Chapter 9: Wake Up Call
Twilight noticed Rainbow's concerned look. At first she thought it was because of the news of the Elements of Virtue. Then she noticed that Rainbow was watching somepony leave. Twilight glanced over her shoulder and saw Sky Fire leaving. Now it made sense.
"Rainbow, is everything ok?" She asked, "You look...shaken up."
The light blue pegasus let out a sigh. She was hoping that nobody had seen her watch Sky Fire leave. But she shouldn't have been surprised that Twilight was observant.
"It's...it's Sky Fire." Rainbow said, sadness filling her voice, "You saw how much bravado he showed back there. That...that was the Sky Fire I really remember."
Rainbow looked out to a window at the night sky that seemed to wrap up Ponyville in a blanket. She closed her eyes.
"But...as soon as he so much as HEARS the word 'leadership' he turns into a quivering wreck!" Rainbow snapped, but hanging her head low, "I thought...after how happy he was being back, I really thought he was over it."
Twilight couldn't take it anymore. Ever since Rainbow's friend returned nearly a month ago, all of her friends had kept her in the dark about his past. If they were going to work together, she needed to know everything.
"What happened exactly?" She asked, glancing around to her friends, "Girls, why is it such a big deal?"
At first no one answered. Rarity sighed as she took a step forward towards Twilight.
"It's a really long story Twilight-" She began, but Twilight cut her off.
"I don't care! If we're going to be a team you have to tell me what happened!"
The room seemed to be deathly silent from Twilight's brief anger. Pinkie just glanced away in nerves as she tried to think of something to say. Fluttershy was standing behind Rarity from Twilight's shout. Applejack sighed as she turned to Rainbow, her eyes narrowed.
"Either you start the story, or I will Rainbow." She said, "And I WILL go into every detail."
Rainbow gritted her teeth. She didn't want to go back to that day when Sky Fire changed. It was hard on her just like it was for him.
"...Fine." She finally said, turning back to Twilight, "Look...it was back when were barely past our filly years. We were both fifteen, Scoots had just learned how to walk and talk the year before..."
XxXxX
"Come on, Dash!"
"Hey, wait up kid!"
A five year old Scootaloo ran down the room. A happy grin on her face as she glanced back to babysitter, a teenaged Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo's parents had placed a lot of trust in the light blue mare to watch over her. Although they weren't related by blood, the two were as close as sisters could actually be.
Above the two, a teen aged Sky Fire watched from the clouds. Memories of when he and Rainbow were both fillies filling his mind. Back then, Rainbow thought Scootaloo smelled bad and was not into looking after babies. It was good to see that she had matured a little bit over the years.
"Having fun you two?" He asked, landing behind them. Scootaloo was jumping up and down for joy at the sight of him.
"Hi Sky Fire!" Scootaloo beamed, her eyes gleaming.
"My, she's almost as energetic as Pinkie Pie." A teenaged Fluttershy said, walking up from their right.
"Ha, ALMOST?" Rainbow asked.
Sky Fire chuckled at the joke. It was true that Scootaloo was getting more energetic everyday. Though it would have taken a lot of energy to be more hyper than Pinkie Pie was. Still, it was good to see that Scootaloo was growing up. He turned his attention back to Rainbow and Fluttershy.
"Listen up, we got orders to carry out from Cloudsdale." He said.
"Ugh..." Rainbow rolled her eyes, "Just because we're no longer considered fillies..."
"Oh come on, it can't be that bad." Fluttershy said in an optimistic tone. "What do we have to do?"
"Apparently we missed a couple of rainstorms that the earth ponies have been requiring for sometime," Sky Fire explained, drawing a circle with his right front hoof, "So, we have to make up for the lack of rain we missed. The mayor has called in for a big rainstorm to make up for the mess."
"Got it." Rainbow said, putting on her new Weather Patrol goggles with a smirk.
"I thought you weren't up for this one?" Sky Fire asked, giving her a smug smile.
"Ok, so I take it back." Rainbow said, "This is our first big assignment! I'm stoked!"
