//------------------------------// // Ch. 6: This is Fun? // Story: The Storm is Here! // by UnKnownSalvation //------------------------------// Ch. 6 This is Fun? About an hour later, Brutus found us still at the restaurant and as quite a surprise, had the always silent Slipstream in tow. I still don't know exactly what he did to get him to come along. "Hey Storm, we've been looking for you since you left to find Fate," Brutus informed me. "Did you find hi... Hohoho! What do we have here?" Brutus asked with a sly grin on his face. "Storm you sly dog, who's the lovely mare with you?" "Brutus, this is Sun Gleam," I said trying my hardest to keep a straight face. Spoiler; I failed. "Sun Gleam, eh?" Brutus asked with curiosity. "How long have you known my buddy?" "Less than eight hours," Sun Gleam said with a sly smile as she decided to play along. I just tried not to make eye contact with either of them. "I hope he's treating you well," Brutus said to Sun Gleam. "He bought me dinner if it's any indication," She responded with her face still full of mischief, as she knew she was tormenting me in some way. "Sun Gleam! Can you come here and help?" A male voice came from the kitchen. "Coming, Dad!" Gleam ran for the kitchen to help with whatever chore she was needed for. As Sun made her way into the kitchen, it was just me, Slipstream and Brutus, before my friend spoke once more. "So, did you manage to find Hidden Fate?" I thought it over for about twenty seconds while they both sat down with Brutus sitting next to me, albeit with a lot of difficulty, and Slip sitting across from me. Eventually I just figured I'd be straight with them. "Don't be too loud but," I began with a sigh. "You just saw him... or rather her," I said with the straightest face I could. "Oh okay," It didn't set in right away for Brutus but he eventually caught up. "Wh-what?" Even Slip looked at me like I was lying. "Please tell me you're just messing with us," Brutus said to me, hoping that I was yanking his chains. I'll admit that their reaction was expected but I wish I had a camera to capture their disbelief. "Nope," I said chuckling. "I'm completely serious." "...I don't believe it," Brutus uttered with amazement. "To think that you're marefriend was amongst us all this time." "She's not my marefriend!" I objected. "Yet!" Brutus responded. "There's always a yet!" "What makes you think I like her like that?!" I demanded, all the while feeling blood rushing through my head. "You're eating out with her," Brutus pointed out. "What other reasons do I need?" "I was just being a good friend, that's all," I insisted. "That line just dug an even bigger hole for you," Brutus said with a smug look of victory. "I hope you fall off a four story building..." I said darkly as I looked out the window. "Alright, I play along with you for now..." Brutus began. "But don't worry about Slipstream and I revealing her secret to anypony. Our lips are sealed," Slipstream nodded his head in response, confirming Brutus' claim. "I know his are because he doesn't say anything!" I said as I pointed to Slip who looked instantly annoyed... more annoyed with my presence and what I just said. "Calm down there, Slipstream. Just give Storm a chance," Brutus calmly said to the silent pony. Slip only gave me an angry glare. He still wasn't happy with what happened. Can't say I blame him. 'They say first impressions mean everything. Whatever the hell I did wasn't the best of them,' I thought to myself. "Am I interrupting anything?" a certain mare spoke, causing me to snap back into reality and saw Sun Gleam right behind me. "Nope. Just Storm and Slipstream having a staring contest," Brutus joked at the death glare that Slip was giving me. "Alright, if you say so," said Sun Gleam, somewhat suspicious of Brutus' claims. "Anyway, are you two going to take Storm to The Orchard?" Sun Gleam asked nonchalantly. "That's why we're here. We also came to get our new friend Fate as well but it looks like Storm lost him," Brutus said with a shrug, thankfully deciding not to mention that I told him what I did. "Well, I hope you boys have fun at The Orchard," Sun Gleam said with a smile. "You're coming with us!" Brutus said with a hearty chuckle. "What?!" Sun and I said in unison. "You're joking, right?" Sun nervously asked the earth pony. "Nope... Fate," Brutus said with a smug look on his face. "Dammit..." I said as I put my head down to prepare for the hell that was on the