//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3 
// Story: The Storm 
// by The_Last_Centurion 
//------------------------------//

This story is a fan-fiction of MLP:FiM. I don't own any of it. It belongs to Hasbro, etc, etc.
Don't sue. Seriously. That would be so uncouth.


Part Three: Precipitation

I shook that annoying feeling out of my mind. ‘It’s probably because I’m traveling with company this time’ I told myself, not really believing what I thought. But I trudged on to the front of the group and I kept leading them towards the glade. I knew eventually that they would find out that I had started the storm last night, but that could wait. Right now, something was faintly wrong in my forest. And I didn’t like it one bit. 
About quarter of a mile away from my glade, we passed over a magical precipice. It flowed over me calmly and soothed me, because it was my magic. I accidentally created this when I flew off last night, but this magic soon alerted two others in our group to the proximity of my glade. 
“Whoa! Did you feel that Rarity?” Twilight asked, her horn faintly glowing. Rarity’s horn was faintly glowing as well “Indeed. It’s so strange, Twilight,” she commented. “It feels extremely strong, but also natural too. Like the Princesses’ magic.”
“Exactly what I was thinking” she replied. “Let’s go on Little Wing!” she said with a large determined smile.
“Keep up if you can.” I said, suddenly feeling playful. I raced through the trees of the forest and came out into my glade before anypony else arrived. I took in a deep, happy breath, smelling fresh rain and ozone. This was where I was meant to be. This was what I lived for. 
The mares burst into the glade a few seconds after I arrived and gaped around at the scenery. Rainbow Dash flew up into the sky while Twilight bounded towards the center of the glade and started a spell. The rest of the mares just walked around and looked at the trees and the glade itself. I walked over to my tree and sat under it as I always did, resting at the trunk. I watched Applejack looking at the wild fruit trees near one side of the glade and Rarity became interested in some wildflowers. Fluttershy just looked around the glade; her eyes alight with pure joy. Eventually she saw me and walked softly over, sitting down next to me.
“This is all yours, isn’t it?” she asked.
“Yes.” I answered with more finality than I realized.
“You’re not a normal pony are you? Every time I come into the Everfree, I have to bring one of my animal friends to keep me safe. But with you… all the animals respect you. They don’t fear you or ignore you, but truly respect you. I could see it from the timber wolf.”
“Timber wolf?”
“There was one in the brush near us while we were having lunch. I was going to say something because he looked like he was going to pounce on us, but then he saw you. His gaze lowered and then he looked at me. It was like he knew we were with you. Then he left. So, what are you?” she asked.
At that point Twilight’s horn lit up completely. “Haha!” she cried triumphantly before being spun around like a needle on a compass. 
“What’chya got there Twi?” asked Applejack.
“It’s a locating spell. It’ll locate the source of the magic that made the storm yesterday.” she replied before spinning around like a top again. I took in a deep breath to calm myself and then I got up. Fluttershy looked at me curiously. 
“You asked, didn’t you?” I said as I walked out from under the cover of my tree. I walked closer and closer to the spinning Twilight. She was no longer spinning, but being led from side to side of the glade by her horn. I walked closer to her and was almost impaled. Luckily, I caught her horn before it could get me. However, she was now stuck to my hoof like a magnet. 
“You’re the source of the storm?” she asked in disbelief.
My throat was dry from Twilight knowing, so I just nodded my head. 
“But how?” she said softly.
Before I could answer, I heard branches breaking, a loud THUMP, and Rarity screaming. Twilight’s eyes grew wide and I quickly turned around to see a giant monster on the other side of the glade, the side we came in from. Everyone froze as the creature hissed at us.
The creature was dirt-sand colored and was monstrous in size. It was at least three times as large as the pony it held in one of its clawed hands. It had the scaled body of a snake which was cracked and blistered and you could see its muscles pulse underneath the tight skin. That rose to lean, muscular arms with blood-caked claws and a freakish head. It appeared to be a gigantic snake’s head with those disgusting slit-nostrils, forked tongue, and blood red eyes. But from that rose two six foot long horns, much like Iron Will’s. Its tongue flicked out at us in humor and he brought Rarity towards its mouth. It sniffed her, making her scream loudly and faint. Then the creature chuckled, a sound like flesh being ripped away by stones, and started to talk.
