//------------------------------//
// 21. A Night To Remember (Part I) 
// Story: Soldier of the Night 
// by Skyfire Storm 
//------------------------------//

A year later...
"So, Blue," begun Storm, holding her hoof as they walked through West Cloudsdale Community Park, on their way home from the movie theater. Walking through that park at the end of each date they went on was something of a tradition for them, since it was the only time when they could truly talk to one another in peace, reflect on the day that had passed and enjoy each other's company. Ever since they had first met at Storm's first flight lesson, they had grown very close, from acquaintances to friends, and eventually from friends to coltfriend and marefriend, and were both savoring every moment they spent with one another. "Enjoyed our date?"

"Storm,” she turned to smile at him. "You know I did."

"I guess," he looked down at her, being over a head taller than she was, and smiled back. "Guess me asking is just force of habit, really. I just want to be good for you, that's all."

"You already are, silly," Blue ruffled his mane playfully, his heart fluttering. 

"I guess," he shrugged. "Blue listen, I have to tell you something."

"Go ahead,” she smiled. "What is it?"

"Well, you...know how prom's just coming up?" Storm began, his face flushing a bright red from a strange combination of anxiety and infatuation. "Would you like to go with me?"

"Storm," Blue gave him a tender smile, which caused his heart to literally melt. "I'd love to, you don't have to ask."

"You would?" asked Storm, a wide grin forming on his face. "I mean, I didn't think you were gonna..." 

"Why?" she raised her eyebrows.

"Well, for starters, I'm horrible at dancing, and secondly, I don't go to stuff like this very often," he chuckled. "I just figured it'd be a good way to cap off our high school experience before graduation...that, and I do want to spend a night with you, babe."

"As do I, Stormy," she smiled, before sighing and turning away from the path before them which led to her street. "As do I."

"What's wrong?" asked Storm, noticing her stare into the distance. 

"It's just all coming so fast," she sighed. "We're so close to being done with school...I'm just worried about how it'll all work out with college and whatnot."

Storm walked up to her and nuzzled her, causing a quick smile to flash across her face, "You're not being very optimistic, you know."

"How am I supposed to be optimistic, Storm?" she frowned, leaning against him as she stared off into the distance. "I'm just so scared of what's in store for us..." 

"I'm kinda scared too..." admitted Storm, wrapping his wing around her. "But remember; wherever we go in life, whatever happens to us both, I'll always be there for you."

She turned at him and her frown quickly faded into a smile, however, instead of saying anything she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I love you, Storm..." 

"And I love you too, babe." he smiled down at her. "It'll all go great...I promise...Beautiful night tonight, isn't it?"

"Yep." Blue grinned, looking up to see the moon rising over the apartment buildings and homes of northern Cloudsdale as they both walked down the path leading up to her street. "Thanks for taking me out on this date, Stormy."

"Anything for you, Blue." he nuzzled her, as they walked down a hill which led to the northern boundary of the park, a metal gate which was left open by the last ponies who’d used it. They walked through that gate and turned left to walk down Blue's street, which was almost deserted, with the exception of pones returning from work and going to late-night parties. It was almost entirely calm and quiet; just the way they both liked it. Around five minutes later, they had both arrived at Blue's home. "So, I guess it's settled. I'll pick you up the next Friday after dinner."

"Alright." she smiled, looking back at him before turning to walk down the walkway which led up to her front door. "You wanna come in?"

"No thanks." he shook his head. "I have to get back home, babe."

"Alright." Blue gave him a smile, before she stopped in her tracks. "I almost forgot something...Good night, Stormy." she then flew up to him to give him a passionate kiss on the lips. "See you at school."

"Yeah, see you." he grinned coquettishly. "Bye, Blue."

"Bye Stormy." she smiled at him, before flying up to the front door, which was unlocked. She walked into the house, but before she closed the door, she turned to look outside to see Storm wave at her and take off into the air, before sighing happily. The stallion she’d loved for years had just invited her to without a doubt their most important date thus far, and almost instantly she began mentally preparing herself for it.  

"Hey, sweetie." smiled Solar Blast, walking downstairs. "How was your date?"

"Perfect, dad." Blue grinned, seemingly in a daydream. "Just perfect..."



After arriving home around fifteen minutes later, Storm trotted inside, slamming the door behind him and wiping the sweat off his forehead. He hated the long flight across town, especially if it was within a time limit, but he did it anyway as he wanted to see Blue. However, instead of doing the logical thing and going to bed, Storm went upstairs to take a quick shower, after which he came downstairs to watch some late-night TV and grab something to drink. However, as he walked through the house towards the kitchen, he began to hear the sounds of multiple ponies arguing. Curious about what was going on, he approached the kitchen and peered into it from the living room, to see several stallions scowling at Gust of all ponies.

