//------------------------------// // The Fire Storm // Story: The Coming Storm // by SciWriter //------------------------------// What was she doing? This was crazy and Fluttershy’s mind spun with an understanding of that fact over and over. Those stallions flying towards her probably wanted an element bearer, and she was probably good enough as the element of kindness. The plan was to keep Rainbow from being captured and risking Scootaloo’s family being torn apart…but Fluttershy’s plan never got past that point… what was she going to do here? Run, fight- what? Those stallions were huge! Five of them surrounded her in the air. “Um… “ explosions ripped into the sky all around her as the sky above the city filled with magic.   The five stallions around Fluttershy started to close in- then were ripped away and forced to the ground by several armored pegasi. Relief came over the yellow mare as she saw the gold armor of the royal guard sweep towards the enemy. Stallions on the ground and in the air charged into the ranks of Fire Sky. She looked up at Celestia and Fire Sky, now flying across from each other, eyes lock on one another. “I see you’re the leader. You really think this will do anything for you? Whoever you are?” Celestia asked.   “We’re done being ignored,” Fire replied. “You think you won’t be ignored in your cells? You’re outnumbered child, call off this attack,” Celestia asserted back. “Interesting… do you have any idea what’s coming?” “What do you mean?” Fire Sky grinned at Celestia. “Below us, fear is filling the streets, violence is going on all around. I even sent letters to hundreds of your own soldiers, hoof picked, because YOU took away their children. Anger, hatred and chaos are swelling. Really not much is left to summon one is there?” Celestia eyes went wide. “Are you insane?!” “Hatred, anger, fear and resentment has been growing in Ponyville for a while now, as you know, the scent drawing them closer and closer.   Off in the distance a howl started to echo out. Fluttershy turned her head to the sound, jaw dropping. She screamed, joined by many others. Several voices cried out in fear, “Wendigo!” The form of a large blue horse approached. It was translucent, with glowing eyes. It shot over the city of Canterlot. Fluttershy froze in fear as the soft shadow of the beast passed over her. A laugh echoed out from Fire Sky as he shot up to the beast. He then shouted “Blaze Bolt! Full Dawn!” Two stallions shot after him, one light blue the other faded brown. “Duplicate, you run distraction!” A gray stallion shot up in front of them. The gray stallion flew straight past the wendigo. The monster turned its head and shot freezing cold magic at him out of its nostrils. Suddenly, the gray stallion appeared as two beings, one just above the stream, the other just below. The one below disappeared and the remaining gray stallion smacked the wendigo on the head, continuing to fly away. The monster turned on him, however no matter how many times it tried to freeze him, Duplicate would use whatever his ability was to magically dodge and move locations. Above the blue stallion a huge blue orb began to form, electricity erupting out of it. Above the brown stallion growing waves of red energy started to form. “Magnetic pulse!” shouted the Full Dawn. Blaze Bolt then shouted, “Lightning bolt!” A huge bolt of electricity shot from Blaze to Full. A lightning bolt several times the size of the first ripped out of the combination of the two attacks and shot at the wendigo. The wendigo let out a scream. Fluttershy jumped backwards, seeing that the monster’s right leg had actually been blown off. The monster turned and started to fly away. “Show it no bucking pity!” shouted Fire Sky. The creature tore away, it’s wail changing to a sound that almost caused Fluttershy to cry, like she could feel it crying for mercy. Suddenly, from below her a huge sonic pulse flew out. When it passed her it knocked her over, causing her to summersault in the air several times. The pulse slammed into the creature’s head. The wendigo dropped, falling down from the city. A silence fell over Canterlot. Fire Sky flew back down to Celestia who flew in stunned silence. “We-we… we will not surrender…” Celestia said, Fluttershy never having heard the princess stutter before in her life. Fire Sky smiled. “We who?” he turned and shouted. “Soldiers! Hear me! Show where your loyalties lie. Your children or your princess? Fight for her, she’ll betray you again, fight for me, your children will be returned to you!” Fluttershy’s eyes filled with renewed dread as she saw the soldiers of the day suddenly start turning on each other. Chaos was ensuing all around her as she started to hear screaming. The citizens of Canterlot started running in terror below. The yellow mare shot down to a roof top to take everything in, trying to get a grasp on exactly what she would or even could do. Course there was the thought repeating in her head over and over again, ‘Did they really just kill a wendigo?’