The Adventures of Kaela Fie and Caelus Storm

by Caelus Storm

Part 5: Revelation

The Adventures of Kaela Fie and Caelus Storm

Part 5:Revelation

The weather had turned colder as autumn had set in. The trees in the park burst with color. Caelus watched as three fillies chased each other through the falling leaves.

"Tag, you're it, Windy," Dinky shouted.

Fie galloped after Dinky and Wisty, laughing with a care in the world. Her laughter caused Caelus to smile. He was glad that she was happy. The wind blew and Caelus shivered, adjusting his scarf. A few weeks ago, he and Fie had returned to Ponyville. He had collected a box of things from his house that he would need for the upcoming winter. He had also talked to his friends, explaining that he was away in Canterlot. When they asked him about it, he had given them a vague half-answer. He felt bad about it. But he couldn't outright say that he was raising an alicorn filly and the Princesses wanted to keep an eye on her.He wasn't moving to Canterlot permanently, he was just staying there for a few months.

Once the weather had started to cool down, Caelus had made sure to buy Fie a coat, scarf, and hat. Today was warm enough for just the coat, but the wind in mid-November could still be chilly.

Caelus checked the position of the sun. "Okay, girls. Five more minutes before we have to go."

"Aww..."

"But Storm."

"It's not that late."

Caelus smiled at the fillies. "It's not late, but it is getting close to dinner time. Now hurry up. Only four minutes left. Spend them wisely."

Kaela looked at Dinky, who looked at Wisty, who looked back at Fie. As one, they nodded. Fie tapped Caelus' foreleg.

"You're it!" she shouted. All three fillies ran away from the blue pegasus.

Caelus sighed, then smiled and chased after the three. The sound of laughter filled the air, and the leaves continued to fall.

* * *

Knock knock knock.

Caelus opened the door, revealing a brown teenage stallion in a red jacket.

"Two medium double cheeses for a Caelus Storm," he said.

"Yup, that's me," Caelus said.

"That'll be seven bits."

Caelus gave the teen ten and took the pizzas inside. He took a deep whiff of the freshly baked food.

"Pizza here?" Fie said from the chair she was reading on.

"Yes it is," Caelus said.

Fie trotted over to the kitchen while Caelus pulled two plates out of the cupboard. Opening one of the boxes, Fie pulled a steaming hot slice onto her plate. She blew on it to cool it off.

Caelus immediately took a bite of pizza.

"Careful, it's hot," Kaela said.

Caelus sucked in air to cool off his burning tongue. "That's the way I like it."

"Suit yourself," Fie said, taking a cautious bite of her own slice of pizza.

Caelus swallowed and immediately took a long sip of orange soda. "Ouch," he said. "Hot."

"Told you so," Fie said.

"You did," Caelus said, "but I'm doing it again anyway." He took another big bite of pizza, wincing slightly as he burned his tongue.

Kaela sighed. "Silly Storm," she said, enjoying her own dinner.

* * *

Caelus faced his opponent, gray-purple eyes narrowed slightly. The other pony was a brown earth pony stallion. Though he was barely old enough to be considered a stallion.

"Ready," Lightning Strike said, "begin!"

Caelus reared up on his hind legs. An iron blade sang as it left its sheath attached to his right foreleg. He swung at the other pony.

The earth pony ducked, then lunged at Caelus with his own hoof-blade. Caelus twisted and let the blade glance off his training armor. He countered with a stab at the stallion. The stallion parried and slashed at Caelus' neck.

Caelus ducked, dropping onto his foreleg, holding his blade in front of him. The other stallion did the same, and they both circled each other. Seconds later they met again with a clash of metal.

The two stallions battered at each other for several minutes, neither seeming to get the upper hoof. Finally, Caelus slipped past the other stallion and pressed the flat of his blade against the stallion's neck.

"Victory to Caelus," Lightning Strike shouted.

Caelus lowered his blade, retracting it into the gauntlet. "Good match, Iron," he said.

"Likewise, Storm, the earth pony said.