"Can I come too? Huh? Huh?" Scootaloo asked, jumping up and down in the same spot.
Sky Fire just smiled lightly. Ruffling Scootaloo's mane, he closes his eyes half way. Her spirit was full of charisma.
"Not today, kiddo. You gotta go through basic training before you learn how to set up weather." He said. Scootaloo gave a small pout.
"Aww..."
"It's ok, Scoots." Rainbow said, putting a hoof on the young filly's back, "You'll be tossing clouds and flying high before you know it!"
Rainbow looked at Sky Fire real fast. Despite what he said, she wanted to bring Scootaloo along with them. Though once he made a decision, it was final. She sighed before ruffling up her mane.
"You'll be a great Weather Patrol pony, I can tell."
Scootaloo beamed at what Rainbow said.
"Thanks, Dash!" She said, trotting off back to Ponyville to her house.
Rainbow smiled again as she fly up into the air before her two friends could. Fluttershy let a small squeak out when she did. Sky Fire just gave her a look as she hovered above them easily.
"All right, let's roll!" She shouted, dashing off to the clouds above.
"W-Wait for us!" Fluttershy called out, struggling to keep up with the speeding pegasus.
"She's always thinking ahead too much..." Sky Fire grumbled as he took off after the two mares.
XxXxX
"So, it was a storm that the mayor of Cloudsdale wanted?" Twilight asked, stopping the story briefly.
"Yes, darling." Rarity said, "From what Rainbow told us before, Sky Fire was always good at setting plans for storms and how strong they would be."
Rainbow nodded her head. The memories of that storm coming back to her full force. She hated to talk about it. It was too painful for her to remember. But she had to continue, Twilight had to know the rest.
"Yeah, he was great." She said, "But that time...I dunno, I STILL haven't figured out how it happened, but something went WRONG."
XxXxX
"All right! One heaping helping of storm clouds, coming up!"
Rainbow went to work in the clouds. Gathering them all into one big one as it began to grow bigger and darker. She wasn't alone though, the other pegasai were helping build up the storm cloud as well, Sky Fire directing the group as they gathered the clouds. Fluttershy meanwhile was busy ushering the animals below to safe havens.
"Easy now, easy..." Sky Fire instructed to two mares who were carrying a heavy cloud. As it was placed in the big cloud, he turned back to Rainbow. "Rainbow, what's the status on the last cloud you were after?"
"It's on its way." Rainbow responded.
Sky Fire continued to instruct the other pegasai as she went to gather the cloud. So far, things were going according to plan. There was no abnormalities that anypony could have seen. Rainbow flew over to the last cloud that was scheduled to be placed. A smile came to her face as she reached out for it, but it slid away from her.
"What the..?"
She tried to grab it once again, but it slid away again. Her eyes narrowed in annoyance as she reached for the cloud for a third time. Just like it did before, the cloud escaped her grasp again. This time, however, a powerful windburst blew against her back.
Rainbow balanced herself out as the wind continued to blow. Now she was really confused. Did Sky Fire start the winds up too early? They weren't ready for the storm to begin just yet.
"Hey!" She called out to him, "I thought you weren't gonna start the wind up until I got the last cloud in place! What gives?"
Sky Fire gave her a dumb founded expression. He hadn't given any signal to start up the winds at all. He glanced around to the other pegasai. They were just as confused as he was at this strange event.
"I didn't give the signal-" He started, but stopped himself mid sentence as the storm cloud the assembled began to grow out of control. His eyes shrink in fear at the sudden realization of what was happening. Something had caused the storm to go rogue.
"Oh no...no no no, how could I mess this up?" He asked, frantically turning to the crew, "Get those who aren't in shelter to safety, now! The storm's gone rogue!
"What?" Rainbow shouted.
True to his word, the storm began to do whatever it wanted. The rest of the pegasai group split apart to get those who were out into their homes or someplace far away from the storm. Down on the ground, Fluttershy hurried the remaining animals to safety.
As everypony tended to their job, Sky Fire and Rainbow met in midair.
"What the hay happened?" Rainbow asked, "How'd the storm go rogue?"