. Her eyes wandered up to Celestia and Fire Sky. If she could make a difference in their fight, no way could either force ignore her. Terrified, still the mare opened her wings and rocked back, listening to the two leaders talk to each other, waiting for an opening. She shook with shear terror but steeled her resolve. Fire looked on Celestia with confidence saying, “So the thing you used to hold us all in fear is turned away, and behold what happens when you assume the loyalty of your soldiers. I treat mine with respect, you treat yours with contempt and take away their children.” “If you’re angry then talk-“ “No, we’re done talking,” “What do you want?! What is it? Leave my citizens be I will give it to you. Anything in my power!” Celestia pleaded, the screams echoing around her. Fire glared at her. “I want my sons back you bitch.” And with that a huge plume of blue flames tore away from the stallion straight at the princess of the sun. Celestia casted a shield spell quickly as Fire rolled and shot off to the left, being several kilometers away in the blink of an eye. Celestia charged her horn, tracking her opponent and firing a powerful lance of magic at him, leading her target impeccably- would have been a good aim if Fire didn’t use his power make a near ninety degree turn mid air and head straight up at a spontaneous moment. Celestia’s lance flew off meaninglessly. Above her, fire surrounded the blue stallion as he waved his front hooves in the air. Celestia’s horn charged and fired a beam of heavy magic as a huge plume shot at her. The magic and the fire met between the two, both halting. Celestia’s beam started to push the fire back slowly, looking like she would win the skirmish when Fire Sky shot suddenly to the right, her beam ripping through his attack, but firing off into thin air. Before Celestia could turn her head to start another attack, Fire Sky shot past her flames ripping into her fur. Celestia screamed, but charged her horn again. The stallion stopped in the air, fire gathering around him again as- Celestia disappeared and reappeared above him, slamming her front hooves into his face and knocking him out of the air. The stallion crashed into a stone roof below. Celestia landed several feet away, looking down at her injured enemy with confidence. “Now, will you say what it is you want?!” “I want you gone. You’ve driven us into the street, you’ve caused our children pain- mares will be subject to our contempt now!” “Not as long as I’m in your way.” Celestia’s horn started to charge. Fire formed around the stallion. Celestia’s beam shot forward, Fire Sky’s fire shooting at her. This time the beam passed through the flames, Celestia’s facing being burned by the full force, her screaming again, her face deformed by several burns. A young voice screamed, “WHAT DID YOU DO?!!” Magic dust around Fire Sky started to clear and Fluttershy did a double take. Fire Sky had been transformed into a small foal. The foal stomped, throwing his wings in the direction of Celestia, but no fire came out. “I have changed you into the state the most fits how you are behaving. You are a violent child lashing out in anger. Your complaints may have weight, but you’re here for nothing more than revenge.” “For what you did to my sons- I’ll destroy you if I have to do it with my bare hooves!” the colt charged at Celestia only to be smacked away by her hoof. Crying the colt glared at her. “You give me no choice. I will end this battle right here.” Celestia charged her horn, the colt in no condition to run away. Fluttershy understood what Celestia was doing, but- at top speed she shot over to the roof and slammed her hooves into the stone, spreading her wings to completely block Celestia’s attack. “I won’t let you!” Celestia stopped, her mouth open in shock. “I don’t care what he did, you changed him, you can’t hurt him now. He’s a child.” Celestia backed up. “Very well. But this spell seems to be a solution,” her horn warmed up, watching the stallions above her. “If we cannot fight them as stallions, we will retrain them as colts.” “Shatter!” Fire Sky shouted. A grey pegasus stallion flew towards him. Celestia turned her head and fired her beam at the approaching stallion. In that split second a huge piece of glass formed in front of the incoming stallion, the magic beam reflecting and impacting the pony who fired it. The magic dust settled, Celestia standing in its midst. “What!?” she screamed, looking down at herself. She was now a small filly earth pony. “Gee, I wonder, could it be that only a filly solves her problems by trying to force others to change?” Fire asked. “I suppose this means we’re not so different- well actually we are.” The gray stallion spread his wings, glass forming around them. “One of us is going to lose.” Fluttershy froze, terrified of what she was about to see. The glass flew forward- just as an armored stallion landed in front of Celestia. The stallion was peppered with the shards, but he still grabbed his monarch and flew off with her. The guard flew off into the sky shouting “Fall back- retreat- we can’t fight like this. Retreat!” The gray stallion turned to Fluttershy, more glass forming around him. Fluttershy bowed her head. “At least my friends will-“ “Hurt her and you’re a traitor!” Fire Sky flew in front of the yellow mare. “Sir?” asked the stallion. “We’re making them subject to us, not committing genocide. She