//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Whatever Way the Wind Takes You // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// From the journal of Gloomy August— The storm, and its aftermath, I do not even know where to begin. I flew into a feral cyclone that had blown inland. After rescuing those two foals, I myself was rescued by the Royal Guard and Princess Luna. She pushed the storm back towards the sea. It was amazing to watch. I had my first chance to meet the Night Guard. I don’t know what to call them exactly, I don’t know if they have a name like earth ponies, pegasi, or unicorns do. I don’t know what to call their tribe. They’re part reptile! I swear, it’s true! I made friends with one. He’s a little scary looking and I’ll admit I was a little afraid of him at first, but he’s actually really nice and kind. I suppose I learned something from him and that is to never judge by appearances. He’s got big fangs and scary looking dragon wings and weird thumb thingies on his wings and he has smoke coming out of his nostrils and he might have some bad breath, but he can’t help that. He was kind. He was gentle. He was handsome in his own way… yup. After the big storm, I got to see the aftermath. I got to see ponies helping one another. I learned that what I believe, that ponies are inherently good, is true. I saw strangers helping strangers. I saw mothers looking after strange foals not their own. I saw miracles in the form of kindness and generousity. Not to be a selfish pony, but if I could have one reward for my bravery, I would like to meet Warden Wormwood again. He left an impression on me. I would very much like to talk to him and get to know him better. In the far distance, lightning flashed and thunder crackled. Gloomy watched the retreating storm with a wary eye, her pegasus blood rushing through her veins. The feral storm had left her unnerved, shaken, and she was still trying to calm herself. She, along with many others, had been left in a makeshift camp along the slope of a mountainside. All around her were ponies, some of them injured, some of them half drowned, and many of them foals. A whole bunch of little scared foals. Just like the two little colts that clung to Gloomy’s forelegs and refused to let go of her. They trembled, sometimes cried, and Gloomy had no idea how to comfort them. She had never spent much time around foals, she was still young, hoofloose, and fancy free. She was too much of a free spirit to be responsible enough for looking after foals, or to even try being a foalsitter. More and more of the Royal Guard arrived, bringing with them the injured and the rescued. The sky was dark now, full of stars that twinkled and a full moon that lit up the camp with a pleasant silvery glow. Guardspony unicorns in golden and silver armor patrolled the camp, starting fires for the ponies to gather around so they could keep warm. “What’s your names?” Gloomy asked of the two colts in her care. She looked down at them and saw them looking up at her. They were soaked, shivering, and squeezing her front legs almost to the point of cutting off the circulation to her hooves. There should be a fire close by soon enough, it was just a matter of being patient. “My name is Yam.” The colt who had spoken first was an earth pony and his voice was little more than a frightened whisper. “My brother’s name is Taro. He’s an egghead and he’s shy.” “Oh.” Gloomy looked down at the little unicorn colt. “You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to.” She watched as the little unicorn foal buried his face against her foreleg and then somehow, he squeezed a little tighter. “You’re an amazing flyer,” Yam said to Gloomy as he continued looking up. The little foal was having some trouble speaking as he was so cold that his teeth were almost chattering. “Naw, I’m an average flier… Rainbow Dash… now she’s an amazing flier. She’s my boss… great pony. You’ll never meet a better friend. She’s the Element of Loyalty and she can make rainbooms.” Gloomy spread her wings and gave them a flap, trying to shed excess water. She was still soaked, but her wings were warm. She gave another flap, then another, whipping out the water, and then tried wrapping as much of her wings around the two colts as possible. It left her feeling a whole lot colder, but the two colts snuggled closer as they tried to get warm. Gloomy said nothing about her talent to make it rain on ponies. A fire was being lit nearby. A unicorn dumped down a load of wood in a pile and his horn glowed with a fierce light. Gloomy had to struggle to walk to the fireside with two foals clinging to her forelegs. She tried not to step on them or bring them harm. Others were also gathering