As the storm bore down on the unsuspecting suburb of Silverwood with its full force, Storm and Lilli raced across town through vast crowds of ponies scurrying to get home. Loud, unrelenting roars of thunder sounded periodically through the air as the two trotted through the streets, an unwise, yet frankly necessary decision on their part in their quest to get to her home and in turn, avoid the worst of the storm. Reeling at the shards of rain lashing against previously injured parts of his body, a drenched Storm glanced at his companion with a slight glare as if questioning her very plans at that point, though she simply turned to look at him with a reassuring smile on her face. It took a lot of persuasion on Lilli's part to get Storm off the sheltered steps leading up to the train station and onto the street passing beneath it, though at this point he was clearly regretting leaving.
If one thing was certain, it was that Storm was not a huge fan of severe weather, although at this point he wasn't willing to admit it openly. Though he enjoyed the occasional flight through a thunderstorm and was deeply fascinated by them when he was younger, the sheer amount of injuries he'd received from lightning strikes, or the near-constant rain being blown in his face by gale-force winds was enough to make him despise severe weather in general at times. Stormfire, as a weather pony was more suited to settled weather conditions, something which had been clearly mentioned in the documents sent from the Cloudsdale weather factory. Thankfully, the trot to Lilli's home did not last long, and upon turning left at an intersection, they had reached a residential area of Silverwood seemingly comprised of sprawls of tract housing overlooking the distant city core of Vanhoover.
"We're here..." Lilli panted with a smile on her face, wheezing and exhaling as the rain seemingly eased off after what seemed like an hour of endless hell. The sky around them, however did not seem to lighten up one bit.
"So, where abouts...do you live?" Storm also wheezed, a dull pain radiating in his side from all the running.
"A couple of blocks down the street..." Lilli replied, watching as Storm glanced up at the sign mounted on a metal pole across the street, reading as Coltlumbus Avenue.
"The rain's easing off..." Storm replied. "We should walk instead...what would you say?"
"Doubt it's gonna stay like this for long," Lilli responded, inching closer towards Storm. "Mom said this storm might last a few hours at most."
"Yeah, you said that before."
"Yeah," Lilli leaned closer in to Storm, who wrapped his wing around her body. "I'll have to introduce you to my younger brother... and to my dad, of course. I doubt my mom's gonna be here though."
"Why?"
"She's going to Seaddle, remember?"
"Oh," Storm let out a chuckle.
"My dad's cooking is awful though, I'll admit," Lilli herself let out a hearty chuckle. "I'll just make you aware of that since he's making dinner tonight."
"How so?" Storm asked, a sudden burst of thunder burrowing its way towards his eardrums, a sure sign the worst of the storm was still to come.
"You don't wanna know..." Lilli chuckled. "I'll just say this: one time, he tried making some kind of home-cooked spicy manticore steak and burned it so bad one of our neighbors actually reported it to the fire department. They thought it was a gas leak and ended up sealing off half the block."
"Sheesh," Storm chuckled in response. "Must've been pretty bad."
"You have no idea."
By the time they'd reached Lilli's home, a seemingly large and roomy abode located near the edge of the cliff on which much of the town was built, the torrential, lashing rain that made their race to her home an absolute nightmare had resumed. Thankfully, they managed to escape the worst of it by promptly taking shelter on Lilli's porch as it began to come down again.
Ringing the doorbell, Storm and Lilli stood in front of the door for what seemed to be several minutes, just as a strike of lightning illuminated the darkened porch at least for the briefest of moments. Then, the response came, but not from whom Storm expected. The door swung open, and standing in the doorway was a bespectacled Pegasus colt of fourteen or fifteen, an entire head shorter than Storm was.
"Hey Lils," the colt replied with a grin, before turning to look at her companion. "Who're you?"
"This, Jet Stream, is my coltfriend," Lilli grinned back, nuzzling against Stormfire who blushed in response. "Stormfire, this is my younger brother Jet Stream."