"Next match, Crimson Bolt and Glimmer Frost," Lightning Strike announced.

The recruits shifted anxiously. Crimson Bolt was a good swordspony, and he made sure everyone knew it. He was loud and arrogant. Glimmer Frost was a quiet mare. She was small and thin, and looked like the last pony that one would expect to be in the Royal Guard.

"Hey sweetcheeks," Crimson said to Frost, "I hate to leave you feeling bad after this, so what say you and I go get a drink after training. I'll give you a few pointers on how to handle a sword."

Frost didn't say anything, standing across from Crimson Bolt.

"Ready, begin," Lightning Strike shouted.

Crimson immediately charged at Frost, swinging at her chest. Frost blocked it, her face remaining neutral. Crimson started a savage series of attacks. Steel rang on steel as Frost blocked or dodged every strike. Crimson lunged forward, and Frost parried and sidestepped. As the red pegasus turned, Frost struck like lightning. Suddenly on the defensive, Crimson Bolt took a step back. Frost pressed her advantage. Three strikes later, Crimson was flat on his back with a blade pressed against his throat.

"Victory to Frost," Lightning Strike shouted.

Frost retracted her hoof-blade and walked out of the sparring ring to the cheers of the other recruits. Crimson still lay on his back, blinking in surprise.

"Get out of the dirt, Cadet," Lightning Strike said.

Crimson scrambled to his hooves, and with his chin tilted up, left the ring.

"Next match, Black Aegis and Tall Timber," Lightning Strike said.

* * *

Kaela sat with Dinky under a tree in the courtyard.

"Your mom seems nice," Kaela said.

"She is," Dinky said, "she lives in Ponyville, so she visits every other weekend. What about you? I've only ever met your dad."

Fie shifted. she and Celestia had talked about this, and they decided that the best answer was the truth. "I never knew my mother," she murmured, "Storm raised me himself."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Windy," Dinky said.

"It's okay," Kaela said. "It doesn't bother me."

"Well it should."

Kaela and Dinky both jumped as a third voice entered their conversation. They looked up and saw Ruby Polish, followed by Emerald Dust. Kaela tucked her wings in more tightly under her dress.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, it's, like, really bad you don't know your mom," Ruby Polish said.

"She probably ran off. No unicorn would stay with a pegasus like your dad," Emerald Dust added.

"You never even met Storm," Kaela defended.

"So? We've seen him after school," Ruby Polish said, "No wonder your mom left him."

Kaela started backing up, ears folding down. "Please, leave me alone," she said, her resolve failing in the face of such harsh words.

"I bet she wears that dress because she has a two-toned coat, like those freaky zebras," Emerald Dust said.

"I bet you're right," Ruby Polish said with a smirk, "maybe we should take off her dress."

Kaela was starting to panic. She felt her magic building up at the base of her horn.

"Hey, leave her alone," Dinky said. "Her dad is awesome."

"Yeah," Ruby sneered, "and your mom is a derpy mailmare. It's a miracle she can even read."

Dinky immediately shut up, her eyes filling with tears.

"Now let's see what Windy here is hiding," Emerald Dust said.

"Please stop," Fie whimpered. She wanted to be anywhere but here.

"Or what? you'll cry to your daddy?" Ruby jeered, her horn starting to glow. "Now let's see what you're hiding under that dress."

There was a sound of ripping fabric. No, Fie thought. She desperately wanted to be anywhere else. She felt her magic build and release.

"Windy!" Dinky cried.

Kaela vanished in a flash of light, leaving behind a concerned Dinky, and two stunned bullies, one of them holding the remains of a yellow sundress.

* * *

Caelus had just finished tactics class. He was chatting with Iron Hoof as he followed the rest of the recruits to the sparring ring. A flash of light made him pause. A sobbing blue ball of fur clutching his legs startled him. He looked down at Kaela, who had buried her face against his forelegs.

"What is going on over here?" Lightning Strike shouted. The recruits stood aside as their commanding officer approached. Caelus gulped, the murmurs of the crowd not helping. Lightning Strike looked at the situation, pursing her lips.

