//------------------------------// // 22. A Night To Remember (Part II) // Story: Soldier of the Night // by Skyfire Storm //------------------------------// "So, how exactly do you plan to get my band back together?" "Well, to be real honest with you, I don't exactly know." "Well, excuse me, but you're the one that came up with the idea of getting the band back together." "Well, excuse me, but you're the one that split it apart in the first place, you asshole." Storm stared daggers right at Gust, who sat on his bed and drunk his fifth bottle of apple cider that day, a frequent habit of his which only got worse after the Lightning Bolts parted ways. In a way, Storm did kinda feel sorry for his elder brother and wanted to help him get his life back on track, but he knew it'd be next to impossible, especially since him and Gust weren't exactly 'friendly' with each other. While Storm tried to be a civilized pony and treat his brother with at least some respect, most of the time Gust either ignored him or treated him the exact opposite of the way Storm wanted to be treated, hurling insults and very often petty threats at him. "If it wasn't for you taking out your rage on them and kicking them out of the house, then things would've been different." "Damn you, Storm..." Gust growled under his breath. "I had to..." "Why?" Storm raised an eyebrow. "Well..." begun Gust, his glare turning into a slight frown as he begun to realize that Storm was in fact, right. "Uh..." "Come on, Gust." sighed Storm. "Just tell me why you guys split up." "Why?" "I'm trying to help you. That's all." Storm said. "Why would you want to help me?" groaned Gust. "We aren't exactly friends." "Maybe we aren't friends, but whether you like it or not, we're brothers and that's exactly who we'll be 'til the end." Storm explained, watching Gust scarf down the rest of his apple cider. "Ever since my mom and your dad got married, that's who we are. And brothers should stick together, no matter what." "And sister too!" jumped in Mist, now 16 years old and around Blue's height. "And sister too--Woah!" Storm repeated her, but gasped as soon as he noticed Mist standing in the room. "Where did you come from?" asked Gust, having also been startled by her...unexpected presence in his room. "I was listening in to you guys talking." she said, walking up to his bed and sitting down next to Gust. "How did you---" Gust begun, before being interrupted by Mist. "I have ears, you know..." Mist rolled her eyes. "So, Storm. What's your plan on getting Gust's band together?" "I really don't know." confessed Storm. "That's a lot of help, isn't it Storm?" sneered Gust, tossing his now empty bottle of apple cider into the bin. "You said you were gonna get my band back together." "Yeah, maybe I would come up with an idea if you weren't acting like such a douchebag." Storm growled at Gust. "What did you call me?" asked Gust, a furious glare forming on his face. "You heard me." Storm smiled wryly. "I'm pushing you to your limit, big guy." "Guys." begun Mist, however, Storm and Gust ignored her. "You call me that one more time and I swear..." "Douchebag." "Storm, buc---" "Douchebag, douchebag, douche-douche douchebag." "Guys." Mist said, this time in a much firmer voice, but neither Storm nor Gust seemed to listen. Rather unexpectedly, the two rose up from their seats. "Bring it on, Gustavo." Storm grinned. "I know you have anger issues, but this is ridiculous. I really didn't think it'd come to this." "You're asking for it, Shitfire...I've been waiting for this all day." Gust grinned back, before delivering a devastating blow to Storm's face, to both his and Mist's absolute shock. While Gust had very often used very vague threats of violence against him, Storm had never expected Gust to actually punch him in the face. He recoiled back in shock and in extreme pain, crashing into Gust's TV stand and almost knocking down his brand-new TV set in the process, before trying, and failing, to push Gust away from him. Gust, being slightly taller and more buff than his slightly scrawny brother, tackled the stallion with ease, bringing him down to the floor and slamming his face right into the floorboards, splitting open his forehead upon impact, and causing a small crack in the wood, which thankfully, was too small for them to notice it, not that neither Gust or Storm would really care. His vision blacked out for a few seconds upon crashing into the floor, but soon enough, he opened his eyes. Although his vision was still blurry and not very clear, he could make out Gust approaching him, but before Storm could slide away from him, Gust pounced on Storm like some kind of wild, ferocious animal throwing itself at its prey and begun beating relentlessly on him. "BUCK YOU!" growled a slightly-bloodied Storm, managing to gather all his strength and punch Gust, a slightly heavier stallion off him. "Sit down." Gust grinned, and picked up Storm, before tossing him into his chair, his body ripping the actual seat right off the legs upon impact. Storm groaned in pain, moving the now-broken seat off his body and looking up to see Gust approach him, preparing to punch the life out of him. However, before he could do so, Mist stepped in between them, both visibly shocked and angered. "GUYS!