way. "What did you do?!" Sun Gleam demanded, before she grabbed the collar from my shirt and I ended up staring right at her eyes. My mind went blank. I hadn't seen any mare this scary since my mother when she got mad. But before I could come up with something, Brutus spoke once more, much to my horror. "He kind of gave Slip and I a hint of your identity. It took a while, but we manage to understand what he was talking about," That didn't help... Now she was pissed that I was giving out hints. "You...WHAT?!" Sun Gleam shouted, becoming much ferocious than she was before. Now everyone in the restaurant was looking in this direction. And I still had no idea what to say! Let me put into perspective of how awkward this situation was. There was an eighteen year-old mare screaming in my face in anger, holding me by the collars of my shirt and hoodie, bring my face about two, maybe less, inches from her face, and now the entirety of the restaurant has a "What the hell?" face going on. 'How did I get myself into this damn mess?' I frantically thought, as I felt my head and hands sweating like mad. Eventually she noticed the rest of the restaurant and eventually calmed down... though she still was understandably pissed. "Storm..." Sun Gleam began. "You and I are going to have a long talk when my work shift is over," Sun Gleam walked away to go back into the kitchen. "Anywhere. Please just take me anywhere but here," I finally managed to get out. Brutus, along with Slip, followed me out as well, before the former finally caught up with me, as he put his hand on my shoulder. "Easy there, Storm. Just calm down and take a deep breath. Couple spats like this always tends to erupt like that," In response, I took Brutus hand off of my shoulder, before I turned around and face the earth pony. "First of all, Sun Gleam and I are NOT a couple! Second, you made the situation much worse than it already has! You couldn't keep it too yourself! You just had to say something about it!" I finished. "You're one to talk!" Brutus responded. "What's that supposed to mean?!" I demanded. "If you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have been able to say it!" Brutus reasoned. "I was hoping you wouldn't open that big mouth of yours!" I retorted. "You even said that you weren't going to say anything!" "Oh really?" Brutus asked sarcastically. "If I remember correctly, I said I wouldn't reveal her secret to anyone else. Me telling the secret to the mare that owns the secret isn't exactly going against my word," I couldn't believe it. I lost an argument on a freaking technicality! "Alright Brutus, you made your point," I grudgingly admitted. "Look I know you're mad about what I did but don't worry about it," Brutus said calmly which started to get me to calm down. "Tonight we're gonna have fun and if you don't then I'm gonna kick your ass till you do," Brutus said this in such a calm demeanor that it was by far the most intimidating thing to come out of his mouth yet. "I hope that's the case," I muttered under my breath. "As long as I don't see Sun Gleam, then I'm fine with that," "We're still bringing her," Brutus said sternly, causing me to groan. "What?" I threw my hand to my face and looked to the sky. "Why?" "Don't be overdramatic, Storm," Brutus nonchalantly said to me. "I'm sure she'll calm down eventually." "Fine," I finally accepted. "Good!" Brutus said happily. "Now we all need to get ready for a fun time," Brutus pulled out a piece of paper before ripping it up into three pieces and then writing on them. After that he handed them to me and Slip. "Be at this address at eight! I'll see you two there!" Brutus said before he walked back into the restaurant to give Sun hers, leaving me with Slipstream. "This is going to be a long night," I said out loud. I turned to look at Slip who just turned and walked away. "See ya tonight... I guess," I said to him as he took off into the sky. Suddenly a bad smell hit my nose. I took a sniff of my armpit and found out it was me. "I should probably go take a shower now," I turned in the direction of home and took off. It took quite a while, but I finally made my way home, if only just to get a quick shower before meeting up with Brutus and everyone else at The Orchard. "Home sweet home," I said cheerfully, before I made my way to the front door. I saw a note on the door from Mom. 'Son; Went to get groceries; be back soon,' I check the door handle to see she locked the door. 