around the fire, eager for warmth. Gloomy realised that other than the guards, she was the only pegasus present. Almost dozing, Gloomy was somehow still sitting up. The fire, along with the two colts clinging to her had left her feeling too warm. She was a pegasus with a fair bit of natural insulation. She yawned. All around her, she heard cries, moans, and the sounds of kindness. Ponies were trying to help others. There were a lot of foals… but not a lot of parents. A log in the fire popped, causing Taro to startle. The colt let out a startled cry and then began to whimper. His brother, Yam, tried to comfort him, but Taro wanted his mother. Gloomy didn’t know what to say. In her drowsy state, she wanted to tell Taro that his mother would be fine, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to say it. Hearing shouting, Gloomy opened her eyes and her ears perked. The booming voice of a guard could be heard over the sounds of misery. Gloomy tilted her head, trying to make out what the guard was saying. “Yam! Looking for a Yam! And a Taro! Has anypony seen these two colts!” Gloomy’s heart lept up into her throat. “Over here!” She coughed to clear her throat, and then let out a good yell. “Over here!” The guard approached with two ponies on his heels, an earth pony mare and a unicorn stallion. The two ponies broke away from the guard and rushed towards Gloomy; the pegasus, always the hopeful, optimistic sort, had trouble believing what she was seeing. She felt the two colts let go of her legs and they went streaking off to their parents. Smiling, Gloomy felt warm, and it wasn’t because of the fire. She watched the tearful reunion. She looked at the guard and saw the relieved look upon his face. The guard, a pegasus stallion, approached Gloomy and bowed his head. “We pulled them out of the water. They were floating on a busted up section of roof. The mare said a really nice pegasus came down out of the storm and saved her foals. You did a good thing and on behalf of the guard, I give you my sincere and heartfelt thanks.” The guard whipped out a wing and saluted. Not knowing what else to do, Gloomy stood up, extended her wing, and returned the gesture, not even knowing if she did it right. She smiled and then turned to look at the happy family. She saw the mare approaching her and she could see tears glistening in the firelight. “I must be going.” The pegasus guard turned tail and trotted off. “You saved my foals,” the earth pony mare said in a soft voice. “May the Hearthfire bless and keep you.” The fires of friendship. Gloomy thought back to what little she knew about the unification of the tribes and the mystical fire that had been summoned that had held back the windigoes. “Aw, it was nothing.” Gloomy waved her hoof. “I’m really glad to see that you’re okay. Your foals are really well behaved.” “My name is Ginger Root,” the mare said. “My husband’s name is Harvest Moon. We are forever in your debt… if you hadn’t come along when you did… I don’t know what might have happened.” The mare squeezed her colts and her husband squeezed her. “Come and sit by the fire.” Gloomy made a gesture. “There’s enough room. I don’t think these other ponies will mind.” Gloomy offered up her most inviting smile and gestured again with her wing. Gloomy’s heart warmed; she had made new friends. Something tapped Gloomy. She awoke with a snort. She was wrapped in her woollen blanket by the fire. The camp around her was filled with quiet sounds of desperation. She lifted her head and looked up. A unicorn guard was looking down at her. “What?” Gloomy asked in a sleepy voice. “Sorry to bother you and to disturb your sleep, but you are wanted,” the unicorn replied. “If you could, please, follow me. Thank you.” Grumbling, Gloomy rose up out of her warm but somewhat damp bed. She looked at her gear, her saddlebags, her blanket, and her helmet. She decided to leave it here. Nopony would take it. She stretched and looked at the unicorn guard. She followed him, stepping over the many sleeping bodies around the fire. Ginger, her husband, Harvest Moon, and their two foals were all sleeping in a pile together. Seeing them together made Gloomy ache inside, but she couldn’t find the reason. Walking a short distance, Gloomy stopped when the unicorn did. The guard gestured towards a large, powerful, armored figure. He then bowed and hurried off, leaving Gloomy alone with the armored stranger. The pony turned around and as he did so, Gloomy realised she wasn’t looking at a normal pegasus. She sucked in a deep breath. He had dragon wings, scaly spots on his hide, slitted eyes, he was one of those strange, weird pegasi. Gloomy reminded herself to smile and be polite. “My name is Warden Wormwood. I had reports of a pegasus mare dressed up as a Trottingham bobby that swooped down out of the storm and rescued a few foals. If you will forgive me for waking you from your sleep, I had to confirm this for myself.” The strange pegasus blinked and his slitted amber eyes had a strange glow in the moonlight. “I left my helmet with my gear… oh… oh dear… you… your… um… neck…” Gloomy stammered. She lifted her hoof and pointed, not believing what she was seeing. “Is something wrong?” Wormwood asked. Smoke curled up from his nostrils. Not his breath making steam in the cold air, but smoke. “Um, you have… something…” Gloomy pointed at her own neck. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and shook her head. “Can’t you feel that?” Wormwood reached up with his hoof and felt around his neck. His armored hoof soon found the source of Gloomy’s distress. A tree branch was sticking out of his neck. It had pierced his armor. Opening her eyes, but still cringing and squinting, Gloomy looked at Wormwood. “How is that even possible?” “In a tornado, strange things happen.” Wormwood ignored the tree branch that had impaled his armor and had sank into his neck. “You must excuse me, but if I were to pull it out now, I would start bleeding everywhere. That would be rude and the Night Lady would never forgive me for being rude.” “Oh… I see… I understand.” Gloomy focused on the stallion’s face and tried to ignore the foot long chunk of wood that had been skewered through his neck. How could anypony just ignore something like that? “I was tasked by Princess Luna herself to come and thank you. Word of your good deed reached her ears. She was impressed. Courage like yours is rare and exceptional.” Wormwood grinned, revealing impressive fangs and jagged teeth that glowed with faint light. “Oh, I was so scared that I almost widdled myself!” Gloomy chuckled and shook her head. “I thought to myself that one pegasus was better than no pegasus… I wasn’t sure what one pegasus could do, but I had to try.” “Only the insane or the very brave would willingly fly into a storm like that one. I refuse to believe that you are insane, so the only thing that is left is bravery.” Wormwood cleared his throat. “You have both bravery and beauty in spades, my dear lady.” Blushing, her whole body on fire, her wings tingling, Gloomy’s mouth went dry. She blinked a few times, unable to respond. She had always felt rather plain looking, she wasn’t bright, flashy, or cheerful looking like other pegasi. Nopony had had ever said that she was beautiful before. Her stomach grew wings and began to fly around her insides. “Have you ever thought about joining the guard? The Night Lady could use one of your courage.” Wormwood’s eyes blinked, but his eyelids didn’t move. Translucent secondary eyelids slid over his strange eyes, keeping them moist. “I thought all the guards were stallions?” Gloomy shook her head in confusion. “No, that’s just an illusion. It comes with the armor. It makes them all uniform in colour, size, and gender. It presents them as a single, equal united force.” Wormwood’s short, bobbed tail swished around his hind legs. “I’m really very flattered, but I don’t know if I am cut out to be in the guard. I’m a big chicken… I could never hurt anypony. Just thinking about violence makes me queasy. And the thought of somepony shouting at me to do more wingups makes me all nervous.” “That is unfortunate. I still think that you would make for a good guard. Not all of us specialise in combat. But I understand and I respect your feelings.” Wormwood, still ignoring the branch impaling his neck, glanced up at the moon and then back at Gloomy. “I have much to do and the night grows ever shorter. You would no doubt like to get back to your rest.” Feeling flustered, Gloomy wanted to stay and talk, but she didn’t say so. Warden Wormwood extended one leathery wing and raised it in salute. His dark grey hide had a silver glow in the moonlight, what little of it there was to see beneath his armor. “Good night, and fare thee well, solar cousin. It is my sincere hope that we meet again.” Gloomy, unable to speak, nodded. She felt as though she had a fever. She certainly hoped to meet the handsome looking stallion once more. There was something about him. He had called her beautiful. She smiled, giving him her very best smile. “Continue to be brave… true courage is to continue in spite of all of your fears.” Wormwood let out a chuckle. “Now if you will excuse me, I must go and see about getting this pulled out of my neck.” All Gloomy could do was let out a fillyish giggle as the stallion turned to go. She waved, her heart fluttering, and she wondered if she would ever see him again. She hoped so, she hoped so.