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, watching Gust back away slightly and turning to see a bruised and bloodied Storm get up off the floor. "What the hay has gotten into you both?" "He started it." said both Storm and Gust in unison, pointing their hooves at each other. "I don't care about who started it." she groaned. "Make up. Now." "No." said Storm, folding his hooves and turning away from Gust in disgust. "No chance." replied Gust. "He's an asswipe." "Hey, at least I'm trying to make something of myself instead of just sitting there and getting high with my friends...oh wait, forgot that you don't have any." "Shut up Storm, you have no clue what you're talking about." "Guys, shut up!" Mist yelled all of a sudden. "Fair enough then, I won't mediate between you two but violence isn't going to solve anything here. I was just wondering whether Storm has formulated any plan for getting your band together." "No, Mist." Storm wiped the sweat and blood off his slightly cut forehead. "I can't think of anything. And Gust isn't making things better by using me as his punching bag." "Screw you." Gust spat, also turning away from Storm to face the wall. "Gust, I have to agree with Storm here." Mist frowned at him. "You aren't making things any better by acting like this. I mean, come on. Just because you both can't come to a mutual understanding between one another doesn't mean you should get involved in fights. Here, if Storm can't come up with an idea, how about I try to come up with something?" "Go ahead." shrugged Storm, somewhat apathetically. "Alright..." begun Mist, trying to brainstorm a plan. "Hmm... how about you personally go and apologize to them?" "You're joking, right?" scoffed Gust. "I can't, and even if I wanted to, I wouldn't." "I agree with Mist." replied Storm, standing next to her. "And considering the circumstances, I don't think that'd be such a bad idea." "Shut up, Storm." spat Gust. "They'd freaking kill me before I could even open my mouth." "No they won't." replied Mist. "Come on, big bro. I believe in you." "Okay, fine." sighed Gust in defeat. "But before we do anything, we better get this room tidy before mom and dad come back." Several hours later, the sun begun to set over Cloudsdale, illuminating the city's streets with its last rays of light for the day. Having just finished helping Gust and Mist tidy up the debris in Gust's room after the brawl he had with Storm (which included fixing the chair and patching up Storm's cut forehead with a bandage), Storm made his way downstairs to meet their parents, who were on their way home from work. Usually, High and Equinox worked normal hours, but today, they had to fill in for two weather ponies who had manage to survive a rather...violent accident at work involving a cloud container that had blown up due to extremely high pressure, which resulted in them both being taken to hospital. While Mist and Gust were doing a last-minute check of Gust's room just in case there was any shrapnel or anything like that lying on the floor, Storm sat on the couch in the living room, watching a talk show on TV. Right now, after that fight they had, he didn't feel like helping Gust with virtually anything, especially with getting his band back together, even though he clearly promised him that he'd do so. At first, he hoped that such a fight would never take place and that he'd manage to talk things out properly with Gust and maybe come to a mutual understanding with his older brother, but that unfortunately, was not the case. The 'talk' he had with Gust ended in part of his room being damaged and Storm being injured in several places; his hooves, which themselves were thankfully only scratched, hurt horribly and his cut forehead, despite being covered by a bandage, stung worse than a bee would ever be capable of stinging, but actually, Storm felt most injured in his heart. He knew full well that Gust had a strong dislike for him, but he didn't expect his brother, who had never before raised a single hoof on Storm despite frequently threatening him with fights, to beat the hay out of him. However, what scared him most was the fear of his parents finding out about what Gust had done; although he was wanting to expose Gust to them, he was afraid of more violence. He sat there for probably over two or three hours staring at the television set before him, occasionally switching channels with a face as blank and emotionless as some sort of lifeless robot, though he had to