'No problem,' I thought as I pulled out of my backpack two thin pieces of metal. 'Not the first time I've broken into my own home,' it took me at least a few minutes, but I manage to unlock the front door and made my way inside. At lease there, I'm safe from Sun's wrath for the moment. I went upstairs and made a beeline for the shower. Once I manage to clean myself, I then put my old clothes in the basket and check my closet to get some new clothes just as the sun was setting in. I threw on my best "do I look like I care?" clothes before opened the front door and headed out. I made my way back to the city and not surprisingly, some ponies were out and about, having a fun time, much more than they were during the day. I took off for the address and after about a half hour found it. I landed on a rooftop across the street before taking a good look at the place. Not only was it bright and colorful enough to be seen from space but the amount of ponies trying to get in was amazing. They were all dressed up like they didn't care what anyone thought of them which made me feel better as I could blend in better if I needed to. The booming music may have been muffled but it was still amazingly loud. I took a look at the surrounding area before realizing I was in the lower part of the city where all the ponies that didn't have the fortunes that others did to live in the higher end. "I wonder where Brutus, Sun, and Slip are," I pondered, until I shuddered the moment I mention the mare's name. I really prayed that she cooled down, just as Brutus claimed. I then looked down to the street below to see them coming up to the line. Brutus was wearing something close to what he wore earlier in the day only now a light gray vest and jeans. Slip looked like all he changed was his pants but Sun Gleam was wearing a short red and orange one-piece dress. I took off from the rooftop to greet them. "Hey Storm, you're looking sharp," Brutus happily said. "Not really..." I said as I examined myself. It was only a red t-shirt with wind designs under an unzipped black hoodie with white symbols on the back and some jeans. "It's not like it's any different from what I normally wear. "At least it suits you more than that outfit you wore for the tryouts." Brutus informed me. "You think so?" I asked as it wasn't my favorite clothing combo but if it works, it works. "Of course I do!" the earth pony assured me, before he gave me a sly smile. "After all, you want to impress that marefriend of yours." Now he was just doing this on purpose to get me into trouble. "I think the look suit you well, Storm," I turned around and saw Sun right behind me, surprising me in the process, before I tried to regain my composure. "You're not still mad, are ya?" I asked wearily. "No, I got over it after a while," Sun said peacefully. "It's for the best anyway. You guys would have found out eventually." "That's a relief," I said to myself. "So, are we cool now?" "Don't push your luck," Sun darkly informed me. "Yeah, I thought as much," I said with a sigh and a smile. I was just glad I didn't have to keep looking over my shoulders. "But seriously, let's have a good time," Sun suggested. "You heard her, Storm. Let's enjoy ourselves while the night is young!" Brutus proclaimed out loud. The entirety of the line shouted in agreement which I thought was amazing at the time though even though I've only known him for a short time, Brutus seems to just bring the fun out of others. He was right; I should enjoy myself for the moment while I have the chance and one I don't want to miss out at as the four of us waited in line which was actually going at a pretty fast rate as the bouncers really didn't seem to deny entry to anyone, unless they were really bad and really obnoxious. Eventually, it was our turn, as the bouncers inspected us with serious intent, checking us out if we were either in or out. Eventually he gave a nod and a "not bad" face before letting us in. I sighed with relief, glad that my pals and I were able to make our way inside The Orchard. We walked in and just like I thought, the music that you could hear from the other side of town with the doors shut turned into the most deafening sound ever. I also saw every pony from around the corner, from drinking to dancing, all having a fun time with no care in the world. The dub step music was blaring and I could tell it was going to be fun. The lights were bright as hell if they pointed at you but when