//------------------------------// // 3. Rolling Storm // Story: Soldier of the Night // by Skyfire Storm //------------------------------// It was an average summer afternoon in Gryffsvale, and while it wasn't especially hot, the humidity got very unpleasant at times; the temperature on that day peaked at 96 degrees, which allowed the townsfolk to head out to the park or to visit the public pool. After finishing school for the week, Stormfire, Rainwynd, and Sharpbeak headed off to the park to play a game of tag, which was a favorite pastime of theirs and once it got too hot, they were planning on going to the ice cream stand. "You're 'it', Storm!" shouted Rainwynd, tapping him on the shoulder lightly and running away towards some trees. Storm chuckled to himself and trotted after her, but not before being tapped on the back by something. Or someone, that is. He turned around to see what tapped him and noticed Sharpbeak standing in front of him, giggling uncontrollably. "Come get me, Storm!" he shouted, before running towards some bushes. Storm chuckled to himself. He knew that Sharpbeak wasn't very fast and was easy to get, so he trotted after the Gryphon, who headed for the nearest tall tree in order to escape. Meanwhile, Rainwynd was up another tall tree and was watching Storm chase Sharp around the park. "Go Storm, go! Go Storm, go!" she chanted repeatedly, doing so quietly in order to not be heard by Storm. Meanwhile, Storm chased Sharpbeak into a corner of the park, and while Sharpbeak could fly and easily get out of the park, the walls surrounding them were a bit too tall for him to fly over and escape. "Nowhere to run now, Sharpie..." said Storm, slowly closing in on him. Sharp wanted to go around him but he knew he was too slow and that Storm would catch him in an instant. It seemed like the end was near for Sharp, who knew that he would be caught eventually by Storm. "Dude... I'll give you all my hoofball magazines... all my toys, all my video games, no wait, not all my video games. Most of them are way too valuable. Just please, don't tag me!" Sharpbeak pleaded. Storm simply shook his head and continued to near him. Just then... "HEY STORM!" shouted Sharpbeak, pointing to behind Storm. "What the hell is that?!" Storm immediately turned around to see what Sharpbeak was talking about, however he saw nothing, and when he turned around, Sharpbeak was gone. Storm turned around again to see where he could have went and his jaw dropped when he saw him flying towards some trees. "Sharpbeak, get back here you cheat!" shouted Storm, knowing that in a game of tag, flying was out of the question. Sharpbeak simply turned around and stuck out his tongue at him, before taking a sharp left and going between the trees. Storm grumbled and ran up towards him, flapping his wings as fast as he could. Eventually, he managed to take off into the air and follow him. "Come back here, you cheater!" shouted Storm, flying in between the same trees that Sharpbeak flew past. Sharpbeak turned around and grinned slyly at him, before landing on the same tree where Rainwynd was hiding. Storm chuckled to himself and aimed towards their tree. Suddenly, he lost control of himself and spiraled down towards a tree branch. "AAAAHHH!" he shouted as he fell towards the branch. "Stormfire!" shouted Rainwynd. "I'll get him!" shouted Sharpbeak, taking off from the tree branch the two were perched on and flying towards Storm, who tried his hardest to regain control of his flight and miss the branch. But it was too late for that. Storm hit the branch and was knocked out cold. "Ugh..." he groaned and opened his eyes. He looked around, confused about where he is, but then he noticed a picture of his mother and some stallion, which he presumed to be his father hanging on the wall. "I'm back home..." he realized. "What the hell happened to me?" Storm then got up and walked towards the door, but then he felt something trickle down his head. Am I bleeding or something? he asked himself, before trotting to the bathroom as fast as he could and looking in the mirror. He had a wet cloth on his forehead, with something red pouring out from behind it. He shivered slightly as he looked at it. I am bleeding... he thought to himself as he looked at the red fluid. But what exactly happened to make him bleed? "Mooom!" he shouted. "Can you come downstairs son?" his mom, who was cooking dinner downstairs, replied. Storm did as he was asked and trotted into the