saved my life. Now leave Shatter.” The gray stallion flew away. Fire glared back at her. “I imagine you want to change me too. What does someone have to do for some bucking respect? Fight me, don’t try to change me, you have no right!” “You’re an injured child, I can’t fight you.” The colt gave her a smirk. He then paused. “…Ya know what? You I can tolerate I think.” The screams around them started to quiet down. “They’re taking the city then…  As a matter of fact, why don’t you stay by my side for a while? Who knows, maybe you can change me- or maybe I’ll be the one who changes you.” “Why do you keep talking about being changed?” “Isn’t that something mares believe they have the right to do to us stallions? Change us how they see fit, manipulate us? Well come on, let’s see which mind wins shall we? My wife changed my friends so they tried to kill me, but something tells me, there’s a way to beat you gals at your own game. C’mon, follow me. No one will attack you. Let’s have our minds fight instead.” “What you’re wife did was wrong, but can’t you see you’re not better?...” Fluttershy said, desperate to find a way to talk the colt down. He didn’t have his strength or powers anymore, but he still commanded his soldiers, and so he was still dangerous. “Fluttershy is it? C’mon, change my mind, change my soul. I’ll have to figure out how a stallion can resist you mares after all. I’ll find out first hoof. I promise, again, no one will hurt you or bind you or anything else. Only stay with me.” Fluttershy closed her eyes. She was still shaking with fear, but she swallowed. “Lead on.” (***) As the battle between Fire Sky and Celestia raged above, Rainbow and her three remaining friends still needed to execute their plan for escape. “Okay… Rainbow did ya see this comin’?” “Um-No…” Rainbow replied. “They must have realized I would blow the lid on their operation and… well there you go.” “We have got to get out of here… ah hate to say this, but we’ll never get everyone out of here before we’re overpowered too… darn Celestia’s discrimination would extend ta her soldiers- how much hubris cn’ someone have, honestly?” she grunted and looked towards the city walls. “We’ll never get out the front door…” Rarity nodded. “But with all these explosions who would really notice if we made one more?” AJ raised an eyebrow to her. “Pinkie always seems to have her cannon on her… somehow… so load it with a real cannon ball and blast through the wall over there,” she indicated over to the left. “We’ll hike over the hill and hike down the mountain.” “This mountain is steep as hell Rares,” Applejack said. “Ya sure ya wanna do that?” “It’s risky, but that’s why no one will suspect us doing it,” Rarity pointed out. “Still, we can only take so many.” She looked over at Rainbow. “I’m sorry you can’t fight darling-“ “Oh I can- Watch me- hrrk!” AJ yanked her tail and pulled Rainbow back from flying away. “In yer condition you’ll never accomplish anything. Fluttershy risked herself to save you and give us a chance, don’t you dare make that sacrifice for nothin’,” Applejack shouted. “She’s not dead, she’s just up there and-“ “One of you had to make the sacrifice and one has to round up civilians to evacuate.” Rarity said. “If we don’t have a flier how many ponies will we really be able to save? Like it or not, the point is, they only need to control one element. If they have her, they have no reason to try so hard to come after the rest of us. That’s what we’re banking on anyway.” Rainbow shook her head. “I can’t believe we’re doing this.” “We’re coming back Rainbow. But, we’ll need to gather allies and a plan of attack,” Rarity continued. “I… we have to do this.” “How do I choose who to save?” the cyan pegasus asked back. “That’s in your hooves, meet us at the wall,” Rarity said. The three ponies left, running for the part of the wall Rarity had indicated. “You have ten minutes!” Rarity shouted back.  Rainbow looked around herself. She wanted to survey things from the air, but she knew she would just make herself a target doing that. Most explosions occurring were really just magic explosions in the air, few impacting the ground. She also had a creeping fear of what Fire Sky would do to Fluttershy if he caught her- who was she kidding? She wasn’t a fighter or a flier, he WOULD catch her- No, Fluttershy was a full grown mare, she needed her friends to respect her decisions. Rainbow closed her eyes and forced her mind to reset to the task at hand. “Ten minutes isn’t long…” Rainbow flew along the ground and quickly looked over at a group of soldiers fighting each other. “For one pony anyway… but…” She shot into the air and swept over to the soldiers. “Listen to me!” She shouted into the group. The stallions in various stages of combat did turn to look at her. They stopped fighting. “Why should we listen to one of Celestia’s cronies? I haven’t seen my children in five years, what the hell did I do to deserve that?” demanded one of the stallions. “Five years…” Rainbow almost stopped hearing that, thinking about being separated from her daughter for that long. “Listen, I didn’t even know what Celestia was doing, and I’m sorry no one objected before, but look around yourselves. Don’t