The Lyrist and The Tempest

by Valiant wind

Chapter Final--New Beginnings

It was a perfect day for flying.

When Lyra landed on the top of the hill, Grey Wind was already there. She was sitting in the shadow of a tall oak tree, wearing her black cloak, her wings half-spread, and her mane flowing freely in the wind.

“Enjoying the view?” she asked. She went up and sat down beside her, gazing down towards the endless New Moon Forest. The sky was blue, clear without a single cloud, the afternoon sun shining brightly above their heads. She could see the lake on her right, its mirror-like surface bouncing with shattered sunlight. Her mother’s treehouse was standing beside it like a silent sentinel, bright green leaves sprouting from its dried canopy. On the other side of the forest, she could see the town of Memento, the streets occupied by the many colorful ponies celebrating the Moonlight Festival. Even at this distance, she could still hear the happy chatters and laughter carried in the wind. A flock of white birds came chirping by, flying past them and disappearing within the dark green woods. The animals were returning to the forest. When the environment changes for the better, nature was always the first one to know about it.

“It’s a great day, isn’t it?” Grey Wind smiled at her, “you sure are a quick learner. I see that you are flying much more smoothly now.”

“Oh, stop it,” Lyra waved her hoof, “you should’ve seen this morning! How in the name of Celestia do you handle those rogue currents? Even now my back still hurts!”

They shared a laugh together.

“You will get used to it. All winged spirits would yearn toward the sky,” Grey Wind winked at her, “so…” she poked her wing, “what do you think did it in the end? What crossed the line even the most advanced technology in the Universe could not break?”

“I guess it was the moment when I settled things with myself,” Lyra stroked her own feathers.

“Oh?” Grey Wind tilted her head curiously.

“Let’s say I got to know one thing over this week. Even now my magic might not be as strong as Twilight Sparkle, and my music would never be as beautiful as the Royal Orchestra Canterlot. But it seems…” Lyra smirked, “…even a pony as insignificant as me could still achieve something.”

“You do realize that no pony should ever know about all those, right?” Grey Wind shuffled her wings, “wouldn’t want to scare half the planet to death.”

“They don’t need to know,” Lyra pressed her hoof on Grey Wind’s shoulder, “what matters is that we all managed to survive, and we really did it.”

And we all got something out of it, she smiled, it doesn’t have to be these wings or a wonderful friendship. It could be a worthless souvenir, a smile from my friends, or even the slightest bit of happiness in my heart.

And with any of those showing up, I would know that I never went through all those troubles for nothing.

“A hero does not need recognization, huh?” Grey Wind scratched behind her ear, “so sweet of you, Lyra.”

“Appreciate that,” Lyra playfully punched her side, “so why did you call me here? Just to talk?”

“Actually, there’s something I’d like to show you,” Grey Wind giggled. She turned her body around and lifted her cloak, revealing her hind leg and her flank. Lyra gasped.

Her flank was not blank anymore. Upon her grey fur was a circle of six black spheres, all connected to a central sphere by poles of grey. Lyra recognized this pattern. It was the picture on the lid of her mother’s box.

“Oh my god!” She exclaimed, “Grey, you got your cutie mark! When did this happen?”

“It showed up last night after you both fell asleep,” Grey Wind said, “this is the sign of the Gray Tempest. Looks like the magic of this world decided that I’m a real pony in the end.”

“I seriously think we should host a party for this,” Lyra replied happily.

“Maybe,” Grey Wind was covering her smiling muzzle with a hoof. Then her eyeballs rolled and focused seriously, “and…there was another thing. Remember Whistle Sunlight? Princess Luna’s nanite friend from a thousand years ago?”

“Yeah, what about her?”

“You see—” Grey Wind projected an interface between them, “I went to my creators’ facility this morning. I wanted to make sure that there are no backups of the Gray Tempest’s core codes left in the mainframe. But when I looked into the corresponding files, I found…this.”

Lines of text were popping up on the screen. It was in Xa’natarian language, and there were many meaningless numbers in the words, making it impossible for Lyra to read its contents. Grey Wind only translated the title, and that was well enough for her to figure out what it was:

Code Subject: Whistle Sunlight

“This is…Whistle’s core code?”

“More accurately, her consciousness,” Grey Wind’s eyes were glittering through the half-transparent screen, “the reconstruction code must’ve brought it back. Her codes are pretty much turned over. Whatever she’d experienced in this world must’ve changed her like me. This file…is like a copy of her soul.”

“Then…can you do anything about it?” Lyra asked. If they could retrieve her soul, then—

“Yes, I can restore her” Grey Wind nodded confidently, “some of the codes were corrupted, possibly because of her thousand years of slumber. Fixing those and wakening her will take time…but it won’t be hard.”

“And then we can build her a new body with the subunits of the Gray Tempest!” Lyra wrapped a wing around Grey Wind’s neck, “wow, Grey, this is awesome! You have to tell Princess Luna about this!”

“I am planning to visit Canterlot after you introduce us to Ponyville,” Grey Wind said with a snicker, pointing at Lyra’s wings, “but I think the Princesses will probably find us first.”

“To crown me?” Lyra chuckled, “oh, come on, I don’t even want one myself.”

Grey Wind chuckled as well, then stood up, stretching her wings.

“If you really mean it, I can teach you how to hide those wings later. You need to learn how to control those subunits. I’m going to return to the festival. You coming with me?”

“I’ll catch up,” Lyra gestured towards the forest, “I want to watch this just for a while longer.”

As Grey Wind flew down, Lyra looked back onto the forest, then up at the sky. The sun had climbed over its highest point and was now starting to lower. In a few hours, it would sink beneath the horizon, and darkness will encase the town and forest. Ponies were never worried about the dark, for they know that Princess Luna will be watching them with her moon, and Princess Celestia will always bring the sun back after a peaceful night. Lyra could see the millions of stars shining in the background of the Universe again, but this time she was not afraid at all. She could feel the uncountable number of lifeforms thriving out there, but instead of feeling the burden of their weight, this time she could hear their hearts beating together, singing the chorus of hope and life.

Because they’ll see tomorrow’s sun, even without a Princess to lift it up.

And I’ll see it as well.

Lyra laughed. Until now she’d never realized how beautiful the sky was.

“I think I should write a song about this…” she whispered to herself.

THE END