"Gust, what the hell are we gonna do?!" shouted one of the stallions, a guitarist by the name of Riff. "This last gig was rough for us, and we can't just keep doing this and hoping for the best! We're mainly a cover band, for crying out loud, we can't compete with anyone anymore unless we take a stab at writing original material."

"Yeah, explain," said the bass guitarist, named Pickup, intently watching Gust cover his face with his hooves. "All we do is play the same shit over and over again, and although I don't get paid to care I really feel that my potential as a bass guitarist is being wasted. This band isn't a job for me, I don't get a single dime for this...we've only gotten paid once before, and you and Chord wound up taking every last bit!"

"Guys, guys, calm down," growled Gust, cracking open a bottle of beer and scarfing down some of it. "I got this…it’s fine. Look, I guess that it's true that our band hasn't been doing well lately...but who knows? Maybe that'll all change this Saturday. You guys are blowing this WAY out of proportion."

"Bullshit," scoffed Pickup. "Case in point, our last gig at the community center on Saturday night. Only three tickets sold, three ponies present, and two of them left halfway through the set. Same with the gig the week before that. I don't know what the hell happened to this band, it really felt like we were once the next big thing on the Cloudsdale rock scene not even two years ago...we were on C-ROCK for crying out loud, when we won the Battle of the Bands at school. Remember that interview? But now...we're has-beens! We're washed up dawg, and it's about time you wake up and realize that."

"I've had a song I wanted to do with you for ages," Riff began. "I composed it, wrote the lyrics for it and everything a couple of months back...I even recorded the rhythm guitar part on my tape recorder because what I had for it sounded cool. I was so excited, thinking that this could be the song that breaks us onto the music scene...I wanted you to be the first pony that heard it, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get through to you at all. I hate how you don't want to take any risks, how eager you are to play it safe, but most of all I hate how all my hard work went to shit in the blink of an eye."

"I know..." groaned Gust. "Riff, man, I'm so sorry...maybe this time, it'll all be different. Just give me a chance! I'll make The Lightning Bolts big again, just you wait!"

"No Gust," replied the band's drummer, a rather tall, lanky and bespectacled stallion with a red mane, by the name of Crash Cymbal. "We can't keep going on like this any longer, and you can't reasonably expect us to do so. We're canceling this coming gig on Saturday, I've already contacted the venue."

"What?!" Gust went agape, his entire world coming to a sudden halt. "You can't just do that! I created this band! I'm the lead guitarist, I set up all the gigs! All you assholes do is play the stuff that *I* pick!"

"Okay, fine. Just remember that I am the band's co-founder, and we both agreed to organize gigs together," growled the drummer. "And you know what? I quit.”

"I quit as well."

"I quit too." 

"Me as well."

"Ah, to hell with you all," growled Gust. "Get the hell outta my house. All of you, scram."

"Later, loser." muttered the bass guitarist under his breath, walking out from the kitchen and not noticing Storm leaning against the door frame.

"See you." growled the drummer, followed by the rhythm guitarist of the band, who in turn, was followed by the synth player. After the bandmates left the house, Storm peered into the kitchen yet again, to see Gust leaning against the kitchen counter and hanging his head in shame. Storm had to admit that despite him and his brother not getting on very well most of the time he did feel sorry for Gust there and then.

"Where did I go wrong with this band?" groaned Gust, Storm slinking through the kitchen.

"Hey," said Storm, walking past the island counter; Gust, however, did not reply or acknowledge Storm's presence whatsoever, and instead continued staring at the floor. "What happened there?"

"What's it to you?" growled Gust, glancing up at Storm all of a sudden with a heartbroken and dejected look on his face. "Leave me alone. Grab whatever you want and get the hell outta here.”

"Gust, I'm your brother,” Storm growled back, opening the refrigerator door and reaching in for a bottle of apple cider from a multipack High bought. "Just wanna know what’s been happening."

"No, you're not," sneered Gust. "You're not even remotely related to me."

"Okay, step-brother then,” Storm corrected himself. Harsh. "But still, dude. Please, tell me what happened..."

"Storm, go away," growled Gust, moving slightly away from Storm, who had sat down next to him. 

"Not unless you tell me what happened." Storm persisted.

"What is it to you anyway?" asked Gust. “Not like we ever got along.”

