Ch 23 - A Meeting With The Sun
“C’mon Storm, it’s time to get up!” I heard a voice sing over my head, insistent but not too commanding.
“Nuhhhh.” I groaned and pulled the blanket back over my head. “It’s too early to go to school, mom. Lemme sleep.”
I could swear I heard somewhere between a gasp and a squee from the voice, thankfully muffled by the blanket. I curled back up and started to drift back to the sweet embrace of sleep. But it apparently wasn’t to be as the blanket was pulled off my curled-up form, letting the light seeping in from the curtain hit me straight in the face. I let out a small whine and covered my eyes with my forelegs.
“You’re adorable Storm, but you do actually have to get up.” The voice rang out again, shaking my shoulder with one hoof. “We’re at the Crystal Empire! You’re going to get to meet your Auntie Celestia!”
I sighed and opened my eyes, unhappily admitting defeat in the war against waking up. Princess Luna was gathering the various things in the train cart I’d need to get ready, beaming down at me with an amount of love that made me both happy and embarrassed. Since, you know, it was weird to be a grown man and have someone look at you like a little kid.
I mean, to be fair I am a little kid again. So it ain’t that weird. Honestly, it’s kind of nice.
I rolled to my hooves and stretched out to actually wake up. Taking a page out of Rarity’s cat’s book I lowered my chest into the bed and stretched my flank upwards, hearing a satisfying crack from my back as I did so. I also stretched out my wings, enjoying the pops of my wing joints settling into place. Surprisingly, my wings felt alright this time, unlike the slight soreness I had felt from the hospital beds.
[You know anyone can see your ass like that.]
I immediately slammed my flank back down into the bed, my head swiveling like crazy to figure out where that voice came from. It sounded kind of like my dad’s voice, but it was also a whisper from a man who was a whole world away. Mom looked down with a concerned look from the corner, where she was fixing her mane with the help of the mirror.
“Is everything okay, Storm? You look worried.” Mom gazed down at me, a worried look on her face.
I blinked and shook my head, forcing my mind to refocus. “Y-yeah I’m fine.” I hopped from the bed and made my way over to her. “So I’m going to meet Aunt Celestia?”
Mom nodded, smiling. “Yes! She is very excited to meet you!”
“That’s good.” I offered a weak smile before clearing my throat. “Uh, what about my parents? I thought Mom and Dad lived in the Crystal Empire too.”
Mom blinked, her brows furrowed in confusion for a moment. “Yes, Cadence and Shining Armor are the rulers of the Crystal Empire. But at the moment it's currently...” One of her ears flicked to the side for a moment as she broke eye contact.
“Currently what, Mom?” I scooted over a step to the left to regain eye contact.
I could swear a flash of even more confusion and excitement flashed through her eyes before she sighed. “Some kind of dome is covering the Crystal Empire, blocking us from entering it.”
“Oh...” I frowned and shuffled my hooves against the floor. “Well, thank you for being honest with me. But, what will happen if we do get in? Will my- I mean Flurry’s parents try to take me or will I actually live with you?” I looked up, my eyes pleading.
Mom pulled me into a hug and nuzzled the top of my head, comforting me enough that I felt a lot of my stress almost melt away. “I plan on talking to my sister about this matter once she’s done meeting you. Do not worry, be it with me or with Cadance and Shining, you will be treated with all the love a parent can give a child.”
“I-I.” I stammered before I forced the words out. “If you say so. I trust you, mom.” I sighed, moving to step out of her embrace. “If we are already here I should get ready, huh?”
Mom nodded, letting me go and levitating over my green hoodie, now with a rainbow lightning bolt made of small gems emblazoned on the chest of it. “Yes. You should wear this as well, it is quite cold out there. You have pegasus magic that should keep you warm, but just in case. Don’t want you getting sick after all.”
