//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Broken Promises // Story: Fate is Cruel // by TerroroftheEverfree //------------------------------// Endless Storm was an average pegasus stallion from Ponyville. He had a beige coat and a blonde mane and tail. He may not have had many friends, but he didn't care too much. Even if he hadn't seen her in awhile, he had a sister who cared about him and that's all he needed. It may have been two years since they last saw each other, but they made a promise that they would see each other again someday, and that was all Storm needed to know to keep him happy. However, one event was all it took to change his life forever. It was an ordinary day in Ponyville, the sun was shining, the sky was clear and Endless Storm was left with nothing to do. He had gotten his work done early, clearing the sky much quicker with the help of the other weather ponies. He sat there for awhile, wondering what he could possibly do on such a boring day. He finally decided to turn on the tv, thinking he might find something interesting to watch. The news was on, and by the look on the reporter's face he could tell something terrible had happened. Curious about what it could've been, he continued watching. "Three of the Manehattan weather ponies were killed today by a thunderstorm that they lost control of." Storm instantly became concerned. He always worried when other pegasi got hurt, even if he didn't know them. The reporter named off three ponies, but only one name caught Storm's attention. "... and finally, Magma Storm." The reporter said. Storm could've sworn his heart stopped right then and there. "My sister? No, that's not true... Maybe I misheard the report or something." He said, trying to find every possibility to prove that his sister was okay. He calmed down slightly, and continued listening to the report. "Their families will be notified as soon as possible." The reporter announced, and with that, Storm shut off the tv, unable to watch anymore. As if on cue, there was a knock on the door. He knew exactly what it was about, and he didn't want to answer the door. He knew he had no choice, so he took a deep breath, walked to the door, and opened it slowly. Standing there was a grey pegasus with a blonde mane and tail. If he remembered correctly, her name was Derpy Hooves. Even with her unusual eyes, she still had a look on her face almost more serious than Storm's. "Are you Endless Storm?" She asked. Storm simply nodded in response. "Y-you're here about my sister, aren't you?" He asked nervously, the sadness obviously showing in his voice. The mare gave a similar response to the one Storm had, just silently nodding. There was no denying it anymore, his older sister, the only pony he ever cared about was gone and there was nothing he could do about it. Overcome by sadness, he didn't even think, just hugged the mare and cried. He would worry about how strange it was later, for the time being he was too sad to care. The mare hugged him back, like he assumed she had been doing all day for other ponies. It would explain why her coat was wet in some places. After a minute of just hugging the mare and crying, he let go and backed up a bit. The mare waved at him, neither of them wanting to say a word, then flew off. Storm shut the door behind the mare, then walked back to the couch. Once he was there, he just collapsed and began crying more than he had when the mare had been there. "It's not fair... She was the only one... I ever cared about... Now she's gone and I didn't even get to say goodbye." He said to nopony but himself, occasionally stopping for what seemed like no reason. "I suppose... She would want me to move on, right? She always wanted to see me happy." He said, still just talking to himself. He knew that that wasn't going to happen, but he had to at least try. He thought the best thing to do for the time being was to go to Manehattan, and figure out when the funeral was so that he could be there to say goodbye to her, even if he was too late. He would also have to stop by Cloudsdale to see his parents, to make sure they knew what happened. He stood up, wiped the tears from his eyes, and headed for the front door. Once he got outside, he walked to the balloon that brought ponies to Cloudsdale. Normally he would just fly there, but this time he just couldn't. As he walked up to the pony who controlled the balloon, he could only hope he didn't get questioned about the fact that he had clearly just been crying. "Hey kid, you okay?" The pony asked. It was clear that h hadn't heard about what happened yet. "I'm fine... Just, take me to Cloudsdale... I have some ponies to meet up with there." Storm answered. The pony decided not to question him any further, just letting Storm onto the balloon and then taking off. The entire time Storm was forced to fight back tears, no matter how difficult it was. Once they reached Cloudsdale, Storm thanked the pony and got off the balloon and into the cloud city. He walked through town, avoiding eye contact with anypony and taking the quickest route to his parents' house. When he reached the house, he knocked on the door, getting an answer from his dad. A blue pegasus with a mane and tail similar to Storm's. Usually Storm's dad was always smiling, making jokes, and just all around having fun. For once, things had changed completely. It appeared as if he had been crying just as much as Storm, and he couldn't even fake a smile anymore. "I suppose you heard what happened... Come in." He said weakly. "Your mom and I were just about to go to Manehattan, the funeral is in a few days." He explained. Hearing that, Storm completely broke down again. It must've been a strange sight for both of them. Storm rarely saw his dad cry and his dad had never seen him break down like that. The two of them sat there in silence mostly, the only sound being that of Storm's crying. Finally, Storm pulled himself up off the floor, and stopped crying for long enough to ask at least one question. "W-where's m-mom?" He asked,still stuttering with almost everything he said. "She's out getting clothes for the three of us. Luckily she knew you would be coming." His dad answered. Storm didn't question how his mom knew about him coming, seeing as it had happened quite a few times before. After a bit more of the awkward silence, Storm's mom finally walked in. "Oh, Endless you're here already." She said. It was much harder to tell that she had been crying, but Storm knew her well enough to see it clearly that she was sad. "Well, I think we should start heading for Manehattan then, now that we're all together." She said. The three of them left the house, headed towards the balloon Storm had just been on. It had already returned to Ponyville, so they had to fly down to Ponyville instead, even if it was difficult for Storm. Once they were there, they got on the train and headed for Manehattan. Magma... You promised you would never leave me... You promised that we would see each other again... You promised. Storm thought.