"I'm just...curious," stammered Storm. "That's all."

"Fine." Gust groaned. "If it gets you off my back... Alright...so, my friends decided to stage an intervention...and it looks as though our days as a band may be numbered."

"Why?" Storm raised an eyebrow.

"I guess I'm just not a very good frontman," Gust shrugged his shoulders, a slight tear rolling out of his eye. "I don't manage things very well and nobody comes to see us anymore, so I guess that means we're pretty much done as a band. I flunked Algebra 2, no wonder I can’t manage our money."

“Uhh…that’s not what Algebra 2 is.”

“Shut up.”

"Well, that sucks,” sighed Storm, before putting his hoof on Gust's shoulder. Gust glanced over to see Storm standing next to him, and moved to the left. "I'm sorry."

"Stay away," Gust warned, causing Storm to back away, before continuing. "Now that we've broken up I just don't know what'll happen to me now. This band was the reason I had marefriends in senior year, dude. It was my only hope at finally moving out from mom and dad's and finding my own place in the world. I have no discernible skill set besides playing music, so I thought that I might try to make it work somehow...but I guess what my main problem was is knowing what I wanted from the band. I don't know how to write good music, all I can do is play it, and I'm really not as talented as other ponies say I am in that respect. In short, I'm a fuck-up."

"I'm sorry..." sighed Storm. "I wish there was something I could do to help."

"Well, there isn't anything you can do," Gust stared at him with deep and angry eyes. "Just go, Storm. Go upstairs and leave me be."

"But..." Storm stuttered, before being interrupted by Gust.

"Just go, alright?!" he raised his voice. 

"Gust, stop---" Storm pleaded, before once again, being interrupted.

"GO!" Gust shouted at the top of his lungs, having finally reached his breaking point. 

"Alright, fine...." Storm huffed, before leaving Gust alone inside the kitchen. It saddened Storm seeing his brother so depressed, but Storm knew that he probably won't be able to change anything, and it seemed best if he didn't try to do so. "Good night, Gust." he turned to look at Gust, who continued to sit on the counter and stare down at the floor, not turning to even see Storm leave. After Storm left the kitchen, Gust turned to look through the open door into the living room, to see nopony present. He sighed sadly, feeling somewhat remorseful after rejecting his younger step-brother and kicking out his band members out of the house, but he eventually decided that it was for the best. Trying not to let his emotions show, Gust downed the rest of his beer, drowning his sorrows in the cool, frothy beverage. 

After finishing the bottle and throwing it into the trash, Gust made his way upstairs. He’d felt absolutely awful about what he had done that night; he had no job, no source of income, his friends and bandmates had all virtually abandoned him on that one fateful night, and his step-brother—the only pony who seemed to show some concern for him that night—probably didn't want to be anywhere near him anymore, not that they ever liked hanging out with one another anyway. As he walked to his room, which was right next to Storm's, he peered into it through the partially-open door, to see Storm fast asleep already, the bottle that he took out the fridge standing on his nightstand, partially-drank and sparkling away.

"Good night, Storm... Sleep well," he smirked, closing the door to his room as quietly as possible so as not to wake Storm. He sighed, and walked into his own room, slamming the door behind him shut before throwing himself onto the bed. 



The next day...
"I just don't know what to do, Blue." groaned Storm, sitting beside her as they ate their lunch in the school cafeteria. "My brother...I've never seen him like this before...I just want to help get his band back together and get him back on track. I don't know what to do."

"That's really sweet of you doing so,” Blue put her hoof on his hoof, and he turned to smile at her. "And he'll definitely appreciate the effort."

"Yeah, but what can I do?" asked Storm. 

"Hmm," begun Blue. "I have an idea. I don't know if it'll work, but it's definitely worth a try."



"You're joking?"

"No, I am not. Storm, I'm being serious."

"Blue, I’d imagine the school already hired a band."

"Maybe they have, maybe they haven't. You won't know unless you ask."

"Gust will kill me if he finds out."

"No, he won't,” Blue groaned, fed up with Storm’s apprehension. "Storm, he's your step-brother, and maybe it may not seem like it, but he loves you."

"I don't know, babe," Storm sighed. "I'm kinda worried about this whole thing."

"Don't be," she smiled, nuzzling him. "It'll all go great, don't worry."

Having eaten both their lunches, Storm and Blue still had twenty minutes to kill before their homeroom period that day, so they made their way to the principal's office in order to try to get Gust's band a gig at the prom. 

