

---

Talon sat on Fluttershy's back, his wings and barrel bandaged together as Twilight finished the checkout paperwork with the receptionist. He had tried walking himself, but had winced in pain with each step so Fluttershy had offered her assistance.

Twilight trotted up to where they were all waiting by the exit. “So, who's up for some dinner? I don't think any of us are in the mood for a lesson right now. Maybe we can go for ice cream afterward?”

The crusaders and Spike cheered as Twilight smiled nervously at Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.

---

The group trotted into Sugarcube Corner, Twilight levitating several bags from the nearby Hayburger along behind them.

Pinkie perked up at the register. “Hey guys! How's it going? You want anything?”

“Hey Pinkie. After we finish eating these, we'll order more, but for now can we just get a large muffin for Talon? The Hayburger really doesn't have anything he can eat.”

“Okie-doki. Just let me know whenever you're finished.” Pinkie zipped back to the kitchen as they took their seats at one of the large tables. She trotted back out with a tray in her hoof.

“Okay, here's that muffin for Talon, with some rubies on- oh my gosh, what happened?” Pinkie reared up, her hooves pressing on the sides of her face as she gasped. The tray flipped into the air, the muffin landing safely in front of Talon while the tray clattered into place atop others like it on the counter. Talon looked between her and the muffin before he shrugged and started eating.

“We, uh, there was an accident?” Twilight smiled nervously, shifting her gaze between Talon, Pinkie, and a particularly fascinating point on the opposite wall.

Pinkie sat at an empty chair, looking seriously at Twilight. “What happened?”

“I, uh... you see, um, well, there was maybe, just a little...”

Rainbow swallowed a large bite before she cut in, rolling her eyes. “She made Talon overload a cloud and it blew up.”

“WHAT?! Twilight, why would you do that?”

Twilight looked at her half-finished hayburger with her ears laid back. “I was trying to figure out how his magic worked. I had him move some lightning. I didn't know the cloud would overload.”

Pinkie grabbed Twilight by the shoulders as she stared intently at her. “I thought you knew better than to experiment on your friends. Don't you care what might happen to Talon if something worse goes wrong?”

Talon looked up from the half muffin that was left in his paw as he heard his name. Crumbs covered his muzzle and two unblackened spots around his eyes showed where he was wearing goggles earlier.

“Of course I do, Pinkie! But how am I going to help him with his magic if I don't know what he can do with it or how it works? I promise to be more careful about doing experiments that could get Talon hurt, okay?”

Pinkie jabbed a hoof at her. “Pinkie promise?”

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Twilight intoned, pantomiming the actions as she spoke.

Pinkie squinted at Twilight. “Okaaaaay...” Suddenly, a sound rang out from the kitchen. “Ooh! That's the last batch of cupcakes for today!” She zipped away, intent on making sure the confections didn't burn.

---

“So.” Discord set his teacup down and looked over to Talon, who was sipping from a cup of juice. “You two have had quite a busy week, haven't you?”

Talon placed his cup on the table and nodded while he got a cookie to nibble on, wincing slightly as the motion stretched muscles in his chest.

Fluttershy grimaced at the pain in Talon's expression. “Busy is one way to put it.”

“Try to look on the bright side, Fluttershy.” Discord's face lit up before he pulled on his beard with a click and it went back to normal. “Talon will be fine, and I daresay he wasn't too bored this week.”

Fluttershy sighed. “Well, at least Twilight promised to be more careful with any experiments. She's a good friend, but sometimes she doesn't think things through if she gets excited.”

Discord chuckled as he picked up his teacup and poured its contents into his ear. “Pretty ironic if you think about it.” He tilted his teacup over the teakettle, a thin stream of tea pouring itself upward into his cup.

---

“So, I was thinking, since he can't go see Rainbow today, maybe he could come over to make up for the lesson we missed the other day?” Twilight smiled anxiously as she stood at the doorway of Fluttershy's cottage. “I thought that maybe, as sort of an apology, I could start his magic lessons?”

“Oh, well, we don't have anything planned, so I'm okay with it. You should probably ask him, though. Come in, I'll go get him.”

Fluttershy trotted over to the stairs as Twilight took a seat on the couch in the main room. She shifted nervously in her seat as she heard Fluttershy trotting back down the staircase.

Twilight did her best to put on a smile as Talon approached. “Hey, how are you doing? Feeling better?”

Talon glanced down to his bandaged chest before nodding. “Yes, is not as bad.”