I smiled and pulled the hoodie on, this time having an easier go of it. It fit rather snuggly, with holes in the side to let me pull my wings through. Now that it was set I tidied up my hair with a brush, letting my curls sit naturally instead of trying to straighten them. I gave a small grin to my appearance in the mirror. While not the face I was born with and wanted, damn I was adorable.
[Oh! Don’t forget your bow darling!]
My right ear perked up at the feminine voice that sounded exactly like Mom. “Oh, right! Thanks for reminding me!” I scooped up my bow and tied it, grinning at my even cuter look.
“Hmm? Reminding you about what?” Mom asked, her eyebrow raised.
“For reminding me to put my bow on,” I stated, looking at her through the mirror and I finished adjusting my clothes and mane.
“I didn’t mention anything about a bow.” Mom frowned slightly. “Are you sure you are alright?”
I felt a shiver run down my spine, but I forced myself to shake it off. “Yeah, I’m fine, don't worry. Let’s go, don’t want to keep Aunt Celestia waiting right?”
Mom kept her frown but slowly nodded. “Sure, let us go then. Follow me.”
It wasn’t that hard to tell which tent was Celestia’s, considering almost no other tent was as tall or wide as hers. I couldn’t help but trot a little faster towards the tent once it was pointed out to me, Mom was right it was fucking cold, even through my coat and feathers. Mom herself walked with all the grace she always had, albeit with a slight degree of added effort thanks to the snow on the ground. There was no sign of Spike or Twilight on the way there, but based on the footprints in the snow at least Spike was probably already in the tent.
Once I got to the large white and gold tent with Mom, she held out one of her wings to stop me from just bursting in. Instead, she lit up her horn and pressed it against the entrance flap, causing the whole flap to glow a faint gold. Mom smiled and stepped back, letting the gold glow fade as we waited. I let out a small shiver and stepped closer to the elder alicorn, the freezing northern air absolutely cutting through me.
Thankfully the tent flap once again glowed with a gold aura and opened, revealing the inside of the fancy tent. It resembled almost something from Harry Potter with the fancy four-poster bed, mirror, desk, and dresser. Sitting in the middle of the tent on pillows were Spike, Twilight, and a really tall and regal-looking white alicorn, her hair almost like Rainbow Dash’s. But more....flowy, like Mom’s, like an actual rainbow instead of just rainbow-colored. And she was tall! Even sitting down I could tell an adult pony would be to her what I am to that adult pony.
“Woah.” I breathed out as I stepped into the warmness of the tent. “You’re really tall.”
Mom let out an exasperated sigh while the tall alicorn and Spike both burst into laughter. Even Twilight gained a small smile and rolled her eyes in amusement.
“Thank you, my little pony. I am quite tall indeed.” She nodded to Twilight and Spike, a calm smile on her otherwise serene face. “Twilight, Spike, why don’t you two go explore the camp a bit? I would like to speak with Luna and Storm alone for the moment.”
Twilight and Spike both nodded and made their way out of the tent, passing by me and Mom. Spike gave the two of us a hug in hello/goodbye, while Twilight simply gave a sheepish smile as she passed. Once the two of them left the tent flap once again glowed with a faint gold hue that quickly faded.
“Huh, what did that do?” I tilted my head in confusion at the lack of weird runes like almost all the other magic I’ve seen.
“Just a small privacy spell, don’t want anypony listening in after all.” The white alicorn gave me a wink and motioned to the two pillows in front of her with one of her long forelegs. “Why don’t you take a seat Storm so we can properly get to know each other.”
I hesitated for a moment, a flutter of anxiety shooting through me. Thankfully Mom saved me by giving me a small side-hug and whispering into my ear. “It’s okay, she’s your Aunt Celestia. She won’t hurt you I swear.”
I nodded and stepped over to the offered pillow, taking a moment to actually settle down onto the soft pillow. Far softer than anything I was used to, but thankfully it was large enough that I could simply lie down on my stomach instead of trying to sit like a cat. Mom sat on the other one, a nervous smile on her face as well.