It unnerved Storm slightly, to be standing in front of the door to the principal's office. He’d rarely been inside, unless it was for something like a fight that had broken out and Storm was a witness, or for more positive things such as getting a certificate or an award, and he was worried especially about whether the principal would like the idea of hiring Gust's band. He turned to look at Blue, grateful that she was there to support him if things didn't go to plan, before knocking on the door gently. A moment later, the reply came.

"Come in." the principal spoke from behind the door, in his usual monotonous voice. Storm did as he was told to and rather hesitantly went into the office, Blue waiting for him outside. 

"Ah, Stormfire," smiled the principal, a middle-aged stallion who looked to be in his early fifties, receding hairline and all. "What seems to be troubling you?"

"Afternoon, Mr. principal..." said Storm. 

"Sit down, sit down." he smiled, motioning for Storm to sit in the rotating chair in front of the principal's desk. 

"Alright, so, I just wanted to ask a question." begun Storm.

"Yes?"

"Well, I was wondering if the school had hired a prom band for the upcoming prom," explained Storm.

"Well, actually, we have hired a band." replied the principal. 

"What?" Storm's pupils shrunk to the size of pinpricks. 

"You heard me." explained the principal. "We were gonna do a DJ originally but we changed our minds at the last minute and hired a band instead. Why? Do you know a band? Are you part of a band? Because you never really struck me as the musical type, Stormfire." 

"Well, that's true. I'm not musical in any way, although my brother..." begun Storm. "He's the lead guitarist of a band called The Lightning Bolts...and I was going to ask if the school would be able to hire them for the prom night."

"What kind of music do they play?" asked the principal, beginning to write down some of the band's details on a notepad. 

"They’re mainly a cover band, sir." replied Storm, watching intently as the principal scribbled down some notes on a notepad. “They’re known for covering music from the past two decades, but mainly from the 80s and 90s." 

"I see." replied the principal, somewhat intrigued. "Does Gust still live with you or does he live somewhere else now?"

"He lives with us, sir," said Storm.

"Alright." said the principal. "Well...if anything changes and the band we have hired cannot play, we'll consider hiring your brother's band. That doesn't necessarily mean we will, but if things don't go to plan, we'll hire your brother's band."

"Alright..." Storm shrugged, getting up from his seat and trotting out of the office. "Thank you, Mr. Principal, sir." 

"No problem, Stormfire." smiled the principal. "I'll pass this on to the prom committee, see what they can do."

"So, how'd it go?" asked Blue, watching Storm leave the office.

"Well...it didn't go as well as I hoped it would..." replied Storm. "They've already hired a band, but then again, things could change." 

"Well...let's just hope for the best, alright?" she put her hoof on his shoulder. 

"I guess." smiled Storm, although a part of him was pretty nervous about this entire situation. If Gust knew what I was trying to do, he'd probably kill me.



That Friday...
The week for Storm had passed without any hitch but for Gust it was just the opposite. He'd gone out of his way to job-hunt across town, but no interview went to plan. To make matters worse Gust was forced to bear the brunt of High Wind especially, who continued pestering him non-stop about applying at the weather factory. Originally supportive of his eldest son's career choice as a musician, High had grown much less supportive and more critical over the years, trying, and failing, to convince Gust to join the weather team on multiple occasions. 

In all honesty, it felt like a great idea now that he’d actually considered it.

Gust had also tried to make peace with his now ex-bandmates, but to no avail; all of the letters he sent them came back to him, marked as ‘return to sender’. It was safe to say that his dreams of the Lightning Bolts becoming the next big thing on the Cloudsdale rock scene were crushed. 

While Gust sat down on his bed, jamming on his electric guitar, Storm tapped on the door to his room. "Hey."

"Hey," scowled Gust. "I'm busy right now..." 

"With what?" Storm raised his eyebrows.

"Goddamn it, Storm," groaned Gust. "Can't you leave me be for once? Jeez, you’re so irritating."

"I can, I just wanted to know if you found a new job yet." Storm said. "Can I come in?"

"Go ahead." Gust sighed. "And no, I haven't. I tried to apply for a job as a waiter at one of the restaurants at the airport, and I went for an interview at the construction site at...58th and Vine, is it? Apparently, they're building an apartment building or something there, I don't know, but what I do know is that they aren't hiring anyone."

"That sucks." sighed Storm. 

"What do you care?" groaned Gust. "You actually have a job! I'm nothing more than a failed guitarist who still lives with his parents because he can't afford his own place!"

"Dude, I'm worried about you," explained Storm. "I just want to help as any good brother would."

