//------------------------------//
// Prologue III: I am Proselyte 
// Story: My Little Pony: The Entities of Emotion 
// by Michael_Ravencroft 
//------------------------------//

Such a lovely day, she thought.

The birds were singing, the little critters were scurrying about, and Harry the bear enjoying was some tea on a picnic blanket. Fluttershy was out having one of her usual Critter Picnics. Harry the bear was in attendance of course, not being able to get enough of the kind mare's honey toast. A few of the beavers were there as well, opting to chew on wood and occasionally asking for some tea to wash down their meal. Angel bunny was there was as well, it was somewhat hard to get the cranky rabbit to join the picnics. He didn't much mind when it was the two of them, but some of the other critters did get on his nerves.

Fluttershy's picnic was taking place in a nice clearing in White Tail Wood; butterflies were flying about across from the picnic, settling on some flowers. From far away Fluttershy could see that some foals were playing. One was a little filly earth pony, with a unicorn colt who couldn't be more than a year or two older than the filly. Fluttershy had seen them around town; they were brother and sister, a pair of nice and rambunctious siblings.

Suddenly the little filly, while running around chasing after her brother, tripped on a rock and fell over, tumbling about till she landed up against a tree. The filly began to cry and Fluttershy immediately shot up and flared her wings prepared to rush to her side, but she didn't need to. The filly's brother quickly rushed to his sister's side, she couldn't make out what the older brother said to her, but whatever it was it seemed to be just what she needed to hear. The filly's eyes were still watering, but she had stopped crying. The unicorn colt then used his telekinesis to left his little sister off the ground and onto his back.

Although still watery eyed, the filly smiled at her brother, and the brother to his little sister. The two then left the woods in the direction towards Ponyville, probably going home, or to get the little filly a treat. Fluttershy laid back down on the blanket, smiling warmly at what she witnessed, but also feeling a bit sad.

What a nice big brother…

The other critters were able to pick up on the change in their caretaker's mood. They chirped, squawked, and squeaked, asking if she was alright. Fluttershy realized that her animal friends were worried and she quickly gave them her best confident smile.

"Don't worry I'm fine, really," she said.

While some were only half convinced, a certain white rabbit was not. He crossed his front legs and glared up at his owner, tapping his one foot as if waiting for an explanation he was owed.

"Angel, really I am…it's just…seeing them…brought back some memories…"

Angel stopped tapping his foot and uncrossed his paws. The usually irate rabbit seemed to know what Fluttershy was talking about and decided to drop it, those words were enough to confirm what she was saying without anymore being said.

Fluttershy sighed heavily, she then looked up into the blue sky, a few clouds wafted by, a memory she tried not to remember too much found itself creeping back to the forefront of her mind.

"Head Wind," she whispered.

"Fluttershy…"

The cream colored mare's head shot up at the sound of her name.

"Head Wind?"

"Fluttershy…!"

The pegasus mare shot up once again, looking around in many directions, making her animal friends worry even more. The look in Fluttershy's eyes was desperate.

"Head Wind is that you!?"

"FLUTTERSHY!!!"

That's when the voice came in more clearly; Fluttershy looked straight up and found not this mysterious Head Wind, but instead a rainbow maned mare quickly coming to a midair stop just above her. Fluttershy was one part relieved that she wasn't going crazy, and two parts sad that it wasn't who she thought it was. But something else made those feelings change when she saw the look on Rainbow Dash's face, it was panicked, and not much panicked the daredevil mare.

"Rainbow Dash what's wrong!?" Fluttershy asked.

"You have to come quick; Cloudsdale is in trouble – BIG TROUBLE!" Rainbow shouted.

"Trouble, from who, what, why," she asked.

"No time – Twilight's waiting – army of Royal Guard ponies – Big BIG trouble!"

Without warning the cyan pegasus swiftly scooped up her long time friend and carried her into the air. Fluttershy's confused and terrified screams could be heard echoing through the woods and sky as they soon receded and began to fade. The critters and Angel all looked at each in confusion. After a collective shrug, they all went back to enjoying the picnic. This wasn't the first time their pegasus caretaker was whisked away by the rainbow maned pegasus and it wouldn't be the last.