"Cadet Storm," she said, "you are dismissed to deal with this."

"Thank you, ma'am," Caelus said.

"The rest of you, double time," she shouted, "or I'll have you running laps till sunset."

The recruits all moved onward at a light jog, while Caelus took Fie over to the side, out of the open. He set her down and she once again clung to his forelegs. Caelus sat down and pulled Fie closer.

"Shh, shh, shh, it's all right," he murmured, "it's all right. I'm here now."

Fie mumbled something through her tears, trying to push closer to Caelus.

Caelus held the distraught filly close, whispering comforting words to her. It was several minutes before Fie's sobs turned to shuddering breaths as she calmed down enough to speak.

"S-Storm?" she stammered.

Caelus hugged Fie. "Shh. I'm here."

"Storm, why are there mean ponies in the world?" she sniffled.

"I don't know Fie, "Caelus said. "why don't you tell me what happened. Okay?"

Fie told him about the bullies at school, and how they had been giving her and Dinky a hard time since day one. As she spoke, Caelus felt his jaw clench. When she got to the part where the other fillies had taken her dress, Caelus was almost ready to go and give these bullies a piece of his mind. But the soft sobs of the filly in his arms pulled his attention back to the present.

"Hey," he said, "don't cry. I'm here now, and those fillies can't get to you here."

Kaela stopped crying after two more minutes. She nuzzled Caelus in the chest. "Your armor is cold," she mumbled.

Caelus chuckled slightly, but a light cough cut him off. He turned.

"I saw her arrive," Princess Luna said.

"Princess," Caelus gasped. he shifted so he could salute the Moon Princess.

"At ease, Cadet," she said. "I'm more concerned with young Kaela. Shouldn't she be in school?"

Caelus nodded. "She should, but there was an incident with some...other fillies." He explained what Fie had told him to the Princess.

"I see," Luna said when Caelus finished. "That is most unfortunate. I will tell my sister when I see her this evening. However, we really should return Kaela to school."

Fie shook her head and clung to Caelus.

Fie, you really should-" Caelus started.

"No," she said, trying to nuzzle closer to him. "I wanna stay her with you."

"Fie..." Caelus started.

"It is all right, Caelus Storm. I can watch her while you go back to training," Princess Luna said.

"What! I-I couldn't ask you to do that Princess," Caelus stammered.

"Nonsense," Luna said. " But first..." The Princess's horn glowed and Fie's wings faded from sight.

"Huh?" Fie said, craning her head around to look at her back.

"It's just an illusion, young Kaela," Luna said. "Now, Cadet Caelus, assume guard position and escort your Princess to the sparring fields so she may inspect the recruits."

Caelus saluted formally, but had to suppress a smile. "Yes, your Majesty," he said, assuming position on Luna's right, one stride ahead of her.

The arrival of the Princess caused quite a stir among the recruits and officers alike. However, a word from Luna and all returned to their duties, albeit with a little more vigor, and with two captains standing guard by the younger of the two Royal Sisters.

Kaela cheered for Caelus when he sparred, eyes wide with awe. Caelus for his part fought better because of it. Of the five bouts he was in, he lost only one, and it was against Glimmer Frost. In fact, Kaela's enthusiasm was infectious, and the other recruits seemed to move with new purpose.

As the recruits were running laps, Iron Hoof said to Caelus, "Cute kid you got there, Storm."

Caelus nodded in thanks, looking at Fie, who stood next to Princess Luna, waving at him as he galloped past. He would have waved back, except doing so would have caused him to trip and fall. He did smile at her, waving a wingtip instead. Fie giggled, and Caelus smiled at himself, then kept running.

* * *

Kaela trotted next to Storm as they headed home after his training. She was in a considerably better mood than she had been early. She fluttered her wings, which were still hidden by Luna's illusion spell. The Moon Princess herself was following them, but in the guise of a unicorn mare; her own illusion spell.

Once they were safely inside their apartment, Luna dispelled both illusions. Fie turned her head and noticed her wings needed preening. She craned her neck around and started straightening her feathers.

