Heart of the storm

by Sebbaa

Heart of the storm

Heart of the storm
Thunder hammered in their ears as lightning struck the magic shield that Twilight had put up at the last second. Negotiations had failed before they had even begun.
They had positioned themselves on a hill overlooking the land halfway between Ponyville and the Everfree Forest. There they made ready to meet the thunderbirds at the head of the raging tempest. They didn't have to wait for long.

First the wind picked up. With it the temperature dropped. Dark clouds came overhead and blocked out the sun. It started to rain, and soon there was a downpour mixed with hail. Thunder roared as lightning flashed across the sky. Then came the swarm.

One lone thunderbird was a creature the size of a manticore. Its body made out of wind and lightning. It had the power to create a summer storm. Wind, rain, and thunder obeyed its command. The swarm contained dozens of them.

With the swarm approaching to what Twilight hoped to be hearing range, she set her first plan in motion. Lecture them.
"There are ponies living where you are going!" she shouted into the storm. "Your storm is destroying their homes and hurting them. Please turn back!"
Her lecture didn't meet the response she had hoped for. In fact, she was ignored.

The unicorn was not frazzled by this. She had one more trick up her horn. One she had learned from Princess Luna herself. Her horn shone as she cast the spell.
"IN THE NAME OF PRINCESS CELESTIA! YOU ARE INVADING EQUESTRIAN AIRSPACE! TURN BACK NOW!" she bellowed in the Royal Canterlot Voice.

That provoked a reaction, but not one that she'd hoped for. She was barely able to raise a shield spell before lightning struck out at them.
"So much for negotiations!" Applejack exclaimed shouting over the howling winds. "What know?"
"Now it's time for plan D!" Rainbow Dash yelled back at her, sporting a confident smile.
"And that's me! Plan Dash"
With that she jumped and took to the sky.

She nimbly dodged any thunderbird that came near her. She knew better than to attack a creature made out of lightning head on, but she could undo their little weather. In ten seconds flat she had cleared out a patch of sky from any clouds. Celestia's sun shone through the hole and bathed her five friends in its brilliant radiance.

To her dismay that triumph was short-lived, for the storm was still massive and quickly covered up the hole. To make matters worse, she had now attracted the enemy's attention. She turned around just in time to dodge a bird that dashed right at her. Compared to her speed and agility, the creatures were slow hulking lumps of cloud, but there is no dodging lightning. When one of the birds made the tempest strike out at her, she didn't have any time to react.

Dash was hit dead on. Thunder roared, and her world lit up brightly in light and pain before it all went dark.

The azure mare fell from the sky like a rock, her coat and feathers smoldering and trailing smoke. Before her body hit the ground, it was engulfed in a bright magenta aura. With her magic Twilight had caught her friend and now quickly levitated her unmoving form to the five of them. She set her down gently, and at once the other four rushed over to her. Rarity used a wet blanked to put out any remaining embers. Fluttershy quickly put her ear to Rainbows muzzle and chest.
"She's alive! Oh thank Celestia, she's alive!" she exclaimed with a relieved sigh.

Knowing her friend to be safe, the yellow pegasus turned her attention to those responsible. Her anger rose up like magma in a volcano. Fluttershy was not easily agitated, but when it happened, not even Celestia herself could have saved the sorry creature that had invoked her fury.

With a speed unusual to her she flew up to the swarm. She stopped to hover right in front of one thunderbirds face. The mare took a deep breath, and then she used the Stare. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE DONE? YOU HURT MY FRIEND!" she shouted, her usual sweet voice filled with enough anger to kill.

There was no living creature in the world that could have withstood Fluttershy's Stare. It was a force of nature more powerful than the Medusa-esque gaze of a cockatrice, it made century old dragons cower in fear and break into tears.

Thunderbirds were no living creatures. They were spirits of thunder and lightning. They did not have feelings the way living creatures did, they did not know fear.

Fluttershys Stare was utterly useless on them. Annoyed, the bird she stared at summoned a strong squall. The yellow pegasus was blown away like a leaf in the wind. She screamed at the top of her lungs as she was thrown about by the gale.

Blue hooves caught her and strong wings braced her against the storm. She was carried back to her friends and gently settled on the ground. When she dared to open her eyes she saw Stormheart standing above her. His figure defied the elements as rain and hail trashed against him. His mane was soaked, the long cloak he wore flapped wildly in the wind. Fluttershy could not help but smile at him in relief and pride.

