The days seemed to slow to a crawl for Barrier since Daring’s departure with the afternoons seeming to drag on endlessly. While only eight days had passed since her leaving, Barrier felt as if months had gone by, reminding the stallion just how much he had relied on her presence.
Sadly for the stallion stretching out on his couch, today was clearly going to be yet another of those days.
While his housemates had tried valiantly to liven things up for him, their attempts were unfortunately fruitless for the most part, and so Barrier was left alone while the housemates were out, passing the time with a library book… and another, and another.
A chilling wind swept through the foggy pier as the two stallions stood at attention, slowly watching as the shadowy visage of a vessel crept into port. The elder stallion’s eyes surveyed the ship’s dark wooden bow, falling upon the fearsome figurehead of a griffin, flying with their claws outstretched.
The younger pegasus at his side fidgeted as two tiercels leapt from the ship, ropes clenched firmly in their sharp talons. He slowly shifted a wing towards his sheathed sword.
“Hold, Lieutenant,” the older unicorn commanded as the griffin pair secured the ropes to the bollards. “These griffins are merely doing their duty. They have not shown themselves to be a threat… yet.” His gaze hardened as the pair flew back up to the deck.
“My apologies, sir.” The cream coated stallion saluted and shifted to a steadier stance. “I was worried for…” He bit his lip as the blue unicorn turned and faced him, his eyebrow cocked in curiosity. “Tis my first encounter with griffins, captain. I’ve only heard stories of the terror they wrought from my mother upon her home of Gallopfrey.”
The captain patted the pegasus gently upon the shoulders. “I understand thy nervousness, but remember, this is meant to be a peaceful mission.” His eyes shot upward as he heard the scraping of wood as the gangplank was lowered off the ship’s side, landing on the pier with a thud that echoed throughout the foggy banks. “Remember, it matters not the sins of this hen’s mother. Only her own actions, understood?”
“Understood,” the pegasus whispered as a figure slowly came down the gangplank. The ominous form soon became visible, revealing a large griffin hen who towered a head taller than the younger stallion. Her coat and wings were a charcoal black while her head feathers were a grey that blended into the fog. Much to the pegasus’ surprise, her sharp talons were contrasted by her gentle blue eyes.
As she came to the gangplank’s end, the pair of guards threw up a salute. “Ambassador Varia LeGrande,” the unicorn barked as she came to a halt. “Welcome to Equestria. Lieutenant Fireball and I are to escort you to Canterlot.”
“There beith no need to be so formal, Captain Mars.” The hen casually waved as she strolled past them. “I have been well informed on th—
The sound of the front door being quickly opened, followed by a shout, broke Barrier’s thoughts from his story. “Barrier, could you please come here?” the voice called out with a gasp.
“What’s up, Fleet?” The lounging stallion set his book aside before teleporting to the front. “Is something bad happening?”
“Hopefully not too bad,” Fleet answered, catching her breath. “A large wild storm’s headed for Vanhoover right now. It’s too much for just the storm breakers to handle, so it’s an all hooves on deck situation.”
“Should we make some preparations for the storm?” Barrier instinctively rested a hoof on her azure shoulder, making her quickly pull away.
“Hopefully not, but I will have to work overtime. Could you please pick up Wind Whistler from school?”
“Sure thing,” Barrier replied with a shrug. “I’ll make sure you’ll have some leftovers waiting for you whenever you get back.”
“Thank you, Barrier.” Fleet beamed as she leaned her face close to his, only to pull back an instant before pecking his cheek. “I guess I’ll be off.” With that, the sky-colored mare spread her wings and leapt out the front door, swiftly taking to the skies.
With a sigh, Barrier gently pushed the door closed and walked back to the living room. Retaking his spot on the couch, he turned his gaze over to the clock on the wall, seeing the time was two-thirty-five.
Well, I’ve got about an hour to kill. Guess back to Flame Crest.
***
The sun beamed down on Barrier as he made his way up to the red-bricked schoolhouse, birds chirping and flitting about as he came to a halt at the fence’s opening.
Well, it seems I’ve timed it pretty well. The tall unicorn smirked as he gazed up at the clock face resting on the front of the building set at a slowly shifting three-twenty-nine. Hopefully Windy won’t worry about Fleet too much. If she can take on a rock dog and come out on top, a storm should be nothing.
An echoing ring made Barrier’s ears stand on end as his eyes fell upon the doors right before they exploded open with a stampede of foals that came pouring out. With a quick sidestep, he dodged the flood of foals rushing to get home or off to play.
The chaos died down as quickly as it started before the charcoal stallion felt something tackle his face and made him stumble back. Flaring his horn, he pulled the giggling mass off his face, bringing the familiar form of Fleet’s filly before him.
“Hey there, Kiddo.” Barrier gently lowered her to the ground before giving her a soft pat on the back. “Ready to head home?”
