Chapter 12: The Coming Storm
"I'm so glad you could make it Arkenstone." Princess Cadance beamed as she levitated a bottle of cider to fill Arkenstone's cup. He sniffed it carefully before taking a sip after determining it was the non-alcoholic kind. Among those who knew him through his adult life, Arkenstone was known for his poor tolerance. "We haven't seen you for over a year," added the young alicorn.
"My apologies," replied Arkenstone calmly, "I am very sorry that I had to miss your wedding Cadance."
The mare smiled and shook her head. "Just reading your congratulations in that letter you sent was more than enough."
"Although you certainly could have come and visited sooner," chided Blueblood as he sampled his salad, "Even by the standards of the Knights, you're quite the workaholic."
"It couldn't be helped," said Arkenstone, "I was given an important mission not long after the changeling debacle and couldn't really leave it half done." Arkenstone flinched, a twitch so small, that anypony who wasn’t extremely familiar with him wouldn’t have even noticed. For a moment, the scents of the restaurant, his friends, the fine meal before him, were plugged with the stench of spilled ichor supplemented by the rotten smell of death, desperation, and starvation. In a flash, the moment was past and Arkenstone’s mind returned to the present. However, his appetite abated somewhat. Shining Armor and Blueblood clearly noticed Arkenstone’s lapse, but chose not to comment on it.
"And all the other times?" prodded Shining Armor, moving the conversation along, "Roaming abroad when you haven't been asked to, intervening in the affairs of other nations; all that extra work you took on without Princess Celestia even asking you. You know, the King of Saddle Arabia was still calling you a sage when he visited last time. You could take some time off every now and again."
"I didn't want to stand aside while things happened when I could affect the outcome," said Arkenstone. "I saw other peoples hurting and reached out to do what I could for them."
"Considerably more than that if the stories are anything to go by," observed Blueblood, "Even so, it is nice to have you back. I've even heard that you've finally consented to taking a vacation."
This earned him a nod from the besieged stallion. Meanwhile, both Shining and Cadance gained rather predatory-looking smiles, exchanging a glance before turning back to the Knight. "And I heard that you were planning on settling down in Ponyville," said Shining Armor, "Any particular reason for that?"
"Have you finally noticed that little Twilight has grown up?" prodded Cadance tauntingly.
Arkenstone seemed to take the teasing with good grace. "It certainly is a very pleasant town. With Princess Celestia's help, I think I could make an excellent life there for a time."
"Well it suits me just fine," said Shining, "I know I can trust you with Twilight, which is why I wanted to ask you a favor."
"And what is that?"
Shining paused. "I want you to protect her," he said after a moment, "She's in more danger than she realizes right now."
Though his eyes remained closed, Arkenstone's eyebrow still went up as he turned his head in Shining's direction. "Danger? Surely the mare who has bested the likes of Nightmare Moon and Discord has little to fear at this point."
"She's not as secure as she thinks," said Shining, brooding over his meal, "Not from this. World-threatening forces of evil are one thing, politics another."
"Ah, so the nobles are becoming a problem then," remarked Arkenstone, piecing together what Shining Armor was worried about.
"I'm afraid so," said Blueblood, jumping back into the conversation, "As you know, they were originally quite cross with Auntie Celestia taking her in as her personal student. However, as she grew up, they began to see her in a different light."
"As a possible pawn for their schemes," suggested Arkenstone.
Blueblood nodded. "However, because she was so socially inactive at the time, none of them really felt the compulsion to act on any potential schemes. She was potentially valuable, but not worth chasing so long as she remained a bookish shut-in."
"And then she went down to Ponyville and became a national hero and a bearer of an Element of Harmony," supplemented Shining.
"Her value as a potential political pawn rose considerably," said Blueblood, "There were many noble houses that considered making an effort after that. Fortunately, the move that made her so potentially valuable also put her out of their reach for the time being, so again, they decided not to bother with her."
"I see, so moving to Ponyville basically put Twilight Sparkle outside of the Noble Court's sphere of influence," surmised the beige stallion, taking another sip from his cider.
"The problems really began in earnest when Twilight and her friends defeated Discord," said Cadance sadly, "Aunt Celestia knighted them in a very public ceremony. Twilight and her friends are now officially members of the nobility themselves. Granted, knighthood is the lowest noble rank, but she is officially a noble now."
"Which means that any objections certain nobles might have about Twilight being a commoner were then nullified," added Blueblood, "Fortunately, the fact that she still lived in Ponyville was enough to keep them from meddling too much, although there was at least one attempt by Duke Regal to render her vulnerable."
"What attempt?" asked Arkenstone.
"He persuaded a pair of unicorns to market a cider-making invention of theirs in Ponyville, even suggesting that they could potentially steal Sweet Apple Acres out from under the hooves of Twilight's farmer friend." Blueblood sighed. "We were incredibly lucky that scheme failed. It came before we were fully prepared for it. Had it paid off, Regal probably would have swooped in and offered to resolve the problem in exchange for political support from Twilight...or even more...long term arrangements." Arkenstone didn't need eyes as he could practically feel the angry shudder that ran through Shining Armor at that last part.