kitchen, where she was preparing hay fries and a tomato and lettuce salad. Rainwynd and Sharpbeak were sitting at the table. "Hey guys." Storm said as he walked into the kitchen. "Hey son. I'm so glad you're okay." replied Equinox, who nuzzled him. "What happened to me, mom?" Storm asked, pointing at the makeshift bandage on his head. "You fell onto a tree branch, Storm." said Sharpbeak. "Yeah, you were knocked out cold..." explained Rainwynd. "What the hay were you doing up a tree anyways?" asked his mom, now cross. "Don't you know it's dangerous to be up so high?" "I was trying to catch Sharpbeak, who was flying away from me..." Storm replied, before turning and glaring at Sharpbeak. "Sorry, mom. Next time, I won't go up so high." "Yeah, about that..." begun Sharp, looking guilty. "Sorry." "It's okay..." replied Storm, giving him a comforting smile. "Next time, just don't fly... because I can't." "What do you mean you can't?" asked Rainwynd. "I've seen you fly before, Storm. You're amazing." "No, I am not! Okay?!" Storm shouted at Rainwynd, who hid underneath the table. He sighed slightly. "Look, Rain..." he begun. "I never was good at flying... and I never will be." "Oh, sweetie..." his mom said, hugging him. "You are good at flying. You just need to concentrate and try your best." "Storm, maybe you're just not trying hard enough." said Sharpbeak. "No, Sharpbeak. I tried my hardest... I've been trying my hardest for the past five years, and I've gotten nowhere." he explained, shedding a few tears and hugging his mother. Most Pegasi would learn to fly at age five or so and would become professional fliers at age six or seven, however there were some exceptions and Storm was one of them. He had flying lessons every summer break since his fifth birthday and so far, he hasn't really gotten anywhere. Some of the best flight teachers in Gryffsvale were hired to teach Storm how to fly, but they weren't much help. The only pony who could truly teach him how to fly was his dad, who was still away on his "business trip". This was the longest business trip Storm had ever heard of. "Where's daddy, mommy?" asked Storm, crying into her coat. "Why isn't he here to teach me?" Equinox Moon sighed and shed a tear of her own. She finally realized that the "business trip" excuse wasn't going to work much longer and Storm was going to find out one day what really happened to Blaze. It was time to tell him the truth. "I'll tell you where he is after we finish eating, okay?" she asked. Storm simply nodded in reply and continued to cry into her coat. She nuzzled him gently and sighed. Why did I keep the truth hidden from you so long, son? I'm a horrible mother. An hour later, Storm and Equinox had finished eating their dinner and while Storm went upstairs to play in his room, Equinox washed all the dishes and cutlery. Storm was in his room reading a magazine about ice hockey, which happened to be one of Storm's personal favorite sports. Just then, somepony knocked on the door. "Come in!" said Storm. Just then, Equinox opened the door and walked into the room. "Hey son." she said, smiling. "What are you reading?" "Ice Hockey Elite magazine." Storm explained. "I bought it yesterday at the store. It has the results of the latest game between Gryffsvale and Gryfino." "Really? Who won?" Equinox asked. "Gryfino 2-1." replied Storm. "It's a real shame, 'cause Gryffsvale has better players." "I guess so. Can I talk to you for a second?" she asked, a slight glare forming on her face, which was enough for Storm to notice. "Did I do anything wrong, mom?" he asked, putting down the magazine. "No no, you didn't." she replied, the glare being replaced by her usual, warm smile. She sat down on Storm's bed and sighed a sad sigh. "I want to tell you something, son." "Yeah?" he asked. "It's...it's about why your dad hasn't come home." She replied, her smile forming into a sad glare. "Mom... what's wrong?" Storm asked, putting his hoof on her shoulder. She turned to face him and gave him a sad grin, before sighing again. "He's dead, Stormfire." she explained, tears beginning to surge down her face. Storm's jaw dropped and his world came to a crashing halt. "He's been dead for the past ten years..." Storm's heart literally skipped a beat after hearing his mom's statement. Back in third grade Storm realized that his dad has been away for way too long on his "business trips", but his mom had explained to him that he's a businesspony who travels the world, which