//------------------------------// // A Gentle Breeze // Story: Macintosh of Arabia // by Crisis_Vyper //------------------------------// 'It' has been observing them for a time now, and so far nothing too dangerous have decided to rear its ugly head out for 'it' to feel the desire to intervene. The group proved to be even more interesting that initially expected as it seems that the little one is now awake. For some reason, the little one is unhealthy or something and the others are concerned about the little one. Now that 'it' started thinking about it, they did came to this land in a very peculiar way. Did they escape from something? Why are they out here in the first place? It was then that 'it' notices something that is rather unpleasant. 'It' was so distracted that 'it' did not realize the inherent danger that the group is about to get themselves into. 'It' realize that 'it' may not be able to hide any longer. ******************************* Ever since the attack, everyone has been even more silent than before, but none more so than Fatimah. Although it is a relief that she is now conscious, but her silence is perhaps just as disconcerting. No one is sure how to actually talk to the filly other than to ask if she wants to rest, eat or drink. Her replies consists primarily of nods and shaking her head, and if there is something else other than the two, she remains silent. Vinyl is perhaps closest to the filly, but even she is at a loss of words. This is not a situation where she could crack up a joke and expect the filly to laugh and cheer up. This is something that takes a little bit of finesse, and Vinyl is sadly not a very delicate person. Nonetheless she must try. "Heya guys....I know that everyone's feeling down.....so if you guys wanna talk about it....do tell me alright?" Suddenly, everyone turns their head around in Vinyl's direction. Vinyl was wondering if that small talk even worked until she realize that that the rest of them are looking at her direction with rather shocked expressions. She wondered if she have said something wrong, until she realized that there is a big shadow covering all of them like a blanket. As she turned around, she soon realized the reason for their shock. Standing right before them is a large creature, standing as tall as twelves stallions and thrice as wide. Comprised of a chain of boulders-like sections, each section of the boulder have a massive rock spine coming out of them ending in a long sharp point, but with a blunt tip. The being's elongated forearms and short hindlegs give it a similar appearance to the Diamond Dogs, with each limb ending in a thumb and two fingers. The beast appears to have many scrapes and chips on its boulder-like body, with its tail appearing to be almost chipped to a sharp point. The head of the being is rather massive, with its jaws being large and wide with a large rocky spine on its head with two rocky ridges running going from its eyes up to the top of its head.Two large gashes could be seen on its left cheek up to its eye, forming a 'V' on the left part of its face. Surprising for a being of its size every step of the bipedal being is silent as a dropping feather, and as it stares intently at everyone with its set-in flaming blue eyes Vinyl could not help but to comment about the situation. "Um...guys.......I think it is looking at us really funny....." "What the hell is that thing!?!?" Nurse Redheart hissed, not daring to make any sudden movements. "Suhlia....Stone Lizards....." Amanar hissed back. "That bucking thing is a lizard?" Vinyl hissed back at Amanar. As Vinyl looks back to the creature, the creature have starts to curl into a ball and rolls towards their direction. Soon enough, the blue-maned mare ran as fast as she could with her hooves. Before long, everyone else also started running for their lives. As they make their escape, they proceed to try and get a plan going on that will keep them alive. "Ah don't think we could keep running fer long!" Big Macintosh could not help but to feel that his muscles are burning as they are running, and if he is feeling the burn he dare not imagine how the two mares and the camel with the filly on his back would feel. "Any way we could defeat it?!?!" Vinyl started shouting to the rest of them. "Will bucking it work?!?!?!" Nurse Redheart shouted as well, looking at Big Macintosh. "Ain't nobody got time for that!!!!!" Big Macintosh could only voice out his utter disbelief at the situation. No way is he going to stop and try and buck something that is as large as a dragon. "Kick not work. Not same as Mah'salaz. Too heavy. And..." Amanar contributes to the conversation, all the while trying to see if he could prepare his jezzail. "And what?" Before Vinyl could even get her answer, the large creature gives a deep and bellowing roar and suddenly the spikes on the creature are propelled indiscriminately throughout the entire surrounding, causing collateral damage unlike anything that they have seen so far within Saddle Arabia. All of the managed to dodge the spikes that were heading towards them, jumping or dodging just right in time. "It shoots spikes!?!?!" Nurse Redheart shouted in surprise. To the nurse's surprise, the rolling mass is now regrowing its spikes once more. "Bucking great I tell you! We are gonna get shot and then run over by that rock lizard! How I love our holiday here in Saddle Arabia! " Vinyl could not contain her sardonic state of mind about the situation, and wished that she have not decided to get that particular item to boost her music. Vinyl could only hope for a miracle to come out from this rather dangerous situation, for her body is now buckling under the pressure of her muscles giving out. Suddenly she trips upon a rock and soon loses her balance, and the others watch in horror as she tumbles down on the ground. As she looks up, the rolling mass of doom is now approaching her with haste and she could only close her eyes and accept that she will be as flat as a pancake in this forsaken desert land of Saddle Arabia. ******************************* Finally, 'it' manages to catch up with the group and not a moment too soon. it could see the weird equine with the horn on the ground in the direct path of the rolling monster and it looks like she could not escape in time. 