"But the real tipping point," said Cadance, "Was our wedding."
"Oh, I understand now," said Arkenstone, "So thanks to her brother..." he pointed to Shining Armor, "...marrying Princess Celestia's niece and an alicorn at that, Twilight Sparkle is now effectively a member of the Royal Family. That makes her a much more desirable acquisition to the Noble Court, enough that the fact she lives in Ponyville no longer provides her as much protection as it used to."
Shining Armor nodded solemnly. "And they're beginning to make their moves. Right now, the various noble families are still vying with each other over who will be able to make the first move to claim her, which has kept them from making any actual attempts, but it's only a matter of time."
"I do not understand how I can be of much help though," said Arkenstone, "I am a Knight, a warrior meant to fight battles. I am a very poor tool for this sort of job."
"Why are you being so self-effacing?" asked Cadance, "You know full well that your blades are not the only reason for your greatness. You are one who can look beyond the conflict itself and destroy its roots. You are the Sage of Saddle Arabia, who helped them leave their past of infighting behind and build a new unified and peaceful land. You can help Twilight with this, by preparing her for the challenges she's going to face in the future. That's what we want you to do."
"And above all else," said Blueblood, "You're a Knight of the Celestial Order, which means you have the authority, should things move in a dangerous direction, to resolve any conflicts with even the highest ranking nobles."
"And, even more importantly than that," said Shining, "You're Arkenstone, one of the few stallions I could ever trust Twilight with. I know you can keep her safe."
"Perhaps," Arkenstone admitted, "But as Cadance pointed out, what is really needed is for me to help Twilight prepare for the unique challenges she faces. After all, I have won a reprieve from my duties, but it is far too soon for me to retire. Eventually, I will be called into service again."
"If he doesn't wander into it first," muttered Shining in an aside to Cadance, making her giggle.
"Excellent," exclaimed Blueblood, lifting his glass in a celebratory manner, "Then we are agreed."
"More or less," conceded Arkenstone, "But since I am doing this, I have a favor to ask of you Shining. I would like to borrow your old ring..."
The next crate Arkenstone opened sent a cloud of dust billowing outwards. Twilight Sparkle paused to cough and waft the airborne irritants away from her mouth and nose before she could bring herself to look inside. As she did, her nose picked up a familiar musty smell that she was quite familiar with and all too fond of. After all, it was a smell she dealt with every day.
"Books!" she squealed, her confused expression becoming a beaming grin as she dove towards them. Even before seeing them, she could practically smell the age of their pages. These were ancient, highly valuable tomes. It was like Hearth's Warming had come early this year.
Spike sighed melodramatically at the sight as Twilight levitated the volumes out for her inspection. "Seriously, it's like taking a foal to Bon Bon's shop and telling her she can have whatever she wants."
His comment earned a glare from Twilight and a chortle from Arkenstone, who smiled as he listened to the mare rifle through the contents of the crate. "To be honest, I used to spoil her frequently when I knew her as a filly. I felt like making up for lost time."
"Arky!" protested Twilight, blushing at his comment. The distraction was short lived as she turned her attention back to the books and began to examine them more in depth. "Hm...Advanced Practical Applications of Elemental Magic, Combat Theory, Martial Magic..." Twilight's voice trailed off as she examined more and more of the volumes, her sense of foreboding returning with each title.
As she had expected, Arkenstone had brought her a variety of books she had never seen before. They were all highly advanced tomes that covered a rather substantial variety of topics, similar to the ones she already studied regularly. However, what made her nervous was not the nature of the magic that she was going to be reading about, but its application.
As Princess Celestia's student, Twilight's education covered magic along a wide range of types, from transformation to teleportation. However, the vast majority of her education was esoteric in nature, grounded largely in the understanding of theory. Very little of it had applications to everyday situations, or even the more extraordinary situations she encountered on a rather frequent basis. So, while she her knowledge of magic elevated her to one of the most learned academics in all of Equestria, Twilight actually ended up using very little of it outside of her own laboratory (even less after frequent interruptions, distractions and fracases of a pink nature).
The difference was that the information and magic in these particular books was all too practical. In short, it was magic to be used as a weapon, battle magic. Had she not known that these tomes had probably been sent by the Princess herself, Twilight would have likely thrown the books back into the box and nailed it shut before making arrangements to get rid of them (not by destroying them, of course). The knowledge and use of violent magic was very carefully regulated across Equestria. Very few spells with violent intent were permitted to be learned by civilians. Even a basic telekinetic blast could cause severe damage if used incorrectly. More powerful and dangerous spells were reserved for the Guard. Town Guard unicorns rarely learned anything more dangerous than spells to aid in the subduing and restraining of violent criminals. Only the Royal Guard were actually permitted to learn anything that could be utilized for outright violence.
And here, Arkenstone was apparently planning on having Twilight take a very comprehensive course in just that sort of magic. Twilight felt a nervous flutter in her stomach. While she deeply loved learning about magic, learning about this kind of magic seemed...wrong, somehow. "What is all of this?" she asked, giving Arkenstone a disbelieving look.