"I don't know!" Sky Fire answered, "The important thing now is that everypony is safe!"
Rainbow gasped as she remembered one filly that was still out. Scootaloo. Taking off as fast as her wings can carry her, Rainbow raced against the violent winds and heavy rain that the storm cloud was bringing. Sky Fire grunted as he chased after her. The only thing that both of them can thing about is the safety of Scootaloo.
Down on the ground, the young filly is running for her life. Every time she finds some form of shelter, it became too dangerous for her. Scootaloo's eyes were filled with tears, panting heavily as she tried to find a safe spot to hide. Eventually, she was forced to huddle under a rock. It wasn't much, but it was better than being caught in the heavy rain.
"W-What's happening?" She trembled, "Why is it raining so hard?"
Above her rock, Rainbow finally found her young friend. A huge wave of relief went through her heart as she landed in front of Scootaloo.
"Scoots!" Rainbow shouted with joy, wrapping a leg around her, "Oh thank Celestia...you ok kid?"
"I-I'm fine, but I'm s-scared!" Scootaloo cried.
"I-It'll be okay Scoot..." She gently nuzzled her, "I'll protect you."
Rainbow wasn't so sure if she could keep that promise. All around them the storm was growing more violent. Tree branches began to fall over, the torrential down pour made it almost impossible to see, and debris was flying everywhere. A loud crack from the storm cloud came, from it a lighting bolt struck a house. It was sent ablaze. Rainbow nearly cried out in terror when she realized whose house it was.
It was Scootaloo's house. Her parents still trapped inside as the fire began to grow out of control. Scootaloo cried out in terror.
"Mommy! Daddy!
Without thinking, Scootaloo rushed towards her burning home. Rainbow ran after her, the bad weather conditions made it even more unsafe for a young filly than it did for anypony. Just a few feet above them in the sky, Sky Fire arrived. But when he did, his eyes witnessed a tree beginning to fall.
Straight at Scootaloo.
"Scootaloo wait!"
But he was too late. The tree slammed itself down into the ground at full force. One of its branches trapping the scared filly under it. Rainbow and Sky Fire felt like their hearts had just been ripped out.
"Help!" Scootaloo cried out, her voice trembling with fear.
Rainbow flew over to the tree as fast as she could. Not paying any attention to the fire that was coming closer to the tree itself. All she could think about was getting Scootaloo out of danger.
"D-Don't worry Scoots!" She cried out, a choking sound came from her voice, "I-I got this! I c-can fix this!"
She didn't notice it, but tears were welling up in her eyes. The thought of losing Scootaloo, someone that she watched out for, terrified her. But try as she might, she couldn't get the tree to move.
Sky Fire's eyes narrowed as he landed beside her. Before she could say anything, he pushed her away from the tree and began pushing against it himself.
"Dash, get the crew together and tend to the others!" He shouted, pushing with all his might, "That's an order!"
"Wh-What?" Rainbow's heart felt like it had stopped, "I can't just leave you to do this on your own! Are you insane?"
"I SAID GO!" He shouted, pushing even hard than he was before, "This is my mess, not your's!"
Rainbow hesitated before turning to Scootaloo. The last thing she wanted to do was to leave them to the flames that were getting closer. A tear finally ran down her cheek as she watched her friend and leader try to save Scootaloo.
"Sky...please be careful!"
Reluctantly, Rainbow went to help Fluttershy and the rest of the team. As she did, Sky Fire focused on pushing even harder. He wasn't going to let Scootaloo die. Not on his watch. The fire from her house began to spread more. He winced at the thought of her parents being burnt alive. The fire spread too much to do anything to save them.
"I'm scared..." She whispered, "Am I gonna...gonna die?"
Something in Sky Fire just snapped at those words. Scootaloo had just lost her parents and now she was in danger of losing her life as well. He gritted his teeth as he reared back his front legs.
"Not...if...I can help it!" He shouted, summoning once last ounce of strength.
The force from Sky Fire's efforts was not in vain. The tree finally began to roll, making the tree branch that had trapped Scootaloo rise up. A small gap was created, but it was more than enough. Sky Fire ducked his head and gently pulled the quivering Scootaloo by her mane away from danger. Not wasting anytime, he placed her on his back.
