//------------------------------// // 5. A visit to Canterlot // Story: The Legend of Friendship - Diary of the Storm Wings // by Danieru //------------------------------// Entry number five I didn't plan to write anything into this so soon again but what happened today was just too good of a news to leave out. Something that is more than worthy of picking up this diary again. We were invited to Canterlot to meet Princess Celestia herself. We saw her in front of us with our own eyes. It was truly something that I would have never imagined to happen. Everypony went insane after one of our members returned with an official invitation from Princess Celestia. I think Tornado Wing even passed out after he saw the letter. Even thought only I was invited, I decided to take my brothers with me as well. To think that a group like ours was invited to Canterlot...Life sure has a funny sense of humor... Needless to say, the day was really chaotic... “What should I wear!? Wait I don't usually wear anything! What am I supposed to do!?” Tornado Wing said while he ran in circles in his room nervously. “Calm down, Tornado,” Cyclone Wing said while waiting patiently for his brother to get ready. “Calm down!?” Tornado Wing exclaimed shocked. “We are about to meet the ruler of Equestria! There is no way that I can calm down now!” Tornado Wing said frustrated. Cyclone Wing could only smirk, seeing Tornado Wing stressed like this. Of course, he was nervous too but he tried his best to not show it in front of everypony. “Are you two ready?” Hurricane Wing asked while he waited in the doorway of the room. “Almost...” Cyclone Wing replied. “You look really calm...Aren't you nervous too?” Cyclone Wing noticed after inspecting Hurricane Wing further. “What do you mean? I don't think I ever was this nervous before...” Hurricane Wing replied with literally the calmest voice and expression on his face ever. “Well, you sure don't look like it!” Tornado Wing said, doubting that Hurricane Wing's words were the truth. The whole morning went like this, even though there was still enough time for them to prepare. When they finally were finished, they exited the fortress and walked towards the entrance. Surprisingly, all members of the Storm Wings were waiting in front of it, cheering for their three leaders. “We all got up early and waited for you to leave for Canterlot!” Cloud Head said with a huge smile on his face, presenting the whole crowd behind him. “Everypony was so excited and just had to wait for you guys!” Breeze Flyer added excited a well. It was refreshing and it actually helped the three to calm down a little, especially Tornado Wing. With all the Storm Wing members behind them, this visit felt even more special than before and they could lift off to Canterlot without being nervous but rather excited. Later... “There it is!” Tornado Wing exclaimed after his eyes saw the first glimpse of Canterlot in sight with his two brothers next to him. Canterlot... The capital of Equestria. It might have been possible that some members of the Storm Wings were sent to Canterlot before but neither of the three brothers was there before. To think that their first visit was because of an invitation of the Princess was just crazy. Before they went to the castle, they decided to land in the town to get a closer look of it. Who knows when they will have another time to visit a place like this. The city was really big, as expected and there were a lot of ponies. Most of them wearing fancy clothes and behaving in a way that the three never seen before. It was kinda ironic that three former thieves who grew up on the streets were now walking through the probably most fancy town in Equestria. It was like a whole different world. Eventually, they ended their little tour through Canterlot and arrived at the royal castle. They couldn't let the princess wait after all. At that moment, panic was spreading inside of Tornado Wing after he realized who they are gonna meet in a few minutes. When they got closer to the entrance a Unicorn in a Golden Armor was walking up to them with a serious expression on his face. He was most likely a member of Princess Celestia's Royal Guards. Knowing that, made Tornado Wing nervous again. “He is coming right at us!” He whispered to his two brothers in a panic. “So? We were invited here, remember?” Cyclone Wing replied, not seeing the problem. “But what if he sees that we are not High-class enough to meet the Princess?” Tornado Wing replied. Cyclone wondered if he made that up because he was too afraid to meet the Princess and to needlessly stress himself. Luckily, Hurricane Wing calmed him down. “Don't worry, Tornado. You have to show more dignity and confidence around here. We're about to meet royalty after all,” Hurricane Wing explained confidently before he walked up to the guard to greet him. Cyclone Wing was positively surprised to hear that from Hurricane Wing. Not only was what he said true but he also seemed to make sure to act like that as well and Tornado Wing seemed to be impressed by it. The guard and Hurricane Wing meet each other on their way and Hurricane Wing was about to greet him. “Yo!” He said while raising his hoof and making his usual casual face. To