“Ssssshow yourssself thunderbird.” It hissed, snarling at the word thunderbird.
“What are you?” Pinkie Pie said, appearing behind us with an army helmet and large cannon that had the word ‘Party!’ on it. 
“Pony, I am a god to youusss. Long ago my people were known assss Unktehila to the humanssss. But you will know ussss asss the Horned Sssserpentssss. Now reveal yourssssself thunderbird.” It said, raising Rarity towards its mouth.
“Or I will ssstart by eating all of thessse poniesssss.”
“Oh no ya won’t!” yelled Applejack as she lassoed one of the horned serpent’s claws. He snarled at her and whipped her at my tree. She went flying, but Pinkie Pie caught her with amazing speed. She seemed to be unconscious, but was ok. However, the horned serpent went back to trying to snack on Rarity.
“NO!” I screamed, moving faster than should have been possible, hitting the horned serpent in the face with a well placed kick. It went flying back with an evil snarl, and I snatched Rarity out of its claw. I fell to the ground and ran towards Twilight, who was staring open-mouthed.
“Stare later! Help me now!” I yelled at her as I heard the horned serpent erupt from the forest. Twilight’s horn glowed, but the horned serpent flew into the sky from an explosive round. We all looked at Pinkie Pie and her smoking cannon. 
“Round one: HIT!” she yelled as she reloaded the cannon. 
“Somepony get Rarity out of here!” I yelled as I thought about the form I had taken last night and this morning. Quickly, I felt my wings sprout from my back as my talons grew out of my hooves. I could feel the sky darkening, just as my coat was, and the amount of electricity in the air and along my coat made the glade crackle with energy. Fluttershy flew over to me and picked up Rarity just as the horned serpent was getting up.
“Ssssso now you decccide to fight? I will kill you firsssst and then your friendssss will die!” It screamed at me as it lunged forward, its claws ready to tear and eviscerate. 
“Bring it!” I screamed back, flaring my wings and flying at him instinctively. I collided with him and felt my talons rip into his scales. But then I screamed as his claws tore across my back. I flew upwards to get some distance, but he grabbed one of my hooves and threw me to the ground.
‘Use it Little Wing. Show him even a blink of our eyes could destroy his whole species’ said Storm’s voice in my head. I saw the horned serpent’s claw coming towards my face and I became enraged. HOW DARE HE! I blinked my eyes and the horned serpent was shot backwards by the lightning I shot at him. He staggered and was shot by a hail of magical blasts as I got up. I saw that Twilight was shooting all of them while Pinkie moved her cannon into range. As the horned serpent regained its balance, it snarled at Twilight and was about to lunge at her, but then everyone heard something strange, like it was getting closer from far away.
“…nic raiNBOOM DROPHOOF!” shouted Rainbow Dash as her leg struck the horned serpent on the scaly forehead at the speed needed to create a sonic rainboom. There was a loud crack, and the horned serpent found its head stuck in the ground while Rainbow Dash rolled around on the ground holding her now-broken leg. 
“Somepony get her out of there!” I yelled as I ran at the stirring horned serpent. It pulled its scale covered skull out of the ground and I could see a bloody hole from where RD’s hoof hit him. I smiled. She had given me a great target. I jumped at the horned serpent, but it was expecting this. It batted me away into the air, just like I wanted it too. I floated in the sky, the clouds charging and swirling around me. I targeted the horned serpent’s horns and the hole in its head. Then I blinked and felt the lightning channel from my eyes and the clouds around my body.