"Hold on!"
Before any argument could be made, he took off into the air. The heavy rain still pouring badly, but at least now they were out of danger.
"S-Sky?" Scootaloo asked, her eyes dilated with fear as she looked at the ground below them, "We're so high up...my...head..."
"Close your eyes," He told her, "don't look down!"
Scootaloo did as she was told, not letting go of Sky Fire as he continued to soar on. Despite all that she had been through, she felt safe riding on his back. A very tiny and weak smile came to her face.
"Sky...thanks...you're a...real hero." She whispered, "I wanna...be like you and Dash...when I..."
She finally drifted off into a peaceful sleep. The event was too much for to handle and made her tire out more than the other pegasai did. Sky Fire just hovered in midair as he watched the storm that he instructed to be continue its rampage. The streets of Ponyville were nearly flooded, landscape had come undone, and multiple items shattered against each other. His confidence shot down as he continued to watch the storm.
"...What have I done?"
XxXxX
"Scoots was lucky," Rainbow said, closing her eyes, "she only got a minor bruise on her hind leg...though it nearly broke her heart when she found out the fate of her parents."
Twilight just stood flabbergasted as Rainbow continued on. She tried her best to not let a tear fall from her eyes.
"Everything was fine. Sky Fire got a medal for saving her, she was placed under good care, and Ponyville survived." She hung her head, "But...he was never the same afterwards. He was always such a downer...and then one day he just up and left without even saying goodbye."
She glanced to Twilight.
"And that's really all there is to that story..."
"I...I didn't think he'd have a back story like that..." Twilight said, frowning as her eyes threatened to well up, "But are you sure that he was the one that messed up the storm? It sounds like he knew his job really well."
"Oh no doubt," Rarity agreed, "he was the one of the best if I recall correctly."
"Yeah..." Rainbow agreed, then shook her head, "It couldn't have been Storm Rider. He was still considered a national hero at the time. Maybe it was a freak accident. Maybe we got caught up in the middle of a cross storm. Either way...that whole incident changed Sky Fire."
Rainbow's expression hardened as she looked up at the stars.
"And come tomorrow, when we all move into the Diamond Dogs' new mansion...thingy, I intend to snap him out of it."
Nobody said a word for sometime. If there was thing that they all knew about Rainbow Dash, it was that when she had her mind set on a goal, she would do it. Applejack sighed.
"Well, Rainbow, you better talk to him now, we'll handle things here."
"AJ..."
Applejack just smiled as she gestured for her to head towards the door. Rainbow gave a small smile at her friends before taking her leave. If there was one place that she knew where Sky Fire would end up at, it would be a spot the two of them often watched the stars together when they were just fillies.
XxXxX
Sky Fire sat alone under the star leaf tree that was a few hills away from Ponyville. It was a spot that helped him escape the troubles of the real world. Tonight though, it wasn't helping much. He flinched as he remembered the night of the rogue storm. How it nearly destroyed Ponyville, how it killed Scootaloo's parents, and how it made him realize how foolish he was. Sky Fire shuddered as he tried to get the memories of the night go away, but he had little to no prevail in doing so.
"Dammit..." He growled, eventually buck kicking the tree hard. "What kind of leader would let something like...THAT happen to his home?"
All that answered his question was silence. Typical. Nobody had an answer to the question that had been consuming him for as long as he could remember. Five years had past since that day, but to him, it was still fresh in his mind.
Trotting hooves could be heard from behind him. He didn't need to take another guess who was coming up to this spot. There was only one other pony that would share this spot with him, so there was no point in turning around to see who it was.
Rainbow Dash came up to him. Determination stone hard on her face as she sat beside him. He didn't look at her, not wanting to talk.
"What is it, Dash?" He asked, his voice gloomy.
"Sky Fire, we need to talk. NOW." Rainbow said. He rolled his eyes.
"If it's about my wing and cuts, I'm telling you I'm fine." He said, "Besides, the Princess said that I was allowed to help out anyway."