"I will leave you two now," Luna said, "I will tell my sister what has transpired."

"Thank you, Princess," Storm said/

A knock on the door startled all three of them. Storm went over to the door and opened it a little bit.

"Dinky?" he said, surprised, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, um, Windy left her saddlebags and her jacket at school," the purple filly said. "I also got her homework for the classes she missed."

"That was very sweet of you Dinky," Storm said.

"Is she all right?" Dinky asked.

Fie poked her head out of the door. "Yeah, I'm okay." Her wings were once again hidden beneath Luna's illusion magic. "I just got scared and...teleported away."

"Wow, you really did a teleport spell?" Dinky said. "That's, like, the hardest spell there is."

Fie blushed slightly. "I didn't mean to do it," she said. "Thanks for bringing my homework, Dinky." Kaela gave her friend a hug.

"I-it was nothing," the purple filly said. She returned Kaela's hug. "I should get going, I got walked here by a teacher, and they're waiting for me."

"Bye, Dinky," Fie said.

Once Storm closed the door, her wings reappeared. Princess Luna dropped her invisibility spell.

"With that, Caelus Storm, I take me leave," she said. "Good evening to you too, Kaela Fie." With that, the Moon Princess vanished in a flash of light.

Fie started her homework, and Storm started making dinner. Fie occasionally asked a question, but for the most part, they were both quiet.

* * *

That night, Caelus lay awake in bed. Today had brought to light a part of raising Kaela that he hadn't thought of before: comforting her when she was upset. And upset she had been. Fie had always been pretty quiet, but her submissiveness now had an obvious source in the form of bullies. Princess Celestia had warned him that the Canterlot elite passed their snobbiness onto their children, but he had never thought that foals could be so harsh. Nopony could say those things to his daughter.

His daughter. The thought had occurred to him a few times before, but he had never thought much of it. It wasn't until Fie appeared sobbing against his chest that he actually felt like more than just a caretaker. This is my daughter, he had thought, and I am never going to let anypony hurt her ever again.

Caelus smiled down at the small, warm body curled up by his side. Fie had fallen asleep while he was reading to her, and he didn't have the heart to move her. Gently moving to get more comfortable, Caelus nuzzled the filly.

"Sleep well, my daughter," he murmured.

* * *

A dark figure watched as the light clicked out in the pegasus' apartment. The pegasus wasn't what interested him, though. It was the young filly that was living with the pegasus. The dark figure wait another hour before he flapped his wings and flew down to hover by the pegasus' window. Looking inside, the figure saw the blue pegasus stallion sleeping on the bed. Beside the stallion was nestled the filly.

The figure narrowed his eyes. The filly sifted in her sleep, revealing her wings in addition to her horn. The filly snuggled closer to the pegasus before she settled back into a deeper sleep. The figure rolled his tongue in his mouth. Even from here, he could taste the love coming from her. Godling, the figure thought. With another flap of his wings, he flew off. Landing in a shadow, he slunk off into the night.

After many twists and turns, the creature stopped in a pitch-black alley. He emitted a series of clicks and chirps. Two glowing blue eyes opened in the dark. The figure could vaguely see the other's chitin-covered body in the darkness.

What news do you bring brother? the changeling asked.

The figure dropped their disguise of a Night Guard and responded with the thought-speak. I saw correct, the Godling is living with a pegasus, the figure replied. Send a message to the Queen. Ask what our course of action is.

I will. For the glory of the Hive, the changeling said.

For the glory of the Queen, the figure responded. Watching the changeling fly off into the night, the figure turned back into a Night Guard and resumed the appearance of patrolling the streets of Canterlot.

Author's Note:

Well, dang. This took longer that I expected. Hate to say it, but don't expect anything new for a few weeks. School is starting to pile up, and finals are in only two weeks.

As for the story:
Well it looks like things are about to get interesting. Something big this way comes. Hope you are ready for the next chapter, cause that's when things REALLY start getting serious.

As always, feedback is appreciated. Please leave comments below.
Thank you.

-C.Storm