300 million volts of electricity charged into the horned serpent’s skull, making its body convulse and fry where it stood. I descended from the clouds and landed near the charred body of the horned serpent. I panted there for a moment and looked at the destruction I caused. Smoke poured out of every orifice of the horned serpent and the smell of cooking meat hung around the glade. For some reason, it smelled delicious to me, while I could see the other ponies were becoming sick from it. I cantered over to the mares and looked them over.
“How are they?” I asked to Twilight who had the three injured ponies laying down in the grass. She had knocked out RD so she wouldn’t be in pain. 
She shook her head. “I need to take Rainbow Dash to the hospital right now. Her leg is completely broken.” 
“Go.” I panted. I’ll be here when you get back. Twilight gave me a curt nod and then the six of them teleported away in a purple flash. When they were gone I walked over to the horned serpent’s body and sat down in front of it. I panted and wiped the sweat from my eyes. I cringed as I did so, aggravating the wound I received while fighting the beast. I looked at the jagged slashes on my flank and found out they were fairly deep. I poked one and immediately regretted it. My whole body shook from pain and I wanted it to stop. It did, but slowly. I became surprised when the pain in my body turned into happiness. I looked back at my flank and saw small sparks of electricity running down my body, targeting the cuts in my hide. I saw them close us bit by bit, and then all the euphoria disappeared. I realized that the electricity must have been the reason for the sudden pain-to-pleasure moment. I smiled. “Just what exactly have you made me Storm?” I asked the sky.
‘A Thunderbird.’ His voice answered in my skull. 
“So where are you? I saw you die yesterday. How can you be talking to me?”
‘I transferred all of my power to you, mind and body included. I am now part of you.’
“So is that why this…this thing attacked me and my friends?” I asked, starting to feel scared.
‘It is…unfortunate, but yes. There is no worry though. You killed it.’ He replied.
I stood with a shock. I killed it. I killed another being. I killed a LIVING creature. And I was happy about it. 
“Oh sweet Celestia….” I said as I threw up into the grass in front of me.
‘Why are you disgusted by such a normalcy of nature?’ Storm asked.
“I KILLED ANOTHER! Don’t you see!” I said pointing to the burnt body of the horned snake, tears starting to pour down my face.
‘Yes, but he was your enemy.’ 
“That doesn’t matter! I could have done anything, ANYTHING, to stop him. I never wanted to KILL anything!!!” I shouted in horror. The tears poured down my face and I threw up once again. I took a few sobbing steps back from the body and fell to the grass, crying in terror from what I had done.
‘I do not understand Little Wing. It is you who accepted my power.’ Storm said confused.
“I did it because you were like me!” I shouted between sobs. “You were alone like I was! I couldn’t refuse!” 
‘So you did it out of pity?’
“YES!” I sobbed. “I NEVER, NEVER WOULD HAVE TAKEN YOUR OFFER IF I KNEW I WOULD KILL!”
‘Then I will let you rest Little Wing. I am…disappointed.’ Storm said as he left. I could feel his consciousness shut itself from me and I was left alone again. I cried everlong, even as I saw the purple light, telling me that Twilight had returned. 
I kept sobbing even as gentle hooves picked my head up off the ground. I cried as the hooves held me and gently lulled me into a state of calmness. Without opening my eyes I knew who had made sure I came back, because if I didn’t break that sadness, I know I would have stayed there until I died.
“Thank you Fluttershy.” I sniffled.
“It is alright Little Wing.” She said happily.
I heard a cough and I stood up to see Twilight looking at us awkwardly. “Well now that we know you’re the source of the storm, the letter said I should leave it with you.”
“What do you mean?”
“The letter Princess Celestia sent me now belongs to you. Here read it.” Twilight said as she floated it over to me with magic. The second I touched it, it started to glow and I threw it to the ground in shock. It grew brighter and brighter until a blast of magical energy was released from it. It was so bright, the two mares had to shield their eyes, but to me, it looked like another lightning blast. 
As the smoke cleared from around the letter, I gaped as I saw who had arrived. I was the first to bow. Then Twilight and Fluttershy did the same as they saw the visitors. 
Where the letter once stood upon the ground now stood Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. And neither of them seemed too pleased.