"Nice to meet you," Storm smiled, outstretching his hoof, which was promptly shaken by the younger colt. "Nice house you've got there, Lilli."
"Thanks," she smiled back. "It used to belong to my great grandma...if it's something that interests you, feel free to speak to my dad about it."
"Will do," Storm smirked. "So, Jet...mind if I call you that?"
"Of course not," Jet Stream shook his head. "So, you're Lilli's coltfriend, huh?"
"He sure is," Lilli nuzzled against Storm.
"I guess I am," Storm shrugged with a smile, taking a quick sideways glance at Lilli. "Can we...uh, come in?"
"Of course, of course!" Jet backed away into the foyer of the house, allowing ample space for them to get in. Upon entering the house, Storm was met with a pleasant surprise in the form of a near-instant rise in temperature. "Dad, Lilli's back!"
"Tell her to come in!"
"She also brought somepony with her!"
"Who is it?"
"You'll see!" Jet shifted up onto the first step of the staircase to their left. "Dad, is the power back?"
"No, I called up the utility company earlier on about it...they said they're being overwhelmed by calls right now but they'll have it restored by dusk at the latest, once the storm's moved on! I'll see if I can get the emergency generator fired up in the meantime, alright?"
"Did you guys get a power cut?" Storm inquired, glancing questioningly at Jet, who looked over them from his vantage point on the stairs.
"Yep," the teenage colt nodded. "Wasn't just us though. The whole street went dark about an hour ago and it's been like that ever since."
"Wow," Storm replied, just as a flash of lightning lit up the house for the briefest moment. "I had no idea this storm would be so rough."
"Same, to be honest," Lilli replied, nuzzling against him. "Hope it won't last as long as the Weather Administration said it would."
"How long did they say it'd last?"
"Three hours at most."
"Oh wow."
"Yeah, I guess we've been kinda needing the rain lately," Lilli smiled. "The storms we had throughout last week just didn't cut it."
"Ah."
Suddenly, the lights switched on throughout the house, and a low humming and churning sound coming from outside started burrowing its way into Storm's ears, just before the front door opened. "Hey, Lilli...whew..."
"Daddy!" Lilli threw her hooves around the stallion, despite last seeing him only a couple hours before. The stallion, slightly taken aback, returned the embrace and playfully ruffled her drenched mane before turning to look at Storm standing next to her. "Oh, this is my coltfriend, whom I've told you about...Stormfire. Storm, this is my dad."
"Hi, sir..." Storm outstretched a hoof, which was promptly shaken by the shorter stallion.
"You know, I didn't really imagine you as being this tall," the stallion chuckled, glancing up at Storm.
"Yeah, everyone tells me that," replied Storm with a chuckle of his own as thunder cracked outside. "Lilli's told me a lot about you, sir."
"Good things or bad?"
"All good, all good," Storm smiled.
"I was joking, you do realize that?"
"Yeah, I know," Storm replied, just as the stallion walked past him.
"Come, you'd be pleased to know that I am NOT making dinner tonight," the stallion smirked, his snarky comment being aimed at Lilli. "You like pizza, Storm?"
"Of course I do."
'I ended up buying two pepperoni pizzas at the nearby SaveMart earlier on, literally minutes before the storm started, dunno if you like those," the stallion responded.
"Yeah, those are really nice."
"Great." the stallion turned towards them just as they all entered the living room. "Also, my name's Windward."