The blue colt blushed and quickly turned away bashfully. He had managed to save his Lady of the Forest. That fact alone he could hardly believe. His long days of training with Rainbow Dash had paid off, but being too shy to even look at her? His training had not prepared him for this.

Twilight and Applejack galloped to him and Fluttershy.
"Stormheart, Fluttershy! Are you OK?" the lavender unicorn shouted as she arrived. She nuzzled her yellow friend anxiously, but to her relief, the pegasus was unharmed, if too shaken to stand on her legs.
"What in tarnation are you doing here?" Applejack inquired angrily, her sharp tone made the young pony cower.
"The Crusaders sent me. They said I could be of use, you know, storm cutie mark and all, but I didn't think you'd really need my help." he explained, shouting over the storm. "And I'm sorry that I lied to you!"
Applejack let out her breath with a sigh and let her anger fade. She could not stay mad at the blue pegasus forever, especially not when he risked his hide to help her and her friends.
"I forgive you. I know you meant well." she said and extended her hoof.
Stormheart stood up when he saw that, visibly relieved. He put his hoof an hers.
"Thanks Applejack. I won't let you down again!" he promised her, yelling over the storm.

"It's a good thing you came when you did." Twilight said, trying to get their attention.
"We are running out of options! We can't fight them, I can't remember any weather or spirit controlling spells, and they're getting close to town!" she explained, speaking fast. Her eyes were tiny, her mane was wet but had some loose strands standing up nonetheless. She was clearly at the edge of panic.

Stormheart looked around. Fluttershy still couldn't get up. Further away he could see Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. The pegasus was laying on the ground and did not move. The pink earth pony was sitting beside her, her mane had deflated and hung straight down her face. She was crying. The fashonista was standing over them, shielding them from the storm with her magic. Her once luxurious mane was all messed up and wet and hung almost to the ground. Her face showed signs of exhaustion. Still she was keeping up the spell, not yielding an inch.

At the sight of Rainbow Dash on the ground he galloped over to the trio.
"Oh nononononono!" he muttered to himself.
He came to a sliding halt beside the unmoving figure of Rainbow Dash and the crying Pinky Pie. He looked down upon his idol, drill sergeant, and friend. She looked terrible. The tips of her primary feathers were burned of. Her wings and coat were charred in several places as well. He shook her with his hoof. She did not move. Right then and there it struck him: She was dead.

It was all too much to take for the blue colt. He stumbled several feet backwards, tears running down his cheeks. He was sobbing uncontrollably. He swallowed hard and looked up. There they were. Those stupid murdering lightning creatures. He could feel his growing hate for the spirits. He could feel it replacing his sadness, sweeping away all other emotions, fueling his anger!

"RRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" with an angry, mighty roar he took flight, shooting straight up into the sky. Everypony on the ground had their mane blown the other way by the force of the start, and then in front of them again as the air rushed in behind him. A strong updraft formed in his wake.

Already the storm was changing course. It began spinning around the updraft the blue pegasus had created. The thunderbirds had no more control over their weather. They too were drawn to the center. They gathered around him, circled him. They shrieked at him, their voices deafening thunder. And still the storm grew in size and strength.

Stormheart was absolutely out of it. Blinded by anger he no longer knew reason. All he knew was a searing hot hatred for everything around him. He lashed out in every direction. Lightning struck all around him. The wind uprooted tress, frozen hail slammed the ground. In his rage he did not know anything else. He did not now himself, he did not know friend or foe.

Twilight's magic was shielding her and her five friends with a glowing bubble. It was assailed from every side, as lightning struck, frozen hail plummeted upon it, and flying debris hit from every direction. Slowly the strain of holding up the spell got to her.
"He has lost it. He is totally out of control!" she exclaimed in a worried tone, she barely managed to fight off her panic. If her concentration were to falter, so too would her spell.
"There must be something we can do to stop him. Some way to get through to him?" Applejack mused, straining her neck to look up in hope of getting a glimpse of the pegasus.
"There might be." Twilight said, strain in her voice. Everyponys eyes settled on her.
"I did some research on pegasus weather magic before. In Obscure Pegasus History it is described how Commander Hurricane was able to control Storms. It said that he was able to make giant rotating storms. The type and size we today only get in the oceans of the south. They are even named after him."
"How does that help us?" Rarity inquired impatiently.
"Well it said," Twilight continued, "that he would be controlling the weather from the eye of the storm and that the eye of the storm was calm."
Understanding dawned upon her listeners.
"So that meas," concluded Applejack. "if we can get him to calm down, he can control this mess?!"
Twilight nodded. Sweat was beginning to run down her face.
"But how can we calm him down? How do we get through to him?" Fluttershy asked desperately.