calmed him down noticeably. But that was all a lie. He was no businesspony... "So, you've been lying to me all this time?" Storm asked, his smile forming into a glare. "Why?!" "Let me explain, please son." she replied, literally crying her eyes out. "Please..." "All right..." grumbled Storm. Equinox sighed and wiped her eyes, before gulping. "Okay..." Equinox begun. "I was in high school when I first met your father... He was unlike any stallion I have ever met. While most stallions disliked me for my looks and my "nerdy" nature..." "You were a nerd in high school, mom?" Storm asked, trying to imagine his mom as a high school nerd. "Yes, Storm..." she replied. "I was obsessed with becoming a meteorologist..." "Isn't that some sort of weather scientist?" asked Storm. "You are correct, son." she replied and smiled at him, before continuing. "So, you see, I wanted to become one so bad and while most mares and stallions my age had fun and partied a lot, I preferred to study, which led to me being highly unpopular." "Wow..." Storm said. "Yep." replied Equinox. "And while I was walking down the corridor to my next class one day, I wasn't looking where I was going and I accidentally bumped into your father, who was the stallion of my dreams. I mean, I've had one coltfriend before him, but he cheated on me with another mare... however, he apologized and we still keep in touch." "So, that's who you've been writing to all this time?" Storm asked. "Exactly. Anyways, your dad was unlike any stallion I had ever met before. He was kind, sweet, comforting, a real gentlepony, and he watched my back. After graduating from high school, I got a scholarship at the University of Baltimare, and it turned out that your dad got one as well." she reminisced, tears rolling out of her eyes. "Our relationship grew there and we spent every moment of the day together. Just after we graduated, he proposed to me... and then, before we moved here, we got married and I ended up pregnant with you." she explained, smiling, but then turned and sighed. "But our happiness didn't last very long." "What happened?" asked Storm, now concerned. "A war broke out between Equestria and the Gryphon Empire, and while it wasn't anything major, it meant we couldn't come back home until things were back to normal." she explained. "Now, Storm.... your dad was a soldier." Storm's jaw dropped. Blaze wasn't a businesspony who traveled the world. He was a soldier, protecting Equestria and all that is good from a possible invasion by the Gryphon Empire. Why did his mom lie to him about who his dad really was? "And he had to go fight..." she explained, shedding a few tears. "It wasn't his choice, he just had to. And believe me, was it hard. A month after he left, I had you and everything seemed idyllic, but then, a week later, I got a letter from the military saying that he got killed by enemy fire." Storm's heart stopped after hearing that and his eyes immediately begun to fill up with water. He tried to process what his mom just said, but his emotions got the better of him before he could finish. His father was dead and his mom kept it a secret from him for almost ten years... "Why did you keep it a secret from me?!" he cried almost uncontrollably, before collapsing onto the bed and drenching the sheets with his tears. "Why?" "Because..." begun Equinox, also crying her eyes out. "I didn't want you going through the same pain as I did when I found out he got killed, especially at such a young age... I'm sorry, son... I'm so, so sorry." she explained, stroking him gently. This calmed Storm down noticeably and he slowly got up off the drenched bed and jumped into Equinox's hooves, crying softly into her body. She hugged him as well and sighed deeply, before also breaking down. "Why did he get killed, mom?" asked Storm, still crying. "Why can't he be here today?" "Things like that happen, I guess, son..." replied Equinox, hugging him tightly and crying softly "But remember. If he was here today, he'd be proud of you... just like I am." "Why be proud of me? I can't even fly properly!" explained Storm, still crying into her coat. "I'm no Pegasus. I'm not special in any way..." "You are special, son. Don't say that you're not... Please." Equinox said, stroking him gently. "You're kind, you're friendly, you're helpful, and most importantly, you're my son, and I love you no matter what happens, and if he was here today, your father would say so as well." "Thanks mom..." Storm