"It is as you see it," replied the stallion calmly, "You are innocent and naive at times, but you are no fool. You know exactly how precarious your position is."
"But would the nobles really go so far as to try using force?" asked Twilight nervously.
"Perhaps not while you were still a commoner," said Arkenstone, "But ever since Discord, you have been a knight, which makes you a member of the nobility. And if that weren't enough, your sister-in-law is a princess of the realm, which also makes you a member of the Royal Family by extension. Princess Celestia has worked hard to pass several laws to ensure that the nobles cannot unduly interfere with the lives of common ponies anymore. But among their own, they are still able to exercise their will much more freely."
"But battle magic?"
"A precaution. It would most likely be a move of desperation on the part of anyone who tried to use force against you, but that would only serve to make it all the more dangerous. That is why it is important that you be prepared."
Twilight nodded slowly and turned her attention back to the books. It vexed her somewhat. Studying magic would cut into her efforts to research the Eyes of Nightmare and trying to resolve Ponyville's conflict with Cloudsdale; but she figured that if she budgeted her time properly, she could manage admirably. The lavender mare let out a defeated sigh before turning back to Arkenstone.
"Alright, lets get started."
Rainbow Dash awoke, not to the bells of her alarm clock, but to a soft, musical trill sounding outside her window. Blinking sleep from her eyes, the polychromatic pegasus sat up and directed her bleary gaze towards the opening. The sound continued, warbling musically. All in all, it was a pleasant thing to listen to and an even more pleasant thing to wake up to than the harsh bells of her alarm. As Rainbow listened, she almost felt the music as much as she heard it. The sound seemed to enter into her ears and then course through her veins and even make her bones thrum. The usual morning tiredness seemed to wash away from her under the deluge of sound, leaving her feeling more awake and refreshed than if she had downed an entire pitcher of coffee.
Getting out of bed, Rainbow made her way to the window and threw it open, twisting her head and casting her gaze every which way to try and locate the source of the mysterious song. However, her eyes could find no trace of the mysterious singer, who had gone silent the moment she had opened the window.
Abruptly, Rainbow felt something rap the top of her head with enough force to startle her, but not hard enough to hurt. Immediately, she looked straight up to find the source of the disturbance. However, her eyes could only catch the barest glimpse of orange and yellow as the source of the strike disappeared over the roof of her house.
Rainbow narrowed her eyes, her competitive spirit rising to the fore. It was quite clear she was being pranked. "Okay," she muttered, "If that's how you want to play it..."
With a push, the sky blue pegasus threw herself out of the window and into the open air, her wings snapping open to send her shooting upward before she could even begin to fall. Arcing up and over, her flight took her over the top of her house, where she spied the orange and yellow contrail belonging to the flyer that had pranked her.
Rainbow's eyes narrowed. "A chase huh? I like the sound of that." With a burst of speed, she was off, leaving her own rainbow-colored contrail streaking out behind her as she followed what seemed to be a trail of fire leading up to a distant dot streaking and looping about.
With her natural speed, Rainbow quickly closed the distance with the other. However, as she drew close, she was stunned to see that her target was no a pony at all. It was actually a large bird, its body combining a variety of traits that seemed to be some mixture of peacock, swan and eagle. Its crest and plumed tail, the source of the fiery contrail, were reminiscent of a peacock, while its elongated neck reminded Rainbow of the swans she often saw occupying the lake of Ponyville Park during the summer months. However, the broad wings, the curved talons of its feet, and the hooked beak were definitely more like those of an eagle. Normally, such wings meant that the bird in question was built for soaring, rather than high-speed flight. But phoenixes were as much creatures of magic as they were birds. And as pegasi were in a similar camp, Rainbow knew all too well that regular aerodynamics tended to take a back seat when magic was involved.
Rainbow's first thought upon seeing the phoenix was that it might have been Philomena, being the only phoenix, aside from the chick Pewee, that she had ever met personally. However, up close, she realized that this was a different bird altogether. Its neck was longer than Philomena's, its plumes much more well-defined, and, above all else, its colors were much more varied and vibrant. Its plumes in particular were composed of oval-shaped feathers dressed in rich shades of scintillating violet, ringed by emerald, then blue, red, orange and yellow in succession, looking to all the world like several lines of jewels linked together in a chain, twisting around gracefully, whenever they weren't hidden by the flaming trail it produced. The tips of the bird's primaries and secondaries also looked as though they had been dipped in amethyst. Though Rainbow was loathe to think less of Princess Celestia's own pet, she had to admit that this particular phoenix had a beauty that surpassed Philomena's.
Twisting its head around, the fiery bird noticed that Rainbow Dash had closed the distance. With a musical trill that left Rainbow with no doubt as to where her wakeup call this morning had been from, the phoenix turned its head forward and shot off, its already blazing contrail now mixing with blue, green, and purple tongues of flame in a display that left Rainbow mesmerized, her cerise eyes widening as she followed the trail of varicolored flames, not wanting to take her gaze away from the display.