“So, you must be Summer Storm. I am your Aunt Celestia.” She once again let a small smile in through her stoically regal expression. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you.”
I nodded and gave a similar if awkward smile in return. “Same here. Uh, I was wondering...” Despite my feigned bravery, I felt one of my ears flick back in worry. “Mo- I mean Luna was saying that you two would have to talk about what’s gonna happen with me?”
Celestia’s eyebrow twitched upwards for a moment but didn’t comment on my slip up. “Yes, I wanted to wait on that until we have a chance to include Cadance and Shining Armor in the conversation. Although that does lead me to one of the things I wanted to ask you: what do you want to do? You don’t have to answer if you don’t know the answer, don’t worry.”
I folded my other ear back as I closed my eyes in thought. After a few moments, I opened my eyes and let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding. “I would prefer moving to Canterlot with the two of you. Otherwise...I don’t know. I enjoy flying, it would be something I would love to learn more about. That and being able to visit my friends in Ponyville.”
Celestia nodded, her smile growing a little more at the sound of me having friends. “I am happy to hear that. Have you tried testing out your earth pony or unicorn magic yet? I’m sure you’d find as much enjoyment from that.”
I shook my head, letting out an embarrassed chuckle. “No, I didn’t really have time to learn, er, earth pony magic. To be honest I am not really sure what that means. As for unicorn magic, uh, I tried but...” I waved my forehooves in exasperation. “Every time I try to move things I keep either putting too much force or too little force and making a mess. Broke a door, put a fork in the ceiling...”
Celestia and Mom giggled softly before Mom set a comforting wing on my back, almost engulfing my small frame. “Don’t worry Storm, you’ll get a handle on it. Just requires a bit of practice, especially with your magic being enhanced by you being an alicorn.”
“If you practice slowly it will come with time, all ponies struggle with even simple magic like that in the beginning. Even we did, although I doubt Lulu will admit that.” Celesia stuck her tongue out at her sister, a teasing smile on her face.
Mom rolled her eyes but giggled. “Yes, yes. Besides, once you get a handle on that we can teach you some other spells if you wish.”
“I mean I can try, but I wasn't really a good student back home.” I paused for a moment, a thought crossing my mind. “Wait, am I going to have to go back to school?”
Celestia nodded, raising an eyebrow. “Of course. Admittedly we wouldn’t send you to my School For Gifted Unicorns since you’re far behind with your magical skills, but...” Celestia rubbed her chin with one hoof, her brows furrowed in thought. “Based on the test that Ms. Cheerilee gave you, you could attend Canterlot Prep School, as long as you actually apply yourself. As for flying, you can learn from some of the guards, or if you really want you could always go to Summer Flight Camp.”
“And learned to read?” I ventured, a small blush forming on my face.
Mom chuckled softly, nodding. “Yes, but that shouldn’t be too hard. Don’t worry, you’ll do fine in school, you are a bright filly. You just have to apply yourself.”
“If you say so.” I shrugged, a weird motion to do while laying on your stomach as a quadruped. “I was pushed more towards sports than school back home. Learned the basics but as long as I passed my parents were too worried, after all not much need for that when you’re working on a ranch.”
Celestia frowned slightly at that, a strange and slightly intimidating look on her. “I disagree with that sentiment, but that does not matter now. You aren’t going to be living on a ranch anymore, unless you choose to in the future. If you are adopted by Luna or by Cadance you’ll be a princess after all. And be it a rancher or royalty, everypony deserves to have a full education.”
“A p-princess?” I stammered, my anxiety rising. “I don’t know about that, I’m a bit young and that is a lot of responsibility and I’d rather have a simple life...”
Aunt Celestia smiled and lifted my head with one of her hooves, lowering her own to be of equal level to me. “It is a title, not something that you have to embrace if you don’t want to. You are still growing up, we aren’t going to put anything you aren’t ready for on your shoulders. Once you are of age if you do not want to be a Princess like me or Luna or Twilight you don’t have to. There are such things as nobles who go into other fields like the Wonderbolts, fashion, or even diplomats.”