replied and smiled at her slightly. "You're very welcome son..." Equinox said and nuzzled him gently. "I'm a horrible mother for keeping it a secret from you for so long..." "No, you're not..." Storm begun. "Please, don't say that, mom... Please. You're the best mother I could ever ask for... and I love you." "I love you too son..." she replied and hugged him tightly. "I'm so sorry for keeping it a secret from you and lying to you." The next day... Storm was walking down the pathway leading home from school, still shaken by his mom's revelation and by what really happened to his dad. He was still angry at her for not telling the truth to him, but he decided to loosen up and chill out. After all, it did happen ten years ago and it didn't really affect him, so why was he so angry about it anyway? "Hey Storm." said a voice from behind him. Storm stopped in his tracks and turned to face Rainwynd and Sharpbeak. "Hey guys." replied Storm, a bit awkwardly. "How's your forehead doing?" asked Rainwynd. He tapped the makeshift bandage gently, feeling little to no pain. "It's better today. I think it should be fully healed by the end of this week." explained Storm. "That's good." said Rain. "It looked pretty bad just a few days ago... Hey. What's wrong, Storm?" she asked, noticing he's acting strange. "Nothing, nothing." he replied, looking as confused as before. "No, something's definitely up." said Rainwynd, now concerned. Storm sighed, knowing that he couldn't lie to his best friend. However, before he could explain to Rainwynd why he's been acting so awkwardly, Sharpbeak started to speak. "Yo, guys." begun Sharp. "Wanna get some ice cream or something? My mom gave me some money so I guess we could get some if you guys want." "Sure!" replied Rain. "Yeah, I want some as well." said Storm, his awkward face turning into a grin. "Alright then, let's go!" replied Sharpbeak, who ran towards the café, two blocks away. Storm and Rainwynd trotted after him. Meanwhile... After making lunch, Equinox didn't have much to do with her time, so whilst waiting for Storm to come home from school, she decided to listen to some music on the radio, which usually calmed her down. Within seconds, the old radio which she once bought at the nearby marketplace came to life and started playing music popular on the Griffon charts. She tapped her hoof to the rhythm of the music playing on the radio, however the music was interrupted by a sudden announcement from the country's national broadcaster. "Breaking news! Our fair nation's capital city of Avion has been attacked by rebel forces of the Great Griffon Constitution, a terrorist organization looking to replace our monarchy in a coup de etat. There is destruction, chaos, blood everywhere...buildings are collapsing... the Griffonian Parliament has been hit by an airstrike! Damage here is..---damage is incomprehensible. I can hear gunfire everywhere... holy shit, get down!" The voice of the Griffon news reporter on the radio was quickly replaced by the sounds of machine guns being fired, distant explosions and glass shattering, as well as of Griffons screaming and squawking as they were presumably either showered with debris or killed on the spot. "Achtung!" "Er geschlagen worden! Er blutet ziemlich schlecht! Jemand bekommen ihm einen doktor!" "Die Gebäude kollabiert!" And then static. Nothing but grainy, loud static. Her heart stopped and her world came to a crashing halt as the sounds of chaos and destruction coming from the radio morphed into white noise. Her lungs expanded and contracted rapidly, pressing against her chest with every heavy breath she took, and waves of sweat washed down her face as she begun to comprehend just what was happening. One of the deadliest wars in recent history had just taken a nasty turn, turning into a full-scale civil war as a terrorist organization whom she had heard of before attacked the country's capital in the most brutal, most devastating of ways, killing large scores of Avion's 2.5 million strong population. "Stormfire..." she gasped, shooting up out of her seat, knowing full well that if the Constitution takes control of Avion, therefore taking control of the entire Empire, they could kill her and her son off. Meanwhile, Stormfire and his friends were drinking something cool at the local café. "Oh my..." squealed Rainwynd. "These are some of the best smoothies I have ever tried!" she explained, slurping up a strawberry smoothie. "Thanks Sharp!" "I