“Yeah, but…” Wind Whistler glanced about, trying to find something missing. “Where’s my mom, Uncle?”
“Sorry to say that a big storm’s coming and she had to work overtime to help try and break it up,” Barrier answered, drawing a frightened frown from the filly. “Relax, Wind Whistler. There’s nothing to worry about. Now c’mon, we’re going to get some pizza from the Four D’s.” He started to walk away, placing a guiding hoof on her shoulder. The pair walked in uncomfortable silence; Wind Whistler seeming to stew on his words while Barrier felt something was off.
“There’s nothing to worry about,” she grumbled as they trudged along. “That’s easy for you to say, Uncle Barrier. You’re not afraid of anything.”
“Not afraid of anything?” The stallion’s eyebrow cocked before he choked back a chuckle. “Windy, that’s not true in the slightest. There’s plenty of stuff I’m afraid of.”
“What?!” the petite pegasus gasped. “But you’ve fought all sorts of monsters and crazy stuff before!”
“And you think I wasn’t scared, Kiddo? Things like Sombra and Nightmare Moon were terrifying, dragons have made me nervous since one nearly ate me in my cadet days, and I had nightmares about Grimhilde for years after she kicked the stuffing out of me.” The charcoal unicorn gently pulled the youngster into a comforting embrace. “And that’s nothing to the fear that something bad might happen to the ponies I care about.”
“I… I didn’t know about any of that…” The small filly looked away for an instant before her face scrunched up in confusion. “But… how’d you overcome it? How’d you fight all those things if you were scared?”
“I remember the important things, Windy.” A small smile crossed Barrier’s face as he spoke. “I remembered all those I care about… those who are important to me and what would happen if I didn’t keep pushing on. Just remember this, kiddo.” He placed a hoof to her chin, looking the blue filly in the eye. “Being brave is not about having no fear ever. It’s about being afraid and still doing what you need to do.”
After a moment’s hesitation, the filly beamed. “I’ll try to be brave.” Before she paused mid-step, a thought occurred to her. “Wait… how did you escape from Grimhilde? I thought she was a monster sized griffin that ate everypony she could get her talons on.”
“Believe me, she wanted to.” Barrier shuddered as he recalled his near death experience. “Honestly, it was your father that saved me. He managed to escape capture, tossed a smoke bomb into the tent, tackled her away before he pulled me to safety. If it weren’t for him, I would have been Grimhilde’s midnight snack.”
“Whoa…” Wind Whistler stared up at Barrier in awe of his tale. “I never knew Father did that.”
“If you want, I can tell you that as a bedtime story tonight,” Barrier replied; grinning as the foal’s face scrunched up once more in thought.
“Hmm… Maybe some other time,” Windy said. “I’d like you to read me The Prawn Princess tonight.”
“Sure thing, Windy.” Barrier nodded as they continued their trek. As they kept moving, something felt off to Barrier. It felt as if someone was watching him very closely.
Quickly looking over his shoulder, Barrier saw only an active street full of ponies shuffling about and chatting amongst themselves. As a pink unicorn mare started to pass by the pair, the feeling slowly ebbed away.
Don’t get paranoid, Barrier. It’s just a regular stroll through town.
As the pair came up to the restaurant, the mare that passed them reached the door and looked over her shoulder. With a brief smile, she pulled the door open for traveling pair. “After you, sir.”
“Thank you.” Barrier nodded as he and the filly passed her. “So Windy, what do you think everypony would like on the pizzas?”
***
After returning home with the only complication being accidentally smacking the mare behind them in the face with a stack of pizza boxes, the delicious meal was enjoyed by the entire household without a hitch.
The day swiftly faded into darkness as the sun fell and the moon rose. Quiet chats came from the residents before the privates eventually went to their rooms.
Barrier was laying on the couch, once more reading his book. He sadly found himself unable to comfortably dive into the story due to the silence coming from the filly at the far end of the couch, staring intently at the hall to the foyer.
Glancing up, the unicorn saw that the clock on the wall read the time was nine-eighteen. With a sigh, he set aside his book. “Windy, it’s past time for you to go to bed.”
“But Uncle—”
“No buts, Kiddo. It’s a school night,” Barrier stated firmly as he stretched off the couch. “I promise your mother will be fine and ready to see you in the morning. Now c’mon, I’ve got a story to read to you.”
Wind Whistler groaned before looking back at the doorway once more. “Okay,” she sighed before hopping off the couch, fluttering to the ground.
The pair made their way up the stairs. Barrier at a steady pace while the pegasus filly trudged along. “It’ll be fine, Windy,” Barrier whispered to her as they made their way up the stairs.
“I know…” she mumbled as the pair reached the top. “I feel nervous when she’s away like this.”