they didn't it was surprisingly dark with a strange purple hue around everything. "Hey Storm, want to get something to drink before we head to the dance floor?" Brutus asked as loud as he could. "Sure!" I shouted back. Satisfied to hear this, Brutus and I made out to the bar, as we sat down before the bartender turned around and noticed our presence. "How may I help you two gentlecolts on this fine evening?" He spoke with a weirdly polite demeanor which didn't seem to fit the area around us. "Hey Storm, are you going to order something or are you going to gawk at him?" Brutus whispered to me. "Oh I'll take a cider, I guess," I said as I regained composure. "Give me the strongest drink this club has to offer," Brutus ordered. I chuckled at that. It's probably the only thing that could get him even a little tipsy. "Alright, I'll be back with your drinks," the bartender informed us. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a few bits before sitting down next to Brutus. "Enjoying yourself so far, Storm?" asked the earth pony. "I'm still thinking about it," I admitted. "We just got here after all." "Don't think too hard. Just relax and be casual," Brutus suggested to me. I loosened up as the bartender came back with our drinks. "Enjoy your drinks, boys," said the bartender, as he handed our drinks to us, before turning his attention to Brutus. "Be careful with that one. It goes straight up to your head," We both gave the guy our bits and each took a drink. The first thing I noticed wasn't the taste or the texture. No; it was more like a burning sensation. "What the?" was all I could say as I quickly gulped what was in my mouth down and felt the burn go down my throat. I stared at my drink till I heard a laugh come from Brutus. "Looks like this is your first time drinking, huh?" Brutus as he put his drink down. "Why does my mouth burn?" I asked as the music started to quiet down for the next set. "Don't worry too much about it, Storm. It'll go away eventually," the earth pony attempted to assure me. "No thanks," I said plainly with a smile as I put the drink down and stood up. "Common sense tells me if it hurts, don't do it again." "Well, more for me then," Brutus said with a chuckle, before gulping down his drink. I left as Brutus prepared to get drunk, though he probably had a round-the-clock liver given how big he was. As I wander around the club, I saw Slip head to where Brutus was and started to drink next to him. 'At least he's not a grouch for a change,' I thought to myself. I then spotted Sun Gleam dancing on the dance floor, enjoying herself and having fun. "I haven't seen you before," a voice spoke out of the blue, prompting me to turn around and saw a pony of sorts in front of me, talking to Sun Gleam. He had dark gray fur with a black mane and tail. He wore a dark purple shirt with holes for his bat wings, gray jeans, and flip-flops. He seemed to have piercing orange bat eyes that could prove intimidating to some. "Sorry if I was bothering you. It's just that I mostly recognize every single patron from this club, but you certainly stick out like a sore thumb," "Should I take that as a compliment or an insult?" Sun asked while still dancing. "I'm just saying it as it is. By the way, the name's Umbra," the bat pony finally introduced himself to Sun. "Don't care really," Sun Gleam said as I got closer while dancing to blend in. "So you're not going to tell me your name then?" Umbra asked out of curiosity. "Why should I? You just seem like an ego driven, false playcolt, with no real direction in life besides chasing whatever tail you see." "Alright, now that's just plain rude," Umbra flatly responded. "I'm here to enjoy myself; not to make friends," Sun coldly responded. "Suit yourself then," said Umbra, before he walked to the opposite direction. 