agree..." Storm replied, drinking a chocolate milkshake. "These are amazing! You shouldn't have. Thank you." "Aww, you guys..." Sharp grinned. "It's no biggie." "So, what do you guys want to do after we finish?" Storm asked. "Well, I don't know, really..." replied Rainwynd. "Wanna go to the park?" "Sure!" the colt and the Gryphon replied in unison. After finishing their drinks, the three friends headed off to the park, only to be stopped by a certain someone they knew from school. "So, who do you think should have won Sunday's ice hockey game? Gryfino or Gryffsvale?" asked Storm. "Gryffsvale, no question." replied Sharp. Just before Rainwynd was about to give her answer, she was interrupted. "Nah, they suck." replied a voice that all three of them recognized too well. It was Lightning Wing, who came out of an alleyway between the cafe and a four story high office block, with two of his cronies. Storm and his friends gasped in shock, all knowing full well that Lightning Wing was supposed to be on a skiing trip in Scandineighvia. "And you do as well, ponies...." "What's wrong with being a pony?" asked Rainwynd. "And what are you doing here anyways?" "Everything." he replied. "You're the ones who started this war, you warmongering beasts." "No, it was actually you Gryphons who started the war." Storm explained, anger boiling inside him. "Prove it." challenged Lightning Wing. Storm was seriously fighting the urge to punch Lightning Wing in the face, but just before he could do so, Rainwynd came in to stop him. "Stormy, I don't think he's worth it." Rainwynd said, putting her hoof on his shoulder. "Rain's right, Storm." replied Sharpbeak, resting his claws on his other shoulder. "Oh, who's that?" asked Lightning Wing, looking at Storm and Rain. "Your marefriend?" Storm and Rain turned to look at one another, a large blush forming on both of their faces. While they were pretty good friends with each other, neither one of them had any feelings for one another. "Uh, no!" replied Storm. "She's just a friend." "Come on, guys... let's go." said Sharpbeak. "You know, Sharpbeak..." Lightning Wing begun. "I trusted you! You were my friend, and then you left me for those... beasts!" "They're better friends than you'll ever be!" shouted Sharpbeak. "Leave him alone, Lightning. Leave all of us alone." Storm warned, a glare forming on his face almost instantaneously. "Or you'll have me to deal with." "Storm, let's go... now!" said Rainwynd. "Oh, it's on pony!" Lightning replied, pushing Storm into the alleyway and without warning, throwing himself at him. His much older two goons, possibly around 13 or 14 years of age, also thew themselves at Storm, trying to attack the colt, but not before he managed to roll out from beneath the dogpile, bringing it down instantly, before trotting out of the alleyway towards Sharpbeak and Rainwynd. But before he could do so, however, he was brought down again. The two goons brought Storm down and begun to hammer him with punches. They were much bigger than Storm was, and by the time they were done, Storm found it hard to move his scratched and bruised body. He tried to roll towards a nearby trash can, but Lightning Wing stepped on his hoof with one of his talons. "GAAH!" cried Storm as he watched the talon cut into his hoof, a squirt of blood erupting out of the incision followed by a sudden onset of extreme pain. "You know, pony..." begun Lightning Wing, removing his blood-covered talon from within Storm's inch-long wound. "I've hated you and your marefriend..." He said, turning towards Rainwynd, who didn't know what to do to prevent their fight. "...for a while now." "Yeah?!" Storm asked, tears forming in his eyes. "Why?!" "Because you ponies are horrible creatures!" he shouted, delivering a devastating punch to Storm's face, almost knocking him out and leaving him with slight claw marks on his face. "And you think you Gryphons are any better?" Storm asked. "What did I do to deserve this?!" Lightning Wing didn't reply to his question and instead prepared to deliver another devastating blow to Storm, one which would have most definitely impaired his breathing, however just before he did so, he was stopped. "What is the meaning of this, Lightning Wing?!" asked a loud, almost booming voice. Storm opened his eyes and looked to see where the voice was coming from. It was a large Gryphon male wearing a "GO GRYFFSVALE!" t-shirt, which he presumed to be Lightning Wing's father. Beside him was Storm's