'It' is going to intervene now, even at the cost of 'it' being shunned and feared. 'It' starts to dive down to stop the monster from running over the horned equine, gaining velocity and the momentum needed to stop the monster in its track. With a simple push, 'it' manages to divert the rock-being away from the equine into the river and 'it' decides to follow suit to prevent the creature from regaining its composure to attack the group again. ******************************* Vinyl could immediately feel a strong gust of wind blowing through her coat and also her mane, which cause her to open her eyes. The dust from the resulting gale is monstrously huge, but she is more surprised that the large rolling creature is propelled in the air towards the river, and as she watches she could see what looked like an unnatural swirling movement of air moving out from the dust storm. As she watches, the dust trails behind this swirling air as it heads towards the river where the rock creature finally lands in. Big Macintosh's hooves are now upon the unicorn's shoulders, and even though she could hear his voice, but her attention is elsewhere. As the dust clears up, she could not help but to watch the struggle between the large rock lizard and what appears to be something that she could not even begin to comprehend. The 'thing' is utterly formless, with some of the water in the river slowly enveloping, or to be more exact, flows within the 'thing'. All she could feel is the great gust of wind that results from the struggle between these beings, and the tempest is indeed a sight to behold. ******************************* "Are ya alright Vinyl?" Big Macintosh repeatedly ask Vinyl, but her attention is now focused upon the two beings now fighting in the river. Big Macintosh could not help it but to wonder what is this new creature, as there is no such creature in Equestria that is utterly formless but yet having a certain form to it. If Big Macintosh could describe the thing for the time being, it would be that the thing is consisting of several solid, whirling vortices of wind. As the gust of wind blows throughout the entire area, he could see that the others are now beside him watching the spectacle. "What is that?" Fatimah finally voiced out her first words in a while, and the little filly could not help but to be amazed by the clash between these two primal beings. "Marid......" Amanar could only say the name with a great amount of respect and reverence. The others realized that when Amanar is utterly in awe, this 'thing' must be a very rare sight even in Saddle Arabia. As the stone creature bellows with rage and struggle with every ounce of energy, the gales of wind within the canyon becomes even stronger. The rocks from the cliffs soon starts to break away from the canyon walls, and the water within the river rises up to pierce the heavens like a lance. Big Macintosh, Vinyl, Nurse Redheart, Fatimah and Amanar hug each other to withstand the swirling winds within the canyon as the dust storm envelops the area. The howling of the winds only become louder with every second, and the group could only wonder when this will all end as the winds are so strong that everyone could not open their eyes. Suddenly, the howling sounds and the blows of the winds stopped as suddenly as it started. One by one, they all opened their eyes and the can see that the stone lizard is no more. A sudden downpour of water soon rained upon them, and as they watched, the water slowly allow them to see the form of their savior as the being made out of wind reconstitute itself. The original shape of the being is very peculiar; a point-down teardrop set atop a 'T' shape. It was then that the figure shrinks down to a much smaller size and as a gentle breeze starts to descend upon the valley, the water is contained within the whirling vortex to hold an equine-like form. Big Macintosh and the others could only watch as the being made out of both water and wind slowly walks towards them, walking upon a body of water as if it is solid ground. Even though this ethereal being's presence is nothing like any pony have ever seen, but the presence of the being is a rather calming one. However that did not elevate their caution about this new being. It soon made it to dry land and started walking towards the group. Before long the being is now standing before them, being as tall as that of a Saddle Arabian stallion. ******************************* 'It' is now watching the group up close for the first time, and 'it' soon realize that the group is still awed by its presence. But there is also something else in the group's eyes; suspicion. 'It' wanted to assure them that 'it' meant no harm, but 'it' does not speak the language of the equines in any way. 'It' could only attempt to speak to them in the only way 'it' knows how, but 'it' highly doubt that they would understand. The worst that could happen is that they will try to attack it, and the best situation is that they will run for their lives. Things had always happened like this........ ******************************* A series of complex sounds of hauntingly beautiful and gentle swooshing sounds and whistling passes through Vinyl's ears and they are telling her that there is something in the sounds of the wind. It seems that there is a certain timbre, or to be exact 'colors' in the sound. The sound that the being make is exhibiting a rather warm and gentle sound to them all, as if to comfort them. Even though there is no words in the sound, but Vinyl knows that there is something in the sounds of the wind. Suddenly this reminded Vinyl of a time a long while back between her and her father ..... "Daddy why do you always whistle when you are doing stuff?" Vinyl asked her father. The white stallion with the electric blue mane turns around, noticing his little filly looking up to him in the kitchen. The stallion had just returned from his trip abroad, and this is the first time both father and daughter are together in months. "Well my little pumpkin, that's because I am happy with what I am doing." Disco Ball says to his daughter as he prepares the daisy sandwich for both himself and his daughter. "You could have just say that you are dad....." Little Vinyl gives her dad a deadpan look. "Well dear, sometimes things are hard to say or that it needs no saying." "But....that's dumb dad. How could there be something that you could not say what it is?" "Well try this sandwich." The stallion hovers the sandwich using his spell to the mouth of the little filly. The little filly soon gives it a little bite. To the filly's surprise, she is unable to explain the flavor of this particular sandwich. It is mild but has a difficult to describe, its aftertaste lingering on in the little filly's tongue.The little filly's mouth is filled with saliva, a sensation of furriness on the tongue is stimulating the throat, the roof and the back of her mouth. The little filly's magenta eyes are wide with excitement. Disco Ball gives his little daughter a wink, knowing well what she is experiencing.Soon enough, the stallion kneels down to the eye level of his daughter and rubs his hoof on her mane. The little filly could only chuckle as she enjoy the feeling of her father's warmth, and giving him a smile. Disco then looks at his daughter, his eyes wise and sagely. "I just got myself some weird spice from Neighpon during my gig. They say that this is the taste of the gods, or as they say umami. It is a weird feeling for sure, but you know that it is delicious right? And what about that giggle? It shows that you are happy right? See Vinny, you don't need to tell people in words about how you feel. As long as you put your heart and spirit into it, people will know what you are telling them. Always remember that, Vinny...." Realizing what is going on, the electric blue-maned mare did the only thing she could; she started whistling. Initially her pitch is rather shrill and high, which caught the being by surprise but she then adjusted it to a point where it is calm and gentle, melodious to the ears of everyone else. Vinyl conveys her feeling of gratitude from the bottom of her heart, hoping that the core feelings reaches the being. "Vinyl, what do you think you are doing?" Nurse Redheart, hissing in a rather panicky voice. Fortunately for the pink-maned mare, it appears that the being is not bothered by her gesture to Vinyl. "I am trying to talk to this thing....could you just give me a break here? Vinyl hissed back. "With whistling? Do you ever think that it is just luring us to kill us or something?" The blue eyes of the mare is now staring at the magenta eyes of the deejay with a great amount of disbelief and suspicion. "You know, if it did want to do that...it would have done so a long while ago." Vinyl retorts before continue on to whistle again. "Um....what in the hay are they doing?" Big Macintosh could not help but to ask what is going on. "Amanar believe Vinyl very confusing all time...." Amanar is utterly lost for he had never seen such madness before his eyes. "They are apparently talking in whistle Big Macintosh. Never thought I would see such nonsense happening." "But it sounded like it is fun." Fatimah points out, pulling the mare's tail gently. The mare wanted to say something to the little filly, but then the little filly points to the figure who is now standing right in front of them. Nurse Redheart turns her head around and could not believe the being's reaction. The being is now tilting its head, first to the right and then to the left as if trying to comprehend what is going on. The being then starts to nod its head, as if understanding Vinyl's whistling. Before long the being started to respond with its own sounds, the sounds appearing to be very cheerful and even more intricate than the ones before. Vinyl then proceeds to whistle even more, very excited that the being is communicating with her. Soon enough both parties are apparently conversing in a rather complex and even intelligent conversation with each other. It was then that for some reason, Big Macintosh could finally understand how everypony else view a general Apple family conversation,as all the drawls and weird idioms of a pure Apple family cant is almost impossible for others to understand. Everyone else but Fatimah are utterly shocked by how this rather dangerous situation turned into something very candid in a split moment. After a while, the tension is indeed at a all-time low and Vinyl then decides to break out from the conversation. "Heya guys, it seems that this dude is trying to say that it means no harm to us and is asking us if we are alright. For some reason he wants to hear it from the horse's mouth." The others just looked at each other with a measure of surprise and also confusion before they turned to the being. Nurse redheart really wanted to ask how on earth does the unicorn even understand what is going on, but the farmpony intervented with words of his own "Eeyup, thanks a lot." Seeing that the momentum of the conversation had changed, she decided that it is the best that she followed the flow. "We are fine, thank you." Nurse Redheart replied, while Amanar and Fatimah could only nod to show their state of well-being and answered in their own language, thanking the being. The