admit that the news station had, for once, gained his interest, with reports of a violent naval battle out at sea flooding in, one that he had been aware of for almost a month. According to various news outlets, a Griffon naval fleet had apparently been hijacked out at sea, before making its way across the ocean over the course of a week or so. Approaching Equestria unannounced and armed with heavy artillery, the gunboats had been promptly identified by the Coast Guard as posing a threat, resulting in a fierce naval battle taking place between the Equestrian Navy and the hijackers, one which was still ongoing to this day. Suddenly, his train of thoughts derailed as the door opened and Equinox Moon stepped into the house, and he promptly switched off the television. "Hey kids." smiled Equinox, stepping into the house, followed by High Wind. "Hey mom." said Storm, followed by the same thing being said from upstairs by Gust and Mist, who had just finished cleaning Gust's room. "How was your day?" asked High, just after wiping the sweat off his forehead. "Sorry we're back so late; we had to fill in for a couple of ponies---" "High, I told them this morning." sighed Equinox, walking into the living room and nuzzling Storm, somehow not noticing the bandage on his forehead. "Oh, you did?" he raised an eyebrow, before outstretching his hooves and yawning. "Darn, am I tired... Anyways, where are your siblings?" "Yeah, they're upstairs." sighed Storm, moving his fringe with his hoof in order to hide the bandage on his forehead. While High went upstairs to check on Gust and Mist, Equinox, managing to see behind Storm's somewhat thick, navy-blue mane, noticed the bandage wrapped around his forehead. "What's this?" she raised an eyebrow before approaching him. Storm gulped, his cover blown. "Storm, what happened?" "Mom, it's...a headband," he fibbed, but he knew that it was too late; his mother already knew he was injured. "Cut the horseshit, Storm," she rolled her eyes as a concerned frown formed on her face. "What happened? Tell me, was it Gust?" "Yes...It was Gust." Storm sighed. "GUST!" Equinox yelled suddenly. "Get your ass down here and explain yourself!" I'm coming, mom! he shouted nonchalantly from upstairs. Soon enough, Gust stepped into the room, a glare forming on his face upon noticing Storm's bandage being in clear view. Storm gulped as he watched Gust approach him and Equinox, before sitting down on the couch right next to Storm. "Okay, so what the hell happened to Storm, Gust?" asked Equinox, looking at them both. "Beats me," he shrugged, offering Storm but an indignant smirk. "Don't give me that bull," Equinox folded her hooves and looked down at her son with an angry glare on her face. "Why is his forehead split open?" "Mom, like I said... I have no idea," Gust shrugged. "Maybe he just... flew into something? You know kids these days...always getting themselves hurt." "Gust, you're acting like an apathetic brat!" Equinox shouted as Storm looked on. "It's like...you never care about anypony other than yourself! I mean, look at Storm! He's injured because of you and you don't seem to care! And this isn't really the first time you've treated Storm like he was nothing. You always treat him like crap!" "If he didn't stop bothering me about the bucking band then maybe he would've gotten out in one piece!" Gust yelled at both Storm and Equinox. "Ah, so it was you all along, huh?" Equinox smirked wryly, before frowning angrily at her eldest. "Why for the love of Celestia would you do this to your brother, huh? He was trying to help you, and this is how you repay him?!" "Mom, Storm is a douchebag!" "You know who's the douchebag?" asked Equinox. "You sure as hay are acting like one, Gust Wind. Well? Why did you beat Storm up?" Gust was about to answer her but paused after she finished her sentence, allowing the words that Equinox had just spoken to sink in. His furious glare disappeared from his face and was quickly suppressed by a sad, regretful frown as he came back to his senses and tried to process out the situation. "Well?!" asked Equinox, her glare still remaining on her face as she stared at Gust. She glanced to the side, to notice Storm overlooking the entire situation, before gesturing for Storm to get out of the living room. Storm, of course, complied, leaving both Gust and Equinox alone. "I'm sorry, mom." Gust sighed as he looked up at Equinox, who stood right in front of him. "I'm just so messed up...I have no idea what was going through my mind when I beat up Storm. I guess it's probably---...ever since my band broke up...ever since I broke it up...I've wanted to punch the nearest pony in the face. You know why? I'm depressed as buck, man. My band was my life; it was my ticket through high school. It's what earned me my friends, it's the reason I had a marefriend in the ninth grade. But look at me now; I have no