//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Gale Force Fury // Story: The Untold Pageant // by kiheerSEDMAN //------------------------------// Chapter 3: Gale Force Fury The rainbow maned pegasus flies into stage followed closely by her shy friend. They are surrounded by elegant pillars of marble atop majestic visages of clouds tainted by the ever increasing piles of dirty snow piled up everywhere. She looked at her friend with a affection that was most definitely not from the script and began announcing her lines surrounded by whirling clouds as the audience watched on raptured. ______________________________________________________________________ An angry Commander was not one to be trifled with, and Commander Hurricane was a few ticks past that into the territory of the stark raving mad. Her illustrious armor was beat up, and she had been ridiculed by the rulers of the other nations. They had no right to look down on her like that, she ruled an army that outclassed any of their weak subjects. "Guards! Form on me!", she called to the six pegasi standing outside the door. "Ma'am yes ma'am!", came the six responses as the starved pegasi took up ranks around their leader and readied themselves wearily for take off, dreading the freezing experience they were about to have. At the lead of the commander, all seven of the armor clad pegasi flapped their wings, and took to the windy skies. Almost at once, a chilling gust hit the freezing pegasi, and they frantically scrambled into their places around the stolid commander. ______________________________________________________________________ The wendigos spotted the phalanx of pegasi formed up together like a tightly packed wedge braced against the cold touch of the wind spirits. Eager to please their master, they began galloping the patterns that would bring down a small taste of their full power upon the unsuspecting fliers. ______________________________________________________________________ Commander Hurricane and her command valiantly flew into the waiting trap, mice entering the house of the cat. The first cloud bank broke before the onrushing pegasi, fierce winds that would have punctured an air balloon with ten holes in as many seconds. The pegasi pulled a perfectly executed breaking turn staying in a formation befitting any strict military command, after all these kind of freak winds are expected in a blizzard of this scale and magnitude. Coming out of the tail of the wind with a huge grin plastered on her face was the commander whose worries were blown away by the sheer joy of flying. With this fantastic display of skill the skies grew clear, and the bright rays of a sun long forgotten shone upon the dazzled pegasi. There wasn’t a cloud for a mile, the air was still, dew droplets glistened on armor as ice melted in the light of the sun, not a sound permeated the stillness, and looks of awe overtook each pony as the fatal mistake was made, and the cats closed in for the kill. With a blast of wind that would have particalized any balloon foolish enough to even think of it, a blast of sleet colder than the hearts of the spirits that cast them, the sun abandoned the now helpless pegasi. The force was unheard of, such power never felt before, and almost immediately, the formation flew into ten pieces. Pegasi and the pieces of their comrades unfortunate enough to be caught on the leading side of the gust tumbled out of control, the cloud banks laughing, thunderous booms in the perpetual storm. The sky back to its roiling gray death bringing condition. Commander Hurricane acted quickly, extending her frozen wings to their fullest extent and pointing against the wind, flapping with all her might and pulled out of the deadly suction. Her small accomplishment filled her mind for an instant with pride, but she shook her head and began looking for her guards. She spotted only five guards tumbling through the vicious storm, when evidence of one of the missing guards flew past her, missing by mere inches, the gaping head of her point pony. She reeled away from the ghastly sight and focused on the job at hand. As if to torment her further, booms rang out as lighting cracked the sky above her and three of the remaining five guards erupted into smoke and fire, bodies instantly combusting, their screams taken by the howling wind. She pushed even harder, reaching the first survivor, Loyal Blade who had a gash running down the left side of her flank and a severe bruise growing on her left wing joint, blood swelling the area to twice it's normal size. Acting quickly, she nudged him into a recovery position and activated years of training as he automatically readjusted his flight path to face into the now normal storm. Next she had to find Second Wind, who she had last seen taking a crushing gust of wind into her back sending her tumbling up into the upper storm clouds. "Get ready!", she called out. "Acknowledged", came the dazed reply. They charged through the clouds above them and caught sight of the out of control pegasus as she spun dangerously close to an updraft that would surely send her beyond the point a pony could safely breathe the atmosphere. She rode a draft into Second Wind's path and kicked her limp form awake and into a recovery position, allowing her to peel of in time avoiding the updraft by so little, that it tore at the manes of the three pegasi. “Fall on my course, we’re going home.”, she said to the weary survivors of her depleted guard. ______________________________________________________________________ The armor clad pegasus told her timid friend the story of the previous scene, using as much gusto as she could, before declaring the same verdict that the other pairs had or would come too in their parts. ______________________________________________________________________ Commander Hurricane banked past a dark storm cloud to come upon the spectacle of her once grand city in the clouds. Elegant marble structures stood on clouds white as the snow that now covered everything. Firelight gleamed dully from the largest building in the center of the city. They headed for it, making for the promise of a warm rest. Pegasi milling about completing the duties assigned to them wearily snapped to attention as the trio past, not even questioning the loss of six in their number. Zooming past both derelict and repaired buildings, Hurricane pondered the situation of her people and came to a conclusion she was going to deliver to the waiting Senate. Coming in for a landing, she touched down while her guards found creative ways of stopping themselves with the floor of the pavilion. Medics immediately rushed over and dragged the gasping pegasi away. Hurricane simply ignored Pvt. Pansi as she nudged the commander's beat up frame towards the direction the of other medics who were treating the guards as they went into shock. Instead she faced the group of pegasi dressed in elaborate robes seated side by side in rows leading up to form a circle in which the commander now walked into and declared to all there her grim news. “Faithful pegasi! I bring tidings of indifference from the frivolous unicorns and those shameless earth ponies! They spat on our glory!” this pronouncement brought forth cries of rage and revenge from the crowd, “Now we must act on our own! Since these storms appear to have no end, and all attempts to stop them have failed miserably, I call that we move from this forsaken land to somewhere new!” Cheers and whoops filled the Senate, and plans for flight patterns and paths were started, maps were brought out, and a feeling of malice began taking in the commander of the pegasi. ______________________________________________________________________ The wendigos neighed in malicious pleasure at the success of their endeavor. The headstrong commander had blamed the deaths of her guards on the other nations. Everything was coming together better than anything the spirits could have hoped for. Their master was going to be very pleased.