(In the skies, ten miles from Cloudsdale)


"Oh…my…"

That's all that Fluttershy could say upon seeing the sight before her. A large number of the Elite Royal Guard pegasi were assembled, ten battalions, all armed and ready to engage in battle. Twilight was at the head of the army, standing on a cloud as she peered through some binoculars. Fluttershy looked in the direction that the newly crowned Princess was staring at; she nearly stopped flying when she saw it. A giant storm front was heading towards them, spewing lightning, roaring with thunder – no it wasn't thunder – well it was thunder, but there was something else mixed in with the sound, something that Fluttershy couldn't quite put her hoof on.

Rainbow Dash led the shy mare through the ranks of soldiers, landing on the large cloud that Twilight was on. The magical mare turned around quickly hugged her friend, happy to see her.

"Fluttershy, I'm glad you came!" Twilight said.

"No problem Twilight, but, why am I here?"

Twilight looked to Rainbow Dash, who was now staring out at the storm front that was slowly making its way towards them.

"Rainbow Dash, didn't you tell Fluttershy what's going on!?"

"Sorry Twi, I was a little too focused on getting her here," said Rainbow Dash, barely sparing a glance.

Twilight let out a frustrated sigh, "Alright, here's the situation: approximately five hours ago a massive storm front was seen making its way from the Badlands. It's already left a trail of destruction in its wake and is now heading towards Cloudsdale, if it keeps going Ponyville will be next, and then Canterlot!"

Fluttershy gulped, "Tha-that's horrible Twilight, but I don't see why I'm here? Did you need the Elements of Harmony, are Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack on their way too!?"

"No Fluttershy, this isn't some supernatural or villainous attempt to destroy Equestria, rather, it's more along the lines of natural."

"What do you mean," asked Fluttershy.

"Take a look."

The purple alicorn used her telekinesis to levitate the binoculars up to eye level, pointed straight at the storm front. Fluttershy cautiously stepped up and peered through them. Now she could see the storm, in all its fury. She could also see that there was something moving inside of that storm, something big. Fluttershy squinted her eyes, focusing on the movement inside the dark clouds, and that's when she saw it. Its body was a bright light blue; its wings were crackling as electrified wings discharged dozens of lightning bolts, its silver legs and beak sheened in the light of the storm, its eyes were two pools of glowing energy that seemed to wisp from the corners of its eyes. The beast was nearly fifty feet tall, with a wingspan of twenty feet. The three feathered crest upon its head seemed to shimmer with power as the giant bird released a powerful call that was a mixture between a falcon's screech and rolling thunder.

Fluttershy pulled back, she almost couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Twilight that's-that's-that's a –!"

"A thunderbird, yes, and now you know why we need your help. I'm sorry to ask this of you Fluttershy, but you're the only one who can find out why the thunderbird is doing this, and maybe can convince it stop," said Twilight.

Fluttershy wasn't opposed to the idea, from what she could discern, the creature sounded pained. However, there was something that Fluttershy needed to know.

"What are you going to do if the thunderbird doesn't stop or change course," she asked.

Twilight looked down at the white cloud they were standing on, she then turned towards the storm cloud.

"If-If we can't stop the thunderbird through negotiation, or persuasion, then…I've been given authorization to stop it, by any means necessary…"

"Any means…" It took a minute for Fluttershy to put it together, the assembled army of Royal Guard ponies, her presence here at the frontline like some kind of commander. "Twilight Sparkle you wouldn't dare!!?"

"What else do you expect me to do…? I've given the order to evacuate Cloudsdale, and every other town and city in its path…But that won't mean a thing if it decides to speed up or change course towards a place that isn't evacuated!" Twilight shouted.

"You want to kill that poor creature, how do you know it's doing this on purpose, for all you know it could be physically injured and lashing out! It's perfectly normal animal behavior," argued Fluttershy.

Twilight turned towards her friend, matching the angry glare in her eyes. "I don't want to kill it; I want it to stop destroying things and endangering everypony's life! But I will do what I have to in order to protect the lives of the many ponies who could be killed! That's why you're here!"

Fluttershy flared her wings angrily, she then looked at Twilight, and then towards the thunderbird.

"You won't kill it, I'm going to stop him," she said firmly.

"Good. Rainbow Dash will go with you, along with a squad of –"

"No. Just Rainbow Dash, I don't want any Guard ponies there to make him even angrier."