tell me what this guy is doing strikes you guys as better.” “Why should we listen to you at all?” “How dare you talk back to an element bearer!” shouted another stallion. “You don’t have to listen to me, many of you are missing your children, I would be angry too,” Rainbow said. “But how many of you have daughters? Would you want them to live under a stallion who hates them?” She bowed her head. “I’m not ordering you, I’m asking you, please work with me against this guy. We need to get as many civilians as we can out of the city. To you who are loyal to Celestia, that’s exactly what she would want anyway.” The stallions got off one another. One of the larger stallions snorted. “Fine, everyone spread out- where should we be herding everyone?” “Just enough to leave in ten minutes,” Rainbow waved, “That way.” (***) Fluttershy followed Fire Sky to the castle. “Where’s Luna?” Fluttershy asked. “Would have thought you would know,” Fire Sky replied. “She and her troops are visiting the Crystal Empire on a training exercise. It’s regularly scheduled.” “I don’t really follow the military,” Fluttershy admitted. They both landed in front of the throne room. “You do?” “I was in the military.” Fire Sky appeared somber for a few moments. “The number of times I risked my life to protect Celestia’s rule- to have her betray me and my family…” “What happened?” “I don’t have- or a few minutes ago, didn’t have-  my powers, naturally. My fire powers were impulse powers. I was kidnapped by Gray. Before that though, you see, I had been pursuing putting my wife in jail and removing her custody of our children, in the wake of her attempting to murder me right in front of them. When I was kidnapped, Celestia’s laws assumed I had abandoned my family and assumed my word was worthless.” He sat down. “My case was thrown out and my wife got the children.” “She cut off access to them?” As Fire spoke, his voice shook. “She… she locked them in a basement until they starved.” Fluttershy stepped back, her mouth starting to dry. “A pair of hooves back at the camp is all I have left.” Tears started to run down the colt’s face. “Celestia’s betrayal couldn’t have cut deeper with a knife.” “I… I’m so sorry… can I hug you?” Fluttershy asked. “I suppose that would be something you should ask first- go ahead, you’re sentimen- hmmfff” Fluttershy picked him up and embraced him tightly. His body didn’t respond like normal, he was stiff. He sighed and hugged her back, but it felt so fake. She put him down. He shook his head slowly, trying to wipe away his own tears. “You think that’s breaking me down, it’s not.” “I just want you to feel better.” “After all I’ve done, don’t lie to me.” He turned his back. “Typical mare.” “The pity I feel for you, is real. You lost your kids, you’re pain isn’t fake, and my desire to help isn’t fake either.” Fire Sky paused. He then snorted. “I can’t believe that.” Fluttershy looked on as Fire proceeded to the large doors to the Gala of the castle. “You know you could be breaking up families with your attack,” she said. He turned back around. “My soldiers aren’t under orders to kill anyone who doesn’t fight. The explosions are little more than shock and awe to force the civilians to surrender.” “Even I know that’s just an idea. You’ve probably killed or at least injured hundreds of civilians by this point,” Fluttershy pointed out. Fire started to chuckled. He then doubled over in laughter. “What’s so funny? Civilians being hurt isn’t funny. I can tell you’re a good person in there somewhere-“ “And the deaths of soldiers are funny?” The colt said, recovering from his laughing. “Oohohoh… oh my goodness.” He wiped away a tear. “My fighters definitely ended up killing more than a few soldiers, but hey, what’s a few daughters without their fathers right? Who cares? Just so long as they don’t have the coveted title “civilian” who cares what happens to them? My gods, are you even aware of your own prejudice?” “I… didn’t think about that-” “Well I did. One of my new regime’s first actions will be to reunite families, families that your dictator tore apart on the whims of selfish mares. Tell me, honestly, you would have had me sacrifice soldiers to save civilians. So then, what would you say to a son who no longer has a father?“ Fluttershy looked down. “I thought so.” “I didn’t think to bring them up, it doesn’t mean I don’t care about them,” Fluttershy insisted. “You specifically said “civilian”.” He pointed an accusing hoof at her. “You knew soldiers could be dying out there, and honestly, what you said, is something someone says with the subtle implication that a battle would be better if only soldiers died.” Even as she insisted, this particular argument was making Fluttershy feel uneasy. That wasn’t the first time she had said or heard someone else speak like civilian life was more important. She didn’t mean that… but saying it like that… what did she mean? “My soldiers did attack here because we could win, Celestia’s soldiers being unwilling to break out the bigger attacks here, but also so we could minimize casualties as much as possible by breaking the enemy’s resolve to even start to fight. But I guess in your mind it would be better if thousands or millions died, so long as none of your precious “civilians” died- or should I be more honest? We compose like 90% of your military don’t we? Your precious mares. After all…” the colt reached into a saddle bag on his back, “wonder this thing stayed on me really… here we go!