'For some pony named after something that brings warmth, Gleam can be really cold if she doesn't like you.' I thought to myself Umbra walked on by me. The bat pony then suddenly stopped in his tracks, before turning his attention towards me, much to my curiosity. He must have noticed me having a interest in what was going on around Sun Gleam. "If you're trying to hit on that mare, well, good luck with that." "Yeah I saw that," I chuckled. "That wasn't pretty." "I know what you mean. I was just trying to start a friendly chat with her, that's all," Umbra started to chuckle when we heard screaming over our shoulders and saw a pegasus and an earth pony attacking a unicorn. "What's going on there?" asked the bat pony. "I don't know, but it doesn't sound good," I responded. We both ran over and tried to pry them off of the unicorn before they turned and started to attack us. "Hey! We're just trying to help you guys out!" Umbra tried to reason with them, as he dodged one of their attacks. I blocked a jab before delivering one of my own. Likewise, Umbra performed a few jabs on the pegasus, before performing an uppercut on him as hard as he could. Another pony ran at us before I blocked one of his punches and Umbra countered with a punch to the face. "You okay, friend?" the bat pony asked with genuine concern. "I'm fine, thanks," I responded, grateful for Umbra's help. "Geez, Storm!" Brutus said as he and Slip came over. "I leave you for five minutes and you've already gotten into a fight?" I shrugged before Umbra grabbed his head in pain. "What the hell is going on here?!" Sun demanded from me as she came over. Umbra shook off his headache or whatever he was just having when suddenly every pony in the room, minus the unicorns, Slip, Brutus, and I suddenly went and grabbed their heads as if they just got a massive migraine. "What just happened?" Brutus asked no pony in particular. "A better question would be," Sun began. "What's going to happen?" "I don't know about you..." Umbra began, as he put himself in a fighting position. "But I say we need to get ready for a fight!" "Agreed," I said as the ponies either ran or limped along like only a few could attack at a time. Soon, me, Sun, Brutus, Slip and Umbra began to beat up our attackers, leaving a trail of broken teeth, bloody noses and black eyes along the way. As I made my way across the dance floor, fighting with literally anything I could find and at times using other hapless idiots as meat shields, I somehow managed to get onto the DJ stage. "Hey you!" I heard a female voice behind me. She had white fur with cobalt blue mane with cyan stripes. She had dark purple sunglasses on while wearing ripped jeans and a tank top. "What the hell is going on here?!" Suddenly, Brutus made his way onto the stage as well after taking out five stallions by himself with his raw strength. Before I could answer I saw Umbra and Sun Gleam over the DJ's table backing up as another mob of about ten ponies approached them. I ran to the back of the stage before preparing for something stupid. "Brutus!" I shouted as I got ready. "Flip the table when I tell you!" I then immediately ran towards the DJ's table and jumped over it laughing maniacally, landing and knocking down the mob. I grabbed my re-injured stomach as I rolled off the group before signaling to Brutus. "NOW!" Brutus immediately flipped the table almost effortlessly, causing all the equipment and the table to fall on the ponies below. "All my equipment!" the DJ shouted as she saw all her stuff destroyed. "Well, that's going to leave a mark," Umbra commented on the carnage. "Let's just pray that they manage to survive that," I stated out loud. "Guys, I don't want to interrupt your conversations, but more are coming this way!" Brutus warned us. Suddenly, Slip ran by and grabbed a chair. Slip planted the chair and catapulted himself over it, delivering an ax-kick to one of the ponies before landing and smashing the chair of the heads of two others. He then took the only two pieces of the chair that didn't explode into shrapnel and started whipping ass with them, dodging and countering to take out eight more ponies in about ten seconds flat. All of us just looked on in amazement. "Celestia damn," Brutus finally spoke, clearly impressed by the silent pony's actions. "That's an understatement," I remarked. At that moment, I saw another rampaging pony rushing towards me. "Oh boy," I muttered, before I leaped up and planted my foot on his face. Just before he fell onto his back, I jumped off his head and landed on two more ponies that were coming towards us. "This keeps getting better," I muttered under my breath. I looked up and saw two of the bouncers heading right towards me. They were the size of Brutus who I can barely take on in a one-on-one fight. "Don't worry, Storm! Help's here!" Brutus shouted, as the earth pony bulldozed his way towards the bouncer. The other one I could nothing more than just dodge as most of my attacks were like me throwing milk duds at him. Suddenly, out of the blue, Sun Gleam showed up and grabbed the brute's arm with