"NO." Rainbow snapped, "This is about you turning all emo whenever we try to get you to help us! Hell, maybe even LEAD us. Like you did BEFORE. Does that sound familiar?"
He remained silent for a few seconds. Truth be told, he was now agitated by her question. She dared bring up that subject to him? How could she even consider reminding him of who he once was?
"...Tell me Rainbow." He said finally, "Before that night happened, do you remember any time where I made a mistake?"
She blinked. Honestly, she wasn't expecting that question. Sky Fire was one of the best students in Cloudsdale, next to her of course. A coy smile came to her face.
"Well, your cooking kinda sucked back then." She said. He gave her a dark glare.
"Something I missed caused that storm," He snarls, "I didn't think ahead of time. Because of my mistake, ponies lost their homes. Scootaloo was injured and lost her parents!"
He stared at her dead in the eyes. Doubt and shame were all that were there.
"What kind of leader lets his friends get hurt because of a mess he created?"
Rainbow remained silent for a few seconds. This Sky Fire wasn't the one she remembered. And honestly, she had enough of it.
"...Oh for..." She raised her left front hoof and smacked him upside the head, "LISTEN to yourself! You made ONE mistake and all of a sudden you're moping like a goth? You wanna know what a leader is?" Rainbow leaned in real close to his face, her breath covering his face, "A leader is someone who is there for and cares for those entrusted to him. A leader is there when the chips are there. And when they make a mistake, a leader LEARNS from it and strives to make sure it doesn't happen again! Dammit Sky Fire, don't you get it? YOU'RE THE BEST LEADER I'VE KNOWN!"
Rainbow panted a bit as she regained her breath. Her eyes kept themselves locked on his. Somewhere in there, was her old friend. There was no way that she was going to let him deny who he was. Not after what they've been through together. Both of them remained silent and still for a very long time. It was like they were both lost in each other's stare. Once they realized how long they'd been staring at one another, they pulled part quickly. Blush covering their faces.
"...That's all I have to say." Rainbow said, turning away some. "Just...think about it ok? And get some sleep, we're moving to that Mansion bright and early tomorrow.
Sky Fire just stared at the ground in silence. Rainbow's wore a sad face as she looked at him once last time. With a heavy sigh, she left to meet up with her friends. If her little lecture didn't get through to him, nothing would have.
"...Wait." He finally said. She noticed there was a slight change to his tone of voice, "...would you...would you mind staying with me for awhile? I'd like to have some company...and find my path again with somepony I can trust."
He gave a weak smile as he said that. Rainbow blinked and turned back to him. He hadn't asked her to do that in a long time. Sure she let him stay at her house for free, but that was different. The last time he asked for her to be emotional support for him was when they were still fillies. She grew a soft smile.
"Sure." She said, sitting next to him, both staring up at the night sky together. "Heh, this is just like when we were fillies. Remember? We'd always sneak out to come look at the stars."
"Heh, yeah. We'd get into a contest about what the names of each set of stars were and who the best flier was." He smiled. Rainbow just giggled.
"We all know that, it's me."
"In your dreams, Dashie girl."
"In your state, you couldn't even fly properly!
The two of them laughed as the stars above continued to dance. Rainbow smiled contently.
"Things were a lot simpler back then, huh?" She asked.
"A lot of things were." Sky Fire said, blinking as he felt her warmth as she leaned on his neck."Old days are gone now sadly."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we still can't have fun." She chuckled, "When this is over, remind me to tell you about the time me and Pinkie pranked the whole neighborhood."
"...Hey Dash?"
"Hm? What's up?"
"I'm...I'm sorry." He closed his eyes, "For leaving...everypony and...and you."
Rainbow just smiled as her eyes half closed. She leaned against him softly.
"It's all right. You came back, that's all that matters." Her smile turned into a smirk, "But you try and pull that again, I'll personally hunt you down and clobber you. Just saying."
Sky Fire let out a soft laugh at her little statement. For the first time in five years, he felt better than he ever did before. He didn't feel like he was away from anyone anymore.
He was home.
To Be Continued...