//------------------------------// // Chapter 10: Chasing the Storm // Story: Return of the Ancient Mage // by Zoshe //------------------------------// Luna felt her blood run cold as those words left his lips. "What... What did you say?" "You heard me correctly the first time," the stallion said as he pulled away from her. "Stay away from Sombra's prison. We don't want to see you get hurt." "Who are you?" She asked as her mouth hung open. "Storm Chaser!" A new voice cut in as three other pegasi approached. Luna immediately recognized the one who had spoken as Spitfire of the Wonderbolts. "What'd you run off for? We weren't done talking to you yet... Oh," she said as she saw the situation. "Well I can understand being drawn in by such a charming young lady, but we weren't finished with you. That technique we saw you using above the city could be a huge asset to us." "It seems I'm needed elsewhere," Storm Chaser smiled as he lifted one of Luna's hooves and gave it a small kiss. "Until next time, my lady." Luna watched as he walked away, surrounded by three members of Equestria's military. Her eyes quickly shot around the room, looking for her sister. Nowhere to be found. Of all the times for her to play her games, it had to be now. "Captain Spitfire," Luna called after them, she had made her decision. She couldn't just let this pegasus walk away. Spitfire turned her head, curious as to why she was being called out by her title. Her fellow Wonderbolts, Fleetfoot and Soarin, were also left to wonder why this random stranger was calling out to their captain. Luna felt her body begin to grow as the enchantment on it came undone. It only took a couple moments for her to return to her normal stature, wings and all. She looked down at the Wonderbolt captain, Spitfire's eyes growing wide as she recognized Princess Luna. "Thou shall restrain that individual," she said, her regal form restored. "He possesses information pertinent to Equestria's security." The three pegasi looked between them at the source of the princess's ire. Storm Chaser for his part just let out a long sigh and shook his head in disappointment. "I was hoping you wouldn't make a scene," he said. "Now I'm gonna have to do things the hard way. Fine by me. I've never really cared for the stealthy approach, anyhow." The music had stopped and all eyes now stared in their direction. A tension began to build in the room, the kind that usually builds right before the start of a fight. Storm Chaser stood up straight and rolled his shoulders, clearly readying himself ready for something. "Whatever you're thinking, don't," Spitfire said quietly to him. "We've already got you surrounded and I don't think you want to start a fight with three Wonderbolts." "Actually, I kinda do," he said, a smug grin splitting his face. "Besides. You'd need at least two more before you'd even begin to stand a chance." The three pegasi tensed up as they waiting for him to try something. What they weren't expecting was to be blown back by the force of him simply opening his wings. His escorts went tumbling away as any sort of napkins, drinks, or any other loose things went tumbling into the air, leaving a mess of debris around him. The gust of wind settled for a moment as he reared up on his hind legs with his wings rippling behind him. The cocky expression never once left his face as he brushed his nose with a hoof. "Come at me!" He challenged them. Spitfire was the first to regain her footing as she righted herself and dove at the pegasus, hoping for a quick take down. A bored expression played across his face as he lazily stepped to the side, allowing the captain of the Wonderbolts to pass under the feathers of an extended wing as if he were dancing away from an angry bull. As his feathers brushed the mare's back, little sparks began to dance in the air between them. As Spitfire's hooves touched the ground, those sparks flared brighter than the dance floor. A bolt of lightning shot between them, the following shock causing Spitfire to get launched into the distant wall like she had been shot out of a cannon. Storm Chaser turned to face her, turning his back to the other two pegasi. "That was sloppy," He dismissed the captain, sounding bored. "Are you normally this slow or have you perhaps had too much to drink?" Soarin made a determined dive at the flyer's exposed back, shock painted his face as his opponent backflipped over him. He barely had time to register the dodge before Storm Chaser grabbed him and used the momentum to send him soaring back in the direction he came from, smashing a table upon landing. Fleetfoot rushed in, hoping he'd be off balance after that move. It wasn't enough though as he danced through the air and brought a hoof around to plant her face firmly in the ground. "I can't remember the last time I've felt so alive!" He almost seemed like he was glowing, apparently fighting the prestigious Wonderbolts was more of an afterthought to him. As he came down from his high, he started to look bored. "But seriously, is this all you lot have? Maybe I should rethink..." Was all he got out as an errant blast took him in the chest, sending him sailing off of Fleetfoot and skidding to a stop on the dance floor. Luna stood tall with a look of triumph on her face and a wisp of smoke drifting off her horn from her recently casted spell. "We are not amused. While skilled thee may be, how much did thee believe thy would achieve in the presence of a princess of Equestria?" Storm Chaser pushed himself up off the ground, much to Luna's surprise. No one should've been able to get back up so quickly, especially after taking a shot to the chest like he just did. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the damage she had done. A large hole had been blasted out from the middle of his body. Small pieces of crystal fell out from the bloodless wound as he looked down at it, unconcerned with his recent injury. "What are you?" She said as she took a few steps back, the three Wonderbolts gathering around her as they picked themselves up off the ground. "Looks like the time for fun and games is over," he said as the color began to fade from his body, starting from where he had been injured. "Guess it's time to get going." "Protect the princess!" Shouted Spitfire as she and her two companions flared their wings out, cutting off any straight path to Luna. "Don't worry. She's not my target," said Storm Chaser as he coiled back on his hooves, his wings rippling over his head. "She just happens to be here." "Princess," Spitfire said without taking her eyes off their opponent. "Leave him to us. You should get out of here. We'll take care of..." Was all she was able to say before solid bolts of lightning shot both her and Fleetfoot away from where they were standing. Luna looked to the last remaining Wonderbolt as Soarin stood there with a blank look on his face. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed to the ground as all of his colors began draining out of him. Motes of light flickered off his body and began to coalesce next to Luna. Once they finished collecting, Storm Chaser once again stood before her, completely recovered from her spell. Luna had no clue what was happening as she tried to back up. He matched her step for step until she bumped into a wall and could go no further. He reached out a hoof and held it to the side of her face, being ever so gentle as he leaned in and stole a quick kiss directly from her lips. Her eyes grew wide and her breath caught in her throat as he pulled away from her. "What was that for?" She asked, wondering why he picked now to be so brazen. "Just some emotional blackmail," he said with a wink. "We hardly think thee have any hope of wooing us after thine performance," she said, a scowl forming on her face. "Oh it's not you I'm blackmailing. Anyway, I'll be seeing you around, princess," he gave her a mock salute. With that enigmatic statement, he jumped into the air and sailed straight out the front door, knocking it off its hinges in the process and leaving a very confused Princess Luna in his wake. She pushed herself from the wall as she mentally shook off his bold actions. "Captain Spitfire!" She called out. "Art thou whole?" Spitfire stumbled her way back, her mane looking disheveled. "It'll take a lot more than that to keep us down. Fleetfoot!" She barked. "Take care of Soarin." She turned back and saluted Luna. "What are your orders?" "Thou shall assist me," she said as she raced towards the door. "Before he makes his escape." Luna and Spitfire shot into the night sky and soon caught up with Storm Chaser in the skies above Canterlot. Luna fired several blasts of magic from her horn, hoping to bring this chase to a swift end. However, he made almost no effort as he rolled away from Luna's projectiles and Spitfire's dives as they tried to knock him out of the sky. "You're definitely a stubborn one, I'll give you that, Spitfire. Maybe in another life I might've fallen for you!" He shouted back with a wink. "Surrender yourself!" Commanded Luna. "No matter far or how fast you fly, thee shall never escape us!" "I wouldn't be so sure about that!" He then slowed to a stop and began to slowly beat his wings against the night air. Luna and Spitfire quickly stopped before they ran into him. They had seen him play with electricity and he had already shown them how agile he was in combat, so they were nervous about what else he might do now that he chose to stop running. He gave one last, slow beat of his wings before snapping them open. Blue arcs of energy raced down his wings and shot out from the tips into the air around him before dissipating into the atmosphere. His pursuers flinched when the lightning flew but relaxed a bit when it didn't get anywhere near them. "Impressive trick," said Luna as she started to fly closer. "However it seems thy aim seeks improvement." She got no response in return as Storm Chaser just floated there in the air with his wings still