Twilight sighed, letting out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. “That's good. I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I know I should have been more careful. Would you maybe want to come over and I can teach you some things to help you practice your magic? Besides,” she continued with a small chuckle, “Spike has been bothering me about having you over anyway. Something about a guys only night?”

Talon turned to Fluttershy. “Is okay?”

“Oh yes, it's fine with me. If you want to, that is...”

Talon nodded before turning his gaze back to Twilight. “Is okay.”

Fluttershy sidled up next to Twilight as Talon sat waiting by the door. “Are you sure you'll be okay taking care of him for the afternoon?”

“Yeah, don't worry. I already got lectures from Redheart, Spike, and Rainbow Dash. The crusaders probably would have, too, if they had the chance. As it is, they just sat there with puppy eyes. Remind me to ask AJ if Apple Bloom has been practicing hers.”

A shocked expression settled on Fluttershy's face. “Rainbow Dash... lectured you? That's...”

“It was certainly odd.” Twilight smiled over to where Talon was sitting patiently by the door. “She's right, though. I need to remember that my friends come before my studies, no matter how excited I get.”

---

After she had promised to bring Talon back around sundown, Twilight had trotted off with him and Day Break in tow. She and Emerald had agreed that they should split up so that one of them could keep an eye on Fluttershy's cottage.

As they turned onto the path that lead to her castle, Twilight saw a lone figure walk out from the other side of the castle, their features obscured by a heavy cloak. “Excuse me, Princess.” The figure's voice was distant, as if it was directed at the town of Ponyville rather than any particular pony. “I have business I need to discuss with you.”

Cautiously, Twilight slowed to a stop. Checking to see that Day was between Talon and the mysterious figure, she took a small step forward. “What do you need to talk to me about? And why don't you take that cloak off?”

“You needn't worry yourself over him, Princess. I have no intention of harming him. Quite the opposite, really. Why would I want anything to happen to my brother?”

Twilight's Eyes shot open in surprise before narrowing in suspicion. “Who are you? If your intentions are so good, why don't you show yourself?”

Deep chuckles came from the figure on the path ahead, though they stood perfectly still. “Such persistence is admirable. Remaining unchanging in the face of uncertainty is something I can admire. I will reveal this face if you so wish, but I am not the one who stands before you.”

Twilight paused, her face flashing with uncertainty for a moment before being filled with determination. “What are you talking about?”

The figure raised a hoof to pull back its hood, revealing a pale blue unicorn stallion's face. By the look of it, he was from Canterlot, even sporting a tuxedo collar under his cloak. His eyes, however, were a milky white, fixated on some point in the distance.

Twilight froze at the sight until a thought struck her. “I thought you said Talon was your brother, but that can't be right. He's clearly not a unicorn. Who are you?”

“I told you, Princess.” The stallion continued to stare listlessly, his mouth open but unmoving as he spoke. “I am not the one you see before you. This one is merely a vessel. Without any magic left, he has lost his usefulness to me.”

Twilight's eyes expanded in shock. “What do you mean, vessel?”

Chuckles once again issued from the motionless mouth. “And here I thought you were supposed to be quick on the uptake.” The unicorn's eyes turned suddenly to fixate on Day, a chill sweeping across her wings as he did so. “You may wish to stop Talon from seeing this. He needn't suffer any more than he has, wouldn't you agree?”

Day glanced down to where Talon peeked from behind her, turning and flaring her wings downward to block his sight.

The stallion’s horn glowed with a sickly, weak light. The same deadened glow momentarily surrounded the clasps of the cloak and the collar as they popped open.

Twilight felt herself becoming nauseous. Under the collar, there was a gaping, jagged hole, cut straight from one side of his neck to the other.

“You see, this one is no longer useful to me, so I had him come here. I hoped that I might persuade you to give my brother to me.” Twilight shuddered as she realized that the voice was not coming from the stallion's mouth, but directly from the hole in his neck. She wanted to look over and tell Day to run, but found her eyes fixated on the dead pony in front of her.

“However,” the sudden shift in tone from the voice left Twilight feeling like there was ice in her bones. “You seem rather unlikely to do so, so I shall simply have to take him myself. After all-”

Twilight shuddered as a bolt shot out of her horn. Sweat dripped from her coat, a symptom of both the unnatural cold and the effort the spell took. The voice cut off, the dead stallion flopping over as soon as it did so.

Somepony was using necromancy. And they were likely close by, somewhere in the heart of Equestria itself.

Author's Note:

Man, I was pretty tired when I wrote these last few chapters. I keep finding stray typos as I edit.

This is as bad as any of the gore in the story will get, for anyone concerned about that.

Also,

DUN DUN DUN!