"I could help you with that." a weak voice sounded from below them.
"RAINBOW DASH!" the others exclaimed in unison. And sure enough, the azure pegasus had regained consciousness. She had been listening in on the conversation before she had found enough strength to speak.

The storm had reached a scale Equestria had not seen in centuries. It was a spinning leviathan of wind and rain. By now its edge had arrived at Ponyville. Ponies were seeking shelter in their homes, closing shutters, and barricading windows and doors while black clouds blocked out the sun. The howling winds and deafening thunder made for a cacophony that shut out any other sound. Yet suddenly an angry shout could be heard above it all.

"RECRUIT! YOU SNAP OUT OF YOUR SILLY TANTRUM THIS INSTANT!" Rainbow shouted, her voice amplified by the royal Canterlot spell as she reached out to her finest pupil, as she reached out to her friend. Six ponies looked up into the sky and sent their prayers to Celestia and Luna, praying that this would work.

Stormheart was lost in his own mind. All around him a blazing inferno raged as far as he could see. He had curled into a ball and was shielding himself with his hooves and wings. It was all he could do to not perish in the soaring flames. He didn't know how long he had held out this way or how much more of this agony he could take.

He was about to give up. Maybe it was better if he just faded away. He hurt and he was alone. Nopony would care anyway.
It was then that he heard a voice. A faint whisper in the distance. "You are not alone." it said, "Your friends are always there for you!" The voice became stronger with every word. It was sweet and gentle voice, yet full of strength and confidence. As with her last word the flames around him were pushed away from his body.

He opened his eyes and uncurled his body. His mouth opened in awe when he saw what was around him.
Around him stood the Cutie Mark Crusaders, clad in mail armor. They were holding big iron shields in their muzzles and used them to protect him from the flames that still raged outside their circle.
"Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo!" he exclaimed in wonder. His face lit up and tears began to well in his eyes. Never before had he been this happy to see anypony.
"Yeah, it's us." Scootaloo confirmed as a sideline, never letting her guard falter.
"You know we would never abandon a friend!" Sweetie Belle told him, her voice warm and reassuring.
"But you have to wake up." Apple Bloom said confidently, "Don't worry, we'll keep the fires at bay!"

Wake up? Stormheart didn't understand. But as he got upon his hooves, he heard somepony calling out for him from a faraway distance: "Recruit! You snap out of your silly tantrum this instant!"
"Rainbow Dash!" the blue colt exclaimed, a smile of hope growing on his face.

When he came back to his senses, he was surrounded by a raging monstrosity. Strong gales pulled at his feathers as they thrashed him around. Rain and frozen hail attacked his body without mercy. Thunder roared and lighting was flashing all around him. He began to panic.
"RAINBOW DASH! HELP!" he cried out.

On the ground his shout could barely be heard over the cacophony of the storm.
"Yes! Thank Celestia. He snapped out of it!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed.
"Yeah, but the storms not letting up at all." Applejack said worriedly as she looked around.
"He is no longer controlling it." Rarity observed. Worried faces turned to Rainbow Dash. The pegasus mare took a deep breath.
"RECRUIT! YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE STORM STOP, BEFORE IT DESTROYS PONYVILLE!"

Up in the sky the blue colt only heard a faint whisper. Its meaning was clear enough though. And he tried. He tried to use his senses, to feel the weather. He tried to reach out and stop the storm. It was no use, he could not concentrate on anything.
"I CAN'T! IT'S OUT OF CONTROL!" he shouted in panic.