Twilight was hesitant about sending her shy friend into the raging storm of the thunderbird, but with time running out, the chances of somepony getting seriously hurt was rising steadily. It was then that Twilight looked towards Rainbow Dash, the prismatic mare finally spared her a glance, she nodded towards her, as if agreeing to Fluttershy's request.

"Alright, but be careful. If it gets to hairy out there get back here immediately," said Twilight.

"Is that an order, Princess Twilight," asked Fluttershy, her back turned as she spoke.

"Fluttershy…"

"Let's go Rainbow Dash."

Without barely speaking another word Fluttershy flew in the direction of the raging thunderbird. Rainbow Dash quickly took off after her longtime friend, worried about her state of mind concerning Twilight. The storm front continued to spout lightning and thunder, its avian conjurer still making its horrible screeches.

When Rainbow Dash caught up to Fluttershy, she could see the anger in her expression.

"Fluttershy, you didn't have to bite Twilight's head off like that, this whole thing wasn't her idea in the first place," said Rainbow Dash.

"Rainbow, I know Twilight's your marefriend, and I know you want to defend her, but right now I'm not in the mood," said Fluttershy.

Rainbow Dash's face became tad shade of red, which definitely showed through her cyan coat, both out of embarrassment and annoyance.

"Okay first of all: that's way over the line! Second: I'm serious about it not being her idea! When the ponies up in Canterlot found out about this, they got all freaked out. The Defense Minister guy told Princess Celestia and Luna that they needed to dispatch battalions of Royal Guards."

"…"

"Twilight didn't want to use Royal Guards, that's why she sent me to get you, but…"

"It's okay, I'm sorry, I'll apologize to Twilight later," said Fluttershy.

"Thanks…So…how long have you known about me and Twilight," asked Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy lost her angered expression and was replaced with her usual shy and embarrassed one.

"Um…about seven months now – but I swear I haven't told anypony!"

Rainbow Dash didn't have time to inquire any further as the two pegasi arrived at the squall line of the storm. Steeling their nerves they entered the storm, lightning fired from every direction, thunder roared in sync with the calls of the thunderbird. Something about them made Fluttershy wince, not because of the intensity.

Soon the two pegasi were close, not so close, but just enough to qualify as relatively "safe distance." Now that they were closer, the thunderbird was a little more intimidating. It didn't seem to notice them, and why shouldn't it, the two of them were practically the size of humming birds to this giant creature.

"Fluttershy, do you think you can talk that thing down!?" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"I'm going to try!"

Fluttershy dared to fly a little closer to the raging thunderbird. Its eyes still blazed with white electrical energy, its wings discharging one blast of lightning after the other. With an audible gulp, the pink maned pegasus began her negotiation with the thunderbird.

"Excuse me, Mr. Thunderbird, could you please –" Fluttershy quickly shifted to the right, narrowly dodging a lightning bolt. "I was wondering what could possibly be troubling you –!?" Another bolt flashed towards the cream colored pegasus, quickly descending a bit to let it fly over her head. "Please, I just want to help you if you would just –!"

The kind mare retreated back to where Rainbow Dash was; sensing that the "safe distance" was becoming less safe.

"Fluttershy that thunderbird isn't listening, what's up!?"

"I don't know, it's like he can't hear me!"

"Are you kidding, I can barely you over all this wind and thunder," said Rainbow Dash.

"No it's not that! I can communicate with animals not just with my voice, but with my feelings, and for some reason something is blocking me from reaching him," explained Fluttershy.

"Alright, I think it's time you used The Stare on him," suggested Rainbow.

Fluttershy looked back at the enraged thunderbird, wondering if her special ability, The Stare, would even affect it. Especially with its eyes filled to the brim with white lightning. As Fluttershy turned back to speak to Rainbow Dash, the brash mare quickly grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved Fluttershy away.

"Rainbow Dash why did –!?"

Fluttershy soon got her answer, a strong blast of wind rushed by and slammed against Rainbow Dash, sending her flying out of the storm. Fluttershy knew what that was; it was something that all pegasi foals are taught to be watchful for when flying into storm clouds. A Micro Burst, a sudden and powerful blast of wind that can flatten an entire house and force a pegasus to plummet and crash into the ground, and Rainbow Dash just got hit with one.

"RAINBOW DASH!!!"





Damn it, how could I let that happen!?