--right now, we're getting large amounts of heavy rainfall over much of the tri-County area and while that in itself is unlikely to cause any serious problems aside from some localized flash flooding, I'd advise all who are watching this report to take extra care when outside. Severe thunderstorm warnings have been issued as far south as Delta and Red Rock, both over fifty miles away, and watches are in place for northern Maple Ridge County until 9 PM. Further south towards the Cascadia line, whereas, the weather will remain mostly clear throughout the night, with temperatures plunging to the low-50s or upper-40s even in some places. Tornadoes are highly unlikely to form though windspeeds of up to 30 miles an hour on hilltops and other exposed areas are anticipated by the Local Weather Administration here in Vancouver...If you're a Pegasus, flying is generally not advisable at this moment and comes with a whole set of risks---
"So, Stormfire," Windward began, picking up his pizza slice with a hoof as he looked at the stallion sitting across from where he sat, eyes glued to the gas-plasma TV on their mantelpiece as the weather forecast played on the local EBS affiliate. The burning logs in the fireplace roared and crackled, providing a wonderful and much-needed warmth to the home as the sky outside the window began to grow slightly darker than it had before. "Where abouts are you from exactly?"
"Cloudsdale, sir," Storm responded, picking up an uneaten slice of pizza off the chopping board in the middle of the table, its warm, meaty aroma making its way into Storm's nose. "Guess you could tell by my accent, huh?"
"Exactly," Ward nodded, before pausing for a moment to eat his pizza. "You know, I might have been born here, but I actually lived in Horseshoe Falls as a kid before returning up here with my mom back in the late 70's. That's near Cloudsdale, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it's what, like 30 miles away?"
"Visited before?"
"Nope, though I've heard it's nice," Storm replied. "When was the last time you've gone to visit?"
"Eh, probably a good few years now," Ward responded, before downing his pizza with a full glass of pop afterward. "Went with Lilli and her brothers by train...it took us a good twelve hours to get there since we didn't take the express train, but I believe it was all worth it in the end."
"I heard it's nice," Storm replied, Lilli leaning in against him constantly. "Though I've never really had a chance to go."
"Yeah, the place definitely has a very medieval-ish charm to it, kinda like Ponyville or Canterville...and the falls themselves look stunning," Ward explained. "So, how's he been treating you baby girl?"
"Dad, please..." Lilli playfully rolled her eyes at her father and wrapped her wing around Stormfire, a tingly, yet rather nice sensation he had gotten used to throughout the past week or so, ever since they first began dating. "He's been amazing."
"I'll have you know I would never do anything to hurt Lilli, sir," Storm admitted, his heart rate increasing slightly.
"I know you won't, and please..." replied the stallion, his mouth filled with pizza, before taking a quick pause to swallow. "...call me Ward."
"You work as a Lunar Guard, don't you?" Storm inquired, before receiving a nod from Lilli.
"Sure do," Windward smirked as he looked at Storm. "Why?"
"No, it's nothing," Storm admitted. "Lilli told me you were one, plus I know one or two ponies who are probably still in the process of becoming guards, and I've always just wanted to know what it was like."
"Well, what can I say?" begun Windward. "It's a hard job, but it's also rewarding. I'm sure some of your friends in the guard would have told you just how difficult it can often be."
"How so?" Storm raised an eyebrow, catching a large, gaping scar on Ward's chest.
"Well, it does require a lot of physical and mental sacrifices to be made, that's for sure, but in the end, I personally believe it's all worth it," Windward replied. "I mean, what else can I say apart from that?"
"Dad's also been involved in the military," Lilli responded. "If you're into that sorta stuff."
"He has?"
"Sure had," Wind replied, before eating another slice of pizza. "I've even served a tour of the Griffon Empire around ten years back as part of the Marine Corps—that is before I got honorably discharged."
"Woah, that's really cool, sir," Storm replied.
"Yeah, it was alright," replied Windward, before pausing to take a quick sigh as he caught sight of Storm looking at his gash. "At first, that is."
"How so?"
"Well... I'm sorry, but I just can't tell you everything. It's a bit too much to even think about at this point," Ward responded.
"Oh," Storm's ears pinned down. "I'm sorry if anything happened."
"No, no, it's fine," Ward shook his head. "I've mostly gotten over my experiences by now...but there are just some things that I'll probably never get out of my system."
"Still, I'm sure your family's proud of you," Storm attempted to lighten the rather somber mood. "I mean, you did fight for our country after all."