After accelerating, the phoenix whipped through a variety of loops and dives, it agility and speed putting any number of skilled pegasus fliers to shame. Wrenched from her distracted state, Rainbow was able to spot a challenge when she saw one. Follow me if you can, the bird's trail through the sky seemed to say.
"Oh! It. Is. On." Rainbow narrowed her eyes, surging forward into the first loop. Most pegasi wouldn't be able to manage maneuvers that tight at such a high velocity. But Rainbow Dash wasn't most pegasi. With incredible ease, she perfectly followed the path laid out by the mischievous phoenix before accelerating and blowing past it to take the lead herself.
"My turn," shouted Rainbow as she carved her own looping and twisting course to fly. The phoenix rose to the challenge and surged through the course, speeding up even further to overtake Rainbow and pull ahead.
This time, before Rainbow could try to follow the phoenix into its first loop, the bird whipped around and rushed straight for the rainbow-maned pegasus. Rainbow twisted hard to get out of the way, barely avoiding being scorched as the flaming comet of the phoenix passed over her back. Throwing a glare in its direction, Rainbow saw the phoenix whip its plumes tauntingly at her as it hurtled away.
"Oh. So it's like that now." Gritting her teeth, Rainbow weathered the Gs as she pulled her body through a nearly ninety-degree turn, diving straight for the phoenix, who elegantly avoided the potential collision with a graceful barrel roll, pulling out to come rushing straight for Rainbow again.
And so the game of follow-the-leader dissolved into a game of tag as the two agile fliers took turns charging and avoiding each other in an aerial ballet that streaked across the skies of Ponyville, upping their speed with each pass. Even as she exulted in the challenge and excitement of the game, Rainbow was shocked at what an incredible flier this particular phoenix was. It wasn't often she met other pegasi that could keep up with her, much less birds.
They were halfway through the morning before Rainbow finally had enough. It was early for her to be working out like this and her coat was soaked with sweat. The phoenix seemed to be throwing in the towel as well, the two of them having slowed somewhat over the course of their game. Having decided that she had had enough fun for the time being, Rainbow decided to slow down into a gentle glide, turning to soar in the direction of her house. Taking the cue, the phoenix slowed down as well and drifted in to fly next to her for a moment.
"That was fun. We should do it again sometime." Even though she couldn't speak to animals the way Fluttershy could, Rainbow was aware that phoenixes were a good deal more intelligent than most critters and certainly could understand her speech. The fiery bird trilled and affirmative and banked away, its flight taking it over the town as it flew towards the distance.
With a happy sigh, Rainbow stooped to slip back through her bedroom window and trotted in to take a shower. That had been a brilliant way to start the day. She could certainly take the time to enjoy herself. It was going to be another slow day at the weather office as the drought dragged on. Rainbow Dash took these bright moments whenever she could find them.
The phoenix, fresh from its little game, banked high above Ponyville, its eyes cast downwards, searching. After a few minutes, it found what it was looking for. It stopped to hover above the tree that made up Ponyville's library. There, on the second-floor balcony, overlooking town, were a pair of ponies lounging in the midmorning sun. With a trill of recognition, the phoenix swooped down, extinguishing its flames so as to not set the tree alight, and landed on the railing of the balcony.
Twilight Sparkle was sprawled out, her nose in the first of the many books Arkenstone had ordered for her. Hearing a melodious whistling, she looked up to see the strange phoenix come in for a landing. "Amazing," she breathed as her eyes took in the vibrant colors of the bird, "Is that a male phoenix."
"It is indeed," agreed Arkenstone, turning his ears in the direction of the bird. Standing up, he held out a foreleg, which the bird hopped onto. The phoenix then let out a series of calls and trills, its voice making Twilight close her eyes and sigh blissfully.
"So you found a new playmate," Arkenstone said.
The bird responded with a few light chirps.
"Impressive, not many could keep up with you like that."
A low whistle sounded.
"I understand now. What did she have to say?"
The bird let out a warbling cry.
"That explains a great deal."
Twilight did her best to listen. But understanding only one side of the conversation left her in confusion. She couldn't hear any consistencies in the rich vocabulary of the phoenix that would give her any clues in how to decipher its language. Flutershy could probably understand the bird without even trying, but not Twilight. At length, Arkenstone nodded and bid the bird farewell. Raising his leg, he allowed the phoenix to spread its wings and take flight.
Twilight's eyes tracked the creature as its vividly-colored feathers left a trail of fire through the sky. While she didn't really want to admit it, she thought this strange phoenix was a more beautiful sight than Philomena. It was to be expected though. As with most birds, males of the species carried much more vivid coloring than the females.
"I didn't know you had a pet phoenix," she said, turning back to Arkenstone.
"He is not a pet and he is certainly not mine," retorted the stallion, settling back down, "He is actually more of a close acquaintance; a friend of a friend if you will. His name is Ouranos."
"What was he doing here?" asked Twilight.
Arkenstone shrugged. "Running an errand of sorts. He was delivering a message from the aforementioned friend. Along the way, he apparently got himself involved in a game with a certain pegasus friend of yours."