Rainbow Dash was spinning rapidly in the air, out of control. The Micro Burst had almost literally knocked the wind out of her lungs, and nearly broke a rib bone or two.

Rainbow Dash tried to regain control, but the speed at which she was spinning threatened to snap her wings if she dared tried. She had kept her eyes shut tight, trying to stave off the dizziness that would ensue if she were to look.

That's when she felt it, Rainbow Dash had stopped spinning. There was a tingling feeling all around her; it was familiar, very familiar. When she opened her eyes Rainbow noticed that her entire body was covered in a magenta aura. Rainbow Dash then found herself right side up and staring at Twilight, her face full of worry.

"Rainbow Dash, are you alright!?"

"Y-y-yeah, although I feel like I just had the Cloudisium smash into me," said Rainbow.

"Thank goodness, what about Fluttershy," asked Twilight.

Rainbow's eyes suddenly shot wide open as she turned towards the storm.

"Oh my gosh, Fluttershy's still in there! Twilight let me go, I need to go and save her!"

"After you just got tossed around like a rag doll, no way, fall back and I…I'll…"

Rainbow Dash looked back at Twilight in disbelief was she really about to purpose to do what she thought she was going to do.

"Twilight you can't do that, Fluttershy will never forgive you for that!"

"…I'll try and stop it, without using force, maybe I can –!"

Before Twilight could finish her thought a blur of purple shot passed the two of them, aiming straight for the storm front. Rainbow Dash and Twilight did a double take at how fast the streak was.

"What the hay was that!? Twilight, Twilight?"

The Princess of Magic didn't say a word; she only looked on in wonder. Was that…?





Fluttershy continued to dodge one lightning bolt after another, she couldn't give up on reaching the thunderbird, but there was no way she could reach out to it. Normally Fluttershy would be scared out of her mind and would've left by now; of course, she couldn't ignore this poor creature, not when its life was in danger.

Out of the corner of her eye, Fluttershy dodged yet another lightning bolt. The yellow pegasus mare decided to make one last attempt at trying to reach the raging thunderbird. She flew towards it yet again, nearly in front of the beast.

"Mr. Thunderbird, please listen to me! If you keep going you're going to be in trouble! They'll hurt you if you don't stop, please I know you're not bad, so just calm down and –!"

The thunderbird stared directly at Fluttershy, its white eyes shining with electrical power. The giant avian beast opened its beak, wind started to coalesce at the opening, becoming pressurized and condensed with each passing second. Fluttershy could tell what it was about to unleash, another Micro Burst aimed right at her. The shy mare did not falter; she stood her ground, so to speak, and held her gaze, radiating both seriousness and kindness.

"I won't give up on you!"

*SQUAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWKKKK!*

The thunderbird fired its Micro Burst; the blast distorted everything around it as it traveled towards Fluttershy. Before Fluttershy could wonder if this was a good idea or not she was pushed out of the way. The Micro Burst shot through the clouds, creating a hole to view Cloudsdale up ahead. The burst was a short ranged attack, so it didn't travel any further than the clouds.

Fluttershy looked down at her midsection and saw what pushed her out of the way was another pegasus. When they were both at a relatively "safe distance" the other pegasus stopped and parted with Fluttershy, allowing her to get a good look at her savior. It was a colt, about twelve years old, with a purple coat, dark purple tail and mane, and amethyst colored eyes. There was a strange cutie mark upon his flanks; it was a white circle with two triangles connected at the top and bottom.

"Are you hurt," asked the colt.

"N-no, I'm alright, are you," asked Fluttershy.

"Worry not about me, the raging one is more in need of help. You were trying to sooth him, were you not?"

"Um, yes, but he won't listen, or, maybe it's more like he can't…"

The young colt seemed to be looking over Fluttershy, as if judging something about her; he then turned his attention back to the thunderbird, noting the distance he had covered.

"You may be able to reach him, but you will need my help," said the colt.

"What, no, you can't stay here! You need to leave before you get hurt!"

"My well being is of little concern; if nothing is done then an innocent life may be snuffed out before its time. Please Miss, will you not aid me?"

Fluttershy looked at the colt, his eyes held strong, but behind them was a genuine concern for the thunderbird, a kind of compassion that she hadn't seen in a long time. It almost reminded her of a certain pony…I won't back away, not again! 

"Okay!"

"You have great compassion, Miss, and I thank you."