I relaxed a bit, feeling my shoulders sag as some of the tension bled out of me. “Okay. Uh, what’s happening with Twilight?” I looked up, my brows furrowed in concern and irritation. “I want her to be punished, but not like exiled or something. I know she was trying to help after all, even if she went around doing it in the worst way.”
Celestia let out a small sigh and smiled. “I am happy to hear your concern. I am planning to make Twilight get some training to fight, both to make her not so reliant on her magic and hopefully make her not stress out over little things so much. While it was adorable when she was younger, it has become a liability, unfortunately. But do not worry, she won’t be exiled or anything.”
I breathed a sigh of relief, which felt strange considering all the pain that Twilight put me through. While I didn’t want to deal with her, at least for a while, I didn’t want her to die or anything. An eye for an eye and the whole world goes blind and all that jazz.
“Wait, you said you wanted to wait for Cadance and Shining Armor! I thought they were stuck in there.” I waved a hoof in the vague direction of the giant pink dome, almost accidentally smacking Mom in the process.
Celestia chuckled and rose to her hooves, stepping over to a map on her desk. “It took a few days but one of my librarians found a map of the mines below. One of them should lead up to the Crystal Empire unless Shining or Cadance decided to wall it off.”
I blinked, tilting my head in confusion like a dog. “Oh, I thought you were just going to teleport or something through the dome.”
“No, we tried and it didn’t work.” Celestia sighed in frustration. “Whatever is making the dome is quite thorough, no magic in or out.”
[Maybe there is a reason it’s keeping you out. They don’t want to see their zombie daughter.]
My right ear turned to the side in an effort to focus on the strange voice. I frowned slightly and tried to ignore it, though my wings did twitch a bit in nervousness. Mom must have noticed it through the wing she had wrapped around me since she looked down with an eyebrow raised and a concerned look on her face. I smiled and shrugged, turning my attention back to my aunt.
“Say, would it be alright if I tagged along?” I asked, prepared to bring out my puppy dog eyes if needed. “I’ve spent the past few days being dragged around, I want to help actually do something. If that’s okay, I mean.”
I felt Mom’s wing twitch against my back as she frowned. “No, you might get hurt again.”
“Lulu, it’s fine.” Celestia looked down at me with a kind smile and a twinkle in her eyes. Almost looked like pride for a second. “You were her age when you started joining me and Starswirl on adventures. Of course, you can join us, Storm.”
Mom gasped in indignation before sighing. “Well, just be careful okay?”
I smiled up at her, relieved that Celestia actually let me join. “Don’t worry, I’ll try to be.”
“I will be there with almost a dozen guards. There are no predators in the mines, we should be fine.” Celestia chuckled and gave me a nuzzle on the top of my head. “I was planning on going when we were done talking. Are you ready?”
I nodded and looked over to Mom. “Are you not coming with us?”
She shook her head sadly. “I cannot, somepony has to watch the camp while you two are gone. Good luck to you two, be careful.”
“Will do, Mom!” I grinned and gave her a big hug, giggling as I felt her nuzzle my head as she returned the hug. Once she let go I turned to Celestia and gave a salute with my wing. “Lead the way, Auntie!”
The entrance to the mine wasn’t too far from the camp, thankfully. While the hoodie helped a lot to keep me warm, it still left a good chunk of my back half uncovered and exposed to the cold. Next to me was Celestia, the warmth coming off of her making her immune to the cold northern air. The other 10 guards had cloaks over their armor to protect them from the wind, but their metal armor was probably still uncomfortably cold even with padding and a coat to protect them.
The entrance itself was a simple cave opening, with wooden beams to give the ceiling and walls additional support. As we entered I noticed several glowing crystals on the wall, giving off enough light to see where we were going. Two of the guards went ahead of the group, one an earth pony and the other a pegasus.