"Yeah," he cracked a small smile. "That, in my opinion, makes it all worthwhile. Do you have any family members who were in the military?"
"My dad fought during the Griffon War in the Army," Storm replied, before his smirk faded away. "But he was killed in action before I was born...I've never even met him myself."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Windward sighed.
"Eh, it's fine," Storm replied. "It's all in the past, but truth be told, I really would love to have known him, even gotten a chance."
"I'm sure he would have been proud of you if he saw you today," Lilli wrapped her wing around his body, enabling a warm, tingly feeling to radiate inside him.
"You think so?" Storm turned towards her.
"I know so," she winked seductively at him. "Besides, why wouldn't he be? I mean, you're smart, you're funny, you're really talented...you're a great weather pony as well."
"Thanks, Lils," Storm smiled at her.
"Speaking of weather," Ward cleared his throat. "How's training been going for you? Good?"
"Yeah, yeah, it's alright so far." Storm replied, not wanting to go into detail especially about what happened in the simulator last week, but something told him Ward already knew of what happened.
"By the way, I heard about what happened last week," Ward replied. "That must've been terrifying, huh?"
"You bet," Storm let out a gulp. "I felt as though I was close to drowning there...but Lilli here saved me, and for that, I am forever in her debt."
"Aww..." she cooed.
"You'd be surprised to know that Lilli here is going to Cloudsdale in September," Ward smiled at both of them. "She's going to start studying Weather Theory at the University of Cloudsdale."
"I told him about that," Lilli blushed.
"Still, I couldn't be prouder of my baby girl at this point," Ward smiled. "I never had the chance to study at university, even though I graduated as an honor roll student at school...it just makes me happy seeing my own daughter fulfill her dreams, you know?"
"I'm really happy for her as well," Storm smiled at Lilli. "I hope she achieves whatever she wants to achieve."
"I do so as well," replied Ward. "And I know she will. Want me to get you some more pop?"
"Nope, I'm full up." Storm smiled in response.
"You sure?"
"Positive."
---due to the inclement weather, many flights to and from Vanhoover have been delayed; Bayview Municipal Airport has been closed outright whereas, with high winds creating conditions that have been difficult to deal with to say the least----
"Very well," responded Ward, turning to look at the TV with a half-empty glass of pop in his hoof, before changing the channel—this time, to a news outlet. "I have to go and get ready for work soon. Are you sure you don't want anything?"
"I'll pass."
---thank you, Ocean Breeze...we now go live to our correspondent in Manehattan, who has the latest news surrounding the naval standoff currently taking place out on the Antlertic Ocean.
"Dad, aren't you supposed to be getting ready for work?" Lilli frowned as the stallion found himself glued to the TV, watching as a dark brown-maned mare in a tan suit read out the news from an off-screen teleprompter.
"I'm just watching the news," he replied, not turning away from the screen above the mantelpiece.
---so far, the situation out on the Antlertic isn't getting any better, with countless sailors reported missing and several of the Navy's dispatched ships being heavily damaged. We have reason to believe that this is linked to the paramilitary force currently seeking to overthrow the government of the state of Griffonia, the Griffon Empire's largest and most important political subdivision. The Griffon federal government in Avion, currently pursuing its policy of militaristic isolationism, has denied any involvement in what has been going on for the past few days, as has Ajeristan, Minostan and several other nations who aren't exactly on friendly terms with us---
"Dad?" Lilli frowned, watching as the stallion standing in front of the television appeared to freeze in place, the glass he held in his hooves having shattered across the floor. "Dad? Dad?!"
"Oh gosh, not this again," Jet suddenly rushed in out of nowhere, probably having heard the shattering glass. "Dad!"
"Sir?" Storm asked, his heart skipping a beat as he rushed up to the stallion along with both Clear and Lilli. To Storm, the stallion appeared to be frozen in place and time, but a closer inspection revealed he was shivering and shuddering, tears rolling out of his eyes as his shuddering progressively became more intense and violent.