that, Cyclone Wing could only slap his hoof against his face while Tornado Wing just stood there with his mouth open in shock. Needless to say, the guard was also confused by this greeting and didn't know how to reply. Now was the right time for Cyclone Wing to interrupt the two in their “conversation”. “The Princess invited me to the castle. The name is Cyclone Wing,” “Oh, the leader of the Storm Wings?” The guard quickly figured. “The Princess is expecting you,” They were then escorted to the throne room, where Princess Celestia was waiting. There were guards all over the throne room keeping a close eye at the three ponies and at the end of the room was a throne where the princess was sitting on. “There she is!” Tornado Wing exclaimed as he pointed with his hoof to the Alicorn Princess, sitting on her throne and awaiting the three ponies to walk up to her with a gentle smile on her face. However, her smile was quickly overshadowed by all the serious expressions that the Royal Guards threw at the three, making Tornado Wing once again, nervous. However, he knew that he was in the presence of Princess Celestia and tried to not let her see how nervous he was. Unfortunately, in that attempt, he ended up walking as stiff as a board, making him look very silly. Hurricane Wing didn't behave any better... He kept greeting every member of the Royal Guard with a “yo” as soon as he passed them. “Eyup...Those are the Storm Wings...” Cyclone Wing said to himself with an ashamed expression on his face while still being the only one who didn't act completely silly. Of course, their behavior wasn't unnoticed by the Princess, who tried to not giggle at the three. The Princess raised from her throne and walked up to the three Pegasi, who instantly bowed down in front of her. Princess Celestia gestured that they could raise again and looked at each one of them with a warm smile that a mother would give to her children. All three of them were stunned by her appearance. They only just heard about Princess Celestia before but of course, they never saw her in person. Let alone that close. It was stunning, to say the least. Even the usually calm Cyclone Wing was starting to get nervous now. But Princess Celestia was not looking at them like they were inferior or of lower value than her. Instead, she looked at them, as if she wanted to have a really casual conversation while still upholding her elegance. “I welcome you, Storm Wings,” she greeted the three ponies. “If I recall, you and your group made yourselves quite a name. It is good to hear that there is a group of ponies that dedicates itself to help other ponies in need. As a princess, the well being of my subjects is most important for me but sadly I can't help every single pony in Equestria and my Royal Guards can't be everywhere as well...,” she began, making the three brothers feel honored hearing those words from the princess. Just being complimented by Princess Celestia was enough to make the trip to Canterlot unforgettable for those three. “I would like to make an announcement!” The Princess said, making the Royal Guards in the room all peeling their ears. ”I hereby declare that from this day on, the Storm Wings shall be known as a group of heroes in Equestria!” “What!?” All three of them said surprised in unison. “Any objections?” The Princess returned. “No! I mean, of course not but...” Cyclone Wing replied, not being able to find the right words to express how shocked he was right now but eventually, the Princess continued. “I heard rumors about your past and while it is not up to me to decide if they are true or not, I do know about your actions in the present. And those actions deserve to be rewarded. Even if you don't think of yourselves as heroes, I and a lot of ponies in Equestria certainly see you as ones,” Princess Celestia explained. This speech left the three speechless. The Ruler of Equestria called them and the Storm Wings heroes. The weight that those words had was unimaginable. The three could only look at each other in shock before they smiled happily. After their meeting with Celestia, the three brothers left the palace and decided top return to the Storm Fortress. They didn't say much on their fly back home and could only look at each other with happy smiles on their face, waiting to tell everypony about what the Princess said to them. Overall, this day was just amazing. When we told everypony about the Princess and how she called our group heroes every pony went crazy. There was a huge party in fortress and everypony was cheering for us. I don't think anything can top what happened today. After that day, a lot more ponies wanted to sign up to be members of the Storm Wings. Word sure got around faster than we expected. Maybe the Princess had some hoof into this. Whatever the reason was, the reputation of the Storm Wings skyrocketed. This was good for us. Good for Equestria. More ponies would mean, more work that could be done which again meant more ponies that we could help. I know I repeat myself but, having the Princess acknowledge our work was the best thing that might happen to the Storm Wings yet. To be honest, now I am truly excited about what the future holds for us. It can only get better from now on.