"Rainbow Dash?"
"The same. Apparently, Ouranos was quite taken with her. Not many pegasi can keep up with him when he flies all out. But she acquitted herself admirably."
"And who is this friend of yours?"
Arkenstone gave Twilight a taunting smile. "Ah, but that would be telling. I'm guessing that you'll meet her someday in the near future."
Twilight snorted in indignation before lowering her nose back to her book. "Fine then, keep your secrets."
"You'll learn them soon Twilight," muttered Arkenstone, "Far too soon."
The phoenix, Ouranos, cut a line of fire through the skies as he hurtled along. Within an hour, the city of Cloudsdale filled the bird's exceptionally sharp vision. Banking sharply, Ouranos wove among the towers and spires that made up the city's architecture before swooping down towards a balcony protruding from one of the more prominent buildings in the city. A bright yellow arm reached out to provide the phoenix with a comfortable perch.
"Welcome back. You seem excited about something."
Ouranos squawked an answer.
"Oh really? Tell me more."
With a warbling series of chirps, Ouranos provided a more substantive explanation.
"Well now. It sounds like things went pretty well. So. Do you think she's ready?"
Ouranos trilled an affirmative.
"Good. And Arkenstone?"
Another squawk sounded.
"Of course he did. That colt's always doing his own thing. Oh well, best leave it to him then."
Ouranos gave his friend and partner a whistle before fluttering into the building. The yellow mare with a fiery mane and tail watched him go, a relaxed smile gracing her face.
"Looks like things are coming together nicely," said Spitfire softly.
Flitter sank her hooves into a cloud and gently began to push it toward the holding area. It was one of the few that she’d found recently. The big storm that the Weather Team had pulled out of the Everfree, seemed to have been carrying much of the moisture in the general region, meaning that there was hardly any left until a new wild storm front began to move in.
The grayish-blue mare directed a look at her current partner as Storm Front pushed his own cloud along. Normally, Flitter worked with her sister. However, she’d asked to be placed with Storm Front during their shift. Rainbow Dash had agreed readily enough, though she’d been a bit confused by the request. Storm Front, in spite of the fact that he usually worked on his own, accepted the request with good grace.
“Um...” she said quietly as they moved along, “...about that thing?”
“You mean our conversation the other day?”
Flitter nodded. “Yes. I was wondering if you were ready to talk about it?”
Storm Front was silent for a moment before he finally let out a breath and looked over at Flitter. “I suppose,” he said.
“Why did you end up leaving?”
Storm turned to look in the direction they were pushing the clouds in. “My success in passing the exam was not received very well by my new peers and coworkers. I faced a great deal of harassment, especially early on. I was given menial jobs, sometimes outright servant’s work, such us cleaning the bathrooms and shining hooves. At other times, I was completely smothered by the workload that ponies from throughout the various ministries dumped on me. I worked hard and did my absolute best to persevere. Those days were some of the longest in my life.” He shuddered.
“Fortunately, my dedication and perseverance actually did manage to win me some supporters, especially after some more level-headed ministers and officials noted that I was often doing the work of several ponies without complaint. But it was still a long way to completely change the attitudes of all of them.
“During the brief periods I had off, I returned to my home and actually met with some of the other teachers in the capital, namely those who worked in the pegasus and earth pony districts. For my fellow pegasi at least, I could pass on the writing technique that my teacher and I had created so that more of them would be able to keep up with the exam’s time-limit. With the earth ponies, we tried to find a way to help overcome their difficulties as well. That was...problematic as they don’t have anything nearly as dextrous as a pegasus’ wing. At the very least, I hoped that by increasing the number of non-unicorns in the civil service in general, that we would eventually gain the pull to institute changes that would do away with the time-limit altogether.”
“Did it work?” asked Flitter.
“Last I heard, it was working,” said Storm Front, his tone sad, “But I wasn’t there to see it through to the end.
“The year after I passed, three pegasi made it through the exam. The year after that, twelve pegasi and, miraculously, one earth pony. That point was when our detractors began to get...desperate.”
Flitter gulped, getting the feeling that she knew where this story was heading. The two of them reached the holding area and pushed their clouds into place. Looking around, Flitter noticed that they had it to themselves. “Why don’t we take a break and rest here,” she said, settling onto her cloud. Though neither of them were tired, it would probably be easier for Storm to talk if he could relax more.
The stallion followed her suggestion and settled onto the cloud that he’d pushed there. He launched back into his story without hesitation, actually seeming a bit eager to finally get it all out. “I was a minor official in the Ministry of Civil Affairs at the time. My efforts had been recognized by the chief minister and a few less-prejudiced ponies in the various ministries seemed to think that I had all the earmarks of a particularly bright future.
“However, those who opposed the integration of non-unicorns decided that more aggressive measures needed to be taken. Because I had been the first to pass the exams and was regarded as the source of the ‘corruption’ eating its way into the Civil Service, I was the primary target.
“One night, when I was on my way back to my home, I was ambushed by assassins. To this day, I have no idea who hired them. At the time, I was utterly helpless. I’d thought that I was about to die then and there.