"Dad, it's okay," Jet rested his hoof on his shoulder as he attempted to calm him down. "Get a hold of yourself, please."
"Can't...I can't..." he murmured under his breath.
"Dad, please."
"No, no... no please!" he yelled, crouching down on his hind hooves, before covering his head with his forehooves. "I can't go back! I CAN'T! It's all too much! It's all too much! Don't take me back! Please..."
"Sir, it's fine. Please calm down," Storm said in a firm voice, crouching down next to Windward along with Lilli and Jet as he watched the stallion break down.
"It isn't! Those assholes will send me back!" the stallion turned towards Storm, shooting him a fierce, yet tearful glare, before slamming his hooves onto the carpet beneath him. "I can't go back!"
"They won't send you back," Lilli replied, tense yet somehow calm. "They can't do such a thing."
"How can you be so sure?! HOW?!" asked Ward, overflowing with anger and confusion. "What if they take this war to the streets?? What if I get sent to the front lines again? I'll never see either of you again!"
"Sir, nothing will happen to you, I know so," Storm replied, trying to remain calm himself. "This isn't war—if anything, it's just a bunch of morons trying to start a fight with us—and I doubt they're gonna start calling retired Guards into the military anytime soon."
"But you don't know that, do you?" Ward inquired, tearful and bitter after his sudden and intense outburst.
"Excuse me?"
"This is the Equestrian Military we're talking about here." replied Ward. "They'll do as they please."
"I'm sorry if my dad scared you."
"It's fine, honestly."
"But I can tell you weren't expecting that..."
"That? Nope," Storm responded as he sat at the foot of her bed, watching as she stared into the distance, probably at or somewhere close to her band posters hung up on the wall. "I'm sorry for asking...but is this common? I mean, I don't really know anypony who has panic attacks like that."
"The PTSD episodes?" Lilli replied with a question of her own, turning to briefly face him. "Somewhat... usually he's not like this, but he sometimes... has these really vivid, and recurring nightmares... of things he saw on the battlefield... other times he's fine up until a certain point where he just snaps... like what you saw earlier."
"Damn."
"Yeah..." Lilli sighed. "Though we do try to steer him away from potential triggers..."
"How's that been working out?" Storm inquired.
"As you saw earlier, not very well..." Lilli nuzzled Storm's chest. "Stormy, I'm just scared... scared he's right...that they'll send him back again. I don't want to end up losing my father. What's going on in the Antlerctic right now could be leading towards another war between Equestria and the Griffon lands."
"Who says they will?" Storm asked, wrapping his wing around her body in an attempt to console her. "Lilli, let's be honest, your dad's not the fittest stallion out there for military service. I'm sure the military doesn't deploy vets with PTSD... I mean, that just wouldn't be fair."
"But he's a Guard," she sniffled.
"But the Guard does know of his PTSD, right?"
"I think they do," Lilli continued nuzzling his chest as tears rolled out of her eyes. "I mean, I'm sure it was a Guard psychologist that diagnosed him with it."
"Well then, they would have without a doubt told his superiors about it," replied Storm. "And they would definitely have worked something out for him."
"I guess so," Lilli glanced up at him with an unconvinced frown, her eyes welling up with tears. "I don't want to lose my father, Storm... and I also don't want to lose you."
"Excuse me?" he frowned.
"Storm, you are technically eligible for the draft, and my guess is that if something were to happen between Equestria and the Empire right now, it'd only be a matter of time before you were conscripted yourself," Lilli replied, before embracing him tightly.
"But... I'm training to become a weather pony."
"That doesn't matter. I don't know what I'd do if I were to lose you. I'm just scared, Stormy."
"Lilli, I'm scared too..." Storm embraced her tightly as the thought of him being drafted returned to him. "But...let's hope for the best, alright? Right now, it doesn't involve us and I doubt it will."