“Believe me, I know what it’s like when somepony you care for has to take care of something like this.” Barrier pushed the door to the filly’s room open as the image of his cream-coated sergeant entered his mind. “But you’ve got to remember that they can handle something like this. I’ve seen Fleet handle a giant dog made of stone and fight three griffins at once by herself. A storm like this will be a piece of cake for her and the weather ponies.”
“I guess you’re right,” the filly replied as she leapt onto her bed. “Still, it doesn’t make me feel much better,” she grumbled as Barrier pulled the blanket over her.
“Well, maybe this will make you feel better.” Barrier’s horn light up as he pulled a book out from under a pile of familiar looking pegasus plushies. Cracking the book open, Barrier cleared his throat and sat on a small stool by the bed. “This is the tale of the Prawn Princess…”
***
“With a flick of her hoof, the vile sorceress Rot Heart sent out a wave of orange smoke that enveloped the ivory mare. When the smoke cleared, what was once in the princess’s place lay a tiny little prawn skittering about in the puddle,” Barrier read aloud dramatically in the darkened room.
The charcoal unicorn shifted his voice to a higher and sinister tone as he read the witch’s words. “And now, Crystal Crown, my dear daughter Crowning Glory will take your place.” He wickedly chuckled before going back to his regular voice for the narration. “The dark mare snatched up the prawn by the tail. Crystal Crown struggled with all her might, but to no avail as the witch lifted her up to her face.”
“And as for you,” he read once more in the evil voice. “I’m sure the Griffin Queen will adore her little appetizer.”
Before Barrier could read aloud the witch’s wicked laugh, he was interrupted by a loud snore coming from the tiny filly who was sleeping soundly in her bed as rain gently pattered against the window.
With a gentle smile, he set the book aside and quietly came closer to the resting child. “Goodnight, Wind Whistler,” he whispered before giving her a soft kiss on the forehead. “Sweet dreams.”
Moving as gently as he could, Barrier made his way back down the stairs. As he reached the bottom, he took notice of the sound of rain growing louder as it came down with the occasional sound of booming thunder.
“Hope you’re okay out there, Fleet,” he muttered to himself as he made his way into the living room before yawning. “At least I can finish up on my b—”
An explosive boom drowned out his voice, but what shocked him was what he saw in the brief flash made the words in his throat die.
In the instant of illumination, he saw what looked like a large, dark, hunched over griffin, staring at him through the window to the back yard.
Barrier felt a chill run up his spine as he rubbed his eyes and flared his horn. In a flash, he appeared in front of door and tossed it open.
“Who’s there?!” he barked as a strong wind howled. No reply came as the rain poured and the wind blew.
Scanning what little of the backyard he could see in the darkness, the image of a winged creature started to make its way towards him.
“Who goes there?” He shouted as his horn lit once more.
“Barrier, calm down. It’s just me,” a voice from the shaded form replied as it came closer, the light of the stallion’s horn revealing it to be Fleetfeather.
“Fleet, I’m sorry! I—” Barrier hastily replied before lightning flashed once more, revealing the backyard to be empty, save for the damp pegasus. “Guess I was just overly tired and seeing things.”
“I can get that,” the dripping mare replied as she trotted past him into the house. “At least we got this storm downgraded to something decent and I gave my tickets to some ponies that could make use of them. So, how’s Wind Whistler?”
“She…” Barrier sighed as he shut the back door before vanishing in a burst of blue light. A moment later, he reappeared with a towel in his magical grasp. “Worried about you, but she went to sleep pretty easily, so I figure she’s alright.” He tossed the towel to the cycloptic mare, who caught it in a single hoof.
“That’s good,” Fleet replied as she started to dry herself off. “Thanks for this, Barrier.”
“No problem, Fleet.” A small smile crossed Barrier’s face as he moved closer to the sky-blue mare. “I keep telling you, Windy and you are like family to me. I care about you dearly.”
“The feeling’s mutual.” Fleet answered with a sigh before slinging the towel over her shoulders. “I just wish we didn’t make things awkward and mess things up with Daring.”
“Me too, Fleet… I just don’t know what to say.” His horn lit up once more as he lifted the damp cloth from Fleet’s shoulders.
“Me either…” She hesitantly moved closer to the unicorn until they were standing mere inches apart. “Still…” she slowly reached out with her forelegs, wrapping them behind Barrier’s neck as she pulled herself closer. “Thank you, Barrier.”
Without a word, Barrier slowly let himself fall into the hug before pulling Fleet closer to him as well.
The two stood together in silence as the rain continued to drizzle down outside, savoring the moment of tenderness they shared.
The moment slowly passed before the two pulled away from each other, the tiniest hint of a rosy tint upon their faces.
“Well…” Fleet slowly stepped backwards, making her way towards the stairs. “I wish you a good night, Barrier.”
“Good night to you too, Fleet,” Barrier said with a small smile before heading off for his room, sighing once more. “Good night.”