"This is Bad!" Applejack stated and looked to the others for ideas.
"He's in panic. He can't do anything if he's in a panic! We have to help him!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"The eye of the storm is calm." Twilight though aloud, "We have to calm him down." She looked to Rainbow Dash as she had an idea. "Meditation! Rainbow, you have to remind him of our first lesson in meditation." she said.
Dash raised her brows. "But I fell asleep during the lesson." she protested.
The lavender unicorn face hoofed. "Just tell him our very first exercise, the one you fell asleep doing."
Rainbow took another deep breath.
"RECRUIT! YOUR SPECIAL TALENT IS STORMS. YOU CAN MASTER THIS STORM, BUT ONLY IF YOU'RE CALM! REMEMBER YOUR LESSONS IN MEDITATION! TAKE A DEEP BREATH. HOLD IT IN. THEN LET IT OUT SLOWLY AND COUNT FROM TEN TO ONE. TRY TO FOCUS ON YOUR BREATHING!" Having shouted that, she had to focus on her breathing herself.

Up in the sky the blue pegasus had a lot of other worries than meditation, but after weeks of training under Rainbow Dash, he was used to following her instructions without complaint.
"Here goes nothing..." he mumbled to himself and closed his eyes.
Take a deep breath. Cool, moist air streamed into his lungs. He held it in for a moment, then let it out slowly. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.

He didn't notice, but having anything he could do at all gave his panic a pause. Slowly, he became calm.

Another try, breathe, focus only on your breathing. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. When he had stopped counting, his mind was blank. The storm was still raging around him, but he payed it no heed. His frantic thoughts and conflicted emotions had faded. He was at peace.

Slowly he became aware of the weather around him. Not the feeling of the wind tugging his feathers, not the cold of the rain on his coat or the deafening roar in his ears. But he could still feel the weather.

He could feel the thermal updraft that was powering the storm at its center. It's flow keeping him aloft. He was aware of the clouds, big and small, and how they all circled around the updraft. He sensed the clouds that were blown about by the wind, dark and heavy with rain. He felt the electric charge that unleashed itself in bright flashes and roaring thunder.

And he could feel the thunderbirds. They were all around him, circling him, looking at him, biding him. As his mind touched theirs, he could sense their thoughts. They did not think in words like a pony did. Their thoughts were as their whole being, wind and rain, thunder and lightning. But he knew their meaning none the less.

He had hated them before. He had thought them to be malevolent spirits that brought death and destruction upon ponykind. They had hurt his friends. But he realized that his hate had been meaningless, he hated because he didn't know better. He had been wrong. Now that he knew, he could not bring himself to hate. He could hate them no more than he could hate the rain or the wind. Hating them would be like hating a tree or a rock. There was not point.

He knew what he had to do know. If not with reason, he knew it by instinct. He spread his other pair of wings.
The sky lit up in bright light. The eyes of the six ponies on the ground widened as they watched, muzzles agape. Giant wings made out of lightning spread from Stormhearts sides. They loomed over them, spanning miles across the sky. Wherever their tendons touched a thunderbird, its form vanished. Further and further the wings spread, till they engulfed all of the swarm. They flapped a single time.

"I AM THE HEART OF THE STORM!" a voice called in the wind. The six friends could not believe their ears. It was as if the storm around them had spoken in the voice of a small blue pegasus they knew. With that, the lightning wings folded back to Stormhearts body and vanished.

At once the tempest lost its power. No more lightning cracked the sky. Then the winds let up. Slowly the rain stopped and the clouds began to dissipate, letting Celestia's sun shine through growing gaps between them. It bathed the six ponies on the hill in its warming rays.

The six looked at the sky, relieved smiles crawled to their faces. They looked at each other for a second, then they embraced in a big group hug. Dash was in the middle, still resting on the ground.
"We did it! He did it! You know what this calls for?" Pinkie exclaimed happily. Her mane had puffed back to normal. "A Party!" the other five finished in unison. They all broke out in relieved laughter.
After a few moments they untangled themselves, their eyes wandered to the sky. One of their friends was still missing.

They didn't have to wait long. Stormheart was descending to them, gliding in wide circles. Rainbow Dash would normally just dive to the ground and stop at the last instant. But the blue colt was way to beaten to even try that. He took his time and, when he was almost to the ground, he pulled up and spread his feathers wide, shedding all his remaining speed this way. He landed on the ground gently.

He looked pretty ruffled, his feathers disheveled, his eyes showing exhaustion. Still small sparks of electricity danced between his feathers. They were only extinguished when he carefully folded his wings. He looked up to the group.