friends, no marefriend to be with, no form of income whatsoever...you probably all hate me, and the very idea of not being able to buy and move into my own house is enough to make me burst into tears, but I prefer to not let my emotions out, and instead take them out on somepony I dislike, that pony being Storm. I have anger issues, you see?" "And you really think that by bullying Storm, you're going to change anything?" asked Equinox, before she herself let out a sigh. "Look, Gust. I get you, okay? I get it, you made a mistake, but this isn't the way of coping with it. It's best to talk with somepony you trust about these things; and sometimes, it's best to just let out your emotions and try managing them that way instead of taking out your anger on others. And Gust, for the love of Luna, why would we hate you?" "Because I'm a failure." he growled resentfully, causing Storm's heart to skip a beat in shock. While Storm and Gust didn't like one another very much, Storm certainly never considered Gust a 'failure'. "I suck at everything; all I seem to be good at is disappointing you." "Why would you even say something like that?" Equinox gasped, before putting her hoof on Gust's shoulder as Storm looked on from the hallway. "Gust, you're not a failure! You're an incredible pony with a lot of talent and skill, but most importantly, you're my son. You and Storm both are, and I'll always love you both." "No mom, I'm a failure." Gust persisted, his eyes getting more and more tearful. "Gust, please---" "No mom." he glared at her, tears rolling out of his eyes as he tried his hardest to remain in control of his emotions, which were visibly taking over him. "I'm a failure." "Gust, you're not a failure. Please, don't call yourself that..." Equinox pleaded. "I'm a terrible pony..." Gust sighed, before finally breaking down, collapsing face-first into the couch and crying into the fabric. Equinox looked on in sadness as she watched her eldest cry, before she herself nuzzled Gust tenderly. "I'm such a horrible pony..." "Sshh..." Equinox smiled tenderly at him as she nuzzled the crying stallion. "It'll all be okay. You realized that you done wrong, and I know you're sorry about it. I forgive you, son...I'm here, Gust, and I'll always be here for you." "So, Gust." begun High, sitting right next to him. "You alright now?" "Yeah..." the stallion replied in a dry, harsh voice, a voice created through almost ten minutes of crying. His face seemed paler than usual and his mane was draped with layers of sweat. "I'm sorry. I know you're probably not going to forgive me---" "It's all water under the bridge, son." Equinox smiled her usual motherly smile, before she motioned for Storm, who stood in the hallway leading to the stairs, to come through into the living room. "I could understand you were going through a hard time, but taking out that pent-up anger on others is never a good thing to do; I believe that there's somepony you need to apologize to. I'll be in the kitchen, while you Gust, apologize to Storm." "And I'll be watching you to make sure you'll apologize, young stallion." High maintained a stoic, yet alert expression as he looked at Gust from his favorite spot on the couch. Dad! Can you come upstairs and help me? asked Mist from her room upstairs. "Sure thing, sweetie!" High got off the couch, suddenly turning away from Gust. "I'll be back here in ten minutes." "Fine..." Gust sighed. After Equinox went to the kitchen and High went upstairs to cater for Mist, Storm gulped out of pure nervousness as he walked into the living room, towards the couch on which Gust and High sat on, wondering whether Gust would apologize to him or not. "What?" "Hey." Gust said, facing him. "Mom and dad want me to apologize." "Yeah, as if your apologies mean anything, Gust." Storm scoffed, before standing against the wall folding his hooves. "Storm, look." replied Gust. "I'm not screwing with you, man. I really am sorry." "Bullshit." Storm groaned, trying to ignore both Gust's attempts at apologizing and the constant stinging of the cut on his forehead. "You're only just saying that so mom and dad get off your back." "No, Storm. I am not." Gust waved his hooves in frustration, before slamming them into the couch. "After we eat dinner, I'm gonna need to use your help." "No, Gust. I'm not serving as your scapegoat." Storm muttered under his breath. "Dude, I'm not going to get you into trouble. I just need your help." "No, I am not letting you use me for your own, selfish needs." "Storm, I'm serious, dude." "You sure I can trust you?" "Positive. Please?" "Fine." "So, you sure if this is going to work?" "Of course it will. If Mist says it will, then it most definitely will." "Yeah. Left, alright?" "Sure." replied Storm, before turning left at an intersecting street, Hoofberry Avenue, Gust tailing him close behind. Tall and fancy-looking homes were lined up