“ he slapped down a newspaper on the ground. On the cover was a story about a train accident from several years ago. “Train accident today, many hundreds dead, seventy mares and twenty children among them… guess now my body might have been counted- what do you think, or would they have just tossed it on a pile even now?” Fluttershy picked up the paper. “They were counted…” “They just weren’t important enough to mention. Stallions dying is just fine.” Fluttershy put the paper in her own saddle bags. “I’ll give this to Twilight. We’ll make sure everyone there, mare or stallion, was properly buried, if it didn’t happen that way, you’re right, that would be wrong.” She sighed. “Look… there was a time I thought only mares experienced discrimination-” “What discrimination? You girls can go anywhere you want and do anything. What, does some stallion thinking “I want me some o’ dat ass’” count as discrimination? Oh you poor dears!” He was getting under her skin now. Something told Fluttershy not to pursue this line, but she felt she just had to. “Well there’s being raped!” she shouted. “You have any idea what it’s like to be taken advantage of like that?” He laughed again. “It’s not funny-“ “Like you wouldn’t laugh twice as hard if you heard about a stallion being raped!” he shouted back at her. “Not for a second!” Fluttershy yelled back, starting to lose her patience. “Now I don’t know what other mares might be like, but I would never laugh at something like that and neither would any of my friends!” “You still tried to say it was a mare’s issue, like you’re the only ones hurt. Or let’s just be honest again, you’re the only ones who count!” She sighed. “Look, I said that wrong okay…” she thought. Again, something told her this was the wrong direction to go, but she tried again anyway. “What about pay? Stallions earn way more than mares.” “You make different life choices generally-“ “And you tell me why those choices aren’t as valuable,” she shot over him, starting to not even recognize her own confidence. Maybe it was because, in his current state, even if Fire tried, he didn’t look intimidating. “The world is structured to reward the choices males naturally make. I’m a vet and I care for ponies and their pets across Ponyville, why is that less important than building carriages? You can earn twice as much that way!” “Would you like a sonnet to be sung of my pity, hm? Our bodies aren’t even counted as they lie scattered across Equestria fighting for you as you take away our children and laugh at victims, but poor you, you don’t have as many bits.” He spat. Again she thought. Her life and maybe the lives of everyone in Canterlot counted on her winning this but… she struck on something. “Look, maybe things aren’t fair, but how does attacking us fix anything?” “I just said I’m going to reunite families.” “And then what?” Fluttershy asked. “I… I… I’m working on it.” He sighed. “You’ll all see what we go through. You’ll be the ones not counted, you’ll be the ones laughed at when you’re victims!” he growled. “When you’re poor, you’ll be thrown out on the street and your children will be take away on OUR whim!” “Is that really what you want?” “YES!” “If you had had a daughter-“ “I had sons, and they’re gone!” “What if you had a daughter though? Then what? Would you want to do those things to her?” Fire Sky gritted his teeth. “I… no… maybe- NO… you won’t change me! I am what I am!” Fluttershy looked at him with concern. “I get it, I shouldn’t be trying to prove you wrong, your concerns are real. It doesn’t matter whose got it worse, what matters is, ponies are being hurt. And I can see it, in your own way, you’re trying to do something about it. However, seriously, look at what you’re doing. You know you’re wrong!” He looked away. “There’s a good person in there. He’s having doubts isn’t he?” “Because of you, you’re a mare and-“ “Any stallion could have done that too. My father talked sense into me more than once. And you know what? I love him, and my brother.” She pulled out the paper, “I can see how you feel. This is wrong. If one of them had been on this train, I would have been furious at this headline.” She put it back away. “And I can only imagine the pain of losing two children, especially the way you lost your boys. Look I don’t understand all the ways we’re different, but I know a lot of the ways we’re the same.” The colt walked into the main palace area. “It doesn’t matter now anyway. What I’ve done, I’ve done. No going back now. Celestia will have us all thrown in jail or even killed. I can’t do that to my soldiers.” She followed him. “But even then, maybe you can make a better kingdom. Why are you only trying to repay wrongs, instead of fixing them? Just make the laws equal. You know, this was all pretty wrong, maybe you can do better.” “You challenging me or something?” “I’m giving you a chance.” Fluttershy replied. Fire looked down, biting his lip and seeming to think.