being tilts its head sideways as if to comprehend what the Equestrians were saying, but when it heard Amanar and Fatimah speaking in Saddle Arabian, it gave a bow. Soon enough the nurse pulled the deejay away from the being, and started to whisper to each other. Apparently the being understood Saddle Arabian, Big Macintosh said to himself. "How the buck did you even managed to understand what it is trying to say?" "I dunno, I just know it from the bottom of my heart." Vinyl looks at the mare, as if it all makes a lot of sense. "What do you mean the bottom of your heart? It does not make sense at all. Not a single bit of sense." Nurse Redheart emphasize the last part very directly. "Well, as my daddy once said; you don't need to tell people in words about how you feel. As long as you put your heart and spirit into it, people will know what you are telling them." Vinyl gives the other mare a nudge and a wink, which only serves to confuse the other mare even more than before. "What....I....you.....are.....unbelievable." Nurse Redheart could only facehoof at the unicorn's answer. Vinyl gives a shrug and decides to leave the mare alone to reconstitute herself. Before long, the group is at ease enough with the being that they are all trying to communicate with it. Among all of them, Vinyl is the most proficient , being able to speak to the being and understand what the being is saying. Nurse Redheart, after managing to calm down, followed the example of the Saddle Arabians started to converse to the being Saddle Arabian. The creature apparently understands Saddle Arabian, but could not speak in their language for obvious reasons. That leaves the red stallion with utterly no way of talking nor understanding this bizarre creature. Big Macintosh soon ask Vinyl to help it converse with the being to ask about the being itself, primarily that of its intentions and also its name if it have any. Soon enough several short burst of whistles and blowing winds erupted between the two. Vinyl then turns her attention to Big Macintosh once more. "Well, I did kinda ask it about what it is called, but the sound is kinda hard and it will make no sense to you guys. I think I am going to call it Zephyr. Quite a cool name for such a character don't you think?" Vinyl gives a grin to everyone else. "Wait a minute Vinyl, you can't just call something that already has a name to some name that you like." Nurse Redheart protest, but then Vinyl gives the mare a rather deadpan expression, and she explained in in a snarking manner. "Oh so you reckon that blowing his name would be any easier for you guys? From the sound of it, its name is *Deep and complex whistle, with a vibrating, falsetto pitch*. You think you guys could even whistle that well?" Vinyl's point is sound and the nurse mare could only relent as that kind of whistling is just out of her league. "What 'bout its reason in helping us?" Big Macintosh asked. "I will be honest Mackie, I have no idea. Its kinda hard to understand it, but it sounds like its is curious about us." Vinyl shrugs, which does not help in Big Macintoshs trust in the being. Nonetheless, it is only civil to thank those that help you, as Granny Smith once told him. "Thanks fer the help, but we have gotta leave now." Big Macintosh said, but the being fades right before their eyes, with the figure breaking apart, leaving the water which gave it form to splash on the ground while the wind blows away from them. Vinyl could only look at the general direction where the being disappeared and gives a rather wide smile. "What's up Vinyl?" Nurse Redheart asked the blue-maned mare. "Hm....Zephyr's gone with the wind. Geddit?" Vinyl nudges the other mare while winking, causing the other mare to groan rather loudly at the lame pun, while the other members could only lament at the joke in varying degrees of anguish. Before long, the gust of wind returns. The winds started to make sounds again, and this time everyone knew that the being is back with them. "Hey guys, I think Zephyr wants to follow us." Vinyl say. "Wait.....that is not part of..." Big Macintosh wanted to protest, but Nurse redheart puts her hoof on his lips. "Better that it is on our side than it is pissed at us." Nurse Redheart could only give a shrug. Big Macintosh could only groan as he realize that he just saw that 'thing' just make short work out of the thing chasing them with ease. "Alright, Zephyr can follow us." Vinyl gives a wide grin and started whistling sharply, as if calling it to follow them. ******************************* The white horned equine started making those sounds with her mouth again, and it appears that she is asking 'it' to follow them. This group is indeed a very interesting group, for they did not fear 'it' at all and in fact is willing for 'it' to follow their group. For that, 'it' will stick with them as the group is so much fun. "I would be very pleased to join your group, weird horned equine." Surprisingly for 'it' this is the first time that 'it' is able to converse with someone in this manner, as no one is able to talk to 'it' in such an extensive fashion before. 'It' definitely feels like 'it' is talking to another of its kind. The equine once again responded, and 'it' could definitely feel her appreciation of its gratitude. The other members of the group did not even bother to say anything, and proceed to just keep on walking. The weird horned equine gives 'it' a smile. "Alright Zephyr, welcome to the herd." The weird horned equine said to it. If 'it' has facial expression it would be giving the weird mare the same expression that she had given it. Alas, using its elemental powers to keep its form prevents it from any more finer movements, and due to 'it' being made out of wind, any subtle movement would cause its current form to crumble. Zephyr....that will be its name from now on, and 'it' likes the name.