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 Thirteen: Evaporation
My head spun in fear that night after I came back to the castle with Princess Celestia and Agni. After what Agni had shown us and what Celestia and he had told me, I became very uneasy. Only to add to all that uneasiness was that Storm was silent in my mind. Every time I tried to speak with him, he wouldn’t answer my questions. What scared me even more was that it felt like his consciousness was getting dimmer. I remembered his words, that I was only holding his consciousness for the time being. Was his speech and everything else he had told me just lies? Was he truly going to be there for me, or was this just another sham, like my parents promises back when I was a foal and they were still alive. I blinked back tears in my bed and tried to fall asleep, but I just couldn’t. My emotions were wreaking havoc on me and I decided that the only way to get my spirits up was to go for a fly.
I jumped up out of my bed, my body changing forms as I did, and I flew up to my ceiling window, opening it with ease. I flew up into the midnight sky and tried to calm myself down. There was no clouds in the sky as I flew ever higher and higher, the moon and stars reflecting off of my coat-plumage mix and I summoned some small rain clouds above my head, not only to allow me to fly, but to let the water wash over my body in an attempt to wash out all my emotions.
“Trouble sleeping?” said a voice from beside me. It scared me so much that I squawked and almost fell out of the sky. I pulled up next to the mischievous princess of the night and flew alongside her as she shook her head at me and my rain cloud.
“Lord Storm used to do the same thing whenever he was upset.” Luna said, eyeing my cloud with a sad smile. “Worried about Asmodeus?”
“Terribly.” I answered back, not trying to hide my fear or anxiety.
“We won’t lie to you and say everything will be alright.” Luna said. “But, with good luck and confidence, the ponies you love will be protected and even if everything isn’t alright, it will be alright as long as you’re with them.” She said, turning to look at me with her deep blue eyes and mane that showed the entire universe. “Trust me. This advice comes from a pony who knows what fear can do to you.”
I was quiet for a minute as we flew and I digested her words.
“Thanks Luna.”
She responded with a simple and knowing nod. We flew on through the night in silence.
“Hey Luna?” I asked after a few minutes.
“Yes, fair thunderbird?” she responded with sarcasm. I snorted at it.
“Whatever happened to Vaten?”
At the mention of his name she went completely stiff and I could see the pain in her eyes.
“I…I’m sorry.” I said, ashamed of myself.
“He died.” She said quietly. “Follow me.”
I let her lead me, wondering what she would want to show me, especially after I had just uttered something that hurt her so much. I guessed that pain never truly goes away with time, but that couldn’t be right. In fact, by the look of Luna’s flight in front of me, she was not quite sad, but not quite happy either. It looked like she was eager.
She led me on throughout most of the night. We flew west, over the hilly fields that eventually evened out and turned into large sheets of brush and wild fields. Then they in turn turned into the desert beneath us, giving us pleasant thermals of rising hot air to ride upon. However, after the desert we came to high mountains that reigned over the desert with an oppressive presence. We flew over them, near their snow-coated peaks, cold rocky crags, and dragon and bear ridden caves. Then, the waters of the grand Equus Ocean came into sight.
Even from the high altitudes we were flying in, I could feel the moisture of the water, hear the waves calmly lap the shore, and taste the salt on the breeze. It was a beautiful sight, the dark waters reflecting the moon and stars like a giant obsidian mirror. I could hardly tell which sky was the real one, the one above me, or the one below.
Luna went into a gliding decent and I followed her down, spiraling myself slowly towards the ground. She touched down upon the beach with a spring in her step and she skipped into the water. I touched down on the shore, but walked to the edge of the waves.
“This is where I took him.” Luna said happily, which surprised me deeply.
“He died right?” I asked in amazement.
“Yes.” Luna replied with a smile as she scooped up some sea water with her magic. “And no.”
“I don’t understand.” I replied confused.
“Here!” she said as she tossed the water towards me. I was too surprised to do anything, including keeping myself waterproof, so I got soaked.
“Hey! What was that…” I stared to complain before being silenced by Luna.
“Feel the water.” She said.
I sighed and did as she said and was in for a shock. It was true that I felt the warm water running down my body from where it had hit me in the face, but I could feel something more. Something powerful. I opened up my eyes and ran into the ocean with Luna.
“That’s amazing!” I said as I felt the faint power running throughout the water.
“It’s not only here, but around the whole world.” Luna said.
“But how is this possible?” I asked.
“As Vaten died, he used all the power he had to let himself become one with the oceans and seas of the world. So all water in the world is part of him, and he is part of all the water. His magic flows through it and allows it to be under its own control, like the Everfree forest. Nopony can fully control it anymore and this is good and bad. I can raise and lower the tides, but I cannot control the currents or other aspects of the water.” She said happily. “I saw him die and he was happy when he did, because he knew this-this truth that he became part of the world he loved.”