mom, who was looking at him and Lightning Wing in fear and a City Guard, who looked very angry. "I had to leave work early because of your little scuffle here." Lightning Wing immediately got up off the ground and trotted up to his father, nuzzling his wing. Storm, although much weaker and more vulnerable, also got up off the ground and slowly walked up to Equinox, nuzzling her side. She wrapped her wing around him and sighed. Lightning Wing's father was less lenient and tried to push him away from him. "This isn't what I expected from you, son." he scolded him. "This isn't how a true Gryphon behaves." "But he started it!" he shouted at Stormfire, who was nuzzling Equinox's wing. "I am sure he didn't lay a hoof on you." replied Lightning's dad. "I know what you're like, Lightning Wing." "I didn't..." a tearful and cut up Stormfire replied. "You did." Both parents and the City Guard looked at Lightning Wing with glares on their faces. Lightning Wing sighed and begun to tear up, when suddenly he heard a low rumbling sound in the air. "What is that noise?" he asked, getting almost everyone's attention (except Storm's, who was still hugging his mom). The noise became more noticeable and ponies on the street begun to run away from where it was coming from. The City Guard walked up towards the entrance of the alleyway and looked at the source of the rumbling and noticed three airships flying overhead at low speeds, the words Great Griffon Constitution written in both Griffonian and native Gryphon painted on their sides and on their floors. No one gathered had any idea of what was going on, that is, except Equinox, who let out a gasp. "Mommy, what's going on?" Stormfire asked, cowering beneath her wing. "They're here..." Equinox whispered, not taking her eyes off the airships which hovered hundreds of feet above them. "We have to go. NOW!" All traffic in downtown Gryffsvale came to a screeching halt, resulting in several accidents as Gryphons and ponies alike turned their eyes away from the road to look at the approaching airships. The airships begun to fly directly over the alleyway, allowing the Gryphons and ponies to get a clear view of them. Suddenly, a low whistling sound emanated from above, which grew louder and louder and caught everyone's attention. Projectile-shaped objects were released from each airship and seemingly grew larger as they approached ground level. This definitely did not mean good. "Run everyone!" shouted the City Guard in a strong Gryphon accent, dragging Lightning Wing's two cronies by their scruffy necks, who Storm presumed were his sons. "Storm, get on my back, now!" shouted Equinox. Storm climbed onto her back and she managed to trot out of the alleyway just before the objects landed on the town. Lightning Wing climbed onto his dad's back and he ran out of the alleyway, but one of the bombs landed on the arched walkway connecting the upper floor of the cafe with the second floor of the office building. The bomb ripped through it, and blew it up, along with parts of both buildings in a fiery explosion, sending Lightning Wing off his father's shoulders and showering him with debris. "LIGHTNING WING!" he shouted as he rushed towards his son, who was trapped under layers of brick and rubble. The young, ash-covered Gryphon stuck out from underneath the rubble, barely able to reach his dad. "Dad, help me..." he croaked, not being able to breathe properly through his compressed lungs and airways as he gazed upwards to see another airship circling overhead. "Please!" "Don't worry, son. I'll get you out of there!" shouted the older Gryphon, trying to pull the debris off his son. Meanwhile, Storm and Equinox were continuing to trot down the road towards home, when another bomb landed, this time on a small apartment building, blowing it up and causing what remained of it, it's front facade, to land on a carriage, flattening it to the shape of a pancake. The road home was blocked and they had to go around. Another bomb landed on the opposite side of the street, blowing the office block standing there to smithereens and lifting a parked milk carriage into the air. Storm was utterly terrified. He had never witnessed so much destruction taking place and he could tell Equinox was feeling the same way. Suddenly, the two heard a cry for help and turned towards it. It was at the same alleyway where Storm had that altercation with Lightning Wing, or rather, what remained of it. "HELP!" the cry sounded again