extended. His eyes were closed as he lifted his nose and slowly breathed in the air around him. The wind grew unnaturally still for this altitude just before his eyes shot open and his wings made a single powerful beat against the air. The air around them began to move as he started making more powerful strokes against the wind. Faster and faster they grew with every stroke until his pursuers were having trouble staying aloft. "There's just no way!" Spitfire shouted as she started losing her balance. It was taking everything she had just to keep from being blown away. "You can't be causing this wind. It's not possible for just one pony!" Storm Chaser began to twist in place, the strong winds began to turn with him as storm clouds began to form and billow overhead. Lightning played within the shadows as rain started pouring down on the city below. They almost lost sight of him as he leisurely flew away, not even seeming bothered by the extreme weather. He looked over his shoulder one last time before a rouge twister reached down from the sky and swallowed him up. Random Fact had been searching the Everfree forest all day without any luck. He knew his amulet was somewhere in there, he could feel it. However, he couldn't narrow down its exact location due to all the wild magic that flowed through the forest. Fortunately, ponies stayed out of the forest so he didn't have to explain his presence. Well, except for a shy little pegasus that had followed him for a bit. She had run off the moment he looked her way, so he ended up just dismissing it as errant curiosity. He was about to return to the Golden Oaks when he had heard the distant rumbling of thunder. He galloped for the nearest overlook he could find and turned his gaze on the distant Canterhorn mountains. A sizeable thunderhead had formed over Canterlot. Under normal circumstances that wouldn't have merited further investigation, but the magic coming off the storm felt way too familiar. "Admiring my work?" Came a voice from overhead. Random dragged an exasperated hoof down his face just before turning his gaze skyward to find Storm Chaser looking down at him. "We were going for subtle!" He shouted up at him. "What did you do?!" The pegasus just floated there with a amused grin on his face. "Oh you think that's bad? Wait til you check this out." Storm Chaser dove towards Random. His body began to break down into motes of light, the light zipping around like fireflys before being sucked into the unicorn's body. As the last of the light was absorbed, Random found a blue crystal floating in front of him with an unfamiliar cutiemark suspended inside it. He quickly grabbed and placed the crystal in his bag even as Storm Chaser's memories of the night's events began to rush into him. Random froze as the last of the memories played out in his head. He slowly raised a hoof to his lips as a maddening blush overtook him. "Luna..." He said under his breath, tears building at the corners of his eyes as he felt a weight settle down on his chest. "Did you really go and kiss Princess Luna?" His shadow began to shift and move beneath him until another body pushed it's way out from the darkness. "Did I hear that right?" The shadow said, making Random blush even worse. "Did he really go and give Luna a little kiss?" Random tried to push his emotions down, but the damage had already been done. "Yeah..." he finally admitted. "He did." "Bwahaha," the shadow rolled to the ground and began laughing hysterically. "I can feel how badly you're blushing." "Knock it off, Spectrum," he snapped at the shadow. "It's not that funny!" Spectrum stopped laughing for a moment and looked straight at him with his purple irises. "You sent Storm Chaser out to soup himself up with some extra pegasus magic. I can guess from that storm on the horizon that he succeeded. But he also decided to go woo over your princess while he was at it?! Considering the circumstances, you can't deny it is a bit funny." "He didn't woo the princess," he said in his defense. "He just stole a quick kiss from her so he could bother me." "Well, I'd say he did a good job then. Cause you certainly seem bothered," he chuckled. "So much for not getting the royals involved. So what now? Is it time to fill them in?" Random recoiled at the question. "I can't believe you of all creatures would ask me that. You were there when Celestia would set everything in her path on fire." "I'm also no stranger to change. Everything changes, regardless of whether it's the body or the heart," he said seriously. "And I don't think she's the same pony she was back then." Random gave a heavy sigh, "we can argue this later." He nudged his head in the direction of the storm. "He made quite a scene over there. Especially around a night club called 'The Electric Pegasus.' Think you can do something about that?" "What do you take me for," the shadow stepped away from him and did a few stretches. "Just you watch. By morning all anypony is going to remember is the bad weather."