“Storm, this is a good chance for you to learn a piece of your earth pony magic.” Celestia smiled down at me, lowering her head so I didn’t break my neck looking up at her. “Close your eyes and focus your senses through your hooves. Feel the earth, let the crystals within speak to you.”
I raised an eyebrow but shrugged and did as she said. Trying to feel the ground with my hooves was a weird feeling since it made my hooves kind of tingle like they did when I was standing on a cloud. Not a bad feeling, just weird. In the darkness, I could hear the guards’ armor and hoofsteps on the worn ground, while all around us I could vaguely feel the hum of various crystals still buried under the dirt. Not a threatening hum, just one letting me know that they were there.
“Huh. It’s kind of a tingly feeling.” I opened my eyes and looked back up at Celestia. “Do all earth ponies have to do that? Seems hard to mine with your eyes closed.”
Celestia let out a small chuckle and shook her head. “No, most earth ponies learn how to channel that feeling unconsciously with experience. It also depends on what area they work, the Apple family is skilled at using their magic to help their trees grow, while the Pie family focuses on rocks instead.”
“Oh wow. That is pretty cool.” I thought for a moment before looking back up. “This is a lot of different magic I can do. Sounds complicated.”
Celestia nodded sagely. “It can be, our gift as alicorns is the potential to use magic from all three tribes. To use it well requires time and practice, even the most studious alicorn can’t just learn how to use all their abilities in one day. Don’t rush it and it will come to you.”
I nodded and went back to looking at the mine walls, noticing that the closer we got to the city itself the more mined out the walls were. In various parts the tunnel split off in other directions, requiring the scouts and Celestia to consult their maps to ensure we didn’t get lost.
I stuck close to Celestia, shivering a bit at the claustrophobic nature of being this deep underground. I wanted to spread my wings and flee, but I couldn’t since I was basically enclosed in how many feet of earth, crystal, and stone until we left the mine. Celestia noticed and scooped me up, setting me on her back in an effort to keep me calm. It somehow worked, with me wrapping my forelegs around her neck as I laid against her back, face buried in her flowing mane.
After what felt like an eternity of holding onto my aunt and not thinking about being trapped in the mine I heard one of the scouts return with word that he found the exit. As one the group ventured towards the exit, keeping an eye for any potential threats, be it living or structural. I carefully lifted my head from Celestia’s mane, noticing that the exit tunnel was massive, filled with mine carts, gear, and a giant wooden door blocking the way out. I couldn’t read the sign on the door but it didn’t look good based on the bright red lettering on the white metal.
“Storm, keep your head down. We are going to have to bust the door open due to it being locked from the other side.” Celestia raised her wings, shielding me as the sound of wood splintering echoed through the tunnels. “We also don’t know what to expect once we enter the city. If there is any danger we will retreat and get more help. Do you understand?”
“Y-yes ma’am.” I squeaked, both excited and nervous at being this close to more danger. I wanted to help, sure, but I also knew I wasn’t much help in this body if things got super dangerous.
“Good. Now, let’s go save some ponies.” Celestia grinned and ventured into the pink-tinged light of the Crystal Empire, her wings carefully extended to hide me from all but those looking from behind. I couldn’t help but grin, bolstered by her confidence.
“I got your back, Auntie.” I giggled as I once again took my place on her back, holding onto her neck for support with my forelegs.
Stats
Page generated in 0.022 seconds
Total duration
987 users online
385,756 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Alright, we're going to see what's up in the CE. Also, Storm meets Shining and Cadence, that can only really go a couple of ways and I'm real curious to see which one it is.
Voices in the head are not a good sign
Nice
11208668
Might be discord. would be out of charicter for him to be that mean about the zombie daughter thing though
11208702
Extract from Chapter 6
11208710
storm also died but he got better. dont see why discord should be put off the table due to that
Hooray for a sequel!