"My name is Fluttershy, what's yours?"

The colt seemed to hesitate, wondering if it was okay to reveal his name to this mare. But something inside him told the young colt to trust this mare, if she was willing to help this creature at the risk of her life; surely there was no harm in telling her his name.

"I am Proselyte, but you may call me Lyte," he said.

Fluttershy nodded, and the two of them rushed off, one final attempt to get through to the thunderbird. The two pegasi finally caught up and moved in front of it. Proselyte hovered in midair, placing his two hooves together in a sort of prayer position.

"I'll help you in reaching out to the thunderbird, use your compassion and kindness to touch his heart, and free him of his anger!"

"But how, he can't…hear…me…"

Proselytes body began to glow with indigo light, flaring up like an inferno. His wings no longer flapped, being supported by the energy that surrounded his body. It was then that Fluttershy heard him speak in a language that wasn't Equestrian, or any other she'd ever heard of.



"Tor lorek san, bor naka mur,
Natromo fann, tornek wot ur!
Ter Lantern ker lo Abin Sur,
Taan lek lek nok, Formorrow Sur!"



Just then the aura surrounding Proselyte transformed, solidifying into seven tentacles made of indigo light. Two of the tentacles lashed out and grabbed hold of the thunderbirds right wing and right talon. Another two grabbed onto its left wing and left talon. The fifth and sixth tentacles wrapped around its body and closed its beak so that it could not fire another Micro Burst. It was at this time that Proselyte turned to Fluttershy, his eyes shining with the same power his body emanated.

"Miss Shy, please place your hooves on my shoulders, and concentrate on reaching out to him, I will give you a direct line to his heart and soul!"

Fluttershy was hesitant; here was a pegasus, a young colt, restraining a giant thunderbird with some sort of strange power. Now that she looked closer, she saw that his cutie marks were glowing as well. Although despite all this strange power, Fluttershy did not feel threatened by the colt. Which was strange, she was always shy around others, foals not as much, but you'd think she'd stay away from a foal that could tie up a thunderbird so easily. But Fluttershy had already resolved to not let this thunderbird be harmed, so, doing as Lyte instructed, she placed her hooves on his shoulders.

The aura latched onto Fluttershy, covering her entire body, she winced, expecting the energy to hurt, surprisingly though, it did not. Instead it felt warm, welcoming, calming, she felt safe. Lyte saw the content look in her eyes and proceeded to enact his plan. The seventh tentacle lashed out at great speed, aimed directly at the thunderbird's head. The point of the tentacle came to a soft stop. The tip gently touched the thrashing head of the avian storm bringer, immediately his body went still, the strange symbol appearing where the tentacle was now resting.

"Go…"

Fluttershy suddenly felt lighter than a feather, her world was now awash in indigo light, traveling down a tunnel made of the light. Faster and faster she felt her mind and soul speed through, Fluttershy could've sworn she was moving faster than Rainbow Dash when performing a Sonic Rainboom.

The cream colored pegasus was gradually slowing down, there was a gray space at the end of the tunnel, Fluttershy flapped her wings and entered the gray nexus. She flew, guided by a small light that flickered in the distance; something told Fluttershy that that was her target, the source. As she continued flying, her goal quickly coming into view, something happened. A giant wall made of red and yellow light appeared around the glimmer, barring Fluttershy from going any further. This was unlike anything she'd ever seen before.

"W-w-what is that!?"

"His heart is closed off by the lights of rage and fear, whatever turmoil he is going through, this wall is a manifestation of that," echoed Proselyte's voice.

"How am I supposed to get around it," asked Fluttershy.

"You cannot, you must go through it."

"WHAT!?"

"I can weaken the light of rage, but fear must be conquered with compassion."

Suddenly from behind Fluttershy, a ray of blue light shined down upon the wall. The red light that made up half the wall seemed to react violently to it, but dimmed considerably, now all that was left was the yellow light, which was sending out an aura of fear. Fluttershy could feel it making her fearful. Suddenly all the worries and doubts, all the things she feared, were rising up from within her. The indigo aura surrounding her was steadily starting to change to the same color as the yellow light, drawing her in.

"You mustn't let your fears overpower you Miss Shy, you are stronger than fear," said Proselyte.

"No…I'm not, I'm going to fail, just like with Head Wind! He'll die and it'll be all my fault!"