“But then an earth pony seemed to materialize out of nowhere. He wielded a spear and struck down my attackers swiftly and efficiently. Before I could even blink, they were on the ground and I was safe. My rescuer helped me to my hooves and even escorted me back home.
“That’s how I met Red River.”
Flitter let out a relieved sigh. She knew it was a bit silly, particularly since the fact that Storm was telling her the story meant that he’d survived. But it horrified her that somepony had actually marked him for death.
“At the time, Red River had been traveling around the country to hone his skills. He offered his services to me as a bodyguard. Given what had happened, I agreed, even though my salary wasn’t all that impressive. He accompanied me almost everywhere. He went on to save my life no fewer than three times after that.
“Even so, I was still worried. It wasn’t as though my enemies were simply going to sit idly by and hope that one of their assassins would get past my bodyguard. I suspect that, if things had dragged on much longer, there would have been new ‘security protocols’ instituted that would have barred Red from accompanying me to my place of work. Besides, we had become friends by that point, so it grated on my nerves that I was always depending on him for my safety.
“One day, while I was going through the archives, I stumbled across a manuscript. It was an training manual...a manual for this...” Storm Front held up his foreleg and let the end of the meteor hammer dangle down out of the sleeve.
“Though it had been designed by unicorns, it was meant to be wielded by the body so that a unicorn wielder could channel his magic through the weapon. However, because unicorn magic is generally too intellectual to be applied to martial arts, it never caught on and the meteor hammer faded into obscurity as a weapon.
“I thought with a little study and application, I could not only learn how to wield the weapon for myself, but that I could learn to apply my magic as a pegasus. So I took the manual home with me and began to study its contents. I fashioned a meteor hammer, as well as the various training implements needed to learn its usage, for myself and began to train. I also acquired manuscripts that contained information on applications for pegasus magic and began to work on applying them to using the meteor hammer. For many months, I studied, experimented, and practiced. It wasn’t easy. I was never particularly talented, nor was I especially well-coordinated. Red helped as best he could. But, being and earth pony, there wasn’t very much he could contribute.
“Then it finally happened. I was summoned to a small courtyard in the outer palace, where the ministries were housed, I was required to leave Red River outside, behind two security checkpoints. By then, I’d gotten experienced enough with my weapon that I felt comfortable carrying it around.
“It was the most brazen attempt on my life I'd ever seen. Two of the ponies planning my death had the audacity to actually show themselves in front of me before sicking their hired killers on me. It was as great a surprise to me as it was to them when I successfully fended them off.
“The problem was...I had underestimated just how desperate my enemies were.” Storm’s gaze grew distant and his tone lowered. Flitter was almost certain that he was trying to hold back tears.
“One of the officials behind my attempted assassination declared that I had completely undermined the strength of our nation by making headway for pegasi and earth ponies. He said that drastic action was needed to bring things back to the way they belonged. He intended to send his agents into the non-unicorn quarters. They would burn down the schools where my writing method was taught and kill the teachers who now passed that method onto others. The other, his collaborator, suggested that if I renounced my accomplishments, that if I lied and said I cheated on my exam, that they might retract their decision.
“Of course, if that happened, it was likely that every other non-unicorn who had passed the exam in the meantime would be reevaluated. And because the Ministry of Rites was still firmly in the hooves of the conservative faction of the court, they would almost certainly be found guilty of ‘cheating’ as well. A single false admission from me would reverse all the progress that we had made.
“So I made a desperate decision of my own. I killed both of them.” A shudder coursed through Storm Front’s body. He went silent for a moment. Flitter used her wing to gently push her cloud up to his. Reaching out, she very gently nuzzled his shoulder.
Storm continued. “It wasn’t like how it had been with the assassins. I’d killed them in the heat of the moment, desperate to preserve my own life. But killing those two marked the first time I’d ever consciously taken the decision into my own hooves.
“After that, I had to escape the palace guards after they came rushing in to find that I’d murdered two high-ranking officials. Naturally, they were going to arrest me. But I couldn’t allow that. I first had to make sure that nopony was going to carry out those orders of destruction and murder, even if I’d killed the plan’s orchestrators.
“So I fought my way out. I reunited with Red River and explained what happened. Together, the two of us began to track down the officials’ agents and eliminate them. Of course, since we had nothing but my word, that, combined with my previous actions, only served to make us criminals.
“We successfully put a stop to the plan. But there was no longer any place left for me in the capital, or the rest of Guoxia for that matter. I had taken my own reputation and shredded it to pieces. I managed to get a message to my superior, explaining the situation, but knowing that there was nothing I could do to save my reputation. But, at the very least, I could keep it from undoing the hard work of my fellow non-unicorns.”
Storm Front sighed. “After that, the two of us left Guoxia. I had to leave to escape the authorities and reprisals from the friends and relatives of the officials I’d murdered. Using my newly acquired skills, I joined Red as his partner and the two of us offered our skills as mercenaries. Guarding caravans on the Silk Road, we eventually made our way across the eastern lands until we finally made it to Equestria.”