Well we have bad signs of mental instability but we also are nearing endgame.
Noticed a few typos:
learn
weren't
Looking forward to more. Also wondering about the voice/voices Storm is hearing.
Can't wait 4 the sequel love the story thank u
So, nightmare Cadence? Nightmare Cadence.
As far as the voice... It sounds like an overly cynical human. And Flurry is acting more... Childish than usual. Are the personalities separating like oil and water?
It still leaves the question of why the human voice would say not to forget her bow - unless i'm missing something...
11208981
One voice is probably Flurry and the other is probably OG Storm
11209013
That leaves the question of why OG Flurry would 'speak' in Luna's voice.
Interesting...
I don't know why I thought the Dome over the Crystal Empire was Shining Armour's doing. Bleh.
11208714
Because it could be mentioned before, and because I think (Maybe the author can tell if it's true or not) that it was a way to take out the Deus Ex Machina that could solve everything with a snap of claws from the story
11209342
i mean its his go to move so you got that in your corner for justification as if he is in one it can be safe to say he is making it or helping make it
Sounds more like Rarity.
11209378
Im firmly in the opinion that discord isnt completly dead and lost and he might still kinda be around
That said, most of them aren't very "Noble" at all.
11209270
Why would a griffon care about a young alicorn?
11209383
I like the theory that every Discord is part of a giant Discord that live in the void between worlds and what we see is a puppet the size of his nail with proportionate power
11209641
why would a griffon go to a pony flight school
11209670
Where at any point was there talk of a flight school?
11209780
you asked why a griffon would care for an alicorn didnt you? i gave you an example of that kind of situation but in reverse where a griffon was cared for by ponys (implyed) in the show with gilda going to the same flight school that rainbow did
11209382
The tone was very Rarity-like, but the actual voice itself sounded like Luna's. For some reason or another.
11209788
"Dear Gilda,
Your application to the Griffon-Pony Flight School Exchange Program has been approved. Please ready yourself for a unique learning experience flying with the pegasi in Equestria.
If you need anything, please don't hesitate to reach out.
Sincerely,
Duchess Gabriella"
The fact the Storm is keeping the voices a secret is nonsensical. Why would she do that? There's nothing to gain. It would be much more logical if she just told them and got help. This seems to just stir drama for the sake of it.
And here I thought in Like Night and Day, Celestia and Luna were going to revoke Storm's princesshood
11224620
the circumstances seems to changed since they have relized that storm was no longer a threat(i guess)
11218194
Something to keep in mind is that Storm is both a a former human man that seems to want to be as “manly” as possible (as in showing no “weakness” or interest in things not considered “manly”), and is also being influenced by her Filly brain. So being logical is the last thing on Storm’s mind. Plus, humans in general tend to keep things like that to themselves until it begins to negatively impact their lives to a point that other people in their lives all but force them to get help
Please take this as constructive criticism from someone that has been enjoying this story and so continue to read it: this chapter needs work.
- why is Storm suddenly calling Luna mom? He is 24 years old and already has a good mother, why is he looking for another. Like seems more like a step mom, ie sometimes called mom but usually called luna.
- why is storm ignoring the voices? Why would she not tell Luna (the one who fixed most of his mental issues) that there might be another that she needs to look at?
- why is he seemingly embracing behaving like a child and not questioning it at all?
It feels like a hard shift from the type of person storm was before and the description of the added flurry heart memories is not enough to justify this large of a change in character.
Hearing voices can't be good for Storm sanity.
11328004
Well one they are a kid again and need someone to look after them especially someone who knows this world better than him. His mind might be older but he still a kid in body and can't move as easily as they wish because they are still young.
11328004
He calling her mom because she has been there since they met and he may have an adult spirit but a kid mind and body and he needs someone to look after him and help him through this new life.
Foal, he/she is a foal. Not no baby goat. LOL