along both sides of the street, which stretched continuously for an entire mile, before abruptly stopping at a dead end, which was surrounded by three houses. One of these houses belonged to one of Gust's former bandmates, Chord the keyboardist, and was where Storm and Gust were heading to right now. They were both hoping to visit Chord first, mainly because Chord was one of the more lenient members of the band, who would usually be the first pony to forgive Gust or any other member of the band if they screwed up. However Gust, unbeknownst to Storm, was terrified of meeting Chord, fearing harsh rejection from the stallion whom he once considered a close friend. "Wanna just fly?" "No. I'm not in the mood to fly." Gust gritted his teeth in frustration. "Suit yourself." Storm shrugged, continuing walking alongside the street. "You seem nervous." "Well, no shit." Gust growled, like a wild animal. "This entire thing is pissing me off beyond belief." "I can understand you're nervous, dude." Storm nodded understandingly. "...but I think you should calm down. It'll do you good, bro...think happy thoughts and shit." "Yeah, good idea." Gust nodded, before glancing up to see the sun setting behind the tall towers and skyscrapers of downtown, which within seconds, became illuminated with yellow-white lights. "Let's just go. Mom and dad want us to be back at 9:30." After twenty-five minutes of walking, the two had reached Chord's house, a nice-looking abode in a cul-de-sac with stone draped on the front side and a white picket fence surrounding the entire property. While Storm waited outside behind the fence, Gust walked up to the front door of the house, before gently tapping it. His heartbeat at incomprehensible speeds out of pure nervousness as he waited for an answer, wondering whether he'd be positively received by the home's sole occupant. No, I don't want your cookies! Go away. "Chord, it's me," said Gust, peering through the window next to the door to see a stallion, wearing a bathrobe approaching it. "Can you open up, please?" Oh, it's you, Chord spoke seethingly from behind the door. What do you want? "I wanna talk," spoke Gust, as Storm watched on in nervousness. "...please?" Get off my property. "Come on, man." Gust complained. "I have a great idea for the band." Oh, Gust. You and your 'great' ideas... "And what's that supposed to mean?" asked Gust, his frown turning into a glare within seconds. Your last 'great' idea got this band split up, you dipshit. "Dude, you're the one that left," Gust sighed in sadness. Yeah, cause you made us leave. "He kind of has a point there." Storm smiled awkwardly. "Shut up Storm." Gust shrugged, not bothering to turn around. "Dude, I'm sorry about what happened. I was in a bad place that night...please?" No, get off my property. "I won't, unless we talk this out. Please." Gust pleaded. Fine. the voice from behind the door issued a sigh, with the stallion opening the door shortly thereafter. Chord was a short, yet bulky white stallion, with a neon-green mane and a cutie mark of a synthesizer crossing another one. "What do you wanna talk about?" "Well...I have this great idea," replied Gust, scratching his head with his hoof in nervousness. "In fact, Storm. You tell 'im." "Well..." Storm landed on the path in front of his door, right next to Gust. "My high school prom is in about a week's time, and I'd be great if you guys came to play." "Sorry, little guy," Chord smiled awkwardly. "I'm done with the band. I'm not falling for anymore of Gust's manipulative bullshit. I play piano on weekends at a local hotel now, I'm past playing in a band." "You don't understand!" Storm spat. "Gust's changed." "No, I don't think he has. Gust's a sleaze, always has been and always will be," Chord shook his head. "I put up with his crap for years now, it's time to put this behind me and I'd suggest *you* think twice about placing every ounce of your trust in him. Now, unless you wanna get your asses reported for trespassing on private property, I'd suggest you both get outta here." "Wait," Storm said. "Please. Just one gig, please?" "No," Chord groaned in utter frustration, before slamming the door in Storm and Gust's faces. Get off my porch or I'll call the cops on you if you don't! "Fine," Gust sighed, before walking off the property and sitting down on the path, leaning against the fence. He then began chuckling uncontrollably, almost maniacally in fact, before that laughter gave way to tears. "We can always try the other guys..." proposed Storm. "What would you say?" "No," Gust replied, wiping his eyes free of tears. "It's way too late now...what were you thinking?!" "It's never too late," replied Storm, pulling up Gust by the hoof. "I have a plan." "About time." Gust groaned, before blowing his nose with his hoof. "What are you gonna do, Storm?" "You'll find out once we get home." Storm gave a wry smirk.