When he saw Rainbow Dash up and about, smiling at him, he rushed her at once and hugged her tightly.
"Rainbow! You're alive! I'm so glad. I thought you were dead." he exclaimed, tears of joy running down his face. He didn't care about appearances right now. He could focus on being a grown stallion later.
"Of course I'm alive! I'm WAY too awesome to just die." Dash said with played bravado. The experience of being hit by lightning had left her quite shaken actually. But her friends and especially her young recruit did not need to worry about her, so she put on a brave face.
"And I'm glad you are back in one piece too." she added warmly and patted the sobbing colt on his back.

After a few more moments he let go of her. He wiped away his tears as he found his composure again. He looked around the group. His eyes were involuntarily drawn to Fluttershy. "I'm glad you're all alright." he stated with a nervous smile.

"I must say I'm impressed. You managed to vanquish all of the thunderbirds. I'm not sure even the princesses could have banished a whole swarm of evil spirits!" Twilight Sparkle said, eying him curiously.
Stormheart let out a sigh. This would take some time to explain.
"They are not evil spirits." he began, "They are spirits of nature. No more evil than a rock or a cloud. Sure, they have terrible power, but they don't mean to hurt anypony. It's just... that they're so very different from us. They have no concept of good or evil. They don't know hatred or even death. They kinda... just are. And storms are what they do, it's their nature." He struggled to find the right words to describe the nature of the ancient spirits. It was a concept not easily put into words.

"And I didn't vanquish them." he admitted when he was done explaining. The statement greatly surprised the others.
"But they all vanished into thin air." Twilight protested.

Storm let his head and ears sink. Now came the uncomfortable part.
"They didn't. I took them into myself. They are bound in my wings." he admitted and shook his head, "I don't know how I was able to do it, but I know I only was able to do it because they came to me. I don't know why, but the thunderbirds came here looking for me."
He knew better than to hide the truth from his friends again, but it was hard. Surely they would hate him now. Now that he had brought misery and pain upon them again.
"I'm sorry." he sobbed. He was barely able to speak anymore.

The six mares stared conflicted at the young colt in front of them that was now no more than a sobbing pile of sorrow misery. They looked at each other for guidance. Wings shrug, heads shook and nodded, in the end they began to smile in agreement.

Applejack put a hoof on the blue colts shoulder.
"Oh stop being such cry pony and stop beating yourself up over little things." she said like it was an order. Stormheart looked up to hear, confused. The orange mare smiled at him warmly.
"I'm sure you didn't send a letter to those spirits and invite them here, so it's hardly your fault, but you came here, rushed into the fray to save us with no concern for your own safety, and for me that is what counts. By Celestia, you are a true hero in my book." she explained, the words stretched in her heavy country accent.

The young pegasus blinked a few times, still not believing his ears. "I am?" he asked nopony in particular.
"Oh you most certainly are!" Rarity answered. And you shall be rewarded like the knight you are." she exclaimed, trotting over to place a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you, sir." she whispered in his ear before she drew back. The blue colt blushed. He was already overwhelmed by the situation.
"And let me thank you personally for catching me from that fall." came the sweetest little voice from his other side. That was all the warning he ever got. As he turned to face her, Fluttershy kissed him gently on the mouth.
It was the most innocent kiss, no tongue involved. Nevertheless, it managed baffle the young pony beyond reason. He blushed all the way to his ears.
Fluttershy hid a giggle with her hoof as she withdrew from the stunned pegasus. She smiled and blushed a little herself. Stormheart tried to say something. He wanted to say: "You are welcome my lady." but he only managed to utter incomprehensible gibberish.

"I think you broke him!" chuckled Rainbow Dash, as she regained her hooves. The remark made everypony laugh happily.
"Let's get back to town. I'm dying for some hot chocolate and a nap." the rainbow maned mare exclaimed and set of on hoof. The others quickly followed with Applejack carrying the blue pegasus, who was still unable to walk. He fell asleep on her back before they reached the town.

Special thanks to StewartSpicer for proofreading.

Comments

[StewartSpicer]

Huh. It didn't show up on my watch list because I proofread it.

[Chill Mists(Chilly)]

This story is very good and I know you said it was innocent but if you you ship them, which I am 99% sure you will not because of the huge freaking age difference, I will be extremely disappointed. I'm positive you won't though, but with some stories I have read you can never be too sure...