and those who still remained on the street after the bombings rushed towards the source of the sound, including Equinox and Storm. The airships left towards a different part of town, which allowed them to go help whoever it was that needed help. It turned out that it was Lightning Wing who needed help. His dad already took much of the debris off his back and threw it aside, but there was still some corrugated metal and concrete lying on him. "Dad, please!" shouted Lightning Wing, obviously in pain. "It hurts! I can feel blood trickling down my body!" "It won't be long now my son." his dad replied, trying to pull off a heavy sheet of metal along with a few other Gryphons and stallions. However, the metal barely budged. His dad sighed, before turning to look at Equinox and Storm. "Can you help us please?" he asked, before noticing some of the airships approaching again. "Hurry!" "You got it." replied Equinox, who grabbed the metal with her hooves and tried to pull it up. Storm looked at Lightning Wing lying under the rubble and groaned, and not just because he was in pain from what had happened in the alleyway. He was thinking whether to help Lightning Wing or not, especially since he practically cut him up a little while ago. There was a part of him saying 'Don't do it! He bullied you enough for the past few years. It'd be better if you left him behind and went for safety.' and there was another part of him saying 'Help him. He might have bullied you for the past few years, but maybe he's just as insecure as you are.'. Storm didn't know what to do at this point, however he couldn't watch anypony suffer, whether it's a Gryphon or a pony. Despite the injuries he suffered at the claws of Lightning Wing, he felt like he just had to help the poor Gryphon, whether he wanted to or not. He immediately got off of Equinox's back and fluttered his small wings and begun to help push the sheet of metal upwards. With everyone's help, the sheet of metal was lifted up into the air. Lightning Wing turned to look at Storm helping push the sheet of metal upwards. "Storm, why are you helping me?" he asked, covering his blood-covered abdomen with his talons. "I bullied you for practically the last four years." "I can't watch you suffer, no matter how much you've bullied me." he simply replied, before fluttering his small wings and slowly pushing the sheet of metal even higher than it was before. He landed on the ground, obviously out of breath and tired. Gryphons and ponies managed to lift the metal up and placed it against what remained of the building. Next, they had to remove parts of a concrete wall that landed on Lightning. The wall weighed far more than the corrugated metal and could easily have broken Lightning's back. Storm groaned, obviously in more pain than he was before, but decided to try his luck and help remove it off Lightning's body. Before doing so he turned to look at the approaching airships, watching as two of them circled the Griphcom Tower, the city's tallest building at 25 stories located a mere five blocks towards the east. Much to their shock, its upper floors soon gave way, resulting in a fiery explosion enveloping much of the top half of the tower and sending debris onto the city streets. It took a lot of effort on everyone's part to lift the crumbling wall off the Gryphon. Storm was trying particularly hard, picking up all the smaller fragments of concrete and throwing them into the rubble of the building and then helping the adults throw the destroyed wall into the pile of rubble behind Lightning Wing, who although extremely weak and cut-up, examined the damage with his father. After doing so, he walked up to Storm, who was dusting himself off from the dust and the cement. "I guess I owe you an apology..." he begun, holding his blood-covered abdomen in pain. "You were right, Storm. I'm a horrible Gryphon. I'm a horrible, horrible Gryphon!" the young Gryphon shouted, almost breaking down in the process. Although reluctant at first, Storm put his hoof on his shoulder. "You're not..." he comforted him and smiled at him. "I'm sorry for everything, Storm." Lightning Wing said. "For bullying you, for attacking you with my friends... I guess we just didn't realize how horrible we Gryphons can be at times. And thank you for helping to get me out of that mess." "Yeah, we're sorry too." his cronies replied. "We just didn't like ponies very much." "Yeah, I'm pretty sorry as well..." Storm replied. "For what?" they