"Do not lose the compassion within you, beyond this wall is a creature seeking comfort, you are the only one who has a chance of quelling his rage and fear…"

Fluttershy looked at the wall of yellow light; a small light flickered behind it, calling out. Her fears were quickly dissipating; she concentrated on the light beyond the fear. The yellow light was soon overpowered by Fluttershy's indigo aura, till it disappeared altogether. With her courage restored Fluttershy flew at the wall, indigo and yellow light clashed, the wall screeching in protest of her intrusion. For a brief moment, the pink maned pegasus' eyes shined with the same power as Proselyte, her form becoming one with the energy. In a giant burst of power she blasted through the wall, destroying the wall of rage and fear.

Now she was able to see what lay behind the wall, it was a bird. It appeared to be a smaller version of the thunderbird; it was crying tears of light. Its faint light blue aura was bright within the gray nexus; the small bird didn't seem to notice Fluttershy, who was now back to normal. Her protective indigo aura shined down upon the small bird, who had now taken notice of her.

"Shh, it's okay, what's the matter little one," asked Fluttershy.

"I-I-I can't find my mommy," said the blue bird.

"Alright what's you name sweetie?"

"Storm…"

Fluttershy chuckled a bit at the irony of his name. "Storm, my name is Fluttershy, where did your mommy go?"

Storm sniffled as he wiped his beak with his left wing. "I don't know…?"

Fluttershy, with a kind expression, reached out to Storm. The little thunderbird seemed a bit nervous, but after looking into her eyes he seemed to understand that she wasn't here to hurt him. The moment Storm hopped into her hoof Fluttershy saw everything, his memories laid bare before her eyes as the indigo light showed her the source of his fear and anger. It was then that she looked down upon him with tearful, comforting eyes. She brought Storm close to her chest, and with the other hoof, gently stroked his head and back.

"You poor thing…"




'Nok..."






"Twilight what in the name of Celestia is going on in there!?"

The Royal Guard battalions were now in attack formation, ready to engage with the thunderbird the moment it got close to their battle line. But for the past couple of minutes Twilight and Rainbow Dash watched as the storm front was aglow with purple light. The storm itself had stopped dead in its tracks, which only made the alicorn and pegasus worry about the fate of their friend who was still inside.

"That's it, I'm going in," said Rainbow Dash.

"Wait a minute Rainbow; we don't know what's happening in there!" Twilight said.

"Look Fluttershy's alone in there, and I swear to Luna if that thing so much as hurt her I'll –!"

All of a sudden the storm front erupted with purple light, blinding all who looked upon it. The airborne ponies had to close their eyes or turn away, unable to face its brilliance. When the light finally dimmed all were able to get a good look. There was the thunderbird, no longer was it discharging lightning, nor were its eyes white as snow. Instead, its feathers were a pristine light blue that gave off a nice sheen in the sunlight, its long tail feathers undulated up and down with each flap of its mighty wings.

The large bird started to descend downwards, it wasn't diving, and it wasn't plummeting, it was just slowly going down. All the pegasi Royal Guards followed after it, with Twilight and Rainbow Dash flying ahead of them. Luckily the thunderbird found a large enough clearing down below, its large talons touched the ground, gently laying down and bringing its head to a rest on the soft grass. The Princess of Magic and Wonderbolt trainee touched down just a few feet away. Rainbow Dash was about to lash out at the thunderbird, but that was before she saw her long time friend sitting on top of the bird's head, along with another pegasus that she didn't recognize.

Fluttershy jumped off its head and gently flew down to the ground, with the mysterious colt following close behind. Twilight and Rainbow Dash couldn't believe it, she was alright, and she managed to calm the thunderbird, although it looked really sad for some reason. One of the Royal Guard ponies trotted up next to the new Princess and whispered into her ear.

"Do you wish for us to restrain it, Princess," he asked.

"No, I don't think that'll be necessary," said Twilight.

"But ma'am, that thing nearly came close to destroying Cloudsdale, not mention the other towns and villages it already devastated along the way. I strongly insist that we tie it down before it has the chance to resume its rampage."

"Commander, I'm a Princess, am I not?"

"Well yes."

"And as a Princess, I carry the same authority as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, even in matters such as these, don't I?"