He turned his head to look at Flitter. “And, eventually, we found our way here.”
For a moment, Flitter blinked. “You...were mercenaries?” She was actually a little frightened.
Storm Front nodded. “That’s why I applied to the Weather Team. It is difficult to make a living as a mercenary in Equestria. Even if there is some demand for our skills...we aren’t exactly appreciated.”
“Are you upset?” asked Flitter, “That you aren’t a mercenary anymore.”
“Not really,” admitted Storm with a shrug, looking down at the ground below them, “I became a mercenary out of necessity in the first place. It’s...nice to have a job that doesn’t involve bloodshed again.”
Flitter looked closely at Storm Front. Though his words seemed sincere, she couldn’t help but remember that she’d still seen him practicing with the meteor hammer. Maybe it was habit. Maybe it was merely a desire not to allow something that had been so important to his life fade away. But part of her thought that the reason he still trained with that weapon was because he was still certain that there would be situations where he needed to use it...where he needed to fight.
However, she pushed those thoughts to the back of her head as she watched the stallion sag down against his cloud. It seemed that telling the story had taken a lot out of him. It had taken a lot of effort for Storm to talk so much, to say nothing of how painful it must have been to relive those memories. Flitter reached out and gently brushed the feathers of her wing against his own, prompting Storm to look up at her.
“Thank you for telling me,” she said, “Did it help?”
Storm Front mulled the question over for a bit before turning, the faint beginnings of a smile forming on his face. “It did.”
"Okay," declared Scootaloo as she stood facing Dawn, "Let’s get started."
"Very well," replied the ebony colt, taking his usual starting stance, "We will start with the basics. However, before we begin, I have a few instructions for you."
"What?"
"First," said Dawn, "Until I tell you otherwise, when you practice these techniques, you are not to tap into your magic while using them. It will take considerable practice and refinement until you are able to fully control the destructive output your wings are capable of. Until that happens, you are not to try and use your magic."
"Okay." Scootaloo nodded slowly.
"Second, you will run through the exercises I give you everyday. I advise you to get up earlier in the morning so that you can practice early and then again in the evening."
Scootaloo let out a resigned groan. Much like her idol, rising early did not sit well with her.
"And finally," finished Dawn, "You are not to use your techniques against anypony unless I tell you otherwise, especially now. The Gale King is not a toy. Nor is it a means of demonstrating how strong you are. Physical violence of any sort is ultimately a last resort when it comes to confrontation."
"A last resort!" exclaimed Scootaloo indignantly, "Are you kidding me?"
"No. I am not. And if you have any inclination to disobey me, then our lessons will end here."
"But what about you?" asked the filly pointedly, "You haven't always used your power as a last resort, have you?"
"Yes, you're right," agreed Dawn, thinking of the times he had lost his temper, as with Applejack and Cirrus, "And I am not particularly proud of those moments. Most of all, I can't forget how much I frightened you when I lost control." He gave Scootaloo a sincere look that made her regret bringing the topic up. "You would do well to look to them as examples of what not to do. However, it is critical that you absolutely do not resort to using your magic in this early stage."
"How come?"
Dawn lifted a wing. "You know the technique that I use to catch you? That is an application of carefully moderated power. It requires incredibly fine control. If I didn't have that control...at best, whenever you fell, it would have been as though you had hit the ground a little earlier. At worst, I could have magnified the force of impact and killed you instantly."
A lump formed in Scootaloo's throat, forcing her to swallow nervously.
Dawn continued. "And on those occasions you were referring to, when I did not wait to use force as a last resort; if I did not have full control of my strength, things would have been much worse. I could have turned Applejack into paste. I could have snapped your father's spine."
Scootaloo went pale.
"When you first learn to apply your magic, you will automatically apply your full power because you only have the barest grasp of how to moderate it. That is what I have been trying to teach you through training you in meditation, to help you better sense your magic and direct its flow. Only after practice and getting a feel for your own power will you be able to moderate its usage so that you don't end up turning anypony you use it on into a fleshy pulp.
"That said, my conditions remain. If you do not accept them, then we will not proceed further."
Throughly cowed, Scootaloo flattened her ears against her head. "Okay."
Dawn sighed, then gave her his best encouraging smile. "Then let us begin."
The days passed quietly, bringing with them the comfortable pattern of the routine. Dawn walked Scootaloo through all the basic techniques of the Gale King style, the strikes and the lunges, the sweeps and wingbeats that made it so formidable. The orange filly turned out to be an apt pupil, quickly absorbing what she was taught. As she had promised, she practiced frequently, trying her hardest to burn the particular techniques into her body. It wasn't easy. Several moves in particular required moving her wings one at a time or completely independently of one another. Learning to keep one still while the other moved or moving each in a separate manner required all her concentration to accomplish. However, remembering what she had seen of Dawn's battle with the two mercenaries served as a reminder that he was speaking from experience when he said it was something she needed to learn.
Meanwhile, contractors had arrived and construction was beginning on a brand new building right next door to the library. Arkenstone had commissioned the construction of his teahouse and the builders were quickly making arrangements to set up shop During that period, he worked with Twilight frequently to further her studies of battle magic.