her magic and threw him across the room. I stopped dead in my tracks, astonished by how strong she really is. "Stop gawking, Storm!" Sun Gleam shouted. "You heard the lady. This is no time for distractions," I turned around and saw Umbra right behind me. Though right after he got up to me, all five of us started to get pushed back as we were starting to get surrounded. "They just keep coming right at us!" Umbra shouted out loud. "Really? I couldn't tell," Sun responded sarcastically. "How many ponies are in this building?!" I asked in disbelief. I bumped into Slip who turned around and punched me in the jaw, sending me to one knee "Ow! What the hell was that for?!" I demanded, as I rubbed my sore jaw. I looked up to see a smug face on his face. "Yo, asshole; can you kick my ass when we're not under attack!" "Knock it off, you two! Save the arguments for later!" Brutus admonished us. "Brutus is right; we need to focus what's happening right now," Sun insisted. Suddenly, the doors to the club slammed open and guards covered in gold or mythril armor and started to take control of the situation as we took down any that were still trying to attack us. "Thank goodness the Calvary has come to save the day," said Umbra, as he knocked one pony to the ground. "Nice to see you too, Private Umbra," The bat pony commander said. All four of us were shocked. "Private Umbra?" I asked with incredulous. He rubbed his head sheepishly as he chuckled. "Yep. That's me alright." "I never expect somepony like you to be part of the Royal Guards," Brutus commented. "You'd be surprised the characters that can get through the cracks," Umbra joked. "Attention!" We heard as Valiant Knight arrived on the scene. The five of us all saluted as he came to us. "What happened here?" Valiant Knight demanded. All five of us were silent, unsure of what to say. We really didn't know what happened. After what felt like a long time, Umbra finally spoke up among us. "Sir, most of the patrons began to attack with no clear consciousness, as if their minds were somewhere else," Umbra reported. "And you're basing this on?" Valiant gave a cold disbelieving look. "They were like zombies," I spoke up. "They all just lumbered around except for a few at a time who seemed to just suddenly get the urge to run at us," Valiant took a look around to the unicorns that had been hiding on the DJ stage were being escorted to safety. I continued as he looked back to me. "If it hadn't been for the fact that they moved so slow and acted so mindlessly, we'd probably wouldn't be alive right now," He then made an observation. "How is it that you four are the only non-unicorns that didn't become like the rest?" Valiant asked. The question baffled us. 'Why weren't we like the others?' Only now did we actually stop to think about it. "Honestly, we really don't know, sir," I genuinely replied. Valiant looked us over for a second before speaking. "Umbra, I want you to fill out a full report on what transpired here," He ordered. It was clear from the look on his face that Umbra didn't want to but he kept his mouth shut and saluted. "The rest of you, go home and rest up. We can handle things here and you need to get ready for your training begins soon. Dismissed!" Valiant ordered as we all saluted. He walked to help the rest of the guards control the situation and help the injured. "So much for a good evening," Brutus muttered. "At least it was eventful," I joked. "We just survive a possible massacre and you're joking at a time like this?" Sun scolded me, before she punched my arm. "Ow..." I groaned as I rubbed my arm. Mare can punch! "Not a good way to impress her," Brutus jokingly said to me. "Shut up," I said plainly. "You'll get over it," said Brutus. "Anyway!" Umbra said happily. "It's been a pleasure to meet all of you. Next time, let's not get into an all-out fight at the clubs," He said this with a pretty chipper tone. "Agreed," we all said in unison. Slip just kinda nodded. Umbra left to go do... whatever, leaving the rest of us. "Well," Brutus said as he stretched. "He said we were dismissed. I'm gonna head home." "Same here," said Sun. "I need to take a good shower when I get back," We all agreed that we wanted to just go home and rest after the... oddness of what had just transpired. "I sure hope that's the last time something like this ever happens," I said to my friends as I scratched my head. Oh you wish, bitch. Hell's got a message; It's coming for you!