"Yes you do, but –"

"Then this is an order, you and the other Royal Guards are not to engage or approach the thunderbird unless I give you the order to, is that understood," asked Twilight, her voice having a noticeable edge to it.

"Yes, your highness…"

The Royal Guard commander flew away to relay the message to the other troops. Once out of range and earshot, Rainbow Dash trotted up to Twilight and gave her a peck on the cheek, earning a fierce blush from the alicorn of magic.

"W-what was that for!?" Twilight asked, placing a hoof on the spot Rainbow just kissed.

"That's for being an awesome Princess and this…" Rainbow Dash quickly moved in and kissed Twilight fully on the lips, it was about ten seconds before she pulled away and grinned at her marefriend. "That's for being the coolest marefriend I could ask for."

Twilight smiled at the comment, but she quickly regained her composure, trying not to let Rainbow Dash's displays of affection distract her from the matter at hoof.

"Thanks Dashie, ahem, c'mon, we need to talk to Fluttershy."

The couple trotted slowly towards their location, being weary to not startle the thunderbird, lest the whole event start up all over again. They were about ten feet from the thunderbird and waited for Fluttershy's okay to continue. Their friend waved a hoof at them, gesturing for them to come closer. Once they arrived they were able to see just how sad the thunderbird was, the rage it had before seemed to have utterly disappeared, it was hard to believe this beautiful creature could become such a force of destruction.

"Fluttershy, you alright," asked Rainbow Dash.

"I'm fine, but…Storm's another story," she said.

"Is that his name, did you find out why he did all this," asked Twilight.

Fluttershy looked saddened by the request, it seemed that the young colt beside her caught onto her sadness and stepped forward. "I'll answer that."

Rainbow Dash looked down at the colt, suspiciously. "Who the hay are you, and where did you come from?"

"My name is Proselyte, I was flying by and saw what was happening and did what I could to help Miss Shy get through to Storm," he said.

Rainbow Dash leaned in close to Twilight and whispered into her ear, "I don't like the looks of this kid Twi, what kind of name is 'Proselyte,' and what's with that weird cutie mark?"

"Let's just hear him out Rainbow, besides, he helped Fluttershy, he can't be all that bad," whispered Twilight. "Please tell us what happened."

"Ahem, Storm here is a young thunderbird. He originated in the Badlands where he and his mother resided. One day, when they were out flying, a pack of Hydras attacked them…"

"Badland Hydras…"

"What, you've dealt with a Hydra before, they got nothing on thunderbirds," said Rainbow Dash.

"The one at Froggy Bottom Bog is of a lesser species of Hydras, Badland Hydras are twice as big, with five extra heads, have acid venom, and are deadly fierce! They're the alpha type Hydras, the most deadly, and a pack consists of at least seven Hydras, so seven times nine heads, that's sixty-four acid-spitting-heads versus one adult thunderbird and one young thunderbird…"

Rainbow Dash was silent, allowing Lyte to continue.

"The young one, Storm, watched his mother die in front of him, she protected him the best she could. Storm was filled with rage and fear, lost, he tapped into his weather manipulation powers, and created this storm front, but thankfully, Miss Shy was able to calm him," finished Proselyte.

Twilight eyed the young purple pegasus, his short cut mane partially covering his right eye. She also noticed that Fluttershy seemed surprised by his statement, but tried to keep her attention on soothing Storm.

"So," Twilight began, "is he going to be alright?"

"He really has no place to go Twilight, his mother's gone, and his home is overrun with Hydras –"

Storm raised his head a little and looked upon the gathered ponies; he then let out a few chirps and squawks. Twilight and Rainbow Dash had no idea what the thunderbird was saying, but it seemed clear that Fluttershy, and even Lyte, understood what he was saying.

"Storm no, you can't just leave!" Fluttershy gasped.

"What, what's he saying," asked Rainbow Dash.

"He says 'I'm sorry for all the damage I've caused, and for those I may've hurt. I do not wish to be a burden to you, I will leave, please don't worry about me,'" said Proselyte translating.

"NO!"

All, even Storm, seemed startled by Fluttershy's harsh tone. The pegasus mare looked at Twilight with pleading eyes, desperate even. It honestly made her feel a little uneasy.

"Twilight, please, is there anything you could do to help him!? Please!?"