"Why would you be worried about me?" Gust deadpanned. "I'm perfectly fine."

"You're not, stop saying that you are," Storm responded, but not before being interrupted by the doorbell suddenly ringing. 

"I'll get it." he sighed, getting up from Gust's bed and trotting downstairs to the front door, his parents still being away at work and Mist being at a friend's house. He opened the door to see a mailmare standing before the door, holding what appeared to be a brown envelope in her hooves. "Hey there." Storm beamed.

"Hi." smiled the mare, a grey mare with a light yellow mane. "Name's Derpy and I'm your new mailmare."

"I'm Stormfire." smiled Storm, but frowning somewhat as he glanced at their mailbox. Surely she couldn’t have missed it...right? "Uhh...you know there’s a mailbox there, right?” 

“Yeah, but this one’s urgent.” 

“Who's the letter for?"

"Does a Gust Wind live here?" asked the mare. "There's a letter for him, and it looks to be pretty urgent."

"Why, yes he does." smiled Storm, knowing where the letter came from. The mare passed him the letter, and Storm read the sender's address on the front side of the envelope just to be sure of who it’d came from.

NORTH CLOUDSDALE HIGH SCHOOL
4958 Cloudly Street
North Cloudsdale
Cloudsdale

"Alright." smiled Storm. "Thanks." 

"No problem." smiled the mare, before taking off into the air...and crashing into their mailbox.

"Ooh..." Storm cringed. "You alright, ma'am?"

"I am." she smiled. "I'm just a bit...derpy."

"Alright." replied Storm. "Just stay safe, alright?"

"I will!" smiled the mare, taking off into the air again. Storm rolled his eyebrows and walked back into the house, slamming the door behind him before walking upstairs. "Gust!"

"What?"

"There's a letter here for you."

"Gimme it."

"Sure." Storm shrugged, continuing walking up the stairs before entering Gust's room. He ripped the letter out of Storm's hooves and tore open the envelope without reading who the letter was from.

Storm gulped out of pure nervousness as he watched Gust read the letter. 

Dear Mr. Gust Wind,
Your younger brother, Stormfire, had recommended that the school hire your rock band, the Lightning Bolts, for the annual prom as a sort of 'backup' band, in the event of the band that we had hired previously not being able to make it. The previous band that we had hired for this function is unable to come as their leader has to go to a family event, so we are humbly requesting your band to perform.

"So, what do you think?" Storm grinned awkwardly.

"What the hay, dude?" Gust growled. "Who the buck let you sign me up for this shit?"

"Dude, I can explain. Please." 

"Storm, tell me now," growled Gust, approaching Storm as he backed away towards the door. "Who told you to sign me up for this?!"

"I did!" Storm yelled. "I wanted your band to get back together!"

"Screw you, man!" growled Gust. "Why the buck would you want that, huh? I told you so many times before that we're done as a band, okay?! Want proof we're done?" He pulled out a drawer from his dresser and tossed it onto the bed, spilling out its contents, which included five letters. "Read these."

Storm nodded and opened each envelope that Gust passed him, one by one. The replies that came in each envelope both shocked and saddened Storm. "Wow..." sighed Storm. "Just...wow."

"See?" growled Gust. "I am not getting involved in your prom!"

"Gust, we've got less than a week." pleaded Storm. "Come on, dude. I like the music you guys make as a band...you're really talented, Gust, and I honestly couldn't see anyone else doing it.'"

"Storm, I told you a million times that the Lightning Bolts don't exist!" yelled Gust. "I am not doing your prom! We aren't even a band anymore!"

"But if your band still was a thing, would you do the prom?" asked Storm. 

"No." deadpanned Gust. 

"Why?" 

"Because I don't like you," replied Gust. "Never have, never will." 

"Stop with your 'I don't like you' bullcrap and listen to me. Do you want your band to be big again?" asked Storm. "Maybe all you need is an audience, and the prom would be perfect for you guys. I'm sure there are lots of ponies out there that are willing to hear you guys play."

"Yeah, like ponies are going to like our band..." grimaced Gust. "Do me a favor and leave me alone, will you?"

"You won't know unless you try." said Storm. "Come on, Gust. I believe in you." 

"You're a stubborn little asshole, aren't you?" Gust's frown formed into a smirk. 

"So, is that a yes?" 

"Maybe." replied Gust. "That is, if I can get this band back on its hooves again..."

"I can help you get the band back together." begun Storm. "That is, if you want me to help."

"Alright." sighed Gust. "Maybe I could use your help."