I was awed by her words and her actions and I noticed that her face was wet, but not from the water of the sea. I opened my mouth to say something, but Luna teleported and reappeared on the beach, lounging in the sand under the moonlight. She patted the sand next to her and I walked out of the water and sat down. I could feel my wet coat and plumage sticking to the sand, but I didn’t mind it as I saw a different side of Luna, the side that reflected the beauty of her nights.
“It is alright to be afraid Little Wing.” She started as she looked over the onyx waters and glassy waves. “Everypony, especially those in positions of power, feel the effects of fear the most.” She said, her voice taking on a tone of seriousness as her chin lifted a little.
“I was once consumed with a fear, a fear so terrible it made me into a monster. I was afraid that ponies would love my sister and her days more and more and soon forget about me. That fear lead to jealousy and anger and everypony saw what I became. But it all could have been prevented with just a simple talk. One little talk with my sister and I know she would have helped me conquer my fears.”
She turned to me and I saw her large midnight-blue eyes, rimmed with tears by the past memories. “You must promise me this Little Wing.” She said with a ferocious seriousness. “Whenever you are afraid, you must tell somepony. If not Storm, than I, my sister, or even one of your friends. But whatever you do, you must remember that you have ponies that care about you. There is no need to carry this burden alone. We are all here for you.”
I felt humbled by her words. “But it’s my duty to…”
“Do you really think that Storm never had help? We all help each other for a reason Little Wing and it’s not just because we are immortal beings in the eyes of normal ponies. It is because we are all friends.” Luna said with a touch of incredulousness in her words.
I sat there in the sand trying to completely chew through her words. Not once had another pony ever sat me down and talked to me like this. But I realized that just because nopony had done this before, it didn’t mean that nopony was there for me. I remembered all the times I was down or had run away with tears trailing behind me. After every single time, Rainbow Dash had found me sooner or later. I wasn’t alone with this fear. And this fear wouldn’t overtake me, because I had a group of friends that were there for me. I knew every single one of them would help me through this.
I opened my mouth to say my thanks, but I got a face full of sand instead.
“Hey!” I coughed and spluttered as I looked up to the standing Luna. She had a smirk on her face.
“Oh hail the mighty thunderbird!” she said with sarcasm as I wiped the sand out of my face. She mock-bowed, but as she did I managed to trip her with a swipe of my tail. My feathers rushed around her hooves, sending her rolling backwards harder than I expected.
“Oh!” I said as I raced to get up, hoping I didn’t hurt her. Instead, my worry was washed away by laughter.
“’Tis so on!” Luna said with a happy laugh and a fire in her eyes as she picked herself up off of the sand. I expected her to come charging at me, but instead she ran towards the ocean. I looked at her as she ran towards the water and I couldn’t help but chase.
I realized that I would have never done this before, but maybe this was another change along with my transformation. Again, the depth of the Storm’s power and how it affected me made me pause mentally in wonder. However, I didn’t have long to think about this as I reached the waterfront and Luna stood off against me. Her eyes glowed with a mischievous fire that I found strangely appealing. She smiled a toothy and sneaky grin all while she slowly stepped backwards toward the water. Before she reached the water, I lunged, flying quickly at her, but only fast enough to gently tackle her.
But, she must have seen this coming. She flared her wings, jumped into the sky, and left me on the beach. Right as I was about to take off into the sky, she nodded towards the water with a sly smile. I looked at the water and realized it had receded from the beach. I wondered where it had gone as I looked out into the dark, black night. It was strange, water couldn’t…
SLAM!
The tidal wave Luna had created slammed over me and pulled me out to sea. Luckily, I used my powers to let myself breathe in the water so I wouldn’t drown. However, I still almost chocked from all my laughter. I should have seen that coming! I shook my head as I started to swim to the surface, but out of the dark blue sea, a massive current swept me away from shore.
I could feel the tinges of Ancient power in the current, but it was not an overpowering, deadly presence like the other Ancients I had encountered so far. It was gentle and I guess “diluted” would be the best word to describe it. I let myself be carried by the current for a minute, holding my breath and not using my powers to keep me dry. I felt the remnants of Vaten’s power and I became sad and happy at the same time. I was scared. So, so, so scared. Vaten must have been scared too, when he absorbed all that power. But, we both had friends and I knew that I’d be able to get through this with their help.
I burst from the water and let playful lightning dance across my coat and feathers as Luna flew up towards me from over the shore. I smiled to her.
“Thanks for the talk.” I said happily.
“Do not be afraid to talk to us.” She said sweetly. “We know what fear can do to a pony.”
“I’m a thunderbird.” I said, sticking my tongue out at her. She just rolled her eyes.
“Let us go home.” She said as she flew off in the direction of distant Canterlot.
As we flew home, I knew that somehow, in some way, things would work out.