Twilight thought about it, long and hard. Storm was no longer a threat, if anything he was apologetic about his actions. And, to be completely honest, if she had lost somepony she cared about that much, Twilight doubted she wouldn't act any differently. That's when her gaze drifted towards Rainbow Dash, she too was wondering what Twilight's decision would be. For a brief moment Twilight imagined would happen if she lost Rainbow Dash, she almost started to cry.

"I'll talk to Princess Celestia, but for now, I think it best that Storm stay here. Is that fare for now," asked Twilight.

Fluttershy nodded, smiling and somewhat relieved. Twilight's gaze fell to the young pegasus he was now looking back at her, giving the Princess of Magic a confident grin, bowing his head a little.






(Fluttershy's Cottage, 3 days later)


The incident with the thunderbird Storm had been pacified. He had been moved to a reserve near Canterlot, where Fluttershy could visit, and where he wouldn't be alone. Proselyte had taken trips, in secret, to check in on Storm. The thunderbird would often thank him for helping Fluttershy to reach him in his distraught state.

Recently though, the purple pegasus had found himself drawn to the shy mare. He had disappeared when Storm was moved and hadn't been seen since. Although, he found himself drawn to the mare he met that day. Compassion, true compassion, was something seldom felt, but it was strong in that mare, Fluttershy.

Maybe it was for that reason he came to see her, well, at least to see her. Proselyte was standing on the edge of the forest near Fluttershy's cottage, watching her from a distance. He watched as she took care of the animals, some very small, others large and intimidating. Through his eyes he could see the indigo light surround the area; compassion's light was strong here. He had to mask his presence by emitting some his own energy, to convey to other animals close by that he wasn't a threat to the winged caretaker.

At the very least he wanted to see how she was doing. This is silly; I'm an omni-powerful entity of compassion, why should I be anxious about meeting with this mare. 

Proselyte trotted along, following the trail to the cottage on the hill. Fluttershy seemed to be in the middle of feeding her various animal companions; Proselyte stopped at the gate entrance and called out to her.

"Miss Shy?"

"EEEP!"

Proselyte watched as the cream colored mare shot up into the sky, with a rather impressive amount of speed, and hung onto a tuft of cloud that was floating in the sky.

"Miss Shy, are you alright," asked Proselyte as he stared up at her.

At that moment Proselyte felt a thumping against his right hoof. When he looked down he saw a little white rabbit kicking him repeatedly. He could sense the little rabbit's anger, he was quite irate.

"I am sorry; I did not mean to frighten her."

" #$%!"

"I certainly do not wish to cause her harm."

" #$%!"

"You're quite the foul mouthed little creature aren't you," said Proselyte.

"#$%!"

"Excuse me, what!?"

"Lyte…?"

The purple pegasus colt looked up and saw that Fluttershy was already descending towards them. She landed a couple of feet from him, her expression happy and relieved.

"It is you Lyte! I was so worried!"

"Sorry, I scared you," he apologized.

"No, not that, after what happened with Storm you disappeared, I didn't know if you were hurt or –!" Fluttershy stopped her little rant and blushed a bit. "Sorry, I guess I shouldn't have been so worried about you, not after what I saw you can do."

Proselyte rubbed the back of his hoof at that statement, "Yes…you didn't tell anyone about what I can do…did you?"

"Oh no, I didn't. I promised didn't I," she said smiling. "Do you want to come in for some tea, I just finished feeding my animal friends, so I have time to chat, that is, of course, if you don't mind?"

"No…no I don't, thank you."

Fluttershy began to lead Proselyte into her cottage; the little white rabbit was hopping alongside her. He looked back at Proselyte, he pointed his paw at his eyes and then back at him. The colt used his powers to peer into the rabbit and noticed that he was mostly filled with red light. Not surprising. But he also saw something else, at his center, was a sizeable amount of violet light. For all his bravado, he seems to genuinely care about her. I guess that is acceptable, for now. 

"Oh Lyte, what was that chant you were saying back then," asked Fluttershy.

"It is a type of oath, it helps me to focus my power," he said.

"So then that word, 'nok,' it seemed to have a different meaning when you said it alone."

Proselyte stopped in his tracks and stared wide eyed at Fluttershy. "You could understand the language!?"

"Well…not all of it, just that one word at the end, I think you said 'compassion be with you.' Is that right?"

Proselyte nodded, confirming that that was its meaning. Her connection to my light is stronger than I thought…