All was not well, however, as the sun continually rose and set to a clear sky of aching blue, with nary a cloud to be seen for miles. The latest storm from the Everfree seemed to be the last the ponies were going to be getting for a while. The reprieve it had brought was quickly wearing out. The crops were beginning to show signs of dehydration and the clouds Rainbow and her team were able to catch straying from the forest were not enough to compensate. There was still no word from Cloudsdale as to when the weather factory would begin regular operations again. The magistrates from Canterlot were supposedly looking into the problem, but no solution had been found yet.
Many farmers were starting to get anxious. Summer was waning and autumn, the primary harvest season, was just around the corner. Many were beginning to fear that their crops would not make it to harvest time. A few even had the whole of their livelihoods riding on this year's harvest. More importantly, the town was counting on the harvest to build up the stores they needed to weather the months of winter. While nopony blamed Rainbow Dash for their problems anymore, anxiety was running high. With the hopes of Ponyville riding on her shoulders, Rainbow made a decision.
"I'm going to Cloudsdale," declared Rainbow Dash, her expression solemn.
Without the stacks of crates containing Arkenstone's supplies dominating the floor, the library looked distinctly less cluttered. Work had been finished on the teahouse and the beige stallion was in the process of moving his stock into place so he could open his business. Already, several ponies around town had expressed a great deal of interest in sampling the exotic blends of tea his shop promised to deliver.
The meeting was small, just Rainbow and her five closest friends. She had called them there to discuss a plan of action regarding the drought, particularly since Applejack had a serious stake in the outcome of her actions.
"Are ya sure 'bout this sugarcube?" asked Applejack, "Ya've told us that there are a bunch 'o tribalists runnin' the place now."
"Yeah!" agreed Pinkie, bouncing in place, "Why do you have to deal with those meanies when you could just make your own weather?"
"I can't," said Rainbow, her tone desperate, "We only got out of our last confrontation with the authorities because we were in the right with the law. If we put one hoof out of line, Cloudsdale gets to crack down."
"She's right," interjected Twilight, "I've been looking through the laws surrounding weather creation. I've come up with one or two things that might work for us, but they're acts of desperation."
"Isn't going to Cloudsdale with its current state of affairs an act of desperation in and of itself?" asked Rarity.
"Yeah," admitted Twilight, "But if we end up having to put our contingency plan into motion, we could end up destabilizing the entire distribution zone. The consequences could be severe for the entire country."
"Um, what is that contingency?" asked Fluttershy, before shrinking back behind her mane, "If you don't mind me asking..."
Twilight let out a sigh. "Basically, the one thing I found that might work in principle is if we declare the township of Ponyville to be its own distribution zone. According to what I've uncovered in the books on weather law, there is no law ascribing specific limits on who can form a distribution zone, so it would be a legal precedent."
"That sounds like a wonderful notion," declared Rarity, "What's so wrong with it? That would give us the legal wherewithal to make our own weather, would it not?"
"There are two problems with it," said Twilight, "First, there's no way Cloudsdale would take a move like that lying down. In all likelihood, there's no way they'd exercise the restraint they did last time."
"Y'all call that restraint," muttered Applejack.
"The other reason is that it could be playing right into their hooves," added Twilight, "The ambition of the tribalists is to ignite racial tensions between the three tribes so that the pegasi can ultimately come out on top. From the behavior of the Cloudsdale Guard members who came to Ponyville last time, I can predict that the majority of the citizens of Cloudsdale aren't on board with the tribalists, so to speak. The tribalists appear to have their members placed in key positions to affect policy and maybe control the activities of the weather factory. However, I don't think the citizens share their views.
"The problem is, if we set a precedent by declaring Ponyville its own distribution zone and succeed, then other towns in the Cloudsdale Distribution Zone will follow suit. It won't belong before places outside the distribution zone start considering that option as well. The problem is that it would completely wreck Cloudsdale's economy. I have no doubts that the tribalists currently in charge will try to play it up by setting it as pegasi against earth ponies or something like that. It could very well end up driving the majority of the population of Cloudsdale to side with the tribalists."
"Oh my!" whispered Fluttershy, "That would be terrible."
"But Ah don't see what ya plan to accomplish by goin' to Cloudsdale yerself," Applejack pointed out, "Ah mean, it's not like ya can force them varmints out by yerself."
"I'm not going alone," said Rainbow, "I'm bringing Storm Front with me. I know he can help if things get violent. Also..." Rainbow's voice trailed off as she pawed the floor nervously, sending an uncertain look Fluttershy's way.
"Also what?" asked Pinkie.
"Um...never mind!" Rainbow worked frantically to redirect the topic of conversation. "The point is, what I'm really trying to do is get a feel for how things are in Cloudsdale. I think those tribalists are up to something besides simply trying to strangle us with a drought. We need to know what these jerks are up to and how they're getting it done. Then we can figure out what to do about it."
"So when are you leaving?" asked Fluttershy.
"Two days from now."