gasped. "I almost didn't help you today..." Storm replied. "You didn't?" asked Lightning Wing. What changed your mind?" "I don't know." shrugged Storm. "I guess I felt sorry for you, plus I couldn't bear seeing you or anyone else suffer." "Maybe we can be friends?" asked Lightning Wing. "If you'd want to, of course..." "Sure!" replied Storm and smiled at them, before watching as Lightning Wing was taken into an ambulance carriage by his father. "Maybe we can be friends." Equinox was watching the four ponies mingle and her expression turned from a glare to a smile. He had finally made peace with the bully who was ruining his life. Lightning Wing was then taken to the hospital to check on his injuries with Storm and Equinox in the carriage who tried to comfort him, and this is where they learned his injuries were fairly serious. One of the doctors tasked with examining him, a hippogriff by the name of Talonovitz, revealed that had he been positioned differently, the weight of the rubble would have most definitely crushed poor Lightning Wing to death; not only had four bones been broken in his body, his wing was fractured and one of his back paws was pierced by a sharp piece of either metal or stone. Whilst Lightning Wing was operated on by a team of highly trained Griffon doctors and surgeons tasked with fixing such life-threatening injuries, his dad opted to take Storm and Equinox to their home on the outskirts of town by carriage, which they both respectfully refused. As the airships began to depart the partially-razed city, now missing several highlights of its skyline, Equinox and Storm walked home through what remained of downtown. "What you did back there Storm, was very brave and noble," explained Equinox to Storm, who was on her back, obviously very weak. "Especially to a Gryphon who bullied you relentlessly." "I felt like I had to. I couldn't watch him suffer..." explained Storm. "Even though I don't really like him much, he was suffering too much. I had to help him, mom." "Your dad would be so proud of you, sweetie..." she replied with pride in her voice. "Because I am." Suddenly, both of them turned their eyes to the armada of airships in the sky, turning away from the downtown area and flying away into the afternoon sky. "The ships left..." Storm replied. "I thought they were going to bomb us again." "Well..." Equinox replied and looked at the destroyed street. There were fireponies and Gryphons alike putting out the fires caused by the bombings and there were Gryphons cleaning up the debris off the streets. "All I can say is this... maybe somepony was watching us from above?" Storm yawned and thought to himself. Well, this has been an eventful day... he concluded. Just over twenty minutes later, the mother and son returned home, or rather to what remained of it. The once magnificent brick house was now a burned out shell. Only one room was standing, and that room belonged to Stormfire. The rest of the rooms were destroyed by the blast, including Equinox's, of which all that remained was a destroyed bed and a picture. Equinox sighed sadly, before letting out a tidal wave of tears. Noticing this, Storm trotted up to his mom, and hugged her as tightly as he could. The distraught mare returned the hug and nuzzled her son gently. The house which she brought with Blazefire just after their wedding, the house in which she raised and nurtured her only son, and the house they called home was gone. It was no more... After the hug was over, she asked him if he could get the picture, which lay beside the destroyed bed. Storm trotted past the bed and picked up the picture, and looked at it. It was the same picture Storm saw just after he regained consciousness after that little accident. The picture was of Equinox and Blaze, just after their wedding, and although the frame was partially destroyed and the glass protecting it was cracked, he still saw the picture. So this is what dad looked like... he thought to himself, looking at the light blue stallion with an orange mane. I think he looks kinda cool. Storm brought the picture for his mom to study. After a moment of silence, his mom finally turned to him and spoke. "Son?" she begun. "Yeah?" Storm replied. "You know what your dad always wanted?" she asked. "What?" asked Storm. "He wanted to move back to Equestria with me and you." Equinox explained, choking up somewhat. "And since we have nothing left here, I think it's high time we move back to where we belong."